I wander on the surface of the Underwasteland.

Dunes. Sand sliding down the slopes.

Abysses eruptions mix with corals. Infesting corals. Insoluble errors that not even the [Yellow Queen] can provide a solution to in the short term.

Now I remember.

I was a fool. A naive one.

Without memories you cannot suffer for them. But Gron, Ilnerio, how could I forget you!

Now I know. They are the Golden Doors, those damned doors to hell!

I am alone. Without you, I am completely alone.

No.

Disappointment.

Realization.

I always have been. Now I know that there is no will in the undead. Therefore, there is no companionship in their presence.

It was a journey down there—

I cannot finish the thought that I burst into tears. I throw myself on the ground and punch the sand.

It is not right!

It is not fair that it happened like this, that Gron disappeared forever, and that my house is reduced to this state.

It is the end.

It is the end of a conspiracy. There is no consolation. There is no escape. I was manipulated.

And I did not even remember.

I raise my head.

I did not get to the edge of the Underwasteland. Yet due to the absence of the membrane, of the horizon, I do not recognize this place. I walked for a long time.

I took a direction opposite to the storm. From here, no typhoon was visible in the background.

Nor do I feel the wind.

A few pools of magma hover in the distance. There is nothing more.

Dark. Loneliness.

I throw myself face down onto the ash. What should I do?

I do not know.

♦

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“Oh, you finally woke up~”

“Y…?” yawn.

“You've done a lot of pilgrimage, hehe.”

I pull myself onto her, sore from sleep. “How did you find me?”

“Well, because of the still weather—I just had to follow your footprints.”

Oh, right.

The banality with which I was reached—accustomed to weapons and sophisticated System location spells…

…I feel alienated. I did not think that Y could follow me.

Ci-cin.

“Why are you here?”

“Er, I was worried.”

“But don't tell me... aren't you an undead?”

Y shrugs. “Look, being generated with a predisposition to simulate certain feelings is like having them. Or do you notice the difference? I don't notice it.”

Too philosophical a question. I have met philosophers from distant worlds, but I have never been able to give them satisfactory answers.

And with Y, I will be no different.

“…”

“I just want to say I'm worried.”

“Indeed, that is what you said.”

“Fulzo is too. He trains, we play, but most of the time we ignore each other. There is no good relationship. Come back to us.”

I prick up my ears. I lower them again. “I understand… but I'm useless now. Now that I remember… it's useless. The God of Wisdom is about to return. It's over. Is—”

I freeze, looking at Y's stunned expression.

Terror?

Amazement?

I cannot understand it. An emotion that is difficult to describe, imprinted on a face that deceives its owner.

“There is something wrong?”

“The name you mentioned. I've been wondering this ever since I saw your memories. How do you know the God of Wisdom?”

“Ah, er… what do you see? It's a long story. Ever since I've been Empress that—”

“You have already expressed your—”

“Yes.”

I bow my head and look away.

The silence becomes heavy, and I wish I had not said anything.

“Look…” Y takes my hands.

I look at her feet, the sand creeping into her flip-flops.

“N, why don't we celebrate?”

“Huh?”

“Yes, let's prepare something. Like an infusion with berries, let's play with Fulzo... things like that, come on.”

“But the God—”

I look at Y, and she smiles at me. “We'll think about the God of Wisdom later. In the meantime, let's celebrate the victory over Irferno.”

“I… Um…” I blush.

“Come on, there's no point in bandaging up beforehand. We have fun, and you tell me what you've been up to. Then we think about a course of action.”

“I don't know if that's still possible.”

Y releases my hands and shrugs. “In case we will have tried. What is the alternative? Stay alone in the desert? Come on, the corals are blooming, and if you look at them from a certain perspective—”

“They are beautiful. I think so.”

Corals with petals are similar to insect wings. Shapeless masses are full of iridescent colors.

They too.

It's a great web.

A network in which—

Ci-cin.

Y runs a finger across my cheek to wipe away a tear. She smiles.

Her tails flutter or make random marks on the ground.

“Yes, let's celebrate. Let's celebrate a little.”

♦

I hug Fulzo and Y. One is thin and just taller than me, the other very tall and massive.

I have great affection for both of them.

We talked, and now we are drinking an infusion.

Fulzo's large hand caresses my head. Y pulls back.

Even comparing ourselves, it is clear that to do something it is necessary to wait.

Wait for the right time.

Prepare for the advent of this time.

The divinity that is against us knows this well. It has been preparing for this moment since its death. A ritual moment that repeats itself cyclically.

Always the same in terms of modality.

Perpetually different in outcomes.

Ci-cin.

I leave Fulzo from my embrace. I look at Y. She puts the cup in the sink.

“Do we have to oppose such an entity?”

Y nods and stops washing. She sighs, turns towards me and Fulzo, and smiles at us.

“But, we might not. The System, after all.”

However, this situation is the result of the System.

Let's be silent. I fix my hair with my hands and pat Fulzo on the shoulder.

I go out onto the porch.

I admire my wasteland. My underworld.

What covers the true nature of this place like a shell?

What was once my home?