Story Reader / Floating Record / ER04 The Floating Reverie / Story
The sound of a bell continues to linger in the mountain valleys. The previously faint and muffled chimes have now become distinct, possibly because the two have passed the halfway point of the mountain.
This... is the fourth time.
The sky begins to darken. The vegetation thriving at the foothills gradually turns from a lush green to a subdued gray-yellow as they ascend.
After breaking out of the looped passage near the mountain's midpoint, Hanying sees brand new paths continue to appear ahead of herself, leading the two into a landscape painted in autumnal hues of yellow and red.
Along with new pathways, endless streams of mechanoids also appear out of nowhere to hinder the travelers.
The bell is probably a sound signal that someone is using to control these mechanoids.
Enveloping the wooden passage are clouds of snow-white mist. A thousand-tree woodland stands ahead, yet all are withered and rotting.
Funny how fighting in a virtual world can actually tire you out, huh...?
Do you need to rest?
I'm fine, but we've been coming a few hundred meters up since we left that place we hadn't been able to get out of, no?
God only knows just how much longer it's going to take before we reach the peak...
According to the info we received when we left, this mountain is a two-thousander.
Which means we've only come halfway.
Yes, but it's been about half a day since we got here.
Hanying has been on edge since they ran into the man.
"They" are interested in her.
Why did "The Cradle" try to bait Yoyo into coming here?
From within her memory chip, her past pains her.
Because it was on that fateful day years ago that "The Cradle" threatened Yoyo into carrying out that contemptible mission.
And that's what cost Yoyo her memory—along with her right as a human being, turning her into a Construct.
This is going nowhere...
Dong... dong... dong...
No, Hanying. There isn't... around you... Watch out...
Spooner's body gradually dwindles as it disintegrates into lines of data, leaving the sound of a few fragmented words.
Spooner!
Hanying tries to no avail to get hold of the disappearing Spooner...
And with it, she sees that her hand is disappearing in the setting sun, too.
This sure is going nowhere.
Which is why I'm here to give you a boost.
Now, you only have yourselves to count on to find the answer to your question...
