Chương 89: Chapter 88

When Nina awakened, she was faced with nothing but silence. As she tried to move, she realized that she was trapped. Looking around, she could not see anything in front of her. Remembering what had happened last time, Nina realized that Seraphina had fed her something, which had, in turn, pushed away all of her personas. Entering her conscious mind, Nina stepped toward the subconscious. She reached out and touched the barrier that separated them, trying to feel whether the others were okay.

It was not until her hand passed completely through the barrier that Nina realized something. She could actually enter. Nina quickly pulled her hand back and stared at it before looking toward the subconscious in bewilderment. The subconscious had always been the place where the personas went. If she was able to enter it herself, then that meant something had happened to them.

Looking back toward the conscious state and seeing nothing but darkness, Nina held her breath, despite knowing that, in her current state, doing so was completely useless. She turned back toward the subconscious and stepped through. The moment her entire body entered, Nina felt a sense of lightness wash over her, as though decades of exhaustion had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders. Without wasting another moment, Nina began searching.

She called out for everyone, her voice echoing through the depths of her subconscious. As she walked, she suddenly bumped into something. Looking up, she saw what appeared to be a character sheet. Or rather, a persona sheet. Nina lightly placed her hand against it. Information flooded into her mind so quickly that she staggered backward, letting go in pain. And then Nina realized what had happened. Seraphina's medicine had caused her personas to return to their card states. Nina curled into herself.

Quietly, she cried. Her soul body could not produce tears, but her physical body did. Nina's emotional state continued to fall. And because she had entered the subconscious, the System could not even reach her. … After crying for a long time, Nina finally stood. She knew she could not remain in this state forever. She looked at the cards before reaching out and pulling one down. The word written on it was Lily. Seeing the name, Nina felt as though she might start crying again.

Instead, she held the card close to herself, hugging it tightly.

"I miss you," she whispered.

"I miss all of you." Taking the card with her, she walked toward the barrier that had once separated the subconscious and conscious spaces. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. She stared toward the conscious side.

"So this is what you guys would see," she said, crossing her legs. Her voice became quieter.

"I wish I could see you one more time. Even if it meant I became you." As soon as those words left her mouth, the card in her hands slowly began to disintegrate, its pieces dissolving into her body. Nina tried to grasp the card, believing that she was losing something once again.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! Don't go! Don't go! Don't go!" The more she tried to hold onto it, the more it disintegrated. Remembering the System, Nina ran into the conscious space.

"System! System, where are you?" But the card had already completely disintegrated in her hands. Nina felt as though the entire world were collapsing around her. Just as she was about to give up, a notification appeared before her. It displayed her character profile. But it was different from the usual profile. Beside her name, Nina, were the words [Lily]. The two identities were not fighting against each other. Instead, they had become one. The age listed was her own, with her sister's age displayed in brackets.

The same was true for the other information. Even their last name remained the same. Nina stared at the profile. She had not replaced herself with Lily. She had become her. Without a second thought, Nina looked down. Just as she had expected, she was wearing Lily's favorite dress. Nina felt like crying again, but this time, it was from happiness. She had not completely lost her. She did not understand what Seraphina had done, but if this was possible, then there had to be something she could do.

She needed to figure it out. But as she thought about it, the System finally appeared.

"Host."

"Yes?" Nina's voice echoed through the conscious space.

"There is something you need to know."

"What is it?"

"It is not that Seraphina gave you a poison. It is more accurate to say that she gave you an antidote, which helped fix a bug within you."

"What?" Nina stared ahead.

"What are you talking about?"

"The ability you possessed was to use the cards and take on any identity, similar to what you had done previously with your memories. However, due to an error within our system, it allowed others to inhabit your cards and, in turn, cooperate with you."

"So what you're saying is..."

"Yes, Host. The reason you could not enter the subconscious was because of the bug." The System continued.

"The subconscious was always meant to be a place of respite for you. Somewhere the System could not contact you, allowing you to think freely and consider whatever you wished without the System interfering."

"However, because of the bug, that function could not operate properly. In order to compensate for the malfunction, I created this visual space for you. This allowed you to feel as though you were physically present within a separate state while ensuring that I would only respond when you spoke aloud. In this way, your sense of privacy could be preserved as much as possible." Nina remained silent for a moment.

"Now that it's fixed, you're saying that this way of existing will no longer be available to me?"

"Yes, Host. The ability to physically disconnect and walk into the conscious state will no longer be available to you because the system bug has been resolved." Nina was quiet for a long moment after hearing those words.

"System?"

"Yes, Host."

"Are the people who were with me okay?"

"In what way, Host?"

"Were they able to go back home? Or were they like me?" Nina lowered her head.

"Dead?" Her voice trembled.

"This was supposed to be their chance for freedom, and because of the error I made, I took their one chance away." The System fell silent. For the first time, it seemed as though it did not know how to answer.

"I cannot answer any of those questions, as doing so would violate my guidelines."

"I understand." Nina looked down.

"May I at least know their real names?"

"Sorry, Host."

"It's okay. I understand." Nina took a breath.

"Will you need me to leave this place so that you can change everything back to normal?"

"Yes, Host."

"I see." She remained silent for a moment.

"I understand. Thank you, System."

"... you're welcome, Host." … In the real world. Elias removed his headset, tossing it roughly toward the ground.

"Dammit!"

"Calm down, Elias," Lucian spoke up.

"I knew this was bound to happen at some point."

"That woman is so annoying. Why did she— Ah!" Elias shook his head in frustration. Damien, who had been quietly watching, turned toward his own personal helmet, trying to determine whether there had been some sort of error on their end. He attempted to remove it, but the error would not budge. He merely sighed before setting it aside.

"There's nothing that can be done," Damien said lightly.

"Given what happened during the failed state, it was only a matter of time before Seraphina figured things out."

"She did not figure it out," Mr. Blackmore said, moving away as he fixed his tie after removing his helmet.

"It was just a matter of efficiency. The failed state last time occurred because you guys were actively connected to Nina." Hearing their father's words, the siblings looked down in shame. Mr. Blackmore sighed lightly.

"Make sure to go to physical rehabilitation. You guys have been in a terrible state for a long time." Lily tried to stand, but her legs gave out beneath her. If it had not been for Emma, she would have fallen flat on her face.

"You guys should at least be happy. Nina subconsciously called you for help, and yet my capsule never lit up, not even once." After helping Lily into a wheelchair, Emma turned toward Elias.

"That being said, now that you're finally out, it's time for me to get an explanation as to how, and more importantly, why, exactly that method of transfer was used on my precious— I mean my friend"