The so-called "umbilical cord" actually referred to the tributary belonging to oneself within the River of Fate.
Now that her consciousness had cleared, Alice, who was in the river, finally understood the true danger of the River of Fate—getting lost.
Everyone who stepped into the River of Fate would lose themselves under the river's washing, unless they could find the tributary belonging to them!
The ones capable of doing this were the angels of the "Fate" pathway. Through ritual after ritual, they made their own tributary stand out, allowing themselves to briefly maintain clarity within the River of Fate. With the two combined, they could smoothly find the tributary belonging to them.
Before this, Alice had believed she could find it because, theoretically speaking, she had already skipped the middle process and entered the final step—she and the tributary belonging to her had merged into one. Next, she should, in a certain sense, separate herself from the River of Fate.
But, but...
Her hand parted the river water before her. The turbulent water reflected the progress of her potion digestion, but Alice had no time to care about that because she finally realized what the power of the "Key of Light" remaining within her was actually for.
At this moment, right here, she saw countless light spots emerge from her body. Each light spot contained a recorded scene.
She saw herself pick up the Beyonder Characteristic of the "Lucky One" and swallow it. She saw herself cling to her captain and complain through tears that she did not want to study. She saw herself tightly shut her eyes the moment Klein appeared...
She saw Ince Zangwill dig out her heart. She saw herself reach a hand out of the grave. She saw herself tell Charlie King the name "Briel Rose"...