292 - Astarte
Due to health reasons, Professor Margaret Lopez of Duke University will deliver the awardee representative speech on behalf of NoName. We sincerely apologize to the audience who waited so long.
Thud thud thud—!
"Nami! NoName!"
Yun-seul burst out of the capsule barefoot and pounded fiercely on the door of Nami's apartment.
Clunk—the door flew open roughly, and Professor Cheon emerged, hastily shoving his feet into his shoes. Nami was bundled tightly in a blanket in his arms. Her eyes were squeezed shut, making her look as if she'd lost consciousness.
"...!"
"Could you press the elevator button for us, dear?"
"Y-yes...! Is Nami okay? What's wrong with her right now?"
"She's running a high fever. Over 39 degrees."
"Haa... What do we do...! Call 119 right now!"
"I already did. Has anything happened to Nami lately? She skipped academy today too."
"No... She was totally fine when the stream started today...! Sniff..."
"I see. Let's head to the hospital first and monitor her condition. A diagnostic spell didn't show any major issues with her body."
"Please..."
The professor spoke reassuringly to the young girl, but worry clouded his face as well. Forced logouts from virtual reality were something to avoid at all costs. The brain needed time to readjust to the real body. The capsule only kicked a user out forcibly in cases of severe physical emergencies.
'Please let her be okay...'
An ambulance with flashing green lights sped up ferociously, picked them up, and raced off. Aside from the high fever, her pulse, blood pressure, and other vital signs were all normal. Yun-seul sat by the stretcher, gripping Nami's tiny hand tightly all the way to the hospital. She felt faint movements from the fingertips. Nami was conscious but still too weak to open her eyes.
"It's okay. Nothing bad will happen, Nami. You'll be all better once we get to the hospital, so hang in there just a little longer, okay?"
"..."
The first ER they reached had no empty beds. The ambulance sped along an eight-lane road bathed in red moonlight, hopping from one university hospital to the next. It wasn't until the fourth hospital that Nami, hooked up to an IV, finally relaxed with steady breathing.
And the next morning. Amid everyone's fears, when Nami awoke from her deep slumber, the Nami they remembered was gone.
"Where... is this...?"
A holy place where one received the divine descended into heavenly punishment. Ashen dust clouds blotted out the sun, and crimson flames painted an eternal twilight. On the chests of priests in pristine white robes, a single red rose bloomed. That was the only memory the girl could recall.
"Hurry! We have to run now! The witch is right on our tail!"
A boy burst through the door. Holding back sobs, he grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her outside. The whole world was engulfed in flames, acrid smoke claiming lives one by one. The girl's beautiful silver hair, once praised daily by the bishops, grew dull and frizzy under layers of dust. Yet they had no choice but to sprint through streets devoid of any sign of life.
"Look out in front! In front!"
"Huh?"
"Kyaaah!"
Only those who stood at death's doorstep could truly understand its terror. Golden threads sharp as guillotines shot out, snaring their ankles. The witch who had razed the entire Alpenheim Holy Kingdom had finally found them.
"Game over for hide-and-seek. That's enough, isn't it?"
Escaping her grasp was impossible anyway. The girl finally dropped to her knees, tears streaming as she begged.
"You... you came to kill me, right? Wi... wit... witch?"
"Hey! This isn't the time! Get up!"
"Please... spare &@#'s life... I'll give you anything... please... please..."
The girl pleaded in a choked voice. She shoved away the boy tugging at her arm and clung to the witch's legs, burying her face.
"I did... everything you told me to, Witch...! I gave you the Key to Heaven, drew the map to Alpenheim's underground waterways! I did it all... I followed every order, so why... why take everything from me?!"
The girl's wail was a scream near despair. The witch stared impassively at her breakdown, then said,
"You've changed a lot."
With emotionless eyes, she seized the girl's hair and yanked.
"You never had anything to begin with."
The icy words pierced the girl's heart like a dagger.
"Your body was always mine, and these feelings you're having—they're all fake."
Golden mana surged, enveloping her. The agonizing pain tormenting her body vanished like a lie, her eyes fluttering shut peacefully.
"Astarte!"
The furious boy lunged to save her, but what happened after faded from the girl's memory.
Still, I'll preserve your memories at least.
Things existing in the void of nothingness inherently contradict themselves. Thus, they exist yet do not. Drifting through the nine heavens of the mental world in a haze of half-consciousness, suddenly the 'wall' grew loose.
"...!"
The concept of 'girl' attached to something nonexistent, and she beheld ecstatic light with her eyes. Clutching her fading awareness, the girl reached toward the other side, squeezing through the gap.
"Hngh!"
Thud—!
A sound. Meaning mass had been granted, and sensory organs capable of hearing had formed. A presence stirred in the dim room. The moment she recognized the child, the room blazed with light.
Photos densely covered the walls. A tall, handsome brown-haired brother. A red-haired mage sister with a prickly vibe.
"And... the previous saint...?"
Having slipped into the unknown room, the girl looked around and spotted a child huddled in the corner.
"Hah, you're a funny one, aren't you? How'd you even find this place?"
The gloomy child with a cast on her arm looked up, and goosebumps erupted over the girl's body. She looked exactly like the witch who killed her—like her childhood self, even.
"Who are you?"
"Me? Shouldn't you introduce yourself first? It's only polite."
"Ah...! My name is... I..."
The girl hesitated.
"You're Astarte."
Memories flooded back like magic the instant the child spoke.
"...!"
"And I'm Schadenfreude. You want to get out of here, right?"
Nod nod.
The child pointed to the door.
"...?"
More precisely, a bit to the right.
"Oh, it's there? As expected, you can see it. Open that and go. A fun world awaits right in front of you."
Once she perceived the door, the child guarding the room vanished before her eyes. To escape this incomprehensible world, the girl stepped forward.
"Car..."
"This one?"
"Train..."
"And this?"
"WiFi..."
Nami diligently answered the grandmother doctor's questions as she flipped through the picture cards. Then came a break. Gulping water from a disposable paper cup, Nami tilted her head.
"I can't remember the name... Who was it...?"
"It's okay. No need to force it."
"But earlier... did you ask my name?"
"Hm?"
"Astarte... That's what everyone always called me."
"Posted it?"
"Yeah. For now..."
"Sigh... How does a kid's condition go critical like that out of nowhere... No warning signs at all."
"Don't say that. Nami will snap out of it soon."
Seo Maru and Seo No-eul, the brothers, had come to visit Nami in the hospital.
The doctor's initial diagnosis: dissociative stupor. She remembered nothing—who she was, where she'd been, who she'd talked to. An extreme form of dissociative amnesia where trauma or stress erased her identity or entire past.
"Where's Nami's dad?"
"He's being questioned by police over child abuse suspicions."
"What? Why him!"
"Just procedure, I guess. He's with a doctor, so it'll be fine."
Nami's memories were wiped clean, as if they'd never existed. Only one potential stressor came to mind: the capsule. It had been fine so far, but it was the most likely culprit.
"And the game friend who came with her?"
"Kariri—no, Set Yun-seul? She cried all night and finally fell asleep."
Yun-seul had broken down, blaming herself for causing Nami's collapse. Silence settled over the empty room. The brothers stared at the bed, waiting for Nami's return.
Knock knock.
"...!"
An elderly grandmother doctor entered, holding Nami's hand. Nami puffed her cheeks sulkily, dragging the IV pole with her other hand.
"Nami!"
"Hey, you okay?"
"..."
Nami brushed past the brothers coldly, climbed into her bed, hugged her pillow tight, and curled up facing away like a shrimp.
The attending physician handed the chart to the nurse and explained softly.
"Her fever's down completely now. She's complaining of a slight headache, so I added more fluids."
"Why'd Nami get sick all of a sudden? She was perfectly fine before."
"Anaphylactic shock is suspected, specifically an allergic reaction in the Aura Heart. Has she received any mana-based medications recently?"
"Mana-based meds...?"
"Healing spells count, or any magical drugs affecting metabolism directly."
The brothers conferred thoughtfully.
"Her potion pills? But those have been fine for months."
"Demon King's Horn? She's been using that forever."
"Or maybe... the tournament? That sleep spell or whatever? But that was three days ago, so timing's off."
"Not common, but possible depending on constitution. With small doses, mana accumulates in the Aura Heart gradually."
"Got it... But her memories... still not back?"
Every eye contact with the Nami who didn't recognize them felt like a punch to the gut.
"Typically recovers in hours to days, up to a month worst case... But it's psychogenic, so hard to predict definitively. Also showing symptoms of dissociative identity disorder—what you call multiple personalities..."
"Wh-what? Nami has multiple personalities?"
"But DID isn't officially recognized in academia. Cases are rare, and some view it as exaggeration of other disorders. We can only observe for now—sorry."
"No, it's fine..."
"Stress relief can trigger rapid recovery, so guardians sharing good memories would help a lot."
"Thank you for the advice, doctor."
"One more thing."
"...?"
"She says her name is Astarte. No idea what that means, but if you know, try talking about it."
As the busy doctor left, Seo No-eul cautiously touched Nami's shoulder.
"Nami."
"..."
"NoName...!"
"..."
"Astarte!"
"Yeah...?"
"She responded! Hey, remember us?"
Seo No-eul clapped and forced a grin. Nami slowly raised her IV arm and...
"No way! This can't be our Nami...!"
flipped them the bird.
Words spoken aloud could no longer be secrets. Rumors online might stem from negligent staff or overheard patients, but that wasn't the issue now.