Proofreader: Myself

(Refer to previous chapters.)

Upon entering the room of the recuperating anomaly, I heard his call.

“Serina?” His voice contained an alertness that shouldn’t belong.

“You know me?” I unintentionally blurted out.

Despite having come into the room with a clear purpose, I couldn’t find the right words. There was an overwhelming atmosphere of silence between the both of us. He was never a factor before, questions, upon questions clouded my brain.

However, for the future, I had to remember how to socialise.

“Your-“ “So-“

In an instant I was stumped. My seven regressions did not hold an answer to this…

Predicament.

“Okay you ask first, I’ll answer after.”

My feelings were stuck in a blender, but he managed to bring the conversation onto the right track. Yet, what was appropriate, and what was not, it was such a line I could not comprehend. I couldn’t understand these dynamics, at least not anymore.

The sixth round, in which I shut myself in a place unseen to the outside world, had degraded my senses. Ironically, it was the round which had lasted the longest, without my input and my existence.

I decided to ask the simplest question I could, "Then, who are you?"

And from that moment on, was the first conversation I had held in a decade.

-x-

Luke had stood up unannounced, “Professor, is it alright if I remain in such an esteemed class?”

While in class he had attempted to leave… almost as if he knew he wasn’t supposed to be there.

His unknown presence and knowledge, made me wonder if he could somehow be similar to me. It was a question that would be left unanswered if we continued to stay at a distance. However, the right moment to interact with him was hard to grasp.

I couldn’t even bring myself to talk when I wanted to.

“Is… there something you require?” He was once again cautious.

Luke had caught me in a bind, stuck in my thoughts as I contemplated a children's game of talk.

“No.”

“Then can you stop staring?” Luke’s words were sharp.

It was a quick remark and undeniably rude, but I understood that my ability to converse had reduced immeasurably. Yet, that wouldn’t stop a frown from spawning. I felt an indescribable emotion, unable to express what I truly needed to.

I walked away disappointed with the interaction.

-x-

“Oomph! That was a decent hit, but- huh?”

Once again the anomaly made a stir, the bastion of what keeps the heroes alive was moved by a mere kick. His power was responsible for the extinction of the remaining demon army. And this legendary hero, besides Abel, had lost on his terms... to a child.

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His power had seemed heretical almost, being able to control the forces of the world. However, that notion was discarded by himself, having claimed to be similar. Thus, the slight hope I saw in him grew. That peculiar power would be of great aid to my goal.

He was completely different from the past iterations, and yet he was seemingly oblivious to the future. A part of me wanted to find out why, and the others wished to know more about him. These thoughts amplified my desire to engage in conversation.

I decided I would attempt to converse with him once more.

-x-

Not wanting to repeat my mistake from this morning, I had left with the other classmates. I listened from a distance, amplifying my senses with physical enhancement magic to listen inside. It would be now, when the classes were over that I could hold a conversation.

“... You even scored a perfect on the written exam, so the lack of such knowledge is unfounded.”

I heard a particularly curious-sounding voice, followed by a short answer.

“The thing is sir-“

In an instant, the words stopped.

Did he notice? But how?

He quickly made up some excuses to exit the room, as if something was chasing him. Although it was sudden, this was the ideal chance I had been searching for. Where it was the two of us, alone.

Frantically searching for the perpetrator he muttered, “Who’s there?”

In response to his call, I made myself visible.

“I asked earlier, is there something you need from me?”

Luke again asked why I was following him, but once more I couldn’t bring out the words stuck in my throat. I lied, prompting another question from his side about why I had followed him. To which I had also been unable to give a proper reason.

But… his next words stumped me completely.

“…Do you want to be friends?…”

I had only registered those six words.

‘Friends…?’

It was a notion that I had discarded long ago. Everyone except me would forget, so there was no point in finding purpose in such things. Yet, why? Why were those words now so enticing? Was it hope?

Or was it insanity?

In the end, I could only muster a small, “Maybe.”

He touched his forehead, sighing. Where I heard a small murmur.

“What happened to you?”

I heard a small click as if a lock had been picked.

‘What… happened…? What happened, you say...?’

The world around me quickly collapsed.

Memories from an accursed past flooded my mind.

And my once-suppressed emotions took control.

“What do you mean?”

All that had remained inside my head was a boiling rage and a curiosity unable to be satisfied.

“Do you know? My secret?”

“Huh…? What are you on about?” His exasperated expression appealed to the remaining sanity I held.

As such, the swirling pool of my inner mind ended. Even I could hear the genuine confusion that emanated from his voice.

I took a deep breath, once again locking away what must not be unleashed. After which, I realised what I had done.

Seeing Luke’s body trembling, I felt an unknown feeling akin to remorse accompanied by rushes of heat to my face.

“I should be going now.”

All I could think about was immediately leaving this area.

“Alright then… I’ll be on my way.”

Despite these burning emotions, I remembered.

“Wait.” I quickly stopped Luke and then asked a question of my accord this time. “Will you… be my friend?”

My face was burning. The pressure and momentum of what transpired had pushed me to such a point.

“You can think about it, I will await your answer.”

I couldn’t, nor be able to stay here any longer.

I simply wanted to disappear.

-x-

Once I was alone, I wandered into the only place I hadn’t visited, the grave of the demon king. If I were to protect this world and finally end this chain of death and resurrection, more had to be done.

The pathway was mossy, foggy and covered with wildlife.

“Spirit Queen, a descendant of the Rosemary family, requests an audience.”

I simply hoped that there would be no interference from this point on.

-x-

That night, Serina stared at the ceiling until light tickled her face. She covered her face with a pillow, screaming into a vacuum of space she had created.