''Ugh... Huh?''

Opening my eyes again, an unfamiliar scene greets me.

Instead of the dark cave I was in a moment earlier, it seems like I'm in a middle of a city, with a blue sky and a bright sun. The road that I'm standing on is lined with buildings that seem to be from the medieval era. People, normal people, around me all moving and chatting normally, ignoring the clear anomaly - me, completely.

What I'm seeing looks undoubtedly real, but also fake at the same time. If I have to explain it, I would say that it feels like I'm looking at the world through a camera filter, a bit dreamy, a bit... Old.

Looking around a bit more, a certain pair of a man and a woman sitting on a nearby bench catch my eye.

''Is that...?'' I mutter.

Her atmosphere and clothes are a little different, but it's definitely Ariel. On the other side of the bench is a handsome man with the same black hair color and a pair of silver eyes as Ariel, wearing a simple black robe.

I walk over to the bench and sit between them, and as expected, they don't even register me.

''Hey, brother.'' The woman speaks up, her voice is like a spring breeze, warm and gentle. ''Are you really going?''

The man smiles for a second.

''Of course.'' He replies with an unexpectedly deep voice.

''But... It's dangerous.''

''If it's for you, then it's all worth it.'' He reaches out and strokes the woman's head lightly.

In response to that, the woman just smiles bitterly, and the two fall into silence again.

''You know what? I'll go with you.'' The woman suddenly stands up and walks in front of the man.

''No.'' The man says firmly.

''It's fine.'' The woman shakes her head. ''I will die if you don't make it back anyway. Might as well have me as an additional support, right?''

Hearing that, the man frowns heavily, clenching his fists in frustration.

''And if something happens, I can at least make sure that you can come back.'' The woman smiles brightly. ''You have the Princess waiting for you.''

''I don't care about her.'' The man looks up at the woman with eyes of complaint.

''Fufu, I see, I see.'' The woman giggles, raising her hand to stroke the man's head. ''Regardless... We'll just have to do our best, alright?''

"!!''

The scene changes abruptly, making the bench I was sitting on disappear, and consequently causing me to fall.

Ouch... Wait, it doesn't hurt.

Either way, it seems like I'm back in the cave again, except this would be one of the pathways instead of the room where I fought the golem. I don't see anyone else though.

''Huff... Huff...'' I can hear faint panting noises behind me.

Turning around, I see the earlier man and woman again, but this time, their conditions are much worse. The man is leaning against the cave wall, struggling to breathe, his tattered robe stained with blood, and there are visible, fresh wounds all over his body. The woman seems better, but her pure white clothes are not without blood and rips.

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''You should at least run, brother.'' The woman says and puts her hands, imbued with golden light, on the man's wounds, which somehow make them close almost instantly.

''...No.'' The man replies firmly. ''I won't let our comrades' sacrifices be for nothing, and I definitely won't abandon you here.''

''Brother...'' The woman cries silently.

''I can't teleport out anyway.'' The man chuckles helplessly. ''I couldn't get through this damn barrier no matter how hard I tried.''

''...''

''So Ariel. Listen to me.'' The man grabs the woman's hand. ''You need to-''

''!!''

BOOM

From the side, a green fireball suddenly hits the two. The resulting explosion makes the cave tremble and lights up the whole area in green. I instinctively raise my arms to protect myself, but the small pieces of rock just fly through me entirely.

The explosion eventually dies down, revealing a round, golden barrier surrounding the siblings, and based on Ariel's outstretched hands, it looks like she is the one casting it. Ariel herself begins to cough violently, her face losing its color as the barrier flickers.

''Annoying rats.'' A mature woman's voice is heard in the distance, accompanied by the sharp clicking sound of heels hitting the floor.

Appearing before us is a somber-looking woman with distinctive dark green hair, a pair of black eyes, and thick, heavy lipstick.

''Kuh...!'' The man slowly rises to his feet, biting his lips. ''Ariel, run!!''

He hides Ariel behind him and begins to chant.

''O Holy Light, grant me... hah... the power to purify evil!!''

Dozens of large chains of light rise from behind him and fly toward the woman at incredible speed. They tear violently through the air, tips pointed like spears.

''Tch.'' The woman clicks her tongue and snaps her finger.

Following her gesture, a giant wall of bones emerges from the ground, completely separating the two sides. Thousands of bone fragments burst with crisp breaking sounds as the chains collide with the wall, but unfortunately, the wall seems to be too tough for them.

''Hah... Hah...'' The man falls to his knees, panting heavily.

''Brother...!'' Ariel infuses her hands with magic again and grabs her brother's shoulder.

''Ariel! Why are you still here?!'' The man desperately shouts.

''I'm not leaving you here!''

On the other side, the woman has already retreated her wall and is now calmly walking towards the sibling, still with the clicking sound of her heels.

''Out of mana?'' She sneers. ''Then die.''

Another green fireball forms from her fingertip, slowly inflating like a balloon.

Ariel hugs her brother tightly, while the man himself just looks down and mumbles something, seemingly accepting his fate.

''Boring.'' The woman mutters.

''!!''

Suddenly, an ominous purple aura explodes from the man, blowing away the fireball along with the woman. She quickly stops herself midway by using the bone wall and stares at the man in disbelief.

''You madman...!'' She exclaims. ''Turning yourselves into undead, even at the cost of your very consciousnesses... Hahahahah!''

''Shut up, old hag.'' The man smiles wildly, giving his opponent a middle finger.

''Keep barking.'' The woman sneers. ''But you certainly have potential. How about this? You both become my subordinates. I'll have you two join my undead army. Interested in signing a contract?''

''Like hell I would.'' The man replies, and purple cracks begin to appear on both siblings' bodies.

''Fine then. I can just lock you two up and collect you later.'' The woman snaps her finger again, and a pathway instantly appears on the wall.

She throws them into the path roughly and casts a transparent barrier to block the entrance before calmly walking away. Along with the intense purple light, I can hear faint groans inside the path.

'''' ...''''

I... see. So this is the story of those two. But what happened to that woman? She said she's going to pick them up later, but based on Skely and Ariel I've seen-

''AGH!'' Suddenly, the woman's terrified scream echoes through the cave.

I immediately turn my head in the direction of the scream just to see two intensely glowing eyes and a pair of outstretched horns on a pitch-black body. I cannot make out the true shape of its body, even with my eyes that can see in the dark, but I can definitely see that it is holding the woman in the air.

''!!''

Right when I'm about to run to them, the scene changes once again. This time, it seems like I'm really back in reality, judging from Skely, Ariel, and Smiley in front of me.

'''' ... ''''

Skely drops the notebook and turns to face Ariel, his jaw slightly open. Likewise, Ariel turns her head toward Skely, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

''Brother...!'' Ariel exclaims, her body turns 'real' as she hugs her brother tightly.

''A-Ariel...?'' Skely mutters, shakily hugging his sister back.

'''' ... ''''

''Congratulations.'' I smile lightly, crouching down to stroke Smiley's head.

I'm glad I was able to help them regain their memories. Though I thought they were supposed to lose consciousness entirely when turning into undead? So how come they still act like humans...

Oh, well. I guess I can ask that stuff later. For now, I should let them have their reunion first.