I looked up at my chest. There wasn't a single scratch or wound. But the tears kept dropping down, making the blanket wet.
"Rirthe?" I looked at Philia.
"Can you tell me at least… what's happening?" Her languid voice sincerely begged me.
My mind was scrambled unevenly. The scene was dragging me so hard. But why was I crying? Philia? Keindest?
"Hey, answer me. I was worried, you know," I looked at her eyes, which began to shed tears.
Was she crying for me? Why? She shot me, didn't she?
"Why? Why are you… crying for a random kid that you picked up?" I agonized over the puzzle.
"Huh? You were still thinking that… I owed you as a stranger? I thought that you… already accepted being here." She was desperate and disappointed.
I never thought that she would always accept me as a family member. I couldn't ever understand what people were really thinking. They called it an emotion.
"Sorry…" I avoided her face.
She threw her gaze away from me. She probably hated me so bad. We went silent. Philia left the room without looking back at me. I felt terrible and frustrated.
Should I tell her? She would think it was a made-up story. What should I even do? Everything seemed false.
I woke up from the bed and went downstairs. Silence echoed through the way down. I was looking after her, but there was no one here.
Then, I glanced at a piece of paper with two pieces of bread on the table. I approached it. There was writing on it.
"I know something is going on with you. I wasn't mad, I just… disappointed. You don't need to apologize. I'm sure that you choose something better than I ever knew.
Don't feel sad. Here, take this bread that I bought for you. It was still freshly baked. I went off for duty today, so I will get home late.
So, take care of yourself." The letter ended with a smiling face.
I took the bread. It was warm. Then I take a bite of it, tasteless. She bought it as I wanted. She was away for an entire day. What can I do here?
Then, I prepared myself and decided to go outside. I took my revolver and my watch with me. I looked through the window, and the rain soaked the town.
I took my umbrella and walked out. There weren't many people around. The rain reminded me of that man. The one who gave me this umbrella. I was really curious what his intention was.
Walking in the rain felt bitter. The guilty kept haunting me whenever I was. When I crossed the road, I glanced at someone who seemed familiar from the back. That fawn fedora looked like Sievert has.
Perhaps it wasn't him, until I approached him. He noticed my presence. He gazed at me. I stared at his face.
"Oh… Hello Rirthe, that was unexpected," he greeted me.
"Nice to meet you mister," I bowed down at him.
I raised my gaze.
"Wanna chattin'? I'm free anyway," he invited me.
"Sure," I agreed.
He brought the way to a café. We entered, ordered a drink, and sat.
"Are you not on duty?" I asked.
He smiled at me.
"That's Philia's special commission, None of us can disturb her duty," the coffee being served on our table.
He took the spoon and slowly stirred it. I looked at my cup. The vapor rose. I lifted the cup and blew on it a bit.
"You seemed fatigued," he suddenly clicked.
"How can you tell?" I paused for a sec'.
"Isn't that obvious? Your dread-looking eyes could tell," he said, confused.
I thought sleeping over twelve hours straight could help me recover from my tiredness. It seemed like it didn't work. I needed to ask something.
"Is there a creature that can mimic a person or something?" I put down my coffee.
Sievert stunned. It was extraordinary to see Sievert looking like this. This was like looking at the other side of him.
"Why so suddenly?" He took a sip of the coffee.
"I encountered 'Philia alternative' body," I stared at his gaze.
"Hmm…" He stopped and put it down.
I told him, recounting the scene. The small detail. And my sorrow. He pondered so long. The vapor on the coffee slowly diminished.
"Are you sure it wasn't just a 'dream?'" He asked.
"I couldn't tell," I drank the cold coffee.
He was thinking. His hand on the chin. And the sound of the rain stopped.
"If it's true, probably someone is mimicking Philia. They were under the path of Gluzygy," he said.
"What kind of deity was it?" I asked.
"The deity of Voracity," he took a spoon.
It was unclear. Whether the entity was, their authority was massive. There was a chance that they were trying to take over Philia's identity. Since, the gluttony was never satisfied with what they already got.
"You know where it's going?" He pointed at me with the spoon.
I nodded at him. Then, he slightly smiled at me. As I took another sip of coffee, something hit my chest. My body couldn't react to it. The pain began to spread slowly throughout my body. I couldn't burst my voice out as it was hurting me from the inside.
My throat ached. I was unable to sip my drink. My hands and legs became paralyzed. I wished I had known about it earlier.
"Haha… I knew you'd fall for it," "he" lilted.
"You'd better… know your place…" I was struggling to speak.
"He" laughed as he tore Sievert's body apart. Blood sprayed the café. It was messing up the place. Upon the torn-up body, a person took over the disintegrated disembodiment.
"Everyone called me 'The Shape Shifter.' But I didn't like that nickname, it's too generic. Greetings, I'm Trixyona, also known as 'Identity Pinicker,'" A woman appeared within the body.
Her body was made of dead flesh. The hairs were unstable dark matter. Her eyes were covered in black crayon.
"What's the fuck your motivation?" I tried to glare but it cracked and low.
"My motivation? It is just as simple as eating every single 'delicious' existence in this world," she joked.
So, she tried to consume my identity. What happened to Philia and Sievert then? I was still remembering them. She probably hasn't consumed them. Why?
"I really want to eat you but… Your existence is unique, I desperately want to. Tch… Fuck this matrix for not letting me. You should be glad your identity was encrypted," she peeved as she kicked the chair out of the window.
Suddenly, the pain faded. My body slowly recovered from the paralysis. I dropped to the table as the cup of cold coffee fell and scattered.
"Why can't you swallow me?" I was coughing.
"Shut up. There will be consequences for it," She touched my body.
Slowly, my body weakens.
"Ahh… Looks like your ally is going to come here. I hate that script man." She walked away from my weak body.
"By the way, see you… 'Fancy Dishes'" then she flew off from the café window.
As I struggled to raise my body, someone approached me.
"Rirthe!" The familiar voice called me.