Chapter 92 World G:2 Nadia woke up late...
Nadia woke up at night. She was lying in an open space, not fully conscious, staring blankly at the sky.
Why is she here? Where is this place?
Several seconds later, her memories returned, and she remembered that before she lost consciousness, she had stepped into a portal to a different world with Tenas and the others. When she woke up, she was already here.
A campfire burned not far from her, and a figure was fiddling with something with their back to her. The crackling wood from the intense flames wafted over. A faint aroma of roasted fish wafted through the air, creating a tranquil and leisurely atmosphere, but Nadia's expression changed.
She lost consciousness near a complete stranger for so long?! Are you crazy?!
Nadia quickly checked herself for any extra wounds and whether she still had the things she had prepared. As she touched herself, she actually found something.
Her dagger was gone.
That was the dagger Reina made for her on her coming-of-age ceremony. Reina did everything herself, from designing the materials to making it, and even carved the patterns she liked. She never took it off except when she was taking a bath.
She stood up alertly, minimizing any noise her movements might make, almost to the point of being silent. However, the person not far away still noticed her keenly and turned around.
Curly silver hair, golden eyes that exude an inhuman quality, a calm expression—it was the face of Reina that Nadia knew so well.
Reina's eyes were always devoid of emotion, completely empty, often giving off an inhuman feel when she looked at people. It wasn't until she became the leader of the Guardians that she began to show some emotions; her busy work made her irritable, and she gained a bit of a human touch.
The person in front of her, who looked exactly like Reina, was holding a fish in her left hand, with a wooden stick piercing through the fish's mouth to its tail. She was holding the bottom of the stick, which wasn't fully inserted, while her right hand was playing with her dagger, which was spinning incessantly in her hand. It seemed to be more familiar to her than to Reina herself.
"Awake?" Reena asked casually, dressed in a post-apocalyptic style. She handed over the fish. "Would you like something to eat?"
Reina from her world didn't participate in this operation; instead, she served as a reassurance, remaining in her original world to quell friction between the guardians of other nations. She couldn't possibly be here. So, the person before me is Reina from another world?
Nadia hesitated for a moment, not making any move, and she didn't know anything about Reena in front of her.
Having grown up with Reina since childhood, she naturally felt a sense of trust in Reina, even though they were in the same body; Reina was just that convincing.
But the person in front of her took her dagger while she was unconscious. To attack her directly while she was unconscious?! What if her intentions were slightly off, and they could have poisoned or killed her? Since she was unconscious, she couldn't be manipulated.
Wait, where did the cuts on the fish come from? You used her dagger to cut the fish?! You've seen blood! Especially monster blood.
Even if you are Reina's counterpart, you can't use the dagger Reina gave you on food!
Reena didn't notice Nadia's slight breakdown. Seeing that Nadia wouldn't take the food, and fearing that Nadia might think she had poisoned it, Reena tore off a small piece of fish and put it in her mouth to chew.
...There were thorns, and they pricked her.
Reena silently spat out the bones, and after confirming there were no more bones, she swallowed the fish meat to prove that it was edible.
She grilled the fish until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sprinkled it with some seasoning, and the salty and spicy flavors exploded in her mouth. Combined with the sweetness of the fish, Reena was quite satisfied.
But Nadia still didn't take it, looking at her warily, her body tense, ready to face any surprise attack: "Throw my dagger over first."
Reena agreed almost without thinking, throwing the dagger a step away from Nadia.
Nadia stepped on the dagger, moving it to a position where she could easily reach it by bending down. Nadia's eyes remained fixed on Reena, watching his every move, before she crouched down and quickly picked up the dagger.
The atmosphere at the scene seemed to become somewhat tense because of Nadia's alertness, and the two of them remained silent for a while.
“I’ve already given it to you, why are you still so wary of me?” Reena met her gaze, and Nadia felt as if she were seeing a scene from when she first met Reena as a child.
Reina, the most outstanding child of this generation in the circle, is a child prodigy in the Keith family. Her photographic memory is just one of the many advantages she has. The young child is like a puppet, lifeless. Even when the elders introduce her to others, she observes with indifference as an outsider.
Nadia recalled the past, a thought stirring within her: "Why did you take my dagger? You searched me without permission while I was unconscious! What exactly is your purpose?"
Even when confronted with a stern question, Reena remained calm: "Because I don't know what your purpose is. What if you're trying to harm me and want to kill me after I wake up? That's why I took action first."
Nadia was momentarily speechless. Looking into Reena's eyes, which were exactly the same as Reina's, she couldn't say anything.
How radiant! Just like Reina. It's as if Reina is standing in front of her, speechless and helpless at her words. She has always been tolerant of her like an older sister, and this is the first time she has been so far away from Reina.
Reena was also looking at her, her eyes also somewhat lost in thought.
...How vibrant, Nadia!
She felt like she hadn't seen Nadia in a long time; she even thought she had forgotten what Nadia looked like. It wasn't until she saw her in front of her that Reena realized she hadn't forgotten at all. Nadia was as naive as ever, always trusting her and even her counterpart. After a few words, Nadia had lowered her guard considerably, and although she was still fierce, it was clear that her attitude had changed.
...Nadia, did you always trust her?
She wanted to see Nadia, to see her relaxed smile as she chatted with the children she sponsored. She loved that Nadia, so carefree and at ease, not the stiff smile that appeared on her face when she woke up to find only the children left behind. She wanted to see Nadia watching movies with her, moved to tears by the plot, silently shedding tears of empathy for suffering, her heart aching as she saw the children tormented by illness, and crying on her shoulder—the Nadia with her powerful empathy, not the tears of relief after being deceived.
I hate you, Nadia, you abandoned me.
You don't trust me, and neither do your counterparts. I've never done anything for you, yet you still don't trust me.
I hate it so much—Nadia!!!
Reena looked down at the grilled fish in her hand, which was gradually getting cold, her pupils trembling violently.
...
…………
...What was she thinking about just now? Why can't she remember?
"Aren't you going to eat?" Reena didn't dwell on what she had forgotten. She looked up again and waved the grilled fish in her hand. "I've already tasted it and it's clear there's nothing in it. Aren't you going to eat it? I found you during the day, and it's so late now, you must be hungry. So, do you want some?"
Nadia looked at her, and Reena met her gaze directly without avoiding it. The two stared at each other for a while, until Nadia finally gave in.
Although her stomach wasn't growling anymore, she felt a warm current in her stomach, which meant her gastric juices were corroding her stomach lining – not a good sign.
Nadia walked over, hesitated for a moment before taking the grilled fish, and sat down by the campfire, watching Reena continue grilling the fish, sprinkling seasonings as she did so.
Nadia hesitated for a moment after looking at the fish, but finally took a bite with a death-defying resolve.
Reina said that everyone, including her, should be viewed with the utmost malice, which is why Nadia was hesitant.
"Where did you find me?" Nadia broke the silence, asking casually.
“It’s around here.” After confirming that the fish in her hand was cooked, Reena started eating as well. “Where did you come from? I often come here, but I’ve never seen you before. I should be the only one here right now.”
“What do you mean by ‘only you’?” Nadia caught the key phrase: “What does that mean? I was just about to ask, this used to be a city, right? Why did it become ruins? Do you know what happened here?”
“…” Reena stared at the flames for several seconds, then gently shook her head, her tone becoming softer: “I don’t know, the world has become like this when I woke up.”
"wake up?"
“I’ve forgotten how many years it has been since I woke up, probably about ten years. The world has been like this since I became aware of it,” Reena said. “It’s strange, but I can fly. I’ve been to many places, and everywhere is a ruin like this. There’s no one alive anymore, but some animals and plants are still surviving. I’ve been living alone.”
Her tone was strangely tinged with confusion. Nadia had never heard Reina speak like this before. Even if they were the same entity, she shouldn't be uttering such confused words. This made Nadia feel very unfamiliar with her, and she felt a strange unease in her heart.
"Can fly?" Nadia thought that Reina in her own world couldn't fly and could only rely on some technology to help her. The power that the will of Nocgrard City granted her was knowledge, not the enhancement of other powers.
Upon hearing this, Nadia panicked. She didn't have time to consider whether the difference between the two worlds was causing the person in front of her to be able to fly. She simply asked based on her intuition.
Do you remember my name?
Reena blinked, somewhat puzzled. "This is the first time we've met, right? How would I know your name?"
"..."
is that so?
Is that really true? Why have all the cities in this world inexplicably turned into ruins? There's definitely no one else here, but I don't know if it's true or not. Just like she said, there's no one else besides her.
Reena doesn't know her? Doesn't she know her? Does she not even know her in this world?
What kind of world is this? What exactly happened here?
“But I know your name,” Nadia whispered. “Reena.”
“That’s not my name.” Unexpectedly, Reena denied it: “I should be called… Nadia. When I woke up, that was the only name in my mind, so that must be my name.”
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Author's Note: This world is all about girls. I've been writing about Turner and Ethan a lot so far, but I can't keep going like that.
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