Four years ago…
In the Ural Mountains of Siberia, there was an isolated orphanage—the Cocolia Orphanage.
In a small, simply yet warmly decorated room in the orphanage, two young girls sat close together on the wooden floor. A vase on the bedside table held flowers they had picked together.
"Bronya-oneechan, what's the sea like?" a girl with shoulder-length dark blue hair and a beautiful, delicate face asked curiously, holding a fairytale book in her hands. Her azure eyes were filled with wonder.
"Seele, have you never seen the sea?" the girl with brown hair in two drill-like pigtails murmured.
"No…" Seele said, closing her eyes in thought. "I've been in the orphanage for as long as I can remember…" She smiled gently like a little rabbit, showing no discontent about her situation.
"…" The girl named Bronya fell silent, trying to think of words to describe the ocean.
"How should I describe it?…" Bronya's mind went a little blank. She scanned the room, hoping to find something that could represent the sea. Her light brown eyes darted around until they landed on Seele…
"The sea, it's just like Seele's eyes~" Bronya said with a smile, gazing into Seele's clear, azure eyes.
"By the way, Seele, summer is coming soon. Why don't we…" Bronya took Seele's small, fair hand. "—go see the sea together?" Bronya said with a smile.
"Okay! Yes! Bronya-oneechan~" The afternoon sun shone through the uncurtained window, and a gentle spring breeze lifted a few strands of the girl named Seele's hair.
.........….
"Bronya-oneechan, it's so dark here!…"
Bronya stood in complete darkness, unable to see the path ahead. A familiar young girl's voice reached her ears.
"Seele?! Is that you?! Seele!" Bronya shouted the girl's name, running through the endless darkness in search of that familiar figure.
"Bronya-oneechan, it's so dark and cold in the deep sea…" the voice of the girl named Seele came again from the darkness.
"Seele! Where are you?! Where have you been these past four years?!" Bronya stood in the darkness, calling out desperately.
"Bronya-oneechan~ Seele is in so much pain. Is Seele going to die?" Seele didn't answer, as if talking to herself.
"…Seele… ah!" Bronya walked forward helplessly, only to trip over something soft.
"What is this…" Bronya reached out in the darkness to touch what she had tripped over. Her palm felt a warm, sticky sensation. It was a human body. Bronya lifted her hand and sniffed; it was a scent ingrained in her since childhood—the smell of blood. Bronya cradled the blood-soaked person in her arms and, in the darkness, saw the face of the deceased.
"SEEEELEEEEEE!!!!!" she screamed, a raw, bestial cry of anguish.
...
"…Hah! Hah!~"
In a room dimly lit by sunlight filtering through drawn curtains, the girl named Bronya shot up in bed, gasping for air. Sweat soaked her pajamas, covering her back and forehead.
Was it a nightmare? Bronya thought, looking down at her sweat-drenched hands...
Kiana and Mei were still sound asleep in the large bed. Kiana had her arms wrapped around Mei, her head buried in Mei's chest, a blissful smile on her face.
Bronya quietly slipped out of bed and walked to the window. She gently pulled back a corner of the black curtain, revealing the sky outside, which was beginning to turn a hazy white, and the slightly subdued Nagazora City.
"Seele… where are you?" Bronya whispered. Having long since lost her emotions, she silently gazed at this broken world, a single, crystal tear rolling down her cheek. She gently wiped it away with her finger and brought it to her lips.
"It tastes like the sea…"
.............
"Bronya-oneechan~"
From the bottom of the pitch-black, lightless deep sea, someone seemed to be whispering.
(End of Chapter)