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"Chris... Miranda is... the girl you...?" Lucia asked.
"Yeah..." Chrisā eyes looked unfocused as he gritted his teeth and grabbed his head. "Is this real life?! Why is this happening?! Are you not joking with me?" Chris asked.
"No..." Benladann said. "I still remember the fateful day you took us down. Back then I hated you for taking me away from my family, but after living a new life in this world, Iāve come to the realization that what I did... was very wrong."
"You reincarnated, girl?" Chris asked. "You..."
"I still remember. It was here," Benladann said, touching the area right beneath her neck. "This is where your bullet hit me, a bullet packed with a special type of antibiotic that completely killed the mold. Because I had fully merged with it, I died as well, crumbling to white dust."
"..." Chrisā mouth opened wide as he grabbed a knife, cutting his hand and feeling a sharp pain. "Agh!"
"What are you doing?!" Lucia stopped him, snatching the knife away. "Chris! W-Why?!"
"Ugh... I was... trying to see if this was real life or not," Chris said. "I thought one of those mutant Espers trapped me inside a mindscape or something again... I guess... I guess not."
"Let me heal you," Alma said, healing Chrisā hand with a wave of white and green magic. "Hm? You healed really fast. My magic barely did anything."
"Yeah, itās... the same reason Iām immune to the virus," Chris said. "Nanomachines... I injected them in myself before I could die when I went after Ivan Wesker... But anyway... I... uh, youāre really her?"
"I never thought I would ever meet you again, so Iām just as shocked..." Benladann sighed. "I go by Benladann now. Thatās the name my parents gave me in this world... Sheās Miranda. She took my past life name."
"You... youāre not the girl?" Chris asked Miranda.
"I am and not," Miranda said. "I am... the mold itself, or the consciousness, the soul that was born from it through our fusion... I wasnāt the nicest before. It took me a while to get better and act nicer..."
"T-The mold had a soul?! So it was really... a living being?" Chris asked. "An alien or something else?"
"I donāt know. I just came from the stars, but I have no idea what came before," Miranda said. "As I said, I probably had no sentience before my bond with her."
"Hm..." Lucia nodded. "Itās really amusing... to think all these things are now happening. It canāt be a coincidence anymore, Chris. This must be fate, perhaps the Girl in Sailor Uniform did it."
"Who?" Chris asked.
"I already told you about her, the strongest Esper of Earth. She speaks with all Espers and communicates whatās coming, telling them to prepare," Lucia explained. "Some prepare and decide to fight for their world and those they love. Others decide to embrace chaos and bring destruction or hasten it. Sheās very much god-like and can see through everything... Iām now sure she must be here, somewhere, or perhaps in between both worlds. She did tell me that something was going to happen a month ago... to think weāre already at this stage."
"Woah, woah! Hold on, Girl in Sailor Uniform?" Drake asked. "Whatās that all about?"
"It is what I just said. I know little more about her... but she often mentions a merge between worlds and a bridge that was established. She was who guided many Espers toward me, whom I then helped accommodate to their new lives," Lucia sighed. "And talking about new Espers, I wonder where that girl could be..."
"Helena?" Chris asked. "Yeah, since we got teleported here... itās been days now. Iām worried too..."
"..." Jake glanced at Benladann in silence and then lowered his eyes to the floor.
"I suppose all these coincidences are happening thanks to Fate," Drake said. "And no, Iām not talking about the concept of it. Thereās an actual crystallization of Fate in this world. Itās now shattering apart, but it seems capable of altering reality and pushing people together or making certain events happen, all to benefit the survival of this world."
"Really?" Lucia wondered. "How interesting... this world never ceases to amaze me..."
"Yeah..." Chris Bluefield sighed. "I mean, weāre now talking with the reincarnation of people from Earth, two of them who were that girl I had to take down..."
"You donāt have to remind yourself of that. Itās fine..." Benladann said.
"No, itās not fine..." Chris sighed. "I never did it because I wanted... And even until now, Iāve been tormented by my own mind, reminding me every time that I killed a child... itās not right... what I did to you, what I did to your father..."
"Chris..." Benladann muttered, moved to near tears. "Youāve been tormented? But... You donāt have to... You had to do what you did. It was... the right thing. I had gone mad as well, just like... like my father did..."
Drake hugged Benladann with his large arm, letting her know she wasnāt alone right now, never again.
"For you to say this... You donāt know how much it makes me feel... Uh, relieved? Iām glad you were given a second chance too, Benladann," Chris Bluefield said, smiling, shedding a few tears while keeping a mostly stoic expression. "I sometimes prayed for you to... to go to heaven, that you would be forgiven by God and given a second chance. Iām glad my prayers were heard."
"Thank you... this is not exactly heaven though, haha..." Benladann giggled. "But itās... a second chance, yeah... Iām glad to see youāre alive, Chris. Still struggling... But still alive, huh?"
"Gotta give it to ya, youāre one tough nut to crack," Miranda nodded, crossing her arms.
"Hm... Miranda, Benladann... I need to tell you something before we continue talking," Chris said. "Itās something important regarding your father and our past..."
"Your past?" Benladann asked.
"Yeah, I was once his friend..." Chris said, shocking most people.
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