Shirley & A'gou

Shirley & A'gou

On a shattered floating island beneath stagnant starlight, A'gou and Shirley came to the edge of the land, sat down, and began to stare into space.

A pitch-black chain extended from Shirley's arm, which was covered in black bone plates, and connected to A'gou's cervical vertebrae. The thoughts of their two minds flowed quietly through the connection forged by the chain, merging together as they shared reason and humanity—just as they had for the past twelve years.

They had much to discuss. During that brief yet harrowing period after the chain had broken, these two "partners," who had depended on each other for twelve years, had faced many things they had never imagined. Even Shirley, who disliked using her brain the most, had found herself thinking a great deal about life.

Of course, they also had to seriously consider how to adapt to their shocking new relationship as "Guardian Dog" and "Contracted Human"...

Duncan did not disturb them. Instead, he took Alice to a spot a little farther from the edge of the floating island and investigated the strange environment of this "Abyssal Deep Sea" while they waited.

The surroundings were quiet. Not a single living creature could be seen across the wilderness beneath the dim Starry Sky.

Many Abyssal Demons had once gathered here, but to avoid getting beaten up, they had all fled clean away by now. All that remained was a wasteland littered with strange black rocks and some jagged, undulating shadows in the distance.

If he had not known that he was in the "Abyssal Deep Sea," Duncan would have thought the scene before him resembled a barren alien world. The deathly planetary surface at his side and the stagnant Starry Sky overhead exuded a desolate, oppressive atmosphere. It was hardly a pleasant