I couldn't make sense of it.
Ageha had left and returned in under a minute. Had something happened in that single minute—something significant enough to cause such a radical transformation in her?
"Hey, are you all right—"
My words were cut short.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"
Ageha suddenly let out a blood-curdling shriek.
"Don't screw with me! Don't screw with me! Don't screw with me!! This is the worst... Aaaaaagh! Why? Why does nothing ever go the way I want it to?!"
Then, clawing at her hair in a fit of irritation, she continued to spit out a string of resentful curses.
"Hey, pull yourself together!"
Realizing I wouldn't get anywhere at this rate, I grabbed her by the shoulders.
When our eyes finally met, Ageha seemed to finally recognize who I was.
"Kiska, I'm sorry..." she whispered, and then the tears began to fall.
"I'm sorry. Kiska, I'm so sorry. I've put you through so much pain. It's my fault. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've done so many horrible things, haven't I? You probably won't even forgive me if I apologize. I... Kiska is... Argh! No, no, no! Forgive me, Kiska! It’s all my fault!"
One moment she was venting her rage, the next she was sobbing and begging for forgiveness.
I was at a loss. I’d seen her act strangely before, but this was on a level I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
"Hey, look at me. What happened...?"
I spoke louder than usual, trying to make my voice reach her. But my words didn't seem to register. Instead, she began to mutter to herself as if in a trance.
"It’s okay. I can do this. This is the only way to deceive them. Yes, this is the only way. By the time they realize it, it will be too late for everyone! I can't wait to see the looks on their faces! It's okay. I can do this."
It was as if she was trying to hypnotize herself.
Despite her claims that she was "okay," her breathing was ragged and her body was trembling in small, sharp bursts.
"Hey, are you really okay...?"
I tried calling out to her again. A dark fear crossed my mind—that Ageha might never come back from this state.
"Kiska! Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you!" Ageha insisted.
Her eyes were wide, but her pupils were hazy and completely unfocused.
The sudden intensity caught me off guard, but at last, it seemed she was ready to explain. If I knew what was going on, I could find a way to deal with it.
"I have already looped through the future many times."
"What...?"
For a second, I couldn't process the words.
"Something terrible is going to happen. I failed, and I failed, and I failed again, and that's when I realized. I'm not enough. I can't save Kiska."
"Hey, slow down. Explain it so I can understand."
"But I couldn't help it! It's all my fault. Because of me, Kiska... and besides, those guys already knew."
It was no use. Ageha’s explanation made no sense.
Still, I racked my brain, desperately trying to piece it together. Eventually, I reached a single conclusion.
"Does this mean you died in the future, Ageha, and used Skill: Save & Reset to come back to this exact moment?"
I had used Save & Reset to return to the past every time I died. But originally, the Skill belonged to Ageha.
It wouldn't be strange at all if she had been using it to loop through time without my knowledge.
If that was the case, her mental state and her nonsensical words started to make a terrifying amount of sense.
"I just told you that, didn't I?" Ageha replied.
She hadn't actually been that clear, but I let it slide.
"Listen, explain it properly. I'll do everything I can to help you. What exactly is going to happen?"
If something "terrible" was coming, we had to prepare. I needed her to tell me everything.
"You and I are going to have a fight. A fight so bad that we can never fix it."
"O-Oh..."
Was a fight really the "terrible thing" she meant?
I had been imagining something much more catastrophic, so I felt a slight sense of anticlimax. Though, for Ageha, it clearly was the end of the world.
"It's my fault for being jealous. Even recently, I threatened Namia with a blade in the middle of the night. I told her, 'Don't go getting any ideas about Kiska.' Namia told me she understood, so I thought I could trust her. Oh, but it was the worst!! Because of Namia...!!"
"Calm down. If we know we're going to fight, we can just work together to make sure it doesn't happen. I'll be careful too."
"No. It isn't that simple. The fight was a trap set by Namia."
That's impossible, I thought. I couldn't believe that Namia would ever plot something like that.
"Because of Namia, Kiska will be broken. If only I had stayed by your side back then."
"Hey, what exactly did Namia do to me?"
"Namia isn't Namia. That thing is a Beast pretending to be her. Ahaha... sorry to disappoint you, Kiska. That Ring wasn't some miraculous item that could bring back the dead. It's something much more cruel and twisted."
"............"
The brutal truth was laid bare by Ageha’s words.
I wanted to scream that she was lying. I had felt so saved, so whole, because I thought Namia had returned to me.
"Knowing this truth is what breaks you. But if you know it now, the wound won't be as deep, right? It's okay, Kiska. You have me."
I felt a sudden warmth. Ageha had pulled me into her embrace.
Maybe it was because of that warmth that my mind went blank.
When I thought about it, Namia’s resurrection had always felt surreal, like a dream. Now that the lie had been exposed, a part of me felt a dull sense of, Of course. I should have known.
"Thank you."
I felt myself calming down in her arms, so I thanked her.
Seemingly satisfied, Ageha pulled away and took a scrap of paper from her pocket. It was the handmade map I had given her that morning.
"I'll forget, so I have to write down the important things."
I watched as Ageha took a pen and began scribbling notes onto the map.
Namia is a fake. Do not let your guard down, she wrote.
I thought she was being dramatic—there was no way I’d forget something that important—but I didn't stop her.
Beneath that, she began to write something else.
Protect High Priest Sierotia from the enemy.
"Who is that?"
"If she dies, you die too, Kiska. That’s why you must protect her."
Then, she wrote another line further down.
Abandon Second Prince Diluecca to his fate.
Another name I didn't recognize. More concerning was the cold instruction to let him die.
"He's a member of the Royalty coming to the village for the festival. You should give up on trying to save him."
I wanted to ask why, but Ageha was already onto the next sentence.
Members of Chaosism are hiding in the village.
The word "Chaosism" made my spine tingle. There was no other group that had caused me so much suffering.
I wanted to know who they were, but Ageha’s pen was moving too fast.
Trust no one but yourself.
That one was far more abstract. It wouldn't mean much unless she gave me specifics.
"Um, what does that mean?"
"It means exactly what it says."
"It would be more helpful if you were a bit more concrete."
"Even I don't know everything. Besides, giving you too much information is dangerous. If I tell you the wrong thing and something unexpected happens, it's a disaster... and it’s important for you to reach the answer yourself, Kiska."
Her answer didn't satisfy me, but I decided to accept it if she said so.
Then, she added one last note.
Do not approach Vampire Eudite.
I was startled. I never expected her name to appear here.
"Why?" I muttered reflexively.
"Because if you meet her, there's a chance you two might get... cozy. I absolutely hate that woman...!!"
Her words were dripping with venom. In other words, it was a purely personal grudge.
It didn't sound like meeting Vampire Eudite would actually be dangerous or disadvantageous. Still, if Ageha hated it that much, I supposed I should try to avoid her.
"Ah, time's up. There was so much more I wanted to write."
Ageha stopped her pen and looked up, distracted by something. She seemed to be staring at something over my shoulder.
I turned around to see what it was and froze.
Namia was standing right behind me.
"............!!"
I caught my breath.
A few minutes ago, her presence wouldn't have bothered me, but Ageha’s warning was still ringing in my ears.
Namia didn't have her usual soft smile. Her eyes were narrowed, and her face was cast in a dark, ominous shadow, as if she were staring at a threat that needed to be eliminated.
Had she overheard us? The walls in this old house were thin, after all.
"Well then, Kiska, I'll leave the rest to you. I have to go now."
"Hey, go where?"
"It’s okay. I'm always by your side."
As Ageha spoke, she began writing one final message on the map.
I reached for it, hoping it would explain everything, but in that instant—
Her presence vanished.
The girl who had been standing right in front of me was gone.