"Are they waiting for you?"
Asked the young woman with green hair.
Her appearance was different from the last time I had seen her. Her skin looked much brighter and smoother. Her hair, tied into two ponytails, swayed with every movement as if it had just been brushed. And her eyes, a golden amber color, were so beautiful that they could captivate anyone.
I am completely sure that if someone else had seen her, they would have been fascinated by her appearance. But, unfortunately, when I saw her, I…
"Shit!"
I got a little scared.
"No, no, no, no, no!"
I immediately got up and ran as far away as I could.
The memory of that girl crushing my head with her hands remained with me, and thanks to that, I felt like I could run faster and for longer than ever before.
"...!"
But when I turned my gaze toward her, I could see that she was still very close.
"Shiiiiit!"
I forced myself to run much faster when, suddenly, the superhuman spoke.
"It's useless…"
She said. Her voice reflected a great deal of exhaustion and boredom.
"You're not even moving forward."
"Huh?"
Her words left me confused. I turned around to look at her again, and when I did, I could see that the superhuman wasn't moving a single muscle while I was running with all my strength. And yet, the distance between us remained the same.
"What the hell…?"
Was I running on some kind of treadmill or something? I couldn't check, because, thanks to the surrounding fog, I couldn't even see the ground beneath my feet.
"Shit…"
Panting from exhaustion, I stopped when I realized I was only wasting energy.
"Well?"
The superhuman's voice reached my ears, and knowing I had nowhere to go, I turned to face her again without lowering my guard.
"Mmm…?"
But something was different.
"Are they waiting for you?"
Her gaze was filled with doubt and… sadness?
"Who are you talking about?"
The superhuman paused for a moment, tightly shut her eyes, and continued.
"Your family and friends. Are they waiting for you?"
Her words surprised me, but not only because of what she said, but also because of the way she said it.
"…..I don't have any friends."
I answered honestly.
I had been a loner for most of my youth, and although I used to talk to people, I never made an effort to create lasting bonds. But, as for my family…
"My parents and siblings. They're the ones waiting for me."
The bond I had with my family was different. No matter how angry or sad I was, I never let that affect how I felt about them, and vice versa. For that reason, I had no doubt that they were waiting to see me return safe and sound. And, as for me, I wanted that too.
"…"
-What now?
After I answered her, there was a brief silence between us, until…
"Hic…"
The superhuman began to cry.
"Hic… Hic… Huaaaa…!"
She cried intensely. Tears ran down her cheeks as she did her best to wipe her face, reminding me of the time we first met. But things were different now, because she no longer seemed like a threat. Instead, she seemed like… a little girl, just an ordinary little girl suffering because of something I didn't know.
"…Are you…?"
"I'm not okay!"
The girl shouted so loudly that she forced me to cover my ears.
I couldn't even finish my question.
"I'm sorry…"
-Did she just apologize?
I wasn't expecting anything like this, and, in fact, I still didn't understand it. Why was this girl apologizing to me?
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
Her flood of apologies was far from over, but when I least expected it, the girl began to speak.
"…I didn't want this, I didn't want to… It wasn't supposed to… It wasn't supposed to be like this… Hic… I was supposed to, to… arrive in Regulus… and… and… become a heroine…"
Through her crying, the girl did her best to justify her actions, but the layer of pain surrounding her made it impossible to understand her without having to delve into that same pain.
"Hic…"
"…"
-This girl…
Pain was the only thing I could see in her, and that made me feel deeply sorry for her.
-Even before, she was suffering too.
That feeling brought back the memory of how her suffering had fueled her anger, to the point where she had ended up tearing my body apart.
I sighed.
I wasn't entirely sure what was causing her to suffer. I only understood that it was something serious. For that reason…
Tap, tap, tap.
I wanted to help her.
Smack!
With a quick and gentle movement, I placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Ah…?"
My action was so sudden that the girl raised her head and looked at me with a surprised expression.
"Breathe."
I wasn't the best at comforting people. In fact, I had never been able to calm my little sister down when she cried. I always left that job to Lois. However, right now, there was no one else here to help this girl, and besides…
"Let me help you."
I wanted to help her. That was my caprice.
"...!"
After saying those words, the girl's legs gave way. Her body was about to fall, but, thanks to my quick reaction, I caught her before that happened.
"…Hic."
I supported the girl's weight before guiding her down to the floor, where we both sat facing each other.
"…"
I looked into her eyes. Once again, I could see the pain this girl kept inside her. However, this time I was willing to delve into that pain so that, once and for all, I could get my answers.
"Alright."
I said with a restrained sigh before continuing.
"What's your name?"
I asked.
"…My name… Hic… My name is Bethany."
"Bethany, that's a pretty name."
I said with a smile.
"I'm Robert, and I… am caught up in a problem."
I said as I looked around, just to confirm that there was still nothing but fog in this place.
"I'm not sure what happened, but I think it's related to you."
I turned my gaze back to the girl.
"Is it okay if I ask you what happened to you?"
In response to my question, the girl nodded.
"A while ago… A month, I think. When I arrived in Regulus… S… someone kidnapped me."
I widened my eyes upon hearing that.
-What? Did I hear that wrong? Because I swear I heard the word "kidnapping."
"You were kidnapped? How?"
I asked while, internally, trying to connect the dots.
-This girl was kidnapped about a month ago, then she appears here… Oh, well, not here, but near that parasite. What does all of this mean? What connects it all?
"I don't know…"
I cursed internally, but did my best to maintain a neutral expression in front of the girl.
"I thought it was you…"
"Excuse me?"
-She thought I was…
The mere thought of considering that disgusted me.
"Why?"
I questioned her.
"A while ago, when I saw you, I didn't see you as a person. I saw you as a light, a bright white light, exactly like the one I saw when I looked at him."
The girl's words only confused me further.
-So a light was the one who kidnapped her? No, no, that doesn't make any sense.
I wouldn't get anywhere if I kept going down this path. I needed to dig deeper.
"What else do you remember about him?"
I asked, but when I did, the girl's expression changed.
"...!"
Her expression shifted from sadness to fear.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pressure you!"
I tried to stop her, but the girl continued.
"He cut me…"
Cut. That simple word could be used in multiple sentences related to a kidnapping, and right now, I couldn't think of a single one that reflected anything positive.
I braced myself for what came next, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to hear.
"He cut me, stabbed me, broke me, and tore me apart to the point where I begged him to kill me and free me from my suffering. And, in fact, I think I really died."
There was no trace of doubt in her voice, which made me believe her story even more.
"I felt myself dying… I died, but when I regained consciousness, I had come back to life. I woke up in this building. I was confused and didn't know what to do, until the idea of going up came to me. I had to go up, climb as high as possible, until I reached the sky. But, along the way, I saw many of those lights again. All of them, in their many colors, were gathered there waiting for me. That scared me, so I had to turn them off."
This girl, the same one who had once been surrounded by sadness and melancholy, had now transformed those feelings and turned them into anger.
"…"
A flood of questions arose within me.
-Did they really bring her here? Why?
-Who or what kidnapped her?
-What did she mean by turning off their lights? Had I heard something like that before?
I immediately began connecting the dots.
-Someone similar to me kidnapped her, killed her, but then they brought her here and… she climbed up until she reached the sky.
A twisted idea came to me. Just thinking about it sent a shiver down my spine.
"…It was you, wasn't it?"
The girl lowered her head upon hearing my question, so I insisted.
"You were the Ka'li."
I accused her without a hint of hesitation in my gaze.
"The what?"
The girl asked. Judging by her tone of voice, I could tell she had no idea what I was talking about, so I quickly corrected myself.
"That thing… That monster, it was you."
"It wasn't me."
She replied.
"That wasn't me, because I stopped existing a long time ago. What you call a monster is nothing more than the remains of my body, my soul, and, above all, my magic."
"Magic?"
Apparently, I was talking to a sundrel.
-What did she mean by saying she stopped existing? Was that what she felt?
"…"
If the answer was yes, it was a shame, but I also couldn't rule out the possibility that her words had a double meaning.
"Why did they do that to you?"
"I wish I knew."
The girl answered quickly, but immediately looked away.
"No, you know what? The truth is, I don't want to know. Just remembering it is already difficult…"
That trace of sadness grew stronger again as she said those words.
After listening to her, I realized I had made a mistake, because the last thing I wanted to do was cause this poor girl any more pain. But, right now, I had to insist, because she was the only one who could provide me with a solution to this problem.
"I'm not the right person to comfort you."
I said, and the girl's expression once again turned to surprise upon hearing me.
"I'm also not someone who's good with words, nor someone who can fully understand the pain you're feeling."
"I want to help you, I really do, but, from what you've told me, I doubt I can."
I looked into her eyes and continued.
"For a while now, I've been caught up in a problem that is beyond me in every sense of the word, and I've already started doubting what I should do. So, please, I need your help. I need to understand what's behind all this madness, because only then will I be able to be of some use, and only then will I be able to help you."
My words were filled with as much sincerity as I could express. I wanted those feelings to reach the girl, because the truth was that I had already given up. And by giving up, I meant everything in general. The madness inside this building was beyond me, and the only reason I hadn't given up yet was because I was still clinging to the caprice of surviving and returning home. However, I'm afraid that won't be enough to overcome the madness waiting for me outside this place. That's why I needed to find something else, something this girl could give me. But, to my misfortune…
"I'm sorry, I can't do that…"
The girl refused.
Hearing those words made my heart stop for a second before it started beating again.
"Doing that is painful. I wouldn't be able to bear it."
I felt like I was on the verge of breaking down when, suddenly, a pink light emerged from the girl's hands.
Flash!
Its brightness was intense, so much that I struggled to look directly at it, but I couldn't look away either. I felt like a fly attracted to light.
"...?"
As I looked at it, I became more and more aware that there was something else about this light. It was warm, like the Ka'li's light, it distorted space like the dimensional rift, and, above all, it seemed easy to manipulate, just like fictitious energy.
"What is that light?"
I asked.
"What else could it be?"
The girl replied sarcastically.
"Have you never seen magic before?"
"Is this magic?"
-Magic… That means the girl is a sundrel.
This energy felt different from the others, but at the same time, it brought me a certain sense of nostalgia. Although, of course, this wasn't the first time I had seen magic in person.
"Mmm… So, it's magic."
I stared at the accumulation of magical energy resting in her hand for quite a while as I stroked my chin with my fingers.
"That's not just a demonstration. Judging by the way the energy surrounds your hand, it seems to be a technique, right?"
"…Yes."
The girl replied.
"Looks like you've seen it before."
"Huh?"
Her question caught me off guard, but I quickly cleared my mind and answered.
"Yes, I've seen it before."
The girl's gaze remained enigmatic and somewhat curious. For a human to know how to distinguish the use of basic magic from a technique was, to say the least, unusual, but not impossible.
"It's just that… my mother and siblings are sundrels."
Finally, I dropped the bombshell.
"...?!"
The girl stared at me with her eyes so wide open that they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets… again.
"Your mother is a sundrel…?"
The girl asked.
"Yes."
"And your father?"
"He's… a superhuman, without any magic or a magic core."
"…And you're a human, right?"
I nodded in response.
"…That's possible."
"Huh?"
It had been a long time since I'd had a conversation like this. Talking about this subject made me feel somewhat nostalgic.
"According to my family's doctor, the probability was 0.000003%."
"…That's insane!"
The girl shouted.
"Oh, how curious… According to my dad, my mom and he had the same reaction."
"PFFFT."
In the end, the girl couldn't hold it in any longer and began to laugh.
"Hahaha."
Seeing her laugh like that ignited something in my heart, something that, honestly, made me feel good.
"Haha… I'm so jealous of you."
"Huh?"
Once again, that aura of sadness returned, but even so, the girl's smile didn't disappear.
-I'm so confused…
"Jealous?"
In response to my question, the girl extended her hand toward me while maintaining that melancholic smile.
"Just take my hand and I'll show you everything."
"…"
I extended my hand and brought it closer to hers.
From my perspective, everything was moving in slow motion, and during that moment, my mind filled with countless thoughts. Among them was the memory of the time I made that pact with the gray-haired man, and how similar this was to what was happening now, except that Nathan was a man. But, besides that, another thought was running through my head. In fact, this was the reason I didn't think twice before offering my hand to this girl, and that thought was…
-It's the first time I've held a girl's hand!
Perhaps that thought clouded my judgment and made me act without considering the consequences of holding the hand of an unknown sundrel who was about to use an unknown technique on me.
Clap!
Our hands clasped together, and right at that moment, the sundrel said:
Emission Technique: Gallery of Memories.
All of a sudden, the glow from her hand spread to mine, then to my arm, my shoulder, my neck, and finally reached my head.
"...!"
Suddenly, an indescribable burning sensation spread throughout my entire body. I didn't have enough time to pull away, nor could I release her grip, and I couldn't even scream, because before I could do any of those things, the world around me turned black.
"...?!"
Before I knew it, I had appeared in a completely different place from where I had been. It was completely dark, and the air felt heavy.
"No… no, no, no, no, no! Shit, NO!"
Then, I started cursing.
"What the hell is wrong with me!? Why did I hold that girl's hand without asking what technique she was going to use first!?"
I had already accepted that I wouldn't get anywhere without the sundrel's help. However, I couldn't deny that the way I had gone about it was tremendously irresponsible.
"And where am I supposed to be now?"
My sense of direction had never been good, but even so, the place I was in was so dark that I couldn't even tell whether I was actually moving or just imagining that I was.
Thud!
My face had just hit something.
"Ouch!"
That hurt…
"...!"
Wait, did it hurt? That shouldn't happen. The adrenaline should…
Oh, no… Please, don't tell me its effect has worn off…
No, no, that's impossible. It should take a long time for that to happen.
Maybe it's just a side effect of the technique.
Thud!
I bumped into it again. This time, I endured the pain and began tracing the outline of whatever was in front of me with my hands. I was trying to identify its shape and figure out what it was.
Thud… thud.
Its shape was flat, with a smooth surface that seemed to extend upward from the floor.
-Is it a wall?
I thought for a moment, but soon realized that wasn't the case, because at the height of my abdomen, I came across another round object made of what could very well be metal.
"...?!"
"Don't tell me…"
I placed my hand on the object, held it firmly, and then turned it.
Click.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Without letting go of the object, I pushed it forward, and suddenly, light illuminated my surroundings.
"Ah!"
Right in front of me was an open door, and beyond it, a hallway dimly lit.
"…Ah, it was a door."
I feel a little stupid for overthinking things.
I looked around, taking advantage of the light, only to discover that I was inside a broom closet.
"Mmm."
I stepped out of it and immediately decided to venture down the hallway.
Tap, tap, tap.
"Bethany said she would show me what happened to her, but why did she send me here?"
I focused on finding an exit or, at the very least, a clue that could help me.
"This hallway isn't like the ones in the building."
Tap…
I stopped, because a terrifying thought had occurred to me.
-I asked her for help getting out, and she sent me here. So, what will happen to the mission? Did I fail? Does that mean they'll kill me?
"Tsk, damn it… Why does everything have to be so difficult in this damn mission!?"
I couldn't hold back my frustration any longer, so I started shouting.
"Damn it…!"
Tap.
"...!"
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard in the distance. Someone was running in my direction. It didn't take long for me to make out who it was. The person running was an adult woman wearing a white uniform.
"U… um…"
I tried to speak, but at first, I couldn't get a single word out.
Cough, cough.
"E… excuse me, I don't know where I am. Could you…?"
Before I could finish my sentence, the woman had already come too close, so close that I could clearly read the name on her badge.
-Maria…
"E… excuse me."
The woman came closer, then closer, and then much closer, until…
Fwoooosh!
"Huh?"
How can I explain this? At first, the woman was a couple of meters away from me. Then, the distance between us shrank in a matter of seconds. That's when she was just centimeters away from me. Then, the distance between us shrank even further, to the point where her face was millimeters from mine. At that moment, I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the pain of what seemed like an inevitable collision between our bodies, but when I opened them, the woman was no longer in front of me.
Tap, tap.
She was behind me and continued running as if she hadn't been about to collide with me… or as if I had never been in her way.
"Okay… That really scared me."
I decided to follow the woman, who had just entered one of the doors in the hallway. There was a sign on it that read "Bolivar Newman."
I walked toward the door, which was slightly open.
"Nurse Maria, why did you take so long?"
A man's voice could be heard from inside.
"I'm very sorry, Doctor. The radiologist requested another examination and kept me for another 15 minutes."
The woman, whom I could now identify as a nurse, replied.
Intrigued by the kind of conversation they were having, I peeked through the gap in the door.
There were a total of four people in the room. Three were adults and one was a child.
I could sense a strong, silent tension that grew as time went by, as if the people in this room were waiting for an answer or perhaps a question that would determine how they should behave around one another.
"Mmm…"
Sitting at his desk at the back of the room, an old man wearing a white coat stroked his beard as he read a stack of documents.
He sighed.
With a sigh, the old man took off his glasses and directed his gaze forward, specifically toward the woman who wouldn't stop frowning.
"Well, that'll be enough."
The old man said in a tired voice.
"What? What do you mean by that?"
The woman asked. Her voice made her words sound more like a threat than a question.
"It's simple, Miss Beatriz. The analysis was conclusive. There is no solution to your problem, because there is nothing that needs to be changed."
"That's ridiculous, completely ridiculous."
Suddenly, a dangerous aura spread throughout the room, one that made my instincts scream in fear.
Crack!
Even without knowing the context, it was quite obvious to anyone that this woman wasn't satisfied with his answer. I could hear her teeth creaking as she clenched them together.
"H-How… how is that even possible?! And what am I supposed to do with… that?!"
Her voice was filled with confusion, but also with anger, so much so that it made the nurse take a step backward. I would've liked to do the same, but, to my misfortune, if I did, I would miss the rest of the conversation.
"...?"
I just noticed, but I think this woman has been slightly averting her gaze while speaking.
-What is she looking at?
I wondered, but quickly got my answer by following her gaze.
"A child?"
Sitting beside her, a five- or six-year-old boy with short green hair had his head lowered. He tried not to look at anyone in the room while hiding an object in his lap.
-Green hair… He's just like…
"You are his mother, so it is your responsibility to decide what to do with that."
The doctor's voice carried a tone of contempt as his eyes swept across the room until they reached the little boy.
-Why does everyone keep looking at him like that?
"Tsk."
The woman, or rather, the mother, clicked her tongue as she got up from her seat.
"Let's go."
She roughly grabbed her son's arm and pulled him toward the exit.
Now that she was standing, I could see the woman's appearance in greater detail. She seemed to be between 20 and 30 years old. She had a firm gaze, with piercing purple eyes and brown hair that reached her shoulders.
Tap, tap, tap.
She was beautiful… No, it would be more accurate to say she was very beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she approached me. And now that I think about it, very few human women could reach that level of beauty, whether in terms of their facial structure, the size of their features, or how well cared for her skin looked. This woman was above 99% of the human women I had seen in my life, and thanks to that detail, I could conclude that the people in this room were, in fact, superhumans.
-I should have realized this sooner. Even the nurse looked like a model or perhaps a movie actress.
Tap, tap, tap.
-They're getting really close. I should move now.
I thought, but before I could move, the door in front of me suddenly swung open, leaving the woman and me face to face.
"Uhhh… Excuse me for the inconvenience. I'm a little lost."
I quickly came up with an excuse that would save me from any questions they might ask.
"I was looking for my sister, but I think I got the wrong door."
I said with an awkward laugh, trying to look like just some absent-minded boy, but just before I could turn around and escape…
FWHOOOOSH!
That woman and her little boy kept moving forward, completely ignoring me, as if I weren't there. And then, when they were about to collide with me, they passed right through me.
"...!"
For half a second, my body came apart as if I were made of air, only to reassemble itself half a second later, returning to exactly how it should be.
"…What the hell."
At that moment, I didn't know whether I should feel confused or scared.
"Don't you dare let go of that thing. If it breaks, I won't get you another one."
I didn't even have time to think about myself, because that woman's voice once again caught my attention.
I turned my head toward her. She was scolding her little boy, who was firmly holding something in his hands.
"...! Wait, that's…"
Upon taking a closer look, I could recognize what that object was. And how could I not, when I had been bound to it for 15 years?
What the boy was holding in his hands was a gravity stabilizing mask.
-If he has a mask… then that means he's…
"Bethany."
When the woman mentioned that name, my body became completely paralyzed. I knew that name. It belonged to the superhuman girl who had thrown me into this hospital, but why had this woman said that name? And, more importantly, why was she still looking at that boy with the mask?
"Shit…"
-I should have asked what that damn technique did.