Chương 53: Chapter 52

After containing the cosmic creature, Lily felt completely drained. She intuitively understood that something within Nina had changed. However, this was not the time to think about it. Slowly, Lily descended. She wondered if this might be the end of her. Closing her eyes, she prepared herself to accept her fate. But then... Snatch. Nina pulled her out of consciousness and dragged her directly into the subconscious state. Lily, on the other hand, was far too exhausted to even understand what was happening.

The only thing she felt was the force pulling her backward. After watching Lily disappear deeper into the subconscious, Nina turned toward the system. The system had returned to its previous state.

"System, how long until this body wakes up?"

"72 hours."

"I see." Nina looked toward the depths of the subconscious.

"How long until they recover?"

"Two months." Nina clenched her fists. She could not even go and check on them. Feeling the host's despair, the system opened its mouth, intending to provide comfort and information.

"If the host's Will to Live value can stabilize at 30, the system can activate a mechanism that allows the personas to recover faster, decreasing the recovery period by one month." Nina placed her hand against the barrier separating her from the subconscious. Her fingers curled tightly.

"You're not messing with me, are you?"

"Whether the host wishes to continue living according to your own will or according to their will does not matter. As long as the host's desire to survive increases, the condition will be fulfilled." Will to Live value +1. Current Will to Live value: 18.

"System..." Will to Live value +1. Current Will to Live value: 19.

"If you dare mess with me..." Will to Live value +2. Current Will to Live value: 21.

"I'm not sure what I can do." Will to Live value +1. Current Will to Live value: 22.

"But if this is some kind of game you are playing..." Will to Live value +2. Current Will to Live value: 24.

"I will find a way." Will to Live value +3. Current Will to Live value: 27.

"And when I do..." Will to Live value +4. Current Will to Live value: 31.

"I will make sure..." Will to Live value +1. Current Will to Live value: 32.

"... that you experience the same situation they are in." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Will to Live value +2. Current Will to Live value: 34. Nina turned toward the system. Toward the cosmic being before her.

"I don't care if I end up dying." Self-worth value +1. Current Self-worth value: 1.

"But they must not get hurt." Will to Live value +2. Current Will to Live value: 36.

"I don't care about the consequences of cause and effect." Will to Live value +3. Current Will to Live value: 39.

"But if it dares touch the personas, my family..." Self-worth value +3. Current Self-worth value: 4.

"I will fight back with everything I have." Self-worth value +7. Current Self-worth value: 11.

"I hope you understand that." Will to Live value +1. Current Will to Live value: 40. … During the 72 hours Nina waited for her body to return to consciousness, she was unable to see anything happening in the outside world. Although the system occasionally provided her with updates about the situation, Nina did not pay much attention to them. Her eyes remained fixed on the countdown timer the system had created within her consciousness. Quietly, she watched as the numbers continued to decrease.

There were still a little over 27 days remaining until the personas would awaken. Her family would awaken. Beneath that timer was another clock. The system had insisted on placing it there so Nina could see how much time remained until her body regained consciousness. After all, someone needed to return and take control of the body once it awakened. As the second countdown reached its final ten seconds, Nina frowned. She did not want to leave. She wanted to remain here.

She wanted to continue watching over the others and ensure that the system did not suddenly decide to do something unexpected. But she had to go. The body needed someone to control it. She could not allow anything to happen to it before the others awakened. And when they returned, she wanted them to see that everything had returned to normal. Self-worth value +5. Current Self-worth value: 16. … Nina lightly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a luxuriously decorated ceiling.

Looking around, she quickly realized that she appeared to be inside someone's home. As she tried to move, a ringing sound suddenly echoed. Nina stared in confusion and noticed that her hand was connected to a string, which was attached to a bell. She looked at it curiously and politely tried to remove it. However, just as she was about to succeed, the door suddenly opened. Nina flinched, looking like a cat caught doing something it was not supposed to do.

Turning toward the source of the sound, she saw a beautiful young woman with red hair standing there. After blinking several times, her vision focused, and she recognized her.

"Miss Rosa Roosevelt." The words slipped out of her mouth. Rosa immediately walked toward Nina and nearly fell onto the bed as she wrapped her arms around Nina's waist. Tears of joy flowed down her face.

"Nina, you're finally awake. You don't know how worried I was. Why did you do something so dangerous?" Nina stiffened. She looked at the gorgeous woman in front of her, and with a quick glance, she noticed her radiant skin. Because of that, she became slightly suspicious of Rosa's words. However, after recalling the medicine Lily had passed on to her, Nina closed her mouth. Of course Rosa looked radiant. She was using that medication for her skin. Nina lightly coughed.

"Can you let go?"

"Oh, right. I'm sorry." Rosa quickly released her. She sat at the edge of the bed, and a maid handed her some tissues, which she used to gently wipe away her tears.

"You don't understand. After you fell asleep, so many things happened." Just as Rosa was about to continue speaking, the door opened again. Both Nina and Rosa turned toward it. This time, Nina was not the one who flinched like someone caught doing something wrong. It was Rosa. The person standing at the door was none other than Mrs Roosevelt.

"Rosa." She entered while calling her daughter's name.

"Did I not tell you not to come in here immediately? You will overwhelm Nina."

"But Mother..."

"Someone escort Rosa Roosevelt back to her room." Mrs Roosevelt looked toward the maids.

"She needs to stay where the maids can keep an eye on her. She is not allowed to leave unless she wants people to realize that she did not finish recovering and that she never appeared at the ball."

"Okay." Rosa turned her attention back toward Nina.

"Nina, just wait. I will join you after you are checked over. I will come back later once Mother leaves."

"No, you will not." After firmly telling Rosa that, Mrs Roosevelt entered the room with another person. It seemed that she had brought a healer.