"..." I took a moment to peek outside.
The wind was howling. The snowfall had hastened into a disastrous clump of more and more snow piling up on top of itself. I could see frost appearing even on the pure concrete walls of the building.
I could feel the cold air trying to slink inside, enter this space that was definitely, definitely, definitely warm, and not cold.
I shut the door immediately, shaking my head and resisting the urge to allow my body even a single shiver.
Despite knowing all of that 'cold' was just an illusion, something meant to lull me into 'believing that it's cold', it's hard to deny something that your mind is telling you.
The 'illusion' was perfect. So perfect that I could still feel the slight drop in my body temperature even while I walked away from the door. Still, it was nothing compared to what it had been.
I couldn't help but smile.
'It really is working. No wonder Jay managed to resist it for so long, even without any abilities...'
I wrote the temperature reading - what I guessed to be the temperature, at least - on a piece of paper, adding it to the stack of messily scattered papers.
Even without using any equipment, I could roughly guess what temperature it was outside.
I had picked up another skill thanks to my perfect memory - becoming a human thermometer.
The first few days, I had been using the eccentric "catgirl's" thermometers to measure the temperature. Naturally, digital equipment was out of the question, considering the nature of Abnormalities.
However, as I committed to memory more and more what each temperature 'felt' like, it was easier for me to put a pin on what temperature it was without even needing it.
Now I had practically become the thermometer myself.
After writing down the readings I headed into the bedroom, the sanctuary and cut-off point of the Abnormality's effects, and sat down with a deep breath.
The violet-haired girl with the cat ears, who I had simply come to know as 'Rin' was inside the bedroom, lounging around while reading a book. She really did look like a cat, rolling around on the bed.
When I entered, her eyes moved to register me, before immediately returning to the pages in front of her.
"Finished this hour's readings? Thanks."
The statement was supposed to be showing her gratitude, but again, it was hard to tell with that emotionless voice of hers.
What was easier to understand was when she tossed me a nutrition bar. I took it gratefully, chomping down on the near-flavorless block of vitamins and minerals.
There was silence between us as I sat on the edge of the bed.
"...it's getting worse out there, you know." I admitted, crushing the wrapper in my palm. "I don't know what sort of assignment you got, but sitting in here is only going to end up with you dying."
I knew this for good. After all, it was these same apartment complexes that Alyssa, Jay and I had fled to in search of shelter.
However, by that time, the 'illusion of winter' was so strong, that even hiding in tightly shut, closed off buildings wouldn't stop it from 'infecting' you.
Despite the urgency in my tone and the seriousness of what I was saying, Rin's expression didn't change one bit.
"I know."
Her bewildering words didn't give any ounce of comfort. But instead of feeling agitated, I almost felt...reserved.
I felt that way a lot these days. Maybe as a side effect of losing multiple lives' worth of progress, I was beginning to lose things like 'concern'.
Instead of being angered at someone accepting their death so easily, another question was boiling within me.
"...why?"
'Why are you just okay with sitting in here, taking temperatures, lazing around, and then freezing to death?'
That was the full form of my question. Rin, sharper than her curt responses and lazy tendencies let on, replied without even taking her eyes off of the book in front of her.
"I owe a lot to Miss Nozomi. All of us magical girls do. Without her, we might've been just like those people down there. Weak, helpless, dead."
Her eyes finally moved up to meet mine directly, her gaze unwavering.
"Whatever I can do to help her, I will. Even if it means dying in this 'Infectious Winter'."
Without missing a beat, she returned to reading. I processed what she was saying a little bit. It was insane. She had the same level of dedication to Nozomi as Jay had to the Saintess.
Of course, having worked with the magical girls, I knew that they were a tight-knit, eccentric group, but...I don't think I ever really understood just how deep of a loyalty they had towards Nozomi, themselves.
Maybe wanting to understand that was a part of why I stayed here with Rin for such a long time.
Not to mention the fact that, this place, so warm and small and cozy and comfortable...maybe in a way, I enjoyed being closed off from the world for a while.
I opened a bag of chips, to which Rin gave me a curious glance.
"Well...I'll hang in there with you for a little while longer. The chips haven't gone bad yet."
She gave a light tilt of her head in acknowledgement, and set down her current book, handing me one that she had closed to her side. It was my turn to give her a confused stare.
"...it's a good read."
She shoved it forward onto my lap, then promptly went back to ignoring me.
Seriously, she really was just like a cat.
-----
It was getting worse.
That was what I told her a few days ago.
Now, those words sounded like a joke.
It was even worse than I imagined. Despite it barely being a month, around the same time I had died in the last regression, 'outside' barely existed anymore.
It almost felt like the strength of the Abnormality had adjusted itself accordingly to my growing resistance, like it could tell that something was becoming almost entirely too smart to its' near-perfect illusion of nature.
Everything was blanketed in white, all background noise was cut off by an incessant, howling wind that continued to blow in my ears, and there was a chill that tried to get under my skin...
The Abnormality was right to feel threatened. After all, I was barely affected by it now. My inner temperature didn't drop by that much at all, especially considering how much I was exposed to the 'infection' by that one glance.
I hadn't just been recording temperatures, reading books, and eating junk food, after all. My entire stay here, I had been furthering my progress in meditation.
I had seen a good effect a few days ago...and now, I could almost entirely block out the 'winter illusion' from my body and mind's senses.
I wondered if 'inner energy' had something to do with it. But I didn't have the expertise to confirm or deny that sort of thing.