"Huhhh…" Philia sighed.
She slowly opened her eyes. But those eyes looked more fatigued than ever. She gazed at me disoriented.
"When did you wake up?" she asked, confused.
"Not long ago," I replied.
She improved her sat posture. Her hand palmed onto her forehead, with a pout over her face.
"I lost him again," she mumbled.
She glanced at me, with hostile eyes. My heartbeat raced rapidly. Those eyes were covered with feudalism.
"Who am I talking with?" I hesitated.
She was stunned and realized her behavior towards me.
"Sorry for making you uncomfortable," she apologized.
Philia paused a while. She seemed to have a problem with it. She was like a child who had lost her zest for life. Pondered.
That man was surely no ordinary person to Philia. Her behavior towards him was too hostile. The man mentioned someone. Perhaps, the person was connected to her.
I picked up my watch on my neck. It was seven o'clock in the evening. We wasted so much time.
"Let's leave this place," Philia calmly requested of us.
I nodded as I saved my revolver in my pocket. We stood up and walked out of the theater. Outside was dim and cloudy. Eternal rain stopped.
People have just finished their work. They roamed around the place for dinner tonight. Lights were lit along the town, illuminating the cold night.
"What do you want for dinner?" She asked.
I tried to reject it, but she insisted.
"Don't be reluctant, you can just consider it as a favor for helping me," her voice softened.
"If you say so, just a piece of bread. Thanks," I replied.
We stopped by a bakery nearby. Philia bought several breads and a strawberry cake. I helped her carry those and walked to Philia's house.
Midway, I smelled a pungent odor. The corpse of a kid. It was rotten. I thought it was a normal crime scene. But people around us were too indifferent towards it.
What was happening?
"Cevandied State," Philia immediately said.
"It happens when people or the world no longer recognize the individual. People couldn't remember, nor see their appearance, even though they were still alive," she explained.
"Why can we see him," I asked.
"Because the nullity gave the sense of it when the person was dead in mind," she responded.
Who was the nullity? Even though I was able to see it. Either with Philia. She was able to see it. What was happening?
"It seems that you are not alone in being able to see it," her voice limped.
Philia's eyes slowly shaded. Sadness covered her face but she was unable to let the tears pour down. She deeply fell into emotion.
"Why do I live now? Lethan was already resting in the afterlife," she lamented.
Her motivation was broken. I curiously stared at her. Lifeless person. But she couldn't even end her suffering.
"I hate those words," I confessed.
She gazed at my face. Her tears stopped. Her mind was barely stable.
"If you don't end it, you will live with it," I insisted.
I appeared here. In this "illusion" world, aimlessly roaming with uncertainty. I barely remember what was going on with myself. Perhaps, I was dead in many ways.
"You talked like you know my suffering," she responded.
"But I witnessed your grief," I replied.
Slowly, the corpse dissolved. The smells of it burned out.
"Either you continue… Or Cevandied reached you."
She froze for a while, with a deeply thought-out decision.
"I never expected that from you," Philia crooned. Her view ascended.
"What are your thoughts about those who have forgotten," I asked.
"Sadly, I'm unable to see it again. Hopefully, they are buried with their name in ease," she emphasized.
I realized that people will die eventually. Deathness didn't care about it. As the era changes humanity, this "illusion" will not decay.
Philia on the other hand, eventually will reach her finality. It wasn't immoral, but it was the existence of humanity.
"Thanks Rirthe, it was embarrassing being scolded by a stranger," she said.
"Don't mention it," I replied.
We continued to walk, leaving the corpse behind unburied. Because, the rule of the world was against human morality.
Reached her house, we stepped in. The atmosphere was a bit off since the last time I left. Not any particular change from it. We put the bread on the table and sat on the couches.
"Take anything you want," she said more kindly.
"Thanks, but I kept my promise only for this bread," I replied.
She smiled at me. She turned a hundred eighty degrees.
"You were funny like my little brother," she said.
"Who's yours?"
"Lethan Ceviezt, my little brother," she answered.
Her little brother? That was unexpected. Wasn't that mean the clothes that I wore were his?
"The reason I am still alive today is for revenge on my little brother. How silly I am," she giggled.
"What if you actually killed him? What life will you be going through? Since you accomplished it," I assured.
It made her think hard as she scooped her cake out
"I will live peacefully and…" Before she finished her line.
"Wasn't it the same as right now? Even though you killed him," I explained.
Surely, she never thought about the aftermath. She was filled with feudalism. More of it, I changed my perspective on the man's motives.
"I'm sure your little brother died for a reason," I said.
She disbelieved my words. It was expected.
"Explain it," but she calmly insisted to me.
Did she accept Lethan's death? She didn't react emotionally.
"Firstly, I wanna ask. Who is 'Ridere'?"
She stood back for a second.
"It was one out of fourteen known deities. The Deity of Shindy, Ridere," she explained.
"How about The Pierrot?" I continued asking.
"Elynor, he was a Portrayer under the pathway of shindy. He was also a member of the Generic Theater Puppets,"
Was he a part of a deity? His puppet gave me a lot of information after I woke up. What was his plan?
"Lastly, is a name part of a life contract?"
"Why do you ask a random question?" She confusedly asked.
"The man puppets gave me information when you fell asleep," I answered.
She seemed underwhelmed by me, as she continued to scoop another bite.
"You could have told me earlier about it," she mumbled.
"Pardon, since you were down last time. There's no way I told you that," I apologized.
Her mood escalated quickly. Perhaps it was the effect of enjoying the sugar.
"Fine… In this world, a name is a form of soul and faith contract, usually it depends on how it was given and where it is attached to," she unwillingly explained.
"What if I throw out the name?" I asked.
"You will die without anyone knowing your identity. Even though the individuals were widely known, it was your existence contract."
It meant that my revolver was attached to my existence. My curiosity grew mad with the man's words. It made me more curious about him.