They were immersed in the relief and joy of having found me. I, on the other hand, had gone cold all over, as though even my soul had frozen.
Though I'd known all along that people with abilities like mine existed in this world—people who could change the past—and I'd seen altered realities in both the real world and my dreams, witnessing the people and things before my eyes have time reversed was an indescribable shock.
I watched stiffly as they entered the room, then turned to look at me with puzzled expressions.
The Thin Man stepped forward and called out to me. He even cautiously poked his head out to check the houses on either side.
There was no sound from the forest. In the houses on either side, the toy people were going about their routines as usual.
Chen Xiaoqiu frowned. The way she looked at me changed slightly.
Perhaps she'd sensed something was wrong with me. Or perhaps she'd grown suspicious of me.
At that moment, I also began to wonder whether the five people before me were some kind of illusion.
Compared with accepting that time had been reversed, it seemed easier to think of them as illusions and what had just happened as a reconstruction of reality within some illusory space.
I sincerely hoped it was all fake.
Otherwise, whoever—or whatever—had done this was terrifying. It was far more powerful than my ability, and even more unfathomable, like an ability that could control time at will.
I felt afraid.
The Thin Man called out to me again.
I stirred and went into the house. "How did you end up here?"
The Thin Man explained, just as he had the last time. When he was making up the story, he might have brought the Fat Man