Xia Qi stood cold and calm on top of the giant statue, the starry sky spread out bright above her. Under that sky, she was dressed in broken armor. Her purple eyes glowed with an eerie light in the dark, her face stunning but frozen, sharp red horns rising from her head.
Behind her, two huge, shadowy demon hands slowly pulled back into nothing.
"How… do I face Kiana?"
She looked down at St. Freya Academy getting itself back in order below. Her calm eyes held a thread of thought.
"Kiana shouldn't have to go through all that again. She shouldn't have to carry it. Saving the world isn't her job alone. I couldn't stop it last time, but now…"
Her gaze moved away from Kiana in the hospital wing, settling slowly on Raiden Mei in another room.
"The other me… has no excuse to keep resting. If she gets the chance, she'll grab it without thinking twice. Just like I would."
Xia Qi thought, her face blank.
She couldn't do what she did before—killing Kiana over and over in dreams to harden her spirit, her will, to make her stronger. Looking back now, Xia Qi just felt helpless.
But the other self…
A cold flicker passed through her eyes.
A soft wind blew, and she was gone from the statue.
---
On the school grounds, Fu Hua—back early after her mission was canceled—was walking toward the hospital. But as she stepped into the little woods, her brow twitched. She stopped and turned.
"Long time no see, Class Monitor."
Xia Qi stood among the trees, head slightly down, looking calmly at Fu Hua.
"Raiden Mei?"
Fu Hua frowned, taking in Xia Qi's appearance, sensing the terrifying power coiled inside her. She was deeply surprised.
"Seems I guessed right. It's not just me and Kiana who came back."
Xia Qi looked at her, fine brows knitting slightly. "You… met the Class Monitor from the future too, didn't you."
"Past? Future?"
Fu Hua was more confused. But watching Xia Qi, she asked what puzzled her most: "You figured the 'future' Kiana is here too… from how Mei and Kiana are now?"
"Right."
Xia Qi gave a small nod.
"And you, Class Monitor—you didn't seem shocked by how I look. You didn't get ready to fight. You're not even that wary. So the future you must have met you already."
"In that case, yes."
Fu Hua nodded. "But, Mei, why did you say 'future'?"
"Because I'm here now."
Xia Qi spoke evenly, looking slowly around. A deep homesickness showed in her eyes.
"It's been so long since I was last at the academy… It's just like I remember from the start. I wonder if Principal Theresa ever got that fairytale land built."
"Lately, the Hyperion got wrecked and sent for repairs. The cost… Instructor Himeko says it cleaned out the Principal's savings. Himeko even had to pitch in some herself."
Fu Hua added quietly.
"Is that so."
A faint smile touched Xia Qi's face, then she looked a little awkward.
"If I remember right, the Hyperion got wrecked because of me…"
"Correct. Ha."
A slight smile touched Fu Hua's face too, her expression softening a little.
"So what will you do now?"
Fu Hua asked.
"I want to find the Kiana who came with me. And the Class Monitor, and the others."
Xia Qi's face turned serious.
"Class Monitor, if you know where they are, please tell me."
"I'm sorry…" The smile faded from Fu Hua's face. She repeated the words Xia Qi had used to mislead her earlier. "For some reason, those of you who came from the future—or maybe another world—can only be here one at a time. Before, when the other me showed up, Kiana vanished. When Kiana was here, the other me disappeared. That's what the other me told me."
"..."
Xia Qi went quiet, her presence dimming a little.
"Mei?"
Fu Hua stepped closer, standing before her, showing her kindness.
"Are you… okay?"
"Thanks for your concern, Class Monitor." Xia Qi nodded gently, then let out a tired laugh. "Ha… I really never thought it'd be like this…"
"..."
Fu Hua was silent a moment.
She didn't know how to comfort her. She knew exactly how much 'Raiden Mei' cared about 'Kiana'—especially after everything they'd been through together, only for their world to be gone, yet they'd survived and come here… but might never see each other again, even knowing the other exists.
A fate like that…
Even Fu Hua felt a pang for them.
"In that case… could you take me to see Principal Theresa?"
Xia Qi lifted her head. The disappointment was gone, replaced by that calm, gentle look again. But the person before Fu Hua now was completely different from the Raiden Mei she'd seen earlier.
What did the future Mei go through? She's still gentle, but the woman here now is a true warrior through and through. Nothing like the girl in my memory.
"I'm sorry, I can't."
Fu Hua shook her head and repeated Xia Qi's own words back to her again.
"The future… can't be changed yet."
"…She told you that too?"
"Correct."
Xia Qi felt a flicker of frustration. She hated beating around the bush, but these were her own words—the choice she'd made when she was Fu Hua, thinking clearer and sharper.
"I see."
She nodded gently, but after a moment, couldn't stop herself from asking, "Then… did Kiana say anything before?"
"Kiana's been moving in secret. She didn't even meet me. This whole month, she's only talked to the Kiana here, probably training her in secret."
"I think… I get what she's planning."
Xia Qi's expression slowly darkened, her eyes holding a mix of anger and sorrow she couldn't put into words.
"Even after coming back to the past… is Kiana… still trying to carry everything alone again?"
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