When we were growing up, I noticed how much she relied on me. It was weird to me, not that I didn't like it. Hell, I'd make damn sure she wouldn't regret relying on me. It's just that I didn't know if I would be able to look at her whenever my time arrived.

She will see behind my stupid tough woman display; she'll see me crying like the weak idiot that I actually am emotionally, and I don't really want her to see me that way in my last moments. I want my death to be somewhere she never even notices. Maybe she has a partner by then, and she forgets about me.

A partner, huh?

"I'm sorry, Carlotta. I kept all of this from you for so long."

I couldn't bring myself to say these words for so long as well. Every time I hid something from you, it felt horrible. My soul couldn't handle lying to your adorable face; you always brought so much joy to me, so I would rather not ruin the sunshine you created just for me.

"Vitalia! I, well! You know... I am weaker than you! I rely on you for many things! On that day, they forced you to do that! I know my Vitalia would've chosen both of us if she could. I know you would..."

You're stronger than me. Carlotta. That's what I wanted to say, but I couldn't. My heart started to hurt each time she said something bad about herself; it worsened every time she saw me as someone to look up to.

"I! Wanted to say that if you ever feel down. I am here for you! I promise!"

"And, I... um. I love you."

I couldn't say the same. In that moment of desperation, I froze. I would rather not give her delusions; I am dying soon anyway. It doesn't fucking matter. It doesn't.

I just looked at her like an idiot and didn't even reply. I'm such a stupid idiot; I don't understand why I'm such a stupid idiot. I don't understand why I'm this way. I can tell she didn't like my reaction. She definitely thinks I don't like her, damn it! I do love you. I vowed to myself to protect you until the end; I just can't bring myself to hurt you in any way. You deserve someone better than me.

It doesn't matter what I say or think; I just have to move on and act like I'm fine. It didn't matter whether I answered with a yes or a no, because at the end of the journey there was already a set fate for me.

But that was my first mistake; I didn't know fate wanted her instead of me. I didn't know that. I can't even bring myself to look; it hurts emotionally and physically. I don't know what to even say, I can't even see her body under this hellish thing. I just know there's only one ending to this kind of story.

And it's the one where I failed her.

♡

A massive shapeshifter stood in front of your group; it doubled the size of the Armonia headquarters and was made up of random objects. It had two trash cans that moved similarly to two heads, a lot of metal pipes making up each limb, and random trash clashing with each other in the center, keeping it all together.

Vitalia fell on her knees right next to the huge shapeshifter. You tried yelling at Vitalia, but she wouldn't respond; it was as if she had become nothing but a husk.

"Camilla. It's a two-on-one right now; find a way to distract it from Vitalia while I try to find a vulnerable part of its body," Fortunata ordered while grabbing onto her sniper.

As soon as Fortunata made her order, the shapeshifter waved its metal arms toward Vitalia and sent her flying to the wall of the headquarters. While your emotions remained mostly neutral even after what happened to Carlotta, you didn't want to lose all of them and die yourself as well.

"LOOK THIS WAY, GARBAGE DISPOSAL," you attempted to taunt the shapeshifter while yelling insults at it. To your surprise, it worked, and it started walking toward you while waving its arms from side to side; you tried to outrun it while Fortunata found a way to get rid of it.

Fortunata landed a shot on one of the trash can heads, and while it perfectly pierced through it, the shapeshifter did not look damaged and instead became enraged. "I see. I think I've figured it out; continue doing... whatever you're doing."

"I don't think that did anything," you yelled while gasping for air. While running away from it, you realized something weird. Carlotta's body was nowhere to be found, but you were sure the shapeshifter had stepped on her and killed her as a result.

Vitalia lay on the ground next to rubble from her impact; blood covered her face, and she wasn't moving. You weren't sure how much longer you could keep outrunning it; each step the shapeshifter made brought it to a longer distance than each step you took. It kept getting uncomfortably close.

You were trying to think of other things you could do, but you didn't even know how you used any of your power to begin with. It was weird, while the others used physical tools to defeat the shapeshifters, your power seemed more elemental.

Fortunata managed to land another shot; this time it struck the other trash can head. "When I shot the first head, it became angered. While it may not have been the vulnerable spot, it definitely didn't like it."

The shapeshifter's heads fell off and suddenly stopped chasing. The shapeshifter was even more angered. However, it purposely started throwing parts of its own body away and rearranged itself to look even taller, which allowed its body to move faster than usual.

You never stopped running, but you were sure you couldn't outrun it anymore. "Fortunata, I don't think I can do much... more!"

You screamed as the ground underneath cracked into pieces; the shapeshifter was now jumping toward you to get more speed. All the rubble builds up, and you trip on rocks around you; your body flies onto the ground.

Fortunata attempted to shoot its leg, but it shielded itself from the bullet. It was as if it learned from the surroundings; it adapted to everything you tried against it. But that wasn't your biggest concern right now; your body was in massive pain, and you couldn't get up.

The shapeshifter quickly approached you and picked you up from the ground; it started slowly squeezing your body to death. It hurt like hell, and you couldn't do anything about it. Fortunata kept shooting around it to no avail; her shots were shielded from its body.

Was this really the end to your journey? Did you happen to get too curious? What did you do wrong this time? You kept trying to hold your chest and see if the amulet would respond, but it didn't. You were out of options.

Fortunata kept screaming from a distance; you couldn't make out the words she spoke. As the shapeshifter squeezed all the energy within you slowly, it felt no mercy toward you or your companions.

With your blurry vision, you're barely able to tell from a torn ribbon and the body of a familiar person. Your eyes were starting to give way; you couldn't really make out what was going on. Out of nowhere, despite your belief in death quickly approaching, your body fell on the ground.

"I finally realized the one I was making these damn delusions for was for myself," Vitalia said in a quiet voice as she realized who had stepped toward her direction.

The pink-haired girl that always stood by her side, the supposedly powerless and emotional girl, stood firmly right in front of her. Vitalia gagged while trying to keep herself together. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I promised."

Carlotta grabbed Vitalia's body and started to kiss her. "Vitalia... If I was really dead... you would've also died... I don't know! I don't know what's going on in your head, but I love you! I love you! And it made me so sad. It made me sad seeing you lie here waiting to die."

"I'm not good at this... but instead of focusing so much on what YOU THINK hurts me. We should just... protect each other until the end comes for both of us! Because I'm never letting you go either!"

Vitalia started crying right in front of her. "I'm sorry."

"I love you too, Carlotta."