As she got closer, Vya could see more clearly. On the woman's pale thighs, there were faint, tiny, light-green scales.
"Because..."
"That's my eye, you know..."
The woman said in a creepy voice, clearly trying to scare a child.
As she spoke, the wall slowly descended, as if confirming her words.
"Well? Scared?"
Vya blinked, her expression serious:
"Oh, so that's how it is."
"? "
The woman was quite dissatisfied with Vya's reaction. This was clearly just a child.
Vya continued asking,
"Big sister, what's your name?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I just wanted to know. My name is Vya~"
Vya smiled brilliantly.
Hearing this, the woman tilted her head in thought.
Vya could see her even more clearly now.
"Mobius... that should be it."
She fished this name out from her long, long memory.
How long had it been? How long since anyone had called her by her name?
Vya was a bit surprised,
"Oh, big sister, your name is Mobius too?"
Mobius raised an eyebrow,
"Oh?"
"Don't tell me you know another Mobius?"
Her interest was piqued.
She was in a brief period of lucidity right now, and this kid had just happened to come along.
Though... possibly, it was a bit different.
At first... her body kept reminding her that the Vya before her seemed, seemed absolutely delicious...
If she could just eat her, how wonderful that would be...
But there seemed to be something about this child that forcefully overrode her body's instinctual craving.
Vya nodded,
"Yeah, she looks a lot like you too~ And Sister Mobius is really nice."
Mobius licked her lips, then crouched down.
"Really nice too? So, you think I'm a good person as well?"
"Mm, sister is a good person too!"
Vya said without a hint of hesitation.
"Tsk..."
So, she decided to change the subject.
Her fingers unconsciously stroked the scales on her thigh.
"So, how did you get here?"
"I just came because I wanted to~"
Vya waved the little Dudu in her hand. Dudu didn't dare speak now.
It had just realized what the woman before them truly was.
Terrified...
Mobius smiled:
"My, you're quite something, aren't you?"
Vya asked:
"And how did Sister Mobius get here?"
"Me? I've always been here..."
Vya nodded thoughtfully,
"Always been here?"
"Little Vya, do you know where this is?"
Mobius followed up.
"Hmm, let Vya think..."
"If the thing behind you is Sister Mobius's eye."
"Then..."
"This place is right under your eyelid!"
Vya said, pointing at Mobius.
Mobius: "...?"
She was stunned.
It was a logical conclusion, but why did it feel so wrong?
...
"How long has sister been here?"
"A long time. Longer than you can imagine."
"Aren't there any other people here?"
"It's just me."
"Then sister must be really bored."
"It's alright."
"What does sister do here?"
"Sleep. Think."
Mobius realized Vya seemed to have a peculiar kind of... charm?
Even when she felt a bit impatient, she was still willing to answer this little one's questions.
Even though her current disposition had grown cold and detached to an indescribable degree.
She was still willing to listen, to answer...
How strange.
Watching Vya's cheerful demeanor, Mobius suddenly felt somewhat amused:
"Little Vya, tell me honestly, aren't you really afraid of me?"
Vya asked with an innocent face,
"Not afraid, why?"
"Do you know what it means if this is my eye?"
Vya answered immediately,
"Of course I know."
"If this is sister's eye, then that means this is sister's head..."
"And then..."
Vya recalled the path she had taken earlier,
"Those really tall steps..."
"Are they part of sister's body too?"
Vya lifted her innocent gaze to look at Mobius.
"Quite clever, little one."
Mobius praised.
"Hehe, Vya knows~"
"Aren't you going to be a bit more modest?"
But she didn't dislike this kind of straightforward pride; it was at least more comfortable than hypocritical politeness.
Vya looked proud,
"My sister said I should accept praise openly, it helps you become a better version of yourself."
Mobius didn't speak. She had a feeling she'd normally despise anyone who said things like that.
"Can you tell me about the other Mobius?"
She found herself asking, as if compelled.
"Mm, of course I can!"
The two found a spot to sit down,
"Sister Mobius is always very busy, always staying in the lab studying things. Sometimes when I go to see her alone, it takes her a good while before she looks up at me."
Vya chattered on,
"But she doesn't like going out. Whenever she needs to go somewhere, she'd take the initiative to call me and say, 'Vya, come with me for a trip.'"
Vya imitated Mobius's tone, making this Mobius want to laugh.
"And then I'd fly her there!"
Vya spread her arms to gesture,
"Fly really high up, and I'd put a pink magic barrier around her too. She never said it out loud, but I know she liked it, because she kept asking me to go out with her after that!"
Mobius didn't speak, just listened quietly.
She was used to the silence, to wrestling with the thoughts in her mind and her sluggish body.
Even if certain special beings could traverse the Sea of Quanta, they wouldn't come to this dead zone.
Loneliness—Mobius knew that the path of infinity was inevitably one of loneliness.
No one could accompany her.
But this little chatterbox before her, aside from the initial desire to devour her, she was genuinely growing fond of her.
"That one time, I even slept with Sister Mobius."
Vya suddenly remembered something, her eyes sparkling,
"I even told her a story, and she listened so attentively!"
Mobius's eyes shifted slightly. For once, she actively pressed for more:
"What story?"
"The story of the little white snake!"
Vya sat up straighter, cleared her throat, and began telling it with all the proper gravitas,
"Once upon a time, in a forest, there was a little white snake. She always liked staying in her cave. Winter was about to come, and she was getting ready to hibernate, curling herself into a little furball. But on that very day, she met a little pink fairy..."
"The little fairy said, 'Little white snake, little white snake, winter is so boring, let me take you to meet some friends.' The little white snake shook her head and said, 'I need to hibernate.' So the little fairy said, 'Then I'll call my friends to come keep you company, okay?'"
Vya narrated vividly.
"...And so, in the end, the little white snake had to accept the gifts from her friends. She decorated her home beautifully, happily got ready to hibernate, and looked forward to the arrival of spring!"
Vya finished, looking at Mobius expectantly: "Well?"
Mobius looked into her sparkling eyes, silent for a few seconds. "How about I tell you what happened next?"
…
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