The laboratory, dominated by pure white, was busy as usual. People in their lab coats filled this place and it looks like they couldn't be disturbed by any second, fiddling their fingers with the projection or discussing stuff with others that is hard to comprehend. All of the meeting rooms were occupied, filled with intense discussions. While most of the research rooms using the latest technology are examining substances measured in nanometers without difficulty.

“Arisa, follow Papa.”

"Yes, Papa."

The little girl with long brown hair walks fast, trying to catch the man's pace in front of her. Several people who met her in the hallway waved friendly, to which little Arisa replied back with a straight face. Her mind still couldn't guess which room it would be for her Papa's destination today. However, it doesn't bother her. The important thing is that she should follow, no matter her Papa's order.

"Johann, meet Father in the usual room after lunch. Father's schedule happened to be empty at that moment."

"Understood, Father."

The two small children who shouldn't be in this place met each other's eyes. In the ocean of adults who can't pay attention to those underages, Arisa meets someone who isn't that busy, unlike others. Both of them remember each other's faces since then.

Arisa's memory takes her far back to when she stopped attending her formal education at some point since someone she met in this pavilion is the trigger for that. The guy standing before her is not someone she could expect to meet in this era. Her mouth almost dropped open before she confirmed that he was someone Arisa used to know.

"Johann… you're Johann, aren't you?" Arisa asked in disbelief.

"Nice to meet you again, Arisa. You seem happier than last time we met." The man who had previously looked stern disappeared instantly as he smiled kindly.

"Is that so? I feel nothing has changed. Everything goes on as usual."

The man got closer so he could take a closer look at Arisa's face. Johann smiled, seeing how his childhood friend grew up after not seeing each other a few years ago.

"Wow, I remember how we spent our time in that laboratory. You asked me to study together, or play hide and seek to annoy people who are working there and play video games using the lab facilities."

"Heh, those times, huh. Actually, I did it because I want to see you laugh. That look on your face is really stiff at that time, never once I see you smile. I wonder if something died inside you or something."

"Can't really remember walking around with a frown on my face when I'm at the lab. I often smile in front of you, remember?"

Johann nods slowly. "That smile was definitely different from one you had when you first saw me here. I think, traveling to this time slowly changes you, significantly."

"Indeed, those who can tell if I am changed or not are someone who isn't me. At least, it's not a bad thing, right?" commented Arisa. "There are many things I want to talk about after these years, Johann. What's your opinion on our planet in this era? It's beautiful, right?"

The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses as he looked outside the pavilion. It is still raining, though not as hard as before. Johann nods once to reaffirm Arisa as he walks closer to the pavilion's edge and stretches his arms forward, deliberately wetting his fingers and rubbing them.

"Fresh air, harmless natural rain, shady trees and fertile soil everywhere. To witness this kind of environment that is supposed to be ours makes me wonder why humans are willingly destroying everything in our era."

"Because of that reason, mankind is undertaking this project to undo our mistakes. To revert the earth to a safe planet for humans to inhabit again," said Arisa. "By the way, you know what happened with my record of the past, right? How do you know about that? That's amazing."

"Oh, about that," Johann adjusted the position of his glasses, "I took a peek at the data of volunteers, specifically who came to this city, along with the information regarding their record of the past in Ringnet. Then, I realized that there was an anomaly with yours."

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Johann doesn't need to say that the data shouldn't be accessible in the public domain. He managed to breach most of the volunteers' information using his communication ring. As long as he is connected to the Ringnet, Johann can retrieve the information he wants.

"Nice. I remember that you're mostly interested in programming when we're still at the laboratory. I guess, you are very skilled now," Arisa commented.

"More or less," he replied shortly.

"So, according to the message you sent earlier. How do I fix my record of the past? Not having a stable existence in this era has really bothered me all this time."

"Why should I repair it if this journey is going to end soon?"

Arisa stares at Johann with a dumbfounded face. Perhaps the rain sounds interrupt her ears, so she is unsure what he has said.

"Johann, I don't understand what you mean."

"Arisa, my childhood friend. I will say again, listen carefully," Johann smiled kindly and then looked at the girl with his cold gaze, "I am here isn't for saving our planet in the future, unlike you. Instead, I will make what you guys called a mission of humanity a total failure."

She instantly knows that his words are profound. That piercing, sharp gaze isn't something she has witnessed before. Johann isn't her friendly childhood friend anymore. He was someone different from Johann she once knew.

"… you're kidding, aren't you. Johann?"

The man sighs mockingly. "You know why your record of the past behaves like that, Arisa? It's because a magical program designed by scientists to allow anyone from the future to blend into this era's society has a fatal bug. Knowing so, they still undergo a journey with big risk like that. Humanity's great project actually sucks, doesn't it?"

Arisa doesn't have anything to say to her old friend. The girl falls silent in the middle of Johann's explanation.

"You know how much they wanted this project to be executed no matter how big the unknown risks are? They will do anything, Arisa, to the extent that they killed my father. Those bastards don't care how filthy their hand was to make their agenda in this project work. How naive, those volunteers."

"Your father… uncle was killed?" asked Arisa in disbelief. "I'm…sorry to hear that.."

She remembered that she had received news of the death of Johann's father, whom she knew well during her times at the laboratory. But, it's when she has lost contact with Johann, so she can't convey her condolences. However, Arisa didn't expect that it would be related to this project.

"Right. My father was sacrificed so they can carry out this mission without any objection. That's kinda long in the past before this project was announced, tho."

He walks closer and holds out his hand as if trying to invite Arisa.

"Arisa, join me to destroy this project. This mission stands on the pointless sacrifices of human beings, since I believe it isn't only my father who was getting killed. It seems that they believed that to keep some people to live, there are others that should be killed. Including my own father."

Johann's voice was solid and firm. Perhaps, nothing else can stop him from doing everything he would, so this human project will fail miserably. Arisa isn't moving at all, looking at Johann's hand, still waiting for her answer.

No. Not like this. What Johann wanted was wrong.

"No, Johann, I don't understand why you want to stop this project. I know how angry you are that your father died. But we are doing this so that we still have a place to come home to. If this project fails, then we all will die in the future.."

"So you agree that my father must have died to make this trip possible?" Johann's voice began to rise. "Arisa, just so you know. My father is one of the many who suggested postponing this project because it wasn't ready yet. He wanted to avoid any possible harm to the volunteers. What you are experiencing with your unstable record of the past is one of many risks that potentially can happen to any volunteer."

That statement made Arisa take a step back. She wasn't sure what was right and wrong due to her childhood friend's grief. Do the values she has—namely, to travel the past for the sake of mankind's future—above the corpse of Johann's father should be held true?

Or…

Is it true that Johann's father was murdered for the sake of this project?

"So what's your answer?" Johann asked impatiently.

Arisa meets Johann's cold gaze before answering. "Johann, I refuse to go with your invitation. Please don't do anything that will make this humanity's mission fail for the sake of our future. I'll help you to find justice for your father without sacrificing this project."

Johann pulled his hand back and put it inside his pocket. And then, he stares at Arisa as if he is looking at the rotten trash.

"I thought you would understand since we were childhood friends. Yet, it's disappointing. You are one of the fools who don't know their place and invaded this era because of your own interest." Johann grits his teeth in annoyance. A second later, he turned around to walk away. "It's a shame that we can not reach a compromise. Goodbye, Arisa and your stupid goal."

"Wait—"

Just as Arisa was about to stop Johann, he took out a device that covered his fist with a half-rounded tip aimed at the girl's head. At a glance, Arisa knows what is in Johann's hands.

A laser gun from the future.

The girl stood still. Johann smirked a little and turned back around, breaking through the rain and leaving his childhood friend alone in the gazebo.