Bronya had no idea how long she'd been unconscious.
The light was blinding.
A harsh, chalk-white glow from a fluorescent lamp stabbed straight through her eyelids.
When she woke, she didn't open her eyes right away. She had been trained as an assassin long ago—so the instant her consciousness returned, she checked her condition first.
Her limbs felt heavy, like they'd been filled with lead. Rough restraints bit into her wrists and ankles.
No pain. No serious injuries.
Heavy Bunny was still usable. Good.
Only then did she slowly open her eyes, adjusting to the brightness.
Her focus sharpened.
The first thing she saw was a bowl shoved in front of her—rice topped with a few slices of pork cutlet.
Bronya fell silent. Anyone who woke up to katsudon would, by instinct, lift their head.
"You're awake? A friend told me detention centers can run out of anything, but they must have katsudon."
A man's voice.
Bronya looked up.
The desk lamp sat behind the bowl, throwing him into silhouette. Backlit, all she could make out was a dark outline: elbows on the table, hands clasped, chin resting on the backs of his fingers—wearing the kind of smile that begged to be punched.
It was that pervert.
That lunatic who'd put a gun to his own head and summoned a black monster.
Bronya remembered now—when he pulled the trigger, a three-winged demon appeared and swatted her into the air like a fly.
"Let me introduce myself," he said. "Bai Qian."
Behind him, the room was packed with people.
He'd intended to talk to Bronya alone, but this entire crowd insisted on coming along.
Not Seele.
Bronya's gaze swept past Melina, and something hot and suffocating rose in her chest.
She'd been tricked. It was a trap.
Bronya didn't speak. She simply twitched her fingers, trying to summon Heavy Bunny.
"Don't waste your effort."
Bai Qian tapped the table as if he could read her mind. "If I can knock you out once, I can knock you out twice. And these ropes are tied professionally—go ahead and try. I'm betting you won't get free."
He hadn't killed her. He'd restrained her.
That meant she had something they wanted.
"Your objective," Bronya said flatly. "What do you want?"
"Can you just surrender?" Kiana asked with heartfelt sincerity. "I really don't want to do the whole process."
Bai Qian turned and shot Kiana a glare, then looked back. "Bronya Zaychik. I think there's been a misunderstanding between us—like how you think I'm a bad guy."
Bronya stared at him.
"Aren't you?"
"Of course not. You are."
Bai Qian shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I'm just a passing Phantom Thief, doing a little charity work—saving misguided girls. Meanwhile you're out here in the middle of the night, lugging a cannon around and trying to kidnap a high school girl. That's not what good kids do."
"You can negotiate with Mama Cocolia."
Bronya refused to meet his eyes and turned her head away. "She'll offer a suitable price. Let me go."
"No, no. I'm not interested in any price."
Bai Qian lifted one finger and wagged it. "Do you even know what that old hag Cocolia is really doing?"
The moment he said old hag, Bronya's eyes snapped cold.
"Do not insult Mama."
"Mama? Ha."
Bai Qian leaned forward like he'd heard the best joke in his life. He moved in close, the beaked mask looming over her with oppressive pressure.
"You call the woman who used Seele as lab material, who planned to trigger the Third Eruption, and who implanted a biochip in your brain that can burn you into a drooling idiot at any moment… Mama?"
Bronya's pupils constricted sharply.
Biochip. Seele.
How did he know?
"Who are you?" Bronya's voice finally wavered. "Bronya does not speak with someone who won't even show his face."
Bai Qian smiled. He removed the mask.
A young face—handsome in a way that only made it more annoying.
"I'm the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Heart. We steal twisted desires." His grin widened. "And your 'mother'… her heart is black as crude oil. But this time, I'm not planning to do any 'change of heart.'"
He tipped his head.
"Want to save Seele? The real Seele."
"Cough—!"
Kiana choked on her cola so hard she almost cried.
Every time Bai Qian prepared to con someone, he wore that same solemn, righteous expression.
At the mention of Seele, Bronya stopped playing defense.
"I don't believe you," she said. "You already lied to me once. Prove it."
Her gray eyes locked on his.
"Prove you're capable of saving her."
"Hey, brainless bug. Come here."
Bai Qian crooked a finger at Kiana like he was calling over a hyperactive husky.
"Huh?! Why are you calling me that? And why not just call me Kiana?"
She complained—then immediately set her cola down and hopped right over.
She glanced at Bronya tied to the chair, then at Bai Qian, her eyes full of that clear, uncomplicated stupidity.
"Hold out your hand."
"Oh."
Kiana held out her right hand.
Bai Qian pulled out the S.E.E.S.-standard Evoker and slapped it into her palm.
Bronya's gaze snapped to the object instantly. If she remembered correctly, this was what he'd used to summon that thing.
"Kiana, you remember the motion I showed you earlier?"
"Which one? The 'Persona' one?"
Kiana's face went crimson. She looked around the room and, for the first time, regretted coming to watch. "Doing that in front of everyone is super embarrassing!"
"Weren't you saying it looked cool before?" Bai Qian patted her shoulder. "Your dream came true—now use it to turn an enemy into a friend."
He spoke like he was telling her how to breathe.
"Just… imagine dying without Mei. Imagine the feeling of really dying. Then pull the trigger."
"What does 'really die' even mean?! Can't I just fake it?!"
Kiana swallowed hard, inhaled deeply.
Fine!
If he was telling her to do it, what else could she do?
She raised the Evoker and pressed the muzzle to her temple.
"Persona!"
Eyes squeezed shut, she shouted—and pulled the trigger.
There was no gunshot.
Blue soul-fire burst from Kiana's temple and flooded the entire room. The harsh white light turned into an eerie deep blue and dark violet wash.
Within that flame, a figure slowly took shape.
It wasn't a Persona.
Long purple hair. Golden eyes.
Sirin opened her eyes—no arrogance, no violence—just a completely baffled expression as she stared at all of them.
"…What are you doing…"
Ever since she'd opened part of her Herrscher authority to Kiana, Kiana's inner world had become more accessible too. Maybe that was why the old TV signal never cut out anymore.
She'd been watching the show.
Why the hell had they dragged her out?
The Second Herrscher—Sirin.
Bronya recognized her instantly. She froze in the chair like she'd been struck by electricity.
She hadn't seen Sirin in person, only in footage and photos from Anti-Entropy's database.
But there was no mistaking her.
"It's nothing," Bai Qian said lightly. "Just letting you take a little walk."
He motioned Kiana to put Sirin back immediately.
"You—!"
Sirin barely got a word out before Kiana shoved her back inside.
Kiana flung the Evoker away like it burned. Bai Qian caught it without even looking.
"Waaah! I actually summoned her! I wasn't ready to have a heart-to-heart with her yet!"
"Did you think I was lying to you?" Bai Qian asked lazily.
He pocketed the Evoker and turned back to Bronya.
Bronya's face had gone even paler.
"Did you see it?"
"That was the Second Herrscher—Sirin. Your database should have her recorded. She died in the Second Eruption, right?"
Bronya didn't answer. She was still trapped in the shock.
"I can bring a Herrscher who vanished back into reality."
Bai Qian walked up, crouched down, and met her gaze head-on.
"Then pulling an ordinary living girl out of the Sea of Quanta… is just a matter of time and opportunity for me."
He was absolutely abusing Bronya's ignorance of Personas to bullshit his way through—
—but his claim wasn't entirely empty.
Worst-case, he could enlist Herta and squeeze out a little help.
Maybe not to Aha's level, but getting someone into the Sea of Quanta to fish a person out? That seemed doable.
Slowly, Bronya lifted her head.
Her eyes had changed.
"What do you want?"
Her voice was still stiff, but the chill that kept everyone at arm's length had cracked.
"Simple." Bai Qian stood and spread his arms toward the roomful of weirdos behind him. "Bronya Zaychik—leave Anti-Entropy. Join us."
Everyone else had grown used to this side of him. No one even looked surprised anymore.
"No matter whether this is an idol agency or a world-saving squad—if you want to save Seele, if you want to find yourself again, then become my companion. My Phantom Thieves need people."
"You want Bronya to betray Mama Cocolia? Even if Bronya were made to jump off this building, Bronya would never—"
Bronya shook her head immediately.
"Kid, don't call it betrayal." Bai Qian waggled a finger. His smile vanished, replaced by a startling sincerity.
"We are the righteous side. This isn't betrayal. This is leaving darkness for the light."
He continued, voice steady.
"When Cocolia took you in, maybe there was a shred of kindness in it—sure. But when she used you for experiments… she may have hesitated, she may have suffered, but she still made her choice."
"If she completes her plan, the Third Eruption will kill an entire city."
"She 'saves' Seele along the way, sure—but then what?"
"Will Seele still smile and call you 'Big Sister Bronya' if she learns you saved her with tens of millions of lives?"
Bronya opened her mouth.
"Bronya doesn't care. Bronya can do anything for Seele—"
"Yeah," Bai Qian cut in, "and then you die, and she dies too, and everyone gets to meet happily ever after in the afterlife."
One sentence—Bronya choked on her words.
"But now there's another road in front of you."
"You can save Seele without forcing her to carry that guilt."
"You can hear that sweet 'Big Sister Bronya' again."
Tarula almost wanted to clap.
So this was what he'd been like in the group chat—his ability to stir hearts was insane. Put him in a tavern with a podium and he'd start a revolution.
If it were Alina instead of Seele…
Tarula would've surrendered ages ago.
Bai Qian circled behind Bronya and gently pressed her shoulder, voice turning almost conversational.
"Think about your version. You save Seele, you take the blame and die."
"And then I show up."
"Comfort her, slip into her heart… we fall in love, get married, have two kids—"
"…Wait."
Even Bronya couldn't keep her composure.
"What do you mean you 'naturally' fall in love and marry Seele?"
The people watching behind them collectively stiffened.
This guy was so rotten.
"So what? Your life ending doesn't mean everyone else's does."
Bai Qian lounged back into his chair, utterly shameless. "I'll play the blond punk, haul her onto a street-racing bike, hang your photo in our marital bedroom, and let you watch me and Seele enjoy our blissful newlywed life every single day."
He added, as if it were a professional credential:
"Relax. I'm a galgame master. I'll help her forget you fast."
"No! That's not okay!" Kiana wailed from the back.
If it were her, and Mei fell for someone else—no! At least mourn her for three years first!
She refused. She rejected reality.
Cold sweat slid down Bronya's face.
This man… actually sounded like he would do it.
"But you still have another path."
"Join me."
"I'll save Seele."
"I'll make sure you hear 'Big Sister Bronya' again."
"I'll let you and Seele live happily together."
"And the price is simply Cocolia—the woman who made you lab animals."
Bai Qian held a fist out toward Bronya, slowly, deliberately.
"For Seele… use betrayal on Cocolia."
No.
Bronya felt like she'd been split in half.
Half of her screamed that this was for Seele.
The other half screamed that she couldn't betray Mama Cocolia.
She couldn't… she couldn't do this.
She couldn't forget the kindness Mama had shown her—
She couldn't ever repay it—
But in the end, Seele—and conscience—pressed down harder than Cocolia ever could.
"…Bronya understands."
"…Bronya will join you."
I'm sorry, Mama Cocolia.
It's not that Bronya wants to leave Anti-Entropy—
It's just… the price you offered is too tempting.
"Bronya will… hang Mama Cocolia's name and photo in the orphanage someday."
Bai Qian finally let his grin break free. He personally untied Bronya's ropes.
"That's right! Bronya, you're ten times the hero Cocolia ever was!"
He clapped her shoulder like they were old friends.
"It wasn't you who betrayed Cocolia."
"It was Cocolia who betrayed you."
Heavy Bunny appeared. Bronya rose into the air, silent.
Bai Qian didn't mind the tsundere.
Yes—tsundere. In his galgame world, there was no such thing as "hate."
"You don't even have to face Cocolia yourself," he said. "Just tell me where she is."
"So what now?" Kiana scratched her head. "We're going to change Cocolia's heart? Make her a good person?"
"No."
Bai Qian's voice went flat.
"There's a difference between a bad person and an evil one. Some can be changed. Some can't."
"Cocolia is the kind you can't change."
"I don't think I'm some saint," he continued quietly, "but I refuse to kneel to a world where one person's obsession can kill tens of millions."
In his palm, Whisper appeared.
He raised the ornate, flower-engraved gun and aimed it out the window.
In a world where evil runs rampant, where people die because someone decides they're expendable…
Does anyone hear the dead whispering?
When the hand behind the curtain uses children to satisfy its ends…
Does it hear the whispers those children leave behind?
The displaced. The bereaved. The broken.
Do their hearts whisper nothing at all?
They can't speak anymore.
So the living must speak for them.
Even if it's only a whisper.
"I'm going to kill her," Bai Qian said, calm as stone.
"Like slaughtering a chicken."
"Like crushing a brick."
"Like breaking a tile."
-------
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