Chapter 92: There It Is…
Before anyone had a chance to raise any complaints, Nemora spoke up, "Understood. Everyone, close your eyes."
She had had enough; they were standing by the Prowling Lands, and Alora's supposed 'answers' were nowhere to be found.
So if Esme could get this show started, then she'd be glad to assist. Then, Nemora promptly shut her eyes. One by one, the others followed suit with a tinge of confusion lingering on their faces.
"Me too?" I asked.
"No, my dear sister. You can keep them open."
Esme chuckled, then stared ahead towards where the veil was. Her eyes seemed to be tracing something-
A Canary-
A-
What is she looking at?
Stunned, excited, and also trusting wholeheartedly in Esme's abrupt reveal, I calmed my rising nerves and waited patiently for her to elaborate.
"Let's go." Staring in the direction of the veil, Esme stepped forward.
She walked straight towards the terrifyingly vast veil of black and white.
The palpitations in my heart to throw myself into the veil grew drastically, but this obsessiveness didn't seem to affect my sister.
She walked boldly towards the veil.
Step-by-step, within but mere seconds, we stood less than a metre away-
Then-
With one more step-
Crack.
Something within the depths of my brain shattered.
We passed through the veil of black and white with no obstruction; it was as though it never existed in the first place.
Thus, before my eyes, it appeared.
After 9 years.
After so many warnings;
After so many theories;
After so many sleepless, nightmare-filled nights;
It lay before my eyes.
A vast cavernous opening; a cave stretching hundreds of metres covered from tip to toe in greyish, dusty rock. Scattered about the cavern were many desolate, abandoned shacks built of stone and wood.
They formed small communities around broken-down wells and ashen, shattered campfires; it was almost tribal in form.
But my eyes pushed to the end of the vast cave.
There, it lay.
Indented into the cavernous walls at the very end of the cave, with intricate carvings of canaries etched elegantly upon its hull, formed from ebony wood and sleek grey rock, was the exposed stern of a sailing ship.
And, there, at the back of the ship, etched onto the stern, were the words:
[The Canary]
The Canary was a ship.
It was a ship all along.
Scaffolding wrapped around The Canary, the ship was still under construction, with the remainder of it hidden within the back walls of the cave.
Are the Canaries the builders? The sailors? Is the ship 'The Canary' named after the group called the 'Canaries'?
"What does this place...?"
"What does this..."
"What does..."
"What..."
Esme's voice echoed throughout the cave, ringing with heavy vibrato.
"I'm not sure, but I think we can find what I'm looking for somewhere in these cabins, or, most likely, the interior of the ship."
Ship blueprints, documents, diaries, anything that would contain writing-
We need to find them.
"No, that's not what I mean, sister." Esme stared down at me, "What I mean is, what does this place have to do with you? What does it have to do with your suffering? With your secrets? With this so-called 'truth' you want to show us?"
"I'm confused, dear sister."
...Uh.
I paused.
Right...
My heart jumped with an abrupt realisation.
None of them know, do they?
They don't know of the horrors of the Domain of Light.
They don't know of the personification of madness.
They don't know anything.
I had brought them here to reveal the truth, yet the reality is that they don't even know I'm Esme's twin sister. Let alone do they know of this Domain's vile secrets.
"Right... I'll tell you all once we find any documents in this cave that can support my statements, I don't think you'd believe me otherwise; at least, I don't think they will believe me. You, my sister, will. Right?"
"Of course." Squeezing my thighs, Esme nodded.
"Now, let's get the rest of them in here. And, we have to figure out if entering and exiting this cave will have any effects on them, thanks to their lack of Authority." I reminded Esme of the most important point to keep in mind.
Authority.
What if, even after entering this cave, they still can't comprehend its existence?
Or what if they turn aggressive?
Or worse-
"I'll take care of it, dear sister." Saying so, Esme eyed me for a moment, gazed around for a suitable spot, whisked it clean with a spark of lightning and flames, and-
Pomf.
-she laid me down with my back to the wall.
"Stay there, I'll bring the rest in. It's easier to take care of it alone." The latter half of her sentence held a hidden meaning that could be summarised in one sentence:
[If I bring you, they'll question you a lot. It's a nuisance.]
Put simply, I was in the way.
"Alright, don't leave me here for long."
"I won't. But can you protect yourself in case of anything appearing while I'm gone?"
I smirked beneath the mask, "Of course I can."
This creature may seem fragile, and it may, indeed, be fragile, but don't underestimate it.
If necessary, it can burst with plenty of terrifying strength in exchange for a lot of unbearable, soul-tearing agony.
The Book of Heresy isn't too kind, after all.
If only my Manifestation dealt me physical pain, alas, that thing seems to understand that physical pain is no longer enough for this creature.
"I'll be right back." Turning away, Esme walked into the dark void of the cavern's entrance. She instantly disappeared from view, having been swallowed by the darkness.
The darkness...
Left alone in the cavern, I pushed my eyes to the right to survey the landscape one more time.
Traces of life are scattered throughout the vast cave; some walls had carving etched into them, some houses still had their doors open, and a few campfires even had stools alongside tin cans and cutlery.
There used to be life here.
Was Finnie the last of the Canaries?
If so, is that white crown here?
It didn't seem like there had been any life here in years.
Unless this is a facade to pretend as if the Canaries aren't residing here anymore in case of emergencies, and the real entrance is elsewhere?
But I doubt it.
I stared at The Canary; they wouldn't leave something so blatantly connected to the Canaries out in the open if this was a false entrance.
Unless that was the point of the facade?
I tried to shrug my shoulders, but failed once more; It's starting to get annoying, this whole paralysis thing.
Sighing, I lay limp in the stale, silent cave.
A rising anticipation began sweeping through my chest. Years upon years worth of anticipation, but I couldn't let myself be swept away by it.
Suddenly-
Fwoosh.
-two sets of footsteps rang from my left, from the void-esque entrance to the cavern.
"Uh... What is this?" Hilda's voice echoed with a whispery, confused tone. I heard the sound of her hair swishing left and right; I could almost imagine the look on her face at that moment, with her mouth wide open and her fists clenched by her side.
Probably so cute.
"Hilda, stop asking questions and come this way. Wait a minute, my dear sister."
I couldn't see what the girls were doing, but the sound of their breathing and the shuffling of their clothes disappeared as they exited the cavern once more.
Esme is testing out the impact of Authority on them.
...Forget it.
I was as exhausted as the others by this point, mainly from the crushing weight of 18 Curses amplified by this Perfect Cursed Doll and overusing the Book of Heresy.
Shutting my eyes for some rest-
Click.
-I shut myself to sleep with a crackle of Curses.
I wasn't too worried about getting attacked in my sleep; Esme had exited, returned, and exited, and I'd yet to be attacked.
She'd be coming back any minute, so I'd be fine.
---
[...Little dummy.]
Hng...
[...Little dummy~]
Squish.
"Little dummy!"
Hilda's voice almost burst my eardrums. My eyes flickered open with a fresh wave of energy gushing through my veins; my recovery has drastically improved after my Descent.
It was to be expected. Even my day-to-day Human needs, such as bathroom breaks, showers, and eating, have become less necessary. I still feel like I have to go to the bathroom around 3 times a day, according to my current sensations.
And I could sustain myself with just two meals a day, one in the morning, and another halfway through the day.
Not bad.
"Hello...?" Her whispery voice jolted me back to reality-
I'm starting to zone out quite often.
-pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I darted my eyes upwards at her supple, cherry lips.
"Good morning, Hilda."
"But it's not morning, it's evening, little dummy."
"Since when did you get smart with me?"
"I've always been smart! Hmph!" Puffing her cheeks, Hilda pinched my waist, then proceeded to gently hoist me onto her back.
I was once again turned into a living backpack for Hilda.
Gazing around my new surroundings once more, I found the group huddled together; each person was listening closely to Esme's words as she seemed to be explaining something to them.
"Take me over."
"Okay."
Hilda followed my order and walked to the group.
"How could we maintain a semblance of understanding over what takes place in here, then?"
"I'm not sure. Let's explore and figure it out as we go-"
Esme immediately spotted my approaching white eyes in the dreary cave; she just ignored Hilda, didn't even look at her once.
"-Sister. Perfect timing, let me give you the rundown."