57: Renewed Resolve

Tom felt his memories reassembling—but deep inside, he feared the events unfolding were stretching beyond anything he could still control.

“Rena, what are you doing… over there…?
I’ve been working so hard—trying to rewrite this ridiculous story from the start…!”

Before him, a surreal scene shimmered across the surface of the Eternal Mirror.
There, in school uniform, stood Rena beside little Tom.
The two of them were facing the pond, as if waiting for something—or someone.

“Calm yourself, Tom Hawthorne.
This vision is simply a reflection of your own expectations.
Fragments of your memory, surfacing as you recall them, have linked with the mirror and formed this projection.”

“My expectations…?
So you’re saying this is just… my imagination?”

“This image is generated using a high-level technique known as Mill.
You may not remember it now, but it’s actually part of your original ability.”

“Mill? What’s that supposed to mean?” Tom furrowed his brow in frustration.

“Short for Memory Illusion.
It’s the pinnacle of mirror-based technology—created under the blessing of the Eternal Mirror.”

“Why… Why would I have an ability like that?”

“That’s something only you can answer,” Rena replied gently, pointing to his forehead.

Something instinctual stirred within Tom.
He suddenly pictured a blank page from one of the ancient books—a blank canvas, open to any story he could imagine.
If that kind of medium could be carried anywhere, then surely it was a “universal ability.”
And then, something caught his eye.

“This is it! I’ll borrow this book… and go straight into that world reflected in the mirror!
I’ll change the ending to this long, tragic story!”

Without hesitation, Tom snatched one of the ancient tomes drifting through the air and dove headfirst into the vision shown within the Eternal Mirror.

“That’s what matters most to you now… isn’t it?
Then go for it, Tom.”

Even though his memory was still incomplete, the black-clad Rena believed—no, knew—that Tom would see it through to the end.

“I’ll turn this imagined world into reality!
No matter what happens—I won’t make the same mistake twice!”

With the ancient book in hand, Tom swam through the shimmering ripple of the mirror, drawn toward the entrance of his imagined world.
Having journeyed through countless dimensions, and with his memories finally reforged, the reliable student Tom loosened his school tie.
And then, gently, he landed at the edge of the pond—where Rena and little Tom were standing.
As he stepped out from the mirror’s current and felt the gravity return, he firmly planted his feet on the grass and shouted:

“Rena! Leave the rest to me!
You don’t have to do anything else now—it’s okay!”

He ran up to the two figures and looked directly at his younger self.
Wearing a T-shirt with a cartoon cow and bright red pants, the boy stood there, still halfway between childhood and who he would become.
Tom couldn’t help but smile fondly at the strangely nostalgic sight.

“Big sis, I don’t see Rena anywhere.
Maybe… this isn’t the right world?
Or maybe… we were too late…”

“Don’t give up, Tom!
The Rena you’re looking for… she’s somewhere near this pond—I know it.
I once met the child version of myself here too.
I can’t explain it very well, but I can feel her close by. Really close.”

From their conversation, it was clear they hadn’t noticed high school Tom’s arrival at all.
When he reached out to place a hand on Rena’s shoulder, his hand passed straight through her without resistance.

“What…?
It’s like… they’re just projections—there’s no substance at all!”

He tried again, gently aiming to pat his younger self’s head.
But his fingers passed through even the softest strands of the boy’s chestnut hair.
They couldn’t hear him.
He realized that not even his voice was reaching them.

“In this imagined world… I can’t physically interact with anything.
Or maybe… I’m overlooking something important?”

Tom flipped open the blank pages of the book he’d brought from the mirror world, searching for some kind of clue.
Faint, unreadable characters began to rise from the paper.
He traced them slowly with his finger.

“I can’t make this out… But still, I know I’m on the right path.
Even in this uncertain world, there’s something I’m meant to do.”

As if responding to his conviction, the faded words became clear on the page.
He read them aloud.

“‘Look within yourself and believe.’
I… I can read it?
I can actually read English… even me, who always hated it!”

With growing confidence that each step was bringing him closer to something real, Tom turned back to the two figures and continued watching them quietly.

“Rena… those words you once gave me…
‘Don’t doubt—just believe.’ That’s what you said, right?”

Preparing himself for whatever unknown event was about to unfold,
Tom adjusted the collar of his familiar school uniform.
Even as he walked between worlds like a character in one of his stories, that uniform was still a part of his daily life.
And no matter what unforeseen trials awaited him, Tom was ready—confident in his heart that he could face them.