Neige walked around the ship, still not recovering from what happened that day. Everything reminded him of his old friend. The place where they used to sit together, the coffee machine they took breaks at, and even just walking in the hallway was too much for him. Just this once, he decided to sneak out in the middle of the night to Kairo's world, one last time.

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When he arrived, everything was in the same state as his first visit. Disaster struck in just a few hours, the city was flooded, and the inside of the building was in ruins. It was like this day was just a dream, that nothing happened. But even despite the hope he held that his friend was still alive, Neige already accepted this truth.

With a heavy heart, Neige made his way to the roof. The rain was still pouring heavily but was this time accompanied by the voice of a woman, singing in a religious voice. Instead of Kairo, a nun was on her knees, praying and singing a hymn. She stood up silently and walked toward Neige, who recognized her instantly.

"Ada? What are you doing here?"

"I was praying for his soul. I can only hope he reaches a haven."

Neige stared at the moon, clenching his fist under the cold rain. The nun noticed his sorrow, looking at the sky as if all hope was lost.

"Neige... You can cry, it's natural..."

"I don't think I've ever let a tear out of my eye... I don't think I'm able to."

The nun approached him but kept a safe distance, seeing Neige still distrusted her.

"It pains me to see your suffering. I want to create a perfect world for us, a world where we could be happy forever."

"No thanks, Kairo tried to convince me of the same thing."

"I know but I'm not asking you. We both reached an answer to our questions and I hope that despite our differences... You won't hate me."

"You can try to force me but I won't yield."

Neige gave his hand to the anomaly, taking her aback. When she held his hand, Neige took it firmly with a smile.

"Let's both fight for our worlds then, Ada."

The woman chuckled before letting go of Neige's hand.

"You're really like my Neige! I'll make you happy, whether you want it or not."

"Try all you want, I'll stop you every time."

Ada and Neige stayed silent for a few minutes until a voice suddenly called Neige. The two were surprised and quickly recognized the voice. The figure of Ina presented itself, making its way to the roof.

"Neige! There you are!"

"Ina? Are the others here?"

"No... I came alone."

Neige was surprised, it was odd to see her outside of the ship, especially alone. What surprised him even more was Ada's reaction, her eyes were wide open, filled with horror and despair.

"N-Nia!? Is that you?"

Ina stared at Ada while tilting her head, visibly confused.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"I believe you're mistaken, I'm Ina, Neige's friend. And you are?" Ina made a bright smile, which seemed to scare the nun even more, even making her step back.

"No one, I'll leave!"

The anomaly vanished in front of their eyes in a dark fog. Ina looked at Neige with remorse in her gaze, rubbing her hand uncomfortably.

"I hope I didn't cause any trouble to your friend..."

"No, don't worry. It was the anomaly."

"The anomaly? The one that we're fighting against?"

Neige answered by nodding his head, surprising Ina.

"She looks so kind, how can that be?"

"It looked like she knew one of your other selves."

"You're right. What did she say, Nia? Have you met someone like that in one of your adventures?"

Neige thought for a moment. He remembered seeing this name before in the skull-shaped cavern, it was one of the names of the Goddess Of Death.

"I can't recall meeting one before."

"I hope this Nia didn't cause problems for this nun, she looked quite troubled."

"She did..."

Neige couldn't help but think that Ada knew something about the Goddess Of Death. But instead of thinking about it, his focus quickly shifted toward Ina, standing next to him.

"What are you doing here? It could have been dangerous!"

"I'm sorry Neige, I felt like you shouldn't be alone."

The two friends looked at the flooded city together. Ina stopped at the edge of the building, staring at the infinite horizon.

"I'm sure Kairo is in a better place now..."

"How can you know?"

"I don't really, it's just something you say. I've never been good to comfort people..."

Neige placed his hand on her back, trying his best to smile.

"You're doing well, don't worry."

The sound of the rain was the only thing that could be heard. Ina placed her hands on her chest and slightly frowned her eyebrows.

"I never knew Kairo much. But I have the feeling that he's fine, wherever he is." Ina chuckled softly at herself before continuing "It's strange, I'm the one that people comfort usually, I'm not used to taking that role."

"You won't need to get used to it, no one else will die."

"I... Hope..."

Neige noticed Ina's change on her face. She appeared less confident than usual and spoke gloomily.

"Shiro, now Kairo... Maybe I really am cursed."

"You won't always be, we'll stop that curse, I promise."

"I don't want to cause problems to anyone... Maybe I should just leave."

"If you leave, we'll search for you. And if you're not here, Silva will be the one to cook."

"Don't worry, Sepide can take care of it... I still think about my family, about the children at the orphanage, the old people I took care of... If they never met me, would their fate be different?"

"Ina... Don't think about it. And now it's over, everyone on the ship is glad to have you. None of those are your fault."

"I'm not sure..." Ina suddenly flinched before taking an embarrassed smile while looking at Neige "I'm so sorry! I should be the one comforting you."

"It's hard for everyone. We should go back on the ship now, the day is almost here."

"You're right, we wouldn't want to worry the others. And we'll be sick if we stay here."

Neige prepared his watch and took Ina's hand, making her blush slightly.

"Neige, you're a great person. I'm sure the woman that will get you will be a lucky one."

"She'll be more than lucky, being chosen by an asexual who has no interest in love is quite a feat."

"You're... Not interested in love?" Ina asked with a disappointed tone.

"Yeah, don't worry you're not alone, you're the third person on the ship I reject."

"I 'm not interested in you, don't worry haha." Ina said with a chuckle, trying to fool Neige.

"That's great then."

Neige smiled softly as Ina pouted for a moment, looking away from Neige.

"Not even a little bit?"

"Not at all."

"That's a shame... Wait, the third one?"

"Not bad, huh?" Neige said with a satisfied smile "I wonder if it's because I look like a girl."

"So the leader would be the first one, right?"

"Not really, we never saw each other that way."

"Well, I know for sure Shiro is one of the two others."

"Why is everyone saying that? He wasn't in love with me."

"So there were more than two others that had their heart broken."

"It doesn't matter now!" Neige seemed flustered, amusing Ina "Let's go back now! I'm cold."

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Neige and Ina arrived on the ship, all damped from the rain. They were on their way to their room to get new clothes when they suddenly saw the leader run in the hallway. The woman seemed in a hurry but still found the time to stop at their sight.

"Where were you? We searched for you everywhere!"

"I just needed some time alone and Ina joined me."

"Ina joined you... In your alone time..." The leader squinted her eyes at the cook before shaking her head "We have more important, Emely was kidnapped!"

"What!? By who?"

"Silv, I think she tried to get Emel but got the wrong one."

"Do we know where they are?"

"I'm about to use the diary to find her but what's more worrying is that Silva and the robot disappeared, along with Emel."

"Silva... I hope she's not going to make a mistake."