Chapter 851
Anastasia giggled cutely, brushing off Ashtosh Singh’s warning.
Then, with lingering eyes, she gazed at the bed and slowly shook her head.
“Um~ I guess so. With not much time left, I can’t play around lazily… It seems like it’ll be hard to come back here, which is such a pity~ That’s how it is….”
She mumbled in a tone dripping with longing.
How many times had she wandered through dreams, eyeing things she liked?
Whenever she found something interesting in a dream, she brought those she could manage back to reality, and when something was too hard to bring over, she marked the coordinates to revisit at any time.
But now, she couldn’t do it like usual.
This place was a “special space.”
“I wonder if people who compare dreams to the sea would like this…”
Dreams are often likened to various elements of nature.
If compared to the sea, the areas she’s traveled through could be described as close to the beach.
Walking along the sandy shore with joy, feeling that ticklish sensation when the waves crash, safely enjoying the ocean—this was the “beach.”
A bit risky, perhaps, but a fun place to swim—the “surface.”
A space where most people play.
While it’s not without danger, it’s safe enough to the point that such risks can be ignored.
That’s precisely the type of space Anastasia roamed.
Of course, occasionally venturing into the collective unconscious’s surface was a bit riskier. Like before, if compared to the sea, it would be near a buoy—floating safety supplies.
Considering that there are people who have gone there in reality and drowned, it was clear it was more dangerous than usual… Yet still, being within the safety zone meant she could always be rescued or work her way out of the trouble—merely a bearable level of risk.
But this place is different.
This was a realm only visible to those who had ventured out to sea.
Far removed from land, surrounded only by the endless ocean.
There’s no sandy beach where one can step, and if one were to dive in as they did by the coast, they might not guarantee their safety.
Unlike the beach where one could briefly glance at the bottom, here the depths were an abyss of impenetrable darkness, where imagining what lives within was utterly impossible.
This is deep within the dream.
This is deep within the unconscious.
A unique space of the collective unconscious, where dreams and the unconscious intertwine.
A place that would have never been discovered without the fortunate coincidence of coincidences.
At first glance, it might seem similar to other dreams, but it’s a deeper space.
If likened to Earth, the area they occupied would be a sunken valley, while the apartment they were entering could be viewed as a cave leading underground.
A lowland and a cave descending underground.
At first glance, it may seem a combination of no significance.
In fact, it might appear ambiguous to describe it as “special.”
Considering Earth’s vast size, a slight dip in the ground is merely within the margin of error.
Is this the area closest to the core?
From Earth’s perspective, it’s just a minor scar on the surface.
If one were to describe that scar as “the area closest to the bone among the skin,” it’s hard not to feel it’s trivial.
Yet despite being trivial, this place was special.
The legs of an insect cannot equal the legs of a giant in size.
The unimaginable vastness of the concept termed “collective unconscious” can create massive differences even from a scar-sized mark.
And with such huge differences, certain consequences are inevitable.
Is a towering mountain’s slight significance irrelevant for Earth but also for humans?
Does the deep sea hold no consequence for Earth yet for humans too?
Changes in elevation lead to shifts in environment.
At the peak of a tall mountain, it becomes hard to breathe, and in the depths of the ocean, tremendous pressure can render activity impossible. The minor changes of immense beings can cause transformative differences for insignificant creatures.
This space is no exception.
This place, at this notably lower elevation, wasn’t kind to Anastasia.
Her ability to flit in and out of dreams like she owned them had weakened, her control that could influence dreams had diminished. The special power that allowed her to carry dream objects into reality was not functioning correctly, and the witch who wielded immense power in the dream had become as frail as an ordinary girl having a lucid dream.
Moreover, as she moved up the apartment, these restrictions compounded, and by now, she was acting like a girl of her age with no abilities.
Ascending the apartment equated to moving deeper into the collective unconscious.
“It seems if I stay here any longer, I might really just end up lazing around.”
It’s perhaps only natural for Anastasia to cling to this comfortable space.
As she ascended the apartment, her power diminished—a phenomenon that likely tormented her like growing fatigue as her body started to feel increasingly heavy. The environment requiring her to explore with weakened abilities must have caused her continuous stress.
Just like someone wishing for a safe haven when lost in the wild, Anastasia felt the same.
But she must not get buried in that comfort.
Can an explorer who succumbs to comfort still be called an “explorer”?
One who forgets their mission becomes nameless.
Anastasia, too, had to move.
That was her wish.
“Let’s go.”
『 Yeah. 』
It was what Ashtosh Singh who accompanied her desired.
—
Stepping out, Anastasia and Ashtosh Singh began to climb the apartment once again.
They admired the scenery outside by looking at the windows, inspected items dropped on the ground, and toyed with a few broken keys to turn them into a decent key…
How far had they gone up?
Thud.
Ashtosh Singh grabbed Anastasia’s shoulder as she was about to climb the stairs.
As if to say they shouldn’t go up any further.
『 Stop. 』
Anastasia’s eyes shot wide open at Ashtosh Singh’s warning, then she looked up through the landing.
『 There’s something up there. 』
Between the landings.
That narrow, tight space.
A black garment was visible.
Was it a black ribbon attached to it?
The hem of a dress stuck out over the landing.
Then, was something moving? A black parasol swayed, appearing and disappearing on the landing…..
Up there was a woman dressed in black.
With a parasol, she was climbing up ahead of them.
“….”
Anastasia sealed her lips tightly and slowly turned her gaze.
And then, just as before, she began to wait until the presence above vanished.
Just like when she patiently waited for it to disappear back inside the house.
Now, if she keeps waiting, the being above will vanish.
Anastasia thought this as she started to lower her head.
But the moment she did, Ashtosh Singh tightened his grip on her arm.
When her grandfather suddenly seized her firmly, Anastasia jolted and looked at Ashtosh Singh’s head.
『 We must go inside! 』
The monitor resting on his neck displayed urgent red letters, large enough to shout alarm.
『 That thing up there is coming down!!!! 』
Reading it sent chills down her spine, the sentence igniting sheer panic.
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
She heard it.
From the upper floor of the apartment, a sound emerged.
The footsteps of someone wearing shoes.
The noise created from footwear clashing against the stone stairs.
The rustling of a flowing dress brushing past.
The sound was clear.
And that sound was undoubtedly getting closer.
Anastasia felt the overwhelming fear wash over her as she pulled out her key.
Then she started to insert the key into the doors nearby her.
Click.
Click.
Click.
But was this some cruel twist of fate?
No door opened with her key.
It felt like she put the wrong key in as the doorknob refused to turn, and no matter how hard she pulled, the locked door was closed to her.
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
The footsteps were becoming more urgent, compelling her to hide inside.
Yet, no house permitted her refuge.
The locked doors showed no mercy, as if to say, “Your troubles are irrelevant to me,” resolutely denying her entry.
Tap-tap.
Meanwhile, the sound drew closer.
The footsteps became increasingly distinct and louder.
Soon.
Very soon, she would face her.
The woman in the black dress, holding a black parasol.
She would confront her.
『 We need to go down! 』
Anastasia’s mind filled with terror.
She felt an ominous instinct—she should never face it; the moment they met would bring disaster.
Anastasia turned around and began to descend the stairs.
To distance herself even slightly from those footsteps.
And then she inserted her key into every door to escape that threat.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Each floor below locked tight with no access.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Even lower still, all doors stayed sealed.
Click.
Click.
Click.
No matter how far down she went, all doors remained locked.
Anastasia ran desperately.
To find a door she could unlock.
To seek out a home she could hide within using the key in her hand.
Thus, she kept descending.
Further down, down, and down.
Finally.
Click.
She discovered a house that opened with her key.
Hearing a sound distinctly different from the ones before, Anastasia’s face lit up as she grasped the doorknob.
And….
Clunk.
The door wouldn’t budge.
“…Huh?”
That was strange.
The key had turned for sure.
The sound of the door opening echoed.
Yet, the door wouldn’t move.
Just like the others…
As if it had been locked from the inside the moment she attempted to enter… blocking her from entering—
Like it was somehow secured against her….
“….”
Tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
The sound was there.
The footfalls were alarmingly closer.
So clear that she could tell they were just a couple of floors above her…
‘…I have to avoid it.’
I need to escape.
But where to?
The houses remained closed off to her.
The elevator stood broken, rendering it useless.
Then.
“Grandfather, run—!”
With every ounce of strength, Anastasia bolted toward the stairs.
And then, rather than turning, she barreled straight through—
Crash—!!
She smashed through the window and jumped outside the apartment.
Shattered glass swirling around.
An overwhelming shock hit her.
Blood poured from the gash inflicted by the glass shards.
The weightlessness wrapped around her.
The wind roared in her ears as if to celebrate her fall.
Anastasia began to plummet.
In an indistinguishable space where the height was unfathomable.
She started to descend into the unknown region birthed from the unconscious, a place where she had no concept.
The fall from the tower that pierced through realms.
It was a fall into the plane, a plummet through dimensions.
The defining moment when the undefined environment became concretely formed.
As if a star were crashing down to the ground.
Like a radiant comet falling from the heavens.
Anastasia gazed up at the apartment while falling.
Like a brilliant being who regarded the highest clouds from where it leaps.
She looked back at the window she had just thrown herself from.
In that very window, she thought she saw…
‘…White, hair?’
For some inexplicable reason.
It felt as though the woman in the black dress had just gazed back at her.