The lights of a starry sky reflected over an ocean that extended infinitely. Two old classroom seats stood at the very centre of that never-ending cosmos.

How long had it been since the last time she was here? At the very least, it wasn't as long as she wanted to.

Even though Wish stood just before the empty seat, she couldn't feel anything. All of her senses had completely shut down, as though her body has ceased to exist.

As the full moon shone from above, the figure who remained on the other seat finally spoke.

"Do you remember now?"

A melancholic voice broke apart the eternal silence.

It was like standing before a velvet red sun and a scarlet red moon.

It was like standing before an angel and a demon.

It was like standing before the beginning and the end.

Her pale skin was only covered by her long strands of blonde hair, and Wish's figure reflected on her velvet red eyes.

"Even though you hardly come here, I wish you would warm up to me a little. You don’t have to be in such a hurry. Time isn’t running out."

But even then, there was no response.

"Are you sure that this is what you want to do?"

A cold breeze distorted the thousand lights that illuminated that world.

"Even though I ask this, it's not like I don't know your answer. Even though you have the wrong idea, even though it's like this, there is one single thing I still want to ask of you."

As that world began to dissipate, that voice was still able to reach her loud and clear.

"Please don't forget me."

☆

Estelle sighed as she sat on a corner inside a small room in Noa's house, her brain still had trouble catching up with all the events that led her here.

She had passed out shortly after the confrontation with Mirage and was taken here. As things stood now, a green-haired doctor was with a mysterious man in another room trying to save May's life. According to Ryuusei, she gave the order not to go anywhere and not to leave this room without permission.

She glanced around to look at the two beds in this room, a young boy was sleeping in one, while Wish was in the other one. Looking at that blonde girl gave Estelle a lot of conflicted feelings, for one, what was that back then? She had seen Wish's body completely shatter apart and regenerate before her eyes, was that person even human?

And even worse, she had already saved her life twice now. In truth, while her memories were foggy after arriving at Glint City, it's not like she was completely clueless as to why she might have been by that fountain. That aside, now that her mind was clearing up, just remembering everything she told Wish was driving her insane. It's true that it was a life or death situation, and it's true that she thought it would all finally end there, but to think she ran her mouth and opened up so much of her heart to this person, it was the worst, it was the absolute worst.

She should have never done this, she should have never let this happen, it would have been better if Wish didn't save her at all, it would have been better if she didn't make it this far, Estelle truly believed this without question.

But no matter how much she loathed it, it didn't change the fact that she was here now. There was nothing stopping her from running away before Wish woke up, there was nothing stopping her from having to face what happened, even if Noa gave instructions, she had no reason to listen to them. And yet, what was really stopping her?

While drowning in those thoughts, Estelle was startled by what sounded like a heavy piece of metal falling to the floor.

"Oops–"

Ryuusei who sat on the floor next to her completely froze, his face going pale.

"What did you do?"

The pink-haired girl figured it out before Ryuusei gave her an answer. When picking up what they could find on that battlefield, Wish's sword had retracted into its hilt, making it look like a small tube covered by four metallic petals, and one of those petals was now lying on the floor, completely split apart from the Scarlet Satellite.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"It wasn't my fault!!" The spiky-haired boy whispered exasperatedly. "W-W-What do we do?! Maybe we can still glue it back!"

"We?!" Estelle raised an eyebrow. "I didn't break it, I don't see how it's my problem~"

"I will remember this." Ryuusei glared at her and grabbed the broken petal, turning his back on the girl.

Ah, he really sounded upset, maybe she shouldn't have said that. That habit of speaking without thinking was really a problem that haunted Estelle all the time, but it was too late to back down, if she already ran her mouth she would stand for her words regardless of what she felt. The same as always.

But even if it was the same as always, this tense atmosphere, this silence, it was slowly driving her crazy.

"Um... Maybe we can..."

She slowly tried to speak up but was interrupted by a man who entered the room. Clad in black and covering his face with a mask, X adjusted his sunglasses and looked at the two who sat on the floor.

Ryuusei rapidly hid the broken petal from Wish's weapon behind his back and smiled awkwardly.

"H-How is everything going? Will that girl be okay?"

"It's complicated, but I know that if someone can save her, it's Noa." The man shrugged. "That said, I need to talk with the two of you, so let's get to business."

With this, X placed a briefcase on the floor and opened it, showing them an abundance of money stacked inside. Just what was this about?

"I'll get to the point. Get out of this city, and get away from that girl." He glared at Wish and then looked at both in the eye. "If needed, I can help you change your name, your identity, I can buy you a good place to live anywhere else, I can cover all the expenses for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life, as long as you agree to go away this instant."

What kind of joke was this? No, after everything she had seen and experienced the past day, nothing was impossible. There was a chance that this person was being completely serious. If so, isn't this kind of offer exactly what Estelle needed? Starting a new life somewhere else, and living comfortably from now on, wasn't that a good thing?

"Why?" Ryuusei was quick to speak up. "I can't give you an answer unless you give me a good explanation. Getting out of this city is something I've heard time and time again, but you said to stay away from Wish, why?"

"Because her influence is dangerous." X gave an immediate and serious answer. "Think back on everything you told me, if you never met this person you would have never been in danger. Do you think this is normal? This is a stranger that you have known for less than a day, but you didn't hesitate to step in and help her when your own life was at risk. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be heroic or help others, but this isn't a shounen manga, it's human nature to prioritize survival. Going to these lengths for someone you don't know isn't a normal human reaction."

Estelle couldn't exactly deny that. Even now, why was she still here? Even if she saved her more than once, even if she promised to help her find a goal, at the end of the day Wish was nothing but a stranger, there was no reason to stick around any much longer.

"I am sure you saw many supernatural occurrences with your own eyes, and you experienced them with your own senses. So let me ask you this, if this kind of phenomenon exists, how do you know Wish's influence isn't a supernatural phenomenon as well? How do you know the choices you made were yours and not because you were influenced by forces outside of your control?"

"I see, while I can't agree with what you are saying, I can't deny it either. Even now I'm still not sure of why I did everything I did, at times it was as though my body was moving on its own, at times it was like I wanted to help this person no matter what. I see your point." Ryuusei crossed his arms. "But I refuse your offer."

"Are you sure about that? I know this can be a lot to ask for, but I'm doing this for your own good. Are you ready to face the consequences of what may happen next if you stick around?"

"I don't know what will happen next, and frankly, I'm scared, I don't want to live through something like this again. But even if I was being influenced by a strange power, I can't take your offer. After all, if everyone ran away because they got scared of her like this, isn't that too lonely? She may be a stranger, but I refuse to abandon her. I can't promise to follow her everywhere and face danger for her sake, but I can try to be her friend at least. Isn't that good enough?"

Seeing the boy talk with so much conviction made Estelle feel guilty for doubting her choice, but at the same time, blindly trying to help others is what got her involved in this mess in the first place. Was it really okay to refuse the offer?

"Understood," is all X replied before looking at Estelle. "What about you? Will you take this offer?"

"I... I don't know."

This was her honest answer, she was really conflicted, what should she do?

"I'll give you until the end of the day and ask again, think carefully."

With this, X picked up his briefcase and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"This sucks." Ryuusei plopped down on the floor. Even if he tried to put up a strong front, X's presence was really overwhelming, and his heart continued racing extremely fast. "I want to go home."

☆

Even though she had been awake for some minutes now, she still couldn't move her body or open her eyes. Cold sweat rolled down her forehead, and goosebumps spread across her body. This is why she didn't like sleeping at all, it was always the same.

But it was okay, all she had to do was try and take deep breaths, to slowly regain control of her body, and eventually, Wish was finally able to open her eyes and sit down.

Almost as though following a ritual, she made sure she still had her necklace with the crossed-out moon and then checked to search for something under her pillow. Soon after, the first thing she noticed was Ryuusei and Estelle tinkering with her weapon, but her head was still too foggy to realize a piece had broken out.

After realizing someone was staring at them, Ryuusei and Estelle froze on the spot and rapidly hid the Scarlet Satellite behind their backs.

"Hm?" Wish tilted her head before her stomach let out a loud growl. Falling back on the bed again, she complained in a childish voice. "I'm hungry!!"