Chapter 490 – From despair, hope is born [71]

(POV - Protagonist)

I didn't really understand what Arthur was trying to say with his words, but I simply decided to assume everything was fine. I mean, he even laughed and everything, so there wasn't a problem... right? Still, I couldn't help but notice that both he and Victor and Rupert had seemed strangely tense when I approached them earlier.

There was something different about the way they looked at me. They seemed more cautious, although none of the three had said anything about it. Now, however, they seemed much more relaxed after Arthur's words. The tension in their faces had diminished considerably, and even their posture seemed less rigid.

I tilted my head slightly, trying to make sense of it. Had something happened while I was busy dealing with that ridiculously huge colossus earlier? I thought about it for a few seconds before a possibility came to mind: maybe it was because of the explosion.

After all, it wasn't exactly normal to see someone walk out of a concentrated thermonuclear explosion as if absolutely nothing had happened. Maybe that had been a little frightening to witness... But it couldn't have been that... right? I'd already done much stranger things in front of them.

I thought about it for a little longer, trying to make sense of the situation, but eventually decided to let it go. Arthur, Victor, and Rupert tended to be pretty weird sometimes, so maybe today was simply one of those days. Anyway, I deliberately ignored the exasperated looks the three of them kept throwing my way. To be honest, I couldn't even understand why they were looking at me like that.

It wasn't as if I'd done anything particularly strange... at least, nothing I considered strange. Rather than waste time trying to figure it out, I preferred to turn my attention back to my little sister. Selyra finally seemed to be reaching the end of her fight against the giant mushroom. In fact, calling that thing a mushroom was starting to feel like an exaggeration.

The last remnants of what might once have been recognizable as a massive fungus had practically disappeared. In place of the imposing mushroom, there was now nothing more than a pile of hardened, dried-out, cracked shell that looked ready to crumble apart at any moment. I had absolutely no idea what exactly Selyra was doing, but there was no denying the results.

Whatever method she was using, it was extremely effective against the mushroom: “Wow...” I murmured, watching the scene with curiosity. My little sister definitely wasn't messing around.

I watched the entire process with complete disinterest as my mind wandered to much more important matters. For example, what flavors of ice cream I would ask Emily and Laura for when we returned to base. Maybe chocolate. Or strawberry. Vanilla was a safe choice too... although I could just ask for several flavors. After everything that had happened in this place, I deserved some ice cream.

Besides, to be honest, the situation seemed to be completely under control. Aside from the ridiculously huge colossus from earlier and the constant attacks from those annoying tentacles, the mushroom didn't seem to have any other way of attacking us. That thing could barely stay standing, let alone put up any meaningful resistance.

Because of that, I really didn't need to stay as alert as I had been before. Or at least, that's what I told myself. Anyway, back to the matter at hand... I was pulled from my thoughts when the peculiar sound of something being peeled echoed through the cavern. Rrrrccchhh... My eyes immediately turned toward the source of the noise. I didn't need to think very hard to figure out who was responsible. Selyra.

Apparently, she'd finished whatever it was she'd been doing to the mushroom. The enormous fungus now looked even more deteriorated, while tiny particles of its hardened outer layer broke away and fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Selyra's body, glowing softly with warm, comforting hues, floated peacefully in the air.

Little by little, she began to descend, approaching me with light and graceful movements. I silently watched Selyra as the constant sound of something being peeled continued in the background, creating an unpleasant noise.

As she descended, I reached out a hand to help steady her. Selyra immediately took it, intertwining her fingers with mine before looking up at me. A gentle smile appeared on her lips, but even so, something about her expression caught my attention. She looked a little tired.

Perhaps noticing my concern, Selyra tilted her head slightly and spoke before I could even ask: “Don't worry, sister. I'm fine. Charlotte is too... We're just a little tired”

She let out a small sigh, and a subtly amused smile appeared on her face: “Maintaining my connection with Charlotte for so long while channeling my powers through her body is pretty exhausting. After all, her body is essentially human” Selyra paused briefly, as if choosing her words carefully: “But you don't need to worry. Give me a few minutes, and Charlotte's body will be as good as new” ℯℯ𝘭.

The carefree way she said it eased some of the tension in me. Even so, I couldn't help but watch her for a few more seconds, making sure she was actually okay.

Selyra noticed my stare and let out a quiet giggle: “You really don't need to make that face, sister. I'm not going to break that easily” Her smile widened slightly: “Besides, if something were really wrong, I'm sure you'd figure out a way to fix it in an instant”

I had no reason to think Selyra was lying. In fact, from the little I'd talked with her so far, I'd already realized that Selyra didn't seem like the kind of person who would joke about something like this, especially when it concerned her own condition or Charlotte's. I parted my lips, about to voice my thoughts.

Before any sound could escape my mouth, Victor took the lead: “Sorry to interrupt the family moment... or whatever it is you two are doing” Both Selyra’s eyes and mine immediately turned toward him. Victor looked a little uneasy, his gaze shifting briefly between us before he pointed somewhere behind me: “But... was that supposed to be happening?” I stood still for a moment, staring at Victor’s finger as he pointed toward a specific spot.

Only then did I follow his gesture with my eyes. Yeah... How was I supposed to put this? Part of the mushroom’s base, roughly in the same spot where Selyra had performed the purification earlier, was beginning to distort. It wasn’t just a contraction or some kind of natural movement from this thing.

The very structure seemed to be twisting in on itself, as though something invisible were violently pressing against its insides. The mushroom’s fibers writhed, sinking inward and expanding in irregular movements, while the space around it seemed to warp along with the deformation.

Even the air was being distorted. It was as though some invisible force were violently pulling everything toward a single point, making reality ripple before my eyes. For a brief moment, I had the strange sensation that space itself was being compressed.

Then the distortion grew stronger. The air trembled. It looked as though something on the other side was trying to tear it apart. Unfortunately, my words proved to be exactly right the very next moment. Without warning, some kind of crack appeared in the air several yards above where we were standing.

There was no explosion. No flash. No sign of energy building up. Space simply... opened. On the other side of the opening, there was absolutely nothing. No light. No sound. No movement. The impression I got from the other side of the crack wasn't pleasant either.

I didn't know what this place was. In fact, I had no idea how or why I even knew that whatever was on the other side of the crack was, in fact, a place. There was no memory. No logical explanation. No knowledge I could point to. I simply knew.

And if there was one thing I was certain of, it was that this place was not good. A deep, completely instinctive disgust began spreading through me. It wasn't merely a feeling of discomfort. There was something about this place that felt wrong on a much more fundamental level, something that made every part of me want to get away from the crack.

Even my expression, normally impassive and difficult to read, twisted into one of pure disgust and irritation. My nose wrinkled slightly as my eyes narrowed toward the opening. The air coming from there was repulsive. The smell was even worse.

It was difficult to even put what I was feeling into words. There was something about that odor that seemed to penetrate directly into my senses, leaving a foul sensation in my mouth and an uncomfortable shiver crawling across my skin.

Everything about this place was simply disgusting. And the more I focused on it, the more I had the impression that this revulsion wasn't coming solely from the smell or the environment. It was as though something on the other side of the crack was awakening a much older instinct within me.

An instinct that said, with absolute clarity: Don't go in. It was as though we were staring into a void so deep that even perception itself was incapable of reaching its depths. Victor, Rupert, and Arthur's expressions changed immediately. All three stared at the crack with an unmistakable mixture of apprehension and disbelief, as if none of them could comprehend what they were looking at.

I couldn't exactly blame them. Even I had to admit that this was a pretty damn strange sight. My gaze then shifted toward Selyra. Surprisingly, her expression showed neither fear nor surprise. It was irritation.

Her eyes were narrowed into a severe glare as she stared at the crack, and there was something about her expression that made me think that, to her, this crack was simply the most unpleasant, repulsive, and filthy thing she had ever had the displeasure of witnessing.

That only made me even more confused. What exactly was she seeing? I parted my lips, about to ask whether Selyra knew what that thing was, or, more precisely, what the hell this crack was supposed to be. However, before I could get a single word out, something about the crack caught my attention.

From one instant to the next, without warning or transition, an eye simply appeared. The gigantic, eye-like thing opened across the crack, occupying almost its entire length, as though space itself had been torn apart to make room for that single organ.

Its iris looked strangely human, and for a brief moment, my brain tried to classify it as something familiar. But my instincts immediately rejected that conclusion. There was nothing human about that eye.

Every fiber of my body screamed the same warning, a primal, suffocating sensation spreading through me as I stood perfectly still, staring at the thing. And then I realized something even worse. That eye wasn't simply looking through the crack. It was looking directly at me. More precisely... It was looking at Selyra and me.