"What a beautiful drawing. Can you give it to me?" Mana Ouma asked with a gentle smile. She and the others had been watching Kurumi Tokisaki paint for quite some time. Only when Kurumi finished coloring did Mana finally speak.
"I'll draw another one for you instead, how about that?" Kurumi replied with an elegant smile. Her face never showed disgust, no matter how much she disliked someone. Even her blackened smiles were still smiles, after all.
"But I like this one!" Mana said longingly, her eyes fixed on the finished painting. She liked it because her little brother was in the sketch.
"I can draw another one just for you—one of your brother. I can even draw what he'll look like ten years from now," Kurumi said softly.
"Really?" Mana's eyes lit up instantly.
Kurumi didn't reply. Instead, she picked up her brush and quickly drew an image of Shu Ouma ten years older. Though Mana had no way of knowing what her brother would look like in the future, the moment she saw the completed sketch, she was certain—this was exactly how he would look.
"Can I have it?" Mana asked eagerly.
"It's not colored yet," Kurumi said, glancing up at her. Her wine-red eyes were deep and mysterious.
"I want to color it myself," Mana replied, full of anticipation.
Kurumi nodded, gently removing the sketch of Shu Ouma from the easel and handing it to her. Mana held it close to her chest as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.
"Brother, don't you want a drawing too?" Mana looked at Shu, her eyes filled with encouragement.
"Can you draw one for me too?" Shu blurted out impulsively, his blood rushing with excitement. What was this? The charm of a beauty bringing ruin? Just one look from her and the timid Shu lost his composure completely.
"I understand," Kurumi replied with her usual graceful smile. This time, she began sketching Mana ten years in the future. Like his sister, Shu chose to color the sketch himself.
"Can I also..." Gai Tsutsugami hesitated, envious of the siblings each holding their own portrait. He wanted a sketch of Mana as well, but under her cold gaze, he couldn't bring himself to finish his request. He swallowed his words bitterly.
"How pitiful." A voice, soft yet tinged with magnetism, reached his ears. Gai suddenly felt the urge to cry. Was he finally understood?
He looked up at Kurumi, and his gratitude turned into silent sorrow. To him, Kurumi's smile now carried emotion—somewhere between mockery and pity. Gai felt as though his heart had been completely laid bare.
"No one has ever expected anything from you. I'll give you a little something—do you want it?" Kurumi removed the first painting she had drawn and handed it to him. Gai's face twisted with conflicting emotions, but in the end, he accepted her charity with a dark expression.
"Mana." Gai immediately turned and offered the painting to her. He remembered that Mana had liked it.
"I don't want it. I already have something far more precious." Mana brushed his hand aside. The painting depicting innocent friendship slipped from his grasp, falling slowly onto the sand. At some point, Kurumi had vanished without a trace.
"Hehe..." A trail of footprints led along the empty beach. Kurumi, in her black gothic dress, walked across the sand. On the sheet of paper in her hand were the words "Transformation." Soon, the image on the paper shifted—becoming the likeness of Tohka Yatogami.
"World Essence—Concept." As she walked, Kurumi transformed into Tohka Yatogami. Ever since awakening, she had discovered that her body contained the time of all the Spirits from Date A Live.
Kurumi deduced that her current body must be the one she possessed after slaying the First Spirit. Thus, using the artifact granted by Alaya, she set her own power—to transform into anyone whose time she had devoured.
"Sandalphon." A massive sword rose from the sand. Her transformation not only changed her appearance but also granted her their abilities.
"So hungry..." Now in Tohka's form, Kurumi drooled slightly, instinctively lifting Sandalphon toward her mouth for a bite.
"Eh?" Kurumi canceled her transformation, her wine-red eyes showing a strange glimmer. Just now, Sandalphon had looked like a roasted drumstick to her!
It seemed that transformation didn't just copy their looks and powers—it inherited their personalities too.
Suddenly, two streams of information flowed into Kurumi's mind—messages from the world itself. More precisely, restrictions had been added to her transformation ability.
"Only those who willingly allow me to devour their time can become my transformation targets."
The second message from the world informed Kurumi that in this world, she could only define one more ability related to the world's main theme.
And what was the main theme of this world? Undoubtedly, the conflict between the virus and the Void. As an agent of Alaya's faction, Kurumi could only establish a power connected to the Void. Thus, she picked up her brush and wrote upon her board—"King of the Void."
In December 2029, as the entire world was shrouded in the joyous atmosphere of Christmas, the virus that Gaia had cast upon humanity finally erupted.
Because Shu Ouma saw his sister Mana's monstrous form and instinctively rejected her, Mana's heart broke completely—and in that instant, she unleashed a virus that swept across the entire globe.
In London, England, a black light streaked across the sky. Every passerby on the streets crystallized and shattered into fragments of viral residue. The entire city collapsed into chaos. At that moment, the massive clock tower struck midnight. A preacher knelt upon the crystal-covered ground, tears streaming down his face as he cried, "God, why have you forsaken us!"
The wave of infection ravaged the world, killing one-tenth of humanity in an instant. Wherever the virus passed, black light followed. Thus, the apocalypse was named "Black Christmas," or, as others called it, "The Lost Christmas."
At the same time, Mana Ouma triggered a second wave of infection. The virus would erupt ten times in total—each outbreak wiping out one-tenth of humanity, until none remained.
"What a waste. Since sacrifice is inevitable, why not entrust all that time to me?" On a steel bridge in Tokyo, Kurumi Tokisaki stood atop the highest beam, her black and red gothic dress fluttering in the wind. On any other day, such a beautiful figure would have drawn countless gazes—but now, with everyone paralyzed by fear of the virus, no one noticed her.
"Astral Dress—Zafkiel!" A massive clock appeared behind Kurumi. Her long skirt shifted into a shorter battle dress, the change drawing her attention for a moment. She glanced down, noticing how the skirt now showed her thighs wrapped in black stockings, the garter straps resting neatly against her skin.
Instead of feeling bothered by the exposure, she took a second to admire the look. The movement felt light and easy, and she realized the shorter skirt was far more practical than the long one during combat, so she didn't mind it at all. In fact, she preferred this version now, since it looked striking.
"City of Devouring Time—give me all the time in this world!" Kurumi smiled enchantingly. Zafkiel dissolved into a shadow that merged with the sky.
At that moment, the shadows beneath everyone across the world began to change. Those who were about to die from the virus found hands reaching from their own shadows, pulling them into the darkness before they could crystallize. Those who were uninfected remained untouched.
Originally, Kurumi's power should never have been able to cover the entire planet. But this world was unique—because humanity faced extinction, Alaya's suppression field was immense. As a Heroic Spirit of Alaya, Kurumi was strengthened a thousandfold. Even so, her strength still wasn't enough to envelop the whole world.
So Kurumi found a loophole. As Alaya's agent, she was spiritually linked to all of humanity. Using that connection, she had Zafkiel envelop the collective time of mankind instead of the planet itself—absorbing the time of those on the brink of death. Covering the world and connecting all humanity were two entirely different concepts.
Naturally, such an act drew Alaya's disapproval. However, since Kurumi only devoured the time of those about to die, Alaya didn't rage—she simply urged Kurumi to hurry and counter the virus.
"Boss, don't be so impatient! Gaia's influence is still too strong. If we act too soon, we'll only be crushed. The outcome might turn disastrous!" Kurumi said with a soft smile.
Though her tone sounded evasive, Kurumi, as Alaya's Heroic Spirit, could clearly feel it—the power of Gaia's suppression occupied nine-tenths of this world, while Alaya's held only a meager tenth.
If she acted now to resist the virus, Gaia's overwhelming force would simply erase her, and even Alaya herself would suffer severe damage.
After the third wave of infection, Gaia's suppressive power suddenly weakened. This was natural—the outbreaks themselves were Gaia's suppression attacking humanity. With each wave, Gaia consumed immense energy, her influence diminishing greatly.
Conversely, Alaya's strength grew. The mass deaths of humans flooded her with consciousness energy, drastically enhancing her suppression force. The balance began to shift—Alaya's influence rising quickly to match Gaia's.
It was cruel irony, but true—the more humans died, the stronger Alaya became. In other words, the greater humanity's crisis, the more power Kurumi would receive from Alaya. If she were to descend into a world like Attack on Titan, she might be enhanced a thousandfold.
Of course, the reverse was also true. In peaceful worlds, Kurumi would be suppressed—perhaps even reduced to a powerless human.
By the time the fourth wave erupted, Gaia held sixty percent of the world's suppression power, while Alaya held forty. Kurumi's strength still wasn't enough to bridge that gap. So she remained still, quietly continuing to devour time.
Then came the fifth wave. It swept across the entire world. Alaya's suppression power surged, finally equaling Gaia's. A sharp, commanding intent reached Kurumi's mind—Alaya was ordering her to attack.