“How do you remember that?!”
“You followed me, right?”
At Nike's confident expression, I was as confused as Ryan was shocked.
Do you remember the situation where I argued with Elliot? It had to be Ryan.
Because I held hands with Ryan and returned together.
Nike is...
He must have been nearby. He might have even witnessed the commotion. But he'd forget it anyway, once time rewinded. It's absurd how he could retain memories after reverting to a non-contact state.
The Eyes of the Mirror - Footsteps of Darkness
My eyes went blank, and I stepped out of Ryan's shadow without thinking.
It was an emergency, and there was something that needed to be checked immediately.
"Hello."
After greeting the surprised Nike.
I saw Ryan.
And after thinking for a moment about what to say.
“Dad, I love you.”
Ryan's eyes widened.
"Suddenly?"
Ryan glanced at Nike and answered awkwardly.
“Yeah, me too!”
After hearing those two words.
The Eye of the Mirror - Poetry of Retrograde
I just rewinded some time without making contact with anyone.
Back in Ryan's shadow.
The Eyes of the Mirror - Footsteps of Darkness
Come out again.
"Hello?"
I greeted Nike, but he no longer looked surprised.
'Oh my goodness. He remembers even though we didn't regress together.'
I saw his expression and realized it right away, so I spoke to Ryan again.
“Dad, I love you.”
Ryan's eyes widened.
"Suddenly?"
This time, Ryan glanced at Nike and said.
“Yeah, me too!”
“Haaaaaah.”
Unlike Nike, I was finally reassured by Ryan's identical reaction.
The sudden confession of love was something Ryan had said on purpose to make a big face, so it was easy to recognize.
Ryan's memories have evaporated.
In that case, the condition that 'only those with special abilities can return together when in contact' remains unchanged.
I was worried that Elliot might remember what happened earlier, so I tried it right away.
Fortunately...
‘...That’s not it!’
I saw Nike.
He was also looking at me with a confused expression.
First, we need to find out why an error suddenly appeared in <The Poem of Retrograde>.
But before that.
“So, have you seen everything?”
“...”
Nike closed his mouth. His throat rippled as he swallowed hard.
I grabbed Elliot's hair, shook it, screamed, and put my knee in his face...
A moment of rewinding time and recalling the evil deeds that had caused Elliot's suffering.
“Why are you like that, girl?!”
Before I knew it, tears fell down my face...
Nike's eyes widened in surprise.
“Why... why are you crying...!”
“No, ah...”
It's so absurd and ridiculous, and the trials that have come upon me are so burdensome.
Can we... love again?
I don't think it will be easy.
Before the regression, it took two years to seduce Nike just by showing my pretty face, but now, now...
“Why are you crying over something like this? It’s okay.”
The affectionate Nike tried to comfort me with a pitiful expression, but the shame did not improve.
“I just feel like crying...”
“Don’t cry. It’s really okay. If that’s the reason... You saw it too.”
“...?”
... Ah. <The King of Demons>.
Tears well up in my eyes.
We looked away from each other, feeling embarrassed.
Ryan looked at us both with a pitiful expression.
“Ha, but!”
I quickly turned my head and spoke to Nike.
“But the Prince was cool!”
“Please don’t say it...”
“Really! I fell in love with you all over again.”
“...”
Nike's mouth fell open in absurdity.
He soon spoke, avoiding my eyes and with red ears.
“...Yeah. And you too... weren’t weird. Don’t worry.”
“Ugh. Even if it’s a lie, thank you.”
“I’m not lying. I’m serious.”
“Oh, stop! Is this the time to be saying something like this?!”
Ryan frowned.
“You guys are having fun, really!”
The day has gotten dark.
During the two lulls, Nike and Ryan put their heads together to figure out why the regression was failing.
Of course, even if it's urgent, you can't vacate the battlefield.
Gaaaaaaah!
Clang, the demon's blood splashing on his cheek.
Even while Nike was constantly cutting off the demons' balls, his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts.
'These abilities do not overlap.'
This is the law of superpowers that he heard from Ryan.
For example, it means that there cannot be two people with fire-using abilities.
And Vania is a being that ignores some of the laws of such abilities by copying others' abilities.
This is also the reason why there are two holders of <Poem of Retrograde>.
"Regression" is a power with a more complex activation process than other powers. Each time it's used, a new timeline is created, and all but the last timeline are eliminated.
It's complicated... If two or more people keep creating timelines, wouldn't some errors occur?
Of course, this is just a guess.
He doesn't know if this should be called an error, and he's not sure about anything.
Because it is the first time that there have been two or more holders of <Poem of Retrograde>.
Gaaaaaaah!
The last demon's head fell off.
A lull has arrived again.
Nike roughly wiped the blood from his cheek and immediately turned around and walked away.
Towards Ryan's barracks.
Let's go in without hesitation by removing the cloth at the entrance to the barracks.
“Oh my!”
A surprised Ryan covered his chest.
“...Why are you completely naked?”
“No, I'm covered in blood, so I need to change your clothes! Please make some noise and come in!”
Nike ignored Ryan's embarrassed expression, tied the barracks entrance tightly, and moved busily.
He lit the candle and spread out a makeshift table.
Ryan, who had changed his clothes, tilted his head.
“What are you doing?”
"rice."
Nike began to prepare the combat rations issued to each barracks. The rations were meager, if anything, rice balls.
“Are you hungry? I’m fine. But it’s not time to eat right now...”
“How was your meal?”
...Ah!
Ryan scratched his cheek, realizing the question that followed. It was about Vania. It seemed like even the preparations were Vania's responsibility.
“Even in a hidden state, biological activity will be maintained, right?”
"Yes. I was with her when she stayed at the inn while you were here, and when you were sleeping outside, I sneaked in some meals in the early mornings. Well, since the subjugation began... not yet."
"You were planning on not letting me find out until the very end, right? Then what were you planning on eating?"
“Hey, I bet I managed to feed it somehow. I wouldn’t let the child starve.”
“...come out.”
Nike said, looking at Ryan with a displeased expression.
Yes then.
The Eyes of the Mirror - Footsteps of Darkness
Vania came out quietly and poked her head out from behind Ryan.
“Come here and eat first.”
"... Yes."
Only after seeing Vania, who had come to the table obediently, take a bite of her rice ball, did Nike sigh in relief.
“...?”
And when he looked back, I saw Ryan, his face soaring, grinning sinisterly.
“What is it?”
“If she marries the prince, I won’t have to worry about my daughter starving.”
"Stop talking nonsense. Let's get back to what we were talking about. From what I've found out so far..."
“If you activate <Retrograde Time> at close range, the holders will regress together without making contact!”
Ryan took Nike's word for it.
That's right. The three of them have already gone through several experiments.
Even though Nike was winding down time alone, Vania remembered it.
At first, he thought 'witnessing' was a prerequisite, but no.
Even if it was a place that Vania's eyes couldn't reach, if she could just close the time, she would remember everything.
That means, when the holders of the <Poem of Retrograde> are close together, they will regress together even without contact.
"I guess the distance has to be pretty close, right? Last time, when I went to set fire to that drug store, it regressed too..."
"That's right. I don't remember the time Vania erased. I was waiting underground at the time."
"Well, we've figured out everything we need to know, then. There's nothing to worry about. It doesn't matter to us whether we're caught regressing or not."
“That’s true, but...”
Nike's gaze turned blankly towards Vania.
There was something he wanted to know more about.
'It was only after I met Vania last year that I first remembered my lost memories.'
He doesn't remember, but it's been 10 years since she last saw Nike.
Then he would have regressed to being fourteen, and he wouldn't have had any memories for two years after that.
Then last year, when he was sixteen.
After meeting Vania by chance on the day he went to dismantle the ability transplant experiment.
From then on, unfamiliar memories began to surface, and he realized that he had regressed.
‘Why... was it after I met you?’
Because they were lovers. Because he was so attached to her, he thought he instinctively, by chance, recalled a memory when he met Vania...
'That might not be it.'
What if it wasn't just a 'coincidence'?
What if the very existence of Vania, who also possesses the same <Poem of Retrograde>, is a device that brings up incomplete memories?
There is much evidence to support this question.
First of all, when he meets Vania, new memories come back to him.
Whether Nike wants it or not.
And what if Nike, who has found the clue to that memory, tries to piece together the pieces of the memory alone without Vania by her side?
It's terribly painful.
Ryan once said.
The reason for that pain was an instinctive warning from Nike's body, an imperfect being with supernatural powers. So, Ryan told him not to try to remember it.
But.
‘...It’s not certain.’
Ryan's guess is just a guess. Even those who possess this ability don't fully understand the power of this unknown ability.
'Maybe, maybe there's a way to regain memories without pain...'
Nike sees Vania.
A somewhat puzzled expression on her face as he stares intently at her.
Nike slowly approached, knelt down in front of Vania, who was sitting at the makeshift table, and lowered his eyes to her level.
Vania.
The opponent who returned together.
Assuming she is some kind of 'key' to regain his lost memories, how should she fit it?
A timeline shared when close.
Memories that are difficult to recall alone when you are far away.
The ability called <Retrograde Time> requires 'contact' during the return of companions, and the condition of 'distance' plays a major role in many situations that occur during the return.
Then.
‘...Let’s just try it once.’
Contact, that is.
The moment he finished thinking about that.
"Ah."
Vania's eyes widened in Nike's field of vision.
Because without any explanation, Nike inadvertently reached out to Vania.
“So this is...”
He's trying to explain this late.
Vania, who had somehow blushed shyly and turned her head, gently placed her hand on Nike's palm.
“...”
“...”
Nike blinked.
It seems like two people have different thoughts.
A few seconds of... silence.
“Hey~!”
Ryan ran over quickly and cut off the two hands that were holding each other with his palm.
“You followed me, right?”
At Nike's confident expression, I was as confused as Ryan was shocked.
Do you remember the situation where I argued with Elliot? It had to be Ryan.
Because I held hands with Ryan and returned together.
Nike is...
He must have been nearby. He might have even witnessed the commotion. But he'd forget it anyway, once time rewinded. It's absurd how he could retain memories after reverting to a non-contact state.
The Eyes of the Mirror - Footsteps of Darkness
My eyes went blank, and I stepped out of Ryan's shadow without thinking.
It was an emergency, and there was something that needed to be checked immediately.
"Hello."
After greeting the surprised Nike.
I saw Ryan.
And after thinking for a moment about what to say.
“Dad, I love you.”
Ryan's eyes widened.
"Suddenly?"
Ryan glanced at Nike and answered awkwardly.
“Yeah, me too!”
After hearing those two words.
The Eye of the Mirror - Poetry of Retrograde
I just rewinded some time without making contact with anyone.
Back in Ryan's shadow.
The Eyes of the Mirror - Footsteps of Darkness
Come out again.
"Hello?"
I greeted Nike, but he no longer looked surprised.
'Oh my goodness. He remembers even though we didn't regress together.'
I saw his expression and realized it right away, so I spoke to Ryan again.
“Dad, I love you.”
Ryan's eyes widened.
"Suddenly?"
This time, Ryan glanced at Nike and said.
“Yeah, me too!”
“Haaaaaah.”
Unlike Nike, I was finally reassured by Ryan's identical reaction.
The sudden confession of love was something Ryan had said on purpose to make a big face, so it was easy to recognize.
Ryan's memories have evaporated.
In that case, the condition that 'only those with special abilities can return together when in contact' remains unchanged.
I was worried that Elliot might remember what happened earlier, so I tried it right away.
Fortunately...
‘...That’s not it!’
I saw Nike.
He was also looking at me with a confused expression.
First, we need to find out why an error suddenly appeared in <The Poem of Retrograde>.
It is necessary.
It exists.
“So, have you seen everything?”
“...”
Nike closed his mouth. His throat rippled as he swallowed hard.
I grabbed Elliot's hair, shook it, screamed, and put my knee in his face...
A moment of rewinding time and recalling the evil deeds that had caused Elliot's suffering.
“Why are you like that, girl?!”
Before I knew it, tears fell down my face...
Nike's eyes widened in surprise.
“Why... why are you crying...!”
“No, ah...”
It's so absurd and ridiculous, and the trials that have come upon me are so burdensome.
Can we... love again?
I don't think it will be easy.
Before the regression, it took two years to seduce Nike just by showing my pretty face, but now, now...
“Why are you crying over something like this? It’s okay.”
The affectionate Nike tried to comfort me with a pitiful expression, but the shame did not improve.
“I just feel like crying...”
“Don’t cry. It’s really okay. If that’s the reason... You saw it too.”
“...?”
... Ah. <The King of Demons>.
Tears well up in my eyes.
We looked away from each other, feeling embarrassed.
Ryan looked at us both with a pitiful expression.
“Ha, but!”
I quickly turned my head and spoke to Nike.
“But the Prince was cool!”
“Please don’t say it...”
“Really! I fell in love with you all over again.”
“...”
Nike's mouth fell open in absurdity.
He soon spoke, avoiding my eyes and with red ears.
“...Yeah. And you too... weren’t weird. Don’t worry.”
“Ugh. Even if it’s a lie, thank you.”
“I’m not lying. I’m serious.”
“Oh, stop! Is this the time to be saying something like this?!”
Ryan frowned.
“You guys are having fun, really!”
***
The day has gotten dark.
During the two lulls, Nike and Ryan put their heads together to figure out why the regression was failing.
Of course, even if it's urgent, you can't vacate the battlefield.
Gaaaaaaah!
Clang, the demon's blood splashing on his cheek.
Even while Nike was constantly cutting off the demons' balls, his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts.
'These abilities do not overlap.'
This is the law of superpowers that he heard from Ryan.
For example, it means that there cannot be two people with fire-using abilities.
And Vania is a being that ignores some of the laws of such abilities by copying others' abilities.
This is also the reason why there are two holders of <Poem of Retrograde>.
"Regression" is a power with a more complex activation process than other powers. Each time it's used, a new timeline is created, and all but the last timeline are eliminated.
It's complicated... If two or more people keep creating timelines, wouldn't some errors occur?
Of course, this is just a guess.
He doesn't know if this should be called an error, and he's not sure about anything.
Because it is the first time that there have been two or more holders of <Poem of Retrograde>.
Gaaaaaaah!
The last demon's head fell off.
A lull has arrived again.
Nike roughly wiped the blood from his cheek and immediately turned around and walked away.
Towards Ryan's barracks.
Let's go in without hesitation by removing the cloth at the entrance to the barracks.
“Oh my!”
A surprised Ryan covered his chest.
“...Why are you completely naked?”
“No, I'm covered in blood, so I need to change your clothes! Please make some noise and come in!”
Nike ignored Ryan's embarrassed expression, tied the barracks entrance tightly, and moved busily.
He lit the candle and spread out a makeshift table.
Ryan, who had changed his clothes, tilted his head.
“What are you doing?”
"rice."
Nike began to prepare the combat rations issued to each barracks. The rations were meager, if anything, rice balls.
“Are you hungry? I’m fine. But it’s not time to eat right now...”
“How was your meal?”
...Ah!
Ryan scratched his cheek, realizing the question that followed. It was about Vania. It seemed like even the preparations were Vania's responsibility.
“Even in a hidden state, biological activity will be maintained, right?”
"Yes. I was with her when she stayed at the inn while you were here, and when you were sleeping outside, I sneaked in some meals in the early mornings. Well, since the subjugation began... not yet."
"You were planning on not letting me find out until the very end, right? Then what were you planning on eating?"
“Hey, I bet I managed to feed it somehow. I wouldn’t let the child starve.”
“...come out.”
Nike said, looking at Ryan with a displeased expression.
Yes then.
The Eyes of the Mirror - Footsteps of Darkness
Vania came out quietly and poked her head out from behind Ryan.
“Come here and eat first.”
"... Yes."
Only after seeing Vania, who had come to the table obediently, take a bite of her rice ball, did Nike sigh in relief.
“...?”
And when he looked back, I saw Ryan, his face soaring, grinning sinisterly.
“What is it?”
“If she marries the prince, I won’t have to worry about my daughter starving.”
"Stop talking nonsense. Let's get back to what we were talking about. From what I've found out so far..."
“If you activate <Retrograde Time> at close range, the holders will regress together without making contact!”
Ryan took Nike's word for it.
That's right. The three of them have already gone through several experiments.
Even though Nike was winding down time alone, Vania remembered it.
At first, he thought 'witnessing' was a prerequisite, but no.
Even if it was a place that Vania's eyes couldn't reach, if she could just close the time, she would remember everything.
That means, when the holders of the <Poem of Retrograde> are close together, they will regress together even without contact.
"I guess the distance has to be pretty close, right? Last time, when I went to set fire to that drug store, it regressed too..."
"That's right. I don't remember the time Vania erased. I was waiting underground at the time."
"Well, we've figured out everything we need to know, then. There's nothing to worry about. It doesn't matter to us whether we're caught regressing or not."
“That’s true, but...”
Nike's gaze turned blankly towards Vania.
There was something he wanted to know more about.
'It was only after I met Vania last year that I first remembered my lost memories.'
He doesn't remember, but it's been 10 years since she last saw Nike.
Then he would have regressed to being fourteen, and he wouldn't have had any memories for two years after that.
Then last year, when he was sixteen.
After meeting Vania by chance on the day he went to dismantle the ability transplant experiment.
From then on, unfamiliar memories began to surface, and he realized that he had regressed.
‘Why... was it after I met you?’
Because they were lovers. Because he was so attached to her, he thought he instinctively, by chance, recalled a memory when he met Vania...
'That might not be it.'
What if it wasn't just a 'coincidence'?
What if the very existence of Vania, who also possesses the same <Poem of Retrograde>, is a device that brings up incomplete memories?
There is much evidence to support this question.
First of all, when he meets Vania, new memories come back to him.
Whether Nike wants it or not.
And what if Nike, who has found the clue to that memory, tries to piece together the pieces of the memory alone without Vania by her side?
It's terribly painful.
Ryan once said.
The reason for that pain was an instinctive warning from Nike's body, an imperfect being with supernatural powers. So, Ryan told him not to try to remember it.
But.
‘...It’s not certain.’
Ryan's guess is just a guess. Even those who possess this ability don't fully understand the power of this unknown ability.
'Maybe, maybe there's a way to regain memories without pain...'
Nike sees Vania.
A somewhat puzzled expression on her face as he stares intently at her.
Nike slowly approached, knelt down in front of Vania, who was sitting at the makeshift table, and lowered his eyes to her level.
Vania.
The opponent who returned together.
Assuming she is some kind of 'key' to regain his lost memories, how should she fit it?
A timeline shared when close.
Memories that are difficult to recall alone when you are far away.
The ability called <Retrograde Time> requires 'contact' during the return of companions, and the condition of 'distance' plays a major role in many situations that occur during the return.
Then.
‘...Let’s just try it once.’
Contact, that is.
The moment he finished thinking about that.
"Ah."
Vania's eyes widened in Nike's field of vision.
Because without any explanation, Nike inadvertently reached out to Vania.
“So this is...”
He's trying to explain this late.
Vania, who had somehow blushed shyly and turned her head, gently placed her hand on Nike's palm.
“...”
“...”
Nike blinked.
It seems like two people have different thoughts.
A few seconds of... silence.
“Hey~!”
Ryan ran over quickly and cut off the two hands that were holding each other with his palm.
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