I Think I Fell for You at the Bottom of the Abyss (Probably) - Episode 5

Departure was just before dawn. The top of the crystal pillar was colder than expected. Riko hugged her arms and looked down at the sea of corpses. Blue-white light swayed slowly. Quiet. The Tamaugachi's carcass was no longer visible. It had dissolved into the light of the force field. Beside her, Reg pulled herself up. "Shall we go?" "Yeah" Nanachi started descending the pillar first. White ears swayed. Not a word spoken. When things like this happened, Nanachi always moved first. The three of them climbed down from the crystal pillar and headed southwest. On Mother's map, it only said "where the force field swirls." About fifteen kilometers from Hoozuki's rock shelf. Along the way was the Kurogane Corridor. A tunnel of stone. Three kilometers long. Width less than two meters in some places. And Nurikabe Modoki lived there. "It's a mimicry creature that completely assimilates with walls" Riko said it while walking, and Reg nodded beside her. "Its weakness was fire, right?" "Yeah. But we don't have proper firearms right now" Silence. "……Tell me that first" "I just realized it now" "Don't realize it now!!" But they didn't stop. All three kept walking. There was no reason to stop. The only way to break the curse was to go to the Nanakamado Spring. The only way was through the Kurogane Corridor. That was all. Reg looked at her arm. The Incinerator's muzzle. "If I use this, it'll be enough to stun them. But I can produce fire" "Save that for last. If you use it, you'll be defenseless" "Understood" Nanachi spoke without turning around. "Even without firearms, it's fine if we notice them. Nurikabe Modoki wraps around after contact. If we find them before touching, we can pass" "How do we find them?" "Look carefully at the wall's surface. The ones assimilated have slightly different light reflection from the force field. Slightly darker than the rock" Riko thought for a moment. (How does she know that?) She was about to ask, then stopped. Nanachi had her own past. Probably survived in harsh places. That much was enough to know. "Thanks, Nanachi" "You're thanking me again" "I'll keep thanking you" "……" --- The entrance to the Kurogane Corridor was a crack in a large rock formation. About four meters high. But as they went deeper, the ceiling lowered. The force field was unstable. In other parts of the sea of corpses, the force field light spread uniformly. But not here. The light flickered and disappeared. The map said it was "a place where ascending load changes locally." The ascending load of the Fifth Layer was unconsciousness, collapse of self, and transformation of the body. It could happen unpredictably. Riko unconsciously shortened her stride. She looked at the walls. The rock formation was dark, reflecting little of the force field light. If Nurikabe Modoki was there, it would be darker. Darker sections. She walked while searching for them. All three stayed silent. Five minutes, ten minutes. The walls narrowed. Both shoulders almost touched the rock. Riko walked sideways. Reg in front, Nanachi behind. Then. Nanachi whispered. "Left side. Two meters back" Riko stopped moving. She looked at the left wall. The rock formation's surface was slightly darker than the surroundings. Very slightly. But definitely, the light reflection was different. (It's there) Reg turned back from the front. Their eyes met. Riko pointed at the left wall. Reg nodded. The three of them leaned their bodies toward the right side and slowly moved forward. The wall touched their bodies. The rock was cold. They held their breath. One step. Another step. They passed it. Riko exhaled quietly while facing forward. (That was close) "First one, clear" Reg showed a faint smile. Nanachi continued walking ahead, expressionless. --- The second one was on the ceiling. Riko noticed it. When she looked up at the ceiling, part of the rock formation was darker than the rest. Slightly above Reg's head. "Stop. Above" All three stopped. The Nurikabe Modoki on the ceiling was spread flat. About two meters long. It clung to the ceiling, perfectly still. If they'd passed underneath without noticing, it would have covered them from the head. Riko spoke quietly while looking at the ceiling. "What do we do? We can only pass directly under it" "Is there a detour?" "No. This is the only path" Nanachi thought for a moment. "We pass with speed. Nurikabe Modoki takes about three seconds from secreting mucus to wrapping around. If we can get through in three seconds, we live" "How much distance can we cover in three seconds?" "The creature is two meters long. We need four meters to get completely through. A child at full speed can do it in three seconds" Child. Riko looked at her own body. She had a boy's body now, but her height hadn't changed. Small. She could run. "One person at a time. We signal with our voices. Once someone makes it, the next person runs" "What's the order?" "I'll go first" "I'll go" "Both of you shut up. I'm the fastest. I go first" Riko and Reg exchanged glances. They couldn't argue. It was true that Nanachi was the fastest. Nanachi took a deep breath. She ran. Four meters, three seconds. A wet plop fell from the ceiling. It grazed Nanachi's back. But Nanachi didn't stop. She got through. "Next" Reg ran. Her large body at full speed. The Nurikabe Modoki on the ceiling shook. Mucus fell on Reg's shoulder. Reg brushed it off and passed through. "Riko, now" Riko ran. The ceiling shook. Mucus fell. It hit her head. Hot. Or cold. She couldn't tell. But her feet didn't stop. Three steps, four steps. She got through. "We did it!!" When she looked back, the Nurikabe Modoki was clinging to the ceiling again. It had lost its prey. Riko tried to wipe the mucus from her head with her hand. It felt sticky. It wouldn't come off easily. "……It's in your hair" "Really?" "All over" "This is the worst!!" Reg laughed a little. Nanachi's mouth corners seemed to rise just slightly. --- They walked three kilometers in an hour. There were four Nurikabe Modoki in total. They found the first one on the wall. They ran past the second one on the ceiling. The third one was stuck to the floor, and Nanachi stepped on it without noticing. Nanachi jumped back and got away within three seconds, somehow safe. Reg punched the fourth one into the wall. The Nurikabe Modoki peeled off and fell. Its weakness was fire, but physical damage worked too. When they emerged from the corridor, all three stopped without speaking. The space ahead opened up. It was vast. The ceiling was high, and the force field light swirled. The light moved in a spiral. Blue-white, slow, very beautiful. In the center of the light spiral, water was visible. Like a pond, like a spring. About ten meters in diameter. The water surface reflected the force field light, glowing silver. "That's……" A voice came out. "The Nanakamado Spring?" "It really existed" Riko started walking slowly. One step at a time. As she approached the spring, she felt the force field light hitting her body. Not warm, exactly. But not cold either. It felt like her existence was being confirmed. She came within ten meters. She looked at the water surface. It was transparent. She could see the bottom. There was nothing at the bottom. Just water. Riko clasped her hands together in front of her body. A boy's hands. Large, scarred, still covered in mucus. (Will I really go back?) She was a little scared. Even if she went back, would she become exactly the same as before picking up that stone? Or would she become slightly different? Would everything that happened in the sea of corpses stay with her? But. "I'm going in" "Wait" Nanachi grabbed her arm. "What?" "Don't just jump in. First we examine the water. It could be a trap" "……You're right" Riko stopped. Nanachi was right. Don't move on emotion, check first. That was basic cave diving. Nanachi approached and stared intently at the water surface. She touched the water with her finger. Nothing happened. Nanachi withdrew her finger. No changes to her skin. "It's not poison. The force field composition is high. But it doesn't seem to be instant death" "But we still don't know what happens when it enters the body" Riko nodded. "I know. But I'm going. This is the only way" Nanachi looked at Riko for a moment. Then she turned her gaze back to the spring. "……Yeah" Riko took off her shoes. She put her foot in the water. It was cold. But warmer than the sea of corpses. About five degrees Celsius. Slowly, she went in. To her knees. To her waist. The water enveloped her body. The light flickered. The force field light that had been swirling gathered toward Riko's body. Bundles of light circled around her. She felt dizzy. She couldn't stand and fell onto the water surface. "Riko!!" The voice was distant. The light grew stronger. White. Everything was white. She couldn't see her hands. She couldn't see her body. (Is this what "returning existence to its original form" means?) It wasn't hot or painful. Just white. Very, very white. ——And then. The light disappeared. Riko was standing in the spring. Submerged to her knees in water. She looked at her hands. They were small. Her old hands. Thin, a girl's hands. The scars were still there, but she knew without checking. Her hands. She was back. She made a sound. "Ah" A high voice came out. Again. "Ahhhhhhh!!" High. She was back. Completely back. Riko's voice. Reg jumped into the spring. Wading to her knees, she grabbed Riko's shoulders. "You're back!? You really came back!!" "I'm back!! Listen to my voice, it's high, I came back!!" The two of them shouted. It wasn't meaningful conversation. They just screamed. Happy, they screamed. Nanachi stopped before the spring. Her white ears drooped slightly. She looked at the spring like she didn't know what expression to make. "Nanachi, come in too" "……My problem isn't with my body. Something like that relic won't fix it" Riko couldn't say anything. That was true. Nanachi's body, transformed by ascending load, might not be healed by this spring. (Sorry, Nanachi) She thought that, but saying it out loud felt like Nanachi would hate it. "……Thank you" She said only that instead. Nanachi looked away slightly. "Don't thank me. Get out. You'll catch cold" Riko climbed out of the spring. The soles of her feet touched the rock shelf. Cold. But she felt it clearly. Standing on her own feet. The force field light swirled. The spring's water surface glowed silver. Quiet, beautiful, worth coming all this way. "Reg, do you want to try too?" Reg looked confused. "Huh? Me too?" "Does Reg have an original form? The relic didn't touch you, so it might not matter, but……maybe something will happen?" Reg looked at the spring for a moment. What was she? Where did she come from? Reg had always been searching for that. This spring wouldn't give all the answers. But she might feel something. Reg stepped both feet into the spring. Light began gathering. The spiral shook. And——the light scattered, burst outward. All the spring's light exploded outward, and then it was quiet again. As if nothing had happened, the water surface returned to normal. Reg stood in the spring. Nothing had changed. "……Nothing happened" "I see" "But" Reg looked at the water surface. "This was real. It brought Riko back. ……That's enough. Coming here was worth it" Riko felt a little embarrassed. "You're saying something nice all of a sudden" "I only ever say nice things" "You don't" "I do" "You don't" Nanachi spoke quietly. "……You're loud" The two of them laughed. Nanachi's mouth curved just a little. Riko looked up at the force field spiral again. Light traced its spiral. Blue-white, beautiful, this place wasn't a lie. Mother's map wasn't a lie. She was back. But something. Reg touched the spring, and the light burst outward. That reaction——what was

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Episode 5

Name: I Think I Fell for You at the Bottom of the Abyss (Probably)
Author: Novelia

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