Chapter 68: Memory Overload [Illustration]

(Uncensored Version on Itaku.ee)

"Hmmm..."

Deep in thought, Viviane closes her eyes after settling back down onto her chair. By her side lies Marianne, groaning against the table as she twitches to the memories flooding her combined existence.

Thanks to the elder slime's "sharing", the fusion has been caught up on Daniel and Viviane's life and knowledge, except the latter's long, descent in solitude is far greater than any human had the right to experience. Plus, the pushed knowledge had to be synchronized to her underlying parts: Mary and Anne.

So, it's no surprise that she's visibly overheating from information overload.

Daniel thins his lips. "Are you okay, mom?"

"Love...ungh, sorry, but fuck off with that."

Daniel clears his throat. Thinking about it, his mother-girlfriend's reaction does beg how he managed to fare better, considering he experienced the current party's lives all at once. At the same time, he knows he passed out immediately after defusing with the Viviane, so it's possible he may have gotten lucky with his mind being forced to rest.

Finished processing her side of knowledge, Viviane returns her attention to the sprawled out fusion with a weak smile. "Sorry, sister, but I tried to be gentle."

Marianne narrows her eyes as she turns her fallen head. "Why not just give me the important details? I mean, seeing our son's perspective and methods to his dating life was intriguing, but you-"

Swallowing her words, she sighs and shuts her eyes. "No, I'm sorry. Even if it was a lot, I should be glad that to understand you better. Honestly, your behavior and decisions so far...I get it."

The lake dweller's eyes soften, but lowers as well. "I wouldn't want to send everything, but there are limits to how much I can hold back. Even then, it's not foolproof."

"Right, you were originally learning how to segment your knowledge to create a replica that could keep you company, but..."

"It was a fool's errand," Viviane finishes, shaking her head. "It's quite pathetic, honestly, but I was desperate to have to deal with that place alone."

Drawing a breath, she huffs and pushes those times away. "Enough of that, though, because I've got company!"

Grinning, she turns to Daniel, brighter than ever. "And as your mother, don't think I'll let you go so easily now!"

Daniel snorts. "Just don't stick to me too close...er, actually, that's probably well past."

Amid his pale mother's chuckle, the artist turns his attention to the fusion with raised brow. "Also, what's this about my past dates?"

Marianne lifts her chin. "Hehe, all I'll say is that Mama's got perspective!"

"Compared to Mary's dates, I have no idea what I've done wrong."

"There's nothing necessarily wrong. Well, don't worry about it."

"No, I'm kind of curious."

"Ahem, let's not get too distracted," Viviane reminds, composing herself. "Now then, I'm equally troubled by the changes in Anne's realm, but I'm afraid I'm at a loss to what's happening or how my exit might be affecting my sister."

"Could I...possibly see what Mary and Anne saw?" Daniel requests.

"Oh? What's with that hesitation, love?" Marianne asks, leaning forward. "Mama's head is still thumping, by the way."

"Um...maybe not."

Viviane leans over to squeeze her son's hand. "As easy as it would be, let's not overdo it, okay? There's also a bit of a challenge with Merlin's message, as both Anne and Mary saw conflicting views at the same time. You wouldn't want to deal with that straight away when you just absorbed a boatload of knowledge."

The artist hums, finding that reasonable. Still, the changes, especially regarding the disappearance of a major star, makes his stomach curl.

They desperately need answers.

"So what did Merlin's message say?" he presses.

The elder slime sours as she lets go of his hand. "That I apparently sealed or exiled myself to that place. Seriously, he could've let me know in such a message instead of being cryptic?"

"With his first message, it's clear he didn't want to seal you," Daniel follows. "Maybe he had to because you insisted?"

"But why would I trap myself to that hell?" Viviane claps back, gritting her teeth. After a moment of silence, her face falls. "As I feared, maybe even I knew that I was-"

"Again, we don't know," Marianne cuts. "The legends of the 'Lady of the Lake' are all different, and while some may bear truth, we can't know exactly know how it went."

"It doesn't look good when Merlin claims I will consume others."

"I mean, technically you consumed me," Daniel notes, then raises a hand towards Marianne. "And that goes for Anne and Mary."

The fusion waves her own. "Mama prefers to call it cohabitation, thank you."

"What I'm saying," Daniel continues, "Is that we don't know what Merlin truly means with the way he wrote these messages. For example, you could say he was consumed by love for the enchantress."

"I've read quite enough of those tales, and it doesn't make things less clear. Am I really that enchanting?"

"Silver haired and all? Yes."

"Oh? So Mommy draw you in, huh?"

"Well, you and mom have...literally."

"...I was hoping for something less of an analysis," Viviane grumbles with slightly puffed cheeks.

Daniel laughs, shaking his head. With a soft turn of his lips, he looks between the complicated girls in front of him.

"I'm somehow fortunate."

Marianne's brows rise. "Somehow?"

"Moving on", Viviane urges. "Merlin mentions of a goddess. The only one that comes to mind is...Isis?"

"We haven't seen any other entity related," Marianne supports, crossing her arms.

The lake dweller hums, thinking back to the first memory of that of the dark-haired woman's reaction.

"Let us burn this wretched witch that dares to sully our goddess Isis' name! For Isis!"..."What irony."

'Could it be?'

"On that note," Marianne says, pulling the elder slime from her thoughts. "I believe our next steps is to be more forward with Marlin than Mary had been before. That means being aware of us all along with what we know now."

"Right...I agree," Viviane concludes. Naturally, the conversations between Mary and Anne have already been synced.

However, the same could not be said for Daniel as he widens his eyes. "Wait, you really mean...reveal everything?"

The fusion nods, half-smiling. "At least as far as Viviane and Anne existing, their nature, and inheritance of Amy. As for us being your new mothers...er, maybe that's not really relevant."

Sweating, the artist rubs his head. "Is this really...necessary?"

"Daniel, we have to fully trust him now," Marianne urges. "Not only does he have the Isis book given by the wizard, there may be more messages Merlin has written for us within. It's imperative for us to see it in person."

The artist curls his lips. It helps that he's able to recall Mary's conversation with her uncle in his head now; however, even if Mary has vouched for him, the British man may take the reality of the situation the wrong way.

"Let's put this another way," Viviane adds. "We try an uncle who's involved somehow in Merlin's foresight, we test our luck against of major executive of a tech company who may be involved in Anne's summoning, or we keep going in circles while a star is missing in the sky and a hole in Anne's domain..."

She glances away before amending, "...which may have been my fault."

'It's obvious,' Daniel thinks, his forehead straining. 'Her uncle was even willing to show Mary the magical nature of the book, so I get why it's better to trust him. Still...'

If it weren't for the news of a star disappearing in the sky plus a tear in the dream realm, he wouldn't even risk intentionally increasing the number of people who are aware of his slime mothers. Yet, unable to find an excuse given the circumstances, he sighs.

"So visit London, you're saying?"

Marianne twists her lips to the side. "Um...well, preferably he'll agree to come here. Mama wouldn't trust going through security."

"As slimes, we can just hide ourselves, no?" Viviane suggests.

"Either way, Mary will make the case for him to come visit. Knowing him and his determination to learn the truth of the book, he probably won't miss the chance."

Daniel closes his eyes. "Alright, but he has to be here in person before telling him the complete truth."

"I completely agree," Marianne hums lightly. "Mary will talk to him more after I split, but for now..."

Glancing at a blinking Viviane, the fusion smiles. "...I think some shopping is in order for your dear Mother."

While caution rises to the East of Keystone, not much changes in the West as the Stonehenge leader sits in an undisclosed location among members of their secret gathering.

Once news spread of the Al-Bali star's disappearance, various people were quick to recall its corresponding constellation was tied to the ritual performed. As a result, Lecia had no choice but to call a meeting to address the change.

Scanning the group that's able to come, some of whom made quick flight plans, the majority of the members who participated in the ritual appear to be present. To Lecia's disappointment, however, Mike texted ahead he would not be able to join. Although it would be unnecessary for the archaeologist, as he's the most informed of the ritual's aftermath, she would've loved his presence...

...and comfort.

'Get it together,' she tells herself, rubbing her brows together.

"Is this wise, Lecia?" Rachel whispers, sitting beside with concern lacing her slightly wrinkled face. As the main reporter of the constellation, she's essential for this meeting.

Sighing, Lecia nods. "It can't be helped."

There are many things to reveal and still many things to hide. No matter what, though, she fully expects to be stung after this.

"Thank you all for coming on short notice," she then begins, straightening her posture while taking in everyone's anticipation and concern.

The ones who participated in the ritual and saw the magic unfold are especially worried.

"First, I want to address that a painted symbol from our book was seen outside our organization. While we're not sure where it came from, I'm not excluding the possibilities that one of us let it slipped."

Pausing, her eyes narrow as the rest of her face darkens.

"So, let me be clear: Everyone here should be aware that there's a real force behind these words which we don't fully understand. If someone has been found to be letting their research and lips loose, it won't just end with our progress, I assure you."

Everyone holds their breath, catching the rare spark of fire in the leader's eyes. Indeed, while there's never been an issue in the last six years, even when bringing on new people who believed in the value of the Stonehenge book, they also had to be reminded that any work must be shrouded in secrecy.

If not, it will surely come back to engulf them.

Hearing no disagreement, Lecia relaxes and crosses her arms. "Now, what has been held back from the majority is an observed event connected to the Aquarius constellation that we weren't sure of. Perhaps even now, we still can't assume. Rachel will explain further."

The astronomer smiles weakly to all. "Hello, everyone. One thing we didn't disclose was a large fluctuation in the luminosity of the nine major stars of Aquarius. While the ritual was going on, all stars at the same time dimmed for a few seconds. I can say for certain it wasn't a cloud or instrumental errors from the readings, but at the time, we didn't know what it meant."

Murmurs begins. Although some were annoyed by the lack of sharing of this observation, it does add to evidence that something changed after breathing through the green fire.

One raised their hand. "Even if it wasn't certain, we've always shared our findings. Why was this important change held back? Considering we witnessed real magic that night, this could've been a warning!"

"That's..."

Rachel doesn't disagree, but unsure how to respond. If it weren't for the bigger problem of something coming out of the ritual, this would've been normally shared.

"Because I asked her to keep a hold of this information," Lecia answers, raising her voice against the exchanges of the members.

To this, everyone quiets down, eager for her to elaborate. With full expectations upon her, the Stonehenge leader lowers her gaze.

Knowing a star could've disappeared as a result of their action, it's clear there's not much appetite for keeping more details hidden. In addition, they may not be working fast enough to find if this was a sign that more stars would disappear, so there's a benefit to looping in everyone officially.

That said, It could completely blow up in her face.

'God damn it.'

Breathing in slowly, Lecia's raises her eyes towards all. "To be honest, the green fire and change in stars is likely a product of something bigger...something that came out of the ashes and slipped behind our eyes that night."

Rachel's eyes widen, as does the rest; however, those few who knew the truth hadn't expected a larger reveal about the summon so soon.

Nonetheless, the Stonehenge leader smiles bitterly as the crowd indeed blows up in her face.