The golden beach shimmered with a warm glow under the afternoon sun, as gentle waves lapped against the shore.
Beach umbrellas dotted the sand like blossoms. Beneath one of them, striped in blue and white, lay a woman with wine-red hair, wearing sunglasses.
"Wow~ So Eden has this swimsuit too~ It's so pretty♪~"
Elysia cupped her face in her hands, though her attention—along with that of the other three—was elsewhere entirely.
To Mobius and Einstein, the whole situation felt far too coincidental, even somewhat… deliberate.
As for Vya, the "Sister Eden" before her wasn't quite the Eden she knew. At the very least, the light she emanated had subtle differences.
It was like different performances of the same song. Each person's experiences shaped them, and their light naturally took on a unique form.
Vya recognized people by their light, not their face. No matter how similar the glow, it was never exactly the same. So, she didn't share Elysia's level of excitement.
Elysia eagerly hurried to Eden's side, looking her over carefully.
She waved a hand, but Eden showed no reaction.
"Hmm, if Eden is here, then that must mean…"
The clever Elysia thought of a possibility.
She followed Eden's gaze out to sea.
Suddenly remembering something, Elysia looked in the direction Eden was staring.
Not far from the shore, two figures were playing and splashing in the water—one with long pink hair, the other with long green hair, standing out vividly under the sunlight.
"Wow, Mobius~! Let's go take a closer look~!"
Elysia was itching to get nearer.
Without another word, she grabbed Mobius's hand. Before Mobius could even protest, she was being dragged forward.
Only Vya and Einstein were left behind.
Vya glanced at Einstein, noticing a certain complexity in her gaze.
While Einstein had accepted Mobius's explanation easily enough, actually looking directly at Vya still felt a bit strange, a little unreal.
"Vya, do you know how we can get back?" Einstein asked.
Vya blinked. "We just need to open another door~"
She mimed a door-opening motion, a faint white light flickering at her fingertips before fading.
"I see."
"You're really something, Vya," Einstein said.
"Thank you, Sister Einstein!"
"Let's hold off on opening the door for now. We'll stay a little longer."
"Okay~"
Einstein made a mental calculation of the time and checked the recorder on her wrist.
Who knew if the time difference was the same…
Better to explore a bit more here.
An opportunity like this was truly rare.
...
Meanwhile, Mobius's expression had frozen solid.
That green-haired woman—the "her" from this parallel world—was actually wearing a dark green two-piece swimsuit, frolicking in the water with "Elysia" without a care in the world.
The visual impact was so strong it left her momentarily speechless.
Even though the other Mobius's face was full of anger, clearly provoked by this world's Elysia.
But how could she possibly wear something like that?! It had to be because of Elysia!
"Wow, Mobius, you look so beautiful in that. How about you wear it for me when we get back~?"
Elysia whispered right next to Mobius's ear.
"..."
A storm brewed within Mobius's silence.
Elysia slipped between the "Mobius" and "Elysia," examining the details closely.
"Looking closely, the other me is really pretty too~"
"Hehe, it'd be so nice to get to know her properly~"
Just then, "Elysia" gave "Mobius" a playful shove.
And "by accident,"
the two of them tumbled into the sea together.
"See? See? I told you this would be fun♪~ What do you think, Mobius?"
Splash, splash. Water flew everywhere, drenching Mobius completely.
"..."
Her fury spoke volumes without a single word.
"ELYSIA!!"
...
The Mobius from their own world watched the utterly undignified spectacle of "herself," thinking inwardly,
'That absolutely cannot be me. I would never act like that…'
At the same time, she glanced at the beaming Elysia beside her and unconsciously took two steps back.
Elysia, however, only smiled more brilliantly, a mischievous glint sparkling in her eyes.
Watching the other version of herself and "Mobius" playing in the water, a bold idea suddenly struck her—what would it feel like to briefly swap places with her parallel-world self?
…
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