Shaking his head and trying to hold on to his fragile mental state, Gyeong turned his gaze and saw C lying on the floor, her back resting against the surface as she stared into the white above.
A rather peculiar pose.
Over the past six years, while he practiced his Ki control and conversed with her, he had noticed a few things.
First, C reminded him of the cliché: don't judge a book by its cover. Despite her intimidating appearance, she was kind, patient, aloof, and a little unhinged, more like a high school-aged girl or a young woman in her early twenties.
Yet he knew she was far older than that. After all, she had introduced herself proudly as the Witch of Immortality.
Second, she didn't seem to enjoy talking about her past. He noticed it every time he asked her story, about how she ended up getting trapped here, what her life had been like before she was sealed, even simple things like her likes or dislikes. Even her name, "C," wasn't real. Anyone with working brain cells could notice this. But he had to consider that she had been trapped here for an unreasonably long time; her memory might not be reliable.
He himself had only spent a few years here, yet it already felt as if his mind was deteriorating at an alarming pace.
Which begged the question: did she truly remember her past, or did she simply hate it?
Not everyone enjoyed their time alive, and he suspected that was probably the case for her.
The stories of how Inquisitors and the general public had treated witches during certain eras were well known, so he didn't have to imagine much.
Thirdly, and lastly…
"Hah."
Gyeong exhaled and carelessly approached where C was lying. Without hesitation, he lay down beside her and stared upward.
Only white filled his vision.
He had begun to hate that color.
Suddenly, his mouth was already filled with distaste.
"Whoever sealed you here might have really had it for you, huh? Could it be that white is your much hated color?"
[...Actually, I liked the color white.]
"Wait, you did?"
[Yes. I liked it for a time. But now? I hate it.] C muttered with evident displeasure. He thought she probably had a frown on her face.
"How unfortunate."
[Indeed, it is. But what about you? What's your favorite color?]
"My favourite color?"
[Yes. Your favourite color. Won't you tell me?]
"Do you really care about such things?"
[Who knows? I'm simply asking because I'm curious.]
'My favourite color, was it?'
Contemplating the question, Gyeong went silent and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. After a time, he finally thought of an answer then said:
"Sorry, I don't know what to tell you. I don't really have a favorite color."
Then he smiled.
"But… I've grown to love the color black."
C stiffened.
[What?]
Gyeong blinked.
"Huh? Is something wrong?"
For some reason, C didn't reply and remained silent. Her shadowy figure seemed to be trembling. It was as though something from within her was about to emerge.
'What sort of...'
He immediately grew tense. Instinctively, he shifted his weight, ready to pull away.
What kind of—
[Ptff.]
A strange sound slipped out.
"…Huh?"
Gyeong stared at her, blinking rapidly.
Was that his imagination?
[Ptff… ptff… hahahahaha!]
Apparently not.
Her laughter rang out across the white expanse, unrestrained and unexpectedly lively, echoing far longer than it should have in a place that barely acknowledged sound at all.
[Haha… what's this? Saying something like that… I'll admit, I was taken by surprise. Could it be you're the type to fall in love? I seriously underestimated you.]
What was that supposed to mean?
Frowning, he was about to retort, then paused, realizing it was just another one of her antics. With a sigh, he simply shrugged.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just answering the question you asked."
Then he added wryly,
"Besides, white and black are all I've been seeing for the past six years. Naturally, if I don't like one, I'll have to make do with the other."
There was no immediate response.
C continued to stare at him, if that could even be called staring. The air around her felt… off. Disappointed, perhaps? He couldn't tell. The fact that she was little more than a featureless shadow didn't help in the slightest.
Maybe he was just imagining it.
"..."
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable. Not anymore. After years spent in a place that had no sound unless they made it, silence had become the default rather than the exception.
Eventually, C broke it.
[... You're really strange.]
"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment."
She let out a low huff.
[You know, I didn't ask because I was curious about colors or anything of the sorts.]
Gyeong glanced sideways. "Then why ask?"
[Why not?]
Such was her casual response.
[When you're sealed somewhere long enough, you start to forget what people talk about. Like small things. Trivial things. Pointless things. Favourite foods. Color. Music.]
She shifted slightly.
[They remind you that you were once... normal.]
Gyeong felt something tighten in his chest. He scoffed.
"I wouldn't call either of us normal."
[Perhaps not. But once, I was close enough.]
Silence returned, heavier than before.
He stared at the white above, then spoke without looking at her.
"You laughed just now. For real, I mean."
[Did I?]
"Yeah, you did. It sounded genuine, not your usual mocking kind."
[You pay attention to strange things.]
"Hehe. Six years of nothing but this tend I sharpen your senses."
Another pause.
[...It has been a long time since I laughed like that. For that matter, I can't remember the last time I even laughed.]
"Why?"
[Because no one had said that to me before.]
He frowned. "Said what?"
[That they've grown to like black. Most people cling to color as a reminder of life. You chose black. Quite frankly, it's not normal.]
"Neither is getting trapped in a timeless white box. Besides, I am dead. Maybe that's why. Who knows?"
Another pause followed.
[Black is the color of absorption.]
Confused, he asked. "What does that mean?"
[It doesn't reject light. It takes it in. Everything poured into it becomes part of it. There is no distinction. You simply become one with it. That's why many fear it. They think it is associated with endings. With erasure.]
"And?"
[They're wrong.]
She shifted, her silhouette stretching faintly across the floor.
[The black remembers.]
Gyeong went still.
For a fleeting moment, he thought he caught something within her words.
'The black remembers?'
This witch... she seem to enjoy speaking in circles.
Putting those words at the back of his mind, he stared back up at the endless white. Nothing seemed to cross his mind as he stared at the "white." He still hated that color with all his heart but it seemed less... oppressive.
'I see. So it's because of that.'
He closed his eyes.
After a moment, Gyeong opened them and spoke again.
"Hey, C."
[Hm?]
"You never told me what your name is."
[I didn't.]
"Why?"
[Is it important?]
"I figured you'll say something like that."
[And yet you keep asking.]
"Because I plan on leaving this place. And when I do, I don't want to remember you as just a letter."
[....]
The response he was waiting for never came.
Silence.
He was no stranger to it. But the quiet between them seemed to last longer than before.
Uncomfortably so.
Then—
[...Perhaps.]
With a pause, she added,
[If you succeed.]
He smiled.
Such was her character.
"Guess that gives me even more motivation."
[Anything can be solved with a little bit of motivation. Just like your little problem.]
"That's certainly reassuring."
[It's meant to be.]
She turned her attention upward again, mirroring his posture.
[Rest for now. Tomorrow, we try again. This time, we start with Water.]
Gyeong frowned.
Water.
It was the most troublesome ether (Ki). Unlike the rest, he seemed to have the most trouble with this one.
"...Of course."
In the end, he could only mutter those words bitterly.