Volume 3—Chapter 68: Reverse
Outside the apartment building, the illusion of a routine fire response still held. Fire trucks idled, hoses coiled but untouched, while uniformed espers posed as firefighters to keep civilians at bay.
Takeru stood silently, arms crossed, eyes locked on the building swallowed by the dimensional crack. Then, his gaze shifted to Viola, who had just reappeared outside moments ago.
“Tell me everything you know about what’s going on in there,” Takeru said, his tone calm.
Viola blinked, caught off guard. “Uh… well, there’s definitely some kind of fight happening inside. I was trying to teleport straight to it, but instead, I popped out here.”
“I see…” Takeru muttered, nodding slightly.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Elizabeth snapped, eyeing him with disbelief.
“There’s nothing more that needs to be said,” Takeru replied evenly.
“Seriously?” Elizabeth's voice rose, irritated. “You're not even a little alarmed by what she just told us?”
“Call off the mission,” Takeru said abruptly.
“What?!” Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Why?”
But Takeru didn’t respond. He simply turned his back on her and began to walk away.
Elizabeth growled under her breath, striding forward and grabbing his shoulder to stop him. “Hold on a second. Can you at least pretend to explain your logic to the rest of us?”
Takeru paused, sighing heavily before glancing at Viola again. “Kid, how many people did you meet inside that crack?”
Viola tilted her head. “Um… two. Irana, obviously. And a guy. Ichiro, I think his name was.”
“Okay,” Takeru said. “And who else was inside the building? Besides the three of you?”
Viola scratched her head, counting on her fingers. “There’s Aria… and Ichiro’s partner.”
Takeru nodded, as if a puzzle piece had clicked into place. “That confirms it.”
Elizabeth threw her arms up. “Confirms what, exactly?!”
Takeru turned back, expression unreadable. “Aria’s awakened her power. There’s no need for us to intervene.”
Viola blinked. “Wait.. what? Isn’t that… bad? Weren’t we trying to prevent that from happening?!”
“She’s right!” Elizabeth pointed at Viola. “Takeru, you’ve spent the last two years warning us that Aria’s awakening could trigger chaos. And now you’re just… fine with it?!”
Takeru remained silent for a beat, then finally spoke softly, but with weight behind his words.
“…She’s already awakened before. A long time ago.”
Elizabeth furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
Takeru exhaled slowly. “Nine years ago… there was an incident. A powerful surge of energy, unexplained destruction.”
“To be honest,” Takeru said, his voice calm, “I’m surprised you both trust what you don’t see so easily… Especially knowing the Association has erased more incidents than either of you could count, just to keep the truth about Espers hidden.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth, but he raised a hand to stop her.
“I’ll say this only once, so listen closely,” he continued, eyes fixed on the flickering lights of the sealed-off building. “Our reality is fragile… dangerously fragile. The world we think we know… it can reverse itself right before our eyes.”
He paused, turning slowly toward them.
“And when it does… we won’t even realise it ever happened.”
—
“Say hi to your older sister in the afterlife, will you?” Shera whispered with a chilling smile.
“Shera… you…” Ichiro tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat. His feet dangled slightly above the floor as Shera tightened her grip around his neck, her fingers glowing with an unnatural, sickly light.
Then, without hesitation, she activated the power the Spectre had granted her, draining Ichiro’s life force.
His body began to twitch, the colour rapidly draining from his face.
And all of this happened just a few steps away from Aneira.
She stood frozen, eyes wide. Her breath caught. The white flame flickered and danced in Shera’s palm—the same flame Aneira once wielded under the Spectre’s control.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest. A rush of memories surged through her mind without warning—one after another.
Victims.
Faces she couldn't forget.
Some had begged for their lives.
Some had cursed her with their last breath.
Some had simply whispered the names of their loved ones as the white fire consumed them.
Aneira clutched her head, staggering backwards.
“No… no… no…” she murmured, trembling as her vision blurred.
Their voices… they're all screaming at me again…
“It wasn’t my fault… I didn’t have a choice…” she said to no one, her voice cracking, as tears welled in her eyes. “I didn’t want to…”
But Shera only laughed quietly.
“Isn’t it nostalgic? Watching death like this… it feels good, doesn’t it?” Shera said coldly.
Aneira’s legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees, paralysed by the weight of guilt and fear, caught between the past and the horror unfolding before her.
“You should just embrace it… denying it only makes you suffer,” Shera sneered as her grip tightened on Ichiro. “You know the feeling of someone else’s life force flowing into your body is…”
BOOM.
A sudden wave of force slammed into her like a truck. Both she and Ichiro were launched into the wall, the impact rattling the entire hallway.
“I hate this,” said a voice filled with quiet rage.
Aria stepped through the dissipating dust, the last few summoned skeletons scattered in broken pieces behind her, crushed by her raw telekinetic force.
Shera groaned, trying to lift her body. She raised her arm to retaliate, only to be struck through the back by a jagged spear of ice.
“Not so fast,” Irana said coolly, her hand extended, frost trailing from her fingertips.
With a second motion, Irana summoned a layer of ice that encased Shera’s limbs, locking her in place with precision and efficiency.
Aria slowly walked forward, her expression unreadable. She crouched beside the immobilised woman.
“This whole Spectre activity… it’s really starting to piss me off,” she said in a low, deliberate tone. Her gaze hardened. “Tell me… do the names Syena or Ariana ring any bells?”
Shera blinked in confusion, “What...? Who?”
Aria didn’t wait for her to finish. She stood and turned toward Aneira, who was still curled up against the wall, paralysed by her memories.
Aria’s eyes narrowed.
“Then what about you?” she asked sharply.
But Aneira didn’t respond. She trembled in place, trapped in a nightmare only she could see.
Aria’s lips pressed into a thin line. Her patience, it seemed, had run out.
“This is a waste,” she muttered.
A strange purple glow formed in Aria’s palm—a swirling, condensed sphere of energy, unlike anything Irana had ever seen before.
“Onee-chan?!” Irana's voice spiked with alarm as she rushed closer. “What are you doing?”
Aria didn’t even glance back.
“Let’s pretend this never happened.”
She raised her hand.
And the sphere exploded.
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