"So... does that mean I’m a clone or something?"

"Maybe yes. Maybe not."

Okay... why does this feel eerily familiar?

Wait—observer effect on quantum collapse?!

No. Selene. Not again. No more quantum physics lectures. Please.

This already felt worse than any high school physics nightmare I’d ever had. And trust me, those were traumatic enough.

Meanwhile, the quantum maniac in front of me just stood there—confused. Probably because we’d been throwing around jargon telepathically the whole time.

"I didn’t understand most of that," Selene finally said out loud.

"But if you’re referring to what I was about to explain, then—"

"Could you not talk like Kairi’s the only one here?!" Azalea snapped. She looked genuinely annoyed.

Right. I forgot. We’ve basically been telepathically excluding her this whole time.

Helena blinked. "What’s not to understand? Isn’t this stuff basic?"

No, Helena. You can’t just say that.

These so-called ’muh genius’ types were going to make me crash out at any moment.

Crashout, seriously? Oh no—

"Crashout?" Selene echoed, deadpan.

No. Stop right there. You won’t get it—

"Is that like... a magical device malfunctioning?" Helena offered.

"You might be right," Azalea chimed in. "But why the ’out’ part?"

What the actual hell.

I give up. No more Gen Z terms today. Not even "LOL." Oh shi—

"Latitude of Olam’s Levitation?" Selene asked, completely straight-faced.

"...No."

"Then don’t say things you don’t want us to guess."

"Or maybe stop eavesdropping on my thoughts like you’re some kind of mind-diving stalker."

"Fine."

Anyway, this conversation had already been getting out of hand, so I needed to follow what ever Selene was trying to explain at this point. Or perhaps, Helena.

"So," Selene cut in smoothly, "do you want to continue, or not?"

Helena and Azalea both looked dazed—more confused than me, somehow, even though I’d literally been through multiple fractured timelines with Selene.

"Continue... what?" Helena asked.

"Your explanation," Selene said. "Because Kairi’s grasp of this supposedly ’basic’ concept is extremely surface-level. We’ll need to educate them."

Wait...

If quantum collapse is considered basic here, then the concept of future is intermediate?

And if this is basic... what’s intermediate? Or advanced? And Mytheia—was its programming considered cutting-edge? The pinnacle of innovation in magic?

And Olam or whatever—The World of Outer, Primordial Gods?

So, what is that, exactly? How does it work.

I still have no idea. Let alone its mechanism, technically-speaking.

"It’s not Olam ’or whatever,’ Kairi," Selene said out loud.

Helena turned to me, stunned.

"Wait. Did she just... call Olam that in her thoughts?"

"You’d be beheaded for saying that in front of the King, you know,"

Helena added casually.

Ah. So we’re talking Marie Antoinette’s unfortunate fate. Got it.

I just nodded. There was no point in responding anymore. This conversation was already halfway to a breakdown. I might as well let Selene—or Helena—take the lead.

"Alright. Explain it to me. Now."

Selene smiled—way too pleased.

"Actually... how about Professor Helena handles this one?"

"Stop calling me that to mock me, Wicked Witch."

"Oh my. Daring, aren’t we?"

You two are even gayer than me.

I honestly couldn’t tell if Selene remembered she’d been trying to kill Helena not that long ago. Probably not.

"I still do, Kairi," Selene said softly. "But it’s time to move on. Right, Helena?"

Helena nodded. Whether she actually agreed or was just trying to keep the peace—I couldn’t tell. Maybe it was Selene’s projection magic at work. Again.

"And now you’re both ignoring me. Pathetic," Azalea muttered with a pout.

It was... honestly kind of cute.

Like a squishy toy I wanted to squeeze.

"Maybe stop entertaining intrusive thoughts in your head," Selene murmured.

"Stop reading my mind already!"

"Let me guess... it was about me pouting?"

"Azalea, my little sis," Selene said, mock-sweetly, "maybe she adores you now. Like the loverbird she is."

"Shut up!" we both shouted at the same time.

"They’re in denial, aren’t they?" Selene smirked. She sounded like a smug therapist now. Since when did she even know those kinds of words?

"Denial? Don’t you mean... denying the fact?" Helena frowned.

Of course. She didn’t get what Selene meant. Worse—she was repeating my vocabulary back at me. No, stealing it.

"No worries, dearest friend," Selene said with false sweetness. "It’s just a slightly more advanced term. But yes, more or less."

Slightly advanced, my ass.

I’m so done with these haughtiness if not arrogance she would pull off everytime she gained new words or terms... and most importantly, from my own precious vocabulary!

Not to mention that by understanding all of these, she would preemptively brag it as if I never caught her red-handed in doing so!

What’s next? She starts using it in Nordic slang just for fun?

"Great idea," Selene whispered.

No. I just gave her a nightmare of ideas.

They were definitely going to kill her if she ever did that.

"Alright. Enough with the banter," Selene said, straightening up. Then she smirked. "Profes—Helena, my beloved. You know what to do."

She caught herself just in time. Helena was already shooting daggers at her.

Anyway. Helena reached into... her pocket? No. Some kind of magical storage.

It reminded me of that robot cat from the future—you know the one—but instead of futuristic tools, it was a glowing crystal pocket.

She pulled out a notebook.

And started drawing.

Wait... what are these mesmerizing illustrations?

She sketched clean outlines—manga panels—directly onto the crystal surface. Then she compressed them into fractal-glass particles.

She even added colors—with magic.

The result looked like manga... but made of stained glass.

"This is my cat, Chthulhu," Helena said calmly. "I didn’t know what else to draw. Probably not my best work."

Not her best?! Helena just casually summoned a masterpiece.

"Sure. Just don’t overdo the fake humility."

It was honestly amazing. But I couldn’t resist calling her out.

That kind of modesty? So Helena. Quietly narcissistic.

Anyway, these drawings seemed random since she introduced her own cat, but the illustration was already giving me Schrodinger’s vibes.

So... what’s next?