Auction (5)

{AN:I don't know what you're talking about, I did not forget to post.}

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The domain around them collapsed revealing the two to the outside world. Not that they were seen since no one was there to look at them.

Arai's clothes slowly began changing into his suit.

Arai looked down at his arms still consumed by rot. 'She got me good, although I defeated her I'm really hurt but it's not fatal. I can manage, a couple of recovery days will do me good. Now unto what's really important.'

He looked down to see Malenia still conscious having trouble breathing.

'Time to get to work, I guess.' Arai thought before reaching out to her.

Unfortunately as he was about to enter her mind, her hand stopped him from touching her head. Arai could see her face pale. Now that they were outside the domain, she could use her technique to cover the wounds but her cursed energy was low making her unable to restore the blood lost from the fight.

Her face was full of hatred but she didn't talk or more like she couldn't because of her trying to patch herself up.

"You sure are stubborn, it's a good trait for a fighter but it's annoying." He swatted her hand and placed it on her head. His eyes turned green but then a sort of electric feeling was felt. The technique had failed to activate. It felt as if his cursed energy just disappated in the air.

"I forgot. Right after a domain expansion, a technique gets harder to use." Arai clicked his tongue in annoyance. He cut her tendons and wrists to make sure she couldn't do anything as a percussion and sat down next to her.

Thinking about his achievements today, Arai felt a smile creep up his face.

The him three years ago would of never believed to manifest a domain expansion. And here he was, actually having used one and defeating someone at the level of special grade curse spirit.

'I wonder whether you guys would be proud of me.' Arai smiled bitterly, remembering his friends. Haibara had died saving his life and in exchange he kept his promise and visited his sister. Giving allowance and lodgment from his own money. Though to Arai, those little thing could never compare to what her brother had done for him.

Nanami was still alive somewhere, the two had not spoken since his departure. It was for the best, Nanami even said before that the sorcerer life was not for him. Maybe he is still alive, Arai thought.

Looking down at his phone, he saw the number to Nanami.

If Haibara saw this, he would probably somehow mend their friendship. That was just who he was, but now that he isn't. There would no longer be a link between the two.

'Why am I even thinking about this here?' Arai mocked himself and turned back his attention to Malenia. She was barely conscious now so without any resistance he placed his hand on her head. Afterwards, his technique recovered and he used it to enter her mind.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, a figure lurked amongst the rubble. Hiding during the ordeal at a long distance. They stood upwards from a skyscraper looking down at Arai who was unaware of their presence. Their face was obscured by darkness but their body seemed to be that of a woman with short black hair. The smile on their face was sinister as it curled all the way to their cheek.

"Isao Arai, huh. A threat or a back-up? Which one will you be, I wonder?"

The figure looked to the far distance and their smile lessened.

"So he's already heading here. Well of course he is." The woman turned back and walked away but not before glancing at Arai one more time before disappearing in the darkness as they blended in with it.

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There was darkness. Darkness was what filled this void, but within the dome of darkness, there were cracks filling every spot. And in the middle of that darkness was a cube.

A cube made of wood but inside appeared to be a room. The room had the overall design of a traditional japanese room. Decorated with mats, along with paper walls and a lamp above. The room had the scent of smoke due to the burning incense sticks placed inside this bowl.

There were 8 of these bowls laid in front their respective paintings.

The paintings each depicted someone.

The first depicted a man with long black stringy hair tied into two high ponytails that jut upward and outward. His eyes were dark purple with slightly thin eyebrows and a blood mark that extends from both sides of his face across the bridge of his nose. He wore a light robe with a purple vest above it. The man in the painting seemed to be calmly sitting with one eye open and the other closed.

The second was a tall and muscular man with a black hair and violet eyes. His skin was orange and two piercings were on his eyebrow. On his neck was a striped collar with a bow tie, he wore tight pants and no shirt. He appeared to be drinking something out of a cup.

The third appeared to be much more cursed than the other two. His skin was turquoise colored with a hunchback, claws, and two mouths with jagged teeth. He had two face, one on the upper part of his head and other which was a giant mouth beneath it. Red blood dripped out of where his eyes were supposed to be and lower mouth.

The other paintings though were clouded and could not have any trait identified within them. Like the painting was rotting away.

In the middle of the room, a futon mattress laid in a corner of the room and Malenia was laid upon it. Her clothes had changed into a red yukata and a black stash. The helmet she wore was nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes slowly opened, she groaned holding her head as a searing pain was felt inside her mind. Her eyes slowly glanced towards the room she was in, looking at this place. She knew it was her first time here, yet it felt familiar to her.

Her sight then wandered to the paintings. She instantly recognized the people in the paintings. After all, they were her kind. Her siblings.

The Death Paintings.

Choso, the eldest.

Eso, the second eldest.

And Kechizu, the third.

The rest of the paintings had figures but they were all unidentifiable and it made sense because unlike the first three, the other death paintings had all died. Only the three eldest and her had survived, so the paintings must be reflecting that.

"Just what is this place." She muttered.

"It's your mind, the mind of a [Death Paintings], it's not that different compared to a human. Nothing special really."

She quickly jumped away in shock and was about to slash down at this new voice but what she found surprised her. Her right arm that was supposedly prosthetic was now anew. Completely gone was the rot, now it was completely fine.

"Surprised that your arm is fine? Well it's your mind, anything can go here. Even see the dead alive is not farfetched in this place."

Her purple eyes glanced to the man looking at her. His light blue colored hair was as striking as it was before, and the deep green eyes glowing made her uncomfortable. His clothes were the same as it was inside a domain. He sat down on a chair to the side and was glancing at her.

"Isao Arai..."

He stood up from his chair and walked towards her. She was about to lunge at him and attack but remembered how it went. She was absolutely overwhelmed by him, if he wanted to kill her than he would have already.

"You said this was my mind. My innate domain, if so then how did you get here? Is this a figment of my imagination?"

"Not quite. I am real, very real." Now Arai was standing right in front of her, their height was about the same but Malenia was slightly taller. He sat on the mattress, he patted the pillow next to him gesturing for her to do the same. She didn't want to comply but knew that right now she wasn't the one in power. She did as told sitting down next to him.

Arai sighed exhaustingly before laying down. "You don't have to look so uncomfortable. I'm not going to kill you nor enslave you."

She narrowed down her eyes at him but he still stared off into the distance. "'Why would you trust me? Why would I do this? What could that do to benefit me?' I'll answer you all those questions. But I'm going to have to ask you one first."

Malenia was suspicious of him and had every right to be. She had the gist of his technique which had to do with pacts and his domain forcibly placed one on her during the fight. If that was true, wouldn't that mean that he would be able to control her?

So the fact that he hadn't done that yet, made it even more suspicious.

"What is it?" She asked still being wary of him.

His glowing green eyes and smile made it ominous. The smile was akin to someone who had just found treasure and not one that was looking at a human being. A piece of tool to further his own goals, the way a man would look at a stack of money.

His smile widened as the world around them started rumbling. The void surrounding the room was completely shattered and light began descending on the both of them. The blinding light was not bright enough for her to ignore the pair of green eyes still gazing at her.

"Are you willing to die for me?"