About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"It's fragments of consciousness that have been shattered but forcibly stitched together—hmm, it looks like there's more than one. Aren't we being too unwelcome?"

The doctor explained the meaning of those things in a way that sounded a little difficult to understand. Then, with the three of them as the center, "that thing" continued to surge out from the black ocean.

“Wu…Wu…!?”

"Ms. Ghost Shark!"

The ghost shark beside her suddenly knelt on the ground, her breathing became faster and faster, and her beautiful crimson eyes gradually lost their luster.

“****!!”

The monsters swam faster and rushed towards Orson and the doctor, while the ghost shark groaned in extreme pain and fell to the ground.

"What should I do—Ugh!"

The stabbing pain in his calf became more and more obvious, and Orson could only lean his body weight on the doctor.

"If you keep going like this, both you and the child will be in even greater danger—there's no other way, blood. Give her your blood."

The doctor looked at the monsters that kept pouring in, thought for a moment, sighed, and told Orson what to do next.

"My—blood?"

Orson was stunned for a moment, but he did not continue to ask questions. He did not even have any "questions" about the doctor's words.

Although Orson still didn't know what kind of existence this 'doctor' who suddenly appeared in the ghost shark's soul was, and although he didn't know that all of this was an illusion...

But even so, Orson still believed in this girl unconditionally, just as he had in the past and as he would in the future.

"I understand, Miss Ghost Shark, I'm sorry... Ugh!"

Orson squatted down and squeezed the wound on his calf with both hands, letting the blood flow into his palms, and then forced it into the mouth of the ghost shark, which had already gone into a somewhat crazy state.

“****!!!”

The monsters around were so close that Orson could even see clearly which parts of the human body those skeletons that were simply connected by pieces of flesh should have belonged to.

"Well--"

The ghost shark swallowed Orson's blood, and almost instantly, those things stopped in place.

"Huh... It seems to be working, but the effect won't last long, and the side effects will be severe... But we'll talk about that later. Now what we need to do is leave this child's consciousness."

"Doctor...how did you become the Riddler too?"

Orson gently hugged the already somewhat unconscious Ghost Shark with both hands, and whispered to the girl with long brown hair, whose actions were always confusing to him.

"Don't confuse me with that green cat-head. That idiot likes to take everything on himself the Riddler way, but I simply don't have time to explain right now. After all, Orson, you don't like being eaten by something like that in a girl's mind, do you?"

The doctor said this with some unhappiness as he moved forward in the black sea of nothingness, and kicked the "consciousness fragment monster" next to him that almost swallowed him.

"But how are we going to get out of here? Miss Ghost Shark's condition suddenly looks very serious...!"

Orson held the doctor with one hand and dragged the almost unconscious Ghost Shark with the other.

"We're not 'leaving,' we're strategically retreating! As for how to retreat—we're here."

The doctor seriously corrected Orson's statement, then she stretched out her hand forward, and her palm suddenly touched the non-existent "barrier" in the void.

"This is the boundary of this child's consciousness. Beyond this is a space where even the void doesn't exist. In other words—this is our safe house."

As the doctor spoke, she took out a crowbar from her back, held it in her hand, and swung it hard at the "barrier" in front of her.

“Crack!!!”

"This is……!?"

Accompanied by a crisp sound of glass breaking, a broken "wall crack" suddenly appeared in the originally empty space. Behind the crack, what Orson saw was a "space" that was completely different from the Black Sea of Nothingness and the Corrupted Church, and did not belong to the Ghost Shark at all.

On the other side of the crack was the northern part of Ursus, covered in pure white, dotted with dead trees and abandoned houses.

"Don't be dazed. That child's condition might not last much longer. If you're excluded now, or if Kal'tsit determines you're in danger, that child might never be truly redeemed."

The doctor urged the dazed Orson to hurry up. Orson came to his senses and, while enduring the pain in his gradually numb legs, dragged the ghost shark, which had completely lost consciousness, towards the crack opened by the doctor.

At the same time, those flesh and blood creatures that had lost the ability to move suddenly reawakened and rushed towards Orson and his group at an incomprehensible speed.

"Hurry up! Those things are coming!"

"I know... Ugh!"

At the critical moment, Orson threw the ghost shark into the crevice and quickly rolled into a world of ice and snow.

Boom! !

The monsters were almost catching Orson.

Those indescribable things crashed into the outside of the crack, but unlike the crack opened by the 'Doctor', the seemingly shaky fragments and cracks were as unshakable as the door of a vault, completely isolating those things.

"..."

Orson was looking at the indescribable monsters outside the rift. At this time, the doctor came over and grabbed the back collar of Orson's nun uniform.

"Don't look at it, there's no way those things can get through here—because from here on, this is my territory."

"Doctor... wooooooo!"

Orson looked at the girl in front of him who was extremely familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar. Although he wanted to say something, he was forcibly dragged across the snow the next second.

"Your legs are probably paralyzed for the time being, seriously... Luckily, you and that kid are both pretty light, otherwise I really don't know what I would do."

The doctor dragged Orson, who had injured his calf, in his left and right hands, and Ghost Shark, who had fallen into a coma and was trembling occasionally, and walked towards the only room in the distance of the snow.

"It's so embarrassing to be dragged around like this, Doctor... And, that building—"

Orson blushed and complained quietly, then saw the inconspicuous little house.

That room looked extremely familiar to Orson. It would be more accurate to say that the house was exactly the same as the place where Orson and the Doctor had lived before. The North belonged to Orson, and it was also the Doctor's home.

"Hehe, a one-to-one replica of the real person~"

The Doctor responded with a smile.

After a while, Orson and Ghost Shark were dragged back to the small cabin. Since the interior was exactly the same as Orson's childhood memories, Orson expertly lit a fire and wrapped a cloth around his calf to stop the bleeding. The doctor, meanwhile, sank down on a chair with a slumping Ge You pose.

"Doctor, Miss Ghost Shark's situation... doesn't look right!"

Before he had time to rest, Orson's anxious voice called the doctor again.

Orson gently placed Ghost Shark on the bed. At this moment, Ghost Shark had his eyes closed, his expression trembling slightly in pain, and his long white hair was soaked with sweat.

Not only that--

"The sacrifice is not over yet. Rationality is just a disguise... Under the vassalage of the deep sea, only integration can lead to peace..."

Ghost Shark was muttering to herself crazily. At this moment, it was impossible to connect her with the rational, cute and somewhat naughty girl when they first met.

"Hmm... This girl said before that her destiny was to be 'sacrificed.' By doing so, she could gain a brief moment of sanity and freedom, right?"

The Doctor looked at the Ghost Shark, resting a hand on his chin as he analyzed.

"In other words, she had previously been using the method of severing her own soul to prevent the infection, but this time the 'sacrifice' was forcibly interrupted. Although her soul did not shatter further, it was still infected by the curse, which is why she is now like this."

"Is it because I forcibly stopped the sacrifice that this happened... It hurts!"

Before Orson had time to hesitate and regret, he was hit on the head by the doctor.

"Of course not! Cutting off the essence of her soul is just an escape. In fact, this behavior will eventually make her lose the last bit of her self and sanity. You are right, Orson. If a girl is in danger, she should stand up!"

The doctor laughed and supported Orson, then turned his attention back to the ghost shark, who was soaked in cold sweat and kept muttering incomprehensible words.

"Then... what should I do, Doctor? We're already inside the soul, I can't use the tuning again!"

Orson anxiously asked the girl who called herself 'Doctor' how to solve this situation.

"Let her know she's not 'alone'. Think of a way to tell her this, Orson."

The doctor told Orson what he should do, and the latter was stunned for a moment.

Tell Ghost Shark that she is not alone...?

Orson took a look at the ghost shark's soaked nun's uniform, then looked at his own nun's uniform which was tattered and scratched. He gritted his teeth, tore off his own nun's uniform, and stuck himself to the ghost shark's body.

"Wow, this method is really... You're becoming more and more mature in picking up girls, but your fetishes are getting weird... But as expected, cute boys look cute no matter what they wear. I can do that!"

When the doctor saw Orson's actions, he looked shocked, then smiled evilly and said.

"I can't! If there's another way, just tell me directly, Doctor! And I, I, I don't want to be dressed like this... It's because of mental assimilation! On the contrary, Doctor, why did you appear, and still be able to keep your own clothes, and even pull out all kinds of real guns to break this space?"

Pouncing on the ghost shark, Orson, who was half naked, first refuted loudly with a red face, and then threw out all the doubts in his heart.

"Haha, you're still as cute as ever, Orson. Actually, you did the right thing. This method is the most direct way to convey the message 'I'm here' to the child."

The doctor ruffled Orson's hair, then sat down next to the two of them and shifted his gaze to the window.

Outside the cabin was a dazzling expanse of pure white. The sun shone its rays unobstructed on the snow, and the snowflakes made of hexagonal crystals also twinkled.

This is the fantasy North, and it is the North when the weather is the best.

"The reason I'm here? Of course, it's because this child and you are on the same wavelength, just like that weak little kitten back then."

"—Rosemary? But... wooooo!"

Orson was halfway through his speech when the unconscious Ghost Shark suddenly reached out and hugged Orson tightly, like a pillow.

"Yes, it's Rosemary. That child and this child both failed to [Forced Integration with Originium]. It is precisely because of this that you, as a [Perfect Fusion], were able to materialize me within their souls."

The doctor said with a smile, and out of thin air appeared in his hand a cube with strange patterns engraved on it that Orson had found in his hometown in the North.

"As for this place and those weapons? Because my consciousness has remained unaffected throughout this entire time, it's easy for me to reflect back the things I'm most familiar with and most cherished in my memories. It's no big deal."

"The most cherished memory..."

Orson reluctantly raised his head and looked around. So, the most precious memory in the doctor's heart...

"Hey, don't say some things directly. It's embarrassing."

The doctor took off his coat and put it on Orson and Ghost Shark, with an embarrassed smile on his face.

"I...I miss you so much, Doctor, but I can't recall those past memories. Can't I unlock the past days I spent with you now?"

Orson said hesitantly to the doctor. The latter was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then showed a sad smile and gently stroked Orson's cheek.

"I miss you too, Orson. I want to witness your adventures more than anyone else, but now I can only talk to you in this miraculous way."

"As for those memories... you've already touched the edge, Orson. This girl is a deep-sea hunter, right? You'll soon find the truth and know what kind of evil I've done to you."

"What do you mean by evil deeds...?"

The doctor leaned gently against Orson and Ghost Shark. She leaned down so that she was at the same height as Orson, who was being used as a pillow, and smiled gently.

"Originium is the trigger for everything, and it's also the original sin of the Terran world... no, it's the original sin of humanity. I've placed the control switch in your body, which means you must make a choice before your journey reaches its end. And... I can tell you, it won't be an easy choice."

"Original sin... the trigger... I don't quite understand it, and... well, what's going on—"

The doctor's answer did not solve the problem, she just threw more confusion to Orson. Orson desperately wanted to continue to seek the truth, but his brain seemed to have suddenly stopped and he felt drowsy.

"You've lost too much blood, Orson. Soon you'll fade from this consciousness and return to reality."

The doctor pinched Orson's nose and his signature heartless smile returned to his face.

"But... Doctor, you... Ghost Shark—"

"Don't worry, we'll meet again, Orson, perhaps soon. As for that child, you rescued her from the cycle of sacrifice. She's safe here for now, and she'll awaken in reality. However, the 'soul' that was sacrificed, including the 'curse' on her, hasn't subsided yet. You might have to be patient with her. As for a cure, try to find the culprit who turned her into this."

"But……"

The vision became increasingly darker, and Orson gradually became unable to even think.

"Oh right, because she's absorbed a lot of Chimera blood in her consciousness, so... ahaha, just think of it as a blind date I arranged for you~"

The doctor seemed to remember something. Beads of sweat instantly appeared on her forehead and her tone became a little unsure.

——What does blind date mean?!

Before he could ask this question that sounded so concerning, Orson's consciousness dissipated.

--------

"PhD--"

Swish!

When he opened his eyes again, Orson stood up suddenly. However, the place in front of him was not the wooden house in the North, but the isolation intensive care unit of Rhodes Island. In front of him was not the doctor, but Skadi and Kal'tsit with concerned faces.

"Vital signs are normal, heart rate is stable, and consciousness is slightly confused—are you okay, Orson?"

After noticing that Orson had woken up, Kelsey immediately checked his condition. After confirming that there was no abnormality in his physical parameters, she went over to ask Orson