You're Finally Online

Beatrice looked at the motionless Hela, her gaze gradually growing complicated.

She stepped forward and gently brushed Hela's cheek with her fingers. Metal gears, intricate tubing—cold and hard, entirely unlike the feel of skin.

"Sorry."

Beatrice murmured softly. She looked at Hela as if she wanted to say something more, but suddenly her eyes widened.

"How is that possible? How—"

A pulling sensation struck her, as though her soul had been yanked out of her body for an instant. It was a strange sensation she had not felt in a long time—connection!

After Beatrice was imprisoned, she had once fallen into despair. That suddenly appearing connection had been her last hope.

Unfortunately, that hope had vanished in an instant. The abruptly severed connection had disrupted all her plans, forcing her onto another path.

And now—

"It would have been better if you'd come sooner. Unfortunately, I can't turn back now."

Her consciousness gradually rose. Beatrice knew that the connection would be successfully established in the next instant. Yet at that very moment, her consciousness, separated from her body, instinctively glanced in the direction of the pull.

Just one glance—but that single glance made her very soul tremble. She did not know what she had seen. She only felt that its existence was vast, terrifying, incomprehensible, indescribable.

She felt as though she would descend into utter madness in that instant. Shock and regret surged through her heart. Beatrice closed her eyes and awaited her end, but—

Her sanity remained as firm as a rock, not shifting in the slightest. It was even more stable than at any previous moment. Though the undercurrents of the Sea of Unconsciousness raged, she remained utterly unmoved.

"How is that possible? Why?!"

In a daze, Beatrice came to a realization. She lowered her head and looked