CHAPTER 6
16.
What should I do?
Currently lying in my bed, thinking about the next step that I should take. The opportunity is already in front of me, it's just a matter of what should I do? Why do I have to choose? Why can't I just do both? I already know the answers to these questions but it still bothers me. Any second from now will determine the future. I must decide firmly.
While looking at the window on my left side, suddenly, my digital nameplate pops out of nowhere. I was startled, it made me jump out of my bed. What is this? Why does my digital nameplate appear? I'm not even casting it on my own. I used my hand to drive it away but it's not closing. Normally we can show and then hide it at will, why is mine sticking at the top of my head!
I cannot understand what's happening. I was about to run towards my adult pair but my nameplate suddenly glowed. I was stunned by the circumstances, I can't move a muscle. I waited as the nameplate glows even brighter then eventually, the color changed!
What on bubble… I'M AN ADULT NOW!?
I don't understand, what, how, why? I immediately search for the art materials that I have. Maybe I'm just hallucinating, maybe this is not the same color as the adults. I'm just stressed, maybe that's why…
After a couple of minutes, I managed to gather multiple colored royal blue objects; a colored pencil, notebook, spray paint, and a keychain. I compared every single one of it and everything matches the color of the digital nameplate.
I guess it's official, I'm an adult now…
Upon calming down, my nameplate finally closed. I stepped outside of my room, shocked, speechless. I walk towards the living room were Nato and Kari chilled.
"What's up sweety, you look pale? Is there something wrong?" Kari asked.
Without saying a word, I showed them my nameplate.
"OH YOU'RE AN ADULT NOW! CONGRATS!" Nato energetically said.
"We should throw a feast. I'll prepare the foods" Kari happily said as she immediately went to the kitchen.
"Right, right, I'll get the best meat from the neighbors" Nato said as he panicked.
"Wait wait wait, why? Why are you guys so excited about it?" I confusedly questioned.
"Because sweetie, it's a new phase of your life, and we are wholeheartedly willing to support you with it" Kari softly said.
"Kari is right, being an adult is tough. I still remember the day when Kari and I became both adults at the same time." Nato mentioned.
"Wait… You remember? I thought you said that the day you clearly remember was the day Kari chose you?" I questioned.
"I did? I can't remember when did I told you that but it is indeed true. Our nameplates glowed and turned into royal blue when Kari accepted me as her pair." Nato answered.
"Both of you became an adult when you entered that phase? Then how did I become an adult? I don't even have a pair!" I replied.
"Well I think you don't necessarily need a pair to be an adult. It's all about entering a different phase" Nato replied.
"Different phase?" I asked.
"Yes, when Kari accepted me as her pair, I just feel like that was my fate. I have to man up and give her a comfortable life with me. My life will be entirely different with her. Just like what I've said, it's a different phase." Nato explained.
"Your fate…" I silently reacted.
"I'm sorry sweetie, we have to cut our chat here. I need to secure the best meat! Be back in a minute!" Nato said as he immediately ran off.
"Be careful!" Kari said to Nato.
I sit down on our sofa as I digest the scenario. I'm about to enter a different phase… It is my fate…
Almost an hour has passed, and at 20:00, the feast has started. I tried my best to be enthusiastic during our meal. I want them to know that I appreciate their support, I'm just having a hard time processing all of these.
Our feast went great, the food was delicious, Kari and Nato were clearly cheering me up, it was priceless. After our feast, we all settle for the night. I hugged them tightly like it was the last meal that I will have with them. It's probably one of the meals that I will surely remember. Kari and Nato are entirely clueless but I think they wouldn't cry like last time. I just have to say goodbye.
Preparing for my next step, I got a paper and a pen, then started to write a note. It's melancholic but at least I'm given a chance to say farewell. I wish I could do it personally but I might not continue if I saw them cry. I do think that they will support me all the way, it's me being this attached to them is the problem. It's better to write it all down as I take this next step.
"Dear Nato and Kari
It's hard for me to tell everything. I don't know where to start. Apparently, I was given this once in a lifetime opportunity that I've been seeking for. I failed to prepare for the scenario wherein I have to choose between staying here or going out there. I finally understand it now, me, turning into an adult, this event will determine my life regardless of what I choose. I never wanted the easier one. I'm sorry that I hid things from the both of you. Don't worry, I'll come back. This is just a once in a lifetime expedition and I cannot afford to lose this. I'll try to keep in touch whenever I can. For now, I must leave immediately. I love you Kari and Nato, just wait for my return.
Sincerely,
Tanya, your Goddess child"
I left the note at the table, packed up my things, went out to the window, and ran as fast as I could. Without looking back, head straight forward to the destination as the night watches me challenge my own fate.
At 21:30, I finally reached the cave where we woke up earlier.
"You showed up, we were about to leave" Yue greeted.
"I have to see where this ends…" I firmly stated.
"I admire the dedication, looks similar to Astri's" Yue reacted.
"I'm glad that both of them have their resolve in different ways, they are just like the two of us" Astri mentioned.
"Wait… Both of us?" I questioned.
"Hi Tanya" Xav greeted as he walked closer.
"XAV!" I shouted surprisingly.
17.
The moment that I saw Xav, I was entirely shocked. Well I'm glad that he showed up, but I did not expect him to go this far. We did not talk about it, meaning, regardless of my decision he will still be here.
"Why are you so surprised?" Xav asked.
"Can you give us a minute? Thank you" I said to Yue and Astri as I grabbed Xav out of the cave.
"What are you thinking?" I questioned.
"Probably the same as yours" Xav answered straightforwardly.
Upon realizing that Xav and I are on the same boat, I calmed down. "Was it tough?" I asked.
"Of course it was. It was so tough that I'm an adult now" Xav said as he showed his nameplate.
"WHAAAAT YOU TOO? I ALSO TURNED INTO AN ADULT EARLIER" I reacted as I also showed my nameplate.
"Let's tell Yue and Astri, maybe they can explain why" Xav suggested.
"No, let's just keep it to ourselves for now" I replied as I rejected the idea.
"Why?" Xav questioned.
"Children are treated way more carefully compared to adults. We are now entering a different place, we have to play our cards effectively or they might take advantage of us" I explained.
"Good thinking, Yue and Astri already saw our nameplates before. They both think that we are not yet adults, the problem will be when someone else asks for our nameplate" Xav responded.
"As long as Yue and Astri are vouching for us, we are safe. Listen Xav, even though Yue and Astri will take us there, we don't fully know them yet. The only one that we can trust is each other" I stated.
"Just incase will be having a hard time communicating, we can use the codenames" Xav suggested.
"Codenames?" I asked.
"Yeah, I am Worrywart right? Then I'm WW. You are Curiouscat that's why you are CC. If I used your codename, it means you have to come to my aid immediately. But if I used my codename which is WW, it means I'm nearby but cannot interact at the moment. The same setup if you are the one who wants to communicate with me. Let's just be both observant in order to catch our signs" Xav explained.
After hearing his explanation, I laughed out of nowhere.
"Why? What's wroooong? It's a good comms" Xav complained.
"Sorry sorry, just for a second there I feel like we swapped roles. I was the one worrying about whom to trust while you are the one who's arranging the codenames." I said as I slowly stopped laughing.
"I guess we really are doing this save the world after all. We have to be professionals! Level up our game!" Xav enthusiastically stated.
"Haii hai Captain W. Anyway, it's about time to leave. Let's go back to Yue and Astri" I responded.
It was exactly 22:00, and our group immediately moved out. We all need to reach the mist before 23:00. It will help us to be closer to the bubble gap, and also lessen the exposure from the fireflies. Since Yue and Astri are wearing robes, Xav will hide inside of Yue's robe while I'll do the same in Astri's. It's like 2 people sharing a big full body raincoat. Good thing that Xav and I are quite small.
As we ran through the night, Yue and Astri are both athletic it may seem. They do have the body build, I'm just surprised that even for a speedster like me, I'm no match for them. I'm not even gonna talk about Xav's situation. We occasionally take a 10 minute rest for like every 10 minutes of fast walking. The mist is not yet open anyway even if we arrive there early.
After a series of fast walks and rest, Xav is about to die. I mean we finally reached the edge of the bubble with 10 more minutes to spare. Good thing the idea of rest exists because I'm definitely catching my breath while Xav is catching his life force I guess.
"Well done guys, let's do a 20 minute sprint next time, that will shorten the time" Yue said.
"I'M BARELY ALIVE HERE" Xav complained.
"Next time?" I asked.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you guys. All of us have rotational tasks in order for us to live there in the nothingness" Yue said.
"Yue and I are tasked to gather food, alongside other pairs. Children do easier tasks but they are being trained to be like us" Astri added.
"Which means, when I said next time, I'll train you guys inside the Bubble gap in order to be like us" Yue continued.
Xav and I immediately looked at each other, realized that we were right about the difference between children and Adults. We can investigate further if we can keep our cover.
"Yue and I were both children when we entered the Bubble gap. Lots of children randomly stumble there too. I guess mainly because adults tend to follow the Globules strictly compared to a child. Yue and I became adults there, the both of you will also change there" Astri said.
"But what if the child does not want to be there anymore?" I asked.
My question was interrupted when we saw some fireflies come out. "Quick, hide in our robes, it's time to enter the mist now!" Yue instructed. Swiftly, we all moved as planned. We don't want to forget anything as we enter the Bubble gap.
Moving carefully and calmly, Yue and Astri are trying their best to bring us there. I'm inside Astri's robe at the back side, I hug her toso while stepping on her feet, taking careful steps simultaneously. So far everything is working fine. I'm kinda curious what's ahead since I can't see anything. My heart beats faster and I'm legitimately nervous. How far did we reach at this point? After a short while, Astri stops moving.
"You can go out now, we are here" Astri said.
Slowly moving away from the robe, my eyes were filled with… nothingness… Aside from the visible glowing blue thingy, similar to Gluengy, at the edge of it all, the surrounding is nothing…
"Don't go to that glowing thing. That's the Ozonosphere, it's not the Gluengy that you guys discovered in the cave." Yue warned.
Everything is just gray, literal color gray. I mean there are some tents made out of dried branches and stuff, probably from the bubble. The place looks like a dire primitive camp. I can't believe what I'm seeing…
"I know it's shocking, I also had the same reaction back then. It will take time to digest the situation here, for now let's meet the chief" Astri said as we all followed Yue.
18.
Walking through this vast grayness, I'm starting to feel that this place is more of a cult. With their robe brown clothing, no proper shelters, and hiding away from the society, this is technically a hundred percent cult. I did not expect that I'll be joining a cult on my journey. Though I guess more heads are better than one, as long as we have the same goal then everything will be fine.
Moments later, we reached a man made cave looking place. It is where the chief lives. Yue told us to standby for the meantime as he talked with the chief first.
"I just want to ask, why does the chief have a bigger shelter compared to others?" Xav suddenly questioned.
"Well it is designed that way in order for the people to see his place immediately. It's helpful since everyone here knows where to go if something bad happen" Astri explained.
"Well you guys could just make it distinct in multiple different ways. Why don't you guys build a bigger shelter as well?" Xav added.
"Living in a luxurious, comfortable life is not our priority here." Astri said.
I can see that Xav wants to continue arguing, so I signal him to stop questioning things for now. We still don't know what will happen if we defy the norms here.
After a long time of waiting, Yue came out and invited us to go in. He and the chief surely took some time.
"Come in, you guys are welcome here" The chief said with an old tired voice. Judging from his appearance, he looks like he's been here for ages. Height on average, long white beard, bald, bad posture probably because of his oldness.
"Here are the Kids that I mentioned, Tanya and Xav" Yue introduced us.
"Interesting, I heard a lot about the both of you. I'm Gara, the chief here" Gara the chief introduced himself as he showed his digital nameplate. Xav and I were both shocked when we saw his nameplate, mainly because of the color. The color of his nameplate is the same as this place.
"Gray… Why is it gray?" I questioned.
"We got an observant here. Well done, Well done…" Gara responded. "You see, when you stay here long enough, your nameplate changes into gray. I'm the first one to reach here anyway." he added.
"How long have you been here?" Xav asked.
"Hmmm… I actually could not remember!" Gara the chief said then laughed afterwards. His old tired voice is definitely creeping me out.
"Seeing both of you in the flesh made me believe that what happened out there was no accident… It's fate…" Gara said. I don't know why everything gets creepier the more that he talks. My instincts are telling me that something is behind the curtains.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Most of the people here have the resolve to change the world after they left the bubble.. But you… the both of you…. You guys already have it before leaving the bubble… Interesting…" Gara mentioned.
"If you don't mind, I just want to ask what are the things that you guys discovered so far?" Xav intervened.
"Well plenty, I'm pretty much sure Yue and Astri already told you everything. A knowledge of one is knowledge of everyone here" Gara replied.
I understand why Xav asked that question. Gara has been here for as long as he could not even remember, yet there are not that many discoveries. I personally could have discovered everything that they know in a week. But I guess I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, maybe this place is really scarce and unforgiving.
"About the thing that you discovered, Gluengy was it?" Gara mentioned.
"Yes, Yue said that it was similar to the Ozonosphere, upon seeing the Ozonosphere, I agree as well." I answered.
"Interesting. This Gluengy that you discovered cannot be found elsewhere?" Gara asked.
"So far it's the only one that we saw. There is still a possibility of more" I carefully answered.
"I wish that I could see that for myself, but as you can see I'm too old. I might not be able to go there efficiently." Gara said. "Wait, I know… Since this is a new discovery, I'll give you kids the task of studying Gluengy even more. I'll send Yue and Astri as well. What do you guys think?" Gara offered.
"It will be an honor for us chief" Yue said as he and Astri bowed their heads.
I personally would want to work here and observe more, but I guess this will benefit us since we are the ones that discovered Gluengy. Maybe there's more to it that we failed to assess. "We accept" I answered.
"Gooood, the Mist will close soon and it will be a bad idea to go back there right away. Both of you stay here for now and be ready to go back by tomorrow." Gara said.
"Astri, would you mind taking the kids for a tour around. Yue and I have to discuss the rations first" Gara added.
"I understand Chief" Astri responded as the three of us left the shelter.
As we gained distance, Astri told us that we are free to go anywhere, just not too far, especially not to cross the Ozonosphere. She will be helping the others in terms of workload that's why she can no longer accompany us.
While we were roaming around, Xav suddenly asked a question.
"Do you think it's weird?" Xav mentioned.
"In what specifically?" I replied.
"About everything here. I do understand that the resources are scarce and none can be built from nothingness. But why do the shelters look like these?" Xav questioned.
"What do you mean?" I asked for clarification.
"They have an hour or so off pulling in more materials. Crops rot easily but the materials do not. Why can't they prioritize shelter first? You can live for like a week or 2 without food but a person can die immediately without a proper shelter." Xav explained.
"I am also curious as to how many people died here. Does the Globules produce a new birth if the person dies in the Bubble gap?" I added.
"Now that you mention it, I kinda want to know the answer to that" Xav responded.
"I also think that there's something wrong… about Gara particularly" I said.
"He is indeed creepy. By the way, why did you accept the mission about Gluengy?" Xav asked.
"I think it's the safer choice for now. It's evident that this place has nothing to offer, except the Ozonosphere. Not to mention, Gluengy is a new discovery for them. As the chief, he will definitely send someone to investigate it, it's better that we know the info right away." I explained.
"Fair point. I would also prefer to be there than here. The atmosphere here is somewhat depressing. It's hard to think and formulate new ideas with this type of environment" Xav said.
Xav being skeptical is nothing new, it's like his second name. But for me, I have never been this skeptical before. I just feel like there's something off. It's like everything is intentionally made to be this way, I just don't know why.
The discussion only leads us to further questions. Xav and I went back to the camp and decided to call it a day. We stayed inside Yue and Astri's shelter. It's been a long day, but it is just the start of the longer ones…
End of Day X
CHAPTER 7
19.
The difference between day and night time here is definitely hard to tell. The system inside the bubble will help you sleep even just during the reset. But in the Bubble gap, you are on your own. I was lying down the whole time, waiting to fall asleep, then suddenly Yue and Astri stood up and said it's time to start the day. I guess this marks our first day here in the Bubble gap.
"Get up now, follow us, we are going to do a patrol first" Yue said. Even though we barely have any rest, Xav and I followed Yue and Astri.
"Where are we going?" Xav asked.
"Around the Gap. We need to check if there's something different or someone accidentally crossed last night." Yue said.
"Around the gap? Meaning we are going around the whole bubble? How long is that gonna take?" Xav clarified.
"Exactly as you heard. We can accomplish it in 4 hours of walking" Yue answered.
"4 HOURS!" Xav complained.
"Don't worry, I brought some water and food" Astri said.
"That explains the bag on the stick looks like a hobo bag" Xav commented.
"By the way, how do you guys know that it's morning already? The surroundings were the same as last night" I asked.
"We trained, our body clock tells us that it is morning already. Light and dark do not exist here, though time still does. When the reset is done, it means 24:00 a day is finished. We will be counting from 00:00 then wait until 23:00 for the opening of the Mist again. It was hard but we eventually get used to it." Yue explained.
"Indeed, there were tons of adjustments. If you fail to recognize what time it is now, then you'll have a hard time anticipating the reset. The Mist opening is the only way to gather food, we might die here if we miss that chance" Astri added.
"How many people have died here?" I asked.
"The chief holds the record of those who died but we rather not want to talk about that. Let's respect their honorable death for the betterment." Yue straightforwardly answered.
Our patrol continued and no matter how many questions that we threw, their answers were just too safe. It's like they themselves do not know the full story, only the narrative is what they are given. I don't know if it's true but that's how I feel about their answers.
4 hours have passed. The whole Bubble gap is just a straight outer circle gray, nothing to see, nothing to observe. Good to know that there's no random kid who stumbled inside last night. Yue said that there are times that they find one but that is like 1 in 50 chances.
While trying to keep track in time, Xav and I are trying to look for something in this Bubble gap. Yue and Astri let us off the hook after that patrol and now we have a lot of time to spare. Of course we're being cautious about our observation, we don't want to raise suspicion while we are at it. That part isn't hard, but how are you gonna find something from nothingness?
Eventually I told Xav to stop for now. I think we are doing this in the wrong way.
"How do you hide something from plain sight?" I asked Xav as we sat to rest.
"Well usually you'll put in the least place that everyone looks at, but you can't do it here because there's not that much to look at." Xav answered.
"least place to look at…" I reacted.
"Without a blindspot, it should be not tangible in order to hide it" Xav added.
"Not tangible…" I reiterated. Even though he is stating the obvious, I think he is making a lot of sense.
"What are you doing? I don't like that deep thinking of yours, it usually leads to catastrophe" Xav worriedly said.
"Nothing, nothing, I'm just building hypotheses" I responded as I dropped my thoughts for now.
Xav and I later on realized that pointlessly digging something that is not buried only wastes our time. We instead decided to spend our remaining time, learning how to know the time without the observable day and night time difference. We usually use the stars in order to know the time. It's hard when it's cloudy but I guess those cloudy days were the pretest of our current situation.
The goal was to correctly anticipate the next Mist opening. The only basis that we have is the 4 hour patrol after the said morning start. In the end, we were slightly off the mark but I guess that was not as hard as we expected. Anyway, the reset is happening and the Mist is opening, it's time for us to enter the bubble again.
In order to protect us from the fireflies, Xav and I are wearing the robe which is the dress code here. That explains why Astri keeps on missing, she was making these, I don't know about Yue tho.
As we enter the bubble again, the plan was to stay inside and occasionally go back to the Bubble gap when there's a finding. We are not that much in a hurry, we can actually take our time here. Yue said that he will be the one to report to the chief during the reset so that he can go back again after the report. Forgetting will not be a problem since we are wearing these robes.
In that instant, I realized something. I started to ask questions as we headed to Gluengy. "If these robes were keeping our memories, why don't we just let everyone wear them?" I questioned.
"It's way more complex than you think, it sounds simple at first but not that easy" Astri said. Her answer already gave us the idea that she already asked this question before.
"Can you please explain to us why?" I responded.
"I do understand your curiosity, I once asked that question before. The chief cleared things for me and I realized that it was not as easy as it may seem" She said.
"First, you have to convince everyone that they forget without causing chaos. Second, even though we managed to do that, it will take time to produce for all, you have to create those and make them wait in order without causing a chaos. Third, even if we managed to convince everyone, then organize everything to work together in order to make those, how are we so sure that it won't come up with a cause?" Astri added.
"Now that you thoroughly dissect it, it does make sense. Given the circumstances that everything here looks like were set for a purpose, a catch might hunt us soon if we act hastily" Xav replied as he agreed with Astri.
"Exactly, the unknown consequence is like waiting for us to fall for it. We need to gather data first before we act, we can't let the innocent ones be doomed by our actions" Astri responded. I think Xav and Astri are connecting really well right now.
The group eventually reached the cave where Gluengy resides. Listening to their conversation kinda helps me to get more pieces to this puzzle that I'm building. I hope that I can get more.
20.
As we all settled down in the front of Gluengy, we started to examine Gluengy even further. It's like a brainstorming moment where we think of multiple hypothesis then test those ideas one after the other. Xav and I aren't new to this but I guess Yue and Astri are. Surprisingly, Astri looks enthusiastic with it, her flexibility can match her determination. Yue cannot keep up with us but he was filling his shortcoming by preparing us something to eat. We all decided to call it a day for now, and continue the analysis in the morning.
The next day, this is actually the first time I wake up here where my memories are still intact. I wish that everyone can be this way, we all will, I promise.
Getting back to the track, I think the bigger picture is already painted in front of us. We just have to move back a bit. Connecting every info that we have; least place to look at, something not tangible in order to effectively hide it… I then realized that the answer is just too simple! The answer to this riddle is INFO…
We are thinking this too much! The one that is hidden from us is information about the Ozonosphere! With this realization, I pulled Xav into a distance while Yue and Astri were busy hunting.
"That's it Xav, Info! They are hiding information from us! Specifically what's beyond that Ozonosphere." I told Xav.
"Are you crazy? There's nothing beyond that" he said.
"Well that's what we also thought about the Mist!" I replied.
Xav was stunned from what he heard because none actually knows the truth behind the Ozonosphere, or at least that's what they want us to think.
"I understand now, why the environment was even designed that way, why Yue and Astri could not keep up with the brainstorming. They were fed by the idea that nothing is beyond it. The place is intentionally designed to be an end point so that no one will try to find a way! You said it yourself, It's hard to think and formulate new ideas with that type of environment because it's depressing." I argued.
Shocked from what he heard, Xav responded on delay. "You're right… Corrupting them will slowly make them stuck there and lose hope. I guess that's also the answer why no one went back. They are too corrupted by the idea and now they are just stuck there… They are being mentally manipulated…" he said.
"I firmly believe that the answer is beyond the Ozonosphere and the chief knows it. We have to know what it is and why he is hiding it." I stated.
"So what's your plan?" Xav asked.
I know that we cannot do this alone, we need some help. "We have to convince Astri first, I think we can make her go to our side." I suggested.
"Risky but possible, what about Yue?" he responded.
"Honestly, I cannot see Yue's true intention. Astri's intentions were crystal clear but I don't know about Yue…" I answered.
"I agree as well. Also, looking at his past, he was not loved by his pair. If Gara gave him the adult figure that he is looking for, then it will be impossible for us to gain him to our side." Xav mentioned.
"We need to discuss this with Astri, maybe she can convince him. She's his pair after all." I replied.
With a clear plan in our heads, we patiently wait for an opening. Since we know that Yue is not into brainstorming, Xav asked Yue to train him outside. In that way, Astri and I will be left alone in the cave. Though I don't know if Xav will be alive after that. Yue immediately took the bait and it's time to get Astri on our side.
"Have you ever questioned the chief?" I suddenly asked Astri.
"I did, in fact, several times. But whenever I try to question things, he always has answers to it. Honestly, this is the only time that I was allowed to think freely again" Astri confessed.
"Is he right tho?" I asked.
"Maybe he is. He said that some of us already went through the Ozonosphere and never came back" Astri said.
"Is there any proof of that?" I questioned.
Astri paused for a second. "We did not see it but everyone there knows about it so it must be true" she answered.
The more I hear from Astri, the more that I'm convinced that the chief is mentally manipulating everyone there. "But what if that actually never happened?" I said.
"What do you mean?" Astri confusedly replied.
"What if the chief said that to everyone who accidentally discovered the Bubble gap. He kept that story going until to the point that a number of people knew about it. A fabricated story can turn into a truth if everyone there believes it. The newcomers will instinctively follow even if they don't know why" I argued.
"That's a bit of a stretch. What could the chief possibly gain by doing that?" Astri commented.
"To mentally manipulate everyone there! If everyone is convinced then no one will seek for the truth. Don't you think it's suspicious that he is the only one with a gray nameplate?" I added.
I can see in Astri's reaction that my words are getting inside of her. I have to continue my attacks.
"Think carefully Astri, you know that we both have the same goal. The chief knows something about the Ozonosphere. There's a lot of experimentation that can be done instead of just fearing the Ozonosphere. He wants everyone to stay away from it because he knows something about it. If we cannot question him, then what is his difference to the Globules?" I stated.
Those words made Astri realize that I am right, the chief should not be acting like that if there's nothing to hide. "What do you plan?" she asked.
Hearing Astri say that made me breathe freely, but I should not let my guard down yet. I have to fully convince her before asking her to convince Yue as well.
"We need to verify first about this going through the Ozonosphere thing. If even a single one can vouch that they saw it then it must be true. If none actually saw it and everyone said they heard it from the chief, then our assumptions might be right" I answered.
"You're right. If that event happened, there should be at least someone else beside the chief, who witnessed it all" Astri replied.
"But you have to ask them without raising any suspicion, we don't want to alert the chief." I added.
"I'm on it, later the reset, I'll join Yue on his way back" Astri responded.
"Oh by the way, you cannot tell Yue this for now…" I mentioned.
"Why?" Astri asked.
"He reports to the chief, let's convince him once we already have concrete evidence." I explained.
"I understand. I'll try to sneak in while he reports to the chief" Astri said.
After a long tiring conversation, I was able to win Astri over. Her mission will start later during the reset while Xav and I will be left here in the cave. We have to trust Astri for now.
21.
Gaining Astri's trust was a success, but that still did not answer the questions about Gluengy. The plan later will eventually occur, we have to examine Gluengy for now.
Lots of ideas occurred but we cannot actually prove any of our hypotheses. We could not even understand why Gluengy does not exist elsewhere.
Xav and I carefully went back to the center of the town in order to check the Globules. Maybe it is related to Globules, though we have to be vigilant since we don't want our adult pairs to see us. It will be tremendously hard to explain why we are dressed like we are part of a cult. Every other person there will eventually forget, so them seeing us is fine.
We spent hours assessing the center but it is nowhere as impressive as Gluengy. It's like just a spawn point, or an output thingy similar to exit. You just get out there, nothing more that you can do. Because of that, I'm starting to think that maybe Gluengy was not supposed to exist in the first place. With zero results gathered, Xav and I decided to head back to the cave.
Along the way, I convinced Xav that we both should check our adult pairs before fully going back to the cave. We won't interact, we will just check from a distance. Due to my intolerable persistence, Xav agreed.
We head to Xav's home first since it is way closer to the center. After a short while, we headed to my place. At this point, I don't know if that was a good idea after all. Xav and I were both melancholic after seeing our adult pairs. I personally wanted to just run straight and hug them but I can't. The only thing that we can do is look at them. Thankfully, they are safe. With a heavy heart, we both head back to the cave.
While we were walking, I suddenly thought of something that broke the silence. "Don't you think Gluengy is not supposed to be there in the first place?" I asked
"What do you mean?" Xav questioned.
"I just find it odd, if that was supposed to exist. Why there? Why not somewhere else? It's like Gluengy was there because of something else" I hypothesized.
"Because of what? It's not like the people here are doing something to cause something…" Xav suddenly stopped talking as we both realized something.
"People here are indeed doing something that we shouldn't…" I responded.
"Could it be? That exist because we are breaking the Globules' order?" Xav asked.
"Well no, Gluengy was there before we even started to break the rules" I argued.
"Yeah, you're right. But what could possibly cause the anomaly?" Xav asked.
"Wait a second. People in the Bubble gap were there for a long time, they were probably living there before I even discovered Gluengy" I mentioned.
"Well that actually makes a lot of sense. They are breaking the order, creating an anomaly to the place. Not to mention, the camp is in the same direction from the cave!" Xav replied.
"That actually explains its location! It can never exist in the center of the town since the Bubble gap is an outer circle of the Bubble itself, there's no center!" I said.
"Now I fully understand the purpose of the Order, it is to keep the world intact. The outside of the edge of the Bubble is not fatal to us, it's fatal to the world itself… Gluengy is a crack, the result of living where people shouldn't…" Xav added.
"This is a problem, we have to do something" I mentioned.
"If those were true, I think we actually don't have to do anything immediately. In fact, it will be better if we just wait" Xav suggested.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Yue already reported Gluengy to the chief. If he indeed knows something that we don't, he will probably do something in order to fix Gluengy. Remember last night? We were slightly off the mark. We entered the Mist around 23:30 already. I'm sure he ordered Yue to do something first before taking us back in. Later at night, Yue will report to Gara again. All we have to do is to observe Gluengy, if something changes, then it means Gara is pulling the strings" Xav answered.
"You're right… Let's be patient for now. We can prove our ideas later at night." I replied.
Keeping ourselves cool, we once again reached the cave where Yue and Astri are hiding. It's really hard to keep a straight face while reporting what we gathered from the center. Xav and I were telling them that it is not related to Gluengy, the center is nothing but a spawn. Even though those were true, we are still hiding the fact that we already deduced the idea behind the existence of Gluengy. There is no other acceptable explanation other than that, and we are just simply waiting for the hypothesis to be proven.
On the other hand, Astri is actually impressive. Looking at her act normally after we talked was surprising. She acts like she knows nothing. I got to take notes from her.
Hours of just pretending to do something have passed. I never thought that would be an extreme challenge. Finally, Yue and Astri left in order to report to the chief. At first, Yue was actually against the idea of Astri joining him back but he eventually let her tag along.
Reset is finally happening and the fireflies outside started to come out. I was fascinated by it back then but now those glowing little stardust frightens me. If only we can stop this madness, then people can appreciate how beautiful the night is…
As the reset continues, both Xav and I are keeping our eyes on Gluengy. We even made sure that we blink alternatingly, we cannot blink both at the same time. If either of us needs to blink, we have to inform each other first so that we won't miss even a split second.
30 minutes into the reset and Gluengy seems dimming.
"Xav! Is it me or Gluengy seems to be way dimmer compared to earlier?" I asked Xav.
"I am actually not that sure. Us, being slightly sleepy as well kinda make this quite hard" he responded.
We were a bit confused because it's hard to tell if it's gradually degrading. If it deems instantly then we can notice it but we cannot really tell at this point. 10 more minutes and some of the crack suddenly closed!
"OKAY I'M PRETTY MUCH SURE THAT THIS IS NOT JUST ME. THE CRACK SHRINK!" I shouted.
"I KNEW IT! GARA IS MAKING A MOVE NOW!" Xav loudly said.
"Then we are right! Them being in the Bubble gap, violating the order is what created Gluengy. It should not exist in the first place!" I replied.
"But I do wonder what exactly he is doing…" Xav mentioned.
"We can know the answer once Astri returns. Still, this whole scenario proves that the chief knows something about this world. It's impossible for him to fix Gluengy if he does not know anything. And besides, yesterday was the only time that he knew about Gluengy. It was until now that we've seen Gluengy changed. There's no room for coincidence here anymore" I replied.
The pieces are already coming together, it's only a matter of time before we can uncover the truth. We are counting on you Astri.
End of Day XI-XII
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GOT IT