Gone (I)Everything that happens within the spiral tower is, just as the existence of the tower itself, near nonsensical.

Lee is well aware of this fact. If he wasn't, the person before him would serve well as his awakening call. In this hall of red and black, the locks of her purple hair, neatly combed and well cared for, stood out the most. Her military jacket and camo vest underneath is pristine without a single wrinkle. Her mere presence alone stood out.

She should not be here. She could not be with him anymore.

Throughout the year he spent by her side, his vigilance and close observations allowed him to notice and remember even the smallest things about her; her smiles, in particular, are the easiest way to read her mind and heart. Yet the changes are too subtle for those who are not her close companions.

Her smile this time is a small one, smaller than how it would normally be. Her eyebrows were not raised, and she had a hard time returning his own gaze. A telltale sign of her sadness. Perhaps it was the gun raised at her, or perhaps it was his presence in the tower itself. Or both - Lee knew it hardly mattered at all.

Her relaxed and polite posture is a carbon copy. The gentleness and sense of safety and comfort that exuded from her is the same, far too familiar, and a new kind of conflict brewed in his M.I.N.D.. For the person before him is but a memory, whose existence has been swallowed by red, and returned just as red.

"You shouldn't be here."

The words he wanted to say, she spoke instead.

"Go back, Lee." “Minerva” asked him– a silent plea in her voice. "It's too dangerous here. You can't do this alone."

"If you wanted to fool me, you could've done a better job at choosing a disguise." Lee's aim remained steady. Neither of them tried to approach the other. Her smile shifted from his words, the slight frown in her eyebrows a sign of her sorrow and remorse.

"I understand. You don't trust me. None of you really have since I came back, and I can't blame you for that." She closed her eyes in defeat. "But whether or not「I」am「real」, you know my request will remain the same; please, go back."

Indeed, that is the truth. For the Commandant who has always vehemently opposed especially dangerous solo missions, should that person still be here today, no doubt he would have met more resistance from her to change into his new frame and enter the tower. But now, standing before each other within the beacon of disaster, she merely asks him to leave.

“I have to go. You can’t stop me.”

“...I can’t,” she said, resigned. “In any case,「I」can’t do much of anything in the first place, no”

She could not stop him, neither did she intend to do so with force. As if she knows words on its own might not be enough at all. She merely stood in place, rooted like a monument, forgotten. While she had stayed still throughout, what crept up toward Lee were doubts and questions that would go unanswered.

“Minerva”’s smile may have wavered somewhat, but it has never disappeared. She gazed at the quartz-like door that crumbled with a calmness of a lake’s surface. The passageway has been opened, and Lee can now continue his long climb to the top of the tower. But is this her doing, or is it the tower’s sentience Though he may have lowered his gun, it remained in his tight grip.

“A lot of things have happened, hm” She commented, a heavy burden hidden under the lighthearted tone.

Lee was quiet for a moment, then came his answer, spoken softly, “yes.”

“She looked very lonely.”

“...yes.”

“I don’t think she likes being alone.”

The crimson that dripped from those eyes and down the pale cheeks were too uncanny. It went ignored while “Minerva” addressed him once more. That gaze is the same as the one his Commandant used to give him before her untimely “death.” Full of adoration and equal love.

“Can you help her, Lee”

A disguised beg for help asked bashfully, with much hesitance.

Like a broken terminal, his M.I.N.D. flashed him various images of a person bound by their limbs and neck, tied to her “guillotine” always ready to execute her, shedding crimson tears in a deafening silence. The warm purple of her amethyst eyes seemed to have disappeared at one point, and he can’t remember if she ever had it since her return.

Too much time has passed since then. He wondered often; will that smile ever appear again Can the warmth that has been robbed be taken back It seemed like such an impossible task. The chaotic days broken by numerous cozy talks and welcoming laughter felt so far away.

“I will.”

But she never gave up on any of them - why would he

The surprise in her eyes was almost comical, as if she was expecting a rejection. The shy smile that came afterwards was ladened with relief, and she said nothing more. Even as he took steps forward with confidence, only silence remained, and her gaze that was trained on his back. It felt as though it weighed him down.

“...Goodbye, Commandant.”

Lee didn’t look back. The fading voice carried his invisible weight away.

“May your future be beautiful, Lee.”