Aleph skipped [Albion’s Remains] and headed straight into the [Red Strings of Fate (Upgrade)]. Like the [Seven Swords], it was an ‘upgrade’ to his existing ability.

  [Red Strings of Fate (Upgrade): Grants new abilities to the pre-existing ability Red Strings of Fate. (See More)]

  An additional drop-down prompt could be seen from it.

  [Red Strings of Fate — Upgrade: Every person tied with the red strings of fate could sehe locations and statuses of each other. In the same battlefield, the bound partners receive an increase of bat power efficy. The sealed power be used thrice before disappearing.]

  He sed the description for a while.

  ‘It’s befitting of the achievement.’

  This was the first time he received a reward that directly strengthehers.

  ‘Partners. So…’

  Aleph looked at his pinky fiwo fairings were tied to it. Their eended into the fifth institute.

  The moment he pced his mind on it, he felt several thoughts enter his mind. It was re-anized by his mind into something more prehensible.

  ‘Kurumi… aheir locations as well…’

  The upgrade included the ‘statuses’ of the two.

  [Kurumi Tokisak

  [Status: Semi-ceptual, Injured, Suppressed]

  ‘Injured… It should be from the First Spirit. Then…’

  The word ‘suppressed’ made Aleph pause for a while. He recalled what she told him regarding her abilities.

  Her Spirit, Zafkiel, possesses the authority to manipute time. Twelve different abilities were stored inside Kurumi’s clock, with eae of them being represented by the ses of time.

  Four of these abilities allow her to travel through time. It takes various forms, such as sharing her senses in aime-axis or traveling through the past or the future.

  Intuitively, Kurumi felt that she could not use these abilities in this world.

  At first, Aleph surmised it was a natural suppression or the likes against fners, but he felt that he missed something.

  ‘Aponia’s vision, the one she dubbed the ‘Great Reset’... Could it be…’

  Aleph’s thoughts ran deep. A few mier, he went out of it. A helpless smile came out of his lips.

  ‘Ahing has to be added to the bucket list.’

  For now, his thoughts shifted to the fun times earlier. His smile was destio never disappear tonight.

  *****

  Instead of a dorm room, Mei asked for an offi the fifth institute. Numerous paperworks that she brought from the first institute filled the desk.

  Mei stayed up past midnight and performed her usual all-nighters.

  Whenever she thought of what happened earlier, a smile appeared on her lips.

  ‘It’s a partial success. I’ll take it.’

  Just as she thought of the reason why it artial success, Mei saw a bck-red shadoear in the er of the room.

  Soon, Kurumi’s figure was revealed. Her eyes were opened, showing her usual golde eye with an arm of a clock.

  “It is time for a proper talk, no~?”

  She greeted with a bow while holding the hems of her dress.

  “Oh? You were not the type to e off with peace, Kurumi-san.”

  Although the Previous Era did not have family hey shared several simirities to the Japan of Kurumi’s world, and that included their titles.

  Tap.

  Mei pced the fountain pen into her desk. She fixed her silver-framed gsses with her middle finger. She gave out a ‘domineering’ vibe that did not lose out to Kurumi’s elegance.

  “You know it yourself. The cessions we made earlier.”

  Hearing Kurumi’s words, Mei paused momentarily.

  “Since you are aware of it, what are you pnning to do?” Mei asked.

  “Nothing.”

  Kurumi replied to her with a smile before she tinued:

  “Both of us saw Ain’s rea. We were not the only ones who got scared.”

  “Mn.”

  The purple-haired girl nodded.

  She then asked, “Is this why you came here? To make sure there won’t be any troubles?”

  “Of course. Saving this world is already a huge burden. It means nothing but a burden should we childishly fight for his affe. Don’t you agree~?”

  At this moment, Kurumi dispyed her nearly forty years of age. She was far older thahus she was able to see through interpersonal cues more.

  In this entire versation, Mei was being led along by her.

  “That is right. I had no sus to do so. If that is everything, you should take your time to rest, Kurumi-san.”

  Kurumi heeded her words. The shadow that served as her door to this office reappeared.

  “Don’t worry. I believe this won’t be the st versatioween us, Mei-san.”

  Before Mei could react, she had already disappeared.

  ‘She was not the end…’

  Mei immediately uood the meaning behind Kurumi’s st words.

  ‘...but the beginning.’

  She recalled every person she knew. A little bit of profiling was all it took to know about the girls around Aleph.

  ‘Doobius.’

  ‘Vill-V.’

  ‘Hua.’

  Three suames already appeared in her mind. The first one, in particur, was one of the closest to Aleph. Mei thought about these things deeply as she closed her eyes.

  A while ter, she opened her eyes.

  ‘If that was it…’

  Mei already made a cession once. She khat when Aleph’s childhood frieurned, it would be a tough battle. Aleph’s decision tonight pletely shocked her, though it was also the best oute at that time.

  Nobody expected that Aleph would directly ask the two of them to be his girlfriends. It was as if the cept of monogamy in their societies were nothing but a joke.

  ‘...why would I be afraid?’

  Her determined gaze was enough to freeze the atmosphere in this room.

  *****

  Sea of Quanta.

  In such a pce where tless world bubbles are sinking at the bottom, a girl with a huge scythe walked aimlessly.

  On her path, numerous fragments of memories y akin to gss shards. These were the colpsed possibilities, the ohat were invalidated ohe present was decided on.

  Every 'turning point' could be seen here.

  From them, the girl knew of her greatest adversary.

  ‘A strong man.’

  That was Ling’s thoughts the more she sah’s achievements. There was no doubt he would have lent her a hand had he known of her predit.

  But now…

  ‘It’s too te.’

  Too much blood was at her hands. The i residents in her neighborhood, the old man who gave her a ride…

  They were all killed by her.

  She was tooo return. Whenever she tried to do so, she was met with aential crisis. She could not simply bear tet everything she had experienced sihe day she was born.

  'Humans are ugly!'

  'It's unfair only I got to experie!'

  'Why..?!'

  A moment's recolle of Ling's entire life was enough to draw stroment. Even if there was a being known as "Aleph" who showed the good side of humanity, it wasn't enough.

  'If he was not there..! Thehing would still be the same!'

  It was easy to imagine such a sario. Things would have spiralled downwards faster. Aleph's existence alone wasn't enough to redeem humanity in her eyes.

  As such, she chose this path.

  The destru of humanity.

  There was nothing else she could do. She could not bear tive and fet. Ling did not want to be saved.

  As such, to g to the life she grasped desperately…

  She only go further.

  Her long bck hair swayed. Ling was startled, not because of it, but to the mirror-like world in front of her.

  Uher bubble universes, it was extremely solid. It didn’t seem like the ohat disappear every now and then—the ones without an anchor.

  Just as she touched it, everything ged.

  ‘This pce...’

  The sixth Herrscher was weled to a white space.