Yuu sat in front of Tsuki while holding a white bottle that she would drink from time to time. She looked tired trying to figure out what to say. The girl in front of her wasn’t in good condition and she didn’t know how to explain it.

“So first,” Yuu said, her hand over her face as she let out a long sigh. “The reason you are seeing something strange might be because of a ward you triggered. It gives a curse when you do so. I had a few test subjects report some side effects…I have no clues how you triggered it…Well, you yourself can’t trigger it. You’re too weak and-”

“When did I trigger it?” Tsuki asked, interrupting Yuu once again.

“…You have some good manners, don’t you?”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment!!!” said Yuu with anger flaring up in her voice. She took another sip of her bottle and coughed painfully for some time.

“Drinking is bad, you know?”

“…Huh? That’s my medicine! I need that, ok? I might die if I don’t drink it, more so with how things turned out…”

“With how th-“Stop. Let’s stay on track. I have a limited amount of time. We need to fix your vision first. Is it fine?” Ok. Can I brush your hair?” Tsuki was interrupted this time and her sight landed on Yuu’s hair which was in complete disarray.

“If it can make you listen, then it’s fine.” She responded to Tsuki’s demand by handing her a simple brush. “I’m in charge of detecting those who enter this world without permission. When they pass my wards as you did, a curse is placed on them. It gives me information on whether the cursed individual can be a threat to this world.”

“Do you know who might have sent me here and why?”

“If it’s not of your own means that you came here, then it’s someone’s fault. I have no way of knowing who it was. It’s really costly to even move an atom between worlds. There’s no way you could have done it.”

“I was with someone before waking up in front of a large stone with your name inscribed…Her name was Alice, and…she looks just like me. You must have seen her with your wards? Please, tell me where she is!”

“You are the only one I detected in months. It’s possible I didn’t detect her, it happens sometimes, and it’s annoying. If you want, I have a better way to find her, but I need a few things to do so. It might take a month and I’ll need your presence…”

“What do I need to do!? I’ll do it.”

“Not now. First, is to fix your vision. Next, we need to do something about…Harg. Stop derailing me! The curse I placed on you; I can only remove it in person. For now, I can only suppress it. The way it works is that it digs into your memories to get the information it needs. There’s an issue with repressed memories and traumas that leave side effects. This is what I think is causing your senses to not work as they should. It’s also why I keep telling you to calm down. If you panic, it will only get worse and might do permanent damage.”

“Can you suppress it right now? Please…” Tsuki said with a voice that was barely heard by Yuu. Her brushing speed had slowed considerably and only focused on the same spot while trembling slightly. Her eyes were solely focused on the blood-red hair in front of her.

“Are you sure? If you focus, you might be able to suppress it yourself.”

“Please, do it now…”

“…Ok…Can you stand back a little?”

“Hn”

Tsuki moved a few steps back from the girl, unsure of what would happen. She looked down to the ground since she didn’t want to look at what was now in the room and her shaking eyes landed on the girl’s tail. It looked to be made from red lightning but moved slower and didn’t produce any sound. She was curious about it, but something appeared in the red liquid which caused her to close her eyes.

“It’s done.” Said a tired Yuu.

When Tsuki reopened her eyes, the red scenery was replaced by a scintillant blue flooring covered in a sheet of clear water. A white tree was growing by their side with its leaves brushing in a non-existent wind.

“It won’t fully block everything,” said Yuu while pointing at the tree. “It will help with your sense being played with but will lose its leaves as a cost. When they’re all gone, you’ll be on your own. Also, you might still see or hear things that you shouldn’t.”

“Thank you…” Tsuki fell to her knee with tears in her eyes. Whatever she saw, she wanted to forget.

Yuu kept silent and drank from her bottle while Tsuki cried behind her; a white leaf fell to the ground creating rings in the clear water…

❀

“Are you ok now little one?” Yuu asked Tsuki who had stopped crying.

“Hn. Thank you. I’ll have to better control my emotions in the future I guess…”

“Yep. And not only that but you’ll also have to try and stay calm in stressful situations. On that note…Do you think you can remain calm for what I’m about to say?”

Tsuki let a small nervous laugh at this and responded by saying that she would do her best. Her heart was beating fast, and she was starting to feel exhausted from the stress dissipating with her tears. But she had to do her best, her best for Alice.

“So, that mark on your leg. It’s killing you. At best, you have three years.”

“Is that so? Was that all?” Responded Tsuki as if not that worried about her life. “Three years is a long time and I want to save Alice as soon as possible. I think I should have enough time to do so.”

Yuu wanted to say something about this but in the end, she stayed silent. What would happen if the person Tsuki was looking for wasn’t needing her help or what if she had forgotten Tsuki? So on and so forth.

“Well anyway,” said Yuu. “I’m currently trying to hunt that big guy who placed that mark on you. I also have questions about what just happened.”

“What do you want to know exactly? I don’t really know what happened since it was all too fast.”

“Well…Here’s the thing. I was sent to rescue some villagers who were imprisoned as food where the Kogane no gyokuza start…Ha…right…you just came to this world. Hmmm, think of it as the midpoint of the tallest mountain just north of you. It is where the big fat baby you saw in the sky came from.”

“Just what even is that name?!”

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“What? It really is just a baby that big thing in the sky. It can get way worse. But anyway, those villagers might be sacrificed if the BABY got hurt. So yeah…Right now, I’m surrounded by its minions. I tried to use the moment it left to search one of their outposts, but they came back…I’m hiding right now, but I have no idea how many they might be…Any information you have should help me evaluate the mess I’m in. Anything can help.”

“I…” Tsuki was only now realizing the consequence of the events she took part in. From the first day she came to this world, she was alone, and her actions only impacted her survivability. She drew blood too many times. Droplets of red ink that could have been avoided but her mind draped in ignorance made her hand feel for her pen, dark and slim, and wrote a tale of tears…When she severed the bounds of the strange flower, she rang doom to many innocent people. This wasn’t something she could ever predict but how many people she might have cursed to her own similar fate made her sad.

“Listen little one, I once tried to do the right things in the past but in the end, I only ended up hurting those I loved. Sometimes life can either play sweet harmonies or shriek misery without your consent…If you really want to save your girl, then be ready for more misery to come.”

“What do you mean by my girl? She’s not my baby. She’s the same age as me.”

“Whatever you say. Anyway, any juicy info?”

“I don’t know…Here’s what happened…” And so, Tsuki retold the events that took place since reaching the old crumbling house of Yassil. She did skip the part when she cried and tried to paint herself as a brave adventurer even if Yuu could see right through her lies.

“…Ok then. The first thing I need is for you to describe the flower in detail. Can you do that?” Said Yuu who was frowning and thinking about something while looking at the ground.

“Hmmm. It was really big and had sharp barbs. Its petals might have been bigger than me. Also, it had long roots that dug deep in the ground…”

“Ok and?”

“What and? Its stalk was larger than me?”

“Tsuki, look at me.” Yuu turned to look at Tsuki and pointed at her horns which bloomed small multicolor flowers. “Describe those flowers please.”

“Hmm ok? They are small, some as small as my fingertip while others could fit in my palm. Their petals are slim and allow some light to paint darker lines on their usual pastel colors. Protected inside the almost triangular petals are long filaments that are stripes of white and black.”

“Ok enough already!” Yuu said after hiding her horns from the girl that was coming too close to observe them. “Now describe the big flower you saw that same way.”

“The stalk…The long tube thing…It had spikes popping out of it. Hmmm, what’s going on? Color! Green? It should be green right? It doesn’t feel right for some reason. Anyway, the petals. They were big and floppy, almost like straw hats. I think I bought something similar for Alice once. She ended up not using it that much in the end since she never went outside…Yuu? Wasn’t I talking about the thing entangled in dark strings?”

“Yes, the flower. Can you describe it?”

“What flower?”

“Just describe the ‘thing’ you saw that was entangled.”

“Ok. It was a long green tube that ended with many sun-like objects made from red wood shavings and long red hair growing in their centers…I think?”

“And it was a flower, right?”

When Tsuki heard this question, she had a blank look as if she couldn’t even understand what a flower was. It was followed by some white leaves falling from the nearby tree with one falling in front of the girl’s heterochromia eyes which broke her trance.

“And this was how I miraculously managed to explore the dark and eerie basement that was in truth the cursed tomb of a mummified elf!” Tsuki said, retelling the events she had already told to Yuu as if it was her first time. This time, there weren't any flowers. Instead, it was Yassil who was entangled in the dark strings…

Yuu did deliberate on whether she should refer to the flower but chose to not do so with how a handful of leaves had fallen.

“I see, so that beary good bear told you to do something quite strange…It basically told you to kill yourself after climbing a mountain. As you are right now, there’s no way that you can safely slay whatever beast it wants you to kill. And, let me guess something. You would have wished to have Alice back, right?”

“Yes. Or a way to get to her.”

“Yeah…As if it could do that. Instead, I have a deal for you. Will you listen to it?”

“If you can get me to Alice, then we have a deal!”

“Ya dumb girl! L I S T E N FIRST! I could make the worst deal for you and lie like that bear. If you do want to get your girl, then don’t go selling yourself to the devil! Do you understand?” Yuu was understandably mad by the girl’s complete disregard for her own safety and her sole focus on something out of her reach. But also…She was mad that she herself was once like that. She was mad at the miseries her choices brought her. She didn’t want this girl to fall into the same trap as her…

“Do you remember when I said I had a ward on this world?” Yuu asked in a way that was trying to guide the girl in front of her.

“Yes? What about it?”

“I have an interest in controlling those who cross this ward. I either make use of them if I can, or if they are too dangerous for this world, I simply try to get rid of them. From what you told me, I believe that the person who moved you into this world is one of my many targets. I still have my doubts, but this is the main reason I want to make a deal with you. I think I will end up having to face them by helping you.” Yuu said while pushing a finger on the girl’s forehead. “I’m not doing it for charity. Next time someone wants to make a deal with you, you need to find their reasons to do so! They might want to hurt you and if you never use that brain of yours, then you’ll never get your Alice. Do you understand me?”

“Y-yes…”

“Now that you know my reason for wanting to help you, I will tell you the deal that I have for you. But!” She pushed harder on the girl’s forehead while taking her time to say the next part. “When I’m done, I want you to tell me what is wrong with my deal, then I want you to make one of your own. Do I need to repeat myself?”

“N-no no. I understand…”

“Ok good. I want you to follow what the bear told you until you reach Daybreak, it’s the name of the town it wanted you to head toward. Instead of going to the mountain in the north - don’t do that you will die – find a martial school of your liking. You need to get stronger. When I’m done with my mission, I’ll come to meet you in person. Until then, I’ll try my best to teach you a few things by using the curse I placed on you…Also, this might be weird, but I might need about a bucket of your blood in order to find Alice…If you learn magic or something else, then I could do another ritual…Well, I’ll try to figure out the best way to find your Alice. This part isn’t in the deal, it’s a freebie from me. Anyway, after this, I’ll try to train you a bit but in exchange, I’ll have you go from place to place to collect material for me. When I think you are strong enough, we’ll make another deal. Ok, now it’s your turn.”

“…I think I understand your point. I don’t know what I’ll need to collect. It might be something I would hate to do…Also, I might never be strong enough for your taste. Wouldn’t that mean that I’ll have to collect whatever you wish until I die?”

“Yep!” Yuu had a proud smile and tried to give a high-five to Tsuki, but she never realized it and Yuu was left hanging.

“How about this deal then? I do what it takes to go to… “It’s Daybreak” right! Daybreak! By doing so, you teach me a few things when I reach agreed-upon points by using your curse…Can you explain that part?”

“Yep!” Her hand was still in the air waiting for Tsuki.

“Hmm what? Is something wrong? Did I say something wrong?” In truth, Tsuki had practically no social experience. She did see Alice’s guards high-five one another a few times, but she thought it was a secret code of some kind. Also, there were two guards who were childhood friends, and they would often do secret handshakes. Tsuki thought they were lovers.

“Nothing…Also, we need to talk about the dream you had when I see you face to face. I swear you were more fun to hang around in the past…Back on the subject, my curse looked at your past. Past life. I tried to talk to you back then, but you woke up. You were in a church of some kind…Well the other kids, I know a few of them. Honestly, that part creeps me out…The fact that you’re one of those kids. I’ll explain later, but I’ll try to link them to you and have them teach you a few things. Some of them are really really strong. Some even became gods. The way I’m planning to do it is the same way you and I are talking. So, no trap on this part…Well, I don’t think someone hates you. So, you should be fine…I’ll add a way to leave if you’re in danger.”

“Thank you. I’ll trust you for when those training should happen, but there must be training once a week at minimum. In Daybreak, I’ll be free to do what I want until you meet me. Then, we’ll make a new deal. Is that fine with you?”

“I see, now this is a bad deal for me…”

“But I’ll have to make another which could be in your favor, right?”

“Well, whatever. In truth, I just need you to become stronger. The collection of materials was just to save me a few coins. I’ll accept this deal. It’s far from being good, but I’m happy you used your brain a tad bit.”

Yuu handed her hand to the girl waiting for her to shake it. Tsuki stared at the inked hand for some time and grasped it in the end. Yuu smiled at her and then, darkness.

Tsuki opened her eyes, she woke up in the same hole she hid from the phoenix.