Story Reader / Festival Event Story / Slumberland / Story
Whispering Forest
>In the absence of all the usual passersby, the quiet hallway appears more frigid than ever with the cold lights that illuminate the place. Standing alone in the middle of a passageway for a good few moments, you finally remember what you came to do here.
Walking down the same passageway you've taken countless times, you reach a certain office you can't be more familiar with before you know it. Right before you press the doorbell, however, you hear a weighty voice coming from inside the room.
Come on in.
Three green flashes later, the electronic lock unlocks, allowing the alloy door to part to either side.
Walking into the minimally decorated office, you see the man shutting off the sand table he was using for planning.
I wanted to talk about your plan after graduation.
He says without a moment's hesitation.
I'm not going to stick my nose into your business, but I need to know your reasoning behind your decision as your instructor.
Why did you turn down Command Central's invitation and apply to be a frontline commandant at the Task Force?
The shrewd eyes staring right at you now are the same eyes that have been watching every single student since you entered the school.
You sense neither encouragement nor discontent from his tone—but solemness and gravity.
There is no doubt that those eyes will see right through any petty lies and excuses you come up with.
You can feel the world shaking violently as you open your mouth to speak.
C-Commandant... C-could you...
And then, darkness ensues.
Opening your eyes, you find yourself in the lounge with Liv standing right next to you. Looking at you with a worried expression, she has one hand on your shoulder while holding a medical device with the other.
The screen on the table shows a report in the making. The first half of it seems normal enough, but the second half is littered with strings of garbled letters and symbols—a telltale sign that whoever was typing landed on the keyboard with their face.
Rubbing your slightly numb face, you return your gaze to Liv.
What are you doing sleeping here, Commandant? A little too tired, I guess?
...
None of the words put Liv's mind at ease. You put up your hands in defeat seeing Liv all concerned about you.
Shift your head backward a little and remember to relax.
Completing the check-up in a breeze, Liv lets out a sigh of relief.
Everything is good, but I'd still suggest you go to bed earlier, Commandant.
Liv nods at you.
It depends on how you manage your health, Commandant. Going to sleep now, for example, will be mighty helpful.
Liv says with a smile.
Well, let me help you with the paperwork, then. You can go to sleep earlier if we finish everything ahead of time.
Is completed.
You weren't late for today's rehab session, right?
With it, both you and Liv break into a wry smile—for the time being, neither of you is in any condition to fight, what with the degeneration of your muscles and the occasional migraines occurring in Liv's M.I.N.D.
With the help of an exoskeleton, you've taken part in a few non-combat assignments, except such assignments don't come by every day.
And an exoskeleton is but a short-term solution in the broader picture of making a full recovery.
The war has turned white-hot, and you know for a fact that Lucia and Lee are far too competent and they can't stay in Babylonia with Liv and you.
You want to be at the frontline fighting with the team—but decided to stay behind to perform desk work while rehabilitating instead, after being convinced by them.
I wonder what happened to Lee and Lucia, though...
To cause no hiccups to the war, Lee and Lucia always make it a point to only contact you when they're back at their base for maintenance. According to them, they've seen small-scale victories in their combat zone.
Yes!
Having worked off the negative vibes, you find yourself concentrating once again on the report. Then, as you go to delete the string of garbled letters and symbols with the delete key, you reach out for the coffee cup sitting right next to you…
Yet, much to your surprise, you touch a warm, soft hand instead of a coffee cup...
How about something else for a change, Commandant?
Liv passes you a different cup. Giving off white steam, the cup has amber-colored tea sitting in it instead.
This is a decaffeinated herbal tea. You should refrain from consuming any more caffeine for the day, given that you've already consumed 180mg.
Liv explains in a serious tone. Probably best to listen to the expert here since she's the one taking care of the team's health.
Taking a sip of the tea, you can taste the warm fragrance of the liquid making its way down your throat before it reaches your chest and blossoms, instantly easing you of most of the pent-up fatigue from work.
Liv, on the other hand, has taken a seat across from you and begun sorting through the remaining reports.
The faintly glowing screen, the sound of keystrokes, the fragrance of the tea, and a Liv working away at the reports—the room is quiet and peaceful, seemingly having nothing save for these left in it.
It's been so long since you last felt the same ease of mind...
I need you to go over some parts of this report, Commandant.
This is the last one.
You go over the report before signing your ID number on it. The whole process of sorting through the documents was supposed to take you through the entire afternoon—yet here you are, having reached the end of it in under two hours with the two of you working on it.
Pouring tea into the now empty cup, Liv appears out of it as she keeps her eyes fixated on the global warfare map.
I'm trying to pinpoint Lucia and Lee...
I mean, because I missed their call from last night.
An episode of migraine hit Liv out of the blue right before Lucia and Lee dialed in last night, plunging her M.I.N.D.—which hasn't even made a full recovery yet—into an extremely unstable state.
After stabilizing her condition with the cable you carried and a Deep M.I.N.D. connection you managed to establish before things went out of hand, you put on your exoskeleton and ran up to the Star of Life with Liv in your arms.
Liv was still under treatment when Lucia and Lee dialed in.
Staff list, resource provision, and engagement status—all the information about a certain base pops up when you put your finger on it.
Lucia' and Lee's names are on the staff list—with two short lines preceding their names, respectively.
Frame Damage: 15.32%
Infection: 0.00%
Based on their battle report, the two seemed to have found a branch of the Red Tide on their own without the warning of a Support-type Construct.
They put indicating beacons in place during their battle with Hetero-Creatures. While the beacons had only a minimal effect in guiding the garrison at the base, they managed to sever the branch with their accurate attacks all the same.
If only I were there, too...
Liv keeps her eyes fixated on the very first line of the report. It briefly mentions the resources the base needs more of, with a special note stating that all squads are in need of help from Support-type Constructs.
And that's if they manage to improve remote Deep M.I.N.D. connection, right?
The Deep M.I.N.D. connection helps to stabilize the migraine coming from Liv's M.I.N.D., and Asimov is working with the rest of his team to figure out a way to establish the connection remotely without a cable.
Gray Raven will be back on the road whole as soon as we have that technical barrier taken care of.
Nodding her head, however, Liv suddenly looks troubled with what seems to be an abrupt thought.
By the way, Commandant, I understand that Professor Hippocrates asked you to exercise your body, but I'd still suggest that you steer clear of ground missions before you make a full recovery.
Liv's eyebrows frown slightly at your reply.
But lucky for you, Liv raises another question, letting go of the subject.
What are we going to do now, though...
Liv means well, but it's no doubt much too early for you to hit the hay now.
You finished your rehab session for the day in the morning, but you have to make an appointment a day in advance if you want to get to your next session.
You have no idea what to do.
Wait, are you asking me?
I don't know either... but let's see...
With the ringing of a call filling up the room, you and Liv stop in your tracks. When you take the call, a hologram of Asimov appears.
Where are you now?
Stop whatever you're doing now if it's not super urgent. I need you to come down to the Science Council now.
With bags darker than ever under his eyes, Asimov speaks in a serious tone.
I can't get into the details on the line, but I'll fill you in on the situation when you're here. Remember to bring Liv with you.
Eh?
Liv is surprised at the mention of her name.
Liv is there with you, right? Bring her with you.
And with it, Asimov hangs up.
Why does he need us, though?
You rise from your seat, taking a moment to really appreciate the fact that you're now in much less pain thanks to all your rehab sessions and nutritional management.
Can I give you a hand, Commandant?
With the support of Liv and a crutch, you make it to Asimov's lab.
You really need to stop pampering your commandant, Liv.
At the lab, you see Hippocrates.
With the help of a crutch, you slowly make your way to Asimov's lab.
Taking into account the rehabilitative effects of walking, you decided to go on foot instead of in a wheelchair.
All the while, Liv keeps her eyes closely on you from behind.
When the door to the lab opens, you are caught by surprise.
I see you're making headway with your recovery.
Professor?
It's none other than Hippocrates—the very person responsible for treating you and Liv.
Standing right behind her is Asimov, who's keeping his eyes fixated on the screen in front of him as strings of complicated-looking readings and charts flash past.
Why are they working together when they're from different departments...?
And judging from that look on your face, I gather you've figured out why Asimov had asked you and Liv to come down here.
Right, we've received some data from the probe we'd left in the Empyrea frame.
Asimov is working on visualizing the data, except...
Stopping in her tracks, Hippocrates looks back and forth between you and Liv.
Except they don't seem normal.
Unfortunately, no.
But we received some data from the probe we'd left in the Empyrea frame.
These data might help further enhance the Deep M.I.N.D. connection, and Asimov is working on visualizing the data.
Done.
Looking up, Asimov turns the screen this way—which now shows a bird's-eye view of a dense forest.
I'll start from the very beginning. You do still remember what you had to go through to get Liv's M.I.N.D. shards back, right?
After bringing Liv to safety, you filled them in on what you'd gone through, missing not so much as the most minute of details, with the hope that they'd turn out helpful with repairing Liv's M.I.N.D.
And you found a seventh M.I.N.D. shard—and that's something we'd never found previously.
After transferring her consciousness back to the Eclipse frame, we'd scan the Empyrea frame with signals of varying frequencies on a regular basis to see if we'd missed anything.
Spot on. The signal is negligibly weak, but it is part of Liv.
We took a look at the data sent back by the probe. The bands seem very special, and I'd describe them as...
Asimov is trying to come up with a more appropriate, layman-friendly word.
I'll take over from here.
Here is an example. Do you remember how many people you passed by in the rehab center yesterday?
Correct. See, no one ever remembers how much bread they ate.
And I take it that you recall how much bread you ate? Now, that's definitely worth looking into.
People don't remember all the information that goes through the brain.
We might experience certain things or think about them, but they don't become lasting memories in our brains.
It's exactly like what the Professor said, and this particular set of data is showing us the same thing—they are the parts that Liv's mind "ignored," "forgotten," or, if you will, "rejected."
Based on our analysis of the signal waveform sent back to us, we were able to more or less pinpoint the location of this M.I.N.D. shard that's projecting this forest.
Asimov enlarges the window—to the extent that it almost takes up the entire screen.
Right in the center of the screen now stands the silhouette of a spire—with scarlet plants running along its length.
It's only lightly infected, but it doesn't mean we can just ignore it.
Which is why we need you to clean up the contamination—in addition to looking into it.
Worried, you turn to look at Liv—who you know shouldn't be risking herself over a mission like this with her M.I.N.D. still making a recovery.
Don't worry, Commandant. I'm okay.
I know what's bothering you. Your safety will always be our top priority.
We have an ample amount of time to get ourselves ready, unlike last time.
Asimov came up with a "safety trigger" program.
And what it does is that if and when things get out of hand, the "trigger" will activate and force you to wake up.
And feel free to pull the "trigger" yourself if the situation becomes such that doesn't allow you to continue probing.
It won't hurt your M.I.N.D., but we'll have no choice but to give up on this particular shard.
I decided to ask you and Liv for help for another reason. See, this shard and the subconscious mind are similar in that they're both what make up the bottom layer of the M.I.N.D.
And the feedback of both of your activities there will go a long way toward improving the Deep M.I.N.D. connection. You just don't get samples of this kind of M.I.N.D. every day.
Finishing her sentence, Hippocrates' face turns uneasy.
Although I wouldn't want to go through all of it again to get another sample...
I have another question.
Sensing the negative vibes in the air, Liv speaks out.
Yes?
How am I supposed to get inside my own M.I.N.D. shard with Commandant?
Asimov wrote you a program that will help you do just that. He'll take you through some fine-tuning first, though.
Your commandant, on the other hand, will get in there when you're done fine-tuning.
Alright.
Will see you in a bit, Commandant.
After waving goodbye at you, Liv makes her way to the M.I.N.D. diving chamber following Asimov. Then, right when you try to stand up with your crutch...
You are forced to sit back down.
Liv is bound to be affected one way or another when she's there in her M.I.N.D. shard.
It might be her consciousness or her personality, but what it is will depend on which part of Liv this particular M.I.N.D. shard is.
I mean, to a certain degree, this whole thing is just like "really getting to know yourself."
And I was hoping you could take good care of her when you're both in there.
Hippocrates pats you on the shoulder.
No longer feeling weightless, you can feel the rough bark of a tree against your back as you slowly open your eyes and take in the fragrance of the mud and budding grass.
Filtering through the leaves above, the sunlight feels like a gentle touch to the skin, and the crisp calls of birds coming from between the trees travel through the valleys in the distance.
Feeling a fluffy lump on the back of your hand, you look down—and see that there is a chubby chipmunk sitting on it.
Then, as though an invisible string were severed, the forest is quiet no more.
Turning into a furball, the chipmunk rolls off the back of your hand before it disappears into the depths of the forest.
You stand up and spend some time collecting your thoughts...
Your surroundings look exactly the same as what Asimov has shown you—except you don't see Liv around, who supposedly came in with you.
You'll probably land at a different location from Liv because this is our first attempt.
What Hippocrates said back at the lab pops into your mind. It seems like you'll have to find Liv first before starting your mission.
The same way we'd be drawn to what we're most familiar with when looking at a messy picture, there is something that exists between a commandant and their Construct that connects them.
You shut your eyes trying to get a feel for that certain "something"—except all you're picking up are choppy echoes that seem to be taking you nowhere.
This is not unlike looking for a particular fish in the absolute dark expanse of an ocean. You know Liv is right around you, yet you're totally clueless as to where to begin looking.
And right then, a shaft of light descends.
You see a butterfly—with two pairs of wings, and thin, black stripes along its body, parting the green fluorescence.
You feel like you know the butterfly...
The butterfly makes two circles around you, leaving traces of light to shine on you that seem to be telling you to follow it.
Drawn by a sense of familiarity, you follow the butterfly as it goes.
Following the butterfly, you travel through the wide expanse that's the forest...
Losing count of the times you've come across the same views...
The butterfly's fluorescence is now your only source of guidance down the increasingly secluded path...
Right then, you hear noises coming from up ahead—someone is coming this way walking on the grass.
Commandant?
Her voice coming from behind the trees, Liv picks up her pace across the grass—and there she is now, standing in front of you...
Except she looks a little "different" from what you remember of her.
A grandiose black dress envelopes her exquisite body, giving her a solemn aura. The jade-green wings behind her, however, add a dreamlike quality to her, and she seems as though she might just vanish in the wind if you so much as look away from her for a split second.
C-Commandant... Please stop looking at me like that...
Liv lowers her head, apparently feeling self-conscious because of your unwavering gaze.
Looking around yourself, you can't help but feel flabbergasted by the view, having forgotten about the butterfly that had taken you here.
The Liv you're seeing is wearing a completely different outfit than what she was before coming in.
I don't know... I found myself like this when I woke up.
Liv reaches for the wings behind her as she starts checking herself out.
Asimov said the same thing...
You have never seen Liv like this before. She is usually just dressed in white and pink.
How do you feel, though, Commandant?
Commandant...
With a sheepish look on her face, Liv seems happy with the compliment all the same... while looking slightly caught off guard.
I meant to ask you if you've noticed anything out of the ordinary about yourself, too... But still, thank you.
Hmm?
Liv seems slightly caught off guard.
I meant to ask you if you've noticed anything out of the ordinary about yourself, too... But still, thank you.
Is that so? I see...
But I actually meant to ask you if you've noticed anything out of the ordinary about yourself, too...
It's fortunate that your injury didn't get transferred over to this world.
Well... I'm not quite sure if this is something my M.I.N.D. shard has done to me, but...
Seeing you all baffled, Liv claps her hands three times.
And with it, you hear noises coming from the trees. When you turn your head over—you see countless chipmunks poking their heads out everywhere.
Among the bushes, above the treetops, behind the rocks—they're everywhere.
With their tiny black eyes traveling back and forth between you and Liv, they seem to have a hard time comprehending the sight of the two human beings in front of them.
It's okay. This isn't a bad person.
And with it, the chipmunks all come leaping out.
Before you're even able to react, you find yourself and Liv drowning in a sea of warm furballs rubbing your faces and palms.
You clap your hands three times when Liv isn't looking your way—and nothing happens.
It's never been difficult for Liv to draw animals toward her because she's always so gentle—but you know that what you just witnessed is on a different level than just "being gentle."
I was just trying to brush all the dirt off my hands, and then these babies showed up.
I did try to change the tempo and the number of claps, and I even tried mimicking this character from a TV show for kids...
Liv stops in her tracks.
And... well, I tried all sorts of things, but the only thing I've managed to get to come to me so far is the chipmunk.
With her hand still caressing a little furball, Liv looks away.
You carry on speaking as you put on the ground a struggling chipmunk that just fell off your shoulder and was dangling off your chest pocket.
So, when I woke up...
When Liv finishes bringing you up to speed, you see that your diving point was actually one good kilometer away from Liv's—though you came in here at almost the same time.
Liv has a pair of wings similar to that on the Empyrea frame, except they don't allow her to fly—presumably because M.I.N.D. has made it so.
It seems like you won't be flying to the center of the forest.
And it's your turn to fill Liv in on what you've been through...
A butterfly, you said? I didn't see any when I woke up, though.
Should we do a quick round of scan?
You want to learn more about the butterfly, but it's much too fleeting an occurrence for you to spend time on when you're supposed to be looking into the center of the forest.
I'm analyzing the landscape and the paths.
Uhm...
I can't come up with a path that can take us straight to the center of the forest with all the obstacles in the way.
The chipmunks sitting on you and Liv start jumping off, apparently having sensed that you're about to leave.
And as they leave, they stuff your pockets full of chestnuts, berries, seeds, and petals...
Then, waving its tiny claw at Liv, the last chipmunk disappears into a crack under the rocks.
Liv bids it farewell with a smile.
I... am trying to come up with a different route.
You thought a place like this would be a piece of cake for Liv.
Except this forest is proving to be a lot more complicated than previously imagined...
But on second thought, you realize the complexity of this forest...
Should really be attributed to Liv's seemingly endless imagination.
This is what happened shortly after you and Liv set out.
The path through the forest isn't exactly trekker-friendly—while your shoes with the extra-thick soles are keeping your feet well-protected from all the sharp stones on the ground, you still need to be absolutely careful so as to not slip off the moss.
The trees, the grass, and the flowers—everything around you is of the same color...
The forest has not a single trace of humans, and the cries of the insects seem to come from afar.
Completely lost, you stay closely behind Liv.
And suddenly, Liv stops in her tracks.
Hey?
This bridge here... is a little different from how I imagined it would be.
Caught by surprise, Liv seems at a loss for words.
Climbing over the rock in your way, you look up from the ground to see the view up ahead.
The last few words of the sentence get stuck halfway at your throat when you see what's up ahead of you.
In front of you now is a valley about 20 meters wide—with a "bridge" above it connecting either side of the valley.
Giving off a crystalline shine, the bridge consists of many "disks."
The same disks can be seen moving in irregular patterns around the "bridge."
Enveloped in their somewhat dark surroundings, they're reminiscent of glowing lamps.
With a closer look, you see that the "disks" all have long tentacles or semitransparent belts attached to the underside.
As though sensing that they're being looked at, some of the tentacles rise and wave this way.
The floating jellyfish is greeting you.
I never thought we'd run into anything like this... They don't seem hostile, though.
You never saw this coming yourself, too, because you didn't run into anything out of the ordinary the entire way.
Seems like the speed at which time passes isn't the only thing different between M.I.N.D. and the real world...
This world seems to be full of strange things that can happen to you at every turn—and the fact that Liv was able to get all the chipmunks to hang around you is but an example of that.
And with that taken into account, this "jellyfish bridge" really shouldn't be that big of a surprise.
As though trying to answer your question, a few enormous jets of water come gushing out from the depths of the valley, washing away some the of jellyfish that make up the bridge. Moments later, however, their places are taken over by other jellyfish.
Having been graced by the water, the bridge now gives off a lucid shine.
I... think this just might have something to do with the story of the "magpie bridge" that I heard as a kid.
Liv seems unsure of herself as she speaks.
In Kowloong's folklore, the magpie bridge is a bridge formed by magpies squishing their bodies together on a certain day.
And this "jellyfish bridge" does bear a resemblance to the "magpie bridge".
Although one of them flies up there in the sky, while the other swims in the water.
Yes, this particular M.I.N.D. shard probably has to do with all the fairytales I heard...
We might experience certain things or think about them, but they don't become lasting memories in our brains.
It's exactly like what the Professor said, and this particular set of data is showing us the same thing—they are the parts that Liv's mind "ignored," "forgotten," or, if you will, "rejected."
What Hippocrates and Asimov said about this shard matches what you're seeing.
People don't usually remember the fairytales they hear as kids.
Do you find me childish now, Commandant?
These are memories of the fairytales after all.
You find it romantic that Liv has found a way to embrace her childhood once again as a grown-up.
Liv is gentle and doesn't talk a whole lot, but she never fails to look after the people around her whenever she can.
She's mature in every sense of the word.
...
Liv lets out a sigh of relief at what you said.
Should I try to come up with a different route, Commandant?
Liv nods.
Well, I think... I should probably take off my shoes first?
Liv looks down at her lethally dangerous high heels.
With Liv's approval, you step on the semitransparent "bell" of the jellyfish, all the while feeling the slipperiness and bounciness of it.
Only need to stay low and go at this pace...
Commandant, come back now!
With it, Liv grabs hold of your hand, except it's too late now.
The bell crumbles down—before it contracts inward and then hunches up...
Before you know what just happened, you find yourself and Liv coming face to face with a glowing jellyfish in the air—although you can't really for the life of you tell where its eyes are.
Before you begin falling through the air, however, the jellyfish whips out one of its "belts" and wraps it around you and Liv.
Except the combined weight of you and Liv seems too heavy for it, sending the jellyfish down into a straight fall like a parachute with a hole.
Fortunately, another jellyfish comes to your rescue in time with its belts. Working together, the two jellyfish float back up once again.
At the same time, the grip of the belts grows tighter still around you and Liv.
You feel something as soft as silk against your back.
My wings... are getting squashed... Commandant...
From behind you, Liv now speaks in a tone so choppy and low that you can barely make out her words—every last one of which seems to be coming out as the last strand of her being. Tied up tightly back to back, however, you can't see Liv's face.
Somehow, you seem to be hearing the hisses of steam.
T-that's fine, but I think this is exactly how we're supposed to cross the valley.
And Liv is right—because you can see that the shining jellyfish and its friend are transporting the two of you to the other side of the valley.
Remaining silent the entire way, you let the jellyfish do their job.
Yup. I think this is exactly how we're supposed to get across the valley.
From the corner of your eye, you can see that the jellyfish you stepped on at the very beginning is cleaning its "bell" of the dirt on it using the dews coming off a chunk of moss that it's holding with its tentacles.
When it's done grooming itself, the jellyfish does look slightly shinier than it did just moments ago.
I don't think they're trying to build a bridge cuddling up together. I think they're just trying to rest.
With a closer look, you see that Liv is right—the jellyfish that you initially thought was acting as the bridge's pier doesn't shine as brightly. With its bell going up and down ever so faintly, it appears to be under a light sleep.
Well... that was probably just the jellyfish feeling grumpy waking up?
Liv sounds at ease, sensing no harm coming from the jellyfish—but right then, your surroundings start growing dark. Moments later, you feel something hard against the bottom of your feet, and the grip around you lets go.
Turning around, you see that the jellyfish is still there—and it's now trying to flatten Liv's crumpled wings.
Thank you all, but don't worry about it.
The jellyfish, however, stays where it is, its tentacles obviously not the most ideal of tools with which to flatten the creases.
Wait, what...?! But why are you...
Looking up, you see that the jellyfish are still busy trying to fix Liv's wings.
Well, then... if you insist.
Bit by bit, you flatten the creases in the chiffon-like wings in the gentle light coming off the jellyfish.
Then, looking up at the jellyfish and then at Liv's wings—now being slowly flattened back to their previous state—you open your mouth to speak.
This doesn't happen in real life, though.
Gravity tried to hold humans down, but we found a way to reach the sky and even further beyond; distance stood between us, but technology made it possible for us to connect with each other whenever we wanted; lightning was once a power inspiring our awe, but we found a way to make it work for us...
Do you think there is a way... for us to make what we're seeing here possible, then?
The jellyfish form a colorful, fantastic view around you beyond description.
It might seem like a far-fetched fantasy, but nothing is impossible, so long as there are people drawn to it.
But even if we're still so far from that day that we can't even picture it happening within our lifetime, we can still entrust another dreamer with our dream.
But that doesn't mean we need to forget it altogether. Perfection might be a difficult goal to reach, but that doesn't mean we can't come up with something that's nearly perfect.
You flatten the last crease on Liv's wings. Although still unable to take Liv through the skies and now bearing shallow scars, Liv's wings can open up again nonetheless.
This is what the forest seems to be mumbling as the breeze gently ruffles the leaves.
