A Meeting of Three Dead Men

Am I... dead?

Alice felt like she was in a sealed box. Around her was lightless, suffocating darkness. Something was pressed tightly against her body, leaving no gap.

She tried to move, but whatever was around her was wrapped too tightly. No matter how hard she struggled, it was useless. She kept trying, trying, wanting to roll over, just a little roll, just to quietly turn over... turn over?

Who... was she?

The surrounding darkness seemed to gain a soul in an instant. Brilliant colors spread from a single point, staining the entire scene. Alice saw a quill pen writing.

No ink, no owner. This was... 0-08.

A pale hand reached out from behind and grasped the quill pen. The scene moved up the arm. The person was wearing a double-breasted, pure black clerical robe. His lips were pressed tightly together, his nose bridge was high, and his features were like a classical sculpture, without a single wrinkle. He was blind in one eye; the remaining pupil was a very deep blue, almost a profound black. His hair was dark gold, and he wore a soft hat on his head...

He was Ince Zangwill!

The moment she recognized the person who had killed her, Alice finally remembered who she was. The scene around her receded like a tide – but just as everything was about to completely shatter, it was pieced back together by a strange force.

Alice saw a faintly glowing kingdom in the distance – maybe it was a kingdom.

Moonflower, Deep Sleep Flower, Night-Scented Herb...

Recognizing several familiar herbs, Alice tentatively spoke, "Goddess?"

There was no reply.

Alice tentatively took a few steps forward. She neither got closer nor further from the faintly glowing kingdom.

Stopping again, Alice spoke tentatively once more, "Goddess? Did... did you save me?"

In the silent darkness, Alice heard a gentle, distant sigh.

"Do you truly not know what happened to you?"

Alice stood rooted to the spot, confused.

"An unknown existence erased the original owner of this body from Fate and inserted your Fate."

Alice froze in place. The Goddess, who was unwilling to reveal herself, didn't seem to be aiming for her answer or observing her expression. After speaking, the dream suddenly shattered, leaving her no room for thought.

Alice returned to the sealed, lightless darkness – no, that wasn't right. This time, it wasn't wrapped as tightly as before. This should be a rectangular box... Speaking of which, why hadn't she felt suffocated when it was wrapped so tightly before?

A question she was destined not to find an answer to popped into Alice's mind. She dismissed the question, recalling the last image in her memory of being "killed." She realized that she was most likely inside a coffin.

So, Alice shifted her body a few times and reached her hand towards the coffin lid.

Raphael Cemetery at night.

Azik, with his bronze skin, held a bunch of white flowers and stood before Klein's grave pit, silent for a long time. Just as he was about to say something, his gaze and movements suddenly froze.

—Next to Klein's grave pit, on the grave belonging to Alice Kingsley, the stone slab sealing the grave pit shifted. Then, a very healthy-colored hand, belonging to a young girl, reached out from inside.

Not a Ghoul, nor a Monster. It was a living person with breath and a heartbeat, a very healthy living person...

Realizing this, Azik stopped in place, watching with wide eyes as the owner of the hand pushed open the tombstone and climbed out of the grave. Then, she noticed him standing beside her and hesitantly greeted, "Hi?"

Her greeting to the stranger whose grave visit she had interrupted received no response. Alice quietly opened her Spirit Vision to observe the other person's condition. After confirming that the other person wasn't scared silly and unable to respond, and was even quite calm, she decided to continue with her own business.

So, in this eerie silence, Alice climbed out of the grave in front of a stranger, dusted off the dirt, checked if her clothes were intact and if she had any injuries, then buried the coffin back and restored the grave.

"Fortunately, cremation isn't popular in this era..." Alice muttered softly. After handling everything, she looked up, intending to say something to the person, and then she stopped again.

—From the grave belonging to Klein, in front of the stranger, a pale hand reached out.

They all fell silent, watching their mutual friend climb out of the grave and join the awkward meeting.

Klein: "?"

Azik: "?"

Alice: "Um... how about you bury your coffin back first, and then we find another place?"

They suddenly realized that three dead people chatting in a cemetery wasn't a good idea. They could be discovered by the Nighthawks at any moment.

So, Klein, despite his not fully healed wounds, painstakingly restored his grave to its original state. Then, the three dead people left the scene of the crime and found a safer spot.

This awkward meeting diluted their original brewing sadness. The three of them looked at each other, and finally, Mr. Azik, who had the most experience with such matters, was the first to speak: "What do you plan to do?"

"...Promote cremation in this era?" Alice, not understanding what Mr. Azik was asking, hesitated to ask.

"..." Klein reached out and pinched the bridge of his nose, having to speak up to introduce the two. "Alice, this is Mr. Azik, my teacher. Mr. Azik, this is Alice, my... colleague, and a very good friend."

"Hello?" Alice blinked twice.

"Hello," Mr. Azik nodded. "Have you thought about where you're going next? Have you thought about what identity and face you'll use? You know, to others, you two are already dead."

Alice had a sudden realization; she finally understood where the true focus of the matter lay, and so, lacking any experience in such things, she looked towards Klein.

"...I don't know." Klein's eyes were full of confusion. After all, he hadn't seen the final Ince Zangwill and was still very lost about everything.

"May I ask you something?" Alice turned her head to look at Mr. Azik. Seeing him nod, she continued, "How are the other Nighthawks?"

"They're all still alive." Mr. Azik gave a brief answer, which relieved both Klein and Alice.

"Thank you," Alice said gratefully. "You mean, we need new identities and faces, right?"