"..."
The Spirit World that Urrs had brought us to was a strange place.
On one side, flames blazed fiercely despite the absence of any firewood; on another, there was a lake as vast as the sea; and on yet another, a dense jungle spread out before us.
The Spirit World felt like something artificially created for spirits by someone... or something along those lines.
"Urrs."
"[Yes, I know. You must be unsettled. But this is indeed the Spirit World.]"
"Mother is... here?"
"[For now, just follow me.]"
Urrs led us into the thick forest.
"But are you really okay going into the woods?"
"[...I should be fine.]"
Hey.
static
After passing through the dense jungle, a wide-open plain came into view.
The wind never stopped blowing across it.
"...Somehow... it feels peaceful."
"[The spirit blood you carry is reacting.]"
Urrs suddenly stopped, took on a more human-like form, and said,
"[Come out.]"
When Urrs spoke to the empty air, the wind gathered and a small child appeared.
"U-Urrs? And the people behind you are...?"
"[Where is my friend, Aria?]"
"Aria has not come out of the cave since returning from the human world."
"[That's serious. Lead the way.]"
"Yes!"
Urrs seemed to hold a surprisingly high position.
"[Why are you looking at me like that?]"
"You were higher-ranking than I expected."
"[I'm a great spirit, you know. In the Lower World, that would make me a king.]"
"Then why would someone like that disappear for hundreds of years?"
"[Spirit time flows differently from the lives of the Lower World. Fifty years is a long time for a normal human, but for a spirit, it's only a moment.]"
Well... if you're an immortal being, I guess your sense of time would be different.
"We've arrived. I'll be going now!"
The spirit in the form of a child led us to a dark cave, then scattered away like the wind and vanished.
"If what that one just said is true, Aria should be in here, Aiz... was it? You're going in, right?"
"Yes. I'm definitely going in."
"Then go in first. I have something to talk about with Bellf."
"...Are you a woman?"
"[I'm sexless.]"
"I see."
Aiz entered the dark cave with a faintly relieved expression.
"[You're going to get bossed around for the rest of your life, aren't you?]"
"..."
"[Same as your previous life, and the one before that.]"
"...Wait, what?"
"...It's dark."
Aiz stepped into the mysterious cave where the wind still flowed.
With every step she took, the darkness deepened, until it became so black that she could barely see ahead.
But it didn't matter.
"...M...o..."
Because the familiar voice she could hear in her ear was guiding her toward the path she had to take.
"...Mother, I'll be there soon."
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