kago no yuri

....

Hitomi Higashi was a student at Haruki Senior High, known for her stunning beauty and captivating charm. 

She was the center of attention, and she reveled in the admiration of her classmates. But beneath the surface of her perfect facade, Hitomi was struggling.

She had a deep-seated need for validation, and she found it in the praise of others. She would often sleep with boys in her school, not because she was interested in them, but because she craved the attention and admiration they gave her. 

They would tell her how beautiful she was, how lucky they were to be with her, and Hitomi would lap up the praise like a starving dog.

But as time went on, the boys' words began to change. They would whisper to each other, calling her a slut, a whore, and worse. They would shame her, saying that she was easy, that she was only good for one thing. 

And the girls around her would join in, excluding her from social events, and spreading rumors about her.

Hitomi tried to brush it off, to tell herself that she didn't care what others thought. But the words cut deep, and she began to feel like she was worthless. 

She felt like she was living in a constant state of shame, like she was always walking around with a scarlet letter on her forehead.

As the shame and ridicule continued, Hitomi's mentality began to suffer. She felt empty and hollow, like she was just going through the motions of life without any real purpose. She began to question her own value, wondering if she was more than just a beautiful shell. She started to doubt her own worth, feeling like she was nothing more than a object to be used and discarded.

The depression crept in, slowly at first, but it soon consumed her. Hitomi felt like she was drowning in a sea of despair, like she was trapped in a never-ending nightmare. She would cry herself to sleep at night, feeling like she was completely alone, like no one understood her.

One night, as she walked home from school, Hitomi saw it. The mirror. It was standing in a dark alleyway, its surface reflecting the faint moonlight above. 

The mirror seemed to appear out of nowhere, and Hitomi felt a shiver run down her spine as she approached it. She had never seen anything like it before - it was as if the mirror was alive, pulsing with a dark, otherworldly energy.

As she gazed into the mirror's depths, Hitomi saw a reflection of admiration, of attention, of worship. It showed her a world where she was the center of attention, where everyone adored her and wanted to be her. 

The mirror's power was seductive, and Hitomi was helpless to resist. She felt like she was being pulled into a world of pure bliss, a world where she was the queen and everyone else was just a subject.

For the first time in months, Hitomi felt a sense of hope. She felt like she had finally found a way to escape the shame and the ridicule, to find a sense of purpose and belonging. 

And as she disappeared into the mirror's depths, Hitomi knew that she would never be the same again. She had found a new sense of self, a new sense of worth, and she was determined to make the most of it.

....

Once again, they had trespassed into the intimate recesses of another person's mind, this time Hitomi's. The Kardia Beast's gaze was fixed on them, its drooling a grotesque testament to the twisted pleasure it derived from their suffering. 

As they relived Hitomi's memories, the group's screams echoed through the air, their agony a symphony of pain that seemed to reverberate deep within their very souls.

Akari's sobbing grew louder, her pleas for mercy heart-wrenching. "Please make it stop," she begged, her voice cracking under the weight of her own despair. 

The others were similarly affected, their hearts aching with a pain that seemed to know no bounds. The emotions they experienced were not just their own, but also those of the individual in the memory, a cumulative effect that multiplied their distress indefinitely.

It was as if they were trapped in a never-ending cycle of suffering, each person's pain feeding into the others, creating a chain reaction of anguish that threatened to consume them all. The Kardia Beast's presence seemed to amplify this effect, its dark energy drawing out the deepest, most primal fears and emotions from their very being. 

The group's minds were a maelstrom of torment, their sanity hanging by a thread as they struggled to cope with the overwhelming onslaught of emotions that threatened to tear them asunder.

And then, as if sensing Akari's vulnerability, the Kardia Beast's gaze shifted, its attention fixing on her with an unspeakable hunger. Its eyes, like two voids of darkness, seemed to bore into her very soul, and Akari's sobs faltered as she felt the weight of the beast's malevolent intent. 

The group's collective terror spiked, their hearts racing in unison as they realized that Akari was now the beast's next target, and that she would soon be forced to endure the same brutal invasion of her memories that they had all just suffered.

....

Akari Hana was a delicate soul, a shy and timid girl who bloomed like a flower in the quiet moments of life. She had a loving family and a comfortable home, but her world was shattered by the cruel whispers and taunts of her female classmates.

As she entered her teenage years, Akari became the object of unwanted attention from the boys at school. They would stare at her, make lewd comments, and brush against her in the hallways. 

But it wasn't the boys' attention that hurt Akari the most - it was the jealousy and resentment of the girls.

The girls at school, fueled by their own insecurities and rivalries, began to bully Akari mercilessly. They would mock her clothes, her hair, and her interests, and spread rumors about her supposed "easy" nature. 

They would push her around, trip her in the hallways, and exclude her from social events.

The bullying escalated, and Akari found herself walking home from school in a daze, her mind numb and her heart heavy. 

She felt like she was drowning in a sea of despair, with no lifeline to cling to.

One day, the bullying took a darker turn. Akari was ambushed on her way home from school, and...something happened. Something that left her shattered and broken, her mind reeling with the horror of it all.

As she stumbled through the streets, Akari felt like she was living in a nightmare. She couldn't escape the memories of what had happened, couldn't shake the feeling of being dirty and tainted. 

She felt like she was losing herself, like she was disappearing into a void of darkness and despair.

And then, she saw it. The mirror. It was standing in a quiet alleyway, its surface reflecting the fading light of day like a still pond. 

Akari felt drawn to it, like a moth to a flame, and she stumbled towards it with a sense of inevitability.

As she gazed into the mirror's depths, Akari saw a reflection that was not her own. It was a vision of herself, but shattered and broken, like a flower that had been crushed by the weight of the world. 

The mirror seemed to be calling to her, drawing her in with its dark, otherworldly energy.

Akari's mind was foggy and disconnected, but she felt a sense of recognition, like she was seeing a part of herself that she had been trying to hide. 

She felt a sense of liberation, like she was finally free to let go of the pain and the shame. But it was a distant, detached feeling, like she was observing herself from outside her body.

As she stood there, transfixed by the mirror's dark beauty, Akari felt her consciousness begin to fade. The world around her grew dim and distant, and she felt herself being pulled into the mirror's depths. 

She tried to resist, but it was too late. The mirror's power was too strong, and Akari felt herself being sucked into a vortex of darkness and despair.

And as she disappeared into the mirror's abyss, Akari knew that she was finally free. Free from the pain and the shame, free from the memories that had haunted her for so long. 

.....

The cycle of agony repeated itself, as if the Kardia Beast was determined to exhaust every last shred of their sanity. The group's minds were ravaged by the relentless onslaught of emotions, their thoughts reduced to a jumbled mess of pain and despair. 

The ability to form words, to express their suffering, was lost to them once more, leaving only anguished screams and silent, tortured pleas.

Their vocal cords were frozen, unable to produce even the faintest whisper, as if the beast's dark energy had somehow severed the connection between their brains and their voices. The only sound was the ragged, tortured breathing that escaped their lips, a haunting reminder of the unbearable pain that threatened to consume them whole.

And yet, even this was not enough to satiate the beast's twisted hunger. It turned its attention to Mei, who was writhing in agony, her body contorted in a desperate attempt to escape the emotional torment that ravaged her mind. 

The beast's gaze fixed on her, its eyes burning with an otherworldly intensity, as if it could see into the very depths of her soul.

Mei's eyes, once bright and inquisitive, were now dull and lifeless, her pupils constricted to tiny pinpricks as she struggled to cope with the overwhelming pain. Her skin was slick with sweat, her face twisted into a grimace of anguish, as if she was being flayed alive by the beast's emotional claws. 

The group's collective suffering seemed to amplify Mei's own pain, creating a feedback loop of agony that threatened to destroy them all.

As the beast's attention focused on Mei, the group's minds were flooded with visions of her past, memories that were both familiar and yet, utterly foreign. 

They saw glimpses of her previous life, of laughter and tears, of joy and sorrow, all of which were now twisted and distorted by the beast's dark energy. 

The pain was a living, breathing thing, a creature that fed on their suffering, growing stronger with each passing moment. 

And Mei, poor Mei, was its next victim, forced to endure the unbearable weight of her own memories, now transformed into a instrument of torture by the Kardia Beast's twisted power.

...

Mei Arakawa's life was a delicate balancing act, a fragile facade of perfection that hid a world of pain and despair. 

Behind the mask of the model student, the star of Haruki Senior High's drama club, and the darling of her teachers, Mei was a girl who had been broken by the cruel whims of fate.

Her parents, high-society types who had always valued appearances over affection, had pushed Mei to be the best from a young age. 

They had hired tutors and coaches to help her excel in every aspect of her life, but their constant criticism and pressure had taken a devastating toll on Mei's mental health. 

She had grown up feeling like she was never good enough, like she was just a puppet on strings with her parents pulling the marionette.

As the years went by, Mei's anxiety and depression had spiralled out of control. She had become a shell of her former self, a hollow vessel that was filled with a desperate longing for love and acceptance. 

But no matter how hard she tried, she could never seem to measure up to her parents' expectations. She was always one step behind, always falling short of the perfection that they demanded.

One night, as Mei walked home from school, she felt like she had reached her breaking point. The streets seemed to stretch out before her like a desolate wasteland, and the lights of the city seemed to mock her with their brightness. 

She felt like she was alone in the world, like no one understood her or cared about her struggles.

And then, she saw it. The mirror. It was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, its surface reflecting the neon lights of the city like a dark, still pool. 

Mei felt a shiver run down her spine as she approached it, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. She was drawn to the mirror like a moth to a flame, helpless to resist its pull.

As she gazed into the mirror's depths, Mei saw a reflection that was not her own. It was a vision of herself, but twisted and corrupted, with eyes that seemed to bore into her soul. 

The mirror seemed to be calling to her, drawing her in with its dark, otherworldly energy.

Mei's mind was foggy and disconnected, but she felt a sense of recognition, like she was seeing a part of herself that she had been trying to hide. 

She felt a sense of liberation, like she was finally free to be herself. But it was a distant, detached feeling, like she was observing herself from outside her body.

As she stood there, transfixed by the mirror's dark beauty, Mei felt her consciousness begin to fade. The world around her grew dim and distant, and she felt herself being pulled into the mirror's depths. 

She tried to resist, but it was too late. The mirror's power was too strong, and Mei felt herself being sucked into a vortex of darkness and despair.

And as she disappeared into the mirror's abyss, Mei knew that she was finally free. Free from the expectations of her parents, free from the pressure to be perfect, and free from the pain and despair that had haunted her for so long. 

But it was a freedom that came at a terrible cost, a cost that Mei would only realize when it was too late.

...

The Kardia Beast's gaze finally settled on Kenzo, its last victim, as it prepared to deliver the final blow. The group's minds, already fragile and fractured, were on the brink of complete collapse. 

The cumulative effect of reliving each other's memories, of experiencing the darkest corners of their own psyches, had left them shattered and broken.

Kenzo, once the resourceful and determined boy who had crafted swords to aid them in battle, was now reduced to a mere shell of his former self. 

His eyes, once bright and full of hope, were now dull and vacant, his mind a jumbled mess of pain and despair. He muttered incoherently, his words lost in a sea of madness, as he stumbled and fell to the ground.

The others were no better, their minds similarly shattered by the beast's relentless assault. They lay scattered around Kenzo, their bodies broken and twisted, their minds lost in a world of agony and terror. 

The Kardia Beast's power had reduced them to mere husks, empty vessels devoid of hope or sanity.

As the beast prepared to deliver the final blow, the air was heavy with anticipation. The group's minds, already on the brink of collapse, were poised to shatter completely, leaving them forever lost in a world of madness and despair. 

The Kardia Beast's twisted power had brought them to the edge of the abyss, and now, with one final push, it would send them tumbling into the depths of insanity.

The beast's gaze seemed to bore into Kenzo's very soul, its eyes burning with an otherworldly intensity. Kenzo's mind, already fragile and fractured, was on the verge of complete collapse. 

One more memory, one more wave of pain, and it would be over. The Kardia Beast's power would consume him completely, leaving him a mindless, shattered husk, forever lost in a world of agony and terror.

........

Kenzo Mori was born into a world of privilege and expectation. As the son of a wealthy and influential family in Tokyo's high society, he was groomed from a young age to take over the family business and carry on the Mori legacy.

But beneath the surface of his confident elegance, Kenzo was suffocating under the weight of his family's expectations. His father, a ruthless and cunning businessman, demanded nothing but perfection from his son. Kenzo was expected to excel in every aspect of his life, from his studies to his social connections to his physical appearance.

As a result, Kenzo grew up feeling like he was living in a constant state of performance. He was always "on," always playing the role of the perfect son and heir. But deep down, he was desperate to break free from the constraints of his life and forge his own path.

Despite his polished exterior, Kenzo was secretly rebelling against the legacy that had been thrust upon him. He longed to pursue his own passions and interests, to make his own mistakes and learn from them. But every time he tried to assert his independence, his father's disapproval was swift and merciless.

One day, Kenzo reached his breaking point. He had been forced to attend a high-society party, to mingle with the cream of Tokyo's elite and make connections that would further his family's interests. But as he stood there, smiling and laughing and pretending to be someone he wasn't, Kenzo felt like he was losing himself.

He excused himself from the party and stepped out into the night air, feeling the cool breeze on his face and the weight of his family's expectations bearing down on him. And that's when he saw it - the mirror, standing in the shadows like a dark and mysterious presence.

As Kenzo approached the mirror, he felt a sense of trepidation. But he also felt a sense of curiosity, a sense that this might be the key to unlocking the secrets of his own identity. He gazed into the mirror's depths, and what he saw there changed him forever.

The mirror showed him a reflection of himself, but not the self he presented to the world. It showed him a self that was flawed and vulnerable, a self that was struggling to break free from the constraints of his life. And in that moment, Kenzo knew that he had a choice to make. He could continue to live the life that his family had laid out for him, or he could take a chance and forge his own path.

As Kenzo stood there, frozen in indecision, the mirror seemed to be calling to him. It was offering him a way out, a way to escape the weight of his family's legacy and find his true self.

.........

The Dark prum's twisted goal had finally been achieved. The group's minds were shattered, their hearts aching with a pain that seemed to worsen with each passing moment. 

The monster's relentless assault on their psyches had left them broken and vulnerable, their kardia magia now a rich and potent elixir that would satisfy the beast's dark hunger.

As the creature prepared to feast on its prey, it noticed something peculiar. Akari's hands, despite being limp and lifeless, were glowing with a soft, ethereal light. 

The beast's curiosity was piqued, its twisted mind wondering if this was a sign that its prey was not yet fully ripe for consumption.

The creature's gaze fixed on Akari's glowing hands, its eyes narrowing as it attempted to understand the significance of this phenomenon. 

Was it a residual effect of the group's kardia magia, a final spark of resistance that refused to be extinguished? Or was it something more, a hidden reserve of power that could potentially threaten the beast's dominance?

The Kardia Beast's hesitation was a fleeting moment of uncertainty, a brief pause in its otherwise relentless pursuit of destruction. 

But it was enough to give the group a glimmer of hope, a chance to rally their shattered minds and summon a final, desperate bid for survival.

As the creature continued to regard Akari's glowing hands, its twisted mind began to wonder if it had underestimated its prey. 

Were they more resilient than it had initially thought? Did they possess a hidden strength that could be used against it? The beast's doubts were a faint whisper in the darkness, but they were enough to make it pause, to make it consider the possibility that its prey might not be as helpless as it seemed.