He stops me pulling me back into the room. "I want this to stay between us right now."
He sits at the desk in my room. "The girls are the cause of this."
I remember that man said they were weapons. "Where are they?"
He looks down. "Everyone is safe but I had to put them to sleep and seal them in a separate space. I investigated the curse that was put on them. It's nasty, it's a magic amplifier that increases as their emotions do. The reason they were so stoic when you met them was because they had been severely drugged so their emotions were suppressed."
He shows me what's going on in their bodies it's like a nuclear reaction with no stop button. "Is there a way to fix this?"
He shakes his head. "If you increase their magic control it won't change anything it'll just make them more unstable. Their parents were scientists apart of a cult that worshipped a chaos god who pretended to be a god of Almighty power. They genetically altered them before they even came out of the womb they're walking nukes."
I grip the table. "Gramps... I saw you step through time are you telling me there isn't a single thing we can do to save these girls?"
He looks down. "Humanly putting them down is the only option. They attached themselves to you and when you left they panicked."
Cracks shoot through the desk. "That's bullshit! Let me see them now!"
He snaps and a door appears. "Before you go in there I will warn you that if we release them and they kill people it will be on our shoulders."
I tap my display changing into my younger self. I open the door seeing them playing with some toys. "Hey! Sorry I left, I just had to do some training with my grandpa."
They all come over quickly like a heard of sheep hugging me and tugging on my clothes. "Your back."
I guess that's as happy as they can react with mood suppression magic on. "Yeah I'm back, I was wondering if any of you had something you wanted to do when you got older?"
We all sit down and they each tell me their dreams. The one I gave the scarf to tugs at my sleeve. "I want to get married."
I smile at her. "I'm sure you will, it'll be amazing and I'll definitely be there to cheer you on. All of you will get married someday and be the most beautiful brides you could ever imagine!"
They lean back and forth showing some excitement. "Okay well I'm going to help you make your dreams come true. It's a special spell that requires you to close your eyes. First I need to know your names."
They all go silent and I lean forward. "Do you not have names?"
They nod and I rub their heads. "Okay then let's come up with some."
They decide on me naming them. I guess this is just the habit of the day. I rest my hand on the head of the one with the scarf. "You'll be Miku."
Her eyes glow pink becoming a little darker. I move on to the next 4. "Reiko, Reika, Mio, and Mika."
I scratch my cheek. "I'm not really good with names but I hope that works."
They hug me tightly. "Thank you Grey."
I rub their heads and we do the spell. I have them sit down and we all hold hands. "Miku, Mika, Mio, Reiko, and Reika. These five will forever be bound by the pact forged in the fires of our hearts. When eternity ends this will be the only thing to last. Infinity Bond."
A black magic circle appears below us and chains come from their chest going into mine. I gasp feeling a sharp pain over my heart. I wince pulling my shirt back seeing a five petal flower being etched into my skin.
When it finishes I can feel the worry that all of them just felt for me. My magic power has increased to something I can't really fathom. Miku tears up rushing over to me. "Are you alright it doesn't hurt does it?!"
All of them look shocked that she can show her emotions so freely. The mark on my chest is glowing and my magic power is being regenerated. So her excessive magic goes to me allowing her to express her feelings freely.
The display said it would work but only if all of them believed and trusted me. If any of them doubted me it could've killed all of us.
They all tackle me and giggle finally able to be happy. Gramps comes in congratulating me. I stand beside him. "Did you do that on purpose?"
He smiles. "What do you mean?"
I punch him in the leg and he jumps around. "Ouch, ouch, ouch! I'm sorry! Don't be mad!"
I sigh. "I'm not, just keep the pranks to a minimum."
He rubs my head. "You're a sweet kid."
I smile and everything around me starts to fade away.
What's going on?
I can't remember what I was just doing but whatever it was I can tell I was genuinely happy.
What was I just doing?
Right... I was in the auditorium doing that mirrors trial thing. The crown landed on my head and then everything went dark.
Now I'm here.
I open my eyes and everyone is frozen in place. Why are they looking at me like I'm a monster?
I try to move but this stupid throne has a chain around my waist. "Hello there, you're the boy crushing on my sister Miku right?"
I can't move my head from the position it was frozen in but I can move my eyes. I feel something touch my cheek and I turn my head seeing Reika smiling at me. "I'm Reika, the eldest and leader of the 12 rounds. I'm sure you already knew that but I figured I'd refresh your memory after the mirror's trial."
I rub my head. "What's-"
She hands me some medicine and water. "Going on? I'll tell you. What was shown in your mirrors trial exposed secrets not even the 12 rounds were aware of. Therefore it caused everyone to panic and see you as a threat."
I take the meds as she continues her explanation. "I, in my infinite wisdom had the idea to freeze time the moment I saw you come to so we could talk a little."
She sits on the arm rest of the throne stroking my hair. "So what attracted you to Miku? Was it her body? Or her clumsy demeanor?"
I pass her the empty glass. "Neither, she's my friend. Don't we have more important things to talk about right now?"
She giggles. "I guess you have a point, I'm just being a nosey older sister. I am grateful she has a friend like you."
I motion to the people. "So are you gonna unfreeze things and they're gonna attack me?"
She stands motioning to the floating chains around the throne. "They wouldn't dare, those chains are extremely deadly. I just wanted to confirm your mental state before I unfreeze things."
She's sweet just like her sister. "Thank you. You didn't have to go out of your way for me."
She pauses for a moment and turns to me coming closer. "Your right, so as a repayment I'd like you to have dinner at my place when you're free."
She puts a black metal card into my hand with her address on it. "Isn't this your spare house key?"
She nods stepping back. "Take care of it for me would ya? Oh and like I said come see me whenever. I need to get to know the person hanging out with my little sister."
She vanishes and everything starts moving normally. Miku rushes over to me helping me out of the chair. It vanishes quickly and she takes me to the infirmary to be checked out. Lady Aura and Titan both come to the hospital room soon after.
I told them I was fine but they insisted on me being examined. I try to ask about the mirrors trial but they're being secretive. It must have to do with those secrets that were revealed. The only person I'll be able to talk to is Reika and she knew it.
Can I trust you?
I squeeze the card in my pocket before eating my hospital dinner. I was expecting it to be trash but it's luxurious! It was served on special china. I guess this place doesn't have shitty funding like my home world.
My nurse comes in she has light blue hair and pink eyes. "Good afternoon Mr. Emory, my name is Freya. I will be your nurse for the remainder of your stay. It's my job to check your vitals and keep your mental health in a positive state."
I laugh a little. "Keep my mental health in a positive state? I never thought I'd hear that again. I guess things don't change even in another dimension."
She comes closer "What do you mean?"
I move my shirt down showing the scar on the center of my chest. "When I was a baby in my last world I had surgery to fix a birth defect in my heart. Since I was so small they were scared that I wouldn't fight to keep myself alive so they had nurses stay with me all night to keep-"
She smiles. "Your mental health in a positive state."
I nod glancing over at her. "Sorry you have to look over me. I'm sure there are plenty of other patients that you could be attending to."
She takes my hand and her eyes glow for a moment as little orbs of light come out and float around the room. "You are a patient just like everyone else. I believe in the philosophy of helping others and letting others help me. If I can't do something I'll ask for help and if someone else can't do something I'll help them no matter what. I'm helping you but when you get stronger you'll help someone in your position."
I smile squeezing her soft hand. "Thanks, you really are good at your job. That's a good philosophy to live by."
A white and black orb float near my chest. "What are these things?"
I poke one and it jiggles like a ball of water floating in the air. "These are baby spirits. I possess a spirit seed inside of the that produces baby spirits. I help them grow and they find their forever partners. It's a rewarding experience."
I grab the white and black one right next to my chest. They both hop up and down in my hands. "You both are so cute. Mother and a nurse what can't you do?"
She blushes grabbing a bunch of them cupping them in her hands. "You're just being nice. I don't think my job is as important as the 12 rounds protecting the lower worlds. I just hope that what little I do helps just a tiny amount."
I cup them both together and the bounce around together. "I know how you feel. It helps. It always does. What the 12 rounds do is obviously important to the overall cause but this type of stuff makes the day to day livable. They make it so moments like this can happen and you make these moments happy. So thank you for everything you do."
She stays silent and I look at her seeing large tears falling from her face splashing on the baby spirits but they're eating them. "Umm are you alright?"
She wipes her face causing them to float in the air all around her. "Y-Yeah, I've just never had someone compliment me like that."
I lean over wiping her eyes. "Well I want you to know I meant it. Thanks for cheering me up and showing me such a beautiful thing."
She giggles. "Those two really took a liking to you."
Both of them are bouncing on my head. "Yeah, Titan would eat them both though. I wish I could see them again."
Freya perks up. "You could always come to the spirit sanctuary! It's on the 3rd floor. We're a small operation but we produce the strongest spirits around. If you want I could show you some matured spirits."
I agree and she leaves soon after. I noticed when she opened the door her demeanor changed. I'm not sure what that was but for now I'll stay vigilant. The only person I can really trust right now is-
"You're quite the player aren't you?"
I turn my head seeing Reika smiling laying in the bed beside me. "What!"
She covers my lips. "Shhh, if you freak out too much it'll raise your heart rate and cause the nurses to come in so take a deep breath."
I breathe in and she rubs my head. "Good boy."
I move her hand looking away. "why are you here?"
She turns my head to face her. "I came to check on you. Isn't that normal for a friend to do?"
I motion to where she is. "It is but using your powers to eavesdrop isn't something a friend would do."
She sits up. "I guess you have a point. I apologize."
I sigh. "It's alright, I'm sure you had your reasons."
She smiles. "You have faith in me, that's so sweet. As a matter of fact I did have a reason. I wanted to see your sleeping face and get pictures for Miku."
I glare at her and she giggles. "Kidding, kidding, geez you're so serious. There's a gag order on anyone telling you information about the mirrors trial so I've been tasked by the higher ups to keep tabs on those who interact with you and for good reason."
She holds up a nurse chart to me. "See anything odd."
I look it over and look at her. "Freya, isn't a nurse here?"
She sighs. "Unfortunately no, I don't want you to think bad of her though. I did some digging while you two flirted. She really does work with baby spirits. Her operation is very profitable. She wasn't here for any malicious reasons but from what I can see she was someone you impacted in the mirrors trial. That has caused her to go to these lengths to meet you. Many others might try the same so with your permission."
I glance at her. "You wanna be my body guard?"
She hugs me tightly pushing my head into her chest. "If you're asking then of course I'll do it! I could never say no to someone in need. I'll be the best bodyguard you've ever seen."
I tilt my head back gasping after she let's go. "I thought I was gonna die!"
She rubs my head. "You'll be fine, if you die I'll just revive you."
I fix my clothes. "Please don't say something so scary with a cute face."
She pokes her face. "Well I can't say it with any other face."
It looks like I'm gonna be dealing with this time stopping stalker. I really hope I don't regret this decision. "I'll be in your care."