"The shaking stopped?!..." Kiana sat up, holding her head and looking around... The sight that met her eyes wasn't the expected beach scenery, but a room made of steel....
"Where is this?... Have we returned to the real world?" Kiana looked around. The smooth metal plates of the floor felt cool against the palms of her hands...
"Hiss... This probably isn't... the real world." Perhaps because Kiana's movements woke the others, Li Xuan also stood up and looked around. The surroundings felt familiar to him...
"This is also a space created by Seele, the Illusory Sea laboratory.... After all, the real Illusory Sea laboratory has long ceased to exist," Bronya said softly, looking at the steel room and the corridor leading into darkness.
"What about Seele?! Has she disappeared?" Mei asked curiously, though with some concern... After all, they still didn't know how to leave this space...
"If the laboratory still exists, it means Seele probably hasn't disappeared..." Bronya said, looking around. The familiar yet strange scene left her in a bit of a daze...
[Sob sob sob... Sob sob sob...] Suddenly, what sounded like crying came from a distance... It sounded particularly eerie in the dimly lit laboratory...
"That sound is?!..." Li Xuan felt his hair stand on end. He had been a little afraid of these things since he was a child...
"....This is Seele's crying. It's coming from the depths of the laboratory." Bronya looked down the dark corridor and said softly. As she spoke, she stood up and started walking into the darkness...
"Wait! This place... ahem, anyway, it could be dangerous to walk around randomly!" Kiana's hair stood on end when she saw Bronya walking into the pitch-black corridor without a change in expression... She was afraid of the dark too!
"I'm sorry, I must find Seele immediately," Bronya said with determination in her eyes.
"...." Mei looked at Bronya quietly for a moment, then sighed as if she had been defeated. "I understand. Let's go then. No matter what happens, we'll be by your side..."
"Mhm... Sister Mei, thank you." Bronya nodded, her eyes as bright as autumn water... Beside them, Li Xuan looked at Bronya and thought... if she could show expressions at this moment... it would probably be a beautiful smile.
"Th-Then let's go!" Kiana said, looking quite determined, if not for the slight trembling of the ahoge on her head...
"..." This... Li Xuan looked at the others walking into the corridor one after another, held his weapon tightly, looked around cautiously, then gritted his teeth and ran in after them.
............
"Kiana... you fell for a trap like this..." Li Xuan was utterly speechless... He gently swung his Xuanyuan Sword and cut the rope tied around a certain white-haired furball's ankle...
"*Cough cough*... It's because it was a bit dark, I didn't see clearly..." Kiana said in a rare moment of blushing, trying to defend herself. It wasn't her fault... who would have known a pair of panties would be lying on the ground... she just picked them up out of habit, who knew it was a trap... Luckily, Mei and Bronya, who were walking ahead, didn't see.
"..." Li Xuan helplessly watched the white-haired furball quickly catch up to Mei and the others at the front. Besides Kiana, who else would fall for such a trap...
[Sob—Sob~~~] Seele's crying came again from the depths of the corridor...
"This crying, combined with the laboratory setting, is really creepy..." Kiana said, rubbing her shoulders as she complained.
"Seele must be very scared right now. This is all happening because of me, just like back at the orphanage..." Bronya said softly, a hint of sadness in her voice... If Seele hadn't been afraid of her experiment failing, she wouldn't have applied to participate... and wouldn't have become what she is now...
"Bronya, it's not your fault. I understand the feeling of longing for a sister, because I feel the same way about you..." Mei said, comforting her.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh! I'm part of this sisterly love too! Don't talk like I'm not involved!" Kiana chimed in.
"Yes, yes~" Mei said helplessly...
"..." Perhaps because he was a boy, he wasn't very good at comforting people, so Li Xuan, who was following behind, was a bit lost in thought as he listened to their conversation... *Sister, Father, Mother... I hope you're all well...*
Familial bonds are something that cannot be severed even by time and space... After all, blood is thicker than water.
"By the way, Bronya... what is this orphanage you keep mentioning?" Kiana asked Bronya curiously.
"." Bronya was silent for a moment, as if hesitating or reminiscing, before she finally spoke. "That orphanage was a facility that Mother established to protect us and cultivate our strength. It was also mine and Seele's home..."
"Back then, Seele and I were inseparable. Seele was a very frail child, but she was very kind at heart. When I was with her, I could forget my past. It was Seele who brought me out of my memories, which were as cold as a snowfield..."
"It seems Seele is a very important person to you..." Mei said with a smile, patting Bronya's head.
"Yes, I promised Seele that I would always be by her side. Even though we're not related by blood, we would be the closest of sisters..."
"It wasn't until that incident happened that I realized how... fragile a promise between two little girls was." Bronya finally spat out those two words, the light in her eyes dimming...
"That incident... you mean?" Li Xuan, whose curiosity had been piqued, couldn't help but ask.
"It was an unavoidable accident. I lost my legs at that time..." Bronya said, still expressionless. That was also why her legs were fitted with leg armor so she could walk.
Just as Bronya opened her mouth to speak, Kiana shouted as if to claim credit, "Sister Mei!... The crying seems to be coming from this room!"
Without waiting for Mei's reaction, a silent Bronya resolutely pushed open the door...
The room's door opened with a 'creak~'... The furnishings inside were like that of an ordinary family's room, simple yet warm. The sunlight shining through the transparent window left mottled patterns of light and shadow on the wooden floor...
However... the first thing that caught everyone's eye was... the wooden toy box in front of the bed...
The crying was coming softly from within...
(End of Chapter)