"Seele!"
Bronya ran, panting, to the confinement room.
She shoved the locked door open without a second thought, and as soon as she was inside, she saw her—the girl whose image was etched into the very depths of her soul, curled up in a corner, shivering uncontrollably.
"Seele...?"
Bronya stared in disbelief. It took her a moment to remember to step inside, but she didn't dare make a sound, as if even the slightest noise would frighten this poor girl.
She crouched down carefully and gently lifted Seele's small, delicate face. It was swollen and streaked with blood. Guilt and heartache twisted within her as she murmured, "Why... Why did you do this?"
"Big Sister... Bronya..."
It was only then that Seele seemed to come to her senses. Two streams of tears flowed down her ravaged face as she broke into sobs.
"I'm sorry, Big Sister Bronya... I'm so sorry..."
What on earth happened?
Bronya held the trembling Seele tightly, feeling utterly helpless. It was as if, starting this morning, the entire world had become unrecognizable...
---||---
A little while earlier.
"Hey, Seele, are we just going to stay here?"
On the way back with Cocolia, Veliona's voice echoed with agitation from the depths of her consciousness.
"Don't forget, we have important things to do!"
"But, Mother Cocolia said the person we're looking for isn't around here..." Seele replied, completely at a loss. She no longer knew what she should do next.
"Ha! You're still calling that woman 'Mother'?" Veliona cried out in disbelief. "Don't you remember what she did to you? How much can you trust the words of a woman like that?!"
"But..." Seele opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to argue, but she was at a loss for words.
"But what? Look at her! She won't even spare you a glance! Are you really going to just obediently follow her back?" Veliona was furious with her cowardice and shouted, "If it were up to me, I'd just knock her out, toss her from the vehicle, and we'd drive off ourselves to expand the search area!"
Unlike her more cautious and indecisive main consciousness, she preferred to solve problems with violence—the more direct and decisive, the better.
Of course, she was also a little reckless...
"But... other me... do you know how to drive?" Hearing this lawless proposal, Seele blankly asked a question that sounded rather silly.
"Ugh..." Veliona was momentarily speechless, then, in a fit of rage, she made a devilish suggestion. "Then let's just hold a scythe to her neck! I bet she wouldn't dare disobey if her life was on the line!"
Seele couldn't help but cry out at this terrifying, demonic idea.
"No... we can't do that!"
The entire argument took place within Seele's mind, making no sound, but her expression changed rapidly with the flow of the debate.
Cocolia, not far from her, took it all in but remained silent.
The road from the small town to the orphanage wasn't long. One only had to pass through a snow-covered forest and a short mountain path to find the small, unassuming courtyard nestled in a hidden mountain hollow.
Sensing the arrival of Cocolia's vehicle, the seemingly ordinary and even slightly rusty iron gate slowly swung open on its own. It was only then that Cocolia, who had been silent the whole way, finally spoke, her voice as indifferent as ever.
"We're here."
At the sound of that authoritative voice, Seele flinched. She looked up and, sure enough, saw the familiar building through the window before shrinking back down again.
"What are you thinking about?" Cocolia asked, turning her head with a frown.
"I was thinking... about Big Sister Bronya..." Seele answered timidly. Having left without a word, she didn't dare face the worried and anxious look she knew would be in Bronya's eyes.
"Hmph... Bronya is probably still out in the snow-covered mountains or the wilderness, desperately searching for a certain someone who suddenly vanished." Cocolia let out a cold laugh, her tone a strange mix of mockery, reassurance, and something else entirely. "Although I ordered her to be back by nightfall, knowing her, she probably won't return until dawn tomorrow."
Night had already fallen, but in Siberia at this time of year, the night was a full fifteen hours long, far outlasting the brief daylight. Dawn was still a long way off.
"I..."
Seele wanted to say more, but Cocolia had already gotten out of the vehicle from the other side. Without a glance to see if Seele was following, she strode directly toward the closed door of the small building.
Seele hesitated for a moment before silently following.
"Hey, Seele!" Veliona cried out, panicked by her submissive behavior.
"..."
Seele paused her steps for a second, then lowered her head and continued to follow.
"I don't want... to make Big Sister Bronya worry anymore..."
For some reason, upon returning to this small courtyard, she felt as if all her earlier courage had evaporated, as if she had reverted to the weak girl she once was.
"You..." Veliona was livid. "Tch... fine, have it your way!"
She then petulantly refused to speak to her again.
A bitter feeling welled up in Seele's heart. She wanted to call out to her but didn't dare. Like a child who had done something wrong, she silently trailed behind Cocolia.
They rounded the staircase, and to Seele's surprise, Cocolia walked straight to what was once her room. She pushed the door open.
The pristine white room, once covered in ice and snow, had now mostly returned to its original state, though it was in complete disarray.
The table and chair were a mess, and even the bed against the wall was askew, a corner of the blanket trailing on the floor.
"Heh..." Cocolia let out another cold laugh at the sight. "No wonder Bronya was so frantic. If I saw a room like this, I'd also think we'd been robbed."
Even Seele, standing behind her, was confused. She hadn't done anything when she left this morning. How did it end up like this?
The culprit soon revealed herself.
"Who is it? I told you, no one is allowed to—"
Sin poked her head out from behind the crooked bed, swearing under her breath, her entire being radiating an arrogant swagger. She was about to yell at whoever was so blind as to interrupt her when her eyes met Cocolia's.
Her bluster vanished in an instant. She didn't dare breathe, quickly stuffing whatever she was holding under the bed before emerging with her head bowed.
Cocolia paid no mind to her insolence. She walked past her and took a look. There was nothing special, just a wadded-up, dirty rag and a small shovel.
The purpose of the latter wasn't hard to guess, as a small patch of ice and snow remained in the gap between the bed and the wall.
A closer look revealed that the floor, walls, and cabinets had all been crudely scraped with the shovel. Every visible scratch was a silent testament to one fact—the person who had "cleaned" this room was exceptionally clumsy...
"Uh..."
Sin also felt embarrassed by the state she was in. She was about to offer a sheepish explanation when her gaze shifted and landed on Seele at the door. She froze for a moment, then, without hesitation, directed all her embarrassment and anger at her. She strode over, a strange, mocking cackle in her voice.
"Well, look at you. Why aren't you dead outside?"
The news of Seele's safe return was a relief to her, but her words were as harsh as ever.
"Tch..." Veliona was already fuming, and Sin's sarcastic remark only made her angrier.
"I..."
Before Seele could say anything, Cocolia, having finished inspecting the room, casually slid the wardrobe door shut. She turned and walked between Seele and Sin, tossing a single sentence over her shoulder.
"Alright, you're not needed here anymore. You're dismissed. Seele, come with me."
Her tone was, as always, unquestionable, easily cutting short the conflict that had yet to even begin.
"Yes..." Sin answered obediently. Then she secretly kicked Seele and shot her a fierce glare. I'll deal with you later!
"..."
Seele lowered her head and followed silently.
In the past, when Big Sister Bronya wasn't around, just having Sin stand near her would make her tremble with fear. But now, for some reason, seeing her posturing and snarling like this didn't scare her at all.
Why? Is it because she secretly helps me clean my room when I'm not here?
It was laughably clumsy, but it was precisely because of that clumsiness that it was surprisingly touching.
She thought of the wild rabbit left by her bed the two times she had woken up, and of the bag of food Sin had practically thrown into Big Sister Bronya's arms in the previous loop. Her thoughts were a tangled mess.
She couldn't help but think about the original world; about the girl who had once viciously ambushed Big Sister Bronya, only to be retaliated against in an even more vicious manner by her other self—the girl she still disliked to this day. When she wasn't looking, was Sin also caring for her companions in her own clumsy way?
She didn't know, and there was no way to find out. She only felt that seeing these familiar events from a bystander's perspective gave them a different meaning.
It was a strange and sad feeling. The longer she remained in these familiar scenes, the more she felt like an outsider, the more she wanted to go home...
Lost in her thoughts, she followed behind Cocolia, not even noticing when she suddenly stopped. She walked right into her back.
"Lost in thought, Seele? What's on your mind?"
Cocolia glanced back at her, her brows tightly knitted, as if they had never known how to relax.
"Seele... was thinking about Sin..." Seele quickly stepped back, murmuring her reply.
"Is that so?" Cocolia said noncommittally, not pressing for details.
She fiddled with her own ravaged door, which made a Klak! sound, and said with a half-smile, "Heh, it's good to think about it. You probably don't know, but this morning, Sin knocked on my door and found my communicator inside. That's how Bronya was able to report your sudden disappearance to me."
"I'm sorry, Mother..."
Seele hadn't realized her abrupt departure would cause so much trouble. Her heart tightened, and she quickly looked up. "It's all my fault. Please don't punish Sin!"
"..."
Cocolia suddenly turned around, staring deeply into those clear, sea-blue eyes, as if trying to read something from them. Then she turned away again, gently pushed open the door, and said, "Come in."
"Yes..."
Without a definite answer, Seele followed her in, feeling uneasy. The door swung shut behind them on its own momentum.
A long while later, a stealthy figure crept over from the distance, carefully eavesdropping on what was happening inside the room...
"Alright, Seele. You've been like this the entire way. We're home now. Are you going to continue?"
Inside the room, Cocolia sat down calmly in her tall office chair. Her fingers tapped lightly on the desk made of some unknown alloy as she asked in her usual stern voice, "Tell me, why did you do what you did today?"
"I... had to find someone..." Seele answered, shrinking back slightly.
"That Shenzhou man named Lin Wei? Hmph, I know that much already." Cocolia snorted, her tone laced with sarcasm as she pressed, "What I want to know is, why did you leave so secretly, without a word to anyone?"
"Because... I have to find him..." Seele nervously twisted the hem of her clothes, her voice trembling. Her answer didn't even seem to address the question.
"...You're afraid of me, Seele." Cocolia stared deeply at the frail girl, whose face was a canvas of pain and conflict. "Why?"
"I..."
At those words, Seele's whole body trembled. She instinctively clutched her chest and took a step back, as if to put some distance between them.
Seele's reaction, as if her deepest secret had been exposed, only confirmed Cocolia's suspicions. She stood up from her seat once more.
"Hehe, for something like this to happen... how surprising..."
Cocolia walked step by step until she stood before Seele. Her tall, elegant figure stood proudly, looking down at the thin, frail girl she knew so well. After a moment of steady gazing, she spoke in a peculiar tone.
"Seele would never fear me like this, let alone resist me. And she would certainly never make excuses for Sin."
"You are not Seele. So... who are you?"
As she spoke the last words, her eyes turned sharp as daggers, her tone bordering on an interrogation.
--------
TL: I want Kill Cocolia!