Chapter 11 – Not Entirely Wrong, Yuri

The fog thickened, pressing in on me, cold and damp, constricting my chest with every breath. Each step was treacherous, the ground unstable beneath my feet, my body swaying precariously, threatening to plunge me into the unseen depths below.

But it wasn’t the fog, nor the unstable ground that tormented me most. It was
her
voice. Familiar, yet chillingly alien. Alice’s voice, cold as ice, piercing my heart.

“Oppa,” she whispered, her voice echoing in the fog, “why did you leave me?”

I stumbled, turning towards the sound. A faint silhouette materialized in the mist, solidifying, taking shape.

“Alice…?”

There she was again, my tormentor, my accuser. Her youthful face, her long brown hair, her bright, innocent eyes… all exactly as I remembered.

“You always did this, oppa,” she said, her voice laced with accusation. “You pretended to care, but in the end, your own desires always came first.”

“No… that’s not true… you don’t understand… I…” My voice trembled, my hands flying to my head.

“Don’t understand?” she scoffed, stepping closer, the darkness beneath her feet seeming to deepen, to swallow the light. “You answered without hesitation, didn’t you? When the Abyss demanded its price.”

I couldn’t speak. The memory of that moment, the shimmering crystal, the echoing voice of the Abyss, my outstretched hand… it was all too vivid, too real.

“You chose the crystal,” she continued, her voice cold, accusing. “You chose your own desires over me. You abandoned me.”

“No! I didn’t choose! I… I…” I fell to my knees, the ground tilting beneath me, the world spinning. I knew she was a phantom, a figment of my guilt, yet her words pierced me, twisting in my gut, a constant reminder of my failure.

“You’ll never forget me, oppa. You’ll suffer for the rest of your life, remembering what you did.”

“Stop… please… Alice, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

And then, another voice cut through the fog, sharp, clear, desperate.

“Noah! Where are you?!”

It wasn’t Alice. It was Yuri, her voice warm, urgent, a lifeline in the suffocating fog.

“Yuri…?”

A faint light flickered in the distance, growing steadily brighter, pushing back the fog, cutting a path towards me.

“Noah! Answer me! Please!”

Yuri. Her form emerged from the mist, her hair disheveled, her breath coming in ragged gasps, but her eyes… her eyes shone with a fierce determination.

“Noah! What happened?! You look terrible!”

“You shouldn’t be here,” I mumbled, my voice weak. “It’s dangerous…”

“Dangerous?” she retorted, stepping closer, her voice laced with worry, but firm. “And you were just going to… what? Give up?”

“Yuri, you don’t understand… what I saw… you…”

“I don’t need to understand.” She cut me off, her voice unwavering. “All I need to know is that you’re hurting. And I’m not leaving you here.”

She knelt beside me, taking my hand, her touch warm, solid, anchoring me to reality.

“Noah, get up. This isn’t like you. You can’t give up.”

“Yuri… you don’t know… what I…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Her voice was firm, resolute. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”

Alice’s phantom flickered, its form growing more distinct. But Yuri… Yuri didn’t seem to see her.

“Let’s go, Noah,” she said, pulling me gently to my feet. “We need to get out of here.”

Alice’s voice echoed in my mind, a chilling whisper.

“She’ll leave you too. Everyone leaves you. You’ll be alone.”

“No!” I shouted, my voice cracking. “I’m not alone! I have Yuri! And you… you can’t hurt me anymore!”

Alice’s image wavered, her form fragmenting like shattered glass.

“Oppa…” she whispered, her voice fading. “…you’ll forget me, too…”

And then, she was gone.

“Noah?” Yuri asked, her brow furrowed with concern. “What were you looking at? What was it that upset you so much?”

I hesitated. What could I say? She wouldn’t understand. The Abyss had taken Alice from her, not just physically, but from her very memory.

“Nothing,” I said, forcing a smile. “Just… a phantom of the Abyss.”

Yuri looked at me skeptically, but she let it drop.

“We made a promise, Noah,” she said softly, her hand tightening around mine. “We’re going to see the end of this. You said so yourself.”

I nodded, gripping her hand, drawing strength from her presence. The Abyss was still testing me, but this time… this time I wasn’t alone.

“Let’s go,” I said, my voice stronger now.

As the fog cleared, a breathtaking sight unfolded before us. A vast library, unlike anything I’d ever imagined. The ceiling soared into infinity, the bookshelves spiraling upwards like living trees, their curves and angles a chaotic yet strangely beautiful tapestry. The floor was transparent, reflecting the light, revealing a dizzying drop into the darkness below. Each step we took sent ripples of light spreading outwards.

The bookshelves were tilted, twisted, the books themselves facing every which way, their pages whispering secrets into the silent air. A cool, blue light, not quite fluorescent, pulsed along the edges of the shelves, giving the entire library a sense of… life, of movement.

At the center of the library, a massive book hovered in mid-air, its pages slowly turning, its thickness impossible to gauge. The text was indecipherable, but shadowy figures flickered across the pages, forming and dissolving, like fragments of memories.

On the floor beneath the book, the library’s pattern, the Eye of Memory, glowed softly, its pupil slowly rotating, as if watching, waiting.

As we approached, the massive book stopped turning. A deep voice resonated through the library, its words echoing off the spiraling bookshelves.

“Seekers who have passed the trial, who have faced the past and endured… you are offered a choice.”

The pages of the book turned, revealing a seemingly infinite list of titles, a catalog of memories, of experiences, of knowledge.

“This is the heart of the Great Library, the repository of the Abyss’s memories. Choose wisely. You have but one choice.”

I glanced at Yuri. She stood beside me, her gaze fixed on the book, her expression calm, resolute.

“Yuri,” I said quietly, “you choose first.”

She nodded, stepping forward. She reached out, her hand brushing against the page, and a single book detached itself from the massive tome, floating towards her. She took it, holding it close.

“Noah, your turn.”

I looked at the book, my mind racing.
Which one? Which one will help us most?

The voice of the Abyss echoed again, cold, implacable.

“You have not yet overcome. Only one book is permitted. The Abyss offers no second chances to the incomplete.”

My heart sank. I clenched my fists, staring at the massive book, a vast ocean of knowledge just out of reach.
No choice then. Be grateful for what we have.

I hoped Yuri had chosen well.

She held up her book, a small, leather-bound volume. “The Compendium of Abyssal Cuisine,” she said, a small smile playing on her lips. “A guide to edible ingredients in the Abyss. Figured it might come in handy.”

“Good choice,” I said, relieved. “That will definitely be useful.”

She beamed. “I thought so. We need to keep our strength up if we’re going to make it to the end.”

I nodded, forcing a smile, though a heavy weight remained in my chest. The Abyss had offered me no solace, no knowledge, no escape from the memory of Alice, of my failure.

“Oppa… you’ll forget me, too…”
Her words echoed in my mind, a painful reminder of my loss.
No. I won’t. I promise.

The massive book closed, the light fading, and a new staircase materialized at the center of the library, bathed in a soft, blue-white glow, leading downwards, deeper into the Abyss.

“I think this is the way to the next floor,” Yuri said, clutching her book tightly.

I looked at the staircase, its path disappearing into the darkness below.

“Let’s go,” I said, sighing. “We have a long way to go.”

We descended the stairs, side by side, the unknown depths of the Abyss beckoning us forward.

[Abyss – 6th Floor Terminus – 400m Underground]

Pattern: Eye of Memory.

Description: A rotating, eye-shaped pattern, its pupil emitting a soft, blue light. Located at the center of the Great Library, beneath the floating book.