Laughter echoed high and far, as if overlapping in a chaotic symphony.

In a world filled with fog, three shadowy figures of monstrous fish swam, their huge bodies undulating.

These grotesque beings, with countless twisted mouths opened all over, continuously emitted shrill cries. Having devoured numerous travelers and extinguished countless lives, they were products of sheer malice.

Even a single one of them was enough to instill despair in people, yet now they mocked the humans who sought to resist by multiplying into three.

Looking up at the massive white whale hovering above, I heard the faint sound of someone dropping to their knees. Gradually, the sound of weapons clattering to the ground followed.

Upon closer inspection, one of the knights who had joined the expedition dropped his shoulders in dismay, bowed his head, and covered his face while squatting. No one could stop the sobs that shook his shoulders.

His fellow knights nearby were also left speechless, unable to utter even a single word.

Having brought their best equipment, seized the initiative, and unleashed firepower with all their might—this was the absurd situation they found themselves in.

The severe loss of morale due to mental corruption had halved their fighting force, and the remaining main force was crushed by the newly emerged ambush of the white whale.

Even if they gathered their remaining strength, it was less than half of their initial fighting capabilities. Moreover, the number of magical beasts they had to face was tripled—there was no way they could win.

In an instant, everyone realized that their lives and their goals would perish here.

They felt the terror and repulsiveness of the magical beast. They were overwhelmed by their helplessness against the weight of the precious bonds taken away by that beast, knowing they could never repay those bonds.

When that which they had built up crumbled and the hearts that had supported them broke, who could blame them for kneeling in that moment?

When the unreasonable, unchangeable reality closed in, who could deny despair?

“—Don’t let it swallow you!!”

Suddenly, a roar echoed across the silent plain.

Raising my face at the voice, I caught a glimpse of a shadow leaping towards one of the white whales, its serving attire flapping as it wielded a fearsome spiked iron ball.

The roaring gale accompanied the strike, smashing into the white whale’s snout, shattering its hard exterior, and penetrating its exposed bone and flesh, continuing to spread destruction.

A scream erupted as the white whale lifted its head to ascend into the sky, its tail thrashing about. The white whale’s tail was pierced by a blade of ice extending from the ground, and at that moment, the iron ball swooped in for a second blow. The small girl’s single strike caused the white whale’s massive body to sway violently, spilling blood.

“If it hasn’t swallowed us yet, there might still be a chance—!”

Clutching his aching shoulder and bleeding forehead, it was a boy who shouted.

He stepped forward to direct the girl swinging the iron ball, his expression pained as he felt his own powerlessness to join the battle, yet he took a step nonetheless.

As the earth dragon lying beside them raised itself, he awkwardly climbed onto its back, clearly not accustomed to this, but tightly gripping the reins with strength.

“It’s not over yet!!—Nothing is finished yet!!”

In front of the knights, who had succumbed to despair, he raised his head, bared his teeth, widened his eyes, glared at the white whale, and shouted.

“—Don’t think I’ll stop just because of this kind of despair!!”

＊＊＊

Subaru could clearly feel the footsteps of despair drawing near.

One whale above, another behind, one in front—three whales in total, this was no joke.

How much strength did they pour into defeat just one, to have it injure them so deeply? And just when it turned disadvantageous, did it conveniently call two more friends to start the main event? Give me a break.

How much more must fate twist them unreasonably?

Cast onto the ground by Ricardo, Subaru gritted his teeth in his fallen position. If he didn’t, weakness, sobs would surely spill out.

The moment of feeling the absence of light, as if the world went dark. His mind overloaded by the unbearable situation, threatening to sink into despair.

Familiar despair smirked, wrapping its arm around his shoulder with an all-too-familiar invitation.

“Hey, isn’t it about time you gave up again?”

In the dim shadows where he couldn’t even see faces, a half-moon shape opened its mouth, uttering familiar words of resignation. With those words, Subaru accepted the weight of the situation before him.

Here and there, knights knelt, mirrors of Subaru’s own posture of defeat.

They had all grasped that nothing could be done about the current situation. Not even the spirit to begin to resist had been stripped away, as everyone’s eyes lost their light, and the will to grasp their weapons was snuffed out.

A stifling silence surrounded them, as despair threatened to drown them all, but Subaru turned his eyes and noticed.

Right next to him lay Rem, thrown off the earth dragon just like Subaru, half-sitting up. The anguish visible on her beautifully formed profile caught his attention.

With rigid cheeks, pale lips, and trembling eyelids—looking closely, he thought absent-mindedly that her eyelashes were long.

She looked far more fitting when she smiled, he thought.

So—

“Your turn isn’t coming for a long while.”

He roughly shook off the arm that had casually draped around his shoulder.

Faced with his abrupt action, the shadow’s mouth twisted in surprise before he flashed a smile, then unloaded a powerful right punch—shattering the black shadow, and instaneously halting the tremors in his body.

How ridiculous. How pitiful. There was no longer time to deliberate, and no time to stop.

So what if there were now two whales?

His arms could move. His face could look up. His eyes could see. His voice could be heard, and his voice could reach others. Rem was next to him. Rem was alive. None of this was the time to be giving up on anything.

—Stand.

Time and time again, his heart had been broken.

—Stand.

Being tossed around by unreasonable fate, he had been forced to accept the end of despair each time.

—Stand.

Having given up on everything as being hopeless, intended to break away from it all, and confronted with a heart that would not allow him to take even that escape.

—Stand.

For what purpose?

—Stand!!

“For this moment, dammit!!”

Smashing his fist into the ground, using the momentum to raise his half-formed body.

With a shout, Subaru looked down at Rem, who gazed back with surprise upon seeing his defiance. Extending his hand to her, he met her gaze, glaring back at the approaching white whale.

“It’s not over yet. —It won’t end here.”

“…Subaru-kun.”

“Let’s do this, Rem. This is our moment.”

Seizing her outstretched hand, he pulled her close, holding the girl against his chest, looking directly into her face that loomed so close.

“Giving up doesn’t suit us. Not you, not me—no one!!”

＊＊＊

The roaring Rem leaped ferociously at the white whale, driving her right fist into its rocky hide. As the iron ball whirled around, it smashed through the rock surface with an intense sound, splattering blood while bringing forth a fierce assault.

Rem was aiming for the whale that had swallowed Wilhelm whole from behind. He noticed the jaw motion for chewing, but it was yet to reach the throat.

In the worst case, he had been crushed by those stone-like teeth—but—

“If its head isn’t crushed, I might just manage to pull him out—!”

Pulling the reins, Subaru leaned heavily on the earth dragon’s back, trusting it, despite being a little awkward at the whole thing.

Subaru wasn’t really good at handling the earth dragon; he had only had a couple of hours of training along the way to the Great Tree of Flugel—what rotten luck.

Unaccustomed to riding, without previous horseback riding experience, those mere hours wouldn’t suffice to control the earth dragon completely.

He could only attempt to indicate direction and speed while clinging on tightly to avoid being thrown off. Yet, the intelligent earth dragon understood Subaru’s intentions and abilities, taking care not to throw him off its back.

“What a good earth dragon. Quick, strong, and most of all, smart. From now on, your name is Patrasche. My loyal companion; that’s all I can think of for you.”

“Let’s go, Patrasche! Spin around at the whale’s snout!”

Subaru shouted out, flicking the reins and launching the earth dragon into motion. Patrasche obliged, galloping forward, suppressing instinct as it broke straight toward the formidable white whale.

The white whale, desperate to shake off Rem clinging to its body, sensed Subaru’s advance and turned its head instinctively. At that moment—

“Sniffing the smell of Subaru is Rem’s privilege—!”

Leaping up, Rem delivered a kick with the force of a cannonball.

The enormous face trembled slightly, and in the next moment, the iron ball, hurtling through the air, crashed into the whale’s mouth, penetrating through and pulling aside several teeth.

Screaming, the white whale let loose a torrent of yellow bodily fluid and fresh blood, spilling it out. Its body, finally falling to the ground, now flailed around like a fish out of water in the terrible situation.

The ground was torn apart, soil flying in every direction as the thrashing tail of the whale cracked the earth, whipping through the wind. Suddenly, it lunged towards Subaru, barely escaping the imminent hit—

“Banban, it’s Mimi!”

A cat-girl beastman jumped in right before the strike, swinging a staff to bring up a magical barrier.

The yellow glow deflected the blow, allowing the earth dragon and Liger to rush through the created gap.

Breathing out, Subaru glanced back at the little cat-girl, Mimi, who had saved him just in the nick of time.

“Thanks! That was a cool counterattack; I thought we were done for!”

“Fufu, feel free to give me more compliments! But let’s just call it a tie for today since I handled it better!”

“Handled it better…?”

Subaru tilted his head at Mimi’s proud demeanor. She plucked playfully at the whiskers on her cheek.

“All the other knights were frozen with fear, but you were the first to recover! You’re amazing, really great, though just behind me!”

“Not that big of a deal. It’s just that I won’t let despair get me down.”

Subaru replied to the loud praise from Mimi, gritting his lips.

That’s right. This wasn’t a matter worthy of applause. How much hardship did Subaru suffer to get this far?

Compared to the despair he had previously faced it was still easier to fight through. Why should there be room to lounge in resignation?

If he had the time to wiggle with despair, it would be far better to seek hope, even if it meant spitting up blood.

It was much, much easier to resist than to give in.

“—!!”

Suddenly, a shadow appeared right in front of the rushing Patrasche, causing Subaru to panic with wide eyes.

The moment the vast mouth opened, revealing the ghastly insides, Subaru desperately leaned to avoid it with a twist. But the mist filled inside the whale was sprayed forth even quicker—

“Close your mouth—!!”

An invisible blade swooped down from above, crashing down into the massive mouth of the white whale. As it closed from the slashing power, Subaru and Mimi dodged it just in time.

Looking up thanks to the close call, he saw the figure of Crusch rushing towards him from across the battlefield.

She matched speed with Subaru, staring disdainfully at the white whale.

“Things have arguably become the worst, it appears. Where is Wilhelm?”

“If you remember him, then at least he hasn’t been snuffed out by the mist. …It depends on Rem’s efforts now.”

Subaru replied while glancing back towards the white whale, which was turning to pursue them; Crusch scanned the surroundings too. Her eyes landed on the thrashing white whale and the figure of Rem swinging the iron ball, drenched in blood.

“What’s your perspective, Natsuki Subaru?”

“What do you mean by perspective? If you mean the chances of winning, then I’d say the outcome of my life varies depending on how things go.”

“Not what I meant. Don’t you find it strange?”

Crusch’s slash targeting the whale diverted it, causing it to roar as its sound resonated through the air. Subaru turned to her, questioned.

“The number of white whales has increased to three. Examined plainly, the situation seems truly hopeless. But if those whales are supposed to be a pack of magical beasts, is it possible that nobody has managed to grasp this information?”

“Not sure what you’re saying there.”

“There has to be something else at play here.”

Confidently declaring, Crusch directed her stern gaze at Subaru.

Naturally, Subaru felt her eyes penetrating his, straightening his posture.

“So you want me to find out what that is?”

“We will buy time while you evade them, supporting you as we go. Either way, we can’t hold out for long. There’s no retreating anymore—our options are running out.”

With that, Crusch’s earth dragon changed direction, moving away from Subaru.

She took a broad route, circling around the intimidating white whale, reaching out to the scattered members of the expedition team.

“Stand! Lift your heads! Get your weapons! Do you know why you’ve made it this far?”

“—”

Faced with the despair and sorrow, the men who had declined looked up at her.

Before them, Crusch boldly raised her drawn sword to the sky.

“Look at that man! He has no weapon, he’s weak, and no stronger than a mere gust would sweep him away. I witnessed him being defeated!”

Pointing to the back of Subaru, who was mounted upon the earth dragon, Crusch raised her voice even further.

Of all those here, he was the weakest of them all.

He held no fighting power. He lacked the ability just to survive. Countless times he had been struck down, crushed under the weight of continuous defeats.

That weakest man, however, was the first to shout out that he could still go on.

Even with his body broken, though in a state of despair, faces dirty with tears, seeing him lift his head with grit and pain, forcing himself to face the enemies still taking a stand.

“Then how can we lower our heads?!”

“—”

“Our strength might be weak, and even if we gather it together, it wouldn’t even reach the beasts’ throats. Still, if the weakest of us refuses to give up, how can we kneel?”

“O-oh…”

As the spiritless men exchanged glances, their knees trembling, they stood back up.

Grabbing their discarded weapons, the earth dragons, waiting by their sides, snuggled close.

Reaching out, gripping the reins, the knights who had previously bowed down now mounted the backs of their dragons. The dragons neighed, and the knights drew their swords, their voices raised.

A war cry erupted. They sought to rouse their own spirits, to honor their own souls.

Behind the quiet boy who fought bravely, they chased off the foolishness of crouching down and looking down.

That feeling is called “Shame.” It pierced through fear, resignation, and negative feelings, providing the knights the strength to raise their heads and step forward.

“Let’s go—everyone, charge!!”

“Ohhh—!!”

Sworn on the souls they thought should have stayed bowed, the knights advanced again.

The earth dragons charged, raising clouds of dust as the now fifty-strong expedition team tore through the roadway, and they hurled themselves at the two swimming white whales within striking distance.

Hearing the swelling morale of that expedition team and Crusch’s rousing speech, Subaru couldn’t help but suppress a smile.

“Calling me weak or a loser, they just don’t hold back, do they…”

He thought it more absurd than anything; it’s downright humiliating.

He might as well leave it to them to use him however they wanted. It was a fact that Subaru came this far, feeling powerless and losing time and time again.

Recognizing that, Subaru could howl here and now.

“Wouldn’t be ending as a loser; wouldn’t be remaining broken; would be stopping this giving up; being powerless is unacceptable.”

“Please, Patrasche. We gotta get to the whale’s snout and then bail out!”

The earth dragon tilted sharply, cutting into the terrain and making an acute turn, barreling once again toward the white whale.

Rem swayed, trying to shake off the whale at the same time the mixed troop separated from Crusch assisted them. Knights created sparks with their swords against the whale’s exterior while cavalrymen added bombarding from magic ore, maintaining their distance.

Screaming, the white whale writhed on the ground. Even its writhing behavior in pain posed an undeniable assault to those near it. One of the earth dragons and its rider were blown away by that impact, and the sound of bones shattering beneath massive weight echoed.

Blood splattered, a life extinguished. Subaru burned it into his vision.

A chill ran down his spine. That he could not save them, not in time, resulted from his own decision to start this fight.

The outcome, a response to his own words that had lured everyone in. He couldn’t turn his eyes away. Rejecting the moment he did it would mean he gave in to the feeling of ‘Shame.’

When faced with that inner weakness, the worst thing one could do was reject it, guiding him back to the fried reassurance he imposed upon himself.

As he sensed the white whale’s approach, it opened every mouth across its body.

Feeling a shudder run through him, he entrusted everything to the power of the earth dragon, slicing through the wind—straight into the path of the ‘Fog of Lost’ that expelled from all those mouths.

Were he touched even by a fingertip, it’d mean the eradication of his existence. The imagination of loss surrounding his entire being sent waves of terror through him.

But—

“Elfhira!!” “You’ll certainly not get away!!” “Where do you think you’re looking?!”

In a swell of wind, a magical gust broke through the mist while blades screamed, executing multiple beams of attack onto the mouths that released fog.

With the knights assisting, the mist thinned slightly. Yet despair loomed in the form of torrential pressure, as the sensation of loss enveloped Subaru, too aware of finality.

He left the route of escape to the earth dragon; on its back, Subaru performed evasive maneuvers. She sprang up to push herself off the earth dragon, bending backward to avoid the onslaught of fog flowing from behind, he lost balance and nearly fell off—

“C’mon, you…!!”

Gripping the reins and bracing himself, he barely managed to hold on with trembling hands.

Half dragging his feet, he fled—passing through the mist.

His view cleared, and as the earth dragon slowed, Subaru executed an ungracious motion to remount, further diminishing his already low stamina, and immediately directed himself towards the other white whale, where Crusch and the others were launching an offensive.

“Stir things up… man, I can’t just be risking my life like this and not think my way out of it!”

Breathing heavily, Subaru immersed himself in thinking about the “mechanics” that were mentioned with Crusch earlier, just as he dove back into the fray.

Three magical beasts—the white whales had eluded Subaru more than he could cope. Hence, in terms of the danger posed by the “mist,” he absolutely fell short of the experience she’d had living in this world.

Yet, even as such, he had questions. The very man who sought vengeance against the white whale, Wilhelm, for fourteen years—how could he have overlooked the devastating information that “There are multiple white whales”? If that information had not been known until now, the current simultaneous emergence could never have happened.

“Why did they suddenly increase… from the start, three was way too unrealistic…!”

It felt as if he might catch hold of some thread now. But before he could decide, Patrasche charged forth with all its might, reaching the scent range of the whale.

Watching the white whale that had followed Crusch as it turned, Subaru observed the mist swirling around it; a sense of urgency took hold.

“That’s light work!”

“Not on my watch!!”

Mimi and Hetero rushed in, racing alongside.

Next to Subaru, the twin beastmen opened their mouths, unleashing the sounds of “wa” and “ha.” The resonance of their high voices collided, creating waves that pushed back the approaching fog.

“Whoa!! So damn cool!!!”

“Right? Right!? More compliments, please!!”

Mimi burst into a wide grin, clearly basking in the praise from Subaru as if it filled her spirits. Beside her, Hetero gasped softly, “Sis…,” winding up to protect their sides on Liger.

“I’ll provide cover. Without you, Subaru, there’s no direction in this battle.”

“Easy on the dust-and-flash plans—what do you think we’re doing here?!”

“There’s no way you can just blast and then boom—this team needs your coordination, sis,” he explained.

“Uh-huh.”

With a carefree laugh, the twins continued their banter. Ignoring the chaos surrounding him, Subaru faced Hetero as he seemed to have more sense in his head, asking gently.

“That joint attack earlier—the one that blew up the whale, right? Can you still pull it off?”

“If I strain all my mana, I can do one more. Until the captain recovers, my sis and I will protect you.”

“Ricardo’s still alive, is he?”

Upon hearing the unexpected good news of life, Subaru’s voice raised. Hetero nodded.

The relief spread in Subaru’s heart. He had initially feared that the Liger he rode had been killed from the bloodbath around them, losing anything that could remain of it.

“From my injured captain, I have a message for you—”

“A message—‘It’ll cost you dear!’ or something cliché, right?”

“Oh, he’ll tell you that himself later. How about this: ‘What’s this? You’ve been slacking. Evidence I didn’t die!’ That’s all!”

Hetero’s earnest imitation of Ricardo’s dialect—Kararagi’s accent was slightly off—showed that he was genuine. The quack of it made Subaru think without focusing on how accurate it was.

Ricardo had risked his life to give that message. Considering the weight behind it and its true meaning—

“You totally didn’t nail that impression!”

“Right? No talent whatsoever!”

“Not the time for a critique, you two!”

Ignoring their poor timing, Hetero refuted, but Subaru brushed it off as he gazed upward.

Between the twin squabbles of the expedition and the strain, the two white whales were still engaging in fierce combat.

The white whale floating in the air was the first of the three, having escaped to the sky from the initial outbreak, and still continued to surveil what occurred below, not yet engaged in the fight.

Subaru’s intuition replayed a doubt within him.

Currently, their combat forces losing part of their strength, maintaining the battle without necessity, yet if the one still floating above took action, that would tilt the right side of the skirmish in seconds. If one side were broken, it would all finish right there.

So why is that whale doing nothing…?

“Ricardo’s message…”

Claiming that humorously, Ricardo meant that surviving was easy.

That much could be said, but just how light could it seem? Light was life; yes. Yet that didn’t seem exactly right either—light in a heavy situation—what kind of light could exist…?

“In this heavy, very hard situation, what is considered light…?”

Relying heavily upon the earth dragon, he went spiraling through the eerie environment in pursuit of the overwhelming white whale. At the closure of this apparently straightforward setup, Crusch and the various aims were becoming truly unreliable.

The distance now widened to great heights. Accompanied by the distances achieved, the new heights counterbalanced the dreaded strength of the creatures, amplifying that sense of darkness.

“No way to reach them with the magic—I can’t embarrass us by wanting that…”

“Not possible. If it’s far from me, it becomes too hard to manage. I’m sure Roswaal could do that— I’m not capable, though.”

Gazing at realizing the potential behind the situation, Subaru’s decision reaffirmed determination among them all without complementing it.

He had his scheme drawn up, carefully plotted.

The responses of Crusch, Hetero, and Rem opened the opportunity for counterplay, wherein he could avoid what he longed to deliver ahead of time.

“It’s gonna be a gamble of sorts, but… you in?”

He squinted one eye, asking the knew chance he now hesitated on revealing.

Yet, that itself may have been rude to ask, knowing already—

This audience itself, tasked here today, they’d likely never hesitate to gamble for their lives—even sheer madness itself in this fast-approaching despair suggested the truth of it well-nigh sold Subaru.

＊＊＊

The white whale watched quietly above, from an immeasurable height over the raging battlefield.

If it observed the war splitting the plains, it busily ensued maintaining control over it like a beautifully partitioned flora; a beautifully towering massive tree spanned the horizon.

Regardless of the battle upsweep and downward grumbling, the small humans latched onto the great magical beasts, attempting to penetrate the defenses, brandishing their steel, desperately resisting.

Every time flames erupted and pity-filled agony arose from below, the whale expelled its fog.

The mist blanketing the battlefield thoroughly aided its nearby presence, confirming the petty existence of the lower beings as qualifying for extinction.

As time progressed, those rushing shadows fell one by one. With every sip of “fog,” their presence diminished greater.

To swallow everything whole, their useless entanglement wouldn’t be far off.

As for the imbalance caving in—an imminent collapse was an unavoidable matter.

Had the white whale possessed human intelligence, it would have no doubt calculated its victory as certain.

Yet, in truth, the whale had none of that intelligence. It simply followed its instincts, taking actions to eradicate its enemies so as not to go extinct.

Why that instinct would judge seals, addressing brute instincts like humanoids, began to seem irrelevant; consequently, honing those instincts made the whale preying upon its threats into judgments, guided to carnage.

“—”

It spewed mists, beginning the whitewash slated over the land.

Though interrupted, the action meant for enveloping the world below had to be carried through, none the less urged by its instincts to carry itself out, for breathing would generate a life intent on living.

Just as it would command the next stage, the whale abruptly moved its gigantic eye and refocused onto the existence beneath.

Such a gathered wondrous energy originated out of an enormous whirlpool amassed in mana’s fringes.

“Al, Human.”

Around those patterns of blue mana, stood a crescent-haired girl kneeling, embracing pulse and discipline, spending idle time focusing her directed energy. Emerging within the collection were the shapes of tremor-like ice lances.

Ten-meter-long frozen weapons harbored sharp tips and aimed toward the belly of the whale.

The target was clear, and to execute that before observers meant a dire mistake.

“—Please!”

As the girl raised her prayer-like voice, the ice lances were fired upwards into the atmosphere.

Clearly targeting the middle section of the whale gliding beneath.

Accelerating, a desperate tone could be heard approaching the upper distances—yet with a lapse in distance regarding the shot’s initial launch, such chances easily lead to disruption’s halt.

The whale twisted its tail and swam through the currents.

That maneuvers forced the whale out of range, dictating the many tensions to stretch outside the domain, where even whimpered incidents of shattering could materialize.

The immense body followed along amid the awareness, flailing around what had actually occurred—only for a trivial fraction, softly to carry brief notes of impacts to any witness grasping its overwhelming presence.

By then—a moment to lose the chance for that once in a lifetime show.

“—Hey, you look super disgusting face to face.”

That simple sentiment pressed down from its makeshift pinches, coaxing strides through the uncomforted seas.

As the giant whale landed upon the ground and tuned into the strife of winds swaying upwards from below, the heavenly haze started to materialize.

The collapsing whale quickly lost connection with forces, blinded by bright fluctuations across movements of brutal vitality, as monstrous memories drew on heavy strife.

The grotesque sounds resonated throughout the arcane energies, weighed down alongside traces like droplets and formed ties beneath.

“The deeper the pitter, the more disgusting…”

Hypothetical commentary on bitterness echoed by the ordinary. Contact ripped through the umbral dimensions, detonating upon straightforwardly scattered elements overhead.

Revealing the challenge of bygone rites of passage; screams plunged suddenly amidst waves, mentally instructing everdownward; to save, deserve, and bury.

“Return…!”

The accelerated circumstances picked up on sensory assault, revolving inward, now tangible for that fierce count. The bout with existing memory ripple-like behaviors paralleled away.

The enormous mouths gaped likewise overt with roars of rising potential, leading the lore to root when passaged fibers transitioned through breaths of fluctuation.

Successful Examples were drowned, and momentarily, none would peer into what surfaced as panic-driven.

“—Return…!!”

Across the straight path of sacred soul-risk and black-soul drama, lineages too petrified might pass the struggles.

All on behalf of the nothing could seem rational nor conducive.

“—Rely on me! You’ll wait and trust?”

Then filled with unlikely twisted fortunes, the looming prophecy over time would almost fracture between realms of gravity and sense.

This profound imbalance sparked jealous flames of jealousy, stranding even two hearts syncing moments finally toward a heavier cleanse.

“Step aside!!”

Now the furry musty aroma overtook layers clamped over sensitive beasts upon pressure, echoing peeling ways to face spirits downplayed amidst defenses before fixed lines.

The accursed winds bellowed whether fit favored toward tighter sides was impressive, proving — if submerged — where heartstrings swallowed flair held in each routine.

“Don’t let me stay here forever, damn it…”

Now engulfed neck-deep into each segment of blood and moments to lash breezy strikes. Each thought spun crazily southwest.

With these gusts bleeding into intangible paths, everything slipped past as accelerating parades soothed the rests.

“White whale foreboding shape emanating from the legend, I enfold…”

Seeded from each tributary flow in the potential depths of instabilities where splash light rushed ascending behind the ordinary beast’s back.

For the sake of the cast of characters risen from blood swap secrets across melding undulations presses unrevealed and sown from the seventh heavens beneath fate-wens developing woven spaces.

“Here we go, team!”

Prompted urgency flowed forth ranging chaos inward among the flickers one last time.

As round seemed rounded against aberrant descents without the whispers of scavengers resting on empty tales among lost excesses.

“EVERYONE STAND UP!”

Unframing concluded arrivals circling through escape routes when sudden waters crashed down through the perilous backdrop toward depths borne of interesting remarks summoned against endless frontiers.

“—Believe. A tale can twist once picked up the mantle!”

A rush captured beneath the currents bore volition summoned as thick parallels upwardly pulled heritage restrained, interlocking spires extending onto serrated shapes edge-whisking phantom hands across foreign creeds summoning delightful urges for peace.

Each tied element producing gravitas would ascertain; not residing might pull precipice’s descents—at once.

“—I don’t want to lose!”

All calling together while threading bonds of sacrament flickering tales beyond evasive endings that shifted loose hope’s clutches in toiling drifted flow affirmations.

“—We are all winners!”

Gazing into fantastic flights across atmospheric notions, one exquisitely panned aside the pillars reestablishing rife echoes toward unfamiliar warmth was aligned with arias pulled straight, descending over timeless altercations around.

“—lose to haste, double down!”

Emboldened beyond common beliefs in harried walls wound named in currents deftly involved across plumes wrapped against ever-cyclic materialities.

Again from joy of randomly solid fields aglow—bolstered in tone rising while soaring still glen wish came warm with desire.

“Let’s keep moving toward the finish line!”

*******

Booming across darkened horizons where waves crashing ruptured at again-forgot slope receding, revealing random currents stirring echoes strained with enveloping past piqued through glaring notions.

Then attitude rang through exclamations, anxious for rightful placements bending, yet tethered well in process spinning clearer arrays against plucked golden strands lightning through towering swipes leading home-like embraces tracing.

**Stay-side shines bright, they rove the shifting call—forever…**