"Who are you talking to, Yuki?"
"I am, um…" I muttered, trying to come up with an explanation.
"What are you hiding?" she pressed.
"How can I talk my way out of this?"
"Do I run? No, that's useless."
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud voice.
"Lyra, honey, come to us. Let's leave the forest as a family."
A chill ran down my spine as I looked at Lyra. She sat there, hands covering her face, trembling in fear.
Through her tears, she whispered,
"No, stop, stop using my parents."
Without thinking, I ran to her and tried to comfort her. I gently patted her head, telling her she was safe.
She slowly calmed down once the voices outside stopped.
"Get some rest, Lyra," I said quietly.
"It's way too quiet out here," I muttered to myself. "Back in Tokyo, it was always busy. There was never silence, and now I miss it."
"Yuki," Solmerra spoke, "I have learned something disturbing. The Mimic is trying to induce fear in you. It enjoys the thrill of hunting prey that is afraid. If it truly wanted to, it could kill both of you at any moment. We need to escape, but you must not feel fear."
"Oh, great, how am I supposed to not feel fear when facing an ancient monster that can kill me whenever it wants?"
"Wait, why am I even scared? I already died once."
"No, I shouldn't give up on life just because things get difficult."
"I'll make sure Lyra and I both get out of here alive."
"Okay. So how do we escape?"
"Solmerra, do you have any ideas? Aren't you a goddess?"
"I do have a method," she replied, "but it's dangerous. You could die, or your mind could break."
"Anything is better than being trapped here."
"You remember your ability, right? Fractured Echo. After observing you this whole time, I discovered something unusual."
She paused before continuing.
"Your ability is different from any Apostle I've ever had. Normally, an Apostle receives one of their god's powers. But in your case, it's evolved. Somehow, you possess an enhanced version of Fractured Echo."
"Instead of only seeing possible futures, you can actually return to a point in the past of your choosing."
"Until now, it has activated unconsciously. You've never controlled it."
Her voice grew more serious.
"But there's a cost. Using the power of a god while still human puts immense strain on the body. Every Apostle suffers a backlash."
"And those backlashes."
"They can tear you apart."
"They can even kill you."
"So basically, I can create a save point, but it might kill me?" I said.
"But is it worth using? What if I overuse it?"
"You know what, I won't escape by standing still."
"Solmerra, tell me how to use it."
"That's the problem," she replied. "Since it's unique, I can't fully explain it. You'll have to figure it out yourself. But meditation may help, focus on creating a 'save,' as you called it."
"That's annoying. But I don't have a choice," I said.
For some reason, it felt like Solmerra was hiding something from me.
I sat in a corner and tried to meditate like I'd seen online.
Five minutes later.
"Ah, this is so boring. How do people even do this?"
"Yuki? Are you there?" Lyra called.
"Yeah, I'm here. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, thanks for earlier. And sorry you had to see that."
"Can I ask what that voice was?" I asked carefully.
"Yeah. It happened a long time ago."
Ten years ago, Lyra's POV
"Hey, Mom, that's a letter from the military. How is Dad doing?"
"Is he still protecting our nation?"
She paused. Tears ran down her face.
"Yes, he's still protecting us."
"He says he'll be back by the time you turn ten."
"Why are you crying, Mom? Is it because it's still far away? I'm sad too, but Dad will come back soon."
"Yes. These are tears of joy, Lyra. Excuse me for a moment, I need to go to the bathroom."
Out of curiosity, I followed her.
Through the door, I heard her sobbing.
"Why did you have to die, what about our daughter? I know you were fighting to protect her, but why did you leave us alone?"
"WHY?!"
She cried for what felt like forever.
At that moment, I understood. My father was gone.
For three days, she remained lost in grief.
Then,
The wind whispered to me.
"Lyra, I'm still alive. But I need your help to find my way home. Follow the wind and you'll find me."
"Mom! Dad's alive! He just spoke to me!" I shouted as I ran outside, following the wind.
Behind me, I heard her scream,
"Lyra, stop! Don't go that way. You'll die!"
But I kept running. I just wanted my father back.
I reached a massive forest.
It looked beautiful.
I felt drawn toward it.
Just as I was about to step inside, I heard my mother's voice one last time:
"Lyra, don't trust the voic—"
And then.
I was surrounded by an endless forest.