Only I Am A Reader

Faced by the shadow of her teammate, Aurora couldn't get herself to do anything. Every hateful world that the darkened reflection spat held some truth.

She had been overconfident enough that she could protect everyone until they grew into the ultimate defenders of humanity, but it was all just a pipe dream.

'I'm sorry.'

To the dead Mark, to her hurt companions… Aurora let out an all-encompassing apology as she shed her guilt. She knew that unspoken words weren't worthy of forgiveness. However, the one that could still be saved took priority.

If it was to stop at least one of them from suffering, Aurora was ready to pay back her dues ten times more!

'You are not real.'

Although her heart could already tell that the vengeful manifestation before her wasn't connected to the true victim, Aurora still had to convince herself that this wasn't something that could be saved.

It was merely an obstacle standing between Aurora and her last chance to redeem herself!

"I-I c-can't use it anymore…"

Unfortunately, by the time she ended her inner fight, Tina had already lost something that could never be returned. It was only then that Aurora truly realized the cruel fate that the others had already experienced.

The self-hate and anger generated by what she saw was enough for Aurora to end her hesitation. She no longer held back, ready to blast her opponent into nothingness, but once again, she was a second too late.

"See? This is what happens when you keep people by your side."

Unlike her indecisive self, Cassian was too quick with his actions. The unfamiliar pace disoriented Aurora, but she also knew how to adapt!

In the same spirit, she removed the obstacle in her way, ready to attack Cassian until he was incapacitated. However… 

"Do you truly think you have the right to be angry?"

Before she could do anything meaningful, Aurora received a direct stab to the heart!

'How did he know?'

The anger that was bubbling within Aurora almost instantly dissipated because of a few words. It was as if Cassian had truly seen through her!

There were many things that left her conflicted, but the main reason behind her hesitation was none other than her own thoughts!

'No… He couldn't.'

For some reason that even Aurora didn't know, her thoughts had been heading in strange directions as of late. Most importantly, she always seemed to be of two minds!

In reality, most people were like that. Unless it was a situation where things were obvious, one would look in more than one direction. However, that wasn't the case for Aurora.

Compared to her confident self who always had an answer right away, Aurora believed that she was quickly becoming a mess.

'These aren't real either.'

Being relieved at the sight of her broken companions could be a real emotion that dwelled in her heart! Feeling grateful for the person who was destroying the last one of them in real time had to be fake!

Aurora didn't know what kind of mind plague she was dealing with, but she refused to believe that any of these unbecoming thoughts belonged to her.

'They can't be.'

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time that Aurora experienced something like this. 

Words that she didn't mean to say, actions that she never intended to do… Although the moments where the alien thoughts were projected outside were still rare, they still happened beyond her will!

In fact, on her way here, she was fighting with the urge to rush while neglecting the slower Tina. these thoughts seemed to have greatly increased since she entered this Gate in particular.

Nonetheless, Aurora still had to convince herself that it was all an illusion, it had to be a demon's whisper that was unrelated to her. That was the only way things made some sense, and also how she could keep going without breaking.

"That day, we both know that I let you take me down…"

Thankfully, judging from Cassian's follow-up, it looked like he wasn't exactly aware of the turmoil in her heart. 

That being said, his words were making a point that these alien thoughts agreed with. It felt like part of Aurora was aggressively pointing at Cassian's advice as it was something that she should have heard a long time ago!

'Is he actually helping me?'

The strange thoughts' insistence made Aurora wonder if this was actually some kind of super instinct, but she couldn't bring herself to fully agree with the inner nod.

It was truly hard to be grateful towards a person and hate his guts at the same time!

"I-"

If not for her confidence in her ability to block mental interference, Aurora would have bet that Cassian was manipulating her right this moment, but then again, the strange thoughts had started a little earlier before she first met him.

'Regardless…'

Being lost in thought would get her nowhere. In a state of confusion like this, what she thought, felt, and believed didn't matter. She just had to follow the standard route.

Considering what Aurora had to deal with soon, she couldn't leave any room for Cassian to interfere any further.

'I need to subdue him first.'

Although she understood that her first victory against him wasn't real, her current self was vastly different from the Aurora of that day. At the very least, she believed that she could put up a proper fight!

[ Warning! ]

Unfortunately, it didn't seem that the Gate agreed with her.

[ The Final Challenge will be initiated within the next 10 seconds. ]

"Well then, it seems that time has run out. I hope you will carefully consider my advice."

Receiving his cue to close the curtains, Leo melted into his shadow after leaving a few more words for the interrupted protagonist.

Aurora could see the shadow spot speeding towards the sphere in the distance, but just as she felt the urge to chase him, her eyes fell back on her unconscious companions.

If she moved away right now, their lives would be at the Gate's mercy! From the looks of it, Aurora could only give up and focus on the challenge presented before her.

[ Challenge 999: Destroy The Encroachment Tower before it reaches Full Charge! ]