Volume 4—Chapter 101: Noesha
Okay… so there is a twin floating in front of me. On any other day, I might actually appreciate the sight. Seeing another pair of twins besides me and Irana should feel refreshing. A little comforting even. Except right now I have no idea what she is talking about.
Bearer of Reality? Seeking the fate? What fate? Whose fate? My fate? The universe’s? The cafeteria menu?
“Excuse me? What do you mean by seeking the fate?” I ask, raising a brow. I try to sound confident, but honestly, I am confused.
Ame’s twin stares at me without blinking.
“It is exactly what I said,” she replies in a tone colder than the vacuum of space.
Yeah, that ain’t explain anything.
“Lia, why are you here?” Ame asks her twin.
Huh. Lia? That’s… odd. Her full name is Amelia, right?
Well, that is not the important part right now.
Ame’s twin shifts her gaze toward her. “Ame, did you truly not realise who she is?”
Realise who I am?
Wait… do I know this girl from somewhere?
“I don’t know… hey!” Ame suddenly jolts. “I just noticed something. You didn’t introduce yourself! I already said my name!”
Caroline chimes in softly, “Her name is Aria. Miyazaki Aria.”
Ame snaps her fingers, eyes widening. “Ah, so Aria!”
She says my name like she just discovered the answer to life itself.
Then she turns to her sister, confident, expecting a reaction.
Lia stares back, completely unmoved.
Ame blinks once. Twice.
“I still don’t know who she is.”
Silence.
A long, heavy silence.
…
Then Lia finally speaks.
“Noesha.”
The word falls like a verdict.
Noesha?
Is that supposed to be a name? A sneeze? Something from a language I have never heard in my entire life?
But the moment Ame hears that strange word, she snaps into a fighting stance as if someone flipped a switch inside her.
Her cheerful expression melts away, and something sharp settles in her eyes.
“The deception is really something. I think it has been a century since we last met, right?” she says.
A century?
Meeting someone centuries ago?
Okay… now I am confused, but also… this is a dream, so maybe my subconscious is just improvising lore at this point. Sure, brain, go wild. Give everyone cryptic backstories. Why not.
Still, Ame looks serious, serious enough that I almost feel guilty for not following the script.
Well, whatever. If this is my dream, I may as well play along. Maybe the plot wants me to act mysterious.
I straighten my posture and try to look wise and ancient, like one of those immortal sages from fantasy novels.
“Right… it has been a century.”
I smile playfully. “I am surprised you still recognised me.”
Inside, I am wondering where this storyline is planning to go. Are we about to do a dramatic showdown? Or a reunion? Or maybe my brain will summon a dragon next.
Honestly, I am kind of excited to see what happens.
“The Witch of Deception, the one who carries Reality itself, Noesha. I never thought we would cross paths again,” Lia said. Her voice was steady, but her eyes told a different story, something like fear mixed with duty.
She continued, “So your mission for a perfect world is still in motion.”
Then her expression sharpened. “Ame, take Syena and run. Now.”
“Aye aye, ma’am!” Ame replied in a snap.
Syena did not even get a moment to question anything. One blink and she was already gone, carried away by Ame as if they had trained for this exact moment. The clearing fell quiet, leaving me alone with the twin.
Lia… Ame and Lia… If they are twin, their names should match somehow, right? Just like me and Irana. Maybe her full name ends with lia too. Emilia feels like a decent guess.
“So, Emilia… what kind of reunion are you expecting this to be?” I asked, testing the waters.
She did not respond. Not even a twitch of expression.
She simply moved.
A sharp rush of wind cut the space between us as she lunged, fast enough that my dream logic barely kept up. For someone who might be a hallucination created by my sleeping brain, she sure fought like she had no intention of letting me wake up anytime soon.
The battle began before I could decide whether to take this dream seriously.
A swirl of crimson light burst from Emilia’s palm, twisting into a spiral of runes that spun toward me. It looked dramatic, but hey, this was still my dream, so I lifted my hand and pushed with a thought. The air bent like soft clay, and the spell curved off its path before shattering against a tree.
“Oh. That was flashy,” I said. “My subconscious is getting fancy.”
Emilia’s eyes narrowed. She lifted both hands this time. A second spell formed above her, then a third, then a fourth. Fire, ice, lightning, and something shadowy that looked like it wanted to bite me.
“Right, all kinds of magic. Of course. Why not?” I muttered.
The spells descended at once. I let my telekinesis wrap around me like an invisible bubble. The attacks hit, but instead of burning or freezing, they rippled across the barrier like raindrops on glass.
Still, the pressure was enough to shove me a few steps back.
“Okay. I guess that means I should at least pretend to try,” I said.
I flicked my fingers, and the ground under her softened, bending like rubber. Emilia leapt away before she could sink, landing lightly and firing another barrage. She moved with precision, as if she had fought me many times before.
She probably had, in this dream logic history, I apparently forgot.
“Reality shift, gentle version,” I whispered.
The world around us warped. For a moment, gravity tilted sideways. Emilia staggered, but she forced her foot down and countered with a burst of stabilising magic that anchored her to the ground.
Impressive. Even my dream NPCs were stubborn.
She swept her arm forward, sending a wave of pure force that cracked the air. I caught it, compressed it, then tossed it upward like a balloon bursting. Sparks rained down in harmless colours.
“Emilia, you are very committed to this,” I said. “Do I owe you money? Did past me steal your cookies?”
She ignored me completely, gathering a sphere of condensed mana in front of her chest. It pulsed like a miniature star.
“Oh that looks dangerous,” I said. “Which means it is probably supposed to be the cool finisher moment.”
She thrust her hands forward. The mana star roared toward me.
I inhaled slowly, stretched out both arms, and let reality bend around my palms. Space folded inward, slowing the projectile to a crawl. Light bent, colours twisted, and the world hummed like it had been plucked like a string.
“Stop,” I said softly.
The star froze a breath away from my face.
Emilia’s expression finally cracked.
“You are still the same,” she whispered.
I smiled. “Well, yeah.”
Then the star detonated, since dreams apparently love drama.
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