With the initial tension between my little sister and the members of the reaction team finally easing, I realized that everyone seemed to be sharing thoughts very similar to my own. We had found our objective. So... was that it? Was all that remained now to return to the surface? To our planet? To our dimension?
Whatever the correct term might be, the truth was that all that remained was for us to go home. And don’t get me wrong, this place was, in fact, quite beautiful. The landscape had a serene charm, and it wasn’t hard to imagine a quiet life here. I didn’t doubt for a second that it could be pleasant to live in a place like this.
That wasn’t the real problem. The problem was that I simply didn’t know if I could sleep peacefully, keep my mind at ease, knowing that a colossal anomaly lived here, not somewhere distant or isolated, but practically in a shared cohabitation.
“Alright, everyone... let’s split up!” Victor announced, while random thoughts collided in my mind.
His voice was firm, authoritative, and he seemed far more composed than before, or at least he would have, if he weren’t shooting quick glances at my little sister every few seconds, as if he needed to make sure she was still far away from him.
“Search this place and try to find something that looks like an exit... preferably one that doesn’t try to kill us” he continued, his dry humor failing to fully ease the tension in the air.
Victor then studied each member of the group, lingering on every face for a brief moment, as if trying to commit them to memory: “Move in groups of four and don’t touch anything, no matter how beautiful or valuable it might look. This place is not our friend, so we can’t act friendly toward it”
He took a deep breath, cast one last look around, and then delivered his final words, short and definitive: “Dismissed”
With Victor’s last command, the reaction team members began dispersing through the garden in groups of four. Their reactions whenever they passed by a brightly colored flower, petals shimmering like cut gemstones under the light, were involuntary and even a little amusing.
Some slowed their pace, others reached out and pulled back at the last second. I watched each group until the very end, before they vanished into the nearly infinite expanse of the garden, swallowed by colors, scents, and winding paths.
At last, I turned toward the three who had stayed behind: Victor, Rupert, and Arthur. They suddenly seemed deeply interested in the surroundings, the sky, the flowers, the ground, anything at all except my little sister, whose presence was being almost comically ignored.
I decided to ignore them for now and turned my attention to Tenebrya, my little sister. She still had her two curious little eyes fixed on Victor, Rupert, and Arthur, a raw, unmistakable curiosity radiating from her gaze, far too intense for someone so small.
In fact, I had the clear impression that they were avoiding Tenebrya like the devil avoids the cross, averting their eyes, adjusting their posture, doing anything not to meet that inquisitive stare.
The problem was that I simply couldn’t ask her to stop looking. I mean... what if she cried? Just imagining it already gave me a headache.
(Tenebrya, come here) I called out mentally.
At my call, Tenebrya turned her neck toward me in a smooth, curious motion. Her two small white eyes locked onto mine, attentive and full of expectation.
Soon, I felt that light, delicate touch of recognition, a strange yet comforting mix of silent happiness and absolute trust.
I couldn’t quite explain why, but her reaction felt especially cute in that moment: (It’s okay, you can come. It’s not dangerous)
Though she still seemed a little hesitant, like a skittish kitten ready to bolt at any sudden movement, she slowly approached. Her feet slid across the grassy ground, producing a soft, steady sound that marked each small step.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Victor’s, Arthur’s, and Rupert’s expressions stiffen, almost tense, but I simply ignored them. All my attention was on my little sister.
When she finally stopped in front of me, she hesitated. Her small white eyes lifted, meeting mine with a gentle, endearing curiosity.
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(Them?) I asked quietly, glancing toward Victor, Rupert, and Arthur. The gesture, subtle as it was, didn’t go unnoticed by any of them.
(It’s okay) I replied right away, my tone reassuring: (They’re just... shy. I’m sure once they loosen up, they’ll be kind to you)
Victor, Rupert, and Arthur heard my words echo directly inside their minds, and I saw their expressions grow subtly more rigid. Tension lingered on their faces. Still, none of them dared look at Tenebrya, they averted their gaze almost instinctively, as if she were a forbidden sun.
Setting my thoughts aside, Tenebrya tilted her head slightly and leaned to one side, observing the three of them in silent focus. Her small white eyes gleamed with an almost raw curiosity, stripped of any malice: (Uh... why aren’t they looking at you?)
I shot a sideways glance at the three of them, confirming their strange fascination with anything other than Tenebrya, before letting out a light sigh: (Ah! Anyway, don’t worry about that. What matters right now...) I paused briefly, turning my full attention back to her: (Tell me more about yourself)
Tenebrya slowly turned toward me as my words echoed in her mind. Her small white eyes settled on me, steady, attentive, as if they were trying to see not just my gaze, but my intentions as well.
For a few seconds, she remained silent, and there was something in her pale little eyes, almost fragile: (I... I’ve lost most of my memories. I’m slowly remembering them, little by little)
Tenebrya’s expression darkened almost instantly when she heard my words. Still, as if a new conclusion had taken shape in her mind, that weight in her gaze gradually faded away.
In its place emerged a determined, almost motivated gleam as she declared that she would help her older sister remember, apparently because, by her own somewhat simplistic logic, she was a good girl... or something like that.
I felt happy inside seeing her so excited, and I found myself wanting to keep talking to her for a long time. Even so, before that, there was something I needed to sort out with the other three.
(Alright, I really can’t wait to talk more with you... but before that) I thought as I turned toward the trio, who stubbornly stared at anything that wasn’t Tenebrya, as if her mere presence made them uncomfortable.
(I need to say a few things to those three) Tenebrya simply nodded calmly.
I approached them in silence and watched them for a few moments, letting the awkwardness stretch on. None of them seemed willing to break the strange atmosphere: one stared up at the sky as if expecting divine revelation, another examined the grass at his feet with near-scientific focus, while the third seemed deeply fascinated by his own boots.
Finally, I let out an exasperated huff: (It’s fine, she’s a little ways off... but seriously, how long do you plan on staring at the sky, the grass, or your own feet like they’re the most interesting things in the world?)
The three exchanged cautious glances before releasing a collective sigh, heavy with resignation: “Can you really blame us?” Victor asked, lifting his shoulders slightly.
“She’s kind of...” Arthur continued, carefully choosing his words, letting the sentence trail off.
“Terrifying!” Rupert finished far too quickly, breaking the silence with almost desperate bluntness.
Personally, I’d never been quite sure how my sister looked to them. From my perspective, she had always just been my cute little sister, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe that’s why it felt so strange to hear them see her differently.
“By the way” Victor suddenly said, pulling me out of my thoughts and back into the present. He tilted his head slightly, a curious half-smile on his face: “How are you, uh... you know, talking to her?”
He made a vague gesture with his hand before adding in a playful tone: “All I hear are grunts”
Victor’s words immediately caught Rupert’s attention. He slowly turned toward him, eyes narrowed with curiosity.
“Grunts?” he repeated, his voice tinged with unease: “What exactly is she to you? Because all I hear coming from her are... moans... painful... agonizing ones...”
With every word Rupert spoke, the color seemed to drain from his face. His expression grew progressively paler and more rigid, as though a ghost were possessing him right there in real time, erasing whatever composure and color he had left.
I blinked at Victor’s question. I hadn’t really stopped to think about it, but he was right... how was I communicating with her? Tenebrya doesn’t speak. In fact, I’m absolutely certain I’ve never heard her voice, or any sound from her at all, since the moment I found her.
And yet, somehow, inexplicably, from the very first moment our eyes met, I had always known what she was trying to tell me. “Tell” might not even be the right word. “Communicate” doesn’t quite fit either. It’s as if there’s no language involved at all.
Her intentions simply reach me, direct, raw, unfiltered, without noise, without distortion, without any chance of misunderstanding. They aren’t words, nor clear images, but a certainty that settles deep in my mind, calm and undeniable.
That’s precisely why I can sense just how innocent and pure Tenebrya truly is. A purity that’s almost unsettling, especially considering she is the very embodiment of fear. An unlikely duality, and, I admit, a deeply fascinating one.
I tried to think it through, digging through every thought in search of an answer that made sense. In the end, though, all I could do was shrug, casting them an empty, almost indifferent look before stating my conclusion:
(I don’t know... I just... communicate. It’s hard to explain. I simply know what she wants to tell me. It probably has something to do with how we, Virtues, understand each other. If I’m not mistaken, Althea once mentioned that our communication doesn’t rely on words, but on intent. I think that’s how it works)
Victor, Rupert, and Arthur exchanged looks, all wearing the same confused expression. It felt strange, and yet natural. The truth was, I couldn’t explain it in human terms any better than saying we simply knew what the other meant.
There were no words, no clear gestures or visible signs, just a silent understanding that formed in the air, immediate and unquestionable... Simple as that.
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