"My power is from Machina…
…It's not from the Supervirus."
"I suppose that is also the reason why I was not able to obtain your abilities when I died from you, Chihiro."
"Hm."
Both Chihiro and Riley very slowly turned their heads up to look at the hole Alice made. Chihiro was about to fly up and follow her, but her feet could not even leave the floor as she realized Riley was not going to do anything and was even just casually continuing to eat his dessert.
"Are… you not going after them?" Chihiro asked.
"I do not see why I should, Chihiro," Riley shook his head, "This does not involve me."
"It… does?" Chihiro's small eyes turned wide as she leaned her face as close as she could to Riley, "All of this is happening because of you, Riley Ross. Stop being so passive and figure out what you are—I have figured out what I am because of you, I do not think it is fair for you not to find out what you are."
"I have already found out what I am a long time ago, Chihiro," Riley just blinked a couple of times, before his entire body along with his cup of dessert slid to the side away from Chihiro's face,
"I am a monster meant to destroy existence itself."
"I knew you were going to say that—you really have always been so edgy," Chihiro let out a small and quiet sigh, "But have you ever wondered what kind of monster you are?"
"There is only one kind, Chihiro."
"No, oh no," Chihiro softly chuckled, "There are infinite kinds, Riley. I've seen them all, and sometimes I have lived them to the point that I have already figured out what a monster I am."
"And what kind of monster are you, Chihiro?"
"A monster you created," Chihiro stretched her open palm toward Riley, seemingly wanting to touch his chest but opting not to do so at the last inch.
"I do not consider that as a category, Chihiro," Riley shook his head, "And even without me, you would still turn out the way that you are because someone is responsible for your actions and controlling you."
"Machina? Oh no," Chihiro let out a long high-pitched hum; twirling her long black hair as she started spinning around like a ballerina, "Machina's more of an… observer you can choose to listen to from time to time, she doesn't actually control me, or any of her previous avatars for that matter."
"..."
"The Primordials can interfere if they want to, they just do not want to because it would be seen as—I do not really fully know how they think, but their influence and strength are so strong that they would destroy the worlds that were created from and by them if they happen to interact with the universe…
…Avatars aren't the primordial's puppets, we're more like their eyes. We exist so they could experience their creation."
"Then I suppose she is mad at you for killing the other Chihiros, Chihiro?" Riley seemed intrigued as he finally stopped devouring his dessert.
"Oh no," Chihiro took this chance to grab Riley's spoon from the cup, before getting a spoonful of shaved ice and eating it herself; letting some of it melt from her lips and drip straight down on the counter,
"I only killed like a thousand, there are still more than a million of me out there. If Machina did not witness me killing my variants, then it wouldn't have even noticed them missing—Well, I mean, Machina does care, but it cares differently."
"Interesting—I do not believe I could ever experience the way a primordial sees things."
"I think you are more interesting, Riley Ross," Chihiro returned the spoon to the cup—twirling it as it melted all the ice and creating a sort of milky whirlpool, "A primordial like that…
…is wary of you. Why?"
"You should ask Machina, Chihiro," Riley shrugged as he looked at his now melted dessert, "It has been a while since I last saw Nothing, I should ask him as well when we meet—"
"Riley!"
"Ah…" Chihiro, who was on the other side of the counter, was the first to see who it was that suddenly barged into the store. And as soon as she realized who it was, a small smirk crawled on her face,
"...Scarlet Mage. It truly is weird to see you like this."
"..." Riley looked at the reflection of the person who entered the store on his spoon, before letting out a sigh and turning around,
"Silvermoon."
"Riley. You… really are back," Katherine only glanced at Chihiro for a while. She seemed curious as to why Chihiro was here, but did not really bother asking anything as she just walked straight toward Riley,
"You… still haven't cut your hair."
"I quite like it, Katherine," Riley did not avoid Katherine's hand, even slightly leaning closer so she could easily brush her fingers through his hair, "And I see you have cut yours."
"I've had it like this for a long time, Riley."
And as always, Katherine found her entire being reflected in Riley's eyes—she was much older now, more mature than she already was. And perhaps one could even say that age made her even more beautiful; she glimmers, especially now with Riley looking at her.
She still carried her silver hair, which now barely even reached to her shoulders.
"I guess… you met Karina?" A small smile appeared on Katherine's face, "She's all grown now but she's still a child because she is."
"I did, she still looks the same."
"The two of you do," Katherine let out a short but very deep breath as she stepped even closer to Riley, touching his chest without any reserve, "I'm… the only one that keeps on changing."
"Change is a luxury, Katherine—you should cherish it."
"I wanted to be there, you know. I wanted to join the party to find you across the multiverse but I… I've been left behind," Katherine once again sighed, "I haven't gotten any stronger and I've reached my limit. I… have no place with the gods."
"You do not need a place with the gods, Katherine," Riley very gently brushed Katherine's hair to the side as he touched her cheek,
"Your place has always been with me, the others do not matter."
"..." Katherine almost gasped as she looked Riley in the eyes, before just closing her eyes and allowing her cheek to fall onto Riley's palm,
"I… am glad to hear you say tha—"
"Holy shit, it's the freak!"
And all of a sudden, the quiet and almost somber atmosphere that was loudly whispering inside the store was completely shattered as another person barged inside—this time, it was a person that looked almost like a younger Diana.
"..." Riley looked at this person for a few seconds, before finally remembering who it was—or more precisely, what it was.
"Anna," Riley bowed his head, "I was not aware you were also in the Academy."
It was the android created by Diana, the one that lived in old Theran.
"That's older sister Anna to you, freak," Anna just scoffed as she casually entered the store, "And you should be grateful, don't you know I basically raised your daughter for you? You know where we were while you were out there having a trip with Princess Aerith? We were in this fighting pit tournament or something. If it weren't for me betting on your daughter and always winning, we would have starved to death."
"..."
"Then Silvie found us—she made us stop doing the tournament when she discovered what I was doing, but when we ran out of money, she also joined the tournament. And then you know what happened after a few years? I've racked up a huge ton of money, huge. I bet all of it on Karina again at the next tournament happening a month from now, and you know what happened!?"
"No."
"Princess fucking Aerith found us and dragged us here! When I returned to the tournament, they said the money was gone because Karina already waived her right to join the tournament. You fuck—"
"Anna! You said you were going to forget all about that!"
"The tournament is still going on?" Chihiro, who had just been quietly enjoying what was happening in front of her, joined in on the conversation.
"You know of this tournament, Chihiro?"
"Yes," Chihiro smiled, "One of the lives I've lived was a tournament champion from more than a hundred thousand years ag—"
"I don't fucking care about any of your matters right now, you!" Anna pointed at Riley, "Since you and Karina basically look the same for the other aliens, you take her spot! That way, I can actually get my money back! You're strong, right!?"
"I believe there are actually things that are more important than that, Oldest Sister Anna," Riley shook his head, "Alice is currently trying to figure out who and what Charlotte is, I am just waiting for them to come back."
"...Who the fuck are those?"
***
"Enough, Mother."
"...Tch."
Charlotte clicked her tongue; the vapor escaping her lips, bouncing from the invisible wall that was currently blocking all of her paths from all directions. Charlotte looked everywhere to see only towers and fields of snow and ice, before she stretched her hand to the side to summon another portal.
Before she could fly through it, however, an arm suddenly emerged from the portal; followed by another arm as they ripped the portal apart like it was nothing—and there, on the other side, was Alice.
"Stop it!" Alice grabbed Charlotte by the shoulders, "If it's not you, then I can just ask another version of you from another universe! Just tell me what I need to know!"
"That's not gonna work, Alice," Charlotte only let out a small sigh as she seemed to finally stop struggling, "They are all just going to say the same thing to you."
"How would you even freaking know that!?"
"Because they are me, and I am them…" Charlotte closed her eyes.
"What?"
"We're different people, with different memories and different experiences…
…but we share a little of our consciousness with each other."
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