Chapter 47 – A Matter of Perspective, Oppa

I eyed Anemone suspiciously. She was still toying with us, her lavender eyes sparkling with amusement as she idly swung the watch on her wrist, her gaze fixed on the notebook in my hand. She was more interested in our findings than I’d anticipated.

“Let me see,” she said, reaching out a hand, her eyes shining with a childlike curiosity.

I hesitated, holding the notebook close. “And what if I… don’t?”

She pouted playfully, resting her chin on her hand. “I have feelings too, oppa. Don’t you want to be… nice… to me?” She tapped the table with her finger, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Or else…”

I sighed, giving in. “Fine, fine.” I handed her the notebook, and she snatched it eagerly, her lavender eyes scanning the deciphered phrases, her fingers tracing the lines of the patterns, a soft hum escaping her lips.

“Ooh,” she murmured, her voice a low purr. “Haliminyo… it’s been a while.” She paused, her brow furrowing slightly. “This first verse… I haven’t seen this before. It’s… new.”

“…New?” I echoed, my heart pounding. The first verse? New?

I looked at Yuri and Luna, their expressions mirroring my own confusion.

Yuri frowned, her gaze fixed on the notebook in Anemone’s hands.

“So… it changes?” Luna whispered, her voice barely audible.

I bit my lip, my mind racing. Anemone, however, seemed unfazed, still casually flipping through the pages, a small smile playing on her lips.

“And there’s quite a bit missing, too,” she said, her finger tracing the gaps in the poem, the missing verses.

Missing? That made sense. There were more floors to explore, more patterns to decipher. But… new? The implications of her words… they were… unsettling.

Haliminyo… it’s not just a static poem. It’s… evolving. Changing. Being added to… in real time.

“Anemone,” I said, my voice low, urgent, “who’s writing this? Who’s adding to it?”

She looked up at me, a mischievous glint in her lavender eyes. “Wouldn’t I like to know?” she said, her voice light, teasing, waving a hand dismissively. “I’ve been in this dusty old station for… well, let’s just say… a very long time. And this poem… it was here… before me.” She tapped the notebook with her finger. “So it’s not like… I’m writing it. Or that it’s… finished. It just… keeps going.”

“Keeps going?”

“Yep. Even now. Though it doesn’t exactly… write itself. It takes… time.”

I stared at the notebook, her words echoing in my mind. Haliminyo… it’s still being written. But by who? And why?

I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought, trying to make sense of it all.

Anemone’s gaze returned to the notebook, her finger tracing the lines of the deciphered poem, a small smile playing on her lips.

“So this is how… you interpret it…?” she murmured, her voice soft, thoughtful. Her finger stopped on the line “The wandering deer borrows antlers…”

“The deer… as yourselves…” Her lavender eyes sparkled. “That’s… a nice thought.” She chuckled, then her smile faded, replaced by a more… serious… expression.

“But you see, oppa…” she said, her voice low, her gaze meeting mine, “…the deer… it can also symbolize… a sacrifice.”

The lights in the station flickered, her words hanging in the air, heavy, ominous.

A sacrifice. My hand tightened around the notebook, a cold dread settling in my gut.

“…What do you mean…?”

She didn’t answer, her gaze returning to the notebook, her finger tracing the lines of the poem, a slow, deliberate movement, then a small, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips, a smile that… didn’t reach her eyes.

“Are you saying… we’re going to be… sacrificed?” Yuri asked, her voice sharp, her gaze fixed on Anemone, a challenge in her eyes.

Anemone didn’t flinch, just raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in her lavender eyes. “Who knows~?” she said, her voice light, teasing, shrugging. “That’s the beauty of… interpretation, isn’t it? Same words… different meanings.” She tapped her chin with her finger, a thoughtful expression on her face. “What’s the human word for it? Ah! Perspective! It’s all a matter of… perspective.” She extended a hand towards me, her fingers tracing a pattern in the air, a shimmering, silver line that faded almost instantly. “It’s all… subjective. In the end… it’s up to… the interpreter.”

The air in the station grew heavy, the silence… oppressive.

I looked down at the notebook, at the deciphered poem, the words echoing in my mind.

The wandering deer borrows antlers to create a golden key,

Waves of light pour down on the white stairs.

Did it really mean… sacrifice? Or was there… another interpretation?

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm. “So it’s… up to us… how we interpret it…?”

“Exactly~” Anemone grinned, nodding, then spun her watch idly on her wrist, a soft whistle escaping her lips, the sound echoing faintly in the vast, empty station. She placed a hand on her hip, her lavender eyes meeting mine, her voice low, almost… conspiratorial.

“But tell me, oppa,” she said, her gaze intense, “are you sure… that’s what it means? For you? What if… this poem… it’s not about… the deer? What if… it’s about… something else…?”

I stared at her, speechless, her words a chilling echo of my own doubts, my own fears.

“What if…” she continued, her voice soft, almost… a whisper, “…what if it’s… a warning…?”

I glared at her, my frustration bubbling to the surface. “You’re playing games with us, Anemone.”

“Games? How rude!” she protested, feigning indignation, tapping the table with her finger. “I’m just… offering you… choices.”

“Choices?!” Yuri exploded, slamming her hand on the table, her voice sharp, angry. “What choices?! You’re not telling us anything!”

Anemone chuckled, unfazed by Yuri’s outburst, her lavender eyes sparkling with amusement. She waved a hand dismissively. “Well, for example,” she said, her voice light, teasing, her gaze sweeping over us, a knowing glint in her eyes. “You’re here, aren’t you? In this station? That means…” She paused, her fingers tracing a pattern in the air, a faint, shimmering line that faded almost instantly. “You saw the… phantoms, didn’t you? The ones who… didn’t take the train. The ones who… formed that… little… cult.”

“You knew about them?” Yuri asked, her brow furrowed.

Anemone shrugged, a smug grin on her face. “Of course I did. I know… everything… that happens in this station.” Her lavender eyes shimmered, a depth of knowledge, of secrets, hidden within their depths.

“I know who took the train. And who… didn’t.” She paused, tapping the table with her finger, her gaze fixed on us, a chilling intensity in her lavender eyes. “And I know… where they went.”

My hand tightened around the notebook, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place, the implications of her words… terrifying.

“So… those who stayed behind…”

“They made a choice,” Anemone said, her voice calm, matter-of-fact, as if she were reciting a children’s story. “They chose… not to take the train. They chose… to find another way… to survive the Abyss.” She smiled, a subtle, almost imperceptible shift in her expression. “And it seems… they succeeded.”

I bit my lip, my heart pounding, her casual tone, her playful smile, a stark contrast to the chilling implications of her words. This wasn’t just a story; it was a clue. A warning.

“What… what did they do?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Anemone smiled, her lavender eyes sparkling. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Bang!

“…Anemone!” Yuri slammed her hand on the table again, her frustration boiling over.

Anemone just chuckled, unfazed, her expression almost… bored. She’d anticipated this reaction. She crossed her arms, her gaze meeting Yuri’s.

“Don’t be like that,” she said, her voice light, teasing, her gaze shifting, her fingers tracing a pattern in the air, the faint shimmer fading almost instantly. “No one said their way was a good one for you, did they?~.”

The message was clear. Those who’d stayed behind, they’d found another way. A way to survive the Abyss, without taking the train. But their way… it wasn’t necessarily… a good way.

Anemone’s lavender eyes sparkled. “I’ve given you enough hints. Perhaps a little… reward… is in order?” Her gaze held ours, a subtle challenge, a silent question.

I watched her, my guard still up, my curiosity piqued. What was she going to tell us?

“I’ll give you… this,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “Your decision… not to take the train…?” Her smile deepened. “That was a… very wise choice.”

“…What?” I stared at her, speechless.

Yuri and Luna, too, looked at her, their expressions a mixture of confusion and… disbelief.

“What do you mean? You were the one who… offered us the choice…”

Anemone took a deep breath, a playful smile on her lips. “Exactly,” she said, her voice light, teasing. “A purely… rhetorical question. I was just… curious… to see… what you would do~”

“But what does that mean?”

Anemone chuckled, her expression still playful, but this time, there was a… a subtle shift in her demeanor, a hint of something… more.

“Has the outside world changed so much?” she murmured, her voice almost… wistful. She flicked her fingers, the lights in the station flickering again, a subtle reminder of her… power.

“If you want to take the train…” she said, her voice low, her gaze meeting ours, a chilling intensity in her lavender eyes, “…you need a… ticket.”