Fruits, divination, and candies. Dehya's new greatsword. Dunyarzad, lying lifelessly at the Birmastan. Nilou's unfinished dance. Nahida.

"You adapted quickly this time," She says with her uncanny smile. In her hand is the knowledge capsule, the key to our memories every day.

"At the end of last night, we definitely took off our Akasha terminals." Instinctively, I reach up to my ear and confirm that there's nothing there.

"We still heard that beep though," Paimon continues. "Did they implant us with another device?"

I shiver at the thought. "We failed to sever our connection," I say, "but we can at least conclude that the Akasha has something to do with our predicament."

"Paimon doesn't get it," Paimon grumbles. "Why would the Akasha go this far to steal everyone's wisdom?"

"Lab rats in an experiment never understand why they're treated the way they are," Nahida says.

"Lab rats!" Paimon exclaims. "If we're lab rats, what are you, Nahida?"

This question catches Nahida off guard, but she recovers quickly. "You could say I'm the Moon," she says cryptically.

"That's our divination result," Paimon says. "That's not helpful. You represent illusions and lies? You've only been telling us the truth!"

"Knowing who I am won't help you, so you should focus on other things for now," Nahida says. "If you get distracted, you'll miss something important."

Fine. Dehya helped us yesterday, so perhaps talking to her again would be useful. At this time of day, she should be done with those kidnappers. Paimon and I retrace our steps to the familiar alley where, as expected, Dehya is fussing over Dunyarzad.

"Are you all right, my lady?" Dehya says, looking Dunyarzad up and down. Her new greatsword is strapped across her back, and she seems to have survived the fight unscathed.

Unscathed? Dehya had always come out with a scratch on her right arm due to a lack of mastery over her new greatsword. Then the realization hits me like a brick. Time is moving forward.

"You're gaping," Dehya says bluntly.

"You didn't get hurt this time," I say.

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"Why are you surprised I got out in one piece?" Dehya retorts. "And what do you mean 'this time?'"

"Aren't you still getting used to your new greatsword?" I ask.

"Hush!" Dehya hisses, eyes flicking towards Dunyarzad. "I haven't told anyone about it. How did you know?"

I let out a sigh. Dehya's memories have reset overnight. "During your battle, did you feel anything strange?" I attempt.

Dehya considers my question for a moment. "Now that I think about it, it's weird how a new weapon feels so natural in my hands," she remarks.

"Why do you say that?" I ask.

"We mercenaries rely heavily on muscle memory," Dehya explains. "The way this sword moves with my body, it's as if I've already fought countless battles with this weapon. Yet I only bought it last week." She scratches her head in confusion and hefts the sword with one hand.

Clearly we've made some progress. Even if Dehya's memories are hidden from her conscious mind, the Akasha cannot block her combat experience. Could it be that removing our Akasha terminals sped up this change?

"Paimon's feeling really hopeful!" Paimon says. "Is it possible that we've broken out of the samsara?"

"This has never happened before," I agree. Still, I'm not convinced our minds are entirely free. "We'll know for sure at the end of the day," I say, sending a prayer to the Dendro Archon for no more strange beeps before bed.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," Dehya cuts in, "but it's dangerous here, so–"

"You want us to take Dunyarzad somewhere safe, while you check on our surroundings," Paimon finishes.

"What are you, a mind reader?" Dehya exclaims.

"That's not important," I say. "We'll look after Dunyarzad."

Hours later, the sun has set over the Birmastan, and I'm ruminating over what to tell Nahida. Other than Dehya's lack of injury, we have nothing novel to report.

Paimon gets to her first. "We found that Dehya survived her fight without getting hurt today!" She says. "Do you think the samsara has been broken? Did we save Dunyarzad?"

"Really?" Nahida laughs. "Good job on all that progress. Get some good sleep tonight."

"What kind of answer is that?" Paimon pouts.

"'Tomorrow will come.' Everyone assumes this is true," Nahida says, "but how do you know this for sure? The only way is to experience 'tomorrow' yourself."

We stare at her with vacant expressions. We're entering another one of Nahida's long analogies.

"How many 'todays' has it been? Is it possible that 'today' will be followed by 'yesterday?'" Nahida continues. "Does 'tomorrow' really exist beyond a concept of your imagination? It's possible that this whole world is a lie, and the history of this whole world is one long Sabzeruz festival."

"Paimon's brain has shut down!" Paimon cries, waving her fists at Nahida.

"That's why it makes no sense to waste your energy on things you'll learn tomorrow!" Nahida finishes.

"Oh," Paimon says. "That's what you mean."

"Get some good rest," Nahida says. "Use the bathroom and flush your anxiety dookie away."

"M-my what?" I stammer. Excuse me?

"People always say they feel a sense of relief after they take a dook-dook," Nahida says in a perfectly normal tone. "That's why I suggested you try that. Is it so strange?"

"Utterly strange and against Paimon's common sense," Paimon mutters. "You were spouting such abstruse words just a minute ago!"

"Let's get some rest," I say instead. It's getting late, and I would prefer the semblance of going to bed, rather than being disconnected in the middle of nowhere like yesterday.

[*beep*]

[Continue the harvest. Compared to what we stand to achieve, these sacrifices are trivial.]