Through the dense forest, Logico forced her way forward, still suffering from severe oxygen deprivation after her time underground. She staggered with every step, her head throbbing with unbearable pain.
"Where… am I?"
A thick fog wrapped around the area. Trees with strange leaves stood tall, each one bearing a stone plaque with names written in a language she had never seen before. The characters looked like twisted, uncomfortable branches. On top of that, a loud, piercing whistle screamed constantly in her ears. All of it scattered her focus and made her feel strangely drunk.
"Graves… These are graves."
She saw a family gathered around one of the trees, performing some kind of prayer, while a servant-like figure plucked fruits from its branches.
Logico compared her own tattered, dirt-covered clothes to the fine garments of the family. They clearly belonged to a higher social class.
She wasn't stupid or reckless. Throughout her life on Earth, she had always been cautious and reserved. She slowly approached, careful not to be noticed, trying to listen to their conversation.
The language was twisted and alien—just like the writing. A language she had never heard before. It was at that moment she became certain: she was in another world.
She didn't dare get any closer to the family. Instead, she noticed a well-trodden dirt path leading toward a massive black gate and followed it.
Near the gate stood the guardhouse and the archives office. As she moved further out, she heard a loud voice calling out. She realized someone was shouting at her. The guard approached, grabbed her shoulder, and began speaking in that strange, twisted language. She couldn't understand a word.
"I don't understand what you're saying," she replied in English.
The guard stared at her face, then opened his mouth wide and pressed his lips together as if thinking. He released her shoulder and gestured for her to follow him into the office.
In the reflection of the glass, she caught a glimpse of her new appearance—crimson eyes and short black hair covered in dirt.
Suddenly, a splitting headache struck her like a nail being driven into her skull. A flood of information poured in: the name of the body's original owner, the language, and basic knowledge about this world.
She froze in place while the guard watched her convulse in pain. He turned back and asked:
"Are you alright?"
Now she understood him clearly.
"Where am I?"
"Where did your consciousness come from, exactly?"
"Earth… I'm from planet Earth."
"You think you're an Earthling?!
This world is not planet Earth. Welcome to Homeplanet. Welcome to reality. Planet Earth does not exist."
"Huh?"
The guard stepped in front of her and entered the records office alone after knocking twice.
"Sir, we have a case of parasitic consciousness possession."
"It's been a long time since the last one. Bring him—or her—inside."
Logico entered and saw the director: a fat man dressed in late Victorian-era formal attire, with a bald patch in the middle of his head and a thin mustache. He looked her up and down, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and said:
"What is the name of the body's original owner?"
"Sa…"
He cut her off.
"Found you. Sayorin Fick. What a strange name. You were recorded as having died in your sleep last night."
He jotted down some notes and said:
"Send a message to her family."
Without thinking, Logico blurted out:
"No…"
"Huh? Why not?
I don't know… It feels like the original owner's memories of her family are quite bad."
"Hmm… That's your choice. Will you keep the current name or change it?"
"Change it to Logico Dantis."
"Is that your delusional name?"
"No. That was my name on Earth."
"Same thing."
He wrote it down, stamped the papers, and told the guard:
"Arrange a carriage for her to the police station."
She boarded the carriage pulled by a black, two-horned horse and sat in silence, deep in thought.
Why did Sayorin hate her family so much?
What should she do now?
What does "futanari" even mean?
Did her real family back on Earth survive like she did?
☆☆☆☆☆☆
The scene shifted to the griffin soaring steadily toward Tofitska. Hailey was purring happily behind Helena, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Atcho's voice came clearly through the enclosed cabin.
"You can lean against the sides of the cabin if you want."
The sealed compartment made his words crisp and audible. Helena pulled her feet out of the paper bag and shifted her sitting position. Hailey immediately copied her exactly. The imitation irritated Helena.
But then, suddenly, a mechanical, robotic-sounding voice came from Hailey:
"Hell…"
Helena froze. She yanked the paper bag off her head, her face filled with shock as she realized Hailey had just spoken for the first time.
"Say 'Helena',"
she urged.
"Hell… Helly…"
"He..le..na."
"Helayla."
Atcho glanced back with a smirk.
"Is that your pet?"
"She's not our pet," Helena replied. "She just latched onto us."
"You should teach her to speak. Enderwomen are extremely useful creatures…"
He paused for a moment, then continued in a more serious tone.
"You people believe in the existence of planet Earth, right?"
Jaspin answered sharply, "We don't just believe in it. We actually lived there."
"What is your religion?"
"Is this an interrogation?!"
"You worship the devil, don't you?"
"The fuck…?
[Jaspin snapped.]
You're calling us devil worshippers? Have you no shame for that beard of yours, you old man? Mind your own damn business and just fly us there. We don't want your friendship."
Helena placed a calming hand on Jaspin's shoulder.
"Easy. Let's not escalate this. We're hundreds of meters in the air."
"No, Helena, you don't understand. This pervert is being racist toward us. People here consider former inhabitants of Earth to be mentally ill."
"You're a hasty little girl,"
[Atcho replied calmly. ]
If I were racist, I wouldn't have befriended Casper and Ramirez in the first place. In truth, I'm looking for followers of the devil. They stole my only son."
Helena's expression softened with sympathy.
"I'm sorry for making you say that…"
Jaspin quickly stepped in before Helena could slip up.
"What makes you accuse us two transferees?"
"My son disappeared in Tauredia, the region famous for the Church of Sophia that gathers transferees."
"This is the first time I've heard that name. Was your son possessed by a parasitic consciousness from Earth?"
"More or less. My son was afflicted with a first-level parasitic consciousness that severely impaired his daily life, but not enough to take full control. That's why I'm certain he was kidnapped."
"When did it happen?"
"Three months ago…
How long have you two been in these bodies?"
"Personally, it's been a year. Helena is the same…
Have you tried searching for him through police records?"
"Of course. I did everything. I even searched using the name of that parasitic consciousness. According to the police records, two people who knew him have also vanished."
"Do you think Sophia took them too?"
Atcho stayed silent for a long moment before answering.
"It's one of the possibilities."
"You're not even sure of what you're saying. You're just throwing around accusations."
"Maybe. But it's the only thread I have to explain the mysterious disappearances of people afflicted with parasitic consciousnesses… just like you two."
"You've gone back to insulting us. We are not parasites. The original owners of these bodies died. We are the original consciousnesses now…"
"It doesn't matter."
They continued the rest of the flight in complete silence until they finally reached their destination: the city of Tofitska.