"Hmm? Where... is this place again?"
When her eyes fluttered open once more, Lynelle found herself in what seemed to be a... very strange location.
It looked like somewhere on the Xianzhou, but the furnishings around her carried a faint, unsettling dissonance, making everything feel profoundly eerie.
"I remember... I should have been investigating March's lost memories with her."
"After Master Diviner Fu Xuan prepared the Matrix of Prescience, she asked if I wanted to enter March's memories together to seek answers. March insisted on pulling me along, and then..."
"And then, you showed up here~"
A crimson Memosprite Jellyfish drifted silently into view before Lynelle, and then she felt someone embrace her from behind.
"Long time no see, my dear~"
"I knew you'd show up..." A wry smile touched Lynelle's lips.
"But you usually don't come out for air. The last time I saw you was because of Corruption-chan, and you only split off a single jellyfish…"
"You can't just stay holed up inside March's body being a shut-in, you know?"
"I'm not awake every single moment. Besides, March's journey is full of excitement every day—how could it be boring?" Evernight tilted her head slightly.
"And honestly, last time really was just to check on you... After all, March only knew you'd 'gotten a child,' and you went to that biology expert Ruan Mei's lab."
"It's hard not to let one's imagination run wild with strange ideas."
"Forget that, I'm more curious about what's going on right now... Why is March suddenly so intent on digging into her past again?"
"Not a clue." Lynelle shook her head. "Maybe a case of the average girl's late-night melancholia?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Evernight pinched Lynelle's cheek.
"Since when does March have 'late-night melancholia' sessions? Are you doubting my work efficiency, or the power of Oblivion?"
"Ah, that's true..." Lynelle then remembered that the person beside her was also a staunch supporter of the main personality only.
"But, won't Master Diviner Fu Xuan's Matrix of Prescience Ultima have some effect on you? Like uncovering bits of past history or something..."
"Relax." Evernight showed not a shred of worry.
"If left completely unchecked, it could probe a part of March's past, but... the chances of it being left unchecked are slim. Even if I don't intervene, a Memokeeper will step in to block it."
"Still, the internal factions within the Garden of Recollection are complex."
"While I don't particularly care about secrecy, if you learned this information, you'd probably be harassed daily by overambitious Cremators. So, it's better if you don't know the details."
"That's a pretty convincing reason..."
Lynelle briefly imagined the scenario—mysterious 'Memokeepers' targeting her every day.
It really did sound like a hellish picture, especially with a Kiana inside her and an Evernight inside March next door.
Before long, the number of Dead Memokeepers on the Express might rival the cured meats hanging in ordinary Xianzhou households.
"No helping it. Remembrance is just that kind of mysterious Path..."
Evernight glanced to the side, and only then did Lynelle notice that March 7th and Fu Xuan had somehow arrived beside them.
However, the two seemed completely unaware of their presence.
"I used Oblivion's power to make them temporarily overlook us," Evernight explained, seeming to sense Lynelle's puzzled look.
"Of course, if you want to experience March's first-person perspective, I can send you over right now. Ever since you mysteriously vanished, she's been a bit restless."
"She might not say it out loud, but deep down she cares about you immensely~"
"Don't tease me at a time like this..." Lynelle scratched her head, slightly embarrassed.
"Besides, I'll stay here. Seeing March is easy, but getting a chance to see you is rare."
"Alright then~"
--+--
"Master Diviner, is Lynelle really okay?"
"Sigh... You've asked me this same question three times now on the way here."
Fu Xuan pressed a hand to her face in resignation.
"Then I'll repeat it once more. The Matrix of Prescience indicates that Lynelle simply failed to enter successfully. There are only two likely reasons for this."
"First, her own mental defenses are too strong. The array's access request to her was denied. It's like trying to download a risky app on the Jade Abacus without turning off the antivirus."
"Second, she was 'intercepted' during the entry process and pulled into another space. But that's even less probable, because this array isn't performing a deduction targeting a group—it's targeting you, a specific individual."
"That means there's only one output port... You're not going to tell me you intercepted Lynelle, are you?"
"Th-that... probably not, right?"
Recalling her discussions with Lynelle about 'another self' back on Washtopia, March felt she couldn't entirely rule out the second possibility.
"Anyway, let's proceed." Fu Xuan neither confirmed nor denied, simply shrugging.
"I've already explained the situation in this Dreamscape to you. Your case is indeed unusual."
"When ordinary people experience memory distortion in this subconscious space, it's due to the presence of interfering elements. One simply needs to break through those interferences."
"But in your memory space... it seems everyone is advising you not to recall the past. That's strange, because it means they've all gone out of character—in other words, they are all interfering elements."
"But how is that possible? If they are all interfering elements, it means nothing in your memories is real, everything is an illusion... Don't forget, I'm standing right here. At least the memory related to me must be real, correct?"
"Therefore, someone must be actively interfering with your memories, and they're not even bothering to hide it... Let's go. I'll first take you to the deepest part of your existing memories, then we'll drag out that mystery-monger and give them a sound thrashing!"
"..."
Hearing their conversation, Lynelle couldn't help but glance sideways at Evernight.
"Someone says they're going to thrash you soundly..."
"Silly." Before Lynelle could finish, she felt a gentle tap from a jellyfish.
"What makes you so sure the anomalies in March 7th's memories are my doing?"
"If I were to intervene, no one would even have a chance to notice anything was off..."
"That's true..."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.