SEINA'S POINT OF VIEW
"I'm sorry for Ashly disturbing you," Xylus apologized. I paused eating and swallowed the food in my mouth before speaking again.
"It's okay," I replied. I looked around, wondering why Ashly wasn’t here now. "By the way, where is she?"
"She's in Sei's room. I heard she's awake now," Xylus said. I froze at his words. Another version of me is awake?
I'm not ready to face her; I mean, I'm scared.
"Seina? You okay?" Kion asked me.
"Y-yes, of course." I continued eating my meal. Xylus and Kion were silent, and I couldn’t think of a topic to lighten the atmosphere in the dining area.
I wasn’t sure if this was how they usually were or if something was wrong. They were so quiet. "Uh, guys?" This time, I managed to grab their attention.
"What?" Kion asked, turning to me.
"Is something wrong? You guys are so quiet," I forced myself to sound casual.
"Oh sorry, were you worried? Don’t worry... we’re just... Nevermind." What? I didn’t quite understand what Kion said.
Seriously, with all that talking, he didn’t even answer my question.
They remained quiet for the rest of the meal, deep in thought as if they didn’t want to be disturbed.
I sat on the couch while they stood in front of me, arms crossed, pacing back and forth. I slapped my forehead in frustration at their behavior. "Okay. I give up, what’s the real problem?" When I spoke, they stopped and looked at each other.
"Ah, well..." I waited for Xylus to continue, but he didn’t add anything.
"Well?" I prompted.
"The Black Society knows about you, where you’re from," Kion said.
They know? But how?
"Oh, is that all?" My eyes widened when Kion suddenly grabbed my shoulders and looked at me intensely.
"That means you’re involved now, and Universe 13, your home, could be affected. Do you understand that, Seina?"
P-possibly... Oh no.
I stood up and walked to the nearest window, looking at the violet sky. My universe...
"What are we going to do?" I asked, turning to them.
"Follow me," Kion said. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but I had a feeling it had to do with Sei.
---
"You mean, we’re transferring the fire element seal to Seina?" Ashly asked, looking at Sei and me.
Since earlier, I hadn’t spoken to the other Seina, and I was curious. But I felt her gaze on me. I wasn’t sure if she didn’t like me or if she was just too weak to talk to me. She had been silent all this time...
"But the question is, can Seina handle it..." Xylus said, drawing my attention.
"She can handle it; I can feel that Seina is strong," Sei suddenly spoke up. Her voice was different from mine.
Sei and I locked eyes, and through that connection, I felt a surge of courage. Sei trusted me, so I should trust myself too.
"Our goal here is to maintain the elemental seals with us, and we can do that better if someone holds them," Sei explained.
"But should it be Seina?" Ashly asked. "Kion could do it."
Kion’s eyes widened at Ashly’s suggestion, and he quickly shook his head.
"We need to transfer the seal to Seina for added protection," Sei added, and they nodded in agreement.
This is it; I’m stepping into this universe’s problem. I just hope, whatever their plan is... I hope we succeed. I’m not sure what they’re planning, but I’ll try to help them.
"I’ll step outside," Ashly said.
After Ashly left, Xylus motioned for me to approach Sei. "What are we going to do?" I asked Xylus and Kion.
"We’ll test if your body can accept the fire element. If you feel anything bad, let us know immediately." I nodded at Kion’s instructions. What could be the worst thing that might happen if my body rejects the seal?
"Seina, listen to me. If you can’t handle it, tell us immediately. Understand? Your safety is still our priority. Do you get that?" Kion’s intense gaze made me feel as though I was being pulled into a void. But since I’m stubborn, even if I get hurt or feel like I’m dying, I’ll insist on succeeding and making my body accept the seal.
I wondered why Sei took a towel, soaked it in water, and then wiped it on her arm where the fire element was.
I was surprised to see what looked like a rectangle sticker, part of the fire element symbol.
"Ready?" Xylus asked.
"Yes," I answered confidently, watching him remove the seal, which looked like a sticker, from Sei’s wrist. It emitted a yellow light.
Xylus held my right hand and carefully placed the seal on it. At first, I felt like my skin was burning, probably because the seal was for the fire element.
"A-ah..." I moaned as the pain intensified. I couldn’t explain why it felt like my entire body was on fire.
"Does it hurt? I can remove it—" I pulled my hand away from Xylus to stop him from removing the seal. I stepped back slightly, holding my hand.
I looked at them, and their worried expressions showed they were concerned that my body might not handle it.
"Seina, if you can’t handle it, remove it right away." This time, it was Sei who spoke.
I didn’t listen to them and took a deep breath. I felt a sense of relief as the burning sensation on my wrist gradually faded away.
I looked at the seal and saw the fire element properly aligned with my skin. I even stroked it; it was just like a tattoo...
"It looks like your body is strong," Kion observed, looking at the seal.
"Of course, Kion, she’s Seina," Sei said proudly.
"Let’s go, Kion; they need to talk." I suddenly felt flustered by Kion and Xylus’s plan to leave. I didn’t show it and quietly walked to the couch near Sei.
An awkward silence filled the room.
"A-ah..." I tried to break the silence. I wasn’t sure what to say. What should I say?
"Seina."
"Y-yes?" I replied nervously.
"Sorry you had to be put in this situation..." I felt a shift in my emotions from what Sei said.
"I joined Kion because I wanted to help you. I wasn’t forced; I really wanted to do this too..."
"How’s mom?" she asked.
"Do you know that my mom is dead? She died in a car accident on her way to the airport." I froze at what I said.
D-dead?
Wait—car accident on the way to the airport...
Suddenly, a flashback hit me: the times when mom was supposed to go to the airport for work but never made it, coinciding with the emergency that happened to me when I was in elementary school.
As I recall, I had slipped and hit my head on a rock, so I was rushed to the hospital. That time, mom’s flight was canceled because of what happened to me.
If I hadn’t had that accident at school... maybe mom would have died.
Wow, I can’t imagine that.
"Oh wait—here..." I pulled out a photo from my pants pocket.
"What is this?" she asked, but I didn’t answer.
She looked at it, and I saw tears forming in her eyes. "It’s..."
"I saw that among my mom’s things. She told me about her visit to Universe 97," I explained.
When Kion picked me up from Universe 13, I didn’t realize I had put the photo in my pocket, so I ended up bringing it here.
I wasn’t sure if bringing that photo was against the rules for traveling to another universe, but since it came from Universe 97, it should be okay, right?
"You can keep it." I approached her and hugged her.
"Thank you, Seina."