WEEK 3 TRIAL

[foundationmods]

It was noon on Saturday.

No matter where they were, no matter what they were doing...the moment the chimes rang out through the hall, they felt a change.

The world...began to expand, as they felt themselves leaving the world they were on, and towards another, much larger world...🗈

...As always, the courtroom was there - along with the audience, watching, waiting for the entertainment before them.

The Witch - Nirrti - was there, sitting in the most important place, watching all of them with a sharp, cruel gaze, a smile of pure delight on her face.

Watanuki was also there, but he merely lounged in the back behind them, smoking a kiseru pipe in silence.
...It seemed as if he was content to watch - that he had to watch - as part of the rules of the game.

There was no music to be heard, but... perhaps on another plane, in another place, someone else heard music as they gazed upon the proceedings.

Again, their forms had changed - perhaps into something different than last time, but...still a change, no matter how dramatic or inconsequential it was.

...There was a deep silence in the room, one that no one wanted to break. It was the faint tension in the air, like the moments before a race or a competition begins.

They had found the truth last time....but now, two people had died.
Was it possible for them to find the culprit this time?
A culprit that....had...

No, it had to be.

For the sake of the dead...and the sake of them all.

Comments

FANTASY RETELLING

[lutea]

It was a calm night, like any other.
Even though it was Thursday night, neither Akira nor Ryuji were worried.

They had plenty of time before midnight came - and they’d soon be safe in Ryuji’s room, where they would all chatter and laugh before falling unconscious the moment the new day came.

Indeed, they were looking forward to it - like they always did.
The companionship was always a comfort, before the day came, and they would find another of their number dead…

...But as they were almost there, something stopped them.

A black flame floated past them - and even as they stopped and stared in a kind of shocked horror - the two teenagers found themselves turning to follow it automatically.

No matter how hard they tried to go back, they couldn’t.
It was as if something had taken control of their very legs, forcing them to walk up the stairs to the second floor, out towards -

The flame fluttered just ahead as the glass doors to the balcony automatically opened, returning like a beloved pet to its owner - who smiled and lifted her hand to it, letting it sink back into her body.

Neither of the boys could speak as they were forced to sit down on the seats already there, automatically lifting up the teacups that were placed on the low table, smelling of fragrant tea…

The one who had called them there smiled - but it was sharp, and hungry.
The smile of a predator who knew it had their prey in their claws…

“Welcome to my Tea Party, you two. Won’t you join me tonight…?”

There was a pause, and she looked confused for a moment - before shaking her head.

“Ah, forgive me. Let me return your voices back to you.”

With a wave of her hand, Akira and Ryuji found they could speak again...and even move, though it was impossible to get out of the seats they found themselves in…

At seeing the situation before them, Ryuji immediately spoke, his eyes flashing in anger.

“Just what the hell do you want with us?!”

“What do I want with you? Isn’t it obvious?”
The Witch grinned, her eyes glinting with that same wicked delight they’d seen before.

As she said that, Akira’s eyes widened - his hand moving over to grip Ryuji’s shoulder.
Much like his dear friend, his own eyes blazed with a deep set determination at the Witch, looking defiant.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re in the business of misery, I get it, but you must be outta your damn mind if you think you can get to us! So just run along before I show you what a mista--”

The Witch laughed, the noise stopping Ryuji from speaking.

“You’re the ones mistaken, my dear pieces. I am the one who now has control over your very lives.

After all…you crossed paths with my fire. And so….
...I will be killing you tonight, of course.”

Ryuji let out a harsh ‘tsk!’, narrowing his eyes at her words.

“Going all out tonight, ain’t ya? Well, you can fuck right off! We’re not gonna be your furniture for you to abuse.”

“Ah, but - you will. By the end of this….both of you will be.”

With an amused giggle, she suddenly waved her hand in front of them - stopping the conversation effortlessly.

“Well then. I think that’s enough conversation for one night, don’t you think?”

Suddenly, just like before - they found themselves standing without meaning to, walking towards the balcony ledge.
As if they were puppets on a stage, they clambered onto the railing, stopping at just the right place, Akira coming in close to Ryuji.

And then….with a single flick...she sent them careening off the ledge.

“Shit, Akira!”
Grabbing onto Akira - whose own eyes widened in horror as he realized they were falling - Ryuji held him close, hoping to protect him.
Even if he died...if he could just protect Akira with his body-!

...But…

Before they could hit the ground…

A miracle happened.

Right...before their eyes...was the metal spikes on the gate, things that would have pierced through them easily and killed them so quickly…

But, those spikes didn’t come up to meet them.

Because...they were hovering in the air, still clinging to each other in fear…

Suddenly, the laughter of the witch could be heard, ringing shrilly in the air.

“Kyaaaaaahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa! Did you really believe I’d make it that eaaaaaaaasy? That simple? I am the Witch of Misfortune! And this night….ohh, this night! To celebrate my power, I will make you suffer horrible deaths, one after the other! Heeheehee….ayahahahah!!”

All of a sudden - the two were wrenched skyward, at a force so hard it felt as if their bones were breaking...and then suddenly, without warning, they were flung towards the sea-!

The impact against the blue waves instantly pulverized their organs, turning their insides to so much hideous red soup, leaking out of their ears and mouth.
An instant death, like one of jumping off a skyscraper…

And the Witch, floating high above, laughed and howled in delight.

“HAHAHAHA!!! Look, look! They died just from being thrown in the seaaaaaaa! What are you, fragile creatures who can’t even take a little speed? Hyahahahaah!! Come now, come now, you can’t rest yet!”

With a look of sheer, unbridled joy, the Witch flung her arms up - and the two sodden bodies rose, dripping out of the surf, limp as dolls.

Nirrti tsked, wagging her finger in front of their limp forms.

“I can’t have you sleeping on the job, you know! Come now….tell me.

What misfortune did you suffer? I will reverse it for you. Was yours a cruel death? I shall make it so it never happened. Hurry, hurry, remember….”

At the Witch’s sing-song chant, the two corpses...slowly returned to life…

Their organs inside knit back together, bones un-snapping and fusing.

Unlike the magic of those who had reached the level to be called ‘Endless’, her magic did not return a being to the state they had, after they had been destroyed.

It merely…erased the past event, making it so that the being had no reason or logic behind being in the state it had come to.
This...was something that not even one who was Endless could do.

After all, Endless magic made it so something would continue on forever, without cease, despite what happened….but this power went back instead of forwards, destroying that very moment and returning it back to Zero…!

...One could use a tape recorder, and record something - and then decide they didn’t like it.
One thing they could do is record whatever they wanted to record again, and not delete what had originally been placed there.
That would be akin to Endless magic - though something new was now what everyone ‘saw’, it didn’t remove the attempt that had come before it.

...However.
One could easily rewind the tape - and then record over the previous thing they had placed on it before.
It would be gone, without a trace - with only the re-recorded thing on record.
That was the power of the Witch of Misfortune...a power that was so deadly, and cruel that her fellow Witches looked in anticipation to see what kind of terrifying heights she would achieve.

And now, using that power...Ryuji and Akira returned back to life, gasping and sputtering.

“Welcome back~~ How did you like your first taste of death...?”

Normal people would have wept and cried, dealing with the sensation of death, and then returning from it - an unnatural sensation no human would ever normally feel in their lifetime.

...Yet, they still struggled, as if they had never died.

Perhaps...the shock of that death….was too unreal to really be felt…

“What kind of sicko are you?! Just let us go!”
Ryuji, ever defiant, called out to her, gritting his teeth and glaring at her in fury.
He had been through so much in his life - seen and suffered at the hands of so many adults - and yet, Nirrti was a level above them in her cruelty.
But…
He could still tell that just like them, all she wanted...was to exert that terrible power of hers over others, and control them.

His friend at his side was silent, yet also glared - sharp and defiant, like the razor edge of a knife.
He would not back down, not from her.

“Aaah, you’re still so lively~~ How wonderful, how wonderful! I’ll be able to play with the both of you for a while if you keep this up~”

Without warning, and in the middle of whatever they were about to say next…

Something wooshed by Akira.
And...something wet...and hot...fell on him from above…

Instinctively, Akira looked up...and turned white.

There, above him...was the head of an enormous black dragon.
And trapped inside of its jaws….dripping a bright red liquid that gleamed in the moonlight…

Was what remained of Ryuji’s body.
Aaah, only his legs were hanging out, and as the dragon moved its mouth, Akira could see in the pale moonlight...the upper half and guts of his friend, being sliced and mashed apart by sharp, deadly fangs…!!

Though he trembled in fear, shocked into silence….he knew that he was next.
And he was still held in place by the witch’s magic, even as that horrible mouth...suddenly opened and leaned down, still coated in blood-!

CRUNCH. CRACK, CRICK…

The witch howled and howled with unrestrained laughter, twirling in the light of the moon in utter joy as the dragon chewed the remains of Akira and Ryuji up - mingling them together so no one could ever tell where one stopped and the other began, like some kind of hideous ground meat…

“Aaaah, how I’ve missed this! More! More! Let me bring you more misfortune, more pain, more suffering! Spit out those lumps of meat, and let me revive them! I’m nowhere near done, let me play more with my new toooooys!!”

The dragon did as it was told….and vanished, leaving only behind a mass of shredded meat that you couldn’t even call two humans anymore.

Again, the Witch chanted. And again, they were brought back - muscles and bones reforming before her eyes, her magic thrilling in her body as they coughed and spluttered and wheezed from their second death.

“Ah, no more talking, no more chattering!” She giggled, moving her fingers across their mouths and silencing them as they hung in the air itself.
“Now then….what next? Aaaah, I know-”

Bringing forth a small lick of black flame, she made Akira open his mouth, and…

“Say aaaah~”

Slid the flame down his throat, closing his mouth with her hand and stepping back.
At first, it seemed like nothing was happening - but then Akira began to scream, bringing his hands to his throat.
His eyes bulged, even as his limbs trembled...and that same black fire began to creep from his eyes, his nose, his mouth…

Ryuji could do nothing but watch in horror and silence as Akira burned alive from the inside, eventually exploding into black flame - and before his dear friend’s body could even hit the floor, Nirrti was there, making him open his mouth as well…

...And then, there was no escape.

Over and over, they experienced death and being brought back to life.
She gave them no rest, nor hid any of her delight at their deaths.
To her, they were her dolls to play with - and she had waited so long to play like this.

How many times?

How many times had they died in this unending night?

They had been drowned, crushed, burned, slashed, hung, smashed, decapitated, cut in half, ripped apart, chewed, ground, eaten, destroyed…!

It seemed….like it would never end.

...Finally, the Witch brought them back once more.

“Hm, I’m beginning to run out of ideas….Ah, I know!”

With a flick of her wrist, she gave them back their ability to speak.

“Tell me. How next would you like to die, hm…?”

Now, surely….their wills should be broken, she had thought to herself.
Perhaps they would even suggest deaths in the hopes of pleasing her, and ending the torment…
Though obviously, she had no plans to do such a thing.

But the words that came next…
...were wholly unexpected.

“Do whatever you want with me, but leave Akira outta this. Just let him live, ya hear me?”
...Even now, he was still struggling.
Even after dying multiple times, in horrible ways…
...His defiant spirit had not yet broken, as he stared down the witch.
“You got your jollies from the both of us, but finish it off with me,” he demanded.

...And though Akira remained silent, he still also struggled.
He, too, was still filled with that determination that raged within Ryuji, united in their will to never give into her.
He would never, ever...give this Witch the satisfaction of seeing him beg and plead…!

“...Hm? I asked for your suggestions, not begging.
...Are you really trying to bore me now? Come on. Tell me how you want to die.”

“Fuck you!”

Without caring about what she would do to them - Ryuji spat at her, the spit landing on her cheek.

Akira, in stark contrast, was still quiet - refusing to give in to her demands, staring at her with all the angry defiance he could muster.

The Witch...looked displeased, sighing, wiping off the spittle on her face with a sleeve, in a somehow elegant motion.

“You can’t even give me a simple suggestion…? How disappointing.
...I suppose it’s time to end this, then.”

Conjuring up a pocket knife, she flung it at Ryuji - and it buried itself into his abdomen, another hit of pain to go along with everything else he had suffered this night.

Slowly...they lowered from the sky, until they were at the balcony again, hovering over the garden as the two teenagers clung to each other…

“...Thank you for the fun, pieces.”

She let them go...and they obeyed gravity.
After all, they had been denying it for quite a while now, and it wanted to take its due.

WHANG.

In no time at all….no, only in the moment it took to blink...they were impaled on the fence, just like they had almost been all those deaths ago…

...But, unfortunately, Akira had not been so lucky as to die instantly.
The spikes had only punctured his lungs, so he would be condemned to a slower death.

Now, alone on the fence, facing the garden...he allowed tears to slip from his eyes, unbidden, as he stared at the broken body of his best friend.
He knew he was dying.
Even now, blood filled his lungs, closing off his breathing…
But even if there was little time left, he would not let anything of hers defile his friend’s body.
Even if it was a useless act...and only one done on a corpse...he still refused to let her win in any way.

Hand trembling, he used the last of his strength...closing his shaking, bloody fingers around the knife...and ripping it free.
And then….he tried to throw it, as far as he could.

...It landed only a few inches away, but...that was enough.
He...could barely tell where it landed anyway, at this point..

...With that task accomplished, Akira let the blood flow freely from his mouth and nose, even as his breaths became choked and wet with blood, frothing and gasping for air.

And as his vision faded, as he died for the last time….he could hear the low, happy chuckling of the Witch, high above him...

THE WITCH

[lutea]

[This time, as the retelling fades - Nirrti laughs, in a horrible delighted manner, just like she did in the story.]

Welcome, pieces of the Witch of Dimensions! Welcome to your true battle! I, the Witch of Misfortune, will face you with all of my strength!!

...Of course, just because I'm different doesn't mean the rules are. Just like before, you have many, maaaaany choices.

You can submit to me and admit I did this~ Ah, but, if you do, that means you're mine. Just like them....I can play with you however I waaaaant! Heeheehee...

Or, you can wrack your brains and find a human Culprit, and offer that truth up to me. Ah, but I won't mind if you just decide to sacrifice someone if you can't figure it out, like all humans inevitably do.

In six hours, if there's no truth I accept, then I automatically win~

[She cackles for a moment, then continues.]

Can you solve this? Now that I'm getting serious, and facing you correctlllllllyyyy...? I don't think you caaaaaan, *cackle cackle cackle*!!

So tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me, I'm dying to hear it -

Was Akira and Ryuji's deaths a Mystery, or a Fantasy?

???

[foundationmods]

Code for blue truth:

<font color=#000099><b>TEXTHERE</b></font>

As a reminder, Blue Truth is meant for theorycrafting - so while you can ask for information normally, Blue Truth is meant as a counterattack against the witch.

Going up against her and getting hit multiple times will require you to step away, though there's no imposed time limit. We just ask that you have your character back off.

[anonnomnomnom]

[Have a round of applause from Anon after that, because boy she really went all out, damn.]

Ahaha, what a fantasy! Hey, Nirrti, you actually liked those guys pretty well, didn’t you? You gave them such dramatic deaths, after all.

[He’s here to call out your AkiRyu fanfic, girl.]

I’m glad you’re facing us properly this time.

[chaoscontrol]

[From the peanut gallery; ]

Ahem. BULL. SHIT.

[Then he proceeds to lie on the floor near Watanuki with a full bottle of whiskey. ]

[goldenmaniac]

Nirrti. Answer me in the Red: if there is no culprit - if it was an accident or the culprit is already dead- would there still be a trial?

[rikuchi]

[ That sure is a scimitar in his hands right now, as he makes his proclamation— ]

There was no dragon, no constant reversing of deaths and resurrection either—they only died once.

The two also had voluntarily went to the balcony themselves for a late night chat, except that was interrupted when the killer snuck up behind them, and pushed Ryuji, forcing the blond off-balance. Then the blond grabbed a hold of Akira out of reflex, as they tumbled right off to their deaths.

[improbablenotimpossible]

The wound was postmortrem, and the knife was placed into Kurusu's hand by their killer to make it appear as though he had struck Sakamoto.

[As he speaks, a blue square object appears in his right hand, he hefts it, slipping into a pouch on the crop, making it burst into blue light before he lashes it out at Nirrti]

[anonnomnomnom]

Nirrti! I just need you to confirm something in red. Did you mess with the letters in Akira's room?

[excavated]

Can you say this in Red for me: "The killer had the intent to kill both Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto".

[ He wants to clarify something really quick. ]

A how?

[improbablenotimpossible]

[He can't help but feel like there's something that Nirrti was waiting for, as his lenses focused, blue lights shining, ready to make his declaration]

This is what happened: The killer may have an intent to kill already in mind, but not necessarily the victims, when they saw the two on the balcony in a precarious state. And they pushed Sakamoto over. The lack of prints is either a post-murder clean up, or the killer had clean footware on.

However! Due to their close proximity, they both went over, and fell onto the fence. He then waited, perhaps after when everyone else was out to check. There, he stabbed Sakamoto in the gut to muddle the events that lead to their deaths, and then placed it in Kurusu's hands to make it look like he attacked Sakamoto, and then spent the rest of the time cleaning up.

THE THEORY

[fullbodied]

[SHE'S A WRECK, BUT nothing like pure, unadulturated rage to get you through the day.]

The true story is this:

Akira wanted to undo his greatest misfortune. This would have meant never meeting myself or Ryuji.

So, he ripped the note to shreds, because it no longer mattered whether he said anything nice about us. And after that, he told Ryuji that he couldn't handle being one of many Akira's. He took advantage of Ryuji's blind trust, or Ryuji's willingness to find fault in himself, and Ryuji's need to prove he could still be useful and helpful. They left me behind, and Akira made them tea.

Akira then went to the balcony, and convinced Ryuji to stand on the edge with him. He pulled him in close for a final hug-- and pushed him.

Ryuji instinctively grabbed him and they both fell.

That's how they both died.

[excavated]

[ There's. . . quite a bit about this retelling that he wants to ask about, irrelevant to the trial itself, but he'll save that for later. After everything's said and done. And again, Syaoran looks significantly different this week in terms of the outfit he's wearing, his shoes also not included. He can't help but comment aloud, musing more to himself than anything. ] . . . She really put a lot of extraneous stuff in her retelling this time, huh.

[cryosurgeon]

[Erhard's appearance has changed as well, his plague doctor robes now seem to be made entirely of blood that moves as if it were both fabric and liquid. The black shackles have grown but they seem to float around his wrists rather than actually restraining him, their broken chains now long and waving like banners in the air around him. His mask is further tarnished, almost blackened, and the beak has partially opened to reveal jagged teeth made from shards of ruby. Behind the smoked lenses over his eyes comes a sinister crimson glow. Two black iron spikes pierce his chest.]

It's all to torture us with gore and to show off her supposed powers. We know none of it is real.

[keydomhearts]

[ Here's Sora. ]

Do you think she really liked them or maybe liked whomever pushed them?

[aleph_armed]

Tch, this is disgusting. Let's try to get this done quickly.

Evidence Herding

[improbablenotimpossible]

[Sherlock Holmes seem to have change little from last week, but the changes were more subtle, the bright blue underlining of his coat had darkened, and instead of the cane from last week, a crop appears in his gloved hands. His voice has an icy edge to it]

Now then, before we tackle this delusion, let us gather our evidence.

[excavated]

I checked out the kitchen. There was a teapot full of water - it was probably hot at some point, but wasn't now, and I found two boxes of tea. They were tea bags, and one box was of chamomile tea and the other was Valerian root. There were two tea bags missing fromt he chamomile box and one from the Valerian root. And there were two teacups missing as well.

[youkaiwatch]

[ Emi looks her usual age this time, and more like a piece of art than a youkai. ]

You really went all out with this one.

[lutea]

I figured it would be a fitting introduction~

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama's trial form...

There's nothing of his human identity left in it now. Tall, golden-eyed, sharp featured. Only Youko Kurama remains, cold and harsh with rage.]

We will never give in to you, you soulless bitch.

[youkaiwatch]

[ Keeping an eye on you. ]

[goldenmaniac]

[For once, Takumi actually looks different from his usual outfit and digital aura. His yellows and blacks replaced with blues and whites but more shockingly the aura seems to have seeped into his skin. His hands and feet, creeping up into his lower arms and legs, are now fully blue and slightly see through, crackling with low thrumming energy.

He doesn't say anything to the Witch just yet, just glaring through her retelling]]

[keydomhearts]

[ Putting a hand on his shoulder. ]

[fullbodied]

[ann is back in her panther get-up. And her eyes are absolutely fixated on Nirrti.]

Go fuck yourself.

[youkaiwatch]

[ Close by if you need her. ]

[incrediblystressedout]

[Joey finds herself in a formal dress this timw, rather than a dsnce costume - solid black on one half and solid white on the other. Even half of her hair has been dyed white, opposite the white side of the dress. She doesm't seem to care about the outfit, though]

God you're gross.

[She takes deep breath to try and ignore the gory fantasy scene.]

So can we eliminate the idea that their deaths were an accident? Messing around on balcony railings is a bad idea. Probably should have warned Akira about that during dance lessons, but I mean common sense.

[literalidiotball]

Well, that. And apperently Akira was drinking some kind of sleep tea. Also not a good thing to drink on balconies.

[fullbodied]

... What are all of our theories?

She won't answer them individually, so we should put together a complete answer to her story.

[cryosurgeon]

If a third party was there, they might have pushed Ryuji, who grabbed Akira reflexively. Akira ended up pulled off the edge with him.

VERDICT

[lutea]

ENOUGH!

[Yelling that out, she brought forth the body of Akira, hanging lifelessly in the air, blood still staining his face...]

...Let us begin.

[Looking over at him, she closed her eyes....and began to chant, in a sing-song...]

"What misfortune did you suffer? I will reverse it for you. Was yours a cruel death? I shall make it so it never happened. Hurry, hurry, remember….”

[As she chanted....he began to change.

The blood that was on his face....slowly reversed, slipping back inside of his body.
A sickening crack resounded as his broken bones began to revert to normal, and the holes from the fence's spikes closed up, along with his lungs.

But that was not all.

His clothing began to change - from the simple wear he had on, to a darker coat, with black leather and dark pants...His hands became a dark red, and it looked like he had...gloves on...?

Eventually, he looked...Like Joker, but without the mask on - and just like in the story at the beginning of this, he coughed and wheezed with a sudden movement as he returned back to life.]

....You have been found guilty for the death of Ryuji Sakamoto, Akira. Then again, you didn't need to be told that, riiiight?

[In the stunned silence, she smiled, and patted his shoulder.]

Aah, but you were really lucky~ After all, Ann there was willing to sacrifice herself so you could go free...I considered it, but I decided that I wanted a traitor like you as my Furniture much, much more.

[Laughing, she vanished in a burst of flame....no doubt about to prepare whatever punishment she wanted to give to him, leaving him hanging helplessly in the air...

...To talk to the people who had believed in him.]

1/2

[beguiledcard]

[ And... for a moment, he just stares... ]

PUNISHMENT OF THE WITCH: DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS

[lutea]

[...After everything -

Akira is suddenly yanked away, to float near the center of the courtroom
Nirrti appears again, her flames floating in the air....and turning into all manner of sharp bladed swords and knives...]

...It's time. Have fun dying again, won't you? *cackle*!

[And with that...she flings him up in the air, towards the ceiling - which suddenly expands, going up, up up up...

Until he stops again.

And below him....Are all of the swords, and knives, pointed and placed just so that if he goes through, he'll be cut, ripped, sliced...

...And even more horrifying is that they slowly inch in the farther to the ground they are, until -

But there is no time to think about it, as the Witch laughs again - and lets him drop, looking as casual about it as if she were dropping a doll...

slice. Shrrrp.

It's almost gentle, at first - the noises that are made as he falls to the ground, as the blades slice at his skin and through the clothes he's wearing.
Blood begins to drip, drip, drop onto the ground, and he's making noises of pain - but he can't stop.

Slash. Slirrp-

When he hits the second ring, Akira begins to scream.
They're further in now, so they hit his arms, legs, so deeply you can see pink glimmers of bone deep inside as he's dragged forward by gravity, even if he's falling slower than someone normally would -!

Blood flows onto the ground, onto the blades, and Akira's screams ring through it all.

...When he hits the third ring, his gasping, gurgling screams are suddenly silenced - and all that can be heard is the sickening squelch and thwacks of flesh and bone grinding up against razor-sharp metal.

He is dead before he even hits the ground.
But when he does....it's a horrible sight.
He is nothing but a mass of cut up meat barely held in place by his skeleton, gray and black fabric pieces floating down, still clinging to him.
And his face...is practically removed, beyond one single part.

A small portion of the left side of his face is left intact, his half-open gray eye clouded over, with tears running down...

The world begins to fade away, and Akira's body and blood fades with it, along with the audience, the Witch...

All that is left in the end is the ballroom, feeling cold and empty as they return to the Island.]

[excavated]

[ Yeah, sorry, the moment the execution ends and they're all on the island is. Sword executions give Syaoran war flashbacks so he's just kind of frozen still, completely breathless. ]