I Gained a New Companion (3)
I Gained a New Companion (3)
"Hmm... It's not going as well as I thought."
-Isn't it harder because you're borrowing my power? It'll get better with practice.
"Come to think of it, Gaia-nim also said you were unskilled at first too... Alright. I'll practice hard!"
-Yeah. Keep at it.
Cynthia was practicing handling life force. It seemed quite difficult for her, as she was staring intently at the soil while sweating buckets.
-But for someone who became a subordinate, you don't seem to have changed much. I thought there'd be a strong impact, that maybe your appearance would change.
I recalled the moment Cynthia had been completely dyed black.
'I thought something had gone seriously wrong since she woke up so precariously.'
Fortunately, Cynthia had woken up safely, so that was good. If something had happened to her, I don't know how I would have reacted.
"Ah, I thought that too at first..."
-Thought that...?
"I still don't really know, but I feel a lot has changed. For one... should I say it feels like I've escaped the framework of being a Goei?"
-Really? What kind of feeling?
"Hmm... How should I put it..."
Cynthia closed her eyes and thought deeply for a moment, then opened them and spoke.
"Before, there was always this worry in my head about how to obtain human fear somehow, but now, I don't have any thoughts like that."
-Hmm... Sorry, I don't really get how those are connected.
"It's probably related to the raison d'être of a Goei. A Goei born from human fear naturally tries to instill that same fear in humans."
As she said that, Cynthia fluttered her butterfly wings.
"A Goei born from the fear of something moving under the covers tries to meet humans under the covers, just like that fear. I was always agonizing over how to instill that kind of fear too."
-Hmm...
"Well, but the fear of bugs isn't exactly life-threatening, which is why I'm so weak. Why else would my strongest fear be a cockroach crawling around in the middle of the night?"
-Ah, that does sound terrifying...
"You think so too, Gaia-nim?! Sigh, why is my treatment always like this..."
Cynthia crouched on the ground and buried her head. She seemed quite dejected, so I hurriedly added.
-Well, well... Because of that, you became my subordinate, right? So isn't that okay?
"...Hehe, Gaia-nim is so kind after all. I might start acting spoiled at this rate?"
-Haha...
At my clumsy consolation, Cynthia immediately regained her original demeanor. It was a relief her recovery was quick.
"Anyway, to get back on topic, as Gaia-nim's subordinate, that instinct, or should I say... that feeling doesn't come to me anymore."
-So that's why you feel like you've escaped being a Goei.
"Yes, exactly. Like I guessed before, the negative aspects have just disappeared and only the positive ones remain!"
-That wasn't even a guess, it was just a statement.
"Ehehe... But it turned out well like this, didn't it? So it's okay!"
-Anyway...
I couldn't help but laugh at Cynthia's words. She seemed soft-hearted but subtly strong.
-But if you're no longer a Goei, what state is Cynthia in now?
"That's... this is my first time too, so. Actually, maybe only the instinct disappeared, and in terms of category, I'm still classified as a Goei?"
-Maybe so.
A question suddenly occurred to me, but Cynthia also didn't seem to know her own state exactly. I had no choice but to leave the question for later.
-We've come back to the place I'm staying for now, but where do you want to stay? It's fine to stay freely without deciding on a specific spot.
"Ah, then would it be okay if I stay in the same place as Gaia-nim?"
-Yeah, it's fine.
"Then I want to stay with Gaia-nim!"
At Cynthia's words, the clay doll nodded.
Now that her living situation was settled, I asked the thing I most wanted to know.
-Good. Then let's do that... Cynthia, you came from outside, right?
"Yes, are you perhaps curious?"
-Yeah. Specifically, I want to hear how you passed through the barrier.
I had wanted to ask since we first met. It was hard to trust Cynthia at first sight, so I had postponed it, but now that she was my subordinate, I could trust her completely.
If I learned how she passed through the barrier, it might help in breaking the barrier.
"Hmm... that's..."
-Is it hard to say?
"No. It's just... how should I explain this... I walked towards where I felt power, and at some moment I just entered..."
This is what Cynthia said. While fleeing deep into the mountains and wandering around, she felt a strong power, followed it, and at some moment in the dark mountains, she entered a forest with warm sunlight streaming down.
'That's the very definition of vague...'
In other words, she didn't even see something like a barrier, right? Seems the barrier isn't visible from the outside either.
Just as I thought this method was also a dead end, a single thought flashed through my mind.
-Then can you go outside right now?
"One moment, hmm... Yes! I can faintly feel an exit leading outside."
-Then, how about taking a bit of this soil and going out? I want to see if this soil can pass through the barrier.
"The soil? Understood, I'll be right back!"
-If going out is successful, discard the soil and come back.
"Yes!"
Upon hearing my words, Cynthia gathered up some soil from the ground and headed somewhere. Checking the destination, it was the location where she had entered. She closed her eyes for a moment, stretched out her hand, and then vanished instantly.
'That must be the entrance/exit. I'll remember it.'
The location wasn't particularly special. It was an empty space in a lush, wooded area. I drew a large circle with stones so I wouldn't forget.
'This way I won't forget, right?'
My purpose in having Cynthia take the soil was simple. To verify whether the soil could pass through the barrier or not.
If the soil couldn't pass through the barrier, I'd have to find another method, but if the soil could pass through the barrier...
'It's worth a challenge.'
Then, I saw Cynthia crossing back over the boundary. I immediately wrote text in front of her.
-How was it? Did you discard it?
"Ah, yes! I discarded it safely!"
-Good job. Wait a moment...
Upon hearing her answer, I immediately focused my mind. And I began to sense the life force of the soil.
'My body is made of soil. But if soil can pass through the barrier, it means my body can pass through.'
Then, what is the barrier blocking? Precisely, the mind. The barrier is constructed to not let my mind pass through.
Here's one thing - can I focus my consciousness on the soil that went outside? I'm going to test that now.
'Focus the mind... Feel the existence of the soil outside...'
Strongly visualizing the feeling of transferring my mind to the soil outside, I continued to concentrate. Instantly, the surrounding scenery disappeared, and only my mind was felt.
Crackle, sizzle...
'...I feel it.'
The soil outside, and the existence of the barrier trying to block the connection between the soil and my mind, felt very distinct.
'This, is the barrier.'
Compared to my consciousness, the barrier felt like a massive wall. Piercing this massive wall seemed as impossible as plucking stars from the sky.
Of course, just because it felt that way didn't make me want to give up. On the contrary, it stirred my fighting spirit.
'You bastard, trying to block me this hard?'
Yeah, let's give it a shot.
I clashed my consciousness against the barrier. An intense collision occurred within the consciousness space. The barrier desperately tried to block my consciousness somehow, and I burned with will to pierce through that barrier.
'Grr...'
It felt like my consciousness was gradually fading. It was a feeling of being slowly eroded at the edges.
'My mind... feels like it's going to fly away...!'
Still, I couldn't give up. This was an opportunity I had finally found. If I missed this, I didn't know what would happen. I had to hold on.
'Son of a... b*tch!!!'
I poured out all the resentment I had accumulated. Piercing through the barrier, imbued with all the emotions from those months of having to live alone and lonely.
Sizzle... zzzzzzz...
Soon, the contest of strength between the barrier and me ended, and the winner was me.
'I did it! ...Huh? What's this?'
I felt something gently stroking the trailing edge of my consciousness as it passed through the barrier.
Before I could even feel doubt about it, my consciousness faced a new landscape.
'....Ah.'
Deep in the mountains. A forest landscape, slightly crumbly but retaining the dignity of nature.
'Finally.'
I had come outside. I couldn't hide my joy at that fact.
'Ugh. My power isn't coming through properly. Is it because of the barrier?'
Even though I broke through, the barrier isn't completely shattered. Since power only flows through a faint hole to the outside, there's no helping it.
'Well, so what if power doesn't come through properly. The important fact is that I came outside.'
Even if my power doesn't come through properly, I can exert enough force to bury most living creatures, so even if something happens, it's enough to escape.
'Should I try moving back inside the barrier?'
I moved my consciousness inside, then came back outside again. Fortunately, unlike before, I could move freely without having a contest of strength with the barrier.
-Cynthia, I'm going out for a bit to look around!
"Ah, yes! Then I'll decorate the inside a bit in the meantime!"
-Yeah, see you later!
After notifying Cynthia that I was going out, I decided to first try getting out of the mountains.
Somehow, my heart was pounding.
A space where numerous graphs are tangled messily across countless monitors.
One graph that had been drawing a flat line suddenly spiked, then became calm again.
The person watching it looked puzzled.
"...What, why did that spike?"
"What is it?"
A colleague approached and asked. On their uniforms were nameplates reading 'Observer'.
"It seems an anomaly was observed in the Seoul area, but it disappeared immediately."
"What, the Seoul area? That's where headquarters is. An anomaly appeared there?"
"It seems so... but it disappeared right away."
The colleague sipped canned coffee and spoke nonchalantly.
"Probably just noise, right? Appearing and disappearing immediately like that."
"Is that so... Still, just in case, we should report it, right?"
"Well, of course. What if it's a Goei that can hide its energy? Though it's unlikely to appear in Seoul."
"No way, that can't be."
The observer also laughed at the colleague's jest. If a Goei capable of hiding its energy appeared in the heart of Seoul, it would be a real disaster. Of course, since it was an absolutely impossible event, it was just funny.
"Anyway, good work."
"Yeah, you too."
With that short conversation, the observer began making calls.
The recipient was the Management Bureau.