Ihe Chess club room, Harty had set up a small iigation hub, plete with notebooks, a corkboard covered in notes and photos, and various detective-themed decorations. He turo greet Roselle and her panion Sarah as they entered.

  “Hey, wele to our makeshift detective headquarters,” Harty said with a grin. “This is where the magic happens, or at least where we’ll try to uhe mystery surrounding the impersonator and what happeo Sarah.”

  Roselle introduced Sarah to Harty “Harty. This is Sarah.”

  They shook hands. Sarah felt a bit flustered being around a handsome guy like this. She thought to herself, “He’s even cuter up close.”

  With a pyful grin, Roselle leaned in and whispered to Sarah, “Someone’s got a crush, huh?”

  Sarah blushed slightly. She nudged Roselle and whispered back, “Shush, don’t tease me like that!”

  Harty, oblivious to their exge, turned his attention to a chalkboard covered in notes and photos. “Alright, dies, let’s get started. I’ve been doing some preliminary research, and there’s definitely something fishy going on. I’ve piled a list of possible leads, and I think we should start by cheg out some of the pces where the impersonatht have been seen.”

  Roselle and Sarah reviewed the evidehat Harty had already gathered, they were genuinely impressed by his thhness. Sarah leaned in close to Roselle and whispered with a mischievous glint in her eye, “Roselle, do you think Harty has been keeping an eye on us for a while now? He seems to know an awful lot.”

  Roselle stifled a giggle, equally intrigued by Harty’s preparedness. She replied in a hushed tone, “It’s starting to feel that way, isn’t it? Maybe he’s beely watg us all along.”

  Their versations made Harty blush even more. He cleared his throat nervously, trying to focus oask at hand. “Well, you know, I just wao make sure I was well-prepared for this iigation, so I gathered this up all in one day or two before I met you..” he stammered, avoiding direct eye tact.

  Sarah couldn’t resist pushing this a bit further. She leaned closer to Harty and whispered in a spiratorial tone, “Or maybe you just wanted an excuse to spend time with us, Harty.”

  Roselle joined in, grinning mischievously. “Yeah, Harty, you tell us if you’ve got a crush on one of us. We won’t judge.”

  Harty’s face turned a deep shade of red, aammered, “N-no, it’s not like that at all! I just... I thought this case was iing, that’s all.”

  Roselle and Sarah burst into ughter.

  “Alright, Harty, we believe you,” Roselle said, still chug. “Let’s focus on the case and leave the other stuff for ter.”

  Harty let out a relieved sigh, grateful that the attention was shifting back to the iigation. “Thank you,” he said with a shy smile. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes, our step should be to talk to some of the witnesses who might have seen the impersonator.”

  Sarah nodded in agreement with Harty’s pn and chimed in, “That’s a good idea, Harty. And you know what? We have a group of potential witness’s right in our own circle of friends. All the people whiving Roselle those icy gres this m—they might have seen something or know something. We should talk to them.”

  Roselle recalled the uling moment earlier when her friends had surrounded her, their gazes filled with suspi. She felt some level of ay e on, but she became motivated. “You’re right, Sarah. Let’s start with our friends. They might have some valuable information, and it’s time we get to the bottom of this.”

  “Sounds like a p’s gather whatever information we from them. We’ll meet up with them and see what they know.”

  Roselle’s memory faded. She begins to be lead back to present moment, but her thoughts were ed by the uling memory of her friends’ icy gres that m.

  ‘What a m... My friends’ gres were like icy daggers. I hought I’d see the day when they’d look at me like that. But I ’t bme them for being suspicious after what happened, I? There’s one person, though... She’s different. Why ’t I remember her name? She’s was one of my closest buddies for years, and now it’s like her name is just slipping through my fingers. What’s going on with me? It’s not just a ’s a piece of our friendship…but I ’t remember…’

  As Roselle delved deep into her thoughts, the fragmented memories began to fade like a mist dispersing in the m sun. She felt herself beily pulled away from the world of mysteries and into another realm.

  She whispered softly, almost pleading with the enigmatic system that governed her jourhrough these memories, “I’m not ready to leave yet. There are so many questions, so much I want to uand!”

  But despite her reluce, the pull of reality grew strougging her away from the world of her memories and bato sciousness.

  When Roselle woke up, the world around her had ged once more. The atmosphere was filled with an aura of victory. She found herself lying on a soft, grassy knoll, surrounded by her sisters, Runebelle and Risebelle.

  Risebelle leaned over Roselle to check her systems with a sigh of relief. Her eyes were tired, but there was a glimmer of happiness in them as she saw Roselle awake.

  [System Message]

  Lifeforce: 100%

  Magic: 200%

  Project Mage Data Colle: 15%

  Risebelle breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Roselle awaken.

  “Roselle, you’re back,” Risebelle said with a look of exhaustion and joy. “Your life ford magic reserves are fully restored. It’s like a miracle.”

  Roselle could see the worry in Risebelle’s eyes, a stark trast to her usual serious demeanor. It was clear from the look aloo her that Risebelle had been through a lot during her unsciousness.

  Roselle’s memories gradually returned, she shook her head and managed a weak smile. “I remember,” she replied. “I remember the battle and the explosion. What happeo Abner?”

  Risebelle, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, nodded as Roselle asked “Yes, he’s gone,” she firmed. “The Maractor was destroyed in the explosion. There are only two left now.”

  Risebelle then turned her attention to Runebelle, and Roselle followed her gaze.

  “I mao stabilize Runebelle. It wasn’t easy, at all” Risebelle admitted, her tone refleg the difficulty of the task. “Hag into her healing energy and coaxing it back to life was a real challenge. I had to dig deep into my own abilities, and it drained me more than I’d like to admit, but I ’t let her go, Roselle. She’s our sister, and we’re a family now.”

  Roselle’s eyes grew wide as she repeated the word “Family?”

  “Of course, we’re family,” Risebelle replied firmly, her gaze log onto Roselle’s. “We’ve been through so much together, and we’ve saved each other’s lives more times than I t. That’s stuff that a true family does, right? ”

  “It is?” Roselle questioned.

  “I don’t know, Roselle,” Risebelle admitted with uainty. “I’ve never had a proper family before. My past life was... plicated, to say the least. My mother was an abusive bitch, and my father didn’t give a damn. I don’t even know what a ‘normal’ family is supposed to be like.”

  She stopped for a moment, her eyes distant as she reflected oumultuous past.

  “But I do know ohing,” Risebelle tinued, her gaze returning to Roselle’s. “Whatever we have, whatever we’ve built together, it means something to me. You and Runebelle, and even Kintovar, have bee a part of my life that I ’t imagine being without. So, in that sense, maybe we are a family, even if it’s not like what others might have.

  “Wait, you remember your past life?” Roselle asked, her eyes widening in astonishment. “What was it like? Do you remember everything?”

  “I remember about 30% of my past life. It’s not like I have all the details, but I’ve beeing these visions that started ing to me at random times. When it happens, I lose sciousness, and then I find myself fully restored, like I’ve been given a sed ce.”

  She paused, her gaze shifting as she sidered Roselle’s question more deeply. “And yeah, it makes me wonder if something simir happeo you, especially after what we just went through. It’s like... like we have this reservoir of power or memories inside us that be tapped into when we really . Maybe that’s a part of what it means to be a creation of Kintovar.”

  Roselle’s eyes widened in surprise as she processed Risebelle’s revetion. “I thought it was only happening to me too,” she admitted. “But now it makes sense. Kintovar mentiohat Runebelle started with 50% of her memory capacity. I didn’t uand what that meant at the time, but maybe it’s reted to these memories and visions we’ve been experieng… It’s like pieces of a puzzle, and our memories are scattered parts of a bigger picture. I wonder what Kintovar was trying to achieve with us...”

  Risebelle lowered her eyes for a moment, a shadow passing over her face as she pted the mysteries surrounding their pasts.

  “Don’t think about it too much for now. We have enough to deal with at the moment, “Roselle said.

  Risebelle carefully hoisted Runebelle over her shoulder being mindful of her sister’s delicate state. “You’re right, Roselle,” she tinued, shifting her focus. “We’re in bad shape, both of us at 0% Magid Runebelle’s life force is at 1%. Do you remember those tanks Kintovar left in the forest for us to use? We should head there, and maybe we find a way to restore id help Runebelle recover.”

  With a shared sense of purpose, Roselle and Risebelle began their jourhrough the Mystical forest, retrag their steps back to the location of the tanks.

  Meanwhile, Dr. Kintovar, Becky, and Sybil moved through the dense Mystical forest, they finally came upon the heavily guarded Maractor. The forest’s dense foliage provided cover as they observed the mages in charge of proteg this structure.

  Dr. Kintovar, with her keen intelled analytical mind, reviewed the data provided by Becky and Sybil on the mages.Dr. Kintovar’s keen eyes sed the area, and she couldn’t help but feel some . She turo Becky and Sybil, getting serious.

  “Becky, Sybil, I need more proof of your loyalty,” Dr. Kintovar said with a low tone. “We ’t afford any doubts or betrayals at this stage”

  Dr. Kintovar watched Becky and Sybil closely.

  “I need you to go out and front the mages,” Dr. Kintovar stated firmly. “But before you do, remove your hoods.”

  Becky’s rea was immediate. She crossed her arms, a hint of defian her stance. “Why should we? You do realize that we put ourselves at risk for your cause?”

  Sybil g Becky, then back at Dr. Kintovar, flicted.

  “I... I uand the need for trust, but we’ve hidden our identities for so long. It’s been a way to protect ourselves, as you said.”

  Dr. Kintovar maintained her gaze. “Your loyalty is not what’s iion here in this moment, but as roach oal, we must show unity and itment. Trust goes both ways. I o know that we are truly aligned in purpose. Please, remove your hoods.”

  Becky and Sybil relutly removed their hoods, their true appearances were revealed.

  Becky, with her short pink hair and striking green eyes, had an aura of toughness about her. A red headband adorned her head, adding tged appearance, but her gaze softened as she exposed her face. Her features, though rough, held a certain charm that hi a life filled with hope through hardship.

  Sybil, with her shreen hair and crystal-clear eyes, exuded a different kind of beauty. Her face was more delicate, her features refined and elegant. As she revealed her face to Dr. Kintovar, there was a sense of shyness in her facial features, a trast to her partner’s demeanor.

  Dr. Kintovar took in their appearances, nodding in approval. “Thank you for your cooperation. Our unity is crucial as we move forward.”

  A wicked grin curled on Dr. Kintovar’s lips.

  “Now the’s go ahead aarted, shall we?”