Chapter Text
Neige was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard of Royal Sword Academy. Around him, students walked by happily, greeting each other. But today Neige could not focus; he was lost in his own thoughts. In his hand he held a bottle of apple juice, staring at it as he remembered the bottle of apple juice that Vil had once given him. Later he learned that Vil had tried to poison him, and that Vil had eventually Overblotted because of jealousy and resentment toward him.
Everything began after the VDC event. Neige wondered if he had approached Vil the wrong way. Perhaps he had never truly understood Vil from the beginning. Neige had always wanted to be friends with Vil, but it seemed that Vil did not want the same.
Neige pressed the bottle of apple juice against his chest and sighed, thinking, “If only I had been able to get closer to Vil earlier—before everything became tense and competitive, before the world forced that rivalry upon the two of us.” He kept staring at the bottle until he suddenly heard a whistle. A strange young man appeared and approached him.
The man was tall and handsome, with a thin smile and pale golden eyes. One of his eyes was partially hidden by his long black hair streaked with purple. He wore a black suit with a purple waistcoat, and in his hand he held a peculiar staff that Neige could not clearly recognize. From his clothing, Neige could tell he was not a student of Royal Sword Academy, though he was not sure whether the man belonged to Night Raven College either.
What was strange was how naturally the man walked toward him, as if no one else noticed someone dressed so differently from everyone around them. People passed by him as though he simply blended into the crowd. When he reached Neige, the man gave a polite bow and said,
“Greetings, little prince. I see you carry many wishes in your heart for someone rather special.”
Neige looked slightly confused and replied politely, “Oh… hello, sir. Would you like to sit down?” He shifted to the side, leaving some space on the stone bench for the stranger.
The unfamiliar young man looked at the gesture and laughed softly. “Oh, it seems I may have made the little prince uneasy. I suppose it was rather rude of me not to introduce myself first. Greetings, little prince. My name is Obscura Nevermere.” He bowed slightly and extended his hand toward Neige.
Still somewhat confused, Neige shook his hand. “Oh, hello. I’m Neige LaBlanche. It’s nice to meet you.”
“A pleasure~~,” Obscura replied with a smile.
However, Obscura did not sit down. Instead, he stood there observing Neige with a strange smile. Neige began to feel a little nervous before Obscura spoke again.
“Oh, I can see that your heart is filled with thoughts and powerful desires. Oh, hehe… how interesting. Would you like to make a trade in exchange for a wish?”
Neige looked at him in surprise. “A wish?”
Obscura straightened up and spun around with dramatic flair. “Yes, a wish. A wish that will make your deepest desire come true—the very opportunity everyone dreams of touching.”
Neige began to waver. He thought about the possibility of becoming friends with Vil, of the two of them growing close—perhaps even more than friends. His voice trembled as he asked,
“Then… what would you take from me in exchange for granting a wish?”
Obscura suddenly laughed loudly, so loudly that the surrounding trees seemed to tremble. He pointed the staff directly at the center of Neige’s chest.
“Your current life.”
Neige blinked in confusion. “My current life?”
Obscura lowered the staff and replied calmly, “Yes. I believe you won’t need it for your wish anyway, so why not trade it with me?” He leaned back slightly.
Neige began to think. Countless thoughts raced through his mind. Then an image appeared in his head—Vil smiling, though never for him. At that moment, Neige’s determination became clear. He turned toward Obscura and said firmly,
“I agree.”
Obscura smiled as if he had known from the start that he would not be refused. “A pleasure doing business with you, little prince. Now, please speak your wish aloud.”
Neige looked straight at Obscura and said,
“I wish to return to the past and become friends with Vil Schoenheit.”
Obscura smiled and replied, “Your wish has been heard.”
He slammed his staff hard against the ground. In that instant, a spatial gate appeared behind Neige. Inky black hands emerged from it and dragged Neige inside, leaving this world behind. The gate closed, and Obscura disappeared as well.
----
Neige LaBlanche woke up with a terrible headache. He slowly opened his eyes and saw several adults looking at him with worried expressions. A man spoke anxiously,
“Hey, kid, are you alright? Do you need to take a break from filming today?”
Neige rubbed his head and looked at his hands. They were small. Then his memories returned—this was the first movie he had filmed together with Vil Schoenheit. With his newly found determination, he decided that this time he could change everything.
“I’m fine, sir. I just need a little rest,” he replied.
The man, who was the director, then said,
“Alright then, everyone take a break!”
----
Meanwhile, at Royal Sword Academy…
Dominic, Shelpie, and Hop were walking toward the place where Neige LaBlanche was sitting because they had planned to eat together. Shelpie spoke up,
“Hey, have you noticed that Neige seems sadder lately after the VDC ended? Even though we won.”
Hop patted Shelpie on the shoulder to comfort him.
“Hey, don’t be like that. He’s probably just upset because he couldn’t become friends with Vil. He’ll be fine.”
Dominic walked ahead and said,
“We should try to cheer him up. After all, he was really sad after that event.”
Hop suddenly jumped forward and said,
“Come on, don’t bring the mood down like that! Let’s stay positive—we’ll find a way to help him.”
When Dominic, Shelpie, and Hop arrived at the meeting spot, they looked around but couldn’t find Neige LaBlanche anywhere. On the stone bench, there was only a bottle of apple juice lying there.
Hop looked around in confusion.
“Hey… where did he go? Normally he never disappears or arrives late.”
Dominic walked closer to the bench.
“Maybe we should look around for him.”