Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Doll's Embrace
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Clearly, the last memory was being held in the arms of the fake Esira.
The Commander arrived at the location marked with the coordinates.
'It's been a while since I last came here.'
He had once stopped by the house at Asrania's request to help out briefly for Esira's birthday.
Back then, he hadn't thought much of it.
Yeah, if this counted as a memory, then it was a memory.
The Commander gripped the doorknob and took a deep breath.
He let out a long exhale.
"Hoo..."
No need to be nervous.
Just act like old times. Esira was a good kid at heart.
She might have changed a bit after that shocking incident, but the essence of who she was couldn't have vanished.
'Yeah, she's a good kid.'
The Commander reassured himself.
He tried his best to soften his expression. Still, his fingertips trembled. Clutching the doorknob, he swallowed once.
'I can bring things back to how they were.'
He believed in Esira.
Creeeak.
The door opened, revealing the scene inside the house.
"Esira, I'm here. For your birthday..."
His greeting cut off midway.
"...!"
The Commander froze in place, rooted to the spot. It was a sight that made him doubt his own eyes.
In the middle of the room sat Asrania.
"Ah, As...rania?"
She was definitely dead.
He had watched her body get dragged into the Abyss.
He even had her belongings in his possession.
Yet there she sat, her face serene as if merely asleep.
Kneeling before Asrania was Esira.
"... "
What could anyone even call this scene?
It somehow felt sacred, like a miracle descended at the end of someone's prayer. Even the Commander couldn't put the emotion into words.
What was even more incomprehensible was Esira.
The Commander had deliberately made noise with his footsteps and even greeted her. Yet Esira didn't so much as turn her head.
No, it was as if she knew and didn't care.
Esira simply burrowed deeper into Asrania's embrace.
The Commander stood dazed, forgetting to breathe, etching the bizarre yet sacred scene into his eyes.
Esira murmured in a faint voice.
"...It's warm."
While the Commander stood there blankly, light footsteps approached from behind.
"Oh, you're here?"
The Commander finally drew a breath. His throat felt parched.
"...Marigold."
His voice came out laced with a metallic rasp.
He stared piercingly at Asrania seated in the chair, at the unmoving flesh.
"What... what the hell happened?"
He felt like his head would explode if he didn't get an answer.
"Tell me. What have you done?"
Marigold tilted her head innocently, harmlessly—making it all the more grotesque.
"What's got you so shocked?"
She stepped lightly to the Commander's side and gazed at Asrania as if admiring her own masterpiece.
"Isn't she pretty?"
The Commander was at a loss for words. 'Pretty' was the last thing that came to mind in this situation.
Marigold's eyes were sincere, full of admiration and pride.
"...Pretty?"
"Yeah."
Marigold beamed brightly.
She seemed like someone a few screws short of a full set.
Someone whose morals had long worn away, leaving only lighthearted laughter in their place.
"Sis was always a beauty. Sitting there so quietly like this, she looks even more stunning."
The Commander ground his molars.
He shifted his gaze to Esira.
The child remained cut off from the world, seeking warmth in what should have been a cold embrace.
"That Asrania... "
The Commander's voice sank heavily.
"Is she real?"
"...Suddenly so formal?"
"... "
Marigold narrowed her eyes.
"Ah, I get it now?"
Marigold tilted her head slightly toward the Commander. Her lips smiled, but her eyes didn't.
"You're right. That's a doll."
The Commander was speechless. A chill raced up his spine, and he clenched his fists.
"This will only make things worse."
He forced the words out in a suppressed voice. It felt like his throat was burning black.
"This isn't salvation. It's escapism. It'll isolate Esira even more completely."
The more she depended on that cold doll, the less likely the child would return to everyday life. She'd circle that Asrania doll forever.
Marigold shrugged and giggled.
"Reality?"
She said it like it was the funniest joke she'd ever heard.
"Esira needs Asrania-sis right now. That's all there is to it."
"Just because she needs her doesn't mean you give her a fake—"
"Think of it as part of the healing process."
Marigold cut him off sharply.
"She finds stability by caring for a body that looks exactly the same. It's a kind of doll therapy. The results are right in front of you, aren't they? Her heart will heal eventually, right?"
"You call this healing? You're denying reality. It's poison."
"What are you even talking about?"
"You know better than anyone that this is all a deception."
"...Well. You're starting to grate on my nerves."
Marigold's eyes widened.
The air turned icy in an instant.
"Don't delude yourself. A dead person is providing comfort that the living can't."
"Why assume the living can't? You, all of us..."
"Ha. Figures, coming from the Commander. Your head's full of flowers."
She let out a hollow laugh laced with contempt.
"If we could've done something, would the kid have been left like this?"
"There must be another way..."
"Just spout your usual nonsense like always."
Marigold snapped back mockingly, as if telling him to shut up and follow along quietly.
She nodded toward Asrania in the chair once more.
It felt like she was saying:
See.
This is good enough.
Isn't it perfect?
Marigold whispered softly.
"For now, at least. You could stare at Asrania-sis's legs and blurt out something stupid like 'They're so smooth, I wanna touch them,' and I'd let it slide."
The Commander's breath caught.
He had no idea how to salvage this. It was horrifying. Too deep a tragedy to call tragic—like a swamp you couldn't escape. The more you struggled, the deeper you sank.
"It fits the mood, doesn't it? It's her birthday, after all."
"Enough, Marigold."
The Commander's lips quivered. His patience finally snapped.
Marigold's eyes widened in surprise, but he had no time to check her reaction.
The dark emotions he'd bottled up erupted all at once.
"Are you insane?"
The Commander gasped for air.
"How could you do something like this?"
His voice cracked.
"You planning to make Esira cling to that doll her whole life? Rot away in delusion until she dies of old age?"
"... "
While Marigold faltered without a reply, the Commander pressed deeper.
"You're butchering what's left of Esira's life. Stealing her chance to grieve, to say goodbye."
Is this what you call the best option?
"You're dooming her to eternal suffering. Do you get it? What you're doing isn't normal."
The Commander spat out ragged breaths, on the verge of collapsing.
"...Please, stop this."
Marigold stared at him for a long moment before her lips curved slightly upward.
"That reaction? You're gonna freak out even more when you hear the rest of the plan."
"What else is there?"
"That doll. It's not just for show."
She said it casually with a smile.
"The skin's real, and all the organs inside are real too."
Color drained from the Commander's face. He wanted to say something, but his mouth felt locked shut.
"...Organs too."
He barely managed the words. Sweat slicked his palms.
"Then where did you get..."
"Wondering where I sourced them?"
"...Yes."
"From people, obviously."
Then it wasn't a doll—it was a corpse?
A shiver ran through him.
She snapped her fingers lightly.
"Picked mostly from healthy ones on purpose."
Words like 'horrifying' didn't even cover it anymore. He wanted to run.
This woman is crazy.
And she was smiling.
"While designing this doll, I pondered the Abyss's properties."
The Commander finally tore his gaze away. Marigold's eyes were chillingly clear and transparent.
"Remember Sage? He was definitely dead, but..."
Marigold's lips curved gracefully.
"Once the Abyss took over, he seemed just like a living person. Talking, thinking, even using abilities."
Cold sweat trickled down the Commander's back.
He could dreadfully predict what she'd say next.
"If I fill this doll with the Abyss, it'll be perfect."
"...Marigold."
"With Black Purple's ability, trapping a monster in there is a piece of cake."
The Commander barely suppressed a retch.
"...That wouldn't be Asrania."
His words came out haltingly, as if vomiting blood.
"Just a monster mimicking her. And you'd give that to Esira..."
"I know that."
Marigold cut in bluntly.
"You think I'd make the monster that killed Asrania-sis play her role? That'd be too insane."
He already thought she was insane, but he couldn't voice it.
But her next words drilled straight to the pit of his stomach.
"What if life is conceived in a body corrupted by the Abyss?"
"...What?"
"The Abyss ultimately turns things into living bodies. So even a dead doll might eventually give birth to a child, right?"
"You're joking."
"We need to make a kid that looks just like Asrania. Esira would love that."
His nape froze solid. All blood drained from his face.
"...You're mad."
The Commander backed away, unable to hide his disgust.
"Completely insane."
"I'll leave the father role to you, Commander. Not a bad deal, right? Asrania-sis is pretty, so doing it with the doll wouldn't be half bad."
"...That's desecration."
"Asrania-sis would want Esira to be happy too."
"Not like this."
The Commander's complexion turned ashen.
Is this what Exim was? He couldn't follow their twisted logic.
It was a horrific tragedy.
This situation was the Abyss itself.
He had no clue how to help these kids.
Marigold turned back toward the chair.
Gazing up at Asrania's face like a slumbering statue, she spoke like the purest child in the world.
"By the way."
She smiled radiantly.
"Isn't Asrania-sis really pretty?"
His head throbbed as if splitting open. Every muscle felt numb and heavy, like he'd been bound tight with ropes.
When he came to and opened his eyes, he was surrounded by pitch blackness.
"...Where is this?"
Clearly, the last memory was being held in the arms of the fake Esira.