The Choice of a Heart

Shana was driving a cart along the desert road, carrying me, Koharu , and the lifeless bodies of Max, Cassandra, and Kairo . After a long journey, she caught sight in the distance of the crumbling city walls of Merebu .

— (The city seems completely empty…) — Shana thought , as she pulled on the reins.

She stopped the cart at the entrance and looked around. The silence was total.

Suddenly, an intense light enveloped us all and, in the blink of an eye, we were teleported inside an old house.

Shana looked around, surprised.

(It seems that only people are teleported … objects and vehicles are left behind.)

A sound echoed through the room. A soft, firm female voice came from behind her.

Shana turned around and saw a woman sitting in an armchair, calmly observing her.

"Who are you?" he asked . Shana .

"My name is Almira," the woman replied calmly.

— (So she is Almira…) — Shana thought, remembering Alisiya 's words .

"What do you want by entering my city?" Almira asked , crossing her legs.

"Your city?" he asked . Shana .

"Yes. All the residents fled, afraid of our powers. Only the two of us remain," Almira replied .

"The two of us?" Shana raised an eyebrow.

— Pinitra ! — Almira looked up at the top of the stairs and called out.

A girl came down, her expression serene.

"This is my sister, Pinitra ," Almira introduced the girl.

At that moment, I slowly woke up. Shana explained everything that had happened up to that point. Almira approached Koharu and touched her face.

"The girl is experiencing a mental breakdown, caused by an overload of fear," he diagnosed.

I became alarmed.

"Can you help her?" I asked.

"I can heal her, yes. But… In the case of her dead friends, I can only resurrect one of them." Almira sighed.

Shana and I were devastated.

"So we'll have to choose just one?" he asked . Shana , incredulous.

"I can't believe it..." I murmured, looking downcast.

— ( Alisiya already knew this… this was her real plan. To force us to choose only one life.) — she thought. Shana , with suppressed anger.

"The priority now is the girl who's collapsing, Pinitra , get everything ready. I'm going to make a mental connection," Almira said .

"Okay," replied her sister, going up the stairs.

A few minutes later, Pinitra returned.

"Everything's ready. You can go up," he said . Pinitria .

In the room, there were two beds side by side.

"Hey, kid. Lie down on one of the beds," Almira said .

"Okay," I replied, lying down on the bed.

" Pinitra , use your levitation on the unconscious girl," said Almira.

— Okay. — he replied. Pinitra .

Pinitra lifted Koharu with levitation and placed her on the other bed.

Almira grabbed a chair and positioned it between the two beds, sitting down there.

"I'm going to use my power of mental connection. Before that, know that you will see memories in which both of you are present," said Almira.

— Understood — I said.

Almira placed her hands on my head and Koharu 's head , and focused her energy.

— Mental Connection.

Koharu 's mind .

He was in a vast white void. Ahead, Koharu stared blankly into space, lost.

— Koharu ! — I called .

She turned around, surprised.

— Fujimoto ? Is that really you? — he asked . Koharu .

"Yes. I came to bring you back," I replied.

Suddenly, a cold voice echoed.

Damn it!!!

A second Koharu appeared, with a vacant stare and a distorted aura.

"So you're the version created by Hiroshi's power…" I said.

"I won't let you kick me out!" shouted Koharu the slave, running towards me.

Before she could reach him, a beam of light enveloped everything, and the scene changed.

Koharu and I were at an amusement park.

— Fujimoto … what is that? — she asked .

— (Is all this a dream?) — I thought .

There were people everywhere, but nobody noticed us.

— Hi! — I called to a group.

No one answered.

I perceived.

"These are memories... we're seeing flashbacks of times when we were together," I said.

Koharu frowned.

"But I've never been here with you... nor you with me," Koharu said.

Suddenly, they saw two girls mocking another child.

"I remember that... I was seven years old," Koharu said grimly.

A boy appeared and told the two of them to stop. I was shocked.

The boy reached out his hand to the fallen girl.

- Are you well?

"Yes..." the little girl replied.

Then, the children's mothers appeared. Koharu's eyes widened.

"The mother of that boy is Satoru Karina... so that boy is you, Fujimoto ," he said . Koharu shocked.

— Exactly. — I replied.

Koharu 's mother , Sumire , yelled at her daughter, telling her that she shouldn't associate with poor people.

"It's better to have a poor but genuine child than a deceitful one," Karina replied.

Smuire grabbed her daughter by the arm and left.

— (At the time, I didn't understand what my mother meant by that… but now I know.) — I thought.

"Your mother... already knew everything about me. She's really mysterious," he murmured . Koharu .

I looked at her.

"What was it?" he asked . Koharu .

"Shall we get back to reality?" I asked her.

Koharu smiled.

"Yes," he replied . Koharu .

Back in the room, Shana watched apprehensively.

"Why are they sweating so much?" he asked .

"It's because they're watching memories where they appeared together," Pinitra explained .

Koharu and I opened our eyes at the same time.

— Fujimoto ! Koharu ! — she exclaimed. Shana .

"Yes," I replied, smiling with relief, sitting up in bed.

Almira stood up.

"Boy, you decide who will be resurrected later. But you need to be quick. I can only bring someone back if the body has died within the last twenty-four hours," he said . Pinitra .

"Resurrect?" he asked . Koharu , confused.

I explained Almira's power to her.

"So we can only choose one... I understand," he said . Koharu .

Koharu tried to stand up, but her body wouldn't respond.

"You need to rest. The mental and physical damage has affected the bones in your body," Almira said .

"Okay," he said . Koharu .

Shana approached.

"Almira, can I speak with Fujimoto alone downstairs?" he asked . Shana .

"You can," Almira replied.

— Why? — I asked .

"It's urgent," Shana replied.

I looked at Koharu .

She smiled calmly.

"That's okay. I've decided I'm not going to be jealous of you anymore," she said . Koharu .

"Okay," I said, smiling back.

Shana and I went downstairs to the living room, ready to talk.

I still didn't understand why Shana wanted to talk to me alone. She seemed uneasy, with a more serious look than usual.

— Shana , what happened? — I asked , curious.

"Have you decided who you're going to resurrect?" she asked directly, without beating around the bush.

"Not yet... but I think I already know who I'm going to ask Almira to bring back," I replied.

"I want to ask you to resurrect Max," Shana said.

Max… I knew how much she loved him.

"I know you like him, but I'll think about it carefully," I replied.

Shana crossed her arms and stared intently at me.

"I'm going to tell you a very valuable secret... but only if you agree to resurrect Max," Shana said firmly.

"A valuable secret? About what?" I asked , confused.

"It involves you and Koharu . Besides… if you bring Cassandra or Kairo back, one of them will be sad and the other will want revenge. Oh, and about our agreement, don't tell anyone until I reveal the secret, understood?" she said . Shana .

I remained silent for a few seconds. Something told me she wasn't kidding.

"Okay... I'll resurrect Max. I'll talk to Almira now." I agreed.

Shana gave a small smile.

— Thank you. — she said . Shana .

But that look... there was something strange about it.

"If the secret she's going to tell me is so serious... what could possibly shake Koharu and me so much ?"

I went upstairs to the room where Koharu was resting. As soon as I entered, she opened her eyes.

"What did Shana want?" she asked , curious.

"She asked me to resurrect Max," I replied.

She sighed.

"So she still loves him ... I hope they can start over if he comes back," she said . Koharu .

"By the way, Almira, I've already decided," I said, turning to the silver-haired woman.

"And who will it be?" she asked calmly.

— Nelman Max. — I replied.

— Understood. — said Almira.

Almira went down the stairs and stood over Max's body. A blue glow began to envelop everything around us.

Resurrection of the Soul and Body.

Her aura was impressive. Max's body began to move, and within seconds, he opened his eyes, confused.

"Where... where am I?" he asked , his voice weak.

Smile.

"My friend, you're alive," I said.

He blinked a few times, trying to process it.

— Fujimoto … I remember… I had died. — said Max.

I explained everything that had happened from the battle until then. He listened attentively, and then looked at me with a tired smile.

"So it was because of Shana that you chose me, wasn't it?" he asked , looking at her.

I looked too. Shana didn't seem happy. She seemed... worried.

" Shana ... what are you hiding?"

"I'm going to get some fresh air," she said, leaving.

"By the way, Almira, how much does the service cost?" I asked .

"The service has already been paid for," she replied matter-of-factly.

Shana , Max, and I exchanged glances.

"Paid? By whom?" I asked.

— A girl named Fedorova Alisiya . Do you know her?

My heart froze.

" Alisiya ... even this was planned by you?"

"She's my sister, but for some reason, she hates me," I replied quietly.

"I understand," said Almira.

"How do you know her?" I asked .

Almira crossed her arms.

"She usually comes here to place orders. I already suspected who she was, so I preferred to maintain a friendly relationship," said Almira.

"And how did you find out?" I asked.

"By her face. She looks a lot like Karina," Pinitra , who was on the stairs, replied.

My eyes widened.

"You... knew my mother?" I asked, shocked.

Pinitra lowered his gaze.

— Yes… but I prefer not to talk about it. — he replied . Pinitra .

I sighed.

"I understand..." I said.

" Fujimoto , where are my clothes?" Max broke the silence.

"In the upstairs bedroom," I replied.

"Can I come up?" Max asked.

Almira nodded.

"Of course," said Almira.

Max went upstairs, and Shana approached me.

"Aren't you afraid of leaving another man alone with Koharu ?" he teased .

Smile.

"I trust them," I said.

"I understand. So... shall we go outside? I want to tell you the secret," Shana asked.

"Okay," I replied.

"You can go without worry." I looked at Almira, who simply said.

Outside, the air was cool. The silence of the city of Merebu made me uneasy.

"So, what's the secret?" I asked .

Shana remained silent for a few seconds. The wind ruffled her hair.

" Koharu ... is no longer a virgin," Shana revealed.

I felt my heart stop.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"She lost her virginity in this world," she said firmly.

My hands started to tremble.

"This can't be... Hiroshi? No... impossible. She hated him. So... who?"

"Was it Kairo ? Did he suspect her and force something?" I asked , nervously.

"No," Shana replied.

"Then who was it?!" I shouted .

Shana took a deep breath.

"It was Max," Shana replied.

The ground seemed to disappear beneath my feet.

"This is a joke, right?" I yelled.

"It's no joke. They made a deal the day you, me, Cassandra, and Edygil went out to get the equipment parts," Shana replied with a sad look.

"Stop lying, Shana !" I shouted , my voice choked with emotion.

"The deal was simple: the two of them would become lovers so they could kick me out of the group if they suspected I was getting close to you," Shana explained.

I felt my blood boil.

"Take that bracelet off your arm now!" I yelled.

"The first time was during night training, when we tested the equipment. The second… was during camp, before we went to Omero . They were planning to manipulate the group's decisions." She ignored him and continued.

I couldn't hold back the tears. I ran out. I went into the house, went upstairs, and slammed the bedroom door open.

There they were, Koharu and Max, sitting and talking.

" Fujimoto , it's not what you're thinking, we were just talking," Max said , standing up.

" Fujimoto , what was that expression?" he asked . Koharu , confused.

I looked at the two of them, my chest tight.

"It's true... you two just seem to be talking. But answer me one thing..." she said, crying.

"What?" they asked together, tense.

I clenched my fists.

"Are you happy... hiding your relationship and trying to manipulate me?" I said.

The silence that followed was deafening.

They looked at each other, pale.

And I… realized that what Shana said was true.

"So that was it... it was all true."