"She gets smaller every time she dies? Every time she dies?"
For a brief moment, Miko genuinely thought she'd misheard.
Because what did that even mean — dying once? Could Mobius actually come back to life? And dying once would already be staggering enough on its own, but the clear implication in Kaito's words was that Mobius had died many times.
What on earth was going on here?
"That's right. Every time she dies, her body gets a little younger — which is why she ended up looking the way she does now." Kaito nodded at Miko's stunned expression.
"But how does she manage to come back after dying? It feels...a bit unsettling." Lumine chimed in with a question of her own.
She hadn't actually met Mobius yet, but from the way Kaito had described her, she got a distinctly eerie feeling about the woman.
"Right, Kaito — is that her ability?" Miko was equally curious.
Honestly, she hadn't expected Mobius to surprise her quite this much.
Even back when she'd first laid eyes on Mobius, she'd already sensed the woman was no ordinary person — but apparently she'd still been underestimating her.
"It is her ability, yes. As for where it came from — it's tied to the research I mentioned just now."
Under the combined gaze of Lumine and Miko, Kaito continued spinning his improvised backstory from Mobius's lore.
He went on: "Though I honestly don't know the specifics myself. It's complicated."
Keeping things vague was a deliberate choice — it left more room for Miko and Lumine's imaginations to fill in the gaps. So Kaito didn't elaborate further, simply stating that even he didn't fully understand the details.
More importantly, the more specific he got, the easier it would be to slip up. Better to leave it there.
"Hard to believe. That Mobius — the one who looks like a little kid — is actually that formidable."
It was hard to tell whether Miko was talking to herself or to Kaito, but there was unmistakable wonder in her tone.
"No — dangerous is the better word. That Mobius has a distinctly sinister air about her."
She corrected herself almost immediately.
"You're not wrong there. I'm worried she might use people as research subjects." Because Mobius wasn't exactly a straightforward heroic figure in this scenario, Kaito said as much — and it also served as a setup for Mobius's eventual appearance.
"What?!"
Miko hadn't expected that Mobius would actually use people for her research. She couldn't help herself — she shot straight up from her chair.
She had no choice. That was simply too evil.
She'd already started to feel like something was off about Mobius when she first heard about her experimenting on those monsters — but to then find out she used people as well? That was utterly monstrous.
"Well, it's not exactly forced. If someone is willing, she'll do it — whether they want to gain some kind of power or alter themselves in some way, she can make it happen."
Seeing Miko's horrified reaction, Kaito quickly added a clarification.
Either way, Mobius couldn't be introduced as an outright villain.
"Gain power? Alter themselves?"
Once she heard Kaito's explanation, Miko's alarm gave way to curiosity again.
"The same way she does it to herself, basically. Normally she uses herself as the test subject — but if someone volunteers, she's more than happy to use them instead." Kaito decided to craft the image of someone so devoted to research that she'd readily experiment on herself.
And as for using others — that, of course, would only ever be with their full consent.
"But what if something goes wrong?" Lumine was the one to ask this time.
"Then there's nothing to be done. Risk and opportunity go hand in hand — that's what she told me herself."
He'd just made that line up on the spot, but Kaito attributed it to Mobius anyway.
After all, Mobius was him and he was Mobius — he could say whatever he liked.
"And what exactly does the 'risk' entail?" Lumine pressed.
"Right — does it mean death?" Miko was just as curious about that.
"Maybe," Kaito answered.
"Maybe?" Lumine and Miko said it in perfect unison.
"It's possible you could die... but it's also possible you'd end up...a little strange."
"Just say it plainly." Miko couldn't take the half-answers anymore.
She had a feeling Kaito was trying to spare Mobius's dignity somewhat — but she didn't care. Kaito could protect his other friends' reputations all he wanted; that was his business. But when it came to Mobius, Miko wanted to know everything. All of it.
She couldn't help it. Mobius had shown up right in front of her, and on top of that, kept hovering around Kaito.
"You'd become something like a monster. Not quite human, not quite anything else." Since Miko was so insistent on knowing, Kaito — who'd been busy crafting all sorts of impressions around Mobius — had no choice but to come out and say it directly.
"A monster? But then how does she—"
"Well, she actually has this...hmm, how do I put it...she can transform into a kind of—"
"Don't tell me — a monster's form?" Kaito had cut off Miko's question, and now Miko cut off Kaito right back.
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