Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend

Silence filled the room like a heavy fog. The crickets outside ceased their chanting as well, as though they themselves understood the gravity of the situation.

Theo stared at Si Ya, his lips parted, producing no sound. Miss Fumiko stared at her cup, her eyes hollow, almost soulless.

The words Si Ya uttered danced in my mind, echoing endlessly

Three Years...

That was all the time we had left.

Three years wasn't enough time to master a musical instrument, or an A-Class spell. Three years ago, I didn't even know what reincarnation meant.

Now I was supposed to stop the apocalypse... in three years.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

Miss Fumiko was the first to speak again. "Three Years? Are you sure about that?" she asked, her voice clouded with disbelief.

"I am," Si Ya nodded, her eyes focused on the hourglass. "The vision was stronger, but it was all the same. The screaming voices, the burning cities, and the hole in the sky. But... one thing was different."

A quiet shiver ran through me as my eyebrows shot up.

"What was that?" I asked.

Si Ya swallowed. "This time there were three people. Drey Belford, The Shadow Queen, and... you."

"Me?"

"Yes... Rin Stormborn. You were in the middle of it all." She slowly raised her head until her gaze met mine. "You were on your knees."

Miss Fumiko's fingers twitched, shaking her cup.

"That's... oddly specific," she remarked in a somber tone.

I expected goosebumps to cover my arms, but oddly enough, I didn't flinch.

"It was supposed to be fourteen years," I said. "Why did it change?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure It changed the moment you intervened in that arena," Si Ya said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"So what, I should have let you kill her?" I snapped. "It probably changed because you tried to kill her in the first place."

"Enough!" Miss Fumiko's voice echoed throughout the house. "We don't know that for sure. We also don't know whether it's actually three years." She turned to Si Ya.

"The knowledge of when it happens... It comes with the visions," Si Ya sighed, her voice heavy with dread. "I don't know how, but I just know it's in three years."

I sighed as well, dejectedly

The future had changed. For the worse.

And it was probably my fault.

If I'd stayed out of it, would the future still be intact? Or would Lucy have died together with the world?

I had made decisions without fully understanding the consequences. I thought I was changing her fate, but it seems I was merely replacing one disaster with another.

"So, the clock is ticking." Theo leaned back on his chair, arms folded. "What do we do now?"

My gaze shifted to the hourglass of the table, the soft sand within running faster.

"If Si Ya saw a new vision, then it's safe to assume the Order has seen it too."

Si Ya gasped, her eyes widening.

"They'll send the others," she whispered, a grim look on her face.

Miss Fumiko tilted her head to the side. "The other assassins?"

Si Ya gave a slow nod.

"That's just great," Theo lamented, wiping his face across his palms.

"But... we can't just wait for them to show up," Fumiko said, dropping her cup on the table. "We have to do something."

The room fell quiet. They were all staring at me, their eyes begging for the answers they needed.

I glanced again at the hourglass on the table, then I turned to Theo and back to Miss Fumiko. "We need to prepare."

"For what?" Theo asked, "War?"

"No," I said, "Not yet. We have to find the other two before they find us."

Miss Fumiko blinked. "How do we do that?"

"First, Si Ya's going to tell us about them."

All eyes in the room turned to Si Ya.

"One of them is Kai," she began. "She's usually fast, but she once got injured during a mission and walks with a limp. If I'm right, she's currently on a mission in Pentra. The other..." She broke off, turning to the hourglass.

"What? What about the third?" I asked, staring her dead in the eye.

Si Ya hesitated for a moment before she spoke. "I don't know his real name. I don't even know if it's a he. They say he's a master of infiltration, and he's only known by one name; Thorn."

"Where is he?" Theo asked.

"I have no idea," she replied, reducing her voice to a whisper. "But if the order knows about the new vision... Then he is already on his way."

I felt my bones rattle beneath my skin.

Thorn... His name alone sent shivers running all over my body. I had never heard of any of them in previous life. And slowly, I understood why. These weren't normal assassins, they were masters of death, who lived in the shadows, with the power to harness time.

A lethal combination.

"I have an idea," Theo stood up, adjusting his cloak. "We kill Si Ya and send the Order a message."

"No," I quickly replied. "No one's killed anyone. Besides, if she dies, we lose our Seer."

Theo didn't look convinced, but slowly, he sat back down, his right hand still placed on the hilt of his sword.

"So where do we start?" Miss Fumiko asked, her cup long forgotten.

I stood up, leaning both palms on the table.

"Here's the plan," I said, with a tone of finality, "Theo, you're going to Pentra. You're going to find Kai and stop her. Anyway you can. Si Ya, you're going back to Xindao..."

"I can't go back," she replied, her lips trembling.

"I'm not asking you to go back to the Red Hourglass. I just need you to find a way to gather information about Thorn's whereabouts. Can you do that?"

I could see the reluctance in her eyes.

"If they find me," she stuttered, "they'll erase me."

Her hands trembled as she spoke. In the dim light of the Lumi Crystal, she looked just like a frightened little girl.

"I know I'm asking you to risk your life. But you're the only one who can help us."

She sighed. Then slowly, she nodded.

"Alright. Theo?"

He tilted his head toward me.

"After you stop Kai, I need you to go to Daario. I need you to wait there, until you find Dreyfus Belford."

Theo's eyes slowly widened.

"I thought you said he was in Hell?"

"He is... On a quest. But if I remember clearly, he's going to be in Daario in about a year."

"Okay," he said, "What do I tell him?"

"Tell him everything you can. But keep the reincarnation part from him. He's not going to believe you." I sighed. "He may not be the Grand Mage yet, but he's powerful enough to help us."

"Alright."

"There's one thing we're not addressing," Miss Fumiko turned to me, adjusting her spectacles with her finger. "We still don't know how Lucy becomes the Shadow Queen."

"We don't know why either," Si Ya added.

"You're the Seer," Theo cut in. "Why don't you tell us?"

Si Ya frowned. "It doesn't work like that. I don't control the visions. They just come to me."

"In any case, we have to figure it out." I shifted my gaze to Fumiko, "which is why I need you to find out everything you can about Dark Affinity Spells, and the History of House Daevalia."

She sighed. "Two things I never wanted to learn."

"You were going to at some point."

"No... I wasn't."

"Wait a minute," Theo raised his hand. "Why don't we just tell her? She should be here anyway?"

"Tell her what? That she's fated to become the evil villainess who murders millions and destroys the entire world?" I frowned. "I'm sure the girl who's being bullied by everyone will take that pretty well."

Once again, the room fell quiet.

"Look, I know this is a lot. But it's up to us. Three years sounds too short, but when you think about it's quite a long time. Enough time to rewrite fate."

"When the world ended, I saw something in the Shadow Queen's eyes. I saw regret. I don't think she ever wanted to become the Shadow Queen. Which I why I have to stay here and make sure she never does. All I ask is that you help me. Help me save her. Help me save the world."

I turned to look at their faces. Si Ya stared down at the hourglass, arms folded. Miss Fumiko stared at her teacup, her fingers tapping on the table. Theo simply stared off into space.

Then, I saw a gleam in Miss Fumiko's eyes.

"Alright," she let out a sigh. "I'll help you."

"Well, I'm going to do my part," Theo shrugged. "I've got nothing to lose."

I turned to Si Ya. Her eyes remained fixed on the Hourglass for a while, but finally, she nodded as well.

"Alright. I'm in. I'll help."

A thin smile broke across my face.

"Three years. That's all we have left. Let's not waste a second."