"Hmm, are you still feeling mentally disoriented?"
To be honest, I didn't see this coming either.
First, we needed to get a clear read on Welt's current state.
"Welt, how much are you able to remember right now?"
"...I'm certain I set out on that journey with Bronie aboard the Astral Express a year ago—"
"Oh! Grandpa's awake!"
As Welt opened his mouth to speak, Bronie burst into the lab, beaming at him and clutching the hands of Elizabeth Mark Smith, Bianca Wal, and Nagamitsu as she ran in.
Startled by Bronie's sudden appearance and full-speed charge, Welt nearly tumbled backward but managed to steady himself by planting his feet.
"...Bronie?"
"Grandpa! You said we'd play yesterday, but I ended up sleeping in!"
At Bronie's words, Welt grew even more bewildered, his confusion written all over his face.
Ah, but in hindsight, it made sense.
Because the Bronie standing before him now wasn't the teenager he remembered—she was just a little girl.
"What on earth...?"
Even though it was a virtual environment, some "something" had forcibly implanted new memories, making it seem as if he'd lived through a full year.
Admittedly, I never expected to see a grown Bronie in that world.
Still, she had clearly inherited her mother's looks and grown into a beauty.
The sight of it must have been overwhelming for him.
Of course, it was all hypothetical, so there was no guarantee she would actually grow up that way.
"Welt, you only spent roughly a day in the virtual world in real time."
"A day? I'm positive I departed Earth a year ago—"
"It only felt like a year. Do you recall why you were lying under that virtual reality device?"
"...I have no memory of that."
Watching him clutch his head, I realized this was far more serious than I'd anticipated.
It had been just one day.
Yet in that single day, his memories were manipulated and he'd started behaving as if he were truly from that world.
The problem was, he hadn't felt anything was off.
"If it hadn't been for Kiana, things could have gone terribly wrong."
"...Now that you mention it, Kiana did come looking for me, right?"
"Yes. We couldn't pull you out from the outside, so the only option was to enter the virtual world ourselves."
Because of that, I was originally supposed to go in.
I can wield the power of Finality and, if push comes to shove, transform into a Super Saiyan God to channel divine ki.
However, Nagamitsu opposed my plan and blocked me.
She argued that since this device was practically built by Welt and me, she hadn't yet had the chance to fully understand it.
Granted, given more time, brilliant scientists like Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla could have cracked it, but we were on a deadline—and since that "something" was using my power to protect Welt, if I went in and faltered, we both could be in danger.
"I didn't exactly want to die myself, you know."
Her admission, as she hugged herself and trembled, left me at a loss for words.
Regardless, we needed someone else to enter the virtual world in my place.
The only prerequisites were someone who could resist memory manipulation by that "something" and protect Welt—at the very least, a stigmata user or someone with equivalent abilities.
Fortunately, I had plenty of candidates around me, but it was still hypothetical.
Any misstep and Welt would be trapped in the virtual world, so I hesitated—until Kiana happened to pass by and volunteered to do it herself.
The reason was simple: she didn't want to see me in pain.
It was so like Kiana. I explained the risks, but she rushed over and strapped into the device beside Welt without a second thought, diving into the virtual world to save him.
"Where's Kiana now?"
"By now, she should have—"
"Huh~ I'm back." Before I could finish, Kiana sat up and peeled off the VR helmet.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just a little dizzy, otherwise I'm fine."
I checked her condition as she rubbed her forehead, then let out a sigh of relief and began removing the devices from her body.
These devices weren't just for connecting to the virtual world—they were instruments wielding Collapse energy to observe the [Imaginary Tree] and the [Sea of Quanta], and to explore the Bubble World.
But the interference of that "something" had forcibly linked us to the [Imaginary Tree], causing this mess.
"I was really surprised. I had no idea it would feel that real."
"Aside from that, did you notice anything strange?"
"Hmm… well, the forced implantation of foreign memories. Even though it was my first time seeing that teenage Bronie, I felt like I already knew her. If I had stayed there any longer, my memories of the real world would have grown just as hazy as Welt's."
"...I see."
Welt fell silent at Kiana's words.
Kiana's explanation gave me a few clues.
I'd had my suspicions too.
About five minutes after I connected, communication with Welt was still stable.
But then the connection abruptly cut, and no matter what we tried, we couldn't bring him back—that's how we ended up here.
"But Kevin, what exactly is that 'something'? You mentioned it as the root cause."
"'Something'? What do you mean by that?" Welt, having roughly pieced his thoughts together, gave me a puzzled look at Kiana's question.
With their eyes on me and my life on the line, I decided they had the right to know. I tapped at the virtual keyboard hovering in midair and pulled up the screen.
"Oh? I didn't expect you to connect so soon."
"Well, the experiment's over, so it makes sense you'd connect."
"So, do you like it?"
"I like it a lot—enough to want to meet you in person."
"Heh heh, too bad. Maybe next time. I have no reason to go to that world."
They stared wide-eyed at the woman laughing to herself—it was a face so familiar.
Her outfit had changed, and her features were slightly different, but it was unmistakable.
"So it's you?"
She flashed a coy smile. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Her nonchalant denial made me furious; I held back my anger and let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"Someone precious to me almost ended up in serious trouble. So you'd better explain yourself properly."
- Akibiri.
Hehe, ahahaha~!
Rejoice! At last, my queue of recommendation requests has thinned!
Finally, the bubble has burst.
See? This was only a momentary sparkle!
So, dear readers, feel free to make your escape!
Give in to my wisdom and tenacity!
Anyway, everyone—it's been fun.
If you enjoyed it, please, whatever you do, don't give a recommendation—just go!
Then I'll be—
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