Chapter 91: Sister, Trust Me
"I want to go back."
"...Can we?"
"You have a point." Elden frowned in remark at Jill's frank response to his plea for a prompt return.
Pressing from one end of the horizon to the other end, from the edge of their vision to the ends of the world, the land was cut.
It was split.
An endless void hovered metres away from them. One misstep, and being this close to the edge would be the last of their worries.
Figuratively and literally.
"Alora, what now?" Yulei's hoarse voice echoed from the faucet of sweat dripping down her pale face. Her body couldn't handle the pressure being exuded by this Abyss.
All eyes turned to the carried child.
Her petite frame clung to her sister's body with a pang of fragility.
"Dear sister?"
Once Esme's voice reached my ears, I awoke from my dazed state.
No, dazed is an understatement.
I'm petrified.
I'm stunned.
And, in all honesty, I'm lucky that this body is paralysed, otherwise-
I would have thrown myself into the veil.
Without a second thought, without hesitation, this creature would have tossed itself into what could have been certain death.
Is it an allure?
What about it attracts me?
I had no way of knowing at the moment; and it doesn't matter, I haven't thrown myself into it, at least not yet.
"Dear sister?" Esme's voice echoed again after I remained silent for longer than she had expected.
"Give me a second."
I'll need a lot more than a second, actually.
The issue is, I can't see anything out of place on the black and white veil. No trace of the so-called Canaries, no trace of the answers that could clear up years of heavy fog.
What am I meant to be looking for?
Black and white mingled extensively throughout the massive veil; there was no pattern to it, no order, and no rhyme or reason.
It was a chaotic mess.
And I was meant to find something in this mess.
But how?
"Should we ask the others to spread out?" Esme asked, but her voice betrayed the lack of confidence in that plan.
"You know it won't work, Esme. They can barely stand right now, let alone search with us..."
I was stumped.
Everything relied on this venture to the border of the Domain of Light; I'd been anticipating it for years, preparing for it for years.
And now-
I'm stuck.
I was missing something crucial that was glaringly obvious.
However, I'm unable to determine what's missing; I don't know what is missing.
I can't figure it out.
Why?
Why can't I figure it out?
Nothing is stopping me, the flashes of chestnut and blue aren't here; the scent of unbearable madness isn't here, and the countless millions of voices also aren't here, so-
The voices aren't here.
The voices-
The-
What's missing?
What changed?
Holding back the irresistible urge to frown with this paralysed head of mine, I dismissed everything else momentarily and focused on the veil of black and white.
Meanwhile, Esme began walking around the immediate vicinity.
Her ears pricked up with confusion, but I paid her no heed.
What is it?
What have I missed?
Meandering around the vicinity of the veil, I focused up and pushed my eyes to their limits; every etching on the veil, any possible irregularity in the white snow, anything that I may have missed-
"Hoo..."
I released a misty white breath with exhaustion lingering in my lungs.
I'm getting tired.
The combination of the pain and long-form travel was taking its toll on my body.
Even though my body has been strengthened by its Descent into a Fallen of the Second Step. It, ironically, is also fragile.
A contradictory state of both weakness and strength; a heart that can now handle kissing Hilda but can't handle lying in my sister's embrace like a floppy fish for a prolonged period.
Esme continued walking around, checking, twisting her head, and periodically she glanced down at me with a flicker of bewilderment-
Nonetheless-
Where are the voices-
Where are-
Where-
...What's missing?
"Alora."
Esme dropped her lips to my ear, "You don't hear it?"
...Hear it?
"What?"
"...I see. Authority. Interesting..." Esme mumbled under her breath with a wistful gaze.
Propping me up higher in her embrace, Esme raised my head, then said, "Listen closely, do you not hear the sound of the Canaries?"
...?
"Canaries? Why would Canaries be chirping around here?"
What is Esme talking about?
"Forget about it, we have to find what I'm looking for somewhere around here."
Esme nodded her head with an understanding gaze, "Then, my dear sister, you trust me, right?"
"Of course." I sternly gazed into Esme's wonderful golden eyes.
"Then tell me, what exactly is it that you're searching for?"
...I faltered for a second.
Then, "The Canaries, a group." I revealed to her the whisper of a group that should, and does, exist, yet I cannot find it for the life of me.
"Then, Alora, you don't hear the sound of the Canaries?"
...???
"What are you talking about? Why would Canaries be here?" I oogled her with confusion, then parted my gaze and began searching fervently once again.
I had to be missing something, somewhere, in this veil or snow.
"You're right, my dear Alora. But, for the next few minutes, let your older sister take the lead~" Giving me a cheeky smile, Esme declared herself the older sister to my utmost confusion.
Since when were you the older one?
I'm the one who took care of you in that boring crib!
Me!
Making up my mind to teach my stupidly cute sister a lesson in the near future, I inwardly bobbed my head in response, "Fine. Take the lead. But I'm the older sister, not you."
"Pft. Alright, get a bit taller, then you can call yourself the older sister." Smirking smugly, Esme tapped the back of my head playfully and turned her attention elsewhere.
But-!
Huh!
Height does not determine the twin sibling hierarchy.
Tsk, just you wait.
Clicking my tongue, I allowed Esme to take the lead for a moment. I was at a dead end for the moment, so it's better to let her take over; another perspective could find what I'm missing from this veil.
While Esme explored, the sound of her footsteps crunching in the snow was suddenly drowned out by the noise of two pairs of footsteps rushing to our side.
"Ladies, hold up." Coming way too close to comfort to my helplessly relaxed head, Elden's sweat-stained face huffed with concern, "Lady Esme, Lady Alora, are you certain that you should be walking that close to the edge?"
"It might not be my place to comment, but it's certainly concerning."
Jill, the ever-present spirit over Elden's shoulder, also added his opinion, "Elden is right. Be careful."
"Tsk- Huff. -why are you warning that stupid little-" Spitting agitated words through her exhaustion, Vanessa's complaints were instantly shut down by:
"Vanessa, stop. And apologise." Yulei shook her head at Vanessa.
In response, Vanessa clicked her tongue again, "Fine, I didn't mean it."
Shooting a glance over Esme's shoulder, I stared at Vanessa's exhausted face, then at Yulei's tired, yet oddly calm demeanour, and...
Should I tell Vanessa?
I did notice it a while ago, but I'd assumed Vanessa already knew. She had to know, she'd witnessed it first-hand many times...
The wheelchair probably doesn't function well on hills and snow in automatic mode, surely?
"Yulei, I thought about it before, but why is Vanessa pushing you when the wheelchair can move on its own?"
Vanessa immediately scrunched her face with disgust, "Huh? You don't know?"
"Vanessa." A low voice came from Yulei's lips, shutting down the highly agitated girl once more.
Then, she gave me a tired smile and explained, "The wheelchair makes use of Blessings to move. The power of the Blessings within it isn't enough to last this long, nor is it enough to push me up and down this many hills. Vanessa has been powering it for me and pushing me simultaneously throughout the journey."
"Plus, most of the time I like having someone push me. It feels nice, I'd rather not rely on the automatic functions."
She kindly explained with longing, dazed eyes; eyes of a girl who knew that her time was running out, eyes that knew that her life wasn't long for this world.
With Esme and I at the centre of it all, conversation gradually began to spark into life amid the dreary snow-filled hills.
Anything to keep the madness brewing on the horizon at bay.
I can relate to how it feels to suffer.
In fact, if anything, Yulei was the most familiar with the term 'suffering' out of this group; other than me, of course.
Not that I was proud of my 'accomplishments' in that regard.
But it was necessary; it had to happen;
Right guys?
.....
Right?
...
Oh.
Right.
The voices are gone.
I smiled lightly beneath the mask; I wonder what I'm missing.
"Sister."
Amid the chaos of youthful voices, Esme's voice rang true in my ears.
"Yes?"
Squeezing my thigh with her left hand, she stared down at me with a grin, "I found it."
...?
"You found it?"
"Mhm." Nodding, "I found what you're looking for."
My heart jolted, and I didn't waste another moment. Immediately, I stared around our surroundings, towards where Esme's eyes were occasionally flickering-
Nothing.
There's nothing there but a veil.
"Trust me." Winking at me, Esme cast a gaze at the others around us, "Everyone, can you follow my instructions for the next 5 minutes?"
"What is it?" Nemora asked.
"Close your eyes, all of you."