Escape - Chapter 36.1
Chapter 36.1
A torrential downpour seemed to wash the world clean. Midgard, the imitation of Earth, was truly impressive. Even rain in the ocean.
She’d tried several times to locate the source of the falling drops, but eventually gave up. Just as she’d learned, it was simply vaporized seawater condensing and falling—there was no single origin point. Like a Mobius strip, it had no beginning.
“Here, put this on. It’s supposed to maintain a constant temperature.” Adeline handed him the clothes she’d purchased. In the awkward silence, they turned their backs to each other to wash and change.
A flicker of something crossed his face as he looked down at the clothes—interest, perhaps, or a faint warmth. It certainly wasn’t a simple smile, nor was it an impassive expression.
“It suits you.” As she’d expected, the jet-black uniform looked remarkably good on him. Standing tall at 190 centimeters, clad in the dark uniform… yes, he now truly looked every bit like Damian.
“We have to go into the ocean, don’t we?” Adeline asked with a small sigh. The inky blackness of the sea churned violently under the wind and rain. Waves the height of a man rolled in from the distance, crashing against the black sand and spraying white foam.
“If we want to get to District 12.” He paused mid-sentence, glancing down at his hand. He mouthed the word, “Scared,” and tightened his grip on her hand. He turned his head, a strange expression on his face. He’d become remarkably docile since the earlier incident.
Splash, splash. She followed Damian into the ocean. Even with him shielding her from the waves, she’d never experienced anything like this deluge. The waves were rough, making it difficult to keep her balance. In the vast expanse of the ocean, they were mere specks. Boundless darkness surrounded them.
Ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep… the seawater rose relentlessly. When it reached her chest, her breath hitched, making it hard to breathe. The rain, as if not yet satisfied, continued to pour down. Her vision blurred.
Then, she lost his hand.
The ground seemed to vanish beneath her feet. One moment she was sure she was standing on solid ground, the next she was slipping beneath the waves. She couldn’t even scream. Damian was gone, and like a nightmare, she was alone.
A soft gurgle as air bubbles escaped, the sensation of her hair floating around her. She couldn’t possibly have grown accustomed to this on her second time.
Her breath caught in her throat as she plummeted endlessly downwards. Struggling was pointless. The inky seabed lay coiled below, waiting.
Deeper, ever deeper. Just as she thought she might die, warm water suddenly enveloped her, and her held breath burst forth. Consciousness flickered and died.
“…About the second ‘Gate,’ do you know the rumors surrounding it?”
“Rumors? Oh, senior, I’m really scared of ghost stories.”
“No, it’s not a ghost story. Just something that’s always been said. You know the Gate needs human blood to open, right?”
“Of course. Is there anyone in the Guard who doesn’t know that?”
“Well, one day, some operatives were returning from the Trap, and when they touched it, the second Gate just opened.”
“What? How is that possible? Was it a malfunction?”
“No, no. I said they were returning from the Trap. Their hands were already covered in blood. And that blood…”
“…Gasp… gasp…”
Adeline’s eyes snapped open, and she gasped for air. The echoing roar of the ocean chased away the memory. She tried to grasp the remnants of the strange, fleeting dream before turning her head. The first thing she saw was dark green earth. As soon as she realized what it was, she sat up abruptly.
Just as she remembered, her savior was an enormous sea serpent. Its scales were large and hard, its body impossibly long and vast. She hadn’t realized it in the moment, but its size was truly staggering. So long that she couldn’t tell where it began or ended. A single scale was as tall as she was, so how vast must the ocean be to contain such a creature?
Perched on a scale, Adeline was caught between awe and terror.
The stories she’d heard as a cadet might be true. The rumor that the second Gate could be opened with a Serpiente’s blood. If they were like Damian, then what had she been fighting against all this time? Would she gain scales like these in death?
Her thoughts were cut short.
Absently stroking a scale with her palm, Adeline finally looked around and gasped in pure wonder.
“Wow…”
The sapphire world was a fantasy. The dreamlike world she’d missed while unconscious now unfolded around her in all its glory.
Schools of fish she’d never seen before, vibrant coral reefs, giant turtles the size of dozens of people, the suckers of a crimson octopus. It was like a page from a childhood picture book.
And that wasn’t all. She even saw fish that resembled humans. Gleaming creatures with gills where ears should be and webbed feet swam past in schools, pausing to look at her with curious eyes. Some creatures defied description. It was a spectacle too boundless to be merely a product of imagination, and it seemed to convey a single message.
“…This isn’t some fabricated world.”
Where was reality, and where was illusion? Where was truth, and where was falsehood?
Perhaps all worlds existed. Sometimes as dreams, as reality, as puppet shows, as works of art, as the universe.
