Guam
Five Minutes After the Alleged Operation Truth
Dawn
An operator stared at the command center's screen.
His eyes drifted downward, scanning through the documents in his hands before looking back toward the display once more.
"Did we carry out any operations in the southern Philippines?"
"I'm pretty sure we didn't." A woman carrying a mug of coffee casually replied as she passed by, picking up a sheet resting on the table.
"We detected spatial and temporal fluctuations in northern Mindanao, yes," she took a quick sip from her mug, "but it only happened once or twice. I think the higher-ups ignored it shortly afterward."
"Especially with that unidentified organization operating around the area."
The man's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Operator Lilian... then what about these deployments written here?"
He placed the papers onto her desk, pointing toward one of the paragraphs.
The woman merely raised an eyebrow before glancing through the file.
Her eyes skimmed over the reports before slowly lifting back toward him.
"Isn't this just another clerical error?"
"There aren't even any financial records showing we purchased Jackal Model-003 armored vehicles within the past few months."
The man suddenly slammed his fist onto the table.
"These reports don't add up!"
His voice rose sharply while the woman simply stared back at him with complete deadpan.
"There are men missing."
"Five teams. Completely gone."
"And you're telling me it's simply an error?"
"We're talking about lives here, Operator Lilian."
"The TCA exists to ensure the safety and continuity of humanity."
"But dismissing the possibility of lives being lost..."
His voice lowered slightly.
"...how would that make us any different from the anomalies we seek to eliminate for the greater good of humanity?"
His face reddened faintly, breathing turning shallow and uneven as he stared toward the female operator before him.
Yet Lilian's expression showed nothing but genuine confusion.
"Operator Han..."
"What exactly are you talking about?"
The man froze.
His jaw slackened slightly, lips parting several times without a response escaping.
"The higher order already dismissed the southern Philippine fluctuations as insignificant."
"Why are you suddenly so agitated?"
"We make clerical mistakes all the time as part of the TCA. Reports get discarded constantly."
"How does an erroneous document suddenly equate to the loss of human lives?"
He fell silent.
Slowly, his gaze lowered as fragmented thoughts began attempting to reconnect inside his mind.
...What exactly was I doing...?
Lowering his head slightly, the papers he had placed onto the table earlier slipped from his grasp and scattered across the floor.
Operation plans.
Objectives.
Deployment routes.
All sliding beneath the desk.
"My apologies," he muttered quietly.
"I think... stress may have finally caught up with me."
He inhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair before covering part of his face.
A tired groan slipped past his lips.
"I became overly emotional without valid reason, Operator Lilian."
"My deepest apologies."
The woman stared at him for a moment.
Then her expression softened into concern.
"You have dark circles under your eyes, Operator Han."
She handed him a small chocolate bar.
"Perhaps you should rest instead."
"I can handle the remainder of your work. How does that sound?"
The man nodded slowly, a faint smile forming across his lips.
"Thank you, Operator Lilian."
"I appreciate your concern."
She gently shook her head before placing her hands against his shoulders, turning him toward the exit and lightly pushing him away from the office.
"Yes, yes. Now go rest."
"You've been far too absorbed in chasing erroneous paperwork these past few days."
"Take a break."
He gave another quiet nod before finally turning away and walking down the hallway, eventually leaving the building altogether.
-
Somewhere Unnamed
"...They're all gone."
Liscia narrowed her gaze toward the display, staring at the yellow line before slowly turning toward Anathasia.
"And you..." she trailed off quietly.
"They were warned." Anathasia shrugged lightly.
"Kyle and the others warned them multiple times."
She smiled faintly in my direction.
"And now..."
"...other than the three of us..."
"Those men will never be remembered by anyone."
The floating display before us closed, vanishing like a television being switched off as Anathasia fully turned toward us again.
Her arms spread slightly while she smiled.
"I allowed subjectivity to exist."
"Beyond laws and established concepts... beyond Principles and Conditions..."
"...everything else can become subjective depending on a person's perspective and environment."
"I'm not saying what we did in the past,"her gaze briefly drifted toward Liscia"was in any way good."
"But we had our reasons."
"And what happened earlier..."
"...was simply one of the consequences born from Free Will."
She stopped there.
Her arms slowly lowered back to her sides while her shoulders slumped slightly.
"It was inevitable, really."
"Not because fate decided it would happen..."
"...but because they still chose that path despite repeated warnings."
Her voice softened.
"In the end... despite everything I am..."
"...I still believe I'm human."
"Even if I rarely act like one."
"And humans..."
A faint smile crossed her lips.
"...we all have someone or something we want to protect, right?"
The tension in Liscia's jaw gradually loosened, her expression softening into something quieter.
I gave Anathasia a slow nod before walking closer toward them, my phone now tucked back into my pocket.
"Reasons aside," I began, staring toward the disk-like cluster of stars hanging overhead, "I think the TCA should stay away from us after this."
"They will." Anathasia raised a finger casually.
"I kinda redirected reality a little somewhere else instead, you see."
"The Li Family and the Fuyukawa Clan coalition couldn't stop them."
She ran a hand through the tall blades of grass surrounding us, the vegetation reaching nearly up to our waists.
"And I did say I wouldn't hesitate to tweak reality slightly if things ever got out of hand..."
Her eyes drifted toward the horizon.
"...like earlier."
After a moment, she glanced back toward us over her shoulder with a faint smile.
Then our surroundings slowly began shifting apart like puzzle pieces rearranging themselves.
-
Before I fully realized it, we were already standing in the middle of our living room.
Liscia's gaze immediately swept across the room as though she had stepped into an entirely different world.
A melancholic expression flickered across her face as she slowly paced around the area.
Anathasia and I exchanged a glance before quietly watching her trace her fingers across the framed pictures and achievements hanging along the walls.
A small smile gradually formed on her lips.
"This..."
She stopped in front of a framed photograph of Fran proudly holding the trophy she had won during a debate competition for her school.
Liscia's hand hovered inches away from the picture before reluctantly reaching forward to gently touch the frame.
Then she slowly turned back toward us.
The smile on her lips became bitter.
"Is this..."
"...what you chose..."
"Anathasia Veridielle Augthoria?"
Anathasia didn't answer.
The silence itself became her response.
Liscia gave a small nod before turning back toward the photograph again, her gaze drifting across the rest of the pictures hanging along the wall.
"How..."
Her voice softened almost into a whisper.
"...beautiful it truly is..."
Footsteps echoed from the second floor.
A white-haired girl descended the stairs alongside a taller girl with long black hair.
"Mom? Dad?"
Fran spoke first.
"What's going on-"
Her voice trailed off the moment both of them noticed Liscia standing near the wall, staring at the family photographs with quiet awe and melancholy.
"Who's that?"
Instantly, Lena stepped slightly in front of Fran.
A second later, another woman with white hair and blue eyes descended the staircase behind them.
She stopped midway down the steps before slowly turning toward Liscia.
The air surrounding her faintly shimmered with pale light.
"Ah..."
"Welcome back, The First."
"And The Fifth as well."
Her gaze shifted toward Liscia.
"But..."
"...who is that person?"
All three of them stared toward Liscia.
Meanwhile, Liscia herself remained rooted in place, completely still as she swallowed quietly.
"This is Liscia."
"Or Anathasia Dunaleff."
Anathasia casually stepped forward before draping an arm over Liscia's shoulder, causing the other woman to immediately stiffen.
"She's one of us now," Anathasia added lightly before pulling her hand back and clasping both behind her.
"And she's the me from somewhere else."