The three of them continued deeper inside.
The ruins were larger than Vanessa had expected. That alone was one thing, but more importantly...
"How did Simon move so fast?" Allen could not help frowning.
In theory, Simon should have entered not long before them, yet there was no sign of him at all.
That could only mean he had headed straight onward, almost without ever stopping.
Vanessa fell silent for a moment before saying quietly, "We... may have overlooked a possibility."
"This might not be Simon's first visit to these ruins."
"He hasn't hesitated in the slightest along the way. He may well have been here before."
Maeve and Simon had come here on their outing last year. Several months had passed since then.
It had only taken a few months from Eleanor's exploration of the ruins to her complete replacement by [It]. Perhaps Simon had already been completely controlled by [It] before they had met Maeve and Simon.
For some reason, it simply had not made a move against Maeve.
At these words, all of them fell silent.
That conjecture was indeed possible.
"Could Simon already be completely controlled, with Maeve being the last attachment he hasn't let go of?"
"That would leave [It] unable to act against Maeve, because Simon hasn't vanished entirely. Maeve's brother is no longer who he used to be, either, because this tiny bit is all that remains of Simon."
Elsa spoke softly.
Silence lingered in the dim cave for a while before a sigh broke it.
The three said nothing more and continued onward. In their minds, Simon's chances were already grim.
But before they could find Simon, Vanessa noticed something else.
"How many does this make? Five? Six?"
She stood before a stone wall. Through [Spirit Vision], there was a human-shaped stain