The three girls reunited together again were thus given the opportunity to recount the events that had occured while they had remained separated. Such a story-time event effectively extended back to the similar separation they had also experienced the day before, and some of the unmentioned events such had entailed.

“My brother was fine with it, I don’t see why my sisters would be all over me about it.” “That’s easy, because we actually know Jwyexzn. Why him, since when?” “Since yesterday, like I said. Look, this whole thing was really unexpected for all of us, even him, but I would appreciate it if the two of you weren’t so critical about my own choices. Vwyx, having thought about it, I’m actually instead surprised that there seems to be nothing going on between you and Dhyinze. If you’re going to be critical of my choices, explain your own.” “I.. uh.. uh… Okay, maybe I don’t understand the idea myself, and I might have no idea what I should even do myself.. and I really have no idea how to answer that question. Fine, whatever, you do you, right? I’m sorry for dipping into something that isn’t exactly my business, but I just wanted to make sure you were going to be happy with your decision.” “I thank you for that, really. I know you both care, but it’s just something still beyond all three of us. Vwyx hasn’t exactly put much thought into her own love live either, and Riyxia…” “Wouldn’t Riyxia be closest to Eqriuxzl, the two of them seem to get along very well.” “Vwyx, you’re not being sensible again. Eqriuxzl is an elf, Riyxia isn’t.. she’s not even really designed for such feelings, right? Eqriuxzl probably doesn’t understand that either, he actually honestly might actually like her, but if you’ve been paying attention at all.. that whole idea is probably really painful for Riyxia. Having had to work so much with her composition, way more than myself, I had really expected more from you.” Sryine had started getting flustered at Vwyx’s suggestion, even again surprising Vwyx. Riyxia gave a grim shrug, denying nothing. Sure, her essence was capable of measuring feelings, but her body had nothing for chemically producing responses for such intimate affection. There simply was no way she could be interested in people like that at all, it wasn’t even possible. Knowing that such destined her to a lifetime without romance really was sort of sad and painful in its own way, but there really was nothing that could be done about it.

“Okay, fine, new topic then. Exactly how much longer do you expect your sister to be occupied by your gift for her in the storage, and where exactly should we go next? You’re both tired, so we should keep things easy today and maybe go visit the mansion tomorrow. We also then still need to plan out where we should spend the night, there is too much complexity in most of our options.” “I firmly expect my sister is probably back in the workshop, flustering over the opportunity to catch up to work she’d fall far behind on. I also expect that if we leave, she will instantly drop what we’re doing and confront us. Sneaking out could work.. it would also be a bit too inconsiderate in my opinion. As a result, I expect that we should simply go to the workshop next, in order for us to be ready to go anywhere else. I will certainly want to bid my farewells to my sister before we go anywhere.” “If that’s the case, why don’t you just go and do that now, it would be best if the two of us weren’t in your way for that. We’ll just wait here for your return, when we could then discuss our next move.” Riyxia watched Vwyx head off towards the workshop again, bidding her farewells as recommended. Riyxia was slightly concerned about any productive use for the remainder of their day, the most they could do would be to find a quiet place to relax and maybe work on building some kind of advantage in their confrontation with Liyuzhe. She still was left without any real ideas, not even making as much progress in innovative approaches as either of the others. Neither of them had even disclosed the notes they had been mentally amassing involving harmonizing elements in two different ways, leaving Riyxia to expect that they really had nothing. However, she knew it was a good time to consider starting on such discoveries, she was even very proud of what both of them had accomplished while divided, such as their own cooking attempts.

“So my sister recommends we just stick around for the afternoon, relax in the house. She’s going to be in the workshop all day anyway, so she can guarantee things will be quiet until evening. However, we will then need to pack up.. probably just a bit before dinner.. as my parents will be home soon after, and our presence would make things a lot more complicated at that point.” “Actually that might be perfect. Riyxia, you had said something about recommending we get some sleep, to then worry about everything after getting some rest. Quite honestly, I don’t see many reasons for waiting, this place is comfortable enough and if it’s going to remain quiet, we should just get some rest right now, all of us. Sneaking around is actually going to be way easier over the cover of night anyway, and I’m certain your parents would love to see you over a pleasant dinner. After dinner we can move right away to dealing with Liyuzhe, no time wasted. Now, that does mean all of us will need to get a good afternoon of sleep, but I’m certain that’s not beyond my capabilities. Vwyx has seemed tired all day, she might be fine as well. Riyxia, do you think you could manage a midday nap before pulling an all-night run?” Vwyx actually loved Sryine’s idea, even dropping on one of the couches in the living room would be amazing at this point. Vwyx however did recall that Riyxia not only was probably the least tired of them all, she was also going to be expected to get some sleep while caring for the fragment. To optimize conditions for Riyxia, Vwyx brought her to the place she used to call her own bedroom. Things were even still set up for Vwyx’s return, clean sheets and everything, though the room was slightly musty for having no use in ages. Having a sister borrow an old bed, Vwyx thought that was very fitting and fair. Once Riyxia was left in comfort, Vwyx fled back to a choice of couches along with Sryine, all three girls drifting towards sleep.

Riyxia was the only one awake, never even being given time to argue the point, though she took efforts to gain sleep in the process. She was used to sleeping while having her spectre wander, but being only partly asleep made any observations from her spectre distracting. This brought up a sudden and complicated conflict, dealing with her boredom as a spectre while striving for sleep. Her spectre then wandered into the workshop, watching Vwyx’s sister work diligently on her craft. The endless monotone pattern of work was something, but it was nothing of actual interest. After completing a selection of parts that were most likely being prepared for other larger items, she noticed her body had eventually drifted to a light sleep. The work really was boring, but the dedication was fascinating the longer she watched. Vwyx used to do this sort of thing all the time, her sister having taken up the mantle in her absence. Riyxia understood very little about the process, but could still tell the girl was driven to do her best with every project given to her. While watching, she noticed the girl pick up one of the instruments Vwyx had left behind, trying it out to complete one of the pieces. Of course, that really was her motivation, wasn’t it? The girl was so obviously motivated to so simply carry on the work her sister had left behind, to continue in her sister’s image. Vwyx was that much of a role model for the girl, and was appreciated that strongly.

When everyone woke up, Riyxia went through the stuff they had brought and presented one more instrument to Vwyx’s sister, something that hadn’t yet appeared. It was the latest progress of the music box, the evolutions it had made since Vwyx’s departure. They couldn’t do the presentation version of it in these circumstances, it was far too loud, but Vwyx helped her sister try out the simulation variant. Sryine had very little prepared for it, but Riyxia had proposed an idea that had been very easy for her to work with. Vwyx’s sister was then immersed in a simulated experience of Windvale city, the streets and buildings of a fully developed society, and she found it impressive to see. Vwyx decided to leave the instrument behind, they could always collect it later.. even if there was very little it could do in their absence. Vwyx’s sister rushed off to find a safe place for it to wait for their return.. which happened to be at her own bedside for some overnight admiration. With that complete, the three of them were ready to set off for the last family they would need to visit, the one that also represented the very place of their new lives and awakenings. Sryine’s decision about how important that time was, her perspective of how it defined everything for them all, also substantiated that it was then where all of their new lives had started. They were finally returning to the exact location of their own awakening.. not far from also the place that had started everything. The mansion and the observatory.

The three of them arrived under the cover of illusion, three spectral sisters returning to the place of their origins. Once again this had them confront the creaking gate of the mansion, the place seeming to have not changed at all in their departure. Riyxia led the way this time, stopping at the entrance and waiting for the illusion to end before knocking on the door. Her mother answered with a look of shock, welcoming them all inside before rushing off to scale up dinner servings from two to five. Knowing this to be a bit of an imposition by itself, all three girls offered to lend a hand in the process, taking care of different parts of dinner preparation. Almost just as quickly, Riyxia’s mother found herself with nothing left to do, everyone had quickly taken over everything. Riyxia herself was surprised to find herself left with only changing the table settings, Vwyx and Sryine working in perfect tandem with all of the other preparation responsibilities, the kitchen quickly growing warm with the supplication of heat from two different styles. Once the table was in order, she realized she was also stuck without anything to do, so sought her mother for conversation. After a bit of searching, she found her mother quietly reading in the family library, putting the book down on her arrival.

“Hello dear. My, your friends have matured so much. You too, from what I see. If only your father was much of the same.” “Wait, is anything wrong with father?” “He’s tried to stay strong in your departure, but it didn’t last very long. Having lost you.. having adjusted to feelings of death.. it’s been too much for him. It seems you aren’t even going as Khyzae anymore, I heard the others calling you Riyxia.. which might really make sense, the Khyzae we knew is gone, isn’t she?” “Mostly, yes, but not completely. I am Khyzaxliehriyxia, Khyzae at the start and Riyxia in the end. There is much more to me than just Khyzae, things there really get very complicated.” “Yes.. your friends were here talking about it. Well, Khyzae’s friends. That Liyuzhe can be so easy to talk with, I just felt comfortable just answering anything she asked.” “Oh, yeah.. she can be like that, can’t she. Then did she do anything to father?” “Oh, of course not, she didn’t even have the patience to wait for him. He’s been in the laboratory all the time again, almost never leaving, almost never speaking to anyone, not even me. His research has been his obsession again.. it’s only gotten worse.” Riyxia’s mother guided Riyxia towards the doll room.. which was now much longer than it had been in the past. The room was now huge, spanning a nightmarish endless spiral of Ersatz dolls, lifeless lifelike husks made in much the same way as herself. There weren't just a few more than before.. there were hundreds, maybe thousands. All of them being attempts to create an Ersatz that would not sacrifice another essence, that would earn him salvation from making a sacrifice out of his own daughter. It was a spiral into insanity that tried to rival Sryine’s worst, it was a cry of pain that would startle even Vwyx’s worst, it was a self hatred that made her own anger look like nothing at all. This was how far her father had fallen. Riyxia bolted away, rushing to her father as a blur of augmented speed.

“Khyzae.. is that you..? No, no, it’s not you… I’m sorry, I’m so so very sorry.” “Father, I’m sorry too. I’m sorry to have thrown this burden onto you, to have done this to you.” “It was my decision, I decided to not let your essence just rest.. If only…” “No, father, stop. What you did was save me, not from death, but destruction. The flame that attacked us that night was not normal, not anything close to normal. It was a flame that savours destruction, that brings people to oblivion. When you brought me life, you didn’t just bring your daughter a second chance, you brought the other essence that had been bound to her a second chance too. That other essence though came from the flame, escaped from the flame, escaped from the destruction that would have been your daughter’s fate. In this we saved each other.. but in the salvation of that second essence, it was the first that had to pay the price. Most of her essence could not be salvaged, her essence now is nothing more than tatters.. tatters that might even just be dormant feelings. This is why I’m sorry, because I am mostly that second essence that remains, the result of the combination of myself and what remains of her essence. I could not save her beyond that. But without you, we would have both simply faded away, and it was you who gave me this chance. For that, I am eternally grateful.” Riyxia’s father paused at Riyxia’s statement, not sure how to reply. It was quite a lot to take in, his researcher mind was then already spinning with questions he didn’t even know how to ask.

“I suspect you’re probably wondering about the other two. Yes, it is actually much the same for them too. Both girls had suffered faced with destruction, bound themselves to another essence, paid the same price… The only difference was that their body and mind remained intact. Three girls had died that night, and three girls had been revived here in the year after. All three of us owe you both for giving us this second chance.” “So it wasn’t just you then after all… I really did have a feeling there was something more to everything. Ah, what a fine mess everything is. However, this still changes nothing. The case of your own death, the first for Khyzae there.. there was much leading up to it, but everything still comes down to the ersatz as a separate problem. You see, in the incompleteness of my own study, I wasn’t able to do anything more for you. If I had not failed, the terms of your circumstances might have then been no more than the other two girls. Having a full grasp over everything, I might not have been able to save your life.. but I might have then saved everything else. Your body, your mind, to give you the terms of a life far more than what little has been left to you. And now, it’s too late. The worst of it is that the definition of your own existence makes you alone, with no one else to share that with. I fear I have doomed you to a life of solitude.. and deprived you of what it means to actually truly be alive.” Riyxia paused, realizing she couldn’t completely deny her father’s words. He was still partly wrong, she had two sisters at her side that were of the flame, just like her. But she also recalled the discussions earlier about finding romance.. that she did honestly have some things denied from her. She had grown to accept that fact over time, though even the consideration that she might have been instead an elf of the flame instead of an ersatz.. she couldn’t deny how much better that might have been for her.

“I understand now, you feel at fault for leaving me the only ersatz, a one of a kind. You’ve been working on making another then so that you could provide me with someone I could feel a kinship towards, someone who would be at my side. However, it isn’t as if essences like mine drop on your doorstep all the time, so you’ve found no way to make that finishing touch on another Ersatz, to make one like me. Now then, what would you say if I told you I knew a way to make things actually work, to provide what you need to make every last Ersatz move, all without even killing another person? If I did that, would you be willing to accept that I’m not as alone as you make me sound, and finally let everything go?” Riyxia’s offer was stunning, seeming absolutely impossible in its obvious miracle. A miracle like that simply couldn’t be possible.. could it?

Riyxia remained with her father to discuss the matter up until it was finally time for dinner. In the end, her father had agreed, if Riyxia could prove so capable, he would have nothing further to worry about.