Yada opened her eyes, barely remembering what happened. Neige was holding her in his arms with a face full of tears. When he realized she moved, he looked at her in the eyes and smiled with relief.

"Yada! You're alive!"

Yada stood up, still dizzy. It looked like they were in the church of the town, or rather what was left of it. The roof was completely destroyed, allowing the woman to see the red sky. The sound of fire and the smell of smoke filled the air, the last things left of their home. She was about to open the door to see the outside but was immediately stopped by Neige.

"Wait! The monster might still be here..."

"The monster?" The woman started to remember what happened, she remembered being attacked by this dark matter and even dying. It didn't take long before she noticed the book on the ground and realized what happened "Did you... Use the book?"

Neige looked ashamed, not even looking at her in the eyes.

"I know I said we shouldn't but... I couldn't... I couldn't imagine living in a world without you..."

"I'm here now, don't worry about it."

Yada took her friend in her arms. She could feel him shaking, still in shock after what happened.

"I don't hear anything outside, I think this weird thing left."

Yada peeked in the keyhole to check and was assured that there was nothing outside. She opened the door to see the ruins of the town where she used to live. Neige joined her and watched the scenery burn, causing the houses like his hopes to vanish in a dark smoke.

The two friends walked around, trying to find another survivor. Yada stayed hopeful but her friend already gave up in his heart, walking lifelessly next to her.

"Neige... It will be alright, I promise. Don't see it as the end, more like... A new beginning!"

Neige stared at what was left of Yada's house with an empty gaze. He slowly entered it, seeing the ashes of what was left on the ground.

"I... Couldn't stop it..."

"It's normal, we don't even know what was that thing. We should leave, it might still be around."

Despite her friend's words, Neige stood there, staring at the ruins of a once lovely place. He went toward the burnt bed and sat on it with a heavy heart.

"I tried using the book, but I couldn't fix anything... Maybe... Maybe we should have used it before any of it happened."

"But how? We had no idea what it could do."

"We could have at least read it, maybe there was something... A hint that it would happen..."

"Neige... Don't blame yourself... It's really not your fault."

"I don't know... I... There has to be something I could have done... And now, all I can do is stay powerless as everything disappears in front of me..."

"You're talking of this monster... We have to find a way to get away from it."

Yada suddenly realized something and took the book. She read it for what felt like an eternity while Neige continued to blame himself.

"Look! It says that there are other worlds! If we can go there, we'll be safe! What do you think?"

Neige stood up, visibly not convinced. He stared at Yada in the eyes and tried his best to make a smile through his pain.

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"I... Just want you to be safe. If you think it's better, then I'll follow you."

Yada nodded her head, trying to stay positive for the sake of her friend. She wrote in the book and suddenly, a white light blinded them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yada woke up from the ground, unsure about what happened. The scenery was completely different, a huge jungle with tall trees surrounded her. She searched around and was relieved to see her friend next to her. She woke him up gently and greeted the sleepy Neige with a smile.

"Neige! Look! It's a whole new world just for us! A world completely safe!"

Neige looked around but couldn't forget the scene of the town burning.

"If I wasn't so weak... I could have-"

"It's a monster, you can't fight everything..."

"I know but... There had to be something I could have done."

"Stop thinking about that, focus on the future instead. We need a house first, isn't it exciting? We get to make our own."

Neige felt bad that his friend tried her best to cheer him up while he kept lamenting. Despite his despair, he stood up, trying to find more strength within himself.

"Yes... Let's make a pretty house."

A few days passed. They managed to live off fruits nearby and made a basic shelter. Yada felt worried for her friend, getting increasingly silent with each passing day. She knew it wasn't easy for him and that he felt guilty for letting that happen, but she had no way to make him feel better. Today too, they stayed quietly together, staring at the river flowing. A sudden noise in the bushes alerted them, Neige took a stick off the ground and pointed it at the bush, ready to fight whatever it was. A small and fluffy animal came out of it, peacefully eating the grass on the ground and relieving Yada.

"Haha, I can't believe we were so scared of such a cute thing."

Despite her laugh, Neige was staring at the animal with horror, dropping the stick in his hand. Seeing her friend shaking, Yada held his hand and caressed his hair, trying to make him feel better.

"What happened Neige? It's alright, we're safe."

"But... I can't... What if it was something else? I... I wouldn't be able to protect you..."

Yada could see that her friend was still traumatized by what happened a few days ago. She stared at the book in her bag, contemplating all the ways she could help Neige. If he were to forget, maybe he would return to his usual self. She took the book in hand, and with all her strength, hit him on the back of his head.

"Hey, that hurt!"

"Do you remember what happened a few days ago?"

"Of course... Were you trying to make me forget?"

"That was the plan, but it looks like it didn't work."

Neige saw the worry in his friend's eyes and tried to smile to put her mind at ease.

"I... Just need time, I promise."

Neige continued watching the river flowing under the worried gaze of Yada. The two sat next to each other and looked at the calm nature, hoping their restless heart would settle.

"Neige, we lived so much together. We spent all our lives without being away once from each other. I just want you to know that you're the most precious person I know."

"You say that like we'll never see each other again. You're important to me too."

Neige chuckled before staring back at the flowing water. All Yada could think about was finding a safe place for Neige, and if she couldn't find one, she just would need to create one.

The night arrived, Neige was asleep but talked in his slumber, probably having nightmares. Yada was writing in the book and decided to create a new world, safe of everything. After thinking for a moment, Yada thought about a place where nothing would even be. She decided to create a huge ship in space, where no one would bother them. She could always change a few things later if she needed to but tried to be very specific. Her pen stopped for a moment as she stared at her sleeping friend. Her tears fell on the pages of the book, her hand shaking, unable to write the rest. Gathering all the courage she could, she removed all memories that could make him remember about that fateful day, even memories of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neige woke up in a soft bed. His eyes analyzed the room he was in, he had no idea how he ended up in this futuristic-looking room. All he could remember was living in a peaceful town with his friend, but could barely even remember her name. He quickly noticed a tall woman wearing a mask, sitting in a chair in front of him.

"Neige... You're awake..."

Despite this strange situation, Neige managed to stay calm and even found peace being with her.

"Who are you? What am I doing here?"

"I'm... Polyetta. Your world is no more but don't worry, you're safe now."

"Polyetta? Are you my friend? I don't remember you having a mask."

"You... Remember me?" The woman asked with a concerned voice.

"Not much, I just remember when I used to walk near the river with you. Can you show me your face? Maybe I'd remember then."

Polyetta started sobbing but quickly regained her composure for her friend.

"I can't... Trust me, it's better for you."

"Are you alright? You seem to feel bad. It looks like you did a lot for me so I'll take care of everything for now, just rest, okay?"

Seeing her friend smile cheerfully again was too much for the woman. She cried and took him in her arms, bringing him as close as she could.

"I don't deserve you... You're too good for me..."

Neige held back his friend. Even if he had no memories of her, he knew deep inside that she was precious to him. They both spent the day together in this empty ship, walking together like they used to.