Chapter Text
Even after Black Swan has left the ranger’s memories, she still found herself being stuck in the endless darkness, hearing incomprehensible voices that cried in agony at the back of her head, screaming for help while they slowly submerged into nothingness. As much as she tried to escape from that endless pit of hell, her struggles remained futile, as she kept sinking with those voices around her. She felt every sense of hers getting stripped away, gradually losing herself and fading into nothingness. She tried to scream, but even with a relentless amount of attempts, her fully drained body could not make out a sound, leaving her opened mouth silent, unable to call for help. While her body gave up on trying to evade the fate of disappearing into the abyss, she once again heard the ranger’s voice coming from the top of the abyss, though her brain was unable to register the contents she spoked. Once she tried to reach towards the voice, she jolted awake from the nightmare, sweat rising all over her body. She felt her body lying on a soft surface, eyes staring at a ceiling that she is foreign to. Just as she realised that she had absolutely no idea where she currently is, she hastily sat up while a sense of panic was flowing through her body, scanning the environment she was in. As her head turned to the side of the bed where she was somehow sleeping in, she saw a woman sitting on a chair, looking back at her with a concerned expression.
“Are you okay?” The woman asked with worry in her only visible eye as she tried to check on Black Swan’s wellbeing. As soon as she recognised the owner of the face that spoke to her, her originally anxious face twisted into a horrified one, her mind rewinding to the scene where she saw a figure in the raining darkness, who looked very similar to the person she was facing.
“You fainted during our dance last night so I brought you to my room in the hotel as I couldn’t think of another option.” She explained as soon as she saw the fear written on Black Swan’s face in an attempt to calm her down.
“Are you feeling unwell? You’re sweating a lot.” The ranger spoked again, this time with a more worried tone due to the lack of response. Black Swan’s muscles tensed when the ranger rose up from her chair and shortened the distance between them, extending her hand in an attempt to provide comfort. The face approaching made her recall the events in the memory, her hands shook in fear once she remembered the red empty eyes that stared down at her as she sank into the endless abyss. She saw her in the figure of the ranger, the purple hair faded into whiteness and the orb of her eye turning into the distinctive red hue, making her mind entering a panicked state, her ears could only hear the rapid beating of her heart.
“Stay away from me.” Black Swan managed to choke out while she scrambled away from the person coming towards her, fearing that she was trying to hurt her by being closer to her. The woman seemed to understand what Black Swan was so scared of and stopped her advances, dropping her hand back to her side.
“You should be hungry. You were asleep for the whole morning. I’ll go buy you some food if it’s fine. Anything particular you want?” The purple haired ranger once again asked, trying to lead the conversation into a different direction. Black Swan remained silent, leaving the question lingering in the air unanswered. A minute passed with them staring at each other’s eyes, both trying to figure out the other’s next action. As tension and awkwardness grew thicker by every second, the woman standing seemed like she could no longer stand the suffocating atmosphere, breaking away from the staring contest that the both of them didn’t know was happening.
“I will go on a short trip to buy us food. I will be back soon.” The ranger walked away in a quick pace, opening the door of the room in a swift motion and exited the room that was filled with an unpleasant atmosphere. Black Swan tried to ease the rapidly beating heart as she heard the door close shut, collecting her composure for a clearer mind so that she could actually think rationally. She calmed down slightly, then went to carefully look towards the door to make sure the ranger left, making her the only one in the room, then went to inspect the details in the room that she was currently in. The room looked like a typical hotel guest room and from looking at the view from the window, Black Swan deduced that she was probably in a hotel room in the Reverie by spotting the busy roads and people holding bottles of Soul Glad. She felt a slight sense of comfort knowing where her location was, glad that the ranger didn’t lie to her and brought her into a random place in the middle of the galaxy. She continued looking around the not so big room, examining the belongings the ranger placed across the room. There weren't really a lot of personal objects, just a medium sized suitcase, and a sword that looked very familiar leaning against the wall opposite of her. She remembered that sword appearing in the ranger’s memory, where the ranger looking person was standing in the middle of the endless horizons of water, holding that sword but without its sheath. The crimson blade was exposed from its cover, bare in the air with red lightning emitting from it, causing an eerie feeling to people who looked at it. Well shit, now that I saw it unsheathed, guess I’m not making it out alive. She joked to herself as she remembered the conversation she had with Kafka. She really was doomed was she?
She wondered just who exactly is the ranger as she stared at the ominous sword, trying to form a connection with the disordered memory to the seemingly tranquil ranger. Where did the memory occur? Why were people screaming? Who was that white haired woman? Is she connected to the ranger? Is she actually a ranger? Is her name even Acheron? Endless number of questions kept flooding into the memokeepers mind, and without surprise, she got answers to none of the questions. As she tried to make sense of what happened for the previous hours in an attempt to answer those mysteries, she turned her head towards the window, gazing at the forever busy streets of Penacony to seek a glimpse of peace to ease her troubled mind. She sighed to herself as she contemplated to herself on how she got into this situation. This is why I am an informant and not a detective.
Acheron finally found her way to a food stall while getting lost in the streets at least three times, heading near the small stall to buy some food for the stranger that was in her room. She stood in front of the food stall to look at the menu with absolutely no idea what to order, not knowing what the stranger would like to eat since she ignored her question when she asked her. She originally thought of buying her an Alfalfa Salad since its the first thing she saw on the list of food, but she changed her mind when she thought of it being not enough for someone’s lunch due to it just being greens and leaves, so she settled with a cosmic fried rice and a bottle of Scalegorge Spring Water for her, at least it actually makes people full.
After several minutes of waiting for the cook to finish her order, she took a plastic bag that was handed to her which contained a box of rice and a bottle and went back to the direction she came from, in hopes of not getting lost again on the way back to the Reverie. On her way back, she saw another stall selling a very familiar fruit that she was starting to crave for as soon as she saw it. She approached the stall to check out the pinkish fruits, her hands went to reach for one in a basket full of them so that she could bring the fruit closer to inspect it. She checked the fuzzy skin of the fruit, spotting if there’s any signs of it being rotten. It took her a while to assess the condition of several fruits in the basket but finally she grabbed two that passed her inspection, satisfied with the quality of the two she picked. She went to pay the owner for the two new found treasures, deciding to eat one for her lunch and saving the other for the future. The stall owner shined a wide smile at Acheron when she paid for her purchase, also giving her a pack of snacks that she had no idea what it’s contents were before she left the stall. She walked away pleased, putting away the things she got just now into her inner pocket and continued to try finding her way back to the hotel, this time praying to the Aeons that her bad sense of direction won’t screw her up again.
When Black Swan heard the sound of the door unlocking, she quickly turned to the direction of the sound, putting her guard up to whoever entered the room.
“I’m back. Sorry it took a while, I struggled to find my way back.” The ranger spoke as she entered the room with a box and a bottle in her hand.
“I got you cosmic fried rice and a bottle of spring water. I didn’t know what to get you as you didn’t answer me so uh, I got something in hopes of replenishing your energy.” She sheepishly said as she handed her the bag she got in her hand. Black Swan received it with hesitation and went to examine the things she was handed with. She looked at the label of the bottle which had “Scalegore Spring Water” written in caps, in hopes to attract attention for sales. She winced as she recognised the label, remembering the huge amounts of calories inside the bottled water. How can tasteless water have that much calories?
“Is there something with the brand of the water? I thought it's just regular water so I ordered it.” The woman seemed to notice Black Swan’s unpleasant reaction towards the bottled water, worried that she unawarely bought something she didn’t like.
“No it is water, but Scalegore Spring Water is famous for its high calorie content in the water. I don’t feel like taking so many calories from just a bottle of water.” She replied to the anxious woman while fidgeting with the water, unable to decide whether she should just drop her concerns and drink it.
“I’m sorry, I don’t really know much about bottled water here. I can go buy other brands if you want. I think I saw a vending machine in the hotel lobby on my way back here.” Acheron turned her heels back to the door to buy another bottle of water for Black Swan, but soon got stopped by her words.
“No, it's fine. My body can handle a few more calories, no need to go out again just for a bottle of water.” She hurriedly said, not wanting to cause the ranger anymore trouble just for a mere water. The ranger retracted her steps and went back to the spot she was in. Black Swan turned open the sealed cap of the bottle, taking a sip to moisten her dried up mouth caused by the long sleep. She then turned her attention to the box in the bag and reluctantly opened the cover. She saw a normal looking fried rice that was cooked to golden brown in the container, with green peas and carrots in it just like what all cosmic fried rice looks like, nothing special. She took a spoon out of the bag and started to dig into the rice. Even though it tasted like any other fried rice, Black Swan felt like it tasted better than usual, maybe due to the fact that she did not eat any food for quite some time, making her body appreciate the taste of the plain fried rice. After several spoonfuls of rice, she stopped herself from indulging in her lunch any further to force herself to focus on the major problem, who was still standing next to the bed, looking at her devouring the food she bought for her.
“Who are you?” Black Swan asked with a cautious tone in her voice, once again putting her guard up against the woman who bought her the food that she totally did not eat half of it in under ten spoons.
“My name is Acheron. I think you already know that, memokeeper.” Black Swan froze as she heard her identity being revealed, her mind spiralling into panic as to figure out how she knew her true identity.
“How did you-”
“During our encounter, I can feel you entering my memory. There’s only a small amount of people who are capable of doing that, and I concluded that you’re a memokeeper trying to seek something out from my memories. Seeing the reaction you gave Miss memokeeper, it seems that my conclusion wasn’t wrong.” Acheron cut her question short, already knowing what she was going to say. Black Swan had never encountered a target who was able to sense her going into their memories and she had never thought of that being possible, not until this target. Acheron had successfully managed to overfill Black Swan’s mind with more questions than she originally had already.
“Who are you?” She asked again, this time with a firmer tone.
“I am an Emanator of Nihility.” Acheron replied plainly, making it seemed like she did not just say something that stunned Black Swan entirely.
“That’s impossible. IX never set their gaze onto anyone, let alone granting people access to the power of nihility.” She stated in complete disbelief, trying to convince herself that the information Acheron provided just now is just a lie trying to deceive her. She was a Galaxy Ranger a minute ago and it jumped to a literal emanator that shouldn’t be existing. Acheron if you want to fool me make up a better story. Do I look that stupid to her?
“That’s what I thought before, until I somehow became one.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You saw it happen though, didn't you?” Acheron replied to her with a question that she was unclear of what it meant.
“What do you mean?” Black Swan asked back in perplexity, trying to figure out where she was bringing the conversation to.
“You saw the memory. The memory that countless people fade away from existence in the black hole. The memory that almost pulled you into the void of nothingness, centimetres away from engulfing you into nihility until I brought you back from reality.” Acheron explained, trying to make her recall the events that happened last evening.
“That was… a black hole?”
“The black hole that appeared along with IX’s appearance. It pulled my homeworld into the shadow of nihility, wiping the entire civilisation from the galaxy. But somehow, I was able to remain between the border of existence and nothingness, with the power of nihility entering my mind. I saw every single one of the people who fell into the black hole sinking deep into the abyss, while I could only watch them drown on the other side of the river.” The Emanator spoke monotonously. As much as she tried to conceal her emotions, Black Swan can still notice her purple eye showing a glint of sadness from recalling her past.
“That woman in white hair is you?” She spotted great similarities between the two women, but with the colour of their appearance different. She preferred facing the one in front of her though, as the purple eyes gave off a less eerie feeling in contrast to the crimson red.
“Yes, that was me. The nihility ate away my colour, leaving only a strand red.” Black Swan’s gaze fell on the hair that was currently purple in shade, spotting some on her bangs slightly tainted with white.
“Why do you look different from the memory now?”
“I realised the power of nihility started to erase me from the inside, gradually consuming my mind and making my body a hollow shell, so I sealed most of it inside my sword. With a decreased amount of nihility in me, I was able to regain my previous appearance.” She answered, briefly glancing at the sword that was near the wall next to her.
“As the nihility in my system has not been completely eradicated, some parts could not be reversed.” She explained due to her realising the stare of Black Swan at her hair.
“That doesn’t explain why you impersonated a Galaxy Ranger to participate in the ball. What is your purpose in following Duke Inferno? Are you working for him?” Black Swan questioned Acheron in hopes of her revealing her intentions, making sure she is not a possible threat to Penacony like what Kafka stated her to be.
“No, I am not interested in his ideals of setting the world on fire. I do not seek world damnation, unlike him.” Acheron immediately defended herself from the accusation of her colliding with the Duke, stopping Black Swan in her tracks from associating her with him.
“I’m tailing him because after trying to find IX for a long period of time, one day when I was travelling on a foreign planet, I overheard him talking about planning something against IX. I thought he would know their location so I followed him to Penacony, using the identity as a ranger so I could enter the ball. I didn’t know that he came for a different purpose and did not join the grand ball, now I lost track of him and my leads to IX.”
“Why would you want to know the whereabouts of the Aeon of Nihility?”
The woman who was still sitting on the bed wondered, bewildered on why the emanator would want to go find the Aeon that she got her powers from.
“I want to kill IX.” Black Swan has never heard someone say something that absurd with such a calm demeanour, making her feel dumbfounded from the sentence that came out of Acheron’s mouth.
“What? That is not possible. No one has ever killed an Aeon before. The strength of us mortals can never rival against them.”
“It does not matter. They killed everyone in my homeworld. They destroyed countless worlds and the number is increasing every second. I will find them and kill them with my blade, severing my ties with them and avenging the people in my world, even if it will cause my life.” Acheron tightly clenched her fist as she recalled the cries of help from her friends who sank in the endless pit in front of her one by one, while she helplessly watched them succumb into the darkness. Black Swan could feel the resentment brewing inside her even from a distance, sensing her unwavering resolve. From that reaction, Black Swan did not feel that Acheron was trying to make up a story, as the emotion she showed was too strong to be fake. Acheron quickly changed her expression back to a neutral one when she realised she had let too much of her feelings out, fearing that she might have vent too much anger out to the stranger in front of her.
“I apologise for dumping my anger from the past at you. That was inappropriate of me.” She softly uttered, her head lowered slightly and her gaze fell onto the floor. She immediately relaxed her hand as soon as she noticed the firm grip of her fist which made her knuckles white, letting go off the rage she set during the recall of her past.
“I should be the one apologising. Sorry for bringing up your past, I just wanted to know your purpose in Penacony, didn’t know it would bring up old wounds.” The words made Acheron look up from the floor, once again looking directly at Black Swan’s sunset coloured eyes.
“It’s fine, you didn’t know. I admit that I was quite suspicious. Your actions are understandable. ” She once again returned to her previous mannerism, showing that hollow face like before. Even with Acheron’s reassurance, Black Swan still felt responsible for bringing up her past traumas, revealing her old scars like it was nothing.
“I would also like to apologise for the encounter we had last night.” Acheron continued the apologising spree, earning a confused glance from Black Swan for her asking forgiveness for the second time in a span of a minute.
“If I hadn't let you enter my memories, you wouldn’t have seen it and made you that frightened. I should have acted when you entered my memory.” The sight of Black Swan’s deeply horrified eyes flashed across her brain, making her move her pupils in a different direction, so she wouldn’t have to look into those eyes that once showed a sense of horror because of her, as she felt regretful of what her memories have done to her.
“I was the one who entered without your consent. You don’t have to apologise for my actions backfiring at me.” Black Swan fiddled with the spoon in her hand, abashed from thinking about what happened last night. She intruded into her target’s privacy, got traumatised by it and fainted in her arms. Now the target was being apologetic for her own actions. How could it be any worse?
“Why are you telling me all of this information?”
“Because you asked?” Acheron replied with a slight confusion towards the question asked by Black Swan.
“No, I mean, why did you willingly answer all my questions? I am still a complete stranger after all.” She quickly rephrased her question, which made Acheron understand where the question is coming from. “What I asked was quite… sensitive.”
“I feel like I have the responsibility to clear up any confusion about my purpose here in Penacony. I do not have ill intentions and I am here for my own personal pursuit. If replying to those questions are able to clear up the suspicions of my appearance, I will gladly oblige.” Acheron’s straightforwardness in the answer was slightly unexpected for Black Swan, leaving her at a loss for words.
As the atmosphere once again fell into an awkward state, Black Swan decided to cut her thoughts short to save herself from further embarrassment and continued to devour her halfway eaten food, preventing another apology or an awkward conversation from happening between them. Acheron was able to observe her desire to end the conversation, so she let her continue her meal in peace. To not let herself uncomfortably wait Black Swan finish her meal by just standing there, she pulled out a pinkish object from her pocket, brought it up to her mouth and went for a bite. She showed a pleasant smile as she savoured the taste of the fruit, tasting the sweetness emerging from the flesh. Black Swan looked at her questionably as Acheron went for another bite, her smile widened from the distinct sweetness. She has never seen someone eat a peach with such an amount of joyness before, gazing at the smile that she wouldn't have thought that she would see such a smile on her stoic face.
It took Black Swan a while to finish her remaining food and the bottled water with a ridiculous amount of calories, but she finished it either way. She got up from the bed she was sitting on, heading towards the door to stop disturbing the purple haired woman any further. She has got the information she was here for and didn’t want to cause any more trouble for Acheron.
“I will be on my way now. Sorry for the mess I made and those questions I asked.” She reached into her pockets to get some credits for the meal she ate, not wanting to use the stranger’s money.
“Here’s 5000 credits. Is it enough?” Black Swan asked while handing her the credits to Acheron. Acheron nodded and took the money, but still looked like she had something in mind.
“Miss memokeeper, I would like to ask how much it will cost for your service.” The unexpected question made Black Swan pause in her place, turning back into the room to face the woman who asked the question.
“May I ask why you are interested?”
“I lost track of Duke Inferno and I am not familiar with Penacony. I was thinking of hiring an informant, helping me locate him or possibly IX themselves. Since we both are now kind of acquainted, I was wondering if you are willing to accept my commission.” Even with Black Swan’s rational mind screaming at her to not take the job from the target that she just met last night, some part of her mind seemed to be fascinated by the emanator, with something in her brain urging her to take it.
“I’ll take it. Don’t worry about the cost, Miss Acheron. Satisfying my curiosity is already a decent payment. Not many people have piqued my interest for a long time.” I really hope that I didn’t just dig my own grave here.
Acheron showed a smile on her lips after hearing her answer. Black Swan already had that smile engraved in her brain, not wanting to let the rare sight be lost.
“Calling you memokeeper in public seems inappropriate. Do you mind disclosing your name?” Black Swan turned the doorknob to open the door out of the room. Before she stepped out, she turned back to reply to the question Acheron asked her, having a warm smile on her face.
“Black Swan. My name is Black Swan.”
Black Swan. An extraordinary name indeed.
“I will be looking forward to the partnership between us, Miss Black Swan.”