If Yui ever knew what she was doing at any given time, she would be truly dangerous. No one, not even Yui herself could comprehend her actions, especially now. She left her motorcycle a good distance away from her destination and walked as silently as she could before approaching the simple jailhouse’s backside. She knew she was in the closest thing to blind spots that a jail could have, and the rain and thunder covered the rest. If a camera so much as turned her direction, her magic would take care of it. But this was Yui’s last chance, and she knew it. She didn’t even need to ask the question for its answer, but rather she had no other way of breaking the ice.

Yui: {You really went and got yourself caught, didn’t you?}

The voice she expected to hear in her mind answered instantly, without an ounce of hesitation.

Diana: {Of course I did. That was the whole point of the game.}

Yui: {That, and killing a fuck ton of people, right?}

Diana: {Yes.}

Yui: {Why? What the fuck was the point? Is this a Balancing and I was just too stupid to notice?!}

Diana: {No, not exactly. This was just a game of mine.}

Yui: {A game?! What about all those people you killed, were they in on this game?!}

Diana: {They lost. Simple as that. They were players and pieces, all in one. The losers stay on the board for the next players to come in to piece together. When they lose, they, in turn, become pieces. The prize is catching a killer. …Though, she was wrong in one respect. Technically, I’m not a serial killer. I didn’t tie any of them together based on something like appearance or age or whatever. I picked at random, and I moved up after the homeless caught on.}

Yui: {But why? What was the point of all this?}

Diana: {You get so close, only to stumble at the finish line… god damn. This is why I wanted another decade or so. If I knew you existed and were this much of a player, I wouldn’t have bothered with the killing spree in the first place. But come on, Yui, you already know. You didn’t come here for that, you came for the question you left me with. The question from the past answers the question of the present.}

Yui: {…I didn’t exactly want to believe you were still a Balancer, Diana.}

Diana: {There’s a saying in the States. ‘There’s no such thing as a former Marine’. Same principle applies here. The only former Balancer is a dead Balancer. Just ‘cause I don’t do Kyubey’s work anymore doesn’t mean that I’m not still fucking good at my old job.}

Yui: {You…}

Diana: {Just for the record, I’m not blaming you or anyone else for their deaths. That game was mine, and mine alone. A high school girl playing detective won it, and my incarceration is her prize. I’m not implying that you could’ve done anything to draw my attention away from that game, or anything.}

Yui: {…Fine. Whatever, the fucking script. What was your callsign?} 

Diana: {Well, since you played by my rules, this time consciously, I’ll give you a lot. Kyubey called me ‘Divider’ back in the day. Has to do with my power, which you already have a beat on, but aren’t quite there yet. God, I hope you’ll figure it out in the next couple hours, though. Haven’t had a real fight in decades.}

Yui: {Sorry, I’m not breaking into jail to kick your ass. How’s that factor into your game?}

Diana: {I’m uh… not really worried about that. But we’ll get to that. You have questions. Your mind’s still drawn to my history, even if your morals want me dead. But if I’m correct about you, you won’t kill me. You walk that path.}

Yui: {How in the fuck—}

Diana: {I told you. You get a big prize this time. …Fiora Everest. A very close friend of mine. That was who I was meant to Balance back in 1919. It was the last job I ever took from Kyubey. She was like you. …A lot like you. She didn’t want to kill people either. …After a while. Which is ironic, considering how many Erasure jobs she took before that… My other friend, my oldest friend on the other hand, refused to—}

Yui: {It was an Assassination Balancing? But… that turned into a disaster, so—}

Diana: {Bingo. I fucked up. Fiora and I worked together for a long time. Not as long as I did with her, but… Well, Fiora, she saw it coming, and, uh… we fought. And as a result, well, it turned into an Erasure. And to be honest, I’m not even sure it took. Not a shot in hell she survived this long, though… especially if Kyubey wanted her dead to the point of a Balancing. Point is, I dunno if I succeeded, but that was the last job I took from it. …For, uh, almost a century, anyway. I wandered after that, but I always found myself drawn to other Balancings over the years.}

Yui: {Including Mitakihara.}

Diana: {Would you believe me if I said it was a coincidence? I’d heard through the grapevine that Mitakihara had a bunch of weird shit happen in a really short timeframe, so I came to check it out. Figured it was overdue for an Erasure. Robbed some homeless gamblers, killed one, then caught on to the Balancing in progress, so I stuck around. Couldn’t really play my game, since no one would’ve noticed it. Then, after your ragtag lot survived, nothing really happened. I needed to see if this city really did survive. So, I played my game.}

Yui: {And for some reason, you’re telling me all this.}

Diana: {I know what you’ll do. Now that the game I initially started is over, it’s time to wrap up the second. So whatever questions you got about my history… fuck it, while you still can, hit me.}

Yui: {Let’s go back to one I asked before. How old are you?}

Diana: {Couple centuries by now. The United States, as a country, is technically younger than I am, but only just.}

Yui: {How? Without turning into a Puella Vacua…}

Diana: {Now you know why I play games like this, I hope. If I didn’t, I’d become yet another American ‘Ghost’.}

Yui: {What did you wish for, way back when?}

Diana: {If I tell you that, you’ll figure out my power. I’m not giving that away. …Let’s just say I made a choice. And I didn’t. And in both cases, I regret it. That’s all. Typical Incubator bullshit, really. It’s how I met Kyubey, even if I didn’t see the fucker again for a while after that.}

Yui: {Wait, but… that doesn’t add up. You didn’t see it again for awhile, but you were a Balancer?}

Diana: {Son of a… You have to have some sort of knowledge beyond what you know with your own two eyes. You wouldn’t have survived an Erasure otherwise.}

Yui: {…Meaning?}

Diana: {Come on… Do you really think Kyubey’s the only one? If you do, you’re gonna have a hard time going forward. If you don’t know, you’re not ready for it.}

Yui: (She goes quiet. She doesn’t want to tip her hand at her omniscient sources, and secretly cursing herself for taking away Cecilia’s sight.) {…What about your other friend?}

Diana: {…I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’m ready for it. Look, we… we’re all running from something, Yui. My oldest friend and what I did to her is part of that.}

Yui: {And what exactly did you do?}

Diana: {…Tell you what. We both somehow survive tomorrow? I’ll tell you more about her. I respect people who can pull off that kind of miracle. But can you flip a coin and make it land on its edge? When the stakes are this high?}

Yui: (She’s quiet for a moment)

Diana: {Now you’re the one who’s stalling.}

Yui: {…I know what you’ll do.}

Diana: {Man, I really don’t wanna have to get into some kind of character or put on a mask for this… come on, Yui. We’re both playing with our hands face up, why change that now?}

Yui: {It isn’t that I don’t wanna fight you. I do. I wanna punish you, beat the shit out of you, avenge all those innocent people you killed. Even selfishly, I wanna know that power of yours in full. Academically and personally. Your soul is fascinating, I can’t help but be curious, even if I know you’re a terrible person.}

Diana: {Heh. Good to know you’re not naive, at least.}

Yui: {It’s not like I don’t know you’re bustin’ out of there, either. You gave that girl her moment, catching a killer, but since the Sixth Bureau doesn’t exist here anymore, there was never any doubt of iron bars holding you. …But I’m not sure if I can—}

Diana: {—do it without killing me? That’s your game, Yui Arashi. Kinda played yourself, truth be told. But you weren’t ever gonna escape living outside of a normal human’s lifespan without facing the horrible truth of the world someday. You kill to survive, or die trying. Anything else is just a stall.} 

Yui: (She’s silent for a long while this time)

Diana: {You took a few steps on The Path. You tied it to your moral code, and even now, you’re trying to find your way back to it. But man… you made it an uphill battle. You kill someone, even by accident, even when it’s the right call, you fall off The Path. And then, it gets that much harder to get back onto it. I’ve done my homework. Only part I can’t figure out is how you bounced back so quickly. But after tomorrow, I don’t think that’ll matter. Fiora pulled off that miracle once. …Twice, if she’s still alive. But you? Man, miracles just don’t grow on trees.}

Yui: {…You’re a Balancer. I should’ve known that Magia was always gonna be part of this.}

Diana: {…Sorry, Yui. But that’s who I am. You’re seeking Magia. I was a Balancer for over a hundred and fifty years. Old habits die hard. What happens next was inevitable.}

Yui: {So… what happens next, then?}

Diana: {You’re so smart, but you’re so goddamn dumb… I really wish you skipped the obvious questions. …You own an empty lot in the industrial district. In twenty-four hours, I’ll be there, waiting. Once the sun goes down, I’ll finish the job that that ragtag group of nutjobs Kyubey sent in started. You can stop me. Or you can’t. It’s as simple as that. There’s no other rules to this game. I don’t care what you do to try and stop me. I don’t care what rules you play by. I don’t care how you or anyone else fights me. Any means necessary. But whatever you do with the knowledge that you’re under another Balancing just five months after the last one? That’s on you. …Now, off you go. Time’s not on your side.}

Yui: {…You just wait and see what I do, Divider. I’ll make this coin land on its side and show you what miracles I’m capable of pulling off.}

She doesn’t wait around to scan Diana’s soul for her reaction. She already knew. Diana’s reaction would be that wide-eyed shock that kept her coming back for more ‘rounds’ of the game. But now, the stakes were set. Yui didn’t have a reason to doubt Diana’s capability. After all, she had spent several months killing countless citizens in her twisted games. Yui only knew how to play by pure luck in how she was raised and her subconscious soul reading given to her by her wish. No one else would’ve caught on in time. 

The thought had crossed Yui’s mind that this really was just a game to Diana, and that she could be bluffing.. But if Diana was really raising the stakes, Yui had no choice but to play by Diana’s rules this time. Yui didn’t come this far to surrender Mitakihara to another Balancing. Indeed, this is what Yui prepared for with the birth of New Eden. The question was, how could Yui force the coin to land on its side, anyway? To Yui, twenty-four hours would be plenty of time to figure that out.