Leonard sat exactly where he had been sitting before, his body relaxed in the same chair beside the table as if he had never moved at all. The room around him looked perfectly intact. The tall bookshelves stood untouched, rows of ancient volumes resting in careful order, their leather spines gleaming softly in the dim light . The thick carpet beneath the furniture showed no sign of burns, and the heavy curtains by the windows swayed gently in a faint current of air that slipped through the cracks in the old manor walls.
The only thing that had changed was the whiskey.
The glass bottle that had once been half full now lay empty on the table beside Leonard's hand. A single amber drop clung to the rim of the bottle's neck before sliding slowly downward.
For a brief moment Toki frowned slightly.
His eyes drifted across the room, observing the quiet perfection of the library, and a strange thought crossed his mind.
Did I imagine the fire?
The memory of flames consuming the shelves, devouring centuries of knowledge in seconds, still lingered vividly in his thoughts. He could almost smell the smoke again, could almost hear the crackling of wood as the heat swallowed everything in its path.
Yet none of it was here.
The room stood untouched.
Perfect.
Untouched… except for the man standing across from him.
The weight in Toki's arms shattered the illusion of calm.
Utsuki's body rested against his chest, her pale hair still stiff with frost. Small fragments of melting ice clung to the strands, dripping slowly onto the floor like quiet tears from the sky. Her arms hung limp, her fingers brushing against Toki's blood-stained coat with every slight movement he made.
The silence between them was heavy.
Then Toki noticed the third presence in the room.
Across from Leonard, sitting on the empty chair , was a small white rabbit.
Arashi.
The guardian spirit of wind.
His ears were lowered, and his small paws rested stiffly against the wooden seat as he stared directly at Toki. His eyes carried an emotion that was difficult to describe—a mixture of pity and disgust so intense that it almost made the air itself feel heavy.
The rabbit said nothing.
He only watched.
Yet even without words, it was clear that Arashi was struggling to hold something back. His small body trembled slightly, as though he were fighting against tears he refused to let fall.
Leonard tilted his head, studying the strange scene before him with quiet amusement.
Then he spoke, his voice smooth and calm as if discussing the weather.
"Oh… so you finally decided to accept my proposal."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Splendid."
Toki did not respond.
Slowly, carefully, he lowered Utsuki's body onto the floor. He placed her down with gentleness , arranging her arms carefully so they rested across her chest.
The frost in her hair continued to melt, small droplets sliding down her cheek like silent tears.
Toki remained kneeling beside her for a moment.
Then he stood.
Leonard expected him to approach the table.
Instead, something unexpected happened.
Toki turned his back on him completely.
Leonard's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise.
The boy walked forward until he stood directly in front of the small rabbit.
Then, without hesitation, Toki slowly lowered himself onto his knees.
The movement was deliberate.
Heavy.
Respectful.
His head bowed slightly.
"Everything that happened here," Toki said quietly, his voice hoarse from exhaustion and grief, "is my fault."
He raised his eyes toward the small spirit.
"O great spirit of the wind… I killed your little sister. The girl I swore I would protect."
His fingers tightened slightly against the floor.
"If there is anyone in this world who has the right to punish me… it is you."
The words hung in the air.
For a moment Arashi remained frozen in place.
Then the small rabbit hopped down from the chair.
His landing on the carpet was silent.
He walked slowly toward Toki until he stood only a few steps away from him. His tiny paws pressed into the fabric as his gaze rose to meet the young man's exhausted eyes.
When he finally spoke, his voice carried none of the lightness one might expect from such a small creature.
"Leonard brought you exactly where he wanted you," Arashi said quietly.
His ears lowered slightly.
"And he did the same thing to me."
"He forced me to remain hidden inside that old instrument… guarding Utsuki while I waited for the moment he wanted."
His voice tightened.
"But I did nothing."
He looked back at Toki.
"I stayed still. I stayed silent."
A faint tremor passed through his body.
"And now Utsuki is dead."
The room seemed to grow colder.
Arashi's gaze drifted between the two men in the room.
"In this chamber," he continued slowly, "there are three beings who embody the very concept of power."
His voice grew bitter.
"You."
His eyes shifted toward Leonard.
"Him."
Then the rabbit lowered his head slightly.
"And me."
For a moment the only sound was the quiet ticking of an old clock somewhere deeper in the mansion.
Then Arashi spoke again.
"But even with all that power," he whispered, "neither you nor I can compare to the Angel of Death."
His eyes closed briefly.
His small paws trembled against the carpet.
"So I hid."
His voice dropped lower.
"I hid like a coward… and prayed that you would end everything quickly."
Arashi opened his eyes again and looked directly at Toki.
"We are the same."
His expression hardened.
"Both of us are proud. Both of us believed we were strong enough to protect what mattered."
He shook his head slowly.
"And both of us failed."
Arashi's gaze slowly drifted away from Toki.
Almost unwillingly, his eyes returned to the still body lying on the carpet.
Utsuki rested there as if she had simply fallen asleep after a long and exhausting day. Her pale hair spread softly across the floor, the last thin fragments of frost melting into small droplets that soaked into the fabric beneath her. Her face looked peaceful—far too peaceful for someone who had just been torn away from life.
There was no tension in her expression.
No fear.
No pain.
Only silence.
For a long moment Arashi simply stared at her.
Then his small body began to tremble.
His vision blurred.
Tears slowly filled his eyes until the room itself became nothing more than shifting shapes of color and shadow.
"How…" he whispered quietly, his voice cracking under the weight of the words forming inside him, "how could I ever hate the man that Utsuki loves?"
The question did not seem directed at anyone.
It sounded more like something he was asking himself.
The small rabbit lowered his head, his ears drooping as though the weight of centuries had suddenly fallen onto his tiny frame.
"Do you know something, Toki?" he continued softly, his voice trembling between sadness and reluctant admiration. "Since the day you arrived at this manor… Utsuki has smiled more times than she did during the previous two hundred and eighty-five years of her life."
He laughed faintly, though the sound held no joy.
"Two hundred and eighty-five years…"
The number seemed absurd when spoken aloud.
His eyes remained fixed on Utsuki's peaceful face.
"I have been with her since the moment she was born," Arashi said quietly. "I watched her take her first breath. I watched her struggle to walk for the first time. I watched the world begin to look at her with fear before she even understood why."
The rabbit's voice grew heavier.
"Before you came… she spent most of her days hiding."
"She avoided people whenever she could. She would stay inside her room for entire days, sometimes even weeks, because she was terrified that someone would see her white hair and whisper the same thing they always whispered."
His expression darkened slightly.
"That she looked like the witch who started the calamity four hundred years ago."
The words lingered bitterly in the air.
"People see white hair," Arashi continued quietly, "and they see a monster."
His voice softened.
"But she wasn't a monster."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"She was just a lonely girl who wanted someone to look at her without fear."
Arashi opened his eyes again and looked at Toki.
"And then you arrived."
Something fragile flickered within his expression.
"Suddenly she started waking up early every morning," he said slowly, almost as if he were afraid the memory might disappear if he spoke too quickly. "She would stand in front of the mirror for hours, brushing her hair, adjusting her clothes, trying different ribbons or different ways of tying her sleeves."
He shook his head slightly.
"At first I thought something was wrong."
A weak smile appeared on his face.
"But then I realized something."
His voice softened.
"She wasn't trying to hide anymore."
Arashi's eyes filled with tears again.
"She wanted people to see her."
He looked back at Toki, his gaze filled with a strange mixture of sorrow and gratitude.
"You gave her that courage."
The rabbit's small body trembled again as his eyes drifted downward toward the blood covering Toki's clothes.
"You lost so much blood trying to protect her," Arashi whispered.
His voice tightened.
"I watched you throw yourself into danger again and again… diving into the abyss without hesitation every single time you thought she might be in danger."
He clenched his paws against the floor.
"You fought Leonard knowing you couldn't win."
His breathing grew uneven.
"You kept trying to save her even when your body was barely able to stand."
Then his voice broke completely.
"And I…"
The words struggled to come out.
"I did nothing."
Silence swallowed the room.
Arashi's shoulders shook as he forced himself to continue speaking.
"I stayed hidden inside that dusty piano… pretending I was protecting her while the world outside was collapsing."
He lowered his head.
"I told myself I was waiting for the right moment."
His ears drooped completely.
"But the truth is…"
His voice became almost inaudible.
"I was afraid."
The confession hung in the air like a heavy stone.
"So tell me, Toki," Arashi said after a moment, lifting his tear-filled eyes toward the young man kneeling before him, "who am I to judge you?"
His gaze hardened slightly.
"You are the one who bled for her."
His voice softened again.
"You are the one who kept fighting even when your mind was breaking apart."
Arashi studied Toki's exhausted expression carefully.
"You don't even know what is real anymore, do you?"
The rabbit looked toward the floor.
"You've repeated this day so many times that the memories must be blending together."
His eyes darkened with sympathy.
"You destroyed everything you loved… over and over again… just to give them a better chance in the next loop."
The weight of those words seemed to press against the walls of the library.
Arashi inhaled slowly.
When he spoke again, his voice carried a quiet sadness.
"I pity you, Toki."
The young man did not react immediately.
Instead, he slowly reached forward.
His hand trembled slightly as his fingers gently touched the soft fur of the small rabbit.
The contact was light.
Careful.
Almost apologetic.
Toki's voice, when he finally spoke, was low and filled with exhaustion.
"I don't deserve your pity, Arashi."
His fingers tightened slightly in the rabbit's fur.
"I don't deserve anyone's pity."
He lowered his head.
"What I deserve…"
His voice grew colder.
"…is to suffer for eternity for the things I have done with my own hands."
The words were not dramatic.
They were spoken with quiet certainty.
Arashi looked at him for a long moment.
Then the rabbit sighed softly.
"Toki…"
His voice carried an unexpected gentleness.
"Leave this place."
Toki slowly raised his eyes.
"Leave," Arashi repeated firmly. "And don't ever come back."
The rabbit's gaze shifted briefly toward Leonard, who remained silently observing the conversation from his chair.
"Hide yourself somewhere far away," Arashi continued quietly. "Anywhere. It doesn't matter where."
His ears twitched slightly.
"But do not accept anything Leonard offers you."
His voice became more urgent.
"Utsuki would never want you to go through that."
Arashi stepped closer.
"So leave."
The rabbit's voice trembled.
"Run."
His small body straightened as if he were preparing for something.
"I'll try to hold him back for a little while."
For the first time since the conversation began, a faint current of wind stirred the air around him.
It lifted the edges of the carpet and caused the pages of several open books to rustle softly.
The gentle breeze carried a quiet promise.
Even if he had been a coward before…
Arashi was prepared to fight now.
Leonard's patience finally broke.
The quiet conversation between Toki and Arashi had gone on long enough for his liking, and the faint smile that had rested on his face slowly faded into something sharper. He leaned back in his chair, tapping the empty whiskey bottle lightly with one finger as though it were the only thing anchoring him to the moment.
Then he spoke.
"I must say," Leonard interrupted with clear indignation, his voice suddenly cutting through the heavy silence of the library, "I do not believe it is particularly polite to enter someone's home and then attempt to leave without even speaking to the host."
His eyes shifted slowly from Arashi back to Toki.
"You've had quite enough time to talk with the little wind spirit."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Now it is time to tell me what you have decided."
The air in the room seemed to grow tighter.
Leonard rose slowly from his chair. The motion was calm and unhurried, yet it carried a quiet authority that made the wooden floor creak beneath his shoes. He brushed a speck of dust from the sleeve of his coat as if this were nothing more than a casual evening discussion.
"You see," he continued smoothly, pacing a few steps across the library floor, "there are certain things you must understand about the situation you are in."
His gaze sharpened.
"If you run from me… They will find you."
The way he said They carried a weight that did not need further explanation.
"And unlike me," Leonard added quietly, "They will not be kind enough to offer you a choice."
His voice softened again, almost pleasantly.
"So if you truly wish to leave, then by all means… leave."
Leonard extended one hand lazily toward the massive doors of the library.
"Go ahead. Walk through that door."
His faint smile returned.
"Travel across this world from one end to the other. Wander through its cities and forests, cross its oceans, climb its mountains. Watch as the years pass and everything you know slowly disappears behind you."
His eyes gleamed faintly.
"Watch as this world burns itself down to its very foundations."
The quiet ticking of the distant clock seemed louder now.
"And when the flames have consumed everything," Leonard continued, his voice dropping lower, "when every friend you ever cared about has vanished, when every kingdom has fallen and every memory has turned to dust…"
He spread his arms slightly.
"You will return here."
His smile widened.
"And I will still be waiting."
The certainty in his voice was absolute.
"In this very room."
He looked around the library with quiet amusement.
"I can wait, you know."
A faint laugh escaped him.
"A hundred years. A thousand years."
He shrugged lightly.
"An eternity, if necessary."
Then Leonard's gaze returned to Toki.
"After all…"
His voice became almost philosophical.
"What is time to beings like us?"
The question hung in the air.
Leonard took one slow step closer.
"There is only one future in which Utsuki lives again," he said softly.
His eyes locked onto Toki's.
"And I am the only one who can give that future to you."
The silence that followed felt suffocating.
Then Leonard turned slightly and gestured toward the door once more.
"Or," he added calmly, "you may turn your back on me right now."
His tone was almost conversational.
"You may walk away and pretend this discussion never happened."
He shrugged again.
"But no matter where you go… no matter how far you run… the fact that Utsuki is dead will never change."
The words landed like stones.
"So go ahead."
His hand remained extended toward the exit.
"Leave."
Then Leonard's smile sharpened slightly.
"But I guarantee you one thing."
His voice lowered into something darker.
"This will not be the last conversation we have."
The room fell silent again.
Toki stood still for a moment.
His gaze shifted slowly toward Arashi.
The small rabbit was watching him carefully, his eyes filled with a complicated mixture of worry, hope, and dread.
Then Toki turned toward Leonard.
For a single second, no one spoke.
Then Toki gave a small nod.
"I cannot change the entire path," he said quietly.
His voice carried none of the desperation it had earlier.
Instead, there was something steadier within it now.
"But I can change it piece by piece."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"And eventually… those small changes will create a different road."
He took a slow breath.
"A parallel path."
Leonard listened with interest.
"I will not deny fate completely," Toki continued, "but I will make my own choices within it."
His gaze sharpened.
"And I will bear every consequence that follows."
Then he looked back toward Arashi.
"I'm sorry," Toki said softly.
The apology carried genuine weight.
"But I cannot abandon you."
His eyes moved briefly toward Utsuki's still body.
"I was the one who dragged you into this."
Then Toki stepped forward.
He extended his hand toward Leonard.
For a brief moment Leonard simply stared at it.
Then his smile returned.
Without hesitation he grasped Toki's hand and shook it firmly.
The handshake lasted only a few seconds, but the silent agreement within it felt far heavier than any spoken contract.
"I will consider your advice," Toki said calmly.
His eyes remained fixed on Leonard.
"And I will use you however I see fit."
The statement did not sound like a threat.
It sounded like a fact.
"But," Toki added quietly, "only I have the right to decide how my story ends."
Leonard's smile widened slightly.
"I would not want anything more."
The sincerity in his voice was almost unsettling.
Then Toki released his hand and turned back toward Arashi.
The rabbit stared at him.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Finally Arashi asked the question he already knew the answer to.
"You're going to die again… aren't you?"
The words came out quietly.
Toki nodded.
"Yes."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
"I have to."
He glanced briefly toward Utsuki.
"It is the only way we can save her."
The wind spirit lowered his gaze.
Toki watched the sadness in his eyes.
Slowly, gently, he reached forward and lifted the rabbit into his hands.
Arashi did not resist.
The spirit rested in Toki's palms, his white fur trembling faintly as the young man held him close.
"Toki…" Arashi whispered, though he did not yet know what the boy intended to say.
Toki's expression softened.
"There's something I owe you," he said quietly.
Arashi tilted his head slightly.
"A promise."
The rabbit blinked.
"A promise?"
Toki nodded slowly.
"Do you remember," he continued, "a long time ago… when we spoke here in this very library?"
"It was after the first meeting of the royal selection."
Arashi's ears twitched slightly.
Memories surfaced.
"Yes," he said quietly. "I remember."
Toki smiled faintly.
"At that time," he continued, "you gave me a warning."
The rabbit stiffened slightly.
"You said that if I ever hurt Utsuki…"
Toki paused.
"…you would eat my heart."
For a moment the room was silent.
Then Arashi suddenly jumped out of Toki's hands as if the words themselves had burned him.
"I can't do that!" he cried immediately.
His voice trembled violently.
"I can't!"
The rabbit shook his head desperately.
"Utsuki would hate me for it!"
The words burst from him almost instinctively.
Toki watched him quietly.
Then he spoke again.
"If you do it," he said calmly, "then I will have another chance."
Arashi froze.
"To save Utsuki."
Toki's voice softened.
"To save all of them."
The rabbit stared at him in disbelief.
"But you've already tried!" Arashi shouted, pain filling his voice. "You've tried so many times!"
His small body trembled.
"And every time… it ended the same way!"
The room fell silent again.
Then Toki smiled.
It was not a confident smile.
It was the quiet smile of someone who had already walked through hell and accepted what waited for him there.
"That's true," he admitted softly.
His gaze lowered slightly.
"I was proud."
Arashi watched him carefully.
"I tried to solve everything in a way that… wasn't really me."
Toki exhaled slowly.
"I abused the power of my ability."
Images flashed briefly through his mind—countless loops, countless failures, countless moments where he had forced events to bend according to his will without considering the cost.
"I treated people like pieces on a board."
His voice carried quiet regret.
"I stopped thinking about their feelings."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"And that was my mistake."
The silence deepened.
Then Toki opened his eyes again.
"But now…"
His voice grew steadier.
"…it's time for me to remember who I really am."
Arashi's ears twitched.
"Who is that?" he asked quietly.
Toki smiled again.
"The Toki that Utsuki loves."
The words settled gently in the room.
Arashi stared at him.
Then another thought suddenly struck the spirit of wind.
"Wait!" he said quickly. "If dying is the only thing you need…"
He took a small step forward.
"…then wouldn't it be enough if I simply cut off your head with a wind blade?"
The suggestion came out desperately.
"It would be faster. Less painful."
Toki shook his head immediately.
"No."
Arashi blinked.
"No?"
Toki's voice remained calm.
"I don't want to begin the next loop with a broken promise."
The meaning of the words sank in slowly.
The rabbit's eyes widened.
Toki took one slow step back.
Then he spread his arms slightly.
And opened his chest toward the spirit of wind.
The gesture was simple.
Absolute.
Arashi stared at him.
For several seconds he could not move.
Then something inside him broke.
The air in the library began to tremble.
A powerful current of wind surged through the room, rattling the bookshelves and sending loose papers spiraling into the air. The lamps flickered violently as the small rabbit's body began to glow faintly with pale silver light.
His form began to grow.
The tiny rabbit stretched and expanded, his limbs lengthening, his body swelling with immense power as wind magic poured into the room like a storm.
Fur spread outward like drifting snow.
Bones shifted.
Muscles expanded.
Within seconds the small rabbit was gone.
In his place stood a massive white tiger.
His fur was pure as winter.
His body radiated the overwhelming presence of a primal spirit.
But tears streamed down his face.
"I'm sorry," Arashi whispered.
The voice now came from a throat powerful enough to shake the walls.
"I'm so sorry!"
Then the tiger moved.
In a single explosive motion he lunged forward.
His massive body slammed into Toki and threw him violently onto the floor. The impact shook the entire library as the young man crashed against the carpeted ground.
Arashi's jaws opened.
His fangs sank deep into Toki's chest.
The sound of tearing flesh filled the room.
Blood erupted instantly, spilling across the floor in dark waves as the tiger's teeth ripped through muscle and skin.
Toki's body convulsed from the shock.
Pain exploded through every nerve in his body like lightning.
Yet he did not scream.
He clenched his teeth and forced himself to remain silent.
He would not make this harder for Arashi.
The tiger tore again.
And again.
Each bite ripped away pieces of flesh as blood sprayed across the carpet and soaked into the white fur of the spirit .
Then a terrible sound echoed through the room.
Crack.
Toki's ribs shattered beneath the crushing strength of the tiger's jaws.
The pain was unbearable.
His vision blurred instantly as his body struggled to process the damage.
Still he did not cry out.
His heart pounded violently inside his chest.
Then Arashi bit down one final time.
A wet, brutal crunch echoed through the library.
Toki's heart burst inside the tiger's jaws.
The world tilted violently.
Toki gasped.
Air refused to enter his lungs properly now. Each breath came out as a broken, choking rasp.
Darkness crept into the edges of his vision.
His body grew colder.
But even then…
With what little strength remained in his body, Toki dragged himself across the blood-soaked floor.
One arm reached forward weakly.
Toward Utsuki.
Leonard watched silently for a moment.
Then he sighed softly and stepped forward.
Without a word, he bent down and lifted Toki gently from the floor.
The young man's body hung limply in his arms.
Leonard carried him the short distance across the room and placed him carefully beside Utsuki's body.
Toki barely had the strength to lift his hand.
But he did.
His trembling fingers reached up and brushed softly against Utsuki's cheek.
Her skin was cold.
Still.
Yet his expression softened.
"Utsuki…" he whispered weakly.
His voice was barely audible now.
"The light of my eyes…"
A faint smile touched his blood-covered lips.
"To die beside you… is an honor."
His hand trembled as it rested against her face.
"Your knight will save you…"
His breathing grew shallow.
"Toki will save you…"
His vision blurred completely.
"I… love… you."
The last word faded into silence.
Toki's body relaxed completely.
The life left him.
Arashi slowly stepped back, returning to his smaller form, his body trembling as he stared at the two figures lying beside each other.
Leonard stood quietly nearby.
Neither of them spoke.
Then the world began to crack.
At first it was faint.
A thin fracture appeared in the air itself, like a crack forming across glass.
Then another.
And another.
The entire world began to splinter apart.
Reality shattered piece by piece, fragments of the library breaking away like falling shards of a mirror.
Arashi's voice echoed strangely through the collapsing space.
Distorted.
"Do you think… he'll succeed this time?"
Leonard remained silent for a moment.
One floating shard drifted past him.
Inside its reflective surface he could see a brief glimpse of something yet to come—a fragment of a possible future.
Leonard smiled.
Just slightly.
"I believe," he said calmly, "he may have finally found the light at the end of the tunnel."