[Trying to put out another chapter. I'm still reorganizing the plot's direction.]
With a swish, Linde pulled back the other person's hood before she could react.
"It really is you."
A rare hint of a smile crossed his face.
Honestly, ever since he had learned about all those things, he had rarely smiled.
Despite the woman's white hair, Linde recognized her at a glance.
"Chara, I really never thought I'd meet you like this."
"I saw it coming a long time ago."
White Chara stood with her hands on her hips, looking rather displeased.
After all, things had slipped beyond her control. Anyone would have been unhappy about that.
But Linde couldn't care less about all that.
"Just get to the point. I hate people who speak in riddles."
"Heh, you speak in riddles yourself, and you're still making a fuss... Well, I'll tell you straight. You've already failed."
Linde froze at her words.
"What do you mean, failed? I'm not even clear on my goal yet. How have I already failed?"
"Fate is hard to explain. Anyway, if the Book of Prophecy hadn't interfered earlier, you would soon have joined Number 0's side too."
"Who's Number 0?"
At Linde's question, White Chara gave him a meaningful look for quite a while before answering.
"He's the you from the memories you saw. Those were also the things you were originally supposed to experience.
"But one timeline after another has been completely restarted. There have already been 1,295 restarts.
"Each restart causes a slight change in the timeline, making the plot diverge a little.
"Number 0 is someone who seeks to break free of fate. He believes fate shackles the entire world and prevents it from becoming perfect.
"According to Number 0's original plan, the world would be restarted 1,296 times