Kimika was sitting in a chair, looking... at herself? Her exact copy was sitting right in front of her, happily savoring strawberry ice cream. She had no idea what was happening.
Questions kept spinning in her head: 'Where am I? How do I get out of here? What is this creature? Why does it look like me? Why is she — or it — so calm? What about Toga?' But she had no answers to any of them. And it seemed she would never get them.
Despite all her efforts to understand what had happened and where she had ended up, Kimika unconsciously began to recall the events that had preceded her appearance in this strange place.
Perhaps, after the explosion of her left horn, she had died? And now she was in heaven? No... She was a criminal who had killed two people, so it was more likely hell... Or something in between? Kimika had never been a deeply religious person, so she wasn't sure whether it was worth looking for answers in that direction.
The creature that looked like Kimika suddenly got distracted from the ice cream and, smiling, looked her in the eye, as if it could hear her thoughts and found what it heard to be a funny joke.
"This is neither heaven nor hell. Think again." With those words, it went back to eating the ice cream, which seemed endless, constantly regenerating.
Kimika immediately jumped back, hearing the voice of the creature for the first time, which was an exact copy of her own. Falling off the chair, she blinked, and to her surprise, found herself back on the chair as if she had never fallen at all. This place was incredibly strange, and every new moment here only added to her astonishment.
"How? I just fell? And… if this isn't heaven and it isn't hell… Then where am I? Who are you? Is this a dream? Someone's quirk? Why am I here? And why are you... me?"
The creature laughed, giggling as if it had heard the funniest joke of its life. It tilted its head back, enjoying the moment.
"So many questions, and all so funny. You're not asleep, and this isn't someone's quirk. You're in... though, this will be hard to explain. So, consider it a dream, but not quite a dream, because you don't make any decisions here, and you can't leave it without my permission."
The creature snapped its fingers, and the ice cream it was holding turned bright yellow, like mango or pineapple. Taking a bite, it screamed with pleasure: "Mmm, pineapple! So delicious!"
Kimika opened her eyes, staring at this… herself, enjoying the ice cream, just like she used to? She couldn't understand what was happening. The situation was too absurd, and with every second, her mind became more and more confused.
Suddenly, the creature looked at her and smiled, as if it had heard her thoughts again. "Stop thinking of me as 'the creature,' it's disrespectful to the goddess of time."
Rising, the creature began moving around Kimika, its movements incredibly fast and unpredictable. It disappeared from one spot, and in the next moment appeared somewhere entirely different, as if teleporting, leaving golden flashes in its wake.
Suddenly, the creature appeared behind Kimika, but it lasted only a moment. In the next second, it was sitting on its chair again, looking as though nothing had happened. Its gaze was carefree, almost mocking, like someone simply observing something that greatly amuses them.
"I am Chrona! The goddess of time!" the creature's voice was filled with pride and nonchalance, as if the very essence of time was speaking through her words. "And you, Kimika... Mmm, well, you're not an apostle, of course. You're more like my favorite... Hm, my only... Ee, toy! Yes, toy! So fun to watch! I gave you a quirk, an incredible and limitless one! And in such a short time, you've shown me so much! Slowing everything in the world — objects, people, even punches? How fascinating it was to watch, especially during your training! And learning to look into the future during a fight with that hero... Oh, that was a sight! I remember how many times I replayed that moment and how many bags of popcorn I ate... So incredibly delicious, by the way... Or how many tears I shed when everything you did turned out to be useless... But never mind... And you know, I'm so curious to see what else you'll do with this power in the future... But your future... well, that's exactly why you're here."
Kimika froze, her heart pounding in a frantic rhythm. A goddess? Is the real goddess standing before her? Do gods exist? Then do... Wait... Apostle? She's the favorite toy? Is this some kind of joke? What is all this nonsense? What is even happening? How is this possible? How could she even give her a quirk?
Turning her gaze to Chrona, whose eyes were already gleaming with amusement, Kimika saw the goddess of time, nonchalantly munching on popcorn that had somehow appeared in her hands instead of ice cream, looking as if all her words were just simple everyday information. She wasn't hiding her pleasure at all, and her gaze was filled with thoughtful curiosity, as if she were waiting for the next episode of her favorite series.
"So… wait! You… you did all of this? You… goddess? A quirk? Why me? What do you mean 'the only one'? And… and this isn't over yet?!"
Kimika barely swallowed, feeling her throat dry from the tension. She tried to gather her thoughts, but couldn't shake the feeling that she was nothing more than the heroine of a reality show. It was as if all her actions, all her emotions, seemed like some kind of performance, played out only to entertain Chrona.
"Oh, it's all incredibly simple, dear!" Chrona smiled again, her voice full of cheerful nonchalance. "I was unbelievably, and once again unbelievably, bored! Every day, for hundreds of thousands of years, followed the same script: 'Chrona, look at the time here, there, here... fix this, fix that...' And then, one day, I had a brilliant idea for how to have some fun! I picked a random person, and it turned out to be your forerunner — such a cute green-haired guy with adorable freckles.
But then he... well... became boring to me. So, I chose another person — you! I just took his quirk and gave it to you! Because what can be given can also be taken away! Although, poor guy was left without a quirk... Or was he? Never mind, it's a rather complicated situation... So... Then everything was simple! All that was left was to watch! I watched you every moment! From morning to night, day after day. And sometimes I whispered hints to you about how to use the quirk, which you instantly put to use right from the start! And it was incredibly fascinating! You even surpassed my expectations! You turned out to be much more interesting than I originally thought. So, I decided that it was worth giving you one more little gift besides the hints and the quirk."
She winked playfully, her smile widening, and her gaze turned mysterious.
Every moment in this place, every word from Chrona seemed to overflow Kimika. Her mind was on the brink of overload from this unstoppable stream of information. Was her entire life… just a show for this goddess?
All thoughts of the fight, the heroes, Toga, the left horn — everything faded into the background. Kimika was ready to ask her about everything that crossed her mind.
Quickly rising from the chair, Kimika was about to bombard Chrona with the questions overwhelming her, but at that exact moment, the goddess snapped her fingers.
Kimika's body instantly teleported back to the chair, returning to the same position she had been in before she had gotten up. The only difference was that her mouth was closed as if by an invisible force. She couldn't utter a single question, word, or even a simple sound.
"So many questions you have, but… I'll answer… none of them!" Chrona giggled, her voice full of playful nonchalance. "But the reason isn't that I don't want to or I'm not going to reveal some divine secret, no-no-no. The thing is, I can't. I'm not the main goddess, and so I have my duties, rules, and all kinds of restrictions that the main goddess doesn't have, but… one day, I'll be her! And to help you understand just how strict everything is here: in my whole life, I've managed to gather these 'coins,' as you call them, to buy the ability to give you a tiny part of my power. And by the way, even the time you spend here — not free, and it'll be over soon. Otherwise, I could chat with you for a few hundred years and answer all your questions…"
She casually raised her hand and snapped her fingers again. Three glass boxes appeared on the table, each numbered from 1 to 3. Kimika could see through the glass that there was something inside them, and suddenly, everything around her seemed to slow down.
Her mind seemed to clear of unnecessary thoughts, and her body relaxed. She felt the tension that had been building dissolve, leaving only her in front of these boxes and Chrona, who continued to watch her with curiosity.
"That's better, you need a clear mind… So, if we return to my little gift…"
The first box opened, and Kimika saw through the glass a vial containing a black substance — the same one that had recently emerged from her, only to vanish suddenly. She recognized it immediately, and her heart skipped several fast beats. It brought an uncomfortable sensation in her body again, but before she could dwell on the memories, her mind and body were cleared with a magical snap of Chrona's fingers.
Quickly shifting her gaze to the next box, she saw something even stranger: through the glass, Kimika could make out a trigger. The very same trigger, in the same quantity, that Toga still kept at her house. How was this possible? Why was it here? What was it doing in this box? And was Chrona planning to give her their trigger with Toga? What the...
Kimika felt her heart freeze, and her gaze involuntarily shifted to the third box. She froze in surprise. This box... was completely empty. But inside it, a strange sensation arose — a need to touch it.
It was as if this box was more important than all the others, despite its emptiness. The feeling was as though this choice was meant to decide something greater, but what exactly — Kimika couldn't comprehend.
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Goddess... it seems like such a terrible solution... but wait! I have so many ideas, it's like... whoa... Hold on tight! In the meantime, share your ideas about what should be in that third box, something non-physical that Kimika was so drawn to? Maybe some help from the Goddess? Or something else?
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