Chapter 19:

Candidate for tomorrow

Little green apocalypse


The rain has passed.

It’s time…

It’s time to go.

The sun is back.

Maybe to wish us a good luck.

The thought has kept me from sleeping well.

I guess I’m not made to take the stress of these times…

“I’ll let you get ready. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

“Ok!”

… Are you ready, Harp?

Today, we’re giving our all!

This will make use more activities together!

And you’re going to meet grandma!

You’re not happy?

… Haha! It tickles!

It makes me happy that you’re too.

I will show you. I can be brilliant, too.

I want to become a star.

“I’m ready, Hiko.”

“Don’t you think you’re forgetting something?”

“… Reward?”

“Piano.”

“… I promised you.”

“Well, Piano for the three of us.”

“In that case, you have to guess the three songs I’m going to play.”

“And what do I win?”

“… A meeting with Harp?”

“This is a very interesting gift! I accept.”

The first music will be…

E #D E #D E B D C B

“… Beethoven!”

“… Which song?”

“… Für Elise.”

“One point.”

“Next one…”

C C C D E D E C E D D C

« By the light of the moon!”

“From who?”

“… Beethoven?”

“Wrong answer!”

“Everything will be decided on the last music…”

“… But that will be for later.”

“What?! But…”

“I played the piano for you, if you want the sequel, you have to stay alive.”

“Ah… What cruelty…”

I did well to revise…

“Well. We left!”

“… You crush my hand, Lyre.”

“Ah! Sorry!”

“… Relax. You’re not going to get much like this. Breathe.”

*Inhale*

*Expire*

“Ah… I’m tense.”

“It’s understandable, and you make others feel it… Haha.”

“Can we see this as a family excursion?”

“Let’s say I would have preferred a better name for that, but okay.”

“Do you think I can?”

“Can what?”

“…”

“I’m joking.”

“Do I really need to answer that?”

“You find me weak, doesn’t you…?”

“You have a lion’s heart.”

“You’re brave. This is a quality and a flaw”

“The heroes put themselves forward. But these are the ones who suffer the most.”

Heroes are the first to die.

Cowards will be the lasts.

These words echo in my head…

“It will be your judgment that will do everything else.”

“… Will you assist me?”

“I’ll do whatever I can, but I don’t have your power.”

“And if your sister is like you…”

“I’ll look more like a dead weight than anything else.”

“But right now, your sister is a kind of your ‘Nemesis’, she’s your exact opposite.”

“She doesn’t care about human life. Her only goal is you. You are her imagine. You are who she wanted to be.”

“But life doesn’t always give us a choice, Lyre.”

“I guess it hasn’t always been easy for her.”

It must have been hell.

I’m the one who should have been in her place.

“… No one should have been there first instance.”

“Your mother brought her to life because she wanted to know more about you.”

“Playing with life always comes with a cost.”

“And we are here pay the costs.”

“… Even though they were bigger than expected.”

“I know it was your sister who killed my brother and my father…”

“In that case, how should I behave? “

“Should I curse her because her behavior has caused me harm?”

“Or should I understand her, because she wasn’t inclined to make a reasonable choice?”

“Can you answer that, Lyre?”

“…”

“I can’t blame those who were led to make stupid choices.”

“I should rather curse those who led her there.”

“… But at the end, it’s just a vicious cycle.”

“We mustn’t feed the vicious cycle of hatred. Everything stops when you decide to break the link.”

“I’m not relieving my sister of all accusation, but I’m saying that you shouldn’t accuse her of everything…”

… I hope my answer was correct.

“For once, it’s me who’s having trouble to understanding you…”

“Maybe you are becoming more human than I am.”

“…”

“Our fate may have been linked, after all.”

“We were meant to meet no matter what.”

“Yes... It was the choice of…-”

“…”

“What was that noise, in the distance?”

“It doesn’t make me happy to hear that…”

“… Hurry up!”

“…”

“Lyre!”

I’m a dragon.

Grow…

The wings of my freedom!

“…”

“Are you riding on my back, or in my arms?”

“… Are your sure you’re going to be okay?”

“I’m Lyre. The great dragon. You will know my wraith… And perish from my hands!”

“… Was it a good introduction?”

“It’s not the time to make roleplay!”

“Ah! … Ok, I got it, I got it…”

“… Take me in your arms.”

“…”

Almond cushion.

“Stop with that!”

“Haha! Hang on! We take off!”

Well, I hope.

*FWOOOSH*

Creation.

“… You sway a lot.”

“This is my first time flying… I’m not sure how to do it.”

“… Eh?”

“Ah… Ah!!!”

“Fly! Fly!”

“I’m trying!”

How do we use wings?!

Like that?

No.

“We’re going into a spin…!”

I have to use them to stabilize myself.

Both at the same time…

… Now!

And then… Move simultaneously.

Stroke the air…

I must feel in on my wings.

Feel its resistance.

“… Let me know in advance next time.”

“I thought I was going to regurgitate everything I ate…”

“… Sorry about that.”

“Do you see something?”

“We’re still a bit far away, it’s hard to tell.”

“How soon do you think you will get there?”

“… I could be there in two minutes, but our bodies wouldn’t handle it.”

“In particular yours.”

“So let’s say about fifteen minutes.”

“Am I too heavy?”

“Absolutely not. You’re as light as a feather.”

“But if you’re worried, you can always tell me stories to distract me.”

“I don’t see the connection, but okay…”

“This is the time I almost died.”

“Don’t you have something happier…?”

“We were on a plane, and he suddenly pick up.”

“We went through a cumulonimbus.”

“Are you talking about the white birds that fly without flapping their wings?”

“… Yes.”

“Normal that he picks up then.”

“But they are using another way to fly.”

“They have reactors and ailerons on them.”

“I see. Understood.”

“But luckily, the pilots managed to get the plane to gain altitude before crashing into the sea.

“You were born with natural luck.”

“In a way, that reassures me… You’re a little immune to death.”

“Luck doesn’t really work like that… Haha.”

“Looks like you’re planning to take me back to your cave to display me along with your others treasures.”

“Can I take you as a trophy?”

“I’d rather you avoid…”

“Why are you saying that anyway?”

“Dragons are used to accumulating wealth. They are tall, strong, and their coming can be seen as herald of a coming calamity.”

“… The calamity has already passed for us, hasn’t it?”

“But we can end it, can’t we?”

“How do you plan to go about it with your sister?”

“… I have to talk to her first.”

“I have to hear her convictions, face to face.”

“And that’s when I’ll decide the next.”

“…”

“If you make a mistake, I’ll catch up to you.”

“Don’t be afraid to count on me. All in all, I must be able to do it, right?”

“I meant to.”

“You won’t slip away!”

“Hahaha! Stop that! I’m going to fall!”

“… You will stay with me.”

“…”

“If my mom doesn’t accept you, we go to B Plan.”

“B Plan?”

“I’m kidnapping you and we’re going to live on the moon.”

“That clearly wasn’t the original goal, this one!”

“And, I need oxygen for myself to live in space. Do you know that?”

“Harp need it too.”

“…”

“I can store oxygen in my body and…”

“No, no! Don’t go trying crazy things just on a whim!”

“… C Plan in this case.”

“We will go and live in the ocean abyss.”

“… Your mother is that scary?”

“… And why do you really want to kill me?”

“Why do all these choices look like forced kidnapping?”

“Besides, I’m not sure you can live without the sun.”

“… That’s true.”

“ D Plan!”

“Do you still have a lot of plants like that?!”

“Thirty-six others.”

“I don’t know if I should be afraid of your dedication or be impressed by your interest in me…”

“You will live with me forever. No way I’ll let you run away!”

“You’re not from the mafia, Lyre!”

“… Can’t I buy you even with a beautiful flower?

“No… These days doesn’t exist anymore.”

“I said that for fun…”

“… The past is not all about beautiful things.”

“Past history has shown us that the greatest genius could have his ideas misused, to precipitate the downfall of all mankind. Even of the planet.”

“Intelligence is not a sign of kindness. Our species still has to evolve, enormously.”

“… This is only how we will travel through the Universe.”

“And maybe, in the end, we will survive.”

“But for now, it’s already hard survive just at home.”

“Speaking of people…”

“Don’t you think the place is quite empty? I haven’t seen Hypno-plants in a while.”

“… It’s true. I hope they haven’t vanished.”

“Your sister wouldn’t do that. If she did, it wouldn’t be in her best interest.”

“That doesn’t bode well for me, Lyre…”

“We’re here to take care of the future. But I agree with you.”

“I hope you’re wrong.”

“I hope so too.”

Five minutes later, we got there.

A laboratory on a hill.

Well, I imagine it’s one.

“Is it really here, Hiko?”

“Sounds like it anyway…”

HERE YOU ARE AT LAST!

I HAVE WAITED FOR YOU SO MUCH, MY DEAR SISTER!

“… Show yourself, Lys!”

“We need to talk.”

“Absolutely, my dearest sister.”

“What do you want from me?”

“… You already know why I’m here.”

“What do you want?”

“Me? I only want one thing…”

“… By the way, who’s this person?”

“This is my…”

“… Hiko?”

“I’m her husband.”

Husband?!

“… Isn’t that a bit too much?”

“Husband?”

“HUSBAND?!”

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER, INSOLENT?!”

“Mom?!”

“Dearest mother?!”

“I told you to stay inside.”

“I will ask you to…”

“Do you really want to lay your hand on your mother?”

“… Excuse me.”

“LYRE!”

“Ye-Yes!”

“Is it true what he says?”

“… Yes.”

“You already know the price. Clench your teeth.”

No…!

“I missed you, my dumb little girl.”

“…”

“I’m back.”

I had missed her warmth…

And her scent still the same.

She’s going to kill me.

If I tell her that…

I can’t definitely tell her about Harp.

“But you still deserve it!”

“Ouch!”

“I don’t know why, but a voice told me to do it.”

“… Who’s Harp?”

“Eh?”

“… Eh?”

“How do you know that name?”

“My dear sister was thinking about it.”

“Name?”

“You. What’s your name?”

“… Hiko, ma’am.”

You could call me miss, damn it! Do you think I’m so old?”

“Sorry miss.”

“Ah. But I’m really old. Forget it.”

“What have you done to my daughter?”

“He’s for nothing mom! It was done, like that…”

“… Like that?!”

“Kid, I’m going to kill you.”

“We’re going to team up, Lys.”

“Eh? No! It shouldn’t…”

“Do you have something to say about it?”

“… No.”

“Very well. Ready. Fight. G… - “

“No! Hold on!”

“Hiko didn’t do anything! It’s not his fault!”

“So, it’s my dumb girl’s fault?”

“…Yes.”

“…”

“… Me, who thought that not teaching you that sort of thing would prevent you from doing it as well.”

“… Wasn’t that cause she wasn’t human?”

“That was the secondary reason, that.”

“What happened to my pure little Lyre…”

“… Something happened.”

“Let me explain to you!”

“… You know I hate when people being to explained things, Lyre.”

“…”

“But that’s, it’s only in normal times.”

“In exceptional circumstances, exceptional measures.”

“Lys. Can you give us ten minutes?”

“… As you wish, my dear mother.”

“Now explain everything to me.”

“Well…”

I’ve explained it to her since the moment It happened.

Everything I could find out about it.

And then than I didn’t know what had caused it.

I also told her about my powers, and Hiko’s as well.

“That’s a lot in a month and a half, do you realize that?”

“I just gave you this time…”

“How can you two cause me so much trouble?!”

“… The situation is quite serious, mom.”

“We don’t change the past, my daughter.”

“No need to feel sorry for ourselves.”

“… Your case is complicated.”

“I would even say particular.”

“But I’m going to start from the same principle as using your power.”

“Your Zero Negative Emotional Threshold, it consists of deploying sharp objects in a chaotic fashion on your body.”

“The mess in your head makes you model things on the surface of your body, and inside.”

“If your power is able to activate, by a simple moment of emotion…”

“…”

“You’re not supposed to conceive through others, like this woman said.”

“But this is the second time.”

“… The first time I found you, you were inside a wildflower.”

“I thought I killed you by tearing you away from her…”

“… But this is the truth about your birth.”

“Everything indicates that you are capable of being self-sufficient.”

“You have to be able to cook yourself, shrink or even transform your limbs endlessly.”

“You have control of your molecular structure.”

“… Mom, go slower… I’m having more and more trouble understanding what you mean…”

“…”

“This is the power of Love, sweetheart.”

“Harp won’t exist if you don’t feel love.”

“Love is a gateway to your power. To the expression of your power.”

“…”

Love?

“… You need to be taken care of urgently. Who knows when he will have to go out.”

“You already know how he should get out, right?”

“… No.”

“Useless girl.”

“Stop! It’s mean…”

“Rah! You have far too much to learn! Can you raise a child properly? Can you?!”

“…”

“… I’m kidding. This is what my parents told me when I found you, when you were born.”

“Not being able to hide from then where you were from, I had to tell them that I gave birth to you.”

“You’re competent, Lyre. You learned to take care of yourself, right? And most of all, you know how to take care of others.”

“I don’t have to worry about you at all.”

“Even though I would have preferred you to stay small all your life, I that way I could have kept you with me all your life…”

“…”

“But we’ll discuss that later. You need to correct my mistakes.”

“Children who pay for their parents’ mistakes, what a bad mother I could have been…”

“You’re not a bad mother! You’re the best! Without you, I would no longer of this world…”

“Who would pick up a child he found in the woods? A bad mother would have ignored him.”

“You didn’t even try to abandon me.”

“Even if your parents didn’t agree…”

“You made me grow up. You showed me things, and you taught me to be the way I’m now.”

“My life won’t be enough to thank you long enough.”

“I love you. I don’t want you to think that about you…”

“You did everything you could!”

“…”

“It makes me happy that you think that about me.”

“So I didn’t do such a bad job at the end of the day.”

“Well, Lyre. If you win this fight, you would be entitled to a last name!”

“You know… A name for your family.”

“Are you okay with that, young man? No… Hiko?”

“…Yes!”

“Well. Bring me back Lys. I’ll take care of the rest. If any of you die, I will curse you, even in hell.”

“DID YOU HEAR ME, LYS?!”

“I got the message, my dearest mother.”

“Then. Can we finally have some fun, dearest sister?”

“… I’ll make you come to your senses, Lys!”

“And finally, you’ll be able to come home, with us.”

“… Again, this illuminated idealism.”

“Ok. Try to see.”

*Snap*

“A little crowd, to admire the fight?”

Hypno-plants… came out of the ground.

It’s everywhere!

“It’s show time, Lyre! Don’t disappoint me!”

“… I’m waiting for you, Lys.”