The propellers of the helicopter seemed to stir in [my] ears, and the sound of intense gunfire, mecha activity, and... The sound of the waves.

I heard someone shouting from a loudspeaker:

"Minister Kobayashi, Captain Aragaki, you have been surrounded, no one will come to save you, hand over the [Philosopher's Stone]! Stop making senseless resistance! ”

When I opened my eyes, a purple beam of light swept by like thunder, and right in front of me, holding a sniper rifle against the windowsill, my comrade in small armor, his head and helmet were completely shattered by the purple beam!

I raised my left hand in horror suddenly: "Xiao Nagisa——!! ”

"I... It's okay...... Sister Miyuki, whoa-hoo-"

The scene in front of me was as if the rewind was pressed, and time began to flow backwards, and the head that was shot by the beam began to coalesce rapidly from the powder, and the last full head returned to the head of "Xiao Nagisa".

[Nagisa Aragaki] suddenly softened to the ground, and he gasped and looked at me, revealing a familiar, shy smile:

"Sister Miyuki, you're awake."

"Hmm,"

I nodded, glanced at the hovering fighter jets outside the window, and said:

"What's going on now? Still can't get in touch with headquarters? ”

Aragaki Nagisa shook his head helplessly:

"No, this hilltop signal tower is already the highest place on the island, but all information cannot be transmitted and no message can be received..."

"Sister Miyuki, we were betrayed."

“......”

I fell silent, trying to reach out and press my forehead, but when I lifted my hand, I found that my right arm below the elbow had been severed.

My hands are gone.

Nagisa Aragaki looked at my severed hand, and a trace of regret flashed in his eyes:

"I'm sorry, Sister Miyuki, your arm was lost on the road, I didn't find it, and now I can't help you recover..."

"It's okay, anyway... I probably won't need it in the future..."

I sighed and leaned feebly against the wall:

"I kind of know who betrayed us, but... Oh, it's a pity that we can't find him for revenge, there are too many enemies, even my ability can't escape..."

"I'm sorry, Xiao Nagisa, it's me who has caused you trouble..."

Aragaki Nagisa shook his head and whispered in a hoarse voice:

"It's... Deputy Director Ikeda, our mission should be absolutely secret, but now... All are dead, they are all dead..."

I raised my other intact left hand and patted Nagisa Aragaki on the trembling shoulder:

"It's not your fault, Nagisa, you've done a good job..."

Then, I looked at the silver suitcase beside me and muttered:

"This is the root of everything, the [Philosopher's Stone], which destroyed the 'miracle thing' made in the whole of Australia..."

Nagisa Aragaki also looked at the box with a complicated look:

"They actually succeeded, the soul crystallization that only exists in theory, and it will change the whole world..."

"Nope! It must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the new emperor! ”

I gritted my teeth and said:

"This kind of technology shouldn't exist in the first place! If those bastards get the art of making the Philosopher's Stone, the world will be finished! Nagisa, we're going to ruin it here! ”

The loudspeaker outside sounded again, repeating constantly:

"Minister Kobayashi, Captain Aragaki! Give up the resistance! Your relatives and friends are in our hands, and if you detonate the Philosopher's Stone here, their heads will also explode at the same time, you have to think clearly! ”

"Those scum!!" I roared angrily.

“......”

The air fell silent, and an oppressive atmosphere spread between the two.

Suddenly, Nagisa Aragaki leaned over and opened the box containing the Philosopher's Stone.

In a seemingly ordinary test tube, there is a jar of semi-liquid bright red contents, which is the [Philosopher's Stone], a special energy crystallization refined from the human life of an entire continent.

This is Pandora's box that can destroy the world, but it could also be the key to a new era.

Nagisa Aragaki reached out and grabbed the small test tube.

"Nagisa-chan?" I looked at the most powerful subordinate in front of me in bewilderment.

"Sister Miyuki, do you remember when we first met?"

Nagisa Aragaki lowered his head, his messy hair covering his eyes, and all his emotions seemed to be hidden in the shadow of Rukai.

I was stunned for a moment, thinking of the current situation of the two, I smiled dejectedly, leaned against the wall weakly, took out a cigarette from my pocket with my left hand, and then reached out and groped for a while, and asked awkwardly:

"Nagisa-chan, is there a fire?"

Nagisa Aragaki skillfully reached out and lit a cigarette for me, and I also fell into memories at this time:

"Think about it... That seems to have happened six years ago, when you had just awakened, and it was Sakamoto, who was leading the team at the time, who brought you to our bureau to register, and I seem to have said hello to you..."

"Yes, I didn't know Miyuki-san's name at the time, until you came to the school and served as a teacher in the first phase of the school's assassination class... That's when I had a goal to strive for. ”

"Poof..."

I smiled heartily:

"What? So you targeted me back then, didn't you? Actually, Xiao Nagisa, you have done a good job, you took over as the captain of my assassination team two years ago, and everyone praises you for your talent..."

"No, it's not..."

Nagisa Aragaki shook his head, and he looked up at me, and the overflow in his eyes was an emotion I had never noticed before:

"Sister Miyuki, my goal has never been to be you, I just want to stand by your side..."

"Huh? Eh!? This..."

The heart that had been tempered with incomparable tenacity after countless assassinations and life-and-death struggles was a little loose at this moment, and the child's fiery gaze made it difficult for me to look directly:

"Little... Nagisa? I... I've always thought of you as a brother, you see me... I'm so much older than you..."

It's a panic I've never experienced before, and if I had been in another scenario, I'd have used my abilities to escape.

"Well, I know, I've always known..."

The loneliness in Aragaki Nagisa's eyes was distressing, and he said softly:

"I thought there would be a chance, but now, if I don't say something, I may never be able to say it."

“... I'm sorry, Nagisa..."

I was silent for a moment, then closed my eyes in agony, yes, it might have been too late to say anything, if I hadn't taken on this task in the first place...

"But, Miyuki-san, I'm not going to give up like that... Ahem, whoa! ”

I opened my eyes suddenly, only to see Nagisa Aragaki kneeling on one knee, coughing up a large amount of blood in his mouth, and in his hand, there was an empty transparent test tube!!

"Nagisa!? Oh, my God! What did you do!? You, you drank it!? ”

"Beauty, Sister Miyuki, sister... Listen, listen to me, use your power with all your might, act only on the soul, and keep the mind..."

"Nagisa-chan? You're crazy! That thing can be drunk! Spit it out!! You're going to die!! ”

"Sister Miyuki, listen to me, the Philosopher's Stone is a highly concentrated soul energy, and since it is soul energy, then we dreamers can theoretically use it..."

The vast energy of the Philosopher's Stone washed over Aragaki Nagisa's body, and his body was like a broken piece of porcelain, with bright red cracks everywhere.

His body was constantly shattering into particles, and he was constantly being restored by his abilities, and it was hard to imagine what kind of pain he was suffering at this moment.

"Sister Miyuki, if your ability is fully urged, you should be able to be immune to the effects of my ability to a certain extent...

If not, cough, that, that's okay, at least it won't get worse, right? Hehe, cough! ”

"Nagisa, what do you want ——!?"

"Do as I say! Sister Miyuki! There is no time! ”

Awakened by Nagisa Aragaki's roar, I tearfully urged my abilities with all my might.

I don't know if it was due to the influence of the Philosopher's Stone, my ability seemed to break through the limit and was promoted to S rank, and at this moment, my [Cause and Effect] disappeared from this world!

Nagisa Aragaki's eyes became clear again after a moment of confusion.

He opened his mouth, but he didn't seem to remember my name anymore, but he still smiled shyly as he had done at first, looked in my direction, and said softly:

"That's probably the only way to do it now... For you, I'm willing to turn the whole world upside down. ”

Nagisa Aragaki was covered in bright red blood, and a huge and strange energy overflowed from that thin body, and everything around him seemed to have begun to irreversibly disintegrate.

When the desire of the dreamer is strong enough, the light that blooms from the soul shakes the world.

"[I want to... Back to the time when you were unharmed! ”

Time begins to flow backwards from this moment.

- World, backtracking.