A sense of déjà vu came over her.
The feeling of déjà vu that had formed in her mind quickly swelled, bringing to Jelly Girl’s mind a familiar scene.
It was the strange voice she had heard while descending the grotesquely distorted passage, crushed like flesh.
Though it wasn’t exactly the same, it was similar enough to evoke that déjà vu sensation.
The Jelly Girl, having recovered her body and now standing at the landing, felt her Jelly trembling as that eerie sound came again. It wasn’t fear exactly; it was simply the intensity of the vibration she could feel.
Wobbling from the vibration, Jelly Girl instinctively rubbed her belly and fell into thought as it subsided.
“Hmm… so this feels kind of like the thing I swallowed before?”
It’s like I swallowed something but feel like I’ve missed something. But I can’t quite figure out what it is.
I don’t know.
It’s not particularly important, so I must have just forgotten. My memory hasn’t been affected even with my new body.
Rather than that, what should I do now? That’s the more pressing question, right?
Having shaken off the feeling of déjà vu, Jelly Girl began to poke the Jelly perched atop her head. The Jelly, which had slightly frozen, made a crunchy sound and accepted Jelly Girl’s finger.
With a compulsive sensation akin to popping bubbles, Jelly Girl became lost in thought while repeatedly poking the firm parts of her Jelly.
What to do…
Should I go down further?
Why isn’t the necklace saying anything?
Oh, well.
Jelly Girl wobbled her Jelly. Sometimes, it gave her clear instructions and tasks.
Thinking about it, though, this was almost never the case. While a necklace was given to her for filming or instructions, it had rarely provided any meaningful guidance from that location.
And most of the effective instructions came from Han Seori.
Crunch, crunch.
While Jelly Girl was poking her stiff Jelly, she found herself marveling at it.
“Huh, is it because she’s a doctor or something? She really is different.”
For some reason, Han Seori came to mind.
Just then.
Drip.
“Huh?”
Jelly Girl blinked at a new, ominous sound that was different from the usual ones she’d been hearing. Before long, its source came into view.
Plump… Plunk.
Clang!
“Eh?”
Jelly Girl stared, dumbfounded, at the floor. There lay her Jelly, shattered to pieces.
Like a porcelain dish dropped on the floor.
Caught off guard, Jelly Girl hurriedly crouched down and placed the Jelly shards onto her palm.
Just moments ago, it had been fine, but now the Jelly lay rigid in its shattered form.
Seeing everything frozen solid, Jelly Girl felt a chill run down her spine.
She had never seen her Jelly become like this.
Startled, Jelly Girl first checked her own body. If her Jelly had frozen like this, it would mean she herself might be in danger.
But surprisingly, there was nothing wrong with her.
Her hands remained soft, as did the rest of her body. While she could harden herself if she wanted to, right now she didn’t feel the urge.
Hmm…
Seems like I’m okay.
After all, I didn’t freeze up when I was organizing things here, either.
Next, Jelly Girl checked the device around her neck. After poking it a bit, she thought…
Hm… is this thing fine? It’s hard to tell since it’s always been stiff.
Maybe it’s broken, which is why I haven’t received any communication?
Jelly Girl recalled rolling down the railing earlier. While she had been fine, it wasn’t certain if her device had survived the same.
I don’t know, but if it’s built for this kind of situation, it should be durable. The lack of contact means…
I probably should continue heading down.
Right.
Like always.
Jelly Girl stared at the remnants of her Jelly in her hand, then absorbed them into her body.
Surprisingly, she didn’t feel too sad.
Come to think of it, this was only natural. After all, the Jellies were like unexpected new family members to her.
If they had been the ones she had produced herself, the loss might have felt different. But Jelly Girl was calm.
She felt a little regret, but only a little.
…Maybe it’s because these ones used to eat humans, so I didn’t grow attached.
Perhaps a Sphere would have been better.
As Jelly Girl felt her mouth grow bitter, she took another step forward.
Crunch, crunch.
The stairs, colder than before, were now cool and icy. If a human had walked barefoot on them, their skin might have peeled off from the biting cold.
Amidst this, Jelly Girl walked on without a thought, continuing down to clear her mind as it began to get complicated.
Tung, tung.
Even as the squelching sounds from Jelly Girl’s feet persisted, the frozen stairs let out cries as if they couldn’t endure her weight.
But this too was strange.
Especially if you considered the stairs as part of the Singularity.
The increasing cold wind and the temperature low enough to freeze the Jelly should logically be part of the Singularity.
Which meant… Was she harming her own body by continuing?
Jelly Girl hardened her fingers and gently nudged the railing.
Creak… creak.
The railing, which had withstood her previous frantic run, now shook weakly, like a sickly person. It seemed as if it would break with the slightest additional pressure.
Something wasn’t right.
But she didn’t know what.
…Dr. Han Seori, please tell me the answer.
Naturally, she wouldn’t hear Han Seori’s voice, so all Jelly Girl could do was keep descending, step after step.
[@$!#!)$]
The occasional strange noises indirectly indicated that Jelly Girl’s journey wasn’t in vain.
The approaching cries grew louder.
Even ice spires began sprouting on the railing.
‘…What are these ice spires made of?’
The fact that ice spires had formed meant that some liquid had flowed downward, right?
Is there anything around here that could do that?
The ice spires, hidden in the darkness, somehow resembled Jelly Girl’s body color. Some appeared slightly murky.
Mysterious ice formations that glowed with a deep hue.
When Jelly Girl noticed this, she instinctively reached out before hesitating. For some reason, she felt the premonition that touching them was a bad idea.
‘…I don’t really need to touch it, do I?’
After all, they’re just ice spires, right?
Jelly Girl walked, and walked, and kept walking.
She didn’t feel fatigue, so her steps never stopped.
Instead,
While her body was fine, her mind gradually grew weary.
Until when do I have to keep going down?
Maybe it’s really broken and can’t communicate.
It’s dark.
…I could get some Jelly out… but even if I do, it’ll just freeze and break, so what’s the point?
Pointless…
How much time had passed?
Jelly Girl’s mind was filled with all sorts of random thoughts.
Then in her line of sight appeared…
‘…Something’s different.’
An emergency exit sign, glowing green, came into view.
Amid the cold, it performed its duty, faintly blinking to showcase its presence.
Like a fish entranced by light, Jelly Girl moved toward the green glow.
Thung, thoom.
And before her, something she had never seen before appeared.
A door.
A serene door revealed beneath the blinking emergency exit sign.
Bathed in green light, it glimmered with an odd hue, unlike a regular door.
And as if to prove this,
[@!#_)!]
The noise that had been bothering Jelly Girl continued.
Precisely,
From beyond the door.
After a brief moment of thought, Jelly Girl placed her hand on the doorknob.
Should I go in?
There was still no reaction from the necklace.
*
“Now what? The signal’s gone.”
Hwang Bo-yul looked at the man scratching his head and mumbling.
“So what if it’s gone?”
“Looks like it’s broken. Whatever happened, the screen shook violently afterward, so… likely it received some shock.”
“…Is that so.”
Hwang Bo-yul sighed inwardly.
Thinking about it, the Jelly Girl didn’t seem too concerned about the thing around her neck. From what she had heard from Han Seori, she seemed to know what it did, but didn’t give much thought to it.
It had broken last time too, so it wasn’t surprising again this time.
But the situations were different now.
She had heard the area beyond the door was an endlessly contiguous space. If she couldn’t be called back, the persistent Jelly Girl might just keep heading downwards.
…Not good.
Hwang Bo-yul muttered this to herself without realizing it, then asked the man who had been checking the signal with her.
“So how do we send a signal? She’ll likely just keep going down this way.”
The man shrugged and replied.
“It’s really unfortunate, but… this is the Singularity, isn’t it? Pretty troublesome.”
“…”
Hwang Bo-yul thought she knew what the man was about to say. She agreed with him.
Even though she thought that internally,
“Uh, well, I’ll go check with someone else.”
“…Do that.”
For some reason, it didn’t sit well with her.
With a slightly creased face, Hwang Bo-yul shooed away the man and sighed as she looked toward the seemingly endless staircase beyond the door.
‘What should I do in this situation?’
Hwang Bo-yul was still confused.
All she could do was…
…hope that Jelly Girl would return safely.
