At Time's End

|| - Chapter 30 - ||

"So, basically, she's free to go. Make sure she gets enough rest..." The rest of the words blurred into background noise as relief washed over me. 

"Thought she was dead," I muttered to myself, and got up. I sent a quick text to Eterna to inform her. Jaiden stepped out from the room after the nurse went back in.

"They wanted to take more of my money," she scoffed. "I refused." We got up and left for the car. 

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"You know, that was the first time in a while I had visited Venus." The last time I had visited, now that I think about it, was when me and Eterna visited. Which is where I got the mugs... one of which is now in pieces. I wonder if Eterna kept a shard?

"It's a pretty place," she started. "I mean, not when you're half-concious on a car seat, but otherwise."

"I guess so," I half-chuckled. I hope Eterna wasn't blaming herself for all this... She was the one to sweep away most of the glass shards. Except one. Which I presumably fell on, after refusing to move from my chair. Fate works in strange ways. Both of us were quiet for the rest of the ride, each sinking into our own thoughts.

First I recognized the Earth Ring System, then the Research Ring, and then 1453. "Finally, home sweet home," I sighed. The RS was surprisingly welcoming, despite not having changed at all while I was gone. We walked straight in, Chester welcoming us alongside Ignus. It seems he got lonely. 

"By the way, Eterna's been in her room for a long time," he mentioned. "She's probably fine, but like, check on her at some point."

"Huh, strange. She hasn't been answering her texts either." Karmella replied. "I'll check in on her later, I'm hungry.." I followed her into the kitchen, being hungry as well. There was still blood on the floor, much more than I thought there was. 

"I bled a lot, huh?" My laughable attempts to start conversation actually did gain a chuckle from Karmella. 

"Yeah, I wonder why Chester didn't clean that up. I'll do it, you cook something." I was surprised. Karmella is a great cook, and I'm pretty mediocre..? Why in the world would she...

I gave in and began doing... something. Throwing in random ingredients from the cooler, mainly. A classic. The scent was good, so I assumed it was alright. Let's hope it wasn't toxic fumes. Although to be fair, anything could be expected of me here - I have improved, but I'm still barely ranking over Ignus in cooking skills.

"So, what are you making?" The question I had been dreading.

"Uh, something. Let's hope it's edible." Karmella chuckled, tossing the bloody towels in her hands into the acid bin, which sounds horribly ominous despite actually being a completely sensible thing to do.

"We can hope. I'll just go into my room for a second." She ran up the stairs. I soon heard her yelling. "The door's locked and Eterna's not answering!" She could just be asleep, and that's the rational train of thought, but I could hear the slight, growing panic in her voice. "These doors are pretty tough, where's the master key?!"

"It's usually in the-" I'm not telling you where the key is. What do you think I am, an idiot? A clown? "Did you find it?!"

"Yeah!" I took the pan off the stove, hearing a scream pretty closely after. I bolted up the stairs, praying something similar to "not another corpse in this fucking center I swear...". 

I opened the door Karmella had presumably swung shut right as she had entered, and saw Eterna, presumably lifeless, on the floor. This time, my mother's heirloom knife wasn't jutting out of her stomach, however. I felt surprisingly calm, this being the second time I had seen a dead body in this RS. What wasn't calm, however, was Karmella on the floor in disbelief.

"Eterna... What..?" There was a note on the ground next to her. I was fully ready to read something in my mother's handwriting, but it was her own. 

"Hey, Karmella.

I know Jaiden isn't with you. Maybe in spirit. She didn't survive the head injury, did she? Chester updated me after I woke up late. I'm at fault.

I should've been more careful with the shards. I know I left one on the ground. I felt something fall, I'm sure. 

I can't live on. Jaiden's death, it makes two people - two whole lives, memories, trauma, bonds... all on my conscience. It's too much to bear. It's good to know I'll only have one more once I go to the afterlife - my own.

I don't know how to end this brief letter, but.. I guess it's goodbye for now. 

- Eterna Talon"

Karmella visibly shattered as I read the letter - or, shall I say, suicide note. This was the first time I had seen her so broken down. Despite thinking I was dead, despite Eterna's constant bullying, despite anything going on in her life, she had always stayed calm.

Now that I examined it more, the wound in Eterna's stomach had a shard in it, instantly recognizable as being from a certain mug. A certain, very important mug...

It felt as if I was dreaming. I sat on - more like dropped to - the floor, and felt... at peace? The entire place was falling apart around me, and yet the only thing I could feel was a calmness, a sense of peace.

"Eterna... How... Why..? She's with me. She's in the room. She survived... It's not your fault. You couldn't have stopped it... Why did you end it this way..? Please tell me you can still hear me... Please tell me you're alive." I could only hear Karmella's voice. "Come on. Tell me this is a dream. Tell me to wake up, please. I'll wake up, and then we'll laugh about it, and then..." she cleared her throat, avoiding a voice crack. "Then, we'll just.. We'll just forget. Jaiden's fine. Everyone is fine..."

Eterna didn't move.

"Come on... Just... just get up. Tell me. Tell me it's a joke, a horrible joke."

Karmella hunched closer to Eterna.

"I loved you... I never got the chance to explicitly say it, but I loved you.. Please just get up."

Eterna turned her head, very weakly, but turned nonetheless. She opened her eyes slightly, smiled, looking up at Karmella.

"Same to you." Her eyes closed like they opened, suddenly and unexpectedly. A drop of blood fell from her lip, and she was gone.

I got up - still feeling like it was a dream, like I was deaf - picked up the shard straight from the wound, and stabbed myself in the heart.

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