Valentine Timeslip Episode 5 Part 2

Heracles starts narrating about how in the middle of one of his trials, he destroyed some kingdom and took in an orphan from there as his servant. This was the first time he had ever picked up something by his own will when his strength, name, and spouse were given to him. This was Hylas, his servant, his slave, and his special companion.

 

Heracles then talks about how he didn’t know how to treat the first person he chose himself, and this continued when they were separated. Eventually he learned of the rumor of the nymphs, which said that Hylas would be united in happiness with the nymphs in the world at the bottom of the springs. That was the day he gave up on Hylas, and he had planned to give up decisively, pragmatically like a hero should. He didn’t have time to stand still when he had another trial to attend to, yet the memories from that day stuck within him.

 

Eventually, Heracles came here where he finally figured out that what he had never been able to understand might have been love. He takes it back after thinking on it some more though, saying that he was afraid of understanding. He wonders what it was that Hylas was thinking of when they parted ways. Heracles says he was more afraid about thinking of that than he was over all the trials he had to do. He might have thrown Hylas away, and in his inability to confront this idea he drowned himself in his work.

 

Heracles talks about how the people in his home world came up with the phrase the choice of Hercules as an expression for purposely choosing the harder path. He notes that he himself knows better than anyone how unfitting his is for it since he always followed the will of others.

 

Heracles starts wondering what would have happened if he chose to chase after Hylas with everything he had, telling him to ‘come with him.’ What if he had said that he was in love? Now that he’s standing in Hylas’s position as a servant, he’s thought of doing it over. He says he wants to support that girl who’s working so hard, that he wants to do something. He wonders that maybe, just maybe he’s trying to support himself from that time.

 

Back to the present, time skips to the next day as everyone gathers at the spring. Heracles notes that Narcissus doesn’t seem to be here yet, and Barguest wonders if this will finally be the last time they see this scenery. Gyumao says that’s rather optimistic for him and points out that it’s not a sure thing yet that they’ll be returning to Tokyo yet. Barguest says Echo can do it. If they don’t believe in her, then what are they going to do? But that said, Barguest looks up with a bit of worry at the spreading crack in the sky.

 

Heracles guesses that the corrective force will make its greatest resistance yet. It’s Hera’s curse after all, so it can’t be broken that easily. Snow adds that Echo has expressed that she doesn’t want to destroy her memories, and he wonders how that will manifest. This is all conjecture though, so he suggests everyone stay alert until the end.

 

You come by with Echo and thank everyone for waiting. Echo follows suit as she shows up in her default clothes instead of her old dress. Gyumao asks if she’s okay with not changing since she did so before in hopes of not shocking Narcissus. Echo confirms that she’ll go as is since this is who she is now.

 

Barguest asks how her chocolate came out and if Echo poured her feelings into them. Echo says yes as she shyly opens her box. Gyumao compliments the chocolates saying they came out perfectly in shape and color. The berry decorations look wonderful too. Snow says the smell of cacao is comforting and comments on the nice seasoning. Echo agrees, saying that she made them a little bittersweet since she wanted Narcissus to know what she likes.

 

The chocolates are described as heart shaped and simple, and Echo smiles as she covers the box again. Barguest comments on the scarf Echo has too and is amazed she knitted it in one night. Echo says she managed to do since the night was long. Heracles says she put her feelings in it, so it’s sure to look good on Narcissus. You either say Narcissus will be happy with it, say you’re sure things will work out, or wish her luck.

 

Echo nods, then steels herself as she turns to face the spring. She starts heading over to where Narcissus is supposed to appear when ripples start running on the water. A voice starts calling out from the forest, asking where everyone is.

 

Heracles is shocked by this since this has never happened in the other loops in here. Narcissus shows up, repeating his question of where is everyone. You wonder whose voice it is or ask if it’s Narcissus’s voice. Narcissus repeats himself again, at which point another Echo responds that she is there. He asks who she is, and this ‘Echo’ in her old dress answers with her name and that she is someone he doesn’t know.

 

The party is surprised to see her, and Copy Echo plays out their old conversation while giving her actual answers from the flashback. She then walks up to Narcissus and touches his cheeks, at which point he and the entire scenery freeze in place.

 

Snow goes on alert, and Barguest asks if Copy Echo is the corrective force. Gyumao tells everyone to calm down saying that acting rashly would be risky. He suggests watching what happens but being ready to move at any time.

 

Copy Echo says she shouldn’t have fallen in love and wonders why she has to suffer so much just for loving him. She voices her thoughts about being unable to do anything for him, not even string words together. Even if that were possible, nothing would have changed. She then diverges from the previous monologue by saying that if that’s the case, she wants to wallow in her regrets forever. That way her love will never end, she says as she asks Echo if she thinks so too.

 

Echo is shocked and asks her doppelgänger who she is and what she did to Narcissus. Both look at each other on silent stillness, and Shadow (by almost all appearances) Echo speaks first to say she’ll introduce herself. She is ‘Echo,’ her mental state from that time back then in her memories. She also says it’s possible to describe her as the personification of her regrets. Echo doesn’t respond, and you ask if she’s the core of the overworld shift as you start to comprehend things.

 

Shadow Echo nods, then looks at her present self with sad eyes. She seems to voice Echo’s thoughts about having caught everyone else into her world, so she needs to return them back. Shadow Echo says she understands because she is herself. And since she’s the same, she wants to say one thing.

 

Echo attempts to stop her, but Shadow Echo goes on to say “please don’t end my love.” The party reacts with shock, and Echo starts holding herself as her Shadow looks at her. Shadow Echo talks about how lonely Narcissus looked, so she always wanted to speak to him. She was lonely too. She was always surrounded by friends, singing and dancing with them, yet she still felt lonely.

 

Shadow Echo asks why that is, saying she tried so hard to fit in with everyone else. Heracles asks if that was why she chose to take on the curse, which would then be why she couldn’t achieve what she hoped to do. He suggests that maybe she shouldn’t have accepted the curse by herself.

 

Shadow Echo shakes her head. She says she loved everyone and thought that was fine. She tries to insist that it’s true, though she seems ready to say it isn’t. Echo doesn’t bring herself to say anything, and she starts crying at what her copy says.

 

Shadow Echo says she loved Narcissus because he was beautiful and wonderful. She then takes it back and says it’s because he seemed lonely. He was loved by everyone, and yet he always seemed lonely. She wonders that if she filled in that loneliness, maybe she’d also stop being lonely. Once she started thinking that, she couldn’t stop thinking about Narcissus. At the very least she wanted to start as friends, so she tried to talk to him.

 

The freeze on the surroundings stops, and Narcissus recites his line about asking Echo to entrance him with ‘her own words.’ Shadow Echo says that due to her curse, she could only say ‘entrance me.’ Narcissus recites his next line about how that would bore him before bidding her goodbye and being disappointed in her.

 

Shadow Echo says Narcissus has a lonely smile then, then went to the other side of the spring. She agrees that she’s boring, which is why she didn’t have a connection with him to start with. You try to argue that that’s the curse’s fault, it isn’t Echo’s fault, and that Narcissus understands her.

 

Shadow Echo insists that the curse doesn’t have anything to do with Narcissus and that everything was her fault. She could have tried better to talk to him. She could have loved him better. She could have kept Hera’s mood up better. She could have kept Zeus better covered. Shadow Echo says she loves everyone, so she doesn’t want to say it’s anyone’s fault. She yells that if she were to make the result of an action she did for everyone else all their fault, she’d start hating them all.

 

Shadow Echo’s lamentations turns into a sudden gust that starts shaking the memory world. Echo reacts silently, and Shadow Echo says she doesn’t want to hate anyone. She doesn’t want anyone to hate her either, so she repeats her request that no one brings her love to an end.

 

Shadow Echo then says she can use the corrective force to reject everyone and send you all back home. She knows she won’t be looked at, so she’s fine with things not changing and not being connected. Gyumao questions whether she really would be fine with that and asks if she plans to live in a static world forever. Shadow Echo says yes. She wants to always love Narcissus, so she asks you to leave her be. Echo in turn starts grabbing the edge of her clothes, standing silently stock still.

 

You decide to ask Shadow Echo if that’s how she really feels. She’s surprised by the question. Gyumao says everyone may have been brought in by accident, then asks why Shadow Echo hadn’t booted everyone if she could already. He then turns to Echo and asks if she really does want to move forward after all.

 

Shadow Echo isn’t able to answer, and Snow talks about how she couldn’t accept how things went no matter how many repetitions had happened. That was why she wanted to change the ending. Snow suggests that even if this doesn’t change what happened in reality, Echo wanted to accept what she had done. Snow acknowledges Echo’s regrets and says what happens next depends on her.

 

Barguest sighs as he says it sounds like Echo wants to blame all the ills in the world on her insufficient effort. He denies it saying that she doesn’t need to shoulder it all. Even if she carries the misfortune, she doesn’t need to claim responsibility for why it happened. He says he’s like her in that lots of unfairness and unhappiness rains down on his life. That said, it’s okay for her to pick her own reasons to carry on what she does. He also says she should treat herself sometimes for living through it all. If she’s going to watch over everyone, she should also watch out for herself. If you can’t love yourself, no one else can either.

 

Shadow Echo is shocked and asks why you guys are saying this. You turn to Echo and ask her what she wants to do. Echo stops gripping onto her clothes as she starts to answer, looking straight at her regrets as she struggles to speak. She says she wants to move forward, to Shadow Echo’s astonishment.

 

Echo thinks back to everything that she’s learned. Gyumao has taught her to not compromise in love. Snow taught her that a confession is for her own sake. Barguest taught her that love comes in many forms. Shadow Echo starts to argue about how Narcissus is, but Echo says he might never turn her way. Still, that’s okay because she loves him.

 

The clash between both Echos’ feelings collide and shake the world. Shadow Echo decides that she’ll make the present Echo a thing of the past. Barguest asks if Echo’s past self is going to try to overwrite her present self. Shadow Echo confirms that and says she doesn’t care how that will turn out since she wants to stay in her regrets for eternity. Both Echos are her after all, and she intends to sink you all to the bottom of her memories too.

 

A bunch of choco mobs materialize and surround the party. Echo apologizes and admits that the other Echo is definitely herself. She however still wants to go on, surpass who she used to be, and walk towards the future. She then asks for all your help in getting to Narcissus. You agree and call on everyone to get ready. Shadow Echo says it’s time to repeat her endless first love, then begins the final battle.