The two had waited patiently for me while I’d gone away to regather myself. Along with the bitter pain the scar had given to me, I’d had to contend with the confusion and terror that had shaken me. After I’d manage to come to grips, I’d made my return.

As I’d strolled in and retaken my seat, Urania had spoken comforting words to me before she’d given into her curiosity for my affliction. Now with no other excuse nor smokescreen to guard me, I breathed a weighted sigh and gave in. I’d done my best to provide her with the best answers I could offer.

As our meeting carries on and the day drifts into night, we attempt to find the end to our long, bizarre discussion. By this ending point, Urania and I are no longer doubtful as to the girl’s honesty in all matters. Though profoundly astonishing as it all was, the evidence was too tremendous to deny.

“I’ve met all of the maidens before. I’d met Uria as well. Though I suppose that simply saying that I’d met them wouldn’t be accurate in regards to this world. But in my own, I’d been very close with all of them. They were family to me.” The girl speaks in reminiscence. “Leaving that world, I’d left behind everyone and everything I knew. But I did it for a purpose. I had no other choice.”

“What purpose was that?”

Urania had mostly taken up the mantle of leading discussion. Though I try to do better with myself, try as I can, I still feel nerves and discomfort at the fact that the scar my secret had been so suddenly revealed. I listen in, only asking questions when I find it purposeful. Though we’d both asked her for her name, she had left it to mystery for the time, asking for our trust in the matter.

“It was…” Another bit of sorrow comes to the girl who thinks quietly to herself. When she picks up, she turns towards me. “You had been successful. We’d been able to stop the Sins together, all of us. But something went wrong…”

A greater sigh follows close behind. Tied with a moment’s contemplation, a spot of reminiscence.

“I’ve been advised that I should leave the details of my world to a minimum. Especially when it comes to the Celestial Knight. There’s no if ands or buts, I have to do everything in my power to make sure that my mission is successful. If I speak too much, it might jeopardize all that I’m working for.”

“That sounds like quite the burden you’ve taken. And for such a young woman as well.” Urania’s words are fraught with admiration but it’s coupled with a tone of sympathy.

“I had no other choice. Not just because of what is at stake, but because I’d personally chose to do this.” Her pause adds building tension to her words. “My mission is to save the Celestial Knight.”

“To save me?”

“I can’t tell you anymore than that, but that’s the reason why I’m here. At any cost, whatever I can do, I’ll protect you.”

Though she had been so strong, if not sorrowful in all of our discussions, a dew of tears begins to make her eyes look glassy as they stare right through me.

“I can’t let anything happen to you. So I’ll fight as much as I can to make everything right.”

I’m speechless staring back at her and for a second, I could swear that something about her is familiar. Watching her tearful eyes begins to trouble my mind even more. It feels as if something deep inside of me is being forcibly tugged out. It becomes too much to bear so I look away.

“That explains why you’d come to get me when I was fighting against Pr-” I catch myself and correct the name I speak, “Lucifer. Did something happen to me in your world?”

“I can’t say.”

“Well, with everything that I’ve heard, it sounds like something very much did happen to me.” I sigh, the heaviness of the thought giving me its weight. “But who is this person who had been giving you these directions? And how could you even leap through worlds anyways?”

“That person… their being a person is debatable. They’re… something else. They were thought to be a Sinner.”

“A Sinner?!” I yelp out, surprise hitting me like a bolt of lightning. “You’d dealt with a Sinner? And it spoke to you?!”

“I know that you’re likely not happy to hear that I’ve gone to something like that for help, but please hear me out.” The way she’s so apologetic somehow brings to mind a child caught in mischief. “He’s… different. He was called the Demon of the Plains in my world and there were many who feared him, but he’d told me his story. He’s misunderstood.”

“How could a monster be misunderstood?”

“Just… please trust me.” She bows her head quickly and resumes. “I’d left my world behind through the use of… something that I’ll keep a secret. It was by my own action and choice. I’ve been through far more worlds than just this one. But all of those other worlds… they’re unimportant to my mission at hand… They’re not important anymore…”

Another beat, another breath and another thought.

“This is the one world that was so different that I couldn’t enter into it by choice. Since I was never born, there was no way to have been here. It left me with no other choice than to ask for help from the Demon of the Plains. From Astaroth.”

“Astaroth…!”

My recent memory of an otherworldly library comes sprinting back and I remember that I’d read that name in a book.

“And once more I had encountered Astaroth who had yet again left a powerful Loveless for me to exterminate as he’d departed.”

“But that bastard always leaves Loveless behind him wherever he goes! It was foolish to have even come near to him!”

“You remember?” The girl gasps loudly and her eyes go wide.

“I…”

I see myself there at the river where Juna had rescued me on our special day out together. But that memory changes its form and shifts drastically. There with us, a creature of pure white, dripping with shadows so dark they fall across its body like ink. Its unearthly scream resonates in my ears as it vanishes and leaves in its wake a putrid monster that threatens our lives.

A Loveless.

“I… remember something. Something that couldn’t have happened. It never happened. That day wasn’t like that… And I’d never…”

Beaten and bloodied, my sword tears through the Loveless’ neck and severs it asunder. When its body falls with a thud, I too begin to fall as my legs give out from fatigue.

And I collapse into the river.

“You made a deal with him, didn’t you?”

“I had no other choice. It was the only way I could come to this world.”

“You shouldn’t have. You should have taken better care of yourself. You shouldn’t have worried about me.”

I suddenly don’t feel like myself, but I do feel like myself. I don’t feel like this body, this person, I feel like another person as I speak. And as quickly as the words and feelings come, they vanish without a trace in my mind.

“I’m sorry… But I had to…”

Tears now fall across her face and a hiccup of sorrow find their way into her voice. But she stays strong. She takes a breath and wipes her eyes clear. Her strong and capable stance is resurrected.

“My apologies for that display. The point is that I’m not just doing this for myself though I have a very personal stake in it. There’s more at risk than just me and I’m not going to abandon you. You’d never once abandoned me.”

“It’s getting late.” Urania cuts between the two of us and brings us back into the present. “Though I loathe to cut this short as I still have endless questions that I simply must have answered, I must relent. It won’t do any of us good if we don’t get our sleep. And given the day’s events, you two could well use it.”

She stands and places her hands on the back of her chair.

“This won’t be the end of our discussions but we’ll have to wait for a better time. And…” What she speaks next is unlike herself. “This will stay a secret between all of us for now. If it comes to it, I will inform his majesty, but after all that she’d told me, I too have a personal stake in this. And the least to mention; you’re both important to me.”

Gathering her papers, including the long, scrawling notes she had written for herself the entire discussion through, she begins to lead us towards the door. Before she can open it, the girl prevents her.

“I have one last thing to say for today. Please listen.”

Needless to say, she has both of our attention all to herself.

“My name is Justice. I was born and raised to fight beside the Celestial Knight.”

✩ ✩ ✩

Urania had let us go kindly and gently but there was a reluctance as she did. An uncharacteristic but cute blush rode on her face when she’d given me permission to refer to her as Uria from now on. So I’d obliged. Then Justice had come along with me as we’d started on our way.

Deciding to walk home in order to have more time to speak together, we redirect ourselves to the streets. But there was one detour I’d had to make to visit with a florist I’d contacted early in the morning. They’d been so kind to have waited up for me at this late hour. From there I walk with a bouquet in hand.

“Astaroth had told me that in this world you’re technologically illiterate. And that cell phones have an odd place here.”

“Cell phones?” I ironically prove her point right out the gate.

“Well, you seem to call them KNITE communicators. There’s likely some differences but there’s plenty of similarities too. In my world there’s plenty of technology so the strange and spotty usage of it here is one of the oddest parts about this world from what I’d been told.”

“It’s still pretty overwhelming to hear all of this.”

Though I’m left clueless what next to speak, grasping to understand or even fathom what I’d been told, Justice snatches my attention back to her.

“H-Hey.” Her voice comes across meekly. “I’m sorry about the scar thing.”

“It’s fine. I suppose a secret will get out eventually. Though I’d never expected it would have been quite like that. But you seem to know that it’s something very private so I’d expect you’ll be keeping it as secret.”

“I always had. Today would be the first time I’d ever spoken of it openly to another not already in the know. But that someone was Uria.”

Even though we’d only met today and it had been around 6 hours since, I find an odd sentiment for this girl welling up within me. And what’s more, it feels completely natural.

“Come to think of it, I’d never asked more about your relationship to me in that other world.”

“I was a knight raised by the kingdom to help you in your missions. You shouldn’t think too much about it.”

“Then I guess I’ll take you at your word. But there’s something odd… It feels… strange…” I shake my head. “But my word is my word and I’ll respect your wishes. After all, apparently that bastard wants you to be secretive around me.”

“It’s rare you’d ever say words like that unless you were talking about Loveless and Sinners.” She blushes a bit, surprised at my coarse choice of words.

“Well, you’re not wrong about that…”

“Oh my. It seems that we’ve had ourselves a chance meeting.”

Mine and Justice’s ears pick up and we both twist to spot a teal haired man in a fine uniform approaching us from behind. He smiles brightly and greets us with a kindly wave of his hand.

“Thirteen?” I speak his name with a humored surprise. “What are you doing around here?”

“My post at the hospital had met its end so I’d decided to take up another late night patrol. Someone needs to enforce curfew for the young ones.” He clicks his tongue and then jokingly presses on. “If anything, I should be asking what you’re still doing awake. Did that little incident throw off your sleeping schedule?”

“Well, there has been some residual effects, but I’m well enough. I’d just returned from my duties so I and my partner were just headed back home.”

“It kept you up that late, huh? You really do have quite the burden to bear, but it’s nice that you have some help. She seems to be a fine knight. Her eyes are more experienced than most anyone else her age.”

“So you can tell as well?”

“After serving with so many, you begin to pick up on the more subtle details.” His focus then turns towards Justice. “Tell me, how did you end up getting to work with the Celestial Knight himself? It’s really is a high honor and someone your age wouldn’t likely be getting such a lofty position so early in life.”

“That’s… well…” Justice stutters, appearing to be at a loss as she stares openly towards him. “It was a privilege given by the royal family. My parents were both fine knights and I’d gratefully taken after both of them.”

“That would explain it. If you have family with great honor and you’ve shown your own aptitude, it comes as natural that you’d be included. Nevertheless, keep up the good work and take good care of him. But I relent.” He grins widely. “It’s late and I’m sure you’re both well tired. I’ll be seeing you around and hopefully we’ll have another meeting sooner rather than later.”

He nods to both of us, picks up his feet and carries himself forward and past us.

“I hope it won’t be too long. Have a good night and good luck on your patrols, Thirteen.”

At the turn of a corner, he gives another kindly wave and leaves our sight.

“That’s Thirteen. I’d met him in the hospital after a little incident I’d had. But I’m sure you’ve already met him before in your world, so I suppose an introduction wouldn’t carry much weight.”

I begin in my step but when I notice that my footfalls seem awfully lonely, I glance over my shoulder to see Justice standing stock still.

“What’s the matter? Something on your mind?”

“Khiron, that’s the thing…” There is a feeling of apprehension now flowing from her, caught in her voice. “I’ve never met that man in my life.”