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R A I S I N G ◦ A N ◦ N P C !

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▶ BOOK 1: M A K I N G ◦ A N ◦ N P C !
▶ CHAPTERS: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

⊹˚₊·‧Chapter 11: Case

Her body was shaking. She didn’t know why. She looked over her shoulder again. The display now showed 6. She was so close.

Even though it didn't make any logical sense, Pierrosie pointed the brightening tool at the masses.
It immediately made all of them stop.
However, the entity next to her didn't start moving right away.
It shook slowly at first, with its movement speed increasing.

So there was a short delay.

Pierrosie understood.
She shone the light back and forth from both ends of the corridor.
This didn’t stop the approaching threads fully — but it slowed them down.
Hopefully enough until the elevator arrived.

Pierrosie pressed her back against the cold doors.
The model next to her was now so close that it reached for her.
She had no other choice — she had to use the brightening tool only on that entity.
Which ultimately caused all the other persona models to come closer swiftly.

Just as they were only about 5 self-units away, she fell back into the open elevator.

Immediately, dozens of entities appeared in front of it, trying to get in. But there was light inside the elevator. It froze them.

They were so numerous that they crowded the entire opening.
It looked wrong. And threatening. Pierrosie didn’t like it.
She quickly pushed one of the floor buttons that she could reach with her brightening tool.

And finally, the doors closed, shutting out the disturbing constructs.

She was safe. For now. 

---

“How are you holding on…?” Pomni asked softly while kneeling in front of Ragatha, who was sitting in the row of seats and holding onto the case they had received from the adventure.

The others argued about something a bit further away.

She didn’t answer at first, and Pomni didn’t push her.

Eventually, though, she said, “To think we lost her just for… this.” Not elaborating on what ‘this’ meant exactly. Maybe the case. Maybe the adventure. It didn’t matter.

Pomni got up and sat next to her, holding her hand and kissing it.

“I’m… I don’t know how to feel, to be honest. Or how to name my emotions, Pomni. I feel like my sanity is dangling on a thread… and this scares me, too.”

Pomni left the back of Ragatha’s hand on her mouth, listening closely.

Ragatha’s breath shook when she continued, “From the moment on I decided to have her, I only thought about how to deal with her existence. But… never about losing her. I’m scared of what her absence does to me. How much I already changed…”

“Ragatha…” Pomni began, pulling Ragatha’s hand on her chest, roughly where her heart should be, if her avatar would’ve had one. “...that’s unfortunately the price for love. That you care. That the cared-for person becomes part of you.”

Ragatha looked at Pomni, her gaze lost, seeking for help.

“Do you think it’s… it’s stupid…? How much I care about something every normal being outside this simulation would call a thing…?” 

“First off, don’t call my baby that,” Pomni responded in a lighthearted tone, which conjured the faintest smile on the face of the other woman. Then she continued, “And secondly… It couldn’t be further from the truth. You, feeling so much for her…? It… it honestly is the reason that made me fall… fall in love with you.”

The ragdolled human made a soft gasping noise.

It was the first time Pomni had declared her feelings in such a direct manner, after all.

Part of her wanted to crack a joke. Or take it back. To take away some of the weight of it.

But she didn’t. Because it was true. Seeing this side of Ragatha had been the reason Pomni wanted to look closer. The reason she was finally able to grasp her as a person. It made her able to see how strong and beautiful she really was.

Not because Pierrosie was her child; Ragatha could’ve mothered anyone’s kid.

But the fact that it was from Pomni — at least in the figurative sense, by idea and code — had been a jumpstart.

Also…

Pomni cared about Pierrosie, too. Painfully so.

“D… d-don’t forget that you’re not alone with this,” she added, flustered about having been this open about her emotions. “We’re a team. She means… a lot to me, too. And you don’t think that my feelings are stupid, do you…?”

Ragatha looked almost shocked. “O-of course not!”

“See” Pomni answered, kissing her hand again. “So don’t beat yourself up on top of everything. We will get through this. She will get through this. And in the end, she might even be proud about this weird quest reward, because it’s proof of her first big success.”

“Wait…” Ragatha said, while staring at the case, “Isn’t… w-wait…”

Pomni’s body tensed up. “What is it?”

“This case… didn’t Caine say that the issue is that the connection to the world has been severed? Did I understand that correctly? So… so maybe this object still has a connection they could pick up?”

Pomni’s eyes lit up. “Ragatha… that… that might work.”

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