Chapter Three - 3

3

 

Kirisame placed the lapis lazuli pendant around Kimiyo's neck. It was believed by some that lapis lazuli had the power to ward those who wore it against misfortune. But Kimiyo's worst misfortunes had already come and gone. It was too late to do anything. Kirisame touched Kimiyo's cheek. It had gone as cold and firm as a jewel. Kirisame offered a prayer that Kimiyo wouldn't encounter any misfortunes in her next life.

Kirisame said goodbye to Kimiyo and returned to the library. He found Snowy leaning against a bookshelf.

“Now then, let's give some thoughts about the head of the girl with the weirdest name here, Utamika.” Snowy walked to the window and looked at Utamika's head. “Her body from the neck down was dumped in the bathroom next to here. She's being treated like trash. As far as the culprit was concerned, she might have actually been trash.”

“Wasn't she killed because she and Miki witnessed Kito?”

“Now, now, all in due time. Look at the end of the string tied to her hair.”

A thin transparent string, maybe fishing line, was tied to her hair and hung from the curtain rod above the window, creating the illusion that Utamika's head was floating in mid air. Snowy suddenly took the head in their bare hands. As they lifted it up, the taut cord sagged from the top, forming a loop.

“Give it a pull.”

Snowy pointed with their chin, and Kirisame followed their orders.

“Put that loop around the lock,” said Snowy. “Ah, never mind, you suck at this. Give it here.”

Snowy stretched out the loop and hooked it to the crescent lock of the window. The string looped around the lock, over the curtain rod, and then down to Utamika's hanging head, which Snowy still held in their hands.

“When the window is unlocked, that half-moon hangs down. Like that, put the loop around it. Feed the string over the curtain rod up top, so that when Utamika's head is pulled downwards, it transfers an upward force to the lock. Thus, the lock is locked.”

“Does that really work?”

“Dunno.”

Snowy dropped the head. Then, exactly as predicted, the lock was pulled upward and the head resumed dangling in the air as though nothing had happened. (See figure)

 

 

“Hold the head up like I am and keep the string taut. Then drop the head. The force acts on the string, and the lock is closed. It's elementary school physics. The only thing stopping you from seeing it was that the weight used was a human head. Utamika was killed just so she could be used for this trick. She was killed because the culprit needed her head.”

“What? She was killed just for that? There must have been any number of other weights they could have used for this trick. Killing Utamika and cutting off her head just created unnecessary work for the killer.”

“No, the head is a perfect weight, isn't it? No one would ever suspect that it was used as a tool, let alone one to lock the room. It would do a better job of hiding the string trick than anything else.”

Kirisame nodded.

“But what if Utamika hadn't come to work today?”

“Then, I think the culprit would have had no choice but to use books. They'd probably have selected a book that would provide as much camouflage as possible, like a book about the cursed daggers or one containing the legend of the Six Headless Knights.”

Whether it was a book or a human head being hung, Kirisame thought there was no way he'd ever come up with a way to lock a room with them.

“And what about Miki?”

“I'll explain why Miss Miki's head was hung later.”

“Well, I think I understand how you can lock the window using a head. However, even if you prepare this trick, it won't allow you to lock the room from the outside. The window locks when you drop the head, right? Even if we assume the head was balanced on the curtain rod, how do we drop it from the outside?”

“Use a timer.”

“And where do we get something like that?”

“It's right here in the library.”

Kirisame looked around the room. He saw nothing but empty shelves and scattered books. There was nothing that could be called a device. No matter how hard he looked, all he saw were books. Bloody books, scattered books, books arranged in regular patterns...

“The books... in the seven-pointed star...”

“You're starting to get it.”

“I was curious about the books making up the seven-pointed star. They seem to flow. Just like a wave, they move in the direction of their lines. When I thought of waves, I got an idea. The real reason the star was drawn.”

“Yes. Why did the culprit have to draw a star? That's the crux of the issue. Rather than talking about it, why don't we do it ourselves?”

Snowy picked up the book at their feel, opened it halfway, and set it upright on the floor. When viewed from directly above, the book formed a “ku” shape, just like the sofa in the entryway. They clapped their hands excitedly and then ran off. They picked up another book and stood it on the floor as well. There was a small space between the two books, and they were placed so that the back cover of one was aligned with the front cover of the other.

Snowy looked at Kirisame and asked him to help. Kirisame picked up a nearby book and placed it next to the one Snowy had just set up.

“It works better if you use thick books or ones with thick covers, but even an average book will stand up straight if you open it a little like this.”

After about five books were set up, Snowy stopped working.

“Kito originally made the entire seven-pointed star out of standing books, right?”

“That's right. But setting up all those books would take too long, so I only set up enough for the demonstration. Now then, what was the point of setting these books up? Obviously, it's so we can knock them down.”

Snowy lightly pressed the corner of the vertical book with their index finger. The book slowly fell and leaned against the next one in line, causing it to fall as well. The books fell one after the other, eventually forming a wave. When the last book fell, Snowy whistled in satisfaction.

“They're like dominoes. Dominoes made out of books. It's an all new invention! A highly derivative invention, but an invention nonetheless,” Snowy declared with an arm on their hip. “Now, we can use these books and Miss Utamika's head to lock the window from the outside.”

Snowy picked up the atlas that was under the window and set it up the same way. This was a much larger book, so it looked more stable. Snowy took Utamika's head in hand again and placed it near the book's inside corner. The sight of the severed head precariously balanced on a book was more comical than creepy. The head had also been raised, causing the extra string to hang down. Snowy ran the loop over the curtain rail and hooked it to the crescent lock, then declared it was done.

“As soon as the book falls, the head falls and the window is locked.”

Snowy put their money where their mouth was and pushed the atlas over with their fingers. Utamika's head fell off the book, the string was pulled, and the window was locked.

“Earlier, you assumed the head was placed on top of the curtain rod, but you were wrong. The head was placed on top of a book. The position where the head was placed perfectly aligns with one of the points on the seven-pointed star. Do you know what that means? The book dominoes were started from a different corner, fell smoothly, and finally made their way here. In other words, all Kito had to do was take advantage of the time it took for the dominoes to actually make their way to the head. First, Kito started the dominoes falling from another corner near the window. Then he leisurely climbed out the window and waited for it to be locked. And if it didn't work, he could just go back inside and try again.” (See figure)

 

“The middle part of the dominoes' path is at an almost acute angle. Will that really work?”

“Uh-huh, it looks like he carefully lined up the books in double rows around the corners. In fact, because they're books, he was able to bend the ones at the sharp curves and find out exactly where they needed to be placed and how.”

As Snowy said, there were extra books piled around the corners.

“It's snowing outside. Did the culprit leave any footprints?”

Kirisame opened the window and checked. A cold wind stung his cheeks as the world turned pure white. No matter how far he looked, it was all white and he couldn't see a thing. It was snowing heavily. The footprints had disappeared, likely buried by the snowfall.

“Are you saying the culprit knew that it would snow when they killed Utamika, Miki, and Kimiyo?”

“I'm sure they had plans for what to do in case it didn't. Like covering the tracks in snow knocked off the roof, or scattering books over them.”

Snowy was calm.

 “Then let me ask you something extremely important. Why did Kito create a locked room at all? He left Kimiyo still alive inside the room-”

“It was to hurt you.”

“Me?”

“Because you're the one who killed Kimiyo.”

Snowy looked up at Kirisame with a sneer.

“What are you talking about? How did I kill Kimiyo?”

“Kito was the one who drew the seven-pointed star and decapitated Miki and Utamika. Kimiyo was probably just drugged unconscious and laid out in the star. Nevertheless, when you entered the library, Kimiyo had a dagger stuck in her chest. No doubt it was Kito who prepared it all. But you were the one who stabbed her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You really don't get it, do you? In addition to the dominoes for locking the window, there was another set of dominoes set up inside the library. They functioned as a device to automatically stab Kimiyo with a dagger. The door you kicked down was the starting point for the second line. The door itself was the first domino. Both doors to the library were potential starting points. The moment you kicked in a door, the dominoes were activated. If you hadn't broken down a door, Kimiyo would have been safe. But you did. You activated the trap. And the dagger stabbed Kimiyo.

“That can't be true...”

Kirisame groaned.

“You can see from the flow of the fallen books. Starting near the entrance, they turn corners and go straight to Kimiyo. The final trick of the dominoes is to automatically stab Kimiyo with the dagger. It's the same mechanism as when they locked the window. Look, there's a big book lying near where Kimiyo was stabbed. There are also some very thick dictionaries scattered around.”

Snowy pointed down at their feet as they walked. An atlas and several Japanese dictionaries had fallen. Snowy set the atlas up vertically, just like before. On top of the atlas, they placed dictionaries horizontally, one atop the other. Pressing their fingers into the spine of the atlas, they checked the balance of the dictionaries.

“As long as you don't stack them too high, they won't fall over.”

“What are you doing?”

“Now we place a dagger on top of the dictionary. Let's pretend my hair clip is a dagger for a moment.”

Snowy placed their hair clip on top of the stack of dictionaries. Their bangs fell over their forehead, and their face was suddenly much more feminine.

“It looks like the dagger was deliberately placed so that you wouldn't be able to see it through the glass window in the door. There were also a few books left on the shelf specifically to block your view. Now, starting from the door, the dominoes make their way here and finally knock over the dictionaries, with the dagger on top. This time, instead of dropping the severed head, they dropped the dagger. The dagger was positioned on top of the books pointing the way the dictionaries would fall; that is to say, towards Kimiyo. The reason multiple dictionaries were stacked was, of course, to get the dagger far enough off the floor. If it didn't fall from at least a certain height, the tip wouldn't have room to turn and point downwards.” (See figure)

 

Snowy pushed over the tower of books they'd set up. Their hair clip fell to the floor with a bounce. Snowy picked it back up and replaced in on their head.

“There's no way a dagger could pierce someone that easily.”

“That dagger seems rather sharp, so I don't think it's impossible. Well, it certainly didn't hit with much force. In fact, Kimiyo was still alive when you found her. That's proof the stab wasn't very strong.”

“What if the dagger fell over, or the dominoes just didn't work right?”

“I think this was Kito's last resort. In other words, suicide. Whatever the case, there's no doubt that you activated the dagger. Even if it was indirect, you killed her.”

“Don't lie to me!”

Kirisame reached out for Snowy's shoulder. However, his arm grabbed nothing but air. Snowy easily dodged and stood next to him with a cool face.

“Are you going too kill me too?”

“I didn't kill Kimiyo.”

“No, you were the one who killed her. You were definitely the one who delivered the fatal blow. You asked me earlier why Kito locked the room. The answer is to prove no one other than you could have killed her. To eliminate his own presence from the library, and at the same time to eliminate any room for other culprits to fit into your theories and deductions. Furthermore, to make it impossible for you to argue you aren't the culprit. This locked room was designed to ensure you'd be the only possible culprit. If Kimiyo hadn't left that message before she died, you would have wondered who the culprit was. Kimiyo was alive before you opened the door. After you opened the door, she was stabbed to death. The room was sealed with no room for escape. But you were in the room. You might have deduced who the culprit was. But in the end, you'd have no choice but to accept that you are the culprit, for there would be no possible third parties. Maybe you'd realize that the door was a domino piece. You might have figured out that the severed head was used to lock the window. But you'd still have the lament of having opened the door. By the way, Miki's head was suspended above another potential starting point for the dominoes. In the unlikely event that you were late for work, the blood flowing from Miki's head would have soaked into the book, and the additional weight would have eventually set off the dominoes. Just as an insurance policy.”

“What about the dominoes that didn't fall?”

“The dominoes are constructed in a loop that can fall in either direction, so there's no way the dominoes of the door that you didn't kick in would remain intact. The same goes for the dominoes under Miki's neck. When you knocked one down, the whole set went down. You should have been able to see the dominoes before opening the door. Did seeing Kimiyo lying on the ground upset you that much?”

“What if I'd gotten to Kimiyo before the dominoes?”

“You couldn't have outpaced the dominoes. Kito set up barricades of books around the doors and scattered books all over the floor. You had to climb over them to get to Kimiyo. Even as you were struggling to get the books out of your way, the knife was already starting to fall.”

Gradually, Kirisame lost the ability to understand Snowy's words. He could hear their voice, but the meaning washed off of him. Something in Kirisame's heart was beginning to fail.

“Hey, is this really that upsetting to you? Are you actually sad about this? It's not like you had any deep feelings for Kimiyo. You only thought of her as a tragic maiden with a terminal disease. So why do you look so sad? I don't get you at all. Did you have any reason to kill Kito? Did you have the right?”

“I did like Kimiyo... but what did she feel for me?”

“Kimiyo's last words were 'The culprit is Kito'. Those last words were born of compassion for you. If it weren't for those words, you would have immediately realized you were the culprit, and you would have been driven to self-destruction. However, with Kimiyo's dying message, you were able to make Kito the culprit. You killed Kito. Kito had to be the culprit. You couldn't let yourself become the culprit.”

“Kito was the one who set that trap!”

“And yet, you were the one who killed her. And you're going to keep killing her. Kimiyo... Marie. And Marie will continue to kill you. The fate of having to kill each other with each new life you lead isn't Kimiyo and Kito's. It's Kimiyo's and yours. You are Raine and Kimiyo is Marie.”

“That's a lie. I don't have any memories of reincarnating. I don't know about Marie, or Raine, or the daggers. There's no such thing as fate or reincarnation. Don't lie to me.”

“Now, now, there's no need to be rude. I didn't lie. It's only natural you don't know about Marie. Because your destiny to keep killing her begins here. It was your mistake. The origin of your curse isn't 13^th century France. It's here, in the Library at the End of the World. Kimiyo, who was killed by you, will reincarnate in 13^th century France as the only daughter of a count named Geoffroy. Kito, who you also killed, will reincarnate as Geoffroy.”

“That's impossible! Then what about the story of the daggers that's been passed down through legends!? What about the incident with the headless knights at a castle in France!?”

“You who are reborn will now shape the stories you already know. What you call 'history' is just fate. And fate is already set. I told you. The world is nothing more than a point. The reality we are in now just so happens to be a world where we can learn the history of many different points. The next point you all will exist in just so happens to be history. You may have thought that people can only reincarnate into the future, but that's the limited thinking of a person who can only see the world as a line.”

“I don't understand what that means. I don't understand at all.”

Kirisame staggered and leaned against the wall. He pressed his forehead to it and looked down. Kimiyo had died inside that seven-pointed star. Kito had been the one to make it a seven-pointed star. That meant Kito had made a lucky guess about an incident that had yet to occur. It was totally different.

“To make things easier on you, let's try picturing the flow of the world as lines. The world for the character known as Marie ends with 1989, then continues by circling back to 1243. In reality, Marie was born over a decade before that, but what's important to her is 1243, when the daggers drove a wedge into her life, and 1916, during World War I. The problem is, even though Marie loses her memories of the end, Geoffroy doesn't. He still clearly remembers being killed by you as Kirisame in this library.”

“Is Kito also a person who continues to reincarnate?”

“Yes, and so are you. But you forget that fact soon enough. No, I don't know if you forget, or if your inheritance of the memories just doesn't go perfectly... I don't even know how exactly reincarnation works, practically speaking. Maybe there exists something like a soul, and it transfers to the body it is next to be born as. Maybe we're all being possessed by the souls of the dead. Whatever the case, you'll become Raine. And you'll kill Marie. The reason you accepted Kimiyo was because you were burdened by your fate. At the end of the day, that's all there is to it.”

“They always called it the Library at the End of the World,” Kirisame murmured. “I'm beginning to doubt we're actually in Japan in 1989. No, from the beginning, this library was at the end. The end of the world... is this our destiny? Kimiyo is up in heaven, singing happily while looking at the moon. She is, isn't she?”

“There is no moon in heaven,” Snowy said coldly. “There's nothing but loneliness.

Kirisame's usual expression returned, and he laughed at Snowy's declaration.”

“Why can't we be saved even when we die? But what about Kito? Why is he the only one who didn't lose his memories and knows about reincarnation?”

“Because he came across an exception.”

“An exception?”

“1971. An incident where two people, a man and a woman, were found dead in a seven-pointed star drawn in lime in the parking lot of a certain university. You might have realized this after reading the newspaper reports on the case, but the man and woman whose deaths were reported in the article were Marie and Kito-Geoffroy. Geoffroy approached Marie, pretending to be Raine. It's a bit of a platitude, but he was clever. He completely fooled her. This happened back in 1971 – or rather, it's a summary of events that occurred. She loved Raine, so she was easily fooled. Kimiyo was cautious in this life, so she didn't fall for him and was attracted to you.”

“Who killed them in 1971?”

“Nobody. They both committed suicide.”

“Doesn't that violate the rules of the daggers? Does that mean it's okay to use the dagger to kill yourself? Where did the dagger come from? Kito said he didn't have any daggers on him. He even said he avoiding bringing anything at all.”

“And here's where the exception comes in. Here's what happened. In 1971. Geoffroy approached Marie and proposed they perform a ritual. It was a bizarre ritual involving a seven-pointed star. What was the ritual's purpose? I don't know what was going through his mind. Maybe Geoffroy really was trying to break the chain of reincarnation. However, during the ritual, Geoffroy encountered an exception. That exception... was Geoffroy himself. To be precise, it was Kito at the age of eight. This might – no, it's definitely hard for someone like you to understand, but within the point of 1971, two of Geoffroy's reincarnations were alive at the same time. Geoffroy, the college student, approached Marie, and Kito also existed as an eight year old boy. I understand you were quite caught up on the idea that the age calculations for the reincarnations didn't make sense, but you never considered the possibility that there could be an overlapping period. (See figure) The eight year old boy was the exception who learned of his fate, which he wasn't supposed to know about. He was only a child. I don't think he entirely understood everything that was going on. But Kito was born with a great mind and a cold heart. He threw the dagger he'd prepared into the star and told Geoffroy to commit suicide. As far as Kito was concerned, the world only needed one of him. Eight year old Kito returned to his home and got himself an alibi. But I don't think the police even questioned him. They only asked around because his house was in the neighborhood. On the other hand, Geoffroy committed suicide within the star. This caused Marie to realize that the person next to her was Geoffroy, not Raine, and she committed suicide as well.”

 

“Wait. I understand why Kimiyo – er, Marie, would get pessimistic and commit suicide. But why did Geoffroy also take the dagger and commit suicide?”

“Because he'd been shown the significance of the existence of exceptions.”

“They're 'significant'?”

“Reincarnations can overlap. Geoffroy immediately realized how terrifying that phenomenon was. He became terrified of both Marie and himself. That's why he committed suicide.”

“What was he afraid of?”

“Overlaps. For example, suppose Mr. A dies and reincarnates as Mr. B. Let's say that Mr. A and Mr. B's lives overlapped for several years. Then, Mr. B dies and becomes Mr. C. Suppose there is a period of several years where Mr. B and Mr. C's lives overlap. Now Mr. C dies and becomes Mr. D. There is a period of several years where Mr. C and Mr. D's lives overlap. What would happen if multiple reincarnations coexisted like this? The person sitting next to you might have been you in a previous life. Or you might become them in a future one. A man waiting at the bus stop... could have been you in a previous life, or you might become him in a future one. The singer on stage performing for an adoring crowd could have been you or come from you. You'll wonder, how many people who exist today, who've ever existed, will ever exist, are you? Are all humans different incarnations of you? Geoffroy, who remembered his reincarnations, found the concept of overlap terrifying. If it were real, then where did he start, and where did he end? He felt as though his existence were being spread thinner. Can you imagine having to share the world with another instance of yourself? On the night Geoffroy painted the seven-pointed star with Marie, he was Geoffroy, and he was Kito. There was no distinction between them. Even if there were, he couldn't find it himself. It was a fear that his 'self' was spilling out into the world. If it was just one duplication of the 'self', that might still be in the acceptable range. But what if there were millions of him, all around the world? That would be a horror beyond description.”

“That's weird, though. The Geoffroy in the star in 1971 already had the experience of being Kito, right? What did he have to be afraid of that time? He must have had experience with overlaps already.”

“Yes, Geoffroy was originally Kito, but this was his first time meeting another Geoffroy. That's why it was an exception. Was it because the timing of Kito's birth was off, or did the timing of Geoffroy's death come too late?”

“Are you saying that the overlap happened because the world is becoming more distorted? But, what does it matter if the person next to you on the bus could be you? Your self resides within your physical body, in your brain thinking and sending information through your nerves to make your muscles move.”

“If you were to lose that body, then you might as well be the person next to you. There was only one person, but two physical bodies. I think it won't be long before you stop placing so much faith in your physical body. You'll get your boundaries back if you ever forget you're a reincarnation, though.”

“Is Kito the only person to overlap?”

Snowy shook their head immediately.

“Come on. Even if it were to happen to someone else, how would they know? Even if you passed yourself on the street, there'd be no way to tell unless you both knew you were reincarnated.”

“What does Kimiyo have to do with all this?”

“Kito imagined a world full of duplicate Maries. He thought there were two genders, and all women were Maries. Any woman could be a reincarnation of Marie. Then he thought that was unacceptable. It's a strange belief, but the thought process leading to it is simple: A man is Geoffroy, a woman is Marie. The belief that the whole world is made up of two people. Self-centered nonsense.”

“He's delusional.”

Kirisame shook his head vigorously.

“I think it's normal to dismiss it as a delusion. It's an extreme idea, that all the world's people are reincarnations of Marie, and there's no basis for it. There's no guarantee that a woman will reincarnate into another woman, for one. He was born an exception and thought that made him privy to the secrets of overlaps. It can't be helped that some distorted thoughts rose within his heart.”

“So why did this tragedy happen? Why did he put Kimiyo to sleep inside the seven-pointed star, kill Utamika and Miki for no good reason, and turn me into a murderer? What is Kito's goal?”

“My theory is that Kito is planning to destroy Marie. The existence of Marie that overflows the world. At the same time, he may also be targeting you as the source of the reincarnations, and seeking to destroy the structure of this world. I don't know. The reason he used a locked room trick to make you a murderer may have been to cast you into such deep despair that you drop off of the chain of reincarnation. He was planning to cut off your fate from Marie's. Let the two of them be the only two who continue to be reborn.”

“But it just had to come at the end.” Kirisame stepped between the pages of a book. “I'm sure we'll meet again someday. You know an amazing amount. It's as if you've seen this all before. Or maybe you have?”

Snowy chuckled knowingly.

“I don't know how much I'll remember when I'm reborn. I might forget most of it. But I guess I have to go to Kimiyo. In the next world. If you're ever there too, can you watch over us and make sure things work out alright?”

“What are you going to do?”

“I'll be back.”

Kirisame ran out of the room, kicking books at his feet and sending dust flying into the air.

He ran to the entryway. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling gave off a cold glow. Kimiyo lay peacefully under the light. Kirisame approached her corpse and rested his cheek on her forehead. It was their final farewell. He raised her body and pulled the dagger from her chest, then held the still bloody blade to his throat. He couldn't feel a thing. Kimiyo's blood flowed from the tip of the blade and covered the hands he held it with. The blood was still lukewarm. But it soon went cold. The cooling of the blood seemed to be telling the story of Kimiyo's death. Kirisame tightened his grip, and, with one swift motion, slit his throat.

He could clearly see the blood come gushing out. It felt like his consciousness was leaking out through his throat. He lay on his back so he wouldn't stain Kimiyo with his blood. The blood floated to his mouth and he coughed. He couldn't cough enough. The taste of blood filled his mouth as he drowned. He felt his arms losing strength. Kirisame dropped the dagger. He had no more strength to hold it. He felt dizzy. His ears rang. He couldn't think. His vision went black.

He saw total darkness.

Kirisame died.

 

Previous Chapter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Next Chapter