Neige woke up in a fluffy and warm bed, away from the darkness he had been trapped in for so long. He didn't remember falling asleep, especially not in a room all in pink and white. The room was filled with plushes and other toys, but the thing that caught his attention was a picture on the wall, a picture of him and his friend Polyetta. In the middle of the room was a girl with very long black hair reaching to the floor, sitting in front of a table with a tea set on it. She looked around his age, sitting peacefully on the pink chair. The girl pointed the chair in front of her with her hand, inviting Neige to sit there. For some reason, he felt like he could trust her, almost like it wasn't the first time they met. The girl smiled and poured tea into the cup in front of him as if it were a normal situation.

"Do you want sugar?" The girl asked with a very soft voice. Neige felt like he heard it before, but he couldn't remember where or when "Don't think too much Neige, you need to relax. Your past wasn't easy, and your future is even harder."

Neige nodded his head shyly, trying to focus on the moment.

"I'll take two cubes."

The girl took two sugar cubes from a box of porcelain to put in Neige's cup and put the same amount in hers.

"Be careful, the tea is hot."

"Thanks." Neige thought for a while about the girl but still couldn't remember anything about her. He wasn't even sure if it was still a dream anymore "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"That's a good question." The girl asked herself before answering "I suppose not. I should probably introduce myself then. My name is Opal, Opal Faith, but I have many names. Maybe you know me more by the name Peolyetta, or some call me the Goddess, sometimes I'm the author. I prefer to be called by my name, but you can call me however you prefer."

Neige looked at the cup in his head, he still couldn't believe what was happening. He wasn't even sure about what happened before he was trapped in this nightmare.

"Did Silva drug my drink as a joke?"

The girl chuckled softly, visibly amused by his reaction.

"Don't worry, you're not dreaming but you're not awake either. Let's just say it's a special situation."

"Am I... Dead?" Neige asked with some worry in his voice.

"Oh, not at all. I just wanted to tell you something. And also... I always dreamed of meeting you."

"Me?"

The girl nodded to answer Neige's question. The more the conversation continued, the less he understood what was happening.

"I spend most of my existence writing. I always was alone in this room, without anyone to play with. It's not fun to not have any friends when you're a child, so I created my own."

Opal took a diary and put it on the table, it looked exactly the same as the one Polyetta had, except that this one seemed cleaner and newer.

"I didn't know what I was writing became reality, all I wanted was to write peoples and worlds. When I realized that the world I created continued their stories, even without me, it felt weird. I went into one of them, then another one, again and again. Eventually, I fell in love."

"But he left you, right?"

The girl sadly nodded her head. She read through the pages of her diary while she continued to relate her story.

"You already went there before. I was immature at the time so I made a castle where only I would live in. I eventually left and was too hurt to go anywhere else than in this room. I felt even lonelier than before I wrote so I created the best friend I could imagine. He was strong and smart, always cool-looking. He was just happy and nothing bad would happen to him."

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"So where is he now? You're no longer friends?"

"Not exactly." The girl closed the diary and looked back into Neige's eyes to continue her story "I didn't want to feel hurt again, I didn't feel like going anywhere. So instead I decided to make a character to represent me. She would always be kind and give her life for her friend. Together they were happy, and every time I wrote again I would make them friends."

Opal took a deep breath, she blushed slightly and looked away from Neige. He wasn't sure why but stayed silent to hear the rest.

"Neige, you're the person I trust the most. You always were and always will be my best friend."

"Wait, this friend you created, it's me?"

Opal nodded her head softly, still embarrassed.

"It feels surreal that I can talk to you after all this time. Alas, if you're here, it's not only so I can see my old friend. I decided that the universe was better without me, that everyone should be free of their destiny. But something that I didn't account for happened."

"The other Neige dying?"

"Yes, I don't understand why it went wrong but it did. I made Ada devoted to her friend, but when he died, she... Broke we could say. I already promised I would let you all free but at the same time, I don't want all those stories to disappear. So please Neige, not as a Goddess but as a friend, will you stop Ada for me?"

Neige stayed silent for a moment. It was a lot and he had many questions, but at the same time, he knew there was more important. All he wanted to do was find his friends and leave this place once and for all. Neige nodded his head with a confident smile, accepting Opal's request.

"I wasn't going to let her destroy my world anyway. I won't rest until she's stopped."

"Oh, please rest. You always overwork yourself."

Opal looked at the clock on the wall of her room before continuing.

"I'm afraid that our time together is almost over. This won't be the last time we meet but please, try to forget what happened. I just wanted to give you hope, I know it's hard for you."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!"

"I should have made you a bit less heroic..." Opal mumbled to herself "It's time to wake up now, your friends are waiting for you."

Neige drank all the tea in his cup in one go and stood up from his chair ready to leave.

"Goddess, I don't really have feelings for you like you do, I just met you."

"Of course... I know."

"But if it makes you better, Polyetta is the best friend I ever had and I'll cherish her forever."

Opal had a soft smile on her face and tried to hold a tear in her eye.

"I'm glad if I could be a good friend to you, even if it wasn't me directly."

The scene became hazy and blurry. Neige's eyes closed themselves, and for the first time in what felt like years, he was able to rest.

Neige's eyes slowly opened. The cold was barely bearable and his body felt rusted like it hadn't been used in years. The man slightly lost balance as he woke up, still trying to remember what happened. He looked around and noticed he was in a high place of a kind of Colosseum, in a world full of snow. But what shocked him the most was what was happening in the middle of the arena, The anomaly was there, visibly fighting against his friends. He was about to jump in but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Neige, you forgot something."

Neige turned around to see Opal, handing him something. It was a dagger, it looked like the one Ada always had with her, but in a stainless steel instead.

"I figured you might need a lucky charm."

Neige took the weapon with a smile, nodding his head in gratitude. He instantly proceeded to jump into the arena to stop the anomaly.

The anomaly was about to attack Polyetta, who stood there confidently. The former nun suddenly stopped her offensive when she saw the figure of her friend standing against her. Everyone turned at Neige in shock, not believing what happened. Polyetta had her eyes wide open with a smile on her face, unable to believe it was true. The anomaly on the other hand seemed more confused than anything, staring at him with confusion.

"Neige?! How did you wake up?"

Ignoring the anomaly's question, Neige stood between his friends and her to protect them, pointing his new dagger at Ada.

"Are you alright?" Neige asked while keeping the anomaly in check.

"We should be asking that!" Yelled Silva with relief in her voice "I'm so glad you're back."

"I don't plan on going anywhere anymore."

Ada took a step back at the sight of Neige, visibly unsettled.

"No... You were supposed to sleep until I built a world for us... I did all of that for you..."

"I'm sorry Ada, but it's not the world I want. Even if it's not perfect, it's my life and I'll fight for it."

The Anomaly tried to grab Neige with one of the tentacles of black matter. By reflex, Neige cut it with his newly acquired dagger. Not only did it work, but it seemed like it managed to hurt Ada as she and her dark matter ran away from Neige.

"It burns! Where did you get that?!"

Without answering, Neige darted a look into her eyes while keeping his weapon pointed at her. The anomaly stared from far away, as hurt by the blade than by Neige's rebellion toward her.

"It's the end Ada, I won't let you torture my friends any longer!"