Ahh… so sleepy.
Hinata felt herself slipping, sinking toward a bottomless abyss.
Everything was fading—her senses, her memories, even her hate.
But just before her mind dissolved into darkness…
fragments of her past flashed before her eyes.
Right… Father used to play with me when I was little.
She had forgotten those warm memories, buried under years of pain.
Hinata once had a normal family.
A simple life.
A place she belonged.
Then everything fell apart.
Her father's business collapsed.
He turned to desperate, dirty methods to survive.
Her mother broke from the stress.
And Hinata—who was still just a child—couldn't bear to imagine how deeply her father must have suffered.
But she never forgave him.
She blamed him for everything.
Her childhood.
Her pain.
Her loneliness.
Her heart was weak—just like every human heart.
Her father's heart had been weak too.
If we had stayed together… if we had supported one another… would everything have been different?
Hinata hated herself for thinking that.
She hated the hypocrisy.
She hated pretending she was justice when all she wanted was to forget her own sins.
Maybe that was why she chased that man's shadow—
the one whose goodness she denied, yet who saved her with it.
Maybe that's why she never stopped thinking of him.
But that warm thought was dangerous—
too sweet, too tempting, too close to something she didn't deserve.
Wouldn't that make me exactly what Granbell accused me of?
A sinner craving comfort?
Her chest tightened painfully.
Hinata had spent her whole life believing her actions were unforgivable.
That her mother's sadness was her fault.
That even if she returned to her original world…
no one would welcome her home.
So she made a choice.
If I can't save my own past… then I will save as many people as I can in this world.
That thought became her purpose.
But now…
she was so tired.
She wanted to rest.
Let the abyss swallow her.
Let it end.
Her consciousness began to dissolve—
«You can't fall asleep!»
A voice tore through the darkness like a burning blade.
Hinata's eyes—or what felt like eyes—opened.
Chloe?
The name alone pulled Hinata back from oblivion.
But this wasn't reality.
Not fully.
She was standing in a void with no body.
Through a glowing window suspended in the air, she could feel the outside world, though she could not see with her real eyes.
«That's because Hinata-oneechan is inside me.»
Inside… her?
Before Hinata could question it, memories flooded back.
Granbell…
His blade…
I died—didn't I?
Her mind scrambled, and even her Unique Skill Mathematician was working desperately to make sense of it. She shouldn't even be able to use a Skill in this state—yet here she was.
«I'll explain everything. Just stay conscious. Try to synchronize with me, okay?»
Synchronize?
«Yes. Look straight ahead—can you see the light?»
Hinata focused.
A dim glow appeared far in the darkness.
«That's it. Go to it!»
Even without a body, she felt herself moving.
Like walking with her mind.
She reached the light—
And her entire consciousness was washed in rainbow colors.
A moment later—
"Have you woken up?"
‹This is…›
"Good! You stabilized. All right, Hinata, here's the situation—"
‹Hinata is fine.›
"Okay… Hinata."
Chloe took a breath.
"Your soul is inside me. If I didn't pull you in, you'd have been consumed by the Infinite Prison at the bottom of that abyss."
Hinata slowly understood.
She had no body.
Her "self" existed inside Chloe's soul.
The abyss she had fallen into was the Infinite Prison.
She felt gratitude rise within her.
‹…Thank you for pulling me out.›
Chloe nodded and continued.
"When Granbell struck you, your soul slipped into mine. Normally, a soul scatters into the air after death… but yours collided with mine. That's why this happened."
The explanation was insane—yet somehow, Hinata felt the truth in Chloe's words.
But Hinata's mind suddenly sharpened.
‹What about Atem?
Luminas-sama?
Granbell—what happened?!›
Chloe lifted both hands, calming.
"Please breathe… and listen. We aren't in the present."
Hinata froze.
‹What?›
"Look."
A mountain appeared far away—the unmistakable peak of Mount Liora.
‹That's… the Spirit Hill…? But this… this can't be Lubelius. There's nothing here.›
Lubelius should be a holy city.
A land of temples, stone streets, and divine architecture.
But all around them were empty plains.
No buildings.
No ruins.
Nothing.
Hinata felt dread coil in her stomach.
Did Atem fight someone so strong that the entire city was wiped out?
But if that were true…
there wouldn't be grass.
There wouldn't be untouched land.
No.
This wasn't destruction.
It was before creation.
"Hinata," Chloe said gently.
"This is the ancient era."
Hinata's breath caught.
‹There's no way…›
"It's true. This is the holy land before Lubelius was ever built. Luminas won't move her people here for another two thousand years."
Hinata shook in disbelief.
‹How… how do you know this isn't the future? What if everything was destroyed?›
Chloe smiled faintly.
"Because this isn't my first time here."
Hinata's thoughts froze.
"Each time I lost control of my power… I traveled back to this era. I've stood on this same plain before. I remember it."
Hinata couldn't speak.
She could only stare.
Time travel.
A shared soul.
A lost future.
Ancient land.
Everything shattered her understanding of the world.
Finally, Hinata inhaled slowly.
‹…You'll explain everything to me, right?› she asked quietly, but firmly—
ready to face the truth.
Chloe's explanation left Hinata speechless.
It appeared that Chloe possessed a Skill tied to time leaping—though even she only understood fragments of it. She couldn't activate the ability consciously. At best, she could recall pieces of events she had already lived through.
But even that was terrifying.
Because Chloe's "past" wasn't defined by a linear timeline.
It included memories from her future lives, from cycles she had already repeated.
Yet even so, her memories were incomplete… blurred at the edges, mixed together, and shattered by the weight of over two thousand years of repetition.
Human minds were not meant to withstand that.
‹When did you awaken this power?› Hinata asked gently.
Chloe took a moment before answering.
"Well, when I was rescued by Atem. To stabilize me and the other children, Atem took us to the Dwelling of the Spirits to give us a spiritual host, but—"
What had taken her as a host… was not a spirit.
It was her own power from the future, something self-aware and anchored to her eventual death.
"I think I died in the future. That's why my power always returns to that same moment."
‹So the Dwelling of the Spirits is the beginning of your awakening?›
"No, not quite. I don't remember anything at the time. But I regain all the memories the moment I leap back."
‹So you've been repeating the same things over and over?›
"It seems so. I only remember the details from the last time. Although… sometimes memories from different lives get mixed up."
Hinata took a slow breath.
She finally understood Chloe's fear—and her strength.
To repeat a life endlessly… to witness loss after loss… that was not something any normal heart could endure.
She listened quietly as Chloe continued.
Chloe always returned to the same era. The time leap had a limit.
The location she arrived at depended on when she lost control.
From her last memories…
Hinata had died in the Great Forest of Eterna.
"Atem died… and then the Spirit Dragon of Eternity revived—"
‹Atem died? Killed by who? And how? What monster could kill someone like Atem…›
"Well, after receiving my future self in the Dwelling, my memories changed a lot. At the moment my power went out of control at the church, Atem was still alive. So compared to before… this is actually the best outcome."
Hinata noticed Chloe calling Atem "-san," but ignored it. The story mattered more.
Chloe summarized the previous timeline after leaving the Dwelling.
...
…
After saving the children, Atem returned to Eterna, the nation he governed with authority and composure far beyond any ruler. The timing of his teleportation had been slightly off, so he never encountered Hinata on the road.
The otherworlders trying to invade Eterna were crushed effortlessly—Atem's pressure alone had shattered their resistance. News spread quickly:
Eterna was untouchable.
The nations around it grew cautious. The Kingdom of Farmus, intact in that timeline, began building up its forces in fear.
Rumors rose among the Ten Rulers of the World, but nothing concrete.
Atem's relationship with the Freedom Association's grandmaster, Yuuki, grew closer—allowing him to form diplomatic ties. But Farmus interfered, sabotaging these efforts.
Still, Atem never stopped.
He moved forward with boldness, confidence, and unmatched charisma.
He created the children's academy—just as he did in this timeline.
Everything seemed peaceful… until the Western Nations formed a coalition led by Hinata to invade Eterna.
‹Me?›
"Mm… Hinata. You were very scary."
‹I… I am truly sorry.›
"It's okay. In the end, you reached peace."
Their duel ended in a draw because of the children.
Because of Chloe.
Hinata then exposed Farmus's schemes and chose to believe in Atem.
Five years passed.
Atem never became a Demon Lord. Instead, he ruled Eterna with tireless resolve and divine presence.
He made peace with Lubelius as well. For reasons unknown, Luminas kept a close eye on him.
Chloe grew powerful—so strong that even Milim visited her often to play.
But then…
The Empire attacked.
"I loved Atem by then," Chloe admitted. "I begged him not to go to the battlefield. Their weapons were terrifying. I thought even he couldn't win. But he only smiled and said, 'Do not fear. I carry the will of those who depend on me.'"
He had been afraid too.
But Atem never showed fear.
Just before he left, he handed Chloe the Mask of Shadows, Shizu's relic.
‹Shizu's mask…›
"Yes. The one I gave her later. It completes a loop."
Chloe continued.
Atem never returned from that final battle.
Eterna fell.
The Spirit Dragon revived and went berserk, annihilating the Empire's forces.
Luminas, Hinata, Chloe, and the others tried to stop him—but before they could defeat the dragon…
Hinata was murdered by an unknown figure.
A beam of light pierced her chest.
The shock triggered Chloe's power and sent her back again.
...
…
This cycle repeated endlessly.
The key event was always: Hinata dies.
Hinata felt a coldness spread through her chest.
But then Chloe added:
"This time is different. Normally, Atem is already dead before I leap. But this time… he saw me time-leap. He's still alive. The future can change!"
Hinata felt hope.
So many events had diverged. Maybe… maybe this was the end of Chloe's curse.
‹Considering him… he'd probably push through anything, no matter how impossible.›
"Right?! If we return to that future, Atem will still be there. No one will die. We can find the killer!"
Compared to before, the present situation was dramatically better.
Chloe smiled proudly.
"Hehe, I regained some future memories in the Dwelling this time. That's why I acted spoiled with Atem in Ingracia—just to keep him close for a bit."
Then she pulled out the mask.
‹I see. Then nothing is lost.› Hinata felt relieved.
The timeline was still intact.
But then—
"By the way, just so you know," Chloe whispered, her cheeks puffing slightly, "I won't let you have Atem!"
‹Huh?›
"Even if I like you a lot, some battles between girls can't be negotiated! Even Alice said that!"
They really are children… Hinata smiled awkwardly.
Me? With Atem? Impossible…
But even she couldn't help the faint flicker of unease.
"Were you panicking?" Chloe asked teasingly.
‹Not at all! Let's focus on the real issue!› Hinata snapped back.
—This child… she has over two thousand years of memories.
I must never underestimate her.
And so, Chloe and Hinata set off on a strange, shared destiny—
an adventure shaped by countless timelines…
and by the looming shadow of Atem's future death.