Her hands were trembling... why?
Was it because of fear? Or was it heartache from the broken crystal ball? Or was it anger at the purple-haired girl's presumptuousness?
It seemed to be none of those... her hands were just trembling on their own.
Frélle was confused by her own reaction, terrified of her own reaction.
This was wrong... the rules (they) didn't allow this. She should follow (obey) the rules (them). She shouldn't show any abnormality (resistance), otherwise the rules (they) would punish her...
Don't...
Frélle wanted to grab her own hand, to stop it from trembling. Or maybe she wanted to grab her own heart, to stop herself from having those unnecessary thoughts.
She was a puppet... a puppet, a tool, a high-level talent (a high-value commodity) cultivated with all the effort of the rules (them)... She should be responsible for (restrain) herself, not casually listen to others' so-called words to save (?) her...
...
What... was that?
(?)
What did it really mean? Why couldn't she see through it? Why couldn't she understand it? No, she couldn't have anything she didn't understand (obey)... She had to understand (obey) everything!
Only by understanding (obeying) everything could she protect herself!
What did that mean... what on earth did that mean!!
The parentheses in her thoughts suddenly began to tremble. The surface and the metaphorical different phenomena began to combine, merge, and conflict before Sirin.
Rules (they), apology (submission), chains (restraint)...
No... that's not right... none of this is right!! What is real, and what is the appearance? What should she do... who should she listen to?!
She didn't know, she couldn't tell!!
? (?)
Chaos, confusion, disorder... all the elements that constituted Frélle's entire [Vision] had collapsed!
She had to find the answer... she had to find the answer!!
??? (???)
What was inside the parentheses? What was the real meaning of that word!?
Suddenly, Frélle leaned forward slightly. This instantaneous movement made the entire room come to a standstill.
The next moment, the tentacles that had just been awakening with joy all fell into a riot. Greed turned into rage. The slithering sounds of the slime became sharp and piercing, like angry curses, like whiplashes.
They approached Frélle in anger, spontaneously forming shackles of flesh and blood, to chain her back in place, so that she would never leave their control for all eternity.
Rules (?), chains (?)...
But all the truth was buried. Frélle stared blankly ahead.
These... were not the truths she wanted...
She wanted...
...to see the truth for herself!!
One step out!
Frélle's trembling hand shot forward! At this instant, the tentacles swarmed up, wrapping around Frélle from all angles!
But they couldn't completely restrain her. In fact, here, they couldn't stop Frélle from doing what she wanted to do at all!
Frélle struggled to peel away the tentacles that were trying to block her vision. But she had been accustomed to darkness before, so she was still moving forward, toward that gap!
The chains binding her suddenly tightened. This time, she was really held back.
[You should not leave!]
It was her own voice...
Frélle turned her head. Although it was a pitch-black darkness, she could still "see" a pitch-black version of herself standing behind her. Cold chains extended from her body, imprisoning her hands and feet.
[You don't know what is right and what is wrong... If you judge everything by yourself, you will only make mistake after mistake, and eventually waste your talent and devalue yourself.]
The pitch-black self stood firmly in place, letting Frélle struggle.
[We can help you see reality, understand your situation, and choose the most correct path for you, so that you don't waste your life.]
[Only the family will cultivate you with such effort. Everyone outside wants you dead. They will try everything to make you fall, so that you give up your share of the benefits!]
[And you want to leave us because of a single sentence from someone else? To leave everything we have planned for you? To leave the broad road that can lead you to success and fame?!]
[Frélle, you remember! Only we are for your own good!!]
"I don't want this kind of good—!!"
The black shadow was stunned.
It was a heart-wrenching cry. Frélle didn't stop struggling. She was still stubbornly trying to break free from the chains, trying to reach for the crystal fragment that could cut her.
Only the expression that seemed to have been completely formulaic had changed, showing the fragile expression of an eleven-year-old girl.
"I don't want the praise I get for my grades... nor the glorious applause on stage... I don't want these... I don't want any of them!!"
The chains ground bloody marks on her body. The entwined tentacles gnawed at her, leaving her covered in wounds.
But she was still struggling.
[What else can you get besides these?]
"But without these! What do I have left?!"
Frélle shouted in despair. The violent struggle made the taut chains let out a piercing sound of tearing metal.
"It's not me you welcome! Those applause are not for me either!! It could be anyone on stage! The awards, trophies, and medals can be in anyone's home!!
"But what about me?! Do I have anything else?! Can I only rely on those things to maintain everyone's attitude towards me?!
"If one day I have nothing, everyone will leave me! Are they for me or for those things!!"
[The world is material, people are hypocritical. Everyone wears a mask. If you don't wear one, you will be devoured and deceived by others... You should see through this world!]
Frélle's hand trembled slightly. The black shadow felt the force tightening the chains loosen.
"Is that so..." she murmured, as if she had come to terms with reality...
"But..."
"I just want... after I fail, for someone to come up and pat my shoulder, give me a hug... and then tell me—
"'It's okay...'"
["It's okay, Noah. You did great this time."
"Mm... thank you, Teacher Ludwig."]
"Just like that girl, who, after seeing me in such darkness, would still resolutely say to me... she wants to save (save) me!!!"
The parentheses in her consciousness and the shackles on her body shattered at the same time.
The real, the surface, everything became distinct at this moment. What were rules, and what were the rules they set up. What was an apology, and what was submission and surrender...
And that save—was just save!
Salvation!!
Cognition was reconstructed. The world once again embraced this newborn.
Frélle grabbed the crystal dagger on the wall. The tentacles danced, but they could no longer stop her advance.
Grabbing the fragment that would cut her hand, Frélle used all her strength to slash fiercely.
The wall opened... The outside world was desolate and dilapidated.
But there was still sunlight.
Was it worth it?
It must be...
Even if... just for the chance to see the sun.