Key frantically opened the door and found Hiroku eating his popsicle, sitting on his couch, and watching television.

"That's a long second," Hiroku said with no facial expression but all the vocal sarcasm. He tossed the wooden stick into the trash can after finishing the last bite.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Lightly embarrassed, Key sat on the island between the living room and the open kitchen while scratching his nape with his good hand.

"How did you play with one hand, anyway?" Hiroku turned off the television and asked. There seemed to be a general curiosity in his voice, yet Key was never so sure when it came to Hiroku.

"Loter found a 2v2 card game we could play while my arm was recovering. It's kinda fire, to be 'onest. Didn't expect that."

"That's mindful of him."

"It is. So why are you 'ere?" Key asked, straddling the island to get to the other side. He opened the fridge as Hiroku answered.

"You've been acting unnaturally. Something is on your mind."

"'Ave I really been that obvious?" Key took out a pudding from the fridge and then tore the seal off with his mouth.

"I'm sure Loter did not notice a thing," Hiroku answered, watching Key from the couch. His voice was static.

Not responding, Key took out a little plastic spoon for the pudding.

Hiroku continued, "I'm worried about you. Is it something related to whatever you were doing down in Coral Cobble?"

Key casually answered and shoved a spoonful of pudding into his mouth in between every sentence, "It's so sweet of you, 'Iro. But you don't need to worry about me. I'm just a bit tired today. Like, I slept in the cable cart thing last night and 'ad to walk all the way from the top of Vault to the academy. It's insane 'ow 'ard it takes to get in 'ere."

Hiroku had his brows and eyes lowered for a short moment before looking back at Key and said in a firm tone, "I know you are nervous. It's fine. I can tell something is on your mind. If you need 'elp, I mean, help, I'm here." He stood up from the couch and walked straight toward the exit. Key stayed before the island and robotically dug another spoonful off the pudding.

Hiroku's hand grabbed onto the knob. While opening the door, he sighed. "I don't know what exactly is on your mind, but I was in a similar position. I know how hard it is to bear everything by yourself. I let Loter and Ramiron helped me, and now I feel better." Finishing his last sentence, Hiroku closed the door behind him.

Key put another bite of pudding into his mouth and chewed.

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Loter sat blankly before his laptop, idly rotating his revolving chair. Every few seconds, he looked at his screen to find Key still offline and his patience diminishing. Eventually, after a minute that felt like an hour, Loter stood up from his seat and went out of his bedroom. He glanced at the entryway to find Hiroku's shoes missing.

Is he in the garden? I can go find him.

With some enthusiasm, Loter rushed out of the room after putting on his sneakers. He greeted people as he ran past the campus and approached the garden. However, he did not spot Hiroku from afar, so he went closer to the pavilion.

"Loter? It's nice to see you again," Lyra said in a soft voice. She was sitting on the edge of the round table with her arms straight and her hands propping on the marble surface behind her. Her youthful skin and sundress blended with the white pavilion, causing Loter to miss her presence before closing up.

"Oh, Lyra! Hi." Loter scurried up the stoop with bouncing steps, throwing his roommate out of his head.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"I'm surprised you still remember me." Lyra's smile widened. Her eyes genially and lightly squeezed.

"Oh yeah, I even heard that you are a hero. That's so cool!"

Lyra's brows raised high, and the curve on her lips flattened. "So you know my real age?"

"Sorry, I forgot it, but I promise I will remember it this time if you tell me." Loter leaned against the balustrade of the pavilion, propping his hands behind him just like Lyra.

She moved her hips off the table, took a step closer to Loter, and asked, "You don't find it weird?"

"No, why would I? It's so cool, and I enjoy playing flowers with you."

Lyra sat back on the edge of the marble table, her grin brightening again. "You are a special kid, just like Wetman said." She looked sideways into the empty flower field as if she were pondering something else.

"Wetman? Do you mean Ros? You know Ros?" Loter's voice went up a notch.

"Yeah, he's been such a bitch ever since I reincarnated, always saying shit like 'your cognitive functioning also degraded, so you should bla, bla, bla.' It's so annoying," Lyra, flailing a hand in the air, complained passionately, "I can't even ride shotgun. Like, what's his problem? We are literally working with CAPD. How can a stupid traffic rule be an issue? This—"

Loter giggled, interjecting Lyra in the midst of her constructive speech.

"What?" The whiny grimace on her face was replaced by a smile, although she did not know what was so funny.

"No, it's just that you talked just like Glacia. She's my friend."

"I'm not a kid," Lyra exclaimed. She jumped off the table, poked Loter's waist with her elbow, and went out of the pavilion. "I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Wait, I'm sorry. I don't mean to say that." Loter, still laughing, chased behind her.

"No, you're not sorry." Said in a teasing tone, Lyra began running deep into the garden. Her pace was merely faster than walking, and she kept glancing back as she went.

"Yes, I am." Loter pranced behind her, maintaining a speed that kept him just a step behind.

Eventually, Lyra halted in the center of a field of yellow flowers. Loter, startled, tripped over the grass and rolled on the ground. Lyra panted, putting her hand on her knees. She watched Loter get up from the ground while sticking his thumb up and saying, "I'm okay."

"You know, despite all the hassles, one perk of being young again is this vigor. I'm panting, but I don't feel tired at all." Lyra held her arms to her sides and took a deep breath, facing the setting sun and the incoming breeze that billowed her white dress. Then, she leaned backward, dropping on the flowers and landing on her back.

"How old were you before the reincarnation?"

Lyra closed her eyes to think for a second and answered, "Twenty-four. I know that doesn't sound very old, but I never exercised in my youth, and I had a very minor weight issue."

"You can start exercising now," Loter said, lying on the ground. With his head among the grass and flowers, he could no longer see Lyra but the vast orange-hued sky.

"I can. I guess this is another perk of being young again. All the choices…" Lyra's grin faded. Her mouth was still open, but no words came out of it. Her eyes shifted from left to right and back again, searching through the sky and between the clouds for the itch in her heart.

Then, she found it. "Well, not really."

"What?"

"What had happened happened. There is no choice of reverting it. There is hardly a single choice when it comes to things that matter. I can exercise more to be healthier, but that is not important."

"Why?"

Lyra remained quiet for a moment and, after careful consideration, asked, "Do you mind if I trauma dump you a bit? I don't really have a person to talk to about this."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." The curve on Loter's lips no longer existed, and his tone straightened for the incoming seriousness.

"It's okay. Everybody knows it already." Lyra opened her mouth to inhale a lungful of air and threw Loter the question: "Have you ever lost someone close to you?"

"Yeah, my father."

"You would choose for him not to die if you have the opportunity, right?"

"Yeah?"

"but you don't."

"..."

"My 'DEGRADING' can not reverse time. The best it can do is to degrade my age back to a kid." Lyra had her hand on her stomach.

"What happened?" Loter kept his voice down and asked hesitantly.

"When the villains struck, I was pregnant. My fiance was driving. We were two blocks away from the scene. I told her to rush there as soon as possible… She did not hesitate. She did not question my decision. She trusted me to take care of both the city and our kid."

"Doesn't the Hero Union have the maternity—"

"I was young."

"Sorry."

"I lost the fight. I lost her. I lost our child. To survive, I had to degrade my body to a level that the remaining life energy in my body could sustain… Not attending the fight was the only option that would matter, but it doesn't exist. I can't go back in time… Everything else just flows with the wind. I became a hero because I have a strong power. I engaged with her because I fell in love with her. We got a baby because we decided it was fun to be mothers. None of those are choices. They were just logical extensions of what already happened."

"..."

"..."

Loter did not return a word. He closed his eyes, dispirited by Lyra's story. He was not sure what to say or feel except dejection. Loter just kept thinking and sensing the unidentifiable emotion surging in his heart.

The conversation died. Loter did not come up with a response, and there was nothing else for Lyra to say. The two just lay there quietly.

Eventually, the sun was blocked by the mountain, and its orange hue in the sky inevitably faded.