Chapter Text
“Esperitz,” the sustainer called.
She felt her heart fill with dread.
Not again.
“Not again,” she found herself murmuring to herself.
A sickly sweet smile formed on the sustainer’s face.
“Oh dear,” she whispered softly.
“You are my assistant,” she said. “You’re not allowed to refuse me.”
The smile dropped instantly, as she dashed forward, grasping her by the neck.
“You are to do as I tell you to, Esperitz.”
“You’re not allowed to refuse, alright?”
It wasn’t a request.
It was a demand.
Esperitz nodded.
“Good,” said the sustainer. She motioned her forward to show her the next traveler who dared venture into their world.
The dread in her heart overflowed.
Terror.
Guilt.
Agony.
Before her stood someone who looked exactly like Aether.
And another, who looked exactly like Lumine.
It wasn’t possible.
She saw them both die.
She was the cause.
The sustainer grinned.
“These two travelers wanted to be with each other so badly,” she murmured. But there was no comfort in her words as she continued.
“I figured I’d grant their wish.”
She leaned in towards Esperitz. “Your wish, too.”
“You wanted to continue traveling with them, no? You should be grateful, dear.”
The sustainer brought them back. It was truly them.
Controlling time itself, she brought them both back.
“They remember nothing,” the sustainer told her. “You will appear to them as ‘Honorius.’”
“Travel with them once more.”
“But once again, you will carry out my order as I wish.”
The sustainer laughed.
“You will kill them once more.”
“I wonder how they will leave this world, this time.”