As I stood in front of Enna, a thought gripped me.
From the very beginning, after opening my eyes, I didn't get much time to think for myself.
I was always 'kept' preoccupied with something or the other.
However, it was just not in my nature to do things without questioning anything.
Why was I here? What was I actually doing?
Enna was standing right infront of me now, she was within my reach.
She and I just looked at each other silently.
There was one problem though.
I couldn't forcefully drag her to safety.
If I did that, she could just come back here later.
While I'm trying to somehow save her permanently.
Wait a second. Why am I trying to save her again?
For chivalry? For the sake of greater goodness?
Is that the reason why I was here right now doing all this?
No.
Lianne said there was a task. A task set up by someone and I was forced to do it.
If I tried to remember my past before being thrown here, my head hurt badly.
However, I still could remember one thing clearly.
My name isn't Ray.
Infact, I also remember the very details of my life before all this started.
But whenever I actively tried to recall, my head felt as if it's strapped to tons of T.N.T.
Which brings me to the question, what exact restrictions have been placed on my memory?
Hopefully, I'm not some failed robot or clone with fake memories, right?
That's scary to think about and I'd be very disappointed with my existence if that were the case.
Lianne doesn't seem to be willing to answer these questions.
She can clearly hear all my thoughts. Unless I specifically try to hide it from her, I don't think there's much that she can't access in my brain.
Should I try ordering her?
'Lianne, why didn't my head hurt when I remembered that I was 17? Answer me, it's an order.'
'That memory isn't deeply seated. You must have had your birthday, when you entered the Trial of Destiny.'
'Trial of Destiny? What is that?'
'I am sorry. Further information is locked and I can only answer your questions after you clear the First Task.'
This rubbed me the wrong way.
She's hiding something. Or more specifically, she was ordered to hide something. She is a system, so the one who designed her doesn't want me to learn things too quickly.
One might ask whether this just showed that information is costly. Well, it does but it's strange in this scenario where there are huge stakes, and by stakes I am talking about the life of a human being.
If information is restricted, wouldn't that cause me to fail and indirectly cause Enna to die?
So that means the one who designed this stage either wants me to fail or Enna to die.
Or...both...
Lightning struck me.
No, it can't be.
'Lianne, does the first task have specifics?'
Again, a screen opened up infront of my eyes.
[ - Trial of Destiny-
First Task:
The girl named Enna Kimura is destined to die at 8pm, 23rd May , 2075.
Prevent her death to alter the course of her destiny.
Reward: Enna Kimura becomes eligible to be recruited in the party.
Special reward×2
Unique skill×1
Penalty for failure: Chances to clear Trial of Destiny halved. Next task difficulty doubled.
Sub task: Look into the eyes of the subject when her destined death arrives.
Subtask can be cleared without clearing the main task. Clearing subtask will clear the main task without incurring a penalty, however rewards of main task will not be available.]
This is not good. It's like I feared.
'Lianne, there is no cause of death written in this task.'
'Yes, Ray. That is correct. She is destined to die. Her death may not necessarily be due to suicide.'
'Oh no... Then that means, everything that I've been doing till now could possibly and inadvertently lead directly to her death.'
Lianne didn't say anything.
What? Was I digging her grave all along? And mine too while I was at it?
No. No. No. I need to look at the time. Where is that futuristic phone?
[Warning! Moving from the current location will drastically affect Enna Kimura's emotional health.]
As if to put oil on fire, the winds started to pick up pace.
"Ray...", Enna softly called my name.
I had to reply to her. I can't just stay quiet.
"Sometimes, the ones we trust, hurt us the most." I looked at her with a heart broken expression.
She lifted up her hand and tried to touch my face but stopped midway.
"When the times seem hopeless, and you are at your wit's end..."
I used to sing this when I was little.
'Does she even understand what she's doing?' I asked Lianne.
"Keep your head high, your heart strong and your mind sharp." For now I had to keep speaking to Enna while Lianne maintained her silence.
'Most likely not. Since it's obvious from what you said that she isn't thinking correctly.'
So is this how Destiny works?
Enna touched my shoulder in the midst of my thoughts.
"Thank you Ray."
She smiled.
'User Ray's sanity dropped by 10 points'
'Enna Kimura's mental sanity increased by 3 points. Emotional health increased by 10 points.'
I was a hypocrite. Preaching optimism while firmly approaching this with a cynical mindset.
Enna is probably here because she felt tired from her stressful daily routine, maybe her bullies or something that pushed her to do this. The intrusive thought of jumping over the edge must have crossed her mind like it does to every one of us but she most likely doesn't have the will to commit to it. Otherwise she would have already jumped. Was destiny trying to kill her and not she herself? Does that even make sense?
I had assumed she'd jump from the very beginning. Not realizing that maybe, just maybe, it could have been me who'd be the one to push her to her death.
The subtask basically translates to me killing her!
'You're fucking with me, Destiny.'
"Ray, I'm not being bullied. I'm just slightly being teased by a certain group in class. My father, he was a good man... He was a policeman. After his death, he was framed for corruption..." Enna's eyes were full of compassion.
"Enna..." While mine were full of despair.
Enna shook her head, "No. Let me get this off my chest. He was an honest man. I know he never did anything wrong, I know what they say he did is all false. Today... I... when they were ganging up on me, my best friend stepped in... They pushed her down the stairs...."
My blood started boiling. All the rage inside me started to accumulate.
"Don't worry though, she is alright. It's just, I felt guilty and I don't know what took over me. Haha... I guess I'm still a child."
I used my memory as an internal clock. Exactly calculating how much time could have passed.
I have to concurrently think, listen, speak and decide.
"My mother... is usually busy with her office work, but I know she has it rough too. My parents divorced when I was young but... she hasn't married anyone else after that", Enna patted my jacket.
Roughly 15-20 minutes must have passed. Which means something will happen to her in the next 5-10 minutes.
"I originally just wanted to come here to take my mind off of everything... But then, when I started thinking back about everything that happened... I felt like it wouldn't be such a bad idea to end it all here."