Chapter 55
The terrain here was structured like a domino—once one piece fell, everything would collapse in sequence.
Now, it was truly time to say goodbye.
“I’m sorry.”
I gently pushed Lyria, who clung tightly to me, backward.
Eden, who was standing behind her, naturally embraced Lyria in his arms.
“…Savior.”
He looked at me with the expression of a lost puppy.
“Go, Eden.”
I turned my gaze away, fearing my resolve might waver.
“Hurry.”
Even as I spoke, Eden stood frozen, his face blank as if he couldn’t comprehend anything.
Raising my voice, I shouted at him.
“Eden!”
“…”
“We’ll meet outside.”
At those words, Eden finally seemed to snap back to reality. His face crumpled as he twisted his features in anguish.
“Outside?”
“…Yes.”
His conflicted expression deepened, shadows clouding his face.
Of course, he must have known that my words—we’ll meet outside—were just an empty promise to assuage his guilt.
“Promise.”
I extended my finger and gave him a small, sincere smile.
Eden stared at my hand for a moment, then clenched and unclenched his fist as if deliberating.
“You have to keep that promise.”
With that, he held Lyria more firmly in his arms.
“Let go, Eden! Let me go!”
Held tightly by Eden, Lyria flailed her legs and desperately called out to me.
I turned my head, pretending not to hear. I couldn’t bear to listen.
Lyria’s cries turned into desperate wails as I avoided her gaze.
“If only… just once… let me see you again, please…!”
Despite her pleading and struggling, Eden only tightened his grip on her. He neither let her go nor turned back toward me.
Like a machine, he sprinted toward the exit, focusing only on what lay ahead.
I closed my eyes as I watched the two of them fade into the distance.
Soon, the room would collapse with a deafening roar.
How much time did I have left? Ten seconds, at most?
One… two… three…
And four, five.
As the seconds ticked by, my heart began to pound more rapidly.
At last.
Ten.
When I counted the final second—
Bang!
As expected, the first pillar supporting the boss room’s ceiling began to crumble.
It had lasted long enough.
Clenching my lips tightly, I instinctively crouched down.
Soon, the massive debris would bury me, crushing my body.
Perhaps I’d vanish entirely, reduced to nothing but ash.
Maybe, this was meant to be.
In one way or another, I was destined to die.
Thinking that saving everyone and disappearing this way wasn’t the worst fate, I found myself reminiscing.
Short moments from my life as Wendy Porcelain flashed through my mind.
“Even if it’s you, I can’t forgive you for hurting the nanny.”
From the first time I met Lyria.
“I’m Wendy Porcelain.”
“I’m Xenon.”
To forming a tenuous alliance with Xenon.
“You want to survive too, don’t you? That’s why you’ve come this far!”
And the relief I felt when I managed to recruit Eden as a teammate.
“Come at me, you bastards!”
The thrill of meeting the twins and safely passing through the Forest of Spirits.
“You’ve given me so much, so I wanted to give something to you too.”
The excitement when Xenon gifted me a bracelet before entering Fire Base.
All the memories, emotions, and joys and sorrows of living as Wendy Porcelain came flooding in like a tidal wave.
Maybe I saved Lyria, but at the same time, I thought… perhaps I was the worst sister to her.
Thud!
The sound of a nearby pillar collapsing reached my ears.
Only ten meters away, at most.
Feeling the shadow of death closing in, I let my body go limp.
And yet—
“…Huh?”
Why was I still alive?
Hadn’t I been standing here for more than a minute already?
Could it be… I’m in heaven already?
Maybe I’d died so quickly and painlessly that I didn’t even have time to register the agony.
Feeling something strange in the faintly altered atmosphere around me, I cautiously opened my eyes and looked around.
Then, at the sight before me, my jaw dropped.
The building that had been collapsing just moments ago was now reduced to ash, scattering into the air.
In front of me stood a grand and magnificent phoenix.
No…
[Sorry for being late, sister.]
It was Lyria, awakened.
***
Lyria couldn’t understand what was happening.
“Lyria, open up, ahh~.”
“…Ah.”
“Good girl.”
Treating her like a child—no, she was a child, but her sister’s unusually affectionate demeanor felt unfamiliar.
Lyria pondered deeply as she opened her mouth to accept the spoonful of food offered to her again.
When did this start?
“You’re eating well.”
“…”
“Is it good?”
Pat, pat.
When had her sister changed like this?
In response to her sister’s question, Lyria nodded slowly as she chewed the food puffing up her cheeks.
“Really?”
Wendy smiled as if she had the whole world.
“Since I worked hard to entertain you—or, no, since I worked hard to win your favor—I’ll make you something even better next time!”
“…Mm.”
Entertain? Win my favor?
More incomprehensible words.
Her sister occasionally muttered such strange things that only she could understand.
Perhaps it started even earlier.
“You’ve got something here.”
Her sister had completely changed, almost like a different person.
But she didn’t dislike it.
In fact, she was happy.
At least now, her sister liked her.
At least now, her sister looked at her.
So every night, Lyria prayed that her sister’s strange state of mind would last just a little longer.
Her original sister wasn’t warm or affectionate.
To put it kindly, Wendy Porcelain had a cold and frightening personality.
Especially toward her.
Whenever she asked her sister anything—
“What good would it do for you to know?”
She’d snap irritably.
Even on her “good” days—
“Wendy, big sister.”
“…”
“Play with me, sister….”
Her sister would lock herself in her room all day, not even showing her face.
Their mother had said that Wendy’s personality had warped after losing her mother when she was young.
She’d always tell Lyria, “You’re her younger sister, so try to be a little more affectionate to your poor sister.”
And so, Lyria had tried.
“What is this filthy thing?”
“It’s a teddy bear!”
“…”
“Hehe, it’s my favorite one.”
To grow closer, she’d even given her sister her most cherished doll as a gift.
“I hope you like it.”
She’d secretly embroidered a beautiful pattern and left it outside her sister’s door.
But each time, she was met with scorn.
“Stop bringing me this trash!”
Or outright mockery.
“Such lowly blood… even your thoughts are base.”
“I just wanted to be closer to you—”
“You’re a bastard child.”
“…”
“You’re filthy. Don’t come near me.”
That was all.
So Lyria had thought they’d never grow close, not in her lifetime.
But one night, Lyria was startled awake by a strange noise and saw it.
The thing crawling on the floor.
Its long arms flailed as it dragged its stretched tongue along the ground.
Grrrrrkk.
Twisted grotesquely, it stared at her.
But what scared her most wasn’t the monster, nor its long, slithering tongue.
“Li… Lyria, run.”
It was her mother, bloodshot eyes wide, devouring the monster piece by piece.
That sorrowfully contorted face was something Lyria could never forget.
Her nightmare had begun that day.
Lyria ran desperately.
She ran and ran, until she found herself at her sister’s door.
Even she didn’t understand why she’d gone there.
But even if her sister said only cruel things, she wanted to see her.
Unable to approach, Lyria stood far away, silently watching her sister.
Wendy touched her face as she looked at the window, her expression suddenly panicked.
“Possessed? I’ve been possessed? Are you kidding me?!”
…That’s what she seemed to say.
With a serious expression, Wendy muttered into the air, eventually yanking at her hair.
“Reader community? What the hell is that?!”
“Sister…?”
Lyria hesitated, wondering if she should stop her.
But before she could, the ground began to quake violently.
Wendy frantically looked around.
Not long after, a monster appeared before her.
Lyria instinctively knew.
The bloodshot eyes.
The bloodied fingers that had devoured monsters.
That was her mother.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment