“Metalia!”
I watched as she ran over screaming my name. A wave of relief washed over me once I saw how pale she was. If she could still make such a face, then surely that meant she was still human?
“Don’t move. This wound is nothing. I can heal you in—”
“Excuse me! I have an urgent report to make!” someone said.
“Save it for later!”
“I’m afraid it can’t wait! We’ve detected a high energy reaction occurring from the demons!”
Her face paled even further. Despite being nearly all-powerful, both my injury and the report happening at the same time overwhelmed her. Inadvertently, she asked, “…Is it the Song of the End?” She immediately realized her mistake and looked at me. “No, wait!”
“The demons… Are they trying to activate the Song of the End?” Barely conscious, I wrung out the last of my strength to use my alchemy.
“Don’t do it! There has to be another way!”
“It’s all right… It was fate for things to end this way.”
It would all be too late if I lost consciousness here. While I still could, I used my body as a reagent and began the process of alchemizing myself into raw energy.
“No… You can’t leave me!”
“It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just…doing what I must to forever stay a stranger to you.”
“…What are you even saying?” Not comprehending, she gave me a look. I didn’t blame her. She could read minds, but as the last person she still saw as separate from herself, as ‘other,’ she refused to read mine. Without her knowing, I had made my choice.
“You’ll understand soon. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure to seal the Song of the End.”
“Metalia!”
She held my hand. I wondered how long I would remember her warmth as I spoke the last activation phrase of my alchemy. “…Render my whole being to concept.”
And just like that, I became Metako.
✦ ✦ ✦
“…Ngh…”
Maha found herself in the infirmary when she came to. The peculiar smell of disinfectant filled the mostly-white room. Her abdomen was wrapped in dressing and still ached, but she sat herself up and looked around to see she was in a bed.
“You’re awake.”
“…Mother.”
Diriyah entered the infirmary with a cigarette between her lips. She crudely pulled out a nearby chair with her leg, then sat next to Maha’s bed.
“How’re you feeling?”
“…Fine.”
“Good. So what happened?” After showing Maha only the slightest bit of concern, Diriyah began questioning her. That was nothing unusual at this point, of course. Maha felt something between resignation and relief.
Maha kept her report concise. “Ney betrayed us. She took Ruri and vanished. Her goal is to activate the Song of the End.”
“…I see. I knew it.” Diriyah didn’t seem surprised in the least.
“You knew she would betray us?”
“No, nothing like that. I just had the feeling she was getting fed up with living.”
“Did you know about her being tapped into the Akashic Record’s power?”
“I did. Every vice-captain is told.” Diriyah took a drag of her cigarette, then stubbed it out and stowed it away in her portable ashtray. “Damn. To think she was after the Song of the End of all things. But she’s been fighting for humanity for a long, long time. I don’t get why she’d choose now to betray us.”
I was curious about that myself.
“…Perhaps your genius is to blame,” Maha suggested without elaboration.
“What do you mean?” Diriyah returned her a dubious look.
“Ruri’s creation might have pushed Ney over the edge. With a way to obtain the Song of the End suddenly presented to her, she might not have been able to hold back the desires she had been suppressing.”
“Ah. So I’m the one who pulled the trigger on the world’s demise, huh? That’s one hell of a screw up.” Diriyah laughed at herself, then looked at Maha. “Hey. You hate me, right?”
“Where did that come from?”
“I figured we might as well talk about my other screw ups while we’re at it.” She took out a second cigarette. “I brought you into this world and raised you to fight. I haven’t done a single motherly thing for you. You have every right to hate me. That’s my cross to bear.”
Maha didn’t say a word.
“This is no more than me making excuses, but I really did think you had a better shot in this world if you could fight.”
Diriyah was being oddly talkative for once. Blankly, Maha gazed at her mother’s face.
“But, again, that’s really just an excuse. It’s a fact that I made research my priority and left most of your rearing to Ney. I ain’t gonna deny that.” With a light chuckle, she puffed her cigarette.
“What made you so devoted to your research?” Maha asked.
“Huh? What good would knowing do you?”
“Nothing. It’s just…I’ve only now realized I hardly know a thing about you.”
“…That so? My reasons aren’t anything worth hearing, though.”
“That’s fine.”
Diriyah showed some hesitation, but eventually she put out the cigarette she’d barely touched and stuffed it into her portable ashtray. Her words came gradually, bit by bit. “…There was a time when even I managed to fall in love. I suppose it’s been fifteen years now. Since your other mother died.”
“…I hardly know anything about my other mother.”
“That’s because I’ve never told you about her.” Diriyah tried to take a drag off her cigarette, only to frown and remember she had just put it out. “She was a good woman. Had patience even for someone as difficult as me. She came from money. I got close to her to try and secure funds for my research, but before I knew it, I was so smitten I couldn’t envision a life without her.”
“That’s…hard to imagine.”
“Right? Can hardly believe it myself.” Her gaze softened with rare tenderness before she continued. “…She was killed by demons, though. So I decided I would make them pay, and that became my only reason for living.”
Maha listened carefully, her eyes wide. This was all news to her.
“I already did alchemy research for a living, but after her death, it became my everything. I sacrificed many things for my research… Even you. So I don’t blame you for hating me. You have every right.” After saying her piece, Diriyah made a face like she had been released from whatever was possessing her. Perhaps she too had been struggling with her own troubles. Perhaps she felt guilt over treating her own daughter as a weapon.
“…I don’t hate you,” Maha said.
“What?”
“I said I don’t hate you. Not anymore.”
Diriyah looked bewildered. “You’re lying. I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at me.”
“Like I said, ‘not anymore.’ I hated you in the past. But I think I understand you now.” Maha took Diriyah’s hand, causing the latter surprise. “You loved me in your own way, but your priorities placed me second. My other mother and your research came first. That’s all.” She grinned wryly, as though a burden had lifted off her own shoulders too. “I won’t lie and say I’m not a bit sad that I couldn't come first. But it is what it is. If anything, I feel envious that you could love someone else to such an extent.”
“Maha…” Diriyah blinked a few times, emotionally moved. She must have never expected to hear such words.
“I wonder if I’ll ever be able to do the same.”
“The same what?”
Maha’s voice grew quiet and reflective. “Love someone more than family.”
Hearing that, Diriyah reached out and violently tousled Maha’s hair. “The heck are you saying?”
“…Mother?”
“There’s someone you already care about more than me, isn’t there?” she said with a smile.
“Who?”
“Ruri, of course. I’ve seen the way you look at her recently. Don’t try and tell me you don’t have some one-sided feelings for her.” She spoke in a teasing tone and disheveled Maha’s hair even more roughly.
“…You might be right.”
“Oh? That’s awfully honest for you.”
“Mother. If my first love is ever to come true, I need your help.”
“You want my help? I’m probably the last person you’d want romantic advice from.”
“Not that.” Maha shook her head. “I need your intellect.”
“Ah. That’s more my speed. What do you need?”
“A way to stop Ney.”
“…That’s quite the challenge.” Diriyah pulled her unfinished cigarette back out of the ashtray and lit it, taking a drag. “Ney is basically a medium channeling the Akashic Record. Her power is comparable to a god’s. Stopping her won’t be easy.”
“Of course.”
“But we have one saving grace: the fact that she understands words. The ideal move would be to persuade her… But if I’m being honest, I’m not so sure anything we say could reach her at this point.”
“So if words don’t work, what do we do?”
“Use force, I guess. That’s what she told you to do anyway, right?” Diriyah gave a wry laugh, remarking how like Ney that was.
“Can we beat her?”
“Probably not. But we’re not totally screwed.” Diriyah finished her cigarette and put the stub back in her ashtray. She brought a finger up and said, “Metako will be our key.”