Silver Wish

For Austin, Kiryu, the mother of the girl he loves, was a strange person. Even when he was younger, he had a hard time understanding anything about the woman. But there was one thing that was clear to him, and this person treasures Lila more than anything, maybe even more than her husband.

The back garden was a short distance away; by the time they arrived, however, a good fifteen minutes had passed. Perhaps it was because they both walked rather slowly.

He calls it a garden but the trees here have withered away, and so have the flowers. The trees in the background could bȧrėly stand up. The benches and paths were in a worse condition.

So even here in New York, there are no longer any beautiful sights, huh?

"You came here for Lila, right Sumire-san?" Kiryu broke the silence.

Sumire nodded. "I heard about her condition, and it worried me. You said she didn't hit her head or get injured, so how did she lose her memories? If you guarded her that closely, surely nobody could have gotten to her."

When Kiryu heard those words, he paused to think, he had a bad feeling—guarded her so closely? No, there were times where he had to leave her. Could it be?

"Either way, Kiryu-kun, don't you know how dangerous this situation is?"

"Dangerous? She still remembers how to fight." At first, it worried him that she did not remember how to fight. He cannot confidently say that he would be there for her all the time. Times have changed, and he tries to avoid going near Lila when he is in a bad state.

"Lila-chan needs her memories. Do you know what she was doing before she left New York?"

"She was on a trip and relaxing with Haruka, right?"

After the Shinozaki Rikka case, Haruka decided to bring the girl to New York. But it was after the two left where things went out of control in Star Town. It was almost like Zane waited until the two were no longer around to strike. No, he most likely orchestrated the thing with Shinozaki Rikka too.

"No, even before she found out from Haruka-kun, she already knew what was going on. After all, I had her investigate something for me when she was still in Star town before the trip. She most likely already knew what would happen if she went. But she still went with Haruka-kun, do you know why?"

"..more than the fate of the world, making memories with Haruka is more important?"

Sumire laughed softly. "I think she takes after me a bit too much. Sometimes I wish she was more like Yuhi, then maybe she wouldn't be so careless and have ideas of sacrificing herself."

"She loves him that much, huh?"

"Yes." Sumire trailed off. "Do you remember what I told you before that I promised that one day you two would return to each other's sides?"

Kiryu nodded.

"I did not say that to give you false hope, and I was leaving it to fate. At the start, Lila-chan never intended to go out with Karashima Haruka. No matter how strongly she felt for him, the pain of losing you was too much for her. But Haruka-kun was persistent, and he showed her how much he loved her. A girl's emotions can be fickle; if somebody showers you with that much affection, naturally, anyone would be moved, right?"

"Yeah. I don't blame her."

"That's right, and you have no right to do that since you pushed them to be together."

Kiryu looked down at the ground. "Sumire-san, your very blunt, aren't you?"

"They say my words can cut deeper than any knife." She winked.

Indeed just now, when she said those words, he felt a sharp pain in his ċhėst.

"I am not saying this stuff to guilt-trip you. I just want to prepare you for the painful reality ahead of you."

"It can't get any worse."

"But it can. Kiryu-kun, if Lila-chan doesnt regain her memories, she will most likely commit suicide because it is too painful for her."

His eyes widened, and he felt his body tremble at those words.

"She can't remember the person she loves, but she will continue to love him; her feelings will increase as each day goes. If she lives and Haruka-kun is dead, she will forever chase the shadow of somebody who is no longer there. She will live like a ghost."

"But that's-"

"But even if she remembers, if Haruka-kun is gone, she will end her life without a second thought. If that happens, the world will vanish, civilization as a whole will no longer exist. Even the new world Zane has plans for will collapse."

"Is that to do with her powers?"

Sumire nodded. "Do you remember when Ru was evaluating you two on the island before?"

"I do; he said our powers were similar because I spent a lot of time with Lila during her confinement."

"Yes, but her ability is still slightly different than you. She is my daughter, and during the time I woke up as the Queen of darkness, Lila was in my stomach. But their cant be two Queen of darkness. The power Lila-chan has is the Queen of the world."

Kiryu could not process this information at all. But he knew Sumire-san would not joke about this. This is not a matter anybody can joke about.

"The Queen of the world?"

"Are you aware that the Queen of darkness will bring about despair and destruction, correct? Everything she touches will turn into darkness, and any signs of life around her will wither."

Kiryu knew this very well since his mother spoke about it to him. She mentioned that this might be the other reason why Sumire-san left because she could no longer control it.

"I am."

"The Queen of the world does something similar, except she will cause chaotic situations like a pandemic or an infection. She will directly harm humans. Those who do not get affected are the ones who survived the test and will become the pillars of the new world."

"Wait, that means resetting civilization?"

Sumire nodded. "She has the ability to do that, to reset this world. Zane knew this, and that is why he purposely induced these disasters. No, maybe it was the Queen's will to end this world." She trailed off. "For generations, music has led this world to a better future. Individuals were born with a voice that belongs to the heavens and saved many individuals from following the wrong path. But at what cost? There were many sacrifices along the way, many unnecessary deaths."

"Are you saying that this is all due to Lila's will?"

"I am, but if she thinks this way, it is because of Ren and me."

"The incident back then?"

"It impacted her more than I thought it would. I wanted Lila-chan to see the beauty of this world, but if I wanted to do that, I should have looked for Yuhi sooner. I shouldn't have let Ren into her life that much. It was my mistake."

"You-" Kiryu couldn't bring himself to say that she did nothing wrong.

After all, even he had to agree that it was because of her. Kiryu recalled Lila's expression that day, she cried so much, and the next time she woke up, she was a shell of her former self.. Her emotions had become numb, and there was a blank look in her eyes.