My Infinitely Long End-Of-The-World Regression Journal

Viola and I sat around the campfire, the roaring flames casting shadows over our faces. 

It was strangely quiet. None of the creatures in the forest could be heard, something that was usually a sign of danger - but it made sense with Viola around.

Viola had her back against a nearby tree, while I sat opposite her, on the stump of a dead tree.

"Alan,"

Viola was the first to speak up. Hearing my actual name come out of her mouth, rather than 'disciple' immediately drew my attention.

"Do you know why I call this place the 'Lost Forest'?"

I rose an eyebrow at her question. Wasn't it obvious?

"Because it's really easy to get lost in the forest, isn't it? Also, it's pretty hard to wander your way in, so the forest is 'lost' because it's also hard to find."

Viola nodded. "That's right. Both of those things are correct. But, that isn't the real reason I started calling this place the 'Lost Forest'. It's also because...you lose something else while you're in here. Time."

There was a short silence between the two of us.

"Time. Time, huh. So that's why I managed to stay here so long..."

Viola was amused by my muted reaction.

"Looks like much doesn't surprise you, Alan. I thought your reaction would be a lot bigger than that."

I shook my head, a self-deprecating smile making its' way to my face. "Well, it's not that surprising, if you think about it. The moment I got in here, my phone stopped working. Then, even after counting the days, months had passed, when it shouldn't have been possible...and more importantly...there's you, Viola."

Taking a cue from her, I addressed the woman I had come to call my 'master' as casually as the first time I'd met her.

"It had barely been one day since everything changed. But...you were strong enough to kill Pixies, climb trees, and scare almost everything in the forest away...without having any sort of ability. It's...odd."

Viola smiled, scratching her arm in a surprisingly vulnerable gesture. It was like, every guard and pretense she had was now down. I felt like I was seeing a side of her that she had always been keeping hidden.

It made me feel guilty for telling her that the real reason I'd figured it out was that the world was already have supposed to ended at the Flood Dragon's hands a few months ago.

"You can sometimes be pretty sharp, you know? Well...yeah. You've got it. This forest messes with time. The same way it messes with your sense of direction and space itself. It's all a part of the Abnormality's effects."

She explained. Maybe, if it had been me from my first life, I wouldn't have believed her. But now, so deep into my fourth regression, I knew well that extremely powerful, full scale reality-defying Abnormalities were not impossible.

More importantly than the full effects of the thing...there was a more pressing question I had. Sensing my unease, Viola smiled.

"There's something that's been eating at you for a while, isn't there, Alan?" She waved her hand, as if meaning to wipe away any of the worries holding me back. The casual way with which she approached something so existential just reminded me of how strong she was.

"...how long have you really been in here?"

It was natural to ask. She had gotten so strong that she was able to kill Pixies and the other things in this forest with little effort. It was a level of power I had never seen, even from the people destined to become strong by the end of the two-month cycle.

Hearing that question, Viola nearly instantly went through a change in her entire being. Her shoulders relaxed. Her posture slackened. And she let out a breath so deep, it was like she was holding it in for-

"Years. I've been here, stuck inside this Lost Forest for years. I don't know how many, or why the effect was so vicious when I was in here, alone. But the truth is the truth."

In that one moment, all of my worst fears were confirmed.

Viola wasn't some monstrous ball of talent. She was someone who'd been forced to run, fight, and train for survival for who knows how long.

Of course she'd be far stronger than most outside. She lived everyday for years fighting for her life.

I wonder how long she kept herself strong. How much she had forced herself to act tough and unconcerned.

She rubbed the back of her neck. Her voice smaller.

"You know…all those survival shows always got it wrong. The hardest part isn't finding food, making a shelter, keeping away dangerous animals, or getting water…it's the loneliness."

Viola clasped her hands together, and was quite literally shaking.

"Pixies are just out to kill you on a whim. The Abnormalities I've seen can never 'speak'. I just survived, slept, and tried getting stronger. It was the same thing, every day, for years."

She went quiet. I could understand why.

It was a unique sort of hell.

"I lived in false time for who knows. Always running, always fighting, always barely surviving." Viola's gaze lowered to the floor. "I...was tired. Honestly, I am tired."

She looked up at me, a genuine, small smile managing to make it's way onto her face.

"But then, you made your way in. And I don't think that I've ever been more grateful for something in my entire life. You were something like my second savior, Alan. Just your presence kept me going, these past months. Without you, well..."

She trailed off. The implication was vague, but I could fill in the blanks.

Even with her power, who purposefully bothered Pixies without some kind of death wish?

Viola's body was almost entirely folded in on itself. It was already hard to see her face, but now she was barely anything but a ball of clothing and barely-hidden despair.

I idolised her so much. Her quirky, odd personality. Her incredible strength and knowledge. And that part of her that always felt more than simple humanity to me.

I was foolish. Viola wasn't any more or less a person than me. Maybe...I had been thinking a little too highly of her.

Unable to just sit and watch, I stood up, making my way over to her. I sat down beside Viola, staring at the fire for a while.

I wasn't sure if she'd be fine with this sort of thing, but...I wrapped an arm around her, holding her body close against mine.

Her every shudder went through me, shared in a much more visceral, impossible to look away from sense. I could feel wetness against the suit, as her tears spilled against the fabric, only to be quickly absorbed and dried.

I felt guilty, for not even allowing her tears to be properly spilled.

She leaned into my touch without holding back. Like she was desperate, a person who was freezing cold instinctively huddling closer to a nearby fire for warmth.

Just by feeling the heat of our bodies together, she calmed down.

In my mind swirled around countless useless things. I still wanted to know how she was aware of my ability to 'regress,' just what 'inner energy' was, or just why she really put in so much effort in training me beyond entertaining herself.

Right now, none of that mattered. I just wanted to comfort her.

"I...honestly don't want to let you go." She admitted, nuzzling her head into my chest. It was the most affectionate I'd ever seen her be. Not that she showed much of this side to me in the first place... "But I know that you have...important things to do."

She chuckled, but there was no humor in her voice. "I just...I can't handle being alone. Not again."

There was that strange knowledge of hers again. 

I was quiet for a while. 

I thought about the training, the fights, the jokes, the conversations...and without thinking, I found myself reaching for Viola's chin. I gently pulled her up to look into my eyes.

Her eyes, which shimmered like pools of stars, tears still flowing at the edges, focused intently on mine.

She really was beautiful, my master...

An impulse rose within me, and I leaned forward, pressing my lips against hers. My heart was racing harshly while hers was still, almost soothing.

Still, she didn't resist. If anything, she leaned into me, pressing her chest against me, holding onto me desperately like I was her lifeline. 

I tried pulling away, but she only become more desperate, more insistent. I felt her tongue press past my lips as she suddenly regained her strength, leaning her body on me to the point that my back was now against the forest floor.

She moved to straddle me, sitting on top of my waist while our lips remained locked in a passionate, now almost aggressive, desperate kiss.

It was only once she settled her weight on my lower body, that she finally pulled away, breathless and blushing. A thin trail of saliva connected our lips, and the moonlight perfectly shone onto us.

"If I can't stop you from going, Alan...then I'll just have to make memories with you that I can never forget."

With those words, Viola began to slowly discard her clothing, allowing it seductively slide down her shoulders.

My eyes were glued to her every movement...

"Are you...okay with this?" She paused to ask, just before her shirt slid down over her large breasts, the sight teasing me.

"...more than you could imagine, master." 

I definitely wasn't thinking that this was where the conversation would lead, but...she was right. I wanted to have some memories that could never be forgotten, too.

To leave a mark that I could always think of even after being forced into another Regression.

I was probably as desperate for this as she was.

"Oh you..."

She blushed even harder, actually embarrassed by my usage of the title for once.

After hearing my confirmation, Viola gave me that same bright grin that she always did, full now with lust and need rather than curiosity and excitement, and allowed her shirt to fully slide past her nipples...