Chapter 493 – Back to the mundane routine

The method we used to get back to the surface was... peculiar. By that point, I wasn't even entirely sure whether we were still underneath the residential area. We'd been descending for so long that, after a certain point, I had completely lost track of time.

Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to ask Selyra. Her answer, however, only made things even more complicated. According to Selyra, the situation was a little more complex than simply being underneath the residential area... but that didn't necessarily mean we were in a completely different dimension, either.

There were other things involved. Layers, overlapping spaces, and who knows what else. The moment I realized where this explanation was heading, I simply gave up. I didn't want to know. At that point, my head was already far too full to deal with another ridiculously complicated explanation involving anomalies, dimensions, and concepts that would probably make my brain start complaining.

So, before Selyra could go into any more detail, I simply cut her off and asked her to hurry up. I wanted to go home. And I wanted to go home soon. I had a gaming marathon waiting for me and, more importantly, a considerable amount of ice cream that I intended to devour while enjoying my well-deserved break from all this anomaly-related bullshit.

After fighting a gigantic colossus, surviving a thermonuclear explosion, and dealing with a monstrous tentacle-covered mushroom, I considered that the bare minimum I deserved. For now, I just wanted a few hours of peace. No anomalies. No monsters. No explosions. Just games, ice cream, and, if the universe finally decided to show me a little mercy, absolutely nothing trying to kill me.

Fortunately, Selyra didn't seem to have any particular opinion on the matter. In fact, her reaction was practically the opposite of what I expected. She even showed some curiosity when I mentioned video games and ice cream, asking a few questions that made it clear these concepts were, at the very least, relatively new to her.

That reminded me of something. Selyra had practically experienced none of what Charlotte had. In fact, the two of them were the same person. Two sides of the same coin, two manifestations of a single existence. Even so, that didn't mean they shared absolutely everything the other experienced on some fundamental level.

And, when I thought about it, that made sense. If every experience, every thought, and every sensation were shared perfectly between the two of them, would it even be possible to tell them apart? What exactly would separate Charlotte from Selyra, or Selyra from Charlotte, if they both carried the exact same memories and experiences?

Maybe that separation was precisely what allowed them to exist as distinct individuals despite having the same origin. Still, I didn't know enough to answer such a complicated question. The fact was that Selyra and I hadn't interacted nearly as much as Charlotte and I had.

Our relationship was still considerably more superficial, and I knew very little about her beyond what I'd discovered recently. So, while Victor, Rupert, and Arthur were still recovering from whatever the hell that eye from earlier had done to them, I decided to make use of the time we had.

I moved a little closer to Selyra and started talking to her. Fortunately, according to Selyra, the three of them were fine. Apparently, their minds had simply been overloaded by seeing that gigantic eye inside the fissure. Whatever the hell that meant.

I had absolutely no idea how someone's mind could be overloaded just by looking at something, but considering everything that had happened in this place, maybe it was better not to ask too many questions. Anyway, getting back to the main point, I managed to convince Selyra to participate a little more in the recent activities I'd been doing with my little sisters.

Nothing major, to be honest. Basically, we'd just get together every now and then and talk to one another. Sometimes we'd talk about completely random things. Other times, we'd end up discussing our experiences or simply stay together in silence.

Until now, Charlotte had been the one who participated in these gatherings the most. Because of that, she'd already developed a certain level of familiarity with the others. Selyra, on the other hand, still seemed a little more distant. Then, all of a sudden, she went silent.

I tilted my head slightly as I watched her. For several seconds, she didn't say a single word, as if she were carefully thinking about something. Or rather... at least, that's what it looked like to me. From what I could tell, she was apparently asking Charlotte about it... Wait.

Could they actually do that? I still didn't completely understand how the relationship between Charlotte and Selyra worked. Sometimes, they seemed like two completely different people. Other times, the distinction between them became so faint that I couldn't even tell where one ended and the other began.

But apparently, Charlotte didn't have a problem with the idea. So, I suppose that meant it was approved. We talked about a few more mundane things after that. Actually, it was much more me updating Selyra on everything that had happened while she'd been absent than an actual two-sided conversation. Even so, it was interesting to watch her reactions to the various things I told her.

Although, to be fair, "reactions" might have been a generous word. Most of the time, Selyra didn't even blink. She simply stared at me in silence, wearing a calm, almost unreadable expression as I explained everything that had happened.

Every now and then, there would be a slight change in her gaze or an almost imperceptible tilt of her head, but it was difficult to tell whether that meant surprise, curiosity, or simply that she was paying attention.

Even so, I enjoyed telling her things. After a while, I noticed that Victor, Rupert, and Arthur seemed to be doing better. Or, at least, they looked better on the outside. Looking a little closer, though, all three of them still seemed somewhat nauseous and uncomfortable, as if they were trying to digest something particularly unpleasant.

I had no idea why, but considering how weird those three could be sometimes, I decided not to ask. Anyway, we had already finished everything we needed to do there. It was time to head back and reunite with the others. Emily and Laura were probably already worried about our disappearance. And Charlotte's parents... well, they were probably even more worried.

Especially since, technically speaking, I had disappeared in the middle of a mission while taking their daughter with me. Something told me that, when we got back, I was probably going to get an earful. Maybe a really big one. I sighed. But what could I do? Sometimes, life was just like that.

The process we used to return to the surface, or, I don't know, the residential area, was much less dramatic than the way we'd gotten there in the first place. Selyra simply raised one arm and closed her hand around empty air, as if she were gripping something invisible. For a moment, nothing happened. Then she twisted her arm. That was when I felt something strange.

It was as if everything around us was simply... coming apart. The walls, the floor, even the space around us began to lose their definition, breaking apart into countless fragments that looked like shards of glass suspended in midair. I didn't feel any sudden movement. I didn't even have time to react.

CRAAASH!

A sound like an enormous pane of glass shattering echoed all around us. And in the very next instant, everything changed. I blinked a few times. There was a couch in front of me, and directly ahead of it was a large television taking up a good portion of the wall.

On the other side, there was a counter, a few cabinets, and what looked like a perfectly normal kitchen. I looked around, trying to figure out where the hell we were... Were we inside someone's house? That was the first thought that crossed my mind.

And apparently, I was right. We didn't stay inside the house for very long. To be honest, we didn't even have any idea who owned the place. We had simply appeared inside it and then walked back out, hoping the owners wouldn't decide to sue us for trespassing or something.

Anyway, the moment we stepped outside, we found ourselves face-to-face with dozens of people scattered throughout the neighborhood. They were most likely residents of the area, and most of them looked completely confused and disoriented.

Some were talking among themselves, trying to piece together what had happened over the past few hours. Others were looking around, clearly trying to figure out why the hell they were standing outside their own homes.

“I was in my living room, and then suddenly I was here...”

“You don't remember leaving either?”

“Wait... why is there a hole in the middle of the street?”

That last question caught my attention. I followed everyone's gaze toward the enormous hole that had been blasted into the main intersection of the residential area. I stayed silent. I decided it was better to simply refrain from answering. After all, technically speaking, I wasn't the only one responsible for it.

We ignored the small crowd and made our way back to where Emily, Laura, and Charlotte's parents were waiting for us. They looked just as relieved as they were curious to see us return, but before anyone could start asking questions, something caught my attention.

Speaking of Charlotte... I turned toward her and immediately noticed a small difference. Charlotte was in control now. Her expression was calmer, although she still looked a little confused by the whole situation. She had explained to us that she could remember some of what had happened.

Generally speaking, she remembered the giant mushroom, the colossus, and using her powers to purify it. After that, however, her memories became hazy. Charlotte simply had no idea how, after everything that had happened, we'd somehow ended up inside one of the houses in the neighborhood.

To be honest, I didn't have a much better explanation myself. Anyway, I had to agree with Rupert's words. We were all alive, after all. After everything that had happened, that alone could already be considered a victory. We had just gone through one hell of a weird and bizarre situation, fought a gigantic monster, and dealt with tentacles coming from every direction.

Anomalies? What the hell were those? I had absolutely no idea. Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was probably going to have an absurd number of questions to ask once we got back to base. But honestly, I wasn't really in the mood to think about that right now.

My plans for the next week were already perfectly clear: do absolutely nothing all day, play some games, and eat ice cream. Maybe I could even convince Emily and Laura to buy a few different flavors. After all that chaos, I definitely deserved it.

Victor didn't answer, but judging by how he remained silent and the relatively calm expression on his face, I got the impression that his thoughts weren't all that different from mine. Maybe he was also imagining a nice hot shower, a comfortable bed, and a few days without having to deal with gigantic monsters.

Arthur, on the other hand, seemed to be living in an entirely different world. He remained incredibly thoughtful, his gaze distant and his expression serious, as if he were mentally organizing an enormous amount of information. Well... he definitely didn't look like someone who had much fun in his free time.

Actually, considering that he gave off a vibe pretty similar to Emily and Laura, I'd bet that the moment he got home, he'd probably spend the entire week researching everything he could about what had happened here.

There seemed to be a lot occupying his mind. But that was a problem for another time. For now, there was only one thing that really mattered. We were all alive, the problem had been dealt with, and, finally, we could go home.