Cicatrice 

As always, I’m digging a hole by myself today. A grave for those who have finished serving their roles. The feeling of weight in my hands and sound of the earth crunching below is no different from any other day. Nothing will ever change here, I’m the only living thing.

My name is Cicatrice, and my job is to mourn the dead here in the Abyss of Demise. Those resting here are not ordinary humans. They’re Mainframe programs that have reached the end of their lifespan and ceased functioning.

I bury their bodies and stay by their side to ensure their eternal rest. This is the only mission I’ve been given.

An out of place alarm rings out in the dominating silence of the Abyss. I gave the monitor a sidelong glance, and sure enough, there was a report from the Mainframe.

“There’s a program that refuses its demise. Collect it.”

I don’t really understand it, but it seems like there are many beings in this world that can’t accept their own end… It’s only natural that outdated functions incapable of serving their purpose would be replaced with new ones… Why refuse to die?

“There’s no point in thinking about it. It’s time to go.”

I transfer to the target coordinates to collect the difficult program.

“H-Hey you!? Are you that “Grim Reaper” from the rumors!?”

“...Some people call me that. Now, come with me.”

“Sh–!? N-No! Not yet! I can still work!!

The target program immediately rushes to attack me.

“So it ends like this…” I sighed. I had no choice but to draw my weapon, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…!”

With a flash of my weapon, the target program became a particle of light and ceased to function.

“...Now, we’ll go together. May you find eternal peace in the Abyss.”

As I returned to the Abyss to bury the new dead, I felt a faint sense of unease.

“Hm…? Did I bury someone here recently?”

The soil in front of me showed clear signs of recent disturbance, but I couldn’t recall having done any new burials in this section.

“...I should check just in case.”

I switch to search mode and look up the data on the grave plot in front of me. The information was impossible to believe.

“The program I buried… It’s gone!?”

Unlike ordinary humans, programs don't completely disappear even when we're buried in a grave. But there wasn’t a single trace of anything remaining in the grave.

“No way… Could it be some kind of malfunction?”

I hastily ran a diagnostic check, but my system functions all showed as operating normally.

“...Could it be resurrection? Is such a thing even possible…?”

Feeling uneasy, I compare the past records of the Abyss with the present, something I rarely have the opportunity to do. The records show multiple instances of programs having suddenly disappeared and then "resurrected."

“This is an emergency…”

I had to start investigating immediately.

Even after comparing the revived programs' functions, roles, and behavioral patterns during their lifetimes, I couldn’t find any commonality that linked the incidents together.

“Are they being revived at random? …No, that seems unlikely.”

Meticulously studying the events that had unfolded since the programs were resurrected after burial, an anomaly caught my eye. The program’s bodies appeared to transform upon revival, bestowing them new functions they hadn’t possessed in their previous life.

“...Which means they all had some kind of bug. But what kind of bug could it be?”

As I mull it over, the newly installed surveillance system sounds an alarm.

“...Is it another resurrection!?”

Rushing to the scene, I came across exactly what I expected—another program had been revived.

“...Perfect. You’ll make an excellent sample to compare the commonalities of the resurrected.”

The destiny of the dead could not be reversed. Natural order was absolute, and I would rise to teach them this fact.

“Y-You’re Cicatrice!? W-Why!? Why are you here!?”

“...That’s what I should be asking you. You were supposed to be deactivated.”

Yes, the program before me was one I had already erased with my own hands.

“...In any case, I’ll be sending you back to your grave.”

“I won’t let you! I haven’t created enough! I’ll make more and more! SHAAAHH–”

Several trees were born from the hands of the resurrected program, growing rapidly to wrap around my body and restrain me.

“Damn…!?”

Sure enough, the reborn program seemed to have gained stronger functions than when it was alive. But…

“...This is nothing to me.”

I tore off the trees restraining my body and swung my sword at the program.

“...Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

With the blow, the program returned to rest.

“...His role was to ‘develop’ planets and cities, and he took great pride in that work… Perhaps those strong feelings from when he was alive are what caused the resurrection?”

The strong desire to restore life to a program that had stopped functioning… I was convinced that this was a bug called "obsession".

Just as I had suspected, all of the resurrected programs were controlled by a bug called “obsession”, and said programs were running amok.

As far as I could tell, the ones designated to prepare food were cooking anything and everything, wanting only to “cook more”. Meanwhile, programs assigned to take down “hostile Avatars” were cutting everything down like a combat machine. It seemed that those with strong desires, dreams, and obligations while alive had been revived from the Abyss.

“I don’t understand… How can one have such strong feelings?”

A desire so strong that it could distort and alter one’s own functions—I couldn’t fathom the idea at all.

Just then, an especially loud emergency alarm began blaring. Upon verification, I discovered a horde of resurrected programs swarming towards the Abyss.

An army of the dead—a Phantom Legion… Their likely aim was to destroy me and increase their own numbers. Even now, the number of them displayed on my monitor was growing. However, there was only one thing to be done.

“...May the deceased rest in peace.”

In terms of numbers, the Phantom Legion proved to be a threat, but their individual strength was weak. With my power as guardian of the Abyss, returning them to eternal rest would be a simple task.

“Gaaaggh!! No! I want to keep fighting!”

“I still want to play with the children…!”

The rampaging programs voice their desires, their cries filled with regret as they scatter.

“...Wait, Cicatrice! I… All I want is to protect humanity! Why do I have to be destroyed!?”

“...Because that is your destiny.”

No matter what wishes the dead held, no matter how noble their mission, it was irrelevant to me. My role was to bring about the end to those who reached the end of their lifespan. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Now… Let us return—back to the place where you belong.”

After confirming I had cleared out any of the dead that caught my eye, I began to scout the area.

“A number this large must have a ringleader controlling them.”

If I could destroy their leader, this battle would come to an end.

As I continued searching, fending off the dead, I felt an unpleasant sensation I had never felt before. It was as though a lump of ice had been pressed against my back… I recoil instinctively, something deep rooted telling me to do so. Then, almost instantly, a burning greatsword struck where I had just been standing moments before.

“...As expected, Cicatrice.”

“You’re… Tristis?”

Before me was my predecessor… The guardian of the Abyss from the last generation—Tristis.

“No… You’ve been resurrected as well?”

“That’s right. After you buried me, I spent ages in that cold earth… Finally, I’m back!”

“Don’t be absurd… You were once the guardian of this place, and now you mean to violate natural order?”

“Who cares about natural order! Now it’s your turn to die… Cicatrice!”

“Ggh…!”

Tristis and I both prepared for combat. My functions were essentially a direct upgrade from my predecessor, however… Tristis, now controlled and transformed by this "obsession" bug, was much stronger than before.

The battle reached a stalemate.

After many exchanged blows, I was the one who ran out of breath first.

It’s strange… Tristis wasn’t this strong before. What is it giving him this strength?

I couldn’t comprehend the nature of the impulses that drove him beyond his duties as a gravekeeper.

“...You’re sad, Cicatrice.”

“...What are you talking about!?”

“You’re strong. Probably several times stronger than me… But that’s all.”

“That’s…all?”

“Yeah… Cicatrice, your strength is cruelly hollow. You have no ideology, no desires to protect… So just what exactly are you fighting for? How long do you plan on digging your own grave in solitude?”

What was I fighting for? I had never once considered such a thing. I realized that Trisis’s single question had shaken me to my core.

“Too slow! What’s the matter, Cicatrice?”

“Ugh…!”

Even a momentary lapse can be fatal in combat. A bright red scar was engraved on my chest… and my vision went dark.

“Ugh…!”

The impact of the attack nearly made me lose consciousness, and Tristis wouldn’t miss the opportunity.

“Dust to dust, Cicatice!”

Tristis raised his greatsword to deliver the killing blow, but I was the guardian of the Abyss… If I lost here, the silence of the dead would be broken. I quickly regained my composure.

“Tristis… You asked me what I was fighting for. Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for that.”

I focused all my power into my sword and launched an attack towards Tristis’s chest.

“Gagh..!?”

“...I will fulfill my duty. It’s the only reason for my existence, and that’s enough.” I answered, staring at Tristis as the blow shattered his core.

He collapsed to the ground slowly, a look of agony on his face.

“...In the end, you’ll just bury me again?”

“...What drove you to this point?”

“Curious, huh…? I was yearning for ‘life’. When I became useless and you put me in the ground… I went mad with desire to live… I was afraid of death.”

“... I don’t understand. ‘Yearning for life’ and ‘afraid of death’, I can’t comprehend what you mean.”

“Is that so… Cicatrice, the miserable, lonely grim reaper… No, maybe it’s better if you stay like this. Maybe you’ll be… happier… Who knows…?”

At that, Tristis returned to eternal slumber. Like always, I dug a hole alone—a grave to bury those who had fulfilled their duty… The feeling of weight in my hands and sound of the earth crunching below was the same as always… But…”

“...It hurts?” 

As I buried Tristis’s body, a light ache ran through my chest.

“...But the wound is healed,” I wondered as I stroked my chest. “The Abyss… What will I feel when I’m buried here?”

I don’t know yet. Maybe I’d never know. Even so, I would continue to protect the slumbering dead, today and tomorrow.