The moment that Yuri saw Alnea floating amongst the reefs of his memories, she knew where he was. And she also knew what she had to do to save him. Not because she was omniscient. But because that was what her ring told her. She had, after all, already paid the price to Turn his fate. It was only right for the ring to complete its end of the deal.
“…He is trapped in the vault of his memories,” the ring said. “If you forcefully break in here, then you might kill him.”
“Then…”
“We are using your bond to project your consciousness in this place, but that is the limit. He is too frail… He cannot even see you… Right now, only he can save himself.”
“…Is there no way I can help him?”
“...You can tell him what he has to do in order to escape this place. That is the right you have gained by Turning his Fate. As for the rest, it depends on himself.”
“…Fight his memories, right?”
“Fighting his memories comes second. First, you need to instil an urge to leave this place within his Heart. Remember though, he needs to have an absolute belief that he can escape this place. Or else, when he is fighting his memories, the despair he will feel might sap his will. Not even changing his fate would be of any help then.”
“…Fine. I understand,” Yuri mumbled, before reaching out to her fool with the bond they had. “So, this is where you have been?”
Watching his frantic reactions, she could not help but smile to herself. Especially when she compared him to the boy in the memories he was watching.
“I must say, you were cuter when you were a kid.”
“…Yuri?”
“It looks you remember me, after all,” Yuri said, unable to restrain herself from teasing him once again. Still, she did not forget what she had come for.
“…I—
“Save your excuses for later. Right now, I am here for only one thing. To bring you back.”
“…The Heterodox Wanderer…”
“He is dead,” Yuri said, thinking about how she could make him have an absolute belief that he could escape the vault of his memories. The fool was still stuck on the Heterodox Wanderer. If he faced some despairing memories, then he really might just decide not to leave. That was how stupid he was. Not to mention the reckless running in his veins… There was not a single day when she would not be worried about him. For some reasons though, she did not hate that feeling.
“We can discuss those things later. Now, are you coming with me, or do I have to drag you out?”
“…I don’t know how to leave… I don’t know how I even got here in the first place…”
As she had expected… The fight with the Heterodox Wanderer had hurt his self confidence quite a bit. To expect him to have an absolute confidence in himself… Since that was not possible, then she could only rely on other methods.
“You do not have to worry about anything. Just get ready to fight back against your memories.”
“…Why would I have to fight my memories?”
“Do you know where you are?”
“…No.”
“This place… you can think of it as the depths of your Spirit. A place which stores all your memories. Even those which you do not remember… And to ensure that no memories get lost, it restricts them from leaving this place. Normally, you should not have strayed in here… In any case, right now, you are also being treated as one of the memories. And the other memories will naturally not let you leave this place on your own. They will either try to cling to you, or force you into staying here. But you cannot let either of those things happen. Do you understand?”
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“…This feels so strange.”
“And whose fault do you think it is?”
“But—
“Forget it. Just be ready to fight back against your memories, and leave everything else to me.”
“…Okay.”
Deceiving him did not feel good. But it was necessary. And soon, it also proved to be the correct decision. As the void and around him, and his memories kept pouncing on him, they kept playing with his emotions. They made him smile, they made him frown, and they made him cry, all in a fraction of a moment. And yet, he held firm in his belief. The reckless fool… She knew that he trusted her. But to see it in action, especially when his trust in her was saving his life… Was she falling for him even more than before?
Maybe she was. Did it really matter though? She loved him. And she knew that he loved her, even if he was too stupid to realise it. If nothing else, just the smile he had on his face, as he opened his eyes in the Mirror World, and looked at her, was enough to tell her how much she meant for him.
“Yuri!” Alnea said, with surprise, joy, guilt, and relief. Disregarding everything else, he rushed towards her, and took her in a hug. “I am so glad that you are fine!”
“…Fool,” Yuri mumbled, suppressing her blush, as she gently caressed his back. “What would happen to me? You were the one who was in danger in the first place.”
“…But the Heterodox Wanderer…” Alnea withdrew from the hug, as he bit his lips, with shame, and guilt flashing in his eyes. “…I am sorry I could not save you…”
“…Do you not remember what happened?”
“…The last thing I can recall is you being overwhelmed by the Heterodox Wanderer, and Cecilia lying on the ground, struggling to remove my dagger from her thighs… while I was thinking about my Oath. Then everything went blank, and I was in the world of my memories… What really happened to me? And how did the Heterodox Wanderer die? Did master come to save us?”
“…We will discuss these things later. For now, let us go back. Cecilia must be worried sick about you.”
“Cecilia,” Alnea mumbled, before focussing on the other thing that Yuri had said. On second thought, the world did look a little brighter than he had expected it to be. And it was so silent… With a little confusion, he finally shifted his attention away from Yuri, and took a look around himself. What he saw though, let him speechless.
There were no rocks, or Oren Beasts. Neither were they any winds, or walls trapping him within a canyon. There was no darkness either. For as far as he could see, there was only white. A plain, and simple wide that stretched further than even the horizons. Yet, the concept of horizon itself was meaningless in the world he was in. Because there were no directions in the first place. There was no left, right, up, and down. There were no skies, and ground. Naturally, there were no horizons either. Just a simple, and plain white that stretched endlessly, beyond his imaginations.
“…Have we not left the world of memories yet?”
“…Do you have a memory of a place as weird as this?”
“…Then where are we?”
“Won’t you know once you ask your ring?”
“Ring?” Alnea said, staring at Yuri in confusion, before finally understanding what she was implying. “Are you saying that we finally unlocked the next function of the ring?”
“Just check it for yourself.”
Alnea did not need to be told twice. Without any hesitation, he concentrated on his ring, trying to—
“Now you know how to run to me?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“…Just because you do not remember the things you said to me does not mean that I will forgive you,” the ring said in an arrogant, and condescending tone, as if expecting an apology. But its strange, and sudden words only made him more confused.
“…What did I say to you?” Alnea said, trying to understand what the ring was saying. Before the ring could clear his confusion though, Yuri stepped in, urging him to go back.
“You can talk with your ring later. Cecilia is already tired, and injured as it is. Let us not make her wait any longer.”
Alnea felt that there was something wrong with the situation, but he could not point it out. And if Cecilia was waiting for him, then he really could not make her wait for long. Nodding in acquiescence, he said, “How do we get out of here then?”
“Just close your eyes, and imagine yourself exiting from a mirror.”
“That’s it?”
“What else did you expect? Launching an Arcana? Divine Treasures are called as such for a reason. Now, stop dawdling, and let’s go back.”
“…Okay.”
Closing his eyes, Alnea imagined himself walking out of a mirror. Nothing happened. He tried again, but he still felt no changes. After a few moments, when he felt like he was just wasting his time, he opened his eyes to consult with Yuri once again, only to see the smiling faces of the girls. Of his Heart.