Hounds of the Abyss: The Last Choice to Protect Paradise - Fragments of Memory: A Mother's Visage and the Key Girl's Place to Return

The pale blue glow of the luminous moss cast a quiet light across the cavern walls. Narva's Gate—in a corner of the cavern network that spread from the entrance to the Abyss, the White Hollow. The home base of Fuwawa Abyssgard and Mococo Abyssgard. The light from the moss growing on the walls was the only illumination in this underground place where day and night blurred into one. Fuwawa stood near the cave entrance, feeling the outside air. Northern Verdian Mountains, roughly twenty-five hundred meters above sea level. The surface air was cold and clear, mingling with the faint presence of void that seeped up from the Abyss. Her long white hair swayed gently in the wind blowing down from the peaks. The pale blue at its tips caught the morning light in a soft reflection. (Lily...) The scene from last night was seared into the back of her eyelids. Mococo had been holding Lily as they slept. Her little sister had already accepted that girl as family. Mococo didn't know that Fuwawa had pointed a spear of light at Lily's throat. She didn't need to know. She must never know. A sharp prick of pain ran across the back of her left hand. The Brand of the Contract's Fang. The mark of the Hound, inherited from their mother. "Big Sister!" A bright voice flew from deep inside the cave. Fuwawa turned. Mococo came running. Her fluffy white short hair bounced, the pink at its tips swaying in the glow of the luminous moss. Her large dog ears stood perked, and her pink eyes sparkled. The little bell ornament at the tip of her right ear gave a light, chiming ring. "Good morning! It's another beautiful day!" "...Good morning, Mococo." Fuwawa's voice was quiet, as always. Mococo bounded over and lined up beside her sister with a little hop, looking out of the cave. The sky above was a cloudless blue. "Hey, Big Sister. Can I go play outside today?" "Did you finish the seal patrol?" "Yep! I checked all of them, from the first layer to the third! The goblins and orcs all felt us coming and hid!" Mococo puffed out her chest. Pride at having done her duty as a Hound of the Abyss overflowed from every inch of her. Fuwawa gently stroked her sister's head. Her white hair was warm to the touch. "...I see. Then just for a little while." "Yay! Thanks, Big Sister!" Mococo went bounding out of the cave, hopping as she ran. Watching her go, Fuwawa's fingers trembled without her realizing it. (Just a little distance from Mococo, and...) She stared at her own fingers and exhaled softly. She knew she was overprotective. She knew, and yet she couldn't help it. Their mother's dying words, the memory of that rainy day—they kept her heart in chains. Fuwawa returned inside the cave and picked up the spear of light leaning against the wall. A weapon generated from a Hound's soul. When she gripped it, a faint pale blue light leaked from between her fingers. Today, too, she had to check the seal on the Terminal Door. —But that was when it happened. "Big Sister! Big Sister!!" Mococo's voice came flying into the cave with a different ring than before. Fuwawa's heart leaped in an instant. She regripped her spear and ran to the entrance. Outside the cave, Mococo came running from beyond the rocky stretch. In her arms, she carried something. Something like white cloth fluttered in the wind. "What's wrong, Mococo!" As Fuwawa ran over, she saw a girl in Mococo's arms. Pale blonde hair, close to silver. Shoulder-length, with a luster like it had been soaked in rain. Her deep purple eyes were closed, and her face was white as paper. She looked about fifteen. Her slender body was covered in wounds, and an old burn scar was visible on her left shoulder. At her chest, a small stone glowed faintly. "I found her collapsed on the Hill of Oblivion! I couldn't just leave her!" Mococo's voice was trembling. Tears welled in her pink eyes. The girl hung limp in her arms. Fuwawa's expression froze in an instant. "...Mococo. Where do you intend to carry that girl?" "Where else? To our cave! We have to treat her wounds!" "No." Fuwawa's voice was cold as ice. Her pale blue eyes fixed on Mococo, all emotion erased. "Have you forgotten the laws of the Abyss? We do not show mercy to outsiders. That is the law of the Hounds." "But Big Sister! This girl looks like she's about to die!" "Exactly. Outsiders die outside. That is the order of nature." At Fuwawa's words, Mococo's eyes flew wide. Her expression said she couldn't believe it. She had never imagined such words could come from her sister's mouth. "...Big Sister, do you really mean that?" Mococo's voice dropped low. For the first time, defiance toward Fuwawa surfaced in her pink eyes. "I mean it. The law is absolute. You know that too." "Forget the law! Saving this girl has nothing to do with the law! I can't just leave her!" Mococo shouted, and still holding the girl, she ran deep into the cave. Fuwawa moved to chase her, then stopped. Her sister's back had never felt so far away. (Mococo...) Fuwawa gripped her spear of light. Her fingers trembled. The law and her sister's cry collided inside her head. After a while, she exhaled slowly. (...I suppose there's no helping it.) Fuwawa began walking deeper into the cave. To accompany the path her sister had chosen, as her big sister. On the bed deep in the cave, Mococo had laid the girl down. She pressed a wet cloth to her forehead and tended her wounds. When Fuwawa approached, Mococo spoke without turning around. "Big Sister, are you going to help?" There was no defiance in her voice now. Instead, trust in her sister and a faint unease bled through. "...If we don't treat her, she'll die. I'll bring the supplies." Fuwawa answered quietly and took herbs and bandages from the corner of the cave. Medicinal herbs imbued with the Abyss's magic, used by the Hound clan. They worked on external wounds. Mococo let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, Big Sister." "Thank me later. For now, tell me about her condition." Fuwawa knelt beside the girl and checked her wounds. The burn on her left shoulder was old. The current injuries were bruises and scrapes from a fall, plus extreme exhaustion. Not life-threatening, but left alone, she would weaken. (This girl...) Fuwawa's eyes caught on the stone glowing at the girl's chest. An Arca Fragment. The key to the Terminal Door. Her heart made an unpleasant sound. "Hey, Big Sister. When do you think she'll wake up?" "...I don't know. But with treatment, soon." Fuwawa placed a hand on the girl's forehead. No fever. Her breathing was shallow but stable. (This girl is the Vessel of the Key...) The law repeated in her head. If you find the Vessel of the Key, dispose of it. That was the law of the Hounds. But Mococo had said she would protect this girl. Her sister's straight, unwavering eyes shook Fuwawa's heart. (What... should I do?) As Fuwawa continued treating the girl, she felt she might be crushed by the conflict inside her. How much time had passed after that? The girl's eyelids twitched. "Ah..." A small voice escaped her, and her deep purple eyes slowly opened. "I... where is this...?" The girl—Lily—looked around fearfully. The pale blue glow of the luminous moss lit her face. "Thank goodness! You're awake!" Mococo's face broke into a radiant smile. Her pink eyes sparkled with joy. At that smile, Lily let down her guard just a little. "You are...?" "I'm Mococo! Mococo Abyssgard! A Hound of the Abyss! You were collapsed on the Hill of Oblivion. I couldn't leave you! So I brought you here." Mococo took Lily's hand. At its warmth, Lily's expression softened just slightly. "...Thank you... very much..." Lily's voice was thin and trembling. "So, what's your name? Where did you come from?" When Mococo asked, Lily's eyes wavered vacantly. "I... my name is... Lily... Lily Noxfell... I think..." "You think?" "I'm sorry... I don't remember much... I want to go back to somewhere that isn't here... that much, I know..." Lily placed a hand on her own chest. There, the small stone glowed quietly. "I want to go home... but where that is... I don't know..." Lily's voice was wet with tears. Mococo squeezed her hand tight. "It's okay! I'm here! I'll protect you, Lily!" At Mococo's words, Lily clutched at Mococo's sleeve, her face on the verge of tears. "...Mococo..." The gesture was like a lost child who had found a parent. Mococo gently stroked Lily's head. Fuwawa watched the scene from a short distance away. (Mococo... you again.) Her sister's kindness was dazzling. At the same time, it hurt. "Hey, Lily! Tell me about the world outside the Abyss! I don't know much about it. What's it like? What happened?" Mococo asked with shining eyes. Lily, though bewildered, began to speak in fragments. "The outside... world... a white room where snow fell... by the window... someone held me..." Lily's words were fragmented. The threads of her memory spun out in broken pieces. "Far away... a bell rang... it was very quiet... and cold..." "A white room where snow fell..." Mococo repeated Lily's words. "Yes... white curtains swayed in the wind... someone called my name... but their face... I can't remember..." Lily furrowed her brow in pain. Trying to trace her memories gave her a headache. "Don't push yourself! If you can't remember, that's okay. I'll make new memories for you!" At Mococo's words, Lily smiled through her tears. "...Thank you, Mococo..." At that moment, Fuwawa's body went rigid. (A white room where snow fell...) Lily's words pierced sharply into the depths of Fuwawa's memory. That day when she was twelve. Just before their mother was swallowed by the hand of the void. Their mother's room had been a quiet room with white curtains swaying. Snow had been falling outside, and from far away, the bell of the Hound clan's meeting hall had rung. (It can't be... there's no way...) Fuwawa fought desperately not to let her expression change. But the fingers of her left hand trembled without her meaning them to. "Big Sister?" Mococo noticed the change in her sister and called out. Fuwawa shook her head quietly. "...It's nothing. I'm going to get some air." Fuwawa went outside the cave. The cold wind cooled her flushed cheeks. (Who is that girl...?) The scenery Lily described overlapped with the memory of their mother's final moments. It couldn't be a coincidence. The Vessel of the Key couldn't possibly share their mother's memories. (Then this means...) Fuwawa stared into the darkness of the Abyss. From far away, she heard a rumble—the sound of something pounding on the Door. (My memories, in that girl...?) Impossible. But something she couldn't deny swirled inside her. Mococo brought Lily outside the cave. "Lily, look! This is my secret spot!" It was a small spring of melted snow called the White Garden. It lay behind the cave, and normally no one set foot there. Water seeping from the rock face formed a clear spring, and white flowers bloomed around it. "Wow... it's beautiful..." Lily sat down at the edge of the spring and peered into the water. It was transparent, clear enough to see the pebbles at the bottom. "Right?! This is my favorite place. I kept it a secret from Big Sister too." Mococo sat down beside Lily. Their two shadows swayed on the water's surface. "Lily, what was the outside world like? Besides the white room where snow fell, do you remember anything else?" When Mococo asked, Lily thought for a while before answering. "...Someone's hand... stroked my head... a warm hand... but their face... I can't remember..." "I see... not being able to remember must be hard." Mococo leaned against Lily's shoulder. Lily let herself rest against Mococo just a little. "Hey, Lily. I think this: even without memories, you're still you. Even without a past, you have right now. Meeting me, sitting here looking at the spring—all of it becomes your memories." At Mococo's words, Lily's deep purple eyes g

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Episode 3

Name: Hounds of the Abyss: The Last Choice to Protect Paradise
Author: Novelia

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