One Last Time

Amidst the ruins of Attica's coastal district, Anadiya checked her watch in the early morning light—05:42.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Kosma pounded the stone slab beneath him, again and again, until he was exhausted, his knuckles bloody, the cries from under the slab growing fainter…

Then, a drop, two drops, three…

Dark spots appeared on the stone. Kosma bit his lip, the bitter taste spreading across his tongue.

Seele silently placed a hand on his shoulder, but he only lowered his head further, as if ashamed to be seen crying.

Anadiya straightened, looking at her own bloodied hands, a sense of bewilderment washing over her.

Kosma had injured himself trying to save a stranger, someone he'd never even met. And she… for Kosma?

The strange compulsion that had driven her was gone. She couldn't explain why she'd returned for him.

He was just a tool, no different from the "colleagues" she'd killed, merely a resource to complete her mission.

Was it because of his youthful sense of justice?

No, that was absurd. A seasoned agent like her wouldn't risk her life for such a trivial reason…

Was it because he'd called her "big sis"?

She looked at Kosma, kneeling in defeat, seeing a blurry figure from her past, equally young, equally helpless…

Crack… She gritted her teeth, her long hair falling forward, concealing her increasingly distorted expression.

Moments later, she looked up, a gentle smile back on her face.

Sensing Seele's gaze, Anadiya turned, their eyes meeting.

Seele's eyes widened, then she quickly looked away, unable to meet Anadiya's gaze.

It wasn't the expression itself. Anadiya's eyes were gentle and clear, almost reflecting Seele's own image. But something felt off—like something was missing, making it seem too deliberate.

What was missing…?

Sorrow! Yes, sorrow! And fear! And many other complex emotions!

How could someone facing such a disaster erase all emotion but gentleness from their eyes?

Something was wrong with this "investigator"!

Seele stood, then stumbled back, unsure if it was from fear of Anadiya or simply from kneeling too long.

"Kosma…"

"Anadiya… big sis…"

"Let's go. I need to get you both to safety. The United Government's rescue team will handle the people trapped here."

"But…" Kosma stared at the ground, still hearing faint sobs from beneath the slab.

"If we don't leave, we'll become monsters like that!"

Kosma and Seele followed her gaze. A barely human mass of flesh writhed on the ground.

Its lower body was gone, its organs, blood, and dirt mixing together, leaving a long trail.

But it was, in a sense, alive. Even with its eyes rolled back, its mouth open, revealing broken teeth, letting out a bestial roar…

"Ugh…!" Kosma had been able to endure the gruesome sight from a distance, but Seele's sudden retching triggered a chain reaction.

Anadiya grabbed their hands, pulling them through the ruins.

The entire coastal district was leveled. Kosma couldn't recognize the once-familiar streets, numbly following Anadiya, occasionally supporting Seele, who seemed to be struggling.

He felt Seele's gaze on him.

She blinked at him, then at Anadiya. Kosma was confused. What is she trying to tell me? Is it about Anadiya?

Between Seele and Anadiya, Kosma trusted Anadiya implicitly.

If not for the pink-haired woman's timely arrival, Anadiya would have died saving him.

So he should trust her…

But Seele's frantic blinking and anxious expression made him realize something—did he really know Anadiya?

She hadn't even told him her full name, her age…

He only knew her mission.

Yes, her mission…

Anadiya, before being "big sis," was an investigator… or, in simpler terms, a spy.

Suspicion, once planted, grows, widening the cracks between people.

He slowed down, casually asking, "Anadiya-big-sis, are we going to the airport?"

The airport had a small United Government garrison, an office, airport staff, and housing for low-level officials. If Anadiya was a government investigator, she should be taking them there.

"Ah! Ah—yes, to the airport. If the fighting escalates, we can evacuate quickly… What's wrong?"

Kosma stopped abruptly, pulling away from Anadiya, pulling Seele behind him.

"You're lying!"

His voice was filled with anger and confusion. He pointed at the rising sun. "The airport is northeast of the coastal district. You're taking us west…"

"Anadiya! Why are you lying to me?!"

Anadiya sighed. She closed her eyes, trying to find an excuse…

She could claim she was lost, disoriented, panicked…

But… any excuse was a lie. She knew it, and lies always get exposed.

Especially under the clear morning light, which seemed to wash away all darkness.

Besides… her "colleague" had arrived. There was no need to lie anymore.

Kosma froze. He felt a cold, hard touch against the back of his head—a gun barrel.

"Ah!"

"Seele!" A pair of dark hands snatched Seele from Kosma, a low voice echoing behind him.

"Don't move! Alright, Liudmila, your mission is complete. I'll take the girl… what about the boy? Your call."

Anadiya calmly drew her pistol, aiming it at Kosma's forehead.

The man gagged Seele, dragging her away without a backward glance.

"Why, Anadiya… big sis… why?!"

"Because…" A complex expression flashed across Anadiya's eyes. "Because I am Liudmila Shnaytseva, an orphan adopted by Lord Liechtenstein, a spy infiltrated into Chrysalis."

"Is… is that so… So even the name Anadiya was fake… Everything… fake…"

Bang!

Kosma turned. So did the man in black, clutching his chest, a small, bleeding hole appearing there.

"Liudmila! What are you doing?!"

Anadiya's eyes hardened. "Sorry, Trofim Shnaytsevich…"

"You… why… Do you have another…"

Bang! Trofim's head exploded.

Anadiya stood silently over the body.

She tried to approach Seele, but the girl scrambled away.

She looked back at Kosma, but he too took a step back.

Anadiya smiled sadly, memories flooding her mind, settling on Kosma calling her "big sis."

She took a step towards him, but he only recoiled further.

"Kosma, actually…" My name is Ana. I was turned on my first infiltration mission against the United Government. My mission is to monitor the Liechtenstein family.

She wanted to tell him the truth, that she wasn't a "bad guy."

But she couldn't. The shot wasn't from kindness, but duty.

"Ugh!" She clutched her chest, her vision blurring. She looked down, seeing frost covering her hand.

What's happening…?

Her consciousness faded. She couldn't even process the pain spreading through her body.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

She didn't know—just as she'd always done.

Switching between countless identities, killing countless people, she didn't know who she was anymore.

All she could do was complete each mission. That's why she'd brought Seele to her "colleague," only to kill him moments later.

Could someone who'd killed so many not be a "bad guy"?

Regret filled her mind. A thought struck her—if she hadn't revealed her final identity, if she'd completed her last mission before shooting Trofim, would that have made her "good"?

Too late…

No! She remembered—she had another identity, another mission!

One she'd given herself, one the boy had given her…

Big sis…

One last time, one last time, just one last time…

Feeling her strength fading, her body growing cold, her mind throbbing with pain, she cried, she pleaded…

Please, please, one last time, let me hear that word…

She didn't understand the boy's terror. She just followed her instincts, moving towards him with stiff, unsteady steps.

"Stay away!" Kosma backed against a broken wall, trapped.

Seele picked up Trofim's pistol, aiming it at Anadiya's back, but her hand trembled, unable to pull the trigger.

Think… think… Big bro Mikael taught me how to shoot!

Suddenly, a strong force pulled her away.

"Stay away! Stay away! Stay away!" Kosma screamed, throwing a brick at Anadiya, which landed harmlessly at her feet.

His screams turned to pleas, but Anadiya didn't stop.

The boy's features were blurring, but she continued towards him—even though she'd forgotten his name.

"Call me… Call me… Call me… Let me… Let me know who I am!"

She pleaded, but she couldn't even control her lips. The words echoed only in her mind.

The boy, of course, couldn't hear her.

But it didn't matter. She just wanted to reach him, to bandage his wounds one last time, to hear that word one last time…

The air grew cold. Frost appeared on the boy's face.

Tears froze on her cheeks.

She reached out, wanting to touch his face.

But just as her fingers brushed his skin, the wall behind him shattered. He was pulled back, shielded.

The air warmed. Was that a flame?

No.

As her vision cleared, she saw the fiery figure.

And the girl called Ana, or perhaps Anadiya… or perhaps Liudmila Shnaytseva, the last thing she saw was her own reflection in amber eyes—

Long, white hair swirling in the wind, frost forming her crown, her scepter, her gown…

Even her pink eyes turned icy blue.

"Is… is this me?"

The extreme cold froze the gears in her watch.

The hands stopped at 05:54.