Chapter Sixty-Two: Cloud of Doubt II

"Why are you looking at me like that..." The Radiant One was a little more lucid now, forcing his aching body to sit up from the ground. "Is there a flower growing on my face?"

The blonde, blue-eyed girl silently shook her head, but her gaze remained fixed.

"Something feels off," he mused. Even if the events in between were hazy, the sudden fainting and the lingering soreness all signaled that something unwelcome had occurred while he was unconscious. "So the problem lies with me, after all."

He stared blankly for a while before lifting his head to meet the girl’s emerald eyes. "Mia, can you tell me... what happened to me?"

"Unconsciousness." The swordswoman from the Order answered as tersely as ever. "Convulsions, then you woke."

That was hardly an explanation.

The boy fell silent, but considering her usual cool demeanor, he pressed on, unwilling to let it go. "Anything else? Any strange events?"

Mia shook her head again.

"I see..." The Radiant One lapsed into brief silence. "I feel like something extraordinary must have happened while I was out, but I can’t remember anything. Why did I faint in the first place? Any guesses, Mia?"

He asked, for he had always considered the swordswoman someone he could rely on.

She nodded, speaking deliberately: "Curse."

"Curse?" The boy was familiar with the word, but in this specific context, it sent a chill through him. "You mean I was cursed by the one we just killed!?"

"Quite possibly." The swordswoman’s reply was simple and clear.

"What kind of curse?" Though curses were often linked to "death," the boy's death sense was silent—his life was not threatened. "Hopefully it’s not a streak of bad luck or migraines at critical moments."

Those slow, insidious curses were his least favorite.

"Instant death." The girl coolly delivered a terrifying guess. "Probably?"

That was a relief.

The boy didn’t fear death curses. With his ability to sense impending death, he was not easy prey.

But... why only "probably"?

Sensing the question in his eyes, the swordswoman uncharacteristically offered an explanation: "Just now, it manifested—unconsciousness, convulsions, then awakening."

"So it’s over?" The Radiant One sighed.

"No accidents," she replied, rare confusion flickering in her green eyes. "You felt nothing?"

"Only darkness," the boy admitted.

It was true. His last memory was endless darkness—but he hid a part of the truth. Not out of malice, but because this truth seemed tied to a secret within him, an innate strangeness.

Yes, strangeness.

Amy Ulysses was an anomaly—not only among humans, but even among the Radiant Ones. Since he could remember, he had sensed his difference—not just an unusual curiosity for dark chaos, but even the odd words that popped into his mind, enough to make him question whether his thought processes were fundamentally broken. Not to mention, there was a terrifying instinct lurking within him, one that shouldn’t belong in a boy just entering his teens.

He carried a secret.

And now, in that boundless darkness, a voice had revealed a fragment of his fate.

"Find... the Door."

Without reason, even knowing it might be hypnosis or an enemy’s trick, he believed this voice from the depths of his soul, without a shred of doubt.

He had to find the Door.

That was why he had come to this world.

Like a cultist enthralled, he believed in the owner of the voice from the bottom of his heart.

He didn’t know who the voice belonged to, nor what the "Door" truly meant—he simply believed in his mission, his innate purpose.

Yet, not long ago, he had been actively plotting to resist the fate that shrouded him.

Such a sudden, overwhelming shift could only be the result of mental interference. Now, with his perception shaken, the Radiant One was deeply unsettled. He nodded slightly to the girl, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I might need a moment to collect myself."

"Oh."

The swordswoman replied in a toneless voice, turning away expressionlessly—the natural lack of emotion masked her own unease. She wasn’t the only one who needed time to think; she too required an undisturbed space to contemplate—only then could she decide how to face Amy Ulysses, this man shrouded in mystery.

A monster...

Recalling the fear on the Radiant One’s face when he lost consciousness, the girl narrowed her eyes. In truth, she had deceived him; what he suffered was not a curse, but a kind of possession or body-snatching ability. She withheld the truth because there were still matters to sort out.

For instance...

Before the Radiant One awoke, who was the "monster" referring to?

If it meant the demon intending to reincarnate through another body, then was the boy before her truly Amy Ulysses? On the other hand, if the demon was the conscious one at that moment, then what now occupied this body? Was it the Radiant One she knew, or some strange entity masquerading in his form?

In either case, it was disastrous for her.

Though there was a chance the demon was sowing discord, the swordswoman doubted the terror she saw could be faked. Even if it was an act, considering the previous suspicions surrounding the Radiant One, Mia was prepared to be on the highest alert.

For now... let it be.

She made her decision and her heart grew calm once more.

To harm a comrade—

No matter what, she could not bring herself to do it.

Meanwhile, Amy Ulysses, reconstructing his own logic, had no inkling of the swordswoman’s thoughts. He obstinately twisted his beliefs—at first with little success, but as time passed, he gradually found a way. He no longer forcibly tried to abandon the idea of "finding the Door," but subtly reframed it as investigating.

Yes, investigating the "Door."

What was the Door, why must he find it, and what lay beyond? Clearly, to uncover the secrets within his body, the Door was a clue. Investigating the Door didn’t conflict with his goals; he could follow this thread to unravel the mystery and break the chains fate had placed upon him...

Or so he thought!

The Door was indeed a clue, but aside from its strong symbolic meaning, there was no other hint. How could he, with only a name, pick out the right door from the thousands in Hermetica? Moreover, the Door’s location might not be limited to Hermetica; it might not even be a physical door—code, reference, symbol... all possible.

In other words... with the current information, there was no way to investigate.

But to say he’d gained nothing was premature; at least he glimpsed a fragment of the future fate had revealed.

He knew which way to strive.

"Find the Door, is it?"

He murmured softly, clenching his fist, then raised his head—this was his third goal, only after protecting Julia and surviving.

"Thank you, Mia." The young Radiant One quickly regained his composure, his face calm once more. "I feel much better now. Should we set out, or wait for Dick?"

"You decide," the swordswoman replied coolly.

"It’s all a bit surreal, isn’t it? We’ve eliminated two high-level demons along the way," the boy said, then changed tack. "But I still don’t believe a normal infiltration would have us running into two monsters powerful enough to be trump cards."

"Don’t trust him?" The blonde, blue-eyed girl raised an eyebrow.

"Do you?" Amy retorted, exhaling heavily. "I thought we shared a goal, bound together by necessity. But I didn’t expect he’d treat us as mere tools. I don’t believe we’d just happen upon two hidden bosses by coincidence."

"Bosses?" The swordswoman repeated, tilting her head in a childlike manner.

"Um..." Realizing the term was unfamiliar, the boy explained, "A 'boss' refers to an enemy elite or leader—usually, it just means a particularly strong opponent."

"Oh." A meaningless response.

Well accustomed to Mia’s nature, the Radiant One paid it no mind, continuing, "Normally, high-level demons shouldn’t appear in the lower districts at all. I don’t believe the Dark Guild keeps a third high-level demon around—so I plan to stay here, wait for him, and see what he’s really up to—and maybe collect a bit of interest."

"I don’t mind," the swordswoman replied, having disliked that man from the start.

"Good," Amy found a spot and sat down. "Let’s await his grand arrival—I doubt someone like him would die in a monster attack."

To this, the girl merely nodded.

Exactly—

That one was not the type to die easily.