With everything done, Victor and I reached out our hands once more to Chronas. It took only an instant—just a single blink—for us to be torn from that place and thrown back into my room, deep within the organization’s underground facility.

Everything was exactly as we had left it before departing: the same cold, silent air; the white lights softly pulsing on the ceiling; and the faint, constant hum of the machines in the background. Our sudden return made Laura jump.

She had been nearby, focused on something at her terminal, and she spun around in shock at the sharp sound of the air distorting. Her face, previously tense and somber, instantly lit up in a relieved smile the moment her eyes found us.

“Thank God, you’re back!” Laura exclaimed, placing a hand over her chest as the tension melted from her expression.

Seeing that reaction left me strangely unsettled—why the hell did she look that worried? I mean, she had the expression of a mother welcoming her children home from war.

For a moment, all I could do was blink, trying to make sense of it, before turning my gaze toward Emily, who was calmly seated in front of Eryanis, apparently having tea. Tea. Seriously. What the hell happened while I was gone?

Emily noticed me staring and let out a resigned sigh. She shrugged with her usual detached air, as if the matter had nothing to do with her, then spoke in that lazy, drawn-out tone of hers: “She was worried about you two. Well, can’t blame her... it’s been almost three hours since you vanished” she said, shrugging again, a faint smirk curving her lips: “Looks like everything worked out in the end”

I only managed to process her first few words. Three hours? What the hell is she talking about? We’d barely spent thirty minutes on the other side—how could three hours have passed here? That doesn’t make any sense. What am I missing?

Still disoriented, I turned to Chronas, who stood motionless beside me, and asked, trying to keep my voice steady despite the confusion: (Chronas, do you have any idea what she’s talking about? We weren’t even there for thirty minutes)

Chronas, wearing her usual indifferent expression, glanced at me briefly before replying as if stating something too obvious to bother explaining: “The Flow of Time is distorted relative to ordinary causality... In simpler terms, time moves faster here than it does there. But it depends on how long you stay on the other side. I think one day there equals about a hundred years here—or something like that”

When I heard her words, I went completely silent. Not because I didn’t have anything to say, but because I honestly didn’t know what to say.

We could’ve been stuck there for almost a hundred years if we’d stayed just a little longer... Seriously, why does no one ever tell me this kind of crucial information beforehand?

Or maybe my sisters just assumed I’d already know. For some reason, that thought left me feeling oddly betrayed... even if there was no real reason for it.

As I sank further into that quiet fog of frustration—though my face didn’t show a hint of it—Emily suddenly seemed intrigued by the topic.

“Time dilation... The more I learn about this place, the more fascinating it gets” she mused.

Then, as if a thought had just hit her, she turned to Victor with a curious sparkle in her eyes: “Oh, right! I remember giving you an anomalous camera for documentation. Did you manage to record anything?”

The moment Emily said that, Victor looked at me. When I noticed his questioning look, I just shrugged—documentation? Honestly, I doubted he’d even thought about it since then. And, to be fair, once the Flow appeared before us, he probably forgot all about it. I couldn’t blame him for that.

Victor, who had been silent with his arms crossed until now, noticed my shrug and gave one of his own, wearing a blank expression. Then he reached for the pocket where he’d kept the camera before we entered the Flow of Time.

The camera wasn’t large, and given the generous size of the tactical jacket pocket he wore, it had fit perfectly. But as his hands touched the jacket, his expression shifted. Indifference turned to confusion—then to disbelief. When he pulled his hands out, all that remained in them was ash.

For a long second, he just stood there, watching it drift slowly through his fingers, carried away by an invisible breeze. His eyes stayed fixed on the ashes before he finally looked up, his face frozen in sheer disbelief.

The room fell utterly silent. Emily, Laura, and I stared at the ashes resting in Victor’s palm—what had likely been the camera just hours ago. The air felt heavy, and the faint scent of something burnt lingered between us.

With a shaky, bewildered voice, Victor finally broke the silence: “What the hell happened?”

He didn’t have to specify—we all knew exactly what he meant. Internally, I let out a quiet sigh. As for the camera... now I understood why. I remembered.

Earlier, when I told Victor it wouldn’t work, I hadn’t really known why—I just had a vague, uneasy feeling about it. But now, the memory came back crystal clear. I knew exactly why I’d said that.

(I think... Chronas forgot to shield the camera) I said in a flat tone, watching the ashes slip through Victor’s fingers.

His eyes blinked a few times before he turned to me, confused. He stared silently for a few seconds, as if trying to decipher foreign words, then turned his gaze to Chronas.

She blinked slowly, meeting his eyes, then tilted her head slightly to the side—a subtle gesture, but filled with curiosity. Seeming to finally grasp something, Victor’s lips moved slowly.

“So... you mean this” he murmured, staring at the ashes slipping through his fingers: “could’ve been me?”

Hearing Victor’s words, I nodded with almost automatic indifference before replying: (Normally, that’s what happens when other beings try to step into the flow of time. Their bodies just can’t withstand the temporal pressure — and end up crumbling into ashes)

As I said that, I brought my hand to my chin, watching him for a moment before adding in a somewhat thoughtful tone: (But... well, I don’t think you’d even have time to notice. It happens so fast it’s practically instantaneous)

Victor fell silent at my words. His eyes were fixed on me, his mouth slightly open as if he’d even forgotten to breathe. Confused by his reaction, I asked hesitantly: (Did I... say something wrong?)

Hearing me, Victor frowned, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief: “You... were you trying to comfort me just now or something?”

Comfort him? Well, not exactly. My last words might’ve sounded like that, but that wasn’t really my intention. I nodded anyway, still unsure, while Victor gave me that half-serious, half-amused look before saying: “You’re... absolutely terrible at that”

I went silent at his words. I hadn’t really been trying to comfort him... but still, saying something like that was rude! Besides, it couldn’t have been that bad — or so I told myself, trying to believe it.

I glanced toward the others for support. Laura, noticing my expression, looked puzzled for a moment, then her face took on that peculiar mix — a blend of reproach and encouragement, like a mother telling her child he could’ve done better.

Emily, on the other hand, remained calm, sipping her tea as if the world around her were nothing but background noise. My other sisters didn’t react much either — except for Althea, who was clearly struggling not to laugh, her shoulders trembling slightly as she looked away.

Wait... seriously? Was it really that bad? I knew I wasn’t exactly the best at comforting people, but I thought I’d done at least a decent job — or at the very least, not made things worse. Apparently, I was wrong.

***

(POV – Victor Hale)

Victor watched the [Angel of Death] in silence. She looked somewhat downcast. For a brief moment, he felt a flicker of pity — an odd, misplaced emotion given the situation.

But as the memories resurfaced — that image of the incomprehensible tentacle trembling before her, as if the creature itself feared her — the compassion faded. He wasn’t sure how to treat her now. Still, knowing the [Angel of Death]’s temperament... probably the same as always.

Sighing in resignation, Victor walked over to Laura, who stood a little apart. She still seemed to be silently supporting the [Angel of Death], her expression distant and worried. At that moment, Emily — who had stood up at some point — slowly approached, sliding her hands into the pockets of her white lab coat. Before addressing Victor, she cast one last glance at the [Angel of Death], a mix of apprehension and respect in her eyes, and then turned to him.

“Well...” Emily began, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips, her eyes sharp and curious: “you’ve got the look of someone who just saw something they’d rather forget for a while... what exactly did you see in there? On the other side?”

Victor didn’t answer right away. He just stared for a brief moment at the [Angel of Death], his gaze distant. Then he gave a slight nod for Emily to wait for him outside the containment cell. Once the door closed behind them, the air felt lighter — though the tension still lingered.

Emily and Victor stayed silent for a few moments, the air between them thick with a tension that was almost playful. Then Victor turned to her — and found her standing with her arms crossed, a confident smirk playing on her lips. Seeing her like that, he let out a soft sigh and ran a hand through his hair in resignation.

Only then did Victor break the silence: “It wasn’t exactly what I saw... but what I witnessed” He paused, searching for words: “There was this sort of sea there... but it wasn’t water. I felt that if I touched it, I’d never come back. A tentacle came out of that sea, but...” He swallowed hard, remembering the scene: “It was completely terrified of the [Angel of Death]. Like she was the real monster”

Emily absorbed Victor’s words for a moment, letting the silence stretch between them. Then she raised an eyebrow and asked quietly: “So... are you afraid of her?”

“Afraid? No” Victor said, shaking his head with a faint smile: “To be honest, I’m actually kind of grateful we have someone that powerful on our side”

He cast another look toward the containment cell holding the anomaly. A small, almost imperceptible smile curved his lips: “I just realized again that if it weren’t for her, I would’ve lost Sara” he murmured, exhaling slowly: “I’m just... relieved”

His gaze lingered on the creature for a moment longer, his expression blending exhaustion with quiet gratitude: “May she always stay on our side”