— Are you running away again?

Was it an accusation? Or was it simply a statement? Elrin’s voice didn’t seem like it belong to her reticent roommate who treasured words like gold. But it was definitely Elrin’s voice.

Asri was pinned down by her friend, Elrin. This was by no means something usual, and she was only half surprised by it. Asri was surprised, but she was simply letting the words sink into her. “Running away”? “Again”?

The words struck a chord, but it didn’t make sense to Asri. The Elrin she knew wouldn’t do something like this either. The sleepiness was flushed out of her, and she glared up at Elrin, the one who was pushing her down. That’s right, she glared at Elrin.

Was it Elrin? Or was it someone else? The Elrin she knew wouldn’t do something like this. But she felt awake. What was going on?

— W-who are you?! You are n-not Elrin!

She could not help the shaking of her voice, but she managed to finish the sentence while looking straight at Elrin’s eyes. They were quirked up in a bemused manner, and the familiar-but-not-really voice continued to flow like thick honey next to her.

— Oh? If I am not then who am I?

Asri struggled, but the grip on her arms was strong. Inhuman, even. But she was simply a child. Elrin was a child just like hers, but she was somehow unable to escape. Elrin looked truly entertained at Asri’s struggle, and continued to say after a chuckle.

— Seeing you like this... makes everything worthwhile.

Elrin paused a bit, as if taking in more of the sight, before saying.

— It might even be worth it just to continue... seeing you forever unable to escape your fate... just like me.

Asri could not understand any of it, and she was starting to feel her arms aching from being pinned to the hard bed, so she yelled to the “fake” Elrin.

— W-what are you talking about?! Release me! You are definitely not Elrin!

The Elrin in front of her laughed at that even more.

— You are right!! I am not your Elrin! Do you know what I am?

Then “Elrin” started to speak, in an impossibly low voice.

— I am you. The future you.

— I am what you will become. A pathetic excuse of an existence. Unable to fulfill what is expected of you. Running away from reality in elaborate dreams. Trapped by your own fate!

— You think I don’t know what you are scared of? What you are running away from?

Asri stared wild-eyed at the being in front of her, looking unmistakably like Elrin and yet was the furthest thing away from her friend. This was... the future her?

The eyes of “Elrin” seemed to instantly grow colder, as her normally expressionless face morphed into a twisted frown.

— You hated that girl.

I...

— You pretended to be nice to that girl, but actually condemned her inside.

No, I... I don’t...

— You were disgusted by her. Didn’t she kill her own mother? You couldn’t stand someone like that. Friends? Stop lying to yourself!

No! Elrin is my friend!!

Like she was jostled awake, Asri felt her strength come back to her. The grip on her arms also felt weaker. She shook them off - somehow, they were not as tight as she thought they were. Elrin... no, the future her stood next to the bed, their face unreadable.

She stood up and faced the silhouette, her voice cracking at first before it gained momentum.

— ...You are right. I... I have felt hatred at Elrin... when I found out that she could have killed her... mother.

— You are right. It was not something I could accept. I did not, I avoided asking her because I was afraid... Afraid of hating her if it turns out to be true.

— But you are also wrong. Even if I don’t know if we can still be friends, at this moment... we are friends. Until I heard it from Elrin... until I know what truly happened... Elrin is my friend!!

That’s right, she had not asked Elrin yet. They were friends. Elrin was her beloved friend. And that was the truth.

So where was Elrin?

In response, the Elrin-like figure in front of her put its hand on her shoulder, before leaning in, almost like it was embracing her, as it said.

— Before that... where are you?

Suddenly Asri’s eyes snapped open. She was lying against the wall on the ground, in a dark and narrow path surrounded by rock walls. Lined along the cracked walls were dusty lanterns giving off feeble light. Just ahead of her a few steps, she could make out the outline of a door.

She was sleeping? Where was this place? Was there such a place in the Temple?

She stood up and walked towards the door. There was a large button, and when she pushed it, the entire “door” pushed a few inches towards her, the wall making rumbling noises in the progress.

Before she could collect herself from the shock, the wall rumbled more as the “door” slowly moved to the right, revealing the way out. She walked out, only to find herself just walking out a huge painting on a corridor next to another set of door, only that this looked like proper doors with gold-lidded handles on them.

It was definitely a corridor in the Temple. Asri heaved a sigh of relief, but where was she inside the Temple exactly? And how did she end up... in a secret pathway hidden behind a painting??

She looked at the other end of corridor. It was almost night time, the sky outside the window turning purple rapidly as she stood there. The corridor looked like it was sucked into unfathomable darkness, even if she knew it was just the lack of lighting. She took a few steps in that direction, but felt the ground tremble beneath her, like everything was falling apart on the other end of the corridor.

But how could that be? She was standing on even ground.

She turned to the huge door next to her. It was fancier than any of the doors she had seen in the Temple, with intricate engravings that seemed to glow in the dark. She could hear noises coming from behind it, like they were beckoning her. Suddenly the door creaked open, like it could hear her thoughts, and her steps took her towards it.

Like puppet on strings.

It was quiet behind the doors. A wide and tall chamber stood in front of her, exquisite engravings filled the dome-like ceilings of the chamber. There was a circular platform slightly elavated at the center of the chamber, and an altar was on top of it. Crescent moon patterns, flowing vines dotted with pearls. The symbols of the Goddess filled the place; it was truly a place for the most pious of believers.

But all of that went past her as she saw the two people standing next to the altar. It was Elrin... it was Elrin, looking like she usually did, minus the part that she was being restrained by a taller person in black. In fact, the whole person was black. She could not make out what they looked like, like their very being was being painted over by rough strokes of ink. But it all went past Asri. She could only see Elrin, whose neck was inches away from the knife held by the black figure.

A past conversation flashed through her head. A conversation with Miru.

— ... There are some bad people who don’t like the temple. The Goddess, the Chosen Star, they don’t like any of it.

— Anyway, they don’t like how the Chosen Star is bringing people to the temple. So some say they are going to sabotage this year’s Divinity Ritual.

Miru warned her about shady people. People who did not follow the Goddess. People who wanted to ruin the Ritual, because they hated the faith of Fate. Was this one of them?

No! She could not let them hurt Elrin!! She still... she still needed to ask about that thing...!

So she ran towards the dark figure. She could not see them clearly. What did they look like? How tall were they? Were they a man or a woman? She did not know, but she ran towards them anyway. Only she could save Elrin, her friend, and she would hesitate at nothing if it meant saving her beloved friend.

Then it was like she stepped into darkness. She could see the dark figure expanding, like claws were growing out of it, reaching towards her like it was going to tear her apart. A monster she thought. But there was no fear in her heart. Elrin was right there, right there, and she had to... she had to...

She was pushed out of the way, then thrown to the ground. It would hurt, it was supposed to hurt, but somehow she could not find it in her to care. She raised her battered body to look at what had pushed her, and on the ground just a few steps from her was a familiar figure on the ground. White hair, white temple garbs, blood as red as ruby seeping through his back.

A scene flashed through her head. The dream. The dream she had.

The same figure now lied in front of her, motionless.

And just like in the dream, she rushed to hold him in her arms. She could feel the blood seeping onto her arms, no doubt dying her similar white temple garbs with red as dark as the sunset sky, but she could not bring herself to care.

For some reason, it was like she knew it would all come to this. The end.

But Asri felt tears streaking down her cheek nevertheless. The pain was like a fresh wound, even though there was no injury to be found on her. The blood on her arms looked like it had drained from her own face, her pale face shaking as tears fall down like pearls. Her light brown hair cascaded down on her small shoulders, shaking along with her torso. Her very person seemed to be shivering in the nonexistent chill of the room.

The carpeted ground was so soft on her knees, but Lute looked uncomfortable lying there. No, perhaps it was her who felt that he shouldn’t be looking so lifeless, regardless of the place.

— Why, Lute, why...

She found herself speaking incomprehensible words. It was not like he could answer her, and she didn’t know how he ended up here either. But here he was, dead from protecting her.

She cupped his face in her palms, his skin cold as marble. His ponytail was loose, white hair pooling underneath her hands. She had always wanted to comb through his hair like this, wanted to touch the strands to see if they were as nice as they looked from afar. She had wanted to put her hands on his, to look at his black eyes as they looked back at hers like she was the only one he could see. But his eyes were closed. Closed. And they would never open for her again.

All because of her.

The tears had dried from her eyes, but it was like her heart was bleeding where no one could see.

She loved him. She loved Lute.

The moment she realized this, a warm feeling filled up her heart. At the same time, her heart bled even more. So what it said you killed the one you love.

I... killed... the one... I...

Then there was light in front of her. Light from the altar. The dark figure had long since disappeared, and Elrin was lying on the ground. But Asri was focusing on the figure that had appeared on top of the altar, bringing immeasurable light with them.

Straight black hair like the night sky. Silk-like vines dotted with pearls like stars were weaved along her hair. Eyes as dark and at the same time full of starry wonder. Skin as white and lustrous as the finest gem. She was dressed in an impeccable dress of glowing crescent moon patterns, and her very presence seemed to invite worship and appreciation beyond words.

Asri knew, almost as natural as breathing itself, that this was the Goddess. The Goddess of Fate, Lumina.