"Mhm, what do you think~ Sister Haida?"
Fran shyly lowered her eyes, raised an index finger to lightly cover her lips, occasionally stealing glances upward with her amber eyes, carrying a hint of girlish timidity.
Her demeanor was identical to Flamel's at the time.
"...I see."
For a moment, Haida felt a slight warmth rise to her cheeks.
Because she had genuinely been protecting Flamel like an ordinary girl the entire time, even using a tone for coaxing a child for most conversations. If Dr. Fran had been watching the whole thing, it would indeed evoke a vague sense of shame...
"Please don't take it to heart. Flamel is only a part of me. I only became aware of this experience after the reverse world ended."
Noticing the sister's fleeting embarrassment, Fran slightly pursed her lips, suppressing a smile.
"Mhm."
Haida quickly composed herself, no longer dwelling on this minor incident.
"Dr. Fran, what should we do now?"
"Sister Haida, you have already brought 'me' through those three buildings constructed from memories. Now 'Hishem' Hospital is right before your eyes... what reason is there not to enter?"
As she spoke, Fran extended a finger covered in suture lines, pointing straight ahead at a dilapidated, imposing outpatient building.
So... the path I took in the 'reverse world' was reflected in real-time in the 'surface world'?
Haida immediately looked back and indeed saw the deep, shadowy alleyway they came from.
Incredible. Two utterly different world rules switched so seamlessly, almost like some forbidden ancient secret realm.
"If the alarm sounds again... will Dr. Fran revert to the Flamel state?"
Due to her wariness towards Silent Hill's bizarre nature, she now wanted to know if Fran had a countermeasure for this.
"Whether the alarm sounds or not has already become meaningless."
"The boundary between the surface and reverse worlds began to blur gradually the moment we entered the town. And the massive malice from the 'Withered Crown' has completely disrupted this place's already fragile equilibrium..."
Haida's gray-chestnut eyes focused slightly, seeming to ponder.
Fran, as if teaching a student, continued explaining with considerable patience.
"In your view, what is the greatest difference between the 'surface world' here and 'reality'?"
"The uneasy silence, the coal dust floating in the air, and... the strange town facilities?"
Haida answered based on her understanding.
Fran tilted her head slightly, narrowing her amber eyes. Haida's answer differed somewhat from what she had anticipated. Why...
Oh, right... Sister Haida is from Norlington.
For her, evil creatures appearing on the streets isn't something surprising. And the town's infrastructure here is relatively modern, hence she finds it strange.
In Haida's common sense, reality should inherently be filled with evil spirits and spawn lurking about.
Therefore, she found it difficult to immediately think... a normal world's "reality" shouldn't have any monsters.
Fran's gaze took on a hint of softness.
"Silent Hill's 'surface world' only reflects the shallow, dark emotions in a person's heart, so monsters rarely appear under normal circumstances. 'Reality' has no monsters at all."
"And we encountered a 'Straitjacket' immediately upon entering the surface world, indicating the degree of corruption here is already deep..."
At this point, her expression took on a rare hint of seriousness.
"Silent Hill manifested that crown from the void from my psyche, yet was utterly unable to control it. Before it completely infects this land and breaks through the reverse world... we must find a method to resolve it deep within the hospital."
"...I understand."
Sensing the gravity in Fran's words, Haida responded in a low voice.
There was still one point she felt puzzled about: if "Flamel" in the reverse world was the selfless wish to save others, then what part of her should the hospital director "Fran" of Hishem Hospital be the manifestation of?
The two conversed briefly, soon arriving before the hospital outpatient building while walking.
Fran wasn't in a hurry to enter, merely pausing slightly before the main door. Then she turned to look at Haida beside her.
"Haida, why have you been deliberately avoiding questions about Viola and the Great Plague?"
Haida was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Fran to so bluntly point this out.
After a moment of contemplation, she voiced her thoughts.
"As Dr. Fran said, the memory fragments that appeared in the reverse world earlier concern your privacy, and I didn't wish to intrude. And... now also doesn't seem like the right time to discuss past events in detail."
"If you're this understanding, I'll feel rather embarrassed."
Fran stroked the suture lines on her knuckles, her amber eyes glimmering slightly, carrying a hint of something thought-provoking.
"As the head nurse of Fog Street Clinic, you needn't be so reserved. You've already seen those three memories, meaning you've already invaded my privacy... so why not go all the way, don't leave yourself with doubts."
"The previous 'Medicae Primus,' Viola, was my student. She was exceptionally talented, extremely diligent, and at the same time possessed the most pure kindness..."
"In the end, she died to end the Great Plague."
For a moment, Haida's breath hitched, falling speechless. She had too many questions she wanted to ask, yet fell silent due to long-standing habit.
Why did Fran vanish without a trace during the entire two years the Great Plague persisted, offering no help to her own student?
Why did Ahern call her the "Witch of the Divine Pestilence" and the 'originator'?
And why... could the Withered Crown be manifested in the "reverse world" through her psyche?
If the answer from Fran's mouth was the worst one... then she might be forced to cross swords with her. Even... using this very power sword "Nirvana" gifted by her...
Seeing the slightly hesitant Haida, Fran gently opened her eyes, stepped forward, and took her hand. Her expression carried a hint of invitation... like urging a distracted dance partner.
"Dear Sister Haida, the actual situation is somewhat complex, difficult to explain with words alone. Come with me into the depths of this dark memory... to witness everything with your own eyes."
From Fran's soft palm, Haida sensed a faint, gentle warmth. Her gloomy thoughts eased somewhat as a result.
With the truth only a step away, how could she retreat right before the finish line?
In just an instant, her chaotic thoughts calmed down. The decisive resolve belonging to a Burial Attendant returned to her.
"Alright... I accept this invitation."
The two then stepped into this long-abandoned hospital building.
...
Time passed slowly. The town's originally cold, piercing sky grew increasingly murky and gloomy.
Several Straitjackets crawled out from the shadows with staggering steps. Their featureless, distorted faces had become even more hideous, like a wound cut open and then torn apart.
But the emotion contained within those twisted visages... was extreme fear.
The next moment, one of the Straitjackets began kneeling on the ground, uncontrollably vomiting.
What it vomited was not stomach acid, but deep green spore-laden slime.
Almost the instant it landed and touched the air, fungal clusters sprouted and spread luxuriantly, multiplying joyfully, thriving vigorously.
As the spores spread on the ground, the phantom of the colossus with the living bone crown grew increasingly solid under the sky. It extended an arm piled high with bones, almost touching the building before it.
The air raid siren's blaring sound abruptly rang out, but the next moment it was as if suddenly choked off, turning into a silent whimper.
The surface and reverse worlds represent the shallow and deep layers of consciousness respectively. Now they no longer needed to switch; they were about to be fused into one by some immense power...
Bang!
In the hospital's administrative building, as Haida fired her standard-issue firearm, a monster in tattered patient garb collapsed limply.
"There are more and more of them."
After performing a finishing strike on the corpse, Haida promptly reloaded her pistol with a spare magazine.
Fran glanced at the dark green thick fluid oozing from the corpse's mouth, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Monsters are showing slight lytic disease characteristics; It has already begun affecting the surface world."
Moreover, crimson rust could be seen growing slowly on the walls, and the bloody smell in the air grew increasingly thick... This indicated the boundary between the surface and reverse worlds had already blurred.
The impending sense of death filled Fran with genuine exhilaration; she almost enjoyed watching the surrounding light grow increasingly dim.
As the two continuously approached the director's office on the top floor, the originally somewhat calm surface world was finally completely swallowed by the malice of the reverse world, merging into one, interwoven and fused.
Simultaneously, this was also a building with "memories"!
Surface, reverse, memories—the three scenes overlapped and intermingled. If not for Fran holding her hand, Haida even felt she might lose herself in the illusory space.
Without an elevator, the process of the two reaching the director's office was somewhat difficult. But thankfully, Haida could carry Fran and move quickly... Looking at it this way, having a head nurse with extremely superb battlefield mobility truly had many benefits.
Could even serve as a vehicle in critical moments... consumes half a portion of rations per ten kilometers.
After much trouble, the two finally arrived before this mysterious door.
Fran raised a hand and pushed open the wooden door of the director's office, now overgrown with green lytic fungi. Another "Fran" in a white lab coat was sitting upright within the office.
Seeing two nearly identical doctors left Haida somewhat confused, but she quickly understood the situation.
The other's neck lacked suture lines.
She was the "Fran" from the past in the "memory." Because the surface and reverse worlds had now overlapped, the two could appear simultaneously.
The Fran sitting on the leather seat looked at the newcomer with her own appearance, leisurely placing her long legs encased in black stockings onto the desk, emitting a low sneer.
"Welcome to my office."
"Cutting the mad me away from your spirit... you got your wish for eternal calmness, became the 'winner.' But also lost a vast amount of technique, power, and memory. Look at your current weak body—was it truly worth it?"
"Even now, don't you still need to rely on the arrogant self from the past to deal with 'It'? So useless."
This "Fran" glanced at the Haida beside her, her amber eyes full of mockery.
"A defective product. Though the material itself is quite good. If I were to... heh."
"I've already stolen most of Fabius Bile's gene-tech. With enough excellent experimental subjects, 'primarch-level' research is also within reach..."
Fran approached her past self, reached out, grabbed her collar, and pulled her from the leather seat.
"Enough nonsense."
"The avatar of the Withered Crown is right before us. Do you want to wait for death here, or... kill It again?"
This doctor seemed to maintain elegance and gentleness regardless of when, except when facing herself with a particular roughness.
The "Fran" being held by the collar slowly leaned close to the other until their eyes met, breath audible.
"Since the winner lady makes such a demand, then the loser seems to have no choice but to obey."
The next moment, the corner of her mouth twitched, revealing an almost frenzied smile.
Two pairs of amber eyes simultaneously burned with fervor. For an instant, their figures also overlapped, nearly merging into one.
"—Let me once again seize Its head crown, send that bastard back to its fucking void home!"
—
You crave dissecting living bodies, stripping and disassembling them into meticulous components, feeling the pulse of every organ.
You crave deconstructing the minds of living beings, admiring their collapse, reconstruction, and descent into despair, recording every change in mood.
You crave exploring the ultimate truth of life and death... hindered and troubled only by fragile scruples and humanity.
Admit it! The billions of living beings are merely experimental subjects awaiting use. Do you truly wish for them to lose their only value under the inferior shaping of natural evolution? The mystery of genes is within reach; you already hold the key to unlock the door to perfection.
Cast aside laughable restraint, knock on the door, and recklessly meddle with the Creator's authority.
If there truly is a creation "god" behind that door... why not tell Him, He's a fool who only produces flawed goods!
Dark, frenzied fantasies resounded within Fran's mind. The long-extinguished madness surged from her lips and eyes in blazing waves, spreading in layers of expanding flames.
Silent Hill manifests the darkness and malice within the intruder's heart. Therefore, this patient... is Fran herself.
And the affliction is precisely the previously stated [Multiple Personality Disorder (Severe Late Stage)].
That madness which Fran severed twenty years ago briefly returned to her spirit at this moment.
+++
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL