Mobius walked along the path.
Through Ling Yi’s eyes, Mobius was heading toward the outskirts of the town, and the surroundings grew increasingly desolate along the way.
‘Where are we going now?’ “Somewhere to stay.
Can’t you see my memories?
Just look and you’ll know.” Mobius walked quickly, her gaze fixed on the road ahead.
She was like a machine steadfastly following its own logic, never straying from its path even if the apocalypse awaited her.
‘I have no intention of invading someone else’s privacy.
I’ve barely looked at your memories.’ Ling Yi could indeed see Mobius’s memories, but she truly hadn’t looked at them much.
She only knew today was Mobius’s birthday because she had seen the Elysian Realm storyline in her previous life.
“Hmph.
You’d better not have.” After determining that Ling Yi was telling the truth, the corners of Mobius’s lips curled slightly.
At last, Mobius stopped before an off-white house and crossed the small courtyard in front of it.
Several low-growing plants had been planted in the courtyard, and it looked as though someone had always tended them with great care.
Mobius walked slowly, constantly turning her head to examine her surroundings as if measuring the place.
‘Thank you.’ Ling Yi’s voice echoed in Mobius’s mind.
Judging from the plants growing in the courtyard, Mobius had clearly lived here for some time already.
She was only walking so slowly to let Ling Yi get a good look around.
“I’m only walking slowly because I’m feeling a little unwell today.
It has nothing to do with you.” Standing at the door, Mobius lifted her foot and gently stepped inside.
The entire house faced south, and the living room had a full wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the scenery beyond the town.
The house wasn’t large, but it had been thoughtfully furnished with an off-white sofa and a natural wood coffee table.
A bookshelf occupied an entire wall and held many books, though all the furniture was covered in a layer of dust.
‘It looks like you don’t come here often.’ Ling Yi looked around through Mobius’s eyes.
“I only prepared this place in advance.
I knew long ago that I would eventually leave the home where I lived.” Mobius stood in the entrance without immediately going farther inside.
She took a brand-new pair of slippers from the top of the shoe cabinet and slipped her slightly dusty feet into them.
She had bought this house with the money she had saved over the past few years.
Earning enough money to buy a house hadn’t been particularly difficult for Mobius.
Her plan to run away from home had been born long ago.
‘Did something happen?
How did you know you’d leave your home one day?
I want to know more about you.’ “You lied.
You clearly know what happened.” Mobius pursed her lips, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet to rinse her feet.
The cool water slowly flowed over Mobius’s fair, delicate feet.
Her soles were red, and several wounds had been cut open by sharp stones.
‘I want to hear it from you.
I want to know how you felt.’ “…There’s nothing worth saying.
It was merely the journey of one born with knowledge in pursuit of the Way.” Mobius paused while rinsing her feet.
She wasn’t very willing to tell others about herself, even if that person was another version of her.
‘Take your time.
I’ll listen bit by bit.
I can’t leave anytime soon anyway, and if we’re going to become good friends, we need to understand each other, don’t we?’ “I don’t want to tell you,” Mobius refused.
‘All right.
Then I won’t ask anymore.’ “Hm?” This time, it was Mobius who froze.
She had expected Ling Yi to keep pestering her until she talked.
‘If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you to do something you don’t want to do.’ Ling Yi sounded exceptionally earnest.
As that earnest voice echoed through her mind, the corner of Mobius’s eye twitched.
This person was truly hopelessly stupid.
How could someone like her possibly be worthy of being Mobius’s friend?
Mobius would be better off researching how to separate this consciousness from herself in the future.
“That year, I was six.” Mobius dried her feet, left the bathroom, and sat on the sofa.
Gazing at the bookshelf, she began speaking softly to the empty room.
She knew that Ling Yi could hear her even if she merely spoke in her mind, but Mobius wanted to say these things aloud.
‘…’ ‘What a stubborn tsundere.’ Ling Yi didn’t say it aloud.
She merely settled down within their consciousness and listened as Mobius slowly told her story.
She listened as Mobius spoke of the happiness she had known before turning six.
She listened as Mobius explained how her father’s personality had changed drastically after she turned six, transforming him into a kind of monster.
She heard Mobius swear, “I will make the Human race evolve.” She heard Mobius quietly describe her current dream.
After hearing everything, Ling Yi could only sense Mobius’s profound unwillingness to accept it all.
Mobius couldn’t accept that things had turned out this way.
She couldn’t accept that the Human race was so frail, nor could she accept being forced to watch her father gradually become what he was.
“Stupid Ling Yi…
Tell me, will I succeed?
Will I be able to make the Human race evolve…?” Mobius lay sprawled on the sofa with her eyes half-closed, mumbling in a half-asleep daze.
‘You will.
You definitely will.’ “Mm…” Today, Mobius had left the home where she had lived for nine years, walked barefoot for a very long distance, and talked for a long time.
Her mind had long since reached its limit.
Before she knew it, Mobius’s movements gradually slowed.
Her arms and eyelids felt increasingly heavy.
Following a drowsy yawn, her ash-gray eyes gradually grew misty.
Soon, Mobius’s consciousness sank into darkness.
The instant it descended, Ling Yi felt her own consciousness uncontrollably rising to the surface and taking control of Mobius’s body.
Her eyes slowly opened as her eyelashes trembled.
“Mobius,” who had only just fallen asleep, awakened again.
“At least sleep in a bed…
Hiss…
That really hurts.” Closing her eyes and sensing that Mobius would sleep until at least noon the next day, Ling Yi grimaced.
She had only just taken control of the body when she felt the intense pain radiating from deep within it.
What right did someone like Mobius have to call her an idiot?
Long-term domestic abuse had left Mobius’s body small and thin.
Her already less-than-healthy body had been thoroughly exhausted today.
Ling Yi found the first-aid kit in the bedroom through Mobius’s memories.
She briefly treated the wound inside Mobius’s mouth, along with the obvious wounds on her body that were still bleeding.
The wounds weren’t deep, but this was still a child’s body, so she had to be careful.
By the time she finished, Ling Yi realized that night had already fallen.
“Let’s sleep.” She stretched, carefully avoiding the wounds on the body, then lay down on the bed and closed her eyes, allowing her consciousness to sink into the darkness.
‘Good night, Mobius.’ After subconsciously wishing good night to someone who couldn’t respond, Ling Yi prepared to rest as well.
“Good night.
And thank you.” The instant Ling Yi said good night, she heard Mobius’s voice.
‘Did this person…
actually pretend to be asleep while watching me the entire time?’ “I only just woke up and wanted to see what that idiot was doing.” As if she knew what Ling Yi was thinking, Mobius’s voice drifted over.
Within the pitch-black space of their consciousness, neither of them could see the other.
They could only sense each other’s presence, for both were merely consciousnesses.
“Let’s sleep, Mobius.
I won’t hurt you.” “Mm…
I know…” Mobius’s soft murmur drifted through the darkness.
“May you have sweet dreams.” Ling Yi walked toward the direction where she sensed Mobius, opened her arms, and embraced the exhausted girl.
Could an embrace between consciousnesses really feel this warm?
Perhaps she was too tired, or perhaps she was reluctant to let go of something.
Mobius’s consciousness remained motionless for a long time, resting in Ling Yi’s arms.
That familiar feeling reminded her of her childhood, of her everyday life with her father, and of days to which she could never return.
Within the endless darkness, Mobius finally lowered all her defenses.
She curled up in Ling Yi’s arms and closed her eyes.