The Azure Sky

"Do you believe this world is full of beauty and hope?"

"Maybe... probably... I guess... there's a chance it is?"

The beautiful figure before me smiled as if bathed in sunlight, yet I couldn't feel even the slightest warmth.

"Then do you believe that we in this world... are already dead?"

"..."

I wanted to feel her forehead and see if she had a fever and was hallucinating, but her words, so earnest they allowed no room for doubt, reminded me of the reality before my eyes.

"If we're already dead, why don't I remember dying?" I sighed, then said with a helpless smile.

The smile before me remained unchanged, but a chill spread from my heart throughout my body.

"Right... why... don't you remember...?"

The sunlight melted away in an instant. It did not vanish completely, but turned into a bone-deep chill.