Elias fell silent. Then, a second later, he chuckled bitterly to himself. "I see. Then I've been the real fool all this time."
Wren eyed him, arms crossed to her chest sullenly, as she leaned against the wall of a house. The atmosphere had molded into tension, shaped by a simmering quiet since Lucas' disappearance.
Didn't she feel it best? The way it felt like a part of her had slipped away, squared out to leave an uncomfortable gape in her heart.
It had been long since the contract she signed with Lucas, outside of the verbal agreement she'd made with him much longer ago. In the past that no longer existed, already rewritten.
Long enough to feel the loss like a taunting gape in her chest.
She sighed irritably, ruffling her raven hair. She'd never admit it to him, not to Lucas' stubborn and knowing face, but his death—she wouldn't accept it.
Wren could remember the man who stood at the eye of the storm, the centerpiece of the apocalypse. The last standing, once, and sometimes, the one who died too early.
She certainly hadn't watched all of his failures—she'd never been all that interested in watching Lucas' misery—but she'd seen enough to hope for a better ending.
It was one of the reasons she agreed to the deal, brought by a withering husk of a man who coldly looked at her and stated, "I'm going to die soon. And when I do, the world will restart once again."
She'd stared and snorted, cackling while slapping her thighs until realizing his expression didn't flinch.
"Ha? You're serious?"
"Why else would I bother talking to you?"
He had the sort of attitude that asked for a beating. But Wren squinted at the handsome face, recognizing the man whom she had witnessed the failures of several times.
It was hard not to when he was the sort that stood out.
Or maybe some of his deaths were far too grotesque and miserable not to remember.
And Wren had to admit, back then, she was exhausted seeing the world revolve backwards, always reversing while she remained stuck in the present. A blink, and time reversed.
That was the reason she accepted Lucas' proposition. It had been a simple ask, more of a demand than a suggestion.
"In the future, if I ask to make a contract with you, agree to it."
Wren snickered and spun a pen between her fingers. It was a nice pen. She'd robbed it from the corpse of a university student. An ex-student. "Do you mean the future, or an upcoming present?"
"However you want to see it."
"How boring~"
"Yes or no?"
She'd wanted to tease the sullen-faced man more, but who knew he had little patience and spun around immediately. A week later, she saw him beating up another unfortunate Teller and coercing the pitiful creature into a deal.
Being the kind Samaritan that she was, the woman interfered and agreed to Lucas' deal. It definitely wasn't because she was curious to see where he'd go.
And... there were only so many times one could watch the world rewind until it became dull.
Wren slumped further against the wall. They'd already surveyed the ground they walked, lifting every bone shard that made the pathways, breaking into every house.
Lucas had disappeared—that was a fact.
It was entertaining to watch the doctor lose his head first, going as pale as the coat he used to wear, dashing into the streets without a mind for dangers. A reckless behaviour, entirely out of character. Yet, perfectly fitting for an older sibling.
He'd returned, wilted and pained.
One would suspect he'd lost his heart, that his entire world had been ruined before his very eyes.
Elias' long body leaned against another wall, eyes closed. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she'd already discovered his identity due to his obscure actions since entering Tartarus.
A man who knew too much, beyond powerful, and clung to Lucas like a tenacious weed.
The one who fit that category was the Catalyst of Everlasting End.
The being that reset the world.
Wren had learned to become an excellent observer with her days trapped in this half-alive body, shunned by both Tellers and humans.
What she didn't understand was that if Lucas really was dead, why didn't he turn everything back? What did he mean by a last time? And was it that easy—Elias was powerful, the Catalysts all were in ways she'd never understand, but could he disobey the End's Delusion to that extent?
Elias had been perfectly quiet, just when they wanted him to be anything but. She resisted the urge to strangle and rock him back and forth until he either moved to search for Lucas or spoke.
If he hadn't dashed away yet, it was probably because he couldn't figure out Lucas' location either. She felt satisfaction in his misery, though hoping for her link to be found.
She didn't really want time to flow back, either.
At one point, panic receded, and she'd stopped caring. But now—Wren tilted her head at the woman beside her, unabashed worry filtering over gentle gaze—now, she had a reason to stay in this present.
It had begun as teasing, but Wren found that the kindness that never left, refused to drown away in the sins of the End's Delusion, was something rare.
She didn't want to let it go.
Then Elias spoke. "Lucas isn't dead."
Immediately, all heads turned to look at him. Waiting for an explanation and ready to believe it, no matter how ridiculous or obscure.
"You've said that already. We've established the whole, 'you're some powerful being' and whatever," said Wren bluntly. "Are you finally going to elaborate?"
"If that man died," said Elias slowly, with the slight of a bitter smile. "I would die too. Whether I wanted to or not."
"Flirting at a time like this?" Wren frowned.
"I'm stating a fact. One that I wasn't aware of, until I saw his dead body, and saw mine next. I suppose you could say my life is in his hands." He couldn't resist adding.
Kane took two hurried steps forward upon hearing Elias' words. He looked frantic, not a single bit of the respectable doctor that he once appeared to be.
"Where? Where is he—do you know? Tell me, please. Please, I—"
"I don't know," grimaced Elias. "Believe me, doting big brother, I would've been the first to bring him back if I had, with or without your miserable state."
"Then—"
Dong— Dong—
Two loud noises rang across the air, splitting through any screams or wails. For a brief moment, everything was deadly silent. As if waiting for the bells to stop ringing, as if waiting for an announcement to echo across the endless black skies.
Nothing came. No warning, no sign.
And then the waning moon in the makeshift black of Tartarus shuttered twice, blinking out of existence as they all plunged into darkness.
Elias didn't care about the signs, not when the only thing he did care about was missing. On the other hand, Wren had gone entirely pale and stiff. She spun to Nora, who looked back in confusion at the woman's dramatic actions.
"No," breathed Wren. "There should've been time left."
Adelaide and Julian shared a look of knowing, the former with sadness, and the latter on the verge of horrified tears.
Bells continued ringing, blaring as they drummed, and signaled the beginning of an event. The fleshy bodies, walking corpses of men and women, laughed with glee and skipped along the bone-carved streets.
Even the eyes carved into the walls of houses curved with delight, amusement dancing in the drawn lines of their shape.
Kane raised his chin, his expression growing taut. He swung his head around. Nora was standing near Wren, her short hair swaying in the ice-cold breeze. Almost entirely shrouded by the shadows.
When Kane also turned her way, realization ghosted her face. She murmured a soft, 'ah' and sighed.
She smiled when she saw Kane. "Tell Lucas for me. I have a feeling he'll definitely return to your side."
Her voice was oddly calm, but it was the very serenity that encompassed her, a relief of not needing to keep fighting, and a soothing understanding of what would happen, that made Kane's heart plummet.
"There's still time," said the doctor urgently. "There's—"
"We've been trying. The only Titles I can steal are from you, and I don't plan to do that, Kane. I wouldn't forgive myself if I did, and neither would Lucas. He would understand that there's nothing further to do." A mocking laugh escaped her. "That's to say, I wouldn't win a fight with any of you either."
"I am not Lucas. I cannot accept it. There is no reason to give up—"
"You aren't Lucas. And he would accept it, know that it is inevitable, but he would grieve, and that's all I want. To be remembered."
Nora sighed, and it was strange how steady her mind was in the face of death. The second Ranking, where humanity would truly understand how much danger they were in. When they'd have no choice but to face it, when the only other option was death.
Lucas had warned her, and she still couldn't avoid it. Yet she regretted nothing about the past months, following Lucas and fighting.
The gun felt familiar in her fingers, an accuracy that could pierce a human's chest without hesitation. A courage that she never dared imagine before, to fight in the most perilous situations.
In the end, it was a good fight. She was tired now and wanted to lie down and dream of her cheerful, deceased brother, or her loving parents who cared gently, lovingly.
Kane opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't. He couldn't gather the best words to say, couldn't find the right things to support her with. He clamped his mouth shut and noticed an approaching figure.
Laughter rang in the air, delirious and whispering. A celebration of death.
"My turn, doctor. Privately, please," waved Wren, strolling to them with light steps, and a faint smile that looked on the verge of falling.
Kane knew better than to intrude and nodded at Nora. "Thank you for all your help until now. I..."
Nora laughed lightly. "Thank you as well. For trying to find a way for me to survive this."
He nodded again and walked away, glancing back once to see Wren slip her hand into Nora's, shaking her head with a slight sense of deep frustration.
"There are ways to keep you alive."
"At the cost of what?" wondered Nora, lifting her chin to the skies. It was unfortunate that she was stuck in Tartarus—it would've been nice to see the pale blue of clear skies, or the darker greys of stormier weather. Either would've been fine.
She'd been willing to do a lot to survive. She risked Sylvia's life in battle, but that had been one of honour, in which neither party would've despised or hated the other.
But she wouldn't steal the life of somebody who trusted her, or a stranger she hardly knew, without reason. No, if she crossed that line, then what was the point of living this long?
What was the point of fighting to become something she was not?
"Nora."
"Wren, thank you for everything. You've listened to my complaints, and I don't believe I've ever thanked you for that."
Wren, the wonderful and strong-willed woman whose past was anything but simple, swallowed harshly. A sheen of wetness came over her vision. Nora pressed her hands over Wren's.
"Although the time may have been short, it's been lovely knowing you. I've appreciated your friendship more than anything."
Tears were slipping down Wren's steely eyes. The Joker had seen many disasters, countless tragedies in her repeating times, watched death on replay, and grown indifferent in return.
Now, she felt as if she'd been stripped of her time in the apocalypse, left in the skin of the human she once was.
Raw, vulnerable, and miserable.
"There are three days before the Ranking is over, right? I don't want to spend it moping about my situation. Lucas is still trapped in that Story," said Nora softly. If her fate was inevitable, then she'd rather devote her time to something important.
From the time the first earthquake shook the world, and Nora had scoured the streets for any severe injuries or people needing help, she'd known.
When she first laid eyes on Lucas, she had a feeling that he would become somebody irrevocably important. A necessary piece to the apocalypse, a necessity for hope.
"There's still time," insisted Wren, grasping the woman's clothes. "We can still help you get a Title, it's not as if there's no hope—"
"Does Lucas have any time left?"
Wren faltered, and Nora smiled sadly. The former gritted her teeth and said, hesitantly, "It doesn't matter. You once said you wouldn't trade your life for his. You said you were barely friends."
"Were. We're not strangers anymore, just as you and me. Wren, believe me, I'd like to live as much as the next person. But my chances are slim, and I know that without Lucas, we may never find a way out of this disaster."
"He's only human. He can do nothing more than anybody else," snapped Wren, only regretting her words after they came out.
Because that was false, wasn't it?
She'd grown attached to that foolish link of hers.
Nora smiled softly, brushing a lock of raven hair behind the woman's ears affectionately. "You don't mean that."
"I don't. But, even so—"
Nora turned to Kane, unafraid to look him squarely in the eyes, determination alight in the pale blue of her eyes. "Doctor Kane. Shall we go find your brother?"
The doctor's hands curled and trembled faintly. He wondered who was more scared in that moment, himself or her. Swallowing, he turned his head away. "I'm sorry."
But even for Nora's sake, for the polite and gentle woman who was entirely unfit for an apocalypse, but learned madness and cruelty to survive, he couldn't abandon Lucas. He couldn't choose her over his brother.
And she knew it.
Two lives at stake, and time that waited for neither.
Nora didn't feel saddened or disappointed. She wasn't Kane's last family, nor was Elias' deep obsession. She wasn't the writer Adelaide sought, either. And it wouldn't be fair to make Julian choose, when he was the sort to blame himself for all things that couldn't be helped.
Wren was willing to throw aside searching for Lucas, to ignore the possibility that he could die at any moment, and that was enough.
Nora didn't want anybody to decide between two lives.
To find a means to save hers, or to find Lucas and save his.
She would decide. That much, that little thing that was minor and large at the same time, was something she was capable of doing. Her hair fell over her ears, masking her expression as she trembled for a second.
The next, she smoothened all fears and lifted her gaze calmly.
"Now then. I have three days, and Lucas may have less. Let's find him."