The crystalline laughter of the masked woman echoed once more through the fractured chamber, and then she leaned slightly toward Evelyra.
"Let's go somewhere else."
No sooner were the words spoken than the air around them began to vibrate. The walls of the room seemed to bend, to twist, as if reality itself were unraveling. Objects floated for a moment in an unreal void, rays of light shattered into thousands of fragments, and every sound—the beating of their hearts, the rustle of fabric—multiplied into strange echoes.
Then, in the span of a heartbeat, everything changed.
The room, the bed, the book, and the yukata vanished as if swallowed by an invisible abyss.
A new dimension emerged.
Evelyra and the masked woman found themselves seated face to face on simple chairs, placed upon a floor of dizzying vastness. So immense that no boundary could be seen on the horizon—it seemed to stretch infinitely, bare and silent.
Above them stretched a black sky, strewn with shimmering stars in every direction. No sun, no moon—only the depth of space and the cold glimmer of the stars.
The air itself seemed filled with a subtle yet tangible energy, as though each vibrating particle carried an echo of time and the universe.
Evelyra felt almost no gravity beneath her—a lightness that was neither oppressive nor frightening, but strange, mesmerizing. Her breath created small ripples in the air, and each movement of her arms or head seemed to make the stars around them shine brighter.
The masked woman bowed slightly, her mask reflecting the countless lights of the cosmos.
"Here, the world has no laws," she said softly but firmly.
"No time, no place, no limits. Everything you see… everything you do… is possible."
Evelyra observed the sacred stillness and infinite depth surrounding them. A shiver of awe ran through her. She understood instinctively that this place was more than just a passage between two worlds—it was a realm where reality itself could be shaped, tested, defied.
"You… brought me here for what purpose?" she asked, her voice trembling but steady.
The masked woman slowly tilted her head toward Evelyra, letting a silence heavy with mystery hang between them. Then, with a smooth and almost ceremonial gesture, she lifted her hands to her festival mask, holding it like something precious.
"It's time you saw who I really am," she murmured.
The starlight danced upon the mask as she removed it slowly.
A faint breath swept through the space—barely perceptible, yet enough to make Evelyra's chair tremble slightly.
And then… the face revealed was not that of a stranger.
It was Yuki.
Her black hair, luminous even amid the cosmic darkness, framed a familiar face—yet marked by a solemn gravity Evelyra had never seen before. Her deep pink eyes gleamed with calm determination, almost divine, as if they carried an entire world of untold memories and promises.
"Yuki…?" Evelyra breathed, stunned.
Yuki smiled gently, but her smile was not childlike—it carried wisdom, gravity, and a quiet melancholy.
"Yes, it's me… though not exactly," Yuki replied. "I'm another version of her—from another universe."
A wave of shock and strange relief washed over Evelyra. The revelation was still hazy, leaving her bewildered.
"You're… not the Yuki I know?" she asked, caught between disbelief and curiosity.
Yuki sat down gracefully, placing her hands on her knees.
"That's right. I come from a parallel universe," she admitted without hesitation. "A world identical to your old one, except… in mine, after the 'Pattern' occurred, you died in the dungeon."
Evelyra blinked several times, her mind spinning like a top. She furrowed her brows, trying to make sense of it all.
"Wait—wait a second…" she murmured, confused.
"You mean… there's another me that's me, but not me? And you're not my Yuki, but still… her, somehow?!"
Yuki raised an eyebrow, a playful smile touching her lips.
"Almost. It's complicated—but that's close enough."
Evelyra sighed, running a hand over her face—half amused, half exasperated.
"Great… So now, besides learning this damn language and avoiding getting killed by gods, I also have to deal with parallel realities? Wonderful. Thanks for the update."
Yuki let out a soft laugh—a sound sweet yet touched with seriousness.
"I know, it's a lot. But don't worry, you'll get used to it… eventually. I hope."
Evelyra widened her eyes, leaning back in her chair, mouth open as if to protest—but no words came out.
"So… you… me… but not me… and all this in a place with no real ground, and stars everywhere… Perfect. Just perfect," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
Yuki shook her head slightly, amused by her counterpart's reaction.
"Come on, breathe. We'll sort it out… little by little."
Evelyra stared at her, frustration and fascination battling within her gaze, realizing that this encounter would likely rewrite everything she thought she knew—and that she couldn't refuse it.
Still dazed, Evelyra straightened up, her blue eyes gleaming with cautious focus.
"Hold on… 'Pattern'?" she repeated, frowning. "What is that?"
Yuki took a slow breath, her gaze drifting toward the constellations above. The stars seemed to shift in rhythm with her words, as though the universe itself were listening.
"The Pattern," she began calmly, "is the name we give to a cosmic phenomenon… or rather, a system established by the gods."
She raised one hand, tracing glowing circles in the air that connected into two intertwined spheres—one golden, the other pale blue.
"It's what allows reincarnation, transmigration… or interdimensional teleportation. When a being from one world dies—or when a divine interference occurs—the Pattern activates. Souls are then transferred or reconstructed in another world."
Evelyra stayed silent, her fingers nervously tapping the invisible surface of the table.
"So… the gods choose who goes, and where?"
Yuki nodded softly, a sad smile forming on her lips.
"Yes. They decide. The Pattern never acts alone. It takes divine will to trigger it—or a distortion powerful enough to force activation."
She let the spheres merge briefly, then separate again.
"Usually, these transfers link two universes: one modern, full of technology and logic… and another, a fantasy realm where gods, magic, and monsters truly exist."
Evelyra watched the twin spheres floating between them, deep in thought.
"And you're saying these two worlds coexist?"
Yuki nodded slowly.
"They're connected—like two sides of the same mirror. What happens in one always affects the other, even if no one realizes it. That's why… your arrival here wasn't random."
Evelyra felt her heartbeat quicken, her gaze sharpening.
"So… everything we've gone through… was planned by the gods?"
Yuki lowered her eyes gently.
"Not everything. But… let's say some of the pieces were placed long before you were born."
The air seemed to hum faintly, the stars above pulsing in rhythm with their breaths—as if the universe itself held its breath, awaiting what would come next.
Evelyra remained silent, her gaze fixed on the shimmering floor beneath their feet—a sea of stars. Her delicate fingers stayed still, yet tension flickered within them.
"Then tell me, Yuki…" she whispered softly but firmly.
"What happened… in your universe?"
Yuki slowly raised her eyes, an ancient gleam flashing in her rose-colored gaze. The atmosphere froze around them. The celestial lights dimmed, as if the cosmos itself prepared to listen to a forgotten story.
"In my universe… everything ended in blood," she said in a calm, almost sorrowful voice.
Her hand rested over her heart, a faint golden glow pulsing beneath her fingers.
"After we were summoned, the war against the Demon King ravaged the continent. Our allies fell one by one. And in the end… I was the only one left."
Evelyra's eyes widened, but Yuki continued, her voice deepening.
"When the Demon King struck me down, something inside me… awakened. A light of absolute purity. That day, I became what they called the true angel. Not a chosen one, not a reincarnate — something beyond flesh, beyond death."
She smiled bitterly.
"Ironic, isn't it? To survive when everyone else disappears."
Evelyra listened in silence, her throat tight.
"After the war, the heavens took me in. The angels welcomed me into their ranks. For two centuries, I served beneath their banners — two hundred long years purifying corrupted worlds, executing divine orders without ever questioning them."
Her gaze drifted into the void, and fragments of memory shimmered around her: golden battlefields, endless wings spread across radiant skies, citadels suspended in luminous clouds.
"But as time passed, I realized my power was no longer… contained. The divine restrictions no longer applied to me. I evolved alone, endlessly, without boundary. And that… the heavens could not tolerate."
She paused, a faintly guilty smile crossing her lips.
"So, I left."
A shooting star crossed the black sky above them.
"I abandoned the angelic army. I crossed between interverses, passed through the walls between realities. I saw worlds being born, others fading away — some frozen in time, others consumed by their own gods."
Her voice lowered to a near whisper.
"And at the end of my journey… I met them."
Yuki raised her head, and a strange light danced in her pupils.
"The Ilois — beings who defy the laws of creation. They exist between interverses, where the Pattern holds no sway. Beings like me, who understood that all of this — reincarnations, summons, holy wars — are nothing more than cycles, loops maintained by the gods to feed something greater."
Her eyes locked onto Evelyra's, intense and burning.
"They gave me a choice: to continue living eternally under divine order… or to join them, and break the Pattern once and for all."
A shiver ran down Evelyra's spine.
"And you chose the Ilois."
Yuki smiled — softly, yet with deep melancholy.
"Yes. Because after seeing the same souls die again and again, reborn in new worlds, reliving the same pain in new forms… I understood that nothing truly changes. The gods erase, rebuild — but the suffering remains."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and luminous feathers began to fall gently from the sky, dissolving before they could reach the ground.
"So now, I wander between interverses to free those who've been caught in these invisible threads — those like you, who've been manipulated without even realizing it."
Evelyra remained still, entranced, a flicker of realization lighting her face.
"...You want to break the cycles themselves."
"Exactly," Yuki replied gravely.
"And if I'm here today… it's because you, Amane, are the key to that rupture."
Silence fell.
The universe around them seemed to hold its breath.
And in Evelyra's blue eyes, the starlight mingled with something else — a sense of foreboding… and the spark of destiny.
Yuki slowly lifted her head, and for the first time since they'd met, a true smile lit her face — sincere, nostalgic, and filled with deep tenderness.
Her crystalline pink eyes shimmered with emotion.
"I'm happy… so happy to see you again, Amane," she whispered softly.
She gazed at her for a long moment, as if rediscovering a cherished memory frozen in time.
"Even if our worlds were shattered, even if the paths that led us here were different… I would recognize your soul among a thousand."
Evelyra blinked, unsettled by that warmth in Yuki's eyes. The air around them vibrated faintly, as though the stars themselves trembled.
Then, slowly, Yuki rose from her chair.
Her feet grazed the sea of stars below, each step leaving a soft, glowing ripple. Her transparent wings unfolded — vast, radiant with silver light tinged with gold. Space itself seemed to bend beneath the quiet majesty of her presence.
When she spoke again, her voice was no longer human. It resonated with celestial power — soft yet solemn — layered with harmonic echoes, as if a thousand voices spoke through her in perfect unison.
"The multiverse calls me Yuki Prime," she said, spreading her arms gently as fine lines of light carved ancient symbols into the air around her.
"The angel who transcends the laws. The one who has seen the end of cycles, and walks between worlds to free the souls trapped within the gods' Patterns."
Evelyra stood still, watching the divine radiance emanating from this other self — her friend, yet something far beyond mortal comprehension. She felt her own power trembling in response, as if her very soul recognized an ancient promise — a truth deeper than she'd ever known.
Yuki lowered her hands, her gaze meeting Evelyra's directly. Her expression turned solemn, yet infinitely gentle.
"Evelyra," she said, pausing before whispering,
"No… Amane Seiren."
That name resonated like an ancient echo, cutting through layers of reality. Evelyra flinched slightly, her eyes widening. The name of her former life vibrated in the air, carrying a nearly tangible power.
"You who have crossed death, who have tasted both divinity and damnation," Yuki continued, her voice resonant.
"You whose soul awakened in chaos and refused to bow to the laws of the gods."
Above them, the starry sky ignited. Thousands of constellations began to spin slowly, forming a massive circle overhead.
Yuki bowed slightly, like in a sacred ceremony, and her voice took on a ritual tone:
> "Amane Seiren, goddess of the Absolute Eyes,
unreadable soul born from the bond of divine and demonic,
do you wish to break your cycle and join the Ilois?"
Her hand reached out toward Evelyra, palm open, bathed in pure golden light.
A breath swept through the endless world. The stars fell silent.
And in that suspended stillness, Evelyra — or rather, Amane — felt her heart pounding faster.
She looked at Yuki wordlessly, caught between awe and recognition, as if all her lives converged into one truth.
And Yuki, standing before her, waited for only one thing—her answer.