I had already figured it out. And yet—she said nothing.
"Hm..."
"Don't waste my time. Give me your answer. Now."
Hold on, did she lie about that 'one minute left'?
I couldn't help but wonder. However, whatever that might be, it's hard to say. But if my timing was right, we had fifteen seconds. Fifteen seconds before the scene unveiled— Helena's death. Or perhaps, whatever divine intervention had to be done to save her.
15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9...
I had been counting with my fingers, making sure it reached the final countdown by the time I returned back to the scene. Silence emanated throughout the hollow stasis.
8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... 0
No words were spoken until the time hit zero.
Then—eventually—she spoke.
"Yes. But I suppose you had to ruin it for me. Congratulations."
"Nice. Glad you finally admitted it. So, what do you think, sis?"
"I'd prefer it if we weren't siblings."
"So you could kiss me like we're lovers?" I teased her begrudgingly.
"Shut it." Her teeth clenched. Fingers curled like she wanted to hit someone.
"It's not that... it's something else entirely." Her voice stuttered, composure cracking.
"Right. So how many lies am I gonna take today, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
Her face was pure innocence. The kind that begged to be punched.
I reached up and grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look into my eyes—Even if I had to raise my head to do so. I didn't know what she saw when she looked at me.
Perhaps a projection. Perhaps a threat. Or even her nightmare.
Yet her eyes were just... drowsy, lifeless. Detached as if none of this mattered.
"Heartless liar. That's what you are."
I already said it out loud, implanted this prejudice into her mind, yet she still looked clueless... no, apathetic as if nothing really happened.
I really hated this sight.
I wanted her to feel my frustrations, every misery she had given to me.
Watching her crack... would've been so satisfying to see.
"Oh? Now dare enough stealing my technique? I see."
"Hold on, what do you mean?"
My eyebrows furrowed, parsing her tone.
"I know you are a liar too... but instead a sinister one."
"I am not gonna deny that allegation."
"It's the truth. Was my acting convincing by the way?"
"No, it still sucks."
"Oh, Kairi... don't hurt me like that."
I sighed, later replying in a snarky tone, "It seems we both enjoy hurting each other, huh? What are we now, some kind of incestuous, hateful siblings?"
"I don't want to hear that from you." She looked away from me.
"Anyway... I never lied about Helena's unfortunate circumstance."
"Oh, wow... really? That's shocking."
I said it flat, because the drama she made-up deserved mockery.
"Give me the proof."
She then tossed away the Mythe—
WHOA WAIT, WHAT?! What the f*ck was she thinking when she casually did that?!
Reflexively, I snatched the device with my bare hand.
If I hadn't caught it, that thing would've shattered—reduced to dust.
A sphere of nothingness. Much like her common sense—or lack thereof.
"Maybe think twice before doing something so genius, tossing it like that."
"Thank you. I knew you were going for it, no matter how difficult."
Kami-sama, please punch her beautiful face for me.
I whispered an ironic prayer no one would hear, considering my beliefs.
How funny.
If Kami-sama existed, He would have punched her long before I asked.
Anyway, enough grudge. Time to use this Mytheia device.
I did opera—
Wait...
I have no idea how to use it. I mean, I didn't even know from what I've observed.
Not a second after, a sound—a muffled, half-stifled chuckle—brushed by my ear.
She was covering her mouth, trying her best not to let it out. But then—
"Pfft—mmfh..."
"Tch—snrk—hrk—hah... hahaha."
Ah, she laughed...
Now I finally had a reason to punch her face.
Imagine laughing in a dire situation like this.
She probably knew it was inappropriate— but how dare she laugh at my misfortune when she's the one who forgot everything in the first place?!
She looks cute when she laughs though.
NO. Kairi, stop! She's the devil—get your priorities straight.
Anyway, as she still was trying her best to hold the laughter, here's a fun fact: Laughing like this implies you've let your guard down. But I figured there was no need to tell this.
Her little outburst lasted only a few seconds—probably realizing the slip, she pulled herself together. And just like that, the ever-so-composed Selene was back.
"Apologize, I couldn't help the schadenfreude myself."
Okay, since when do you speak German? Oh right, I forgot it's German in Hebrew now.
"Anyway, where we? Oh, right... the Mytheia device."
You've been using it platonically for an eternal few hours. yet forgot how to use it?!
"This device is the proof of miracle for a reason—use your scientific mind."
"Are there loose screws in your brain? It still uses magic, Selene—my lovely dear."
She stormed toward me in hurried steps—like the storm that was approaching.
She then grabbed my right hand. "Put your finger here."
Oh, fingerprint for the identification? That's genius.
Just before I was about sarcastically complimenting her, she really did somethi—
"Now, say your full name."
Never mind, I retracted my statement. Voice identification is just du—
"No, it's not until you do it."
"Whatever, stop reading my mind."
I inhaled the air for a while then said my full name,
"Kairi Izumi."
She facepalmed, witnessing my stupidity once again in full-display.
"It's Eryndell Veylith."
"I know, no need to tell me."
Truth was, I'd been struck by a wave of nostalgia. The Izumi Group had this ridiculous money vault—only a few could open it. I had access back in high school.
"Your backstory isn't needed here. Honestly, with whom are you sharing it?"
"Again, it's not really important. Anyway, let me do it again."
"Hah~ fuh... Kair—."
"Oh, one more thing."
"What is it again?"
"Pause in every word, also consistent voice tone."
"Are you trying to torture me? Why would you make this so complicated?"
This girl is truly impossible...
"If that was my intention, I would gag you."
"Okay, you sadist. Chill."
I then continued, taking a breath before spelling my name, same as her instructions.
"Kairi... Eryndell... Veylith."
Instaneously, a strange string of codes—algorithms, maybe?—began flickering across the screen, as if it's scanning my very presence. But all of a sudden, they froze.
"Control your mind to use the device."
Now, that's cool... a bit too much but cool.
I thought it was going to be a virtual assistant—a guide—but turns out it had no voice.
Only raw algorithms. Lines of code. Visual programming.
Except... no keyboard nor terminal.
Instead, it felt like an advanced version of VR gear—intuitive, mind-linked.
Nevertheless, as I visualized Helena Myra Lovecraft—her name, her physique, every distinct trait down to the glint in her eye—the screen began to flicker.
Then as I visualized the future, it's blinking in and out relentlessly. akin to a heartbeat.
Somewhat the same. Yet only this time, the display looked... uncannily familiar.
הגדר חזה_סטייה(מזהה_נבדק):
רצועות = הפק_הדים(מזהה_נבדק)
ספירת_נעולות = אפס
עבור רצועה בתוך רצועות:
אם בדוק_אירוע(רצועה, "מוות"):
ספירת_נעולות += אחת
יחס_נעילה = ספירת_נעולות / סך_הרצועות
החזר יחס_נעילה גדול_או_שווה סף_נעילה
function predictDivergence(subjectID):
strands = mapEchoes(subjectID)
lockedCount = 0
for strand in strands:
if checkForEvent(strand, "death"):
lockedCount += 1
lockRatio = lockedCount / totalStrands
return lockRatio >= LOCK_THRESHOLD
That's how I recognized these codes—I'd seen these before. In my mind.
Then came the recording.
"67 minutes from now." it said.
And the imagery it showed was—how do I put this?
Terrifying.
I really wish I could unsee it.