“This place is…?” Kori scanned his surroundings while confused.

“Petiole, a small town in Lamina. Sayaka had snuck into Lamina illegally and had been roaming around the town for a year. She sought shelter in the slums where she was welcomed. The people who took her in did not know she was a fugitive.”

“That’s enough.” Sayaka commanded. “Enough about my past.”

Nova turned around. Sayaka wasn’t in good condition. She was breathing heavily and sweat dripped down her face. Kori rushed towards her before she fell down from staggering.

“Lavender-eyed man, why are you showing me this?”

“I only show memories of instances where people had a wish. This is how I help them find their wish.”

Before Sayaka could retort, they were interrupted by yelling. Nova turned to see soldiers chasing after a hooded Sayaka. The scene compelled Nova to start chasing after them; he needed to see the scene.

Damn that Naomi! I can’t believe she betrayed me like this!

She beelined towards a nearby alley and decided to jump on top of a dumpster and then bounced on the walls in a zigzag pattern to reach the top of a building where she then proceeded to continue jumping from building to building in order to escape her pursuers.

Nova took a big leap and found himself on top of the same building as well. Kori followed suit while carrying Sayaka on his back; Nova found it an unusual sight where a shorter boy was carrying a woman much taller than him.

“Does following the memory Sayaka ensure a peripheral view of the overall environment?” Kori asked.

Nova just smiled. “Anything can happen in the Realm of Desires as long as you desire for it to happen. That’s just how this world works–we created it after all.”

He pointed to the fleeing Sayaka. “If I wanted to follow the memory of Sayaka, I can just do so, but I can also do this.” He snapped and he found himself running alongside Sayaka, but his legs were not moving. Kori and the present Sayaka seemed to be dragged along by Nova's antics.

“Are we flying?” Sayaka asked while worried.

“I believe we are floating. Humans cannot fly, after all.” Kori remarked.

“Call it whatever you want.” Nova responded. “Just remember that this is how this realm works.”

Nova focused back on the memory. Sayaka eventually found shelter in an empty, abandoned building and huddled in a corner. As she was catching her breath, she closed her eyes in order to process everything that transpired. She had been betrayed by the people who took her in; they had sold her out to soldiers as her status as a wanted fugitive. That was when she had been running since the morning. She had no time to eat or drink water.

She took out a feather necklace that was hidden behind her shirt. The sight of it caused her to clasp it. “Sylvia…” She had complicated emotions welling within her. She was confused, angry and upset; all three were equally dominant.

It’s all because of her that this mess happened. I should eliminate her and then get out of here as soon as possible. I might make an enemy out of Naomi, but having enemies is better than being captured.

With resolve, she headed off towards the left. This has caused the current Sayaka to become upset. She yelled to her past self, “Don’t go!” and removed herself from Kori’s back and ran towards her memory.

“You dumbass! You idiot! You dolt! Don’t go there!”

Nova could tell Sayaka had many regrets. He saw her body slowly being enveloped by the black aura once more. He needed to calm her down, so he snapped his fingers. The scene instantly jumped from Sayaka being in the empty room to her standing in front of a diner.

The current Sayaka, angered, stomped towards Nova and slapped him. “I do not want to see this memory! Why do you keep making me look at this?”

Nova placed a hand to his stricken cheek. Her reaction was much different from Arcturus’s. He knew memories were a sensitive topic; humans were especially sensitive to their own regrets. Humans would get angry if probed too much and he knew it was because they were afraid of facing the truth. His ability to grant wishes came from them facing the truth and finding the wish deep within their hearts. That was why he would refuse all requests to pause or skip memories. Even if he got slapped, trampled on, burnt, or even stabbed, he would keep going.

“Because this is the only way I can achieve my goal.” He gave her a small smile.

“And what is your goal?”

“To grant the wishes of all living beings in the world, which includes you.”

Sayaka’s eyes widened. She bit her lip and clutched her hands into fists. He could tell she had some regrets about slapping him. He didn’t mind. “Let’s proceed.” Sayaka responded with a nod.

The Sayaka in the memory glanced around her surroundings. She then took a deep breath and gently pushed the door open. The door was unlocked, allowing her to enter. It made her cautious. The diner had no one inside yet it was unlocked. It felt like a trap to lure her in.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Sylvia, I know you’re in here. Come on out.”

A clicking noise caught her attention as she turned around to see an older woman pointing a rifle at her. Nova saw a rather muscular woman in a dark messy bun. She was tall and full of scars. Her dark eyes were full of exhaustion. Sayaka did not seem intimidated by her.

“Why did you come back here? Are you an idiot?” Her voice was soft, contrasting her appearance heavily.

“I’m just here to settle a score once and for all. I’m a fugitive after all. Running away in this small town is a hassle, so I figured I should just eliminate everyone here and then leave so I won’t have pursuers.”

“Smart, but I have a gun.”

Sayaka took out a pistol from underneath her shirt. “I have one too.”

“Mine’s bigger.”

“Size doesn’t win fights, hon. It’s all about confidence.”

They just pointed their guns and stared at each other for a moment before Sayaka dashed towards a nearby table to hide underneath. She used her current position to try and shoot Sylvia’s legs, but she dodged. Sylvia cocked her rifle and tried shooting where Sayaka was, but failed as the latter rolled out and hid underneath another table. Sayaka used her pistol to shoot Sylvia’s legs again and she succeeded in shooting her left leg just below the knee.

She winced and knelt down in pain. Sayaka took the opportunity to dash towards her and got out a knife that she hid underneath her right shirt sleeve. She kicked the rifle out of Sylvia’s hands and then stabbed her knife onto her right shoulder. She pushed her down so that Sylvia’s back was on the floor.

While in pain, Sylvia just chuckled, “No wonder you’re a fugitive, you’re tough as nails.”

“I did what I could to survive.”

She let the knife be stuck on Sylvia’s shoulder as she used her free hands to wrap them around her neck.

“Sayaka, why did you become a fugitive?” Sylvia’s question was abrupt, but Sayaka knew it was a form of distraction in order for her to not get strangled.

“I was tired of my family controlling my life, so I ran away from becoming a soldier. I wanted to be free to live my life how I pleased.”

“Have you ever regretted choosing that path?”

While Sayaka did enjoy her freedom, she knew it wasn’t all fun and games. The constant escaping was getting tiresome, but she didn’t want to give up. However, she wasn’t truly happy. There was a small portion of her that did have regret.

“I only have a slither of regret, honestly. I just wished I could’ve had a companion…” She thought of Lillia who had witnessed her escape through the fence. If only she had a companion, the life of a fugitive wouldn’t be so excruciatingly lonely.

“I have a question for you. Answer honestly and I will make your death peaceful. Why did you take me in, despite knowing I was a fugitive?”

“I did it for the money. I thought that if I could be nice to you, I could backstab you and then hand you over. With the bounty on your head, the money would’ve been more than enough for Naomi and I to leave this cruddy town and start our lives anew.”

Nova sensed exhaustion when she had mentioned Naomi. He could tell it wasn’t for their sake, but for her own. It seemed that Sayaka had sensed it too.

“Are you sure it’s for you and Naomi? It seems that it’s just you who want to start anew.”

“You can tell?”

“Your eyes look dead. Also, I could tell from the time that I stayed here. You want to break it off with Naomi, yet you cannot let go.”

Sylvia just sighed. “Strangle me. I want to die.” She was tall and strong. Her muscles were twice bigger than hers, yet she was as fragile as an eggshell. She was a pitiful being. Sayaka complied with the request. She tightened her grip on her neck.

Suddenly, she heard a gunshot and felt an overwhelming pain surging throughout her body. Her grip loosened as she looked down to see blood pooling out of her gut.

She turned around to see a wheelchair-bound woman with a pistol. She saw the flickering instance of smoke coming out from it. She turned back to Sylvia who had a horrified look. All she felt was anger. She felt angry at Sylvia for not letting her know Naomi was behind her. She was angry at Naomi for managing to kill her. She was angry at herself for not killing someone as fast as possible. She felt weak as if life was draining out of her. Flashes of her memories sweeped in. She remembered everything from her painful childhood to meeting Lillia at the training camp to her life as a fugitive. As she fell back, she started collecting memories of Lillia. A sense of regret came to her as she kept remembering her.

She thought about what sort of life she would’ve had if she had asked Lillia to run away with her. Would she have been happier? Would she have been able to escape longer and not end her life so suddenly?

I wish I could go back in time and ask Lillia to run away with me.

She fell onto her side. All she could utter was “Fuck it all…”

Once the memory had finished, Nova turned to the current Sayaka who was looking down. He patted her shoulder. “I understand how upset you are.”

“I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have gone back to that diner in the first place. Why did I even think about killing them all? ” She lowered herself until she was on her knees; Kori knelt down to check on her. “Damn it, I wanted to live longer. I wanted to taste freedom…”

Nova raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you already free when you deserted the camp?”

Sayaka shook her head. “I did escape. That was my first taste of freedom, but what came after was loneliness. I was so lonely. Running away alone and hiding by myself were all such lonely tasks. I always woke up thinking someone was coming after me. I never had a companion. If I had someone with me–Lillia–I’m sure that I would’ve felt freer. Perhaps, we could’ve just escaped the town if we had been ratted out.”

When she stopped slapping her hand. She got up. “You said you grant wishes? Then I wish to revive myself to find Lillia.”

Looking at her eyes, Nova knew that wasn’t her true wish. It was something she said out of a whim; there was no sincerity. “I cannot do that.”

Irritated, she grabbed Nova by the collar. “You said you grant wishes, so why can’t you grant that wish?”

Nova could tell she wasn’t in the right state of mind; looking at the moment of her death had caused her to become unstable and anxious. He had to do his best to calm her before she went berserk again. He pointed to her chest. “Wishes are magic formed from the heart. A half-hearted one like that won’t be granted.”

“You–

“He’s right, Sayaka.” Kori intercepted her rebuke. “That’s not what you truly wish for. You just said that in a spur of a moment.”

Sayaka let go of Nova. She turned to glare at him. “What do you know?”

“I know you. I know everything about you. It’s because my soul was born from you. I know what your true wish is.”

He gazed upon Nova. “Please show us the last memory.”

Nova was not one to reject a memory-viewing request. He let out the final feather from his hand and it glowed, changing the scenery one final time.