Wizard 7

I ran up the stairs.

The white walls of the long hallway passed by me as I opened up the door to the hospital room out of breath, revealing an unconscious Nitou lying on a bed and a surprised Mayu by his side. 

“Haruto…!” 

Mayu took on a relieved face upon seeing me, but it quickly stiffened up. She had been attacked once by the other me as well. It was only natural that she put up her guard around me. 

I took out my phone and showed her my text messages. 

“Don’t worry, I’m the real thing. Look at the text. I rushed here as fast as I could after I read it.” 

It was Mayu who told me about Nitou. 

After looking at the text she sent, her face softened in relief once again. 

There was a hint of exhaustion on her face. I heard that she had shared some of her magic with Yamamoto and Yuzuru and had been staying with them until morning. She was probably severely lacking in energy. 

I patted her shoulder in appreciation and then once again turned my eyes toward the bedridden Nitou. 

“How’s Nitou?” 

“It’s the same as Yamamoto and Yuzuru. He’s probably in a temporary comatose state from getting a large amount of magic sucked out of him.” 

“So there’s not any danger to his life…?” 

“Right. As long as he gets enough rest, he’ll most likely wake up eventually just like the other two…” 

After pausing for a bit, I asked another question. 

“Was he… done in by the other me?” 

“That’s what Rinko said.” 

My feelings grew complicated. Another victim had appeared thanks to the other me. If that guy really is me, then that means this whole chain of events is all my fault.  

Mayu slowly took out the Please ring. 

“What’s up?” 

“I’m thinking of sharing some magic with Nitou as well. I think he’ll recover faster that way.” 

“Wait.” 

I stopped Mayu. 

“You’ve already shared enough magic for two people. You shouldn’t push yourself any further.” 

“But…” 

“I’ll do it. After all… this is all my fault.” 

This was the least I could do to make up for my sins. 

After making Mayu put away her ring, I took out my own Please ring.  

“Sorry. I know you said you don’t like the idea of having another man put a ring on you, but this is an emergency.” 

I slid the ring onto the unconscious Nitou’s finger and then held that hand over my magic belt. 

My magic began flowing into Nitou’s body. I might’ve just been trying to make myself feel better, but it looked like it was helping him. I put his hand back and took off my ring. Maybe it was because I had let my guard down, but I ended up staggering a bit. 

“Are you okay?” 

Mayu grabbed my arm with worry. 

I didn’t stagger because I had shared my magic. Rather, it was probably because I hadn’t slept a wink since last night. I responded “I’m fine,” and gently pushed her hand away before asking another question. 

“More importantly, where’s Rinko…?” 

According to Mayu’s text, Rinko had driven Nitou’s body over here. I had been wondering why I didn’t see her anywhere. Or rather, the truth was that I had been wondering about her ever since those events last night. 

“She left just earlier saying that Section 0 had called her. I think she’ll be back soon, though.” 

“I see…” 

I began to head out of the room. 

“Are you sure you shouldn’t wait for her?” 

“I just needed to know if she was all right.” 

With my back still turned to Mayu, I exited the hospital room as if running away. 

To be honest, I was relieved that I didn’t have to see Rinko. I know it’s a bit contradictory to be worried about her and reluctant to see her at the same time, but I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to talk to her properly. Even after spending all last night thinking about it, I had failed to figure out what it is that I should be doing. That’s just how big of a shock I had received from the other me. 

Rubbing my sleep-deprived eyes, I decided to look for a vending machine for a coffee that could help wake me up. Walking down the long hallway, I made a turn at a corner with a sign for a vending machine, which led me to a lounge-like room.  

“…Haruto?!” 

Rinko, as well as Kizaki, were there. 

My chest began thumping like no one’s business.  

Seemingly ignorant of that state of mine, Kizaki spoke. 

“Are you the real Haruto Soma?” 

“Y-Yeah.” 

It took all I had just to get that word out of my mouth. 

It appeared that Kizaki knew about the other me as well. 

“I heard that the other Haruto Soma has been claiming he’s the real thing as well. Can you provide proof that you really are the real one?” 

I was annoyed at how he was as rude as ever, but I had no choice but to try to think of a way to explain myself.

“Unfortunately, I don’t happen to be carrying anything that could conveniently prove my identity like you do, so I’ll let you just trust your intuition or whatever.” 

It seemed that my accumulated exhaustion and irritation had begun to reach a tipping point. The words that had left my mouth were less of an explanation but more of a rant. 

I couldn’t tell if he could pick up on that, but he continued his questioning without any change in his expression. 

“Where have you been this whole time?” 

“None of your business.” 

“Considering all of these incidents by a so-called Haruto Soma, I believe you have an obligation to tell us.” 

It was like he was trying to piss me off on purpose. I let out a sigh and shot a glance in Rinko’s direction. 

She was looking at me silently. She was probably doubting if I was the real one just like Kizaki. There was no doubt that her feelings on the matter were complicated. 

I hadn’t gotten into contact with Rinko since last night. I decided to respond to Kizaki as my way of explaining myself to Rinko. 

“I was at the pier last night. I was alone the whole time.” 

“Ever since you left Rinko Daimon?” 

“Yeah,” I responded, as my chest grew tight. 

Judging from the way he spoke, it seemed that he knew about what happened last night. I had no idea how much she might’ve told him, but if she did in fact tell him everything, then… 

“What were you doing alone…?” 

Kizaki continued to question me. 

After that incident, I spent all night at the pier just watching the pitch black ocean silently swaying.  

If he really is a shadow like he said he is, then maybe he’s hiding inside me right now, waiting for a chance to slip out again. I paid close attention to any possible changes about myself as I thought about the other me. 

He said that he was the real Haruto Soma, that he was my instincts. At first, I didn’t believe him at all, but after all those things he said and did, I had no choice but to accept his words as truth. The only reason why I was denying him so strongly was because I instinctively realized that he really was me. 

Like he said, I had been longing for Rinko somewhere deep inside my heart. I wanted to embrace her…  

But I had been desperately pushing those feelings deep inside. As long as I have that Phantom inside me, I can’t be considered a normal human being. It would only cause trouble to anyone who fell in love with me. I don’t have the right to love anyone. That’s how I’ve always felt.  

And besides, I had Koyomi. Protecting Koyomi had meant more than anything to me. 

We shared the same fate, both being victims of Fueki’s madness. Koyomi wasn’t able to live without magic, so I had to be by her side. Or rather, I wanted to be by her side. 

After losing her memories and her sense of belonging, she was incredibly lonely. I wanted to soothe that loneliness by being there for her like a father or an older brother. 

But maybe I was the one who was being soothed. It was like my own loneliness was being cured by her being there for me.  

When Koyomi left, a large hole opened up within my heart. 

And it was Rinko who filled that hole for me. 

Throughout all those tough battles, I had been saved by Rinko’s energy and kindness countless times. I had always considered her to be a valuable and reliable friend. 

But it wasn’t until I lost Koyomi that I realized the truth. I had been trying to convince myself that she was just a “valuable friend”… and I had feelings for her this whole time. 

I told myself once again. 

That these feelings need to be kept shut within my heart. And that I should just think about protecting her with everything I have. That was all I could do as a magician, the only way I could express my love for her… 

But maybe that wasn’t the right choice… Those feelings I shoved away ended up manifesting as another me, who went on to hurt her… 

I desperately tried to think of a way to defeat him. That was all I could do to atone for hurting Rinko like that. And after defeating him, I would disappear from her. That was my plan.  

But in the end, I couldn’t think of a way to defeat the other me. The other me showed no sign of appearing from inside me, and I spent the rest of the night with the guilt toward what I did to her only growing stronger and stronger. 

“…Answer me.” 

Kizaki spoke as I remained silent. 

“I was thinking about the other me the whole night.” 

“That’s it?” 

“Yeah.” 

After that short exchange, I fell into silence again. I wasn’t in the mood to talk any further. 

“You wasted time,” Kizaki spoke coldly.  

“In the meanwhile, the other you has most likely been progressing to the next stages of his plan. All while you’ve just been stumbling around in vain.” 

He was right. I had nothing to say back. 

“Don’t you think you should be more conscious of your duty to protect the people using the power you have as a magician?” 

Kizaki glared at me with judgemental eyes.  

“I’m sorry!” 

Rinko suddenly got up and bowed to Kizaki. 

“It’s all my fault… Everything.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Um, well, how do I say this…” 

Kizaki spoke coldly as Rinko struggled for words. 

“You’re just another victim of the other Haruto Soma. You’ve done nothing wrong.” 

“I mean, maybe, but…” 

“Did you forget what I said?”

Rinko fell silent upon hearing Kizaki’s words. 

He was right. Rinko did nothing wrong. It was all my fault. 

Kizaki spoke to Rinko. 

“Cuff him. We’re partly to blame for the incidents last night and this morning since we didn’t bother to put Haruto Souma under surveillance as soon as possible.” 

“You still don’t trust him?” 

“We don’t have any other choice as long as these incidents keep happening.” 

“But that’s only because the other Haruto is-” 

“He’s the one who created him!” 

Kizaki shouted before shooting a glare at me. 

“You have a responsibility to take as well.” 

“Wait! I really don’t think it’s the right decision to be taking him into custody!” 

Rinko refused to back down. 

“He’s the only one who has any chance of defeating the other Haruto.” 

“Even so, there’s no proof that he’s the real Haruto Souma.” 

“There is, though!” 

She spoke with a strong voice. 

“When the other Haruto left, he said, ‘I will correct my wrongdoings… and start my life over.’ He has to be scheming something. There’s no way he’d be wasting time chatting with us like this.” 

Rinko glanced in my direction. 

It seemed that she was informing me of the other me’s next actions under the guise of complaining to Kizaki. Grateful for her feelings, I put my brain into full operation and began to think about the meaning behind those words.  

He said that I had kept him suppressed inside me. Since he specifically used the word “life”, that probably meant that he was unhappy not just with Rinko, but rather with my entire way of living. As for the wrongdoings… As far as I know, I’ve committed plenty of them. Where would I even start if I wanted to correct them all…? 

As I thought about those things, a shockwave suddenly ran through me. He has the same powers as me. In that case… Oh shoot, this is bad. I need to stop him no matter what. I reflexively broke into a run. 

“Wait!” 

When I turned around to that intimidating voice, Kizaki was there with his gun pointed at me. 

“I can’t have you acting on your own. Don’t take another step.” 

His words were quiet, but the strength behind them told me that he really would shoot if I moved. 

“Sorry, but you need to let me go. There’s no time!” 

“You don’t get to decide that all on your own.” 

Kizaki glared at me. 

Just then, Rinko jumped at Kizaki’s gun-wielding arm. 

“Go, Haruto!” she shouted at me. 

I couldn’t afford to waste the chance she gave me. Mentally expressing my thanks to her, I quickly took out my ring and put it on. 

An enormous magic circle appeared behind me. 

“Thanks, Rinko!” 

I then jumped into that magic circle. 

A familiar scene stretched out before me after jumping into the magic circle. 

I once again looked at the ring that had brought me to this place. 

The Time ring. A ring with the forbidden power of allowing me to travel between the past and the future. 

I’ve used this ring once before. Back then, I was just returning a visitor from the future back to their original time period, but I’ve always recognized how tremendous that power really was. After all, I’d be able to go back into the past and rewrite history with something like this. 

People have all kinds of pasts. Pasts you want to change, pasts you want to forget, and so on. I of course have those kinds of pasts as well. But if I were to irresponsibly change those pasts or allow this power to fall into the wrong hands, there’s the chance that this world could become warped beyond repair… That’s why, in order to avoid that from happening, I had sealed the ring away so it could never be used ever again. 

However, the other me would no doubt use that ring. And “this place” is most likely… 

I once again looked around the scene before me.  

It was a large lake, with waves that silently brushed against the long beach that surrounded it.  

At the entrance to the woods facing the lake was a familiar worn-out handmade white swing. 

“…Koyomi.” 

That name inadvertently slipped out of my mouth. 

This was the time and place where Koyomi’s short life had ended… 

Back then, the house-ridden Koyomi had managed to escape from Fueki, making it all the way here. 

When I found her, her body was already in a dangerous state. As a vessel implanted with the Philosopher’s Stone for the purpose of resurrecting Fueki’s daughter, Koyomi’s body needed to be supplied with magic in order to stay alive. But her body was starting to get difficult to maintain regardless of how much magic she was supplied with.  

Even so, I wanted to save her, so I grabbed her hand in order to give her my magic. 

But she rejected my hand. 

“Don’t bother… Just leave me like this…” 

“What are you saying?!” 

“I’m scared of disappearing too, but… if I were to disappear, then no one would have to be sacrificed. That’s the only way to end all of this.” 

“You’re wrong, that can’t be the only way. There has to be a way that doesn’t involve you disappearing!” 

The truth was that I couldn’t think of any other way, but I just wanted Koyomi to live on no matter what. 

However, Koyomi was determined. She entrusted me with the Infinity ring along with the following words. 

“If I disappear and leave behind the Philosopher’s Stone, don’t let anyone get their hands on it. As long as that stone is out there, bad things are bound to happen. So please…” 

Tears flowed out from Koyomi’s eyes. 

“Koyomi…” 

I couldn’t say anything else. It must have taken her incredible strength to finally muster that determination. My chest grew tight as I thought about the unimaginable pain she must had gone through.  

Koyomi spoke with a smile that seemed to say that she had accepted her fate. 

“Let me rest in peace. That’s my… hope.” 

The wind that blew from the lake carried the nostalgia and sadness of those memories. 

Just then, something moved within the woods. 

I quickly hid within a nearby thicket. 

Coming out of the woods was the Koyomi from back then. 

The me from this time probably hadn’t found her yet. It was suffering watching her painfully drag her body one step at a time toward the lake. 

I desperately held down my desire to jump out and help her. 

I’m not the same person as the me from the past. If I were to help her, then I would end up changing history. And besides, I have a different reason for being here… 

(…I’m sorry, Koyomi.) 

I mentally apologized to the weak Koyomi as I watched her head to the lake from behind.  

I then saw something move in the direction of the woods again. 

After determining what that was, I moved to a place where Koyomi couldn’t see me and blocked the path forward. 

“So you’re here too.” 

The other me looked at me with a bitter smile. 

“‘I will correct my wrongdoings… and start my life over.’ was it? Rinko told me all about it.” 

“I’m surprised you knew to come here just from that.” 

“I’m you, after all.” 

I spoke undauntedly.  

“I knew you’d be here if you really were me. There are plenty of things I’d want to redo in my life, but if there’s anything that’s stuck in my mind the strongest, it’s what happened to Koyomi.” 

The other me let out a “Hmph” and began walking forward again. 

I stepped further in as well and blocked his way. He turned his eyes to me. 

“Move.” 

“What are you planning on doing?” 

“I’ll give Koyomi magic and bring her back to my time period.” 

“Don’t. You’ll change history if you do that.” 

“Koyomi will get to live on. It’ll be a new history… no, the true history.” 

He grabbed onto my shoulder to push me out of the way. I twisted that hand of his and threw him toward the thickets. He then glared at me on his knees with eyes filled with anger. 

“Don’t get in my way!” 

“I have to! I can’t let you try to alter events that are already long behind us!” 

“Are you really okay with Koyomi disappearing like that?!” 

“What about you?! Are you really okay with dragging on her suffering?!” 

Our thoughts were the complete opposite of each other.  

Just then, a “Koyomi!” could be heard in the direction of the lake. 

From within the thickets, I could see the me from back then run to Koyomi. 

“Thanks to you getting in my way, the me from this time period ended up showing up, damn it.” 

The other me looked at me with a bitter face. 

“I guess I just gotta beat up the me from this time period as well.” 

It seemed that he was planning on going through with his plan no matter what. 

From the corner of my vision, I could see Koyomi rejecting the past me who was trying to give her magic. 

“Don’t bother… Just leave me like this…” 

I could hear Koyomi’s words from back then. 

“You heard her,” I said to the other me, who immediately spat back. 

“Do you actually think that’s what she really wants…?” 

Koyomi’s voice continued. 

“I’m scared of disappearing too…” 

“Those are Koyomi’s true feelings,” he said as he looked at Koyomi. 

“And you didn’t bother to try to understand those feelings.” 

“You’re wrong! I know just as well as you do how painful her suffering-” 

“It’s all the same if you’re not even trying to do something about it!” 

He interrupted me. 

“If it were me, I would’ve forced her to take my magic no matter what she said. Even if I didn’t know what to do next, I would carry her back with me. But back then, you suppressed me within you. You swallowed her words without a single thought as you just sat there crying… Never before have I cursed you, or rather myself, for being so weak as I did then.” 

His words pierced my chest. He was right… Back then, I wasn’t able to do a thing. 

“You’re always like that.” 

He continued in an annoyed tone.  

“You only think about how others feel, never paying any attention to the real ‘me’ you trapped inside yourself. Kindness, compassion, thoughtfulness, morality… You tried to justify your actions with all those pretty words, but in the end, all you managed to do was lose what was truly important to you.” 

The other me’s words were merciless, and it took all I had to accept them. 

Everything he said was true. The other me really does know me incredibly well. 

After seeing that I had nothing to say back, he once again began walking toward Koyomi. Unable to find any words to fight back with, I wasn’t able to do a thing as I watched the other me pass by me. 

It was then that I could hear Koyomi talk to the past me from behind me. 

“Let me rest in peace. That’s my… hope.” 

I turned around in realization and looked at Koyomi. 

That lonely smile she had back then. And the way I looked at that smile back then. 

The feelings I had back then suddenly resurfaced within me. 

I chased after the other me and once again stood in his way. 

“You’re wrong, I know it.” 

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who couldn’t do anything but cry.” 

“No.” 

I looked at the past me who was looking at Koyomi. 

“The one who couldn’t do anything but cry was… you.” 

The past me was still silent, but there were no tears in his eyes. 

“Back then… I resolved myself. I could feel Koyomi’s determination as she desperately tried to keep a smile on her face to the very end. That’s why I chose to resolve myself as well… I would accept everything. And those feelings haven’t changed even now.” 

The other me gave me an annoyed look. 

“You do realize what’s about to happen to Koyomi after this, right?” 

“I do, and that’s her… hope.” 

When I responded with that, a new figure appeared in the direction of the lake. It was the White Wizard, Fueki, who had come to bring Koyomi back. 

Fueki and the past me would end up fighting over Koyomi. And then… 

“We don’t have the time to be talking anymore.” 

He quickly brought his ring to his belt and transformed into Wizard. 

His appearance was different from that pitch-black look he had last night. A mask adorned with sparkling red gemstones and a black coat accented with silver lining… It was the exact same appearance I had when transforming into a magician. 

A shudder ran through me as I instinctively realized that he was getting extremely close to truly becoming me. However, I couldn’t afford to back down. 

“Henshin…!” 

I transformed into Wizard as well and readied myself. 

Oddly enough, I had transformed at the same time the past me used the Infinity ring to transform into his final form to fight against the White Wizard as well. 

At the same time those two dashed toward each other, the two of us entered battle as well. 

The two fights both revolved around Koyomi, one fought between the past me and the White Wizard, and the other between the other me and I. Our conflicting desires to protect Koyomi were like two sides of the same coin, clashing against each other in intense battle. 

Fire, water, wind, earth… He skillfully transformed into different forms that utilized those elements one after the other as he attacked. Having taken on the same form as me, he was growing stronger and stronger. It was probably due to the magic he had stolen from Nitou. His attacks were on a completely different level from yesterday, powered up in both physical and magical strength. On top of that, he was probably stirred up due to Koyomi’s tragedy drawing close. He continued to push me back with a relentless flurry of attacks. 

But that’s not all that was amazing about him. To him, the concept of taking the time to switch rings didn’t exist. 

I’ve come to be known as the Ringed Magician because all my magic depends on my individual rings. I equip all my various rings on the holder at my hip, switching between them and placing them over my belt in order to activate their magic depending on the situation.  

However, his ring, the ring of Hope, seemed to instantly change form whenever he willed it. It was the ultimate and all-encompassing ring.  

“Why is that ring able to change forms…?!” 

“You know the name of this ring, don’t you? It grants me power whenever I want it… The ring of Hope!” 

As he shouted that, the Hope ring let out an eerie light and instantly transformed into the Flame ring. 

In order to counter his attack, I stretched my hand out to the Flame ring on my holder. 

But he had already hovered the ring over his belt, transforming himself into the red fire element Wizard. By the time I had gotten the ring on my finger, I was already engulfed in the flames he had let out. 

“Uwaaah!” 

I writhed in agony as those burning flames wrapped around me. I eventually managed to transform into the red Wizard while still on fire and canceled out the flames with my own flames. However, the damage I took was still great, and I ended up falling on my knees. 

“Time for the finale.” 

He hovered his ring that had transformed into the Kick Strike ring over his belt and jumped high into the air.  

(He’s gonna finish me…!) 

I desperately got my damaged body back up and hovered the Defend ring over my belt. The manifested shield of flames managed to block his fire kick at the last second. The competing flames let out a shockwave that launched the both of us away. 

“Tch… This one’ll be the finale for sure this time.” 

After landing on the ground, he clicked his tongue and once again assumed a stance. 

As I breathed heavily with my shoulders heaving, I noticed something odd about him. 

(Wait, don’t tell me he’s gonna…) 

He jumped high into the sky to land another kick on me. 

I decided to bet on my instincts and quickly placed a new ring over my belt. 

But right that instant, his finishing kick ran straight into my body. 

…At least, that’s what it looked like. 

His body that was supposed to have finished me off instead had deflected off the magic circle that was wrapped around me, sending him crashing into the ground.  

“…What?!” 

He raised his face from the ground to look at me. 

I had evolved into the upgraded version of my Flame form. The crimson Wizard, Flame Dragon.  

“That was a close one.” 

My body was dyed a deep crimson due to my heightened magical strength, and sharp horns filled with the power of the dragon stretched out from my head. Having transformed into my upgraded form, I could feel immense power coursing through my veins. 

“You don’t have a chance of winning now.” 

“Nonsense. Don’t get ahead of yourself just because you’ve changed into a stronger form.” 

“Stop trying to act tough. I already know you can’t transform into this form.” 

I saw him twitch from my words. 

“The fact that you didn’t change into this form for your second kick is proof of that. It’s only natural to use a stronger attack if a weaker one fails to do the job. However, you didn’t do that. Or rather, you couldn’t do that.” 

He remained silent as I continued. 

“The form you had yesterday, and the form you have now… They’re most likely dependent on the amount of magic you have stored up. In other words, if you can’t transform into a stronger form, that means you just don’t have the appropriate amount of magic to achieve that.” 

I had no idea what kind of face he was making behind his mask, but there was no doubt he was shaken up from having me discover his weakness. 

“Even if that ring is capable of transforming into whatever you want, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have enough magic to fully utilize those capabilities.” 

“So what?!” 

He charged toward me in rage. 

“Sorry, but it’s time for the finale.” 

I silently brought out my now doubled swords and performed a powerful swing. The two flames I let out swirled together to make a powerful dragon that devoured him. 

“Ugaaah!” 

Now it was his turn to writhe in agony within the burning flames. 

There was nothing he could do against the dragon of flames. Eventually, his transformation became undone, and he crumpled onto the ground.  

At the same time, the battle at the shore had finished as well. 

The finishing attacks that both the past me and the White Wizard unleashed had canceled each other out, resulting in them collapsing on the beach with their transformations undone. 

I watched that scene play out silently. 

The past me eventually got up and dragged himself toward Koyomi. Soon after, Fueki, who had gotten up with the last of his strength, grabbed the past me by his arms to prevent him from going any further.  

Just then, a shadow jumped out and made a horizontal slash against Fueki’s body. And that shadow was none other than Gremlin… Sora. 

Sora was a phantom that had retained his human heart. However, that heart was of a grotesque serial killer. Having turned into a Phantom due to the Sabbath, he had been after the Philosopher’s Stone so that he could use it to turn himself back into human.  

After dealing the finishing blow to Fueki, Gremlin walked toward Koyomi’s direction. 

“Run, Koyomi!” 

The injured past me who was unable to get up shouted at Koyomi desperately. 

(I could probably save the past Koyomi right now…) 

My heart violently stirred, shouting at me to jump out there and save her. 

Right that moment, my collapsed doppelganger behind me suddenly got up. 

“Uooooooh!” 

He broke out into a dash toward the shore. 

I quickly tackled him, putting an end to his last-ditch attempt. 

“Stop! Get off me!” 

He violently pummeled me with rounded fists and bloodshot eyes. The pain he inflicted felt like the pain in my heart from not allowing myself to do anything about the situation in front of me.  

Enduring that pain, I put on the Time ring and hovered it over my belt. 

A large magic circle manifested behind me. 

And right then… 

Gremlin’s sword mercilessly cut through Koyomi’s body. 

“Koyomi!” 

The past me and my other me both shouted at the same time. 

Doing my best to shake off my feelings, I grabbed the other me and jumped into the magic circle. 

Not a soul could be seen on the lake shore that stretched out before us. 

After jumping out of that magic circle, we were now at the lake shore of the present. We were back at our original time. 

I undid my transformation. 

The breeze from the lake gently caressed my cheeks. 

The empty shore was incredibly silent, making it feel like that scene from earlier was just a dream. But I knew that it was by no means a dream. I had witnessed that tragedy not once, but twice… 

“Auuuugh!” 

The other me, on his knees, punched the sand and cried aguishly. 

I was sad too. I wanted to cry with everything I had as well. However, since I didn’t let myself do anything for Koyomi’s sake, I didn’t have the right to cry. 

(Maybe he’s crying in my place…) 

I couldn’t help but think that as I looked at the man with the same appearance as me. 

When he raised his face, he glared at me with his red and swollen eyes. 

“…Thanks to you, I’ve failed to save Koyomi yet again.” 

“You can’t save Koyomi.” 

I quietly said that back to him and looked at the Hope ring that glinted on his finger. 

“I have no idea how you took that ring from me, but if that really is the ring I tucked away into my heart… then the fact that it’s here means that you couldn’t save Koyomi back then.” 

The Hope ring was created not too long after I challenged Sora to a final battle. 

Back then, Sora cut apart Koyomi right before my eyes and took off with the Philosopher’s Stone. Completely losing her way to maintain her magic, Koyomi dissipated into light within my arms. 

Entrusting Koyomi’s feelings into my heart, I challenged Sora to battle in order to recover the Philosopher’s Stone. 

When I took back the Philosopher’s Stone in battle, I could tell that it held Koyomi’s heart. The Philosopher’s Stone that contained her heart transformed into the Hope ring, granting me the power to defeat Sora. 

“If you were to save the Koyomi from back then, then that ring would never come into existence. The Hope ring is your one and only power. Without it, you can’t use magic. You wouldn’t be able to transform or go back into the past…” 

He was still glaring at me silently, so I continued. 

“You can’t undo what’s already done.” 

It felt like I was saying that to myself. 

“Koyomi’s final words… You remember them, don’t you?” 

When she had the Philosopher’s Stone stolen from her and was about to draw her final breath, Koyomi spoke while in my arms. 

“You can’t bring back a life that’s lost… Or rather, you shouldn’t…” 

She then talked about how happy she was that everyone treated her as a human, and entrusted me with her final wish. 

“Take back the Philosopher’s Stone… You’re the… final hope…” 

Koyomi turned into light and disappeared. 

“That’s why…” 

I spoke to the other me quietly but with force.  

“…I believe that we should protect that dying wish of hers no matter what.” 

He lowered his face silently in response to my words. 

“It’s hard to accept everything and move on… Sometimes you have to abandon things. But in order to make sure we can believe that it was the right thing to do, we have to live in the present with everything we have.” 

The other me’s shoulders slightly trembled as he continued to look down. 

He was crying in place of me again… That’s what it felt like. 

“…You’re really something else, you know that?” 

When he spoke those words and raised his face, he was smirking at me mockingly. 

“So you think you carry on Koyomi’s will now or something?” 

His eyes challenged me. 

“Me being born… is what’s really her will.” 

“What?” 

“Why do you think the Hope ring is here…?” 

A confident smile crept onto his face. 

“Because Koyomi chose me.” 

Those words took me aback. 

Koyomi… chose him…? 

He’s saying that Koyomi wanted him to be born? But why…? 

“I’ll tell you about how exactly I was created.” 

The other me slowly got up and began talking. 

“Like I said before, I am you. In other words, this whole time up until now, I was inside you as ‘another Haruto Souma’. However, one day, I heard someone call out to me. I couldn’t tell who it was or where the voice was coming from. Searching for the invisible owner of that voice, I writhed in agony within the darkness. But eventually… Koyomi appeared before me.” 

As he said that, he thrust out his fist that bore the Hope ring.  

“Koyomi gave me this ring without saying a single thing, and I immediately grabbed it. And right that moment, the voice that was calling me disappeared, and I saw you lying on your bed with a high fever… I had entered the outside world.” 

The story was hard to believe. But if what he said really was true, then it would make sense why he had the Hope ring. 

The Hope ring that I had shut deep inside my heart couldn’t be taken out unless someone actually entered inside me. But if the ring with Koyomi’s will went outside of its own volition, then that’s a completely different story… 

“Now you get it, right? My existence is her will, her hope.” 

He looked at me boastingly. 

“To accept everything and move forward…? Don’t make me laugh. You’re just an observer that can’t do anything but watch the scenes in front of you play out. And whenever there’s someone you can’t save, you try to make yourself feel better by telling yourself that it was some kind of hope. You’re such a sham. Koyomi eventually ran out of love to give to a loser like you.” 

I had no words. I could deny him all I want, but it wouldn’t change the unshakable fact that the Hope ring was in his hands. 

“…But I’m different. I’m tired of living a life of fooling myself.” 

He looked straight into my eyes to a painful degree. 

“I won’t give up a single thing. I’ll save Koyomi, I’ll get rid of you, and I’ll make things work with Rinko too… I’m the real ‘final hope’.” 

He then turned his back to me and set off.  

I couldn’t do anything but watch him walk away… 

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