Chapter 127
Nirma stared calmly at the barrel of the bazooka, no fear in her eyes, only a deep and aged sorrow.
"Because they created a time-travel device that could be manipulated by irresponsible parties, Ashita. Because their formula fell into the wrong hands, and I was determined to make sure no one could ever use it again. Because sometimes, to save millions of lives, we must sacrifice a few innocent ones. You may never forgive me, and I do not ask you to. But I will not retreat, will not stop, will not yield just because you stand here, before me."
Ashita smiled faintly, a strange smile that carried no bitterness despite the weight of what they had just discussed, enough to make anyone else cry or rage.
She looked at Nirma with eyes that were now clearer, calmer, like a lake after a storm had passed.
"You know, Nirma," she said softly, her voice almost gentle, "I actually admire your way of thinking and your unwavering resolve. You may not realize it, but what you did that night indirectly freed me from the chains of my family."
She paused for a moment, taking a breath, then continued.
"If you hadn't killed them, I might have continued growing under the shadow of two people who never truly wanted a child. They were too busy with formulas, too busy with the time-travel device, too consumed by their own ambitions. I was nothing more than an accessory, a decoration in a grand but hollow house. Every night I heard them arguing, every morning I saw them hating each other in silence. And you, Nirma, you ended it in a single night. You gave me a freedom they could never give."
Nirma listened, her narrowed eye tightening further, trying to read whether this was a trap, whether it was another way to soften her before a sudden attack.
But what she saw on Ashita's face was a strange sincerity, one born from wounds that had dried and transformed into something else, perhaps wisdom, perhaps acceptance.
Ashita closed both eyes for two seconds, long enough to make the air between them feel heavy, then opened them again with a slightly different smile, firmer, more official.
"But don't misunderstand, Nirma. Our resolve, the resolve of Ashita-Tegar in serving the Temporal Cross-Police, is not something to be underestimated. We were trained to be the best, forged in a different fire, and we will not allow emotional ties from the past to interfere with the mission assigned to us."
Tegar beside her nodded firmly, his fingers moving again near his temple as the 4231-era glasses began emitting a new hologram, ready for battle if necessary.
Ashita took a short breath, once, then closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them again, there was a glimmer of excitement within them, something Nirma had never expected to see in a moment like this.
"However, it would not be good for any of us if we ended up disrupting each other's operation, would it?" she said, her tone suddenly lighter, almost playful.
"We both want to capture that Abnormal, we both want to secure the Muddy Ground, we both want to resolve this problem. But we are also equally stubborn, equally unwilling to back down, equally convinced that our own way is the right one."
She stepped forward once, the 4444-era bazooka in her hand lowered slightly, no longer aimed directly at Nirma but to the side, a gesture that could be interpreted as temporary peace.
"So I have an option, Nirma. An option that might save us all from unnecessary bloodshed."
Nirma raised an eyebrow, the M4A1 in her hands still firmly aimed at Ashita and Tegar, yet curiosity flickered within her, deep curiosity about what would come from the mouth of the woman she had once left crying among two corpses.
Ashita smiled brightly, that same radiant smile from before, the smile that made her look like an innocent girl despite being one of the most dangerous agents in the Temporal Cross-Police.
"It would be better if we compete, Nirma. We compete to capture the Abnormal lurking in the Muddy Ground. Whoever captures it first earns the right to decide its fate. No gunfire, no violence, no erasing time traces. Just two teams, one objective, and fair competition. Agreed?"
Arya beside Nirma turned quickly, his eyes questioning, searching for a sign of whether this was a trap or a genuine offer.
Nirma remained silent for a moment, weighing, calculating, feeling every possibility at the edge of her thoughts.
Then slowly, very slowly, the corner of her lips lifted, forming a smile rarely seen on her face, a smile born from a challenge she could not refuse.
Nirma smiled, not wide yet not small, a smile balanced between admiration and mockery, between respect and warning.
Her single eye locked onto Ashita, unblinking, unwavering, like an eagle observing its prey before deciding its next move.
"Ashita," she said, her voice almost gentle, almost warm, "I truly admire your spirit. I really do. And I also admire the part of you that refuses to accept defeat. That is a rare quality, a quality that allows someone to survive in a cruel world like this."
Ashita listened with a faint smile forming on her lips, yet her eyes remained alert, for she had known Nirma long enough to understand that praise from this woman was often only a prelude to the sting that followed.
Tegar beside her shifted slightly, sensing the shift in atmosphere, yet remained silent, allowing the two women with dark pasts to exchange words.
Nirma did not disappoint.
She continued, her voice still soft and warm, yet her words began to change, revealing their sharp edge.
"However, the confidence you are showing right now, Ashita, that certainty that you and Tegar will win, that boldness in challenging us as if victory is already in your hands… it is very much in line with the arrogance of the leaders of the Temporal Cross-Police."
She paused briefly, letting her words sink in, then continued in a lower, more personal tone.
"The leaders who once sat comfortably in their chairs while field agents like you bled across timelines. The leaders who so easily issued kill orders without ever feeling the tremor in their hands when pulling the trigger. The leaders who see agents like you as tools, as screws in a massive machine that can be replaced at any time if broken."
Ashita remained silent, her smile not fading yet her eyes changing, becoming deeper, more complex.
She did not argue, nor defend, only watched Nirma in a way that was difficult to interpret.
Nirma continued, her voice now almost a whisper, yet every word carried clearly in the hill's wind.
"Do you know why I killed your parents, Ashita?"
Her voice was soft, yet piercing.
"Not just because they had perfected their final formula that night. Not because the time device had finally worked. Those are merely technical reasons that can be written in reports. Reasons that are neat. Clean. Accountable before the higher-ups."
Nirma paused, staring at Ashita who had gone still.
"I killed them because I saw with my own eyes how they treated you that night. I saw them hit you, yell at you, make you cry—and then five minutes later agree to take you to the park as if that could erase everything. I didn't kill them under orders from the organization. I killed them because I was disgusted."
To be continued…