Judge felt like he was staring at an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, except most of the pieces were either missing or worse— completely blank. He needed to gather the fragments and make sense of all this madness.
'So,' he muttered to himself, trying to maintain calm though his mind was racing, 'there is a person called Mina, who just happens to be working on an ethercraft, coincidentally though, it was on the same topic as the father of the Mina he knew was researching on.'
This was not a mere coincidence, he would not have taken it this seriously if the names were not the same. But two researchers, possibly linked by a common name and subject matter? It was enough to raise alarm bells.
Even a fool would know not to take this lightly. He ran through the puzzle pieces, narrowing down possibilities. And then he weighed the two most plausible scenarios.
First, it could be a pure coincidence. After all, human greed and ambition often gave birth to similar types of research. The pursuit of power, especially through manipulating magical energies, was nothing new. He had seen many ambitious fools who destroyed themselves to their ambitions.
But then there was the other, 'I hope it is not' scenario. The one that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The Mina that Percival mentioned was working on research that she kept from her father, an ethercraft that supposedly ate at her life.
What if she was researching on something that kept her alive, something like... immortality? It would make perfect sense for the scene, but that was far too stretched out to be true.
And even if she had achieved immortality, keeping the name would not make sense. If she lived through all these years without aging, that would definitely raise a few eyebrows. Judging by the state of the room in which he found the diary, more than a century had definitely passed.
Melina had said that ethercrafts were all about bringing creativity to life through the implications of principles, so research would mean trying to create new principles and trying to improve them to cost less ether. And immortality was not entirely out of the question.
He hoped it was a coincidence, because he could not do anything else but hope. But he was not a huge fan of hope. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to dismiss his more anxious thoughts. This was no time for guessing games. He needed more facts.
Judge continued to question Percival after deactivating his enhanced cognition. "Well then, tell me more about this Mina. Her past I mean, she seems to be somehow connected to your... time circumstances."
"Mina is a good person!" It was Clara, she seemed too eager to defend her. Mina might be the researcher who took her in. "She would never make Percival disappear." She was practically screaming at this point, but very weakly.
Judge was not surprised but her sudden outburst. He had guessed that Mina might be the first guardian who showed her affection, and this just confirmed his thoughts.
Lucifer, who was standing aside all this time, stepped forward. "Master, the researcher is known as Lara." He said softly "So, Mina might be an alias that people close to her might be calling her, though I am unsure about it."
Judge's eyes flashed toward Percival, who had managed to stand up, holding Clara in his arms, her small body now resting against his shoulder. She looked exhausted, her outburst having drained her completely.
"Is that true?" Judge asked, narrowing his eyes at Percival, searching for any sign of deception.
"Yes, the only people who call her Mina are me and Clara," Percival confirmed. "Others call her Lara, her legal name."
Judge was getting calmer, but he could not shake off the feeling of unease in his mind. Maybe he was just overthinking things, it was stated in the diary that she died, but the researcher never went to confirm his daughter's death. Maybe these two were different Minas.
He knew that there would not be any more useful information, so he needed to ask a question that he knew Percival could not answer, then he could say that the answers were not satisfactory and leave.
"Tell me more of your first experiences with time turning." Judge felt as if he already knew the answer.
Percival looked hesitant at first but then spoke, his voice low and resigned. "I traveled through darkness," he said slowly, adjusting Clara on his shoulder as he tried to make sense of the memory. "When I woke up, I found myself in a world where everyone was asleep. But before I could even look around, I also fell asleep... and when I woke up again, time had reversed."
Judge was surprised by the answer, it was not what he had anticipated, Judge felt a flicker of surprise. That was not the answer he had expected. He had assumed it would be the typical experience of an unintentional time traveler— something sudden and panicked. But this... darkness? A world where everyone was asleep?
That was far more unusual and disturbing.
Still, he kept his composure. "I already know of that," Judge said dismissively, though in truth, his mind was now filled with new questions, desperately asking for answers. "Anything else? Because from what I can see, your time-turning is not something you control."
Percival looked up at Judge, confused. He had hoped that his honesty would earn him Judge's help. But hope, in his life, had always been fleeting. He should have known better. Life was nothing more than a cruel reality, one that never failed to disappoint him.
Judge eyed Lucifer, he could not delay killing Percival any further. If the person who was behind all this came to check why there was no killing happening, he was not ready to fight any supernatural entities.
'kill them both' He ordered mentally, 'But only after I give you the signal.'
Judge stepped closer to Percival, not the best move but he needed the flair. "Remember," His voice was cold and indifferent, "Hold on to your life, if not for you, then at least for her sake." He pointed to Clara, who was now asleep on Perciavl's shoulder.
He then looked at Lucifer and nodded in affirmation, Lucifer stood straight from his lazy posture, and went back to the same pose.
Two heads rolled on the ground, Percival who was yet to register that he was killed. And the unfortunate child, Clara, who still had tears on her face. He eyes were closed, her face was that of a child who was dreaming a nightmare.