"It's raining, quite a lot. I can't see anything wrong with this world, but Emely told us that this world's time wasn't acting like normal. All there is are buildings everywhere, I think I'll call it, the Lands of Time."

After finishing her report, Sepide went back to her friends. They've been trying to contact the ship for a while now, but they couldn't manage for some reason. Silva gave up, and let out an exhausted sigh.

"So we need to find a crystal, and we have no idea what it looks like or where it is. It's great, I already love this place..."

"Let's just... search around for now." Answered Shiro shyly "If it's a crystal, it's probably something that people would know about."

The small group agreed and decided to explore this seemingly normal city.

Most people acted in a strange way, giving generic and short answers. It was almost like everyone was a robot here, which made communicating hard. They took a few hours exploring the streets before giving up. The group decided to take a break at a nearby cafe and tried to find a better way to accomplish their goal.

"I don't understand, every time we try to talk about anything remotely complex, they just say they don't understand and leave!" Silva continued complaining for a while, wondering if there was a way to get what they came for.

"What is this place anyway, why would there be a crystal here?" Asked Sepide, but her friend didn't have the answer either "Why are we here? It's extremely dangerous, and it's for something we're not even sure will work. It's not... Optimal..." Sepide seemed unsure as she said those words, and even surprised her friend.

"Optimal?" Asked Shiro "It's the only way to save Neige... So whether it's optimal or not, I'll do it."

"Yes, but it's weird, it's like two parts of me are disagreeing. I want to help my friend, but at the same time, a part of me wishes I didn't feel anything and that I could just do my mission."

After hearing Sepide's depressed tone, Silva rubbed her head, messing with her hair.

"It's fine, you can't act like a robot, you're a human. We'll find what we came for, and we'll leave without anything bad happening."

Sepide still seemed to feel bad for some reason, but nodded her head and tried to let out a small smile. They planned to continue their search after their small break, and when they were ready, they left the bar. Or at least they tried, since a woman blocked the exit. She had an empty gaze and looked more tired than anything else. Her eyes scanned the confused group, and a few uncomfortable minutes passed before she finally talked.

"I never saw you before, it's weird. Who are you?" Her voice was cold, and as tired as her face was. The group looked at each other, a bit confused by the woman's reaction. Silva was the first one to talk, trying to solve the situation.

"We're new here, we just traveled from somewhere else, that's it."

"Really?" The woman seemed unconvinced, it seemed like she was lost in her thoughts, and started to talk to herself "What did I do differently today?" She then proceeded to leave, like nothing happened, leaving the group lost.

"Is it always like that in other worlds? I understand why you need weapons now." Shiro never really explored worlds before. Silva had to explain to him that their weapons aren't used in these kinds of situations and more against giant monsters. As for Sepide, she just stared at the place the woman stood, like something was wrong. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like the woman was strange, not only because of the way she acted but also for another reason.

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

"Kronos to Sepide, you're still with us?" Sepide came out of her trance when Silva called her, it seemed like she was trying to get her attention for a while "We're going, are you alright?"

"Yes, let's go."

The night was about to fall. They went pretty far from where they were, and yet, they didn't find anything related to a crystal. Noticing how high the moon was, Sepide looked at the time on her watch. She stopped suddenly, noticing that, her two friends put a halt to their walk.

"Sepide, everything's alright?" Silva asked, worried for her friend.

"The watch... It's not working anymore!"

Hearing that, Shiro looked at his own watch and confirmed that it didn't work either. He didn't know much about the way they worked, but he knew enough to know that it wasn't a physical problem. They couldn't input the numbers to travel to another world, and the time was stuck at noon, the time they arrived here.

"What is the problem?" Asked Silva, since she couldn't see it, she had to rely on her friend for confirmation.

"We can't travel anymore, we're stuck here. And the time isn't accurate anymore." Shiro explained, still trying to make the watch function "Is it what Emely meant when she said we could end up lost in time?"

"What are we supposed to do now?" Sepide was worried, she knew it was a possibility, and yet, she couldn't accept it so easily "There has to be a way out of here. I can't die yet!"

The group stayed silent for a while, trying to think of a way to escape this place. Their only hope seemed to be that crystal, but they had no idea where it could be located. They were at a loss but weren't going to give up just yet.

The group headed back to the city, feeling that midnight was getting closer. The only sound on the road was the one of droplets falling on the ground while the surrounding darkness started getting thicker. It was hard navigating for the group, and in the emptiness of the path, a voice made itself known.

"What are you doing here?"

The voice echoed, as if two persons talked together at the same time. It didn't seem human, and when they turned around, they saw their friend, Neige. He was standing, looking straight at them. Even despite the mist they could still see it was him, but something seemed off about him.

"Neige, is that you?" Sepide was getting closer to him but quickly stopped after hearing his harsh and cold voice.

"I ask you again, what are you doing here?"

The trio was surprised, their friend was in front of them, but he acted in a completely different way than he would usually. It wasn't the same person anymore.

"We were trying to find you! Emely told us we'd find a way to locate you here!" Silva's words seemed to intrigue Neige, as he thought for a moment before answering.

"Are you perhaps searching for a crystal?" Seeing them nodding in agreement seemed to amuse him. An unusual smile appeared on his face, before quickly vanishing "So you're searching me, and I suppose you won't stop if I ask you to."

"Of course not." Answered Shiro "I mean... You're our friend... And I wouldn't want..." the voice got weaker as the sentence continued, Neige cut him off after seeing it wouldn't lead anywhere.

"Very well, we will see each other again then. I came to get you away of here, but if I did, you probably would come back here. If you want to find the crystal, you'll need to find the person who isn't affected by the rules of this world."

"The... Rules of this world?" Sepide seemed confused, she didn't really understand what Neige meant by it, even after thinking for a while.

"You'll understand soon, it's almost midnight. This place may be the first one that the Goddess created, but now, it's falling into ruin."

"Neige... Your voice is so weird." Pointed Silva "What happened to you?"

"I am now the anomaly. Or rather, she and I make one. We have come to find a common goal, and it's the reason I can't follow you anymore." The anomaly's voice stayed cold all along, and yet, a bit of sadness could be felt toward the end.

"What goal?.. We could help you." Neige shook his head at Shiro's proposition, but he seemed like he wasn't sure.

"Bliss cannot be reached that way, please understand that it isn't out of hate, but out of Love that I act. I want to protect you all from this world, the only way for us to be happy is to give up ourselves, and be happy in ignorance." Neige's voice stopped, and it continued with uncertainty "If you think that you are strong enough to reach happiness, then find me, and prove me wrong. There isn't much time left before midnight. Silva, Sepide, Shiro. You are all very important to me. I promise that either way, we'll-