Hope born of solitus

16th August.

It took some explanation and guiding, but Ray swiftly brought Lastia to the train station.

"... Hey..." (Lastia)

"What's up?" (Ray)

Hearing her new friend take a solemn tone, she stopped smiling and listened attentively. Seeing them, Lastia couldn't help but to let out a slight smile. Gratitude, such sensations were burned into her heart.

" For such an ephemeral existence, my happiness and ambitions are equally transient.

Is there any meaning to strive for such things?" (Lastia)

They dug through her belongings after she released her transformation. In her purse was some scraps of paper, one with an address that Ray recognised. At least she wasn't completely lost.

Unlike the previous Lastia, this one lacked determination. It was Sunday, a time of rest. It's almost as if she inherited her predecessors' doubts. Such a fairytale like reason... There was no way that was true. They started off differently but arrived at the same conclusion, at the same crossroads of all engulfing dread. The previous Lastia spent her remaining time far away from home. The current Lastia started off with no certainty that she will make it home. It was that simple of a coincidence, a lack of sense of belonging to this world, it drove a deep wedge between their hearts and their desires.

"... I can't answer something like that. I'm just a stranger who doesn't even know you." (Ray)

"... I see... I'm sorry." (Lastia)

There was a single stark difference. While the previous Lastia ended up here, she started here. In other words, it was a continuation. An inheritance forced onto the current Lastia, after all no one could choose how they were born, right? Just like how she fought The Remnant, she didn't want to give up. She wanted to give her life everything she had, and then even more. The curse... It must have gnawed at the soul of every Lastia up until her, with naught a lead in clues what else could she do?

That's right, she'll find some Traces to fight. It wasn't the return trip that her predecessor had in mind, but what really mattered was that she wanted to do it.

"Thank you. I'll try my best! That's why it's not your fault that I'm in this predicament!" (Lastia)

She wanted Ray to raise her head, her senior here was too serious for her own good. Even submerged under the monumental weight of her own thoughts, Lastia still noticed that Ray looked regretful at the corner of her eye. There was nothing that neither of these girls could do now, that's why...

"You must love the people to work so hard just to protect them. If you continue to do so, we will meet again." (Lastia)

She waved her new friend goodbye as she stepped onto the train's carriage, the door shut behind her in a short while. Her face no longer had even a trace of that previous melancholy, strong determined eyes bid their farewell.

"Ughh jeez... What a handful... I'm a little worried, but she isn't alone. Regretfully, I have my own city to protect." (Ray Evernicus)

She turned around and stepped away, heading off wherever she was needed next.

***

First station... Manukia commercial zone. Traces of the Remnant can still be subtly felt when walking through the tunnels leading to the exit. Unlike that monochromatic world, there were still a couple of people, even though it was inbetween 2 and 3 am... They didn't seem to bother with Lastia, they might have been up to something fishy. However, it was of no concern to her. Her primary concern would be the Traces lured by The Remnants magic.

Much like how consuming a magical girl would grant a grand evolution to a Trace, there was no reason it wouldn't be the same with consuming a Remnant. Naturally it wasn't realistic to defeat The Remnant on their own, it was a higher lite form. If the stars aligned, the Traces would form wave after waves of attacks, wearing The Remnant down until it died of exhaustion or if its fatigue was exploited.

There. She finally spotted one after walking for a long while, a black silhouette lurking in a dark crevice inbetween the walls, an artifact of crude architecture left from the old days. It likely held sealed off rooms, forming an awkward arrangement of walls. It was odd that they didn't just seal off the crevice as a whole, perhaps one whole side of the crevice was a new wall meant to contain an enormous portion of the old rooms in this train station.

It was surprising how easy it was to find, but Lastia didn't think much of it, observing that the Trace wasn't alert to her presence. She continued approaching closer and closer, sticking close to the wall to narrow the angle of view and prevent herself from being seen. She saw it enter the crevice earlier, what should she do now?

Would it be better to ambush it? Or would observing its magic and countering it be more productive in her training? Right... There was no sense in this entire endeavour if she weren't growing stronger. At the end of the day, she could hopefully compile her findings in a diary of sorts. A rising heat amplifies in her heart, getting twice, then 4 times as hot. It repeatedly spreads into her body, flowing faster than her blood and consuming her skin in illumination.

The brilliance lasted for an instant, shattering like glass, revealing the one piece dress underneath. It was blackish purple, dark enough to blend into night and camouflage into the surroundings even if her enemies had some degree of night vision. It must definitely know she was here now, her magic was slightly more than what she had in the battle with The Remnant. It was a marginal increase, but the person herself would notice it. It must have been because she abused her body and kept cramming magic into herself, though it caused her to spit blood and risk dying.

It was a gamble, and it barely paid off. Well, considering the alternative was to die to The Remnant, perhaps it paid off really well. She walked around the corner, staring into the crevice. It's gone.