As if on cue, Chthulhu the actual cat—real or clone, no one could say—sauntered across the room and meowed once at the sketch on the board, as if confirming its accuracy.

They all stared in disbelief.

Helena gave a satisfied nod. "See? Told you."

And so, the lesson concluded—not with applause or understanding, but with my existential dread deepening and lingering to my mind, Selene’s trauma resurfacing, and Azalea still giggling while petting a possibly multiversal feline.

However, despite its satisfying conclusion, there was still something lingering in my mind that I couldn’t quite shake off...

Oh, right.

To be fair, everything about this was great and all.

The concept made sense.

Kind of. For the most of times.

But seriously—what the hell did things like Quasar have to do with the Door-To-Door Paradox... and cloning, of all things?

"Just think about it, Kairi. Make it make sense. I’m not answering the monologues in your head if you don’t even try to connect them."

"Not that I asked you to peep into my head in the first place," I muttered under my breath. "I get it—you can’t help it. But could you, just once, not say it out loud?"

My tone was calm, almost too calm, the kind of calm that quietly begs reality to stop interrupting my thought process during a lock-in phase.

"I think you both need to keep these thoughts to yourselves," Helena said, glancing between us.

"It’d already be weird enough if we’re doing all this while Kairi’s clearly uncomfortable."

Wait—doing all this? What are we doing, exactly?

Azalea didn’t answer. She hadn’t moved at all. Just... a blank stare.

So naturally, I reached out to tap her shoulder. Not once, but twice.

And like a bloody assassin with full combat awareness, she whipped out her wand—from her pocket, mind you—and cast a spell that didn’t even sound like a spell.

I was frozen. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even blink properly.

"Kairi?!"

Nope, I can’t reply anymore.

"Poor Kairi. She deserves it."

"I couldn’t agree more, Selene."

No no no! You girls shouldn’t pity me right now—I’m literally immobilized! My entire body’s in lockdown mode and you’re tossing sympathy like it’s popcorn?!

What kind of spell was this?! There’s no way Azalea thought I was an enemy... right? Right?

...Right? Someone? Anyone?

"Who are you even talking to?" Selene asked, deadpan.

As if I could answer. As if I wanted to answer.

"I’ve changed my mind. Maybe my sister’s overactive telepathy is doing us a favor."

Not you justifying her freezing me mid-conversation like some sort of cosmic timeout.

"So... should I return her back to normal?"

"No!" they shouted in sync.

...Wow. Cool. Love that for me.

"Let her stew for a while," Selene added, brushing her bangs aside like a villainess in a mid-tier visual novel. "Maybe she’ll stop asking useless questions."

"I hate that I agree with you," Helena sighed. "But yeah. Let’s give it a try."

Helena nodded as if nothing was wrong. As if I wasn’t frozen like a rejected mannequin from a dystopian toy store.

I was stuck mid-movement, mouth agape. Hands in a ’wait-what’ gesture. My whole bust probably looked like The Scream painting.

"Still haven’t learned your lesson, Kairi?" Selene smirked. "I don’t even know the painting you’re referencing, but I can tell it’s irrelevant."

Please. I’m begging you. At least offer me a snack or something. Compensation. A chair.

Honestly though... Azalea did pull off something amazing here. Her so-called "Isolation" ability? Brutally effective. Even by accident, she managed to completely seal me off from the world. If she can do that instinctively—

—Wait. No. That’s how Helena figured out how to establish this psychic link in the first place. This wasn’t a prank. It was a test.

And if I had to describe the effect... Azalea didn’t just trap me. She reshaped the very space around my body like a mold. Like she was sketching a 3D outline of me, then sealing it.

Huh. Kinda like drawing.

Wait. Can she draw too?

"You’re doing anything but thinking about the problem," Selene muttered. "I guess we’ll keep you isolated."

"Selene, analyze Azalea’s raw magic signature for me," Helena said, excited now. "I couldn’t capture it last time."

"Oh, my pleasure."

"Sis Helena, you’re not seriously trying to—"

"It was under my order."

"Good. Now I understand why Kairi thinks you’re a jerk."

Thank you. Thank you for finally getting it.

Go Azalea. Show them what you’re made of. Go, Azalea, go!

"Well well. Looks like you’ve won over my little sister."

Selene stepped in close, adjusting her glasses—which she definitely wasn’t wearing a second ago—and stared at Azalea with this smug glint in her eye.

Azalea looked like she was about to combust from sheer attention overload.

"So... what do you think, my dear junior?"

"Uh-uh... I mean... maybe it was necessary. You probably know best. You are my role model, after all..."

NOOOOOOO—WHAT THE F***, AZALEA?!

My silent scream didn’t echo—but if it could, it would’ve shattered every window in a five-mile radius.

Can’t a frozen girl have just one ally in this hellhole?

"Did she say anything to you, Senior Selene? I could feel some raw intensity—"

"Nope, not a word," Selene cut her off.

"And even if she did, it doesn’t matter. As long as you still see me as your role model, we’re good."

...Did I just hear that right?

Did you just groom her into obedience throughout admiration?

No one could see you as one if you were still behaving like that!

Anyway, maybe she was right. Maybe I should just think about the way this element was connected to the paradox Selene and Helena were referring to.

Wait, don’t you mean that Door-To-Door Paradox is important for the cloning process using the said element?

"I mean, I really don’t mind..."

Wait, they still are going about it?! That’s diabolical!

No no no, did you just ignore my monologue? Selene, hello! I’m here, you dumbass!