The last bell rang.
It wasn't like Aventic's alarms—sharp, urgent, meaning something. This was soft. Gentle. Just a sound that said stop now, go home, rest.
The teacher dismissed the class. Students were already packed—backpacks ready, bags swinging, chairs scraping against the floor.
They started filing out, voices rising in that post-school chaos that seemed to exist everywhere.
The weak sun rays entered the room from the window.
I took my time.
Watched them go. Watched the empty desks. Watched the board with its half-erased equations.
Then I stood, stretched, and walked out.
The hallway was alive.
Students running. Smiling. Shouting to friends across the crowd. A girl laughed somewhere—genuine, bright, unafraid.
I moved through them like water through rocks. Not part of it. Just passing through.
Outside, I headed for the cycle stand.
Row after row of bicycles, but mine wasn't there.
I checked again.
No, it wasn't there.
Did someone steal it?
In Ilsa?
...Looks like it.
But why would someone steal a old bicycle.
I headed back to the staff room where teachers were packing too—bags, papers.
Is it the slow ritual of ending a day?
I found my class teacher near the door.
"Miss? My cycle's missing."
She looked up. Frowned. "Missing?"
"Yes. It's not at the stand. I checked twice."
She sighed—not annoyed, just tired. "We'll look into it. File a report tomorrow. For now... can you get home another way?"
I nodded.
"It's about four kilometres."
"Walk," she said. "It's good for you."
Four kilometres? Right . It's not that much. I've walked or run more than that in single day .
I walked.
Four kilometers. On a road I barely knew.
I looked at the sky. Beautiful. So beautiful.
Red and gold bleeding into each other like someone had spilled paint across the horizon. The sun sinking slow, taking its time, like it wasn't in a hurry to leave.
The smell hit my nose. Mud. Wet earth and farmers' fields after a long day.
Some people hate that smell. Call it dirty.
I don't get it.
It's one of the most precious things there is. Real. Honest. Alive.
The air moved gentle against my skin. Birds called to each other, heading home.
From somewhere distant, a farmer shouted to someone—I couldn't hear the words, just the sound of a human voice in open space.
Peaceful.
I guess peace isn't rare in Ilsa.
I smiled. Small. Private. No one saw it but me.
I walked slow.
Not because I was tired but because rushing felt wrong here. Like you'd miss something important.
I closed my eyes for a second, just feeling the road under my feet, the air on my face, the last warmth of the sun on my skin.
Then opened them.
"I didn't know I'd find you here, Nams."
The voice came from behind.
My whole body went cold.
I knew that voice.
I turned.
She was there.
Her blonde hair catching the last light. Red eyes watching me with something between curiosity and amusement.
It's her.
The girl from the jungle.
The one who—
"A—Arcueid."
Her name came out like a gasp. Like I'd been holding it underwater and finally let it surface.
"Yup. That's me."
Her voice was so... normal. Polite. Casual. Like we were old friends meeting by chance.
"So—so, so you're real." I was panting. Hands shaking. Whole body trembling. "You're REAL."
She tilted her head. Confused.
"Obviously I'm real. What are you talking about?" A pause. "And why are you sweating so much, Nams?"
I stepped closer. Too close. Didn't care. I didn't knew what I was doing.
"If you're real, then how is Marcus alive?"
The words tumbled out before I could stop them. Frustration. Confusion. Three weeks of not knowing what was real and what wasn't.
"Your presence. In the jungle. It erased everything. So how—"
"Yes." She said it simply. Like it was nothing. "My presence can do that."
My heart stopped.
"And yes. He died— I mean, got erased. There's no way he survived that."
"Then—"
"Listen, that power is called Exofail." She said the name like she was introducing an old friend. "It can erase anything from all creation. So if you're telling me someone is alive—still existing—then that's mean either they're using a body double..."
She paused.
"...or it's you."
"Me?"
"Yes...You're the only one who didn't get erased that night."
I opened my mouth. Then closed it. I opened it again.
"Body double? I—don't think—"
"Are you sure?"
She cut me off. Gentle. But firm.
I stared at her.
"I... don't know."
Silence.
"Why are you here? Didn't you say, your power can erase anything?
She leaned in closer. Close enough that I could see my reflection in her red eyes. A mischievous smile curved her lips.
"Oh my, you really think I came here without learning to control my powers, Nams?"
She pulled back. Sighed.
"Remember when I told you this world has infinitely more power than mine?"
Her eyes sparkled with something—excitement, maybe.
"I have basically limitless power. But outside things make me feel weird. Excited. For no reason."
I could see it. The excitement. In her eyes. In the way she held herself.
She's not a monster here.
She's just...I don't know.
I realized I hadn't moved since she appeared.
What am I doing?
She didn't feel otherworldly anymore. She felt... human. Almost.
But I couldn't move. Or didn't want to.
"So, Idiot." That mischievous smile again. "I'm asking you again. Are you even human?"
"I am human....and who do you think you're calling idiot?"
"Really?" She laughed—soft, genuine. "Well, be that way. I'm not going deep. Yet." The smile widened and her voice came in whisper.
"And I'm calling someone an idiot who claims to be human, but I don't think that being is human in the first place."
We walked.
I don't know who started it. She, probably. She just... began moving. And I followed.
Reason? Unknown.
"So what are you doing here?" she asked, looking around at the fields, the hills, the small village in the distance.
"I don't think that's you're concern."
"Mooo..." She drew the sound out. "Aren't you too cruel, Nams? Can't you tell me simple things?"
"Ahh—aren't you too close?"
She was. Again.
She backed off slowly. But that smile stayed.
The sun kept sinking.
Behind her, the sky was burning orange and pink. Birds flew home in scattered groups. The air turned cooler, carrying the smell of distant cooking fires.
And she walked like a princess.
Maybe she was one. Who knows.
I tried to focus on her. On what she was saying. On the questions I still had.
But the background—
The background was killing me.
Too beautiful. Too perfect. Like someone had painted it just for this moment.
"Arcueid." I said her name softly. "If your presence erases things... then why aren't these things erasing?"
She looked back at me. Still walking.
"I-d-i-o-t."
She said it loud. Playful. That same mischievous smile.
"I already told you. I can control my powers now. Finally. In this world too."
She looked at the sky . Looking at what . I don't know.
We walked slower.
The road narrowed. On both sides, small streams ran parallel, catching the last light.
In the morning, I didn't catch, that the stream running both ways.
I thought about what she'd said. About this world having infinitely more energy. About where she came from. What that place must be like.
"You know..."
Her voice was different now. Quieter. Softer.
"This place is too peaceful to be real."
" You know... this place is too peaceful to be real in this world."
She murmured, her gaze gentle, yet carrying a strange otherworldly warmth , making everything around her feel impossibly calm and a gentle smile curving her lips . And the nature, the last sun rays were crossing her bodies and making this so mesmerizing .
"Too peaceful," she repeated.
I forgot what I was going to ask, but the smile she was wearing...it's so familiar yet unknown.
"What do you say, Nams? Does a monster like you even deserve a place like this beautiful ," she whispered.
Her red eyes softening for a moment, glinting with a strange warmth that didn't match her usual mischievous look. Her lips curved in a faint, almost shy smile, and I felt… weirdly calm, like the world around us slowed down for just a second and yet I didn't know what to say to her because she'd spoken so quietly that I couldn't hear her voice.
"Could you repeat that? "
She smiled and turned back to me .
"Maybe... but some other day ." And then she started walking again .
Before I knew it , I was almost near the village's entrance.
"I'm almost at my turn."
My voice sounded strange to my own ears.
The road split ahead. One path to the village. One path to... somewhere else.
The sun was almost gone now. Just a sliver of gold on the horizon. Dew was starting to form—I could feel it on my hair, my clothes.
"So then." I stopped. "Goodbye, Arcueid. This is my stoppage."
She laughed.
"Stoppage? We're not on a vehicle, idiot."
But she was smiling.
"Haii, haii." She waved. "Goodbye, Nams."
Her eyes sparkled.
She can actually smile, huh?
We went our separate ways.
I took the village road. She kept walking on the main path.
I didn't know where she was going.
I didn't know if I should ask.
I didn't know why I was still thinking about her.
But I smiled. The reason was unknown as always.
After a few minutes of walking I finnally reached my house .
The door opened before I could ring the bell.
"Welcome home, Young Master!"
Angy and Shenhe said in sync, as always.
Shenhe was wearing nothing but underwear.
"Thanks, you two. I'm back."
"And Angy, what are you teaching this innocent soul?"
She turned and started walking.
"Oii, where are you going?"
Shenhe looked at me in confusion.
I went inside and sat on the couch.
A few moments later they both came.
They asked about my day. I told them—mostly.
I didn't tell them about Arcueid part .
They told me about theirs and I leave the clothes part.
Later that night I took a shower before bed.
That idiot, Angy, was suggesting to wash my back. Again. Obviously I refused.
That woman is crazy as always.
I lay down on the bed and thought about Arcueid. About what she said. This world has infinitely more power than her world.
I didn't know where that was.
Didn't know if I could ask.
Didn't know why I wanted to.
The thoughts kept circling. Her voice. Her smile. Her eyes.
Before I knew it—I fell into an unavoidable void
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