Evangeline? Neraxis called out, wary.
[I'm here. Sort of,] she replied, her voice also carrying unease. [I can't manifest myself, nor can I interact with your mana. We're separated—but also not at the sa ti.]
I see. He turned his gaze back to the trembling Ariella. "You say this is your world? What do you an by that?"
"This is what I see whenever I ddle with ti... and it looks like my powers don't work on you anymore," Ariella answered. "But... your powers seem to work on ."
"Do you an those spectral things?" Neraxis asked, tilting his head. "I'm not dealing with them on my own—my mana is doing everything by itself."
"I know, so is mine," Ariella replied with a nod, wiping her tears as she pushed him away.
The mont she did, he felt his consciousness slip slightly backward before snapping back into his body.
"I can't even push you out of this place either..." Ariella remarked with a conflicted sigh before flashing him a glare. "Who are you?"
"I don't have to tell you that, and you don't have to tell who you are either," Neraxis said sternly. "But I'm a bit curious—do you actually not have limits? This looks a bit surreal."
"Limits is a strong word..." Ariella grumbled. "Unlike others who can control ti and age faster when they use it, I'm the opposite. My lifespan increases, and I can't even die a natural death—neither can I die by suicide."
Hearing the confidence in her tone, his eyes widened. "It sounds like you've tried it before."
She looked him in the eyes for a mont before glancing toward the spectral remnants. "I tried it. I failed. Every ti soone cos close to killing , I turn back ti automatically. Every ti I try to end my own life, ti turns back automatically as well. It's a curse..."
Ariella's gaze darkened as she made her way toward one of the spectral remnants and touched it.
The mont she did, Neraxis felt a dull pain in his shoulder, which grew with every second that passed.
But then, he saw Ariella visibly flinch as she clutched her white, clock-like eye.
From it, blood dripped down.
"...You feel the pain of others," he deduced.
"Pain I inflict and pain I don't inflict. If people were killed and I turned back ti, I would feel the combined pain of everyone," Ariella explained.
"So if you turn back the ti of the whole world..."
She turned toward him with a half smile. "Yep. It hurts."
"When you say my powers affect you, do you an they relieve your pain?" Neraxis asked, tilting his head.
"They stabilize ti and relieve the pain, yes." She nodded. "Normally, I would be seeing millions of outcos right now, but I'm only seeing five or six—and they keep decreasing because of whatever your power is doing."
"I'll take that as a complint. But still, how long do you plan on keeping us here?" Neraxis asked, looking around.
The space around them kept cracking, but since ti kept resetting, the cracks didn't an much.
"After it finishes stabilizing, I will bring us back," Ariella affird, her tone and expression much better than earlier.
However, she was extrely dangerous. With just a touch of a spectral remnant, she was able to hurt him.
This is one overpowered curse... he remarked in his mind as he walked up to Ariella and placed his hand on her cheek.
Ariella was startled by his actions, but as he began infusing his mana into her, she quickly let out a relieved breath.
The cracks that had been covering the entire space around them began disappearing, and following that, the spectral remnants vanished as well, leaving only the two of them.
As that happened, her white, clock-like eye began moving again.
"What's your na?" she asked plainly.
And he replied just as plainly, "Neraxis."
"I see... Thank you, Neraxis. I didn't expect to et soone I could talk to in a place like this... It gets a bit lonely in here," Ariella said with a soft smile.
But Neraxis was still a bit curious about one thing. "Does this happen every ti you use your ti powers?"
"Only if I accidentally rewind too much or stop ti for too long," Ariella explained matter-of-factly. "If you weren't here, then it would have taken a bit of ti to fix everything..."
A mage dealing with ti says it will take her a bit of ti? Neraxis furrowed his brows. "How long?"
"...This?" Ariella pointed all around them. "What happened earlier would have taken three years to fix."
"..." Neraxis was speechless at her comnt.
Three years...? She spends three years doing nothing but fixing the cracks and the spectral remnants?
If that was really the case, then that ant she had to interact with every single spectral remnant and endure the pain for three long years.
"Don't worry too much. Three years is on the short end," she let out a hollow chuckle. "My longest was when I first reset ti. Fixing that took nearly 129 years."
"...129 years?" Neraxis winced. "How old were you?"
"I had my awakening when I was still pretty young. So my first ti using my powers was when I was ten," Ariella replied, and as Neraxis was about to say sothing, she cut him off. "I don't need your pity, nor do I need your consolation. I'm happy I can do what I do—since it gives a lot of ti to myself."
"But—"
"Neraxis." Ariella glanced at him with a stern look. "I can't do anything about it—neither can anyone else. My main skill, Ti Maiden, makes all attempts fruitless..."
She trailed off, her eyes widening in wonder. "Could you try killing ?"
Noticing her intentions, Neraxis swiftly refused. "I'm not going to kill you, Ariella."
"Try, please?" she practically begged. "Try squeezing my neck."
[A masochist spotted?] Evangeline remarked from the side.
Nonetheless, as hesitant as he was, he could understand what Ariella might be feeling.
She looked around 18 or 19 on the outside, but she had likely experienced hundreds—if not thousands—of years already.
So, he gently placed his hands around her neck and began squeezing.
She wore a hopeful expression, and after a few seconds, her legs gave out. Just as her eyes were about to roll into the back of her head, Neraxis stopped.
So she wouldn't fall, he awkwardly held her by the waist.
I regret that. Neraxis sighed inwardly, watching as Ariella began breathing stably again.
This ti, she had an ecstatic look on her face.
"You're the one," Ariella said with an obsessed expression. "Neraxis, can you kill ?"
Knowing that a simple "No." wouldn't do, he decided on sothing else.
"I will kill you in a year—but only if you ask to." Neraxis stated with a serious look.
Ariella clicked her tongue as she stood on both feet again. "Fine—but I'll keep nagging you. So after this round is over, give your phone number."
"Sure," Neraxis replied, amused.
The mont he did, the world slowly began returning to normal.
People began moving, breathing—and even the tir above resud beeping.
It was odd to think that this conversation of theirs had happened, yet not even a nanosecond had passed on the outside.
Nonetheless, Ariella glanced at him with a teasing look.
"Let's finish this, Neraxis."
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