[Evelyn P.O.V]

Evelyn Arkwright’s eyes flew open as an unbearable wave of nausea washed over her.

Her head throbbed, her chest felt tight, and the cold floor beneath her palms reminded her that she was alive. But her mind… her mind was somewhere else entirely.

Fragments of memories—sharp, vivid, and agonizing—pierced through her consciousness. The laughter of a child, the warmth of a friend’s hand in hers.

Then came the screams—the fire, the monstrous grin on the face of the very girl she once called her best friend. Evelyn gasped, hee breath rasped while clutching her head as images from the past timeline flooded back in horrifying clarity.

“Nerina…” The name escaped her lips, a whisper filled with both affection and dread.

The villain who had destroyed everything. The monster who had taken lives, crushed dreams, and brought about the world’s ruin.

The girl who had once been her closest friend.

And now, Evelyn was here again—at the start of it all.

She forced herself to stand, leaning against the wall for support as the reality of her regression settled in. She had been thrown back into the past, to the days when they were still innocent children.

Her heart clenched as she remembered the timeline’s turning point: Nerina’s sudden amnesia at the age of twelve.

From that point onward, everything about her had changed—the warmth in her voice, the gentleness in her gaze, all of it replaced by cold calculation and cruelty.

Evelyn clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palms.

Had it been real amnesia, or had something else driven her to change?

Evelyn didn’t know. She didn’t have the answers—only the haunting certainty that Nerina’s transformation had marked the world’s descent into chaos.

She needed to clear her head.

Later that day, Evelyn sat on the edge of the village fountain, her feeble hands gripping the stone ledge tightly.

Children’s laughter rang out around her, carefree and oblivious to the storm raging in the currents of her mind.

And then she saw her...

Nerina.

The girl was running through the square, her face alight with joy as she chased after a butterfly. Her silver hair shone in the sunlight, and her laughter was pure— untouched by the darkness that Evelyn knew would consume her.

Evelyn’s chest ached as she watched her...

This was the Nerina she remembered from their early childhood—the sweet, kind, and slightly mischievous girl who had always been by her side. Not the villain, nor the monster who tore everything apart.

Just her friend—

“Nerina!”

The girl turned at the sound of her name, her face lighting up when she saw Evelyn. She waved enthusiastically and ran over, eyes sparkling like the countless stars that lit up the evening sky.

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“Evelyn! Look, look!”

Nerina held up her hands, soft fingers cupped around a delicate butterfly that fluttered inside.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

Evelyn’s throat tightened as she stared at the innocent smile on Nerina’s face. She forced herself to nod, her voice barely above a whisper as she screamed helplessly inside.

“It’s beautiful.”

They spent the afternoon together, playing and laughing as if nothing had changed— as if Evelyn didn’t know of the future that awaited them.

But as the sun began to set, Evelyn found herself watching Nerina more closely— memorizing every detail of her face, the slight undertones and nuance of her warm laughter.

It won’t last— she thought bitterly.

In a few years, something will happen. Something will take this Nerina away.

For a fleeting moment, a dangerous thought crept into her mind.

What if I stopped it? What if I kept her from losing herself? What if I changed her fate?

Her hands trembled as the temptation grew. She could try—evelyn could fight for her friend, for the girl she loved like a sister.

But then the rational voice returned, it's command louder this time.

No—You can’t. If you change her fate, you might destroy everything. What if the world crumbles early on without the villain? What if something worse takes her place?

Evelyn bit her lip, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at Nerina— her beloved friend who was oblivious to her inner turmoil.

She wanted to scream— to cry out and beg her friend to stay the way she was. But she couldn’t.

Instead—she forced herself to smile, even as her heart broke and the shattered remains tore her from the inside. She reached out and gently brushed a strand of red hair from Nerina’s face.

“I’m glad we’re friends, Nerina.”

Nerina tilted her head, confused by the sudden sentiment but she smiled anyway.

“Of course we are, silly.”

Evelyn nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat as she promised to herself.

I’ll cherish these moments while they last. Even if it kills me inside—I’ll let her go when the time comes.

As they walked home together Evelyn trailed a step behind, her eyes lingering on Nerina’s carefree figure. The delicate sunshine that blessedly grazed her life before everything fell apart.

Evelyn silently cried—knowing these fleeting moments with her best friend would be the last before the inevitable arrives.

But until then, before she loses the priceless moments where everything shone like gold— evelyn would tenderly cradle them in her hands.