Author's Note: Sorry for late update, I was too busy and sick yesterday. The only thing my sanity was capable of was posting that announcement, lmao. 

---

The part of the mirror dimension which Eona resided in was falling apart. She watched the place she had been stuck in for thousands of years cracking, the ground below her trembling. A sense of hope struck her chest, and her expression was a mixture of emotions.

"Ugh..."

"Argh."

"...ouch..."

Hearing the low pained groans and grunts behind her, she turned to look.

Originally, there was only supposed to be a single ash blonde-haired man on the ground, but now, there were multiple people scattered across the floor. All of them bore an uncanny resemblance to the ash blonde-haired man, except for the colour of their hair and eyes.

They slowly rose awake, and the ash blonde-haired man remained unconscious the entire time.

"What the–I'm really out?!"

"Th-that really hurts."

"To think I'll ever come out again like this..."

"So noisy."

"This is just the beginning." Eona interrupted them.

The soul fragments all looked at her, including the three new soul fragments that joined a moment ago. They were the most confused out of them all.

"This dimension is breaking apart, and who knows where you'll be sent to in this strange place," Eona explained. "The rest is up to all of you now."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"What is going on?"

"You idiots, don't you remember their conversation from earlier?"

"I want to sleep..."

"You have to combine efforts to find a way out of this mirror dimension, or you'll be trapped here forever," Eona continued speaking. "I am unable to help you from this point on."

"Wa-wait, how do we get ou-out of here?!" Alric questioned in alarm.

Eona smiled.

"That depends on all of you, and your inner thoughts."

"What?" Kai frowned.

"Your main body and soul, take good care of him, little ones," Eona advised. "If he disappears in this mirror dimension, so do all of you."

"We wouldn't expect any less." Zasiok shrugged.

"There is one more thing." Eona said.

The soul fragments looked at her once again, all of them befuddled or anxious.

All of a sudden, ropes made out of light magic shot out from her hands. They began to bind some people, making them exclaim in alarm.

It was Isleif, Jehan, Min and Leonaut.

"From the memories I have glimpsed, these few are the ones who tend to cause more trouble."

She tossed the ropes towards the other soul fragments just then. They looked on, speechless, as the ropes landed at their feet.

"Argh!"

"Hey, don't pull–"

"Damnit–"

"Troublesome."

The four of them who were bound stumbled and tripped from the sudden pulling force, falling onto one another. Kai and Zasiok observed them in amusement, picking up the ropes. Alric looked on in concern and Wang Jie who was finally alert now, widened his eyes in excitement.

"What's this?! Lemme join in too!"

He let out a guffaw, leaping into the air and landing right on the four men.

They all groaned in pain. However, they were unable to fight back since their limbs and legs were bound by the ropes.

"...gah!"

"What the fu–"

"Who the hell is this now?!"

"So troublesome."

Xu Bolin could only look on in disbelief, placing his palm on his forehead at Wang Jie's actions. "He is a real brute indeed."

Kai and Zasiok laughed along to Wang Jie's antics, and Alric grew pale just thinking of the brute crushing the four men below him.

Sid was nodding off, immune to the chaos.

Meanwhile, Rugi raised his hand, patting the young Shin on his head. Shin slapped Rugi's hand away with a glare, and Rugi smiled.

"You held on really well, kid."

"I'm not a kid."

"Yes, yes. You are not a kid."

The floor below them finally broke apart, making them stumble. Kai and Zasiok passed one rope each to Rugi and Alric.

"Alric, take care of Leonaut."

"I-I will!"

"Hey Rugi, I'm trusting you with this red-haired bastard!"

"Not a problem."

They tied the ropes to their arms or wrists, and they were amazed at how light the ropes were. Moreover, no matter how much the ones who tied up struggled, they couldn't get out of the ropes.

A moment later, Kai, Zasiok and Rugi stared down at the unconscious Xue. They lifted their heads up, nodding at each other.

"One."

"Two."

"...three!"

They lifted Xue up above their heads.

Eona looked on in fascination at their entire exchange before she let out a chuckle, smiling at them.

"Don't forget who you are and why you are here," she advised once again, closing her eyes. "I pray for your good success."

"Hey, don't worry, we'll be back to bring you out–"

Kai hollered, only for the floor to break apart below him and he was swallowed up the void, his panicked yelps drowned out. He held onto the rope that binded Jehan, making the man follow in reluctantly.

The others soon followed after with startled yelps and panicked shouts of their own. The ones seized by the ropes could do nothing but accompany them as well.

At least they fell together, since they were carrying the unconscious Xue.

Eona waved at them in a relaxed manner, clearly not bothered by their terrified expressions. Her space was coming undone and she knew she would end up in another dimension that was influenced by her memories.

I wonder what memory will it be this time?

She smiled to herself.

No, I don't need to wonder.

It will be him.

The floor separated beneath her, the void stretching out to swallow her in. However, her expression was calm.

"At least, I'll get to see you once more, even if it's a memory," Eona muttered to herself. "...Veau."

***

A pair of red, demonic eyes stared down on the scene below him, his spiky black wings moving slowly in the air. His cobalt-blue hair was enshrouded in the dark and he remained quiet, his expression inscrutable.

It was the demon realm, and two people were seated atop the branch of a humongous tree, its leaves were a soft orange-brown, the shape resembling maple leaves. In the dark, the trunk and roots of the trees glowed. The falling leaves were scattered by the wind, the mauve-coloured casting a slight shadow on the mystical tree. The scenery was otherworldly, especially for the demon realm.

"Who knew the demon realm had such a sight to see?"

"A sight like this was only possible due to a flora enthusiast."

"An enthusiast?"

"He wanted to bring the beauty of flora from the mortal realm into the demon realm, and he did after numerous experiments. However, a sight like this is only visible once every twenty four years."

"At least it worked out for him."

Veau scoffed, flicking a fallen leaf away from his shoulder.

"It's useless. A waste of time."

Eona turned, looking at him intently. "Is it truly?"

"..."

In that moment, the scenery and the way Eona looked at him left a huge impact on his mind. He was never one to describe people or scenes with extravagant words, but...he really wanted to at this moment.

"...maybe it isn't."

Eona showed him a helpless look.

"What's wrong with admitting that you like a view like this?"

"It's not the view but–"

Veau caught himself before he finished those words.

Eona tilted her head, the curiosity written all over her face.

Veau stopped talking, glancing away and Eona smiled to herself, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"..."

Veau went still before he inched closer to Eona, allowing her to adjust her head to a more comfortable position but still not looking her way.

Just like that, the scene faded away like mist being blown away.

The spectator, which was Veau himself, landed on the ground. He kept his wings, and he was greeted by an empty black space.

"..."

He lowered his eyes, the indolent expression he always wore was no longer present. It was difficult to discern his current expression.

If it wasn't a memory of his family, it was a memory of her.

Whichever it was...

They both hit equally hard.

"I should have continued my words back then."

"..."

There was another long silence before Veau lifted his head up, stepping forward into the void.

***

The freefall was short, but they felt no impact from the fall itself. It seemed like the mirror dimension defied all sense of reality.

The soul fragments found themselves in an empty black space with several strange fissures that were growing bigger and bigger with each passing second. Since they had no way around here, they placed Xue on the ground.

The fissure glowed a blinding white, and the ones standing closer to the fissure shielded their eyes. It was obvious that fissure would lead them to another location if they were to step into it.

"I'll go ahead first," Rugi announced, walking ahead with two people behind. "With the little kid and the red-haired bastard."

Shin followed Rugi begrudgingly, just like a pouting child.

Meanwhile, Isleif was constantly muttering "vermin" while being dragged across the floor with the rope.

Everyone glanced at Rugi in disbelief.

"We have to find a way out or we'll die here, won't we?" Rugi smiled with a shrug, and he headed towards one of the bigger portals with no hesitation. "The faster we do this, the better it is for all of us."

Rugi disappeared past the fissure, not looking back even once.

Kai scratched his head, glancing back and tugging Jehan along. "Let's go, we'll take the left!"

"I'll join you." Xu Bolin volunteered.

Kai grinned, gesturing to him to hurry along.

"Right." Zasiok spoke, walking in that direction immediately.

"Don't forget about me!" Wang Jie shouted, following Zasiok.

"Wa-wait! Wh-what about Xue?" Alric questioned in alarm, unintentionally pulling Leonaut along to his movements, making the man stumble.

All of them turned to look at the unconscious Xue on the ground, before glancing to Sid who was nodding off. Sid yawned, lying down on the ground beside Xue and snored away within moments.

"Sid got it." Kai grinned toothily.

"Leave it to Sid." Zasiok nodded.

"Sid's here." Leonaut smirked.

"Ah?" Alric blinked rapidly. "But Sid..."

"Is all he ever does is sleep?" Jehan scoffed.

"Hey you," Min called out to Zasiok, tilting his head. "Do you have any sort of poisonous herbs on you by chance? Lemme eat them."

"..."

"..."

"..."

A few of them gave Min weird looks.

"Ignore him, he's just a perverted fella with an obsession for poison." Wang Jie explained.

"How is he alive in his original body from eating all those kinds of poison?" Xu Bolin muttered to himself.

"Let's go, Alric," Leonaut sighed and took the lead instead, the movements of his legs weren't restricted by the light magic ropes. "You'll just worry all day if we stand here like this."

"A-ah wait, wa-wait, Leonaut!"

Seeing that they left first, Zasiok did the same, heading for another fissure.

"Guess it's our turn now." Kai shrugged, dragging Jehan along.

"Ow–hey! Can't you pull it gently?!" Jehan barked.

"Take care of Xue, Sid!" Kai ignored Jehan's barking, hollering to Sid.

The two of them only heard Sid snoring away in the background.

***

Rugi, Shin and a tied-up Isleif found themselves in a peculiar environment. It was an environment they had never seen in their lives before as it seemed otherworldly in their eyes. Skyscrapers that shot past the clouds, hovering vehicles that were glowing in the dark and people dressed in an unusual fashion.

Moreover, if one looked closely, the people were holding a small object in their hands that resembled mobile phones. In addition to that, the crowd was filled with people that had mechanical arms or an object in their eyes that made their eyes glow.

"What the–"

"...?"

"Ver...mins..."

The next second, someone passed right through Rugi, Shin and Isleif who were standing side by side. It was as if they were a ghost, not existing in this...dimension.

All of a sudden, there were sounds of mechanical noises headed their way. Rugi watched curiously as the crowd went on high alert, all of them running to the side.

Something shot up into the sky and it turned out to be a young woman moving swiftly on a hoverboard. Within seconds, she rushed towards the three of them and time began to slow down.

The three of them recognised the young woman to be Cecil, despite her different hairstyle and attire.

Her onyx eyes were as mesmerising as they remember.

She glanced back, clearly not seeing the three of them. She whipped out a gun that was attached to her hip, firing three shots at the gigantic robot.

One of the bullets managed to nick the robot, while the others bounced off it.

"Shit, it's the wrong bullets."

They heard her cursing to herself, and she picked up speed, rushing past the frightened crowd. The three of them turned to look, watching in surprise as the mechanical noises became louder and a gigantic robot appeared in the streets.

"Cecil. Go to her." Shin urged Rugi.

"What the hell is this?" Isleif narrowed his eyes.

Without any other word, the three of them hurried after Cecil's figure that was growing smaller and smaller.

Just then, in front of them, there was a tear in the dimension they were in and they were teleported to another location once again. The environment they were in was similar, but everything was a mess now.

The pavement and buildings were destroyed, smoke rising into the air and there were cries for help. In the centre of the road, there were destroyed hovering vehicles strewn about, along with the gigantic robot from earlier that had countless dents and holes in it.

A familiar raven-haired woman laid on the ground, her body covered in blood and her eyes were closed.

The three of them gasped, rushing towards her side when someone passed through them, jumping down from their hoverboard.

It was Xue.

"Detective, you..."

His voice was broken as he knelt down beside Cecil, touching her cheek carefully. The hand that touched her cheek was partially filled with mechanical parts, like a robot.

Her eyes lifted open and despite being bloodied and battered, her onyx irises were still as limpid and beautiful.

"You...swindler, you...are finally...here."

"Don't–just don't speak," he whispered out. Seeing her current state, he let out a choked whimper. "How am I supposed to save you now?"

She smiled, reaching her hand out weakly and shoving something onto his chest. "Here, take this."

"...!"

He gasped, his grey eyes widening in disbelief as he looked at Cecil.

"Th-this is...!"

She breathed out, her hand moving from his chest as he caught the item and she tickled his cheek with her fingers that were stained with her blood.

"With that, you are free."

There was distraught in his eyes, and he clasped his hand over hers on his cheek. "You idiot, why did you..."

"I know who you truly are, and this isn't the life you wanted," Cecil said weakly, gazing into his eyes, smiling. "Go on and live freely."

An angered expression flitted past his face, and he glanced away.

"...but there isn't any point."

"Why?"

"You won't be here anymore, with me."

She stared at him in shock.

He looked back at her, hurt and pain written all over his handsome face. His reddened eyes began to water.

"I told you, didn't I? I surrender. If it's you, detective, I would do anything for you. Anything and everything."

Cecil inhaled. "I thought...you were...swindling me again."

"I have never once lied to you, and only you."

Cecil widened her eyes, an emotional look on her face.

"If you are leaving me like this, what am I supposed to do?!" Xue cried out, a tear slipping out. "How–how am I supposed to live?"

She began to cry herself, not once looking away from the man before her.

"How am I supposed to live with myself? You are too selfish, detective."

Xue could only hang his head down, sobbing quietly to himself. He was still clutching onto the cold hand caressing his cheek.

With her last remaining strength, she lifted her body up and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on his other cheek.

"I'm happy to be able to see you for one last time."

"Don't say that. Don't say it!"

"If we meet again, in another lifetime, I'll make it up to you. Everything that I am, I'll give it to you."

"I told you not to say it anymore!"

"...I'm sorry."

Cecil exhaled and her eyes started to close, her body going slack against his.

Unable to do anything, the man could only hold her body close to himself, sobbing into it like a young child.

Rugi, Shin and Isleif were watching the scene in silence the entire time. The pain that the man felt, they could feel it themselves and it wasn't any less.

"What is this?" Shin questioned, clutching at his chest.

"Why the hell are we seeing something like this?!" Isleif growled out, sounding pained. "Cecil Lan is still clearly alive here!"

Rugi let out a shaky breath. "We still need to find a way out."

Just then, the scene was covered by another fissure in the dimension. This time, the three of them willingly walked towards it as they wanted nothing more than to escape from this place now. Nevertheless, the harrowing scene from before remained in their mind.

***

Eona fluttered her white wings, landing on the ground gracefully. On the way down into the void, she witnessed different memories and visions that were visible through the tears in the space.

She had truly been here for far too long.

However, even if she were to escape, there was no guarantee she would disappear because she was an incomplete soul with no physical form.

"What an unusual artefact of yours, Oracle."

She found herself in another space, alone by herself.

Something she was used to.

She closed her eyes, detecting the presence of her magic still bound to the soul fragments of Xue. Despite not being able to locate them, she could at least have some reassurance they were still alive and kicking.

"They are still safe, that's a relief." Eona smiled to herself.

Opening her eyes, she waved her hand around the space and she envisioned the skies and the scenery around her. Within moments, she brought them to life along with her tea table. She turned her head back, staring up at the humongous tree with maple leaves.

"It's a little too bad I only saw it once."

The leaves fluttered to the wind, scattering across the grass and painting a beautiful sight. Eona admired the sight for a moment, a wistful look in her golden eyes.

All of a sudden, she heard the leaves rustling behind her along with the soft sound of footsteps. She spun around, her white robes swishing along to her movements.

"...?"

She glanced at the stranger and her eyes grew wide, her body going still.

The stranger wasn't a stranger.

It was...

"...Veau."

***

《 start 》

What a fool.

What a fool you are, Veau.

It's too late for regrets.

Didn't you tell yourself that long ago?

Pathetic.

I really am a fool.

《 stop 》