Two figures materialized in the Time Castle, two children, one aged 5 and the other 12. Blood flowed through their bodies as the green-clad child was pierced by a katana, while the child with a strange aura and a snake blinked, like a damaged video tape...
*Shiiiiii
Simultaneously, a sound was heard; Reisuke's diary had changed.
"You're incredible, Quinto... I must say you pushed me to the limit."
Smiling, Yuki (clone) praised him; in this game, he was on the verge of losing.
Reisuke's intelligence surprised him...
From the moment he entered the time fragment, his life and Tsubaki's were in danger.
His powers, abilities, strength, memories... everything had disappeared.
Fortunately for Yuki, being a time clone, possessing the power of time, and not being a resident of the world, his memories remained intact. This allowed him to maintain sanity and not be confused like Tsubaki.
But this also had its drawbacks. As a non-resident of the world, Yuki did not exist in this timeline.
Fifth had recreated a fragment of the world's past, from two years ago, long before Yuki entered the world, even before Yuno was invited to the Chat Room.
Because of this, Yuki was forced to take the form of an animal, a dog to be exact, as a human couldn't interfere with the past. He couldn't be human; he literally didn't exist.
In this form, his actions were very limited. However, even so, Tsubaki could interfere in this fragment.
Moreover, he could feel that this fragment was under Reisuke's total control, so he had to be cautious and sought Tsubaki...
Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to find her; she lived in the Omekata Temple.
Unfortunately, Tsubaki couldn't remember anything. While Yuki watched, Tsubaki proved to be an ordinary girl.
This disappointed Yuki; he thought that working together, they could find Reisuke. He was wrong. But when he was about to leave and search for Reisuke himself, Yuki remembered something...
In this timeline, Tsubaki's parents were still alive, so her tragic fate had not yet occurred. She had not been violated.
Yuki was aware of Tsubaki's suffering and her story. Rasiel provided him with the information he needed.
Seeing Tsubaki happy with her parents, Yuki sighed...
(Let me help you a bit...)
With these thoughts, Yuki decided to give her a letter. Fragment or not, Yuki wanted Tsubaki to have a happy life, at least as a form of consolation. It might all be a lie, but a sweet lie is much more enjoyable than a harsh truth.
Although in the end, she would have to face reality, she could enjoy this illusion...
Fortunately, Tsubaki believed him and changed her tragic fate. Seeing the happy family embraced, Yuki disappeared.
Time is limited...
And so, a year passed. Yuki explored the entire time fragment but couldn't find Reisuke. This was impossible...
Yuki explored and searched everywhere but couldn't find a single clue about Reisuke's whereabouts.
However, he didn't give up. This fragment was under Reisuke's control, so he decided to change things. Using the butterfly effect as an attack, Yuki changed the futures of many people. Those who should die were saved, those who should break up got married, etc.
With many factors, the future changed completely. By doing so, Reisuke's control over this fragment decreased. He could no longer interfere as he did at the beginning.
These were good news. However, Reisuke didn't sit idly by; he started to attack.
But Yuki was very elusive, so his attacks didn't result in his death.
He also wondered, after so many butterfly effects...
Where is Reisuke hiding?
Why can't he find him?
Shaking his head, Yuki decided to watch over Tsubaki again, as he was being attacked. Tsubaki might also be, so he observed how this girl was doing...
She was happy, but she suffered from bad luck...
But this 'bad luck' was the beginning of everything. Yuki could see it; Reisuke's influence was concentrated on Tsubaki...
So a terrifying thought crossed Yuki's mind...
He had discovered Reisuke's hiding place...
(What a troublesome kid...)
Reisuke was hiding in Tsubaki's memory, as they say, the most crowded place is the best hiding place.
This is why he could never find him; it was right under his nose all the time.
Yuki went back to the beginning; he could see it. Reisuke wanted to murder Tsubaki, so her memory would never be found, and he would win the game.
Yuki couldn't allow this to happen; he had to protect Tsubaki while making her remember.
And so, a year passed. Every day, he made sure to write a message, hoping this girl would remember. He also applied the butterfly effect to influence the letter with the power of time, trying to make her remember.
At first, it proved effective; Tsubaki had headaches every time she read it.
But this wasn't enough. So, he got to work; he had to eliminate all of Reisuke's influence around her. He started changing the futures of people close to Tsubaki, gradually cornering Reisuke and succeeded. The areas where Tsubaki had accidents were decreasing, especially at school. That place was a safe zone; Reisuke's will couldn't penetrate the butterfly effect.
But this wasn't enough, as he was starting to do the same thing as Reisuke. His will grew slowly, thus controlling the people in the fragment. Tsubaki was surrounded by a wall of Yuki's will.
At this rate, Tsubaki would remember, and Reisuke would have to come out of hiding.
However, Reisuke didn't wait for his demise, as his control decreased, he found another way...
And that's by using Third's time fragment, the serial killer. He ordered him to kill Tsubaki but also cautioned him to be careful. Yuki's will is powerful; one wrong step, and Third would be trapped in an army of Yuki's minions.
So, he tried to kill Tsubaki using accidental accidents, making sure the dog didn't discover his identity. This also marked the beginning of Tsubaki's fatal accidents.
Fortunately, Yuki saved her from them, and this went on for some time, nearly a year to be exact, the showdown between a dog and a serial killer.
But everything has an end, and Third's patience ran out. So, he decided to use a frontal move, preventing Tsubaki from going home and waiting for all the dog's minions to leave before killing her.
This was Yuki's mistake, as he didn't expect a teacher to be an assassin sent by Reisuke. He should have known that almost all the inhabitants of this fragment had their destinies changed by him. Also, the school was an absolute fortress. However, it was also an opportunity, an opportunity to end what was left of Reisuke's will...
So, Yuki confronted him directly. Unfortunately, Yuki was fatally injured, marking victory for Reisuke. But when all seemed lost, Yuno's time fragment saved the day by killing the serial killer.
That was it; the rest was in Tsubaki's hands. Whether she could remember or not depended on her.
"Yuki-kun..."
Fortunately, Tsubaki remembered; they had won...
So, once Reisuke was expelled from Tsubaki's memory, Yuki didn't hesitate to pierce him with his katana.
"It was a long battle... But we won..."
"Yes... You won... You know, I had fun... Onii-chan, you guys are amusing... So, win... Onii-chan, you must win... You defeated me... You're an elite, Onii-chan... Win this Survival Game..."
"I will...."
Smiling at Yuki's response, a huge black spiral formed, swallowing Reisuke and leaving only his Diary, where a drawing of him being stabbed appeared, along with the [DEAD END] sign...
*Creakkkkkk...
At the same time, the Time Castle vanished, returning everything to normal.
(It's all over....)
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TN: Should I just post all chapters of this volume today?