Episode 10: A Story of a Small Prayer

"--"

The first thing he registered was warmth. Just warmth.

"...Huh?"

He opened his eyes. That he had eyelids at all surprised him. Light flooded his vision, and he had to squint against the brightness.

"Where... am I?"

Kotoha -- Kotoyorozu Kotoha -- looked around. His body felt heavy. ...He had a body?

(Am I... alive?)

He'd been put to sleep in a warm bed. Something smelled really good. When he sat up, a faint headache throbbed at the back of his skull. Sterile mechanical walls, a heavy door. Rows of switches and circuits.

(Where am I? This room is super sci-fi...)

He was supposed to have died fighting the Star Whale. Azure Academy hadn't had even a shred of the equipment or time needed to rescue them. There hadn't been a single person who could've saved them.

"...Well, no point just lying here thinking about it."

Something smelled really, really good. He stood and walked to the mechanical door. It slid open with a heavy clunk, and the smell wafted out even richer.

"--Oh, you're awake."

Standing there was a white-haired woman. He didn't recognize her. But the green jewel on her wrist -- that was familiar. And she looked a lot like someone he knew.

"You're... President Elif's older sister... or something?"

She laughed.

"Wrong. Kotoyorozu-kun. ...It's me, Elif Anatolia. Long time no see, yeah?"

He was stunned speechless. She looked at least in her late twenties. The President Elif he knew was an upperclassman, but she was small and cute.

And yet, now taller and filled out, this woman carried the exact same presence as the President Elif he knew.

"...Elif... President...?"

For a moment, he peeked into her mind. There was no trace of deception. She was simply overjoyed at reuniting with him -- so overjoyed she wanted to cry. She hid it all behind a perfectly composed smile.

The way her heart moved -- that was unmistakably the girl he knew.

"How -- wait, what even -- no, how did you--!?"

"Hehe. Sounds like you've got a mountain of questions."

"Wait, more importantly -- what about Luna!?"

"She's fine. She's in the room further back. Woke up before you, and I've got her working on something."

She smiled, relaxed and easy, then pulled perfectly toasted bread from between the sci-fi walls and ladled stew from a pouch onto a plate, setting it in front of him.

"Eat first. Your body's got to be at its limit."

"...Thanks for the meal."

He was absolutely starving -- no denying that. Still not quite settled, he scooped up the stew with a spoon.

"Eat slowly, okay? Chew well. I've put good nanomachines in there, so they won't break down from chewing."

"...Hold on, what did you say? What's in this stew?"

"...Oh right. In your era, edible nanomachines aren't that widespread yet."

Not that widespread? He'd never even heard of them. And she'd said "your era." Which meant, maybe--

"Just as you suspect. I came from the future. To save you on that day."

"From the... future...?"

"Interfering with anything before the Necromancy Dimension event was impossible. Time travel is obstructed by Homeostasis, and the dimensional damage is massive. So the only window to save you was the moment you existed in this newborn parallel dimension -- right after the Star Whale was defeated."

"You're saying it's time travel!? In the future, time machines have been--"

"Hardly."

She laughed.

"If time machines existed, they'd almost certainly be registered as an Apocalypse."

"...Huh?"

"Because changing history means erasing the world that existed before. And like I said, simply traveling to the past within the same dimension is an extremely dangerous act. Worst case, you could annihilate the past world entirely. Time paradox anomalies are a real headache."

"Then how did you--"

"My Gunscar. Its Endpoint."

Endpoint. An unfamiliar word. He tilted his head, and she continued.

"Endpoint. The deepest power of a Gunscar. It activates only when it fulfills the owner's Yearning and overcomes despair."

"A power like that... existed?"

That was completely news to him. But... wait, something about that explanation didn't add up.

"Just to fulfill your Yearning, President Elif...? What do you mean? Then why would you time-travel for my sake--"

For a moment, she looked away. She looked a little embarrassed. Then she met his eyes straight on.

"It's simple. My despair is 'failing to protect you,' and my Yearning is 'to protect you.' That's all."

"...Huh?"

"It really is... a good thing you're so dense."

"What are you... talking about?"

"So you really can't remember. ...Well. Can't be helped."

She took his hand. Drew a deep breath, then looked up at him.

"It's been a while, Koto-nii. ...I've wanted to see you for so long..."

In all the world, there was only one girl who called him "Koto-nii."

"...Mic... chan...?"

"...You... remember...?"

Her eyes went wide. Her shoulders shook in tiny trembles. Big tears spilled over.

"You... remembered... hic... I'm so glad... I-if you'd forgotten... I didn't know what I'd do... but... sniff... I was sure you'd have forgotten..."

"Of course I remember! Wait -- President Elif is... Micchan!?"

But that couldn't be right. Micchan had been in a grade below him, and the whole vibe was completely different.

"...No... that's not it..."

"Huh...?"

"Nobody... remembers me anymore... K-Koto-nii is the only one... Koto-nii is the only one... who still... who might be the last person... to remember the real me..."

"...Wait. What do you mean?"

And so she began to tell her story.

-- The tale of the extraordinary life of a girl named Elif Anatolia -- a life as strange and improbable as any.

She'd been born in a small town in northern Turkey -- or so she'd been told.

"I don't actually know if that's true. It's just what the Anomaly Research Institute told me."

"The Anomaly Research Institute... that's the Japanese anti-Anomaly agency, right?"

Just having Koto-nii there. That alone made her heart feel warm. Just hearing his voice, just looking into his eyes -- she felt warm inside. What a simple creature she was.

"That town had a legend. That a small lake deep in the mountains could cure any illness."

"Cure illness? How?"

"Throw the sick person into the lake. A few minutes later, they come back out. Disease cured."

"That's... no way."

"Exactly. No way. There was a catch. But there was an agent from the Anomaly Research Institute who believed it."

An agent who'd heard the legend reportedly threw his sick wife into the lake.

"Did his wife's illness get cured?"

"It did. ...Perfectly. But he'd used Anti-Reality without authorization, and when his superiors found out, he got raked over the coals. The Anomaly Research Institute received the report and launched an investigation of the lake."

Naturally, the lake was designated as an Apocalypse.

"Research revealed that the lake's water had a special property. It could copy the traits of any creature that drowned in it and behave as a perfectly identical being."

"Wait..."

"In other words, nobody's illness was ever cured. Instead of fixing them, it just prepared a 'brand new' version. A completely different organism -- an imperfect copy of their neural activity and body."

"That's..."

The agent was devastated. The beloved wife he thought he'd saved was nothing but a degraded copy. She looked the same, sounded the same, acted the same. -- But somehow, she was lesser.

"And so -- that was my mother."

"............Huh?"

"My mother is an Apocalypse. Apparently she's broken down by now, though."

She was a creature born from an organism that was a degraded copy of a human. Whether she could even count herself as part of humanity was something she'd honestly struggled with. Not that it really mattered.

"A monster's child. That's what I am. Well, as you can see, I'm healthy, and biologically there's nothing wrong with me. The only thing is my growth was pretty slow."

When she was born, her mother had been in a glass cage at the Anomaly Research Institute. So she was raised in a glass cage too. For quite a long time. They ran various experiments, but she was treated humanely, she thought.

"Research showed I had zero Anti-Reality properties. The Anomaly Research Institute didn't know what to do with me. Feeding me cost money, and ethically, it was... y'know. So."

"...They sent you to the Old Man's temple."

She laughed and nodded.

(I miss it. Grandpa's temple.)

The smell of old tatami rushes, the ever-present scent of incense. She'd loved it. She'd loved holding Grandpa's big hands. She'd loved mealtimes with everyone.

"Koto-nii probably didn't know, but... that temple was a place that gathered children with Anti-Reality properties who couldn't fit into society. Everyone's abilities were weak, though."

"I see..."

When he thought about it, it made sense. He was the prime example -- a child with Anti-Reality properties. Children who could see faint glimpses of the future, children who hurt others regardless of their will. The temple had been a place to protect children like that from the worst kind of people.

"I... well..."

Her mother's deteriorating mind couldn't even recognize who she was. She couldn't make friends either. Her heavily accented speech sounded strange to the young children, and she quickly became a target for bullying. Having only ever spoken with adults at the institute, she had no way to escape it.

"At that temple... I learned... for the first time in my life... what happiness meant..."

At first, she couldn't fit in at the temple either. She was afraid to speak. Afraid of other people. She didn't know how to communicate with anyone -- no one had ever taught her. She'd never even been stroked by her mother. She'd never been told good morning or good night. Her mother had always been muttering to herself, calling out her father's name over and over.

"You... saved me."

"...I... did...?"

At first, she'd thought he might be scary. Because he was always angry. Always on guard, glaring at everyone. Looking back, that had been his way of protecting himself.

"...Because Koto-nii was the only one who noticed my words, right?"

He could read minds, so he understood her feelings even though she couldn't speak. He noticed she was lonely and stayed by her side. When she got scared of the bathroom at night, he came with her. He talked to her constantly, looked after her like she was precious. -- For the first time in her life, someone had made her feel that way.

"Do you remember? Grandpa got some imported chocolates from a friend and handed them out to everyone. Two each. But mine were smaller than everyone else's... and that made me so sad..."

"...Did that happen...?"

"And then Koto-nii gave me one of his. 'You want three, right?' you said."

"...............Oh."

He remembered. That made her happy. ...Just as she'd thought -- Koto-nii was the only one.

"Yeah. ...That was the first time... I ever saw Micchan smile."

"...Was it? I don't remember that part... but after that... every time something came up, you'd say 'you want three, right?' and give me all sorts of things."

"Man, what a stupid kid."

"Well, yeah. ...We were just kids..."

But it had made her happy. Koto-nii had been clumsy. And of course he was -- he'd been just as wounded a child as she was. And yet she'd done nothing but lean on him.

"'Three is good' -- that's why it's 'Micchan.' You forgot that too?"

"...Yeah, that does sound about right."

He scratched his nose sheepishly. Something about that made her so happy, so full -- a prickling feeling at the back of her nose -- but she put all her strength into keeping it off her face.

"Those days were... so happy... I loved them so much... They were... my treasure."

"...Yeah. I get it."

"But... they ended."

Grandpa had been at his limit. For years, he'd been exposed to various Anti-Reality properties with his bare body, and it had given him illnesses nobody had ever seen before. He'd known it, too.

"Hey... Micchan."

A few days before Grandpa was bedridden in the hospital, she'd been walking along a narrow path through the rice fields at night with him. On the way home from an errand, she thought. Grandpa's big hand holding hers had made her happy.

"..."

She looked up at him in silence. Grandpa had seemed to think it was perfectly fine that she couldn't speak. "That's just who you are," he'd said.

"Listen. Nothing in this world lasts forever. Everything comes to an end someday. All we can do... is just keep walking. Holding on tight to the few things we have left... out of all the many things we've lost..."

"..."

"Things are gonna change from here on out. There'll be a lot of sad times. But listen, Micchan. Don't you ever forget this. Even when you think you've lost everything--"

It had been a night with a beautiful full moon. His smile was still burned into her mind. She'd probably never forget it as long as she lived.

"--There's still something precious tucked away at the bottom of your pocket."

When she'd arrived at the temple, she'd been empty. Grandpa and Koto-nii and everyone at the temple had filled her up. Grandpa had known that well, which was why he'd said it.

"After Gramps died, where'd you go? What'd you do? I'd heard... you were taken in by foster parents."

Koto-nii asked. ...The story from here on wouldn't be pleasant. But she needed to tell it. No -- she wanted to tell it. She wanted him to know everything.

"Yeah. That's what they had to say. The truth is -- I was taken in by Azure Academy."

"...Is... that so."

"Apparently my father was originally from Azure Academy. Since I technically had a blood connection, they took me in... though I barely ever spoke to him."

Her father had been afraid of her, she thought. Because she was the embodiment of his sin -- living proof that he'd killed his beloved wife with his own hands. So she'd spent her time in Azure Academy's care facility.

"The kids at that facility mostly enrolled in Azure Academy. It doubled as a place to raise future assets. And when I entered middle school -- I got the worst Gunscar possible."

"...The worst?"

"You saw it once, right? My Gunscar fires bullets into the past. Within thirty years."

She couldn't bring herself to look this Yearning head-on. Because there was only one person she could think of wanting to kill. Honestly, she didn't even want to think about it.

"It's -- the ultimate Gunscar for fighting people. Especially assassination."

"..................Yeah."

Because no matter what abilities the target had, if you shot them dead as a fetus, they couldn't fight back. No matter how important they were, no matter how heavy their security, nobody could protect against the past. Even Koito was no exception. She was one of the few students at Azure Academy who could kill her easily.

Well, against someone like the Black Demon Lord, who had Information Jamming properties and no records of where she was born, it was extremely weak.

"There were people who took notice of this. -- The Ten-Petaled Clematis."

"What's... that?"

"The organization that makes the final decisions for the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee. Most of its members are anonymous, and much about them remains a mystery. ...Well, you don't really need to know the inner workings."

The Ten-Petaled Clematis had taken notice of her. Her Gunscar was ideal for assassination and left almost no traces. She barely attended middle school at all -- instead, they used her as their puppet assassin.

"Back then... I was empty. I'd been separated from everyone I loved, living in a sterile room, and every now and then I'd fire a bullet at whatever point in the past I was ordered to. And then... I'd get a lot of money."

"...So that's how it was."

"...I didn't care about anything... not a single thing... 'Do whatever you want with me,' that's how I felt... So I... I killed so many people... important figures from some country or another... Azure Academy alumni... I even assassinated another school's student council president once... So many... I killed so many... and then..."

-- One day, she noticed. That the world was changing shape.

"My Gunscar essentially alters the past. It's a microscopic time machine of a Gunscar. The effects are... immense. Every time I killed someone, the history of the world changed drastically. The only thing that never changed was my position. The name of a shop owner in the bazaar, the scenery of Azure Academy's campus -- everything in the world shifted every time my bullet killed someone."

Every time she killed, the world corrected itself and distortions took shape. Because of those distortions, her existence had begun to gradually vanish.

"...Vanish?"

"My name started disappearing from all kinds of records. People's memories of me started disappearing. That was how the world minimized the corrections it needed to make."

She'd killed mountains of people. And at the end of it all -- every single person had forgotten her.

"Even the Ten-Petaled Clematis forgot about me. Because of that, I was free. ...Heh. What a joke, right? I became free."

"After that... what did you...?"

"That was the problem. Because I had nothing. Being forgotten didn't matter to me. So every day, I just ruminated on memories. But then... one day... I thought..."

I wonder what everyone's up to. I wonder if the people I love are doing okay.

"So... I went looking for Koto-nii. ...I even went to Manazuru Town."

"Ah... now that you mention it. ...I saw them. The flyers. I was happy."

So he had. He'd actually seen them. That was a little embarrassing -- they were crude flyers that the stupid kid she used to be had made.

"I... went to see Koto-nii's parents."

"...!"

"They..."

She hesitated over whether to say it. But she thought she should. He was a strong person. He probably... already knew.

"They... sold you... Koto-nii... to the mafia..."

"..................I see."

"...Yeah."

"Well... I sort of figured."

Children with Anti-Reality natures were trafficked at high prices. Grandpa's temple had been a place that protected kids from that sort of thing too. And Koto-nii had been bought by the mafia.

"I thought -- I have to save Koto-nii."

"......"

"B-because, I... Koto-nii... saved me... and yet... I was the only one... just sitting there like a victim... living comfortably at Azure Academy... while all that time... Koto-nii... was..."

"It's fine. None of that matters at all."

He smiled gently. She'd known he would make that kind of face. That was why she was so happy, and so sad.

"I... used my Gunscar to kill a lot of mafia. But... nothing changed. Even if I crushed one mafia group, Koto-nii would just be taken by another one. I repeated that over and over, but... not a single thing... changed..."

In the end, her ability could only kill. It couldn't save anyone. Somehow, that felt just like the landscape of her own heart, and she wanted to die.

"So I decided -- I would become student council president."

She couldn't take Koto-nii back from the mafia on her own. Even if she did, there was probably no place in the world where someone like him -- a powerful Apocalypse -- could live in peace.

If she became student council president and welcomed Koto-nii into Azure Academy -- that was the only way she could protect someone precious to her.

"You... you're saying... that's... what it was...?"

"I pulled strings behind the scenes. I did dirty things. I threatened the Ten-Petaled Clematis, and I attacked rival candidates. I forced my way into the senior division and became student council president in half a year."

Even half a year had been too long. During that time, Koto-nii must have been subjected to terrible torture. Every night, she cursed herself. Every day, she fought desperately. And then...

"You know the rest from here... right, Koto-nii?"

"...You rescued me... and got me into Azure Academy..."

But, he began.

"I was reading your mind the whole time back in the early days, President Elif. During the trial and everything... When we first met in the student council room, too. A secret like that couldn't just stay hidden... right?"

Well, I'm glad you asked, she thought. Honestly, I'd gone through so much trouble. Such painstaking effort.

"Because I always took Memory Processing Agents before meeting you."

"...Huh?"

"I erased my memories of my childhood friend. Every single time. It was really, really hard work, you know."

Even if he read her mind, she had taken measures to ensure he would never discover who she truly was.

"Wh-what... why? If you'd just told me--"

"...Because, you know."

He was bewildered, and she laughed.

"If Koto-nii had forgotten me... I couldn't have kept living."

He gasped. She'd been a coward. She loved him more than anyone. She'd lived for his sake. For these past years, all she'd thought about was making him happy.

(And yet... if he had forgotten me...)

She would surely have despaired, unable to move. She was afraid. She couldn't overcome the terror of becoming that kind of coward -- someone who couldn't protect the person she loved, just because she'd been forgotten.

"...Actually, you know. You're the first person who remembered me, Koto-nii."

"Is... that so?"

"Yeah. The ladies at the community center in Manazuru, my elementary school teachers -- everyone had forgotten me."

"I see... so that's why no one... remembered Micchan..."

But it was fine. Even if everyone else had forgotten her, he remembered. ...That alone was enough. It was probably something to do with his Apocalypse nature.

"...Thank you."

"Huh?"

Koto-nii gazed at her. He squeezed her hand tight. Just like when they were kids.

"Thank you... Micchan... it was all... all of it... because of you... That I... was saved... that I got to meet everyone... all of it... was because of you..."

"......"

"But, more than anything............being able to see you again... I'm glad... truly... truly, I'm glad."

He looked at her with eyes on the verge of tears.

(Ah -- all that hard work... it was worth it.)

She felt that naturally. As if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And that made her happy.

"A-and so, listen!"

Having her hand held suddenly became embarrassing, and she quickly pulled away. The moment she did, she felt lonely, and her chest squeezed tight -- but she ignored that for now.

"For the twenty years after the war with the Necromancy Dimension, I've been developing this spaceship."

"A spaceship?"

"Yeah. This is Ibis-99. A spaceship that can travel between this dimension and the Cherry Blossom Dimension where you came from, Koto-nii. Ignoring the laws of light and time. Well, it's very limited, though."

"Something like that... the people at Azure Academy...? For us?"

"Huh, no, no no. I told you, right? Building time machines is strictly forbidden. I'm... not the student council president anymore."

"...Huh?"

"I built this ship while running from Azure Academy, while searching for engineers. ...That's why it took twenty whole years... Sorry for making you wait."

"N-no no! I wasn't waiting or anything!"

For Koto-nii it had been an instant, but on her end it had taken twenty years. Running from Azure Academy's students the whole time. After countless battles and failures, she'd finally made it to this day.

"I'm... in my era -- they call me an Apocalypse."

"Wh..."

[No. 87865: "Elif Anatolia"] -- Stage 8: Conflagratio

Nature: Angel's Law

Details: Possesses the ability for large-scale causal intervention, though the specifics are unknown. Her purpose is the salvation of Kotoyorozu Kotoha. When she destroys the world, no one will even be able to notice.

Using her ability meant destroying the world. Large-scale intervention in the world would leave that much distortion behind -- and would hasten the world's expiration.

She didn't care about any of that. She wanted to protect him more.

"You... went that far... why...?"

"...Why, you ask? Hehe, weren't you listening? Because--"

She took a deep breath. This was the one thing she wanted to tell him. It felt less like a wish and more like a duty. She believed that only she could do it. Right? That's right, isn't it?

"I -- Elif Anatolia -- love you."

Ever since they were children. Ever since before she could speak.

(You don't know, do you? How much your eyes make my heart flutter.)

(You don't know, do you? How much your voice has colored this world.)

(You don't know, do you? How much meaning your heart has given my life.)

Words were so meaningless.

"...Eh... ah... I... s-see... so that's... how it is."

His face turned bright red, and he was flustered beyond words. That was so adorable she couldn't help but laugh. Good. She was glad she got to tell him at the end. She didn't need a reply. Because she already knew he loved her too.

"............The end?"

Suddenly -- he asked.

(Oh no.)

He'd just seen inside her heart.

He wasn't the kind of person who could easily believe he was loved.

"Wait, Micchan. What do you mean? 'The end.' What does that mean?"

"...It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"That's a lie. ...You know I can't be fooled, right?"

But honestly, this was a precious final moment -- she didn't want to spend it on sad things. She didn't want to make him cry. She just wanted to leave... happy memories.

"Wh-what does that mean...? We can go back, right? To everyone. The three of us -- me, Luna-san, and Micchan. And then... at Azure Academy... like before... we can be together... right...?"

His face had gone deathly pale, and he was terribly shaken. She had no choice but to tell him, she thought. Because he actually hated looking into other people's hearts. So she had to say it herself.

"...Time travel puts a heavy burden on dimensions. Something has to balance the scales. I... with my ability... didn't want to... distort the shape of the world... any further..."

"So? So what!?"

"Every Endpoint requires a price. The resolve to lose something precious."

[Prosaically (Bill Cup). -- Sometimes, Poetically (Bin Yor).] [Gunscar] [Endpoint]

A Gunscar that transcends time. It transfers matter shot by it, and Elif Anatolia herself, to an era in the past. All the resulting distortions in spacetime are redeemed by her own history.

The price is her record.

"So... what does that... mean...?"

He stared at her desperately. I don't want to make him sad, she thought.

"With this Gunscar's effect -- it will be as if I never existed from the start."

"........................"

"I'll be erased from everyone's memories... and that blank space will be used to cancel out the distortions in spacetime."

"From everyone's memories...? Huh...? Wh... what...?"

That's why she hadn't wanted to say it. But, well, whatever.

After all, this too would be erased from Koto-nii's memory.

"Luna-san has memorized how to operate Ibis-99. Even without me, you should be able to make it back to Earth. So don't worry about that."

When she'd said she wanted to talk with him alone at the end, Luna had readily agreed. With a sad look on her face.

"That... doesn't... matter..."

"Koto-nii. ...This has already happened. It can't be changed."

-- Who am I to say that, right? She knew.

"...I don't... want this..."

"I'm sorry."

"Why... why... would you... do something like this..."

She'd told him so many times already.

"Because I love you."

"That's not--"

She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him toward her in one motion.

"Mm..."

She pressed her lips against his. Just pressed them, hard, hard. It wasn't a kiss of romantic passion. It was a kiss that branded. So that at least this sensation would stay with him -- please, let him remember.

"Mic... chan..."

"I love you. ...I love you. More than anyone. More than anything. I love you."

"I... I don't want this... I'll be lonely..."

She was lonely too. So she kissed him one more time. Forgetting even how to breathe. Forgetting even how to speak. Just pressing their lips together, feeling each other's heartbeats.

"Koto-nii... one last thing... please... don't forget this."

"...'Last'... don't..."

She held him close. For these past years... she'd wanted to do this the whole time.

"Koto-nii, you're a wonderful person. You're a special person. You have worth, okay?"

"Huh..."

"So--"

Believing with all her might that this would become his prayer.

"You're fine just as you are. You don't have to become a light novel protagonist."

His eyes went wide. And from those eyelids, large tears spilled over.

A cracking sound rang out.

It was the sound of the small pistol in his palm -- shattering.

(Ah -- good.)

He'd received her love. He understood, in his heart, that he was worthy of being loved. He would surely never be able to use noapusa again.

(That's a minus for the world, though.)

Sorry, all of humanity. The world. She cared about this person -- more than any of them.

Even if he forgot her, something precious would remain in his pocket. And that was enough.

"I... love you too... so... don't go..."

His face crumpled completely as he clung to her with everything he had.

Was this what it meant to be wanted?

She was happy. She wanted to stay like this forever. But -- she couldn't.

"Goodbye, the person I loved. ...Please live. Happily... please live..."

Her body slowly began converting into golden particles. That was the power to mend the world -- the power to minimize the distortions of time travel. He held her tight. And that made her so, so happy.

"No... no... d-don't... go...!"

"...Hehe. You can't. It's already over. So tell me? ...Can you be okay on your own now?"

She truly wanted to know, so she asked. He would face many more trials ahead. Until now, she'd managed to protect him somehow, but going forward she wouldn't be able to. But he cried out through his tears.

"There's no way I'm okay--!"

She just... kind of laughed.

She shouldn't have. But she couldn't help feeling happy.

"I see. Hopeless, huh."

Thank you. Koto-nii. Thank you for loving her.

Thank you for saying you're not okay.

Because of that, she'd been holding back her tears with everything she had.

She'd wanted to smile and say goodbye at the end.

"Bye... bye..."

Turning into golden particles, shedding tears, smiling.

With a happy heart. Happier -- than anyone else in the world.

Held tightly by the person she loved. She smiled, and faded away.

I'm glad I was born.

She thought so, from the bottom of her heart.