We Are One

We are one. Thirsty, I woke up in the middle of the night. The moment I tried to get some water, I caught sight of myself in the mirror by chance. “A dream… right?” The words slipped out. I looked at my hands—small, like a middle schooler’s. When I touched my ears, they were pointed like an elf’s or a demon’s. There was a soft fullness on my chest that a man should never feel, and down below, the part that should have defined me as male was simply gone. This wasn’t a dream. I had become that girl again. Why? I must have repeated the question at least twenty times.

After that I opened the door and stepped out carefully. Yu Daye was sitting in her wheelchair, staring out the window. Her eyes lacked their usual mischievous sparkle. How much longer could she live? The fear of her dwindling lifespan, the terror that if she died now and turned into a monster she might slaughter everyone she held dear with her own hands. I saw all of that anxiety swirling in her gaze and wanted to slip away unnoticed, but she spotted me before I could vanish.

“Wh… who are you?” Her voice trembled with fear. Only then did I realize I wasn’t Haru right now. Running wasn’t an option—there was no escape route. Saying I was Haru would only make her more wary of this female body. So I spoke calmly, refusing to panic.

“Hello, Yu Daye-nim, Haru’s precious little sister.”

My shameless acting left Daye flustered. “You’re not one of the two girls my brother brought home… so how do you know my name?”

“Because Haru is my big brother.”

“Big brother…? I’ve never heard him mention any sister besides me.”

“You wouldn’t have. But if you ask him, you’ll understand.”

“Then may I ask the name of this self-proclaimed sister?”

“My name is…” The observer from my own novel—Primrose. “Primrose. It’s nice to meet you.”

I gave her the gentlest smile I could manage so she wouldn’t be afraid. “I came because I have something to tell you on our brother’s behalf.”

“On his behalf…?”

“Haru knows exactly what you’re feeling right now. It’s scary. It hurts. It’s terrifying. But don’t worry. It’s going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right. It really will.”

“...”

“Since Haru wants it that way, I’ll make sure it happens too.”

“You talk like you know my brother so well.”

What was I supposed to say at a moment like this? I wasn’t sure whether the line came from some manga or if I’d made it up on the spot. It simply rose to my lips, so I spoke.

“Primrose and Haru are always talking about you, Daye. We both believe with all our hearts that we have to save you. So I’ll make the same promise he would. We will stay by your side and protect you—because you are more precious to us than anything else in this world.”

“My brother would really go that far… ugh!”

The “bug” inside Yu Daye began to stir, tearing at her internal organs. Her face twisted in agony as she clutched her chest and collapsed. Rough, ragged breaths tore from her throat, followed by a trickle of blood.

I rushed to support her, speaking urgently. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid.”

Mana unfolded in my hands. I didn’t know how I was doing it. The single desperate thought—I have to heal her—was all that drove me. Maybe my frantic wish reached her, because the damage the parasite had caused slowly began to mend.

Even though I was pouring out as much power as I had during that last blizzard just to keep her alive, why was the healing so slow?! Inside I was screaming with frustration, but on the outside I kept a calm, reassuring smile so she wouldn’t worry.

“Haru and I have decided we’re going to save you, Daye.”

As I spoke I touched her cheek. The moment I felt the bug trying to emerge again, I placed my hand over her heart. The parasite inside her frail body tried to seize control and reveal itself to the world. I stared straight at the thing and said,

“Stop.”

I don’t know why, but at my single domineering word the creature writhing inside her flinched as if terrified, then froze completely.

“Where do you think you’re trying to come out? You think you can do that in front of me?”

At my chilling tone the bug that had been forcing its way out immediately fell silent, shrinking back into stillness as if dead. Gradually Daye’s pain faded and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her breathing returned to normal.

“...”

I stroked her face—still twisted from pain and fear—and whispered, “It’s all right. Everything is all right now. I warned it not to come out, so it won’t. Right?”

At the sound of my voice the parasite lurking inside her shrank back in clear terror.

“I don’t know when, but someday Haru will find a way to solve the problem of the monster bug inside you, no matter what it takes. I’ll make sure of it. I’m going to save you!!”

Because I was the one who brought you here after shouting those words.

“So please wait until then—that’s what Haru wanted me to tell you.”

“...My brother really… Brother… please save me. And someday please create the paradise I told you about.”

Daye smiled through her tears. I answered gently, “I will. I definitely will. So, Daye, for now—”

I was about to tell her to stop crying and get some rest when a voice cut in from behind me.

“Who are you?”

When I turned, Daisy was standing there, eyes full of wariness. “Ah… well, you could say I’m Haru’s second little sister.”

“According to the records we’ve seen, Haru has no sister from the Serena Union.”

“That’s correct.” Sorcia appeared behind Daisy and continued in her elegant tone. “In the first place, it’s impossible for a human and one of our races to be brother and sister. So, if I may ask—who exactly are you?”

“I am…”

In the instant I spoke, Daisy closed the distance. I tried to dodge, but she caught my hand. Her eyes glowed with the light of activated mana.

“You, you, you, you… who are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you?!”

Whatever she had seen made her eyes flood with pure terror. Sorcia’s usual relaxed smile vanished completely. “This person before us… is a god.”

Just moments ago they had been looking at me like I was a thief, and now they were spouting nonsense. That was my first thought—until I woke up.

I was right here, so why had I woken up? It felt strange. The instant the bizarre sensation of being two people at once hit me, I rose from the bed, opened the door, and stepped into the living room. And there she was.

The girl—me, transformed into Primrose—was looking at the male me, Haru. The male Haru was looking at the female Primrose. One mind, two bodies.

While Sorcia kept the girl’s attention, Daisy didn’t miss the opening. She charged forward, thinking, I need to confirm what race this girl belongs to and whether she poses a danger to us.

She activated the unique magic only the royal demon clan could use—High Precision Measurement—which distinguished the innate mana of every race and measured an opponent’s rank. Her eyes widened as she whispered, “No way.”

Her lips trembled violently. She had seen something overwhelming. It wasn’t simply that the girl possessed “more” mana than anything she had ever encountered. It felt like the very essence of mana itself, as if every drop of magical energy in the world had been crammed into one place. A completely unique signature no race she had ever seen possessed.

The moment she drew closer to analyze that power, her instincts screamed, Do not touch it. Yet her scholarly curiosity refused to be denied. The instant she brushed against it, a chill ran down her spine. At first she didn’t understand the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feeling. Then she did.

It was death.

This delicate girl… no. This was no girl. This monster had slaughtered countless living beings. And the scale of it wasn’t ordinary death. It felt like the very concept of death given form. Before she could find any answers, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wave of death surged toward her. She tried to sever the connection and escape—

—and the world flipped.

Instead of the cramped house where she had been living with Haru, she stood in a beautiful flower field.

The bizarre syllables echoed inside her skull. Then a mechanical voice followed.

After the strange sound, Sorcia’s voice came from beside her. “Daisy, where are we…?”

“I don’t—”

Before she could say she had no idea, a voice rang out from the center of the flower field.

“Living creatures are so weak. They die so easily. Utterly insignificant.”

We turned. The unidentified girl we had just met was standing there.

“Are you a god?” Sorcia asked. She must have sensed the same overwhelming mana and aura of death I had. But the girl didn’t even glance at her. She simply gazed at the flowers and continued.

“Dreams are wonderful things. A place where you can achieve everything you desire. That is a dream. Yet they are also empty. When you wake, the dream vanishes and nothing remains—just like these flowers.”

“What are you saying?”

“By coming here, you have opened a door that should never have been opened. A story that can no longer be stopped is about to begin. Therefore, please—enjoy until the very end the tale of our Σύναψις revival.”

Amid the words was a phrase I couldn’t understand. I tried to ask what it meant, but a blinding light engulfed us and we were back in the original room. The girl who had been staring at us with cold, mechanical eyes now looked at us with innocent, beautiful, childlike ones.

“U-um… why are you suddenly acting like that?”

I glanced at Sorcia. She gave a small nod, confirming we shared the same thought. What we had just witnessed was no hallucination. The moment that truth sank in, my legs began to shake. The power I had felt earlier was beyond imagination. If she wished, she could erase us from existence without leaving a trace. Opposing a being with that kind of strength would be suicide.

“Please take good care of us, Haru’s little sister,” Sorcia said.

To survive, I answered in the brightest voice I could muster. “Please take good care of us, Haru’s little sister!”

She really was the younger sister of a Demon God. Even all the guardian mages who had surrounded me back at the palace combined couldn’t match the colossal mana she possessed. The moment that thought crossed my mind, Haru stepped into the room.