Hope born of solitus

*

Still the 10th of August. Lunch break had arrived and Sariel migrated over. Both Arin and Sariel pulled a nearby seat and gathered at my table.

Silence passed as they stared deeply into each other. We were classmates, so it they weren't exactly strangers... In fact, they should be more familiar with each other than I was..

"Uhhh...? Anything I could help you guys with...??" (Lastia)

They turned back to stare at me, their heads craned nearly in sync. Sariel held back so Arin spoke first.

"So uhh... Have you prepared for today's test? There's a quiz today, but I heard it's a part of our final grading..." (Arin)

Ahh... Did their stare off have something to do with that?

"So like last time... We wanted your help! It's just that over the course of time, the places we're weak at began to diverge. So we might have to wrestle for your attention..." (Sariel)

"Fufu... The top student, Sariel asking for my help? That's a surprise..." (Lastia)

"Hey!? Are you just going to ignore me??" (Arin)

Sariel turned her gaze away with a little flush on her face, while Arin gazed fervently at my complexion, as if looking for a weakness to pounce at.

"Ehem! Well, I don't mind. It's just that... I don't know if I would be free on any other day, so I can only guarantee my time today." (Lastia)

I didn't think I would use my photographic memory in this way. My thoughts have always centered on 'surviving' instead, to keep up the pretense that 'Lastia' is a complete being. Even so, being able to remember everything didn't really mean I was perfect at teaching. In the end we decided to do it right after school ended. It looks like I'll be spending my whole day in the classroom.

"Booo! I don't get it! If you explain it in the exact same way, nothing will change!" (Arin)

"Now, now... You shouldn't force her. We've already received enough help as is." (Sariel)

"... Hmm... How about this-? " (Lastia)

I had no other plans for the day anyway. I didn't know what to do and before I knew it, I was invited. This is nice. A serene background with this pleasant and tranquil atmosphere. Spending time with 2 of my closest friends. I might have spent more time with them than my predecessors did. I hope they don't get too jealous.

"Fuaaagghh! Mhmm..." (Lastia)

I groaned the fatigue away as the two began to pack up their stationary. I don't know if I managed to help them as much as I could, but I'm grateful for the time we spent together. The problem with Lastia is that she is 'an incomplete being pretending to be complete'. Even though we have photographic memory, remembering noted facts could never match up to lived experiences. To the 'me' now, everything in the diary was a distant fairytale. The things that previous Lastias have gone through, I could never relate to. Like watching a video of someone else.

"... See you tomorrow." (Arin)

A gentle smile bloomed on her face. She strung her words smoothly like silk, persisting like the cascading of a harp's sound.

"You did great today. See you tomorrow too." (Lastia)

No matter how much I am reminded of my ephemerality, I strangely do not mind. After all, it is all I know. With so little time in this world, I couldn't spend a single extra second being interested in my own past. After all, I am still weaving Lastia's future.

"Alright, good luck on your tests too, I think we did great progress today." (Sariel)

"Yeah. Let's do our best!" (Lastia)

I do have some curiosity in the secrets behind my curse. The diary stated that my condition is solely in the supernatural. No professional medicinal practitioner would admit to my memories having problems. It is not something that could be observed in the material world. The unfortunate aspect is that I wouldn't be the Lastia to finally uncover the secrets behind my curse. Naturally most of us would come to this conclusion and be demoralised or too unmotivated to care about this problem.

Just solo investigating the Traces wouldn't yield much progress, there isn't exactly a direction or lead on my curse, which further impedes progress. We took our tests with no trouble and before long, evening arrived soon enough and we went about our separate ways. When I reached home...

"UGHH!?" (Lastia)

I was lifted off the ground. With a wing span of 3 metres and fur rivalling a bear, a black creature picked me up by the talons. An abnormally large bat shaped trace had ambushed, and I didn't notice until it was too late. Like breathing, I transformed into a magical girl naturally. My body felt hot, almost scalding, yet comforting. The surface of my clothes and skin glowed a blinding white before vanishing to reveal a dark dress and a pair of white gloves.

Its talons are gripping tightly onto my shoulders, constricting the movement of my arms. My legs can't reach that high up either... I've never used magic before, but I have to try something new.

{Feed}, I apply my magic through my skin's surface, covering a large area. The output is weak, but it should be able to break down anything that's related to magic. Traces are essentially beings fully constructed from magic, or share a similar composition.

"GGGRRRAAAAUUUGGHHH!!" (Trace)

The crisp smell of smoke wafted around my head, its flesh was melting and releasing gas. It resisted for a short bit before letting me go, my body plunged from a high altitude. This body is barely better than a human's, even if my regeneration was 10 times more potent and faster than a normal person's, it would still take a long time to heal broken bones.

The razor sharp wind blew past my face, deafening my ears. For a short moment I could only hear my own heartbeat and my thoughts. A single second more and I would splatter over the sidewalk, even if I could escape with my life, my legs will be too broken to fight the bat Trace properly...

Concentrate... Weave your magic around your body and imagine... A barrier. Right, magical girls always manage to keep their limbs in shows because they are 'protected by magic', safeguarding their age ratings. If I could just make a barrier that would protect me against inertia...

{Feed}, devour gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. Slow my fall... Please. My surroundings are a blur, my barrier is just as it says, it's magic. Air and debris are still passing through it, so even a piece of scrap metal might take my head off. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the bottom half of the barrier, akin to a bubble wrapping my body and the air around it. Please...! Swallow up the momentum!!