Aurelie

The ceremony ended shortly after I'd accepted my position as leader of the newly formed resistance. The turn had left a bitter taste on my tongue that wouldn't go away no matter how much water I swashed in my mouth; I wished the focus had stayed on Lucinda and the others.

"What are you doing?"

I looked up at Yahime from the water basin I was crouched at.

"I'm trying to get this stain off of my hands."

Yahime's ringed eyes squinted at me. She was in the new human form she'd acquired from her second awakening. It was fine except for the fact that aside from her eyes, she was practically my mirror image.

Her face, height, and hair were all the same. Only her skin tone was off, a few shades greyer than my own. Then there was the refinement about her that I lacked. In truth she looked like I would have if my body weren't still recovering from the starved state I'd found it in. With everything that had happened, it was hard to remember I'd only been living in Royal Hearts for around two months.

"There's nothing on them."

I lifted my hands from the water and looked at the rusty tint discoloring them. How could she not see it? She had the same [PERFECT SIGHT] I did.

"Kyomi, stop."

She caught my wrist before I could dunk it in the basin again and sandwiched my hand between hers. They were cold, a temperature Yahime's body had never had before.

"Who are you?"

I'd been holding back the question in spite of everything that had transpired since her awakening. With the burial ceremony concluded and the villagers celebrating the memories of the deceased and their victory, it seemed as good a time as any.

"Come with me."

I let Yahime guide me along the edge of the village. I was glad she hadn't where anyone could see her —I wasn't ready to give answers I didn't have— and we stopped once we could see the burial site.

"What—"

She covered my lips with her finger and pointed.

Six familiar shadows loomed over the graves. They stared at them with empty white halo eyes until one by one seven bright orbs rose from the ground and floated beside them.

"Your sisters?"

"Yes."

She didn't elaborate and we watched the strange second ceremony play out. Unlike Yahime, the Dusk's movements were stiff and clunky, like living scarecrows lumbering across a field. Then I saw them. Dozens of Seele gathered at the tree line, gnashing and growling. They outnumbered the Dusk five times over, but not a single one approached. It was actually the opposite: the closer the Dusk's got to the hounds, the further they retreated.

"It reminds me of when we first met," I said absently. "Though there were more dead monsters."

"Were you scared?"

"Of course I was scared! I was a middle-aged woman in a dead teenager's body about to be ripped apart by nightmare wolves!"

Yahime laughed. It was warm and sweet, things I would have never associated with the Dusk before.

"Tell me the truth. Are you really Yahime?"

Her name in my status window still read ??? and was stuck in an error loop whenever I tried to do anything with it.

"Yes. No. Both?"

So informative. If I wanted vague answers to important questions, I'd still be working at my old company.

"Then let's start with this. After Richard reflected my attack, I got an alert that you, Yahime, died."

She told me everything that happened afterward. How she found herself in a void reliving memories. How she'd found her broken self calling for me. And how she'd awoken remembering who she was.

I think a part of me had known, or at least suspected. The clues hadn't been subtle and my conversation with Vide had almost confirmed it. This just put the last doubts to rest.

"So what does that mean for us?" I asked her. "I'm masquerading in your body. Should we find a way for me to give it back?"

"No," she held her hand up and transformed it between its Dusk and bestial forms before returning it to normal. The precision of her movements was mesmerizing and I felt a tinge of jealousy. "I think this body suits me. And I want to stay as your familiar."

"Why? Regardless of what body, you're free to do what you want. Why shackle yourself to me?"

She shrugged. "It just feels right. Like for the first time in my, well, maybe not life, I'm doing something I want to. Besides, it's not like you enslaved me. We can break the pact at any time."

It was true. The reason most people couldn't form pacts with Dusks was because they required the consent of both parties. Normal Dusks either refused or weren't able to consent.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO NAME ???

This again? Why does it keep popping up when I can't—

FAMILIAR NAME [YAHIME] HAS BEEN REGISTERED

"Wait, what?"

I hadn't inputted a name or confirmed the selection. Did she even want to go by Yahime anymore?

"I chose it. Aurelie Scelerat is dead. She died a miserable, spiteful girl, never knowing love or kindness. I'm not her. I was given a second chance with someone who loves and cares for me, who worries about me even when I'm the one who's always saving her."

My cheeks flushed and I wished she didn't have [PERFECT SIGHT] to see.

"T-Thanks for the compliment. I didn't think that deeply about it."

"That's why I love you. You did those things because it's who you are. You could have abused my power, driven me to commit atrocities. But when I didn't want to kill, you didn't make me. Though it might have been a little irresponsible to let me play with children."

We laughed at the absurdity of it. Why had I? I'd just gone along with everyone else, but in hindsight it was pretty irresponsible.

"We should head back. I'll transform back to my Dusk form while we're around the villagers to avoid confusion."

"I doubt they'll care. They'd probably love the fact we look the same. But before that, I need to ask. Should we stop?"

Her eyes flickered at the question.

"I mean, I started this journey with the intent to avenge you, to make the main cast of the game pay for what they did to you. But now that you're here, I feel like I should leave that choice up to you."

"I'm not sure. Part of me wants to just move on. But the empire will never leave these people alone. I know that better than anyone."

She knows it too, then. Even if we gave up trying to get revenge, my new position doesn't change. And there's that edict Vide gave me. I guess I do owe her for saving me from the [DUSK RAGE] recoil.

"Then let's continue down this road, together. Whether we do it to avenge you, Bixey, Lucinda, and the other villagers, or to save the Exiled, our path leads to the same place.

"To the Twilight of the Empire."