"If you need something else tell me" She said, as she goes outside, "If you're hungry, a food has been prepared here." Then pushed a tray of food inside.
"After eating, come and meet me later in my office" She waved her hand as she left.
The door closed.
I sat on the ground with my hands over my head, digging my fingers into my scalp and pulling my hair in sheer frustration.
I dragged my hands down my face, slowly. The floor felt cold through the thin fabric beneath me—Wait. I glanced down, only just realizing I was wearing a white robe with nothing underneath. "Who changed me?"
The tray just sat inside as the steam lazily reached me a second later. The sound of my stomach growling echoed. I exhaled and leaned back until my shoulders bumped the wall beside me. The ceiling stared back at me.
Growl
My stomach protested once again. The rumble rolled through my entire body. Whatever questions I had: the hows, the whys, and whats—all of that could wait.
I stood up.
I stared at the tray for a few minutes, then walked over and picked up a piece of bread. I hesitated at first, but I took a bite. Quite tough for my liking. There was stew beside it, still warm. I took a sip of it, then another until the tray was empty. Once I finished, I set the tray aside and wiped my hands against my robe.
I exhaled heavily. "Thank you for the food," I whispered, pressing my palms together.
I held my throat.
"…It's not a dream," I muttered.
I lifted my right arm, palm open.
"I wonder…"
I flexed my fingers, flicked my wrist forward, half-expecting something to shoot out of it or something to happen. Yet nothing. I tried again, but more deliberate this time.
It's probably the angle.
Still nothing.
I frowned and rotated my hand: palm up, palm down, raising a middle finger, a thumbs up. At this point, I tried every gesture I could think of.
I squinted at my palm.
"…Come on."
I jabbed my wrist forward again, fingers curled just right. Absolutely no response.
Silence...
I let my arm drop.
"Yeah. Figures."
What if…
I glanced at the wall behind the bed, quite expensive-looking. I'm pretty sure this definitely not the way... The wall looked pretty solid too. I glanced between the wall and my fist.
I stood up.
I took a step back and set my feet, shoulders squaring without me really thinking about it. My body slipped into a stance. I drew my fist back, tightening my muscles, then launched it. However, my fist stopped, an inch from the wall.
I froze.
Then I exhaled and let my arm drop. I shook my head once.
"No," I muttered. "This is too stupid."
Breaking a wall in someone else's bedroom, especially someone important enough to own a place like this. It felt like a fast track to getting executed. Whatever I had become, testing it like an idiot wasn't the way to find out.
More than that, I was too delusional to think my fist wouldn't shatter if I actually followed through. My bone would shatter into thousand pieces before even making a dent.
I plopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Memories surfaced one after another. Things I'd had. Things I'd lost. From now on.
From the way she explained it, borrowing her power came with consequences, like heavy ones. But if I didn't use it heavily, then I'm safe. Not like it's an erosion, where it'll accelerate things up. As long as I didn't draw from her, I will stay me.
On paper, it sounded manageable.
I let out a quiet breath through my nose. "A god..."
However, that had failed to account for the grit of reality, especially since the world I had landed in seemed to thrive on its own unpredictability. Between the monsters, the spirits, and the demons, not even accounting the other organizations and some looming calamity. Situations escalated regardless of how they were tackled. It wasn't merely that risk existed; it was that the danger multiplied tenfold with every passing second in this world.
"Wait... She didn't answer me when I asked about the girl with me." I sat up, "I completely forgot about her."
Then I got up and went to the door.
I hesitated for half a second before opening it—then pulled.
Someone was standing right on the other side.
I tilted my head.
My eyes widened, "Y-You're…" My voice came out thin. "You're that girl from last time."
She stood there quietly, smaller up close than I remembered. My gaze dropped on its own.
She had bandages wrapped tightly around her stomach and the layer already stained dark at the edges. Also had one arm bound in a sling, held stiff against her body. Beneath her eye patch, a bruise bloomed, a sickly yellow and deep purple, with smaller marks trailing down her jaw and neck.
She looked patched together, alive, but barely.
Her expression remained the same when she saw me.
She nodded in response.
My face twitched with a sour feeling at the sight of her. I bit my lip. "I'm sorry…"
She watched me with a flat gaze.
"I wasn't that much of help," I forced a smile. "I… I'm really really sorry. If I could've done something, anything... maybe you wouldn't have ended up like this."
She glanced down at herself, at the bandages, the sling, then lifted her gaze back to mine.
"Forgive me!" I said again, and bowed.
A thick and uncomfortable silence stretched between us.
Her good eye met mine.
"...I am fine," She said, her voice was so soft and fragile.
My throat tightened, jaw clenching.
"...Sorry from the bottom of my heart," I repeated again, quieter this time, because I didn't know what else to say.
"I will do everything to repay for saving my life!" I clasped my hands together and bowed, my entire upper body folding forward.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
Smack.
A hand landed squarely on the top of my head.
My whole body tensed up. For half a second, my mind went blank.
Pat.
Pat.
Pat.
It was gentle...
I stood still.
She was… patting my head.
Like I was a child or a dog that had done something clumsy.
I slowly lifted my head, confused.
Her eye met mine.
Her expression hadn't changed. Flat, indifferent, and still unreadable. But up close, really looking this time, I noticed things I hadn't before. The softness in her features. The way her brow wasn't sharp, just tired. Her clear eyes wasn't a reflection of someone who had been through what she had.
Innocent wasn't the right word.
Unguarded was.
Her hand kept moving, gentle, careful, as if she was afraid pressing too hard might break me or something.
"...Stop bowing like that," She said quietly. "Strange."
I swallowed.
"O-Okay,"
She withdrew her hand, fingers lingered for half a second too long before pulling back, like she'd only just realized what she was doing. She looked away immediately after.
"You did nothing wrong," She added, softly. "I was simply weak."
That sentence hit harder than anything. I would've preferred her anger over this, anything would be better than this... in all honesty.
"I—" My throat tightened. "I still—"
She shook her head once, sharper this time, ending it.
"Then," She said, "leave it as is."
Her words weren't dismissive. They were sincere and firm.
"I insist."
She shook her head once. "No need."
The guilt was eating me alive. "Please, don't be like this," I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. My fingers lingered at my jaw as I exhaled hard.
We stood there, facing each other, neither of us moving. She reminded me of someone. The thought surfaced in my head without warning. Like deja vu without the image to go with it.
"Let me at least introduce myself," I said finally, straightened myself and placed a hand over my chest. "I'm Claude."
She hesitated for a moment.
"Clara," She said.
"Clara…" I repeated it slowly.
It was really her! I hadn't been able to get a close look before, but the doubt vanished—everything finally clicked! Then again, given her state right now, who could blame for not recognizing her...? Also, with how chaotic—I will leave it at that.
The disciple of the Blade Saintess. The talented phantom prodigy whose existence was solely to serve the Blade Saintess. She was a ghost made of flesh, a living extension of the Saintess. Then why was she at the academy? In the game, her encounter with Shin wasn't supposed to happen until after the Saintess dies.
She tilted her head at my pause, confusion plastered all over her face.
"Ah," I said quickly, forcing a smile. "That's a lovely name."
She blinked, then replied simply, "Thank you."
"I'm glad you're alive," She added, quietly. Not looking at me this time.
"…Me too," I said at last.
Neither spoke.
"Actually…" I scratched the back of my neck, gaze drifting to the floor. "I don't really remember what happened after that. Everything's… hazy." I looked back at her. "What happened?"
Her expression dimmed, just a little.
She didn't answer right away.