"I guess it's not impossible for them to exist..." Alasia thinks for a brief moment. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering if people around here are also into those kinds of topics," Ricardo deflected.
"I'm sure there are. As for me, I'm already too busy living my own life." Alasia shrugs. "Do you have any place you want to go?"
"Hmm... I want to go on one of those skyscrapers, the really tall ones," Ricardo suggested.
"Oh, that reminds me—the One World Trade Center's observatory just opened not too long ago. We should definitely go there!" Alasia said excitedly. "However, the fee is a tiny bit costly..."
"Don't worry, I've got it covered." Ricardo finishes his cheesecake and puts down the fork. "I'm ready."
"Wait, you haven't told me what you think of the cheesecake." Alasia points to the now-empty plate.
"I thought it was amazing," Ricardo replied.
"I know I'm never wrong about desserts!" Alasia stated proudly.
The two of them get up from the table before preparing to leave. Ricardo opens the door and holds it open for Alasia. He doesn't understand the intricacy behind such an action, but it's what everyone does for Celestara at the office, so Ricardo just thought it was a gesture of kindness.
Alasia thanks Ricardo before stepping outside the bakery. She pulls out her phone to request an Uber.
"How far is it?" Ricardo asked.
"Around an hour," Alasia replied. "But traffic always makes it slower. Our ride should be here in a few minutes."
"Sounds good."
"Don't you feel hot with all those layers?" Alasia points at Ricardo's luxurious suit. "It's like a good 85 degrees here."
"No, not at all." Ricardo's invisible barrier keeps him at a comfortable 70 degrees; it also blocks off most UV light coming from the sun.
"Really?" Alasia grabs the corner of Ricardo's suit jacket, and a gentle cold sensation presses against her fingertips through the fabric. "I thought black-colored clothes absorb a lot more heat. Why is your jacket so cold?"
"Probably because we just got out of an air-conditioned store," Ricardo said.
"Mm... I guess that's true." Alasia goes back to her phone and begins to search for the ticket prices. She pauses for a moment and looks back at Ricardo. "Uh, bad news—the tickets are all sold out for the day..."
She's lying, but why? Ricardo thought to himself. "That's unfortunate. I can walk around the city on my own; you've done enough for me already."
"Wait! There is a place we absolutely need to check out," Alasia insisted. "And our ride is here."
"Sure, let's go then." Ricardo follows Alasia to the car that's waiting for them on the side of the road.
"Name, please," the driver asked.
"It's Alasia Allison."
"Thanks, ma'am. Where to?"
Alasia shows him the address on her phone. The driver nods and pulls out from the curb. Alasia goes back to her phone to scroll through social media. She glances at Ricardo, who is sitting completely still next to her. "Ricardo, what do you do for a living?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was a magician?" Ricardo joked.
"Can you pull bunnies out of hats?" Alasia questioned.
"Uh, I don't know, maybe?"
"Can you make things disappear?"
"Yeah, I guess."
Alasia pulls out a coin from her purse and gives it to Ricardo. "Show me."
Ricardo puts the coin between the palms of his hands. He then opens them to reveal that the coin has indeed disappeared. "Check your purse."
Alasia opens her purse to find the same coin back where she originally pulled it from. "How did you do it?"
"A magician must never reveal his secrets." Ricardo smiled. A surge of psychic energy catches his attention. Ricardo looks over his shoulder to find a black van following closely behind them. Ah, I see now.
The driver pulls over to the side of the road. "We're here. Don't forget your personal items."
"Thanks!"
Ricardo steps out of the car into the bright afternoon sun. He looks behind him to find the black van parked around one block from where they are now. He is curious as to what conflict might break out next, but at the same time, he is unsure whether or not he should interfere.
"Ricardo, follow me this way." Alasia waves from the sidewalk ahead.
Ricardo catches up to her. "Where are we going now?"
"You'll see in a little bit," Alasia teased.
Ricardo follows Alasia as the two of them walk into a nearby alleyway. The source of psychic energy that Ricardo felt earlier grows stronger. It's coming closer, and unfortunately, I'm at the center.
Reality Breaker starts to shake gently, indicating an incoming threat.
"Hey Ricardo, do you believe in superpowers?" Alasia stops suddenly.
"Of course. How else would you explain my magic trick?" Ricardo chuckled.
A sharp knife flies straight toward Ricardo from Alasia's direction; however, it stops in midair—not just the knife, but the world around him. Chronokinesis. Looks like they've made their move.
"As violent as always." A young man around the same height as Ricardo walks from behind. He grabs the knife currently pointed at Ricardo and throws it to the ground. "Sir, if you leave now, I can pretend that you were never here. This is not a conflict that a mortal can be involved in, after all."
Ricardo tries his best to hold back his urge for violence. "Y-yeah, I'll get going now."
"So even the Asahina have fallen to mere servants of the world government," Alasia provoked.
"Not servants—just partners," the young man said calmly. "If you would just cooperate, we could both save so much more time."
"You fucking traitor!" Alasia sends a dozen sharp objects flying at the young man at high speed. However, with the effect of the time stop, the young man dodges the projectiles flawlessly. He dashes right in front of Alasia and lands a direct hit to her abdomen. Alasia is sent flying into a nearby apartment building from the impact of the attack.
"I am a man of patience. If you agree to cooperate now, I am willing to spare you a couple of hits," the young man provoked.
Alasia holds herself up and wipes away the blood on her lips. "I would rather die!"
The young man moves forward, clenching his fist and preparing the finishing attack. Before his punch can reach Alasia, a black silhouette appears in front of her.
"Don't you think it's rude to hit a cute girl like this?" Ricardo grabs his wrist.
"Who are you really? How can you—"
A wave of black matter pours from Ricardo's necklace before enveloping the young man's body. He screams in pain as the sound of bones breaking fills the air. Momentarily, everything goes quiet, and the black matter returns to the necklace.
Ricardo turns around to Alasia. "Are you—"
"Stay away!" Alasia points a knife at Ricardo.
Ricardo takes four steps back. "Is this far enough?"
"You're such a... You know what, that's fine." Alasia growls. "Identify yourself!"
"Uh, my name is Ricardo—"
"I already know that!" Alasia suddenly falls to the ground. The impact has caused severe internal bleeding in her system; had she not alleviated some of the force with telekinesis, she would have been dead.
"Alasia!" Ricardo rushes to her side. After pulling out a pill from his pocket dimension, he feeds it to her. The wound on her body begins to close up, and after a few minutes, Alasia slowly opens her eyes.
"Why?" she whispered. "I tried to kill you..."
"Would you believe me if I said it's because you're adorable?" Ricardo teased.
Reality Breaker slightly shakes and emits a faint glow.
"J-just because you say that doesn't mean I'll forgive you for your lies." Alasia blushed. "You're really cute too..."
Alasia looks into Ricardo's eyes. His gentle expression is not that of a young man, but rather someone who has once trodden through a treacherous journey alone—someone who lost all sense of purpose, their possessions, their love, and their way home. It's all too familiar to her because she is the same.
"Can you walk?" Ricardo asked.
Alasia gets up slowly with the help of Ricardo. "I'll manage, but we need to go somewhere safe."
"Is it another alleyway?" Ricardo joked.
Alasia ignores the question. "What was that black blob?"
"It's my weapon." Ricardo points to his necklace. "You want it?"
"Hell no!" Alasia yelled. "But I take it that you're a powerful Esper?"
"Something like that, yeah," Ricardo replied.
After a couple of blocks, Alasia takes a sharp turn into an old apartment complex. A locked metal door lies on one of its walls. She walks up to the lock and begins entering the code.
Click.
Alasia gestures for Ricardo to enter as she pulls open the door. "This is one of the underground safe houses for rogue Espers."
"I see." Ricardo walks into the apartment. A couple of couches in the living room with a TV in front, and a small kitchen with a stove to the right of it. And a small walkway leading to a couple of bedrooms.
"It's nothing fancy, but it serves its purpose." Alasia walks in after locking the front door. "And if we need to get out, there's a secret tunnel in one of the bedrooms."
"Do you have any paper?" Ricardo asked.
Alasia searches through the drawers in the kitchen before handing him a notebook. "Does this work?"
"Thanks." Ricardo opens to a blank page in the notebook.
Reality Breaker morphs itself into a small pen and begins to write: "Her fate is coming to an end soon."
"..." Ricardo stares at the paper in silence. He knew this girl would have to meet her end eventually, but he still couldn't bring himself to accept it. He should be used to death by now—after all, he has caused more deaths in the multiverse than anyone else. He is now conflicted. He was always on the sidelines watching the events as they unfolded, but now, he is one of the players.
"When?"
"Tomorrow," Reality Breaker wrote.
"Are you talking to your necklace?" Alasia leans closer.
"Yeah, it was asking if it can taste the cheesecake sometime," Ricardo shows Alasia the notebook. "See."
"I'm afraid we won't be able to go back anytime soon," Alasia said. "We probably also brought a lot of trouble for Claire and her family."
"How long do you plan to stay here?" Ricardo asked.
"The food supply is enough to last us for a whole month, and after that, there will be someone who comes to restock." Alasia responded. "But honestly, I don't know when those government pigs will leave."
"I see." Ricardo closes the notebook. "About our plan to go to the One World Trade Center..."
"Sorry, I lied. There were definitely tickets available, but you were acting way too suspicious, and we were being followed." Alasia apologized. "I would love to go someday."
"How about we go tonight?" Ricardo suggested.
"Did you not hear what I just said?" Alasia questioned.
"I heard you, but of course, I have a way for us to stay hidden," Ricardo explained.
"Don't make me regret this," Alasia warned, "but thank you regardless."
*****
As night falls upon the world, the windowless apartment's temperature drops slightly. Alasia finishes her bowl of instant ramen and gets up for a glass of water.
"You ready to go?" Ricardo puts on his suit jacket.
Alasia takes a sip of her water before setting down the glass. "Yes!"
The two of them make their way through the tunnel. After around a ten-minute stroll, they climb out from a manhole cover.
"Alright, what's your plan?" Alasia begins to look around her surroundings.
Ricardo snaps his finger, and their bodies are now in a transparent state. "How's that?"
"What kind of power is this?"
"It's invisibility. Pretty nice, right?" Ricardo smiled.
"...Yeah," Alasia said bitterly. This isn't fair!
Ricardo grabs Alasia in his arms. "Hold onto me, okay?"
"W-what are you doing?!" Alasia panicked.
Ricardo holds Alasia tightly before soaring into the night sky above. "Which way is it?"
"You can fly?!" Alasia exclaimed.
"Yeah, of course I can fly. I said I was a magician." Ricardo smirked. "And magicians make miracles happen."
"Then how come you were uncertain about pulling bunnies out of hats?"
"Because I don't wear hats."
Alasia stops with her questions and points Ricardo in the right direction. Seriously! Who is this guy? He appears out of nowhere, saves me, and now we're flying? This must be a dream, and even then, I want it to last a little longer.
Her black hair flows freely in the cold wind. The city lights illuminate the world before them. It's like the stars have fallen out of the dark universe onto this land, shining in unison to celebrate the beauty of their new home.
"Is that the one?" Ricardo points to a tall tower-like building ahead.
"Yeah, that's the one!" Alasia holds on even tighter than before to feel the warmth of his grasp. This feeling is both foreign and familiar at the same time. She has yearned for moments like these, but through the years of wandering, she has almost forgotten.
"We're here." Ricardo slows down to a stop. The two of them are now floating atop the tallest building in New York City. The sea of neon lights dances as their eyes meet. Their faces draw close slowly as their lips touch in a gentle act of intimacy. At this very moment in time, there is no more immortality nor mortality, no more wandering strangers. At this very moment in time, there is only a young couple crossing paths as they walk together toward an unknown future.