Chapter 91

Black space.

In a very deep and cozy space, her mind slowly sank, feeling lighter like a feather, only to be pulled by a hand-shaped gravity deep into the unconscious. It dragged her to a place very deep and profound.

Her memories fell like an iceberg, and her ego descended toward the abyss that lay hidden beneath the surface of the sea.

In the black abyss, soap bubbles sparkled in rainbow colors, rising toward the sky, and clusters of big and small bubbles created a single path. The line drawn by the soap bubbles, seemingly dropping straight down yet curving slightly, was the very breath expelled by Ella as she sank deeper.

And finally, when she touched the bottom.

Ella could behold a beautiful landscape.

What lay before her eyes was a field filled with lily of the valley.

Bell-shaped white flowers filled the field, covering the entire world.

From the colorful, shimmering soap bubbles, rainbow hues spilled forth, dyeing the white surface of the lilies in various colors, while the bright moonlight above bathed the ground in its glow, creating a dreamlike scene.

The scent of the lily of the valley, sharp and enticing, enveloped her body, and as the fragrance swelled, the buds swayed and danced, jingly as if wanting to cry out, resembling a breathtaking view in itself.

“Wow….”

As Ella became entranced by the scenery before her, someone approached from behind.

“Ah!”

“Hiya!”

The person approaching from behind shouted so loudly, seemingly intent on startling her, that Ella flinched like a startled cat, hunched her shoulders, and leaped forward from her spot.

Fortunately, instead of getting hurt, she ended up being embraced by the bed, feeling its comforting embrace, but without even a moment to savor that comfort, Ella quickly dashed forward on all fours, standing up.

Then, with a huff, she was about to shout at the person who startled her.

“Who are you to scare me like this! I—”

But Ella was momentarily speechless, unable to do anything but wear a blank expression.

Standing there was someone who looked just like her.

“Hi there?”

A woman with the same face, the same height, the same voice.

She looked just like the reflection Ella saw in the mirror.

Yet, that same large chest set her apart, indicating that Ella and she were entirely different people.

Despite wearing the same four-letter name, her chest made her appear at least double in size compared to Ella.

She spoke with a teasing tone.

“I’m your big sister~”

In shock at such a shocking statement, Ella found herself once again staring blankly. Perhaps thinking she hadn’t heard herself correctly, the woman repeated in the same playful tone.

“I’m your big sister~”

“Uh, w-what?”

The woman who introduced herself as Ella’s sister seemed to find Ella’s bafflement amusing, walking over and stepping behind her. Then, she gently pressed down on Ella’s knees with her own, making her sit down, before whispering in her ear.

“I’m your big sister~”

“N-no, I’m… I’m an only child…. Aah!”

She tightened her grip on Ella and repeated.

“I told you, I’m your sister.”

Her voice, once cheerful and lively, now had a sinking tone.

“Yes! Yes! I understand!”

Unable to withstand the pressure, Ella conceded, and the woman relaxed her grip, hugging her from behind as if to say, “When did I do that?”

Ella, feeling the softness and comfort pressing against the back of her head, moved it restlessly as if trying to escape. Perhaps it was uncomfortable, for she lowered Ella’s head towards her belly and rested her chest on top.

Then she held Ella tightly, making it impossible for her to escape.

“Feeling my little sister like this makes me so happy. Don’t you feel the same?”

“Y-yes?”

Feeling uneasy being hugged by this body-double with huge curves, Ella’s eyes nervously darted around, and soon, as if having made some resolution, she asked with a serious expression.

“But… umm… who really are you…?”

“Hmm~? I’m your big sister~”

“No, I don’t even understand the part about being a sister…”

After a moment of contemplation, as if pondering Ella’s question, she finally opened her mouth.

“Umm… even if you ask that, I’m your sister, and I’ve been with you. That’s just how it is.”

“What? You’ve been with me?”

She extended her right hand and placed a finger against Ella’s chest area.

Drawing a small circle, whether small or large, with her index finger on her own chest, she stated.

“This sister has been here with you.”

With those words, silence briefly enveloped the space.

And after that moment of silence, Ella twisted her body, suddenly standing up with a pale face as she stared at her.

“Are you a ghost?!”

Suddenly introducing herself as a sister.

Moreover, she claimed to have lingered over her chest and said she’s been with her all this time.

In Ella’s common sense, the only possible existence for that was an evil spirit.

“Wait a second, if this isn’t reality then it’s an illusion. Am I currently possessed by an evil spirit? Am I wandering through a dream because of an evil spirit?” sigh

Ella poured out her panic-stricken words, her face pale and trembling. Then she glanced around, searching for something that might wake her from this dream.

The woman observed her for a moment, her head tilted in confusion, before saying.

“I’m not a ghost but your sister! And this is indeed a dream, but I’m not possessing you.”

“What are you talking about! What else can intervene in a dream besides an evil spirit?!”

Taking a step back and yelling like a frightened cat, Ella’s appearance looked like a cat on high alert against a threat, or perhaps like a bunny thumping its feet on the ground to showcase its anger.

The woman, who had been quietly watching, seemed to finally realize something, gasping in realization as she stood up.

Then, like a flash, she flicked Ella’s forehead.

Thwack!

“Ow!”

The sound was incredibly loud, impossible to believe it was merely a finger flick.

Ella screamed in pain as if her brain was jarred and blinked tears, staring at the woman who claimed to be her sister.

“Don’t talk back to me.”

“Y-yes, yes?”

“Follow me.”

With a determined expression, she said this, took Ella’s hand, and began leading her somewhere.

Feeling uneasy about being dragged away by someone she didn’t know, Ella tried to break free in intervals, but each time, the woman, sensing the signs like a ghost, would let out a warning sound and give her significant looks, maintaining her hold.

They soon arrived at a movie theater.

It was a cinema made of colorful, round, soft bricks, resembling the playthings of a child made from rubber clay. It seemed to be about three stories tall but was built so haphazardly that one might worry about it collapsing on them.

“Just a moment ago, it was a field…?”

Having walked over the lily of the valley without thinking twice, the scenery suddenly changed, revealing the theater.

Unlike earlier when a full moon illuminated the sky, this time, there was a square-shaped sun shining without blinding her, allowing her to gaze at it directly without discomfort. But with everything around brightly lit as if it were daytime, it was utterly incomprehensible.

“That’s how dreams are. As long as you follow this sister, who is a veteran of the dream world, you’ll see a lot of great things.”

The woman pulled Ella closer to her, as if to ease her anxiety, and they entered the cinema.

Inside, contrary to the clumsy appearance from the outside, it displayed proper decorum.

Except for the absence of people, it looked strikingly similar to reality.

Yet as she opened the door to one particular screening room, a sight unfolded that seemed to declare, “this too is just a dream.”

Film.

Photos.

Books.

Scripts.

All kinds of records were stacked like trash across the field.

She briefly scanned the mountain of records and then addressed the bookshelf beside the door.

“Is there anything that could help me explain things to my little sister?”

The bookshelf replied.

“That’s not the correct command.”

“Oh right, umm…! Is there anything that could help me explain things to my little sister?”

“Starting the search. Searching… Searching… 3 records found.”

The bookshelf extended a mechanical arm and retrieved one film, one book, and one photo from the mountain of records before handing them to the woman. Grateful, she thanked them cutely, then wandered off with the records.

This time too, the scene was entirely unrelated to the screening room.

It revealed an inviting cozy space.

In the blackout-curtained studio room, there were fluffy pillows and lots of plush toys, with a home theater system in the back. However, this home theater was not a typical machine; it had a bizarre form.

Where lenses should be, there were eyes, twitching as though they were infested with bugs. Furthermore, in the back, something that resembled a zipper or mouth was opening and closing, as if begging for something to be placed inside.

“This is my beloved doll, I’m giving it up just for you~”

The woman pushed Ella into the room, nestled her with a fluffy white rabbit doll, and laid her on the sofa.

“Huh? A sofa? There wasn’t one a moment ago…”

“That’s the power of your sister.”

Forbidding any further questions, the woman firmly inserted the film into the home theater’s zipping opening and hugged a black rabbit doll that resembled the one Ella was holding.

Then she settled right beside Ella.

No, it wasn’t just sitting; she leaned her whole body against Ella.

“You can find your answer to that question I asked earlier by watching this. So focus!”

With a playful tone.

Yet her serious facial expression contrasted with it.

Ella tried to speak but fell silent, raising her head to gaze quietly at the video displayed by the home theater.

The video displayed bold letters as if it were a movie itself.

『 The Rescue of the White Baby and the Witch 』

“Huh? Not in the womb? Did I give the wrong one?”