"Okay then, Pia… tell them the secret."
"Haaa… Fine, I'll tell them," Pia sighed, crossing her arms as she looked at Alexander, who just gave her a silent nod.
She turned back to us, her expression more serious than ever. "I am—"
BAM!
Once again, she got hit by Alexander.
Why did he hit her now? Every one of us was now staring at Alexander.
"Why did you hit me?! You told me to tell them."
"Yeah, I did," Alexander replied.
"So then why?!" Pia asked, clutching her head.
"Look around you. This is not the place you should explain that."
What is he talking about? I was way too confused, and the same goes for Barren, Eddy, and Simon too.
"Fine," Pia said, and then she did something I didn't expect to see.
"Gate."
As she said that, the same magical circle got created underneath us, and then—
Just like that, we were in a totally different place.
She can use sentient magic?! We all stood there, shocked.
We were in a room, from the looks of it.
It was grand, yet empty. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with ancient tomes, their spines covered in runes I couldn't understand. A large round table stood in the middle, surrounded by wooden chairs that looked far too polished to belong in any normal tavern or guild. There were strange symbols carved into the ceiling, glowing faintly with an eerie blue light. And at the far end of the room, a massive window overlooked something… unnatural. It wasn't the sky or the ground—it was a swirling abyss of stars, like the entire universe had been pulled into a single view.
"Okay, let's begin then."
Silence.
She turned towards us, her expression more serious than ever. "I am an apprentice god."
As she said that, she fearfully looked toward Alexander, expecting to be hit once again, but not this time—he just stood there.
I could feel Eddy, Barren, and Simon tensing beside me. I don't think any of us were expecting that.
I raised an eyebrow. "An apprentice god? At least say something that is believable."
"I don't care if you believe it or not," Pia shot back, her jolly, crybaby nature completely gone now. She was like a totally different person from before. "But it's the truth. And it's why I knew, the moment I saw Kathleen that day in Ashfall Village—she doesn't belong to this world."
The words sent a chill down my spine. And I can safely say it wasn't just me. The way she was talking… I don't think that's a lie.
Eddy narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean she doesn't belong to this world? If not this world, where does she belong? Are you suggesting there are multiple worlds and she belongs to one of them?"
Pia took a deep breath before continuing. "I can't tell you everything, but all I can say is this: There is another world. One that exists parallel to this one. A world where everyone from here has a counterpart—but that world has no magic, no adventurers, no monsters. Just normal people living normal lives."
I tried to process her words. Another world? A parallel existence? What is she talking about? This is way above me, so I looked toward Barren and Eddy. Their expressions were stiff.
The air around us was growing heavier and heavier, and it started to feel suffocating.
Pia continued, her tone growing more serious. "The worlds are not supposed to mingle with each other, but there is a phenomenon that sometimes occurs where the barrier between these two worlds weakens. And when that happens, people can cross over."
This is normal. Usually, when this happens, the world automatically fixes its mistake and transfers the person back to where they belong, but—
"There is another unnatural phenomenon."
It happens because the two worlds are so similar to each other. Sometimes, when someone dies in this world unnaturally, a rift in space-time gets created, and that rift forcefully drags the counterpart from the parallel world to fill the void.
"Cross over…?" Simon muttered, deep in thought.
"So Kathleen crossed over from that world?" Barren asked, an unnatural smile on his face, his hand twitching.
"Well, no. For Kathleen, it was more like she was forcefully summoned to this world."
"Then you're suggesting that Kathleen belongs to the parallel world?" Barren asked, his voice firm.
"Yes, indeed."
"We actually had our suspicions about that," Barren said.
"Wait, what?! From when? Why did no one say anything to me?" I looked toward Barren, completely lost.
"Theo, we'll explain afterward. Don't worry."
Wait—what kind of face did I make? I must look like an idiot right now. This is embarrassing.
Pia continued, her voice unwavering. "When your friend Viola died that day, the same phenomenon happened. It dragged Viola's counterpart—Kathleen—into this world."
Eddy frowned. "And what's the problem with that?"
Pia's expression darkened. "Anyone who crosses from this world to the parallel world—nothing happens. He or she can easily survive there without a problem and live their life peacefully because there is no magic. But…"
Her next words sent a shiver down my spine.
"Anyone who crosses from that world to this… loses their sanity. They become unstable, chaotic, dangerous. It's as if their very existence is being rejected by the world they don't belong to."
A heavy silence settled over us. I could feel the tension thick in the air.
"But why?" Barren asked.
"It's because of the mana-filled air."
"Mana…?" I repeated, barely above a whisper.
"Your bodies have evolved over generations to adapt to the mana in this world," Pia explained. "But the people from the parallel world? Their bodies have no resistance to it. The longer they stay here, the more damage the mana does to their minds. They slowly lose themselves. They go mad, forgetting who they are, becoming something… inhuman."
I swallowed hard.
Kathleen had been in this world for a long time.
…How much time did she have left?
To be Continued....