"Ugh..." Reivan groaned as he was roused awake by a bright light beaming down on his face.

He opened his eyes while shielding them with his hand, which was contradicting, but the blinding rays of warm sunlight really were too annoying.

'Hm? "Sunlight"...?'

That was when he remembered that it was supposed to be nighttime at the moment. And that he'd just activated [Glimpse of Eternity]. But that wasn't all...

"Ack!" He almost bit his tongue when he felt a very familiar pain surge through his entire body. Reivan's arms trembled as his fingers dug into the mattress of his hospital bed. It had been a while since he felt such agony. His head was thrown back as his throat squeezed out a soul-shaking scream.

"Big brother!?" A familiar voice, akin to the tinkling of bells, cried out in worry from somewhere to his right. And soon, a pair of arms wrapped around his body, pulling him toward their owner as a pleasant fragrance wafted into his nose.

'What...' Reivan's mind shook to the point that the intense discomfort he felt became irrelevant. He wrenched his head back in place, trying to catch sight of whoever it was that embraced him. Only to have his suspicions confirmed.

"Are you okay!?" Kyouka's face filled with worry as her bright blue eyes stared into Reivan's own. Strands of her long, silky black hair brushed against his face as the beautiful young woman gently checked him over for anything strange. "I-I should call for someone... ah, excuse me! Guards! Call for a—mmph!"

"Shut up. I'm okay." Reivan gritted his teeth to persist against the miserable pangs of pain as he covered his sister's mouth with his hand. "Gimme some space, will ya?"

Kyouka's eyes narrowed in doubt but she nodded. She freed her brother and started slowly backing off but her body was still tensed up — ready to jump into action.

He sat up and adjusted himself to a comfortable position before taking a few deep breaths. It didn't take him too long to reacclimate to the feeling of constant, unending agony. Just like how nobody really ever forgot how to ride a bike, he would never forget how to endure.

"Hooo." Reivan exhaled as he began to examine his surroundings. "It's the same..."

It was just as he'd suspected. He'd woken up on the hospital bed that he'd practically grown up on, surrounded by white walls and a plethora of medical equipment. The smell of antiseptics and other artificial fragrances filled the air around him.

And right beside him was his sister.

His sister who was supposed to be dead.

"Are you okay now...?" Kyouka's voice trembled as she reached out with a shaky hand to brush aside the strands of grey hair that fell over his face. Her eyes — wet with tears from worrying about his well-being — looked him up and down, scanning him for any abnormalities. Once she was sure that there was nothing wrong Kyouka turned around to not-so-stealthily wipe away her tears before facing him with a warm smile. "Geez! Why'd you have to make me worry so much? You bastard!"

'Damn... is this really a dream...?' Reivan's fists clenched tightly as he gazed at her.

It wasn't just her looks. The mannerisms, the way they spoke, and the way her voice shook as she pretended that everything was okay. It was all exactly the same.

'But...' Reivan shook his head, trying to free himself of his confusion. 'She can't be real...'

Perhaps to seek more proof, he subconsciously activated [Supreme Insight].

~^+— Unit's Statistics —+^~ Name: N/A (Kyouka Kagami)

Species: Eternal Echo (Human)

Realm: N/A

Age: N/A

Sex: N/A (Female)

Special Abilities N/A Might: N/A Extra Skills Elemental Affinities: N/A N/A Favor: N/A Threat Level: N/A

'I... ' Reivan blankly stared at the semi-transparent screen in front of him. His face, a complicated mix of relief and disappointment, hardened as he turned to face the impostor that wore his beloved sister's face. 'I knew it couldn't be true...'

Kyouka — or rather, the Eternal Echo tilted its head. It raised an eyebrow while poking at its soft cheek before asking, "Is there something on my face?"

"..." Reivan said nothing as his hands clenched so hard that the fingers digging into his palm drew blood, staining the sheets with crimson.

"Oh my god!" The creature jumped in shock when it noticed. "What're you doing!?"

Concern was written all over its face as it reached out to try to stop him from hurting himself. But...

"Don't touch me!" Reivan's voice boomed across the room as he slapped its hand away. His ocean blue eyes glowered at the pretender as he gnashed his teeth. "Don't fucking touch me..."

"Wh-what..." It gawked at him while cradling its arm, where the force of Reivan's blow resulted in a spot of bruised flesh. "B-b-big brot—"

"Shut up!"

'Only Kyouka can call me that!'

His chest heaved up and down as his breath grew ragged. Power surged through his limbs as he forced himself off the bed, trying to get away from it. Excruciating pain followed, making him wince. But he didn't care.

"Haah...haaah..." Reivan pointed a quivering finger at her while slowly retreating, bumping against all sorts of medical equipment. Soon, he finally couldn't increase the distance between them any longer. His back against the windowsill, Reivan inwardly cursed at his bond — the archon fragment: Zoro-chan.

'What the hell are you doing!? Wake me up already!'

With the amount of time he'd spent here, the ball should have already fallen. In fact, the duration of his stay was enough to pour a cup of water and drink it!

Ignorant of his inner turmoil, the fake Kyouka glanced at the bed between them, then toward Reivan. Its lip shook as it meekly tried to close the distance between them, going around the bed with hesitant steps.

Snapping back into reality, Reivan saw its actions and snarled at it, his eyes burning with fury and denial. "Stay the hell away from me!"

"Wh-why are you being li-like this..." The impostor's voice shook as its gaze wandered.

Suddenly, a bright beam of sunlight broke through the clouds and reflected off the glass window.

The fake Kyouka's eyes were drawn toward it before widening in realization. Its head hung low in remorse. "Is i-it because of th-the prank I pulled with the b-b-blinds...? If that's it, I'm s-s-sorry... I won't do it again..."

Reivan's lips trembled as he guiltily watched the pretender stutter out an apology with its head hung low.

"I w-won't do it again..." it sobbed.

"Sh-shut up..." he barely managed to mutter.

"I'm s-s-sorry..."

"Be quiet..."

"Big brother..."

"Don't call me that. Please don't call me that..."

The fake Kyouka bit its lower lip as she tightly held her hands in prayer.

"Please, b-big brother..."

Reivan screwed his eyes shut and covered his ears. He didn't want to see it as it wore his beloved sister's skin. Nor did he want to hear it speak using her voice. None of this was real. Everything was an illusion created by his ability.

He knew that.

But when the sound of something crashing against the floor echoed across the room, he couldn't help but snap his eyes wide open in worry.

The impostor had fallen on its knees, its quivering hands still clenched together.

"Big brother, p-please..."

It looked up, its wet eyes gazed up at him imploringly.

"Don't hate me."

Her soft-spoken plea reverberated loudly in Reivan's head. And as her tears finally broke free from their restraints Reivan moved before his mind could stop him. He dashed forward and took her into his arms, enveloping her with his warmth.

"Never," he whispered, stroking her head to calm her down just like how he always did it in the past.

"Ah. That's better..." Ken's butt sunk into the soft mattress with the assistance of his sister. His bright blue eyes stared into her own swollen ones. "Thanks, Kyouka."

"N-no problem." Kyouka stammered out despite her clogged nose. A strained smile, filled with unease, crossed her face as she looked back at him.

Sensing her worries, Ken pinched her cheek while grinning wryly. "Stop walking on eggshells. I'm fine now."

"R-really...?" she raised an eyebrow as she sat down beside him.

"Mm." he nodded while he stared into the skies visible through the window. "I just had a dream. That's all."

"A dream...?" Kyouka's bewilderment intensified, making her tilt her head. "It was bad enough that you... s-s-screamed at me like that...?"

"It wasn't bad. I just got a bit... confused." Ken scratched his cheek awkwardly, not really knowing how to word the emotions that he'd felt.

"Of course it was a bad dream... you looked at me like I was some sort of... monster or something." she huffed while crossing her arms. "What kind of dream was it anyway? I'll make sure to pray you never have the same one. It's about time I go on my weekly trip to the temple anyway."

"What kind, huh?" The young man's gaze became wistful as he tried to recall what his dream was about. "I got reincarnated in another world. You know. As a baby and all that."

"Reincarnated...?" Kyouka's brows furrowed as she looked at her brother.

"Yep. And I was a prince."

"Uh-huh..."

"There were knights that could fly. And I even had this pet snake. Oh, and there's all sorts of technology that seems to run on magic." Ken's fists clenched as his voice grew more animated. "I lived in this massive castle that overlooked a huge city surrounded by giant walls.

"Walls...?" Kyouka stood up and walked over to her usual armchair. After finding a comfortable position on it, she asked, "You mean like the ones in Attack on Titan?"

"Exactly!" He pointed at her excitedly. "But they were bigger! And I didn't get to see if it was split into sections..."

"How very informative." She rolled her eyes, regaining a bit of her usual snarkiness. "Were there maids? With glasses and stuff, of couse."

"There were."

"This is a great dream. I wish I was the one who had that dream." Kyouka rested her elbows on her lap as she rested her chin on them. Talk of glasses made her ten times more attentive.

"They're all straight though. And they like burly men." Ken smirked.

"Damn it." she pouted as she leaned back while hugging her knees. "What else? Did you have a little sister perhaps? A cute one. Who goes around wearing a pretty dress and a little tiarra."

Ken shook his head at her blatant intentions. "No. But I had a big brother. It was pretty neat. Being the younger sibling I mean."

"I know right~? being the younger sibling is the best!" Kyouka chirped.

"And I had a really cool dad. And a nice mom that was kinda too clingy... but it was okay from time to time."

"Oh, well this is definitely a dream then..." She rolled her eyes and sighed. But then her brows furrowed in bewilderment. "Hm? If you didn't have a little sister, then where the hell was I in this dream of yours?"

For a moment, a trace of pain flashed past Ken's face but it disappeared just as fast as it appeared. "You weren't there."

"What? Really?" Kyouka theatrically gasped, making a show of her shock.

"Stop that." Ken chuckled as he took one of his pillows and threw it at her face.

The younger woman deftly caught the weaponized sleeping aid before shaking her head while wagging a finger in the air. "That dream sucks then. My presence makes everything better by default and the lack thereof makes it ten times worse. That's why most novels are trash! Cuz I'm not a character in them!"

"Oh, shut up." He couldn't take her feigned arrogance any longer, so he took another pillow and chucked it at her with greater force. After it connected with her face, Ken leaned back and rested his back flat on the bed. As he closed his eyes, his lips curled up into a tranquil smile.

'This... feels right. This is how it should be...'

Kyouka was about to hurl a pillow back at him but when she saw him lying down, she stopped in her tracks. She chose to tightly hug the pillow instead. "Hey..."

"Hm?" Ken grunted to let her know he was listening but didn't open his eyes or look at her.

"I've been meaning to ask this since earlier..." Her eyes probed him as her arms tightened around the pillow. "Are you okay?"

The young man raised an eyebrow as he craned his neck to look at his sister. "I'm just as okay as I've always been. Why shouldn't I?"

"I mean..." She scratched her cheek awkwardly. "You overexerted yourself when you jumped out of bed so suddenly... and you were even shouting and yelling like a lunatic. About how I... you know..."

Ken's eyes followed her hand's movements as it passed over the part that he'd bruised. Guilt overcame him as he smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that... I don't know what came over me."

"Uh, no. I'm not trying to point out... what you said." Kyouka hid her bruised hand behind her. "I'm talking about the pain. You know, the one you're supposed to feel constantly? Are you okay on that front?"

Of course not. He felt like needles were being inserted repeatedly all over his body, all while a bunch of people was punching him wherever they could reach.

And it was gradually getting worse because he tired himself out when he threw a hiss fit.

"Hmm..." Ken hummed while trying to decide what to say. Usually, he'd just lie to her. But he didn't really feel like doing that right now. "It hurts like hell and I feel like I'm gonna die any second now."

Kyouka stared at him blankly for a few moments, taking a while to process his words. But then she jumped up from her seat while throwing the pillow down at her feet. "What!?"

"Why are you shouting...?" He grimaced while cupping his ears.

"But you said...!" She didn't even wait to finish her words before running over to the nearest medicine cabinet. She frantically dug around the inside while muttering under her breath. "Crap, which one of these pain meds was it...? Was it this? Oh wait, no. He got immunity to these last week... Shit, shit, shit, shit... where is it...! Why aren't they placed in the front!?"

"Hey, stop panicking."

"I'm not panicking!"

"I'm pretty sure you are." Ken shook his head as he sat up and took a pillbox from underneath his pillow. "Did you forget I keep it here?"

"Oh..." Kyouka froze in place as she stared blankly, her hands falling limply at her sides.

"Pff. Moron." He sneered before popping three pills into his mouth and swallowing them one by one. He laid back down as he waited for them to kick in. "Sit down. You know, I hate it when people stand around while I'm lying down."

Still a bit muddled, Kyouka did as she was told and sat back down on her chair. Once she'd snapped out of her daze, her brows furrowed. "Aren't you being a bit too calm about this? You said you felt like you were gonna die... was that a joke?"

"No. It wasn't."

"Are you sure? Cuz you know I don't like that kind of joke." Kyouka reached down and picked up the pillow from earlier. She held it up threateningly while waiting for his confirmation.

"I wasn't messing around. Please drop it." The young man raised his hands in surrender while smiling wryly.

Albeit still quite skeptical, she put her arms down and hugged the pillow again. "Well, you sure don't act like you're in pain..."

"I'm just..." Ken looked toward his sister with an expression of satisfaction. "really happy that you're here."

Compared to the joy he felt over being with her, the physical anguish he felt was irrelevant. He'd be able to endure it forever it meant he could keep spending time with her.

Unaware of his sentiments, Kyouka tilted her head. "I'm always here though? Don't I visit pretty often? I even cut class for you!"

Now it was his turn to tilt his head. He looked at the calendar on the wall, confirming that today was the right day. "Cut classes...? Didn't you just skip orientation?"

"Orientation? That was last week." She raised an eyebrow. "Wait, why do you even know that?"

"What do mean why do I know that? It was you who told me abou— huh...?" Ken grabbed his head. It didn't ache that much than it usually did, but it felt like there was something... strange.

'Huh? How do I know she was supposed to have an orientation...?' He looked toward the calendar again, making sure that it really was the correct date. But then his eyes widened in realization. 'Correct date? What the hell...?'

It felt like he was close to grabbing onto something, but he just kept coming up short.

As he stewed on this strange feeling, he suddenly felt a smooth hand press against his forehead.

"What's up? Did the meds kick in?" Kyouka looked down at him while waving her other hand in front of his face.

"That's not it—" Ken stared blankly in the air for a moment before nodding slowly. "Y'know what? Maybe that's it. The meds must be fucking up my head again. Fuck, I hate it when they do that..."

The pain was growing increasingly numb by the second, taking with it all his other sensations. Perhaps his weird thoughts were due to some other side effect they weren't aware of. The medicine he took was always new after all. None of them would be 100% tested.

"Big brother, why don't you take a nap?" Kyouka proposed as she took his pillbox. She grimaced after seeing what was inside. "Why aren't they color-coded like usual? Hey, which one of these sleeping meds still work?"

"I..." Ken bit his lip before with a conflicted expression continuing. "don't want to sleep right now."

"Huh?" His sister closed the pillbox while looking at him with an inquiring gaze. "Why? I mean, it's my fault, but didn't your sleep get interrupted? Just keep sleeping."

"But didn't you come all the way here?" He couldn't help but scratch his nose in embarrassment at what he was about to say. "I wanna spend time with you..."

Kyouka's eyes widened as she gaped for a few moments. But then she broke into a bright smile as she reached down to pinch his cheek. "Look at this cute bastard saying cute things. Where'd you learn to act like that?"

"Staph!" Ken lightly slapped away her hand.

The young woman giggled as her smile grew even wider. "Don't worry. I'll still be here when you wake up. I'll even sleep here if you want! College? Screw that!"

Her silliness made Ken snicker. "Alright then." He took the pillbox from her and took out a couple of sleeping pills. Since he'd grown a bit accustomed to them, he now needed about five pills for it to take significant effect.

After swallowing them one by one, it only took about a minute before he started feeling drowsy. Usual sleeping medication usually took a few dozen minutes to kick in, but these didn't even need a single one.

'Hurray for the power of money and research...' He lifelessly cheered within his mind.

Kyouka helped him get into a comfortable position in bed before putting on a teasing smirk, "Want me to read you a bedtime story?"

"Fuck off." Ken grinned as he let her kiss him on the forehead. "Stay here..."

His eyelids felt like they were about to glue themselves shut, and his consciousness felt like it was about to drift away.

Kyouka shook her head in exasperation at him. "Yes, sir. I know~ you don't have to remind me."

Ken chuckled as he closed his eyes.

"Geez..." His sister sighed before sitting down next to him. As her fingers gently combed through his grey hair as she spoke with a warm expression. "You know, sometimes, you can be so..."

Suddenly, her grip tightened, grabbing a fistful of his hair before forcefully raising his head.

"Pathetic." A cold voice that shouldn't possibly belong to his sister echoed inside his mind.

Ken groaned in pain. His sleepiness vanished as if it never existed. Snapping open, his eyes met with Kyouka's wintry glare.

"You're pathetic, Reivan." Her lips curled into a sneer as cracks appeared in their surroundings.

It was as if the world itself was shattering like it was broken glass. When tiny fragments of its surface fell off, what was revealed behind it was an ocean of stars and oddly shaped galaxies.

"What the..." Ken gawked at the sight. But this only lasted for a fraction of a second before he felt a sharp pain on the side of his cheek.

"Wow. You actually have the audacity to get distracted?" Kyouka scoffed in annoyance as she brought her hand up, ready to slap him again. "Or should I call you Ken Kagami? Since that seems to be the identity you want to take up."