“Other pathways? Tell me, how did you come up with that idea?” His eyes were focused.

  “Aren’t the pathways shaped by the hierarchy of society’s beliefs? Even the smaller groups should be able to open up their own pathways.” I took the pastry and ate it.

  He fell silent, murmuring to himself.

  “Once the pathways are opened, they will remain for eternity. As the pathways themselves are the representation of humanity’s existential thoughts,” I said.

  “…”

  He faced away from me and walked around the room. As the tea started to cool down, the door was slowly opened.

  “Hello?” The familiar feminine voice.

  The door opened, revealing Philia, who looked exactly as we first met. Her eyebrows furrowed. As soon as she looked at me, she walked towards me.

  “Rirthe, are you okay now?” She sat on the bed.

  “I’m alright, thank you for worrying about me,” I smiled at her.

  She immediately hugged me. Her warm hands held me, and her soft hair brushed against my face. A quiet warmth spread through me.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t arrive sooner,” her voice was slightly cracked.

  She patted my head. I couldn’t reject her dismay.

  “I’m the one who should say it,” I sat still.

  On the other side, Sievert stopped his rotation. He approached us. A weary look was drawn over his face. Philia noticed Sievert.

  “What are you thinking about?” Philia asked him.

  “Sorry for bothering both of you,” he said.

  Then, Ethia suddenly entered this room. He walked and jumped to my side, sitting. I noticed a letter on his body. The letter was addressed to my name.

  “Why is Ethia here?” Philia asked.

  I took the letter and opened it. There wasn’t any message inside, but an item. It couldn’t be identified. Neither of them. I handed the item to Sievert.

  “I couldn’t see the purpose of its existence,” he looked at it thoroughly.

  “I never saw it before. Was it kind of a broken flower?” Philia judged it by its similar appearance to a flower.

  What did Ethia mean by it?

  “Rirthe,” immediately, Sievert called me as he was still investigating the flower.

  I looked at his face.

  “Which pathway will you take if you discover beyond the main pathways?” He gazed at me and handed me the flower.

  My body froze, my mind went blank, and I couldn’t open my mouth.

  “Did you know how many unknown pathways are forbidden? The record says that the first human with common sense was around fifty-thousand years ago.” He walked towards the door.

  “Don’t be na?ve,” then, he stepped out of the room.

  Philia and I went silent. I gazed at the broken flower, pondered. Ethia rolled himself out and fell asleep.

  “Sievert sometimes likes that if anyone acts like they know all. So, don’t take it seriously,” Philia patted my head.

  The cat snored. I was confused about what I had to do. I put the flower beside Ethia. I got out of bed. I looked at myself, useless. I felt guilty for taking care of myself. They didn’t hope in return.

  “How about we explore this playhouse? This was your first time entering here, right?” Philia stood up and approached me.

  I just nodded my head at her. Then, Philia held my hand and pulled me out of the room. The grandfather’s clock rang, showing midday. We walked through the hallway in silence. I stared down, never looking at what was in front of me.

  Feeling that I should have died since the day it rained. I felt guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

  “Yahoo~ Did someone bring a new member here~?” A female voice called.

  She seemed joyful and excited.

  “Ah… Long time no see Phoebe!” She waved her hand.

  Curious, I raised my view to the front. I was stunned. There were a ton of children here. They were playing around the huge room as if it were a playground.

  “Why are there so many children here?” I asked them.

  Both of them were confused.

  “Rirthe, what do you mean many children here?” Philia looked at me.

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  “Huh… Wasn’t there a bunch of children playing around?” I gazed at Philia’s face.

  Then, footsteps were heard by me. It became closer and closer towards us.

  “Oyy~ Am I cute?” Phoebe immediately held both of my cheeks and moved my gaze towards her face.

  I noticed her eye color was asymmetrical. The left side was light red while the right side was brown.

  “Um… Could you let go,” I begged her.

  “Ahh, my fault,” she released her hands from me.

  She wore a small black velvet hat with an indigo flower on the side of it. With her flaxen hair underneath the hat. The dress she wore was semi-formal gray and white.

  “Anyway, can you tell me how many children there are?” Phoebe asked.

  “Can’t you see them?” I gazed at the children.

  “No I can’t,” she lilted.

  Why? Neither of them could see the children. I tried to count them one by one. But they scattered and roamed around making it hard to count them.

  “Stop!!!” Suddenly, Phoebe shouted towards them.

  After a sec’, they all stopped moving. I was surprised. How was she doing it? I looked at her. She was holding a rabbit doll.

  “There were thirty-two children,” I counted all of them.

  “Thanks for counting them,” Phoebe tilted and handshake me.

  The children were standing still and staring at the bunny doll. Perhaps, it was some sort of speciality thing that Phoebe had.

  “What kind of doll is that?” I looked at her.

  “Hmm? Ahh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Phoebe Efaxira, and she is Juliea Efaxira,” she showed the doll to me.

  As the children went back to the “playground,” Philia came to us and brought the broken flower. Suddenly, the children got attracted to the flower. They rushed towards us. But as they started to come in contact with us, their bodies passed through our soma. The children gathered for the flower.

  “Lady Phoebe, may I ask something?” I gazed at her.

  “Just call me Phoebe, sure,” She picked up the broken flower and tried to investigate it.

  “Who are these children? Why can your doll command them?” I asked.

  Phoebe stared at the broken flower. She began to sit down. The children surrounded her as they were waiting for something.

  “I was the ‘mother’ of them, the children of Edellweish. With Juliea, they assemble for the meaning of family.” She slowly rotated the flower and looked at it earnestly.

  Philia and I went silent as she sat with a lonely feeling. The children began to sit, watching Phoebe play with the flower in silence.

  “You know, these children weren’t pure living beings anymore. But I believe that their faith hasn’t been diminished in this world. They were all here, as the children believe in that faith,” she smiled.

  “…”

  “Juliea, she is awesome. She is the one who cares, motivates, and supports me. Perhaps, it will be everlasting or end vastly.” She then dropped the flower and slowly it disintegrated into dust.

  The children stood up and gathered, hugging Phoebe.

  “I wish for something, something that’s hard to let go of,” Phoebe ascended her body.

  “What is it?” Philia asked.

  “I wish they would leave this world and rest peacefully.”