Nene was currently walking through the pale undergrowth, swatting aside vines that looked more like high-tension cables.

  With every step, she pinched the exposed skin of her torso.

  Who knew… maybe all of this really was a dream?

  But, as expected, it wasn’t.

  No matter how deeply she dug the new bck cws she had developed into her skin, she didn’t wake up.

  The whole situation overwhelmed her. She couldn’t understand what was happening.

  Why her?

  What had she done in her miserable life to deserve such a cruel fate? Abandoned—and the cherry on top… possessed by an Ethereal being?

  “So what am I supposed to be now… Sahara?” Nene whispered.

  Sahara. That was the name Nene had decided to give to the Ethereal that now lived inside her.

  The reason? Her real name was impossible to pronounce with a human tongue and throat.

  At first she refused, but Sahara herself eventually decided that Nene should give her a name to make communication easier.

  Sahara. That was the name Nene had always wanted for herself.

  In fact, once she had saved enough money, she had pnned to change her name to it… now she ughed bitterly at that childish thought.

  She would give anything to return to the normal world. Who the hell cared about having a strange name?

  “I don’t know. And I don’t care. We’re alive, so let’s keep it that way.”

  And how exactly are we supposed to do that…? Nene thought as she kept pushing vines and pale brush out of her path.

  “I mean we need to hide. Somewhere find you can take shelter.”

  Nene frowned as she advanced cautiously.

  The way the voice had responded almost sounded like…

  “…D-Don’t tell me you can read my m-mind…”

  “Duh. I’m inside that head of yours,” Sahara replied dryly. “What did you expect? Besides, how do you think I learned to speak human your nguage?”

  “I-I see… goodbye privacy… and you made a mi-mistake...”

  “ENOUGH, HUMAN NENE! I SAID FIND SHELTER!”

  The sudden shout made Nene shrink in on herself—but she obeyed.

  “Tell me… what is this pce? We’re not in the Rift anymore, are we?”

  Nene asked while clearing bushes from her path.

  “No. This is the Negative Zone; more specifically we’re in the… hmm. How do I say this in your nguage? Pins? Let’s use that term.”

  The environment Sahara had called the Negative Zone was… strange. It stretched across wide sections separated by gentle drops, simir to the floors of a Rift, only with an even more oppressive feeling of confinement. The ground was metallic, white, with irregur veins that looked like crystalline roots. From it sprouted bushes made of living circuits, translucent leaves, and organic weeds that pulsed slowly, as if breathing.

  All of this information reached Nene’s mind in the form of images. The sudden flood nearly overloaded her poor brain, almost making her colpse to the ground.

  “H-How did you do that?”

  “Does it matter? What matters is this,” Sahara said while Nene carefully pushed aside another bush of cables and dark sap. “We’re in danger. We need to stay alert.”

  “R-Right… even I can tell I’m not strolling through a field of flowers,” Nene replied nervously. “But a little more information wouldn’t hurt…”

  “In the Pins live the Parasites. To make it easier for your little human brain to understand, those Parasites are what your people call Rank E Ethereals… or at least, that’s what they used to be.”

  “U-Used to be…?”

  Sahara’s tone changed.

  It became deeper. Heavier.

  Nene felt a chill run down her spine.

  “Careful. That thing you’re about to touch is going to rip your arm off.”

  “Huh?”

  Before she could process the warning, the grayish leaves in front of her split open like jaws, revealing rows of crystalline, pink, razor-sharp teeth. Nene yanked her hand back instantly.

  The pnt-creature thrashed violently, snapping its jaws in the air, frustrated that it had failed to catch human flesh.

  “W-What the hell?!”

  “Seriously… even after you yourself said this wasn’t a flower field…” Sahara scoffed. “Though I admit that distracting you was partly my fault for. That’s a Parasite. They’re cowards—they only attack by surprise.”

  Nene’s face went pale as she imagined what would have happened if she had reacted a second ter.

  “Rex. That pathetic pnt won’t move now. So just kill it and keep—HEY! WHERE ARE WE RUNNING?!”

  Sahara shouted inside Nene’s mind when she realized they were sprinting in the opposite direction from where they were supposed to go.

  She couldn’t understand why the human had started running so desperately when she had already expined the creature was weak.

  “STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

  “S-Sorry!” Nene shouted without stopping. “I don’t want to fight anything here! It’s terrifying! If I at least had the daggers Linx gave me… but I don’t… I don’t have anything…”

  And it was true.

  She had no weapons. No equipment. No one.

  “Ah… what an idiot the human I fused with turned out to be,” Sahara muttered with contempt. “Listen, human Nene. We’re linked. You can use my abilities. They’re not what they used to be, I admit, but they should be enough. Now go back and kill that thing. Even if it’s low-quality food, it can—”

  “F-FOOD?!” Nene shrieked, stopping dead in her tracks. “You don’t expect me to eat that, do you?! No! And besides… what do you mean I can use your abilities?”

  “…You’re a nuisance. We need to eat. And in case you didn’t think about it—though I know you didn’t— there’s no human food here. So we must consume Ethereal beings. Otherwise, enjoy the little time we have left before starving to death.”

  Nene’s stomach twisted violently. The idea made her nauseous.

  “T-That’s… that’s disgusting… and d-dangerous.”

  “Tell me, are all humans this whiny, or is it just you? That man with the big sword didn’t seem so cowardly. Anyway, I’m going to check something…”

  “That… was a low blow…”

  “…Eh. Wait… A.K.H!”

  “W-What’s wrong…?”

  “I didn’t expect that,” Sahara said irritably. “Powerless, losing my core left me almost. Even more than I thought. I can only feel my Resonance inside you. The rest… is puff!”

  She clicked her nonexistent tongue in annoyance.

  “Try using—”

  “WAIT!” Nene shouted. “Give me a second! I can’t deal with all this!”

  The world felt like it was colpsing around her.

  Betrayal.

  Fusion.

  Monsters.

  Hunger.

  At the start of this whole situation, Nene had decided to simply go along with it. Let her body be dragged along by the circumstances so she wouldn’t have to think about how complicated it all was.

  But now…

  It was impossible to avoid.

  Too much was happening at the same time. It felt as though her brain was bleeding just trying to keep up.

  What did Sahara mean by saying she had to eat an Ethereal being?

  Was that even possible for a human?

  And the thought that terrified her most…

  If she did it and actually managed to eat one… would she still be human?

  Then a sound echoed in the distance.

  Nene’s heart froze.

  “W-What was th—”

  She didn’t finish the sentence.

  On one of the twisted trees, a shapeless creature slid downward—a white slug the size of a child, covered in blue spots, dripping a bluish liquid that released faint vapor.

  The way that thing twisted as it descended the tree was sickening. Its body infted and defted like a balloon. With every movement came a wet sound, like skin tearing apart.

  “Another Parasite,” Sahara said. “Good opportunity. Use my Resonance.”

  The creature dropped from the tree to the ground, nding like a lump of lifeless flesh.

  Nene stood frozen, unable to react.

  Until—

  “Down, idiot!”

  “Huh?”

  A stream of acid hissed through the air. Nene threw herself to the ground, rolling clumsily. The acid spshed behind her, corroding the white metal floor.

  She jumped up and ran.

  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GO BACK! AND WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!”

  She couldn’t finish.

  Nene tripped over a vine and fell forward. Her face smmed against the metallic ground with a dull crack.

  “A.K.H! Do you have brain damage or what’s wrong with you? Get up!”

  “I-I can’t…”

  “Seriously? Are you that pathetic?” Sahara spat. “Disgusting. If I had known you were like this, instead of giving you a new life, I would’ve crushed your skull.”

  Nene felt a knot form in her throat.

  She knew it was true that she was useless, but still…

  “Are you so useless you can’t even defend yourself?”

  Nene wanted to argue back. It didn’t seem fair to be treated like that—especially when she had never asked to be thrown into a situation this complicated.

  All she had ever wanted was to build a simpler life.

  But no. All she got was this shitty fate.

  “You are useless. That’s your nature, Human Nene.”

  “Stop…” Nene whispered.

  “…Or rather, it was your nature before,” Sahara continued. “Now I am you. And you are me.”

  “…Huh?”

  “What scares you to do, I can do. If you feel weak, then don’t trust yourself. Trust me—trust my power, which is now yours. No longer carrying just your life You are, but mine as well.”

  The slug was getting closer, dragging itself forward.

  “Now tell me,” Sahara roared. “Are you going to keep crying, or are you going to fight to live? Because I’d rather die fighting! What about you? Get up! That disgusting slug is coming!”

  Nene stood.

  She wiped her tears with the torn sleeve of her suit.

  She took a deep breath.

  “…Alright.”

  She closed her eyes and tried to invoke the Resonance they now shared.

  [Crystallization]

  The pain was immediate.

  She felt her blood being ripped from her veins, emerging through her skin with a burning, unnatural sensation. A groan escaped her lips.

  When it ended, a crude red gauntlet rested on her hand, its fingers ending in sharp points.

  That was all.

  Perhaps it was the result of losing the core. Perhaps Sahara’s Resonance had weakened.

  Fear returned.

  “So now… what do I do?”

  The question was a plea.

  But in her voice, for the first time, there was also determination.

  Ouro