"Tch."
Accelerator sat up in his hospital bed, his eyes fixed on the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock.
Staying here and stewing in his frustration wasn't going to solve the problem of the temporal manipulation.
He could handle a time stop through sheer computational force, but a systematic rewind was an entirely different beast.
It was a phenomenon that defied any logical vector or predictable trajectory.
"Are you having a rough time?"
Hearing a voice so close to his ear, Accelerator habitually prepared to ignore it. He wasn't in the mood for conversation.
"Hey! Don't you dare pretend you can't hear me."
The physical clarity of the words finally made him realize that something was wrong.
That didn't sound like a thought echoing in the back of his mind.
He turned his head to the side and saw an unfamiliar girl. She was hovering inches away from his face, her cheeks puffed out in a look of genuine indignation.
"Ah! You're not thinking about reflecting me, are you?"
"To be honest, I think even someone as talented as you would find that impossible."
Accelerator stared at the girl, who was dressed in a standard patient gown and floating lazily around him like a balloon.
"Is this a joke?"
He finally spoke, realizing that this was his "Semi-comatose" Master who was supposed to be in the ICU.
To prevent any surprise attacks, Accelerator kept his [Reflection] high and focused.
The fact that Yuuki could get this close without triggering his automatic defense indicated that her current state was composed of "Data" that he hadn't yet incorporated into his calculations.
Under normal circumstances, this was impossible.
With his level of processing power, there shouldn't be anything in this world capable of bypassing his "Redirection Wall" unless it possessed a truly extreme, rule-bending nature.
"Hehe. I knew it. You can't process me."
Hiss!
Watching her smug, smiling face, Accelerator reached out with his left hand to grab her. To his shock, his fingers passed right through her chest as if she were made of smoke.
There was no physical sensation.
It was exactly like reaching through a holographic projection.
"HEY!! What do you think you're doing?!"
Yuuki's face turned bright red as she registered Accelerator's "Chest-grabbing" attempt. She couldn't understand the boy's logic.
In what universe was that an appropriate first response?
Did this guy have even a basic shred of social common sense?
She floated backward, putting a safe distance between herself and his wandering hand, her expression one of pure annoyance.
"What exactly are you?"
Accelerator ignored her embarrassment, his tone turning serious as he issued a genuine inquiry.
"I'm not telling you!"
Yuuki decided to withhold the information for a moment, letting him sit in his confusion.
She had worked so hard to figure out how to give him a surprise, only for him to immediately turn into a "Lecher" the moment she appeared.
"Tch."
Hearing her petulant reply, Accelerator stood up and began to walk toward the door.
Yuuki immediately trailed after him, following like a shadow.
While Accelerator had to actually open the door, Yuuki simply drifted through the hospital wall without a moment of hesitation.
'The body... it's still there.'
Avoiding the notice of the doctors and nurses through his own spiritual form, Accelerator made his way to the ICU.
He looked through the glass and saw Yuuki's physical body still lying peacefully on the bed, hooked up to a variety of monitoring equipment.
'So this form... it's what people would call a ghost?'
He recalled her drifting through the wall earlier. She was clearly operating outside the established laws of physics.
He began to piece together the reality of the situation.
An "Out of Body Experience."
That was the only logical explanation for her state. It also explained why she could bypass his [Reflection].
A soul.
The essence of the human spirit was a domain that his [Vector Manipulation] could not yet fully analyze or calculate.
It wasn't that his defense had failed; it was that it simply didn't recognize the soul as a valid physical input to be redirected.
He lacked the necessary fundamental understanding of "The Spirit" to build an equation against it.
"Hey. How exactly did you manage this?"
This was a vital piece of information. Accelerator needed to know the mechanics.
If Yuuki could do it, then it was possible for other enemies to utilize similar methods to strike at his vulnerabilities.
"I'll tell you... but first, you have to apologize for what you did earlier!"
"What kind of boy just reaches out and grabs a girl there?!"
"A ghost has human rights, you know!"
Yuuki wasn't just being difficult; she was genuinely baffled by his lack of restraint.
If she didn't know that he was generally antisocial and indifferent to the opinions of others, she would have classified him as a pervert and been done with it.
"Actually... it's like this."
As Yuuki began to explain the phenomenon, Accelerator realized he had been overthinking it.
She hadn't unlocked some hidden super-power or a new Stand ability. She had simply "Wished" for it.
She had prayed and hoped with enough focal intensity that it had eventually just... happened.
"Good grief... I don't know why I expected a logical answer."
Accelerator rubbed his temple, realizing he shouldn't have expected a scientific explanation from someone like her.
"When..."
"When exactly did you start appearing like this?"
He moved on to a more practical question.
"Hehe. Only a short while ago."
"And I have some excellent news for you. I know exactly what happened before the timeline reset."
Accelerator's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't been able to perceive the rewind himself.
Could this "Powerless" Master truly possess a specialized quality that allowed her to observe the flow of time?
"Maybe it has something to do with being a ghost. I can't touch anything in the physical world, but I can move and observe with absolute freedom."
"Maybe the soul is something that already exists as a constant in this world."
"As for the rewind... well, I can't explain the science behind it. All I know is that even though the world changed for everyone else, my consciousness as a spirit remained untouched."
Yuuki recalled the sight of the terrifying Great Ape from the previous iteration.
She didn't know the exact principle, but she knew that her memories were intact.
"To put it simply... even if time is stopped or rewound, it doesn't affect your perception or your memory?"
"That's exactly right!"
Hearing the confirmation, Accelerator's lips curled into a rare, satisfied smirk.
He had been concerned that his opponents might use repeated resets to "Simulate" a way through his [Reflection] without him ever realizing it.
It would be a nightmare scenario where he was essentially being solved by a computer he couldn't see.
But with Yuuki acting as an "Observer," the playing field was level again.
He would know exactly what had transpired in every failed loop.
Even if the enemy rewound time, Yuuki could provide him with the intelligence he needed to adapt instantly.
This was arguably the most significant "Support" he could have asked for.
"Hmph."
He had expected his Master to be nothing more than a "Load" he had to carry to the finish line, but it appeared she might be far more "Useful" than his initial assessment suggested.
"Ah! You're thinking something extremely rude right now, aren't you?!"
"Just so you know, if things get too dangerous, I'm hiding back in my body."
"The physical form is one thing, but if something happens to my soul, that's not something we can just fix with a bandage."
Despite her optimistic attitude, Yuuki understood the risks.
Being free from her body was a liberation, but she was now operating at the very core of her existence.
There was no margin for error.
But Accelerator's following words offered her an unexpected sense of security.
"What kind of dream are you talking about?"
"As long as I'm here..."
"That kind of danger doesn't exist!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]