Silver Wolf's projection glanced at the grim surroundings, her ghostly blue virtual light swaying across the mottled walls.
Then she asked, her voice carrying a faint echo through the empty space, as if it came from far away:
"How about now? How are you feeling?"
Firefly looked left, then right, her silver hair swaying gently with the motion.
Her expression was somewhat strange, still carrying the dazed confusion of someone who had just awakened. The surrounding ruins reflected in her eyes.
"This is...?"
"We never changed locations," Silver Wolf explained. Her projection raised a hand to gesture around them, the movement succinct.
"You were here the whole time, spouting nonsense."
"This place is so creepy, yet you said it was no different from reality... I thought you were just being stubborn."
"Uh..." Firefly looked embarrassed, her fair cheeks flushing slightly.
She raised a hand and tucked a lock of hair that had slipped down beside her face behind her ear. Her slender fingers looked almost translucent in the dim light.
She blinked, trying to sort through her jumbled thoughts. Her long, thick lashes trembled like tiny brushes, and her voice held a soft note of apology:
"Sorry. Remind me again, please. My memories are a little fuzzy."
Silver Wolf folded her arms and said flatly:
"Following The Script's instructions, we got hold of an abandoned Dream Pool. It took some effort—someone from the company insisted on competing with us for it."
"The company?" Firefly sounded surprised, lightly pressing her fingers against her temple as though trying to dispel the lingering dizziness.
"Don't worry about it. They lost anyway." Silver Wolf's gaze remained calm, as though she had no desire to elaborate.
"I modified it into a life-support pod."
"Right now, both of us are drifting at the edge of the