Yuria sat on the edge of her bed, the faint glow of the city's neon lights streaming through the window.
Her tall stature curved as she yawned, stretching lazily before flopping onto her back, the soft fabric of her blanket rustling as she nestled in.
Surreal sat at the edge of the bed, composed and serene as always, his gloved hands resting on his lap.
Yuria tilted her head, her eyes half-lidded as sleep tugged at her consciousness. "Hey, Surreal…"
"Yes?" His voice was soft, carrying a soothing cadence that matched the stillness of the room.
"If I close my eyes now and drift off to sleep…" she began, her voice trailing off. "Will you still be here when I wake up? Or will you disappear?"
Surreal's serene smile never faltered. "I'll stay," he said gently.
Yuria chuckled lightly, her eyes slipping shut. "Liar," she murmured, her tone playful. "You can't fool me. I can tell when someone's lying… and you're definitely lying."
Surreal's expression remained tranquil as he watched her breathe deeply, her chest rising and falling in the rhythm of slumber. "I know."
Surreal knew that Yuria hadn't been in a state of slumber, but there was an important matter that he needed to address first.
With a quiet sigh, he stood and adjusted his suit before walking toward the doorway.
Forreal, who had been quietly sitting in the corner of the room, raised an eyebrow as he approached.
"Going somewhere?" she asked, keeping her voice low to avoid waking Yuria.
Surreal glanced back at the sleeping figure, his smile fading slightly. "I need you to keep an eye on her while I'm away. I'll only be gone for a day, at most."
Forreal crossed her arms, her expression skeptical. "And where are you off to this time?"
Surreal tilted his head, his tone light yet evasive. "Since I've been, let's say, pushing the limits of my newfound power as the Psycheweave Engine, a few unexpectedly troubling anomalies have begun to manifest all around the world. I need to address them before they spiral out of control."
Without waiting for her reply, he raised a hand, and a ripple of dark energy enveloped him. In an instant, he vanished, leaving Forreal alone with Yuria.
"And there he goes again, always coming in and out like a bat." Forreal leaned against the wall, her arms still crossed as she muttered to herself. "I wonder… would that make Yuria my future sister-in-law?"
The thought lingered in her mind as she glanced at the sleeping woman. The similarities between herself and Surreal had always been unsettlingly uncanny—similar features, similar thoughts, even their shared propensity for sharp wit. The only difference was that Surreal had endured countless resets and lived far longer than she had.
Her musings were interrupted by a soft voice.
"Uhm… Miss Forreal?"
Forreal jumped slightly, turning to see Yuria sitting up in bed, her hair tousled and her expression drowsy yet alert.
"You're not asleep?" Forreal asked, with hands on the front ready to catch or react to something out of panic.
"Sorry," Yuria said sheepishly, rubbing her eyes. "I couldn't sleep. Mind if I keep you company instead?"
Forreal hesitated, then shrugged with more ease on her mind. "Sure. Not like I have much else to do."
Yuria walked over to the small living room area, gesturing for Forreal to join her on the couch.
The two women sat in silence for a moment before it was broken by Forreal.
"Sorry for dragging you into this," Forreal said, her voice softer than usual. "I mean, for barging into your home and dropping a ton of crazy information on you. You know, without actually respecting your time and privacy."
Yuria shook her head, offering a faint smile. "Don't worry about it. If anything… I'm glad you both showed up."
Forreal raised an eyebrow. "Glad? Really? Why?"
Yuria leaned back into the couch, her gaze settling on the window where faint city lights flickered against the darkened sky. Her voice was soft, almost wistful. "Before all of this… I wasn't in the best place."
"Ah…"
"Mentally, I mean," Yuria quipped a small smile. "Everything felt so dim. It was like the world had been drained of color, leaving only shades of gray. I was just… existing, without much meaning."
Forreal didn't interrupt, sensing that Yuria needed to let the words flow naturally.
"I'd wake up, go to work, come back home, and mindlessly scroll the internet or play games until I fell asleep. Day in, day out, the same cycle. It wasn't even about enjoying it anymore; it was just a way to distract myself from how empty everything felt.
"Even the neon lights outside—so bright, so vibrant—they all started to blur together. It was like they were mocking me, reminding me that the world was alive while I wasn't…
"It got to the point where my legs felt like they were made of lead," Yuria's voice trembled for a moment. "Every step, every day, just felt heavier than the last. I didn't know what I was doing, what my purpose was, or even if there was anything left for me in this world. And… there were moments," she hesitated, her fingers gripping the edge of her shirt, "When I thought about… just ending it all."
Forreal's breath hitched, her stomach twisting uncomfortably to the path of this conversation.
Yuria caught her expression and offered a small, sad smile. "Don't worry. I'm not there anymore. I'm in a much less darker place, albeit still colorless to an extent" She paused, her eyes softening. "Back to the present, the two of you came out of nowhere, one standing at my front door with that beautiful smile, like he'd been waiting his whole life to meet me. I didn't know who he was, but the way he looked at me… it was like I mattered. Like I was someone important.
"And suddenly, something changed. The dim, colorless backdrop of my life lit up again. Just knowing that someone like him—someone so genuine—was excited to meet me… it was enough to pull me out of that darkness."
Forreal looked away, her chest tightening, her mind racing. Both of us are dragged into this whirlwind by Surreal, blindsided by his chaos. That is the undeniable truth. But maybe, it is not the worst thing that happens in our lives.
Yuria exhaled deeply, her tone shifting to something more reflective. "I think part of it… the way I felt before, I mean… had to do with my ability to tell when someone's lying. At first, I thought it was a gift. But over time…" She trailed off, her hands wondering.
"It turned into a curse," Forreal guessed softly.
Yuria slowly nodded. "Yeah. It's exhausting, seeing through people all the time. In this day and age. Every smile, every word, every gesture—they all felt fake. Masks people wear to hide their real selves. It was like being surrounded by illusions, every single day. And it made me feel so… detached.
"Like I was the only one seeing the world for what it really was, and no one else cared." Yuria let out a shaky laugh, her voice tinged with bitterness. "It's hard to connect with people when you can see every little lie they tell, even the harmless ones. Eventually, I just… stopped trying."
Forreal swallowed hard, struggling to process Yuria's words.
Yuria smiled, then leaned back against the couch, letting out a contented sigh. "But enough about me," she said, her tone more cheerful. "I want to know more about you and Surreal. What's your story?"
Forreal hesitated, glancing toward the window where the neon lights danced against the darkness. She knew she couldn't avoid the question, not when Yuria could so easily detect a lie.
With a deep breath, she began to speak, her voice steady but laced with an unspoken weight. "I'm not from the future like Surreal is," she admitted. "I… only got caught up in this because of bad luck."
Forreal quickly summarized what she knew so far, while also carefully avoiding any mention of the Nameless and the so-called ingeniously absurd plan that Surreal proposed.
As she spoke, Yuria listened intently, her expression shifting from curiosity to empathy.
"That's… rough," Yuria said softly. "You didn't ask for this, did you?"
Forreal shook her head. "No. But then again, neither did Surreal."
Yuria's expression darkened as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "It's cruel, isn't it? For one person to bear the weight of humanity's survival alone. To fight against an inevitable doom, over and over again…"
"You seem to empathize with Surreal more than I managed to do."
"Really? Even though the two of you are technically the same person?" Yuria tilted her head like a curious owl.
"Believe me, I had it really rough when he suddenly kidnapped me out of my world."
"You know, I just realized that if someone were to listen to our conversation without a proper context, they would deem us schizos."
"I already felt that I'm starting to become one."
"Pfft, just like Surreal, you really do have your way with words."
Amidst the friendly banter, Forreal's chest tightened with guilt.
She knew the truth—knew that Surreal's plan involved wiping out humanity, leaving only himself and possibly her alive. He hadn't mentioned Yuria in his plans, and Forreal couldn't ignore the growing unease in her heart.
If Yuria has to hear the truth, it should come from me, Forreal decided. That should be the least thing I could do to lessen the crack that Surreal will bear, if he is really going to stick all of his leg into that ridiculous plan of his.
Forreal could see how shaken Yuria would be if Surreal suddenly revealed his plan to her directly, and that was the recipe of a painful farewell—much more painful than the incident with the Nameless.
Taking a deep breath, she met Yuria's gaze. "There's still something important you need to know about all of this…"
"Yes?" Yuria answered, her expressions were curious but wary.
Forreal's voice trembled slightly as she spoke. "Surreal… he's been through so much more than I realize. He's reset his life again and again, fighting alone, suffering alone, and failing every time. And in those attempts, possibly… he lost you. Over and over again.
"The threats he's facing—what humanity is about to face—appear to be beyond anything that I could imagine. And he's determined to stop it, no matter the cost. Even if it means…" She hesitated, her throat tightening. "… Even if it means annihilating humanity, leaving only himself and I to represent the role of resistance against the foreboding calamity.
"He believes it's the best outcome, better than letting the current humanity to endure the horror of what's coming." In this instance, while facing Yuria directly on the face—Forreal finally opened her gaze, revealing a pair of pristine, pure, and domineering white eyes. "You're smart and attentive, Yuria.
"And you should've realized the implication of the words I uttered."