The majestic and gigantic temple had eroded over time, a telltale sign of its age. One could hardly imagine that any part of the divinely fashioned island, home to a temple as grand as this, could ever succumb to wear and tear, but it was reasonable to assume the temple had suffered under the same debilitating influence that had cultivated the wasteland outside it.
In a certain area of the temple, Noa was thrown into a dimly lit room. It was so sudden that she was unable to catch her fall, and her back slammed against the floor, causing her to cry out in pain. The impact caused her to release Lily from her grasp, and the young snow leopard growled toward the darkness, clearly on full alert.
A man appeared from within the shadows in front of the little divine beast. “It appears I’ve brought an unnecessary specimen with me,” Nike said, sounding thoroughly exhausted. “Good grief. I have no interest in trash with no experimental value.” He watched Lily with disdain.
Lily’s usual calm demeanor had given way to a fierce, threatening posture. She bared her fangs angrily and pounced, but then a thin wall appeared between her and Nike, which she slammed into with a loud bang, causing her to roll back onto the ground.
“Lily!” Noa cried.
The noise sounded painful, and Noa worried about her friend. She rushed over and reached out to Lily when searing pain suddenly stabbed at her hand and rushed throughout her body. Stakes had appeared out of thin air and pierced through Noa’s palms before gradually vanishing.
“Aghhhh!” Noa shrieked. As the situation sank in for her, her agonizing screams filled the dark room. Lily, in hopes of trying to turn the tables, once again pounced toward Nike as he gave a nonchalant wave of his finger, summoning another translucent wall with which to sandwich the young cub. Now unable to move, another stake appeared and shot out to skewer her against the wall. Lily instinctively dodged it, but she was blown back and smacked against one of the large pillars in the room. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to completely dodge the stake either, and blood began to drip from her side.
“L-Lily...” Noa murmured.
“What’s wrong?” Nike asked coolly. “Surely, you can easily regenerate a small wound like that.” He spoke as though nothing at all had happened to her. “You can’t even repel such a measly attack? Your durability has clearly diminished. I suppose decay has lowered your physical abilities tremendously. I was curious if there’d be any change for you in that facility, guarded by the fairies, but all you’ve done is disappoint me.”
“De...cay...” Noa gasped as she gritted her teeth from the pain. She couldn’t quite understand what he was saying, but even she knew the changes that had been occurring in her body over time. After she’d inadvertently used her power against Nike during the battle at the stage, she’d fallen into a deep sleep for a good while. It’d taken her longer than before to wake up, and her body felt off, somehow.
Failure... Noa thought as she ruminated over the word. If there had been anyone who could accurately assess her body, would they have noticed the change that was going on within her? Unfortunately, Noa had kept it all inside. She didn’t want to make any of her friends worried, but above all, she was terrified—terrified that her precious friends would see her as a failure too.
“Ugh... I’ve lost interest,” Nike said indifferently as he gazed behind Noa. “The sample no longer has use to me, so would you like to do something with it?”
The pain began to subside from Noa’s hand, and she was surprised to see that her wound was beginning to heal, but most importantly, she noticed a presence behind her. She gingerly turned around to see a staircase stretched out in front of her, leading to a chamber just slightly above them shrouded in a large veil.
“Isn’t it obvious?” a familiar voice Noa dreaded called out from behind the thin fabric. “We’ll cause her so, so much pain, enough to make her curse her very existence. Then we can make her into minced meat and hand her over to that cocky Argent Holy Woman.”
Unlike before, however, Noa no longer shuddered and sought to flee from the voice that invoked such primal fear within her. Don’t be afraid. Be strong and dignified like your big sister. Her determination made her stronger.
“Oh? What’s the matter?” the voice called out. “Why don’t you squeal and scamper away as you always do? Come now, let’s get on with your regretting you were ever born and lamenting your utter powerlessness, hmm?”
“What did I ever do to you?” Noa asked. “We both know Agard wouldn’t—”
“Don’t you dare try to compare us, you miserable brat! You’re nothing more than a wretched failure! Know your place, you pathetic copy!”
The rage and overwhelming murderous intent that filled the air silenced Noa. “Copy”? What does she mean by that? Until now, Nike’s insults and her deteriorating body had made her assume that she was a failure in the physical sense, but the Argent Armor’s fury now made Noa question herself once more. “Copy”? What am I an imitation of?
The fragmented memories in her mind began to slowly piece themselves together. Noa had always been so intent on running away, but perhaps the quickest route to regaining her memories was to face the Argent Armor in front of her. To do so, she required the courage to face her fears, something she hadn’t felt like she’d had before she’d met Mary.
“You think I’m a copy?” Noa muttered.
“That’s right!” the armor roared back. “You’re a failed experiment, a damn failure who crushed my— No, our hopes and dreams!”
The gears in Noa’s mind started to turn as her memories slowly came back to her. She recalled herself fighting with Agard. The view from the place she knew as “within.” She wanted to feel him—to touch him—but when she quietly looked down on her hands, all she could see was inorganic matter. These hands were very clearly not her own natural body.
“Enough!” Nike interjected, speaking in an unusually loud voice. “They should be here by now! Shouldn’t we make preparations to welcome them?”
Noa was snapped back to reality.
“Hmph, if you want to do so, go ahead,” the armor grumbled. “You do it. Why do you think I’m letting you roam around as you please?”
“My, oh my. How terrifying,” Nike replied. “Even if they do enter, I doubt they’d be able to come all the way here or even notice that this place even exists. My magic tools work perfectly.”
“Ha, well, they better. Why do you think I’m letting you use this entire island?”
“Indeed. This island was made for you, and I’m not allowed to use it without your permission. In fact, I tried to investigate you while you were asleep, but the fairies’ ceaseless meddling completely halted my work. I even had to relocate some of my operation outside! But I was pleased with what that yielded, in the end.”
The armor and Nike continued to talk while Noa remained quiet and listened, waiting for another opportunity. Nike implied that Mary and the others were rushing over, but clearly, normal methods couldn’t be used if they were to ever find her and Lily. I have to run. I have to return to where everyone is.
When Noa had just woken up in Eneres, she’d been gripped with inexplicable fear, and she was pessimistic about living. But now that she’d gotten to know Mary and her friends and traveled with them, Noa had come to admire Mary’s strength, and the despair she’d felt had by this point vanished.
Noa’s wound had healed up a great deal, and the pain was no longer excruciating. She thought she saw her chance as her two foes continued to chat—she located the exit within the darkness and tried to run ahead.
In the corner of her eye, she spotted Lily, who feebly staggered to her feet. If Noa tried to grab Lily and run, it’d take too much time, and both of them would be unable to escape. Still, Noa showed no hesitation as she made a beeline for Lily. How could Noa abandon her precious friend? Even if her life was in danger, if she were in Mary’s shoes—if she were the big sister—surely, she would prioritize her friends as well.
Another one of Noa’s memories clicked into place. Agard’s smile flashed across her mind—it was a gentle smile, yet so fleeting. His voice echoed within her head.
“Even if you kill me, I can’t—”
“Lightning Bolt,” the armor chanted.
A flash of lightning brought Noa back to reality as an electric spear pierced through her body. Electricity coursed through her veins, and her senses were growing numb, but she refused to give up. She still managed to scoop Lily up and throw her toward the exit with all her might before the pain forced her to the ground.
“I...get it now...” Noa murmured, her consciousness quickly fading from her grasp. “This is...my punishment...for trying to throw away what God gave me. I... I... I killed my beloved Agard...”
At once, Noa’s pupils narrowed, and the whole of her memory had at last been put back together, creating a complete sequence of events.