DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fate/Extra or Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS. Both are products of Nasu and Konami respectively. Any relation to characters, living or dead, are purely coincidental.

Earth scientists have hypothesized so-called 'parallel worlds,' other versions of Earth and its surroundings, expanding indefinitely like mirrored relfections. If true, that would mean that Earth has not only one future, but many. In other words...

Think of it like this. The 'you' that you are aware of exists somewhere upon this timeline.

It might sound unreal. Humans aren't equipped to perceive, let alone traverse, the 'wall between worlds.' But what if I put it in another way? Think of these parallel worlds as other possibilities.

Imagine what you might have been in your life. Think of the connections that were cut off and thrown away. Options you see now, in retrospect, that you would never have considered at the time. Picture how your life today might be different had those 'what-ifs' come to pass. All those variant futures, in everyone's lives, make up the vast array of parallel worlds.

Your actions, those of the you in this present moment on this particular timeline, can change the world in any number of ways. That proves such possibilities are alive, and that your world exists on the 'proper axis.'

Conversely, a world where the future cannot be changed, regardless of your chances, can have no parallel worlds. Such a world is nothing but a dead end, solitary and singular, with a past as immutable as its future.

This is a necessary evil, a byproduct of the way parallel worlds are structured together. After all, a world where humanity made radical different choices would bear very little resemblance to the world you know.

Some worlds may have crumbled by making all of the worst choices. Others may have made all the right ones, and rocketed ahead, perhaps too far ahead. In either case, that world can no longer be said to resemble ours, and once a world moves out of sync, it is no longer 'parallel.'

"Why would those worlds become solitary," you ask? "Could the people in those worlds not still make different choices?"

Unfortunately, no. This dimension contains a finite amount of energy, and has none to spare for creating new worlds from the worlds gone so far astray.

If parallel worlds continued to increase in this manner, their number would eventually exceed the capacity of this dimension. Parallel worlds must exist, but in a manageable quantity. This solar system would collapse within 100 years if the parallel worlds expanded without limits.

Seeing as how we do, in fact, live and multiply, the solar system is clearly not oversaturated with possibilities at this time. This dimension could well sustain existence for the next 100,000,000 years.

The system works thusly: At regular intervals, the dimension takes stock of the possibilities it contains, and only allows certain outcomes, those that would not cause undue difficulty in managing the next generation, to remain. As for the unneeded parallel worlds, the system closes off their futures.

Specifically, every 100 years, it calculates how many worlds will last another 100 years, and supports those worlds only. Have you heard of the Law of the Conversation of Mass? This could be called the Law of Conservation of Events.

And so, the civilizations in these numerous parallel worlds line up with one another. Think of it all as a giant tree. Only the trunk at the center can grow tall. The branches may bear fruit, but eventually, they reach their limit, and fall without reaching the future.

You understand, yes? There are no parallel world for a world that has evolved too fast or crumbled too quickly. Such worlds are merely dead ends whose outcomes are predetermined.

And so, there is a set time frame in which these branches are trimmed, extra possibilities are removed, and future histories, once fluid, turn to stone. The mages of your old world called this time frame 'the Foundation of Humanity."

Such laws apply to the Moon Cell as well. The Moon Cell is a self-updating observatory, which continues to record every incident and possibility on Earth. You could say it makes the same observations on parallel worlds.

In any case, this Foundation of Humanity governs the Moon just as it does the Earth, tracking the various worlds and determining where their futures come to an end.

Once one passes that event horizon, there is no turning back, nor turning aside. Any lingering 'ifs' become 'might-have-beens.'

It is the work of a great invisible hand...it would be accurate to say it is a god's invisible hammer. One might call this point in time 'the Quantum Timelock,' the event compilation set by an absolute observer.

The name of such an observer is, of course, "SERAPH." However, SERAPH is far more than a simple observer. It is, perhaps, the closest one could have gotten to seen a true, artificial World. Composed purely of data, numbers, algorithms. Given shape by the numerous streams of information from past, present and future.

Where am I going with this, you may ask.

What I am about to show you is a recording of events that transpired recently within the Moon Cell. One of the many, many possibilities that could have become a reality.

[Beginning Playback…]

Fate/VRAINS

At first, it felt like I was falling into a deep ocean.

My clothes were perfectly fine - clean and crisp as they always were whenever I woke up, yet the sensation I felt as I fell and fell deeper into an unknown abyss was akin to that of sinking, as if a great weight was placed upon me.

I made no attempts to stop it, however. I had long since made peace with this fate.

Even now, I felt it. My digits were losing feeling. My arms no longer began to feel so heavy. My body was beginning to feel weightless, as if it were floating gently. Around me were aquamarine shards, slowly rising towards what looked to be a murky water surface, a light blotched out.

Perhaps one might call this sensation 'death.'

Death in the Moon Cell equals deletion. One's mind and soul is converted into sprites and polygons and bits of spiritual bits of information - spiritrons. Here, in the Moon Cell, one creates an Avatar, composed of it, and acting as their heart is a "core." One's real body lies elsewhere, untouched by what transpires in the Moon Cell. Whatever damage you feel is merely the signals in your brain, simulating what it feels to take such damage.

If one sustains damage, the spiritrons making up your virtual body are damaged as well. That can be repaired.

A "core" cannot. Whatever damage is done is permanent.

I knew this well, even though I remembered nothing else. My earliest memories are the same routine I do everyday of every week - wake up, go to school, attend class, listen to lecture, eat, do homework, return home and sleep, waiting for the next day to begin. This, perhaps, lasted only for what I thought was a year or so.

It was hard to tell, given how dull school life was.

Then again… How could my life even remotely considered dull?

I was different from the magus who chose to participate in this hellish competition, where one would stake their very life on the line in order to have their ultimate wish granted by the all-powerful automation that made up this entire world. As I learned about my past prior to my current state, I had been diagnosed with a disease that led to amnesia, and eventually, to death.

My body was preserved, in hopes of one day finding a cure.

There was one person - a brilliant man who, like I, became a Master in the War. A doctor, who had been the only one capable of curing my illness.

Sadly, he had long since passed from the real world.

I was regarded as an 'irregularity' by the Moon Cell, even though I had been crowned the victor of this long and arduous conflict. A ghost in an otherwise perfect machine. As I was being regarded as such, I had managed to copy all of the data I learned about myself, and sent it to the people who may yet hold an answer to the question I found unable to myself.

My thoughts drifted to Archer, wondering if he was with Rani, waiting for me to return with the Holy Grail in hand.

The thought made me want to laugh bitterly.

When a Servant is summoned, it automatically understands the world around it. It learns everything there is to know - every event, every day, every month, every year...all information there is to know in the world is transferred into their brain. However, when summoned into a new conflict, they hold no memories of their previous conflict.

The only exception, I learned, was another Saber Class Servant. Her name was mentioned as I searched for data about myself, and while I dismissed it as irrelevant at the time, her circumstances were intriguing. I wish I could have learned more, as I merely skimmed through her data.

I gave a tired sigh, yet no sound registered in my ears. Whether it was because now the data to "breath" or the data to "hear" was unknown to me.

Strangely, for the first time, and in spite of these odd circumstances, on top of my morbid Fate...I was content.

Would that be the correct word for my current state of being? Content?

...yes, it must. Ever since I awoke in this world, I was without a sense of purpose, wondering aimlessly. Even when I first met Saber, there was still much I did not understand nor yearn.

Yet now, I...felt at peace. Had I, perhaps, achieved something that my "core" had, unknowingly, desired? If so, what? I tried to think of what that could be, but I found myself unable to think.

Even the data to "think" was being deleted.

As I floated even deeper into the black abyss, I saw that there was little of my arm left. Barely enough to be considered the size of a wide branch.

How odd. For a moment, I was reminded of the data I had looked up in the short time before the Moon Cell regarded my deletion. The Moon Cell regarded so many things. Past. Present Future. Among those things had been parallel worlds. Futures that we would have no knowledge of.

I couldn't recall much of that possible future, if I were being honest. It seems that even the data to "remember" was starting to break away. I reviewed what little memories I had left, the memories I had forged in my time here.

Saber, the woman who stood by my side, sword in hand.

Rin Tohsaka, the girl who helped me along in the Holy Grail War, even if I was forced to stand against her and Lancer.

Rani, the quiet little thing who I had chosen to protect.

Leo, that noble boy who I had fought not too long ago.

Julius, the troubled man who knew only how to kill.

Shinji, the gaming champion who was foolish and the first person I had ever killed.

Gatou, the religious man that believed in his "goddess."

Alice, the little ghost that reminded me so much of my own existence.

And...

...wasn't there someone else? I knew there was. I had fought them only just an hour ago, yet I couldn't recall them. Nor could I remember when I first met Saber.

Ah...

Are my memories fading away so fast already?

"...this truly is pitiful."

I turned my head. There was someone else here. I couldn't quite make them out, but they looked familiar. His eyes were obscured by his glasses, but the white doctor's coat he wore made me flinch. My first thought was, "enemy," but no. That wasn't right. My "core" was not regarding him as such. He was familiar to me, but I couldn't recognize him.

"You emerged as the winner, but the Moon Cell rejects you." he said, remaining where he was while his hands slipped into his coat pockets. "You, like me, were but a mere ghost. Of course, that isn't to say what could possibly constitute as a "ghost." For example, the girl you faced. Alice. She had long since passed from the land of the living, yet her consciousness existed in the flow of data." He looked up at the 'surface' of this abyss, a somber smile appearing. "I wasn't any different from her. I continued to exist here, even though I had died long ago. Yet, when you think about semantics and perspective, I am more of a "ghost" than she was."

...ah. I remember now. I know this man. He is the one who could have...

"You no longer remember me, but your Core does. A sense of familiarity." The man looked back at me. For a moment, the glare in his glasses had vanished as he then began to approach. "You, who had no past. You, who had no wish. You struggled and fought while flandering around aimlessly with no sense of direction. You were someone that had no chance of winning, yet your struggles proved otherwise. You even managed to defeat one of the strongest Servants that the Holy Grail had to offer. And yet..."

A somber looked appeared in his eyes. I would have mistaken it for pity, but there was something else there. Something I couldn't see or identify. He pulled away for a moment, digging around in his pocket before he produced something to me, holding it out. I had no reason to accept it, yet I found my hand already moving, taking it and holding it up in the air.

It was a ring. A simple little thing, hardly remarkable. However, sitting on the ring was a beautiful gemstone. "Beautiful?" No, that wasn't right. To call it beautiful would be an insult. It was...otherworldly. A mix of colors, swirling together and forming into a brilliance that no other gemstone in the world could compare to. As I held it in my hand, I felt something from it. A flow of data? No, not quite. Something else.

"That is proof of your victory." the man told me. "It was given to me when I became the victor before, but I had found no use for it, nor did I accept the purpose given to me. If you use that along with your last Command Seal, then perhaps..." He trailed off, though why I don't know. Perhaps it was done on purpose. Either way, a small smile touched upon his features as he turned his back towards me. "Whatever you choose... I wish you the best of luck."

The best of luck?

Before I could speak, the man walked away, vanishing into particles and pixels and fragments and polygons of data. It then came to me that the man just now wasn't the same man I had met. It was a fragment. A piece left behind. A ghost of a "ghost."

I looked back at the ring in my hand. It wasn't fairly big, perhaps just big enough to put on my finger. But what did he mean by it giving him a purpose? Curiosity took hold and the ring slipped into my finger.

Then, I realized what he meant.

Information. History. Facts. Data. Everything that pertained to all that was recorded by the Moon Cell began to flow into my mind. It was slow, at first. A mere trickle to provide a taste of what it had to offer. When I allowed the flow to continue unhindered, it expanded into a tidal wave. I would have screamed, but my mouth made no sound.

So many things. So man possibilities. Servants obeying a single Servant. A Royal Administrator. Sovereign. Ruler of the Moon Cell. King of Seraph. All sorts of possibilities and futures were opened to me. Now, I understood what the man meant by that.

This ring. This...Regalia...was granted to who was declared the victor of the Moon Cell. This was the grand prize of the Holy Grail War. Total authority of SERAPH. To become a King with Servants at your side, regardless if they were friend or foe. Among those were Servants I had faced before. Stranger still were Servants I have not met, but felt oddly familiar to. One a Saber dressed in red, and the other a fox-eared Caster.

These were the Servants of another "Hakuno Kishinami."

Suddenly, I understood the man - Twice H. Pierceman's - words. I was meant to be deleted, but the Moon Cell had regarded me as the victor of the Holy Grail War nonetheless. It granted me access to functions that would otherwise be unobtainable by even the most skilled of hackers. I had, by my own estimation, three minutes and forty-six seconds before I was completely deleted.

In a moment of clarity, my acceptance and content with the situation wavered. A troublesome thought came to me. I had sent a copy of my data to Rani, but...would Archer really be content with that?

Even if it was my data, they would not be the Hakuno Kishinami that fought with him.

But, was I allowed to be selfish?

...no, that isn't right. I've always been selfish. From the moment Archer had stood beside me, I knew it. I was willing to fight a battle I knew nothing about and with no wish for the Moon Cell to grant. I had no past, but I continued to fight. I was without any memory, but I still wanted to reach the Holy Grail. There was no reason for me to do so, other than to survive.

I closed my eyes and then looked back up at the 'surface' of the abyss I continued to sink into. It would take me thirty seconds to find the data I needed, and another minute to establish an outside connection with Archer.

How strange. Here I was, ready to accept "dying," yet a means to survive had spurred me on. Would that make me a hypocrite? Perhaps. But at the moment, I wasn't interested in my own ideals. Rather, I would indulge in my last act of selfishness.

Two minutes ticked by as data came and went, reconfiguring and establishing new connections and creating sequences. When a line was secured, I raised my hand up to the 'surface' of this abyss. I felt my mouth move, but no words came. By this point, I realized that all of my other functions were already erased. I was acting solely on instinct. The will to survive.

It was a simple desire that all humans by nature felt, and it was the one that had been the reason why I fought and killed.

I want to live.

It was cruel to those who died. It was spitting in the faces of the people I killed. I am sure that, like everyone else, they too wanted to live. I remember someone, can't remember who, banging against a digital wall as he cried and sniffled, begging to live when he realized that he wasn't playing a game. That he was putting his own life at stake. The worst part?

He was only eight-years-old.

I felt phantom hands grab me, but I refused to budge. My body was set. I could see my arm breaking apart into tiny pieces now. Only bits and pieces of me were left. I couldn't feel my legs or my chest.

The Regalia glowed in tandem with my Command Seals. In the next moment, a light shined.

I couldn't see the aftermath, unfortunately. My sight was taken by darkness. Were they closed? Or had that also been deleted? I didn't know. I didn't feel anything.

Nothing at all.

N-N-N-N0t#17-g

...

...

...

[Error. Data Feed Corrupted.]

[Activating Repair Protocol Procedures.]

Kishinami, Hakuno.

A foolish Master with no wish. A girl who had nothing to call her own. Perhaps even her name was just an illusion.

Yet, even so, there has never been a more remarkable figure in these stories.

The story you have seen is but one of the many, many endings to her story. In another, Kishinami was a man who held a beautiful crimson-clad Servant at his side, fighting through a labyrinth of twisted love and data. And in yet another, the individual that was called Hakuno Kishinami was nothing but a congregation of hate and despair. Born from the spare parts of the dead.

The Moon Cell knows all and sees all. It is the omnipotent observer, but it never acts. It merely listens and records. Nothing is beyond its view.

However...no System is perfect. There are, and will always be, a tiny irregularity.

Was Twice H. Pierceman's "fragment? one of these irregularities? Perhaps.

However... Hakuno Kishinami's story doesn't end here. Think of it as the end of one chapter, and the beginning of another.

[Data Restored.]

[Link Re-Established.]

[Replaying Data Feed...]

[Beginning Playback.]

White.

It was nothing but white that surrounded the young girl as her eyes opened for the first time in three years. Pale brown irises stared at the bland, unassuming room that reminded her a great deal of the nurse's office during the Holy Grail War. The room's only furniture was the bed she sat on, a small table with a vase of flowers, a chair off to the far corner of the room, a window that was left open and the curtains that came with it, flapping in the breeze. Close to the bed was a machine that let out small little beeps at regular intervals.

It took the girl about two minutes to realize that there was something over her face. Gently, she lifted her rather thin-looking arm and groped at whatever it was. It was an oxygen mask.

A Hospital? That had been her first thought before she pulled the mask off of her face, letting a dull musty scent flow into her nostrils. It took her another minute to realize that she was conscious, and that she was in a foreign environment. She lifted her body up, letting the blanket over her body fall down to her lap in a crumpled mess of curves. She looked around the room, looking for someone. It was empty, devoid of any sort of life except for her and the flowers inside the vase.

A sigh escaped her, realizing that she should have expected this to happen. She then glanced down at her body when she realized that she felt weak. More than she's ever felt before. Her arms were thinner, her stomach had a disturbing flatness to it, and that was not mention the horrible cricks in her body that felt so uncomfortable. She didn't want to move in fear of agitating them, but the disgusting pit in her stomach made her nauseous. She didn't feel the urge to throw up, but the feeling of this discomfort was enough to make her clench her stomach in a futile attempt to cease it.

She realized that this discomfort was "hunger."

"Where...is this place?" she idly wondered before she heard the door leading into the room slide open. She looked up, and met a face that was foreign to her. A girl with chestnut brown hair, cut into a bob while carrying yellow-brown eyes.

The girl stepped inside the room, sighing before her eyes fell unto the bed. When she did, her face changed in a split-second. Her eyes turned wide, jaw becoming unhinged and her body shaking. She didn't quite understand the reaction, nor did she recognize the girl. Her eyes started to water before tears fell past her cheeks. She took a shaky step forward, approaching the bed while staring at her.

If she was honest, she felt a little uncomfortable.

"H...Haku-nee?"

She blinked. What did she just call-?

Before she could question the girl, she lunged and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. Immediately, the cricks snapped at her angrily. She squirmed as a result, groaning softly while the girl tightened the hug around her. "H-Haku-nee!" she sobbed, holding her tightly. "Y-y-y-you're awake...!"

She didn't understand what was going on. The situation felt alien. She felt as if she should know this girl, but she didn't. She was a stranger to her, much like everyoe else she has met before coming to know and understand them. She did enjoy the warmth of the hug, however. It felt nice. Comforting even. That being said, her body protested greatly as the cricks in her body demanded that she be allowed to rest. How long had she been asleep? Without agitating the annoying cricks in her body, she gently pushed the girl away and looked at her face. Her features were a bit similar to hers, all except for the eyes and nose, but other than that, there was a small sense of familiarity.

Yet, even so, Hakuno Kishinami did not recognize the girl in front of her.

"...I'm sorry, but... Who are you exactly?"

Her words made the girl freeze up. For a moment, she was utterly stunned. "W...what're you saying, Haku-nee? I-it's me! Aoi. I'm...your sister!"

...oh.

TURN-01: HAKUNO

"A-Amnesia?!"

The doctor cringed at Akira Zaizen's exclamation, rubbing his already failing ears. He would have chastised the man, regardless of his position at SOL Technologies, but he did couldn't say he understood what the man felt right now. True, he's never been in this sort of situation, but he knew what it felt to learn something shocking that made your world seemingly fall apart like glass.

"I'm afraid so." he answered gravely. "We ran a few tests and, as sad as it is to tell you, Zaizen-san, the girl remembers nothing. She knows mathematics and basic arithmetic and other things, but she remembers nothing other than her waking up in a hospital bed." He pointed to the numerous bizarre pictures on his wall, each showing what appeared to be various pictures of a brain. "We performed a few CAT scans, and..." He gave a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and giving the man a hard look. "You may not like what bad news I'm about to tell you."

Akira frowned heavily. "Bad news?" he said, voice almost breaking with emotion. "I just found out my sister, who's been in a coma for three afters, is awake and the first thing she tells Aoi is that she doesn't know her. So please, explain to me, how exactly this could be any worse?!"

The doctor closed his eyes. "Zaizen-chan's symptoms are...reminiscent to those of Amnesia Syndrome." At Akira's confused look, he explained with a heavy heart, "Amnesia Syndrome is a rare form of brain disease. There have only been a handful of case, arguably maybe around the low hundreds. As the name implies, the subject experiences severe forms of memory loss. They begin to lose awareness of the boundary line between themselves and other people. Eventually, the brain itself begins to forget how to handle the body properly. And eventually, the brain shuts down and the body ceases to function, therefore leading to death."

Akira's eyes went large with fright. He tried to say something, anything to tell the doctor off or at least beg him to look again, but he couldn't find the words. Slowly, he fell back into his seat, palming his forehead. His mind was a mess. He was trying to think of something, anything but they were quickly becoming lost in the flood. All he could settle for was a tired and heavy grimace. "Aoi has already lost her parents." he said, mostly to himself rather than to the doctor. "I know I haven't always been there for her, but I did my best. Even when I wasn't there when she needed it, Hakuno always has been. And now you're telling me that we're about to lose another family member?"

"I'm saying you should prepare for the worst." the doctor told him, much to his confusion. "I said her symptoms were reminiscent to Amnesia Syndrome. I never said she has it. The hospital doesn't have the equipment needed to perform the tests to confirm it, so I'm having her arranged for a transfer. What we do know, however, is that she does have amnesia, but still remembers the more basic things in life."

"So...you're saying there's hope?"

"Like I said. Prepare for the worst."

In a span of four to six months, Hakuno had developed an intense hatred for hospitals, wondering if this was her punishment for the deaths of her opponents in the Holy Grail War.

Within those months, the doctors had regulated her life and actions, subjecting her to a series of tests that she didn't understand the meaning of. When those tests ended, she was put through a rehabilitation program. As she learned during this time, she had apparently been comatose for three years on account of an accident at school. The events weren't specificed, and she didn't care to learn much about it. In those three years, unfortunately, her muscles had severely weakened, explaining the agonizing cricks that pained her.

There had been a variety of exercises that she was tasked with going through. Treadmill, bench-press and whatnot. They honestly didn't worry her much, though she found being pushed around on a wheelchair to be quite cumbersome. She was not an invalid, so why did they insist?

...okay, granted she had a habit of pushing herself too hard, but that was not the point.

The only good thing about being at that place was the constant visits from both Aoi Zaizen and Akira Zaizen. Her siblings in this world. Well, at least one of them was. Akira became her older step-brother when their parents married.

Hakuno K. Zaizen. the girl repeated the name, finding it bizarre on the tongue. That will take some getting used to.

She was uncertain as to why she was apparently someone's sister, but she didn't question it. If anything, a tiny piece of her welcomed and embraced it, explaining the warmth she felt when the two came to see her in the middle of her rehab. She didn't know anything about them, other than that Akira was apparently some bigshot at a company called SOL Technologies, yet the sense of familiarity didn't vanish. Before long, she found herself waiting for them to see her and eventually accepted them into her life.

It felt...nice. This warm, fuzzy feeling in her breast. Was this what it felt like to have a family? It was different than the time she spent with Archer, who felt more like the stoic and aloof older brother. Yes, they were Master and Servant, but the way he often treated her certainly gave off such feelings. Akira was, of course, different than Archer in several ways.

She sorely doubted that she would ever meet someone like Archer, anyway.

In a time consisting of 7 months, 30 weeks and 212 days, Hakuno was at least finally able to leave the hospital. Her rehab had been finished only two weeks ago and found herself feeling more comfortable than when she had in the middle of getting her muscles back into working order. Her arms were back to their former size, though the unsettling hunger that, as she learned, had been born because of poor hospital food still persisted. Luckily for her, that seemed to be ending soon if what Aoi told her was of any indication.

"Congratulations on being released today, Hakuno-chan!" her nurse, Momose, said with the same cheery smile that Hakuno was convinced was permanently glued to her face. "I've brought you a fresh change of clothes! Your family's waiting for you in the lobby! It must feel exciting, finally able to go back home in three years!"

Hakuno didn't really feel excited. Okay, not true. She kind of felt excited. She had never been in a home before. Thus, she was plenty eager to see what it might be like to be inside an actual house. The closest she had ever considered a home was her own room during the Holy Grail War, though it was more like a war room, often discussing meetings and strategies with Archer and Rani.

As Momose left the room, practically bouncing, she looked at the clothes she had been provided. A short-sleeved blue jacket with a sleeveless purple blouse and white skirt. Simple, much how Hakuno preferred it.

That, and they were likely more comfortable than these medical scrubs.

It took her about four or five minutes to get out of the scrubs and into the simple clothes. They fit perfectly on her, not too small or too big and the skirt didn't expose much of her legs. She looked back at her bland hospital room, finding it almost sad that she would be leaving it behind after having grown so used to its plain walls before she turned and leaving the room. It took her another minute to arrive at the lobby to find Akira and Aoi already there, waiting patiently. No sooner had she stepped into view had Aoi leaped to her feet and rushed up to hug her again, as was the norm that Hakuno had grown used to.

"Haku-nee!" Aoi said cheerily as she tightened her grip on the girl for a moment before she pulled back. "Oh, I'm so glad you're finally coming back home!"

"That makes two of us." Akira said, smiling as he stood up from his seat. "How does it feel to finally be out of prison?"

Hakuno smiled faintly at his joke. "I'll be happy when I get actual food. But, Akira-nii-san (that was very awkward for her to say, even after all this time), what about your work?"

"I was able to squeeze in some time off." he told her before offering her a hand. "Come on, Hakuno. Let's go home."

The brunette stared at his hand, then at his face before she smiled and nodded, taking his hand and following him out of the hospital, a smiling Aoi in tow.

"...is something the matter, father?"

"No, it's nothing. I could have sworn the entirety of LINK VRAINS fluctuated for a moment. Hm, it must have been a system error. Have Genome and Faust perform a system reset. We can't have malfunctioning equipment when we're so close to finding the Cyberse."

"Understood."

TO BE CONTINUED...

COMING UP!

After the last remains of Twice gives her the chance to escape erasure, Hakuno Kishinami awakens in a new world with a new role: a sister. As she fills into a new daily life with her new family, she encounters a boy with a troubled past and takes the first dive into a new digital world!

? ? ?: TURN-02: VRAINS. I wonder what will be waiting for Master here in a world where one's fate is determined by a children's card game?