I struggled to maintain my grip on consciousness, biting my lip until I tasted blood. My ears were filled with a constant, deafening ring, and my vision was a swirling ss of colors and shadows. It felt like a miracle I hadn't completely blacked out yet.
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps cut through the haze.
"It seems you're in quite a predicant," a woman's voice said, smooth and calm. Through my blurry vision, I couldn't make out any details about her. All I knew was that she was a woman from the sound of her voice. "Do you want to help you? Say yes if you do, or no if you don't."
I was at a loss for words, struggling to find my voice.
"You can't speak anymore, I see," the woman said, her tone both gentle and pragmatic. "Here's what you can do: if you want my help, just squeeze my hand. If you don't, then leave it."
She lowered herself to the ground beside .
"The magic and royal knights have been scouring every nook and cranny, hunting down any Silver Blades mbers they can find. We've uncovered crucial information about your group and are dedicated to rooting you all out. Even if you manage to escape now, you won't be able to evade us forever. You probably know that already, don't you? So why not take my hand?
I can offer you safety, but there will be a price to pay."
She extended her hand towards , her fingers reaching out with an almost magnetic pull.
"Co on now, Miss Shredica. Let help you," she said gently, her voice carrying a soothing yet commanding tone.
I recognized her voice through the haze of pain and disorientation. With a flicker of desperate hope, I managed to squeeze her hand. The world around faded to black as I lost consciousness.
***
"Ichinose-kun..." My voice was barely a whisper, hoarse and strained. I hadn't ant to speak, but the na slipped out nonetheless.
The rain pounded relentlessly around , drenching to the core. My clothes clung tightly to my skin, weighed down by the relentless downpour, while my hair hung in heavy, wet strands.
In front of stood a vehicle. I had never seen anything like it before—it was enormous. Enormous didn't quite capture it; it was massive. Oh, right. I rembered now. Back in my old world, a century ago, there were vehicles called trucks.
In the era I was in now, trucks or any wheeled vehicles were relics of the past. Seeing sothing like this was a jarring surprise.
But more pressing was the question of why I was here, and why I was staring at a vehicle that should have been obsolete for a hundred years.
It was then that I saw sothing horrifying. A boy with black hair lay crumpled on the ground, drenched in a pool of his own blood. The sheer amount of blood was so overwhelming that his face was almost unrecognizable. But I couldn't shake the feeling that this might be the Ichinose-kun whose na had slipped from my lips.
The road was sared with dark streaks of blood, painting a grueso picture of what had happened. It was clear that the truck had struck him, sending his body sliding across the pavent, which explained the bloodstained ground. The truck itself had smashed into a nearby post, and inside it, a lifeless man lay slumped over the wheel.
My vision swam, and the scene before felt like a heart-wrenching nightmare.
"A-An... ambulance. L-Let call an ambulance..." My voice was barely audible, hoarse and trembling, as though I had only just learned how to speak. My hands scrabbled in my pocket for my device, but the rain had turned it into a useless lump of waterlogged plastic. The device, covered in buttons, slipped through my fingers as I frantically pressed them, but nothing happened.
"Aaaaah! Why now?!" My voice shattered with panic. With no other options, I staggered toward the boy. My knees buckled as I saw his mangled body. "No... Ichinose-kun..." My voice ca out in ragged, gasping sobs as I took in the horrific sight.
His bones were crushed, his flesh ripped open with jagged edges, revealing bone fragnts beneath. Blood flowed freely, pooling in grotesque puddles around him. The sight was a nightmare, but I couldn't pull my gaze away.
"No... Nooo!" I shook him desperately, my heart pounding in my chest. He didn't move, but his labored breaths were a small, fragile sign of life. His eyes moved slightly, but that was all he could manage.
"Please, Ichinose-kun... Stay with ...!" I begged, my voice trembling and barely more than a whisper through my choking sobs.
He didn't respond. His body lay motionless, and his eyes, though barely alive, locked onto with a haunting, vacant stare.
"Why... Why did you save ?" I cried out, my voice breaking with the weight of my anguish. "Why did you pull out of the way?! If you hadn't...!"
Was I the reason for his death? The fragnts of mory were fragnted and blurry, but it seed like I was the cause.
Ichinose-kun's mouth quivered slightly, but no sound erged. His eyes remained locked on mine. Was he etching the image of the woman responsible for his death into his mory? Did he harbor resentnt towards ? Maybe that was why he kept haunting my visions.
Soon, the light in his eyes faded, and Ichinose-kun was gone.
"I-Ichinose-kun? I... Ichinose... Tsubasa! Nooo...! Don't leave ...!
Please...!" My desperate cries reverberated through the rain, but no one heard my anguished screams. The rain drowned out everything.
The scene shifted. I found myself looking worn out and defeated. My eyes were hollow, my hair a tangled ss. It felt like a long ti had passed since Ichinose-kun's death. I recognized this scene—I had seen it in my dreams not too long ago.
The bell rang, and I quickly got up from my seat, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Just as I was about to head for the door, soone grabbed my arm.
"...What?" I snapped, turning to face the person who had stopped . She was glaring with a fiery intensity. I recognized her now—her na was Asada Kaori-san, from my dreams.
I rembered feeling jealous of her, though I couldn't recall why.
"How dare you show your face at school after what you've done? Don't you feel any guilt? Sha? You're the reason he's dead!"
I shrugged her off, trying to ignore the burning anger in her eyes.
"I don't want to talk to you."
"You're truly shaless..."
"Shaless, huh? Who's really the shaless one here? Who's truly responsible for your childhood friend's death?"
"What do you an? You're the reason he died!"
"Oh, is that so? Well, if you insist on placing the bla solely on , then so be it. But do not forget, you too carry a burden of guilt in this matter."
With that, I walked out of the room, my footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. After a short distance, I crumpled to the floor, unable to hold back the tears any longer. The ache in my heart was relentless, like a jagged blade twisting deeper with every sob. What was this excruciating pain?
I couldn't rember much about Ichinose-kun, but it was clear now that he had been incredibly important to . The fact that I could cry for him proved how deeply he had touched my life. I couldn't recall the last ti I had shed tears.
I wondered what had happened to —what had turned into this unfeeling shell who couldn't even muster a smile, who found comfort only in the scent of blood and the rush of killing. What had corrupted so completely?
I rembered my na now. My real na. It wasn't Shredica. Shredica was just a na they had given . My real na... yes, my real na was...
No... I couldn't grasp it anymore. It was right on the tip of my tongue, just out of reach. Why couldn't I rember it? What... was my na back then?
***
I woke up to a strange ceiling overhead. The bed beneath was unexpectedly soft and comforting. My surroundings were unfamiliar, and a sense of confusion washed over . Why was I here?
"You're awake," a soft voice said nearby. I turned my head to see a woman standing beside . She had a striking presence—her dark skin glowing softly in the dim light, and her well-built fra suggesting strength and calm.
"Who are you?" I croaked.
"I'm a captain of a magic knight unit. The na's Laurel. This is the Vice Commander's room," she said with a calm, authoritative tone. "I'm here to keep an eye on you until she arrives. Oh, never mind, she's here now."
Miss Laurel stepped out, her footsteps light yet purposeful, and soon returned with a woman in tow. The mont I saw her, a spark of recognition ignited in my mory—she was the Vice Commander of the Magic Knights.
"You..." I managed, the word slipping out in a breathless murmur.
"We et again, Miss Shredica," Vice Commander Veronica Eclair said, her voice smooth and composed.
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