88
Chapter 88
Swoosh-!!
"W-Waaaaaah-!!!"
A scream was ripped straight from the depths of Parang's stomach.
Is this what it feels like to enter the memories stored within the Evidence?
It felt as if something was being yanked right out of her Heart, snaking up her Spinal Cord, into her Head, and shooting out through her forehead.
'Seriously, Han Siwoo made something like this and gave it to his girlfriend?!'
It felt as though Parang's consciousness was passing through a sparkling Tunnel.
'It doesn't feel as smooth as a Dive.......'
With a Dive, there was just a Splash!! and she would instantly connect to the memory, like diving into water.
Whoosh-
Parang's consciousness traversed the passage for quite a long time.
'This is taking longer than expected.'
Thinking she might as well organize her thoughts in the meantime, Parang recalled the memories related to the Evidence.
The Evidence. A Necklace-type Artifact embedded with a green Emerald.
In the Original Work, after Han Siwoo the Hunter defeated the enemy at the cost of his memories, he gave this item to Alexandra, one of the Slayers, to prevent himself from running wild.
True to its name, its function was to store and preserve someone's memories, allowing them to be taken out and viewed by others later.
'We found it on Alexandra's Corpse.'
Right after the Ascension, having defeated the Pit, Alexandra separated from the group during the battle against the second hardship—a swarm of millions of Monster Fish. For some reason, she was teleported not to the surface Hideout, but to the Train Hive in the East Sea.
Alexandra was extremely flustered at first, but after acting as if she were conversing with something invisible, she calmly stored her memories in the Evidence with a peaceful expression and gracefully accepted her death.
However, the Evidence—a Divine Object-grade Artifact created personally by Han Siwoo the Hunter—suffered severe damage, cracking just from storing those memories. After Parang recovered it, Cylo had no choice but to immediately begin repairs.
During that process, they discovered circumstances suggesting someone had intentionally sealed the memories stored within it. Nevertheless, they somehow succeeded in repairing it, completing the restoration and making it usable again.
Then, after Bertea checked the memories within the Evidence first, she urgently approached Parang, shoved it toward her, and forced Parang inside, insisting that she needed to see it for herself.
'Seriously, just what in the world is in there.......'
Well, Bertea wasn't the type to do something reckless. Parang just waited calmly.
And a moment later.
The end of the long Tunnel came into view, and Parang slipped out.
Splash!!
'This feeling, somehow.'
It feels like I just rode a Water Slide.
Tilting her head slightly, Parang first checked her own condition.
'Oh.......'
It definitely felt a bit different from a Dive. If a Dive felt like a video playing right in front of her eyes, this felt like a Hologram unfolding all around her.
When Parang looked down at her body, her blurry, wavering form looked exactly like a Ghost.
'So this is roughly what it feels like.'
Parang marveled as she repeatedly passed her hand right through her own stomach.
'As for my surroundings...... Ah.'
Looking around, Parang quickly realized where she was.
Thick Rocks piled up in a dizzying mess, accompanied by a dark, blue, and somewhat gloomy atmosphere.
And most tellingly, those stark white arms standing upright in the distance.
'Brachium.......'
Parang had also suffered quite a bit because of that damn thing.
'And if this place is the East Sea Hive.......'
Parang scanned her surroundings and easily spotted Alexandra nearby.
'Is this right after she was teleported?'
She was still trembling with fear and bewilderment, showing no sign of conversing with anyone.
The unusual part was that her limbs were restrained with a Binding of light purple Tentacles.
That was definitely not there when she watched it through the Dive.
'Is that why she couldn't move her arms?'
Parang recalled the image of Alexandra completely paralyzed despite there being nothing around her.
However, there was one strange thing.
'Why wasn't it displayed on her Status Window?'
There was definitely no Status Effect on Alexandra's Status Window. Normally in cases like this, a Status Effect like Snare or Binding would be applied.
"S-Status Window!!"
There was still no particular change in the Status Window that Alexandra hastily summoned.
'Since she called up her Status Window, that means soon.......'
That unknown entity must be about to appear.
The entity that entered Alexandra's consciousness and had a direct, incomprehensible conversation with her.
Parang observed Alexandra closely to make the most out of the remaining time.
'Let's see, her eyes are perfectly fine.......'
She mobilized various pieces of knowledge she knew to perform a rough checkup, but there were no notable abnormalities.
'Then I guess she's in her right mind right now.'
That makes it even more bizarre. How could someone who wasn't even possessed activate an emergency Warp Device and teleport to the East Sea Hive?
Stroking her chin, Parang fell into deep thought for a moment.
Though it didn't last very long.
"Kuh, aaaaah!! W-What is it!!! Who's there!!"
Maintaining a confused demeanor from start to finish, the devastated Alexandra muttered something before her eyes began emitting a light purple glow.
And surprisingly, a certain shape could be seen appearing right in front of her.
Swish- Swoosh-
Accompanied by a peculiar sound that resembled flipping through silk, snow piling up, or a brush sweeping across soft paper.
"Wh......o......?"
A girl wrapped in a radiant purple glow appeared.
Her aura was completely different from this gloomy Deep Sea.
Her long, light purple hair cascading down to her waist swayed gently in the water, and the slender, white hands peeking out from the fluttering, wide sleeves were as clear and spotless as flawless white jade.
A lace skirt fluttered, and from beneath it, slender bare legs stretched out, leisurely paddling back and forth in the water.
Her entire body shone beautifully in light purple, looking almost like an angel descended from the heavens.
She wore a mask that hid her eyes, nose, and mouth, but Parang could easily guess that the face behind it would be breathtakingly beautiful.
'She's pretty.......'
It wasn't an empty compliment; the girl exuded such a mysterious and beautiful aura that it unconsciously made Parang think that even in this crucial, gloomy situation.
Of course, Parang only fully appreciated that aura for exactly ten seconds.
Because of the voice that came from the girl's mouth. That soft, clear, and refreshing voice, like jade beads rolling across a silver platter.
"Don't be too surprised. It's nice to meet you."
Because that voice belonged to someone Parang knew all too well.
Because it belonged to the person she had been searching for over a very long time.
Because it belonged to an irreplaceable, incredibly precious old friend whom she thought she would never see again.
"Al......ice......?"
Without realizing it, Parang whispered that person's name into the empty air with hollow eyes.
#
'What the hell is this situation, damn it.......'
Her head was spinning.
To think her friend, whom she thought was dead, had returned in this form, in this manner.
Tens of thousands of questions flooded her mind.
She felt confused, bewildered, and terrified, yet simultaneously happy and sad.
She felt like she was going crazy. Her heart was pounding so fast that she thought it might actually explode and kill her if it kept up.
She was out of breath. Her throat felt tight. Her eyes were trembling.
Parang instantly rushed over to the Alice in the memory and tried to pull her into a tight embrace.
She missed her, and she wanted to see her. It seemed that no question or emotion was stronger than her longing.
But in vain, Parang's body phased right through Alice and slipped out the back.
Parang collapsed right there and blankly stared at her own wavering, blurry hands.
Alice stood perfectly still in front of Alexandra.
As if she wanted to give Parang some time.
'Why, why.......'
There were so many things she wanted to ask, so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn't speak a single word.
Why did she appear here, at this exact moment of all times?
Why did she reveal herself only now, when everyone had already given up?
Where had she been all this time?
She missed her so much.
Not a single word could escape her lips; they were merely swallowed back past Parang's tightly constricted throat.
Forgetting even what she was supposed to do, Parang collapsed onto the Floor and shed Tears.
She just cried endlessly.
Was it sadness, happiness, or neither? Parang couldn't tell.
Just then, something touched Parang's back.
"......!!"
It was strange. She knew for a fact that nothing could physically touch her right now, yet oddly enough, Parang didn't think the sensation was an illusion.
A warm, nostalgic, and gentle touch.
Was it the hand she failed to grasp that day, the first day they encountered the Titan?
Was it the very hand of the friend she had missed so dearly?
Before she knew it, Parang's crying had stopped.
Because that touch was so incredibly sweet and warm, as if telling her not to cry.
"......"
Parang didn't bother turning around to check if that touch was real.
She just felt like she shouldn't.
Instead, Parang quietly raised her head and stood up, trying her best to steady her heart.
Then, she faced Alice and stared intently at her Mask.
Ding-
"......Ah......!"
At that moment, Parang strangely felt as though she had made eye contact with Alice.
She was definitely wearing a Mask, so her eyes shouldn't have been visible, but strangely enough.
'Right. Me acting like this is obviously not what you want.'
The light returned to her eyes once again.
Perhaps this would be the very last time Parang would ever hear Alice's voice.
She didn't want to miss such a precious sound because she was too busy crying.
Parang steeled her heart and held back her tears.
Only then did Alice begin to move again.
'Just now.......'
It almost seemed as though she had nodded her head.