"They are the same. It doesn't look like the contamination is increasing, but it's not decreasing either," Selene replied.

She exhaled slowly, and tried to smile. "On the good side, this place is bright and sunny. If it were dark, Ellyn would've hated it."

"Bright and sunny?" Mira asked, glancing around.

Selene nodded, much to Mira's confusion.

Selene looked toward the door.

"We should get ready to move. The announcement said subjects would be recaptured. That means someone or something will come for us."

Mira nodded. "Should we hide?"

"Not yet. But let's check for exits. We might need to leave if whoever is coming to capture us arrives before Alan," Selene said.

She walked toward the shop's door, her clawed hand brushing against the counter.

She pushed it open slowly.

A long road stretched outside, and sunlight poured over the cracked pavement.

Selene stepped out.

…

Mira's POV

A few seconds ago.

Mira stood inside what looked like an endless library.

Rows of tall shelves spread out in every direction, packed with books. The air was still and smelled faintly of dust.

Selene stood beside her, checking her arm where the strange badge glowed faintly.

Mira glanced down at her own chest.

[Subject: 94]

Selene's badge read [Subject: 56].

They had both appeared in the same place, which was a small relief.

"Three more minutes until Alan should come. How are your arms? Have something changed?" Mira asked, eyes still on the clock.

"They are the same. It doesn't look like the contamination is increasing, but it's not decreasing either," Selene replied.

She exhaled slowly, and tried to smile. "On the good side, this place is bright and sunny. If it were dark, Ellyn would've hated it."

"Bright and sunny?" Mira asked, glancing around.

Selene nodded, much to Mira's confusion.

Mira looked around again.

The place wasn't dark, but it wasn't exactly bright either.

There were no windows, or sunlight, just a soft white glow from the ceiling.

'Well, I guess it's bright enough for Ellyn.'

Selene was looking around carefully.

"We should get ready to move. The announcement said subjects would be recaptured. That means someone or something will come for us."

Mira nodded. "Should we hide?"

"Not yet. But let's first check for exits. We might need to leave if whoever is coming to capture us arrives before Alan," Selene said.

Mira's brow furrowed.

Escape to where?

There was nothing here but book shelves here.

That was the moment Mira realized something was wrong.

But before she could say anything, Selene was already moving.

Selene was standing in front of a nearby book shelve.

Then she raised one clawed hand and traced the air in front of it.

Her fingers moved as if opening an invisible door.

Before Mira could react, Selene stepped forward.

Her body passed through the solid book shelf and disappeared.

"Selene!" Mira shouted, rushing over.

There was no trace of her sister.

The book shelve was hard, and couldn't be damaged, or moved.

She pressed her hand against it.

She couldn't phase through it like Selene.

"Selene! Where are you!?" Mira called again, her voice echoing through the empty aisles.

A soft humming sound came from behind her.

A portal formed, its edges glowing faintly silver.

Alan stepped through.

"Hey—"

"My sister just went into that book shelf and disappeared. She hasn't come back. You said you can track us using the space stones, right? Then track her. We need to regroup," Mira said quickly.

Alan didn't move.

He just looked at her quietly.

Mira frowned. "Why are you just standing there?"

"I can't sense Selene's space stone," Alan said finally.

"What?" Mira blinked. "What do you mean you can't sense it?"

He sighed. "It's the nature of this Cursed Spirit's domain. If she entered a place that can't be accessed by your standards, then she's not coming back."

Mira's expression hardened. "How do you even know how this domain works?"

"I'll explain. But first, tell me what you see here," Alan said, glancing around.

Mira took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

She knew that panicking wouldn't help.

She looked around carefully, describing what she saw.

"There are shelves everywhere, books stacked up to the ceiling. The floor looks like marble, and there's no door, no window. It's quiet. That's it."

Alan nodded slowly. "You're in a library."

"…Why are you talking like you're not in the same place?" Mira asked.

"Because I'm not. For me, this is a ten-by-twelve basement room in an underground facility."

"What? Look around. This is clearly a library—"

Mira stopped mid-sentence.

She remembered what Selene had said earlier: bright and sunny.

Selene couldn't have known whether it was sunny or not.

There were no windows here, and without them they could not see the sky.

Mira's chest tightened. "You mean we're not actually in the same place?"

"Yes and no," Alan replied.

He reached out and grabbed her hand.

She felt his grip. It was solid.

"See? I can touch you. You can touch me and the books around you. But I can't touch the books.

"We are both in two different dimensions that are overlapping. This allows us to see and touch each other with some restrictions," he said.

"That's… strange," Mira said quietly.

"There's more. But I'll explain everything once we regroup with the others," Alan said, pulling his hand back.

He opened another portal, the light reflecting off the floor.

Mira stepped closer.

"Can you bring Selene back with your portals?"

"…I cannot create portals into different dimensions."

He stepped through the portal.

Mira followed, biting her lips.

…

MC's POV

I stood beside Mira.

A portal opened in front of us, leading to the location of the nearest Space Stone.

On the other side was a dark corridor.

I saw Calliope crouching, her hands gripping the air as if she was hiding behind something invisible.

It was hard to tell what it was, so I activated my Hollow Eyes.

The world lost its colors and turned into a mess of lines.

Everything overlapped: Mira's library, my corridors, and countless other shapes and patterns.

It was dizzying.

My head started to ache immediately.

Using Hollow Eyes was already difficult, but seeing so many overlapping dimensions at once was nearly unbearable.

Still, I focused and saw Calliope crouching behind what looked like a pole, or maybe a tree.

It was hard to tell.

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