"We both chose to protect someone in the end."
Her words lingered in the living room long after they were spoken.
Roselia slowly returned to her seat, lifting her head. Something flickered in her eyes. Maybe guilt, before she looked away.
Not long after, dinner came to a quiet end.
One by one, the others left.
Anathasia walked Carthanalenia back to her room, pausing only once to glance at me and gesture toward mine.
I understood.
—
The next morning,
Sunlight slipped through the edges of the curtains, casting pale lines across my room.
I stirred, pushing myself upright and rubbing at my eyes.
For a few seconds, I just stared at the wall in front of me.
Blank.
With a small sigh, I slipped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom, still in my pajamas.
As I passed the kitchen, a familiar figure caught my eye.
I paused.
Then took a step back, peeking around the corner of the doorway.
There, standing in front of the stove, already dressed in her blue apron—
Was her.
Anathasia.
And suddenly, memories crashed over me.
The day I first moved into this house.
Every morning like this.
The arguments.
The stupid fights.
The tears.
Now that I knew what she had given up…
I couldn't help but wonder.
What… exactly was I like before the Great Collapse…?
"You should get changed," Anathasia said suddenly over the sound of the sizzling pan.
"I'll be done with breakfast soon. Go get ready."
"Right…" I murmured. "Good morning, Anathasia."
She paused, then glanced over her shoulder.
A small smile curved on her lips.
"Mhm. Good morning."
I continued on to the bathroom.
After washing up and changing into my usual clothes, I stepped back into the hallway.
Carthanalenia had just come out of her room.
Still half asleep, she rubbed at her eyes before lifting her arms toward me without a word.
Waiting.
Without thinking, I bent down and picked her up.
She buried her face against my shoulder almost instantly, drifting back to sleep in my arms as I carried her toward the kitchen.
By the time we reached it, everything was already laid out. The sweet scent of pork tocino filled the air as we stepped inside.
"Smells good," I said, glancing at Anathasia.
She smiled back.
"Right?" she replied with a soft chuckle. "We still have attendance though, so we should get to campus early."
"Morning, Mom…" Carthanalenia yawned as I gently set her down on her chair.
"Morning to you too," Anathasia said warmly. "But it's time for breakfast, so wake up properly now, okay?"
Carthanalenia nodded slightly, her form shifting back into her adult one.
"It's already March, huh…" I muttered, taking a seat while staring at my plate. "Time flies fast."
"It sure does," Anathasia chimed in. Her spoon clinked lightly against her plate.
For a moment, I just stared at the food in front of me before finally lifting my head.
"Anathasia."
"Hm?"
"Mind if I ask something?"
I hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"Before the Great Collapse… was I…"
"Already there?" she finished gently. "Yes."
Her expression softened.
My eyes widened slightly.
"You were the first one to ask me out, actually," Anathasia continued, her gaze drifting for a second before returning to mine.
"I'm not sure if you remember… but I do."
She paused briefly.
"You were the same back then."
A faint smile curved on her lips.
"Still patient. Still steady."
She looked down at her plate, her smile softening.
"I was the indecisive one," she admitted quietly. "I asked you for more time. I said I needed to think it through. Life has its ups and downs, after all."
Her fingers tightened slightly around her utensils.
"And just when I was about to give you an answer… an accident happened."
Her voice didn't break.
"But it wasn't really an accident. Not entirely. It was something The Constant had prepared."
She lifted her gaze.
"I remember it vividly. Everything felt like it was flashing before my eyes… and yet at the same time, it felt painfully slow."
Silence lingered after that.
Breakfast ended not long after.
Once we changed into our department uniforms, we paused at the doorway. Carthanalenia stood there in her adult form, waving us off.
For the first time in nearly two years, Anathasia didn't bring us to campus instantly.
We walked.
Side by side.
Quiet.
Until she finally spoke.
"Looking back now… maybe the Great Recreation wasn't just because I didn't want existence to disappear."
She kept her eyes on the sidewalk.
"Maybe it was regret."
"Regret?"
She nodded.
"Regret for not answering you sooner. So I wanted another chance."
A faint breath left her lips.
"A second chance isn't something most people get."
Her gaze shifted toward me.
"I happened to be someone who could remake everything simply because I was there… all because I hesitated."
Our eyes met.
"Immature, isn't it?"
Her gaze lowered again.
"But as foolish as it sounds… I don't regret choosing you now."
A small pause.
"I never regretted choosing you in the first place."
We turned a corner, the sun slowly rising behind us as we walked.
Silence lingered before I finally spoke.
"In a sense… maybe it was immature," I said, my gaze fixed on the pavement beneath our feet. "But acknowledging that it was immature, knowing not everyone gets the second chance you had—and still choosing to move forward anyway?"
I let out a quiet breath.
"I think making a decision and living with its consequences, with all the uncertainty that comes with it—makes you far more mature than you were back then."
We walked a few more blocks before reaching the highway that led straight to campus. Cars and motorcycles rushed past on their way to work, the noise filling the morning air.
But right now, it all felt distant.
Muted.
When I finally lifted my head and looked at her, I saw it.
Relief.
The kind that comes from someone who's been carrying something alone for far too long.
And Anathasia—
She looked at peace.
Truly.
When her tears finally fell, I kept my eyes forward, wrapping an arm around her and gently pulling her closer as we continued walking.
The rest of the way to campus passed in quiet, peaceful silence.
As we stepped through the gates, Anathasia murmured something under her breath.
"Thank you…"
A softer whisper followed.
"I love you. Always."
I didn't need to ask her to repeat it.
By the time we reached our first class, she was sitting beside me with a soft, genuine smile. The kind that made a few of our classmates glance her way in curiosity.
Even Arianne and Robert didn't ask what happened.
They didn't need to know.
—
Hours blurred together, and before long, the day was coming to an end. Students filed out of the room while we remained seated.
With a quiet yawn, Anathasia stretched her arms over her head.
"It's finally over…"
"Yeah," I replied calmly, slipping my notebooks back into my bag.
"Still taking notes?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Just to be safe, y'know?"
"Aren't we completely exempt from everything?" she teased. "Even attendance wasn't mandatory."
"It's a small habit of mine," I said. "It's kinda hard to forget about it."
She looked at me for a second, then glanced at the windows before nodding.
"Fair."
After a while, we stepped out of the classroom together. The sky had already begun turning orange as we crossed the quad, heading home.
"Oh yeah, how's our research doing? We haven't sent a message in the group chat for days, right?" she asked as we passed through the gate.
"It's fine." I reached out to pat her head. "I already instructed everyone on what to do. Arianne took over as leader for now."
She huffed lightly, then smiled at me.
"Prepared as always, huh? I see where Carthanalenia gets her brains from."
I gently ruffled her hair.
"You're plenty smart yourself. No need to act humble around me."
A small chuckle escaped her lips.
"Guess she takes after both of us, huh?" she said, lifting her gaze toward the sky.
"I guess she does…" I replied quietly.
"Though… isn't it your turn to cook today?"
My expression flattened instantly.
"Did you really have to remind me…?"
"Well, Carthanalenia sometimes ends up doing your share. We're supposed to be the ones taking care of her."
I fell silent.
That's a hard logic to break…
Eventually, I sighed.
"Fine… I'll cook. It was my turn anyway."
Her smile widened as she took a step ahead of me.
The sun slowly sank behind the horizon as we walked home.
Quiet.
Peaceful.