The raspberries had grown overnight. James had gawked at the fully matured plants, and Grace plucked off one of the many raspberries with reverent awe. It was another reminder of just how…young they were. They weren’t like her. They were still new to all this. The magic granted by the apocalypse was still new.

Frieyen had a smug smile on their face as they slept in her pockets.

The raspberries had grown overnight. Or it seemed to have. Magical those seeds may be, but they weren’t divine. Such immediate growth was impossible by her enchanting alone. The Faery had most likely done something while they were all asleep. For what reason would they be sleeping?

Alex frowned. She’d have to keep an eye out on the Faery. They had food aplenty, but she wouldn’t do it at the Faery’s expense. Even if they were willing.

Exhaustion claimed just as many deaths as monsters had.

She sighed. They had food at least. She gently plucked one of the berries and ate it. Hmm. Sweet, fruity, and with that added magical tang. Delightful.

She handed the twins a plastic bag each, and they began gathering the berries from the plants. The description hadn’t lied. Each plant bore more berries than a normal raspberry plant ever would. Frieyen’s contributions had probably increased their yield even more.

By the end, they had more than a couple hundred berries gathered. And that was only from the forty seeds she’d managed to enchant the day before. She still had a small pile she needed to enchant with her mana.

She did have to stop Grace from eating too many of the berries. They were their supplies, after all.

They didn’t head out to the city that day. The clouds were dark, and she could hear the distant rumbling of thunder. It’d be the first rainfall since the apocalypse began. And hunting in the rain was never a pleasant experience.

The twins spent most of their time going through the dictionary. They read it word by word, hoping they’d come across their Monolith Unlock Codes. They laid on the floor, the dictionary between them as they spoke the words together. Their frustrations grew with every passing hour. Alex wisely kept out of the way.

She spent her time enchanting the rest of the seeds. She’d rest whenever she ran herself dry and then continue when her mana replenished. She’d initially worried that Frieyen’s blessings wouldn’t apply without her conscious aid, but that wasn’t the case. She wasn’t quite sure how it worked. Did it apply as long as a Faery was near? Or had Frieyen done something to these seeds?

Mm. She’d have to ask the Faery when she woke up.

The rain was harsh and long. The rain pattered against the wooden walls, echoing lightly. She took a glance outside. The ground was drenched. Everything had turned grey and drab. The twins were still reading the dictionary. Grace looked like she was just inches from erupting.

She eventually finished enchanting the last seed. It was another seventy seeds or so. A sizable haul. And then she realized something.

Didn’t the raspberries have seeds in them? And wouldn’t they also be magical?

…Well, what was done was done, she supposed. It was additional training. And there was always a chance that they weren’t magical seeds, no matter how slim the chances were.

She sighed. She’d willingly garner this pounding headache. Done for mostly nothing. Oh well. She needed something to do while it rained outside.

…

The rain continued for the rest of the day, in the end. She spent the rest of the day watching the rain. The twins went through over a couple thousand words. They didn’t find their Unlock Codes. They were both very frustrated; Grace was simply more vocal in her anger compared to her brother.

Frieyen remained asleep the entire day.

----------------------------------------

Frieyen woke hours past midnight. They yawned, and she finally turned away from the window. They looked tired, weak, despite how long they’d slept. The wings on their back had none of its usual luster.

“G’morning.”

“It’s night.” She answered instead. They blinked, confused, before they turned to the windows. The skies had gone dark. The rainfall had mostly subsided. “You slept past yesterday.”

“Oh.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Did you even sleep last night?” Frieyen opened their mouth to speak. She frowned. “Don’t lie.” Their mouth closed. They looked away, scared, ashamed. She sighed. “I’m-, not angry.” Not really. She was angry. More at herself than anything else “Just worried. You didn’t have to. You didn’t need to waste yourself like that. We’re fine. We can wait.”

“I’m sorry.” They muttered. “I just wanted to help.”

“At the cost of yourself?”

“...sorry.”

A moment of silence fell between them, and Alex couldn’t help but sigh. This was a painfully familiar scene. Eager to help. Weighed by anxiety. Needing something to distract themself. She’d been just like that once. She remembered collapsing from exhaustion, remembered the growing pit in her gut. She remembered when someone had slapped her out of her spiral. Literally.

“If you want to do something, tell us first. Tell me first. We’re here for a reason.”

“Mm.”

“So, what did you do?” She asked instead. “Did you bless the seeds all night? Or did you use some magic?” She was genuinely curious about it. And whether it actually was hurting them.

Frieyen brightened at that. “It’s something all Faery can do.” They began. “We’re spirits of nature. We can understand the unspoken words of the world, and we can speak back to them. It’s, um,” They frowned slightly. “I guess it’s like I’m encouraging the plants to grow? Just using runes instead of words.”

Alex blinked. That sounded like-

“Are you saying all Faeries can use World Runes?”

Frieyen stared. “Y-You know if it?”

“I don’t know much. Just that some people can use it to bend reality.” It was also how the Monolith forcibly turned people into Units. She didn’t say that however. She’d rather not have that knowledge spread. “Only a few Units could understand them. Even fewer can actually use them.”

They nodded. “It’s not something your minds are supposed to handle.” They gave their heads a gentle poke. “Us Faeries have it easier. We push the stress onto the planet instead of handling ourselves.”

“But can you?”

“We…can.” They said slowly. Apprehensive. “But we tend not to. It’s not something we do unless we’re somehow cut off from the planet.”

She hummed. That was interesting. So had the Monolith taken the Faery’s abilities and used it to turn people into Units? Or were the Faeries themselves products of the Monolith? And for that matter, why would the Monolith turn people into Units? What were the Scenarios? Was the Monolith a tool created by those from the beyond? Or had they discovered the Monolith and made it their own?

She closed her eyes. Her head was beginning to hurt.

“So you spent the entire night casting runes on them.” Frieyen slowly nodded, guilty. She pushed her mana into her finger and gently tapped their head. “That makes sense.” The Faery made another nod as they pressed their cheek onto her finger. “Just-, don’t tire yourself too much. And ask us if you need help.”

They absently nodded. Their focus was taken by the sparks of mana on her finger. With a wry smile, she turned back to the window. It was still dark outside. She gave a glance to her phone.

03:42

She bit back a sigh. A few more hours before morning came. A few more hours of waiting. That was fine.

…

Morning came.

They were back in the city. Grace and James would busy themselves with hunting any monsters they came across. They’d dance around each other. James would defend. Grace would assassinate. She’d debilitate. He’d plunge his blade. Two cogs working in tandem. Two skaters in a play.

Hmm. Alex wondered if they’d eventually gain some sort of skill because of it.

She’d watch them from behind, keeping an eye on anything too strong for them to handle. It gave her the opportunity to search for any oddities, and the time to weather the slowly rising embarrassment in her.

Because with the First Scenario over, the monsters were less aggressive, and so more Units would gain the courage to explore. Which meant she could see people watching her, see them stare with awe and amazement. If it wasn’t for her still present fear of leaving the twins on their own, then she would’ve dug herself into a hole.

Frieyen remained wonderfully clueless to her thoughts as they sat in her pocket.

But as the day went on, she felt…odd. More than the pride she felt for the twins. More than the anxiety over the hundreds of eyes watching her. She felt a pull inside her. A familiar pull. It was a similar feeling to when she Bound a weapon to herself. Like there was a piece of her soul somewhere out there. A piece that was calling out to her.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Frieyen had asked if she was fine. She said she was. Grace then asked her the same an hour later. She said she was. James had told her that she looked somewhat pale. She said she wasn’t.

But she wasn’t fine. The emptiness grew and grew and grew. She’d taken to swirling her mana beneath her chest to keep herself warm. It didn’t really help.

When night came, they returned to their cottage. They shared a meal together, with an additional side of sandwiches and magical raspberries. Frieyen fell asleep right after. The twins continued reading through the dictionary, boredom clear. They ran through a couple thousand words before they fell asleep. They didn’t find their Unlock Codes.

When midnight came, Alex returned to the city.

It wasn’t ideal. Running through a monster’s den wasn’t ideal. Running through a monster’s den in the deep of night was even less so. But she couldn’t ignore it any longer. There was a part of her out there. It was screaming for her. Asking for her to take it back. To make it hers again. To become whole again. To become oneoneoneone-

Before she knew it, she found herself standing before…her apartment?

She blinked. How did she get here? She…remembered running through some indistinct junction, and then suddenly nothing. Had she run back to her apartment without realizing it? She grimaced. Her head hurt.

Slowly, she climbed the stairs to her room. She felt cold. Exceedingly so. It felt like she was climbing up that snowy mountain again. It felt as if she’d become lost again, separated from her people, forced on a lonesome journey. It felt as if snow was piling atop her, as if the only thing keeping her from being frozen were the scraps of mana she had.

She smiled thinly. Why was she remembering that now?

She soon made it to her room. It looked just as she remembered it days before. It was untouched by the apocalypse. A remnant of a previous her. She grasped the door knob. It was cold. It felt like she’d gripped onto a chunk of magical ice-

Her eyes went wide.

She thought she’d imagined the cold. She thought the pain on her fingers was imagined.

She was wrong.

The door that’d once been wood had changed. It was glowing now, made of some strange magical metal she couldn’t identify. The knob she was holding was a carefully sculpted piece of magical ice, glowing a strange eerie purple. There was mist coiling all around her, like snakes waiting to devour their prey.

Rejoice, for thine king has returned. Rejoice, for thine punishment has returned. Rejoice, for thine world shall reach solace.

Whispers resounded in her head, repeating and laid over one another like a broken record. She grit her teeth, pushing all the mana she had into her hand.

In darkness you have waned. In light have you slain. In life have you flared. In death have you prayed.

Her head hurt. Her vision was blurring. Her mana roared, and blue sparks burnt from her fingers like explosions.

The knob creaked slightly.

Solitude. Betrayal. For thine king weeps. For thine king lives. For thine king wishes.

The knob creaked. The ice screeched. She could feel something inside it cracking. Her hand hurt. Her fingers were beginning to freeze over. The mist was wrapping around her neck, tightening around her, choking her. She couldn’t breathe.

Her mana burnt with ravenous determination.

For shall thine king last under the light of the stars.

She twisted, and the ice shattered. Winds blew away the mist coiling around her. The ice creeping across her fingers melted away. The oppression in the air faded, and the agony boiling in her head faded to a dull ache.

She took a breath, then another. She glanced down at her fingers. Her mana was still burning from her fingertips. She forcefully calmed it down. The sparks died away.

She closed her eyes. What…was that? That ice, that mist, they carried the very same coldness she’d felt from a Sub Scenario she’d been forced onto in her previous life. Trail of Alma was its name. She’d fallen into a trap and was brought into a snowing mountain. To return to Earth, she’d climbed all the way to the peak, where she’d learnt that an ancient king had once undertaken the exact path she’d taken.

Why was it here? There’d been nothing special about it. There should be nothing special about it. It was a snowy mountain hidden away by the Monolith, used as a special ground for a Sub Scenario. Perhaps that king had been real. Perhaps not.

…She didn’t like this. The ice had disappeared, but the cold had not. She could still feel something behind this door. Something that could freeze her in moments.

She pushed the door open.

And saw…herself?

Except it wasn’t. The other her turned, and the difference became clear. Those eyes. They were a stark red. They glowed, and against the darkness of the room, they looked distinctly inhuman.

They smiled. A small smile. “It’s good to see you.” They said, their voice echoing like those whispers she’d heard. She winced as a stab of pain shot through her head.

“Who are you?” She managed to ask. The room felt bitingly cold.

“You’re doing great!” They said. Her question had gone ignored. “We-, I thought you would’ve been all alone, but you aren’t! Which is good!” They walked up to her, and with hope in their eyes, she held her hands in theirs. “I-, god, I just-, I can’t believe that you went through all this.”

Alex opened her mouth. There was something odd settling in her chest. Something heavy yet relieving. Painful yet loving.

“Who-, are you?” She tried again, pushing past the growing haze of pain in her head.

The other her stared for a moment before they shook their head. “I can’t tell you.” They said. “I wish I could. We wish we could. But we can’t.” They shrugged. “Even this is pushing it. Honestly, I’m surprised I’m still alive. My existence should’ve disappeared already!” They cheerily said, as if being erased was nothing worrying.

“Then-” She shut her eyes. The pain was excruciating. “W-Why are you-?”

“Because we need to.” They whispered, and she flinched as their hands wrapped around her shoulders. “Because we need to see if you’re still here.”

Alex wasn’t sure what was happening anymore. But she knew this other her was warm. That the biting cold was slowly fading when their hands came around her.

“Mm. Ot-, uh, Alex, do you remember what happened after the Final Scenario?”

She blinked. The Final Scenario? “I…died.” She choked out. “We failed. The monsters got me. I died.”

The other her tensed. “You…” They began, before they shook their head. “Nothing.”

“What-, what do you mean?” Panic rose inside her. “What do you mean!? Did something happen after we failed!?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why-!?”

She heard something crack. “Ah. Time’s up.” The other her pulled back, and her eyes went wide. Massive cracks ran along her arm, and from them came a golden glow. “Honestly, I lasted longer than I thought.” The cracks grew, spreading across her body. A smile lit her face. “But-, it’s really good to see you! I-” Tears fell from their eyes, and a hopeful smile lit her lips “I’m so glad you’re alive.”

“Wait-!”

The other her broke away, leaving behind nothing but golden dust. Alex stared, hand stretched out for someone who was no longer there.

What was that? Who had that been? Why did they look like her? Why did they speak with such familiarity? Why did it feel like she knew them? What was that question about? Did something happen after she died? Had something happened after the Final Scenario? Had she-, had that even been the end?

There was something wet on her cheeks. It took her a moment to realize she’d been crying. She didn’t care. She just-, she wanted to know. Who were they? Why were they here?

Then she heard a distinct, metallic clang. She turned to it, and her breath froze.

Laying where the other had been was an odd blade. It was silver, forged from the same odd metal her door had changed into. Its blade was curved, but just as sharp. There were intricate runes drawn all across its blade, glowing a gentle blue. Mist slowly formed around it, and that same biting cold surrounded it like a blanket.

She knew this sword. It’d been hers once.

Alps Zero

Rank: C

A sword forged from magical steel, formed and molded under the contrast of melting heat and biting cold. Once wielded by a great warrior, it was later buried under ice for eons after his death, where it absorbed the magic of winter.

Enchantment: Durable -Highly increases the sword’s sturdiness-

Essence of Winter: Allows the wielder to use a limited form of Winter Magic

It was as she remembered. Its description. Its effects. The feel of its magic. It was the exact same as the sword she once had.

But-, that was impossible! It broke years ago! She’d seen it break. Seen that terrifying monster smash through it like it was nothing. She’d seen the magic it carried vanish into the air.

So how-?

May this bond last under the light of the stars

No. That couldn’t be it. Forged Nexus was something she received in this new life. She had never bought Weapon Rebound before her return to the past. She’d never Bound Alps Zero to her soul. It should’ve been destroyed. Completely and utterly. That couldn’t be it.

…could it?

She winced. She couldn’t think. Her head hurt.

But, more than anything. She could feel it crying. It was crying for her, asking for them to reunite. To share her soul and make it hers once more. And something inside her screamed for it, to fill a hole it hadn’t realized was there.

She reached for it, gently running a hand across the blade. She felt that familiar thrum of magic, the biting cold that had protected her for so long. She recalled the first time she’d seen it in the LIVE Auction. She’d placed her bid on a whim, expecting to eventually be outbid by some other richer Unit out there. But it wasn’t, and she gained a partner.

Her skill activated. She felt a portion of her soul reach into it, turning it hers. A weight settled inside her, heavy and familiar, and what control she had over her emotions finally broke.

I’m back.

She cried as she held it close to her. The tears she shed would freeze into beautiful crystalline drops. A gentle melody would play as they shattered across the floor. The chill around the room no longer felt threatening, and the mist slowly spun around her like a thin, comforting blanket.

It felt like a long departed friend had returned.

----------------------------------------

When she finally returned to the cottage, she was…tired. She placed her new sword by the far corner of the cottage and sat by its side. Her fingers still hurt. Her head pounded. There was a deep ache in her bones. It felt as if her heart was being squeezed.

She sighed.

Thoughts ran through her head. How had Alps Zero returned to her? How had it called to her? Did that other her bring it? And why did it appear after they faded away? Was there some connection between the two? Had they used it in some way?

She shook her head. She wouldn’t be finding any answers like this.

…

You’re not alone.

She glanced to the side. The twins were sleeping. Grace had taken the bed. James was sleeping on the mattress they found. The former was dangerously dangling off her bed’s side, and her hand had somehow found its way onto her brother’s face. His face was scrunched up slightly, somehow annoyed despite being asleep.

She turned. Frieyen was sleeping atop the small dresser by the other side of the cottage. They were mumbling something in their sleep, and giggles would occasionally leave their lips. There was a smile on their face.

You’re not alone.

“I’m not alone.” She repeated, and Alps Zero glowed by her side.

She wasn’t alone. This story wasn’t just her own. She had people to care for. She had people to fall back on. This cottage was theirs. Their life was hers. Her life was theirs.

She smiled, and closed her eyes.