"."

Aoife blankly stared at the white ceiling of her room. Her mind was still a jumbled mess, and she could hardly think at all.

The only thing she recalled was waking up in the middle of the street with other people.

They too seemed dazed and confused about the situation.

She tried asking the people who had come to rescue her, but all they responded with was, 'We'll let you know after the investigation.'

".What does that even mean?"

Aoife was frustrated.

Not just with them, but with herself too.

Something had clearly happened, and given that she couldn't remember a thing, she had been dangerously close to dying.

All of that without her being able to do a thing.

That feeling. Aoife squeezed her hand.

She hated that feeling.

"Haaa."

Aoife closed her eyes and sunk herself deep into her own thougths.

"Dum~ Dam!"

She quietly hummed to herself as she did so.

It was a habit of hers whenever she had something deep to think about.

At the same time, she recalled a certain face and her brows scrunched up in annoyance.

For some reason, whenever she sang, she'd be reminded of the time in the library when he criticized her singing.

She had still not been able to move on from then.

'As if my singing is that bad...'

Raising her hand to cover the light coming from above her, Aoife opened her eyes to see her open palm in front of her.

"What now?"

She had only been told to stay in the room for now.

She had no clear instructions.

Aoife felt like training, but she knew that going out was probably not a wise option.

In the end, all she could do was stare at her hand.

Or at least

That was until it happened.

Her world suddenly darkened and she felt a sharp pain in her mind.

Immediately, she sat up while holding her head.

"Akh!"

Holding onto her head, Aoife groaned and clenched her teeth.

It was a pain that she struggled to describe, and if not for the fact that it only lasted for a brief moment, she would've screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Haaa haa"

Her breath was heavy and her forehead was covered in sweat.

Despite the state that she was in, she didn't so much as bother wiping the sweat away from her body.

"H-how?"

Rather, her eyes were wide open and her pupils were dilated.

Memories that she had completely forgotten resurfaced in her mind.

'Crimson Shade, Tree of Ebonthorn, Julien, Leon'

Aoife felt as though she had suddenly lost her breath.

"It this"

She was having a hard time understanding what was going on.

'The last thing I remember is Julien almost getting attacked by the monster what happened afterward?'

Aoife was so curious that she felt like she could die.

However, if there was one thing she was certain about, it was that Julien may have had a hand in this.

In the last moments, he was the one who had interacted with the post-leader of the Black Hound Guild and had gone out of the bunker.

If

If there was someone who might have an idea of what had happened, he was the one.

But outside of that, there was something else that Aoife remembered.

"Kiera."

She quietly mumbled her name and subconsciously massaged her face.

Even now, she could recall what she did in those last moments. Her expression twisted at the thought and her fingers twitched.

".....If it's the last thing I do."

*

Aoife wasn't the only one that came up with that conclusion.

Kiera and Evelyn both experienced the same thing as they recalled what had happened.

"Fuck, shit."

Swearing up and down, Kiera ruffled her hair into a mess, only to fix it shortly after.

Couldn't have it like that.

Too messy.

"What the hell happened?"

It was only after she was done fixing her hair that the reality of the situation hit her.

The memories that had been wiped started to return, and just like Aoife, she recalled all the details of the event that had transpired before she woke up.

And just like Aoife, she had an inkling that Julien may have had a hand in the situation.

'Could it be that he defeated the wathever tree?'

It was the only plausible explanation to her.

The only one that wasn't so lucky was Evelyn who, despite recalling what happened, didn't exactly know what was going on.

After all, mid-way through the situation, she blacked out.

"What am I supposed to do with this...?"

Staring at her own reflection in the bathroom mirror, Evelyn frowned.

Her memories were cloudy, and all she could remember was Kiera slapping her.

"Ah, right..."

Kiera slapping her...

Thinking about those last moments, her expression changed and her hand twitched.

"Kiera."

She mumbled to herself.

".....If it's the last thing I do."

***

"So you do not recall anything?"

"Yes, I apologize for that."

I stood in a small and confined room, sitting behind a metal desk with a guard sitting on the opposite end. The room wasn't like the one in the bunker, but it gave off similar vibes. It was for that reason that my legs were shaking slightly and my eyes occasionally darted around.

'I think I've got PTSD.'

I couldn't count the amount of times I started thinking about the best route to escape from this place.

"Well, your story is in line with that of the others."

Putting his clipboard down, the guard removed his glasses and pinched his eyebrows.

".....I'll say it like I said it to everyone else that we've brought. We apologize for our negligence. You will be properly compensated for what you've undergone. Your Academy should inform you more about it later."

"I see."

Compensation...

That was more like it.

I was certainly not going to refuse it.

"Okay, everything is in check. You may leave."

"Thank you."

I stood up from my seat and headed out of the room. The entire time my mind would drift on ways that I could escape the place, and it only stopped when I finally came out of the building and was able to take a breath of the fresh air of the Mirror Dimension.

As expected, the sky was still gloomy and there was hardly anyone out.

Bidding farewell to the guards, I walked on the cobblestone streets. Looking around, I was reminded of the moments within the illusion where I had been by myself.

.....It was quiet, with hardly anyone outside.

The only difference was the fact that the Crimson Shade was no longer present.

Just as I arrived back into the dorm building, a familiar figure appeared outside. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

Looking at him for a brief moment, I nodded my head slightly and prepared to pass him when he extended his hand to stop me.

His gray eyes locked onto me as he spoke,

"What are you doing...?"

"Uh?"

I tilted my head.

"I'm going back to my dorm."

"I can tell."

"Oh, good, so..."

I tried to push my way in but he stopped.

"I was waiting for you."

"Oh."

I still pushed my way through.

"Can you stop for a second?"

"Fine."

Giving up, I stopped trying to push my way through and lowered my head to look at him. He stared back at me, but when he opened his mouth, his words appeared to refuse to leave them.

It went on like that for a few seconds before I eventually cut in.

"You want to know what happened, correct?"

"....."

He didn't answer, but his face said it all.

"What makes you think that I know?"

"..."

Yet again, he didn't say a thing, and yet again, I was able to read his expression.

"Alright, fine."

It was strangely creepy how I was able to converse with him without him saying a single word.

I shuddered for a brief moment.

"I can get you your memories back."

".....!"

His head flicked up.

'You can?'

"Yes-ah."

I was doing it again.

"Can you speak? This is getting ridiculous."

"Oh, right."

Leon scratched the side of his face. It seemed like it finally dawned on him that he hadn't spoken a word the entire time.

That head of his...

Why did it suddenly feel so smackable?

Slap

"Uh!?"

'Oh, shit!'

I actually ended up smacking his head.

While I thought about it, I didn't think I'd actually go through with it. Seeing his shocked expression, for a brief moment, I didn't know how to reply, but I soon cleared my throat and seriously replied.

"Like I said, I can get your memories back."

His eyes narrowed.

"Do you want them or not?"

".....Yes."

Despite his face looking like that of someone who would kill me if given the chance, he swallowed everything and nodded his head.

"I'd like my memories back."

".....I got you."

Raising my hand, Leon flinched slightly.

"...."

"...."

I raised it again, and he flinched again.

Suddenly, the corner of my lips pulled up and Leon's expression twisted.

"Get it over with."

"Alright, fine."

I turned serious then and called out.

"Owl-Mighty."

The moment my voice fell, I felt something on my shoulder and when I turned to look, two red eyes looked back at me.

"What?"

Leon looked stunned by Owl-Mighty's appearance.

Looking at him, I thought about explaining but decided otherwise.

"It's a long story."

It would probably take a long time for me to explain.

"Anyways"

"W-what did you say it's name was?"

Cutting me off, Leon looked at Owl-Mighty with a trembling gaze. I tilted my head before answering.

"Owl-Mighty."

"....Ah."

In silence, Leon covered his mouth before leaning back on the staircase. His face was pale, and his expression was something I couldn't find words to describe.

In essence, he looked like someone undergoing a mid-life crisis.

I let it be and turned to look at Owl-Mighty.

"Can you do it?"

"Yes."

Raising its wing in Leon's direction, roots manifested around Leon, trapping his ankles.

"....!?"

Instantly, Leon's eyes widened in shock. I was also a bit surprised and looked around me. I hadn't expected the roots to appear.

"Ukh...!"

Leon groaned for a brief moment and he soon grasped his head. His struggle went on for a few seconds before his face blanked.

"It's done. It will take a couple of minutes for him to recover."

"That's fine."

Glancing at him, I looked around. Everything had happened rather quickly, and I had only given a brief look at my surroundings.

'I'm sure Owl-Mighty checked around before using the skill.'

Otherwise, things would become rather troublesome.

Rubbing my forehead, I had just crossed the door of the accommodation when I felt a sudden heat coming from my right arm.

Sizzle~

It was a familiar sizzle that brought forth certain memories of mine, and my eyes widened.

"It can't be...!"

I hastily looked around before rushing to my room.

Clank!

Closing the door behind me, I unwrapped the bandages on my arm before looking at the tattoo.

"Ah...!"

As expected.The third leaf...

It was glowing.