Everything was so dark.

Once more, Lyvina sat in the theatre designed only for her, hidden within the recesses of her mind. She couldn’t move, her eyes fixed on the blank screen before her. She had been here countless times now, a place she often ended up in. This is where she retreated when reality was too harrowing to face. Yet, this was not a place of comfort, far from it.

The screen burst into life, beginning the showreel of the cruellest moments of her existence. It spared no expense in its production, replaying every moment of heartbreak, every time her reality came crashing down around her and every time she failed to escape her prison.

A new memory took precedence over all others now, however. Yes, the time her hopes had been raised above all others. The time she grabbed Vine’s arms with all her might, pleading with her to stay, pushing all her hopes and desires onto this stranger. Then, Vine broke her arms, leaving her in pieces on the ground.

Reliving these memories was necessary, however, no matter how cruel they were. By constantly reliving the experience, the pain each would cause her would diminish, until she became numb once more. Then, when she had lost all feeling, when she understood how worthless she truly was, she could find peace and return to reality as someone other than herself.

Days, weeks, months, even years could pass with her in this state. However, this time was different.

Something touched Lyvina’s forehead, its warmth lightly pressing against her skin. In an instant, Lyvina was pulled from her theatre and dragged back into consciousness.

“… You’re very persistent… Why are you still following me?” Vine spoke to Lyvina directly, just as she snapped out of her thoughtless daze. Lyvina looked stunned at Vine.

Everything after her arms being broken was little more than a blur. It seemed, however, that she had been following Vine even after losing her limbs.

This was the first time she could recall exiting the theatre so early, and without falling into delusion. It was like being woken up mid-dream, leaving her mind and body feeling exhausted.

Vine… Her mind wearily acknowledged, so drained of energy. Lyvina had hurt her in her desperation, pushing away the one person who that could help her.

Glancing around the room, she quickly recognised their location as one of the rooms in the Hero’s Tale Inn. It seemed the girlfriend was also there too, but she looked to be passed out on the bed. If she had to put a word to the way she was passed out, it would be ‘unsightly’.

“I’m… sorry,” Lyvina apologised for her previous actions, fully aware Vine couldn’t hear her.

“… Can you, understand me?” Vine asked her with a tilt of the head. Lyvina was surprised she’d even care to ask after what happened; she didn’t even sound angry with her. She wasn’t sure if Vine could see it, but she nodded all the same at the question.

“… Hmmm.” Vine hummed out loud, the wheels in her brain turning. “… Oh, wait… that might work.” An idea seemed to have dawned on the mismatched girl as she raised both her open palms in front of Lyvina. “… Lyric did this with me before… This one means yes,” she explained, raising her right hand slightly, “and this one means no,” she replicated the motion with her left hand.

Lyvina’s eyes, once cold and lifeless, regained a glimmer of light.

“… Do you understand?” Vine asked, her arms out in front of her, awaiting Lyvina’s response.

Is she serious? She’s trying to find a way to speak with me? She could feel her hopes rising at the simple chance to communicate with someone. It was that same feeling, however, that caused her eyes to shoot open in realisation, forcing her feet to take a step back.

No, this has to be a trap, stop doing this to me. I don’t want to be disappointed again! She reared away like a wounded animal. The string of the past still lingered fresh in her mind, making her wary of this situation that was too good to be true.

“… If you don’t hurt me… I won’t hurt you. Promise?” Vine extended her offer. Lyvina didn’t know what to do. This was the first time in, well, she didn’t even know how long anymore, that she had the chance to genuinely communicate with someone. However, she couldn’t bring herself to believe this was anything more than a trap.

But, A stray thought spoke out in the chorus of doubt. What do I have to lose? Do I even have anything worth losing anymore?

Reining in her expectations, she reached out her hands—

Oh, right.

Feeling equally annoyed and embarrassed, with a hint of sadness, she tried to consider her options. Her feet? Unless Vine was willing to crouch down, there was no way that was going to work. Moreover, that might be taken in an odd way, and she didn’t want to risk offending Vine, lest her feet meet the same fate as her arms. What else could she use then? She’d have to use her head to figure out—

Yeah, that could work.

Lyvina pressed her head into Vine’s hand, knowing full well the risks. If Vine was going to end her, maybe… maybe that would be okay too. At the very least, it would end her story once and for all. With her life quite literally in Vine’s hands, she felt the gentle touch of her hair against Vine’s skin. It felt, warm—a sensation almost completely lost to her here, in this lonely world.

Why does this feel so good? Her entire body tingled with delight, at this simple human interaction. It was so nice, so comforting, it beggared belief, as though it was filling a void in her heart with just that single, friendly contact. It was so pleasant, in fact, that even though she had already long since indicated she could understand Vine, she chose to keep her head in place, not wishing to lose this comforting connection.

J-just a little longer, please… Just let me enjoy this a little more.

Vine’s hand remained stationary at first, but after a while, and a subsequent head tilt, she gently glided her palm across Lyvina’s scalp, sending delightful tingles down her entire body.

“… It feels… like hair?” Vine remarked, exploring the texture of Lyvina’s head. “… It’s so smooth too… it’s nice.” Although Vine’s tone was neutral, to Lyvina, those simple words of kindness meant more to her than an entire eternity of happy fantasies. Her eyes welled up, though not in pain or sadness, but in genuine joy.

I always thought my hair was awful, and messy, Lyvina thought to herself, recalling all the times she gazed at herself in the mirror, so disappointed with the permanent ugliness of her body. but she said it was nice, that it’s smooth. I don’t understand. Why do such simple words make me so happy?

Offering no resistance, the hand continued its journey, soon touching her ears and providing yet another wave of pleasure and warmth, a sensation beyond divine.

“… What are these? Oh… ears,” she concluded after exploring them briefly. “Does that mean…” the hand withdrew from her head, taking away the warmth it had provided. Lyvina’s eyes, partially closed in euphoria, shot open as the source of so much happiness departed. An expression of utter heartbreak filled her features, while her stumps reached out desperately to prevent her from leaving. The only thing that stopped her from giving chase was the hand resetting to a familiar position in front of her.

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“… Are you… human?” Vine asked such a simple, yet meaningful question.

Lyvina’s heart twinged as she heard those words. For anyone else in all of Mythrin, such a question might have been little more than an insult, but to Lyvina, it meant so much more. The unmistakable shape of a smile stretched across her face as, just like before, she placed her head in Vine’s hand, confirming her humanity to both Vine, and herself. Responding with a soft “Umm-umm,” the ever-neutral sounding girl stroked her head, seemingly unmoved by the revelation.

Someone else called me a human, someone else knows I’m a human. I’m not lower than a bug anymore, I’m finally human again.

“… Why are you invisible?” Vine pondered, with another head tilt that appeared to accompany every question.

I don’t want to be, I want to be free, I want to be seen, Lyvina wished she could tell her.

When the hand withdrew this time, Lyvina mustered the patience to wait, doing her best to clear her dampened eyes in the meantime. Vine stared at her in silence for more than a few moments, before the next question arrived. “… Why did you attack me?”

“I’m sorry, I was just so—” Lyvina started, however, Vine wasn’t finished talking.

“Why did you try to kill me… with the Megabear?” She continued.

“W-what?” Lyvina froze solid at the question, her eyes wide like a startled deer. What was she talking about, what megabear?

“Why were you inside the bear… before it woke up? You followed it everywhere… You stood in my path before it hit me… Why?” Vine bombarded her with questions. Lyvina couldn’t understand, she didn’t remember doing any of that, she didn’t—

No… no, there was something buried deep in her subconscious. While her mind was held captive in the theatre, her body continued to move on its own. She followed Vine into the tavern, she witnessed the Megabear, she even plunged inside the creature after August had dispatched it. But then, the creature returned to life, killing August and almost ending Miya and the man’s life. Everything was so blurry, so muddled in her mind. Her head began throbbing as she delved deeper into the haze.

There was a point, she remembered, when Vine was fighting the Megabear alone. Despite her unremarkable appearance, she drove back the creature with her shining silver sword and was on the brink of victory. But Lyvina didn’t wish the bear to die, so she threw herself in front of Vine’s path.

Moments later, as Vine recoiled from Lyvina’s sudden intervention, The Megabear countered with a mighty kick, propelling Vine through the air.

Tears fell from Lyvina’s eyes as regret filled every part of her body, a sensation so horrible she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself for a few hundred years. “Haa, aahh.” Her words failed her, as panic completely overtook her mind.

N-no, it wasn’t like that, Lyvina thought to herself, her head burning itself out trying to justify her actions. I couldn’t have meant to hurt you, I never wanted to hurt you! I’m a good person. I’m a good girl!

Of course, what she thought or said was irrelevant. No matter how airtight her reason might be, if it couldn’t be communicated with a yes or no headpat, then there was no way for Vine to understand it.

“… Do you want… to kill me?” Vine posed her question, suitable for their method of communication, as she held up Lyvina’s two choices. The instant Lyvina understood Vine’s question, her head slammed into the hand representing ‘no’ with so much force that it pushed the arm back. A single time wasn’t enough though, as the ghostly girl headbutted the hand again and again, and again, and again. Her face was consumed by terror as an endless stream of pleas and apologies left her mouth.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please! I don’t want to kill you! Believe meeee! I’m sorry! Don’t leave me alone! Don’t make me go back! I’ll do anything!”

Each time she pressed her head into Vine’s hand, it progressively became a little lighter, losing strength and fervour until, at last, her head landed in her palm for the final time. Vine remained silent, motionless, standing still for what felt like an eternity to the ghostly Lyvina. If she wasn’t already dead, the stress would have been fatal.

Then, the hand moved, but not away from her head. Instead, Vine began petting her gently, running her fingers through her hair. The terror began to dissipate from Lyvina’s expression, replaced by another wave of delightful pleasure coursing through her anxiety-riddled body. With caution even a rabbit would consider excessive, Lyvina looked up to face her judge once more.

“… Okay.”

That was it, that was all she had to say on the entire topic. There was no malice, no sarcasm, or deeper meaning behind her words—just her soft voice within a sea of calm neutrality. Once Lyvina understood this, she felt such relief, such happiness, that there were truly no words in existence that could encompass the full measure of her joy. Fresh waves of tears flooded her face, unable to restrain herself any longer. With what little of her arms remained to her, she wrapped herself around Vine in the closes thing to a hug she could manage and cried her heart out.

Vine’s eyes widened slightly, her typically stoic demeanour showing a hint of surprise by the unexpected reaction she received. Not sure what to do, she kept her arms awkwardly out to the side for a time, until she settled on reciprocating the hug, embracing the invisible figure before her. Though Vine would never know, her embrace made Lyvina cry all the harder, and neither let go until there was nothing left.

---

Only once Lyvina felt satisfied did the two release each other. A whispered “Thank you,” escaped Lyvina’s lips just before they separated. Despite her red and puffy eyes, she was happy. For the first time in so long, she was genuinely happy, as though she finally had a family again. While Lyvina composed herself, she saw the two hands brought up once more, offering yet another question for her to answer.

“… You seem… very nice… I like you… Would you like to come with us?”

The question certainly caught her attention yet it was also impossible. She’d tried so many times to escape already, only for whatever chained her to this place to stop her in its tracks, dragging her back if necessary. There was no way she could leave, right?

Then again, that was all before, back when she was alone. Now, she had Vine—the person who finally saw her, the person who singlehandedly fought a megabear, and the person who finally made her feel human again. If Vine could do all that, then perhaps there was a glimmer of hope. She was still fresh from her hopes getting crushed before, but now, with Vine by her side… Was it okay to hope this one last time?

With renewed fire in her eyes—one that might not have truly burned for decades, if not longer—she placed her head in the affirmative once more.

“… Good,” Vine responded, nodding in agreement. Having received her response, she knelt down, becoming around eye level with Lyvina. She reached into her bag, the same one she recalled Vine pulling a full-sized sword from, despite its size, and retrieved a book.

A spelling book? A children’s spelling book? Lyvina read from the cover as Vine opened it to the first page. After Vine turned to the right page, she put a single hand out this time, holding it in front of her. Lyvina anxiously waited for the next question.

“… Oh,” Vine seemed to realise something before setting the book down and raising her other hand again. With both hands back in the air, she posed another question. “… Do you have… a name?” Still puzzled, Lyvina answered yes.

“… Okay,” she acknowledged, her voice so soft and soothing to Lyvina, it was like honey to her ears. She lowered her left hand, leaving only the right one still raised. “… Could you… spell it for me?”

Lyvina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Their communication had been limited to yes and no answers until now, but if Lyvina could just spell out the letters on Vine’s hand, then she might have a more detailed conversation with her. It was brilliant, except for one small problem—she didn’t have any hands to trace out the letters of her name.

What can I do? I could use my nose or something to do it, but that’s a little…

Lyvina stood there for a moment before walking behind Vine. Her face flushed slightly as she used her foot to draw the letters onto Vine’s back, hoping Vine would be okay with such a weird way of communicating. However, Vine, after a brief head tilt, just moved on, without so much as a blink to burden the topic further, already grabbing the spelling book ready to translate.

While trying to maintain her balance, Lyvina spelled out an ‘L’ on Vine’s back. Vine promptly searched through the book to locate what she thought was drawn. After a few scans, she turned her head and pointed to the letter ‘L’ in the book.

“… This one?” Vine asked “… We can say, this shoulder is yes, and this one is no,” she explained, indicating to her left and right shoulders respectively. Lyvina pressed her head against the shoulder for yes.

“… Is there more?” Vine questioned, and Lyvina indicated yes again.

For the next few minutes, the two slowly decoded the letters drawn on Vine’s back. It was evident to Lyvina how incapable Vine was at reading, as she needed to refer back to the book for every shape impressed upon her. In some cases, she even copied the drawn shape with her finger to ensure it lined up. Yet, that only deepened Lyvina’s sense of gratitude towards the strange girl, who struggle on to learn her name despite how difficult it was for her.

“L-y-v-i-n-a?... Lyvina… is that your name?” Vine finally asked her, and with a bright smile, the named girl answered yes. “Lyvina… that’s a nice name.” The compliment went straight to her heart, filling her with a joyous sense of warmth. If she could, she’d have written out a proper thank you to her, though she felt the message might be lost in the several minutes of translation. With her gaze ever calm, Vine turned to face her “… I look forward… to traveling with you, Lyvina… I can’t wait to introduce you to Aksel… He’s very nice… Oh, and this is Theo… She’s a leech, but she’s nice too.”

Lyvina smiled and nodded. She didn’t know how they’d escape this village together, but with a group of people, they might just do it. Tomorrow, she was going to talk to more people too. It was so exciting. In the morning, everything would change for good.