Seasonality & Suite Dreams

"If I could turn back time . . . I would save them even if it meant I'd die."

Status: Dead Alive Dead Alive
Deaths: 3 (CYOA) + 1 (W2) + 1 (execution) = 5
Kill: 1
Dorm (Seasonality): Spring

Seasonality: Notes
"How troublesome . . . but I guess I should go."

Injuries
❖ Almost fully healed animal bites on face and arms
❖ Punctures on upper back (Catra's claws)
❖ Cuts on fingers of left hand below knuckles
❖ Bruised, swollen comminuted fracture of upper left leg (splinted)
❖ Partial fracture of left arm (chance of breakage)
❖ Swollen, discolored right wrist (splinted)
❖ Scratches (wolf)
❖ Grazes (arrows)
❖ Gaping hole in right arm (spike)

Inventory
❖ Soluna
❖ Backpack
❖ Acceptance letter
❖ School supplies (notebook, pen, highlighter, binder)
❖ Framed photograph
❖ Smartphone
❖ School jacket
❖ Personalized mug
❖ Little pack of konpeito
❖ Cashmere scarf
❖ School uniform
❖ 3x Voucher
❖ 1x Condom (from Kuon)
❖ Map piece
❖ Coupon (1 Basic Elemental Spell → Fireball)
❖ Leg splint (from Maya)
❖ Photographs: Chad, Viola, Luke, Sally, map piece
❖ Winter Formal costume
❖ Graveyard Notes
❖ Small heart plush (used on Mollymauk and Caleb)
❖ Valentine's outfit
❖ Green ribbon
❖ Letters (Taichi, Maya, Lucretia, Rita, Sakyou)
❖ Little silicone tongue
❖ Golden circlet (from Kai, given to Mabel)
❖ Letters (Lucretia, Maya)
❖ Squeaky smiley emoji toy
❖ Box
❖ Week 6 plot clues
❖ Plastic block of cheese (used on Malik)
❖ Superhero/villain costume

Extra Credit Assignments
#1: Stay in one spot for an entire day. So tired . . . I'm going to bed. Wake me up if something happens.
#2: Accuse someone of stealing your pudding. I just thought it'd be funny.
#3: Try to get someone voted for. Nah.
#3: Pour milk on someone's head. It was a good excuse to talk to him.
#4: Beat 3 people in a race. Phew, that was troublesome.
#5: Get two people to stand on their heads with you. How many more times do I have to do this?
#6: Talk about romance with someone. Ah, young love. Treat him well, you hear?
#7: Take someone on a date. Yum yum!

Seasonality: Tracker
"Hey! You're back! Welcome."

❖ Interest check / Application / Intro
❖ First impressions / Second impressions
❖ Tasks & Extra Credit / IC Profile
❖ TL;CR / Love / CR chart / Audiences & PCs

Week 0
❖ Welcome letter
❖ Suite #1, Room #2: Maya, Malik
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Suite #1: Maya, Rita, Mollymauk
❖ Kaoruko
❖ Kuon
❖ Rupert
❖ Dimitri
❖ Mandricardo
❖ Top-level: Byleth, Wang Lu, Otome, Lila, Caleb, Adora, Yamato, Sakyou, Luxanna, Crow, Leo
❖ Hiyori
❖ Common Room: Taichi, Rita, Malik, Mollymauk, Lucretia, Sakyou
❖ Suite #1, Room #2: Rita, Maya
❖ Chad
❖ Profile reaction: Maya, Ichiro
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Taichi (PC)
❖ Luxanna (PC)
❖ Adora (PC)
❖ Kainé (PC)
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ Kuon (PC)
❖ Caiman
❖ Dimitri (PC)
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Bradley
❖ Byleth (PC)
❖ Party game: superlatives: Kaoruko, Catra
❖ Common Room: Taichi, Malik, Maya
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Mini-investigation: Byleth, Mollymauk, Caleb
❖ Byleth (PC)
❖ Common Room: Rita, Claude, Mollymauk, Lucretia
❖ Caleb (PC)
❖ Kaoruko (PC)
❖ Kainé (PC)
❖ Kuon (PC)
❖ Luxanna (PC)
❖ Mandricardo (PC)
❖ Mabel (PC)
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Trial (Victim: Hiyori | Culprit: Kaoruko)
❖ Kaoruko (PC)
❖ Luxanna (PC)
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ Taichi (PC)
❖ Execution (Executioner: Otome)
❖ Dimitri (PC)
❖ Common Room: Taichi, Lucretia
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Kuon (PC)
❖ Crow (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Adora (PC)
❖ Maya (PC)

Week 1
❖ Lila
❖ Byleth
❖ Mollymauk
❖ Alphinaud
❖ Crow
❖ Mandricardo
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Catra
❖ Mabel
❖ Yamato
❖ Rita (PC)
❖ Sakyou (PC)
❖ Common Room: Mollymauk
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ Debate Club: Wang Lu, Futaba, Lalli
❖ CYOA: Sakyou, Claude, Catra
❖ Top-level: Sakyou, Catra, Claude, Maya, Kainé, Dimitri, Taichi, Lila, Caleb
❖ Claude, Sakyou (PC)
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Tsuyukusa (PC)
❖ Taichi (PC)
❖ Common Room: Chad, Maya, Rita
❖ Mini-investigation: Tsuyukusa, Kuon
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Manwol (PC)
❖ Mabel (PC)
❖ Kainé (PC)
❖ Caleb (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Catra (PC)
❖ Mollymauk (PC)
❖ Trial (Victim: Lan Wangji | Not Guilty: Manwol)
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Rita (PC)
❖ Execution (Executioner: Lila)
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Luxanna (PC)
❖ Dimitri (PC)

Week 2
❖ Common Room: Mollymauk, Lucretia
❖ Ichiro
❖ Taichi (PC)
❖ Kuon (PC)
❖ Bradley (PC)
❖ Luxanna (PC)
❖ Beauregard
❖ Sakyou (PC)
❖ Manwol
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Common Room: Mollymauk, Maya, Sakyou, Claude, Tsuyukusa
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Chad
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Adora (PC)
❖ Creative Writing: Rita
❖ Winter Formal: Catra, Caiman
❖ Viola
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ Dimitri (PC)
❖ Caleb (PC)
❖ Kaine (kill thread)
❖ Investigation
❖ Trial (Victims: Sieghart, Bradley | Culprits: Kainé, Rupert)
❖ Top-level: Bradley, Kaoruko, Lila, Rupert
❖ Principal Bear

Week 3
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Bradley (PC)
❖ Lila (PC)
❖ Lan Wangji (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Chad
❖ Rupert, Bradley, Lila, Lan Wangji
❖ Bradley
❖ Aikawa
❖ Kaoruko (PC)
❖ Crow (PC)
❖ Bradley (PC)

Week 4
❖ Aikawa (PC)
❖ Mollymauk
❖ Top-level: Rupert
❖ Hugo
❖ Kickball: Aikawa
❖ Mollymauk
❖ Bradley (PC)
❖ Lila (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Aikawa (PC)
❖ Bradley (PC)
❖ Aikawa (PC)
❖ Marquee meeting: Lila, Mollymauk
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Byleth
❖ Catra
❖ Adora
❖ Mollymauk (PC)

Week 5
❖ Aikawa (PC)
❖ Party games (PC)
❖ Town Hall watch: Bradley, Crow, Wang Lu, Aikawa, Rupert
❖ Pretend: Rupert
❖ Seance: Lucretia
❖ Top-level: Aikawa, Crow, Lan Wangji, Wang Lu, Catra, Bradley, Lila
❖ Town Hall watch 2: Wang Lu, Lan Wangji, Crow, Aikawa
❖ Top-level: Bradley, Aikawa, Rupert, Lan Wangji, Wang Lu, Lila
❖ Trial watch: Crow, Lan Wangji
❖ Post-trial meeting: Lila, Principal Bear
❖ Letter to Mabel, letter to Rita
❖ Execution watch
❖ Crow
❖ Otome
❖ Tsuyukusa
❖ Leo
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Kai (PC)

Week 6
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Wang Lu
❖ Bradley
❖ Party games (PC)
❖ Crow
❖ Finger painting: Aikawa
❖ Byleth (PC)
❖ Otome
❖ Letter to Maya, letter to Lucretia
❖ Sakyou
❖ Manwol
❖ Trial watch: Byleth
❖ Bradley (PC)
❖ Manwol (PC)
❖ Catra (PC)
❖ Sakyou (PC)
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Return: Lucretia feat. ensemble, Kuon, Rita, Kainé, Alphinaud, Maya, Taichi
❖ Rita (PC)
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Mabel
❖ Mandricardo (PC)
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Lucretia (PC)

Week 7
❖ Lila feat. Claude
❖ Common Room: Lucretia
❖ Otome (PC)
❖ Ichiro (PC)
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ North: Chad, Lucretia, Lila, Malik, Hope
❖ Mabel (PC)
❖ Common Room: Malik, Rita, Maya
❖ Leo (PC)
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ Trial
❖ Lucretia (PC)
❖ Rita (PC)
❖ Tsuyukusa (PC)
❖ Mabel (PC)
❖ Kainé (PC)
❖ Mandricardo (PC)
❖ Lux (PC)
❖ Mollymauk (PC)
❖ Lila (PC)
❖ Dimitri (PC)
❖ Sakyou (PC)
❖ Aikawa (PC)
❖ Maya (PC)
❖ Top-level: Lucretia
❖ Lucretia (PC)

Suite Dreams: Notes
"Heh. How about I teach you a little something?"

Injuries
❖ Puncture marks on left lower leg above ankle (snake bite)
❖ Faint scars on right hand
❖ Faded bruising on right shoulder and back (hurts when pressed)
❖ Mostly healed slash on right shoulder and back (can reopen with intense exertion)
❖ Faint scar on left jaw (bullet graze)
❖ Left shoulder healed as best as can be (severed arm)

Inventory
❖ Soluna
❖ Spring Dorm, illustrated by Lucretia (given to Estelle)
❖ Striped shirt with suspenders, gray slacks, coat, and matching gloves
❖ Flask filled with sweet wine (drank prior to self-harm pre-execution)
❖ Shaving kit (sans blade)
❖ Aspirin x1
❖ Keychain
❖ Condolence card
❖ Temporary tattoo sheet
❖ Small bag of jerky (given to Virgo)
❖ Compact mirror with cute pattern on outer casing
❖ Shirt (text: pending)
❖ Outfit 2
❖ Paper ticket x1 (from Estelle, x1 given to Estelle)
❖ Starred record (in coffin)

Suite Dreams: Tracker
"Don't mind other people's businesses and focus."

❖ Interest check / Application / Intro
❖ Second impressions
❖ Reporting / IC Profile / Graveyard
❖ TL;CR / Love / CR chart / Audiences & PCs

Week 0
❖ Top-level: Aikawa, Munechika, Bradley, Flayn, Estelle, Yuri, Sheila
❖ Zuko (PC)
❖ Rin, Sebastian
❖ Top-level: Hope, Bucky, Kaeya
❖ Estelle (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Emet-Selch (PC)
❖ Dimitri (PC)
❖ AMA: Harrowhark, Yuri, Rin, Sebastian, Claude, Hope, Rupert, Shinobu
❖ Diluc
❖ Flayn
❖ Estelle
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Shinobu (PC)
❖ Bradley (PC)
❖ Trial (Victim: Flayn | Culprit: Sieghart)
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Bradley (PC)
❖ Mikazuki (PC)
❖ Rin (PC)
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Yuri (PC)
❖ Emet-Selch (PC)
❖ Bucky (PC)
❖ Dimitri (PC)
❖ Estelle (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Shinobu (PC)
❖ Zuko (PC)
❖ Aikawa (PC)
❖ Sheila (PC)
❖ Hope (PC)
❖ Harrowhark (PC)
❖ Execution (Executioner: Sheila)
❖ Top-level: Souji

Week 1
❖ Virgo
❖ Letters (Aikawa, Bradley, Claude, Rupert, Shinobu)
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Record players: Souji
❖ Recording: Souji
❖ Trial watch: Souji
❖ Clementine

Week 2
❖ Courier service: House (Alphinaud, Harrowhark, Shinobu)
❖ Monsters and weeds: Virgo, Souji, Clementine
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Trial watch: Clementine, Souji
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Alphinaud
❖ Bucky

Week 3
❖ Aquarius (Audience)
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Phone repair: Souji, Clementine, Bucky
❖ Bucky (PC)
❖ Clementine (PC)
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Bouquet: Estelle (cedar, chrysanthemum, gentiana)
❖ CYOA: Souji, Clementine, Alphinaud
❖ Kazunari
❖ Hope
❖ Kai
❖ Kai (PC)
❖ Zuko
❖ Zuko (PC)
❖ CYOA (return): Alphinaud, Souji, Clementine, Bucky, Hope, Kai, Virgo
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Clementine (PC)
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Hope (PC)

Week 4
❖ Clue: Bucky, Aikawa, Hope, Zuko, Souji, Clementine, Kazunari
❖ Top-level: Souji, Aikawa, Bucky, Clementine, Kazunari, Alphinaud, Hope
❖ Breakfast: Souji, Virgo, Hope, Kazunari, Clementine
❖ Trial watch: Kazunari, Bucky, Clementine, Souji, Zuko, Alphinaud
❖ Virgo, Hope
❖ Bucky (PC)
❖ Meeting: Hope, Bucky, Aikawa, Kazunari, Virgo
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Rupert
❖ Break-in: Virgo, Souji, Zuko, Kaeya, Clementine, Bucky, Alphinaud, Kazunari, Rupert, Aikawa, Hope
❖ Qi Rong
❖ Orion (Audience)

Week 5
❖ Meeting: Aikawa, Rupert, Kaeya, Kazunari, Zuko, Bucky, Hope, Souji, Alphinaud
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Kaeya (PC)
❖ Kazunari (PC)
❖ Letters (received): Sheila, Bradley, Estelle
❖ Meeting: Kaeya, Kazunari, Souji, Aikawa, Hope, Bucky, Clementine
❖ Letters: Sheila, Bradley, Estelle
❖ Letter (received): Shinobu
❖ Ousting Qi Rong
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Trial watch: Kazunari, Rupert, Kaeya, Bucky, Souji
❖ Letters (received): Bradley, Mikazuki
❖ CYOA: Aikawa
❖ Return: Aikawa, Claude, Hope, Kaeya, Souji, Bucky, Kazunari, Virgo, Rupert
❖ Town hall watch: Souji, Kazunari, Clementine, Bucky, Hope, Kaeya, Rupert, Dimitri, Sylvain, Alphinaud, Emet-Selch, Claude, Zuko
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Claude (PC)
❖ Dimitri (PC)
❖ Kaeya (PC)
❖ Bucky (PC)
❖ Rupert (PC)
❖ Aikawa (PC)
❖ Letters: Shinobu, Mikazuki, Estelle

Week 6
❖ Mausoleum: Souji, Sylvain, Dimitri
❖ Virgo
❖ Emet-Selch (PC)
❖ Letter (received): Estelle
❖ Letter (received): Shinobu
❖ Letter: Shinobu
❖ Trial watch: Kazunari, Rupert, Dimitri, Claude, Souji, Bucky, Sylvain, Alphinaud
❖ Bucky (PC)
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Lepus (Audience)

Week 7
❖ Discussion: Emet-Selch, Claude, Dimitri, Hope, Kaeya, Kazunari, Rupert, Bucky, Marie, Hua Cheng, Sylvain, Clementine, Alphinaud
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Phone call: Tsurumaru
❖ Report: Bucky, Hua Cheng, Aikawa, Emet-Selch, Alphinaud, Souji, Rupert, Kazunari, Virgo
❖ Meeting: Emet-Selch, Hua Cheng, Bucky, Kaeya, Souji, Dimitri, Sylvain, Alphinaud
❖ Dinner party: Virgo, Hua Cheng, Kazunari, Souji, Bucky, Rupert, Aikawa, Clementine, Alphinaud, Marie, Dimitri, Sylvain, Emet-Selch, Kaeya, Zuko
❖ Letter: Estelle
❖ Lollipop: Dimitri, Emet-Selch, Kaeya, Bucky, Souji, Sylvain, Rupert, Aikawa, Alphinaud
❖ NPC watch: Flayn, Hua Cheng, Kaeya, Emet-Selch, Kazunari, Souji, Sylvain, Bucky, Marie, Alphinaud, Rupert, Clementine, Dimitri
❖ Ritual: Souji, Marie, Bucky, Kazunari, Emet-Selch, Dimitri
❖ Endgame: Aikawa; Alphinaud, Bradley, Claude, Futaba; Tsurumaru, Souji, Mikazuki, Shinobu, Bradley, Estelle; Flayn
❖ Top-level: Aikawa, Hope, Flayn
❖ Sheila
❖ Truth or dare
❖ Estelle (PC)
❖ Shinobu (PC)
❖ Mikazuki (PC)
❖ Souji (PC)
❖ Alphinaud (PC)
❖ Lup (PC)
❖ Top-level: Rita, Manwol, Souji
❖ Flayn
❖ Aikawa

Memories
"I'm just a monster that doesn't age."

In all the years you've fought monsters and demons alike, you have never seen so much blood.

The ashen smoke and stench of burning flesh assail your senses as you navigate the burning ruins that you once called your home. What was once a warm refuge attended by your brothers is now a hellish purgatory with their bodies strewn everywhere. Nary a one utters so much as a cry while the fire claims their limbs, burning all evidence of their once immortal existences away. Every step you take lands your feet in a puddle of their blood, welled in the cracks of the stone floor, and your gait grows increasingly desperate the farther in you go.

Hoping against hope for a response, you rattle off as many of their names as you can and shake the ones who are still relatively intact by their shoulders, ignoring how weak your voice sounds against the roaring of the flames.

You cough into an excoriated arm that was damaged by a collapsing pillar you passed earlier. The divine blood coursing through your body patches the excoriation until there's naught but a faint scar to indicate that it was ever there. Your wide-eyed gaze snaps to a pile of your brothers' unresponsive bodies. You don't understand. Why haven't they healed like you yet? Why won't they get up? Why won't they wake up?

Finally, your breath hitches when you come upon Graham, crumpled on the ground, with the fire raging all around him. Throwing yourself onto your knees, you gather his body in your arms and shield him from the scorching heat, only to find that his chest neither rises nor falls like all the rest.

"N-no!" Your vision blurs and voice cracks as you give him a despairing shake. "Get up! Wake up! Please!"

But Graham doesn't open his eyes. Your dearest friend, who saved your life with nothing but kindness in his eyes when he found you, a lonesome stranger on the verge of death, is gone. Everyone is gone; the fire is just meant to bury what's left of them. Now all that's left is you.

The unbearable pain that pricks your eyes, chokes your throat, and sears your skin falls to the wayside as you hold Graham's corpse close and wail in a terrible combination of grief and rage.

Who could've killed the Highlanders? The question rattles harshly in your mind, piercing the deafening howl of the flames. Whoever it was, you'll kill them. You'll tear them apart. You will get revenge.

If only you hadn't been so careless.

Your chest tightens. Although you scream yourself hoarse, it does nothing for the agony that splits your heart as you weep at once. You can't breathe. You don't think you can even live with yourself. The grief, the rage, the guilt—they hurt. They hurt so much that you think you may just go mad from it all.

This is your fault.

If only they had never saved you that day. If only you'd died right then and there, alone . . .

All of this is your fault.

It's your fault. Your fault. Your fault, yourfault,yourfaultyourfaultYOURFAULT—

World 9
"Sieghart . . . "

Your name resounds in the frozen corridor as the icy, armored silhouette of your dearest friend stands before you. At your side, Lime exclaims, "What? Sieghart! That dead soul knows your name."

Your eyes widen in surprise. It isn't him in the flesh, but you can never forget that voice. "G-Graham?"

"Sieghart . . . my friend . . . I'm so glad you're . . . a-all right . . . "

Your entire body tenses as you recall the same words Graham uttered to you a few years ago. No matter what predicament he's in, he always worries about you first—even though you're the reason he's in this mess. His kindness is undeserved, and it twists into your heart like a knife forged from obsidian.

But Graham doesn't stop there.

"We're . . . here, because of you. You're the only reason . . . everyone is dead!"

As the result of getting carried away in battle earlier, it's just you and Lime. The rest of your companions are somewhere farther behind, still catching up. With Lime's healing magic and your prowess on the battlefield, you best "Graham" in combat once he comes swinging at you with familiar yet all too crazed techniques that you recognize from the days of when he taught you, a fledgling among the Highlanders. It's only a matter of time before you claim victory.

After you've given him a sufficient beating, he says to you, "Come . . . Join . . . us."

What a sick joke.

"Yeah," you start, darkness veiling your eyes, "I wished Graham would have blamed me for everything."

If he had, you would've taken the fault and moved accordingly to make amends, shunned thus. It only makes sense to be resented for repaying kindness with the grim reaper's scythe. But Graham didn't do that. The only thing he ever did was rejoice in your health, even when he was caught in the throes of corruption that forced the two of you to do battle. And that—knowing that he wants only for your happiness after everything you've done—is more painful than anything you've ever known in all the years you've survived the tedium of longevity.

How you wish that Graham would have blamed and cursed you for betraying him.

"But that's just my wish." Your features contort in rising anger as you bare your teeth at the insulting mimicry of your friend. "If you want to mimic Graham, you'd better do it properly!"

"Si-Sieghart . . . "

Lime's innocent compassion is wasted on you. You turn to her with a reassuring smile. "Ah, don't be sad: This Graham is fake. There's no way I'd fall for such a cheap trick." You round on the fake with a snarl. "However, if the purpose was not to deceive me with an illusion . . . but to taunt me, then I'll tell you that it was successful!"

The fake, constructed from ice and magic, suddenly melts. A dense concentration of energy gathers behind you, and you whirl around in time to see someone manifesting.

"I was hoping you would like the Mind Prison," says a sadistic voice as she gains the rest of her purple-sheened form. "But then again, I'd be very upset if you were to lose your memory."

"Kaze'aze!"

"There's an old saying that ill-fated relationships are also made for each other," she says, clearly relishing your torment now that she's present. "The Ice Prison isn't so bad, you know. It seems taking away your body instead of your memory wouldn't be a bad idea."

You snort. She can take whatever she wants, but that'll do nothing to abate your hatred toward her ilk. You step forth, seething. "Even if I lose my memory . . . Even if I lose my body! We will stop you no matter what!"

World 12
In a seemingly endless void where the stars shoot across space in the distance, Heitaros cackles lowly. "As expected, longevity is like poison to humans. Is your mind this weak?"

"Tch, think what you want, will you?" you reply, looking around. Just hearing his words puts you in a foul mood, but your head isn't so clouded by hatred that you can't sort out your priorities. "Which way is it?"

"Don't try to do anything vain and wait quietly," says Heitaros, "for the new creation."

"Be quiet! Wasn't your promise wrong?" The demon eyes you, probably finding all of this unbelievably entertaining, while you snarl at him. "Didn't you say you'd give me a chance to apologize to Kyle?"

"Haven't you apologized to your satisfaction?"

"No! Rather than the illusion you made . . . I have to apologize to the real Kyle!" The demon's not important. You've come this far; you can't back out now. You turn away from Heitaros and run off in a spontaneous direction. "Where are you, Kyle!"

Like a man possessed, you run every which way without stopping until, eventually, you come across the boy. You smile, relief swelling inside you. You weren't too late, after all.

"Good! I knew we'd be able to meet like this, kid!" Your grin widens. "No, Kyle!"

Kyle's eyes widen. "Si-Sieghart? How did you . . . Could it be? You came to save . . . "

"No, I was caught as well." Kyle makes a face, clearly in disbelief that you've gotten yourself trapped under the demon's paw, and you add: "There wasn't another method of locating you."

Demons are liars; this is a universal truth. There's no way you'd buy anything a demon sells you, much less one who wreaked havoc in your dimension and now claims to be the next Creator. He can take his illusory gift and shove it. But you also know that, without accepting that gift, you wouldn't be standing in front of Kyle now.

"I don't think there's a way to get out of here," says Kyle.

"Yeah, seems that way. In spite of that, you've been enduring by yourself all this time, haven't you?"

Kyle hesitates. "Cindy shared with me a piece of her soul. I have to protect it."

Your heart aches. What a terrible mistake you made that day, lashing out at Kyle after learning of his connection to Ashtaroth and Baldinar. Back then, you conflated the three existences as one and almost cut down a child whose desires had stemmed only from a place of good in spite of his youthful proclivities. Even now, all alone as he is with an uncertain fate ahead of him, he worries about his other half foremost.

"You . . . are definitely different from Ashtaroth."

Kyle appears taken aback by your statement. Of course he does. He doesn't really understand what's going on as far as you and Heitaros are concerned. He doesn't know a thing, yet you made a victim out of him with no thought for anyone but yourself.

"I'm sorry—for getting angry at you. If I had to make an excuse," you say in a sing-song tone, "it wasn't that I was angry at you, but at myself."

"That . . . What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that you don't have to bear the guilt of Ashtaroth's sin. Destiny? Fate?" You scoff. "Hmph! Just feed them to the dogs!"

You don't believe in that rubbish. Destiny and fate may sound grand at first, but all they are is a bunch of chains, wrapped tightly around the souls they bind like a chokehold. A boy such as Kyle, who's had his life dictated by far too many, doesn't deserve that additional burden. "You're just you, Kyle."

Kyle is quiet as he processes what you've just said.

"I'm . . . Kyle. Hearing the stories Grandiel would tell about the GrandChase, I wanted . . . As one with the sword, I wanted to be someone who could overcome any obstacle."

You laugh. So childish, yet so pure. "That's a good dream. This is the moment to achieve it, Kyle! Let's overcome this obstacle together and get out!"

"No. There's no need to do it together, Sieghart."

"Huh?"

The kid proceeds to talk, ultimately apologizing to Cindy before he begins to gather the energy that forms his sword in front of him. You realize what he means to do, and your heart drops down to your stomach as you reach out for him in a panic. "H-hey! Stop!"

But it's too late. You're always too late. You can only watch while Kyle plunges his blade into himself.

Kyle, body and soul, is the host. Naturally, damage to the host reflects onto the possessor, and Heitaros howls in pain before the void crumbles around you. You find yourself back in the moonlit hall with Kyle kneeling nearby in anguish.

"Kyle! You idiot!" you cry, unable to compose yourself.

Clutching his chest, Kyle huffs. "The angel . . . told me. That if I . . . if I did this, Heitaros would disappear . . . Now everything can go back to the way they were. Now . . . this piece of Cindy's soul can . . . "

Trailing off, Kyle collapses onto the floor while you shout his name in despair. You thought you'd made it, that you could fix your mistake this time. But this is beyond your ability to right, and you're afraid for the broken child lying before you—so afraid that you almost forget how to breathe as you scramble for a solution in your useless mind.

Elesis runs in with the rest of the Chase then. Glimpsing the situation, she says, "You did it, Sieghart!"

"No . . . I wasn't the one who felled Heitaros . . . "

Arme blinks in surprise. "What? Then . . . "

How did it come to this? You snap your head up, eyes flashing in anger. "Damn angel! Putting weird thoughts into a kid's head! Kyle . . . In order to vanquish Heitaros, he stabbed his own soul!"

World 12 - Aftermath
After everything, you stand before Grandiel; however, you're unable to look him in the eyes as you say, "I'm ashamed, elf."

"No," replies Grandiel with weary understanding. "Everyone . . . did their best, didn't they? Rather, as their guardian . . . it's my fault that I wasn't there with them."

You hum noncommittally. Fault lies in you both—he, for leaving his charges when they needed him most; and you, for misdirecting your anger at a child in need. In doing so, you wronged Cindy and Kyle both. Regardless of how everything panned out, the damage you wrought can never be undone.

But the children aren't the only thread that connects you and the elf.

"And Ashtaroth," you start, voice trailing until you find it again, "disappeared with Heitaros."

"Yes, finally. Now your grudge is resolved."

You laugh faintly. Unlike your usual chuckle, the sound is weak and fatigued. The rage that had driven you for the last three centuries sputtered out the moment Heitaros disappeared from the plane of existence. Now your body feels like an empty husk, devoid of anger and joy both. "I wonder . . . " You swallow. "I don't know. I don't feel like I've accomplished anything."

At the end of the day, it's still just you. Your brothers remain dead, and it's a mystery if their souls are even intact enough to be cycled for reincarnation; after all, you broke them apart a few years ago. Now you'll live out the rest of your days with this emptiness—an echo chamber of your regrets—as you always intended.

You lift your head, though not enough to look Grandiel in the face. You're no coward, but the very air sits heavily on your shoulders as you think of the elf and his thousand years of guilt over the events that gave rise to Ashtaroth and Heitaros, starting with the loss of his dearest friend. He's hurt as much as you for even longer. Fortunately, he has his charges with whom he can enjoy his long-awaited peace.

"That's just me, but I hope you're able to leave your fetters," you say before turning away. Your business here is over. "Then I'll . . . "

Suddenly, a youthful voice shouts your name. You look warily over your shoulder. There, emerging from the wooden house behind Grandiel, Arme supports Cindy by the arm. She shouts, "Don't be so cold! You're not going to say goodbye?"

It's inappropriate for children to worry about adults. Luckily, Arme has yet to glimpse your expression. You push your numbness aside and turn away again with a mischievous grin, teasing your escape. "You're not supposed to bother the ailing for long."

"Excuses!" Arme makes it to your back at record speed and clamps a hand on your shoulder, her eyes probably glinting as she starts to pull you back. "Show some sincerity."

"Ack." You nearly fall over from her rough handling when Elesis, your descendant, cuts in between you two. Demanding that you two cut it out, she elbows you in the chest. You stagger back with a face. "Why are you hitting only me?"

"Ah!"

You and Elesis look toward the house at Arme's exclamation. Cindy stands at the door with her back to the three of you, beckoning for somebody inside. The shadowy figure steps toward the light shining across the doorway, and there he is with an uncharacteristically timid expression—Kyle.

Lucretia
Some may call it arrogance, what Lucretia did. And perhaps it is. What she's done is chilling and difficult to justify.

Even so, you can't fault her for thinking this way—not when, during your own arrogant youth, you'd elected to set aside your fellow knights and complete missions alone for similar reasons. But there's a difference between a lone wolf and a wolf who's lost her pack; the former doesn't know loneliness the way the latter does. You were once a lone wolf, but that wasn't the case for Lucretia.

You lay your hand over hers and say, not unkindly, "Lucretia. That's enough."

"Well, good thing that was more or less all of it," she replies, exhaling. "But I thought you should know. We've had—a lot of missed time."

"Thanks for sharing. But Lucretia . . . I don't think of you as an unkind person."

She cut an imperious figure when you first met her, to be sure. But you've never thought of her as cold, not when she's poured heart and tears into righting the wrongs at the cost of losing her loved ones; not when she's been doing everything she can to protect the children since the deaths started; and certainly not when you've seen her powering through the struggle of safeguarding a dwindling dormitory with more people dying and leaving her side—a fact that makes your heart ache, because you were one of those people.

Lucretia smiles. Although this bloody ordeal isn't yet over, it makes for a heartening sight. "And I couldn't think that of you, either."

A kind person? You're just a monster.

Keeping such thoughts to yourself, you lean back, effectively withdrawing into yourself as you spout off some casual remark about her talent for fixing things. It almost sounds insincere to your own ears, but you know the truth. It really is enviable: Try as you might, you've never been able to fix any of your mistakes.

But Lucretia's face falls as she watches you. "Sieghart. I do appreciate that, but—of course I see you as a person."

Your smile falters. Damn this place; she heard your thoughts just now. You try again. "Of course. Even though I'm a Highlander, I'm still human."

"But you don't think of yourself as one."

Dio's words ring in your mind unbidden: "Humans are an insignificant existence—and you are lower than them. How does a half-baked immortal monster like you still call yourself a human?"

You chuckle. "I thought that, but it's not me who has that problem."

"You're sure?" This time, you hear Lucretia's thought in your own head: I heard it just a minute ago, Sieghart . . . What a mess.

"Don't worry. I still think of myself as a human. I just also happen to think otherwise, is all."

She puzzles over this. She wants to know why, and you fire back that she already does. Lucretia is clever; surely she can connect the dots from when you shared your deepest regret with her before your death.

" . . . I thought that might be the case, but—Sieghart, you aren't."

It's as you've thought. Lucretia really is kind—so much so that it almost hurts.

Your expression darkens as you think back to that fateful day and the roaring flames, consuming your beloved family while your guilt threatened to eat you alive. How you stared out across the horizon in rumination and crumbling denial, overcome with the desire to undo everything.

"I was meant to die centuries ago. I stole their future when they gave me one by saving my life . . . What else can I be?" you ask.

"Someone who made mistakes. Who has regrets. That's—one of the most human things that there is, Sieghart."

"No . . . " She's correct, but you can't accept that it's so black and white. That would mean that their deaths were . . . "I don't believe in legends or destiny."

The legendary gladiator of Kanavan and the greatest swordsman to have graced House Sieghart, Ercnard, beloved by many and mourned by all once thought lost. What does any of that matter? That was who you were when you were mortal—the you who perished more than six hundred years ago when you'd foolishly embarked on a journey to cleanse the world of monsters on your lonesome. You're no legend now, but the last Highlander. You're immortal. Destiny doesn't apply to you; it can't.

"Then don't," says Lucretia. "Legends and destiny don't dictate your own humanity. I've seen the kind of person you can be, and you've given me your regrets—I can't agree with you. I'm not going to. You aren't monstrous."

Something inside you trembles. You can't accept that.

" . . . Mortals are tied to destiny. That's why I . . ."

If you accept that you're just human, it means that you were born to kill your brothers. Destiny led you to deliver a terrible fate to your Highlander brethren. No. You can't accept that. You refuse. There's no way their pogrom was predetermined to be carried out by your foolish hands.

Lucretia continues to grace you with her kindness.

"Even the gods of fate don't always know how things will turn out until they happen. It doesn't mean that was what you were born for—or that it was the only thing you were born for," she says. "There are—so many ways for things to go wrong in the world. So many small things that could go just that little bit differently. And there's more to your life than that one point in time, Sieghart. There's your time here, and the good that you've tried to do in this place—there's anything good you've ever tried to do with your skills and with the time you've been given."

She reaches up and rests a hand against the side of your face. It's a tender gesture that opens up the yawning loneliness and grief tucked away in your heart.

"That doesn't have to define you."

The tension in your arms unravels at her touch, and they unwind to rest your hands on your lap. Your eyes meet hers briefly, but they, too, fall despondently.

They were so many of them, and all of them unbelievably kind. Your brothers' only wish was to continue protecting the world after they'd lost their kingdom to the demons . . . If there are truly so many ways for things to go wrong; if a small difference is all it takes to change the course; if you could turn back time—you'd save them, even if it would mean dying and returning the life they gifted you.