CHAPTER 33

Who is my biological father? I know that I was adopted, but that never mattered to me. All that matters is that I’m living with my mom—regardless whether she was biologically linked to me or not.

What’s this? A cake? Why is there a cake here? Who’s birthday is this? Was my adventure for the last few days a daydream? If yes, that’s a long and painful daydream. Did someone put something in my drink? Mom? No. That’s someone else. I don’t recognize her.

Wait. Why am I lower? My head is a bit above the table’s level. Am I slumping? No. My posture is as straight as it can get. My head is wobbly. Am I still in a daydream? Can I wake up now?

The cake has two candles. Are they celebrating a child’s birthday? Good for them. I hope that they are happy with their child… I am the child, isn’t it? This must be some sort of memory. Can a two years old remember anything? Maybe not consciously. Subconsciously? Maybe?

A man enters the room. This must be my father. As I expected, I don’t remember him at all. ‘Father’ talks to ‘mom’. What they’re talking about? I have no idea. My baby ears can’t hear anything from this distance.

‘Father’ smiles at me.

“Suzanna, let me show you a magic trick.”

A cube appears in front of him. He’s a Cubic Leash! Then that means that I’m naturally a Cubic Leash too! Since breaking Keyward Stone gives people a subclass, could it actually gave me the species that I should’ve gotten if I weren’t a Perfect Blent? Then, the owner of the first Keyward Stone could be a Steam Sapien. The only candidate I have right now is Brenuaza. So Brenuaza should’ve had the Steam Sapien? No wonder why I can summon a pair of horns. They were meant for her.

I’m not in the room anymore. I can feel wind on my face. I’m looking at a… shirt? It is moving a lot. Wait. My whole body is moving a lot. I’m not the one generating the movement. It’s ‘mom’. She is… running?

I turn my head. We are in a slum. Why is she running?

Wait! I can hear something. It’s… siren? ‘Mom’ is running away from the police? Why? Something is missing. My subconscious isn’t showing it in the correct order. In fiction, I should get these memories either chronologically or from easiest to hardest to digest. Somewhere in the middle between these two memories is the hard memory. Maybe something that I repressed for some reason.

‘Mom’ put me inside a dumpster. “Stay.”

I remember this part! No one will appear to me for what felt like hours. My ‘next mother’ would come and turn me into a beggar. That part I can remember just fine. I don’t need my subconscious to remind me that. Next part should clue in why everything went bad. I’m ready.

Purple… laser?

I saw a purple laser near the dumpster! It went to my ‘mom’. The last time I saw purple laser was when a Contractuary was destroyed. Whoever that is, they traveled from World Number 39 to World Number 1 in order to shoot my biological mother? That makes no sense!

First, that means that they have or had a means to travel between worlds. All I know is that only Demons and Feys figured that out. Second, there should be no reason to hunt my biological parents. However, there is a reason to hunt me. I am a Perfect Blent. By bringing me there, they could create a Keyward Stone. Quite possibly, getting me was the first method they can think of to seal Low Leyline Point and Bread Village. They failed. So, they got Brenuaza’s Keyward Stone instead. Then the transportation method must come from a Fey. Which Fey could it be? It could be any Fey.

Wait! I still haven’t heard that clown-ish Fey’s audio log! That could give me the next clue I need. Floating words!

It seems that floating words can’t work inside my subconscious. Makes sense. What should I do now? Should I just remain in this dumpster or—

I smell cinnamon. I’m kneading a dough. I’m making a bread. I’m in my mom’s bakery! My third mom! The mom that raised me! Mom is walking putting whipping cream on a cake.

“Mom!”

Mom accidentally stabbed the cake with the whipping cream dispenser. Oops.

“What is wrong—why are you crying?”

I’m back. I can bake more pastries here. I can live here in peace. No more fighting. That was a dream—a nightmare. I can live my live—a sweet dream in here. No more chaos. No more ambush. No more boss fight. Only me in this life.

“Nothing mom.”

“Don’t forget to take the cookies out of the freezer.”

“Okay mom.”

I wash my hands. It feels like I haven’t done this for years. It’s a standard procedure to wash the hands after touching any material, but it sure feels like I’ve forgotten how to do it. Hmm, my hands seems to be dirtier than I expected…

No! That’s not how it should be! Get out of my life! You’re not welcome here! You don’t have my permission to infect me! Stay dead! You…

It’s metallic. My hands are metallic. Dwarvel. This shouldn’t happen! Mom! Are my hands—

“What is wrong with you, lady?”

“My hands.”

“They look fine to me. Did you cut your hand somewhere?”

She can’t see it. She’s part of my subconscious. I’m the conscious part. I want to be here! I don’t want to go anywhere!

Something is smashing the freezer. The center of the attack is square. Cubic Leash. Mom can’t perceive that.

The floor is covered with steam. I cannot see my legs anymore. Steam Sapien.

My dough floats. That’s new. I cannot do that. Maybe this is a dream. Maybe my subconscious is accepting the fact that I want to remain in this dream.

Wait! Sorcerous Lake gives their user a new species. This is the ability of a different species. The only one that I know can affect gravity is World Number 2! I’m getting something from World Number 2. I don’t know what it’s called, but this does mean that I’m getting whatever species that Aurelius originally had! In fiction, this implies that Aurelius might be less useful later on or he’ll get something else that’ll redefine his role. What could…

No! That kind of thinking will take me out of this life! I want this life! I want to stay with mom! I want… I want….

“Suzanna,” mom says, “I don’t know what troubled you. If you need to take a break, go on.”

Thank you mom! I’ll take a breather for a bit.

“I want you to know that Ambrousian Empire could possibly spread Submissing Freedom to other worlds if there’s no one that opposes them.”

Don’t talk like that! You should be pushing me to stay here!

“It could affect your real mother.”

You are my real mother!

“Take the time to think about it.”

Don’t say that! Force me to stay!

“I will be here until you finally made your decision.”

I won’t! I will never!

Never… never…

The kitchen’s walls crack.

“No matter what you’ll do, your real mother will always love you. Your biological mother, and the mother that saved you from the life of a beggar.”

I know.

“Make them proud.”

I don’t know if I can.

“You’ve already made me proud. You will always make me proud.”