Cradle of Stars

by Reki Kawahara

  When he slipped under the arch that served as the lounge’s entrance, he stopped in his tracks. Seated at the round table by the window in the very back was a girl turning the page of a hardcover book. The white light coming through the window caught her long black hair, giving her a dreamlike silhouette. It was almost like he’d gone back to that day eight months earlier…

  As he stood there absently, the girl—Kuroyukihime—abruptly lifted her face and looked at Haruyuki. A gentle smile briefly crossed her lips before she shrugged as if to say “Almost time.”

  Haruyuki hurriedly bowed to her and student council secretary Megumi Wakamiya next to her before moving over to where Takumu and Ikuzawa had gotten a table on the right side of the lounge. He set his tray down on the table and took the empty seat. Neither of his lunch companions had taken the lids off their lunch boxes.

  “Sorry I took so long,” he said.

  “No, you’re fine.” The class representative shook her head with a serious expression. “I’m sorry for making you rush.”

  “So what do you want to talk about?” Haruyuki asked, impatient.

  “We don’t have a lot of time,” Takumu noted, from his right. “Let’s eat and chat.”

  Haruyuki glanced at the lower right of his field of view and saw there were just thirty seconds left until the time Kuroyukihime had specified. It wasn’t like his curry would get cold even if he waited until the end of the meeting, but with the steaming plate before his eyes, it was too sad to leave it for thirty minutes of subjective time. “R-right. Okay, let’s eat.”

  Almost before the other two had finished nodding, he was taking a spoonful of the summer vegetable curry. He stuffed it in his mouth and chewed and swallowed, enjoying the spicy heat and the texture of the zucchini, and let out a sigh.

  And then, for the second time that day, the sound of acceleration caressed the nerves of Haruyuki’s auditory system.

  “Um, so this time it’s…a Primeval Forest stage?” The aftertaste of curry in his mouth rapidly disappearing, Haruyuki whirled his head around to check out his surroundings.

  The Umesato school building had transformed into a superlarge, ancient tree. The cafeteria and the lounge were now massive cavities, and fluffy moss grew at his feet. Instead of tables, large mushrooms with caps that were a meter in diameter dotted the area. And at one of the mushrooms sat a jet-black duel avatar.

  “Oh, Kuroyukihime!” Waving his right hand, Haruyuki started to weave through the mushrooms and run over to her.

  Shwp!

  A pale light cut in front of him, so he swallowed a yelp as he put on the emergency brakes. Tiny sparks flew off his helmet, and his health gauge decreased by a mere dot. “Wh-whoa?!”

  At the same time as Haruyuki leapt back, several enormous mushrooms fell apart from the root, in pieces. His duel opponent, Black Lotus, had whirled the outstretched sword of her right arm several times with incredible speed to cut down the surrounding mushrooms. All that was left was an empty clearing about five meters across.

  “Mm. What’s the matter, Haruyuki? I was just making a meeting space.” Her voice was chilly for some reason. She couldn’t still be mad about the Metatron thing, could she? Or maybe it was the Niko invasion…“Don’t just stand there. How about you have a seat? I’m not concerned about anything, you know? You are free to deliberately bring a girl I don’t know to the lounge and enjoy lunch with her.”

  That…! Having understood the reason for the Black King’s ill humor, Haruyuki tried desperately to explain. “Y-you’ve got the wrong idea, Kuroyukihime! That’s Ikuzawa— Oh! She’s our class representative, but she came over and said she needed to talk to Taku and me.”

  “Oh-ho? And what did she say?”

  “Th-the meeting started before she could tell us…”

  “Oh? So then, have I interrupted an important conversation?”

  “N-no, that’s not what I…” Beneath his visor, a virtual cold sweat poured down his face.

  “That’s probably enough bullying of Corvus, hmm, Lotus?” The voice that echoed through the hall was on the verge of laughter.

  He looked to the Legion members who were only watching as they came in through the entrance farthest to the left from Haruyuki’s perspective. Leading the group was “Strong Arm” Sky Raker in her wheelchair. To her right, “Shrine Maiden of the Conflagration” Ardor Maiden. To her left, “Aquamatic” Aqua Current. And behind them, Lime Bell and Cyan Pile stood alongside each other.

  Rebuked by Fuko, Kuroyukihime stepped over to one of the uninjured mushrooms and crossed her arms. “Well then, I’ll leave off there.”

  Haruyuki breathed a sigh of relief and sat on the neighboring mushroom when a follow-up comment reached his ears.

  “Of course, I’ll have you explain every detail later on!”

  “O-okay, that’s already— Well, I actually have no idea what it’s about myself.”

  The others, except for Raker, sat down on their own mushrooms, and they were ready to start the meeting.

  Or so he thought, but Kuroyukihime, who was supposed to announce the start of the meeting, said with an air of importance, “Now then, Crow. Call the eighth member of our Legion.”

  “Oh, r-right,” Haruyuki replied.

  Fuko also nodded, but the other four Legion members looked bewildered.

  “Wh-when did we get another one?!” Chiyuri cried.

  Haruyuki waved her off before focusing his mind. Go deep into the image—he gently called to his precious comrade. A few seconds later, the pure-white icon appeared soundlessly.

  “Whaaaat?!” Chiyuri and Takumu both shouted the instant they saw it.

  When Haruyuki introduced the icon by saying “This is the Archangel Metatron,” Utai and Akira also joined in the shocked outcry.

  Haruyuki explained the situation with Metatron’s recovery and status, and then there was an extremely arrogant greeting from the Enemy herself, by which time, they were down to twenty-five minutes left in the duel.

  “It is very surprising, but when I think that it was C’s doing, I can accept it somehow,” Utai commented.

  Chiyuri shook her head in exasperation. “Well, Haru’s always been known to bring weird strays home…”

  “Lime Bell,” the icon on Haruyuki’s left shoulder immediately snapped. “Surely you do not mean to suggest that I am a weird stray, do you?”

  “Huh? Oh! Ha-ha-ha, nah, it’s, uh…” Muttering and fumbling her way out of the question, Chiyuri cleared her throat loudly. “Anyway! The reason we asked you for this meeting today was because of a slightly—no, a fairly surprising story!”

  “Oh-ho. Well then, shall we have you report, Chiyuri?”

  “Okay!” Springing to her feet, Lime Bell looked at Haruyuki.

  “Silver Crow.” The voice of Metatron echoed in his mind. “What is this designation those ones have been using?”

  “Huh? Oh, that? That’s the name I use in the real world— Um, I guess it’s even lower than the Low Level, like the world outside.”

  “Hmm. So the Lowest Level, then.”

  “…W-well, I guess so…”

  “And there you are called Haru?”

  “Yeah. You can call me that, too, if you want…”

  “…I shall take it into consideration.”

  While they were having this exchange, Lime Bell came forward into the center of the meeting area and looked around at everyone before beginning. “Um, you all remember the Legion Petit Paquet we told you about before in Setagaya Two, right?”

  Everyone except Haruyuki bobbed their heads up and down.

  “So this morning, the master of that Legion, Choco—er, Chocolat Puppeter, suddenly challenged Haru, and I was in the Gallery. At first, she was really letting him have it, and I was thinking, Well, I guess he’s gonna lose—”

  “Sh-sh-she did not let me have it! It was my first time in a Buffer stage, so I didn’t know how to fight there.”

  “C’mon! Be quiet, Haru! But then from the middle,
Haru was licking and munching, and it ended up in a draw.”

  “Licking?” asked Fuko.

  “Munching?” asked Akira.

  “So this is the main part now.” Fortunately, Chiyuri continued without explaining in detail. “Choco and the other members of Petit Paquet were there, too, Plum Flipper and Mint Mitten. So like, the three of them…” She paused for a moment before getting to the point in a loud voice. “They said they want us to let them into Nega Nebulus!”

  Silence.

  In the now-quiet meeting venue, Haruyuki remembered that moment. To be more precise, Chocolat had said, “We would be willing to do you the honor of adding our ranks to your Legion.” But Mint pushed Chocolat’s head down right away as she revised the statement to “What I meant to say is…We want you to let us in!” And then Plum began to explain the reason for the sudden request.

  Plum Flipper, who was apparently the brains of Petit Paquet—in other words, in the Takumu position—had spoken in a rather laid-back tone, “Sooo, we heard this ruuumor. That Nega Nebulus destroyed the ISS kit main body. So the three of us talked it over and made a decision. As a thank-you for saving us and Coolu that time, we could join you and fight together.”

  What pulled Haruyuki out of his recollections was Kuroyukihime groaning next to him. “Mmmm. It’s a bit too soon, however. I appreciate the request, but do they know what kind of situation our Legion is in?”

  “They said they talked that over quite carefully, too, before making the request,” Haruyuki replied. “If they cooperate with Nega Nebulus, the kings of the other Legions will give them the side-eye. So then, rather than helping as Petit Paquet from the outside, it’d be better to join Nega Nebulus. Then they’d be able to help out wherever the need is greatest. That’s what Chocolat and the others said.”

  “…They thought that far ahead,” Kuroyukihime murmured.

  Fuko picked up where she left off. “Where the need is greatest— So then, they mean…”

  “The Territories,” Akira finished.

  Everyone nodded firmly. It was no easy feat to defend all three of Suginami’s areas in the territory battles held each week on Saturday evening. Fortunately, up to that point, they hadn’t surrendered a territory, but lacking sufficient members to defend thoroughly, they’d come dangerously close to it several times.

  But if the three members of Petit Paquet joined them, Nega Nebulus would have a total of ten members, so they’d have one person extra if they placed teams of the minimum of three people in each of their three areas. In terms of numbers, that meant they would be able to fight equally in all areas.

  “What shall we do, Sacchi?” Utai asked.

  Kuroyukihime remained silent for a brief moment before saying slowly, “It’s a very serious thing to disband a Legion that’s already been formed.”

  “True.” Fuko nodded. “Chocolat and her group, they managed to clear the Legion Master quest with just three people, even when it normally requires at least four, right? That’s not something you can do unless you’ve built up an incredibly strong bond.”

  “Mmm. It’s not as if she would lose her Legion Master qualification, though, so it would be possible to re-form at some point. But…” Kuroyukihime was unusually hesitant. “There are indeed things that they would lose by disbanding for the time being. I’m not sure if it’s really all right for us to accept their request simply because it would make the Territories easier.”

  “Kuroyukihime!” Chiyuri sprang up in front of her.

  “Wh-what is it, Chiyuri?”

  “You’re overlooking a question that most people would ask straightaway! Can we trust them?” Chiyuri asked with laughter in her voice.

  Kuroyukihime appeared caught off guard. She blinked her eye lenses several times before clearing her throat. “Th-that is because I trust you and Haruyuki. If you believe in them, then I will not doubt them, either.”

  “Then c’mon, go all-in!” Chiyuri spread her arms wide. “Of course, Chocolat and the others are sad about disbanding Petit Paquet. But more than that, they want to offer their strength to you, Kuroyukihime—to the Black King, Black Lotus, someone they’ve never met. So then maybe you could at least meet them and hear what they have to say?”

  “…I’m starting to think that you are much more qualified to be Legion Master, Chiyuri,” Kuroyukihime said with a wry smile, nodding slowly. “You’re right. Perhaps I should meet them and hear about their decision before considering whether to accept their application.”

  Even with the push from Chiyuri, the Black King’s usual decisiveness did not return. Maybe the memory of having terminated a Legion once before—the former Nega Nebulus—still weighed heavily on her heart. If that was why she was hesitating to expand the Legion, then they might not be able to pull that boulder away with words alone, Haruyuki thought.

  And then, Metatron’s 3-D icon jumped gently from his shoulder, flapping its wings to move to the space directly in front of Kuroyukihime. There, it made the small angel halo flash brightly. “How pathetic. How long does one who would call herself king intend to hang her head?”

  “Wh-what?!” Kuroyukihime shouted, and the other six in the Legion snapped to attention.

  “A king is one who leads one or two hundred soldiers easily!” Metatron continued to scold the Black King. “So then, why do you struggle with a mere three?! It is precisely because I believe your words about crushing the Acceleration Research Society that as one pillar of the Four Divines, I offered my strength—”

  “Th-th-that’s enough!” Haruyuki leapt forward and caught the floating icon in his hands, landing in a formal kneeling posture on the former mushroom table. As he hid Metatron, raging and shouting “Insolence!” behind his back, he explained to Kuroyukihime, “S-so like, Metatron’s kinda the boss of all the Enem—I mean, Beings in the Unlimited Neutral Field, so she can sound a bit imperious someti—”

  “Not imperious! I am imperial!”

  “Aah, come on! Please be quiet for a sec!”

  “Then first release your hands. How many times must I tell you not to touch me without permission, Silver Crow?!”

  “Pfft…ha-ha…ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…”

  He realized the laughter was Kuroyukihime’s and lifted his head.

  The Black King, Black Lotus, continued to laugh, the slender body of her avatar shaking, and then eventually said in a carefree voice, “Honestly, I really can’t beat you, Haruyuki. Even the Archangel Metatron, who made us shiver from head to toe, is already a friend to you.”

  “Huh? Uh, I don’t know about that.”

  “Who would you call his friend?! I am Crow’s master!”

  “Heh-heh.” Kuroyukihime wiped at the corners of her eyes. “I can’t sit around being afraid, either, hmm? These hands might be nothing more than swords, but unless I push forward without fear of hurting others or being hurt myself, the path will not open up. So then…”

  Nodding firmly, she took a few steps forward.

  “Chiyuri, thank you for the message. I have indeed received the application from Chocolat and her comrades. I would like to set up a meeting venue soon and confirm their ultimate intentions.”

  “Okay. Then I’ll tell them that!” Nodding happily, Chiyuri stepped back to her own mushroom table.

  Haruyuki returned the now-calm Metatron to his shoulder and waited for Kuroyukihime to speak.

  “I haven’t formally explained this before now…” With this as a preface, the Black King started speaking slowly, as though selecting her words carefully. “The name of our Legion, Nega Nebulus, was chosen with the image of a dark nebula in mind, like the Horsehead Nebula in Orion or the Coalsack Nebula in the Crux constellation. The correct word is actually dark nebula, apparently, but that doesn’t have a defined enough color associated with it. That said, however, at the time, I was still in elementary school, and it’s a fact that I held the ambition to paint over the brilliant primary colors in the galaxy of the Accelerated World with darkness.”

  “O
h? And what about now, Sacchi?” Fuko asked, all smiles.

  “Well, it’s not as though I’ve abandoned all ambition.” Kuroyukihime shrugged lightly. “Still, in the beginning, the meaning of the name had a more negative connotation for me. But after the first Nega Nebulus was destroyed because of my recklessness…I learned that a nebula wasn’t simply a black spot in space, but rather a place where matter came together to someday give birth to a new star—a nebula is a so-called cradle of stars. I felt this was deeply ironic when I lost my Legion comrades and all our territory and locked myself away on the local net, but that was the truth. Because in the reborn Nega Nebulus, new comrades come to join one after another and give me the strength to fight on.”

  She looked at each of them in turn before announcing in a resolute voice, “I’d like to take this opportunity to confirm our Legion action policy once again.” The Black King thrust the sword of her right arm out with a cool shakeen.

  “We in Nega Nebulus will confront the Acceleration Research Society and the front that is the White Legion, Oscillatory Universe! Someday, when the time is right, we will attack and take down Minato Ward Area Three in the territory battles, the location of the Eternal Girls’ Academy, Oscillatory headquarters! In that instant, they will lose the right to refuse challengers, and the names of Black Vise and Rust Jigsaw will appear on the matching list. We’ll have Blue Knight confirm that, and then we’ll launch the joint attack by the six Legions. Before we reach that point, we will no doubt face a series of battles fiercer than anything we’ve yet encountered. But I know that we can overcome them. That is all!”

  Unable to contain himself at these rousing words, Haruyuki jumped down to the ground and shouted, “I-I’m gonna give it all I’ve got! No, we’ll all give it everything we’ve got!”

  “Yeah!” Chiyuri and Fuko cried out in response. And although Metatron didn’t say anything, the ring above her head flashed brightly.