Chapter 53 – Let’s Go Get Our Tickets

Morning arrived, the station’s dim lights gently illuminating the platform.

I rose and looked at Yuri and Luna, asleep on the sofa, Luna curled up against Yuri, held close in an unconscious embrace.

I gently shook Yuri’s shoulder. “Yuri, wake up.”

“Mmm…?” Yuri stirred, a frown creasing her face, then slowly opened her eyes.

Though I’d never say it aloud, Yuri was beautiful, even without makeup. I’d complimented her once, long ago, only to be met with a playful punch. I still didn’t understand her reaction. Hadn’t it been a sincere compliment? Elise had only responded with, “Oppa, you’re hopeless.”

Yuri blinked sleepily, her gaze unfocused. Then—

her eyes sharpened.

“…Noah?”

“What?”

She stared, as though seeing me anew. “…Did you go somewhere last night?”

“…Huh?” I blinked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know. You seem… different.” She continued to study me, a puzzled frown on her face. “Your eyes have changed.”

I froze.

Your eyes have changed.

I understood her words implicitly.

Last night, I’d understood the meaning of the tickets. I’d chosen my path.

Had that choice changed my eyes?

I took a breath.

“Mmm…?” Luna mumbled in her sleep, then stirred and slowly opened her eyes. “Noah, Yuri, good morning,” she greeted, still drowsy, then stretched.

“Good morning, Luna.”

It was time.

Time to get our tickets.

I led Yuri and Luna to the upper level, to the station entrance, the place where we’d first arrived on the 10th floor. The sea stretched before us, sunlight shimmering on the distant waves. The water lapped gently at the bottom of the stairs, as if threatening to consume the station entirely. The quiet murmur of the waves, the play of light on the water—a tranquil scene.

I placed my hand on the railing and took a deep breath. It was time to tell them.

“Yuri, Luna.” My voice was calm, carried on the gentle sea breeze.

They looked at me expectantly.

“I understand the meaning of the tickets.”

Yuri frowned. “The meaning…?”

Luna, clinging to Yuri’s sleeve, tilted her head.

“Here, tickets aren’t just for boarding the train.” My voice was steady. “To navigate this Abyss, this labyrinth… we need a clear destination.”

Yuri bit her lip, listening intently.

“Simply wanting to reach the bottom isn’t enough. That’s just a direction, not a destination.”

“So if we choose a destination… we get a ticket?” Luna whispered.

“Exactly, Luna. And Anemone knew that.”

Yuri sighed. “So just wanting to descend isn’t enough.”

I looked out at the sea. “We need to choose where we want to go. Without that choice, we’ll remain trapped here forever.”

Yuri was silent for a moment, lost in thought. Then she looked up, one eyebrow raised, her eyes sharp. “…Alright, Noah. What’s your resolve?”

Luna’s gaze rested on me, questioning yet trusting.

I met their gazes unflinchingly.

We’d been descending through the Abyss. But had my true desire been simply to descend?

Or had I been seeking something more?

I paused, then spoke, the words I’d kept buried for so long finally finding voice.

I gazed at the horizon, the waves lapping gently against the station. Words I’d never spoken aloud, truths I hadn’t dared to voice.

Truths that now demanded to be heard.

“I… want to find Elise.” My voice was surprisingly steady, the words carefully chosen, long rehearsed in the silence of my own mind. But as they hung in the air, a heavy weight settled in my chest.

Yuri’s eyes narrowed. Luna clenched her hands.

“Lost to the Abyss… her existence erased…” I bit my lip. Words I’d struggled to even think, let alone speak. But the descent had stripped away my defenses, leaving me bare. I took a breath and finally said it:

“My younger sister.”

A profound silence descended, heavier than any we’d experienced in the station.

I waited, bracing myself for their reactions. Belief? Disbelief?

But their responses were unexpected.

Luna exhaled slowly, a strange look on her face. “…I see.” Her voice was unexpectedly gentle.

I’d anticipated questions. Is that even possible? What do you mean, erased? Why didn’t you tell us?

But she asked nothing, offering only those two quiet words: “I see.”

Luna tightened her grip on my sleeve. “You had a sister, Noah.”

I nodded, my throat tight. “Yes.”

Luna squeezed my hand, then looked up at the sky, her expression unreadable. “But Noah… is there really a way to bring her back?”

“I’ll descend to the very bottom to find out.” That was my chosen destination.

Yuri, however, remained silent, her expression shifting through a range of emotions. Finally, she spoke, her voice barely a whisper:

“…Liar.”

I met her gaze. She didn’t flinch, instead stepping closer, her eyes blazing. “You had a sister, Noah?” Her voice was sharp with disbelief. “And you never told me? Me, who’s known you since we were children?”

I’d anticipated her reaction. I gave a wry smile. “…Yuri, it’s understandable that you’d react this way. I told you, Elise was lost to the Abyss.”

Yuri flinched.

“Her existence was erased.”

She waited, holding her breath.

I remembered that day. The day the Abyss claimed Elise. And Yuri—she’d been there.

“You were there, Yuri, the day she disappeared.”

Yuri’s expression wavered.

I held her gaze. “You lost your memory. Remember what you said when I mentioned Elise?”

Yuri’s lips parted, then closed, as though searching for a lost memory.

“You asked, ‘Who is Elise?’”

Yuri’s fingers trembled.

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

“I was going to the end of the Abyss.”

“To make a wish, Noah?”

“Yes.” I tightened my grip on the pendant. “To bring Elise back.”

Yuri remained silent.

A breeze stirred through the station, rippling the water.

“I thought… if I reached the bottom, I could make a wish and bring her back.”

Yuri’s gaze held a mixture of emotions.

I looked out at the sea. “But I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think Elise is at the bottom. I think she’s in the Abyss.”

Yuri’s expression tightened. “In the Abyss…?”

“At first, I thought the Abyss had swallowed her whole. That I could somehow retrieve her from the bottom.” I’d truly believed that. “But that’s not it. Elise… isn’t completely gone.”

“She’s still here, somewhere.”

I took a breath. “I didn’t see her phantom on the 10th floor. But before that—” I gestured downwards “—from the 6th floor onwards, her phantom tormented me.”

The memory of those phantoms, those echoes of Elise, sent a shiver down my spine.

“I heard her voice, saw her face.” I’d been forced to listen, to see. “But whenever I reached out… she vanished.”

I looked at Yuri, my voice firm. “Elise is still somewhere in the Abyss. And I’m going to find her.”

Yuri stared at me, her expression unreadable. “…Then the end of this journey is predetermined.”

“Yes. I’ll descend to the very bottom, and I’ll bring Elise back.”

The water rippled, as if the Abyss itself acknowledged my resolve.

“And to do that—” I turned toward the platform “—I’m taking the train to the 11th floor. That is my destination.”

Yuri listened silently.

Luna gazed at me, her voice soft with a mixture of worry and trust. “Noah…”

I smiled, squeezing her hand. “Luna, Yuri, this is my chosen path. What about yours?”

I looked at them, waiting for their decision. Would they join me? Or remain behind?

[TL: Due to lacking support I will not be translating any new chapters as I am focusing on uploading more chapters on series that people are willing to support. If you wish to keep reading this series via me translating simply join the discord and mention that you want me to continue this novel in general chat]