[x] I don't need any of this junk.

"Have you decided?"

"Indeed," I said. "I don't need any of this junk. I'll be fine on my own."

Remilia looked mildly surprised.

"Are you sure about that? No matter how I look at it, you are just an ordinary human: easy to bend, and easy to break. Surely, you need something to help you defend yourself, or at least a trick to let you survive a little bit longer. You haven't done very well at all, from what I have seen."

"You haven't seen anything yet," I said. "Being human isn't a disadvantage. In fact, you might say that I wouldn't have gotten this far if I wasn't."

She stared me for a moment, rubbing her chin as she watched me. I couldn't really tell what she was thinking until she cracked a little smile.

"Maybe I was mistaken," she said. "You certainly aren't 'ordinary'. I've rarely seen a human as reckless, arrogant, and foolish. Have you no fear of death?"

"Of course I do," said I. "With this frail human body, even a lesser youkai could tear me to pieces. And if I had the choice, I'd still prefer dying in a less painful manner, and with a little dignity, if it could be afforded. Not like I had much choice last time."

"So you are not foolish," she said. "Just reckless and arrogant?"

I smiled back at her. Her grin widened, until it finally broke into laughter. A chill ran down my spine as I watched the vampire. I couldn't bring myself to laugh with her, so I instead managed a polite smile. Then, she raised her hands and began to clap.

"Wonderful!" she cried. "I like it! I love it! Such baseless audacity! Come, human! You shall taste the pleasures of heaven, and enjoy it! You shall taste the agony and despair of hell, and enjoy it! You shall taste what humanity is truly worth, and enjoy it! Take my hand and prepare yourself!"

Remilia stepped forward and took my hand before I could say anything. The Voile Armory vanished, and in its place, I found myself standing in a large expanse of... nothing? White, everywhere. I couldn't even distinguish the floor from the sky and the space in front of me. If there were walls here, I could not make them out.

"Stop dawdling and look there!"

I turned to where she pointed. Ah! There was something here, after all. A single simple door stood a few feet away. The vampire walked beside it and faced me.

"You return through that door," she said. "Once through, all of the rules on the other side will take effect accordingly, so don't do anything too stupid. And once you step inside, be aware that you will have no memory of this place."

She pulled out something from her dress. A large metal key ring?

"Like I mentioned earlier, this door is the only way back. But that doesn't mean that everything will happen the same way as before. Right now, you can choose between these two keys."

Remilia removed a large iron key from the set. It looked slightly burnt.

"This goes to the basement," she said. "It is exactly as it sounds. No cryptic words this time. This part, I'm allowed to explain clearly."

Then, she removed a smaller brass key and held it up. It looked brand new.

"This goes to the greenhouse. I'm sure you understand where this is going."

I nodded as she handed me one of the keys.

"Huh? Wasn't I supposed to choose?"

"That was the one you were going to pick out."

I glanced down at it, and found that she was right. She smiled knowingly.

"Just a lucky guess," I remarked as I made my way to the door. "All I have to do is use this here, right?"

The key fit perfectly (despite the mismatched size). As I started to turn the handle, Remilia called out to me.

"One last thing," she said.

She paused and waited until I turned around. After she was sure that I was listening, she spoke. Her voice was softer this time, and it sounded a little bit sad.

"When the time comes, do what you must. But please don't hate the other me."

The key she put in my hand was the...
[ ] Basement Key
[ ] Greenhouse Key