No other word can describe our dark imagination, or our bitter reality, making you forget the lost melody of dreams in the depths of nowhere. Alice, a girl with a distorted soul wanting revenge on her fate, corruption clinging to her every step, and hope, a mere star shining amidst the dark void.
No one realizes it, but the nightmare… has become reality.
******
Alice wiped the corruption from her forehead, and the symbol vanished back into her body as she looked at Otto, whose heart was struck by shock.
Alice sat on the chair and began to speak: "I was right… my nightmares are still there… Otto… what should I do?" Alice, with worry and confusion.
"Just a moment for me to process this, Alice… I want to understand… that symbol… and the corruption… explain to me what that means!" Otto, impulsively, with astonishment and concern.
At that moment, Alice raised her hands, closed her eyes, then opened them to say: "Take me to Eve… Otto.." Alice turned to Otto, who was surprised, saying: "What happened to your eyes…."
"What?" Alice in astonishment.
******
Alice sat beside Eve, raising her hands and closing her eyes.
Otto didn't comprehend what happened and remained standing, looking at the scene with astonishment, confusion, and shock, thinking: 'How could this happen… I never expected things to become this complicated… Ever since I took over Noone's case… I discovered many things… The Ferryman… an entity that tracks any child who enters the world of nightmares… including my sister Cici… and Noone… to allow them to fully enter that world… But… the strange thing is… Eve… She was an anomaly that couldn't be described… Her nightmares initially consisted of a maze of similar corridors and rooms… and the monsters that haunted her… were very similar… but she saw the same Dwarf that Noone saw… However, the surprising thing… was her rejection by the Ferryman… But… when she fully crossed the threshold… that void almost collapsed… At that moment… the Ferryman… was about to say something: "You… don't know… Zero… she is…"... What exactly was he trying to say… And the strange thing… was that Zero's body didn't disappear… and at the threshold… her body was different… and that necklace around her neck… Does this mean… that the Ferryman only chooses a certain category… No… The Ferryman wasn't chasing Ethan until I brought her in… There's something about Eve… or rather, Zero… perhaps… that necklace… The moment that Ferryman wanted to grab her… it glowed with a light that weakened him… and also Alice… If Alice returned to the real world because of her… this explains the Ferryman's rejection… Can Eve know how to return… Did the Ferryman know what Eve intended to do… If that's true… then the Ferryman… doesn't have full control over the threshold… unless… he has the link between it and its owner… But Alice didn't tell me she sees her threshold… Does this mean… that the Ferryman has put-'
At that moment, Alice stood on her feet, moving towards Otto, as if hiding something in her hands.
"Alice… I don't understand… what do you mean?" Otto, puzzled.
"Otto… (She opened her hands, and Otto was shocked to see corruption in her hands)... I succeeded." She said that, her green eyes wide open.
"How did this corruption get into your hands…?"
The corruption vanished from Alice's hands, her eyes returning to their gray color. She raised her head towards Otto, saying in a strange tone: "My other self… tried to get out of the void… When I returned to reality… I still retained the power of the corruption in my body… but it had disappeared."
"... (Shock)..'... An unsettling feeling… that tone… her demeanor has completely changed..'... But how did you regain it?" Otto.
At that moment, Alice turned, raised her hand, pointing to Eve: "When I approached my sister… Otto… I couldn't understand… how it happened… but… when I sat… next to Eve… I felt a strange sensation… it connected me… to my other self… as if Eve… {is a link}."
At that moment, Otto grabbed Alice's arm. She turned to him in astonishment, signs of surprise evident on his face, saying: "This is it… Eve… as long as Eve's body is in this world… there's still a link besides the threshold between the two worlds… And yet… I'm not sure… but unraveling the threads is easy now… Stay here… Mike will come… wait here." Otto said, rushing towards his office.
"Wait… Otto… what do you mean… 'Did I say something strange?..'" Alice, confused.
****
Alice sat next to Eve. Otto and the receptionist entered, dragging something covered with a white shroud. They set it up next to Alice and Eve, excitement evident on Otto's face. Alice wondered, asking why.
At that moment, the worker removed the shroud to reveal the same device Otto had used with Eve.
"Mike… connect the device to Eve." Otto, adjusting the device.
"Okay." The worker began placing the helmet on Zero's head, securing each needle in place.
"It's the same device… Alice, comprehending… Wait… Otto… Is this your idea?"
"Don't move, Alice…" The worker said, securing the helmet and needles on Alice.
"Alice… you said you had an entity when you were in the world of nightmares…" Otto asked.
"Yes."
"And that you returned to reality thanks to Eve…"
"Yes, Otto…"
"You told me about that demon that possessed Eve…"
"I said that… but…" Alice, with concern.
"And also… Alice… don't you remember how Eve brought you back to reality?"
"I told you, Otto… I don't know." Alice, annoyed.
"And yet… if it works… then what the Ferryman tried to prevent… is what we're going to do now… Mike, start the device when I give the signal…"
"Okay, Otto…" Mike.
"Alice… focus as you did before… close your eyes… try… don't give up… delve deep within yourself… connect to the threshold with your imagination…" Otto said, turning to Alice.
"Otto… I… I don't know if this will work… I'm scared." Alice, with fear and tension.
"Alice, don't worry… We are with you… if anything happens-"
"I don't mean that… Otto… this is the only way we can convince Eve to come back… she won't come back… until she finds Lily… This feeling… The Ferryman doesn't want Eve to stay in that world… if she truly wanted to come back… she would have surrendered to that cursed Ferryman… Eve doesn't want to come back… she wants to stay there… Should I stop her… or support her?" Alice, screaming and crying.
At that moment, Otto patted Alice's shoulder, saying: "Alice… we don't fully know Eve's goal… you understand her feelings… being the first to know her… Alice, we won't know unless we try… Even my sister Cici… when she left… I felt she wanted to leave me indifferently… but… I still hope… she wants to see me again… Even Eve didn't surrender to the Ferryman to save you… that was her dream… and if she could save you… she is very sure… that she will save Lily… and she will return…"
"Otto… I… I don't know… I failed my friend and sister… she wanted to know about the world… she loved reading mythology books… and sharing her strange ideas… but… I didn't care that much… until I heard about her sudden friendship with Lily… she wanted to make friends with others… because she was lonely… even Maria and Bell wanted to get rid of their loneliness and regret towards their lost son… Otto… when I entered the world of nightmares… I only thought of myself… that cursed one promised me that I would dream again… Regret is killing me… You are right… as long as Eve hasn't forgotten me… she wants to see me again… Ready.." Alice, wiping her tears, closing her eyes, her long-lost smile appearing.
"Ready… Otto." Mike, excitedly.
"..... Now."
********
Even amidst the darkness of despair, there is a hope that still exists, not a false one, armed by its owner in the midst of nowhere. Alice, that soul trapped in her chain of Pain, frees herself time after time, confronting that fear in her heart. Is this the beginning of the sound of her dreams ?
N.B
"I apologize for the spelling mistake. Actually, when I wrote 'Nora' I meant 'Noone', and when I wrote another word that resembled 'Ruth', it was actually Noone's real name according to the Little Nightmares podcast."