Downstairs, outside Eris’ suite in the Palace of Lights…

It’s the last one down a luxurious corridor – a corner apartment complete with all the bells and whistles afforded to those staying in the Palace at the Oracle’s pleasure.

Haven’t seen the inside yet, but if the exterior around it is any indication… damn! I wish the apartment complex back in my world were just like this. Hey, one can dream!

We’re about to meet Eris and return those memories of hers through that Memory Crystal. Knowing what’s in there… I don’t think she’ll take the initial shock of it well, reliving what she had chosen to forget. Knowing it’s hers.

We hope, Rinnah willing… that Eris can find closure by remembering her Manager’s sacrifice and love. And from there, move on from this soulless state of existence, leaving a fate worse than death behind. For that, we have to be there for her as friends in her time of need. That even in the darkest abyss shines the light of hope.

Her door’s right in front of us now. I hate to say it, but I’m worried. Stressed. And I know Anna’s feeling what I’m feeling, even if she’s doing her best to remain stoic despite the cold darkness of the Memory Crystal afflicting her.

“Good to go?” I ask cautiously, my eyes on that fancy, luxurious door. “There’s no turning back once we see her. We’ll have to see it through, no matter what.”

“Yes. I’m ready,” Anna answers weakly as she pulls her cloak tighter around her shoulders to seek its warmth. “Let’s hurry…”

“Are you alright?”

Anna tilts her head and forces herself to smile despite gritted teeth.

“Don’t worry about me. This is nothing… Arisa. I’m still in this with you. Always…”

“Of course. Hang in there, alright? Love ya.”

“Love you too…”

“Oh, wait. Here!” I exclaim as I hand Elizabeth to Anna. “It’ll do you good.”

Wordlessly, she nods and plants my staff into the ground, using it like a walking stick. It’s strong and sturdy enough for her to lean on.

“Okay. That’s enough chit-chat,” I say as I approach the door while Anna leans on Elizabeth. “Let’s do this!”

Eris opens the door within the first knock, greeting us with a nervous yet eager smile, the pointed tips of her elvish ears twitching slightly. And uh… damn! She’s fast, almost like she’s waiting for us right behind it. But for how long, though? Honestly, I’d rather not think about that.

“Lady Ishii! Anna! You’re back! Umm… what did Lady Nhaka say!? Did she…!?” Eris exclaims excitedly, only to have her enthusiasm wither upon noticing Anna’s wretched, shivering state. “Ah! Oh no! Anna…”

Forcing herself to smile, Anna nods weakly in agreement. Immediately, Eris takes a step back respectfully, inviting us into her suite.

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Inside Eris Aintree’s suite in the Palace of Lights…

The inside’s as fancy and luxurious as I expected it to be. Perhaps more so! It’s got everything one could ever want within a wide and spacious living space! And yet…

Hmm. Good grief. How do I put this? I’ll say that it feels all… wrong. I see messy piles of paper with indecipherable scribbles and broken instruments all over the floor. Torn strings, glass shards and wine stains. It’s pretty fucked up.

“Sorry about the mess…” Eris says meekly, averting our gaze as she picks up a broken harp languishing on a sofa, carelessly tossing it aside to make room for Anna and me while she sits down in the middle. “Last week, I… ah… I’m sorry. This isn’t proper at all.”

“No room service in the Palace of Lights?” I ask curiously, casually raising a brow at the mess around my feet while I help Anna settle down on the sofa by Eris’ left, while I sit myself on her right. “Heard the maids are pretty good at tidying up.”

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“I didn’t let them in, Lady Ishii. I couldn’t.”

Hmm. Fucking hell. Eris really let herself go behind closed doors, huh? Losing those memories of hers, awful as they are… meant losing her singing voice and from the looks of it… everything.

Good fucking grief. I see clearly now, the strain behind her smile. It’s an expression of pain… a feeling of emptiness hiding behind a cheerful façade.

“For so long, I was upset with Lady Nhaka for leaving me like this,” Eris remarks despondently as she looks at her lap. “I hated her. I hated her with everything in my heart.”

“Don’t say that. Miss Mezalune… she wanted to protect you. Nothing more than that…” Anna answers weakly. “She said she was waiting… for me…”

“To help me?”

“Yes. To help you.”

“My colleagues in the Sacred Shield said that the Oracle works in mysterious ways, seeing the future for what it is. ‘What it should be’, they say. It was how she found me in the first place, apparently. Ah, I…”

Ruefully, Eris shakes her head.

“I’m ready to remember. Yes… I am.”

Quietly, Anna unveils the Memory Crystal, and Eris hesitates at the sight of its cold darkness. Dare I say it now as I behold it once again… it feels even darker and colder.

“These are my memories…?” Eris utters fearfully, unable to look, yet unable to look away, her gaze drawn to that fragment of her like a moth to the icy flames of oblivion. “Part of me doesn’t want to. And yet, I…”

“Place your hand on the Crystal,” I instruct solemnly, my gaze also fixated on the icy darkness. “You’ll remember what you’ve forgotten.”

“Ah. I…”

Eris’ hand hovers over the darkness, trembling before the cold. She hesitates for a moment, but alas, she can’t resist the siren call of the shadows. Her shadows. These lost memories were once hers, after all. And as she places her hand on the Memory Crystal…

“Ah!”

The transference of memories happens immediately, wreathing her in its dark embrace. She freezes up with a start, her eyes wide open as she relives and remembers those memories once forbidden to her. And as I look at Anna… I can see the colour returning to her face, the warmth in her body no longer frozen to a standstill as the Memory Crystal loses its inky black colours, turning colourless and dull as it falls to the floor, completely spent.

“So this is why my Manager won’t speak to me anymore, nor the Studio…”

“Eris…” Anna says worriedly, extending a hand towards Eris. “Please listen to me…”

“Mister Roland, everyone… they’re all… dead.”

Good grief. This timeline’s all kinds of fucked up. I thought we would stop the Demon Cult, but this happens instead. Why? Just why? I wish I could answer myself.

Fucking hell. I push against the world, and it pushes back. I’m the Hero with all the strength and power to save Nisha, and still… these tears darken it regardless, despite me.

“Please move aside,” Eris utters dispassionately, her tear-stricken eyes staring forlornly at the glass shards languishing on the carpet. “Ah, I have to…”

Steadfastly, Anna and I don’t move an inch, remaining between Eris. It’s why we’re seated like this – to keep her safe. But that’s only a temporary measure. I gaze into her lightless, tearful eyes, and I know all too well that she’s heartbroken, her thoughts mired deep in despair and guilt and self-hatred. It’s a fate worse than death, a fate worse than emptiness. And in this state, it’s only a matter of time before she does… well, y’know. We can’t leave her like this.

“Please move aside. You’ve done enough for me. Please leave me be…”

“You have to help Eris in her time of need, Hero. Surely there’s something you can do.”

Hey, listen! Maybe I should use Mind Control to calm her down. It’ll give her enough time to think this through and not do anything rash. Sure, that’s evil Demon magic, but I’d say that’s using something bad and fucked up for good, right?

And so, maybe, just maybe, I oughta…

“Eris, please listen to me!” Anna exclaims urgently, her tone desperate as she holds her back. “Mister Roland wanted you to be safe. He did what he had to do to save your life!”

“You’ve seen…? You know…?”

“Yes! Arisa and I saw what he did for you through the Memory Crystal.”

“Ah. You did, huh? To think I repaid him by pretending it never happened, living a lie…”

“No! That’s not true at all! You were in shock at that time. You needed room to breathe. And now that you’re ready to remember his love and his sacrifice… you willingly chose to do so!”

“Anna…”

Good grief. I’m glad I stayed my hand and held back. Because Anna’s handling this better than I ever could! But then… why the fuck did I even consider doing such a horrible thing? From the top of my head, I don’t know why. And yet, I did. It came to my mind so easily.

“But why me…? Why us…?” Eris asks softly, tears still flowing down her cheeks. “Tell me, Anna – why did the Demon Cult do this…”

“Honestly, I don’t know. The world can be a cruel place. It gives and takes on a whim,” Anna answers solemnly, shaking her head as she leans in and embraces Eris tightly. “But I know in my heart that Mister Roland gave you his love willingly. He used what remained of his life to protect you from that Cultist for a reason.”

“Which is…?”

“That one day… you’d smile again. He hopes that it’ll be so.”

“You think so…? That I can…?”

Embracing Eris again, Anna leans in close, letting her cry on her shoulder.

“Remembering him was the first step towards that. It may feel impossible right now, but it’s okay to feel that way! The road to healing is going to be a long one. It may take months… maybe years. But you’ll make it one day because it’s possible. Because time is possible.”

“Mister Roland… everyone…”

“May Arisa and I pray for the dead?” Anna offers gently, her smile warm yet solemn before Eris’ sorrow. “It’s the least we can do to remember them.”

“I…”

Tearfully, Eris nods. Following Anna’s lead, as her Healer, I know what I have to do.