Chapter Text
..."We're not dead yet, are we?" Siffrin asked, a soft, reassuring smile on their face as they stared over his shoulder, back at you.
( Yeah but... )
> [ "...Well, that's true..." ]
"We HAVE been in this room for a while, and if it was weight-sensitive, whatever trap that would've been in this room would have been triggered by now, considering how much Siffrin's been walking around," Odile adds on, further reassuring you that there was nothing to worry about after all.
"Exactly, so everything's fine, Belle!" Bonnie piped up, their arms crossed over their chest.
> [ "Oh..." ]
> [ ..."Yeah! Yeah, okay! I'll believe you!"
( Now you just feel silly. )
> [ "Sorry... for worrying, I'm a little on edge..." ]
"We're good, Mira." They said, finally turning around to stare at you and everyone else.
"See?"
"Everything's fi-"
( CRUNCH. )
( You hear the sounds of bones cracking, and as you open your eyes you see... )
( Oh... )
( Oh no no no no no no no nononononono- )
> [ "NO!!!!!!!!" ]
"SIFFRIN!" Odile calls out, her palm outstretched toward the boulder, followed by the sobs of what you can only assume is Isabeau and Bonnie. Your ally, which was once there, had been crushed into a pancake, the only thing remaining of him being his dark gray blood splattered all over the floor, and a arm, barely peering out from beneath the forementioned boulder.
( You collapse to your knees, tears welling up in your eyes. Everything had been going so well, why did they have to die now? Please, change, if you could change one thing, you would gladly- HCK- )
( You feel something well up in your throat, as if you're about to throw up. It would only make sense, this was the first time you've... you've... you can't believe they're gone... )
( Your throat feels like it's about to explode, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsit- )
And
( Your traveler got crushed by a rock. )
START QUIT
AGAIN
You feel the air whirl around you, as if something was rapidly approaching. You feel a hand, desperately clinging onto your arm, as if it's begging, pleading with you to stay, pleading for you to not leave it, ever, ever again, and then...
( You
wake
up. )
The sounds of birds chirping, the slow, running water coming from the river not too far from the bench you're seated at.
Did you... did you doze off? Was it all just a terrible dream? You hope so, you hope, and wish, that it was a bad dream and that...
that...
( that... )
> [ ( SIFFRIN!!!! ) ]
You instantly bolt up from the bench, hitting your head on an awkwardly placed branch that belonged to a tree situated in front of the spot you were sitting at, and as much as it hurts, you can't waste any time. Siffrin must be okay, they have to be, he needs to, or else... You don't know what you'd do with yourself.
You rush through the town of Dormont, getting a few, crazy looks as you bump into someone on your way there, giving them a quick, rushed "SORRY!" as you run past, to the meadows where Siffrin said they'd be taking a nap, they have to be okay, they have to be okay they have to...
And, to your relief, there was Siffrin, sleeping peacefully in the middle of the meadow.
> [ "SIFFRIN!!!" ]
Siffrin jolts awake in a sweat, they were used to see you anxious, but upon seeing you so concerned and like you were on the brink of the tears worried them deeply. "Mira???? Hey??????????"
> [ "Siffrin! Hello, hi!" ]
There was an awkward tension that filled the air, the silence deafening despite it only being for at most a minute, "Is... everything okay, mira?" He asked, looking more worried than you've ever seen them. Oh change, you must look so worked up right now.
> [ "Oh, yes, of course I'm okay! Just worried about the king is all!" ]
"Uh huh..." Siffrin didn't buy a word you said, clearly. Why else would you yell their name?
Why else would you come running to them with such desperation?
And... oh change, why else would you have ruined their nap?
> [ "Oh! I'm so sorry Siffrin, I didn't mean to worry your nap!!" ]
> [ "There um... There was something else but, I'd like to talk about that with everyone else." ]
"Okay then... need anything else from me?" He asked.
> [ "Clockhouse, sleepover." ]
[ "Can I take the lead through the house?" ]
[ "Nothing else." ]
( Nope, you're not ready to rely on Siffrin, not after seeing them... )
( Let's move on. )
"Okay then... need anything else from me?"
[ "Clockhouse, sleepover." ]
> [ "Can I take the lead through the house?" ]
[ "Nothing else." ]
"Huh? You wanna take the lead? I thought you hated having the spotlight on you, hurts the eye," They stuck their tongue out, pointing a single finger to their remaining eye.
"But seriously, what's with the switch-up?"
> [ "I just... have a bad feeling!" ]
"Hmm... okay, whatever makes you feel better."
"Need anything else from me?"
[ "Clockhouse, sleepover." ]
[ "Can I take the lead through the house?" ]
> [ "Nothing else." ]
"Okay then, if you need me, i'll be up north. See you later," Siffrin gave you a little wave as they left. You waved back.
( ...Okay mirabelle, get it together, you just saw one of your friends die right in front of your eyes, and it felt... so... real! Could it have been a dream? Or maybe... a prophecy! Are you a prophet now? Is the Change God entrusting you with prophecies now? That's too much responsibility on top of everything else, crab!!!!!!!!!!! )
( Or maybe... you're just overthinking things like usual? That's probably the more likely scenario, you hope. You hope Siffrin isn't doomed by fate to die... )
( You got a MEMORY OF LOOPING! )
( You'll always remember this! )
[Memories are a type of item you can equip. Each Memory is specific to one character, and gives them special abilities.]
[For example, the Memory you just got can only be equipped by you. When Memory of Looping is equipped, it'll boost your MaxHP by +5 per loop.]
[You can equip Memories by opening your menu and going to the Equip section!]
( ... )
( And now you're hearing voices in your head, just great... )