About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"We are friends forever, we are 'brothers' - Amber, you have to live, you must live!"

When the door was closed again, something in Rosemary's heart was completely "closed".

She lost all response to the outside world and subjectively blocked out her experiences during this period, using this method to protect herself.

Finally, it was Rosemary's turn. Strapped to the operating table, even under anesthesia, she could still feel parts of her body being cut open and then replaced with something else.

It's unclear whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, but the experiment was a success. The artificial organ didn't trigger any rejection and successfully integrated into Rosemary's brain.

But before the subsequent experiments could be carried out, the laboratory itself was suddenly abandoned, and Rosemary was not even moved and was left in the ruins.

Beneath the ruins, Rosemary lay silent and motionless. She could hear nothing, yet she could always hear voices—the voices of "brothers."

----------

"Cough cough cough cough...!"

When he suddenly came to his senses, Orson was thrown to the ground, and his "brother" was holding Orson's neck tightly with both hands.

—So that's Rosemary's past...? This damned experience...

“Hic…!!”

His brain was screaming from lack of oxygen, but Orson couldn't tell whether the pain came from lack of oxygen or from witnessing what happened to Rosemary.

"Amber's life stopped at that moment. Your self-satisfaction will only hurt him again, you hypocritical guy."

“Gahhhhh!”

The 'brother''s' arms tightened even more, and Orson's limbs were so tightly restrained that he couldn't even resist.

—Is letting Rosemary stay here the best way to protect her...? Do I really want her to face that memory again?

The vision gradually becomes dark, and when one is 'killed' in the field of consciousness, the soul tuning will be forcibly terminated.

——Perhaps this...

"That's not the way it's going to end, Orson."

clang! !

A crisp sound of metal knocking came from in front of him, and the 'brother' who had been pinching his neck was suddenly knocked away by a crowbar.

“Ahem…! You… you are—”

Orson coughed violently and took the opportunity to break free from his restraints, but was then stunned by the scene before him.

"Don't think you're the only ones who shake people in their minds—it's been a while, Orson."

A woman dressed exactly like the "Doctor" in the game, with a loose blue coat and long brown hair, put the crowbar in her hand on her shoulder, smiled at Orson, and greeted him very casually.

"……PhD?"

103. Taking a nap in the wheat field (more)

"You still remember me, Orson. It seems the [Seal] I placed on you back then wasn't complete—but I was surprisingly happy to hear you greet me. I'm truly hopeless in every sense of the word."

The woman who called herself "Doctor" smiled sheepishly, then used a crowbar to knock the "brother" who rushed towards her away.

"You have a tragic past, filled with senseless violence - so what?"

The Doctor walked up to the Brothers and spoke provocatively while flexing his shoulders.

"The dead should just shut up. The stage is for the living to perform—you and me."

The "Doctor" smashed the crowbar in his hand into the corner, causing the barrier covered with blood-stained iron plates to collapse. Rosemary, who was squatting in the corner with lifeless eyes, reappeared in Orson's sight.

"rosemary……!"

When Orson saw Rosemary, he wanted to rush over, but he glanced at the 'Doctor' beside him.

The doctor suddenly appeared in his soul. He had no impression of him until now, but gradually became aware of him after arriving in Rhodes Island. Now he appeared beside him so casually.

"Go ahead. It's not me you should be looking at right now."

The 'Doctor' smiled and took a few steps back, while the 'brothers' climbed out of the pool of blood again and stood in front of Orson.

"Uh...uuuu..."

Rosemary covered her head, and the dusty memories were about to awaken vaguely. This film kitten was trying to cover up those hellish memories again with a painful expression.

You are right. What I should be looking at now is not her, but the lonely Film.

The memories of the past continued to erode Rosemary, and even Orson could feel the pain as if it was piercing his head through resonance.

But, even so——

"Rosemary, as painful as it is, you have to face that memory."

"Facing... Ugh! Orson... I... I don't know..."

Rosemary let out a painful wail, and the 'brothers' gathered around her again.

"How far do you intend to hurt her, you hypocritical fellow?"

"And how long do you plan to keep her here?"

puff! !

Orson dodged his 'brother's' attack and punched him in the stomach.

"This prison—even though Rosemary can hide here, what happens next? She can't stay here forever!"

Orson took a stance, clenched his fists, and his expression finally stopped hesitating.

There is nothing to worry about. Being locked up here may keep Rosemary away from the hellish memories of the past, but at the same time, it also means that she will stay in this moment forever.

"There's only malice, endless torture, and pain in the world beyond. Inhumane behavior is everywhere. That kind of world—Amber doesn't need to be exposed to it at all."

"That's right! This world is cruel and abominable, but even so—"

Orson dodged the attacks of the two 'brothers' in front and behind, and kicked the corpse aside.

"—There are still people who yearn for the blue sky! They don't care what kind of despair they face, and they continue to spread the flame without retreat. And your protection will only make her live forever in the blankness of the past!"

In the consciousness of soul tuning, Orson has no pause, no curtain call, only his own fists.

Orson and his 'brothers' roared and punched each other. This was not a competition of fighting skills, but a contest of will and belief.

"You will abandon Amber, what will you do next? Will you let her wait for death alone in the ruins again?"

"No one will accompany others for a lifetime——"

Orson used his headbutt to knock away the 'brother' in front of him, completely ignoring the stinging pain in his body. He pushed the 'brother' on his left forward with his left hand, then gritted his teeth and pulled his right wrist out of the grip of another corpse, and swung it violently towards the cheek of the corpse rushing towards him.

"But until you muster up the courage and the conviction to go on on your own, I will always be with you."

Orson yelled and struggled to break free from the 'brothers' behind him, but was still knocked to the ground before reaching Rosemary.

"Orson, will...stay with me...?"

A glimmer of light flickered from Rosemary's empty pupils. Rosemary slowly raised her head and saw Orson's arm desperately reaching out to her.

That was when this strange guy broke into his room, asked me to help him as a recorder, and then stretched out his hand to him.

"I... I don't dare—I can't do anything..."

When the brothers were taken away, Rosemary could do nothing. She didn't dare to reach out to stop the researcher, and could only hide in the corner, listening to others' comfort, trying to block out this memory.

"It's different now, Rosemary. You have power. It's not a cursed power. It's a power that allows you to hold the future."

future--

Suddenly, Rosemary found that she seemed to be holding something tightly in her arms.

She lowered her head and found that it was the notebook with a bunch of strange things written on it. Most of the contents were not "important things" at all, but... they made her cherish them very much.

From the time she was discovered by the rescue organization in the ruins to the time she was taken in by Rhodes Island, although a long time had passed, Rosemary could not remember a single thing.

Although she had only spent less than a week with Orson, Rosemary didn't want to forget him.

Rosemary doesn't want to keep all the communication with others, the experience of wandering around together, and so on, only through notebooks, but hopes that they can be engraved in her mind.

She once thought that she could live without any memories, like a mayfly.

But after interacting with Orson and playing around with the boy, Rosemary finally understood.

She no longer wants to be imprisoned in the past. Rosemary looks forward to and hopes for "tomorrow", a "tomorrow" that she can remember and wait for with hope.

To do this, one must face fear directly and then cut off the hell of the past.

Rosemary looked at Orson, and the transparent twisted hand that she regarded as a "curse" slowly stretched forward.

"That's right... the future—what I want is a future where I can walk with everyone—!"

The twisted hand held Orson tightly, not to twist him, but simply to hold Orson.

"I... can't live in the past. I can't stand by and watch tragedy unfold again—even if it means we'll have to say goodbye in tears, even if I can't face the outside world...! What I want isn't a blank, covered-up past, but a future I can personally record!"

Rosemary stood up from the ground. She held Orson's hand tightly, and a shock wave invisible to the naked eye completely shattered the prison fixed by metal plates.

The bloodstained prison disappeared without a trace, and outside the prison was a wheat field.

Those 'brothers' who were originally in the form of mutilated corpses gradually began to dissipate under the direct sunlight.

"It's always been me... It's always been me! You didn't appear in my consciousness to protect me, but I trapped you in this hell to escape the 'future'..."

Rosemary ran over to the 'brothers' and shouted.

"That's... enough, everyone. I'm really... sorry. I won't run away anymore, so... that's really enough. You kept comforting me back then, and I've kept you here until now. But from today on, I will try... to move forward, so... you don't have to worry about me anymore!"

Rosemary spoke with intermittent sobs, and the 'brothers' finally stopped howling.

Although their expressions were still unrecognizable, for no apparent reason, Orson thought they had expressions of relief on their faces.

"If you've mustered up the courage to move forward, Amber—no, it's Rosemary now, right? Then…"

'Brother' patted Rosemary's hair gently, then looked at Orson, half of their bodies had disappeared.

"You have to be responsible, Brother Orson."

"—"

With that, the corpse completely disappeared, and the screams and wails that had always surrounded Rosemary were finally replaced by the long-lost tranquility.

In the last instant, Orson seemed to see several children - young, but looking very mature.

"I will."

Orson nodded to the deceased, then gently hugged Rosemary, who was sobbing in his arms.

"I...I wanted to be strong back then too! I also wanted to...muster up my courage...!"

"You've mustered up your courage, Rosemary. All you have to do now is move forward. To be honest, the world out there is actually quite interesting and not that scary."

Orson smiled and reassured Rosemary.

After a while, Rosemary finally stopped sobbing. After washing away all the fear and sadness hidden in the laboratory with tears, Rosemary leaned against Orson, and the two of them sat quietly in the wheat field.

"Orson, is this my world of consciousness?"

After a long silence, Rosemary asked quietly.

"Well, should we go back?"

"No...let me stay...for a little while longer, okay?"

Rosemary grabbed the corner of Orson's clothes, then curled up gently and lay in Orson's arms.

"Well, take a good rest first, we still have a lot to do later."

Orson ruffled Rosemary's hair, and the latter's ears twitched.

Not long after, Rosemary slowly fell asleep. The film girl, who had been tense all the time, was finally able to fall into a light sleep today, surrounded by sunshine and breeze.

"Your sleeping position is so cute. Kal'tsit also slept like this before."

"……PhD"

After the dust settled, the doctor with long brown hair appeared next to Orson again.

"Oh, I know what you're going to say. You must have a lot of things you want to ask me, right? But... now is not the time, Orson."

"Will you at least tell me what happened...?"