《Tales From The Kronos》


 Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

    "Have you ever wondered where we are?" The man with short black hair asked his friend, looking at the space beyond the window of the spaceship with his brown eyes. His friend, significantly shorter, stared at him with uncertainty.


    "What do you mean? We''re on board of the Kronos." The short man looked in the same direction as his friend, but all he could see was the space and the reflection of his feminine face on the glass.


    "Not the ship, I know that. I mean, what''s beyond? We''re just orbiting around the sun, drifting forever, aimlessly."


    The man and his friend stayed silent for a while, looking at the vastness of space. It wasn''t unusual for him to ask these questions, but his friend never knew what to answer. A long moment took place before the short man received a message on his phone. He recognized the name instantly and showed the message to the man without losing a second.


    "You''ll think about time and space later Kairo, Leader is calling us."


    "Again... It''s happening more often lately..." The man stood up, annoyed to leave his peaceful break.


    The ship was pretty large, so it always took a few minutes to get anywhere. Eventually, the two of them made it to their leader''s office. She was never actually there, the only thing here was a screen on the wall where she would show herself, always with a mask on her face. No one knew why she was so secretive, but nobody ever had any problems with it and trusted her nonetheless. It took a few minutes before the screen turned on by itself, revealing the leader with her white mask.


    "Kairo, Neige. If I called you here, it''s because something terrible happened. It is of the utmost importance that you investigate what happened."


    "Wait." Interrupted Neige, the short man "Silva isn''t here, we can''t go without her!"


    "Do not worry." Assured their leader. "She has some... Unfinished business. I sent her a text with all the details, she''ll come when she ready." The leader took a short pause to take a deep breath and continued with a serious tone "As you know, there have been multiple instances of perturbation in the universe. We identified someone traveling through space and time, but I checked, and it''s not one of our members."


    "Someone else? But I thought only us could travel through dimensions." Said Kairo, worried by the words of his leader.


    "I thought so too, but this person is an anomaly, they were never supposed to exist. Thankfully, we managed to find her homeworld."


    The screen that was showing the leader was now displaying a weird sequel of characters. -11081999x- It was the system they used to identify and travel through worlds. It always was a sequence of eight numbers, but it was the first time that a letter was added.


    "There are Xs too now? It was already hard enough when we put letters in math! I already barely remember any of the Universe''s name." Complained Neige at the sight of the numbers on the screen. After his short little tantrum, the leader continued.


    "There is a reason behind the added X, and it''s actually why this is urgent. As you know, among those parallel universes exist also other versions of you. Other Neiges, Other Kairos."


    "Yes we know, you already taught us before... Can''t you be direct?" The moment Kairo said those words, Neige gave him a hit with his elbow, gesturing him to be silent.


    "Admittedly, but this time it''s important. It seems that one of the Neiges lived in this universe. While he was supposed to survive, an unknown event caused his demise. It created two 11081999, one where he lived, and one where he died. It''s the first time something like that actually happened."


    "I suppose that this person traveling through dimensions is from the world where Neige died." Added the man, thinking about the strange situation. Neige on the other hand was feeling a bit weirded out to learn about the death of one of his other self.


    "Indeed." Confirmed the leader. "I want you to investigate there, there is no need to blend in with the inhabitants of this world since there is none left. I will ask you to depart as soon as possible."


    "Yes, Leader!"


    "Yes, Leader!"


    The two spoke in unison while saluting their leader before leaving to prepare themselves.


    The two men both put on their uniforms, weapons, and tools and prepared to ''jump'' into the other world as they called it. But after seeing the hesitation on his friend''s face, Kairo decided to talk to him before jumping to their destination.


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    "Neige, are you okay? Is it because you learned about the death of one of your other selves? You know it happens often."


    "It''s not that." Neige looked at the watch they use to jump into other worlds "She said that the anomaly traveled through time. Do you think we could use it to change the worlds? We could end tragedy before they even happened!"


    "Don''t say that, our duty is to make sure the timeline is stable. No more, no less."


    "I wonder if it''s the right thing. Anyway, let''s end it quickly, there are things I want to do with my day."


    Their conversation over, the two friends set the world as their destination on their watches and traveled in it without losing more time.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "C-C-Cold..." Observed Neige, desperately trying to warm himself.


    They arrived at what appeared to be a small town, with snow everywhere. The town wasn''t big, a few houses, a church, and that was pretty much it. But something else bothered Kairo, it wasn''t the cold, it was the snowflakes. They were staying in the air like gravity was no more. Not only that, but this place seemed to be devoid of life, there was no inhabitant, but also no wildlife, nor wind. Kairo looked around while Neige desperately tried to warm himself. The man quickly noticed the state of his friend and tried to find a place to stay warm with him.


    "Neige, let''s go to the church."


    "O-O-Okay..."


    They made their way inside, it wasn''t in a good state. The candles were broken, the windows fissured, and the walls burnt by something. Whoever this God was, his followers weren''t focused on taking care of his church.


    Neige was more focused on warming himself while Kairo looked around the church. He didn''t find much more than some papers with drawings on it. He assumed it was from children since it was very poorly drawn. It featured a nun with long yellow hair and a girl with short white hair.


    It didn''t mean much, aside from the fact that people were here before. Next to the drawing was a book, inside were even more badly drawn characters, but also some writings. It looked like the owner of the diary was learning to write but the alphabet was different from the one the man used, making it impossible to read. The last page had a lot of words, all written badly in different alphabets. The only word he could read on it was ''Neige''.


    Kairo took the diary, and went back to his friend, still freezing cold.


    "You know, you need to get better with cold weather." Said Kairo jokingly to his friend, who answered by giving him a cold stare. But even though he was giving him the cold shoulder, Neige quickly noticed the drawing and the diary in Kairo''s hand.


    "What''s that?"


    "Oh, that. I found it in the hallways of the church. Looks, there''s your name on it. Looks like whoever it belonged had a crush on you. I don''t know what the other words around it are though." Kairo handed the diary to Neige. He knew more about languages than Kairo did, he just loved to learn about the culture in different worlds, and because of that, he was able to read the other words.


    "So, you can read them?"


    "Yes... But I don''t understand, they all mean Neige. And all of these languages are from different worlds, so only someone that could go in other dimensions could write that."


    "So... That means that the one that wrote this diary is the one we''re searching for?" Kairo still couldn''t believe that someone else could go through time and space. The writings and drawings were childish, making it even more difficult for him to believe in it.


    "Yes, most likely." Confirmed Neige before looking at the drawing and pointing at the girl with white hair "I think it''s the Neige from this world."


    Kairo looked closer, trying to determine whether it was Neige''s other self.


    "Really? I mean you both look similar, and you look feminine, but not that feminine."


    "Well I don''t really think it matters, it''s just-" Neige stopped suddenly after looking at the stained glass of the church. He pointed at it, making Kairo look at it too, and they both saw it. The snow was falling, like time continued its course. They were about to speak but got cut off by a voice resounding in the church.


    ~Neige? Is that you?~ Said an eerie, feminine voice in a calm tone.


    Neige and Kairo both took their firearm in their hands and stood back to back, searching for the origin of the voice.


    "Where are you? Show yourself!" Despite Kairo''s order, the voice didn''t obey. Instead, a sort of dark, slimy matter entered through the cracks of the window.


    "We have to leave, we already have enough!"


    Neige agreed with Kairo''s words. They both tried to use their watches to get back to the ship, but a tentacle completely made of that dark matter came out of the ground and prevented Kairo from inputting the necessary numbers.


    ~Where are you going?~ Asked kindly the voice ~Can''t you stay a little bit longer?~


    "Neige! Run away, it must be the anomaly! We can''t negotiate with it!" Kairo yelled at Neige, who stood there looking at him. There was no way for him to leave Kairo alone.


    "Maybe she''s not a bad person. Hey! We don''t want you any harm, can you let us go for now?"


    The voice and the dark matter stopped for a moment, leaving the two friends with hope before she continued talking


    ~Sorry, I''ve let you go too many times Neige. Today is the day when we''re finally reunited, and nothing can stop us!~


    The kind and soft voice suddenly became more aggressive while the tentacle wrapped harder around Kairo''s arm. As a desperate measure, Neige tried shooting the dark tentacle, in vain.


    "Neige, you have to leave!"


    Saddened, Neige listened to his friend and started to input his destination into his watch. He knew he wouldn''t be able to do anything by himself and needed to tell what happened to his leader.


    ~Are you really leaving!?~ Almost screamed the voice ~I thought you were heroic, that you would do everything for your friends!~


    Those words were enough to make Neige stop to think. Was he really about to leave his friend to an uncertain fate? He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn''t notice that the dark matter was about to attack from behind.


    "Neige! Behind you!" Thanks to this warning, Neige barely dodged the hit. But the voice wasn''t from Kairo, it was from another person that he knew very well.


    "Silva?" Asked Neige incredulity while looking at a girl with short red hair, who happened to be the third member of their group.


    "I hope I didn''t arrive too late!"

 Chapter 2: Silva saves the day!

    The third member of the group stood at the entrance of the church while her two friends were surrounded by this black goo that they identified as the anomaly.


    ~You... Have I seen you before...?~ The voice asked in a confused tone.


    "I doubt it, I don''t have weird friends like you!"


    Silva answered while smiling in a provocative tone, her tone was carefree, unlike her two friends who stood there in worry. The situation was dire, but if they could at least leave the church, they would be able to run away from the anomaly. However, Kairo''s arm was still trapped by the anomaly''s tentacle. In a decision that took a split second, the man took his laser knife with his other hand and cut his own arm to escape. Silva flinched at the sight of her friend cutting his own arm, surprised by the decision taken by Kairo.


    "Kairo! Are you okay?"


    "It doesn''t matter, we have to leave!"


    ~You''re not leaving anywhere!~ Threatened the voice.


    The two friends hurried toward the exit, but at the last moment, Kairo''s leg was grabbed by the dark matter, making him fall. It was only after they left the church that Neige and Silva noticed that their friend was still inside. Before they could go back to save their friend, the door violently closed in front of them.


    ~Dang it, I wanted to grab Neige...~


    Silva and Neige both tried to open the door, in vain. The dark matter slowly escaped thanks to the space below the door, forcing the two friends to step back.


    "We have to leave Neige, the leader will find a solution!"


    Neige froze, considering facing the anomaly again for a chance to save his friend. Silva felt the same, but even if Kairo and her were friends, she knew that Neige was closer to him. Knowing it was for the best of everyone, Silva grabbed her friend''s arm and used her watch to return to the ship with him.


    ~Neige! You can run but you can''t hide! I''ll find you!~


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Once back on the ship, the duo immediately ran to their leader''s office and summarized what happened. After giving their report, the leader stayed silent for a few minutes. Neige couldn''t endure the wait any longer and yelled with desperation in his voice.


    "Please, maybe he can still be saved!"


    The leader continued to stay in her silence, not knowing what to answer. Even despite her mask, it was evident that she was also affected by Kairo''s fate.


    "I''m sorry, but you can''t... There is actually something more important going on."


    "More important than saving a friend from a monster?" Yelled Neige at his leader while Silva tried to comfort her friend by holding him.


    "Something of the utmost importance was stolen. I have reasons to think that the culprit is in the world 03031337. It''s unlikely that the anomaly stayed in her world, I doubt she would stay in the same place, and it probably took Kairo with her."


    Neige was still unconvinced, but he knew that he needed to listen to his leader, she knew better than him after all.


    "So... should we go now?" Asked Silva, still worried about her friend Neige. Their leader must have noticed Neige''s behavior because usually, she would want the job done fast and quickly. But this time, she actually shook her head at her member''s question.


    "I think you should take a small break first, and besides, you need a new third member to accompany you. A new member joined us recently, you should go meet her at the med-bay. And don''t forget to be nice with the new recruit."


    "Yes, Leader!" Silva saluted her leader, while Neige left as soon as possible.


    Neige was walking quickly, too quickly for his partner who had trouble following him. They both headed to the med bay until Neige suddenly stopped to look at the space behind the window of the ship.


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    "Neige? What is it?"


    Silva''s words stayed without a reply. Neige slowly put his hand on the cold glass pane. Lost in his thoughts, he asked a question, not intending for it to get an answer.


    "You ever wondered where we are?"


    "You sound like Kairo now." The two stayed silent, looking at the empty space beyond the ship. Noticing the emptiness in her friend''s behavior, Silva gently took his hand and spoke gently to him "You know that missions are dangerous, it''s not your fault if something happened to him."


    "I know, it''s just that... It was so fast, I couldn''t do anything. And this voice... I know it''s speaking about one of my other selves, but it''s like it knew me personally... I can''t help but think that it''s my fault..."


    The two friends stayed silent for a moment, taking a moment to think about their common friend. Silva still stayed hopeful they would see Kairo again, but Neige still couldn''t help but blame himself.


    "Let''s just go, our new partner is waiting for us."


    Silva and Neige arrived after a few minutes of walking. Despite being spacious, the med-bay was relatively empty, only two persons were there. The first one was obviously the doctor, Gwyn, the two friends knew her well despite her usual cold attitude. They came here a lot to heal after a hard mission, and Gwyn helped them without talking much. What was unusual was the second person. It was a girl, with long hair as black as the space beyond the ship and a skin slightly brown. Her violet eyes stared at the two friends with an empty gaze. It was very unusual to see new people join their group. Usually, it''s people they save from a world that is no more. They would have remembered if they saved this girl before. The new member stood up from her chair to come closer to them.


    "You must be Neige and Silva." She said, with a voice as empty as her eyes. The two friends stayed silent for a moment until Silva finally broke the heavy atmosphere with her voice.


    "Who''s that? I don''t recognize her voice."


    Neige almost forgot about Silva''s blindness, she always managed to get around so easily that it was easy for him to forget. He wanted to answer her but the girl did before he could.


    "My name is Sepide. They told me I will work with you from now on." Sepide proceeded to bow to her new partners. The mysterious girl then left before Neige or Silva could ask her anything. Silva quickly followed her, but Neige stayed inside to ask the doctor a few questions.


    "Who is she?"


    The doctor flinched like she had just woken up from a nap when she heard Neige''s voice. Gwyn took a few moments to answer, not without showing her annoyance at having to hold a conversation.


    "I dunno. The boss told me to check if she was ready to roll. I didn''t see any problems with her, so it should be alright."


    "Okay..." Said Neige, not fully satisfied. As he was leaving to join the other, Gwyn stopped him to tell one last thing. She looked serious, enough to frighten Neige with her gaze.


    "Neige, be careful with her, she''s not human."


    His heart started to beat faster after the revelation from the doctor. Was she really not human? Was she hiding some sort of secret?


    "Is... Something wrong with her?"


    "I dunno. Just doesn''t feel human." Neige was pretty lost, he didn''t know whether it was an important warning, or just Gwyn being cautious. It was always hard to communicate with her, almost like she was in her own world. Neige nodded before leaving, taking the doctor''s warning to heart.


    After a few minutes of searching around the ship for the two others, Neige finally found them in their leader''s office, waiting there.


    "Hey, why didn''t you wait for me?" Asked Neige, slightly offended.


    "I thought you would find us. It''s faster that way." Sepide said in a very calm tone. Neige was almost wondering if she wasn''t a robot of some sort. If he had more time, maybe he would have asked. But the screen turned on by itself, with their leader on it, still wearing her mask.


    "I see that you are all here, it''s good. I hope that you will make a good team, even if you don''t know each other yet. You can imagine that if it wasn''t urgent, I wouldn''t have cut short your previous mission, but it is of the utmost importance." The group was waiting for the goal of their mission with anxiety. They expected the mission to be really hard, it seemed important after all "So, you see... My diary... It got stolen. I located it, but you need to go there and retrieve it. And don''t look inside it... Thanks."


    "What? All that for your diary?" Asked Silva, offended their leader would even ask that. They would put their lives at risk just for a journal after all.


    "I do not think that it is very optimal." Said Sepide, in a very neutral voice. Silva expected Neige to agree with them, but to her surprise, he seemed to have accepted it.


    "Do you at least know who stole it?"


    Happy that at least one person was on her side, the leader continued to explain their mission.


    "Well I don''t know exactly, it just disappeared and there was no way for a normal human to steal it. It''s located in the dimension 03031337, but this petty thief also caused trouble there, you''ll need to fix the timeline there as well."


    "Oh, so we''re actually going to work and not just get the journal you lost?" Asked Silva in a sassy tone, still disappointed by their mission.


    "I didn''t lose it, it''s just that... Whatever, it''s not important. Your goal is to retrieve the diary and make sure the sheriff Coop keeps his place as the sheriff of the town. It''s a long desert, you should dress up and act as a cowboy to blend in. It''s the best way I found to make you interact with their world without being noticed."


    "Oh, I always wanted to dress as a call girl." Said Silva very enthusiastically, before being corrected by Sepide.


    "I think you mean cowgirl."


    "Really? Can you explain the difference to me?" Said Silva with a grin on her face in an attempt to annoy their new member. Even despite her mask, the leader seemed frustrated they didn''t obey her but was too shy to actually force them.


    "Can you go now? Please?"


    After bickering a bit, the group finally listened to their leader, which was almost begging at this point. They readied themselves, before hopping into their new goal. They were determined to end this quickly to continue the search for their friend.

 Chapter 3: The Lands of Dehydration

    The scorching sun shone on the members of the Kronos, the sand stretched to the horizon, and the only trace of civilization around was a wheel from a cart. But before doing anything else, Sepide immediately took out her phone and started to record her voice.


    "We are now in the world 03031337. I can''t see anything noteworthy aside from the sand. I''ll call this place ''The lands of dehydration'' because of my regret of not bringing any water bottles with me."


    While Sepide made her report of the place, Neige looked around, trying to find anything that could help them. The man didn''t see much but quickly noticed that the third member of the group was nowhere to be seen and immediately turned toward Sepide with visible worry.


    "Sepide! Have you seen Silva?"


    The girl looked around before continuing her report with the same empty voice.


    "We are now only two, as one of our members disappeared, probably lost between time and space."


    Shocked by the thoughtless behavior of her partner, Neige stared at her with disbelief. The man continued looking around but was clearly irritated by Sepide''s behavior.


    "Hey, never say that! She just... Has to be somewhere around here... If only there was a way to locate each other..."


    Sepide wanted to tell her partner about the low probability of their friend being safe but knew this wouldn''t help and only cause problems. Instead, she decided to look at a map they prepared before going in, and pointed towards a direction.


    "The biggest town is there. Our objectives are to find a diary, make sure that Sheriff Coop keeps his position, and find Silva. All of our goals should lead toward this town. Don''t you agree?"


    It was clear that Sepide wasn''t used to cheer people up. She tried to find the right tone and the right body language to be as reassuring as possible. Sadly for her, this didn''t make Neige feel better about his friend, but even he knew they didn''t have any other choice at the moment.


    "...Let''s go."


    After a long way, the duo arrived in the town. The sun was setting and their body only yearned for something to quench their thirst. They decided it would be better to search for a bar where they could drink something. While they were on the way, they were met with a surprising sight on one of the sandy streets. Two men, facing each other, with their hands very close to the revolvers on their belt. The tension stayed for a while until one of them finally broke the silence with his deep voice.


    "Give it up Coop, this town ain''t big enough for the two of us. Me ''n this new sheriff will make this town stay above broad and clean of your dirty crimes."


    After the first man gave his speech, the people around them started to clap and cheer for him, which clearly irritated the other man.


    "Don''t worry you mail-ordered cowboy, I''ll reclaim my place from this Silv and show you who''s the best sheriff aroun'' there!"


    The crowd booed the man during his speech. The two cowboys stared at each other intensely, ready to fire at any moment. Feeling that a shot could come at any moment, Neige quickly interrupted the fight by putting himself at the center, surprising the two men.


    "Wait, let''s talk about it before!"


    The crowd and Coop were visibly unhappy with this sudden interruption, however, the other man almost seemed relieved and put his hand in the air.


    "This tenderfoot cowboy''s right. A bloodbath wouldn''t solve anything."


    Seeing that no one would die today, the people around scattered around and continued their lives as if nothing happened. When Coop saw his opponent lower his guard, he quickly took this opportunity to run away cowardly.


    Neige was relieved that nothing bad happened. The cowboy that was dueling approached him in a friendly manner, saluting him with his right hand.


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    "Howdy friend. Thanks to you, we avoided the worst, so lemme invite you to take a drink."


    Neige and Sepide almost forgot about their thirst, and wholeheartedly accepted the offer of the good man who took them to the closest bar. He was expecting them to drink some alcohol, but they instead asked for a glass of water, multiples actually, amusing the man.


    "You must come from far away to be that thirsty. And not very well-prepared either. My name''s Gol''dner, I''m no sheriff, but everyone calls me that around here."


    "I''m Neige, and it''s my fri... Sepide. I heard your conversation, this man was the previous sheriff?"


    The man let out a sigh after the mention of the former sheriff. He looked at his glass of whiskey and took a large sip of it before answering with a deep voice.


    "Coop... He was the previous sheriff of this town, but he was as loved as tuberculosis. He may look like a man, but inside he''s crazy enough to eat the devil with horns on. Led by his greed and desire for power, he made this place as horrible as hell itself, as if the heat wasn''t enough."


    Neige and Sepide looked at each other before she whispered in the ear of her partner


    "We need to make Coop the sheriff again, it''s part of the mission."


    Neige nodded with hesitation. He saw how people reacted, they seemed happy to see Coop away but it was too soon for him to come to any conclusion, he needed to know more.


    "And why he''s no longer the sheriff?"


    The serious tone of the cowboy quickly shifted to a smile, it was as if the simple fact of remembering what happened made him happy.


    "I was nothing but a traveler, arresting criminals to gain his bread. But then, my life shifted when I met her. Silv, such an enigma, she already knew so much about me, even though we never met. She was no criminal, quite the opposite. She wanted to be the new sheriff of this town, she would be the brain, I would be the gun, and together we would be justice."


    "Silv..." Neige thought about this name. It was very possible that this Silv was another version of his friend, Silva. But it only made her disappearance stranger, was it just a coincidence?


    "Yeah, a name as strange as its owner. I''m no blind man, I know she has her own agenda, but the town''s more peaceful now. Most folks here are happy with her as the head of the place, and as long as I get food and justice, I''m a fulfilled man." The cowboys then looked at them and asked them with a strong voice.


    "And you, you''re not from aroun'' here, I can see that. What brings you tenderfoots here?"


    "We''re searching for a friend, short red hair, likes to paint even though she''s blind, pretty short too."


    Gol''dner was pretty surprised by Neige''s description and let out a laugh before looking at him in the eyes "It''s totally what Silv looks like, you''re friends with her?"


    Neige was now sure of it, this Silv was his friend''s other self. He knew that meeting the self of another world could bring problems to the balance of this world so it was urgent to find Silva before she met her other self. But what was even more surprising was that their leader didn''t say anything, usually, she would avoid this problem by not sending them to a world where there was one of their other selves. Neige stayed in his thoughts until Gol''dner finished the rest of his glass and slammed the glass on the counter before leaving some gold coins.


    "Take your time around here, I hope you find your friend. If you need any help, you can come to me. As the right arm of justice, it''s my duty to help." The man stood up and left the bar, leaving Sepide and Neige alone.


    "We should find this Silv and make her retire from her position, we can find the diary later." Proposed Sepide. Neige shook his head, clearly not on the same wavelength.


    "We need to find the diary first. And besides, they seem more happy like that, we can deal with it later."


    "I do not understand, is this diary so important?"


    "I can''t tell you, it''s important, that''s all you need to know." Sepide was confused about the words of her partner but silently accepted. He had more experience after all, he probably knew better.


    They both finished their last glass of water and were ready to leave, but a person sat next to them, a person they knew very well.


    "Silva?" Neige exclaimed after seeing his friend who he thought lost, sitting right next to him. He couldn''t help but feel overjoyed to see her, but also worried for some reason.


    "In flesh and bone. I was worried when I didn''t find you two, but I knew we''d find each other eventually."


    "We have a lot to share with you." Said Sepide in her usual cold voice, which kinda irritated Neige. The friend that they lost was right here, and the only thing she was talking about was their mission. But before Neige could argue, Silva continued to talk.


    "The night is almost here, I can feel it, we should search for a place to rest."


    "But we have no currency from this world, how could we pay for a place to sleep." Asked Sepide, to which Neige answered by showing some gold coins with a smile on his face.


    "This cowboy may be a great guy, but he''s easy to steal."


    "Did you steal from this man? You should give it back Neige, it''s dangerous." Reprimanded Sepide with judging eyes. She was quite disappointed that Neige would steal like that, but Silva wasn''t feeling the same.


    "It''s just his thing, he just likes stealing for the fun of it. You should be careful with your valuables around him." Silva hit Neige''s back with a cheerful laugh, to which he answered with a smile.


    "It''s also very practical. We don''t have time to work to earn this money."


    Sepide felt confused by their reaction, the fate of the world is at play, and they aren''t taking it seriously. She still decided to trust them but was almost disappointed by their lack of seriousness.


    The moon was high in the sky and the place started to get colder. Sepide really wondered if they would manage to find the diary and fix everything without consequences.

 Chapter 4: Another Nightmare

    The three friends managed to find an inn to sleep in for the night. There, they shared everything that happened. Neige talked about the old sheriff, the traveler who works for the new sheriff, and the new sheriff herself, Silv. After telling their friend everything that happened, it was Silva''s turn to tell her tale. She took a deep inspiration before talking, mentally preparing herself.


    "When I woke up, I was far away from everything. It was pretty jarring to find myself surrounded by sand, alone. I walked in front of me, it was the only thing I could do, I had no idea where everything was, I even lost my watch in the process."


    "You lost your watch?" Interrupted Neige, they could still go home as long as one of them had it, but if someone from this world found it, it could be really dangerous. The last thing they needed was for another person to travel to other worlds.


    "Yeah, but I know who has it. It''s this Silv! She stole it from me, and I heard her say she had the diary too!" Silva''s words only convinced the other two friends even more, they needed to meet Silv as soon as possible, everything led to her. After the short pause, Silva continued her story "Then I arrived here, I heard people saying you went into a bar, and there I found you."


    Neige was about to say something, but instead let out a yawn. The exhaustion finally caught up to them. The group agreed to think about Silv later, they were too tired for now.


    The three of them went to bed and did their best to sleep despite the cold of the room.


    ~Neige...~


    A voice echoed in the room, waking up the man. When Neige looked around, everything was dark, not like the night, but like emptiness. His friends weren''t around when he looked for them, and quickly decided to go outside to find them.


    The streets were empty, the moon was black, and the world lost all life. Neige searched around, but couldn''t find anything.


    ~Neige...~ Said the voice again, but no matter how much he searched, he couldn''t find the origin of it.


    "Show yourself!" Neige yelled while holding his gun in his hand, ready for a fight. But instead, the voice answered calmly.


    ~I miss you Neige, it''s been so long... I wish we could be reunited.~ As the voice spoke, he realized something. He heard this voice before, feminine, empty, cold but with a pinch of warmth. It was the same voice that attacked him and Kairo.


    "Are you the anomaly? Show yourself! Give me back my friend!" His respiration was faster, his voice more desperate. The thought of what happened was enough to make him lose control, but the voice didn''t answer with the same aggressiveness as him.


    "I''m sorry... I can''t. I wish I knew where you were."


    "Where I am?" Neige was confused, did the voice not know where he was, or was it lying? And if it didn''t know, then how could it speak to him? But it wasn''t important now, all he needed to know was if his friend was safe "Where''s Kairo? Answer!"


    ~Kairo? The one that was with you? I... Can''t really tell... But I''m sure I can be a better friend than him.~


    Neige wasn''t sure what the anomaly meant, the anomaly''s lack of interest in the person she almost killed enraged him. He didn''t even know that voice, he knew she was only confusing him with her Neige, the one that died in her world.


    "Stop acting like you know me. I have never met you."


    ~You''re wrong!~ Said the voice, not so calmly ~No matter which world it is, we''re always friends. That''s what you told me. You may not remember it, but I''ll remember it for you.~


    Out of frustration, Neige shot a bullet toward the sky, hoping it would make the voice disappear. But sadly, it wasn''t enough.


    ~Our path may split here, but I''ll find you Neige. And take care of my belongings, I know you took them.~


    Neige was confused for a moment, but he quickly realized that her belongings were probably the journal and the drawings he found in the church. Maybe they were important hints, but sadly he left them at the ship, making him unable to review them. Before Neige could ask anything else, snow suddenly fell out of nowhere along with strong winds. It was so much that it was hard to see, and after a moment, he lost consciousness.


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    Neige woke up and looked around, agitated. The room was dark like the night and his friends were sleeping. Everything was how it was supposed to be.


    "It''s just a nightmare, nothing more than that." He whispered to himself, still with a heavy respiration. Neige often had nightmares, but no matter how hard he tried, it always took a moment before calming himself. Knowing he wouldn''t be able to sleep right away, he decided to go for a walk outside.


    The cold of the night bothered him but not enough to stop him from roaming around the town for hours. He still couldn''t tell if it was a dream or if it was real.


    In the dark and empty street, a small light caught his attention, startling him a bit.


    "What are ya doing alone on this pretty night?" He recognized the origin of the voice, it was the cowboy he met before, Gol''dner. Neige walked toward him, still tired from everything that happened that day.


    "Just felt like I could use a walk." The man looked at Neige from head to toe before asking with a soft tone.


    "It''s your friend? You''re worried about her?" Neige gestured a no with his head and proceeded to explain.


    "I found her, but she... Lost something. And the only person that knows where it is, well it''s the sheriff. Is there a way we could meet her?"


    The cowboy scratched his beard, thinking about something. For some reason, he seemed like he was hesitating on saying something, but decided to say it anyway.


    "She''s as elusive as a snake in tall grass, she barely shows herself. But even despite her calm and ordered demeanor, she''s still as young as the night. She likes to play a lot, always dueling the best player in a game of poker."


    "Poker?" Said Neige, a bit disappointed. Was he going to play poker to find her? He didn''t even know the rules of poker, it would be a hard task to beat her.


    "Yep. Every Sunday there''s a tournament at the bar, might be worth checking if she''s here, but even if she is, she''s going to be discreet."


    He now knew where and how to find her, once he met her, he''d get the watch and diary back. They would then need to find a way to make her leave her place as the sheriff and make Coop take his place again. It wouldn''t be easy, since he still didn''t know how to do it.


    "And where''s Coop? I didn''t see him after the duel between you two."


    "Him? Don''t worry about him, if all his brain was made of dynamite, there wouldn''t be enough to blow his nose. He''s going to try again and give up like always. His greed is as big as his courage is small."


    That wasn''t really helping Neige, how could he make a coward like him take his place? Neige was even wondering if they needed to. It seemed like the man in front of him was doing a good job, and people liked him. Silv on the other hand probably wasn''t the right person to be the sheriff, she just stole a diary and a watch, not someone they could trust. And how did she get the journal of their leader anyway? Neige had so many questions and doubts but his body was too tired to find an answer to anything.


    "Thanks, I think I''ll go to sleep now. I feel like tomorrow''s going to be a long day."


    "Sure, take care of you, cowboy."


    They both parted ways and Neige went to sleep, but even despite his exhaustion, it was hard for him to finally fall back to sleep.


    "Play poker? This is your plan?" Asked Sepide, after Neige summarized his discussion with the cowboy. She wasn''t sure that it was a good idea, and looked at Silva to seek approbation. Instead, she just saw her friend drawing something on a paper.


    "Don''t you think it''s weird Silva? We need to be discreet, nobody should notice us." Silva got her nose out of her drawing and looked at the direction of the voice. She didn''t seem to agree or disagree, she actually seemed focused on something else.


    "I think it''s okay, it''s better than doing nothing. I guess it can still be interesting."


    "Interesting?" Sepide said, offended "We are here because we need to fix anomalies in the universe and make sure this world won''t collapse on itself! Why would it need to be interesting?"


    Silva answered nothing and continued her drawing. Even Neige was worried at this point. Silva always was pretty bad at reading the atmosphere, she was the kind of person to say hurtful things on accident, but she wouldn''t ignore them like that. The man slowly approached his friend and took her drawing from her hand.


    "Hey, give it back!" Silva finally talked after isolating herself in her silence. Neige got used to approaching her without being noticed even despite her good hearing. It was something that made him quite proud.


    "Come on, share with us what you were so focused on." Neige was more worried than curious, but he knew it was for the good of her friend. On the drawing was a weird figure, it was the silhouette of a girl maybe? Sepide took a look at it too, but didn''t seem to recognize anything either. Silva almost tore the drawing while taking it back and putting it in her pocket.


    "You never learned to respect a woman''s intimacy?" She said, visibly annoyed. "Come on, don''t we have a card tournament to prepare for?" After scolding them, Silva left the room in a hurry.


    "She''s pretty mad today, she must be on her period." Neige knew his joke wasn''t funny and just tried to relieve the tense atmosphere in the room. Sadly for him, Sepide looked at him with big eyes like she didn''t understand a word of what he just said. Neige stared back at her, a bit disappointed "Kairo would have said something..." Neige let those words in the air before leaving, clearly annoyed that Sepide took the place of his old friend.


    Sepide stood alone in the room for a few minutes, wondering to herself


    "Period? Like the thing at the end of sentences?"

 Chapter 5: Silv

    Neige, Silva, and Sepide all went to the bar, hoping to win the poker tournament and meet the sheriff. They all registered for the competition and only had to wait now. It wasn''t easy to convince everyone that Silva wasn''t their sheriff but just someone who looked very similar to her. Once everyone lost interest, the group sat at a table and started to talk about their strategy around a glass of milk.


    "So, should we cheat?" Proposed Sepide with her usual calm tone. Silva was shocked by her answer and didn''t hesitate to oppose her.


    "Cheat? That would be boring!"


    "But it''s not about being interesting, we need to meet Silv as soon as possible. If cheating allows us to fix everything faster, then I propose that we do it."


    Silva was clearly not agreeing with Sepide, and turned toward Neige, hoping he would side with her. The man hesitated for a moment before giving his answer.


    "Usually I''d be with Sepide, we need to fix everything as fast as possible. But if we get caught, everything will be much harder, we should only do it as a last resort."


    Silva smiled and looked at Sepide with a smug look on her face.


    "See? We''re gonna play it fair and square, whether you like it or not."


    Neige couldn''t help but notice the sudden shift in tone of his friend. There was something wrong ever since they came to this world, and even if he had an idea of the reason, it had to wait. Now was the time to focus on their objective.


    "So, anyone played before?" Asked Neige seriously, to which Sepide answered.


    "Not really. I just know the basic rules." She turned her gaze to Silva, hoping she would have more experience.


    "A bit, nothing crazy. What about you Neige?"


    "I never played, is it like Yu-Gi-Oh?"


    "Yu-gi What?" Asked Sepide, confused "Neige, do you know the rules of poker?"


    "No, but how hard can it be? I''ll just learn while playing." The two others looked at Neige with concern. They were surprised he proposed to play in the tournament without even knowing the rules. It was probably too late to explain the rules, but they still spent some time trying.


    "I don''t understand, how can I play my cards? I don''t have mana." Neige stared at his cards, genuinely trying to understand the rules. Sepide was trying to find a better way of teaching him, while Silva was explaining the basics.


    "You don''t play your cards, the only thing that you do is replace the cards you don''t want once per round. Then, you can bet as much as the other players, more than them, or fold."


    "Seems boring, it''s all down to luck. At least I can mulligan."


    "What are you saying? That doesn''t mean anything Neige!" Yelled Silva from the other side of the table with exasperation before getting closer to him to explain.


    "The goal of the game is to guess what they have in their hand while making sure they don''t know what you have in your hand." Neige looked at the cards in his hand, then at Silva. He continued like that for a few moments, before telling her straight in the eyes.


    "I didn''t understand, can you repeat?"


    "I''m giving up!" Announced Silva before going to the bartender for a drink. But even despite that, Sepide stayed with Neige to teach him more.


    "You need to get better cards than your opponent, if you think they have better cards, you fold." She explained calmly to her friend, to which Neige answered.


    "So I need to create a good deck!"


    "You don''t create decks, what are you talking about?" Neige thought he understood the rules, but he still had trouble with them.


    After a few hours, The tournament was about to start. Neige was still not understanding anything but the very basics. So to conclude, Silva came to him and gave him one last advice.


    "Neige, if you''re lost just fold."


    "What is folding?"


    Everyone was preparing themselves. Leaving Neige quite lost.


    Alcohol and sand were getting everywhere in the room as everyone was moving around. A paper with the list of every player was displayed. There were Eight players, including the three of them. The first match involved Neige, worrying his two friends.


    "There''s no way you win, but you know, miracles happen. Good luck." Silva tipped her hat to Neige to wish him good luck before leaving him at his table.


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    "Don''t worry, I think I understood the rules."


    Neige took his place on the table, facing three other men. When they saw Neige, one of them started to say in a mocking tone.


    "Aren'' ya the lady that don'' know the rules?" It was clear that the small size of Neige and his rather feminine appearance didn''t help him to be taken seriously, but even despite that, he wasn''t about to give up and decided to ignore them.


    The dealer gave them their cards, and in a surprising move, Neige bet all of his tokens.


    "All in!" He said proudly, as everyone was shocked, Neige then turned toward his friends and asked "Wait, when my hand is bad, I all-in, or I fold?" Understanding that he made a mistake, the others laughed at him, not taking him seriously at all.


    The dealer asked if they wanted to draw new cards by discarding some. Neige thought a moment, before announcing


    "No thanks, I keep my hand." Everyone was confused, if his hand was really that bad, why would he not change his hand? They all started to think that he was playing dumb on purpose, maybe he was a genius after all? Was he actually a poker expert? Everyone already betted too much to go back, and when the moment of revealing the cards was here, Neige revealed his four aces, winning him the round.


    "He cheated!" Screamed one of the players while pointing at him, Neige looked really confused and tried to explain himself while looking at his cards.


    "If I cheated, I would have taken some better cards, four ones are pretty bad." At this point, nobody really knew if he was a genius or a dumbass, and with all the tokens he got from this match, he was well set to win the tournament.


    Once he was over, Neige regrouped with his friends before apologizing to them.


    "I''m sorry, I thought I could win at least once." Silva and Sepide looked at him confused, he won after all.


    "It''s okay, you won Neige." Said Sepide, still trying to understand why he thought he lost.


    "Really? Their hands must have been awful then. Or maybe it''s my strategy of not changing my hand."


    "About that, if you thought your hand was bad, then why did you keep those cards?" Asked Silva, still amazed that he managed to win anything.


    "Well poker is about making your opponent confused, and to confuse them, you must confuse yourself first."


    They didn''t know if it was the stupidest or smartest thing they heard, but either way, the tournament wasn''t over.


    After some more games, Silva ended up last, Sepide in an honorable third place, and Neige was the winner of the tournament. Everyone was confused, and when the time to get his reward came, Silva interrupted everything.


    "One moment please, there''s still someone he has to beat before being declared the best."


    Everyone looked at Silva, annoyed that she stopped the part where the winner was rewarded. But then, she sat at the table and stared at Neige right in his eyes. Everyone in the tavern suddenly smiled, understanding what was happening.


    "The sheriff is still undefeated."


    Everyone looked at each other in joy and started to cheer for her.


    "I knew you were the sheriff, you just wanted to play in the tournament, right?" Said the organizer of the tournament. Sepide looked around confused, and tried reaching toward Silva.


    "What are you saying, Silva?" She tried walking toward her, but Neige stopped her in her movement.


    "I knew something was wrong, you''re not Silva." The girl with red hair smiled at Neige''s words. Was she not their friend? Was she the real sheriff playing around?


    The sheriff took an old book and placed it on the table, Neige knew what it was, it was the diary they came for.


    "Let''s have some fun! That''s what you came here for, that''s my bet. If I win, you give me your life, do we have a deal?"


    Her knowledge frightened the two friends, she seemed to know way more than she was supposed to. Neige sat right in front of her, and with a serious voice, gave his hand to her.


    "Deal."


    Silv shook his hand with a smile that looked innocent and childish, but for some reason, it was terrifying to look at.


    "I warn you, Neige, your tricks won''t work against me."


    Neige stared at the girl in front of him, if she was ready to pass off as his friend, he knew she would be able of much more.


    "I know you''ll cheat."


    "And you still played along despite that? Are all Neiges that stupid?" She clearly knew about the other worlds too, but it wasn''t the moment to think of that, it was time to win one last game of poker.


    The dealer dealt the cards, Neige looked at his hand but he had no idea what it meant. His opponent didn''t even look at her cards and instead asked him


    "So, will you change your hand, or will you confuse yourself to try to confuse me?"


    Neige planned to steal the diary while she was looking away, but she didn''t stop staring at him. Her eyes were locked on him, while Neige was feeling more and more uncertain about his chance of winning.


    "If you try to run away, know that I have your friend hostage."


    He figured that Silva''s disappearance was because of her, but it only made the situation worse, he just felt backed against a wall. It felt like nothing could save him from this situation, but when all hopes were lost, a distant voice echoed in his head.


    ~Send back the two cards on your left, you''ll draw a queen and king of heart.~


    Neige looked around him, but everyone was silent. He knew he heard this voice, but for now, the question was about whether he''d listen or not. Everything was out of his control anyway, so he decided that he might as well listen.


    He gave his two cards to the dealer, and he received a queen and king of heart, just like the voice said. The sheriff frowned as if something wasn''t going as planned.


    "It''s time to reveal our hands, sadly, your hand can''t do anything against me."


    Neige and Silv both revealed their hand, Silv had Four aces, but Neige had a Royal flush, the most powerful hand in poker. But Neige didn''t know that, so he had to wait for everyone''s reaction to know whether he won or not.


    The public was silent, shocked by what happened. Even Silv looked at Neige''s cards with disbelief, knowing that something had gone wrong. The girl glanced at the dealer, who looked as confused as her.


    "The... The sheriff got beaten at her game!"


    "Is this guy even real?"


    No one could believe what took place in front of their eyes, the person had never lost a game of poker just lost against someone that didn''t know the rules.


    Silv tried taking the journal on the table, but Neige quickly put his hand over it. Silv''s face filled with rage, barely able to control herself.


    "You were supposed to lose! I was supposed to win! I was supposed to be the real main character!" Everyone around her started to think she was crazy, that their new sheriff was a fraud. She was far from looking in control and was more like a child throwing a tantrum than a leader. Neige stared at the girl in front of him, his hand still on the book.


    "You read this journal, right? If you could read it, it''s that you know the language on it, and if you know it, then you''re not from this world."


    "Neige! I swear that this isn''t over, maybe I can''t win, but I can make you lose!" Silv suddenly ran away from the bar, leaving everyone perplexed. Neige quickly followed her, not without taking the diary they came for, followed by Sepide right behind him.

 Chapter 6: High Noon

    Silv ran as fast as she could, Neige and Sepide following close behind. She managed to get to her horse, waiting outside the city, and managed to get away from them.


    The two teammates looked around for anything they could use, but there was nothing they could do.


    "We can''t follow a horse, we will just get lost, we don''t even know where she is going!" Sepide said, frustrated that she ran away.


    But just when they thought it was over, they heard the sound of a horse coming toward them, followed by a familiar voice.


    "Chasing someone?" The voice was from Gol''dner on his trusted mount.


    They knew that if they said they were against Silv he would probably arrest them, but lying seemed risky. They thought for a short moment before the cowboy got them out of their thoughts "Giddy up, I''ll ride you there. We can explain on the way."


    Surprised, the two accepted his offer, and they all continued the chase against the sheriff.


    "Why do you help us?" Asked Sepide, a bit unsure about his motivation.


    "Silv, this scoundrel ain''t no saint, that I know, but I didn''t expect her to be the devil! She works with the old sheriff to steal all the gold from here, and then they''ll run away!" It was obvious that the man blamed himself, not only for trusting Silv, but also for not noticing it sooner.


    "They work together? That''s going to be annoying." Said Sepide to herself, knowing it would be hard to fix everything if the old sheriff wasn''t cooperative.


    "And why do you trust us?" Wondered Neige.


    The man stayed silent for a moment, before answering in an unsure voice.


    "I think that... You know what you''re doing. You two may be unsalted cowboys, but you know far more than me. But this girl, she told lies so well a man would be a fool not to believe them."


    The group arrived shortly after the end of their conversation, the man got out of his mount and pointed to a shack in the middle of the desert.


    "That''s their hideout."


    The two partners followed him and got closer to it. But even if they tried being stealthy, it looked like they got caught, since the old sheriff, Coop, came out of the shack to face them. Coop stared at them with a mean smile, while the small group stood in front of him, ready for anything.


    "You have no reason to be here."


    "Coop! I know about your plans, it all stops here!" Yelled Gol''dner with a strong voice.


    It looked like a duel was about to start, but Sepide ran between them and tried to convince them to not fire.


    "Wait! I have an idea, Coop, we''ll make sure you can get your post as a sheriff back. And Gol''dner you''ll keep travelling around like you did before."


    The two didn''t seem to agree at first, but Coop looked at something inside the shack before suddenly agreeing.


    "Please, I''ll do anything to not work with her anymore, I swear I''ll be a good sheriff now!" He said in an almost pathetic way.


    Sepide turned to the other man, hoping he would accept.


    "If you say it''s better, I trust your judgment." Said the cowboy, disappointed but acknowledging that the girl knew more than him.


    A conclusion seemed to be reached, Sepide was confident that after they caught Silv everything would be back on track. But just when she thought it was over, Neige faced Coop, his hand over the revolver on his belt. Everyone looked at him in shock as he raised his cowboy hat to look Coop straight in the eyes.


    "I oppose that idea."


    Sepide ran toward her friend, shocked to hear his words.


    "What are you doing? Everything was about to get fixed."


    "I''m not following this order. I prefer to risk it all and maybe live in a world I''m proud to be, rather than live in a shitty world that I''m forced to live in!"


    Sepide didn''t know what to say, it was against what they were supposed to do, but somewhere in her heart, she agreed partly with him.


    "I vote for Gol''dner to be the new sheriff and arrest Coop." He looked around, asking silently about their opinions.


    "No way, I''m the real sheriff!" Yelled Coop, outraged.


    "Don''t be too loud, history is about to be made. The boy''s becoming a man." Said Gol''dner smiling at Neige.


    Sepide was torn between her mission and Neige. Should they accept a corrupt man as their leader, or should they arrest him for his crimes? She took a long time to think, and seeing her hesitation, Neige put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.


    "It will be alright, I''m sure of it."


    Sepide didn''t feel the same but ultimately agreed. She trusted Neige to know what he was doing.


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    "The balance of the world is more important, but... You''re too tiring to convince." Sepide stepped back with her usual cold face, Neige still felt a bit annoyed but it looked like the girl acted a bit softer. The former sheriff heard everything and was clearly not happy with the decision.


    "That''s revolting! I''m the experienced one, the strongest one, the smartest one!"


    "Come on, your brain''s so dull it wouldn''t cut hot butter."


    Gol''dner''s words were too much for Coop, the former sheriff got his revolver out and was ready to fire at Neige. Thankfully, Neige was able to notice it in time, the man drew his revolver and shot precisely at Coop''s hand, making him drop his weapon and rendering him harmless. Gol''dner quickly reached out to the former sheriff and made sure he wouldn''t be able to cause any more problems.


    "Silv has to be in the shack, go get her!"


    Neige and Sepide nodded their head and quickly ran inside.


    There were two people inside. Two short girls, with short red hair and the same clothes which made them look like cowgirls, the only difference being that one was tied up by a rope. The free one was pushing random buttons on the watch that they use to travel through space, only stopping when she noticed the two partners coming inside.


    "Neige! Sepide!" Said enthusiastically the girl who was tied up, which meant she most likely was the real Silva "She has the watch, stop her!"


    Despite the girl''s warning, it was too late, the girl with the watch managed to get away and vanished in a flash of light. Neige wished he could pursue her, but there was more important for now. They hurried to help Silva and explained everything that happened.


    She was just relieved that everyone was alright and had the diary, she just hoped their leader wouldn''t punish them for changing the Fate of this world. She explained how she was already tied up by Silv when she woke up, and that she wasn''t able to do anything. All together, they decided to go back to town, away from this lonely place.


    They were acclaimed like heroes, succeeding in stopping Coop once and for all. Gol''dner insisted on offering them a drink, but the three of them refused.


    "We have things to do, I think we''re going to get scolded, so I don''t want to make it worse." Neige didn''t regret his actions, but he knew their leader wouldn''t let him get away with it.


    "I see, ''tis but a shame. Maybe someday, our paths will cross again. Neige, Sepide, Silva, may your future be bright. See you, space cowboys."


    After saying goodbye, the cowboy walked away, leaving the three of them together. When they all were ready, they returned to their ship after a tiring mission.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "We''re going to get in trouble! We''re gonna die, we''re so gonna die!" Kept repeating Silva, afraid of their leader''s reaction. She always was the one arguing with her leader, but disobeying a direct order was frightening for her.


    Neige and Sepide both stayed silent, the man because he did what he believed to be the right thing, and the girl because she tried to do as she was told, but couldn''t because of Neige.


    They waited for a long time before the screen in the leader''s office turned on, revealing herself covered with her usual mask.


    "Welcome, I hope everything went well."


    The three looked at each other, before giving them their report. The leader stayed silent during their explanation, leaving them a bit anxious about the punishment they''ll get. At the end of the report, the woman on the screen said in a very calm tone,


    "I see. Don''t worry, those things happen. Silva, Sepide, you can go, I will ask Neige to bring me my diary."


    Neige nodded his head in confirmation. The screen turned off, and Neige immediately left the room. The two girls were confused, they got away pretty easily, usually, the leader would be mad if something like that happened. Sepide quickly turned toward Silva and asked the experienced girl,


    "Does he know where the leader is? I thought she never showed herself."


    "Oh, right, you''re new here. While it''s true that she hides herself, the only one she trusts is Neige, they were childhood friends. Since you''re new you must be quite lost around the ship, why don''t we go for a visit?" Proposed Silva, Sepide was a bit unsure but decided that it wouldn''t hurt.


    They walked for a while around the ship, exploring the various places in it. There were their dorms, a place to eat, a greenhouse, an arcade, and even a tennis court. But even despite that, the ship was mostly empty, they saw only one person on the way here, leading Sepide to even more questions. When they took a break to drink a coffee, she decided it was a good time to ask the questions she had.


    "Why is there nobody, are they all on mission?"


    "No, we''re not a lot and this ship is big. We''re like, ten I would imagine. And I doubt they''re on missions, Me, Neige, and... Kairo were the explorers here. The other have more of a support roles like the doctor or the stupid engineer." Said Silva while taking another cup of coffee.


    Sepide was shocked by her answer, she imagined that a unit meant to protect the world would be more numerous. Especially since she, a person without prior experience, got in as a member. She couldn''t help but feel like she didn''t deserve to be here.


    "How are members chosen?" She asked, hoping to understand how she was chosen.


    "Usually we just take in people who lost their worlds, as for the team that fixes worlds, it''s a bit different. Like Neige for example, he just knew the leader before so it was natural he became a part of the group. Kairo was strong physically and he insisted a lot... Me on the other hand, I still wonder how I got here." Silva looked down as she uttered those words before taking another cup of coffee and continuing.


    "I come from another world too, Neige was the one that found me. Apparently, everyone was supposed to die there, so in a way, I''m an anomaly too... My parents treated me like that too, an anomaly. I know I''m weird, but I tried my best." She was almost about to cry but remembered that Sepide was here, she smiled and took another cup of coffee, hoping she wouldn''t worry her new friend.


    Sepide stared at Silva, empathizing with her.


    "But now you''re here, Neige and the others seem nice to you."


    "It''s true! I''m really grateful for them. I wasn''t supposed to survive, but even despite that, they took me in. I even have all the time I want to paint. I should show you my paintings after we finish the tour." Silva seemed happier after thinking about her time here. She took another cup of coffee before asking to Sepide


    "And you? What was your world like?"


    Sepide was taken by surprise by her question, she didn''t feel ready to answer, so instead she tried diverting her attention toward something else.


    "It''s the fourth cup of coffee, isn''t it enough?"


    "The sixth actually!" Corrected Silva, a bit too proud of herself. "It''s fine, it enhances my creativity. So, how is your world?" She failed to notice that Sepide was uncomfortable with that question, instead innocently asking her again. Sepide decided to trust her, but something weird happened. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t remember her world, she didn''t have any memories before joining them actually. The girl figured she might just be tired from her mission and tried to divert the topic one more time.


    "Don''t you have paintings you wanted to show me?" She said, hoping it would divert her attention.


    "Oh yeah, I''ll take one last coffee and I''ll show you."

 Chapter 7: The Leaders Diary

    Making sure he wasn''t followed, Neige headed toward the leader''s room. There was a code required that only Neige and the leader knew. Some tried to stay outside the room, waiting to see their leader come out, but she never did. Everyone accepted that they would never be able to see her for real aside from Neige and gave up. Neige inputted the code, allowing him inside her room. He closed the door behind him to make sure no one would see the room or the woman inside. Unlike the clean and shining ship, the room was dark and littered with paper and other stuff lying on the ground. Like always, the leader was wearing her mask, not even Neige was able to see her true face despite how close they were. She was sitting on her bed, waiting for Neige to bring back her diary.


    "Here, I have the journal." Neige handed it to his leader, who took it promptly. She opened it to make sure it was the right one and relaxed once she was assured of its legitimacy.


    "I feel better now, thank Neige." The woman looked at the cover and paused briefly before continuing "You went against my orders and changed the Fate of this world."


    "I didn''t want those innocent people to have an asshole as their sheriff."


    The woman slapped lightly Neige with her book, before saying in a falsely angry tone "Watch your language, young man."


    "Young man? You''re barely older than me!" Neige sat on a chair in the room while laughing with her friend before shifting to a more serious tone "This book... Just writing in it could make any wish a reality... I know we promised not to use it but... Do you think we could bring back Kairo with it?"


    "It''s... Complicated." The masked girl looked around the page and showed one of them to Neige. "Look, I wrote here that Kairo would come back safely, but as you know... He didn''t."


    "Wait, you actually used the book?"


    "I didn''t want any of you to get hurt, it was just a fail-safe, but it didn''t work. I''m sorry, I should have told you before using it..."


    "So what does that mean?" Asked Neige with sorrow, thinking about the loss of his friend. "That Kairo isn''t affected by the book? Or it doesn''t work anymore?"


    "No, I think it''s the anomaly. Usually, this book tells the story of every world and everything that happens in them. But the anomaly... It''s not at all in it, if you never told me about it, I never would have imagined it existed."


    "So it''s the fault of this monstrosity..."


    They both stayed silent for a while to think about the dire situation they were in until cries were suddenly heard. For the first time, the woman was crying, still trying to hold her mask despite that. Her hands were shaking, making the book fall to the ground as she desperately tried to stop her tears.


    "I''m scared Neige, I don''t know what will happen... And it terrifies me." Neige took her in his arms, staying to her side until she felt better. It was the first time he saw her like that, but it was maybe because, for the first time, she couldn''t predict what would happen.


    This special book was a mystery for everyone, but it always contained everything inside it, and yet, they found one of its limits.


    It reminded Neige of something, he took the diary and drawings he found in the church and showed it to his friend, in the hope of making her feel a bit better.


    "I think it belongs to the anomaly. It keeps talking to me like it knew me, and look, doesn''t the thing on the left in the drawing look like me?"


    "Well kinda, so what?" The woman wiped her tears from under her mask before taking the drawing to look at it closely.


    "Maybe the anomaly thinks I''m the person on the left, and it would mean that it''s probably the person on the right."


    It was hard to know what she was thinking under her mask. The woman stared at the drawing of the girl with long blond hair for a while before suddenly tearing the drawing apart and throwing it on the ground.


    "Unimportant." She said, trying to sound as soulless as possible.


    "Hey, what are you doing? It was important!"


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "No, it wasn''t." She turned away from him and faced the wall, trying her best to look busy.


    "Polyetta, what''s happening to you?"


    "You should go with your friends."


    "Are you not my friend? You always act like we barely know each other! You never even showed me your face..."


    Polyetta stayed silent and took a moment before looking at Neige in the eyes and asked him in a cold tone


    "Neige, like there are other versions of you in other worlds, there are other versions of me too. If someday you had to kill one of the other me, would you be able to?"


    Neige stayed silent, knowing he couldn''t hurt his friend, even in another world.


    "You''re the one going on missions, you already are going through enough stress. I''m doing it for your own good."


    "I just wish you could trust me with more. It''s like you''re hiding something from me... Was what happened in our home world that horrible?"


    The woman stayed silent, unable to answer. Neige realized he was a bit harsh on her, Kairo''s death didn''t help, but it was no reason for him to hurt his friend''s feelings.


    "I''m sorry Polyetta... I think we should both rest for today."


    "Yes, I''m sure Silva is perverting Sepide, you should go stop her."


    Neige smiled softly and took a part of the drawing of the nun with long blond hair off the ground. He was sure that this woman was the anomaly they were fighting against. After giving a short hug to his friend, Neige left the room. Once he was in the hallway, Neige took his phone and called his friend. He didn''t want to be alone, he knew it was better for him to be with Silva.


    "Silva, where are you?"


    "In my room with Sepide, I''m showing her my paintings, you want to join?"


    "Sure, it''s been a while since I saw your art."


    Neige joined Silva and Sepide in the blind girl''s room. He didn''t come often here, it was mostly to get his friend before going on a mission. It was full of paintings, not all completed. Most of them were abstract art, Neige often said it was just paint on the canvas while Silva always argued it was art. But some paintings depicted people, landscapes, or what she imagined them to look like since she never saw any of them.


    "Oh, Neige!" Said Silva, noticing him enter her room "I was showing my art to Sepide!"


    "It''s... Interesting." Sepide tried her hardest to not offend Silva at the sight of the weirdly made paintings. but even despite her best efforts to hide her confusion, Silva noticed and quickly tried to reassure her new friend.


    "Don''t worry, I just paint for fun, I know it doesn''t look good."


    Neige looked at the paintings around the room until one caught his attention. It was a woman with black hair, surprisingly detailed. It looked like something that a great artist would paint, which was unusual for Silva. He looked at the name of the painting written below it and asked his friend about it.


    "Sister? You have a sister Silva?"


    "Oh, this one." Said Silva, almost disappointed. "It''s just something before our mission. I felt inspired, but don''t pay attention to it, it doesn''t mean anything."


    "You''re sure? It looks really nice." Replied Neige, wondering why she didn''t seem proud of it.


    "It''s just... It''s not like me."


    Neige could understand what she meant, it really looked so different from the other pieces. It was still something she did, but she looked like she didn''t want to think about it any further.


    "Anyway, that''s all I painted lately!" Silva said before sitting on the ground after showing all her work, looking pretty tired. "There were too many missions on the same day for me."


    "Wasn''t it only two for you?" Asked Sepide, a bit concerned about her friend''s endurance.


    "That''s two more than my limit. I swear that usually, we get like one every month. The world must be really messed up."


    "And it will only get worse." Said Neige "The anomaly that we saw in this empty world, and this Silv that stole your watch. They''re going to cause inconsistency in the universe."


    "Well next time the leader''s calling us, I''m not going." Silva looked annoyed and lay down on the ground, exaggerating her fatigue.


    "So, what will you do with the rest of your day?" Asked Sepide. It was her first full day on the ship and she didn''t really know what to do, so she wanted to know what her friends would do to decide what to do herself.


    "Sleeping." Sepide was surprised, Silva drank so much coffee, and yet she was still tired. Her body must work in a weird way. She then looked at Neige, silently asking him to answer.


    "I..." Neige looked at the drawing of the nun with long yellow hair. He wanted to know who was the anomaly that caused so many problems but knew that the leader would never allow him.


    "I want to explore this world, the world where the other me didn''t die, and meet this nun."


    The other two looked at the drawing he showed them, and then looked at him, confused. Silva had no idea what Neige was holding but could imagine it was related to this woman.


    "Why? You have a crush on her?"


    "No! I think... I think she''s the anomaly."


    "The one that attacked Kairo?" Silva stood up and seemed suddenly ready for action "Let''s kick her ass then!"


    "Don''t tell me you will do that. It will cause more problems than it will solve, even if she is the anomaly in one world doesn''t mean she will become one in all the parallel worlds."


    "Don''t worry Sepide," Said Neige, trying to sound as reassuring as he could. "I just want to see her and try to understand when the parallel universe formed. So, will you come with me?"


    Silva eagerly accepted while Sepide stayed unsure. She thought for a while, before accepting too.


    "I will too, but it''s only to make sure you don''t mess up anything, and if you do, I''ll tell the leader."


    "Perfect, let''s go then. I think the world was 11081999x, so we just have to remove the x and we''ll be able to go in the original."


    "I hope the leader won''t catch us." Said Silva, still a bit worried despite her excitation.

 Chapter 8: Neige?

    "I can only see snow and trees everywhere, the cold is bothering but acceptable. Since this is technically the world where the anomaly is from, I will call it the Land Of The Beginning. Neige is nowhere to be seen, but Silva and I are safe."


    "Sepide, can''t you do your report later? There''s no one to give it to anyway, so help me search for Neige!"


    Sepide closed her phone and helped Silva to look around. Sepide wasn''t really worried, unlike Silva who was terrified, especially since no one knew that they were there and couldn''t come to help them if something happened.


    "Neige! Where are you!?" Yelled Silva, hoping to get an answer. The blind girl continued for a moment until a voice came from behind her, taking her by surprise.


    "Here, who''s asking?" Said Neige, coming out of nowhere.


    "It''s us Neige, don''t you recognize us?" Sepide suddenly realized something, these clothes weren''t the ones Neige had usually, his usual black and orange uniform was replaced by a warm white vest. Shorter hairs, a more defying gaze, and instead of his gun waiting on his belt was lying a dagger. He also looked way more feminine, if she didn''t know he was a man, Sepide would have assumed he was a girl. She quickly understood that it wasn''t the Neige they knew, but instead the Neige of this world, and discreetly shared this information with Silva.


    "Recognize you? I don''t recognize any of you." The other Neige looked confused. He wanted to understand what was happening but the conversation was cut short by a large roar deeper in the forest, followed by sounds of loud steps coming toward them.


    "It''s coming here, we should leave." Neige started to run away from the origin of the sound, confused, the two others followed him.


    "What is that? Is it following you?" Asked Sepide, she was a bit worried about the troubles they got into but now was too late to step back.


    "You never heard of the demon that eats your bones and your soul?"


    "What demon? I knew it was a bad idea to come here, when I see him he''s going to suffer for bringing us here!" Silva wanted to take her firearm in her hand, but she didn''t want the other Neige to see it. She didn''t know whether firearms existed in this world after all, it would be bad if she brought too much attention toward them.


    "I''m just kidding, there is no demon, it''s a dragon." The other Neige laughed like he just told a hilarious joke, but the two others didn''t share the same sense of humor.


    "Because it''s supposed to make me feel better? Why is a dragon mad at you anyway?"


    To answer Silva''s question, the feminine-looking man took an egg out of his bag. Silva couldn''t see but could feel that the egg was way bigger than any she found before and quickly realized that it was the dragon''s. Neige put back the egg in his back before looking at Silva with an innocent smile.


    "I heard it makes good omelets."


    "You''re fighting a dragon because you want an omelet!?"


    "Silva, calm down, you''re going to make the dragon come here. Neige, is there any way we can beat a dragon?" Sepide was afraid too, but she wanted to focus on a way to get them out of the situation before panicking. Neige thought for a moment, before looking at them in the eyes.


    "No idea, I was figuring out it would get tired someday."


    Silva and Sepide were regretting coming here, not only they lost their friend, but now they were fighting a creature way too strong for them.


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    "Can''t you just leave the egg?" Asked Sepide.


    "Never! I only ate bugs and leaves these last days, I want a good meal for once!"


    Their argument prevented them from noticing the dragon getting closer, and when they did notice, it was already too late. It was right in front of them, casting its shadow on them. It was imposing, with scales as blue as the night. Silva acted by instinct and shot the dragon with her firearm. To everyone''s surprise, not only did the bullet hit the dragon, but it also seemed to put an end to its life. The beast fell and made a loud sound while the small group stood there in disbelief. Neige approached the dragon and poked it with his dagger before turning toward Silva.


    "I... Didn''t know you could do that."


    "I didn''t either, I thought dragons would be stronger than that. He kinda sucks for a dragon."


    The three of them stayed silent in front of the corpse of the former predator, still shocked about what happened. After realizing what happened, Neige smiled like he got the best present of his life and put his dagger back on his belt.


    "I don''t know who you are, but thanks to you, I''ll be able to eat dragon meat today! Let me cook it, and we''ll continue our conversation while eating."


    The two agreed and took the opportunity to take a break. They just came into a world full of dragons and still didn''t find their Neige. He could be anywhere now, trying his best to survive against some mythical creatures. But the best they could do for now is rest and eat while they could.


    They all sat around a campfire and started eating the meat of the dragon. The man seemed to enjoy it a lot, but Sepide and Silva didn''t really, it was almost like eating overcooked steak. Sepide decided it would be a good time to make everything clear, and started speaking.


    "So let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Sepide, she is my friend Silva, and we''re searching for our friend, Neige, which look exactly like you."


    "So it''s just a coincidence that I was here, you weren''t searching for me."


    "Yeah, we just got lost, and what are you doing here? Was it just for an egg?" Silva asked, still eating the food despite the bland taste.


    "Well I don''t really care, but my friend wanted to taste a dragon egg, so here I am."


    "You fought a dragon, just for your friend?" Sepide was surprised by the reasons behind Neige''s actions. She definitely wouldn''t have expected that someone would go to such dangers just for someone else "It''s a stupid act."


    "She did a lot for me too, we have quite the history together. I suppose that you heard about what happened to the Goddess Fubuki, right?"


    The two looked at Neige confused, he understood that they had no idea of what he was talking about and that he had to explain everything.


    "Where are you from? Nowhere land?"


    "No, we''re not from there." Answered very seriously Sepide.


    "Anyway, until last month, the goddess Fubuki ruled over our kingdom, and let''s just say that at one point I did try to... Get her powers for personal reasons. Even if she''s the Goddess of time, she acts like a child, I couldn''t let her be after all the atrocities she committed. But this day... I died. Thankfully, my friend managed to save me, we killed Fubuki and now here I am."


    Silva and Sepide remembered the reason that a parallel universe was created was because the Neige of this world died. So it was likely that for some reason, Neige''s friend wasn''t able to save him, and it created another universe. It didn''t really help much to catch the anomaly, but their Neige would probably be happy to learn it.


    "Wait." Silva asked out of nowhere "Did you just say you killed a Goddess?"


    "Yup, it was pretty fun. Anyway, the night''s almost here, I hope you find your friend. I have to get to mine now, see ya."


    The two girls couldn''t help but think he was a weird character, he stole an egg from a dragon, explained how he killed a God, and left like it was nothing. But now they had to find their own friend, and the night was about to fall. They would have asked the person they were with to help them with directions, but he disappeared like he was never there. And so they started to wander around the forest, hoping to find someplace to rest.


    The night was here, but they managed to find a small town. It was mostly empty, aside from a single person standing in the middle of the snowy road. Sepide was the one who noticed the person, and she couldn''t believe who it was.


    "Neige?"


    The man turned toward her when he heard the voice, it was indeed the Neige they knew, he looked exactly the same, just with a slightly sadder tone.


    Silva wanted to jump in his arms, relieved to see her friend after so much time, but after remembering all they went through to find him, she changed her mind.


    "Do you have any idea what happened to us? I hope you''re happy with what you did!" Silva''s angry tone suddenly vanished when she noticed Neige''s silence and slowly walked toward him "Neige, what happened?"


    Neige stayed silent for a moment, before finally answering.


    "It''s complicated, let''s go back to the ship, I''ll explain on the way there."

 Chapter 9: The Peaceful Nun

    Neige woke up alone, away from his friend. It was a snowy town, way more lively than the world where he saw the anomaly for the first time. Neige was barely bearing the cold and searched around for a warm place. It didn''t take long for him to find a church, not any church, but the one he lost his friend in. He couldn''t control himself, it was like an irresistible force was attracting him inside.


    The interior was empty, aside from a single nun praying. But for Neige, it wasn''t any nun, it was a tall nun with long yellow hair, exactly like in the drawing. When he entered, the woman noticed his presence and seemed visibly surprised.


    "Neige! You''re back already?" She got closer to him but shook her head after further inspection "I''m sorry, I thought you were my friend, you really look similar. What brings you here?"


    Neige had in front of him the possible anomaly he was fighting against, even if only another version of her. And yet, he felt like he already saw her before, like they always knew each other.


    The man knew that if he said he was called Neige too it would be suspicious, so he had to use the fake name he used sometimes on missions.


    "I''m Snow! I was searching for my friend."


    "Oh, what a lovely name, maybe I can help, what do they look like?" The kindness of the nun was making Snow comfortable, making him almost forget that this place was also where he lost his friend. He quickly took back control of his thoughts and answered the graceful woman.


    "One has long black hair, she always acts like a robot and is kind of a killjoy. And the other is a girl with red hair, she''s blind, but somehow she has a better sense of orientation than me and is a bit of a brat."


    The woman chuckled as he was describing them, amused by Snow''s enthusiasm while talking about his friends.


    "It looks like you made quite some friends, my own friend is absent for the day, so why don''t we go around the town to see if they are around."


    "Thanks, I appreciate it."


    The two of them walked around the town, talking like they were friends forever. Snow knew he had seen those violet eyes before, he was used to looking at them in the past, and yet, he also knew it was his first time meeting with the woman.


    The duo walked around the town for a while, asking people around if they saw a trace of Snow''s friend. After a few hours, they decided to take a break to eat something, a bit disappointed about the lack of progress.


    "So, why isn''t your friend around?" Asked Snow, curious about the location of his other self.


    "It''s quite stupid, I said I would want to eat a dragon''s egg someday, and he went to search for one."


    Snow had suddenly so many questions in his head. A dragon egg? There are dragons? And the other Neige went to risk his life to just make his friend taste one? But despite the many questions, he decided to stay silent about them, letting the nun continue.


    "Do you have a friend like that Snow? A friend that you would be ready to do anything for them?"


    Snow took a while to think. He barely knew Sepide, so he knew he didn''t see her as a friend he would do anything for, he wasn''t even sure they were friends. Silva and he are close, but he sees her more like a daughter to take care of than a friend. And then he had Polyetta, his best friend and leader, but she was so secretive about her life, did she even see him as her friend?


    "I... Don''t have anyone like that."


    "Oh, it''s quite alright don''t worry. I''m very glad I found Neige, he was the one who understood me when no one was there."


    The words of the nun reminded him of his own friend, Polyetta. He felt bad that he had been harsh against her, after all, they only had each other for a while too.


    "Neige even said we were friends in every universe, isn''t he cute?"


    "Yeah, I guess." He never met any person like this nun before, so he knew that they weren''t friends in every universe technically, but he didn''t feel like ruining her mood.


    "Are you alright? You seem quite troubled."


    "Don''t worry about it, I just have some troubles with a friend lately. She hides so many things away from me, I wonder if she sees me as her friend."


    "Don''t you enjoy her company? Don''t you think she feels the same?"


    Snow didn''t really know how to answer these questions, he did enjoy her company and she was really a great friend he could rely on to listen and help most of the time. The same probably applied to her, since he was always here to help her, but it was hard to know behind her mask. Seeing Snow''s hesitation, the woman continued.


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    "You know, I don''t know what I would do if I lost Neige, I think I could end up crazy and destroy the world." The nun laughed at the idea, but for Snow, it just made him even more sure that it''s actually what happened in the parallel universe of this world


    "We should get going, your friends can''t be too far away."


    Snow and the nun continued to look around town until the night arrived. They searched everyone in town and around, but still couldn''t find anything.


    "I''m sorry." Apologized the woman. "I wish we could have found your friends."


    "It''s okay don''t worry. I''m sure nothing bad happened to them, they''re tough."


    "You really believe in them." The woman smiled softly before looking at the sky "It''s late, why don''t you spend the night at the church? My friend will probably be there too."


    Snow would have accepted, but he didn''t want to cause any problems for both the nun and the world. It was probably better that he went away from here after finding his friend, he already saw what he wanted to see here.


    "It''s fine, I''ll go search for them. But before I go, can I know your name?"


    "Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself properly. My name is Ada, maybe we''ll see each other again. Good luck Snow!"


    "Ada... I''m sure we''ll meet again."


    Ada left Snow alone with his thoughts, not without praying for the best to happen to him. He had trouble imagining that the person he spent the day with was another version of the person who took his friend''s life. But all this time spent here also made him realize how harsh he was with his friend, Polyetta. It was time to find Silva and Sepide and go back to where they were from.


    "Neige?"


    Surprised, Neige turned to the origin of the voice. It was Sepide, accompanied by Silva. It seemed like she was worried for a moment, but it was hard to see through the empty expression on her face. Once Silva


    "Do you have any idea what happened to us? I hope you''re happy with what you did!" Silva''s angry tone suddenly vanished when she noticed Neige''s silence and slowly walked toward him "Neige, what happened?"


    He stayed silent for a moment, unsure about how he would answer the question.


    "It''s complicated, let''s go back to the ship, I''ll explain on the way there."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Once on the warm ship, Neige explained everything he found out about the nun, Ada. About how nice and heartwarming she was, and the feeling of familiarity he felt with her.


    "So the monster that''s causing problems is a nice and cute nun?" Asked Silva, a bit surprised.


    "I never said she was cute."


    "But you were thinking it!"


    Their conversation suddenly got cut short by a message on their phone, it was their leader asking them to come to her office.


    "Already? Why did I follow you Neige, now I didn''t get my break because of you!" Silva complained loudly while smiling at him.


    "Maybe it''s not a mission, but she found out we traveled in another world without her permission." Sepide still kept a very calm tone while saying, bringing panic to Silva''s heart.


    "It''s fine, let''s just go."


    The group went into the leader''s office, waiting for the screen to light up like usual. Once it did, the leader was on it, still with her mask. The woman stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking.


    "Hello." She said, in a very shy voice, like a kid that did something bad. The room stayed silent for a long moment before she continued speaking.


    "I''m sorry Neige, I''m sorry to be such a bad friend."


    "Wait, I wanted to apologize!" Said Neige, thinking back at the bad thing he said to his friend. "I said horrible things to you, and I''m sorry for that."


    "No, I''m sorry! You wouldn''t have said those words if I was a better friend." Retorted Polyetta, but it wasn''t enough to make Neige change his mind.


    "If I was more patient and understanding, you wouldn''t have suffered. I''m the one that should apologize."


    "Neige, I''m the one that''s apologizing, stop being so stubborn you little femboy!"


    "I''m not little, I''m 156 centimeters, it''s more than enough. And I''m the one apologizing, because you deserve it you masked giant!"


    "I''m not a giant! I''m just 180 centimeters, you''re the small one!"


    This ''argument'' lasted for a while until Silva interrupted both of them, annoyed to lose her time.


    "Is it going to last for a while? I have stuff to do."


    "Yes, I''m sorry." Said the leader in a more formal tone "Just know that I love you dearly Neige."


    "I do too, and I apologize for what I said."


    "Don''t start again you little... Anyway, if I called you it was for a reason. There had been a problem in the world 11112005. I would have sent someone else, especially considering what it entails, but everyone''s busy."


    "So we suck for the job?" Asked Silva, hoping her leader would disagree with her.


    "Exactly, there''s a street race where the winner should be a woman named Eida, but for some reason, the fate changed and another person won. The best course of action would be to help this Eida to win the race."


    "But I don''t think that either of us knows anything about cars, I''m not even sure one of us knows how to drive." Silva said, a bit worried about their mission.


    "It is true, that''s why I would have sent someone else, but everyone with a driving license is taken. And by everyone with a driving license, I mean Gwyn. Also, you need to bring me a copy of the new Shadow Arena 4 that came out there"


    "Wait," interrupted Neige. "Are you sending us there to get you a new video game?"


    "No, I''m sending you there to fix the timeline, but since you''re there, you might as well. You can rest for now and go tomorrow and I already prepared your clothes and equipment. Any objections?"


    The leader interpreted the silence in the room as a no from them and was satisfied that it was over for today, even if a bit worried about their ability to fix the problem.


    "Oh yeah, by the way," Added the leader. "There is another Neige, so be careful."


    "Wait, so we all suck with cars, there''s another me we have to dodge, and you''re still sending us?" Neige was pretty unsure about their ability to manage and fix everything, but in the end, he knew he had no choice.


    "Yeah, there''s no one available, there are so many inconsistencies in the timeline lately..."


    "Fine, we''ll go tomorrow as soon as possible."


    "That''s great, I''m sure you''ll do well, I have faith in you. Go and make us all proud!"


    "Yes, Chief!" Silva, Neige, and Sepide said in unison.

 Chapter 10: The Land Of Nightly Rains

    "The buildings of the city are under a small rain. Even despite being in the middle of the night, it''s easy to see around with all those lights and neons, and yet, there is no one in the streets. I shall this world "The Land Of Nightly Rains". At least, we are all here this time."


    "You''re sure Sepide? What about when the day will come out and it won''t rain anymore?" Asked Silva to her friend who was recording her report.


    "I''m not really good for names, why don''t you give a name to this world?" Sepide was truly apologetic for her lack of originality, but Silva turned down the offer and instead tried to change the subject, knowing she wouldn''t find anything good either


    "So, what now? We need to find this girl and make her win the race."


    The three stopped around to think, but luckily for them, it wouldn''t last long. The group quickly heard the sounds of a car''s engine. And it wasn''t the kind of sound a random car would make, it sounded more like a race was about to start. They decided to head toward there, maybe could they get new information.


    There was a group of people, not really friendly looking, and a bunch of cars around. They looked like cars made for street racing, but they were more showing off than racing anything. When the menacing-looking people noticed the three friends, they started to get closer, trying to look intimidating.


    "Woah, what are you kiddos doing ''round here? You lost ya mom?" One of them said while holding a knife in his hand.


    "We''re searching for a girl named Eida, she''s going to participate in a race and we need to talk to her." Neige talked calmly, trying to show that they weren''t here to cause problems. But the man in front of him still kept their aggressive tone, trying to show dominance.


    "I think the gnome''s trying to communicate, I think he forgot how things work ''round here!"


    "I think you''re forgetting that the gnome is at the right height to punch you in the nuts." Neige still kept his calm tone despite the man trying to diss him. After he said that, the other around started to raise their voice, amused by the entertainment in front of them.


    "Hey, it''s not because he''s trying to look tough that he is. I''m gonna show you, you little brat, take your garbage can, I''m gonna show you how it''s done." The intimidating-looking man was enraged, and when he said those words, the surrounding people started to cheer and get hyped. "The first to do a lap around the city wins. If you win, I tell you what you wanna know, if you lose, you give me your watch. It looks fancy, and I like it."


    Everyone was excited, everyone but the three friends. They just got here, and already got in trouble.


    "I don''t have a car, it''s going to be hard to race."


    "You don'' have a car? The hell you mean? That''s the only way we show our power here!"


    More people started to gather around, putting even more pressure on them. One of the people in the public started to talk, interrupting them.


    "He can use my car."


    When the voice was heard, everyone stayed silent. They looked at him, with a mix of fear and admiration. Neige, Sepide, and Silva were also silent, but for another reason. The man that just spoke was looking exactly like Neige, with the difference that he was using a cane to walk since his right leg was missing. The man who defied the three friends looked at him for a short moment before staring back at the people he challenged.


    "Fine. You have Ten minutes to prepare, no more!"


    The three friends and the man looking like Neige got a bit farther away, near a car that looked ancient and not like something that should be on the roads. One of the doors was even missing.


    "You said you searched an Eida." Said the man "What do you want from her?"


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    He wasn''t aggressive, but it felt like if they said one wrong word, he would make them have a bad time. Sepide took a step forward, starting the conversation.


    "We heard she''s going to race, and we''re great fans, so we wanted to help her."


    The man looked at them, visibly not convinced by Sepide''s words.


    "Sure, I''m keeping an eye on you. But I have to admit, I like your guts, challenging someone without even owning a car, that''s pretty impressive. My name''s Neige, what about you?"


    The group''s fear was true, it was indeed the Neige from this world, and it would be pretty hard to dodge him now, they would just need to make sure that nothing bad happened and that he never found out their true identities.


    "I''m Snow, and they''re my friends, Silva and Sepide. Just a quick question, it''s your car?" Snow stared at the vehicle and didn''t feel comfortable going fast in it. It looked like it was in more than one accident, and that it got on fire at least twice.


    "Oh that, don''t worry, she got in a bad race lately, but at least she didn''t lose her purpose, unlike her owner..." Neige stared at his car for an instant before continuing "But don''t worry, my friend is a mechanic, I called her and she''ll make sure Ririka is ready to roll." Neige said while giving a light tap on the roof of the car.


    "Ririka?" Silva asked.


    "Yeah, it''s her name." Neige pointed at his car, making the others wonder if he wasn''t crazy.


    The three of them suddenly started to think it was a bad idea to race, maybe they should have just apologized and left, but now was too late for regrets.


    Soon enough, a motorcycle was heard, stopping near them. The person on it removed her helmet, revealing long blonde hair and eyes as violet as amethyst. Snow was sure that he had seen her before, she looked exactly like Ada, the nun he saw in the other world.


    "Ah, here she is. Let me introduce you to Eida, she''s the one you searched for, right?"


    Eida ignored them and immediately went to check around the car, visibly pretty annoyed.


    "Hey, if she''s here, we don''t need to race, we already found what we were here for." Sepide looked at Eida with relief, the man however wasn''t happy with her answer.


    "Don''t tell me you''re giving up. Here, speed is law, and if you run from this race, you probably won''t make it until the end of the night. People here don''t like cowards."


    The three were screwed, if they gave up, they''d get in trouble, and if they did the race, they''d need to not only drive a barely functioning car but also win the race. The woman came toward her friend once she finished working on the car,


    "Neige, Ririka''s ready. They''re the ones that will pilot her?" Neige nodded to Eida''s question. She proceeded to look at the three of them as if she was trying to see something in them "Hey, he does look like you a lot." She said while pointing at Snow.


    "Yes, and he''s a fan of you too, they all seem really excited about your race tomorrow."


    "Fans? But I never raced before." Seeing the girl''s confusion, Silva took the lead, trying to not appear suspicious.


    "It''s just that we''re fans of painting, and we love painting cars. And we heard about your work on cars and your future race." She wasn''t sure whether it would be believable, but Eida blushed and seemed pretty happy about it.


    "Oh, I didn''t know there were real fans of cars around here. Usually, they just treat their cars like tools, but they have a soul and it''s important to take care of them. I love taking the hood off the car, seeing its insides, and caressing the components..." As she spoke, her eyes stopped looking at them and instead started to wander off, with drool coming out of her mouth.


    "Yeah... Same... Anyway, the car is ready to race in this state?" Asked Snow to stop her fantasy while he still could.


    "Oh, yeah totally. Just don''t hit any walls and it should be fine. Who''s going to drive?"


    When she asked this question, the three of them looked at each other.


    "Can I try?" Asked Silva innocently.


    "No way we let you drive, I still value my life!" Snow turned around and looked at Sepide with hope in his eyes "Do you feel confident in it Sepide?"


    "I think I can, I have some knowledge of cars." She said, a bit unsure.


    "As long as you don''t confuse the accelerator and the brake it should be fine." Everyone laughed at Silva''s joke, except Sepide, who asked confused,


    "The brake? They never told about it in movies."


    Silva stopped and stared at Sepide in her eyes, trying to know if she was serious.


    "Don''t tell me you learned about cars in movies?"


    "Where else should I learn about it?"


    Silva turned toward Snow, silently pleading him to drive instead of Sepide. The man let out a sigh before nodding, not wanting his life in the hands of a blind or a girl who doesn''t even know what the brakes are.


    "It''s fine, I''ll drive, how hard can it be?"


    Eida handed the key to Snow, who took the driver''s seat. Silva sat behind, and Sepide next to Snow on the passenger''s seat. The man looked around with amusement and pointed at the transition with pride.


    "Hey, it''s like one of Polyetta''s video games, I know how to use that!"


    "Polyetta?" Asked Sepide, to which Silva quickly answered.


    "It''s the leader''s name, but she''ll get mad if you say it, only Neige can."


    "Call me Snow, we don''t want people to be suspicious."


    After tinkering a bit around the car, Snow was confident he could drive it. Winning a race on the other hand wasn''t guaranteed, but there was only one way to know. It was almost time for the race to begin and the three friends were ready to race.

 Chapter 11: The Race in the Lonely Night

    Neige, Silva, and Sepide were all ready to start the race, but none of them was confident. Their opponent stood next to them, ready as well. A woman was standing in the middle about to talk, while the public was hyping and cheering on the side.


    "Hello everyone! Tonight, we will witness a duel between The Lightning, with 29 wins and 5 losses, and... Err... What''s your name again?"


    "Snow." He answered the woman with seriousness.


    "Snow, with no recorded race so far!" Said the woman, with a lot of energy still.


    "Snow, how cute. Even my girlfriend doesn''t have a name cute like that." Said his opponent with a mocking tone.


    "I''m sure your girlfriend is very happy that you''re as quick as lightning at night with her." Snow and Silva laughed together after leaving the guy speechless. Sepide stayed focused on the woman on the road, who continued to explain the rules.


    "You will need to pass through the starlight tunnel in the north of the city, then go in front of the abandoned church in the east, and finally return here. One lap, you can take any path you want as long as you go to the checkpoints. Any questions?"


    "Yes." Asked Sepide "We don''t know where those are, can we have a map?"


    "Nope, good luck."


    It seemed like no one was about to help them, they would need to figure out their destination on the spot. Neige put his hands on the steering wheel, ready to start at any moment.


    "Ready? Get... Set... Go!"


    And just like that the race already started. The two started at the same time, and yet, their opponent was already faster than them.


    "It''s cheating, his car is better! Neige! Or Snow, whatever just go faster!" Sepide yelled with a strange energy, Snow had no idea if it was because it was a part of the mission or because she had a competitive spirit.


    "I know Sepide, I''m trying. But this car is barely holding on already, I can''t go faster."


    The best they could do was to follow their rival without losing track of where he was. It was also their only way to know where the rest of the race was happening since they had no idea where they needed to go.


    "Excuse me," Asked softly Silva "Can you describe what is happening?"


    "Oh right, you can''t see. Don''t worry, while Snow is focused on the road I''ll explain what is happening. For now nothing much, aside from the fact that he''s like 50 meters in front of us and that we''re going to lose!!" Sepide almost yelled, clearly getting more and more panicked.


    But even despite that, Snow managed to keep his calm and focus on the road.


    The state of the race stayed the same for a while, Snow still lagging behind, but managing to stay close enough to not lose track of his opponent.


    "It''s weird." Noticed Sepide "There are almost no cars in the street. Like, not even parked. There''s no traffic also, so it means that it''s easier for us."


    "Actually no." Corrected Snow "If there were a lot of perturbations, at least we would be able to get ahead since he could make a mistake. But if we continue like that, they''ll be no way to take the first place."


    "Since when are you a racing expert?" Asked Silva, a bit surprised.


    "It''s like that in Polyetta''s games. When I win, it''s because she got in trouble and I was able to go first."


    "I hope you were good at the game at least..." Silva said, not really relieved.


    "I won twice, but it should be alright. If I take the inside of a turn, I''ll have less distance to run on and be able to close the distance."


    The two girls acted like they understood, but it was like speaking in another language for them. There was nothing they could really do, and they didn''t know much either.


    After a while, they all got under a tunnel, the sign on the side named it ''The Starlight Tunnel'', prompting Sepide to point at it.


    "Hey, it''s the first checkpoint!" Sepide was hopeful since they were close to their opponent but also worried because they were still behind.


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    "If only I had a map or something, maybe we could take another path and get ahead." Complained Snow.


    "Like a map is going to fall from the sky to help us." Silva talked sarcastically, but the moment she said those words, a map conveniently flew inside the car. Snow was too focused on the road, and Silva didn''t see it because of her condition, leaving Sepide extremely confused by what happened. She even started to wonder if Silva''s words didn''t hold some magic power.


    "Hey, I found a map." Said Sepide, happy but confused.


    "Really? How?" Asked Snow.


    "Unimportant. I just need to find where we are." She took a few minutes before finding where they were and locating the place where they needed to go


    "I found everything, but this long road we''re following seems to be the only way since a river is in the way."


    "A river? Can we go through?" They thought Snow was joking, but he was still focused on the road with a serious face. Unsure whether it was a joke, Sepide decided to explain anyway.


    "No, it''s a river, the car is going to explode, just like in movies!"


    "I think it would go through like in video games."


    Snow and Sepide argued for a moment, leaving Silva worried about their chance of survival.


    "Fine!" Conceded Snow after a while. "We won''t go through the river. So, what other choices do we have?"


    "Why don''t we cheat?" Proposed Silva" We could shoot on his tires."


    "No way, I didn''t lose 873 times against our leader in racing games just to cheat. We''re winning legitimately!"


    A bit frustrated by Snow''s decision, Sepide continued to search on the map, knowing he wouldn''t change his mind.


    "There is a shortcut after the church. But it''s a sharp turn and it will lead to a construction site."


    "How sharp?" Asked Snow.


    "It will be a 150�� angle to the right. It can give us an advantage, but it''s impossible to go there unless we slow down to take the path."


    "Slow down? There''s no need, I''ll just drift."


    Sepide and Silva were getting increasingly worried, Snow had never driven a car before, and now he was about to drift in a sharp turn and drive into a construction site.


    "Neige, if you do that the car will explode, like in movies."


    Neither Snow nor Silva agreed with Sepide but for different reasons.


    "I did that in video games before, we''ll be fine."


    "Snow, Sepide, you''re both dumbasses. I should have been the one to drive."


    "No!" Said Snow and Sepide in unison, agreeing for once.


    They just passed the abandoned church. Their opponent was still ahead and it was becoming increasingly harder to find a way to go faster. Snow still had his plan to take the risky path, but one wrong movement and it would be hard to win the race afterward.


    "Neige, you can still change your mind." Almost begged Sepide "I don''t want to die!"


    "Nobody''s gonna die, it''s fine." Assured Snow, confident in himself.


    ~You''re right, it will all be alright.~


    "Thanks, whoever said that."


    Silva and Sepide both stared at each other, not understanding Snow''s words.


    "What? Who are you talking to?" Asked Silva.


    "Didn''t one of you just agree with me?"


    "No! We didn''t!" Sepide was becoming increasingly worried, her heart pounding in her chest "Are you hearing voices? Are you losing your mind?"


    "Come, it''s not that bad, I just heard something wrong. Isn''t it the turn that you talked about?"


    "Well yes... But the road is pretty small, and it''s really a sharp turn. Don''t you want to slow down at least?" Asked Sepide, trying desperately to calm herself.


    "Come on, we need to take the turn as fast as possible!"


    Snow drifted with confidence, while his two friends were screaming and holding onto anything they could. The turn lasted for what felt like an eternity until it was halted by a loud metallic sound.


    "Are we dead?" Asked Silva, closing her eyes tight like it would change anything.


    "No, we just hit the wall a bit, but we managed to take the turn." Said Snow, very proud of himself.


    "Neige, why are you smiling?" Sepide wondered, still in shock.


    "Don''t call me Neige, it''s Snow here. And isn''t it exhilarating!?"


    "No, it''s not, we almost died!" Sepide was offended that Snow found some fun in what just happened, but got interrupted by Silva yelling.


    "Wouhou! It was so exciting! We need to do it again!"


    "Are you kidding me? Am I the only one that was scared?"


    "Oh no, I am still terrified." Said Silva with a smile "But it was such an incredible feeling."


    "You both became crazy." Said Sepide to herself.


    "Hey look! It''s the finish line, and the other guy isn''t here!" Said Snow, pointing at the end.


    They managed to not only finish the race, but also win it. Everyone around was excited and cheered for the winner. After a short moment, the other contestant arrived. He stopped next to them, visibly angry by his loss.


    "What? They cheated! They were behind me all the time!"


    "But they followed the rules." Explained the referee. "They did go to the checkpoints and came back here first."


    "That''s bullshit, it''s not the last time you hear of me!" The man continued to show his anger as he drove away, ashamed of his loss.


    The three friends were more than happy that they managed to win, even despite the clear disadvantage they started with.


    Neige and Eida came to them visibly happy too.


    "Congrats young lads, I knew you had what it takes to win."


    They all three appreciated the compliment from Neige, but he didn''t really seem like he was much older than them to call them young.


    Eida seemed happy too at first but quickly became pale after seeing the car. She hurried toward it when she saw the side of the car completely smashed.


    "What did you do to Ririka? She looks like you slammed it against a wall!"


    They all stayed silent, the two girls looking at Snow, knowing it was because of his risky maneuver. Neige went next to his friend, trying to comfort her.


    "It''s okay Eida, I''m sure you''ll be able to fix it before tomorrow." Eida looked at the vehicle with a disappointed and sad face. She visibly wasn''t thinking the same as her friend "I''ll need to go now, I''ll see you tomorrow. And if these young lads trouble you, I''ll take care of them." Neige said those words with a smile under his serious eyes.


    He left Eida and the small group of friends together. The woman was still crying and caressing the car but decided to stand up from the dirty ground.


    "Let''s go to my workshop, we''ll finish fixing Ririka, and we can talk more there..."

 Chapter 12: A Friend from the Past

    The group arrived at Eida''s workshop, the place was a mess, with puddles of oil everywhere. Silva was drawing in a corner, while the two others were watching the woman fix the car. Feeling the pressure of the two persons looking at her work, Eida shyly tried to start a conversation.


    "So, why were you searching for me? Neige is the popular one usually."


    "To be honest, we want to help you win the race tomorrow."


    Eida was surprised by Snow''s answer but continued working on the car like nothing happened.


    "I''m going to lose, I know it. I''m not like Neige, he''s the one that''s good with cars... I''m only good at fixing them. There''s no way a mechanic can win the finals of an important racing competition."


    "You''re at the finals? It must mean that you''re really good!" Sepide was trying to raise the spirit of Eida, but the woman answered with a sigh.


    "Neige got to the finals, but he got in an accident, and now he can''t race. It''s all on me now, and we could really use the money of the prize." She looked at her car and caressed her gently with a sad tone on her face "I can''t even take care properly of her, I''m a sad excuse for a mechanic."


    "But I never drove before!" Exclaimed Snow "And I still managed to win!"


    "You won against a good racer, yeah, but it wasn''t Kairo."


    "Kairo..."


    Hearing his friend''s name brought back a lot of memories for Snow. He assumed it was one of his other selves, but the idea of seeing him again was pleasing to him.


    "You heard of him too? He''s really impressive. He came out of nowhere and won all the races he was in. No one even heard of him before." Eida stopped to grab a newspaper and threw it at Snow before continuing to work.


    It was about Kairo and his achievements, but something was off.


    He was missing an arm, the right one, just like the one Kairo had to cut to get away from the anomaly. But most importantly, he also had the same watch that they used to travel through dimensions. For Snow, it meant one thing, Kairo survived and made it to this world. But why? Why wouldn''t he return to the ship? Why would he race and cause a problem in this world? It didn''t make sense, but there wasn''t much he could deduce without talking to him.


    "Where is he now?" Snow asked with a firm voice.


    "I don''t know, I think he hangs out around the old church. I see him here sometimes when I go pray there, but he doesn''t seem to like me because he always runs away when he sees me."


    "Okay, I''ll see you later then, I need to go see him. Are you coming Sepide?"


    Sepide wasn''t sure, she heard of Kairo, but she never actually met him. She decided that it was better if she didn''t cause more problems, it seemed like a personal matter.


    "No, I like seeing her work here."


    "Okay, Silva, are you coming?"


    Silva reacted to the sound of her name but had no idea about anything they talked about. Seeing her confused face, Snow continued.


    "We found Kairo, our Kairo."


    "Kairo? I thought he was dead!" She quickly put her drawing in her pocket and followed Snow. "Let''s go!"


    "Have fun, I''ll finish fixing the car before tomorrow, don''t worry about me."


    Snow and Silva nodded at the mechanic and left toward the old church, where Kairo most likely was.


    The old house of God was standing there despite all the time that had passed since its creation. Snow and Silva already passed in front of it during the race but didn''t take a close look at it until now. It was different, yet similar to the church they lost Kairo in, bringing bad memories to the two friends. Snow took a deep breath and pushed the loud doors. Inside, there was barely a roof left, some glowing plants made it their home, and a man was standing in the middle. Hearing the sound, he turned around. They could recognize him among a thousand people, it was their friend, Kairo.


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    "Neige, Silva... So you''re alive..."


    Their old friend spoke softly, with an almost empty voice. Whatever happened during the time they were separated must have been tough for him. His clothes were thorned, the sleeve where his right arm should be was now empty, and a new man lay in his eyes. The symbol of the Kronos on his jacket was burnt, it was too precise to be a mistake and was probably made by Kairo himself.


    Neige wanted to keep using his new nickname ''Snow'' but he figured it wasn''t really useful and would just make his old friend confused. Neige stepped toward Kairo with a mix of relief and fear, still not believing what he was seeing.


    "Kairo, we were so worried. What happened?"


    Neige''s words echoed inside the church, but they weren''t reaching Kairo, almost like he was in another world. He kept looking at the two of them in silence, and after a while finally decided to talk.


    "Neige, do you believe in God?"


    Silva and Neige both were taken aback by this answer. They just found their friend back, and he acted like nothing happened. But even though it was weird, Neige still decided to answer.


    "I don''t really know, I guess not."


    The silence took place for a few minutes. The two friends started to get increasingly worried for their old friend. They tried approaching slowly, but Kairo''s voice stopped them in their track.


    "What if there is a God, and that he''s deciding everything for us, that our actions don''t mean anything? Would you keep going? Keep struggling in a world that would happen the exact same way without you?"


    Neige knew that his friend always talked about philosophical matters, but they just found each other after a moment. They thought he was dead, but now that they see him they wonder if he''s truly living, or if he fell into madness. But even despite that, Neige still kept talking to his former friend.


    "Well if we weren''t here, the worlds would change drastically, maybe even some would get destroyed. So if there is a God, we''re going against his will."


    The following silence was starting to annoy Neige and Silva alike, but Kairo didn''t seem to mind it much, as he kept holding it for a while before asking something else.


    "You think we can change Fate itself? I want to see what''s behind this sky, behind this world, behind everything. I want to see the real world Neige, I want to paint the reality Silva, I want to find the truth. And if the only way to find the truth is to destroy this world made by God, then so be it. So, will you follow me?"


    "Destroy this world?" Asked Silva "Why this one?"


    "Not only this one, everything. All Neiges, all Silvas, all Kairos, all worlds, everything that exists within this creation! I know it now, there is someone above us, someone writing our destiny, and I will find him, ask him why, and observe his world. And I''m ready to sacrifice ourselves for this goal."


    This time, it was Neige and Silva keeping this silence, they didn''t know what to answer. Their friend became crazy, and it looked like nothing could stop him.


    "Silva, I know you won''t follow me."


    "And you''d be right..."


    "But Neige, I still hold hope. Together, we can see the true form of this world!"


    Neige stayed silent for a while, making Silva and Kairo wait for his answer. Did Kairo truly think like that? That a God is ruling above them all? He didn''t even seem mad, or sad, or anything. He just looked like he accepted his fate, and only wanted to see the truth he cared so much about.


    "I''m sorry Kairo, but even if you think that the whole universe is created by a God, it doesn''t change anything for me. He''s not here to fix this world, we are. It''s our own now, and we''ll protect it with all of our will!"


    Silva was happy that Neige didn''t follow his crazy path, but Kairo was looking a bit disappointed. The man looked at the ground for a moment before suddenly smiling cheerily at the two friends.


    "Neige, Silva, you''re really great friends! But this nun was right, she knew you better than me Neige... I thought you would follow me." His smile dissipated, and he continued with a serious tone "From now on, we are enemies. I will fight to prove the worthlessness of this life in the fog, and you will fight to make this world your own and reclaim it from our creator."


    Kairo was about to leave, but Neige quickly asked something before he left.


    "This nun you talked about, you mean that it''s the anomaly? Did you two talk together?"


    "You seem to know a lot already, you progressed quickly. She was the one who taught me the condition of our world, about our creator. She really trusts you Neige, I suppose that now that I oppose you, she''ll try to get rid of me too. I can feel that she''s here in this world too."


    "The anomaly is here?" Asked Silva, afraid that it would cause more problems.


    "Yes, but I don''t think she wants any harm to this world. She wouldn''t dare put Neige in danger. I, on the other hand, won''t hesitate to put all of our lives at risk."


    "How do you know so much about the anomaly?"


    Kairo stayed silent for a moment, thinking back on the past, before answering.


    "She''s not the danger you think she is. Tomorrow will be a race to determine the fate of this world, You should focus on that instead. May the best of us win, my old friends."

 Chapter 13: What is a Friend?

    Sepide was watching Eida work on the car. She didn''t really know what the mechanic was doing but still found some peace watching the car being worked on. An hour passed silently until Eida broke the long silence.


    "Hey, can you get me the wrench on the table over there?"


    Sepide nodded and quickly went to get the tool. She wasn''t sure what most of them did, but she recognized the wrench and gave it to the mechanic, still working on the car.


    "Thanks." Eida continued working in silence for a few minutes under Sepide''s attentive gaze. A bit bothered by the silence, the mechanic decided to talk to her spectator while still focusing on the car "Why didn''t you go with your friends? It seems like way more fun than being stuck here."


    "We''re not really friends, we just work together." Sepide wasn''t sure what they were. They knew each other only for a few days and she felt Neige and Silva both had a personality that didn''t go well with her own.


    "Really? That''s a shame. Why aren''t you friends?"


    "It''s not something easy to do, making friends is... Hard and complicated. And it''s not necessary."


    She couldn''t see Eida''s, but even without seeing her face, she could feel that she didn''t agree.


    "It''s not that hard, we''re friends, aren''t we?"


    Friend? It was a bit soon for that, Sepide knew her for less than a day, maybe even just a few hours. For her, it was not enough, and besides, they would never meet each other again.


    Eida saw that Sepide was hesitating and answered her own question to break the silence.


    "For me we are. Of course, we''re not as close as we are with our other friends, but aren''t we here to help each other?"


    "That''s... Not what friendship is." Sepide said, confused about Eida''s words.


    "What''s friendship then? Isn''t it just being happy together and being here for each other?"


    Happy? Was Sepide happy with Neige and Silva? She wasn''t having a bad time, but friends? Either way, it wasn''t important for her, as her mission came first.


    "You know how Neige and I became friends?" Asked Eida. "I was fixing his car, it was the first time he came here. When he saw my necklace with a cross he was surprised, since peoples around here aren''t really religious."


    Sepide looked at the woman''s neck but couldn''t see any necklace. She couldn''t stop herself from asking,


    "Where is your necklace?"


    "Neige has it. He''s not religious himself, actually quite the opposite, and yet he has a religious symbol, isn''t it funny?" The mechanic chuckled lightly at herself before continuing. "I explained that even if no one believes in God, I do. Most people don''t accept it and just straight up leave in general, I guess you know that it''s kind of a taboo around here. I expected Neige to insult me and leave with his car like the others, but instead, he argued with me about how believing in God is unhealthy and that there was little to no proof of his existence."


    "I thought you were friends? Is it really how the first time you met happened?"


    "Yeah, it was nice."


    Sepide was confused, she didn''t understand what was nice about being in an argument but decided to just listen, hoping to understand more.


    "For the first time, I was able to talk about it, about what was deep in my heart. I never had any friends, so I never had anyone to talk with aside from God. Even if we didn''t agree, it''s still a precious memory for me."


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    Eida seemed lost in her thoughts, even stopping her work to reminisce for a moment. Sepide didn''t understand how a friendship could be born from that, weren''t friends people you agree with?


    "But that didn''t make you friends, you just talked together, and you weren''t even agreeing."


    "That''s not what friendship is for me. Friendship is like... a car. You take care of it, it takes care of you. You laugh, you cry, you get mad inside of it. You feel safe, it makes you comfortable to talk about everything. Of course, every friendship is different, but it''s how I feel with Neige. And even if no one compares to him, you''re still a nice person to be around, so in a way, you''re a friend too."


    "Feel... Safe?"


    She couldn''t say that she felt safe with Neige and Silva, but it would be lying to say that they never shared anything. She was with them long enough to see a side of them that most people didn''t, and they did see a side of her too. When she thought about how panicked she was, it was kinda embarrassing, and yet she didn''t feel bad thinking about it again. Even if she was scared and worried, it was still an important memory. Maybe she understood a bit more what she was saying now. Thinking back, Neige and their leader got into a small argument, but it seemed more friendly than really mean. Friendship sure was complicated for Sepide.


    "But we don''t need friendship in the end..." Sepide said in an empty tone, but this time with a bit of sadness.


    "Well maybe, some people do well without it. But wouldn''t you like to be comfortable with someone?" Eida stood up and stopped working on the car for a moment. She looked at Sepide in the eyes and put her finger on her chest, pointing at her heart. "Don''t you have something deep inside that you want to share with someone?"


    Sepide pushed her arm and put her own hand on her chest, like to defend herself.


    "I don''t need to share anything with anyone."


    "Sure, but don''t forget that you''re not alone, you have your friends to count on."


    Sepide didn''t even know why she reacted like that, her heartbeat suddenly got faster and she felt offended for some reason. Maybe she wants to share what''s inside of her with someone in the end. But how could she share it if she didn''t understand it herself?


    Her thoughts were interrupted by Neige and Silva coming back. They both seemed pretty sad for some reason. Sepide ran toward them and took them both in her arms, taking everyone by surprise. She didn''t really understand it herself, she was pretty embarrassed actually, but she felt relieved when Neige and Silva gave her embrace back.


    The moment lasted for a few minutes until she took a step back and adjusted her hair as if nothing happened.


    "Did you... Find your friend?" Sepide tried to ask with her usual monotone voice, but she couldn''t repress her feelings and sounded a bit emotional. Neige and Silva noticed her strange behavior but decided to not insist.


    "It''s a bit complicated, Neige and..."


    "Snow." Said Neige, interrupting Silva before she could finish her sentence.


    "Oh right, I forgot. So Snow and I found him, but he acted a bit strange. Long story short, he wants to kill us and destroy the world."


    "Wha-What?" Sepide couldn''t believe what she heard, did their old friend threaten them? It seemed like whoever he was before, he was now an enemy.


    "So if we think about it, we have the anomaly, Silv that has Silva''s watch, and Kairo with his own watch. And they all can travel to other worlds to cause trouble... We''re not getting a break soon." Snow was worried about all the things they had to deal with now, but it didn''t matter, since they had to fix the problems of this world for now. Their leader will probably know best anyway.


    "I''m sorry." Said shyly Sepide "I don''t understand why he is like that now, but it must be hard to lose a friend like that."


    "Lose a friend?" Asked Snow. "We''re still friends, we just have a different way of seeing the world."


    Sepide was really lost now, he wanted to kill them but they were still friends? It was too much for her little brain to handle.


    "He''s going to be our opponent tomorrow, and he seems ready to do anything. He''ll probably even cheat, so we need to be careful."


    After saying those words, Snow yawned as if he hadn''t slept for ages. It has been a while since they were here, and they needed enough rest for tomorrow. Snow turned toward Eida, and spoke louder so she could hear them.


    "Hey, do you know a place where we can sleep?"


    Eida looked at him surprised but still answered his question.


    "Well, you can sleep in the room there." She said while pointing at a door in the garage "There are blankets there, But are you sure? It''s a bit soon."


    "It''s fine, it was a long day for us. We all need to sleep, thanks for letting us sleep here."


    "It''s nothing."


    The three of them got into the room, which was a mess inside. They were blankets, but no bed or anything like it. Sepide looked around, a bit confused.


    "Are we supposed to sleep on the ground?"


    "It''s fine by me." Answered Neige "I just want to sleep, it has been a long day."


    The group lay on the blankets and went to sleep, hoping to regain some energy back. Tomorrow they would need to find a way to make Eida win against Kairo, and it wouldn''t be easy. The night and the rain were still here, accompanying them in their sleep.

 Chapter 14: Other Selves

    "Hey, wake up!"


    Eida was trying her best to wake up the group and succeeded after a while. They all looked like they could use more sleep, but they still decided to wake up, they had a mission after all.


    "Come on, it''s 10 am, the race will start in a few hours."


    "Already?" Snow was surprised, he looked outside from the window, but it was still dark outside, with the moon and the stars "It''s clearly night outside."


    Eida seemed confused by his remark but just ignored his sentence.


    "Anyway, we should get going. Ririka is ready, and I still need to go get Neige."


    "Wait." Said Sepide "We need to get the game for the leader, you remember? I don''t really like races anyway, so I can go get it while you''re racing, I''ll come to watch the race after I''m done."


    "I''m not against it, the sooner we finish with it, the sooner we can get back." Snow agreed and Silva nodded her head, visibly agreeing too. "We''ll find a way to help Eida win the race, and you''ll go get the game."


    "It''s so dumb, why do we have to get a stupid game? We''re trying to save the world."


    "Save the world?" Eida was confused by Silva''s words, and couldn''t help but correct her with a smile "If I lose it''s not the end of the world."


    "Oh yeah, right. It''s just a saying, anyway let''s go!"


    Silva let out a relieved sigh, she almost said something that would change the Fate of this world. Snow and she took Eida and left their other objective in the hands of Sepide. The serious girl was now alone and needed to find a way to get the game, even though she had no money.


    Sepide found a place selling games, not without difficulties. The dark streets and the broken signs didn''t help her very much. This whole world seemed like it was on the brink of ruin, it''s a miracle that everyone survived in here. But the state of this world didn''t matter for now, her objective was to find the video game after all. She still believed that it was dumb, she didn''t even have money to buy it, and the shopkeeper seemed like the kind of man to rip off the limbs of thieves. But still, it was an order from the leader herself, and she didn''t have any money on her. After making sure that nobody would be able to stop her, she took the game and ran off as far as she could. The shopkeeper looked at her running away with an exhausted expression on his face, visibly not paid enough to run after her.


    Sepide managed to hide in a small street, and thankfully, nobody followed her. The girl got what she needed, and even if she felt bad, she knew there wasn''t any other way.


    "You''re a very naughty child."


    The feminine-sounding voice behind Sepide sent chills down her spine. She made sure that no one followed her, and yet someone was there. She turned around and saw a familiar face.


    "Eida?" She asked, a bit confused. Eida was supposed to be with her two friends, and she was quite different. Her long and blonde hair violet eyes were the same, but they looked like they were well taken care of, unlike Eida''s messy hair. Her outfit was strange too, like the one of a nun, but ripped apart like she just came out of a jungle. The nun and Eida both looked different but felt similar for some reason "You''re not Eida." Concluded Sepide, on her guards.


    "Not really no. Probably someone from my family tree or something. I''m just a humble nun that just saw a naughty girl commit a naughty crime."


    Sepide looked at the game in her hand, realizing she must have been caught stealing it. But she didn''t really have a choice, now she only had to hope that she would get away from this situation. Sepide thought the nun was mad at first, but she still kept a kind and warm smile, making it hard to understand what she wanted.


    "I''m sorry. I know that there are no excuses for that, but I need it."


    "It''s alright." Assured the nun. "I am not here to judge you, I did bad things too, I understand what it is to be desperate."


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    Sepide really had a bad feeling about this nun, something wasn''t quite making sense to her, but she couldn''t say what it was exactly.


    "It''s weird." Added the nun. "I never saw you before."


    "It''s normal, I don''t come out often." Sepide was trying to get away from this conversation, but the nun got very close to her. The nun was so close that Sepide could hear the sound of her breath, and yet she didn''t hear any.


    "You''re not from this world, right?"


    Sepide took a step back, confirming the woman''s suspicions.


    "The world where nights are eternal while the rain never stops. What brings you here?"


    "Who... Are you?" Asked Sepide, while keeping a reasonable distance.


    "Oh right, I didn''t introduce myself. I''m Ada, I think that you heard that name before. Right, Sepide?"


    Neige said that the anomaly was a nun called Ada. Everything seemed to point toward the woman in front of her being the anomaly. Without thinking, Sepide took her firearm and pointed it at her.


    "Ada, you are under arrest for endangerment of the world!"


    The woman took an exaggerated sad face, she was more having fun than anything else and didn''t seem to take the threat very seriously.


    "Come on, I helped you so much. How could you have won the race without the map?"


    "The map?" Sepide recalled the map that came out of the window, she thought it was a stroke of luck, but was the anomaly really behind it? "That makes no sense, why would you help us?"


    "Because we both want Neige''s good. But this man, Jairo? Mairo? Whatever Mr. Philosopher now wants to destroy the universe and put Neige in danger. I knew I should have killed him when I had the chance." As Ada''s voice got harsher, a dark matter started to gather around her. It was like it had its own mind and was protecting the former nun in a way, was it what Silva, Kairo, and Neige saw in that world? Sepide had never seen it before, but it was more than likely that this woman was the origin of this dark matter. Ada regained her calm and continued like nothing happened, under Sepide''s worried gaze.


    "If I could, I''d kill this pretentious man right there, but who knows what would happen to this world if I interfered?"


    "Since when do you worry about the world''s well-being?"


    "I don''t want its demise... All I want is Neige''s safety, but if I have to end a world for that, I will."


    "You won''t be able to do anything!" Threatened Sepide. "As a member of the Kronos, I arrest you."


    "The Kronos?" The woman was thinking deeply, before asking in a curious voice "Is that where your Neige is from? If only I knew, I went there, but all I found was some weird diary."


    "The diary? Were you the one that stole it?"


    "Maybe. I couldn''t read it, so I just threw it between worlds."


    Between worlds? Sepide wondered if it was even possible, what would even be there? It just reinforced her belief that the anomaly was dangerous, and needed to be eliminated as soon as possible. She shot with her revolver, hoping she would touch her target. Even though she aimed correctly and saw the bullet go through the anomaly, the woman was still standing like nothing happened.


    "Don''t waste your pebbles, It can''t hurt me anymore."


    Sepide still held her firearm to the woman, knowing it was in vain. Sepide stepped back, trying to avoid the nun.


    "I will perform my duty and stop you!"


    "Oh, you look adorable when you''re mad. You look like a nice and quiet girl, but deep inside you there''s a wildfire!"


    "Shut up! Don''t talk like you know me!"


    Sepide shot again, hoping it would work, but just like last time the bullet went through. Her rage became fear, that thing was not human, Sepide couldn''t do anything else than wonder if there was anything she could do.


    The anomaly was slowly getting closer to her, while Sepide was stepping back in the same rhythm as her.


    "Come on, don''t be scared. I won''t hurt you, we have the same goal after all."


    Sepide continued to step back, but the slippery floor made her trip. The woman was getting closer, and when she was close enough, the nun whispered something in Sepied''s ear.


    "I won''t do anything to you, I don''t care about you, I will get Neige. But if you get in my way I won''t hesitate to get rid of you. And besides, isn''t practical when you have a God on your side, helping you?"


    Sepide was almost in tears, Ada put her hand on her cheek to wipe her tears, but when she put her hands on Sepide, both felt a sharp pain and got away from each other. The anomaly almost lost her human form for a moment and became like a mass of black matter while stepping away before taking back her human shape.


    It took Sepide a moment before she remembered her leader''s words. She warned Sepide that if the same person from two different universes had physical contact, they would reject each other, as they weren''t supposed to meet. Was that what happened? But then, it would mean that the anomaly is her from another universe. They don''t even look remotely close, but it seemed like the most logical explanation.


    "You, what are you? Who are you?!" Yelled the anomaly.


    "I... Don''t know." Sepide didn''t know how to react. She was disgusted, like she was the reason that everything happened, even if she knew it wasn''t the case. Sepide wondered if it meant she could stop the anomaly somehow, and it also meant that the anomaly herself couldn''t touch or hurt her. She stood back up again, and this time had a more serious tone.


    "Ada, I won''t let you cause any problems to my friends or any worlds."


    "That''s some big words for a small body like you. You''re not a good enough friend for Neige, just take care of him for now." Ada made a big smile before completely transforming into the black slimy matter and running away through the sewers. Sepide took this moment to take a deep breath and looked at the game that she stole from the shop.


    "I hope it was all worth it... All of that for a stupid game."

 Chapter 15: The Man Who Was No More

    A lot of people were around, some were preparing to film the event while some were just here to see it. Neither Snow nor Silva knew much about cars or racing, but they would need to find a way to somehow win the race. They were waiting for Eida to get Neige, while waiting, Neige tried looking around for Kairo but he was nowhere to be seen. If he didn''t come, Eida would win by technicality, but he knew it wouldn''t be that easy.


    "Snow! Silva!" Shouted Eida, followed by her friend Neige. "The other racer isn''t here?"


    "No." Answered Snow. "But he should arrive soon, the race will start."


    They all stayed in silence, waiting for their opponent to arrive. It lasted for a few more minutes, but he finally arrived. Kairo was here, Snow wanted to go see him, but he figured that it would be better if they talked later, he needed to focus on the race.


    Another man, probably the referee, came running toward them.


    "Eida, are you ready?"


    She nodded her head confidently, and confidently got into her car. She looked toward her friends with excitation, smiling at them.


    "So, you''re coming?"


    "Wait," Silva said as if something was worrying her "I think we should try to stay outside actually. If Kairo does cheat, then it will be easier to see."


    "That''s not wrong." Said Neige, looking at his car. "I think it''s also better for me to stay out of it, I''m not sure my body can take it. I''ll stay outside with the girl, the boy will go with you."


    "Me?" Asked Snow. "Why me? I could stay outside and help too."


    "No, you won your last race, I think that you could help more with your driving experience."


    "Sure... My ''driving experience''..." Snow wasn''t sure but he was kinda happy to experience the race from the inside. He got into the car and sat on the passenger seat, next to Eida.


    "Good luck to you two. The girl and I will pray for your success."


    Silva and Neige left, leaving the two others in the car. The other car got next to them, ready to race. Snow looked and was assured that it was his old friend. Kairo however didn''t even look at him, only focusing on the road ahead.


    "You know each other I think, right? Don''t you want to talk to him before it starts?"


    "No, it''s fine." Answered Snow "I''ll do it after."


    The referee stood between the two contestants and started to speak in a mike. Everything seemed way more professional than the race Snow was in, but in the end, it was still street racing.


    "Hello everyone! Tonight, we will witness the finale of our yearly competition! On my left, is the racer that comes from the true shadow! No one heard of him before, and yet he managed to win every race and get to the top. Kairo! On my right was supposed to be Neige, one of, if not the best pilot around here! But he got in an accident, so instead, his friend, the girl from behind the scenes, will race for him! Acclaim and cheer for Eida!"


    The public was on fire, everyone was screaming and cheering like they waited all of their life for this moment. The man with the mike got close to Kairo and continued talking to the crowd.


    "The goal will be to arrive at the other side of the city, near the sunset bridge. Anything is allowed, the first to get there is the winner. But first, let''s ask for a pre-race interview before we begin. Sir, do you have anything to say?"


    Kairo took the mike and looked Snow straight in the eyes with a serious face, he stayed silent for a while, before answering with an equally serious tone.


    "Neige, we both are fighting for something greater than us. Forget that I''m your friend, and race with the intent to kill me."


    Kairo immediately looked at the road in front of him. The commentator seemed a bit confused but still kept his joyful and energetic tone.


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    "I''m sorry sir, I think you''re confused. Neige isn''t here, he got in an accident. Do you have anything to say to Eida, your opponent?"


    "I have nothing to add." Answered Kairo.


    The man was a bit surprised and stared at Kairo in confusion but quickly went toward Eida to ask the same question.


    "And you, so you have anything to say to everyone watching us?"


    Eida looked around a bit afraid. She wasn''t used to all the attention since she would stay in her garage most of the time, but she still tried saying something.


    "Well yeah... I want to do my best because... I... Err... Want to make my friend proud."


    "It''s great." Said the commentator "I''m sure he will be proud of you. Is everyone ready? The race will start! Don''t blink, or you might miss a lot!"


    The man stood in the middle and slowly started a countdown while the crowd was cheering their favorite.


    "Ready? Get, set, go!"


    The two cars started at the signal, and the race started. Eida was focused on the road, while Snow was looking at Kairo, making sure he wouldn''t try to cheat in some way. They managed to stay in front of him, which made Snow relieved.


    "We''re going pretty fast, it should be alright."


    "I don''t think so." Eida looked concerned, even despite their clear advantage "He could go faster, I know these kinds of cars. He''s staying behind for a reason."


    "A reason?" Asked Snow. "But which one?"


    "I don''t know, maybe there''s a trap ahead, or he plans to bump us from behind to make us crash. He''s your friend, do you know what he would do?"


    Snow thought for a while, Kairo was often the one full of resources. If he really wanted to, Kairo could easily beat them at anything.


    "There has to be a way to know." Snow said, lost in his thoughts.


    "Well if you know a way, do it now. There is a bridge soon, if he decides to act, he will do it now!"


    Snow didn''t have a lot of time to think, he kept his eyes on Kairo, unsure about what he should do. He always could use his firearm to shoot the tires of his opponent''s car, but he didn''t want to do it. It was mostly because he still wanted to save his friend from his madness, and even if it could bring problems, Snow still had hope deep inside.


    Snow stayed in his thoughts for a while, but to its surprise, Kairo took another turn. It didn''t seem to be the optimal way, so it didn''t really make sense that he would take another path. Snow was relieved until he heard Eida''s frustrated voice.


    "Dang, the bridge is broken." Said Eida, with a frustrated tone.


    Snow turned to check, and the bridge was indeed broken. Did Kairo know? Is it why he took another path? There wasn''t much they could do now, but even despite the clear roadblock, Eida kept going toward the broken bridge at full speed.


    "Should we take another path?" Suggested Snow, but the woman wasn''t any signs of stopping.


    "And lose time? Nah. The bridge is inclined upward, and since it''s broken now, it should work like a ramp. If we go fast enough, we should go above the bridge."


    "Should? I don''t think it''s a good idea."


    No matter how much he tried, Snow couldn''t stop Eida. They really were about to jump on the bridge with the car. It was at least 20 meters, there was no way that they make it to the other side.


    "Please stop, we can find a way."


    "Come on, don''t you feel excited? Going full speed, uncertain of its success. Feeling the engine of the car working, the tires rolling on the ground, hearing the wind outside as we race through it. That''s what makes you feel alive!"


    Eida seemed exhilarated by the race, a bit too much for Snow''s taste. They were about to jump above a bridge and risk their lives and she looked like she was enjoying it. But at the same time, Snow couldn''t help but feel the same. It was like a feeling he never had before, and he was as happy as scared to feel it.


    "Maybe it''s not so bad after all."


    "Of course, it''s not bad, it''s great! Now prepare yourself, it''s the first time I''m doing something like that."


    Snow knew he should feel scared, and yet, he felt excited. His heart was pounding in his chest as the car was going as fast as it could, and in an instant, ended up flying through the air. It felt like an eternity, the world looked like it stopped. Snow couldn''t feel his heart beating anymore, and after a while, the car finally landed on the other side of the bridge.


    "Yaaaaay, that was awesome! See Neige, you should have more faith sometimes!" Eida took a second to think about what she said, before correcting herself "Wait, you''re Snow, not Neige. I''m sorry, you just look so similar."


    "It''s okay."


    Snow still couldn''t believe that he was alive. He looked behind to see how big the broken bridge was, but when he did, he saw a kind of black slime pending behind the car. He couldn''t believe his eyes, but just in the blink of an eye, the matter disappeared. Was it a hallucination? Either way, he needed to focus on the race.


    "Sometimes, you just have to believe, and everything will be alright! And thanks to that, we''re really far in front of him now, we should be guaranteed to win now."


    Snow was relieved for sure, but he also knew that Kairo had more than one trick, if he stopped here, it wouldn''t be the Kairo he knew. The only thing he could do for now though, is to calm himself. His heart was still pounding in his chest, and he had no idea how they both survived.


    Even despite the seriousness of the situation, Snow still enjoyed the moment. It reminded him of his old adventure with Polyetta, his leader. Before they were part of the Kronos and tried to save worlds. It was a simpler time, and thanks to Eida, Snow felt like he was living it again.


    However, the race wasn''t over yet, and he knew he would need to keep his cool if he wanted to deal with anything Kairo had in mind.

 Chapter 16: The Last Push

    The race continued without a break. Their opponent managed to catch up after a while, the end was near, and the crowd could be heard from far away. Snow and Eida were in front, but they knew Kairo could still have something up his sleeve. Snow was focused on everything on the road, trying to find how Kairo would try to win the race. It was only when Eida talked to him that he stopped thinking to listen.


    "Snow, I think there''s a problem."


    "What is it?" Asked Snow, still paying attention around.


    Eida looked at the dashboard of her car and started to talk in a less-than-confident voice. "Ririka is overheating, it''s not normal!"


    It took Snow a moment before remembering that Ririka was the name of the car. He didn''t know a lot about cars, but overheating doesn''t sound like a good thing to happen.


    "So the car will explode?"


    "Thank God no." Eida''s words were relieving Snow, at least they wouldn''t die. The man was glad it wasn''t like in his friend''s video games "It''s just the engine could die at any moment, and we''re not finishing a race without an engine."


    Not knowing whether they could make it was a bit frightening, but they had no choice but to continue.


    Despite not being a racer herself, Eida used her car with an expert talent. She took tight turns and dealt with the terrain as she raced here every day.


    "Are you sure you don''t race often? I feel like you did it a lot."


    Eida chuckled a bit at Snow''s question "Of course not silly, I just know Ririka from roof to tires. I already knew how to drive her, but I never really raced before. I can''t even remember the last time I drove for something else than testing a car."


    Snow was slightly concerned about those words. They''re going at an extreme speed, and the driver didn''t drive for a while. Snow remembered he did win a race without even driving once, and Eida was doing good so far, so it wasn''t something he needed to worry about.


    The finish line was right there, only a few hundred meters before they would finish and win once and for all. But right before the end, a loud, mechanical sound emanated from the car as it slowly lost speed before stopping at a few meters from the end. Eida quickly got out of the car and started to look at the engine with concern on her face.


    "The engine''s coolant! Someone made a hole in the reservoir!"


    "Can we fix it?" Asked Snow, but the saddened face of Eida already gave him the answer he needed.


    "It would take too much time for the engine to cool anyway, our opponent wasn''t too far behind, he''ll get here before we can." The woman with long hair started to get tears in her eyes, but she tried her best to keep them from falling "I wanted to win this for Neige..."


    Snow looked behind and couldn''t see Kairo''s car, meaning they still had a chance to win. He wasn''t to give up just yet, not only for this world but also for Eida''s sake.


    Snow got behind the car and did its best to push it as hard as he could.


    "Snow..." Eida saw him trying to push the car with all his strength, but the car barely moved. She was tempted to just give up, but for some reason, seeing Snow making so much effort gave her energy. An energy that she didn''t understand, but that kept her going. She went next to Snow and pushed the car toward the finish line, which had difficulties trying his best.


    "It''s so heavy... What is your car made of?"


    "Shut up and push Snow!"


    They used all the strength they had, but the car moved at a snail''s pace. The sounds of a car could be heard, getting closer. They knew they didn''t have much time left, but it didn''t stop them from trying.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.Suddenly, coming from the crowd, Silva came to help them push the car as fast as she could, surprising the two friends.


    "I hope I didn''t arrive too late!"


    "And I hope it''s not against the rules." Said Snow. He wasn''t sure if it was allowed, but he was ready to accept any help he could get.


    The sound of the car was getting closer, but they were also getting closer to the finish line. The commentator and the crowd were all cheering, no one expected the race to end like that, but they weren''t complaining.


    The three of them pushed as hard as they could, and suddenly it felt lighter, not much lighter, but still lighter.


    "Sepide?!" Snow was surprised to see her friend here, but it wasn''t the moment to think, and all together, they pushed the vehicle as far as they could.


    "Maybe it''s true." Whispered Sepide "Friends are useful."


    "Of course they are! I''m not pushing a car alone!"


    "No." Sepide Answered to Snow "When it was hard and I was uncertain, I thought of you two. You helped me push my car, and now it''s my turn to push yours."


    "But I didn''t-" Snow couldn''t even finish his sentence when Eida interrupted him.


    "You see, friendship really is like a car." Eida and Sepide both smiled, leaving Snow confused.


    The other car was almost here, they could hear the sound getting closer. They put all of they had, and just before Kairo could go through to the end, they managed to get the car after the finish line.


    "We have a winner!" Yelled the commentator. "Eida won the race and is crowned great champion!"


    Everything was so loud, the public, the music, the cars around, but all they could feel was relief, the relief that everything was finally over. They were all satisfied, all but Snow.


    He tried looking around to find Kairo, but he was nowhere to be found.


    "Snow!" Yelled Eida, trying to get his attention "We have to get our trophy! You worked for it too, so come on!"


    She took him by the arm, forcing him to follow her. They were surrounded by cameras and flashes. Eida took her trophy and held it in the air for everyone to see.


    The commentator gave her a mike for her to give a speech. She stayed silent for a moment, stressed by everyone''s gaze. But in the end, she overcame her anxiety and started talking the best she could.


    "To be honest, I wasn''t expecting to win. I didn''t have a lot of experience, there''s so much that could have gone wrong... And yet, I did it. The only reason I wanted to do it was for my friend, Neige. I didn''t want to let him down... He did a lot for me, and I wanted to do it to show him how precious he is to me. But it wasn''t the only reason I won, I had incredible friends who wanted my good. So I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Sepide, Silva, and especially Snow."


    She turned around to look at him, but he disappeared like he was never there. She searched, but the three friends were nowhere to be found, as if they vanished from this world.


    "So let''s make sure everything is over. We managed to make Eida win the race."


    "Mmh-mmh" Agreed Silva.


    "And Sepide, you have the game?"


    "Yes, I do."


    "Then we can go? I''ll admit, I''ll miss this place. Those constant nights and rains made it relaxing, and the race was pretty exciting."


    "I won''t." Said Sepide, trying to not show any emotion "But... There were nice people here."


    The three of them were about to go back to the ship but were suddenly stopped by a voice. It was Eida, trying her best to run after them.


    "Hey, where are you going? You disappeared out of nowhere!"


    The three friends looked at each other, they knew that they couldn''t stay, but they didn''t know how to say it. Snow was the first one to break the silence.


    "Well, our duty here is done now. We need to go."


    "But why?" Eida''s voice wavered a bit, and tears started to come out of her eyes "Why do you have to leave? It''s not like you need to go, I''ll find you a better place to sleep, I promise."


    Snow looked around, making sure that no one was around, and started to talk in a lower voice.


    "Do you want to know our secret?" Eida nodded her head shyly as an answer to Snow''s question "We''re angels making sure that Justice is served. But don''t tell anyone, it could cause problems."


    "You think I''ll believe that?"


    "Well whether you believe it or not doesn''t matter, it''s just the truth."


    Eida looked at the ground, she seemed lost in her thoughts. After a moment has passed, she got her head back up and took a kind of screw out of her pocket, handing it to Snow.


    "I''ll keep your secret... It''s a screw from Ririka, I hope it will bring you luck. It''s... My way to stay with you."


    "Thanks." Said Sepide. "I''m sure it will bring us luck."


    Eida nodded her head, and just like she came, she left. The three friends were sad to leave like that, but they knew it was for the best.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "You know, this Eida. She''s Ada from another dimension, and Ada is the anomaly." Snow asked, a bit worried.


    "Yeah, it''s true, and?" Asked Silva.


    "Isn''t it weird? Like, she seems all nice and innocent, but one bad thing and Ada became a life-threatening entity. Maybe the same could have happened to me if I was alone."


    "Come on!" Said Silva while caressing his hair. She knew that it always annoyed him to be treated like that. "It didn''t happen, right? Don''t think about it, and we have to give our report anyway, let''s go."

 Chapter 17: Finally Home

    After their long adventure, the three friends went to their leader to explain almost everything that happened, Since Sepide still kept quiet about her encounter with the anomaly. The leader seemed more than happy, even despite her mask everyone could see it.


    "Congratulations, you did everything and even found Kairo. So, where is he?"


    The three looked at each other, unsure about how to say what happened to him. Noticing the silence, Neige decided to speak up.


    "He changed a lot, he''s pursuing a God or something I think? And he decided that the best way to do that was to destroy the world. It''s really surprising how much he changed."


    "Not surprising for me." Said Silva "He always said weird philosophical stuff. Talking about his place in the universe is not that much weirder than searching God."


    The leader kept a very neutral behavior, her mask and her voice both did their best to conceal her feelings.


    "We''ll try finding Kairo. We don''t want him to cause problems. You can go now, and Neige, don''t forget to bring me the game."


    The screen turned off, leaving the three friends alone in the room. The exhaustion of their adventure caught up to them, leaving them standing there for a moment.


    "If I didn''t have to bring this stupid game I''d go to sleep right now." Neige complained a bit more and left the room. Silva did some stretches in the hope of losing her fatigue and then turned toward Sepide with a smile.


    "I need to go to the doc, you want to come?"


    "No, I already have things to do." Sepide looked at her friend, she tried to find out what problems she could be having, but Silva seemed like her usual self, just slightly more tired "Why are you going to the doctor?"


    "Just some routine check or something, nothing important. Good luck with your stuff."


    Silva left right after while Sepide stayed a bit longer, losing herself in her thoughts before going too.


    Neige went toward his leader''s room. He stood in front of the door and looked around to make sure he wasn''t followed, only to find Sepide peeking from behind a box lying there.


    "Sepide? What are you doing here?"


    The girl stayed silent, hoping that Neige didn''t see her. But when she saw that Neige was looking at her for a few minutes, she realized that she was indeed caught.


    "How did you know I was here?" Sepide seemed disappointed and surprised at the same time, while Neige just looked at her exhausted.


    "You''re as discreet as an elephant."


    "A what?" Sepide tilted her head, a bit confused.


    "It''s not important, what do you want?"


    "I need to see the leader, personal matter."


    Neige looked at the door leading to the leader''s room and knocked on it.


    "Polyetta, you have someone coming for you."


    Neige and Sepide waited for a moment until a shy voice made itself heard from behind the door.


    "Tell her I''m busy..."


    Neige looked at Sepide and tried imitating his leader''s voice the best he could.


    "I''m busy."


    "Stop being sarcastic and tell her to go."


    Sepide wasn''t planning to leave, she had to tell what happened. She would have preferred if Neige wasn''t there, but it was probably the only chance she''d get to be listened to.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "I''m the anomaly!"


    Everyone stayed silent after this revelation. Sepide still had trouble accepting it, and while the leader stayed silent, Neige couldn''t help but feel extremely confused. He was about to ask for details, but Sepide continued by herself.


    "I saw the anomaly, and when she touched me, it was like both of our bodies rejected each other. It has to mean that I''m her other self!"


    As she said those words, she was shaking. She didn''t know how to feel, was it a good thing? A bad thing? Maybe she could stop everything, but it could also mean that she could be a danger someday. Seeing the internal turmoil she was having, Neige approached her and caressed her long black hair.


    "Come on, you look nothing alike. She had blonde hair."


    "That''s not a lot of differences."


    "Well, she''s also tall and has big boobs. I don''t think you have either of that."


    "Why were you paying attention to her chest?" Sepide''s worry turned genuine curiosity for a moment, amusing Neige a bit.


    From the other side of the door, the leader tried talking to Sepide and Neige with a confident voice, but she still kept her shyness despite her efforts.


    "You''re not the anomaly... She doesn''t follow the rules of this world. That''s why we need to get rid of her... She''s a danger, and you''re not."


    Sepide looked at Neige, a bit unsure. He smiled at her and nodded his head to reassure her. It didn''t make her completely peaceful, but she was certainly feeling better.


    "We''re all tired after our last mission. You should rest and we''ll talk more about it after."


    Sepide wasn''t convinced but ultimately agreed. Without a word, she left to go back to her room. Neige was a bit worried, but he always could go to her later. He turned toward the door once he made sure that Sepide was gone.


    "She''s gone Polyetta."


    The door opened, Neige made his way inside and closed the door behind him. The room was still messy, just like when he left last time, maybe even more messy actually. He sat on the bed, and before anything could happen, he quickly asked his friend


    "You told a lie, right?"


    The woman froze for a moment but quickly took back her composure and tried acting like nothing happened.


    "A lie? Not at all. What made you say that?"


    "I''ve known you for long enough to know when you lie, but it''s okay, I won''t tell her."


    "... I''m not lying because it''s fun. I don''t know how the anomaly works, but if I don''t say anything, Sepide could overthink. It''s for her own good."


    "Maybe. But is she the anomaly''s other self?"


    Polyetta stayed silent, thinking carefully about her answer. But she knew that Neige wouldn''t wait too long for an answer without getting suspicious.


    "It''s complicated, let''s just say that even I don''t understand it fully. But don''t worry, I''m sure she''ll be a great member!"


    "I don''t doubt it... Where is she from? Gwyn didn''t seem to know either, and I doubt any of the others went on a mission without telling me."


    "I''m the one who found her... I''ll tell you more someday..."


    Neige nodded and looked around the room for a bit. It was a small room, especially considering that his friend almost never left it. Dust was everywhere, and there wasn''t a single thing that was in order here. The only thing that seemed like it was taken care of was her desk, probably because it''s what the members of the ship see on the screen of her office, and also maybe because that was where the video games were stored.


    "You know, people won''t kill you if you leave your room."


    "I like my room, I have all I need there."


    When he looked at the desk, Neige saw a picture of the ship''s crew together, where seven persons were standing and smiling on it. They took it a month ago to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the ship. The only people missing were Sepide, since she wasn''t here when the picture was taken, and Polyetta, since she never left her room.


    "Everything, except human contact."


    "I don''t need human contact."


    Neige couldn''t help but think about everyone on the ship. Everyone came from different worlds, worlds that were no more. And it was no different for Polyetta and himself.


    "Do you still remember our old world, Polyetta?"


    "Of course, it was beautiful. I still miss my friends from there..."


    Neige stayed silent for a moment before asking the question he meant to ask since the beginning.


    "Why can''t I remember anything?"


    The woman stayed silent despite the words of her friend hanging in the air.


    "Is that why you don''t want to leave your room? Is that why you''re hiding behind a mask?"


    "Neige..." Said the woman with a weak voice "Ignorance is bliss sometimes. I''ll tell you when the time will come."


    "I''ll wait then."


    Neige took the game, handed it to her friend, and looked at her with a tender smile.


    "Don''t you want to play together for a bit?"


    Sepide was still feeling a bit weird, but she was feeling lighter in her chest. Maybe it wasn''t her after, the anomaly really was strange. Still, there wasn''t much she could do for now, and Silva was probably busy now. The ship was pretty big and she could easily get lost there. She decided it was better to take a cup of coffee and take a break to think before returning to her room.


    On the way to her room, she saw Silva. She was visibly not happy and she looked like she fell in a bathtub full of caramel. She even left a trail of the sticky liquid behind her.


    "Silva? What happened?"


    The girl with red hair looked at Sepide and was even more annoyed now for some reason.


    "To be honest, I thought I could get a shower without being seen."


    "You probably should take a shower, it seems uncomfortable."


    Silva let out a sigh, it was the first time Sepide had seen her that exhausted before.


    "I''ll explain what happened on the way, come on."

 Chapter 18: Sweet Silva

    Silva was waiting for the doctor to finish all of her tests. She didn''t understand what those tests were meant to do but she believed Gwyn to do her job well, she had never been disappointed by the doctor before after all.


    The doctor took her notebook and wrote in it with a concern on her face, but Silva half expected with reaction.


    "You lost a lot of blood lately, either that or you don''t eat enough. Stop drinking so much coffee too, it''s not good for your heart."


    "I''m sorry." Said Silva with an apologetic voice "I try my best, but it''s not easy... It just... Happens."


    Gwyn noted something on her notepad with her usual tired behavior, and after writing everything she needed, continued talking.


    "Have you felt like a decline in your mental health? And is there something noteworthy that happened?"


    "Well..." Silva took a moment to think, a lot happened lately, and even if she did her best to be fine, she knew that something must have happened to her. It''s true that they worked a lot lately, but she believed it was because of what happened a few days ago, in the land of the cowboys "I think it started to get worse when I saw this girl, Silv. I think she''s me from another world."


    The doctor nodded, visibly understanding the issue. "Meeting one of your other self can be dangerous for your stability. It''s natural that you feel like that."


    "Really?" Silva was a bit surprised, Neige met his other self, and he seemed alright. But she never really shared about her mental state with her friends, so maybe Neige was going through the same thing.


    "Yes, naturally. But your case is a bit tougher than the others. Your other self made it worse, but it''s not the root of your problems." Gwyn looked at the screen of the computer. She seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment, letting out a sigh and frowning her brows before turning toward Silva "I''ve been working on something for a moment now. I call it the happiness pill."


    "The happiness pill? You should be friends with Sepide, you both suck with name."


    "Anyway." Continued the doctor, ignoring Silva''s remark "Let''s just say that it could make you feel way better, but the side effects could be harmful."


    Silva stayed silent for a moment, considering how bad it could be. If something happened to her, then she wouldn''t have to suffer, or so she thought. The girl shook those thoughts out of her mind and focused back on the conversation with the doctor.


    "How harmful?"


    "Basically, ''Silva'' as you are now would stop existing. It''s like when people are under the influence of drugs, they look like someone completely different. You''d keep your memories and most of your personality, but what makes you what you are would be lost in the way."


    Silva wasn''t sure whether to accept or not, it seemed like a big risk. But if it meant not having to suffer anymore, maybe it was worth it. What does losing herself even mean anyway? She started to think that if she couldn''t live a life without suffering, then maybe she shouldn''t exist. Silva only returned to the present moment when Gwyn stood up, catching the girl''s attention.


    "Well I can''t give you the pill now anyway, so take your time to think. I still need an important ingredient, so for now, just eat more, drink less coffee, and take your time to think about it."


    They both stayed silent for a moment, but the silence would soon be broken by someone entering the room. Even without seeing her Silva knew who it was just by her footsteps. It was a girl, around 20. She looked really messy, with torn clothes and oil everywhere on her, but despite her neglected appearance, her long curly ginger hair was completely clean and smooth. Silva knew her well, it was Emely. The two of them are kind of rivals and don''t enjoy each other''s company. But even she had to admit, Emely was pretty good at what she was doing. She''s the engineer, and she''s the one who created the clothes and watches that they use.


    The doctor knew about their relationship and already felt tired of being in the same room as those two. Gwyn did her best to look busy as Emely walked toward Silva. For an instant, she appeared to be worried but quickly crossed her arms and commented on Silva''s state.


    "Silva? What happened? Did you hurt yourself while painting? It must be really hard to throw paint at a canvas."


    The girl''s behavior changed Silva''s mood instantly. If Silva lost herself, then she wouldn''t be able to mess with Emely.


    "At least I''m not stuck in the ship and I get to go into other worlds."


    "Well, you won''t be able to say that anymore, I''m going on a mission right now, alone."


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Despite how annoyed she was, Gwyn knew she had to interfere, or the two would do that all day long.


    "You''re going alone? Isn''t it against the rules to go alone?"


    "Come on, it''s for you that I''m doing that. I need to search for the component to fix your computer."


    "You''re going to fix it?" Asked the doctor, surprised "It''s been so long that I thought I would have to deal with a slow computer all my life. And may I know where you''re going at least?"


    "It''s nothing dangerous, I''m going to the world 07... 01... Something. The world full of candies!"


    "01112007, you can''t even remember it properly. But it''s good timing, I need to go there too for my new medicine. Silva and I will come."


    "Silva?" Emely looked at Silva with surprise, who seemed as surprised as the young engineer "You, I can understand, but why do we need the failed painter with us?"


    "You think that an engineer and a doctor can just deal with danger? She''s the adventurer here, and besides, the leader said that a team of three is optimal."


    Emely seemed a bit reluctant, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it.


    "Fine, prepare yourselves, we''re going as soon as possible."


    Silva wasn''t sure if she wanted to go, but it could be helping everyone, and also, a candy world seemed like something inspiring for her art.


    Once the three of them were ready, they quickly jumped into the new world.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The world in front of them was so colorful that it hurt their eyes. Trees were replaced by giant lollipops, rivers were made of chocolate, and the road itself was made of waffles. Emely ran around, amazed by the scenery in front of her.


    "It''s so cool! It''s so colorful, thank god I''m not blind. Oh, sorry Silva, I forgot you were here."


    Usually, Silva would come back and say something witty, but right now she was more focused on the world they were in.


    "It''s sticky, it''s hard to know where I am."


    "It''s okay." Assured Gwyn "We''ll help you navigate."


    "Help her? I''m here to get something, I''m getting it, she better not slow us down." Emely opened her note, and read it, not without difficulties "I need... Ever flowing caramel. There''s oil on it, it''s annoying."


    "Interesting, I would have thought that a blind painter would be less messy than a sighted engineer."


    Silva''s words annoyed Emely, and yet, the girl still smiled softly. She tried getting closer to Silva but instead fell because of the stickiness of the ground.


    "What? That''s such a shitty world!" She stood back up and tried her best to clean herself, without much success "Let''s get what we need and leave, I feel like I''m going to puke rainbow if we stay here too long."


    The group headed the best they could toward their direction, the sticky terrain didn''t help, but the lands were full of holes and many other dangers. Navigating in there was hard, especially for Silva. Trying to break the tension in the air, Gwyn started to talk, even if it annoyed her more than anything.


    "Emely, why do you need caramel for a computer?"


    "It''s probably just because she''s hungry." Replied Silva.


    "I''m not here because I want caramel, it''s just that the caramel here has a special property, it always stays cold, allowing for a good coolant. But now I''m curious, why does a doctor need candy?"


    "The rock candies of this world have an interesting property. They act as a good anti-depressant, and it will make the med taste a bit better."


    "Oh, I see." Said Emely in a weirdly compassionate tone "I hope the med will work, it''s not a fun thing to live..."


    "Are you actually being nice and understanding?" Asked Silva "I thought you weren''t programmed for that."


    "Shut up, are you just here to complain?"


    The trip continued like that for a while, until Gwyn suddenly ran toward a cave made of crystallized sugar, it looked like the rock candies she was searching for were inside.


    "Finally, maybe we''ll be able to go home soon."


    She started to extract the candies, but Silva felt something like an earthquake and quickly tried to warn the doctor.


    "Wait, it''s dangerous!"


    Even despite Silva''s warning, it was too late. The cave closed its entrance and started to wake up. What seemed like a cave was a kind of creature on all four, with a shell made of sugar on its back. The creature started to walk away, but Silva and Emely followed it, hoping to free Gwyn who was trapped in its transparent mouth.


    "Can you hear me?" Said the doctor, hoping to get her friends'' attention.


    "Yeah, we can!" Silva answered while nodding her head while Emely looked at her weirdly like she said something wrong.


    "What are you saying?"


    "Shut up, I''m talking to Gwyn!"


    Emely looked at her confused, it seemed like only Silva could hear Gwyn through the sound of the big creature walking. Maybe her blindness helped her to have better hearing.


    "If you can hear me listen carefully." Said Gwyn in her usually soulless voice "This creature probably trapped me and is going to use acid to dissolve me and eat me. It would be nice if we could get me out of here."


    "Why are you not panicking!?"


    Silva shared what Gwyn said with Emely, hoping they could find a solution with the two of them. Emely thought for a moment before finding an idea.


    "This thing is made of sugar, maybe we could make it melt somehow."


    "We could maybe try to find a way to heat it, but I don''t know how."


    "Of course, you''re not an engineer, step back and admire!"


    Emely took what looked like a gun but with a rounder design. She fired it, and instead of a bullet, it shot a laser aimed at the leg of the creature. The laser managed to melt it and make the creature stumble and fall down. She was proud at first but quickly panicked when the creature fell toward the two girls. Emely took Silva away from the danger and watched as the creature shattered into multiple shards when it fell, freeing Gwyn.


    "What was that sound?" Asked Silva.


    "I think... That we killed it?"


    Gwyn came toward them, with her usual nonchalance. She showed a small bag with the candies inside, she almost seemed proud for a moment.


    "I got it, we can search for Emely''s thing now."


    They were ready to continue, but rain started to fall. Silva stood under the rain with exhaustion, putting the liquid from the sky in her mouth.


    "Of course, it''s maple syrup... Let''s just get it over with."

 Chapter 19: A New Memory

    Silva, Emely, and Gwyn continued walking for a while and finally managed to get the last thing they came for, the Ever flowing caramel. There was a lake full of it, Silva was about to fall in it but managed to stop right before.


    "I hate this world, the sticky floor is messing with me. I can''t feel where I''m going."


    "It would be a shame if you fell in." Emely slowly approached Silva from behind, and with a smirk on her face, pushed Silva into the liquid. What she didn''t expect, however, was that Silva would grab her by reflex, making them both fall into the caramel lake.


    "What the hell Silva? Why did you grab me in your fall?"


    "Because you pushed me!" Silva was furious, she tried getting rid of the caramel on her, but no matter how she tried, it stayed on her "I even have some in my ears, I barely can hear!"


    "You''re lucky." Said Emely, very annoyed too. "I have some in my eyes, I can''t see anything!"


    "Well, you know what it''s like to be blind now."


    Emely collected enough of the caramel, but the caramel on them would probably stay for a while still.


    "Well it''s over now, let''s get home. Are you ready Gwyn?" Emely''s question stayed without an answer for a while, it took so long that they started to think that the doctor was no longer with them "Gwyn? Are you here?"


    But only silence could be heard, Emely could barely see anything, and Silva never felt so lost before, making it almost impossible to move around.


    "I think she''s not here, maybe she got attacked. I didn''t hear anything, probably because a dumbass messed everything up!" Silva said angrily, still trying to remove the liquid from her body.


    "I''m not a dumbass! Anyway, we have to find her, maybe we should go back where we came from."


    "Sure. But if we lost her, I''m going to say it''s your fault."


    "Don''t grab me next time then!"


    Their argument continued for a while, the two tried searching around for the third member. They continued for a few minutes, but their slow pace made their progress difficult.


    "Ouch!" Silva bumped into something, she tried touching it to notice it was a wall of some kind "Since when is there a wall here? I didn''t even feel it."


    "Just be more careful blind-ass." Emely said mockingly, before falling to the ground because of a kind of vine."What was that!? Maybe we never came here, actually."


    "But then where are we?" Silva turned around, trying to get a feel of the place, but it only made her realize how lost they were "And where do we come from?"


    Emely tried looking around, but her vision was so blurry that she couldn''t understand where they were.


    "We can''t leave, she needs us. But how are we going to find her if I''m as blind as a failed artist?"


    "I may paint bad stuff, but at least I wasn''t the one that put us in this mess!"


    They were about to argue again but stopped when they heard a laugh next to them. It was very similar to Gwyn''s voice, but they never saw her smile, let alone laugh.


    "Haha, you should see your face!"


    "Gwyn?" Silva was baffled, they managed to find her somehow despite not seeing anything "Where were you? We searched for you!"


    "I know!" Said the doctor, trying to hold her laugh "I was here all along, but when I realized you couldn''t see me, I just followed you to see where you would go."


    "Are you kidding me? I couldn''t see anything! That was horrible!" Emely and Silva were both furious but also relieved that she was all right. They all got close so they could return to the ship, the two girls a bit annoyed "Let''s just get home now."


    "You know," Said Gwyn before they would leave "It''s always boring in my office, I have to work so much, I''m always so tired, and it''s depressing. So I''m glad we went for an adventure together."


    "I guess it was, I''m always working on something on the ship, so it was nice going outside. Even if Silva was here."


    "Fuck you, I hated it, I want to go home." On those words from Silva, they all went back on the ship together.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "I need to go shower myself now, I''m all messy!" Emely immediately left the room, with caramel still on her.


    Stolen story; please report.Silva was about to follow her but stopped when she heard Gwyn''s voice.


    "Wait Silva, I''ll finish the med tomorrow morning, you should come if you''re interested. We should at least talk more about it."


    "... Alright."


    Silva left, still unsure about what she should do. It seems like it could be dangerous, but if it erases all the pain she gets, is it worth it? Either way, she still had a day to think about it. For now, all she could think about was removing all the caramel on her. The girl left the room and walked at high speed in the corridor, hoping that no one would see her.


    "Silva? What happened?"


    Silva wasn''t sure who it was, but it seemed like Sepide. All of this sweet liquid in her ear was really messing with her.


    "To be honest, I thought I could get a shower without being seen."


    "You probably should take a shower, it seems uncomfortable."


    Exhausted, she let out a sigh. She knew that she couldn''t


    "I''ll explain what happened on the way, come on."


    Silva explained to her friend everything that happened in the world. She still omitted that the reason she was there was to get a pill for her and instead said it was to help Gwyn.


    After taking her shower, she felt much better. It was like she opened her eyes for the first time. Being able to hear and feel her environment again felt like a deliverance. Silva stood still in the shower for a few minutes, never feeling better in her life before.


    When she got out of the shower room, she noticed Sepide waiting for her. She looked like a dog waiting for her owner, sitting on the ground.


    "Sepide? You didn''t go back to your room?"


    "Well, I thought we could spend some time together, it''s not time to sleep yet." Sepide said shyly, still trying to keep a professional tone.


    "I don''t mind, but don''t you have better to do?"


    "Not really." The girl looked at Silva, with a slight look of worry on her face "Are you okay? Something happened?"


    Silva couldn''t admit it, but she did feel bad. It was probably her appointment with Gwyn and the talk about her other self that made her feel that way, but Sepide was maybe just what she needed to feel better.


    "It''s okay, I''m tired, but I shouldn''t sleep too early. I''ll wake up in the middle of the night again." Silva forced a smile, but the idea of spending time with her friend also made her genuinely happy "Why don''t we get Neige and go in your room? Last time you saw mine after all."


    "Sure, but it''s nothing impressive." Silva thought it would take some work to convince her friend, but she gave in pretty easily "Neige was with the leader, he should still be there."


    Just like Sepide said, Neige was in front of the leader''s room. But he was just watching the window in front of him, looking defeated.


    "Neige, are you okay?" Asked Sepide.


    "Oh... You''re here." Neige took a deep breath and started to talk with a voice full of sorrow "She said she never played the game, I thought I had a chance... I couldn''t hit her once, her and this weird character... She shouldn''t be that strong..."


    "That''s what makes you sad?" Sepide seemed a bit confused, it was just a game after all.


    "Yeah... Anyway, what brings you here?"


    "Oh, we''re going to see Sepide''s room, wanna come?" Silva was way too excited for something so trivial, but Neige smiled a bit at the idea.


    "Why not, I won''t say no about seeing what secret she hides."


    Neige and Silva both seemed pretty happy while Sepide stood there in confusion. It was just a room, it''s not like she had paintings everywhere like Silva did.


    The three friends entered Sepide''s room, it was very basic, there wasn''t anything special but it made sense considering how long Sepide had been here. Like the other rooms, there was a window on the ceiling showing space and the basics like a bed and a closet.


    "Wow, that''s so cool!" Yelled Silva, with excitation in her voice.


    "Really?" Sepide didn''t seem so sure, there really wasn''t anything special.


    "No, she can''t see, she''s just messing with you."


    "Oh, right." Sepide felt pretty happy to get a compliment about her room, she started to think that decorating her room might be a good idea after all.


    Neige looked around, there wasn''t anything noteworthy, aside from a laptop on her desk and a shelf. It contained some books, it was mostly about psychology and human interaction.


    "What are those books? Seems interesting." Neige took one and started to flip the pages, hoping to find something interesting.


    "I don''t really know, apparently they came from my world, but I don''t remember much."


    "You don''t remember your world either, huh..." Neige put back the cook on the shelf and continued searching, there was a bunch about how to be a good parent. He wasn''t really sure why it was here and didn''t question it much more.


    "Hey, what''s that? It was under the bed." Neige and Sepide turned toward Silva, showing some kind of wooden box. Neige took it and read the words written in golden letters on the box.


    "It''s written ''Precious Memories'' on it, it''s probably important for Sepide, so put it back where you found it."


    "No, not really." Said Sepide in her usual empty voice.


    "See, the owner of the treasure said I could open it!"


    "I never said that."


    Despite Sepide''s weak protest, Silva opened the box. Even if Neige didn''t want to, his curiosity got the better of him and looked inside the box too. But it was empty, not a single thing was inside of it.


    "Hey, where''s the treasure, it''s empty!" Said Silva, triggered by the empty box.


    "I don''t have precious memories."


    The two friends stayed silent. They felt bad for Sepide, she didn''t have a single thing that brought her good memories. But Silva suddenly got an idea and asked something to Sepide with a smile.


    "Don''t you like our adventures together?"


    "Well... It''s pretty fun, yeah." Said Sepide with a small smile, and even if Silva couldn''t see it, she still felt it. She took a shard of an eggshell and put it in the box "You remember when we fought the dragon and ate its egg?"


    Sepide nodded her head, reminiscing about the time in the snowy forest while Neige looked at them with confusion. Silva searched in her pockets and took a card out of her pocket before putting it in the box.


    "This Silv played poker against you, right? She left this card in the room where she put me. I didn''t have a great time, but it was still an adventure together!"


    Silva pushed Neige with her elbow, encouraging him to put something in the box. He took a screw out of his pocket and put it in the box too.


    "It''s what Eida gave us, you remember? It was pretty fun racing, right?"


    "Yeah, it was."


    Silva closed the box and handed it back to Sepide, with all the items they put inside.


    "We''ll create plenty of memories together, it won''t always stay empty."


    Sepide didn''t know how to feel. She took the box, it didn''t have anything special before, it was just something from her world. But now, she felt like it was the most precious thing for her, and held it close to her heart.


    "Thanks, let''s create memories together!" Sepide did her best to hold it, but a tear still managed to get out of her eye.

 Chapter 20: Free Time

    Sepide was still holding the box close to her heart, with a dumb smile on her face. She felt a bit embarrassed, but also very happy that she could feel something like that. She now had new precious memories and hoped that many more would come. Silva quickly took advantage of Sepide''s moment of inattention to search around the room but quickly stopped when she checked all the possible spots.


    "But still, it''s a shame. I expected something like drugs, porn magazines, or a love letter."


    Neige turned toward Silva, with a mix of fatigue and curiosity.


    "A love letter I could understand, but do you really think that she''s the kind of person to have one of these other things?"


    "I look innocent, and I have porn magazines. You can''t trust appearances, Neige." Silva said with a grin.


    "First of all, you don''t look innocent. Second of all, what are you doing with it? You''re blind."


    "I know, but it''s funny. So, Sepide, you have anything like that hidden?"


    Sepide shook her head, confirming Silva''s disappointment.


    "Not even a secret lover?"


    "I''m not interested in these things." Sepide said with a slightly less monotone tone than usual.


    "Come on, where''s the fun in that? I want some secret lover, braving the hardest hardships for the person of their dreams. Instead, I have two friends that don''t believe in love..."


    "Neige isn''t interested in love too?" Asked Sepide, completely ignoring Silva''s rant.


    "No, I don''t, love just causes more problems. In all the worlds I''ve been, love sucked."


    "It''s because you always end up in bad worlds, I''m sure somewhere people are happy!" Silva knew that many of the relationships they''d seen ended badly, yet she always believed in it. Maybe it was her sense of art that guided this thought.


    "And you Silva, you have a lover?" Sepide''s words were innocent, but they only reminded Silva of the fact that she never experienced love.


    "Maybe, he''s probably waiting for me, somewhere."


    "Don''t keep him waiting, he might go away." Neige chuckled at his own words, not without annoying Silva a bit more. He looked around for a moment before looking at the roof made entirely of glass, showing the outer confines of the Universe "The universe... It''s so vast."


    Neige let himself fall onto the floor, watching the deep space in front of him. Sepide lay down next to him, and feeling her two friends on the ground, Silva did the same. They stayed silent for a moment, contemplating and enjoying the calm moment.


    "You know, when it was me, Kairo, and Silva, we never spent much time together. We just talked after missions, and then would see each other when we get called. I wish we did more stuff together."


    "It''s true!" Agreed Silva "I never really got to see Neige and Kairo often. I spent most of my time painting."


    "It''s weird in a way. I wish Kairo was here, we would be all the four of us, watching space. We rarely took the time to do that."


    The silence took place for a short moment before Sepide interrupted it.


    "You miss him a lot."


    "Yeah, he was like my brother in a way. He was the older and wiser one. Well, he wasn''t always the wisest." Neige took some time thinking about his thoughts, trying his best to express what happened in his head "When you joined the team Sepide, I hated you. I thought you were going to replace him, that Silva and Polyetta would forget about him... Or maybe... I was scared to forget him. So... I''m sorry if I was harsh with you."


    "It''s okay, I think I can understand. I never really realized how much friends could be so important for us. I didn''t want to spend time with you two either, I just didn''t have anything else to do, but now, I feel like I''m feeling better when I''m around you two."


    Neige and Sepide both were happy enjoying the moment, but Silva felt worried instead. She wanted to share what she had in her heart but was scared to say something that would ruin the mood. She stayed silent, hoping someone would ask, but at the same time hoping that they would stay silent.


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    "Silva? Are you okay? You''re not saying anything." Neige''s voice forced Silva out of her thoughts, taking her by surprise.


    "Yeah... I am."


    Silva''s answer didn''t convince them. Even Sepide, who didn''t know her that well, felt like something was wrong.


    "Come on, you can tell us."


    Silva was a bit hesitant but knew she couldn''t leave Neige without an answer.


    "Being here, like that. It scares me. I don''t want to die, I don''t want to disappear. But not for myself, I just don''t want to leave you two alone."


    "Why would you disappear? Everything will be alright." Said Sepide, trying to make Silva feel better.


    "Yeah, you''re right. I won''t go anywhere, I''ll stay myself."


    "Of course you will. I hope we''ll stay friends like that forever."


    Neige turned his head toward Silva. He took a moment to look at her and hesitated to say something, feeling a slight discomfort in his heart as he thought about it.


    "Silva, you''re our friend. And for me, you''re a wonderful one. We''re here if you ever feel like something is wrong."


    Silva nodded and continued ''looking'' at the sky in silence. No one said anything, the calm of space slowly relaxing them from their last adventure. After a while, they all were led to sleep.


    Neige was the first one to wake up, but even after realizing he slept, he wanted to keep admiring the stars for a while. There was something poetic about seeing all of these stars. It made him wonder where they were, what were those stars. They explored so many worlds, but never took the time to explore their own. He looked at his watch, he thought he slept for a few hours, but he quickly realized that not only the night had gone by, but most of the morning too. He quickly got up and tried to wake up his friends as fast as he could.


    "Silva! Sepide! We need to go, they''re going to take all the good stuff in the canteen before us!"


    Silva woke up instantly, as if the ship was on fire, Sepide on the other hand took her sweet time to wake up.


    "No! It''s been so long that I didn''t get a good meal!" Complained Silva "I hope they left muffins for us!"


    Silva and Neige took Sepide by the arm, she was still half awake and didn''t fully understand what was happening. She followed them, thinking something urgent happened. The group arrived in the dining room only to see the incredibly limited choice of food.


    "Noooo... There''s no muffins..." Said Silva, after realizing that most of the good food was gone "That''s the worst way to start a day!"


    Usually, there would be a broad choice of food, but today, there were only some leftovers left. Silva stood in front of the food with sad eyes, blaming herself for waking up so late.


    "I prefer dying of starvation than eating that..." Despite her complaint, Silva took some fried eggs and tried eating them, not without grimacing. "It''s cold..."


    "I thought you preferred to starve?" Wondered Sepide.


    "Gwyn said I need to eat more, but it''s not with that kind of food that I''ll eat enough."


    Before they could finish eating what was left, they received a message on their phone. It was their leader, asking for them to come.


    "Already? I swear there are too many problems in the world."


    Neige and Sepide were about to go, visibly not happy. But Silva suddenly remembered that she needed to see Gwyn about the pill she made.


    "Wait, go without me, I''ll join you later."


    "Oh, we can wait for you." Proposed Sepide.


    "It''s fine, you''ll just tell me what happened. I''m really sorry!" Silva left in a hurry after apologizing, leaving her two friends confused.


    The blind girl ran as fast as she could, she didn''t want to make her friends wait, but she also was supposed to see the doctor soon. After making sure no one was in Gwyn''s office, she entered promptly.


    "I''m sorry, I just woke up!"


    "It''s fine." Answered Gwyn "We''ll just do some basic tests first."


    Silva nodded her head, and they both waited until her heart calmed down from her run to make the necessary test. After some basic tests, Gwyn wrote something in her notebook and shared the results with her patient.


    "Did something happen? Your heart rate is different from usual, is it because of coffee again?"


    "No, not at all. I haven''t taken coffee or anything like that since the last time we saw each other." Silva tried to look at the note of the doctor, but couldn''t read what was on it because of her blindness "Is it serious?"


    "Nothing you have to worry about, for now. I think that you probably had a lot of strong emotions. Did you experience a panic attack, blood loss, or anything similar?"


    "No, I just spent time with Neige and Sepide."


    "How cute." Said the doctor in a monotonous voice, making it hard to know whether she was sarcastic or not "Maybe being around them more often could help with your recovery."


    Gwyn took a small metallic box and placed it on the table next to them.


    "It''s the happiness pill. Before you take a decision, let me remind you of the risks."


    "There won''t be any need." Said Silva "I won''t take it."


    The doctor seemed a bit surprised and asked with curiosity


    "What made you so certain in just a day?"


    "I just... Want to be myself. I''ll try to get better, and if it doesn''t work, I can always take the pill later. Even if I don''t like myself, I think some people do, and I''d feel bad to take their friend away from them.


    Gwyn noted again in her notebook, she seemed perplexed by the answer Silva gave her.


    "It''s true, but don''t get overzealous, you''re still not in a good state. Even if I have to admit that there seems to be some progress."


    The doctor took back the metallic box and handed a bottle with some pills inside.


    "It''s your usual antidepressants, just a tad stronger this time. If you have a panic attack you can take them, but don''t take them too often. It should be useful if you meet your other self again."


    "Thanks, doc."


    Silva stood up and put the pills in her pocket. She was about to leave but stopped in front of the door when she heard the doctor''s voice.


    "Before you go, how do you feel about Neige and Sepide?"


    Silva took a short moment and answered with a smile.


    "I love them, they''re my true friends!"


    "And have you considered talking about your issue with them?"


    "I..." Silva''s smile disappeared slowly, before continuing "They don''t need to know, I''ll get better anyway."


    "That''s not how it works, I can''t force you, but you should rely on them more."


    "... Maybe one day. Thanks for your help doc, I won''t drink too much coffee, promised!"

 Chapter 21: Love Suck

    Silva hurried toward the leader''s office, hoping she would still be able to catch them before the meeting was over. But when she arrived, she saw Neige and Sepide leaving the room. When they noticed Silva, the two friends turned toward her.


    "Silva? It''s too bad, we just finished." Sepide''s voice was apologetic as if it was her fault if Silva couldn''t be here.


    "We have to go, a mission is waiting for us." Neige tried to remember the details of the mission, not without some difficulties "We have to make sure that two lovebirds get married. I think they were..."


    "Ebony and Ivory."


    "Yes, thanks Sepide." Neige let out an annoyed sigh, before continuing "I didn''t expect to work as a couple therapist, but here we are. Anyway, apparently the leader has no idea why it''s not happening as planned, it''s probably the work of an outside force. I just hope that if it''s the anomaly, we can stop it."


    "It''s in the world 19072001. We should prepare ourselves."


    Silva nodded her head at Sepide''s words. They took all they needed and jumped into the new, unknown world.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Scene 1: A sunny plain


    Sepide: All I can see is-


    (Sepide puts her hands on her mouth)


    Sepide: Why is my voice in such a way? I speak like in a theater piece!


    Neige: Don''t dramatize.


    (Neige looks surprised)


    Neige: How is it possible? Did a witch cast a spell on us?


    Silva: It''s probably this world, it obeys its own rules.


    (Sepide crosses her arms, annoyed)


    Sepide: It is a shame, but what can we do?


    (Sepide takes her phone, and talks into it)


    Sepide: All I see is grass, followed by a lonely tree. Is it a castle over there? There really isn''t much here, I shall call this world, the Land Of Love! I don''t see anything particular in this world, sadly, leaving me no choice but to name it after our mission.


    Neige: The more you speak, the more you sound weird.


    Sepide: Not by choice...


    (A man enters the scene, he is young and dressed in a fancy white uniform.)


    Young Man: Oh, who are you? Perhaps some lost souls, searching for their soulmates in these lands empty of love!


    (Neige looks at his friend, confused about the man)


    Neige: And you are?


    (The young man put his hand on his chest)


    Young Man: Oh! I forgot to introduce my humble person! The name of this lost being is Ivory, searching without rest for the chosen one of its heart! Ahh, dear Peolyetta, give me the strength to meet my-


    Neige: Wait! What did you just say?


    Ivory: My name?


    Neige: No, I don''t care about that, dear what?


    Ivory: Peolyetta? Don''t tell me you don''t believe in our divine figure. I would have told my father about your blasphemous acts, but alas, my heart was caught by one of your kind.


    (Neige put his hands on his head, trying to think)


    Neige: This world is stopping me from thinking correctly, it''s crazy!


    (Sepide looks at Ivory with worry.)


    Sepide: Your heart was caught? Are you going to die?


    Ivory: Oh, my innocent child, I would! But thankfully, it is taken care of by the most beautiful angel that graced this earth, even our Goddess can''t rival her!


    Silva: It''s really cute! And where''s your angel?


    (Silva holds her hands together with a smile)


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    Ivory: Ah, my tender Ebony, waiting for me in her home. Sadly, her blood isn''t one of royalty, but rather one of a peasant! Alas, I still love her and her fancy, beautiful words. Even if she doesn''t believe in our Goddess, I still believe in our Love!


    Neige: She''s more fancy than you? I have trouble believing it.


    Ivory: But you should! Alas, my father, the king, the ruler of this land! He doesn''t understand my Love, considers it like a distraction, an insult to the Goddess herself! I have to choose, is Love better, or the kingdom?


    Sepide: You are the prince I assume, are you supposed to be the king soon?


    (Ivory put his hand on his chest)


    Ivory: My apologies, it seems like I forgot a detail!


    Neige: Seems like more than a detail to me.


    Ivory: Trust me, my love defines me more than the kingdom does.


    (Ivory looks at Silva, and suddenly jumps back)


    Ivory: You! You are the reason behind my distress!


    (Ivory gets on his knees, praying in front of Silva.)


    Ivory: I beg of you, take my money, my kingdom, my pride! And convince my father to accept my love, he will believe you, I''m sure!


    (The three friends look at each other)


    Silva: I can try, just lead me to him.


    Ivory: Oh, if I hadn''t found my queen already, I would have kissed your hand.


    Silva: It''s nothing, I just like seeing two lovers happy.


    (Silva smiled)


    Scene 2: The inside of the castle, throne of the king


    (The group was standing in a line, waiting to talk with the king)


    Neige: I hate this world, why are we talking like that? And it''s like I can''t think properly, my thoughts are trapped inside of me!


    Sepide: Yes, I agree. This isn''t practical.


    Silva: I don''t mind, it adds to the romance.


    (The king receives them, at his side, a girl with short red hair, in a jester uniform)


    Silva: S-Silv?


    (Silva starts breathing heavily, her heart in an internal turmoil.)


    Silv: Look, the prince, escorted by a bunch of insects!


    Ivory: Two of you? Are you sisters? Are you perhaps not the one who convinced my father to forbid my Love?


    Silva: I...


    Silv: Do you think this pale imitation of me is smart enough to be the king''s jester? That she have the guts to stand up for herself? She''s like you, a weakling, a rat, a bug, waiting for someone to do her bidding, without acting once! It''s why you''re here, right? Hoping someone else does your job? Hoping they could convince your father?


    (The king raises his hand, making Silv stop)


    King: Is she right? Are you here because of your love?


    Ivory: Yes father, meet her at least, she''ll-


    King, with a strong voice: It''s enough, we talked about it. I decided that you wouldn''t marry a peasant!


    Ivory: Father, don''t listen to the words of that viper, she''s tricking you!


    Silv: Are you doubting your father''s intelligence? He isn''t like you, he is a man of action!


    (Ivory starts to cry)


    Ivory: Fine, I''ll just live with Ebony then!


    (Ivory runs away. Silva, Sepide, and Neige follow him, leaving the scene)


    King: Was I too harsh?


    Silv: Not at all, it''s for his best. We talked about it and agreed.


    King: You''re right, it''s time for him to grow up.


    (Silv makes a sinister smile as the curtains fall)


    Scene 3: Outsides of the castle


    (Ivory stood in front of Silva, Neige, and Sepide. In the green field.)


    Ivory: I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to trouble you. I will see my dear, she''ll find the right words. Her voice could cure all illnesses, but sadly, some things cannot beat the unfairness of life.


    (Ivory bows, and leaves)


    Silva: It''s really romantic, have you seen how much he loves his girlfriend?


    Sepide: Yes, but the leader said that they won''t end up together, so we need to do something. Is it because of Silv?


    Neige: Maybe, but there''s something weird. Who''s Peolyetta? Is she Polyetta''s other self?


    Silva: I wish my other self was a Goddess and not a troublemaker.


    Neige: You''re right, we''ll need to deal with Silv too. I looked, and she had your watch, Silva.


    Sepide: Stopping Silv is important, but the mission is our priority, we should follow Ivory before he gets away!


    (They all nod their head. Sepide and Neige leave)


    Silva:...


    (Silva takes a pill out of her pocket, and swallows it before following her friends)


    The three friends followed Ivory and ended up in a city in ruin. People lived here but the buildings were in a bad state. Unlike the white and shining castle, the houses seemed dirty and polluted. It also seemed way more modern and used technology that they didn''t see in the castle, like electricity.


    "Wait," Said Neige "It''s weird, this part of the world is different."


    "You''re right!" Agreed Sepide "I don''t feel like in some weird piece anymore, I can talk and think like normal!"


    "So this world must be in two different parts, I wonder why?"


    "We can see later!" Silva looked around, searching for Ivory "We need to find the two lovers!"


    They all agreed and searched in the city for Ivory. The search lasted for a few minutes, until they found the person they were searching for, arguing with a girl. Unlike Ivory, who dressed royally, the woman had clothes that appeared to be way more modern, even if they weren''t well taken care of.


    "I think you should think more about consequences." The girl said to Ivory "I don''t want everyone to suffer because of us."


    (Ivory grabs the girl''s hand)


    Ivory: Ebony, my dear, we will fix everything! Nothing can stop our Love! Don''t you love me?


    "I do, but you can see that it''s not going to work. I love you Ivory, but we come from two different worlds. You can''t let your feelings get in the way."


    Hearing their conversation, Silva headed toward them. Her two friends didn''t know how to deal with the situation and decided to let her deal with it. She seemed confident about it after all.


    "I think you''re both wrong."


    Ebony and Ivory turned toward Silva, surprised by her interruption.


    "And who are you?" Asked Ebony


    "I''m your guardian angel, and I''m here to tell you that you''re dealing with your relationship very badly. You shouldn''t give up on Love for a reason as dumb as that."


    "I think that taking responsibility isn''t dumb." Ebony didn''t really agree, but hearing Silva''s words made Ivory very happy.


    "And I don''t think that you should just ignore your responsibilities for it either. Love is supposed to change you for the better, not completely change your life!"


    Ivory: But I do not wish for anything else than my ladylove!


    "You can''t lose yourself! That''s what she loves about you!"


    The two lovers both seemed annoyed with Silva, she knew it would be hard to make it work, but not impossible. All the romance novels she read and her daydreaming would finally be useful.

 Chapter 22: What is Love?

    The group and the two lovers took some time away from the town to a calmer place. They decided to eat something to calm their hunger, while Ebony and Ivory argued in front of the three friends.


    "I don''t think we can live our love, the world is unfair, and you have to accept it."


    Ivory: How could I? Without you, I am nothing!


    Neige got closer to his friends, and whispered, so the others couldn''t hear them.


    "It''s weird, he still talks like he''s in a theater piece."


    "Maybe it''s because of the place he was born?" Wondered Sepide "Since we don''t come from this world, we probably are affected by the place we are."


    "Yeah, it''s pretty strange. There''s also something that bothered me, the guy said that their Goddess was Peolyetta."


    Sepide thought about Neige''s words for a moment, before answering


    "Isn''t it just the other self of our leader?"


    "Maybe, It''s very similar to our leader''s name, but I wonder if it''s actually our leader that came here."


    "The leader went on a mission before?" Asked Silva with curiosity.


    "Yeah, when it was just the two of us, she would go on missions too. Usually, we went together, but sometimes, she went into other worlds by herself. I wouldn''t be surprised if Peolyetta is just a false name she''s using."


    Silva stayed silent for a moment. She was curious about it, but they needed to deal with the two lovers first. And once they had finished their mission, they''d have to leave, making it impossible to find out more about this ''Goddess''.


    "Neige, Sepide, let me take care of them. I''m sure I can fix everything. And while I do, you just have to find out more about this world and this Peolyetta!"


    Sepide and Neige looked at each other. They weren''t sure if splitting up was good, but they had no idea how to deal with it anyway, so maybe it was better that way.


    "Are you sure?" Asked a worried Sepide, to which Silva nodded her head with a smile on her face.


    "Yeah, I''ll show you that I''m not useless. I can be useful sometimes."


    "We never doubted it." Neige looked at Silva, a bit troubled by her words, but still decided to trust her "We should meet up here again tonight to share about what happened, alright?"


    The three friends all agreed, and soon after, Neige and Sepide left, leaving Silva with the two lovers.


    Ivory: Where are they going? Are they heading toward an uncertain fate?


    "No, it''s alright." Said Silva "They''re busy, but I''ll make sure that we fix your relationship, and make your love shine above all!"


    "Why are you doing so much effort for us?" Asked Ebony, a bit suspicious of Silva.


    "Because Love is such a great feeling, and I don''t want you to miss out on it, or get hurt by it."


    Ivory: I do trust her, she must be sent by the Goddess herself! She is but an angel, only wishing for our success!


    "Let''s say you''re right, what will this angel do to help? It''s more complicated than just having a normal couple''s problems, the world itself is against us. The king would never allow for our relationship." Ebony looked sadly to the ground, but Silva wasn''t going to give up just yet.


    "I think we should go back to the roots of your relationship first, we''ll deal with the rest later. So tell me, how did you two meet?"


    (Ivory blush and look at the sky)


    Ivory: It was like a dream, a miracle of the Goddess herself! That day, I thought I was living the worst moment in human history! I was outside, lost, under the rain!


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    "I remember, you were so dirty that day, it was hard to imagine that you were a prince." Said Ebony with a smile.


    Ivory: Indeed, but just when death was about to take me, my savior came and brought me to her home, away from the danger of the forest!


    "I couldn''t leave him there, but when my family learned about his position as a prince, I couldn''t keep him at home either. So once he got better, he returned to the castle."


    Ivory: But I can''t stay away from my muse for long, if I spend a day without her, I could die!


    "That doesn''t seem very healthy." Said Silva, a bit concerned "You should still be able to live by yourself."


    "That''s what I''m saying, our love can only bring misery to everyone."


    Ebony seemed saddened by her own words. Maybe deep in her, she wanted to believe, but couldn''t.


    "Don''t say that, Love is such a strong feeling, I''m sure that you two can live happily ever after!" Silva looked around, searching for the forest they talked about, and pointed at the nearest one "Is it this forest?"


    Ivory: Ah, yes. I remember it as clearly as the colors of Ebony''s eyes!


    "We should go there! I''m sure it will remind you about how strong your love was!"


    Ivory: That''s a wonderful idea! Let''s do it!


    "I guess it won''t cause any harm."


    Satisfied with their answers, Silva followed the two lovers toward the forest.


    "It was here." Silva looked at Ebony, pointing at a tree "It''s where I met Ivory for the first time. He was cute, sitting under this tree."


    Ivory: I remember, it was there! Everyone hated me here, but she was different, she helped me. When we both were alone, all I could feel was bliss! I never felt such a peaceful feeling before.


    "Me neither, I really felt like it was going to be alright, that we could do everything." Ebony stayed silent and looked at the tree for a while, lost in her thoughts "But it''s not true, Love can''t solve anything, it only brings problems."


    "Why are you saying that? It doesn''t cost much to try." Silva''s words hung in the air for what seemed to be an eternity. Ivory waited for the answer too, until Ebony finally explained her thoughts.


    "You know that this world is split in two, one where the peoples blessed by the Goddess live, and one where she forsook the lands. Ivory was raised in the Love of the Goddess, they never have to worry about hunger, disease, or anything there. I was raised thinking about my survival, about how to steal just to survive the day. The universe is against us, how could it work?"


    Ivory: But Ebony, whatever happens, we''ll be here for each other. I''m ready to face the difficulties of your life and offer you everything life gave to me.


    "I know, you''re the sweetest, but this world is too harsh for you... You have a kingdom waiting for you. And... I can''t come with you, I belong here."


    No one dared say a word, Silva thought about what to say, but Ebony continued before she could say anything.


    "You know what story we tell children here? The story of when the Goddess fell in Love."


    Ivory: Oh, I love this story, it ends sadly, but it shows that true Love exists.


    "No, it shows that Love always gets in the way."


    "Excuse me, but what''s the story?" Asked Silva, a bit lost.


    "Your parents never told you? It''s fine, I''ll tell you. It''s about Peolyetta, the Goddess who came to this world to see how people were doing. There, she fell in love with a man, she was ready to give up her godly powers to live with him."


    Ivory: Isn''t it such a great story? What is more romantic than giving away yourself for your Lover?


    "If it ended here it would be, but the man fell in love with another girl. The Goddess was heartbroken and split the world in two. The descendants of the Goddess live there, while the man''s descendants live here."


    Silva could understand her a bit more, but still, it was too bad to stop believing in love because of a fairy tale.


    "But don''t you love Ivory? You can work toward a better tomorrow and still follow your heart."


    "Maybe, but is it worth it?"


    Like on cue, the roar of lightning was heard at a distance. Silva and Ebony didn''t feel any particular worry, but Ivory was visibly scared of the sound and started shaking.


    Ivory: No... Not again, this sound, will it haunt me forever?


    Silva didn''t understand, she thought the rain would bring him good memories, but instead, he acted like he was living a nightmare. Ebony took him in her arms and calmly started to reassure him.


    "It''s alright, it will go away. We should probably go to my home for now, my parents aren''t there."


    (Ivory silently nods his head)


    "He doesn''t like the rain?"


    "Yes, but he never told me why. For now, let''s just get home."


    The three left the forest and went to Ebony''s home as fast as they could.


    The inside of the home was in a pretty bad state. Childish drawings were pinned on the fissured walls, but despite the state of the house, it seemed like a warm place.


    Ivory was asleep on the bed, using Ebony''s tights as pillows. He was visibly having nightmares of some kind and muttered words in his sleep.


    "He''s so cute when he sleeps." Ebony looked at Ivory, with a smile on her face.


    "Do you really want to break up with him? You think it''s the right thing to do?"


    "I... Don''t know. If I could, I''d stay with him, but nothing good can come from mixing two worlds."


    "I''m sure it''s possible, I''m not saying it''s easy, but if you both give it your all, you can do everything."


    "Maybe." Ebony continued looking at her lover''s face, who seemed to feel calmer and less troubled "And you Silva, do you have someone you love?"


    "I wish." Said Silva, a bit sad "But I can''t complain, I have my friends with me, and together, we can do everything. Maybe it''s not too different from Love in a way."


    The two waited in silence for the rain to stop. Silva couldn''t help to wonder if her friends were able to find what they were searching for.

 Chapter 23: Peolyetta?

    Neige and Sepide walked around the decrepit city, trying to find out more about the Goddess Peolyetta. They tried asking around, but everyone refused to talk after they mentioned the Goddess. Everywhere they went, it was the exact same, taking hope away from the two friends.


    "Do they hate their Goddess?" Sepide asked, she didn''t really understand why they would refuse to talk about it, all it did was make their goal harder.


    "I guess, and I feel like people around here don''t like us very much. It''s almost like they''re dodging us."


    "We weren''t subtle either, maybe it''s the reason?"


    The two kept trying to find a way to learn more, but there wasn''t much they could have done.


    While they kept searching, Neige noticed a woman spying on them, trying to hide behind a wall.


    "Hey, you!" Neige tried to call out the woman in dark clothes, hiding her face. Noticing that she got caught, she came closer to them after making sure no one was around, and once close enough, she whispered to them like she was revealing a big secret.


    "Are you searching to learn about Peolyetta?"


    They were both taken aback by the woman''s words, maybe they found someone to help, but she seemed sketchy.


    "Yeah, we-" Before Neige could finish his sentence, the woman gave him a note and ran away as quickly as she could, leaving the two friends confused.


    "What a weird person." Sepide looked at the note that was given to Neige, it was written with weird symbols, making it impossible to read "It''s too bad, we can''t speak the language of this world..."


    "I can." Said Neige, with a confident tone "I learned a lot of languages. But this one... It''s from another world."


    "Another world?" Sepide was surprised, did that mean that this woman was from another universe?


    "Well, maybe it''s just very similar? The note says to go toward the lake, to an old church." Neige let out an exhausted sigh after reading the note "I think I have a curse with churches."


    "Maybe it''s a trap, should we go?"


    Neige saw the worry on Sepide''s face, he smiled softly at her and caressed the top of her head, hoping to make her feel better.


    "It will be fine, I''m sure nothing will happen. And it''s our only clue for now. Come on, we don''t want to disappoint Silva."


    Sepide nodded her head and gave a smile back to Neige. The two friends kept going, but Neige looked at the note with concern, wondering why this language was on it.


    They followed the note, and just like it said, there was a church standing there. The building was just an echo of what it once was, it looked like two pillars with some clothes put on top, probably to protect someone from the rain. It was clearly ruins of something bigger, but now, it was just used as someone''s home.


    There was still food left around the lit campfire, showing that someone not only lived here but was also here not too long ago. Sepide and Neige looked around until a voice stopped them.


    "Oh, you really came?"


    The source of the voice was the woman who gave them the note. She dropped the bag she was holding and ran toward Neige and Sepide. Now that he could see his face, Neige realized something that made him really uncomfortable. The woman looked exactly like Ada, the anomaly. But instead of the long blonde hair that Ada and her other self share, the woman had messy black hair, with a hue of violet at the tip of them.


    She poked Sepide and Neige''s faces with her finger, looking at them like it was the first time she saw humans. Neige took a step back and took a short moment to look at her.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "And you are?"


    "Oh, I almost forgot. Everyone calls me the weird priestess, but I guess I should find a name."


    "You... Don''t have a name?" Asked Sepide. She wondered if the woman really could help them.


    "It''s fine, you can call me... Eve! I think it sounds nice." The woman took a deep breath like she was about to say something really important "I never thought that anyone else here would be interested in the story of our Goddess almighty, it almost brings a tear to my eye."


    "Well, we''re here to listen now." Said Neige, curious about the story Eve was about to tell.


    "It''s a long story, a story as old as the world itself! At the beginning of the world, a little girl was born in the void. Saddened by the emptiness of the world, she wrote in her diary about what she wanted to see, and suddenly, Pouf! What she wrote became reality! She wrote all the stories she could, and for 2000 years, she spent her life writing everything she could imagine. But even though she spent two millenniums, her body barely changed, she was no older than a teenager!"


    "Really? I feel like you''re exaggerating a bit." Sepide was a bit unsure about the story, she wasn''t even sure if it would be useful to them.


    "Maybe a bit, who knows? Anyway, she decided to step into one of the worlds she created, and surprise, it''s this one!"


    "Wait," Sepide said, cutting the story again "How do you know there are multiple worlds?"


    "Because that''s what the Goddess said when she came here, ages ago. Okay, maybe we got some mistranslations in the way, but it''s not that bad, is it?"


    "Don''t mind my friend." Said Neige, trying to not look suspicious "What happened after she went here?"


    "Yes, so she went into this world and fell deeply in Love. No one knows who was the lucky one, all we know is that he broke our Goddess''s heart. She cried, she cried for so long that she decided to isolate herself, live in a world where Love is true and pure, where everyone uses beautiful words. And all of those who didn''t follow the rules would be banished from this haven. Even though she left, the effects of the haven are still here."


    "Is it why the people in the castle talk differently?"


    The woman answered Neige''s question by nodding her head and continued her story.


    "As you probably know, we live outside this haven, peoples resent the Goddess because of that. And even if most people forgot the reason, most of them still hate her. One could think that after generations, humanity would see past their differences, Alas, this isn''t the case. It''s a shame, but it''s this way."


    "Generations, huh?" Neige was pretty sure that this Goddess wasn''t related to the Polyetta he knew. But he wasn''t even sure if this Goddess existed, maybe it was just one of Polyetta''s other self pretending to be God.


    "Indeed! You two seem highly interested in the Goddess, so I think I can share a secret with you." She looked around, making sure no one was there to hear them "I saw someone from another world."


    "What? It''s impossible!" Said Sepide, taking a step back in shock.


    "I know, if I didn''t see her appear in front of me, I wouldn''t have believed it either! She was really curious about the Goddess too, so I explained everything to her too."


    "Do you know what was the name of this world traveler by chance?"


    "Of course, she named herself Ada, I wonder if she''s still here, it was a few years ago after all."


    Sepide and Neige thought about the same thing, was it the anomaly, and if she was here a few years ago, does that mean that she existed for way longer than they thought?


    "Thanks, I think we understand more about the Goddess." Sepide bowed slightly after thanking her.


    "It''s normal, even if the people stopped believing in her, I will always pray for her. If she didn''t have a heartbreak, maybe our world would be different..."


    "I''m sorry, can I talk with my friend alone for a moment?" Asked Sepide.


    "Oh, of course, take your time." Eve went a bit farther toward the lake. After making sure she couldn''t hear them, Sepide started talking.


    "Do you believe this story?"


    "I don''t know, it would mean that our worlds were created by her?" Neige thought for a moment, and the story suddenly reminded him of Polyetta''s diary. Wasn''t it a book that contained the Fate of all the worlds, a book able to make everything written in it true?


    "Sepide, we should talk about it again when Silva''s here. I think I have something important to tell you."


    "Silva? Who''s that? Another fan of the Goddess?"


    Sepide and Neige both jumped back, surprised by Eve''s presence behind them.


    "I thought you were waiting for us near the lake?"


    "I did, but it was boring after a while. But don''t worry, I just heard the last sentence. It seems like you know a lot too, maybe you know way more than me actually."


    "No, we''re just fans of mythology." Sepide tried to sound convincing, but visibly Eve didn''t believe her fully.


    "Suuure. Anyway, the night will come soon, I think it''s time for our paths to diverge. I feel like you two are special, you probably have a greater Fate than I do."


    "I don''t think so, but thank you. I think I understand more the Goddess now." Said Neige politely.


    "It''s alright, now go see your Silva or whatever, and good luck for your future!"

 Chapter 24: Oneself

    Silva and Ebony waited patiently waited for Ivory to wake up. A bit bored, Silva looked around the room. It was pretty messy, but one thing in particular caught her eye: a guitar lying there. The dust accumulating on it indicated that it wasn''t used often.


    "You know how to play that?" Asked Silva, pointing at the instrument.


    "I did, a few years ago. I don''t really play anymore." Ebony looked at her guitar, Silva couldn''t help but notice the hint of sadness in her voice.


    "Why? Didn''t you enjoy it?"


    "I do, but with time you just... Lose parts of yourself I suppose."


    "That''s dumb." Silva said, a bit disappointed. She took the instrument and handed it to the girl "You can now, why don''t you play a bit?"


    Ebony was a bit hesitant. She acted like it was her first time holding a guitar, looking at it from every angle. It took her a bit of time, but she managed to remember how to move and play. She played a soft melody, it wasn''t her first time playing it, but it sounded a bit off. But even despite the wrong notes, Silva felt something when she played, convincing her that Ebony should play more often.


    The girl stopped playing and put down the guitar with visible dissatisfaction.


    "I was better before..."


    Ivory: No, it was as beautiful as you.


    The two girls didn''t notice that Ivory was awake. Ebony blushed a bit and looked away, embarrassed.


    "Really? But I lost my skill."


    Ivory: It''s alright, I didn''t know you played guitar. It reminds me of when I played the piano.


    "You played piano? I had no idea."


    (Ivory nodded his head)


    Ivory: I did, Alas, I stopped. My father, the king... He considered it a waste of time, but music was my only friend until I met the most splendid of all goddesses!


    "But don''t you miss it?" Asked Silva "You can still Love Ebony and do what made you happy before."


    Ivory: Maybe... I do admit, I miss my nights accompanied by the notes of my dear melody. It''s... Strange. Never have I felt that way before. My Love for you is infinite Ebony, but it''s like something is missing.


    "I think you''re missing yourself. Is there one moment where you didn''t think about Ebony?"


    Ivory: Never, always she was in my thoughts!


    "I think you should take a moment for yourself too. You can''t depend on someone like that."


    "She''s right." Added Ebony "And it doesn''t mean that we can''t play together sometimes."


    Ivory: You are right. Red-haired lady, you really are wise!


    "Oh, thanks I guess." Silva wasn''t sure if he said that because he forgot her name or not, but it didn''t really matter either way.


    "You said your piano was your only friend?" Asked Ebony "You never told me you were lonely growing up."


    Ivory: I would have preferred to keep it to myself. But the wise girl made me realize that maybe the Goddess wasn''t right. Love isn''t almighty, we can''t live only of water and Love.


    "It''s what the stories about the Goddess said?" Asked Silva


    Ivory: Indeed. Love is the strongest feeling, that is what the Goddess thought. I remember the stories that the maids told me, I really enjoyed them.


    "Maid?" Ebony was a bit surprised to hear that, and couldn''t help but to question it. "Your parents weren''t the ones who told those stories?"


    Ivory: It wasn''t, Mother died at a young age, and Father never paid much attention to me.


    "I''m really sorry for that, I didn''t know." Ebony suddenly started feeling sad and gently caressed the hair of her lover "Here, it''s a tradition for the parents to tell the stories of the Goddess to their children. Maybe because we never had the Love of the Goddess, but here, family is important."


    Ivory: Maybe it is the price to pay for it, we were gifted the blessing of the Goddess, in exchange for the Love of our family.


    "It''s bullshit, your family should have loved you anyway!" Ebony looked furious, even more than Ivory felt sad "I''m not going to leave you to them, you deserve to be loved properly!"


    Ivory: Oh, my tender Ebony, the beauty of your eyes is equal to the beauty of your soul!


    Ebony was lost in her thoughts for a moment, looking deep into Ivory''s eyes. After a moment, she looked at Silva, with a determined stare.


    "Silva, thank you. I realize now that I can''t live without at least trying. I want to face the king, and try for our Love!"


    Ivory: Indeed, I feel grateful to you! I think that my Love was only superficial, but I shall work toward it.


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    "I''m glad if I could help!" Silva looked outside, the rain didn''t stop, but the night was almost there. She just realized that they were supposed to meet with Sepide and Neige. "Oh, I need to go back to my friends! I''ll come back after!"


    "Of course, you can invite them here too. You''re always welcome here."


    Silva bowed to thank them, and quickly left, hoping to not be late.


    "You think she forgot about us?" Asked Sepide, looking around for her friend.


    "She better not, I don''t want to sleep under the rain."


    The two friends waited for a moment until Silva arrived out of breath, visibly running for a while.


    "I''m sorry, I don''t understand why I''m always late."


    "It''s okay." Replied Neige "So, let''s share everything that happened."


    The two others agreed and started to share about everything that happened. Silva explained what they did with the couples, while Sepide told the story that Eve related to them. The girl with red hair looked at Sepide strangely, like she didn''t understand anything.


    "So you followed a weird note, and there you found a lady who told you the world was created by a little girl?"


    "Yeah, it was mostly like that." Said Sepide with her usual tone.


    "Don''t tell me you just believe her? And how would she know that the other worlds were created by the same person? I think it''s a bit too weird to believe it."


    "I agree." Sepide nodded her head in agreement, she found the story hard to believe as well "But I think Neige wanted to tell us something."


    "Really? What is it?"


    Silva and Sepide looked at him with eyes full of expectations. Neige knew he would have to talk about it someday, but it still was difficult for him. It was a secret that he never told anybody before after all.


    "You know how in the story, the Goddess wrote in her diary and the worlds came to life?"


    "Yes," Answered Sepide "It''s a bit weird to believe that something like that could happen."


    Neige took a deep inspiration, thinking about all the ways he could announce the news. After debating with himself for a few minutes, Neige blurted out everything without thinking.


    "Polyetta has that book. Like our Polyetta, our leader."


    The two friends looked at each other, they weren''t sure if it was a joke or if it was just something that they couldn''t understand. Silva in particular tried her best to know if he was serious, but it seemed like he was.


    "Like our leader has a book that can create worlds?"


    "Yes, since the beginning. She can know everything that happens in every world. And if she decides so, she can rewrite their fate."


    Sepide didn''t understand, she couldn''t believe that a book like that could exist, so imagining that their leader had the book was impossible for her.


    "I don''t understand, are you sure you''re not mistaken?"


    "A hundred percent. How do you think that Polyetta knows which worlds are in danger?"


    "Wait, there''s something I don''t understand." Asked Silva "Why didn''t we write in that damn book!? We could have changed everything without risking our lives!"


    "Well it can cause problems, we promised to each other to use the book only in emergencies and to not change the past. We don''t know the consequences. And besides, the book doesn''t take into account the anomaly, so we can''t stop her with it."


    "I don''t care about the anomaly!" Silva''s outburst shocked both of her friends. She never seemed so mad before, it was hard to see because of the rain, but it even seemed like she was crying "You''re telling me you could have changed everything? Kairo could have still been with us! Actually, we never would have needed to go on missions!"


    "Silva, please calm down. I understand how you feel, it''s a shock for me too." Sepide put her hand on Silva''s shoulder, but the girl suddenly stepped back.


    "No, you don''t! Do you know what it was like? You could have stopped my world from dying! You could have stopped me!"


    Silva suddenly stopped, realizing that she said something she shouldn''t have.


    "Stopped... You?"


    Neige''s words stayed in the air without an answer. It seemed like he had an idea of what she meant, but Sepide still was blissfully unaware of the situation. The sound of the rain was the only thing that could be heard, Silva looked away and tried talking with her weak voice.


    "I... Didn''t mean to... I swear..."


    "Silva... You can tell us, we''re your friends, what happened?" Sepide tried to make her open up, but Silva continued looking at the ground, with eyes as empty as the void.


    "I... Don''t want to remember!" Silva tried taking a pill out of her pocket, when she took the bottle with the pills in it, her hand shook so much that some of them spilled on the ground. Usually, she would try to hide it from her friends, but she couldn''t. Her heart was beating so fast, her head was hurting, her body was shaking, her hearing was blurring, she couldn''t handle it any longer.


    "Silva? Are you okay?"


    She took a deep breath and started to feel better, but she still felt bad. She considered saying everything in her heart, everything that had been troubling her. But she felt like she wasn''t ready yet, that she needed more time.


    "I''m... Okay. It''s just... One day I''ll tell you, I promise. For now, let''s focus on mission."


    "You''re not alone Silva, whatever you''re going through, we''re here for you."


    She wasn''t sure whether she would be able to trust them with her worries, not because they weren''t trustworthy, but because she felt like she shouldn''t be bothering them with herself. For now, they all decided to return to Ebony''s home to decide what the next step would be. On the way, no one dared to talk, staying silent and calm together.


    The three friends returned to Ebony''s home. They hoped that they wouldn''t interrupt an intimate moment, and when they entered, they saw Ebony, waiting on the couch. She looked sleepy but woke up the moment she saw them.


    "I was thinking you''d never come back, it''s awfully late."


    "I''m really sorry, it took some time." Silva focused but couldn''t feel Ivory anywhere near "Where''s the other lovebird?"


    "Ivory is sleeping, I stayed awake to tell you something. We decided to see the king tomorrow, we want to try to make our love work, but also to make our world unite once more. We don''t want a world where some are stealing to survive, while some are isolated from the world."


    "It''s wonderful! We''ll come with you, and help however we can."


    "Yes, but for now you must be tired, the house isn''t big, but I''m sure you can find a place to sleep." Ebony yawned, clearly tired "Well I''ll see you tomorrow, have a good sleep despite the thunder outside."


    Ebony left toward her room, leaving the group together. Neige couldn''t help but notice Silva''s sudden personality shift, she acted like everything was all right.


    "Silva, are you okay?" He asked worried.


    "Mmh? Is it because of earlier? I''m okay don''t worry, I just... Felt a bit stressed. I think it''s because of my other self being here."


    "Silv... Yeah, I guess it must be that." Neige still didn''t seem convinced but knew this world wasn''t the right place to talk about it.


    "Yeah, don''t worry. But geez, I''m exhausted, I''ll just sleep on the floor, it''s just the third time in a row, but it''s fine."


    "Of course, I''ll stay awake a bit, I want to go for a walk. I think Sepide wants to come too."


    "No, not really." Said Sepide, with her usual empty voice.


    "Sepide, Neige is saying that he wants to talk to you without me here." Said Silva with a sigh.


    "But why?"


    "You''re hopeless." Neige took her by the arm and went outside with her.


    "Have fun you two!"


    Once they were outside, Sepide looked at the rainy sky and asked Neige, a bit annoyed,


    "I didn''t want to come. I''m tired."


    "I''m tired too, but you need to know about Silva."


    Sepide was a bit surprised and looked at Silva through the window of the house.


    "Shouldn''t she be here if it''s about her?"


    "No, she already knows. Actually, everyone on the ship knows, it''s about the day when I first found Silva..."

 Chapter 25: Silva

    Neige at the empty scenery in front of his eyes, contemplating the absence of life. The man walked around for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and calm of the former city.


    "What a weird place, just like Polyetta said, something happened to this world." After looking around a bit more, Neige noticed his friend observing the world around him with disbelief "So, Kairo, how does it feel to see another world for real?"


    "It''s... I still can''t believe it. Other worlds, all this time."


    "Don''t worry, we''ll go slowly. We chose this place because it was empty, it should be a good introduction for you."


    "Right, according to the leader, we need to pay attention to everything that could be unusual."


    Kairo looked serious and paid attention to every single detail. Seeing that, Neige couldn''t help but laugh a bit.


    "Relax. It''s not like we''ll see a little girl running around in the streets." After saying that, Neige immediately saw a girl running. She looked like a teenager and had long red hair, going somewhere with bags in her hands. Neige took his firearm in hand, surprised to see someone still alive in this world "Kairo, follow me." The man followed the order of his friend, without questioning him further.


    The two followed the girl and ended up in front of a house. What caught their attention was that it was the only house with a lot of trash in front of it, as if someone had been living in it for a while.


    "Neige, I think you should go in, I''ll stay outside and guard the area."


    Neige nodded to Kairo''s words and made his way into the house. The door wasn''t locked, making it easy for him to enter. Once inside, Neige saw a very messy place, with paint everywhere. He heard a girl sing in the kitchen, and sounds of a cutting board. He only could assume she was cooking. Neige was about to explore the place but froze when he saw the man and the woman sitting on the couch, looking at the TV. Just by looking at them, he could tell that they weren''t alive anymore, and it had been the case for a while now.


    "Ma, Pa, it''s almost ready!"


    Neige wondered if those two were the parents of the girl. Since how long was the girl living in that state? He decided that he would wait for the girl to come to get explanations, and after a while, she came out of the kitchen with some kind of soup. Neige thought she would be surprised after seeing him, but instead, she acted like he wasn''t there.


    "Ma, Pa, I cut myself only twice while cooking today, are you proud of me?" The girl''s question stayed without an answer, instead, she took a spoonful of her soup and put it in both of her parents'' mouths before sitting between them and eating the rest of her meal.


    Neige couldn''t process what just happened in front of him, he put himself in front of the TV, but the girl barely reacted. He decided to clap to get her attention, and finally, the girl reacted.


    "Wha- What was that?"


    "What do you mean what was that, it''s me! Can''t you see me?"


    "Oh, I''m sorry miss, I can''t see, I''m blind."


    Neige felt bad suddenly, he thought she ignored him, but instead, she just couldn''t see him.


    "No, I''m the one that''s sorry... By the way, I''m not a girl, I''m a guy."


    "Really? You sound like a girl. It''s been a while since I didn''t see another person, I thought I was alone."


    "For how long have you been alone?"


    "Only two weeks, but see? I survived! I... Survived..." The girl suddenly started to feel sad, but quickly lifted her spirit. "But I like the world like it is now, it''s calm, and my parents have been nicer since they died."


    "What? You know they''re dead, and you still act like everything is fine?"


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    "Well they don''t hurt me ever since they died, so I don''t mind."


    Everything about that girl was weird, the world ended, but she was still alive. And apparently, her life before the end of the world was the opposite of peaceful.


    "Hurt you? What did they do to you?"


    The girl stayed silent for a moment, before answering with a sad voice.


    "They corrected me because they said I was a bad girl, but I''m not... I just... Like to paint... It''s not that bad, is it?"


    "Your parents said it was bad?"


    The girl nodded her head while frowning.


    "Always, they said I should stay inside and study to be a doctor or a lawyer, and every time I painted, they punished me."


    "That''s horrible." Neige couldn''t let her live that way, she wasn''t supposed to survive, he knew that, but he couldn''t bring himself to give up on her like that "I''m Neige, what''s your name?"


    "Silva!"


    "Okay Silva, I''ll remember that. I have a group of friends, and they''d love to meet you. Do you want to meet them?"


    "But I''m not good at making friends, I would make them uncomfortable."


    "You don''t make me uncomfortable, and I''m sure they''ll love you."


    Silva thought for a while and decided to stand up and wave at her parents.


    "Pa, ma, I''ll go outside, I''ll see you later!"


    Neige couldn''t help but feel bad seeing that. Was she happy like that? He couldn''t believe it was the life she had for those last few days.


    They met up with Kairo outside, he seemed a bit surprised to see the little girl, especially when she completely ignored him.


    "Let''s return to the Kronos, I''ll explain there."


    Kairo nodded his head, and with Silva, they went back on the ship.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Neige explained the situation to Kairo and Gwyn. The latter was doing various tests to ensure that the girl they just brought back was healthy. Silva was more than bored with the medical tests but still let the doctor do her work, mostly thanks to Neige calming her.


    "Are we supposed to take care of a child now?" Kairo wasn''t sure how to feel about bringing the girl here, she seemed happy before they came. Also, dealing with a child while going on missions seemed like a hard task.


    "I''m not a child, I''m 16!"


    "See, she''s just 5 years younger than me." Answered Neige "Silva, don''t you want to stay here? We''ll make sure you''re happy and comfortable."


    The girl turned her head toward the ceiling, she seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment before answering.


    "I don''t know, I just managed to feel good with my parents, I don''t want to worry them."


    "Whoever your parents were, they weren''t good for you." Said Gwyn while noting something in her notebook "You need to eat more and more healthily. Also, it seems like your muscles are underdeveloped, I think you don''t exercise often and don''t go out either."


    "My parents said I couldn''t go out until I finish my studies."


    "I''m not sending you back there!" Neige seemed very passionate about the situation and started to think about how to convince her to stay, surprising his two friends "You should meet Polyetta, she''s really kind. She could be like a mother to you! And I''ll do everything I can to make you feel better. Don''t you want to be in a more... Lively place?"


    Silva tried looking toward Neige but ended up staring at nothing in front of her. After a few minutes of silence, the girl asked,


    "Why do you want to help me? You don''t know me."


    "I can''t stand seeing people suffer, that''s it."


    "Suffer?" Silva took her left wrist with her right hand and looked sad for some reason. "Was I... Suffering?" She seemed a bit frightened, she didn''t know much about where she was, and yet, she felt like she could be at home here.


    "I can stay for a week, and then I''ll go back to my parents."


    "It''s enough, I''ll make you really happy here!"


    Neige took Silva in his arms, startling the girl for a moment. It didn''t take long before she gave Neige his embrace back, a tear falling down her eye.


    "It was Four years ago."


    Sepide had so many questions, why did the world end? What did her parents do to her? But at the same time, she was grateful that Silva was with them and not alone there.


    "So, why did Silva say that you could have stopped her? Does she have something to do with the end of her world?"


    "I don''t know, we''ll have to see later. I just thought it was a good moment to tell you her story." Neige sneezed and looked at the rainy sky with an annoyed face "We should go sleep now, it''s late... And cold"


    Sepide agreed, and together, they went back in the home.


    Silva was waiting for her friends, sitting on the floor. When they came back she asked a question to Sepide, not without looking away from her.


    "Did it... Change the way you see me?"


    Sepide ran toward Silva and held her tightly in her arms.


    "I didn''t know it was that hard for you."


    A bit surprised, Silva gave her back her embrace with a tender smile.


    "It''s okay, now I have a true family. I think that at the time, I was just in shock."


    "Of course, take your time, we''ll listen to everything you have to say when you''ll be ready."


    Silva felt happy that Neige and Sepide trusted her, and yet, she couldn''t shake the feeling that she had deep inside of her. She wanted to tell them everything right now while she had the occasion, but she got cut by Ebony and Ivory coming in.


    "You''re already awake? You wake up early, it''s good. We''ll leave in an hour, so prepare yourself."


    Ivory: I thought I would be the only one awake before the sun, but you proved to me that there is always someone who awakened earlier!


    The three friends looked at each other with frustration, it seemed like they wouldn''t have any sleep that night.

 Chapter 26: The Blind Red-Haired Girl

    Scene 4: Outsides of the castle


    (The group arrives in front of the castle, they are stopped by two guards in front of the castle)


    Guard: Wait a moment!


    Neige: I forgot everyone speaks weirdly here, it''s annoying.


    Guard: Silence, on the order of the king, you are all under arrest!


    (Ivory takes a step back in shock)


    Ivory: You must have mistook me for someone else, I''m the prince! How could you arrest me?


    Guard: Royal orders, all resistance will be considered as treason.


    "That wasn''t supposed to happen, what now?"


    Guard: Wait, her way of speaking, is she from outside? How dare you bring her here? You lost your mind, Prince Ivory!


    Ivory: No, I swear, listen to me and everything will make sense!


    Guard: You''ll be arrested, and judged in a month. You''ll explain yourself then.


    Neige: A month?


    (Neige punches the guard)


    Neige: I don''t have time for that. You should go see the king, I''ll just take care of the guards!


    Ivory: But they are trained! You stand no chance!


    Silva: He''ll be alright, let''s go!


    (Silva takes Ivory''s and the group leaves without Neige)


    Scene 5: The throne room


    (The king is sitting on the throne, with his jester, Silv, next to him)


    Ivory: Father, what is the meaning of this? Are you truly arresting me?


    King: I''m sorry, but you are bringing troubles onto our land. You are endangering the order of our world.


    Ebony stepped closer to the king, she couldn''t contain her rage and yelled at him with hatred on her face.


    "Is that all he is for you? A troublemaker? Have you any idea of how pure of a person he is? He may not be deserving of the title of king yet, but he is way better of a human than you are!"


    King: What a shame, bringing an inferior being here, I can''t believe how far you went.


    (The king turns toward his jester)


    King: You were right, maybe this land is hopeless after all.


    Silv: Of course, it seems like after your death, there won''t be anyone as worthy and reliable as you.


    Ivory: Father, don''t you see it!? She is using you, stepping on you to achieve power! I have fled away from my duty, it''s true, but I am ready to face it now! Together with Ebony, we will work to make this world a better place! A place where the people will learn to Love, and not rely on the Goddess anymore!


    King: I am sorry, but I made my choice, you are no longer of part of our bloodline.


    "Is he not your son?"


    (Silv smiles proudly)


    Silv: I wonder who the new king will be.


    King: As for you Silv, I want you to keep serving the royal family.


    Silv: That''s too much honor, but sir, what about the future king?


    King: I will take the time to find someone worthy.


    Silv: Sir, I think you don''t have such a luxury.


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    King: And why not?


    Silv: Because your drink was poisoned... By Ivory!


    Ivory: Que neni, it doesn''t make any sense! How could I have done it?


    King: Indeed, and how would you know about it anyway?


    (Silv grabs the king by the collar)


    Silv: Listen, old man, you''re going to die, I''m the only possible choice, say that I''m the new ruler while you still can, or else your mistake of a son will take your throne.


    King: Oh oh, you''re so funny Silv, a Girl? Ruling the kingdom? Not only you''re wise, but funny too.


    Silv: Are you kidding me? What are we in? The middle age? You prefer your incompetent son to be the king rather than me?


    King: Of course, why are you this surprised?


    (Silv pushes the king back on his throne)


    Silv: I poisoned your drink, you have an hour left.


    (Silv throws her jester''s hat on the ground and runs away)


    Silva: Wait!


    (Silva follows Silv, and both leave the scene)


    King: Wait, is it true? Someone, bring a medic!


    Sepide: I learned the basics of medicine! I can help!


    (Sepide goes over to the king, and looks into his eyes)


    Sepide: He is indeed poisoned, his pupils are dilated, and his heart rate is faster!


    King: Can you save me?


    Sepide: Not really, I just know if someone is poisoned or not.


    Ivory: Are you kidding me? Father, please don''t leave me!


    King: What a fool of a man I was, trusting her like that, was it all lies? Just to get to the throne?


    Ivory: Father, you mustn''t die! What will happen to the kingdom?


    (The king put his hand on Ivory''s shoulder)


    King: Son, maybe I was wrong. You said you wanted to make this world a better place, didn''t you?


    Ivory: Yes father, with all of my heart.


    King: Then prove it, and become the king I couldn''t be. Maybe you two can become the rulers that this world needs. Together, forge your own path, only the future will tell whether it''s the wrong way. May the Goddess bless you.


    (The king closes his eyes)


    Ivory: Father... I promise I will do my best.


    Sepide: It''s really a weird place here, don''t you agree Silva?


    (Sepide search around for Silva, in vain)


    Sepide: Silva?


    Scene 6: Roof of the castle


    (Silv touches her watch, trying to make it work. Silva arrives and holds her at gunpoint)


    Silva: Stop right here, I''ll shoot!


    Silv: Then shoot! Are you truly able to?


    Silva: ...


    Silv: Of course you aren''t, You''re a coward! Also, it would make the story much shorter, it would be sad to lose me so early!


    Silva: What are you talking about? What do you want?


    Silv: What do I want? I want to prove that chaos is what defines us! It''s the reason for our existence! Every good story needs a part of unpredictability, don''t you feel the same?


    Silva: Of course not! Nothing good can come out of chaos.


    Silv: ... It''s a shame, really. What do you call it, other selves I think? Well I thought that my other self would understand, but you''re like others in the end, unable to understand the world we live in.


    Silva: I just want to bring peace to the world.


    Silv: No, you want to stop suffering, the world doesn''t matter to you. You still can''t get over your past, right?


    Silva: How... How do you know?


    Silv: We are one and the same, but the difference is that I don''t wait for Fate, I bring Fate toward me! You could do so much, and yet, you would rather live pathetically with your friends. Waiting for your doom, complaining about your worthlessness.


    Silva: Stop it! Don''t talk like you know me!


    Silv: I know you very well, I too, was underestimated by my parents. Just a bunch of rats that give up on you the moment you can''t bring them what they want, aren''t we happier without them?


    Silva: ...


    Silv: You don''t need to answer, I already know. But unlike you, I chose my Fate! When I had to, I took their lives by myself.


    Silva: You did what? Did you really kill them?


    Silv: Don''t act offended, didn''t you do the same?


    Silva: No, it''s not my fault, I had no choice...


    (Silva''s hand is shaking)


    Silva: I swear... I didn''t have a choice...


    Silv: And that''s why you''re not the main character, not only do you never take action, but when you do, you don''t even accept it.


    Silva: I didn''t... It wasn''t my fault...


    Silv: You''re kinda boring, you''re too easy to break. I think Sepide might be fun to toy with.


    (Silva focused back and pointed the firearm at Silv despite her shaking hands)


    Silva: Let her out of this!


    (Silv smiles with satisfaction)


    Silv: We will see each other again, try to not die until then.


    (Silv jumps out of the roof)


    Silva: Where did you go?!... Did she jump?


    Scene 7: The throne room


    (Silva arrives in the scene)


    Neige: See, Silva''s here, she''s fine.


    (Sepide runs toward Silva and takes her in her arms)


    Sepide: I was so scared, what happened?


    Silva: I''ll tell you later, we should probably go when we''re ready, we''re done here I think.


    Ivory: Oh really? You''ll be going? But as the new king, it is my duty to thank the people who helped me! Why don''t you stay for dinner?


    "Yes, you should. I don''t know why you did so much for us lady Silva, but let us at least thank you like you deserve."


    Neige; It looks like they''ll remember you for a while here, Silva.


    Ivory: Of course, if as humans we can strive, it will be thanks to her! Please, accept to stay the night, we''ll find beds good enough for you!


    Silva: Well I don''t know, we should get going.


    Neige: Come on, just one night. I had enough of getting bad sleep on the floor or even no sleep at all!


    Sepide: The leader said we should come back when it''s over, but I think resting may be a good idea, we just have to go back in the morning.


    "See, your friends agree. It shouldn''t cause harm if you stay a bit longer."


    Silva: Okay, we''ll stay for a moment then. Thanks for taking care of us.


    Ivory: Not at all, thanks to you, sincerely. We''ll tell our children about you! The tale of your visit will stay for generations to come.


    Silva: Eh? No, it''s alright, I don''t want anyone to remember me, I''m sure there are many more interesting things to talk about!


    "Maybe for the future generation, you''ll be considered like the Goddess. You came to unite the worlds. Actually, are you sure you''re not the Goddess?"


    Silva: I''m sure, I''m no Goddess! It''s so embarrassing to think that they''ll talk about me for years to come...


    (Everyone laughed together while Silva was embarrassed.)

 Chapter 27: The Truth Behind The Mirror

    The group returned on board of the Kronos after a good night of sleep. They immediately went to do their report about their mission and its success, Silva also explained what happened there with Silv to everyone. The leader listened to everything her members had to say and took a deep breath before answering.


    "I see. It is troubling. This Silv doesn''t seem very friendly, we''ll need to be careful about her from now on."


    "Yes, but there''s something we wanted to talk about with you." Polyetta was curious about Neige''s words and tilted her head with curiosity.


    "What is it?"


    "Have you heard of someone named Peolyetta?"


    "You mean me, right? Of course, I know myself haha, what a weird question."


    "No, I mean Peolyetta."


    Seeing Neige''s seriousness and insistence, Polyetta looked away from the group. The room stayed silent for a moment as if the leader was hoping for Neige to forget his question. The woman quickly noticed that her friend wouldn''t let this question without an answer, so, the leader answered with a shy voice.


    "Can you... Come here? I''ll tell you, but only you."


    "But I''ll tell Silva and Sepide anyway, can''t they come?"


    "No... I only want to tell you."


    Sepide found the leader a bit weird, she acted like a child most of the time. She couldn''t help but whisper at Silva and ask her.


    "Was the leader always like that?"


    "As far as I know yeah, she always acts a bit childish but she''s reliable, don''t worry. She''s just... Extremely shy, I don''t think I ever saw her outside of her room."


    Neige was a bit sad he couldn''t bring his two friends with him, mostly because it meant he would have to repeat everything to them


    "Okay, I''ll come then."


    "Wait, before that, I have something to tell you." Remembered the leader "Emely has installed internet on the ship and she''ll launch it tomorrow. She wants to throw a party for it!"


    "What''s internet?" Asked Sepide


    "Beats me, probably something weird." Answered Neige.


    "No, it''s great!" The leader said, very excited "It means that we can communicate between worlds now! So missions will be easier since we can talk together, and it also means we can play video games online now!"


    "Come on, you''re the only one doing that here."


    "Yeah, but... Anyway, I expect you soon Neige!"


    The screen turned off, leaving the three friends alone.


    "You''ll tell us then, Neige. I need to go see Gwyn now, I''ll see you later!" Silva bowed to them and left in a hurry, worrying her two friends who stood there, staring at her leaving.


    "We''ll probably see her later. Here, Sepide, you should take this." Neige handed the note that they received from Eve "You should add it to your memory box."


    "Oh yeah, that''s a great idea." Sepide looked at the note for a while, so much so that when she was about to thank Neige, he already left, probably to see their leader.


    Neige entered his friend''s room where Polyetta was, waiting on her bed. She was holding the diary close to her heart and seemed lost in her thoughts.


    "Polyetta? Are you okay?"


    "Oh, I didn''t expect you so quick." The woman took a deep breath and looked at Neige directly in the eyes "It''s a bit of a long story, but you remember what I told you about our world?"


    "That it got destroyed, but you found the book and you managed to bring us into this world?"


    "Yes, it''s a bit more complicated than that. Actually, I kinda wrote some stuff in the book. It''s why you don''t remember much about the world."


    "Did you erase my memories?" Neige didn''t know how to feel about it, but it did explain why he didn''t remember much about his own past, so he was inclined to believe it.


    "Kinda, but you should have seen yourself! You barely could do anything, I don''t know what happened to you, but you were so... Traumatized! If I didn''t do anything, you maybe would have been dead by now!"


    "Okay, I think I understand. It''s a lot to take, but I don''t blame you for it."


    "Really? I''m glad then. But I did remove something else from you, I removed your memories of me. I was afraid they would remind you of the terrible things that happened."


    "You... Removed every memory I had with you?"


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    "Not every memory, just my name, my face, and some embarrassing secrets you knew... Polyetta isn''t my real name."


    "What happened to not using the book for personal use?"


    "You would have done the same. I couldn''t handle seeing you like that, when we left our world, you seemed like an entirely different person, you barely reacted! I was alright as long as you were here, but it was like you died in our world too. I... I couldn''t bear to live without you."


    Seeing his friend in such a fragile light made Neige''s heart hurt. He went to take Polyetta in his arms but she stepped back and shook her head.


    "Wait, you don''t even know my real name."


    "Maybe, but you''re still my friend. I trust you, even if I''m not sure all of that was necessary. I''ll always be your friend, don''t worry."


    Neige smiled cheerily at his friend. Even despite the mask on her face, it was easy to see Polyetta''s hesitation as she placed her hand on her mask.


    "I truly hope so..."


    Polyetta removed her mask and the veil that covered her hair. Long blonde hair slowly fell down while the woman gently opened her eyes, revealing their violet color. Neige instantly recognized her gentle face as he had seen it multiple times before, not on his friend, but on someone else.


    "My name is Yada, and yes... I am the anomaly''s other self. I wanted to keep it to myself until we fixed everything, but... I think you deserve the truth."


    "I... Don''t really know what to say, but it doesn''t change anything for me, and I''m sure for the others too."


    "I think they shouldn''t know."


    "Come on, have you seen how gorgeous is your hair? How your eyes beautifully shine? Everyone on the ship is saying that you look like a witch because you hide your face, I think they don''t care if you''re the anomaly''s other self, or even that you never told your real name."


    "They say that?" The woman asked, a bit offended.


    "Of course, you should come out more often. Tomorrow''s party could be a good opportunity for that."


    Yada''s started to blush heavily, the thought of being around so many people at once was terrifying for her.


    "N-No thanks! I''m good that way! I swear!"


    Neige smiled softly at the sight of his friend. His hand gently caressed her cheek to wipe her tears. The man still couldn''t believe that he could finally see what his friend looked like after all these years.


    "It''s fine, I''ll find a way to make you come out. You should dress properly for tomorrow."


    "I won''t, because I won''t come to the party."


    Neige couldn''t help but laugh at the face of his friend pouting. Neige''s smile slowly disappeared as he asked another question he had on his mind.


    "And what does that have to do with Peolyetta?"


    "Well as you can see, our names are similar. I only learned later that she was a Goddess, I just saw her name on the book. And I... Kinda misread it. I just needed a false name to use, so I went with this one."


    "So you have nothing to do with Peolyetta?"


    "Not really, but... Do you think she exists?"


    Neige never really thought about it, Kairo did talk about a God, and the book was right here, but was it enough? To imagine that the world could have been created by a little girl was a bit hard to believe for him.


    "It doesn''t really matter much in the end, does it?"


    "I suppose not."


    Neige caressed his friend''s head and gave her a heartwarming smile. He was happy to finally be able to see his friend blush after all the time he saw her behind the mask.


    "I''ll have to go now, I wanted to talk about something with Silva." As he was about to leave, Yada grabbed him by his sleeve and looked at him with childish but frightened eyes.


    "Neige, how do you smile? You lost Kairo, you learned that your past was removed from you by your friend, and you''re constantly risking your life. How do you do to stay cheerful like that?"


    "It''s simple, I need to be strong for my friends!" Neige said with a smile.


    "Neige, don''t overexert yourself... I don''t know what I''d do without you... I don''t think I could face the future..."


    "... Don''t think about it Yada, it will be alright, nothing will happen."


    "You''re right... But can you call me Polyetta instead, I... Kinda like that name better, at least for now."


    "Okay, I will Yada."


    "Polyetta." The woman answered while pouting.


    "Yada."


    "I hate you Neige." Polyetta put her mask back on, while Neige left the room.


    "I love you too Polyetta."


    Neige remembered that Silva was supposed to see the doctor, so he decided that it would be best to search for her there. But once he arrived, Silva wasn''t there. Instead, there was Sepide and Gwyn together. Seeing him, Sepide rushed toward him.


    "Neige, have you seen Silva?"


    Neige shook his head, he was a bit surprised, Sepide seemed out of breath and extremely worried. Gwyn let out a sigh before explaining the reasons behind his friend''s worry.


    "I just said that Silva felt bad, but that as her therapist, I can''t tell anything about her personal problems. It''s no big deal."


    "Her therapist?" Asked Neige, even more confused "Since when you''re a therapist?"


    "Never really been, but at the same time, kind of always been. If you want to complain, just find another therapist."


    "Can we talk about it later?" Sepide was on the verge of tears, but did her best to remain calm "I just want to make sure Silva''s safe."


    "It''s okay, she''s probably in her room. We should go check on her."


    Sepide agreed with Neige, and together, they went to search for Silva in her room.


    They tried to enter the room, but it was closed. Sepide knocked on the door without stopping for at least a few minutes, until the door was opened by Silva herself. She was covered in paint all over her body and greeted them with a smile.


    "Sorry, I didn''t hear you because I was too focused on painting, I hope you didn''t wait too long outside."


    Sepide felt better just seeing her friend. After everything she learned, she couldn''t help but feel worried for Silva.


    "No, it''s okay. We just wanted to see how you were doing."


    "Well I''m doing fine, don''t worry!" Said Silva before giving them a heartwarming smile. Sepide felt better, but Neige couldn''t help but feel that something was wrong, it was like he could see behind her false smile.


    "You were clumsy? You have paint everywhere, it doesn''t look like you."


    "Oh, I just fell in my painting supplies, but I''m fine, don''t worry."


    "Silva, you know that there are multiple kinds of red, right?"


    Sepide was confused by Neige''s behavior, she wanted to answer, but Silva did before her.


    "Of course. But you know, I can''t see it, so I don''t really care too much. Red is red for me."


    "Silva, red paint and blood are different kinds of red."


    Silva put her hands behind her back and smiled innocently.


    "Is it... really different? Maybe you should get glasses."


    "I''m pretty confident I can see the difference between red paint and blood."


    Sepide stared at Neige with a frown on her face. She didn''t him to talk about this kind of stuff to Silva.


    "Neige, what are you saying? Why are you telling her that? Is it supposed to be impressive?"


    Ignoring Sepide, Neige silently took Silva in her arms and slowly started to talk.


    "You put paint all over you so we wouldn''t notice, but it wasn''t red paint on your arm, right?"


    Silva''s smile disappeared, leaving place to a saddened face.


    "It works usually, why did you notice this time..."


    Sepide started shaking after understanding what it was about, was Silva hurt? She wasn''t when they left the world, so... Did she hurt herself? It was hard for Sepide to see the reality. Was Silva in that bad of a state? She felt powerless, but instead of questioning her friend, she just took her in her arms too. The three of them stayed like that for a moment, with for only sound the echoes of Silva''s cries.

 Chapter 28: Lighthearted Present

    The three friends sat silently on Silva''s bed, surrounded by all the paintings she painted. The heavy atmosphere prevented anyone from saying a word, instead staying near each other quietly. Neige bandaged Silva''s arm under the eyes of a worried Sepide, and after a moment, the man finally decided to break the tension in the air.


    "It''s been a while that I noticed, but... I never knew what to do. I don''t know why I found the courage to talk about it this time."


    "It''s okay." Said Silva "I didn''t want help. Well, I think I don''t... I don''t really know anymore to be honest."


    Sepide felt a bit overwhelmed, she didn''t know how to deal with that situation. She wanted to help her friend but couldn''t find a way to make her feel better. She was afraid to make the situation worse, but the thought of losing her friend was even scarier. Sepide gently took Silva''s hand and squeezed it, hoping to calm both her friend and herself.


    "Silva, why do you feel bad? Is it because of what happened in your world?"


    "Well... Maybe. I just feel like I''m never enough, that if I disappeared, everything would be easier... But lately, I don''t even know what''s better anymore." Silva took a deep breath, trying her best to gather her strength "I always was a burden for my parents, they said I was a disappointment. And... One day everything changed..." She tried her best to talk, but despite all of her efforts, she couldn''t. Seeing that she was staying silent for a moment now, Neige decided to do something to cheer her up.


    "You can take all the time you need, we''ll be here to listen. But you must be exhausted of our mission, we should do something fun."


    "Like what?"


    "We could... come in my room? I''ll show you what I''ve been working on in my spare time."


    Silva thought for a moment, and asked shyly "Do you have a secret stash?"


    "I might."


    Still unsure, Silva looked at Sepide next to her. Her friend nodded her head with a smile to convince Silva to accept Neige''s proposition.


    "Okay, fine."


    Happy that they managed to convince Silva, the group headed toward Neige''s room.


    Silva never really came into the room of her friend, she saw it, but it was mostly when she came to talk to Neige. it was really well organized, books were both on the shelf and the desk, as well as many papers with writing in other languages pinned on the walls. But one thing was taking the attention of Sepide, it was a drawing, it looked like it was drawn by a child. It looked eerily similar to the anomaly and it was pinned with the name Ada written on it. She knew that it was their goal to stop her, but for some reason, the thought of it made her a bit sad.


    "What''s going to happen after we get rid of the anomaly?"


    Neige came next to her and looked at the drawing she was staring at. He quickly understood what was worrying her, and put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to make her feel better.


    "Maybe we''ll play video games together until one of us can beat Polyetta. But whatever happens, we''ll stay together."


    "But, how can you know? It seems all so... Uncertain. If we succeed, then will we feel happier?" Sepide contemplated the drawing on the wall for a moment. Neige himself didn''t know what to answer, and both stayed that way until Silva''s voice got them out of their thoughts.


    "Ah-ah! I found what I was searching!" Silva showed a box, it was very small and locked with a code, with the words ''FOOD'' on it.


    "It''s just a box with his food in it, it''s marked on it." Explained Sepide, but Silva kept shaking the box, trying to hear inside.


    "Of course, and you believe it? I don''t know about you, but I don''t lock my food behind a code."


    Neige chuckled a bit and started talking mockingly.


    "I just like hiding my food from nosy people. If it was unlocked, you would have stolen some."


    "Of course." Replied Silva "Not because I''m hungry, just to annoy you. But now that it''s locked, I''m going to annoy you even more and take everything for me and Sepide."


    "But I''m not hungry." Sepide was feeling a bit bad for Neige. But she also was curious to see what''s in the box.


    "It doesn''t matter, you can''t find the code anyway."


    The two girls looked at the box for a moment, there were four numbers necessary to open the lock. But no matter how hard they thought, they couldn''t figure out what to input. They tried everything they could, and after an hour, Neige decided it was enough.


    "Okay, you tried, I applaud your determination. So I wanted to show you the new language I''m learning, it''s from the world the anomaly is from, and I think-"


    "Neige, you''re a great friend, but can you stop talking? We''re focused here."


    The man was getting tired, not because they tried to open the box, but because he wanted to show them many things. All Sepide and Silva wanted was to open this box, it wasn''t even the box itself, they just couldn''t accept that they could be defeated by a simple lock.


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    "I swear, we put every possible number, why doesn''t it open?" Silva aggressively shook the box out of frustration. Sepide took it from her hand, so she wouldn''t break it, and inspected the box all she could. She noticed something weird at the bottom, it was a removable part, like a false bottom, and behind it was hidden another four numbers. She shared her discovery with Silva, putting even more despair in her friend.


    "Eight? Eight numbers? We''ll never get it. At this point, nothing in this little box could be satisfying!"


    "See?" Said Neige, tired "You can''t find the code, just give up."


    Sepide wasn''t going to listen to him and instead tried inputting random numbers.


    "Eight numbers, just like the worlds."


    "What do you mean?" Asked Silva


    "To go to another world, we need its ID, and it''s always eight numbers, I think it''s not a coincidence."


    "Oh, I see!" Silva felt energized again, and together with her friend, tried to open the box once more. They tried every possible world they could think of, and after another hour, the ticking of the box opening was heard. Neige was half sleeping, but after hearing that, he quickly woke up, suddenly worried.


    "You-You did? How?"


    "14102001, what world is that?" Asked Silva to Sepide, amazed that her friend could find the code.


    "I don''t know, I just thought of it, maybe it doesn''t mean anything."


    They looked in the box, and they found a key in a bunch of cotton, probably so it wouldn''t make noise when moved around.


    "What''s the key for?" Neige pretended to not know the answer to Silva''s question, annoying both of his friends "We''ll find, it''s okay."


    They searched around the room, under the worried gaze of Neige. After a while, they managed to find a keyhole under the carpet. Sepide was about to open it, but the man tried hard to find a way to convince them.


    "You know, you don''t need to open it, you solved the puzzle!"


    "Come on, we saw each other''s secret." Neige shook his head to show his disagreement with Silva, feeling visibly distressed.


    "No, we didn''t. You said you had porn, we never saw it."


    "I''ll show you next time." Said Silva nonchalantly


    "No, I meant that we didn''t need to know everything about each other!"


    "What is hidden there for you to react that way? A body?" Asked Sepide, still trying to open the keyhole. It seemed like it was used a lot since it was loose.


    "At least I''d have an explanation for a body, I''m not sure how I''m gonna explain that."


    The trapdoor was finally open, revealing a bunch of clothes. They were all girls'' clothing, Sepide was a bit confused after seeing them and didn''t understand what she found.


    "What is it Sepide?" Silva''s question stayed without an answer for a moment due to Sepide''s confusion at what she was seeing.


    "I think it''s clothes? For a girl? There are even costumes."


    "Oh, I see~" Silva made a pervert smile and looked at Neige with a look full of innuendo "I thought you were asexual, but it seems like the girl that you bring here says otherwise."


    "Yeah... That was my secret!" Neige tried to laugh it off, but it made Silva doubt instead.


    "You accepted it way too easily. Is there something else Sepide?"


    Sepide looked around, but all there was were feminine clothes. She explained that there was nothing else, and the two had to stop here for now.


    "Is that it? You have a girlfriend?" Asked Silva, a bit disappointed.


    "But... I thought he wasn''t interested in love?" Sepide asked, still confused.


    "Don''t worry about it, I don''t have a girlfriend anyway, you can say that... I bought comfortable clothes for a girl, and that''s it."


    Silva accepted the answer, but Sepide found the wording of her friend a bit weird and quickly asked about it.


    "How do you know they''re comfortable?"


    Neige became pale after realizing what he said and tried his best to change the subject.


    "So as I was saying, if I learn the language of the anomaly, we could-"


    "Neige, are you actually a femboy?" Silva tried her best to not laugh, but just the thought of her friend wearing feminine clothes was too much for her.


    "I''m not a femboy, I just happen to look like a girl"


    "I''m sure you really look pretty in your cute clothes." Silva couldn''t stop from laughing at Neige''s embarrassment. But Sepide still didn''t understand what it meant.


    "What''s a femboy?" She asked innocently.


    Silva tried to regain her seriousness to explain to her, but couldn''t. So Neige decided to explain it so he could end the situation faster.


    "It''s when a boy likes to look like a girl."


    "So you''re a femboy?"


    "No, I''m not, I just naturally look like a girl."


    "And that pile of clothes came naturally with you too?" Silva was still finding the situation hilarious, and they all had to wait for her to calm down before Neige could explain himself.


    "To be honest, I like seeing myself in girl clothes... It''s... cut..."


    "I''m sorry Neige, you know my hearing isn''t great, can you speak louder?" Silva pretended to not hear even though she perfectly heard him, just so she could hear him say it again.


    "Okay, it''s cute, you''re happy?"


    "Don''t worry Neige, we accept you how you are, even if you are doing weird things in women''s clothes." Sepide tried cheering her friend, but it only made him more embarrassed.


    "Is that what you''re imagining? I just like wearing them, it''s nothing sexual or weird."


    "Can we see one on you? I''m curious to see what you look like in girl''s clothes?" Sepide asked in a very innocent voice. Neige knew she was just curious and wanted to help her friend, but he also knew that Silva right next to her found the idea hilarious. But in the end, he couldn''t resist Sepide''s demand.


    "Okay, but just once."


    After a moment, he finally put on the first outfit he found. It wasn''t anything particular, it looked like a uniform that some students from another world would wear, with a bow and a blue skirt.


    "You look very pretty!" Said Silva, with a big smile on her face, she was clearly enjoying the moment.


    "I thought you were blind..."


    "I am, but just imagining you dressed as a girl is amusing me! You should wear that for tomorrow''s party!"


    "No thanks."


    Sepide approached Neige and fixed the bow on him. He didn''t say anything and waited for her to finish, he didn''t really know what to feel, it was the first time anyone had seen him like that.


    "There, it wasn''t attached well. You look really cute like that!"


    "Really?... Thanks..." Neige still was embarrassed, but Sepide''s compliment made him feel a bit better "I think... I''m glad I got to share that with you. I don''t regret it, but I didn''t expect you to actually find this out."


    "It''s okay." Said Silva "It''s just really funny, but it''s nothing bad I swear. And femboys are pretty cool."


    "Just to be clear, I''m not a femboy, I just like to do it sometimes. I''m just a guy that happens to look like a girl."


    Neige was about to remove the clothes, but before he did, the door of his room suddenly opened. It was Emely, holding a toolbox in her hand.


    "The door was opened, so I allowed myself in. I''m here to fix the light on the ceiling."


    "Emely!? You could knock at least! And it was a month ago! I fixed it since!"


    The girl suddenly noticed Neige''s outfit and blushed intensely suddenly. She couldn''t say anything, and put her hand on her mouth, visibly surprised. She quickly took her phone and took a picture of Neige in the feminine outfit, still blushing.


    "C-Cute!" After saying that, Emely closed the door, leaving the room silent for a moment.


    "I take back what I said, I regret everything."


    Silva chuckled at the situation. She almost forgot how bad she felt a few hours ago and understood what Gwyn said now. Maybe spending time with Sepide and Neige is better than she first thought.

 Chapter 29: Finally, Im the Main Character now!

    The church echoed with the only sound of a singing voice inside the holy place, a voice coming from a nun, praying for the Lord in the silence of the room. It felt like a few hours passed before she finally stopped and walked gently toward the door leading outside where another nun waited for her. Unlike her dark blue outfit, the other nun wore a black and white uniform. The nun who just entered was looking at her in the eyes as if she were gauging her soul.


    "Hello, I don''t recall seeing you here before, may I ask who you are?" The nun in black was talking in a friendly, but concerned manner. She kept a serious and neutral expression all along, showing a visible distrust.


    "Is it not allowed to pray in other churches?" The other nun was on the opposite smiling and had a defiant tone in her voice. She seemed more relaxed, and less worried about her behavior, she didn''t try to appear polite like her interlocutor and instead just acted like herself.


    "It isn''t, but I think that as a woman of faith, you can understand that it is better to be careful. We wouldn''t want anyone to get in trouble." Despite her warm voice, the woman showed visible signs of distrust and arrogance. She tried her best to make the other person uncomfortable, even if she never stated her disdain directly.


    "Of course my child, you can call me Ada. I come from a faraway land, a land forsaken by the Gods." The woman gently approached the woman in black, visibly unfazed, while still keeping a smile on her face.


    "Ada... What a peculiar name. And a land forsaken by the Gods, you look like you have a story to tell." The woman''s worry grew even bigger at the words of the nun named Ada, and the smile on her face only added to the mystery of the woman.


    "It is a long story, but it is a story from the past. May I ask what is your name?" Ada stepped even closer, making the other nun more uncomfortable.


    "Evelyne, but everyone calls me Eve here." Eve''s breath started to accelerate. The other woman put her hand on her cheek. She felt at the same time frightened and reassured by this unusual gesture.


    "What a lovely name, tell me Eve, how would you feel God itself came to you? Would you feel relief? Joy? Excitement? Maybe even... Fear?"


    "I would feel nothing else but happiness, and would give all of my faith to Them." Ada''s hand caressed the girl''s cheek gently, making her feel strange. It was like being touched by a mother, and yet, she still felt chaos in the woman''s heart.


    "And would you feel happy? Would you feel satisfied to give your life to a greater being? Wouldn''t you feel bad to give up on yourself for someone else?"


    "I would never feel anything else than bliss and happiness. I am ready to give myself body and soul for God, give Them all my freedom, and dedicate my life to them." Eve felt that something was wrong, and yet, couldn''t manage to find the strength to get away from the gentle touch of the nun. On the opposite, she put her own hand over Ada''s one "Who... Are you?"


    "I already told you. I''m Ada, and I come from a land forsaken by Gods. I no longer put my faith in them, I chose my own path."


    As a saving grace for Eve, the door behind them opened, revealing another nun. She seemed in a hurry and barely could catch her breath. Ada removed her hand from the woman''s face and both of them stayed silent.


    "Sister Evelyne, it''s terrible, we need your help!"


    Eve looked back at Ada and slowly bowed "I''m terribly sorry, I have to leave. Maybe our paths will cross again sister Ada."


    "It will, in this world or another."


    The two nuns in black left, leaving Ada alone in the house of God. The woman stood there for a moment, thinking to herself.


    "Would Neige be happy too if he didn''t have to think? He would only need to believe in me, and I''d make him happy." Ada looked at the stained glass of the church and let out a sigh before praying "Neige, may you guide my steps toward a greater future."


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    Ada took a step outside, there were flowers everywhere, flying in the air. The woman took a moment to take a deep breath before taking out a diary. Despite her best efforts, she put ink on the pages to form a childish writing. She used to write down a note of everywhere she traveled, she couldn''t pinpoint a precise place, but having a mental image helped her to go to places she already went to faster.


    "There are a lot of flowers, and the town is pretty small, it reminds me of home, I think I''ll name it Eden''s Garden. I don''t feel any Neiges'' here. It''s too bad, but maybe I can stay a bit longer, it shouldn''t hurt. I hope all the Neiges are all right, but it''s important to take breaks. And besides, the Neige who fixes worlds always manages to find me somehow. He really reminds me of my Neige, he was the best and always knew what to do."


    The woman closed the book. She always tended to write a bit too much about Neige, but she couldn''t help it. She always missed her friend, no matter how long it had been.


    Ada was about to explore the city more, but a sudden voice stopped her.


    "Ada, it''s funny seeing you here!" The voice came from a girl with short red hair. She had a crazy smile, and looked like she was ready to cause some troubles. Ada could have sworn she saw her before, but couldn''t remember her.


    "You... I''ve seen you before..."


    "Yes, yes you''ve seen me... It''s the third time Ada!" The girl started to lose patience, but the nun couldn''t remember anything. Seeing that, the girl calmed down and tried to refresh her memories "I''m the one that told you more about the Kronos, and I''m the one that tried to explain to you the nature of the world we are in. Remember?"


    Ada took a moment to think and suddenly clapped her hand in satisfaction.


    "Kairo! You''re Kairo! Wait no, Kairo is the guy I talked about the nature of our world. He seemed like he understood better than me."


    "Silv." The girl said, exhausted "I''m Silv."


    "Oh! I remember now, you''re always with Neige, right? So, how are Neige and Salty D?" The nun asked innocently.


    "Salty D? Are you talking about Sepide?"


    "Sepide does sound right now that you say it."


    "Anyway, I don''t care about them, because the person you''re talking about is Silva. I''m Silv, I create chaos, I''m the one that was playing poker against Neige in a dirty saloon!"


    Ada thought for a while, her face became more and more confused until she finally looked like she remembered.


    "You''re the girl with red panties!"


    "Yes... I don''t understand why it''s the only thing you remember about me..." Silv was more than disappointed, but this wasn''t going to stop her from doing what she came for "Disappointed is the word, yes. Anyway, so I have a deal to propose to you."


    "Oh, what is it?" The nun seemed curious, making Silv more than happy to have picked her curiosity.


    "What if I gave you information on Neige''s world, you could go get him! But you would need to help me with a personal project."


    "Mmm, which Neige?"


    "The one on board of the Kronos."


    Ada looked at Silv with a gaze that showed that she didn''t understand. The girl with red hair couldn''t see it, but the silence showed that she didn''t make herself clear enough.


    "The one with Silva and Sepide..."


    "Oh right, I''d like to know where he is yes."


    "Then you''ll help me, right?"


    "I could, but what''s stopping me from getting the information right away?" As she said that, a dark matter came out of Ada''s clothes and surrounded Silv. But even despite that, the girl kept her calm.


    "If I die, the information dies with me." realizing that the girl was most likely right, Ada stopped her threatening and listened to her. "Thanks, so I want to convince them that I am their God. I know it sounds weird but-"


    "I''m okay with that." Said Ada, cutting Silv''s word.


    "Let me finish first! So I have a plan later on, if I''m their God, I can make changes here. And the group of losers will come and-"


    "You want to hurt Neige, don''t you?"


    Seeing how impatient the nun was, Silv was forced to cut short her conversation and quickly find a way to convince the nun to spare her. She took a second to think before quickly answering.


    "Fine, so here''s the plan. We''ll-"


    Another voice cut Silv, annoying her very much.


    "You? I didn''t expect you two here."


    When Silv turned to the origin of the voice, she saw a man that both she and Ada recognized. He wore the outfit of the Kronos, lost his right arm, and looked tired of seeing them. There was no way to mistake him, it was Kairo.


    "What are you doing here?"


    Silv smiled mischievously, it wasn''t planned, but she already knew her plans would get even better now.


    "Kairo, are you still interested in destroying worlds?"


    "I might." Kairo said with a deep voice, he knew where Silv was going, but still stayed careful.


    "I think we should work together then. All the three of us! The three villains of the story! We can do anything together!" Silva sounded very happy, which didn''t escape Kairo''s attention.


    "I don''t understand what you''re talking about, but I will follow you for now. It should be faster together."


    Ada looked at the two of them, and after looking at Kairo from every angle, whispered to Silv.


    "I think I met him, I think his name is Kairo!"


    Silv already was tired of Ada, but all her plans revolved around her, so she couldn''t just get rid of her. Ada ended up agreeing, it was the only way she had to find Neige after all. Ada, Silv, and Kairo all headed toward the peaceful town, ready to put in motion Silv''s sinister plan.

 Chapter 30: Me, the Nun, and the Boring One

    The wind was blowing through the city, the children were playing, and people lived their lives peacefully. But the small group was planning to disturb that peace, Silv explained her plan for a while to the others, and even though Kairo didn''t raise any objections, Ada was very confused about the plan and kept asking questions.


    "So to prove that we''re sent by God, we go find the pope... And then what?"


    The two others looked at the nun with a bit of worry, they talked for a while, and despite that Ada acted as if she didn''t remember anything.


    "Ada Ada Ada, please tell me you listened to what I just said." Silv started to wonder if her idea was worth it. The woman in front of her couldn''t understand the plan, and she was an important part of it.


    "Well I did listen, but at one point I lost focus. And when I listened again you talked about weird stuff, like the essence of chaos or something, so I just gave up."


    "I have to agree with the anomaly on this." Said Kairo "Half of your talk was just about strange things. I''m not here to listen to the mind of a crazy person."


    "Then explain the plan to her if it''s that easy! You''ll see how hard it is, she forgets everything that isn''t about her beloved Neige!" Silv turned around and ignored them. Kairo quickly understood that she wouldn''t explain anything and that he was the one who needed to do it.


    "Okay, Sister Anomaly, let me explain to you what we''re going to do."


    Ada saw Kairo''s gaze on her, she was a bit confused for some reason and looked around.


    "Anomaly? Is it a fourth member?"


    "No... It''s how everyone has been calling you all this time." The nun appeared even more confused, but the man didn''t feel like explaining more, and instead went to the plan directly "We need to find the pope, there, Silv will pretend that she''s God. I will take care of gathering people, and you will use your powers to convince everyone. Then we have a plan to bring this world to an end, but don''t trouble yourself with that."


    Ada paused for a moment and seemed pretty satisfied with the explanation.


    "Got it, but where is the pope?"


    "That''s what we need to figure out." Kairo turned to Silv, who still acted offended "See, it wasn''t that hard."


    "Sure, I hope she understood. Come on, we need to find out where this guy is!"


    The three of them searched for anyone who could help them find their target, but the town was mostly empty. It took a while before they found someone, it was a woman sitting on a bench and reading a book. She had short gray hair, Kairo thought he recognized her for a moment, or at least one of her other self. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t remember who it was exactly, but for him, it wasn''t important. Silv was the one who approached her and tried to talk with authority in her voice.


    "Hello, what a beautiful day it is! Would you know, perchance, where we may find the pope?"


    The woman on the bench looked at them, visibly doubting their intentions.


    "And who''s asking?"


    Silv didn''t lose her cool and instead continued with her mighty and authoritative voice.


    "We are chosen ones, sent here by God himself!" She tried getting Ada''s attention, and even if she didn''t understand at first, she eventually understood she needed to impress the woman with her powers.


    "Of course, let us demonstrate!" The nun took a deck of cards, seemingly out of nowhere, and handed it to the woman "Choose any card you want!"


    Silv couldn''t believe her eyes, she didn''t expect a being able to destroy worlds to just do a magic trick to prove her divine hood. But still, the woman on the bench picked a card and handed the rest of the deck to the nun.


    "I know what you took, it''s the Six of Heart!"


    The woman looked at her card and nodded her head nonchalantly. Ada was extremely happy, she tried to high-five one of her teammates, but both ignored her. The woman on the bench looked at them with disbelief, she couldn''t tell if they were making a joke about her or were just crazy.


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    "And why are chosen of God searching the pope?"


    Seeing how the conversation was going, Kairo decided to step in and negotiate instead.


    "Excuse them, they still aren''t really good at communicating with humans." Ada and Silv both looked offended by Kairo, but he ignored them and continued "We came here for an important matter, and we want to talk about it with the pope of this land."


    The woman still didn''t feel convinced, but she wanted to read her book and had no wish to make the conversation last any longer.


    "The church, he goes to pray there every sunset."


    "Thanks." Kairo left after hearing what they needed to hear, followed by the two others.


    "I can''t believe it." Silv looked concerned and depressed by the events that just occurred and acted like she looked in the void "I thought that with the three of us, our efficiency would be multiplied by three, not divided by ten!"


    "It''s because we went with your plan." Kairo wondered if it was a good idea to follow Silv''s instruction but figured that they had already gone far enough and that it was too late to stop now "We all have our own way of proceeding, it was foolish to work together. The sunset is already here, it will take hours just to go back to the church. We''re not going to meet him today I''m afraid."


    "That''s not a problem." Silv and Kairo both looked at Ada, she seemed pretty confident for some reason. The nun pointed her finger toward the sky, and the moment right after, the world seemed to shatter. The two others couldn''t believe what was happening, it was like the world transformed in front of them, and just like that, it was noon again.


    "Wha-What was that?" Silv looked around, lost. She tried to understand what happened, but she couldn''t see the sun being high in the sky.


    "I traveled in time. Or rather, I reverted the world to the state it was a few hours ago."


    "So you really can travel in time." Kairo mentally took note of it, he knew it was possible for her to do that, but actually seeing it was something else. Silv on the other hand, didn''t share the same feeling and felt more mad than anything else.


    "You can do that? Since when? Why didn''t you do something like that to impress her? We could have looked more intimidating!"


    "I don''t know, it didn''t go through my mind."


    "I feel like not much is going inside your head at all. Next time you want to impress someone, do that instead of your stupid tricks."


    "That''s not a stupid trick..."


    The trio headed toward the church. Silv complained all the way there, while Ada felt sad about her trick not being considered impressive.


    Inside the church, a man in a white uniform finished his prayer. The nun in the black dress stood at his side all along. The man seemed a bit surprised when he saw the girl standing there, waiting.


    "Evelyne, I didn''t see you here. Were you waiting for me?"


    The woman nodded her head silently. She looked at the ground and seemed to dodge the man''s eyes.


    "Father, please forgive, for I have sinned."


    The man looked at her seriously, he seemed surprised about the news but still kept his composure "My child, what have you done? It doesn''t look like you."


    "Indeed." The nun took a deep breath, she seemed very ashamed for her actions. After a long moment, she finally mustered the courage to talk about what was on her heart. "I have started to wonder about our blind faith in God, and whether it is truly necessary. Are we truly happy that way? Or are we worshiping God because we are happy?"


    "Eve... You were always the most faithful, why do you have those thoughts so suddenly? Is it the work of the devil?"


    "The devil..." The woman thought deeply about her interaction with the other nun. It was strange for her, who was she? And why did she feel all those feelings about faith and happiness? Maybe that woman was indeed, the devil "Why is the devil seen so badly? Perhaps it isn''t as simple as the holy book says?"


    "Eve, it''s enough!" The man talked forcefully, frightening the nun. Seeing how she flinched, he quickly took a more reassuring voice "Our happiness comes from God, anyone who questions it shall be excluded from heaven. You more than anyone else should know."


    "But father, why all those rules? We put all of our faith in God, and He doesn''t allow us to choose our path!"


    "Freedom will create chaos, chaos creates suffering, suffering creates desperation, desperation excludes us from heaven. We must obey God, as He knows more than us."


    "But doesn''t the holy book talk about how pain creates tears, and about tears creating rivers, and rivers creating life? Our whole land is made upon those words, pain allowed us to live this peaceful life! And this peace makes us happy. So, is it really that controversial to think that happiness is also made from suffering?"


    The man kept his calm but clearly didn''t agree with the woman. He was about to gently scold the woman, but the door opened before he did. Another nun, wearing a dark blue outfit, a man lacking his right arm, and a girl with red hair entered the holy place. Evelyne recognized the woman instantly, and couldn''t control herself at their sight.


    "It''s her... The devil..." She whispered to herself, as the group approached the man. The girl with red hair acted like the leader and started to talk to him.


    "You''re the pope I imagine."


    The man seemed surprised but answered with calm and composure.


    "Indeed, and who is asking?"


    "I am the Goddess of this world, and I decided to come here to see how is this world since its creation."


    "I''m sorry, but it is quite a bold claim." Eve was worried about the woman she believed to be the devil, but she also was curious about her and the reason behind her actions. Even after the girl''s answer, she couldn''t help but stare at the other nun.


    "Of course, you do well to be careful, as the devil could be hiding anywhere." The light of the room suddenly disappeared, and the windows allowing the light to enter were covered by a kind of dark matter. "But you see, if I''m God, you should listen to me. After all, didn''t I create this world?" A kind of purple light lit up slightly the room, enough to see their silhouettes, but not enough to see their faces "And if I''m the devil, then it means that your God gave up on you, so isn''t it wiser to listen me?"

 Chapter 31: The Day a Nun tried to Kill me

    The pope was facing the three persons, with Silv pretending to be God and the two others next to her acting like bodyguards. Nor did the nun or the pope know how to react to them, and after a moment, he finally decided to talk.


    "Are you really... A divine being? What are you doing here?" The man was shaking, he didn''t know what to believe, and could only look at Silv with a lost gaze.


    "Of course, and for the reason of my presence, it''s because of a problem that may arise. I want to make sure that everyone is safe, you know? And since I''m here, I might as well see how everything is going." Silv''s words seemed to convince the pope, but the nun herself wasn''t so sure. She kept silent in her worries, and the pope took the lead.


    "A problem? Of what kind?"


    "It''s about the devil itself, it''s using my physical form to deceive people. But you will recognize it, it''s always followed by a feminine, dumb-looking boy with white hair and a girl with long black hair who isn''t much smarter.


    "Is it true? We should warn everyone about it then!"


    "Wait." Kairo, which stayed silent so far, raised his voice "Let me come with you, we should bring everyone to one place, and there, we will explain the situation."


    The pope nodded his head in agreement, and together they left the church, leaving Evelyne with Silv and Ada.


    "The devil, huh?" Evelyne was on her guard, and this time, kept a safe distance from them "You''re not fooling me, you ain''t no God."


    Silv laughed like a maniac, the sound echoed throughout the church, leaving the nun afraid.


    "Eve, you''re so interesting!" The woman was surprised to hear her name, but she figured that the other nun must have told her since she did tell her name to Ada "Have you ever wondered the difference between God and the devil? The reason for your faith? The way to reach happiness?"


    Evelyne took a step back, shocked. How did the girl know about all of that? Does she have divine powers after all? It only made her even more careful about them, but also made her realize how many things she couldn''t understand in this world.


    "And so?" The nun answered, with a voice full of defiance "Is it supposed to change anything about you? I still don''t believe that you have any divine origin."


    "Believe what you want, but you''re dealing with something bigger than you, little nun." Silv headed toward the exit without giving a second look to the woman, followed by Ada.


    Evelyne knew that something was wrong with them, but she had no idea why, and even less idea about what she should do.


    The moon was high in the sky, and in the main place of the town, everyone was gathered. It wasn''t a lot, barely a hundred maybe, but it was more than enough for Silv''s plan. Everyone was ready to listen to her, but the crowd seemed uncertain. However, for the girl pretending to be God, it wasn''t a problem. She was more than confident about her capabilities to sway them toward her goal.


    "Hello, dear followers! First of all, thank you for everyone to be here so late, but this is an important matter. Soon, disaster will strike, and this land will be plunged into chaos!"


    The crowd started to feel afraid, they didn''t know how to react and waited for the girl to continue.


    "Three persons will come, and try to steal my identity. They''ll try to deceive you, and force you to change your ways! But do not fret, I will come again when the time will come, and I shall lead you to happiness and peace once more!"


    The place stayed silent for a while until a person in the public dared to ask what was on everyone''s mind.


    "What tells us that you''re right?"


    "It is quite simple!" Silv turned toward Ada and looked at her for a while. The woman seemed deeply confused but suddenly realized that she was supposed to convince everyone with her powers. She wished she could use her card trick again, but she knew it would make Silv and Kairo mad. So instead, she decided to point at the moon. Nothing happened for a moment until the moon suddenly split in half. The gaze of everyone was on the moon, except for Silv, who stood there, wondering what happened.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there."Ada, what did you do?"


    "I just destroyed the moon." The cheerful tone of her voice and her smile made her look like a psychopath, but for her, she was just happy if she could do her job correctly.


    Silv, on the other hand, seemed quite unsure about what she should do now. Convincing people right after they blew up the moon seemed like a hard task.


    "The moon! It was... not good enough, we''ll replace it with a new moon later, don''t worry."


    The crowd was shocked, the girl expected everyone to hate them, but instead, they cheered.


    "You really are God!"


    "Are you going to save us?"


    "We believe in you!"


    The trio was surprised but also happy. Their plan seemed to work after all. Silv started to think that she was the only smart person here and that everyone else was stupid.


    "Yes... I will come back when the danger will arise, and together, we will reject the unholiness of the devil!"


    The crowd was loud, believing every one of Silv''s words. The girl with satisfied, knowing that she had a world that would obey each of her commands.


    After a few hours had passed, Kairo, Silv, and Ada decided to go away from everyone to discuss without anyone hearing.


    "Destroy the moon, that was your great idea?" Silv still didn''t believe what happened, and the only thing that kept her calm was the fact that everything worked out in the end.


    "I didn''t have much time to think, and it''s the only thing I could think of."


    "It''s not surprising that your world got destroyed..."


    "I didn''t destroy my world on purpose... Well, not exactly, I don''t really regret it, but still, I didn''t destroy it on purpose."


    Silv didn''t know how to react, this Ada really was mysterious. Kairo on the other hand seemed more annoyed than anything else.


    "Are we done here? I believe you got what you need, so I''ll just leave you here." Kairo left without even waiting for the answer, leaving both Ada and Silv together.


    "So, can you tell me where Neige''s world is now?" Ada had a visible smile on her face, she seemed excited to learn about it, but the girl had other plans in mind.


    "I think I promised it, the problem is, I don''t keep my promises. But I''m not done having fun with you." The girl showed a dagger. It seemed like nothing more than a simple dagger, but Ada looked in her pocket in a hurry before turning back toward Silv.


    "Hey, that''s mine! Give it back!"


    "But if I do, you won''t-" Before the girl could finish her sentence, a sort of tentacle came out of the ground and grabbed the arm holding the dagger "What? Since when you can do that!?" Realizing that she had no other choice, the girl quickly used the watch she had and disappeared in a flash of light.


    "You can run, but you can''t hide. I''ll find you... Red pantie girl!" Ada snapped her fingers, and reality broke in front of her, forming a kind of portal "I can feel where she is, I should be able to follow her. I shouldn''t have listened to her..." The former nun stepped into the portal, leaving this place once and for all.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    She managed to get into the world the girl fled to, but she didn''t know where she was exactly. She tried to feel Silv''s location, but something else caught her attention.


    "Neige... You''re here too. That''s frustrating, but I have more important for now."


    The world looked like a city, it was way bigger and more futuristic than the place she was from, but she already traveled to similar places before. She picked a newspaper on the ground and tried to read it.


    "I see, this place uses a language I barely know."


    It was almost impossible for her to translate what it meant, all she could read was something about thief, and even then, she wasn''t sure. If she wanted to find back her dagger, she would need to search for a moment. But she didn''t have a lot of time, she needed to find another way.


    "Excuse me Sister, I require your help."


    A voice made her go out of her thoughts. She forgot that she was still in her holy nun outfit, she didn''t want to deal with it, but she didn''t have the heart to ignore her either.


    "What is it, my child?"


    "I''m searching for a girl, red hair, small, a bit rebellious and annoying. She''s named Silv, have you seen her?"


    "Silv?" Ada felt like she heard that name, but the description reminded her of the girl she was searching for, so maybe it was the same person "I haven''t, but why are you searching for her?"


    "It''s nothing, it''s my sister, and I need to find her."


    The woman had long black hair and a uniform that looked similar to a detective. She didn''t look at all like Silv, but if they were sisters, Ada thought she should help.


    "I can help you to search for her, I can understand how hard it is to lose a sister."


    "Thanks, you''re really kind-hearted, but I wouldn''t want to trouble yourself. It''s my duty to-"


    The detective-looking woman was suddenly interrupted by the voice of a police officer yelling.


    "Lucie, stop them! They stole something!"


    The policeman was chasing two persons, one was a girl with long light pink hair, with a bunch of chips bag in her arms, while the other was a figure that Ada recognized. A man with short white hair, a feminine appearance, and a shining watch on his wrist, also carrying chips bags.


    "Neige? What is he doing?"

 Chapter 32: The Members Of The Kronos

    "Neige! It''s time to wake up!" Sepide violently shook Neige, who suddenly woke up in a hurry.


    "Sepide? What is it? Something happened?"


    The girl shook her head "No, but everyone is gathering in the main hall, there''s a party there, you remember?"


    "I think so... It''s because of... Intersomething, right?"


    "Yes, even Silva is already there, let''s go!"


    "Silva''s there... Is Polyetta there too?"


    "I don''t know, but Emely kept bothering me to bring you, so you need to come!"


    Neige groaned and stood up, still visibly tired "Fine, let''s go."


    Everyone was gathered in the hall, aside from the leader. There were some people that Sepide never met before, but not a lot. Despite its huge size, the ship didn''t have a lot of members. They all seemed to be gathered around Silva and Emely, the two of which were getting into an argument.


    "Your ''internet'' doesn''t even work, and then you complain about my painting."


    "Well at least I''m useful, I don''t just goof around in other worlds!"


    Feeling that the argument would last for a while, Neige decided that it would be better to interrupt them before it escalated more.


    "Emely, I was searching for you. I need help to understand how your ''internet'' works."


    "Wait, I was busy with-"


    Despite her complaint, Emely was dragged away by Neige, where neither she nor Silva would be able to argue. Silva was a bit confused but then hurried toward Sepide with a smile on her face.


    "Sepide? Is that you?"


    "Yes, it''s me." Answered the girl "But what happened? Why were you arguing together?"


    "Oh, it''s nothing, we''re always like that. Her internet didn''t work, so I just annoyed her. But most importantly, I''m hungry, let''s go eat something!"


    Sepide nodded their head, the tables around had a lot of food, and everyone seemed to have a good moment. Sepide couldn''t remember if she had ever been to a party before, she really couldn''t remember anything. There were so many different kinds of food that she didn''t know what to eat, she ended up picking a kind of chocolate. It didn''t seem like much at first, but when she ate it, she realized it was the best thing she ever tasted. She continued eating them without stopping, like nothing could stop her.


    "You''re enjoying my food I see." Sepide turned toward the voice, her mouth still full of chocolate. It was a woman wearing an apron, her hair and eyes both a profound black, but Sepide had never seen her before today "You must be the new girl, we never got the chance to meet, you can call me Ina, I''m the cook here."


    "I''m Sepide, nice to meet you." The girl bowed down after introducing herself, surprising the woman.


    "There''s no need for such politeness. We''re in the same group after all. Enjoy the food all you want, I made more than enough."


    "Thank you."


    "It''s nothing, you know, it feels quite strange. Before you arrived, I was the most recent member. I joined a year ago, but I still feel like a new member too." The woman smiled softly at Sepide before suddenly looking at her watch "Oh my, I still need to get the cake out of the oven. Please enjoy the food, maybe we''ll see each other around the ship someday."


    Sepide waved at Ina, and once the woman left, she turned toward Silva. The blind was being scolded by Gwyn while they were talking and seemed visibly annoyed.


    "You should eat more, now is a good opportunity for you."


    "Yeah... I will..." Noticing that Sepide''s conversation was over, she quickly went toward her to escape her scolding "Sepide! We should introduce you to the others, let''s start with the pilot, he''s really cute!"


    "Silva, don''t ignore me." The doctor tried talking with her, but Silva took her friend with her, and they left for another part of the ship.


    Silva was walking in the hallways accompanied by Sepide. She was making weird noises, and calling weird names along the way, which worried Sepide a bit.


    "Where are you? Where is my good boy?"


    "Is good boy his name?" Asked Sepide, a bit concerned for her friend''s mental health.


    "No, not at all. It''s just a nickname I gave him." Silva suddenly stopped and started to run in a seemingly random direction "Follow me! I heard him!"


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    The chase continued for a while until Silva managed to grab a ginger cat, it didn''t seem really happy to be grabbed, and was even more annoyed when Silva showed him to Sepide.


    "That''s our pilot, Cinnamon! Isn''t he so cute?"


    "The pilot... Is a cat? Does he have anything special? Does he speak?" Sepide had some trouble understanding how a cat could be a pilot, but she saw some weird things, so she wasn''t really surprised if the cat was smart.


    "Why would he talk? It''s a cat."


    "So can he understand complex things?"


    "No... It''s a cat. Isn''t he cute?" Silva felt a bit sad that Sepide didn''t share her enthusiasm for the cat but suddenly realized why she acted like that "Oh, is it because he''s the pilot? Don''t worry, we just orbit around this sun, we don''t actually need any piloting done."


    The cat managed to escape from her arms and ran away as if his life depended on it.


    "Oh, Cinnamon must be hungry."


    "I think it''s more because you grabbed him forcefully..."


    "Maybe, but it''s not important. I think we only have one person left to introduce you to, and then you should have met everyone! He must be in the main hall with the others, let''s go!"


    Sepide tried to find Cinnamon the cat, but he had already disappeared. She followed her friend, curious to see who the last person was.


    The two returned to the hall, Silva searched for someone and managed to find him. It was a man with short silver hair, with scars on his face. But even despite his harsh appearance, he seemed like a kind person.


    "Shiro! What are you doing all alone?"


    "Silva, it''s you... You know I don''t like social interaction..." The man named Shiro noticed Sepide, and looked at her intensively for a moment "I''m sorry, have we met before?"


    "No, I''m Sepide, I''m new here. We never met before."


    "I guess I have to introduce myself then." The man let out a sigh, before introducing himself "I''m Shiro, usually I stay in my room... I''m the one who takes care of your weapons, so if you need help with something, you can come to me." Shiro tried making a smile, but it was obvious he wasn''t used to it. He looked around the room for a moment and continued talking "You''re friends with Neige you two, right? Where is he?"


    "Neige? He''s with Emely, I don''t know what they''re doing."


    "I see." Shiro seemed a bit disappointed at Silva''s answer, until suddenly, a familiar voice headed toward them.


    "You''re here, I searched for you two, but I couldn''t find you."


    "Neige, you''re here at the right moment, Shiro was searching for you!" Silva said with a smile, surprising Neige.


    "What is it?"


    Shiro looked a bit embarrassed and was visibly blushing, trying his best to dodge Neige''s gaze "Well... It''s... How is your firearm?"


    "My gun? It''s working. If it had a problem I''d tell you."


    "I see... It''s good. I''ll... Go do something, see you later." As if he was in a hurry, Shiro ran away somewhere else. Neige looked at him going, a bit worried.


    "Does he hate me?" Asked Neige "It''s always like that with him."


    "I don''t think it''s hate hehe." Said Silva with a perverted voice.


    "Silva, you should stop reading weird stuff, it''s messing with your mind. Anyway, We''re just waiting for Polyetta and then Emely will officially start the internet. I''m not sure what it does, all I know is that we''ll be able to talk with the leader while on mission."


    "But will The leader really come?" Asked Sepide "Doesn''t she never leave her room?"


    "Usually she stays in it, yeah, but I made sure she''ll come." Neige opened a bag and showed it to his friends, inside were a bunch of cables "She won''t be able to play any games until she comes out, and I also stole her light bulb, so she''ll have to go out eventually.


    "And what if she doesn''t? And even if she does, we''re going to get punished for that!" Sepide panicked a bit, she knew the leader was kind, but she could be scary sometimes.


    "It''s fine, trust me."


    The group waited for a while, so much so that they actually wondered if she''d show up.


    Everyone just talked together and enjoyed the moment of peace that the party brought. But finally, after a while, the leader arrived in the hall with her mask on. She wore solemn clothes black as if she was going to a funeral. Everyone''s gaze was locked on her, they couldn''t believe their leader was actually here, it was the first time they had seen her for most of them. Noticing that she was the center of attention, she quickly went to Neige and tried to hide behind him.


    "Neige... You''re too small to cover me."


    "It''s because you''re too tall."


    "I can''t believe I actually had to go out. You stole everything in my room and I didn''t notice!"


    Everyone gathered around, still in shock about what was happening in front of them. Emely was the first one to ask what everyone was thinking.


    "Leader? Is that you? What are you doing outside your room?"


    The leader was at a loss for words, her heart rate spiked, and the only thing that brought her a bit of comfort was her friend, which she was holding tightly.


    "Well... You contributed a lot to us, and not only you... Everyone on this ship is working so hard, so... I decided that I couldn''t stay that way forever." She put her hand on her mask, she took a deep breath and finally revealed her face to everyone. She tried acting courageous, but right after, she hid her face behind Neige.


    "I''m sorry! It was a mistake! It''s so embarrassing!"


    "No, it''s not." Silva''s voice surprised the leader, who slowly tried to leave her hiding place "I think that it shows how much you care for us. Even if I can''t see your face."


    Seeing everyone agreeing seemed to relieve her heart, she still was uncomfortable, but she felt way better.


    "Hey, we should officially launch internet now! You''ll see, it''s my greatest invention!" Emely hurried toward her laptop, with everyone else following her. Polyetta stayed a bit behind, still holding onto Neige.


    "I... Didn''t expect everything to go that way... But, I don''t regret it. Thanks, Neige, I really don''t know how my life would be without you. I''ll do everything for you."


    "It''s nothing, let''s go, I don''t want to miss whatever is happening!"


    "Yes, I''m curious too."


    Everyone was around the small computer and all started a countdown. As they got closer to zero, the excitation started going up. It wasn''t about internet in itself, but more because it was a rare moment they had together. When the countdown was over, Emely finally pressed the enter key and acclaimed in a more than happy voice.


    "Finally, we are connected with other worlds now!"


    After she said that, the screen on the computer changed, revealing a girl looking eerily like Silva. The others didn''t know, but Neige and Sepide recognized Silv, one of their enemies.


    "Are we connected now? I don''t think we are." At Silv''s word, another girl, looking very similar to Emely entered in the field of view.


    "Yes, you are live now."


    "Hey, who are you?" Emely yelled, more than annoyed at them.


    "I''m hearing a voice, is it normal?" Silv looked like she had trouble with technology, annoying both Emely and her other self.


    "Yes, it''s the people you''re trying to talk with..."


    "That''s perfect! Finally, we meet! My name is Silv, and you''d love to stop me, I''m sure. So, let''s make a deal!"


    Everyone''s excitation suddenly died, replaced by worry. Most of them didn''t even know this Silv, but everyone knew it could only mean trouble.

 Chapter 33: Acting For Justice

    The girl on the screen had a satisfied smile on her face while the entire crew of the ship was here, looking at her in disbelief.


    "I''ll let you arrest me, but I want it to happen where I want. Come here, to my home world! There, I will let you arrest me." Everyone seemed confused, their enemy contacted them, just to surrender. It seemed like a trap, and Neige in particular seemed against it.


    "And we''re supposed to believe you?"


    The girl ignored his question and continued to talk "17072023, I''ll wait for you here. I also have a reason to think that the anomaly will be here, so hurry up!" The girl stayed silent for a moment, and looked in confusion at the girl next to her who looked like Emely "How do we cut the call?"


    The girl let out a sigh, and after a moment, the call cut. The members of the ship were confused, and turned toward their leader, waiting for an order.


    "Well, we do need to stop her, but it looks like a trap..."


    "It''s okay." Answered Neige "I''ll manage, if we stop her now, the universe would be safer."


    "And it''s my duty to stop her, she''s my other self!" Silva stood next to Neige. Silently, Sepide went next to them, showing that she was also ready to go. But the leader still seemed a bit hesitant.


    "At least we can communicate with them now!" Emely took some tools out of her pocket with a smile on their face "I just have to modify the watch, it will only take an instant!"


    The leader let out a sigh, still not relieved, but she nodded her head in agreement. The little engineer started to work on the watches but stopped after seeing the lack of watch on Silva''s arm.


    "Where''s yours?"


    Silva was a bit ashamed, she didn''t want to admit what happened, but she knew she had to.


    "My other self... Stole it from me."


    "Why didn''t you tell me? You know it''s dangerous to go to another world without it! I''ll just make a new one."


    "You don''t have to..." Silva was still embarrassed, but she quickly felt happier after realizing the kindness of Emely "So, you do care for me, huh?" She asked, with a mocking tone.


    "Don''t push your luck dumb bat, it''s just that if something happens to you, then they''ll send me on missions!... But yes, I don''t want you to be hurt..." Before Silva could react, she quickly gave Neige''s and Sepide''s watch back "Okay, so now you''re ready to go. You just have to press this button, and the leader will be able to hear you."


    "Thanks, we should prepare ourselves, and go as soon as possible." Neige put back his watch on his wrist, the whole crew saluted them and wished them good luck. They went as soon as possible into Silv''s home world, hoping to stop the menace that Silv was.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Neige looked around, it seemed like an average city, but with a lot of people around. But neither Sepide nor Silva was around, he searched for a while, and quickly took his watch to communicate with his leader.


    "Polyetta, do you hear me?" The only answer was silence, the man was worried that it didn''t work, but he finally got an answer after a while.


    "Yes, is everything alright?"


    "Not really, Silva and Sepide are nowhere to be seen."


    "Really?" Some whispering could be heard, but it was not loud enough to be heard "I think that finding Silv is the priority, she probably is the reason behind their disappearance."


    "So it was a trap..." Neige knew it was a possibility. He decided it was better to look around and find information for now, targeting a convenience store "I''ll call you back when I have new information."


    When he entered the convenience store, Neige didn''t really see anything particular. A woman with long light pink was reading a newspaper, he tried reading the title, but before he could, the woman noticed him.


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    "What are you doing?"


    "I''m sorry lady, I was trying to see what was today''s newspaper."


    The woman scanned him for a moment, she let out a small smile and took a very friendly behavior suddenly.


    "Of course, take it, I was just interested in one thing."


    "Thanks." The journal didn''t have anything interesting, aside from one thing. ''The return of Silv Err!'' Neige, knew it must be the same Silv he knows, and that indeed, it is her home world.


    "You''re interested in the mafia?"


    "The mafia?" Asked Neige.


    "You must be new here." Said the girl after seeing Neige''s confusion "This Silv, she''s the head of the mafia. She never caused many problems, they looked more like a bunch of clowns. But now... It''s different. Be careful around them."


    "Silv..." Everything seemed to lead toward her. It wasn''t a safe bet, but it was the only one he had for now. The woman seemed to know the area pretty well, so he figured it was worth asking her more "This Silv, can I see her?"


    The woman took a suddenly defensive posture, even grabbing the hilt of a sword that was attached to her belt. Neige knew he needed to say something, or else, a fight would start "I need to meet her, I have reasons to believe that she kidnapped my friends."


    "Really?" The woman dropped her guard for a moment, before showing a faint smile "I''m Rose, I''m opposing Silv, it''s quite lucky that we met, how about we work together? I''ll tell you everything I can about her, but you need to help me."


    "Everything I can." Answered Neige confidently. The woman named Rose started to take different packs of chips and give them one by one. Once his and her arms were full, she whispered in his ear.


    "We need to bring these to my house, but I don''t have the money to pay, I hope you run fast."


    Rose ran quickly out of the convenience store. A bit confused, Neige followed her as quickly as he could, but it seemed like a police officer caught them stealing, and was chasing them.


    The two of them ran in the streets of the busy streets,


    "Lucie! Stop them!" Yelled the officer. It seemed like he was talking to a detective in front of them, the detective was talking with... A nun? Neige wasn''t so sure, all he knew was that he needed to keep up with the speed of the thief he was helping.


    After losing the officer, they made their way to a small apartment. Once inside, the thief threw all the bags on the ground, and called someone "Eirika, I have your chips!"


    A girl woke up from the couch, and looked at all the chips on the ground with nonchalance "I just asked for cheese flavored chips..."


    "I forgot, so I just brought every pack. Also, I found a new member for our team!" Rose pointed at Neige. Despite the recent events, he kept his calm and introduced himself.


    "I''m Neige, some of my friends are in danger because of Silv."


    "He runs fast! I''m sure he''ll be alright!"


    "Whatever you say, leader..." The girl returned to lie on the couch, making Rose exasperated.


    "I''ll introduce myself properly this time. I''m Rose, and she''s Eirika. I think I can trust you, so listen closely. We''re a group of thieves! But we act for justice, not personal gain. Usually, we have other members, but they were captured by Silv too. Leo and Emel... I hope they''re alright..."


    Neige reacted to Emel''s name. It was probably Emely''s other self, and also, the one he saw with Silv on the video for a short moment.


    "So, you''re planning to steal back your friends or something?" Neige asked jokingly, but he wasn''t expecting the seriousness of the girl.


    "Yes, we have a plan, we know where they are! It''s a big casino, and also the place where the mafia held residence. I think they are in the basement, but they may be kept hostage in the leader''s room. Alone, I couldn''t do both, but with you, we should be able to split the work. So, what do you say?"


    Neige found a bit strange the trust that they gave him, but he didn''t have a choice and nodded his head in agreement, bringing a smile to the girl''s face.


    "It''s great then! We need to give you a code name, I''m Crow, and she''s Ebony! We could call you... Snow black! We kinda have a black theming, what do you think?"


    "I don''t really think codenames are useful, you can just call me by my name."


    "So serious. Anyway, I saw how agile you were, I''m sure you''ll pull your own weight. But for now, we need to have a good night''s sleep!"


    Neige remembered that he was supposed to tell what happened to his leader. The night was already here, and he needed to find a place alone to communicate with them.


    "I just need some fresh air, it''s been a long day."


    "Oh, of course. Just be ready for tomorrow night, that''s when we''ll go!"


    The man nodded his head and left the apartment.


    Before doing anything, Neige took time to breathe, so much happened today. He only wished that his friends were alright. The moon seemed so bright here, he couldn''t believe that it was the world this Silv was from. Maybe he would be able to stop her once and for all.


    He was about to make his report, but he noticed something weird on his belt. It was a sort of dagger. He had never seen anything like that before and was wondering where he got that. He took it in his hand, but suddenly, it exploded like a smoke bomb. Out of the smoke a familiar shape emerged, it was Ada, the anomaly.


    "You! What are you doing here?"


    Maybe because of the exhaustion, Neige couldn''t dodge the anomaly jumping on him. What he didn''t expect, however, was for her to just hold him in her arms.


    "Neige, I can finally take you in my arms!"


    The man was more than confused, she didn''t seem aggressive like usual, quite the opposite. The nun released him from the embrace and took a more serious tone.


    "I didn''t expect to say that one day, but I need your help with something. And for once, it''s more important than you."


    Neige stared at the woman with a mix of curiosity and worry, getting ready for anything that may happen.

 Chapter 34: Life Will Change

    The anomaly was just in front of Neige, looking seriously into his eyes. For once, she seemed more interested in something else than him.


    "Last time I saw you, you wanted to kidnap me."


    "I suppose the last time we talked was in my empty world, and even then, it wasn''t really a conversation!" The anomaly laughed at the situation. Neige failed to understand what was so funny and waited for the nun to explain herself "Anyway, I wasn''t careful enough. Miss Red Pantie stole a precious memento."


    "A memento?" Neige was a bit curious about this ''Miss Red Pantie'', but was more curious about what she held so preciously in her heart.


    "Indeed, it belonged to you, Neige. Or rather, another you? I''m a bit confused with all that multiple-world thing, I just want to live happily with you. But if I lost this dagger, I would never forgive myself, it''s the only thing I have left..."


    The woman seemed devastated but Neige still had some trouble believing her. She tried to catch him, which was also why Kairo was that way now. He couldn''t bring himself to fully believe her words.


    "That''s great for you, better find it then and leave me alone."


    "What do you mean? You''re going to help me, we are against the same person."


    If what she said was true, then maybe she could be useful. She seemed to have incredible powers, and she seemed sincere. His friends'' safety was more important for now, and nodded his head in agreement. It made the nun more than happy and even clapped her hands.


    "It''s the return of the great duo! Together, nothing can stop us!"


    "Sure, but the moment we both get what we want, our alliance stops."


    "Understood!" The woman had a big smile on her face, and even if Neige resented her, he still felt a bit happy for her. It was weird, maybe it''s because he learned that his best friend and leader was the anomaly''s other self. Or maybe it was because of something else that he couldn''t understand. Either way, he couldn''t help but feel safe and nostalgic when looking at her violet eyes. Without even realizing it, he gently caressed her cheek. When he noticed what he was doing, he quickly retracted his hand from her, making the woman giggle slightly.


    "You truly are Neige, whatever the world. I remember that you did that when I was sad."


    "I don''t know why I did it, don''t get used to it. And just so you know, I''m not the Neige you knew."


    "I know." The nun looked at the moon with a saddened face. She let out a tired sigh before looking back at Neige "Anyway, it would be suspicious if people saw a nun, I think you''ll need to carry me!" The anomaly suddenly transformed into a black matter and took the shape of the same dagger that Neige saw on his belt. Neige stared at the dagger for a while before letting out a sigh.


    "Why am I in weird situations like that?" Despite his complaint, he picked the anomaly that took the form of a dagger and strapped it on his belt "I hope I won''t regret it. I need to get some sleep now, it''s late."


    The night passed, and Neige joined with the two girls he met yesterday. Even with the help of the anomaly, he decided that it would be better to get all the help he would need. The two thieves were more than happy to have a new member, even if one of them didn''t show any enthusiasm.


    "So we''re all here." Said the girl named Rose "Eirika, I let you explain the plan!"


    "Alright. So it''s pretty simple, the casino will be open tonight. Rose will go into the basement. It''s probably where they''re kept hostage. Neige will go to the boss''s room, it''s basically a suicide mission if you ask me."


    "Eirika! Don''t scare him away..."


    "It''s okay." Said Neige, in an attempt to make Rose feel better "I''m fine with it."


    "See, he''s fine with the plan. Now we just need to wait tonight."


    Eirika returned to her computer, but Rose looked unsure and deep in her thoughts.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ~Tonight?~ Said the anomaly ~Can''t we go right now?~


    "Trust them, they have more experience." Both Rose and Eirika looked at him when he talked, visibly confused.


    ~Don''t talk out loud, only you can hear me!~


    Neige was a bit annoyed that she only told him now, but quickly found a way to get out of the weird situation.


    "I''m just thinking out loud, don''t worry."


    The two girls continued what they were doing, but Neige knew that they found him weird.


    "Still, it''s weird." Said Rose "This Silv, she never did anything like that, is she trying to do something?"


    "I can only suppose that she captured Emel because she knows her way with engineering and electronics. And I guess Leo was with her. New guy, do you know why she kidnapped your friends?" Eirika said without looking away from her computer once.


    "That''s a good question. I guess I''ll have to ask her."


    "I don''t think she''ll tell you, she''s weird."


    Even if he didn''t have a lot of interaction with Silv, he knew that Eirika was right. It was hard for him to believe that it was Silva''s other self. But he had no other choice than to believe it.


    The night finally came and the casino was open. A bunch of police officers were around, guarding the building. Rose was standing next to Neige, waiting. Unlike Neige, who still was in the Kronos''s uniform, Rose put on black clothes that resembled the uniform of a fancy thief. The two looked at everything from far away, but it seemed like it would be hard to enter.


    "That''s weird, there are so many cops. It''s like they know we''d come..."


    "Oh, I didn''t tell you?" Rose said, interrupting Neige''s thoughts "We always send a visit card, so they know we rob them."


    "You what? Aren''t we supposed to be discreet?"


    "It''s the value of the Rave of Justice, we always act for fairness, even for our foes!"


    "Your group had a name? Why didn''t you tell me any of that? I thought you were just a group of thieves stealing chips!"


    "Hey, I''m not the leader usually, I joined later. I''m still not used to it..." Even despite the mask of her thief uniform, the sadness on the girl''s face could be felt. "Our former leader sacrificed himself for what he believes in... We''re trying our best, but without him, it''s not easy."


    "What happened? If I can ask."


    "We stopped another mafia that my father controlled. It''s silly, but in a way, I feel like our former leader did it for me. It''s as if he sacrificed himself for me."


    Neige nodded at the girl''s words. He was expecting Silv to be behind every problem in this world, but it looked like it wasn''t the case.


    "And this Silv, you have a common past I think."


    "Yeah, we stopped her before, but she got out of jail. She even helped us, but now she''s against us. Can''t say I''m surprised, she can''t be trusted."


    "Can you tell me more about it? I''m trying to learn more about her."


    "You want to stop her? Good luck with that, she escaped every time. I don''t know the details, but She killed her parents when she was younger. Now she''s the head of a mafia group, but..."


    The girl seemed hesitant, Neige noticed it, and let her the time to gather her thoughts.


    "She disappeared for a while, but like vanished. No one knew where she was, and suddenly, she appeared back and is acting strangely."


    Neige thought about it, it was probably because she started to go to other worlds. But why did she come back here then? Was there something that she needed in her homeworld?


    "Wait, I have a message from Eirika... She said it''s time to go, Neige, good luck."


    The girl ran toward the casino''s entrance. It was the moment, it was finally time to face Silv once and for all.


    Neige managed to enter without being seen, there were a lot of mafia members inside, but he managed to sneak past them and make his way deeper into the casino. It was definitely an unusual experience to walk around a fancy casino. The chandeliers on the roof, the expensive alcohol on the floor, and those weird paintings on the wall. They looked really similar to what Silva painted but with more experience and skill. It was like someone who lost vision painted them, as opposed to Silva, who never had vision to begin with.


    ~Are you going to watch the paint dry for long?~ The voice surprised Neige until he realized that the anomaly had been here all along.


    "My bad... But still, this place is so big, I think I''m lost." Complained Neige.


    ~Yes, and so sinful...~


    "Oh yeah, I forgot that you were a nun. It''s probably not the kind of place a nun would hang out usually."


    ~Indeed, this place reeks of greed, all this gambling, exciting their souls. All this alcohol, refreshing their body. And those girls dressed as maids with their black panties. It''s all so... Forbidden!~ The anomaly''s voice sounded more like desire than anger, which made Neige doubt her intentions.


    "How... Do you know the color of their panties?"


    ~Eh! Don''t ask that! And besides, a classy woman like me would never drool over other girls dressed in a cute and adorable maid outfit!~


    "You manage to somehow sound more pervert than Silva... It''s impressive."


    Neige continued walking in this long hallway. Thanks to the maps around the casino and the help of the anomaly, they both finally made their way to the upper floor. The nun used her powers to turn off every light, making it easier for Neige to sneak in. After reaching the top of the casino, a door made of beautiful black wood was waiting at the end of the hallway. Neige took his firearm in hand and took a deep breath before pushing the door, ready to face Silv.


    The room was a fancy office. Silv was sitting there, but Silva and Sepide were also there, both attached with a rope. Silv was trying to take Sepide''s watches, and without thinking, Neige shot at her. The girl managed to step back before getting hit by the bullet but couldn''t take Sepide''s watch.


    "Neige? I didn''t hear you, if only you came a bit later..."


    "Really? I busted the door open. Well, it doesn''t matter much, I''m going to put an end to all the problems you caused. Right now."

 Chapter 35: Darkness Brings Light

    Silv was held at gunpoint, with Silva and Sepide both looking, powerless. Neige wasn''t going to let her go this time. Silv searched around for anything she could use as a weapon, she was clearly worried but still kept her confident smile.


    "How did I not feel you coming?... Wait, is the anomaly here too?"


    "Why does it matter?" Neige answered with a threatening tone, surprising even his friends. Silv proudly put her hand on her chest


    "Well you see, I was blessed by the Goddess, and-"


    "Actually, I don''t give a fuck. You caused enough problems. You''re under arrest, put Silva''s watch on the ground."


    The girl searched around, her hands in the air. She had no intention of giving up just yet and put a mischievous smile on her face.


    "What if I told you there was a way to save Kairo, make everyone go back as it was before?"


    For a split second, Neige lowered his guard but quickly regained focus. He knew it was just a plan to gain time, but he still couldn''t pass on the opportunity, maybe she was right.


    "How can I know you''re not lying?"


    "You can always ask your Polyetta, Leader, Yada, or whatever her name is. But like I said, I was blessed by the Goddess. She gave me-"


    Without a warning, Neige shot Silv''s right arm. She let out a scream and was clearly in pain, but Neige still kept a calm and cold voice.


    "You talk too much, how can I bring Kairo back?"


    "Are you crazy? I''m telling you the biggest revelation and-"


    "Like I said, I don''t give a fuck. You''ve caused enough problems to my friends like that, and the only reason I didn''t shoot your head is because you can bring Kairo back."


    Sepide looked at Neige, he seemed tired, his eyes were empty, and his behavior was unusual. As for Silv, for the first time, she seemed scared. Not scared for her plan failing, but scared for her life. It was never a possibility for her, and yet, she was faced with death in front of her.


    "There is a way to travel through time! The anomaly can!"


    "Good, now, give me the watch."


    "Fine, take your trash." Silv detached the watch off her wrist and threw it on the ground. "So what now? Game over?"


    "I wish, you caused so many problems to Silva, and now even Sepide. But I won''t kill you, yet. We''ll bring you on the ship, and decide your fate. Ada, can you free Silva and Sepide."


    A cloud of smoke appeared from behind Neige, and the anomaly came out of it while posing.


    "Right away, partner!"


    She detached the two hostages, but they didn''t really know how to feel. On one hand, it was the monster that caused all these troubles, and on the other, she helped them.


    Neige made sure that his friends were safe and finally felt relieved when he saw them all right.


    They finally managed to catch Silv, she was looking shamefully at the ground, tied up with the same rope she used to tie Silva.


    "Neige! I found the dagger!"


    "It wasn''t supposed to go like that..." Silv said, defeated "I was supposed to steal Sepide''s watch, and then I lured the anomaly, and you''d stop her... Why?"


    "Everyone is ready to go back on the ship?" Asked Neige, to which the anomaly answered by raising her hand shyly.


    "About that. You''re probably going to hate me for that, but it''s just too good of an opportunity to pass."


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Before Neige could ask, the anomaly jumped on him. In an instant, reality broke around them and they disappeared suddenly. Sepide and Silva stared in shock, they tried to stop it, but it already was too late. They were now alone in the room, far from Neige and the anomaly.


    "Did she... Take Neige away?..." Silva couldn''t believe it, she felt so powerless. If only she reacted earlier, maybe she could have stopped it.


    "I admit, getting caught was bad, but knowing that you feel bad makes me feel better!"


    The two stayed silent for a moment until Silva decided to take the lead. She took her watch from the ground and turned toward Sepide.


    "We need to go back to the Kronos and explain the situation. We''ll need to deal with Silv also."


    Sepide nodded her head, and silently, they returned to the ship with Silv.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group explained everything that happened to everyone in the hall. They couldn''t believe that Neige got kidnapped like that, especially the leader. She seemed devastated and just looked into the void.


    "So, what are we doing with her?" Asked Sepide, while pointing at Silv still tied up.


    "I think we should just lock her in a cell, we can always decide what to do after finding Neige. What do you think, leader?"


    "Huh?" The leader barely reacted to Silva''s question. She looked extremely saddened, almost to the point of not functioning "Sure, do whatever you want... I need to go find Neige..." Ignoring everyone, she left the room. No one knew what to do, usually, Neige would take leadership if the leader was unavailable. But now, not only neither of them could be the leader, but they also had to deal with their new prisoner.


    "I''ll go lock her then. I guess we''ll have to wait for the leader''s order before doing anything." Silva took the prisoner, followed by Sepide. But as she was about to go, a shy voice was heard.


    "Excuse me, can I come with you? There''s something I wanted to talk about with you." It was Shiro''s voice, Sepide tried to remember who he was. She just knew that he was the one making weapons and that he acted weird around Neige. Silva nodded to him, and together, they went to the cells.


    There were a bunch of cells, but no prisoners inside them. This part of the ship wasn''t well taken care of, dust was piling up, and half of the lights stopped working. It probably wasn''t used in a while.


    They locked Silv in one of the cells, who still seemed devastated to be caught.


    "So what now? I stay here until the end of the story? Isn''t it boring?" None stopped to listen, leaving her alone in her white prison "Can you at least untie me? The pain, it''s excruciating!"


    "Your complaints were acknowledged, and promptly ignored." Silva said in a cold voice without even turning toward the prisoner. The group headed to the hallway outside the cells, and once they were away from Silv, Silva asked "So, what did you want to talk about?"


    "Oh... Right. I was thinking about Neige, about a way to find him. I think we could track his watch, Emely told us we could track a watch. At first, it was supposed to be used to find yours, but since you got it back, it''s not really useful anymore."


    "Is it really possible?" Asked Sepide. Both she and Silva started to regain hope that they could find their friend once more.


    "Yes, but we need something for that. She would need a kind of crystal, but it''s not something easy to find. We located a world that had it, but even getting there might be troubling."


    "We have to try anyway, we should ask Emely the details!" Silva and Sepide both ran toward Emely before Shiro could even finish his sentence.


    The group hurried and joined Emely in her lab. She was surprised to see them arrive so suddenly, she was about to ask the reason, but Silva immediately answered before she could.


    "Is that true? You can locate Neige''s watch?"


    Emely let out a sigh, and stopped working on what she was doing, visibly annoyed.


    "Shiro told you that? Well, you can get this idea out of your mind, it''s too dangerous."


    "What do you mean? Don''t tell me you''re giving up on him so quickly!"


    "It''s not that, but this world, it''s not a stable place. Time doesn''t make any sense, the past and the future cross paths, and if you get lost there, you''ll just stop existing. It''s not worth the risk."


    "Maybe not for you, but I''m ready to risk my existence for that." Silva was determined, Emely saw the fire in her eyes and knew she wouldn''t give up so easily.


    "Come on, not only do you need to find two other dumbasses, and on top of that you need to make the leader approve."


    "I''m a dumbass too." Shiro raised his hand, a bit embarrassed "I mean, Neige did so much for us, I''m not letting him down like that."


    "I''ll go too!" Said Sepide "He would have done the same for us."


    "I didn''t know everyone was suicidal here, the leader won''t approve anyway."


    "The leader isn''t available right now." Answered Silva. The blind girl suddenly grabbed Emely''s jacket with strength, holding onto it tightly "Come on, who knows what''s happening to him? Maybe the anomaly is torturing him or something!"


    The young engineer took a moment, and was forced to admit that they wouldn''t give up, and finally decided to accept.


    "The world 00000001, I don''t know where is the crystal, but we should be able to communicate if you go there."


    "Thanks, we''ll go right away then." Silva, Shiro, and Sepide all went to prepare for the dangerous mission. Emely stayed in her lab, unsure about whether it was the right or wrong decision.


    "Be careful... It''s really not a safe place."

 Chapter 36: Day 1

    "It''s raining, quite a lot. I can''t see anything wrong with this world, but Emely told us that this world''s time wasn''t acting like normal. All there is are buildings everywhere, I think I''ll call it, the Lands of Time."


    After finishing her report, Sepide went back to her friends. They''ve been trying to contact the ship for a while now, but they couldn''t manage for some reason. Silva gave up, and let out an exhausted sigh.


    "So we need to find a crystal, and we have no idea what it looks like or where it is. It''s great, I already love this place..."


    "Let''s just... search around for now." Answered Shiro shyly "If it''s a crystal, it''s probably something that people would know about."


    The small group agreed and decided to explore this seemingly normal city.


    Most people acted in a strange way, giving generic and short answers. It was almost like everyone was a robot here, which made communicating hard. They took a few hours exploring the streets before giving up. The group decided to take a break at a nearby cafe and tried to find a better way to accomplish their goal.


    "I don''t understand, every time we try to talk about anything remotely complex, they just say they don''t understand and leave!" Silva continued complaining for a while, wondering if there was a way to get what they came for.


    "What is this place anyway, why would there be a crystal here?" Asked Sepide, but her friend didn''t have the answer either "Why are we here? It''s extremely dangerous, and it''s for something we''re not even sure will work. It''s not... Optimal..." Sepide seemed unsure as she said those words, and even surprised her friend.


    "Optimal?" Asked Shiro "It''s the only way to save Neige... So whether it''s optimal or not, I''ll do it."


    "Yes, but it''s weird, it''s like two parts of me are disagreeing. I want to help my friend, but at the same time, a part of me wishes I didn''t feel anything and that I could just do my mission."


    After hearing Sepide''s depressed tone, Silva rubbed her head, messing with her hair.


    "It''s fine, you can''t act like a robot, you''re a human. We''ll find what we came for, and we''ll leave without anything bad happening."


    Sepide still seemed to feel bad for some reason, but nodded her head and tried to let out a small smile. They planned to continue their search after their small break, and when they were ready, they left the bar. Or at least they tried, since a woman blocked the exit. She had an empty gaze and looked more tired than anything else. Her eyes scanned the confused group, and a few uncomfortable minutes passed before she finally talked.


    "I never saw you before, it''s weird. Who are you?" Her voice was cold, and as tired as her face was. The group looked at each other, a bit confused by the woman''s reaction. Silva was the first one to talk, trying to solve the situation.


    "We''re new here, we just traveled from somewhere else, that''s it."


    "Really?" The woman seemed unconvinced, it seemed like she was lost in her thoughts, and started to talk to herself "What did I do differently today?" She then proceeded to leave, like nothing happened, leaving the group lost.


    "Is it always like that in other worlds? I understand why you need weapons now." Shiro never really explored worlds before. Silva had to explain to him that their weapons aren''t used in these kinds of situations and more against giant monsters. As for Sepide, she just stared at the place the woman stood, like something was wrong. She couldn''t explain it, but she felt like the woman was strange, not only because of the way she acted but also for another reason.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Kronos to Sepide, you''re still with us?" Sepide came out of her trance when Silva called her, it seemed like she was trying to get her attention for a while "We''re going, are you alright?"


    "Yes, let''s go."


    The night was about to fall. They went pretty far from where they were, and yet, they didn''t find anything related to a crystal. Noticing how high the moon was, Sepide looked at the time on her watch. She stopped suddenly, noticing that, her two friends put a halt to their walk.


    "Sepide, everything''s alright?" Silva asked, worried for her friend.


    "The watch... It''s not working anymore!"


    Hearing that, Shiro looked at his own watch and confirmed that it didn''t work either. He didn''t know much about the way they worked, but he knew enough to know that it wasn''t a physical problem. They couldn''t input the numbers to travel to another world, and the time was stuck at noon, the time they arrived here.


    "What is the problem?" Asked Silva, since she couldn''t see it, she had to rely on her friend for confirmation.


    "We can''t travel anymore, we''re stuck here. And the time isn''t accurate anymore." Shiro explained, still trying to make the watch function "Is it what Emely meant when she said we could end up lost in time?"


    "What are we supposed to do now?" Sepide was worried, she knew it was a possibility, and yet, she couldn''t accept it so easily "There has to be a way out of here. I can''t die yet!"


    The group stayed silent for a while, trying to think of a way to escape this place. Their only hope seemed to be that crystal, but they had no idea where it could be located. They were at a loss but weren''t going to give up just yet.


    The group headed back to the city, feeling that midnight was getting closer. The only sound on the road was the one of droplets falling on the ground while the surrounding darkness started getting thicker. It was hard navigating for the group, and in the emptiness of the path, a voice made itself known.


    "What are you doing here?"


    The voice echoed, as if two persons talked together at the same time. It didn''t seem human, and when they turned around, they saw their friend, Neige. He was standing, looking straight at them. Even despite the mist they could still see it was him, but something seemed off about him.


    "Neige, is that you?" Sepide was getting closer to him but quickly stopped after hearing his harsh and cold voice.


    "I ask you again, what are you doing here?"


    The trio was surprised, their friend was in front of them, but he acted in a completely different way than he would usually. It wasn''t the same person anymore.


    "We were trying to find you! Emely told us we''d find a way to locate you here!" Silva''s words seemed to intrigue Neige, as he thought for a moment before answering.


    "Are you perhaps searching for a crystal?" Seeing them nodding in agreement seemed to amuse him. An unusual smile appeared on his face, before quickly vanishing "So you''re searching me, and I suppose you won''t stop if I ask you to."


    "Of course not." Answered Shiro "I mean... You''re our friend... And I wouldn''t want..." the voice got weaker as the sentence continued, Neige cut him off after seeing it wouldn''t lead anywhere.


    "Very well, we will see each other again then. I came to get you away of here, but if I did, you probably would come back here. If you want to find the crystal, you''ll need to find the person who isn''t affected by the rules of this world."


    "The... Rules of this world?" Sepide seemed confused, she didn''t really understand what Neige meant by it, even after thinking for a while.


    "You''ll understand soon, it''s almost midnight. This place may be the first one that the Goddess created, but now, it''s falling into ruin."


    "Neige... Your voice is so weird." Pointed Silva "What happened to you?"


    "I am now the anomaly. Or rather, she and I make one. We have come to find a common goal, and it''s the reason I can''t follow you anymore." The anomaly''s voice stayed cold all along, and yet, a bit of sadness could be felt toward the end.


    "What goal?.. We could help you." Neige shook his head at Shiro''s proposition, but he seemed like he wasn''t sure.


    "Bliss cannot be reached that way, please understand that it isn''t out of hate, but out of Love that I act. I want to protect you all from this world, the only way for us to be happy is to give up ourselves, and be happy in ignorance." Neige''s voice stopped, and it continued with uncertainty "If you think that you are strong enough to reach happiness, then find me, and prove me wrong. There isn''t much time left before midnight. Silva, Sepide, Shiro. You are all very important to me. I promise that either way, we''ll-

 Chapter 37: Day 1

    "It''s raining, quite a lot. I can''t see anything wrong with this world, but Emely told us that this world''s time wasn''t acting like normal. All there is are buildings everywhere, I think I''ll call it, the Lands of Time."


    After finishing her report, Sepide went back to her friends. They''ve been trying to contact the ship for a while now, but they couldn''t manage for some reason. Silva gave up, and let out an exhausted sigh.


    "So we need to find a crystal, and we have no idea what it looks like or where it is. It''s great, I already love this place..."


    "Let''s just... search around for now." Answered Shiro shyly "If it''s a crystal, it''s probably something that people would know about."


    "Wait." Sepide looked around, visibly confused "We already did that, and Neige was here a moment ago! Where is he?"


    "Sepide, are you already losing your mind? Maybe for once Emely was right, this place is cursed." Silva touched her friend''s face as if she tried to make sure it was really her.


    "No, it''s just... I don''t know, let''s just go." Sepide wasn''t sure if it was a dream, maybe she just imagined everything. Without thinking, she walked away, followed by her friends.


    Most people acted in a strange way, giving generic and short answers. It was almost like everyone was a robot here, which made communicating hard. They took a few hours exploring the streets before giving up. The group decided to take a break at a nearby cafe and tried to find a better way to accomplish their goal.


    "I don''t understand, every time we try to talk about anything remotely complex, they just say they-"


    "Don''t understand and leave." Sepide said, cutting Silva off "I swear it already happened, all of that."


    Shiro and Silva both looked at each other, a bit worried for Sepide. She acted in a weird way, but at the same time, it looked like she was telling the truth.


    "So... What''s going to happen next?" Shiro asked shyly.


    Sepide tried to remember, and suddenly stood up from her chair and waited in front of the door. Everyone looked at her wondering if she wasn''t crazy. She stayed that way for a while, and the door finally opened, revealing a woman behind it, about to enter. It was the same one that Sepide saw last time, with her empty gaze and exhausted behavior.


    "You''re here again today. It''s weird." The woman was about to leave, but Sepide grabbed her hand swiftly.


    "The person that isn''t affected by the rules of this world, it''s you, right?"


    The woman took a step back, visibly surprised. She seemed frightened, and far from tired.


    "Who are you? Are you aware of the time loop too?"


    Sepide slowly nodded her head. Her two friends stayed next to her in disbelief, trying to understand.


    "I thought I was the only one. I think we have a lot to talk about, follow me, we''ll talk at my home."


    Silva and Shiro seemed still confused, but followed Sepide and the mysterious woman, for lack of a better trail to follow.


    The woman brought them to an apartment. It was clean and ordered, everything was in its own place and seemed to follow a precise pattern. The group barely entered when the woman directly confronted them and lost her tired expression.


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    "I''m Katelyne, it''s been 202 days since the loop started. And you?"


    "202?" Silva said, surprised "You''ve been living the same day for that long?"


    "It seems so." Replied the woman "The same day, again and again, is repeating. They just don''t know, but the same day is happening again and again."


    "So that''s why I knew what was going to happen..." Sepide thought to herself "We''re searching for a crystal, do you know where it might be?"


    "A crystal? I''ve seen one, yes, but it''s not really reachable."


    "We really need it." Said Shiro "Where can we find it?"


    "Calm down, you didn''t tell me who you are. It''s very weird that you came out of nowhere, I''d like an explanation too." The woman said, wary of them.


    "I''ve been experiencing the same day as yesterday, but my friends don''t have any memories of it. I''m the only one that does. We need the crystal for personal reasons, and I think it could get us out of the time loop."


    Katelyne looked at Sepide with doubt in her eyes. She clearly wasn''t going to believe them so easily.


    "And in two days you already know that much, huh? It''s kind of hard to believe."


    "But we could make you go out of this loop with this crystal, I''m sure!" Said Sepide "We need your help."


    "Get out of the loop? For what? My future doesn''t have any meaning. Here at least, I can have fun forever."


    "Have fun forever..." Sepide lost herself in her thoughts, those words echoing in her head. She didn''t understand why, but she felt like in a way, she agreed with her.


    "I don''t have time for that." Shiro suddenly lost patience, and took his firearm in an attempt to intimidate her "I need to find Neige, so you better tell us where we find that crystal!"


    Sepide was surprised by his behavior, but not as much as Silva. It was the first time that she saw him get emotional like that.


    "Go ahead, I tried to die before, time will just loop again. And I''m not going to let you ruin it for me. We''re going to stay in this loop, again and again, whether you like it or not." Katelyne stayed cold and calm, leaving the three friends at a loss.


    "You''re scared, right?"


    Sepide''s voice floated in the air. No one dared to speak, and instead, they looked at her slowly walking toward Katelyne.


    "I''m scared too. I''m scared of the future, I didn''t realize it until now. When I realized that I could lose my friend, I felt so... Fragile. I want to face that Future, I want to know if I can see my friend again, so please, tell us where we can find that crystal."


    The woman stayed silent for a moment, looking at the rain from the window. It felt like an eternity passed before she finally answered.


    "I''m not scared, I already lost what I wanted. Living the same day, again and again, it''s just my life now." Katelyne looked at the group for a moment, as if she was trying to see something inside them "You want to live, is it just for your friend? He probably is important to you."


    "Of course!" Replied Silva "We wouldn''t risk our lives if he wasn''t worth it."


    "I wish I was still like you." The woman searched for something in her pocket and threw it at Sepide. It was a weird gemstone of a translucent violet, with the shape of a cross "I believe it''s what you''re searching for. I don''t really know how you can do anything with it, and I tried. Maybe my fate is to stay here, and I welcome it."


    "You had it since the beginning?" Asked Shiro, perplexed.


    "Not really, a little girl gave it to me. She was weird and had a weird name, I don''t really remember much. Apparently, it''s the heart of the universe. I just think it''s pretty, I doubt it''s anything that important."


    "The heart of the universe? This thing? Why did she give it to you?" Asked Sepide, still looking at the crystal


    "Kids are weird. You''re weird too, I don''t know how you heard of it."


    Sepide''s watch emitted a sound. Surprised, the group gathered around her and noticed that the watch worked again.


    "I don''t know if it will help us find Neige, but at least, we can go home now." Sepide stood there, looking around the apartment "If we leave, this world will stay that way. Is there nothing we can do?"


    "You think you can fix the world?" Asked Katelyne "I don''t think it''s your duty to fix everything. I''m starting to think that you may have lost your mind."


    "We''ll be alright, don''t worry." Answered Sepide, confidently "It''s our reason to exist."


    "I see, at least you found your reason to exist. I suppose that our paths won''t cross again, so good luck to find your friend."


    Sepide nodded her head, and with her friends, left the apartment.


    "So, are we ready to go back?" Asked Shiro.


    "We should be, I just feel a bit guilty to leave this world like that."


    Feeling Sepide''s sadness, Silva put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a warm smile.


    "We can come back here later, for now, we need to save Neige. Well if he let us save him..."


    Sepide nodded her head. The group was ready to leave this strange world and head toward their friend. It would probably be dangerous, but they all knew it and still decided to keep going for their friend''s sake.

 Chapter 38: It Could Be the Last Time

    The group went back on the ship after their trip. They expected to see Emely in her lab, but she was nowhere to be seen. Not only that, but the ship itself seemed empty. Most lights were off, and it seemed like a fight broke out here. The hallways had a bunch of scraps on the floor, and the walls appeared to be scratched by something.


    While wandering in the hallways, they saw Emely trying to fix something. They were relieved to finally see one of their friends after a few minutes of searching.


    Hearing their footsteps, the young engineer quickly turned toward them. She was frightened at first but quickly felt relief once she saw her friends.


    "You''re alive! I was so worried, I couldn''t communicate with you! What happened?"


    "It''s a long story, but we got what you needed." Sepide took the crystal out of her pocket and handed it to Emely. The latter looked at it for a moment, probably to make sure it was what she needed.


    "We''ll talk about it later. Something weird happened here. It''s Neige, he came back."


    "Really? Where is he?" Said Shiro, visibly happy to hear about the news.


    "He left. I''m not even sure what happened, he said that he was the anomaly or something. We tried to fight back, but there was nothing we could have done. No one is hurt, but he took Silv back and told us he will be waiting for us."


    The group thought for a moment, it seemed like it was the same Neige they saw in that other world. But why was he acting like that? And was there a chance to save him somehow?


    "You should go to the leader now." Said Emely "I explained about the crystal, you just need to tell her you found it. It should be ready soon."


    "We''ll do." Sepide and her friends were about to leave for the leader''s office, but Emely''s voice stopped them.


    "Wait, Silva. Can we talk for a minute?"


    Silva was surprised by Emely''s sudden request. She nodded her head at her friend, to indicate to them that it was all right. After Shiro and Sepide left, Emely suddenly slapped Silva with tears flowing down her face.


    "You dumb bat! You worried me!"


    "And why are you annoying me?" Answered Silva in shock "You weren''t worried for the others?"


    "It''s different, it''s not the same..."


    "Because?"


    "It''s just not the same. You''re a dumbass that can''t paint... It''s your fault somehow!"


    "At least I''m not an engineer that can''t make watches function properly!"


    "It''s the problem of the world, not me!"


    The two stayed silent for a moment in the dark hallway of the ship to calm themselves. It took a few minutes before they both calmed down, prompting Emely to break the silence.


    "When Neige, or rather the anomaly, came, it was dark. Even darker than now. Communications were cut, even my battery-powered tools weren''t working. I was in my laboratory, I didn''t know what happened."


    "Why didn''t you tell it when the others were here? You know that I find it funny to imagine you lost and scared, right?" Silva smiled a bit, but when she felt Emely''s serious tone, she quickly stopped.


    "All alone, not being able to see anything, not having anyone around. Is that how you feel?"


    Silva stayed silent for a moment, hesitating on the things she wanted to share. The girl saw how bad Emely felt, and decided to instead avoid talking about herself.


    "Not really, unlike you, I''m not a crybaby."


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    "Silva, we don''t have to always act like that, we always insult each other but never take the time to take care of the other. Are you okay? Are you scared?"


    Emely''s sudden empathy took Silva by surprise. She never showed her feelings like that to her.


    "Well, I manage. It was a bit scary when my parents were around, but it''s better now... But sometimes, I still think about it and what they said."


    "I see." Emely said with a silent voice.


    "Are you okay? You''re not like that usually, you would have called me a bitch or something."


    "I am, it''s just that lately, you''ve been flirting with death a bit too much. A month ago, you, Neige, and Kairo would go into a world with plants everywhere, and you''d come back wet because you fell in a river. Now Kairo''s gone, Neige is too, and you were close to being lost in time! I miss the old days, where when I woke up, I could say you''re a failed artist, and you would call me a pretentious engineer. But now, I''m scared it''s the last thing we say to each other."


    "Come on, pretentious engineer? I could find a better insult for a glorified lightbulb changer like you."


    Feeling that Emely felt distressed, Silva took her in her arms. At first, Emely tried to resist, but she quickly gave up and gave her embrace back.


    "It''s no use reminiscing on the past, just live the present like the past never existed."


    "Is that what you say to yourself, Silva? That the past doesn''t exist? You can''t just ignore it forever."


    "You''re so annoying to comfort." Said Silva with a chuckle "Was there any moment we didn''t roast each other? I feel like it was like that ever since we met."


    "I don''t know." Emely squeezed the fabric of Silva''s uniform, bringing her closer "You don''t take good care of your clothes, there''s a hole. You know I worked hard on them."


    "It''s not my fault, I can''t see the holes."


    Emely caressed Silva''s back above her clothes, trying to feel her body.


    "You don''t take care of yourself either, I can feel scars on your body."


    "It''s not my fault, I can''t see the danger. Can you do something else than complain?"


    "I''m just worried for you. You need to eat more, you''re so skinny."


    "You''re one to talk, you should eat more too! You''re pressed against me, and I can''t feel anything on your chest. Even Neige has more breasts than you.


    "That''s not how it works..."


    "Can you stop feeling sad? I''m trying my best for that you know?"


    "Haha, I know."


    Emely took a step back and a deep breath. She wiped some tears off her eyes, hoping that Silva didn''t notice.


    "I think your friends are waiting for their stupid bat."


    "I knew it, you can''t be nice for more than 5 minutes!"


    "You can''t either, Silva. I don''t think you were programmed with good social skills."


    "Yeah, well when everything''s over, you''ll be stuck doing nothing, and I''ll paint all day long. Anyway, I need to go. I''ll see you later, Emely. Have fun being bored fixing lights."


    Even despite what they said, both had a dumb but sincere smile on their faces. Silva left in a hurry, leaving Emely alone in the dark corridor.


    "I love you, Silva..."


    Silva hurried into the leader''s room. Sepide and Shiro were there, with the leader on the screen. It was hard to know what she was feeling, even if she didn''t have her mask on, she still kept a very neutral expression.


    "What did I miss?" Asked Silva.


    "Silva, you''re here." Answered the leader "They explained everything to me. I''ve been thinking of sending you and Sepide to retrieve Neige."


    "That''s unfair." Replied Shiro "I did part of the work too."


    "Indeed, but going in groups of three is the best way to act, and I decided that I would come with you." The three of them were surprised by her words, it was the first time in a while since she ever went into another world. The last time it happened, it was when it was only her and Neige on the ship.


    "It''s my friend, and I decided if I don''t act now, I''ll forever regret it. I would rather die than live without him."


    The group wasn''t expecting that from their leader. But before they could answer, the door opened, revealing Emely out of breath.


    "We found Neige!"


    "Really?" Exclaimed the leader "Let''s head to your lab then!"


    The screen suddenly turned off, leaving the group alone in the room.


    "Is it true?" Asked Sepide "You already found him?"


    Emely nodded her head with energy before answering.


    "Yeah, come on, quick!"


    "Go ahead, I just need to go to my room first."


    The group agreed and left the room. Once alone, Sepide took a shard of the crystal out of her pocket. She took a moment to look at it, like hypnotized.


    "I took it because it was a good memento, but it feels so weird. It''s like it echoes with my soul."


    Silva, Emely, and Shiro went to the lab, where the leader was waiting for them, visibly ready. She was wearing the uniform of the ship, but instead of the firearm they used, a sword was attached to her belt. When she noticed them, she immediately turned toward Emely.


    "Where is Neige? We need to go now!"


    "Leader, please calm down." Emely took a paper from her pocket and started to read it out loud "21122002, a world empty, only inhabited by snow. Be careful, we don''t know what the anomaly will do to you."


    "It''s okay!" Answered the leader full of confidence "Silva and Sepide are here. And I know how to defend myself."


    "I hope so... I''ll stay in contact with you. I hope this time, there won''t be any problems."


    Silva, Sepide, and the leader all stood next to each other. After making sure they were ready, they prepared themselves to jump into this unknown world, ready to save their friend.

 Chapter 39: The Only Thing I Know For Real

    "Where am I? Am I dreaming?"


    Neige looked around, confused about the situation. It looked like he was in a church, the same one where he lost Kairo to the anomaly. His memories were hazy, he didn''t feel like himself and was barely able to think properly. However, he wasn''t alone in the church, a nun was praying, lost in her thoughts. She looked exactly like Ada, the anomaly. But she seemed younger, like a teenager around 16. Neige couldn''t explain it, but it was like he remembered this scene, but not by himself.


    He reached his hand toward the girl, only to phase through her like a ghost.


    The door of the church suddenly opened, letting the cold enter. It seemed like there was a big snowstorm outside, a boy entered the church, probably to find shelter from the cold.


    Neige recognized him quickly, they both looked almost identical, the boy just looked somehow even more feminine, probably due to his younger age.


    The nun hurried toward the boy after hearing the door open. The boy fell into her arms, exhausted. Even after being in the arms of the girl, he still tried to get up by himself.


    "Don''t move my child, you''re exhausted." Answered the nun. She looked around for any way to warm up the boy, but whether it was because of pride or stubbornness, he still resisted.


    "I''m not here for your help... I came to deliver a message, that''s it."


    "No, you''re way too sick for that. Whatever it is, it will have to wait."


    The boy tried to get up but lacked the strength to do so. The girl held him close to him, trying to make him warmer with her body heat.


    "Why are you helping me? Don''t you know who I am?" Asked the boy.


    "I''m afraid not, my child. But it doesn''t matter either way, as a person of faith, it is my duty to help people in need."


    The boy chuckled slightly at the woman''s words, but his eyes looked sad for some reason.


    "You''re too good for this world. Now I feel bad about the message I came to deliver."


    "It doesn''t matter." The girl caressed his hair slightly while pressing him softly against her.


    "I''m Neige, you still don''t know who I am?"


    "... Nice to meet you Neige, you can call me Ada."


    The scene started to get blurry, and like nothing ever happened, everything vanished before Neige''s eyes.


    "What a weird dream. I feel like I remember that somehow."


    Sepide looked around, both the leader and Silva were there too. It seemed like an empty place, but it was hard to see because of the snowstorm.


    "Now I regret not wearing a vest." Said Silva, shivering because of the cold. Sepide took her phone and started to record her report.


    "There''s snow everywhere, and it''s very cold. We need to find a shelter, or else-"


    "Memories broken, the truth goes unspoken! I''ve even forgotten my name!" The leader yelled from the top of her lungs while looking in a seemingly random direction.


    "Leader? Are you alright?" Asked Sepide, worried for her.


    "I don''t know the season, or what is the reason, I''m standing here holding my blade!" Right after continuing her battle cry, the leader took her sword in hand and started to run deeper into the snowstorm.


    "That''s our leader?" Asked Silva, already exhausted. Forced to, they followed her, unsure about what would be awaiting them.


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    Sepide and Silva tried their best to navigate through the snowstorm. They followed the leader the best they could, and after a long moment, they saw her stopping. They walked to her level to see what was stopping her only to see their friend Neige, standing there. Or rather Neige, possessed by the anomaly. The leader took her sword and pointed it at him, visibly about to fight.


    "Give Neige back, now." Her words were cold and serious, but they didn''t seem to impress the anomaly in the slightest.


    "So you''re Neige''s friend? I''m sorry, but I think he would be better under my care for now. But I was expecting you, I have a proposition to make."


    "I don''t negotiate with terrorists."


    The leader seemed to confuse not only her friends but the anomaly as well. Without a warning, she took her sword and rushed at the anomaly in a swift movement, but the attack was dodged at the last moment.


    "How are you so fast!?"


    The question of the anomaly stayed without an answer, as the leader continued attacking without rest. The anomaly took its dagger by reflex and tried her best to defend herself against the relentless attacks.


    "Can you stop and listen for a minute?" Asked the anomaly, almost begging while dodging all the attacks. The leader wasn''t about to give up, it wasn''t even sure if she heard a single word from the anomaly. But after a few more slashes from her sword, she finally was able to cut the cheek of the anomaly. The kind of dark matter that the anomaly was made out of ran away from Neige''s body, making him fall to the ground.


    "How... How can you hurt me?"


    Once more, her question never got an answer. The leader quickly ran toward Neige''s body lying on the ground. As she dropped her guard for a moment, the anomaly took Neige''s firearm to shoot at her opponent. The sound of a gunshot was heard before the leader fell on the snowy ground, under the shocked gaze of Silva and Sepide. They tried to come to help their leader, but the snowstorm got more intense, blocking all of their senses. After a short moment, they both fell unconscious.


    Sepide slowly opened her eyes as if she slept for days. It looked like she was in an old cell, the walls barely seemed to hold up. Silva was sitting on the bed, she seemed pretty bored until she realized that Sepide woke up.


    "Hey, are you okay? You''ve been sleeping for a while." Silva asked, visibly worried. Sepide stood up with some difficulties and answered after she felt like she was in better shape.


    "I think I am, but I could be better. It''s so cold in here." Sepide looked around, trying to find any signs of Neige or their leader. All she could remember was seeing their leader shot and falling to the ground "Have you seen the others?"


    Silva shook her head to gesture that she didn''t. Sepide got the idea to call on the ship, thinking they could help them. But she noticed that her watch was missing, not only that but all of her tools and weapons were robbed from her. She looked at Silva and noticed that she too seemed to have lost her watch. Before she could be worried, a voice from outside their cell called to them.


    "Hey, you two, come with us."


    The voice came from a woman dressed like a nun, armed with a spear. She wasn''t alone and was accompanied by other women in the same dark blue outfits. They opened the door, and without a choice, Silva and Sepide both followed them. The group walked in the long and cold hallways for a moment, building up the two friend''s worries.


    "Excuse me," Asked Sepide "Aren''t you servants of Gods? Aren''t you supposed to be peaceful?"


    "We are, we obey the holy Ada, our dear Goddess. We are only executing her orders."


    "Ada? The anomaly?" Sepide whispered to herself. She wasn''t sure what to think of it, all she hoped was that her friends were alright.


    The nuns brought them to the middle of a colosseum, with thousands of people cheering from the benches. There were around thirty people in the middle of the arena, but Sepide quickly ran toward one of them, more than happy to see her alive.


    "Leader!"


    The leader turned around Sepide and Silva, with shock on her face.


    "Sepide? Silva? You''re alive? I was so worried about you. I''m sorry... I wish I could have done better."


    "Don''t stress about it." Said Silva in an attempt to make her feel better "We barely could do anything to the anomaly, and you managed to hit her! Now I understand why you''re our leader."


    "Oh, thanks... But I don''t think I''m the leader because of my sword skills."


    Sepide looked around, trying to find Neige somewhere in the arena. When she looked up, she managed to see him, sitting on a throne in the highest place of the Colosseum. He was unconscious, but it looked like he was overseeing the whole arena from this position. Next to him was the anomaly, which was looking at everyone in the arena. After a long moment, she took a step forward and started talking in a microphone.


    "Can everyone hear me?"


    The crowd answered cheerfully to her question and became silent to hear what the woman was about to say.


    "First off, thanks to everyone for coming to assist to the first ever, great tournament!!!"


    "The name sucks!" Silva yelled, which seemed to make the nun uncomfortable.


    "A-Anyway, I''d also like to thank our 31 candidates who will participate in it, even if against their will."


    The crowd was as cheerful as the participants were terrified. When Sepide looked around, she could see how everyone was as lost as she was. Did they fall into the anomaly''s trap? And why was she doing it in the first place? The only thing they could do for now, would be to abide by the rules, at least for now.

 Chapter 40: The Great Tournament!

    The crowd was waiting patiently for the anomaly to continue her sentence. The people in the arena stared at the woman with a fear colder than the freezing wind. The anomaly took a deep breath, and after minutes that felt like hours, she finally broke the silence.


    "I know it may not look like it, but all of you agreed to enter this tournament. I can feel in your heart, you''re ready to sacrifice your life for something, sacrifice your existence for the mere chance of getting it. Some may be here for glory, some for freedom, some may even be here to save their friend. I''ll grant the winner their deepest wish, but of course, I''m not a monster. If you wish to leave, you still have a chance to do so. Raise your hand, and you''ll be right back to your home world, with no memory of what happened."


    The crowd waited expectantly, some even betting on whether one of them would give up. But despite some hesitation, no one raised their hand, putting a smile on the anomaly''s face.


    "Great! Marvelous! I knew I was right by choosing you all! Now then let''s explain the rules."


    The anomaly took a step back letting her place to a girl, looking barely older than twenty. She had a strange green outfit with a cape, looking like she was some sort of traveler, and her black hair reached just below her neck. 1fter bracing herself, she started to talk, in a feeble and soft voice.


    "H-Hello. You can call me Opal, I''m the organizer of this whole thing. Let me explain the basic rules of this tournament, and we''ll get more in-depth into the different trials as the event goes on. You will be a total of 32 participants and will have to go through three trials, meant to eliminate the unworthy. Once we finish the three trials, we''ll have a last one, meant to choose the true winner of the great tournament. In the trials, everything is allowed. Cheating isn''t a concept, honor is only a human construct, and victory is the only goal. But outside the trials, it is forbidden to hurt, or cause any problems to the other players."


    After she finished talking, the anomaly whispered something in the ear of the girl, visibly annoying her.


    "... Also, and I wish to precise that this isn''t my idea, we''ll host small games between trials. We''ll explain when we get there, but all you need to know for now is that the only way to lose is during the main trials. Does anyone have any questions?"


    Sepide raised her hand and yelled to make sure that she could be heard.


    "All of our equipment got stolen, how are we supposed to fight?"


    "Ah, yes." Answered the girl after looking at her notes "We''ll give you each new weapon, adapted to the trials that you will face. It is, of course, forbidden to use them outside the trials."


    Opal looked around to make sure that there weren''t any doubts left and continued "Now follow the guards, they will lead you to the site of the first trial."


    The guards gestured for the participants to follow them. Silva, Sepide, and their leader stayed together, unsure about what was about to happen to them. But they were determined to win, and save Neige from the anomaly once and for all.


    The guard led all the contestants in front of a snowy forest. There, Opal the organizer was already waiting for them, the anomaly on her side. They waited for a while, making sure that everyone was there. The girl glanced confused between the group and her notes multiple times before talking in a soft voice.


    "Is Silva here?"


    Silva raised her hand, leading the organizer to her next question.


    "And... Is Silv here?"


    The three friends looked surprised and saw a hand raise. It really was Silv, the same Silv they caught and that was kidnapped back by the anomaly. She looked at the small group and smiled at them with a sinister tone. Before anyone could say anything, Opal turned toward the anomaly with a clearly dissatisfied tone.


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    "Wait, we can''t do that. They look exactly the same, that would lead to too much confusion. Why didn''t you tell me? I''ll never be able to differentiate them!"


    "If that''s the problem, I can deal with that." The anomaly took two pairs of glasses and showed them. One was sunglasses, while the other didn''t even have glass on them "One will have sunglasses, one will have regular ones. And they need to wear them or else we can''t validate their victory, how does it sound?"


    The organizer let out a sigh but nodded her head.


    "Sure, I think we didn''t need to have the same person twice, but it''s fine."


    "Great, so now that it''s over with... Which one do you prefer?"


    Silv and Silva both stayed silent, visibly a bit confused. The anomaly didn''t understand at first, but quickly realized her mistake.


    "Oh, I forgot that you two are blind." She handed the sunglasses to Silva, and the regular glasses to Silv "So now you can''t remove them. It''s quite practical, at least, one can''t pretend to be the other."


    "It''s going to be a miracle if we finish this tournament..." Opal took a deep breath, and after making sure she was ready, explained the rules.


    "Welcome to the first trial, as a reminder, everything is allowed. We''ll make eight groups of four, and we''ll give you all three maps per group. The rules are simple, the first to find three treasures and come back here with them win and are guaranteed to go to the next trial. Some treasures are harder to get than others, so if you think that yours is too hard to get, you can always steal the map of someone else. You have 3 days, every group that fails will be disqualified from the tournament. Now then, please form groups."


    The there friends grouped and looked around for a good fourth member. But Sepide noticed Silva''s weird behavior, she was holding herself in her arms and seemed visibly perturbed.


    "Silva, are you okay?"


    Silva tried to make a smile but quickly stopped in her attempt.


    "I wasn''t expecting her to be here... They even took my pills..."


    "Oh... I remember that you needed to take some."


    Sepide shared the pain of her friend, but sadly, there wasn''t anything they could do. As for the leader, she looked around, still trying to find a member.


    "These peoples, they''re all from other worlds. The anomaly isn''t holding back."


    A man approached the group, Silva and the leader recognized him immediately, while Sepide was clueless about his identity.


    "Silva... Leader... Long time no see."


    "Kairo?" The leader seemed shocked to see him, he looked like he lived a lot since the last time she saw him. His face seemed harsher, his uniform barely in one piece, and his right arm was no more "What happened? And what are you doing here?"


    "It''s a long story, but I''m the surprised one. So, that''s what you look like without your mask..."


    The leader hid her face behind her hand after realizing that she didn''t have her mask on. Even if it made her voice muffled, she continued the conversation like that.


    "A-Anyway, do you want to join our group? It will be like the old times, except it''s with Sepide instead of Neige."


    "I would have loved to, alas, our paths are forever opposed now. And I already have a group, I just wanted to see you one last time."


    Kairo walked away, the leader was at the same time relieved to see him, but at the same time saddened that they didn''t see each other in a different context.


    Most of the groups were already formed, the group was worried about not finding another member. But a woman approached them, she had short blonde hair and had ample clothes hiding most of her body. She came with a smile and did her best to appear as friendly as possible.


    "Greetings, I see that you are missing a member, and I am alone, can I join you?"


    The three friends looked at each other, she certainly seemed odd, but at the same time, they didn''t have a choice. Silva was the first one to talk, sharing her concerns.


    "I''m not against it, and robots are pretty cool. The ticking sound of her cogs is annoying though."


    "A robot?" Asked Sepide, looking at the woman in the eyes "She doesn''t look like a robot."


    The woman that was being suspected of being a robot looked surprised, and quickly dissipated the confusion.


    "I thought I did a good job at hiding, but you are right, I am a robot. I was made for war, but I do have feelings and have no wish to harm you."


    "Oh!" The leader looked extremely excited for some reason, her eyes lit up, like a kid on the day of Christmas "It''s like in Shadow 3! Can we take her?"


    "Shadow 3? The video game that you made us buy last time?" Asked Sepide, still annoyed that she had to get it.


    "No, it was Shadow 4 arena. It''s a spin-off of the sequel, there''s also a robot but-"


    Silva raised her voice, knowing it could have lasted for hours if she didn''t stop the leader.


    "That''s fascinating leader, can we focus on the actual robot?"


    "Yes, you''re right. Well, I''m for taking her in our group."


    "I''m okay too, what about you Sepide?" Asked Silva.


    "It''s okay for me too, I don''t have a problem with it, she seems nice."


    The woman-looking robot made a big smile and looked more than happy at the news.


    "Thank you, I will do my best to not be disappointing. I am Unit R-1 Esper Lambda, but you can call me Uriel!"


    With a group finally formed, they were ready for the first trial. They couldn''t afford to lose, as a loss would mean losing Neige, and it was something that neither of them was ready to do.

 Chapter 41: The First Trial

    "This dream? Again?"


    Neige opened his eyes to see the same church as last time. This time, Ada and the other Neige he saw were sitting on a bench. The nun seemed to focus on Neige''s words, while the boy had a serious tone while speaking.


    "The Goddess of time, Fubuki... She went crazy, she thinks that the elves are plotting to steal her powers. She declared war on them."


    "That''s horrible... But in the end, all we can do is believe in her."


    Neige seemed shocked by his words, almost offended by them.


    "I thought you only wanted the good of people, how can you just accept it all?"


    "As a nun, all I can do is trust her judgment. I''m sure others will stop believing in her, but I always will."


    "Yeah, so you''re just a dumbass that obeys without thinking..."


    "At least I''m not pessimistic, unlike a certain short boy..." Said Ada with a slight smirk on her face.


    "I''m not short, it''s you that''s tall. At least I don''t hit my head every time I enter a house."


    "How do you know that it happens to me? Anyway, I''m not the one that everyone is confusing with a girl."


    Neige suddenly blushed and flinched before answering the girl.


    "Wait, so you do know who I am! You said you didn''t."


    "Neige is quite a peculiar name. Everyone heard about the boy who wishes to be a girl."


    "I don''t want to be a girl! I just like being pretty!"


    Neige was about to argue, but the nun burst out laughing. After seeing her like that, the boy followed her laugh, and the two of them ended up enjoying themselves without a worry in the world.


    "You really are a funny one!" Ada said while still chuckling a bit. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and continued "Why does everyone say you''re dangerous? You look like you couldn''t hurt a fly."


    "Hey, I''m not weak!"


    Ada tried to hold a laugh at those words, amused by the situation. Neige had a carefree smile and continued talking.


    "They just don''t like that I don''t follow blindly the Gods. I understand we live in a world created by them, but it doesn''t mean they''re innocent and kind."


    "Don''t worry about them, everyone in this town will find a reason to dislike what''s different. They don''t like that I''m giving my life to the Gods too because I''m too invested. Don''t take it personally."


    "You really are kind, Ada."


    Neige took a small fruit and started eating it. Ada noticed that it was the exact one she kept in her pocket to eat later, and when she checked in it, she realized that it was empty.


    "Sorry, I was hungry." Replied Neige with a smile. The boy gave her half of it in an attempt to apologize.


    "You''re excellent at it, I didn''t see anything coming!"


    "That''s the first time I ever was complimented on my stealing skills, but thanks." Neige paused for a moment, wondering to himself "Why are you always alone in this church, I would have thought you''d have more friends."


    "It''s quite hard to establish bonds as a woman of faith. Everyone always expects perfection from me, and I can''t disappoint." Ada''s face started to become sadder. Noticing it, Neige tapped slightly on her shoulder and smiled at her.


    "Don''t worry Ada, I know you''re not perfect. But even if you''re not, you''re a great person."


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    Ada smiled upon hearing those words and gave him the brightest smile she could.


    "Thanks, Neige."


    Just like the first time, the room vanished like nothing ever happened. The Neige who was dreaming looked at the void in front of him and muttered to himself.


    "The anomaly and her Neige, they remind me of Polyetta and I... I guess no matter the world we''re in, we''re not so different... Maybe if life took a different way, I could have been like her."


    Opal, the organizer of the tournament, noted all the groups in her notebook under the patient eyes of the contestant. Once she was done, she gave everyone their weapons and maps. It took some time, and while it was happening, the anomaly herself came toward Sepide and her group. She looked at them attentively, before talking with an amused voice.


    "So you''re Neige''s friends. It''s quite different from the group we had at the time of our adventures, so I hope you took good care of him."


    "You kidnapped him!" Yelled Silva "Don''t act like you care for him."


    "Don''t get me wrong, I only want his happiness. I couldn''t convince him to come, so it was the only way."


    The anomaly looked at the group. Aside from their new member, everyone looked at her with animosity in the eyes, which intimidated her a bit.


    "So anyway, I just wanted to say that I''ll participate too. So let''s do our best to fight fair!"


    "You participate?" Asked Sepide "Isn''t it cheating? You host the tournament."


    "That''s a good point, no pantie girl, but I don''t host the tournament, it''s Opal that does. We could say that I''m merely helping with it... And that I asked for it to be held too... Anyway, I just figure that using my powers won''t really be fair, so we''ll fight, fair and square!"


    Silva and Sepide seemed a bit uncomfortable at the idea, but the leader looked at the anomaly straight in the eyes and extended her open hand toward the anomaly.


    "Good luck..."


    The leader''s voice was cold, her eyes full of murderous intention, but the anomaly accepted the handshake with a smile like it was nothing.


    "Thanks-"


    The anomaly suddenly felt a burning sensation while touching the leader''s hand, like her body was rejecting the contact. She tried to get her hand away, but the leader clenched her fist tightly and pulled the anomaly toward her. Their faces were only separated by a few centimeters, and the leader talked with a strict and severe voice.


    "If anything happened to Neige, I swear that I''ll make you suffer for the rest of your existence. It matters not where you are, it doesn''t even matter what I''ll sacrifice, I''ll make sure that the only thing you can feel is suffering."


    The leader let go of the anomaly''s hand, still looking at her with rage in her eyes. The anomaly herself took a step back and replied with a colder voice.


    "I''m sure you would, I guess we''re all the same in the end."


    The anomaly left the group under the leader''s threatening gaze, and the moment her back was turned, the leader shook her hand in pain.


    "It hurts goddammit. I forgot how it felt to touch your other self! That''s why I stay on the ship all day!"


    After cursing a bit more the leader finally stopped complaining. Amused, Silva turned toward Sepide with a perverse grin, and gently tapped her shoulder with her elbow.


    "No pantie girl, huh? Someone likes freedom."


    "What''s a pantie?"


    Silva thought Sepide was joking, but the tone of her voice was so serious that she had some doubt.


    "Are you serious?"


    Before Sepide could answer, the organizer of the tournament came toward them, carrying a bunch of stuff in her arms.


    "So, here are your weapons and your maps."


    Opal handed a sort of Katana to the leader, who seemed satisfied with it. She even swung around a bit, visibly having fun.


    "You''re going to hurt someone..."


    The girl was exasperated and gave Sepide a knife. Sepide looked a bit confused about the choice of the weapon but still went with it.


    The organizer took a deep breath, and mentally prepared herself, like she was about to do something incredibly hard.


    "So... Silva, here''s a gun. It only has one bullet, don''t waste it, alright?"


    "I understand."


    Silva''s answer seemed to confuse the girl. She stared at Silva for a moment, before talking again.


    "Well, you''re way easier to convince than your sister. If you knew the weird stuff she said."


    "Silv?.. She''s not my sister."


    "Right, your ''other self''. I still think saying sister is cuter."


    Opal turned toward Uriel, the robot of the group, and handed her a teddy bear.


    "It''s more symbolic than anything, you''re a robot, you don''t need a weapon."


    "Thank you, I will take care of it with all my heart." Answered Uriel with a smile on her face.


    "Well there''s no punishment for losing it, but sure. Anyway, here are the maps."


    The girl handed three maps to the leader. Each one showed the same area, but the difference lay in a red circle that was in a different place for each one, as well as a different colored border.


    "As you can see, each map has a different color. Blue, yellow, and red. Basically, Blue is the easiest treasure to get, and red is the hardest. If you want to only get easy treasures, you can steal someone else''s map."


    The organizer left. The group circled around the map, observing their goal. The leader analyzed the maps and shared her thoughts with the others.


    "So we''re in the middle, near the forest. One of the treasures is in the forest so it''s easy to get, the other one seems to be in an ocean, and another one is in... A volcano?"


    "A volcano?" Asked Silva "There''s no way I''m going in a volcano, I''m not that suicidal."


    The leader thought for a moment and put the maps in her pocket.


    "We''ll see when we get there, for now, we should get the easiest one. It shouldn''t pose too much trouble."


    The group waited patiently for the trial to begin, hoping to succeed and get closer to saving their friend.

 Chapter 42: The Eternal Snowy Lands

    The sound of a horn echoed, officially starting the trial. Everyone headed in different directions. Silva, Sepide, Uriel, and their leader had their goal in the forest and went there to find their first treasure.


    The snow was everywhere, hindering the group''s movement. They wandered in the forest for a while, hoping to quickly find their goal. The leader had her eyes focused on the map, trying her best to find the path to the treasure, Sepide was lagging behind, talking with the new robot of the group. Silva saw there the best opportunity she could, and asked their leader a question she had on her mind for a moment.


    "Leader, can I ask something? It''s about Sepide."


    "Sepide?" Asked the leader, surprised "What about her?"


    "She joined our group for some time now, and she''s really a great person. But... She''s kind of weird sometimes. And not just her, but her past too."


    "What do you mean? It''s really nothing special. She comes from a world that is no more, and as for her personality, I suppose her world was a bit different from ours."


    Silva looked at Sepide behind her and faced the leader once more.


    "You said you were the one that found her, but where? You never go out on missions."


    The leader seemed a bit flustered and suddenly acted in a strange way, trying to dodge Silva''s eyes.


    "Oh, I just... Went on a mission, you and the others were busy, and it was urgent."


    "It''s weird that you went alone, you always say that we should go in groups of three, and yet you went alone. Not only that, but Sepide joined our group shortly after Kairo... Took a different path. It all seems way too convenient."


    "I can''t tell if Neige changed you or if you''re the one that changed Neige, why are you both asking so much suddenly? I admit, it looks like everything that happened was written, but it wasn''t. I guess it was just a big coincidence."


    Silva felt that something was wrong, she could tell from the tone of her voice that the leader was hiding something.


    "Just tell me, will Sepide be alright? I just worry about her."


    The leader seemed to understand that her lie didn''t work, but she still wasn''t going to explain what really happened with Sepide, and instead just answered the question.


    "She will, she''s not that ignorant."


    "Well, apparently she doesn''t know what a pantie is."


    The leader''s face became suddenly red, she hid her face behind her map, trying to hide her embarrassment.


    "W-Well I''ll make sure to teach her about these... Matters. For now, let''s focus on the mission."


    "Yes, I''m sorry, it''s just that I worry for her, I feel like her past may be a burden for her, and that she might not be able to deal with it."


    "Trust her, she''ll be fine."


    Silva still wasn''t convinced but she knew the mission came first. She stopped when she noticed the leader suddenly stopping in her tracks. She looked at the map in her hand for a moment before finally talking.


    "The treasure should be here."


    "Here?" Asked Sepide "But I don''t see anything?"


    "Me neither, can you see anything, Silva?"


    The leader looked at Silva and suddenly remembered her blindness after seeing her newly acquired sunglasses.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean-"


    "I think it''s underground." Answered Silva after slapping her feet on the ground "We''ll need to dig."


    After hearing Silva''s words, Uriel raised her hand to volunteer.


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    "I do not experience fatigue, I think that I should be the one to do it."


    Before anyone could agree or disagree, she started to dig into the ground, visibly making Sepide upset.


    "Wait, it''s not because you''re a robot that you should do it."


    "But it is my duty to serve humanity, it''s the reason I was created."


    Uriel continued digging under the worried eyes of Sepide. Noticing how bad her friend felt, Silva went next to her, wondering about the reason for her worry.


    "Sepide, why do you feel like that? She volunteered."


    "She told me that she spent her life serving people, I just want her to be a part of the group, not just someone that''s here because we''re missing a member."


    Silva understood what she meant, but before they could argue, the robot girl took a box out of the ground. She opened it in front of everyone, and inside was a small guitar pick. Sepide took it and stared at it from every angle, trying to understand what it was exactly.


    "Is that the treasure, a guitar pick? It''s a weird treasure."


    "I guess they were out of ideas when they chose this one, we should go toward our next goal in the ocean."


    Everyone agreed with the leader, but they got cut off by a sudden voice behind them.


    "Hey losers, it''s our treasure now!"


    The group turned around only to see another group, probably intending to steal their treasure. They looked like a group of bandits, with one of them acting like some kind of captain, a scimitar in his hand.


    "Come on ladies, obey, and no blood will be split out."


    The leader stepped toward them, her sword in her hand. Unlike her usual behavior, her steps were steady and confident, and in a swift movement, she disarmed the bandit and put him on the ground. The three other bandits left in a hurry, forsaking their captain on the ground.


    "You don''t have very loyal lackeys."


    "Please, let me go, I don''t have anything on me!"


    Polyetta seemed to hesitate for a moment but ultimately let the man go. He ran away as fast as he could, vanishing in the forest.


    "So apparently there are already people on the offensive. We need to be careful."


    The leader took the map out of her pocket, and together, they all headed toward their next objective. Sepide stared at the bandit leaving, wondering how hard it would be for them to save their friend.


    The group started their long walk toward the ocean. The road was long, and just getting out of the forest was hard enough, but now they had to traverse a long snowy desert. The group walked silently with Uriel and the leader in front. Sepide went next to Silva to ask the question she had on her mind.


    "Silva, was the leader always like that? She seemed serious, and she was strong too. I didn''t know she could have been like that."


    "To be honest, me neither. Maybe she''s serious because Neige''s life is on the line, but I never saw her in action before. It''s scary to imagine that she and Neige used to go on missions together, I don''t think there''s anything that could stop them."


    They continued walking, with the snowy wind as the only sound. Sepide couldn''t stop thinking about what happened, it all happened so quickly. She barely realized that they were in danger and everything was already over. Neige always seemed experienced and swift, but it was on another level.


    "Sepide, do you remember your life before the ship?" Asked Silva seemingly out of nowhere.


    "Not really. I just remember a few things, but it''s hazy. It almost feels like they aren''t my memories."


    "And... What''s the earliest memory you have?"


    Sepide took a moment to think. She was trying hard to remember but answered with an uncertain voice.


    "I think it''s when I dreamt. I slept for so long, and eventually, the leader came to get me. Then, she sent me to the doctor, and we met after."


    "You slept? For how long?"


    "I don''t know, I can''t remember much before that."


    "I see."


    Silva only felt more confused about her friend''s past. She was almost sure that their leader was hiding something, but she wasn''t sure if it was out of malice or in an attempt to protect Sepide.


    The leader suddenly stopped and pointed toward a cave. The rest of the group stared at the lonely cave until the leader explained.


    "The map says it''s the only shelter before a while, we should probably spend the night here, it''s late."


    The sun was about to set, and Silva and Sepide both felt tired of the constant walk in the cold. Uriel and the leader on the other hand both seemed to be fine.


    The team entered the cave and started a fire inside, sheltered from the snowstorm outside.


    "This world is always snowy." Said the leader "It''s going to be hard finding food."


    Silva focused on the wind outside, everything happened so quickly and they barely had a minute for themselves. It was the first time they could just sit and rest.


    "Why do you think the anomaly is doing all of this? Is it really for Neige?"


    "I think so." Said Sepide, trying to answer Silva''s question "She always seemed obsessed with him."


    "Yeah, but hosting a tournament? I feel like there''s a hidden agenda behind it. And wasn''t this place supposed to be empty? There was a full crowd watching us." Silva took a deep breath, and let her body fall on the floor "Maybe Emely was right, our lives are getting too crazy."


    The cave stayed silent for a moment, only cut by Sepide''s yawn. Noticing how tired the group was, she spoke up.


    "We should go to sleep, we all need rest. But we should have someone stay awake, we don''t want a thief to ambush us."


    "I will then, I do not need to sleep!" Uriel volunteered herself once more, visibly not satisfying Sepide.


    "But it''s unfair, it''s not because you''re a robot that you should be the one staying awake."


    "Then I''ll stay awake too." Proposed Silva "I feel like staying up a bit, and I''ll keep her company."


    Sepide seemed unsure but ultimately agreed when she realized how tired she was. The leader didn''t seem to be bothered by the idea either, so they both went to sleep, leaving Silva and Uriel alone in the cold night.

 Chapter 43: Lost on Ice

    The fire was burning in the middle of the cave, while Sepide and the leader were deeply sleeping. The new member and Silva stayed awake, ensuring no one would attack them when they weren''t expecting it. Silva was tired too, but she wanted to stay awake for a moment to think about everything that happened and ask some questions to Uriel.


    "So, Uriel, how do you feel in the group so far?"


    Uriel seemed surprised but still answered with politeness.


    "I feel like I am pretty lucky, it could have been worse. Your... Leader seems a bit cold, but Sepide is a really nice person."


    "Yeah, I can understand." Chuckled Silva "Our leader is quite weird usually, I guess she just takes it seriously, as everyone here does."


    "Yes, it is true." Answered Uriel "Sepide told me that you were here for your friend, I hope you will be able to help him."


    "I''m sure we will, and even if we don''t, he''ll find a way to save himself. What I''m worried about is Sepide, she seems pretty invested in you."


    Uriel looked toward the ground before answering, visibly ashamed.


    "Yes... I just explained that I was built for war and she suddenly felt bad for me. I told her that the reason for my existence doesn''t matter anymore, but she still is worried for me."


    "I guess she sees herself in you."


    "How so?" Asked Uriel, confused.


    "I think that she has some trouble accepting a life without duty, that she feels like it''s her entire life." Silva suddenly realized that she wasn''t supposed to talk about their identities and stopped in her tracks. All this situation was so weird that it was still a bit unusual for her.


    "So anyway, what wish will you make if you win?"


    "I want to be alive again."


    "Alive? Again?" Silva wondered, extremely confused by the sentence.


    "Yes, I died before. But as long as my core is intact, I can be alive again. This Ada said she can fix my core, it is the reason I am here, without her, I would still be dead."


    "But if you lose, you''ll die again..."


    "I know." Uriel stayed silent for a moment, trying to find the right words "I have a reason to live. I want to see my friend again, it is my deepest wish. And even if I have to play in the game of a twisted person, I will."


    Silva reflected on her own situation, they too were trying to save Neige after all. But in the end, only one of them could win. And if they won, Uriel would probably return to the afterlife. The robot girl seemed to notice Silva''s internal conundrum, as she spoke in a very soft voice, trying to be reassuring.


    "I have lived a good life, I don''t regret anything that happens now. I know that she is living a good life, even without me... You should probably sleep now, you seem tired."


    Silva didn''t want to admit it, but she felt exhausted. She agreed with Uriel and went to sleep.


    "Yeah, maybe I should."


    The night passed silently, as the wind outside continued its eternal activity.


    Most of the group woke up, Silva was still in a deep sleep until Sepide woke her up. The snowstorm outside was still harsh, but they had no choice but to continue. They had two days left and they needed to still find two treasures. Once they were ready, they left toward the ocean.


    After a few hours of walking, they finally reached the ocean. But instead of the calming blue waves, the only thing that stretched to the horizon was a long and flat surface of ice. Silva walked on it, not realizing it was frozen water, and instantly took a step back.


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    "Ice?! I''m not going on that! I can feel every single vibration on that! It will mess me up!"


    "Come on, it''s not that bad." Answered the leader while stepping on the ice "I don''t feel anything."


    "Unlike you, my other senses are heightened!"


    "Oh right... You''re blind..." The leader turned her head in embarrassment.


    Trying to find a solution, Sepide took Silva''s hand and accompanied her on the ice.


    "I''ll guide you, don''t worry."


    Silva nodded her head, still visibly scared. Together, they followed the leader, and the group headed to the middle of the ocean.


    The group walked for a while, the snowstorm was getting so dense that the sunlight didn''t even pass through. They had difficulties progressing, not only because of the weather but also because of Silva''s slow pace and the leader''s difficulties to locate their position on the map. Silva suddenly stopped, shaking tremendously, and it seemed like it wasn''t only because of the cold.


    "It''s coming..." Silva said ominously "It''s getting closer..."


    "What is?" Asked Sepide.


    "I don''t know... It''s huge..."


    The leader tried to look around but failed to see farther than a few meters.


    "It''s probably not a big deal, you said that you didn''t feel comfortable on the ice, maybe it''s why."


    "Yes... I''m sorry for worrying you."


    The group continued their march but was stopped by Uriel''s voice after only a few meters.


    "I can feel it too, but I can neither locate it nor understand what it is."


    "I''m sure it''s someone having fun with fireworks." Answered the leader. The cold and the slow pace was starting to annoy her more and more, and she only wanted to end it as soon as possible


    "You''re not imagining that there would be a monster under the ice trying to get us, it only happens in video games."


    The leader took a few steps forward. Acting by reflex, Silva ran to stop her leader before it was too late. She managed to grab her and pull her away from going further.


    "Silva? What are you-"


    Before she could finish her sentence, the ice in front of them broke and a giant serpent-looking creature emerged from the newly made hole. The monster was as ginormous as an iceberg and jumped back into the frozen lake.


    "That''s the thing!" Yelled Silva, pointing at where the creature emerged "That''s what I felt!"


    "How did I not hear or feel it?" The leader looked confused at the hole the monster came from. Under the thick layer of ice, there was still water. But even despite that, it was still impossible to see the creature in the water because of the lack of light.


    "I think it can hear our footsteps."


    Everyone stayed silent upon hearing Silva''s words, afraid that the creature would come back. The wind was freezing, even more than it was before, annoying the leader even more.


    "Are we supposed to wait here until our death? I have other things to do!"


    "Shh! It''s still here."


    The group was stuck in the icy desert, waiting for the monster to get bored. But a long time passed and Silva still felt the creature roaming around. after a few hours passed, Sepide took a small ice shard she found on the ground, and an idea came to her mind.


    "Hey, if we throw that, it will come out to grab it, then, we just have to shoot it!"


    "Shoot it with what?" Asked Silva "We don''t have our weapons, and I doubt one bullet will be enough. I don''t even think I could aim at it."


    "Well, one bullet is better than nothing. If we don''t do anything, saving Neige will be the last of our problems."


    Sepide and Silva argued about the idea. Getting impatient, the leader took the ice shard and threw it at a decent distance. As they expected, the creature came out of the ground to jump back in again


    "What have you done?" Asked Silva "Now it knows for sure that we''re here, it''s never going to leave!"


    "It''s a leviathan."


    "A what?" Asked Silva with curiosity.


    "I''ve seen some on other worlds, but usually they''re deep in the ocean. I know from experience that classic weaponry won''t be useful against them."


    "So what can we do?" Asked Sepide.


    "Neige is the one that takes care of giant monsters usually, I think it''s in our best interest to run away, we''ll never be able to beat that thing."


    "But what about the treasure? We need, or else we''ll lose." Sepide had a worried tone, she probably was thinking about what would happen to Neige if they failed here,


    "We''ve been here for three hours if I''m correct, this isn''t sustainable."


    "How can you tell how much time it has been?" Asked Silva with a doubtful tone.


    "She is right." Answered Uriel "My internal clock says that we are stuck here for 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 43 seconds."


    "See!" Said the leader with a smug smile "You youngsters have watches and phones, but we didn''t have that at the time."


    "But..."


    The leader put her finger on Sepide''s mouth before she could say anything. It was obvious that Sepide felt bad to leave without getting the treasure.


    "You remember what I told you when you joined the team? Your safety comes first. If you have to choose between yourself and the world, choose yourself. If you die there, no one will be able to carry on with your mission. I know that we''re not here to save a world, but the rule still applies."


    Sepide still seemed worried despite her words. The leader took a deep breath and whispered softly to her.


    "Sepide, we need to run away from here, forget about the treasure for now. This is your new mission, do you understand?"


    "Yes, leader," Sepide answered with a serious tone and nodded her head. Silva looked surprised that she was convinced so easily but decided to focus on the more pressing matter instead.


    "Good, so now we need to find a way to get away from it. It can only live in water, and I think that if we run, we could reach the land in half an hour."


    With their new objective in mind, the group was prepared to find a way out of the frozen ocean and escape the monster swimming around.

 Chapter 44: The Leviathan!

    "Now we need to find a way to get away from it. It can only live in water, and I think that if we run, we could reach the land in half an hour."


    The snake-shaped creature still roamed around, preying on the group lost in this icy desert. Time was limited, as the already limited light from the sun slowly vanished, indicating the rise of the night. The air was already cold enough for them to freeze right there, staying the night here wouldn''t be possible for them.


    "Can''t we just throw rocks again and again?" Asked Silva "If he''s busy, he won''t come for us. Once he''s back underground, we just wait and repeat."


    "I''m afraid not." Answered the leader "The surface of the lake is completely flat and empty, we have nothing to throw right now."


    Silva thought for a while, trying to find something they could use to run away. Sadly for her, her pockets were empty, aside from her revolver armed with a single bullet. She hesitated for a moment but quickly realized that they were out of options, and shared her idea with her friends.


    "If I shoot my bullet on the ground far away, it''s going to go over there. It should at least allow us to get away from here."


    "But then you won''t have any way to defend yourself!" Replied Sepide.


    "I don''t think we have a choice. Just tell me when you''re ready."


    Sepide was forced to concede the point to Silva despite her reluctance to do so. Once they were ready, Silva shot farther away on the ice to lure the monster there.


    Once the creature came out from the source of the impact, the group ran as fast as they could toward the land. The creature sunk back into the frozen ocean, prompting the group to stop. Except for Silva, who couldn''t manage to stop in time and fell on the ice, sliding farther away.


    Sepide was about to run toward her, but the leader stopped her in her tracks.


    "If you walk, it''s going to hear you, and then you''ll be both in trouble."


    Sepide understood that this wasn''t the thing to do, but the snowstorm made it impossible to see her friend. She could only pray for her well-being.


    "What do we do now?" Asked Uriel "I do not see anything we can throw on the ground."


    "We have to help Silva, she must be worried all alone in there!" Sepide tried to search for anything that she could use to throw away. The only thing in her pockets was the knife that she was given, it was her only weapon, but she was ready to sacrifice it "I can throw that!"


    The leader nodded her head in agreement, and Sepide threw the small knife as far as she could. Once again, the creature emerged from the ground, and the three of them ran once again. They managed to find Silva on the way, which was just pulled over by the leader in her rush. After a few more minutes, the giant beast hid back under the thick layer of ice and the group stopped.


    "I fucking hate ice, I should have stayed on land."


    "I''m pretty glad you were here." The leader answered to Silva''s complaint "If you weren''t here, we probably would have been swallowed by that thing."


    "What is that anyway?" Asked Sepide, she had never seen anything like that before on their adventure, and was surprised to see a creature so gigantic "We''re barely enough for him to eat enough."


    "Well those I''ve seen attacked boats, but I don''t think this leviathan saw a boat since the whole ocean is frozen."


    "How did you manage to survive that before, leader?" Silva asked, in the hope that they would find a solution to their ordeal.


    "Just like we''re doing now, running away." The leader paused for a moment, like she was trying to remember something "Actually, Neige managed to kill one once."


    "Really?" Asked Sepide full of hope "How did he do that?"


    "I just let himself be eaten and attacked his heart from inside."


    The rest of the group had their eyes wide opened upon hearing the leader''s words. It took them a moment before coming out of the shock of the story. Silva was the first one to audibly manifest her surprise.


    "Neige did that? He never told me about that!"


    "I guess he''s just humble. I remember the times when we only had basic tools and weapons, it was the good old time."


    While Silva and Sepide were in shock, Uriel was focused on her thoughts, trying to think of a solution and the chance of success it had. Once she gauged the risks of it, she felt like it was time to share her idea.


    "We still have a long way before land, maybe I can do like this Neige, and kill it from inside."


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    "We''re not doing that!" Objected Sepide "It''s too dangerous!"


    The leader nodded her head in agreement and helped with Sepide''s argument.


    "I''ll have to agree with her. We don''t know if it will work, and the risk is way too high. Neige just thinks he''s a superhero sometimes, don''t imitate him."


    "But then, what can we do?" Uriel seemed saddened to not find a solution. She was focused on her thoughts once again, desperately trying to find an answer to an impossible question "My duty is to help humanity, I cannot stay like that without helping."


    "Uriel..." Sepide looked as sad as Uriel was. She thought about the times she felt powerless as well, about how she wished she had something she could do. Every time, it was Neige or Silva who did something while she merely followed them.


    "Hey, I can throw my gun, it''s useless now!"


    Silva''s voice managed to stop everyone from thinking further. Once they were all ready, Silva lured the creature away like the previous times. The group managed to get closer and closer to the land, but it was hard to know by how much. The monster jumped back into the lake, putting them in the same situation they had been in for a while now.


    "Do we even get closer?" Sepide''s voice was getting more and more panicked, as her respiration was getting faster and faster.


    "Of course, we should be close now, just a few more times! The Leviathan can only live in deep water, the ocean won''t be deep enough for it to follow us!" The leader tried to ease Sepide''s mind, but it didn''t seem to work.


    Sepide''s mind was flooded by thoughts of the past few days. She remembered when Neige was the one stopping Silv in this world full of cowboys. Or about the time when Silva not only fixed the situation with the two lovers but also faced her other self. Neige and Silva both managed to accomplish much more than she did, while she was stuck here, unable to do anything.


    "We''d need to find a few things to throw, there had to be something useless we could use!" The leader said, still searching for something to help them.


    "Useless..." Sepide repeated that word to herself, again and again. She couldn''t understand why, but she felt like it was her duty to save everyone else "Useless..." When she realized that everyone''s lives were at stake, it was like everything made sense suddenly "Useless..."


    "Sepide? Are you alright?" Silva asked, worried about her friend''s well-being.


    "It''s my duty to protect the other members of the group. If the others happened to be in mortal danger, I need to sacrifice myself for them."


    The leader reacted upon hearing those words and tried to grab Sepide before it was too late. But sadly for her, Sepide decided to run toward the creature without the least amount of hesitation. Feeling Sepide run toward the danger, Silva followed her as fast as she could.


    "Where are they going? Should we follow them?" Asked Uriel, in shock about what just happened.


    "I think not." Answered the leader "We''ll just have to pray that they''ll be alright, going now would only be more dangerous to everyone."


    Silva managed to stop Sepide but made them both fall in the attempt. They slid on the ice for a few meters away from the impact point, where the monster came a few seconds after their fall. If they continued for a few steps, it would have been over for them.


    "Sepide, what''s gotten into you?" Silva yelled, deeply worried about her friend''s actions.


    "I... I don''t know. I just felt like it was my duty to save you, and that if I didn''t, you''d all die..."


    Silva took Sepide in her arms and gently caressed her head in an attempt to calm them both.


    "No one is going to die, I promise, we''ll all get out of here alive."


    "Y-Yes. I really don''t understand what happened..."


    The two girls stood back up and tried to find the other through the thick snowstorm, in vain.


    "It''s so dark, I almost can''t see anything." Sepide couldn''t see farther than a meter, it was clear that the night was here, and they couldn''t stay there forever.


    A small sound took their attention, it was a sound similar to a rock hitting the ground. They already knew what it meant, the monster would come out once more. When it happened, they ran toward the land as fast as they could. The two friends continued, hoping that the two others were safe.


    "I can feel it!" Yelled Silva "We''re almost there, the ice stops soon!"


    Sepide was relieved to hear those words from Silva. The creature jumped back into the ground once more, Sepide was about to stop, but Silva took her hand and continued running.


    "We don''t have anything to throw, the land is near, it''s better to keep running! The leader said that they couldn''t live outside deep water, so we have to take that chance."


    Sepide nodded her head, and together they ran with all the energy they had left. Their steps got faster and faster until they finally stepped on the snow. The ocean was behind them now, after what seemed an eternity. Sepide took her breath, exhausted by what happened. Without a warning, Silva pulled her to the side. Sepide was confused about the reason behind her friend''s action but immediately understood when she saw the long beast jumping next to them. Now that she saw it from closer, it was titanic. A single scale from that monster was at least as big as her head. The creature was struggling for its life, suffering from the lack of water. A few more minutes passed until the monster gave what appeared to be its last breath.


    The snowstorm suddenly stopped, it was almost like it was linked to the creature''s life. Feeling that it was finally over, Silva gave up all the muscles in her body, and let herself fall on the ground.


    "Finally... It''s over..."


    Sepide stared at her reflection in the scale of the monster, still in shock about everything that happened.


    The voice of the leader could be heard in the distance, getting closer. Sepide turned toward them to the her and Uriel running toward them.


    "You''re alive!" Said the leader with obvious relief in her voice. But Sepide couldn''t help but notice that her leader was holding her hand in front of her mouth for some reason. "Ish that the Lefiathan? It musht hafe been shtarfing to jump out of the water like that. Maybe we can efen eat it!"


    "Leader... Why is your voice weird?" Silva asked, without even making the effort to look in her direction.


    "I losht a tooth."


    "I will explain, do not worry!" Answered Uriel "Your leader is an amazing person, she did not hesitate and took one of her own teeth to throw on the ground so you would have a chance to escape!"


    "She... Did that?" Sepide looked at the leader with a newfound respect. She wasn''t expecting her to do something so painful. Maybe she''s the leader for a reason after all.


    The monster was finally dead, its corpse lying under the cold light of the moon. Tomorrow would be their last day, and they still needed to find two treasures to advance. They lost most of their weapons, had a limited time, and now they had to find a place to pass the cold night.

 Chapter 45: Reminiscing

    The corpse of the leviathan stood in front of the exhausted survivors. Silva stayed on the ground, while the leader examined the beast from closer with a drooling mouth, already imagining what it would taste like. As she looked at the monster in detail, she noticed something carved into one of its fangs. It was a small metallic box, almost identical to the one that contained their first treasure. She immediately went toward the rest of the group, announcing the good news.


    "Look! It''s the second treasure! It wasn''t all for nothing!"


    Everyone gathered around, curious about the content of the box. The leader opened it, and inside was a small fang of an unknown creature.


    "A fang?" Said the leader disappointed "I feel like those ''treasures'' are just a bunch of trash put together."


    The leader kept the box in her pocket and continued to analyze the creature. The rest of the group prepared a fire, and finally took a break from this long day.


    For the first time since the trial began, they were all able to finally eat, aside from Uriel. The group enjoyed their time away from the stress and talked about various subjects. The only person who seemed unhappy was the leader, who just stared at her meal with disappointment.


    "It tastes like rubber..."


    "What did you expect?" Asked Silva "With the size of this thing, it was pretty obvious."


    The leader complained inaudibly while eating the tasteless meat, with a look of disgust on her face.


    "I''m sure they''re eating the best stuff on the ship, Ina is good at cooking... I miss her cooking..."


    "It''s been two days! And when we go on missions, there''s nothing left for us after!"


    The leader stayed silent at Silva''s answer, still frustrated about her bland food.


    "Anyway, I wonder what they''re doing on the ship now." The leader said, in an attempt to change the subject "Shiro is probably in his room cleaning knives, Ina in the kitchen, Gwyn in her lab mixing new meds, Emely working on a weird gadget."


    The leader had a soft smile on her face while imagining how everyone was on the ship. Sepide noticed the softness in her speech, and how she seemed to love everyone there.


    "Is everyone on the ship so important to you?"


    "Of course!" Answered the leader with a smile "You''re all like my children, I can still fondly remember the day you all first arrived in the team."


    "You seem to be a good group of friends," Uriel said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.


    "More than friends!" Answered the leader enthusiastically "We''re like a big, loving family!"


    "I never thought about it like that before." Silva answered with a melancholic gaze "That''s what a family looks like..."


    Sepide noticed the sad tone in Silva''s voice, and went closer to her, in an attempt to make her feel better.


    "Well I don''t remember my family, but I''m glad you''re my new family now!"


    "Yeah, I''m glad too." Silva said with a soft tone "I enjoy my life on the ship, everyone''s nice most of the time... Except Emely..."


    The leader let out an annoyed sigh and started to talk like she was scolding Silva.


    "Come on, can''t you stop already? Every time I hear you two talk about each other, it''s to complain."


    "She''s right, why don''t you like each other?" Sepide asked with curiosity in her voice. She wasn''t here for long, but she always saw them insult each other when they were together.


    "It''s not my fault if she''s just the girl that repairs the coffee machine. And she can''t enjoy my art anyway."


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    "But when I first saw your art, you said it''s normal if it doesn''t look good." Sepide was a bit confused and desperately tried to understand her logic.


    "Yeah, but she''s not allowed to say it." Silva pouted and looked away with her arms crossed.


    The leader chuckled a bit and leaned slightly toward Sepide like she was about to tell a secret.


    "Silva doesn''t like Emely because she''s jealous."


    "E-Eh!? That''s not true!" Silva looked suddenly flustered and embarrassed, making Sepide think that the leader may be right.


    "When we found Emely, she already was good with technology. It was Silva who found her first actually, and everything was fine. But everyone started to treat Emely like a savior, the watch we used kinda sucked before."


    "Isn''t it a good thing then?" Asked Sepide, with a curious tone.


    "It is, but thinking back, we didn''t treat Silva in a good way. It was hard dealing with her, Neige was the one raising her most of the time, and he taught her how to write and read. Since she was blind, it was not easy to deal with it in the beginning."


    "I''m right here, you know?" Said Silva with a fake annoyed tone.


    "Yeah, right. Anyway, we may have treated Silva like a liability in the beginning because of our inexperience and her needs. So when Emely directly started helping us, we were really excited about having a member who was useful right away. Emely came to present us with something she made, but alas, they didn''t work. We all encouraged her and told her it would be alright. everyone except Silva, she called her... A..."


    "A failed engineer who should go back to school, and she called me a stupid blind bat that can''t draw to save its life." Silva recited those words clearly as if she remembered them from the top of her head. But instead of being annoyed like Sepide expected her to be, Silva had a soft smile on her face.


    "Yes... That... Ever since they always insult each other. It was funny at the beginning, but I just wish they got along. Silva, is it really because we neglected you that you''re like that with her?"


    Silva shrugged with a neutral look on her face like she didn''t know the answer herself.


    "Maybe at the beginning. I admit it was a bit annoying to hear you all talk behind my back about how hard it is to take care of me. I don''t know what you and Neige talked about since you''re always in your room, but I can imagine he must have complained too... I know I wasn''t easy to deal with for him, but he was patient with me... When I think back, yeah I was harsh on Emely, but now it''s just how we communicate."


    Silva took a small break to remember all the times she had with Emely. Her memories were filled with arguments they had, except for their last conversation, where Emely shared her worries with her. Now that she thought about it, it was weird that it happened. She thought that Emely hated her, but she showed her feelings to her for the first time. Maybe she was a bit harsh on her, Silva thought. She never really considered how her ''friend'' could feel, and just assumed they both hated each other without a real reason. But now, she wonders if any of them truly hate the other.


    "Silva," Said the leader, cutting Silva''s train of thought "Neige came to me a lot, it''s true. And I won''t hide that he often talked about how hard it was to take care of you."


    "Yeah, I can imagine." Said Silva with a hint of sadness.


    "But most of the time, he was just scared that he couldn''t raise you well. He always said how proud he was of you, he even talked for hours about the first time you hit the target when you practiced together!"


    "He... Did?"


    The leader nodded her head with a smile to answer Silva''s question, before continuing.


    "It''s true that some might have been annoyed by your presence. You gave Gwyn a lot of work, and Kairo already had a lot to deal with since he was new here. But everyone loved you, and I know that Neige did more than anyone, it almost made me jealous." The leader chuckled a bit, reminiscing about the old times "I remember that he was reading a book about how to be a good father. He was really happy to have you and always proud of you."


    A tear fell from Silva''s cheek, she quickly wiped it before anyone could see it, but Sepide did, and went to her side.


    "Are you alright Silva?"


    "Yes, it''s men''s tears."


    "Men''s... Tears?" Asked Sepide, confused "Aren''t you a woman?"


    "It''s Neige who taught me that, to show tears when I feel overwhelmed! To only cry when we''re safe." Silva put her hand proudly on her chest as she said those words.


    "I think we should have found a girl to raise you instead..." The leader said with a sigh.


    "I never knew he saw me like his daughter, now I feel a bit silly for asking him out."


    The leader and Sepide stared at Silva in a mix of surprise and confusion. The leader was the first one to ask what they both had on their mind.


    "You... Asked him out? He never told me that."


    "Oh, I guess I never talked about it before. I think it was more of a teenage crush than anything, but I told him that I was in love. That''s when he told me he was asexual, but I think that even if he wasn''t, it''s for the best. I see him like a brother, and I love him as such."


    The leader looked away, visibly embarrassed.


    "Neige is going to tell me everything once he''s back..."


    "I''m glad he didn''t tell you. I would have been really embarrassed." Said Silva with a voice of relief "Now that I think about it, it''s around when I got more independent and we spent less time together. It was usually with Kairo that we spent time, and even then, it was when I started to paint more often. I''m glad that I can spend more time with him now."


    Silva turned her head to the sky, even if she couldn''t see the stars in it.


    "We''re going to save him, I''m sure. I''m not going to give up on him, just like he never gave up on me."


    The group all stared at the sky, renewed with the determination to save their friend. Tomorrow would be the last day, and they were ready to give their all. They took the night to rest, preparing for the ultimate day.

 Chapter 46: Battle Between Friends

    The sun rose into the sky, gently caressing the group with its rays. They gently opened their eyes from the night of sleep they had, and woke up with fatigue still in their body. Suddenly, an explosion was heard, waking them up for good. The sound came from a volcano far away, which erupted. Realizing what just happened, the leader took a map out of her pocket to confirm her doubts.


    "This volcano, it''s where the third treasure is."


    The group stared at the flaming mountain for a while, still in shock about what just happened. Silva let out a sigh and talked in an exhausted voice.


    "So... We need to approach a volcano during an eruption... Great."


    "I''m not sure." Said the leader with an uncertain voice "According to the map, it''s so far away. Not only getting the treasure would be hard, if not impossible, but also we won''t even have time to get back to the finish line in time."


    "So, what should we do?" Asked Uriel in a worried tone


    The leader stared at her map, thinking about a possible solution. No matter how hard she was trying, she couldn''t find a way. She clenched her fists, crumpling the map, frustrated about the only solution she came up with.


    "The third treasure, it''s impossible to get, that''s why they have this red border. It''s to tell us that those treasures are harder than the ones before, and it was barely manageable for us already. The rules are made for us to fight each other, by only giving us access to two treasures, they force us to interact with the other groups."


    "So, if the volcano entered an eruption, it''s not by chance?"


    "It''s possible." The leader answered to Silva''s question "I can''t be sure, but I think it was made to be impossible, the only way to win is to fight. The third treasure is just a way to make us think that we have a chance."


    "I see that we arrived at the same conclusion!"


    A voice other than the four members of the group made itself heard. When they turned to the origin of it, they were met with Silv. Not only her, but her group seemed to be composed of Kairo, the anomaly, and a girl with long black hair they never met before. Silva took a step back by reflex, as the others were ready to fight.


    "The rules are made for conflict, this game is as rigged as life itself!"


    "Red-haired girl!" Yelled the leader with anger "Is that your plan? To take our treasures?"


    "Red-haired girl... I guess it''s better than red pantie girl." Silv let out a sigh in exasperation, but quickly got her menacing smile back "But yes, we''ll take your treasures, and victory will be sweet!"


    "Are-Are you sure?" The girl next to Silv said in an unsure tone "I don''t mean to be negative, but I don''t think we can win... You barely were able to fight a bear earlier."


    "Details, details." Silv swept the girl''s voice with her hand, before continuing her speech "Unlike our past enemies, this time, I know their weakness."


    The leader took her katana, ready to fight. The girl with red hair took a step forward, keeping her twisted smile on her face, and clapped her hand enthusiastically.


    "Sepide, attack your leader, and don''t listen to any future orders."


    Sepide looked at Silv confused, almost feeling offended that she would think for a moment that she would obey.


    "Why would I-"


    "This is your new mission, do you understand?"


    When Silv uttered those words, Sepide stopped moving suddenly. The leader turned toward her, aiming her blade at her. Everything was silent, the only thing that was heard was Sepide''s monotone words.


    "Yes, leader."


    Sepide immediately started attacking her own leader, under the cheers of the enthusiastic Silv. The leader managed to block the attack, while Silva and Uriel stood there in shock.


    "I can''t believe it worked! It''s so satisfying to see the puppet against her puppeteer! Oh, and she''s not going to listen to you anymore, I guess she''s going to obey her order until one of you dies."


    "You monster!" The leader yelled, while avoiding the hits of Sepide "How can you know about that?"


    "It''s simple! Like I was saying to Neige, I have power beyond your comprehension! You see-"


    "Okay, enough." Kairo cut Silv''s monologue, and advanced toward the group calmly, an axe in his hand "I''m sorry, leader, Silva, but your sacrifice won''t be in vain."


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    Silv seemed annoyed but didn''t object to him. No matter how hard the leader tried to convince her, Sepide wouldn''t stop attacking with her face empty of all emotions.


    Silva was still in shock, her body was shaking, but even despite the feeling of dread she had, she managed to move her body to put herself in the way of Sepide to protect the leader.


    "Leader, I''ll take care of her. You and Uriel are probably better suited than me to fight them. I''ll find a way to bring back our Sepide, but you better explain yourself after that."


    The leader took a deep inspiration, visibly still hesitating.


    "We have more important for now."


    Without another word, the leader, followed by Uriel, prepared to fight against Kairo and his group. The group left deeper into the forest, leaving the two girls alone.


    Silva was facing Sepide, or at least what was left of her. She still couldn''t understand the sudden change in her friend, but for now, it didn''t matter. All she wanted to do was to bring back her friend.


    "Even if I have to break a few teeth, I''ll bring you back, Sepide!"


    None of them had weapons and had to fight using their body as such. Silva was confident that she could deal with her friend, she had more experience after all. Sepide''s movements were quick as if she was accustomed to fighting in that way. It took a moment for Silva to notice, but she already saw those moves somewhere. The way she moved her legs and kept her arms close to her upper body, she was fighting using boxing moves. It wasn''t how they were taught how to fight, it was actually Neige''s way to do it. Silva found it strange, not only Neige didn''t have a lot of time with her to teach her, but she seemed proficient in it. Thankfully, all of her training with Neige allowed her to fight fairly with Sepide.


    "You''re not half bad for a newbie Sepide, but you''ll get tired of it anyway, why not stop now?"


    Sepide froze for a moment, appearing to be thinking about her answer.


    "If I stop, I will go against the orders."


    "Come on, it''s not like it''s not like you had to follow the orders, it wasn''t even our leader that gave them."


    Sepide held her head in pain, grimacing as she did. Soon after she continued to take a fighting stance, facing Silva.


    "Orders are orders, it''s my duty to follow them."


    "The leader did something to you, that''s for sure. But don''t worry, even if you''re broken, I''ll fix you!"


    Ignoring her words, Sepide continued her offensive. Silva felt like she could still reach her, but she still needed a bit of time for that. She was ready for the attack of her friend but was surprised by the sudden shift. Her movements seemed less akin to boxing like before, and closer to MMA. Silva was surprised, as it was her way to fight, and she was sure that she never taught Sepide. It was so rare that she fought without her firearm that Sepide wasn''t even here the last time she did. It was obvious that something strange was going on, even her movements were similar to Silva''s. It was nowhere near the precision she had earlier, it seemed closer to Silva''s chaotic style.


    "It would be embarrassing if you lost, imagining losing to a bling girl while copying her techniques!"


    "I''m not copying, I was trained for it."


    "Who trained you? Because whoever did was bad at its job." Silva was taunting Sepide to get a reaction out of her, but she wasn''t thinking a word of what she was saying. She knew that if the fight continued, she wouldn''t be able to continue without hurting her friend.


    "It... Doesn''t matter. If I don''t remember, it''s that it was useless."


    "Useless, huh? You seem to like that word."


    "All that matters is being useful, and to be useful, I have to fulfill my purpose."


    "You''re really getting on my nerves now, I''m just going to punch you until you get these thoughts out of your mind."


    Silva was preparing herself for a third round, but Sepide seemed to act weird this time. She didn''t have a proper stance and looked way more uncertain. Silva held hope that it meant she was getting closer to her friend, even if she was prepared to fight again.


    "So what now? You don''t have anyone else to copy from?"


    "Silva...?" Sepide shook her head, the pain was obvious on her face, but she forced herself to ignore it "It... Doesn''t matter. I just... Have to obey the orders."


    "Sepide, I can see that you don''t want to. Come on, let''s go to the leader together." Silva took a calm step toward her friend, who answered by yelling at her.


    "Don''t get closer! I... Don''t want to hurt you!"


    "Then don''t."


    "But it''s my orders, it''s what I am. I can''t go against them... It hurts my soul to follow them, but it hurts my being to disobey..."


    Sepide''s empty eyes suddenly seemed animated. She kept alternating between two personalities like she was fighting against herself.


    "I don''t understand a word of what you''re saying."


    "I need to obey... It''s what I''m made for, that''s how I can reach happiness."


    Silva approached Sepide closer and closer until a meter was separating them. Sepide couldn''t move, unsure about what she was supposed to do. It seemed like she was still fighting inside of her, a fight that she was struggling to finish.


    "Sepide, I know how it feels. I''m lost too, I don''t know what I should do. I wish I would disappear, and at the same time, I want to stay. Gwyn told me that hurting isn''t a good solution, but I think that sometimes, it''s the best solution to know how you feel."


    "It doesn''t matt-"


    Before Sepide could finish her sentence, Silva punched her as strongly as she could, knocking her to the ground. Sepide suddenly felt like her entire head was empty, that she could hear the silence again. Silva gave her hand to help Sepide to get back up, which she accepted.


    "I... I''m sorry, I don''t understand-"


    After helping her stand back up, Silva held her friend tightly against her. Sepide stood there for a moment before holding Silva back, visibly returning to her usual self.


    "You should eat more too copycat, I can''t feel your boobs."


    "Oh, alright then."


    Silva laughed to herself, before giving a soft smile to Sepide.


    "I don''t know about your past, and I don''t know what the leader taught you, but we need to teach you a lot of things still."


    "It seems so, I can''t even understand myself."


    "It''s normal." Silva said with a soft tone "The leader is hiding something, but we''ll figure it out. In the meantime, I''ll need to punch you every time you talk nonsense about orders."


    "Please, find another solution next time. It hurts."


    Silva took a step back from Sepide and searched around the emplacement of the leader. Unable to find her or Uriel, she turned back to Sepide and handed her hand as an invitation.


    "Come on, let''s find the leader!"


    Sepide nodded her head, she still didn''t understand what happened but knew she could trust Silva despite everything. She couldn''t help but wonder what this strange feeling inside her was, forcing her to obey the order. The girl shook her head and instead followed her friend, trying to focus on the mission.


    "Silva.... Thanks."

 Chapter 47: Snowy Victory

    The sound of metal clashing repeated in the silent forest. The leader''s sword and the Kairo axe countered each other in a delicate dance. When one took a step forward, the other took a step back to maintain the distance. A few more hits were traded before Kairo dropped his guard and took a final step back.


    "I concede, you''re too strong for me."


    Silv, who had been watching the fight from a safe distance until now, ran toward Kairo with an angry expression on her face.


    "Concede? You''re both on the same level, you can''t concede!"


    "No, she was holding back." Said Kairo without staring at anything else other than his former leader "I can understand why you were our leader now."


    "It''s... Not the reason I''m the leader..."


    The leader shook her head, still wary, while Silv let out an exhausted sigh. The fatigue on her face was obvious, as was the exhaustion in her voice.


    "The two other losers will come soon too, we need to find the others and leave. I hope they didn''t lose our treasures to this robot girl."


    Kairo nodded his head, and together with Silv ran away farther into the forest. The leader was about to follow them but stopped when she heard a familiar voice calling her.


    "Leader! Is everything alright?"


    The leader turned toward Silva''s voice and saw Sepide at her side. She flinched in shock, not expecting Sepide to act friendly again.


    "S-Sepide? What happened? Are you not trying to attack me?"


    "No, Silva helped me, I''m fine now."


    The leader stayed silent, thinking deeply with her hand on her chin. Silva was annoyed that her question was ignored, and kept poking her leader''s head while repeating herself.


    "Is everything alright? Is everything alright? Is everything alright? Is everything alright? Is everything alright?"


    Despite how hard she was trying, Silva couldn''t get the leader out of her thoughts. Her gaze slowly headed downward, and as a grin appeared on her face, she poked the leader''s breast.


    "W-W-What are you doing?" The leader instantly put her arms on her chest and stepped away from Silva with wide-open eyes.


    Silva was about to repeat her question but reconsidered when she felt the fourth member of their group running toward them.


    "I was searching for you, are any of you hurt?"


    Sepide raised her hand to answer Uriel''s question, holding her nose.


    "I''m hurt, I feel like my nose is broken."


    "Oh, I am afraid that I do not possess the ability to cure you." Soon after finishing her sentence, Uriel took a small cross in her hand and showed it to the group "I got it from this weird woman, it was one of their treasure."


    The leader immediately took the fang and guitar pick they found earlier and put them all in the same box with a smile on her face.


    "We have all we need! We just have to go back to the place we started, and we win!"


    The whole group shared her enthusiasm and all headed toward their goal. But before the leader went anywhere, Silva grabbed her arm and asked her in a serious tone.


    "You need to tell me, what did you do to Sepide?"


    The leader saw the seriousness of Silva and stayed silent for a moment. She stared at the determined eyes of the blind girl for a few seconds before looking away, trying to dodge her gaze.


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    "Once we make sure that this trial is over, I''ll tell you and Sepide everything, I promise."


    Silva let go of her arm without a word and joined the rest of the group. The leader silently followed her, knowing she''d have to tell the truth eventually.


    The sun was high in the sky, indicating noon. It was the time when the group finally reached the place they started at. Opal, the organizer, was waiting there eating snacks. She seemed surprised to see the group and approached them with curiosity.


    "You finished? Already?"


    The leader handed her the box with all the treasure. The girl checked everything to make sure, and once she did, she clapped for them with a smile.


    "You''re the first group to finish, congratulations! I think you deserve to rest now, you''re officially qualified for the rest of the tournament. I''ll guide you to a place where you''ll be able to eat."


    "Finally!" Said the leader, relieved "I haven''t eaten real food for ages. This leviathan sucked."


    "Wait," Said Uriel "I need to recharge my batteries, I can''t last more than five days without charging, and my battery is rather low."


    "Oh, yeah..." Opal said, with an exhausted voice "Why did Ada only choose the most complex people to work with? Anyway, go to the guards there, they''ll guide you to your room."


    Uriel nodded her hand, but before going she faced the group and bent to them in respect.


    "Thank you for everything, leader, Silva, Sepide. Without you, I maybe would not have been able to succeed. And even if fate opposes us, know that I shall always be grateful to you all."


    Uriel left, leaving the three friends alone. Silva waved and smiled at the robot while Silva stared at her going with a hint of sadness.


    "I''m going to miss her." Said Sepide "She was nice."


    "Don''t worry, you''ll see her again. Now follow me, I''ll guide you."


    The organizer of the tournament went away from this snowy and cold field, as the group followed her.


    The three friends were guided to a kind of tavern. Unlike outside, it was warm and inviting in here. Opal showed them a table, asking them to sit there.


    "We didn''t expect anyone so quickly, so it will take some time before we bring you food."


    The girl left the group at their table, where they finally were able to rest from the tiring last day. Silva slouched on the table, she was ready to sleep right there but stayed awake just because of the potential meal she would get.


    "That was so tiring, I''m going to complain to Neige so much when we save him."


    "Come on, it was hard for him." Answered the leader "Don''t make it harder for him."


    "He''d do the same if I was the one kidnapped by the anomaly. I''d never hear the end of it."


    The leader thought that Silva felt bad about Neige, but was confused by the smile on her face.


    "You really are a weird individual, Silva."


    "Thanks!"


    The leader didn''t mean it as a compliment, but she felt like she shouldn''t break Silva''s mood without a reason. The leader was about to rest but was stopped by Silva''s sudden words.


    "So, will you tell us about Sepide now?"


    The leader was taken by surprise by Silva''s sudden demand. She looked away, visibly uncomfortable about answering the question.


    "Why don''t we rest, I''m sure Sepide is tired too, and it''s about her so..."


    "No, I''m alright." Sepide said with confidence "I want to know about my past too."


    The leader let out a sigh. It seemed clear to her now that she wouldn''t be able to get away from Sepide''s past. She took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally.


    "I wish Neige was here, but I suppose I''ll tell him later. Are you sure you don''t want to wait for him?"


    "We''ll tell him." Said Silva, growing more and more impatient "So, tell us already!"


    "Yes, yes, I will." The leader closed her eyes, taking time to focus "I believe that Neige told you about the journal I possess."


    "The one that rewrites the world?" Asked Sepide.


    "Well, it''s a bit more complicated than that. Anyway, I think that providing context is essential. Neige and I promised each other to not abuse its powers. It was a powerful artifact, and we wouldn''t want the world to be destroyed because of us. Also, it''s quite pretentious to think that we''re equals to the Goddess."


    "Is it relevant to Sepide?" Asked Silva with an annoyed voice.


    "Of course it''s important. So, it was three years ago, Silva joined us for a year at the time and started going on missions with Neige and Kairo."


    "Three years ago?" Sepide looked confused, as she merely joined the team a few weeks ago at most.


    "Yes, we were at a relatively peaceful time, but the universe seemed to grow more unstable. Kairo, Neige, and you Silva, were the main team at the time. I knew that if something happened and that we lost you three on missions, it would be hard for us to do anything."


    "And it''s about Sepide?" Silva had her hand supporting her head, with a bored look on her face.


    "Yes, can you stop cutting me?"


    "I''m just saying that my backstory is that you found me in an empty world. It''s kinda surprising that you need to write a novel about Sepide''s past. Are you sure you''re not trying to gain time?"


    The leader pouted for a bit, continuing after a short moment.


    "I promise it''s important. I was scared about you all, if something happened, there wouldn''t have been a lot I could do. I can always use the book, but there''s always the risk of breaking something. And now, the anomaly is even immune to it for some reason." The leader took a long inspiration to calm herself and continued with a calm tone "Anyway, I''ve been trying to find a solution to this problem for a while, that''s all you need to know."


    "So we get to the good part of the story now?"


    "Yes, it all started during a day like any other. I remember it well, you came back from a mission, three years ago..."

 Chapter 48: Sepide

    Inside the leader''s office, the usual group gave their mission report. It wasn''t anything special, just a classic mission. On the screen, the leader listened carefully to their report. It was hard to know what she was truly thinking, as the mask on her face blocked all expressions she could have.


    "I''m glad that nothing bad happened today too. You are free for today. Also Neige... Can you come here for a minute?"


    "Alright, I''ll come directly."


    Even despite the mask, it was apparent that she was happy to see Neige. She gave her farewell, and the screen displaying her turned off.


    The three friends left the room, but this time, Silva seemed to not feel as happy as usual.


    "Why does she want to see you? I thought we would spend time together..."


    Neige caressed her hair and gave her a smile that she couldn''t see.


    "It''s fine, it probably won''t take longer than an hour. I''ll join you after."


    The group was about to split but froze when they heard a cat meowing next to them. Neige and Kairo stepped away from it, pointing at the creature with their firearms.


    "What is that? Is that a monster?" Neige was visibly scared of the potential threat it opposed, holding his weapon tightly. He was in shock when he saw Silva approaching it and taking it in her arms.


    "I didn''t know there was a cat here, I always wanted to get one!"


    "A... Cat?" Kairo asked curiously "What''s that?"


    "You never heard of it? It''s like a cute pet that people keep. There were a lot of them in my home world."


    Neige examined the cat from closer. His gun was now pointed away from the cat, but still in his hand.


    "So... It''s not dangerous?"


    "Of course not, I wonder what''s his name."


    Neige examined the collar, the name of the cat was written on it, but he was too scared to get too close and tried reading it from far away.


    "Cinna... Mon. I think his name is Cinnamon. I wonder where it comes from."


    "Maybe that''s what the leader wants to tell you?" Said Silva while caressing the cat that only wished to get away from her arms.


    "I guess we''ll see, I''ll tell you later. In the meantime... Be careful with this thing."


    "His name is Cinnamon!"


    Neige went away from his friends, still looking behind to make sure that the creature wouldn''t attack him from behind.


    Neige went into his leader''s room. She seemed embarrassed about something, like she made a mistake of some kind. When she saw him enter, she immediately greeted him cheerfully.


    "Neige! You know that you''re the best friend ever, right?"


    "What did you do?"


    "Nothing."


    Neige looked at her knowing full well that something happened. The leader knew that she couldn''t hide her mistake, and eventually revealed what she did.


    "So you remember the rule about not touching the book? Well... Now we have a cat!"


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    "You broke the rules... For that?" Neige said with a disappointed tone.


    "Well, I thought that if I created life with the book, nothing bad would happen. I even made the most innocent creature I could find, just to make sure. And it worked, do you realize Neige!"


    "All I realize is that you''re going too far, that wasn''t what we agreed on, Polyetta."


    The woman looked a bit sad, trying to dodge her friend''s gaze in shame.


    "I''m sorry, but imagine, we could make a perfect soldier! He would be able to save you if anything bad happened!"


    Neige let out a sigh and shook his head, visibly disagreeing.


    "Just... Don''t do anything else. Everything is fine for now, I promise. We really don''t need help, and you should see Silva, she''s really doing a great job. With her and Kairo, nothing bad can happen."


    "I hope you''re right."


    Polyetta still looked worried despite the attempt of her friend. Neige took her in her arm for a moment, before leaving.


    "We''ll talk more about it later, I was supposed to hang out with the others. Don''t you want to come?"


    "No thanks."


    "Alright, and just to make sure... The cat, he''s not dangerous?"


    The woman chuckled a bit, before waving softly at Neige.


    "Don''t worry, I made sure nothing bad would happen."


    Neige nodded his head and left the room. The woman waited for a few minutes and locked the door once she made sure he was away. She opened the wardrobe in her room, where the body of a sleeping girl with long black hair was lying there.


    "I guess I can''t keep her on the ship anymore..."


    Polyetta looked in the book for a world where she could put her. Maybe Neige was right, it wasn''t a good idea to play God. She flipped the pages to search for a world where she could live a peaceful life, but she stopped when she saw something horrible written on the pages.


    "The Goddess of time took her icy sword, piercing Neige''s heart. His lifeless body fell on the ground, as his friend desperately tried to heal him."


    She knew that it was another Neige and that it had nothing to do with the one she knew. but she couldn''t stop imagining the horrible things that could happen to him if she did nothing. She looked once more at the girl in her wardrobe with hesitation. Images of Neige being in danger crossed her mind. She took a while, but once she made her choice, she brought the girl to her bed and woke her up. Polyetta went to the page where she wrote about the girl. It was empty and only contained the basic information needed. The girl woke up with a tired look and looked around the room with confusion.


    "Where... Am I?"


    "Don''t worry about it, I think we should work on who you are for now."


    The girl looked at Polyetta and then looked at herself. She tried to think but couldn''t remember a thing about her.


    "Who... I am?"


    The woman nodded her head and started writing in the book.


    "So first you need a name. What about... Yukiko? Isn''t it cute?"


    "It sounds weird."


    Polyetta took a slight offense on the girl''s statement but searched for another name.


    "What about... Savior? It''s what you''ll be after all!"


    "But it''s not a name, it''s a word."


    "Okay smartass, what about..." Polyetta looked around the room and stumbled on one of Neige''s books. It was about a strange language, the woman took it and read a few pages before finding a decent name "Sepide?"


    The girl thought for a while and nodded her head. Polyetta seemed surprised but wrote the name on the book.


    "I guess it''s fine, and the last name... I suppose I''m kind of a mother to you, so you''ll get mine. Sepide Faith, how does it sound?"


    "I enjoy it." Sepide said with a blank face.


    "I''ll have to work on your feelings one day. Anyway, you are a soldier made for battle. Your only goal is to protect your friends, no matter the cost. If your friends are about to die, sacrifice your life to save them, especially for Neige."


    The leader wrote the rules about the girl in the book. She also wrote about her abilities but didn''t want to make her too strong so she wouldn''t look suspicious. Polyetta was already playing a dangerous game and didn''t intend to take more risks.


    "So you''ll have the same skills as me, Neige, Silva, and Kairo. You should be super strong now!"


    "Who are those people?" The girl asked, confused.


    "It doesn''t matter... I still need to do a few more things."


    As she wrote, she realized that if Sepide rebelled, she wouldn''t be able to be stopped. She thought for a moment to find a solution and finally managed to find a temporary one.


    "So you''ll obey every order that starts with ''This is your new mission, do you understand?''"


    "Why are you telling me all of that?" Sepide asked, with a feeling of dread in her eyes.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll remove the memories of this conversation from your head. It just helps me to think out loud. So now, I''ll plunge you into a deep sleep. I guess I''d need to raise you and teach you the world... But for now, it''s time to dream for a long time. I heard that in some worlds, parent let the TV raise their kids, it''s not that different."


    After trying so hard to make the best soldier to protect Neige, the leader was suddenly taken by a feeling of exhaustion. She still wasn''t sure it was a good idea but she had no other choice for now. She gently kissed Sepide''s forehead and gave her one last smile.


    "Good night Sepide. It may be the last time you see me, but if the day comes, I''ll wake you up. You''ll be able to follow your purpose, you''ll be able to protect Neige. You''ll be a good girl, and listen to every of my orders, alright?"


    Sepide tried to answer, but she started to get sleepy suddenly. Her vision blurred, and she fell into a deep slumber. The last thing she saw was the mask of her mother in front of her.

 Chapter 49: Present

    Three years passed since the creation of Sepide. Polyetta thought she would never need her, but was shocked to read in the book what happened. It was written that Kairo lost his arm and that Neige and Silva were forced to leave him behind. She tried changing their fate, but the ink disappeared from the page. Not only that, but the book, which was usually precise, wasn''t displaying the reason everything happened. It was the first time she saw that, something that even the book couldn''t change, an anomaly in the universe.


    She walked in circles in her room, desperately trying to find a solution. She knew Silva and Neige would come soon, and she would need to give them an order. As long as she didn''t know the reason behind Kairo''s loss, sending them back into this world wasn''t an option. She decided to take the book another time, just to make sure that she saw it correctly, but the book was no longer on the desk. Her heart stopped for a moment, as she desperately searched everywhere in the room. The only thing that was left was a page from the book. It was about the world 03031337, a world in a desert, with cowboys everywhere. She was sure that her diary was in this world along with the thief, but she still couldn''t explain why. Not only that, but the world seemed to change like someone was interfering with it. Polyetta only had one choice, send Neige and Silva there despite the danger.


    That''s when she suddenly remembered about the girl she kept for emergencies. She hoped she would never need it, but she opened her wardrobe and woke up the girl. She still seemed drowsy from her long sleep, and before she could say anything, Polyetta gave her a map of the ship.


    "Here, that''s the med-bay. You need to go there, you''ll meet with a doctor, she''ll make sure you''re healthy. From now on, you''re Sepide Faith, a member of the Kronos, and will join your two partners, Neige and Sepide."


    "...What? Where am I?"


    "I should have thought about that, I forgot to write her past..." Polyetta mumbled to herself "There are other worlds, a lot of them. You''re from a world that''s destroyed now and I saved you, alright?"


    "Oh, alright."


    "Good, we don''t have time, so go now."


    Sepide still felt confused but obeyed the orders and left her leader''s room. All that was left for Polyetta now was to send a message to Gwyn to warn her about Sepide, and hope that no one would ask too many questions. After a few minutes of lonely silence, the woman removed her mask for a moment to look at herself in the mirror of her room. Her eyes shone from the tears she was holding in, and the exhaustion was evident just by looking at her face.


    "Goddess, why are you putting all this pressure on me... I''m not made to be a leader..."


    Silva and Sepide were at a loss for words, they never imagined that this was the past they were trying to uncover. Sepide stood there, staring at the void in front of her. She was still processing everything she just learned but had trouble accepting it. Seeing the two girls sitting in silence, the leader took a deep inspiration and continued.


    "So that was basically the reason behind Sepide''s existence. Any questions?"


    "You can''t say that like you just gave us a math lesson!" Silva yelled silently, still thinking about everything she heard.


    "I don''t think it''s a big deal." Said the leader "She''s here now, and I don''t think it caused any problems so far."


    Silva looked at Sepide, who was still in shock. She wasn''t sure what to think of it, the only thing she was sure of was that Sepide was her friend and that she didn''t want anything bad to happen to her.


    "I have a request leader." The leader tilted her head slightly, curious to hear Silva''s demand "When we go back on the ship, I want you to remove the rules about Sepide. She should be free of her choices."


    Sepide looked at Silva with surprise, visibly not expecting this answer from her. The leader, on the other hand, didn''t seem to agree with her.


    "I just said that she was made after you, Neige, and Kairo. If she gets out of control, no one can stop her."


    "I don''t think so, I managed to. Maybe because you made her three years ago, and that I became better with time."


    "You''re right." Said the leader with a thoughtful expression on her face "I guess I''ll need to update her."


    "No, no more updates, no more rules! Sepide is a member of the team now, and I''m sure Neige would agree with me. Maybe she was made to follow your orders, but now, she''s as much of a member as me."


    "Silva, I think that you forget who''s the leader. I act for the good of the universe, and-"


    "I''ll go on strike!" Silva yelled to the leader with confidence in her voice, surprising the two others "If you don''t give Sepide her freedom, then I won''t work. I''m sure I could convince Neige too, and even if I can''t, I''ll find a way to cause as many problems as I can!"


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    "You''d be ready to oppose the fleet of the Kronos... Just for an artificial girl?"


    "It''s not a femboy, a nerd, and a failed engineer that will stop me!  She''s my friend!"


    Silva looked at her leader straight in the eyes, making her uncomfortable. The woman looked away and took a deep inspiration. Her eyes met Sepide''s for a moment and then turned back on Silva''s. She could see the determination she had, even beyond her sunglasses. Her own reflection was visible from the black lenses of the glasses, making her wonder about herself and her choices. What would she do if she was in Silva''s place, if Neige wasn''t real in the first place? Just imagining it made her realize how Silva could feel, and about how she felt unfit to be the leader.


    "Sepide... She''s important to you, right Silva?"


    "Of course!" Said Silva without an ounce of hesitation.


    "I never really saw Sepide as real in the first place, but maybe she is for you all after all. Very well then, I suppose I owe you that."


    Silva smiled cheerfully and turned toward Sepide to share her enthusiasm with her.


    "Now there won''t be any problems! Don''t worry, you''ll always be my friend no matter your past, and I''m sure Neige thinks the same!"


    Despite the words of her friend, Sepide could barely hold a smile. She turned toward the leader with a desolated face, asking her the question she had on her mind.


    "So... I was only made for my mission, I have no past? And if so, then what will happen to me once everything is over?"


    "Don''t worry about that Sepide." Silva said to cheer her friend "You may not have a past, but we''ll make you a great present so that your future is bright!"


    Sepide gave a shy smile to Silva and nodded her head for her sweet words.


    "Thank you... Silva."


    "It''s normal! You''re my friend!"


    While they were talking, a waiter came and brought them food. Sepide still felt worried inside but decided to ignore her thoughts for a moment and rest like they were supposed to. There was a large variety of different meals, almost all of them were unknown to the group, but they were so hungry that they didn''t mind what it was. While they were looking at all the delicious-looking meals, the waiter talked to them in an elegant-sounding voice.


    "All the meals are labeled, we cooked the best meal with the best ingredients that the universe made. Once you''re finished, we''ll bring you to your rooms, where you''ll spend the night."


    The waiter left without another word. The leader was curious about the words he said, it was like everybody here knew about the existence of other worlds. Is it all the work of the anomaly? And she was ready to go that far to organize this tournament? She was persuaded that the anomaly wasn''t doing it for fun and that she had a secret agenda.


    The leader shook her head, trying her best to stop thinking about that. She looked over at the other members to avoid thinking more. Sepide was saying the names of the food out loud to Silva. The leader wondered why for a moment, but quickly remembered about her blindness.


    "Slime cake? Choma''s meat? Escargot? I don''t recognize any of them."


    "Escargot? That''s something from my world." Silva said with a bit of disgust in her voice "It''s really disgusting."


    "It looks disgusting." Said the leader "You used to eat that Silva?"


    "No, I didn''t. But it''s quite famous in my country. Escargot is actually French for Snails."


    "You say that like I know what a snail is..." The leader continued looking at the strange food, wondering who would eat that.


    "You know other languages, Silva?" Asked Sepide, visibly impressed.


    "Kinda, I only know my native one and the one we use on the ship. I''m not like Neige, he knows like at least twenty or something... He''s actually even better at French than me now."


    Sepide wished she knew multiple languages. She imagined it would be quite practical, but a weird thought suddenly traversed her mind, something that she never thought about before.


    "Why are every world using the same language?"


    Silva looked at the leader with a disappointed look when Sepide asked the question, with a gaze full of judgment.


    "You really didn''t teach her anything..."


    "It''s not my fault, Neige is the one that does usually, I didn''t know how to explain it."


    Silva let out a sigh, before explaining to Sepide.


    "All worlds use different languages. But a not-so-useless engineer managed to make suits that auto-translate what we hear and say. So even if you don''t know how to speak a language, you can still talk with them."


    "Oh, I see. But then, why is Neige learning languages? Isn''t it useless?"


    "Kinda, before Emely, he was our only way to communicate. He even needed to translate everything I said at the beginning, it was a bit annoying. But now he could stop, I guess he just loves learning stuff or something."


    "That''s impressive of him." Sepide looked at the snails on the table and took one of them under the disgusted eye of the leader.


    "You''re going to eat that?"


    "Yes, I think we should all try it, just to know how Silva''s food tastes."


    "Just so you know, don''t think that I ate that kind of stuff, I ate way better than that."


    The leader seemed a bit reluctant but took one in her hand. When she saw it from closer, she appeared even more disgusted.


    "I can''t even tell what that is, it looks like snot."


    The leader and Sepide stared at Silva, waiting for her to take one too. Feeling the stares on her, Silva shook her head violently.


    "Nuh-uh, no way I eat that. Actually, I decided to be vegetarian, so I can''t eat animals."


    "Animals?" Said the leader in shock "This thing was alive?"


    "Please Silva, it will make a good memory."


    Silva rolled her eyes and conceded at her friend''s demand, taking one of the snails. After mentally preparing themselves, they all ate it at the same time. Sepide clearly didn''t like it, but not as much as the leader, who couldn''t even bring herself to swallow it.


    "That''s horrible! I hope that those things are all dead and that no one even has to taste that ever again!"


    "I kinda agree." Said Sepide "I''m sorry that I made you eat it."


    "Actually, it was pretty good." Silva said while putting the shell of the snail on the table, under the confused look of her friends.


    "You''re... Not gonna eat it?" Asked the leader.


    "Eat the shell? You''re just supposed to eat the inside."


    Sepide and the leader both looked away in shame, trying to forget the horrible experience they had. Silva, on the other hand, continued eating them one by one while the leader became even more disgusted.


    "Silva... Stop eating them... It''s going to make me puke."


    Despite this experience, the group managed to eat a decent dinner. They knew that soon, they would have to participate in the second trial, and it might be even harder than this one was.

 Chapter 50: Dragons!

    After a well-deserved night of sleep, Silva, Sepide, and their leader were guided to the same colosseum they were on the first day. Compared to last time, fewer people stood in the arena. However, Kairo, Silv, and the anomaly were here, it seemed like they ended up winning the last trial. Uriel was also here, the robot woman they worked with before. The crowd was cheering and yelling, some even yelled names, visibly already picking their favorites. The crowd seemed to have taken a liking toward Silva and Sepide, as some cheered for them.


    "Why are they cheering for us?" Asked Sepide, confused.


    "I guess it''s because they liked seeing two girls wrestling, they''re just a bunch of perverts," Silva answered, still waving at the crowd with a proud smile.


    The leader looked at the bleacher, where Neige''s body was still visible, sitting on the throne with the tournament organizer standing next to him. Once everyone arrived, the crowd went silent, listening to the girl talking.


    "Thanks for coming today too. Only twenty contestants are left. Well, I say only, but it''s impressive. It wasn''t easy, and you can be proud of yourself. But now is time for the second trial. A race to the cold core of this planet. Life before, everything is allowed once the trial starts. Backstabbing, betraying, slaying, burning, exploding, everything is allowed. And unlike the first trial, there won''t be any groups, the twelve first to reach the end will pass, while the rest will be forced to leave. That is, if you don''t die on the way there, it''s no easy task to just survive inside the planet itself."


    The spectators were in euphoria, screaming and cheering while the participants themselves were worried about the dangers they would face. Once the crowd''s cries stopped, the tournament organizer continued to explain the rules.


    "We''ll each give you a mount for this, you won''t be totally alone. But as I said at the beginning, we''ll hold a small game to give an advantage to someone. We have a splendid mount, extremely swift and precise as a reward. The rules are simple, whoever can tame it has the right to keep it."


    Before anyone could ask anything, the door behind the contestants opened. When they saw what was behind, everyone took a step back. A huge dragon, with scales as black as the void and wings big enough to block the sunlight on the colosseum, came out of the door with a loud scream.


    "Oh, right. You''ll mount dragons for this trial, I''m sorry I forgot to say that."


    As the dragon made its way to the center of the arena, everyone went away from the dragon. The only person who dared approach it was the anomaly, slowly walking toward it with confidence.


    "Looks like I''ll be the one that gets it if no one wants to try."


    The woman handed her hand to the dragon without a worry in the world, but instead of submitting to her, the huge beast wiped her away with its tail, making her fly across the arena. The creature continued to walk around, staring at everyone with a smug gaze. The anomaly managed to wake up, and immediately approached the dragon, with rage this time.


    "Hey, I created you! You better obey me!"


    "She created it?" Wondered Silva before yelling at the tournament organizer "Hey, tournament girl! If she created the dragon, isn''t it cheating that she can tame it?"


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    The girl thought for a moment, debating with herself about the best course of action. Before she could answer, the beast sent the anomaly flying through the arena once again.


    "No, I think it''s fine, it doesn''t seem like it''s affecting anything."


    Silva still felt like it was unfair, but it seemed like the nun wouldn''t get it anyway. After a few more tries, the anomaly gave up and stood away from the dragon.


    "Well I don''t care, I''ll get a better mount than you!"


    The beast seemed satisfied, as no one dared to defy him anymore. The crowd seemed bored, as indicated by the fact that they were booing the people in the arena for their cowardice. Annoyed by the lack of action from anyone, Silva decided to run toward the beast and yelled at it. Sepide was about to stop Silva from approaching the beast, but her friend acted too quickly to be stopped.


    "I don''t have time for that, I have more important to do! So make your choice or leave, I don''t want to stay here all day because of an indecisive dumbass!"


    The dragon approached his face at Silva, squinting his eyes at the girl. A few minutes of silence passed and none of the two moved away from the other. Suddenly, the dragon laid down in front of Silva, gently head-bumping her. The organizer of the tournament waited a bit to make sure, and once she was assured of it, she announced who managed to tame the dragon.


    "Well it appears that Silva is the winner, she will be the one that gets to use this mount for the next trial."


    Silva turned toward the tournament organizer, with confusion on her face.


    "What?"


    The crowd cheered for the confused Silva, while she was stepping back from the dragon.


    "Wait, I never wanted that! He''s too big for me, in both ways!"


    The anomaly ran toward them and yelled at Silva while pointing at her.


    "Why did you get it, that''s cheating! You must have used black magic or something!"


    Silva touched the dragon, which was completely submitted to her. She wasn''t going to complain about the advantage that the dragon gave but still felt like she didn''t deserve it. She gently rubbed its scaly face and gave it a cheerful smile.


    "I''m going to name you dickhead!"


    "No, you can''t!" Yelled the anomaly "His name Is Snowflake!"


    The guards entered the Colosseum and gestured for everyone to follow them toward the site of the second trial. The anomaly watched saddened as Silva and her pet newly named dickhead left the arena.


    "His name is Snowflake..."


    Silv went closer to her, also staring at the scene that she could not see.


    "That''s tough, even the narrator calls it dickhead now. Guess you''ll have to win legit this time, no cheating."


    "Hey, that wasn''t cheating! Opal said it herself, in a trial, there are no rules!"


    Silv stood there silently, captivated by her inner thoughts. The anomaly stood up and waved her hand in front of her eyes to get her attention.


    "Ada to Silv, are you responding?"


    "We can''t win in the end, right Ada?" Asked Silv with an unusually monotone voice "The only reason we won is because you had treasures prepared in advance, so I can only imagine you did the same to other trials."


    "Come on, it was just luck if we found three treasures at the same place!"


    "Don''t worry, I''m not mad." Said Silv with a smile "My life is basically a game I can''t win, but I learned to make it fun. Even if this tournament is pointless, there''s always a way to have some fun."


    After giving her mysterious speech, the girl left to follow the guards. The anomaly followed her, unsure about what she planned to do.


    Opal, the organizer of the tournament, took her papers and notebooks to leave toward the site of the second trial. But before leaving, she heard Neige making weird sounds. He was moving slightly like he was trapped in her nightmare. The girl looked around, making sure she was alone and put what she was holding on a table to make sure he was alright.


    "... Sil... va..."


    Opal gently caressed his hair, hoping to calm him from the ordeal he was put in. Neige didn''t seem to feel any better, still grimacing with his face.


    "I''m sorry, I wish I could do something for you. But don''t worry, your friends are here now, they''ll save you soon enough..."


    Neige didn''t react, still in a deep slumber. With a heavy heart, the girl took her belongings and prepared herself to leave.


    "I know that it wasn''t supposed to happen like that, but it will end soon, I promise... I wonder what you''re dreaming about..."


    After giving him a soft smile, Opal left as fast as she could to not end up late.

 Chapter 51: Flying In The Abyss

    Neige continued walking for a long moment in the eternal darkness. An eternity seemed to pass before the black fog suddenly formed shapes in front of him. Neige immediately recognized the scenery, it was the inside of the church, with Ada praying like usual. Except that she seemed older, closer to his age. The door of the church opened, and the other Neige entered but wasn''t alone. A young girl with pointy ears was following him. He seemed older too, it could only mean that a few years, maybe a decade even, passed.


    The nun noticed the two and went toward them. Her calm face suddenly filled with shock as she saw the girl, and immediately closed the door behind them. She turned toward her Neige and seemed angry at him for some reason.


    "Neige! Is it an elf?"


    "Yeah, she''s cute, right?" Neige chuckled a bit, but his friend on the opposite still looked mad at him.


    "You know that elves are supposed to be extinct! It''s against the Gods'' wishes to shelter one, so you can imagine that they''d never allow her in a church!"


    "Come on, the Gods have forsaken us. They just do whatever they want, and then leave."


    The nun was about to argue back but was cut short by the elven''s little voice.


    "Please, you need to listen to me."


    Ada looked at her friend, who had a serious expression on her face. She figured that she wouldn''t have a choice but to listen, and it was true that it would be unfair to just let her go back to the cold outside.


    "Very well, what is it, my child?"


    The girl smiled cheerfully, before taking a serious tone back.


    "Ten years ago, all the elves have been decimated by the Goddess of time. I managed to escape, but I''m scared, even after all those years. I want to go talk to her, I want to talk to Fubuki. Convince her that she''s in the wrong. As a nun, I think she''ll listen to you. Can you come with me?"


    Neige stared at Ada and gave her a challenging smile.


    "So, scared of meeting your precious Goddess?"


    "No, it''s not that." Answered Ada "But she made her decision, and I don''t think it''s worth it. If we bring the elf there, Fubuki will just... You know..."


    "I''m ready to take the risk!" The girl said with confidence, trying to convince the nun.


    "Come on Ada, we could ask her why she hates the elves! And it would be a fun adventure!"


    Ada was curious about Neige''s behavior, was he doing all of this just for this girl? She knew him for long enough to know that he was hiding something, but she believed in her friend and reluctantly agreed.


    "Alright, we''ll leave tomorrow, you can spend the night here."


    The scene vanished once more, like the other times. Neige walked around the void for a moment, still thinking about what he just saw.


    "Tomorrow... If it''s really Ada''s memories, then..."


    Neige kept thinking about the worst that could happen, all he could do was continue to wander in this space. A faint voice could be heard, it was echoing everywhere, and at the same time, it was coming from nowhere. It was hard to tell, but Neige could recognize this voice he heard so much before.


    "Silva?"


    Every contestant was given a dragon, but all of them seemed way weaker than the one Silva had, leading to jealousy from the others. They were all trying to get used to their new partners while waiting for the tournament''s organizer to finally arrive. The three friends stayed together, thinking about the best way to act.


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    "So it''s not a group trial, but it doesn''t we shouldn''t help each other. But at the same time, only one of us needs to win the tournament, so if you feel like it slows you down too much, don''t hesitate to be egoist, it''s for the greater good."


    Silva and Sepide nodded their head to the leader''s order. Silva raised her hand and asked a question curiously.


    "What''s a dragon? I remember that I found a few of them, but I don''t think they were really fast."


    "Not when they walk, but when they fly, they-"


    "Fly?" Silva said, cutting the leader in her words "We''re going to fly?"


    "Yes, it''s a race to the core of this planet, so it''s more practical that way. What''s the problem?"


    "So I''m going to be in the air, with no ground and the sound of the wind in my ears?"


    "Yeah." Answered the leader, visibly not understanding the problem.


    "How am I going to know where I''m going? I can''t fly!"


    Before they could find a solution, the organizer of the tournament arrived. She checked her notes and nonchalantly explained the rules once more.


    "Sorry for being late. Anyway, nearby is a hole that leads to the center of this world. The twelve first to get there win. But it''s a really dangerous place, so be careful down there and keep your eyes open."


    Everyone took place around the deep hole that seemed to stretch toward infinity. The heavy silence weighted the contestants. Opal slowly counted down, one by one. Silva held the reigns of her mount with all the strength she had, her heart beating faster and faster as the seconds passed. The countdown finally reached zero, and everyone jumped into the hole as fast as they could.


    The leader and Sepide both managed to stay ahead, controlling their dragons wasn''t easy, but they were doing much better than the others. Sepide looked around, but couldn''t see any trace of Silva anywhere. She wished she could help her, but her priority was to win the race before all, and she knew Silva could manage by herself.


    The caves were dark for a long moment, and the path was straightforward. Sepide started to wonder what was so dangerous about this cave in the first place. They managed to make smooth progress until her mount suddenly shifted to the left, dodging an axe attached to a chain from behind. When she looked behind her, Sepide saw Kairo, attacking her directly.


    "My aim got bad, I would have hit before."


    Sepide tried her best to pay attention to where she was going, while still making sure that she wouldn''t get hit by Kairo''s attack. She tried to take her firearm by reflex but remembered that she didn''t have her usual weaponry, realizing she instead would need to find another way to get rid of him.


    "Why are you doing that? Were they not your friends?"


    Kairo spun the axe with the chain, preparing for another attack.


    "I''ll forever be grateful for what they did for me. But we''re dealing with matters that are beyond us. I''ll reach the real world, and if it requires some sacrifices, then so be it."


    As Kairo was about to throw his axe, he suddenly was blinded by a shard and bright light. The cave was filled with luminescent crystals on the walls. Sepide took this opportunity to escape her opponent as fast as she could, but even despite her best efforts, she still couldn''t get rid of him.


    "Why are you attacking me? We''re among the first ones! We can both win!"


    "You don''t understand, I''m not trying to win this race. I''m just making sure that you won''t cause problems down the line."


    Kairo threw his axe once more, Sepide managed to dodge it at the last moment, but she knew it was only a matter of time until she got hit. It seemed like the man wouldn''t let himself be convinced easily, but she knew she had to try at least.


    "I''m trying to save Neige, don''t you want him to be safe?"


    "I wish it was possible, but sadly, he''ll have to go too someday."


    "Why are you doing that? Do you really think you''re superior to everyone else?"


    "No, I know that my time will come too. I just want to see her one time, see the truth with my own eyes."


    "Her?" Sepide asked, still trying to escape from him.


    "The Goddess, the creator of all. We merely are pawns, and she is the player."


    "Now I understand why Silva said it was hard to understand you!"


    Kairo laughed happily, visibly enjoying hearing those words.


    "That''s something that she would say, I''ll miss her and the others."


    The cave was still wide but there were a lot of crystals on the way, making it hard to navigate. She finally found a way to get rid of Kairo, and suddenly braked, letting him go before her.


    "Now you won''t be able to attack me, or else you won''t see where you''re going. And if you''re going slower than me, you''re taking the risk of letting others go ahead of us!"


    "Not bad, I can understand how they managed without me now."


    Even despite Sepide''s strategy, Kairo still tried to attack her. But it was easier for her now, since she could see where she was going and dodge his attacks more easily. The cave started getting dark again as the crystals were getting rarer and rarer. Kairo finally decided to stop his offensive and focused on the way instead. The cave was getting tighter and it was getting hard for them to navigate now. Sepide was getting worried for her friend, she hoped that Silva would manage.

 Chapter 52: Through the Darkness and the Caves

    Silv and Silva both raced against each other, trying their best not to end up as the last one. Their speed was slower than if they ran on foot since none of them felt comfortable going faster and just followed their dragon''s lead.


    "Silva! Your end is near, I shall prove I''m the superior self! Not only that, but that I! Am the main character!"


    "That''s great Silv, but I''m trying to understand if I''m last or first, so be quiet."


    Silv stayed silent, paying attention to her surroundings, looking as confused as Silva.


    "Wait, you''re right. Where are the others?"


    "Yeah, see? I don''t think we passed them, but it''s kinda sad if we''re last."


    Silv took her revolver that she got from her first trial and shot in the general direction of Silva. The shot missed, but she couldn''t tell by how much. All she knew was that neither Silva nor her dragon were affected.


    "Did you... Try to shoot me?"


    "Yeah, could have been fun, right?"


    The fall toward the deepest part of the planet was painfully slow, but they both started to be more confident in their mounts and were getting slightly faster.


    "What''s the deal with you? What do you want?" Silva asked. She wasn''t sure that Silv would answer, but nothing was happening, so she figured it was worth trying.


    "I, have been blessed by the Goddess herself! I-"


    Silv''s mount suddenly hit a rock, forcing the girl to stop in her sentence. She managed to stabilize somehow but was clearly mad to be interrupted.


    "Why won''t anyone let the villain monologue!?"


    Silva chuckled a bit before answering.


    "You really think that you''re in a movie or something."


    "Shut up you human-shaped blobfish! You don''t understand what is truly happening!"


    Silva rolled up her eyes before taking a deep breath, ignoring Silv''s words.


    "Yeah, yeah, I''ll need to find a way to win now!"


    Silva tried to accelerate, she couldn''t see anything but she wasn''t going to give up without trying her best. Noticing Silva going away, Silv suddenly jumped toward her, barely grabbing her dragon''s tail.


    "Silv!? What are you doing?"


    "You have a better dragon than mine, I''m just taking advantage of it!"


    "You want to fight? On a dragon?"


    "Are you crazy? I can barely feel where I am, there''s no way I''m fighting you on that!"


    Silva let out a weary sigh, already tired of this trial.


    "I guess I''ll have to deal with you later, for now, I''ll just try to win the race. Or at least not lose it. I wonder how are Sepide and the leader..."


    The leader managed to stay far ahead of everyone, expertly navigating in the tight spaces of the cavern. She could easily win the race if her focus weren''t solely on the anomaly. The only thing on her mind was to defeat it by any means possible, even if it meant that she would be taking incredible risks in the cave. The anomaly tried her best to run away from her, but it was clear that she couldn''t win against her.


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    "Hey, it''s a race, not a fight!"


    "But is it against the rules?" The leader said with a voice that ran chills down the anomaly''s spine.


    "Come on, you''ll see your Neige soon, you just have to win!"


    "I don''t believe any of these words monster, you don''t belong in this world!"


    "Monster?" Said the anomaly, offended "I''m only trying to find a way to save humanity!"


    "Humanity?!" The leader hit her dragon against the anomaly''s, trying to make her fall "Since when do you care about humanity!? Have you seen the lives you''ve destroyed? The worlds you''ve led to their fall?"


    "I know, I wasn''t always the best. But even if I gave up on God, I still am a nun by heart, striving for the good in the world. It''s just... It was hard without Neige, I think you can understand how it feels."


    "Your Neige is no longer here, just give mine back!"


    "Come on! You''re being so stubborn!"


    The leader still tried to attack the anomaly with her sword, putting all her strength into eliminating her.


    "I''m stubborn? What makes you think that you have your place in this universe? You should have ceased to exist long ago!"


    "You''re me, right? Don''t you think the same? How unfair life is for everyone, but now, I can change that! I could make a world where everyone is happy, and where no one will have to suffer."


    "And your way of doing is putting people in a life-threatening tournament?"


    "Okay, so first of all, I''m just helping Opal with it. Secondly, I''m doing it to see something. And thirdly, it''s not that dangerous."


    The cave was getting more and more open as they spoke until they were led to an immense room. It was filled with lava everywhere, still forming a tunnel toward the center of the planet.


    "That''s not dangerous?"


    "Well, maybe a bit." Said anomaly with an uncertain voice "It was Opal''s idea, not mine."


    "And you think you''re worthy of determining mankind''s fate?"


    "Hey, I never asked to be born with world-bending powers, and yet here I am. It would be a waste if I didn''t use them. Like, what would you do if you could reshape the universe? Wouldn''t you want to make the world a better place?"


    The leader stayed silent for a moment, lost in her thoughts. She always wished to use the diary to make everything peaceful. If everyone was forced to do as she wished, none of that would have ever happened. The only thing stopping her was the promise she made to her friend.


    "Neige told me that he would rather suffer to live his life, rather than live a life that someone made for him."


    "Oh, he told you that too?" Said the anomaly with a smile "I envy him, he''s so strong!"


    "Yeah, sometimes I think that if he was the leader, everything would be much better."


    "I understand how that feels if Neige was here instead of me, he would have dealt with everything in a much better way."


    The leader thought about Neige for a while, before suddenly realizing who she was talking to.


    "Well, you should have thought about it before, now your Neige is no longer there. Your existence is an affront to the Goddess!"


    As she said those words, she suddenly jumped on the anomaly mount, facing her with her sword.


    "What are you doing? You could die too!"


    "My life is nothing, as long as Neige lives, I can consider my goal accomplished."


    The anomaly took her spear and defended against the woman''s assault the best she could. She knew that the end was near, if she could hold on until then, everything would be alright for her now. The two fought on the dragon''s back, plunging deeper and deeper. A voice suddenly echoed through the upper part of the cave, stopping the fight between them.


    "Leadeeeeer!"


    In a fraction of a second, a huge dragon dived down. Leaving the two women speechless.


    "Was that... Silva?"


    "It''s her dragon at least, but how did she go so fast?"


    Polyetta looked at Silva going down with her dragon. She was worried for her but knew she had more important things to deal with.


    "I knew she could make it, I just hope she''ll manage to land safely."


    "Yeah, it would be nice if we could land safely too, right? Maybe stop attacking me so I can pilot."


    "You''d like that, huh? I''m going to take you in my grave if I must."


    Kairo still tried to attack Sepide, while she did her best to dodge. They made it to a part of the cave that was entirely made of blue crystals. It was so reflective that they could see themselves in the wall of the mirror. Not only that, but they saw something that looked like the finish line. Kairo took back his weapon and stopped his aggression, to the surprise of Sepide.


    "I can''t see properly because of those crystals, and it''s the end anyway, you''re lucky."


    "Lucky?" Asked Sepide, offended "You spent the last hour trying to kill me!"


    "It''s alright, even if not today, all life eventually comes to an end."


    Sepide wasn''t sure what he meant, she tried to understand but was suddenly interrupted by a huge dragon falling from the upper part of the cave like a meteor. She couldn''t see who it was, but she recognized the beast and knew it was Silva. She looked at the sky above her and was left wondering how she managed to end up here. Even Kairo stood in shock, staring at her old friend falling down.


    "S-Silva? She''s always full of surprises..."

 Chapter 53: Night Of Fire

    Silva tried to go faster, but the cave suddenly became tighter. Silv was still holding onto the dragon''s tail, her dire situation didn''t stop her from annoying Silva in her focus.


    "Can you go faster? We haven''t seen anyone yet, we''re still last!"


    "You''re lucky I can''t eject you, I''d give so much for you to shut up!"


    They persisted in their descent that appeared to stretch into infinity. After a moment, they finally managed to find other racers on the way, visibly fighting together.


    "Hey, we''re not going to be last anymore!" Silv yelled with enthusiasm upon hearing them.


    One of the two contestants let his guard down, letting the other get away. The one who was attacking looked at his prey running away, it didn''t take long before his rage redirected toward the two girls.


    "You distracted me, I was about to win!"


    "Have you seen the dragon we have?!" Yelled Silv with confidence "You don''t want to be our enemy!"


    "What?" Unlike Silv, Silva felt panicked about the idea of getting into a fight and tried to take the most innocent voice she could "Come on, we''re blind, we don''t want any problems!"


    The angry man tried to attack Silva in frustration. Because she couldn''t see the attack coming, her mount took the hit, which seemed to be hurt because of it. It became hard for her to control her dragon, their speed was getting higher and higher to the misfortune of the two girls. The man tried to continue his attack, but they were too fast for him and soon got away from his range.


    "Hey cheaper me, can you slow down!?" Silv yelled while grabbing tightly onto the dragon''s tail.


    "I wish I could, but Dickhead doesn''t obey me anymore."


    Silva tried her best to pilot her dragon, but the effort was in vain as her mount wouldn''t obey any of her orders. All she could do was pray and hope that they would make it to the end alive.


    The cave seemed to get tighter, as the dragon kept hitting the walls of the cave and bouncing around. Silv especially suffered from it, since the beast would wave its tail around as it hit the walls of the cave.


    "I''m going to puke... It''s a horrible experience..."


    "Do you ever shut up?"


    After a while of bouncing around the movements suddenly stopped, probably because they left the tighter parts of the cave. For some reason, it started being hotter around, Silva figured that it meant they were getting closer to the end by now. Their fall continued steadily, they passed multiple racers and probably secured their places for the next trial.


    "Hey, I think it''s okay to slow down now..." Silv said with a weak voice.


    "For the last time, I can''t slow down!"


    "Can''t you find a way? It''s insanely fast and It''s getting tiring to grab the same thing for hours!"


    Silva was tempted to ignore her, but she also felt kinda bad for her for some reason. She grabbed the rein with one hand and tried her best to get close enough for Silv to grab her hand.


    "What are you doing!? Pilot the thing!"


    "Come on, I''m helping you right here. And it''s basically in autopilot."


    Silv reluctantly climbed the tail, getting closer to Silva. Once she managed to grab her hand, they both returned to the dragon''s back thanks to the rein. Silva managed to stay steady on her mount, while Silv was holding her as tightly as she could.


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    "Now you better shut up, or I throw you away."


    "... It burned when you took my hand."


    Finally in silence, Silva tried to understand where they were, but sadly she couldn''t determine what was happening.


    They continued to fall, getting faster each second. Silva heard a familiar voice, it was faint, but it was obvious to her who it was.


    "Leadeeeeer!"


    Before she could catch her leader''s attention, Silva passed her in a fraction of a second. Silv looked behind, just now realizing the speed they were going at.


    "I don''t mean to complain, but how are we going to land?"


    "It''s fine, I''ll find a way."


    Silva thought for a moment, still trying to feel her environment. The cavern seemed colder again now for some reason, leaving her confused.


    "Isn''t it supposed to be hotter if we get to the center of a planet?"


    "I don''t think it applies here." Said Silv "I think the dumb-sounding girl said that the center of the planet was cold. Didn''t you listen?"


    "Yeah, but there are so many things happening. I don''t have the brain power to remember anything."


    "So what you''re saying is that you''re my other self but that you''re dumber than me..."


    "I''m saying that I have better things to think about!"


    A voice could be heard again, it sounded like Kairo, but once again, she went too fast to hear anything. Their fall started to get slower as if the dragon itself decided to finally slow down. But even despite their slower speed, they crashed on the ground, ejecting them from the dragon.


    Silva finally felt the ground again but was too dizzy to even realize what happened. She stood up when someone grabbed her hand and raised it to the sky.


    "We have our first winner, Silva!"


    Silva recognized Opal''s voice despite her shock. She searched around and left Opal to go toward her dragon. He seemed to be alive, even if it wasn''t a pleasant ride for him.


    "Dickhead! Are you alright?"


    Opal walked toward her slowly and explained in a soft voice.


    "He''ll be alright, he was made to last. He just needs a little break."


    Silva was relieved to hear those words. Silv approached them, staggering while trying to keep her balance.


    "Hey, I''m here too..."


    "Wait, were you two together?" Asked Opal, searching for Silv''s dragon "I guess you made it in the end, congratulations, you got the second place."


    A few minutes barely passed and Kairo and Sepide both landed, finishing the race. The group sat on the side to wait for the other contestants. Sounds came out of the upper part of the cavern, sounds of metal clashing. Soon after, a dragon crashed, with the leader and the anomaly both on board. They both fell away from each other, but the leader took her sword back, and directly headed toward the anomaly. Opal had to intervene and put herself on her way to stop her from continuing her assault.


    "The trial is over for you, interfering with the other contestants will be considered as against the rules, and you''ll be forced to leave."


    The leader stopped in her tracks, giving a deadly look at the anomaly as she walked away from her. Silva and Sepide joined her, excited to all be together once more.


    "Silva, Leader! I''m glad you made it!" Said Sepide with a smile.


    "To be honest, I have no idea how."


    The leader stayed silent, still thinking about the anomaly. She knew she always had another opportunity to, but she wished she could have ended it all here.


    Everyone seemed to arrive at the end, they all grouped around Opal, waiting for her to tell the results of the race.


    "I didn''t expect everyone here to survive, but it''s great you did. You''re really different from the others."


    "The others?" Asked Silva curiously "There was already a tournament like that before?"


    "You could say that, but everyone died on the second trial. I''m glad that you lasted longer this time. Anyway, twelve contestants managed to advance to the next trial. For now, we''ll all return to the surface and take a well-deserved break."


    Opal led everyone to a kind of giant elevator, visibly leading to the surface. Almost everyone entered inside, except for the leader, who stayed behind to talk with the girl privately.


    "I have a question about the rules."


    "Yes?" Asked Opal with a neutral tone.


    "If the ano... If Ada dies, do we still get a wish?"


    "I think you want to know whether Neige would be safe if she died, right?"


    The leader stayed silent, enough to answer the girl''s question.


    "He''ll be fine, don''t worry. But she''s the one granting the wish, so if she dies, don''t ask for a new planet or something because I can''t do that."


    "I''m okay with that, thanks."


    The leader was about to leave but before she could, Opal took her by the arm and talked in a softer voice.


    "You''re doing a good job so far, never fall into insanity and you''ll make the Goddess glad."


    The woman seemed to be affected by those words at first but quickly removed her arm from the girl''s touch.


    "Why do you talk like you know anything?"


    "Because I do."


    The leader left toward the elevator without another word. Opal took one last look at her notes and followed her inside, leading everyone to the surface.

 Chapter 54: Silent Loneliness

    Emely worked on her inventions like usual, but she didn''t have the heart to do it this time. She still didn''t have any news from Silva and the others and felt sick at the thought of something bad happening to them. She decided to sneak out of her room, without any reason. She wandered aimlessly for a moment, trying to get rid of this awful feeling she had in her chest. For a reason she couldn''t understand, she decided to go to Silva''s room. It was locked, but since she was the one taking care of the repairs, she had the keys to everything on the ship.


    She stared at the different paintings like she was trying to find a hidden meaning behind them. Most of them looked like they were drawn by a five-year-old, but some were more precise. It amused her to see the progress Silva made despite her blindness, but one of them in particular caught her attention. It was the painting of a woman, the title ''my sister'' was written on the side. Not only was this weird since Silva never mentioned a sister before, but it was also eerily well drawn. It was like she saw this person with her own eyes. Her long black hair and serious tone captivated Emely until her phone took her out of her reverie. It was a message from Gwyn, usually, she''d ignore it, but the text talked about a ghost. It was probably only a way to get her attention, but Emely''s curiosity got the better of her, and she left Silva''s room to see Gwyn.


    Emely entered the med bay, where Shiro and Gwyn were arguing about something. When she noticed Emely''s presence, Gwyn pointed at her nonchalantly while resuming her conversation.


    "See, I found you someone to go play with. Now go act like Ghostbusters with her."


    "And what is she going to do if I''m possessed by a ghost?" Argued Shiro.


    Emely wasn''t sure to fully understand what was happening, but she figured that helping them might be a good distraction.


    "I don''t have one yet, but I can make a tool for that if you want."


    Shiro let out a sigh, he visibly wasn''t going to give up so easily for some reason. Seeing the confused Emely, Gwyn decided to explain the situation to her.


    "Shiro had a dream about a ghost or something. He wants my help because apparently, I can deal with spirits from other worlds."


    "It''s not what I said." Explained Shiro "I just said that if I''m attacked by a ghost, I prefer a doctor rather than nothing."


    "But why would there be a ghost?" Asked Emely "The closest we got to a ghost was the time Silva put her phone in the vents as a prank..."


    "Yeah, and she''s not here!" Shiro looked disappointed that none of the two wanted to help him. He thought for a moment, trying to find a way to convince them "If you help me and that there are no ghosts, I''ll do everything you want. I just don''t want to go alone... Or rather without a doctor."


    "Fine!" Said Gwyn with a more than annoyed tone "I guess you won''t let me work until we find your ghost."


    Gwyn and Shiro both looked at Emely, waiting to know if she would follow them or not. She nodded her head with a smile in agreement.


    "I''ll come too, should we bring Ina too?"


    "Please no..." Gwyn looked desperate as she said those words, visibly reminiscing bad memories "Last time I saw her she asked me to work on healthy sugar, I said I''m working on it but I''ve been avoiding her ever since."


    "Then it''s just us three!" Said Emely cheerfully "I just need to get my anti-ghost laser in my lab. Come on, follow me!"


    Emely left in a hurry, while her two friends stayed behind confused.


    "Anti... Ghost laser? Does she really have that?"


    Gwyn shrugged at Shiro''s question, and the two followed her toward her lab.


    The three searched around the messy lab to find what they were searching for. Emely and Shiro were really searching while Gwyn barely looked around, taking random items.


    "SCG? What''s that?" Asked Gwyn, with a pink revolver in her hand.


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    "Oh, that''s the sexuality-changing gun! It''s self-explanatory."


    "Wait, so if we use it on Neige, will he... Be into men?" Shiro tried his best to look like he asked the question innocently, but it was clear what he had in mind with these words.


    "I don''t think so, and besides, the bullet would just kill him."


    "Wait, it shoots real bullets?" Gwyn asked while gently putting the weapon down.


    "Duh, it''s a gun."


    Gwyn continued looking around the lab, finding items stranger every time. She knew she shouldn''t snoop around, but her curiosity forced her to.


    "Glasses that see through matter? It seems useful." As she put them on, she noticed that it was completely black. It took her a moment before realizing that it was because it worked a bit too well "Love-inducing paint? Is that the kind of thing you do when you say that you''re too busy to repair my computer?"


    Emely dropped what she was doing and took the paint off her hand, visibly flustered.


    "It''s nothing, just a prototype!"


    "Hey, I think I found your ghost laser!" The two women looked at Shiro when he said those words. Emely took the small laser pointer to make sure it was it and put it in her pocket.


    "Yep, that''s it. So, where''s your ghost?"


    "It''s supposed to be in the bathrooms, apparently if you say bloody Mary in a mirror three times, she appears!"


    "Shiro... Are you sure you didn''t spend too much time on the internet?" Emely asked with concern.


    "I swear, she was in my dreams! Come on!"


    Shiro left, followed by the two women. Emely in particular didn''t believe it too much, but it was better than staying and feeling bad over nothing.


    The three stared at the mirror. Emely and Shiro felt some fear in their heart, while Gwyn stared at the mirror with dead eyes. Shiro turned off the light, and all together, they started to talk to the mirror.


    "Bloody Mary, bloody Mary, bloody Mary."


    Everything was silent, no one dared to move. Suddenly, the sound of a bottle could be heard, scaring the two easily impressed members.


    "What was that? Is that you bloody Mary?" Emely asked, with fear in his voice.


    "What? No, it''s me." Said Gwyn "I''m just drinking some vodka, you want some?"


    "Isn''t Emely too young for that?" Shiro asked with concern.


    "I know I look young, but I''m 21... This whole plan was a failure I guess, so I might as well try the taste of alcohol..."


    "Sure, take the bottle." Said Gwyn while handing her bottle to the nearest person.


    "Isn''t it a shitty reason to be an alcoholic?" Asked Shiro.


    "It''s just to taste, so, can I have the bottle?"


    "I already gave it to you."


    "What? No, you didn''t, maybe you gave it to Shiro?"


    "I swear, I don''t have it."


    The sound of someone gulping down a liquid was heard. The group understood that a fourth person was there, Shiro and Emely both panicked, trying their best to find the light.


    "I don''t wanna die! I''m too young for that!"


    "Don''t you have a laser for that?" Yelled Shiro with dread in his voice "Just use it!"


    "It doesn''t work! I don''t even believe in ghosts, why would I make one?!"


    Gwyn flipped the switch, revealing that the fourth person was none other than Ina, holding the bottle of alcohol in her hand.


    "Why didn''t you invite me? It seemed fun." Ina said with a sarcastic tone.


    "Wait, so... You''re not a ghost?" Asked Shiro.


    "Of course, she''s not." Said Gwyn with a cold voice "I think I''ll go now, I have work to do."


    "Wait-"


    "I know Ina, I''m working on your sugar."


    "No, not that. I actually was searching for you all. I think I made a mistake, and I''d like for you all to come help me find a solution."


    The group was confused but followed Ina to understand what happened. Shiro still felt a bit disappointed there was no ghost, but also relieved at the same time.


    Ina led the group toward Emely''s lab. They were confused at first but Ina quickly explained what happened.


    "So I was trying to know if Emely finished repairing my mixer since it was a month ago."


    "I didn''t." Emely said without even feeling a little bit bad about it.


    "Yes... Anyway, you weren''t here, and I figured you just forgot to give it back to me. So I searched around, and I found this... Weird black box."


    "That?" Asked Emely while pointing at the thing on the table "That''s the leader''s video game thingy, she asked me to repair it. She can be really annoying with it."


    "Yes... I don''t know how to say it, but I got curious and pressed a button... Cinnamon was around... And then he disappeared."


    "He disappeared?" Said Shiro in shock "Did your machine kill Cinnamon?"


    "That''s horrible..." Gwyn said with an unusually sad smile.


    "He''s not dead, relax. He''s just in the video game. I was trying my new technology of virtual worlds, and it was a good opportunity."


    "Why would you mix a video game with a virtual world?" Ina asked, still not believing what happened.


    "Why are you touching my things? Good thing you didn''t touch something more dangerous. At least I can get Cinnamon back."


    "You think you can do it?" Asked Shiro "I''m more experienced with weapons, maybe I''m more suited for that."


    "Come on, I created this world. Silva risks her life every day, the worst that will happen to me is that Cinnamon scratches me. I don''t know what games the leader plays, but it''s probably some romance stuff or something like that."


    "Cinnamon is in the leader''s game?" Gwyn asked with worry.


    "Yeah." Emely thought for a moment before suddenly thinking about what kind of game it could be "Oh God, we need to get Cinnamon out of here."


    "She probably plays games where death is at every corner!" Gwyn grabbed onto Emely''s shoulder and shook her by reflex "You have to save Cinnamon! You can''t let him in this twisted world!"


    "Okay I will, geez, why is Cinnamon more important than my life for you?" Emely mentally prepared herself, looking at the console for a few minutes "Alright, so if you want to talk with me there''s a microphone here, I should be able to answer too. If I don''t, then I guess I died."


    Before the others could ask any more questions, Emely pressed the button, entering the virtual world she created.

 Chapter 55: Dawn Of The New Day

    Like every night that passed since Neige''s disappearance, Silva lived the same moment again and again in her sleep. The moment when Neige was taken away by the anomaly, happening right in front of her powerless self. She knew it was only a dream, that it already happened, but every time she wished it was her instead. If she was the one who disappeared, probably nothing would change. Silva couldn''t stop but blame herself for what happened like everything was her fault, that her existence itself was the problem.


    She woke up from her nightmare in her cell, with blood on her hands. She made sure that Sepide was asleep and quickly went to bandage her self-inflicted wound before she would notice them. It was becoming hard for her, her heartbeat was constantly fast, her hands were shaking, and she could feel that it was harder for her to focus. But all she could do for now was hope that it would be over soon and that she would be able to get her meds back.


    The next day, every contestant regrouped in the arena like usual. Only twelve were left now, leaving the arena even more empty than before. The crowd on the other hand was cheering louder and louder, getting increasingly more excited as time went on. Opal was in her usual spot, next to the sleeping body of Neige. The spectators all went silent, waiting for her words.


    "Congratulations, I didn''t expect so many of you to be alive. It''s quite practical, since now we can make three teams of four for the next trial. This will be the final trial before we enter the last phase of the tournament. The rules are simple, each team will have a flag to protect and the goal is to steal another team''s flag. If you lose your flag, you will be eliminated. The two teams that manage to survive will advance to the end. Now, it''s time for a little game."


    A guard brought a box with a hole on top. Everyone looked at it curiously, waiting for the tournament organizer to explain.


    "It''s straightforward, just a lottery: eleven white balls and a black one, whoever gets the black one wins and will be granted a map of the area."


    Silva went first and failed, the other contestants all tried, but all seemed unlucky. The leader looked carefully at the box, while Silva kept complaining about her loss.


    "It''s so dumb, it''s just a game of chance!"


    "No, I don''t think so." The leader said, still in her thoughts "It seems like the anomaly pushed for these silly games. The first one was about taming her dragon, and it seemed like it wasn''t planned that it didn''t listen to her."


    "So, she''s cheating?" Asked Sepide.


    "Probably, I think that she somehow is giving herself an advantage. If we figure out how we could maybe beat her at her own game."


    It was the anomaly''s turn to pick a ball. The leader analyzed all her movements, nothing out of the ordinary happened but the anomaly somehow managed to get the black ball.


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    "Hey, I won!" She yelled with excitation in her voice. The group turned toward the leader, wondering if she found anything.


    "I didn''t see anything, I think she just got lucky." Said Sepide to her leader.


    "I think there wasn''t any black ball in the box, I think she used her powers to cheat."


    "But she said she wouldn''t use them."


    "Then it means that she''s still using them, just not in front of us. It''s like she tries to look like she follows the rules, while still cheating."


    Silva and Sepide weren''t sure what to think of it, but the leader seemed persuaded that she was right.


    The time to form groups came, just like in the first trial. Sepide saw that Uriel was still there, she headed toward her to ask her to join them once again, it worked well last time after all.


    "Uriel! Do you want to join our group again?"


    "I would be very happy to, I hope that this time too, everything will go well!"


    Sepide came back to Silva and the leader, happy to form their group again. Silva seemed happy too, but the leader still was in her thoughts, staring at the anomaly. Opal came to them, with a bunch of weapons in her hands.


    "I know that you both lost your weapons, so here are new ones. Silva still has her gun with a bullet, but Sepide will have a rapier this time."


    "A rapier?" Asked Sepide "Why is my weapon different this time?"


    "I just figured it would be more balanced for this trial."


    Opal left to give everyone their weapons. Everyone seemed ready, and the girl guided them to the place where the trial would take place.


    The area was covered in constant snowstorms and mountains, making navigation hard in this place. Each team was brought to a different place, where a flag was waiting for them. The trial was about to commence shortly, everyone stayed silent, waiting for the signal. After a few minutes passed, the sound of a horn echoed through the mountains, indicating the start of the trial.


    Silv, the anomaly, Kairo, and the girl with black hair all grouped again. The girl was clearly not happy to be here, but still joined them again. Everyone gathered around the anomaly to see the map that she got from winning the lottery. The area was forming a triangle, and the team''s members were even written on the map. Their team was red, the Kronos''s team was green and the third team was blue.


    "We should probably eliminate Silva''s group, if they go to the finals, it will be harder for us." Kairo said while looking at the map. The new girl stared at him, visibly unconvinced.


    "Didn''t you guys get humbled by them last time? We''re just going to lose..."


    "Why are you complaining, Eve? You did nothing!" Silv answered to the girl with black hair.


    "Of course I didn''t, I''m a nun, what did you expect? There''s a guy with an axe and you have a gun, why should I fight?"


    "We should have convinced the robot to join us..." Silv mumbled to herself.


    "But she''s right, we can''t win by ourselves. That''s why I have a plan." Everyone listened to Kairo, waiting to hear his strategy "The goal is to steal a team''s flag, so if we go to the third team, we can convince them to help us. At eight against four, we should win for sure."


    "That''s a great idea!" Said the anomaly "We should head there right now!"


    "Well, we should probably leave someone behind, just in case a team attacks us."


    "You''re a great strategist Kairo!" The anomaly clapped her hand to Kairo, who seemed to be a bit embarrassed.


    "Neige taught me a lot... Anyway, who should we leave behind?"


    Silv raised her hand, volunteering.


    "Me, I''m not staying near any of those two nuns, they''re exhausting. And besides, I have some ideas on how to place traps."


    "Are you saying I''m exhausting?" The anomaly asked, but her question went without an answer.


    The team ultimately agreed to leave Silv behind. With their map in hand, they headed toward the blue team, leaving Silv behind.


    Once she was sure she was behind, Silv made a sinister grin. She wasn''t going to follow the plan they agreed on and seemed to have a plan of her own.

 Chapter 56: Eternal Slumber

    Like the few other times, a scenery appeared in front of Neige. He was used to it by now, and fully expected something like that to happen by now. The other Neige, Ada, and the elven girl they were with reached a kind of altar on top of a snowy mountain. A sword fully made of ice was planted on the altar, waiting to be picked on. The small group stared at it for a moment, until Ada broke the silence.


    "This is it! Fubuki''s sword! If we take it, we''ll wake her from her slumber... But still, is it a good idea?"


    Before another word could be spoken, Neige ran toward the sword and pulled it in front of them. Ada slowly approached him confused, waiting for him to explain himself.


    "I''m sorry, but she won''t listen to us. At worst, she''ll even kill us! I have no faith in this Goddess of time. But if he takes her powers, if we rule the world instead, we can make the world better!"


    "Make the world better?" Ada asked offended "You''re not a God Neige, you shouldn''t act like one!"


    "I''m sorry Ada, I want to create a world where you''re happy. Have you seen how this world is? The strong ruin the weak''s life for personal gain, while the Gods stand there, doing nothing! I want to create a world where your kindness is rewarded, not a world where you''re afraid of even being yourself. Please Ada, will you join me?"


    Ada stopped to think for a moment, but before she could, a woman suddenly took the sword from Neige''s hand and stabbed him from behind. It looked like she just appeared from thin air, leaving Ada in shock.


    "Humans, just because you believe, you think you can do everything." The woman stared at Ada, tilting her head slightly at her sight "A nun? Did you bring this elf for me as a sacrifice?"


    Ada ran to her friend as fast as she could, ignoring everything else. She put her hand on his wound, a bright light emanated from her hand to heal Neige. She tried again until his eyes opened, but sadly, it never happened.


    "Your magic can cure wounds, but not death. Don''t trouble yourself with him, he wasn''t worthy. I mean, have you seen how he acted? He didn''t deserve to live."


    Ada stared at Neige''s body with empty eyes. She took him in her arms close to her. She stayed like that for a moment, worrying even her elven friend, who ran at her side.


    "Ada, are you alright?" She turned toward the Goddess, imploring her mercy "Don''t you feel bad? you''ve only been committing atrocities!"


    Ada stared at the void, still unable to process what just happened. The conversation that happened right next to her wasn''t reaching her, just like everything else. She let Neige''s body fall to the ground, life seemed to exit her body, and nothing else mattered to her anymore. Darkness replaced the light in her heart, despair took over hope, and her faith disappeared fully. She took Neige back in her arms and stood up in a last effort. When she looked around, she couldn''t explain what was happening. A dark fog was everywhere around and the area around was destroyed, like a fight just happened.


    "Did I... Do that?"


    Ada asked herself this question, but it didn''t matter in the end. The body of the Goddess was on the ground, and the snowflakes were stopped in mid-air. She shook her head to stop herself from thinking and stepped away from there with Neige in her arms.


    "I''ll find a way to save you Neige... It will be alright, don''t worry."


    Kairo, Ada, and Eve all made their way to the third team, ready to negotiate. The snowstorm was heavy, making it hard to see clearly in front of them. When they approached, a voice full of authority called them, stopping them in their tracks.


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    "Halt, do you really think you can attack us like that? You don''t even seem prepared!"


    "Wait, we come in peace." Kairo raised his hand in the air, showing he didn''t have any intention to fight. The figure of a man came out of the snowstorm, gauging them and their intention. He kept a rapier in his hand and made sure he had enough distance from them before talking with them.


    "What do you want? And aren''t you supposed to be four? Where is your fourth member?"


    "Our fourth member is guarding our base, and about the reason for our arrival, it''s because we would like to form an alliance. Only one of the teams has to lose, and it shouldn''t be any of us."


    "Form an alliance?" The man who appeared to be the leader of the team thought for a while. He was still wary of them but seemed to consider the idea "And why us? Was it only perchance?"


    "To be honest, not really." Said Kairo "We personally know the other group, if we were to fight them we would lose. If they end up in the final, there won''t be any chance for us."


    "So you''re choosing us because you think we''re weaker?"


    "Yes." Answered Kairo without any hesitation.


    "Are you sure you know how to negotiate?" Asked Eve with worry "I feel like you suck with words as much as you suck with your axe."


    The leader of the other team stared at them for a while. Once he made his decision, he put his weapon down and reached his hand toward Kairo.


    "My name is Raken, I believe our cooperation might be useful."


    "I''m Kairo, and they''re Ada and Eve."


    "I''ll try to not forget, let me bring you to the rest of my team, we''ll figure things out together."


    Raken led the group to the rest of his team. Eve and Ada still were surprised about how well things went, so they decided to not say anything just in case they would ruin Kairo''s efforts.


    The group made their way to a basic camp. Three people were there, waiting around a fire. Once they saw Raken, they rushed to him and saluted him like they were soldiers in a military camp.


    "Leader, who are those people?"


    "They''re our temporary allies. We''ll work together to attack the other team." Raken turned toward Kairo, visibly trusting him more than the other members of his group "Do you have any plan?"


    "I think yes. I suppose they would try to be defensive, as being offensive would lead to a disadvantage. But if we attack them, they won''t be able to get here so your flag will be safe. As for us, Silv should be able to gain time if they ever attack our base. But I think they''re just hoping that we attack each other, so we should be alright."


    "So you think we should attack them? Isn''t it a risky strategy? We would leave our bases, if they passed we would be in trouble."


    "I know it''s a great risk, but we don''t have a choice. They''re way stronger than we are, we can''t allow them to get any amount of time to establish a strategy."


    Raken thought for a while, his eyes closed. Only the sound of the snow and the wind could be heard. The man finally spoke once he reached a decision.


    "Let''s go then, we should hurry. We''ll follow your steps."


    Kairo and the others were relieved that they accepted, and once they were ready, they left for their objective.


    Kairo was convinced that with seven of them, they could win. But deep inside, he still wasn''t sure. When he thought about his former leader, it felt like he didn''t have a chance to win. On top of that, he barely knew anything about their new member, Sepide. Ada noticed his troubled expression and asked a bit worried.


    "Is everything alright?"


    "Yes." Despite Kairo''s words, it was obvious that something was troubling him. He looked slightly at Ada, thinking she could know the answer to the questions he had "Do think that they''re strong?"


    "Your leader''s group?"


    "She''s... No longer my leader, but yes."


    Ada pondered for a moment, apparently unsure what to think.


    "They''re pretty smart, yeah, but they''re pretty weak."


    "Weak?" Asked Kairo surprised "How so?"


    "Their hearts aren''t set. They have doubts inside, which makes them weak."


    "I see." Kairo wasn''t expecting that answer but still accepted that answer.


    "You''re weak too. You still aren''t sure."


    "About what?"


    "Do you really want to fight them and meet your creator?"


    "That''s not what I want, I want to make sure of something first."


    "I understand." Ada paused for a moment, looking at the sky "I too, want to make sure of something."


    Kairo and Ada became silent once more, with the wind as the only sound that could be heard.


    The group made its way to a wooden bridge, traversing a frozen river. Someone else was already standing there, waiting for them. The figure approached them, it was Sepide, holding the rapier toward them. She appeared to be a little panicked, but still kept her calm.


    "Why are you so many? I thought we were only four per group."


    "There has been a change a plan." Kairo readied his weapon, about to attack. Before he could, Raken stepped in front of him and raised his weapon toward the girl.


    "I''ll take care of it, go forward."


    Without a word, everyone else passed behind Sepide. When she tried to stop them, Raken attacked her to prevent her from doing so.


    "Come on little girl, I''ll be your opponent!"

 Chapter 57: Climax?

    Raken and Sepide stared at each other in the eyes, waiting for the other to move first. The two stayed frozen in the snowstorm, none dared to act until Raken finally dared to attack. Sepide blocked the hits of the sword with her own, defending herself the best she could.


    "You aren''t used to fighting with a rapier, I can see it."


    Sepide stayed silent, focusing on the fight instead. She was overwhelmed by the attacks and finally decided to headbutt, taking Raken by surprise who took the hit.


    "So vulgar, were you never raised to fight properly?"


    "Fight properly? I just want to win."


    "Peasants, why do they all lack grace?"


    Sepide prepared herself for another attack. Her opponent seemed to be afraid of approaching her, keeping a safe distance.


    "Do you not intend to fight properly? A sword against a sword?"


    "Not really." Sepide said while shaking her head "I don''t understand why I''d do that."


    "Winning is not the most important, the most important is winning with honor! Isn''t it what you want? Being proud of yourself?"


    Sepide thought for a moment, still keeping an eye on her opponent.


    "I don''t really know what I want. I''ll get over with it and I''ll think about it later."


    "Such a disgrace. If victory is all that matters, then so be it!"


    Raken took an offensive stance, ready to attack again. Sepide prepared herself and could only hope her leader and the others were doing fine.


    Kairo and the rest of his group ran toward their goal. The flag they were searching for was right here, along with Kairo''s former leader and the robot girl. Kairo searched around for Silva, but couldn''t find her anywhere.


    "It''s only you two? We''re seven, you should give up now."


    The leader approached them without any hesitation, her katana in her hand.


    "How practical, you''re all here at the same place. I just have to knock you down and I win."


    The robot ran to the leader, who stopped her before she got too close.


    "Don''t worry Uriel, it''s nothing I can''t manage."


    "You seem awfully confidant."


    The leader rushed toward the three members of Raken''s team, knocking them down instantly. She then attacked Eve, who managed to barely dodge the attack and took a step back.


    "I''m not dealing with her! I thought we could beat them!" Eve yelled in the direction of Kairo while running away. Kairo braced himself, clenching his fist tightly around his axe.


    "This time, I''m not going to lose."


    "Sure, keep dreaming."


    The leader and Kairo both locked their gaze on each other, while the rest of their group looked at them silently. Kairo attacked first, trying to get an advantage over his former leader. The woman dodged precisely and fought back by cutting his chest with her sword.


    "Next time, I''m cutting your other arm."


    "You''re really tough." Said Kairo with a smile "Why weren''t you the one there that day? You could have stopped Ada easily."


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    The leader stayed silent for a moment, thinking deeply before answering.


    "I didn''t know it would go like that, I''m sorry Kairo."


    "I don''t blame you, at least I was able to learn about how small our universe was. I couldn''t have learned it if it never happened."


    Kairo readied himself, ready to fight once more.


    "I think I can beat you, I just need to find the right opportunity."


    Kairo and the leader prepared to fight once more. Both had the intent to end it once and for all right there, not leaving any chance to the other.


    Silva traveled in the direction the leader told her to. She was supposed to steal the flag from whichever team was there. There was no one there but the sound of steps approaching put her on her guard. She aimed her weapon at the figure in the snowstorm.


    "Wow, don''t kill me!"


    Silva recognized that voice, leaving her even more wary.


    "Silv, why are you here?"


    "I''m just bringing the flag to my base, I''m about to win you see."


    "Win?" Asked Silva confused "You stole the other team''s flag?"


    "Yeah."


    "But... It barely has been a few hours. How did you manage to get it without anyone stopping you?"


    "Oh, we allied with them, but I didn''t feel like helping them win. We don''t want nameless characters in the finale after all."


    Silva appeared even more confused with Silv''s explanation and slightly disappointed.


    "So... It''s over? You win, the other team loses, and we both go to the finals?"


    "Yeah, isn''t it great?"


    "I wouldn''t say that." Objected Silva "It seems too... Easy."


    "Don''t blame me, blame the other dumbasses for being too naive."


    Silv went to her own flag and planted the flag from the enemy''s team next to it, officially winning the trial in front of an uncertain Silva.


    "Is it really it? It kind of is anticlimatic."


    "Come on, we''ve been here far too long. I have other things to do, it''s cold here, and I''m hungry."


    Silva was still a tad disappointed as the announcement echoed through the valley officially announcing the end of the trial.


    "Silv from the red team won by stealing the flag from the green team. The trial is over."


    Raken and Sepide both stopped fighting after hearing the announcement, shocked by the revelation.


    "Wait, did they trick us?" Asked Raken to himself, enraged "I should have been more careful, I figured they wouldn''t take the risk of leaving nobody to protect their flag."


    Sepide looked confused, unsure what happened. All she could feel was relief that this was over and that her team wasn''t the one to lose.


    Kairo and the leader were taken aback by the news and ceased the fight instantly. Polyetta didn''t think much of it, Kairo on the opposite was devasted, unable to believe what he heard.


    "How is it possible? That wasn''t supposed to go like that..."


    Everyone that wasn''t here came, along with the tournament organizer. Most of them seemed confused, unhappy, and betrayed. Only Silv seemed to have an amused smile on her face, as Opal explained the situation.


    "I''ll be honest, you kinda sucked. It wasn''t supposed to be so quick, but the rules are the rules. The green team is disqualified, while the others move to the final part of the tournament. Now then, follow me, it''s time to go back."


    Everyone followed the girl. Kairo and Ada both went next to Silv, visibly mad at her.


    "Why did you do that? Now we have to deal with them in the finals." Kairo''s words barely affected Silv, who acted like she didn''t hear anything.


    "I don''t want to fight the crazy woman and her sword, she wants to kill me!" Even Ada''s words seemed to not reach her. After a few minutes of ignoring them, Silv finally answered.


    "You''re really loud, you know? And don''t act like I was wrong. First of all, Kairo was about to lose."


    "I would have found a way to win."


    "Yeah, that''s what you say. But anyway, why do you care Ada? You''re going to find a way to cheat anyway."


    "Of course not, I won''t cheat for the finale. We need to end it on a good note... I just hope the crazy woman won''t kill me."


    The eight contestants left were in the Colosseum, waiting for the tournament organizer. The tension was high, almost no one was left and even the crowd stayed silent. Opal finally arrived, she stood at her usual place and finally broke the silence in the arena.


    "Congratulations, you managed to all survive until the end. Yada, Silva, Sepide, Uriel, Ada, Eve, Silv, and Kairo. You all managed to make your way to the finals. I will explain the way we''ll determine the winner when the time comes. For now, you all deserve to rest. It will take some time to prepare, so you have tomorrow off. Have a great night, and see you in two days."


    When Opal finished talking, Silva and Sepide turned toward the leader with curiosity. She already knew what they were wondering and immediately answered their question.


    "Yes, Yada is my name. No, you can''t call me like that. If I hear any of you say that name, I cut your salary."


    "Salary?" Asked Silva jokingly "Since when are we paid?"


    The leader didn''t even answer her and left toward her room, leaving the two friends together.


    "What''s the deal with her name? Will she die if we say it?"


    "Names can kill?" Sepide asked, visibly not understanding Silva''s sarcasm.


    "Not really, but she seemed mad. Actually, I feel like she''s pretty tense lately. I guess Neige''s absence isn''t good for her."


    Silva pondered for a moment about the reason behind the defensive behavior of her leader. She figured Neige would know, giving her one more reason to end this tournament once and for all.

 Chapter 58: Confession

    Emely woke up in front of a big castle. She was lost at first, but quickly remembered the reason why she was here in the first place. Her clothes were different, instead of the orange and black uniform of the Kronos, she had a kind of medieval armor on her. A voice suddenly echoed, like it was coming from the sky.


    *Emely, can you hear us?*


    "Gwyn, is that you?" Emely asked when she recognized the voice of the doctor.


    *Yes, we really can communicate. We can''t see anything though.*


    "It''s fine." Answered Emely with confidence "I have a sword, what could go wrong?"


    When she looked around, she noticed some pawprints on the ground, leading to the castle. Without hesitation, she ran into the castle.


    The insides of the castle were foggy, making it hard to navigate. Not only that, but it didn''t seem to follow any logic. Hallways leading to nowhere, doors leading to empty rooms. It was hard to find the way, but Emely wasn''t going to give up.


    She opened a door like she did before, except that this time, a sort of slime was waiting behind it.


    "Aww, he''s so cute. It makes me want to pet it."


    She walked toward it, but instead of being friendly, the slime attacked Emely, bashing her violently.


    "Hey, that hurt!"


    Emely took her sword and hit back, instantly exploding the slime.


    *Are you alright? What happened?*


    "I don''t know, a cute ball attacked me, you really can''t trust anyone! I shouldn''t have activated pain while building the simulation."


    Emely continued her exploration, keeping herself on her guard. Walking around the empty castle made her regret toying around with virtual worlds.


    She kept going farther into the castle, easily killing any enemies on her way. It almost seemed too easy, which she wasn''t expecting.


    "Aren''t video games supposed to be challenging? I feel like I''m way too powerful for them."


    *Is it not because you have the leader''s items? I don''t know much about video games, but if she played for a while she must have gotten some powerful things.*


    "Maybe." Emely suddenly stopped and frantically searched in her pockets. She figured that there were maybe some interesting things that could help her. All she could find was a bunch of keys, at least a hundred potions, and a diary, which left her disappointed "I thought I''d have a gun, not a journal..."


    *Maybe it''s a magical one?*


    Emely opened it without any hope, she read out loud, to make sure the others could hear.


    "Neige found my diary. He said he won''t read it, but just in case I''ll write here instead. What are the odds that he would play this game after all, he always says it''s boring."


    *Is it the leader''s actual diary?*


    "What? I don''t want to read that, it''s personal. I think that I shouldn''t look at it." Emely said those words but kept reading the journal with a guilty mind "That page is funny, she wrote that she forgets names easily, so she wrote them in her diary to not forget."


    *I thought you didn''t want to read it?*


    "Come on, aren''t you curious? Neige''s last name is Luck apparently, but she made a mistake with Silva''s name."


    *Really? It''s weird.*


    "I know, right? She wrote that her last name was Nilla, but Silva told me her last name was Gina. Do you think it''s because she trusts me more than the leader?"


    *No Emely, Silva''s name is Nilla. She just was joking with you.*


    "That would be a weird thing to joke about, and why would she lie about it?"


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    *Her name is Silva.*


    "Yeah?"


    *And she told you her last name was Gina...*


    "I still don''t understand why she would lie about it."


    Gwyn''s voice was silent for a moment. She let out a sigh, before talking again.


    *Just stay innocent Emely. Can you search for Cinnamon now?*


    "Wait, there''s cool stuff in here. Did you know that Silva''s birthday was the 6th of July?"


    *July? It''s probably a thing from her world.*


    Emely continued to flip through the pages, absorbed by the knowledge in her hands.


    "She really writes a lot about us, did you know that Silva''s favorite food was croissant?... What''s a croissant?"


    *Emely... Are you just looking at information on Silva?*


    "Me? Nooo, I hate Silva. I just... Happen to find pages about her." Emely was glad that Gwyn wasn''t here to see her blush, and continued to read the diary "Hey, there''s a page about the game! I''ll read it, maybe it has useful information."


    Emely cleared her throat, preparing to read the page.


    "I really love that game, it''s the only place I feel comfortable in. I don''t have to think about the universe, my duties, or my fears. I just walk around and finish the same dungeon for the thousand times. Well... Maybe it doesn''t work so well. I''m still writing about my problems, even while playing. I just wish I could talk with the others, Neige isn''t always here, and loneliness is getting to me. Is it going to be forever like that? I doubt there''s a way to fix the world once and for all. I should stop now, I''m just depressing myself."


    Emely closed the book and slowly put it in her pocket before hearing Gwyn''s voice again.


    *You''re satisfied? You can go search for Cinnamon now?*


    "Y... Yes." Emely took her sword back in her hand, ready to move forward "When the leader''s back, we should throw a party for her. I''m sure it will make her happy."


    *It''s not a bad idea, but for now, focus.*


    "Okay, I still didn''t find a map though. For someone that played this game for so long, she''s not well prepared."


    Emely continued through the castle, making her way upward. She wasn''t sure it was the right way, but she felt like she was making progress at least. She continued to slay all enemies on her path like it was nothing, boring her more and more.


    "Is that how Silva feels when she goes on missions? It doesn''t feel that exciting."


    *What did you expect? She''s not going to amusement parks. By the way, it''s funny how you talk about her so much lately.*


    "This dumb bat? She just is so annoying, I can''t stop thinking about her."


    *Can''t stop thinking about her, huh?*


    When Emely realized what she said she blushed even harder, and even if no one saw her, she hid her face in embarrassment.


    "I meant that she''s so troublesome, I can''t stop thinking about the problems she brings."


    *I think that it''s not the only reason. Are you jealous of her because she goes on adventures?*


    "Well... It''s possible, I''d like to go on adventures too."


    *I can always talk about it with the leader, we''ll find an easy adventure where you could replace Silva.*


    "What? No, I should replace Neige or Sepide, since you know... I think it would be better like that."


    Emely could hear Gwyn chuckle a bit, before taking her serious tone again.


    *So you want to go on adventures with Silva, right?*


    "No, it''s just that we happen to go on adventures together that way. I''m not trying to go with her."


    *Come on Emely, it''s just me and you, you can be honest.*


    Emely thought for a moment, still unsure what to think.


    "I am being honest..."


    *So, what do you think of Silva?*


    Emely wasn''t sure what to answer. It was still a bit hazy for her, but she tried her best to answer how she could.


    "I just wish she''d take care of herself better. She goes to see you almost every day."


    *Don''t worry, I take care of that part. And what about her as a person?*


    "Well, she''s pretty cool. She''s blind, but she still manages to go on missions. And when she trains, she really looks determined and strong. I insult her a lot, but as she said, it''s just our way of communicating now. I just wish I could tell her to keep going and not give up instead of saying that her paintings suck."


    *It seems like you have a lot of respect and admiration for her.*


    "Yeah, I wish we could be good friends instead." Emely realized that she had been smiling ever since she started talking about Silva. She would have been embarrassed if Gwyn could see her and considered herself lucky no one could.


    *Only good friends? I feel like there''s more to it."


    "I don''t think she''d be interested in more, only being friends is enough."


    *You know, I''m kind of her therapist.*


    "I think everyone figured it was something like that."


    *Yes, and she tell me things she never said to anyone. Like for example, how would you feel if I told you she thought about kissing you?*


    "Ki-Ki-Kiss?" Emely had a face as red as a tomato, and asked with a voice full of hope "Is it true?"


    *No, it wasn''t. I was just curious to know your reaction.*


    Emely suddenly stopped blushing and took a neutral expression, trying very hard to hide her frustration.


    "You''re a horrible therapist." Said Emely while pouting.


    *I''m a pharmacist, not a therapist. I don''t understand why I became Silva''s therapist in the first place. Anyway, I don''t even think that Silva is into girls, but you should probably talk to her about your feelings, even if you don''t talk about your romantic feelings for her.*


    "I don''t have romantic feelings! You took me by surprise!"


    Emely suddenly noticed Cinnamon, walking right in front of her. He was in a big room with a throne inside it. She smiled cheerily and ran toward him, trying to catch him.


    *Either way, it''s important to talk about it to her. I''m sure she has similar feelings for you and wishes she could be friends with you.*


    Gwyn waited for an answer from Emely. Only the silence acted as her answer, worrying her a little.


    *Emely? Are you just being shy?*


    Despite waiting for a few more minutes, not a single sound came out to her, only silence.


    *Emely? Are you okay? Answer me!*

 Chapter 59: Have a Short Rest

    Today was one of the rare breaks everyone had in the tournament. Although they were allowed to roam outside, the leader and Silva both stayed inside. They were probably tired of the cold outside. Sepide on the other hand felt like she needed to go somewhere, just to walk. Everything went so fast for her and she barely had time to breathe. She walked around for a moment aimlessly, until she saw the organizer of the tournament starting at a frozen lake. Sepide wasn''t sure whether she should approach her, it was probably her last chance to do so and she had some questions in her mind. Opal heard her step getting closer and turned toward her with a tired look on her face.


    "Sepide? There are better places to hang out than here."


    "I felt like walking."


    Sepide stood next to Opal, staring at the same lake as her. She noticed the girl''s saddened face, she was about to ask, but Opal answered her question before she could ask.


    "It was so beautiful here, flowers were blooming, birds were soaring through the sky, and the sun was shining. But everything comes to an end eventually, that''s just how life is."


    "Why did everything change?" Asked Sepide.


    "Ada came, everywhere she goes, she brings snow along with her. I don''t blame her, it''s not like she can control it. Her fate is just to bring cold and loneliness, no matter how hard she tries."


    Opal seemed deeply touched by the scenery like she already saw multiple times. Leading Sepide to her next question.


    "Was it where you lived?"


    Opal chuckled slightly before answering.


    "I... Don''t really know how to say it, I never really lived anywhere. I''m not sure if I have a past, I''m just trying to find my place in this universe."


    It only led to more questions from Sepide. This girl was really strange, nothing that she said made more sense for Sepide so far.


    "Why did you organize this tournament? Is it to find your place in the universe?"


    "Not really, I think it was just interesting. Ada came to me with the idea, I already tried before, but it didn''t end well. She said she''d get the best people she could find and asked me to do it again. I know she does it for her own reasons, in the end, I''m just here to do my job."


    "You just do your job..."


    Sepide thought about this sentence for a moment, Opal''s situation was kind of similar to hers. She also was trying to find her place in this universe, the difference is that she knew the reason she was here. Only here to obey the order of her leader, her existence was just an afterthought, all the potential memories she had were fake, and she was fated to live her life that way until the end. Opal noticed her internal turmoil and tried to reassure her softly.


    "You know, the Goddess created everyone with a goal. I can only imagine what she''s thinking, but I''m sure she wasn''t planning that path for Ada. The same goes for your leader, I don''t think she was supposed to end up in that situation. And yet, everyone took a different path. The reason for your existence doesn''t matter, it''s your life in the end."


    "My life... But I can''t do anything else."


    "I''m sure you can, there has to be something you can do."


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    Opal looked at her watch, it seemed old, almost like it was passed down from multiple generations. She let out an annoyed sigh, visibly tired.


    "I have to go back to work. Sorry for the trouble Sepide, I don''t really have the opportunity to talk usually. If I was a bad organizer, I''d give you an advantage for that."


    Opal gave her a soft smile before leaving. Sepide still looked at the lake for a few more moments, once the cold caught her, she decided to leave for a warmer place.


    She didn''t notice how fast the day went, it was already sunset. She went into the tavern they were in after their first trial to get something to eat. Apparently, Silva had the same idea since she was already here eating. Sepide sat next to her, shyly greeting her.


    "Hey... You decided to go outside?"


    "I was hungry. I wish I could have slept more, sleep is more important than food after all."


    "Didn''t you sleep all day?"


    "I wish I could have slept for three days in a row. You know, I missed the time when we had one mission a week. I''d spent time with Neige and Kairo, paint, sleep, and repeat."


    "Just Neige and Kairo?" Asked Sepide, curious about her life on the ship "You didn''t spend time with the others?"


    "I would spend time with Gwyn, but she always scolds me about my health. Shiro is fine, but he''s just asking about Neige all the time. Ina is... to be honest I barely remember anything about her. And Emely just sucks."


    "You''re still jealous about her?"


    "I''m not jealous..." Silva said while pouting "At the beginning maybe, but she''s just a dumbass. She worries over nothing, she can''t enjoy art, and she looks dumb."


    "How do you know she looks dumb?"


    "I can smell it."


    Somehow, the answer made Sepide even more confused than at the beginning. She shook her head to forget the weird answer and kept trying to understand the reason behind Silva''s distaste for Emely.


    "You know that you two kinda look alike?"


    "Is it true?" Asked Silva with a bit of doubt.


    "She had ginger hair and you have red hair, she''s slightly taller but you have a similar height. It''s not a lot, but if you say she looks dumb, then you look dumb too."


    "Yeah you''re right, I look dumb."


    Sepide expected Silva to be positive toward Emely, instead, it had the opposite effect from her goal.


    "But she looks dumber than me. Red is better than ginger and I have freckles, so I look better."


    "Freckles make you look better?"


    "I don''t know, Neige said that."


    Sepide paused for a moment to think before asking again.


    "There has to be a reason, why do you hate Emely?"


    "I don''t hate her, she''s just a dumbass and has to accept it."


    Sepide realized that this was going nowhere and gave up her attempt to understand their relationship. To her surprise, Silva suddenly talked about Emely again.


    "I kinda feel bad for her. When we found her, she was in a scrapyard, she managed to survive alone for months like that. We never found the reason as to why her world was destroyed, I wonder if it makes her feel bad to not know."


    Sepide was moved by Silva''s sudden empathy for Emely, sadly this moment didn''t last long.


    "Emely''s still a dumbass though."


    "Don''t you want to be more friendly with her?"


    "Yeah, but it''s fun to mess with her too. She''s frustrated that she has small boobs, so I like to grab them to make her feel bad."


    Sepide turned her face in embarrassment and quickly put her arms around her chest.


    "I-I see."


    "It''s really cute when she blushes, it''s even cuter when she''s mad at me."


    "It feels like she''s important for you still."


    "Of course, I don''t want anything to happen to her. I''m the only one that can bully her."


    "You have a weird relationship, is it what love is?"


    "No, love is a marvelous feeling that warms your heart and makes you feel like everything is alright. Emely''s just funny, and besides, I''m not into girls."


    Silva paused for a moment. She put her hand on her cheek, staring at the distance.


    "I wonder if I''ll ever find love someday. Maybe in one of the worlds we travel, we could find a lover for you Sepide!"


    "No thanks, I''m not interested. Neige already told me that love sucks."


    "He doesn''t know what he''s talking about! He''s too into friendship to even consider it."


    "You''re really both different, I''m surprised you can be friends."


    "Friendship is like that, I don''t understand how he''s friends with the leader too." Silva took a deep breath and stood up from her chair. She stretched her body, ready to live "It''s late we should probably go to sleep. Tomorrow is a hard day."


    Sepide noticed that she forgot to order food. She figured it wasn''t too important, tomorrow would be the last trial, the most important day of all. Even if she wasn''t sure she was ready, she would try anyway to save Neige once and for all.

 Chapter 60: The Tournaments Climax!

    Neige was still trapped in Ada''s memories. He clearly saw that the nun''s mental health was worsening, it had been months since her Neige died, and life disappeared from this world. The nun spent her days in her church, talking to herself and writing in a diary. She never stopped searching for a solution, trying to find a way to get her friend back. It was impressive that she was even alive, she didn''t eat anything or take care of herself for a while. Even despite all this time, her eyes were still empty, and yet, she still kept going. As long as she was alive, she tried to save her friend. Not a break was taken, not even to sleep. She walked in circles in the church, thinking all she could.


    Suddenly, she stopped and fell on the floor. All the exhaustion caught up to her but it didn''t stop her. She stood back up, still determined to save her friend.


    "Neige... I know you''re still here... Somewhere..."


    The darkness surrounding her body formed a blanket around her. She fell asleep, taking a break from all her overthinking. Her heartbeat was getting weaker as she fell into a deep slumber.


    When she woke up, she was in a forest. Everyone was running around, getting away from her. It was a small town in ruins, everything was on fire, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t remember anything about what happened. She put her hand on her head by reflex, only to notice that her hand was a shapeless black matter, as her whole body was. She looked like a ghost and didn''t realize what happened. She knew that this wasn''t her world, but couldn''t explain why. It was like she could see another dimension, step into another plane of existence.


    The scene vanished in front of Neige once more. Weirdly, he could remember this scene slightly, like it was something that happened to him. He wasn''t really sure if it was because he had been in this void for ages and that he was slowly going insane, all he wanted for now was to leave. At least, he knew what happened now. He could imagine the rest, and even if it still didn''t make him comfortable around her, he could understand the nun a bit more. Neige walked a bit more, trying to find the exit of this eternal dark.


    The eight contestants entered the snowy Colosseum, ready to hear about the last trial. The arena was like usual, aside from a circle drawn in the middle. It had a diameter of around 10 meters, everyone knew it was related to the trial, but no one knew how yet. The crowd cheered for them and only went silent to listen to Opal like usual.


    "Once again, Congratulations for still being here. This ordeal will be the last, as only one can arise as the winner. The rules are simple, it''s a single-elimination tournament. You''ll fight against each other in one versus one. You lose if you stay on the ground for ten seconds, if you give up, if you step out of the circle, or if you die. Just like before, once the fight starts, everything is allowed, you''ll even be allowed to take the weapons we took from you when you arrived here. The tournament''s bracket is displayed on a sign in front of you, I advise that you find your opponent there, the first match will start in thirty minutes."


    The leader and her group approached the sign to see against whom they were paired. Sedide noticed that she would need to fight against Silva. She would have preferred to fight against someone else but figured she could just give up. In the end, it didn''t matter which one of them won. The leader stared at the board, her foe was Kairo. This time, there wouldn''t be any way to escape this fight.


    The first fight was about to start, the crowd could barely contain themselves. Silva and Sepide were both standing here, in the middle of the arena. Opal came with their weapons, Sepide took her firearm but Silva refused to take hers. Opal was confused at first but still accepted. She left the two friends in the arena, Sepide was about to give up immediately, but Silva interrupted her like she knew what she was going to do.


    "Sepide, we need to make sure the best one wins. Just imagine that as a friendly fight."


    Sepide was still unsure but decided to accept the fight. Both were ready, only waiting for the tournament organizer to finally start.


    "For the first of many fights, Silva against Sepide. May the best win!"


    The fight officially started, Silva instantly closed the distance from her friend and took a very aggressive approach. Sepide managed to block the attacks, playing extremely defensively.


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    "Why do you hesitate so much? Come on, I know you can do better."


    "But, I don''t want to hurt you."


    "We need to win the tournament, if you give up and that you''re stronger than me, we may lose. We''re doing it for Neige after all, and I have a vengeance to take too!"


    Silva smiled, still hitting kicks that Sepide blocked.


    "I didn''t mean to attack you last time..."


    "I want you to fight back, I want to get better!"


    Sepide felt the excitation in Silva''s voice. She didn''t want to hurt her friend, but maybe Silva just enjoyed fighting. She managed to hit Silva by surprise with a hook, forcing her to step back.


    "See, I knew you could fight back!"


    Sepide was still worried for her friend but she kept fighting the best she could. Despite attacking swiftly and precisely, she couldn''t land any of the attacks she threw at Silva. It was like she knew in advance what was coming at her, dodging before the hit came. Sepide was beginning to wonder if she really was blind, or if she really was that good at fighting.


    Silva punched back, but her speed wasn''t as good as Sepide''s. Her blow was blocked by her friend, who managed to always intercept whatever hit Silva would throw.


    "It''s leading to nowhere, we just dodge and block each other''s attacks..."


    "That''s where you''re wrong! Don''t worry, you just lack experience, it''s normal."


    Sepide tried to understand what Silva meant, but couldn''t despite her efforts. Silva''s constant assault prevented her from thinking, as she always had to block or take a step back from her.


    "I don''t understand, so far I''m the only one that landed a hit."


    "A fight is rarely about physical strength, there''s always a way to outsmart your opponent."


    "How? I don''t understand?"


    "Like that." Silva had a smug grin on her face like she already won. She pushed Sepide who appeared surprised by the sudden move from her friend. She didn''t understand why until Opal''s voice echoed in the Colosseum.


    "Sepide stepped out of the circle and is therefore eliminated! Congratulations to Silva!"


    The crowd cheered loudly, yelling Silva''s name at the announcement. Sepide looked down to see that she indeed set foot outside of the area. The circle was so big that she thought it wouldn''t be an issue and couldn''t understand how she got so close to the limit.


    "You were really lucky."


    "That wasn''t luck!" Answered Silva "I ran to you, so you were already closer than me to the outside. Then you blocked my attacks while I dodged. I made sure I never stepped back, but you didn''t think about it so you were the only one getting closer to outside of the circle. I just had to push you in the end and I won!"


    Silva explained her strategy, visibly proud of her achievement. Sepide was impressed but still confused by her prowess.


    "But how did you know where the circle was? You''re blind."


    "I just asked for Opal to walk me along the line during the break. Being blind gives you a good memory!"


    "I feel like I was the disabled one..."


    Silva laughed cheerfully before head patting her friend with enthusiasm.


    "You did a great job, you can rest now, I''ll win the tournament."


    Sepide nodded her head with a smile and both left the arena together.


    The two next contestants stepped into the arena. On one side was Uriel, the robot. And on the other Ada, the anomaly. Silva and Sepide both cheered for Uriel, hoping she would win. Opal raised her voice, announcing the combatants.


    "The two opponents are now Uriel and Ada, may the best one emerge victorious."


    Ada was armed with a spear, ready to face her opponent. Uriel didn''t seem to have any weaponry but was prepared to fight. They both waited for the other to make the first move, without any intention to back down.


    "I must give you a warning before we commence," Uriel said in her robotic voice "I was programmed to win any conflict, no matter the means. For your security, I advise you to give up."


    "Come on, I''m not going to lose against a metallic doll." Ada answered without a worry in the world.


    The robot rushed toward the nun with the intent to kill in her eyes. Ada was surprised by her speed but wasn''t losing her focus. Her spear twirled elegantly toward Uriel in an attempt to attack her, but before the lance could deal any damage to her, she took it away from Ada and broke it with only one hand.


    "You still have a chance to give up, I do not wish for your death."


    "Like you could kill me!"


    Even despite the loss of her weapon, Ada was still determined to win. She put her all in her punch, trying to put Uriel down. Not only did the robot barely flinch, but Ada also seemed to be hurt just from giving the hit.


    "Okay, maybe you''re more solid than I thought, but it''s not going to stop-"


    Before she could finish her sentence Uriel slapped her with the back of the hand, sending Ada directly on the ground, a few meters away.


    "I was made to fight in the war, you don''t have any way to damage me. Please, for your sake, give up."


    Ada stood back up, not ready to give up yet. Uriel seemed saddened by the nun''s tenacity, she took a step forward and suddenly stopped. Everyone stayed silent, waiting for the robot''s move. Uriel was about to move but suddenly struggled as if something was preventing her from moving. Ada smirked and took this opportunity to take half of her spear on the ground and pierced through Uriel''s body. Some were confused, some were disappointed, but all were silent looking at the eerie scene.

 Chapter 61: The First Round

    The spectators stared at Uriel''s falling body in a stupor. The metallic sound of her corpse echoed in the Colosseum. Ada stared at her, only hoping she wouldn''t wake up suddenly. Opal herself came into the ring to examine Uriel''s body and stayed silent for a while. After a few seconds that lasted an eternity, she gave her verdict.


    "Uriel is no longer able to fight, Ada wins."


    Ada celebrated her victory, she expected the crowd to cheer but was instead met with disagreement from them. They were accusing her of cheating, begging for her to be disqualified. Sepide ran toward Uriel in the ring, still not believing what happened. Her eyes were open, but there wasn''t any life in them. She turned toward Opal, hoping she would get an answer from her.


    "What happened? Is it just that she doesn''t have energy left? She''ll wake up soon... Right?"


    Opal shook her head and stood up. She read her notes, trying to search for something.


    "This shouldn''t have happened, there are no explanations." Opal turned toward Ada and asked her with a cold voice "You know that you aren''t supposed to use your powers, right? We better not find out that you broke something inside of her."


    "You can''t prove I did anything! Maybe she just reached the end of her life suddenly, who knows?"


    Sepide felt enraged toward her, just the thought that she could have hurt Uriel was too much for her. She took her firearm and aimed it at the anomaly, with tears all over her face.


    "You cheated! You shouldn''t have done that! She... She didn''t deserve any of that."


    "That''s just how it is, I can''t do anything about it."


    Despite Ada''s words, Sepide knew that she was the reason behind Uriel''s fate. Before she could do anything, Opal took her gun from her hands.


    "It''s not allowed to fight against other contestants between fights."


    Sepide wanted to argue back, her heart was racing and the hatred against Ada was the only thing she felt. She tried to calm herself, afraid she could cause problems if she left her emotions to get the better of her. Opal nudged her slightly with her shoulder and handed her a kind of metallic bloc once she got Sepide''s attention.


    "You were friends with Uriel apparently, I think you should have it then, it''s her hard drive."


    Sepide wasn''t sure what it was exactly but accepted the gift. Everyone left the ring, while the crowd still booed Ada.


    Despite everything that happened, the tournament continued. The next two contestants entered the ring. On one side was Silv and on the other stood Eve. Before the fight even started, Eve already felt exasperated.


    "I''m just a nun, why am I here? And why are you my opponent?"


    "Come Eve! It was fun to team up together!"


    "No... It wasn''t..."


    Eve had a wooden staff in her hand, she visibly wasn''t confident about her chance of winning. Unlike Silv, who seemed to have way too much fun for the situation they were in.


    "For our third fight, Silv will face Eve. May the best win!"


    The fight officially began and Silv took the gun she had in her third trial in her hand. It only had one bullet in it but it was still a dangerous weapon.


    "I''m sorry Eve, but I''d like to get to the fun chapters quickly."


    Silv pressed the trigger, she expected the fight to end right there but the gun didn''t fire anything. No matter how hard she tried, nothing would happen.


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    "That''s unlucky." Eve said those words like she knew it would happen, she swung her staff at Silv, who dodged at the last second.


    "What do you mean unlucky? Did you cheat?"


    "No, I''m just naturally lucky, and by extension, my enemies are unlucky."


    Silv didn''t have any other weapon, all she could do was run away from the nun while still paying attention to not leaving the ring.


    "You may be lucky, but I know all your moves!"


    "I know." Answered Eve with an annoyed voice "I''m sure I''ll just get lucky eventually."


    Silv managed to find an opening for an attack and tried to throw away the gun itself at her. But the weapon stayed stuck in her hand until she threw it on the ground. Silv realized had paint on her hand and that it made the gun stick to her hand.


    "Why weren''t you lucky like that when we worked together?"


    "I guess it''s because I didn''t do anything, you all did most of the job."


    Eve continued to attack randomly, trying to land any blow with her staff. Silv wasn''t sure how she would manage to win, her strength alone was clearly inferior to Eve''s staff. Every time she would approach, she ran the risk of losing on the spot. if she did, Eve''s divine luck would make her lose, or she would take a hit if she wasn''t being careful enough.


    "Hey, Eve! I''m going to attack! You better dodge!"


    Eve was confused about Silv''s sentence, why would she warn her about her intentions? Either way, she decided to dodge when she saw Silv running toward her. She planned to counter-attack, but Silv stepped back instead of attacking.


    "Are you just mocking me?" Asked Eve offended.


    "Don''t worry, I''m going to attack for real this time!"


    Eve wasn''t sure if she was telling the truth now. This time she decided that she would attack first and throw a hit whenever Silv got close. But unlike last time, Silv didn''t even get close.


    "I don''t understand what you''re doing, you''re supposed to fight you know?"


    Silv ignored Eve''s sentence and instead yelled her next move again.


    "I''m going to punch you!"


    Eve was getting seriously annoyed, she knew that Silv wouldn''t do anything and just waste her time. It was better for her to think about a way to beat her quickly. Silv approached her, she tried to attack with her staff but Silv managed to dodge it, surprising the nun. Silv was right next to her now and managed to punch Eve in the guts and steal her staff from her. When she stepped back, however, she lost balance and made the staff fall outside the ring.


    "I hate being unlucky..." Silv considered reaching for the staff but didn''t want to take the risk of losing and instead woke up.


    "How do you always know what I''m doing? I''m sure you''re cheating!"


    "I''m not cheating, I''m just very good at knowing what you think!"


    Eve let out an exhausted sigh and raised her hand to the air while turning toward Opal.


    "I give up, I can''t win against her."


    "Are you sure?" Opal asked "She just hit you once."


    "I lost my weapon and honestly, I don''t think I can win against her, she always knows what I''m doing. I''m just leaving before anything worse happens."


    "Very well. Silv won, Eve forfeited."


    Silv tried her best to appear confident but she was glad this fight was over. All she could hope was that her next contestant wasn''t going to be someone too strong for her.


    Only two persons were left for the first round of the tournament. Kairo and his former leader. They both stepped into the arena, everyone stayed silent looking at the two facing each other, feeling the tension in the air. Both had the intention of putting their all in it.


    "Onto the fourth and final fight of the first round! Yada versus Kairo, may the best win, and without cheating please..."


    The fight barely started and the leader had already taken her sword in her hand, rushing toward her former member. Kairo managed to defend the slash from the sword with his axe but noticed that this time, the leader was trying to end it quickly. Still, he couldn''t allow himself to give up just yet.


    "I''m sorry leader, but I need to win. I am so close to seeing the truth, and I won''t stop now."


    "I don''t care about your backstory! I just want to see Neige again!"


    The woman moved her sword swiftly and precisely like she was dancing with her blade. Kairo could barely find a moment to attack, buried in the hits of his former leader. He was forced to step back from her, leading him dangerously close to the limit of the ring. Seeing an opportunity, the man tried to swing his axe at his former leader. The blade of the axe barely touched the woman, and now Kairo was opened to an attack. He dodged as fast as he could but the sword of the leader gave a clear cut on the right part of his face. The axe fell from his hand as he tried to cover his bleeding right eye.


    Kairo thought it meant defeat, that his former leader would offer him a chance to give up, but instead, she was already prepared to swing her sword again. She was really serious about ending it once and for all, death was facing him, getting as close as it could to him. Kairo took a step back in reflex, almost sure his life would end there.


    "Kairo stepped out of the ring, Yada won!"


    Kairo couldn''t believe what just happened. The leader stopped her attack and left the arena like nothing happened. The crowd was cheering as the man fell to the ground, still not realizing what happened. His life flashed in front of his eyes, his body was still shaking from what just occurred. At this moment, he realized that he never had a chance to begin with and that his former leader was way more skilled than him. Even if he lived today, he knew the next time he would face his former leader, no rules would save him.

 Chapter 62: I Am Thou

    Opal clapped at Silva, Polyetta, Ada, and Silv, the four contestants left in the tournament. The spectators all cheered, impatient to see the rest of the tournament unfold.


    "You managed to get far, I do not doubt that you all have your chances to win. For the first round of the semi-final, Silva and Silv will be the first to fight."


    Silva and Silv both went toward the ring. Silva knew she could win easily in a physical fight, but she still worried about what Silv would throw at her. The two girls faced each other in silence, waiting for the fight to officially start. Silva''s heart raced in her chest, her respiration faltered, and her body quivered slightly. She would have preferred to avoid this moment forever, the moment to fight her other self.


    "For our first fight of the semi-finals, Silv against Silva. May the best win!"


    The fight officially began. Silva took a short moment to brace herself and ran toward Silv. She was ready to end this fight as soon as possible, not letting a moment for Silv to think about a strategy. Silva put all her strength into a kick, hoping it would knock her other self in a single hit. Silv was visibly not expecting the attack to be so painful and her body tried its best to even stand up.


    "That hurts... So that''s how your parents felt."


    "What?" Silva flinched and took a step back in shock "That''s not... I didn''t..."


    While her opponent was lost in her thoughts, Silv attacked her and tried to push her outside of the ring. Silva managed to step away but was visibly unwell. Trying to forget Silv''s words, she decided to attack her with a punch that was dodged at the last moment.


    "You''re so slow, no wonder you couldn''t help Neige."


    "Shut up, don''t think you can win with just your words!"


    "Really? It seems effective for me. You can try to act tough, but I know you more than yourself. You''re like me in the end."


    Silva tried to land another attack but was immediately avoided with a simple sidestep.


    "What are you talking about? The only thing we share are four letters in our names!"


    "It''s just that you can''t accept it. When you saw your parents die, you felt happy, right?"


    Silva stepped back and took her head in her hands, reminiscing about a past she tried to forget.


    "No! Of course not! I''m not a monster! I''m..."


    "You''re like me! In the end, you just are an egoist monster too! You can try all you want, but you can''t be the righteous person you pretend to be! Chaos is your fate!"


    "Will you shut up!?"


    Silva tried to attack Silv but her movements were as confident as her heart was. Silv managed to dodge everything easily, even managed to hit her a few times in the process.


    "Deep inside you''re kinda like the people you try to stop. Can you really say that you could sacrifice Neige if it meant that the world was safe? Could you-"


    "Shut up! Why do you keep talking!? I never asked you anything!" Silva suddenly stopped attacking and fell on her knees, exhausted "I... I''m trying to be a good person... I swear..."


    Memories of her past came to her, of her parents that she disappointed, of her friends that she couldn''t help, and of the failure she felt she was. She knew she had to fight, that those were only words, but she couldn''t.


    "You try, but it''s your fate to fail. You know very well that we''re only a burden to those around us. Your blindness, your past, yourself, everyone would feel better if we both were away, don''t you agree?"


    Silv took a knife from her pocket and threw it on the ground in front of Silva.


    "If you truly care for those around you, you know what you have to do."


    Silva took the knife in her hand without thinking. She thought about all the lives around her that changed because of her. The fate her parents encountered, Neige''s disappearance, her other self, everything went back to her.


    "If I didn''t exist... Everything would be different..." Silva silently muttered to herself while running her finger in the sharp blade. For a moment, she considered a world without her, without all the problems she could cause.


    "Hey, get up!" Yelled Sepide from the crowd "Why are you staying down? The fight is not over!"


    Silva heard her words but wasn''t reacting. Absorbed in her own world, she had all her focus on the blade she was holding.


    "Hey stop! You better not hurt yourself anymore! I don''t want anything to happen to you, so please stop! It hurts me to see you like that!"


    Silva stopped when she heard her friend''s crying words. She stood up a bit confused, until she noticed her blood on the blade. The knife fell from her hands as she opened her eyes in shock realizing what happened. Her arms were covered in her own blood, with wounds deeper than she ever felt before. Seeing that, Silv let out a sigh, a bit disappointed.


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    "If only this bitch wasn''t there, I could have gotten rid of you right there..."


    "Hey! Don''t call her that!" Silva took back a fighting stance despite the pain in her arms "Why does it hurt so much? It''s not that bad usually..."


    Silv took back the knife on the ground, visibly ready to end things once and for all.


    "It''s alright, I''ll finish what you started."


    Silv attacked Silva but the latter managed to dodge. Silva tried attacking back but the pain stopped her in her tracks. Not only it was in her arms but her heart itself hurt her after each of her heartbeats.


    "I swear it''s not that bad usually... It hurts so fluffing much..."


    "Fluffing? You can say fuck you know? Our target audience isn''t kids."


    Silva tried to land a kick that sadly didn''t hit its target. her opponent tried to counter-attack with her blade but she managed to barely dodge it.


    "I can''t punch and you dodge my kicks, but we''ll see if you can avoid a headbutt!"


    Silv was bewildered about Silva''s words, she wasn''t expecting her to announce her plan. But Silva wasn''t stupid, she planned to throw her off by kicking her by surprise and hoped it would hit this time. She went closer, ready to attack. Silv prepared to dodge a kick but instead was hit by a headbutt to her surprise. The violent blow sent her straight to the floor, causing immense pain to her.


    "I thought you would kick!?"


    "What would you think that? I said I would headbutt. Maybe you thought I would change my mind? Seems like you don''t know everything after all."


    "Did you think about kicking me on purpose, only to throw me off?"


    "Maybe."


    Silv tried to wake up but her body refused to move, violently hurt by the hit. Opal started a countdown out loud, if ten seconds passed, Silv would officially lose.


    "One, two, three."


    The crowd yelled the numbers along with the tournament organizer, excited to see who would end up as the winner.


    "Four, five, six."


    Silv wasn''t expecting the hit to be that strong, even Silva slightly moved her head while having her eyes half closed. The hit from her head along with the blood loss was affecting her. She was in no state to fight and would definitely lose if Silv stood up.


    "Seven, Eight, Nine."


    Despite all her best efforts, Silv couldn''t stand up. She accepted defeat, relaxing her exhausted body, and closed her eyes. Silva smirked when she saw her victory and whispered the number along with Opal and the crowd with satisfaction.


    "Ten!"


    The crowd cheered and yelled Silva''s name, making Opal''s announcement barely audible.


    "Silva won by knockout, Silv stayed on the ground for ten seconds."


    A guard came to take Silv while Sepide and her leader came running toward Silva.


    "Silva, are you alright?" Sepide asked with dry tears on her cheeks.


    "My favorite color is seven..." Silva said with an empty gaze toward the sky.


    "She probably lost a lot of blood, and all this fighting didn''t help." The leader said while examining her wounds "Sepide, can you take care of her? It will be my time to fight."


    Sepide nodded her head as the leader went away. Once they were away from the noise of the crown, Sepide took some bandages to heal her friend. Her eyes widened and she flinched a little when she felt Silva''s sudden embrace, but quickly hugged her back.


    "I''m sorry... Sepide..."


    "Sorry?" Sepide asked, perplexed.


    "I didn''t know it hurt you too..." Silva pressed Sepide tightly against her "Did it hurt Neige too? I thought I was the only one it affected..."


    "Of course you''re not the only one affected! When we learned you harmed yourself... Neige and I were both extremely worried for you." Sepide broke free from her friend''s arms and took her hand, which was still bloody "Come on, you need to eat something and we''ll put up bandages."


    "I won''t do it again."


    "Huh?" Sepide frowned her brows, curious about Silva''s words.


    "I won''t harm myself again... I don''t want to hear that despair in your voice ever again."


    Sepide smiled softly, with tears in her eyes.


    "Thanks, Silva... Is there something you want to eat?"


    "I''d like something that tastes like a cloud..."


    "I think you''re a bit too exhausted for your own good. Come on, you need rest."


    Ada and Polyetta both made their way into the ring. The crowd was waiting for one thing, seeing Ada lose. Not only they still felt sour about her win, but they also were overexcited about the way Polyetta used her blade. The leader stared at the nun with a deadly, lingering stare, waiting for the moment when the fight would start.


    "I know you''re cheating, and I''ll still win."


    Ada took a shaky stance, dreading the moment the fight would begin. Opal''s voice echoed in the Colosseum, finally ending the wait.


    "Silva may not be able to participate in the final, so this could very well be the final of our tournament. Ada and Yada will face each other, may the best win!"


    The leader walked slowly toward Ada her sword sliding on the snowy floor of the arena. Ada took her spear in her head, preparing herself for an attack at any moment. The pressure rose as the woman approached menacingly. Once she managed to get close enough, her blade swung at what looked like the speed of light. The nun barely managed to dodge the slash and quickly noticed that she had no chance to even do anything. Her spear flew away as she fell to the ground, her cheek cut from the slash.


    "It''s fine, I saw what I needed to see."


    The leader stopped for a moment at the anomaly''s words. A tentacle made of black matter came out of the ground and swung at her, sending the woman flying out of the ring. Opal whistled, trying to get Ada''s attention.


    "It''s cheating, you''re disqua-"


    "Come on, can''t you see that I don''t care about the tournament anymore?!"


    Opal pouted in an offended way, letting an annoyed sigh while looking at the rest of the fight. Ada slowly walked toward Polyetta, with darkness surrounding her.


    "I saw enough, so I''ll give you a choice."


    "A... Choice?" Asked the leader while standing back up painfully.


    "I want to create a world, just for Neige. You could say that all of this was just a way to see who would be a good enough person to join our perfect world. I don''t really want you around, but you''re kinda his friend so if you promise to not cause problems you can stay."


    "Stay? In your world?" The leader asked offended.


    "I know you think the same as me! Can''t you imagine a perfect world? A world where everyone is happy, a world where everyone can be free of their past."


    "I''d rather die in hell than trust you. You made all of this just to find people for your world and never intended to keep your promise, right?"


    "Kinda, but it''s for everyone''s good. It''s only in dire situations that you see human''s true nature."


    The leader rushed toward the anomaly while she talked. Ada let out a saddened sigh before sending her flying with another of her tentacles. Silva and Sepide both came to their leader to make sure she was all right. Enraged, Sepide took her gun and aimed at the anomaly with determination in her eyes.


    "Stop right there!"


    "I just wanted a world where everyone was happy... Why don''t you listen? Why do you keep struggling!?"


    Ada''s human form became more and more abstract, looking more like a distorted shadow than anything else.


    "I''m going to make everyone happy! Whether you like it or not! I''ll create my perfect world with Neige, even if it will be without you!"

 Chapter 63: The Hero Awakens Once More

    Neige woke up in a fluffy and warm bed, away from the darkness he had been trapped in for so long. He didn''t remember falling asleep, especially not in a room all in pink and white. The room was filled with plushes and other toys, but the thing that caught his attention was a picture on the wall, a picture of him and his friend Polyetta. In the middle of the room was a girl with very long black hair reaching to the floor, sitting in front of a table with a tea set on it. She looked around his age, sitting peacefully on the pink chair. The girl pointed the chair in front of her with her hand, inviting Neige to sit there. For some reason, he felt like he could trust her, almost like it wasn''t the first time they met. The girl smiled and poured tea into the cup in front of him as if it were a normal situation.


    "Do you want sugar?" The girl asked with a very soft voice. Neige felt like he heard it before, but he couldn''t remember where or when "Don''t think too much Neige, you need to relax. Your past wasn''t easy, and your future is even harder."


    Neige nodded his head shyly, trying to focus on the moment.


    "I''ll take two cubes."


    The girl took two sugar cubes from a box of porcelain to put in Neige''s cup and put the same amount in hers.


    "Be careful, the tea is hot."


    "Thanks." Neige thought for a while about the girl but still couldn''t remember anything about her. He wasn''t even sure if it was still a dream anymore "I''m sorry, have we met before?"


    "That''s a good question." The girl asked herself before answering "I suppose not. I should probably introduce myself then. My name is Opal, Opal Faith, but I have many names. Maybe you know me more by the name Peolyetta, or some call me the Goddess, sometimes I''m the author. I prefer to be called by my name, but you can call me however you prefer."


    Neige looked at the cup in his head, he still couldn''t believe what was happening. He wasn''t even sure about what happened before he was trapped in this nightmare.


    "Did Silva drug my drink as a joke?"


    The girl chuckled softly, visibly amused by his reaction.


    "Don''t worry, you''re not dreaming but you''re not awake either. Let''s just say it''s a special situation."


    "Am I... Dead?" Neige asked with some worry in his voice.


    "Oh, not at all. I just wanted to tell you something. And also... I always dreamed of meeting you."


    "Me?"


    The girl nodded to answer Neige''s question. The more the conversation continued, the less he understood what was happening.


    "I spend most of my existence writing. I always was alone in this room, without anyone to play with. It''s not fun to not have any friends when you''re a child, so I created my own."


    Opal took a diary and put it on the table, it looked exactly the same as the one Polyetta had, except that this one seemed cleaner and newer.


    "I didn''t know what I was writing became reality, all I wanted was to write peoples and worlds. When I realized that the world I created continued their stories, even without me, it felt weird. I went into one of them, then another one, again and again. Eventually, I fell in love."


    "But he left you, right?"


    The girl sadly nodded her head. She read through the pages of her diary while she continued to relate her story.


    "You already went there before. I was immature at the time so I made a castle where only I would live in. I eventually left and was too hurt to go anywhere else than in this room. I felt even lonelier than before I wrote so I created the best friend I could imagine. He was strong and smart, always cool-looking. He was just happy and nothing bad would happen to him."


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    "So where is he now? You''re no longer friends?"


    "Not exactly." The girl closed the diary and looked back into Neige''s eyes to continue her story "I didn''t want to feel hurt again, I didn''t feel like going anywhere. So instead I decided to make a character to represent me. She would always be kind and give her life for her friend. Together they were happy, and every time I wrote again I would make them friends."


    Opal took a deep breath, she blushed slightly and looked away from Neige. He wasn''t sure why but stayed silent to hear the rest.


    "Neige, you''re the person I trust the most. You always were and always will be my best friend."


    "Wait, this friend you created, it''s me?"


    Opal nodded her head softly, still embarrassed.


    "It feels surreal that I can talk to you after all this time. Alas, if you''re here, it''s not only so I can see my old friend. I decided that the universe was better without me, that everyone should be free of their destiny. But something that I didn''t account for happened."


    "The other Neige dying?"


    "Yes, I don''t understand why it went wrong but it did. I made Ada devoted to her friend, but when he died, she... Broke we could say. I already promised I would let you all free but at the same time, I don''t want all those stories to disappear. So please Neige, not as a Goddess but as a friend, will you stop Ada for me?"


    Neige stayed silent for a moment. It was a lot and he had many questions, but at the same time, he knew there was more important. All he wanted to do was find his friends and leave this place once and for all. Neige nodded his head with a confident smile, accepting Opal''s request.


    "I wasn''t going to let her destroy my world anyway. I won''t rest until she''s stopped."


    "Oh, please rest. You always overwork yourself."


    Opal looked at the clock on the wall of her room before continuing.


    "I''m afraid that our time together is almost over. This won''t be the last time we meet but please, try to forget what happened. I just wanted to give you hope, I know it''s hard for you."


    "Don''t worry about me, I''ll be fine!"


    "I should have made you a bit less heroic..." Opal mumbled to herself "It''s time to wake up now, your friends are waiting for you."


    Neige drank all the tea in his cup in one go and stood up from his chair ready to leave.


    "Goddess, I don''t really have feelings for you like you do, I just met you."


    "Of course... I know."


    "But if it makes you better, Polyetta is the best friend I ever had and I''ll cherish her forever."


    Opal had a soft smile on her face and tried to hold a tear in her eye.


    "I''m glad if I could be a good friend to you, even if it wasn''t me directly."


    The scene became hazy and blurry. Neige''s eyes closed themselves, and for the first time in what felt like years, he was able to rest.


    Neige''s eyes slowly opened. The cold was barely bearable and his body felt rusted like it hadn''t been used in years. The man slightly lost balance as he woke up, still trying to remember what happened. He looked around and noticed he was in a high place of a kind of Colosseum, in a world full of snow. But what shocked him the most was what was happening in the middle of the arena, The anomaly was there, visibly fighting against his friends. He was about to jump in but was stopped by a familiar voice.


    "Neige, you forgot something."


    Neige turned around to see Opal, handing him something. It was a dagger, it looked like the one Ada always had with her, but in a stainless steel instead.


    "I figured you might need a lucky charm."


    Neige took the weapon with a smile, nodding his head in gratitude. He instantly proceeded to jump into the arena to stop the anomaly.


    The anomaly was about to attack Polyetta, who stood there confidently. The former nun suddenly stopped her offensive when she saw the figure of her friend standing against her. Everyone turned at Neige in shock, not believing what happened. Polyetta had her eyes wide open with a smile on her face, unable to believe it was true. The anomaly on the other hand seemed more confused than anything, staring at him with confusion.


    "Neige?! How did you wake up?"


    Ignoring the anomaly''s question, Neige stood between his friends and her to protect them, pointing his new dagger at Ada.


    "Are you alright?" Neige asked while keeping the anomaly in check.


    "We should be asking that!" Yelled Silva with relief in her voice "I''m so glad you''re back."


    "I don''t plan on going anywhere anymore."


    Ada took a step back at the sight of Neige, visibly unsettled.


    "No... You were supposed to sleep until I built a world for us... I did all of that for you..."


    "I''m sorry Ada, but it''s not the world I want. Even if it''s not perfect, it''s my life and I''ll fight for it."


    The Anomaly tried to grab Neige with one of the tentacles of black matter. By reflex, Neige cut it with his newly acquired dagger. Not only did it work, but it seemed like it managed to hurt Ada as she and her dark matter ran away from Neige.


    "It burns! Where did you get that?!"


    Without answering, Neige darted a look into her eyes while keeping his weapon pointed at her. The anomaly stared from far away, as hurt by the blade than by Neige''s rebellion toward her.


    "It''s the end Ada, I won''t let you torture my friends any longer!"

 Chapter 64: Home Sweet Home

    Neige pointed his dagger at the shapeless anomaly. Ada looked around to see the faces of everyone against her, her silhouette became smaller, saddened to see this scenery.


    "I... Just wanted to help everyone... Create a perfect world..."


    "I know." Answered Neige with a voice full of understanding "You didn''t deserve what happened... But it''s our lives, and even if it''s not perfect, we''ll live it the way we want."


    "But you''ll be happier like that..."


    Neige stayed silent for a moment.  Once he saw that the anomaly wasn''t being aggressive, he put his weapon down and continued talking.


    "I want to be happy by myself, I won''t ever feel satisfied if I have to live in a world that was made by someone else."


    "You would be... Happier in an unperfect world?"


    "Maybe not, but it''s what I want."


    Ada seemed to think for a moment. The heavy silence stayed until she finally broke it.


    "I... I need to think. I''ll come get you when I''ve taken time to think."


    "Wait, don''t tell me you want to kidnap me again!"


    Ada suddenly vanished in the snowstorm, leaving only a silver necklace with a cross attached to it behind her. Neige took from the ground, wondering to himself whether the anomaly was still a menace. He turned toward his friends, who all jumped at him and took him in their arms tightly.


    "Neige! You need to eat more, you''re too small down there!" Silva yelled while squeezing him as hard as she could.


    "What? It''s the first time in months we see each other and that''s what you say!?"


    "Months?" Asked Polyetta confused "It''s been a week at most."


    "A week?" Neige thought about all he lived lately, despite it being a week, he felt like it was over the span of a year.


    "Neige, never leave me again..." Sepide''s voice was weak as tears filled her eyes.


    "I''ll do my best for that."


    "Not you''re best, just never leave..."


    Neige stayed silent while taking Sepide back in his arms. The group was relieved to finally find their friend and stayed together for a few minutes in silence to enjoy the moment.


    The sound of footsteps came closer to them. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound to see Kairo approaching. He threw two watches at them, which were caught by the leader.


    "The tournament organizer told me to give your watches back. I thought she''d be mad about the way it went, but she seemed pretty satisfied with the tournament. She also said to not worry, she''ll bring everyone into their worlds. I don''t know how but it''s not really important."


    "Tournament?" Asked Neige "Why does crazy stuff happen when I''m away?"


    "It''s because crazy stuff always happens." Answered Kairo "I think Silv stole one of the watches. I think I''ll lay low for a while."


    The man left with a sour expression on his face, under the sight of his former friends. Neige stared at him going away and turned toward his friends with questions all over his mind.


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    "Why did he have an eyepatch? And why does Silva have sunglasses? What happened while I was away?"


    "We should go back home and rest for now." Said the leader with a smile "I''m just glad you''re here again."


    Polyetta gave a kiss on Neige''s cheek before blushing furiously. Once everyone was ready, they finally went back on their ship.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group finally made it back to the ship. Shiro, Ina, And Gwyn were all waiting for them. They seemed happy to see them all back, but also very uncomfortable for some reason.


    "You''re all here!" Ina said with a smile "I''ll cook your favourite food!"


    "I''ll take care of your gears!" Cheerfully said Shiro.


    "We lost Emely and Cinnamon in a virtual world."


    Shiro and Ina looked at Gwyn with resentment, while the leader exclaimed her surprise.


    "In a virtual world?"


    Gwyn analyzed them for a moment, before answering.


    "Let''s talk about it in the med-bay. I think you need medical attention."


    The doctor explained everything that happened while performing tests on them, while the group explained what happened in the snowy world. The surprise on their face was visible when Gwyn explained that Emely and Cinnamon both ended up trapped in the leader''s video game.


    "I never asked her to make a virtual world, I just asked her to fix the fan."


    "We have to save them!" Silva stood up from her chair ready to go, while Gwyn showed her disagreement.


    "You''re not going anywhere, neither you nor Neige. Your body needs rest and energy, and after you told me what happened, I''m not letting Neige go anywhere."


    "But I''m fine." Said Neige with a calm tone.


    "Too fine, you should be traumatized from spending months alone in your mind, it''s not normal."


    "I guess I''m just used to it from my adventures. Come on, I''m not going to let Emely alone in this world."


    Gwyn let out a sigh, conceding to Neige.


    "Alright, but Silva is going nowhere."


    "But I want to go! I can''t sit here and do nothing!" Argued Silva.


    "You can and you will."


    Silva stayed silent for a moment. The group talked about their plan going in. They decided that Neige, Sepide, and the leader would go despite Silva''s complaints. She reminisced about their last moments together, when she shared her worries.


    "I think I understand Emely now." Silva said while staring at the ground "She was afraid that the last thing we say to each other was yet another insult, that the last moment we shared was an argument. I don''t want to end it like that, I want to tell her that she''s a great friend and a great engineer!"


    "It''s even worse than I thought." Said Gwyn coldly "She''s lacking blood so much that she starts saying nonsense."


    "It''s not nonsense, I''m going to save her, say she''s the dumbest person ever, and then I''ll say she''s a great person!"


    Silva left the room in a hurry. Neige, Sepide, and the leader all tried to follow her before it was too late, while the others stayed in the med-bay in shock.


    When they arrived in Emely''s lab, no one was there. The group searched everywhere but couldn''t find her until the leader looked at her console on the table, examining it closely.


    "She probably went inside already."


    "Should we go all together?" Asked Sepide.


    "I don''t think we should. I''ll stay outside, I should be able to help you from outside since I know the game."


    "I swear to the Goddess, there''s really no time to rest..."


    Neige and Sepide both prepared themselves to enter the virtual world.


    "I''m really sorry I have to send you both on missions so soon."


    "Don''t worry Polyetta, I just hope for Emely she has a good reason to create weird stuff like that."


    Once they were ready, Neige and Sepide pressed the button, sending them both into the game.


    The two friends woke up in front of a castle. Silva was visibly waiting for them, as she was sitting on the ground until they arrived.


    "Neige! Sepide! You''re here!"


    *Can you hear me?*


    The three friends looked at the sky to search for the origin of the voice, they knew it was their leader but it was still jarring to hear the voice from nowhere.


    "Yeah, I hope it''s not a hard game."


    *No, don''t worry, it''s Shadow 4! I finished that game a thousand times before, nothing can stop us! There shouldn''t even be a boss anymore.*


    "Shadow 4?" Asked Silva "Isn''t the game we got you in that world with street races?"


    *No, it was Shadow 4 Arena, a spin-off of this game. It''s the sequel but I never considered it canon, some characters changed personalities and some plotholes made-*


    "That''s great Polyetta, where should we go now?"


    The leader seemed annoyed by Neige''s answer but quickly answered his question.


    *Apparently Emely went into the castle. But be careful, you could be ambushed by an enemy.*


    "Okay, let''s end it quickly. I just want to sleep..."


    Sepied and Silva followed Neige''s lead, entering the giant castle to find Emely and Cinnamon.

 Chapter 65: Rescue Mission

    The group easily managed to navigate inside the castle thanks to the leader''s knowledge. They managed to dodge every enemy encounter and reached what seemed to be the top of the castle. Sepide''s eyes wandered toward one of the rooms only to see Cinnamon sitting on a throne inside the room.


    "Isn''t it the cat we''re searching for?"


    Her friends turned around to look at where she was staring. Cinnamon was indeed standing there, watching them with an empty stare from inside the room. Sepide and Silva were about to enter the room but Neige stopped them before they could.


    "Polyetta, there''s a room with a throne and Cinnamon inside, is it safe?"


    *Hum... It should be. It''s the boss''s room but I defeated it, so it shouldn''t respawn.*


    "Respawn? What does that mean?"


    "It means that we''re not going to fight a big bad dragon." Neige said, answering Silva''s question.


    When the three friends entered the room, the door behind them closed suddenly. The unconscious body of Emely was hanging from the ceiling, attached with a rope. Cinnamon walked into the center of the room and let out a bored yawn while stretching.


    "I really don''t understand how this dumb electrician ended up in that situation, but at least it was easy."


    Silva approached Cinnamon to take it in her arm, to which the cat answered by hissing at her. As if it was a signal, a giant cubic robot came out of the ceiling. Cinnamon hid behind it while the team was preparing to fight.


    "What''s that? I thought there was nothing in the room!"


    *The boss still appeared? That''s strange. Anyway, with the three of you, you should be able to win!*


    "Of course, I''m not going to lose against that."


    Neige took his firearm and tried to shoot, but nothing came out when he pressed the trigger.


    *Wait Neige, it''s not your turn. Silva is the fastest one in the team!*


    "It''s one of those boring games..."


    *It''s not boring! You just can''t enjoy the story fully because you have too short of an attention span!*


    Silva tried to understand what was happening and stared at her firearm for a moment with hesitation.


    "So I should attack?"


    *Yes, then it''s Sepide''s turn, then Neige''s, and finally the boss''.s*


    "Such a stupid rule..." Neige mumbled to himself.


    Silva took her gun and shot at the robot. It barely moved, almost like the attack didn''t affect it.


    *It''s too bad, it''s resistant to physical attack. Try using magic attacks instead.*


    "Magic? And how are we supposed to do that?"


    *It''s not that hard Neige, you just have to press start and...*


    The leader stopped in her sentence, suddenly realizing something.


    *You can''t cast spells. I don''t think you''ll manage to win actually.*


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    Sepide tried to aim at the robot''s eyes, leaving no impact at all. Seeing that, Neige decided to attack with his dagger instead, only to come at the same result.


    *You''re going to lose against the first boss of the game...*


    "Because you have a better idea?"


    Silva searched in her pockets for anything she could use. While she was distracted, their enemy moved his arm and sprayed a kind of pink powder at them. The group coughed upon inhaling the powder, unsure about what it was.


    *Oh no, he charmed you!*


    "Is it that easy to charm people in this game?" Neige asked sarcastically.


    *No, it''s a status effect. You will feel a sudden urge in your lust, affecting your capabilities in combat!*


    "Really? I don''t feel anything." Neige turned toward his friend, making sure they were alright. Sepide looked a bit red but still managed to act normally.


    "I feel a bit weird, it''s weird and hot but I can manage, what about you Silva?"


    "Dicks..."


    "Huh?" Sepide frowned her brows and tilted her head, confused about Silva''s words.


    "Tentacles..."


    *Silva is deeply affected by it, I think you should be careful around her.*


    Neige ran toward Silva, hoping he could do something about the situation. When he approached her, Silva kicked him in an instant, leaving him on the ground.


    "Futanari..."


    *Silva?! Where did you learn those words?! Anyway, I don''t think we can count on Neige for this turn, it''s all in your hands Sepide.*


    "But what can I do?" Sepide looked around the room to try a solution. An idea emerged in her head when she saw Emely slightly swinging from her rope "Can we use our watches to leave?"


    *I think so, but it would be safest to return at the beginning just in case.*


    Sepide shot Emely''s rope, making her fall to the ground. Sepide ran toward her but was sent flying by the robot''s arm in one swing, landing right next to Cinnamon. She managed to grab the cat and yelled at Neige.


    "Are you alright? Can you stand?"


    "Just... five more minutes... She hit a sensitive spot..."


    Sepide was a bit surprised to see Neige down so easily and turned toward Silva, hoping to reach her.


    "Silva! If you take Neige and Emely we can leave! We don''t need to fight this thing."


    "Boobs..."


    *I think it''s useless, Silva is too far gone. It takes three turns to get rid of the effect of charm.*


    Silva clumsily took Neige''s hand and slid him all the way to Emely, trying her best to just walk.


    "Ahe...gao..."


    Once she was close enough, Silva grabbed Emely. She tried her best to use her watch, her hands missed the buttons more than once but she finally managed to use it. When Sepide saw that Silva managed to leave, she used her own watch to return to the ship safely, leaving this weird world once and for all.


    The three friends brought Emely and Cinnamon back under the cheers of the rest of the crew. Silva still felt a bit dizzy, looking around the ship confused.


    "What happened? I think I forgot..."


    "It''s better that way." The leader said with an embarrassed voice.


    Gwyn approached Emely to check her pulse and nodded her head to herself.


    "She''ll be alright, she''s just exhausted."


    "That''s a relief. We should all sleep for now, I think it was a long day for everyone."


    The group agreed with the leader''s words and all finally went to their room. Neige was about to go too, but Polyetta grabbed his hand before he could go anywhere.


    "Neige, can we go in my room for a moment, I think there are some things you need to know."


    The two friends went into the woman''s room, where Polyetta summarized everything to Neige. The tournament, Sepide''s origin, and everything else that happened. Neige told her about the dream he had, but for a reason even he didn''t understand, he felt like keeping his conversation with the Goddess secret.


    "To be honest, I knew something like Sepide would happen. You''re pretty bad at keeping promises."


    "Come on, I''m not that bad." Polyetta stared at the dagger Neige kept on his belt. She remembered seeing it when he faced the anomaly but never before that. She pointed the weapon and asked with a curious tone "It''s pretty, where did you get it?"


    "I think it''s a gift from the Goddess."


    Polyetta didn''t take him seriously, she chuckled and took the dagger in her hand before quickly dropping it in pain.


    "It burns!"


    "It does?" Neige asked while holding the dagger "Ada seemed to react badly to it too."


    "Whatever it is, it''s probably for the best that you have something effective against the anomaly."


    Neige took back his blade and cleaned it under the worried gaze of his friend. After a few minutes in silence, the woman took a deep inspiration and clenched her fist, visibly about to talk about something important.


    "Do you think I''m a good leader?"


    "Of course." Neige answered almost immediately "We would never manage so well if you weren''t here. We''re dealing with the worst of the universe and we''re still alive!"


    Polyetta took her friend in her arms, holding him close to her fast-beating heart.


    "Can you stay here for the night? I don''t want to be alone."


    Neige gave back her embrace, gently whispering in her ear.


    "I''m here now, I won''t ever leave you."

 Chapter 66: Peace

    Noon passed. Silva just woke up from the best sleep she had in a while. Today was a forced free day from the leader, which made everyone happy. Sadly for her, Silva had something to do. Since she lost her watch she needed a new one, and knowing Emely''s speed, she wouldn''t get one before a while even if she asked now.


    She arrived in Emely''s lab. Sepide and Emely both were here, apparently already talking about something. The young engineer stopped her conversation when she saw Silva enter and shifted her focus toward her.


    "Silva? That''s unusual to see you here, something happened?"


    "Nothing important, I didn''t mean to interrupt you while you were busy."


    "It''s already great that you''re here!" Said cheerfully Emely "I mean not because I like you being here or anything... Stupid bat."


    "What did I do!? I just arrived!"


    Emely suddenly looked away and blushed profusely. Seeing her distress, Sepide decided to explain what they were talking about to her blind friend.


    "Do you remember Uriel? I managed to get her hard drive. I thought it would only be a souvenir, but Emely can actually fix her back!"


    "I didn''t say that." Interrupted Emely "Her memories are probably fried, her personality module seems to be in a bad state too. You have to accept that your Uriel is dead, all I can do is... Create someone based on her code."


    "So a zombie."


    Emely hesitated a bit, slightly balancing her head side to side while thinking at Silva''s words.


    "Not exactly, it would be like using your DNA to create someone else. You could imagine it like a clone, or a child. What I mean is that I''m going to create a new person, Uriel will never be back."


    "It''s enough for me." Insisted Sepide "Even if it''s only spiritually, I would be glad to have her in our team."


    "Yeah, Emely would have a sidekick to change lightbulbs for her." Silva sarcastically said, "So I guess it will take some time to make Uriel 2.0."


    "I think I could in a few days if I focus on it."


    "A few days?! It''s taking you ages to repair my heater and you can create life in a few days?"


    "Repairing a heater is slightly less interesting than building a robot..."


    Sepide looked at her watch while the two argued. When she realized the time it was, she immediately apologized to Emely.


    "I''m sorry for adding work for you. I need to go now, I''m supposed to help Ina with the cooking."


    "Help Ina?" Silva tilted her head, slightly confused "She''s doing fine usually."


    "Oh, we didn''t tell you. The leader has been working intensely and lately, she even gets out of her room. I figured we could throw a surprise party for her, what do you think?"


    Silva thought about Emely''s idea for a moment. Their last party was spoiled by Silv and then Neige was kidnapped. Maybe it wasn''t such a bad idea to do it again.


    "It could be fun, I guess it''s worth doing it."


    "I''m glad you like the idea too!" Sepide said with a smile "I really need to go, I don''t want her to scold me."


    Sepide bowed to them before leaving the room. The lab stayed silent for a moment while Silva snooped around the room. None of the two girls dared say a word, leaving an uncomfortable silence. In her boredom, Silva ended up grabbing a piece of paper and folding it to make a paper swan.


    "Did you just transform my notes into a swan?"


    "You can always unfold it."


    "No, I mean... Since when do you know origami?"


    Silva stopped for a moment, searching in her thoughts.


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    "I guess since I''m ten or something. It''s fun painting them after."


    "I had no idea, you''re really artistic."


    "Not really, I think anyone stuck in a house for years would have ended up like me." Silva took the swan she made and waved it in front of her to simulate it flying "There''s only so much you can do in a room. My parents didn''t always buy me paint, but paper was common."


    "Was it that bad? You almost never talk about your past..."


    Silva crushed the swan she made into a paper ball and threw it on the table without a thought about her creation.


    "It''s in the past, it doesn''t matter much. I''m glad I have all the paint I need now." Silva wore a soft smile, before remembering the reason for her visit "My other self took my watch, again. I can manage without it, you can work on it when you''re free."


    "Oh, about that!" Emely searched for something in one of her drawer. Once she found it, she took it and handed it to Silva.


    "A box? What am I supposed to do with that?"


    "Open the box, dense bat..."


    Silva opened the box carefully. A watch was lying inside of it, way lighter than the one she previously had.


    "When I noticed you lost your watch, I made you a new one. You got it back, so I kept it just in case. I made it lighter since you said the weight was annoying you. Also, it now uses vibration in Morse code, so you can read the time more easily. I made sure you can directly say the world you want to go in since I know that it''s not practical to write when you can''t see. Furthermore, you can''t see it but it''s red, just like your hair."


    "Wait, I was joking when I complained about your watch, it also worked well."


    "But now you have your own, tailored for you. You better take care of it."


    "I... I don''t know what to say."


    Silva felt overwhelmed by Emely''s change. It pained her to remember how harsh she was to Emely, especially after all she was doing for everyone on the ship.


    "You can just say thanks." Emely''s voice was sunny, glad to see Silva happy with her gift.


    "Thanks. I''m truly grateful for what you did." Silva put on her new watch, moving her arm around with it "It''s too light."


    "Really? I can-"


    "It was a joke. It''s perfect don''t worry." Silva said while laughing at herself "I''ll leave you now, you probably need rest after what happened yesterday."


    "Yes, I think I want to work on the robot for now."


    "I''ll probably paint, it''s been a while since I did it."


    Silva headed toward the exit of her lab but Emely grabbed her hand before she could. Silva looked at her wondering what she wanted while Emely panicked and blushed, embarrassed.


    "You- You can paint here. I wouldn''t mind if you stayed around."


    "But don''t you need calm?"


    "Well yes... But... What if I end up in a virtual world by accident? I need someone to save me!"


    "I guess so, but you''re not a toddler. I''m sure you-"


    "Please stay."


    Silva was unsure, her friend''s behavior seemed a bit suspicious to her. She was even starting to wonder if it wasn''t all a plan to kill her somehow. It made more sense to her than Emely suddenly being nice suddenly. She brushed away these thoughts and decided to accept staying if it made her feel better.


    "Fine, I''ll just get my stuff and come back."


    Emely worked on her things while Silva was deep into her painting. The strokes of her paintbrush painted a kind of lake made of crystal, or that''s what Emely thought at least. It was hard to understand what it was and looked more like an abstract painting to her. She didn''t understand why she was so captivated by Silva''s movements, hypnotizing her slowly.


    "Emely, you''re burning something."


    Emely focused back to see that she was welding the wrong things together. It was nothing she couldn''t fix, but it was still a mistake she wouldn''t usually make.


    "Are you sure I don''t bother you?"


    "O- Of course not, it''s just a complex build."


    Silva seemed unconvinced but returned to her painting. She would sometimes stand up and walk around the room for seemingly no reason, intriguing Emely.


    "Why do you wander around the room? You''re going to hit something."


    "It helps me focus, that''s what normal people do."


    "I think normal people don''t walk around for no reason. I think it actually would make most people lose focus."


    "I''ll need to ask Neige next time, he probably knows if the average person does it."


    "You put a lot of faith in him, you trust him a lot."


    "He''s incredible." Silva answered with a bright smile "I wish I was like him sometimes, he''s always so confident."


    "Aren''t you confidant too?"


    Silva stopped for a moment, letting out a tired smile.


    "I wish I was..."


    The young engineer stayed silent for a moment. She took one of the pairs of glasses she made when she was in her home world and handed them to Silva.


    "Hey, do you remember them? I handed them to you soon after we met and you said you were blind!"


    "I do, your world was so annoying, there were scraps everywhere. I hope we never get back there." Silva removed her sunglasses and put the glasses Emely gave her "What do they do again?"


    "They have x-ray vision."


    "Oh, so you can see under people''s clothes." Silva said with a perverted grin.


    "No, you can see their bones."


    "It doesn''t seem useless, why don''t you build stuff like that sometimes?"


    "It''s boring. I want to make a lot of stuff that is as far away from reality as I can."


    Silva turned toward the painting she made with a soft smile.


    "I can understand. You should try to make glasses that see through clothes sometimes."


    "I guess I can, but..."


    "Oh, or you could create something that changes people''s sexuality?"


    Emely looked uncomfortably at the gun on her desk and made an awkward laugh.


    "Haha... Why would I do that? That would be so dumb."


    An alarm on her desk rang. Emely looked at her watch to see that it was late already.


    "It''s time for the party, I hope the leader will enjoy it. Come on Silva! Let''s go!"


    Emely took Silva''s hand and ran with her toward the main hall. Silva was taken aback by the new Emely, or rather, the true Emely. It didn''t feel bad though, and she was more than happy to see another side of her than the one she always saw all of this time.

 Chapter 67: Cooking Ina

    Sepide hurried into the kitchen, trying her best to not be late. When she arrived, Ina was already cooking by herself. The kitchen was way too big for only one person, Sepide had some trouble imagining Ina working as a cook every day by herself. The cook turned toward her when she noticed the door open and greeted her with a smile.


    "Sepide! I''m glad you were able to free yourself to come!"


    "I''m really sorry, I said I would help you but I had something to do before."


    "It''s nothing, I just asked for your help since I wanted to learn more about you. I can manage the cooking if I need to."


    "No no. I''m here now, I want to help."


    Ina smiled merrily and gave her new assistant an apron. Together, they worked on the different meals they would do for tonight. There was so much that Sepide not only wondered how Ina would do by herself but also who was going to eat all of that. There was enough to feed thirty people.


    "You''re doing good so far, I''m impressed." Said Ina with a bright smile on her face.


    "But I charred half of what I worked on so far..."


    "If it''s your first time cooking it''s already great! We have more than enough anyway, so if a bit goes to waste it''s not that bad. Be careful about the pizza, it will burn."


    "Oh, right!"


    Sepide hurried to take the pizza out of the oven. She thought it was impressive that Ina worked on her things, talked, and managed to notice that the pizza was ready.


    "How long have you been cooking? You''re very talented."


    "Don''t flatter me." Ina chuckled merrily while waving her hand "I was in an orphanage my whole childhood, that''s where I learned how to cook. Later, I took care of the orphanage I was raised in. I was the director and cook there, so I pretty much cooked my whole life. By the way, I think it''s time you get the dough out of the fridge."


    Sepide hurried to take the dough out while Ina continued with her story.


    "I miss the orphanage, it was a lively place. But the ship seems more festive too lately, so I don''t miss it too much."


    Sepide stayed silent. Most of the people here lost their home world, she could imagine that something happened for Ina to be here. noticing the worry on Sepide''s face, Ina quickly tried to cheer up her worried friend with a smile.


    "Don''t worry about it, I''m glad about my life on the ship. I''ve only been here for a year, but I''m happy here. I''m actually glad you arrived, I feel less like a newcomer now." Ina laughed cheerfully before continuing "But I think your cake had been in the oven more than enough."


    "How can you keep track of everything I''m working on?" Sepide asked while turning off the oven.


    "I''m just used to it, I''m careful about everything. As the cook, it''s also important that I know everyone''s taste. They rarely tell me, so I need to pay attention to it. I noticed most of them enjoyed the food from the world they come from, so I asked Neige for help with it."


    "It''s a lot of work for only one person."


    "Maybe, but I find it lovely. I can help save the universe in my way, everyone is useful here. The only thing I don''t know yet is your tastes. I could guess, but you can just tell me since you''re here!"


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    "I don''t really have things I like." Sepide said with a neutral face, surprising Ina.


    "Of course there are! We just need to find them!"


    Ina took a candy from her pocket and handed it to Sepide. She seemed unsure at first but accepted the candy and ate it.


    "Silva loves sweets, maybe you do too!"


    "It''s good, but it''s nothing special."


    "I see." Ina took a slice of the pizza that Sepide just cooked and fed it to her "What about salty things? Like Neige."


    "Are we really supposed to eat while cooking?"


    "Of course! It''s what it''s for!"


    Sepide ate the slice under the smiling gaze of the cook. Just like with the candy, she seemed to enjoy it but not love it.


    "You''re a tough one but I''ll find what you love!"


    Sepide was a bit worried about all the things she would need to eat, she thought the only thing she would have to think about was the cooking.


    After a few more hours, the two of them finished cooking. Sepide was exhausted and sat on a chair while Ina clapped happily.


    "Congratulations! You did very well for a first time. You could be a great cook!"


    "Really?" Sepide thought for a moment before asking another question "If everything is over, do you think I could be a cook?"


    "By everything, do you mean saving the universe? It seems like an impossible goal, but you could be a cook if it happens."


    Sepide seemed happy about the answer, unlike Ina who showed a bit of her worry.


    "Are you afraid to not have any hobbies? I''m sure you could find something you want to do, cooking isn''t easy. Why don''t you go on the internet eventually and search around? I''d love to have you in my kitchen, but I don''t think you should force yourself to find something to do."


    "I supposed you''re right... But I don''t want to have nothing to do once everything is over. Everyone on the ship already has something and I feel I was doomed since birth to only do one thing..."


    "Don''t worry, I know that even if you''re made for something, you can always do something else you genuinely want! You''re not limited by your past." Ina took a deep inspiration before mumbling to herself "Or so I hope..."


    Sepide''s head tilted when she heard those weirdly ominous words from her. Ina quickly smiled back and changed the topic.


    "You''ll find something, don''t worry. Now we should go prepare for the leader''s party!"


    Sepide and Ina both took some of the meal they prepared and headed toward the main hall.


    When they arrived in the main hall, Silva and Emely were here talking with the leader. When she noticed Sepide and Ina coming here with food, the leader turned back toward Silva and Emely


    "So you decided to hang out here for no reason AND bring food?"


    "That''s just a coincidence, I swear!" Emely said in panic while looking back and forth between Ina and the leader.


    "It is a funny coincidence!" Interrupted Ina "I was teaching Sepide how to cook, we just decided to stock the meals here since we didn''t have space!"


    "You didn''t have space?" Asked the leader unconvinced.


    "Yeah."


    "In your kitchen that is as big as all our rooms combined?"


    "Yep!"


    "And all your ingredients fit in your kitchen, but when you cooked them they suddenly didn''t fit anymore?"


    "I know, crazy right?"


    The leader stared at Ina, even more skeptical than before.


    "Can I see it?"


    "No." Ina answered quickly with a smile.


    The leader headed toward the kitchen despite her answer. Wanting to keep the surprise, Silva went in front of her leader in a desperate attempt to interrupt her.


    "By the way leader, Neige wanted to see you!"


    "Really? I called him and he said he was busy."


    "He must have been suddenly unbusy?"


    The leader let out an annoyed sigh while looking at everyone in the room.


    "You''re going to cause an uprising, right? Why else would you not want me around and dodge me?"


    Everyone stayed silent and wanted to admit that they throwing a party for her. It was becoming obvious now that their leader understood something was going on. But before anyone could admit it, Silva spoke up.


    "Exactly, we plan on overthrowing you and making Neige our leader. Maybe if you talk to him you can convince him to make us stop!"


    The leader looked at Silva even more confused than before, desperately trying to understand.


    "I don''t know why you want me to see Neige but fine. I''m going to cut your salary in half if you do anything behind my back!"


    The leader left was anger in her voice. The rest of them grouped in a hurry, talking for a moment. Silva let out a relieved sigh before talking to the rest of her friends.


    "Shoot, it was got close. I hope Neige can distract her long enough, is everything over for you?"


    "It is!" Answered Ina with a cheerful expression "If you help me bring the food here, we should be able to be ready before she comes again."


    "Great! Let''s go then! But before that..." Silva took a moment of silence and continued her sentence with a hint of confusion in her voice "She always threatens our salary, but are any of you getting paid?"


    "I don''t think anyone here had even seen money in their lives." Emely replied.


    "Yeah, it was just to make sure. Let''s hurry before she comes back!"

 Chapter 68: Therapy Session

    Neige was sitting on the chair of Gwyn''s office. He had no idea why she called him here so suddenly and came as fast as he could when he saw her message. The doctor searched around for some papers and once she found them, she handed them to Neige.


    "That''s the result of yesterday''s quick analysis I did on you. Your heartbeat was slightly faster than average and your blood pressure was higher."


    "Isn''t it normal?" Neige asked nonchalantly.


    "When Silva comes back from a stressful event her heart rate skyrockets, her respiration is irregular, and she even has trouble breathing at all sometimes. You were kidnapped, trapped in a nightmare, and almost died. Yet, you''re calmer than Silva''s calm moments."


    "I didn''t know it was that bad for her..."


    "It''s not about her, it''s about you." Gwyn let out an exasperated sigh before continuing "I''ve always checked our new members'' mental health to make sure everything was alright, except for you and the leader. I think it''s time to change that." She took a notebook and a pen from her drawer and looked at Neige in his eyes, waiting for an answer from him.


    "We''re not going to have a therapy session..."


    "Why not? Everyone went through it. Usually, I question new members, but I think those questions are still worth asking. So, how do you feel about leaving your world for the Kronos?"


    "Gwyn, it was six years ago."


    "It was five for me and I still remember."


    Neige saw that he wasn''t going to escape it. He stretched his arms and more comfortably on the chair, ready to spend a few hours here.


    "I don''t remember a lot about my world. Polyetta was here and we were happy. My parents and I weren''t close but they were loving. Aside from that, nothing... The last memory was on this ship with Polyetta explaining that our world was no more and that it was our new home."


    "That''s not what I asked." Responded Gwyn "I asked how you felt, not how it was."


    "I don''t feel much about my world, I was just glad Polyetta was here. It''s the only thing I wanted, stay with her until the end."


    Gwyn noted in her book under the worried gaze of Neige before asking another question.


    "Loss often leads to nightmares, have you had any?"


    "Not really."


    "Neige, I''m not only a doctor but I also know you for five years. Did you experience any nightmares in the last six years?"


    Neige stayed silent for a moment. Gwyn stared at him until he finally answered.


    "Every night."


    "I see... Do you feel comfortable talking about them?"


    "It''s... I wake up like usual, in my home world. I see Polyetta dead on the ground and I manage to save her. Once I do that, the world crumbles on itself and the nightmare ends... It''s only one of the many I have."


    Gwyn noted carefully Neige''s words in her notebook. She inhaled deeply while thinking about the difficult words she would say.


    "Have you ever wished to die or harm yourself or close ones?"


    "No." Neige answered without any hesitation "I want to help my friends, none of that would help."


    "Good." Gwyn said with relief in her voice. A hand reached for a picture on her table and handed it to Neige "You remember it? It''s the picture we took when Silva joined our group. She still had long hair at the time. It was only her, Kairo, you, and I at the time. The leader always stayed inside her room so it was hard spending time with her."


    "Of course, I remember. It feels weird to see, everyone looked so much younger. Silva cut her hair, Kairo still was here, and you never smiled at the time."


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    "I still don''t smile."


    "I saw your smile when you saw the picture, you can''t fool me." Neige handed the picture back to her with a soft smile on his face "I have a copy of it you know? Why did you show it to me."


    "I did the same to Silva before, even if it obviously wasn''t as effective. I just want you to know that you''re not alone and that you don''t have to go through whatever you''re going through alone. A lot of people care for you as much as you care for them."


    "I know that don''t worry."


    "No, you don''t. You still consider everyone like your little siblings. You think it''s your responsibility to help everyone by yourself. You''re even worse than Silva, she knows that she should trust her friends more at least."


    "Are you supposed to say that? I thought therapists had to keep everything secret."


    "I''m a pharmacist, not a therapist. What I mean is that it''s not your responsibility to take care of everyone, they''re here for that too."


    Interrupting the doctor, a knock came from the door of Gwyn''s office. She closed her book and put it back in her drawer before going to open the door.


    "Shiro? You wanted something?"


    "I was searching for Neige, I heard he was here. I came to give his weapon back."


    "We were in session, can you come later?"


    "Wait." Neige stood up from his chair in a hurry, approaching his friends at the door "We''ll have to continue our session later, I really want to hear what he has to say."


    Gwyn was about to argue but Shiro answered before she even had the chance.


    "I have no idea where you got that dagger, it''s made of a metal I never saw before. It looks like steel but way stronger, I couldn''t even scratch it."


    "A metal never seen before? That''s strange." Neige remarked while losing himself in his thoughts.


    "I know. I''m sorry I couldn''t do anything about it, I have no idea what it is."


    "Don''t worry Shiro, it''s alright. So... Can I name it?" Neige asked with excitation in his eyes.


    "If you want, you''re not Silva so it should be alright."


    Neige thought for a short moment before finally finding the name he was searching for.


    "Opalium! Isn''t it a cool name?"


    "Opalium?" Asked Gwyn "Isn''t Opal a gemstone? I don''t think it has anything to do with your mysterious metal."


    "But Opal is the gemstone of the Goddess." Claimed Neige with confidence.


    "Since when? I never heard that before."


    "It''s normal, it was revealed to me in a dream." Neige smirked, thinking he was being smart while the two others seemed worried about his mental health.


    "So... Let''s go with Opalium. Tell me if you find more of that, I could make some incredible weapons."


    "That''s great, you found a metal and named it. Can we go back to our session?" Gwyn asked a bit annoyed.


    "Yeah, I''m sorry to interrupt you. Also don''t forget about the party that will happen soon."


    Shiro left Gwyn and Neige alone. She went to sit back on her chair and took her book back after letting out a sigh.


    "I forgot about this party. I guess we''ll have to cut short to today''s session."


    "Today''s session? There will be others?"


    "You didn''t think I''d let you go after you told me you had nightmares every night?"


    "That''s fair I suppose." Said Neige with disappointment, visibly regretting that he had come here.


    "If you ever need anything you can come to me, I''ll probably be available."


    "Alright." Neige was about to leave but suddenly thought about something he had been thinking since yesterday. He figured there was still time, and asked about it "What would you do if you could live in a perfect world but I had to give up your freedom?"


    "I think I should be the one asking. Why this question?"


    "I don''t know, I just felt a bit... Lost."


    Gwyn searched in her drawers for something. She visibly couldn''t find it and seemed angry about it while still looking nonchalant as usual.


    "I lost the happiness pill... Anyway, I have a pill that could fix all your problems, you''ll feel great, never depressed, and all around perfect. The problem is that it changed your personality so much that you''re no longer yourself. you could say you killed yourself to give birth to a better you."


    "Why do you have a pill like that? It sounds horrible."


    "Then you have your answer. It''s not so different from the perfect world you asked me."


    Neige stayed silent to think about Gwyn''s strange pill, maybe it was closer to Ada''s goal than he first thought. In the end, he would lose himself to find peace.


    "I suppose it''s true but why do you have a pill like that?"


    "Emely has worse than that, why don''t you go annoy her?"


    Gwyn and Neige both left the office before the man could learn more about it. Right outside of the office, the leader was standing there arguing with Shiro until she saw Neige.


    "Neige? Is it true? Is Silva right?"


    Neige had no idea what she meant. He tried his best to remember what Silva knew about him and that Polyetta didn''t but had trouble finding anything relevant.


    "Is it about my penis?"


    "W-W-What?" The leader blushed furiously and stepped away by reflex "Why does she know anything about it?"


    "I don''t know, I just tried to guess."


    "She told me you wanted to be the leader and was organizing a revolt."


    They all looked at their leader in confusion, having no idea what she meant.


    "I think she was just messing with you. Don''t worry, nothing is happening."


    Neige''s phone vibrated. When he looked at it, it was a message from Silva asking for him to gain some time. He suddenly understood it was probably about the party and decided to help his friend.


    "By the way Polyetta, can you explain the boss we fought yesterday in the game? I wasn''t sure what he was exactly."


    "Oh, of course! So it all started with a high school student!"


    Polyetta explained in detail the game and its story, while Shiro and Gwyn both looked at Neige like they wanted to kill him. They knew that a few hours would pass before they would finally be free but it was the best idea he had to gain some time.

 Chapter 69: Surprise!

    "Nice, it''s all ready now. We just have to wait for the leader."


    Silva and the others turned off the light and waited for their leader to come. They stayed like that for a while until they finally heard footsteps approaching. The leader, accompanied by Neige, Gwyn, and Shiro, arrived in the dark room. The woman looked around the room furious, trying to find Silva.


    "I swear if it''s one of Silva''s pranks I''m going to eject her in space."


    The leader turned on the light when suddenly confetti went flying into the room. Everyone grouped around the leader and yelled in unison.


    "Surprise!"


    The smell of delicious-looking food filled the room, as well as many balloons and colorful decorations hanging on the walls. The leader looked around in confusion until Emely took a step forward to explain everything.


    "You''ve always worked so hard and we never got the chance to thank you. Since our last party was interrupted, we figured it was a great way to show our support to you."


    The blushing face of the leader was obvious even despite her best attempts to hide it. She put her hands on her warm face and tried her best to talk through them.


    "For me? You didn''t have to..."


    "I hope you won''t send me into space for my attempts to keep you away." Silva joked with a smile.


    "I... Didn''t know that''s what you were doing."


    "That''s the concept of a surprise, leader."


    Polyetta and the other were relieved that everything went well in the end. Everyone enjoyed the food and the mood of the party without any worry. Aside from Kairo, the ship''s crew was united once more. The warm room was filled with laughter and a welcoming aura where everyone felt comfortable.


    Sepide was following Silva around, explaining to her what the meals were.


    "You really cooked all of that?" Sepide nodded her head in answer to Silva''s question, with a proud smile "You''re very talented Sepide, last time I cooked I set the kitchen on fire."


    Sepide suddenly understood why Ina was satisfied with her, she didn''t set anything on fire at least.


    "Was everything alright?"


    "Oh yeah, don''t worry. We just couldn''t use a third of the ship for a month because of that but it was fine."


    "A third of the ship? Didn''t you just burn the kitchen?"


    "Yeah, but then you don''t pay attention and you burn the cat. Then the cat burns something else and so on."


    Silva couldn''t see the extreme worry on her friend''s face and continued to serve herself like it was nothing. Sepide couldn''t believe what she was hearing and just looked at her friend with horror, unable to say anything.


    "Parties are cool and all, but I wish I could spend my day sleeping."


    "You''re still tired?" Asked Sepide with concern "You spent most of your time sleeping already."


    "I was resting for all the days I couldn''t, and also, we''ll have to go back to Silv''s world soon."


    "Maybe you don''t need to, we can bring the leader instead since-"


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    "No, I want to do it."


    Sepide was taken aback by the conviction in her friend''s voice, wondering the reason behind it.


    "But... Why?"


    "It''s my other self, so it''s kinda my fault. And I decided I wouldn''t run away any longer. I want to be a strong person, for you and Neige." Silva patted Sepide''s head with a bright smile.


    "You''re already strong for me."


    "Not enough. By the way, it''s crazy the amount of sharps items there was in my room. Knife, scissors, razors. It wasn''t easy to get rid of everything and now I need to cut paper with my hands. It''s not practical at all."


    "You got rid of sharp things? But why?"


    "Because I made the promise to a great friend that I wouldn''t hurt myself anymore. The first step is to get rid of everything that could hurt me, that''s what Gwyn said."


    Sepide took Silva in her arm in relief, holding her tightly.


    "Thanks, Silva."


    The two stayed in this position for a moment, until Neige''s voice interrupted them.


    "The two lovebirds seem to have fun."


    "Lovebirds?!" Emely, who was standing next to Neige, suddenly asked in a bewildered voice "Is something happening between them?!"


    "No... It was a joke..." Neige explained with a slight disappointment.


    "Oh. Haha, a joke!"


    The group stared at Emely with a bit of worry for her mental health, until Sepide finally broke the silence.


    "Silva said that she would officially stop harming herself!"


    "You didn''t have to say to everyone..." Silva said with a slight blush on her face "It''s embarrassing."


    "It''s not embarrassing, I''m glad that you''re trying to get better. We''ll be here all the way for you, you''re not alone in this."


    Silva nodded with a smile as a thank for Neige''s and her friends'' support.


    "I wish I could create something to make you feel better." Emely said with a bit of a sad voice.


    "Gwyn already did, it''s called antidepressants. But I''d like to stop it too, it''s going to be a long road, but not an impossible one."


    "But I wish I was useful..."


    "You change the lightbulbs, you''re already useful."


    Seeing Silva''s cluelessness, Neige went next to her and whispered in her ear.


    "... She means that she wants to help you directly..."


    "Oh! You want to help me?"


    Neige put his hand on his eyes after seeing Silva''s lack of subtility. Emely on the other hand dodged Silva''s gaze and talked in a very weak and shy voice.


    "... Well... If I can..."


    "Okay, now I see why you communicate in insults..." Neige said in an exasperated voice "Emely, just say yes."


    "Eh!? I... So... If you want... Yes..."


    "Yes? To what?" Asked Silva. Neige looked at her with a tired gaze and explained.


    "You asked if she wanted to help you..."


    "Oh right, but this oily-smelling dumbass takes too much time to answer!"


    "I can''t argue with that."


    "About the oily part or the taking time to answer part?" Emely asked Neige with an offended tone.


    "Why do you complain to me? Silva''s the one that said it."


    "But you agreed!"


    Sepide laughed at the strange scene, looking at the three friends arguing together. Making them all stop in embarrassment.


    "Even Sepide''s mocking us now." Said Neige with an exhausted look "I don''t even know why it ended up like that. We came because we''re going to take a group picture."


    "It''s a great idea! Let''s go!" Silva ran toward the middle of the room to prepare for the picture. Emely quickly followed her when she saw her go. Before Sepide could leave, Neige handed her a necklace with a cross on it.


    "What is that?" Sepide asked while taking the necklace.


    Neige took a necklace from under his shirt, it was almost the same necklace, except his was in a better state.


    "It''s Polyetta''s necklace, she gave it to me for my 18th birthday."


    "And what about this one?" Sepide showed the necklace in her hand, wondering about its origin.


    "It was the anomaly''s. I suppose all Polyetta and Ada''s have one. Since Polyetta is kind of your mother, I figured you might keep it."


    Sepide stared at the silver necklace, feeling a bit bad to steal the one from the anomaly.


    "You can just keep it in your memories box if you want. It just feels wrong that I keep it... And I''m scared I swap the two without paying attention if I keep it."


    Sepide accepted the necklace and put it in her pocket. The two went together toward the rest of the group, waiting for them to take the picture.


    "You took your time, can we start?" The leader asked while setting up the camera.


    "Yes, sorry."


    Neige took place in the middle, taking Silva and Sepide in each of his arms. Taken by a moment of jealousy, Emely took Silva''s arm and hugged it tightly against her. Gwyn smiled softly while holding Cinnamon in her hands. Ina smiled brightly while Shiro next to her stared at Neige. The leader pressed the button and ran to get in the picture, she stood behind Neige with her hand on his shoulder. The camera flashed on everyone''s smiling and cheerful faces, they shared this precious moment without worrying about their future, just enjoying the innocent time they still had together.

 Chapter 70: Get Back To Business

    Neige slept peacefully in his bed, enjoying the calm moment he had after everything that happened. He still thought about the joyful time he had yesterday with his friends, not worrying about what the future had in store. His mind wandered in his slumber until he heard Silva''s voice.


    "OH MY GOD! SEPIDE IS NAKED!"


    Neige woke up in distress looking around the room. Silva was standing there with a smile while Sepide stood there with a confused expression.


    "But I''m not naked?"


    "Yeah, but Neige woke up. Did you want to see her naked that much? You woke up quickly."


    "I woke up quickly because you pierced my eardrum. You could have yelled anything, and it would have worked... How did you enter anyway? I locked the room."


    "I asked Emely for the keys, we needed you but you didn''t answer your phone."


    Neige let out a tired sigh, considering sleeping again right now.


    "Is it important?"


    "It could wait but the leader asked us."


    Neige groaned while getting out of his bed. The room''s cold didn''t help him stay up but he knew it was time anyway.


    "I''ll get ready and join you."


    "Alright, we''ll wait for you."


    Neige took his clothes and waited for the two girls to leave. Instead, they just stood there, looking at him blankly.


    "I can''t help but notice that you''re still here."


    "Yes, we''re waiting for you to get ready." Innocently said Sepide.


    "Can you maybe... Leave?"


    "Come on, I''m blind, and Sepide''s as innocent as snow."


    "It''s still uncomfortable, and I actually feel alright with Sepide being here. But if you''re here Silva, I feel like you think about weird stuff."


    "I''m not that perverted, you''re my friend."


    The two girls stood there, still staring at him. Neige let out an exhausted sigh before throwing a pen at Silva.


    "Leave."


    "Alright, we''ll leave! But do you know how many men would dream of having two girls watching them change?"


    "I knew it! You can''t have a moment without perverse thoughts!"


    Silva stuck out her tongue to taunt Neige and took Sepide with her outside the room, finally leaving him with some intimacy.


    Sepide and Silva stayed outside for at least half an hour until Neige finally came out of his room.


    "I''m ready, we can go."


    "You take more time to prepare than Silva." Noticed Sepide.


    "It''s because she doesn''t take care of herself." Said Neige with a slight smile.


    "No, it''s because I''m efficient."


    The group hurried to the leader''s office, trying to not make the leader wait any longer.


    When they entered the office, Emely was already there talking with her. She turned toward the group when she saw them, prompting Neige to apologize.


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    "We''re sorry, we didn''t know you were here."


    "No, it''s alright. I think it''s better if you know."


    The group approached Emely while the leader explained the reason for her presence.


    "She found a dark matter similar to the anomaly''s in Uri..."


    "Uriel." Said Sepide with confidence.


    "Uriel yes, thanks Sepide. So there was dark matter inside Uriel''s hard drive."


    "It''s dead but Gwyn is analyzing it." Explained Emely "Maybe it could help us know the anomaly. I just have no idea how it ended up here but I think it erased part of the code."


    "So she did cheat." Whispered Sepide to herself "Does it mean you can create another robot from her code?"


    "I can, I just need a bit of time. It was mostly random, I think whatever it was didn''t know what it was doing. But still, we''re lucky the important parts of the code are still readable."


    "I''m glad." Sepide said with relief.


    The leader took back control of the conversation and explained the next orders.


    "While Emely and Gwyn work on that, There''s something you''ll need to do."


    "Is it about Silv?" Asked Silva.


    "Yes, while The anomaly and Kairo seem to stay silent, Silv is still a danger. I doubt she''s still in her world but maybe it can give us useful information."


    "We''ll prepare ourselves and go right away."


    Neige and his friends left the room, leaving Emely inside with the leader displayed on the screen.


    "Leader? Is it safe to send Silva there?"


    "She was the one who asked, and I''d like to deal with that matter as soon as possible."


    "I hope she''ll be alright..."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The three friends ended up in the same city as they were last time, even if Silva and Sepide didn''t experience it properly during their last visit.


    "Hey, you know how last time Silv kidnapped us before we could even do anything?" Silva asked with worry in her voice.


    "Yeah, why?"


    "And also about the time in the world with cowboys where she did the same?"


    "It''s true that it''s weird." Answered Neige.


    "It''s like she can choose where we land, so... If we''re all together now, I can''t help but think it''s because she planned it."


    Neige thought for a moment. He rubbed Silva''s hair with a smile before answering.


    "Don''t worry, I''m sure it''s because she''s not here. It''s just a calm mission."


    "You''re probably right."


    The group was about to leave when someone suddenly threw an empty paper cup at Neige. Annoyed by it, Neige turned toward the origin of the throw and talked with an annoyed voice.


    "Can''t you check where you throw your garbage?"


    "Can''t you give news about you before leaving!?" The voice came from a girl with light pink hair that Neige seemed to recognize rather quickly.


    "Rose? I didn''t expect to see you, how are your friends?"


    "They''re alright. Apparently Silv was more focused on you. What did you do to piss her off so badly?"


    "She just likes to annoy us..." Silva said with a bit of frustration in her voice.


    "By the way, I wanted to thank you Neige. Thanks to you, everyone is alright."


    "It''s alright, but I need to ask you a favor."


    "A favor?" Asked Rose curious.


    "We''re searching for information on Silv, do you know anything helpful about her."


    "All I know is that she''s leading the mafia and made money as a painter. I think you should ask her sister."


    "She has a sister?" Neige asked with dread in his eyes "Don''t tell me we have to deal with two of her!"


    "Oh no, don''t worry. Her sister works as a detective and tries to arrest her."


    "So every me has a shitty family." Silva joked with a smile.


    "Are you related to Silv? You do look similar." Rose asked with distrust.


    "No, I hate her. Where can we find her sister?"


    "I can call her and ask her to meet you. I know she''s not busy today and it''s the least I can do."


    "That would really help us, thanks Rose." Neige bowed while thanking Rose, making her slightly uncomfortable.


    "It''s nothing don''t worry! I''ll call her, give me a minute."


    Rose went away from them to make her call. Sepide looked at Silva with curiosity and asked her,


    "Do you have a sister?"


    "Thank God no! If I had one she''d try to kill me or something apparently."


    Rose came back to them quickly with a smile, announcing a piece of good news.


    "She accepted to see you! She''s waiting for you at the police station, just ask to see Lucie!"


    Silva frowned her brows upon hearing that name. Before she could ask anything Neige thanked Rose.


    "We''re grateful for what you did, we''ll go there as quickly as we can."


    "I''m the grateful one, you helped me and my friends! We''re in debt."


    Rose and the group parted ways, the latter heading toward the police station to see Silv''s sister.


    They made their way to the police station. When they entered, they were immediately stopped by a harsh-looking woman with long black, judging them with her gaze.


    "Are you the ones that are searching for Silv''s sister?"


    "H-How do you know?" Asked Sepide in surprise.


    "It''s not every day a girl with short red hair comes around, especially right after I got a call about Silv. We have a lot to talk about, follow me to my office."


    The three friends were surprised but followed the woman in her office. When they entered, the woman prompted them to sit on the couch inside it. A picture was sitting in a frame on the table. The woman was on it, significantly younger with a bunch of other people. The detail that Neige and Sepide noticed on it was a younger Silv, looking way more innocent than the one they know today.


    "My name is Lucie, I have a lot to say and I figure you have a lot to disclose as well. Do you want some coffee?"

 Chapter 71: Silvs Theater!?

    The group waited patiently in the office. The woman named Lucie gave the three friends a cup of coffee, and once everyone was comfortable, she introduced herself properly.


    "My name is Lucie, I''m not actually related to Silv by blood but I consider her like my sister. We have a common past, all you need to know for now is that we spent our childhood in a hospital. I always saw her as a blind painter, until I saw her true form." The woman sipped a cup of her coffee before asking the question back "What about you? How do you know Silv?"


    The group wasn''t sure about what they should say. They let Neige talk since he was more experienced with it.


    "Silv took a liking to causing chaos and she hurt my friends multiple times. We want to stop her before she goes too far."


    "And what do you know about her?"


    "That she''s a psychopath. We never really talked much with her."


    "It''s good." The woman said while taking a deep inspiration "The more you spend time with her, the crazier you get."


    Lucie finished her coffee and stood up to head toward the exit of her office.


    "Come on, there''s something I need to show you."


    The group wondered what the thing she wanted to show was and followed her without asking any questions.


    Lucie and the others arrived in front of fancy shining buildings. Lights were everywhere and were blinding the protagonists. A big neon sign was fixed on the building with ''Silv''s Theater'' written on it.


    "What is that?" Asked Neige while looking at the grotesque building in front of him.


    "It''s the hospital where we grew up, or so I thought." Lucie clenched her fist around her cold revolver attached to her belt "What is going on in your sick mind, Silv..."


    The group was about to enter but was stopped by the woman''s confused voice.


    "Are you going to enter? Are you crazy?"


    "We wanted to find out about Silv, it seems like a good opportunity." Innocently said Neige, exasperating the woman.


    "You''re not scared of anything..."


    Lucie followed them into the former hospital, unsure about the things they would see inside.


    Lucie and Silva were in a dimly lit hallway. When they searched around, there were no signs of the others or any exits. They quickly noticed how Neige and Sepide were nowhere to be found, worrying the two girls.


    "I knew it was a bad idea..."


    Lights from the ceiling showed a scene at the end of the hallway where a puppet looking like Silv was standing there. When they approached it, it started moving and talked in a robotic voice.


    "Hey! It''s me, your favorite villain since 2023! Have you ever wondered what backstory this great character has? Well, wait no longer as I am going to tell you a tale that will let your eyes wide open! (Refunds aren''t accepted.)"


    Curtains closed, hiding the scene. After a few minutes passed, two puppets were there in a hospital. It was a doctor holding a baby in its arms and a woman sleeping in a bed. Another doctor entered the scene and spoke with a voice that was obviously just Silv trying to imitate their voices.


    "Kilt, she''s in a coma for a week, she''ll probably never wake up."


    The doctor with the baby in his arms stayed silent for a moment and looked at the woman in the bed before answering.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "She''ll be alright, I''ll find a cure."


    "Kilt, you''re a doctor. You more than anyone should know that there are no cures, no magical solutions. Take care of your daughter and accept that your wife could never wake up. I''m sure it''s what she''d want."


    "... Why is life so unfair? It''s all because of Silv, if she wasn''t born, she never wouldn''t have been in a coma."


    "Don''t say that about your child. It happens that healthy women fall sick after giving birth."


    The two doctors stayed silent, looking at the woman in the bed.


    The curtains closed again, this time opening to reveal a painting of a little Silv drawing on the walls of the hospital and her father working. Silv''s voice echoed in the hallway, narrating the scene.


    "The adorable little Silv was alone, playing in the hallways. Her father never gave her the attention she deserved, instead working on a cure to save his wife. He kept telling the little girl that he was doing it for her, but really, it was just for him. She was just six years old at the time. He was working on a way to link souls, it''s too long and boring to be in this story and I don''t care, I never understood how it worked."


    The painting fell to the ground, showing the puppets once more. The doctor was there, with two little puppets with red and black hair.


    "Silv, Lucie, are you ready for the experiment?"


    "Papa, what is the experiment?"


    "Don''t worry Silv, I''ll just link your souls together. It''s without a risk, I promise."


    The theater burned suddenly, activating the hospital''s fire alarm. Water fell from the ceiling while the narrating voice repeated the same words again and again.


    "It''s without a risk, it''s without a risk, it''s without a risk..."


    Silva and Lucie continued in the hospital, hoping to find Silv or their friends.


    They made it to a room. Lucie seemed to recognize this place and looked around for a moment to make sure.


    "This room... It''s the place where Silv''s mother was hospitalized..."


    The room suddenly became dark. The wall was illuminated by lights on the floor and shadows representing two little girls were moving on its surface.


    "Is it your mom?" Asked the girl with long hair.


    "Yeah, papa is always so busy with her. But don''t worry, I have a way to take care of it."


    The girl with short hair took a knife from behind her back. The shadow on the wall had a terrifying smile, approaching the bed. The girl planted the knife in her mother''s chest with a sinister laugh.


    "Silv? Are you sure it was a good idea?"


    "Of course, it''s a wonderful idea."


    "But isn''t she hurt?"


    "I hope she''s hurt. If she wanted to be safe, she should have taken care of me!"


    The light came back into the room. The room was all made of pink, with plushes everywhere. Silv was standing in the middle. When she saw her, Lucie immediately pulled out her gun and aimed at her.


    "Silv! What are you trying to do?"


    "Just summarizing 13 chapters into one, you can thank me. By the way, doesn''t it remind you something? This pink room with plushes everywhere?"


    "I... Don''t think so." Lucie said while looking around.


    "I wasn''t talking to you."


    "I can''t see your room, you know?" Said Silva with an annoyed voice.


    "I''m not talking to you either. Anyway, when my father tried this experiment, it completely fried my brain. I was blessed and cursed with knowledge. Knowledge from this world, other worlds... About the world beyond the lines, beyond the screens, beyond the Goddess... The real world."


    "I never understand what you''re saying." Lucie grabbed Silv. Despite grabbing her tightly, Silv somehow managed to escape, the only thing in her hand was a plush looking like her "Still enjoying pranks as an adult, huh? Come on Silva, we have to go."


    When Lucie turned around to bring Silva with her, she was nowhere to be found. Both Silv and Silva vanished like they were never there in the first place.


    Silva woke up in a moist room. The bed she lay on was freezing cold. An uncomfortable dusty feeling filled the room, along with a putrid smell. She made her way to a chair and heard Silv''s voice once more.


    "Please sit, I don''t want this dumb sister to hear this part of the story."


    Silva sat on the hard chair, trying to pinpoint where Silv was from her echoing voice.


    "When my father tried his experiment, it was a failure. Or a success for him, I was alive after all. But my soul, my being, was scared forever. I became special, fated to know about everything, even blessed by the Goddess herself. And yet... You''re the main character!"


    The sound of a violent shock echoed from the metallic table.


    "This being! It''s toying with me! You''re living happily with your Neige and your Sepide, while I suffer alone! But that will all change now."


    "Then why am I here?" Defiantly said Silva.


    Silv threw a metallic box at her. Silva grabbed it from the ground and recognized it quickly.


    "The happiness pill?"


    "You remember well. Have you noticed? You''re more scared lately. Scared to lose your friends, scared to lose yourself, scared to hurt them."


    Silv put a glass of water on the table with a violent impact.


    "The better you get, the more you have to lose. I''m not scared to lose anything but I know you are. You''re getting weaker, more sensitive. But with this pill, it all changes. You can be the perfect person who won''t disappoint anyone."


    "I won''t disappoint anyone already, I''m going to do my best."


    "But will they accept it? Will they accept your past?... Are you scared to find out what they truly think of you?"

 Chapter 72: The Blind Painters Origin

    Neige and Sepide walked into the hospital, or so they thought. To their surprise, they ended up in a city made of paper and plastic. Neige recognized one of the houses, it looked exactly like the one where he found Silva just in a better state than when he first found it.


    "Silva, such a poor soul." Said a voice sounding exactly like Silv, coming from the sky "When she was born, her parents were in shock! She was blind! What did they do to deserve such a burden? They''ll have to take care of a disabled child."


    Neige headed toward the house, his shaking hand was on the handle for a moment until he finally dared to open the door, afraid to see what would lie behind.


    Three characters made of paper were in the room. One of them was exactly like Silva, while the other were her parents. She looked very young, around eight years old maybe.


    "Papa, Mama, I need more red paint."


    "Why do you need it? You can''t see the colors..." The father said with an impatient voice.


    "But Papa, the harmony, it''s such a beautiful thing!"


    "Your father is right, if you want something, work for it."


    "But Mama, how do I do that?"


    The girl argued with her parents for a while until the father slapped his daughter violently.


    "Never argue back Silva."


    "Yes Papa... Can I go play outside?"


    "So you can get in trouble? What will happen if a car hits you?"


    "But I''ll be careful..."


    "Silva, what did I say about arguing?"


    Silva''s figure stepped back and shyly answered to her father.


    "Sorry Papa..."


    The girl went inside her room. Once Neige made sure she did, he punched the paper figures without holding back.


    "Hey, don''t break my craft!" Yelled the voice from the sky.


    "You better give Silva back, or else pieces of paper won''t be the only things I break!"


    The voice stayed silent at Neige''s threat while Sepide went inside Silva''s room. Her friend quickly followed her inside to find the little Silva in the center of it. A red liquid was falling down from her wrist, she used it to paint on a piece of paper that she glued to her wall.


    "It hurts... But it''s alright... At least I can..."


    Silva fell unconscious on the floor. Neige went inside to catch her but the room suddenly caught fire before he could. The smoke burned their lungs, forcing them to go out of the room. The figure of Silva and her parents were now in the living room. She looked older, maybe around twelve. Her father was holding a ruler in his hand and hit her wrist. He seemed to purposefully hit the place where she harmed herself, forcing her face to contort in pain.


    "You useless brat, can''t even do anything by herself."


    Despite the pain, Silva''s eyes were empty. She accepted her punishment without thinking. Her parents saw how ineffective it became and searched for a better way to punish her.


    "You have some weird things drawn in your room, is that what you paint?"


    "Yes, father..."


    "You enjoy them?"


    "Yes, father..."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The man had a sinister grin on his face and put his ruler down before taking his lighter on the table.


    "I''m going to burn half of it, if you ever disobey, I burn the rest."


    "What? No, you can''t!"


    Silva suddenly reacted with despair in her eyes, finally satisfying her parents.


    "Should have thought about it before."


    Her father walked toward her room but Silva pushed him back. Her parents looked at her in horror while Silva was petrified by her own actions.


    "Silva Nilla, what did you just do?"


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to!" Silva took the ruler from the table and handed it to her parents with tears in her eyes "Please punish me, please humiliate me, please treat me like I deserve to be treated but don''t burn my art... It''s all I have!"


    Her father took her arm forcefully and led her outside with rage on his face.


    "I''m going to make sure you don''t ever see your art again."


    He threw his daughter inside the bunker that was lying outside. They kept it in case of nuclear warfare but never used it. They figured it was the best place to keep Silva until she calmed down.


    "You''re going to stay here for a week! We''ll see if you still keep behaving like that!"


    Neige and Sepide went into the bunker before Silva''s father closed it. The dust flying in the air made it hard to breathe. The voice from above spoke again, taking a falsely sad voice.


    "Poor girl, she was supposed to stay a week but I guess her parent forgot her for four years... Don''t worry though, even Silva agrees with her punishment."


    Silva was standing in front of the door of the bunker, touching the hard cold steel it was made of.


    "Please... Just punish me..."


    "Alas, no one punished her." The voice continued with her sarcastic tone "Imagine spending your sixteenth birthday in a bunker, how sad. By the way Neige, you already came here right? You saved her after all. Do you remember why her world ended?"


    Neige searched in his old memories. It wasn''t easy since the leader mentioned it once after they came back from this world. The dot suddenly connected when he saw the bunker they were in and realized what happened.


    "A sudden war. A nuclear attack from a country led to another."


    "Good boy! You deserve a sugar cube! Or maybe it''s good girl in your case?" Mockingly asked the voice, infuriating Neige even more.


    "Do you ever shut-"


    Neige was interrupted by the sounds of knocks on the door. They seemed panicked and in a hurry, yelling Silva''s name.


    "Silva? Our love? Can you open the door?"


    Silva woke up from the ground she was sleeping on. She barely had the energy to even come to them but managed to speak up.


    "Father..? What is it..."


    "Silva, there''s no need to explain! You have to open!"


    "But... It''s my punishment..."


    "You''re not punished anymore, you can open. If we stay outside we''ll die, and you don''t want your loving parents to die, right?"


    The voice from her father was getting more desperate. Silva lifelessly blew from her nose and continued speaking with an empty voice.


    "I''ll open..."


    "Really? I love you Silva!"


    "... If you beg..."


    Silva''s parents stayed silent at the words from their daughter. They seemed to hesitate for a while until her father started talking.


    "I beg of you Silva, I''m sorry for what I did. We were horrible to you but it will change, we''ll get you all the paint in the world we promise!"


    "Why are you apologizing? Say it out loud..."


    Silva''s father appeared to be scared of the cold words that her daughter uttered but still went with her demands.


    "I apologize because... We were horrible parents and you didn''t deserve any of that!"


    Silva stayed silent for a moment. A vicious grin appeared on her face as she talk in a smug and cold voice.


    "It felt good... I hope you''ll die slowly..."


    "Silva? What did you just say?"


    The girl returned to sleep, ignoring the demands from her parents.


    "Silva! I knew you were a bad child! We had no intention of keeping you anyway, you probably ate most of the food there! We would have thrown you outside anyway!"


    Her eyes closed slowly, getting all the sleep she wanted. Neige and Sepide looked at Silva with while the voice from the sky came again.


    "How horrible! She killed her parents! But you''re friends, right? You''ll still accept her I imagine."


    "Of course." Answered Neige without any hesitation "I know her for long enough to know that she has a great heart. It''s not her fault if she had a horrible life!"


    "He''s right!" Agreed Sepide "She''s a great friend and doesn''t deserve what happened to her!"


    "Fucking friends." The voice muttered to herself "Why can''t I ever make them stop?"


    Silv stopped talking, leaving the scene silent. Silva opened the door of her bunker. A few days seemed to have passed since her parent came to her. When she took a step outside she stumbled on the body of her parents. She softly clenched her fist and got down to take them both in her arms with tears in her eyes.


    "I wanted to love you... Papa... Mama..."


    The scene stopped, leaving Neige and Sepide in a white and clear room.


    "So, did that make you like me more?" Said Silv trying to imitate Silva.


    "Like you more? You''re the worst person on earth. Even the anomaly is better than you. You resort to cheap tactics!" Neige angrily said to Silv''s voice.


    "Yeah, you''re horrible! Using Silva''s past to make us hate her won''t work!"


    "Actually I''m satisfied, you can leave."


    "Wha-"


    A bright light blinded Neige and Sepide. When they were able to open their eyes again they were outside of the hospital, where Lucie was already. She ran toward them and asked them almost instantly.


    "Where are Silv and your friend?"


    Neige looked at the hospital behind them with an uncomfortable feeling in his chest.


    "Silva... I hope you''re alright."

 Chapter 73: True Family

    Silva was still standing on the chair, waiting to know what Silv had in mind for her.


    "I showed your past to your friends, how do you think they reacted?"


    "You told them... I would have preferred to tell them myself..."


    "So you think they''d still accept you? Why don''t we hear what they have to say?"


    Silv turned on an audio recording. The voices of Neige and Sepide were clear and audible, Silva could easily recognize their voice.


    "Like you more? You''re the worst person on earth. Even the anomaly is better than you. You resort to cheap tactics!"


    "Yeah, you''re horribl-"


    The recording stopped suddenly while Silv let out a sigh.


    "Technology am I right? It never works correctly."


    "That''s... What they said?"


    "Yep!" Confidently said Silv "You can always go ask them, but are you ready to face them? Can you see the disappointed faces of your friends?"


    "I..." Silva suddenly realized the reason why she had this pill in her hand. She knew it was just a cheap tactic from Silv, but at the same time, imagining that she was right would hurt her more than anything else. She remembered all the dear memories she held, all the precious moments she shared with Neige were worth far more than anything Silv could tell or show her.


    "So, you''ll confess today?" Kairo asked while trying to reassure the stressed Silva.


    "Y-Yeah. I really want to tell him how I feel!"


    "I wish you luck! I''ll leave you alone, you''ll tell me how it went!" Kairo gently tapped her shoulder as she mentally prepared herself to knock on the door to Neige''s room. When she was about to knock the door opened by itself. Neige and Silva both were surprised, Silva stayed silent, prompting Neige to ask,


    "Silva? Is everything alright?"


    "Oh! Err... Yes... Je... Enfin..." Panicked, the girl handed the flower she hid behind her back to Neige.


    "It''s... For me?" Silva nodded her head energetically while her face blushed the hardest it could "But... I''m not a florist?"


    "Tradition from my world. Flower to loved one."


    "Hey, calm down. What''s gotten into you?"


    "Neige... I..." She stopped in the middle of her sentence to take a break. Once she managed to stop her hands from shaking, she continued "I love you. Will you be my Valentine?"


    "Valentine?" Neige asked confused "What are you talking about?"


    "It''s from my world... I''m basically asking you out..."


    "Did you... Catch feelings for me?"


    "... Maybe..."


    Neige chuckled softly and caressed her head cheerfully.


    "Sorry to break it to you, but I''m more of an asexual kind of guy."


    "Oh... I''m sorry."


    Silva was about to leave in embarrassment but Neige stopped and took her in his arms.


    "I love you too, just not in the same way. You''ll always be my precious Silva."


    Silva gave back his embrace and they stayed in that position for a while. She managed to calm herself and talk with her weak voice.


    "So... You''re really not into anything?"The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Not at all." Neige said while caressing Silva''s short hair.


    "Does it embarrass you?"


    "Not really, it''s just-"


    "Like you imagine me naked and it makes you blush?"


    Neige blushed furiously at the sudden words from her friend.


    "Silva?! What are you saying?"


    "Haha! It''s funny to embarrass you!"


    "I hope you''re not going to make it a habit, it''s the first time I hear you say something so nasty..."


    Silva had a bright smile on her face while holding Neige tightly. A tear flowed on her face, happy to finally have found a family.


    "I trust Neige... With all my heart. If he hates me, then I''ll face him. My friends trust me, they even love me more than I love myself."


    "Huh... Fascinating... You often have flashbacks in the middle of nowhere?"


    Silva stood up and tried to find her way to the exit, visibly surprising her other self.


    "Where are you going? You were supposed to stay here."


    "I need to go see my friends, I miss them."


    Silv stood in the room confused, observing the girl leave. She stood there, dumbfounded, until she laughed maniacally.


    "I see, you won''t give up so easily. It will make it even better to break you. Until we meet again, Silva."


    Silva finally managed to find her way out. The warmth of the sun on her skin was a feeling that she enjoyed fully as she took a deep breath. Her friends immediately jumped on her and held her tightly in their arms.


    "Silva, are you alright?" Sepide held Silva as strong as she could, trying to hide her worries.


    "We were so worried!" Neige took Silva in her arms, giving her little to no space to breathe.


    "Can''t... Breath..."


    Her friends took a step back to let her breathe correctly. She took the biggest smile she could and cheerfully said,


    "I''m glad you''re my real family!"


    "Is Silv inside?" Lucie asked her, ignoring the moment they were sharing.


    "I think yes, she-"


    The hospital behind them exploded before she could finish her sentence. Everyone took a step back, looking at the ruin of the building.


    "Damn Silv... She probably left."


    "So what should we do now?" Asked Sepide to the detective.


    "I''ll need to give a report, they''ll probably ask me why I always get in trouble. I think it''s for the best that we split up now. Thanks for the help." The woman left without another word. The three friends stared at each other, unsure about what they should do.


    "I think we should go back, all we learned was that Silv is even worse than we thought."


    After saying those words, Neige prepared himself to jump back on the ship. Before they could leave, Silva asked them something she dreaded to ask.


    "What did you think about my past?"


    Neige noticed the discomfort on Silva''s face and pinched her cheek before answering with a smile.


    "I don''t know, it was alright. 7/10."


    "7/10?" Silva asked offended "I killed my parents, what did you want more? I''m sure it''s because there weren''t any romances..."


    Neige laughed heartfully while caressing her friend''s head.


    "It won''t change how we see you, you''ve always been a great person for us."


    With a relieved smile, Silva used her new watch to return to the ship with her friends.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group explained their adventure to the leader, who seemed to be relieved to see them all safe.


    "Don''t worry about Silv, she has one of our watches so it will be easy to track her. We have work to do, so expect to be busy in the next few days."


    "What happened?" Asked Neige.


    "Just worlds that we couldn''t take care of because of everything that happened. Also, Ina needs ingredients from another world. Gwyn wished she had something from a world full of candies I think? Oh and Shadow 4 Dancing came out, can you get it?"


    "Can we rest?" Sepide asked with an exhausted face, making the leader chuckle slightly before she replied.


    "I''m only kidding, everything is a bit calmer lately so enjoy your freedom. The last part was true though, if you could get my game I''d be more than happy."


    "Later, I''m hungry. Call me if there''s an emergency."


    Neige left the room under the annoyed gaze of the leader, with his two friends following him outside of the room.


    The group went to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Sepide and Neige were both a bit worried for their friend but she seemed to be alright, confidently walking in front of them. Neige caught up to her but was interrupted by Emely without being able to say anything.


    "Hey! Silva!"


    "Emely, what happened?" Neige asked after seeing Emely full of oil.


    "Yeah, why do you smell like you took a bath in a sewer?"


    "It''s not that bad, is it?" Emely sniffed her clothes, visibly unconvinced by her smell "Anyway, I need your help. I need something from another world and-"


    "Is it urgent?" Neige asked with a tired voice.


    "Not really. It can wait."


    "Great, just tell the leader and she''ll organize it. I reached my limit of adventures for the year."


    Neige walked away toward the cafeteria, leaving his friends behind.


    "Isn''t Neige acting weird lately? He seems more tired."


    "You''re right." Replied Sepide to Emely "Ever since he was kidnapped by the anomaly he acts like that."


    "I think if my other self kidnapped me I''d be tired too." Silva thought momentarily before realizing "Oh wait, it happened twice already."


    "Okay, I understand, Neige is tired. But what about you two? It''s just a five-minute thing but I don''t want to go alone."


    "But we can go tomorrow, right?" Sepide asked with a bit of a hurry in her voice "I already planned something for later."


    "Oh... Alright, I understand."


    Sepide ran to catch up with Neige, Emely looked at Silva without much hope in her eyes.


    "You''re busy too I suppose..."


    "No, not really. But maybe you could fix my heater now?"


    "I''m working on way cooler than that. Let me show you at least, you can decide to help me after."


    Silva put her hand on her chin, pondering for a moment. Feeling particularly bored she nodded her head without much energy.


    "Sure, why not? I wasn''t hungry any-"


    "Great! Follow me!"


    Emely took her friend''s hand, forcing her to come to her lab as fast as they could.

 Chapter 74: Project Remiel

    The two girls enter the lab. Emely was overexcited while Silva seemed disgusted by the heavy smell of the room.


    "What have you been doing here? Is it one of your kinks?"


    "Why do you say that? Yeah, it smells a bit but not that bad."


    "It smells like you killed someone in this room!"


    "Quite the opposite, I''m giving life!"


    Silva made her way to where Emely was, trying her best to avoid the oil and the scraps on the floor.


    "Giving life? Are you talking about the robot?"


    "Yeah! She''s right here!"


    Emely took Silva''s hand but immediately let it go in embarrassment.


    "Oh, I''m sorry. I''m sure you can touch her by yourself, I didn''t mean to infantilize you."


    "Infantilize me... Because you took my hand?"


    "I just mean that you''re a strong woman. I don''t want to make it feel like your blindness is a problem to you, I know you can do it by yourself."


    Silva looked incredibly confused and slapped Emely after a few seconds.


    "Seriously, this smell is getting to you. Just go outside, I can accompany you if you need fresh air."


    "Oh, you''d come with me?" Emely asked with a shy smile.


    "I''m just trying to say that you act weird. Are you taking drugs? Where do you even get drugs? Did Gwyn make some?"


    "Why are you saying that? I''m not acting that weird."


    "You are, you treat me differently lately. It''s the first time in years I ever heard someone talk about my blindness. You never cared before that I was blind, so why did it change now?"


    Emely felt incredibly bad after hearing Silva''s words. She told them with an offended voice, almost feeling hurt.


    "I''m sorry... I just think it''s normal that I pay attention to your disability."


    "By treating me differently? That''s just going to make it worse. Treat me like you always did and stop acting like you''re walking on eggshells all of a sudden."


    "But... I don''t want to hurt you..."


    Silva let out a tired sigh, visibly annoyed by Emely''s behavior.


    "Insult me."


    "What?" Emely looked around the room, desperately trying to find an out "So anyway, the robot here is-"


    "Insult me. That''s what I want. I want you to treat me like you always did, treat me like your friend and not like a baby."


    "Well... You are... A dumb bat."


    "Come on, where''s the ''useless painter that can''t even see how dumb she looks."? Did your brain fill with useless mathematical formulas since last time?"


    "But..."


    "No but! Come on, you get a free insult! You would have killed for that before."


    "I don''t want to hurt you..."


    "I know you don''t want to hurt me, that''s why it won''t. I want you to treat me like you always did, you always made me feel better about myself."Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "I... Did?"


    "Of course! All the things you said to me before... I already told them to myself. You''ll never find an insult I didn''t think of. But when it''s you, I don''t want to accept it, I want to annoy you back. So now insult me, you idiotic engineer."


    Emely braced herself, trying her best to find the best thing she could.


    "Your perverse small bat! You can''t even accept when someone''s trying to be nice to you!"


    "I don''t want to accept because you''re not being nice, you''re being a dumbass."


    "You''re the dumbass! Just accept that you suck at painting!"


    "You''re not as great as before for that but it''s alright." Silva took Emely''s hand and forced her to grab her wrist "Now you''re going to guide my hand to your sentient microwave! Not because I''m blind, but because I''m your friend!"


    "Yeah! I''m sure your limited mind can''t comprehend what I made!"


    Silva finally smiled, happy to hear her friend''s words.


    "I don''t know what happened to you but don''t treat me differently. I prefer when you say what you think and don''t act like you''ll hurt me."


    "Yes, I''m sorry for being weird."


    "Don''t apologize or I''m slapping you again."


    Emely chuckled before putting Silva''s hand on the cold body of the robot. Silva touched all the parts of the metallic body, softly drawing its shape in her mind.


    "Why is it so tall? I can barely reach the top of the head."


    "It''s 175 centimeters, you''re just small. I figured if she needed to fight, she could use more height and weight."


    "Are you sure you don''t have a tall woman kink?"


    "S-Stop trying to find my kinks!"


    "Can I talk to her?" Silva asked, ignoring her friend''s embarrassment.


    "That''s the reason I wanted your help. I''m only lacking one thing, a soul."


    "A soul?" Said Silva with her eyes half closed "That''s your five-minute errand, a fricking soul?"


    "I know the world it''s in. It''s not that complex to get, I just can''t create that and it''s the only thing left for Remiel to work."


    "Remiel?"


    "Oh, I didn''t tell you! That''s her name! Remarkable and Elegant Module-1 Esper Lambda! I tried to keep Uriel''s name partly while still making her different. I didn''t really know what color Uriel was so I made Remiel in orange and black, like our uniforms."


    "Black? I thought it wasn''t a color."


    "It''s complicated. It''s a lack of color but we can see it''s different than other colors."


    "You can see... The lack of colors..." Silva appeared deeply confused at the sentence before suddenly panicking "Wait! So if I don''t use black paint, do you see black still?"


    "No, your canvas is white. Wait, is it the reason all your night skies are white?"


    "Yeah, no one told me that- Wait, how do you know what my paintings look like? I barely show you any."


    Emely looked away trying to dodge the question.


    "Anyway! If you want we can find a third interested member and go search for the soul, what do you think?"


    "You gave me a copy of Neige''s room''s key. Do you have a copy of mine?"


    "M-Maybe Shiro is available!"


    "Have you seen my hentai?"


    "Or Gwyn! She could... Hentai? What is it?"


    "Oh... You didn''t see them." Silva looked disappointed for some reason. Emely figured that she should probably interest herself in that later "Just snoop around harder next time if you enter my room, okay?"


    "Why would I? Are you trying to make me go on a treasure hunt?"


    "Maybe, but for now we should search for a third person to go with us. Last time we went with Gwyn and it was alright."


    "Isn''t she busy? She''s always working on something."


    "I''m sure we can convince her, come on let''s go!"


    Silva ran outside of the lab. Her friend quickly followed her, trying to not lose her in the hallway of the ship.


    The two friends searched around the ship as much as they could. It took them a few minutes of running around to find Gwyn, taking a break next to the coffee machine.


    "Gwyn! We were searching for you."


    The doctor let out a tired sigh at the sight of the two girls. She finished drinking her coffee and threw away the plastic cup in the bin before walking away from them. Silva blocked her path, forcing Gwyn to ask the question she was trying to avoid.


    "Why do you need me?.."


    "We made a great team last time, right?"


    "No, Silva, we didn''t. It was fun but I got kidnapped by a giant sugar turtle and you fell in a caramel lake..." Feeling the gaze of the pleading girls on her, the woman felt forced to ask again "What is it?"


    Silva was about to answer but forgot most of the details, forcing Emely to answer instead.


    "I need something from a world. Neige and Sepide are busy but we need a third member. I know you don''t want but..."


    "Okay, I''ll come. Just give me time to prepare."


    Silva and Emely were both surprised to see her agree so easily. They let Gwyn go for now, leaving them time to plan their visit to the world.


    "So, what kind of world is it?" Silva asked while preparing herself.


    "It''s a great and colorful world! It''s a bit dangerous, but we''ll find our goal in no time!"


    "I hope so, I want to see the robot work."


    "Really!?" Emely asked with stars in her eyes "I''m glad you''re as interested as I am!"


    "Yeah, I hope we can give it a rocket launcher or something."


    "A rocket launcher? But why?"


    "I dunno. Looks cool."


    Emely chuckled at Silva''s words. Her hand reached for a paper in her pocket, she read the content of the note to Silva with a clear voice.


    "World 18032002: Wonderland. That''s where we''re going so I hope you''re ready!

 Chapter 75: Wonderland

    Silva, Emely, and Gwyn arrived in a lush forest. The air was thick, making it hard to breathe. The forest was wearing light blue colors instead of the usual green they were used to see on leaves. Silva took one of the squishy insects on the floor and showed it to her friends. Emely took a step back in disgust while Gwyn calmly followed her movement.


    "Look! Is it funny-looking? It''s really funny to hold."


    Emely analyzed the insect from a safe distance. She had never seen anything like that before, it looked like a green caterpillar with butterfly wings.


    "It''s... Kind of cute. But I''m not touching it!"


    "Your loss." Silva swallowed the creature without any hesitation, leaving a face of disgust on her friends "It tastes like candy."


    "Oh, maybe I should try then!" Emely searched on the ground before being stopped by Gwyn.


    "You shouldn''t, they''re called Slugflies and are poisonous. Don''t worry you won''t die, just feel weird in your stomach."


    Silva let the creature fall from her mouth with some worries for her health. Emely looked around for the insects, to make sure she wouldn''t touch one on accident.


    "A-Anyway, we''re searching for a soul. It''s like a blue spherical thingy."


    "I can''t believe you just answered a scientific question that humanity wondered for millenniums in one sentence."


    "Thanks?" Emely said, unsure whether it was a compliment or not from Gwyn "We should find it on a tree. It grows somewhere close."


    "Let''s go then!"


    The group followed the engineer''s lead through the thick forest, trying their best to not fall because of all the vines on the ground.


    A giant tree towered over them. It was hard to see but Emely confirmed that this was the tree where the souls grew on. The thing that surprised her however was the town surrounding the tree.


    "That''s weird, they weren''t here last time."


    "When was the last time?" Asked Gwyn.


    "I think... A year ago. It''s a bit quick for a civilization to form."


    The three of them approached the town only to be ambushed by a group of people armed with spears. Their clothes were primitive and quite distinguished at the same time, forming fancy uniforms with leaves and other plants.


    "We found you! You''re under arrest for love crime!" One of the men pointed their spear at Emely, accusing her.


    "Love crime? What is that?"


    "You can ask the court! You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you!"


    "But I''m innocent!"


    "That''s what you''ll say to the judge!" The man looked at the other, talking with the same accusing tone he used toward Emely "Who are you? Accomplices?"


    "No, we''re not."


    The man seemed to not believe Gwyn''s words. Squinting his eyes at her.


    "You''re all coming with us! We''ll sort everything out later."


    Silva placed her hand over her gun, trying to find an opportunity to attack.


    "There''s too many of them, I can''t deal with them safely!"


    "We''ll just listen to them for now. There''s no need to take any risks."


    The people who resembled guards tied their hands with ivy and took them away. Emely looked at the tree right next to them, frustrated to be so close, yet so far.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The three friends were locked in a cell carved into the tree, waiting for their fate to be decided. Gwyn kept trying to convince the others to leave for the Kronos and try again later, but they both argued the opposite.


    "We''re so close! We can always leave if we''re in danger. And besides, I''m accused of a crime I never committed, I can''t just escape without trying to understand more."


    "I just hope we''ll still have our heads on our shoulders by the end of the day..."


    Sounds of footsteps approached them. A hooded figure faced them while hiding her face. It looked like it was judging them before finally talking.


    "I can understand why they confused you with me, we''re almost identical." The hooded figure removed the cloak it wore, revealing a girl with long ginger hair, looking identical to Emely "My name is Emelya, princess of the holy lake. I''m afraid that I''m the reason you''re here."


    "I''m glad you''re here now, that means we can leave!"


    The girl shook her head with a pained expression on her face after hearing Emely''s words.


    "I''m the culprit of the worst crime of all. A love crime. If I confess, they''ll kill me. I hope you understand that I can''t give my life to a stranger.


    "But I''m innocent! And what''s a love crime anyway?"


    "You''ve... Never heard of it?" The girl had her eyes wide open, surprised by Emely''s ignorance "It''s when you fall in love, and alas, I did. My heart beat for this man, I cannot forsake him. I would do anything for him."


    "Even kill us?"


    The girl stayed silent, visibly hurt by her words.


    "Yes... Even that..."


    Silva stood up from the ground she was sitting on and walked toward the girl after hearing the conversation.


    "Love''s a crime? That''s dumb."


    "How dare you say that? Don''t you know how dangerous love is?"


    "Because it hurts and makes you so stupid stuff?"


    "Precisely." Answered the girl to Silva "And even despite that you think that love isn''t a problem?"


    "A knife is only a problem in the hands of the wrong person, we''re not going to take knives off people''s hands are we?"


    "Maybe we should then."


    Silva and the princess stared at each other with aggressivity until they were interrupted by the engineer.


    "Wait, aren''t you in love?" Asked Emely with confusion "Why are you agreeing with this law?"


    "I am a proud princess, and yet I''ve forsaken my kingdom in the name of love. My soulmate made me choose between him and my kingdom. I made my choice. Love shouldn''t exist and I''m sorry you''re paying for it."


    "Sorry my ass." Silva said without an ounce of empathy "If you''re ready to give up everything you hold dear for a dick, then you''re not worth much, love or not."


    "I do not allow you to use such a dirty dialect!" The girl said with a voice full of authority.


    "Go suck your boyfriend, we don''t need you. What you live isn''t love, I hope you''ll realize it before it''s too late."


    The girl seemed offended by Silva''s rude words and put her cloak back on her.


    "I don''t know about your friends, but I hope you''ll rot in hell."


    "I already do, now leave. I need to find a way to get out of here."


    Emelya left without a word while the audible sigh of Gwyn echoed inside the cell.


    "Isn''t she the princess of the holy lake or something? I hope we''ll never go there."


    "She gave up her kingdom so it should be fine."


    "Why were you so rude to her, Silva?" Emely asked, trying to understand her friend.


    "She calls herself a princess and seems to still love her kingdom, yet she leaves everything when a guy asks her to. I''m not going to quit painting for a guy, no matter how much I love him. Maybe I was rough but I have no respect for her."


    "And she''s okay with killing us." Added Gwyn.


    "Yeah! See?"


    Emely stayed silent, reflecting on her friend''s words. Feeling that she felt bad, Silva caressed her head and smiled at her.


    "Don''t worry, it''s not because she''s your other self that you''re the same as her. Don''t change who you are, that''s how I love ya dumbass."


    Emely managed to cheer up thanks to her friend. Gwyn approached them, leaning toward them to talk in her usual empty voice.


    "How cute, can we leave now? I don''t want to risk my life for that."


    "Are you kidding me? Now I''m mad at this world. We''re going to win this trial and get the soul we need!"


    "Silva, are you a lawyer?"


    "No, but I can feel I have the blood of a lawyer in me!"


    "You barely have enough blood to function, you''re not winning a case in a world where you don''t even know the rules. You didn''t even know what a love crime was a minute ago."


    "Come on, how hard can it be to be a lawyer?"


    "Really hard. I have a law degree and even I don''t fully know how the judicial system of my world works."


    Silva and Emely looked at each other in confusion, surprised by her sentence.


    "In law? Aren''t you a doctor?"


    "I''m a pharmacist, and I have a medical degree on top of my law degree. If I tell you that you can''t win in a court, it''s because you can''t."


    "Gwyn, you''re the expert doctor, I''m the world expert, I know what I''m doing. We''re going to innocent Emely."


    Emely paused for a moment at her friend''s words before confronting her.


    "Isn''t the first rule of the Kronos that we need to keep the worlds in order? I feel like we''re doing the reverse..."


    "Emely is right, our presence alone is changing everything. This princess should be in this cell instead of us."


    "Then let''s vote!" Propose Silva "I vote for staying here and get the soul."


    "I vote against it, we should go home and forget everything for now."


    The two looked at Emely with a look full of expectation. The pressure in her rose as she tried to know what she should do. On one side she needed that soul and wanted to be cleared of this unfair crime. On the other, she wanted to leave to not cause problems. Her eyes met Silva''s, even despite the sunglasses she could see her confident eyes. She knew she could trust her and gave her answer.


    "I want to stay here and win this trial!"

 Chapter 76: Love Trial

    Emely stood at the defendant''s place, waiting for the trial to start. Silva reviewed a bunch of notes next to her, trying her best to act as a makeshift lawyer. Gwyn managed to get out of this situation and was declared innocent, all she could do now was watch over her friends and hope that everything would work out.


    The judge towered over them, intimidating the court into a dead silence. Emely turned toward her friend, worried about the legal battle that was about to take place.


    "Silva, I''m not sure about it anymore..."


    "Don''t worry, it''s going to be alright."


    "Maybe you''re right..." Emely said with worry in her voice "Are you reading the laws of this world?"


    "No, I can''t read. And even if I could, I don''t speak their language."


    "But, why are you acting like you can read those papers?"


    "I don''t want others to think I''m doing nothing."


    Despite her trust in her friend, Emely knew that this trial wouldn''t last long. The judge hit his gavel on his table, forcing everyone to pay attention.


    "Today is an important day, we are judging Lady Emelya''s case, the princess of the holy lake. She''s guilty of a love crime with a man."


    "Objection!" Yelled Silva from the top of her lungs "My client isn''t guilty yet!"


    "That''s... Not how you use an objection... Are you telling me you''re actually going to defend her?"


    "Indeed!" Announced proudly the unofficial lawyer, visibly annoying the judge.


    "I thought I would finally have a rest day... Arya, can you give the opening statement?"


    "Yes, your honor." The elegant man named Arya seemed to be the prosecutor of this case. His condescending voice already irritated Silva, who had now a new reason to win this case.


    "I hate him already..."


    "The defendant came to the Great Tree for a political meeting. It was supposed to be nothing more than that, but she was spotted by a witness in her room, along with her lover. The witness was the housekeeper of the hotel, coming to clean the room. She was the one reporting the crime, at midnight."


    The judge and the jury already seemed convinced of Emely''s culpability, the man turned toward Silva with a tired voice.


    "I suppose you argue against that?"


    "Of course, I want the witness to testify!"


    The judge let out a sigh before asking for the witness to come. It was a woman in her 40''s, unhappy to stand here today.


    "I thought I''d see someone burn today, not talk about the horrible crime I saw." The woman said with an unpleasant voice.


    "You and me both, why don''t you start by introducing your name and occupation?"


    Silva felt a bit annoyed by the judge''s lack of neutrality but stayed silent to listen to the woman.


    "My name''s Myra, I manage the fancy hostel of the Great Tree. Most of the nobles come here."


    "Very well, can you testify about what you saw that night?"Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    The woman nodded her head. Silva knew everything would play here, she couldn''t let her chance to win the trial go away.


    "It was around 11 pm, I usually clean the hallways since most of the clients are sleeping at this time. I entered the princess''s room to see a horrible crime, just thinking about it scars me for life. She was with that man, their mouths were both glued to each other, exchanging saliva. I can''t believe the things people do. Anyway, I went away as soon as I could and called the guards."


    "I see." Said the judge while nodding his head "A horrible sight indeed. Are you convinced now, Miss Lawyer?"


    "Silva, I don''t think we can win." Emely whispered to her with worry "We should just leave."


    "Your lack of faith is worrying, I already know what we''ll do, you''ll soon be a free woman." Silva cleared her throat before answering the judge "I have some questions for the witness."


    "Very well, make it quick."


    "You said you were cleaning the hallways, correct?"


    "Yes... It''s my job."


    "Your job is to clean in the room too?"


    "Yes, I like doing everything myself."


    "Even when your clients are already inside?"


    "What? Of course not, it was just by luck that I entered there, I thought it was empty..."


    "Isn''t it strange? You happened to forget where the princess, an important person, was sleeping?"


    "Well..."


    The jury talked with each other about this question from the lawyer, creating noise in the courtroom.


    "Silence! Miss Lawyer, what are you doing? You cannot accuse the witness like that!"


    "But admit it''s strange, I won''t rest until we learn the real reason that she entered the room."


    "I do admit it''s curious."


    Silva was satisfied that she finally was able to make the judge doubt, maybe she wasn''t so bad of a lawyer after all, or so she thought.


    "Witness, explain the reason you entered the room and why you forgot about the presence of the princess inside it!"


    "That''s ridiculous." The woman complained but still complied with the judge''s demand "I have to deal with a hotel, you think I have time to worry about things like that? I see important people every morning, I don''t care about a princess. I came to clean the room, what else would I be here?"


    "Yes, you''re right... Miss Silva, please interrogate the witness."


    "I will." Silva wasn''t sure what angle she would use but the witness was clearly losing patience. She was sure she could exploit that "So you just forgot? Not very professional."


    "Aren''t you a lawyer without a degree? Doesn''t feel like you''re much better."


    "I''m just asking if it happens often."


    "Of course not, I''m a hard-working woman, I have a good reputation around here, ask anyone!"


    "So you happened to see them kiss, it''s quite lucky."


    "I''d rather say unlucky."


    "I don''t think you''ll say that with all the advertisement it brings to your establishment."


    "Objection!" Yelled the prosecutor "The lawyer is just bullying the witness, this is unrelated to the case!"


    "I am forced but to agree, is it leading to anywhere?"


    The judge looked at Silva expectantly, waiting for her answer.


    "I have reasons to think that the witness is lying to the court. I think she''s using this trial as a way to advertise her business!"


    "What is the lawyer saying, is she drunk?" The woman looked at Silva with a deadly stare to intimidate her, not knowing it did not affect her "If you think it''s true, then you need arguments."


    "Are you sure of what you''re saying?" Emely whispered to Silva "I feel like you''re just saying random stuff and hope it''s working."


    "It''s because that''s what I''m doing. Just trust the process, I feel like I may be right. The witness seems enraged, I think we''re actually not far from the truth." Silva turned toward the judge, hoping to convince him "Has anything like that happened before? Has the witness already accused someone without any basis?"


    The judge looked at the bailiff with his gavel in his hand.


    "Can we get the witness''s record?"


    "Yes sir, it will take a few minutes."


    The judge hit his desk with the gavel and announced with his deep voice.


    "The court will take a ten-minute break, you may rest!"


    Emely and Silva both let out a relieved sigh, glad to have time to rest. Gwyn went with her two friends during the break, visibly surprised to see Silva doing so well.


    "Everyone here is so incompetent, it hurts."


    "Come on, you should be glad! I think the judge starts to agree with me."


    "In a court from my world, you would already be in jail... You''re breaking so many laws."


    "But, she''s doing alright so far." Said Emely with a shy voice "I think we might be able to win."


    "Yeah, sure. Anyway, look at what I got."


    Gwyn got a blue orb out of her pocket, Emely looked at it closely with shining eyes.


    "that''s it! That''s the soul!"


    "It was easy, everyone is so focused on this trial. Can we leave now?"


    "Wait, I think I might win. I want to at least try."


    Gwyn wasn''t surprised, she talked in a voice softer than usual, taking her friends by surprise.


    "I''m sure you can win, just be careful. I''ll get you out of trouble if something happens."


    The woman took her place back in the crowd before the break ended. The prosecutor as well as the judge took their places, ready to start the second part of the trial.

 Chapter 77: Wanting To Find The Truth

    The judge hit his desk with his gavel, ready to continue the trial.


    "The witness, Myra, was retired from the court. Her record shows that she accused multiple persons of love crimes. Her testimony has been considered unreliable and is no longer acceptable. As the only witness, I don''t think it''s necessary to continue any longer."


    Silva and Emely high-five together, thinking they won the case. Their joy didn''t last long, as a voice echoed in the courtroom.


    "Hold on, this isn''t over yet!" The prosecutor said with a strong voice "I still have a witness, the victim himself!"


    "You have the victim here!" The judge leaned toward the prosecutor, unable to believe his words "Please bring him here as soon as possible!"


    The jury shared their surprise as a man with long white hair walked toward the bar, waiting for everyone to calm down in the court. Once the silence came back, the prosecutor talked to the man.


    "Witness, can you introduce yourself and decline your occupation."


    "My name is Kiro, I work in a bakery not far from here."


    "Have you ever met the defendant, Emelya?"


    "Yes, a few times."


    "Can you testify about the moments you shared together to the court?"


    The man nodded his head, the courtroom stayed silent, all waiting for his words.


    "Emelya is famous but I didn''t know what she looked like. When she came to the bakery, I thought she was a fancy rich girl, nothing more. We talked for a moment and she invited me to her room. I didn''t think much of it, just that it was the polite way to answer. She kissed me suddenly, I was at a loss but I decided to come to her trial today."


    "Does he hate his lover? I thought the feeling was shared." Emely looked at him with a saddened expression on her face before being cut by Silva.


    "He knows that you''re not the girl he kissed. I think he''s trying to make you guilty so his lover is safe."


    The judge closed his eyes to think before looking at Silva.


    "I feel like this is pretty clear, don''t you agree?"


    "I''ll see after the interrogation. I''m going to reveal the truth."


    The man looked at her with a cold expression on his face. Silva knew there was a way to reveal his lie, she only had to find out how to do so.


    "You followed a girl you never met before to her room for no reason?"


    "Not without a reason, she seemed to be quite important and in a good financial situation. Love never went through my head but I would be lying to say that she wasn''t a good person to reproduce with."


    "I see, so you only saw her as a way to perpetuate your bloodline?"


    "Of course, are you implying I had other plans?"


    The young lawyer thought for a moment. It appeared that the man wouldn''t slip as easily as the last witness.


    "You mentioned that you talked with her, right? What did you talk about?"


    "I..." The man glanced at the prosecutor, prompting him to intervene.


    "Objection! This information isn''t relevant to the case!"


    "I have to agree, do you think that this is related in any way?"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "I''m... Not sure." Silva answered the judge "I can''t tell without asking more information."


    "I provided proof that Emelya committed the sin of love, you''ll have to do better than asking for information."


    The judge agreed with the prosecutor, nodding his head at his words. Emely couldn''t believe how harsh the court was suddenly and shared her worries with her friend.


    "Why is the prosecutor so violent suddenly? We barely asked anything."


    "He''s just trying to prove your culpability." Silva answered her friend "He probably knows that his witness is lying, he''s just trying to protect him."


    "I think the defense is over." The prosecutor stood up from his chair, stretching as he spoke "This lasted way too long, we already know who''s the culprit."


    "You''re right... I thought this promising lawyer was onto something, but maybe not. Any last words, Miss Silva?"


    Silva''s time was limited, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t find an answer. When she was about to give up, a voice next to her yelled with strength.


    "Objection your honor! We still have to hear the defendant''s testimony!"


    Silva and Emely turned toward their friend Gwyn, standing next to them proudly. They weren''t expecting the doctor to intervene in the trial so suddenly.


    "This can only be considered a farce of a trial if we only do half of the work, aren''t we here to search for the truth?"


    "Do you think we''ll listen to a random woman?"


    "Silence!" The judge interrupted the prosecutor and pointed his gavel at Emely "Come to the bar and give your testimony, we need to hear the full story of this case."


    Emely took a moment to look at her two friends and headed toward the bar, next to the man.


    "I gave you a chance Silva, it''s going to stress Emely, so don''t make it last too long."


    Silva nodded her head, she wasn''t sure what her friend was going to say and hoped it would lead to something helpful.


    "So... I don''t really remember a lot to be honest. I know he kissed me but that''s pretty much it..."


    The court waited for the rest of the testimony only to realize that it was all of it. The judge looked around in confusion before continuing the trial.


    "I see... So, Mister Arya, you can interrogate the defendant."


    "Such a distasteful joke, but alright, I''ll play along." The prosecutor looked at Silva directly, talking to her in a cold tone "You know that lying in a court is perjury, one of the worst things you could do in a court of justice."


    "Why are you telling me that?"


    "It''s not the defendant that you''re trying to save, right?"


    Silva stayed silent at the man''s words, the judge hit his gavel on the desk and commanded the prosecutor.


    "This is not the place to fight, interrogate the defendant!"


    "Yes, I know. Anyway, you said you have trouble remembering, right?"


    "Y-Yes." Emely answered with a shy voice "It was quite traumatic."


    "As one can expect, if love didn''t exist, none of that would have happened." The judge said in an understanding tone.


    "I can''t help but feel like you don''t remember much at all, how can we trust you then?"


    "Well... I..."


    "Objection!" Yelled Silva "My client has shown no problem with her memory, this event just made her forget everything related to the case."


    "So she should remember the reason she came to town, right?"


    Silva and Emely both stayed silent at the word of the prosecutor, having no idea why the princess was here in the first place.


    "It is quite well known, after all, she came here to discuss-"


    "Hold on your honor. I want to hear it from the defendant."


    The court stayed silent, waiting for an answer that never came. Emely stayed silent, unable to provide an answer. The court got more and more concerned a Arya continued his arguments.


    "I think that the defendant is unreliable, she obviously doesn''t remember the most basic information about herself."


    "It seems like it. Emelya of the holy lake, how do you plead for the crime of love?"


    "No, I never loved him, I swear!"


    "Do you have anything to add Miss Lawyer?"


    "I''d like to interrogate the victim again!"


    "For how long will you keep this joke going? Princess Emelya committed the crime of love, you have to admit it." The prosecutor''s voice appeared tired, a feeling shared by the judge.


    "I agree, it''s time to get this over with. Miss Lawyer, you were strangely skilled for someone that never defended anyone before, you can be proud of you."


    "I''ll be proud of myself when I prove this dumb princess''s innocence!"


    Emely looked at Silva''s determined eyes. Even if they could leave at any moment, she still fought all she could. Emely herself wasn''t sure why, was it for her honor? Was it to protect the princess? It didn''t matter for her, just seeing her friend give her all until the end meant a lot for her.


    "If only there was a way to prove that she wasn''t in love with that guy."


    Emely overheard her lawyer''s words. She took all the courage she could get and raised her hand in front of the court.


    "I have a statement to make."


    "I''m afraid it''s over."


    The judge hit his gavel on his desk with authority while looking meanly at the prosecutor.


    "I''m the one that says when it''s over. We''re listening to you, Princess Emelya."


    A smile appeared on her face, her heart was pounding in her chest, and sweat appeared on her body despite the weather. She couldn''t explain this feeling, the feeling that gave full control of her and was bothering her at the same time. The feeling that made her act before she could think, filled her with happiness instead of dread.


    "I can prove without the shadow of a doubt that I do not love that man!"

 Chapter 78: Emely

    The ruins of a city were the sight that the three members of the Kronos were met with. Nature took back control of the buildings, leaving a strange atmosphere to the scenery. Neige was the first one to break the silence and talk to his two friends.


    "Is there really someone alive here? It''s hard to believe."


    "I don''t like this place much." Added Kairo "It feels like it could crumble in an instant."


    "I feel like it''s fine. Don''t tell me you''re scared of some spooky houses!" Silva smirked mockingly at Kairo, who seemed afraid of the scenery.


    "It''s not that Silva, it looks like it''s been like that for a while. I''m not even sure the survivor is still sane."


    While his two friends were discussing the state of this world, Neige looked around the grumbles to find anything useful. Once he realized his search was in vain, he returned to his friends.


    "I don''t think there are any dangers here. Polyetta didn''t talk about anything either. I think it''s fine if we split up."


    The two others nodded their head and the three of them went in different directions, hoping to find the survivor they were searching for.


    Silva walked around for a while, more preoccupied with the tin can she had been kicking away for an hour now. She couldn''t find where it landed, she figured that she must have miscalculated where she kicked it but before she could search more, a soft voice right next to her spoke.


    "Anata no mono desu ka?"


    Silva couldn''t understand a word of what she was saying. The owner of the voice handed her a broken tin can, probably the one she was playing with.


    "Oh, thanks..."


    The girl was at a loss upon hearing Silva''s voice. She ran to search for something around and quickly came back. The girl talked in a language Silva couldn''t understand, but this time a sort of machine was translating it.


    "Who are you? I never saw you around."


    "I''m Silva. I''m like... A police officer that travels through space!"


    The machine translated her words into a language the girl could understand. She spoke in her native language with excitation, the machine translated but without the joy in the girl''s voice.


    "Space? That looks so cool, I wish I could travel in space!"


    "I''m sure it''s better than here. How long has it been like that?"


    "A few months." The machine translated "Energy crisis, war. It all happened suddenly, but I knew I wasn''t alone!"


    Silva felt a bit uncomfortable about telling her the truth. No one was left in her world, she was the only survivor now.


    "I''m Silva, what about you?"


    "That''s such a pretty name! I''m Emely!"


    "I think yours is better. So Emely, do you want to come to space me?"


    Silva made a bright smile to the little girl, who answered by smiling back at her. Even if she couldn''t see it, she could feel the happiness of Emely.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Hey Silva!" Neige stopped Silva who was visibly walking aimlessly in the hallways of the ship "Were you busy?"


    "I was focusing."


    "Oh, sorry... Emely wanted to show the new invention she did, you want to come?"


    "Again? She''s been here for a week at most, it''s the third time. Is she trying to prove something?"


    "I think she''s just trying her best. Don''t you think so?"


    "Yeah, I heard the others talk about how useful she is... It''s only been a week..."


    Neige caressed Silva''s head, trying his best to make her feel better.


    "Everyone is busy with her because she''s the next member, you''re still useful don''t worry."


    "Am I..."


    "Of course, don''t you want to come?"


    Silva thought for a moment before finally conceding to Neige. They both headed toward the main hall where everyone was waiting.


    Emely had a gun in her hand. She waited until everyone was here to make her demonstration but wasn''t expecting to see Silva, who seemed to stay alone lately. She remembered when they first met and always tried to impress since, it was the opportunity she was waiting for. Her words were in her native language but were quickly translated by a machine next to her.


    "I have found a way to create bullets out of energy, we''ll never need ammo anymore, only the light of a sun!"


    Emely pointed her new invention toward a target on the wall, she tried to fire it but the firearm exploded in her hand all of a sudden. Her body was shaking as the remains of the gun fell to the ground. Everyone gathered around the crying girl, worried for her.


    "Emely, are you hurt? You can always repair it."


    Neige''s words seemed to make her feel better but were followed by much harsher words.


    "Maybe you''re a failed engineer who should go back to school."


    "Silva?! What are you saying?" Neige went toward Silva, who wasn''t intimidated at all.


    "I''m saying the truth, she shouldn''t try to toy around with things she can''t control."


    Emely looked at the ground, devastated by the words of the girl she tried to impress all this time. She stood with her face full of tears and spoke without thinking.


    "You''re a stupid blind bat that can''t draw to save its life!"


    "Bats are already blind, dumbass. No need to say it twice!"


    Neige took Silva away before she could say anything else. The rest of the ship gathered around Emely, trying their best to comfort her broken heart.


    Two years passed since she joined the ship. She was working in her lab like usual but didn''t have any inspiration. When it happens, she takes a list of things she needs to do. At first, it was a single page, but her work accumulated so much that she needed to keep a journal for it. She took a random request she had and landed on fixing Gwyn''s computer. She remembered that the problem was that it overheated too quickly, there was a special caramel that always stayed cold in one of the worlds she saw. All she needed to do was check on the doctor''s computer to make sure she didn''t miss anything and then go directly into the world she needed.


    She opened the door to Gwyn''s office without even knocking and saw Silva inside. She knew about her mental health issues, even if they never talked about it together. Her empathy quickly was replaced by the wish to mess with her.


    "Silva? What happened? Did you hurt yourself while painting? It must be really hard to throw paint at a canvas."


    It''s just how it was for her, she accepted that it would forever be like that from now on. They lived in a world where the only thing they shared anymore was hate with each other. But every time she said those words, something hurt inside of her.


    Silva and the others went inside the world of unstable time. No matter how hard she tried she couldn''t reach them. She stayed in her lab, praying that they would come back safely. Sadly for her, her prayers were answered by a power outrage. She tried taking one of her lamps but none of them worked. She was sure that the battery was full but it still didn''t work. Emely got out of her lab, desperately trying to find someone else.


    The darkness, the loneliness, the silence. Everything was pressuring on Emely. She was on the verge of tears until she saw a familiar face. It was Neige, standing in the hallways of the ship. She knew she could count on him but something was different about him.


    "N-Neige?"


    The man looked at her with an annoyed gaze. She knew something wasn''t right with him and took a reasonable distance from him.


    "You''re one of his friends? I''m afraid that I''m not Neige, only an anomaly in this empty world."


    "T-The anomaly? Like the one that Silva fought against?"


    "Silva... I think it was one of them yes. I''m only borrowing your Neige for a moment, he''ll probably wake up soon. If you don''t want to get in trouble, just don''t get on my way."


    The anomaly left deeper in the ship. Emely couldn''t hold on any longer, her legs gave up on her and she fell onto the ground. She lay down, alone, in the dark, only thinking about Silva, about the last thing they said to each other. One more insult in their life, an insult that didn''t describe her feelings. She could only think of the bat she loved, hoping that she would come back from the world she was from.

 Chapter 79: True Love

    All the memories they shared were precious to Emely. Her eyes closed in front of the court as she took the time she needed. Despite everything she lived, Silva managed to face every trial on her way. Emely felt so stupid, she couldn''t even speak up when everyone expected her to. She had trouble seeing what everyone saw in her, Silva was the one who always did everything, always coming out on top when fate itself was against her.


    "We''re still waiting for the proof that you don''t love this man."


    "Yes, I can prove it, I have the strength to do it, I know I can..."


    Despite her words, Emely panicked too much to say anything. Seeing the distress in her friend, Silva yelled to her.


    "Hey, dumb princess! I know you can do it! Even if it gets you in trouble I''ll find you a way out, you just have to trust me!"


    Emely smiled at Silva through her tears and faced the judge. She took all the strength in her and yelled from the top of her lungs for the court to hear.


    "I love Silva! I''ll never love anyone else! I want to be hers and her to be mine! I want to live all of her hardships, all her joys! I want her to love me in her way and I''ll love her in mine! I''ll try my best to be a great person, for her like for me! I want her to show me her pain and her wishes for the future! Her perverse side, her bratty side, her soft side, I''ll accept all of it! I could never love this man because my heart already belongs to someone!"


    The court stayed silent at the words full of passion from the defendant. Silva in particular was frozen from the shock, she wasn''t sure what to think but she was proud that her friend was able to say what was weighing on her heart. The judge cleared her throat, ready to give his verdict.


    "In all my life, never have seen anyone so determined and convincing. It seems clear that your love for the victim is nonexistent, and as such, I declare you non-guilty."


    Silva and Gwyn ran toward their friend. Emely was hesitant but Silva took her in her arms tightly.


    "We did it! We won!"


    "Yes! We did..." Emely couldn''t stop the tears from flowing. Her heart was still racing in her chest but she felt like something that held her back wasn''t here anymore. Sadly for them, guards surrounded them, with spears in their hands.


    "You''re under arrest for love crime! Don''t resist!"


    "I guess confessing a crime to escape another isn''t a great idea..." Remarked Gwyn while taking the two girl''s hands.


    The trio was about to leave, but to their surprise, the jury was throwing things at the guards while yelling at them.


    "Let them go! They didn''t hurt anyone!"


    "We shouldn''t judge them harshly!"


    The three friends were surprised by the sudden turn of events, the public was convinced that love was the worst crime but was now rooting for them.


    "It seems like you managed to change this world a bit, I don''t know if I should scold or congratulate you."


    Before the guards could take them, Gwyn activated her watch and brought everyone to the safety of the ship. Leaving this world behind.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "Do you think we changed their world?" Emely asked her friends.


    "I think it will take time, all I can say is that it won''t stay the same." Gwyn took the blue orb and gave it to Emely, with an unusual smile on her face "I think I should leave you two alone for a moment. You can be proud of you Emely."


    Gwyn left the two girls as Emely realized what she said. Her face was as red as Silva''s hair, even if her friend couldn''t see it, she hid her face from her.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "L-L-L-L-Let''s go in my lab!"


    Emely walked at a very fast speed, forcing Silva to run after her to keep up her pace.


    The two girls stayed silent in the room. Emely set up everything she needed to start the robot while Silva waited patiently next to her. They both wanted to talk but were scared to do so. Silva sat on the desk and finally asked the question she had been trying to ask ever since they came back home.


    "What you said during the trial, did you mean it?"


    "Forget it, it''s not important."


    Emely just had to wait now but kept moving things around to keep herself busy and avoid the conversation. Silva let out a sigh before speaking again.


    "I''m rude, I''m far from being refined or elegant, I''m neither girly nor manly, I''m blind, I have unstable mental health, I''m basically a burden. I didn''t even show any form of love or affection to you before a few weeks ago."


    "Don''t say that..."


    "I''m just trying to understand why you chose me."


    Emely stopped fidgeting around with useless things and came to sit next to Silva. It took her all her strength but she managed to get her hand on her crush''s hand and get closer to her.


    "You''re a strong person, you lived through so much and you still managed to stay yourself. If you don''t like something, you''ll say it... I wish I was as strong as you, I always dreamed of it. All I wanted was your praise."


    "I''m not like that. I wanted to be useful and help my friends more than ask them for help. In the end, I became like that thanks to Neige and Kairo. If I manage to get better, it''s because of Gwyn and Sepide. In the end, you were the one that helped everyone the most."


    "We must look dumb. If we had that conversation two years ago, life would have been different."


    "I''m glad we didn''t, I couldn''t call you a pathetic engineer then."


    Silva smiled brightly at her friend, who blushed slightly at her words.


    "I don''t expect an answer now but be honest with me. Do I have a chance? I''m far from Neige..."


    "I don''t have a thing for Neige."


    "Really? Gwyn told me you confessed to him."


    "She did?" Silva looked away in embarrassment and muttered to herself curses "Next time I see her I''m going to make her regret."


    "It''s okay," Emely gently tapped her friend''s back, trying to comfort her "I won''t judge you for that. I''d understand if it makes you uncomfortable too, we can just pretend it never happened."


    "What? After this speech you made? Even if we end up as enemies I won''t forget that."


    "Please forget that, it was embarrassing..."


    "To be honest, I don''t really know how to feel. I''m not really into girls but... You''re different."


    "Are you saying I look like a guy?"


    Silva thought for a moment before answering with a smile.


    "Nah, more that you don''t look like a girl to me, just Emely."


    "I... Thanks?"


    Silva laughed at her friend''s confusion, energetically caressing her hair.


    "It was a compliment, don''t worry! I just need a bit of time to sort these feelings out. I... Wouldn''t mind if you were my lover..."


    Silva looked away with a slight red tint to her face. She grabbed her friend''s hand and tried her best to look her in the eyes before continuing.


    "Just know that whatever happens, you''re my friend. It won''t ever change for me. For now, we''re just Emely and Silva."


    "It feels kinda weird, you''ve never sounded so serious and loving before." Emely chuckled slightly, trying to hide her embarrassment.


    "You''re right, that was too romantic for me. I guess I read too many love novels. Don''t worry, even if I eat your pussy, your main use will still be to fix coffee machines."


    "Wha-? You''re not eating anything from me! I barely can hold your hand without burning inside!"


    A loud sound came out from the robot Emely approached it and checked if everything was alright. With a satisfied smile, she turned toward Silva and proudly announced the great news.


    "She''s ready! We''ll finally be able to welcome Remiel to our world!"


    "Finally, I hope it''s worth it!"


    The young engineer pressed the button on the robot''s neck and patiently waited for her to awaken. After a few minutes, something inside the robot exploded and a bunch of alarms started at the same time.


    "Are we dead? Is the impending doom coming?" Asked Silva, trying to look at the origin of the alarms.


    "No, I just... Messed up something..."


    Seeing the disappointment in her friend''s voice, Silva took her in her arms to calm her.


    "Don''t worry, you''re not a failed engineer who should go back to school."


    "I... Never said I was. But you''re not a stupid blind bat that can''t draw to save its life either."


    Silva broke out of her friend''s embrace and tried to touch the robot, but was stopped by Emely before she could.


    "Don''t do that! She''s burning hot!"


    "Hot like you?"


    Emely blushed heavily upon hearing those words, not knowing if she was being honest or messing with her anymore.


    "I-I thought you weren''t into girls?"


    "I''m not, just funny to mess with ya!"


    Emely still blushed heavily, only wanting to annoy Silva back.


    "Dickhead..."


    "Oh, I had a dragon named like that, I wonder how he is."


    The engineer was shocked for multiple reasons but couldn''t start with anything. Before she could ask more, Silva asked another question.


    "You can fix it?"


    "You not being into girls?"


    "No... The robot."


    "Oh, haha!" The girl analyzed the robot more closely while trying to forget the stupid thing she asked "I could but it''s tedious. I''d need to do it when I''m focused and I''m not really in the mood right now."


    "Why don''t we go eat, I''m starving..."


    "That''s not a bad idea, I hope they didn''t eat everything."


    "They always do..."


    They both left the lab and headed toward the cafeteria. Feeling particularly bold, Emely caught Silva''s hand without any resistance from her friend.

 Chapter 80: The Engineers Bat

    The two girls arrived in the cafeteria to see Neige and Sepide hanging out there. After they took something to eat, they sat at the table where their friends were. Silva was surprised they were still here, it felt like a full day passed since they split up.


    "Don''t tell me you spent all your time there since we last saw each other..."


    "Silva! Did you go to help Emely? How did it go?" Sepide looked at her friend with a gaze full of excitement, Silva on the other end seemed to think deeply about everything that happened in the last few hours.


    "I became a lawyer and I created life. Also, I make girls lesbians."


    "That''s the worst way to summarize what happened..." Emely said with exasperation in her voice, she felt like if Silva explained what happened in detail she''d be incredibly embarrassed and she didn''t want to be here when it happened. She looked at her watch and tried to act surprised the best she could "Oh, I didn''t see the time. I probably should go work."


    "Emely saying that she needs to go work is weirder than I thought..." Neige mumbled to himself. Before the engineer left, he asked her another favor "By the way, my gun''s dead. I guess the anomaly must have played too much with it, have you seen Shiro? I searched him all day."


    "Shiro? I don''t think I saw him. I can always take a look at your weapon, I know a bit about firearms."


    "Alright, I''ll come later if I don''t find him."


    Emely left the three friends, who all shared their surprise about Shiro''s disappearance.


    "That''s strange, does it often disappear like that?"


    "Not really," Neige answered to Sepide ''s question "but the ship is big, wouldn''t be surprised if we just missed each other."


    "Probably in his room thinking about you while polishing his sword."


    Silva smirked, visibly proud of her joke.


    "Shiro has a sword?" Sepide asked innocently.


    "A bigger one than Neige probably, hehe."


    Neige let out a sigh, unsure whether he missed Silva when she was away or if he was glad to have a break from her.


    "Can you explain what happened instead of saying weird stuff?"


    "Oh right, it''s a long story!"


    Silva tried her best to explain everything. About the love trial, Remiel, and even Emely''s confession. Sepide and Neige were both surprised to learn about everything that happened and even more that Emely confessed her feelings. Silva continued to talk about Remiel until she was suddenly stopped.


    "Wait, she confessed to you?" Neige interrupted the story, visibly scared all of a sudden.


    "Yeah, seems like someone can enjoy my body at last!"


    "I... Don''t think that''s the reason. Anyway, what did you say? Don''t tell me you broke her heart and made a stupid joke."


    "I guess I made a stupid joke but I''m not a monster. Even with Emely, I can be nice and understanding."


    "Definitely not a sentence I expected to hear in my lifetime, it would bring a tear to my eye if I could believe it." Neige said with a smile, still a bit worried about what Silva said to her.


    "Do not fret, those days are behind us. Well, I still call her weird names, but it''s fun."


    "If you''re both happy I''m glad for you!" Cheered Sepide "Are you together now?"


    "Love doesn''t work like that, I still need time to think. She''s a great girl for sure and I wouldn''t mind if I... Touched some... Parts of her body."This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Are you embarrassed?" Neige said in surprise "Did you kidnap the real Silva?"


    "I''m talking about someone who has feelings for me, of course it''s embarrassing. But I have to admit, I''m not really into girls, yet I still feel attracted to her, it''s weird."


    "You should take a moment to think about it, a lot happened to you. Either way, we accept you."


    "I mean you accepted me when I harmed myself and caused all these problems, I''d be surprised if dating a girl was your limit."


    Neige thought for a moment and had a sudden idea that he shared with Silva.


    "You should probably talk about it with the leader, she''s into girls too!"


    "She''s into something else than you and video games? I have a hard time believing it."


    "I''ll be honest, me too." Said Neige "But I think talking with someone that has more experience than you might be beneficial."


    "There''s also Shiro." Remarked Sepide "He''s into guys too."


    "Shiro is into guys?" Neige looked clueless, amusing his friend.


    "How can you be so smart and so dumb at the same time? It''s obvious that he''s gay."


    "How is it obvious, there aren''t even guys left on the ship aside from me."


    Sepide and Silva looked at each other, wondering if Neige was being dumb on purpose.


    "It''s not important, I think I''ll talk about it with the leader or Shiro. For now, I just need sleep."


    "Oh right, it''s late." Noticed Sepide "It''s hard to tell when it''s late because the lights only turn off at night."


    "Don''t you have a watch?" Asked Silva "I feel like your sight makes you more blind than me sometimes."


    "You should try being sighted one day, might be a good experience." Joked Neige while standing up from his chair "You should go sleep. I''ll go see if Emely is free, I don''t feel comfortable without a functioning firearm."


    "Alright, have a great night. Don''t feel too bad about the size of your sword."


    Neige ignored Silva''s words and headed toward Emely''s lab, hoping she would still be awake.


    When he entered the room, all he could think about was the smell of the oil everywhere in the lab. It was so disorganized inside, a lot of screws and tools were lying on the ground, left unattended.


    "What happened here?"


    The owner of the lab turned toward the origin of the voice and stopped working on what she was doing.


    "Neige, you couldn''t find Shiro?"


    "I didn''t search to be honest, it''s pretty late. I just need my gun to work decently, I''ll go see him later for further repair."


    "No need, I''ll fix it perfectly!"


    Emely took Neige''s gun and looked at it closely. The weapon looked like it was older than any of them, rust started accumulating and a lot of parts were on the verge of breaking.


    "What did you do with it? Even if I tried I couldn''t damage it so much!"


    "I don''t know, ask the anomaly."


    Emely put the gun on her desk and started to disassemble it right in front of Neige.


    "I thought you''d put it on your to-do list and ignore me for a month before doing it."


    "So Shiro can brag that he fixed it? No thanks, I''ll show him how good an engineer is!"


    While she was working on his weapon, Neige looked around the room, finding weird things on the ground.


    "Gloves that can carry everything?"


    "Yeah, just put them and you can carry the heaviest things!"


    "But... How can I do it if my arms don''t support the weight?"


    "Then go to the gym, not my fault you can''t handle my invention."


    Neige was quite confused about the utility of gloves that require training to be used. Sometimes, he wondered if she even did anything and wasn''t just pretending to. He noticed a familiar book on her desk, the sketchbook that Silva took around with her.


    "She forgot that here."


    "Oh, she sat there, it must have fallen from her pocket."


    Looking through the pages, Neige paid attention to the progress his friend made after all the time she spent drawing. There were a few drawings of him and Sepide which weren''t accurate but still brought a smile to his face.


    "She really improved, even if it''s obvious that she''s blind."


    "She draws better than me though."


    A few minutes of snooping around passed before Emely broke the silence.


    "Hey, Neige."


    Neige suddenly stopped, thinking that he did a mistake or touched something he shouldn''t have.


    "Yes?"


    "Do you think that... Silva loves me, even just as a friend."


    "I''ll be honest, I have no idea what''s going on between you two. But if she told you so then it''s true. She''s not the kind to lie."


    "Yeah... I regret telling her my feelings. I feel like it made her feel bad and that she''s lost because of me now."


    "If she heard you she''d slap you and say something mean like... Dumbdumb."


    "Dumbdumb?" Chuckled Emely "You''re bad at insults."


    "I think you two are too good with insults... But really, I think it impressed her. Even if she doesn''t love you the same way, she''ll always remember what you told her with nostalgia."


    "I''m glad, I''m happy if it didn''t make her feel bad."


    "Not at all, she seemed happy actually. You know, I know a lot about Silva now. I know what she likes and how love worked in her home world."


    "Really? Will you help me?"


    "Yeah of course, as long as you make Silva happy. But if you hurt her, I break all your bones and make sure you can''t walk again."


    Emely did an awkward laugh, trying to ignore his last sentence.


    "I''m going to do my best to make her happy, please don''t hurt me, Mister Luck!"


    "Come on, there''s no reason I do anything to you... Wait, how do you know my last name?"


    Emely ignored him and handed him his gun which was now in a perfect state, visibly impressing Neige.


    "How did you do that? It looks all new."


    "If you looked instead of snooping around you''d know. We should go to sleep now... I don''t want to see the lights of the ship turn off..."


    The two of them left the lab and went to their room, ready to end this long day.

 Chapter 81: Peaceful Past

    In the middle of the night, the leader suddenly called Neige and his group. They had to wake up in a hurry because of the call and did their best to come as soon as possible. Unlike usual, the leader wasn''t displayed on the screen but was physically here, looking visibly distressed. When she saw the three friends here, she tried her best to explain without panicking.


    "Shiro... He''s..."


    "Where is he?" Neige asked, understanding the urgency of the situation.


    "1410... 2001... Neige, you shouldn''t go. Silva and Sepide will manage..."


    "Are you kidding? I''m going too."


    Neige left in a hurry without hearing more from his leader, followed by his friends. Once they were ready, they jumped into this unknown world and were ready to bring back Shiro safely.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "There''s a town in ruin in front of us. It seems like no one is here. This world seems dead for a while now. I think I''ll name it..."


    "I''ve been here before." Neige said, interrupting Sepide''s report "I can''t remember why, but I know I came here before..."


    "Then I shall name it the Nostalgic Lands, until you remember at least."


    "Doesn''t sound too bad." Agreed Silva "We should go then, Shiro must be somewhere here."


    Neige looked at the familiar scene in front of him silently. Ignoring his friends, his body moved toward one of the houses by reflex. His friends followed him, worried about his behavior.


    "Neige, are you okay?"


    Instead of answering Sepide''s question, Neige pointed at the ruins of a burned house in front of him.


    "I used to go there with Yada. We would take a sandwich from the baker and come in front of this house. It would block the sun and let us eat in peace."


    "Yada? The leader?" Neige answered Silva''s question by nodding his head weakly "Neige... Is it your home world?"


    Looking at the ruins around him, Neige tried his best to remember but couldn''t achieve anything.


    "I don''t know. Maybe we just came for a few days... Let''s find Shiro."


    The group stayed together, wandering in the town. Neige stopped again after walking for a few minutes, staring at another house. It was half burned but still in a relatively good state compared to the rest. Without thinking, he entered the house and sat on the bed inside it. He pointed at a chair in front of a desk under the curious eyes of his friends.


    "Yada would sit here and write, I''d sit on her bed and ask her to finish so we could walk together."


    Neige stood up and left the house, a saddened expression on his face.


    "If it''s my world, why can''t I remember it? I want to... I want to know what happened... I''ll need to talk about it to Polyetta."


    The three stayed silent, looking at the moon in the sky. It lasted for a moment until Silva suddenly tensed up, her weapon in hand.


    "We''re not alone, there are two people there!"


    "Two?"


    Neige and Sepide Followed their friend toward the sound she heard, hoping they would find Shiro there.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    The group made its way toward another part of the village. Kairo and Shiro were both here, visibly talking about something before being interrupted.


    "Neige? It''s not-" Before Shiro could finish his sentence, Kairo cut his words with his own.


    "What are you doing here?"


    The cold words from Kairo incentivized the group to aim their weapons at him. Kairo stayed confident while Shiro cowered in fear behind him. Neige took a deep breath, preparing himself for everything that could happen.


    "We came to get Shiro back!"


    "Get Shiro back? What did the leader tell you?"


    "Well..." Neige paused for a moment, trying to remember her words "She didn''t say much, only where he was."


    Kairo pushed Shiro toward them, visibly surprising him.


    "You can take him back."


    "Take me back?!" Shiro asked Kairo, offended "I told you everything I know, what don''t you help me?"


    "I got what I needed, thanks."


    Kairo left using his watch before anyone could catch him. The group turned toward Shiro, with judgment in their eyes.


    "What did you tell him and what are you doing here?"


    "Wait Neige, you have to believe me, the leader is not as clean as you think!"


    "How so?" Neige asked, still holding his gun in his hand.


    "She''s trying to hide something from us in this world! With Emely and the others, we found her diary. We didn''t look much at it but I sneaked into her room and read it. I didn''t really understand everything but she talked about a Yada that died in this world."


    "What?" Neige put down his gun and rushed at Shiro. His hand gripped his shoulders tightly, visibly hurting him "Yada died? In this world?"


    "Yes... It was written that it was the secret the leader needed to hide... Can you stop? You''re hurting me."


    Neige released his grip and took back his weapon under the confused gaze of his friends.


    "Yada? But isn''t the leader''s real name?"


    "The leader''s real name?" Shiro reacted to Silva''s words, sharing their surprise "But how can this be?"


    "I..." Neige''s respiration was getting faster and faster, his hands were shaking, and his eyes were trembling "She didn''t..." Memories were getting to him. His, but also the anomaly''s. All suddenly made sense to him. Without thinking, he ran suddenly somewhere else. His friends did their best to catch up to him, trying not to lose him in this empty world.


    The group managed to reach Neige, standing in the middle of the ruins of a church. When his friends approached him, his empty voice echoed in the silence.


    "She was there, lying on the floor... I... I didn''t have a choice..."


    The sound of footsteps behind them turned everyone''s attention toward them. The leader was leading the march, followed by the rest of the ship''s crew.


    "I wish we could have delayed it forever..."


    "Leader? Why is everyone here?"


    "I wish I knew!" Emely answered to Silva''s question "She just said ''Let''s go to this random world!'' She didn''t even say it was so cold here!"


    "It''s not a random world. This is Neige''s and my world."


    The woman walked softly toward Neige under the gaze of the others. She walked beside him and faced the broken stained glass of the church.


    "It''s about Neige and I, but also about you all. I think you all need to hear this story, the day our lives changed."


    "Come on, you wrote all day... I want to walk beside the river."


    Neige said annoyed while looking at his friend writing in her diary. She took her time to write the letters carefully, only answering when she finished her sentence.


    "You can go walk alone."


    "But it''s not fun..."


    The woman chuckled and put down the feather she used to write with before standing up from her chair.


    "Alright, I could use a walk."


    Neige happily stood up and followed his friend outside. They walked alongside the river in front of Yada''s house, enjoying each other''s company.


    "What did you write in your diary today?"


    "It was a dream I had, it''s a bit embarrassing though, I need time before I can admit it."


    The two friends smiled at each other, continuing their calm still together. The soothing sound of the river appeased the heart of the two friends, treading the delicate road of their tranquil life. Everything stayed that way for as far as they could remember but for once, something unexpected happened. Something fell on Neige''s head, prompting him to look around. There wasn''t anyone around, except for this book that came from visibly nowhere.


    "Is that a weird joke?" Neige took the book and read it out loud to her curious friend.


    "Chapter 1: I woke up at 6 am like usual, preparing myself to go to work after a short week-end. I wouldn''t say I hate my job but saying I like it would be lying, if I could I would just go far away and never look back."


    Neige closed the book after a few lines, deeming it uninteresting.


    "Just a bad story that someone wrote, the owner probably didn''t mean to hit me with it."


    Yada took it from Neige''s hand, reading the different pages of the book.


    "It''s not a story, it''s multiple. Look, there''s even one where the character is named like you!"


    "It''s weird, I hope it''s just a coincidence. I don''t want anyone writing stories about me."


    "I''ll just keep it around, we can always see later. It''s pretty late too, we should go sleep."


    "You''re right, I''ll come see you tomorrow again."


    "I can''t wait!"


    Yada said with a smile, watching her friends walk away. She stared at the book in her hand and wondered what it was, it seemed strange to see Neige''s name inside it.

 Chapter 82: Betrayal

    Neige arrived at Yada''s home early, he knocked on the door like usual but was surprised to see his friend opening the door with such excitation.


    "Hey, how are-"


    "The book! It''s real!"


    Neige looked at his friend with some worry in his eyes, wondering if she slept enough.


    "Yes Yada, books are real."


    "No, I mean... Let me show you!" Yada wrote something in the book and closed it, looking at her friend with stars in her eyes "Look in your pocket!"


    Neige obeyed without much thought and was surprised by a gold coin inside it.


    "Oh, that''s lucky, I didn''t know I had money left."


    "It''s not luck!" Yada showed the book excited, with the sentence just written in it "I wrote that you would find a cold coin, and you did! I tried with other small stuff and it all worked!"


    "Wait, really? You can make everything become reality?"


    The woman nodded her head with a gaze full of hope.


    "Imagine what we could do with it!"


    "I think we shouldn''t use it. I can''t imagine it ending well."


    "You think?" Yada looked at the book for a moment, lost in her thoughts. She thought about all the possibilities and realized all the bad things that could happen "Maybe you''re right... It''s just so exciting!"


    "NO!"


    Everyone turned toward Neige, who just interrupted his friend''s story. He looked like he remembered something, his breathing was heavy and his body shaking. Gwyn approached him and did various basic tests, assuring his safety. After a few minutes, she shook her head and turned toward the group.


    "We should go back to the ship, he''s not well."


    "No... I can hear the rest..."


    "Neige, you''re hurting yourself. The past won''t change, you''ll hear the rest another time."


    The leader approached Gwyn, the worry on her face was obvious.


    "Is he alright?"


    "He''s alive, I don''t know what happened but it''s rooted deeply inside him. Let''s just return to the ship for now."


    Everyone agreed, staring at Neige, barely able to even stand by himself.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    A few hours passed. Gwyn finally came out of the med bay with the leader and Sepide hurrying toward her, impatient to hear the news. The doctor let out a sigh and shared his state with them.


    "He''s alright, he needs rest. We need to make sure nothing troubles his mind for now, do you have any idea why he''s like that?"


    "I think, yes..." The leader said softly, almost inaudible "I wasn''t awake when it happened but he saw the end of our world. I think he''s starting to remember slowly."


    "I see, I''ll try to not mention it. I can''t allow for visits for now, it was too much for him and he needs some rest. Whatever happened must have traumatized him."


    Gwyn looked around, surprised to only see two persons here.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "Where are the others?"


    "They''re busy with Shiro, they''re blaming him for what happened. After all, he''s the reason Neige went into his home world and that I had to reveal the truth. But still, I think they''re being a bit harsh with him."


    "Yes, I understand. I hope no one will be injured, I have enough work like that."


    Shiro was stuck in a cell, under the judgmental gaze of Ina, Emely, and Silva. The latter was interrogating him, trying her best to stay calm.


    "Shiro, it''s important. We need to know what you told Kairo. You''re putting everyone''s life in danger, even Neige''s."


    "He told me he''s leave Neige alone! He''ll leave you all alone! We just need to get rid of the leader, she''s hiding something!"


    "Shiro, you didn''t answer me." Silva said with a tone as calm as she could.


    "I''m helping you! Have you seen how Neige is? It''s because of the leader, I swear! It was written in the journal! Yada died in this world! If she''s dead, how can she be here? She''s hiding something! She-"


    Silva took her firearm and shot next to Shiro to intimidate him. When she pulled the trigger, the weapon exploded in her hand, slightly burning her.


    "What happened!?"


    "It''s alright, you can take mine." Ina said with a cheerful smile before giving her firearm to Silva.


    "Wait! It will explode again!"


    "How do you know?" Silva asked the desperate Shiro.


    "Because I thought he would help me! So I rigged all the weapons on the ship!"


    "You did what!?" Silva said in a furious voice "You think he would spare us if he had the opportunity to kill us all? If he comes right now, we''re all dead!"


    "But I... I wanted to help... I can save you all! You just have to trust me..."


    "I don''t want to be rude, but I agree with Silva..." Emely explained with a saddened tone "You put us all in danger."


    "You''d agree with anything your lovely painter says anyway..."


    "Well, I don''t have particular feelings for Silva, and yet I agree with them." Ina stared at Shiro, saddened by the state he was in.


    "Thanks..." Answered Silva to Ina''s words.


    "And I''m not one to judge usually but... You were really about to kill the leader? It looks like treason."


    "Not kill! Just take over the ship. Come on, don''t tell me you never wished anyone else was leading the ship."


    "I never did." Answered coldly Silva "She''s not perfect, she made some mistakes, but she always did her best for us. She gave us a safe haven and we all contributed to it because we were grateful. Maybe she''s hiding something from us but I''m ready to wait until she feels comfortable telling us."


    "Is that... How you feel for me?"


    The group turned around to see the leader, followed by Sepide and Gwyn next to her.


    "Yeah, I think you''re doing a good job. Nothing worth rebelling so far."


    Gwyn walked toward Shiro and analyzed him for a moment, she turned toward Silva and asked with her usual calm voice.


    "Can I ask him some questions?"


    "Why do you ask me?"


    "It looked like you were the one torturing him before."


    "Torturing? Is that how you see me?" Silva asked with a slight smile on her face.


    "Kinda." The doctor turned toward Shiro, ready to talk to him "Have you communicated with Kairo for a while now?"


    "I swear I was trying to help!"


    "Shiro, have you stopped taking your meds?"


    "It''s personal! You don''t need to know!" Shiro yelled, visibly mad. Gwyn interpreted his answer as a yes and turned to the rest of the group.


    "It''s my fault, I should have been more careful."


    "What do you mean?" Asked the leader with worry.


    "I do mental stability tests for every new member. Shiro showed signs of a split personality, I managed to catch it early but couldn''t keep an eye on him."


    "Can we fix him?" Wondered Silva.


    "He''s not a robot, it''s not something you can fix. He could be too far gone depending on the time he stopped taking them. From what I''m seeing, he lost grip on reality."


    "That''s horrible..." The leader looked at Shiro with a saddened gaze while everyone else listened to the doctor.


    "By the way, Neige is alright. He needs rest but should be able to get better soon. In the meantime, no adventure for him, we need to make sure he''s stable again. He''s strong, don''t worry about him it will be alright."


    Gwyn left for her office, leaving the lost group to the care of the leader. Despite her sadness, she tried her best to keep her role and be a good leader.


    "Apparently Kairo could come at any moment now, we need to prepare ourselves for it."


    The group agreed, all ready to do their best to protect the home that this ship became.


    When Gwyn entered her office, Neige was awake, playing with her spinning chair like nothing happened.


    "Neige... Your friends were worried for you."


    "Can I see them now? I feel better, I promise."


    "Not yet." Seeing that she wouldn''t get her chair back, Gwyn sat on the chair that her patient would usually use "You need to rest, even if you feel alright, it was hard for you."


    "The reason she died... It was the anomaly. She..."


    Neige''s eyes weren''t focused, roaming around the room in fear. Seeing his state, Gwyn decided to stop him before it went further.


    "Neige, you need to rest."


    "Huh? But I-"


    "No but. Remembering isn''t always the solution. For now, you need to rest. You''ll tell everything when your friends are here and you''ll feel better."


    "Yes... You''re right, I''m sorry for being such a burden."


    "No, I''m sorry I let that happen. If I paid more attention, none of that would have happened..."


    Neige and the doctor stayed silent in the room, lost in the abyss of their thoughts.

 Chapter 83: Red Alert

    The white ceiling of the med bay was the only thing Neige was staring at for a while now. Gwyn said she would return soon but there were no signs of her returning. The ghosts of his past were still haunting him after all these years, a past he couldn''t escape. He could only remember parts of what happened, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn''t do more. Polyetta told him that she erased some of his memories but if it was true he wouldn''t remember anything at all. Something happened, something he couldn''t recall.


    "I hate doing nothing."


    Feeling that nothing good would come out of staying here, Neige decided to leave the room to go for a walk, it''s not like Gwyn would notice anyway. His hand reached for the door, opening it softly. He tried to not make any sound to sneak out discreetly but was instead met with a loud sound outside. The alarms of the ship were going haywire and the hallway was painted by its red lights. Neige spaced out for a moment before realizing what was happening, those alarms rarely went off before. It could just be a false alert but his worry for his friends took over. With his firearm in hand, he hurried toward the main hall of the ship.


    Silva was facing Kairo in a duel, each one having their gun aimed at the other. When Neige arrived the two noticed him but stayed focused on each other.


    "Kairo?" Exclaimed Neige with surprise "What are you doing here?"


    "Changing the world. I''m sorry Neige, but I do what I must. Where is Emely?"


    "Kairo, you don''t have to do any of that."


    "If you were me, you''d do the same."


    Neige took his firearm and aimed at his former friend, his hands were still shaking, allowing Kairo to get the first shot. In a split second, Silva jumped on Kairo to stop him. The loud noise of the firearm echoed before drowning in the alarms. The body of his friend fell in front of him. The falling Silva froze Neige as if he had already seen this scene before. It already happened before with Yada, he was sure of it. Even Kairo seemed a bit shocked but quickly took his composure back before aiming at Neige.


    "Where is Emely?" Kairo asked coldly.


    Neige couldn''t answer and barely could hear. His whole focus was on Silva''s body on the ground. A voice interrupted the scene, begging for it to end.


    "I''m here! Stop it Kairo!"


    Kairo looked and saw Emely in tears. Without hesitation, he took the girl with his arm and started inputting something on his watch.


    "Don''t worry Neige, it will be over soon."


    Kairo and Emely disappeared together to somewhere unknown. Neige was powerless, unable to even move. Gwyn and the leader arrived, immediately noticing Silva''s body on the floor.


    "Neige, you were supposed to stay in the room!"


    Gwyn scolded Neige before hurrying to her wounded friend and performing the basic first aid.


    "Will... She be alright?" Neige asked with an empty tone.


    "Usually, I''d be worried. But she managed to build herself a bit, she''ll be alright. If she had less blood and fat, maybe it would have been different."


    The doctor took Silva in her arms and prepared herself to leave but went to Neige for a short moment.


    "Neige, I know you won''t listen to anything I''ll say to you. Just be careful, alright?"


    "I will."This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Gwyn left two friends alone, Polyetta went toward Neige who immediately explained the situation.


    "Kairo took Emely somewhere."


    "But where?"


    Neige stayed silent to the question, not knowing the answer. A voice from farther in the hallway answered, a voice they didn''t want to hear.


    "I know where he is." Silv arrived, followed by Sepide to her side "It looks like he was faster than me."


    "What are you doing here?" The leader looked at her, her hand ready to pick the sword on her belt.


    "For the same reason as Kairo, we''re not too fond of your new system that locates your watches. Ever heard of privacy?"


    "Where''s Kairo?"


    "Wow, calm down Neige. I''ll tell you if you remove the system that tracks me."


    "We can''t do that." The leader said with worry in her eyes "Only Emely knows how it works."


    "Guess I''ll need to talk with this Emely then, come on! Let''s go on an adventure together."


    "Are you kidding me?" Neige said without any amount of patience "I''m not trusting you one bit."


    "Your hate for me is stronger than your wish to save Emely?"


    Neige stayed silent at her question, already knowing the answer. Silv clapped with excitation and continued with a smile.


    "Glad we''re on the same page. It''s basically like I was Silva! I''ll say weird stuff sometimes, don''t worry. You won''t even notice she''s gone."


    "I think we should trust her." Sepide answered, also feeling visibly bad "I don''t want anyone to get in trouble..."


    "You''re right, let''s hurry up, what''s the world?"


    "Here we go! 25101996, The Deadly Lands!"


    "The Deadly Lands..." The leader answered with concern "Be careful Sepide and Neige."


    "And not me?" Silv asked, completely ignored.


    "We''ll bring Emely back, we promise."


    Once everyone was ready, they left the ship, determined to get Emely back from Kairo.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    A long desert stretched to the horizon, the scorching sun was lighting them with its rays, and the only thing in sight was a pyramid, standing proudly in the middle.


    "I hate hot weather..." Complained Neige.


    "Is it why you''re asexual? Because you''re not into hot people?" Silv joked, completely ignored by the rest of the group "Come on, I was trying to act like Silva!"


    "Why did he come here? Is it a trap?" Sepide looked at Silv, with distrust in her eyes "Or it''s a trap from you?"


    "No, I think he was stressed and didn''t know where to go. It''s probably random numbers."


    "He''s probably in that pyramid." Answered Neige "He didn''t have the time to go much farther."


    The group entered the pyramid, hoping to quickly find their friend.


    The inside of the pyramid was colder than the outside. The hallways were covered with a language that even Neige couldn''t decipher, leaving a strange mood in these empty hallways. The group made their way toward the deepest parts of the tomb, noticing items that weren''t supposed to be there.


    "Isn''t it one of Emely''s hair clips?" Sepide''s question was answered by a nod from Neige.


    "She really is here, Silv didn''t lie."


    "Of course, I''m always trustworthy!"


    The three adventurers continued in the pyramid, Silv and Sepide went in one of the hallways but Neige stopped his friend, prompting Silv to stop as well.


    "There''s a trap."


    "Really? I can''t see anything... Get it? Because I''m blind!"


    "Shut up SIlv. The ground is dusty, no one passed there."


    "Oh, so Kairo didn''t pass here."


    "Yes." Neige answered to his friend "There has to be another way somewhere."


    "And how do we find it smartass?"


    "Let me think for a moment." Neige said while looking around the room.


    The two girls stared at him trying to solve this mystery, doing absolutely nothing.


    "Silv, aren''t you all-knowing or something?"


    "I don''t know the answer to the puzzle if it''s what you''re asking."


    Neige let out a sigh, focusing back on the room they were in. Sepide paid close attention to Silv, making sure she wouldn''t betray them at any moment. In doing so, she noticed that Silv didn''t have any weapon on her, only a few paintbrushes and a sketchbook.


    "You don''t have a gun?" Sepide asked her, not expecting an answer.


    "The paintbrush is stronger than the firearm."


    "Oh really?" Sepide took her gun in her hand to examine it. Silv moved away, almost yelling at her.


    "No! That was a joke! Don''t kill me!"


    "Do you ever shut up?" Neige scolded Silv, still searching around the room "I think I know where is the way."


    "You do?" Sepide looked around the room, trying to find what Neige saw.


    "One of the stones doesn''t have as much dust on it, we should be able to press it."


    Neige pushed the stone, revealing a door toward a deeper place underground.


    "How did Kairo find that?" Silv asked with curiosity "He can''t even understand what I tell him!"


    "Emely is pretty good with puzzles like that, she probably was the one solving them."


    "So, that means that Emely is helping Kairo?" Sepide thought for a moment, not understanding what it implied "Is Emely betraying us too."


    "I don''t think so, I think she''s either trying to understand Kairo or threatened by him. One thing is for sure, Kairo knows that we would come or else he wouldn''t try to hide."


    The temporary team stepped on the sandy stairs, hoping to soon find the young engineer.

 Chapter 84: Tomb Raiding

    The group advanced to the deepest part of the tomb. The air was getting stuffier, hindering their progress. A big room with a large drawing on the wall stood there. Not only that but Kairo and Emely were standing here, stuck in front of this puzzle. When she saw them, she wasn''t sure whether to be overwhelmed with joy or terrified by Silv''s presence. Kairo took his firearm but was instantly disarmed by a shot from Neige.


    "Not this time, old friend." Despite his worries, Neige managed to stay steady. He moved his head, gesturing Emely to come toward them. She followed the order and went away from Kairo.


    "Neige, let me go. I promise I won''t trouble you again."


    "Kairo..."


    Everyone looked at Neige, understanding the pain he had to go through. His past came to him and he had now to face his old friend. The silence filled the room until Neige broke the tense mood.


    "You''re gone... Right? I understand what Yada told me now. I can''t save everyone..."


    "What are you talking about?" Kairo asked, stepping back from Neige.


    "Deep in me, I hoped that we could be friends again. Stop Silv and the anomaly, side by side. But it''s... It''s too late now." Neige took a deep inspiration and tensed his body, staring at his friend in the eyes "Kairo, you''re under arrest for treason and endangerment of the universe."


    Sepide handcuffed Kairo while Neige held him at gunpoint. Once they made sure he was no longer a threat they looked around to see that Silv was gone.


    "I guess she understood we would just arrest her... Maybe she just wanted to stop Kairo too. We should go now."


    "Wait!" Yelled Emely "The puzzle! I don''t understand it, can we stay for a moment?"


    Neige looked at the painting on the wall. There were three holes under three characters, one looked like a girl with short red hair and a firearm, one looked like a girl with short white hair and a dagger, and the last looked like a woman with long hair and a sword. It was hard to see the color of the last one''s hair because of the work of time erasing this part of the drawing.


    "The one on the left looks like Silva." Noticed Emely "But I have no idea about the other ones..."


    "You really can''t get her out of your head, huh." Neige said with a smile on his face.


    "W-What? That''s not that! Don''t tell me they don''t look similar!"


    "They do..." Neige looked at the drawing for a moment before noticing three balls on the ground. They all were made of stone with different words on them "Chaos, order, balance..."


    "I don''t want to try to put them randomly, it could go sour..."


    "I agree." Sepide added to Emely''s sentence "I think we should try to find more about those figures."


    Neige put one of the orbs under the girl with red hair, panicking his friends on the way.


    "Neige! What do you think you''re doing!?"


    "Chaos..." Neige said to himself, ignoring Emely''s question. He headed toward the one with the girl with white hair and put another orb in it "Balance..."


    "Neige, are you sure it''s a good idea?" Sepide asked with apprehension.


    "Order..." Neige placed the last one under the woman with long hair. The room trembled and the wall fissured until it finally broke into pieces, revealing a room behind. All there was in the revealed room was an orb lying on a pillar. Emely went inside and took the orb inside it, glowing with a pale light. The ground below her broke making her fall to the void below her.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "Emely!" Neige rushed without thinking and grabbed Emely''s leg before she could fall. Despite his best attempt to stay steady, the ground below him broke, making him fall as well. Sepide managed to grab him but could barely hold on.


    "You''re... Too heavy..."


    "That''s not something you should say to a lady!" Yelled Emely after hearing Sepide''s words.


    She tried her best to hang on, she was about to let go but someone behind her grabbed Neige as well, helping her get them back up.


    "Silva?!" Sepide asked with a smile, already seeing her friend behind her.


    "I hope I didn''t arrive too late!"


    Sepide and Silva managed to get everyone in safety. Without a word, they all hurried outside of the room into another safe place in the dungeon.


    The group made their way to a safe zone. Everyone was catching their breath but Neige was more focused on Kairo, who seemed hurt and unconscious.


    "Why is he hurt? He wasn''t bleeding on the head last time."


    "Who knows? Maybe one of his old friends wanted to hit him and hit him too strong?" Silva answered with a smug tone.


    "And what is that old friend doing here? I thought you were stuck in bed." Neige asked to the smiling Silva.


    "Come on, you''re the same! Don''t tell me you were supposed to be here."


    "I didn''t get shot."


    "I didn''t have a mental breakdown."


    "Come on, let''s just be glad that everyone is safe and go back, alright?" Pleaded Sepide to her two friends. She looked at Emely to see if she agreed, but the latter was more interested in the orb she got.


    "That''s it? A glass ball?"


    The group looked at it closely without knowing its use. Sepide took it and shook it, but nothing more happened.


    "That''s a bit boring... We almost died because of it. By the way, how did you know the answer Neige?"


    "I... Just knew. It''s like I was born knowing the answer."


    "So you don''t even know why it''s the answer?" Emely looked disappointed and looked at her watch "We should go back to the ship, I had enough adventures for a week."


    The group agreed and went back on the ship, glad that everyone was safe.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Kairo was sent to one of the cells by Gwyn and Ina until he would eventually wake up. The leader took everyone else in her arms with tears in her eyes.


    "I''m so glad you''re all here, I was so worried! Never do anything dangerous again."


    "I think we just attract danger..." Complained Silva.


    "Try to attract it less. I think you all should rest for now. Aside from Neige and Silva, you two are going to Gwyn''s office, you were both supposed to stay in the med bay!"


    "Yes, mom... We''ll go see the doctor." Silva walked away from the leader, annoying the latter.


    "Don''t call me like that..."


    The group went together to Gwyn''s office, all exhausted from what happened.


    "I hope we''ll go to a world with plushes as enemies..."


    "Be careful of what you wish Silva." Replied Neige "If you say that it will happen and it will be the worst one."


    "As if."


    After a few minutes, Gwyn entered in her office to see the four friends waiting there. She had her eyes wide open, not believing what she was seeing.


    "Don''t tell me you all have a problem?"


    "Oh no, not at all. We just figured we''d go together."


    Gwyn sighed in relief at Emely''s words and took her place on her seat.


    "I''ll take care of Neige first and then see if Silva is alright but she seems to be in a good state."


    The others left the room, leaving Neige and the doctor alone in the office.


    "So, how do you feel?"


    "I''m feeling alright. It''s a bit weird but when I saw Silva fall in front of me, it reminded me of my past... I don''t want that to happen again."


    "You do seem a bit better but I''ll still need to keep a close eye on you. Whatever you keep inside yourself is eating you from inside."


    "It''s alright, don''t worry. I''m used to it."


    "The fact that you''re used to it is even scarier."


    Gwyn took her notebook and noted something inside it.


    "What happened to Shiro by the way? I didn''t see him when I went back to the ship."


    "Oh... You don''t know yet. Shiro has been deemed too mentally unstable, he''s in his cell."


    "So he''s not better from when I first found him?"


    "Indeed. Until then he took his meds, but lately, he stopped. I suppose it''s around the moment Kairo left the ship. Now, he keeps saying he wants to help us and doesn''t answer any questions." Gwyn continued writing in her notebook but quickly noticed Neige''s sorrowful expression "Don''t blame yourself, it''s already a miracle that we don''t have more cases like that."


    "It''s mostly thanks to you, having a therapist really helps."


    "I''m a pharmacist..." Gwyn closed her notebook and placed it on her desk "I think you''re better now, it was probably temporary. You had a lot of stress lately, I don''t know why you feel better."


    "It''s because I have incredible friends." Neige said with a smile, a smile that Gwyn gave back.


    "Indeed, you should spend more time with them tomorrow. I''ll talk with the leader, there shouldn''t be any mission for you tomorrow."

 Chapter 85: Awakening

    Silva arrived in Emely''s lab early in the morning. Her friend wanted to show her something that apparently couldn''t wait. She wished she could sleep more but was also curious about the thing that Emely wanted to show her. The lab seemed cleaner today, allowing Silva to make her way to Emely without too much trouble.


    "Hey, is everything alright?"


    "Huh? Silva?" Emely looked around for a moment, speaking like she barely woke up.


    "Were you... Sleeping while standing up?"


    "No, I was just resting..."


    Silva was convinced that she was sleeping but decided to not inquire further, still worried for her friend.


    "I can come back later if you want."


    "No no, I''m alright. I just need some tea and I''m right back up."


    Emely took a bottle from her table and swallowed it all without stopping. She returned toward Silva and tried her best to smile.


    "See? All fine!"


    Her voice still sounded tired, Silva decided it would be for the best to end it quickly so she could rest.


    "Alright, so what did you want to show me?"


    "Follow me!"


    The young engineer took her friend''s hand and took her to the robot she worked on for a while. Silva quickly understood that it was finally time for her new creation to awake.


    "Remiel will finally join our universe! Are you ready?"


    "Yeah, I can''t wait!"


    Silva and Emely were excited to see it work, their smiles were bright and their eyes were full of stars. Emely pressed the button and everything went silent. The machines in her lab all stopped, indicating to Silva that something had gone wrong.


    "It''s alright, better luck next time."


    Silva expected to hear something from her friend but didn''t hear anything. When she noticed that Emely was on the ground, her head in her hand, Silva quickly sat next to her and hugged her tightly.


    "Hey, it''s okay. There''s always next time."


    "... Dark..."


    "Huh?"


    "It''s... Dark..."


    Silva realized that there was a power outage, probably because of the robot. The lights must have turned off but she didn''t know about Emely''s fear of the dark, it was the first time she heard of it.


    "Silva... Don''t leave me..."


    "I''m not leaving."


    Silva spoke with confidence, trying to make her friend feel better. The part of her clothes where Emely''s head was started to get damped with her tears. Her friend''s hands were gripping the fabric of her clothes as tightly as she could, not letting it go under any circumstances.


    "It''s... It''s like that day. You were gone... I thought you were dead... The anomaly was here..."


    "Everytime it''s dark you think about it?"


    Emely weakly nodded her head, holding onto Silva as tightly as she could.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "I''m here, if you feel bad again you can come to me, okay?"


    Silva''s words stayed without an answer, her little engineer looked like she had fallen asleep. She was already exhausted and it didn''t help, she took her in her arms and stood up. She headed toward Emely''s room to let her get the sleep she didn''t take that night.


    Once she arrived in front of the rooms, she realized that not only she didn''t have the key to her room but she also didn''t even know which one was her room. Silva decided to go into her own room instead and let Emely sleep there, it''s not like it''s the first time Emely went there after all. Silva let her friend sleep in her bed, gently caressing her hair as she did.


    "Being afraid of the dark... What are you, twelve?" Silva smiled to herself, still caressing her friend "Sorry for being so mean, I guess it''s just who I am."


    Silva wrote a note that she glued on Emely''s face, to make sure that she''d read it. She left her room and decided to go for a coffee. On the way, she bumped into Sepide, who visibly was searching for something.


    "Sepide? What''s the hurry?"


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t see you. Have you seen Emely?"


    "Sadly I''m still blind." Silva laughed at her own joke before answering "She''s asleep, you needed something?"


    "Oh... It''s just that the electricity doesn''t work anymore. I kinda needed it."


    "You needed it?" Silva asked while nodding her head, curious about Sepide''s reason "What for?"


    "It''s... A bit embarrassing."


    "Come on, you know the most embarrassing things about me, tell me, I won''t judge."


    "So... I''ve been searching for something I could do. I don''t want to stay limited at one thing and I want to be useful."


    "So far it''s not really embarrassing."


    "It will be soon. So I was using the internet to search what I could do and I found a platform where people shared videos. There were those people that were called V-tubers and..."


    "Neige told me about it I think." Silva said, trying to remember what it was "Isn''t it those people using virtual avatars to not show themselves, and then people simp over them?"


    "Simp?" Sepide asked, confused "I never heard that before."


    "It''s the kind of person that gives their life saving to a girl so she says their name."


    "Oh, so I have a lot of simps then."


    "You what?" Silva wasn''t sure if she heard right or if Sepide didn''t understand her explanation.


    "Yes, people give me money and I say their names."


    "Sepide... You''re a V-tuber?"


    "... Yes..." Sepide''s shy voice was barely audible. Silva was pretty surprised but a sudden idea traversed her mind.


    "Does Neige know?"


    "No, only you."


    Silva had a sinister grin on her face. Sepide couldn''t see it but she could feel her evil mind inside her working.


    "We need to put the electricity back then, I suppose you were busy live-streaming, right?"


    "Yes, I was..."


    "Perfect! Come on, let''s wake up Emely, she slept enough anyway."


    Silva took Sepide with her hand and guided her in the dark, going to the room where Emely was sleeping.


    The two friends entered Silva''s room, trying to not make too much noise. Emely was visibly dreaming, mumbling some words in her sleep. Silva gently moved her, trying to wake her up.


    "It''s time to wake up little lamb."


    Emely slowly opened her eyes. Silva took her in her arms to not scare her too much when she realized that everything was still dark.


    "We need you to turn on the power, can you?"


    The engineer''s heart was beating fast, visibly stressed. Despite her fear, she managed to speak some words.


    "Yes... Sorry but can you come with me? I don''t want to be alone..."


    "I will, don''t worry."


    "Why did you wake her up gently but yelled at Neige last time?" Sepide questioned, trying to understand.


    "Do you treat me more softly than Neige?" Emely asked Silva while blushing a bit.


    "I-It''s because she''s a crybaby."


    "Alright!" Chuckled Emely at her crush''s words "I need to get to my lab, that''s where the control panel is."


    Sepide and Silva waited next to Emely as she fixed the problem. She took a few breaks to calm down but managed to stay focused despite that. After a bit of time, the electricity went back on. Emely managed to fix everything quickly.


    "I just overloaded the ship''s battery with Remiel but it should be alright now. I hope it didn''t fry her."


    Emely looked at her robot and felt a wave of dread, Remiel wasn''t here anymore.


    "Remiel... She''s awake..."


    "She''s alive! Alive!" Silva said with a spooky voice, visibly not amusing her friend.


    "She could be crazy! I didn''t perform any tests yet! While we speak, she could be trying to kill someone!"


    "Oh, that''s not good..." Silva said with a scared voice replacing her joking one.


    The three hurried outside the lab, trying to find Remiel before anything wrong could happen.


    "So you don''t know who you are nor where you''re from?" Neige summarized to the robot he just met.


    "Correct."


    Neige looked at the color of the robot, it looked eerily similar to the clothes that they wear. The orange lines on the black body, even the logo on her chest, everything indicated that she was indeed from here.


    "Ever heard of Emely?"


    "I do not have any data about such a person."


    "Of course not. It would have been too easy. I can''t find her anyway so I''ll bring you to our leader, she''ll know what to do with you."


    "Understood." The robot answered with a blank voice.


    "Seriously, what kind of stuff is she doing in her free time?" Neige mumbled to himself while bringing the strange robot to the leader.

 Chapter 86: Remarkable and Elegant Module-1 Esper Lambda

    Neige brought the strange robot to the others in the cafeteria. Gwyn and Ina were a bit worried about it while the leader felt excited at the sight of it.


    "She looks so much better than Uriel! Can we keep it?" The leader asked, looking at the robot from every angle.


    "Why are you asking me? You should ask Emely, she''s the one that made her... I think."


    "Isn''t it a bit dangerous?" Ina hid behind Gwyn, only peeking at the robot for a few seconds before hiding again.


    "I''m sure it obeys Asimov''s law, I don''t think Emely is that dense." Despite Polyetta''s words, Gwyn still looked a bit concerned about the robot. The robot looked at the leader and tilted her head, trying to understand her words.


    "I do not comprehend, what are those laws?"


    "Basically, you can''t harm humans and have to listen to humans. Don''t you have anything like that?"


    "Not to my knowledge, should I test it?"


    Gwyn and Ina took a worried step back, the doctor continuing with her questions, still managing to keep a calm face despite her fear.


    "Can you make me a coffee?"


    "I... Don''t know how to do that."


    "I guess it was too complex. Can you count to a hundred?"


    "I can, but why?" The robot asked, getting increasingly confused "Is the reason for my existence to count to a hundred?"


    "No, I just wanted to test something. It looks like she doesn''t have to obey human order."


    "Maybe she only obeys Emely?" Proposed Neige "She still shouldn''t be able to hurt humans."


    The robot slapped Neige. The sound of the slap made Gwyn and Ina step back even further.


    "Hey, it hurts!"


    "I apologize, I wanted to test if I could hurt humans."


    "I confirm... It hurts."


    Emely and her friends entered the room and felt relief when they saw the robot they were searching for. Sepide and Silva stayed behind while Emely hurried to her sides.


    "Remiel! Here you are! Everything seems alright. You really are working! I can''t believe it! I''ll just need to find a way to recharge you without turning off the ship''s engine every time."


    "Remiel? Is that my name?" The robot asked while looking curiously at Emely.


    "Indeed, I created you based on the code of another robot but you''re your own person."


    "I think I remember that, I had a big sister named Uriel... I think."


    The proud engineer turned toward the crew of the ship and showed Remiel with a bright smile.


    "I introduce to you, Remarkable and Elegant Module-1 Esper Lambda! Remiel for short."


    "It''s a great name, we would be honored to keep Remarkable and Elected machine... Remiel, we''re honored to keep Remiel around." The leader showed her enthusiasm for their new member, but sadly, the feeling wasn''t shared with everyone. Ina spoke up, still hiding behind Gwyn.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Isn''t it dangerous? I mean what if it attacks us? It''s not against you Lady Remiel, please don''t hurt me!"


    "She wasn''t programmed for that, you can imagine her as a maid. She''ll help around sometimes but there''s not much to do for her yet. For now, she''s more like a friend."


    "Wait, a maid?" Silva asked with a grin on her face "Can we give her a maid uniform?"


    "I mean, we could..." Emely answered, not as enthusiastic about the idea.


    "If she keeps the black and orange colors it would look great I''m sure." Added Neige "I''ve seen some nice ones in black when I went on adventures and stuff, I wasn''t trying to look for them, I swear!"


    "No! No one is going to dress Remiel!" Emely tried to sound intimidating, which visibly didn''t work.


    "Come on Emely, she''s free to do what she wants." Silva turned toward the new robot, an innocent smile on her face "Remiel, do you want to dress as a maid?"


    "I do not have any wish for the moment."


    "It''s going to change!"


    "Silva! Don''t pervertify Remiel!"


    "Or else?" Silva leaned in front of Emely, trying to convince her with a cute smile.


    "Or else... I''ll find something. I''ll make Remiel dumbbat-proof somehow."


    "Oh, are bats a problem?" Remiel asked with a blank expression on her face "I should remember that."


    "Wait! That''s not about real bats... I suppose I have to teach you a lot."


    "Remiel, do you really not know anything?" Gwyn asked with curiosity, her fear slowly disappearing.


    "I know the basics of human society and know most of the languages. Aside from those, I do not have a lot of knowledge."


    "To be honest, I just wanted to boot you to see if everything worked." Explained Emely "We should go back to the lab now, you were supposed to stay awake only for an hour. Say goodbye to everyone, we have a lot to work on."


    "I bid you farewell, may we meet again."


    Emely and Remiel both left the cafeteria, leaving the rest of the crew together.


    "Is she gone?" Ina asked, still hiding.


    "Yes... You can come out."


    After Gwyn''s confirmation, the cook stopped hiding and took a smile again.


    "She seems like a nice member!"


    "Really? It looked like you hated her."


    "Was I rude?" Ina started reflecting on their conversation, trying to know whether she was rude or not.


    "I''m glad that Remiel exists." Said Sepide with a smile "I feel better that Uriel keeps on living somehow."


    "Me too!" Added Silva "I just hope she''ll be alright, she seemed a bit lost."


    "I think that if you were born in a lab without any memories, you''d be incredibly lost too." Neige said before stretching his arms "I''ll need to go for now, I have something I need to finish."


    "Wait! We''ll come with you!" Silva said while taking Sepide''s hand "We need to show you something."


    Neige agreed and left, along with his two friends.


    The three friends walked in the hallway of the ship. Silva explained the reason she asked to go with Neige.


    "Have you heard of V-tubers?"


    "Yeah, I even was the one to tell you if I recall correctly."


    "What if I told you I found one that sounded exactly like Sepide?"


    "Are you just talking about Sepide''s account? I already know about it."


    "Y-You do?" Sepide asked with a surprised expression.


    "You''re not very discreet with it. I can hear you when you talk too loudly."


    "Oh... I thought rooms were soundproof."


    "Some are. I know that Shiro and Silva have one but you need to ask for it. I prefer to not have it since it allows me to hear what''s happening outside."


    "You can just tell if you''re a pervert and want to hear people at night." Silva chuckled at her own words.


    "Why is your room isolated, Silva?" Sepide wondered.


    "I have a better hearing than most so I can hear when someone''s walking in the hallway. It''s bothering me when I paint."


    "Oh... I thought it was for a perverse reason."


    "Great, now even Sepide expects that from you." Neige sighed with a soft smile.


    "It was time! Next time I''ll need to find a new thing to joke about, like the earth being flat!"


    "The earth?" Sepide looked at Neige to understand but even he seemed confused about it.


    "Maybe someday I''ll tell you."


    "I''m not sure I want to know..." Neige looked at Gwyn''s office in front of him and turned toward his friends with a tired face "I really don''t want to go but she''s forcing me. She''ll annoy me to death if I don''t come to our appointment."


    "Don''t worry, it''s the same for me..." Silva said with a disappointed expression on her face "If you ever need to talk about something we''re here! Or even just to hang out, it''s good too!"


    "I know, I''m glad you''re here." Neige took his two friends in his arms, surprising them "Don''t get in trouble while I''m away."


    As he entered the doctor''s office, his two friends stayed outside, continuing their talk.


    "It''s a shame that he knew about your second identity. So, what will you do now?"


    "I think I''ll go on internet... It''s still embarrassing."


    "As long as it''s not something weird it''s alright. I''ll try to annoy Ina or the leader if they''re not busy, have fun!"


    The two girls parted ways, each going to their occupation. They were glad to be able to have a nice day and hoped it would stay that way.

 Chapter 87: Theyre Pirates!

    The leader called the main team to her office. Everything seemed alright, reliving the three friends. The woman on the screen took a bunch of paper in her hand and started to talk about the reason they were there.


    "So, a lot of things happened. Don''t worry, nothing too bad, just like the old time. For today''s mission, a world that used to not believe in love suddenly does. Apparently, someone from another world came there and changed their mind. It''s probably Silv or something."


    "Isn''t it the world 18032002?" Silva asked, a bit embarrassed.


    "Yes, how do you know?"


    Neige quickly understood that this was the world Emely and Silva went in. Not wanting to embarrass his friend, he decided to change the topic.


    "I don''t like this world, don''t you have another one?"


    "What do you mean you don''t like this world? Did you all go there before?"


    "I''ll tell you later, don''t you have anything else?"


    "Well.... There a world full of pirates."


    "Oh, that seems fun!" Silva exclaimed with excitation "What is happening there?"


    "A country is about to get tools for using the metric system. They will be sent by boat and your goal is to destroy them, you''ll need to dress and act like pirates. You really want that instead?"


    "Sounds good to me." Neige looked at his friends to see if they agreed and both seemed excited.


    "Alright then, 10071975, that''s your world. You''re searching for a ship with a red cross as a flag, have fun."


    The three friends prepared themselves and jumped into the new world as soon as possible, ready for their new mission.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "The ocean stretches to the horizon. It doesn''t seem like this world is technologically advanced, still using an old architectural style. If this world is ruled by pirates, then I shall call it The Lawless Lands."


    "That name wasn''t half bad this time. You improved."


    "Thanks..." Sepide was blushing, visibly enjoying her friend''s compliment. Neige on the other hand was focused on looking around for something.


    "We need a boat, maybe we could hire some pirates to lend us theirs."


    "But with what money?" Asked Sepide, to which Neige answered by showing purses in his hands.


    "People aren''t careful here, I stole five guys in just a few minutes!"


    Neige entered the nearest tavern, followed by Sepide and Silva. The three friends ordered some drinks and looked around in the tavern, trying to find a pirate who would be kind enough to sell their ship to them. They made sure to analyze them from far away first to not bring any problems.


    "What about the one with a glass eye?" Asked Neige to his friends.


    "He seems a bit... Sexist."


    "Sexist? How can you see that?" Neige looked at the pirate for a moment, trying to understand why Sepide would say such a thing.


    "They''re pirates." Sighed Silva "They''re dumb, dirty, and sexist, so lower your standard. Even women are scary, probably cutting men''s dick. But don''t worry Neige, you look girly enough, nothing will happen to you."Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "You don''t even know what I look like... This outfit made me look like a real man."


    While they were arguing, a man with a torn pirate outfit sat next to the group and ordered from the barman.


    "Bartender, give me and those three ladies a drink!"


    "Excuse me sir, but I''m a man."


    "Of course you''re a man!" Answered the pirate "Even gals can be great men!"


    "That''s... Not what I meant..." Neige silently gave up in the middle of his sentence, letting Silva negotiate with him.


    "Hey, are you a pirate?"


    "In flesh and beer, do those ladies need anything from a lawless criminal?"


    "Actually, we do! We need a ship, can you sell us yours?"


    The man laughed loudly at Silva''s words before looking at her straight in the eyes with a smile.


    "Sorry, even for a lady as pretty as you, I don''t sell my wife."


    "His wife is a ship?" Sepide asked Neige, who visibly didn''t know either.


    "Wat''s it for? Maybe I can help."


    "We need to pillage a ship with a red cross as their flag, sadly, we don''t have a ship of our own."


    "Tell him our names while you''re at it..." Neige said, exasperated while the pirate thought for a moment, considering the situation.


    "You''re talking about the Amiral, the official ship of the royal fleet. Ti''s a hard task, a group of sandbox pirates won''t be able to overthrow them." The man looked at the group for a moment, deep in his thoughts "You know, the seas are quite lonely. I wouldn''t mind sailing the sea with beauties such as you."


    "Will you help us? I''m sure Neige would love to keep you company!"


    "If he touches me, I punch him in the balls." Neige coldly said, trying to avoid his gaze.


    "I prefer when my woman bites but it will do."


    "What!? I didn''t need to know that!"


    The man stood up, ignoring Neige''s complaints, and paid the barman.


    "Let me show you Elizabeth, my ship."


    The group followed the pirate outside, hoping he would help them.


    The ship was ancient-looking, the planks looked like they were older than the man, and the flag on top proudly showed a skull. The pirate invited them on board, which seemed to still hold on the test of time.


    "The Amiral, not a cheap target. Probably a lot of treasures there, if you give me half of it, me and my boat are yours."


    "We''re not here for the treasure." Answered Neige "You can keep everything."


    "On top of being cute, you''re generous."


    "Don''t call me that."


    "I accept your kind offer, I don''t understand what you''re searching but a pirate''s job is not to ask questions. We''ll set sail when you''re ready."


    "Thanks, mister pirate." Sepide bowed slightly, visibly embarrassing the man.


    "Don''t call me that, people call me Gol''tooth."


    "I''m Silva, the mad-looking girl is Neige and the shy-looking one is Sepide."


    "I''m not a girl..."


    The new crew of the ship was now ready. The Elizabeth set sail toward the seas, ready for their perilous journey ahead.


    Their target was still far away, they had time to kill and spent it playing one of the card games that the captain taught them how to play, or rather tried. Silva''s blindness stopped her from playing so she just enjoyed seeing Neige struggle with the rules.


    "So... If I have the highest cost card I win?"


    "Yes, this game should be simple enough to play for you..." The pirate said with an annoyed tone as he gave everyone their card.


    "Can I enhance the card?"


    "What does that mean?" The man looked at Neige with worry, already having a bad feeling.


    "Like if I have enough play points, I raise its cost for a better effect."


    Gol''tooth put his cards down on the table with a deep blow coming out of his mouth.


    "You win, I can''t understand what you''re saying."


    The man went to one of his barrels and filled a mug of the liquid inside it that he gave to everyone.


    "Let''s just drink our hearts out instead! Maybe some alcohol in your veins will make you smarter."


    "I''m sorry, I don''t drink alcohol." Neige refused politely, visibly saddening his friend Silva.


    "Come on, it will be fun! Alcohol makes everything better!"


    "I mean... I guess I can take one glass of it."


    "That''s great! But before that, I need to say something." Silva took a more serious tone, away from the joyful mood she was in "Alcohol is dangerous for your health. Do not abuse it and do not give in to social pressure. You don''t need to drink alcohol to have fun at a party."


    "Silva? That''s the exact opposite of what you''re doing. Who are you talking to anyway?"


    Ignoring her friend''s words, Silva drank the whole mug in one go, impressing everyone on the ship.


    "Silva, isn''t it forbidden to drink?" Asked Sepide "I saw on internet that you need to be twenty-one to drink."


    "In my home world, it''s eighteen. And come on, if I can''t drown my worries in alcohol, what do I have left?" Silva suddenly took a more serious voice "Don''t drink alcohol to forget your problems, try something more healthy like art."


    "Are you drunk?" Neige asked "I think you had enough alcohol for your life."


    "There''s never too much alcohol!" The captain said while filling Silva''s mug.


    "You''re hopeless, Sepide, be careful with that."


    "Am I real?" Sepide stared into space with her empty cup in her hand "Is anything real?"


    "It''s going to be a long journey..."

 Chapter 88: You are a pirate!

    The captain looked at his ship with satisfaction as his men boarded the crates on it. The man turned toward the people he hired for their protection, visibly thankful.


    "Thanks for your help with the Amiral, you''re very kind."


    The leader of the fleet bowed, thanking the girl with short red hair.


    "It''s only natural, so many pirates want to steal treasures on those lawless seas. My associates and I will gladly help."


    Before the girl could go on the ship, the nun at her side took her clothes to stop her.


    "Silv... I can feel him, Neige is here."


    "Isn''t it good? You''ll see your friend soon then!"


    Silv confidently entered the ship, followed by the uncertain Ada. The third member stayed outside silently, lost in her thoughts.


    "Hey Emel, don''t waste time."


    The Elizabeth and its crew were still sailing on the calm seas. The four members sang songs with too much alcohol in their blood. The captain held his glass of alcohol high in the hair, holding Neige while singing.


    "It had been so long! I miss having a crew!"


    "Maybe rum was a good idea..." Neige said, barely able to stand up.


    "Tiens bon la vague, tiens bon le vent! Hisse et ho, Santiano!" Silva yelled with all her heart, holding Sepide in one arm, a bottle of rum in the other.


    "Why do we live? Is it because we enjoy life or because we fear death?" Sepide''s voice was cold and precise as her eyes stared into the void of the horizon. The captain looked at the two girls with confusion before turning toward his new friend.


    "I can''t understand your friend, does she speak another language?"


    "I can''t even understand her... I think she''s too drunk for anyone to understand..." Neige answered to the man''s question.


    "They don''t support alcohol very well, but it''s part of the fun!"


    "Are those harbingers of death or fortune?" Sepide asked with her cold voice "Was it doomed to be? Were those cannonballs meant to kill us from birth?"


    "Huh?" The captain was confused at her words but quickly noticed another ship attacking them, they missed but the man recognized the ship "The Amiral! It''s our target!"


    The captain couldn''t hide the smile on his face and hurried toward the ship''s helm to head toward the ship with the flag. A man on the other ship yelled at him, holding a girl with short red hair in his right arm.


    "We apologize, we didn''t mean to! We have a few drunk members."


    "Oh, no worry mate, no hard feelings." The pirate answered, visibly relieving the man on the other ship.


    "That''s a relief."


    "But we''ll still pillage you!"


    "Oh... That''s not good."


    Gol''tooth headed toward his drunk crew and yelled at them with excitation.


    "It''s time! Steal their loot! We have no honor, only wish for riches and adventures!"


    "Houra!" The crew jumped on the Amiral with excitation. Neige approached his friend, managing to keep calm despite the alcohol in his blood.


    "Don''t forget our goal, destroy the tools."


    "Destroy the tooth, alright." Silva nodded her head before running to the insides of the ship.


    "Tools... Aren''t we tools? Tools made for Fate itself? Is anything different from a tool?"


    "Sepide, I meant the tools for the metric system."


    "The metric system..." Sepide thought for a while, pondering on those words like they were a philosophical enigma "What is a man?"A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Just don''t die, alright?"


    Neige tapped his friend on the shoulder before leaving to search for the tools.


    "Death... Are we truly alive?"


    Silva made her way to the insides of the ship only to be met with her other self, waiting for her.


    "Silva... Not today, my head hurt..."


    "Can''t handle alcohol?"


    "Alcohol? No... I just am seasick... Wait, are you drunk?"


    "Yes, I am!" Silva announced proudly.


    "I can''t believe you''re my other self... I have to fight though, for the greater plan..."


    Silva tried to punch her opponent but missed by a few meters.


    "Silv, you''re the worst! You managed to clone yourself!"


    "What? No, you''re just drunk."


    "Don''t lie, I hear your chubby voice in triple."


    "Silva, you have a problem."


    Silv took a knife and went toward her but stopped after only a step.


    "If I move too fast, I''m gonna puke..."


    "Real men aren''t afraid of that!"


    "Shut the fuck up... I''m just going to-"


    The ship was rocking suddenly, moving around the two girls in the ship. Silv barely managed to hold onto something, while Silva rolled on the floor.


    "I didn''t know I was seasick... It''s the worst..."


    "Wait... Why am I here?" Silva stopped for a moment, trying to remember what happened before "Oh yeah, I''m supposed to get a soul for the robot."


    "That was thirteen chapters ago... I can''t believe you''re in that state and I can''t do anything..."


    The ship''s movement made Silv fall toward Silva, who managed to catch her before she hit the wall. Silv suddenly flinched, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of touching her other self.


    "Hey, let me go! It burns!"


    "Oh yeah, it''s funny haha."


    "Are you saying that the universe trying to separate us is funny?"


    "Yeah... Kinda..."


    Silv managed to get free from Silva''s grip and tried to use her knife to stab her. Seeing the attack, Silva disarmed Silv and violently threw her on the ground with a wrestling move.


    "Too fast... You''re moving me way too fast..."


    Gol''tooth arrived in the insides of the ship. He stopped after seeing the two identical girls and pointed his saber toward them.


    "I don''t know what''s happening, I just hope Silva''s the one winning. I''ll just take all the gold and you keep on dealing with her."


    "Oaky!" Yelled Silva while saluting the man.


    "You can''t even talk prop... I''m too exhausted to complain..."


    Sepide stayed on the deck, pondering about profound mysteries of life in between the chaos.


    "Am I a human if I''m created from a book? Is a human decided at birth? Is my gender decided at birth? Is my sexuality-"


    "Hey, are you not fighting?" A girl with long ginger hair asked, who Sepide seemed to recognize.


    "Emely?"


    "Emely? Where does the Y come from? I''m Emel. Are you with the good guys?"


    "Good guys, bad guys, isn''t it all a social construct?"


    "Huh?"


    "Who decides what is good? Who decides what is bad? Who to trust?" Sepide started at the girl with empty eyes. With a scared expression on her face, the girl took a step back slowly, trying to get away from Sepide.


    "Is everyone crazy here? I''m just a tailor, not a pirate! Why did Silv bring me here? Where are we?"


    "Is there even an answer to this question? Do things ever are?"


    "I think I prefer going with the pirates than hanging out with you..."


    Neige managed to get the tools he needed, he hurried to throw them at the sea but was surprised by the sight of a person he had seen before.


    "Ada! What are you doing here?"


    "Neige? Come hug me!" The anomaly could barely stand straight but managed to hold Neige in her arms.


    "Are you drunk too?"


    "I''m just a bit tipsy... I''m not a nun anymore, I''m allowed!"


    "I... Sure, why not? But what are you doing here?"


    "I dunno, Silv told me to come and I came."


    "You just listen to her? Is she your leader or something?"


    "I don''t know, I''m lost." Ada laughed wholeheartedly while taking Neige tightly in her arms "I don''t know what I should do but it''s okay... I''ll find Neige someday."


    "Your Neige?"


    "No, the one that lives on a ship with no pantie girl and black pantie girl..."


    "... Me?"


    Ada looked at Neige for a moment before giving him a bright smile.


    "Neige! How long have you been here?"


    "You''re so drunk, how much you drank?"


    The anomaly counted on her fingers, Neige was getting increasingly worried as the number on her fingers went up.


    "Six..."


    "Six!? You''ve drank six bottles?"


    "No, kegs..."


    Neige stared at her deeply, he wasn''t even sure if she had six kegs of blood in her body.


    "How are you still alive?"


    "I''m not, hehe."


    "That''s... Concerning. As long as you don''t cause problems it''s alright, I was a bit busy at the moment."


    "Oh yeah, Silv said I had to find the metric system and protect it! I don''t know what that is..."


    "That''s meters and grams. You know, the thing you use to measure distance and weight."


    "Wow, you''re smart..." Ada said with her eyes closing themselves "I use Neiges to calculate distance... My church is twenty Neiges tall!"


    The nun fell asleep in Neige''s arms who placed her comfortably on the floor to let her sleep.


    "That''s really a weird day."


    Neige threw the tools at the sea, officially finishing his mission. He hurried to get Silva to tell her the good news.


    Silva and Silv faced each other inside the ship, none moving a muscle. Neige arrived to see the two girls staring at each other, not moving an inch.


    "Silv! I knew you were here!"


    "Just take Silva, she''s tiring me..."


    "I''m just being myself!"


    Neige contemplated the idea of arresting Silv right there but the chaos around would make it difficult. He just took Silva''s hand and hurried outside with her, all he needed now was to find Sepide.


    Thankfully for them, Sepide just stood there, looking at the horizon. What surprised them was the person next to her, a girl looking eerily like Emely.


    "Are you her friends? Take her, she''s creeping me out."


    "What is truly scary? The fear of death? Am I able to kill if I am not alive myself?"


    Neige stared at Sepide with worry before taking her hand as well.


    "I''ll make sure to never give Sepide alcohol again."


    Neige and his friends made their way on the Elizabeth. The captain was also here, waiting for them.


    "You got what you needed?"


    Neige nodded his head. After getting everything they needed, the group sailed away from the ship, satisfied with their mission.

 Chapter 89: Cherishing Life

    Silv and Emel went to a bar once they arrived on land. Silv seemed particularly pissed, but even despite that, her friend asked the question she wondered to herself.


    "So... Can I go home now?"


    "Home? You''re not going to see home before a while. You still have to fulfill your role."


    "But why me? Last time you asked me to hack someone''s computer and now you want to bring me around for no reason. What did I do to you?"


    "There is a reason, you just don''t get it yet. And it''s not so bad to have a cute girl by my side in my eternal quest."


    "Cute? You called me an ugly ass bitch last time."


    "Come on, it was just a joke."


    "You have weird jokes..." Emel looked away offended before asking softly, "Am I really cute?"


    "Of course." Silv grabbed Emel''s face and caressed her cheek gently "You are way better than all the other dumbasses in this story."


    "Which story?"


    "The story of our lives, you are special. A unique light in this eternal darkness."


    "I... Thanks, I suppose." Emel turned away with a slightly redder face. Silv smiled viciously, softly caressing her hair.


    "You are one of the most important pieces of this puzzle."


    "What about the nun, where is she by the way?"


    "I don''t know, probably still on the ship. She fell asleep there."


    "And you let her there?!"


    "She''ll find her way out. To be honest, I wasn''t expecting to be seasick. Such a cruel joke from the creator!"


    "So what now? We just do nothing?"


    "Of course not, this chapter is not over yet. I have an idea but it will require a bit of work. After that, you''ll be able to go home."


    "I hope you''re telling the truth."


    Silva woke up with a terrible headache, barely able to wake up. The waves echoed in her head, driving her to the border of insanity. A voice talked to her, trying to wake her up.


    "Silva, it''s time to wake up."


    "Just five more minutes..."


    "It''s been four hours that you''ve been needing five more minutes. You drank way too much last day."


    "It''s fine... I''ll wake up now..."


    Silva managed to stand up. Her body wasn''t as refreshed as it once was but she was at least able to move around.


    "What happened... We finished our goal?" Silva asked, still drowsy.


    "Yes, but I''ve talked to the leader. She said that Silv was still there. Emely can locate her with her watch, she''ll send us the coordinate."


    After taking a few minutes for herself, Silva let out a sigh and went outside with Neige. Sepide and the captain were awake, visibly waiting for her.


    "Silva, you slept a lot."


    "You didn''t? Weren''t you wasted yesterday? I think you kept saying weird stuff."


    "I only drank one cup of this rum. It didn''t even taste good..."


    "I think you should both put a stop to alcohol for now." The man said with a bit of concern in his voice "But really, you made it way too easy to pillage them. There were so many valuables, I could retire right now and live my life comfortably."


    "Gol''tooth said he would help us get to where Silv is." Added Neige.


    "After everything you gave me, nothing''s more natural!"


    Neige''s watch suddenly emitted a sound. He went away from the group for a moment to take a look at it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "That''s some fancy pocket watch you all have. Mine broke after saltwater got inside."


    "My friend made them, she''s great with that kind of stuff!" Proudly announced Silva.


    "Never been a fan of those, my gun and saber are all a pirate needs."


    Neige came back toward the group with a serious expression on his face.


    "We located Silv, it''s time to go."


    "Tell me the way, Elizabeth will guide us!" The Captain headed toward the helm of the ship while Neige described the place.


    "It''s north from here, an island shaped like a skull."


    "The Isla de la muerta!" Gol''tooth exclaimed to himself "You know how to get in danger you three."


    "Isla de la muerta? Seriously?" Silva asked "Does everyone suck with names in the universe?"


    The group made their way to the mysterious island. Another pirate ship was already there, probably the one Silv used to get here. Gol''tooth approached the giant skull leading toward a deeper part.


    "They say that the master of death is hiding here, in a deep slumber."


    "But it''s only a legend, right?" Sepide asked with a bit of fear in her eyes.


    "Only one way to know."


    The crew entered the dark cave, hoping to finally catch Silv this time.


    The long hallway led to a splendid cave, shinning gems were incrusted in the walls, illuminating the room. Gold coins and multiple precious necklaces and bracelets. A giant tombstone with mysterious text was towering over three persons who turned around when they heard the group arrive. Silv and Emel were here but this time accompanied by a woman in a pirate outfit. The woman walked toward them with her hand holding her gun on her shoulder. Neige felt like she had seen her before but couldn''t explain why.


    "Ahoy! Seems like treasures come to us now!"


    "Sorry miss, but we don''t plan on giving anything."


    The woman aimed her weapon toward Gol''tooth, who answered by aiming his back.


    "They''re the ones we talked about! They''re trying to get the treasure!" Silv yelled to the woman.


    "Even if they weren''t, it''s free money!"


    Neige gently approached the woman, trying to defuse the situation. The woman quickly aimed her firearm at him, forcing him to step back.


    "Maybe we can talk this out, is there a way to get out of here alive and peacefully?"


    "I''m afraid not, young girl!"


    "I''m not a girl..."


    "All I want is adventures! Tales to tell, life-threatening experiences, that''s what I''m living for! Remember and fear my name, as Rwyn the terror from the seas shall make her way to history books!"


    "Rwyn? Like Gwyn?" Sepide muttered to herself "They look similar but they have a totally different personality."


    While the group was arguing, Silv and Emel were both working on trying to translate the tombstone. Or rather Silv ordered Emel to do so while the ginger girl stared at the words with confusion.


    "I''m not a translator, what am I supposed to do?"


    "Aren''t you an engineer?"


    "No, I learn coding in my free time, I''m a tailor!"


    "Of course, I get the worst one of the two." Silv said, hurting Emel''s feelings.


    "I''ll... I''ll try translating however I can."


    The two pirates stared at each other, waiting for the first one to make a move. A few minutes passed until Emel yelled at everyone all of a sudden.


    "Stop! Don''t shoot!"


    "And why''s that little girl?"


    "The stone says that blood will kill us all! If you shoot and make the other bleed, we''ll all die!"


    "It''s fine, we''ll take this outside then." Answered Gol''tooth.


    "No, if you leave this room, you''ll die!"


    "Wait are you serious?" Silv asked with concern "That wasn''t planned."


    The two pirates put their weapons down, intrigued by the words of the girl.


    "A treasure you can''t get, quite intriguing."


    "I can maybe translate it more accurately." Proposed Neige "I''m good at deciphering old languages."


    "Quite smart and cute, I like you." Rwyn said with a smile that brought chills to Neige''s spine.


    Everyone stayed silent as he translated the tombstone. After ten minutes passed he finally stood up and went toward the group. Silv let out an annoyed sigh and showed her impatience, relieved to see him finish.


    "Finally, Emel did it in less time."


    "I didn''t translate all of it, but thanks."


    Once everyone was focused on him, Neige explained his findings.


    "This is the tomb of the Goddess of death, Uwu."


    "Uwu?" Silva made a weird face, mocking the goddess''s name "What a dumb name."


    "Well it''s the symbol that was on the tomb."


    "Oh, like the emoji!" Silva tried imitating the emoji before continuing "Can we name her the Goddess UwU?"


    "No, anyway, the goddess of death made this tomb to celebrate the value of life. She explained that blood was the precious gift of life and that we should take care of our bodies."


    "So it''s not that blood will kill us?" Emel asked, to which answered by shaking his head.


    "So we''re safe then!" Rwyn said with a smile.


    "The second part is true though, it''s a sacred land and whoever comes doesn''t value their life enough and doesn''t deserve it according to her. Anyone who leaves that room will die. All those precious things on the floor probably belong to people who came here in quest for treasure."


    "Emel, you dumbass! It''s your fault!" Silv slapped her friend''s head, unleashing her frustration "She''s not my friend!"


    "Is there no way out?" Sepide asked with worry in her eyes.


    "Kinda, it says that everyone that values life can leave the room safely. Hesitation isn''t tolerated."


    "Wait, but what about if we leave the room by another way than the door?" Questioned Silv.


    "I don''t know, it doesn''t say anything about it, but-"


    "Worth a try, I thought this place was better. When I heard it was the tomb of death, I imagined a more climactic ending. Anyway, see ya sucker!"


    Silv took Emel''s arm and used her watch before anyone could react, leaving the room in a flash of light.


    "What happened?" Rwyn took a step back, visibly surprised "They really were witches! I wish I had powers like that!"


    "We''ll see later." The captain looked at the entrance with a smile on his face "Just have to cherish life in your heart, huh? I''m not afraid of this test."


    Gol''tooth passed the door without harm. Rwyn and Neige followed him and looked at the two girls left behind. Sepide followed them without hesitation but Silva stayed behind for a moment, facing the entrance of the cave.


    "Do I... Cherish life?"


    Silva stopped for a few minutes. She reminisced about her past and everything that happened before making a bright smile.


    "Of course I do! I have so many reasons to live now!"


    She stepped confidently out of the room, everyone left the cave to find the bright sky once more.

 Chapter 90: The End Of The Way.

    "You''re sure you want to stay on this creepy island? I was getting used to having a crew."


    The captain looked at the three friends with a sad look on his face. Rwyn hit his back forcefully, trying to cheer his spirits up.


    "Come on, aren''t these girls too young anyway?"


    "Young but valorous and bright. Maybe ti''s for the best we split ways, you''re worth better than being mere pirates."


    "We have a different path to walk on, I hope everything will be alright on your side."


    Gol''tooth laughed at Neige''s words before forcefully caressing his head.


    "The life of a pirate is a short one, but ti''s a great one! There are many treasures and riches to find in this vast world. Maybe someday, our paths will cross again. Neige, Sepide, Silva, may your future be bright. See you, space pirates."


    The captain left with a sad tone in his voice. Rwyn just gave them a thumbs-up before leaving for her ship. The three friends looked at each other and prepared to leave but were stopped by Neige.


    "Sepide, where did you get this hat?"


    Sepide suddenly had a pirate hat that she hadn''t before, holding it dearly on her head.


    "I like it, it was in the cave."


    "So you just take things in the tomb of the Goddess of death and don''t think it''s dangerous?"


    "Oh, I didn''t think about it."


    "Next time you will." Neige took a small book from his pocket and showed it to his friends. It was a bunch of notes that Sepide couldn''t read.


    "That''s the best thing I''ve ever seen!" Exaggerated Silva.


    "I know you''re blind. It''s notes from the tomb, I didn''t want to talk about it with the others around but there''s something I wanted to show you. All the divinities of death have a name and were birthed in different worlds."


    "Different worlds?" Asked Sepide "Maybe we''ve seen her before then."


    "We probably did. Apparently, the Goddess of Death is attracted to people who were supposed to die but didn''t. She''s not always aware that she is though."


    "So what was her name?" Silva asked with barely contained excitation.


    "There were multiples. Rani, Lina, Nia, those were some of them."


    "That sounds similar to Ina." Noticed Silva.


    "Yes, maybe she''s the reincarnation of the Goddess of Death. I doubt that she knows it though."


    "But why would she be? It sounds weird."


    "I can understand you think like that Sepide, but I have a few reasons to think so. Either way, it''s better not to tell her I think, we aren''t sure and I don''t want to stress her over nothing."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "It doesn''t change anything though, right? I mean she won''t try to kill us suddenly." Silva laughed at those words but stopped when she felt Neige''s silence.


    "The Goddess of Death guides souls toward the other world, forcing those that should have left to leave."


    "Do you think that someone like that was in her home world and that it''s why she was there?" Sepide wondered.


    "No, I think it''s on the ship... I think I need to talk about it now, I can''t avoid it forever."


    Neige turned toward the skull-shaped rock for a moment and took a deep breath.


    "The leader''s death, six years ago..."


    The smoke pricked Neige''s eyes and filled his lungs. Despite the sight of his town in fire and ruins, his only thoughts were to find his friend and ensure her safety. He searched everywhere he could and finally managed to find her inside the church of the town, praying alone.


    "Yada, what are you doing!? We have to leave!"


    "The book... It doesn''t work..." The woman answered silently "I tried... There''s nothing I can do, it''s like a strong force is at stake."


    "This force can screw itself, we have to leave."


    Yada silently nodded her head and went to her friend. They hurried to leave but were met by a shapeless dark matter approaching them and surrounding them. Neige took a stick on the ground that he pointed at the creature, shielding his friend behind him.


    "What is that?"


    "Is it because of the book? Are the Gods coming to get us?" Yada asked, at the border of tears.


    "If that''s our God then I''m glad I never worshiped it!"


    The black matter seemed to stare at Neige despite its lack of eyes. He couldn''t explain why, but Neige felt like he had seen it before, a familiar feeling echoed in his heart. The creature suddenly attacked him with a kind of tentacle, feeling the danger Yada pushed her friend out of the way.


    The monster in front of him didn''t matter, the town he lived in didn''t matter, the world itself didn''t matter. At this moment, all Neige could see was the body of his friend lifelessly falling on the ground. His body froze at this sight but Neige managed to gather his last strength to take his friend to the church, away from the monster.


    His hand reached to her chest, trying to feel the heartbeat of his friend. He couldn''t feel anything more than the touch of her clothes. Her breath was no more and her eyes were closed for what should have been forever. Neige took his friend in his arms, a tear falling from his face. As he did, a sound caught his attention, the book that Yada kept with her fell to the ground. He knew what it was, the book that they promised to never use. Without thinking he searched for a pen in his friend''s pocket and managed to find one. His shaking hand picked up the book and opened it. He stared at his former friend in his arms, his mind was already decided.


    "Even if it breaks the world I don''t care, I just want to see her eye and her smile again."


    "I don''t remember the rest, it''s all foggy after that."


    The two girls comforted Neige who seemed to still be affected by what happened. Sepide was a bit hesitant but managed to ask what she was wondering.


    "This dark matter that killed her... Was it the anomaly?"


    "Yeah... I remember it from her side too. The first world she came in, it was mine. The leader... Yada... She was supposed to die there but... I changed her fate. Maybe everything that''s happening is my fault. I only wanted to help, but I caused chaos instead."


    "If you didn''t do it, I would be alone in my world, the Kronos wouldn''t exist and so many worlds would have been destroyed. If whatever created us thinks that you were wrong then it''s its problem."


    "I agree with Silva, you saved your friend, even if you promised to not use the book, I don''t think she minds it. And it''s not like she never used it either."


    Neige stayed silent for a moment, the sound of the wave soothing his heart.


    "The Goddess told me she wanted us to live our lives by ourselves without her interfering... Once everything is over, we should destroy that book. We''ll save the universe by ourselves, what do you think?"


    "Yeah, let''s destroy the precious artifact that can create worlds, what could possibly go wrong?" Silva hit her friend in the back while taking a sarcastic voice.


    "It''s not like it will be soon anyway. Kairo is stopped for now but we still need to catch Silv and figure out what to do with the anomaly. For now, we should return to the ship. We managed to protect this world from an uncertain future... I hope that we''re managing to save the universe with everything we''re doing."

 Chapter 91: Steamed Hams

    The group just finished their report. They left the leader''s office and were allowed to rest until the end of the day. Sepide looked at her watch and let out a sigh of relief after seeing the time.


    "I said I would help Ina tonight if I''m free. I''m glad we finished early enough."


    "Help her? Is she preparing something special?" Silva asked with curiosity.


    "No, I just enjoy cooking with her. She also told me about interesting things that happened on the ship. By the way, did you really set the ship on fire while cooking, Silva?"


    "Just a bit, nothing too big thankfully."


    "Silva... It was a third of the ship."  Neige complained, reminiscing about this day "I don''t even know how you did it because the food you brought me was cold."


    "Oh yeah, I never told you what happened. I remember that I wanted to be more useful around the ship. Ina was new and I wanted to impress everyone with my cooking skills. I never cooked before, so I asked Neige to taste my food."


    Sepide looked at Silva who seemed to smile at the thought of this day. Neige on the other hand seemed more traumatized than anything else.


    "Can you tell me what happened exactly?"


    Silva nodded her head cheerfully at Sepide''s demand, glad to tell this story.


    "It was a year ago, a night of rain..."


    "Of rain?" Asked Neige "But it never rains here?"


    "Come on! Let me be dramatic! Anyway, it was a year ago, a night of rain."


    "It wasn''t even night now that I remember it."


    Ignoring her friend, Silva told the story that happened a year ago.


    "Silva, are you sure you''ll manage? Don''t you want help?"


    "No thanks, I''ll manage." The girl answered to Ina''s question "I can do backflips, I can cook a basic meal."


    "Yes, you''re right. It''s hard to think that you''re blind sometimes. I''ll go to my room, if you need help, just call me."


    Ina left the kitchen. Silva immediately put the meat in the oven. She wasn''t sure what it was, she just found it in the fridge. At that moment the inexperienced cook realized that she forgot to ask Ina about how the oven worked. She just turned buttons randomly, hoping it would be fine.


    She heard Neige arrive in the cafeteria. Since all she had to do for now was wait she went to greet him with a bright smile.


    "Neige! I hope you''re prepared for an unforgettable luncheon!"


    Neige was a bit surprised by the words Silva, she rarely used words like that. The man figured she was just trying to impress him and continued as if it were normal.


    "I hope it''s good, I didn''t eat all day just to enjoy your food fully."


    "You won''t be disappointed, it should be almost ready."


    Silva went back to the kitchen. A burnt smell filled the room, she hurried over to the oven to realize the truth she was afraid of.


    "Oh egads! My roast is ruined!"


    There wasn''t any time to cook something else and she surely wasn''t about to disappoint Neige. She didn''t have a lot of options left but had a sudden idea. Last time they went into a world and ate at a great restaurant. If she commanded food there and brought it here, she could disguise it as her own cooking. She laughed at her thoughts, ready to put her plan into action.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Delightfully devilish Silva!"


    She uttered those words at herself, ready to use her watch when the door was suddenly opened by Neige.


    "Silva?"


    the girl noticed that she was using her watch and tried her best to hide her true intentions.


    "Neige! I was just... Stretching my wrists! Care to join me?"


    "Why is there smoke coming out of the oven Silva?" Neige ignored Silva''s words and instead pointed at the oven. Silva didn''t know it was smoking and had to find an excuse.


    "Oh, it''s not smoke. It''s... Steam! Steam from the steamed clams we''re having."


    Neige had so many questions. Why was she steaming clams in the oven? Why was she stretching her wrist instead of taking care of the food? Silva had obviously no idea what she was doing and was about to tell her before Neige was cut by her words.


    "Yum! Steamed clams!"


    He decided to trust her, he didn''t want to ruin the moment for her after all. He returned to the cafeteria, relieving the girl. The moment he was away, Silva hurried to the other world to get the food she needed.


    After a few minutes, Silva finally arrived with a plate of burgers and served them.


    "Neige, I hope you''re ready for mouthwatering hamburgers!"


    "Hamburger?" Asked Neige confused "I thought we were having steamed clams?"


    "Oh no! I said steamed hams! That''s what I call hamburgers."


    Neige realized that she was clearly lying and couldn''t help but point it at her friend. He couldn''t let her get away with every mistake she made.


    "You call hamburgers steamed hams?"


    "Yes! It''s a regional dialect."


    "Really? What region?"


    Silva looked away, clearly trying to find an excuse.


    "France."


    "Really? I''ve studied your world and never saw anyone call hamburgers steamed hams."


    Silva was visibly sweating, desperately trying to find a way out of it.


    "Oh no, not my world. It''s from France in another world."


    Neige decided to accept this obvious lie and eat the hamburger. Not only it was cold but it also tasted similar to something he already had before.


    "You know, these hamburgers are quite similar to the one they had in that world we went to."


    "Ho ho ho no! Patented Silva burgers! Old family recipe!"


    Neige couldn''t help but feel like Silva was hiding something. Not only she was using weird words, but she was also giving strange answers to his questions.


    "A family recipe with a name from another world?"


    "Yes!" Silva answered with a smile.


    "Yes... And you call them steamed hams despite the fact that they''re obviously grilled?"


    Neige showed the steak of the burger to Silva, which had the lines of the grills printed on them. Silva mumbled words before suddenly standing up.


    "Excuse me for a moment."


    "Of course."


    Silva returned to the kitchen while Neige continued eating. The kitchen was strangely hot and had the sound of flames. She figured she should take care of it as soon as possible and decided to tell Neige it was time to leave. She entered back to the cafeteria and stretched her arms while yawning.


    "Well, that was wonderful! A good time was had by all, I''m pooped!"


    "Yes, I should be-" Neige stood up, understanding that Silva had a problem and didn''t want him to see it. He was about to go but stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw a bright light coming out from the door of the kitchen "Good Lord! What is happening is there!?"


    "Aurora borealis."


    Silva answered so fast and confidently that Neige couldn''t help but doubt.


    "Aurora borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this ship? Localized entirely inside the kitchen?"


    "Yes."


    Silva said those words with a straight face, leading Neige to doubt for a moment. Neige thought that maybe she was telling the truth all along and he misunderstood everything.


    "... May I see it?"


    Silva thought momentarily and answered with the same confidence she had before.


    "... No."


    Silva accompanied her friend to his room. On the way there, Ina''s voice echoed in the ship.


    "Silva! The ship is on fire!"


    "No Ina, it''s just the northern lights." Silva yelled at her, trying not to worry Neige.


    "Well Silva, you''re an odd gal but I must say, you steam a good ham."


    Neige left toward his room. Once Silva ensured he couldn''t see her, she rushed toward the kitchen as fast as she could.


    "And ever since, I''m not allowed back in the kitchen."


    "Why didn''t you just tell Neige?" Sepide asked, still not believing this actually happened.


    "I wanted him to be proud of me. I would do it again if I had to."


    "Please don''t..." Neige said, already exhausted at the thought of it "I should go see Gwyn, I told her I''d go see her after every mission."


    "Thanks for devoting yourself." Silva said with a smile "She''s way more laid back with me ever since she''s busy with you."


    "I think it''s because you''re getting better. And I''m not that bad, she just worries over nothing. Have fun, don''t get in trouble this time!"


    "I''ll go help Ina so I can''t keep an eye on you. Be careful." Sepide said, annoying Silva a bit.


    "Why are you two acting like you''re my parents? I''m not going to burn the ship or something. And besides, I want to see Emely."


    "Oh, is it time?" Neige asked with excitation.


    "Yes, I think I know how I feel now. I just hope she''s not busy with Remiel."


    "You''ll tell us how it went!" Sepide smiled at Silva, wishing her the best.


    The three friends split up, all going to their own occupation. On the way to her friend''s lab, Silva stopped and looked behind her with a nostalgic feeling in mind.


    "It''s been a while since we did something just the three of us... We should again soon!"

 Chapter 92: Who I Am Inside

    The robot looked at her whole body with attention under the gaze of her mother. Emely noted everything on a piece of paper, paying close attention to Remiel''s movements.


    "Everything should be alright. You should be able to function properly without any problems now."


    "What is going to happen now?" Remiel tilted her head slightly toward Emely, waiting for an answer.


    "You''re pretty much free. You don''t have a room yet though so you''ll have to sleep in the lab for now."


    "Where will you sleep, mother?"


    "Don''t call me that..." Emely looked away and continued with a shy voice "And I''ll just sleep in my room, like usual."


    "I believed that this was the room you slept in. You sleep here often."


    "It''s only because I was working a lot."


    "I believe you should sleep more often, master. Sleep is considered important for humans."


    "Master!? I preferred it when you called me Mother! Just call me Emely, alright?"


    "Can I call you mother?"


    Emely turned around at the voice behind her, she couldn''t help but get a small smile on her face at Silva''s sight.


    "No one''s calling me mother."


    "Oh, you prefer master~" Silva grinned slightly, embarrassing her friend.


    "You''re both going to call me Emely! Seriously... It''s not easy to deal with you two at the same time."


    "I apologize, Emely." Remiel said before bowing to her creator, embarrassing her even more.


    "It''s not you that should apologize, Silva is the one saying weird stuff!"


    Emely put her paper on the desk with a sigh while Silva approached Remiel with a curious look and poked her face.


    "So she''s all good now?"


    "Should be. I want to do a test before just to make sure."


    "Will it take time?"


    "I think I''ll spend on few hours on it, it''s just to make sure that everything is alright and that she won''t explode out of nowhere."


    Emely chuckled at her joke but saw Silva''s sad expression. She figured that her joke was maybe weird or that she made Silva sad for some reason and tried to find a way to cheer her up.


    "You can stay and watch Silva! It''s a bit boring but you don''t bother us."


    Silva flinched, realizing that she must have acted sad. She smiled the best she could but a hint of sadness was still there.


    "I''d love to."


    The young engineer prepared everything while Remiel stared at Silva deeply, analyzing her. Even if she couldn''t see it, she knew that the robot was staring at her.


    "You want my pic?"


    "I am not able to take pictures of humans without their consent nor am I interested in it."


    "Maybe you''re captivated by my beauty then?" Silva smiled at Remiel, who kept a neutral expression on her face.


    "Are you wondering about the reason for my attention toward you perhaps? I am trying to estimate whether your behavior is dangerous or not."


    The girl turned to her friend who was preparing the test for Remiel and asked her with a concerned voice,You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Is your robot alright? She thinks I''m dangerous."


    Emely was a bit surprised and walked toward Remiel to understand the reason behind her suspicion.


    "Are you worried about Silva? Don''t worry I trust her, she won''t hurt us."


    "I am not worried about us, I am worried about her."


    The two girls were surprised by her statement and waited for the robot to explain her thoughts.


    "Her heart rate is faster than it is supposed to be. The average healthy human has a heart rate between 60 to 100 beats per minute, Silva''s heart rate is closer to 160, which is highly abnormal. Furthermore, her body language indicates discomfort and restlessness. I would suppose that she is afraid of something. While fear is a common feeling, it is recommended to take action for the good of her health."


    "Nah, bats have a natural high heart rate and as Emely said before, I''m a bat."


    "Oh, I understand. My apologies."


    Remiel nodded her head in agreement under the terrified eyes of her creator.


    "Wait, don''t listen to her, she''s a human. And is Silva really in danger?"


    "If she stays like that for a few years then yes, it is recommended to take action and provide her with a calmer setting."


    "It''s just temporary, don''t worry for me."


    Despite her friend''s words, Emely couldn''t help but feel worried. She figured that Remiel''s presence wouldn''t help Silva open up about what was bothering her and decided.


    "Remiel, can you get us coffee? The coffee machine in the main hall."


    "Coffee is not recommended for people suffering from an already fast heart rate. I will do it but keep in mind that caffeine can-"


    "Yes I know don''t worry."


    Remiel executed the order, leaving the two friends alone in the room. Emely sat on her desk and tapped the place next to her, inviting her friend to sit with her. Silva accepted her friend''s offer, despite knowing where the conversation would go.


    "Is everything alright Silva?"


    "Yeah, what about you?"


    "I''m fine. Is everything okay?"


    Silva paused for a moment, not sure to understand.


    "Yes, I just said-"


    "I know you''re not... Why don''t you tell me?"


    Silva stayed silent and took a deep inspiration. She took a few minutes to think while her friend waited patiently for her to prepare herself.


    "I''m not as good as I thought... I''m still scared..."


    Emely hugged her tightly and caressed her short red hair, trying to relieve her from the weight in her heart.


    "Why do you say that? It''s normal to be scared."


    "I know, Neige told me too... It''s just... Have you ever thought about who you are? Like what makes you... You."


    "I can''t say I did. I wondered before but never thought too far into it."


    "I was kinda forced to. Silv... She''s my other self but I never saw myself in her. The thing is, with time, I started seeing more of me in her... Her voice sounds like she''s always on the border of insanity, she doesn''t seem to care about anything and acts like a child when she doesn''t get what she wants."


    "But... You''re not like that." Emely said, confused about her friend''s words.


    "It''s hard to explain, it''s like I''m like that inside of me. Deep inside, I have those feelings... When I was stuck in that bunker and my parents came to me, I could have accepted or rejected them... But instead, I asked them to beg, knowing I wouldn''t change my mind. I took pleasure in imagining them painfully dying while I..."


    "Silva..." Emely whispered her name, holding her tightly against her chest "You were all alone and it was traumatic. You can be proud to be the strong and cheerful person you are today."


    "I''m not cheerful... I just want it to end it all... I stopped harming myself but the feeling is getting stronger. I''m sure it''s the same for Silv... I''m... I''m scared to be like her. When I fight her, I feel like I''m fighting myself more than her."


    "You''re not like her, you''re a stupid bat. Why didn''t you say anything about it earlier?"


    "That''s not even what I wanted to talk about... I wanted to tell you something but I got scared. I''m scared of myself, I''m scared of hurting you."


    "I know that if you hurt me you would heal me twice as much. I trust you with all my heart."


    "So... You accept me? Even despite my past, despite my problems, and despite me?"


    "I want all of you, I love every part of you. You just don''t see how great of a person you are and... I''m glad that you''re feeling comfortable enough to talk about it with me."


    Silva leaned back to get out of her friend''s embrace and put her sunglasses in her pocket, revealing her eyes full of tears.


    "Emely... I love you. I... Want to stay with you forever and know what kind of love it is... Can I?"


    "Of course, it would make me so happy to be with you."


    Emely smiled brightly at Silva who suddenly took her in her arms.


    "I don''t understand myself... You''re not a tall and badass man, you''re not even a man."


    "Is that what you''re into?"


    "Not anymore," Silva said softly, holding her friend against her "At least you''re flat like a man."


    "I think I don''t understand myself either, I shouldn''t like your weird compliments, and yet, I love them... And I''m not that flat."


    The two friends stayed in that soft embrace for what felt like an eternity. Despite their uncertain future and present, they felt at peace. Silva slowly went away from Emely, who seemed confused initially but quickly understood when she heard the metallic footsteps approaching. Remiel arrived with at least ten cups of coffee in her hands.


    "I was not sure which one to take, so I took one of each."


    Silva chuckled while her friend hurried toward Remiel to explain what she should have done. She put her sunglasses back and prepared herself to leave.


    "I''ll go now, I need sleep... Have fun with Remiel."


    "Oh, see you Silva!"


    Silva took one of the coffee cups from Remiel and opened the door of the lab to leave but stopped after hearing Emely''s voice.


    "I''m not sure if it''s really appropriate, I don''t know what we are exactly but... I love you!"


    Silva smiled and answered back to her friend without hesitation.


    "I love you too, my little inventor."

 Chapter 93: The Figurine With a Heart

    Sepide and Silva were drinking coffee together, waiting for Neige to finish her session with Gwyn. Silva finished her fourth coffee before starting to complain.


    "What are they talking about? It''s so long."


    "Maybe Neige is explaining something complex?" Answered Sepide.


    "As long as they don''t become intimate in there I''m fine. Actually, it would be better if they did, at least it would be over soon."


    Sepide tried to understand her friend''s words but couldn''t despite her efforts. She stopped thinking about it when she saw Emely and the new member come to her. Silva and Emely looked at each other for a moment without saying a word before looking away and blushing suddenly. Sepide felt like she needed to do something or else it would stay that way forever.


    "Is the robot fully working now?"


    "Huh!? Oh yeah, Remiel. She''s all fine now!"


    "Yes, I am ready to roll." Remiel tried to sound more lively in her sentence but it was clear she still needed some work.


    "Yeah... Where is Neige?" Emely said while looking around for the third member of their small group.


    "He''s with Gwyn, you needed to ask him something?"


    "I would have preferred if he was here. I need something in another world and figured it would be good to send Remiel there since It''s a simple mission, just getting wool from a childish world full of innocence. I wanted Neige to accompany her since he''s the experienced one."


    "Silva is experienced too!" Said Sepide with a smile "With us two, we should be able to help Remiel."


    "That''s a wonderful idea! Can you... err... Ask Silva if she''s okay with it?"


    Sepide was a bit confused, she wondered if the two of them were mad at each other, they were both acting weird. Before she could say anything, Silva answered her question.


    "Can you ask Emely why she''s embarrassed and make a joke for me?"


    "But I don''t know how to joke like you..." Sepide answered, completely lost.


    "Can you ask Silva if her feelings for me embarrass her too much to talk to me?"


    "Can you tell Emely that she''s a dumbass but that I love her and will help?"


    "Can you tell Silva that she''s cute and thank her for helping me?"


    The two girls were blushing more and more as the conversation goes. Remiel nodded her head and took note to herself.


    "Humans are weird. When in love, they do not have the courage to face their lover."


    "I''m not in love!" Objected Silva "I just... Have yet to determine my feelings."


    Sepide felt like she was the only reasonable person for once. She decided to take the lead and take the group.


    "We should go prepare ourselves. Does Remiel have weapons?"


    "No, she doesn''t but it should be alright. If you get hurt there, then you''re really unlucky."


    Relieved by Emely''s words, the group went away. The young engineer grabbed Silva''s sleeve silently before she could leave. Sepide and Remiel turned toward them but Silva gestured them to continue without her, leaving the two girls alone. Everything was silent for a moment until Silva finally decided to break the ice.


    "You''re the one that confessed... How can you be so shy suddenly?"


    "You''re the bold one usually... Why don''t you say something pervert?"Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "I don''t always say something pervert! Just sometimes."


    The two friends fell silent again. Taking all the courage she could, she finally said what she wanted to tell Silva.


    "You said you were into tall men, right?"


    "Don''t take it seriously, it was a joke."


    "But... I know that you''re into men usually. I thought of something, I could work on something that could change my gender. I don''t mind it if it makes you more comfortable and-"


    Silva interrupted her friend by touching her forehead. She touched around, making sure it was centered, and gave a flick on it.


    "Don''t change. I told you I wanted you for yourself."


    "But it''s just... Well... Physical... It doesn''t change who I am."


    "It does for me. And if you do, then I won''t be able to mock Neige for his dick without feeling bad for you. I''m sure you''d have a small one too."


    "I-I... You don''t know that!"


    Silva laughed cheerfully before caressing Emely''s head and was ready to leave. Before she could, Emely kissed her cheek, making them both blush more than they ever did.


    "Good... Good luck kiss..."


    "I''ll never wash my face again."


    Silva smiled and hurried to join her friends, she felt as happy as she felt shy from her friend''s surprise.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "We''re in a room with a lot of figurines and toys, probably a children''s room. I can''t see any windows so it''s hard to tell what time it is outside, if there even is an outside. Everything seems made of blocks and plastic bricks. I''ll name this place The Blocky Lands. Oh, I almost forgot to say, this room is ginormous. Or maybe we''re the small ones but this pencil next to me is my size."


    Sepide turned toward Remiel and Silva, who were discussing the strange state of this world.


    "I do not see any wool there, we will have to search for it."


    "Why does she need wool anyway? I hope we find it soon."


    Remiel nodded at Silva''s words. Their first objective was to leave this room for now but it would be difficult to go down from the desk they were on without getting hurt. The sound of wood hitting itself got closer to them. Silva and Sepide were ready to engage in a fight but were met by a friendly voice instead.


    "Hello, are you new here? You look nice, I sure hope you''re not going to attack us, right?"


    The figurine of a girl with violet hair greeted them. Her skin was made of wood that emitted a satisfying sound every time she moved. Her fully black eyes stared at the group, waiting for an answer. Silva decided to be the first one to discuss with the strange being while still being on her guard.


    "Yeah, we''re new. We''re searching for a kind of very soft wool, do you know where we can find it?"


    The figurine touched Silva''s cheek and pinched them, trying to make sure of something.


    "You look an awful lot like the one that invaded us. But still... It would be unfair to treat you differently because of that. I hope not every one of your models is as troublesome."


    "I ask myself that question every day... But don''t worry, we''re just here for the wool."


    The figurine smiled and nodded her head to the group in trust, her hands behind her back.


    "Alright, my name is Alanna! What is yours?"


    "Silva!"


    "Sepide."


    "Remarkable and Elegant Module-1 Esper Lambda: Remiel."


    "That''s... A long but pretty name. The wool is in the luxury room, we need to take the wooden train to get there!"


    The group followed their new ally, toward their goal, thinking it wouldn''t be so bad after all.


    The room was so big that it would take at least half an hour to get to the train. Silva decided to ask more about this world to Alanna to pass the time.


    "So... Are everyone toys here?"


    "Yeah, all living in harmony! Or... So I thought. This new toy caused troubles and took control of the kitchen."


    "But why?" Sepide asked to her new friend.


    "I don''t know, she kidnapped my friends but what can I do? She is way too dangerous for me to deal with."


    Silva felt offended by the girl''s words but tried her best to not show it.


    "So... You just accepted it? Don''t you want to help them?"


    "Life is still fun! You just have to ignore your worries and everything is wonderful!"


    Silva tried her best to contain herself and took a deep breath. Multiple thoughts crossed her mind, but she knew that if she was in that situation, she would never give up on her friends.


    "Get us to the kitchen, we''ll save them."


    "But Silva, it is not our objective, this could mess with this world."


    Despite Remiel''s objection, Silva stayed true to her words.


    "I''m going to save them, you can just take care of the mission."


    "I... Do not understand. Are you not a peacekeeper of the universe?"


    "It''s fine, if this ends up being a big problem, I''ll fix it. I just can''t turn a blind eye to injustice."


    "So... The best thing is to disobey the order?"


    Silva thought for a moment at Remiel''s question before answering with a confident smile.


    "Yeah. You just have to think about what is the right thing for you. It''s your life, don''t waste it listening to someone you disagree with."


    Despite being targeted at Remiel, Sepide, and Alanna all thought about Silva''s words. The blind girl suddenly felt uncomfortable at everyone''s silence, wondering why they thought so hard about it.


    "It''s not that deep..."


    "I think you''re a wise person, Miss Silva." Answered Alanna "Way better than the invader. You may look the same, but you''re really different."


    "There''s something I wanted to ask." Sepide said after being reminded of the invader "This invader... Does she have a sketchbook and painting supplies on her belt?"


    "Indeed!" Confirmed the figurine "You know her?"


    Sepide turned toward Silva with worry in her eyes. Her friend felt her worry and caressed her head with a smile before she could worry more.


    "Don''t worry, it''s fine. Eventually, we''ll manage to stop Silv once and for all."

 Chapter 94: The Kronos VS The Mecabot

    The group was riding the wooden train their new friend talked about, ready to stop the invader they suspected to be Silv. Silva was yelling in excitation while riding the train, a big smile on her face.


    "Can''t we do that all day? This is way more fun than everything I ever did!"


    "Humans have an enjoyment for high speed and low-security measures, how interesting."


    "We''re not all like that..." Sepide sighed upon hearing Remiel''s words.


    "Interesting, I have some questions about this train too. In my data, trains are metallic and provide a safe environment. But here, the train is made of wood and is highly unsafe, we could get hurt at any moment due to the lack of proper protections."


    Hearing Remiel talk made Silva realize that there were indeed no windows. She passed her hand to make sure and once she was assured it was safe, she passed her upper body outside of the train. Seeing Remiel''s confusion, Sepide tried her best to answer.


    "Some places are really different. I know that there is a train that can go to the North Pole by flying."


    "Interesting, I have many things to learn still."


    The group arrived inside the kitchen. A girl with short red hair was waiting next to a robot and a cage full of other figurines. Sepide noticed quickly that this wasn''t Silv, she looked similar in structure to Alanna, made of the same wood and apparent jointures. Even their black toy-like eyes were the same, but Silva seemed to not know that it wasn''t Silv and approached her.


    "Silv! When will you finally stop causing trouble?"


    The girl with red hair turned towards Silva''s loud voice with a visibly annoyed expression on her artificial face.


    "Silv? Who''s that?"


    Silva noticed the wooden sound that she made while moving and suddenly realized her mistake. She turned her head away in embarrassment before apologizing.


    "I''m sorry, you sounded similar to someone I know."


    "Oh, it''s alright then, it happens."


    Alanna stared at the group, who seemed to give up on the idea of stopping her.


    "So... Will you save my friends?"


    "Wait, she''s the one that did it?"


    Alanna nodded her head, answering Silva''s question.


    "So Silv had nothing to do with it..."


    Sepide looked away a bit embarrassed and took a step forward, facing the girl they came to stop.


    "Who are you and why did you kidnap Alanna''s friends?"


    "I am the great and magnificent Silvu! I just thought we could use some hierarchy here, sadly, not everyone agreed to make me the leader. I am the most suited for it after all, so I deserve everything. Did you come here to join my army?"


    "So you kidnapped everyone until they agreed with you?"


    "Arrested, not kidnapped. I did it according to the law I made, I always follow the rules. I suppose you won''t join me but it''s fine, I prefer an army of strong men."


    "Dang, a harem of guy sounds pretty sick..." Silva muttered to herself "We won''t let you! Free everyone or we''ll do it by strength!"


    "Then so be it."


    Silvu climbed in her robot, ready to face them in a fight. Alanna stayed behind as the three friends were ready to face the girl. Sepide turned toward Remiel with a concerned expression on her face.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "Remiel? I thought you couldn''t fight?"


    "I can fight in self-defense but I am quite limited."


    Sepide was still worried for her new friend but she decided to focus on the enemy in front of them, who was laughing maniacally.


    "Behold! The true power of perfection!"


    "Why are all my other selves crazy..."


    A group of toys arrived in the battle with guns in their hand. Before they could do anything Silva shot one in the chest, hoping to scare the others. Their enemy looked confused by the sound, unable to understand what happened.


    "What-What was that sound?"


    "That''s just a gun, never heard one?"


    The toys looked at each other in worry, barely daring to ask what they had in mind.


    "Wait... Your guns can actually fire?"


    "Not yours?"


    The toy looked at their plastic weapons and then glanced at their fallen comrade before taking his body and leaving promptly. Silvu stared at the scene in shock and yelled at her running army while waving a sort of scepter toward them.


    "Hey, where are you going!? You know what? It''s fine, I don''t need soldiers when I have bears!"


    A bunch of teddy bears fell from the ceiling, ambushing the group. Remiel took a step forward, placing her arm in front of the others to make them step back.


    "They are numerous, I will use one of my self-defense tools to deal with them."


    "You''ll pepper spray them?"


    Silva chuckled at her words until the robot started to remove her right hand and aimed her arm shaped like a cannon at the plushes in front of her. I surge of flame erupted from her arm, burning the bears in an instant.


    "That''s your self-defense? You burned them to death!"


    "They attacked us, I defended us. is it not self-defense?"


    "I... Guess?" Silva was a bit surprised by Remiel''s words, but even she couldn''t argue about her effectiveness. Silvu hit the robot she was on with her scepter, clearly mad at the group.


    "What the hell? Are you for real? It''s fine, I still have the best weapon of all!"


    "Is it an action figure? Because I''m just going to shoot it in the head again."


    The girl stopped at Silva''s words before reconsidering her plan.


    "I have another best weapon! Introducing to you, Christine!"


    The group wasn''t expecting much until a giant lawnmower entered the kitchen, rushing toward them. They all had to split to dodge the dangerous weapon pursuing them. Silva was the one chased by the giant machine, and she knew she wouldn''t be able to stop this one with a bullet.


    "We need to stop Silvu! We can''t stop this thing!"


    "Ha! Do you finally want to give up? Too bad, I''ll enjoy crushing the rebels you are!"


    While the group was busy dealing with the menace, the frightened Alanna stared at the fight happen in front of her eyes.


    "If I left, I wouldn''t have to stress so much..."


    Despite her feelings, Alanna hurried toward the cage where her friends were without thinking, trying to free them. Silvu noticed her and faced her with the robot she was piloting.


    "Aww, you want to join your friends in jail, how cute."


    "Silvu! You need to stop, we don''t need to get that far!"


    "You say that now! Where were you when I asked for help? You left me to rot just because it''s ''better to not worry about anything'', right?"


    "I..."


    Alanna stared at the cage with her unconscious friends inside. She wasn''t even sure herself about the reason she was there, she just was brought around by the three people who came out of nowhere. But in the end, she wasn''t sure if it was the right thing, her life would be easier if she just gave up on everything hard.


    Sepide noticed Silvu getting scarily close to Alanna, once she made sure her friends were alright, she rushed toward them and pointed her firearm at the robot the girl used to protect herself.


    "Leave her alone!"


    "I''m not going to, she''ll join my grand army, whether she wants to or not! If they don''t accept me, then I''ll force myself in their life!"


    "But why don''t you leave them alone? You can just make new friends."


    "I don''t do it for friendship, it''s just a farce. I just do it because I deserve it! I deserve to be worshiped by everyone!"


    "Just say it if you feel alone..." Alanna, Silvu, and Sepide all turned around toward the voice to see Silva coming toward them, accompanied by Remiel.


    "How did you defeat it? How did you defeat Christine?"


    "I just unplugged it."


    "That makes sense." Silvu said with a disappointed voice.


    "You want to be the center of attention, right? You just want them to love you but you don''t know how to make them love you, so instead, you force them to."


    "Don''t act like you know me!"


    "I think... It''s a part of us we can''t get rid of." Silva''s voice was full of sorrow but she still tried to continue with confidence "We have to accept who we are, or else, we can''t move on."


    Silvu stepped out of her robot, acting more solemnly.


    "Are you saying you''re like that too?"


    "I wish I wasn''t. It caused a lot of harm to someone I love. I wonder if Silv thinks the same too..."


    Alanna stepped softly toward Silvu, placing her hand on her shoulder.


    "Silvu, I''m sorry I rejected you from our group. When you talked about how you felt..."


    "Depressed."


    "Yes... That... I didn''t want you to make everyone feel bad. I was too focused on making everyone happy, even if it meant ignoring the problem. I wasn''t thinking about what would be right in the long term, only trying to protect everyone. I''m sorry I didn''t realize it earlier, you can come play with us next time, we''ll listen to you also if you want to talk."


    Despite the good intentions from Alanna, Silvu pouted and turned her head around.


    "Don''t want anymore. I''ll get new friends that will love me like I deserve to be."


    "I understand..." Alanna looked away with a saddened expression. The figurine with short red hair seemed to notice it and tried to be a bit nicer.


    "But... If one day I get better, I wouldn''t mind playing with you all again."


    "We''ll wait for you." Alanna said with a smile.

 Chapter 95: Bright and Dark

    Their side quest over, the group decided to focus back on the reason for their presence here. Alanna stayed behind to help her friends while Silvu agreed to guide them to the wool they wanted. The three friends followed her confident steps toward the ''luxury room'' they heard about. Sepide''s steps were slower than usual, Silva caught up to her friend''s pace, wondering the reason behind her low energy.


    "Everything''s alright Sepide?"


    "Yeah..."


    "Everything''s alright Sepide?"


    Sepide paused for a moment, confused about her friend''s answer.


    "Yeah? I just said that-"


    "I know you''re not."


    "But... I''m alright..."


    Silva turned away with a frustrated expression on her face, mumbling to herself.


    "When Emely did it, it worked..."


    Sepide smiled softly at her friend''s words. Despite her intentions to not do so, she decided to confess about the feeling she had since earlier.


    "We''re supposed to bring order to the world, right? It''s even... The reason I exist."


    Silva gently hit her friend''s head with a neutral face.


    "It doesn''t matter what you''re made for. My parent made me to be a police officer or a lawyer but in the end, I took a different path... I think..."


    "I know, I mean... I don''t want that. If we let things happen as they should have, Silvu would have probably dealt so much damage. We helped them but went against our goal..."


    "Don''t worry, we''ll make sure everything goes well. And if this world desperately needs a crazy girl with red hair that causes chaos, then I''ll just take that role."


    "It''s just... Weird. I wasn''t sure what I would do once everything was over but now... I''m not even sure what I want to do now."


    Silva caressed Sepide''s head with a bright smile, trying to relieve her from her bad thoughts.


    "You won''t be forced to do anything that you don''t agree with. If the leader forces you, I''ll kick her ass!"


    Sepide nodded her head with a smile, her worries still in her heart.


    "Sepide, you should maybe go see Gwyn. She''s better than me for this kind of stuff."


    "I... I''ll see. I don''t want to bother her while she''s busy with Neige."


    The two friends continued talking until they were interrupted by Silvu''s voice, who stopped in front of another giant room all in violet velvet.


    "We''ve arrived at the luxury room, the wool you need is right there."


    "Let us go, this is time to end this mission on a high note!" Remiel said, trying her best to sound cheerful.


    The group went inside the room and searched for the thing they came to get in the first place. This room was way bigger than the ones they were in, giving them more opportunity to waste their time as their search went on.


    Once they made their way to the giant bed, Silva couldn''t help but jump on it with excitation under the concerned gaze of the three others.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Is she alright? My data about Silva are quite confused."


    "I don''t understand her fully either, it doesn''t seem that fun."


    Sepide followed Silvu and let Silva play on the soft bed. The robot on the other hand went toward Silva, questioning her about her behavior.


    "You are exhibiting childish behavior. My date indicates that you might have had a difficult childhood and that you are trying to relieve it."


    Silva stopped jumping around but continued to slightly bounce while answering Remiel.


    "Yes I had but it has nothing to do with it, it''s just fun. Why don''t you try?"


    "This is childish."


    "So it''s bad?"


    The mechanical woman thought for a moment, unable to answer. After some internal calculus, she decided to jump on the bed as well. Her heavy weight unbalanced Silva, who fell toward her. Remiel stopped to catch her while still trying to not hurt her.


    "Are you alright?"


    "Yeah, isn''t it fun?" Silva asked with a bright smile, confusing the robot slightly.


    "It was an interesting experience. Is it fun?"


    "Emely didn''t teach you?"


    The robot answered by shaking her head, surprising Silva.


    "What is she doing? If she doesn''t then I will, I''ll show you what''s fun."


    "Thank you Silva, help is appreciated."


    Sepide came back alone toward them, her hands full of the wool they came for. Remiel looked around but saw no trace of the figurine with short red hair.


    "Where is Silvu?"


    "She said she wanted time alone but wished us good luck. I hope she''ll be alright. At least we can leave now."


    "Wait, I want to stay just a bit!"


    Silva jumped behind her with all her trust and rested on the bed without any worry in her mind.


    "It''s so warm here..."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The leader stared blankly at the door leading to the cells, unable to mutter the strength to open it. The sound of someone approaching startled her, only relaxing when she saw it was her friend Neige.


    "Polyetta! I was searching for you everywhere. Is everything alright?"


    "Yeah... You needed something?"


    "Not really, just wanted to hang out with you. Everything is so busy lately, I thought we could spend some time together. We could play one of your video games or we could play music, my guitar is taking dust."


    Despite Neige''s enthusiasm, his friend had a sorrowful expression. Her eyes closed themselves as her face slowly faced the ground.


    "Can you tell me why it ended up like that? Are we even doing the right thing? Kairo, now Shiro... I... Don''t know anymore."


    Neige took his friend in his arms, gently caressing her hair.


    "Do you want to take a break?"


    "A break? You know I can''t."


    "I''ll just take your role for a moment and take the decisions. When I''m not here, Gwyn can take my place. You need rest and you''re not alone, we''re all here for you, we all trust you."


    Polyetta held her friend back, slowly opening her eyes.


    "You''re the most precious person in the universe Neige... Please... Never leave."


    "I won''t. If you need a break we''ll take care of it. I think everyone else is busy but we can spend time together. It could be a good idea to go do something."


    "Yes, but first... I want to talk to Kairo. I need to know why he ended up like that. Can you..."


    "Yes, I''ll come."


    Polyetta smiled softly at her friend''s answer and opened the door to the cells. They walked together until they arrived in front of Kairo''s cell. Seeing the man she considered a proud member of her crew in that state saddened her, but she still kept her collected behavior. Seeing them, the man stood up and faced them.


    "Neige, leader."


    "I''m no longer your leader."


    Polyetta''s answer took Kairo aback but didn''t stop him from continuing without an expression on his face.


    "I don''t know what to call you to be honest."


    "You won''t need to... Tell me, why did you betray us?"


    "Not losing any time I see, I''ll just tell you then. There''s a world beyond our own, we''re merely toys that are played with by a being above us. I want to meet that being, if I destroy this world he created, he''ll be forced to do something about it."


    Neige thought for a moment about his encounter with the Goddess. Was it what Kairo tried to do? Meet the Goddess herself? It only made him realize how far his old friend was gone and that there was no way back.


    "Don''t you think it''s going a bit far?"


    "You don''t understand. Do you know how bad it feels to know that you only exist to accomplish someone else''s wish?"


    "Is it... Really that horrible?" Polyetta looked sadly on the side with a guilty feeling in her heart.


    "I think you just can''t accept that you''re not special, Kairo." The two others looked at Neige, surprised by his harsh words "That''s why you want to see the Goddess, to be special. You can''t accept that you''re not different."


    "Neige, if you were me you would understand, I-"


    "And then what? You destroyed the world, you met the Goddess, then what?"


    "Then it doesn''t matter, it''s the only thing worth it."


    Neige took Polyetta''s hand, silently indicating to her that they should leave.


    "Kairo... I miss the days when it was me, Silva... And you. I hope that you''re happy with the life you had."


    The two friends left Kairo in his cell and walked away. Despite everything that happened, all three wished they could fight together again but knew that this was a part of the past.

 Chapter 96: Yoake-Chan

    The three friends returned from their mission after some time having fun in the world. Silva felt visibly tired, yawning before she could talk.


    "That was fun, I wish we could have stayed longer."


    "Silva... You returned to ride the train for a few hours, isn''t it enough already." Sepide sighed, visibly not sharing her enthusiasm. "Shouldn''t you go to Emely? You need to give her wool back. I don''t think she needs all of us for that, you can go give it to her. I just... Want to be alone for a moment."


    "Oh, alright. Don''t think too hard, you''ll hurt your head."


    Silva smiled through her worries and went with Remiel toward Emely''s lab. Sepide stayed silently in the hallway for a moment and headed to her room after taking a deep breath.


    Once her door was locked, Sepide took a chair and used it to block it. She saw that Silva could get the keys anyway and wanted to ensure she wouldn''t be interrupted. She took her memories box and stared at its contents for a while with a smile. After reminiscing enough for her taste she put the bit of wool she took from the Blocky Lands and put the box back under her bed. Looking back at her door once more to make sure it was closed, she sat on her chair and booted up her computer.


    Everything was ready, she felt like everyone was waiting for her to start. Like always, her heart was pounding in her chest. Taking a deep breath, Sepide pressed the button to start her stream with a bright smile.


    "Hello everyone! It''s me, your Yoake-Chan! You''re so many today too, thanks for being here!"


    The numerous messages on her chat brought a smile to her face. There weren''t any worries about her future or her present here, only the joy of making everyone happy. Sepide looked at the games that the leader lent her, choosing what she would play for them. She looked at the messages from her chat to see if anyone had a suggestion for her, but one of the messages took her attention.


    -Hey! I really love your streams, they always make me happy! ?? ? ?? Today is my birthday and I don''t have anyone to spend it with. ??? But I''m glad that you''re streaming today since I''m not alone today at least!-


    "Oh... I''m sorry you don''t have anyone to share your birthday with. At least you can be here with all of us! We''re like a big family together so happy birthday Kuj1kawa14!"


    She still felt embarrassed to act so joyful and expressive but felt better than the first few times she did. Her avatar looked happier than she really was but she was happy that way, she felt like she was truly happy for a few hours at least. Another message piqued her curiosity, recommending a game.


    -Yoake-chan!, I live your content. can you play this fame called "donna donna" please? it''s my dav <3-


    "Thanks for your kind message! I never heard of that game but I''ll play it with pleasure!"


    Sepide was a bit amused by the mistakes in the message and downloaded the game on internet. She talked with her chat for a bit waiting for the game to be downloaded. Once it was finally ready she launched the game without much expectations. To her great surprise, the title screen was filled with barely dressed women. She hurried to close the game after letting a small sound of surprise out, hoping she wouldn''t get in trouble for her mistake.


    "I''m so sorry! I didn''t know it was that kind of game..."


    Her viewers seemed to be amused by the situation rather than mad, relieving her slightly. She was glad that Silva wasn''t here, if she was she probably would have embarrassed her even more.


    Remiel was sleeping peacefully in her creator''s lab, recharging her batteries. Silva wasn''t exactly sure what her friend''s plans were, she seemed to create a kind of clothing with the wool she just got. She didn''t want to bother Emely in her work but was almost forced to stay here. Silva decided to just listen to music while waiting for her friend. Everything was going well until Silva sighed in frustration, prompting her friend to come to her.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Is there a problem Silva?"


    "I don''t know how to use internet to listen to music, it always puts something unrelated once it''s over."


    "Oh, that''s quite easy to fix. You can disable autoplay and it will stop playing other videos."


    "It''s not the problem, it''s that I only want music."


    "Then why don''t you use an app for music instead of going to a place with lots of videos?"


    Silva let out a tired sigh while holding her phone, she started to think that even if she could see she would be lost.


    "Too complicated... That''s why I use my mp3 player instead."


    "Mp3... Player?" Emely was confused by her friend''s statement, surprised by the fact that she still used old technology "Why don''t you use your phone like everyone?"


    "I want to listen to music, no call people."


    "Silva, your phone had ten times more storage than your mp3 player and the sound quality is better. You can just put the songs in your phone."


    "Wait, really? Why no one told me?"


    Emely sighed slightly at Silva''s answer but smiled softly as well.


    "I think everyone assumed you''d use your phone. Give it to me, I''ll show you how it works."


    Silva was about to give her phone but quickly kept it when she suddenly heard Sepide''s familiar voice from the phone.


    "Wait, I think it''s Sepide''s livestream that''s playing."


    "Sepide? The new member?"


    "It''s been a month or so now, she''s not much of a new member."


    "I just consider everyone that came after me a new member. But I''m surprised you know what a livestream is and don''t know how to put music on your phone."


    "I''m just supporting my friend in her hobbies... Wanna prank her?"


    "Prank her?" Emely wasn''t comfortable about playing around with someone she barely interacted with before but still was a bit curious to see Silva''s plan "And how would you do it?"


    "I''ll show you!"


    Silva typed a comment on the live. Despite her efforts, she made some mistakes but the message was still readable. Emely couldn''t recognize the message and asked her friend about it with interest.


    "Donna Donna, is it a good game?"


    "Dunno, never played it. I just know that it''s perverse."


    "But you still didn''t know you could put music on your phone..."


    "You act like music on phones is the greatest thing humanity ever made."


    "Yeah, it is. I always listen to music on my phone. Sometimes to podcast or things like that too. You always listen to music when you walk around the ship, it would benefit you to have them on your phone."


    "I don''t listen to music often, if I have headphones it''s just because no one interrupts me when I walk around with them."


    The sound of Sepide gasping in surprise on the phone took the two friend''s attention. Emely had to admit that it was kind of funny to see her react in such a way, if she reacted like that every time Silva messed with her, then she understood why she was doing it.


    "It was funny, maybe we should do it more often."


    "Really?" Silva had a bright smile and turned toward her friend with enthusiasm "I could do so much if I had an accomplice! Especially an engineer~"


    "Let''s keep it innocent for now, shall we? I don''t want to get in trouble."


    "Yeah don''t worry, I''ll find a way to mess with Neige next time."


    Silva handed her phone to Emely. Her friend wasn''t sure why for a moment but quickly remembered that she needed to show how to put music on it. After teaching her how to do so, Emely gave Silva''s phone back.


    "See, it''s really easy and practical."


    "It seems so. I can really put anything on it?" Silva said with a mischievous grin.


    "Yeah, anything."


    "Even porn?"


    Emely blushed and stayed silent momentarily and answered while looking away from her crush''s eyes.


    "Yes... We could listen to it together if you want..."


    "T-T-T-T-Together!?" Silva stepped back suddenly. Her friend had never seen her so embarrassed before, worrying her for a moment.


    "Did I say something I shouldn''t?"


    Silva turned around with a red face and muttered words to herself while playing with her hands with a mix of embarrassment and excitation.


    "Together... Emely... Porn..."


    "Silva, are you alright?"


    Silva turned back to her, trying her best to talk despite her sudden shyness.


    "I should be the one asking that! Since when are you so perverted!?"


    "A few months ago you put your hands on my boobs and imitated a car''s honk, I didn''t expect listening to porn would be your limit."


    "Yes but... It''s different..."


    The door opened suddenly, taking the two girls by surprise who flinched when they heard it. Neige and the leader barely entered that Silva hid her embarrassed self from Emely by hiding behind them.


    "Neige! She''s a bully!"


    "I just proposed to watch porn with her."


    Emely just realized the words she uttered in front of Neige and the leader and turned around to hide her red face from them.


    "Should we... Come back later? We just needed help with something."


    "No!!" The two girls yelled in unison.


    The leader looked at Neige to understand what happened with them but even he didn''t have the answer. They had to wait for the two to calm down before being able to continue the conversation.

 Chapter 97: Bloody Snow

    Silva and Emely stayed silent, barely able to get a sentence out of their mouths. Neige understood quickly that he wouldn''t get anywhere and gave up trying to understand the situation.


    "Listen, I''m glad you''re getting closer and less... Violent. If you ever need help with anything you can talk about it with us."


    "We''re adults, we''ll manage."


    "You can''t even look at her in the eyes Silva. I mean it''s cute for sure, you''re both discovering new feelings and it''s normal that you feel shy about it. Though I''ll be honest, I wasn''t expecting you to be so shy about it."


    Silva looked away from Neige, blushing slightly.


    "It''s different with Emely..."


    "It''s kinda cute to see you like that, you''re way better like that."


    "Oh, so now you''re into me, huh?"


    Silva grinned at Neige''s words, exasperating but also amusing him.


    "You''re still Silva in the end."


    Neige was about to take something out of his pocket but was interrupted by the sound of the ship''s alarm. The group stood there confused as Emely turned on her computer. Neige went to look at her screen and saw Silva''s name flashing in red.


    "Is it considering Silva like an intruder? You should repair that."


    Neige thought it was an error but Emely was concerned about it more than anyone else.


    "That''s Silva''s old watch. It means that Silv is here. I don''t understand why she can use it, I disabled her watch remotely."


    "We''ll see later, where is she?"


    The three others were ready to leave, seriously taking Silv''s threat.


    "In the cells, I''ll stay here and communicate with you, you should hurry up."


    "Flipping Silv!" Cursed Silva while standing up from the desk she was sitting on "She''ll never leave us alone."


    "We''ll see later, let''s go."


    The group hurried toward the cells only to see them completely empty. They quickly received a call from Emely on their watch.


    *They left in another world! I can locate them but... Something is strange.*


    "What is?" Asked the leader, worried about what their navigator had to say.


    *Silv is in between worlds. Not only our watches can''t go there normally so she had to modify it, but she also shouldn''t exist at all if she''s there!*


    "So we can''t even get her... What about Kairo and Shiro?"


    *They''re in the world 00000026!*


    The three members looked at each other, recognizing the number of the world.


    "Let''s hurry, we need to stop them!"


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The world is just a ruin, exactly like they left it years ago. The buildings were all made of ice but were only remnants of their former glory. The leader took her sword in hand, prepared to face anything.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "We should go where we first found Shiro, they could be there."


    Her two members agreed and followed her steps on the icy roads of this world.


    Once they finally arrived, the two men they were searching for were arguing. Kairo seemed fed up with Shiro, who was visibly desperate. They stopped their conversation when they saw the group approaching them, weapons in their hands. Shiro went toward them, with relief in his eyes.


    "I was so scared! I didn''t know what was happening. Kairo took me and-"


    "Shiro, please... Stop..." Neige aimed at his friend, gripping his firearm strongly "I don''t want to hurt you, just surrender."


    Shiro dropped the facade, trading his lost expression for a more neutral one. He looked back behind him to see that Kairo had already run away, leaving him alone against the group.


    "I don''t think there''s anything I can do anyway."


    "Is he really Shiro?" Silva asked, genuinely unsure "His voice doesn''t sound the same."


    "I guess you weren''t important enough for them to tell you."


    Silva pouted at Shiro''s words, visibly offended.


    "So you actually have a split personality? It''s not a joke?"


    "Don''t you have a more pressing matter? Isn''t Kairo the one you''re after?"


    Neige tied him with his handcuffs and took his watch away. He looked at it for a moment before putting it in his pocket.


    "I''ll keep an eye on you, don''t try anything funny."


    Knowing that he had no chance against them, all Shiro did was silently follow Neige and the group in their search for Kairo.


    Silva and the leader stayed behind, discussing as Neige and Shiro silently led the way. As she was looking at her former comrade, Silva couldn''t help but think about the reason behind his sudden change.


    "I never saw Shiro acting like that before. I never interacted much with him but wasn''t he just a bit socially awkward and full of good intentions?"


    "It''s a bit complicated." Answered the leader "It''s not like he has a whole new personality, it''s more like his mood changes quickly. He never talked much about his past, not even to Gwyn. I wish there was something we could do, I can see it''s also hurting him."


    "So... He''s struggling between two sides of himself... I think I can understand."


    The group walked a bit and managed to find Kairo, looking at a giant tower made of ice. He was visibly expecting them, as he started talking when he heard them coming, without turning toward them.


    "It was me, Silva, and Neige. It was another mission, another new member. I couldn''t explain why but... It''s nostalgic to me."


    "Feel nostalgic? Want to go back to the good old days?"


    Kairo laughed at his old friend''s words, a laugh full of sorrow.


    "You know very well I can''t."


    Any soft noise seemed deafening in this cold silence. No one dared to move, staring at Kairo''s back.


    "Have you noticed Neige? Snow... It''s everywhere. So many worlds, and yet, most are snowy."


    "What do you want me to say? The Goddess likes snow."


    "The Goddess... She made all these words, cold and lonely... Do you think it''s how our creator feels?"


    "Kairo, what are you talking about?" Silva interrupted her old friend''s words, with anger in her voice "Why are you like that now? You would find every new world wonderful! You''d smile over the simplest things and ask questions about the most complex ones. Those worlds aren''t lonely, they have so much life in them."


    "Silva... You changed since last time."


    Kairo''s sorrowful voice contrasted with Silva''s determination. The two former friends both were saddened by the turn of events but none of them was ready to go back.


    "You changed too Kairo... And not for the best."


    "I know. Knowledge is a burden. We could have continued to work together but what''s the point if nothing is real? Are we really living if we obey someone''s fate?"


    "I don''t obey anyone''s fate."


    Kairo finally turned toward the group and looked at Silva in the eyes, surprised to see her determination through her sunglasses.


    "Neige, Silva, Leader, Shiro... I''m happy either way, whether you fall, whether I fall, it doesn''t matter to me."


    Kairo pointed his firearm toward Neige, ready to fire.


    "The snow... It''s cold and lonely..."


    Neige stared at the sky, feeling the snowflakes fall on his face while taking his own firearm in hand.


    "Kairo, did you know? Neige is another word for Snow."


    "Aren''t you cold and lonely too?" Kairo said with a sarcastic smile.


    "I like to think that when the snow falls, it means that Polyetta is with me. It''s weird but... I have the feeling that the snow is here because of her."


    Polyetta looked at her friend with a soft but confused smile. Neige aimed his firearm at Kairo, both waiting for the other to act first. The snow continued to fall without any signs of stopping. A chilly wind blew, Neige usually hated the cold but seemed comfortable with it this time. Kairo on the other hand was shaking, even if the cold wasn''t the only reason. Silva and the leader wanted to also draw their weapons but Neige seemed determined to end it personally. Shiro looked at the scene with indifference, and yet, still felt an uncomfortable feeling in his chest for some reason.


    The two men stared at each other, not intending to hold back. The silence suddenly vanished, leaving its place to a loud sound. The white and pure snow on the ground was tainted by the red liquid that splashed over it. like on cue, the wind stopped. A body fell on the ground under the shocked gaze of everyone, letting the silence take back its place.

 Chapter 98: Shiro to Kuro

    The snow fell on the icy buildings, the streets were filled with people busy with their lives. The two friends took this opportunity to go for a stroll. One of them seemed clearly more annoyed than the other, following his friend with low energy.


    "Shiro... Why did you bring me along?"


    "Come on, you always stay in your house doing nothing! You know it''s not good for you to stay depressed and alone."


    "I''m doing just fine."


    Shiro''s friend walked toward one of the trees and stared at the crystal blue it was made of with empty eyes.


    "Look Kuro, isn''t nature wonderful?"


    One of the icy leaves of the tree fell on Kuro, making him flinch and step back.


    "No... It''s not."


    "You can''t stay like that forever, you need to do something with your life. Do you remember when I taught you how to make a gun? What did you think of it?"


    "It''s not my thing."


    Kuro took the leaf and stared at his reflection for a moment until his friend slightly tapped him in the back.


    "Alright, I can feel you''re not into it. We can always walk together when you''re feeling like it."


    Shiro was about to leave but Kuro grabbed his sleeve before he could leave, begging with his eyes for him to stay.


    "Kuro... I wish I could do more for you. You always seem so... Empty."


    "Just stay with me, it''s enough. I''m sorry if I''m always so cold with you."


    Shiro smiled softly and caressed his friend''s head with a smile.


    "It''s almost night, do you want to go to my house to watch the moon?"


    Kuro shyly nodded his head and took his friend''s hand, following him.


    The friends stood behind the house, lying down on the snowy ground. The moonlight was shining upon them, just like usual.


    "Hey Kuro, did you know that some people say that the moon is a portal to other worlds."


    "You believe in other worlds?" Kuro asked in an empty voice.


    "Not really, but wouldn''t it be fun? I hope there are many worlds! Maybe there''s one where I''m a girl, one where I''m a superhero... One where I can help you..."


    Shiro stopped staring at the moon and sat on the ground with a sad look on his face. Kuro went next to him as soon as he noticed his friend feeling down.


    "Shiro... I''m sorry I can''t be a good friend to you."


    "Why are you saying that?"This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "I mean, you always look sad and empty. I should be able to at least bring a smile to your face sometimes."


    "I don''t like to show my feelings."


    Kuro grabbed Shiro''s hand and snuggled against him, getting as close as he could.


    "It''s not your fault Shiro, I''m just messed up."


    "Don''t say that, it''s not your fault."


    "No, it''s true..." Kuro looked down, still trying to get closer to his friend "You know so much about everything. You always try your best while I... I can barely do the basic things."


    Shiro put his hand on his friend''s face and moved it to look at his eyes.


    "Kuro, it''s not your fault if you feel like that, it will get better eventually, I promise."


    A small tear fell from Kuro''s eye, making its way to the ground. He took all the courage he could and tried his best to be clear with his voice.


    "Shiro, I wanted to tell you something for a while now... I lo-"


    The sound of ice breaking took the two friends by surprise. It looked like someone was voluntarily causing chaos.


    They hurried toward the center of the town only to see it in ruins. Two girls were in the middle, visibly the source of the chaos. The one with long ginger hair turned toward them and let out a sound of surprise. Curious about the reason for her friend''s shock, the girl with short red hair turned toward the two friends as well. Shiro took his firearm and pointed at her, in an attempt to scare them.


    "Who are you? What are you doing?"


    The girl with short red hair took a firearm from her belt. It looked like a more advanced version of the one Shiro had, confusing him. The girl aimed her weapon and shot without hesitation. The man fell to the ground almost immediately. Kuro hurried toward his friend to check up on him and was faced with the reality, Shiro was no longer.


    "Emel, let''s go. I don''t want to change the future for now."


    The girl left her weapon still in hand and was quickly followed by the one with long ginger hair, leaving the town in ruins with the corpses of many. Kuro was frozen, unable to move. It wasn''t like he wanted to move, his only reason for living was right here, devoid of any signs of life. A few voices approached his direction but couldn''t get him out of his stupor.


    "How is it possible? A being from no world?"


    "I don''t know, we have no signs of it existing before, it''s like the thing that caused all of this just vanished."


    A group of three arrived to see Kuro, next to the body of his friend. The man with short white hair of the group went toward him and tried to communicate.


    "Hey, is everything alright?"


    "Of course, he''s alright Neige." Sarcastically answered the girl with short red hair "He''s just having fun with his friend, can''t you see?"


    The man named Neige rolled his eyes. Kuro muttered all the strength he could and was shocked at Neige''s sight. He looked eerily like his friend, not physically, but in his soul. It was hard for him to understand, he just felt like it was his friend, here to give him another chance.


    "I''m Neige, can I know your name?"


    Kuro looked at the body of his friend for a moment. He turned toward the man and answered with a weak voice.


    "I''m... Shiro..."


    "Shiro... We''ll take you to our doctor, she''ll know what to do with you. It''s going to get better, I promise."


    Kuro was still a bit confused. A week had passed since he arrived on this ship and ended up in an office, just like every day of the week before. A tired-looking woman with short grey hair sat in front of him and opened a notebook before talking with an exhausted voice.


    "I''m Gwyn, doctor, ship, world destroyed, bla bla bla. Can you tell me your name?"


    "My name..." Kuro couldn''t stop thinking about his friend on the ground. He wasn''t sure what happened or where he was but none of that mattered to him anymore "I''m Shiro."


    The doctor looked surprised and noted the name on her notebook.


    "There''s an improvement. So Shiro, can you tell me a bit about yourself? Just basic information so you''re comfortable."


    "I''m 160 centimeters, I have short white hair. I know a lot about weapons and I just want to help people."


    Gwyn looked at her notes from the test she had previously taken. Not only his hair color wasn''t white but black, but his height was also incorrect.


    "So you like weapons, why did you start learning about them?"


    "I... Don''t know, I never asked."


    The doctor quickly understood that there was a problem with the man and closed her notebook with a sigh before standing up.


    "I''m going to go get something, stay here, and don''t get in trouble while I''m away."


    Kuro was left alone in the room, forced to face himself in the large mirror next to him.


    "No one will forget you, Shiro... I promise..."

 Chapter 99: Shiros Last Wish

    No one understood the reason behind his action but all were forced to acknowledge it. Shiro''s body was on the ground, pierced both by Neige and Kairo''s bullet. Reacting quickly, Silva used her own firearm to disarm Kairo, prompting him to run away. The leader and Silva chased him, leaving Neige with Shiro on the ground.


    "Shiro! Are you alright?"


    "I wish I was like him, none of that would have happened... He was helping everyone while I... Couldn''t even save myself."


    "I''ll bring you to Gwyn, she-"


    "Neige, listen to me!"


    Neige stayed silent, listening to his friend''s words.


    "I don''t deserve to live, three years ago, it should have been me instead... I know it''s egoist of me but I want to ask you something..."


    "What is it?"


    "Please, remember Shiro... Don''t let my actions taint his pure heart. Plea... se..." The moon reflected in the eyes of the man as he was extending his hand to get closer to it "Shiro... I love you..."


    Neige wasn''t sure he understood everything but was sure it was over now. The man he used to call Shiro closed his eyes, his hand fell as his heart stopped once and for all.


    Silva and the leader arrived back and quickly understood what happened. Neige stood up and looked at them with eyes full of grief.


    "We should bury him where we found him, next to his friend."


    The two others agreed and proceeded to do so. They buried the body of their former friend along with his watch and stayed silent for a few minutes.


    "Polyetta, don''t blame yourself."


    The leader flinched at Neige''s words, it was like he could read her thoughts.


    "If he didn''t give up, maybe he could have survived. All we can do for now is work to make the universe safer. Did you manage to stop Kairo?"


    "No, he ran away." Answered Silva "Emely said she knew where but that we should go back to the ship."


    "Alright. You can go first, I want to stay for a bit."


    The leader was hesitant but Silva convinced her to leave him alone. Neige stood in front of his friend''s tomb, not letting a single tear out despite his profound sorrow.


    "Shiro... I''ll join you someday but for now, I have things to finish. I hope you''re finally happy with your friend."


    Neige looked at his firearm for a moment before leaving it on the ground.


    "May you rest in peace, my old friend."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Neige entered Emely''s lab, where everyone was waiting for him. Ina was the first one to go to him, trying to cheer him up.


    "Neige, I heard what happened. I''m deeply sorry for that, you tried your best."


    "I know, I''ll be alright. I just want to stop Kairo now, I don''t want anyone else to perish. Do you know where he is, Emely?"


    The young engineer looked at her computer to check the number of the world.


    "17112004, he''s there."


    "Of course, in his home world." Sighed Neige.


    "Be careful, Silv is here too."


    "She is?" The leader asked in shock "I thought she was lost between worlds!"


    "Apparently she can go there and go back whenever she wants. That''s what the watch she has is telling me at least."


    "Can we talk about it later?" Interrupted Neige.


    "Yes, you''re right." The leader thought for a moment, wondering what the best way to act was "Neige and Silva should go. Sepide will come with you."


    Silva tilted her head in slight confusion, trying to understand the decision of her leader.


    "You''re not coming? I thought you would want to stop Kairo personally."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "No... I can''t face him, I trust you for that."


    Neige nodded his head, already prepared to leave.


    "We''ll come back safely, we promise."


    "You better!" The leader tried to give a smile to her friend but was too worried to do so.


    "Silva! Don''t get hurt, alright? I can fix robots but not humans." Emely approached softly Silva and kissed her softly on her forehead, making the both of them blush.


    "He''s barely more experienced than me, I can take a fight against him easily."


    While everyone was talking and cheering each other, Sepide stood alone, worried about their mission. She couldn''t explain why but felt like this wasn''t going to be any ordinary mission. She silently waited until Ina came to her with her usual bright smile.


    "Sepide, you need to take care of yourself and your friend, okay? I packed some food for you all, you should keep it."


    Ina handed her a bag, which she accepted with a smile.


    "Thanks, Ina, I''ll make you all proud!"


    "Don''t put too much pressure on yourself, you''re already doing great."


    The three friends stood next to each other, ready to leave. Whether it was to protect their dear ones, avenge their fallen comrades, or even just find a reason to their lives, they were all ready for this mission to stop the former member of the Kronos, once and for all.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The three friends jumped into Kairo''s destroyed world, or so they thought. It looked like a normal city once again, people walked around, the buildings were intact, and yet, Neige recognized it as being the world he found Kairo in.


    "What the hell? What happened here?"


    "Guess we''ll need to find Kairo to get an answer."


    Neige nodded to Silva''s words and looked around for anywhere Kairo could be. It was hard for him to find his way in the now totally different world.


    "When I found Kairo, it was on top of a tall building. I don''t know what he''s planning to do but there''s a chance he''s there."


    The group located the tallest building they could find and headed toward it, hoping to find Kairo there.


    Neige knew it was this building the moment he stepped foot in it. The red color of the floor was the same, along with the paintings on the walls. The only difference was that everything was in order as if nothing happened.


    "It''s so cursed to see this world in that state. It was only Gwyn, Polyetta, and me at the time. I didn''t think I''d see this world again, especially not like that."


    While Neige was lost in his thoughts, a butler came to them with elegant clothes, judging them with his gaze.


    "Welcome to the Aspro, may I help you?"


    "The Aspro?" Neige muttered to himself, he heard that name before but couldn''t remember why "We''re searching for a man named Kairo, is he here?"


    "Kairo?" The butler looked at them with disdain and continued with an arrogant voice "What makes you think that low-class people are allowed to see sir Kairo?"


    "Low class?" Silva pushed Neige aside, putting herself right in front of the man "I helped him with the most random things, I listened to all his lunatic questions, and I saved his ass more times than I can count. It''s not so his butler calls me low-class. And just so you know mister Idon''tcareaboutyourname, I served as a lawyer in a court of law, I''m neither a stranger nor a low-class person!"


    "Miss, please be more silent, you''re scaring our clients." The man looked at Silva closer and suddenly stepped back. He bowed and apologized profusely, his arrogant voice completely gone "Lord Silv! I''m deeply sorry, I didn''t recognize you. Let me give you the access card!"


    Silva took the card from the butler''s hand and tried her best to impersonate her other self.


    "Such peasants shouldn''t make me lose so much time."


    "Yes, I deeply apologize. Is there any way I can show how deeply hurt I am for treating you like that?"


    "So you''re the kinda guy that will treat those under him like shit, huh? Then I want you to-"


    Neige covered her mouth before she could say anything else, knowing his friend very well.


    "Excuse her, you know how she is. We''ll go now, thanks."


    The group left under the confused eyes of the man. Once they found a place without anyone Neige looked at Silva with scolding eyes.


    "What were you thinking?"


    "Come on, Silv would have totally asked him to beg on his knees. I was just acting in character!"


    "I''m feeling bad for Emely if you end up together..."


    Before Silva could argue, their watches received a call from the Kronos. The familiar voice of the young engineer answered, with chatters from the other members in the background.


    *Can you hear me? Something weird happened.*


    "Yes, we can." Answered Neige "Is it about the world being completely devoid of any damage?"


    *Indeed. The leader doesn''t understand either but we can guide you. To summarize, this building belongs to Kairo''s father. Kairo himself seems to be on the higher floors.*


    "We got a card key from my other self!" Proudly announced Silva "Can we go to the top with it?"


    *Sadly not, only the most trusted and influential people can. There are five different ranks. The first one is commoners and the second one is guests. Silv had this position so you should be able to go in the rooms and the bar.*


    "So we need to get the best card key to get to Kairo?"


    *Yes but it''s going to be hard. There are only three persons that have access to the roof and Kairo isn''t even one of them. For now, you should be searching for the third rank of card keys, the business partners. The simplest target we have is a certain Lucien but we have no information other than the fact that he is the only one available.*


    "We should probably head to the bar then, he''s probably there. We''ll need to not put any unwanted attention on us too." Neige took a deep breath, still shaken up from the event that occurred earlier today "By the way, what''s this place? Kairo always told me he was nothing special and now I''m learning that his father owns a kind of luxury place."


    *Kairo''s father is the funder of Aspro Corp. A kind of business that is focused on progress and technology, even if they''re nothing special compared to me!*


    "Of course! You''re the best dumbest engineer in the universe!"


    Sepide looked at Silva with confusion, unsure about the meaning of the sentence.


    "I''m... Not sure I understood. Is she dumb or smart?"


    Neige gestured at Sepide to give up and stop trying to understand everything Silva said.


    *Anyway, you''re basically at the headquarters of Astro Corp. Kairo is your main priority but could you steal some food? I want to try rich people''s stuff.*


    "So for now we have to find this Lucien and get his card. I hope we won''t get caught, it would be unfortunate..."


    The group was ready to go and climb to the top of this building to stop their former friend. This place was shrouded in mysteries, both from its existence to its relation to Kairo''s past. Neige was determined to find the answer to all of his questions, for the sake of his friends and his future.

 Chapter 100!

    "Hey, it''s me! Your favorite character from this story! So much has happened, and yet, it''s far from over!"


    Emel looked around the room to make sure that she and Silv were indeed alone. With perplexity and concern, she asked with uncertainty,


    "Are you talking to me?"


    Silv woke up from the couch she was sitting on and continued monologuing, completely ignoring Emel''s words.


    "So much happened and so much will happen, so why not take a break from those boring ''main characters'' and spend some time here with us?"


    "Silv, I know you''re crazy but even for you it''s starting to be a lot, who are you talking to?"


    "Emel, can you shut up? I can''t believe you''re the one my dumbass self fell for."


    Emel stared at Silv for a moment, trying to understand what she was saying.


    "Are you talking to me?"


    "Of course, who else? You''re the only Emel here."


    "It''s kinda hard to know with you sometimes. It''s like you''re talking to a ghost or something."


    "You wouldn''t get it. Anyway, why don''t celebrate by talking about something interesting this time? I mean, who wants to know what happened after Neige used the holy diary to save his friend? I''m much better."


    "Neige?"


    "And let''s not talk about my dumbass self, she thinks that because she''s depressed and that she''s getting better she''s a good character. What''s even more pathetic is this Emely, using one of the main characters as a crotch to make her way to the main story."


    "Who are those people? Can I go home soon?"


    "But let''s not talk about bad things, we have a moment just together for once, isn''t it great? So Emel, what are you thinking of this adventure so far?"


    The nervous girl looked at Silv''s smile with uncertainty, trying to understand if she was talking to her now.


    "I want to go home..."


    "You saw a world full of candies and you''re still saying that?"


    "You tried to drown me in a lake full of caramel!"


    "Ah, yes. Good times." Silva reminisced with a nostalgic smile on her face. She poured a glass of wine that she handed to her friend, who seemed unsure of her intention.


    "Is it for me?"


    "No, it''s for the ghost behind you."


    Emel stared at Silv with empty eyes, unsure about whether she was joking or not.


    "Of course it''s for you! Who else?"


    "You don''t have to yell..."


    Emel took the glass and stared at it for a moment. Silv poured a glass for herself and sat back on the couch in front of her friend.


    "This Kairo guy is annoying, but his family has good taste in wine!"


    "Kairo?"


    "Don''t think about it, it''s not important for you to know."


    "Then... What is? You just bring me around and make me do weird things."


    "There are three reasons I keep you around. The first one is part of my plan to replace my stupid self."


    "Replace her? But why?"


    "Because I deserve her place more than her. Who wants a pervert as a main character after all."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Yes... Of course..." Emel took a sip of her wine, not understanding a word that came out of Silv''s mouth "And the other reasons?"


    "It''s quite simple, Silva has Emely, so Silv has to have something like that too. Why would the main character have something over the main villain after all?"


    "Yes, for sure..." Emel finished her glass, still not understanding.


    "And for the third reason, it''s because it feels sooo lonely. The others all suck, so I needed someone to spend time with me."


    "So... I don''t suck?"


    "You suck less than the others."


    Even though she knew she shouldn''t, Emel took her friend''s words as a compliment and couldn''t help but smile a little. Silv filled Emel''s glass with wine, to the surprise of her friend.


    "I shouldn''t drink so much alcohol."


    "I don''t drink alcohol at all, I just wanted to take a sip. But come on, it''s wine older than me! We have to drink it all."


    "So... You want me to drink the full bottle? I already feel lightheaded."


    "It''s perfect, maybe you''ll pass out and shut up then."


    The two girls stayed silent for a moment. Emel felt the gaze of her friend on her, staring at her soul. It was like Silv could undress her with her eyes and observe the naked body under her clothes. Emel was intimidated but wasn''t minding the attention that was-


    "Emel... I''m blind you know?"


    "Oh, right..."


    "It''s really a horrible day to read thoughts... Why am I surrounded by perverts?"


    "It''s not my fault. The alcohol, two persons alone. One of them is away from her home and at the mercy of the other one. If something happened, no one would-"


    Silv threw the bottle at Emel before she could finish her sentence, who barely managed to catch it.


    "Pass out already, you''re annoying... Even Silva wasn''t as bad when she was drunk..."


    "I''m not drunk, just a bit tipsy."


    "You''re hopeless, that''s what you are."


    Silv looked away from Emel and did her best to not interact with her but despite her best efforts was still forced to as Emel sat next to her to meet her gaze.


    "Silv... Don''t you miss our world?"


    "Miss that boring place? No thanks, I have a greater fate a accomplish."


    "But you could still be happy in our home world, don''t you agree?"


    "Emel, I''m not trying to be happy. I''m above that now, I''m working for something greater! And why are you suddenly trying to convince me? You tried to stop me and hated me before, did you not?"


    "You were at the head of the mafia, of course I''d want to stop you. But now... I feel like you''re not a bad person, you can still change your ways."


    Silv rolled her eyes and moved away to sit in front of Emel instead.


    "Remember yesterday when we killed everyone in the world?"


    "Yeah, but you said it wouldn''t change the future anyway and that something else would kill them eventually."


    "Sure, and what about the fact that I''m planning to kill my other self?"


    "She''s your other self so it barely counts."


    "Emel... You''re becoming evil." Silv said with an amused smile on her face.


    "What? No, I''m not! I just think that... It''s not that bad."


    "Just accept that you have an evil heart instead of lying to yourself."


    "No, I''m not evil!"


    Silv sighed and stood up to go right in front of Emel. She leaned to her friend, visibly flustering her.


    "I won''t change. You can try all you want, you''re only here to fill your role in my story. I have no interest in morals or justice, I don''t mind killing you just to get closer to my goals."


    Emel stayed silent as Silv went back to sit on the couch in front of her.


    "For now it doesn''t matter much. They''re more focused on their old friend than on us."


    Silv noticed how bad her friend suddenly felt and tried to comfort her, not without showing her discomfort in doing so.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you yet. People are barely getting used to you and I don''t want to search for another sidekick."


    "So... You like me?"


    "In what world did it sound like I was showing my affection for you?"


    Emel smiled softly, making Silv grimace with disgust.


    "I understand Silv, you need to keep your tough act together to the ghost you''re talking to. But I know you''re kind inside!"


    Silv was baffled by how wrong and dumb her partner was, almost considering sending her back into their world. However, she couldn''t help but feel amused by Emel''s innocence.


    "It''s not a ghost. Maybe someday I''ll tell you, even if you can''t understand."


    "I still hope we can go back to our world someday, I''ll try my best to convince everyone that you aren''t the worst person on earth."


    "I wonder if your other self is as naive as you. It could be interesting to know."


    "I''m sure you just have a scar that didn''t heal, and that''s why you''re doing bad things!"


    "Okay Emel, it''s time to stop now, you''re starting to creep me out. That''s some heavy Stockholm syndrome."


    "Isn''t that when people fall in love? I''m not in love with you!"


    Emel was blushing and visibly trying to hide her embarrassment.


    "Stockholm syndrome is when you sympathize with your jailor after spending a lot of time without human contact. It has nothing to do with love and you don''t fulfill the conditions for it anyway."


    "Oh, I see."


    Emel seemed a bit disappointed for some reason. Silv wanted to question her about it but didn''t feel like she had enough energy for that and instead decided to head toward the exit of their room.


    "Emel, can you walk?"


    "Of course, I''m not that drunk."


    "Good, it''s time to make the story interesting. It wasn''t the hundredth chapter I hoped but, oh well. Maybe we''ll get to see each other again in the two hundredth chapter."


    "Y-Yeah." Emel looked around panicked, trying to find the person Silv was talking to "I''m glad that we''re on the hundredth chapter... Or sad that we are, I''m not sure if it''s a good or bad thing and-"


    "Emel?"


    "Yes?"


    "Shut up."


    "Alright..."


    Silv left the room with a satisfied grin, followed by her friend soon after. The two girls walked in the fancy hallways. Emel wasn''t sure about Silv''s plan but was ready to help her both to possibly get home safely and also to convince her friend to stop causing chaos.

 Chapter 101: Mountain Climbers

    The three friends sat at the bar and pretended to be guests. Their goal was to find a certain Lucien and get his access card so they could climb higher in the building. Everything about him was still unknown but they were ready to make that change. After they commanded their drinks, Silva acted as if she was her other self while asking for information from the barman.


    "Excuse me, peasant, have you ever heard of a certain Lucien?"


    "Peasant? You better watch your tongue around here, sir Aspro doesn''t like troublemakers."


    Neige put his hand on Silva''s mouth before she could answer and tried to defuse the situation using an apologetic tone.


    "Please ignore her, she''s always like that."


    "Is it the new Silv everyone is talking about? Can''t believe you actually are accepted around here, you''re the talk of the city."


    "Why? She''s nothing special." Sepide said in a curious voice.


    "That''s what I''m saying! You''re nothing but a fraud miss Silv, you came here and suddenly the boss trusts you fully."


    Silva removed her friend''s hand from her mouth and decided to answer the annoyed barman.


    "He doesn''t trust me fully, I got the shitty guest card!"


    "Isn''t it because you rejected him? You specifically turned him down and asked for a low-grade card. At least you know you''re place."


    The barman walked away and left the three friends at the counter. They didn''t learn anything about Lucien but instead got new information. Silva thought deeply but couldn''t understand her other self''s actions.


    "Silv rejected a higher rank? Why would she do that?"


    "Maybe she knew you''d come. Since you look alike you could pass off as her and ruin her plan."


    "Damn Silv, I can''t understand what she''s trying to do. I guess it means I''m out for now, they won''t trust me."


    "It''s true..." Neige said, deep in his thoughts "I think you should try asking around Sepide. We probably made a lot of noise with Silva so they will doubt us both but it might work for you."


    "Me? I''m not sure..."


    Sepide looked around, intimidated by the idea of talking to people alone. Neige gave a reassuring nod, assuring her that everything would be alright. Sepide accepted and looked around before deciding to go to a table where a group of men were playing with cards. She sat on the table next to them and asked with a feeble voice.


    "Can I... Play with you?"


    The men laughed together until they saw her serious face. They silently dealt the cards and gave her cards.


    "Poker, ever played it?"


    "I ended up third in a tournament once."


    "A tournament of housewives!"


    The men laughed at the joke of one of their comrades, playing the game like before. A few rounds passed and the group continued playing naturally, taking Sepide seriously after some decent plays from her part. One of them decided to talk between rounds, trying to gain Sepide''s favor.


    "You know, we didn''t mean to make fun of you. It''s that with all those women going around, thinking that they''re real men, it''s hard to trust. We just thought you didn''t know the rules and mocked you."


    "It''s alright, it happens."


    "Wait, I''m curious now." One of the men said while shuffling the deck "I never saw you around and I''m a pretty influential person, what makes you so special?"The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Sepide looked behind at her friends, hoping they could help her. Instead, all she could see was Silva arguing with someone and Neige getting her out of trouble. It seemed like they wouldn''t be able to help and that she needed to find another solution. She searched in her memories for anything that could be believable and finally found something.


    "I do videos on the internet. I have one billion subscribers."


    The men laughed, visibly not taking her seriously. She took her phone and showed the number the them, shutting them up.


    "O-One billion? How is it possible? I never heard of you!"


    "Aren''t we eight billion? those that mean that this chick is known for at least ten percent of the population?"


    Sepide nodded her head with confidence. She forgot that she had reached multiple worlds, so one billion didn''t seem much for her. One of the men seemed impressed and handed her a card. She was confused at first but was strongly interested when she saw the name of the man on the card.


    "I''m Lucien, I work as a freelance musician. I''m going to work on a big project with sir Aspro but you know, it''s not a passion project. I could work for you though, one billion is not a bad public and I''ll admit I''m interested in you."


    "I want to talk with you in a place without anyone, can we?"


    Lucien couldn''t hide his smile, already dreaming of the fortune he would make thanks to her.


    "Of course! I know a good place for that."


    The two of them went into the bathroom and made sure no one could hear them. The musician could barely contain himself and instantly explained his plan to Sepide.


    "I make you a song, you give me money and promote me. Then we-"


    "Give me your card."


    "Huh?" The man was bewildered by the words from Sepide. He quickly realized what she meant and took his access card out of his pocket "You want that?"


    "Yes, what do I need to do to get it? I''ll do anything."


    "Anything?"


    Sepide answered by nodding her head, bringing a dark smile to Lucien''s face.


    "I want to be your personal musician and get half of the money you make. You''ll talk about it to all your fans at every stream and video you make."


    "Alright." Sepide had no intent to obey and just wanted to get the card as fast as possible. The man noticed it and decided to go further in his demands.


    "I''ll need something right now though, you know... As a way to make sure you won''t run away."


    "But I don''t have money on me..."


    "Oh, I didn''t mean money. We''re both alone, a man and a woman. And I''m sure you know a man''s weakness~"


    The man started to grip his belt. Sepide quickly understood what he meant and frowned.


    "Silva taught me that yeah."


    "Silva? Who is that? Maybe you should bring her next time."


    "Oh no, I can do it alone. I''m just surprised it''s what you want since it seemed to hurt when I saw it."


    "What?"


    Before the man could get an answer, Sepide kicked his crotch as hard as she could. His body fell unconscious on the ground, worrying the girl a bit.


    "Can I get the card now?"


    Seeing that the man was not answering, she hurried to take the card and leave, hoping she didn''t hurt him too much.


    Sepide went back to her friends, they seemed worried about her going alone in the bathroom with another man. Silva immediately inquired to make sure she was safe.


    "Sepide, what did you do in there?"


    "The guy was weird. I kicked him and took his card."


    "Attagirl!" Silva put her hand in the air, facing Sepide. She stayed in that position for a moment, prompting Neige to explain to Sepide.


    "She''s trying to make a high-five."


    "Oh." Sepide clapped Silva''s hand back, bringing a bright smile to her face.


    "So now that you got the card we can go to the higher floors. This place creeps me out, everyone here is so arrogant."


    Neige read the notes he took from Emely''s conversation and summarized them to the group.


    "So we got the third level card, the business partner rank. It allows us to get to the studios, that''s where they do most of the creative work. The next rank would be interns, we''ll call Emely when we get there."


    "Sounds like a plan, let''s roll!"


    Silva stood up with energy, quickly followed by her two friends. They were ready to get closer to Kairo and hopefully, find the reason behind this world''s sudden fix. Their goal was getting closer, weighing their hearts as they made their way to the elevator.


    Kairo stared at the city from the roof of the building. Everything seemed so small now, not only because of the height but because of his experience. The city he lived in was no more than a simple world now. He turned around to leave and saw Silv, followed by her friend Emel.


    "So, how do you enjoy your world Kairo?"


    "I still can''t believe it''s true, and yet... It all seems pointless now. I don''t feel anything about it anymore. The truth... Is it really worth it?"


    "Are you starting to have regrets?"


    "No... I assume all my actions."


    Kairo looked at Silv''s confidant expression. It was obvious that she was planning for something but the reason behind her plan was still a mystery for the man.


    "Silv... You already know how this day will end, right?"


    "How could I know?" Silv pretended to not understand but the grin on her face betrayed her barely hidden intents.


    "Have you already seen our creator? Have you seen the truth?"


    "What if I did?"


    The innocent-looking face of the girl was enough to exhaust Kairo, who looked at the moon in the sky with nostalgia.


    "I don''t understand you at all, I don''t think anyone can."


    "You may be right. I''ll let you have fun with your old friends, they shouldn''t take long now."


    Silv left, followed by Emel. The cold wind blew on the roof, followed by a drop of water that fell on Kairo''s face.


    "It''s going to rain soon..."

 Chapter 102: Rising Star

    The three friends found a calm place to call their navigator. After some time, they got an answer from the leader herself.


    *Do they hear me now?*


    "Yes, we can Polyetta."


    The startled voice of the leader let out a surprised sound but managed to quickly calm itself.


    *Neige! I''m glad you''re the one who picked up. To be honest, Silva scares me a bit...*


    The three friends looked at each other, unsure whether they should tell her that everyone could hear her.


    *You need to get the fourth rank, it''s the card that most interns have. There should be an easy target, she''s called Marie. She works as a director for the advertising campaign, it should be easy to find her since her name is written on her vest. Did I do well?*


    "Err... I guess?" Neige answered, not sure of what the leader meant.


    *Oh, it wasn''t for you. It was for Emely, she allowed me to communicate with you. Anyway, good luck! You''ll tell Silva and Sepide that I root for you all.*


    "Thanks, it means a lot."


    Sepide''s answer seemed to surprise the leader. She stayed silent and the sound of an argument was happening in the background. After a short moment, Emely''s voice took the call.


    *Sorry, the leader is embarrassed because she didn''t want Silva to hear the comment she made. She said that you''ll do great though.*


    The call cut, leaving the three friends with their new goal. All they had to do was find Marie and get her access card. They headed toward the room where they filmed the advertisements, expecting to find her there.


    The group entered and quickly noticed their target in the room. Her access card was hanging around her neck with a chain. She was visibly giving a script to some actors but stopped when she saw the three friends enter without warning.


    "Excuse me, but we were busy. Are you even allowed here?"


    Sepide took a step forward, taking care of the situation.


    "I am an influencer with one billion subscribers. I was ordered to come here by..."


    "Sir Aspro." Added Neige after seeing her friend struggling. The woman seemed to not trust them but shrugged and pointed toward chairs behind the cameras.


    "Don''t cause any problems, I''ll take care of you later."


    The three of them headed toward the designated place. Silva was about to sit down but changed her mind suddenly and headed toward a woman with a drink in her hand. Neige and Sepide were confused but looked from far away so as to not cause any problems. The woman was about to leave but flinched at Silva''s sudden and curious appearance.


    "What did you put in that drink?"


    The woman nervously looked around, trying to find an out. Despite her attempts to just move away, Silva always managed to get in front of her, forcing her to answer.


    "It''s none of your business. How did you even see it anyway?"


    "I heard it. You poured powder into the drink."


    "Sorry to have hypoglycemia, I need to put sugar in my water."


    "That was clearly not enough, you barely put anything in it. It''s the amount that you would put in a drink if you were using cyanide and tried to kill someone."


    Silva took a serious tone at the end of her sentence, implying that she knew exactly what the woman was doing.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "You''re not scared of anything, are you?"


    "I''m not scared of you for sure. I need your help for something." Silva moved her head toward Marie before continuing "I won''t tell what you''re doing if you get her access card for me."


    The woman thought for a moment, realizing that she had no choice, she nodded her head in agreement.


    "Fine, let''s work together. I''m Pourpre."


    The woman extended her hand, which Silva shook with a satisfied smile.


    "I''m Silv."


    "That''s not my real name by the way."


    "And neither is mine."


    The woman left while Silva returned to her group. Neige and Sepide leaned toward her, waiting to hear what happened.


    "Now we just have to wait and this nice lady will get us the card."


    "Did you blackmail her?"


    "I convinced someone to commit a crime in two minutes, of course I blackmailed her."


    "But can we trust her?" Asked Sepide "And also, shouldn''t we take care of it ourselves?"


    "I don''t think it matters much. This world was supposed to be destroyed so I suppose it should revert to its original state soon enough, right Neige?"


    "I wonder..."


    Neige still was unsure about the state of this world, the reasons behind its existence were still unknown and he had no way to know whether it was even safe to stay here.


    "Silv, your card."


    The woman''s voice interrupted Neige in his thoughts. Silva was about to take the card that was handed to her but was denied it at the last moment.


    "I need something from you first."


    "I can still reveal to everyone about your drink poisoning."


    "It''s easy to throw evidence when someone warns you before. But don''t worry, it''s not a hard task. You''ll go see the CEO, right? Why else would you want a card if it wasn''t the case?"


    "What if we do?"


    The woman handed Silva a letter along with the access card she wanted.


    "Give him this letter, it''s really important."


    "Okay, I will."


    The woman nodded her head and left without another word. Neige checked the legitimacy of the card and threw the letter in the trash to the surprise of Sepide.


    "But what about our promise?"


    "Like she''d trust someone that threatened her with an important mission. There''s probably poison or something in the letter and expected us to open it out of curiosity."


    "But why would she do that? We''ll never meet again."


    "She''s an assassin." Answered Silva "She''d be ready to do anything to get fewer witnesses."


    "That''s... Scary... Everyone in this world seems so mean."


    "That''s what money and power do to people. I wonder if Kairo lived in that situation all his life..."


    Seeing the sadness in her friend, Silva hit firmly Neige''s back to get him out of his thoughts.


    "Come on, even if he didn''t he would still say weird philosophical stuff about the reason for our existence."


    "I don''t think it was really weird but... Yeah, I need to stop thinking about it. Let''s go, we should leave now."


    The group left the room before they would get caught, hoping they''d get closer to their friend.


    On their way to the elevator, a familiar girl with ginger hair ran toward them in haste. Neige was about to say something but got immediately cut off by her words.


    "Hey, are you against Silv?"


    "Yes, you''re the girl that''s always with her lately."


    "Emel, yeah. You need to help me! I escaped from her." The girl nervously looked around, trying to search for something "We should go somewhere safer, there''s a small room nearby, let''s talk there."


    Neige and Sepide were about to follow her but reconsidered when they saw Silva staying behind, thinking for a moment.


    "Emel... You''re Emely''s other self."


    "I... Guess? I don''t know who''s Emely."


    "It''s funny, there are some things you share."


    "That''s great Silv two, can we leave now?"


    "When you''re about to lie you clench your fist and take a deep inspiration."


    Silva''s friend took a step back from the girl after hearing their friend''s words, ready to draw their weapons.


    "What? Maybe it''s like that for your Emely but not for me."


    Neige pulled his dagger and prepared to fight when he saw that Silva was right. The girl just clenched her fist by reflex and took a deep inspiration. Seeing that the group didn''t believe her, Emel took a step back with terror in her eyes.


    "Why are you ganging up on me? I''m the victim here!"


    "Don''t worry, we''ll just bring you to our ship. You''ll be safe and-"


    "What? That wasn''t the plan!"


    "Which plan?"


    Emel put her hands on her mouth, realizing that she said too much. Before she could get away Neige grabbed her and handcuffed her while she complained loudly.


    "I''m innocent! I swear! I''m too young to die!"


    "Then you should come with us, Silv is way more dangerous than us."


    Neige called his leader while Silva and Sepide made sure that their new prisoner wouldn''t escape. Silva poked her face for a while, annoying Emel.


    "Can you stop?"


    "My Emely is better."


    "My Silv doesn''t touch me against my consent! Well, she kinda did when she kidnapped me but... That doesn''t count."


    Sepide approached Emel with curious eyes for a moment, making her prisoner uncomfortable.


    "I don''t understand, are you with or against Silv?"


    "Against! Against!" Emel insisted on her words. Silva continued to poke her face and spoke up at her loud words.


    "She''s lying."


    "What do you mean!? She kidnapped me, of course I''m against her! I''m not lying!.. Am I?"


    The girl calmed herself, lost in her mind. His call finished, Neige came back toward them to announce to them what the leader told him.


    "I''ll bring her on the ship, they''ll take care of her. You can continue without me, I''ll be here again soon."


    The two members nodded their heads and followed Neige''s order. They gave Emel to him despite her complaints and continued higher in the building.

 Chapter 103: Its The Moment

    "This vermin can''t listen to basic orders..."


    Silv stood up from the couch she was sitting on, waiting for Emel''s return. Once she realized the Kronos''s team caught her, she walked around the room, thinking of a solution.


    "It''s annoying, I guess I''ll need to go save her now. I don''t have much time though, I need to get her before they finish with Kairo..."


    With Silva''s former watch, Silv prepared herself to save her friend from the trouble she got into.


    "She''s not my friend..."


    Sepide and Silva made their way to the higher parts of the buildings. They could feel they were close, the roof only a few floors above them. They found a calm place and called the ship, waiting for Emely''s voice to answer.


    *You managed to make your way to the offices. That''s where it gets complex, only a few select persons can get the last grade of access cards, the VIP grade. There is sadly no one available so... The only way to get the card will be to ask the CEO himself for it.*


    "Is it even possible?" Asked Sepide "How can we reach him?"


    *It''s not going to be easy but he is out of his office right now. He''s apparently on the same floor as you are, you just need to find him. The problem is convincing him now...*


    "Don''t worry, we''ll deal with this! What does he look like?"


    *I know you can Silva! You''ll recognize him, he''s in a black suit, always a cigar in his mouth. His name is Orion Aspro. Neige just arrived, he''ll come join you as soon as possible.*


    "Alright, let''s get this card."


    Silva cut the call and immediately went toward the worker''s offices with Sepide, determined to find this man and get to Kairo.


    The two friends managed to make their way around without being suspected of anything. They imagined more people would ask what they were doing here but everyone seemed focused on their work, barely reacting to anything else. Silva tried asking some people for directions but didn''t get any answer, they all ignored her and treated her like a nuisance. After a few minutes of asking around, a man came toward them and called them with an authoritative voice.


    "Hey you two, why aren''t you working?"


    He had a cigar in his hand along with a fancy black uniform. His imposing figure was towering over the two friends who stayed silent for a short moment at the man''s words. Silva took a deep breath and prepared herself for the conversation to come.


    "Are you the CEO, Onion Aspro?"


    "Orion Aspro, do you even work here? Everyone should know my name."


    The man looked clearly annoyed at Silva''s behavior, he was already ready to leave but was stopped by Sepide before he could.


    "Sir, we would like to access the roof please, can you let us get there?"


    "The roof? What''s happening there? You''re the fourth person to ask today, I''m not going to let you. You should go back to work now, I have no use for inefficient workers."


    "Fourth?" Asked Silva "Who else asked?"


    "Does it really matter?" The man looked at Silva and suddenly took a step back in horror. He instantly went on his knees and prayed to her, surprising the two friends "Lady Silv! I didn''t recognize you. I thought you were over with your business there! I''ll guide you to the roof!"If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Thanks, finally the respect I deserve!" Silva took a satisfied smile while the man gave him a card.


    "Take my card, you can give it to me later."


    "Wait, why are you submitting to her?" Asked Sepide with curiosity.


    "You can''t understand, she''s a better person than most people here."


    "Better?" Sepide seemed unconvinced by the man''s words, who visibly lost patience.


    "It doesn''t matter, you got what you need."


    "Wait, explain to her." Silva said with a fakely offended tone "I won''t let you treat my assistant like that."


    "Yes, Lady Silv! Right away!"


    "So that''s how Silv feels, it''s not that bad." Silva muttered to herself with a chuckle.


    "Lady Silv has ties with important political figures, she''s a highly important person. Furthermore..." The man looked at Silva with fear in his eyes. It was brief but long enough for Sepide to notice "If she says something, you listen to her. Her influence reaches far beyond anything we can imagine."


    "So she''s basically controlling this world."


    "You could say that, yes. She must have worked hard to get where she is now and I respect her for that. I wish my son could be the same as her..."


    "Kairo?" Asked Silva.


    "Right, I forgot you know each other. He''s obviously far from your level. If only he tried doing something with his life..."


    "But... Kairo always tried his best. Sure he may be a bit harsh on him sometimes and make mistakes, but it''s because he wants to..." Silva paused for a moment and put her hand on her chest, grabbing the fabric of her clothes "... Be useful..."


    "Well, he''s not. For me, he''s nothing more than a disappointment. I thought he''d take over the company when he''s ready but he''s not even enough to be part of my family."


    "Apologize to him."


    The man was surprised by Silva''s cold words. He couldn''t figure out whether she was serious or not.


    "Lady Silv, are you kidding? You said that he-"


    "I changed my mind, apologize."


    The man felt insulted and let out a frustrated sigh before answering.


    "I apologize, Lady Silv."


    "Apologize to Kairo."


    "I... Apologize to Kairo..."


    "Good boy. If you knew how bad you made him feel all these years, even after leaving you, he still blamed himself for not being enough. If I could, I''d send you to hell."


    Silva took her friend''s hand and left the terrified man alone, heading toward the roof.


    The door to the roof was right there, waiting to be opened. The two friends decided to wait for Neige to arrive. Sepide took this opportunity to ask Silva about what happened earlier.


    "Did you... Really mean what you said earlier? You looked furious."


    "Yeah, he reminded me of my parents... I didn''t know Kairo was going through that, he said he was just a worthless guy without a job so I assumed he didn''t want to talk about it."


    The area stayed silent. Seeing the stress her friend was living, Sepide stood next to her and tried to comfort her.


    "Are you alright Silva? Neige and I can deal with him if you want."


    "No... I need to. Even if I empathize with him and that we have been friends for years... I can''t forgive him for the path he took. I''ll stop him and put an end to the weak me of before."


    The sound of someone approaching cut their conversation short. They were relieved to see their friend Neige finally here.


    "Everything is alright? You have the card?"


    Silva proudly showed the access card of the CEO, bringing a smile to her friend.


    "Great, let''s go then. It''s time to get it over with."


    Neige took the card and swiped it on the door toward the roof. His hand was placed on the handle of the door, gripping it forcefully. He already knew how this would end, Kairo was too far gone and wouldn''t join them again. The man''s eyes closed themselves as Neige was trying to regulate his respiration. The gentle touch of Sepide on his back got him out of his thoughts, realizing that his friends were waiting for him.


    "Neige... Are you alright?"


    Staring at the handle, Neige couldn''t think of an answer. He silently pushed the door to the roof and the three friends put foot outside. The rain was strong, with Kairo standing there, looking at the moon. With his firearm already in hand, he turned toward the group with a heavy heart and spoke through the sound of the rain.


    "Do you remember this night Neige?"


    "How could I forget?" Neige softly spoke, holding the handle of his dagger.


    "Four years ago... Before, four years were nothing. A week would pass, and without knowing how, a year of my life passed in front of my eyes... But somehow, those four years felt like a lifetime. I felt like I had friends, a family, a goal."


    "What happened Kairo? Why did you give up on all of that?"


    Kairo harshly looked at Neige, a sharp pain resting in his eyes.


    "Because it''s all a lie. A story carefully crafted by a creator, is it a life worth living?"


    Silva stepped forward with caution, the rain hindering her senses.


    "Fudge this creator! We''ll live our own lives, we''re not going to submit to this being!"


    A soft smile appeared on Kairo''s face. The rain mixed with the tears on his face as he struggled to even speak.


    "I''m not as strong as you... I wish I was."

 Chapter 104: Kairo

    "Gwyn, are you sure you want to come? It''s dangerous."


    Neige looked at their new member with concern. It was the first time she would actually go on a mission and weren''t sure about how this world would be.


    "You said someone''s still alive there, right? I have medical training, I can be useful."


    Neige hesitated a bit before looking over at his friend and leader, waiting for her answer.


    "I mean... In other missions we did you stayed on the ship, maybe it''s safer that way for you."


    "Polyetta, please. Just this once."


    The two friends conceded at Gwyn''s tenacity. The doctor couldn''t hide her smile right away and quickly tried to remove any trace of excitation on her face.


    Once they were ready, they headed toward the destroyed world with the sole survivor.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group ended up in a dimly lit room. It looked like it was the reception room of a hotel of some kind. The paintings on the wall as well as the fancy red carpet on the floor were in a sad state, barely resembling their former self. But the most surprising sight was the main entrance behind them. The glass doors revealed a city behind it, entirely flooded underwater.


    "Looks like we don''t have many choices, we need to go up."


    Gwyn and Polyetta both agreed and followed Neige toward the upper floors.


    As the group progressed in the rubble of this former fancy building. The windows continued to show the submerged sight of the city. Gwyn stopped for a moment, fascinated by the scenery.


    "This world did end because of a great flood... How could someone survive?"


    "It''s true that it seems unlikely anyone did. This world had been in this state for a month now." The leader approached the window, staring at the scene in front of her "We need to continue, there''s no time to waste."


    Her two members agreed and climbed the stairs, getting to the upper floors of this tall building.


    The three friends made their way to the roof. The water reached their ankles, the rain was pouring violently and the wind blowing harshly. A man stood amidst this chaos, staring at the moon. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn''t alone and turned toward the group with surprise.


    "W-Who are you? I''ve never seen you before!"


    "We should go inside first." Neige handed his hand to the man, trying desperately to keep his balance. The stranger doubted and took a step back instead, getting farther away from them.


    "Does it really matter? Can''t you see that this is the end?"


    "It''s only the end once you give up."


    Despite Neige''s words, the man hesitated. Seeing that it was leading to nowhere, Neige forcefully took the man''s hand and headed safely inside.


    The group stared at the man, taking their time to calm down from what happened. Gwyn soon checked the man''s body to search for any injuries. While she was doing so, Neige took a notebook out of his pocket and asked questions to the man.


    "So, what''s your name?"


    "I''m... Kairo. Who are you all? You look like you''re homeless."


    "Excuse us, we''re a bit too busy to take care of our clothes!"


    Neige tried to note in his notebook but quickly realized that the water from the rain ruined everything. Polyetta approached the man and sat next to him.


    "I''m Polyetta. I''m the leader of a group called the Kronos, we explore different worlds and fix the balance of the universe."


    "Other... Worlds?" The man named Kairo looked at the ground in shock. The group figured it wouldn''t be easy to convince him but were surprised by his reaction "If it''s true... Then I can still be useful. I can find the reason for my existence... It''s not over yet!"


    "Calm down." Gwyn said while ensuring his well-being "We''ll need to bring you to the ship first, we''ll explain everything there."


    The group prepared everything to get back to their headquarters. Kairo had trouble believing in other worlds but saw it as a new opportunity to prove himself.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Even if it will cost me my life, I''ll be useful..."


    Silva, Sepide, and Neige were standing in the rain, facing their former member. Neige pointed his dagger at his former friend, asking one last time in hope,


    "Kairo, will you surrender?"


    "Of course not."


    Kairo took his firearm in hand and pointed it at Silva who answered by doing the same.


    "Silva! I''m sure you understand me! We were told all our lives to fit the mold that doesn''t fit us! Our parents never cared about us, only about the things that we could bring!"


    "How... Do you know about my past?"


    "We are without a family! Eternal loners that can''t reach peace in this imperfect world!"


    Silva stayed silent for a few seconds before gripping tightly her firearm and staring at her friend with determination.


    "You''re wrong! I have a family! Even if we don''t share the same blood, our souls share the same hue of color!"


    "So you would rather keep on living in this universe than meet our creator?"


    "Our creator can go screw itself! I''m going to make this world mine and keep on living!"


    Before Kairo could answer, Silva shot precisely despite the distracting rain and managed to disarm him. Seeing the opportunity, Neige approached his old friend, only stopping once Kairo took out his laser shortsword.


    "I took my own arm with it, I can take a life! You better not come any closer."


    Kairo had a slight satisfied smile on his face but Neige felt that something was weird about it. It was almost like Silva''s words made him happy. Before Neige could inquire further, his former friend pointed his weapon at Sepide and wiped the smile off his face.


    "Sepide! I heard your story, you weren''t born the same as us. How does it feel to have been created for a single role? Don''t you want to face the creator of this universe and prove your existence?"


    Sepide took her firearm in hand with hesitation. Not wanting to hurt him but not letting him have a chance to hurt Neige either.


    "I am more than what I was created for. I may not know what I want to do but my hesitation is proof that I am not limited to my goal!"


    "How can you reach happiness if you don''t know what you want? I could help you meet our creator!"


    "I have no interest in that being, only in myself and the people I care for! I will keep on living and prove my legitimacy in this world!"


    After Sepide said those words, Neige could see a faint smile on his friend''s face once more. Kairo took a sudden step forward, forcing Sepide to shoot to disarm Kairo, dropping his weapon to the ground. His dagger in hand, Neige managed to get close to his old friend. Kairo took his own dagger to face Neige. The two men had their weapons on each other''s throats, a movement away from the other''s death.


    "Kairo, you''re under arrest for-"


    "Neige, don''t you want to save everyone?" Neige''s eyes widened, taken aback by Kairo''s words "If you met our creator, if you took its place... Everything would be different."


    "I wish I could... I wish that I could prevent blood from spilling. That I could prevent the pain from everyone''s past. That I could guarantee a better future. I wish, but..."


    "But?"


    Neige swallowed his saliva, feeling the cold blade against the skin of his neck.


    "I can''t prevent Silva''s past, I can''t provide a safe future for Sepide... I couldn''t save Shiro... I can''t save you..."


    "Neige, you could change everything. You can still save everyone. You just have to follow me and together, we''ll change the world. In an instant, we could destroy everything and build anew! We could finally meet our creator and understand the meaning of our lives!"


    "I''m going to change the world, in my own way. I don''t need to know the meaning of my life, I''ll keep on living for my friends. I won''t be able to change everything, but I''ll do my best for that."


    "So you refuse my proposal? You won''t rebuild this world and stay in this imperfect universe?"


    "This imperfect universe is my home. It may not be perfect but it''s where all of my friends are."


    Kairo put his dagger on the ground, a satisfied smile fully appearing on his face.


    "So you know what you''re fighting for now. I envy you."


    The man stepped back and looked at the moon with nostalgia.


    "When I was a kid, I wanted to travel. I listened to a nursery rhyme as a child, it was about a boy going to the moon and meeting new friends there. He would then go to Mars and meet new people and continue like that for every planet. I wanted to be that kid, seeing what was on the other side of the universe. The song doesn''t have an end but I think it should have one."


    Kairo turned toward Neige. Silva and Sepide went next to him to listen to his words full of sorrow.


    "The boy should go to the moon and stay with his friends. If you keep chasing an eternal goal, then you''ll never be able to rest. Sadly, that song doesn''t have an end... And neither do I."


    Kairo took his friend''s hand holding the dagger and pointed the blade of the dagger to his chest. The two girls seemed shocked but Neige seemed to know it would happen.


    "Neige, it''s time to end this once and for all. If you don''t, I will continue going from planet to planet, never satisfied with my life. You can''t save everyone, but you can sacrifice a life to save many others."


    "You... Really won''t change back to how you were before?"


    "I was always like that... Unable to enjoy the most precious thing of all."


    Neige knew what he had to do and yet, couldn''t resort to do it. His hand shook despite his best effort to stay calm only calming when Silva''s hand laid on his.


    "You don''t have to do it alone, your friends are here!"


    Silva smiled at Neige while Sepide put her hand on theirs too, trying to sound reassuring as well.


    "He was your friend, right? It''s normal that you''re scared but I''m here for you."


    Neige took a deep breath and gripped his dagger tightly before pushing the blade onto Kairo''s chest. A strand of blood came out of his smiling mouth as Neige pulled his dagger back out, the blade covered with the red liquid.


    "You really made great friends Neige. You did better than I ever could... I''m proud of you... Of you all."


    Kairo looked at the moon one last time. He squinted his eyes, trying to see something that only he could see.


    "Opal?.. You have such a warm smile..."


    With his last breath exiting his body, the man fell to the ground, his blood mixing in the water of the rain. The three friends stayed silent, looking at their former friend''s body on the ground. No one wanted to say anything, letting the sound of the heavy rain fill this world.

 Chapter 105: Grief

    The three friends returned to the ship after their hard mission. Everyone stayed silent, unable to find what to say, but even if they wanted to, they didn''t have the strength to. Neige walked away toward his room, quickly followed by Silva. Emely was about to follow her friend but was stopped in her tracks by the leader.


    "They... Just need time."


    Sepide looked at her two friends leaving. She considered going with them but decided to give them time. When she looked around, she noticed that the doctor wasn''t there and turned toward the leader to ask,


    "Where is Gwyn?"


    "She''s with Remiel, they''re trying to get information from our new prisoner."


    "I want to go see her, can I?"


    The leader was a bit taken aback by Sepide''s sudden demand but figured that if Gwyn and Remiel were with her it should be alright.


    "They''re in the cells."


    Sepide went there immediately. The leader had some concerns about it but quickly brushed off her bad thoughts.


    Gwyn noted in her notebook under the attentive eye of Uriel. Emel was waiting in her cell, hoping to be let out.


    "What is your relationship with Silv?"


    "She kidnapped me! We''re enemies!"


    "Neige said that apparently you were lying to them, for what purpose?"


    "I didn''t lie! I really hate Silv!"


    "Do you feel any empathy for her? Because of her past or because of the way people treat her for example."


    "Well... I don''t think she''s that bad. If everything went differently she wouldn''t have to do any of that."


    "I understand."


    Gwyn wrote in her notebook. Before she could ask another question, Sepide arrived suddenly and stared at Emel. A fit of unusual anger filled her as she grabbed the bars of the cell and almost yelled at the girl.


    "What does Silv want?"


    "Eh? Why would I know? She just brings me around."


    "Where is she?"


    Gwyn placed her hand on Sepide''s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.


    "Sepide, calm down. I already asked that, she doesn''t seem to know."


    Sepide turned back toward Emel. Despite Gwyn''s presence, she wasn''t calmer than when she arrived.


    "I don''t want her to hurt anyone else. I need to stop her or else... She''ll do horrible things."


    "You say that like everything is her fault..." Emel said, visibly scared of Sepide.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "I saw her hurt my friends. I don''t want them to be hurt anymore so please... Help us..."


    Emel stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking up.


    "She wants to join your group."


    Sepide and Gwyn looked at each other in surprise, waiting for their prisoner to continue.


    "I don''t know why, she''s obsessed with your Silva. She keeps saying she wants to replace her and be the main character or something."


    "Why didn''t you tell us?" Asked Gwyn, ready to note her words.


    "I just... I knew you wouldn''t understand."


    "You... Understand her?"


    "I''ve been with her long enough to know that she''s not the monster you think, you could give her a chance to see first?"


    Sepide gripped the bars tighter, it would hurt usually but the adrenaline she felt calmed the pain.


    "The first time I saw her, she tied up my friend and took her place. Every time after that, she was only hurting Silva and trying to kill us... Everyone... They all have been hurt enough, I don''t want that to happen to them anymore."


    The room stayed silent for a long moment. Sepide couldn''t manage to stay here any longer and left. Gwyn turned toward Remiel and gestured that they should leave as well. Seeing everyone leaving, Emel stood up and raised her voice.


    "Hey! You forgot me! Can you get me out of here?"


    "Sorry, but I deemed that you could be dangerous. We''ll discuss your case later."


    "Fine! I know Silv will come get me anyway because she''s a good person!"


    The long night passed. Silva woke up from a nightmare, reliving last night in her mind. Feeling that she would do something bad to herself if she stayed alone, she decided to get out of her room and head toward Emely''s lab. What she wasn''t expecting was for half of the ship to be here. Aside from Emely, Neige, and Ina, everyone was in the lab. They all seemed panicked when they saw Silva, almost like they were hiding something.


    "What''s happening? You''re doing an orgy?"


    "What is an orgy?"


    Before Silva could answer the robot''s question, the leader immediately redirected the conversation.


    "Silva! We decided to... Hang out here for no reason and-"


    "Emely was kidnapped." Sepide bluntly answered Silva''s question, leaving her in shock. The leader gave a slight tap on Sepide''s head with an annoyed face. Silva''s heart suddenly raced, and despite the sudden discomfort in her chest, she managed to ask for details.


    "Where is she? Who did this?"


    "We think that Silv came to get back Emel but confused her with her other self. And as for where... Only Emely knows how to operate the program to locate watches. For now, we should find Neige and-"


    Ignoring her leader, Silva left the lab in a hurry.


    "I told you not to tell her Sepide."


    "I felt bad for hiding it from her..."


    Silva ran as fast as she could toward the cells. Emel was waiting there, bored from the loneliness of this empty room. When she noticed Silva come to her, she knew it wasn''t Silv but was happy to get some company.


    "Hey, can I-"


    "You''re Emely''s other self, can you locate watches?"


    "I can''t really... I guess if I had time and wasn''t stuck in this room I could but..."


    "Damn Silv."


    Silva walked in circles, frantically searching for a solution in front of Emel''s eyes. The metallic footsteps of Remiel woke her from her thoughts. The robot ignored the prisoner and went toward Silva.


    "Silva, are you alright?"


    "I just want to make sure Emely is safe..."


    Remiel seemed to hesitate, or maybe she was calculating something. Either way, after some time passed, she gave an answer to the worried girl.


    "Emely built a tracking system in me, just in case anything happens."


    "Can you find her?" Silva asked, full of hope.


    "Yes, but I can only find the world she''s in. I''m not as advanced as the program she uses usually so I don''t know where exactly she is."


    "Great! Let''s go then!"


    "Shouldn''t we wait for the others?"


    "I don''t have time for that, but..."


    Silva wondered for a moment what was the best course of action. She knew she should wait for Neige and the leader, and yet, she knew her heart wouldn''t rest until she did something. Her mind quickly glanced at the girl in the cell with an idea in mind.


    "I''ll give them a message with our location. We should take Emel, we can maybe trade her with Emely."


    "Are you treating me like an asset?"


    "It''s not my fault if your friend can''t discern you from your other self. We need to go now, who knows what kind of stuff she might be doing to Emely..."


    Remiel nodded her head and took Emel''s hand.


    "We need to go to the world 11081999x."


    "The anomaly''s world... What is she doing here?"

 Chapter 106: Warm Rain

    Neige walked around the ship, still not recovering from what happened that day. Everything reminded him of his old friend. The place where they used to sit together, the coffee machine they took breaks at, and even just walking in the hallway was too much for him. Just this once, he decided to sneak out in the middle of the night to Kairo''s world, one last time.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    When he arrived, everything was in the same state as his first visit. Disaster struck in just a few hours, the city was flooded, and the inside of the building was in ruins. It was like this day was just a dream, that nothing happened. But even despite the hope he held that his friend was still alive, Neige already accepted this truth.


    With a heavy heart, Neige made his way to the roof. The rain was still pouring heavily but was this time accompanied by the voice of a woman, singing in a religious voice. Instead of Kairo, a nun was on her knees, praying and singing a hymn. She stood up silently and walked toward Neige, who recognized her instantly.


    "Ada? What are you doing here?"


    "I was praying for his soul. I can only hope he reaches a haven."


    Neige stared at the moon, clenching his fist under the cold rain. The nun noticed his sorrow, looking at the sky as if all hope was lost.


    "Neige... You can cry, it''s natural..."


    "I don''t think I''ve ever let a tear out of my eye... I don''t think I''m able to."


    The nun approached him but kept a safe distance, seeing Neige still distrusted her.


    "It pains me to see your suffering. I want to create a perfect world for us, a world where we could be happy forever."


    "No thanks, Kairo tried to convince me of the same thing."


    "I know but I''m not asking you. We both reached an answer to our questions and I hope that despite our differences... You won''t hate me."


    "You can try to force me but I won''t yield."


    Neige gave his hand to the anomaly, taking her aback. When she held his hand, Neige took it firmly with a smile.


    "Let''s both fight for our worlds then, Ada."


    The woman chuckled before letting go of Neige''s hand.


    "You''re really like my Neige! I''ll make you happy, whether you want it or not."


    "Try all you want, I''ll stop you every time."


    Ada and Neige stayed silent for a few minutes until a voice suddenly called Neige. The two were surprised and quickly recognized the voice. The figure of Ina presented itself, making its way to the roof.


    "Neige! There you are!"


    "Ina? Are the others here?"


    "No... I came alone."


    Neige was surprised, it was odd to see her outside of the ship, especially alone. What surprised him even more was Ada''s reaction, her eyes were wide open, filled with horror and despair.


    "N-Nia!? Is that you?"


    Ina stared at Ada while tilting her head, visibly confused.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "I believe you''re mistaken, I''m Ina, Neige''s friend. And you are?" Ina made a bright smile, which seemed to scare the nun even more, even making her step back.


    "No one, I''ll leave!"


    The anomaly vanished in front of their eyes in a dark fog. Ina looked at Neige with remorse in her gaze, rubbing her hand uncomfortably.


    "I hope I didn''t cause any trouble to your friend..."


    "No, don''t worry. It was the anomaly."


    "The anomaly? The one that we''re fighting against?"


    Neige answered by nodding his head, surprising Ina.


    "She looks so kind, how can that be?"


    "It looked like she knew one of your other selves."


    "You''re right. What did she say, Nia? Have you met someone like that in one of your adventures?"


    Neige thought for a moment. He remembered seeing this name before in the skull-shaped cavern, it was one of the names of the Goddess Of Death.


    "I can''t recall meeting one before."


    "I hope this Nia didn''t cause problems for this nun, she looked quite troubled."


    "She did..."


    Neige couldn''t help but think that Ada knew something about the Goddess Of Death. But instead of thinking about it, his focus quickly shifted toward Ina, standing next to him.


    "What are you doing here? It could have been dangerous!"


    "I''m sorry Neige, I felt like you shouldn''t be alone."


    The two friends looked at the flooded city together. Ina stopped at the edge of the building, staring at the infinite horizon.


    "I''m sure Kairo is in a better place now..."


    "How can you know?"


    "I don''t really, it''s just something you say. I''ve never been good to comfort people..."


    Neige placed his hand on her back, trying his best to smile.


    "You''re doing well, don''t worry."


    The sound of the rain was the only thing that could be heard. Ina placed her hands on her chest and slightly frowned her eyebrows.


    "I never knew Kairo much. But I have the feeling that he''s fine, wherever he is." Ina chuckled softly at herself before continuing "It''s strange, I''m the one that people comfort usually, I''m not used to taking that role."


    "You won''t need to get used to it, no one else will die."


    "I... Hope..."


    Neige noticed Ina''s change on her face. She appeared less confident than usual and spoke gloomily.


    "Shiro, now Kairo... Maybe I really am cursed."


    "You won''t always be, we''ll stop that curse, I promise."


    "I don''t want to cause problems to anyone... Maybe I should just leave."


    "If you leave, we''ll search for you. And if you''re not here, Silva will be the one to cook."


    "Don''t worry, Sepide can take care of it... I still think about my family, about the children at the orphanage, the old people I took care of... If they never met me, would their fate be different?"


    "Ina... Don''t think about it. And now it''s over, everyone on the ship is glad to have you. None of those are your fault."


    "I''m not sure..." Ina suddenly flinched before taking an embarrassed smile while looking at Neige "I''m so sorry! I should be the one comforting you."


    "It''s hard for everyone. We should go back on the ship now, the day is almost here."


    "You''re right, we wouldn''t want to worry the others. And we''ll be sick if we stay here."


    Neige prepared his watch and took Ina''s hand, making her blush slightly.


    "Neige, you''re a great person. I''m sure the woman that will get you will be a lucky one."


    "She''ll be more than lucky, being chosen by an asexual who has no interest in love is quite a feat."


    "You''re... Not interested in love?" Ina asked with a disappointed tone.


    "Yeah, don''t worry you''re not alone, you''re the third person on the ship I reject."


    "I ''m not interested in you, don''t worry haha." Ina said with a chuckle, trying to fool Neige.


    "That''s great then."


    Neige smiled softly as Ina pouted for a moment, looking away from Neige.


    "Not even a little bit?"


    "Not at all."


    "That''s a shame... Wait, the third one?"


    "Not bad, huh?" Neige said with a satisfied smile "I wonder if it''s because I look like a girl."


    "So the leader would be the first one, right?"


    "Not really, we never saw each other that way."


    "Well, I know for sure Shiro is one of the two others."


    "Why is everyone saying that? He wasn''t in love with me."


    "So there were more than two others that had their heart broken."


    "It doesn''t matter now!" Neige seemed flustered, amusing Ina "Let''s go back now! I''m cold."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Neige and Ina arrived on the ship, all damped from the rain. They were on their way to their room to get new clothes when they suddenly saw the leader run in the hallway. The woman seemed in a hurry but still found the time to stop at their sight.


    "Where were you? We searched for you everywhere!"


    "I just needed some time alone and Ina joined me."


    "Ina joined you... In your alone time..." The leader squinted her eyes at the cook before shaking her head "We have more important, Emely was kidnapped!"


    "What!? By who?"


    "Silv, I think she tried to get Emel but got the wrong one."


    "Do we know where they are?"


    "I''m about to use the diary to find her but what''s more worrying is that Silva and the robot disappeared, along with Emel."


    "Silva... I hope she''s not going to make a mistake."

 Chapter 107: For Emely

    Silv drew on a piece of paper, under the bored look of Emely tied up at a tree. The young engineer struggled for a while to get out of there but eventually gave up. She tried to peek at the drawing her abductor made but couldn''t see despite her best efforts.


    "What are you drawing?"


    Silv let out an annoyed sigh, already annoyed by Emely''s voice.


    "Are all Emels annoying like that?"


    "I''m just trying to kill time, geez."


    "Your lover is so slow, doesn''t she want to save you?"


    "Silva will come, I''m sure!"


    The two girls stayed silent again. Emely couldn''t help but stare at the snowflakes, frozen in place. Not only that, but the world seemed devoid of life, giving an eerie and creepy atmosphere.


    "Why did you choose this world?"


    "I needed somewhere calm for my plan. What I didn''t expect was that you were so fucking loud."


    "Hey, watch your tongue! That''s not a pretty word."


    "Stop yapping. You''re somehow more annoying than the one I had before you."


    "You attacked me! Why would I?"


    "I''m starting to think this wasn''t a good idea..."


    Silva and Remiel walked around the ruins of a town, bringing Emel with them. Silva didn''t have time to explore this world before, this whole place looked like it was from a dream. The eerie atmosphere didn''t help her calm down, only making her more worried for Emely. Remiel and Silva walked at a fast pace while Emel tried her best to keep up.


    "Can we go a bit slower? It''s hard to keep up when I''m tied up like that."


    Silva considered ignoring Emel''s demand but walked at a slightly slower pace, still in a hurry to find her friend. Remiel stopped suddenly and pointed her finger toward a forest.


    "I feel living beings toward this direction."


    "Is it Emely?"


    "I do not know."


    Silva went in the direction pointed out by Remiel. Emel did her best to keep up not wanting to make Silva even more mad.


    "I''m sure Silv will understand and will give your friend back, don''t worry!"


    Despite her attempt, Silva still seemed as mad as she was before, maybe even more now.


    "If she doesn''t give Emely back, I''m going to end things once and for all."


    "What!? You''re not going to kill her are you?"


    "Why shouldn''t I? I won''t let anyone be in danger anymore."


    "It''s just because you don''t know Silv, she has a great heart and-"


    "Shut up!"


    Silva stopped in her tracks as she yelled at Emel. She quickly realized that she let her emotions take over her and took a short moment to calm herself before walking again.


    "Aren''t you Silv''s other self? Can''t you see the good in her heart?"


    "It''s because she''s me that I know you can''t trust her."


    "I trust her." Emel replied with confidence "I know there''s a pure heart under this evil."


    "I don''t think there is..."


    Silva continued silently, following Remiel''s lead.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    After a long march, Silva and her group found Silv and Emely in the deep forest. Remiel stayed behind to restrain Emel, while Silva immediately pointed her firearm at her other self, her heart set.


    "Give back Emely."


    "I''m afraid I won''t." Answered Silv with a smile "It''s quite generous of you, you brought my assistant."


    "Isn''t she the one you wanted?"


    "Not really, I just needed a way to bring you here. I knew you wouldn''t leave your princess alone, in the claws of the main villain."


    "I''ll give you back Emel if you give me back Emely."


    Silv took a firearm out of her pocket and waved it around for a bit before pointing it at Emely, still tied to the tree.


    "How nice of Kairo, he took care of his weapon well for me."


    "If you shoot, it will be the end of you, you know that."


    "Yes." Silv readied her firearm with a dark smile on her face "I''ll make you fall Silva, you''ll fall into depths of yourself that you never reached before!"


    Not able to hold any longer, Silva shot at her enemy before she could do anything. Silv was able to step on the side easily due to SIlva''s intention and laughed maniacally.


    "I''ll take the most precious thing you have Silva! It''s over!"


    Silva hurried to stop Silv before she could shoot at Emely. Thanks to her attempt to disarm Silva, the bullet barely touched Emely''s cheek, cutting her in the process but leaving her safe from any harm. In an instant, Silva prepared herself to fire her gun at Silv but was stopped by a cold feeling in her chest. Everyone stayed silent, even Silv herself seemed to be taken by surprise.


    "Why didn''t you dodge?! That wasn''t supposed to happen!"


    Silva put her hand on the cold part of her chest to feel the hard metal of Silv''s blade. The deafening silence took place as she was about to fall in front of her, powerless.


    Silva couldn''t remember much of what happened. The soft sound of a piano woke her from the comfy bed she was on. It seemed like she was in a small room with a person in the middle. The mysterious figure pointed her hand in front of her, inviting Silva to sit on the chair. She wasn''t sure what happened but felt compelled to obey and sat in front of the person. The sound of hot water pouring into a cup surprised her, doubting if she should be there.


    "Hey, I''m sorry but I need to get back to my friends."


    The soft voice of a woman answered her, a familiar sound that Silva had trouble recognizing.


    "Do you want sugar?"


    Silva realized that the cup in front of her was tea. She felt like she should answer but wasn''t sure what to say.


    "I never had tea by I''ll take three sugar, like with my coffee."


    The woman put three sugar cubes in Silva''s cup and two in hers. She took her guest''s hand and placed softly her hand on the handle of the cup.


    "Be careful, the tea is hot."


    "Thanks."


    The two fell into silence once more. Silva tried to take a sip from the cup but was quickly discouraged by the heat of the liquid. After putting her cup down, she decided to ask the questions she had.


    "Where am I? Who are you?"


    "It''s my room, it''s not very organized but at least you can''t see it." The woman chuckled a bit before continuing "I have many names like Peolyetta, the Goddess, but you can call me Opal."


    "Opal? Are you..."


    Opal softly nodded her head with a smile.


    "Yes, I''m glad you remember me. But you are here for a specific reason Silva, the truth is, your life is at stake."


    "I can imagine... I didn''t think much when I faced Silv."


    "It''s only natural, a precious person was in danger. I would have reacted the same."


    "So... I''m dead?"


    "No, don''t worry. I wish you didn''t end up in danger but... I''m also glad that I can see you."


    "See me? Did I strike the eye of the Goddess?" Silva asked with a grin.


    "You could say that. I always considered you like my daughter... You really grew up in just a few years, both physically and mentally."


    Opal took a small sip from her cup, allowing Silva to ask another question.


    "Is Emely alright?"


    "She is, but she probably is terrified to see you in such a bad state."


    "I can imagine... Is there a way for me not to die?"


    "I could help you but I will ask for a favor. I want you to protect this universe. I''m afraid about the future and even though I promised to not intervene, I can''t stand here doing nothing while the world I created is on the brink of destruction."


    "So... You want me to keep doing what I did and protect this world."


    "Yes, it''s more symbolic since-"


    "I refuse."


    Opal was taken by surprise. She wasn''t sure if Silva misunderstood something and decided to repeat herself.


    "You just have to keep doing your job, I just wanted to see and give you a gift."


    "I only hold promises I won''t break. With all the respect I have for you, it''s not your world anymore. I''m going to change it and better it."


    The woman smiled softly, looking dearly at Silva.


    "You really are wonderful, may the future be kind to you."


    Opal threw a kind of metallic bloc to Silva, who managed to catch it before it fell.


    "What is that?"


    "You probably know someone talented with technology, I''m sure she''ll love it."


    "Whatever you say."


    Silva drank all the hot tea in her cup and grimaced once she ingested all the liquid.


    "That''s disgusting, I prefer coffee by far."


    Silva stood up, ready to leave. The Goddess took her in her arms one last time before letting her go. She was about to kiss Silva''s forehead but was stopped by the latter.


    "Hey, I already have a Goddess to kiss me, she''s the only one that can."


    Opal chuckled softly before letting go of Silva.


    "You''re right, you should go back to your ''Goddess'' now, she''s waiting for you."


    "Aren''t you a thousand-year-old or something? Don''t you think it''s creepy to bring innocent girls into your room?"


    "We both know you''re far from innocent."


    the two girls laughed cheerfully together. Silva headed toward the exit door and turned once more toward Opal.


    "I''m going to live my own life now! I''m not letting my dumb other self end it early!"


    "You''ll live a great life, I''m sure."


    Silva made a bright smile and finally left the room, heading back to save her friend. Opal stayed alone in her room, worried for the future.


    "Silva... Don''t die on me."

 Chapter 108: Safe Again

    Silva was standing motionless under everyone''s gaze, a knife in her chest. Emely stared at her friend with empty eyes, unable to process what just happened.


    "That''s a shame, I thought she would see my attack coming and dodge."


    Silv approached her other self with a disappointed look. Her hand reached for the knife in Silva''s chest to retrieve it but was suddenly punched before she had the chance. Everything happened so abruptly, it took a few seconds before everyone realized what happened. The empty look on Emely''s face transformed into a bright smile when she saw Silva fighting back.


    "Silva! Are you alright?"


    "As good as I can... It still hurts... Maybe I should have accepted Opal''s help..." Silva took a deep breath and turned toward Emely with an apologetic smile "I''m sorry, Neige told me that a gentleman shouldn''t worry a lady."


    "Don''t worry about me! As long as you''re alright, so am I!"


    A smile appeared on Silv''s face, glad to see her enemy standing up.


    "Ha! I knew you wouldn''t be dead just from that!"


    The girl with red hair quickly searched for her firearm but was interrupted by Silva, locking her arm. Emel ran toward Silva and pushed her away. She would usually be able to resist but the pain made it hard for her to focus and keep balance.


    "Wait! Maybe we can find a peaceful solution!"


    "Emel, you dumbass! You can see that she''s not going to listen!" Silv yelled at Emel "I''ll come back, Silva! I''ll prove to you that I am the real main character!"


    Silv took a ball from her pocket and threw it on the ground. A loud sound and a bright flash of lightning stunned everyone, taking a few minutes to get control back.


    Silva noticed that they had run away and quickly hurried toward her friend tied to the tree. Emely was finally free and immediately took Silva in her arms with tears in her eyes.


    "Silva... I''m so glad you''re here..."


    "Can we... Get emotional later?"


    "Oh... Right..."


    Silva''s outburst made Emely forget about the blade stuck in her chest. She turned toward Remiel and ordered her robot as soon as she could.


    "Remiel! Come help me!"


    To her surprise, Remiel was standing still, her eyes closed. When she got closer, she realized that something was wrong with her. She took the robot and Silva''s hand and hurried to return to the ship to get everyone into safety.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Silva was immediately brought to the med bay to be taken care of by Gwyn. Neige and Sepide were standing next to her, watching her sleeping. They could only feel concern for their friend and hope she was alright. They waited for a while until Gwyn finally explained Silva''s situation.


    "She''s not in danger. She should be alright soon."


    Neige let out a sigh of relief at Gwyn''s words.


    "That''s reassuring. I hope she''ll stop ending up here."


    "I can only hope the same..."


    Neige looked at his friend next to him for a moment. She was holding Silva''s hand and staring at her with concern. Silva finally opened her eyes in pain. She tried her best to stand up but had difficulties moving.


    "Ouch... What happened?"


    Neige hit her head, prompting Silva to put her hand on the part that her friend touched.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "You were being reckless, that''s what happened. We were all worried for you..."


    "It''s alright, I''m all-"


    Silva stopped when she put her foot on the ground, grimacing in pain. Gwyn searched for something in her notebook and shared her results with her patient.


    "You''ll have some trouble walking for a while, some important parts were hit."


    "You couldn''t say that before I tried?"


    "You couldn''t stay on the bed until I warn you? Don''t worry though, I''ll give you crutches and you should be fine. In a week you should be able to walk normally again."


    "A week? That''s like a year at least!"


    "But isn''t a year composed of 52 weeks?" Sepide asked with confusion.


    "I know... It was a joke."


    The doctor continued writing in her notebook before putting her back in her pocket.


    "Would you prefer a wheelchair instead?"


    "And being disabled? No thanks. I don''t even need crutches!" Silva tried to step out but was stopped once more by the pain "Okay... I''ll take the crutches..."


    "You should probably go see Emely, she was extremely worried. I had to get her out of here because she wouldn''t stop crying..."


    "Fine, I''ll go comfort this crybaby!"


    "Just one more thing, you''re not going on missions, neither Silva nor Neige."


    "Even me?" Neige asked with revolt in his eyes "I''m not the one that ended with a knife on my chest!"


    "At least people are touching my chest~" Silva said with a grin. Gwyn cleared her throat and explained her reasoning while ignoring Silva.


    "Your mental health has been heavily affected by what happened yesterday, you still need to recover.


    Neige rolled up his eyes before standing up.


    "Fine, I''ll just catch up on the new language I''m learning. You want us to help you, Silva?"


    The girl seemed tempted to refuse but ended up swallowing her pride and nodded her head.


    "Yeah... Thanks..."


    The three friends walked together at a very slow pace. Silva tried her best but was heavily slowed down by her recent wound.


    "I feel like a grandma... I can''t even understand where we are."


    "Why not? Can''t you use your blind superpower anymore?" Sepide asked with curiosity.


    "My blind superpower? It''s not that deep. You could probably learn how to feel your environment too if you trained. I mostly use the ground to feel where things are, along with other things like sound and wind. But I can barely hold my two feet on the ground now... I feel like I''m blind."


    "I was starting to think that you pretended to be blind all this time." Neige chuckled slightly, making her friend pout.


    "You literally saw me hit every wall of this ship in my first year here, how could you forget?"


    "When I see you aim and do backflips, I''m truly impressed by how far you''ve come. It''s easy to forget that you needed help with everything at the beginning."


    "It''s just how amazing I am!" Silva smiled proudly at Neige''s praise.


    Sepide was curious to know about Silva''s past on the ship. It felt weird for her to know that her friend wasn''t always the experienced member she is now.


    "Did Silva go on missions right after she joined the ship?"


    "It took her a year before she actually went on missions, and even then, it was mostly simple ones. We rarely had to fight or risk our lives... I''m really sorry it ended up like that Sepide, you deserved to at least have a few days to get used to your new life before being thrown on a mission."


    "It''s okay, it feels like it was so long ago. We made so many memories together since then..."


    "We''ll make plenty more!" Silva said with a cheerful smile "Maybe one of them will be visiting a maid cafe or something."


    "I think we should think about more... Appropriate memories."


    "Why''s that? I never said we need to do anything dirty there. What are you thinking of doing there Neige~?"


    Neige let out a sigh before smiling softly at his friend.


    "How did you make Emely fall for you? She''s the most innocent girl I know."


    "Maybe it''s because you don''t know her enough."


    "Don''t act like you talk about these kinds of things together, you both acted like it was the end of the world when you talked about porn."


    "Please... Don''t remind me of that..." Silva looked away from Neige so he couldn''t see her red face. Sepide looked at her with curiosity, trying to understand their relationship.


    "Did you kiss yet?"


    "W-Why are you asking that? I thought you were innocent!"


    "I wonder who could have taught her that." Neige chuckled softly while Silva was trying to think of an answer to her friend''s question.


    "Me and Emely are... Taking our time. We''re not even together! Just close friends."


    "Close friends that watch porn together."


    "We didn''t! Get these thoughts out of your mind!"


    Neige couldn''t help but laugh at Silva''s embarrassment. Even Sepide seemed amused at the situation.


    "I think I understand why you''re always trying to embarrass everyone, it''s pretty fun."


    "It''s not! I''m just embarrassed because you''re dragging Emely into it."


    "Don''t worry Silva. We''ll support you in everything you do. Take all the time you need with her."


    "Thanks, Sepide, you two are wonderful friends!" Silva smiled softly at her two friends, glad to be able to spend time with them after everything that happened.


    The group arrived in front of Emely''s lab. Silva didn''t understand why they stopped, not realizing they already arrived.


    "We''re at your girlfriend''s lab, you want us to help you enter?"


    "She''s not my girlfriend! I''ll manage don''t worry... I''ll just call you to help me get back to my room if Emely''s busy."


    "You can call us anytime."


    "Have fun Silva!"


    Neige and Sepide left Silva in front of the lab. She stayed there for a moment, reminiscing the time she spent with them before preparing herself to enter the room and see Emely.

 Chapter 109: The Bat and the Inventor

    Silva tried her best to open the door to Emely''s lab but had difficulties because of the crutches she needed to stand up. She regretted not asking her friends to open the door when she had the chance. As she put her weight on the heavy door to push it, Emely opened it, making Silva fall on her. Emely tried to catch her but stumbled backward and had to be helped by Remiel behind her. Everyone eventually managed to find their balance, embarrassing Silva a bit.


    "Sorry... I didn''t mean to fall on you..."


    "What are you talking about? And what happened to you? You need to rest."


    Emely and Remiel helped Silva sit on the desk. She seemed ashamed to need help, a sorrowful expression on her face.


    "I''ll need to stay a week like that..."


    "It''s just a week, we''ll help you with it. Especially now that Remiel is repaired."


    Silva looked at the robot, who looked as good as she was before.


    "What happened to her last time? She wasn''t moving at all."


    "There was an overload of energy. I think Emel had something that could overload her. What''s worrying is that it even disabled the M.L. system."


    "The... What?"


    Emely looked at Silva with a disappointed face and explained while pouting a bit.


    "It''s the system we use to travel through dimension, I explained it to you when I gave you the watch."


    "It was ages ago." Said Silva while rolling her eyes.


    "It was two years ago!"


    "Two years is a lot. So anyway, that means that Emel''s thing can disable our watches?"


    "It seems so... It''s not hard to repair but it''s still a problem."


    Emely looked at Remiel and noticed that her hand was raised. It seemed like she stayed like that for a while too.


    "What is it Remiel?"


    "Is creating a system that could prevent the overloading not possible?"


    "I could... It''s just a lot of work. Also, you don''t need to raise your hand to speak."


    "But you told me I had to raise my hand before speaking."


    "It was just during the test, don''t worry about it."


    Emely turned toward Silva and saw that she was raising her hand as well. The young engineer sighed before allowing Silva to talk.


    "What is it?"


    "Shouldn''t it be the M.L.E. system instead? It would be pronounced like your name then."


    "I didn''t do it because it sounds like my name, it''s just a coincidence. And don''t raise your hand before talking!"


    Emely looked back at her robot to see that her hand was raised again. She barely reacted and asked what Remiel had in mind.


    "What is it..."


    "I was just performing: Humor. By repeating a sentence or behavior, I create an amusing situation with the goal of bringing laughter and happiness."If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Hey, Remiel is getting smart! You can be proud of yourself Emely, it was funny."


    "You two are tiring me." Despite her words, Emely had a soft smile on her face. She looked at the time before talking to her robot "I think it''s time to go see Gwyn."


    "Gwyn? Is everything alright?" Silva asked with concern.


    "Oh, it''s not for me, it''s for Remiel. The leader wanted her to pass a basic psychological test before making her an official member of the ship. I''m sorry Silva, I wish I could have spent time with you."


    Remiel looked at the two girls together and processed the situation before articulating her thoughts to her creator.


    "I possess a map of the ship, besides, there are no threats. I should be able to easily make it to Gwyn."


    "But what if she needs me for something?"


    "You can trust me, I shall take care of everything. I do not wish to disturb your time with your friend."


    Remiel made a slight smile to assure Emely that everything would be alright. The engineer was tempted to still go but felt compelled to stay when she saw Silva with bandages and crutches sitting on her desk.


    "Alright... But call me if you need anything."


    "I will do!"


    Remiel left the room under Emely''s concerned gaze. Once she was out of the room, Silva slightly tapped her friend''s shoulder to cheer her up.


    "Kids grow too quickly."


    "I guess she is my child in a way." Emely sat next to Silva, who leaned toward her "I''m a bit worried to leave her alone but at the same time, I''m glad I get to be with you."


    "I''m glad too... I was so worried when you were kidnapped by Silv."


    Emely took her friend in her arms, softly caressing her arms.


    "I''m here now, we''re both safe. To be honest... You were badass back there."


    Sliva''s head faced the ceiling while she was reminiscing about her battle with Silv.


    "With a knife in my chest?"


    "Well... Yeah. You looked like you gave your all, just for me. I''m still not glad I ended up in that situation but... It made me feel special that you came for me."


    "Of course, I would! I''m not going to let my little inventor get in danger."


    "Little inventor..." Emely blushed at Silva''s words, glad to hear them "I''m glad my cute bat was there to save me."


    Silva smiled at her friend before suddenly remembering something. She took a small metallic cube that she threw at Emely.


    "Can you do something with that? Someone told me it could be useful."


    Emely took a look at the cube with curiosity. After a short moment, she jumped out of her desk with excitation and surprise in her voice.


    "Where did you get that!?"


    "A woman that brings younger girls in her room gave it to me."


    "A... What?" Emely shook her head, thinking it was one of Silva''s jokes, and continued staring at the cube "That''s Opalium!"


    "Opalium? What''s that?"


    "You don''t know? It''s the metal that Neige''s dagger is made of. It can even hurt the anomaly."


    "Neige has it too? I guess I wasn''t the only one that picked her interest..." Silva muttered to herself.


    "I''ll try making something out of it for you. I never worked with that kind of metal before, it''s extremely rare."


    "I don''t really care about it, you can do what you want with it."


    Emely placed the cube in one of her drawers and sat next to her friend once more. The two enjoyed the silence together for a while, resting from their last adventure. Silva slowly leaned more and more on her friend until she fell on Emely''s lap. Emely wasn''t sure how to react but noticed how sleepy Silva was and hesitated to caress her hair. She decided to not do it, afraid to make her friend uncomfortable.


    "Emely... We should go to another world someday, just the two of us..."


    "But, it''s against the rules. We need to be three."


    "We''ll get Remiel or something... I want to bring you to this cool world I saw last time..."


    "...I would love to."


    Emely caressed Silva''s hair softly, bringing a smile to her friend. Silva closed her eyes, her head resting on the warm lap of her friend.


    "It''s so soft... I want to stay like that forever..."


    "We''ll make sure you won''t need to risk your life anymore. For now, you''ll just have to be patient when you''re away."


    "Yeah... Do you think that... We''ll be able to stop Silv and the anomaly?"


    Emely stayed silent for a few minutes, answering with an uncertain voice.


    "Don''t think about it, you need to sleep for now."


    A few hours later, Remiel came back from her appointment with Gwyn. She was ready to share the good news with her creator but stayed silent when she saw the two girls sleeping together on the desk. Without making a sound, she went away and closed the door, not wanting to bother them. She ended up finding Neige and Sepide about to enter the lab. The two were surprised to see Remiel alone but quickly got an answer without even asking for one.


    "Emely and Silva are asleep. I believe it is better to not trouble them."


    "Yeah, they deserve to rest, for now at least. So, what will you do now?"


    Remiel stayed silent at Neige''s question, unable to provide an answer. The man noticed the hesitation of the robot and quickly talked to put an end to her inner panic.


    "Why don''t you come with us? We were just hanging around. We never got the chance to spend time together and I''m curious about you."


    "I believe that this could be an interesting idea." Remiel smiled slightly before taking a neutral expression again. Both she and Sepide followed Neige, she wasn''t sure where but was also interested in talking and spending time with someone else than Emely.

 Chapter 110: Old Times

    Remiel joined Sepide and Neige to eat at the cafeteria. She couldn''t eat anything due to her robotic body but still enjoyed the time spent with other people. Neige had been asking her diverse questions for a while now, trying to understand how she functioned exactly.


    "So can you talk other languages?"


    "I am sadly limited in that domain. I can only speak and understand Emely''s language but I am still equipped with a translator which allows me to communicate."


    "Technology is impressive, years of training and lessons rendered unnecessary thanks to it. It''s quite scary, my home world barely had technologies."


    "Oh, is that why you struggle with your phone Neige?" Sepide asked with curiosity "I always noticed how you seemed lost while using it."


    "Yeah, I don''t understand all this new stuff Emely is giving us. You were practically born with it but for me, it''s harder than learning a new language. It reminds me of when Silva used her mp3 player in front of me."


    "Mp3 player?" Sedide thought about every moment she had with Silva but was unable to find anything that could be an ''mp3 player'' despite her best efforts. Seeing her struggle, Remiel decided to intervene.


    "The mp3 player is a device used to listen to music and other audio. This was created in the year 1997 of Emely''s world."


    "1997!? That sounds so futuristic! But... Why do they use these? We can use our phones for that."


    "It''s because you don''t know the struggle we had. I remember that Silva said I was a dinosaur for using a walkman."


    Sepide looked at Remiel to wait for her explanation but to her surprise, even she seemed lost.


    "It seems I lack knowledge, what is a walkman?"


    "I thought you knew everything?"


    "I only know as far as my creator''s knowledge. I have not learned much since my creation."


    "I suppose I''ll need to show it to Emely later too then." Neige took a box bigger than his phone and put it on the table. He opened it and took the tape inside, showing it to his friends "I found it in Silva''s world, apparently it was very old in her world."


    Sepide took the tape with interest, looking at it from every angle.


    "Is this where the songs are?"


    "Yeah, this one has ten different songs. It''s a bit annoying to rewind it every time but it''s fun."


    "Rewind it?"


    Sepide and Remiel stared at Neige with confusion, visibly surprising him.


    "Don''t tell me you don''t know what a tape is..."


    "I know what they are, they''re in old movies."


    Neige let out a sigh and took a pen from his pocket along with the tape. He placed the pen in one of the holes and spun the tape around it until it was fully rewinded.


    "Now it''s at the beginning, once all the songs are done you do it again. Well, most walkmans have a rewind button, but mine doesn''t work."


    "You have a thing that is older than any of us and it doesn''t even work, why do you use it?"


    "I don''t understand new technology, I don''t even know how Silva put songs in her mp3 player."


    "That is a lot of data. I will need to share it with my creator."


    "I''m surprised she doesn''t know. Her world was similar to Silva''s, so I thought she''d have something similar."


    "I think it''s because it''s too old for her..." Answered Sepide while looking at the device on the table. Neige wrote calculus on a piece of paper before giving his solution.


    "Come on, it''s just fifty years old in her world, it''s not that much."


    "Fifty years seems like a lot. By the way, I always wondered why the worlds we went in had different technology and years, are we traveling through time?"Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "No, time travel is impossible. Apparently, the anomaly can but I have no idea if it''s actually true. It''s just that worlds evolve at a different rate and weren''t even created at the same time. Some are thousands of years old while some are only a few hundred."


    "Emely did explain those to me." Remiel took a short moment staring at the void before continuing "She created a scale to give a year to every world based on her own."


    "She did that? Why didn''t she tell us?"


    "She deemed it not precise enough but I still have the list in my memories, would you want me to share that information?"


    Sepide nodded her head with energy, visibly curious.


    "I want to know how different these ages are. But how do you calculate that?"


    "It is a mix of the technology used as well as the information she could gather. Her world reached 2060 when its end came. Silva''s world ended in 2039."


    Sepide thought for a moment, confused about the dates.


    "So Emely is way younger than Silva?"


    "Silva is 20 and Emely 21, their worlds just existed at a different time."


    Sepide reflected on Neige''s explanation for a moment, still not sure if she understood the concept.


    "It''s a bit hard to understand, what years would they be at now?"


    "Silva''s world would be at 2043 while Emely''s would be at 2062."


    "So they are at a different time... At the same time?"


    Neige chuckled at Sepide''s confusion before explaining further.


    "You can just imagine that Emely''s world was created 19 years after Silva''s."


    "Oh, I think I understand now! What year would the world we''re here right now be?"


    Remiel thought for a moment before shaking her head with a puzzled expression.


    "I do not have enough data to know. I do know that Neige''s world ended in 1510."


    "1510?" Sepide stared at Neige with a look of disbelief on her face "You''re so old!"


    "I''m only 25... It''s just my world that''s not advanced."


    "That''s why you use old people''s stuff."


    "I''m not old, I''m just not caught up on technology."


    "25 is old too."


    "Since when are you like that? I think Silva rubbed too much on you..."


    Neige let out an amused sigh, glad to see Sepide come out more and more of her shell.


    "The only person I rub is Emely!"


    The group turned around to see Silva, helped by Emely next to her. They sat at the same table as the three friends, Silva was visibly exhausted just by walking here.


    "It hurts to walk... It hurt less when the bullet hit me."


    "Silva, Emely, you are awake. I have many things to share with you." Remiel seemed overjoyed to share everything she learned by was interrupted by Silva before she could say anything.


    "Can you tell us later? I wanted to tell something to Neige."


    Neige thought about the different things that Silva could ask her. She seemed very serious about it and looked at the others before responding.


    "You should all go get us coffee while we talk."


    Emely looked a bit disappointed but accepted without complaints. Remiel and Sepide quickly followed her, leaving the two friends alone.


    They both stayed silent under the heavy pressure of the room. After taking a deep breath, Silva finally explained why she wanted to be alone with Neige.


    "Neige... I slept on Emely''s lap."


    "I... err... What?"


    "I know, right!? That''s crazy!"


    Neige was disappointed but relieved that it didn''t seem serious. Silva on the other hand acted like it was the end of the world.


    "Like, I was face against her! That''s so embarrassing!"


    "You''re embarrassed because you were close to her private part or something? I''m not sure I understand."


    "Oh my God, I didn''t even think about it! That''s even worse! Will she think I''m a creepy pervert?"


    "I think she would have thought that when you made sexual jokes... Not sleeping on her lap. But I''m glad to see that you''re taking your time and are happy together. I was a bit scared you''d make her uncomfortable by saying or doing weird things."


    "But I am doing weird things! What kind of person does that!? It hasn''t been that long that we''re close together."


    "You know each other for two years, I think it''s alright. All the feelings you had for each other are revealing themselves. And also, it''s really not that big of a deal."


    "Are you sure?" Silva asked, visibly concerned "I''m scared that she starts hating me for being a creep."


    "Four months ago, you said that Emely''s boobs didn''t have enough milk to make a yogurt. If she really thought you were a creep, she wouldn''t have tried to get closer to you... I''m actually starting to think that it''s part of what she loves about you."


    "So, you think it''s alright?"


    "Of course it is. Why don''t you ask her?"


    "I did! She said it''s cute."


    "See? It''s alright, trust her."


    Silva stayed silent, her blind eyes staring at the table for a moment.


    "You''re right... She looks happy when we hang out together now. It kinda makes me feel bad for being so mean to her."


    Silva suddenly snapped her fingers and smiled like she had a great idea and hurried to share it with Neige.


    "Do you remember this world we went in where it was a calm and tranquil forest? I was thinking of bringing Emely there."


    "That''s not a bad idea, it was pretty relaxing. I don''t remember what was the code, it was a year ago after all, but I can ask the leader."


    "Thanks! And also... Could you come with us?"


    "Me? I''m not sure I want to come with you two on your date."


    "Even if it was my kink?" Silva tried to appear innocent but her grin revealed her true thoughts.


    "Especially if it''s your kink..."


    "It''s not for that anyway. It''s just that I''m not in a state to take care of any danger, I don''t want anything bad to happen. I know it was a peaceful world but it''s to make sure. And besides, we would technically not break the three-person rule."


    Neige stared at her friend, she seemed so happy at the idea of bringing Emely there that he didn''t have the heart to refuse.


    "Alright, I''ll make sure you two can have a great time when do you want to go?"


    "In an hour?"


    "No."


    Silva grumbled a bit before giving another offer.


    "Tomorrow morning?"


    "You really want to spend time with her, huh?"


    Silva energetically nodded her head, bringing a smile to Neige.


    "Alright, I''ll prepare everything for tomorrow morning."


    "Thanks! You''re the best!"


    Silva took Neige in her arms, glad to have her supportive friend with her. Neige felt a bit weird about intruding on their date but knew he''d find a way to stay discreet.

 Chapter 111: Neige The Bodyguard

    Very early in the morning, Emely and Neige waited in the main hall for Silva to arrive. Neige made sure she woke up in time and wouldn''t be late but was starting to think she fell asleep again once he left. He considered going to see her but stayed a bit with Emely just to make sure.


    "So, are you excited?"


    Emely turned her head around, probably trying to prevent Neige from seeing her blushing face.


    "Kinda yeah, it''s not often I can go out of the ship, especially with Silva. Thanks for coming with us, I feel relieved that we''re not alone."


    "I''m just here to make sure everything is alright. We have already been in this world before, everyone was so polite and calm there."


    "I''m sure it''s a great break from the routine you had." Emely looked at Neige''s clothes. It was rare to see him in casual clothes, away from the ship''s uniform "It feels weird to see you dressed like that. Well... Not as weird as when I saw you dressed like a girl."


    "I thought we would never talk about it again..."


    Before Neige had the chance to change the subject, the two heard a sound approaching. It was Silva coming toward them, still needing crutches to move.


    "Silva, you''re late. Not very gentleman of you."


    "I''d like to see go faster than 1 kilometer per day like that! But I''m sorry Emely, I hope I didn''t make you wait too much."


    "It''s alright, don''t worry! We were just talking with Neige. Are you ready to go?"


    Silva nodded her head with a smile on her face. Neige inputted the world''s code on his watch and the group jumped into the peaceful world together.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The place was a bright park with almost no one there to bother them. The air was pure and the wind was soft. Neige looked around to make sure that everything would be alright, and once he made sure the area was safe, he turned toward the girls with a sigh of relief.


    "Well, I''ll go now. Have fun together! I''ll stay around so yell my name if you need something."


    "Thanks, Neige! But last time we came here nothing bad happened, there''s no reason anything happens."


    Neige nodded his head and left the two alone. He walked around the park alone for a moment and suddenly felt chills down his spine. He immediately took his dagger in hand and searched around in vain. A dark matter came out of nowhere, surrounding him. The figure of the dark nun walked slowly toward him in a menacing gesture.


    "Neige, I found you."


    "Ada?! That''s really not a great time for that!"


    "When will be a great time then? Won''t you always be busy? I''m going to force you out of your Fate Neige!"


    "No, I mean... It''s Silva''s first date, I don''t want it to be ruined. So, please... Can you leave?"


    The dark matter surrounding him retracted toward the nun who jogged toward him in a way less threatening way.


    "Oh! Is there love in the air?"


    "Since when do you care about that?"


    "Always! Ah, the sweet love of two innocent persons."


    "I wouldn''t describe them as innocent..."


    The anomaly searched around but couldn''t find them. She jumped toward Neige with an innocent smile on her face.


    "Can we go see them? Just from far away, to make sure they''re alright."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Why do you care about it suddenly? You were ready to attack me a minute ago."


    "Yes, but I thought you were working. It doesn''t mean I don''t care about your friends. Also, it''s cute."


    Neige also was curious to see if they were alright as well but was a bit concerned about bringing the anomaly with him. After a few seconds of thinking, he pointed in a direction with his finger.


    "Let''s go, they''re over here."


    "Yay!"


    Neige and Ada walked together toward the two lovers. Neige was still wary of the anomaly but felt like she was being genuine.


    The two hid behind a bush and spied on the two girls from far away. Despite their precaution Silva seemed to notice their presence, turning her head toward them for an instant before staring again at Emely. Neige glanced quickly at the anomaly to ensure she wasn''t up to no good but was surprised by her drooling while staring at the two girls with an empty gaze.


    "Ada!? Are you okay?"


    The woman flinched at Neige''s words and quickly whipped out the drool of her face with her sleeve.


    "Y-Yes, why would I be?"


    "I don''t know, it felt like you were having a stroke or something."


    "Oh no, don''t worry. I was just in awe at the miracle of love. Despite all the hardships they had, they still managed to make their feelings bloom."


    "I didn''t know you were so romantic, why don''t you go kidnap a guy to marry instead of me?"


    "Because first of all, I''m a nun. Secondly, you''re way more important than love. I just like seeing the miracle of love and imagining them-"


    "Stop imagining whatever you''re imagining. We should leave now, we don''t want to bother them."


    Ada nodded at Neige''s words. The two were about to leave but were surprised by Silva''s voice, yelling for visibly no reason.


    "If only someone could bring us two ice creams!"


    Neige let out an exasperated sigh at Silva''s request. Even if she didn''t say it, he knew it was addressed to him. Ada pulled on his sleeve and pointed in the direction they came from with excitation.


    "I saw an ice cream seller over there! We should get some for them."


    "You seem really invested for some reason."


    "I''m just being nice, I swear!"


    Neige smiled softly before leaving with the anomaly in the direction of the ice cream seller, trying their best to not be noticed by Emely.


    Neige ran toward the seller and took the two ice creams he needed. The girl prepared their order and smiled softly at them.


    "Such a nice day for a romantic date, right?"


    "We''re not together." Instantly answered Neige.


    "Yeah, he''s way better than a boyfriend!" Ada answered, a bit offended.


    "Oh, I''m sorry. I thought so." The girl handed them their ice cream. Neige was ready to leave but was interrupted by the girl''s voice "It''s 22 kilter."


    "Kilter?" Asked the anomaly "I never heard of it."


    "I think it''s the currency of this place. I''m really sorry, but I don''t have the money on me, can I pay you later?"


    "Oh, alright... But please do, the great overseer will be furious if he learned that I didn''t make enough money."


    "The great overseer?"


    The girl ignored Neige''s question and walked away in fear, glancing at everything around her. Neige was a bit concerned about this interaction but quickly focused back on his goal. He looked at the two ice creams in his hand and suddenly realized something.


    "Wait, how are we giving it to them? Emely will think I''m creeping on them if I give them straight up."


    "Yes, and if I do, Silva will probably be afraid..."


    The two thought for a moment about this puzzle. Ada seemed to have a sudden idea and took a Sharpie out of her pocket. She drew a kind of mustache on Neige''s face and made a proud smile.


    "Now they won''t recognize you!"


    "But my clothes are the same. Where did you even get that!?"


    "They won''t notice! You should go before the ice melts."


    Ada pushed the uncertain Neige toward the place where Silva and her friend were hanging out.


    Neige arrived in front of the two lovers with the ice cream in hand. Emely seemed confused to see him and vocalized her surprise.


    "Neige?"


    Neige''s heart was pounding with panic, trying to find a way out of this situation. He glanced at the anomaly who just gave a thumbs up. Understanding he was alone in this, Neige tried his best to talk in a different accent.


    "Ya! Me Neige, but no Neige from your world!"


    "Not from my world? You know about other worlds?"


    "... No?"


    "That''s good, if you knew, I would have to kill you, you know?"


    Neige was sweating at Emely''s words and immediately saw the ice creams he was holding.


    "Here, you won prize!"


    "What kind of prize?"


    "I... Lucky prize!"


    Silva could barely contain her laugh making Emely burst a laugh as well. They both took the ice creams from his hands and Emely quickly apologized.


    "I''m sorry Neige, Silva convinced me to prank you when she noticed you were checking on us. I''m surprised that you even drew a mustache though."


    "That wasn''t my idea... Silva is becoming a bad influence for you."


    Emely chuckled softly at Neige''s words.


    "I think she''s a great influence!"


    "Yeah, have a good time together."


    Neige left the two girls together and went back toward the anomaly, who seemed really excited.


    "How did it go?"


    "I looked dumb."


    "Maybe I should have drawn a better mustache. Anyway, do we continue spying on them?"


    "Actually there''s something I had in mind. I want to know who''s that great overseer this girl talked about. Do you want to join me?"


    "Oh, it''s like those adventures you do with your friends! I''d love to join you!"


    Neige was starting to think that she wasn''t so bad, maybe there was a way to save the anomaly and make her stop causing trouble. But for now, his priority was to find out more about the mystery of this world.

 Chapter 112: Alone Together

    Silva and Emely still laughed at their interaction with Neige while eating their ice cream. Once they finished they decided to go for a walk around the park. Silva was the one insisting on doing it, even despite her wound. The two walked on the lonely roads, enjoying the fresh air of nature.


    "It''s a charming place. Do you often come here?"


    "Not really. I go where I need to, I rarely go in another world without a reason. I just happened to remember this place, it''s... Relaxing."


    "Yeah, it is. By the way, aren''t you hot?"


    "Do you find me hot?" Silva grinned like usual, even if she seemed a bit more embarrassed this time.


    "Eh? No, I don''t. I mean I do! Well, I... I was talking about the other kind of hot. You could roll up your sleeve, it covers all your body."


    "That''s the point. I always wear things that cover my body."


    "You don''t like the cold?"


    Silva looked away in shame. She stayed silent for a bit, visibly hesitating before pointing at at a tree nearby.


    "Can we sit there? I want to show something to you."


    Emely was curious to see what Silva wanted to show her. It didn''t look like it would be a good surprise but she was glad to learn more about her friend. They both sat under the tree and once she made sure no one was around, Silva rolled up her sleeve to reveal multiple scars.


    "I don''t want anyone to see that. I don''t want to make the others uncomfortable so... I wear clothes that can hide it usually."


    Emely softly touched Silva''s wrist while making sure that it didn''t make her friend uncomfortable. She caressed the scars with her thumb, which surprised Silva.


    "Don''t you think it''s disgusting?"


    "Disgusting? It''s just a part of you. It''s like... War scars! I wish they weren''t here, but they prove that life wasn''t easy, and yet, you still kept going. I never knew for sure you did that but... I always knew it was a possibility."


    "I didn''t realize how it caused more harm to the others than it did to myself. I remember when Sepide cried... I don''t want to hear anyone cry the same way she did."


    Emely took Silva in her arms, softly whispering in her ear.


    "I know you''re strong enough to make sure it doesn''t happen again."


    Tears started to flow down Silva''s face. She buried her face in Emely''s chest, holding her tightly.


    "Emely... You''re so kind... I''m so sorry for what I did."


    "You already apologized before silly. I''m just glad I was still able to interact with you, even if it was through harsh words."


    "I called you so many bad things... I wish I could be like Neige, he''s always so calm and collected. Meanwhile, I get jealous when I don''t get enough attention."


    "But you worked on it. If I joined the ship today, you probably wouldn''t have been as mean to me." Emely approached her face closer to Silva, making both of their foreheads touch as she caressed her friend''s hair "And now, I''ll give you all the attention you need."


    "You''re such a great person. You''re way better than any strong guy!"


    "I''m the opposite of that, there are lots of things I can''t do that a man could. Are you sure you won''t miss it?"


    "I can''t miss what I never had. And I have the greatest girl anyway."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Emely backed away from Silva and looked at the leaves of the tree above her. Even if she couldn''t see it, Silva could feel the sorrowful expression on her friend''s face.


    "I''m far from the greatest person... Unlike you, I can''t change from who I was."


    "Why are you saying that?"


    Emely took a deep breath, letting out a sigh from the deepest part of herself.


    "My world ended for a few months before you found me. Technology was so advanced, we had AIs that acted more real than Remiel. we didn''t even need a phone, we used a chip in our brain and could see everything we needed in front of our eyes. I may be talented, but there were so many people better than me."


    "You feel bad because some people were better than you?"


    Emely shook her head before continuing.


    "Everything was so advanced, we didn''t even talk to each other. It was so hard forming genuine bonds, so hard to even find ourselves. In the end, humanity collapsed on itself. It was like, everyone accepted their fate and were bored of life. When the planet stopped giving us what we needed, we just accepted it. I''m no different, I accepted the end of the world. I don''t know how I survived, but I continued living like before. Making small robots and useless junk."


    "It''s not like you could stop the end of the world, especially if it was planned for it to happen."


    "I know, it''s just that... Technology killed my world. I should have learned my lesson, and yet, I continued. I''m still making useless stuff, even dangerous ones. I created Remiel, I shouldn''t have. I''m a young woman, not God. I shouldn''t toy with life, and yet, I did."


    "Technology isn''t what doomed your world, it''s just the weakness of humanity. You''re far from weak, a weak person wouldn''t have continued talking with a girl who called them a ''vibrator maker''."


    Emely chuckled softly at Silva''s words, feeling a bit relieved.


    "Maybe you''re right, I can still be strong. I want to be a person that everyone can count on... Especially you."


    "I can already count on you, even before we became closer, I knew you were an important person on the ship. Just the fact that we can translate other languages is so practical!"


    "I''m just afraid it''s going to replace a lot of things, like learning a language for example. It doesn''t seem like it will bring much good in the long term."


    "I wouldn''t learn a language for fun. It just makes it more accessible for me while nerds like Neige can still learn languages. As long as humanity has a soul, it won''t crumble under anything."


    "I''ll keep my heart, I won''t make the same mistake as my world."


    Emely leaned on Silva but because of the weak state of the latter, they both fell together on the ground. Emely quickly stood up but Silva put her arms around her friend, trying to make her stay. The two girls were breathing heavily, their faces close to each other. Emely closed her eyes slowly, getting even closer to Silva. The lips were about to touch but Emely backed out at the last moment and went away from Silva.


    "I-I''m sorry... I don''t know what happened to me."


    Silva sat back, getting on Emely''s level.


    "Why did you stop?"


    "I didn''t want to make you uncomfortable. I knew you said you prefer me to guys but... I should have asked first."


    "Come on, I said it was fine. If you won''t do it, then I will."


    Before Emely could react, Silva kissed her and took her in her arms. Emely tensed up but quickly relaxed while holding Silva back. The young engineer felt heated from the sudden kiss, and even once Silva moved back, her eyes stayed half closed and her mouth slightly opened. Silva''s boldness suddenly disappeared as she put her hand in front of her mouth, processing what happened.


    "My... First kiss..."


    "That was so good, I want to do it again."


    Silva moved back a bit at Emely''s bold words, her face as red as her hair.


    "Wait! I need some time now! It''s enough for a lifetime! I didn''t even think it would ever happen... It''s like a dream."


    "It''s like a dream for me too... I''m so grateful I get to be so close to you."


    The two lovers stayed silent together, enjoying the soft moment. None of them wanted to interrupt the silence, wishing for this moment to keep going forever. After calming herself a bit, Emely took a kind of clothing out of her bag and gave it to Silva.


    "I made you something. I wanted to give it later but... I think it''s not a bad moment for that."


    "Oh, I feel bad now. I didn''t bring any gift."


    "You''re the greatest gift already. I just hope you''ll like mine."


    Silva touched the soft texture of the clothes, it was a jacket that she hurried to wear. It suited her perfectly and made it easy to feel the environment through the thin layer of the fabric.


    "You can''t see it, but it''s black with red borders. The leader is strict with the uniform, but it doesn''t look that different so maybe it''s fine."


    "Even if she''s not fine with it I''m keeping it! I love it already!"


    "I''m glad you do, I''m not a tailor but I really tried my best."


    Silva continued touching her vest, enjoying the soft sensation it provided.


    "Isn''t it made with the wool we went to get?"


    "Yes, training Remiel was the main goal but it was a great opportunity to get it too."


    Silva took Emely in her arms, feeling the soft wind on them. The two lovers stared at the sunset together in the calm of the park.


    "It''s too bad you can''t see it... It''s wonderful."


    "I can still feel that warmth, and I''m sure you''re even more stunning."


    "Come on... Why are you so cheesy." Emely blushed softly, amusing Silva. They stayed silent together, hoping for this precious moment to never end.

 Chapter 113: The Anomaly Joins The Team?

    Silva and Emely were waiting for Neige to come back. The night was almost here, he should have arrived by now. Emely tried to call him multiple times, in vain. Silva considered searching around for him but felt something crawling toward them like a snake. She turned toward the direction of the sound, alerting her friend as well. The sound she heard was from the dark matter of the anomaly, which formed the body that she was used to. Emely recognized the pure darkness of the anomaly, remembering the time she saw her on the ship that day. She took all the courage she had and pointed her firearm at her, determined to protect Silva behind her.


    "What did you do to Neige? Leave us alone!"


    The nun approached the two girls slowly, she seemed exhausted because of something. She spoke with a voice that was different from the one she talked to usually, a voice full of desperation.


    "Please, you need to help me. Neige is in danger."


    "Is it one of your traps, fiend?"


    "You have to believe me..."


    Emely wasn''t going to trust the anomaly so easily, Silva on the other hand made her way toward her but was still on her guard.


    "What happened to him?"


    "We heard something weird about this world, it was about the great overseer. We didn''t know what it was so we investigated in the town near here, everyone was dodging the question! Some men dressed in black attacked us! I don''t understand why but... I can''t remember what happened after."


    "Did they beat you?" Silva asked, with terror in her voice.


    "I don''t know... Maybe. It''s all so hazy."


    Emely and Silva looked at each other for a moment. Silva obviously wanted to go immediately and save his friend, but deep inside, she knew it would only lead to problems. She wasn''t ready for a fight, and their opponent this time seemed far from what they''re used to usually.


    "We should... Go back to the ship, the leader will know what to do."


    Emely nodded and, along with Silva, jumped back to the ship. The anomaly watched them disappear, a bit confused.


    "Should I... Follow them?"


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Emely and Silva arrived on the ship only to see the anomaly already there, waiting for them. She turned toward the two girls and seemed more than annoyed.


    "Where were you? I was waiting for you!"


    "Jumping to other worlds isn''t instantaneous." Explained Emely "It takes a few minutes before we actually arrive."


    "I feel bad for you, I don''t have such weaknesses."


    The anomaly proudly put her hand on her chest, satisfied with her feat.


    Two persons approached the group, it was Gwyn and Ina. The doctor was on her guard when she saw the anomaly but Ina on the other hand greeted the woman with a smile.


    "Why, hello there. What brings you here?"


    The anomaly hid behind Emely''s back, visibly afraid. The young engineer explained everything that happened to the two who stayed on the ship. They were shocked to learn about Neige''s situation, and even more that the anomaly was willing to help. Emely quickly glanced around, trying to find the others.


    "Where is the leader?"


    "She left with Remiel and Sepide." Answered Ina "Can you contact them?"


    "Yes, I''ll hurry and ask her what we should do!"This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Emely ran toward her lab, leaving the others together. Gwyn stared at the anomaly with a gaze full of distrust. Still keeping her distance, she asked the woman,


    "How can we trust you? Weren''t you the one who kidnapped Neige last time?"


    "It wasn''t really kidnapping, I just borrowed him."


    "You caused him a lot of distress. If you truly cared for him, you wouldn''t have done so much harm."


    "I know it looks like I''m a horrible person... But I swear, I will make a perfect world for him."


    "So that''s why he asked me that question..."


    Gwyn took her notebook and wrote something in it. Ina looked at the anomaly with attention, which appeared to make the nun uncomfortable.


    "Why don''t you join us?"


    Gwyn and Silva stared at Ina in shock, unable to understand why she would propose such a thing.


    "She''s the reason most of our problems are happening, we''re not letting her join us."


    "I know Gwyn, but she doesn''t seem all that bad. All she wants is to make Neige happy, we could maybe find a way to work together."


    "No thanks!" Yelled the anomaly "I''m not falling for that! You just act nice just to stab my back when you can!"


    "No... I really meant to be nice..."


    A sad and hurt expression appeared on Ina''s face. Gwyn tried to comfort her while Silva scolded the anomaly.


    "Are you happy? You made her sad!"


    "It''s a lie! She promised that she''d kill me!"


    "She did? You already met before?"


    "Yes! I can still remember her eyes when she said those words... They were terrifying."


    "I can''t imagine Ina saying anything like that, she''s always so kind."


    Before they could investigate the matter more, Emely came back running toward them. With a concerned expression on her face, she explained what happened.


    "I tried contacting the leader, but apparently she''s in danger too. Remiel and Sepide are taking care of it but it seems like we''re on our own."


    Gwyn let out an exhausted sigh. She looked at everyone, constating their low number of available members.


    "We''ll need to take our time. It''s almost night and no one here can take care of a dangerous situation."


    "I''m not staying without doing anything." Answered Silva "We could at least try to learn more."


    "Yes, she''s right." Agreed the anomaly "If I''m here, it should be alright."


    "Weren''t you with Neige? How did he get kidnapped if you''re so strong?"


    The anomaly looked away in shame, answering Silva with a barely audible voice.


    "I... Can''t remember..."


    "I''m coming too!" Emely said with enthusiasm "I won''t let Silva risk her life alone!"


    Gwyn let out a sigh and approached Silva with concern.


    "You''re not going anywhere. You''re too hurt."


    "Even like that, I could deal with most dangers."


    "I doubt it, you barely can stand up."


    Silva took her crutches and handed them to Emely, proudly standing up through the pain.


    "It hurt, but I can still fight. It''s not a smartass that will stop me."


    "Really? I doubt it."


    "Then fight me! You''ll see that the skills of an adventurer are far beyond those of a doctor!" Silva smiled confidently, hoping to convince Gwyn. But instead, the doctor removed her gown and threw it at Ina.


    "Silva, I''m going to help you, whether you want it or not."


    Silva wasn''t sure if Gwyn was serious or not but was prepared for anything. Emely stared at the two back and forth, clearly worried for them.


    "Gwyn, you won''t seriously fight? You could both be hurt!"


    "Do you hear Silva? You''re worrying your friend."


    "I''d be more worried about your safety, doc."


    Seeing that there was nothing that would stop them, the others stood back. Silva and Gwyn were determined to prove that they were right. In an instant, Gwyn tried to grab Silva''s arm but the latter managed to dodge at the last moment.


    "Even hurt you''re fast Silva."


    "What the heaven was that? Since when can you move so quickly!?"


    "What do you mean? I''m just a smartass."


    "Gwyn, you can see that she''s alright! Can''t you stop now?"


    Despite Emely''s words, the doctor still kept her nonchalant face, still staring at Silva.


    "If they managed to get Neige, she''ll need more than that."


    Silva didn''t want to hurt Gwyn but knew she would be alright. It looked like the doctor was more agile and tough than she first thought. She quickly tried to attack Gwyn with a kick but was blocked with ease.


    "You have a poor stance, Silva."


    Silva stepped back from her opponent when she felt that she missed. Gwyn still tried to grab her but barely missed.


    "You''re not as bad as I thought. If you weren''t hurt, I definitely wouldn''t have a chance against you."


    "I don''t understand why you''re so quick, I thought you were just a random doctor!"


    "I''m one of the founders of the Kronos, you better not underestimate me."


    Gwyn dashed toward Silva intending to stop her this time. The blind girl felt that she wouldn''t be able to last much longer and took her firearm in a desperate measure. She aimed at the ceiling and shot, blinding the doctor with the flash. It was just enough for Silva to grab Gwyn and make her fall to the ground. Everything stayed silent for a moment until Gwyn stood up again. She headed toward Ina to take back her gown, not without a smile on her face.


    "I guess I can''t force you after all. Just be careful, alright?"


    "I will."


    Emely hurried toward Silva to give her crutches back and made sure that she was alright. Gwyn checked Silva to make sure didn''t hurt herself during the fight, and once she made sure it was all good let her go.


    "Be careful, we''ll tell what happened to the leader and the others when they arrive."


    "Alright, I will. I hope Remiel and Sepide will manage to help her."


    Silva, Emely, and the anomaly all stood next to each other, ready to go into this world once more and save their friend.

 Chapter 115: Neige?

    The group continued their search for Neige and the overseer. Now everyone was dodging them, even going back to their home at their sight. They were now considered criminals in this world, far from the peaceful place Silva thought it was.


    "I can''t believe it''s all because of what we did a year ago. If we interfered, it would have been so different..."


    "But that''s what this world is supposed to be, right?" Asked Emely "If we change it, maybe it would lead to its destruction."


    "Maybe, but I can''t just ignore that. There has to be something we can do."


    The three continued to search for anyone who would accept to help them. They explored the city for a while in vain. The moon was high in the sky and the group considered sleeping for the night. They talked about what they should do until a little girl interrupted them.


    "Excuse me, are you bad guys?"


    Ada kneeled toward her, giving a soft smile.


    "We''re not but you shouldn''t talk with us, you could be in trouble."


    "So... Are you against the overseer? You need to help me!"


    "Help you?" The anomaly turned toward the two girls, and once she made sure they agreed, she asked the little girl, "What do you need help with?"


    "It''s daddy! The overseer took him away... I want to see him again..."


    The little girl was holding her tears all she could. Ada took her in her arms and tried her best to calm her.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll find him. Do you know where he is?"


    The girl whipped the tears off her face and took a paper out of her pocket. She handed it to Ada who stared at it for a moment before nodding to herself.


    "I definitely can''t read this."


    She gave the paper to Silva, who took it confused.


    "Am I supposed to read the ink by touching it?"


    "Oh... I forgot you were blind..."


    Emely took the paper and glanced at it before realizing that this was a map. A tower was drawn and circled in red, probably the emplacement of the overseer.


    "Please, save my daddy."


    The little girl ran away from them, leaving the group with their new goal. The nun stared at the girl running with a sorrowful expression.


    "How sad... No child should have to lose a parent."


    "I don''t trust her."


    Emely and Ada were both shocked at Silva''s words. The nun in particular seemed quite mad at her.


    "Why do you say that? You have no idea how hard it is for her."


    "How would she know where the guy we''re searching is? And I could feel it in her voice, it was rehearsed. We don''t have any other lead, but if we go, we need to be careful."


    Despite their disagreement, Silva and the anomaly both followed Emely and headed toward the tower that was shown on the map.


    The exterior of the tower was like every other building, made of bricks and wood. The group forced the entrance to see the interior made of a shiny white, almost blinding Emely and Ada. The room was empty and silent, the three partners went in the elevator, the only place where they could go. The panel showed 30 different floors, including 10 underground.


    "We''ll search for Neige on every floor?" Emely complained but was quickly replied by the anomaly.


    "The deepest floor, he''s there. I can feel it."If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "It looks like it''s only for staff members, I can hack it with some time."


    Emely worked on the elevator under the gaze of the two others. Silva suddenly received a call on her watch and walked away from the group to take it.


    "Allo? Who is it?"


    *It is me, Remiel. Sepide, Leader, and I made our way to the ship. We will arrive shortly to provide help, can you tell us your coordinates?*


    "We''re in the world 20111924, in a big tower. It shouldn''t be hard to find."


    *Understood, we will arrive as soon as we can.*


    The call cut but Silva was relieved to hear that they would receive help soon. She went with the rest of the group and immediately shared the news.


    "The leader is coming soon with the others."


    "The others... Does it include the scary woman with long hair?"


    The anomaly looked scared of Ina for some reason. Silva decided to confront her about it and understand why she felt that way about the nice cook that Ina was.


    "Why are you so intimidated by Ina? Did she really threaten you that bad?"


    "She did! It wasn''t really her to be honest, but they look so similar... Even their names are almost the same. Nia... She said she would stop the aberration I became, even if it would be in another life. I can''t help but think that she truly came back for me!"


    "Don''t worry about that, Ina is so kind. She feels bad cooking meat and even prays for the animal that gave its life, she wouldn''t lay a hand on you."


    Despite Silva''s words, the anomaly still had a bad feeling about the cook. Her worries were interrupted by Emely''s voice echoing in the small elevator.


    "All good. We can go now."


    Once everyone was ready, they pressed the button to head toward the deepest floor. The metallic box they were trapped in went downward, creating a tense atmosphere. They weren''t sure what they would find there or even if their friend was safe, but they knew they would do their best to save him. The descent felt infinite, never stopping the rusted sound of the elevator. After what felt like hours passed, the door finally opened.


    The room was empty, Neige standing in the middle. Darkness engulfed the room, making it hard to see the chains on the ground and other details. It looked like a cell of some sort, probably where Neige was locked in. Silva walked toward him, with a bright smile on her face.


    "Neige! Is that you? I''m so glad you''re here! Let''s go now, everyone is worried."


    Silva approached him but quickly jumped back when Neige swung his dagger at her.


    "I''m happy now... I just need to ignore everything... And obey the orders..."


    "Neige is really brainwashed. Hey, anomaly! Can''t you just restrain him?"


    "I can''t." Answered the anomaly to Silva''s question "His dagger, that''s what stopped me last time! As long as he has it, I can''t do anything."


    "So his dagger is the problem."


    Silva threw her crutches on the side and prepared to face Neige. She took a deep breath and stepped toward him, aiming to disarm him.


    "You remember every time we sparred together? I always managed to overpower you in the end!"


    "Do not think... Just obey..."


    Silva realized that his friend wasn''t listening to anything and that she would need to be more aggressive. She threw the first attack but was immediately dodged. She could feel in the air Neige''s muscles contracting. After all the training they did together, she knew what attacks he was about to do. With a smile on her face, she dodged with ease the jab he did.


    "Even when you''re not yourself you use the same moves, I guess you''re a boxer at soul."


    "..."


    Neige paused momentarily before continuing his assault. Silva managed to keep up despite her wound and managed to barely get his dagger multiple times. Neige suddenly raised his hand in the air and struck downward. Silva managed to dodge just like in their training but was surprised by a sudden uppercut in her belly. Silva stepped backward, holding the place she was hit on in pain. Seeing the scene, Emely ran toward her friend to make sure she was alright.


    "Silva, are you okay?"


    "Could be better... If only I could take his dagger..."


    Emely went toward Neige in the hope of breaking him free of his delusion. Her friend stood there, staring at her with an empty gaze.


    "Neige! Is it really what you want? Obeying someone''s order and stop thinking for yourself?"


    "Myself is unimportant... I only... Cause problems..."


    Silva gently pushed Emely to the side and faced Neige with visible anger on her face.


    "I''m the depressed one! We don''t have a spot for another burden!"


    Neige was ready to fight again, not displaying a single emotion. Silva felt that she wouldn''t be able to hold on much longer because of her physical state. Before a move could be thrown, Silva was pushed to the side and grabbed by Emely. They both recognized the person who moved her away and was now facing Neige with her sword.


    "Leader!? You''re here!"


    "Yes... I''m sorry I took so long."


    Sepide and Remiel were also here, shocked to see the leader fighting Neige.


    "Why is Neige attacking them? Is he evil?"


    "No, he''s mind controlled!" Emely explained to Sepide "If we find the overseer, maybe we could stop it!"


    The leader was focused on fighting her friend while avoiding hurting him but still managed to give an order.


    "You should check the highest part of the tower! Take Remiel with you!"


    Silva and Emely nodded their head and along with Remiel went in the elevator. They noticed that the anomaly stayed behind and yelled at her.


    "Come on! We don''t have time!"


    "I''m... Staying with Neige. I can''t leave him alone."


    Forced to accept her decision, they pressed the button to go higher in the tower. Sepide turned behind her and showed her tongue at Remiel before taunting her.


    "The leader trusts me more!"


    "I am sure that it is thanks to your great talent!"


    Sepide stayed with the leader, clearly annoyed while Remiel smiled at her. The door closed, leaving Emely, Remiel, and Silva in the elevator.

 Chapter 116: Is Freedom Worth it?

    Silva, Emely, and Remiel stood still in the elevator, waiting for it to reach the top. Silva couldn''t stop thinking about what happened between Sepide and Remiel. It was as if Sepide suddenly hated the robot. After hesitating for a few seconds, Silva finally asked,


    "Did something happen? Sepide looked mad at you."


    "Do not fret, we established a friendly rivalry."


    Remiel gave a smile to Silva and Emely to reassure them, but both were curious to know what happened with the leader.


    The elevator reached the top, opening its door to a kind of office. Someone was sitting behind one of the desks, Emely immediately recognized the man and took her firearm in hand this time.


    "Overseer! Free Neige right away!"


    The man raised his hands in the hair, surprised to see them.


    "What? How did you disable the security?"


    "It doesn''t matter, free him now!"


    The man was about to take the remote from the table, but Silva shot his hand to prevent him from using it.


    "Why did you do that? Are you crazy?"


    Emely pointed her weapon at the man, terrifying him even further.


    "Don''t kill me! I-I''ll free your friend and the others! I promise!"


    The man walked toward another room, followed by the group. Once he made it there, he pressed a button. They weren''t sure if it worked but quickly received a message from the leader.


    *Can you hear me? Neige is okay now! We''ll return to the ship at once, we''ll explain everything there.*


    Now that they were sure that Neige was safe, they were confronted with a choice. The man was standing there, pathetically putting his shaking hands in the air.


    "Silva... What should we do? We could just go but... It doesn''t feel right."


    Silva thought about all the consequences of their actions. If they interfered, maybe the world could be prey to chaos. But if they didn''t, they would let the inhabitants of this world prisoners of their fate. After making a decision, she walked toward the man with her firearm in hand, being as intimidating as she could be.


    "You''re going to stop being a tyrant, you''ll stop controlling people just for what you think is right."


    "Because you think you''re different!?" Argued the man "You''re doing the same thing as me! You''re forcing everyone to follow your ideals!"


    "It''s true, but I do it because I believe it to be the right thing, not for personal gain. I don''t want anyone to live a life they were forced to. Even if they end up hurt, their happiness will be real. I''ll come back in a year, if nothing changes, there will be consequences."A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "I promise! Just don''t kill me!"


    Silva went back to Emely and Remiel. Emely took Silva in her arms as tightly as she could.


    "Now we''ll back to the ship and rest, you deserve it."


    Silva nodded her head with a smile, and together, they left back to the ship.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Everyone was safely back on the ship, taking a well-deserved break at the cafeteria. Once the silence arrived, the leader explained what happened.


    "The anomaly tried to kidnap Neige again, she really won''t give up. I managed to make her go away, but we''ll need to be careful."


    "I''ll deal with her later." Said Neige "I think I have an idea to make her stop, I just need to study more about a few things first."


    "Studying for a woman, how cute." Silva rubbed the top of Neige''s head in a joking tone until he moved her arm away from him.


    "If we can avoid confrontation, then I will. But this world... I had no idea it was like that beneath its peaceful appearance."


    "Yeah, apparently we even helped this jackass a year ago."


    "Because that''s how this world was supposed to be." Explained the leader "But it''s not important, are you alright Neige?"


    "Yeah, I''m fine. It was a weird experience, it was like a voice in my head convinced me to just give up. I truly felt happy when I was in this kind of trance, but now that I''m out of it, I never want to feel that again."


    "We''ll make sure you don''t end up in a bad situation again Neige. But next time, don''t go alone. That''s the reason I put this rule of three members at a time, you''re exposing yourself to danger by going alone."


    "To be honest, I thought it would be a peaceful world, not a world where a dictator tried to silence me."


    "I''m sorry... I thought it would be a tranquil place." Apologized Silva "But what happened with you leader? Gwyn said you were in danger."


    "Oh, right. I''m not sure it''s worth mentioning. We just needed something from a world and it didn''t go as planned."


    "But I''m the one that saved her!" Sepide said with vigor as she stood up from her chair and raised her hand "Remiel wasn''t able to!"


    "That is right. Sepide was the one that retrieved the leader."


    Sepide seemed annoyed by Remiel''s humility and sat back with a grumpy face. Emely noticed it and confronted her about it.


    "Are you mad against Remiel? Maybe I could fix it if she harmed you."


    "No, she didn''t, she''s just a pretentious trash can that thinks she can do everything."


    Silva chuckled in amusement at Sepide''s words and leaned toward Remiel with excitation.


    "She insulted you! What will you answer?"


    "It is not an insult, only a friendly banter between friends."


    Silva''s excitation disappeared from her face as she turned back toward Emely.


    "You should teach her how to defend herself, it''s not funny if it''s only one way."


    "Can you imagine if they actually argued? We would be here all night." Emely looked at Remiel''s joyous face, a bit worried for her.


    "But then it would be like us at the time, isn''t it cute?"


    Emely smiled softly at Silva''s words, reminiscing about the past.


    "It''s true, it''s such pleasant memories..."


    "Pleasant memories?" Asked Neige "She called you a ''bitch that should remove the lightbulb in her ass instead of creating useless stuff''."


    "Yes... It was cute."


    Neige stared at the blushing Emely and let out a desperate sigh.


    "You''re hopeless..." Ignoring the lovebirds, he turned toward the leader with a serious gaze "Please Polyetta, you have to tell us what happened."


    "I can try... I''ll explain what we did today while you were in that world. You were gone early in the morning, Sepide and Remiel were on the ship, and I needed to get something from another world. They were the only ones available so I took them with me."


    "What did you need?" Neige asked with curiosity.


    "It''s a novel I''ve heard about, it''s quite popular in many worlds. It''s called the bible or something. Anyway, Sepide seemed bored and Remiel was wandering in the hallway. I thought it would be a nice and peaceful world but something strange happened. The watches weren''t working properly and we were all separated."


    "It''s strange, it happened to us before too. We think that Silv has a way to mess with them."


    "I don''t think it was the case here but I''ll explain later why I believe that. Silv wasn''t even in this world, or at least not directly. So we grouped and decided to jump into the world 14161928."

 Chapter 117: Edens Garden

    Polyetta opened her eyes to find herself in a cell. She remembered coming into this world with Sepide and Remiel but couldn''t find them anywhere. Her sword was nowhere to be seen while her watch was still resting on her wrist. She took a look at it to see that the travel between worlds was temporarily impossible. Everything was so confusing to her but her thoughts were quickly interrupted by people approaching her cell. A man dressed like a pope was followed by two nuns, who stared at Polyetta with a curious gaze.


    "You are the intruder? That''s quite strange, why were you in the throne''s room?"


    "The... Throne''s room?" Polyetta had no memories of anything happening after she entered this world. Her oblivious feeling was easy to spot, prompting the man to continue.


    "It seems that you don''t remember. We found you sleeping in the throne''s room of the castle. We took away your sword but we will let you go and give it back to you once we made sure of your identity."


    "I see... Have you seen a girl with long black hair and... Another girl with long black hair but taller?"


    The man turned toward one of the nuns. She answered by shaking her head, prompting the man to answer.


    "I''m afraid not, my child. I will have to let you for now. We''ll come back later this week, in the meantime, Evelyn will take care of you."


    Polyetta nodded her head but had no intention of staying here for that long. She was ready to try to communicate with Sepide as soon as she could, for now, she needed to play along. The group of the religious left, aside from one of the nuns, who bowed and introduced herself.


    "My name is Evelyn. I will provide you with all your needs but first, there''s something I need to ask... Are you related to a nun called Ada?"


    "Ada?" Polyetta wasn''t sure whether it was a good idea to associate herself with the anomaly but maybe it would help her get out of here faster. For now, she decided to give a safe answer "I''ve heard of her, why that question?"


    "I wished to talk with her again, she... Made me question about my faith." The girl looked behind with fear before continuing "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean that. I still have full faith in the Lord."


    "So you''ve only talked once?"


    "Kind of. She also was with a tall man and God itself."


    "You saw God and still doubt Him?" Polyetta asked, a bit perplexed.


    "I couldn''t explain why, but I don''t trust whoever this person was."


    Polyetta thought for a moment. She didn''t know much about the anomaly but tried to guess who accompanied her. She could imagine that the man was Kairo, leading to the ''God'' being only one person "Did your God have short red hair and look crazy?"


    The nun had her eyes wide open, shocked by the precision of her prisoner.


    "You''ve seen her too? I hope you can understand why I doubt her... Especially after she blew up the moon."


    "She blew up the moon!? That''s bad."


    Polyetta suddenly understood a lot of things just thanks to this sentence. She was wondering if Silv knew about the importance of the moon, or if it was just a co?ncidence.


    "You didn''t see it?" Asked Evelyn "She even told us to be careful of the devil and its friends, a feminine, dumb-looking boy with white hair, and... A girl with long black hair I think."


    Polyetta quickly understood that Silv was talking about Sepide and Neige. Thankfully, girls with long black hair weren''t uncommon but Sepide was still in potential danger. She quickly searched for an excuse to be alone and contact Sepide and Remiel.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Thanks for that information... I think I have amnesia or something. Could you bring me water?"


    "Oh, I''ll go get some."


    The nun left Polyetta alone and relieved that her plan somehow worked. Once she was sure she couldn''t be heard, the woman used her watch to contact Sepide, hoping that everything was alright.


    Sepide stared at the everlasting green field she was in for a long moment. Seeing that she was alone, she recorded her report as usual.


    "Nature is almost all I can see, aside from some small houses. I am neither accompanied by the leader nor Remiel and will start my search as soon as possible. This world seems so peaceful and joyous while these plants are so relaxing. I''ll name such a lovely place, the Land Of Flowers."


    Once she finished recording, Sepide headed toward the houses in the hope of finding someone who could help her. It didn''t take long before a villager went to her, curious to see a stranger. It was a girl, maybe around twelve, staring at her with wide eyes. Sepide looked around for her parents but there was no one to be seen. She crouched to get to the girl''s height, and asked her,


    "Where are your parents? Are you lost?"


    "No, they''re working today. Where are yours?"


    Sepide paused for a moment, unsure about what to answer.


    "I''m too old to have my parents around, but I guess I''m searching for my mother too. She''s a woman with long blonde hair and purple eyes, have you seen her?"


    "Wow, is your mother the holy nun!?"


    "The... Holy nun?" Sepide asked with confusion.


    "You know, the one that came with the Goddess! They warned us about the girly boy and the girl with red hair!"


    "The girly boy?" Sepide chuckled a bit before becoming serious again "Those two sound like my friends."


    "Your friends?" The girl looked more closely at Sepide and gasped in shock "You''re the devil the Goddess talked about!"


    The girl ran away while yelling. Sepide was just amused, thinking that the girl confused her with a demon in one of her childish stories. She glanced at her watch to see what time it was but an error message was displayed instead. All she could do was continue to search, hoping her two friends weren''t lost between worlds.


    Sepide walked inside the peaceful town, enjoying the calm atmosphere. Sadly for her, the moment of peace wasn''t long, as a man dressed in religious attire stepped in front of her, with the little girl from earlier behind him.


    "You do look like the person the Lord warned us about. State your name or you will be considered an enemy of the church."


    "I think you''re mistaking me with someone else. My name is Sepide, I''m just searching for my friends."


    "Sepide..." The man let out a sigh before continuing "You are with the devil that calls itself Silva, tell us where she is and we shall leave you alone."


    Sepide was a bit confused and shook her head while stepping back from the man.


    "Who told you that? It''s a lie."


    "We''ll let the pope be the judge of that."


    The man snapped his fingers and on cue, a bunch of soldiers surrounded Sepide. She wanted to understand the situation but the situation wasn''t in her favor. She considered surrendering until a voice in the sky took everyone by surprise.


    "Sepide! I found you!"


    Sepide turned toward the voice to find Remiel landing dramatically right next to her. The guards stepped back in fear, giving Sepide the hope that she could talk with them.


    "Please, let us discuss more. I''m sure I can prove that I''m not the one you''re searching for."


    "I disagree." Remiel said, taking her friend by surprise "This place is dangerous, for your safety, we are leaving."


    Before Sepide could argue, Remiel took her with one arm and jumped high in the air, far from the danger. The crowd couldn''t believe their eyes, looking at the two girls flying away.


    Remiel landed far from the town. Sepide felt lightheaded from her sudden adrenaline rush but still found the energy to scold Remiel.


    "I was talking with them, why did you take me away?"


    "I calculated that this was the safest thing to do."


    "Then stop calculating, now they''ll think I''m really against them!"


    "It appears that I misunderstood the situation, I apologize."


    Sepide wanted to forgive Remiel but couldn''t bring herself to for some reason. Maybe Remiel''s robotic behavior was the problem, or maybe it was because she was new. Either way, she decided to take a deep breath and tried to empathize with Remiel.


    "It''s okay, just ask next time."


    Before Remiel could answer, Sepide''s watch rang. It was a call from the leader that she hurried to take.


    "Leader, are you alright?"


    *Yes but Remiel isn''t with me. Is everything alright for you?*


    "Affirmative." Answered Remiel "I have found Sepide and we are both out of danger."


    *Really? That''s a relief. I''m in the jail of a castle I think. Do you see where it could be?*


    "Indeed, I have seen a castle on my way to join with Sepide."


    Sepide felt a bit frustrated to not be able to answer before Remiel but decided to ignore it. It was strange, she felt like she was getting more and more childish as time went on. She shook her head and focused back on the call.


    *Good, you need to save me. The watches aren''t working.*


    "So... We''re stuck here?"


    *Don''t worry, I''ll explain. I think I understand what is the issue.*


    Sepide and Remiel stayed silent, waiting for the explanation of the leader. Sepide had reasons to think that Silv was behind it all, just like the other times their watches weren''t working properly.

 Chapter 118: Fractured Moon

    The leader cleared her throat, ready to explain dramatically the reason why they couldn''t leave this world. Sepide and Remiel stayed silent on the other side of the call, waiting patiently for the explanation.


    *Worlds are separated, doomed never to meet each other. But there is a way to connect to another world, passing through the center of the universe. A single place, a world in the center of the universe, links all worlds. The moon, a link between worlds! Every time we travel through dimensions, we travel via the moon.*


    "So... The moon is the entrance and exit of every world?" Sepide thought aloud.


    *Yes, but it sounds less dramatic when you say it like that.*


    "Is the moon of this world no longer?" Remiel asked with her robotic voice.


    *I heard the moon was destroyed by Silv. But not only she could leave, but we also could enter. Entering a world is easier than leaving it but if the moon was fully destroyed, we couldn''t even come in the first place. I think we should be able to leave at night when what is left of the moon is high in the air.*


    "So we could get your book and we all leave at night. Even from your cell, you should be able to leave, right?"


    *I''m not so sure Sepide. Depending on how bad the state of the moon is, a roof made of stone could be enough to still interfere with the watches. As long as the core of the moon is in a good state it should be enough but I don''t want to take any risk. Forget the book for now and get me out of here!*


    "Alright leader, we will." The call stopped, leaving Sepide and Remiel alone together once more "I follow you Remiel."


    The robot nodded her head and walked toward the direction of the castle she saw earlier. Both were still worried about the state of the moon but trusted their leader, they knew she''d find a solution to get them out of here.


    The pair decided to avoid the town since Sepide was probably still wanted. They advanced at a decent speed while not rushing, getting closer to the castle where their leader lay. The two stayed silent for most of the way until Remiel spoke in the middle of nowhere.


    "We are halfway there, yay."


    "Yay?" Sepide looked at the robot, confused by her robotic voice "Why are you trying to act human?"


    "Emely made me that way. Furthermore, I do enjoy socializing with other humans."


    "You don''t have to pretend to be one, you should be glad you don''t have to think."


    "Is thinking a burden? My data do indicate that some humans think so but no scientific evidence is there to support it. In reality, people with lower IQ are generally more prone to depression than those with high IQ."


    "Are you calling me dumb?" Sepide was visibly offended, prompting Remiel to apologize.


    "That was not my intention. People with high IQs can still experience depression. Furthermore, your situation is not one of a typical human being. If you do feel like you have mental health issues, do not hesitate to share your concern with me or Gwyn."


    "I''m just saying you should do your job without asking questions, that''s how you feel happy... I felt happier when I didn''t worry about the future..."


    Remiel couldn''t help but feel a bit sad for Sepide and searched in her database for all the ways she could help her friend. Once she found a satisfying answer, she hurried to share it with Sepide.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "It seems that you struggle with yourself. Emely told me to find something I wanted to do besides my duties as a member of the Kronos. I could join you in your quest and help you with my knowledge, as a nice change of pace."


    "How? By doing videos on internet like me?"


    "If it would help I would not mind. I could easily create an internet persona and learn all the required skills."


    "You think you can do my job better than me?"


    Sepide was clearly mad at Remiel, not even looking at her. The robot thought for a moment before smiling at Sepide, misinterpreting the sentence.


    "This is sarcasm, right? Silva and Emely do it sometimes. It means that you don''t actually are mad at me but pretend to for the sake of humor."


    "Do whatever you want, I''ll still be better than a robot in the end."


    Sepide was too tired to interact with Remiel further. She wasn''t sure why she felt such hostility toward the new member of the ship, it felt unfair to treat her so harshly but she couldn''t help but have a bad feeling for Remiel.


    Polyetta sat on the ground, closing her eyes and waiting for the other members to come save her. She went out of her rest when she heard the sound of someone approaching. It was the nun, bringing her food and water.


    "Sorry, the kitchen was busy. I just managed to get bread and a flask of water for you."


    Polyetta took the food while grimacing at the sight of her meal. She stared at the bread for a moment before eating it with reticence. The nun stayed there, watching her with curious eyes. It wasn''t long before the prisoner noticed her insisting gaze and confronted her about it.


    "What is it? You want to ask something?"


    "Yes... You''re like Ada, right? I mean, you''re not from here."


    "It doesn''t really matter, I just-"


    "Is there a God?"


    The nun quickly interrupted Polyetta''s words, who stared at her with a deep gaze.


    "How could I know? You''re the person of faith here."


    "It''s true but... There''s something that concerns me. I think that something isn''t right, the Pope is hiding something..."


    "And what is it?" The voice of the man in a pope outfit took the nun by surprise. The two stayed silent, staring at each other in the eyes "Evelyn, go back to work."


    "Y-Yes Father."


    The nun hurried and went back to her task. The man was about to leave as well but was stopped by Polyetta''s voice.


    "Was she right?"


    The man slowly turned toward her, a blank expression on his face.


    "Do not trouble yourself with that, this doesn''t concern you." The man analyzed Polyetta with an insisting gaze, putting her in a slight discomfort. Once he judged it was enough, the man asked, "Are you that nun that was with God?"


    "I''m afraid not, but it''s not the first time I hear it. I think I know your God. We call her Silv, she''s just playing with you."


    "So you know that she is no deity..."


    "You know but still obey her?" Polyetta asked with disgust "What would say your God if He knew you were worshiping an impostor?"


    The man chuckled and looked around, making sure they were alone. He talked softly, almost whispering to Polyetta.


    "There is no God, so he won''t do anything."


    "You seem quite sure, why''s that?"


    The man hesitated slightly before revealing everything to the prisoner.


    "Because I made it up. I created a God to make everyone listen to me. No more hate, no more jealousy, only peace. Everyone is afraid of death, so it''s comforting to think that someone will take care of us once it happens. All they have to do is obey and nothing wrong will happen."


    "So you''re using people''s fear to manipulate them?"


    "You could say that. But does it really matter? In the end, everyone is happy."


    Polyetta thought deeply. If everyone was happy, was it so wrong? She kept fighting for the universe and saw the loss of her comrades, of her friends. Everyone was affected by it even if they didn''t show it. If instead of struggling they just left for a happy world, away from all worries, would they be happier? She shook her head at this idea and instead answered the man before she would stress more about it.


    "Why are you admitting all of that? It could ruin everything."


    "I am not sure myself. Maybe the burden was becoming too much for me... And also, I feel like you could understand."


    The two stayed silently together, lost in their thought until they heard the footsteps of someone in a hurry approaching. It was another nun, an expression of fear on her face.


    "Father, there are intruders in the castle. What should we do?"


    "It''s not my duty to deal with that, go ask the king."


    "The royal family is away, you''re the one with the most authority here."


    The man let out a frustrated sigh and turned toward Polyetta.


    "We''ll discuss your fate later, prisoner."


    The two left Polyetta alone, who only hoped it was her friends coming to save her. She looked at the small opening on the wall to see the darkness of the evening. The moon was almost in the sky, they had to act quickly.

 Chapter 119: Infiltration

    Sepide and Remiel were standing in front of the castle, thinking of a way to enter. Their attention went to a window on the upper part of the edifice, giving them an entrance. Without asking, Remiel took Sepide and jumped in the window. She looked around to ensure that no one noticed them but was immediately scolded by Sepide.


    "Why didn''t you warn me first? It was terrifying!"


    "I apologize, I believed it was safer to hurry so we would not be noticed."


    Sepide was about to argue but was cut off by the sound of something falling to the ground. The two friends turned toward the source of the sound and saw a bag full of food on the ground, probably let down by the nun frozen in fear in front of them. Her body was shaking, ready to run at any moment.


    "W-Who are you? How did you end up here?"


    "Do not pay attention to us, we come in peace."


    Remiel''s answer seemed to relieve the woman a bit, who picked her bag from the ground with some hesitation.


    "But how did you come here? I was here a second ago and there was no one."


    "We do not have time to answer. Can you tell us where are the cells?"


    Remiel asked the nun under the uncertain eyes of Sepide.


    "I don''t think she''ll answer us..."


    "Why would you want to go to the cells?" The woman thought for a moment and suddenly made the connection with the new prisoner they had. She wasn''t sure how to react but decided to at least question them "Are you here for the woman with long blonde hair?"


    "So she is here!" Answered Sepide "We need to save her!"


    "I can guide you if you want."


    Sepide was a bit taken aback by the proposition of this strange nun and couldn''t help but question her intentions.


    "Why are you helping us? It''s weird."


    "I... Heard what they''d do to her. Father Benedictus said she would be executed and I can''t allow that. It''s actually a blessing from God that you are here, I don''t feel as guilty now that He sent me a sign."


    "I''m not sure I understand but we''ll follow you."


    The nun nodded and guided the two girls to the cell. They both weren''t sure whether they could trust her but decided to so they could find their leader as soon as possible.


    The group hurried toward the underground of the castle only to be met with the pope on the way there. The nun stepped back at his sight, clearly uncomfortable.


    "F-Father Benedictus? What are you doing here?"


    The man stayed silent and looked at the two girls behind her. He slowly approached them, an empty expression on his face.


    "Evelyn, who are they?"


    "They''re a sign from God, I can feel it in my heart. Please don''t execute the prisoner, I beg of you!"


    "I would be surprised if they were a sign of God. I''ll take them to their cells myself, you can leave."


    "No! Please, listen to me. You said that you could hear God... I think I can too, I can''t hear his words but I can feel his heart."Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    The man grimaced and took a firearm out of his pocket, bringing an expression of horror to the nun''s face.


    "Father... What are you..."


    "Sister Evelyn, you did well so far. It''s a shame it has to end like that but I can''t let anyone disturb the peace I''ve created."


    "But Father, God will fix my mistakes if I make some. There''s no need to send yourself to the deepest parts of hell for that! Believe me, I can feel that this is God''s wish and-"


    "There are no Gods."


    The woman let out a sound of shock, barely able to understand the man''s words.


    "What are you saying? God is and always will be. It''s a sin to even doubt his existence."


    "I created it. It''s simpler to control everything when even thinking is a sin. I''ve created this peace with my hands, I won''t let you ruin all my hard work."


    Evelyn couldn''t process what was happening, shaking her head in denial.


    "That''s... Not true... God has always been there..."


    "I didn''t expect this lie to be so effective. If you just listened, you could have lived happily like everyone."


    The man was ready to shoot at the distraught nun. Sepide took her firearm to disarm him but both was quickly stopped by a voice behind them.


    "Wait! Don''t do anything!"


    Sepide was shocked to see her leader with Remiel at her side. She looked next to her where Remiel stood before, surprised she managed to sneak out without her noticing. She probably went to save the leader while the two religious people were talking. The man was the first one to vocalize his surprise, aiming his weapon at Polyetta.


    "How did you get out!?"


    "I won''t cause any trouble, me and my friends will leave you alone." The leader looked at Sepide and gestured for her to come "It''s time to go home now."


    "Wait, Evelyn will be in danger if we just leave!"


    "Sepide, it''s how this world is meant to be. We are observers in this world, not actors. I know it''s a difficult choice but it''s how it''s meant to be."


    Sepide took her firearm despite her leader''s order and shot at the man''s arm, making his gun drop on the floor. She kept aiming at the man and yelled at the nun, not leaving the man with her eyes.


    "Evelyn, run!"


    "Thanks, I trust you to get out of here safely too."


    The nun ran away, enraging the pope. Polyetta considered following the nun but changed her mind, not wanting to leave Sepide alone.


    "What have you done? It won''t take long before she spreads the truth! You''ve doomed us all! You''ve doomed our peace!"


    The man ran away from Sepide, leaving the three members alone. Remiel and the leader walked toward Sepide, not without some disappointment. The robot looked at her, trying to understand her actions.


    "Sepide, this was against her objective. Furthermore, you disobeyed a direct order from the leader."


    "You couldn''t understand."


    The leader let out a sigh and approached Sepide with fatigue.


    "First Silva, now you... I shouldn''t let Neige take care of new members. I just hope you''re not going to doom this world with your actions."


    "If we did nothing, Evelyn would have been killed and he would have continued lying to everyone!"


    "Well not only it isn''t our duty to judge, but they were also doing very well before we came."


    Sepide silently disagreed with her two comrades but still followed them outside of the castle to go back home.


    The moon was split up into at least ten smaller parts. The leader stared at it a bit concerned but was more worried about Sepide. Silva and Neige both changed her with time, all Polyetta could do was hope that everything would be alright. The group went back on the ship from this short but surprising adventure in this other world.


    "So that''s basically it. I still managed to steal the book I wanted on the way if you''re curious."


    Everyone stayed silent, processing everything they just learned. Neige raised his hand to get Polyetta''s attention and asked her,


    "Should we go into that world again to fix it, or you prefer to wait?"


    "I think it''s wiser to wait for now. We have more important and like Gwyn said, we shouldn''t get on dangerous missions right now. I think we should actually all go to sleep, it''s late."


    Everyone agreed and left for their room. Neige was about to go but was stopped by Polyetta before he could.


    "Neige, can I ask you something?"


    "What is it?"


    The leader seemed a bit uncertain, hesitating to ask the question on her mind.


    "What would you think about finding a nice world and living there? We wouldn''t have problems, wouldn''t risk our lives... Wouldn''t it be nice?"


    "I... Don''t think so. I can''t just do nothing knowing that the universe may be in danger." Seeing the disappointed face on his friend, he caressed her hair and made a soft smile for her "We should talk about it again once Silv and the anomaly are taken care of, alright?"


    "Yes, you''re right. By the way, are you free tomorrow?"


    "I should be, why?"


    "Sepide seems to dislike Remiel. I figured that making them spend time together would help but... You know Sepide more than me. Could you come with me?"


    "I don''t see any reason to say no. I''d like it if Sepide could be more friendly with everyone too."


    Polyetta smiled with satisfaction at Neige''s words before letting out a yawn.


    "It''s really late, you should sleep."


    Neige nodded and walked toward his room. Polyetta stared at him with concern, wondering what was the right thing to do for his future.

 Chapter 120: Cook-off

    Sepide and Remiel stood next to each other with the leader keeping an eye on them, waiting for Neige. They all waited silently until Neige arrived, it didn''t take him long before noticing the tension between Sepide and Remiel.


    "What happened? You act like someone died."


    "I don''t know, Sepide has been like that since Remiel arrived."


    The leader and Neige looked at Sepide, who was pouting and turned her head around.


    "Why is the robot here? I''m sure we don''t her for whatever we''re doing."


    "I doubt it." Answered Neige "Polyetta decided that we would all spend time together. Remiel is still new so we need to spend time with her."


    "I didn''t need to be carried around like a child though." Sepide answered, still not looking at Remiel.


    "I may be a child, but I do not need to hide my face on the internet because of my appearance."


    Remiel talked in a light-hearted tone, a smile on her face. Everyone was shocked to hear that, especially Sepide who finally gave attention to Remiel by staring at her with anger.


    "You think you''re better than me? I''m the reason you even exist, I can prove I''m better than you. I challenge you to anything you want, I''ll show you how humans are better than robots!"


    "Very well. As you have experience in cooking, we should see which one can be the better cook."


    "Alright, I''m ready for that."


    Sepide left toward the kitchen under the amused eyes of Remiel. Neige immediately went toward the robot, trying to understand what happened.


    "Why did you insult her? It only made things worse!"


    "Isn''t it how people show affection? Emely and Silva merrily use insults to show their love."


    "Don''t learn from them... I''ll convince Sepide to stop and I''ll talk to her privately."


    "So we will not cook together?"


    Neige was surprised to see Remiel''s saddened expression. He turned toward the leader but she didn''t seem to understand either.


    "You... Still want to do it? You know she''s doing that to prove she''s better than you, right?"


    "It does not matter. It will be an amusing activity and provide us with a challenge as rivals."


    "Rivals? I think Sepide sees you more like an enemy."


    "I am sure she does not. Humans have complex ways to show their feelings, it is merely her way to show her love to me."


    Remiel left to join Sepide in the kitchen. The leader went next to Neige, concerned about what was about to happen.


    "What should we do? I just wanted them to talk and get along, not fight each other in a culinary duel."


    "I guess we can only help them for now. Maybe they''ll feel closer after that."


    Poleytta wasn''t as sure as Neige but still followed him to join Sepide and Remiel.


    The two friends arrived in the kitchen to see Ina being harassed by Sepide and Remiel. When the cook noticed them, she hurried toward them with relief.


    "Leader, Neige! They are asking me to use the kitchen but I can''t take care of them, I need to do something."


    "Don''t worry, we''re here for that. We''ll take care of them."


    Ina smiled at Neige''s answer and bowed in gratitude.


    "Thanks, it''s not that I don''t trust them but I would have preferred someone to keep an eye on them."


    The cook immediately left the room. Neige and the leader went toward the two girls before they could argue. The leader wasn''t sure what to say, so Neige decided to talk first.Stolen story; please report.


    "We should make teams. Me and Sepide against Remiel and Polyetta. The goal is to make the best meal, what do you think?"


    "I''m okay with that." Sepide looked at Remiel, waiting for her answer.


    "I will not lose!"


    The two rivals split and prepared everything they needed. Sepide acted with confidence like she already knew what she was doing. She glanced shortly at Remiel before turning toward Neige.


    "You know how to cook? I never saw you cook before."


    "I know a bit. I just wanted to talk with you alone actually, Polyetta sucks too so it''s basically just you and Remiel."


    "I see, I better not lose then. We''ll cook lasagna, I''m sure a robot can''t win against that!"


    Sepide started working under the curious gaze of Neige.


    "You know, Remiel is a robot. She has more knowledge and skill than you, it''s just a fact. You shouldn''t take it personally, she was made to be better."


    "I was made to be better too."


    "It''s different, you''re closer to a normal human being. I mean, you don''t have a rocket launcher."


    Sepide stopped in her steps to look at Neige, with a gaze of disbelief.


    "She... Has a rocket launcher?"


    "I don''t know, I suppose. Emely is the one that created her so I wouldn''t be surprised."


    Sepide focused back on her meal, working the best she could on it.


    "Weren''t you the one that wanted Remiel? I don''t remember the name but it was because of another robot... Ariel?"


    "Uriel." Immediately answered Sepide "They''re different, Remiel thinks she''s better but she''s far from human."


    "You''re a bit harsh, imagine that she''s like a child. Sometimes she says weird stuff but it''s not with a bad intent. Don''t you want to give her a chance at least?"


    "I will when she stops being an entitled pretentious."


    "Maybe you do spend too much time with Silva... Why do you even think that?"


    "She always acts like she''s happy for no reason and that she can be more than the reason she was created for."


    "Sepide, are you... Jealous of her?"


    Sepide pretended to be too focused to answer. Neige took a deep breath and glanced at Polyetta and Remiel, who seemed to have some difficulties.


    "You can find your own path too, you know? Don''t try to compare yourself with a robot. Actually, don''t compare yourself with anyone, you''re unique."


    "You''ve heard of Aristotle?"


    "I did, Kairo was pretty into him."


    "He said humans are happier when they do the thing they were made for, and that humans are made to reason. I''m different, I''m made for one thing and so is Remiel. It''s... Vain to fight against it."


    Neige took Sepide''s arm to stop her from cooking and forced her to stare at him in the eyes.


    "When we fought Kairo, you said you were more than what you were created for. Doesn''t it mean anything to you? Do you not believe it anymore?"


    "I do... And it hurts. I wish I could just go back to what I was before, something that had a purpose, and obey it."


    Sepide freed herself from Neige''s grip and continued working on her food. Neige looked at Remiel and saw the smile on her face as she tried her best to cook with Polyetta.


    "You enjoy your V-tuber thing and cooking, right? And you weren''t made for that. Don''t listen to old guys from other worlds'' philosophy, you can still find happiness beyond what you are."


    Sepied silently put her meal in the oven without looking at Neige once. She grabbed her wrist with her other hand and closed her eyes, confused about her feelings.


    "Thanks... Neige. I''m glad that I''m not alone."


    Neige smiled softly at Sepide and rubbed the top of her head.


    "You''ll never be alone. I should bring everyone to taste what you did, we''ll see who won in the end."


    Sepide turned toward Neige, trying to make a smile despite her sad feelings, and nodded her head.


    Everyone was waiting in the cafeteria to try the meals of the two cooks. Sepide put her lasagna on the table while Remiel put a cake on it. No one commented on it but it was obvious that the cake stayed in the oven a bit too long. They decided to try Sepide''s meal first, and all took a part of the lasagna. Before anyone could say anything, Gwyn ate and gave her opinion on it.


    "It''s alright, not too sweet, not too salty."


    "I don''t think you can make lasagna too sweet, Gwyn." Ina said with a perplexed smile.


    "I didn''t even notice it was lasagna."


    "Don''t listen to her Sepide!" Emely said cheerfully "It was really good!"


    "Yeah, I''m glad to have a friend that can cook so well!"


    Sepide was glad to hear the compliments from Silva and the others. It was now time to eat Remiel''s cake. The leader stood proudly next to her, announcing to everyone,


    "Me and Remiel worked hard on it! I taught her all I could!"


    Remiel started to cut the cake with some difficulties. The food was so hard that she needed to use a lot of strength to just cut one slice. Silva seemed more than annoyed by the sound, grimacing at it.


    "Who''s cutting stone?"


    "That''s not stone Silva... That''s the cake."


    Upon hearing Emely''s words, Silva focused more on the sound and shook her head with vigor.


    "If that''s the cake, I''m not eating it."


    "Come on, Remiel did it and she''s like my daughter. You could at least try."


    "I will if you try it first."


    "Eh!? Well... Of course, I will."


    While the two were arguing, Sepide took a slice of the burnt cake. It reminded her of the first time she cooked and how half of what she did ended up in as bad of a state. She stared at it for a moment until she was taken out of her thoughts by Silva''s voice.


    "You told me it was edible! I can barely break a piece of it!"


    "I couldn''t with my teeth, but if you break a bit of it on the table, then you can swallow the smaller parts."


    "Emely, that''s not what I''d consider edible."


    Remiel laughed happily at the two girls'' interaction before talking to the rest of the group.


    "I know that I lost, there is no need to eat it. I have limited knowledge in this domain, I am just glad I was able to play with Sepide."


    Sepide felt bad to treat Remiel so harshly. She couldn''t help but think about Neige''s words, maybe she was jealous of Remiel. But despite what her mind said, her heart still couldn''t accept Remiel.

 Chapter 121: Missions Are Back

    Emely was in her lab with Remiel, discussing various subjects together. Emely tried her best to teach Remiel but still had trouble making her more socially aware. Silva ran into the room with excitation, surprising her friend.


    "Silva? Do you no longer need your crutches?"


    "Yeah! It''s been a week and Gwyn said I could go back on missions if I don''t strain myself. I feel like it''s been an eternity since I went to another world."


    "Come on, it was only a few days ago. Are you already going somewhere?"


    "Yes, I don''t know where yet. I have to go to the leader''s office in an hour but I wanted to tell you the good news first."


    "Aww, you''re adorable." Emely turned toward Remiel with a smile on her face "We should take a break, you worked a lot too."


    "I do not need rest but I appreciate."


    Silva sat on the desk where she used to be now, Emely following her soon after.


    "So Remiel, are you learning well?"


    "I believe so, but it seems that Sepide still feels uncomfortable with me..."


    "Don''t feel bad about it, it just wasn''t easy for her, give her time."


    "Indeed. However, I am having some doubts about something and would like your input."


    "What is it?" Silva asked with curiosity.


    "Sepide does livestreams on internet, in an attempt to get closer to her, I decided to do the same thing. I am not so sure about whether it was a good idea or not. Emely''s lessons make me think that Sepide might be offended by my actions. Should I stop?"


    "I don''t think you should if you enjoy it. Sepide is just a bit confused but trust me, we''ll find a way to make her better."


    "I understand, thanks for this information." After bowing at Silva, Remiel turned slowly toward Emely "I shall now leave. I want to spend time knowing more about the others."


    "Okay, but we continue in an hour."


    Remiel nodded her head and left the two girls alone in the lab. Once they were alone, Emely took something out of one of her drawers and gave it to Silva.


    "Do you remember when you gave me the opalium? I wasn''t sure what to do of it at first but I figured it might be a good opportunity for one of my oldest inventions."


    Silva took the gift from Emely and quickly realized it was a gun but couldn''t see what was so special about it.


    "Can it create portals to other worlds?"


    "No, it''s nothing that fancy. Do you remember two years ago, when I showed something to the ship and it failed?"


    "Yes... I feel bad for being a jerk about it..."


    "Oh, don''t think about it. It was a firearm that could shoot energy bullets and was powered by solar energy. I didn''t have a material strong enough to contain the energy, but thanks to the Opalium, I was able to re-create it!"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Silva caressed the weapon in her hand, reminiscing about the day when Emely showed it to everyone.


    "If I was nicer at the time, everything could have been different..."


    "Will you stop? I said it''s alright! The only annoying thing about it is that I got hurt when I made it, so take good care of it."


    "You got hurt? You want a magic kiss?" Silva chuckled, while Emely stared at her in confusion.


    "A magic kiss? What is that?"


    "You never had that? It''s when you''re hurt somewhere and your parents kiss you where you got hurt. My parent did that when I was very young... When they still cared about me."


    "So you''ll kiss me where I got hurt?"


    "I meant that as a joke, but I wouldn''t mind it."


    Emely made a naughty smile, amused at Silva''s innocence.


    "It''s on my lips."


    "You got hurt on your lips? Like I''ll believe it."


    "Won''t you believe your girlfriend?" Emely asked in a falsely offended tone. Silva smiled and kissed Emely on her mouth, lingering for a few seconds before retiring herself.


    "I knew you weren''t hurt there, you''re a clever girl."


    "You''re right, but you enjoyed it too. I actually got hurt on my chest."


    Silva blushed heavily, widely opening her eyes.


    "I-I''m not falling for that!"


    Emely laughed cheerily and took Silva in her arms.


    "It''s cute to see you like that. I''m glad to be the only one who can embarrass you, you used to do it to me before. I can''t believe you became less pervert with me."


    "It''s not really that. I just liked it when everyone was shocked. Actually thinking about perverse things is so different."


    "It''s funny for me to see. I still hope someday you''ll feel pervert enough with me."


    "Y-You''re the real pervert one!"


    "I am, but only for you."


    The two continued talking for a moment until Remiel entered in the room, surprising the lovers.


    "Remiel? What are you doing here so early?"


    "It has been an hour."


    "Already?" Emely looked at the time to see that Remiel was right. Silva and she stood up from the desk they were on "Well... Good luck Silva. I hope it won''t be a hard mission."


    "I''m sure I''ll be alright. I''ll come back with good news!"


    Silva left the lab to join everyone in the leader''s office, hoping she wasn''t late.


    Neige and Sepide were waiting in front of the leader''s office. Silva arrived and joined them, a bit worried that it was already over.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t see the time go."


    "Don''t worry, Sepide and I arrived a few minutes ago. We were waiting for you/"


    Silva smiled at her two friends and all entered the room and faced the screen on the wall like usual. It didn''t take long before it turned on, revealing the leader''s face.


    "Hello everyone, it''s been a while since we actually went on an official mission. I wish I could have given you more time but there''s an emergency."


    "Is it because of Silv again?" Silva asked, exhausted at the thought of it.


    "Actually not, it''s because of Kairo. He changed this world before his death, I figured we had time to take care of it but our time ran out. This world isn''t technologically advanced so you''ll need to wear older clothes. As for the problem, it''s a bit complicated since there are two different ones."


    "Two?" Neige said, interrupting the leader "Should we take care of them one by one?"


    "I''m afraid not. The first one is quite simple, a boxer named Neige was supposed to quit boxing after sustaining an injury but will participate in a small tournament. You''ll just need to win against him and the world will be safe."


    "There is another Neige in this world?" Sepide asked with curiosity "Should we bring someone else to make sure the two Neiges don''t meet?"


    "Usually we would do like that but I figured Neige could deal with the second problem. A trial is happening at the same time. The Neige from their world is supposed to be there and is an important reason as to why they found the culprit. But since he was convinced by Kairo to enter the tournament, he''s not in the courtroom and the truth will be lost."


    "So while Sepide and Silva are fighting against my other self, I''ll play the detective in a case I know nothing about?"


    "Basically. If we don''t do anything, the world will take a direction that we won''t be able to fix. The world''s ID is 15022007, you better hurry."


    "Yes Leader!" The three said in unison. They left the room together, about to prepare themselves for their next mission. Before they could go, Neige warned his two friends.


    "I won''t be here to help you. If my other self is a boxer, he won''t be easy to beat. I think you should let Sepide handle this Silva, you''re still not in a perfect physical state."


    "Don''t worry about me, I''m not going to lose against a femboy. He''s probably smaller than me anyway."


    "I''m not a femboy... Anyway, be careful if you plan on fighting him."


    "Yes, I will. If I''m not Emely will scold me."


    The group split up to make their preparation for this new world. Neige felt worried about Silva and Sepide''s mission but knew that they were enough to deal with it.

 Chapter 122: Another Trial

    "This world looks like a city that isn''t modern but isn''t too old either. They have cars but no phones, so I suppose they''re on the older side. There is a strange atmosphere that I couldn''t explain, I think I''ll call it the Mysterious Lands."


    After doing her short report, Sepide went to Neige and Silva who were waiting for her.


    "You said they were old because they don''t have phones but phones are pretty advanced you know?"


    "They''re advanced for a dinosaur like you." Silva smirked proudly after her answer to Neige''s words.


    "Yeah, whatever, you''re both too used to technology to appreciate how impressive it is." Neige said, pouting a bit. Sepide took a look around, trying to find where they were supposed to go.


    "We should probably split up. We can always communicate with our watches if we need to."


    "You''re right, good luck with your tournament. I should be able to find a courtroom easily."


    The three friends cheered for each other before splitting up into groups. Neige still felt worried for his friend but knew they could manage, all he could do now was focus on his task.


    Neige made its way to the courtroom, standing proudly in the middle of the city. He barely entered when he was immediately ambushed by a professional-looking girl with long white hair in a suit.


    "Neige? Where were you? It really doesn''t help your case you know?"


    "My... Case?"


    The girl stared at him intensely before suddenly doubting herself.


    "Wait, you''re not Neige. You look like a female version of him."


    "I''m not a girl! I just look like one!"


    "Really? You''re smaller, less muscular, and more feminine than him."


    "He''s... Like that?"


    Neige suddenly felt a wave of fear through his body, thinking about the foe that Silva and Sepide were up against. The girl looked at her watch and glanced around, making sure no one heard.


    "Hey, can you help me? I need you to pretend that you''re Neige. I can''t afford to not have him right now."


    Neige felt glad to have such a great opportunity to accomplish his goal but he still tried to act hesitant to not look suspicious.


    "Can you at least explain to me what is happening?"


    "Oh, right. My name is Alya, I''m a lawyer representing a man named Neige. Too bad for me, he''s a total dumbass. He escaped his cell and I have no idea where he is! He''s the main suspect in a murder case, you can imagine it''s impossible to have a trial when the defendant is nowhere to be found."


    "That''s quite a complicated situation, were his odds so bad that he ran away?"


    "I wish I knew... I should probably tell you all I know about the case. A 54-year-old man named Noir was killed by a bullet in the heart. He was waiting for his own trial and was waiting in one of the cells. A lot of people came to see him so there are a few suspects. The most important ones are his former partner, Payolo, she always was with him and even was the one that proved he was the culprit of his case."This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "But why would she kill him?"


    "I don''t know, maybe her sense of justice? The only other real suspects are a nun named Zayda, Neige''s best friend, and Neige himself, a former professional boxer. Their motive is quite simple, they were both suspected by Noir and probably held a grudge. But I think you understand that Neige is the main suspect in this case, he''s the one being prosecuted after all."


    "So we need to innocent me-I mean Neige, right? Do you feel confident about it?"


    "Rather yes, if he was actually here that is. That doesn''t help that he''s away but I could save him. The ballistic fingerprinting isn''t the one of his gun so it should be enough to at least make the judge and jury doubt."


    "Ballistic... Fingerprinting?"


    "Oh, you probably don''t know it. It''s a recent technology that allows us to know which gun fired the bullet. We now know for sure that Neige''s firearm wasn''t the one that shot the victim. I''m so glad you''re here, we''re on the second day of the trial, and it''s starting in an hour. Will you help me?"


    Neige pretended to think about it but already knew his answer. He nodded his head at the girl, ready to help and find the true culprit for the sake of his mission.


    "I''ll try my best."


    "Thank you so much! I''ll take care of everything, don''t stress too much."


    Neige followed the lawyer, hoping everything would be alright. He never has been in court before and wasn''t sure if he would be able to find the real culprit without acting suspiciously.


    The pair arrived in the break room, where a woman in a detective uniform was waiting. Once she noticed them she walked toward them and analyzed Neige with her empty-looking eyes.


    "Neige? Is that you? You look so different from yesterday..."


    Alya, the lawyer, went between Neige and the woman, trying to hide him from her.


    "You''re just tired Payolo, he''s the same old Neige. His memory is just a bit fuzzy." Alya smiled to convince the detective, who still didn''t seem convinced.


    "His clothes are different, is that his brother?"


    "Come on, you barely slept last night. It''s Neige!"


    "I didn''t sleep all night but I can still see it''s not him. I trust you so I won''t say anything, I''m curious to know what you''ll do."


    The lawyer bowed at Payolo and quickly noticed the papers in her hand.


    "Is that for me?"


    "Yes, I managed to get an autopsy report as well as some useful information."


    "You''re the best!"


    Alya and Neige took a look at the autopsy report. There wasn''t anything interesting at first glance, the victim died at midnight, almost instantly after the shot. The cause of death was noted as heart failure and two bullets were found in the body.


    "The killer wasn''t precise..." Noticed Alya "He needed two shots to kill him."


    Neige took the paper and stared at it intensely, trying to understand something.


    "I thought you knew that the bullet wasn''t from Neige''s gun." Neige paused for a moment, still not used to saying his name to talk about someone else "Wouldn''t you have known that there were two bullets in the body then?"


    "Hey, you''re right!" The lawyer turned toward the detective, a bit annoyed "Why did the first autopsy you showed me didn''t say that?"


    "It''s because we only analyzed the bullet that caused his death, the one in his heart. The other bullet was caused a few days earlier but since this is the complete one, it was included."


    "Oh, so we don''t have to worry about it, this wasn''t made by our killer."


    "We still analyzed where the bullet was from, it''s weird for someone in custody to get shot. What''s even weirder is that he didn''t say anything about it."


    "So do you know who shot this first bullet?" Neige asked, curious about the answer.


    "No, but the ballistic fingerprint matches the one of the second bullet. I think you might be interested in the second paper I gave you, it will answer some of your questions."


    Neige and Alya looked at the second document. It was a list of every suspect''s schedule for the two days the victim was shot. Neige quickly noticed that everyone had an alibi for at least one of the two days. The other Neige and Payolo both had an alibi on the first day the victim was shot, while Zayda had a tight alibi for the day of the murder.


    "If I''m reading this correctly, it means that none of them could be the killer?"


    "Not exactly." Explained Payolo "It means that none of them could have delivered the two shots. As long as we don''t find the firearm used, we''re stuck. Another person could be involved, or two different people tried to kill him with the same gun."


    "It doesn''t matter much though." Said Alya "We can find the killer later, all I need to do is innocent Neige."


    Neige looked at the paper, lost in his thought. He couldn''t afford to stay here forever to find the culprit and knew that he would need to do it before the end of the trial. This case was confusing but he knew the truth was somewhere, waiting to be discovered. The only suspects were Payolo, Neige, and Zayda. It was all too soon for him to draw any conclusion and had to hope the trial would shed light on the case.

 Chapter 123: Shadow Of The Best

    Silva and Sepide searched for a while and managed to find the place where the tournament was held. It was far from the official setting they expected, instead, it was just a shed with a lot of shady-looking people. One of them approached the two girls, an annoyed look on his face.


    "Sorry ladies, I don''t think you should be here."


    "We''re here for the boxing tournament, is it here?"


    Everyone was shocked to hear Sepide''s words and came closer to the pair. Some chuckled at the idea while some were offended at the mere idea of them participating. The man who seemed to be the organizer of the event raised his hand to calm everyone and took a closer look at the two girls.


    "You don''t look like you could do much. You''ll just get hurt."


    "Why not let them at least prove themselves?"


    Everybody turned toward the source of the voice, a tall-looking man with a strong build and short white hair. All seemed intimidated by him despite the smile on his face.


    "Didn''t you say we had two free spots? Let''s be honest, this Kairo''s not gonna come and we still don''t have our last member."


    "But sir, they''ll get severely hurt!"


    "Then we''ll stop before it happens, can''t we be gentleman? I just want it to start already, it''s been an hour of waiting."


    The organizer glanced at the two girls before giving his decision with reluctance.


    "Fine, don''t blame me if they die on us."


    Everyone went to prepare themselves, leaving the two girls alone for now. Sepide still couldn''t believe what she had just seen and hurried to share it with Silva.


    "This guy... He looks so much like Neige..."


    "His voice is almost the same and we''re supposed to find a Neige here, of course it''s him."


    "You can''t see it but... He looks like he spent his life training and he''s so tall! There''s no way we win against him."


    "A tall and muscular Neige, huh?" Silva grinned softly to herself "If Emely didn''t exist, he would have been perfect."


    "Silva, what are we going to do?"


    "Relax, if I do my best, I''m not losing to any Neige."


    The organizer called everyone over to explain the rules of the tournament. Sepide couldn''t stop looking at Neige, terrified at the idea of facing him.


    "Listen because I won''t explain twice. It''s a standard elimination bracket, whoever wins gets a juicy prize. Let''s all fight for fairness, no low blows, no kicks, just skills and strength. Neige, why don''t you start against Jack if it''s alright with you."


    "Yeah, I hope he''s tough." Neige made a childish smile before entering the ring, quickly followed by his opponent.


    Silva and Sepide both were curious to see how strong this Neige was and patiently waited for the match to start. The referee started a countdown, building up pressure in the ring.


    "May the best win! Fight!"


    Neige didn''t wait a second more and rushed on his opponent. He gave a quick jab on the man''s stomach with his left fist before following with an uppercut from the same arm. The other boxer couldn''t stand up and fell to the ground, surprising Neige.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "I thought you were boxers? Can''t even handle that?"


    Neige seemed disappointed, unlike Sepide whose worries were confirmed.


    "Silva, there''s no way we win against him!"


    "He didn''t use his right arm."


    Sepide thought for a moment, quickly realizing that her friend was right.


    "He doesn''t even need it..."


    "I think he can''t use it. The leader said he got an injury, it''s probably about his right arm. Our Neige would have used his left hand for a jab and followed up with his right arm if he saw an opening. Using the same arm twice in a row is highly impractical."


    "So... You could easily win against him?"


    "I wouldn''t say easily, he''s way faster than I thought."


    The referee announced Neige''s victory, who seemed disappointed in his match. After taking a paper out of his pocket, the arbiter announced the next match.


    "Let''s put the red-haired girl against Armand!"


    The man named Armand made his way to the ring, looking at Silva with a mocking smile. Silva made her way to the ring and everyone suddenly realized something after seeing her using her arms to find her way, something that her opponent quickly asked.


    "Wait, are you blind?"


    "I''m blind but I can put my punch on your face quite easily."


    Her opponent was not taking her seriously. The referee started his countdown but even despite that, Silva''s opponent wasn''t taking this seriously.


    "Ready? Fight!"


    Silva approached the man named Armand who tried attacking her with a strong hook. He was shocked to see Silva dodge it and attack right after with an uppercut. Before he could recover she landed a strong hit in his stomach but it still wasn''t enough to put him down.


    "Damn brat, are you really blind?"


    "Yeah, and glad to be. I don''t have to see your stupid face that way."


    Enraged, the man threw an attack that whiffed, allowing Silva to give a direct hit to his face and sending him to the ground.


    Everyone was shocked by the turn of events and couldn''t believe that she managed to send an actual boxer to the ground. The shed stayed silent until Silva turned toward the referee, clearly annoyed.


    "Hey referee, aren''t you supposed to do your job?"


    The referee was still in shock but counted down. As he did, it was clear that Silva''s opponent wouldn''t stand back up. Once the referee counted to ten, he announced the winner with a voice of disbelief.


    "The winner is... The girl with red hair..."


    "My name is Silva, you better remember it."


    Silva stepped down from the ring under everyone''s shocked gaze. She went with Sepide but was cut off by Neige''s voice before she could say anything.


    "That''s not bad, your technique isn''t the best, but your strength and speed are quite impressive. Still... I''m not sure it was a good idea to come here, you seem to be the best so far but even you are no match for me..."


    "Are you saying I suck?" Silva said with a slightly offended tone "I''m sure I could beat you if you''re not careful."


    Neige seemed to feel bad about her words and quickly apologized.


    "Oh, that''s not what I meant. I used to be in official matches, there was a time when I was the best of the best. Don''t take what I say personally, I''m just a bit disappointed at the level here. I don''t want to ruin the fun of beginners, maybe I should train again and participate in the next big tournament."


    "You want to fight again?" Sepide felt a bit worried, the reason they needed to stop him was so he wouldn''t continue boxing after all "Are you sure you''ll be alright with your injury?"


    "So you''ve heard about it... One of my opponents cheated and used weighted gloves, it broke my arm. I didn''t want to continue boxing since it could cause problems to my health."


    "So why continue?" Asked Silva.


    "Because it''s a bit anticlimatic. I didn''t lose gracefully, I just retired. I want to lose against someone really strong, way better than me."


    "So if I win, will you stop with this idea?"


    "I will, if you''re strong enough that is."


    Neige laughed at the idea and left the two friends together. Sepide felt worried about their chances, unlike Silva, who felt a wave of confidence take over her.


    "I''m not that much weaker than Neige, I should be able to win against his crippled other self."


    "But he said he was among the best, do you really think it will be alright?"


    "I don''t see any reason it wouldn''t be. Neige taught me about boxing, I can''t disappoint him."


    "I hope you''re right... I wonder if he''s doing alright over there."


    "We can always ask him later. But there''s something weird about this world."


    Sepide looked around to see what Silva was talking about but couldn''t understand what she meant.


    "I don''t see any problem."


    "No, I mean... Kairo wanted to destroy worlds, so why didn''t he? He just asked the Neige from this world to enter the tournament and apparently entered it too. If he really wanted to destroy it, he could have done better."


    "Maybe he just wanted to fight Neige to train?"


    "Maybe... Welp, it doesn''t matter now. We kicked Kairo''s ass, we''ll do the same with this Neige."


    Despite her worries, Sepide felt relieved that Silva was so confident, even if she was just faking it. The two were ready to win this tournament and beat Neige with all their strength.

 Chapter 124: Closer To The Truth

    The courtroom was engulfed in a beaming light, shining upon everyone. Neige was sitting next to his lawyer, Alya. While she was focused on proving his innocence, Neige was determined to find the real culprit. The prosecutor was silently sitting, waiting for the start of the trial. Once he was ready, the judge announced the beginning that everyone was waiting for.


    "The trial of Neige Chance can start. I think we should summarize what happened yesterday, can you do us the honor, detective Payolo?"


    The detective went to the bar with a bunch of paper in hand. She reviewed them quickly before summarizing the case.


    "On the 14th of October, three days ago, Noir was killed by a bullet in the heart at midnight. He was waiting for the trial of a murder he confessed to committing. If he wasn''t killed, it would have happened on the 15th. Noir was a detective working on the murder that he himself committed, accusing and suspecting many people in the process. One of those people was Neige, because of that, vengeance was chosen as the motive."


    "I do remember yes. Miss Alya managed to make a compelling case about his innocence and we decided to give this case more time."


    "Indeed, a lot happened in just a day. We discovered a second bullet inside the victim''s body, it was shot on the 12th by the same firearm that the one that took Noir''s life. But most surprising, we now have a witness step forward."


    "A-A witness!?" The judge as well as the whole court was shocked by this news. The jury was discussing frantically about who this person could be "I thought no one witnessed the crime!? Bring this person to the bar!"


    "Will do sir."


    The detective left the bar and her place to a nun that Neige recognized immediately. Her long blonde hair and violet eyes made it clear she was the other self of Polyetta and Ada. The expression on her face was different though, it displayed boredom and annoyance more than the innocence and shyness he''s used to. The woman took a cigarette and lit up in front of everyone, shocking the judge.


    "Excuse me, but smoking isn''t allowed in a court of justice."


    "God never stopped me from smoking in his church, I don''t know why it should be different here."


    The judge was visibly annoyed but kept a professional expression on his face despite his feelings toward the woman.


    "You''re lucky, a witness is more than precious in this case. Can you decline your identity and profession?"


    The nun took a puff of her cigarette and looked at Neige in the eyes. It was evident she already knew about the mascarade but decided to stay silent and answered the judge''s question.


    "Zayda Faith, nun."


    "That was... Direct. Can you explain to us what you saw please?"


    Zayda looked at Neige and took her cigarette out of her mouth.


    "Hey, thanks for covering Neige. Don''t worry, everything will be over soon."


    The nun blew a kiss at Neige, making him blush a bit. He wasn''t sure what she meant but was focused on her words, determined to find the truth.


    "So I went to see Noir, we never saw each other eye to eye. Not only did he accuse me, he also accused Neige of a murder he committed. Neige was the biggest suspect in his case, so if Noir had been declared innocent, Neige would have been the next suspect. Neige is worth everything to me, even my life, so you can imagine I don''t really care about an old geezer''s life. I took the revolver that my father had and... Boom."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Everybody was silent, processing the confession of the woman. Payolo stepped forward, showing a revolver to the court.


    "The witness gave us her firearm, we should be able to know whether this was the firearm used tomorrow but we know it shot twice recently."


    "Wait, I don''t understand." Interrupted the judge "Did you just confess to a murder?"


    "You don''t understand that? Maybe it''s time for you to retire." The nun took another puff of her cigarette, leaving the jury dumbstruck.


    "Why didn''t you step forward yesterday?" Asked the prosecutor.


    "I wanted to be free, but if my freedom doom Neige, it''s not worth it."


    Alya turned toward Neige with a bright smile on her face, already celebrating.


    "Even if you weren''t here we would have won! Thanks for everything though, I''m glad you were here."


    Neige stared at the nun in the eyes, he knew something was wrong. If he wasn''t here, she would have still come forward to prove Neige''s innocence. But as he knows, the truth was only found thanks to Neige''s presence. Furthermore, he knew that both Polyetta and Ada would sacrifice themselves for their Neige, so this Zayda would likely do the same. It was obvious to him that this was an attempt from her to give her life to Neige, but he wasn''t going to let this happen without doing anything.


    "Objection!"


    Everyone stared at Neige with confusion, especially Alya, who tried her best to make him sit down again.


    "What are you doing? You''ll doom us!"


    Neige ignored his lawyer''s words and stared at Zayda. The nun was looking at him with a killing intent, understanding that he wasn''t going to let her plan happen.


    "The witness is lying, she can''t be the culprit!"


    "Sir Neige? She''s proving your innocence you know?" The judge explained, confused.


    "But this isn''t the truth. She had an alibi for the moment of the crime!"


    "Is that true?"


    The judge looked at the papers that the detective gave her and found the one explaining what everyone was doing at the time of the murder.


    "You''re right, she was organizing a mass at midnight that day! Multiple people saw her at her church and prayed with her! Can you explain to us what is the meaning of all of this?"


    "Fuck." The nun cursed to herself, letting her cigarette fall on the ground. She bowed to pick it up and took it back in her mouth "I organized this mass on purpose to prove my innocence, just in case. I didn''t think Neige would be suspected."


    "It is true that a mass at midnight isn''t common." Added the prosecutor "But it means that you weren''t able to commit the crime and that the defendant is still suspect."


    "Wait, that''s not true! I just gave my clothes to someone. As you can see, a nun''s gawn covers more than enough to not be recognized, especially if I hide my hair. I asked this person to pretend to be me."


    "Y-Yes! See!? My client is innocent and this nun is the culprit!" Alya looked at Neige, begging with her eyes for him to stay silent. Sadly, the man didn''t listen and objected once more.


    "Hold on, Neige had an alibi for the 12th. Are you perhaps insinuating that his alibi isn''t valid too? It would mean that you could both be the culprit then."


    "Wait, aren''t you Neige?" Asked the judge confused "Are you talking about yourself in the third person?"


    Everyone ignored the judge, more concerned by the nun''s answer. She opened her eyes widely, suddenly remembering something.


    "You''re right, Neige has an alibi for the 12th! So that means that he can''t be the killer since he was only free on the 14th and not the on the 12th."


    "The murder occurred on the 14th, your alibi was already determined, miss nun." Objected the prosecutor "You couldn''t be the culprit, and Neige stays as the main suspect."


    "I agree." Said the judge, relieved that everything was getting simpler "Your alibi already has been determined, if you wish to refute it, please bring the person that you asked for help."


    "I''m... Afraid it''s not possible..."


    Alya was looking at Neige with worries, barely holding on.


    "I thought you would help me! Not cause problems!"


    "Zayda isn''t the culprit. Now I just need to find the real one."


    Neige thought for a moment. There weren''t many possibilities, Neige had an alibi for the 12th, Zayda for the 14th. The same firearm shot at those two days and Zayda seemed confident it was the one she brought. Seeing that it wasn''t leading to anything, he started to wonder what he and Polyetta would do in that situation. Suddenly, he realized what could have happened, a situation that he knew could happen. Everything made sense to him, even the reason as to why the other Neige''s presence was the very thing that would lead them to the truth usually. All he had to do now was gather his courage and prepare to announce the truth.

 Chapter 125: Final Fight

    Silva managed to make her way to the final, making quick work of her second opponent. Sepide sadly didn''t have this luck and lost against Neige in the semi-finals, leaving Neige and Silva both for the final. At first, everyone doubted them, but Silva and even Sepide managed to get the respect of the others. Despite being annoyed at their loss, everybody stayed to see the final, excited to see the two fight together. Silva was about to enter the ring but was stopped by Sepide before she could.


    "Silva... Good luck."


    Silva smiled cheerily at her friend and rubbed the top of her head.


    "I don''t need luck, it''s all skill."


    She stepped into the ring where Neige was waiting for her, excited to fight.


    "I''ll be honest, I didn''t expect such a frail-looking lady to do so well. I hope you''ll give me a great match."


    "Of course, I don''t plan to go down without a fight."


    Neige couldn''t hide the smile on his face as he took his fighting stand. The referee started the countdown, building up the pressure in the room. Silva wasn''t sure if she could win, she wasn''t much of a boxer and just thought with her whole body. But Neige couldn''t use his right arm, causing them to be on an equal footing.


    "Ready? Fight!"


    Neige immediately went on the offensive, forcing Silva to dodge his sudden hit. Once she dodged and left him wide open for an attack, she landed an uppercut, stunning him for a bit.


    "That''s unfortunate, I won''t be able to win without being hit."


    Silva was slightly taken aback by his resistance. He acted like he was barely hurt despite all the strength she used. She at least managed to easily dodge his attacks and land a hit right after, knowing she could repeat the process multiple times until Neige gets exhausted and goes down. She knew a single hit of his would be dangerous for her and fought as carefully as she could be. A few bit of time passed that way until Silva saw an opportunity and threw the most violent uppercut she could, bringing Neige to the ground. No one believed it, Silva managed to knock out Neige! But before she could celebrate, her opponent stood up in only three seconds.


    "That was a stroke of chance from you, but you shouldn''t push your luck."


    Neige tried an attack that was quickly dodged by Silva. She threw an uppercut like before but was dodged by Neige this time.


    "Better luck next time."


    "Now I want to knock you down just so you stop with your stupid jokes!"


    The fight continued and Neige seemed to understand Silva''s attack pattern as he managed to dodge most of her hits. He attacked with a simple jab that Silva dodged, she prepared an attack but was met instead with a surprise from her opponent.


    "Seems like you''re out of luck!"


    Neige hit Silva right in her face with his right fist. The man grimaced in pain through the attack but managed to leave Silva dizzy from the attack. The girl stepped back, barely about to stand up anymore. She stared toward the ceiling, as if her blind eyes could see something.


    "Opal..? Is that you..?"


    Silva fell to the ground with a simple hit. The referee started the countdown while everyone was cheering for her to stand back up. The count was already on five and she showed no signs of even being conscious, bringing Neige to the conclusion that it was over.


    "You did well, I even had to use my right arm."


    Despite his assumptions, Silva managed to stand back up. Her eyes were half closed and her stance less firm but she still was standing in front of him, ready to fight.


    "I can''t lose now... I didn''t even try my best."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Neige felt glad that he was wrong and prepared for the fight to continue. Sadly for him, the bell rang, announcing the end of the round. Neige went into the corner of the ring and sat down while staring at Silva. Sepide went as close to Silva as she could without entering the ring and gave her a bottle of water that Silva hurried to drink. She was sweating and panting like she ran a marathon but still had the determination to win.


    "I didn''t think it would be that hard... Is our Neige that strong?"


    "You won''t be able to take any more hits. Your best bet for now is to win by decision I think."


    "Decision..? What''s that?"


    "Don''t you know anything about boxing?" Sepide asked, a bit worried "A match is three rounds, and once it''s over, the referee decides who is the winner. The other way to win is to send him down to the ground for ten seconds or send him down three times in a round."


    "So I just need to put him down three times in the round..."


    "There''s no way you can do it! He''s way stronger than you."


    "I''ll bring bad luck on him and make him shut his trap, watch and learn."


    Unlike Sepide, Silva was confident in her chances of winning. The bell rang once more, announcing the beginning of the second round. Neige was standing in front of her, ready to fight.


    "You''re not going down easily, I''d be curious to know who trained you."


    "A dumbass that doesn''t make puns about luck."


    The round officially started with a punch of Neige. Silva managed to dodge it but stayed on her guard, trying to not go down again. She stayed defensive for a good part of the round until she suddenly took Neige by surprise and landed an uppercut on his head. She gave her all and managed to put Neige down for a few seconds before he stood up again like nothing happened.


    "My bad, I didn''t pay attention. You''re a fast one."


    Silva didn''t answer, preparing for Neige''s next attack. The two blocked and dodged the other''s hits, leading both to fatigue. Silva managed to hit her opponent a few times but never was close to a knockout. The round was half over and Silva knew that she couldn''t handle a third round against Neige. Despite her best efforts, she couldn''t bring Neige to its limits. The man tried to land a hook at Silva who dodged by crouching. Putting all the strength she had in her legs, she stood up and landed a hit in Neige''s stomach. Knowing that her legs were stronger than her arms, it was the only way she found to deal heavy damage to Neige. Her opponent fell on the ground, not only because of surprise, but because it was too much for his body to handle. He stayed on the ground for a moment, even making everyone think it was the end for him. Everyone cheered for him to wake up, hoping to see the rest of this fight. At the count of eight, Neige managed to stand up with a smile on his face, it was like he never had more fun before.


    "You''re full of resources, if you were as strong and tall as me, my luck would have run out."


    Silva hyperventilated like she never did before, getting close to her limits. The fight resumed as she dodged all the hits Neige threw at her. This time, he even used his right arm despite the pain, doing his best to win. Silva didn''t have a second to do anything and moved constantly to dodge everything. Her opponent even did feints that she dodged by reflex, wasting her energy. She felt that she couldn''t hang on much longer and tried to attack out of desperation but was countered by a jab from Neige directly on her face. She stepped back, feeling light-headed.


    "Is that... White..?"


    Silva fell to the ground, unable to hold on any longer. Her body was yearning for air, barely able to breathe. Everyone thought it was over, she did the best she could and couldn''t hang on any longer. The countdown continued, getting dangerously close to ten. Everybody was ready to acclaim the winner but fell silent when the girl stood up. No one could believe what was happening, despite all the pain and exhaustion, Silva was still standing.


    "I''m not losing to a femboy..."


    "But I''m not a-"


    Before Neige could finish his sentence, Silva tried to attack with all she got. Her body was burning but still kept going, pushing its limits.


    "You''re a great opponent. You can be proud of yourself, even if you lost, you did your best."


    Silva stood there, barely able to move. Deciding to end the match, Neige punched Silva in her stomach with a hit, thinking it would put her on the ground.


    "Emely... Neige..."


    Silva looked barely conscious but still stood proudly, continuing the fight. She managed to dodge Neige''s attacks. Even if he was experienced, Neige was starting to feel exhausted and felt a sharp pain in his arm. At the exact same time, both Neige and Silva hit each other''s faces with the strongest punch they could. Silva fell down, prompting the referee to start the countdown. Neige made a soft smile at Silva, barely managing to stand.


    "You did it... It wasn''t luck, it was all you..."


    Neige fell to the ground while holding his right arm. Everyone was holding their breath at this sight, unable to believe what just happened. The referee stopped counting and turned toward Neige in shock, he turned back to Silva and raised her hand to the crowd.


    "The fight is over, Silva won by TKO!"


    Neige laughed, stuck on the floor, satisfied with the fight. Once the fight was declared over, Sepide hurried next to Silva on the ground, unconscious from the fight. Sepide took her friend in her arms, with a smile and tears on her face.


    "You did it Silva, you won."


    She pressed Silva against her, tightly holding her. Despite the exhaustion, Silva opened her eyes slowly and whispered.


    "Emely''s are softer..."


    Sepide put her arms in front of her chest in embarrassment, letting go of Silva and making her fall to the ground. Even if she was embarrassed by Silva''s words, she was glad to know her friend was alright and could only hope Neige was doing well too.

 Chapter 126: The Nun And The Boxer

    The court continued after a short break. Neige was still hesitant about his theory on the case but felt like there weren''t any other possibilities. Everyone patiently waited for the judge to speak and officially start the trial.


    "May the trial of Neige Chance resume. We declared that the witness''s alibi still stood and that her story didn''t make enough sense."


    "Just so we are on the same wavelength, this woman pretended that she hired another woman to pass off as herself while she committed the crime." Explained the prosecutor.


    "Yes, thanks for this summary. Miss Alya, I think you had something to share with us."


    "Indeed." The lawyer took a paper with notes on it, trying to read it the best she could "Someone came forward, allegedly, she''s the person that helped Zayda forge her alibi."


    "R-Really? So Zayda might be the culprit after all, who is this person that helped her?"


    "She wrote her name on the paper but I can''t read it, it''s poorly written. But this person is here and can testify!"


    "That''s great news, bring her to the bar."


    The woman Alya talked about took place at the bar, seemingly intimidated by the people around. Neige quickly recognized her, it was Ada, the anomaly. It still felt weird for him to see her, as she wasn''t wearing her usual nun outfit and instead wore clothes from this world. It seemed like she wasn''t here for him this time and instead was helping her other self lie through this case. The judge took a lot at her and was surprised by how close she and Zayda looked.


    "Can you state your name and occupation?"


    "I''m Ada, a former nun. I was the one that helped Zayda."


    "You do look very similar! Are you related?"


    "Not that I know, I just help a fellow nun protect her friend."


    "How noble of you."


    "I''m not sure it''s noble." Alya said, interrupting the juge "It''s still a crime."


    "Err, yes. Anyway, Miss Ada, Can you explain to us everything you know about Zayda and her plan?"


    Ada was about to start explaining. Neige already knew she was lying and only needed a way to prove she was. Once it was done, he would finally be able to reveal the truth.


    "So I was going to the church, I''m no longer a nun but I still pray to the Lord. There I met Zayda, we bonded over our faith and she asked me to take care of the mass for the night of the 14th. She asked me to act like I was her, so no one would be disturbed by unnecessary thoughts."


    The judge nodded his head, satisfied with the story.


    "I see, so Zayda did forge her alibi. I think there aren''t any doubts left, why would she go that far if it wasn''t to commit the crime?"


    "Objection!" Yelled Neige "This doesn''t prove she did, only that she forged her alibi. She''s as suspicious as me!"


    "While I agree, this makes this case more complicated. I think we will need to postpone this trial to gather more evidence."


    "W-Wait!" Neige knew this wasn''t good, he couldn''t afford to stay here for so long. If Ada lied, then he had to match her to reveal the truth "I was here when the murder occurred!"


    "You... What!?" The judge couldn''t believe what he was hearing. The court was getting loud, forcing the judge to hit his gavel to ask for silence "Please calm down, I know this is surprising news but we need to hear his testimony first."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Ada stared at Neige with saddened eyes, begging for him to stop. But no matter how emotional she looked, Neige had no plans to stop.


    "Neige, I''m trying to innocent your other self. You''re just making this harder for everyone."


    "I''m sorry, but I''m here to reveal the truth, I know it''s what my other self would have done."


    "Other... Self?" The judge looked at the two arguing, not understanding a thing "Anyway, can you testify Neige? What happened the day of the murder?"


    Neige thought about his theory, in the end, all he had to do was to convict the real culprit, even if the truth got lost.


    "So I went to see Noir. I knew about Zayda''s gun and thought she would be at the mass that night. If I used her gun, she had an alibi so I knew she wouldn''t get suspected. I went to Noir and killed him. I probably did it before Zayda, since I saw no trace of her."


    "So you admit you killed him?"


    "I do your honor."


    The judge closed his eyes, thinking about the case. Zayda''s voice interrupted him in his thoughts, yelling at everyone.


    "I forged an alibi! It''s my firearm! I am the killer! Furthermore, Neige wasn''t available on the 12th, only I could have done it."


    "It''s too complicated for me to answer." Announced the judge "We should probably end here for today and-"


    The judge stopped in the middle of his sentence, interrupted by the opening of the door of the courtroom. Neige recognized the people entering, there was Sepide, helping an exhausted Silva to walk, and his other self. The judge was looking at the two Neige, deeply confused.


    "I... There... Can someone explain what is happening?"


    "Neige!? What are you doing here?" Zayda asked, concerned for her friend.


    The man stepped into the bar and looked at his other self next to him in the eyes.


    "Your friends explained that you covered for me, thanks, I''ll take care of the rest now."


    Neige, the one from the Kronos, nodded his head and went to Silva and Sepide with worries in his eyes.


    "Is Silva alright?"


    "I am..." Answered Silva "I just need rest..."


    Neige nodded in relief and observed the rest of the trial from a distance with his two friends, waiting for the true defendant to explain what happened.


    "I am Neige Chance, I was away for a bit but I''m here now. This other guy just pretended to be me."


    "There are a lot more doppelgangers than I thought, that''s already the second one today!" The judge paused for a moment, calming himself from all the emotions that were happening "So will you testify about what you did the night of the 14th?"


    "I wasn''t planning to, but I think we should tell everyone the truth, what do you think Zayda?"


    Neige looked at his friends, who seemed surprised by the demand.


    "The... Whole truth? But then we-"


    "Yes, I know, but we sinned after all. We deserve to be punished for what we did." Neige smiled innocently, convincing Zayda who came next to Neige.


    "I''m not sure it''s a good idea... I''ll confess to everything I did." The nun took a deep inspiration, preparing herself mentally "When I learned about Noir''s trial, I was a bit worried about his odd of being judged guilty. He was a great detective, it was more than likely that justice would be soft on him. Neige would have been the second suspect, and I couldn''t allow that."


    "So you did kill him." Said the judge, to which Zayda shook her head in disagreement.


    "I didn''t... Well maybe, I''m not sure how the law works in that situation. On the 12th, I tried to kill him. The reason I chose this day was because Neige was at the hospital, running multiple tests. I know there would be various medical records, which would make a good alibi for him. Sadly, I hesitated. I shot and immediately left. I was in such a hurry that I didn''t even notice he was still alive."


    "That explains the first bullet found in his body."


    "Indeed. The day after, I learned that he survived. He knew I was the one who shot him but stayed silent. Maybe he thought it would make an amusing mystery, this man always had creepy thoughts."


    "I think I''ll explain the rest." Said Neige "She told me what she did and was worried. She urged me to get an alibi so I would stay safe while she finished him, but I didn''t want Zayda to end up in jail. Since I had an alibi for the first day, I decided she should have one on the 14th. I would be the one killing him, forcing him to stay silent. Since we both had alibis for the two days, I thought they would let us go, but I suppose our motives were enough to be suspected."


    "I-I understand." The judge said, still not sure to grasp the full situation "But Zayda confessed to forging her alibi, even hiring another woman to do so."


    "Oh, that. I have no idea who she is. She just said she''d help to protect Neige."


    "I see. I suppose that it''s time for the verdict. I hope you understand that the jury will most likely consider you guilty, Neige. And for your friend, she''ll be judged for attempted murder."


    "I realize that. I met someone that fought so hard for what she deemed just, I knew I couldn''t keep this lie forever, for me like for Zayda''s sake."


    Neige turned behind him to introduce Silva but realized that the two girls left. Even Ada and the other Neige left like they never were here, adding to the mystery of their involvement in this case.

 Chapter 127: The Warmth Of Home

    Silva, Sepide, Neige, and Ada all grouped somewhere they couldn''t be seen. Neige explained the case and the conclusion he reached to all of his friends.


    "How can you know for sure?" Asked Silva "That seems weird that they would both be ready to sacrifice themselves for the other, you barely know them."


    "I think that all Neiges and Polyetta are the same in the end. If I was this boxer, I would have done the same to protect Polyetta. And I''m sure that if she was Zayda, Ada would have done the same to protect her Neige."


    "That''s true!" Proudly confirmed Ada "I helped my other self because I know that she would be heartbroken to see her Neige in jail. I''m sure that''s why you tried so hard to innocent Zayda too, right? You couldn''t stay without doing nothing while your best friend''s other self gets in danger."


    "I''m just doing my job as a member of the Kronos."


    "Sure, like I''ll believe it."


    Ada and Neige both laughed together, bringing a smile to the two girls waiting on the side.


    "They''re friends in every dimension," Silva said to herself "I envy them. They share a special bond."


    "But Miss Anomaly, aren''t you trying to kidnap Neige?" Asked Sepide "If you love each other so much, why causing him so much suffering?"


    "I want him to be happy, away from the bad of this world. I''m sure he understands."


    "I can understand, that doesn''t mean I''ll just accept it."


    "Come on, it will be fun. Black pantie girl will stop annoying you."


    "Black pantie girl? Do you mean Silva? Life would be boring if she wasn''t always saying unhinged stuff."


    "Neige, how did you know she meant Silva?" Asked Sepide "Have you seen her panties?"


    "Well, I''m the one that gave them to her, so yeah."


    "Y-You did!?" The anomaly was shocked, even stepping back a bit "I thought you were only friends."


    "I mean that I gave her all her clothes when she joined the ship, it''s nothing sexual or romantical."


    "Did you forget about the time when you cleaned me under the shower?"


    Ada and Sepide both stared at Neige with disbelief, while Silva was laughing at the situation.


    "W-Wait, that''s not what you think! She never showered alone before because her parent didn''t let her, it was just to teach her!"


    "I didn''t know you were so close..." Sepide said, disappointed. Quickly followed by the anomaly.


    "My Neige was asexual, it will take some time to get used to a pervert Neige."


    "I''m not a pervert! You try and take care of a child without seeing her naked, and I''m not the only one that did."


    Despite Neige''s words, the two women weren''t convinced. Seeing that her friend was getting in a bit too much trouble for her taste, Silva decided to focus back on the main topic.


    "What will happen to them now? I can''t imagine they''ll have a happy ending."The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I think they''ll be alright." Answered Neige "They''ll be together at least, they should both be in jail once it''s all over. But seriously, it wasn''t easy to find the truth."


    "Oh yeah, I needed to ask you something." Silva seemed mad at Neige when she said those words, worrying him a bit "When we trained together, were you going easy on me?"


    "Well yeah, it''s a training, not a deathmatch."


    "How much? I was destroyed back there! One hit and it was over, I think I even died for a few seconds! You need to train me more, I can''t stay like that forever."


    "But you have a gun, you could just-"


    "You''ll train me and Sepide now, whether you like it or not."


    "Alright, I will." Neige said with reluctance "We should go back now, everyone is waiting for us."


    "Wait."


    The three friends were surprised by the unusually weak tone in the anomaly''s voice and stayed to listen to her.


    "Neige, you really seem happy with them... I don''t know what I should do anymore..."


    "I think you should give up your idea of perfect world, I''m sure your Neige would think the same too."


    "I... Can''t..." Ada grabbed the fabric of her clothes tightly. A tear fell from her eye, prompting her to turn around "You should be prepared for anything Neige. I''m not going to give up yet, I''ll make both of us happy, I promise."


    "I''ll be prepared."


    The anomaly left, surrounded in a dark fog. Three friends took this opportunity to get back home from this tiring adventure.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group summarized everything that happened to their leader, who listened to everything patiently. Once they finished, she let out a relieved sigh and congratulated the three members of her ship.


    "You did great, I still am a bit concerned about the anomaly but it should be alright for now."


    "I don''t think she''ll cause problems yet." Said Neige "What worries me is Silv, she hasn''t done anything in a while."


    "Yes, but you should take a break, you deserve it. But first, could you come to see me Neige? I have something to ask you."


    "Alright, I''ll come right away."


    The leader gave him a warm smile before turning off the screen. The trio left the room and walked together for a bit, talking about their last adventure. Silva explained everything about her fight, visibly saddening Neige.


    "So he was taller... You think Emely can help with that?"


    "You''re perfect at this height, we''re all the same height that way!"


    "We''re not the same height Silva... You''re taller than me..."


    Silva turned toward Sepide, asking for confirmation.


    "You''re taller yes, but not by a lot. Only a few centimeters."


    "That''s a lot." Said Neige "Can you imagine how embarrassing it is for me to be smaller than a girl? Silva is 160 centimeters, it''s small for a girl and I''m even smaller than that!"


    "The only advantage you''ll get by being tall is being better at boxing. And even then, you''ll just get beaten by a cute blind girl." While she was talking, Silva suddenly realized that she forgot to show something to Neige and threw something at him "Look, it''s the medal I got, isn''t it pretty?"


    "That''s... Kinda cool. It''s just a silver medal though."


    "I know, they said they didn''t have anything else to give. Well, there was money too, but I wasn''t interested."


    Silva took back her medal and gave it to Sepide, who seemed surprised by the act.


    "But I already saw it before? Why give it to me?"


    "I''ll just lose it, you can keep it."


    Sepide put the medal in her pocket, intending to keep it in her memory box.


    "I should go participate in a boxing tournament, I could win I think." Neige''s said, imagining it in his head.


    "Of course you''d win, didn''t you tell me you studied boxing from a lot of worlds?"


    "Yeah, I guess I do have a lot of knowledge about it."


    "Neige, why did you start boxing?" Asked Sepide "Isn''t it more efficient to learn multiple martial arts?"


    "I guess it is, but that was never the intent. My Father and I would train, he was a boxer and told me it was good for discipline. Once I started going to other worlds, it became my main way to defend myself. But firearms are still better and I still learned other martial art. I had a master in another world who taught me about Karate."


    "Talking of firearms, where''s yours?" Asked Silva "It''s been a while I don''t hear it on your belt."


    "You... Pay attention to what''s on my belt?"


    "It''s just that it makes a metallic sound when you walk, but it''s been a while since I don''t hear it anymore."


    "Well... It''s the weapon Shiro gave me. I think it was better if I gave it back, I can always get another one later. Also, I have a cool dagger now."


    "We''ll see if you call it cool once you have to fight an army with it."


    The three friends continued their friendly talk until they arrived in front of the leader''s room. Neige turned toward them, asking them,


    "I''ll go now, what will you two do?"


    "I''ll go with Emely, but I''d like to bring Sepide along."


    "Me? Why?"


    "I dunno, just would be fun. I''m sure Emely wouldn''t mind."


    Neige smiled softly at his friends, glad to see everyone get along so well. He waved at the two girls and entered in the leader''s room, curious to know what she wanted to tell him.

 Chapter 128: Making Memories

    Neige entered in Polyetta''s room, who immediately held him in her arms. He was a bit surprised but quickly relaxed and held her back tenderly.


    "I feel like it''s an eternity since I hugged you Neige!"


    "It''s been a while yeah, you should hang out with us sometimes, you still stay alone most of the time."


    "Maybe one day, but... There''s something I wanted to ask you." Polyetta stepped back and took the picture they all took together a few weeks ago and showed it to Neige "Isn''t it scary? We lost two members lately. If we didn''t take this picture, we would have nothing left of Shiro."


    "Yeah, but what can we do? We''re trying our best already."


    "Let''s make memories! We''ll take a lot of pictures and do a lot of things together, and we should start now!"


    "You have an idea in mind, don''t you?"


    Poleytta nodded and searched for a video game in the piles of boxes in the corner of her room. Once she found it, she handed it to Neige, who looked at it confused.


    "Super Baseball 30XX? You want us to play that game?"


    "No, it''s only single-player. But doesn''t it sound fun? I''d like to try playing Baseball with the others."


    "But I thought that the missions were more important than anything, we barely did anything."


    "Forget about it, I... Don''t want any of you to die with regrets. I have a bad feeling and I don''t want to regret anything."


    Neige stayed silent and took his friend tightly in his arms, enjoying Polyetta''s warmth.


    "You''re so much taller..."


    "But being small makes you badass, you''d look like a dork if you were tall."


    "You don''t look like a dork." Neige blushed slightly at her friend''s compliment and tried to quickly change the topic "Anyway, when do you want to organize your baseball match?"


    "We''ll need a ninth player first, and a team to play against. I''ll take care of everything don''t worry, it will just take a bit of time."


    "A ninth player? We''re only eight on the ship?"


    "We''re nine if you count Cinnamon, but we''re not making the cat play."


    "You think everyone will accept? I don''t think Gwyn will be in the mood for that."


    "I''ll make sure she is. I think we should organize it so it happens in a few days, could you try to convince everyone?"


    "I''ll try, I''ll start with Silva, she''ll be the simplest to convince. Then Emely will follow Silva''s lead, and Remiel will agree too."


    "Why would Emely follow Silva?" Polyetta asked, confused "Don''t they hate each other?"


    "Wait, you... You don''t know about them?"


    "I''m afraid not, what about them?"


    "Silva and Emely are not like that anymore, Emely managed to tame Silva, and Silva apologised for the bad she did. They still insult each other, but I think it''s purely affectionate now."


    "I''m so glad!" The leader said with a bright smile "I heard they were less mean, but I didn''t know it was fixed between them."


    "It''s actually more than fixed, Emely confessed her love to Silva."


    "She... What?" Polyetta stared at her friend in shock, trying to see whether Neige was joking or not "Why didn''t I know? What happened?"The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    "I don''t think it''s officially official, but it''s on the way to be, they even had their first kiss together."


    "Their... First kiss?" Polyetta couldn''t believe what she hearing, even taking a few minutes to think "Are we talking about the Silva that touches people''s private parts?"


    "Silva can be quite romantic, she probably dreamed of that deep inside her."


    "Should we celebrate? We could organize a wedding!"


    "Err, I think you''re going a bit too fast. If you did that, they''d probably both have a heart attack."


    Polyetta thought for a moment, not listening to a word from Neige.


    "Maybe I should gift them something... I can give them advice!"


    Polyetta searched around her room for anything she could gift the two lovers, already imagining going to a wedding.


    "You know a lot about love?"


    "I played some dating games, I think I should manage."


    "I think that will just make it worse, at least wait until they''re officially together and announce it."


    "Oh, not everyone knows?"


    "They''re not hiding it, but they''re not showing it. But Silva stays Silva, she can''t keep a secret. Gwyn probably knows so only Ina and you didn''t know I guess."


    "Are there any other romances?" Polyetta asked with too much excitation in her eyes "Do you think Sepide has a crush?"


    "Calm down, you play too many dating games I think. And as for Sepide, I think she''s focused on other things, like her rivalry with Remiel."


    "That''s true, how is it going between them? Did the cooking thing make them closer?"


    "Not really, I feel like Sepide accepts her more but still hates her for some reason."


    The leader looked away from Neige, suddenly wearing a sad expression on her face.


    "There''s so much happening... It''s my ship and I don''t know anything that happens in it."


    "You can always change that."


    "You''re right, I''ll install cameras."


    "That''s... Not what I meant. Why don''t you spend time with Sepide, like playing a game together or something? Or paint with Silva, anything to get close to them."


    "You''re right, and I want to create many memories with everyone." Polyetta suddenly realized something, visibly having a great idea. She took her phone with a smile and went next to Neige "Let''s take a picture!"


    "With your phone? How?"


    "Neige, you need to catch up with technology..."


    The two friends took a picture together, both smiling cheerily. Once it was done, Polyetta looked at it with softness in her gaze.


    "I''ll send it to you by text later."


    "You can send it on my phone?"


    "Seriously Neige, do you even use your phone for anything else than making calls?"


    "I don''t make calls, I only use it to receive messages."


    "You''re hopeless... Anyway, you should go talk to everyone about our Baseball game, I''ll need to prepare a few things."


    "Yes, I will. See you later."


    Neige headed toward the door to leave but was called by his friend before he could.


    "Neige?"


    "Yes?"


    "... I love you, you''re the best friend I ever had."


    "I love you too, Polyetta."


    Neige walked in the direction of Emely''s lab, already knowing Silva would be there. On the way there he saw Remiel, standing still in front of the coffee machine. A bit curious, Neige approached her and stared at the coffee machine as well. The two stayed like that for a few minutes until Neige interrupted their silent moment.


    "I don''t see anything wrong with it."


    "Neige, what are you doing here?" Remiel turned toward Neige, visibly surprised.


    "I was going to see Silva, what about you? You like the craftmanship of the coffee machine?"


    "While I can enjoy craftsmanship, this is not my intention. Emely asked me to stay away from her lab for a moment, afraid it would cause problems to my mechanical body."


    "Ouch, I''m sorry for that, I know how it feels to be left behind."


    "I do not feel hurt by this action. However, Sepide is with them, leading me to not know what to do."


    "I see, I''m actually glad to see you, have you heard of Baseball?"


    "Let me see."


    Remiel closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them again with a smile.


    "I have learned everything about Baseball."


    "That''s... Good, I guess. Anyway, the leader wanted to organize a game of Baseball, would you want to participate."


    "As much as it is tempting, I have to decline, my mechanical body would bring an unfair advantage."


    "I''m sure it would make Sepide and Emely happy if you accepted."


    "Really?" Remiel focused for a moment before nodding her head "They might actually agree to play with me. I accept."


    "Great, can you try to convince Gwyn and Ina too? I''ll talk about it to the others."


    "I can and will, but first, I wanted to ask you something."


    Neige was surprised by the sudden demand of the robot and stayed to listen to her request.


    "Does Sepide hate me?"


    "That''s a tough question... I think she''s jealous of you."


    "But why would she be?"


    "You should try asking her, if I had to guess, she''s jealous of your innocence and happiness. Life wasn''t easy for her, she was created artificially and had to work since her birth. She misses the days when she just obeyed her orders without thinking, but don''t worry, she''ll realize what''s important in life."


    "What is... Important in life? Did she not reach this point yet?"


    "Far from it, it''s something everyone has to find, and it''s never easy."


    "I understand, I shall talk to Gwyn and Ina while reflecting on this information."


    Remiel cut short the conversation by walking away. Neige was a bit worried about her but knew that she and Sepide would get along soon enough.


    Neige finally arrived at Emely''s lab. Since Sepide was here, he imagined there wasn''t any need to knock on the door. He entered the room and was immediately greeted by the three girls yelling the same thing to him.


    "NO!"


    A white flash blinded him, making him lose consciousness in an instant.

 Chapter 129: Body Swap

    Emely woke up. Despite Neige''s intervention, she realized that her experiment was a success, she successfully managed to swap her body with someone. Sadly for her, her lack of sight made her understand she was in Silva''s body. The darkness made her heart beat faster, shaking her soul. She stayed lying on the ground, on the border of tears. She was still afraid of the dark despite all this time but was suddenly touched and caressed by someone.


    "Don''t cry, I''m here now."


    Emely was a bit taken aback to hear her own voice but quickly realized that it was Silva in her body. She sat at Silva''s level and took her tightly in her arms.


    "Silva... I''m scared..."


    "Don''t worry, I''m here." Silva chuckled softly at herself, amused by something "I should really eat more, my boobs aren''t that big. But still bigger than yours."


    "Are you kidding? I can feel them weighing my chest, how can you move so efficiently with that?" Emely opened her eyes widely, suddenly realizing something "You''re in my body... Can you... see?"


    "No, I think my brain can''t imagine seeing or something. But my eyes are messed up, so I know you can''t see."


    Neige slowly began to wake up, terrifying the two girls. They were worried about his reaction but were quickly relieved by his words.


    "I''m... In Neige''s body..."


    "Sepide?" Asked Emely "Is that you?"


    "Yes, I thought you would swap bodies with Emely, why did I swap with Neige?"


    "I''m Emely, just in Silva''s body. I think Neige entering the room caused some problems. We should be able to swap back in an hour. Where is your body?"


    "It''s on the ground still, is Neige inside?"


    "I think so, Neige shouldn''t learn what happened, he''ll be so mad if he learns we did that! And then, he''ll tell the leader, and she''ll decapitate us!"


    "He''s going to know when he sees his body, and even if he doesn''t, he''ll see that he no longer has a dick." Silva suddenly looked at Sepide, an excited smile on her face "Sepide, how does it feel?"


    "How does what feel?"


    "Being a man! Do you feel the testosterone in you? Is what''s between your legs better?"


    "I don''t know, I feel like pretty average."


    "Average?" Silva asked, a bit disappointed "I feel like swapping gender isn''t an average situation.


    While Silva and Sepide were talking about how it felt, Emely suddenly had an idea.


    "Wait, you said you don''t feel very different, right? Neige has no idea body swap even exists, he''ll just think he''s in his own body too. Me and Silva will distract him for an hour, when it''s ready, you''ll use the machine and everyone gets back in our bodies."


    "Will it work?"


    "We don''t-"


    Before they could continue, Neige, in Sepide''s body, woke up. Sepied hurried to hide before Neige could notice her.


    "What... Happened?"


    "You didn''t knock, that''s what happened!"


    Neige looked at Emely while holding his head because of the sharp pain.Stolen novel; please report.


    "I''m sorry, did it mess up something?"


    "No, don''t worry. My inventions have a fail-safe!"


    "Your... Inventions?"


    Emely suddenly realized her mistake, she forgot she was in Silva''s body and that she needed to act as such.


    "Y-Yes! Emely taught me a bit of engineering."


    "That''s good, anyway, I needed to talk about something, where is Sepide?"


    "She... Got busy, probably masturbating or something haha."


    Neige seemed unconvinced by Emely''s act but didn''t think much of it. He searched in his pocket for something but instead found one of Sepide''s belongings.


    "What''s that? Isn''t it the medal Silva got in her boxing tournament?" Neige looked at the two girls, hugging each other on the floor of the lab. He started to have doubts and pointed at the two girls "What are you doing on the ground?"


    "Silva fell." Said Silva in Emely''s body "So we got cuddly and stuff."


    "So instead of helping me while I was on the ground, you decided to... Cuddle?"


    "Yes, you can''t understand love."


    "What I understand is that falling head-first to the ground hurts. Anyway, I''ll see you later, I need to-"


    "No!"


    Emely tried stopping Neige but instead stumbled and fell in front of him. Silva went to help her get up, surprising Neige.


    "Is Silva drunk?"


    "Y-Yes!" Silva said, prompting Emely to try and act drunk.


    "I drank too much alcohol, that''s why I can''t move as well."


    "You don''t talk like you''re drunk, it''s almost like... You''re blind and aren''t used to it, right?"


    Emely and Silva both stayed silent at Neige''s words, afraid he discovered the truth.


    "Come on, you know Silva! Always joking around." Silva tried her best to imitate Emely but wasn''t convincing enough "A-Anyway, you wanted to tell us something, right? We''ll just tell Sepide."


    "I think that Sepide can just come out from where she''s hiding to listen."


    "I don''t see what you''re talking about." Emely said, very suspiciously.


    "You''re bad at acting dumb engi- Painter." Silva said, correcting herself at the last moment.


    "It''s not easy to act like Emely, right Silva?"


    "Yeah, she-"


    Emely put her hand on Silva''s mouth but it was too late now.


    "For a moment I thought you just put me in Sepide''s body, but you just messed up everything..."


    "That''s not true!" Argued Emely "It was fine until you opened the door, why didn''t you knock on the door before entering?"


    "Sepide was here, so I thought you would just be talking."


    "Maybe we would have talked about ladies'' stuff and men weren''t allowed. I''ll place a lock on this door next time."


    "You''ll do next time then, how do we return to our original bodies?"


    "That''s quite simple." Explained Emely "We just need to wait for an hour for the battery to charge. You can come out of a closet Sepide."


    "Y-Yes... J-Just a minute." Sepide answered, panting a bit.


    "What is she doing?"


    "I don''t want to know." Neige answered to Emely''s question.


    "It feels weird to be in Emely''s body, she could be so agile if she trained."


    "No thanks," Answered Emely "Physical activities aren''t for me."


    "Oh, right. I guess I can tell you now." Silva and Emely looked at Neige, curiously waiting for his words "The leader wanted to organize a Baseball match, so you''ll be forced to do physical activities."


    "W-What? She can''t force me!"


    "I want to!" Silva said cheerfully "That sounds fun!"


    "Well... If Silva goes I guess I can too."


    Sepide came out of the closet, looking to the ground to avoid everyone''s gaze.


    "I... Want to try too, it seems fun. By the way Emely... Why did you make this machine that swaps our bodies?"


    "I just wanted to do it for fun, but it''s really interesting to know how it feels in someone else''s body. I''d be curious to know how it feels in a man''s body, can we swap together next time Neige?"


    "What? No thanks, it''s my body. And it feels weird to be in someone else''s."


    "I like being a man." Said Sepide "Can I stay in it?"


    "You like being in my body because you have reproductive organs. I have to admit, it feels weird to have nothing."


    "Sepide... Doesn''t have reproductive organs?" Emely asked in disbelief.


    "I don''t on my body, I just have the basics. I''m not sure I can even be considered a human..."


    "D-Don''t say that! It''s not what defines who you are. But now I''m curious, how do we know Sepide is a girl?"


    Everyone stayed silent at Emely''s question, unsure how to answer.


    "Well, she looks like one."


    "You look like one too Neige, are you implying that you''re a girl?" Silva chuckled at Neige''s answer, annoying him a bit.


    "I know it''s you Silva, but seeing Emely''s body with your laugh is cursed."


    A machine on Emely''s desk emitted a short sound, relieving the young engineer.


    "We can finally go back to our original bodies. No more weird questions or tests, we''ll forget about this machine forever now."


    Everyone was waiting for Emely, who stood there, doing nothing.


    "Silva... Can you help me? I can''t see anything..."


    "Of course little bat-engineer!"


    Silva helped Emely get to her desk. She took a deep breath, hoping it would work, and pressed the button. A white light engulfed the room but not before someone opened the room.


    "Hey, it''s me, Ina! I came to bring you food."


    "Why is nobody knocking on the door!?"


    Emely''s yell was the last thing that was heard as everyone fell unconscious, swapping their bodies once more.

 Chapter 130: Iris

    Silv and Emel were standing in front of an old house that barely stood the test of time. Emel wasn''t sure why they were here, but the unusual calm of Silv felt terrifying for her. Silv put her hand on the handle of the door, and softly spoke,


    "Emel, don''t cause any problem."


    The girl nodded silently, afraid to know what awaited them. Silv opened the door, revealing a house in a bad state. The furniture was as old as time and the walls weren''t much better. Emel followed her friend and both entered a room. Unlike the rest of the house, the room was in a better state. It was still not the best, but was more than enough for someone to live in. Inside was a girl, around 20, just like them. Long red hair and pale skin were defining her, along with a tired expression. Despite the obvious fatigue, the girl tried to smile the best she could.


    "Silv... You''re back. Who is your friend?"


    "No one important. How do you feel, Iris?"


    The girl named Iris coughed, prompting Silv to rush to her side with an unusually worried behavior.


    "Iris! Are you alright?"


    "Don''t worry... I''m fine..."


    Iris smiled the best she could but could barely keep her facade. Silv turned toward Emel, talking with the cold tone she usually uses with her.


    "Hey dumbass, bring some water."


    "Silv... Please, be nice..."


    Silv glanced at Iris before taking a softer, yet still aggressive tone.


    "Emel, can you bring us water please?"


    Emel nodded her head and hurried outside the room.


    "I have enough energy to get my own water..."


    "No, you shouldn''t strain yourself. And she''s here for that anyway."


    Iris looked down at her hands holding each other, with a sad gaze.


    "You haven''t given up your dream... Have you?"


    "Of course not, I''ll get the place I deserve in the story!"


    "I''m sure you deserve it but... I wished you were here more often..."


    "I''m here almost every day, I''m trying my best. Oh, by the way, happy birthday!"


    "You remembered." The sick girl coughed more, trying to finish her sentence "I''m glad you did..."


    "Of course, I even got you a gift!"


    Silv took a box that she handed to her friend. Iris opened it slowly and took the soft scarf in her hands.


    "I asked the dumb- I mean Emel to teach me. She''s good at tailoring."


    "You did it yourself..? How kind of you."


    Seeing that Iris tried to put on the scarf with difficulties, Silv helped her to wear it.


    "You can ask for help when I''m here."


    "But you''re not always here..."


    Before the sick girl could continue, Emel entered the room, a bunch of water bottles in her arms.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "You didn''t tell me how much, so I took all I could."


    "Just one was enough... Where are your meds, Iris?"


    The girl put her hand on her lips, trying to remember.


    "I think they''re upstairs... Can you get them for me?"


    "Right away."


    Silv hurried to leave the room, leaving Emel and Iris together. Seeing the shyness of her guest, the sick girl started the conversation with her.


    "Emel, right? So... How did you meet with Silv?"


    "She kidnapped me."


    "Oh... I''m sorry..." The girl coughed, clearly having difficulties breathing "I can try to convince her to let you go..."


    "No, don''t. I''m trying to make her nicer."


    "A vain attempt... Silv is not a good person to be around..."


    The room stayed silent for a moment. Emel took all the courage she had and asked the question she had on her mind.


    "Why are you two friends? She seems to care for you a lot."


    The girl chuckled softly, trying her best to answer the question despite her difficulties breathing.


    "Silv was friends with an Iris in her world. I don''t know the details, but apparently, she killed her."


    "She did? But why?"


    "You probably know how Silv is, always a fan of explosion and spectacle... Iris and she were great friends, but Silv... She never showed it. One day, she decided to play with the police and made one of her museums explode... I think you can imagine the rest..."


    "That''s horrible, is that why Silv is so..."


    "Messed up..? No, she always was... I think Silv misses her friend, that''s why she takes care of me... We only know each other for a month... But she''s my only real friend... Even before my world died... I was alone... It''s not easy to make friends when you''re sick..."


    "I see..."


    Emel didn''t know what to answer but it motivated her to help Silv even more. It was enough proof for her that Silv had a heart deep inside the chaos she showed.


    Silv hurried back, panting as if she ran everywhere in the house.


    "I couldn''t find it... Do you have any idea where it could be?"


    As an answer, Iris took the bottle of pills on the desk next to her.


    "It looks like it was here all along..."


    "You did it on purpose! You just wanted to talk with Emel, didn''t you?"


    The girl chuckled softly, bringing a tender smile to Silv''s face.


    "Maybe... Do you have any drawings to show me?"


    "Oh yeah, a lot!"


    Silv ran toward the bed and sat on it delicately. She opened her sketchbook and rolling her eyes, invited Emel to sit next to her.


    "Come here, it''s weird if you''re standing there watching us."


    "Y-Yes!"


    The three girls sat next to each other on the bed and looked at the various drawings in the sketchbooks. The drawings were very well made, especially for someone blind. It was mostly abstract drawings or portraits of people she met. One of them in particular picked Iris''s attention, a sketch bigger than usual.


    "That''s a lot of people... Are they your friend?"


    "No, it''s the losers I told you about. They call themselves the Kronos."


    "Right, I remember now... Who''s this girl? She looks like you..."


    "Just a dumbass that took my place. She''s the one I want to replace."


    Iris looked at Silv, a sorrowful look on her face.


    "Silv... You should stop thinking about it... I know it''s not the luxury here, but we can be happy..."


    "I''m sorry Iris... I can''t give up on it. It''s more than a dream, it''s my fate."


    "I hope you know what you''re doing..."


    Iris coughed, worrying her friend. Silv put her book down and tucked the sick girl to bed, making sure she was in a comfortable position.


    "You need to rest Iris. You should sleep, I''ll come back again tomorrow."


    "I can''t wait... I wish I could come with you... Getting on an adventure..."


    Iris closed her eyes, exhausted from just staying awake. Silv stood up and left, followed by Emel.


    Once the two girls were outside, Emel couldn''t keep silent any longer and asked what she had been curious about for so long.


    "You looked so much nicer, is that how you truly are?"


    "No, she''s special. If you cause any problem to her, I''ll kill you."


    "I won''t, I''m glad to see you have friends."


    Silv ignored Emel''s sentence before thinking out loud.


    "The losers, they''ll play Baseball."


    "Huh? How do you know?"


    "I''m not explaining again Emel..."


    Silv looked at the house behind her, a determined expression on her face.


    "We''re going to go on an adventure with her tomorrow, we have to prepare for it."


    "We will? She seemed to be in a pretty bad state."


    "I''ll make sure no one hurts her, and once we had fun, we focus back on the mission."


    "You care for her... Is it because of your friend that you killed?"


    "She told you that, huh? Iris, I mean the one from our world, was a childhood friend of mine. I didn''t mean to hurt her, but I didn''t care about her safety. It felt pretty bad after though, I didn''t realize how bad loneliness was."


    "I never saw you like that before, it''s cute. Now I know why you disappeared out of nowhere for an hour every day.


    "You better not get used to seeing me like that, it''s a special day. I know she would be happy to see I''m not alone, it was like her birthday gift. Anyway, I hope you know how to play Baseball."


    "Why? I thought our enemies were playing Baseball, not us?"


    "They need an opponent, you''ll manage don''t worry, or else I''ll punish you."


    "Y-Yes!"


    Emel nodded her head, unsure of whether she would do well. All she knew was that Silv was doing something for someone else than herself for once, and that she needed to help her in that task.

 Chapter 131: Training Day

    Everyone was satisfied to be back in their bodies and split up, promising not to say a word about what happened. Neige decided to go to see Polyetta to organize the match she wanted to do. He entered in her room but was surprised to see Silv talking with his leader. Without thinking, he took his dagger in hand, ready for anything.


    "Silv!? What are you doing here?"


    "Calm down, adults are talking."


    Neige looked at Polyetta, who still seemed uncomfortable but not as much as he expected. She went next to him and quickly explained everything.


    "Silv wants to play Baseball against us, she even said she''d find us our ninth player."


    "And it should be tomorrow!" Specified Silv.


    Neige didn''t believe a word of Silv, expecting a trick from her.


    "You think we''ll just accept for no reason?"


    "Oh no, you''ll have a reason, it''s no fun to play with no stakes. Don''t you want to remember your past Neige?"


    "Don''t listen to her!" Yelled Polyetta "I-It''s not that important for now."


    "Are you hiding something ''leader''? That''s not nice to hide the truth from your friend. I could also just blow up everything here to convince you if that''s what you want."


    "And what do you get?" Asked Neige "I suppose you want something from us."


    Silv thought for a moment, visibly unsure as to what she wanted.


    "I''ll take some food from your cook."


    "That''s is? That''s... Unusual."


    "You better prepare, me and my team we''ll give it our all! I already picked the world we''ll go in, it''s the world 03106002. It''s a jungle, pretty calm, that''s why I chose it."


    "I think we already went here..." Polyetta said, trying to remember.


    "Yeah, you and Neige did, six years ago."


    Polyetta suddenly remembered, filling her with a feeling of dread.


    "Is that... Why you chose this world?"


    "Yeah, but don''t get me wrong, I just thought it would be funny. I don''t have a plan this time, just very interested in a fair game."


    Silv used her watch to disappear right in front of them. However, Neige wasn''t focused on that and instead tried to remember.


    "We went there? I would have known if we did."


    "Don''t think too much about it Neige, we should warn the others."


    "You''re right, I''ll go see in Emely''s to see if everyone is still there." Neige was about to leave but instead stopped after realizing something "Is it related to what happened after our world was destroyed?"


    Polyetta knew she couldn''t lie and nodded her head, afraid of her friend''s reaction.


    "If we win, can you tell me about it?"


    "I... Can try. But if it makes you feel bad then I''ll stop."


    "Fine by me. Try contacting the others, I''ll see you later."


    Neige smiled at his friend and left, hurrying to gather his friend.


    Neige entered Emely''s lab in a hurry, remembering to knock on the door only once he opened the door. He was lucky the engineer wasn''t in a weird experiment, instead listening to something with Silva, the two of them wearing an earbud each.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Hey, what are you listening to?"


    "N-Neige!?"


    Emely and Silva both panicked, visibly flustered. They tried to hide the phone with difficulties, taking way longer than it normally would. Once it was solved, Emely pointed at him with anger.


    "Why didn''t you knock on the door!?"


    "I will next time but it''s urgent, Silv came here."


    "Silv?" Silva stood up from the desk she was sitting on, ready to go "Where is she?"


    "I don''t know, she left. She challenged us to a Baseball match tomorrow."


    "Tomorrow? But I don''t even know the rules."


    "That''s why we''re going to practice, the leader is gathering the others."


    "Do we have to?" Emely laid on the desk she was sitting on, clearly not wanting to move.


    "Come on lazy engineer, it will be fun! And I''m not losing against my other self."


    Dragged by her friend, Emely had no choice but to follow them to train with the others.


    Everyone was there, ready to listen to the explanation from the leader. Polyetta felt visibly intimidated to have everyone''s gaze on her but managed to find the courage to talk.


    "S-So, as you know, our archenemy challenged us to a game of Baseball. We may not know the rules, but I''m sure we''ll-"


    "You don''t know the rules?" Asked Neige, interrupting his friend.


    "I never played Baseball, how could I know?"


    "You''re kidding me... What about that game you played, doesn''t it explain the rules?"


    "Maybe, but the main character also uses the power of dragons to-"


    "Okay, I understand, so we''re doomed... Does anyone here know how to play Baseball?"


    To everyone''s surprise, Emely raised her hand. The leader invited the young engineer to trade places, letting her explain the rules.


    "So Baseball was pretty popular in my world, I remember watching it a lot on TV. I''ll just explain the basics, you''ll learn as you play. Each game is split into nine rounds, which we call innit. Each innit, the two teams will alternate between hitting team and fielding teams."


    "That sounds so complicated." Complained the leader "Why couldn''t we play chess or something?"


    "Don''t worry, it''s not that hard. So the fielding team will have someone throw the ball at a batter from the hitting team. The goal is to hit the ball as hard as you can and run all around the field before the fielding team catches the ball. If you manage to run around the field, your team gets a point, if they catch the ball before getting at one of the three bases or get a point, you''re out. Once three batters are out, the innit is over."


    Seeing that some of the members didn''t understand, Emely let out a sigh before explaining it in a simpler way.


    "If you have a bat, hit hard and run fast. If you have a glove, get the ball quick."


    "Oh, I understand now." The leader had a satisfied smile on her face, glad to finally understand.


    "The thing is that we need nine members, where will we find ours?"


    "Silv said she''ll get us one." Explained Neige "I''m not sure how much we can trust her though, we''ll have to see tomorrow."


    "Will she have a team too?" Wondered Silva "I can''t imagine her having friends."


    "She manages to get quite the group. She was often with Kairo and the anomaly, she even has Emely''s other self with her now. I just hope she''s not going to get a championship team against us..."


    Silva was about to talk but stopped in her thoughts. She turned toward one of the hallways, confusing her friends for a moment until they saw what caught her attention. The anomaly was coming toward them, with heavy bags in her hands. She put them on the ground and waved at Neige with a smile.


    "Neige! Silv said we had to play together!"


    "Wait, is she our ninth member?" Polyetta said, clearly disagreeing with that choice "You know, maybe we could get cinnamon to count as a member, it''s always better than the anomaly."


    "Hey, Silv said she''d help me if I played with you. And I don''t wanna be alone while everyone is playing!"


    "She''s literally the thing we''re trying to stop! It''s in her name, she''s the anomaly! I''m not letting her play with us."


    Ada seemed saddened by Polyetta''s words to the point where she was on the verge of tears. Neige turned toward his leader, trying to relieve her from her worries.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll be safe, I know how she works. As long as she''s not mad she''s not dangerous."


    "You know what, let''s vote." Proposed the leader "Those who are for keeping her in the team raise their hand."


    To her surprise, Sepide and Silva both raised their hands with Neige. Even Ina did after some hesitation, making it four votes for and four against the anomaly''s inclusion in the team.


    "I can''t believe you all accept her so easily..."


    "I just want to kick Silv''s ass and prove I''m better at Baseball than her." Explained Silva.


    "You didn''t even know what was Baseball a week ago... And you Sepide, don''t you see how dangerous she is?"


    "Kinda, but she has a good heart. She just misses her friend, that''s why she''s causing problems."


    Polyetta turned toward Ina, who quickly explained her reasoning as well.


    "I don''t know why, I like her."


    "You''re the only one I don''t want to be around..." The anomaly said, trying to avoid Ina''s gaze.


    "So what now?" Asked Neige "It''s four against four."


    The leader looked at Gwyn, begging her with her eyes to find a solution. The doctor looked at the anomaly and asked her directly.


    "If I let you in, can I make tests on you? I''m curious to know how you work."


    "Yeah, for sure."


    Hearing the anomaly''s answer, Gwyn raised her hand under the annoyed eyes of the leader.


    "Five against three, the anomaly is on the team."


    Ada cheered while the leader glared at her. Neige looked at the bags and saw a bunch of equipment for the Baseball match made by Silv. Everything was in a good state, even the clothes had their names on them, aside from Silva, who just spelled bitch instead. Everyone decided to stay silent on it, in the hope that Silva wouldn''t notice. They were ready to practice for tomorrow''s match. Even if it was against their enemy, most of the members felt happy to play in a team together, excited about the match to come.

 Chapter 132: First Innit

    The day of the match arrived and the team arrived where it would take place. This world was filled with tall trees everywhere. Neige knew he came here before but couldn''t remember a thing. A Baseball field was already drawn on the ground and a familiar-looking girl was standing in the middle of it. Neige and Sepide ran toward her, surprised to see her there.


    "Goddess? What are you doing here?"


    The girl turned toward them, acting like she didn''t understand what he meant.


    "Goddess? I know I''m pretty like one but still. My name''s Opal, you better remember it."


    "What did you say that Neige?" Asked Sepide "Do you know each other?"


    Neige looked at the girl winking at him. He quickly understood what she meant and respected her wish.


    "No, I just thought she was someone else."


    "It happens. Silv asked me to be the referee, I''m more into tournaments and stuff usually, not so much into sports. I hope she won''t be late, I have other things to do..."


    Silva arrived with them, surprised to see Opal again.


    "You''re the one that organized the tournament last time! I always wondered, who won in the end?"


    "It was interrupted, there were no winners."


    "Yeah, but the leader lost and Ada cheated, so you could say that they were both out, right?"


    "I get where you''re going, you can be the winner if you want, even if it has been over for a while now."


    Silva cheered at the idea of being the winner of the tournament. Sadly for her, the celebration was cut short by the arrival of the other team.


    "Can you stop yelling? You''re annoying."


    The group turned toward Silv and her team. Emel was part of it, along with a bunch of mafia members. But the most surprising one was a sick-looking girl with long red hair in a wheelchair.


    "Who''s that? Emel 2?" Silva asked with curiosity.


    "Shut up bitch!" Yelled Silv, quickly interrupted by the girl in the wheelchair.


    "Silv..."


    Silv looked at her friend with embarrassment but was still mad at Silva. She looked away from everyone, not wanting to have this conversation.


    "Excuse her... She''s a bit rude at times..." The girl coughed violently and had to take back her breath before continuing "I''m Iris... As you can see, I''m not in a state to play... But I''m grateful I''m able to see a great match..."


    The group was shocked to see Iris''s politeness and even more to see Silv submit to her. Annoyed, the blind girl decided to take her friend away, leaving Emel and her team.


    "It means a lot for Silv, so could you take it easy with us? I''m sure she''d be glad to-"


    "She was glad to use my past to push me to my limits." Silva said, interrupting Emel "I''m going to try my best to kick her ass and shatter her dreams."


    "Come on, just this once... Silv would be grateful."


    "Silv tried to kill me..." Silva paused for a moment and counted using her fingers "At least three times, she''s lucky I''m playing by her rules."


    Emel crossed her arms, clearly mad at Silva.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    "You''re just a bunch of meanies."


    "You''re defending a psychopath."


    Emel had enough and tried to attack Silva. However, it didn''t look like an attack and more like a child throwing a tantrum. Seeing what was happening, Emely arrived and pushed Emel away to defend Silva.


    "Hey, I''m the only one that can hurt my cool bat!"


    "You call her bat? That''s kind of a cute nickname... Maybe I should call Silv like that too."


    "Don''t call this mother-fluffer like! It''s Silva''s name!"


    The two other selves tried to fight but quickly stopped when their skin touched, bringing a burning sensation to them.


    "It burns! It burns!"


    Emel blew where it burned, hoping it would stop faster. Silv came back without commenting on the situation, even if she knew what happened.


    "I found a good spot for Iris, we can start!"


    Opal nodded her head and took a notebook out of her bag, ready to note.


    "Alright, who will be the captain?"


    The crew of the Kronos grouped away from the others to decide who would the leader be. Polyetta looked at them confused and quickly said,


    "Are we really thinking about who''s the leader? That''s literally my title."


    "You''re the leader of the Kronos Polyetta, but in terms of Baseball, you didn''t even know the rules."


    "Neige, the only one that knew the rules was Emely, we''re not electing her as the captain..."


    "Why not? I''m all for it."


    Emely and Polyetta were both surprised, clearly disagreeing with the choice. Before they could argue, the rest of the group discussed Emely''s place as the leader, with Gwyn agreeing first.


    "I agree, she knows better after all. Those who disagree raise their hand."


    Emely and Polyetta both raised their hand, satisfying the others.


    "Two against seven, Emely is the captain now."


    Everyone returned to the referee, leaving Emely and Polyetta dumbfounded. Seeing them approach, Opal prepared to note the name.


    "They chose Silv as the captain, who will it be for you?"


    "We chose Emely." Answered Neige.


    "Hey, why is she the captain?" Asked Emel "Can I be the Captain Silv? Please?"


    "No, I''m the captain, shut up."


    Opal noted Emely''s name and blew her whistle to bring everyone around.


    "Silv''s team with hit first, Emely''s will be the fielding team."


    Everyone took place where they were supposed to, except for Ada and Polyetta, who stood there completely lost.


    "No one explained the rules to me, what am I supposed to do?"


    "Emely explained me, but she''s bad with explanations."


    "I''m not explaining the rules..." Said Opal, annoyed "Didn''t you practice before?"


    "Yes, but I just ran around aimlessly..."


    Opal let out an exhausted sigh, already tired of them.


    "They''ll throw a ball and you need to catch it, good luck."


    Ada and Polyetta were both unsure but accepted the explanation and took place on the field.


    The match officially started, Silva was the one throwing the ball at the batter. Emel took her bat in hand, ready to win for her team.


    "I''ll show you my Silv is better!"


    Silva stayed silent, focusing on the ball. She threw it full speed, not even letting Emel the time to react. Opal blew briefly in her whistle, announcing the first strike.


    "Dumbass! If you miss two more times, you''re out!"


    Feeling Silv''s pressure on her shoulders, Emel prepared herself for the next throw. Silva threw the ball at the same speed. Emel tried to hit but was too late this time too.


    "Emel! If you lose you''ll be punished!"


    Emel was afraid of the punishment but was sure she could hit the ball this time. Silva threw the ball once more, Emel managed to react fast enough for the fast throw but was taken by surprise by the sudden slow throw. Failing three times, Opal whistled loudly and yelled,


    "Emel got three strikes, she''s out! Silv is next!"


    Emel left and put her bat on the ground, disappointed. Silv took place and pointed the bad at Silva with a defiant smile.


    "I''m no Emel! I''m far better!"


    "Shut up and prepare yourself."


    Silv was a bit annoyed by Silva''s seriousness and prepared herself. Silva threw a fast ball but the batter managed to hit it far away. Silv ran toward the first base, confident she could make it. Despite her best efforts, Opal''s whistle was heard, followed by her voice.


    "Silv didn''t reach a base before the ball was caught, she''s out."


    Silv was sure that the ball was high in the air and couldn''t understand why it was caught so soon. When Remiel landed and caused a loud sound, Silv immediately understood what happened.


    "Hey, they have a robot! It''s cheating! It can jump high in the air!"


    "Robots are allowed but I think she shouldn''t be able to jump like that anymore. It''s time for the next batter to take place."


    Silv was forced to accept it but still felt frustrated. One of the members of her mafia took place, the tall man picked up the bat, ready to strike.


    "I hate Silv, but if I didn''t have Emely, I would also make a harem of tall guys."


    Silv threw the ball and the man managed to hit it perfectly. The ball was high in the sky and the man was confident he could make it. He ran all around the field, trying his best to get the point. At the last moment, Opal whistled and announced what Silv was afraid of.


    "He wasn''t at a base when Remiel caught the ball, he''s out and the innit is over. Change roles everyone!"


    Silv had enough with this robot, even if she couldn''t jump anymore she was still faster than the best members of her mafia. She knew she had to find something or else she would lose.

 Chapter 133: Hearts On Fire

    The ninth inning ended with an amazing score of zero for both teams. They decided to do a last round, if Emely''s team could get a point, they would be declared the winner of this match. Ada was the first one to go, ready to hit the best she could. The referee whistled, officially starting the round. Emel prepared herself to throw the ball as fast as she could but it wasn''t enough to throw off the anomaly who managed to hit it far away. Ada looked at her team behind her, unsure about what to do next.


    "Did I win?"


    Everyone tried to tell her that she needed to run, yelling over each other. She tried to understand but Opal whistled again, indicating that the ball was caught.


    "Ada is out, next is Emely!"


    Emely took the place of the confused woman, ready to do her best for the last round. Her other self stared at her with a mean stare, determined to win. But it didn''t matter to Emely, she felt a rush of adrenaline in her body, reminiscing about the time when she watched Baseball as a child. She forgot how fun it was to see, and learned how thrilling it was to play. Emel threw the ball at a fast speed, trying to throw off her opponent. With a smile of excitation on her face, Emely hit the ball with all her strength and ran as fast as she could. She ran, but seeing that she wouldn''t be able to get very far, she stopped at the first base and quickly heard Opal.


    "The ball was caught, Emely is on the first base, Sepide is next!"


    Emely had to wait now, once Sepide hit the ball, she would be able to run again. Sepide took the bat on the ground and prepared herself to hit as hard as she could. Emel pitched the ball and managed to get past the batter. Sepide realized she hit too late and prepared herself for her second attempt, this time, she hit too early, failing to hit the ball. She was starting to get discouraged, she didn''t manage to hit the ball once during the game. Her friends tried to cheer for her but Remiel''s voice in particular stood up to her.


    "Do not worry, I am next! Even if you fail I will manage."


    Sepide tightly gripped her bat, not ready to let Remiel prove she was better than her. She focused on the ball and nothing else, clearing her mind of all distractions. Emel threw the ball a third time, but this time, Sepide managed to hit it. Both she and Emely managed to get to the next base, letting Emely go on the second one. She was now halfway there, so close to victory.


    "The ball was caught, next is Remiel!"


    Remiel took her bat, ready to hit as good as she could. She was confident she could win, as didn''t miss once in the match. But strangely enough, she had trouble identifying Emel''s movement and missed all three of the throws. She felt disappointed in herself but quickly heard a voice that cheered her up.


    "See!? I''m better than you!"


    "Yes, You are!" Remiel said cheerfully in answer to Sepide, waving at her.


    "Remiel is out, Silva is next."


    Silva took place, taking a firm stance, her bat in hand. Emel prepared herself to throw the ball, not without taunting her opponent before.


    "Your team got two out, a third one and it''s over."


    "It''s okay, we''ll win. I know my Emely, she''s not the kind to give up."


    "Well, my Silv is the kind to win!"If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Sure, just throw your ball."


    Emel clenched her fist around the ball, ready to throw it as hard as possible. Silva could feel that she launched. The right moment to hit was near, and in an instant, struck the ball with all her strength. The ball was sent flying, indicating to Emely that it was time to run. She ran as fast as she could, feeling the burning sensation in her heart. Her body only wanted to stop, and yet, she felt glad to push herself to her limits. She passed the third base but didn''t stop there, it was now or never! Her legs burned as well but she couldn''t stop right now, she didn''t want to let her friends down and pushed herself as hard as she could. She liked to think that it was what the players she used to watch felt, this adrenaline in their veins. The effort was getting too much for her, taking the chance that Silva gave her, she jumped in a last effort. Opal whistled loudly, yelling with excitation.


    "Emely gained the first and last point of this match! Giving her team the victory!"


    Everyone gathered around their captain, helping her to get up. She was exhausted but still managed to give a proud smile to her team.


    "We did it... All together..."


    "I knew you could do it!" Silva hugged Emely tightly, barely letting her breathe "You''re the best captain!"


    The team was happy with their victory but also satisfied by the simple act of playing with everything they had. Emel went toward them, yelling at the group.


    "It meant a lot to Silv! How could you!"


    "Just get good." Said Polyetta "That was a skill issue on your part."


    Emel was enraged but stopped at the sound of Silv''s voice.


    "Come on Emel, it''s time to go back. We had a fun break but we still have a lot to do."


    Silv was clearly disappointed. It was unusual for everyone to see her look so sad, it was almost enough to make them feel bad... Almost.


    The girl in the wheelchair came toward them, looking more satisfied than her friend.


    "It was so fun... I wish I could have played too..."


    "You will when you''ll heal but now it''s time to go back home... I''m just frustrated we didn''t win..."


    "It''s okay... It was still good to see..."


    Silv went toward Iris and grouped every member of her team together to go back to their home. But before she did, she turned toward her opponents, still trying to act tough despite the strange softness she felt.


    "You made Iris happy, so... Thanks... But next time I''ll kill one of you."


    "Silv..."


    The girl stopped at Iris''s words, reconsidering her own.


    "Next time, I''ll just cause immense pain to one of you."


    "That''s better..."


    Iris smiled at Silv, who brought all of them back in a white flash of light. The Kronos''s group was now alone, even Opal disappeared from thin air.


    "It feels weird to see Silv like that." Said Sepide "She felt like someone else."


    "She''s still a psychopath though." Silva paused for a moment. She was starting to think that maybe she wasn''t so different from Silv but quickly rejected the idea to focus back on the present "We should leave now, all I want is take a shower now."


    "Wait, there''s something I need to tell first."


    After Polyetta said those words, everyone looked at her with curiosity. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the explanation to come.


    "Do you remember the story I told last time?"


    "About you dying and Neige resurrecting you?"


    The leader nodded her head at Silva''s words and continued with a serious tone.


    "I couldn''t finish the story last time but it''s related to this world. It''s not the first time that Neige and I came here."


    "You told me that, but I really can''t remember anything." Neige looked around but could only see a jungle, nothing more. Aside from a strange feeling he had, there were no memories of this place.


    "We won the match, so I think you deserve to know what happened Neige... I promised it after all."


    "You did? I was so focused on the game that I forgot."


    "It doesn''t matter, I''ll tell everything anyway, or most of it at least. The anomaly killed me and Neige saved me with the book, but there wasn''t any way to reverse what happened to our world... We didn''t know it at the time, but the anomaly''s damage can''t be undone by the book."


    "Wait, how could Neige resurrect you then if the anomaly killed you?" Asked Silva, confused.


    "I don''t really know to be honest, maybe a miracle of the Goddess? Anyway, after the anomaly killed me and Neige saved me I-"


    "Hold on please, I am the one you call the anomaly, right? I don''t believe I ever killed you."


    "It was the first time you traveled in another world." Explained Neige "You entered in our world and killed Polyetta in front of me."


    "R-Really? I''m so sorry... My goal was never to cause harm, especially not to you, Neige..."


    "Can I continue?" Asked the leader "I don''t want to spend all day here."


    The group stayed silent and listened to Polyetta''s story. They were all curious to know what happened after and what they did in this world.

 Chapter 133: Hearts On Fire

    The ninth inning ended with an amazing score of zero for both teams. They decided to do a last round, if Emely''s team could get a point, they would be declared the winner of this match. Ada was the first one to go, ready to hit the best she could. The referee whistled, officially starting the round. Emel prepared herself to throw the ball as fast as she could but it wasn''t enough to throw off the anomaly who managed to hit it far away. Ada looked at her team behind her, unsure about what to do next.


    "Did I win?"


    Everyone tried to tell her that she needed to run, yelling over each other. She tried to understand but Opal whistled again, indicating that the ball was caught.


    "Ada is out, next is Emely!"


    Emely took the place of the confused woman, ready to do her best for the last round. Her other self stared at her with a mean stare, determined to win. But it didn''t matter to Emely, she felt a rush of adrenaline in her body, reminiscing about the time when she watched Baseball as a child. She forgot how fun it was to see, and learned how thrilling it was to play. Emel threw the ball at a fast speed, trying to throw off her opponent. With a smile of excitation on her face, Emely hit the ball with all her strength and ran as fast as she could. She ran, but seeing that she wouldn''t be able to get very far, she stopped at the first base and quickly heard Opal.


    "The ball was caught, Emely is on the first base, Sepide is next!"


    Emely had to wait now, once Sepide hit the ball, she would be able to run again. Sepide took the bat on the ground and prepared herself to hit as hard as she could. Emel pitched the ball and managed to get past the batter. Sepide realized she hit too late and prepared herself for her second attempt, this time, she hit too early, failing to hit the ball. She was starting to get discouraged, she didn''t manage to hit the ball once during the game. Her friends tried to cheer for her but Remiel''s voice in particular stood up to her.


    "Do not worry, I am next! Even if you fail I will manage."


    Sepide tightly gripped her bat, not ready to let Remiel prove she was better than her. She focused on the ball and nothing else, clearing her mind of all distractions. Emel threw the ball a third time, but this time, Sepide managed to hit it. Both she and Emely managed to get to the next base, letting Emely go on the second one. She was now halfway there, so close to victory.


    "The ball was caught, next is Remiel!"


    Remiel took her bat, ready to hit as good as she could. She was confident she could win, as didn''t miss once in the match. But strangely enough, she had trouble identifying Emel''s movement and missed all three of the throws. She felt disappointed in herself but quickly heard a voice that cheered her up.


    "See!? I''m better than you!"


    "Yes, You are!" Remiel said cheerfully in answer to Sepide, waving at her.


    "Remiel is out, Silva is next."


    Silva took place, taking a firm stance, her bat in hand. Emel prepared herself to throw the ball, not without taunting her opponent before.


    "Your team got two out, a third one and it''s over."


    "It''s okay, we''ll win. I know my Emely, she''s not the kind to give up."


    "Well, my Silv is the kind to win!"Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Sure, just throw your ball."


    Emel clenched her fist around the ball, ready to throw it as hard as possible. Silva could feel that she launched. The right moment to hit was near, and in an instant, struck the ball with all her strength. The ball was sent flying, indicating to Emely that it was time to run. She ran as fast as she could, feeling the burning sensation in her heart. Her body only wanted to stop, and yet, she felt glad to push herself to her limits. She passed the third base but didn''t stop there, it was now or never! Her legs burned as well but she couldn''t stop right now, she didn''t want to let her friends down and pushed herself as hard as she could. She liked to think that it was what the players she used to watch felt, this adrenaline in their veins. The effort was getting too much for her, taking the chance that Silva gave her, she jumped in a last effort. Opal whistled loudly, yelling with excitation.


    "Emely gained the first and last point of this match! Giving her team the victory!"


    Everyone gathered around their captain, helping her to get up. She was exhausted but still managed to give a proud smile to her team.


    "We did it... All together..."


    "I knew you could do it!" Silva hugged Emely tightly, barely letting her breathe "You''re the best captain!"


    The team was happy with their victory but also satisfied by the simple act of playing with everything they had. Emel went toward them, yelling at the group.


    "It meant a lot to Silv! How could you!"


    "Just get good." Said Polyetta "That was a skill issue on your part."


    Emel was enraged but stopped at the sound of Silv''s voice.


    "Come on Emel, it''s time to go back. We had a fun break but we still have a lot to do."


    Silv was clearly disappointed. It was unusual for everyone to see her look so sad, it was almost enough to make them feel bad... Almost.


    The girl in the wheelchair came toward them, looking more satisfied than her friend.


    "It was so fun... I wish I could have played too..."


    "You will when you''ll heal but now it''s time to go back home... I''m just frustrated we didn''t win..."


    "It''s okay... It was still good to see..."


    Silv went toward Iris and grouped every member of her team together to go back to their home. But before she did, she turned toward her opponents, still trying to act tough despite the strange softness she felt.


    "You made Iris happy, so... Thanks... But next time I''ll kill one of you."


    "Silv..."


    The girl stopped at Iris''s words, reconsidering her own.


    "Next time, I''ll just cause immense pain to one of you."


    "That''s better..."


    Iris smiled at Silv, who brought all of them back in a white flash of light. The Kronos''s group was now alone, even Opal disappeared from thin air.


    "It feels weird to see Silv like that." Said Sepide "She felt like someone else."


    "She''s still a psychopath though." Silva paused for a moment. She was starting to think that maybe she wasn''t so different from Silv but quickly rejected the idea to focus back on the present "We should leave now, all I want is take a shower now."


    "Wait, there''s something I need to tell first."


    After Polyetta said those words, everyone looked at her with curiosity. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the explanation to come.


    "Do you remember the story I told last time?"


    "About you dying and Neige resurrecting you?"


    The leader nodded her head at Silva''s words and continued with a serious tone.


    "I couldn''t finish the story last time but it''s related to this world. It''s not the first time that Neige and I came here."


    "You told me that, but I really can''t remember anything." Neige looked around but could only see a jungle, nothing more. Aside from a strange feeling he had, there were no memories of this place.


    "We won the match, so I think you deserve to know what happened Neige... I promised it after all."


    "You did? I was so focused on the game that I forgot."


    "It doesn''t matter, I''ll tell everything anyway, or most of it at least. The anomaly killed me and Neige saved me with the book, but there wasn''t any way to reverse what happened to our world... We didn''t know it at the time, but the anomaly''s damage can''t be undone by the book."


    "Wait, how could Neige resurrect you then if the anomaly killed you?" Asked Silva, confused.


    "I don''t really know to be honest, maybe a miracle of the Goddess? Anyway, after the anomaly killed me and Neige saved me I-"


    "Hold on please, I am the one you call the anomaly, right? I don''t believe I ever killed you."


    "It was the first time you traveled in another world." Explained Neige "You entered in our world and killed Polyetta in front of me."


    "R-Really? I''m so sorry... My goal was never to cause harm, especially not to you, Neige..."


    "Can I continue?" Asked the leader "I don''t want to spend all day here."


    The group stayed silent and listened to Polyetta''s story. They were all curious to know what happened after and what they did in this world.

 Chapter 134: Happy Together

    Yada opened her eyes, barely remembering what happened. Neige was holding her in his arms with a face full of tears. When he realized she moved, he looked at her in the eyes and smiled with relief.


    "Yada! You''re alive!"


    Yada stood up, still dizzy. It looked like they were in the church of the town, or rather what was left of it. The roof was completely destroyed, allowing the woman to see the red sky. The sound of fire and the smell of smoke filled the air, the last things left of their home. She was about to open the door to see the outside but was immediately stopped by Neige.


    "Wait! The monster might still be here..."


    "The monster?" The woman started to remember what happened, she remembered being attacked by this dark matter and even dying. It didn''t take long before she noticed the book on the ground and realized what happened "Did you... Use the book?"


    Neige looked ashamed, not even looking at her in the eyes.


    "I know I said we shouldn''t but... I couldn''t... I couldn''t imagine living in a world without you..."


    "I''m here now, don''t worry about it."


    Yada took her friend in her arms. She could feel him shaking, still in shock after what happened.


    "I don''t hear anything outside, I think this weird thing left."


    Yada peeked in the keyhole to check and was assured that there was nothing outside. She opened the door to see the ruins of the town where she used to live. Neige joined her and watched the scenery burn, causing the houses like his hopes to vanish in a dark smoke.


    The two friends walked around, trying to find another survivor. Yada stayed hopeful but her friend already gave up in his heart, walking lifelessly next to her.


    "Neige... It will be alright, I promise. Don''t see it as the end, more like... A new beginning!"


    Neige stared at what was left of Yada''s house with an empty gaze. He slowly entered it, seeing the ashes of what was left on the ground.


    "I... Couldn''t stop it..."


    "It''s normal, we don''t even know what was that thing. We should leave, it might still be around."


    Despite her friend''s words, Neige stood there, staring at the ruins of a once lovely place. He went toward the burnt bed and sat on it with a heavy heart.


    "I tried using the book, but I couldn''t fix anything... Maybe... Maybe we should have used it before any of it happened."


    "But how? We had no idea what it could do."


    "We could have at least read it, maybe there was something... A hint that it would happen..."


    "Neige... Don''t blame yourself... It''s really not your fault."


    "I don''t know... I... There has to be something I could have done... And now, all I can do is stay powerless as everything disappears in front of me..."


    "You''re talking of this monster... We have to find a way to get away from it."


    Yada suddenly realized something and took the book. She read it for what felt like an eternity while Neige continued to blame himself.


    "Look! It says that there are other worlds! If we can go there, we''ll be safe! What do you think?"


    Neige stood up, visibly not convinced. He stared at Yada in the eyes and tried his best to make a smile through his pain.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "I... Just want you to be safe. If you think it''s better, then I''ll follow you."


    Yada nodded her head, trying to stay positive for the sake of her friend. She wrote in the book and suddenly, a white light blinded them.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Yada woke up from the ground, unsure about what happened. The scenery was completely different, a huge jungle with tall trees surrounded her. She searched around and was relieved to see her friend next to her. She woke him up gently and greeted the sleepy Neige with a smile.


    "Neige! Look! It''s a whole new world just for us! A world completely safe!"


    Neige looked around but couldn''t forget the scene of the town burning.


    "If I wasn''t so weak... I could have-"


    "It''s a monster, you can''t fight everything..."


    "I know but... There had to be something I could have done."


    "Stop thinking about that, focus on the future instead. We need a house first, isn''t it exciting? We get to make our own."


    Neige felt bad that his friend tried her best to cheer him up while he kept lamenting. Despite his despair, he stood up, trying to find more strength within himself.


    "Yes... Let''s make a pretty house."


    A few days passed. They managed to live off fruits nearby and made a basic shelter. Yada felt worried for her friend, getting increasingly silent with each passing day. She knew it wasn''t easy for him and that he felt guilty for letting that happen, but she had no way to make him feel better. Today too, they stayed quietly together, staring at the river flowing. A sudden noise in the bushes alerted them, Neige took a stick off the ground and pointed it at the bush, ready to fight whatever it was. A small and fluffy animal came out of it, peacefully eating the grass on the ground and relieving Yada.


    "Haha, I can''t believe we were so scared of such a cute thing."


    Despite her laugh, Neige was staring at the animal with horror, dropping the stick in his hand. Seeing her friend shaking, Yada held his hand and caressed his hair, trying to make him feel better.


    "What happened Neige? It''s alright, we''re safe."


    "But... I can''t... What if it was something else? I... I wouldn''t be able to protect you..."


    Yada could see that her friend was still traumatized by what happened a few days ago. She stared at the book in her bag, contemplating all the ways she could help Neige. If he were to forget, maybe he would return to his usual self. She took the book in hand, and with all her strength, hit him on the back of his head.


    "Hey, that hurt!"


    "Do you remember what happened a few days ago?"


    "Of course... Were you trying to make me forget?"


    "That was the plan, but it looks like it didn''t work."


    Neige saw the worry in his friend''s eyes and tried to smile to put her mind at ease.


    "I... Just need time, I promise."


    Neige continued watching the river flowing under the worried gaze of Yada. The two sat next to each other and looked at the calm nature, hoping their restless heart would settle.


    "Neige, we lived so much together. We spent all our lives without being away once from each other. I just want you to know that you''re the most precious person I know."


    "You say that like we''ll never see each other again. You''re important to me too."


    Neige chuckled before staring back at the flowing water. All Yada could think about was finding a safe place for Neige, and if she couldn''t find one, she just would need to create one.


    The night arrived, Neige was asleep but talked in his slumber, probably having nightmares. Yada was writing in the book and decided to create a new world, safe of everything. After thinking for a moment, Yada thought about a place where nothing would even be. She decided to create a huge ship in space, where no one would bother them. She could always change a few things later if she needed to but tried to be very specific. Her pen stopped for a moment as she stared at her sleeping friend. Her tears fell on the pages of the book, her hand shaking, unable to write the rest. Gathering all the courage she could, she removed all memories that could make him remember about that fateful day, even memories of her.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Neige woke up in a soft bed. His eyes analyzed the room he was in, he had no idea how he ended up in this futuristic-looking room. All he could remember was living in a peaceful town with his friend, but could barely even remember her name. He quickly noticed a tall woman wearing a mask, sitting in a chair in front of him.


    "Neige... You''re awake..."


    Despite this strange situation, Neige managed to stay calm and even found peace being with her.


    "Who are you? What am I doing here?"


    "I''m... Polyetta. Your world is no more but don''t worry, you''re safe now."


    "Polyetta? Are you my friend? I don''t remember you having a mask."


    "You... Remember me?" The woman asked with a concerned voice.


    "Not much, I just remember when I used to walk near the river with you. Can you show me your face? Maybe I''d remember then."


    Polyetta started sobbing but quickly regained her composure for her friend.


    "I can''t... Trust me, it''s better for you."


    "Are you alright? You seem to feel bad. It looks like you did a lot for me so I''ll take care of everything for now, just rest, okay?"


    Seeing her friend smile cheerfully again was too much for the woman. She cried and took him in her arms, bringing him as close as she could.


    "I don''t deserve you... You''re too good for me..."


    Neige held back his friend. Even if he had no memories of her, he knew deep inside that she was precious to him. They both spent the day together in this empty ship, walking together like they used to.

 Chapter 135: Calm Before The Storm

    Neige held his friend in his arms after her long story. Even if it was so long ago, she still couldn''t think about it without feeling bad. Once she calmed herself, she concluded her story.


    "I was afraid that Neige would feel bad when we arrived here, I didn''t want him to remember everything so suddenly. How do you feel, Neige?"


    "I''m alright, I think I can remember what happened but not in detail."


    "Sorry to interrupt your moment, but I was wondering something." Silva said, looking directly at the leader "If you wanted to protect Neige, then why going in other worlds at all? You could have stayed in the Kronos."


    "Well, we didn''t want to use the book for everything and we needed food. As to why we started saving worlds, I think it''s a story for another time. We should go back now, I think we''re all exhausted."


    Everyone agreed and was about to go to the ship, except Neige, who stood still for a moment.


    "Go without me. I''m fine, I just need a bit of time here."


    The group understood and left him alone. Once he was sure they were no longer here, Neige walked into the forest, searching for something. It took a while but he managed to find the small hut he was searching for, the one he made with Polyetta when he arrived in this world. He sat near the river and stared at it before suddenly raising his voice.


    "Ada, I know you''re here, you don''t have to hide."


    The woman hesitated a bit before coming out of the tree she was hiding behind. She slowly walked toward Neige, holding her own hand with guilt.


    "I-I''m sorry, I just... I was worried about your well-being."


    "I''m good, don''t worry. I just needed a bit of time to reminisce."


    The woman stayed silent and sat next to him near the river, staring at it as well.


    "Neige and I... I mean my Neige, not you. We used to go ice skating on a river, it was always frozen."


    "I know you miss him, but I''m not him you know."


    "I know, I accepted it for a while now. But... When I chase you, it''s like seeing him again. Even if it''s only for a moment, he''s back for me. It''s weird, but you''re my only friend now... It was because you were his other self at first, but now, it''s just fun. I still want to create a perfect world for you, away from any worries."


    "I''ll prevent you from doing it."


    Ada smiled softly at Neige and stood up, ready to leave.


    "I know you will. Don''t stay here for too long, your friends are waiting."


    Neige turned toward the anomaly but she vanished in an instant. He stared at his reflection in the water before going back to the ship, refreshed from that break.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Neige arrived on the ship with a smile. Sadly for him, the smile quickly vanished as he was watching Remiel and Sepide argue.


    "But Sepide, you hit the ball once, while I did three times. I am statistically superior."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "You''re not! The only time we got a point was when you missed, you literally were useless."


    Remiel was amused at the situation while Sepide was genuinely mad. Neige knew he had to intervene or the situation would escalate.


    "Come on kids, let''s stop arguing."


    "I''m not a kid!"


    Sepide continued to complain while Neige brought her away from Remiel, hoping she would stop yelling soon.


    Neige and Sepide both took a coffee at the coffee machine after the girl calmed herself. Neige stared at his hot cup, preparing for the conversation to come.


    "Don''t you think you''re mean toward Remiel?"


    "I''m not mean, she thinks she''s better than me!"


    "But she learned from Silva, they both annoy people for fun. If you really hated her, you would stop giving her attention."


    "But you always play along with Silva."


    "Because I like being annoyed by her, she''s fun to be around. I think having a rivalry with Remiel is fine, but you''re getting genuinely mad at her, it''s not healthy."


    Sepide knew inside her that Neige was right but refused to admit it. Instead, she thought about a new way to prove herself.


    "We should do a mission together, and then, I''ll be able to prove that I''m the best one!"


    "That''s the exact opposite of what you should do..."


    "I''ll go ask the leader to give us a mission!"


    Sepide ran away, leaving Neige drinking his coffee alone. Ina approached him, she was visibly listening to their conversation from far away.


    "Is Sepide alright? Is there something I can do?"


    "She''s fine. I tried my best when Silva started insulting Emely but she ended up learning by herself that it was wrong, Sepide will be the same."


    "I sure hope she''ll understand soon then, it''s heartbreaking to see her like that..."


    Neige threw his paper cup in the bin and was about to follow Sepide but was stopped by Ina.


    "Neige, I wanted to ask you something... Do you know why the anomaly hates me? My other self must have been horrible to her."


    "She ended up destroying her own world, anyone would be mad at her. Don''t feel bad about what your other self did. But I do admit, I''m curious too, I''ll try asking her next time we see each other."


    "Thanks, Neige, don''t get in trouble!"


    Neige nodded and smiled at Ina before leaving to join Sepide, hoping she didn''t cause much trouble.


    After a few minutes of searching, Neige found Sepide talking with their leader. Polyetta saw him coming toward them and waved at him cheerfully.


    "Neige! It''s great that you''re here, I have a special mission for you."


    "Is it related to Remiel?"


    "Oh, you already know. Yes, Sepide wanted to see which of them was better on a mission and I have the perfect one for that. I''ve never placed it high on my list because we needed four persons, but with Remiel here now, there''s the fourth person we needed."


    "Four? Why can''t we do it with Silva and Sepide?"


    "To summarize, a group of four girls acted as superheroes for their world. It''s infested with zombies and they were supposed to save the day but sadly, they died. They were supposed to give hope to everyone and disappear once they saved the world, so I''ll need the four of you to dress like them and kill all the zombies."


    "You want me... To dress like a girl?" Neige asked, embarrassed at the thought of wearing feminine clothes in front of everyone.


    "Don''t worry, they''re gender-neutral. But it''s great for Remiel and Sepide, the one to kill the most zombies wins, isn''t it great?"


    "I guess so, when should we go?"


    "I don''t know, it will depend on whether Emely can make the clothes in time."


    "I''ll go ask her!" Sepide ran away once more before the leader could finish.


    "She''s really full of energy, she changed since she joined the group."


    "She did?" Asked Polyetta "I''ve never noticed..."


    "Are you kidding me? She used to be so cold and logical, it was so annoying. Isn''t she supposed to be your daughter?" Neige chuckled at his words but Polyetta couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty for not spending enough time with not only Sepide, but the others too.


    "Neige... Have you ever thought about what will happen after your death?"


    "That''s... Kinda ominous. I can''t say I have."


    Polyetta stayed silent for a moment before answering.


    "I don''t want anyone else to die but... We never know when the next victim will be claimed. I think I should spend more time with everyone so we don''t have any regrets."


    "I think it will be alright. I doubt that the anomaly would hurt us now, and as for Silv, I''m sure we''ll find a way to take care of her once and for all."


    "... I hope you''re right..."


    "Of course, those two are nothing. For now, the real danger is Sepide, we should go check on her before she asks Emely to make weird stuff."


    Polyetta chuckled at the idea and followed her friend. Her worries were still not cleared but she accepted that there wasn''t anything she could do about it anyway. She decided that she would spend more time with everyone, not as a leader, but as a friend.

 Chapter 136: The Blind Hairstyler

    After their long Baseball match, Silva and Emely decided to go rest in the young painter''s room. Emely was looking at the different paintings but quickly saw that Silva wasn''t in the mood, feeling gloomy for some reason. She sat next to her lover on the bed, concerned about her.


    "Silva? Are you alright?"


    "Oh, yeah don''t worry... So, is there a painting that you like? Maybe you could take one to keep in your lab."


    Despite Silva''s smile and attempt to talk about something else, Emely could clearly see that something was wrong with her.


    "Is it because of Silv?"


    Silva let out a sigh. Seeing it, Emely held her softly in her arms, gently caressing her beloved''s hair. Silva lay down, her head on Emely''s thighs.


    "Have you seen how soft she was? I couldn''t imagine that she could be like that."


    "Is that why you feel bad? You''ll always be the softest for me."


    "Well... I feel like we''re similar sometimes. When I killed my parents, I felt glad. I know it was wrong, but I couldn''t help it, and I''m sure Silv felt the same when she killed her mother too. Seeing Silv like that made me realize that we''re even closer than I thought... I don''t want to be like her..."


    "You''re not like her, your parents treated you horribly and you were all alone. And now, you''re so much better. You''re far from the evil Silv, you''re a good and cute girl."


    "I want to be a good girl... I''m just scared I could end up like her someday."


    Emely continued to caress Silva''s hair, relaxing the both of them.


    "You remember when I talked about my world? You said that I''m different because I have a heart, and that as long I had it, I would be okay. It''s the same for you, your heart makes you different from Silv. And she''ll never be my tender bat."


    Silva smiled for real this time, reliving Emely.


    "You''re right, and unlike her, I have you all! I''m lucky to not be alone, especially after all I did. I was a burden and caused a lot of trouble to everyone."


    Silva suddenly stood up and searched for something under her bed. Emely was curious about what she was doing there but trusted that it was worth it. Silva handed a box to her, but Emely was more focused on cleaning the dust off her.


    "You''re dirtied yourself..."


    "It''s fine, I''ll clean myself. I just want to show you that."


    Emely opened curiously the box. A bunch of things were here but the one that picked her interest was a picture. There was Gwyn, Neige, Silva, and Kairo on it. It must have been a long time ago since they were all old members of the ship. Silva sat back next to her, putting her head on Emely''s shoulder.


    "It was four years ago, they took this picture a few weeks after they found me. Neige had to do so much to make me presentable, my hair was messy, my clothes were in a bad state, and I didn''t even know how to shower. He really had to work a lot on me..."


    "But you''re no longer like that, it''s not easy to learn basic things that you didn''t learn as a child."


    Emely looked at the picture, amused to see everyone''s younger self. Neige didn''t look very different while Kairo was much less confident in his stance. Gwyn was also very similar but Silva''s appearance and behavior changed. Her smile showed her teeth and looked like it was the one of a child. Her hands were rising to the air, she seemed excited just being here. But the thing that Emely noticed quickly was her long hair, suiting perfectly their red color.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "Why did you cut your hair? It looked so good."


    "It was annoying. I cut them during a mission because I couldn''t feel the environment as easily. But... I could let them grow if you like them long."


    "Oh no, I wouldn''t want you to be bothered by them."


    "But would you like them?"


    "I... Would love to caress your long hair..."


    Silva smiled and rubbed Emely''s head, clearly enjoying herself.


    "I''m sure now I could easily manage, but it will take time to grow. Neige was always the one that took care of my hair but I guess I''ll need to style and comb my hair myself. I can''t always rely on him."


    "I''m here for that now, I can do it for you! Actually, why don''t you practice right now?"


    "But my hair is too short to do anything."


    "That''s why I''m here!"


    Emely sat in front of Silva, her back against her friend.


    "You can try doing a braid, it''s not hard."


    "But what if I mess your hair?"


    "It''s fine, Remiel can untangle anything."


    "I''ll try then..."


    Silva wasn''t confident in her abilities, she grabbed Emely''s hair but had no idea how to start, instead just holding them. She caressed the soft hair for a moment and rubbed it against her face.


    "It''s soft... And it smells like you."


    "S-Smells like me? Can you recognize my smell!?"


    "Yeah, can''t you?"


    "No, no I can''t! Wait, is that how you recognize people?"


    "Sometimes, but it''s more often because of the way they walk. Neige is fast in his movement, Sepide is more steady, and you''re softer and more clumsy. But is it true? You can''t identify people''s smell?"


    "I think only you can, your heightened senses allow you to do it."


    "Neige can too."


    Emely was in shock, stopping for a moment before she could ask more. Silva took this opportunity to untangle the mess she caused in her hair, with some difficulties.


    "He can? The more I learn about him the more I''m surprised."


    "He told me that he needs to get close to do it, he likes trying a lot of things. I remember when he tried teaching me things when you joined the ship. I felt bad for not being useful and he tried his best for me."


    "You really love him... Don''t you feel bad that you ended up with me instead?"


    "My old self would, but she''s dumb. You''re the love of my life and he''s my big brother, you''re both different and I love you differently."


    "I''m... The love of your life?"


    Emely couldn''t help but blush and smile at the warmth brought by Silva''s words.


    "Of course, I don''t want anyone else. Even Silv got jealous of you and tried to get one of your other selves."


    "But wouldn''t it be better if I was a guy? Then I-"


    Silva pulled Emely''s hair to interrupt her, hurting Emely a bit.


    "Stop with that, I want you as my girlfriend so stay like you are. And besides... It makes it softer to sleep on your chest..."


    "Really?" Emely asked with a playful tone "I thought they were too small for you."


    "They''re perfect like that. They''re still small though."


    "At least I don''t feel a weight on my chest. By the way, do you manage with my braid? I feel like you have some difficulties."


    Silva felt the mess she created. No matter how she tried, it felt like the hair was stuck that way forever.


    "Everything is under control, don''t worry."


    "Good, I''m sure you''ll make me look like the prettiest girl!"


    Silva wasn''t even sure if she was doing a braid anymore, it looked more like a ball of hair than anything. Emely seemed oblivious to what was happening, or maybe she was ignoring it on purpose. Either way, Silva knew she needed to find a way to distract her.


    "There''s something I wanted to ask for a while now... You''ve always loved me?"


    "I wouldn''t say that. I just thought you were a cool person, I wanted to be like you. I tried so hard to create amazing things to impress you, I wanted to be your friend so badly. I couldn''t tell when it happened, but I started caring way more about you than I should. I knew that despite all the bad things you said you had a soft heart."


    "I should have tried to learn more about you before being so mean. But honestly, I had no idea you had such feelings for me."


    "I think I really started to have feelings for you a bit before you did this tournament to save Neige. I was so worried when you were away for so long... But it doesn''t matter now, we''re together at least."


    "You''re right, I wouldn''t trade you for anything in the world."


    Silva gave up on Emely''s hair, assuming Remiel would fix it.


    "You should call Remiel, I can''t do it properly."


    "No, it''s cute like that, I''ll keep it for a moment."


    "But... You look messy."


    "My kind bat did it for me, so I''m keeping it for at least a day."


    Emely smiled at Silva to relieve her before standing up and stretching.


    "It''s a good thing we went in your room today, we always get interrupted in my lab... Do you think Neige understood what we were doing last time?"


    "You mean when we listened to... Adult stuff? He probably knows but doesn''t want to embarrass us."


    "That''s embarrassing anyway! Well... It was fun while it lasted at least, I just wish it was your moans inst-"


    "L-Let''s talk about something else!" Silva blushed intensely, desperately trying to change the topic "Why don''t we get coffee or something?"


    "I''d be more than glad!"


    Silva and Emely went out of the room together. Emely took her lover''s hand and leaned on her, feeling Silva''s warmth against her.

 Chapter 137: Break Time

    Emely and Silva went to get a coffee after spending quality time together. They barely got a cup that Sepide already took them by surprise, coming from seemingly nowhere.


    "Emely, I was looking for you. The leader said we needed clothes for a mission, how long will it take?"


    "Eh? It''s a bit direct, I can''t tell right now. Maybe a few days, is it urgent?"


    "I don''t think so."


    The leader and Neige arrived soon after, relieved to find Sepide. Polyetta looked at Emely with concern and went toward her.


    "I suppose Sepide told you about our mission. You can take your time, she''s just really excited to prove that she''s better than Remiel."


    "Oh, it''s related to Remiel. I should be able to finish in a few days, you''ll just need to tell me what it looks like."


    The leader nodded, glad that the situation was fixed. Neige on the other hand couldn''t stop staring at Emely with confused eyes.


    "Emely... Are you alright? Your hair looks like you took an explosion on the face."


    "It''s beautiful, you just don''t understand women''s fashion."


    The conversation attracted Remiel and Ina, who happened to pass by. Ina cheerfully waved at everyone and joined the chatter with a smile.


    "It looks like everyone had the same idea. It''s so rare to see someone else than Silva at the coffee machine. I wanted to test something with Remiel, do you want to watch the experiment?"


    "What experiment?" Emely asked, concerned.


    "We wanted to see if I was able to get more energy by drinking coffee." Explained Remiel "My data indicate that some robots are able to recharge thanks to some liquid."


    "W-Wait, you can''t! If you drink something you''ll fry, don''t put anything in your mouth!"


    Emely felt relieved that she was here to stop it, but also incredibly concerned that Remiel could just put herself in danger for such stupid reasons. Ina was a bit disappointed that it wouldn''t work but quickly focused on something else.


    "Gwyn isn''t here? She always works so much, she needs a break sometimes..."


    "Don''t worry, I''m here."


    The group turned toward the voice to see the doctor but also the anomaly walking next to her, visibly dizzy. No one dared ask anything until Neige pointed out the obvious.


    "Why is Ada here?"


    "Mmm? Oh, the anomaly. Before the game she promised she''d let me analyze her, I made some good discoveries. She just didn''t react well to the tranquilizer, she''s like in a trance or something."


    "I''m... Alright..." Said the anomaly, looking at the ceiling.


    "Why don''t we kill her there!?" Asked the leader in shock "That''s one less problem!"


    "That seems unfair, she was nice enough to accept everything I did to her."


    "I agree with her." Said Neige "Ada hasn''t caused any problems lately."


    The leader clearly was unhappy with the decision but accepted it, still frowning at the idea.


    "Can we at least know what you discovered?"


    "Of course. So I learned about her body a bit more. You probably remember seeing a dark matter coming out of her quite often. It''s actually herself, the body that we see right now is just a bunch of matter stuck together to form anything she wants. She probably took the form her body had before becoming the anomaly."The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "So she can change however she wants?" Asked Silva with a grin "Can she get a dick if she wanted?"


    "I could have a dick... Why didn''t I think about it before..." The anomaly said, completely stoned.


    "Silva, don''t give her bad ideas please. Anyway, she probably died at one point and her body was lost in her many adventures. The only thing holding her together is the will of her soul."


    "So even if we kill her right now she''ll just get a new body?" The leader held hope she was wrong but already knew the answer deep in her.


    "Yes, pretty much. The only way for her to die is by giving up, at least with everything I know now. She also has quite an interesting way to travel in different worlds. Unlike us, she doesn''t pass by the center of the universe and instead goes in between worlds. It''s more risky but way faster."


    Sepide raised her hand, curious about something.


    "I heard you talk about it before, but what is this ''between worlds'' and why can''t we go there?"


    "That''s my domain of expertise!" Proudly announced Emely "Imagine that every world is a planet, the between world would be space. It''s basically a state where you don''t exist and we have no way to travel there."


    "But didn''t you say that Silv was between worlds before? How is it possible?"


    "I... Don''t know, maybe my other self found a way to go there. It''s empty anyway, there''s no point going there."


    "I agree." Gwyn nodded her head before continuing "Aside from that, the anomaly is a mystery. I couldn''t understand everything about her, like for example, she doesn''t have a body like I said, just a bunch of dark matter. And yet, tranquilizer still affected her. I guess we''ll have to let her go once she feels better."


    "I''m already alright..." Ada said, staring at the light above her.


    "Yes, let''s get you something to eat first, just in case."


    Gwyn took the anomaly away, helping her walk. Polyetta looked at the situation with a mean stare, unsatisfied with the situation.


    "This thing is the definition of what we''re fighting against! We''re preventing anomalies, not feeding them."


    "Come on Polyetta, there are other ways to stop her."


    "Yeah, Neige is right." Added Silva "Maybe if we feed her enough she''ll be nice to us?"


    "You better take responsibility if something happens."


    The leader left in fury, worrying the others, especially Ina.


    "Is she alright?"


    "Yeah, she probably hates the anomaly for what she did to me."


    "It''s understandable. Anyway, I''ll need to cook tonight''s dinner, so you want to join me Sepide?"


    The girl nodded her head and followed Ina toward the kitchens, leaving the other.


    "Should I follow Ina? We did not finish our experiments."


    "No, you follow me." Emely said while taking Remiel''s hand and looking at Neige and Silva "Do you want to come?"


    "I would love to usually, but there''s something I wanted to talk about with Neige."


    "Alright, have fun you two!"


    Emely left, taking her robot with her. The two friends were left alone, Silva took another cup of coffee under Neige''s worried gaze.


    "That''s the fourth one you drank since I arrived, how is your heart not exploding?"


    "I''m just used to it. Anyway, there''s something I wanted to ask you."


    Neige looked at Silva with a serious gaze, expecting the worst.


    "Is there something troubling you?"


    "You could say that... I need you to teach me how to be a good girlfriend."


    "A good girlfriend? And you decided to ask that to the guy that never got in a relationship?"


    "Come on, give some of your wisdom! At least teach me how to make a braid."


    "Ohhh, I see now." Neige smiled, suddenly understanding the situation with Emely "I''ll teach you a few things, don''t worry."


    "You better, you''re supposed to take care of your little siblings. Also, it''s almost Emely''s birthday, I''ll need your help with something."


    "Am I your sibling or your servant? It better not be anything embarrassing."


    "No, it''s-" Silva suddenly sneezed, surprising the both of them.


    "Are you sick? I don''t think I ever saw anyone sick here, I thought Gwyn''s vitamins were enough to stay healthy."


    "Gwyn''s vitamins?" Silva asked, not understanding what Neige meant.


    "You know, the pill we take every week to boost our immune system?"


    "I didn''t know there was something like that, she gave me a bunch of pills at the same time. She said I could stop so I just stopped everything."


    "She probably meant the one for your mental health. You should take the vitamins at least, some worlds have nasty viruses."


    "It''s nothing." Despite her best efforts not to, Silva sneezed again "Tomorrow I''m all set again."


    Neige could only hope Silva didn''t catch anything big, but he focused more on something else about his friend instead.


    "You stopped taking your meds?"


    "Gwyn said I was alright so yes. It''s just a test period but I don''t feel too bad for now."


    Neige took her in his arms, holding her tightly against his body.


    "I''m proud of you Silva. It wasn''t easy, but you did great."


    Silva hugged Neige back. She always dreamt of hearing those words from her parents, and now, it was true in a way. Even if she no longer had her family of blood, she knew she found a more precious family here.


    "It''s... Thanks to you all. You, Kairo, Sepide, Emely, even the leader. I couldn''t have been the person I am now without you."


    The girl was starting to feel silly for even thinking she could be like Silv. As long as she had her family, she would be far different.

 Chapter 138: Stuck In Bed

    Silva was lying in her bed, visibly unwell. Neige, Sepide, and Emely were all next to her, concerned for their friend.


    "I''m glad... You''re here... To hear my last words."


    "Silva, you have a cold, you''re not going to die." Neige looked at the two girls next to him, about to cry all the tears in their bodies "You''re worrying them for nothing, Gwyn said you''d be better by the end of the day."


    "It''s so warm... Is it what death feels like..."


    "Silva! Don''t leave me!" Emely said, grabbing Silva''s hand.


    "She''s not going anywhere, she just got sick when we played baseball or something."


    Silva closed her eyes while holding Emely''s hand. Aside from Neige, the others were worried to see her like this.


    "Emely..."


    "Silva? What is it?"


    "... Soft... Chest..."


    Emely blushed intensely, embarrassed that her friends heard this.


    "W-Well, she''ll be alright! Y-You should let her rest, I''ll stay here to check on her!"


    Neige nodded and forced Silva to come with him out of Silva''s room. Once they were outside, Sepide asked him,


    "Will she be alright?"


    "She has a cold! In a few hours, she''ll come to annoy us again. I just hope Emely is not going to do anything funny and get sick too."


    "It''s contagious!?" Sepide felt terrified, not wanting to suffer the same fate as her friend.


    "I know it''s the first time you see someone sick but it''s not that bad. And you''re taking the pill Gwyn gave you, right?"


    "Yes, every week."


    "Then it''s fine, you''re not going to get sick. Silva just misunderstood what Gwyn meant but even she''ll be alright."


    "I hope so... In the meantime, I''ll need to train. I don''t want to lose against Remiel in our next mission."


    "Remiel is a robot, I''d be surprised if you could aim better than her. Then again, she couldn''t follow a simple recipe so I don''t know."


    Neige and Sepide went to the shooting range of the ship. Sepide was intending on training but Neige just followed her to cure his boredom and spend some time with her.


    The two arrived at the shooting range. It was huge and very well-equipped with multiple firearms and even bows. Neige observed his friend train for a moment now. Sepide tried to hit the target precisely but failed on multiple occasions. Neige went behind her and placed his hand on his arm, causing her to flinch.


    "You''re too tense Sepide, you need to be comfortable while aiming."


    Sepide tried to relax her arms a bit but this didn''t satisfy Neige. He placed himself close to her, embarrassing her a bit.


    "Your legs and shoulders are so tense, you won''t be able to touch anything like that."


    "I''m aiming with my hands, why do I need to focus on my legs."


    "All of your body is connected, if a part is tensed, all of it will be uncomfortable. It''s like that for everything, even your mind. If your head is full of stressful thoughts, you won''t be able to relax."


    Sepide tried to calm herself and soothe her mind. Even if it was hard to admit for her, Neige''s advice made it way easier for her to focus. She went back to her training under Neige''s supervision. It took her a bit of time but she felt like she was getting slightly better. The session continued until someone else entered the room. It was unusual to see her there, but Ina was here, a bit overwhelmed by the size of the room.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "Wow, I never knew we had something like that on the ship!"


    "I can imagine, you don''t really need it. It''s unusual to see you here, wanted to train?"


    "I''m afraid not Neige, I actually came for you."


    Sepide quickly understood she wasn''t concerned and focused back on her training. Neige waited for the woman to explain herself, curious to hear the answer.


    "I''ve... Started to have some nightmares, Gwyn told me you might know something."


    "Me? I''m not the dream expert."


    "I know but you travel far more than me, I figured that you could have an explanation."


    "I can always listen at least."


    "Thanks, Neige." Ina said with a relieved smile on her face "Lately, I dream of a little girl. She looked like me and told me her name was Nia. The first time, she told me I had forgotten my goal and that I needed to remember it. I didn''t think much of it at first, but I saw her again the night after, and again every night. It''s been a week now, I really don''t understand, have you seen someone named Nia in your adventures?"


    Neige was hesitant to tell her everything. He remembered the legend of the Goddess of Death but wasn''t sure it was the right thing to tell her. Ina rapidly noticed that something was wrong and already imagined the worst.


    "You know something, right? I can tell..."


    "It''s true, but... It''s not easy to tell and I''m not even sure if it''s correct."


    "Neige, please tell me. I want to know if one of my other selves caused problems."


    Neige took a deep inspiration, he was still not sure it was the right thing to do but couldn''t leave his friend without an answer.


    "In one of the worlds, we found an old tomb... It belonged to the Goddess of Death. There were a lot of names that looked like they could be your other selves. This Nia had her name on the stone, she probably was a former Goddess of Death."


    "So... Does that mean that I''m the reincarnation of the Goddess of Death?"


    "It''s a bit soon to say, I''d need to learn more just In-"


    "So it was my fault..."


    Neige stared at Ina with a confused gaze, trying to understand what she meant.


    "What was your fault?"


    Ina noticed that she was acting gloomy and made a carefree smile to relieve Neige.


    "Don''t worry, it''s nothing. I need to go cook now, it''s already late."


    "But it''s not even close to being noon?"


    Ina ignored Neige''s words and left in a hurry. Sepide stopped her training and went next to Neige.


    "She''s taking it pretty well for someone who learned they were the Goddess of Death in another life."


    "No, she''s not... I''ll need to talk about it with Gwyn, I''m worried about her. We should go check on Silva too."


    Sepide nodded in agreement and followed Neige. She still wasn''t satisfied with her training yet but knew she needed a break anyway.


    The two friends entered Silva''s room, after knocking this time. Silva was still in bed but seemed in an already better state. She was sitting and drinking coffee with Emely but still looked tired.


    "Charon? Is that you?"


    "Don''t say things like that Silva, you''ll worry your friends."


    Neige looked at the cup in Silva''s hand with surprise on his face.


    "Coffee with milk? Last time I gave you some you acted like I was poisoning you."


    "Emely convinced me that milk isn''t so bad."


    "She did that? I''m starting to think that she might be able to convince you to do everything."


    "That''s just milk..."


    "It''s hard to believe that a few months ago you kept arguing on everything, and now, you agree with her."


    "Unlike you Neige, I get character development." Silva said with a smile before sneezing suddenly "I hate being sick..."


    "You''ll get better soon. I just came to check on you, I have to see Gwyn."


    "Wait, there''s something I need to tell you. Not just you... Emely and Sepide too."


    Silva wanted to say something but got suddenly embarrassed. She couldn''t muster the strength to say what she wanted and instead panicked.


    "I just... You''re all... Neige has a small dick!"


    "That''s... Clearly not what you were about to say." Neige approached Silva and caressed her head, making Emely jealous "You should rest, you''ll tell us when you''re ready."


    "Y-Yes."


    Neige left the room and the three girls. Sepide came to sit next to Emely, who still seemed mad at Neige. Silva quickly noticed the state of her beloved and tried her best to relieve her.


    "Don''t worry little inventor, he can touch my head but you can touch more~."


    "S-Silva! Don''t say that in front of Sepide!"


    Sepide stared at the two girls, not understanding what they meant.


    "Should I leave?"


    "N-No. I already spend so much time with Silva. It''s still a bit embarrassing to... Show affection when we''re not alone."


    Sepide looked at the two girls with an empty expression on her face.


    "Do you have sex?"


    The two lovers blushed intensely and said nonsensical words that they barely finished. Silva was less embarrassed and more shocked to hear this word coming out of Sepide''s mouth.


    "Since when do you know what sex is? I thought you didn''t know anything about it."


    "I don''t, I just wanted to know you if could see yours."


    "Y-You''re not seeing anyone''s sex!" Emely said, hiding her face "Where did you hear about it anyway?"


    "On internet, someone said it."


    "You should ask Neige, he''s an expert on it and he looooves explaining that."


    Silva had a grin on her face, already thinking about her friend''s embarrassment. Sepide nodded, waiting to see Neige again for him to explain. But for now, she was glad that Silva was getting better and was able to joke around.

 Chapter 139: Sepide The Magical Girl

    The usual trio was in the leader''s office, but this time, Remiel was with them. Sepide stared at her with a mean gaze until the leader finally started talking.


    "I think you all know what it''s about so I''ll make it short. Four vigilantes used to protect their world from a zombie apocalypse, sadly, they all perished. The four girls were supposed to bring hope to everyone so you''ll need to dress as them and eradicate the invasion. Emely has everything ready for you, head to her lab when you''re ready."


    The group left the room with their new mission in mind. Sepide was excited to finally do it, after days she could finally prove to Remiel that she was the best.


    The four of them arrived at Emely''s lab to see their uniforms. Neige stared at his for a while, it looked like a Japanese school uniform, and had no intent on wearing it.


    "Emely, is there nothing else? I''m not wearing that."


    "Oh? I thought you liked dressing as a girl. You know, I still have the picture I took when you were-"


    "You took a picture!?"


    "Come on, if you wear it, you''ll be able to keep for whenever you want."


    Neige looked at the uniform for a moment, imagining himself in it.


    "I''ll keep it?"


    Emely nodded her head, convincing Neige. Despite his reluctance, he was glad to see himself in it. The flash of Emely''s phone startled him, he immediately turned toward her to see a bright smile on her face.


    "You''re. So. Cute. I knew it would fit you well, you can ask me anytime if you need a costume, I''ll gladly oblige."


    "No thanks... Maybe someday..."


    Neige blushed but went through the embarrassment to check on his friends.


    "Are you all ready? We can go?"


    The group nodded and together all went into the world.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "The city is in ruins, there..."


    Sepide stopped in her usual report and instead looked at the streets full of zombies. She took her firearm in hand, ready to fight.


    "Remiel! The one that kills the most zombies wins!"


    "Alright! I will not lose!"


    The two girls split up, not leaving the others time to prepare.


    "Hey, it''s dangerous to split up!"


    Despite Neige''s words, the two ran in opposite directions, forcing him to play along.


    "Silva, go with Remiel, I go with Sepide."


    Silva nodded her head and followed the robot. Remiel had already gone so far away, forcing her to walk for a while before getting together.


    Remiel continued the massacre and killed all of the lifeless forms walking in the streets. Her movements were quick and precise, not giving them a chance. Silva only had to follow her and enjoy the walk.


    "How many?" Silva asked regularly this question, checking on Remiel''s score.


    "53,136."


    "Not bad, I doubt Sepide will win."


    "I am doing my best to give a challenge to my rival. It could be the first time I win."


    "Really? You fought before?"


    "She challenged me multiple times. We started counting recently, she won three times and I am still at zero."The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "She won three times?" Silva was impressed by Sepide''s prowess, winning against Remiel didn''t seem easy.


    "Yes, she won at cooking, live streaming, and rock paper scissors."


    "I thought it would be more intense..." Silva said, a bit disappointed "But livestreaming? You''re a V-tuber too?"


    "Indeed. But Sepide''s popularity far exceeds mine. Despite what I was led to believe, humans do not yearn for the beauty of nature. I attempted to advertise my channel, as well as-"


    "I''m sorry but I need Emely to be here if you want to talk about anything technical."


    "I can explain everything you need, see-"


    Remiel was about to explain in great detail her plans to surpass Sepide''s fame. Silva had no desire to listen and was thankfully saved by a random man, interrupting Remiel.


    "A-Are you Magical Red and Magical Green!? I thought you were dead!"


    Silva almost forgot about the outfit they were wearing and didn''t understand what the man was talking about. Remiel quickly intervened, saving Silva from the trouble.


    "Indeed, we came to save you from the danger and stop this plague!"


    "Wait, you sound different from how you were on TV. Are you really the Magical Four?"


    "Yeah, we are." Answered Silva "But TV is so different from real life, we act cuter so people love us."


    "R-Really? I guess it makes sense... How is Magical Blue? Is she as cute as on TV?"


    Remembering that Neige was the blue one, Silva grinned mischievously.


    "Magical Blue? She is very cute and shy, do you have a crush on her?"


    "H-How do you know?"


    "Magical sense, I can tell easily. She''s actually searching for a boyfriend but will never admit it, we can go to her and you can ask her out."


    "You''re less cute but you''re still so nice! I''d love to meet her!"


    Silva wanted to punch the man for his remark but knew that as long as Emely found her cute, it was fine.


    Sepide and Neige were both taking care of zombies the best they could. There were so many of them that they weren''t sure they could manage to kill them all.


    "I''ve killed ten thousand of them!" Proudly announced Sepide in the middle of the massacre.


    "You''re counting? Don''t you have other things to focus on?"


    "How can I know whether I won over Remiel if I don''t count?"


    Neige let out a sigh, already tired of them.


    "You''re too focused on that, it''s almost all you''re doing... Is there anything that you do without thinking about beating Remiel?"


    "I just want to prove that it''s not because she''s a robot that she''s better."


    "Is that really it? You''re putting a lot of effort into proving it."


    Sepide stared at the pack of zombies in front of her, she was starting to think there were now way for her to get rid of them all that way.


    "These girls that died, were they supposed to get rid of all those monsters? If they did, then how did they die?"


    "I don''t know for sure, some worlds change without anyone doing anything to them."


    "But then, aren''t we the ones changing history? I know this book tells us what is supposed to happen and all, but... It''s all so complicated to me."


    Neige stayed silent and went next to Sepide, concerned for her.


    "You''re worried about doing the right thing, right? I can still remember our first mission together, you were so different than you are now."


    "Was I? I can''t remember being different."


    "You kept talking about everything needing to be in order, that our mission was more important. Now you''re doubting yourself, it shows you''ve grown. You acted like Remiel, I guess you were made like a robot after all, but you''ve grown past that."


    "I... Was like Remiel?"


    Sepide paused for a moment, suddenly understanding something. She realized it before but couldn''t put words on it, Remiel reminded her of herself. Maybe she didn''t hate Remiel after, only her past self.


    "Can we see Remiel and Silva? I want to know who has the better score."


    Neige noticed the subtle change of tone in his friend. She didn''t seem mad or anything like that, more confused instead.


    "We can try, but this city is big, it will take some time."


    Sepide nodded and followed Neige, they decided to take care of the zombies later and join their friends. Sepide stayed strangely silent, lost deep in her thoughts while walking.


    The two arrived at a street full of dead zombies, they quickly understood that Remiel and Silva already went there and did a much better job than them.


    "Looks like you lost this round Sepide, Remiel did better."


    "It''s fine, I''ll win next time."


    Neige was surprised by how quick Sepide changed. She didn''t seem to be mad at Remiel anymore but still determined to win over her.


    "You really don''t want to lose against Remiel, huh?"


    "Of course, I won''t let her prove that she''s better than me. Oh, it reminds me, I need to have more knowledge than her too."


    "She''s a robot, you''re not beating her on that."


    "I can still try, I had a question for Silva, but she said you were more experienced for that. It''s also something you love talking about apparently."


    Neige''s eyes lit up, already excited by the idea.


    "Is it a new language? What is it?"


    "I want to know what sex is. Tell me about it."


    Neige''s face filled with disappointement as he realized that even when she''s away, Silva managed to mess with him.


    "It''s... When two persons love each other very much and... Hug and kiss each other."


    "Oh, that''s it? He made it sound like a big deal."


    Neige stopped walking, trying to process what he just heard.


    "He? Who''s he? Someone I know?"


    "It''s no big deal." Sepide said while blushing "He''s just a friend..."


    "Doesn''t sound like it. If you want to do anything with him you''ll need to let me meet him first."


    "Can we talk about it later? There''s more important for now."


    Neige accepted reluctantly, still thinking about who this person might be. He was more worried about dealing with Silva''s and Sepide''s relationships but still felt concerned that Sepide never talked about this mysterious guy before.

 Chapter 140: Burden Of The Past

    Neige and Sepide finally managed to find their two friends after a long search. To their surprise, a man was with them and ran toward Neige the moment he saw him.


    "M-Magical Blue!? I can''t believe it''s you! You''re even cuter than on TV!"


    The man was talking so fast that Neige had trouble understanding him. Silva went next to them and talked with a dramatic tone.


    "Poor survivor, he finally met his idol, let''s hope he won''t be disappointed."


    "I won''t!" Said the man "Magical Blue, you helped me so much! You''re the reason I''m alive!"


    Neige quickly understood that Silva was amused by the situation but still decided to play along and act like the man''s hero.


    "I''m glad I could help you! Me and my friends always try our best to bring hope to everyone!"


    "You''re so cool and adorable! I always loved you, could we get together and-"


    "Hey, I''m not into love! I''m only doing that so everyone can be filled with hope and courage."


    "Don''t worry, Magical Red told me that you were shy about it but I''ll treat you well, I promise!"


    Neige looked at Silva, who tried her best to act innocent. Neige tried his best but couldn''t keep going any longer without breaking the man''s dream.


    "I''m not the one you think, I''m actually a guy."


    "A-Are you?"


    "Yes, I didn''t want anyone to know but-"


    "You''re not, don''t listen to society, you can be whoever you want!"


    "N-No! It''s not that deep! I-"


    "Don''t worry Magical Blue! I''ll take care of all of your needs!"


    Silva started feeling bad for Neige and interfered with the conversation to help her friend.


    "I was just kidding, Magical Blue is not interested in that."


    "It''s okay don''t worry, I can convince her!"


    The man was still trying to convince Neige despite the two friends arguing against him. Taking opportunity of this moment when everyone was busy, Sepide went toward Remiel, far from the noise of the argument.


    "Hey... How many did you kill?"


    "74,563"


    "I''m... Far behind you. I think you win this time."


    "But, it is not over yet?"


    "I can accept defeat when it''s I see it... I''m sorry for being mean to you."


    "You were not, I can understand that you did not mean harm."


    Sepide smiled softly and took Remiel in her arms before quickly getting away when she felt the blood all over her.


    "You... Really killed a lot of zombies..."


    "Indeed, I am surprised by your sudden signs of affection, you never tried that before."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "I guess I did change... But it doesn''t mean we''re friends, we''re still rivals! I''m not letting you prove your superiority!"


    Sepide smiled at Remiel. She still had some trouble accepting her fully but felt much better since she understood where the problem came from.


    "I shall do my best. Even if it takes years, I will win."


    "Looks like you weren''t built with modesty."


    Sepide and Remiel continued teasing each other until Neige and Silva went to them. Sepide noticed the man behind them, lying on the ground and holding his crotch in pain.


    "What happened?"


    "He was annoying Neige too much, I''m the only one who can do that." Proudly announced Silva.


    "We''ll talk about it later, we need to go back on the ship." Neige said with a serious tone "The leader told us that Ina ran away."


    "She ran away? Why?"


    "I don''t know, we''ll ask Polyetta on the ship."


    The group decided to continue their mission later and immediately returned to their base with the intent to find Ina as soon as possible.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Sepide and Remiel went away to clean themselves while Neige and Silva hurried toward their leader. She was in Emely''s lab along with its owner, both looking at the screen of the computer. When she noticed Silva and Neige, she quickly walked toward them to explain the situation.


    "You''re finally here, Ina decided to go in her native world. We tried contacting her but she didn''t answer and we have no signal from her watch."


    "Did it break?" Asked Silva "She''s careful usually..."


    "Something probably happened to her, which is strange, since her world is completely empty by now."


    Neige remembered his last conversation with her and figured it was probably because of it that she ran away to her old world.


    "Silva and I will get Sepide once she''s ready and go, we''ll bring her safe, I promise."


    Neige quickly left to get his friend, followed by Silva right behind him. The leader was scared about what could happen concerning Ina. Seeing the worries on her face, Emely approached her softly.


    "Leader, is everything alright?"


    The woman straightened her back and took a more confident stance before answering.


    "Yes. I need to do something in my room, tell me if anything bad happens."


    "Will do."


    Polyetta left the room, hoping Neige and the others would be all fine.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The three friends arrived in Ina''s world. The buildings and roads were filled with ashes like the world itself burned. Without thinking, Neige headed toward the place where he met Ina for the first time, on top of a lighthouse.


    After quickly making their way there, the group found Ina looking at the world below. The anomaly was also there on the ground, visibly in pain. Neige tried approaching Ina but was quickly stopped by her voice.


    "If you come closer... I''ll jump..."


    No one dared to move, waiting for something to happen. Neige was the first one to talk, trying to understand what was happening.


    "Ina... Why is Ada here? Did she attack you?"


    "I... Don''t know... I was just standing here and it all happened suddenly." Ina held her hand and placed it close to her chest. She turned toward her friends, a smile full of tears on her face "I... Need to go. It''s better for everyone."


    "You know it''s not true, we can always try to deal with it. It''s not because of your past lives that your current one is already decided."


    Ina stopped smiling and turned back toward the sky, staring at her old world.


    "Neige, Silva... Do you remember a year ago? I was standing at the exact same place and you were with Kairo... If he is no more... Maybe it''s my fault. I only bring death around me, and now, I understand that it''s my fate... It''s only fitting that I inflict upon myself the misery I have brought on others."


    "If you leave, who''s going to cook for us?" Asked Silva "I''d do it, but then the ship would burn."


    "Sepide can take care of it."


    Ina stepped on the fence in front of her, getting dangerously close to the emptiness in front of her.


    "Many volcanos erupted at the same time, causing the end of life like I knew it... In all of human history, no... History itself, it never happened... It only happened while I was alive, and I was the only survivor... All this time I thought I was unlucky, but now, I understand... Goddess of Death... I never asked for that, and I think the legacy of this Goddess should disappear once and for all."


    "But wait! We''re not dead so... It''s alright, see?"


    "Kairo, Shiro... It''s only a matter of time before more fall. I can''t allow myself to live any longer... You shouldn''t have come... You''re making this harder for yourselves."


    "I don''t care!" Yelled Neige "We''re going to bring you on the ship, I already promised to everyone!"


    "Neige... Don''t make promises you can''t hold. Please, don''t blame yourselves for what is happening, I''m the only one at fault."


    Everyone stayed silent. Neige approached slowly so she wouldn''t notice him but stopped after seeing Ina suddenly holding her head in pain.


    "It''s... This voice again..."


    The trio ran toward Ina to save her but was yelled out by the desperate voice of the woman.


    "Leave! Take the nun with you... Forget about me..."


    Neige and his friends had no intention of leaving, hell-bent on saving Ina from herself.


    "Death... It''s all I can remember..."

 Chapter 141: The Orphan

    It was a peaceful day, far from any worries. Ina was particularly excited, it was the day she would finally return to the orphanage after all these years. She couldn''t wait to see the place where she grew up and couldn''t imagine a better moment than her twenty-third birthday to go there. After driving there, she quickly met a familiar face who was excited to see her again.


    "Ina! It''s been so long, we were wondering when you would come again."


    The old woman in front of Ina was the one who took care of her throughout her childhood. Even though they weren''t related by blood, Ina considered her as a mother.


    "I was so busy, I wish I could come back earlier. With all those restaurants to manage, it''s hard to find the time."


    "You never found the time but always found the money to support us. Without you, this place couldn''t have stayed up. Come on, let me show you how much this place has changed!"


    The two entered in the orphanage. Ina was glad to see how much the building was restored, the walls were clean and the light no longer flickering. A feeling of relief filled her, glad to see that her efforts weren''t in vain.


    "I should introduce you to the children here, I''m sure they''d be glad to see you."


    "I''m not sure, I''m not very good with kids."


    Ina was about to continue her visit but was interrupted by a little girl. She had never seen her before but didn''t want to look shy in front of the child. She waved at her with an awkward smile, trying her best to ignore her shyness.


    "H-Hey, I lived here before, I just came to visit."


    "Are you Miss Ina?"


    Ina was surprised to hear that the child knew about her and crouched to get at the child''s height.


    "How do you know me?"


    "Miss owner said you were the one that made everything better! We even saw you on TV!"


    Ina blushed before standing back up. She turned toward the old woman with an embarrassed expression on her face, trying her best to not look at her in the eyes.


    "Mother, is that true? I didn''t want anyone to see me on TV..."


    "But why? Everyone needs to see how great you did!"


    "It''s awkward... I don''t want people to look at me."


    A bunch of kids suddenly arrived, rushing at Ina. The old woman chuckled, amused by the situation.


    "It''s really miss Ina!"


    "Wow! You''re as pretty as on TV!"


    Ina was overwhelmed but glad at the same time to see all those kids happy to see her. She smiled at them, trying her best to overcome her shyness.


    "I could cook something for you, would you like it?"


    The children were more than happy, cheering for her. Ina decided to continue her visit later to instead focus on the cooking.


    "Oh, I''m really sorry Ina," said the old woman "I didn''t get the groceries yet, we don''t have anything to cook."


    "It''s fine, I''ll just get it myself."


    "You''re such a sweet angel Ina."


    Ina waved at everyone and left as soon as she could, excited at the idea of cooking for everyone.


    After getting everything she needed, Ina arrived in front of the orphanage with her bags full of food. She was already thinking about all the meals she would make, but sadly for her, she quickly stopped those thoughts. The bags slipped from her hands as she was watching the orphanage burning. The firefighters were already here, trying to save the most people they could. Ina searched around and found the owner of the orphanage. She immediately asked for the questions she had.


    "Mother? Are you alright? What happened?"


    "Ina... I''m glad you''re safe. I think one of the children tried to cook for you but..."


    "Are they safe?"


    The woman stayed silent. Ina looked at the orphanage in shock, still in disbelief. She couldn''t believe what happened, and a part of her wondered if it was her fault.


    A year passed, today was her twenty-fourth birthday. Ina was still traumatized about last year''s event but tried her best to move on. She decided to stop taking care of the restaurants she made and sold them instead. Now, she was cooking for a retirement home, away from all worry. She brought everyone''s meal, even after all these years, she was glad to see people enjoy her food. One of the elders came to her, Ina was a bit surprised, it was rare for them to come to her.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Is something the matter?"


    "No, quite the opposite. I heard it''s your birthday today so we wanted to give you something. We all tried finding a good gift for you."


    "Really? You didn''t have to."


    "Nonsense, you cook so well for us, it''s only natural that you get a treat once in a while."


    A bit embarrassed, Ina accepted the gift. She opened the box to find a book of recipes inside. She was amused by the choice of the book and gave a soft to the old man.


    "Thanks, it''s a cute gift."


    "I''m glad you like it. We didn''t know what to give you, you''re always so secretive about your life, so it was the best we had."


    "Don''t worry, it''s more than enough. I truly enjoy the attention."


    "If you say so, but I hope you will let us see more about you."


    The elder left Ina alone, who looked at the book for a moment. She didn''t want anyone to learn more about her anymore, only help those she could help. She placed the book in her bag and left the retirement home to return to her house for the night.


    Tired by the day, Ina turned on the television in her room. She lay on the bed silently, the sound of the news in the background. The memories of last year still haunted her, seeing the place she grew up in burn, along with all those children who loved her. She felt like nothing would ever make her forget but the TV managed to get her out of her thoughts for a moment.


    *We received new information from the police concerning the explosion of the Ebony Retirement Home that occurred a few hours ago.*


    Ina recognized the name, it was the place she worked at. She stood up from her bed and turned on the volume to hear what was happening.


    *A gas leak is the most probable cause. The police declared that one of the residents must have tried to use fire, which caused the explosion. There is no way to determine whether the gas leak was intentional or not but the police try their best to...*


    Ina stared blankly at the screen, unable to process what just happened. A few hours earlier, she was there, talking with someone. All she could do was hope that everyone was alright but she didn''t have the strength to go check if anyone survived. She turned off the TV and stared at the blank screen for what felt like forever.


    Ina turned twenty-five today but it seemed like it would be her last year. Everyone was talking about the volcanos in eruption, causing the sky to be blocked by smoke and ashes. Everyone accepted it was the end, their chance of survival was near zero. She stared at the world outside her window, saddened by the state of the city she lived in most of her life.


    "Ina, don''t you want to do something else in your last moments?"


    Ina turned toward the woman she considered like her mother. She didn''t want the old woman to be alone during these dark times and decided to come to her house. Ina didn''t admit it, but she was glad that this was happening. Even if she wanted everyone to live happily, her curse would finally end. She walked toward the old woman, trying her best to make her comfortable.


    "Do you need anything mother?"


    "I''d like some water, can you put it in a plastic cup? I don''t want to break the glass by accident."


    "You''re not that old, I''m sure you can hold a cup without dropping it."


    Ina went to the kitchen to get a glass but was quickly stopped by her mother before she could.


    "Ina, can you smile for me? I haven''t seen your smile for so long..."


    "It won''t be an honest smile but I can."


    Ina tried to smile despite the sadness and emptiness in her heart, giving her an awkward expression.


    "I''m sure you can do better, why don''t you think about something you love? Don''t you remember the smile of the people that you helped? How warm it felt?"


    The woman tried her best to remember. Even if it wasn''t easy, she managed to recall the good moments in her life and how much she was happy to help. Without even realizing it, a soft smile appeared on her face.


    "It''s the warm smile I know. I''m glad I was able to see your smile one last time. You should do it more often, Ina."


    "You say that like it''s the end. We still have a few days, maybe even a week."


    Ina went to the kitchen to get the glass of water her mother requested. When she returned to the living room, she saw the old woman sleeping. A bad feeling went through her body, she grabbed her mother''s wrist to make sure of something. The glass dropped off her hand when she realized she could feel the pulse disappearing,  along with the most precious person in her life.


    Today was Ina''s twenty-sixth birthday. She didn''t know why she still kept track of it, it was pointless to do so when she was the only one left. Everyone slowly perished due to the lack of oxygen and light, but not her. It has been a year that she was completely alone now, devoid of all hope. She made her way to the top of a lighthouse to see what was left of her city before ending her life. The ashes fell, enveloping the city in a grey blanket. The sky was clear but it was too late now, she was the last survivor. Or at least, that''s what she thought. Sounds of footsteps made their way to her, surprising her. Not one, but three persons were standing in front of her. One of them stepped forward, it was a man that looked like a girl. He raised his open hands in the air and quickly announced his intentions.


    "We don''t want to hurt you, you''re Ina, right?"


    "You know me? And who''s asking?"


    "I''m Neige, and these are my friends, Silva and Kairo."


    "I... Can''t believe there were other survivors all this time... I thought I was the only one left."


    Neige took a deep inspiration, preparing himself for what he was about to say.


    "You are the only one left. We come from another world."


    "Another world?"


    Ina looked at the group with curiosity, their outfit looked like they came straight out of a sci-fi movie.


    "You do look like you''re from another world... You''re dressed weirdly."


    "Are we?" Asked the girl with red hair "That''s this useless engineer! She made those uniforms so we look ridiculous!"


    Ina chuckled sadly at Silva''s words, already accepting her fate.


    "Are you here to kill me? Was I supposed to die like the others?"


    "No, and yes. It''s strange that you managed to survive but we came here to save you." Neige extended his hand toward Ina and gave her a warm smile "We''ll bring you with us, you''ll see, it''s way better than here."


    Ina tried to step back but was stopped by the fence behind her.


    "No, leave me here. If you bring me, the universe will be doomed... I only bring death with me."


    Neige and Kairo looked at each other, unsure about what to do. Before they could do anything, Silva stepped toward Ina, getting too close for the woman''s taste.


    "You''re not special, you don''t smell like it."


    "S-Smell? Are you saying you can smell whether I''m special or not?"


    "Yeah, I can tell because I''m used it it, right guys?"


    Kairo was completely lost but Neige nodded his head, playing along with Silva''s lie.


    "See? If we bring you with us, it''s because we know you''re not a danger."


    "Alright... But if I bring any problems, please, give up on me."


    "We will." Said Silva with a smile.


    "Silva, you''re not supposed to smile when you tell someone that you''d give up on them."


    "It''s not my fault Kairo, she''s the one that wanted it!"


    Ina chuckled at the group arguing. She looked at her empty city and decided that she could live for at least one more day.

 Chapter 142: Ina The Goddess Of Death

    "I bring death everywhere I go, such is my fate... You need to leave now!"


    The desperation in Ina''s voice reached her friends. Despite her demands, they had no intentions to go away.


    "Come on Ina, let''s go home."


    Neige extended his hand toward his friend, in the hope of bringing her back. Ina shook her head with no intent of taking her friend''s hand.


    "Neige... Silva... Sepide... I''m sorry..."


    Ina was about to jump but once again grabbed her head in pain. Neige took this opportunity to grab her and take her away from the ledge. The three friends stayed next to Ina, who seemed stuck in a nightmare she couldn''t escape.


    A faint voice echoed in Ina''s mind. She woke up from the soft bed she was on and looked around the room. The only source of light was a lightbulb on the ceiling, and along with the black color that made up this room, gave a dark atmosphere. In the center, a table and two chairs were waiting to be used. A girl entered the room and sat on one of the chairs, inviting Ina to join her. She recognized the little girl quickly, Nia, the one she saw in her nightmares. Ina stared at her from a distance, declining her invitation.


    "Why are you here?"


    Understanding that her invitation was rejected, the girl explained without waiting.


    "My name is Nia, like you already know, I am the former Goddess of Death. It is time for you to give up your current identity and accept your fate as the Lord of the Demise."


    "I can''t... I can''t take this role."


    "I gave you time, but I cannot give you any more. Our duty is to send the souls that still live in this world to the afterlife. The Goddess Peolyetta created us to bring balance to this world by getting rid of those who go against her will. It''s your fate Ina, and it has been ever since your birth."


    "The Goddess? Bring balance? I... I just wanted to bring a smile to those around me..."


    "Death is not a bad thing, it is a part of life. There are no reasons for you to be afraid, your friends will be safe."


    "I just... I can''t accept such a burden..."


    "You just have to give up your life, Ina will be no more, only leaving the soul of the Goddess in you."


    "I... Will be no more and my friends will be safe?"


    The girl slowly nodded her head. Ina wasn''t sure whether she could accept such a fate, it was too much for her to think that she could bring the end to so many people. But in the end, maybe it would be better for everyone.


    "I too had to give up who I was, and everyone before me knew it too. It is the wish of the Goddess, don''t resist."


    Ina couldn''t accept but didn''t have the strength to refuse either. Her eyes closed by itself, leading her to a deep slumber.


    The three friends stayed around Ina to ensure her safety. They were about to go back to the ship but were stopped by a voice behind them.


    "Neige? What are you doing here..."


    Everyone turned toward the anomaly, who just woke up in pain. She flinched at the sight of Ina but relaxed when she saw that the woman was unconscious.


    "We came to get our friend back, what happened to you?"If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "It''s your friend! She attacked me!"


    "Ina?" Sepide looked at Ina, sleeping in Neige''s arm "She wouldn''t hurt a fly."


    "I was surprised too, I barely went toward her when everything went black suddenly."


    Ina gently opened her eyes. When Neige noticed that she was awake, he put her on the ground and helped her stand up until she was fully awake.


    "Ina, are you alright?"


    "Ina? So that''s my new name."


    Ada stepped back when she heard Ina''s cold tone, horrified by what she just heard.


    "You''re not Ina..."


    Ina turned toward Ada and stretched like she came out of a deep slumber.


    "I told you I''d come back to get rid of you. Your existence is an insult to the Goddess."


    A black fog surrounded Ada, just like when she traveled to another world. This time however it seemed like the nun couldn''t leave. Ina walked toward Ada with slow steps, bringing dread to the woman. Sepide stepped in front of Ina and stared her straight in the eyes with a worried gaze.


    "Ina, let''s go home..."


    "You''re not supposed to exist either, what are you?" ''Ina'' looked back and stared at Silva with her lifeless eyes. Her face was expressionless but it was still possible to feel her frustration "You''re supposed to be dead, I should get rid of you all."


    After Ina said those words, the world suddenly cracked. A sharp pain ran through everyone''s body, making it hard for them to move.


    "You will all disappear with this world. You should have joined the afterlife long ago."


    Neige tried to return to the ship but couldn''t use his watch. It seemed that like Ada, they couldn''t leave.


    "Ina!" Yelled Sepide "Stop it, you can''t continue!"


    "I am the Goddess of Death, I am doing what needs to be done."


    The world was shattering, causing the buildings to collapse under their own weight. Sepide grabbed onto Ina, trying her best to not fall to the ground. Everything suddenly stopped, the pain, the destruction, and every sound. Ina stood there, her eyes closed.


    Ina opened her eyes in the same black room. She was surprised to not see the little girl but herself instead.


    "Is that a mirror?"


    The other Ina looked at her, even more confused.


    "H-How are you here? You were supposed to be gone. It''s too late now anyway, you are the Goddess of Death now, there is no turning back."


    "But I''m still here, and I don''t feel like a Goddess."


    "That''s curious indeed. Something must keep you from going away."


    "I think... I felt something warm, like someone''s embrace."


    Ina and the Goddess of Death stayed silent for a moment, waiting in the heavy silence. It was hard for Ina to accept everything, she was ready to die a few hours ago, and now, she couldn''t bring herself to leave.


    "Is there... A way that we live in harmony?"


    "This wouldn''t bring any good, human''s feelings shouldn''t interfere with nature''s law."


    "Making sure that there aren''t any anomalies, that every world follows their course... It''s just the job of the Kronos."


    "Are you implying that mortals are enough to do our job?"


    "Let us prove ourselves. I''ll make sure that Miss Nun goes to the afterlife but in my own way, a way that won''t put my life or the ones of my friends in danger."


    The Goddess of Death looked at Ina for a moment. After a few minutes passed, she silently went toward the bed and sat there.


    "I''m giving you a year. If by the end of the year, this abhorrence of nature is still here and the universe is in peril, I''ll come back. I''m doing it out of respect for the first human to resist the control of the Goddess of Death, you better not disappoint me."


    Ina smiled softly and nodded her head.


    "I... I''ll do my best. I''ll find a peaceful way to send Miss Nun to the afterlife and protect the balance of this world."


    Sepide held Ina tightly in her arms, gripping the fabric of her clothes in her hands. She was suddenly surprised by the woman''s hand caressing her head softly and whispering in her ear.


    "It''s over, don''t worry."


    Neige and Silva approached Ina while Ada hid behind a box nearby, away from Ina''s sight.


    "Ina? Is that you?"


    "Yes Sepide, it''s me. Let''s go back home, shall we?"


    Neige was surprised by the sudden shift in mood of Ina but decided to ask more once they would return to the ship. Once Silva and Sepide were ready as well, the four of them returned to the ship under Ada''s worried eyes.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Everyone gathered around Ina, who stood embarrassed in the middle of everyone. She glanced at everyone for a moment, everything felt so different suddenly. She explained everything that happened about how she managed to talk with the Goddess of death and how Sepide and the others saved her. The leader listened to everything, trying her best to understand everything.


    "So, you''re now the Goddess of Death?"


    "Not exactly, I guess I''m more like her assistant. I''ll do my best to do everything correctly so she won''t have to come back."


    "Having a divinity on the ship is pretty cool." Neige said with a smile "I just hope you won''t just leave out of nowhere again, you really scared us.


    Ina was a bit embarrassed but glad that no one saw her differently from what she was now. She hoped that everyone would go back to normal soon but knew they now had to find a way to get rid of the anomaly. She also couldn''t look at the leader in the eyes anymore, it was like she could feel that her time had come long ago and that she shouldn''t be here anymore.

 Chapter 143: Left Alone

    It has been a few days since the event with Ina happened. Everyone decided to not talk too much about it to not overwhelm her and were very supportive of the situation. Neige searched for Silva most of the day but couldn''t find her at all, she wasn''t even with Emely. After searching for a while, Neige finally found her talking with Ina. The two women waved at him once they noticed him and walked toward him.


    "Neige! I found Ina and she agreed to help us!"


    "It''s nothing." Said the cook with a smile "I saw the leader earlier, I feel bad that I had to lie to her."


    "I know Polyetta enough to know that she can''t keep a secret, it''s better like that. Shall we get to work?"


    "Wait!" Interrupted Silva "I was asking Ina something very important! The Goddess Of Death said that I was supposed to be dead, I wanted to know if Ina knew something about it."


    "Silva... We already said that we wouldn''t annoy Ina with things like that..."


    "It''s alright, don''t worry." Ina smiled at Neige to relieve him and quickly answered the question "It feels a bit weird, it''s like I can feel death. I can feel that Miss Nun and the leader were already dead and shouldn''t be alive anymore. As for Silva and the others, I can also feel that they were supposed to be dead but it''s different."


    "So did I die before?" Silva asked, a bit afraid of the answer.


    "Oh, not at all. I think you were supposed to...Perish with your world. Since Neige and the others saved you, your life was extended. As a Goddess of Death, I think it should be avoided, but as Ina, I''m glad that you''re all alive now. But... If I want to fulfill my duty, I''ll need to do something about Miss Nun and the leader, their time already came a long time ago."


    "I guess Polyetta is a special case... Don''t worry about it for now, it''s time to rest now."


    "You''re right Neige! By the way, out of everyone on the ship, you and Remiel are the only two who don''t have this death aura. I don''t know how it works with robots, but it means at the very least that you were supposed to live all along, isn''t it great?"


    "Okay, enough with the info dump." Said Silva "Can we focus back?"


    "Focus on what?"


    The three friends turned toward the source of the voice to see not only the leader but also Emely next to her. Silva tried to say something but stuttered, prompting Neige to explain instead.


    "Nothing, just some quality time between friends."


    "Can I come?"


    Silva wanted to say yes to Emely''s demand and shook her head with sorrow.


    "Sorry... You''re my girlfriend so it wouldn''t be friend time, would it?"


    "But there''s friend in girlfriend?"


    Silva stayed silent at Emely''s words, visibly making her sad.


    "But I can come, right?" Polyetta asked while looking straight at Neige.


    "You''re like a sister to me, not a friend."


    "You say I''m your best friend usually! You changed it just so there''s not the word friend in it! At least tell us what you''re doing all together."


    The trio stayed silent, trying to find a way to get out of the situation. Suddenly, Neige took Ina and SIlva by the hand and ran away as fast as they could. The leader and Emely tried to catch up to them but they eventually were out of sight, as if they vanished. The leader looked around, trying to find the three running members.


    "Silva is a bad influence for Neige, I should have known earlier."Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    "I love Silva, but I totally agree."


    The leader and Emely stayed alone in the hallway for a moment, still not believing that they were put on the side by the most important persons in their lives.


    "We should ask the others, maybe one of them saw them?"


    Emely agreed with the leader and looked at her watch before pointing in a direction.


    "Remiel is nearby, we should ask her."


    The two headed toward the robot, hoping to soon understand what was this thing that they were working on.


    Remiel and Sepide were both arguing, but unlike other times, it looked like they were more having fun than actually arguing. The leader and Emely arrived near them but the two continued talking, apparently not noticing them.


    "I may be less popular but the engagement per viewer is high. If I manage to use it, I will be able to surpass you soon."


    "It''s not about math, it''s about personality and skill. And besides, I have also found nice people who would do anything for me."


    "My content follows a niche, leading to people being more loyal in the long term. There even is a boy that regularly sends me messages to-"


    "A boy message you?" Yelled Emely "Who is he? Is he being annoying?"


    "Emely, that''s not why we''re here..." The leader let out a sigh and turned toward Sepide "Have you seen Neige, Silva, or Ina?"


    "No, I don''t think so."


    "That''s a shame, we should go now Emely."


    "Wait! I can''t let Remiel talk with someone from another world without investigating."


    Sepide turned toward Remiel, a slight grin on her face.


    "Looks like you''re in trouble."


    "I do not understand, why is Sepide allowed to talk with men from other worlds and not me?"


    "She is?" Asked the leader, shocked and angry at the same time "Sedide Faith, who are those men Remiel is talking about?"


    "It''s nothing... It''s my job as a V-Tuber to interact with my audience."


    "I didn''t make you to flirt with the members of the opposite gender young girl, you''re too young for that."


    Sepide and Remiel looked at each other while they were being scolded by their creators. Once it was finally over, they both returned to their rooms with an annoyed look on their face.


    "I can''t believe Sepide is searching for a boyfriend."


    "S-She is?" Asked Emely "I was mad at Remiel because I told her to not interact with people from other worlds, she could say things she shouldn''t have by accident."


    "Oh, yeah... It''s the same for me." The leader looked around, trying to change the topic "Where are the others anyway, they didn''t go to another world I hope..."


    "We should go to my lab! We can track their watches there!"


    Emely ran toward her lab in a hurry. The leader followed her as fast as she could, hoping to find what the small group was planning.


    Emely searched for their location on her computer. After rummaging for a bit, the young engineer finally found them and quickly shared the discovery with her leader.


    "I found them, they''re in the world 01112007! I already went there, it''s a world full of candies, should we go now?"


    Emely looked at the leader, waiting for her to be ready. The woman on the other hand didn''t share the engineer''s joy, looking more serene.


    "Maybe we shouldn''t. I don''t know what they''re planning but I''m sure if they don''t want us to know it''s for a good reason. For Neige at least, I don''t know if I particularly trust Silva for that..."


    "You''re right, I''m sure Silva has a good reason too. She tells me about everything so if she doesn''t, it''s for a good reason."


    "I''m sure she doesn''t tell you everything... She''s a really mischievous one."


    The leader grimaced when she reminisced about the past, amusing Emely.


    "I know, it''s what makes her cute. It''s fun to hear about everything she did and I have fun messing with her."


    "Oh no... You were so polite and well-behaved, don''t let her corrupt you."


    "She''s not corrupting anything, and she''s even encouraging me to work more."


    "So that''s why things around the ship were getting fixed, I thought Neige learned how to fix them."


    "Even before I repaired stuff... Sometimes..." Emely walked away from her computer while pouting "Now I don''t know what to do, I finished everything I needed to do."


    "That''s great news, can you find out who is this boy that Sepide talks with then?"


    "I''m an engineer, not a hacker. But I want to make sure that Remiel isn''t causing problems so I''ll try."


    "M-Me too, I just want Sepide to be careful. She''s still young, she could reveal information that could change worlds."


    "Are you sure it''s not because you''re afraid that she gets a boyfriend?" Emely asked with a grin.


    "Maybe a bit... But don''t imitate Silva, you even smile like her now."


    "Oh, I didn''t even notice. Anyway, you should let Sepide experience life a bit, she''s not Remiel, she learned a lot. Sure she needs to mature a bit but love is a part of life."


    "Yes, but men are scary. The only good one is Neige."


    "You''d prefer if she dated a girl?"


    "No, women are manipulative."


    "I think you should try talking with other people more. Next time you should try talking with someone on internet and broaden your point of view."


    "Maybe, but it won''t convince me to let Sepide date anyone until she''s old enough."


    "Isn''t she 21? I think it''s old enough."


    "That''s what I told everyone but technically she''s 2-year-old."


    Emely stared at the leader with concern in her eyes.


    "You''re sending a 2-year-old to fight the anomaly?"


    "No... yes... It doesn''t matter, she has the mind of an adult. Anyway, no dating for her until she''s at least 30."


    "Sheesh, you''re a strict mother."


    Emely decided to immediately go on her computer to search for everyone Sepide and Remiel talked to. She knew it would take a good chunk of time but that it was necessary to make sure that none of the two caused any problems.

 Chapter 144: Dark Love

    Neige woke up from a good night of sleep. Along with Silva and Ina, they spent their previous day doing their best to prepare for Emely''s birthday without being noticed. He hoped that today would be calmer but was instantly met with Silva once he opened the door of his room. He was tempted to close the door and go to sleep once more but decided to listen to what she had to say.


    "Good morning... You need something?"


    "Neige, you sound dumb every time you wake up."


    "You drink too much coffee... That''s why you have so much energy..."


    "Possibly, let''s take one on the way then, Emely is asking to see us. But we need to keep it secret from Sepide and Remiel."


    "Secret?" Neige was curious about the reason behind the demand. It seemed like Sepide and Remiel were getting along now.


    "I don''t know either, come on, let''s hurry!"


    Neige groaned when he realized he wouldn''t be able to sleep more. All he could hope was that nothing bad happened.


    The two friends arrived in Emely''s lab. The engineer was relieved to see them and immediately explained why they were there.


    "I''m glad you came, it''s about Sepide and Remiel."


    "Did they get in trouble?" Neige asked, already tired of the situation.


    "Possibly. Yesterday, me and the leader talked with them a bit. It looks like they talk with people from other worlds. I''m not against it, but I''m afraid that Remiel says that she''s from another world and messes everything. The leader is worried about Sepide for... Other reasons."


    "So you want us to talk with them to make sure that everything is alright?"


    "Nah, I can just check their messages from here. I can see everything that comes and goes on the internet."


    "E-Everything? What about our private life?"


    "Yes Neige, everything. And don''t worry, I won''t share with anyone else than Silva what you searched on internet."


    "I would rather the whole ship know than Silva..."


    Silva wondered what it could be that Neige was so embarrassed about. Knowing him, he probably tried to order cute clothes.


    "Can we focus back on Remile and Sepide? I''ll see Neige''s search history later."


    "Yes, right. So I found that they exchanged messages with people from other worlds. Most of them are just innocent and short, thanking their fans or having short conversations. But the intriguing part is that Sepide talked with a man named Damon. He seems like he''s flirting with her but Sepide doesn''t understand it. He even calls her his doll."


    "That''s... Concerning. But in the end, she didn''t cause any problem and he didn''t either for now."


    "Maybe he did." Emely answered to Neige "This Damon also talked with Remiel, also flirted with her, and also calls her his doll. They both are too innocent to understand what he''s doing but they also look like they get along well."


    "So this guy is flirting with two girls at the same time?" Asked Silva enraged "I''m not letting our two innocent members be corrupted by this casanova. Where is he? I want to talk to him."


    "I guess I should come too..." Added Neige "Who knows what Silva would do if she went alone."


    "I''m glad you think the same. We can''t let them like that and do nothing! This guy is in the world 20091996, he''s a student and I know where his university is, we should find him easily."


    The three prepared themselves and jumped into this world once they were ready. All they had to do was find this guy and understand what was going on.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    In front of them was the gate that led to the university. Thankfully, they all had school uniforms and managed to enter without bringing too much attention to them.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    They wandered in the green field of the university without meeting many students. They didn''t manage to get any information on the guy they were searching for but continued in the hope of finding more soon. After a while of searching, they found a girl grabbed by the neck by a man. Without thinking, Neige pushed the man away from the girl to defend her. He turned toward the girl to see if everything was alright but instead got slapped by her.


    "Ew, get away, he''s mine!"


    "Y-Yours? Wasn''t he attacking you?"


    "Yes, he was choking me. But you can''t understand our love!"


    The girl ran away, leaving the three friends confused. Before they could say anything, the man grabbed Neige and pinned him on the tree, just like he did with the girl.


    "You''re a naughty girl, wanting me all for yourself~"


    "I''m not into boars like you."


    The man looked surprised, almost offended at Neige''s answer, but continued trying to look seductive.


    "You just don''t know what you want yet, your heart desires to belong to a strong alpha like me."


    "Strong?" Neige asked, not convinced "I bet I could beat you easily in a fight."


    "You''re the kind of roses to have thorns, I like it~"


    "I think I''m gonna puke."


    Neige pushed the man away and prepared to fight. His opponent''s confidence suddenly shattered, showing intense fear in his eyes.


    "W-Wait, you actually want to fight?"


    "I thought you liked roses with thorns."


    Neige punched the man in the guts, expecting a fight to start. To his surprise, the fight ended with his opponent falling on the ground in a single hit, holding his stomach in pain.


    "I didn''t even bet yet, it was too short..." Complained Silva.


    Neige crouched near the guy and took a good look at him. He was pretty tall and had smooth skin, the kind of things teenage girls liked, or so he supposed.


    "A bit disappointing, I thought you were ready to fight. Anyway, we''re searching for a Damon, you know him?"


    "D-Damon!?" The man asked, horrified "What do you want from him?"


    "So you do know him, we just want to talk with him."


    The man looked afraid, but after a bit, he finally dared to answer.


    "He''s not here for the week. He''s in another country but he''ll be back, I promise!"


    Neige was unconvinced by his words and took his wallet out of the man''s pocket. After keeping the money, Neige looked at the identity card and saw the name Damon written on it.


    "That''s the man we''re searching."


    "You thought you could lie to us, huh?" Silva kicked the man in the stomach, bringing him more pain. Emely had to hold her back or else they wouldn''t be able to talk to him.


    "Excuse us, we need to talk with you about Sepide and Remiel."


    "Who? I never heard their name in my life..." Said the man in pain.


    "You know, the two girls that you flirted with on internet."


    "You''re gonna need to be more specific... There are more than two..."


    "You motherfluffer!" Silva was about to kick him again but was stopped by Emely and Neige before she could do anything "I''ll teach you how to be loyal!"


    "I-I''ll stop! Just don''t kick me... It hurts..."


    "We''ll come back if we hear anything about you again."


    Neige glared at the man on the ground before leaving with his two friends, hoping he wouldn''t cause any trouble.


    "I can''t believe he''s playing with girls'' hearts like that, he deserved another kick!"


    "Calm down Silva." Said Neige "He should stop now, Sepide and Remiel will find someone else. But I''d like to find this girl we saw earlier, I''m a bit worried about her."


    "Isn''t it because you''re mad she slapped you?"


    "Well, maybe a bit. But it doesn''t seem healthy, this guy is clearly a douchebag and it would be better if we convinced her to stay away from him."


    "I guess it''s time to roam around again..." Sighed Emely.


    The three friends searched in many places for the girl, they figured she couldn''t have gone far. After searching for a moment, the trio saw the girl they were searching in one of the rooms. The problem was that she and the other employees were all dressed in a maid outfit and wearing cat ears. Neige was a bit worried but Emely was overjoyed and hurried to share the news with Silva.


    "It''s a maid cafe! Just like in my country!"


    "Your country had that?" Asked Neige "Then you should deal with it, we''ll watch you from far away."


    "No, we''re going all together."


    Despite his embarrassment, Neige had to follow Silva and Emely inside to see the girl. When they entered, the girl immediately recognized them and went toward them with anger in her eyes.


    "What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"


    "Kinda." Said Emely "We just need to talk about Damon."


    "You''re not getting him, he''s mine."


    "That''s the thing, he''s not only yours. He''s... Pretty flirty with a lot of girls."


    "He''s a man, it''s normal. He has needs that I can''t take care of, and we''re not even in a relationship, so what''s the problem?"


    "Y-You''re not together?" Asked Neige "I thought you were with how much you accepted from him."


    "No, I met him today. His hand on my neck, treating me like no more than his slut for him to use."


    The group were all surprised at the girl''s reaction, not sure whether they should just leave her to her delusion. Neige was the one trying to talk to her and convince her.


    "I... Sure? I mean it''s okay if it''s your thing, but you shouldn''t let a guy you don''t know do it to you. You should have some self-respect."


    "I''m sorry, I don''t have time for that. We already have a lot to do here."


    The girl was about to go but looked at the three friends with an idea in mind. A smile appeared on her face as she asked,


    "Could you work here for the afternoon? It''s pretty busy and you''re three very cute girls. I''ll listen to what you have to say after if you help me."


    "But I''m not a-"


    Before Neige could finish his sentence, Silva put her hand on his mouth to stop him.


    "Of course we''d work here!"


    Neige felt annoyed he didn''t have a word to say but at the same time wanted to understand the problem, maybe it was normal in this world after all. He had no choice but to work in this cafe, hoping he wouldn''t have to wear the uniform.

 Chapter 145: Whats Right For The Universe

    Neige, Silva, and Emely all ended up helping out at the cafe. Silva was clearly having fun while her two friends were embarrassed by the maid costume they had to wear. Neige was even starting to think that this wasn''t worth it but continued more to help the cafe than the girl. While serving the customers, one of the men grabbed his wrist before he could go anywhere and stared at him with his brown eyes.


    "Who are you cutie? I would have remembered if I saw someone so pretty here."


    Neige looked around to make sure that no one could hear them and leaned toward the guy.


    "I''m a man you know?"


    "That''s even better."


    Neige blushed suddenly and hit the man''s head on the table, making him unconscious.


    "Why is everyone so messed up in this world?"


    After ''taking care'' of the client, Neige resumed his job. While working he noticed that the girl they were helping felt sad for some reason. He wanted to finish his work as soon as possible but still decided to check up on the girl to make sure that she was alright.


    "You feel bad? Is it because of this guy?"


    "His name is Damon." Answered the girl with a slight disdain "And no, it''s not that. I have problems in my life, I wouldn''t be working here if it wasn''t the case."


    "I think pursuing this guy will just add another problem, he doesn''t care about you or your feelings."


    "And so what? I feel better with him, I can finally forget all my problems."


    "I think I understand why Silva hates people like you now."


    "People like me?" Asked the girl offended "And what are people like me?"


    "the kind of persons to give up themselves for what they think is love. You''re just running away from your problems and giving up your self-esteem in the hope that this person will fix everything."


    The girl stayed silent for a moment, visibly saddened. After looking at Neige in the eyes, she ran away without a single word. Neige stayed alone after she left, lost in his thoughts.


    "Hoping that someone can fix everything... It''s a horrible feeling..."


    "Talking to yourself Neige?" Asked Silva, walking toward him with Emely "You''re a bit old to have an imaginary friend."


    "It''s nothing. Are we finished yet? I want to go back home."


    "We should be soon." Said Emely "I''ll finally be able to remove this weird costume..."


    Silva touched Emely''s clothes and body before smiling at her.


    "I think it suits you well."


    "R-Really? Maybe I should wear it for you sometimes... As long as it''s only you it''s fine."


    "You know I''m still here, right?" Interrupted Neige "Don''t you already have enough alone time together?"


    "You can''t understand Neige. If you had a girlfriend as great as Emely you could, but she''s already taken."


    "The only thing I understand is that on top of being a pervert, you''re a hopeless romantic."


    While the three friends were talking, the girl approached them. She seemed less mean and pretentious when she went to them, even talking gently.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Thanks for the help. To be honest, I just said that so you''d leave, I didn''t think you''d actually do it. The least I can do now is listen to you."


    "Oh right, we were supposed to warn you about this dick."


    Emely nudged at Silva, giving her a mean look.


    "Silva, mind your language."


    "Yeah, my bad. He tried flirting with two of our friends, he''s not a good person to be around."


    "But... He makes me feel safe."


    "By choking you? I''ll never understand girls." Neige said while looking away.


    "Don''t mind him, he doesn''t understand love. But he''s right, that can''t be a healthy behavior. It''s not because you enjoy it that it gives him the right to do it. You should at least be careful, you deserve better than this di... ngus. "


    "Yes, I''ll try. I want to talk with him first and not just play around."


    "Good, we''ll leave now. I hope he won''t cause any problems anymore."


    Silva and her two friends left the cafe. The girl was still unsure how to feel about this man she thought she loved but was determined to fix everything.


    "Everyone is ready to leave?" Emely asked while looking at the two others. Neige raised his hand and asked,


    "I was wondering something, It''s not the first time I''ve seen it but every time Silva says an insult or something, you tell her to mind her language."


    "Yeah, bad words are ugly."


    "Have you always done that? Is that the reason Silva''s always finding ways to not say bad words?"


    "She does?" Emely turned toward Silva with curiosity on her face "I thought you did only around me."


    "You were so annoying with it, I guess it just became a reflex for me."


    "But that was even before you and Emely became close. Does that mean you always had a thing for her?"


    Silva blushed at Neige''s question, trying her best to deny it.


    "Every time I said anything she would tell me to mind my language, it''s not my fault."


    "I never said it''s bad." Neige said with a soft smile "It''s cute to hear you say fudge or fluffing instead of fuck."


    "I''m going to fluff your behind if you don''t stop messing with me."


    After finishing their conversation, the three friends returned to the ship hoping everything was fixed now. Sepide and Remiel would be sad that Damon stopped flirting with them, but it was for the best.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Silva and Neige were satisfied with their mission and ready to go back to their lives. Emely on the other hand didn''t share their carefreeness, looking at the ground with concerned eyes.


    "Was communication between worlds a good thing? We''re exposing the universe to so much danger..."


    "Are you still afraid that Sepide or Remiel give too much information?" Asked Neige "The only thing in danger is them, they still don''t know how dangerous it can be to trust other worlds that easily."


    "I suppose. I''ll still keep track of what is happening, just in case."


    "You should. I''ll leave Silva and you now, I have sleep to get..."


    Emely looked at her watch confused, it wasn''t even time for dinner yet.


    "But, it''s not that late?"


    "Good night."


    Neige left the two girls alone, hoping to sleep more.


    On the way to his room, Neige was interrupted by Gwyn on the way. Feeling that this conversation wouldn''t go well for him, the man considered turning around to dodge the doctor but decided to listen to what she had to say.


    "Gwyn! How are you doing?"


    "You missed our three last sessions, you need to take this seriously." Gwyn let out a tired sigh before getting closer to Neige "But there''s more important for now."


    Before Neige could ask, Gwyn handed him a piece of torn paper. The writings on it looked like it was made by a child and badly taken care of.


    "The anomaly came here to give it to you, I can''t read it."


    "It''s normal, it''s in her language."


    Neige read the letter in his head under Gwyn''s blank look. Even if he knew the language, the letter was so badly written that he needed some time to translate it.


    "She wants to see me tomorrow in her home world, but why?"


    Gwyn shrugged, visibly not knowing the answer.


    "Be careful if you go there, who knows what she might be planning."


    "You''re right. I should warn Polyetta, she''ll know what we should do."


    "You can warn her later, we have things to talk about. Why don''t we go to my office?"


    "Gwyn, please... I barely slept last night..."


    "I didn''t sleep last night and you don''t see me complain."


    Neige let out a sigh and accepted his fate, nodding slowly at the doctor.


    "Fine, let''s go then... Why don''t you ever do it with Polyetta?"


    "I actually do, you''re the only one I didn''t keep track of since the beginning. I figured that the loss of your memories would be enough to keep you sane."


    Neige stopped at her words, a bit confused.


    "Wait, did you know since the beginning that Polyetta erased my memories?"


    "Of course, she tells me a lot of things. She even told me things that you don''t know yet."


    "Yet? So I''ll know eventually?" Asked Neige, curious to know what they were talking about.


    "Maybe, who knows? For now, we have work to do."


    Neige reluctantly followed Gwyn but was concerned about what Polyetta was still hiding from him. All he could do for now was be patient and wait for his friend to tell him when she was ready.

 Chapter 146: Ada

    Today was the day Neige would go to the anomaly''s world. She asked in a letter to meet him but wasn''t explicit about the reason why. Everyone knew about it and was waiting in the main hall for Silva and Sepide to get ready to come with him. While Neige and Silva were both ready, Sepide was still nowhere to be found. It took them half an hour before the two friends went to Sepide''s room to see what was wrong.


    The two knocked on the door of Sepide''s room for a few minutes without getting an answer. They knew Sepide was awake since they saw her earlier, and she was definitely inside since the door was locked. It took a moment before Sepide opened the door, she looked sad and stared at Silva and Neige in a slightly distrustful way.


    "My friend doesn''t want to talk to me anymore..."


    "Really? I''m sorry for that." Silva put her hand on Sepide''s shoulder to comfort her but was rejected instead.


    "He told me it was because of you. Why did you do that?"


    "Oh, it''s this Damon. I''m not sorry for that, he sucks."


    "He didn''t suck! You suck! For once, I had a friend, and now... He''s gone."


    "He''s not who you think he is." Said Neige "You''re not his only ''doll''."


    Sepide stepped back, surprised at his words.


    "H-How do you know he calls me like that?"


    "Because he calls Remiel like that too, along with other girls probably."


    Sepide stayed silent for a moment, having trouble understanding the situation.


    "Once we''re free, could we go see him? I want to talk to him directly."


    "We already messed with this world, it might be dangerous-"


    Silva put her hand on Neige''s mouth, stopping him from finishing his sentence.


    "I''ll convince Neige, he''s probably scared he''ll have to dress like a cat-girl again."


    "Again?" Sepide was suddenly very curious to know what happened there but decided not to ask for now "I still can''t believe he was just playing with me..."


    "Yep, men are cruel and emotionless."


    "I''m a man, you know?" Said Neige, slightly offended "And aren''t you into men?"


    "No longer! But don''t worry, you''ll always be a woman in my heart Neige."


    "I... Thanks? You''re only acting like men are the worst because we barely have any on the ship. Three is... Well, Kairo''s no longer here so... Actually, Shiro isn''t either... I''m the only man on the ship?"


    "Cinnamon is a boy, probably the only good boy."


    "He''s a cat..."


    Sepide smiled softly at her two friends. She felt a bit bad she just lost the new one she had made, but she also knew that Neige and Silva only acted for her own good.


    "Next time you should tell me." Sepide said, trying to act a bit softer "We should go now, we need to beat up the anomaly."


    "Yeah! Let''s kick some ass!"


    "W-Wait!" Neige said, trying to calm them "We''re not kicking anyone''s ass, we''ll just see what she wants."


    "Fine..."


    Silva agreed, a bit disappointed. The small group went to warn everyone that they would go and left for the anomaly''s world, ready to face anything.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    It was now the third time they had come here but it still felt eerie just being here. The snowflakes were falling this time, probably indicating the presence of the anomaly. Next to them was the church where they lost Kairo for the first time. Neige reluctantly went toward the holy building and braced himself. Once he was ready, his arm opened the loud door, revealing the nun praying inside. However, the church was lit with the warm color of the candles and was filled with colorful paintings. It took a short moment for the anomaly to turn toward them. Her face didn''t let a single emotion go as she approached them while holding a candle.


    "In the snowy lands I am from, fire symbolizes a new beginning. The flame burns your old self and reveals a new, better person. It''s for you Neige, you won''t have to worry anymore. I''ll bring you to a world of bliss and peace and you will become a serene person."


    "I''m sorry Ada, but I can''t. I have other things to do than spending my day in an empty world."


    The nun closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what was about to come.


    "I wish you came alone."


    A wind extinguished the flames on the candles, plunging the room into darkness.


    "I''ll force you to be happy, whether you want it or not."


    The door closed behind the three friends, trapping them inside the church.


    "It''s your last chance, won''t you follow me?"


    Despite being inside, the wind was getting harsher.


    "If you don''t start I will." Silva took her firearm and shot at the dark matter. To everyone''s surprise, the bullet actually hurt the anomaly and made her step back.


    "H-How did you do that? And I wasn''t over yet!"


    "I guess Emely''s gun can hurt you somehow? I think it''s because of the Opaliminium inside."


    "Opalium Silva... It''s Opalium."


    Ada was annoyed that the group wasn''t taking her seriously. She used a tentacle made of dark matter to attack them but stopped at the last moment. Noticing that she had no intention of fighting, Neige slowly walked toward her, prompting her to step back.


    "Come on Ada, we should stop now."


    "N-No! I''ll... I''ll make a perfect world for you!"


    The nun disappeared in a dark fog, along with the black matter engulfing the church. Silva and Sepide walked toward Neige and checked to see if everything was alright.


    "She did nothing? Like not even a scratch to any of us?" Silva almost looked disappointed at the way the fight turned out, unlike Neige who seemed relieved and calm.


    "I don''t think she believed in her own idea. If she wanted, she could have done it way before."


    "So what now?" Asked Sepide "Do we go back?"


    "No, she''s still here in this world. I think we should search for her, just in case."


    His two friends agreed and walked out of the church to search for the anomaly.


    The group walked around the town where Ada lived. After a few minutes of walk, they found the nun, standing in the middle of the path.


    "I killed everyone... I didn''t mean to. When I realized what was happening, everyone was already dead. Once the Goddess of Time was no more, crops couldn''t grow, life couldn''t persist, and everyone perished. I wonder for how long it lasted, I don''t even know what woke me up from the nightmare I was trapped in. The last words I heard were from Nia, threatening me to end my life."


    "It''s not really your fault though, you couldn''t control yourself."


    "I destroyed many worlds in my fury, including yours Neige. I tried to change history, I tried to travel back to the time when my Neige died... I couldn''t even reach there, I think I can''t go back to a time I was in... And I can''t undo my mistakes."


    "But why have you tried so hard to get Neige?" Asked Sepide "He has many other selves and he''s not that similar to your own Neige."


    "I think... When I met him in this church, I couldn''t think clearly. I really thought it was my Neige for an instant... But how do you know how my Neige is?"


    "Because we met him." Answered Silva "We fought a dragon together."


    "You still didn''t explain that by the way." Complained Neige.


    "You met him!? Where?" The anomaly suddenly appeared in front of the group, causing them to flinch a bit. Neige saw the confusion on her face and decided to answer.


    "When your Neige died, it created a... Parallel universe. What was supposed to happen was that you would save your Neige and live happily together. It must have been a huge change since at this point, two worlds were created. One with your Neige dead and one where he''s alive."


    "And you just are telling me that!?"


    "I thought you knew, it looks like you can go everywhere."


    "All I wish is to see him one last time... Can you guide me to him?"


    Neige looked at his two friends to see their opinions. They both agreed to the idea and nodded with a smile.


    "Hold my hand, I''ll get us there."


    Ada held Neige''s hand, overly excited about the idea. Sadly for her, her smile quickly disappeared when Neige started talking.


    "That''s weird, the watch doesn''t work."


    Ada let go of Neige''s hand in disappointment and his watch suddenly turned on again, surprising everyone.


    "That''s... Strange. It''s like Ada is messing with our watch."


    "Don''t give me false hope... I thought I could see him again."


    "We should go back to the ship, Emely is the one who knows about the watch''s limits. Can you join us there?"


    The anomaly nodded, hopeful to see her Neige once again. The group could only hope Emely would find a way and fix everything once and for all.

 Chapter 147: Guided Visit

    The group explained everything that happened to the other members. The leader looked at the anomaly behind them with a mean gaze while everyone else understood the situation they were in. After hearing the explanation, Emely explained why the anomaly couldn''t use the watch.


    "It''s kinda complicated since I never had a case like that before. The closest I have is that Ada doesn''t exist in the universe so the watches can''t make her travel anywhere. It must be the same reason that makes it so the leader''s book doesn''t affect her."


    "So I won''t be able to see my Neige..." Said the nun with disappointment.


    "Kind of, there may be a way. We could time travel to stop the anomaly from existing at all. If we save Neige, everything will be fine. Ada can''t do it but we could research the time travel technology to prevent that from happening at all."


    "Time travel?" Asked the leader "I don''t like the idea, it''s dangerous... But maybe I know someone who could help us. I met one of my other selves on internet, I told her everything about our missions and-"


    "What!?" Yelled Emely "I traveled to another world to make sure Sepide and Remiel don''t mess up and you''re the one messing up?"


    "But it''s my other self, she''d understand. She also told me about everything she kept secret too."


    "So the leader really can''t keep secrets..." Ina said a bit disappointed.


    "B-But they can help us! They''re from a group called the Atlas, they time travel in their world to prevent anomalies from happening. Their technology only works in their world but it could help us."


    "That''s great! With Ada and their technology, I''m sure it''s possible, we could prevent the anomaly from even existing."


    "I hope it''s possible." Said Ada with hope in her eyes "As long as we can save Neige, I don''t mind not existing anymore, I shouldn''t in the first place anyway. So, should I stay here for the time being?"


    "Stay here?" Asked the leader, offended "You''re the reason we exist, we''re not letting you in like that."


    "You can stay," Gwyn said nonchalantly "I have a room for you, no one is using it."


    "I''m still the leader you know? You could at least listen to me."


    "Leader, Emely will need Ada for her research on time travel and it could provide us valuable information. Besides, I think you more than anyone would dream of seeing the anomaly out of this universe."


    "... Fine. But if she stays here, then she has to work too. You''re now a member of the Kronos ''Ada'', if we need help for a mission we''ll send you and you better obey."


    "Yes, mam!" Ada said, intimidated by her new leader.


    "Good, I''ll warn you when I get news from my other self."


    Polyetta left for her room, leaving everyone in the main hall. When Gwyn noticed Ada looking around completely lost, she decided to take care of her.


    "I''ll show you around, you''ll know where everything is at least."


    "Y-Yes!"


    Gwyn and Ada were about to leave but were quickly interrupted by Emely.


    "Hey, can you take Remiel with you? She hasn''t seen around the ship yet."


    "She hasn''t? Why don''t you do your job and show her around?"


    "Can''t hear, busy!"This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Emely left in a hurry, exhausting Gwyn. The doctor waved at Remiel, gesturing her to come.


    Gwyn showed around to the two new members of the ship. While Remiel already knew some of the places, Ada was surprised by the size of the ship. She came here a few times but never took the time to visit the place. Looking at this futuristic scenery impressed her but she was still impatient about the idea of saving her Neige as soon as possible. She suddenly stopped in front of a window, looking at the vastness of space. Seeing that the nun stopped following her, Gwyn went next to her to see what was wrong.


    "You never saw space before?"


    "Not really... It feels weird to see stars so close now... I used to look at them with Neige before." Ada placed her hand on her chest, a sad expression on her face "Should I really be here? This isn''t a place I should be."


    "It''s no one''s place, the emptiness of space is less than ideal for a human''s mental health. And no one comes from here, this place was artificially created to be safe. Everyone here comes from a world that is no more, I''d say you''re more than qualified to be here."


    "That''s not what your leader seemed to imply."


    "The leader hates you for causing trouble to Neige, she doesn''t care much about the rest. I''m sure she only made you a temporary member so she could keep an eye on you."


    Ada still was unsure about her legitimacy here, she could always talk to the leader later if she wanted to leave. Her focus suddenly shifted when she saw a small orange creature walking in the hallway, she pointed at it with her eyes wide open.


    "What is that!? It''s so cute!"


    Remiel looked at the small creature, as clueless as Ada was.


    "It looks like it could be dangerous, we should warn the leader."


    "It''s nothing bad." Explained the doctor "It''s a cat, his name is Cinnamon. The leader created him long ago."


    "Created him?" Asked Remiel "Like Sepide? So they are related?"


    "Yeah, I guess it makes them siblings."


    "This is Sepide''s brother!?" Ada asked in shock "Wait, who''s Sepide again?"


    "I''m not explaining, you''ll ask someone more patient."


    "Too bad, can I pet Sepide''s brother?"


    "Don''t call him that, his name is Cinnamon. And I doubt you can, he doesn''t let anyone get close."


    Despite Gwyn''s warning, Ada ran toward the cat. Cinnamon immediately ran away at the sight of the woman, disappointing the latter.


    "Why did he run away? I didn''t do anything yet."


    "My data about cats indicate that they are very cautious and do not give their trust easily. Earning a cat''s trust is a long process that can take a lot of patience."


    "You''re smart... Remiel? Is that your name?"


    "Indeed, it is."


    "Your name is like that other robot I met, Uriel I think."


    "My code is based on Uriel''s. Emely managed to create me thanks to her."


    "We can talk about that another time." Gwyn interrupted the two and looked at the map of the ship on her phone "I think you''ve seen the most important things here, you can always explore in your free time if you want."


    "I have a question. The leader explained that the moon was the way we traveled, however, I have seen no moon in this world."


    "You should ask that to Emely, she knows better. You already know the way to her lab so have fun, I need to work now."


    Gwyn left the two new members alone to go back to her office. Ada crossed her arms, trying her best to remember.


    "That''s so many names... Emely is..."


    "Emely is my creator and is the engineer of the ship."


    "Is she black-pantie girl''s lover?"


    "I do not have any information on this black-pantie girl, but I believe you will recognize her once you see her."


    "Alright, I follow your lead!"


    The two women headed toward Emely''s lab, hoping to get answers to their questions.


    Ada entered the lab before Remiel could tell her to knock on the door. Emely and Silva were both inside the lab, sitting on the desk. When she saw them enter, the engineer stood up with annoyance on her face.


    "I know you''re new here but you need to learn how to knock on doors."


    "Really? I''ll try to remember next time."


    "I apologize Emely." Remiel said with guilt in her voice "I did not warn her beforehand."


    "It''s alright, so why are you here? Is there a problem?"


    "None at all, I was actually wondering where the moon is in this world, I have seen the sun but not the moon."


    "Oh, that." Emely searched in one of the drawers for something. She took a small shiny ball out of it and threw it at Remiel "That''s the moon."


    "You have the moon in your drawer?" Asked Silva "I thought we traveled in the moon to go to other worlds? It''s way too small."


    "It''s not exactly the moon, it''s like if the core of the moon was a world. This small ball is the world inside a moon."


    "And what if it were to break?" Asked Remiel.


    "Then we can''t leave this world. I already tried breaking it but it''s really solid."


    "You did?" Silva stood up from the desk, suddenly terrified "Were you trying to keep us all stuck here?"


    "The leader gave it to me to understand it better, you would have intrusive thoughts too if you held it in your hand."


    Remiel gave back the orb to Emely, who put it back in the drawer. Ada couldn''t help but be impressed by how advanced everything was. She could travel through space and time but they managed to harness it thanks to technology. She wasn''t sure how to feel about staying here but she started to think it could be beneficial for her to learn more about the universe here.

 Chapter 148: Back To The Past

    Everyone was gathered at the cafeteria for breakfast. It was rare that they all woke up early enough to take it together but this wasn''t a coincidence. The leader called them here to update them about the situation. Once everyone had their attention on her, she explained everything.


    "As I said last time, I know one of my other selves who is well-versed in time travel. It seem to only work in her world but she agreed to help us if we help them with a favor."


    "That''s great news!" Said Neige "When should we go?"


    "I think you should go with Silva and Sepide today, there''s something... Strange that happened. Apparently, they have a member of the Kronos with them. Have you searched about it like I asked you to Emely?"


    Emely stood up, ready to announce her result.


    "I''ve searched and I can confirm that no one ever entered that world. This person is probably not one of us."


    "Thanks, Emely. It seems like this person claims the opposite. You''ll have to help my other self''s group with their problem and understand who is this person, understood?"


    The three members that were tasked with this mission nodded. Once their breakfast was finished, they hurried to prepare themselves and leave for this world that could be the key to the anomaly''s problem.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Silva, Sepide, and Neige all arrived in this new world. Unlike the other times, they were greeted by a group that was waiting for their arrival. There were five persons, including Polyetta''s other self. They all had green and white uniforms, except a girl who wore a black and orange dress with strips, ribbons, and a top hat. Their leader''s other self took Neige''s hand and shook it firmly.


    "You must be Neige, Polyetta told me so much about you! My name is Adya, I''m the leader of the Atlas. We travel through time to fix our world''s inconsistencies."


    The man next to Adya approached and examined Neige. He looked exactly like Kairo, bringing bad memories to Neige.


    "You really look like our Neige, I never would have imagined that there we had other selves. Does that mean I have one too?"


    "Yes... Multiple. I was friends with one too."


    "Was? Did... Something happen?"


    Neige stayed silent, not sure how to answer. Seeing the sadness on his face, the leader changed the topic.


    "Let me introduce everyone! The three here are our main group, Neige, Kairos, and Silvy."


    "Incredible, we have our own knock-off now." Sarcastically said Silva.


    "You have a Silvy too." Said the other Neige "Is she shy and cute like ours?"


    Neige looked at Silva for a moment before answering.


    "More pervert and cute."


    "P-Pervert?" Silva''s other self blushed, surprised by the answer "Are all our other selves like that?"


    "Honestly, I can''t recall anyone else than Silva being like that."


    "What can I say? I''m one of a kind." Answered Silva with pride "And who''s the silent member? They don''t have a name?"If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Everyone turned toward the girl with the cute black and orange dress. Adya was about to explain but saw there was no need when the girl stepped forward.


    "I am a member of the Kronos, twenty-four years in the future. I can''t say my name but you can call me Snowflake."


    "Twenty-four years, huh?" Sighed Neige "So it''s still not over."


    "I can''t say anything about that, it could change the future. I actually heard from my mother that you would come to this world, and it''s the only way I could time travel to see you."


    "Did something bad happen?" Asked Sepide "It must be important if you traveled through time for that."


    "Not really..." Snowflake blushed a bit and looked away, clearly embarrassed "I''m here out of selfish desire, I wanted to meet you three. I will help you in your mission, I... Just want to spend time with you."


    "What the heck happened in the future?" Asked Silva, a bit taken aback "Do we all die?"


    "What? No, of course not. Oh, I mean..." The girl grumbled a bit, visibly frustrated "Maybe you were right, that wasn''t a good idea to go to the past..."


    "Me?" Silva pointed her finger at her, making the girl nod her head.


    "Yeah, your future self at least. It feels so weird to see you so young, you''re in your forties in my time."


    "I can''t imagine Silva being old." Said Neige "I feel like she''ll always be this brat."


    "She for sure didn''t change." Said Snowflake with a smile, irritating Silva.


    "I hope my future self kicked your ass!"


    "Let''s not talk about it... Anyway, the members of the Atlas were kind enough to let me meet you."


    "Indeed." Said their leader "We judged it safe. Also, she insisted a lot... Anyway, we''ll show you how to time travel and explain your mission." The woman gave Neige a phone and quickly explained how it worked "You need to open the map in the phone, then, you need to place the time you want to travel to instead of the address."


    "A map? To travel through time?" Silva smirked at the irony but quickly stopped when she remembered how they traveled through space.


    "Yes, you need to travel fifty years ago. A man named Adolf was rejected from art school, this led to the Second World War, we need to prevent it."


    "Adolf?" Silva thought for a moment "I had a painter named like that in my world, he was a famous one too."


    "He''s not that here. I was a bit hesitant to let you handle this but Polyetta convinced me to let you since someone you apparently know is involved. A certain Silv, she''s the one that rejected Adolf from art school."


    "Silv!?" Snowflake reacted with surprise to the name, surprising everyone "It''s been ages since I''ve heard that name, but she wasn''t even born fifty years ago, right?"


    "So you know Silv." Noticed Neige.


    "I''m giving away too much information, right?" Snowflake said with an apologetic face.


    "But you''re right, Silv didn''t exist fifty years ago." Said the leader "She managed to use time travel. We need to stop her before she creates more inconsistencies."


    "She can travel in time, great... We should hurry then."


    Everyone agreed with Neige and went next to him. Adya looked at them with concern, feeling a bit guilty about leaving them alone.


    "I know Polyetta said you''d manage but don''t hesitate to call us if you need to, your phone can contact us."


    Neige nodded and used the phone to travel fifty years in the past, ready to stop Silv''s plan.


    ################################################################################


    The group arrived on a busy street. Before anyone could say anything, their new member took her phone and recorded her voice.


    "I have arrived in the world 01012000 and successfully traveled into the past. The weather and the people make this street cold. They seem to be dealing with poverty, their clothes barely holding on, just like their will. I shall successfully prevent Silv from changing the timeline of this world. I shall name this world, The Land Where Time Crosses Itself."


    After finishing her report, Snowflake looked at the others with curiosity.


    "Don''t you report what you''re doing?"


    "I used to." Said Sepide "But I''m not good with names and the leader never listened to them so I stopped."


    "Your leader doesn''t? Mine praises me so much every time I do!"


    "I guess Polyetta stepped down as a leader." Neige said to himself "A lot can happen in twenty years so I''m not surprised..."


    "But do we have to wait twenty-four years to get her in the team?" Asked Silva "The land where time crosses itself is way better than the names we have."


    "Come on Silva, stop complaining, we need to find Silv and stop her. I suppose she''s at an art school, we should start searching for that."


    The group nodded in agreement and followed Neige in this decrepit city. Once they finished here, they would find a way to prevent the anomaly''s past and save the universe from all the current problems. Despite the situation looking bright, Neige couldn''t stop thinking about their new member, was she really here just to meet them? He couldn''t shake the feeling that she was here for another reason but had no proof of that. All he could do was do his mission and hope to understand the motivation of the girl.

 Chapter 149: Snowflake

    The group decided to split up to find information about Silv quickly. Neige and Snowflake both ended up together, mostly because of his insistence to be with her. Most of their time was Neige reading news articles while the girl followed him, unable to read the strange language written on them. Snowflake looked at the paper in Neige''s hand with curiosity, there was a picture of Silv on it, which surprised her.


    "Is that Silv?"


    "I think, she''s popular here. It''s written that she is a mysterious painter who disappeared for years before reappearing for seemingly no reason."


    "That''s strange, is she plotting something?"


    "It''s likely, yes. She founded an art school and became its headmaster. It must be the school Adolf was rejected from, she maybe even made it just for that."


    "Just to reject him?" Snowflake was shocked, surprised that Neige even proposed that "Is she that evil?"


    "She''s chaos itself, she probably wants to cause problems for everyone. We should search where this school is before grouping with the others."


    "Alright, you seem more experienced than me so I trust you."


    The pair walked peacefully toward their destination. Neige looked at the girl''s outfit, it was clear this wasn''t the uniform they used now. It probably meant that either the future was more peaceful, or that she was particularly reckless.


    "Aren''t you always busy with missions?"


    "I wish I was, but my mother gives me special treatment and makes sure I always get simple ones."


    "I wish I was you." Said Neige "All those missions are so stressful, can''t get a simple one anymore."


    "I did hear that it wasn''t easy for you and the others, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"


    Neige smiled at the girl and pinched her cheeks, surprising her.


    "You know something I don''t, right?"


    "Of course, I''m from the future."


    "I know, you''re not here just to meet us, you''re trying to change the future."


    Snowflake''s eyes widened, even stepping back from the shock.


    "H-How can you tell?"


    "I don''t know what you heard about me, but I''m not dense. Something happens to me in the future, am I right?"


    The girl grimaced and looked away embarrassed.


    "How did I mess up so bad... I don''t think I''ve said too much this time, did I?"


    "It''s fine, I won''t tell anyone but on one condition. You won''t try to change the future."


    "But why? At least listen to me and then you can-"


    "I don''t know what happens in your timeline but just you being here changed things."


    "The butterfly effect." Mumbled the girl "Those time travelers did warn me about it."


    "Yeah, maybe I''ll survive just because I''ve met you. But also, I know I''m doing everything for a reason and I don''t regret it."


    "You''re wise Grandpa, I understand why Mom keeps talking about you."If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Grandpa..." Neige made a pained face upon hearing her words "I''m not that old. I''m at most 24 years older than you."


    "You''ll always be my Grandpa for me!"


    "Stop it... You''ll give me a heart attack if you keep saying that..."


    "It''s not that bad, you''re just old for me because you''re from my past."


    "Let''s not talk about it, now I feel old."


    Neige walked away to search the art school, quickly followed by the girl behind him.


    The two walked for a moment, asking people on the way for directions. They finally managed to find Silv''s school, ''Academy of Fine Art'' was written in front of it. Snowflake was overjoyed to find it while Neige stared at it with an empty expression.


    "Grandpa? Is there a problem?"


    "Nothing, I''m just a bit worried about Silv''s plan. She probably didn''t do it just for fun."


    "I''ve heard that she''s mean, should we go take care of her right away?"


    Neige shook his head and took his phone to contact his friends.


    "Let''s wait for Silva and Sepide, then we''ll-"


    "You''re not waiting for anyone!"


    Neige and Snowflake turned toward the origin of the voice only to find Emel, followed by two bodyguards. She had a smug smile and seemed pretty proud of her line.


    "E-Emely!? Are you with the bad guys?"


    Neige took his dagger in hand, ready to fight at any moment.


    "Don''t let her appearance fool you, that''s Emely''s other self, she''s with Silv."


    Emel grinned, clearly overconfident.


    "Silv only told me to check who this new girl is but I bet she''ll praise me if I can deal with you two! She only needs Silva after all."


    Neige let out an annoyed sigh, paying close attention to his surroundings.


    "You''re somehow more annoying than Silv."


    Emel ordered the two bodyguards to attack them. In an instant, Neige dealt with the two with ease, only needing to punch them in the stomach. Snowflake was impressed, he dealt with the threat before she could even react. Emel ran away the moment she saw she lost, Snowflake was about to follow her but was quickly stopped by Neige grabbing her arm.


    "You''re not going anywhere, for all we know it''s a trap."


    "But..."


    "Don''t worry, we''ll deal with her when the time comes, let''s just wait for the others."


    Despite her worries, Snowflake nodded and stayed with Neige to wait for their friends. Neige made the call and they both decided to sit on a bench while waiting for the others. Snowflake turned toward Neige, hesitating a bit before raising her shy voice.


    "While we''re waiting, there''s something I wanted to ask you."


    "What is it?"


    "Snowflake, it''s not my real name. My mother named me Flocon but... If she were to know, she probably wouldn''t name me like that. Who would name their daughter after a random time traveler after all? Anyway, my mother always wanted to know what you would think of this name and... Since you''re here, I figured you could tell me."


    "Flocon... That''s basically the same name as mine."


    "Really? But they don''t sound similar at all."


    "But their meaning is the same, it means Snow in your mother''s language."


    "My mother''s language?" Snowflake asked a bit confused "How do you know who my mother is?"


    "You''re as easy to read as an open book. Don''t worry, I''ll keep everything secret, just don''t time travel next time."


    "I don''t plan to, it was just my only opportunity to see you."


    "I guess time travel isn''t really accessible, come here for a second."


    The girl approached Neige with curiosity when he suddenly took her in his arms, tightly gripping her.


    "I don''t want to know what happens in the future, but I''m glad I got to meet my granddaughter."


    Snowflake hugged Neige back with tears on her face. They both stayed together like that until Sepide''s voice interrupted them.


    "You seem close already."


    Neige turned toward Sepide and Silva, a smile on his face.


    "She''s a great girl, her mother can be proud."


    "Are you hitting on her?" Silva asked with a grin on her face "You know, we can try to find her once she''s 18 and get you together."


    "No thanks... We found Silv''s school, how did everything go for you?"


    "Pretty good, we found this Adolf guy. We spent all our time talking about art and I convinced him to pursue it, I''m sure he''ll end up as a great artist."


    "Those two had fun." Sepide said with a disappointed voice "I stood here, listening to them talking about art for what felt like hours."


    "Wait, so everything is solved?" Asked Snowflake "Can''t we leave then?"


    "No, we still should try to take care of Silv. If we managed to deal with her, we pretty much guaranteed the safety of the universe, for now at least."


    "You''re right Silva." Snowflake nodded and took a look at the school in front of them "I shouldn''t do anything too drastic, it could change the future."


    "As long as we get rid of my other self I''m fine with it." Silva gave a big smile to the girl, hoping to relieve her.


    "Your future self said I shouldn''t mess too much with the past."


    "Future me probably knows better, I guess you won''t be able to use your ultra-futuristic weapon to kill Silv, we''ll have to do it ourselves."


    "I don''t have ultra-futuristic weapons."


    "Can we have this conversation later?" Asked Neige "Snowflake will just help a bit so it doesn''t cause any time problems, okay?"


    The group nodded and prepared themselves mentally to enter the school. This could be their chance to get rid of Silv once and for all, and they were ready to take it.

 Chapter 150: Remember The Time

    The group entered inside Silv''s art school. It looked very fancy, with paintings in gold frames hung on the walls. Neige went to the reception desk where a man was standing, hoping to get information.


    "Hey, it''s Silv''s school, right? I''m a huge fan of her, is it possible to meet her?"


    "Of course!" Said the man with a smile "You''ll need to call us to book the appointment, then you''ll need an ID card, make a donation to the school, and prove that you aren''t a time traveler."


    "Prove I''m not a time traveler? How am I supposed to do that?"


    "I''m sorry, this is the headmaster''s rules. You have to figure it out on your own."


    Neige left and grouped with his friend in frustration and explained the situation.


    "She''s not making it easy for us." Said Snowflake "Is she always like that?"


    Silva nodded, a tired expression on her face.


    "You''re lucky to be born in the future after we took care of her... So what now?"


    The group paused to think for a few minutes, they weren''t even sure that Silv was there. It seemed like it would take time but thankfully for them, a familiar face approached them. Silvy, the member of the Atlas, came toward them with a smile on her face. The group was surprised to see her, they thought the Atlas wouldn''t deal with this problem.


    "Hey, seems like you''re stuck."


    "How do you know?" Asked Silva with distrust "You''re stalking us? I knew you were a pervert."


    "Eh!? I''m not the pervert here! And I just came because I figured you''d be stuck. I''m used to missions like that so I figured I could help... And time travel is my thing anyway."


    Silvy pouted and looked away. Seeing that she was as stubborn as Silva, Neige knew he had to do something.


    "We''re trying to get to Silv, can you help us?"


    "Of course, I even found her friend, the annoying girl with ginger hair. The girl is somewhere else but Silv is here."


    "Should we split up?" Proposed Sepide "If we just take care of one, the other will come save them."


    "You should all go get Emel, me and Silva will take care of our other self, isn''t it poetic?"


    Silvy pointed at Silva and touched her by accident. She suddenly yelled in pain and backed away from Silva, looking at her with terrified eyes.


    "You''re burning! You should go see a doctor!"


    "That''s just like that with other-selves." Explained Snowflake "I want to come too, I can''t let you alone with M-Miss Silva."


    "I''m fine with it I guess."


    Silva, her other self, and Snowflake all stood next to each other. The member of the Atlas showed Neige and Sepide the location of the girl they were searching for. Neige looked at the place on his phone and couldn''t help but show his surprise.


    "It''s so far away, we saw her a few minutes ago."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "You did? She probably has a few tricks up her sleeve, they managed to time travel after all."


    "We''ll need to be careful then, Sepide and I will go, good luck with your mission."


    Neige and his friend left while the three girls stayed in the art school. Silvy gestured them to follow her, leading them to Silv.


    The trio managed to sneak in without being caught and made their way downstairs which felt like an eternity. Silvy was running down the stairs, impatiently trying to reach the bottom while the two others walked at a moderate pace. Snowflake regularly peeked at Silva out of curiosity and continued until the blind girl noticed it.


    "You seem focused on me, or maybe you''re just stretching your neck for no reason?"


    "It''s hard to believe that you''re blind, even in the past."


    The two walked silently again. Feeling a bit uncomfortable in the silence, Snowflake tried to make conversation the best she could.


    "Those are long stairs, it''s like we''re going to the center of the earth."


    "Silv has a thing for weird things. Have you ever met her before?"


    "I can''t say anything about it, it could change the future."


    "I wonder if I would change the future..." Silva stayed silent for a moment, lost in her thoughts.


    "I know you wouldn''t, you really tried hard to convince me not to go to the past."


    "My future self looks like she''s no fun. I bet she doesn''t even annoy Neige anymore."


    Snowflake continued staring at Silva. Noticing that she was looking at her, Silva suddenly poked the girl''s forehead.


    "If you got something to say just say it."


    "It''s not that easy... I''m just surprised by how different you look, I''m not used to it."


    "I hope I don''t look like a dumbass in the future."


    "Don''t worry." Chuckled Snowflake "You''re pretty both in the past and future."


    "Oh, are you hitting on me?" Asked Silva with a grin, making Snowflake blush.


    "No, that''s not it..."


    "Come on, I''m just kidding. My heart already belongs to Emely anyway, no one can get me."


    "You are already together?" Snowflake smiled brightly, with stars in her eyes "That''s so cute."


    "Of course it is, Emely is the adorablest after all."


    "I''m glad to hear that you''re still close in the past. I was afraid I would talk about your relationship together and that the future would change."


    Snowflake stayed silent for a moment and thought back about her conversation with Neige. It took her a few minutes to gather the courage to ask Silva the question she had on her mind.


    "Silva, if you could change the future, would you?"


    "It depends, I don''t want the world to end so I''d prevent it."


    "And what if... Instead of the world, it was someone close to you?


    "It depends. If I can save them I could but... If they were satisfied with their end, then I don''t see any reason to do it."


    "You said the same thing in my time... I wonder how you do to live the way you want and not regret anything."


    Silva stopped in the middle of the stairs. She made sure that Silvy was too far away to see them and pulled her sleeve to show the scars on her arm to Snowflake.


    "I regret a lot of things, I for sure didn''t live like I wanted, but I''m not going to let that define me. It''s normal to have regrets, but in the end, that''s what made me who I am. I''d be happy if I died today because at least I died being myself... I mean, I don''t want to die but you get the idea."


    "You''re wise like your future self, Silva."


    "Nah, I''m a brat and I love it. I leave wisdom for future me."


    The two finally arrived at the bottom where Silvy was waiting for them. The hallway was dark, making it hard for Snowflake and Silvy to navigate while Silva comfortably walked through the corridor.


    Neige and Sepide ran as fast as they could toward Emel''s hiding place. The address they got from Silvy led to a seemingly empty house. Neige took his dagger in hand and swiftly broke the lock. The pair entered the house but no one was inside. They searched every hiding place but couldn''t find anything, frustrating Sepide.


    "Emel ran away, we arrived too late!"


    "I guess so, but why would she be here in the first place? It''s weird."


    Neige vaguely searched around but was convinced that the person they were searching for wasn''t there. His phone suddenly rang, or rather the phone that the leader of the Atlas gave him. He quickly answered and was greeted by the voice of his other self.


    *Hey, am I not bothering you?*


    "No, it''s fine. Is there a problem?"


    *Kinda... Have you seen Silvy?*


    "Silva''s other self? Yeah, she said she came to help us."


    Neige''s other self started talking to someone else. After exchanging a few lines with his friends he went back to the call.


    *She could have warned us at least. Anyway, with her everything should be alright. Good luck with your mission.*


    Neige hung up and turned toward Sepide, who stared at him with curiosity.


    "Something happened?"


    "Yeah, we need to go see Silva right away. I''ll tell you on the way."


    Neige barely waited for his friend and hurried out of the house. Sepide ran to catch him up, concerned about the situation.

 Chapter 151: Silv, Silvy, and Silva.

    The trio walked in the dimly lit hallway for what felt like an eternity. They finally managed to see a door at the end of the hallway, and without hesitation, Silva opened it. A blinding light filled the room, contrasting with the corridor they were in. Inside, Silv was waiting for them, along with Emel. The room seemed to serve as storage for paintings and other art supplies, with Silv sitting on a throne sculpted out of stone. She stood up and walked toward them with a mischievous smile on her face.


    "So you finally arrived! I''m glad we''re all family now, if we exclude Emel."


    "Am I not your family? We''re practically sisters at this point." Emel smiled at Silv, who looked disgusted by her words.


    "Say that once more and I''ll kill you."


    "You got it, sis!"


    Silv let out an exhausted sigh but quickly focused back on her three guests.


    "Silva, I''m glad you''re here. I''m a bit disappointed the time-traveling loser is here but... I can improvise something."


    Silva was about to ask why Emel was here, Neige and Sepide were supposed to go get her. However, she quickly understood when Silvy pointed her firearm at Snowflake, too far away to be interrupted.


    "Silva, ''Snowflake'', if you try anything funny you''ll both die. We''re three against two."


    "You monster!" Yelled Snowflake "How did you convince Silvy to work for you?"


    "Don''t you know? All my alter egos are monsters. Silva''s the only that can''t accept it, but we''re all the same."


    "I''m not crazy like her, I swear." Objected Silvy "She promised me that she''d help me overthrow the Atlas, I know I''m the best suited for that. I swear, I''m not crazy!"


    Despite her words, no one believed in her sanity. Silva was more focused on finding a way out but still felt a bit swayed by Silv''s argument. However, Snowflake yelled at Silv before she could say anything.


    "My... Silva is not like that!"


    "Really? I mean if you''re here, it''s probably that future her didn''t try hard to stop you."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, you know that Silva will survive, you''ve been pretty clear on that. However, you don''t know whether you''ll survive or not. It seems like your mother didn''t care much about you, she should know what will happen." Silv sarcastically put her hand on her mouth, pretending to be shocked "Oops, it wasn''t important, right?"


    Silva wasn''t sure whether her other self was lying or not. There was no way Snowflake could be her daughter after all.


    "But I have to thank you ''Snowflake'', now I have more information for the future. It looks like you ended up changing everything."


    "Y-You weren''t supposed to even know I''m from the future!"


    "Too bad, your mother was right, should have stayed in the present. Now then, I''ll offer you a choice, Silva. Either you shoot at Silvy and save your daughter, either you shoot me and save the universe. One life against order, what will you choose."


    "And what do you get out of that?" Asked Silva "You''re just risking your life."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "I want to show you your real self, the one that kills others to get to her goal, that''s your fate.


    "I''m nothing like you, Silv. The only thing we share are four letters in our name."


    Silva gripped her firearm, looking enraged at Silv. In an instant, she shot Silvy''s arm to disarm her and was about to do the same at Silv, but the latter vanished out of tin air. Without thinking, she took Silvy''s firearm to make sure she was no longer a threat. Snowflake ran toward Silva with guilt on her face, ready to start a hard conversation.


    "Silva, about what Silv''s said..."


    "That it''s my fate to be like my other selves? That''s bullcrap, I''m me and only me. And fate can go fluff itself, I''m not following it. And if it''s about the daughter-mother thing, I know it''s not true."


    "You... Know?"


    "Of course, children are annoying, I''m with another girl, and there''s no way I name my kid something as dumb as Snowflake. And Silv seems pretty determined to change the future, so your present and my future are different now."


    "I guess you''re right. But Snowflake is not a dumb name." Said Snowflake while pouting.


    "Go complain about it to your mother, now we need to take care of the traitor and go find the others."


    "I''m not a traitor!" Yelled Silvy "I deserve to be the leader! Silv will help me, she promised!"


    "And I can promise you she already forgot your name."


    Snowflake took the member of the Atlas and started climbing the long stairs with Silva. It took them a few long minutes but they managed to reach the exit without much trouble. The ascent left Silva with more than enough time to reflect on Silv''s words and plan, she felt like Silv would show up again very soon.


    They found Neige and Sepide out of the school. They explained what happened to them with Silv and Silvy while Neige told about the call he got from the Atlas.


    "I figured Silvy was up to no good. She sent us to an empty place to split us up. I''m glad you managed to both get away safely."


    "Me too." Said Snowflake "I suppose Silv changed the timeline to lure us here."


    "Yeah, I can''t tell what''s her plan. Let''s go back for now, we fulfilled our part of the deal."


    "Before that, I wanted to..." Snowflake looked at the ground with embarrassment before looking at Sepide in the eyes "Can I spend a bit of time with Sepide before we go?"


    Sepide looked at Neige who nodded at her. Snowflake smiled widely and dropped Silvy on the floor before taking Sepide away from anyone''s hearing. Neige looked at them talking from a distance before turning toward Silva.


    "You already know that Silv didn''t lie, right? She''s your daughter, she even has some of your habits."


    "I guess so. Maybe Emely will want to adopt a child later, but still, Snowflake sucks."


    "That''s not her real name, I think you gave her a pretty name."


    "She told you her real name? And how do you know I was the one that named her?"


    "I can tell, you''ll understand too. I''m glad I got to see my granddaughter, she grew up to be a good person."


    "Yeah, I''m proud of her too. I hope my future self doesn''t make the same mistakes as my parents."


    Snowflake took Sepide very far away, knowing that Silva could hear them from a long distance. Once she made sure she was far away, she turned toward Sepide with a smile.


    "I wish I could see everyone but I''m glad I got to see you three."


    "Me too?"


    "Especially you, aunty Sepide." Snowflake took a necklace from her pocket. The face of a cat was sculpted in wood and attached to a chain that she gave to Sepide "I made it for you, I know that cats are your favorite animal."


    "They are?" Sepide looked at the necklace for a while and smiled at it before putting it in her pocket "I guess they are now."


    "I''m glad if you like it. I know that you like keeping a souvenir from every place you visit so... I figured you might use it. I know you''re fighting together against something bigger than you for my future. I wasn''t always grateful for it but... I wanted to make up for it. You''re like a second mother to me and... Everyone is my family. I may have been raised in weird circumstances, but you all did your best for me. I decided it was my time to do my best for you. So please, whatever happens, don''t blame yourself."


    "Something will happen?"


    Snowflake made a sad smile and gently took Sepide''s hand.


    "I can''t tell you..."


    Sepide took Snowflake in her arms and softly caressed her hair.


    "I''ll... Try my best. Even if the future changes, we''ll do our best to give you a bright one."


    "I''m glad... Take care of everyone for me while I''m away. You and Remiel are like sisters to me, we''re not even that far away in age when I think about it, so get along well in the meantime."


    "We are, she just has to accept I''m better than her." Sepide said with a confident smile "I''m not scared of the future anymore. Even if something bad happens, I''ll do my best to not regret it."


    "That''s great, we should go now. I don''t want to make everyone wait much longer."


    Sepide and Snowflake went back to their friends. Snowflake couldn''t help but smile brightly at everyone when they grouped back, ready to return to their time.

 Chapter 152: Back From The Future

    The group went back to the present, in the Atlas''s base. Emely was also here, talking about time travel with Kairo''s other self. The other Neige took Silvy away, probably to lock her in a cell. The leader of the Atlas stared at her member being taken away, saddened by the way things ended. The woman needed to take a deep inspiration before turning toward the people who helped her and tried to explain the situation the best she could.


    "You can be proud of you, you managed to take care of your mission. I wish things could have ended differently but... I''m sure Silvy had her reasons to act like that. It''s our duty to take care of it now, and as we agreed, we''re teaching your scientist everything we can."


    "So... I guess it''s the end." Snowflake turned toward the members of the Kronos, a sad look on her face "I feel like it was so short, I wish we could spend more time together..."


    "You have the future for that." Neige rubbed the girl''s head with a smile "Now it''s our turn to help you, we''ll do our best to give you an even better future than the one you have."


    "Neige is right." Added Sepide "We still have a lot to do, but thanks to your help, we''re getting closer to the end."


    Snowflake silently nodded with a heavy heart, taking a few minutes to turn toward the leader of the Atlas.


    "I know I should go home but... Can I stay for a moment, there''s something I want to see first."


    "As long as you don''t interfere I don''t see any problem with it."


    Snowflake smiled at her before turning toward the group.


    "It''s the last time we meet, but I will see the end of this adventure from far away."


    "It''s not the last though." Said Silva "We''ll see again when you officially become a member of the Kronos."


    "It''s in so long, you still have a lot to live before then."


    The goodbyes continued until Emely joined the group. She was ready to leave but glanced at the girl and quickly noticed the colors of her outfit.?


    "Are you the member of the Kronos from the future?"


    "Y-Yes... I''m Snowflake."


    "That''s a cute name, I hope everything is going well in the future." Emely smiled at the girl before turning to her friends "I''ll explain everything once we''re on the ship, we should go back."


    Everyone nodded and waved at Snowflake and the members of the Atlas. Before they could leave anywhere, Snowflake grabbed Silva and Emely and held them both in her arms as tightly as she could. Emely was slightly surprised but went along with it when she saw Silva comfortably accepting the hug.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group was finally back from their mission. Everyone sat in front of Emely in the main hall, waiting for her conclusion on time travel.


    "So I need to start on something first, we won''t be able to time travel in a simple way."


    Silva raised her hand upon hearing Emely''s words.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Does that mean it''s complicated and we''ll need to focus?"


    "Yes, indeed."


    "Can we skip this chapter?"


    "I... No? Don''t worry, I''ll make it simple. First I need to explain how they time travel in their world. They use anchor points, you can see them like bus stops. They place an anchor at a set time and can travel there anytime. The Atlas have existed for centuries so they placed anchors really far in the past. It means that if no one put an anchor in the past, then there''s no way to travel there."


    "So it''s hopeless..." Said Ada, disappointed.


    "Not quite. You''re able to go in the past without those anchor points, just not at a time when you already exist. However, you can still be at the time when Neige died, just not in your world. You could send someone in the past and then we would travel to your world and save Neige."


    "Then we didn''t need the Altas." Noticed the leader "Wasn''t it useless then?"


    "Not exactly, changing the past will cause the anomaly to disappear, we won''t be able to go back to our time. That is if we don''t use an anchor. The anomaly sends us into the past, and once it''s over, we use the anchor to go to the present."


    "That seems easy." Said Neige "But can''t we use the Atlas''s time travel to go back to our time?"


    "Sadly, our technologies are not compatible. We can''t use our watches after using their phones, and they can''t use their phones in other worlds. The anchor is the only way we have but it''s not that easy. Not only it will take at least a month, but only one person can use the anchor."


    "So only one of us can go in the past?" Sepide asked, a bit confused.


    "Yes. I''ve already determined who it would be. Neige and the leader are out of the equation since they could interact with their other selves and cause problems. Sepide also could cause problems due to her nature, so it only leaves Remiel and Silva, they''re the most suited for the mission. I''m not sure how Remiel will work with time travel, it wasn''t made for robots after all so..."


    Everyone turned toward Silva, waiting for her answer.


    "So I''ll be alone in the past and in a world I don''t know? Doesn''t seem that bad."


    "I''m sorry Silva, I wish I could send someone else instead. It will take time anyway, so maybe we''ll find another solution by then."


    "So all we can do is wait..." The leader crossed her arms, thinking about everything that could help "For now, let''s focus on preparing ourselves and Silv. Silv knows about time travel too, maybe her technology could help. But the main reason is that I don''t want her to mess with our plan."


    "I agree. I still have much to learn too so it''s possible the plan change. For now, let''s all get some rest."


    It was already time to sleep, leading everyone to go into their room. Neige was about to leave but was stopped by the leader holding his hand.


    "Neige, I need to tell you something... Privately."


    Not sure about the reason, Neige followed the leader into her room.


    Polyetta made sure that no one could hear them, taking at least ten minutes to do so. Once she was assured that they were alone in her room, she explained the reason for Neige''s presence.


    "I need you to take Sepide and Silva on a mission tomorrow, we''re not the only ones traveling through worlds."


    Neige flinched at the news, shocked by her words.


    "Are you sure? Isn''t Silv?"


    "No, it''s a ''hero'' that calls itself the snowy savior."


    Neige suddenly stopped, shocked to hear this name.


    "Wow, that''s a great name for a superhero."


    "Really? I think it sucks."


    Neige seemed disappointed that his friend didn''t share his enthusiasm but continued to listen.


    "Anyway, he went back to the world full of zombies and saved everyone, he went into a lot of worlds. The last time he was seen was in the world 20091996, beating up students."


    Neige recognized the world, it was the place where he went with Silva and Emely to find the guy Sepide and Remiel talked to.


    "Are you sure he beat up students? Maybe they were bullies or something."


    "Maybe, but he''s still a danger. Can you at least check?"


    "I guess I could, but Silva is busy tomorrow. I''ll take Remiel instead I guess."


    "I wonder what you two are doing... It''s fine by me, don''t warn everyone, I don''t want them to panic. Everyone thinks we''re getting close to peace, it would depress them."


    "Understood, we''ll take care of everything."


    Polyetta stared at Neige in the eyes for a moment before gently taking him in her arms.


    "Neige, we''ll soon be able to live in peace, I promise."


    "I''m sure we will, I can''t wait until we can just spend weeks doing nothing, just like old times."


    "Yes... I''ll take care of everything, I promise."


    The two friends stayed in each other''s arms for a while, not leaving the warm embrace despite their wish of sleeping. Neige knew he could deal with this mysterious hero tomorrow, only Silv would be left then and everything would be over once and for all... Or so he hoped.

 Chapter 153: Helping Others

    Neige went into the same world he had already gone to with Silva and Emely before. Remiel and Sepide were both accompanying him on his mission to find the world-traveling hero who named himself the snowy savior. Neige wasn''t sure how to handle it but knew he would find a way somehow.


    "We should go ask around, maybe one of the students knows about this mysterious hero."


    Sepide and Remiel nodded in agreement. The latter looked at her friend with a smile, concerning Neige a bit.


    "Sepide, let us race! The first one to find this weird person wins."


    "Challenge accepted, I''m not losing!"


    The two ran in opposing directions, confusing Neige. He hadn''t even seen anyone that he already had to deal with his two friends.


    Sepide ran as fast as she could in the hallways of the university, asking for as much information as possible. All she managed to gather was that a girl appeared at night in a strange outfit to attack some students. Most of them were bullies or criminals, leading to most students praising the hero. She continued wandering in the hallway and found a lonely girl, sitting on a stair. She approached her gently, asking her the question on her mind when she got the girl''s attention.


    "Sorry to bother you, have you heard of the snowy savior?"


    "I did, but I don''t know much."


    "That''s a shame..." Sepide was about to leave but was stopped by the girl''s voice.


    "Are you a fan of Yoake-Chan too?"


    Sepide turned toward the girl with confusion, not expecting to hear the name of her alter ego on internet.


    "I''ve seen her before, why?"


    "Oh, the keychain on your belt, it''s the same one she wears around her neck."


    Sepide looked at the cross on her belt. It was once Ada''s, but she lost it during the tournament. She did ask Emely to give her virtual avatar this necklace but never thought she would ever get recognized because of it.


    "It''s a coincidence... Do you watch her?"


    "Yeah, she''s new but she''s so great and positive! When she says that the future will be bright, it makes me want to believe her."


    Sepide was surprised, it was the first time she actually saw a fan. She thought the people watching her weren''t taking her seriously but felt a bit happy to know it wasn''t the case. A soft smile appeared on her face as she answered the girl.


    "I''m sure it makes her happy. But... What if she wasn''t like that in real life? Maybe she''s just a depressed girl like any other, putting on a happy mask to make herself feel better."


    "I know she''s not like that." The girl was confident in her words, looking at Sepide in the eyes "She''s my hero, I''d love to be like her someday."


    "I don''t think she''s a hero, it''s just a character on a screen."


    "You can''t understand, she''s the reason I''m still here... When she says that I can do it, it makes me want to continue. Even if she''s not talking to me directly, it makes me feel happy to know she''s rooting for me. If she wasn''t here... I would have given up by now..."


    Sepide was surprised by how much she affected the girl and probably many others. When she started, it was just a way to vent her thoughts somewhere. She kept reassuring herself, acting happy for a few hours before continuing her harsh life. In a way, Yoake-Chan was important for both of them.


    "I''m sure she''ll continue to do her best. I need to go now, but I''m glad to know that I managed to help someone."


    The girl was confused by her words but Sepide left before she could even ask. Sepide''s mission wasn''t over, she couldn''t wait to finish it to become Yoake-Chan again, even just for an hour.Stolen story; please report.


    The sunset created a warm ambiance in the school''s yard. There, she saw Remiel talking with someone. Sepide quickly recognized the man; it was the one she used to talk to, Daimon. She remembered Neige''s words. Was he really manipulating her? Taking this opportunity, she hurried toward him.


    "Hey, what are you two talking about?"


    "Y-Yoake?" The man seemed uncomfortable at her sight, looking back and forth at the two girls. Sepide looked at him with disappointment, was there a reason he didn''t use her real name?


    "Sepide!" Remiel greeted Sepide with a smile and pointed at the man "I introduce you to my boyfriend. I met him online and-"


    "He''s not your boyfriend." Coldly said Sepide.


    "Why do you say that? I have limited knowledge of this domain, is there any more requirement?"


    The man was surprised that the two girls knew each other but quickly tried to use the situation to his advantage.


    "Yoake, I''m sorry I stopped talking with you. I just... Those girls were really scary but I won''t let them get in between our love."


    "Our love?" Sedide looked at the man, confused. She never felt like that for him and started to doubt the basis of their friendship "And what about Remiel?"


    "Who?"


    Sepide pointed at her friend, making the man understand.


    "Well... I love the both of you and-"


    "I do not compute. You said I was your one and only."


    The man looked around nervously, trying to get away from the situation.


    "Come on Shizen, you''re my one and only. I love you both differently."


    "Then what''s her name?" Asked Sepide "Shizen is the name she uses online."


    "R-Really? She never told me."


    "I''m sure she did, I also told you mine but you never called me by my name... Is that why you called us both your dolls? Because you couldn''t remember our names?"


    Remiel looked at Sepide and Daimon, unable to understand.


    "Did you two know each other before?"


    "He did." Answered Sepide "When Neige and Silva told me he was just manipulating me, I didn''t want to believe it. I thought they just misunderstood but... I suppose I was the naive one."


    Remiel felt betrayed by those words and looked at the man with sorrow in her gaze.


    "All this time... Were you pretending to love me just to use me? I am... Experiencing a bad feeling, I do not enjoy it."


    "C-Come on, we can just forget everything. Why don''t you both go with me, I promise to treat you well."


    The man tried to convince the two girls but felt terror when he saw Neige approaching them.


    "You know what, screw you two. I can find way better!"


    The man ran away as fast as he could. The two girls were confused until they saw Neige arrive.


    "I finally found you, you know how hard it was to-" Neige stopped when he saw the face full of sorrow on his friends'' faces "Is everything alright?"


    "I am in a physically good state, and yet, I feel pain."


    "I already knew he wasn''t honest with me, but it still hurts to see it."


    "Oh, I understand now, you two met the guy. We should go now, I took care of everything. I''m sure Ina will cook something nice for you two and you''ll smile again."


    Neige caressed the two girls'' heads, trying his best to comfort them.


    "You took care of the mysterious hero?" Asked Sepide with curiosity.


    "Yeah, he should stop traveling through other worlds now."


    "Did you not capture him?" Asked Remiel "What if he lied? And how did he go to other worlds?"


    "It''s fine, trust me."


    Sepide squinted her eyes and looked at her friend with distrust.


    "Did you know that everyone thinks the snowy savior is a girl?"


    "Do they? I guess the uniform was a bit girly."


    "He also only acts at night, so that means he must be busy during the day."


    "I suppose, but it''s over now, don''t worry."


    "So it''s a man, that looks like a girl, is busy during the day, and can travel in other worlds. He must probably have a strong sense of justice too."


    "Oh, I understand." Remiel smiled when she found out who Sepide was talking about "Neige is the mysterious hero and is concealing his identity."


    "W-What are you saying? It''s not me."


    Sepide chuckled at the idea of Neige acting like a hero and tried her best to reassure him.


    "It feels good to help people, I never noticed how great it felt before today. I would act like a superhero too if I could, but the leader would probably scold me for messing with worlds."


    Neige looked away, a bit embarrassed that his identity was discovered so easily.


    "Doesn''t matter who this snowy savior was, let''s just go back... Can you not tell the leader?"


    "I won''t but can I talk with Remiel for a moment?"


    Neige looked at the two girls with concern, he wasn''t sure if it was a good idea to let them together but still conceded to Sepide''s demand.


    "Don''t take too long, I''ll just walk around until you''re finished."


    Sepide nodded and thanked Neige with a smile. Once she made sure he was away, Sepide turned toward her friend.


    "Are you alright?"


    "I am. I did feel something bad that I could not understand earlier, I will need to do research on it."


    "You felt disappointed, I can understand, I did too."


    "Is that something humans experience regularly? I wished I never did."


    "I felt like that too... I wanted to continue being my emotionless self." Sepide felt bad for Remiel, it maybe was the first she did. She couldn''t tell when it happened, but she no longer had bad feelings for her and considered her like a friend "We don''t need guys anyway, we''re better without them."


    "Agreed, I will focus on what I already have."


    "Good, boys would go to me first anyway, I''m the better one after all."


    "I beg to differ."


    Remiel smiled at Sepide and took her hand. Together, they returned to the ship, ready to move on to the next part of their lives.

 Chapter 154: Surprise?

    Emely woke up like any normal day, walking toward her lab to work on a new invention. However, something was weird. Not only did she not see anyone, but when she went in front of Gwyn''s office the lights were off. The doctor was always working at this time but was strangely absent today. Even Cinnamon was nowhere to be seen, though it wasn''t like she saw him every day. A bit worried, she hurried to her lab to check her computer. It seemed like they were all in the same world, a world that she quickly recognized. She couldn''t help but think it was one of Silv''s wretched plans, luring Emely into her native world to threaten her or Silva. She took her firearm in hand, ready to save her friends.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    She arrived in the wasteland that once was her world. Emely wanted to explore and reminisce about her past but pointed her firearm the moment she heard a sound. It was Neige, and he seemed alright, confusing the girl.


    "Neige? Are you alright?"


    "I will be when you stop pointing your gun at me!"


    Once she was assured that Neige wasn''t mind-controlled or something like that, Emely put her gun down.


    "Are the others safe?"


    "Yeah, it''s nothing bad, I promise."


    "Then why are you all here? I was so worried for you all!"


    "Silva made me promise I wouldn''t tell you, I''ll bring you to the others and you''ll understand then."


    Emely was confused by Neige''s words but still chose to believe him. She followed her friend, still a bit worried that the others were in danger.


    Neige guided Emely to a house, a house that the young engineer had already seen before. She looked at Neige, trying to understand what was the meaning of all of this.


    "That''s my house, what are we doing here?"


    "You better enter and find out."


    Emely braced herself and opened the door. Everything was dark, just like she imagined, this world was in ruins for at least two years now. Her house was probably in a sad state and she wasn''t sure how she''d react at the sight of it. The girl was about to take her phone and use its light to see but was surprised by the lights of the house suddenly turning on. The house was completely renovated and all her friends were here, suddenly yelling together.


    "Happy birthday Emely!"


    The girl was in shock, even dropping her firearm after seeing everyone''s surprise for her. It was the first time they celebrated her birthday, even she forgot it was today. Silva walked toward her with a bright smile that showed her teeth and gave a present to her friend.


    "Happy birthday, it wasn''t easy to organize everything without you noticing it. I did my best to find you the best gift."


    "So... That''s why you were dodging me those few days?"


    Silva nodded while Emely took the box in her hand. She hurried to open it and found a small keychain representing a heart. Even if this wasn''t much, the effort and the attention of her friends gave great value to this gift.


    "Thanks, it''s really cute, I love it."


    "You better." Said Neige with a slightly annoyed tone "It wasn''t easy to get."


    "Indeed." Agreed Ina "I still don''t know why it''s so special."


    Silva turned toward her friends, annoyed by their complaints.


    "It''s special because I said so. It was worth everything, even if we almost died getting it."


    "Is it that special?" Asked Emely "Does it have a power or something?"If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "I hope so, I had to dress as a girl, they didn''t allow guys in this world!"


    "But it was worth it." Said Silva "They kept saying it was a precious artifact."


    "I... Didn''t know it was such an important thing." Emely stared at the gift for a while before smiling at Silva "All the efforts you did... That''s what makes it precious for me."


    Emely softly kissed Silva''s cheek and attached the keychain to her belt. Relieved that nothing bad happened, the young engineer was glad to enjoy this day with all her friends.


    The party was going well but Emely was a bit tired of all the noise inside and decided to take a short break outside. It didn''t take long before the leader followed her, visibly tired too.


    "Leader? Is everything alright?"


    "Yes... I just can''t stand staying inside for so long."


    "That''s true, they''re... Pretty loud." Chuckled Emely "Even Ina and Gwyn seem to have fun, that''s not something I see often."


    "I didn''t know this side of everyone, I do a sad job as a leader."


    "Don''t say that, you''re taking all the difficult decisions. I know you do everything for our sake. Those two years on the ship were some of my best ones, and I''m sure everyone agrees."


    "That''s kind of you... There''s still a lot I didn''t expect, like your relationship with Silva or Kairo''s betrayal. I wish I could have learned more about you all..."


    Emely was surprised by the leader''s defeated expression, it wasn''t like this was the last day they would spend together after all.


    "We still have time for that, just enjoy the moment for now."


    "You''re right, I shouldn''t be sad on a day like this one. I should go back now, I promised Silva I would spend time with her... I wonder how you ended up together, you''re so different."


    "Really? How so?"


    "Well, first of all, you''re not rude. Then you''re not a pervert, you''re calm, and you''re nicer."


    "You just don''t know Silva enough. She''s not a pervert, she just like messing with people. Well, I guess she''s a bit pervert but not as much as me."


    "N-Not as much as you?" Asked the leader in shock "I don''t think I want to know what that means."


    "Don''t worry, it''s nothing too bad. I''m just glad I got to see the real Silva, she''s cute when she trusts someone... I wonder if she was like that with Neige."


    "Probably, Neige and her are very close. I''m almost jealous of her..."


    "I''m totally jealous of Neige, I was trying so hard to get Silva''s attention and she was pursuing him all this time."


    The leader chuckled, amused by her words.


    "Don''t take it personally, everyone loves Neige. He''s such a great person and he can get both guys and girls, even Gwyn ended up confessing to him."


    "She did?" Emely tried her best to imagine Gwyn in love, it seemed impossible for that to happen. The best she could imagine was her kissing Neige''s cheek, and even that seemed too much affection coming from her "I wish I was there to see it."


    "Kairo wasn''t even on the ship at the time, I think everyone on the ship already had their eyes on him." The leader paused for a moment, realizing something "I need to be careful of Sepide, she could steal my Neige."


    "Are you into him too?" Asked Emely with a grin "You two seem awfully close."


    "No, he''s my friend. Actually, he''s like a brother to me. I don''t even think I could love someone because of that, everyone is just worse than Neige."


    Emely found their relationship cute, even if it was different, it was similar to what she wanted with Silva. The two continued talking for a moment until Silva came out, visibly annoyed.


    "What are you two doing here? We can''t have a birthday without the main guest, and leader, you promised you''d teach me how to play strip poker!"


    "I never said that, I said we would play with cards, that''s totally different."


    "It''s fine, Neige taught me. Anyway, we should all do something together, it''s almost the end of the day."


    "Already?" Emely looked at the sky to see the orange color in it, the sun had already set for a while now "Let''s paint together, it will be fun!"


    "Paint?" Asked the leader "I don''t know how to do that."


    "Me neither, but Silva can teach us!"


    Everyone sat in a circle with paintbrushes in their hands. Emely sat next to her lover, excited to paint with her. Silva prepared her tools and thought for a moment before talking to everyone.


    "We should paint something simple, we''ll do a landscape in a cute and simple style. First, you need to add the ground. Then we should add a tree." Silva thought for a moment, thinking deeply at the canvas before her "Let''s give it a friend, he deserves it."


    "Deserves it?" Asked the leader with disbelief "It''s a tree, what did he do to deserve it?"


    "He exists, that''s enough. Let''s give it a happy family and paint a few saplings."


    "A family for the tree?" asked Gwyn "Are you sure you know how trees work?"


    "No, but I know how painting works. It''s like a story in a frame, you need to create characters and a setting for them to evolve in."


    "You put more thoughts into them than I imagined." Said Ina, a bit surprised "I thought you just drew whatever you wanted."


    "It''s a bit of both. Now we should give him an enemy, it should be a cloud named Randall. He''ll look down on the tree, hiding the sun from him."


    "Look down on it?" Asked Sepide "Should I give him eyes?"


    "If you want, it''s your painting. You can also name it differently if you want."


    "Are we forced to paint?" Asked Gwyn with her usual empty expression "I''m not made for that..."


    "Come on, it''s fun!" Emely smiled at Gwyn before focusing back on her painting, annoying the doctor a bit.


    "I''m going to force you to do my job when my birthday comes."


    Emely giggled, amused by the situation. She wasn''t expecting anything special for today but was glad it happened in the end. Everything seemed back to the old times, even better than how it was before. All they had to do is take care of Silv, and everything would be peaceful again like today.

 Chapter 155: Lovely Night

    Everyone returned to the ship when the night arrived, except Silva and Emely. The young engineer wanted to stay in her world just a bit and enjoyed the sight of her renovated room with her new lover. The two stayed on the bed, Silva lying on Emely''s chest with a sleepy face. Emely gently caressed her hair, looking at the room they were in.


    "Did you really renovate everything just for this day? It must have been so long."


    "Ina and Neige helped me a lot, it wasn''t easy but it was manageable. And you''re more than worth it."


    "That''s... Really kind of you. It feels so weird that we''re so close now... A few months ago, we still would insult each other, and now you''re resting on top of me. I''m glad that you''re my little bat now."


    "Yeah, you''re still a dumbass but you''re my dumbass now." Silva took her beloved in her arms, getting closer to her "I wanted to make this day special for you, we don''t celebrate birthdays usually."


    "It''s true, ever since I joined the ship I stopped using my old calendar. I think you used the same as me, right?"


    "Yes, the one with twelve months. I preferred it to Neige''s calendar..."


    "I''m more surprised by how similar our worlds are, it''s like they are alternate reality of each other. But in both, technology ended up causing their end..."


    "That''s not true..." Answered Silva with sleepy eyes "It''s because humans suck."


    "You look tired, you should sleep."


    "But I want to spend more time with you, I can always sleep later... But your voice does make me sleepy..."


    "I hope it''s not because I''m boring."


    "Of course not, it''s just so soft..."


    Silva closed her eyes but stayed awake. Despite the calm and love in the air, she couldn''t fully relax. Something that was quickly noticed by Emely


    "Silva, are you having trouble sleeping?"


    "I can''t rest knowing that it''s so close to being over. I can''t explain why, but I feel like Silv will act soon. It will probably be the end one way or another, and then we''ll take care of the anomaly."


    Emely gently caressed her lover''s forehead, trying her best to calm her.


    "Don''t think about it, it''s a moment of rest now. Tomorrow you can worry, but now it''s my birthday and you should do as I want."


    "And what do you want?"


    "I want you to stop worrying, there''s nothing that can stop you, I''m sure of it." Emely glanced at Silva''s clothes. She still was wearing the vest Emely made for her "Are you ever wearing other clothes?"


    "I don''t need to, this one is comfy."


    "But even to sleep? Do you at least wash it?"


    Silva stayed suddenly silent with her eyes closed, pretending to sleep.


    "I know you''re not sleeping yet, you should at least wash every week..."


    "But then there won''t be your smell on it."


    "My... Smell?" Asked Emely, embarrassed and concerned "You really should clean it, we can just cuddle to get my smell back on it."


    "That''s not a bad idea~. But then what will I wear? It''s like my lucky charm."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "I''ll make you other clothes, and you act like I didn''t make the uniform."


    "But it''s different, you didn''t make it for me..."


    "I''ll make many clothes for you, just clean them, alright?"


    Silva nodded with a bright smile on her face.


    "I''ll clean my jacket when you''ll make me new clothes."


    "That''s... Not what I meant..."


    "But why are you making clothes? Do you enjoy it?"


    "I suppose. It''s not bad to see pretty clothes, especially if you make them yourself. I mostly learned to because I needed to make the uniform of the Kronos. It ended up being useful, I made a jacket for you and I learned how to draw because of it."


    Silva frowned, a bit confused by the words of her beloved.


    "How is making clothes related to drawing?"


    "Well, I had to draw the clothes before making them. The only problem is that I can only draw dresses now, the painting we did earlier doesn''t look good because of that."


    "Was I better than you then?"


    "Even if others don''t find it beautiful, it is for me. I should put our two paintings on the wall of my lab, it will look good."


    "That would be great, at least you''d have a way to think about me."


    "I already think about you every day, don''t worry about it."


    Silva paused for a moment. She never thought much about her future with Emely before but her last adventure did make her think about it. Would they really have a daughter? Nothing was guaranteed, they probably changed the future just by knowing it and something else also bothered her. No matter how hard she tried to chase it, the memories of her other selves came to her mind. Deep in her, maybe she was the same too, repressing horrible feelings in her.


    "Silva, stop it."


    Silva flinched, a bit confused by Emely''s words.


    "What did I do?"


    "You were scratching your wrist."


    Silva suddenly realized what she was doing. She didn''t harm herself but it seemed like it was hard to break her old habits.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t realize-"


    "I''m right here, stop thinking about depressing stuff."


    Emely softly petted Silva''s head, who still felt a bit worried about her future.


    "Hey Emely, what do you think about having a child?"


    "You''re already thinking about that? I didn''t know you were that serious about me."


    "No, that''s not what I meant. I mean, I am serious but... I was just thinking about it lately."


    "I wouldn''t mind having one, I''m not sure it''s something I''d want. Kids are annoying and loud."


    "Yeah they are but... Aren''t they cute?"


    Emely smiled softly at Silva''s words, delicately caressing her cheek.


    "I''m sure there''s a way for two women to have a child, science broke nature''s rules multiple times."


    "I''m not asking for a child." Silva pouted while blushing a bit "We have time for that anyway."


    "Of course, let''s just spend our time together for now. We can take care of getting a child later."


    "I don''t want a child!"


    Despite Silva''s words, she couldn''t help but think about the girl from the future. Even if it wasn''t her, she wouldn''t mind having a child. All she wanted to do for now was sleep in the arms of Emely, away from any worries.


    "Silva... There''s something I wanted to ask you."


    Silva listened to her beloved''s request, a bit surprised by how flustered Emely was.


    "I love your gift but... I''d want something else from you."


    Silva waited patiently for Emely''s words, hoping she would be able to grant her wish.


    Neige managed to sleep after some difficulties. He was hoping to wake up in the morning but was instead woken up by a call. When he saw it was Silva he immediately answered, worried about the reason his friend called in the middle of the night.


    "Silva? Are you alright?"


    *Yes... I need to tell you something.*


    Silva was whispering, probably to not wake up Emely. Neige waited patiently for Silva to explain herself, hoping she wasn''t in danger.


    *I... Became intimate with Emely..."


    "Oh, that''s what happened." Neige relaxed, relieved to hear that his friend was safe "Can it wait tomorrow?"


    *No! I won''t be able to sleep if I don''t tell you... So she made me touch her breast through her clothes...*


    "I understand so far, what happened next?"


    *I passed out.*


    Neige stayed silent, left dumbfounded by the answer.


    "Why? Did something bad happen?"


    *It was my first time doing that! It was too much emotion...*


    "Silva... You grabbed her boobs before and even said she wouldn''t get any men with those."


    *But it''s different! Now it''s my girlfriend''s... I hope she''s not disappointed, when I woke up she was asleep...*


    "She''s glad I''m sure, she''ll tell you tomorrow, you should sleep now..."


    *Wait, I need to tell you everything. It felt soft like marshmallow, I never had marshmallow but I guess they''re soft like boobs. Anyway-"


    Silva proceeded to explain how she felt in great detail. Even if he was annoyed to wake up in the middle of the night, Neige was glad that his friend felt fulfilled with Emely. He tried his best to listen but ended up giving in to his somnolence, letting Silva talk for a while.


    *You''re probably asleep, I''m sorry I woke you up so late in the night. I love Emely, I really do, but you''re also special to me Neige. Everyone on board is my friend but you''re the one who took care of me and believed in me all the time, you even listened to my complaints... I love you, in a different way than Emely, but I truly do. You''re my true family Neige, you''re like the father I never had...*

 Chapter 156: Seven Days

    Silva had just finished her call with Neige but still couldn''t sleep. She didn''t want to wake up Emely and decided to go eat something. Everything was silent except for a faint sound of respiration. Silva turned toward the person standing in the middle of the living room, she knew it wasn''t one of her friends. The person cleared her throat before letting Silva know who she was.


    "I''m sorry, I missed your party."


    Silv''s sarcastic voice prompted Silva to take her firearm, but when she tried to grab it, she realized she left it in Emely''s room.


    "Silv, what are you doing here?"


    "Seven days. You have seven days left before I put an end to our story."


    Silva stayed silent momentarily, unsure about Silv''s plan.


    "Why are you doing this?"


    "I''m not here to explain, in seven days, one of us will lose. I''ve grown tired of this, it''s time to end it all."


    "What will happen in seven days?"


    Silva''s question stayed without an answer. Silv disappeared from nowhere, there were no signs of her at all, surprising the blind girl. Was Silv serious? It was all so sudden but it meant that they could stop Silv soon if she was. Silva was starting to think that stopping her other self wouldn''t be so easy, she probably was prepared for everything.


    "Seven days..."


    Silva took her phone in her hand and wrote in it. She wrote all the things she''d want to do before dying, just in case. If Silv was ready to end this, Silva would need to as well. Her list wasn''t very big but she figured she would find other things along the way.


    Silv entered the room where Iris and Emel were waiting for her. The two girls looked at her with concern, Iris even sharing them directly.


    "Silv... Are you sure it''s a good idea?"


    "Of course, now she''ll have a week to think back on her life, she''ll see how dangerous of a person she can be."


    "No, I mean... The whole ''main character'' plan, I feel it''s not worth it."


    "Who wants a story about a bunch of nice people hanging out together, even if they don''t accept it, they want someone like me. Chaos is what makes things interesting, even if I lose my life in the process, I''ll prove it to everyone and give this story the best ending possible!"


    "Silv, you scare me..." Emel said without looking at her friend "Don''t you think you can still be happy without... Whatever you''re talking about?"


    "It''s not for me, the world needs a villain, who else than me could fill that role? Not this nun, that''s for sure."


    "So... What now?" Asked Iris "You''ll just wait and do nothing for a week?"


    "I still have things to do, I could do much better if a certain bitch could do her job and invent time travel."


    "But I did!" Argued Emel "We just can''t go to the future."


    "Yeah, I wanted to mess with the future AND the past, not one of them."


    "But didn''t you do a lot already?" Asked Iris "You made Shiro join them I think... And you also went into that nun''s past to-"


    "Wait! They haven''t seen this part yet."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Iris stared at Silv with worry before coughing and continued after a short break to get her breath.


    "You know, I''ve been wondering for a while but... Who''s they?"


    "Unimportant, I''m sure they know who they are."


    "You''re a strange one." Iris smiled at Silv before coughing violently "Emel... Can you get my meds?"


    "Sure thing!"


    Emel hurried out of the room to get the girl''s pills. Silv stood there confused, wondering where she had gone.


    "Aren''t the meds on the table?"


    "She probably went to get a glass of water or-" Iris coughed again, interrupting her sentence.


    "You''re still not in a great state... I wish I could do something..."


    "Look at you, caring for someone else''s life..." Iris smiled at Silv, embarrassing her a bit.


    "I''m not embarrassed... The group of losers has a doctor, it hurts to admit, but she''s skilled."


    "Should we go see them?"


    "Of course not, they''re my archenemies! But... If something happens to me... Trust them, at least until they find a way to heal you. Then, betray them!"


    Iris chuckled, amused by her friend''s enthusiasm.


    "I''m not like you, I couldn''t do it... But, there''s no reason anything happens to you, right?"


    "Of course not... Don''t think about it, it will make you sick."


    Silv took the pills on the table and handed them to her friend, along with a bottle of water.


    "For now you need to take care of yourself, you''ll never heal if you''re not serious about it."


    "Isn''t it funny? You can time travel and scheme world-ending plans... But you can''t heal me, maybe it''s a sign."


    "If your fate is to die from this illness, then I''ll defy this fate. I''m not letting anything like that happen."


    Iris smiled softly at Silv, appreciating her friend''s words. Before she could say anything, Emel entered in the room, visibly out of breath.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t find your medicine..."


    "It''s fine, I did." Answered Silv "We should go now, we have a lot to do."


    "A-Are we going already? I thought we could spend more time with Iris, and it''s so late too."


    "She''s right..." Iris coughed a bit before continuing "I''ll cook something for you, why don''t you stay?"


    "You''re not cooking anything in your state... I guess we can stay for the night if you promise to not do anything that would tire you."


    "I promise... Thanks, Silv..."


    Silv wouldn''t admit it, but she was glad to spend some time with Iris. Emel looked at her friend with stars in her eyes, visibly excited.


    "Really Silv? Will we sleep inside for once?"


    "Yes, consider it your birthday gift."


    "It''s Emel''s birthday?" Asked Iris "Happy birthday, Emel."


    "I just remembered because this dumbass''s girlfriend is Emel''s other self, it was her birthday today."


    "Girlfriend?" Emel paused for a moment, surprised by the news "Are our two other selves together?"


    "Don''t tell me you never noticed." Said Silv, annoyed "That''s literally the reason I went to get you, I even explained it to you."


    "I thought it was a metaphor! So you went to get me because you became jealous and wanted a girlfriend?"


    "I think I''d rather let Silva kill me than get in a relationship with you, you''re one of the most annoying beings I''ve ever met. And all this love stuff disgusts me anyway, that''s the kind of weird thing my other self would enjoy for sure."


    "But love is great. Giving yourself to someone and giving up on who you are for them... Isn''t it romantic?"


    Silv let out a sigh, exasperated by her friend.


    "If you call her my friend again, I''m finding you and will make sure you''re not speaking again..."


    "I don''t think anyone talked about friends." Emel looked around, trying to understand who Silv was talking to.


    "Don''t bother. But seriously, if I didn''t kidnap you, someone else would have."


    "It''s a bit harsh... But I agree..." Iris said with some difficulties. "You''re too naive Emel..."


    "It''s her problem in the end. You should sleep now, you don''t seem well."


    "You''re right... I wish I could spend more time with you two... I''m sure you''ll find a place to sleep comfortably."


    "We will, don''t get bad dreams."


    Silv took Emel by her arm and took her out of the room. Iris waved at them with a smile, preparing herself to sleep.


    Silv and Emel stood outside under the coldness of the moonlight. Emel quickly noticed that Silv felt sad and stayed silent. After an hour without a sound, Silv suddenly started talking to herself.


    "I envy Silva, she managed to break out of her fate."


    "What do you mean?" Asked Emel.


    "Our creator gave us all a role, my role is to be the villain. Silva should have followed the same path as all our selves, she should have gone crazy, unable to carry on a normal life... And yet, she managed to take a different path..."


    "You still can, you know?"


    "No, I want to be the villain, I want to crush the main characters and make them beg. But... I only want that because I was made for it... In a week, everything will be over for me. After that, all I can do is hope I did enough to stop them."


    "That... Was unexpected from you, you never talk about your feelings."


    "I guess we all have a mellow side, and I hate it with all my heart. I''m only telling you because you''re here and I felt like talking about it... It feels weird, facing the end..."


    "It''s not the end, we''re not losing against them, right?"


    "... Let''s just go to sleep, I hate thinking about things I can''t control."

 Chapter 157: Perplexing Sea

    Silva was awake but didn''t step out of her bed. Emely was away, probably making breakfast while the blind girl reminisced about last night with her eyes opened. She couldn''t stop thinking about Silv''s words, something would happen at the end of the week.


    "Six days left..."


    The day continued like any other, Emely worked on her time travel device while Silva joined her two partners for their next mission. The three friends were waiting in their leader''s office for a few minutes until the screen lit up. The leader seemed tired, almost like she didn''t sleep all night.


    "I know it''s a slow day but we have things to do. Emely asked to get a special type of steel that we can only find in one world. I''ll let her explain everything but this won''t be like your usual missions."


    "Can I say something first?" Silva shyly raised her hand, visibly concerned about something "Last night, Silv came to me. She said that something would happen soon."


    "She did?" Polyetta stayed silent for a moment, worried about what she planned "Neige, Sepide, you should go see Emely. Silva will explain everything she knows for now."


    "Okay, keep us updated on that." Neige left the room, followed by Sepide. He wasn''t sure what Silv was about to do, but he knew it would be their chance to finish it once and for all.


    The two friends entered in Emely''s lab, making sure to knock this time. Once they entered, the engineer stopped working on her things and went to get something from her closet. It looked like a uniform scuba divers would wear, surprising Neige.


    "What''s that? Are we going underwater?"


    "The leader didn''t tell you? I need a stone called lapisium, it''s a shining blue crystal that will allow us to create our time anchor. And the only place we can get it is the world 0... 3..." Emely took a paper out of her pocket and hurried to read it "11100850. It''s a world made only of water, None of you are dolphins, so you won''t be able to breathe underwater."


    "I think you mean that we aren''t fishes, dolphins can''t breathe underwater."


    Emely threw the uniforms at Neige and took metallic bottles to throw them at him. Neige managed to catch them but had difficulties holding on.


    "Since when are you a marine biologist? Anyway, you''re like dolphins, you can''t breathe underwater. Those bottles give you twenty-four hours, no more but maybe less. If you feel like you don''t have time, go back on the ship, I can fill them quickly."


    "Twenty-four hours?" Sepide looked at the bottles, barely bigger than a water bottle "They look like they will last less time than that."


    "I''m not a biologist, but I''m an engineer. I know how much air you consume."


    Neige wanted to tell her that a biologist would know how much air humans need, not engineers. Despite his wish to do so, Neige stayed silent, barely managing to hold all the stuff in his hand.


    "We should go get Silva now, how can we make sure it''s lapisium?"


    "I''ll send a picture on your phones, and don''t worry, all your equipment is already waterproof. Good luck with your mission, and take care of SIlva for me."


    Sepide and Neige nodded and went out of the lab. They hurried to prepare themselves and find Silva to jump into this new world.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    The three friends stared at the vast ocean in front of them. The only thing that protected them from the water surrounding them was the uniform made specifically for this occasion.


    "blrblrblrblrb." Silva made strange sounds like she was drowning. Sepide hurried to go see her with worry in her eyes but stopped when she saw her friend laughing instead "I got you! But seriously, you''ll need to guide me, I have no idea what the fluff is going on."


    "I guess it''s hard to pay attention to your surroundings without clear sounds." Neige looked around, searching for a place where the stone could be "I don''t see anything interesting here, we should walk around."


    "Can''t we swim?" Asked Sepide "It seems faster."


    "We could, but then Silva will be completely lost and we''ll need to slow the pace for her. We''ll just need to do like slimes and walk at the bottom of the ocean."


    "Slimes do that?" Asked Sepide "I never saw any."


    "In my world they did, anyway, let''s get going. We don''t have infinite time."


    The two girls nodded and followed Neige into this empty blue world.


    The sound of the wildlife swimming around relaxed the three friends. They jumped just as if they were on a moon, slowly hopping closer to their goal. They continued that way for an hour but didn''t see the time pass in this calming atmosphere. The only thing that brought them back to reality was a strange creature swimming in front of them. A woman with a scaly tail and a fin instead of legs. The woman looked at them with curiosity, repressing the urge to touch them.


    "You look like my kind but... You''re so different."


    Neige put his hands in front of his helmet and closed his eyes, visibly embarrassed.


    "Is it normal for your kind to... Not wear bras?"


    "Bras?" Asked the woman, confused "Is it this weird outfit you''re wearing?"


    "Nah, don''t mind him, he''s allergic to natural feminity." Silva tried to focus the best she could to feel if there was anyone else but hardly could because of the water "Are you alone? It seems lonely in here."


    "Well... I''m pretty alone. My kind rejected me long ago." The woman swam around the group to look at them from every angle, curious to know more about them "You look so strange, did something happen to your tail?"


    "No, we are just born like that." Explained Sepide "We come from another place, far away from here. We''re searching for a blue stone, have you seen it?"


    "A blue stone..." The woman thought for a moment before nodding "Yes, I can guide you to it if you want. My name is Venus by the way."


    "I''m Sepide, and these are my friends, Neige and Silva."


    The woman smiled at them and guided them to the crystal they were searching for. The three friends were glad to find them, their mission would have probably lasted longer without her help.


    The group arrived in a strange cave, the rocks were shining brightly. Neige searched but couldn''t find the one they were searching for. The woman stayed behind them and started singing with her soft voice. Neige and Silva were a bit confused and turned toward the woman only to see her and Sepide leave together. Neige wanted to follow them but decided to stay with Silva instead. Sepide could manage alone, unlike Silva who needed someone to navigate. The blind girl wasn''t sure about what happened and turned toward her friend.


    "Did Sepide leave? She found the crystal?"


    "I doubt it, I''ll call Emely, she should be able to track her."


    Neige hurried to call the engineer. It took a few minutes until someone picked up.


    *It''s Gwyn, Emely asked me to answer for her.*


    "Gwyn? What are you doing in Emely''s lab?"


    *I wish I knew, I think she uses me as a test subject.*


    "That''s... Concerning. Anyway, can you ask her to locate Sepide? She randomly left us to follow one of the persons of this world."


    *A person?* Gwyn paused for a moment, visibly surprised *I thought you went into a world with water everywhere.*


    "Yeah, but there was this fish lady and-"


    *With a tail instead of legs?*


    "Yes, you know them?"


    Gwyn left the phone for a moment. It was barely audible, but the sound of a conversation between Gwyn and Emely could be heard until the doctor came back to the phone.


    *Emely will send you Sepide''s location. This creature is probably a siren, using its voice to lure people and manipulate them.*


    "Really? I didn''t feel anything from her voice, and neither did Silva."


    *Maybe you''re different somehow, it''s possible that Sepide had a weaker will than you two.*


    "That''s annoying, and why do sirens do that?"


    *It depends, could be because they''re lonely. But most of the time, it''s to eat their victims and take their possessions.*


    "What!" Silva stepped back and almost fell because of the strange gravity of this world. She managed to stabilize herself despite the shock of the doctor''s words "We need to go save her!"


    *Yes, you should. Be careful with them, they look innocent, but they won''t hesitate to betray you when they can.*


    "We''ll go right away then." Said Neige "I just hope we won''t arrive too late."

 Chapter 158: Sincere Melody

    Sepide followed the woman without knowing why, it just felt natural for her to do it. The two swam far from the others, only stopping once the mermaid noticed that Sepide was the only one following her.


    "Where are they? I thought for sure I could charm them with my voice."


    "Charm them?" Asked Sepide "But you didn''t charm me."


    "I-I didn''t?" Asked the woman, a bit confused "Then why did you follow me?"


    "I don''t know, you just left. I thought you wanted to bring us somewhere."


    "You''re... Really naive, what if I wanted to kidnap you?"


    "I don''t think you would, I can''t tell why but I trust you."


    The woman blushed a bit and looked away, a bit surprised by Sepide''s words.


    "I suppose I managed to kinda charm you, let me show you where I live, I''m sure you''ll be comfortable there."


    Sepide looked behind her, trying to see her friends.


    "What about Neige and Silva?"


    "Don''t worry, you''ll see them later. Just go to my house, it''s safe, I promise."


    "Alright, I follow you."


    The woman was amazed by Sepide''s obedience, she couldn''t tell if she was charmed or just naive by heart. The two continued into the vast ocean, calmly swimming toward their goal.


    Sepide was led to a small cave. A few pieces of wooden furniture were inside along with some fruits, leading Sepide to think this was Venus''s home. The mermaid sat on one of the chairs and incited Sepide to do the same. Once they were both sitting in the house, Sepide asked the question on her mind.


    "Why did you bring me here?"


    "Isn''t it nice? We can decorate a bit more if you want."


    "You didn''t answer my question."


    Venus''s cheerful tone disappeared, looking at the outside of the cave.


    "I''m lonely... It''s been so long since I''ve got any friends. My kind exiled me many moon cycles ago."


    "They exiled you? Why?"


    "They were scared of me... They said I brought bad luck everywhere around me and... I can''t say that they''re wrong. I come from a family of horrible people, it''s basically written in me that I''ll bring problems."


    "That''s idiot, you''re not the same as your ancestor."


    Venus smiled softly at Sepide''s words, still looking away from her.


    "That''s kind of you, I''m glad you understand. Does that mean you''ll stay with me? I can make sure that you won''t have anything to worry about!"


    "I wouldn''t mind a life without worry but... There are so many things that force me to refuse. I don''t want to leave my friends, I still have an important mission soon, and my bottle of oxygen can only last a day."


    "Why did you say that like those three are at the same level of importance? And I''m sure you can find a way around all of these."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Can we go to Silva and Neige, I''m sure they could find a solution for you."


    The siren clenched her fist in frustration before letting out a sigh.


    "I would force you to stay here usually, but I can''t bring myself to hurt you, you look so innocent... I''ll bring you back to your friends."


    "Thanks, but what about the stone we''re searching for?"


    "I honestly don''t know where it could be, I just used it as an excuse to gain your trust. Maybe the king would know but I''m banned from there so you''ll need to go alone."


    "I''m sure Neige will find a solution, he''s smart."


    Sepide stood up, ready to leave. Venus was about to follow but stopped when she saw Sepide''s two friends. Silva took her firearm and pointed alternatively between Sepide and the mermaid with panic.


    "W-Which one''s the siren?"


    "The left one."


    Silva pointed her weapon at the mermaid, who raised her hands with fear in her eyes.


    "I-I didn''t do anything! I swear!"


    "She right." Said Sepide "She said that she would guide us to the stone we need."


    Silva turned toward Neige and waited for his order. After taking a good look at the woman and Sepide, Neige put his hand on his friend''s firearm, prompting her to stop pointing at the mermaid.


    "Where can we find the stone?"


    "I''m not sure, but I know that my king collects a lot of treasures. I''m sure he at least knows something about it."


    "Fine, you can guide us there, but if you try anything we''ll take care of you."


    "You won''t need to." Said Sepide "She didn''t try anything too bad, she just wanted a friend."


    "Let''s just go... I feel useless in this world."


    Everyone agreed with Silva and followed the woman, hoping that she wouldn''t try anything weird on the way.


    The group arrived in front of a giant dome. Venus wanted to leave but Sepide convinced her to come with them, at least to the entrance. They ended up in front of a huge door with two other people with tails instead of legs holding spears in their hands. They immediately took an aggressive stance at the sight of Venus, pointing their pears at her.


    "We told you not to come here, don''t you value your life?"


    "I just came to guide them, I don''t want to cause any problem..."


    One of the guards looked at the group and widened his eyes at Silva''s sight. She took back a neutral stance and even bowed in front of her.


    "Princess Silv! We were expecting you!"


    Silva was confused but quickly managed to act like her other self would.


    "Great, can you let us enter? We have to talk with the king."


    "Y-Yes!"


    Silva entered with confidence, followed by Neige and Sepide. Venus stayed behind and considered leaving, noticing it, Sepide took her hand and forced her to enter in the dome. The inside looked like a citadel made of ice. They quickly headed to the castle in the center of it, hoping to see the king there. Everyone gave them a strange look, both because of Venus and the girl they thought was Silv. Once the four of them made their way to the castle, it didn''t take long before the king himself came to greet them. They didn''t even enter that they already found the person they were searching for.


    "Silv! I heard you arrived. Just like you asked, we found the lapisium you needed."


    "You did? I mean, you did a great job. We''ll take it and leave now."


    "That''s great but... What is she doing here?" The king pointed at Venus with concern on his face.


    "Her? I don''t know, I didn''t quite follow what happened with her."


    "Please, can you let her come back?" Asked Sepide with a desperate voice "She feels lonely outside, she didn''t deserve this treatment."


    "I''m afraid it''s impossible, her lineage is cursed. Allowing her here could have disastrous consequences."


    "But she''s not her lineage..."


    Seeing how passionate Sepide was, Silva put her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.


    "Is she really that important to you?" Silva''s question was answered by a nod from Sepide. Once she had the confirmation from her friend, Silva turned toward the king, trying to act intimidating "Allow the woman again, that''s an order."


    "But Silv, she could-"


    "Could, she didn''t do anything yet. I''ll allow you to ban her if she ever does bring problems."


    The king looked at Venus with disgust on his face, barely holding his hatred for the woman.


    "Fine, if that''s what our God wants, then we''ll comply."


    "I''m a God for them?" Silva mumbled to herself, a bit amused.


    "I hope she won''t cause any trouble, I''ll warn everyone that she''s allowed again."


    "That won''t be necessary." Venus came forward, to everyone''s surprise "I decided to stay exiled. I... Don''t want to be with people that consider me a burden."


    "Is that what you want?" Asked Sepide "You could be with your kind again."


    "It''s okay, I''m happy like that. I think that luring people and keeping them with me wasn''t real friendship either, I need to change my ways."


    "So... You''ll stay exiled?" Asked the king, confused "Well, may everything go well for you. I hope this was the stone you needed, Lady Silv."


    The king left the group by themselves. Venus looked at the citadel that was once her home but didn''t regret her choice. She left with the others, hoping to live a better life thanks to Sepide.

 Chapter 159: 言葉の壁

    The group stood far away from the mermaid''s citadel. Venus said she needed to give them something and left suddenly, giving the three friends some time to reflect on what happened.


    "So Silv came here before." Neige thought aloud "Why would she need this stone?"


    "Isn''t it for time travel? Emely told us she needed it to create an anchor, maybe Silv is doing one."


    "I don''t think so..." Said Silva with uncertainty "I feel like she would make sure we''re not getting it if it was that important. I think she wants us to go to the past and prevent the anomaly''s existence."


    "So she''s letting us do the dirty work. It shouldn''t matter though, we''ll take care of her before she can do anything. And once Ada is taken care of, we''ll finally be able to rest. We can fix every little problem in other worlds with time."


    "So... You''re not from this world, right?" The three friends turned toward Venus with surprise, none of them noticed her presence until she spoke "When you said that you''d leave, you meant to say that you''ll go back to your world."


    Sepide stepped toward her, a bit sad she had to admit it.


    "Yes, we''re only here temporarily. We''re fighting against something that could threaten the universe."


    "So... I''ll be lonely again... It''s fine, I''ll get used to it."


    Sepide walked toward Venus and held her hand, trying to comfort her.


    "We have a lot to do but... I promise I''ll come back when everything is over. I won''t be able to stay, but I''ll come back sometimes."


    "You''re a wonderful person Sepide, don''t change please." Venus put a bracelet around Sepide''s wrist. It wasn''t fancy but the seashell on it made it unique enough for Sepide to love it.


    "I''ll come back, it''s a promise."


    "I''ll wait for you, go save the world, Sepide."


    Venus waved one last time at Sepide and smiled before leaving. Sepide took a few minutes to look at the vast ocean in front of her before turning back to her friends.


    "Let''s go back to the ship, we have a mission to finish."


    "Yes, I had enough of this world..." Complained Silva "I can''t navigate properly here, it sucks to be blind."


    "You say that, but I feel like your blindness made you way better at feeling your environment."


    Silva shook her head at Neige''s words, clearly disagreeing.


    "Anyone can reach that point, you just rely on your vision so much that the thought never occurred to you while I was forced to learn that. I wish I could use mundane things without help or even just see everyone''s smile."


    "I would have imagined that you''d feel bad about your blindness on missions." Said Sepide "I never imagined you''d feel bad about your everyday life, maybe Emely can do something about it."


    "I don''t want that, it''s just who I am. If I change things like that, then I''m not really Silva anymore."


    "You''re too harsh on yourself." Neige put his hand on Silva''s shoulder, trying to make her feel better "The only reason you should stay blind is because then you''d look at people''s... Intimate area too much. You''re still Silva no matter what."


    "I guess it''s true, but then I can''t put my hands on Emely''s face to feel her smile. Or touch her boobs by ''accident'' and blame it on my blindness."


    "Touch her boobs on accident? You called me in the middle of the night when you did that, you were so flustered."


    "Really?" Sepide looked at Silva with surprise "I didn''t expect that from you."


    "Let''s just go back, this world gives me nausea. When you''ll go see your girlfriend, it will be without me."


    "She''s not my girlfriend."


    After a moment of innocence, the group returned to the ship, ready to rest for the day.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group barely arrived on the ship and the lights suddenly turned off. Neige looked around but saw no one who could explain the situation.


    "We should go see Emely, she probably knows what happened."


    "Elle doit se sentir mal, Emely se sent pas a l''aise dans le noir..."


    Sepide and Neige both turned toward Silva but Sepide couldn''t understand a word that came out of Silva''s mouth.


    "Why are you speaking in this language?"The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Wait, the translators aren''t working." Noticed Neige "We need to find Emely as soon as possible."


    "Thank the Goddess I learned the ship''s language. It should be alright, everyone learned it here."


    "Not everyone." Neige answered to Silva "Ina and Emely never needed it, they always used the translator. I taught them the basics though, so it should be alright."


    The group was about to go to Emely''s lab but stopped when they found Gwyn, trying to make her way into the hallways of the ship. She approached the group, surprised to see them there.


    "You''re back already? You''re not lucky, everything stopped working a few minutes ago."


    "Everything? So it''s not just the translator and the lights?"


    "No, all my medical equipment stopped too, which is weird since they have an emergency battery."


    Neige and Gwyn continued talking about the situation but Sepide wasn''t interested in that. She instead turned toward Silva and asked her with curiosity.


    "What was that language you spoke in?"


    "That''s my native language, French."


    "Really? It''s so beautiful, it sounded like butterflies flying in an ocean!"


    "Neige and Emely said something weird like that too, French is such an ugly language, I''m glad I know another one."


    "Don''t say that, can you teach me something in it?"


    Silva thought for a moment before smiling with amusement.


    "Sure, the most important of all, putain."


    "Oh, sounds fancy. What does it mean?"


    "It''s like period, you put them at the end of every sentence. Then there''s, suce ma bite, a classy sentence you can use in any situation."


    Neige arrived in the middle of the conversation and stared at Silva with a mix of concern and confusion.


    "I don''t even want to know what you''re talking about. Anyway, Gwyn explained that Emely tried explaining to her but she couldn''t understand a word from her."


    "Other than her native language, she''s not great." Said Silva "I know some basics but I''m not sure it''s enough for a conversation."


    "Oh, what do you know?" Asked Sepide with shining eyes.


    "Hentai and Yamete Kusasai."


    "Let''s just go..."


    Neige went toward Emely''s lab and was quickly followed by the two others, hoping to solve this situation soon.


    The group entered in Emely''s lab only to see the young engineer holding Remiel in her arms. The robot seemed inactive with Emely whispering words to herself, horrified by the situation.


    "Kurai... Kurai desu..."


    Silva immediately went next to her and took Emely in her arms, trying to comfort her.


    "It''s okay, I''m here now... Take your time..."


    Emely grabbed Silva with her right arm, still holding Remiel in the left one. She stayed like that for a moment until Emely stood up thanks to Silva, still holding her tightly.


    "Sutonu, datusu turobolu surusu."


    "What?" Neige stood there, confused by Emely''s words "You can speak your native language, you don''t need to talk in this... Amalgamate of language."


    "Are you dumb?" Asked Silva "She clearly said that the stone is the source of the problem."


    "I''m sorry, I don''t speak Emelysh." Neige took the stone out of his pocket and handed it to the shaking girl "Can you fix it?"


    "Hai." Emely took the stone and went toward a box in the back, bringing Silva with her. She threw the stone in it and turned toward the others "Taimu hanka, faivu minuto."


    Neige stared at Silva, knowing he couldn''t understand her words.


    "She said that it''s the time anchor, five minutes. I guess everything should go back to its normal state soon."


    "Seriously, how do you understand what she''s saying? Is that a made-up language you created together?"


    "No, it''s your language dumbass. She''s speaking in... Err..."


    "Kronosian."


    "Such a dumb name... Anyway, I feel like she''s doing well and I can easily understand."


    "Sankyu, Shiruba."


    Neige looked at Emely, trying to understand.


    "I guess she said... Thank you Shiruba... Who''s Shiruba?"


    "It''s me." Silva pointed at herself, proudly "It sounds good in Emely''s language, right?"


    "I didn''t know love made you that blind... She''ll need to improve her pronunciation."


    "Fakyu, Neijo."


    "Did she insult me?" Asked Neige.


    "Possibly, I''m not sure myself."


    Sepide raised her hand, trying to get Emely''s attention.


    "How do you say my name in your language?"


    "Sepide."


    "That''s... Disappointing." Sepide looked away, a bit sad "I wish I had a cool pronunciation too."


    "Sori, Sepide-Chan."


    The lights turned on, bringing a bright smile to Emely''s face. Remiel woke up and looked around, confused by what happened.


    "What happened, my program was forcefully closed."


    "You were sleeping." Answered Sepide "Looks like you need more rest than me after all."


    "You''ll bicker later, Emely, can you tell us what happened?" Neige turned toward Emely but the only answer he got was her pouting face. She turned toward the other, purposefully dodging him.


    "Sepide, Remiel, Silva, I''ll explain to you since a certain someone thinks that my pronunciation isn''t good enough for him."


    "I mean, you still have a lot to learn. I can teach you-"


    "The stone doesn''t react well with the technology I''m using. I''ll fix it, it should be simple enough. I just hope it doesn''t happen again."


    "And why did it not affect us in the other world?"


    Emely ignored Neige''s question, waiting for Silva to ask instead.


    "My little inventor, can you tell us why it didn''t affect us in the other world?"


    "Of course my adorable bat, it''s because the translating and world traveling is done on my computer. When the stone approached it, it disabled the watches and the uniforms. It''s sealed for now so we should have no problem with it."


    "That''s annoying, but when you''ll unseal it to use it, everything will fry again?"


    Silva chuckled when she saw Neige being ignored by Emely once again.


    "You really made her mad."


    "Who made me mad?" Asked Emely, clearly mad "I''m not mad at something who made fun of my pronunciation when I purposefully try to improve my language."


    "I didn''t make fun, I just meant that-"


    "I''m sorry Neige, you lost your Emely privilege. So, will everything stop working again when you use it?"


    "The first time yeah, I''ll need to analyze its frequency to make sure everything is immune to it but it will shut down everything when I record it."


    "So the light will shut down again... Will you be alright?" Silva asked with concern.


    "It will if you''re here."


    Emely held her lover in her arms while Silva showed her tongue at Neige, annoying him a bit.


    "It''s fine, I didn''t need to talk with Emely."


    "I think I''ll shut down the watches of every man on the ship since none are left."


    "W-Wait! Don''t do that! Silva is having a bad influence on you." Neige took a deep breath, ready to apologize "I''m sorry Emely, I didn''t mean to say you had a bad pronunciation."


    "Do you mean it?"


    "Of course, I can even teach you if you want."


    "No, I want my bat to teach me."


    Neige was relieved that Emely didn''t keep her grudge for long but was surprised by her reaction. She seemed bolder ever since she started hanging out with Silva, who ironically acted softer ever since they got together. Neige smiled softly, watching his two friends holding each other in their arms. Silva noticed his smile, amusing her.


    "What is it Neige? You wish you were lesbian?"


    Neige let out a sigh, regretting to find the lovers cute together.


    "How did you get into a relationship..."

 Chapter 160: Sea Breeze

    Silva stayed in her bed, reflecting on the day before. She talked about Silv''s appearance to her leader and convinced her to have three days of free time this week. Silva knew that at the end of the week, one of them would be defeated.


    "Five days left..."


    Everyone was preparing to go for a well-deserved vacation. Silva was the one who proposed the idea and was visibly excited to have fun with her friends. The group was ready, only waiting for Neige. It took him a few minutes to arrive with a fishing rod and a bunch of bags, surprising Emely.


    "Are you going somewhere?"


    "Yeah, aren''t we going to the beach together?"


    "Yes, but I thought you''d want to tan or swim."


    "No thanks, tanning isn''t good for the skin and I already move enough. I just want to stay idle for a while, looking at the scenery."


    "Come on Neige, it''s the beach episode." Said Silva, a bit disappointed "Girls half-naked and... Actually, why else do people go to the beach?"


    Neige looked at his friend, surprised by her decision to go to the beach without any idea of what it was like.


    "They go fish, it''s pretty fun. Do you really not know what it''s like?"


    "I don''t know, I just know it''s popular. Let''s just go! I want to feel what it''s like!"


    "You''re right." Emely nodded to Silva''s words "Let''s just accept that Neige has a weird way to have fun and go. I found a great empty world with a beautiful beach."


    Everyone followed Emely''s lead and went together in this world, expecting a break from their stressful lives.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The sea was clear like crystal and the sand shone under the sun. Everyone wore an outfit that suited the mood, except Silva, who stayed in her casual clothes and kept her jacket. Emely noticed it and quickly went next to her friend with curiosity and concern.


    "Did you forget your swimsuit? I can go get you one."


    "Are swimsuits mandatory? I like my clothes."


    "Silva, have you at least removed this jacket since last time? At least remove it."


    "But then everyone will... You know..."


    Emely wondered what Silva meant until she remembered her lover''s scars on her body and how much she hated them.


    "I understand, be careful to not get a heat stroke."


    Silva nodded and smiled at Emely, trying to ease her worries. While everyone was preparing themselves, Neige took his rod and walked away from the group before being stopped by his leader.


    "Neige? Where are you going?"


    "Fishing, you want to come?"


    "I thought you''d go fishing later, can''t we go swim together?"


    "I don''t really-"


    Before Neige could finish his sentence, Polyetta took his hand and forced him to follow her. Neige barely reacted and followed his friend, already accepting his fate. Aside from Silva and Gwyn, everyone ran toward the sea with enthusiasm. The doctor looked at Silva with curiosity, wondering why she didn''t follow them.


    "You don''t like swimming?"


    "Not really, I prefer being on land. It feels weird to not touch the ground."


    "Make sense, I never saw you swim before." Gwyn stared at the vast ocean in front of them with melancholy "Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to sail the sea and never look back?"A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Silva turned toward the doctor, surprised by her question.


    "I never heard you say anything like that before, you''re always so serious usually."


    "Yes, I''m sorry. That was out of character for me."


    Silva turned toward the sea, feeling the strange atmosphere the sound of the waves and the sun brought.


    "I couldn''t do that, there''s so much I can''t lose."


    "It''s interesting, it''s not what you answered before."


    "Before? You never asked me that."


    "The context was different, I asked if you would take the train instead. You said you would but you''d be sad to leave. I''m glad that you''re confident about your answer now."


    "Is that one of your weird psychological questions?"


    "Not really, it''s just simple curiosity. But that does mean that you''re not thinking about leaving, it''s a good thing."


    "I guess it means I''m happy with my life now. Neige and Emely mean so much to me, and I would miss everyone else if I left too."


    "Everyone would miss you too, you''re not easy to forget."


    The two women stayed silent for a moment, feeling the breeze from the sea.


    "As for me, I would leave without looking back even once."


    Silva was shocked by the doctor''s answer but was cut by a voice before she could ask anything.


    "Silva, what are you doing? It''s not fun if you''re not here."


    "I''m sure you can have fun without me Emely, I just don''t feel like swimming."


    Emely pouted before leaving back to the sea. Gwyn smiled softly before asking,


    "Why don''t you go with her? I''m sure she''ll help you feel better."


    "I''m sure of it, but staying here isn''t bad. I''m just glad to know everyone is having fun."


    Soon after her sentence, Silva heard calls for help from Emely in the sea. She looked like she was scared and in danger.


    "I''m drowning! I need help!"


    Silva ran toward her but remembered midway she didn''t know how to swim. She figured Neige would help her if she drowned and hurried to save Emely anyway. Once she arrived in front of Emely, she realized that the water barely reached her upper body, clearly not enough for anyone to drown in it.


    "Emely? Is everything alright?"


    "Now that you''re here, everything is alright."


    Emely grabbed Silva and dived underwater with her. Silva stood out of the water while taking a deep breath of air, she was about to get mad but quickly calmed down when she heard her beloved''s giggle.


    "I''m sorry Silva, thanks for helping me."


    "But I didn''t help you, you were just pretending to drown."


    "I meant in general. Thanks for dealing with my worries and loneliness."


    "Of course, I''ll always try my best for you. Now I should go back, I feel like a fish out of water in here."


    Silva was about to leave but stayed when she felt Emely''s hand on her wrist.


    "Please, you wouldn''t let a helpless princess alone in a sea full of sharks..."


    "S-Sharks? There are sharks!?"


    "No, but please play along."


    Silva smiled at Emely with tenderness and decided to come closer to her.


    "Alright, just for a while."


    The sun was starting to set. Silva and Emely were still playing in the water while Neige looked at them from far away, fishing in the vast sea. Ina approached him, a bit concerned for him.


    "Neige... Are you alright? You''ve been here for a few hours."


    "Hours already? Time flies when you have fun."


    "Fun?" Ina looked at her friend, even more worried than when she arrived "I''m not even sure there are any fish here.


    "There aren''t, Silva and Emely are so loud that they all ran away. But I''m not trying to catch fish, just relax for a bit."


    "An hour is more than a bit..."


    "Just sit here with me, you''ll see how relaxing it can be."


    Ina accepted Neige''s offer and sat next to him, a bit doubtful about the fun of this activity.


    "I never get to fish, it''s such a great way to reflect on your life."


    "I suppose. I feel like I''ve only done that lately. Think about my life I mean."


    "It''s not surprising, a lot happened for you." Neige gave the fishing rod in his hand to Ina, who accepted it a bit confused "Don''t think too hard about it. I''m sure everything will make sense as time goes on."


    "Maybe... It''s just a big responsibility, to make sure that death is served to those that should have died... It''s so different from what I wished to be."


    "Don''t see it like that, it''s more like... Protecting the balance of the universe for those that live in it. If you think that you bring death, then you''ll just be depressed. When I have to make hard decisions, I think about Polyetta, Silva, and everyone on the ship. I''m not doing it for the universe in the end, I''m doing it for them."


    "Maybe you''re right." Ina stared at the sea in front of her, still holding the rod "You''re right, it''s actually relaxing. Even if I''m not catching anything, I feel at peace."


    "See? I''m sure Silva would enjoy it too if she gave it a chance."


    "You talk a lot about Silva... But you still consider Polyetta your best friend, it''s a bit strange."


    "I mean, Silva is like my little sister. I wouldn''t share my worries with her like I do with Polyetta, they''re both different. But I don''t have a lot of opportunities to hang out with Polyetta, maybe I should ask her to fish with me if she''s not busy."


    "That''s a great idea." Ina gave Neige his pole back and stood up while stretching "I''ll bring her here, I just wanted to make sure you''re alright and... Thanks, I think I feel a bit better after talking to you. I just wanted to know, have you seen miss nun?"


    "Ada? I sent her a text on her phone but she didn''t come, I guess she wasn''t interested."


    "That''s a shame. Anyway, after spending some time with the leader you should come, I made food for everyone."


    "That''s kind of you. I''ll just continue fishing for a few hours I think."


    Ina smiled at Neige before leaving the man to his fishing. Neige stared at the horizon with nostalgia, remembering the days when he could spend his life on trivial things like fishing.

 Chapter 161: Summer Innocence

    Ada walked around the ship, desperately trying to find someone. Every five minutes, she stared at the phone in her hand with the message that Neige sent to her displayed on it.


    "I don''t know how to read that language... Where is everyone?"


    Neige held his pole in his hand, still staring at the horizon. Even the footsteps of his friend didn''t break his focus. Polyetta silently sat next to him and stared at the same thing he did.


    "Got any fish?"


    "No, but it''s a good thing, it means I''m not hurting any fish."


    "That''s true." Polyetta smiled softly while leaning on her friend. She turned her sight toward Emely and Silva, still playing in the water "Those two are getting along well but it''s a shame Emely ended up being a brat."


    "She''s not that bad, it could have been worse. I''m just glad that Silva is doing better, everything is getting better."


    "I wish it was even better... It''s my duty as a leader to bring happiness to everyone."


    "Don''t stress about it, you''re doing a good job so far and you''re the reason we''re all together now."


    "I don''t stress too much, I already know what I need to do once we take care of Silv."


    "Oh really? What is it?"


    Polyetta stayed silent, trying to dodge the question the best she could.


    "Gwyn told me you had nightmares, is it getting better?"


    Neige was a bit surprised by Polyetta''s attempt to change the topic but understood that she wasn''t comfortable talking about her plans yet.


    "It''s fine, now that I remember most of my past it doesn''t happen as often. It still happens because of all the pressure we have lately."


    "You''ll be able to rest and fish every day, I promise. Once we take care of Silv, everything will be fine."


    "Don''t we also need to take care of Ada''s past?"


    "Don''t think about it and enjoy your vacation for now. I want you to live in bliss, away from all problems... Even if only for a few days."


    "There will be more than a few days of happiness. Silv and the anomaly will be things of the past, even if we''ll still need to fix the mess they did."


    Polyetta closed her eyes softly, feeling herself falling asleep at the sound of the waves and the warmth of her friend. She rested for a few minutes until Neige suddenly moved, grabbing his rod tightly.


    "Did you get something?" Asked Polyetta with eyes half opened.


    "I think, it''s probably a plant or something, it''s not moving much."


    Neige reeled the thing that got caught on the hook, curious about what it could be. What the two friends didn''t expect was to see the upper part of Emely''s swimsuit hanging on the hook. Polyetta took the piece of clothes, trying to see where it came from.


    "How did this end up here? Don''t tell me that... Silva and Emely are..."


    "No chance, if Silva touched Emely naked, we''d probably find her passed out. It probably fell while they were moving around."


    "Thank the Goddess, I don''t want to deal with a horny Silva."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "I think a horny Silva is probably less annoying than normal Silva."


    "Hey, I heard that."


    The two friends turned toward the source of the voice and saw Silva, visibly embarrassed. She took the piece of clothing out of Polyetta''s hand and quickly put her exposed arms behind her back.


    "Did you lose your jacket?" Asked Neige after seeing how Silva tried to hide her scars.


    "Emely has it, I wasn''t going to let her exposed in front of everyone... only me can see her naked..."


    "Can you repeat that last part louder?"


    "In your dreams! Anyway, I''ll bring it back to her, thanks for catching it. Wait, why did you catch it? Do you have a thing for used underwear?" Asked Silva with a grin.


    "I do but it''s unrelated." Polyetta put her hands on her mouth once she realized how casually she said those words "A-Anyway, you should bring it back to Emely."


    "A-Are you really into that leader?" Silva stepped back, a bit surprised "Did you know Neige?"


    "I didn''t but she makes less sense than you sometimes."


    "Can we talk about something else... Just tell Emely to be careful next time..."


    "Of course I will, I don''t even know how it happened."


    "I think I do." Said Neige "She wanted you to feel better with your body, so having you walk for a while without your jacket would have been a good exercise."


    "Are you saying she did it on purpose!? I''ll need to do something about it when I see her..."


    "Don''t be too harsh on her, she just tried to make you feel better. If she knew it would be bad for you, she wouldn''t have-"


    Neige words were suddenly interrupted by a scream from Emely. The trio hurried toward the part of the beach where everyone was to find Emely, clearly afraid of something. The group gathered around her, trying to understand what happened.


    "There''s a monster in the sea! It''s-"


    Emely was interrupted by a sound coming from the sea. Silva and Neige took their weapons in hand while everyone else stayed behind. The shape of a tall person came out of the sea, buried under seaweed. Once on land, the figure fell to the ground in exhaustion. Neige approached the person and carefully removed some seaweed, he quickly saw a holy outfit that he recognized and flinched in surprise.


    "Ada?"


    When they heard Neige''s calling the woman''s name, everyone gathered around the nun, slowly waking up.


    "I hate the sea... My ears are full of water..."


    "What are you doing here?" Neige cleaned the woman''s clothes, trying to remove everything on them "I thought you didn''t want to come, I sent a message on your phone."


    "Oh, that''s what it was. I was searching for you, I wanted you to translate the message for me. But why are you all here? Is it an important mission?"


    "No, we''re just having fun. It''s almost the end of the day but you can at least stay for the few hours we have left."


    "I even made food." Said Ina with a smile "But we should wait for Sepide and Remiel, they still are away."


    "Really? Where are they?"


    "I don''t know, they just said they would race and disappeared."


    Neige looked around, trying to find them in the vast sea.


    "I hope they''ll come soon..."


    Sepide held the surfboard like life depended on it while Remiel comfortably stood on hers, looking at her friend struggling.


    "Are you alright? Do you need help?"


    "No, I don''t... But let''s consider it a win for you and go back." Sepide looked at where the shore was supposed to be only to see more ocean. She looked at the other side and also found more water. They were surrounded by an infinite sea, without a single person on the horizon "I think we''re lost."


    "Indeed, I have no idea where we came from."


    Sepide used her arms to swim in a random direction, still lying on her surfboard.


    "You look like you''re better at this than me... It hurts to say, but it would be faster if you took me with you."


    "I agree, there is no shame in admitting your inferiority, I shall guide you."


    "... Now I want to stay on my plank..."


    Remiel helped Sepide get on her surfboard. Sepide grabbed Remiel with all the strength she had, trying her best to not fall.


    "You''re cheating, you have... Robotic advantages."


    "I do, however, I am unable to swim. I believe this balances everything."


    "If you say so."


    The two girls wandered into the sea, trying to find their friends. Sepide didn''t focus much on her environment, instead trying her best to hold Remiel''s cold and hard body.


    "You should ask Emely to make you softer, it''s like hugging a metal pole."


    "I suppose I could wear thick clothes to make it more comfortable."


    "No, it''s fine."


    "Oh, was that friendly banter? I still need to learn a lot."


    Sepide smiled gently, amused by Remiel''s innocence.


    "You''ll learn in time, it took me some time too."


    After an hour of searching, the duo finally found land. Everyone was here, even Ada. Sepide hurried toward the group, relieved to finally step foot on land.


    "It took so long, I can''t even surf properly..."


    "So Remiel won?" Asked Ina "You''ll do better next time, it''s time to eat now."


    Sepide was glad to hear Ina''s words, she started to feel hungry for her adventure in the sea. Everyone gathered around, impatient to try Ina''s cooking and eat together. Silva tried to search for Emely to get her jacket back but it seemed like she was voluntarily hiding from her. It looked like she would need to be without her jacket for a moment.

 Chapter 162: Honor And Peace

    Silva couldn''t sleep and instead painted all night. The day before was a lot of fun but she still felt scammed by Emely, who kept her jacket after going back to the ship. Silva went to clean her paintbrush not feeling inspired to paint, and lost herself in her thoughts with the sound of water coming out of the tape in the background.


    "Four days left..."


    Silva was called by her leader, along with Neige and Sepide. The group waited in her office just like usual but were surprised to see the woman enter the room instead of talking to them through the screen. Neige in particular was surprised, worried she came here for an important reason.


    "Polyetta? Is everything?"


    "Yeah, Emely just broke most of the electrical stuff... I didn''t know time travel would ask for so much energy. So, Emely needs something, again. This time it''s a special kind of water that can only be found in a specific world. It''s in a lake called the dragon''s nest but I don''t have any more information on it."


    "The dragon''s nest?" Neige repeated his leader''s words, a bit worried "Don''t tell me we''ll find a dragon..."


    "No, it''s just an old legend of their world. It should be alright but I have to warn you, there''s another Neige there."


    "So we need to find this water and be careful about my other self? Should be fine."


    Once they took into account all the details, the group left for this new world, getting closer to finishing their time travel device.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The three friends were greeted by the sight of a town on fire. The houses were made of wood and didn''t look very solid. A bunch of soldiers were burning the place and capturing the inhabitants. The group was about to stop the invaders but was quickly stopped by a voice behind them.


    "Neige! I knew you were behind it all!"


    The voice was familiar to the group, as it belonged to one of their leader''s other selves. Even though most of her body was hidden under black clothing, Neige could easily tell from her eyes that she was indeed related to Ada and the leader.


    "You monster, don''t you remember your pride as a ninja?"


    Without a warning, the woman took a shuriken and threw it at Neige. In an instant, the man managed to deflect it using his dagger, surprising the woman.


    "I''m not who you think, let''s just talk."


    The woman still wasn''t convinced but decided to run away suddenly. Neige quickly followed her, Sepide was about to do the same but stayed behind when she noticed Silva''s slow pace.


    "Are you alright?"


    "Yeah... The fire is so loud, I can barely understand what''s happening but I''ll follow you."


    "I don''t think you''ll follow anyone."


    The two friends turned toward the origin of the voice. A bunch of men in red armor approached them with a katana in their hands.


    "Follow us, and no harm shall be done."


    "In your dreams."


    Silva took her firearm but was rendered unconscious by someone behind her, hitting her head to make sure she would go down. Sepide turned toward the person, surprised that neither Silva nor her noticed them and quickly followed the same fate as her friend because of a hit on the neck. The soldiers grouped around the man and quickly put away their weapons.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Sir Un, what should we do with them? They don''t look like they''re with this ninja."


    "Just bring them to the castle, I''ll ask the emperor about their fate."


    The soldiers nodded and took the girls and left the village in ruins. The man who took care of Silv and Sepide looked at the burning houses, feeling the heat and heavy atmosphere of the place for a moment before leaving.


    Silva woke up in a soft bed, she would keep sleeping if she wasn''t in enemy territory. Sepide was already awake, sitting on the bed and talking with the man who attacked them. Silva searched for her weapons but was quickly interrupted by the man.


    "If it''s your belongings that you''re searching for, we already took them. We''ll give them back once we''re assured you aren''t threats."


    Silva quickly recognized the voice, it was the one of Neige. It was probably his other self, the one their leader warned them about. Before Silva could say anything, Sepide turned toward her and explained the situation.


    "This person is Neige Un, but he doesn''t like being called Neige."


    "It''s a relic from the past, a past that no longer represents me."


    "Y-Yeah... He''s the one that brought us here, we''re at their emperor''s castle."


    Silva stood up from the bed, still wary of Neige''s other self.


    "And why did you bring us here? Did you plan on making us your slaves and doing horrible things?"


    "Of course not, my honor would never allow me. I actually saw you talk with Rada and wanted to know more."


    "Rada?" Silva tried her best but couldn''t remember anyone by that name.


    "So you don''t know her either... I should introduce myself properly, I''m the general of the emperor''s army. I am a proud samurai who strives to fight for the happiness of the innocent. Rada is... A mercenary that only causes trouble, but she''s also my dearest friend. I spent the last three moons trying to stop her."


    "Stop your friend? Is she that dangerous?"


    "Indeed, she''s trying to break the perfect life we created. The emperor''s city is a haven, far from every problem. Here, children are born without the knowledge of war, without the feeling of hunger. Rada and I tried our best to make this place come true, a place where peace is everywhere. But now, she''s fighting against it."


    "But why?" Asked Sepide "You never talked about it together?"


    "It''s a bit complicated, I was promoted to an important role and the emperor declared her a traitor. My duty must come before any feeling I have." The man stopped for a moment, surprising himself with his words "It''s strange, I feel comfortable sharing this with you. I never talked about it before."


    "Glad to know I''m a good therapist for my kidnapper." Sarcastically said Silva "Can we leave now, we have things to do?"


    "I need the emperor''s words on it first, but there is no reason we''ll force you to stay. But what brought you this village? It belonged to a bunch of outlaws."


    "We need water from the dragon''s nest."


    The man was surprised by Sepide''s words and looked at the two girls with curiosity.


    "There was a third person with you, right? Is he searching for the same thing?" Sepide answered by nodding her head, making the man think further "I could help you get it, it''s on top of a perilous mountain and is guarded by a sage. However, I''d need to take care of the Rada situation first."


    "So if we get Rada for you, you''ll guide us?"


    "I could but... I doubt you''d get her, she''s as elusive as a squirrel."


    "If you get our watches back, I promise we''ll find her."


    "Your... Watches?" The samurai looked at Silva, a bit confused.


    "I guess it doesn''t exist there... Our metallic bracelet, the thing we put on our wrist."


    "Right, I understand. I''ll see if I can get your belongings."


    The man left for a few minutes. Silva and Sepide stayed silent, hoping they would be able to contact Neige soon. Once he finally arrived, the samurai handed everything he took from the two girls.


    "Here, will this help you?"


    "Thanks, you''re a good puppy."


    "I''m... Not a puppy..."


    Silva ignored the man and put on her watch to call her friend as soon as possible. Sepide stood next to her, waiting for Neige to answer.


    *Silva, do you hear me?*


    "What is this witchcraft?" Asked the samurai "Is it a yokai?"


    "I''ll take care of him." Said Sepide "Take care of the call."


    Silva nodded while Sepide took the man away. She focused back on the call, explaining what happened briefly to Neige.


    *I''m glad you''re safe, I''m alright too. I managed to talk with Rada.*


    "That''s great, we need to capture her and your other self will lead us to the water we need. Can you bring her to us?"


    *Can''t we do the opposite? You bring the guy to us, Rada said she''d guide us to the dragon''s nest.*


    Silva was a bit surprised by Neige''s words and quickly explained her reasoning.


    "Rada is a criminal, everyone lives peacefully here, away from any worries."


    *So she was right...* Neige muttered to himself *We should regroup, we''ll choose what to do once everyone is at the same place.*


    "It''s alright for me, let''s go to the town we were at."


    *Agreed, see you soon.*


    Neige hung up, leading Silva to wonder what happened on his end. He seemed pretty hesitant about handing Rada over, was she not the criminal the samurai described?

 Chapter 163: For Old Times Sake

    Neige ran after Polyetta''s other self to understand what was happening. He quickly noticed that Silva and Sepide didn''t follow him but figured it would be fine if they were both together. The chase continued for a while until the woman turned around, a sort of knife in her hand.


    "So persistent, it looks like I''ll need to take care of you if I want to be alone." The woman looked at Neige for a moment, taking a few minutes to go past his familiar appearance "You look so much like Neige, and yet, you don''t have the emperor''s uniform. Who are you?"


    Neige thought for a moment, it had been a while since he didn''t need to use a fake name and needed some time to remember what it was.


    "I''m Snow, my friends and I are just here to search for something."


    "You''re not a samurai?" The woman asked, a bit confused "Why were you following me?"


    Neige couldn''t admit the real reason, he just wanted to know what happened between her and her Neige. Instead, he managed to find another reason that could be helpful for him.


    "I''m searching for a place called the dragon''s nest, I need some water from there."


    "That''s it? You should have told me since the start. I would have guided you, but I''m a bit busy right now."


    "If I help, can you guide me?"


    The woman looked at Snow with a distrustful gaze, trying to understand his intention. She seemed inclined to refuse his help but at the same time looked like she desperately needed it.


    "I''ll show you something, you''ll decide after if you want to help me." The ninja approached Neige with caution and handed her hand to him "My name is Rada. I''ll trust you for now, but if you try anything, there won''t be much left of you."


    Snow shook hands with the woman, ignoring the threat she gave him.


    "What do you want to show me?"


    "Follow me, I''ll explain on the way."


    Snow followed Rada, unsure about what she was about to do. They silently walked together for a few minutes before the ninja suddenly asked a strange question.


    "Do you have siblings?"


    "Not really, I guess I have a friend I consider like my sister."


    "If this sister and you worked toward something and she betrayed you at the very end, what would you do?"


    "That''s... A strange case. I think I''d try to understand why she did it and try to convince her if I believe I''m in the right."


    "I see... I wish I had that strength."


    The two walked silently for a long moment. Snow started to wonder what he would do if it happened, what if Polyetta suddenly betrayed them. It was no use asking that, he knew she wouldn''t do that without a reason after all.


    "From what I understand, you have a sister or brother that betrayed you."Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "Exact. It''s the one that looks exactly like you, his name is Neige. We''re not siblings by blood but I would let mine flow out of my body for him. I know he''s thinking the same, and yet, he ruined everything we worked for. All we ever wanted was a safe place for everyone, a place where everyone could be free. Instead, he worked with the emperor and created a city where everyone is away from every problem."


    "Isn''t it what you were working for?"


    "No... This place is neither peaceful nor free, only a pathetic display of their arrogance. They never teach children the danger of this world, never teach them how to defend themselves. Peace doesn''t come from being sheltered from every problem, it comes from getting the strength to protect those dear to us... Neige was a proud ninja, like me... I understand his motive, but I won''t let him take this road."


    "I get it, and if I can help you, will you lead me to the dragon''s nest?"


    "Of course, but getting there is the easy part, it''s rare that someone can get out of there alive, even more with the mystic water."


    "I''ll manage, for now, we need to deal with your problem."


    The woman nodded, still not trusting Snow fully. Soon after their conversation, the two arrived in a big city. The houses were in a great state and the people around seemed happy. Snow was about to walk around but was quickly stopped by Rada.


    "We''re not allowed here, we need to be discreet. It''s the city I told you about, everyone obeys without question, and those who don''t are brainwashed until they become obedient members of the society."


    "And is your friend here?"


    "Neige? He''s probably at the emperor''s castle."


    "Can''t we go see him? I think I could convince him."


    Rada looked at him with surprise and admiration but quickly focused back.


    "You remind me of him... Maybe it''s possible that you can, it''s worth a try."


    The woman went deeper into the city, trying to not be noticed. Snow followed her the best he could, trying to make their way to the castle.


    The two arrived at the castle. Many guards walked around, making their infiltration harder. They both managed to dodge the men in armor, getting closer to Neige''s room. Snow couldn''t help but remember the old times when Polyetta and he would go on missions together. Everything changed with time and he didn''t even notice it, if Rada''s friend changed, maybe Polyetta changed without him knowing. She''s been acting strange lately, this mission only made Snow want to get to his friend soon and ask how she''s been doing.


    "Snow? Are you alright? You seem unfocused."


    "It''s... It''s nothing..."


    Rada''s eyes shined with the same violet color as Polyetta''s, how long has it been since he looked at his friend in the eyes?


    "Rada... Let''s do our best, for both our friends."


    The woman nodded, even if she didn''t understand what Snow meant, she could easily feel it.


    "We''re almost at Neige''s room, be on your guards."


    Snow nodded and was about to continue until a voice suddenly stopped him.


    "A ninja? I thought we already told you you weren''t welcome here."


    Snow turned around with his dagger in hand, quickly recognizing the voice. The girl with short red hair was standing there, along with a bunch of samurais.


    "Silv! What are you doing here?"


    "I should be the one asking that. Weren''t you supposed to get holy water? I can guide you if you''re that lost."


    "Because you''d guide me without question? Like I''ll trust that."


    Silv stayed silent for a while. Both Snow and Rada were ready for the worst but were surprised by the girl''s words.


    "On the east of the village where you appeared. That''s where you need to go."


    One of the samurai next to Silv looked at her, dumbfounded by her answer.


    "W-What are you doing? They''re our enemies!"


    "I know what I''m doing."


    The man took his sword in his hand, prompting the others to do the same.


    "The emperor may trust you, but I won''t tolerate treason!"


    Silv nonchalantly ran behind Snow and hid behind him.


    "Come on my knight in shining armor, protect me."


    Snow wanted to take care of Silv but was attacked by one of the samurai before he could. With a quick hit, Snow managed to put the enemy down. Another one was going to attack him but Rada stopped them before they could do anything. The duo worked together in an elegant dance, as if they did this multiple times. Snow and Rada made quick work of the enemies, Silv left during their fight but none of the two were focused on that.


    "Are you sure you''re not Neige? It''s like I was with him again... I missed this feeling..."


    "Let''s get you back with your friend... I miss mine too..."


    "But still, who was that girl? Do you know her?"


    "Silv? She''s-


    Before Snow could continue, his watch made a sound. He quickly answered once he saw it was Silva, hoping they would be alright.

 Chapter 164: Life

    Snow explained everything to Rada and agreed to meet with her friend in the town in ruins. The sun was high in the sky as the samurai arrived, accompanied by Sepide and Silva. Rada walked toward him, a short sword in her hand.


    "Neige, long time no see."


    "Don''t call me that anymore, I''ve given up on the past."


    "I''ll bring back your past, even if it''s by spilling your blood."


    The man took his sword out, ready to fight against his friend.


    "Why are you using this blade Neige? Are the ways of a ninja shameful to you?"


    "Rada, you''re taking the wrong path. Everyone is happy now, you''re the only one causing problems."


    "You''re forcing people into your vision of happiness. It''s not freedom, it''s not what I''m fighting for!"


    "Rada... Forgive me."


    The samurai suddenly swung his blade at the woman, who quickly managed to block it with her own. Sepide was about to help Neige but was quickly stopped by her friend.


    "What are you doing? We need to help him!"


    "No, it''s their fight."


    Silva focused on the fight while Snow went next to them to watch the fight happen.


    "Have you ever wondered what you''d do if it happened? Like... What if I suddenly went against you?"


    "Then I''d kick your balls until you come back to reason." Silva answered with a smile.


    "Yeah... I think I''d do something like that too."


    Rada and Neige both clashed their blades with energy. The woman used her shurikens and speed to gain an edge over her friend but none of them was winning over the other.


    "Neige! I''ll make you come back, I promise!"


    "Please, come with me... We can live at peace in this city, away from the world''s worries."


    "I''m never going to, I''d prefer to die free by your hand rather than lie to myself!"


    Neige hesitated for a moment, leading Rada to cut his cheek with her short sword.


    "I want to fight for myself, for what I believe in! I don''t want someone to decide what is good for me, I''ll free you from the cage you locked yourself in!"


    "I''m just trying to help everyone... I want to make sure everyone is safe..."


    "Even if you''re taking away what defines them? Tell me, when was the last time any of them dreamed of something? When was the last time they felt this fire in their heart for something!?"


    "They don''t need it... They can be happy without it."


    Rada swung her blade at her friend''s chest, breaking a part of his armor.


    "Don''t you feel alive? Isn''t fighting for what''s right better than the happiness that was handed to you? Isn''t our friendship born in struggle and honesty?"


    Neige paused for a moment, allowing Rada to put him on the ground with a clean hit.


    "If you truly believe that giving up your freedom for happiness is the best for you... Then you never considered me like your friend."


    Neige stood up again, trying with difficulty not to fall under his own weight.


    "I just... Wanted you to be happy... I did all of that for you..."


    "I don''t want to be happy, I want to be free... Free with you."


    "Freedom... It''s impossible to reach while being happy..."If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Then prove it. Come with me and try your best, do everything in your power to reach happiness and freedom. Once we tried everything, then I''ll accept it."


    Neige chuckled slightly while looking at the eyes of her friends.


    "You never give up..."


    "And you give up too easily, that''s why I need to be behind your back every time."


    Rada walked toward her friend and carefully removed the samurai armor on him. Once she finished, the woman looked at Neige in the eyes and held his hand.


    "Don''t you want to show me that you''re right? Prove me that it''s impossible to reach this perfect world we dreamed of."


    Neige smiled at his friend and took her in his arms.


    "If you stay with me... I will."


    "Of course, I''ll stay with you silly."


    Seeing that the fight was over, the three friends walked toward them, prompting the friends to break free of the embrace but still holding their hands. Neige looked at Sepide and Silva, visibly ashamed.


    "I know we were supposed to capture her but... There has been a change of plan."


    "So what now? You''ll go against the emperor?"


    Neige thought for a moment at Silva''s question and looked at his friend next to him.


    "I... I think I will. I want to see if this perfect world we dreamed of is possible, and this time, I won''t take the easy way out."


    "We have a long way to go, it won''t be easy." Rada looked at Snow with a serious tone and pointed toward one of the mountains "There, this is the Dragon''s nest. I''m not sure what you''re doing, but I hope you get what you need and see your friend again."


    "I will."


    Snow looked at Silva and Sepide before going toward their goal. The two girls followed him and they waved the the two friends still holding their hands. All they could do for them was hope that everything would be alright.


    The group arrived in front of the mountain. A long road of stairs stood in front of them, reaching above the sky. Neige and Sepide looked at the hard task in front of them while Silva started climbing the stairs.


    "What are you doing? Let''s go."


    Neige and Sepide followed their friend, already exhausted from the journey ahead. The walk lasted for hours without any trace of it ever ending. Neige looked behind them and saw the long way they went through to get there. Along the way, Neige reminisced about his life, he knew everything about his past and even could imagine what the future was like. Only a bit more time and this long journey would be over.


    "We''ve been walking for hours... At least it''s over soon."


    "Over soon?" Asked Silva "Do you see the end?"


    "Kinda, maybe in an hour we''ll be there."


    Sepide squinted her eyes, trying to see the end Neige was talking about.


    "I can only see clouds, we barely walked anyway so I''m not surprised that we didn''t reach the end yet."


    "Barely?" Silva was surprised by Sepide''s words but noticed how calm her respiration was compared to hers and Neige "I guess we''re just not used to climbing stairs..."


    A few more minutes passed and Neige reached the end. When he looked behind, only the clouds could be seen. He was about to go back to get to his friends but was stopped by a voice behind him.


    "They''ll come soon, don''t worry."


    Neige turned around only to see a strange person in religious attire. Their face was hidden behind the clothes and their voice sounded strangely empty, making it difficult to guess anything about them.


    "I''m amazed that you made it this far, not everyone gets to pass the path of life."


    "The path of life? It wasn''t too hard, I expected a bit harder."


    "I see... That''s how you feel..."


    Neige looked behind him, still worried about his friends.


    "Don''t worry, they''ll arrive when their time comes. You''re here for the mystic water, aren''t you?"


    "Is that the reason why everyone comes here?"


    "Most do, yes. However, I cannot offer it to everyone that comes here, you have to deserve it."


    "Is this water that special?"


    "It depends, it is for those who deem it special."


    Neige looked at the man with a bit of impatience but managed to keep his calm despite it.


    "I''m not sure I understand, how do I get it."


    "It''s simple, you just have to answer a single question."


    "I hope it''s not a philosophical question..."


    "It is quite simple, how did you find the journey so far?"


    Neige was confused by the words, trying to understand the meaning of the question. Despite his uncertainty, he tried to answer it the best he could.


    "It was fine. I think it''s mostly because my friends were here, I would have been bored if they weren''t. Actually, it''s because of a friend that I''m here in the first place."


    "And do you regret it?"


    "Of course not, every steps were important."


    Neige wasn''t sure he understood his own answer, his thoughts were interrupted by a slow clap from the mysterious figure.


    "I can grant your wish, however, we should wait a bit."


    Neige wasn''t sure what he meant but quickly understood when he saw his two friends coming out of the fog behind him.


    "Neige? How did you arrive so fast?" Asked Sepide with surprise.


    "I''m more curious as to why you were so slow, I already finished the test."


    "The test? What was it?"


    "This guy asked me a question and-"


    Neige stopped when he noticed that the person mysteriously disappeared and looked around in an attempt to find him.


    "It''s not important, I think it must be a bit farther, let''s go."


    The three friends continued on the flat path made of gravel and quickly arrived in front of a fountain. The statue of a snake-like creature was spewing water out of his mouth, Neige took the bottle he took with him and filled it with the water from the fountain before putting it back in his pocket.


    "We should leave now, we got what we need."


    Silva went toward the fountain and drank some of the water, ignoring Neige''s request.


    "It tastes like... Fresh water. Is it really useful for Emely?"


    "I guess so, we''ll have to ask her once we''re back."


    The three friends agreed and prepared to leave this world. What was supposed to be a quick adventure ended up taking most of the day, and while Silva and Sepide didn''t feel anything particular, Neige felt something strange in that place. A feeling of nostalgia for the past, a feeling of trust in the future.

 Chapter 165: Another Day On The Ship

    Silva woke up in her bed, trying to remember what happened the day before. She was so exhausted after climbing the mountain that she went straight to her room and fell asleep. The day she dreaded came ever so closer, she still didn''t know what to expect from Silv but knew she''d do everything she could to not regret it.


    "Three days left..."


    Silva went to Emely''s lab, both to catch up with her and to get her jacket back. The engineer was visibly on a break, talking with Remiel until she noticed Silva enter.


    "Silva, have you slept well?"


    "I feel like I slept too much... It feels horrible."


    "Indeed, sleeping too much can throw off your biological clock, leading to more fatigue than if you woke up at a decent time."


    "Thanks, Remiel..." Silva let out a yawn before turning toward Emely "Can I have my jacket now?"


    "You love it, do you? I''m glad that you do but you''ll need to wait a bit, it''s still drying."


    "You cleaned it?"


    "Of course I did, by the way, what are you doing with it? I saw stains that I''ve never seen before, are you swimming in the trash with it? I had to get some holy water to wash it properly."


    "H-Holy water? Like the one we went to get yesterday?"


    "Yep, that''s why I sent you to get it. I had to say it was for my time machine or else the leader wouldn''t have approved."


    Silva was a bit annoyed, not only Emely''s smell would disappear from the clothes, but she also had to climb a mountain for that.


    "Don''t worry Silva, in an hour it should be ready. By the way, today you''re free, right?"


    "I should be yeah."


    "Wonderful, I found a great place where we could go eat something. I guess we can bring Neige so we don''t break the rules of going by groups of three."


    "Like a romantic dinner?" Asked Silva, thinking about the idea "I don''t really like restaurants but if it''s with you it''s alright."


    "It will be tonight, we can always do something else if you prefer."


    "Oh no, I''m okay with it. Have you asked Neige if he''s free already?"


    "Not yet, I will when I see him. By the way, Remiel and I have been working on a new uniform for our new member."


    "Our new member?" Silva paused for a moment, trying to remember who joined lately "Are you talking about the anomaly?"


    "Yes, miss nun. I know she''ll... Leave soon enough, but it''s fun to make new outfits. Would you mind trying a few to see how they look?"


    "You already did some of them? You''re fast."


    "I''m fast only when it''s not annoying."


    Emely took a pile of clothes that she put on her desk, inciting Silva to take some of them.


    "You made more clothes here than I have in my room."


    "You can keep them after, it''s too small for miss nun, I just want to see how it looks."


    "Are you sure you didn''t make them just to see me in them?" Silva asked while chuckling.


    "Maybe, just try them already."


    Silva decided to take one at random and try some of the uniforms Emely and Remiel made. She didn''t plan on it taking too long, but half of the day passed and she didn''t even try half of them yet.


    Silva took a break to go at take a cup of coffee for her and Emely. While she made the cups, Neige arrived and stared at her in shock. The girl quickly noticed her friend''s weird behavior and turned toward him with a puzzled expression.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Neige? Are you alright?"


    "I am but... Why are you dressed like that?"


    "Oh, that, I''m testing the new uniform for Ada."


    "That''s her uniform? That''s just straight-up a nun costume, are you sure it''s not Emely using it as an excuse to put you in these outfits?"


    "I think so too yeah, I started to have some doubts when she put me in a nurse uniform but it''s fun. By the way, I''ll need you to come tonight."


    "I''m not sure I want to be a part of your kink..."


    "N-No, it''s not related to that, Emely invited me to a restaurant but we need a third person to come with us."


    "That''s troublesome... I was a bit busy..."


    "Really? Is it because of a girl?" Silva asked with a grin.


    "Technically, yes. I just wanted to spend time with Polyetta today, I''ve noticed that we haven''t spent a lot of time together lately."


    "Just bring her along then, I''m sure she''ll be happy to go with you."


    "I suppose I could, it would be a nice break. I''ll go tell her, just text me the time."


    "Alright, I will."


    Neige was about to leave but was stopped by Silva, who grabbed his sleeve when he passed next to her. Neige looked at her with concern, trying to understand what was happening.


    "Silva? Is everything alright?"


    Silva stayed silent for a moment before letting go of the sleeve.


    "Yes, I''m sorry, I was just unfocused."


    Neige took Silva in his arms, surprising the girl while doing so.


    "I don''t know what you''re thinking about but... It will be alright, no matter what happens, I know we won''t have any regrets."


    "You''re right, it''s just a bit hard to believe sometimes. We have three days before Silv does whatever she plans to do... There are... So much I wish I did differently. I''m already twenty but I feel like I''ve only been living for a few years. There''s so much I didn''t do yet."


    "Already twenty? You''re only twenty, don''t expect to do everything you wanted by then. It may even take a century for that, you''ll need to accept you can''t do everything you want. Just enjoy the things you''re living for now, when the end comes, you''ll be able to smile at it without any regrets... But don''t die yet, I''ll be sad if you leave."


    Silva chuckled a bit while holding Neige back.


    "You better not leave either, there''s so much we need to do together."


    The two friends stepped back. Silva quickly noticed that her friend was acting weird for some reason but couldn''t understand why.


    "Neige? Are you alright? Are you... Sad?"


    "No, I just... Can''t take you seriously when you''re dressed like that."


    Silva forgot that she was still dressed like a nun but quickly took this opportunity to tease her friend.


    "Come on my child, why do you feel so distraught? Perhaps you are harboring unholy thoughts for women of faith?"


    "No, it''s just that if I had to think about the opposite of a nun, I''d think of you."


    "I guess so, I''m far from their ideals. Do you really think some people are into nuns? I feel like only a sick pervert would be attracted by them."


    "I think Emely must have something for nuns, she did put you in a nun uniform."


    Silva thought for a moment, a bit confused.


    "It''s fine if it''s Emely, but it''s still very weird."


    Neige smiled while rubbing Silva''s head.


    "I''ll need to go ask Polyetta to come with us, I hope Emely''s not going to give you weird outfits."


    Neige left and laughed, leaving Silva alone in the room. The girl took the two cups in her hand and headed toward Emely''s lab. She walked in the hallway but was stopped in her way by Ada''s voice. She turned toward her, wondering why the woman wanted.


    "Hey, err... Silva?"


    "Yes, that''s my name."


    Ada smiled to herself, visibly proud of herself for remembering.


    "That''s great! I was curious about something, are you a woman of faith?"


    "Me? No, Emely just made me wear that."


    "G-Good. The idea of God is nefast and only brings demise."


    "Aren''t you a nun? I thought they worshiped the spaghetti God or something."


    "The... What? Neige warned me you were interesting but I wasn''t ready for that. And I''m not really a nun anymore, after all, the Goddess I worshiped was the reason behind Neige''s death..."


    "That seems like enough reason to stop worshipping them, but then, why does everyone call you a nun?"


    "I think it''s because I still wear the uniform, to be honest, my Neige was the one that knew everything about fashion. Before him, I was even sleeping in this uniform, and now that he''s not here, I''m a bit lost..."


    "I can understand, I don''t know how I''d do without Neige. Emely helps me now, but I never paid attention to my appearance before."


    "So every Neige is good with fashion, that''s interesting. I thought your Neige wouldn''t, he doesn''t dress like a girl, unlike mine."  Ada said, trying to imagine Neige in a cute outfit.


    "That''s because you never saw how cute he is when he dresses in feminine clothes. Well, I don''t really know since I''m blind, Sepide told me."


    "Y-You''re blind?" Ada stepped back, surprised by the information "But you move your body in such an elegant way, it''s so hard to believe."


    "That''s not hard, everyone could do it. It''s strange but it rarely affects me on my missions, it''s mostly in my daily life. I remember once I decided to try another flavor of coffee, I found one that was so horrible but I couldn''t tell which one it was. If I could see, I would have looked. Now I only drink the same one just to make sure I don''t feel this horrible taste again."


    "I thought you would complain about something else than coffee, it seems like such a handicap."


    Silva suddenly remembered what she was doing. The cups in her hand were completely cold after her two conversations.


    "We''ll continue another time, I really need to go now... Emely will scold me for taking too long."


    Silva hurried toward Emely''s lab while Ada waved at her. It felt strange to talk with someone who was her enemy for so long, but at the same time, she felt that Ada wasn''t a bad person.

 Chapter 166: Doubts

    Silva, Emely, Neige, and Polyetta all went together to another world to spend time at a great restaurant that the young engineer found. The group had already chosen what they would eat and most of them were comfortable with the situation, Polyetta however seemed worried by the people around. Emely noticed it and tried her best to comfort her leader.


    "Leader, there''s no need to worry. I made sure that this world is peaceful, nothing bad will happen."


    "It''s not that..." Polyetta said, nervously looking around "There are so many people..."


    "It''s a good way to get used to human contact." Neige put his hand on his friend''s shoulder, trying to comfort her "If we ever live in another world, you''ll need to get used to it."


    The leader flinched, surprised by Neige''s words.


    "Live in another world? Don''t you like living on the Kronos?"


    "It''s practical, for sure, but when everything will be over... I''d like to find a nice world and live there with you, wouldn''t it be nice?"


    "I suppose... How would be your perfect world Neige?"


    "I just want a nice place to study languages and be surrounded by nature. I wish we could walk along the river like we used to."


    "That''s a sweet idea." Polyetta smiled but looked sad for some reason, she turned toward Silva and asked with a weak smile "What would your perfect world be like Silva?"


    "Me? I''m pretty happy like that. As long as I can be with everyone, I''m fine with everything."


    Polyetta nodded, she seemed a bit disappointed but Neige couldn''t tell if it was because of Silva''s answer or something else.


    "And you Emely?"


    "I''m fine as long as Silva and Remiel are with me."


    "I see..."


    Before anyone could question their leader''s strange behavior, the waiter arrived with everyone''s food. Everyone started eating and talking around the meal while Polyetta stared at her meal in silence. Neige quickly noticed his friend''s strange behavior but didn''t want to make her uncomfortable in front of the others. Emely saw Neige''s hesitation, when their gaze met, she smiled at him, knowing he wanted some time alone with his friend.


    "I need to go to the bathroom, can you come with me, Silva?"


    "Come with you? But I don''t need to go."


    "Will you let me go alone?" Emely asked with a soft and innocent voice "I would feel so much better if my knight in shining armor came with me."


    "Fine... I''ll come. You better not touch my food while I''m away."


    "You''re such a good girl, let''s go now."


    "G-Good girl!?"


    Silva blushed heavily and followed her lover, leaving the two friends alone. Neige took a deep inspiration before looking at Polyetta, still looking at her dish with sorrow.


    "Polyetta, are you alright?"


    "Of course... Don''t worry about me..."


    "I''m not that dumb, why don''t you tell me what is making you feel so bad? Is it Silva?"If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "She didn''t even do anything yet..."


    "I''m trying to understand, you''re not making it easy for me... I know you have something on your mind."


    Polyetta stayed silent trying her best to dodge her friend''s eyes. After a few minutes, she turned toward Neige, a concerned expression on her face.


    "If I do something because I think it''s right but that you think it''s wrong... Would you hate me?"


    "Of course not, but don''t you trust me? I''m sure we can talk about it."


    "Maybe but... I need you to trust me, I can''t tell you anything yet. All I can tell you is that I''m doing my best to make you happy."


    "I know you''ll do your best, just don''t isolate yourself. I''m here for you, not only me, but the whole ship as well."


    "... We''ll deal with Silv and everything will get better, I promise."


    Neige grabbed his friend''s hand and looked at her in the eyes, trying to find out what was on her mind.


    "Yada, let''s go on a mission together again someday... I miss it."


    "My name''s Polyetta..."


    "But, your real name is-"


    "It doesn''t matter, I''m not this weak little girl. I''m the leader of the Kronos now."


    Neige wished Polyetta would take it easy with her duty. All he could do for now was stop Silv once and for all and prevent the creation of the anomaly for his friend''s sake.


    The two girls came back, Neige smiled at Emely, thanking her for her understanding. Silva sat down with a blissful expression on her face, leading the leader to wonder what the lovers did while they were away.


    "Silva, are you alright?"


    "I''ve never been more better in my life..."


    Neige and the leader looked at Emely, asking her with their eyes what happened. The young engineer shook her hand, trying her best to look innocent.


    "I swear, I just kissed her. I didn''t know she would react that way."


    "Come on, you know Silva enough by now to know how she''d react."


    "Maybe I should have warned her before doing it, but she was so adorable, I couldn''t resist!"


    The night continued, Polyetta as silent as she was at the beginning. She barely ate any of her food, worrying the others.


    "Are you not hungry?" Neige asked with concern "Did you even eat anything at all?"


    "I ate the bread, I''m not hungry."


    Neige tried to think of a way to make her friend better, but to everyone''s surprise, Silva was the one who suddenly stood up and walked toward her leader.


    "You''re worrying Neige and Emely, eat something."


    "I don''t feel hungry."


    "Come on, isn''t there anything you like? Candies? Croissants?"


    "I''m alright, I already ate before."


    Silva stayed silent for a moment before taking something out of her pocket and giving it to her leader.


    "Here, it''s some candies I have. They''re not the most recent, but it''s better than nothing."


    "I really don''t need it, just leave me alone..."


    "When I felt bad, Gwyn told me to at least eat something, even if it''s unhealthy. Sometimes, it makes it easier to eat something better right after... You''ll never get better the way you do it, you need to trust your friends more."


    "I''ll eat something later, I don''t need you for that."


    "I''m not talking about food, the way you talk and act, it pisses me off. Everyone around you is worrying for you and keeps acting like it''s hopeless... But I can''t blame you, I know how it feels. And I also know that everyone would feel better if you eat just a bit."


    Polyetta looked at Silva, a mix of annoyance and gratitude for her. She took one of the candies in Silva''s hand and ate it slowly.


    "... You''re happy now?"


    "No, but it''s fine for today... Neige is a wonderful person, you should trust him more."


    "I know, I''m doing my best for him..."


    "I don''t think he wants you to do your best for him, I think he wants to see you get better." Silva turned toward Neige and talked as if she was scolding him "Seriously, get better friends. How could you deal with the leader and me at the same time?"


    "You''re not that bad, I know that Polyetta will get better. We should get rid of Silv, everything will get better then."


    "But still, you could get much better, why don''t you hang out with Ina or Remiel, they''re not depressed... I think."


    "But you''re better now, right?"


    "Of course I am." Silva took Emely in her arms, surprising her "As long as I have her and you, nothing bad can happen!"


    "I can''t believe you''re together like that now." The leader said, looking at the two with a soft smile "Not too long ago, I would get complaints from Gwyn because she would hear you two argue. You changed Silva, I''m glad it''s for the better..."


    "My old self sucked, I''m way better now."


    The leader chuckled softly at Silva''s enthusiasm.


    "Does that mean you''ll stop being a pervert?"


    "I don''t think she can." Neige said after letting out a sigh "There''s only with Emely that she''s not apparently."


    "If your reactions weren''t so funny, I would probably stop then."


    The leader looked at the two friends bickering with a soft giggle.


    "Thanks... Silva..."


    The leader muttered to herself, but even despite the low sound of her voice, Silva managed to hear it and smiled at her leader. The four friends finished the night together, even Polyetta was talking more and finally eating a bit. It was obvious something was on her mind, but the others were just glad to see her get better.

 Chapter 167: Generational War

    Silva stayed in her bed for a moment, time was going so fast for her. There was so much she wanted to do, and yet, so much she couldn''t. Silv''s plan would soon start, and Silva still had no idea about what would happen. It took an hour for her to finally get out of her warm bed and prepare for the day to come.


    "Two days left..."


    Silva arrived in her leader''s office to take her mission where Sepide and Neige were waiting for her. The leader was also here, probably since the screen still didn''t work. Her hand reached for a paper on the table, she stared at it for a moment before turning toward the group.


    "It''s finally the last thing Emely needs for her time thingy. It will still take some time after but at least she''ll have everything. You need to get data from a computer in another world. It fell in ruins, but before its demise, they used to be very technologically advanced."


    "It should be easy enough." Silva said with confidence "We should hurry, I have things to prepare for tomorrow!"


    "Are you already thinking about tomorrow''s trip?" The leader let out a sigh before giving a soft smile to everyone "You worked a lot, I guess you deserve these vacations. For now, focus on the mission. Emely will give you her flash drive, just plug it in the computer and it should be fine."


    The three friends nodded and prepared themselves for this mission, hoping this would be their last ordeal before accessing time travel.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The trio found themselves in a ruined city, with buildings completely destroyed. It would be an ordinary sight for them if there wasn''t paint everywhere. The liquid colors were still fresh, indicating that it happened not too long ago, but the presence of dry stains showed it wasn''t the first time. The group walked in the empty streets until Silva silently pointed to one of the buildings. Her friends quickly understood that something was happening there, probably survivors of this strange world. They tried entering in the building stealthily, just in case their presence was seen as a threat. The room looked like a restaurant of some kind, with tables and chairs everywhere. The desolate place was filled with silence, but to everyone''s surprise, a bunch of people ambushed them with firearms. They came out from behind the tables, hiding patiently behind them before attacking. One of them looked at the three friends, almost not believing his eyes. The man approached the group, his firearm pointing to the ground.


    "A-Are you adults?"


    "I can''t legally drink alcohol everywhere, but yeah I''m an adult."


    Everyone came out of their hiding place at Silva''s answer, analyzing the group with curiosity. After a few minutes of disbelief, the man continued his interrogation.


    "Where were you? I thought everyone else was dead, how did you not get attacked by those kids?"


    "Those kids?" Asked Neige "Are kids the reason this place is like that?"


    "Are you saying it''s not like that everywhere? Those brats destroyed everything because they were tired of homework and school, they don''t spare anyone..."


    The man looked away, a mix of anger and sadness on his face.


    "Those kids kill adults? Is that why you''re afraid of them."


    "No, it''s far worse." The man said, answering Sepide "They make us crazy, pushing us closer and closer to the edge... We''re barely ten now, so many gave up... And I can''t blame them."


    "That''s a shame. Welp, not much we can do, we''re searching for a computer that belonged to a scientist working on time travel, do you know where we could find it?"


    "You''re searching my father''s computer?" The man stared at the group, trying to understand their goal "Dad''s... Dr. Casimov''s computer is not in our hands, those kids stole it a while ago."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Stole it?" Silva asked with surprise "Why would they do that?"


    "Beats me, apparently they have a leader that asked them to."


    "Looks like it won''t be simple, where can we find those kids?"


    The adults looked at each other in shock, unsure whether Silva was ignorant or stupid.


    "They hang out at their old school, but don''t go there, it''s basically asking for a fate worse than death."


    "We''ll be fine." Silva nodded and smiled with confidence "I''m not letting a few kids impress me."


    "I can''t believe you survived for so long, now leave, you''ll attract them."


    The three friends left, feeling that they clearly weren''t welcome anymore. They quickly located the school and decided to head there, hoping to quickly get the information they needed.


    The three friends walked toward the school, hoping they''d find the computer they were searching for. It didn''t take long before they saw people on the way, a bunch of kids around 12 with water guns in their hands were walking around. Neige and Sepide were hesitant, trying to assert whether they would be aggressive at their sight. Silva on the other hand walked nonchalantly toward them and called the group once she got close enough.


    "Hey, can we talk?"


    The group of children turned toward the blind girl and aimed at her with their ''weapons''. One of them stepped forward, a little girl who looked barely older than the others and seemed to be confident while facing Silva.


    "An adult? Talking? That''s new."


    "I''m not an adult, I can''t drink in most places."


    "You do look younger than adults..." The girl raised her hand, prompting those behind her to lower their weapons "My name is Agniya, what do you want? I hope you three are not here to command us."


    "We''re searching for a computer from the doctor..."


    "Casimov." Neige said after seeing her friend''s struggle. The little girl looked at them, a bit confused.


    "Dr.Casimov? That''s my grandfather. We took it before, but the adults have it back now."


    "They do?" Silva asked with surprise "They told us you had it."


    "Liars, all of them. They always make us look like the bad guys."


    "But why did you take the computer before?" Asked Sepide "Do you know how to use it?"


    "We''re not toddlers... But I don''t know how to use it, our leader told us to do it."


    "Can we see her?"


    "I wish I could see her too, she just disappeared after getting what she needed. But it''s okay, she helped us more than we deserved, she''s the one who made us realize that we didn''t deserve what our parents did to us."


    "Were they... Horrible to you?" Silva asked with empathy.


    "Yeah, they made us do homework, they never listened to us, it''s basically slabery... Savoury..."


    "Slavery?"


    "Yes, slavery. Our leader taught it to us." The girl went closer to Silva, analyzing her face "You look like our leader, her name was Silv, you know her?"


    Silva paused for a moment, thinking about whether she should tell the truth or not. After giving it some thought, she decided it probably wasn''t a good idea. The kids could consider her an enemy if she told how she felt about Silv.


    "Never heard of her, she was the one that made you rebel against the adults?"


    "Yeah, we owe her a lot. Thanks to her, we killed most of them, the world will be ours!"


    The three friends felt shock and concern upon hearing the girl''s words. She didn''t seem evil and more like her innocence prevented her from understanding everything that was happening. Silva in particular felt uncomfortable by the little girl''s words.


    "You said Dr. Casimov was your grandpa? I saw an adult who said the doctor was his father, maybe it''s your dad I talked to."


    "Probably, he''s like the ''leader'' for the adults, but they only run away and complain, he''s a bad leader."


    "If you continue like that... You''ll kill him someday..."


    "That''s the plan, I have enough of him telling me what to do."


    Silva stayed silent, remembering her own past. She still couldn''t forget the screams of her parents when they doomed them, the guilt she felt still was there and she didn''t want anyone to follow the same path as her.


    "You''re being immature, why don''t you go talk to them now? I''m sure they would listen."


    "They never listened to us, why would I listen to them?"


    "I know, it''s frustrating but... If they don''t like adults, then you''ll need to be the adult. For them like for yourself."


    "I can''t understand what you mean, it doesn''t matter anyway, we''ll finish it tonight. After this battle, we''ll win and everything will be fine."


    "Win? There are no winners in this situation. I understand that you need to kill to survive sometimes but you have to think about it seriously."


    "You''re boring, I thought you would understand us."


    "I do. We had to act like adults without anyone teaching us how to do it and had to do it before anyone else. It''s unfair but you can''t just act like a brat anymore."


    "I''m no brat, you''re like those adults, always lecturing us."


    The group of kids ran away, leaving the three friends together. Silva turned toward the others, a bit concerned.


    "I have no idea where this computer is... I know it''s not our mission but could we go see those adults? I want to see if we can fix the situation, or at least make it a bit better."


    "It''s not your job." Said Neige "We can try, but if it doesn''t go well, don''t blame yourself. But still, I''m a bit surprised, you told them they were brats."


    "It''s not because I''m one that I can''t tell them they are, and besides, I know how to be an adult when I need to."


    Silva walked away toward the place where they saw the group of adults. Neige and Sepide followed her, ready to help their friend all they could in her task.

 Chapter 168: Being An Adult

    The group returned to the restaurant in ruin where they last saw the adults. Everyone was still there but seemed more than annoyed to see the three friends again. The man who served as leader approached them with a bat in his hand, but this wasn''t enough to impress the trio.


    "Why are you back? I thought it was clear we didn''t want you around."


    Silva stepped forward, ready to answer.


    "The kids told us you had the computer."


    "And you believe them? Those demons never tell the truth."


    "I believe them." Silva confidently spoke while crossing her arms "I think we could bring peace somehow, you''d just need to talk together."


    "Bring peace? You''re like those kids, thinking that everything can be solved."


    "I''ve fixed way harder than this, if you can''t negotiate with children, it''s probably that you''re not trying hard enough."


    The man was about to argue back but a loud sound interrupted him. The three friends hurried outside to see what was happening, the leader of the adults followed them only to see a tank approaching. Once it got close enough, the little girl that the group saw earlier came out of the tank and looked at them with an annoyed expression on her face.


    "You three? What are you doing here?"


    Before they could answer, the man stepped forward and aimed at the girl with his firearm.


    "Agniya! Go away or I''ll shoot!"


    "Not this time Dad, I decided to ''be an adult and talk'' like the girl said."


    "Be an adult and talk? Because you think we''ll accept to talk with you!?"


    The girl let out a sigh and looked at Silva with disappointment.


    "I tried, better luck next time. Now it''s time to ruin everything!"


    The girl returned to the tank and aimed at the group. They barely had time to run away when the machine shot a splash of paint at them. Aside from the leader of the adults, everyone was surprised by the innocence of the attack. The man took his firearm and shot at the tank, and while this was mostly ineffective, Silva was surprised to see that they used actual weapons against children playing with paint.


    "You could kill them with that!"


    "That''s the goal, we can''t let those brats run amok in the city! I''ll go get the other, just don''t bother us or you''re next."


    The man returned inside the restaurant while the group faced the girl and tank. A bunch of children were waiting behind the machine, probably to prepare for an attack. Silva turned toward Neige, trying her best to clean the paint off herself.


    "Neige, what color is the paint?"


    "Is it really the moment? It''s blue if you have to know."


    "I hate blue, they ruined Emely''s jacket!"


    "It''s fine, she''ll clean it. But do they intend to kill the adults? It''s not with paint that they''ll do that."


    Silva paused for a moment, thinking about something.


    "Weak adults give up for the smallest of reasons, just being away from their comfy life must already be too much for them."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    While Silva was talking to her friends, another splash of paint arrived on them, clearly annoying the blind girl.


    "Okay, now I''m mad."


    "You don''t sound threatening when you''re mad." Noticed Sepide.


    "I''ll deal with those children, try to convince the adults."


    "We''ll take care of them."


    Neige and Sepide trusted Silva to take care of the kids. She slowly walked toward them and faced the tank head-on until the girl came out of it.


    "Why are you not scared? Adults run away usually..."


    "I''m not an adult but it doesn''t mean I''m immature."


    "In... Mature? What is that?"


    "It''s when you''re not taking things seriously. Those adults aren''t mature either, in fact, you''re all dumbasses here."


    "I-I''m not a dumbass... What would you do if you were me, miss imalwaysright?"


    "I would run away from my problems and act like a child only to regret it years later. I don''t want you to make the same mistake as me."


    The children along with the little girl all approached Silva with curiosity.


    "What did you do? You talked back to your parents and now you feel bad?"


    "No, I killed them. I never once tried to find another solution and took the easy way out. I know it''s not easy to stand up to authority, especially when you have nowhere to go, but now you live away from them. Don''t you want to be better adults than they were?"


    "Why should we? They don''t deserve it."


    "I''m not asking you to do it for them, I want you to do it for you... I remember a few years ago, I really tried hard to be mature, unlike my parents. My friend saw that and told me I should be an adult when I need to, but should be a kid when I can."


    "I... Don''t understand..." The girl said, a bit confused.


    "You''ll understand with time, you have to be adults for yourselves now, and better than your parents were. You have each other now, you found a new family."


    Silva and the kids turned around when they noticed everyone else coming. Neige was holding a bag with a bunch of firearms while the adults looked ashamed of themselves.


    "I disarmed them, is everything alright for you?"


    Silva was about to answer Neige''s question but was surprised when she heard the little girl talking instead.


    "Yes, we''ll leave. Adults are no fun to mess with, you can have fun having adult stuff, we won''t bother you."


    "And you think we''ll accept it!?" Yelled the leader of the adults "You went too far, you don''t deserve to live!"


    The man looked around and took Silva''s firearm on her belt. He pressed the trigger on the little girl but went pale when nothing came out of the gun. Silva took back her weapon violently, scaring the man.


    "Emely made it for me, you can''t use it."


    "We should leave now." Said the little girl after seeing the scene "What''s your name red hair girl?"


    "Me? I''m Silva."


    "Silva... It sounds like our leader''s. Thanks, Silva, we''ll try this ''adult'' thing. We''ll make you proud."


    The girl and her group left everyone, not even taking the tank with them. Once they were away, Neige turned toward his friend with concern.


    "Adult thing? What did you teach them?"


    "I swear it''s not perverse! It''s really about being an adult. I just told them what I wanted young me to hear..."


    Neige smiled at Silva while Sepide looked at them a bit confused.


    "It''s weird when Silva is serious, she looks so different."


    "Don''t worry, I''ll joke about Neige''s size once we''re back home."


    "Can we not? And we still need to find something, remember?"


    Silva flinched, almost forgetting their mission. Neige turned toward the adults and immediately started questioning them.


    "We really need this computer, don''t you have an idea of where it could be?"


    "And you''ll leave if you find it?" Asked the man annoyed.


    "Yes, we just-"


    Before Neige could finish his sentence, the man threw a hard drive at him with aggressivity.


    "I don''t know what you''d get out of this piece of junk, all the information is there."


    "Wait, we just need to copy the data, we don''t need all of it."


    "It''s not like electricity is available now, I don''t even know how to fix this thing at a computer. Even if we could see what''s inside, there''s probably nothing inside."


    "You''re so cynical, no wonder those kids had no respect for you." Silva took Neige''s hand and walked away from the adults. The last thing she wanted was to talk with them. She went toward Sepide but noticed that she seemed lost in her thoughts "Sepide? Is everything alright?"


    Sepide looked at the paint gun she took off the ground and put it in her pocket before answering.


    "Yes, I just wonder... We''re changing things so much, it''s the opposite of our original goal, and yet, it feels like the right thing to do."


    "Don''t think too hard Sepide, it will hurt your head."


    "And you should think more, Silva." Neige let out a sigh while looking at the hard drive in his hand, hoping this was what they needed "But you''re right, we shouldn''t think about it yet, Silv is the bigger threat to the universe right now."


    The friends nodded at each other and prepared themselves to leave. They had everything now, all they needed to do was wait for Silv to be dealt with and then they would finally deal with the anomaly once and for all. Even if it takes time, they were sure it was going to be alright.

 Chapter 169: Last Rest

    Silva couldn''t sleep all night and had to go with Emely to calm herself. Even the presence of her beloved wasn''t enough to stop her anxiety, this was the last day before Silv would act. She held the sleeping Emely tightly against her, trying her best not to think about tomorrow.


    "One day left..."


    Everyone took a break from their work and decided to spend time together in another world. They decided to go to the place where the tournament was held at the time, when the leader, Silva, and Sepide went to save Neige. Everything was still there, aside from the people. The snow was stretching to the horizon, leaving a sea of white in front of the group. Silva stood there for a moment, enjoying the cold wind of this place until Emely''s voice took her out of thought.


    "It''s so vast in here, we should try to ski!"


    "Ski?" Neige asked, a bit confused "I don''t know how to do that."


    "Me neither, but it will be fun to learn! And I know that my knight in shining armor will catch me if I fall."


    Ignoring Emely, Neige turned toward the group and looked at them with curiosity.


    "Does any of you know how to ski?"


    As an answer, the leader raised her hand with enthusiasm.


    "Me! I learned it in Tony Crow''s pro snowboarder!"


    "Isn''t it a game? And snowboarding is different from skiing."


    "Just trust me Neige, I know what I''m doing."


    After taking all the equipment they needed, everyone tried to ski with the leader''s help. After learning the basics, Sepide and Remiel ran away from the group. No one tried to stop them and just figured they were just having fun together. Once the two girls found a lonely place they prepared themselves for what was about to come.


    "Remiel, you''re better at surfing but you can''t beat me on snow!"


    "That is what we will see."


    Remiel looked around at the snowy place with wonder, visibly unfocused on the race to come. Sepide quickly noticed it and paused to look at her rival.


    "What is it? Your body''s frozen?"


    "No, it''s not that, it''s just so... Strange. It''s like I came here before, it''s nostalgic."


    Sepide was a bit confused at first but remembered what happened in this world. This was where she met Uriel, the robot used as a basis for Remiel.


    "Do you feel bad? Maybe we can go somewhere else?"


    "No, it is fine. I do not feel bad."


    "Good, I''m not going to let you run away from the race for so little."


    Sepide smiled at Remiel but quickly noticed the sadness on her friend''s face.


    "Sepide, how do you feel about tomorrow?"


    "Tomorrow... The day Silv will act. I''m a bit scared, I don''t know how far she can go... I don''t want to live this life anymore, a life where my friends are always in danger."


    "So you are scared... Maybe what I feel is fear, it is not a pleasing feeling."


    "I know, I''m also scared about the future though. What if we win? I mean, my purpose was to help everyone beat the anomaly, what''s going to happen after?"Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Remiel stayed silent, unable to find an appropriate answer. Without a word, she walked toward Sepide and held her in her arms, which made her friend flinch.


    "Remiel... You''re so cold..."


    "Is it not how humans react? I believed this was how I could comfort you."


    "No, I don''t mean that it''s wrong, but you''re made of metal and the temperature is below 0."


    "Oh, my apologies." Remiel stepped back, a bit embarrassed and disappointed that she couldn''t help Sepide "Maybe we should go back with the other, the presence of your friends will make you feel better."


    "What are you saying? I''m already with you, I don''t need to go see the others. Come on, let''s race, I''m freezing over here!"


    "You are right, let us proceed."


    The two friends were about to race but stopped when they saw someone approaching them. Ina was slowly sliding toward them on her ski but seemed panicked. Her eyes were closed and her body curled up and shaking. She slowly opened her eyes and beamed with happiness when she saw the two girls on her way, clearly glad to find them.


    "Hey! Can you stop me? I don''t know how to stop!"


    The two friends looked at Ina slowly approaching them, the woman stared back with confusion, trying to understand why they didn''t help her.


    "H-Hey! Do you hear me?"


    "Yeah, we do. It''s just kind of funny to see you like that."


    "You hang out too much with Silva..."


    After letting Ina go on for a few meters, Sepide taught her how to stop. The trio decided to take a break near a tree, resting from the practice.


    "I didn''t know it would be so hard, the leader made it seem so easy..."


    "The leader is indeed talented." Remiel agreed while turning toward Sepide "Don''t you have her DNA in you? Is it why you can ski decently?"


    "I ski more than decently... And I don''t think she created me with the intent of being good at skiing. I wonder if everyone is doing alright."


    "Oh, right!" Ina suddenly spoke, surprising the two girls "I was searching for Neige and Emely, they disappeared."


    "They went missing?" Asked Sepide.


    "Missing is a bit of an exaggeration, I think they went too far away and didn''t notice. I wanted to take a picture all together."


    "It is a nice idea, Sepide and I finish our race and we''ll help you find them."


    Sepide nodded at Remiel and prepared herself, the two looked at the slope in front of them, ready to go.


    "Can you race later? I won''t know how to find you after..."


    Ina''s words arrived too late as the two girls rushed down at great speed toward the bottom. Ina looked at them going while softly sliding backward.


    "Wait, you didn''t teach me to stop backward..."


    Silva and Gwyn both tried to follow their leader who was going at full speed and even jumping and doing tricks in the air. When she turned around, she noticed that some of her members weren''t there.


    "Where''s Neige? Ina and Emely are missing too."


    Gwyn turned around, trying to see the others.


    "Ada isn''t here either, I think we lost them. I''m surprised you didn''t stay with Emely or Neige, Silva."


    "They can manage on their own, it''s just so fun to go full speed like that! They''re probably all learning together."


    The leader walked toward where they came from, trying her best to see the others.


    "I did all of that to impress Neige, it sucks if he isn''t here to see it."


    "Don''t worry leader, I''m sure he was impressed by the speed you were going at!"


    "I hope you''re right Silva, it''s not every day we can go skiing." The leader suddenly stopped, realizing something "Don''t tell me he stayed behind on purpose to go ice fishing! I wanted to ski with him..."


    "Don''t go so fast next time then." Said Gwyn while looking around "It''s really snowy around here, should we spend the night on the ship? It will be hard staying outside with this cold."


    "Don''t worry Gwyn, when Silva and Sepide came with me here last time, we ate at a warm place. I also looked a bit around and there are a lot of things in this world, there is even a hot spring."


    "I see, it does seem like a good place for vacation, it''s a shame you risked your life in this world last time."


    "Yeah, it was so long too." Silva said with exasperation "I can''t believe everything that happened here, there was a colosseum where we had to beat other people from other worlds! But it''s also an important place for me, I remember when Sepide cried when she saw me harm myself... I didn''t want anyone to suffer like she did."


    "So that''s why you stopped." Gwyn took a notebook out of her pocket and noted something in it "I''m glad you got better since."


    "Are you monitoring Silva?" Asked the leader "We''re on vacation, you can take a break."


    "I''m trying to make sure that Silva is in a good state, it would be too bad if something bad happened after all those efforts."


    "I''m fine, and everyone around did so much for me, I can''t stay bad forever."


    The group continued talking for a bit but suddenly stopped when the anomaly fell at full speed on their leader. The two women rolled down the slope and yelled at each other, unable to stop themselves.


    "Aren''t those two other selves?" Asked Silva "It must hurt."


    "Yes, they''re probably in pain."


    Gwyn and Silva both skied as fast as they could to catch up with the two girls. They were strangely fast for two persons falling but managed to get out of this situation thanks to Silva and the doctor. The two women pouted and ignored each other, glad to finally be away from the other. Even despite Silva''s attempt to reconcile them, none of the other-selves did any efforts to talk together.

 Chapter 170: Honest Happiness

    Emely and Neige skied around for what felt like hours, trying their best to find their way. Neige proposed to Emely to return to the ship to see everyone''s location, but the engineer''s stubbornness made them both run in circles. After walking in front of the same tree for the fourth time, Neige turned toward Emely exhausted.


    "Seriously, I''m sure everyone''s worried now."


    "No, I remember the way now, just follow me."


    "It''s the tenth time that you remember the way, can''t we just use our watches?"


    Emely looked at the sun setting, trying to find their location.


    "I think it''s on the opposite of the sun."


    "Sure... Whatever you say."


    The two friends walked for a while, Emely was certain they were on the right track, unlike Neige who gave up and just followed her around.


    "We have to go back soon, I want to spend time with Silva..."


    "Yeah, Silva said she wanted to do something with me too, I hope we don''t arrive too late."


    Emely turned toward Neige with a suspicious gaze, surprising him a bit.


    "What is it? Is there something on my face?"


    "No, it''s just... What were you about to do with Silva?"


    "I don''t know, she didn''t tell me. Don''t tell me you''re jealous?" Neige said in a joking tone, which didn''t seem to ease Emely.


    "I''m not jealous, I know she''s a loyal girl and that I''m her favorite, I just want to know what she''s doing, that''s all."


    "I think I''m her favorite actually. After all, we have known each other for longer, and we spend most of our time together on mission or the ship."


    "Come on, that''s immature. She''s a human being, we shouldn''t try to guess who she prefers... Even if it''s me."


    Neige rolled up his eyes at Emely''s words, clearly disagreeing.


    "Why would it be you?"


    "Because she kissed me on the mouth and said she loved me more than anything."


    "And she said I''m more precious than anything."


    "That''s two different things, you just don''t understand love. Furthermore, Silva asked me for a daughter, did she ever ask you for one?"


    "I honestly wouldn''t be surprised if she did at this point... I''m glad that you two are in love, but it hasn''t been that long."


    "We do quality over quantity, and besides, love is stronger than friendship."


    "You say that because it''s Silva, if it was someone else, you wouldn''t say the same thing."


    Emely paused for a moment, thinking about Neige''s sentence.


    "You''re right, Silva is amazing. She''s not like others."


    "We can''t find who''s her favorite, but we can always agree on that. She is an incredible friend, and I''m sure she''s as great of a lover."


    "Yeah..." Emely stayed silent for a few minutes before asking Neige in a soft voice "Do you think Silva would feel bad if she wasn''t the first one?"


    "The first one? You already had someone before?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "I suppose so, I had a crush on another girl before but she was a bad person in the end so I''m glad I never confessed. Still... I never told Silva about it, I''m afraid she feels less special."


    "That''s not how she works, she''s probably glad to be better than this girl and would brag about it."


    "I hope so... I''ll probably tell once everything is over, I don''t want to add to her burden. She''s the first one I feel so... Warm for. Ever since she saved me from my world I always admired her, I tried making revolutionary inventions for her, I wanted her to be proud of me... Even just as a friend..."


    "It''s quite ironic, it had the opposite effect."


    Emely turned toward Neige, with surprise on her face.


    "She didn''t like them?"


    "It''s not that, but... Every time you did something, everyone would talk about it all day. Silva felt like she was being forgotten, and every time you created something new, it just annoyed her more."


    "I see... To be honest, I felt pretty depressed after she insulted me the first time. I didn''t feel like working anymore and just focused on random silly stuff."


    "So that''s why nothing was getting repaired on the ship..."


    "Yeah, it didn''t feel good to know that my hero never appreciated what I did. I know I call her my knight in shining armor sarcastically to mess with her, but she really is a brave knight for me."


    "I''m sure she sees you like her hero to some extent too. She felt much better after getting with you."


    "I''m glad if I can help her, I remember at the time when we barely could communicate... I wanted her to know that I was here for her but couldn''t tell her directly. Even if I didn''t always enjoy it, I preferred Silva to hate me rather than hating herself..."


    "That''s noble of you, she often talked about how annoying and dumb you were, but she clearly enjoyed your company. You offered her something she couldn''t have with anyone else."


    "I hope now I can do it in other ways, I want Silva to get the life she deserves but couldn''t get."


    The two smiled at each other, hoping to see their common friend soon. It didn''t take much until they saw the red hair of the girl coming out from seemingly nowhere. Silva stood in front of them and seemed concerned once she found them.


    "Emely? Neige? Everyone has been searching for you!"


    "We didn''t mean to cause trouble, we got lost." Said Emely "But I''m glad you''re here now, we need to know, who''s your favorite?"


    "My favorite? My favorite what?"


    "Between me and Neige."


    Silva paused for a moment, not knowing what to answer.


    "It''s kinda weird, you''re both very important to me, just in different ways."


    "You''re not getting out of this situation that easily." Neige stood in front of Silva, not letting her go away "Don''t you remember all the adventure we did together?"


    "Come on Silva, think about all the things that Neige can''t do and that I can."


    Silva stood in the middle, a bit overwhelmed. The two continued arguing until she decided to put a stop to this futile debate.


    "I love you both, you''re both important to me. If you''re not happy, I''m going to hang out with Sepide."


    "W-What? You can''t do that!" Emely said with surprise "I''m sorry, we went too far. We were just curious."


    "Y-Yeah, Emely''s right. It just makes me a bit sad to spend less time with my friend, but I''m glad if you''re happy with Emely."


    "Good, now you''ll both come with me and we''ll have fun together, Ina cooked for everyone!"


    Silva smiled cheerfully, relieving the two friends. The duo followed Silva, trying their best to not annoy the blind girl.


    The group arrived at a cottage where everyone was waiting for them. The leader was heavily blushing for some reason, while Remiel and Gwyn next to her looked at the trio arrive.


    "Emely, I needed to ask you something."


    "What is it, Gwyn?" The engineer asked with curiosity.


    "We were discussing the leader''s mental health, Remiel said she would gladly help but couldn''t in her state."


    "Help? How?"


    "I need you to install me sexual organs."


    Emely stepped back in shock, not sure she understood what the robot meant.


    "I think you misunderstood something Remiel..."


    "No, she didn''t." Answered Gwyn "It seems like the leader has repressed sexual needs and when I said that, Remiel proposed to help."


    "I''m not giving Remiel that, that''s too weird for me."


    "Why? They both gave consent and-"


    "Remiel is not an adult yet, we''ll talk about it again once she''s one."


    "I see." Gwyn turned toward the leader after letting out a sigh "Looks like you''ll need to wait for a while before doing it with a robot."


    The leader blushed even more,


    "It''s... Not what I meant... I talked about a game..."


    Remiel stood up and turned toward Emely with confusion in her eyes.


    "Am I not an adult? And I believe it is my right to do what I wish with my body."


    "I''m your creator, you''re not getting anything until you''re an adult."


    "But Mom, it is unfair."


    "D-Don''t call me Mom! We already talked about it!"


    Emely and Remiel argued for a moment in front of the amused Silva. Emely noticed how her beloved was and turned toward her in the hope of getting some help.


    "Silva, can''t you say something? Remiel doesn''t listen to me..."


    "It depends, can I call you Mommy?"


    Emely blushed heavily looking at everyone in the room.


    "N-Not in front of everyone! Why do you both have Mommy issues!?"


    "I do not have Mommy issues, you are my mother by technicality and-"


    Emely took Remiel out of the cottage, too embarrassed to continue this conversation in front of everyone. Silva followed her outside while everyone was giggling at the scene. Even if Silv would soon act, everyone still managed to have a light heart and rest for the night.

 Chapter 171: Warm Hope

    After eating together, everyone split up to do their own thing. Silva took a break at a hot spring nearby, relaxing in the hot water for a while. Her rest was softly interrupted by someone''s footsteps, she couldn''t tell who it was right away and had to wait until this person spoke to know who it was.


    "Silva? You know that you''re supposed to remove your clothes, right?"


    The voice confirmed to Silva that the person was Ada, who gently entered the pond.


    "Does that mean you''re naked?" Silva said with a grin, embarrassing the woman.


    "Well, err... Yes, but it''s normal in a hot spring. But just to be sure, you are blind, right?"


    "Yeah, don''t worry, I can''t see how big your chest is. And I know I shouldn''t wear anything, but I don''t want anyone to see my body."


    "I am sure they won''t judge you for that."


    "I know, I just... Don''t want them to feel bad for me, and it''s embarrassing that I let that happen in the first place."


    Ada thought for a moment, trying to understand what she meant by that. Feeling the confusion the woman felt, Silva decided to change the topic to not make her uncomfortable.


    "Who knew hot water was so good? I could stay here all day..."


    "You''ve never been to a hot spring together before? I used to go often with my Neige there."


    "You went together?" Silva asked with a smirk "I didn''t know you were that close~."


    "We are very close, but it''s not carnal, he''s just a wonderful friend. He helped me a lot getting more confidence in myself and is the only one I truly trust."


    "I see." Silva said, a bit disappointed Ada wasn''t embarrassed by her teasing "But still, I''m surprised you went together, our Neige can barely stand to see anyone naked."


    "Yes, even if they are similar, both are very different. Before I met my Neige, I was a very faithful person, maybe too much. Thanks to him, I was able to see that I didn''t have to give myself to a God I''d never seen before."


    "Your parent taught you to be faithful?"


    "Kind of, my bloodline is considered a divine one, all my ancestors and descendants exist solely to serve the Lord. I''m glad that Neige came along and showed me this wasn''t the only way to live."


    "Descendants?" Silva asked, a bit curious "I thought nuns were forever virgins."


    "I''ve seen some worlds where it''s the case, yes. In mine, we''re supposed to find someone and have a child with them, it''s the only time we''re allowed to... You know..."


    "Have sex?"


    Ada looked away and blushed at Silva''s answer.


    "I almost forgot how... Direct you are. But yes, persons of faith are supposed to give birth once in their lives. However, it was impossible for me, I would have been lost if Neige wasn''t here."Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Impossible? Why?"


    "You see, even as a nun I was corrupted. I never found interest in men. I instead only found solace in the elegant shape of a woman. It''s horrible for a nun like myself to feel like that..."


    "Horrible? It''s not that bad."


    "It is, not only it wasn''t allowed in my world, but I was supposed to be an example for everyone... I used to think I was worthless for even thinking like that."


    "Religion seems pretty rough, it feels bad to let a form of authority decide my life for me." Silva paused for a moment, thinking about something "Well, I guess my life wasn''t so different than that."


    "Really? How so?"


    "My parents always told me to obey them and were horrible to me, at the beginning it was fine, but they quickly noticed how hard it was to raise a blind girl. It felt horrible knowing that the people who were supposed to love me the most hated me. I''m training so hard to make it so I''m not a burden anymore, but it''s not easy..."


    Ada moved next to Silva and took her gently in her arms, trying to comfort her.


    "I know you have the strength to feel better, you''re the only one who sees yourself as a burden."


    "Maybe so... It''s not easy to not think like that."


    "I can imagine. Do you remember when we used to be enemies in this world? I held a tournament for everyone."


    "Yeah, what''s the deal with that? You already had Neige."


    "Well... Let''s just say that when I possessed Neige I could feel how he felt. I wanted to create a world without any problems, a perfect world. Neige felt like he and his friends were strong enough to face the real world. I held this tournament to see whether you''d all be able to survive on your own."


    "And? Are we good enough?"


    "At the time, I didn''t think so. But after everything that happened, I''m sure of it... Soon, I shouldn''t exist anymore. We''ll prevent my existence and save Neige, I was worried at first, but I know everyone will be able to live a great life."


    Silva smiled, away from her doubts from earlier.


    "Yeah, we will. All we need to do is focus on Silv and everything will be alright!" Silva stood up and stretched, ready to leave "I think I''ll go see the others, you want to come?"


    "Yes, let''s go."


    Silva and Ada joined the group, everyone was playing a kind of card game, or at least trying to. They all seemed exhausted, while Neige was looking at the cards with confusion.


    "If I special summon, can I still attack after?"


    "You don''t attack Neige." The leader said with exasperation "You just ask if they have the card you want, if they don''t, you draw."


    "Seems a bit unbalanced."


    "It''s the happy families game Neige, it''s not meant to be balanced..."


    Silva sat next to Emely while listening to the conversation between the leader and Neige. The young engineer looked at her with confusion and quickly questioned her.


    "Silva? Why are you wet?"


    "You''re straightforward, I thought you wouldn''t be like that with people around."


    Silva stared at her beloved with a smirk on her face, embarrassing Emely.


    "N-No! I''m talking about your clothes!"


    "Oh that, I went in the hot spring but didn''t want to remove them."


    "Seriously? I''ll need to clean it again now..."


    "Clean it? But it''s water, it''s like I cleaned it."


    "That''s not how it works, I''ll clean it tomorrow."


    "Aren''t you busy with more important? Like the time machine?"


    "Yeah, kinda. But it''s going well, I finished most of the theory. It should be over in a month."


    "Good to hear, it means we will be able to solve everything soon."


    Emely nodded with a warm smile on her face.


    "Yeah, it''s going to be calm like before. You''ll go on a mission once a week and it will be something simple."


    "Yeah, well... There''s still a lot to fix. I just want to take care of Silv for now, she''s the one that worries me the most."


    "Of course, tomorrow everything will be alright. You''re not going to lose against this meanie."


    "I won''t, but still, I don''t know if I can-"


    "Stop worrying so much." Emely took Silva in her arms, tightly pressing her against her body "You need to be confident, there''s nothing that will go wrong."


    "You''re right, I''ll take a walk outside for a moment. I need a moment alone."


    "Take care, don''t forget to come back before midnight, we''re supposed to take a picture all together!"


    "I will."


    Silva headed toward the door leading outside. She could feel the cold on his handle and hear the harsh wind outside, but none of that deterred her from leaving the warm cottage.

 Chapter 172: The End Is Near

    Silva walked for a while outside. She kept worrying about the next day, only wishing for tomorrow to never come. While she walked around she found Neige fishing in a frozen river. The blind girl stood away from him, observing from a distance. She remembered the first time she had contact with the outside world, Neige was the one who found her and took her on the ship. They lived so much together, if he wasn''t here, Silva probably would have taken a different path. She couldn''t help but feel grateful Neige was here for her and how great of a partner he was for her. Not only a partner but also a big brother for her, a parental figure she never had before. Silva considered approaching him but didn''t feel like talking and instead just walked away.


    A bit farther away stood the leader, looking at the moon. Even if they never were close, Silva still had a lot of respect for her leader. It''s thanks to her that she was saved and able to live this comfortable life. The leader took most of the hard decisions, and even if she wasn''t always kind to Silva, the blind girl knew her life wasn''t easy. She wished she could have done more for her leader, at least make her job a little bit easier. She considered talking to the woman but decided not to, leaving her to her daydreaming.


    Sepide was skiing, visibly trying to get better at it. She was quite new, but she already was someone important to Silva. She could still remember the days when Sepide and Neige didn''t get along and was glad once they did. At one point, Silva was considering ending everything and was glad to know that someone would be here for Neige. What she didn''t expect was that Sepide would save her life, she was as important as Neige and Emely for that, and she would forever be grateful for it. All she could do was hope that her friendship with Sepide would continue and that they would still live many adventures. For a moment, Silva thought about thanking her new friend but let Sepide train in calm.


    While walking, Silva found Gwyn under a tree. She was visibly focused on something but Silva couldn''t tell what it was. Even if they weren''t the closest, Silva felt glad Gwyn was here. She was the first one Silva could trust with her deepest problems and probably wouldn''t be here without the help of the doctor. Silva often wondered how Gwyn was but never managed to get a proper answer out of her. She knew how hard the doctor was working and how little free time she had, and Silva''s depression at the time was probably one of the reasons. It took time before she could trust Gwyn with most things, but now it was enough for the blind girl to consider her a friend. She chose not to disturb Gwyn, she probably was very focused on whatever she was doing.


    Ina made a fire for some reason, probably to cook something. The cook was always so patient with everyone, even if Silva knew she probably was the one Ina liked the least. Not only did she burn her kitchen, but her jokes weren''t to the woman''s taste. If she could, Silva probably would have stopped annoying everyone so much, but it was the only way for her to stay sane. But despite everything, she knew that Ina never hated her, she didn''t even know if the cook could hate anyone. Silva considered apologizing to Ina, but maybe the best she could do for her was to give her some alone time.


    During her walk, Silva''s firearm fell from her belt. She took it back and reminisced about the former member, Shiro. They never talked much, he was a bit strange at times but did his best. His past surely didn''t help, if she was healthier, maybe Silva would have helped Shiro. It was too late for regrets now, all she could do was promise to herself to not forget him for everything he did, and hope he was happier in the afterlife.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Remiel''s metallic sound took Silva by surprise, it seemed like she was going for a walk too. She was new but Silva talked to her a few times already since they always hung out at Emely''s lab. Silva was always having fun perverting the robot, it was like a little sister to mess with. If time allowed it, she would gladly spend more time with Remiel and joke around with her. The robot was also one of the reasons Emely and Silva ended up so close, the red-haired girl still remembered all the times she stayed at Emely''s lab and talked with her while Remiel was being made. Remiel saw her and waved with enthusiasm, Silva smiled softly and gently raised her hand before both continued their walk.


    Walking on the snow felt weird for Silva, she clearly preferred the steadiness of a clean ground. It reminded her of a conversation she had with Kairo, he always had some trouble understanding how her blindness affected her. Even if they weren''t as close as they were with Neige, Kairo always tried his best for Silva too. The three of them made a nice group, all saving the universe together. He was a bit strange, often talking about philosophy, but it didn''t make him a bad person to be around. If only he hadn''t changed suddenly, maybe he would have still been here. For now, all Silva could do was hope he didn''t end up in hell or something like that. A tear fell from her eye, she quickly brushed it off and continued her walk.


    Ada was sleeping on the ground, Silva had to touch her face to recognize who it was. She wasn''t sure how to feel about the nun, she was kind but also the cause of most problems. There was no way for Silva to forgive everything Ada did, she''s the reason Kairo died and Neige felt so bad at one point. She even was the one who allowed Silv to get the book and cause so much trouble. Silva smiled at the irony of the situation, everything was the fault of this sweet and innocent-looking nun. If she took her firearm, Silva could end everything here, but she knew this wouldn''t change anything. She didn''t hate her either, if things were different, maybe Silva would have ended up in a similar situation. She decided to let the nun sleep, not without drawing her a false mustache before leaving.


    Silva stood in the snowy colosseum where she fought Silv before. It''s there that Sepide cried for her when she harmed herself, it felt like an eternity and yesterday at the same time. Silva was so lost in her thoughts that she didn''t feel Emely coming until she took her hand. Her little inventor smiled at her and leaned toward her. The two stayed silent for a moment, enjoying each other''s presence. At first, Silva hated Emely. She was the one who took all the attention. Silva felt a bit silly to think that now, it''s not like they couldn''t both be important for everyone. She regretted all those mean words she told to Emely, even if she didn''t always mean something bad by them, she knew how horrible it could feel. Silva took Emely tightly against her and kissed her suddenly, surprising her lover. They both stayed that way for a few minutes until Emely backed down and tapped her watch with her finger, making Silva understand it was time to go back with everyone. Silva nodded and followed Emely with a warm smile on her face.


    "I''m glad that you''re all here for me."


    "We''re all glad you''re here too, little bat."


    Silv made sure that both Emel and Iris were asleep and took her watch. Her heart was pounding on her chest, tomorrow, something would happen. The unknown equally terrified and excited her. She opened the door of the room before looking back at her two friends, peacefully sleeping. For a moment, she considered just running away but knew she couldn''t.

 Chapter 173: Its Time!

    Silva woke up from a full night of sleep before her alarm rang. Despite the weight on her chest, the blind girl quickly stood up from her bed. She put on the jacket Emely gave her, took her firearm, and stepped out of her room, ready for everything.


    "It''s time!"


    The ship''s crew all stayed together just in case Silv attacked them. Everything seemed calm until they entered the main hall and saw numbers painted in red on the wall. The group looked around for the culprit while Neige approached the wall with curiosity.


    "06072023... It''s probably coordinate to a world..."


    "I''ll check." Emely took her phone out, everyone gathered around her but couldn''t understand the language on her phone and had to wait for her to give the result "That''s strange, I don''t have data on it."


    "So it''s not a world?" Neige asked with surprise.


    "It is, but it''s not one I have information on. This means that this isn''t a world that''s inside the leader''s diary, it probably was created another way. I managed to track Silv''s watch, she''s in this world for sure."


    The leader stared at the screen in disbelief, completely focused on this strange world.


    "Created another way... An artificial world... Silva, Neige, Sepide, we already agreed you would take care of it. Just... Be careful, we don''t know what''s happening in there."


    "We''ll manage!" Confidently said Silva "I''m not letting Silv get away this time, she''ll be taken care of for good."


    "I know you can do it, good luck."


    The trio lined up together and waved at the rest of the ship. Today would be the day that Silv''s chaos is tamed, they would make sure of it.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    In front of the group was a strange sight, a straight road leading to the horizon that looked like it was painted. Not only the path but the whole world was painted, mountains of paintings in frames filled the scenery, adding to the eeriness of the place. Neige and Sepide stepped forward but quickly noticed their friend lagging behind. Silva seemed terrified of something, shaking and looking everywhere around.


    "Silva? Are you alright?"


    "I... I don''t know... It''s like I''ve seen this place before..."


    "You''ve already been here?" Asked Sepide with concern.


    "No... Like, I saw it, with my eyes. The moment I entered in this world, it''s like I suddenly knew what it looked like."


    "Do you want to return to the ship? We can always-"


    "No, let''s hurry. I don''t like this place."


    Silva continued, leading the way for her two friends. Despite her clear uneasiness, the blind girl was determined to end it once and for all. They walked for an hour until they were led to a small house made of wood, or rather paint that looked like wood. Silv was standing there with Emel like they were waiting for them. The three friends took their weapons in hand, ready to act at any moment. The girl slowly clapped with a blood-curdling smile on her face.


    "It took months, but we''re finally here. Can you imagine? A hundred and seventy-three chapters and I still couldn''t make you fall Silva, you''re a tough one. But don''t worry, it''s almost over."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "Are you being self-aware?" Asked Silva with cold words "We''ll make sure it''s your end!"


    "Come on, I''m the main villain, I can''t die in one chapter." Silv took a deep inspiration before taking a firearm from behind her back "Silva, do you know who''s the most dangerous thing for you?"


    Silva stared at Silv, not giving her the satisfaction of an answer.


    "Come on, even you know it. The biggest problem in your life is yourself, you were on the right track for a while, trying to get rid of the parasite in your life."


    "I know it''s wrong, I changed."


    "You know what we do when we paint with the wrong color? We paint over it. On the outside, it looks like the sun is yellow, but give it time, and the paint starts to go away, revealing the real color of the star. No matter how much you try to change, your heart is still the same."


    "It''s in vain Silv, you won''t sway me!"


    "You seem anxious for someone confident. After all, you''re just a coward deep inside. Your heart, it''s still the same one that didn''t have the strength to stand up against your parents, the same one that took pleasure in their fall, the same one that wanted everyone''s attention."


    "That''s not me anymore! I''m no longer the lonely little girl I once was!"


    "You don''t need to lie, we''re basically the same person..." Silv looked away, a feeling of sadness on her face "I know how you feel, you''re afraid to hurt your close ones. We''re not healthy enough for that, all we do is hurt others even when we try our best."


    "That''s not true. I won''t let my friends be hurt under my watch, even less by myself!"


    "Your heart wavers Silva, are you perhaps... Uncertain?" Silv took her firearm and pointed it at Emel, surprising the girl.


    "S-Silv? The bad guys are in front of you!"


    Silv stared at Silva in silence, even if they both couldn''t see it, the two girls felt the heavy gaze of the other on them. Emel stared at the firearm pointed at her with terror in her eyes, hoping it was one of Silv''s sick jokes. But this time, she could feel that something was different.


    "Silv? You''re scaring me..."


    "I hurt people in my madness, with time, you''ll do the same."


    Silva took her weapon in hand. A loud bang echoed in the empty world but she knew it wasn''t her firearm''s. Emel''s body fell lifelessly on the ground while Neige and Sepide ran toward Silv to stop her. To their surprise, the girl disappeared from nowhere, not leaving a trace behind her. The only thing left of her was the echo of her voice in the painted sky.


    "How much time until your real self hurts those you love?"


    Silva''s rage almost blinded her but she managed to keep her calm and hurried to her friend''s side. Neige took a look at Emel, who just took a bullet in the chest and had her eyes closed.


    "Is she alright?" Asked Silva with concern.


    "I can give her the basic healing, she should live if nothing vital was touched. Gwyn probably knows better, we''ll take Emel with us when we go back to the ship."


    Silva kneeled at Emel''s sides and touched her hair, dread filled her when she felt how similar they were to her beloved''s. Neige firmly put his hand on Silva''s in an attempt to comfort her.


    "You''re not going to hurt anyone, as long as you keep trying, everything will be alright."


    "Yes, of course."


    Silva stood up, only slightly doubting herself. Once Neige took care of Emel, the trio grouped back together, still a bit shocked about what just occurred. Sepide turned toward Emel''s body, resting next to the house.


    "Did Silv really do that? But why?"


    "I guess it''s the reason she brought Emel around in the first place, she was trying to find a way to make Silva doubt."


    "Well, it''s not working." Silva said, trying her best to look confident. She turned toward a seemingly random direction and pointed with her finger "Silv is there, I can feel it."


    "Feel it?" Sepide looked toward the direction pointed by her friend, a bit confused "Did you become a compass or something?"


    "Maybe I have a magic finger, Emely will be happy if it''s the case."


    "Can we focus on the matter at hand?" Asked Neige "Silv is so close, we can finally get her."


    Silva and Sepide nodded and followed the directions pointed out by Silva. The road continued for a while, they had to walk over a bridge that went over a river made of paint. Silva chuckled when they passed over it, a bit amused.


    "I won''t need to get paint anymore, I can just come here... If it wasn''t so creepy here..."


    Silva expected Sepide to agree or Neige to be annoyed but instead noticed that none of them was there. Instead, another voice answered her.


    "How can you be so calm? Aren''t you worried about all the bad you could cause?"


    Silva turned toward the source of the voice, her firearm in hand.


    "I told you Silv, I''m not like you."


    "You don''t need to point this thing at me, it doesn''t work here. Anyway, do you really think the world is better with you? Have you ever thought about a world where you don''t exist? Don''t answer, I already know the answer. When you were such a burden for Neige and the others, all you wanted to do was disappear. But what if you did? What if you were never born?"


    "Then Neige would have no one to annoy him."


    "You know it wouldn''t be the case. A world without you, doesn''t it sound like a wonderful world?"

 Chapter 174: A World Without Me

    Silva woke up in a familiar place, it was the bed she slept in at the beginning of her life. This home was only a place of suffering and shame for her, only bringing bad memories. But unlike her past, the house was filled with the sound of laughter and joy. She headed toward the door of her room and reluctantly opened it. She could easily recognize the voice of her parents but the voice of a girl could also be heard. It seemed so similar to her own voice and at the same time so different. Silva was bewildered by the scene in front of her but was quickly brought back to reality by a voice coming from her watch.


    *Eight years ago, do you remember what happened?*


    Silva recognized Silv''s voice but was too confused by the scene to be mad at her.


    "It was when I was thrown in this bunker as a punishment... Is it really eight years ago?"


    *Yes, but here, your parent had the child they wanted. A good and obedient girl, not disabled at all. She doesn''t have useless passions like art, instead, she''s a smart student and does very well at school.*


    Silva felt shocked by the laugh of her parents, has she ever seen them like that? All she could remember were the yells and hate directed toward her.


    *Looks like they''re happy. Maybe you were the problem in the end.*


    "Shut up, if they couldn''t take care of a disabled child, they shouldn''t have made one."


    *We''re not here to judge your parents, we''re here to see how a life without you is. We still have a lot to see, the ride is still going!*


    Silva didn''t understand what Silv meant exactly but was shocked when the scenery around her changed suddenly. A simple step took her from her former house to an empty and cold forest. She knew this feeling, this was the anomaly''s home. Silva entered the church only to find Kairo and Neige looking around. Not only that, but Emely was with them, surprising the blind girl.


    *Emely, if you didn''t break her confidence when she arrived on the ship she would have ended up as an adventurer too. It looks like you are not only replaceable, but you also caused her some trouble.*


    Silva stayed silent, already knowing what would happen. The dark matter of the anomaly filled the church, and just like what happened to her, Kairo couldn''t escape the anomaly''s grip. However, Emely managed to save him, allowing the three of them to leave the church and return to the ship safely.


    *That''s crazy, if you went with them instead of taking your time, you could have saved Kairo. Actually, maybe not. Unlike you, Emely isn''t blind.*


    "Is that... True?" Silva stood in the church for a moment, her hands shaking with fear "I could have saved Kairo?"


    *You? Maybe not, but whoever took your place could have. Come on now, we still have a few things to see.*


    Silva suddenly ended up in a snowy land. The sound of a crowd quickly reminded her of the tournament she was in. The leader was fighting against the anomaly, just like what happened to Silva. However, Silva quickly noticed that things were different. Not only Sepide wasn''t here, but Silv neither.


    "Why is it so different?"


    *It''s quite simple, the reason I even attack your group of losers is because of you. If you''re not here, how can I take your place? And for Sepide, Kairo never left. Your leader never had to take your friend away from her eternal dream, I''m sure Sepide wished she could dream forever like before.*This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Silva walked toward the fight but flinched when she ended up on the ship again. All these changes in scenery were starting to make her sick. Emely was showing Remiel to everyone with pride while everyone cheered for her. Silva noticed how happy Emely felt to have the group praise her, prompting Silv to talk again.


    *I''m sure Emely loves you, but it looks like she doesn''t need you to be happy. In fact, you probably only caused her problems. Now she''s dependent on you for her happiness. Are you starting to see what I mean?*


    Silva stayed silent and stepped forward once more and ended up in another part of the ship. Emely''s lab was filled with everyone cheering for something. They all were so happy, Silva started to think it was something that almost never happened.


    *How beautiful, they managed to stop the anomaly once and for all. Without me or Kairo to trouble them, life seems much easier. Or maybe it''s because you''re not here, after all, they didn''t have to deal with a depressed blind girl on top of that.*


    "T-That''s stupid! There''s no way the world would be that much better without me... There''s no way..."


    *And yet, everything seems so much better.*


    Silva turned around when she heard footsteps behind her, immediately recognizing Silv.


    "Just disappear, everything will be alright."


    "Why? Why would I do that?"


    "Doesn''t it sound better? The world would be much better without you, and you would be much better without the world."


    Silv extended her hand to Silva, leaving the blind girl with a choice. Silva considered how different life could be without her, maybe Silv is right somehow? If she''s not here anymore, Silv wouldn''t cause problems and the group could finally end everything once and for all. Silv may be right all along actually, Silva just never took the time to listen.


    "I... Don''t know what to do? It''s so hard to think..."


    Silva had trouble thinking correctly. The blind girl was tempted to just give up and-


    "Silva! Can you hear me?"


    "N-Neige?"


    Silva searched around for the origin of the voice but couldn''t find it, no matter how hard she tried. She wasn''t even sure to know where she was anymore.


    "You have to wake up! Why are you not helping us!?"


    "Neige... I don''t know... Is it better if I leave? I''m sure you all could find a way to..."


    Silva suddenly felt pain on her cheek, as if someone slapped her.


    "Will you shut up!? I won''t be able to support it if you leave! Emely won''t stop scolding me for leaving you behind, you can''t go yet!"


    Silva opened her eyes, slowly waking up from her nightmare.


    "She-She woke up!?" Silv yelled in frustration "You should have stayed down, it was better for you!"


    Silva stood up from Neige''s arms, trying her best to stand up.


    "What... Happened?"


    "I wish I knew..." Said Neige "Silv took her sketchbook and drew in it... A few seconds later... You fell unconscious..."


    Silva quickly noticed Neige''s difficulties in speaking. She searched for Sepide but couldn''t feel her anywhere.


    "Neige? Are you alright?"


    "Silva... If you go... Everyone will miss you..."


    Neige fell down, barely able to stand up. Silva tried to understand what happened and took Neige in her arms. As she did, she felt wounds on his body, probably created by a gunshot. Silva stood up and faced Silv, her firearm in hand.


    "What did you do to them?"


    "I just needed them to stay silent for a moment. I thought you''d give up."


    "Why... Why are you doing this? Do you love my misery so much!?"


    "I''ll admit, it''s kind of fun, but it''s not the reason. You, you''re what I always dreamed of being. You''re the center of this story, this world favors you. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t go past your damn plot armor!"


    "Silv... I can''t understand a word of what you''re saying..."


    Even though she couldn''t see it, Silva knew her enemy''s face was filled with rage. Silv held her sketchbook as if she was trying to crush it before suddenly yelling.


    "You know what, screw our creator! Screw The Goddess! And fuck you Silva! I don''t care about being the main character anymore! I don''t care about being the villain! I''ll finally make you give up! I may not be able to kill, but I''ll kill everyone one by one until you give up!"


    Silv yelled with madness in her voice, completely lost in the chaos of her mind. Her hand gripped her head as if she was trying to hold onto something she couldn''t grasp.


    "Silva!!! I hate you! You took everything from me! You always ruin everything!"


    Silv took her sketchbook and a pen in hand. Silva knew she was too far away to catch her and instead tried to fire her weapon, in vain.


    "Your leader is not the only one blessed by the Goddess! I don''t need your stupid book, I can create anything I want!"

 Chapter 175: Our Madness

    Silva held Silv at gunpoint, even if her firearm didn''t seem to work. Silv was yelling with madness, barely sounding human anymore. The crazy girl held her sketchbook in her hand and drew something, Silva ran toward her to stop her, but it was too late.


    "I can''t change worlds, but I can create them! I''ll break your spirit! You''ll beg for me to stop Silva!"


    Silva ran toward her enemy in an attempt to stop her. In an instant, the blind girl managed to dodge Silv''s shot, enraging the girl even further. Silva noticed the sudden strange state of the world. Sand had replaced the paint on the ground and the scorching sun warmed the entire place.


    "Do you remember Silva!? This was our first encounter! I brought you away from the others and took your place! If everything went well, everything would have been fine!"


    "Silv... You barely sound human anymore..."


    Silv pointed her revolver at Silva and tried to shoot her as much as she could. Every bullet missed but Silva knew she wouldn''t be able to dodge forever. She entered a sort of bar to escape her enemy but this wasn''t enough to fool Silv, who quickly managed to find her.


    "First I''ll catch you, then I''ll show you the cold and hard reality!"


    Silv shot at the blind girl but, to Silva''s surprise, the weapon didn''t shoot anything, probably out of bullets. Frustrated the girl threw her firearm and instead took a dagger from seemingly nowhere. The wooden planks of the bar suddenly became grass for Silva to step on. A soft breeze ran through the empty field, gently caressing the two girl''s hair.


    "I planned everything! You were supposed to come here and then you would be captured by the people here! I made them believe I was a God for that, no, I made them realize I am a God! If your stupid leader hadn''t decided to come here for a stupid book, everything would have been better!"


    "I... I''m not even sure if you''re talking to me anymore."


    Silv ran toward Silva with her dagger in hand. The member of the Kronos managed to easily dodge it, even hitting Silv''s stomach with her leg.


    "I did everything I could... But your damn friends, they always managed to make you feel better! Why didn''t you die!? Why didn''t you kill yourself!? Why are you better than me!?!"


    "Didn''t you have friends too to stop you in your madness?"


    "Friends? You mean this ginger bitch and this sick remnant of the past!? I was trying to push you over the edge, showing you all the bad we can do! And as for Iris, I needed someone to look like a nice person. Who likes a villain without a tragic story!?"


    Silv tried to punch Silva but was blocked and hit back with a clean hit from her other self. Silva shook her hand, burning a bit from the interaction with her other self. The crazy girl tried to attack again but almost fell because of the ship they were suddenly on. Silva stepped back, trying to understand where they were.


    "What is this place you created? It doesn''t make any sense..."


    "I made this world as a last attempt to push you over the edge! It represents our madness, there are no ways out!"


    "Your madness you mean, I''m not like you."


    "You can deny all you want, but it''s our fate! All our other selves are craving for this feeling, the feeling of being above everyone else!"The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    "I wouldn''t mind Emely above me." Silva said with a perverted smile, infuriating Silv.


    "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Why are you not taking this seriously!?"


    "Because I''m not like you, maybe before I was, but now I feel happy with my friends and-"


    "Stop it! Don''t tell me about the ''power of friendship'', to hell with that!"


    Silva tried to get closer to Silv despite the rocking ship they were on. Silv tried to attack Silva but failed and ended up taking a clean punch from her other self. Silv''s sketchbook fell on the floor and everything around them returned to normal, in the world full of paint they were in. Silv stood up with difficulties, barely able to breathe after everything that happened.


    "Silva... I hate you..."


    "like you''re one to talk, you caused so many problems for everyone. I''ll make sure it won''t happen again."


    Silva took Neige''s dagger on the floor and attacked Silv, the two girls'' blades clashed against each other with a clear advantage for Silva. In a swift slash, Silva disarmed her other self and cut Silv''s watch in half, causing it to fall to the ground.


    "N-No... Not like that! I''ll take you all with me!"


    Silv ran toward her fallen sketchbook near a ravine, Silva knew she couldn''t let her go away like that. With her firearm in hand, Silva focused on her target with complete calm in her heart. Silv took the book and her pen in hand, ready to use it.


    "It''s over Silva! You can''t stop me! This world disables your pathetic weapons!"


    Silva closed her eyes, completely ignoring Silv''s words. Despite the strange effect that blocked her firearm, Silva knew she could do it. In an instant, the girl pressed the trigger. A loud sound came from her weapon, the recoil confirmed to Silva that it worked this time. Silv released the book and pen in her hand before stepping backward in pain. She faced her other self with rage and fear, feeling dread for the first time.


    "S-Silva... Did I even make you doubt... Just a bit?"


    "Yeah, I guess there always will be a part of me that doubt." Silva took the sketchbook from the ground and hurried toward Neige and Sepide, both lying on the ground. She hurried to help them and tried her best to give them the first aid they needed.


    "Silva... You could at least kill me..."


    "I''m busy."


    Neige and Sepide woke up after a few minutes, while Silv fell on the ground completely exhausted. Neige looked at the scene in front of him, a bit confused by the situation.


    "Silva? Is... Everything over?"


    "We need to take care of Silv first, should we detain her?"


    "Detain me?" Silv tried to talk but barely had the strength to do so. She turned toward the ravine behind her and stared at it for a few minutes in silence "I''d rather die than be your slave..."


    The group saw what she was about to do and ran toward her to stop her. Silv stood one last time, ready to jump at any moment.


    "You''re heroes... Right? Iris, she''s in the world 11032000... Do your job, losers..."


    Silv smiled at the group before falling to a certain death. Silva stayed silent for a few minutes and picked up the watch Silv left on the ground, the one that used to be hers. Neige walked toward his friend to see if she was okay but got an answer before he could even ask the question.


    "I''m fine, don''t worry. I''m... Glad it''s finally over with her." Silva smiled at her friends, even despite her exhaustion, she seemed truly relieved. She handed Silv''s sketchbook to Neige, who took it with curiosity "Silv said she could create worlds with that... You think it''s true?"


    Neige and Sepide looked at the different pages, there wasn''t a word inside, only a bunch of drawings. One of the pages was a painting of a peaceful and bright place, looking very similar to the world they were in.


    "Probably... This thing seems very dangerous, I''m glad we took it from Silv. We should ask the leader and-"


    Before Neige could finish his sentence, Silva took the sketchbook and burned it with a lighter she kept on her.


    "It''s better if this just disappears, we already have an almighty book or whatever."


    "You''re right... You two should go back on the ship, I''ll go get Emel and join you."


    "What about Iris?" Asked Sepide "Silv said she was in another world."


    "We should go on the ship first, Emel''s state is not great. We''ll go see Iris when we''re ready."


    Sepide nodded and Neige was about to leave. Silva hesitated for a short moment before forcing Neige and Sepide into her arms, tightly holding them.


    "Thanks for being here, Neige, Sepide... You should both eat more though, especially Neige."


    "Can you be serious for one minute?" Neige stepped back, a bit embarrassed "And again, eating doesn''t change anything to the size..."


    Silva laughed innocently at her two embarrassed friends, now that Silv was gone, she knew everything would get better.

 Chapter 176: Project Snow Globe

    Gwyn analyzed Emel''s state carefully while Silva and Sepide explained everything to the group. In the meantime, Neige went into Iris''s world to keep her safe. The leader listened to the story with attention, and unlike everyone, was more worried than happy.


    "So she created a new world of her own and became crazy... Can''t say I''m surprised..."


    "Yeah, but it means it''s over now!" Enthusiastically said Silva "I can''t wait to take care of the anomaly and live a normal life! Well... As normal as I can."


    After a while, Neige arrived, along with the girl in the wheelchair sleeping peacefully. Neige put his finger on his mouth, prompting everyone to talk silently. Emel went toward her friend, completely ignoring the doctor about to put a bandage on her head.


    "Is she... Alright?"


    "Yeah, she''s just asleep. Gwyn will need to take a closer look though."


    "I will once I''m done with Emel."


    Emel decided to return to the doctor, relieved to see Iris in a good state. As she was about to sit down, she instead went in front of Silva. Emely took Silva''s arm, wary of Emel''s presence.


    "Silva, right? I''m... I''m sorry, I really thought I could change Silv. For me, you were the reason for her madness but... Maybe she was too far gone."


    "Maybe?" Asked Silva with a soft smile "She was so crazy that I can''t even understand how you believed her."


    "Yeah, she''s just... Special..." Emel turned toward Iris before facing Silva again "Her world was destroyed, once you do everything you need to, could you send the both of us in my world? I''m sure my friends should be able to take care of her."


    "I don''t know, you''ll need to ask the leader."


    "The... leader?" Emel asked, a bit confused "Aren''t you the leader?"


    "No, it''s the nerd there."


    Silva pointed at her leader, who clearly looked annoyed.


    "I wish you''d introduce me in a better way... If Gwyn says it''s alright, I don''t have any objections."


    "It should be alright." Said Gwyn "I''m sure I could find a cure for the girl''s disease, it would just need some time."


    "Really!?" Emel''s eyes filled with stars in her eyes, barely able to contain her joy "Can you really help her?"


    "Maybe, nothing is sure. But one thing is for sure, I''ll try." Gwyn stood up and took her notes with her "We should go to my office, can you take her and come with me?"


    "Of course!"


    Emel took Iris and her wheelchair and followed the doctor. The leader stared at them before turning toward the rest of the group.


    "I''m tired... I''ll go sleep. You should rest too, it wasn''t an easy day." The leader walked away but suddenly stopped. She turned toward the group, a bit hesitant "I''m glad I met you all, you''re a wonderful team."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The group looked at her leaving, a bit surprised by her words. Ina considered following her but stayed with the others instead.


    "How strange, is the leader alright?"


    "I''m sure she is." Said Emely "Once I finish the time anchor, everything will be even better."


    "I''m sure of it." Neige stretched and yawned as if he hadn''t slept for centuries "I hope we won''t have a mission soon, I just want to sleep all year long."


    "Yeah, me too." Agreed Sepide "You should rest too Silva, we should celebrate later."


    "Yes, we should."


    Everyone split up, going to their own occupations. Silv''s threat was behind them now, all they could do now was wait for Emely to finish her project and they would finally be able to get rid of the anomaly.


    The night arrived, causing the lights of the ship to turn off and forcing Gwyn to use the light of her phone to navigate in the empty hallways. The ominous silence didn''t help the doctor feel any calmer, she could hear the sound of her heart beating as she was heading toward the leader''s room. Once she arrived, Gwyn stood in front of the door for a few minutes to calm herself before knocking on the door with confidence.


    "Polyetta, it''s me."


    A bit of time passed before the leader opened the door. Her face was cold, empty of any emotion. The woman let the doctor enter her room and sat on the bed, still a blank expression on her face.


    "Polyetta, is something troubling you? It''s unusual for you to ask me at night."


    "I can''t tell Neige... I know he''d try to stop me, even if it''s for his own good. Time traveling... It just adds another way for Neige to be in danger."


    "So you want to find another way to get rid of the anomaly?"


    "In a way... I think it''s time for the project snow globe."


    Gwyn looked away, trying to hide the smirk on her face.


    "You still didn''t change the name? It doesn''t sound very intimidating."


    "It''s supposed to bring peace, not fear. You''re the only one I can trust, if anything happens, call me."


    "... Fine, I will. How long will it take?"


    "A few days at most for the first part. I''m not sure how the anomaly will react, but she probably won''t be a problem."


    Gwyn walked toward her leader with hesitation and sat next to her in silence.


    "I''m sorry to put so much on your shoulders Gwyn, it will be over soon."


    "I know."


    The leader put her hand on Gwyn, giving her a soft smile.


    "Gwyn, I owe you so much. I''ll make sure that everyone treats you like a hero."


    "Don''t bother, I go where the waves send me. I''ll just help you cover everything but I have to warn you, not as a doctor, but as a friend, you won''t be able to go back. You''ll have to live with the weight of the world on your shoulders."


    "The Goddess chose me, I was the one that received the divine diary. It''s my fate, and I accept it."


    "Are you sure you don''t want to tell Neige and the others?"


    "No, I already know what they''re thinking. They think they know better, but once they see the truth, they will regret ever thinking about living in this flawed universe."


    The leader stood up and headed toward her desk to take the book and the mask she used to wear. She stared at it for a few minutes before putting it on and turned back toward Gwyn.


    "I will go now. Thanks for everything, Gwyn."


    "What do I say to the others? They''ll notice you''re gone."


    "Just tell them you don''t know. Also, you should take this." Polyetta removed the watch from her wrist and threw it at the doctor "I''m no longer a member of the Kronos, you''re the new leader now. Not that it really matters, the Kronos will soon be no more."


    "Polyetta, is that really what you want? This ship holds so many memories, are you sure you want to leave it behind?"


    "We don''t need it in our new world... Gwyn, did you perhaps get attached to this place?"


    The doctor stayed silent for a moment, carefully thinking before answering.


    "Yes, I did. I''m even starting to enjoy being a doctor."


    "I''m glad that you feel at home here, but don''t worry, the new world will feel even better."


    The leader wrote a line in the book before disappearing in a flash of light. Gwyn stayed in the room for a moment, looking at the messy place the leader lived in. All she could do now was wait for her leader to finish with her plan. Gwyn knew she wouldn''t be able to sleep that night and instead decided to take one of the games on the desk to take a good look at it.


    "Shadow 4? Isn''t it the game Cinnamon got trapped in?"


    With a bit of hesitation, the doctor put the game in the console and took the controller. It was the first time she ever played a game, and even if she needed to work on Iris''s cure, all she wanted to do was forget about her life just for a night.

 Chapter 177: Peace Never Stays

    Neige and Emely talked about the technicality of time travel around a cup of coffee while Silva and Sepide looked at them with confusion. Silva focused on her beloved''s voice, ignoring the meaning of the words. The blind girl only snapped out of it when the young engineer called her name multiple times.


    "Silva!"


    "Huh? Sorry, I wasn''t listening."


    "Yeah, I see that. We were talking about the leader, have you seen her today?"


    "I don''t think I did, you should ask Neige, he knows her better than me."


    Neige shook his head, a bit sad for some reason.


    "That''s why I asked you all, not only she wasn''t in her room, but she left her watch on her bed."


    Silva took another cup of coffee without much worry and took a sip before answering.


    "She''s probably taking a long shower or something, you worry too much."


    "Yeah, you''re probably right..."


    The group stayed silent for a moment, Neige still concerned for his friend. Gwyn passed right next to them, despite the doctor looking in a hurry, Neige still decided to stop her in her tracks.


    "Gwyn, have you seen Polyetta?"


    "No, something happened?"


    "Yeah, she''s nowhere to be seen and she left her watch here, I figured you might know something."


    "She''s fine," Silva said, interrupting the conversation "At least wait for a day or something before worrying."


    "Yeah, I''m sorry Gwyn, I know you''re busy and-"


    "The moon."


    Gwyn''s words surprised everyone, they couldn''t understand what she meant and stared at her with disbelief.


    "The moon? What about the moon?"


    "That''s probably where the leader is."


    "And... How do you know?"


    "Therapist''s knowledge."


    Emely stepped into the conversation, visibly not convinced.


    "But, the watches can''t land on the moon, we merely pass there."


    "She used her book to go there, you should probably hurry if you want to change things."


    Without further explanation, the doctor left the group in a hurry. Neige considered following her but instead stayed with his friends to discuss what they should do.


    "Is it even possible to go to the moon?"


    "It should be." Answered Emely "I''d need to update the watch though, maybe tomorrow it should be possible. But why would she go there? It''s probably the only place where we can''t reach her, is she dodging us?"


    "Well... Polyetta did act in a strange way lately, she''s probably preparing something."


    "I hope nothing bad. I''ll go get to work right away, you want to come?"


    "No thanks, I have something to do today."


    "I''d like to stay with Neige." Said Sepide "I wanted to ask him something."


    "I see, have fun you two. You want to come my pretty bat?"Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Yeah, just a minute."


    Silva poured another cup of coffee and followed Emely. The two girls waved at their friends before going, leaving Neige and Sepide alone.


    "You wanted to ask me something, Sepide?"


    "If you''re not busy, yeah."


    "We can talk on the way, it''s nothing complicated, just important."


    The two friends walked on the hallways, while they were doing so, Sepide took a deep breath and asked the question she had on her mind.


    "Neige, did the leader ever talk about me when you were alone together?"


    "Maybe a few times, why?"


    "Do you think that she loves me... Like a daughter?"


    Neige stopped in his walk and turned toward Sepide with curiosity.


    "I... Can''t recall anything like that, why so suddenly?"


    "It''s a bit hard for me to feel confident about the future, I guess it''s the role of parents to help then but... I suppose that the leader is my mother. I just never saw her like that, she always was the one that told me what mission was next for me."


    "Gwyn could probably help you more than me for that... You just want a parent, right?''


    "I don''t know, Remiel has Emely, it''s unfair."


    Neige chuckled, a bit amused while looking at Sepide''s annoyed face. Neige gently took his friend''s hand and brought her closer to rub the top of her head.


    "Now I understand, you''re just jealous of your friend. You know, none of us really had parents."


    "Really? But how were you born?"


    "Well, we had people that gave birth to us, but not parents if it makes sense. You already know about Silva''s parents, right?"


    "Yes, they were horrible to her."


    "It''s kind of the same for everyone, my parents died when I was young and Polyetta''s died of sickness. We had to face our future alone, and it''s partly why we''re so close now. Emely lived in a world where human connection was rare, even between family members. Ina was an orphan, Kairo had a hard relationship with his father-"


    "I understand, but what does it have to do with me?"


    "It''s just to tell you that everyone here understands. Polyetta is a bit too immature to have a child, don''t take it too personally. But I''m here for you, Silva''s here for you, and you''re here for us. Together, we form the family we never had... I see you and Silva like sisters, isn''t a soul connection better than a blood one?"


    Sepide leaned toward Neige and grabbed his shirt, gently closing her eyes. Neige took her in her arms, gently caressing her hair.


    "Neige... I''m glad I get to be your friend and everyone else''s. I want to keep going and see how the future will be, even if it won''t be easy."


    "I''m sure it will, I just hope Polyetta won''t do anything stupid."


    "You know what she wants to do?"


    "I think... She always talked about creating a world without any problem, I''m afraid she actually tried this time. I can''t see why she would flee us like that if it weren''t the case."


    "So we''ll need to fight her?"


    "Probably not, don''t worry, we''ll be able to talk this out... I mean, I can''t beat her in a fight, so we''ll have to talk this out."


    Sepide''s eyes widened as she stepped back from Neige''s embrace.


    "The leader is stronger than you? But you''re so quick and strong!"


    "Yeah, I think using a sword might help though, I don''t know how to use weapons as well as her. She used to play with sticks and pretend she was a sword master, she''s insanely skilled with a blade."


    Sepide paused for a moment and remembered the tournament they went to with Silva and the leader. Her leader managed to fight back against the anomaly and practically dominated Kairo in a fight.


    "There''s no way I can fight her then, I think I could manage to use a sword though."


    "You could, but I can''t imagine it being practical."


    Neige gave a head pat to Sepide, who seemed glad about it. Before they could leave they were stopped by Ina, who ran toward with concern on her face. She had to take a few seconds to take her breath before telling them the reason behind her behavior.


    "Neige! Sepide! Is that true? The leader disappeared?"


    "Yes, she''s in the moon apparently. Emely is working on it, but I was searching for Ada, maybe she could help us."


    "Ada?" Ina thought for a moment, a bit confused at first "Oh, miss nun. The leader sent her on a mission somewhere, I don''t know where though, she said it could take a few days."


    "By herself?" Asked Sepide "Doesn''t that break the rules?"


    "Yes, I was surprised too. We have to leave in groups of at least three, I figured that the leader knew she wouldn''t be in danger."


    "I don''t think so..." Neige said with a serious tone "Maybe it''s her way of getting rid of the anomaly, she knew we''d try to get to her if we could."


    "It has to be important then! I hope the leader finishes quickly then."


    "I don''t think she should, I have a bad feeling about it."


    "But Neige, aren''t you her best friend?" Ina asked, a bit disappointed "You should trust her."


    "It''s because I know her so well that I''m worried, she could be doing something dangerous just to create her perfect world."


    "A perfect world..." Ina stayed silent for a moment, thinking about it "Do you think it''s that bad of an idea?"


    "I think yeah, she''ll probably brainwash everyone if she could, just to make sure we''re happy."


    "It doesn''t sound like a good life to me, you need to stop the leader. If there''s anything I can do tell me, I''ll gladly help."


    Neige smiled, glad to feel Ina''s desire to help.


    "Just make a good meal for the leader once we bring her back here, she''ll probably feel sad."


    "Will do, I hope you''ll bring her back without too much difficulties."


    "We will, don''t worry about it."


    Neige put his hand on his dagger, even if Polyetta was his friend, she probably wouldn''t hold back if she was determined to accomplish her goal. All he could do for now was wait and prepare for the next day.

 Chapter 178: Silent Tears

    Emely was in her lab, focused on her computer. Remiel and Silva both looked at her in silence, hoping she would finish in time. After a few hours of working, Emely threw her watch on her desk in frustration before drinking from her water bottle.


    "That''s so annoying, I can''t work without the book."


    "You need the book?" Silva asked with curiosity "You can''t do otherwise?"


    "Well, the leader showed me the book she used to go between worlds. She asked me to create a more efficient watch, but without the book and the old watch, I would never have been able to create the system we use today. Furthermore, if something happens to the book, we won''t be able to use our watches."


    "That sounds annoying, there are no ways you can manage?"


    "Of course I can, I''m a genius. The thing is, I''ll probably need to overhaul the system, I can modify the current one. It means that it will take time, but we won''t be dependent on the book anymore and will be able to go to the moon."


    "Is your other self able to help?" Remiel asked "I believe she could do something about it."


    "I don''t know, I took a look at the watch Silv used, it''s not well made. I can see there''s an effort, but we''ll need more than that. I''ll manage, I should be able to do it for tomorrow."


    Emely returned to her computer and continued working with energy. Silva was a bit annoyed they couldn''t spend time together but knew it was important. She took the first thing she could find on the desk, a kind of pen, and played around with it until Remiel stopped her.


    "You should not use that."


    "What? A pen?"


    "This is one of Mom''s inventions, it is a pen that can emit a hot laser and use it as a blade."


    Silva stopped fidgeting with it and put the pen back on the desk, making sure she wouldn''t break or hurt anyone with it.


    "She''s really making scary things, but it''s funny, you call Emely Mom now?"


    "Indeed, I am ''messing with her'' as you say."


    "I guess she is your mother after all." Silva nodded with a satisfied smile on her face before suddenly taking a more confused tone "Wait, if Emely and I are together, does that make me your mother by technicality?"


    "If I was a human, you would indeed be my stepmother if you were to marry together."


    "That''s some weird family tree, I thought I''d end up with a tall and muscular man at first."


    "Do you regret it? I am sure there is a man that would be interested in you."


    "He can be interested all he wants, I only have eyes for Emely. It''s just strange how things happened, not only it''s a girl, but it''s Emely. I don''t feel bad about it, I just wish I could see my younger self''s face if I told her that."


    "Why do you love Mom so much? Is it just because she confessed to you?"


    "Well, I knew she loved me but I thought it was just as friends. When she confessed in that world, I was surprised. I was being her lawyer in this world where Love wasn''t allowed."Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Remiel tilted her head, a bit confused.


    "I have no recollection of that happening."


    "You weren''t created yet, actually, we were searching for something to build you. Anyway, I didn''t want to make her feel bad so I didn''t say no yet, I wanted to wait a bit before rejecting her so it''s softer. What I didn''t expect was to think more softly about her, she really is special. It''s also quite funny, I always wanted to order a man around, and now I just want to obey her."


    "It is quite peculiar, I did not know that Love could change people so much. Hopefully, this is a feeling I can experience someday."


    "You probably will, if we find a world full of robots or something. But it''s not like I changed that much, I think Emely changed me for the better, along with everyone else. I''m still this blind painter that everyone loves, just happier and softer."


    "It is wonderful, truly a testament of how strong the power of bonds is."


    "Yeah, and you don''t need to wait for Love to feel it, I''m sure Emely and Sepide are important to you."


    "Indeed, I hope no one will be hurt because of the leader."


    "We''ll do our best so it doesn''t happen, but her behavior is weird. I can''t tell how it''s going to go, I feel like it somehow will be worse than with Silv."


    "Why do you think that?"


    "Well, Silv always was an enemy... She''s our leader, I have no idea how it will go."


    "Uncertainty does bring anxiety, be careful about your physical and mental health."


    "I''m fine don''t worry, I''m sure Emely will take care of both."


    Silva and Remiel continued talking until Emely suddenly stood up from her chair and took the two girls in her arms with excitation. The two girls looked at the engineer, waiting for her to explain the reason for her enthusiasm.


    "I did it! I created a new network for our watches, just a bit more and I should be able to connect us to the moon."


    "That''s great!" Silva said, giving back Emely''s embrace "So it means that tomorrow we should be able to go?"


    Emely stepped back and took her watch on the table with a smile.


    "Yeah, I just need to put the new system in your watches now. I''ll need to update you too, Remiel. Now I need to find a new name for the system."


    "Can''t you use the old one?" Asked Silva "It was the M.L. System I think, right?"


    "But it''s boring, giving names is the best part of it! I thought of calling it the ''Super Ingenious Launcher of Vibration Alpha''!"


    "The... What?" Silva tilted her head in confusion, surprised by Emely''s enthusiasm.


    "It''s not easy to find a name starting with all these letters. Anyway, I''ll find a way to get you to the moon by tomorrow. I don''t know whether it will work properly though, traveling between worlds isn''t easy."


    "I trust you, the leader is cheating with her book, and yet, you still manage to do better than her."


    "I wouldn''t say better." Emely said while blushing a bit "I don''t know what''s the leader''s plan, but I won''t let her change the world we worked so hard to protect without doing anything."


    Remiel nodded, agreeing with her creator''s words.


    "Silva, I hope that along with Neige and Sepide, you will understand why the leader ran away to the moon."


    "We will, I promise. We''ll bring our leader back, no matter what happens!"


    The night arrived, Gwyn stared at the space beyond the ship with a gaze as empty as the corridor she was in. After what felt like hours, her long break was interrupted by Neige, walking silently toward her. The two stared at the world behind the window for a good part of the night, none of them uttering a word. Neige could see Gwyn''s sadness despite her usual cold face, she always looked like she was hopeless but this time more than most days. The doctor opened her mouth, visibly about to talk, but stopped before saying anything. After a few more minutes, a tear suddenly fell from her face. Neige turned toward his friend to see the usually cold woman in tears. In an attempt to comfort his friend, the man took her in his arms, letting her cry all the tears she kept inside for so long. The sound of cries filled the hallway for a few minutes until the doctor spoke through her sorrow.


    "Neige... Please, stop Polyetta... She''ll make a mistake..."


    "I will, I''ll save her."


    Gwyn wiped her tears and stepped back. She took her glasses and cleaned them with a piece of cloth she had in her pocket before putting them back on.


    "Thanks... I wish I knew what to do, I never had anyone to rely on..."


    "I''m sorry Gwyn, I wish I did more for you..."


    The doctor continued staring at the space in front of her for an instant before turning toward Neige.


    "You should sleep, if you wake up at eight am, you''ll only have six hours of sleep."


    "Come on, stop worrying about everyone''s health. You should take care of yourself now."


    "It''s just how I am I suppose... I''m a doctor in soul."


    Neige smiled at Gwyn before walking toward his room. Before he went too far away, Gwyn called Neige one last time.


    "Neige... Thanks for everything, not just for these few days... I mean... For saving me from my life."


    "... Of course Gwyn, it''s nothing."

 Chapter 179: Dawn Of The New World

    The trio was standing next to each other, waiting for Emely to finish working on their watches. No one dared to say a word, watching the engineer do her work. Even Emel and Iris were here, they didn''t understand much but still wished for the group to accomplish their mission. Once she finished, Emely stepped back and smiled at the three friends.


    "It''s all good, just put an X and you''ll get to the moon... Please, come back safe."


    "We will."


    Neige nodded at everyone while Silva and Sepide waved at the rest of the ship. Together, they were ready to find their leader and find out why she ran away and isolated herself.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    An eternal dark stretched to infinity, covering everything in sight. The ground was solid, and yet, felt completely empty. The three friends felt a heavy weight on their hearts, just standing was painful. Neige turned toward his friends to see if they were doing okay but was interrupted by the echo of footsteps before being able to ask anything. The sound of glass hitting against itself approached the group as their leader walked toward them, an empty expression on her face. Unlike usual, she wore a long dark blue and revealing dress with golden crosses sewn on it, giving her an appearance similar to a strange nun. With her book in hand, Polyetta faced the group that came to see her with a harsh gaze.


    "I saw it in the book... I knew you''d come. Alas, it is vain, I am about to create a world devoid of any injustice. Go now, and live the few days you still have in this flawed world."


    Neige took his dagger in hand but didn''t point it at his friend, instead clenching his fist around the handle.


    "Polyetta! You don''t have to do that, we''re so close to-"


    "We''re close to nothing Neige. We''ll take care of the anomaly, and then another problem will arise. I''ll erase this universe and create a new one, no more anomalies, no more suffering, only pure bliss..."


    "Leader? I think you''re not in your normal state."


    A slight smile appeared on the leader''s face, visibly amused by Silva''s words.


    "I''m in my normal state, you''ll thank me later, I promise. I know what I''m doing, unlike you, you barely understand what is going on."


    Sepide stepped forward, frustrated by the leader''s words.


    "But leader, we fought so hard for this universe, you even created me to protect it."


    "You''re wrong Sepide, I have no care for the universe. All I wanted was for Neige to be happy, I made you solely to protect him. Who cares if a few worlds are dying, I only fixed them to make sure the universe doesn''t collapse on itself."


    "Polyetta... No, Yada, it''s not what I want! Please, just come back with us now."


    "I''m not Yada, the pathetic and shy little girl I was is no more. My name is Polyetta, I am the one blessed by the Goddess with her holy diary! I... I am more than her! I am the goddamn Goddess, and I''ll make a world where everyone is happy!"


    Polyetta took her sword in one hand, keeping the book in the other. The trio took their weapons in hand, ready to fight back against their former leader.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "I don''t blame you... You fight for what you believe is right too. I could always kill you and resurrect you later, but out of respect, I''ll just knock you out."


    "That''s awfully arrogant leader!" Silva yelled with her firearm pointed at her leader "You think you can take care of all of us?"


    "Easily."


    Silva shot with her firearm at the leg of her opponent. She expected Polyetta to dodge but was surprised when the woman instead used her blade to cut the bullet in half without much effort.


    "Emely will always impress me, a firearm powered by sunlight. Sadly, technology won''t be enough to stop me."


    Sepide managed to approach the woman and was about to grab her arms to restrain her. Instead, Polyetta easily dodged Sepide''s attempt and punched the girl in the guts.


    "I made you to be perfect... Sadly, even you can''t be better than a Divinity."


    Neige arrived and attacked his friend without holding back. Using his fists as a weapon and dodging Polyetta''s blade with everything he had. Despite his best efforts, The woman casually kicked him back, a pained expression on her face.


    "Neige, you always were the strongest by heart. I''m sorry I couldn''t give you the life you deserved, but it will all change, I promise."


    The three friends stood next to each other, wondering how they would be able to defeat their former leader. Polyetta didn''t take a hit and seemed barely annoyed by their efforts.


    "Please, go. I don''t want to hurt you, but I won''t hesitate to."


    "We''re three Polyetta! You''ll have to get tired eventually."


    Polyetta let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She seemed hesitant about something, taking a few minutes before turning toward the blind girl.


    "Silva, I know I promised you, but I also knew this day would come." The woman then turned toward Sepide and pointed at the two others "Sepide, restrain Neige, this is your new mission, do you understand?"


    Neige and Silva suddenly turned toward Sepide, who held her head in pain, trying her best to resist her leader''s order. A few seconds passed before she tried to attack Neige. Silva blocked the hit, creating a diversion for her friend.


    "Neige! I''ll take care of Sepide! Stop the leader!"


    Neige nodded and ran toward the leader, who shook her head with disappointment.


    "I don''t want you to wake Sepide again... Silva, stop fighting and attack Neige, this is your new mission, do you understand?"


    Neige turned behind him, blood completely frozen by the words he suddenly heard. Silva stopped for a few moments before turning toward Neige with an empty expression on her face.


    "S-Silva!? How can you do that?"


    "I am the Goddess, I just never used the powers given to me before. If I wanted, I could bring the whole universe against you. Do you understand now? Give up, it''s not worth it."


    Rage filled Neige''s face, how could the leader he trusted so much do that? The man turned toward Sepide and Silva who ran toward him and in two swift hits put them to the ground.


    "Sepide, Silva... I''m sorry, I''ll finish the fight for you."


    "I don''t think you''ll finish anything Neige. Just got to sleep Neige, this is your new mission, do you understand?"


    A sharp pain filled Neige''s head, barely letting him think. His hand gripped his dagger with all the strength he had, doing his best to resist the control over him. The man looked at the woman and pointed his dagger at her with a threatening gaze.


    "Yada, you''re going too far. For everyone''s sake, yours included, I''m going to stop you!"


    "N-Neige? You''re not supposed to resist, that could be a problem..."


    Polyetta tossed her book aside and took her blade with both hands, letting a serious expression replace the emptiness on her face.


    "Neige, this world is not worthy of you! Do the means really matter? In the end, you''ll be happy."


    "I don''t want to be happy! I want to earn my future, even if I have to face my past for that! I''m not going to let you throw away everything we did together, I''ll bring you back, no matter what!"


    "Neige..."


    Neige''s dagger clashed with Polyetta''s sword. The two blades danced together, blocking the other''s hit every time. Neige managed to keep up with Polyetta''s speed and precision but still couldn''t land an attack. A few minutes passed but the woman was clearly more skilled than Neige and ended up disarming him. The dagger was sent flying away, leaving Neige defenseless, allowing Polyetta to use the hilt of her sword to knock him down. The woman let go of her sword and grabbed the unconscious Neige before he could fall, gently putting him on the ground. Polyetta softly caressed Neige''s hair while looking at his sleepy face full of bliss.


    "Neige... I promise you''ll be peaceful like that once I finish my world."

 Chapter 180: Neige...

    "Neige! You have to wake up!"


    A faint voice echoed in Neige''s head, a similar voice to the one of his friend Polyetta. As he woke up from the soft and fluffy bed he was in, Neige recognized the room he was in. A room full of pink and plushes, with a table and a tea set in the center. He expected to see the Goddess, Opal, but was instead met with Ada''s concerned face. The nun''s face brightened when she saw Neige wake and took him in her arms. Neige was too confused to say anything, instead trying to remember what happened. Ada looked at Neige in the eyes and quickly noticed the confusion in his eyes.


    "Neige, are you alright?"


    "I... Think..." Neige suddenly remembered the fight with Polyetta and nervously looked around "Silva! Sepide! Where are they!?"


    "I''ll tell you, but there''s a lot to talk about. You need to calm down first."


    "Yeah... I''m sorry... I guess I should start with the beginning, where are we?"


    "I don''t know, I found you there. I found everyone else too, but you seem to be the only one who isn''t brainwashed."


    "Brainwashed... Did Polyetta make her perfect world already?"


    "Not exactly, I''m not sure myself. I was on a mission, your leader told me to stay in a weird world for a week because something would happen. I was quite surprised when I saw the world literally vanish in front of my eyes, I was in the dark void once more. Every world suffered the same fate, and when I managed to find a world, I found... Silva there. That''s her name, right?"


    "Yes, was she alright?"


    "I think, she was different from what I remembered. Actually, everyone was, they were so different. After searching for a bit, I found you here, you took quite a nap to be honest."


    Neige looked around the room, it was exactly like the time he saw the Goddess, leading him to wonder what had happened.


    "Ada, was there a little girl? She''s small and has long black hair."


    "A little girl? No, I didn''t, why?"


    "It''s nothing, I was just wondering, what is this place?"


    "You''ll need to ask your leader for that."


    "I suppose... Can we see Silva? You said you saw her, right?"


    "Yes, but I don''t think you can use your watch."


    Neige looked at his watch, it still worked, but he had no idea in which world he was supposed to go.


    "You''re right, I need the ID of the world."


    "It''s okay, I can send you there but... It''s a bit complicated."


    "How so?"


    "Do you remember when I... Took you away from your friend and sent you to another world?"


    "And after you held a tournament? I remember yeah, you can''t do it anymore?"


    "I could, but the void is not a safe place for you. I''m basically dead, so it doesn''t affect me, but I wasn''t able to cover large distances with you. This universe barely contains ten worlds, and they''re all so far away, there''s no way I can take you with me safely."


    "So... You''ll need to go alone?"


    "Well, there is a way... I could possess you, but this time, you''ll need to fully accept me in your heart. It will be like... Fusing together, you should be able to go to other worlds like that, but you''ll need to trust me."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "It''s okay, I trust you." Neige said with a smile on his face.


    "Are you sure? Fusing isn''t easy to do or undo, we''ll probably stay like that until we take care of everything."


    "I understand, but I really need to stop Polyetta, I want to believe it''s still possible to save everyone and get things like they were before."


    "Alright... Can you close your eyes? It''s better that way."


    Neige nodded and closed his eyes. A cold feeling filled his body, almost like he was freezing from inside. A sharp pain took over his heart for a moment before suddenly stopping, everything felt natural again, like nothing ever happened. Neige opened his eyes and saw his clothes changed, instead of the Kronos''s uniform, a sort of black and orange nun garb covered his body. It was like his uniform and Ada''s costume fused together, giving a strange but cute outfit.


    ~Are you alright Neige? I hope it wasn''t too painful.~


    "A-Ada? Is that you? I can hear you in my head."


    ~Yes, only you should be able to hear me that way. You should be able to travel between worlds now.~


    "I see, I should go check on Silva now, I''m worried about her and the others."


    ~Let''s go then, I''m sure you''ll find a way to talk to your friend!~


    Neige put his hand in front of him and managed to create a rift in space in front of him. It felt natural for him as if he always knew how to do it. Neige took a deep inspiration and stepped into the rift, leading to an empty space. When he looked behind him, Neige was only able to see an orb of light instead of the world he just come from. The space was vast, with a few lights far away, they didn''t have a color, instead just letting a faint warmth that Neige could feel from far away.


    "Is that... What''s between worlds?"


    ~Yeah, that''s how I travel. When I first ended up here, it took me years just to find my way out.~


    "I see, let''s try to not get lost then, we should find Silva as quickly as possible."


    Neige headed toward the world that Ada indicated to him. As he got closer, Neige was able to feel Silva there. It was faint but the warm feeling in his heart made it clear that Silva was there.


    Neige made its way to the world where Silva was in. A grandiose castle was standing in front of them and the road was built with shining white stones. Triumphant music echoed in the world but all Neige could feel was the solitude of the situation. Even if Ada was here, Neige truly felt alone, without anyone he could rely on.


    ~Neige, are you alright?~


    "Yes, where have you seen Silva?"


    ~In the castle... Neige, this world was probably created by Polyetta. Aside from Silva, nothing here is real.~


    Neige nodded and headed toward the castle, ready to find Silva as soon as possible. On the way there, a man stopped him. He was wearing red and black armor and towering over Neige''s small height. The knight smiled at him but still held his spear in hand, ready to fight if the need arose.


    "Hey you, never seen around I think. New here?"


    "Yes, I''m searching for a girl named Silva. She''s around my height, has red hair, and looks a bit smug, you saw her before?"


    "I think you mean Queen Silva, of course I did. Her Majesty truly treats us like we deserve to."


    "Queen Silva..." Neige muttered to himself "I need to meet her, is it possible?"


    "Of course, she''s always available... Usually. She''s sick today, I don''t think it will be possible right away."


    "It''s fine, I can heal her."


    ~You can?~


    "Shut up Ada..." Neige muttered, confusing the knight..


    "What was it?" Asked the knight.


    "Nothing, I''m sure I could at least help her."


    "I truly hope so, we are nothing without Her Majesty. If you manage to make her feel better she''ll reward you, I''m sure."


    Neige nodded and left a bit farther away, making sure no one could hear him.


    "Ada, you shouldn''t talk when I''m with someone, they''ll know something''s happening."


    ~Sorry... But still, how will you heal her?~


    "I''m not healing her, I need an excuse to get closer."


    Neige looked around at the place, all he could see were knights walking around in the same armor. They all looked like tall men, which frustrated Neige a bit.


    "One wrong movement and we''re practically dead."


    ~You''re right, I can''t really help in this state, you''ll need to manage alone.~


    "It''s fine, but I wonder if that''s what Polyetta meant by her perfect world. Everyone is the same here and it doesn''t look like it''s a big world."


    ~It''s only one of the worlds of that universe, maybe she made it quickly to try something.~


    "Maybe, now that I think about it, Silva often talked about how she wanted to be a queen and command a harem of tall and strong men. Maybe Polyetta thought it would be the perfect world for her."


    ~That would be Silva''s perfect world? It looks more like a nightmare to me, there are no girls!~


    "I mean... I guess she''s not into girls. But I''m surprised to not see Emely around, I thought she''d be part of her perfect world."


    ~Maybe she''s in the castle too... Or Silva doesn''t love her that way.~


    "Of course she does, there''s probably another explanation. For now, let''s focus on Silva, we need to enter in the castle."


    ~Good luck Neige!~


    After taking a deep breath, Neige went toward the door of the castle and opened the door with confidence. Inside was a bunch of guards, at least ten, and a familiar girl with red hair sitting on a throne and dressed like a queen. The girl looked at Neige straight in the eyes with an arrogant stare from her royal throne.


    "Who may you be? I don''t recognize you. Introduce yourself, promptly!"

 Chapter 181: Silva... Come With Me!

    The Queen Silva stared at Neige with curiosity, surprised to see a stranger in her castle. Despite the pressure and tense atmosphere Neige felt, he still managed to answer Silva''s question with calm.


    "Silva, it''s me Neige... Do you remember me?"


    "Neige..."


    The Queen squinted her eyes and snapped her fingers. The guards immediately ran toward their Queen and used their bodies to make stairs for Silva to smoothly go down from her throne. The girl approached Neige and took a closer look at him before shaking her head.


    "No, I can''t say I''ve met a girl like you..."


    "I''m not a girl... I know I''m wearing nun''s clothing, but I''m a guy."


    "A man dressing as a girl, how cute." Silva chuckled at herself before turning around "It appears you''re not the one I''m searching for, guards, execute him."


    "E-Execute!?"


    Neige stepped back as the guards surrounded him. He was about to take his dagger but instead yelled toward Silva in the hope of getting out of there alive.


    "Silva! I can cure your disease!"


    The guards looked at Silva, who raised his hand to stop her guards. She walked toward her old friend with curiosity on her face.


    "Cure me? Can you truly do that?"


    "Y-Yes. I just need you to tell me what''s the problem and I''ll fix it."


    Silva smiled, a bit amused to see Neige in such a panicked state.


    "My heart yearns for a prince. I know he is somewhere, but I cannot reach him. My Love for him is as eternal as the concept of time, but alas, he is so far away."


    ~See? That''s what I meant, they all look brainwashed like that.~


    Neige nodded, it was hard for him to see his friend whom he spent so much time with forgetting him and the others. But even if she looked like a totally new person, Neige knew her Silva was still in there.


    "Silva, is it possible that your prince might be a princess actually?"


    "A girl?" Silva seemed disgusted by the idea at first but quickly changed her mind "Maybe, I do remember a splendid woman, with hair as soft as clouds and skin as smooth as a newborn. How do you know that? Have you seen her before?"


    "Yeah, it seems like you forgot about a part of your life. We used to work together, going into other worlds to save the universe."


    "Ridiculous... Is it possible that... My princess is in another world then?"


    "She most definitely is. We''ll need to leave and-"


    "Leave!?" Silva asked, offended "No, you bring her here. I''m the Queen, why would I do something as low as working? Everyone serves me!"


    "Silva, your life wasn''t always like that. You can''t live in that lie forever."


    "Lie!? This is my life Neige! I... I deserve this life, I was born to be the most perfect person in the world!"


    Silva stepped away and put one of her hands on her head. The girl looked delusional, shaking like she saw something horrible.


    "NO! I''m not worthless! I''m not pathetic! I''m a Queen, deciding for everyone''s Fate! I won''t let you ruin my life!"


    ~She looks mad at you... Or at something she remembered.~


    Silva ran away, followed by a few guards. Neige considered following her but a voice behind him stopped him.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "Neige? What are you doing here?"


    Neige turned around to see her old friend, Polyetta. The woman walked toward him and looked at his strange outfit before realizing.


    "I see, the anomaly... I thought erasing the universe with her inside would have solved the problem, she really is an anomaly after all."


    "Polyetta! What did you do? Is it your perfect world!?"


    "Sadly, I didn''t finish it yet. This place is a world I created long ago for Silva, I did for every one of you. It''s just a temporary place to keep them away from me."


    "Long ago... Polyetta, don''t tell me you were planning for it for so long."


    "I did, ever since I got this book I kept thinking about it... The destruction of our world was enough for me to start this project, just in case. I''ll create a world away from any injustice and pain, a snow globe to protect us."


    "But that''s not what we want! Silva is barely herself anymore!"


    "Don''t worry, it''s just temporary. You can play with your friends for a little while, I have more important to do. In the end, you''ll just come back to me, and I''ll stop you again."


    Polyetta walked away, Neige considered following her but knew it was vain and instead ran deeper in the castle to find Silva.


    Neige ran to the basement, where Silva was standing there, alone. The girl was holding herself in tears but quickly stopped once she noticed Neige''s presence.


    "W-Who is it?"


    "It''s me, Neige. Are you alright Silva?"


    "I... I don''t know. It''s like I have two me inside me... What is real? Which one is right?"


    "It''s okay, we''ll figure it out. You just need to-"


    "No!" Silva violently stepped back and ran away from Neige, going deeper into the basement "No one should see me like that!"


    The girl disappeared into the dark part of the basement. Neige followed her and tried to take his phone to use its light but quickly noticed it wasn''t there anymore, Polyetta probably took it when he was unconscious. Forced to step into the dark, Neige confidently walked toward Silva''s voice, echoing in the hallway.


    "I''m no Queen... A Queen is above everyone else, not beneath..."


    ~Silva doesn''t seem to be in a good state.~


    Neige continued, the shadows were leaving place to light, allowing him to see Silva standing up in a child''s room. Neige looked behind him and noticed that the hallway behind him left the place to a door instead.


    ~This place makes no sense, Polyetta probably didn''t put much time into it.~


    "Maybe... But it feels like Silva''s uncertainty is what causes all of these problems."


    Neige gently walked toward Silva but stopped once he heard her voice.


    "Even in a world made for me... I still can''t keep up with this facade..." Silva turned toward her friends, trying her best to hold her tears "Neige, please, tell me why. No matter how hard I try, no matter how better my life is... I still can''t rid of those words, I still see myself as worthless... I need you, I need Emely, I need Sepide, I need everyone... I can''t do anything on my own."


    "It''s because you lost your memories and ended up in this situation, it''s still not-"


    "I remembered everything... It just... No matter how hard I try, I still am the weak little girl that would shed blood for someone''s attention. Even when my parents were horrible to me, all I wanted was for them to acknowledge me."


    "Silva... You did so much, you stopped harming yourself, you stopped needing your meds, and you even defeated Silv by yourself. You already did so much."


    "It''s because you''re all here for me... I''m nothing without you."


    "Because you think I''m here just for fun? I came to save you, I want you around. There''s no way I can do it by myself either, not only is Polyetta too strong for me, but solitude is even stronger."


    Neige extended his hand to Silva and gave her a warm smile that even the blind girl could feel.


    "Come on, let''s get out of this false world. The real life may be hard, but that''s why you have us! You can do great things alone, but together, we can do everything."


    Silva stayed silent for a while before smiling softly. She wiped the tear off her face and tried to cheer up the best she could.


    "You''re right. The leader is alone, right? There''s no way we lose against her then! And to be honest, it''s a bit boring to order people who obey everything. I can''t wait to see Emely again."


    "Yeah, your princess must be waiting for her knight."


    Silva went toward Neige, still a bit shaken up by everything that happened. Neige looked around the room and quickly noticed how similar the room was to the one Silva had before.


    "We should hurry, who knows when the leader will finish her world?"


    The girl nodded and took Neige''s hand, ready to leave this place. Before they were able to, a voice coming from behind suddenly startled them. The voice of their former leader.


    "Silva, you''re already leaving?"


    "Yeah, this place sucks."


    The leader took a piece of paper and a pen, ready to write on it.


    "Could you answer a few questions? I''m trying to make my perfect world... Well, perfect. So, out of five, how would you rate your experience in your world?"


    "My world? I don''t want it. I''d give it a zero, I hope this place burns while I''m away."


    "It will if you leave, this place is related to you. I created it, but it changes based on your feelings. I''m sure you''re not thinking about actually leaving, I''ll improve everything and remove all your nasty memories. Also, I may have something to make you stay."


    Silva and Neige both prepared to fight, waiting for Polyetta to make her move. The woman clapped her hands twice, prompting the door of the room to open. A man entered, someone that Neige had already seen before but that Silva knew more than anyone else. The man smiled and spoke in the most reassuring voice he could take.


    "Silva, I missed you, my little girl!"


    "F-Father!?"

 Chapter 182: Goodbye, Father

    Silva''s father was standing there, taking the girl by surprise. She was ready to fight at any moment but stopped when she heard her former leader''s words.


    "I know you always wanted your parents'' approval. It''s not a copy or anything, it''s actually your father. I could resurrect your mother too, I even made sure they would only Love you and never hurt you in any way. You could be happy Silva, you deserve it."


    Silva slowly walked toward her father in disbelief. Neige was about to interrupt them but Polyetta stood in his way, forcing him to stay as a spectator of the event. Silva stood a meter away from her father, who gladly opened his arms to give her a hug.


    "Silva, everything will be alright now."


    The girl stood there, paralyzed by the idea of her father being here after all these years. This time, he didn''t seem to hate her, quite the opposite. For a moment, she considered going in his arms but turned toward Neige for a moment before facing him again.


    "I''m sorry papa, I grew up. I made friends and found a new family now."


    "Silva? What are you saying? I''ll buy you all the paint you need, we can watch the TV together." The man approached Silva and forcefully took her shoulder "Come on, don''t you want to have some family time together?"


    "No thanks, I have things to do!"


    Silva struggled to get her father away from her. She managed to throw him away but tripped making a candle fall with her on the floor. The fire quickly spread around the room, the smoke made it hard for everyone to breathe. Polyetta looked around at the chaos and tried to find a way out of there.


    "I-It''s okay, everything will be fixed! I just need to get the book, I''ll be back soon!"


    The woman ran away from the room, Neige took this opportunity to run to help his friends but stopped when Silva yelled at him.


    "Don''t worry Neige! I got it!"


    "What? But we need to leave!"


    "Neige, just a minute! Please!"


    Neige turned toward Silva''s father and quickly understood her intentions, stepping back to let her deal with it.


    "Don''t take too much time."


    "Thanks, Neige."


    Silva faced her father in the burning room, the smoke burned her lungs and the fire confused her senses. She barely could understand what was happening but still wanted to say goodbye to her father, once and for all.


    "Papa, Mama, thanks for giving birth to me. I won''t be a successful person, I won''t change the world, I''ll just stay with my friends and live my life with them. I would say I''m sorry for being a bad daughter, but it doesn''t matter what you think of me, you''re no longer my parents to me."


    "Silva, what are you saying? I can still be a good father for you."


    Silva smiled and took her firearm in hand. She aimed at her father, without a doubt in her heart.


    "I''m not going to be your perfect daughter, I''m not going to yearn for power and cause chaos. I''ll just be me, and it''s more than enough for me."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Silva''s father suddenly groaned, clearly dissatisfied by Silva''s behavior.


    "Until the end, you were a disappointment... There''s no saving you Silva, you''re the worst child a parent could have."


    Silva smiled cheerfully at her father, even laughing at him while holding her firearm.


    "Your insults are lame old man, I''m way better at that than you." Silva''s smile softened as she closed her eyes, ready to finish it once and for all "Goodbye Father, I found my true family now."


    Amidst the fire, the sound of Silva''s firearm echoed in the room as her father fell to the ground. She took a few seconds of silence before turning toward Neige, but before she could say anything, her friends grabbed her arm.


    "It will be alright, you deserved better."


    "Of course I did, are we leaving for the ship."


    "No, we''re going to-" Neige stopped himself in his sentence. He couldn''t navigate long distances with Silva, Ada was the one allowing him to. Furthermore, Polyetta was probably the one putting him in the Goddess''s room, it probably wasn''t safe to return there. All he could do now was hope that the Kronos still existed "Yeah, let''s go home."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The two friends returned to the ship with their watches. The place was completely empty and dark, even though it was supposed to be the middle of the day. Neige explained everything that happened about the leader''s plan, and the current state of their friends.


    "The leader is such a bitch."


    "Hey Silva, mind your language... She''s still our leader."


    "She''s yours but not mine, next time, I kick her behind... Emely is trapped in her own world too?"


    "Probably yes. I was the only one that wasn''t like that, according to Ada."


    "She''s here? Will she help us?"


    "She did, she''s inside me."


    Silva grinned at Neige, who suddenly realized he should have phrased it differently.


    "I didn''t know you were into that Neige, but I understand, nothing is more attractive than a woman with a-"


    "I don''t need to hear the rest of the sentence... Let''s just say we fused for now."


    "That explains why you have different clothes, this one is pretty loud with all those crosses and pieces of cloth freely moving around."


    "So you noticed... It''s the only way to travel to other worlds, I don''t have the world''s ID yet."


    "It''s a shame, but I can still follow you at least. You just go into a world and come back to tell me the world''s ID."


    "I could, but aren''t you tired?"


    "I can''t sleep knowing that the others are in the same state I am."


    ~Maybe even worse.~ Said the anomaly ~Silva had a strong heart, I can''t imagine how hard it will be to convince those who doubt.~


    "So Silva was an easy one?"


    Neige let out a sigh, confusing his friend.


    "What are you talking about Neige?"


    "Oh right, you can''t hear Ada."


    "Are you sure you''re not the one that needs rest? Just ask the kind nun to take care of your sexual needs while I save the others."


    "No thanks... I wonder how you can joke in a time like that."


    "I don''t understand how you can all be so serious in moments like that, I feel like I would become crazy if I didn''t joke around."


    "As long as you''re having fun... Anyway, on the way, I feel like I felt Sepide nearby. She''s trapped in a world, just like you were."


    "We gotta save her, then the team will be back together!"


    ~I''m sorry to bother you during your conversation, but isn''t it better to go after Polyetta? Once she''s taken care of you can save your friends.~


    "We could, but first off, Sepide is an important member of our team. And also, I don''t want them to be trapped in this nightmare for more than they need."


    "Neige, you need to warn me when you''re talking to the voice in your head." Silva said, a bit annoyed "I really thought you talked to me for a moment."


    "Yeah, sorry Silva. I''m still getting the hang of it, it''s not every day I have the spirit of someone inside me... Still, it feels weird, I''m not used to having no one around."


    "I agree, and the ship is so empty... I thought the leader would at least feel attached a little bit to it."


    "I think she liked it, she did keep it in the new universe after all. But it worries me, if we stop Polyetta, will everything go back to what it was before? I know they were in other worlds, but I still enjoyed some of the people there."


    "Yeah, didn''t Sepide get a mermaid friend? It would be a shame if she lost her. I just hope everyone in Wonderland is fine, Love was forbidden there, but it looked like Emely managed to change their mind."


    "Even if we''re all far away and they ignore our goal, I''m sure a lot of people consider us their friends... We should probably go now, we wouldn''t want to make everyone wait."


    "Yep, lead the way, Neige!"

 Chapter 183: Sepide... We Miss You

    Neige and Silva arrived in Sepide''s world but were a bit surprised to see the Kronos in a perfectly good state. The two were even surprised when they found Polyetta in her leader''s outfit, looking at them with curiosity.


    "Silva? Neige? How did you... End up here? I swear I saw you in my office a few minutes ago."


    Neige was about to ask Polyetta about the strange situation but quickly got interrupted by Ada''s voice in his head.


    ~Don''t forget, aside from Sepide, no one is real here.~


    Neige nodded, even if he knew that it still felt weird to him. And was it really Sepide''s perfect world? It seemed like a normal day on the ship.


    "We were just searching for Sepide, we lost her on the way."


    "She''s probably in the world 24084284. You know, where your mission is! You should hurry, don''t leave her alone."


    The false Polyetta left the two friends alone. Silva turned toward Neige, satisfied with the way it turned out.


    "That''s easy, we just have to go to this world then."


    "No, it''s not that easy." Answered Neige "I doubt the real Polyetta would let Sepide go in other worlds. I think this world is a miniaturized version of our old universe, if we use our watch, we''ll leave this world."


    ~So it''s... A world with worlds inside?~ Ada asked, confused.


    "The technicality doesn''t matter, all that matters is to find Sepide. We could try to search for her but I think we should make her come to us, it seems more practical."


    "I still have my watch." Noticed Silva "Maybe it''s the same for Sepide. We should be able to call her!"


    "It''s possible, but she''s probably with the fake me and the fake Silva."


    ~Please, I beg of you, leave this world! I can''t understand what you''re talking about...~ The anomaly said on the border of tears.


    "Let''s just call Sepide, we can see the rest after."


    Silva hurried and used her watch to call her friend. A few minutes passed until Sepide finally answered.


    *Silva? Is that you?*


    "Yeah, can you come to the ship for a moment?"


    *You''re on the ship? But I saw you a few minutes ago.*


    "Don''t think too much, just come, it''s urgent."


    *Alright, I''ll come.*


    The call stopped, leaving Silva with a proud smile on her face.


    "Too easy, now we have to wait for her."


    "And then? How will we explain to her that everything here is a lie? She''ll probably think we''re messing with her."


    "We''ll see when we get there, you just need to have some ''faith''." Silva laughed, leaving Neige completely confused. Neige was about to wait for an explanation but was instead stopped by Sepide''s voice behind him.


    "N-Neige!? Silva!? Is it actually you? How is it possible?"


    Silva and Neige turned toward Sepide but didn''t plan for the fake Neige and Silva to also be there. The two fakes took their weapons in hand, ready to fight at any moment. The fake Neige looked at the real one, a tad disgusted.


    "Why is the fake me dressed like a nun?"


    "It''s not by choice... Sepide, you have to believe us, those two are the fake ones!"


    Sepide looked back and forth between her two friends behind her and the real ones in front of her. The girl looked confused, unable to understand what was happening. She took her firearm and pointed alternatively at the two Neiges.


    "Say something only the real Neige would know!"


    The fake one smirked and looked in the direction of the first one with confidence.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Kronosian contains more than 200,000 words."


    "Kronosian? The Ship''s language?" Sepide asked with confusion "How am I supposed to know if it''s true?"


    "And it''s not even true." Answered the real Neige "There''s a bit less than that. It''s closer to 190,000 words."


    Sepide looked at the two Neige, still having no idea which one was the real one. Neige quickly noticed that this wasn''t how he would manage to convince Sepide and instead tried to convince her another way.


    "Sepide, the leader trapped you in this world and erased your memories! She''s trying to make a perfect world by destroying everything we worked so hard to protect!"


    "She did?" Sepide paused for a moment before answering Neige "It doesn''t matter, my role isn''t to judge, only obey."


    "What? But it means that the old universe is-"


    "I will let you leave, whoever you may be. Don''t come here ever again."


    Sepide left along with the two fakes. Neige and Silva stood in silence for a moment, unable to understand what just happened.


    ~It''s a shame, she didn''t remember you...~


    "Still, the way she acted was weird. Why would she leave if she thought we were fakes? Maybe she did believe us, at least a bit."


    The two friends turned around when they suddenly heard footsteps behind them. The real Polyetta was standing there, looking at them in her divine outfit.


    "See, Sepide is happy here. She doesn''t need to trouble herself with the problems of this world, she can live adventures forever, without ever thinking about the future."


    Silva took her weapon in hand and was ready to attack her former leader but was quickly stopped by Neige, grabbing her arm.


    "Neige!? Don''t tell me you agree with her!?"


    "Of course not but have you seen what she can do? There''s no way we can stop her."


    "Why don''t you agree?" Asked the woman "Everything is good for her, maybe Silva wasn''t suited for a life where all of her wishes are granted, but Sepide is doing well. Why don''t you leave her in this world?"


    "We''re not letting our friend in this creepy place!" Silva yelled with conviction "Those aren''t her friends, they''re just puppets made for one thing!"


    "Isn''t Sepide the same?" Asked Polyetta "A puppet made for one thing, she''s at home here."


    "How dare you!? Sepide''s our friend!"


    Silva struggled to punch Polyetta while Neige still managed to hold her back.


    "Silva''s right, even if she''s a bit mad."


    "A bit!? I''m enraged that she''s treating Sepide like that!"


    "Yeah... Sepide lived through so much, she''s more than what she was made for."


    Polyetta felt visibly bad after seeing how much the two friends cared for Sepide. The woman looked away in shame, unable to find the strength to look at them in the eyes.


    "About that, I''m not really sure you can say that Sepide is the one you knew. Unlike the others, I ripped the page I wrote her on and threw it away. All the things she lived through and her memories are in the trash now."


    "What!?" Silva pushed Neige to the side and ran toward the woman. She tried to grab the woman but the latter dodged easily, enraging the blind girl even more "You created her, and now you just treat her like garbage!? You''re no better than my parents, getting rid of your child when they become a burden for you..."


    "It''s not like everything is gone forever, the page with her memories is with the old universe in a very special place."


    "Is the special place a trash bin?"


    Polyetta looked away at Silva''s words, trying to dodge the question.


    "C-Come on, why don''t you go save the others? You can see that Sepide isn''t interested."


    "We''ll save them." Neige said, taking Silva back to his sides "You said you threw Sepide''s memories with the old universe. Those that mean we can recover both of them?"


    "The old universe maybe, I didn''t burn it yet."


    "Did you burn Sepide''s memories!?"


    "Only a part of it! They were only a burden for her, you should see how happy she is now that she lost all her memories. I wanted to make sure she wouldn''t get them back."


    Neige and Silva stared into space in disbelief, unable to fully comprehend the meaning of Polyetta''s words.


    "So... The Sepide we know is gone?"


    "What are you saying Neige? Of course she''s not gone." Silva turned toward her former leader with hate in her eyes "I''m going to bring Sepide''s memories back and ruin your world! After that, I''ll get everything like it was before! It''s not a threat, it''s a promise."


    "If that amuses you." The woman said, still feeling a bit guilty "My break is over, I''ll resume my perfect world. Once it''s over, you''ll see how great it is!"


    Polyetta disappeared in a flash of light. Silva stayed focused on the place her former leader was, still furious at her. Neige managed to calm her down and the two prepared themselves mentally to continue their hard task to save Sepide. However, Sepide walked toward them, astonishing the two friends.


    "Was that... The leader?"


    "No, she''s a dick, and even Emely won''t be able to make me say a softer word."


    Sepide shyly looked at Neige and Silva before walking closer to them.


    "I... Don''t really understand what is happening, I don''t have any reason to leave this place and deal with this problem. But at the same time, I feel like there''s something missing, like a part of me is empty. This empty part, it''s your Sepide, right? That''s why you want to bring my memories back, to see your Sepide again."


    "You''re our Sepide." Said Neige with a comforting voice "Once you get all your memories back, everything will become clearer to you."


    "The logical solution for me is to stay here. Not only I am happy, but I don''t risk my life. And yet, my heart wants to follow you."


    "So you''ll follow us!?"


    Sepide nodded to answer Silva''s question, leading the blind girl to take her tightly in her arms.


    "We''ll get all your memories back, I promise. And we''ll make this cunt regret what she did."


    "Hey, she''s still my friend." Neige said with a sad tone "I''m sure she never meant anything bad."


    "Maybe she didn''t mean anything bad, but she''s putting my friends'' lives at risk, I''m never going to forgive her." Silva stayed silent for a moment, noticing Neige''s sorrow, and took him in her arms "It''s fine, your friend''s probably very confused or something."


    "Don''t worry Silva... I''m alright. We should go back now, I don''t want to waste time."


    Silva nodded, and along with Sepide, the two friends returned on the empty Kronos. Including Cinnamon the cat, five members were missing. It would be hard for them to find everyone before the end of the day, but leaving anyone behind wasn''t an option for them.

 Chapter 184: Unconfident Forest

    The three friends arrived at the shell that was once the Kronos. The silence was heavy, especially for Sepide, who suddenly realized the dire situation her two friends were in. She looked around the main hall they were in, the lack of light contrasting with the fake ship she was in a few minutes ago. Seeing her wander around, Neige approached her, trying to see how she felt through her empty face.


    "Sepide, how do you feel? Do you remember anything?"


    Sepide shook her head, leading Neige to let out a disappointed sigh.


    "It will probably take more time than that..."


    ~Is it even possible?~ Asked Ada ~I don''t really understand what''s this book you talked about, but it seemed like your friend wouldn''t be able to get her memories back.~


    "She will. Maybe her memories are burned, but I know her heart remembers. It will take some time but it''s possible, I''m sure. Also, Polyetta didn''t burn the old universe, it''s possible to bring it back... I think."


    Sepide looked at Neige with concern on her face before turning toward Silva.


    "Is it the real Neige? He''s dressed like a nun and talks to himself."


    "Don''t worry about that, he''s not crazy... Yet." Silva walked toward Neige and hit his shoulder to get his attention.


    "Ouch, you could have been softer..."


    "Next time maybe, anyway, what''s next? We should go save the others now, but what about Sepide?"


    Neige glanced at Sepide, who continued looking around the ship.


    "Maybe she should stay here, it could bring her memories." Neige waved at Sepide and managed to get the attention of the girl "Sepide, we''re going. You should look around, maybe you''ll remember something."


    Sepide nodded at Neige''s words. The two friends prepared to leave for the next world while Sepide decided to walk away from them, hoping to find something interesting.


    The girl walked around, the ship was exactly the same as the one she had seen before, just less lively. She doubted that something would be different, the fake Kronos was exactly like the real one. Exhausted, she decided to go into her room to rest on her bed. However, something quickly caught her attention when she entered. A pirate hat could be seen under her bed, Sepide took it with curiosity and put it on her head. She felt like this wasn''t the first time she had worn it before but couldn''t remember the details. The hat was hiding a small box. Sepide took a medal in it with curiosity, ''Amateur Boxing''s Champion'' was written on it. Silva fought hard to earn it against Neige''s other self. She couldn''t remember why they did it, but Sepide was surprised to remember something. It probably meant that her two friends were right, a lot must have happened, and she could barely remember anything. The girl took the box, ''memories'' was written on it. When she looked inside it, Sepide was surprised by the amount of things inside. She randomly took one and pulled out a card. It was their first encounter with Silv, Neige managed to beat her at poker. Sepide chuckled when she remembered it, Neige barely understood the rules. It was also the time when Neige resented Sepide for taking Kairo''s place. The world Polyetta created for her wasn''t like that, everyone was so nice and kind, there weren''t any problems, any struggles. Searching a bit more, Sepide found an eggshell in the box. This was when Silva and she fought a dragon. They met Ada''s Neige at the time, his death created a parallel universe and created the anomaly. Everything felt so strange, Sepide was shaking at the idea of all of her life being robbed from her and put the box down before closing her eyes for a few minutes.


    "Silv... The anomaly... Do they really exist?"


    Neige and Silva ended up in a soft forest, with huts and cottages serving as houses. The two friends looked around, not an ounce of advanced technology was there. This was particularly strange since they went here in the hope of finding Emely, the engineer. Silva paused for a moment, concerned for her little inventor.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    "Emely said she wanted a world without technology since it''s what ruined her world... I thought she managed to get over her hate for it."


    "Polyetta said she created those worlds long ago, she didn''t take your growth into account. Your world wouldn''t have been like that if it was the case."


    "You''re right... Let''s find Emely, I don''t want her to let me worry while she''s having fun."


    Neige smiled softly at Silva before following her. The pair walked around the town to see everyone being peaceful and happy, but they knew that this was barely more than a facade made by their former leader. It didn''t take long before they found Emely, cooking something in front of what they assumed to be her house. When she noticed them, the girl with ginger hair approached them and analyzed Silva with curiosity.


    "What are those clothes? It looks like you come straight up from a novel."


    "Don''t you remember, you''re the one that made them." Silva said with a smile on her face. She was about to continue but another girl suddenly arrived and took Emely in her arms while staring at the two friends with distrust.


    "Who are you? What do you want from my dear?"


    "Your dear?" Silva asked, offended "Who are you supposed to be, her lover?"


    "Yeah, got a problem with that?"


    Silva froze when she heard those words. Neige remembered Emely talking about an old crush, but this was the first time Silva heard about it. The blind girl stepped back and held her hand on her chest, trying her best to get rid of the cold feeling deep in her heart.


    "N-No... It''s fine. Can we talk to Emely for a moment? It''s important."


    "I''m not letting two strangers like you talk to her, you''re very sketchy."


    Emely got away from the girl''s arms and stepped toward Silva with concern on her face.


    "Is everything alright? You seem in pain."


    Silva knew this was before, Emely loved her now, she just was brainwashed. And yet, Silva still couldn''t brush off this horrible feeling in her body, she felt betrayed but knew it wasn''t Emely''s fault.


    "It''s your perfect world... I thought I''d have my place there." Silva turned toward Neige, visibly heartbroken "Can you take care of it? I need to take a walk."


    Silva left without waiting for an answer. Neige looked at his friend going and decided that bringing Emely back was the best this he could do for her. The ginger girl looked at Silva going away and seemed saddened for some reason.


    "This girl, where is she going? Will I see her again?"


    "Why do you want to see her again?" Asked her girlfriend "I''m here, you don''t need anyone else. Especially not a weird ass nun."


    "Mind your language." Emely scolded gently the girl before looking at Neige "Why are you here? You have something to say, right?"


    "You''re not going to listen to this girl? She''s probably a stupid-"


    "Yuko, just go away. I can''t deal with you when you''re like that!"


    The girl looked at Emely and Neige before leaving, clearly annoyed. Once he made sure she was away, Neige decided to explain everything to Emely.


    "So... I''m a guy, not a girl. And I know, I''m dressed like a nun, but there''s something more important. We used to all work together, you were an engineer and-"


    "What about the girl with red hair?" Asked Emely "Who is she?"


    "She was... I know it will be hard to believe, but you were lovers. You still are actually, it''s just that this world was artificially made to make you happy."


    "Happy? I''m not happy." Emely looked at the ground with a gloomy expression on her face "It could be worse, but I really don''t feel fulfilled. I feel like I''m missing something, a lot of things actually." Emely looked at the watch on her wrist with melancholy "Like this, I want to see how it is inside, but I don''t have tools for that. I used to have friends and a lover apparently... I can''t remember in detail, but I can feel something is missing."


    "We should go see Silva, she''ll be glad to hear that I''m sure."


    "Can I... See her alone? I want to talk to her without anyone around."


    "I guess you can, she-"


    "Thanks!"


    Emely ran toward the direction Silva left. Neige stood there, a bit confused, but was glad to know that the engineer still kept the memories in her heart. Neige was about to leave but instead was stopped by the figure of his old friend, standing right in front of him.


    "Neige! How''s everything going?"


    "Good, we''re halfway there I guess."


    "H-Halfway?" Polyetta said with concern "I''m not even a fourth of the world done! You need to slow down!"


    Neige ignored the woman''s words and instead looked at her straight in the eyes without hesitation.


    "Emely is clearly unhappy, I thought you made a perfect world for everyone."


    "Well, I didn''t know her much at the time. I just knew she had a crush and was traumatized by technology. And come on, I''m making the mother of all omelets here, can''t fret over every egg!"


    "Polyetta, it''s not too late to stop now."


    "It''s the same for you Neige, it''s not too late to join me."


    The two friends stood there, unable to speak another word. Both had so much to say and yet stayed speechless. Neige walked away to join Silva and Emely while his friend looked at him from far away.

 Chapter 185: Emely... Can You Feel Me?

    Silva took a stick and put the tip in a river, entertaining herself with the flowing water. She quickly heard footsteps behind her, it was Emely. Silva figured she must have remembered everything since she seemed eager to see Silva.


    "Emely, Neige told you everything?"


    "I''ll be honest, I didn''t listen much. I wanted to see you."


    "See me? Did you get your memories back?"


    "Not really... Silva, right? I''m sorry I forgot your name, but I never forgot about you?"


    Silva looked unconvinced. Emely knew she would need to prove it to Silva and took a heart keychain in her hand.


    "That, you gave it to me, right? My girlfriend... I mean the other girl said she''s the one that gave it to me, but I know it''s not true..."


    Emely took a book out of her pocket and handed it to Silva, who stood there confused.


    "I know you can''t see it, but it''s drawings of you. All I could remember was a girl with red hair... If I knew you had pretty red eyes too, I would have drawn them."


    "Emely, it''s okay, I understand. I don''t know what Neige told you, I just need some time. I''m not really in the mood to explain... So much is happening."


    "What is it? The world is ending? I''m going to die in a week? It doesn''t matter to me, I just want to be with the one that makes me truly happy."


    Silva looked away to hide the blush on her face.


    "Don''t you have your lover? She''s waiting for you."


    "Apparently she''s not real, Neige told me this world was made to make me happy. I don''t know which God made this world, but He clearly didn''t know me. And even if she was real, it''s just that I was lost. I didn''t have my precious bat yet."


    "I... I''m sorry for leaving like that. I was just a bit mad."


    "I understand, we were together before, right? If the role were reversed, I would have felt horrible too."


    Emely held Silva''s hand and looked at her in the eyes before getting her face closer to the blind girl''s. Silva blushed when she felt how close Emely was but didn''t dare to say a word.


    "Silva, can you forgive me for forgetting you for a moment?"


    "Of course, I''m not much better either... It''s all the fault of our former leader, she''s the one that-"


    Emely put her finger on Silva''s mouth to stop her from talking.


    "Don''t talk about bad things, we can see later. You shouldn''t think about other girls or I might get jealous." Emely leaned her body toward Silva, making the latter even more embarrassed "Silva, do you want to be my lover again?"


    Silva smiled, trying her best to keep the tears from flowing. She slowly nodded her head, and the moment she did, Emely kissed her passionately. The two girls held each other tightly while cuddling like they never forgot each other''s love. Emely stepped back, an aroused smile on her face.


    "I definitely didn''t forget how good it felt. I''m sure there''s much more you''d want, but you''ll need to hold on for now."


    "That''s mean... Wait, do you remember everything?"


    "I think most things, yeah, and I remember everything about you. It''s been a while actually, but I wanted you to remember how much I loved you. If I said I remembered everything, we would have left and you''d always have a doubt in your mind."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to cause a scene..."


    "Stop worrying Silva, I love you my cute bat."


    "I love you too my little inventor."


    "What!?"


    The two lovers turned toward the voice, only to see Emely''s old lover standing there along with Neige.


    "What do you mean you love her? Did you confuse this bitch with me?"


    "Mind your language. And you''re right, for a moment, I confused you with her. I thought you were the one I loved Yuko, but my real knight in shining armor is Silva!"


    "Why? What does she have that I don''t?"


    "Love doesn''t need a reason to exist, but even if it did, there are so many reasons. She''s kind, heroic, cute, patient, cool, just crazy enough, fun, loving, and perfect all around."


    "Fine, I don''t need you!"


    The girl pushed Neige to the side and ran away from them. Emely looked back at Silva with an innocent smile before kissing the tip of her nose.


    "You''ll always be mine Silva, and I''ll always be yours."


    "Of course, even being trapped in other worlds didn''t stop us from finding each other."


    Silva was about to lean in for a kiss but stopped when she heard Neige''s annoyed voice.


    "That''s great and all, but you didn''t forget about me, right?"


    "Of course not! I just missed Emely so much, but you''re right, there''s more important for now. Let''s go back to the ship, we''ll explain on the way."


    Emely nodded and followed her two friends out of this world that no longer suited her, ready to face the real world.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Silva and Neige explained everything to Emely. The engineer had trouble accepting everything at first but was forced to when she saw the state of the ship and understood the reality of the world she was in.


    "You two did so much, I''m sorry it''s just now that I woke up. You said you saved Sepide, right? Where is she?"


    "She''s trying to regain her memories, we don''t have much time to spare so we can only hope she''ll manage on her own..."


    "I see, and what about Remiel? I thought you didn''t save her but she''s here."


    "She is?" Neige asked, a bit confused "How do you know?"


    "I can track Remiel with my watch, she''s in here. We should go search for her."


    "Alright, we follow you."


    The three friends searched for the robot, and thanks to Emely''s help, managed to easily find where she was supposed to be. They ended up in the kitchen but found no signs of Remiel anywhere, they considered the idea of a malfunction in Emely''s watch but the engineer was too stubborn to admit it. She continued searching for a few minutes until she stopped to stare at a toaster. A bit worried for her sanity, Neige came to her to help her.


    "Hey, we''ll find Remiel, she must be in another world or-"


    "She''s here, that''s Remiel" Emely said while pointing at the toaster "Her brain is in the toaster!"


    "A-Are you sure?"


    "A hundred percent. Her body is somewhere else but her mind is here, in this toaster!"


    ~Polyetta put your friend in this machine?~ Ada asked with stupor ~How did she even trap someone in a toaster?~


    "Remiel is a robot... She probably trapped her main component in the toaster."


    "Yeah, I know..." Emely said with confusion "I didn''t forget Remiel you know?"


    "I wasn''t talking to you... Anyway, do you know where her body is?"


    "Yes, she''s in another world, I can even tell its ID. The leader must have thought that Remiel''s free will was troublesome when creating her perfect world."


    "You still call her leader..." Silva said, still resenting her former leader "So, what''s next? Should we go now?"


    "Yes, I think so. But still, I can''t believe Remiel is in this toaster..."


    Neige knocked on the toaster in an attempt to get a reaction. The toaster suddenly activated, ejecting two pieces of bread out of it.


    "A sentient toaster... Let''s hurry, I''m starting to get exhausted."


    "Yeah, let''s go!"


    Neige and Silva both prepared each other to leave, letting Emely take care of Remiel. They were determined to get Remiel''s body and save their friends.


    Sepide continued to look at everything in the box with curiosity. She pulled out a screw, it didn''t seem like much at first, but this was part of a car they used to race against Kairo. It was always a rainy night there, she couldn''t remember much about Kairo besides him being annoying and an enemy. It was around here that she took the empty box and showed it to her friends, Silva was the one behind the idea of filling it and Neige put the screw, lack of anything more interesting. Sepide took something else, it was a note. She couldn''t read it, it was from a mysterious land where the Goddess split the world into two parts. They helped a couple to form, or rather, Silva did. Along with Neige, Sepide tried to learn more about the Goddess Peolyetta and whether it was related to their leader. It was ironic now that the leader believed herself to be a divine being and erased the universe. This box brought back so many memories she thought were lost to time, but one thing in particular was attracting her. It was a violet crystal, she took it from this world where time stopped working properly. That was the thing that allowed them to track Neige after the anomaly kidnapped him. Sepide remembered the cross necklace she got after saving Neige in the tournament, she always carried it on her belt. So much happened, and even if a lot of it was suffering, she still loved all the bonds and memories she made because of it.

 Chapter 186: Remiel... Wake up

    Neige and Silva arrived in the world Remiel was supposed to be in. They ended up in a very futuristic city, with buildings stretching to the sky. A slight rain bothered the two friends in their search for the robot''s body as they walked in the empty streets. Suddenly, a sound echoed in the city, and all the screens in the city displayed the same thing, Polyetta wearing her mask, just like she used to.


    "Silva, Neige, I know you''re here. If you''re searching for Remiel, she is indeed there. But to be honest, I never knew much about her. I considered just erasing her for the moment but found a much better idea. I still need some time to work on our perfect world, so go waste some time with her."


    The screen turned off, leaving the two friends alone in this strange city. Neige was about to share his thoughts with his friend but was interrupted before he could even utter a sound. An army of robots all looking exactly like Remiel were walking toward the duo and all pointed at them with authority.


    "Intruders are in the snow globe, capture and neutralize."


    Silva took her firearm in hand, ready to face the robot. Neige took her by the hand and ran away from the army as fast as he could, trying his best to get away from them. The two managed to enter one of the buildings without being noticed by the horde of robots after them. Once they were assured that the robots were out of hearing, Silva hurried to scold Neige.


    "Why did you take me away? We could have taken one of them and gone back home!"


    "It''s not that easy." Said Neige "They''re probably copies since they obey Polyetta. The real one should just be an empty shell."


    "So we need to find the right one? We can''t even locate her with our watches since the chip is in the toaster... It will take so long..."


    "I think it''s the goal, Polyetta seems to be in a hurry. She''s trying her best to stop us, but that does not mean that she has an edge over us. If we find Remiel and the others quickly enough, we should be able to stop her in time."


    "Let''s hurry then, but where could she be?"


    "I don''t know, we should start searching."


    Silva nodded and followed Neige outside. The robots were walking around, visibly searching for them. The two friends walked around the false Remiels and spied on them, hoping to get some useful information.


    Polyetta walked around the city, trying to search for Neige and Silva. She knew the army she created could take care of it but still decided to stay around, just in case. She still had a lot to work on but knew she could have all the time in the world once the anomaly was taken care of. The woman still didn''t forgive her for what she did to Neige, and now was even more enraged at the nun for ruining her plans. While she was lost in her thoughts, one of the fake Remiels approached her and gave her a report.


    "Leader, we searched everywhere but have not found any traces of the intruders."


    "Keep searching, they''re full of resources. They could find a place to hide in a plain, don''t underestimate them."


    "Understood."


    As she watched the robot go, Polyetta couldn''t help but wonder if this was the right way. Would everyone truly be happy? The woman quickly shook her thoughts out of her head, no one wants to suffer so a world without suffering should be perfect. She looked around to confirm she wasn''t followed and headed toward one of the buildings. It looked similar to the other ones from the outside but it was the place where Polyetta hid Remiel''s empty body. Would a robot even want a perfect world? Does it deserve one? She was using her as bait to gain more time for now, but she would need to find out what to do with the robot later. Her world was far from being finished but as the lines of her projects were added to the book, Polyetta''s will''s wavered. As she got closer to her goal she considered stopping everything. The woman knew she had gone too far, and even if she was the only one who wouldn''t be able to reach happiness, Polyetta knew this was the right thing to do. She was about to leave but was startled by Neige and Silva, standing right in front of her.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "H-How are you here so quick? This place is ginormous!"


    "You''re not very discreet." Silva said with a serious expression "We saw you enter this building, give us Remiel back!"


    "I''m afraid I cannot do that. I can''t allow you to roam around and cause any more problems here."


    Polyetta took her sword in hand and faced her two former members. Neige and Silva both took their weapons in hand, ready to face their former leader.


    "It''s too late now, I''m the Goddess of this new world, such is my Fate."


    Neige and Polyetta both stared at each other, still afraid to hurt each other. Silva on the other hand didn''t waste any time and immediately tried to shoot at her enemy, who managed to effortlessly deflect the bullet with her sword. Silva ran toward Polyetta with rage on her face. Neige was forced to look at the two he once considered the most important persons in his life fighting together. The blind girl tried to attack her former leader with her legs and fists, knowing her firearm would be useless. Polyetta tried to deal with her but her mind was still hazy from all the doubts in her heart, allowing Silva to hit her straight in the face with her fist. The mask Polyetta wore crackled but still stayed on her face, forcing her to step back in pain. Silva stepped toward her former leader, still furious at her.


    "You''ll pay for what you did to Sepide and everyone else. We''ll bring back Remiel and save everyone else, no matter what!"


    "Silva... You''re probably the one who suffered the most, so why do you keep rejecting my perfect world?"


    "I did so much in my life, I made the greatest friends and faced the biggest ordeals. I''m not going to give up on everything I did for your weird fantasy!"


    "It''s not a weird fantasy... It''s perfection." The woman took her sword in hand, ready to attack at any moment "Whether you like it or not, I''m the leader. I''m the ruler of this new universe, and with time, you''ll all have to listen to me."


    "Polyetta!" Neige ran in front of his friend as fast as he could, his dagger in hand "It''s not too late, we can still go back!"


    Polyetta stayed silent and looked at her friend with sorrow. She gently approached her hand toward him before quickly putting her arm back where it was. The woman took a few steps back, trying her best to dodge Neige''s gaze.


    "There is no going back. I''m going to save you all from the suffering of your lives. With time, you''ll understand me." The woman suddenly pointed her weapon toward Neige and looked straight at him in the eyes. Despite Polyetta''s eyes on him, Neige knew she was looking at something else inside him "And as for you anomaly, there won''t be any peace allowed for you. You are living your last few days, enjoy them."


    The woman disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the two friends alone in the building. Silva still searched around for her, not ready to end the fight yet.


    "Why did you leave? You''re scared?"


    "Silva, let''s just get Remiel and leave."


    Despite her rage, Silva nodded and followed Neige toward Remiel''s empty body. The body of the robot was peacefully lying there, waiting to be picked up. Neige took her on his back and turned toward Silva, ready to leave.


    "Let''s go back to the ship, Emely and Sepide are waiting for us."


    "Yes, I can''t wait to get away from this creepy universe."


    The two friends were about to leave but Neige suddenly stopped, hearing a familiar voice in his head.


    ~Neige... What will happen? Do you think peace is no longer an option?~


    "I don''t know, I still have hope inside me... We shouldn''t think too much about it, we need to save the others."


    ~You''re right, let''s go.~


    Neige nodded and took Silva''s hand to leave together at the Kronos.


    "Neige, you should warn me when you talk to the voice in your head, it''s really weird..."

 Chapter 187: Ina... Lets Go Home

    Silva and Neige were both looking at the engineer after giving her Remiel''s body. She looked a bit worried a quickly stood up and turned toward the two friends.


    "I could put her back in her body, it will take an hour or so."


    "Good, we should go find Ina now." Neige said with confidence "I''m sure she''ll be easy to convince, she does have the Goddess of Death to wake her up."


    "Oh, that''s true. It''s possible that she managed to resist Polyetta''s control."


    ~Her... Can''t we skip her for now?~ Ada asked in a frightened voice ~What if she forgot about me and tries to kill me?~


    "It can''t happen, I promise."


    Neige tried to comfort the voice inside him but instead worried Emely, who looked at him with confusion.


    "She can''t resist the leader''s control? Are you sure?"


    "I wasn''t talking to you... Anyway, we should hurry now. Only Gwyn and Cinnamon are left, we''ll be able to take care of the leader after that."


    "Okay, I''ll fix Remiel then. I hope you save Ina and the others soon, it''s really creepy to see the ship in this state."


    "We will, by the way, have you seen Sepide?"


    "I haven''t, I suppose she''s still trying to recover her memories."


    Sepide continued looking at the content of the box, curious to know what she''d find next. She found some wool inside it, she thought it wasn''t something special but remembered her mission with Silva and Remiel in the world full of toys. Now that she thought about it, it was her first mission with Remiel. She couldn''t believe how much she had forgotten because of her own creator. Sepide continued searching at the inside of the box, hoping to find more lost memories. A key was lying at the bottom, it was the one they used with Remiel to save their leader from her cell. The man who sealed her was a religious trying to control everyone for peace, it wasn''t much different from what Polyetta was doing in a way. After looking a bit more, Sepide found a baseball. They were fighting against Silv, but it somehow was a pleasant experience. She managed to prove her superiority to Remiel in a way and even managed to help the team win. Sepide was wondering why the leader was trying so hard to change the world, it didn''t seem like her life was horrible. Her thoughts quickly changed once she found a key card in the box. Kairo''s name was on it, she never knew him much, but she knew how much her friends cared for him. They all had to kill him in the end, bringing sorrow to everyone. But even despite this event, Sepide could clearly remember that they still kept going. Their lives still continued, and they all tried their best to make it worth it.


    Silva and Neige made their way to the world Ina was in. It was all very similar to her home world, without anything out of the ordinary in sight. Right in front of them was an orphanage, Neige already knew this was the one Ina was in in her childhood. Not without any worries, Neige opened the door and entered inside. The first thing he saw was Ina, taking care of the children there. When she noticed them, the woman smiled brightly and waved at him before kneeling to the kids'' height.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Look, it''s Silva and Neige, why don''t you go say hello?"


    Before they could react, Silva and Neige were surrounded by children all around. Ina slowly walked toward them, still wearing her peaceful smile on her face.


    "You took your time, but I''m not going to complain... It was nice being around children again."


    "Wait, you''re not brainwashed at all?" Silva asked with disbelief.


    "It seems like it, I did feel hazy for a moment, but I managed to regain consciousness eventually. The leader explained everything to me when she noticed I wasn''t under her control."


    "Really? At least it makes it easier for us, but she still let you like that and did nothing to stop you?"


    "Yes, I told her I wouldn''t cause problems and just wanted to live peacefully here and she was satisfied. Of course, I know this isn''t the way I want to live my life, I also knew you''d come eventually. Polyetta disabled my watch, but I knew you wouldn''t let that stop you."


    "She disabled it?" Neige said, thinking out loud "Now that I think about it, Emely updated Sepide and our watches so we wouldn''t need to rely on the book anymore. Maybe only ours works now."


    "I see, you''ll have to do most of the job again I suppose. I''m sorry that the fate of the universe is once again on your shoulders." Ina looked on the side, a bit saddened. She then glanced at Neige and a soft smile appeared on her face "But still, I wasn''t expecting you to dress like that. Everyone will remember the day Neige the nun saved us."


    "I-I''m not a nun! I wish I could remove this stupid uniform, but it''s the only thing that allows us to find everyone..."


    ~It''s not stupid!~ Ada yelled at Neige ~These are very cute and practical clothes. I thought you''d agree with that...~


    "We''ll discuss the technicality later, we should go now."


    Ina nodded her head before turning toward the children around Neige and Silva.


    "Come on now, I''ll have to go, be nice and wait in your rooms, alright?"


    All the kids nodded and ran into the orphanage with smiles on their faces. Ina took a moment to look at them going, she still had her smile on her face, but this time sorrow filled her eyes.


    "Let''s hurry, if we don''t, there might be nothing left to save."


    The woman went toward Neige but stopped when she suddenly heard a voice calling her behind her. Polyetta was standing there, looking at Ina with disappointment.


    "Ina... Are you already leaving? You didn''t tell the kids their stories yet, how will they be able to sleep without it?"


    Ina put her hand on her chest, facing her former leader without fear.


    "They will manage to sleep, I''m sure. I have a family to get to now, I''m no longer this lonely orphan, waiting for the day when I can be useful."


    "I see... You''re like everyone else. Then so be it, even if I have to be alone, I''ll save everyone. You''ll all find peace, free from all the responsibilities you had."


    "Leader... I can see you''re honest, but this is going against our ideals. Weren''t we supposed to protect the universe and keep it stable?"


    "What good is there in a universe that needs help staying afloat? I''ll just create a new one that cannot sink. However, there have been a few changes in my plans, I didn''t think you would be able to take everyone away from me."


    "We''re not taking them away from you, we''re taking them back where they belong!"


    Silva took her firearm in hand, ready to face the woman. Before anyone could do anything, Polyetta disappeared in a flash of light. Silva knew she was already gone and instead turned toward Neige, still disappointed she couldn''t stop the woman.


    "So, only Gwyn and Cinnamon are left?"


    "Yeah, I can tell where Gwyn is, but I have no idea where''s the cat. I think we''ll have to pass on him for now."


    "How horrible!" Ina said with horror "Don''t tell me the leader got rid of him..."


    "I don''t think so... Either way, we''ll be able to bring everything back to normal. Just a little more, we''re almost there."


    Ina nodded at Neige and went next to her two friends. She knew it wouldn''t be easy, but she was determined to do her best to help everyone stop their former leader.

 Chapter 188: Cold Sea

    The three friends safely returned to the dark remnant of the ship, where Emely and Remiel were waiting for them. Ina looked around the empty ship, saddened by the shell that was once their lively home. The darkness, along with damage to the walls and the lack of sun, made this place ominous to just be in. The group joined the young engineer, who seemed thrilled to see them all together.


    "You managed to come back with Ina! I also managed to fix Remiel, almost everyone is here now!"


    "Yes, we should go find Gwyn now..." Neige looked at the ground for a moment. Before they tried to stop their leader, Neige talked with Gwyn and saw a side of her he never did in the past "We''ll save her and stop Polyetta, I promise."


    "I''m sure you will. You should hurry and get some rest afterward, you won''t be able to deal with the leader in this state."


    "She''s not much of a leader anymore..." Silva said, clearly annoyed "There''s no way I''m accepting her as a leader after what she did, I feel so... Betrayed..."


    "We''ll see when we get there." Said Neige before looking around the room "Is Sepide there? I haven''t seen her in a while."


    "I have not found Sepide." Said Remiel "I believe she is in her room since it is the only locked room."


    "I see... We should hurry and save Gwyn, we can deal with Sepide later."


    Sepide found a piece of cloth in the box, she remembered it being from a scarf she wore as part of a uniform. They were fighting zombies with Remiel and tried to see who was better at dealing with them, and even if she lost in the end, it helped Sepide to understand Remiel a bit more. The box was starting to be emptier after taking all of these items out of it, the next one she took was a wooden necklace. It was shaped like a cat, the girl from the future gave it to Sepide. Even if she didn''t know much about Snowflake, she remembered how she felt learning that there was a bright future in sight. Even if things may have changed, it was no reason for her to give up now. Sepide could feel that most of her memories were back, she took the little birthday hat in the box and softly smiled at it. It was for Emely''s birthday, and even if Sepide was only supposed to exist to do the thing she was made for, she knew she had more to do than her initial purpose.


    Silva and Neige both were in what was supposed to be Gwyn''s world, but the two friends had some doubts when they found themselves on a ship sailing the sea. They barely had a minute before another ship shot cannonballs at them, violently rocking the ship and making them both fall. Neige managed to stand back up and looked at the enemy boat only to find a single woman on it, pointing at them with her saber. Silva hurried to Neige''s side, panicked and lost.


    "What is happening? Where are we?"


    "We''re on a boat, and it looks like we already have an enemy." Neige stared at the woman, she looked very similar to Gwyn, but her smug smile and pirate outfit were totally different from the nonchalant doctor they knew "It looks like Gwyn''s not going to be an easy one to bring back."


    ~Should we attack her back?~ Ada asked with concern in her voice ~It looks like our ship will sink if we do nothing!~Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "But if her ship sinks, then we''re all done for."


    Neige held onto the ship the best he could, trying to hold on despite the waves of water falling on him. Silva took her firearm in hand and pointed it at the other ship, trying her best to threaten the woman.


    "Hey, what do you want? That''s not with your little cannonballs that you''ll stop us!"


    "Really?" Yelled the woman on the other boat "Maybe I should fire again then, just in case!"


    "W-Wait! We don''t need to do that!" Neige yelled, trying to calm the woman he believed to be Gwyn "Why don''t we talk about it for a moment?"


    "Talk? I don''t want to talk. There''s nothing more exhilarating than sailing the sea, plundering innocent souls, and discovering new lands!"


    The pirate fired her cannons, bringing the two friend''s fall even closer.


    "Neige!? What do we do!? Can''t you use your nun''s power or something!?"


    "I don''t know how to do that! I would have used my superpowers if I could!"


    ~Can we argue later!? I can''t do anything! Do something Neige!~


    Neige took his dagger in hand and tried to gauge the distance between him and the other boat. It was just close enough for him to jump and grip onto the shell of the ship. Knowing he didn''t have much time, Neige took Silva in his arms and jumped on the other boat, using his dagger to stay on it. After climbing a bit, Neige managed to face Gwyn, to the surprise of the latter. The woman quickly drew her saber with a smile of excitation on her face, while Neige took his dagger, ready to fight. Neige ran toward the pirate and tried to disarm her but had some difficulties against her. It was like she trained so much to fight with a sword, making Neige have doubts about the identity of the woman. Silva barely managed to stand up while the two others fought with their blades. the blind girl considered helping her friend but knew she would be more of a burden than anything else if she couldn''t even stand on the ship. Neige dodged every attack from the woman, but even if she was skilled, she looked like she was holding back. Neige managed to punch the woman in the guts, forcing her to let go of her sword.


    "It''s over now, Gwyn."


    "Gwyn..." The pirate stood up, still in pain from the hit "I don''t like that name."


    The woman grabbed her saber and slashed in Neige''s direction, who managed to dodge the attack. The pirate pointed her blade at her opponent, her smile was gone now, only leaving a face of frustration and confusion.


    "How do you know my name? Have we... Met each other before?"


    "Gwyn... You don''t remember your past?"


    "I don''t need a past! I am as free as the wind!"


    ~It looks like she won''t listen to us...~


    Neige grabbed his dagger, unsure about what to do. The two opponents stared at each other, waiting for the other to make its move. What they didn''t expect was for Silva to suddenly lunge at Gwyn, making the two of them fall. The blind girl managed to stand back up thanks to the help of her friend, while Gwyn stood up using her sword as a cane.


    "Little brat, I''m not going to be taken by surprise another time!"


    "Gwyn, what are you doing!?" Silva yelled, trying her best to not fall from the rocking ship "None of this is real, you have to snap out of it!"


    The woman stayed silent and looked at Silva for a while before finally answering.


    "Does it matter if it''s real or not? I''m feeling alive, why would I want to go?"


    "Gwyn, you''re the one who told me I shouldn''t isolate myself! Why do you get to ignore your own advice?"


    "I''m a pirate, I don''t give no lessons! I only care for myself and my ship, your life barely matters to me."


    Silva and Neige tried to approach Gwyn despite the hectic sea, trying their best to reach their friend. Silva let go of Neige and walked toward the woman, barely being able to stand up by herself.


    "You don''t mean those words! You always worked so hard, it wasn''t just because of your duty, you really wanted to help us. You''re one of the reasons I am who I am now, I can''t believe what you''re saying is true, and I know you don''t either."


    "Silva... Do you believe in Fate?"


    "Fate?" Silva asked, a bit lost by Gwyn''s words.


    "Yes, some are made for a reason. Sepide was made to obey the leader, and I was made for another reason... No matter how hard I try, I can''t escape my Fate. For once, Polyetta offers me a chance to break free from the person I was."


    "That''s the stupidest thing I''ve heard, if there''s anyone that can break free from your Fate it''s you!"


    Gwyn smiled softly at Silva, with sorrow on her face.


    "It''s not that easy... I wish it was..."

 Chapter 189: The Fate Of A Genius

    The sun was rising as Gwyn stared at the city from the window in her room. She could see her reflection on the glass pane, despite being barely eighteen she already had wrinkles on her face. She shrugged before making a cup of coffee, she could always try to find a way to look young again. As she drank the liquid in her cup, the young doctor heard a knock on her door. She already knew who it was, she was expecting an appointment today. If she could, Gwyn would have ignored them altogether. With a heavy heart, the young doctor went to open the door. The two men greeted her and entered without even asking. One of them was her father but she never saw the person next to him before, even if she already had an idea about who it was. The three of them sat together around a table, with Gwyn''s father starting the conversation.


    "Gwyn, how are you doing? It''s been a few months now, is your new house to your taste?"


    "I barely spend time here, I''m always at the lab or my office."


    "It was like that for me too, but don''t worry, you''ll get used to it. But I have to say, even for our family, you''re one of a kind."


    "Father, there is no need for praises. Just get to the point."


    The man stayed silent for a few seconds, intimidated by the direct tone in his daughter''s voice.


    "Very well, let me introduce Evert to you. We searched for a while and decided he would be the most suited for you."


    Gwyn looked at the man next to her father. He looked around her age, not too tall nor too short, and seemed in a healthy state.


    "Good, I trust your choice, Father."


    "See, she likes you." The man tapped Evert''s back with an enthusiasm that wasn''t shared "So, how does it feel to be chosen by the Hansen family?"


    "Well, it''s a lot of pressure... I didn''t even know it was how peoples were chosen."


    "You don''t know how it works?" Gwyn asked, a bit annoyed "Can you at least tell me what you know?"


    "Y-Yes. You''re a family of geniuses made by the government, they search for the best possible partner so the child has the best genes possible."


    "That''s basically it, yeah." Gwyn said nonchalantly "It''s been generation that they tried to make the perfect human."


    "And I think we already reached it!" Gwyn''s father said with a warm smile "Gwyn is the smartest person in the world! I can''t imagine how wonderful your child will be!"


    "We will do our best to make a healthy descendant, Father. I have to go now, I''m busy."


    "Already?" Evert said, a bit disappointed "I thought we could spend some time together..."


    "Evert, is it? Our relationship is purely for the good of humanity, do not expect me to provide any more than necessary. You can go with other women if you so desire, just don''t get STDs."


    Gwyn left her house with her father and the man inside. Once he was sure she was gone, Evert decided to turn toward her father with some concern.


    "So... We''re supposed to have a child now?"


    "She''s cold, but she already agreed. And your child could possibly solve world hunger or be an important political figure! You should be proud."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Yes... It''s just... Very different from what I imagined."


    Gwyn reviewed a file that one of her workers sent her in her lab. It was for a possible cure to cancer that they were working on for a few years now. Even if she was only eighteen, she already had four years of experience as a chemist and created many drugs that helped humanity. She never stopped to think about whether it was what she wanted, and it didn''t matter much, she didn''t have any other choice than to do what she was supposed to. While she was reading the paper, one of her coworkers arrived running. The girl with short red hair ran toward Gwyn with a smile on her face, a smile that the young doctor gave back to her.


    "Gwyn! Are you working today? I thought you were going to meet the father of your child."


    "Silvia, you''re here. I did meet him, he looks like a decent person. However, I think they could have found someone better. He seems to lack confidence."


    "That''s a shame, I still think you could ask to at least choose the person you wanna be with."


    "It''s unimportant. Why are you here? It''s rare to see you awake so early."


    The girl with red hair smiled and showed a paper to her friend. Gwyn frowned and put the files in her hand on the desk before taking Silvia''s paper. It was an acceptance letter from the most prestigious psychological school in the country. Gwyn couldn''t believe it and smiled brightly at her friend.


    "You did it! I knew they''d accept you!"


    "Hehe, thanks. It wasn''t easy but I studied really hard for the entrance exam."


    "You did great, I''m sure you''ll become a great therapist. You deserve it after all the efforts you put in."


    "You''re still ahead of me, you''re two years younger and you already have so much experience."


    "I was gifted, I''m more impressed by all the efforts you put in. Between the two of us, you''re the one that deserved it the most."


    "Come on, you''ll make me blush." Silvia said with a smile before looking around the lab "Wait, where''s everyone? Are you working alone?"


    "Yes, they decided to go on a break today. I haven''t worked much lately, it''s been hard to focus for me. The least I could do is catch up on the work I missed by daydreaming."


    "That''s so unfair..."


    "That''s the price to pay for being a genius... I envy your stupidity sometimes."


    "Hey, was that a compliment!?"


    Gwyn laughed along with her friends, both glad to be with each other.


    "Hey Gwyn, once you finish your cure, let''s do a road trip."


    "I can''t. It''s too dangerous, the government would never allow me to do that."


    "I never said we''d warn them. Just go together, letting the wind show us the way. After a month we''ll be back, and I promise I''ll convince them it was my fault."


    "You''re going to tell them you kidnapped me?" Gwyn asked with a smile.


    "I might, would you really complain if I did?"


    "Not really, it would be a nice change of pace."


    "It''s a promise then! We''ll do it someday, you better not forget!"


    "Even if I did, you''d remind me every day. You have your studies now, you shouldn''t forget that."


    "Yes... I won''t... How long do you think it will take?"


    "For the cure? Maybe a few years. The problem is that finding the right balance is difficult, we have no current way to only target the cancerous cells. For now, we''re trying to create an antidote and a violent poison that would destroy every cell."


    "I guess there''s no cancer if there''s no survivor."


    "Of course there will be survivors, that''s what the antidote is for. The antidote doesn''t work on cancerous cells, only healthy ones. So if you take the antidote and then the cure, you''ll be fully healed."


    "You really are a genius if you manage to do that. I feel dumb for coming here to show you the letter."


    Gwyn smiled softly and put her hand on her friend''s shoulder to comfort her.


    "You know, I feel like you deserve more respect from everyone than I do. You''re making so much effort, even despite your disabilities, you manage to do things I couldn''t."


    "Come on, you could easily be a therapist."


    "No, there''s nothing more annoying than people telling you their problems. I don''t know where you find the patience for that."


    "Don''t worry, you won''t have to do that, you''re already very busy with your problems."


    "For sure... My father wants to enroll me in law school, he said I could easily do it on top of my research."


    "He did? I can''t believe it, you already use all your time, you need a break."


    "It''s fine, and I agree with him. If I don''t learn the law, who''s going to save you when you get in trouble?"


    "I-I''m not going to end up in a court of law! Anyway, you should go back to your research now. The earlier you finish, the sooner we can do a road trip."


    "It''s not a few hours that will change much. Take care of yourself, I don''t have a law degree yet."


    Silvia pulled her tongue out at Gwyn before leaving the lab. the young doctor couldn''t help but smile while taking her report from the desk.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll do our road trip someday."

 Chapter 190: Lifes End

    Four years passed and Gwyn''s team finally managed to finish their cure for cancer. The small team celebrated their victory as today was the day the medicine was finally approved. Gwyn couldn''t wait to share her accomplishment with her friend but didn''t want to wake her up in the middle of the night for that. One of the scientists came toward her and gave her a cup of apple juice, disappointing the doctor.


    "I wish I could have coffee..."


    "But you know the antidote doesn''t blend with coffee, it''s dangerous!"


    "Of course, I know..."


    "Still, I can''t believe you took the risk." Said another scientist "Taking the medicine and hoping the antidote worked... It was incredibly dangerous."


    "I believed in it. And I''m the one who created it, it''s normal I serve as a test subject. Now the hardest will be to teach everyone how to use it."


    "We''ll see tomorrow, I''m sure you can''t wait to share your success with your family."


    "Mostly to Silvia. She had to take care of Elsa non-stop this year, I feel bad for making her take care of my child."


    "We''re sorry about what happened with... What was his name again?"


    "I don''t remember, he was just meant to be Elsa''s father anyway. He could leave whenever he wanted." Gwyn finished her cup of apple juice and stood up despite her visible exhaustion "I haven''t slept for so long, I''m going to sleep. I''ll see you all later, good job everyone."


    Everyone left the lab after saying goodbye to each other. Gwyn was supposed to go home but didn''t have the energy for that. She instead turned off her phone and found a place in the lab to pass the night, relieved that the cure was finally over.


    "Gwyn! Wake up!"


    Gwyn was suddenly woken up by one of the scientists in her team. When she looked outside, the doctor saw the sunset and looked at her coworker in confusion.


    "Did I sleep all day?"


    "Yes! It''s horrible! We gave the cure to the hospital but we didn''t think they''d use it right away! They''ve been feeding it to cancer patients all around the country!"


    "Is that true!?" Gwyn suddenly stood up, adrenaline rushing in her veins "When was it?"


    "This morning, they haven''t taken the antidote so... They don''t have long to live."


    "The cure destroys the cells in three days, the antidote needs a week to take effect..."


    "I know, they should have taken it before but misunderstood! But it''s not even the worst... The medicine... It was never supposed to be taken without the antidote, now even those who didn''t take the med are affected! It''s spreading in the air!"


    "There''s no way... It''s like a virus spreading all over the world..."


    Gwyn looked at the city from the window, people were visibly sick and falling under their own weight, unable to stand up. The scientist went next to Gwyn, with concern on her face.


    "What now? In three days, all of humanity will perish, and it''s a best-case scenario. If only they didn''t use it, none of that would have happened... Maybe there''s still a way to save some of us... Gwyn? Are you listening?"


    "I''m the only one."


    "What are you saying, Gwyn? The only one?"This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Yes... I''m the only one that took the antidote before any of that. I''m the only one that can survive."


    "Wait, don''t say that! You can maybe... I don''t know, find a better antidote? You''re a genius, you were made to fix those kind of situations and-"


    "No, I''m done."


    The scientist looked at Gwyn in shock, unable to understand her reaction.


    "But you''re the only one that can-"


    "I have less than three days to save everyone, it''s over, it''s the end of the world... I''m not spending it stuck in a lab."


    Gwyn took her jacket and her car key before leaving the lab in a hurry. Despite the calls from the scientist, she never looked back and hurried back home.


    When she arrived home, Gwyn found her friend Silvia with her child in her arms. She looked terrified, only feeling a bit of relief once she saw Gwyn arrive.


    "Gwyn! Elsa, she''s... She stopped breathing."


    Gwyn took her child in her arms without much hope. Just like she thought, there was no way an infant could survive if her medicine was in the air. This was supposed to save lives, and instead, it only brought demise.


    "Gwyn... Is she..."


    "Yes... But it''s not your fault... It''s mine."


    Silvia didn''t understand at first and had to listen to Gwyn''s explanation. The doctor explained the best she could, trying her best to not burst into tears in front of her friend.


    "Why did I do that... I never should have made this stupid cure."


    "You had a lot of pressure, it''s really not your fault. Everyone pushed you around so much and-"


    "How can you be so calm Silvia!? You understand that you''ll die too!?"


    "I know..."


    Silvia looked out the window, chaos was in the streets. No one could deal with what was happening, making them panic in the streets. She decided to take Gwyn in her arms and wiped her tears in an attempt to comfort her.


    "We still have a few days, right? And you finished your cure so... Let''s do our road trip!"


    "A road trip!?" Gwyn asked, offended by the idea "Do you really think it''s the moment?"


    "Then when? It''s our last time together Gwyn, let''s at least enjoy it properly... I know you feel guilty, and that you just saw your daughter dead in your arms but... It''s the moment, no one is forcing you to do anything now, you can do everything you want."


    Gwyn stopped for a moment. She never cared much about people, even her own daughter, she barely saw her because of her work. She always worked and never found time for her, the only person she ever really cared for was Silvia.


    "You''re right... Let''s use my car."


    Silvia tried her best to smile despite how shaken up she was. The two friends took each other in their arms, staying still for a few hours.


    The two friends moved around the country, discovering many places. Even if the situation was dire, Gwyn never had so much fun before. It was the first time she felt free and she loved every second of it. The place they visited became emptier, as the medicine was killing the healthy cells of the people around. Even despite that, the two friends still had fun, finding joy in every situation they were in. The only thing keeping them sane was the presence of the other, but even if she never felt as happy before, Gwyn couldn''t ignore the degrading health of her friend. It took two days, but Silvia was falling sick, coughing more often, and needing more time to catch up to Gwyn. They still had fun stealing from the empty stores and taking pictures in the weirdest places they could. The two ended up playing around all day, even burning a few fires in this now empty world. It was their way of celebrating life one last time. The two friends sat in front of a river and looked at the moon high in the sky. Silvia was clearly in a bad state but the two friends did their best to ignore it. Gwyn brought a can of soda from the car to her friend and spent what could be their last night together.


    "Hey, Gwyn... Thanks for doing that with me."


    "I should be the one thanking you! I never had more fun than today! If I knew how great it would have been, I would have done it earlier!"


    "That''s great... I''m glad you had fun too..."


    "Of course, I never realized how much I hated being a scientist until today. So much pressure, so many risks, and when it''s over, I don''t have anyone to care for..."


    Silvia leaned toward Gwyn and held her tightly despite her lack of strength.


    "It''s not your fault. You did so much for humanity, the least they can do after giving you so much pressure is to forgive you... Gwyn, you''ve always been a wonderful friend and... I can''t imagine my life without you. You''re the reason I wanted to be a therapist, I wanted to be able to help you when you needed it... You helped me realize my dream, and I never could ask for more... Gwyn, please... Can you smile one last time?"


    Gwyn smiled at her friend, already knowing this was probably her last moment. Silvia squeezed Gwyn in her arms as hard as she could, shaking a bit as she did.


    "Gwyn... You made me happy, you saved my life... Thanks... For everything."


    Gwyn held her friend as Silvia''s arms fell from her back. Her heart stopped and her body completely leaned onto the last survivor of this world. Gwyn cried all the tears of her body, even if there was a chance for humanity to strive again, it didn''t matter to her. She lost the only person that mattered to her.


    "I love you too, Silvia..."

 Chapter 191: Never Free

    Gwyn walked around the rest of her empty city. It''s been a week since Silvia''s death and it was still hard for the woman to accept it. She barely took care of herself and didn''t have the will to explore anymore. All she did was walk around and wait for insanity to take over. However, she wasn''t expecting to see any survivors, and yet she found some searching for food in a store. Her curiosity took over her as she approached the two people, not without suspicion. A man and a woman, both looked a few years younger than her. The man tried talking when he noticed Gywn coming toward them, but still stayed careful.


    "Xizi yjiti?"


    "What?"


    Gwyn couldn''t understand what they were saying, she had never even heard this language before. The two survivors looked at each other before the man tried talking again.


    "Can you understand me?"


    "Yes... Are you not from here? Other places of the world are safe?"


    "No idea, we just came for food."


    Gwyn felt even more confused now, he was acting like nothing happened. She quickly noticed how strange they looked too, the woman wore a mask and they both had old and thorned clothes.


    "Where are you from?"


    The man looked at his friend, they talked together for a few moments before he answered Gwyn.


    "We come from another world. My friend and I are trying to find food and water, there are none where we live."


    "No food nor water? You''re lucky you didn''t come earlier, a disease was killing everyone here."


    "Really? So that''s why there''s no one... Does that mean you''re alone here?"


    Gwyn nodded at the man, he seemed to feel bad and talked with his friend again before turning back to the woman.


    "Do you want to join us? It doesn''t seem like it''s fun to be there."


    "Join you?" Gwyn paused upon hearing those words, some people from another world proposed to bring her along. Usually, she would have thought they were crazy, but she was starting to become crazy herself anyway "Why not, it''s not like there''s much happening there. My name is Gwyn."


    "Neige!" The man said with a smile "And she''s my friend, Polyetta. She doesn''t speak your language though."


    "It''s okay, I''m sure I could learn your weird language in a few months."


    "In a few months? That''s... A lot I think? How long is a month?"


    "You don''t know? I guess your world doesn''t have the same time units."


    Gwyn walked toward the two friends, she had already given up but was curious to see what was lying beyond her world.


    A few months passed, the three became decent friends and Gwyn even managed to learn the language of the two friends. For once, she was happy to live again, even if it was nothing compared to the times with her friend Silvia. One day, Polyetta asked to see Gwyn. The woman was concerned since it was rare for her to be with Polyetta alone in her room. The two women were standing in the room, waiting for Polyetta to talk.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "So... How do you feel on the ship?"


    "It''s fine. It''s still a bit weird."


    "Understandably so... There''s something I need to tell you, you remember when I explained to you that we used a book to travel to other dimensions?"


    "Yes, I still don''t fully understand."


    "It''s okay... It''s just... The pages are changing. It''s like something is altering the worlds. I don''t want to worry Neige but... I don''t have anyone to share my worries with."


    Gwyn chuckled at herself, remembering her conversation with Silvia.


    "Are you alright Gwyn?"


    "Yes, it''s just like if I was a therapist of some kind."


    "It''s true yes... I was thinking about saving others like us, without a world anymore. We could... All work together to fix other worlds and make sure everything is alright."


    "That''s a noble idea."


    "It has nothing noble..." Polyetta let out a sigh before looking back at Gwyn "I don''t want Neige to suffer, if this universe collapses, then so will Neige. I need to fix everything or else..."


    Gwyn could feel the sorrow and worries on Polyetta''s face, even despite her mask. It reminded her of the love she held for her own friend and prompted her to help the two friends not suffer the same Fate.


    "I''ll help. I took martial arts lessons on top of having medical knowledge."


    "You... I just needed to talk about it, you don''t need to-"


    "I want to. I don''t like being a doctor, but I can''t stay here and do nothing."


    "Gwyn... Thanks, I''m glad to know you''ll help. Just having someone else on the ship helps incredibly."


    "You helped me too, Polyetta... If others will join us, maybe we should find a name for the ship, what do you think?"


    "I''ve... Never been good with names... The Polyetta Express? Maybe the Neige Express? Or the investigation team?"


    "You do suck with name." Gwyn said with a soft smile "In my world, there was a mythology about a being that ruled over time. He was called Kronos, we could name the ship like that, as a reminder of how precious time is."


    "Kronos? It sounds good to me! I''ll talk about it with Neige."


    "Good, now I''ll need to do something if you don''t mind."


    "Of course, have a great day Gwyn."


    A year passed and the ship still had no new members as it was difficult to locate survivors of empty worlds. Gwyn was enjoying a cup of coffee at the newly acquired coffee machine, where Polyetta quickly joined her.


    "Gwyn! How is everything?"


    "Just like usual, boring. I thought living on a spaceship in the middle of the universe would be more thrilling."


    "Well... It means nothing bad is happening, right? But I''m getting scared, we still don''t understand what is causing problems in worlds... Sometimes, I think about erasing everything and restarting everything."


    "Didn''t we agree on not using the book?"


    "Yes but... It''s just a side project, we can talk about it once it''s finished. But can you imagine? A world where everything is peaceful, with no problems, no suffering. Everyone would be cleaned from all the trauma and sorrow in their hearts... Isn''t it tempting?"


    Gwyn thought about her friend Silvia and the pain her loss brought her. Maybe she would be happier if she never had to live through this ordeal.


    "It is... But Neige won''t agree."


    "I know, that''s why I didn''t tell him."


    "I see... I''ll help you hide it from him, he doesn''t have to know."


    "You''d help me?" Polyetta asked, surprised.


    "Yes, I doubt I can be happy in this state. I just hope it will work."


    "Of course, the project Snowglobe is perfect!"


    "Snow... Globe? That''s the name of the possibly most important event in the universe?"


    "Yeah! A perfect world for everyone to live in harmony! It will take some time but I''m still thinking about the idea... If you could have a perfect world, what would it be?"


    "A perfect world... I''d want to be a pirate sailing the sea, always exploring without ever letting myself love someone."


    "Exploring the sea, it does sound great!"


    Silva and Neige stayed silent after hearing everything Gwyn had to say. She didn''t even notice, but tears were flowing down her face as she was opening her heart to her friends.


    "It''s not great Polyetta... Even after losing my memories... Even in the middle of the sea... I still am cursed... I can''t ever be free, I can''t sail the sea forever, my heart is never satisfied... It''s my fate..."

 Chapter 192: Gwyn... Thanks For Being Here

    Silva made her way in front of the doctor, Neige and Gwyn thought she was about to hug her or comfort her, but she instead slapped the woman with a disappointed expression on her face.


    "You still don''t understand? It''s not the adventure, it''s not the thrill that made you happy... It''s your friend. No matter how hard you''re trying, you''ll never be at peace if you don''t open your heart again."


    Silva gave her hand to Gwyn with a bright and confident smile on her face. The doctor couldn''t help but see her old friend in Silva, smiling cheerfully at life like they never were worried. She knew Silva was pretending to be alright until she actually felt better, but it was just now that Gwyn imagined her friend could have felt the same. When they traveled around the country during those three days, Silvia was worried, she was maybe even terrified, but she always acted like she was fine to not worry Gwyn.


    "Come on Gwyn! I know you don''t want to stay here, you have your friends waiting for you!"


    "Friends..." Gwyn smiled softly before taking Silva''s hand "I was supposed to keep a cold heart, I knew I would be heartbroken if I lost anyone again..."


    "Then let''s save everyone, Gwyn! If you stay here, then everyone you know will disappear, brainwashed by the leader. And weren''t you the one who told me to rely on my friends when I needed them?"


    Gwyn nodded and gestured at Neige to come near her. When he arrived, Neige and Silva were grabbed by Gwyn, tightly gripping them. Gwyn smiled, trying her best to hide her tears.


    "I''m so scared, I''m terrified. I can''t bear the thought of losing any of you... I''m sorry for running away all this time, I should have stopped Polyetta long ago... I suppose that deep inside, I could understand her."


    Neige nodded at Gwyn''s words and smiled softly at her.


    "I can understand her too, but what she''s doing isn''t the right way."


    "I agree... Neige, can you leave me alone with Silva for a moment?"


    Neige looked at Silva a bit confused but the blind girl didn''t seem to know why she wanted to talk with her either. Neige ultimately agreed and left the two women in the world. They both stayed silent for a moment until Gwyn finally spoke. She struggled to talk at first but still managed to say clearly enough what she wanted.


    "Silva... When I first saw you, I hated you. You were a constant reminder of my deceased friend, and on top of that, I had to be your therapist. For a moment, you represented everything I hated the most."


    "Weird way to say ''thanks for saving me''."


    Gwyn chuckled a bit before continuing.


    "When I talked to you, I felt like I understood my friend. It was like the roles were reversed, I was the one comforting her now. A lot of your other selves were crazy and brought a lot of bad, but to me, I''ll always associate those red hair and these stupid-looking eyes with someone who always did their best to succeed... When I told you to trust your friends more, it was for you as much as it was for me. Silvia always said that to me, and somehow, you managed to understand her words before I did... Silva, thanks for saving me. Not just today, but all of my life. Along with the leader, you''re the one I consider my friend."


    "Now I feel embarrassed." Silva said while blushing a bit "Once everything is over, let''s do a road trip all together! We''re never going to be like your old friend, but I''m sure we can have fun all together!"If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Yes, let''s stop Polyetta now. I want to show her the same things you all showed me."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Gwyn and Silva returned to the ship, where everyone else was waiting for them. The only absents were Sepide, Cinnamon, and the leader. Silva already explained everything to the doctor, but she still felt saddened to see the state of the ship.


    "Polyetta is ready to do everything... I can''t believe I encouraged her in this."


    Seeing Gwyn''s regrets, Neige put his hand on Gwyn''s shoulder and gave her a confident smile.


    "Don''t worry, it''s not over yet. I''ll go check on Sepide and we should all rest for the night."


    "For the rest of the night?" Silva asked, a bit concerned "I''m not sure it''s very wise, what if she finishes everything in the night?"


    "Is it even night?" Ina asked while looking at the dark ship "It''s hard to tell without the lights..."


    "Don''t worry, I know her. It looks like she''ll need more time and she''s not really the fastest, we still have time. If we don''t rest, we have no chance of winning."


    Gwyn nodded and stepped forward, supporting Neige''s statement.


    "I agree, we all need rest after what happened. A physical and mental rest is needed, we''ll decide what to do once we''re done with everything."


    The group agreed and decided to split up for the time being. Everyone returned to their room while Neige went to check on Sepide, hoping she remembered a few things.


    Sepide played for a bit with a shuriken that was inside the box. It was from when a ninja and a samurai fought against each other. They were both friends but had to fight for their beliefs, and in the end, they even remained friends. Sepide could only hope the same would happen with the leader. The next thing inside was a paint gun, it was empty now, she used it for fun when she was alone. It was in a world where children and adults were fighting each other, it was still hard for her to tell what happened exactly. All she could do was hope that everyone was alright. The only thing left in the box was a transparent ball, it was a treasure they found in a pyramid. Kairo kidnaped Emely and they had to team up with Silv to get her back. Sepide often wondered about the reason this was the treasure and decided to keep it in her pocket, just in case she found something that could help with the ball''s mystery. The box was now fully empty. She put everything back in it, put the pirate hat she had on the box, and stood up, ready to leave. As she put the box back in its place, Sepide noticed the bracelet on her wrist. A mermaid gave it to her, she felt ashamed that she even forgot the promise she made. She probably didn''t even exist anymore, since the old universe was erased. Sepide stared at the bracelet for a while and made another promise to herself.


    "I''m going to bring back our old world, it''s a promise."


    Sepide opened the door of her room and bumped into Neige, who opened it at the same time. The man was surprised to see Sepide but couldn''t even vocalize his surprise as she immediately answered.


    "I want to stop the leader. I can''t let her ruin all the precious memories I made."


    "You managed to remember? I guess even if they''re no longer in the book, your memories are in your heart."


    Sepide nodded and smiled, ready to face anything.


    "You should sleep, we''ll leave in ten hours."


    "I''ll try, I hope everything will be fine."


    "It will."


    Neige closed the door after waving at Sepide. Silently, he walked toward his room and entered it. Polyetta was waiting there, sitting on the chair in the dark room. Neige walked toward her, not an ounce of surprise on his face. The two friends looked at each other for a while until the woman finally broke the heavy silence.


    "Neige... You''ve seen how everyone was happy before you arrived. The problem is that they still retained memories from the past, but I found a new way now! I just need more time... Just for a day, send everyone to another world and say you thought I was here. If you gain enough time, I could create my perfect world! Neige... Will you help me?"


    Neige stayed silent, looking at his friends with exhausted eyes.


    ~Neige... Don''t tell me you''re considering it. Everyone is so resolute and ready to do it! We can create a better world by our own hands, without forsaking who we are! Please, tell me you won''t give up now...~


    Neige took a deep inspiration and thought longly about the choice before him. What was better for his friends? For him? For the universe? Was suffering worth it? So many questions that couldn''t be answered in a lifetime, and yet, he had to answer now.


    It is now time to choose, there are two chapters 193, both leading toward a different ending.

 Chapter 193: Accept Polyettas World

    Polyetta''s eyes brightened as she saw Neige''s nod. She couldn''t help but take his hands and smile cheerfully at his answer.


    "Neige! I knew you''d understand! I''ll make everything perfect, it will be like nothing bad ever happened!"


    ~Neige... We were so close... How could you do that?~


    Neige stayed silent. Polyetta left the room in a flash of light, leaving the man alone with his thoughts. Was it the right decision? It didn''t matter anymore, soon, he wouldn''t even remember asking himself this question.


    Neige woke up from his bed, everything was hazy for a moment like he woke up from a nap that lasted years. When he went out of his house, Neige took a moment to admire the green plains and the crystal blue river in front of him. The sight was peaceful until a familiar voice took him out of his thoughts.


    "Hey, we were waiting for you."


    Neige turned toward Kairo, who looked at him with a smile on his face.


    "Waiting for me? Why?"


    "You forgot? We said we''d all spend time together!"


    "Oh yeah, you''re right..."


    Kairo looked at Neige with concern, seeing that something was wrong.


    "Neige are you okay? We can always do it another day if you need to?"


    "No, it''s just... Wasn''t there someone named Yada or Polyetta?"


    "Yada... Polyetta... Can''t remember anyone named like that, you dreamed about her?"


    "I think, it''s very blurry to me. Anyway, where are the others?"


    "We decided to go to Emely''s house, it''s the biggest one so it made sense."


    "Alright, I follow you."


    The two friends arrived at the girl''s house. Everyone was already here to celebrate, Sepide and Remiel both helped each other to put on the decorations while the others talked around a few drinks. Shiro approached Neige with a blush on his face, he seemed embarrassed but still managed but still managed to speak out.


    "Neige! I just wanted to tell you that... I love you!"


    "Oh, thanks. I love you too Shiro, you''re a great friend."


    "Friend? No, I meant..."


    Shiro fell silent, Neige was about to ask if he was all good but was interrupted by Silva jumping out of nowhere, scaring away Shiro. The girl looked at him walking away, a bit confused.


    "What''s gotten into him?"


    "That''s what I wanted to know..." Said Neige while looking around "Your parents aren''t here?"


    "Nah, they were busy with something. They''re always so caring to me, they can have a few days of rest. And besides, Emely''s here."


    "Yeah, you already have a lot of people to keep you company."


    Kairo and Silva smiled together but quickly noticed Neige''s more serious tone, almost like he felt uncomfortable.


    "Neige? You really don''t seem good."


    "No, it''s just... I had such a weird dream, we were going to other worlds, we risked our lives and-"


    Silva put her finger on Neige''s mouth, stopping him in his words.


    "But you know it''s just a bad dream, right?"


    "Yeah, of course. It didn''t feel real at all."


    "Good, so don''t worry about it. Just enjoy the moment, what do you even know about risking your life? The only risk you took was when you tried baking a cake last week."


    "You''re right, I''m sorry for being like that..."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "Don''t apologize." Said Kairo "We''re all here now, nothing happened."


    Neige nodded before being accosted by Ina and an older woman. The two women looked at him before giggling together.


    "You''re right Ina, he does look like a girl."


    "See? I told you mother, but you didn''t believe me."


    "Mother?" Neige asked while looking at the older woman "You''re Ina''s mom?"


    "Yes, we haven''t seen each other before. Ina told me a lot about you, apparently you speak multiple languages?"


    "Yeah, I speak three!" Neige said proudly "It''s not really useful since we all speak the same one, but it''s fun."


    Neige paused for a moment, was it only three?


    "The strength of youth, I miss it sometimes."


    "Maybe we could bring it back." Gwyn said while walking toward the group, accompanied by a woman who looked eerily like Silva. The woman looked at Gwyn with surprise, visibly not believing it.


    "You could do that Gwyn!?"


    "Of course Silvia, I think I might find a way to stay young forever. Doesn''t that sound nice? Everything is so peaceful here, I wouldn''t mind living forever."


    The small group talked about Gwyn''s talent for a while. Neige was starting to feel a bit tired around so many people and decided to leave outside for a moment. It seemed like Sepide and Remiel had the same idea since they were both looking at the sky outside. When she noticed him, Sepide waved at Neige, prompting him to come to them.


    "Neige! Everything''s alright?"


    "Yes, I''m just not used to having everyone around like that."


    "It is understandable." Said Remiel "I am not used to it either."


    "The way Remiel talks is always funny." Sepide said with a smile "She sounds like a robot."


    "You''re right... She was a robot in my dream..."


    "You dreamed of Remiel being a robot?" Sepide looked at Neige with surprise before turning toward her friend "See, you even made Neige think you''re one."


    "I apologize, this wasn''t my intention."


    "I was just kidding, it''s not bad! Anyway, what was your dream Neige?"


    "I think we were in a spaceship and... I actually can''t remember, I feel silly for letting that disturb me... Wasn''t there a cat too?"


    "A cat? What''s that?"


    "I don''t know, I''m just saying nonsense."


    "You seem tired." Said Remiel "Maybe you need rest."


    "No, if I sleep I''ll somehow end up more tired. I feel like my body slept for so long already. I should go back inside actually, I wanted to talk to Emely."


    "Okay, have fun Neige!"


    Sepide and Remiel waved at Neige while smiling. The man entered back in the house and searched for Emely, she was talking with Silva and acted like no one could see them. Neige considered just leaving, but Silva gestured for Neige to come with them.


    "Neige! Don''t tell me a few kisses make you uncomfortable?"


    "I didn''t want to interrupt you." Neige looked at Emely''s bracelet, it looked like he had seen it before but couldn''t tell where "What''s that on your wrist?"


    "That? I call it, a watch. It displays the time of the day, it''s mostly something I did while tinkering."


    "That''s... Very impressive, it looks like the needles are moving by themselves."


    "I could explain how it works, but it''s long and boring."


    "I don''t need any explanation then, the less I know, the better it is... I wanted to ask you something actually, do you remember how we met?"


    "How we met? I can''t recall actually..."


    "It''s okay, I thought that you might since I couldn''t. You''re the one with the best memory here."


    "Yeah, I guess we just always knew each other. Even Silva, she''s been my lover for as long as I can remember."


    "Isn''t it romantic?" Asked Silva "Our love lasted for so long that we can''t even remember it!"


    "I''m glad it did, you go well together."


    Neige smiled at the two girls, happy to see them together. Kairo came to see Neige with a concerned expression on his face, worrying the others.


    "Neige, there''s a girl asking to see you outside. She told you to come alone."


    "She did? I''ll go see her then."


    "Don''t forget to come back after!" Said Silva "We''ll take a pic together!"


    "I won''t take too much time."


    Neige searched for the girl Kairo talked about for a moment now. He was starting to think it was just a joke from his friend until he found a tired woman in her twenties with long black hair reaching to the ground. He had never seen her before, and yet, Neige felt like it wasn''t the first time they met. Her long black hair and the diary in her hand gave him a strange feeling of deja vu, but Neige quickly shook this feeling.


    "Are you lost, lady?"


    "I think you''re the one that''s lost Neige... It''s me, Opal... Do you remember me?"


    "I''m afraid not, when did we meet?"


    "It doesn''t matter... I was just worried for you. Are you feeling happy?"


    "Yeah, of course. Everything is going great! I couldn''t ask for anything better."


    The girl looked at Neige with sorrow in her eyes before looking away from him.


    "I hope you''ll enjoy eternity Neige, I really do. If you are happy like that, I won''t stop you."


    The girl walked toward the forest. Neige stared at her going for a moment with some doubts in his heart. As Neige questioned himself, he quickly realized he was late for the group picture. He wasn''t even sure anymore what just happened, did he even talk to the girl? It didn''t matter, he had to join his friends now.


    Neige arrived in front of Emely''s house, where everyone was waiting for him. The man stood in the middle, right between Silva and Kairo. Emely grabbed Silva''s arm while Remiel and Sepide took each other''s hand next to her. Ina and her mother stood on the side, along with Gwyn and her friend. Shiro was standing on the side and couldn''t help but stare at Neige from far away. The friends stared at the camera for a moment until Emely said what everyone was thinking.


    "Who''s taking the picture? Maybe I should-"


    "No!" Yelled Silva "We need to all be on the frame!"


    "Alright, but then who''s taking the picture?"


    The friends argued for a few minutes until a kind stranger approached them with an innocent smile on her face.


    "Do you need help? I can take the picture for you."


    "Really? That would help us a lot!"


    The woman with long blonde hair and violet eyes took the camera and aimed the device at the group. For an instant, Neige thought she had seen the woman before but quickly realized it was a stupid thought. Everyone smiled as the woman took a picture, immortalizing the moment forever. The woman gave back the device before going her way. Neige could only hope this would last forever, at the start of the day, a part of him doubted, but now, he knew this was his perfect life. No suffering, no doubts, no worries. A perfect world for everyone.


    THE END!

 Chapter 193: Reject Polyettas world.

    Polyetta already knew the outcome. Once she saw Neige shake his head, she knew there was no chance for him to accept her perfect world.


    "Neige... I was so close... Then so be it, I''ll do my best to stop you."


    A flash of light filled the room but Neige stared at it unbothered, ready to face the consequences of his act.


    "I''ll do my best to stop you too, Yada."


    Everyone grouped after a good night of rest, Neige stayed silent about Polyetta''s visit last night, not wanting to cause a scene. The group was relieved to see that Sepide regained most of her memories, Silva even jumping on her to take her in her arms.


    "Sepide! I''m so glad you''re back!"


    "Thanks... I missed you all too."


    After this charming reunion, the members of the ship turned toward Neige, waiting for instruction from their temporary leader.


    "So Neige, what now?"


    "I actually don''t know. Polyetta''s hiding somewhere and I can''t tell where. I tried but it''s like she completely vanished, and we don''t have much time either."


    "Should we split up?" Asked Ina "Maybe it would be faster this way."


    "I''m not sure, it''s pretty dangerous to be alone. I think we should-"


    Neige suddenly stopped and turned around, feeling something familiar.


    "It''s... Cinnamon! I can feel him!"


    "The cat?" Asked Emely "So you should go save him before finding the leader."


    "No... I think the leader is there too. I can''t explain why, it''s like Cinnamon is guiding us there."


    Silva smirked at Neige''s words, clearly amused.


    "First you have voices in your head, now cats talk to you... Neige, you really lost it."


    "Shut up Silva, I swear I can feel it... I think we should all go together, what do you think?"


    The group looked at each other, a bit hesitant to face their former leader. Frustrated by everyone''s lack of courage, Gwyn stepped up and faced everyone with a harsh expression on her face.


    "She''s our leader, but we''re the reason she''s doing it. We can''t let Neige, Silva, and Sepide do all the work. As members of the Kronos, we all need to take responsibility and fight for the world we want."


    "Indeed, I agree." Remiel said with a smile, leading to Emely answering as well.


    "I''m always in my lab usually, but now the leader needs us to stop her from making a mistake!"


    "As the Goddess of Death, I need to restore the world''s balance. But as a friend, all I want is to enjoy more free and peaceful days with my friends."


    Gwyn turned toward Neige with a serious expression on her face and a heavy heart.


    "Neige, I know she is your friend, but Polyetta has gone too far. I''m not sure she can be saved anymore... You need to be ready for everything."


    "Yes... I am."


    After a few minutes to prepare themselves, the crew of the Kronos all gathered around Neige. It was the last ordeal that was standing between them and their former leader, and they were ready to face it with all their heart.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    A vast city stood in front of the group. The futuristic sight of the world surprised them at first but something else, more eerie was in front of their eyes. The streets were filled with ads and billboards, all showing Neige''s face. It was like this whole world was only made to worship Neige and nothing else. Sepide was the first one to point out the obvious.


    "There are Neige''s everywhere... What is this place?"


    "I think it''s Polyetta''s perfect world. Just like we all had a world made for us, I think it''s how she imagines her perfect world."


    Gwyn stared at the place with frustration, blaming herself for letting it go this far. At the end of the street they were in, a small church was standing there. The friends walked toward the holy building in the hope of finding Polyetta but all stopped when they saw Cinnamon sitting in front of them, like it was waiting for them. The cat ran toward the church, giving everyone the assurance that their former leader was indeed there. They reached the door but a golden goo appeared in front of them and took a form similar to Neige, preventing them from entering. A voice echoed in the world, the voice of Polyetta.


    "Why... Why do you insist so much on struggling? I''ll prevent you from making a mistake, you don''t know what you''re doing..."


    "You''re the one that doesn''t understand!" Ina yelled with an unusual resolution in her voice "Life is not worth it if it''s decided by someone else, it''s a precious gift that we''ll fight for until the end!"


    "Ina... You more than anyone should understand. Life is unfair, I can create a world where no one has to die earlier than their natural way."


    "Leader... Life is unfair, but living in bliss away from all problems is not the solution!" Ina stepped forward and faced the strange substance in front of her "I''ll take care of it, you need to stop the leader!"


    "Are you sure?" Asked Neige "We don''t know what that thing is!"


    "I would make a sad ruler of Life and Death if I perished here." Ina turned around and made a warm smile to everyone else "Go on, I believe in you."


    Neige nodded and ran into the church along with everyone else. Despite looking small from the outside, the interior was as big as a manor. The whole church was filled with orange and black along with luxurious decorations made of gold. A stair was standing in front of them, with Cinnamon climbing them. The group tried to follow him but was instead stopped by another monster made of gold sludge in their way. The more he saw it, the more this substance reminded him of the anomaly''s body. Polyetta''s voice echoed in the church, tensing the atmosphere.


    "It''s not too late! Please, I don''t want to hurt anyone."


    "And I do not want to live a life where I am told what to do."


    Remiel walked toward the strange matter, ready to face it.


    "Remiel? You''re just a robot, why would you even go against me?"


    "I have experienced many feelings. There is still a lot more to feel and I cannot allow myself to stop until I live all of it. And besides, I cannot allow you to destroy the world my friends protected through sweat and blood."


    "That''s right! I''m proud of you Remiel!" Emely took her firearm and stood next to her robot with a proud smile "I''m not going to live in a world without all the suffering I had! They made me who I am, if I was never in danger, then my knight in shining armor never would have saved me!"


    "It''s insane..." Whisper Polyetta "How do you find this strength? You know how hard life is!"


    Emely turned toward the rest of the group with a smile on her face and winked in Silva''s direction.


    "Come on brave bat! It''s your time to shine now, Remiel and I will manage don''t worry. And if I do get hurt, I hope you''ll give me a magic kiss."


    "Of course, I will my little inventor. But still, don''t get hurt!"


    Neige groaned a bit and looked on the side, a bit embarrassed.


    "Even at the end of the world, I''m exposed to their love..."


    ~Come on Neige! It''s cute!~


    Neige smiled at Ada''s words before continuing to the upper levels. The stairs were long and seemed to stretch to infinity, the crew started to think they had taken the wrong direction but became sure they were on the right tracks once one of those Neiges made of golden slime appeared. It seemed obvious that Polyetta was trying her best to stop them.


    "You had a perfect life... You could have stayed in your cozy little world... so why... Why are you still fighting!?"


    Gwyn stepped forward and took a small knife, ready to face their roadblock.


    "I''m sorry Polyetta, I didn''t have the strength to stop you before."


    "You don''t need to find the strength! Didn''t you want to travel everywhere? You told me countless times how much you hated being a doctor!"


    "I was wrong. I thought I hated being a doctor and staying in my office all day. But what I hate is being told what to do. I never cared about exploring, I never cared about saving the world, all I want is to carve my own path. I''m not scared anymore, I''m going to face the reality of our world, and you''ll realize it too Polyetta! What is a perfect world if you alter your loved ones to fit your desires? Yes, I wish so many things to be different, but it''s what makes my life." Gwyn slightly turned her head toward the rest of the group, with an unusual confidant smile "Neige, Silva, Sepide. Please, save Polyetta like you saved me."


    Neige nodded and ran toward the top with his two friends. A long time passed until they finally reached the top of the structure. Surprisingly, they appeared to now be at the top of a tower. The moon was high in the sky, enlightening the roof where the three friends were standing. Polyetta stood in front of them, her book in one hand and her sword in the other. The only thing they could see was her back as she stared at the moon high in the sky.


    "The Goddess... No, something even above chose me. I''m the one who shall create peace in this desolated universe."

 Chapter 194: Polyetta... Admire Our Will!

    Polyetta walked toward the group with a cold expression on her face. Despite the empty attitude she tried to keep, a single tear flew from her face.


    "There''s no way back now. Neige, everyone... I''m sorry."


    In a flash, Polyetta rushed toward Neige and attacked him with her sword. Neige managed to block the hit but Ada was ejected from his body in a single strike, rendering her unconscious. The three friends turned toward the nun, lying on the ground before them. Neige suddenly felt heavier, his clothes were back and not an ounce of Ada''s presence was in him.


    "I''ll take care of her once we''re over."


    "You won''t stop us this time!" Yelled Silva "This time, we''ll bring our universe back!"


    Polyetta shook her head slowly and snapped her finger, freezing the three friends in their tracks.


    "I''m the ruler of this new world, I can make anyone obey-"


    To the woman''s surprise, Silva managed to break free of her control. She violently punched Polyetta and gave her a smug smirk.


    "That''s is? I could beat Gods like you easily."


    "How did you!? I thought I knew how to use the book to its full extent!"


    "That''s your problem, you only think about this stupid book. Now come fight me like a man!"


    "Silva... I really shouldn''t have let Neige raise you by himself..."


    The woman took her sword and was ready to face Silva. The blind girl rushed at her former leader and tried to kick her with force. Polyetta quickly noticed that Silva was aiming for the book and managed to block all of Silva''s hits with grace. Neige and Sepide were both still frozen over their former leader''s control while Silva tried her best to beat the woman in the hope of freeing her friends.


    "Silva, don''t you remember everything that happened to you? Your parents... They treated you so badly that you even considered ending your life, do you want others to take the same path?"


    "I''d rather die being myself than live as someone else. What did you do when I needed help? You only talk about it now because it''s the easy way out. Your new universe is just a joke, made only because you''re too cowardly to improve your life!"


    "I''m not a coward... I want to help everyone in their lives, I want them to find peace..."


    "That wasn''t us, only convincing puppets that acted like us."


    Polyetta prepared herself for another attack, she stayed focused until a drop of water fell on her hand. She looked at the sky with confusion only to see the drops of water multiplying in the sky.


    "Rain? How is it possible? It was supposed to be a calm night..."


    Silva took this opportunity to attack her former leader. Polyetta managed to block the girl''s attack, not without being hurt a bit. Silva took her firearm in hand and aimed directly at the woman''s head. The sound of the rain didn''t bother her, only calming her she was about to take her shot. The bullet landed on the woman''s head, Silva thought for a moment it was over but the only thing that was damaged was the woman''s mask, which revealed a part of her face and her left eye full of sadness.


    "Silva, you can''t stop perfection. My world will come to life, whether you want it or not. It''s not because you have the strength to strive that everyone does."


    "Then we''ll give them strength."


    Polyetta turned around when she heard Neige''s voice. She thought he was in a frozen but now had to block a hit from his dagger.


    "Neige!? How are you..."


    "I couldn''t let Silva do everything alone. You''re my friend Polyetta, and I''ll bring you back to the right path."


    The woman gripped her sword tightly before trying to hit her friend. Neige managed to easily dodge the hit and attacked back Polyetta, who managed to block the hit. Silva was going to help him but was instead stopped by the same golden goo from earlier, preventing her from doing so. Neige managed to keep up with Polyetta''s speed, but even he couldn''t last forever. The woman managed to kick him away, leaving Neige on the ground in pain.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "Neige... You always wanted to save everyone, what happened? The only thing you wanted was to be a hero, and now, you''re opposing humanity''s yearning for peace..."


    "That''s not what humanity wants, they want to live a life away from troubles it''s true, but not to the cost of their freedom. I know you don''t want it either Polyetta, I''ll bring you back to reality!"


    Polyetta was ready for another attack but instead flinched when she felt something on her face. A snowflake found its way to her, in this world where there wasn''t even a cloud.


    "You''re ruining everything... It was supposed to be perfect!"


    Neige took his dagger in hand and clashed with Polyetta''s sword. The two friends stared at each other in the eyes, trying their best to make the other fall. Neige pushed as hard as he could but Polyetta was much stronger. In a desperate attempt, Neige dropped his dagger and tried to do an uppercut on the woman. The sword slashed a large part of his torse while the woman ended up on the ground, letting her book drop farther away. She immediately stood up, thorned between her friend and the diary.


    "Neige! Why did you do that!? It was so dangerous!"


    "I needed to stop you... Polyetta... It''s not too late..."


    The woman walked toward the book and took it in her hand. Silva was busy, Sepide was still frozen, and Neige lying on the ground, unable to move further.


    "You did much more than I expected, but there''s nothing you could have done. I won."


    "No..."


    Polyetta opened the book and took her pen, ready to write in it one last time.


    Sepide opened her eyes, she was lying on a comfy bed and looked around the room full of pink and plushes. The girl stepped out of the bed only to see a table and two chairs in the middle of the room, with a little girl sitting on one of the chairs. She pointed at the other chair, inviting Sepide to sit with her. After a bit of hesitation, Sepide accepted and sat in front of the girl, still unsure about what was happening. The girl poured a cup of tea and handed it to Sepide with a smile.


    "How many sugar cubes?"


    "One." Sepide said with uncertainty, she had never drunk tea before and had no idea how much she was supposed to take.


    "Sepide... Finally, we meet."


    "Wait, are you... Opal?"


    The girl nodded with a soft smile on her face.


    "Yes, I used to be the tournament organizer. It feels like so long ago, so much happened since." The girl sipped her tea before continuing "Sepide, thanks for helping Silva and Neige. I may be the Goddess, but I never planned for you to even exist. Your case is quite special, but I still love you like every one of my children."


    "The... Goddess?"


    "I know, I didn''t do much... Yada, Ada... They both caused so much trouble, all I wanted was a perfect friend for Neige. Sepide, can you please help us? You are our last hope, I beg of you, bring the universe back and keep on living with your friends."


    "I''m not sure I understand everything, but I already planned to do it."


    Opal smiled at Sepide before taking another sip of her cup.


    "You have a bright future waiting for you. You have within you the strength to change the universe, I''ll help you but it''s all I can do."


    "You''ll help me? How?"


    "You''ll see later. I''m proud of you Sepide, you did great. Please, correct the mistakes I made, give everyone the ending they deserve."


    Sepide''s eyes suddenly felt heavy. The girl closed her eyes as Opal''s voice grew more distant. She wasn''t sure why, but she trusted Opal with everything in her body.


    Polyetta was writing in her book but was suddenly stopped by a bullet flying at her. The woman closed the book and faced Sepide, already knowing she was the culprit.


    "Sepide... So you woke up... You should sleep, this is your new mission, do you understand?"


    Sepide suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head as her creator took the book back in her hand. Neige and Silva''s voice couldn''t reach her, the only thing that filled her head was the woman''s order, echoing again and again in her head. But even despite that, even despite the sentence repeating, Sepide still managed to hold on.


    "You''re still resisting? I''ll just write in the book directly, ''Sepide fell asleep and had sweet dreams'', isn''t it better than feeling this pain?"


    Polyetta wrote the words in the book but looked increasingly worried as Sepide kept resisting.


    "Sepide? It''s an order from Fate, how can you even resist it? You''ll hurt yourself!"


    "No... I won''t... Agree..."


    Sepide held her hand against her head, using all the memories she made to keep on going. The night suddenly let place to a shining sunrise, surprising everyone in the world.


    "I''m not... Fate''s puppet! It doesn''t matter... How much it hurts... How much I have to suffer... All I want is..."


    Sepide stepped toward her creator, visibly in pain. Her heart was racing, her whole body was sweating, and the taste of blood filled her mouth. And yet, none of that managed to stop her. Polyetta kept staring at the pages of the book, confused as to why Sepide was still standing.


    "I''ll just recreate you later, you''re clearly suffering."


    Polyetta erased Sepide from the book, even despite the two friends'' attempts to stop her. The woman expected Sepide to disappear, but she was for some reason still standing.


    "How..? How!? You can''t go against a Divine order! I created you! You were supposed to obey me! We were supposed to stand next to each other in this new world!"


    "I''m sorry Mother... I''m not a child anymore... All I want is a future... A future with my friends."


    Sepide took the white orb she kept in her pocket. The ball shined brightly, blinding everyone for a few seconds. When they could open their eyes again, they could see that the orb in Sepide''s hand became a sword, very similar to the one Polyetta was using. Despite the visible weight of the sword, Sepide easily pointed it at her former leader with one hand, challenging her directly.


    "I will be more than a puppet, I''ll never be just your doll!"

 Chapter 195: Rain, Snow, and Sunrise

    Sepide approached Polyetta with her sword in hand, ready to stop her creator. Polyetta put the book in her pocket and took her sword, ready for the fight to come.


    "Sepide..."


    Without a doubt in her heart, the girl rushed at Polyetta. The two swords clashed, but even despite Sepide''s pain from earlier, she was the faster one. For once, Polyetta felt out-skilled, all she could do was try to keep up with Sepide''s fast and quick attacks.


    "Sepide! Why do you fight!? Weren''t you happy in this world? Just doing missions forever, without worrying for the future..."


    "The future doesn''t scare me anymore, my past showed me how splendid the future can be. I want to see my future, not one I was created to make!"


    The girl continued to attack her former leader with intensity. Polyetta couldn''t even run away or use her book, only seeing her chances of winning lower.


    "I-I''m the Goddess! How could I lose to one of my creations!?"


    Without using words, Sepide answered by breaking the woman''s sword in a clean hit. The new Goddess stared at the broken blade in shock. She was now forced to throw it and use other means of fighting. She tried using the bit of boxing Neige taught her but Sepide already knew everything about it and could easily dodge. Polyetta was so focused on her fight that she didn''t even notice that everyone else arrived and managed to get rid of her distractions. Everyone was cheering for Sepide, persuaded she would be able to win against their former leader. The girl managed to put Polyetta down, forcing her to drop her mask and book to the ground. The woman tried to get the book back but Sepide put her foot on it, staring at her with a serious expression on her face.


    "It''s over, leader."


    "Over... Over? Over!? It''s not over! I was chosen to create a perfect universe!! If you don''t want it, then fine! I''ll create a world for me and Neige! You can all die!! I don''t care about any of you!!"


    A violent wind forced Sepide to step back, even sending the diary to fly away. Everyone had trouble even standing up because of the force coming out of the woman. Neige managed to stand up but still couldn''t understand what was happening.


    "Polyetta! Calm down, it''s over!"


    "No!! I''ll save you Neige! We''ll be happy together, forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever..."


    "She''s completely crazy!" Silva said, barely able to stand "What is even happening!?"


    The group tried their best to not be flown away from the powerful wind. Sepide planted her sword on the ground and used it as an anchor point, but even that didn''t prevent her from slowly getting away from the woman. Despite her best efforts, Silva was sent back and bumped into Emely, which sent both of them on Remiel who managed to stop their fall. Gwyn lay down on the ground to resist the powerful force while Ina grabbed her leg to not go away. Everyone was so focused that they didn''t even notice Ada''s body falling from the roof they were on. They all struggled to even keep going while Polyetta yelled, holding herself in her arms. The only that managed to keep a strong stance was Neige, who stared at his friend with concern.


    "Polyetta... It looks like she can''t control her feelings. If we don''t do anything, she might become an anomaly too."


    "Are you serious!?" Yelled Silva from the other side "Neige... I know it sounds harsh but... You need to finish her!"Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "She''s right!" Yelled Sepide "We can''t let her become like the anomaly! Please Neige, you have to do it!"


    Neige took a deep inspiration and slowly walked against the wind, his dagger in hand. Polyetta was still standing there, crying and yelling insanities that didn''t make any sense. Neige barely managed to get closer before a tentacle made of golden slime attacked him, sending him a few meters back. Holding his blade firmly in his hand, Neige stood up again, getting closer to the woman he still considered his friend.


    "Polyetta!!! I''m going to save you! No matter what, you''re coming back with us!"


    Another tentacle swung toward Neige but the man managed to use his dagger to stop it. The appendices were cut in half, which seemed to hurt the woman as the wind got even more powerful. All Neige could do now was stay where he was, no matter how hard he tried, the wind prevented him from going forth. The force pushed him so violently that he was about to fall, but thankfully, Sepide managed to catch him from behind and helped him advance.


    "Come on Neige, you can''t fall now!"


    Silva pressed her back against Sepide, helping Neige to get closer to the woman.


    "She''s right! We did so many stupid and dangerous things, we''re not going to lose because of a nerd!"


    The three friends managed to keep up and got closer to their former leader. Despite the strong force pushing them away, Polyetta was only a meter away from Neige, sitting defenseless on the ground.


    "Neige! it''s our chance!"


    "Silva''s right! We can end it all here!"


    Neige took his dagger in hand. All he could think about was all the moments he spent with Polyetta. The moments when they would eat together in front of the bakery, the walks next to the river, the missions they did together. Neige put his dagger back on his belt and approached the woman before taking her in his arms. A strong force pushed him away, but no matter what, Neige continued to hold onto his friend as hard as he could.


    "It''s me Polyetta... It will be alright."


    "N-Neige!?"


    The wind suddenly lost strength, the tentacles around stopped moving, and the woman gave back her friend''s embrace. The snow continued to fall on the two friends as the sun was rising in the sky. The other members grouped around the two friends and stayed silent for a few minutes, looking at them with relief. They couldn''t help but smile and laugh to know that everything was over now, while Polyetta slowly opened her eyes like she woke up from a long nap. She looked around in confusion, staring at everyone around.


    "What... Happened..."


    "Nothing Polyetta, just rest."


    The woman obeyed and continued to hold Neige softly and closed her eyes, falling asleep in his arms. When he saw how exhausted his friend was, Neige held her in his arms and stood up before turning toward the group.


    "We should find the book and return to our universe. We spent enough time here."


    Everyone agreed and headed toward the stairs. The book was probably sent flying far away and they thought it would take time to find it, but thankfully for them, Ada just arrived with Cinnamon and the book in her hand.


    "Hey! I found the book!" Ada ran toward the rest of the group and looked at Polyetta, sleeping peacefully in Neige''s arms "It''s hard to think she''s the reason behind all these troubles."


    "Like you''re one to talk." Said Silva "Do you have any idea how many problems you made?"


    "I mean... At least one I suppose?"


    "If only it was just one..." Sepide muttered to himself "Does anyone know how to get the old universe back now?"


    "I can try." Gwyn said while taking the book from Ada''s hand. She read a few pages of it and shook her head with an annoyed face "She really writes like a toddler, I can barely read her. It seems like all she did was create a parallel universe. We could leave and return to ours, but it will probably lead to this place crumbling on itself once we leave."


    "There''s nothing I want from here." Emely announced with a smile "I want to go back home and work on my next invention while my pet bat keeps me company. This place means nothing to me."


    "I agree." Said Remiel "It does not seem like I will gather any more information in this universe."


    "If everyone agrees, let''s go then!" Ina said with a warm smile "I''ll cook something good for you all once we''re back. We''ll take care of Ada and Polyetta once we''re back, and everything will be back in order."


    Gwyn nodded and gave the book and the pen to Neige with a smile on her face.


    "Neige, bring us back to our universe. We can''t wait to see again the world we worked so hard for."


    "Yeah, everyone, great job on the mission!"


    Neige beamed with joy at everyone while taking the book. A page from the book of their lives just turned, but this was far from the end of their story.

 Chapter 196: Fate Burned That Night

    Everyone returned on their ship in their universe. The lights were back on and everything was completely repaired. The group lit a fire in the middle of the main hall and formed a circle around it. Polyetta took the divine book in her hand, and after taking a deep breath, threw it into the fire. Now that the cause of so much suffering disappeared, everyone felt relieved and confident about the future. The woman turned toward everyone around, visibly still feeling bad.


    "I know it''s nothing compared to what I did but... Thanks... And sorry... I broke the promise I made to Neige and caused everyone so many problems. I love you all, I truly do, and I never intended to trouble you. It''s just that... When I realized all this power I had, I felt like I had to use it. This book somehow made me crazy, I don''t think any human should have this amount of power. Miss Anomaly, Silv, even Kairo... I think we all let power take over us. I''m lucky I had you all to show me the light, so from now on, no more Polyetta, no more leader... Just call me Yada. I''m no Goddess or leader, I just tried so hard to fit this role. I hated my name, who I was, I wanted to convince myself and everyone around me. I changed my name and wore a mask, but it wasn''t so Neige didn''t recognize me, at least not fully... I was scared, scared of not being good enough. I knew Yada wasn''t made to be a leader, so I made this fake me that could take care of everything. So, in the name of all of me, I apologize from the deepest part of my heart."


    Neige walked toward Yada and rubbed the top of her head while giving her a warm smile. The woman still felt horrible but quickly felt better as Neige took her in his arms and caressed her long blonde hair. The two friends stayed silent, cuddling each other until Silva interrupted them with her voice.


    "I''m okay with letting her stay, but I''m not forgetting everything she did to everyone. Just thinking back about Sepide''s situation still frightens me..."


    "I don''t expect you to ever forgive me... I know the wrong I did..."


    Silva stayed silent for a moment, visibly having thorned feelings about her former leader. Ina put her hand on Silva''s shoulder and gave her a compassionate smile to calm her.


    "I''m sure we all need some time, it was a difficult experience for everyone. Even the leader should go rest."


    "The leader?" Asked Yada "Are you talking about me?"


    "Oh I''m sorry, it''s a habit. I never thought the day you would no longer be the leader would arrive."


    "We should vote for a new one then!" Emely said with enthusiasm "If the leader is no longer leader, then we should have a temporary one. I can''t be because I''m busy with my time travel device."


    "If we use this logic, I can''t either." Said Gwyn "I''ll be very busy with Iris and Emel. I was hoping to send them back to their world before everything happened."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Oh, I almost forgot about them!" Ina said with surprise "Why weren''t they with us in the leader''s world?"


    "Will you stop calling me leader? And I didn''t want strangers to ruin the perfection of my world, not before it was over at least... Why don''t you become the new leader Ina? You seem like you''d suit the role."


    "Me? I have the duty of life and death to take care of, I can''t accept the role."


    "The duty of life and death? Sounds important, what do you do?"


    Ina was at a loss, unable to answer Sepide''s innocent question. The woman mumbled her words and tried her best to dodge the question.


    "I''m... Working on it... We need to take care of the anomaly first before I can take care of anything else. But what about you Sepide, maybe you''d be able to take this role?"


    "I''m too inexperienced, it hasn''t even been a year for me since I''m even alive. Neige is more suited for that role."


    "I''m not made to be a leader, I''m the one that goes on missions the most often, I-"


    "Fine, I''ll decide!"


    Everyone stared at Yada as she looked around the room, thinking about who would be the most suited leader for the ship. Her eyes met Silva, who stared back despite her blindness. The woman hesitated for a moment before pointing at the cat, cleaning itself at the other side of the room.


    "Cinnamon, he''s the leader."


    "Cinnamon?" Neige looked at the cat with surprise before shrugging and turning toward his friend "He''s doing a good job as the pilot, I don''t see a problem with it. We''ll just need to all do our best to not trouble our new temporary leader!"


    Aside from Ada, the group unanimously agreed with the decision. The nun looked at everyone like they lost their mind, not believing what was happening.


    "This thing is our pilot!? How are we not dead yet?"


    "He''s only pilot by technicality." Explained Yada "The ship is just orbiting around the sun."


    "Still, can''t we choose someone else? I don''t trust a fluffy pet with that."


    "Come on, he''s the one who helped us the most." Neige said while taking the cat in his arms "Without him, we never would have found Polyetta''s world."


    "Yada... I guess it will take some time for everyone to get used to it."


    "Not for me!" Proudly said Silva "You''ll always be a nerd for me."


    "Thanks Silva, I appreciate it."


    Silva was a bit taken aback, expecting Yada to at least be annoyed. The girl blushed at the woman''s gratitude and turned toward Neige to change the topic.


    "Anyway, so what now? We can''t use the book to track problems in the universe, we just have to wait for Emely to finish the time thingy and prevent the anomaly''s birth?"


    "Pretty much yeah. We deserve some rest, and I''m sure that if something like the anomaly happens again we''ll notice. We still have Emely''s data on the world we already explored."


    "It feels weird... Welp, I''m not going to complain, more time together!"


    "More time together for you." Gwyn said, visibly exhausted "We didn''t even have a night of sleep and I already have to take care of two patients."


    "Get enough rest, I''m sure they''re not in that bad of a state. I''m going to bring back Yada to her room, I''m sure she needs some rest."


    Neige took his friend to her room while everyone went to rest. Only Silva stood there, lost in her thoughts about the uncertainty of the future.


    "Silva? Are you okay?"


    Emely''s voice brought Silva back from the jail of her mind. The girl let out a soft smile, feeling silly for even worrying.


    "As long as you''re all here, I''ll always be okay."

 Chapter 197: A Life After The End

    Gwyn took multiple tests on Iris, ensuring that everything was alright. Emel stood next to her, watching the doctor do her job while worrying for her friend''s well-being. After a long hour, Gwyn put her tools down and let out a sigh of relief as she stood up from her chair to stretch.


    "You''re reacting well to the meds. I wouldn''t be surprised if you''re fully healed in less than a year."


    "Really? That''s wonderful news..." Iris said with a weak voice "I wish Silv was here to see that..."


    Emel stayed silent due to her hesitation before putting her arm on her friend''s shoulders with a smile.


    "We don''t need Silv, she was the meanie all along... We have each other now, okay? I''ll introduce you to all my friends."


    Iris nodded and smiled back at Emel the best she could before turning toward Gwyn.


    "When will I be able to leave?"


    "You''re leaving today, a spaceship is not suited for your recovery. Your body needs fresh air so you should go to Emel''s world. I''ll give you just enough meds to last six months, then we''ll check up on your health again. Emely will provide you a phone to contact me if you need to."


    Emel looked at Iris with a bright smile, which seemed to make her friend feel better as well.


    "Did you hear Iris!? We''ll go home!"


    "Yes... I''m glad to know that I''m able to leave. Still, I wonder if I''m in a good enough state..."


    "You are." Gwyn said while putting on a jacket "You experienced a lot of traumatic events, it for sure doesn''t help, but being in a whole new peaceful world will be good for you. Also, it gives me more free time if I don''t need to keep you around."


    Iris let out a chuckle before making a slight bow from her wheelchair.


    "Thanks doctor, I''ll forever be grateful to you."


    Gwyn smiled, glad she was able to help. She took everything she needed and prepared herself to go, but was interrupted by Yada entering the room without even knocking. The former leader didn''t even wear her uniform; instead, she was wearing casual clothes that barely covered anything.


    "Gwyn, antidepressant."


    The woman pointed at a bottle of pills on the table with a concerned expression on her face.


    "Leader, you know that you''re supposed to only take-"


    "I''m not a leader, don''t call me like that. I just lost my bottle."


    Yada left the room as she entered. Gwyn couldn''t help but worry for her friend, if she wasn''t so busy, she would have checked on her to see if she was doing fine. Instead, she had to go to Emely''s lab along with her two patients. Once she finished, Gwyn promised herself to help her old friend.


    The small group arrived in Emely''s lab, where she was working with Ina on something. Gwyn approached them with curiosity, trying to not startle them. The doctor was surprised to see them working on a knife and couldn''t help but question them.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Are you making a knife?"


    Emely and Ina both turned toward Gwyn with surprise, the engineer in particular was more than annoyed.


    "There''s a sign in front of the door, it''s in ten languages and it''s as big as the door. So why didn''t you knock!?"


    "Didn''t feel like it." Gwyn said with a smile, annoying Emely even more.


    "You were less annoying when you were depressed..."


    "You preferred me like that?"


    "Of course not... You being better is all that matters. I suppose you''re here for the phone? I''ll get it."


    Emely searched in her drawers for the phone while Ina looked at the two girls waiting near the door with curiosity.


    "Are they going back to Emel''s world?"


    "Yes, they should be fine to go."


    "Thank God, I don''t want to be jumped scared by a girl that looks exactly like me in the middle of the night." Emely took the phone and handed it to Gwyn, looking at Emel from the corner of her eyes "Still, I hope they''ll be alright. Are you sure they''re ready to go back?"


    "Yes, they can always call me if they need to. This ship is not good for them, neither mentally or physically."


    "You''re right." Said Ina "Maybe we should color the ship in different tones sometimes, just for a change of pace."


    "Color the ship? Have you seen how huge is this place? Just cleaning my lab takes hours..."


    "Emely''s right, but I agree with Ina. White and black aren''t good colors for mental health, we spend most of our time here so some changes might be nice. Especially for Polyetta, she doesn''t seem good."


    "Yeah, what''s up with her?" Emely asked, visibly annoyed just by the thought of her former leader "A few weeks ago we stopped her from destroying the world, and now she comes every hour to ask me when time travel will be possible."


    "I think she had enough with all her responsibilities. She even refused to have a session with me, it''s a first... I wonder what''s her plan once everything is over, she''ll probably find a place to live and convince Neige to follow her."


    Emely and Ina both looked a bit sad suddenly, realizing how close the end was. The moment Emely finishes her time anchor, they won''t have any more missions as members of the Kronos.


    "I wonder what Silva wants to do after the end... I''ll follow her no matter what, I know I''ll be happy with her."


    "I''m sure your love can bloom anywhere." Ina said with a smile "But... Will we all split up? I was hoping we could still stay together."


    "We should have a conversation about it once everything is over." Gwyn said while looking at the two girls, waiting with impatience to get to Emel''s world "Emely, when you finish with your time thingy, don''t tell everyone yet. We should all spend time together one last time before that."


    "Of course! It''s not like I''ll finish soon anyway, a month will pass before I''m over."


    Gwyn nodded and turned around to her two patients, ready to leave.


    "Sorry for the wait, we can go now."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Emel''s world was a big city, just like any other. Gwyn closed her eyes, feeling the wind she hadn''t felt in ages. It was a new beginning for her, a new way to spend the rest of her life with her friends. All she could hope was that they would all end up together, in a world as lively as this one. A girl suddenly screamed, breaking the moment of bliss the doctor was having with herself. The girl had short light pink hair and took Emel in her arms, who answered by doing the same.


    "Emel! I thought you were dead!"


    "It''s okay Rose... I''m here now..."


    The two girls stayed like that for a moment until Emel broke free and pointed at Gwyn and Iris to her friend.


    "Let me introduce you to my new friends! This one''s Iris, we spent a lot of time together! And this one is..."


    "I''m just a doctor." Gwyn said, looking at the other girl with concern "Iris''s state is not that stable, I hope you won''t go yelling like that around her."


    "I''m sorry! It''s just... It''s been more than a month since she disappeared without leaving a trace, we were getting worried for Emel."


    Emel sniffed, trying her best to keep the tears in her eyes from leaving.


    "I''m so sorry... I never should have trusted Silv. I don''t know why I even let that happen."


    "Silv? It looks like a lot happened since last time. Let''s go home, you and your friends can stay too, at least to drink something."


    Gwyn shook her head and took her notebook out of her pocket, trying to look busy.


    "I''m afraid I cannot, I''ll have to leave. We''ll probably see each other again, I''ll come back to monitor Iris and Emel to a lesser extent."


    "I see, thanks for helping my friend. I really owe you a lot."


    "I''m just doing my job."


    Gwyn smiled softly and waved at the three friends going together. Iris shyly waved while Emel did with energy. All Gwyn could do now was hope that everyone would be safe, away from any trouble. For the first time, she was confident there could be a life after her mistake, a life beyond Polyetta''s perfect world.

 Chapter 198: Fishing Time

    Neige, Silva, and Sepide all decided to go to another world together. The two girls were excited by the idea of fishing and decided to go to the world where they held a baseball match. A nice river was there and no dangers were in sight, making it a great place to fish for the first time. The three friends sat next to each other, a rod in hand. Once Neige explained everything they needed they put the hook in the water and waited for a few minutes until Sepide turned toward Neige with excitation.


    "And now? What happens?"


    "Now, we wait. It''s a great way to chase bad thoughts and relax for a bit, after what happened with Yada, I think it''s a great idea."


    "I wish I could have done like you and fished Emely''s underwear." Silva said with a perverse smile on her face.


    "I don''t think you''ll get anything like that here. I''m sure you''ll have all the time you need to find her underwear once we go back to the ship."


    "I''m not sure about that, it''s still so embarrassing..."


    Neige chuckled before petting the top of Silva''s head.


    "Never thought I''d see the day a girl embarrass you!"


    "It''s different... I never thought about how scary intimacy was, it''s like I''m giving myself to her. If anything wrong happened, it would hurt so much."


    "But don''t you trust her?" Sepide asked with concern.


    "Of course I do, I''m more worried that I hurt her. I''d feel horrible knowing I caused her any form of pain..."


    "You can''t really avoid pain or hurting." Said Neige "It will happen, but if you truly love each other, I know you''ll make up for it. So don''t overthink, she''ll be here for you no matter what, and you''ll never hurt her too badly. And take your time, you''re still young, you''ll make mistakes and it''s okay."


    "You give weirdly specific advice for an asexual, are you sure you''re not into girls a little bit?"


    "No, I have no interest in love or sexuality, it''s a waste of time. But I''m impressed by how much you''ve grown Silva, a few months ago, you were still dreaming of your perfect lover."


    "Yeah, tall muscular men aren''t that great. The two most important persons in my life are the opposite of masculinity."


    "Am I included in that?" Neige asked, a bit worried "I''m a guy you know? I''d say I''m pretty masculine, I just look a bit feminine."


    "Don''t you dress like a girl sometimes?" Asked Sepide "Also, I feel like Silva''s more manly than you sometimes."


    "What does that even mean? It''s not manly to get in trouble!"


    "Maybe that''s why Emely chose me over you, she easily could tell who was the real man."


    Sepide and Silva laughed together while Neige stood in the middle, a bit embarrassed.


    "When it''s all over, I''ll find a world only with girls. No one will annoy me with being manly after that."


    "You know Kairo was joking when he said you should be more manly, right?" Silva said with a smile, a bit concerned "We all love you however you are, don''t leave us."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "I won''t, I''d probably feel lonely without anyone to sexually harass me."


    "That''s not sexual harassment, I''m just being a good friend!"


    Neige laughed and caressed Silva''s head with amusement.


    "You''re a great friend, and you too Sepide, you''re both wonderful."


    "But if you could, would you leave to go live in another world?" Asked Sepide with curiosity.


    "I don''t know, I think I''m happy being with everyone. If they''d want to be in different places, then I''d probably follow Yada."


    "I don''t think anyone would want to be away from each other." Silva said with with a soft smile "We lived so much together, I can''t see my life without everyone around. I think we should even keep the Kronos around!"


    "Keep the Kronos around? And continue stopping anomalies?"


    "No, we should instead help people. Like going into a world that needs help and saving them, I hate having to ruin people''s lives because it''s not like the Goddess planned..."


    "But what if it causes the world''s end?" Sepide asked, a bit worried.


    "Then we''ll save them again, we fought a demonic nun, a crazy philosopher, and a psychopath with incredibly good red hair! It''s not the end of the world that will stop us."


    Neige lay on his back, with an amused smile on his face. The man watched the clouds in the sky, flying innocently with the wind.


    "You know, I wouldn''t mind that... Helping people in other worlds... It''s not like it will happen for now though, I think I''ll take a few years of vacation before doing anything else."


    "I agree, it was a hard year." Silva said, visibly trying to do something with her clothes "It''s too bad for you Sepide, you didn''t get to see much of the peaceful life on the ship."


    "She didn''t miss much. I know it''s weird, but I feel like all those problems got us closer. Like, I never knew how harsh Gwyn''s past was or how Emely really felt for Silva. I feel like we all grew from that, so in a way, I''m glad it all happened... Even if we lost some on the way there..."


    "Still, I''m curious to see how life was before I arrived..."


    Sepide stared in front of her, thinking about the life she had. There was still much to live, she knew that even despite her past, the future was bright. Her melancholy stopped when Neige''s rod moved like it caught something. Neige immediately stood up and took his pole with surprise. There wasn''t much resistance, but after some time reeling, the hook got out of the water. Neige''s excitation fell down when he noticed a piece of underwear, with Silva laughing next to him.


    "Did you remove your bra just for that?"


    "I wish I could see your face, but I already know you''re blushing!"


    "I''m not blushing!" Despite his protestation, Neige blushed, a bit embarrassed "I hope I won''t die first, you''d be able to put panties on my face during my funeral."


    "Would put the fun in funeral at least!" Silva continued laughing, bringing a soft smile to her two friends'' faces. Neige threw the piece of cloth at Silva, who caught in with disgust "It''s cold... I''m not putting that back on."


    "What do you mean? You''re the one that did that."


    "It''s fine, I''ll put another one once we''re back on the ship, it''s not like I need one anyway."


    "I really think we should bring you to a world and let you live among people..."


    "I don''t need that! It''s not like I''m having problems only living with my friends."


    "But what if you get a child?" Asked Sepide "Isn''t it better then that you live a normal life in a world?"


    "I''m only twenty! I have time for that, and besides, children are annoying. Emely would need to beg for me to have one. But I''m sure Neige would love to get a child."


    "I already have to deal with you, it''s more than enough. I had to teach you most of the basics, you''re like my daughter in a way."


    "If I''m your daughter, then you''re my daddy?"


    "Never call me like that again... What about you Sepide? You''d like to have a child someday?"


    "Maybe, it feels far away. I have a lot to live still."


    "I''m not even sure she knows how children are made." Silva and Neige chuckled together before noticing Sepide''s serious expression, realizing she was indeed clueless "Wait, you don''t know how?"


    "I mean, I think I know. It''s when a guy and a girl... Do something." Sepide said, a bit embarrassed. Making Neige doubt even more.


    "I can''t tell if you''re embarrassed because you know or don''t know... Anyway, you''ll figure it out when the time comes."


    "Yes, for now, I just want to spend time with everyone. And I have to prepare, tomorrow Remiel and I will find out who''s better at tennis."


    "Tennis?" Neige asked, a bit surprised "I didn''t know you played tennis."


    "I don''t, neither does Remiel, but we''re running out of things to do."


    "You''re really trying hard to beat this metal girl. Good luck with it then, I''m sure you''ll manage... Do you even know the rules of tennis?"


    "You need to... Hit the ball?"


    Neige let out a sigh while Silva laughed at the situation. The three friends continued to have a great time together, dreaming about the possibilities of the future.

 Chapter 199: Yearning For The End

    A few days passed since the ''Polyetta incident'' and everyone returned to their usual life. Emely continued working on the time anchor to prevent the anomaly''s birth while the others enjoyed their free time in this peaceful moment. The only one who seemed unhappy was Yada, barely leaving her room and ignoring everyone else on the ship. Neige decided it was enough and went into her room, hoping to cheer up his old friend. The man brought a few sweets in the hope of bringing a smile to her face, but Yada just stared at him, not even standing up from the bed she was lying on.


    "Ina cooked a few things for you, you should eat while it''s still warm."


    Neige sat on the woman''s bed and offered her the food, but instead of a smile, Neige was met with an empty face.


    "I''m not hungry."


    "How can you not be? Have you even eaten since..."


    "Just tell Emely to finish her time thing, I''m too tired to do it."


    Neige poked Yada''s face and tried to put the food directly in her mouth. Despite all his attempts, the woman barely gave a reaction, instead staring at him blankly.


    "What are you doing?"


    "I''m worried for you... You weren''t the happiest, but you weren''t so depressed before."


    "That was Polyetta, she was a leader. It''s behind me now, I''m just a lazy piece of shit."


    "Don''t say that! You''re my friend, even in your lowest moments. We''ll find something and-"


    "When Emely finishes her time travel... Everything will be different, right? I mean, without the anomaly, so much will be different."


    "It''s... Not really how it works. All it will do is fix Ada''s world and make her disappear. But... Everything she did will stay, and we probably won''t see any changes."


    "So even once it''s over, I''ll still exist..."


    Yada''s tone was defeated, saddening her friend. When she saw how bad Neige felt about her state, Yada let out a sigh and tried to force a smile.


    "I''m okay Neige."


    "I can see you''re not, even Silva could see it. We''ll take care of everything, I know it''s not your perfect world, but we''ll do our best to make you happy."


    "It''s not that... All this time, the anomaly caused problems because she wanted you. She was trying to have her friend with her, even if it wasn''t the real one... She was ready to kill everyone for that and... I''m no different. Ada at least managed to get better, but I''m not sure I can..."


    "I''m sure everyone forgave you. Well, maybe not Silva, but you know how she is."


    "No, I don''t... I barely ever cared about those that were the members of my ship, I was a pitiful leader..."


    Neige wasn''t sure to know what to do. All he could do for now was caress Yada''s hair as she stayed on her bed with empty eyes. A knock on the door took Neige by surprise while Yada barely reacted. The man stood next to the door, not opening it so the person outside wouldn''t see Yada in that state.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Who is it?"


    "It''s me, Sepide." Silva said, badly imitating her friend "I need to see my mommy!"


    "I don''t think Sepide ever called Yada her ''mommy'' and she doesn''t have that deep of a voice."


    "A shame. But Gwyn is searching for you, she tried calling you but couldn''t."


    "She did... I turned off my phone to not be bothered, can you tell her I''ll try to go later."


    "Okay, I will." Despite what she said, Silva stayed a moment in front of the door. It was hard for Neige to know why until she decided to break the silence "You''re with the nerd, right? Can I talk to her?"


    Neige turned toward his friend, waiting for her to give her answer.


    "Tell Silva to fuck off."


    "Hey, I heard that! It''s just for a few minutes!"


    Yada let out a sigh, clearly exasperated.


    "Fine, let her enter."


    "I''m not sure I want her to enter." Said Neige with concern "You''re not in a good state and-"


    Neige was surprised to see the door opening. Usually, he needed to put a code to open it and he knew Silva never knew it. The blind girl smirked, showing a sort of card in her hand before putting it back in her pocket.


    "What is that? Did you use it to open the door?"


    "It''s what Emely uses to go around the ship when she needs to fix stuff, it opens everything. It''s one of the perks of dating the genius of the ship."


    Yada groaned, already annoyed by the girl''s presence.


    "Are you here just to be loud?"


    "I guess, but there''s something I wanted to tell you. I still didn''t forgive you for what you did."


    "I hate you too. Is that all?"


    "No... I also wanted to apologize."


    Yada leaned forward and took a seated position, curious to know what Silva would say.


    "I can see you''re not well, and I''m maybe a part of that. I was harsh to you, and I still think you deserved those words. But I also know how it feels to be hopeless... Once we''re done with the anomaly, you plan on... Disappearing, right?"


    "I wish I could disappear." Said Yada "It would have been easier if everyone could forget about me."


    "I know, it''s how I felt for a while. There are still times when I doubt, I tell myself it would be better if I just never existed. But it''s not true, it''s impressive how much our lives change the world. If you weren''t here, Neige would be such a coward, I wouldn''t even be here to complain. It''s like that for everyone, we all find value in the others, and they find value in us. When I realized how many lives I changed, it made me never want to go back."


    "You can stop now, I don''t need to hear your sob story."


    "Hey, I''m trying to help you! You were a great leader, and even if I don''t agree with everything, I have to admit that you did your best. You did what you thought was the right thing, but now you can trust us. You won''t be able to get better by yourself, I can promise you that much. I tried, and it''s only when I saw how much I hurt my friends that I started trusting them."


    Yada stared at Silva with a blank stare, the woman seemed lost in her thoughts, taking a few minutes before answering.


    "Are you really Silva? You talk about sex and mess around all day, and out of nowhere, you try to give life lessons."


    "Of course I''m me! And I''m sure you know what I''m saying is true, I just figured you needed a little reminder."


    "All I need is rest... It''s already hard enough to rest when Neige comes regularly... But thanks, I appreciate it."


    Yada smiled softly at Silva, she still wasn''t good but seemed a bit better than at the beginning of the day. The woman turned toward Neige, trying her best to comfort him.


    "I think I need to sleep, you should go see what Gwyn wants."


    "Are you sure?"


    Yada nodded, despite his worries, Neige let out a sigh and agreed with his friend.


    "Call me if you need anything, okay?" Neige approached Yada and kissed softly her forehead "Have sweet dreams, I''ll be back soon."


    Neige and Silva went out of the room, leaving the woman alone. Once she was sure they were away, Yada got out of her bed and tried to get to her desk. She hadn''t walked in a few days, making it hard for her to find her balance. She quickly sat on the chair she used to sit on while giving missions to the others. The woman took the picture on the desk in her hand, it was the one they took during their vacation in the snowy land. Everyone was here, aside from Shiro and Kairo. She stared at it in silence, unsure what to think. All she wanted was to lie down and never think again, she thought she didn''t care what the other thought of her, but deep inside she still cared for them. A single tear fell in the frame.

 Chapter 200: The Basement

    Neige hurried to Gwyn''s lab, where Ina and the doctor were waiting. Ina seemed terrified for some reason, while Gwyn looked more annoyed than anything. When she noticed him enter, Gwyn walked toward him, a serious expression on her face.


    "Neige, I''m glad you''re here."


    "What happened?"


    "I''m not sure, I figured you''d be the one that could help the most." Gwyn turned toward Ina, still shaking in fear "You can tell him what happened now."


    "I wish I didn''t have to repeat it... It was horrifying. Emely was helping me work on a knife that could heat, it would have been so practical to put butter on toast. We needed something in-"


    "Wait, isn''t she working on time travel? And it''s not that bad, you just have to let the butter out for a few minutes and then it''s fine."


    "It''s not important, it''s something even worse than whatever the human mind could imagine..."


    Neige was still caught up in the uselessness of the invention but managed to shake those thoughts and focus back on the matter at hand.


    "It''s okay, I''ll manage. What is it?"


    "So we needed something. Emely said it was in the basement, and that even if there wasn''t any lights, nothing bad would happen. She was too scared to come because of her fear of the dark, but something way worse lay in the darkness. A voice... Calling you, Neige. It sounded so... Inhumane, distorted... It''s like an old enemy coming back to kill you."


    "A voice calling my name? I should go check then."


    "I-I''ll come with you!" Ina said, still afraid "I want to know what it is..."


    "I''ll come too then." Gwyn took her jacket and lit up a cigarette before going with Neige "Just in case something bad happens."


    "I don''t think it''s anything that bad... Let''s just go, I have things to do after."


    The two women nodded, ready to leave for the basement of the ship.


    The group arrived in front of the door to the basement. Neige only went there a few times, they used it to store things they probably would never need, and when Emely joined the ship, they didn''t even take the time to update it with the new light system. They all silently agreed to forget this place, but Emely and Ina weren''t on the ship yet when they decided to give up on the basement. The three friends opened the door and entered the huge dark room, their phones in hand, the small group walked around the dark basement in search of the strange voice. Ina significantly slowed down the group, looking nervously around while Neige and Gwyn progressed without much thought. They continued for a few minutes and were ready to conclude that nothing bad was happening, until a voice quickly made them change their minds.


    "Neige... Neige..."


    The voice sounded like an old woman, preying on them from somewhere in the room. The voice echoed, making it hard to pinpoint the source of the voice. Ina held Neige as if her life depended on him, completely terrified.


    "That''s it! That''s the voice!"


    "Neige... Neige..."


    The group approached what they thought was the origin of the voice only to find the ventilation behind some crates. Ina still was terrified, but Neige chuckled as he examined the vent from closer.


    "That''s just the wind, the crates and the dust blocking it made this weird sound echo."This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "I-Is that so?"


    Ina started to relax, it was true that now that Neige moved the crate, the voice was nowhere to be heard. With a sigh of relief, the woman profusely apologized to her friend.


    "I''m so sorry, I really thought it was something bad..."


    "It might still be something bad..." Gwyn said with concern, as she crouched and analyzed something on the ground "There''s the shell of an egg here..."


    Neige came next to the doctor, looking at the shell of the egg. It was empty now, but looked as big as him.


    "I recognize this, I took it from another world! Silva wanted to make a giant omelet with it but we never did it."


    "And... It was an egg of what?" Ina asked, unsure that she wanted to know the answer to her question.


    "Spider I think. I really don''t know why Silva wanted to eat it."


    "A spider? So... There''s a giant spider somewhere on the ship?"


    "No, it''s been years that it''s been there. I doubt it would have survived for so long."


    "I''m not so sure..." Gwyn said while looking around the basement "It looks like you kept a lot of food there."


    "It''s a spider, it''s not going to feed off the few fruits we kept. It''s probably dead or something."


    "I hope you''re right, let''s talk with Emely about it, she probably could track it."


    The three friends agreed and headed toward the exit. They were ready to leave but saw a weird slimy matter forming a faint trail toward the upper parts of the ship. Neige kneeled beside it and took a bit of it in his mouth before spitting it.


    "It tastes like spiders but different."


    "I''m not even going to ask how you know what a spider tastes like..."


    Gwyn stepped forward, her firearm in hand. If they were going to deal with a giant spider, she was ready for it.


    The group followed the trail for a moment until it stopped in the middle of a hallway. Before any of them could say anything, the same creepy voice called the name of the man.


    "Neige... Neige..."


    This time, the sound wasn''t echoing around them, instead clearly right in front of them. Neige took his dagger in hand, slowly approaching the source of the voice while the two women stayed at a reasonable distance. Despite his fear, Neige managed to step forward, concerned about what could be this mysterious creature who hatched from that egg. Once he made sure there was nothing, Neige relaxed and turned toward his friend before suddenly being grappled by a creature that fell from the vent in the ceiling. Ina and Gwyn were in shock at the sight of a creature that looked like a woman fused with a spider. A human arm grabbed Neige by his chest while three spider''s legs immobilized his arms, causing the six-eyed creature to be completely wrapped around him.


    "Neige... There you are..."


    Neige tried to struggle but could barely move. Ina aimed with her firearm but couldn''t shoot, terrified to hit her friend by accident.


    "This thing was on the ship all this time!?"


    "I guess so." Answered Gwyn "We just never freed it by going to the basement."


    "I know all lives matter but... I think I can make an exception for this one. Just kill it Gwyn!"


    "I can''t, it''s too close to Neige..."


    Neige tried to use his dagger but couldn''t move enough to deal any damage to the creature clinging to his back. His heart rate was skyrocketing when he imagined all the horrible things that could happen to him.


    "Leave me alone! What do you want!?"


    "Neige... You saved me... I love you... Let''s make children..."


    "That''s even worse than death!"


    Neige suddenly remembered, she came from a world where spiders used human''s body to reproduce and take over. Along with Silva and Kairo, they managed to get rid of the spider invasion, but they didn''t expect to host the last survivor on the ship. Despite the dire situation, Neige quickly found relief when he heard Sepide and Remiel arriving behind him and quickly yelled at them.


    "Hey, you need to kill this thing, quick! It''s going to kill everyone if we don''t do anything!"


    Sepide and Remiel looked at each other with excitation, ignoring the threat for a moment.


    "I bet five bucks I shoot it on the first try."


    "I accept the bet. However, I shall try right after if you fail."


    "Are you betting on my life!?"


    Sepide took her firearm, unlike the two women who could only see Neige''s front, she could easily see the whole creature''s body. With a precise shot, Sepide hit the head of the monster which now lay dead on the ground. Neige tried his best to remove the slime and the rests of the creature off him, visibly disgusted by it.


    "Damnit Silva, it''s the last time I allow her to take eggs from another world..."


    Remiel reluctantly gave a few coins to Sepide before approaching the corpse of the creature with curiosity.


    "What is this?"


    "An horror, that''s what it is. They killed people and laid eggs in them to create this kind of monster..."


    "I feel like she loved you though." Gwyn said while using a stick to poke at the creature "Maybe you could have made it a friend or something."


    "No thanks... Why are the weirdest things attracted to me..."


    Now that the threat of this mysterious creature was dealt with, everyone returned to their occupation. Ina, Sepide, and Remiel all learned the same lesson the members of the ship learned before, never open the door of the basement again.

 Chapter 201: Facing Dread

    Midnight passed a few minutes ago, and even despite the late time, Emely continued working on the time anchor. Most of the intellectual work was done, all she needed to do was now build the device. She didn''t want to rest, instead overworking herself despite her fatigue. Her work had to be put to a halt when she noticed something important was missing, she ran out of screws. The girl considered stopping for now but it was infuriating to stop for only a screw. One was missing, she used to take those ones in a world where she went with Silva and Remiel a few times. It was peaceful and no one was there anymore. She figured it would take ten minutes to get one, and then she''d return to the ship like nothing happened. It was against the leader''s rules to go to another world alone, but it''s safe and it''s not like there was a leader to stop her now. With her watch in front of her, Emely took a last look at the sleeping Silva beside her and went into this empty world.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Emely''s old world had a lot of convenient tools, leading her to come here more often than she expected. And yet, this time felt different. The lights of the day were far gone, now only leaving a dark place. The young engineer''s breath started to go faster as she regretted her decision, barely able to stay calm.


    "D-Dark..."


    Emely walked in the empty streets, her heart heavy. She was already there and wanted to prove to herself that the dark was nothing to her. She already knew the road, she had gone there multiple times. The girl tried her best to give herself some confidence, but it was vain. The lack of light made it hard to see, she knew there was nothing left, but her heart still pounded in her chest. Breathing was difficult, making her consider just going back on the ship. Suddenly, a shadow moved in front of her. Emely wasn''t sure if it was because of her lack of sleep or if something really was there, but this didn''t help her feel any better.


    "It''s just a hallucination... It''s alright..."


    Emely said those words, not expecting them to make her feel better. The girl continued, knowing that everything was safe. The sound of her steps echoed in the street. It always was silent, but this night also made this street terrifying. Emely kept telling herself that the dark couldn''t hurt her, but her body didn''t believe her. The girl couldn''t even think clearly anymore, her breathing accelerating more and more. Her steps became less clear, her mind hazy, as she walked in the streets of the empty city. She even wondered if she hadn''t come here before, was she lost? A sound from behind startled her, but when she turned around, nothing. Emely chuckled, amused and horrified by the situation. The engineer couldn''t walk straight anymore, barely understanding why she was here in the first place. Her head felt light, Emely was conscious enough to know that her brain was protecting her from her fear, but not enough to stop there. The street filled with sounds of her giggles as she walked at a rapid pace, trying to avoid the non-existent danger. Emely stared at the dark in front of her, she vividly remembered how worried she was when she saw the anomaly for the first time. It was when it all started, the dark only brought uncertainty and almost took Silva away from her. Emely fell, unable to stand any longer. Her heart never beat so fast before and her eyes were about to close themselves. The last thing she saw was the red hair of her beloved, but she wasn''t even sure whether it was real.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Emely opened her eyes and saw Gwyn, looking at her with a lollipop in her mouth. When the doctor noticed Emely''s eyes opening, she took her notebook and noted something in it.


    "Three hours and thirty-one minutes."


    "Huh... What happened?"


    Emely managed to sit on the bed she was in. Silva and Remiel were both standing there, looking at her with worry. Silva took Emely in her arms tightly, holding her like she was about to go away at any moment.


    "Stupid dumbass, why did you go alone!?"


    "I... Thought there was no one... It''s empty usually..."


    "There was no one." Gwyn said, taking the lollipop out of her mouth "You stressed yourself to death. You were so afraid that your body used so much adrenaline. You couldn''t handle it and passed out. You''re lucky Silva found you in time, it could have been much worse."


    "You worried me Emely!" Silva yelled, visibly annoying the doctor next to her "Remiel told me you were alone in this world! If she didn''t... I don''t even want to think about it..."


    "I thought I could beat my fear of the dark... I''m sorry..."


    Silva turned toward her two friends. They quickly understood she wanted some time alone, and so, Gwyn and Remiel left Silva and Emely alone. The girl took Emely''s hand, holding it dearly.


    "You know... There are still many fears I have. I''m still afraid to hurt you, I''m still afraid of being alone... We''re just humans, it''s normal to have feelings we can''t control. You don''t have to face them alone, we''re here for you... I''m here for you. And I know you''re here too for me, our problems won''t be away in a few months, I''m not even sure they''ll fully disappear someday. Just... Please, don''t do anything reckless..."


    Emely caressed Silva''s cheek, noticing the pain she brought her.


    "I''m sorry... I really thought..."


    "You didn''t think enough! You''re just a dumbass that can''t think straight!"


    "Of course I can''t think straight... I''m lesbian."


    "D-Don''t use my jokes against me!" Silva blushed and looked away, a bit embarrassed "Next time, you''re sleeping with me. No more leaving you alone in the middle of the night."


    "I won''t go into another world alone, I promise."


    "But... What if something goes wrong? What if the lights go off? I''m not leaving you in the dark alone ever again!"


    Emely smiled softly at Silva and took her in her arms, gently caressing her hair.


    "I know you''ll always be my light in the darkness..."


    "It was so hard... Gwyn told me you were okay, but I could feel how slow your heartbeat was... I can''t afford to lose you, so don''t go... Can you promise that?"


    "I can''t promise that Silva, it''s... Out of my control..."


    "I''ll wear anything you want..."


    Emely looked around to make sure they were alone and took Silva''s shoulder to look at her in the eyes.


    "Silva, I promise that I will never go anywhere without you."


    Silva smiled before giving a short kiss to her little inventor.


    "I won''t go anywhere either."

 Chapter 202: Do Humans Dream Of Being Robots?

    Sepide and Remiel just finished their game of tennis, which ended in a draw since they couldn''t agree on the rules. Sepide was exhausted, drinking water bottles like she hadn''t drunk in a year. Remiel looked at her friend with curiosity, hesitating to ask something. Sepide noticed the strange behavior of her friend and decided to confront her about it.


    "Are you still thinking you should have won? It''s stupid, why would we count points fifteen by fifteen? Your information was wrong."


    "No, it is not that... Yada, she is the one who created you. And yet, you managed to ignore her orders. From my understanding, she had a lot of control over you."


    "Yeah... It felt like my whole being needed to obey her every time she used those words. Just thinking about doing something else burned my whole being, but giving up on everyone hurt me more."


    "I understand."


    Remiel stared in front of her with an empty gaze. Sepide could clearly see that something was worrying her.


    "You can''t disobey Emely either?"


    "I am able to, she just scolds me a lot if I do not obey her. However, she rarely orders me around."


    "So like a mom."


    "Indeed. Sometimes, I wish I could be a real human. I am afraid that someone uses me to cause pain, and that I will not have the ability to refuse."


    "You don''t have to obey, I''m sure you can say no." Sepide took a good look at Remiel''s body. The metallic skin of the robot was obvious, and even if she looked human, it was easy to see that she was a robot. Her skin imitated the Kronos''s uniform, but it was nothing more than paint and metal "We should get you clothes, real ones."


    "Clothes? Why is that?"


    "Because then you''ll look more human. I''m sure Emely has something that could fit you!"


    Without asking, Sepide took her friend''s hand and left the big room they were in. Remiel followed Sepide, but she didn''t share the same enthusiasm.


    Sepide entered Emely''s lab along with her friend. The young engineer was with Silva, visibly helping her wear a strange uniform. Silva blushed intensely while Emely was annoyed by them. Understanding what the problem was, Remiel knocked on the now opened door.


    "I knocked, mother."


    "You''re supposed to knock before opening the door..." Emely let out a sigh before turning toward Sepide "You need something?"


    "Yes, we need clothes for Remiel."


    "Clothes for Remiel... I don''t think I have anything for her."


    Emely headed toward her wardrobe where hundreds of clothes were. She searched around but turned toward the two girls with a disappointed sigh.


    "I''m sorry, I don''t have big enough clothes for her. If you really need that, I know a few worlds where you could get some clothes."


    "That would be great! I wanted Remiel to wear human clothes, I''m sure it would cheer her up!"


    "Cheer her? Are you feeling down Remiel?"


    "Do not worry Mother." Remiel said, trying to hide her doubts.


    "Okay then, let me come with you. You want to come Silva?"


    "Just remove those clothes please... It''s embarrassing with them around..."


    Once everyone was ready, the group went toward the world Emely recommended. Sepide couldn''t wait to find new things for Remiel to wear, and hopefully, make her feel more human.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Silva and Emely walked around the big store together while Sepide and Remiel decided to search for clothes. Remiel mostly followed Sepide around, not particularly happy about the idea of getting clothes for her. The robot looked at her friend searching around until she turned toward Remiel with a jacket in her hand.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "It''s your size, you should try it?"


    "It is blue, will it suit me?"


    "I don''t know, Neige is the one that knows about fashion and stuff."


    Remiel wore the jacket and turned around, waiting for Sepide''s reaction.


    "Well... You look more human like that."


    "Really? Does it make me look better?"


    "Yeah, I''d say so."


    Remiel took out the jacket and handed it back to Sepide, a bit disappointed.


    "I do not enjoy it."


    "It''s fine, we can take something else. Like..."


    "No, I mean that I do not enjoy wearing clothes. There is no need for it anyway."


    Sepide looked around her, trying to find something that would please Remiel. After searching for a bit, the girl found a beanie and gave it to her friend.


    "What about that?"


    Remiel took the beanie and put it on, visibly not satisfied.


    "It looks weird and it does not make me feel better."


    "Fine, what about..."


    "Sepide, I do not think this will make me more human. However, I do not mind, I have accepted the fact that I am a robot and not a human."


    "I don''t accept that..."


    Sepide walked around the store with Remiel following her. The girl looked at every piece of clothing and accessories she could but the robot always shook her head with disatisfaction. Even despite that, Sepide continued searching around and took a pair of glasses that she put on.


    "Don''t I look like Gwyn with the glasses?"


    "You look really different from Gwyn. However, it suits you well."


    "You should try them too!"


    Remiel put the glasses on her head and looked in a mirror. She still could see herself but wasn''t satisfied with the way she looked, so she gave Sepide the glasses back, which seemed to disappoint her.


    "I do not like the way it looks on me. I apologize, but this was in vain."


    "Didn''t you have a bit of fun at least? It''s one of the rare times we''re not competing in something, I thought you''d enjoy it..."


    "Perhaps I am unable to enjoy the average human activity, I am sorry for that."


    "No, it''s fine. To be honest, looking at clothes wasn''t all that fun. It was just funny seeing them on you."


    Silva and Emely arrived to see the two friends. Emely looked at them both and then asked Sepide,


    "Did you find anything good?"


    "Not really, Remiel is very picky. I feel a bit bad for wasting her time."


    "Don''t worry, it''s fine. I''m sure Remiel was happy to be with you, right? Remiel?"


    Emely turned toward Remiel but couldn''t see anyone where she was standing, the robot disappeared from nowhere. Sepide looked around in worry, trying to find her friend.


    "Where did she go?"


    Remiel went outside, she felt bad that she couldn''t enjoy Sepide''s activity and decided to sit on a bench alone. Her friend tried to make her happy, but all she could do was be her robotic self. She was allowed to feel emotions, but still couldn''t be a human in mind or body. The robot couldn''t help but admire her friend, Sepide''s birth was similar but harsher, and she still managed to be a real human. Remiel looked at her arms, they looked like a woman wearing black clothes from afar, but it was clear it was robotic from up close. Her body was a constant reminder of her state, she was a robot, nothing more. The only way a robot can be happy is by obeying and not thinking, and she knew that. While the robot was focused on herself, Sepide put a scarf around Remiel''s neck and sat next to her.


    "I found that for you. I know you won''t like it, but I didn''t want to leave without anything."


    Remiel touched the fabric of the scarf, taking the time to caress it.


    "I can feel it is soft, my sensors are telling me that. I just wished I could feel it like a human would..."


    "Remiel... You''re a human to me. You even act less robotic than Gwyn sometimes."


    "There is no need to cheer me up, I will be fine. Maybe I should ask Emely to remove the part of me that feels, it brings a lot of doubts."


    Sepide looked at Remiel with a bit of sadness and took her hand.


    "It wouldn''t be you then... But I used to think like that too. I just wanted the missions to keep going, not because I enjoyed them, but because it kept me busy. Silva and Neige forced me to think differently, but without them, I would probably still feel like a robot."


    "Do you think emotions are a burden?"


    "Sometimes... But don''t you remember what you said to Polyetta in her world? You told her you wanted to feel everything, was it a lie?"


    "I... Do not know..." Remiel held the scarf on her mouth, trying to understand her own feelings.


    "You''d cry if you could, right? It''s not a good feeling to be lost, but it''s a feeling all humans feel."


    "So... Am I a bit human?"


    "Of course, I wouldn''t be friends with a toaster."


    Remiel chuckled a bit and looked at the black scarf Sepide gave her.


    "This scarf... I think I like it."


    "Do you? We tried some scarf before and you didn''t like them."


    "This one is different. It makes me feel human." Remiel closed her eyes and put the scarf on her cheek "It''s not just a scarf, it reminds me of you..."


    "Hey, you said it''s! Usually, you always say ''it is'' or something."


    "Do I? I never paid attention before."


    "It means that you change, like humans do, you''re not so different!"


    Remiel looked at the sun in the sky, still holding the scarf.


    "Uriel... Most of my being is based on another robot named Uriel. She was a robot made for war but quickly changed her priorities once she found a friend. I am not made for war, but you give meaning to my life Sepide. Maybe there is a way for me to be more than a robot."


    "You''re already more than a robot for me."


    Sepide smiled at Remiel, who gave her smile back. The two friends held hands for a moment, looking at the scenery in front of them until a voice interrupted them.


    "Can we leave now? I''m hungry."


    Sepide turned toward Silva, who was sitting right next to her. Emely was also there, sitting next to Remiel.


    "Silva? Since when are you here?"


    "Less than a minute, but it''s already too much for me."


    "I suppose it is time to go home then."


    Remiel stood up, even despite the scarf hiding her mouth, Emely could still feel the smile on her face.


    "Do you like your new scarf?"


    "Yes, it feels like Sepide."


    "See! I''m not crazy for wanting Emely''s smell on my clothes!"


    Remiel chuckled at Silva''s words, holding dearly Sepide''s gift. Even if she wasn''t sure if she was ready to be more than a robot, she knew it would be alright as long as her friends were here, especially Sepide.

 Chapter 203: The Future Is Close

    Emely worked in her lab just like every night. It almost had been a month now since she started this project and could feel everything getting closer to the end. The young engineer was so focused that she didn''t even notice Silva next to her, sitting in silence. She only noticed her when she turned to take one of her tools and flinched when she saw her beloved standing there.


    "Silva, you scared me. You need something?"


    "It''s late, it''s time to sleep."


    "I suppose so... Let me finish this part, it should only take half an hour."


    "Half an hour? It''s not finishing, it''s starting something else, you need to sleep."


    "I promise it''s important."


    Silva still seemed unconvinced but agreed to give some time to Emely. The blind girl sat on a desk that wasn''t used and took out a sketchbook to draw in it, surprising Emely.


    "Aren''t you tired? You should go sleep."


    "After last time, I''m not leaving until I''m sure you sleep."


    "Fine, I''ll just finish what I was doing then, it will take five minutes."


    "Ah! I knew it, you just wanted to work more!"


    Emely smiled softly at Silva, even if she wanted to work more, she didn''t want Silva to miss hours of sleep because of her. She continued working for a few minutes and managed to finish what she was doing, all that was left was clean around the lab. Emely hurried to tidy up the room but stopped when she noticed Silva focused on her drawing. She was biting a paintbrush and closing her eyes as she was drawing on her sketchbook. Emely lost herself in her lover''s face, looking at Silva with all the love in the world. It didn''t take long for Silva to notice the sudden silence in the room and stand up from the desk, waking Emely up from her daydreaming.


    "You finished?"


    "I... I guess it''s fine, I''ll clean later. Let''s go sleep now."


    Silva smiled cheerfully before taking Emely''s hand and walking together toward their rooms.


    The two girls were in front of Emely''s room, tired from the day and ready to sleep. Silva stretched and yawned after letting go of her beloved''s hand.


    "Don''t go anywhere and don''t work, okay? You need to sleep."


    "I thought you wanted to make sure I''m asleep before leaving?"


    "Are you really going to leave while I''m away?"


    "Maybe." Emely said with a smile "You should stay with me and make sure I''m asleep."


    Silva chuckled, she understood Emely''s plan but wasn''t going to complain about spending more time with her. Silva entered Emely''s room and sat on the bed alongside Emely.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "I wish I could see what your room looks like."


    "There''s not much to see, I never spend time here. I even sleep in my lab most of the time."


    "Well, now it''s time to sleep. You work so much that I''m sure you dream of it."


    Emely giggled and lay on her bed, looking at Silva with eyes full of expectations.


    "Why don''t you come here?"


    "It''s not big enough for two people. It''s kinda annoying, the ship is huge, but our rooms are so small."


    Emely pouted before taking Silva and forcing her on top of her. The blind girl was lying on top of her beloved and took off her glasses. Emely took them and put them on a desk before holding Silva against her.


    "See? There''s more than enough space."


    "Is it not uncomfortable for you?"


    "Why would it be? I''m next to the softest thing ever."


    The two girls stayed in the bed, trying to pass the night. Emely managed to relax but she could feel Silva''s restlessness, her heart beating faster than it should be.


    "Silva, are you okay?"


    "Yes... I just worry a bit."


    "About what?"


    "Nothing, just sleep."


    Emely wasn''t convinced, she could hear in Silva''s voice that something was bothering her.


    "Are you worried about me?"


    "No."


    "Is it about one of your friends?"


    "No."


    "Would you tell me if I was right?"


    "No."


    The girl was getting a bit annoyed by Silva''s efforts to hide the reason for her discomfort. Emely suddenly started to cry, prompting Silva to comfort her by holding her.


    "What happened? Are you all right?"


    "No... The most important person in my life doesn''t trust me..."


    "It''s not that... It''s just that you should sleep."


    "But... I want you to tell me..."


    Silva let out a sigh, feeling bad for causing trouble to her beloved.


    "Okay, if I tell you, you''ll stop crying?"


    "Yes!" Emely immediately stopped crying, taking Silva by surprise.


    "Were you faking it? How can you do that?"


    "It''s a secret~. But please, I really want to know what is making you feel bad."


    "It''s just... You''re almost finished with your time thingy, right? I''ll return to the past and prevent the anomaly''s creation. In other words, the universe lies on my shoulders..."


    "That''s the problem, I understand now." Emely held Silva''s head against her chest, caressing her softly "Don''t worry, you''ll only change the anomaly''s world. And I made a system that will bring you back after a few hours, so you''ll be safe, I promise. If there were too many risks, I never would have allowed you to do it. And even if you do fail, we''ll find a way to deal with the anomaly."


    "I know... It''s just really stressful."


    "It will all be fine, and if something happens, it''s not your fault."


    "Yeah, it''s the nerd''s fault if something bad happens."


    "The nerd?" Emely asked, a bit confused "Gwyn?"


    "No, the old leader. She''s a nerd that plays video games all day."


    "You really don''t get along together, why do you hate her so much."


    "I didn''t hate her before, she was funny. But after what she did to Sepide, I knew there would be no way for me to have respect for her anymore."


    "I can understand what she wanted to do. If I hadn''t met you, maybe I would have accepted her world. But knowing it wouldn''t be the real you, I couldn''t bring myself to accept and do nothing."


    Emely held Silva, who seemed calmer now. The young engineer kissed Silva''s forehead before asking her a question.


    "If we had to choose a new leader, a real one, who would you choose?"


    "A new leader... I''d choose Neige. He knows how to stay calm and he''s wisest I think. All the others still lack something, but Neige would be perfect."


    "Maybe, I wonder how things will go... For now, let''s just enjoy our time. We plan on having a party or something before I announce that everything is ready. We''ll be able to rest and have fun, it will relax you."


    "I''m sorry... For bothering you..."


    Silva closed her eyes, visibly ready to sleep. Emely softly caressed her hair, leading Silva more and more toward her slumber.


    "Your voice is soft Emely... It makes me sleepy..."


    Emely continued to caress Silva and kept thinking of ways to make the time travel even safer. The young engineer shook her head and instead focused on the present moment.


    "The future will be bright, I''m sure. But for now, let''s enjoy the present. It''s where you are after all, and I don''t want to miss a second with you, my dumb bat."

 Chapter 204: Like Daughter, Like Father

    Everyone gathered in the ship''s main hall, spending time in bliss before tomorrow''s mission. Emely finally finished the time anchor, all they needed to do now was wait for the next day to come. Ina prepared as much food as she could, even taking some help from Sepide. Yada still looked depressed but managed to come and spend some time with everyone. Gwyn stayed at her side, trying to make her feel better. Remiel and Emely tried to cheer Silva, the blind girl looked tired, probably because of the mission that would come. Despite the efforts of her two friends, Silva couldn''t relax and only made it harder for herself. Neige was talking with Ada but went toward Silva when he saw her sorrow, interrupting the three girls'' conversation.


    "Silva! Why are you so down?"


    "Neige? I''m alright don''t worry, I probably got sick or something."


    "Sick? Did you stop taking Gwyn''s vitamins again?"


    "No, I mean... Heart''s sickness I guess."


    Neige rubbed the top of Silva''s head with a smile, visibly making Emely jealous.


    "You''re thinking too much. Do you even train anymore?"


    "Sometimes, but I don''t see how it''s relevant."


    "Humans feel bad when they don''t exercise enough. That''s why we invented sports and martial arts, it''s a way to healthily vent our frustration. "


    "Neige, it''s supposed to be a nice moment." Emely said, a bit confused "Why are you lecturing us about sports and stuff?"


    "I''m just trying to find a way to cheer Silva, we haven''t trained together in ages."


    "But you''re not proposing to do it right now, right? She''ll do it after tomorrow''s mission."


    Silva silently stood up. Her friends looked at her with curiosity, waiting to know the reason behind her sudden movement.


    "I want to fight against Neige, I don''t know what''s going to happen tomorrow, and I don''t want to let go of this opportunity!"


    "Fight?" Emely asked with concern "I thought you were just training?"


    "No, this time, I want to fight for real. I can see you''re always holding back Neige, but today, I feel like I can do it!"


    Emely was worried for Silva at first but quickly felt relieved when she felt the blind girl''s determination. Neige and she shared a special bond that only they shared, and Emely knew the importance of it for Silva.


    "Alright, but you better win then."


    "Of course! And don''t forget, Neige, no holding back!"


    "Wait, I never agreed to a fight. I just said we should train and-"


    Before Neige could finish his sentence, Silva already left to prepare. The man still felt happy to see his friends excited but was also worried that something could go wrong before the mission.


    The two friends put themselves in more comfortable clothes. The rest of the members circled around, watching as the match was ready to start. Emely kept cheering for Silva but Yada next to her tried to cheer louder for Neige. Remiel stood in the middle, serving as the arbiter for the match. Silva stretched and pointed her fist at her friend, ready to fight at any moment.


    "I fought against you so many times, I even fought against your other selves. I''ve grown a lot since our last sparring match, I''m not going to lose so easily!"


    "You''re not going to lose easily, huh?" Said Neige with a smile "But that means that you''ll still lose, right?"


    Remiel raised her hand to the air and counted from three. The room was completely silent aside from her voice, and once she reached zero, Silva immediately rushed at Neige. Even the man was surprised by her reaction, not expecting her to act so quickly after the start. Silva''s hits were fast but Neige managed to dodge them. Neige tried to counter-attack, but Silva already knew all of her boxing moves. The man knew it would take more to beat her friend, if he didn''t give his all, he wouldn''t be able to end it quickly enough. Trying not to hurt his friend too much, Neige suddenly used his leg to kick Silva''s side, taking her by surprise. The girl stood back, taking some time to take her breath.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "I thought you couldn''t use kicks in boxing?"


    "It''s not an official match, don''t tell me you were actually going to stick by the rules?"


    Silva smiled, the blood in her veins rushed all around her body, and her heart was beating as fast as it could.


    "You could have at least hit harder, even Emely hurt more!"


    Silva ran toward Neige again like nothing happened. Emely stared from the side, she couldn''t help but worry for her little bat. She looked as Silva tried her best to even land a hit on Neige, she was still concerned but could see Silva''s smile on her face. The blind girl probably didn''t even notice she was smiling, instead too focusing on messing around with her friend. Emely smiled softly herself as she saw Silva feeling better, she wouldn''t admit it, but she was jealous that Neige could make Silva feel things they could never feel together. Silva continued her attacks while Neige blocked and dodged all of them. The man was completely focused on Silva but was taken aback when he saw her playing with his dagger in her hand. Neige put his hand on his belt and realized that she managed to steal his weapon while he was looking away.


    "Look! It''s like you told me Neige! I can steal things from people when they''re busy!"


    "And what are you going to do with that?"


    Silva threw the dagger at Neige, who managed to easily dodge it. Silva shrugged, a bit annoyed.


    "I didn''t need it anyway."


    Neige tried to take this opportunity to attack her but Silva managed to dodge at the last moment. Neige tried another kick, but Silva managed to block it and tried to land another punch. Neige could already see the hit coming but lowered his guard when he heard his dagger moving behind him. It was just enough for Silva to take Neige by surprise and land a hit on his face. However, the satisfaction of hitting Neige prevented her from noticing his next attack, taking a direct uppercut on her stomach. Neige stepped back in shock when he saw Silva coughing and falling to the ground.


    "Silva... You did great, you can rest now."


    "I didn''t hear no bell!"


    Silva stood up, ready to continue the fight like nothing happened. Neige was hesitant but was forced to continue when Silva threw a slow punch at him. Silva suddenly made a weird movement and the dagger flew back at her. Neige was curious to know what happened but was forced to think later as Silva didn''t let him a second to think. The girl continued her assault, forcing Neige to step back. Silva threw the dagger to the side, Neige thought it was just to get rid of it but quickly understood when he almost tripped on a string around his leg. Silva rushed on him, the man was ready for any attack but Silva instead jumped on him and held him tightly, taking everyone by surprise.


    "I lost... My tummy hurts so bad..."


    Neige smiled softly at Silva before giving her embrace back.


    "I''m sorry, I shouldn''t have hit so hard."


    "No, it''s okay. Even without that, I would have lost. I had to use tricks to win, it wouldn''t have been a real victory."


    "I didn''t expect you to steal my dagger, you even put a string on it, it was sneaky of you."


    "I just wanted to use it as a distraction, I really thought I could put you down with just one hit..."


    "Don''t feel bad, you did great."


    Everyone clapped for the two friends, celebrating not only Neige''s victory but Silva''s determination to keep going. Emely hurried to take Silva in her arms while Gwyn made sure that everyone was fine. The party continued for a bit before everyone returned to their room, glad that they were able to spend some time together before the fateful day.


    Silva jumped on her bed, completely lying on it. She was ready to fall asleep until someone knocked on the door. She went to open it only to find Neige there, it was rare for him to visit her in the middle of the night.


    "Silva, I hope I''m not bothering you."


    "No, are you here to complain about how I kicked your ass?"


    "You didn''t though? Anyway, it''s not why I''m here."


    Neige entered the room and sat on the bed, with Silva next to him.


    "I never really took the time to say it, we''re often busy or with someone else. I just wanted to say that I''m proud of you. I wish I could have been better for you at times, you deserved better after what you went through. For me, you became someone truly precious, you and Yada are the most important things I have in the universe. You managed to fight your depression and fight against your other self, and you even managed to find love. You deserve Emely and everyone else, whatever happens, I hope you have a bright future."


    Neige was staring in front of him while he talked, and when he turned toward his friend, he saw Silva with wet eyes, trying her best to not cry.


    "Silva, it''s okay to cry. There''s no danger, you don''t have to act strong."


    "I''m not crying... You''re just blind..." Silva held Neige tightly, wiping her tears on his shirt "I love you too Neige, you''re the best family I could have ever asked for..."


    "Yeah... There''s something I wanted to give you."


    Neige took a necklace out of his pocket and put it on Silva''s necklace. The girl touched it, it looked like a cone with swirls on it, probably a seashell of some kind.


    "My father gave it to me after he taught me some boxing. He died shortly after and made me promise to give it to my children. I don''t have any and I don''t plan on changing it but... You''re the closest I have."


    "I didn''t know your father was the one that taught you boxing."


    "Yes, it''s a family thing I think. I never knew much about my family, Yada was the only family I had for most of my time... Silva, if you ever teach boxing to your child, can you give her the necklace?"


    "I will Neige, I promise. I''ll make sure she remembers her grandpa as the asexual femboy who taught me boxing."


    "I hope Emely knows how to raise a child..."


    Neige smiled softly at Silva, who cheerily showed her smile and her teeth to him. The two friends stayed silent together for a moment. Enjoying their last instant of peace before taking care of their most important mission.


    "I love you Neige."


    "I love you too, Silva"

 Chapter 205: The End?

    Everyone was in Emely''s lab, staring at the small cube on the table. The cube was the time anchor Emely spent so much time working on, it was completely black and barely bigger than the average Rubik''s cube. Yada took it in her hand, a bit surprised by the weight of the device.


    "So... That''s what allows us to travel in the past?"


    "No, I already explained that."


    "Sorry Emely, I kinda assumed we wouldn''t be time traveling because I would have made my new world, so I didn''t listen."


    Emely let out a sigh, but even despite how annoying it was, she decided it was a good time to refresh everyone''s memories.


    "So, Miss Nun will send Silva back in time. It will be like throwing her into the past since Miss Nun herself can''t exist at the same time as her past self. Once Silva is in the past, she will save Neige two and-"


    "Neige two?" Ada said a bit disappointed "I was hoping we could give him a better name. Why don''t we name your Neige ''Neige two''."


    "I''m already lost." Yada said, holding her head with her hand "So, what happens after that?"


    "To be honest, I don''t know. It should make the world continue as normal, erasing the world from the universe and leaving the timeline where Neige two is alive. The anomaly, and by extension Miss Nun, should completely disappear. It doesn''t change the past, but it means that the future will be safe."


    "Isn''t it dangerous for Silva then?" Neige asked a bit concerned.


    "I wouldn''t do it if Silva was in danger. The time anchor will allow Silva to come back here, and if she''s unconscious for some reason, the watch will bring her back anyway. It''s all one hundred percent foolproof, but we can do it once. So if we fail, we''ll have to find another way."


    "I see..." Yada turned toward Silva and the anomaly, both ready to leave "The universe is counting on you. There isn''t much we can do other than pray. May the Goddess guide your steps."


    "Fuck the Goddess!" Ada said with enthusiasm, but even if she said those words, it looked like she didn''t understand what it meant "Silva and I will manage, I promise that everything will be alright."


    Everyone looked at the two of them, hoping that they would succeed. Silva held the necklace that Neige gave her tightly and turned toward Ada, ready to start.


    ################################################################################


    Silva woke up in the snow. The girl quickly stood up to face reality, she was completely alone. She walked toward where Ada and her Neige were supposed to be. When she arrived, Neige was already about to get stabbed by someone behind him. Silva hurried and pushed him out of the way, saving him from the attack. Neige looked at Silva in shock, surprised by the presence of the girl.


    "W-Who are you?"


    "I''m your savior, now shut up, it''s time to make history!"


    Silva took her firearm in hand and prepared to shoot at the woman who tried to kill Neige. The woman looked at Silva with a lofty gaze, defying her with her eyes.


    "Are you suggesting that you can defy Fubuki, the Goddess of Time?"


    "You''re not a Goddess for me, just a pretentious that caused a lot of trouble!"


    Silva was ready to shoot but Ada stepped in front of her. Silva was shocked for a moment until she realized it was the one from the past.


    "Wait! We can still talk! I am sure that Fubuki didn''t mean any harm."


    "I did." Fubuki looked at the group and noticed the elf that was accompanying them "An elf? I thought they all died."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Neige took his dagger and tried to protect the elf from the Goddess. Ada stood there, unable to choose a side.


    "Neige... Goddess Fubuki... It can''t be... Is it the only for it to end?"


    "Don''t worry, I already know what you want." Silva said, holding her firearm toward Fubuki "I won''t let Neige die either, no matter the space or time!"


    Silva was ready to shoot but was suddenly stopped by someone, trying to grab her gun. Silva was confused at first, but when her skin touched the one of the person stopping her, she already knew who it was. The feeling of burning was something she already felt before and could pinpoint on one of her other selves. She managed to get her assailant away from her while everyone looked at the two girls in shock. The same red hair, the same white skin, but a totally different smile on their face.


    "Silva! I''ll prevent you from changing the past! I won''t let get your happy ending!"


    "S-Silv!? I thought you were dead!?"


    "D-Dead?" Silv suddenly stopped her tough act, surprised by the girl''s words.


    "We made sure you wouldn''t be able to leave this world! How can you-"


    Silva suddenly paused when she realized, Silv could time travel too. The Silv in front of her is the one from her past, which would explain why she seemed shocked to learn her Fate. All it meant was that the Silv they knew was still in her world, she probably came here to change something about the anomaly''s past too.


    "I don''t have time for you!"


    "Wait! You better tell me what happens in the future!


    Silva was about to shoot at Fubuki but was stopped once again by her other self. The two girls struggled, annoying the Goddess who set her sights on Neige. She took her sword and was ready to take the man''s life. For an instant, everything became silent. The two girls stopped fighting, the young elf that was with the two friends froze, and even the Goddess widened her eyes in surprise.


    "Nun? Did you sacrifice your life for some heretics?"


    Ada held the icy blade piercing her chest in pain. Her hands were shaking while blood fell from her mouth. Her eyes closed themselves as she had trouble even standing up.


    "They''re not... Heretics... Neige is my friend... I''d do... Everything... For him..."


    Ada fell to the ground in front of Neige''s traumatized eyes. No one moved, nothing moved, time was frozen. Neige walked toward his lifeless friend, holding her in his arms. The warmth of his body disappeared, filling his veins with icy blood. Nothing mattered anymore, the only thing he could think about was all the memories he had of his friend. All he ever wanted was to make her happy, give her the world she deserved. And now, she was lying in his arms, her body as cold as the snow around him. The world around him was freezing, Silva tried to approach them but time seemed to move slower the closer she was to Neige. The Goddess and the elf weren''t even moving and Silv appeared to have disappeared after causing the chaos she needed. Silva''s legs were freezing along with the rest of the area, it didn''t take long before she lost consciousness, unable to resist the freezing ice surrounding her.


    Silva woke up around her friends, all gathering around her. She touched around to make sure that she was back on the ship. She hurried to stand to explain but Emely put her finger on the girl''s mouth and caressed her hair.


    "It''s okay Silva, it''s over... We know what happened, it''s not your fault."


    "W-What happened? Is Ada dead!?"


    "No, I''m here." Said the anomaly "I''m not sure why, I thought that dying in the past would kill me now."


    "Not exactly." Explained Emely "Ada''s death created a new world, like a parallel universe. It means that three versions of the world exist, one where Neige two is dead, one where Ada is dead, and one where both lived. But the one where Ada died was short-lived, Neige two lost control of himself and destroyed his world. It seems like Ada was tamer as an anomaly."


    "So... Where is my Neige now?" Asked Ada a bit concerned.


    "Most likely dead I''m afraid, there''s no way he''d survive the destruction of his world. It means that we''ll need to find a new way to deal with you since time travel didn''t work."


    Silva stood up, a bit disappointed by herself.


    "I''m really sorry, if Silv didn''t show up I would have managed. Even after we took care of her she''s a pain in the ass."


    "Don''t worry Silva, it''s alright." Neige rubbed the top of her head to comfort her but stopped when he noticed a strange dagger on her belt. He took it and observed it with curiosity "What is that?"


    "It''s my Neige''s dagger." Ada took it back, a bit saddened "It looks so much shinier though, almost like it''s... Ice..." The woman stared at the blade deeply. She suddenly saw something in the reflection of the dagger and threw it away by reflex. It looked very similar to her friend''s eye. She was starting to wonder if she didn''t have hallucinations but quickly vanished those thoughts when ice came out of the dagger. The way the ice moved was very similar to the way she moved her body as the anomaly. Everyone stared at the weapon, slowly taking the shape of a girl made of ice. It didn''t take them long to notice that the ''girl'' looked exactly like Neige. The figure stared at them with empty eyes and spoke with a freezing cold voice.


    "Ada..."


    "Is it... Neige two?" Ina asked, shocked to see what was happening. Ada stared at him for a moment, she was now sure it was her old friend.


    "Neige... It''s him..."


    "Great... One more problem..." Yada mumbled to herself "Hey, can you understand us?"


    The figure looked at Yada, still with empty eyes.


    "Ada..."


    "It''s like Ada... He became an anomaly too!" Said the Neige from the Kronos "He probably can''t control himself!"


    The group stared at Neige the anomaly. Not only was the plan a failure, but it seemed like they created one more problem.

 Chapter 206: Cold Future

    Neige the anomaly stood in front of them, looking at the group from his icy body. He didn''t look human anymore, giving the image of a lost soul instead. The creature stared at Ada with wide eyes, rushing toward her with a dagger in his hand. Neige stopped his other self from hurting Ada, fighting back with his own blade while Ada stood there in shock.


    "Was he... About to attack me?"


    "He can''t control himself!" Yelled Neige "It''s just like when you first awoke as the anomaly!"


    Neige tried his best to fight back against his other self but the new anomaly was moving too fast for him, or rather, Neige was moving slowly. The strange effect made Neige easily beaten by his other self, who now stared at Ada. Sepide manifested her sword and tried to fight off the new threat. Unlike Neige, she managed to deal some damage to Neige the anomaly. However, the creature didn''t seem to be affected as it quickly regenerated his body with other ice parts. Even Sepide was affected by the strange time-slowing capacity of the new anomaly and ended up on the floor with a quick fist in her stomach. No one seemed to be able to even damage him, Ada knew she had to do something but couldn''t dare hurt her friend. She waited to see him again for so long, and he was now trying to kill her in his madness. The whole room was starting to freeze, crushing the walls of the ships under the pressure.


    "If we don''t do anything, he''s going to destroy this world too!!"


    Silva already knew she didn''t stand a chance but still tried to fight the creature. With a simple hit, Silva was knocked down, forcing her to stay as a spectator of the destruction occurring in front of her. Neige the anomaly was about to use his dagger to kill Silva, the only one close enough to stop it was Yada, who stared at the scene in shock. She didn''t want to hurt her friend either, even in another dimension. It wasn''t even her responsibility anymore, she was no longer the leader. And yet, she managed to find the strength in her to fight her friend''s other self. The woman managed to block the new anomaly''s hit with a short sword and stood in front of everyone to protect them. The ship crumbled even more under the pressure, the ship she created to make everyone safe was about to yield.


    "Everyone! Listen to me, just one last time! Find a safe place, I''m going to take care of it."


    "But Yada, the ship is not going to stand for much longer!"


    "It''s okay Silva, I guess in the end, I''ll always be the leader in my heart. When a ship sinks, the captain has to go down with it... If I don''t make it out of here alive... Please, live your life the way you wanted."


    "Wait! I''m staying too, you can''t-"


    Yada turned toward Neige and smiled at him as softly as she could.


    "Neige, you''re the only thing that matters to me."


    Yada hit her friend on his neck, making him fall unconscious to the ground.


    "There''s no way I can win against this thing, you''ll have to take care of it once it''s over here. I believe in you, you can do it."


    Silva nodded before taking Cinnamon and Neige''s hand. Everyone stood together as they watched the light go off and the ship they lived in being slowly destroyed. Gwyn took her watch and decided where they would go as she saw their former leader face Neige the anomaly. The woman let a last smile appear on her face before everyone left.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "It''s your moment now, live the life I couldn''t offer you and take care of Neige for me."


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The group ended up in the same world where Yada took Neige after their world was destroyed. Everyone decided to stop near the small cottage the two friends built years ago. Gwyn explained everything to Neige once he woke up, who didn''t seem to take the news well.


    "We can still go, right!? Maybe the Kronos isn''t destroyed yet!"


    "The world where the Kronos is still exists." Said Remiel "However, the ship itself is no longer functioning and no one is there."


    "No one is there?" Gwyn asked, a bit confused "Where did the leader and Neige two go?"


    "Are we really calling him that again?" Ada asked, a bit disappointed "If only I wasn''t so afraid... Things could have been different..."


    "Don''t worry, this Neige seemed pretty hardcore." Emely said while looking at her phone "It seems like he traveled back to the present with Silva. The leader is also between worlds, which should be impossible."


    "Between worlds?" Neige asked, a bit confused "How is it possible? Does that mean that... My other self took Yada there."


    "It''s possible. I think he possessed her." Ada let out a sigh, still feeling guilty for what happened "She shouldn''t be there for too long, it''s not safe there for a human. The last time we were able to do it because we fused, but even then it''s not eternal. If we don''t act fast, she might die."


    "No... I can''t allow that, how can we go there?"


    "We could fuse again... But it''s dangerous, we''ll probably have to stay there for a while, you might lose your life too."


    Everyone turned toward Neige, who took some time to think about it. Before he could come to any conclusion, the sky suddenly darkened. The moon in the sky froze slowly, bringing a feeling of dread all over the group. Emely took a look at her watch and noticed that the travel between worlds was disabled. The young engineer looked at the moon with worry, unable to find a solution.


    "Why is it happening? We never should have done that!"


    "Is he... Going to destroy the universe?" Ada asked, already knowing the answer to her question.


    The group stood there, looking at the moon powerless. Even if Neige and Ada went right now, they would probably lose. Emely held Silva in her arms on the border of tears. Ina contemplated the scenery in front of her and wondered if she hadn''t made the wrong choice by not giving her life to the Goddess Of Death. Everyone''s mood was gloomy until Sepide decided that it was enough and turned toward the group with seriousness.


    "What now? We''re not going to stare at the universe dying after saving it."


    "But what do you want to do?" Asked Neige "There''s no way we beat that..."


    "And you don''t want to try? We did things that would be considered impossible."


    "I agree!" Silva said with a smile "Beating a femboy is easier than beating depression!"


    "Are you calling the most threatening thing in the universe a femboy?"


    "He looks like one... I think." Silva turned toward Emely and took her hand "It will be alright, I''m sure there''s something we can do. We''re not going to stop now."


    Neige stared at the freezing moon. After taking a deep breath, Neige turned toward Ada with a newfound determination.


    "They''re right, Ada, can we go?"


    "But... You have a low chance of surviving..."


    "I prefer taking my chance now than staying here and doing nothing! Even if it''s too late for Yada... I want to save everyone else!"


    Ada smiled softly at Neige and gently caressed his cheek.


    "You really are a Neige... If I manage to get in contact with... Neige two, I should be able to stop him. It won''t be easy, but it''s possible."


    "That''s great, I hope it''s not too late for Yada..."


    Emely walked toward Neige with concern and took a look at his watch.


    "I don''t think it will work while you''re between worlds... Once you''re there, we won''t be able to talk. At most, we''ll be able to check on your vitals."


    "Neige, you better come back! We''ll search for a way to help while we''re here!" Silva held Neige as tightly as she could before stepping back. Sepide took him in her arms right after, holding him as hard as Silva did.


    "Don''t get hurt, please."


    Neige nodded and turned toward Ada, ready to face his other self.


    "Let''s go, it''s the last threat to the universe. As a member of the Kronos, I am ready!"

 Chapter 207: The Livings Wish

    Emel and Iris were spending some time together, happy to finally be able to rest. Iris managed to get better thanks to Gwyn''s medicine, slowly regaining her strength. The two girls smiled happily at each other until the sky suddenly darkened. They both looked dreadfully at the moon slowly freezing, contemplating the event they couldn''t understand. Emel panicked, looking around in fear.


    "W-What is happening? I thought it would all be peaceful now!?"


    Iris stared at the moon, despite her heart pounding in her chest, she managed to stay calm to comfort her friend.


    "I''m sure they''ll manage, they''re used to saving the world..."


    Silv lay down in her world, slowly giving up on her life. The painted moon in the sky was covered in ice before her eyes. Usually, she would see this as a way to get away from this empty jail. But she had already given up, instead smiling while looking at the astronomical body in the sky.


    "Silva... You better not die, I didn''t lose against you so you''d let the world end by someone else''s hand..."


    Snowflake stared at the moon with worry. The leader of the Atlas came next to her, putting her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.


    "You come from the future, you are not allowed to interfere."


    "I know..."


    Snowflake took her dagger in her hand, holding it tightly while witnessing the darkness filling the sky. A single tear fell from her eyes as an uncomfortable feeling filled her heart.


    "Grandpa Neige..."


    Neige stood in between worlds. Unlike the emptiness of last time, a floor of ice filled the area. Neige could tell where it came from and took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself. The man took a look at his watch one last time, it was disabled. The voices of his friends couldn''t reach him, but he knew they were here in soul.


    ~Neige... Are you-~


    Before Ada could finish her sentence, a loud sound of cracking echoed. The ground shook, almost making Neige fall. He knew there wasn''t much time left before the universe would end up completely frozen by the new anomaly. Neige and Ada were both determined to stop their friends'' from going rogue any longer. Neige hurried and ran toward the source of all this chaos until a violent wind tried to push him away. His body temperature lowered drastically, making even the act of breathing painful. Neige tried his best to fight against the wind and progressed despite the difficulties. Even despite Ada''s energy filling his body, Neige barely could hold on. He didn''t even have the chance to try and it already seemed over, but just when Neige was starting to lose hope, a voice echoed in his mind.


    "Neige, is that all you got?"


    The man looked around in shock after hearing Kairo''s voice. No one was around but it was enough to bring a smile on his face and fill him with hope.


    "Of course not. I''m not going to give up, I still have to save everyone!"


    Neige forced himself to walk through the wind. Even if it was difficult at first, the wind wasn''t able to stop him anymore. Neige ran as fast as he could until a tentacle made of gold goo tried to attack him. Without thinking, Neige took his dagger and cut the appendices with ease. It was exactly like when Yada was losing control and became an anomaly, he knew his other self took control over her and was now trying to stop him. Another tentacle came out of the ground and wrapped around his leg, hindering his movements. Neige could feel the pain in his body, his heart beating faster and faster in his chest. Staying in the world between worlds was already painful, but fighting and dealing with the stress only made it harder for him.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Neige, even if you lose an arm or two, please come back. I''ll find a way to patch you up, I promise."


    Gwyn''s words echoed in his mind as he managed to get free from the tentacle gripping his leg. Neige hurried on the icy road, still unable to see his goal. The ground shook again while icicles were launched his way. Neige never met his other self but he knew even he wouldn''t try to kill someone without any reason. Knowing the way Yada must feel like broke his heart, giving him one more reason to stop this monster from destroying more lives. Neige managed to dodge most of the frozen projectiles except one, who managed to make a deep cut on his arm. However, the pain wasn''t enough to stop him from running toward his other self.


    "Neige... I wish I could have told you while I was alive but...I love you, I truly do."


    Shiro''s voice filled his mind, reminding him that he wasn''t only doing it for those who were here, but also for those who were no longer. Neige could see a light at the end of the universe, a blinding light. Neige was focused on the bright light until the golden slime appeared again to attack him, this time taking his shape. Even while possessed, Yada still thought about Neige when she needed someone to protect her. The fake Neige tried to kill his original but was no match for him. Neige managed to get rid of the creature with a simple slash from his dagger. But his body was suffering, and Neige knew it would only get worse.


    "Hey, you better not die! If you do, I know a bat that will feel horrible. And I will too, so don''t do anything reckless!"


    Neige smiled when he heard Emely''s voice. After taking a deep breath, the man continued his run, getting closer and closer to his goal. Pain filled his body with each step, but his determination was stronger. The wind intensified, making Neige know he was getting closer. A figure came out of the ice, a figure that looked exactly like Ada.


    ~Neige... Even like that, you think about me...~


    Neige took his dagger and tried to attack the ice figure in vain. The dagger was nearly ineffective against the ice and his strength was draining from the void. The icy Ada tried to attack him but Neige dodged every one of her hits, knowing his body couldn''t take much more.


    "Neige, I''ll make your favorite meal. It will be sad if no one is there to eat it, so please, come back after you did everything you need to do..."


    Neige took a deep breath and managed to break the figure with a single punch. Once he did, the man could feel the sharp pain in his fist and body. Still determined, Neige ran with the same intensity as before. Even if his body was close to failure, Neige wasn''t going to give up so easily. The wind violently tried to push him away, even making his jacket fly away into the void. The cold was filling Neige''s body, but this still wasn''t enough to slow him down.


    "Meow!"


    Cinnamon''s meow was enough for Neige to keep going. The universe itself was cracking, doing its best to hold on under the anomaly''s pressure. The icy road broke apart into multiple pieces, Neige knew there barely was any time left, if he didn''t hurry, it would be the end.


    "Neige, your chances of victory are around 0,01%. The odds are against you, and yet, my heart knows that you will do it!"


    Neige held tightly to his dagger, running against the heavy wind against him. His watch fell off, Neige didn''t even notice it due to the howling sound of the freezing wind. His mind was filled with memories of all the worlds they went in, of all the missions they did, of all the people they met. Even if he had to give his life, Neige was ready to protect all of them. The light was getting closer, running became harder but still not impossible as Neige ran as fast as he could toward the light.


    "Neige, you taught me the meaning of living. I was only existing before, but thanks to you, I want to live many more things. Please, there''s so much I want to do with you..."


    Sepide''s voice echoed in his head as Neige finally arrived at the light. Instead of his other self, Opal was there. The girl looked at the anomaly in the middle of an arena it trapped itself in. When she heard Neige, she turned toward him with a serious expression.


    "Neige, Ada. The universe is in your hands, please, show everyone the value of mortals. Prove that this universe doesn''t need a ruler."


    Neige nodded before running toward the anomaly. Yada was standing in the middle, barely holding on. Her body shivered constantly, Neige knew she was here longer than him and that Ada was protecting her, he could only imagine the pain she felt. When she saw him, Yada stared at him with pleading eyes, tears filling her face.


    "Neige... Please... Kill me..."


    The woman suddenly stopped moving, like something else took control. Neige readied his dagger, ready to face what could be his last opponent.


    "Neige, when you found me, I was happy I lost my family. When I started to get close to you, I was afraid you hurt me like my parents did. I''m sorry I doubted you, I''m sorry I was such a brat, I''m sorry I caused so many problems... Neige, I beg of you, come back alive..."

 Chapter 208: The End Of The Beginning

    Neige stared at the shell of her friend, looking at him with her empty eyes. Yada took her sword out, ready to fight against him if necessary. The circle made of ice slowly expanded around them, threatening to freeze more worlds for eternity.


    ~Neige... The other you is hiding within her, I won''t be able to reach him if you don''t give me an opening...~


    "So I just have to create an opening."


    ~Yes, if you could... Use your dagger to cut her somewhere, then I should be able to stop my friend.~


    Neige tightly held his dagger in hand. His body could barely hold on, but this wasn''t an excuse for him. The man stepped toward Yada, ready to end it all right now. When she saw him approaching, the woman immediately attacked him with all the strength she had. Neige managed to dodge the sword but knew he wouldn''t be able to last forever.


    ~I know it won''t be easy to hear but... Yada is most likely already dead, she''s not the one fighting against you.~


    "I know, I''ll try my best to protect this universe. It''s the order Yada gave me, and I don''t plan on rebelling against it!"


    Neige tried to use his dagger to cut his friend. If he managed to touch her once, he knew Ada would take care of the rest. But just like he expected, Yada wasn''t easy to touch. Even if her mind wasn''t in control, her body still managed to give him some trouble. Every time they trained together, Yada was always the one that got the edge. But he already knew all of her moves, none of his usual attacks would be enough to beat her. Neige closed his eyes fully, only seeing nothingness. He often tried to act blindly as a way to help Silva and help her learn to use her body more efficiently. Even if he rarely did it himself, he knew it would help focus on her friend''s moves. He could feel Yada''s movements, and while he still needed to open his eyes from time to time, it helped tremendously to read her moves. If his opponent was anyone else, he wouldn''t even be able to last a minute that way. Neige knew he was the only one that could do it, it was his duty to defeat her once and for all. However, Yada still eluded his blade despite his best efforts. His heart felt like it was splitting in half, his bones frozen to the core, and his hand burning just by holding the blade.


    ~Neige! We should go rest somewhere... You''re not in a good state, any longer and you''re done for...~


    "If we do, how many lives will perish? How many worlds will be destroyed? I can barely hold on, I don''t even know how I''m still awake, but as long as my heart is beating I''ll continue! If I give up now, everyone is done for, and I won''t allow it!!"


    Using the last remnant of strength he had Neige closed his eyes, remembering the way Sepide fought against Yada last time. Even if he couldn''t match her speed, he could see in his mind how Yada reacted to every hit. Once he felt the right moment, Neige yelled and tried to pierce right into Yada''s heart with all he had. The only thing that could be heard was silence. Nothing moved, leading Neige to think for a moment that everything was over. When he opened his eyes, the man was shocked to see that Yada managed to block the blade before it reached her chest, holding it tightly with her hands.


    ~No... Is that it?~


    Despite Ada''s despair, Neige still believed. He tried pushing the blade, but it was already a miracle that his body could still hold on.


    ~Neige...~


    Neige continued pushing all he could while Yada lifelessly held the blade still. His heart still kept beating, bringing agony every time it beat. Neige''s body was at its limit, letting blood flow from his mouth at the intense effort he was providing. Ada felt horrible and powerless, she couldn''t help but admire Neige''s strength of heart but already gave up in her heart.


    "I can''t... I can''t let this world I love so much disappear..."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Neige kept pushing in vain, no matter how hard he tried, the blade didn''t move an inch. Neige kept going despite the incredible pain in his body, the thought of his friends being the only thing keeping him going. The blade suddenly moved and lodged itself straight to the woman''s heart. Neige knew it wasn''t by his effort alone and looked up to see a smile on his friend. Yada gently caressed Neige''s hair, trying her best to be comforting.


    "Neige... You did great... I wish I could have been a better friend for you..."


    Yada fell in Neige''s arms, who held her against him. The winds suddenly became more violent, not leaving any time for Neige to rest.


    ~I''ll stop him, it''s time! You can rest now, I''ll take care of the rest.~


    Ada faced her Neige in what seemed to be a completely icy room. The woman barely stepped and the figure of her friend looked at her with an empty gaze.


    "Ada?"


    "Yes, it''s me Neige. Come on, we have to-"


    The figure took his dagger in hand, forcing the woman to stop back.


    "Don''t worry Neige, I understand. When I was in that state, I hurt your other self. I''ll just have to bring you back to your senses."


    Ada made a naginata out of the dark matter she was made of. She knew she was less experienced than her friend in fighting, but she also knew how to use her powers as the anomaly better than him. Neige immediately rushed toward Ada and tried to attack her with his dagger. Before he could, the woman used her dark matter as a wall to protect her. The goo that made the wall suddenly froze and shattered, allowing Neige to land an attack on her. She tried escaping using her non-human form but still got hurt during her attempt.


    "Neige... We caused this world so much trouble, it''s time to leave now..."


    "Ada..."


    Ada rolled her eyes, seeing that her words weren''t reaching her friend. She waved her naginata around and threw the spinning weapon toward Neige. The icy figure easily managed to dodge it by barely moving its head and slowly walked toward the woman with his dagger in hand. Ada moved back at the same rhythm as Neige until the weapon hit his head when it came back. It was just enough for the woman to immobilize him with her tentacles and take back her weapon in hand. She barely had a few seconds before he would free himself, and after taking a deep breath, Ada pierced her friend''s chest with the naginata. Everything became silent again, and even if Ada couldn''t feel it, she knew the cold wind warmed up.


    "I''m sorry Neige... I wish it could have ended up differently..."


    Neige fell in Ada''s arms. The room around them started to vanish, indicating that she managed to stop her friend. Neige looked at Ada for a moment, his eyes were shining differently, like he finally calmed himself.


    "...Ada?"


    "Yes, it''s me." Tears fell from Ada''s face as she held her friend as tightly as she could "It''s over now, just rest..."


    "I''m sorry Ada... I hope I didn''t cause too much trouble..."


    Neige held Yada in his arms as the ice surrounding them melted. The man couldn''t feel Ada or his other self anywhere. They probably both finally found each other and disappeared now that they had no more reason to exist. Neige held onto his friend as tightly as he could, knowing that it was finally over. He knew he wouldn''t have much time left either, no human should be in between worlds for so long. A single tear fell down his face as he took back his dagger and threw it into the void with a smile. There was no way back, but even if there was, he knew his place was with his friend. A few minutes passed before Neige closed his eyes for the last time, a satisfied smile on his face.


    Yada opened her eyes to the sound of a river. When she realized she was awake, she looked around in shock. A clear river was flowing in front of her, the green grass stretched to the horizon, and the nightly sky was full of stars but devoid of moons. When she looked around, she saw Neige, staring at the river with a smile. Yada hurried to get his attention, her heart pounding in her chest.


    "What happened? Where is everyone?"


    "They''re safe... We did it Yada, we saved everyone."


    Yada smiled in relief as Neige gently took her in his arms.


    "It''s all over now, they''re safe. They''ll probably come here someday, but they still have a lot to live before that."


    Neige stood up and gave his hand to her, cheerfully smiling at her.


    "Come on! Let''s walk along the river, just like the old times!"


    The group looked at the bright sky, the universe was no longer in danger. But even if they were safe, no one was happy or celebrating, instead looking at Remiel in the hope of good news. After checking for the fifth time, Remiel shook her head again, she couldn''t detect any signs of Neige. After waiting for a few hours, everyone still kept hoping. The group stayed silent until Silva suddenly raised her voice.


    "Come on, we need to do something. I''m sure if he was looking at us, Neige would think we look dumb."


    Silva tried her best to smile, but tears still covered her face no matter how often she cleaned it. The girl dearly held the necklace that Neige gave her, hoping it would bring back her friend. Sepide took Silva in her arms while looking at the moon, still hoping to hear from their friend. Silva''s cries echoed in the empty world, leaving everyone without an answer that could comfort them.

 Chapter 209: Tales From A Hopeful Future

    Silva, Sepide, and Remiel walked in the snowy lands of Neige''s homeworld. It''s been a month since Neige left them and the blind girl suddenly felt the need to come here. Even if they managed to save the universe, all worlds weren''t spared. Neige''s world was empty but far from being as cold as it was now. Remiel and Sepide accompanied the girl while she was aimlessly walking around. Sepide''s attention suddenly moved toward a shiny thing on the ground. She hurried toward it and immediately called her friends when she saw what it was. Remiel and Silva came over, the blind girl particularly annoyed.


    "Can you yell louder? I almost heard something else than my heartbeat."


    "It''s a watch."


    Sepide threw it at her friend. Silva caught it and just thought Sepide suddenly became a watch collector but was shocked when she could feel what it was. It was the watches they used to travel between worlds, and more specifically, Neige''s watch.


    "Do you know what it means?" Sepide asked with a smile "Maybe Neige is alive! He lost his watch, that''s why Remiel couldn''t feel him."


    "No... I hope it''s not the case." Silva gently caressed the watch before throwing it back at Sepide "I want him to rest, he already did so much for us. He deserves to rest alongside the nerd, they both suffered too much."


    Silva smiled softly through the pain before walking away. Sepide took the watch and swapped it with the one she already had, as a way to forever remember her friend. Silva suddenly was attacked by a flying jacket. She was about to throw it away in frustration but kept it when she realized what it was.


    "It''s Neige''s! It''s his jacket!"


    "It does look like it, but it suffered heavy damage."


    Remiel took the vest and looked at it from every angle, noticing multiple holes in it.


    "Neige takes care of his stuff usually... It probably wasn''t easy for him there."


    Silva jumped face-first on the snowy ground, expecting the snow to make it less painful. Instead, a sharp object hit her forehead, forcing her to stand up while she put her hand on the part in pain. The blind girl took the item on the floor and quickly recognized Neige''s dagger. Her hand shook as she took it while she did her best to hold back her tears. The two girls went next to her, taking a look a the weapon. Sepide tilted her head, a bit confused by the appearance of the dagger.


    "Were there always those little holes on the blade?"


    Silva touched the blade to see if Sepide was right and flinched when she realized what it was.


    "It''s braille!"


    "Braille?" Asked Remiel "Can you read it?"


    "Of course, that''s literally made for blind people. It was one of the first things Neige taught me."


    Silva slid her fingers on the blade, smiling softly as she read it.


    "It''s not the end, only a new beginning."


    "Is that what is written on it?"


    Silva nodded at Sepide''s question, holding the blade against her chest.


    "It''s Neige''s last message to us... I''m sure he''s in a better world now."


    The trio stayed together, reminiscing about their lost friend.


    A year passed. The ship they were on still existed but was not in a good state. Out of respect for their former leader, they decided to not change how it was. Instead, they decided to stay in the world where Yada took Neige after their own world was destroyed. The nature was calm and they managed to build a few houses. Silva brushed her hair, proud to feel them reach her chest now. Her new long red hair made her little inventor very happy, and she knew that. While she was focused on her hair, someone knocked on the door. She asked them to enter, and Gwyn stepped inside. She sat in front of Silva, with a soft smile on her face.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Leader, I came to update you about the project Emely and I are working on."


    Silva blushed at Gwyn''s words and looked away, still not used to her new title.


    "Don''t call me that... It''s embarrassing."


    "Don''t worry, it suits you well. Everything is going well for now, but it still will take a bit of time."


    "We''re not in a hurry, it''s not like we have a time limit now, we need to enjoy our time all we can."


    "Of course. So, what do you think about the new Kronos so far?"


    "I didn''t hear any complaint. I''m glad we can still help worlds get away from destruction and even help those affected by the anomaly. It will still take a lot of work, but I''m hopeful for the future."


    Gwyn smiled, happy to see Silva in a good mood


    "I agree. I''m grateful for the life we have now, I truly feel fulfilled. I''m happy to go on missions with you, it gives me a break from work. By the way, leader, I think you should check up on everyone."


    "Why? Did something happen?"


    "No, nothing bad. But it''s been a year today, I think you should still check up on everyone to see how they''re doing."


    "Oh, right! I should go now then. But still, call me Silva, I''m no leader."


    "Yada used to say that too when we were alone. I''m glad I still am the leader''s counselor."


    Silva pulled her tongue to Gwyn to show her dissatisfaction and left her office. The soft wind brought her mind to ease as she immediately found Remiel, filming a creature looking like a snow squirrel with her phone. Silva silently stayed at her side for a few minutes until the squirrel ran away.


    "You''re working on your documentary?"


    "Yes, Mom." Proudly said Remiel "I feel much happier talking about nature on internet instead of livestreaming. I think I will leave that to Sepide."


    "You know, Gwyn called me leader earlier. I didn''t like it, and yet, it still sounds better than Mom."


    "But you are in a relationship with Mother, making you my Mom."


    "I''ll just ignore it... So, do you still have Neige''s vest?"


    "Yes, I use it more like a cape nowadays. It''s too small for me anyway, but it goes well with Sepide''s scarf."


    "I wish I could see it... How has this year been for you?"


    "It''s a bit peculiar, I am barely two years old. I would say that my life has been short but full of wonders. I cannot wait for another year with everyone."


    "Me too, those last two years are probably the most important of my life. I wanted to talk with Ina, you know where she is?"


    "I believe she is in the kitchen, making dinner."


    "Dinner? Already? I spend too much time in that office... Well, I''ll see you around then."


    Silva waved at Remiel and headed toward the kitchen. She was glad to know that Remiel was still happy with her new life, even if she seemed a bit too comfortable considering her like a mom.


    Silva entered the kitchen and smelled the soft odor of bread baking. She went closer to the over, enjoying the smell until Ina approached her.


    "Be careful, you''ll burn yourself."


    "I''ll be careful, it''s just sooo good. Even better than eating the bread."


    Ina chuckled, amused by Silva''s reaction.


    "I''m glad you still enjoy my food, Silva... You really matured, I can''t believe this pervert girl became our leader."


    "Don''t tell me it''s all you remembered about me! And I just took the role because you all insisted so much, I still don''t think I deserve it..."


    "You don''t get things because you deserve them, you have to do your best to deserve them after you get them. But still, you really feel like an adult now."


    "I think that Neige rubbed his wisdom on me. Also, now I have Emely to say all the pervert things I want. I think it''s mostly because I feel better now, I don''t need to hide my sadness behind jokes."


    "It''s wonderful! You''ll be a wonderful leader, I''ll trust you with anything that isn''t related to cooking."


    "I think I can cook... Anyway, how has been this year for you?"


    Ina let out a sigh before smiling again.


    "It''s not easy after what happened to Neige and the leader, I mean... The former leader."


    "Don''t worry, I''m still not used to it either. I can''t believe the nerd died when I started to have respect for her... So, are you still helping at the orphanage?"


    "Yes, the kids there are really happy to see me! You know, it''s weird to say, but I''m happy everything happened. If it didn''t, we would still be on the ship, talking to each other when we meet in the hallways. Now, it''s like we''re a family and we even have another world to go if we need human contact."


    "I''ll admit, I''m pretty proud of myself for that." Silva said with a smug smile "I never was able to have a normal life, so finding a world where we can go for that felt like a relief to me. I''m glad if you managed to be happy with your job at the orphanage."


    "Of course, now I''ll continue cooking if you don''t mind. I''m afraid you''ll find a way to burn yourself."


    "I''m not that clumsy... Anyway, I need to find Sepide, you know where she is?"


    "I believe she''s near the lake, I saw her there when I took a break."


    "Thanks, Ina, I''ll go check on her."


    Silva left, happy that Ina felt better despite the events. Their lives were now getting closer to a normal one. They could finally get to live peacefully, all thanks to the sacrifice of their friends.

 Chapter 210: Finally, Peace

    Sepide stood in front of the lake, feeling the soft breeze on her skin. Cinnamon was sleeping in her arms, only opening his eyes when he heard footsteps approaching. Silva walked toward her friend and took a moment to enjoy the silence with her. Sepide stared at the horizon for a few minutes before finally raising her voice.


    "It''s been a year... I miss them sometimes."


    "Me too. I wasn''t sure I''d be able to survive without Neige but I know he''s in a better place now. I just want him to be proud of us when we''ll see him again."


    Sepide nodded, trying her best to hold back her tears.


    "I wish we could still go on adventures, you, Neige, and I... It all went so fast, just when I was getting used to it, it was already over... Silva, do you sometimes regret Yada''s world? Maybe we did the wrong thing back then."


    Silva took a moment to think before shaking her head.


    "No, I''m glad. We may have suffered a lot, but we have genuine bonds. We''re together because of all the things we lived, not because someone decided so."


    "... Maybe... If Neige was here, it would have been perfect... You weren''t here, but on our first mission, Neige and I were alone at first. It was a long desert and Neige was worried for you. He just lost his other friend, Kairo, so I can understand how he felt now. But at the time, I told him it was possible we lost you. I feel bad when I think about it, but I told him it was likely that you disappeared in between worlds... Maybe it''s a punishment for what I said, a reminder of my past."


    "I didn''t know... But I know it''s not your fault, Neige went out with a smile. He was happy to do it, he could have run away at any moment but he didn''t."


    "Yes... I just need some time to realize it. I understand how you felt with Kairo now."


    "It''s alright... But hasn''t this year been great? We still did a lot of stuff!"


    Sepide smiled softly and looked at Silva with tenderness.


    "You''re right. Do you remember Venus? The mermaid we saw in this aquatic world. I still go see her sometimes, she helped me a lot to feel better. I also managed to get my memory box from the ruins of the ship. It''s a bit weird to think that I was afraid of the future before, but now that I''m in it, it feels natural. I still have things from my past, just some disappear, and some others appear."


    "We still have a lot to do, a lot of things to live for. Without you, it would have been hard to find a future after Neige."


    "Me too, I couldn''t have done it if I was alone... Yada created me to protect Neige, maybe it''s why I feel guilty deep inside..."


    "Maybe, but I also feel guilty. If I managed to save both Neige and Ada, nothing like that would have happened. It''s no use thinking too much about the past, even if we''ll never forget Neige, the pain will go away."


    "Yes... I think I''ll stay alone a bit longer. There''s a lot I need to think about."


    "Of course, take your time. We''re here if you need us."


    Silva rubbed the top of Sepide''s head and smiled at her before going away. She could only hope Sepide would get better, but she knew that it would take some time.


    Silva returned to her home and searched around for Emely. She couldn''t feel her so she assumed Emely went outside but was surprised when someone jumped behind her and put their hands on Silva''s eyes.


    "Guess who?"


    "I don''t know, is it the softest girl in the universe?"


    Emely smiled at Silva''s answer before quickly kissing her lips.


    "Did you really not feel me or were you pretending?"


    "I really didn''t this time, you got me."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "This time... So you knew I was here the other times..."


    Emely pouted before hugging her lover tightly.


    "I cleaned your atelier today, it was a mess."


    "You didn''t have to, I would have cleaned it."


    "It''s been six months since you said that, it started to reek of painting, I had to clean it."


    "Hehe, sorry."


    Silva chuckled at Emely''s words, but still felt a bit guilty. Silva stepped back and took her beloved''s warm hands, gently caressing them.


    "Emely, how has been this year for you?"


    "Do you even have to ask? You made me the happiest girl and now no one is in danger! I even started to play baseball for fun! I still miss Miss Nun and Lady Nerd sometimes, and especially Neige. Kairo and Shiro too, it''s weird not having them around. But for now, I just want to stay with you and everyone else in peace. "


    Emely leaned on Silva, looking at her with curious eyes.


    "So ''Leader'', how does it feel commanding everyone around?"


    Silva blushed, looking away in embarrassment.


    "Don''t call me that... And I''m just telling everyone where they should go, I''m not commanding much."


    "What a shame. Well, what matters is that you are a good leader for everyone, and I know you are. But really, it''s too bad, you can''t order people or your girlfriend around."


    "I''m sure I could, I just don''t want to."


    "Come on, we both know who''s the adorable good girl here~."


    Emely softly caressed Silva''s red cheek while giggling. She suddenly stopped when she realized she had forgotten something important.


    "I need to tell you! Gwyn and I have been working on it, and we think we should be able to get a child! Isn''t science amazing!?"


    "Yeah, Gwyn went into my office to tell me."


    Emely''s smile suddenly vanished, disappointed she wasn''t the one who shared the good news. Silva smiled softly and held her in her arms. Everything was peaceful now and Silva couldn''t be happier. After all the horrible things that happened in her past, she was finally about to live in peace. The girl would never forget what Neige did for her and everyone else and was determined to live a good life for him.


    "Neige... Just wait a bit, I have a lot of things to do before joining you."


    A girl with long black hair was sitting in a bar full of cowboys, drinking a cup of tea with elegance. It didn''t take long before a girl with short red hair sat next to her and raised her hand to order.


    "Milk please."


    The bartender took a glass and handed it to the girl. She took a sip of it before putting it down with disgust on her face.


    "What is that? It''s like they don''t have fridges in this world."


    "You''re the one that chose this place Silv, you can only blame yourself."


    The girl took a sip of the warm milk before putting it back on the counter.


    "Neige... It feels weird to know he''s not around."


    "You liked Neige? It''s a surprise." The girl took a sip of her tea before continuing "I thought you hated him."


    "I can''t really hate him, or any of the losers. They give meaning to my life, after all, what is a villain without heroes?"


    "It''s not always easy to understand you, but it makes you interesting."


    The red-haired girl finished the milk before turning toward the other girl.


    "And you, aren''t you sad he''s away? You created him to be your perfect friend or something."


    "Yes, I''m extremely saddened of course, but I know he''s finally able to rest now."


    "Rest... Maybe I should do that, I wonder if our creator will ever notice me."


    "Silv, I''m your creator. I think I already give you enough attention."


    "Sure, but who created you, ''Goddess Peolyetta''?"


    The girl chuckled, amused by Silv''s question.


    "You''re always so much fun Silv, I wish I could understand everything you said. By the way, did you go see Iris and Emel?"


    "No, I want them to think I''m dead... It''s so frustrating to possess ultimate knowledge, now I''m completely lost in my life."


    "You could find love, like Silva."


    "Love? Beark! I''d rather drink warm milk."


    "I''m sure you''ll find what you want to do with your future."


    "Yeah, we could make a sequel on it or something."


    The girl giggled at Silv''s answer before looking at her dearly.


    "You''re adorable Silv, I''m glad you''re still around. Still, I wonder how you managed to leave your world, you didn''t have any way to travel to another world."


    "It''s a mystery for another story, for now, I think I want to travel a bit."


    "That sounds charming, can I come?"


    "Don''t you have godly duties or something?"


    "No, I won''t use my book anymore. I want everyone to live in this world they fought for. I created Yada after me to be with Neige, but maybe we''re closer than I thought. I''m no longer the Goddess, no longer Peolyetta, just Opal."


    The barman walked over to the two girls, confused by the bits of conversation he heard. Ignoring the nonsensical words he heard, the man let out a sigh before asking them,


    "You pay together or separately?"


    Silv and Opal looked at each other, waiting for the other to pay.


    "Silv, you''re the one that invited me, why don''t you pay?"


    "I''m a broke painter, you literally created money, why don''t you pay?"


    "I don''t walk around with money around me..."


    The man tapped on the counter, waiting for an answer. Silv smiled devilishly at Opal before taking her hand and running out of the bar.


    "Come on, why don''t we go in my world next? I''m sure my mafia can lend us money!"


    "Silv! They were all arrested while you were away."


    "Dammit!"


    The two girls ran away, arguing about their next destination on the way. Silv still was unsure about her future but she wanted to learn from her other self and break free from her fate. Opal was glad she had a friend she could have fun with and open up to someone again, exploring the universe she made together. The strange duo was ready to leave for another world and leave their past behind, having fun and enjoying the youth they never had.

 Chapter 211: A Reason To Live

    Silva adjusted her uniform, even if she didn''t like how tight the clothes were, she was willing to overlook the discomfort just for today. She knew the black tuxedo impressed Emely, and she really wanted to impress her lover. All that was left was the tie, Silva remembered when Neige taught her how to wear one all those years ago. The woman still couldn''t believe it had been six years since he left.


    "Neige... Are you proud of me?"


    Silva faced the mirror that she couldn''t see, imagining her old friend in front of her. The blind girl tied her tie around her neck, hoping that both Neige and Emely were proud of her. Someone suddenly entered the room she was in, Silva flinched a bit but relaxed when she realized it was Sepide.


    "Silva? Are you stressed?"


    "Of course... It''s not any day, it''s a special one."


    Sepide smiled softly before approaching Silva. The blind woman suddenly realized Sepide was holding her child and took it with a bright smile on her face.


    "Hello Flocon! Sorry, Mom doesn''t have time for you today."


    "Flocon plays with Aunty!"


    Silva chuckled while caressing her daughter''s hazel hair. She softly caressed her child''s face, enjoying the fleeting moment with tenderness.


    "I can''t believe you''re already three, you''re a big girl now!"


    "Yay!"


    The child moved her arms with excitation before Silva gave her back to Sepide.


    "I hope she''s a good girl, she can be a handful sometimes."


    "Don''t worry, Flocon isn''t troublesome. She really wanted to see you, we''ll go see Emely now."


    Silva smiled and leaned toward her daughter to softly kiss her forehead.


    "Don''t annoy Mommy too much, alright?"


    "I will!"


    Sepide left with Flocon. Silva wasn''t sure if her kid said she would annoy Emely or not, but either way, she knew it would be fine. Silva took a moment of silence to take Neige''s dagger and press it against her chest. A few minutes passed until someone else entered the room. Sepide was back but without Flocon this time.


    "Flocon is with Ina, it''s time."


    Silva nodded and followed her friend outside. Sepide escorted the blind woman on the fancy carpet while everyone stared at them. There were their friends, but also people from other worlds that they met on their adventures. Silva wanted this ceremony to be perfect and tried her best to make it magical. Once they arrived in front of the altar, Sepide stepped back, leaving Silva in front of Gwyn. The sun shone brightly, the soft breeze made her long hair flow, and all that was missing now was her significant other. After waiting for a moment, the doctor leaned toward Silva with concern in her voice.


    "I hope she won''t be late."


    "Of course." Silva answered with confidence "I know she''ll come in time."


    A few more minutes passed until Emely finally arrived with Remiel at her side. The long ginger hair of the woman gently caressed the pure and elegant white dress she wore while her fingers wrapped around a flower bouquet. The woman went next to her beloved with a smile on her face while Remiel stepped back, leaving the two lovers alone in front of Gwyn. The woman looked at the book she was holding, trying her best to read the note she made. While Gwyn was doing so, Emely leaned toward Silva, a bit concerned.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "Are you sure Gwyn can do it?"


    "Yes, apparently she practiced a lot, so it should be alright. I know it''s not easy to say but... Try to not stress too much."


    "Of course... I just want everything to be perfect."


    Gwyn cleared her throat before looking at everyone with a smile, causing everyone to go silent.


    "Today, we all are witnessing the union of two beings who loved each other enough to unite for the rest of their lives. May their union be forged in our memories and last for the rest of their lives."


    Emely looked at the paper in her hand and braced herself to read her vows, trying her best to not burst into tears in front of everyone.


    "I, Emely Vany, take thee, Silva Nilla, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."


    The crowd softly clapped at Emely before going silent to listen to Silva. After taking a deep breath, Silva spoke clearly with a bright smile on her face.


    "When I was younger, my life was as dark as my future. I was ready to give up but I was saved and given strength by everyone. Even after, the dark remained, but you made it fully bright for the first time. I, Silva Nilla, wish to be with my savior forever, even beyond death."


    The two lovers held hands and looked at Gwyn, waiting for her to continue. The woman focused back after a few seconds, still in disbelief to witness her friend''s wedding.


    "Emely, do you accept Silva as your wife?"


    "Yes, I do."


    Gwyn turned toward SIlva with a smile, repeating the same question to her.


    "Silva, do you accept Emely as your wife?"


    Silva couldn''t help but smile when she heard Gwyn''s voice. So much happened, but she was glad that despite everything, she had her friends on her special day.


    "Yes! I do!"


    Sepide walked toward Silva and gave her the ring she chose. Emely gave Silva her hand, allowing her lover to put the ring on her finger. The two women''s hearts pounded in their chests, and even if they knew each other more than anyone else, they were both still embarrassed. Remiel gave Emely her ring, which she gently put on Silva''s finger. The newly married couple couldn''t feel happier, especially Silva. She dreamt of the day she would find her prince, and even if Emely didn''t look like her perfect prince, she had more than a prince could ever have.


    "By the holy rules of marriage, I declare you wife and... Well, wife. You may kiss the bride."


    Silva softly kissed Emely''s lips, but the latter instead completely leaned forward and deeply kissed the blind woman. Everyone cheered for the couple. Gwyn smiled softly at the sight of her two friends. Sepide and Remiel both clapped with enthusiasm while Ina blushed heavily and put her hands in front of her eyes, still peeking at the couple from the space between her fingers. Silva felt incredibly embarrassed that everyone could see her like that, but she quickly felt relaxed and held Emely tightly. After they were over, the two women looked at each other shyly before giggling. Flocon clumsily walked toward her two mothers, and when she noticed her, Emely picked her up with a smile. Emely looked at Silva for a few minutes, losing herself in her eyes until Ina''s voice suddenly interrupted them.


    "Follow me, we''ll need to go eat the cake now!"


    "Come on, give them a moment," Gwyn said with a soft smile on her face. Ina gasped and looked at the couple apologetically.


    "I''m so sorry! You can-"


    "No, it''s okay." Said Emely "I think Flocon is hungry too."


    Emely kissed Silva''s cheek and followed Ina along with everyone. Silva was about to follow them but stopped when she suddenly heard something behind her. The blind woman turned around, she wasn''t sure but felt like someone really was there.


    "Neige? Is that you?"


    A few tears fell down her face as she tried to know who the figure on the other side of the river was. Silva held the necklace Neige gave her and softly smiled at the figure.


    "I''ll never forget you Neige... I hope you''re watching over me..."


    Silva ran away toward the rest of her friends, her mind filled with so many feelings. The present was bright, and she planned on enjoying it for a long time. The figure on the other side of the river smiled at the woman going away, with a single tear going down his face.


    "I''m proud of you... Silva..."


    Silva stopped when she heard those words, the figure was no longer there. She wasn''t sure whether she hallucinated it, but she knew Neige looked over her from wherever he was now. Emely looked toward the river but couldn''t see anything and wiped Silva''s tears. Sepide and Remiel came as well when they noticed the two women lagging behind. Gwyn and Ina quickly joined them and all stared at the river. The group was suddenly surprised when they felt snow falling in this bright sky. A warm feeling of nostalgia filled their heart, reminiscing about their past friend. Flocon smiled cheerily, trying to catch the snowflake falling from the sky. Silva stared at the sky, even if she couldn''t see anything, she felt the beauty of the sky above her.


    "Thanks for everything... Neige..."


    The End!