"Did you know? I have a dream. A dream that was as fleeting as a firefly, as unreachable as the stars, as dense as the sea, as fictional as life."
"No matter what I did, I've never once been able to take a step towards the road which would lead me to the future I've envisioned."
"That was until a couple years ago. Perhaps you never knew, but there used to be a Civil War happening inside Arius."
"It was then and there that I discovered it."
"The source of power, one that is not comprehensible by the mortal mind. One that shall never be named in fear of being the target of such power."
"I am not weak. Yet, I am unable to attain the things I so desire."
"I'm sure you're able to relate can't you, Kasuka?"
"..."
"I remember holding a child back in the day. Of course, it wasn't out of my own volition. The child had never once cried out loud. Her eyes were void of emotions, rarely ever letting out a single noise."
"Even as I starved her, she never let out a noise."
"Isn't it unthinkable?"
"After all, how come a person at their weakest couldn't be corrupted?"
"A toddler, barely a couple weeks old. A hint of brown was barely growing on her head back then."
"I remember this memory extremely vividly."
"It wasn't until a couple years ago, the day the child finally learnt 'comprehension', the day the child 'understood' life, the day she could finally think for herself."
"I let her go."
"I was interested."
"What would such a unique child do in the face of adversity?"
"Would she survive in ways she couldn't even imagine?"
"Would she immediately crumble under the real world's pressure?"
"Would she go against my expectations and survive, becoming stronger every single day?"
"The child's name was Karumi Kasuka."
"A name given to you by nobody, yet you yourself insist on that name."
"You were the greatest talent in this world."
"Perhaps if it was you, you could achieve my dream without turning towards the void."
"Perhaps... you'll achieve it naturally."
"But then, you stopped."
"Suddenly, it seemed like you no longer had any motivation to live for."
"Even if the sun falls down, even if the moon shatters into a million pieces, you've never come back to your old self."
"I always wondered, why was that?"
"I kept on searching for the reasons, but by then, I thought there's no longer any chance of you being 'you'."
"You're a failure."
"It was then that I found a child of Royal Blood."
"Hakari Atsuko, the final child of the noble lineage."
"Even if she was less prevalent, it's almost at the same level as when you were barely as tall as my knee."
"She shall be my asset. I shall use her."
"That should've been it."
"But then... you returned."
"With a body more resilient than ever..."
"Welcome back, Karumi Kasuka."
'Yap Yap Yap Yap. Sigh~ My ears hurt listening to this freaking monologue! Can you just cut off my limb already?'
With a blank face, Kasuka watched as the only person in her presence suddenly started to blurt out some lore in the background.
Like, excuse me, I don't give a fuck.
I have points I need to farm!
Just torture me already!
Kasuka tilted her head in exhaustion, lamenting her fate on the operating table as a circular flashlight was pointed at her stomach.
"By next week-- no, in 2 days. I don't need Gematria's help. In 2 days with you as my assistant... I can complete the ritual."
...Wait a minute.
Woman, what did you say?
Wait wait wait wait!
I didn't sign up for this!
I didn't even fully max out my bond with Arius Squad yet!
Woi!!!!!!
Even though her head was full of messy thoughts about how her original plan had suddenly gone awry, Kasuka's expression was consistent.
Indeed, she was constantly showing a 'I'm so done' kind of face.
She's not even struggling.
She simply awaited her fate, one that had been advanced to happen in two days.
Well, shit. Originally, Kasuka had thought that leaving Beatrice alone for a month would be good enough for her to get punished, which in turn got the members of the Arius Squad to feel guilty for causing problems, problems in which she's the one that needed to take responsibility.
...She really never thought that in the meantime, Beatrice would still continue on her research! Even succeeding to the point of this!
Um... Ok, she mustn't cry over spilled milk. Instead, she needed to think of a way to salvage this situation.
Looking at Beatrice's face, there's no doubt that she's confident she would succeed in this.
Due to that, Kasuka's life was practically guaranteed to go swoosh on a cross in two days.
"I have a request."
"Oh? What could it be?" Intrigued by the sudden context, Beatrice thought that it wouldn't hurt even if she did listen to what Kasuka had to say.
"Could I... write letters?"
"Letters? Ah, to them? I see, I see. I was wondering why you placed your own death as a condition inside our contract, but I think I figured it out now." Beatrice let out a creepy smile.
"It appears that you know you don't have much time left remaining."
Huh?
"So you could see the future. Hm, in that case, many things in the past could be explained."
Hmmmmm????
"You never cried because you've matured through prophecies. You've witnessed the world happening, due to that, simple things such as hunger couldn't even phase you."
What the fuck is this woman suddenly on about, is she high?
"But... that means my future is guaranteed."
"My research is successful."
"For that, I thank you."
"And... Farewell, my child."
Wait, what about my letters!?
Is that anesthesia you're about to inject to me!?
Wait wait wait, at least let me leave behind a will or something, I can't just have built anticipation and then leave without seeing my hard work unrewarded!
"Mada--"
"Goodnight."
And just like that, Kasuka's consciousness shut down, without her even having a chance of activating her Self-Healing Constitution to neutralize the sleeping agents.
"How many doses did you give me!?"
Kasuka's scream went unheard.