Harold looked at Sophie's grief-stricken face and sighed.
"We should go inside since no one can see us. Well, you can stay outside if it's too much for you." Harold stepped forward to the girl's house, and Sophie reluctantly followed him.
Asher narrowed his eyes on Harold's back. How come even a Grade 2 Fixer couldn't even realize that he was staring straight at him?
Could it be that, like how the people in the memory couldn't see them, Harold also couldn't see him because he was the one 'controlling' Sophie?
'That makes no sense.' Even so, Asher followed behind them, this time a little less cautious about maintaining his stealth.
Asher stepped in front of Harold to test his reaction, but the man walked straight through him, phasing past his body.
So it was true.
Just like in Sophie's Punishment Mission, no one could see him this time, either.
...
Soon, the three of them stood inside the room, near the corner.
"Woah... the maid must've prepared all of this!" The girl entered the living room, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. There was a magnificent feast on the table.
Asher's eyes widened. The scene in front of him was uncannily similar to the illusionary 'room' in the punishment mission. A golden brown bird shimmered on the counter, stuffed with various fillings, and a fireplace crackled quietly in the corner.
Everything was peaceful. Everything matched that 'room'.
"Dad, where's Mommy? There's a big feast on the table, but Mum isn't here?" The girl called up the stairs, and shortly after, a man climbed down. A hand ran through her hair. It was trembling.
"Don't worry, dear. I- I'm sure she's fine." The man looked worried. He hugged his daughter tightly, but she pushed away from his embrace. Why the sudden touchy-feely?
"Geez, why're you hugging me! Let's eat already~"
*Knock Knock*
But before she could sit down, someone's knuckles rapped on the door.
The girl ran up to the door, opening it before her father could think.
"Hello- Eh? What's that?" In front of her was a man dressed in all black, his face covered in a cap.
Dragged behind him was a naked woman.
"...Mommy?"
The woman bore a remarkable resemblance to someone she knew.
*Crash*
The man dumped the body haphazardly onto the floor. The girl screamed and hid behind her father while he stood in shock.
"What did you... my wife..."
As her father checked his wife's still body, the mysterious intruder chuckled and curled his lip in disdain.
"I had fun playing with your wife, that's what I did! The bitch was screaming for you the entire time, hah!" The man licked his lips, and the girl noticed that her mother's body was covered in sweat and streaks of blood.
The blood was dark and cold. Perhaps days old.
Black bruises snaked around the motionless body.
With a shortened cry, the girl stumbled backward and hit her head on the wall, immediately passing out.
The memory also faded to black. Sophie herself didn't know what happened after she collapsed.
All she remembered was waking up to the aftermath. Waking to her mother's last whispers, and to her father's mentally broken body. After her father woke up, the kind man she once knew had disappeared.
Then came years of suffering and torment as their relationship soured, and the abuse began.
But she still loved him.
Harold raised his eyebrows as Sophie's legs wavered and her body leaned against his.
"L-Let's get out of here. I don't want to see this." Sophie hyperventilated as her fingers stabbed into Harold's skin. Choking sobs echoed in the black void in her memory.
"Eh? Sure thing." The Fixer snapped his fingers, and suddenly Asher found himself back in the chair.
...
The headsets fell off, revealing Asher's face, which was colored crimson with involuntary tears. An indescribable feeling wrenched at his heart.
"You alright- woah!?" Still under the influence of Sophie's emotions, Asher couldn't help but squeeze into Harold's arms, curling into his embrace. A part of him felt embarrassment, but there was also a part that felt comforted by his fatherly warmth.
The man's white coat became stained red as he hugged the wailing girl. He patted the girl's head gently, comforting her.
Asher didn't know why he was crying. It seemed like his personality fused with Sophie when he experienced her memories.
As expected, there was another System prompt that confirmed it.
[Scorched Girl Perfect Synchronization!]
[Congratulations on perfectly synchronizing with Sophie, the 'Scorched Girl'! +5 to all stats. You are now perfectly synced to her soul, allowing for greater control of your actions. But you may find your personality subconsciously change in her form. Futher rewards have been issued:]
[Pseudo-skill 'Puppet Movements' upgraded to an official skill.]
[Nostalgic Room can now bring upwards of four people (including yourself) by physical contact.]
[Intensity of Fourth Match Flame can now be controlled.]
'Oh, that's neat. What's the new skill?'
[Puppet Movements (Toggle Skill)]
[Gain the ability to contort joints and limbs in a puppet-like manner. While you could previously only activate it in high emotion states, it has now been upgraded to a toggle skill.]
[Description: Sophie wanted to forget it all. She wanted to become a puppet, as a puppet doesn't need to remember, it only needs to act. In the end, she failed, and her memories reawakened.]
As expected, the reward for a complete synchronization was great. Reading the description of the new skill, he felt a greater understanding to her actions, like how she wept when she heard what the Soldato was going to do to Mei.
Using his greater control over Sophie's personality, he immediately stopped crying and pushed himself from Harold, wiping his face in the process.
"Are you alright now?"
"Yeah... sorry for causing such a scene." Asher's mouth twitched as he remembered latching onto Harold like that, but the man didn't seem to mind.
"It's fine. I've certainly seen worse memories. There was actually one memory where the child killed both his parents and wanted to become a Fixer for the sole reason to find his sister, who was also a Fixer, and kill her, too. 'Course, I had to reject him, though he was quite physically able..." Harold seemed to lose himself in his head, musing emptily into the air.
Asher didn't know how to respond; he just waited for the man to snap back to reality.
"...So, did I pass?"
Harold broke into a grin.
"What do you think? Wait here while I get your ID."
But before Harold could step outside, he was interrupted by Asher.
"Hold on. If someone specialized in information like you, how would they get tested? There's no intelligence test."
The Fixer stopped in his tracks.
The man's face stretched into a hollow smile. Asher flinched as Harold's pupils became pitch black.
His dead eyes seemed to reflect years' worth of experience.
"Once you get sent out to the real world, you'll find that no one cares. Too many newbies came to Hana for a cushy post, 'specializing' in information. I was the one to assign them their last missions. Expectably, only seven percent were useful." Harold's expression suddenly twisted, giving Asher the chills.
While the man may have looked cordial and pleasant on the outside, Asher realized that he was still an elite Fixer who had witnessed more death than he ever had.
Asher didn't remember his future memories yet, so he was still slightly shaken by Harold's vaguely foreboding grin.
With that, the man stepped out the room, leaving Asher with his own thoughts.
So many things happened when he synchronized completely with Sophie, the number of upgrades overwhelmed him.
Flat stat gain aside, now he didn't have to worry about being absolutely crippled after every fourth attack with 'Fourth Match Flame'. The movements he used on the Soldato became an official skill as well.
With those improvements, he could safely place his synchronized self at or above the power of his 'Fairy Queen' E.G.O.
'Let's just put the intensity of 'Fourth Match Flame' to the lowest setting... and Puppet Movements as off, for now.'
Asher glanced up as Harold walked through the door with a small box in his hand.
"Do you have a phone?" The man asked a simple question.
Harold opened the package in his hand as Asher shook his head. Inside the box was a sleek white phone, with a stylized 'H' on the back.
"Few people are becoming Fixers nowadays because of the high death rate, so we give bonuses to people who join. Take this, it's already registered to you; it will act as your ID. And don't worry about battery, L Corp's Enkephalin batteries can last years without recharging." Asher took the device, which was bigger than his entire hand.
"Wow, thanks... And by the way, what time is it? You said I was out for the whole night?"
"The streetlights just turned on, so it's an hour until dawn."
They approached the front entrance, and Harold escorted him to the door.
"Alright, bye then." Asher nodded and walked out of the building. He noticed that the lady at the reception desk hadn't changed at all. She still sat there unblinkingly, bowing at him with robotic politeness.
"Good luck! And remember to check your phone's apps!" Harold's voice called out behind him.
Asher turned back and flashed a light smile.
'I was a bit scared of that weird grin, but it seems like he's a good person after all.'
...
Outside the Hana Association, the streets lay empty and cold. Streetlights lit the path, yet the sky was still dark.
Occasionally, a few early wakers trudged along the streets, but they had dark, visible bags beneath their eyes.
However, Asher's steps were light and energetic. He had not forgotten the forlorn face Mei made yesterday when he said that 'Asher' would not come home that night, and he wished to change that.
At some point, he found himself sprinting toward her apartment.
Soon, he stood in front of the familiar and cozy, yet dilapidated apartment complex. He shot up the stairs and gently knocked on the door.
As he knocked, he desynchronized with Sophie, reverting to his old self.
'Hm... She's not responding.'
Predicting that Mei was probably still asleep, Asher opened the door himself, unlocking it with a spare key from earlier.
*Creaaak*
The door shuddered as he pushed against its rusty joints.
Entering the room, Asher noticed it was still cramped and gloomy. He used the flashlight beside the door to navigate briskly across the narrow kitchen, eventually nearing Mei's bedroom.
As he approached her bedroom, his surroundings slowly became cleaner and less stuffy. By the time he exited the kitchen, the pleasant smell of soaps and feminine fragrances already hid the smell of oil from the kitchen.
Mei's door was closed, and he couldn't see any light from outside the door.
'She's probably still sleeping...'
Asher didn't want to disturb her, so he sat down on the floor, leaning himself against the door.
So many things happened to him in a few dozen hours that he hardly got a moment of respite.
'First was the Soldato in the morning, then Jack and Pierre, then Sayako and Finn, then Sophie and Yan, then Kalo and Stella, then...'
Asher's eyelids slowly drooped as he remembered all the events and people that he encountered. His body might've been well rested, but his mind grew weary after so long without a truly peaceful moment.
Even with his short time in this world, he felt that he could call this shabby, cramped apartment as his home, where he could rest in peace.
He sighed with contentment as his consciousness floated away...