Mistress Of The Evil Forest-Case 193: A piece of tranquility.

''The universe is a very consistent existence.''

Without a change in her expression, Aurora utters. She leans forward slightly, holding out her index finger.

''In this reality, some things are permitted to happen, while others are not. That much is obvious, but the rules by which it determines those events are somewhat predictable.''

''...What do you want to say?''

''Apples can't fall upward, matters can't materialize out of thin air, planets can't escape the gravitational pull of their mother stars, and... there can't be two of the same person in one reality.''

I can't for certain remember if this is one of the proposed time paradoxes or not, but some said that when it is known that two versions of the same person exist at the same time, the universe will go through a course-correction and—

''Eliminate one of them.''

As if taking the words out of my mouth, Aurora coldly utters.

''Now that I have confessed my true identity, the process should start soon. And, of course, it is I, and existence which isn't supposed to be in this place and at this time, who will be targeted.''

''Wait. Does that mean you will disappear...?!''

Looking at Chloe's reaction, it seems she hasn't been told of this yet. I was sure this Aurora would be the reason she reassured me before the Yggdrasil fight, but they evidently haven't been all that familiar with one another just yet.

The more pressing matter now, though, is Aurora's eventual departure from this world. For one reason or another, I'm not too worried about it. Either she has something in her mind that would work, or she wants things to be that way—there are only two possibilities, and I respect her decisions regardless.

Yet, thinking from her perspective, I'm not so sure which option she wants to take.

If I had lost everything just to remain alive at the end of it—if I survived the worst and stood alone atop a mountain of past civilizations—isolated, and in an endless world of tranquility... would I want to keep living?

''...''

I don't know.

She is me, and I am her, but if she has lived for as long as she claims, we are practically different entities altogether.

''I've been around for a long time. Long, long time. And...''

''Wait, no. Let's talk about this.''

Glancing at me meaningfully, Chloe seems to want some help. Sorry, but I'm sitting out on this one. It's not that I don't have sympathy for myself, but I think someone like Aurora can decide what she wants.

Realizing she's on her own, Chloe bites her lips and turns back with a determined expression.

''Listen, Aurora. I've not known you for long, and I can't possibly replace the Chloe you know, but please think of me as your friend, at least.'' She pleads. ''I—no, we want you here. I'm sure if the others learn about you, they would want you to stay. We can do it all again. Let's start over. Please.''

''...''

For a brief moment, something bitter permeates Aurora's smile. Looking out the window at the distant sky, she sighs,

''...I never said I wanted to go.''

'''' ... ''''

And drops that sentence.

Of course, both Chloe and I are flabbergasted. After all, it sounded like she was... okay, stop. Maybe I was too familiar with such clichés, or Aurora intentionally did this to tease us.

''Either way, that's enough for today.'' She softly clears her throat. ''Go ahead and take a break for a while. When things are ready, I will once again call you two here.''

''W-Wait—''

''You probably have more questions, but I can answer them later. Bring more people if you like. You can leave now.''

Almost dismissively, Aurora waves at us to get out of the room, and with no way to possibly fight back, we have no choice but to head to the entrance. Chloe, still confused, makes strange noises as she steps out first, and I closely follow her.

As I close the door, I can faintly see Aurora's silhouette, one as dark as the void, slowly move toward the bed where Neveah lies.

Click.

And my first meeting with myself ends just like that.

Now then... what should I do?

After taking in the night breeze for a while, I decide to first take a look at the general situation after the invasion.

Thankfully, my power is still intact, although I have noticed a few glitchy parts of the system panels popping up here and there. I suppose it's because the dome has a massive hole in it.

Did Chloe say a serpent broke through there?

I want to see it, but it doesn't look like Aurora is willing to summon that one again. Leviathan...

''Hah...''

Well, coming back to the welfare check, since I can teleport and my mind is linked to those of my subordinates, I can see that they are fine. Zircon—the forest—suffered some damage, but it's not something irreparable. If anything, the Astra city beside us has more work to do in that regard. freeweɓnøvel.com

Although humanity emerges victorious, casualties do appear all over the empire's capital, according to Chloe. Even at this point, it is quite chaotic out there.

''Don't you want to meet them now?''

Lying dead on the Backrooms' floor, Ariel throws that question at me. Of course, I want to see and talk to my friends, too. Nydia must be under serious stress right now, considering the situation, and so are Claire, Scarlett, and the Miko. The only ones I have contacted are Luxia and Sierra, but even then, they have to tend to the people right now.

It would probably take a while for things to truly calm down.

''I guess I'll really take a break. I need to think of the way forward, maybe.''

Hearing that answer, Ariel shrugs and closes her eyes.

I can't stress this enough, but I am genuinely grateful that everyone is still here with me. The Backrooms is once again full of life, and for me, that is one of the best things.

As I let out a sigh of relief, someone creeps over my shoulder.

''Hey, boss...''

''Sikare?''

Looking into her haggard yet somewhat enthusiastic eyes, I can't help but feel as though she will say something strange.

''What was that power, really? I thought I saw something colossal yearning down as I fell unconscious, but...''

...I thought she was going to ask for the Leviathan's scale. I don't have access to that anyway.

But I notice both Skely and Kyomu take an interest in this conversation. Perhaps they have been wanting to ask, too. And the answer to that is...

''I don't know. It's not mine in the first place.''

''Huh? What do you mean?''

''That person wasn't me.''

''...What?''

Well, technically speaking, it was me. It'll be a long story, though, so I'd want to get Luxia and Sierra back here before explaining it. No, actually, I'll wait until Efil has been eliminated, so we can have the others as well.

For now... I want to enjoy this moment of tranquility first.