Chrono hesitated for only a moment before taking her hand. "Alright. No regrets," he said, his tone calm but resolute. "It's a pleasure to be working with you, partner."
I'm going to clear this challenge.
I'm going to defeat May.
And I'm going to protect Talia.
No matter what… I will achieve all these goals.
Even if I lose myself doing it.
Talia's grin widened, the rays of the setting sun conveniently casting light over half her face. "Likewise, partner~," she said, emphasizing the word partner.
Chrono let go of her hand. His soft smile thinned into a tight line as his eyes locked with hers, the evening wind sweeping strands of their hair past their faces.
Talia raised a brow, though her grin remained. She stepped closer. "You look like you've got something to say. Are you scheming something?" she teased, dramatically turning her body as she lightly poked his chest with her elbow.
Chrono scratched his cheek with a finger, clearly weighing his words.
"Yeah… I do have something to say." He paused. "And I think you should know."
Talia's eyes widened with excitement and anticipation, but she stayed silent.
Chrono's expression grew uneasy. He averted his gaze, staring down at the ground as if it suddenly demanded all of his attention.
When he looked back up, his expression was a stark contrast to hers. The moment Talia noticed, her smile faded, replaced with concern.
"Is everything alright?" she asked gently. "Are you sure you want to tell me this?"
She reached out to cup his cheek, but Chrono raised his hand to stop her.
"It'd be bad to hide information from your partner, right?" He hesitated. "I… I need to get this off my chest."
Talia nodded, having no reason to object.
Chrono stepped closer, his body trembling slightly. "Can you promise me something, Talia?"
She nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
Chrono clenched his fists, his gaze dropping again. "Please… please don't hate me," he said, his voice shaking.
Talia's eyes widened, her mouth forming a small "o," before her familiar grin returned. "Hate you? Why would I ever hate you, silly?"
"Because…"
"Because?"
"What I'm about to tell you might change how you see me as a person."
His fists tightened further before Talia reached out and gently held his wrists.
She looked up at him, standing on her toes and leaning in until their noses nearly touched. "Sounds like this is going to be a long one. Why don't we sit down?"
Chrono flinched slightly at the closeness, leaning back. Talia mirrored him, giving a soft laugh.
---
They sat on a bench near the convenience store. A streetlamp beside them flickered on as the sun dipped below the horizon. A trash can stood on the opposite side, the quiet hum of the street filling the space.
Chrono sat hunched forward, head tilted down, arms resting on his thighs. Talia sat to his left, legs crossed, hands resting on the bench.
After a long silence, Chrono spoke. "You remember when May said I'd done something to her… and that her actions would be justified if you knew?"
Talia nodded. "Yeah. That'd be hard to forget. That's pretty much all she talked about."
She turned toward him. "Is that what you wanted to tell me? What you did to make her act like this?"
Chrono nodded slowly. "Yeah…"
"I know you said you weren't interested, and that it wasn't your business," he continued, "but… I want you to know."
Talia met his gaze. "We're partners now, Zeph. Your problems are my problems. Tell me everything."
Chrono turned fully toward her, placing a hand over his chest. "I… I killed her, Talia." The words came out as a shaky breath, the night breeze brushing his hair aside.
Talia's eyes widened, as if she'd been punched in the gut. She didn't look afraid—just deeply confused. "You… you killed her?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah…"
"That doesn't make any sense!"
Chrono blinked. "Huh?"
Talia raised a finger. "For starters, we just spoke to her. She responded. A dead person can't do that—that's impossible."
"I know it's impossible, but—"
Before he could finish, Talia placed a finger against his lips.
She slowly pulled it away. "Well… that's what I'd think if the supernatural wasn't already proven to be real." She shrugged.
Chrono's eyes widened as the heavy gloom on his face visibly eased. "Are you saying you understand?"
Talia tilted her head, folding her arms. "Well… sorta. I have a hypothesis."
She cleared her throat and raised a finger. "First, I know you're looping. I don't know why, but I know you are."
She raised another finger. "I'm assuming everything resets every loop. If you robbed a bank and got caught, looping would erase that."
She lowered her fingers. "Based on that, you should be the only one who remembers the robbery—unless someone is also looping with you."
She leaned back slightly. "I also remember her saying things like 'look what you turned me into.' That suggests she remembers previous loops."
"You could argue she was talking about something unrelated," she continued, "but that doesn't explain how she knows loop rules she shouldn't know."
"She has knowledge no normal human should have." Talia leaned back against the bench, crossing her arms.
"You could ignore all that and say she's one of the thousand people you convinced you're looping… but that doesn't match your plan of convincing them without actually looping them. Right?" She turned to him.
Chrono got startled slightly by the sudden question, then nodded. "Yeah. I never told her I was looping. I didn't even know about the challenge back then."
Talia snapped her fingers."Alright~. That confirms it. She shouldn't remember being killed. So something happened that allowed her to retain those memories."
"It's not just that," Chrono added, his voice tense. "Her personality completely changed. She used to be shy—could barely make eye contact. Now she's… unhinged. Violent. Obsessed with killing me."
Talia nodded slowly. "I see."
"One more thing."
Chrono's expression darkened, cold sweat forming. "She never attended our school in previous loops."
Talia froze. A bead of sweat slid down her temple. "Seriously…?"
He nodded. "She never transferred in the original timeline. Not in the first loop either."
Talia tapped her lip thoughtfully. "I did hear people talking about a transfer student today. I thought it was odd this late in the school year, but I didn't think much of it."
"So the loop was altered," she muttered.
"And not just the loop—her personality, her memories, everything."
Suddenly, Talia's eyes lit up. "Zeph—what did you tell me when I asked why you're looping?"
"That it's taboo."
She pointed at him dramatically, her smile bright enough to rival the streetlight. "Ah-ha! That's it. You did something taboo."
Chrono scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… you're right."
"You didn't tell me because you were afraid the same thing—or worse—would happen to me."
"Exactly. I couldn't risk it. I still can't."
Talia shrugged lightly. "That's fine. Don't beat yourself up. Taking precautions doesn't make you wrong."
Chrono stared at his hands, forcing a weak smile. "Even now, I don't know if telling you all this is taboo. I don't know anything." He gripped his hair, teeth clenched. "It's frustrating."
"So little has happened, but I've already messed up so much. I failed to recruit Chris. I killed May and turned her into this. I triggered Veritas without thinking." His voice cracked. "I don't even know if I can beat her. I just said it in the moment. It's pathetic… I'm pathetic."
A long silence followed Chrono's confession, the night breeze slipping between them like a quiet observer. Talia stood up and stepped in front of him, and Chrono's eyes followed her every movement without realizing it.
She planted her hands on her hips and looked down at him, her posture firm but not hostile. "Look, Zeph. I don't know your situation—what this is, why you're doing it, what the end goal is, or how it even started. But what does matter is that you keep pushing forward." She paused, her tone steady. "I may not know the destination, but I know one thing—you're still moving toward it. And that matters."
Chrono let out a quiet chuckle, more tired than amused. He leaned back slightly, eyes unfocused. "Do I really come off like that?" he asked. "I'm not doing this for some big reason. I'm just trying to survive… and I've been failing miserably." His voice dipped. "Even starting this challenge was a mistake. I should've minded my own business like I always do. It's stupid."
He looked up at her and forced a smirk—not smug, not happy. Just something other than despair. "The only good thing I've done so far is convincing you."
Talia folded her arms, her brows knitting together as she puffed her cheeks slightly. "I don't like your attitude right now, Zeph."
"Huh?"
"Did you forget what we shook on?" she said sharply. "No regrets. No saying sorry. Or did that just fly through one ear and out the other?"
Chrono's eyes widened. He held her gaze for a second before looking away, guilt creeping into his posture. "No… I haven't forgotten."
"Then—" Talia pointed at him, stopping just inches from his face. "As long as we're partners, I never want to hear you talking about yourself like that again. Got it?" She softened then, her voice lowering.
"You've been the light in my life at this moment," she said quietly. "So let me be the light in yours."
The streetlamp beside them flickered and seemed to shine brighter, casting her in warm gold. Against the darkness around them, she looked almost unreal—bright enough to push the night back.
"So," she continued, her finger lowering, "Tell me everything. Let it all out. You won't regret it."
Chrono's pupils dilated as he stared up at her. Everything else blurred—the hum of the street, the rustle of leaves—but her voice cut through it all with crystal clarity.
The heaviness on his face slowly faded, replaced by a genuine smile. "Talia…" he said softly. "You're pretty damn cool."
She grinned, lowering her hand. "Hehe~ I'll take the compliment, partner. It's the least I can do."
"Alright!" Chrono suddenly slapped both cheeks, leaving red palm prints behind. The sharp sound made Talia flinch.
"I'll tell you everything," he said, straightening up. "How I killed May."
He cleared his throat. "I'll start from the beginning."
I'm taking a risk telling her this. I still have no way of knowing if telling her the book is the reason I'm looping is taboo or not.
I already know talking about the book isn't taboo, since I was talking with May about it before her personality got altered.
I also know the book is visible to others, since May could see it and touch it.
She also mentioned something with the Nocturne, that only the worthy can touch the book and survive. If the book was invisible it wouldn't make sense to have such condition.
The challenge is convincing one thousand people I'm looping, so telling people I'm looping isn't taboo either.
Talia is evidence, I've told her I'm looping and nothing has happened, at least not yet.
No… nothing should happen at all.
So I know talking about the book isn't taboo.
Telling people I'm looping isn't taboo either. You could say that only holds true for this challenge alone but that doesn't really matter.
Based on this, I think it's safe to say nothing will happen when I explain how I began to loop.
"It was the original timeline," Chrono began. "After school—no, actually before that. On my way to school, I saw a blue flash in the corner of my eye." He scratched the back of his head. "At first I thought I was seeing things, but after school I went to check… on the off chance it was some rare gem I could sell and drop out."
He let out a dry laugh. "Pretty dumb, in hindsight." "After school, I went to the beach. And I saw it again—same blue glow. This time it wasn't a flash. It was constant." He swallowed. "The light was coming from a book."
"A book?" Talia chimed in.
Chrono nodded. "Yeah. The cover was dry, but the pages inside were damp."
"Huh…" Talia folded her arms, tilting her head. "That is strange."
"There also were some odd, seemingly undecipherable symbols on a certain page, known as Vael'Zul. It had the contents of the challenge after I reverse image searched a picture of it. It brought me to a webpage that had a translation for the symbols in English. Each symbol had an English letter equivalent."
"That's an oddly specific way to find out what they mean. It's almost like it was one of the ways to figure out what the symbols mean, instead of it being the way."
Chrono nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I found it weird how that was the way I found out what the symbols meant. It just felt weird, unconventional. So I figured that it wasn't the only way to decipher the symbols."
"In fact," he added, "reverse image searching wasn't even my original plan."
"Oh?" Her interest spiked. "Then what was?"
"I got a hint: 'Make use of libraries.' I planned to search every library in Aetherreach."
"That'd be preeetttty tedious."
"I agree. There's also the chance of the library holding the book being in a completely different country or continent. There's also the chance the library hint was a red herring."
"A red herring?"
"The overseer of the challenge is the one that gave me the hint. There's a chance it was a distraction to get me to give someone else the book."
Talia frowned. "I… don't think I'm following."
"Then let me tell you what happened next."
Chrono inhaled deeply. "I went to the library. That's where I saw May—buried under a tower of books."
Talia blinked, then laughed with disbelief. "Seriously? I can't imagine her as a bookworm."
"Yeah, believe it or not she was. Anyway, after I'd failed to find the book I'd suspected that maybe the book I wanted was one of the books she had. So I went over to her to ask if I could take a look at her books and she agreed."
"After a while I skimmed through all her books and came out unsuccessful. I got up to leave but she asked if she could take a look at the book I had, which I'd placed on the table."
"After some thinking I decided to hand her the book."
Cold sweat slid down Talia's cheek. "Don't tell me…"
"Gray fog filled the library," Chrono continued quietly. "Like the café. There were only three people in the room. But she…" His voice wavered. "She didn't see the fog. She saw a fourth person."
"A fourth…" Talia whispered.
Chrono swallowed. "The next thing I knew—her head was on the floor."
His voice was hollow. "Right by my shoe."
Talia covered her mouth, eyes wide with horror. "No way…"
"So… that's what you mean when you say you killed her."
Chrono nodded. "In truth, it was the Nocturne. A being like Veritas. It enforces the law: 'Anything that can die, will die.' Anyone unworthy who touches the book that can die, will die."
Talia shivered.
"Then why… her personality?"
"You know how I said there were three people in the room, including myself?"
Talia nodded. "Uh-huh?"
"Yeah. After such a ruckus, you'd think the other person in the room would be terrified as well, no?"
"Mhm, it's only natural."
"But they didn't react at all. They didn't notice the blood or the decapitated body right in front of me. They acted as if I was the only person in the library. So I asked how many people they saw in the room. 'Just you, kid,' is what he said."
Talia's eyes narrowed. "So the book not only killed her, but erased her from perception completely—as if she hadn't existed at all."
Chrono nodded. "Spot on."
"Still… that doesn't make sense. Why would she have such a grudge against you? She shouldn't exist at all."
"Yeah, that's why I decided to check the library in the following loop—to see if she still existed—and there she was."
Talia nodded twice. "Mhm, mhm. Interesting. You think looping caused her to exist again?"
"Eh, I don't really think it's that simple. The Nocturne isn't bound by concepts like space and time. I think it exists beyond that. So I don't think the day resetting alone would be enough to bring her back into existence."
"Ah! I know! It's like a paradox. The universe is confused about whether X person actually existed upon reset, so it'd need a stabilizer. It's like that one experiment—something cat."
Chrono scoffed, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. "Schrödinger's cat."
"Yeah, yeah! That one!"
"The cat is simultaneously dead and alive until the box is opened. May simultaneously exists and doesn't until the box is opened—in other words, opening the box would be the stabilizer."
"And the only reason she exists in perception right now is because of a stabilizer's interference to fix the paradox."
Chrono nodded in agreement. "That's the same conclusion I drew as well. And the stabilizer is the overseer of the challenge."
Talia placed a finger on her lip, looking up at the sky. "I guess that makes a little more sense."
She lowered her head and gazed at Chrono. "Still, that doesn't explain her grudge, nor her sudden personality switch."
"Yeah, I'll get to that."
Chrono cleared his throat. "Now that you know that much, I'll explain everything else that happened, alright?"
Talia nodded. "Alrighty."
"The figure that decapitated May was the Nocturne. But the version of the Nocturne she saw didn't look like a shadow soldier, similar to Veritas."
"Interesting…" Talia chimed in.
"The version of the Nocturne she saw was me. I appeared as the Nocturne to her, and I was the one who took her life."
Talia put a hand under her chin and began to tap it. "Mhm, mhm. That explains the grudge—but she still should in no way be able to remember any of that."
"The overseer simply acted as a stabilizer for her existence. She shouldn't get additional perks, such as memory of previous loops or knowledge of the challenge rules… unless."
"Yeah, you're starting to get it now, huh?"
Talia's eyes widened as if she had come to a revelation. "A red herring…"
"Yeah, exactly that."
"'Make use of libraries' was a red herring, so you could go to a library and meet May—where you'd hand her the book, which would kill her. The only reason for the overseer to keep her alive is for her to be a hurdle to you."
Talia smiled. It was crooked and held no joy. "That's quite a cunning overseer, huh..."