Azami Yuki—the female version of myself in this ied world—reparing ingredients i. She skillfully sliced onions while the aroma of freshly minced garlic began to fill the room.
I just sat on the sofa, watg her silently.
Not because I was ied in her cooking, but because my mind was still spinning from our earlier versation.
She had called me to this world.
That was a fact I had just heard from her, but she refused to expin the reason.
Damn it.
I wao ask again, but before I could open my mouth, her phone vibrated.
*Drrrt—Drrrt—*
Azami g her phone lying o ter, then picked it up with her usual expression. However, as soon as she read the message—
Her face ged.
An annoyed and unpleasant expression appeared on her fabsp;
I tensed.
“Azami?”
She didn’t answer.
Without saying a word, she walked to the door and grabbed the long bck coat she usually wore when w as a detective.
She draped the coat over her shoulders and took her hat.
“Sorry, Yuki. Something urgent came up.”
“…Something urgent?” I stood up. “Hey, at least tell me where yoing.”
She gnced back briefly and smiled faintly.
“Don’t leave the apartment until I get back.”
Then, before I could ask further—
She disappeared into the darkness of the night.
I could only stare at the closed apartment door with a furrowed brow.
Damn it.
What was really going on?
The city park, usually bustling during the day, was now quiet.
The night air felt cold, and only the sound of the wind whispered through the trees.
Azami Yuki—the female version—stood uhe dim light of a park mp. She buttoned her coat while sighing.
“So annoying.”
She gnced around. It was deserted.
Then, she opened her mouth and said,
“Erika, what do you want?”
As if answering her call, someone emerged and walked slowly from the shadows of the trees.
A girl eared to be around 16 years old with a petite frame, wearing a bck gothic dress, her lo-bck hair, and a pair of glowing purple eyes that shone in the darkness of the night.
Her steps were light, almost as if she were floating.
She stopped a few meters away from Azami, looking at her with a sharp expression.
“…You know why I called you,” she said in a calm yet firm voibsp;
Azami just looked at her ftly.
“If you’re just here to bother me, I’m going home.”
Erika’s expression turned annoyed.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Azami.”
Azami just shrugged. “I really don’t know.”
“Liar.”
Erika stepped closer. Her purple eyes fshed with anger.
“If you keep this up, the world will colpse.”
Azami tilted her head slightly, looking at her emotionlessly.
“And that’s my problem?”
“Of course, why are you even asking!” Erika snapped.
Azami just sighed. “Then, what do you want to say?”
Erika ched her fists.
“The world rule you wrote states that only ‘Azami Yuki’ bee an 'Indepe Witch'. But now there are two Azami Yukis.”
Azami fell silent.
Erika tinued, her voice growing louder.
“Meanwhile, there’s another world rule that says 「only oence have the same wo opposing world rules have now e into py. If left unchecked, this world will desd into chaos before eventually colpsing.”
Azami remained silent.
Erika gred at her with an angry expression.
“As an Indepe Witch, it’s your duty to maintaiability of reality and the world. And you! Are you pnning to destroy everything?! You’re an irresponsible Witch!”
However, instead of getting angry, Azami just looked at her with a ft expression.
Then, she said softly,
“Isn’t that good? After all, it would be beautiful for you, who are ernal, wouldn’t it?”
Erika froze.
Those words hit her like a hammer.
Her purple eyes widened.
“…What?”
Azami looked up at the night sky with empty eyes.
“This world… this time… everything in it… has an end.”
She lowered her gaze to Erika and smiled faintly.
“As for me? I’ve lived so long that numbers o longer describe it.”
Erika bit her lip.
She knew.
She khat Azami Yuki—the female version—wasn’t just an ordinary Witbsp;
In the world of Witches, the higher the rank, the lohe lifespan.
However, an 'Indepe Witch' isn’t just immortal—they have transded cause and effebsp;
They are beyond narrative.
They are no longer part of this world.
They are existences outside of existeself.
And standing before her now was the only Witch who had ever reached that level.
Azami Yuki.
Yet, even though she had beeed to Hughes, she remaihe stro Wit the world.
Erika ched her fists.
“…You’re truly insane.”
Azami just smiled faintly.
“If you don’t want this world to colpse, you know what you have to dht?”
Erika gred at her sharply.
She uood what she meant.
One of the ‘Azami Yukis’ had to disappear.
However, before she could say anything—
Azami turned and started walking away.
“…I won’t let this world colpse,” Erika said coldly.
Azami didn’t respond.
But before her figure disappeared, her soft voice was carried by the night wind.
“We’ll see.”
"Azami... Have you really given up that much..." Erika murmured in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible as she watched Azami Yuki—the female version—walk away, leaving her alone in the park.
