Kim Cheon-soo had reached a conclusion after much deliberation.
Somehow, he felt as though he had been marked with an ‘X.’
He could feel cold sweat running down his spine.
Firstly, he was pleased that Lime intended to head towards the land above. He didn’t know what lay in that cluttered city down below, but as long as he remained inside Lime, Lime’s movements would inevitably be restricted.
Thus, it seemed he was better off on the outside.
Lime would have too much to sacrifice to protect him. If something sharp were coming their way, wouldn’t it be better to just dodge?
If Lime didn’t have him inside, they might get grazed but it wouldn’t be a big deal. However, with him inside, a stab would cause blood to pour out.
And even dodging was problematic.
Even with the gentle movements he was making now, his body felt like it was dangling. What if they made more violent movements?
…While things were a little better now, there was still a concern he might break if they weren’t careful.
Despite personal reasons, Kim Cheon-soo wanted to leave the sea for more public ones.
Unfortunately, the three of them… couldn’t reach the land. Or rather, no matter how far they walked, the land never appeared.
This suggested two possibilities.
One was that they were so deep and far that they couldn’t walk out. It wasn’t an unrealistic assumption. The wave that hit them was that tall and turbulent.
The other was that the entity which swept them up with the wave was keeping them from escaping. Or perhaps the space itself wouldn’t allow it.
While it sounded like a fantasy tale, Kim Cheon-soo had no such prejudice. Whatever the Singularity could conjure, however absurd, it had the ability to manifest it in reality.
…Like how he could breathe inside this jelly without suffocating.
Anyway.
Whichever it was, if they couldn’t escape, their options were limited. There was no other way but to head toward the cluttered fortress.
If the space was distorted, eliminating the Singularity would resolve it. And if they were swept too far away, dealing with the Singularity might still provide a solution.
They certainly couldn’t leave the Singularity behind and keep moving forward.
They had no choice but to go, whether they liked it or not.
Given that Lime’s efforts to move forward showed no hint of land, it seemed the possibility of spatial distortion gained more weight.
Alright, there was no option but to move forward.
With determination, Kim Cheon-soo widened his eyes. He overcame the fear that was creeping up on him and mustered the courage to move forward.
But there was a significant issue.
But how do I communicate that to Lime? It seems like they have no intention of turning back.
Kim Cheon-soo felt a sense of difficulty. Even now, his body was moving in sync with one or two parts of Lime.
No matter how he tried to move his limbs, Lime’s body didn’t flinch. The only freedom he had was blowing air out of his mouth to make the jelly bubble slightly.
He felt sorry for how much Lime must have suffered before Electric Scent, as he made the jelly bubble.
Seeing the bubbles that obscured his vision and then disappeared, he had an idea. Drawing breath, he recalled how blowing into a straw made drinks bubble and exhaled.
Bubblebubblebubblebubblebubble!
Lime’s jelly bubbled and rippled as if it were boiling water.
Following Kim Cheon-soo’s intent, Lime stopped walking and instead poked their cheek with their finger. Lime’s finger reached in and poked Kim Cheon-soo’s cheek.
Bubblebubble!
…Did it get through? Did they understand my message?!
But only for a moment.
It seemed Lime just wanted him to shut up, as they resumed their futile walk toward the land.
Kim Cheon-soo felt as though jelly had lodged in his throat and made Lime’s head bubble again.
Just then, Lime’s face bubbled with foam, as if boiling.
At that point, Lime seemed to sense something was off—or maybe they were angered—and stamped their feet heavily.
With that forceful step, Kim Cheon-soo involuntarily swallowed his saliva, only to have it mix with the jelly down his throat.
“Ugh, ugh.”
This is what Lime tastes like.
He felt as though he’d tasted something familiar, but it quickly dissipated into a lingering aftertaste.
While he was lost in the strange sense of nostalgia,
“Woobguk!?”
The jelly was starting to enter his mouth.
Ah, but I didn’t mean to eat the jelly! I’m not hungry! Ugh!
Kim Cheon-soo was flustered and tried to flail, but his body wouldn’t move, so he could only accept what Lime was doing.
…However.
It soon became clear that Lime wasn’t trying to feed him jelly.
“Eeeeeh… uh?”
Why is my voice coming out?
He blinked, and rolling his eyes down, he saw a breathing mask-like apparatus covering his mouth.
“My goodness…”
He felt faint. He knew Singularities were beyond comprehension, but that didn’t mean surprises ceased to amaze.
Calming himself down, he cleared his throat and spoke softly.
“It seems hard to escape from here. My guess is the space is distorted… so, no matter what, we’ll have to go there, whether it kills us or not.”
If Lime had received Kim Cheon-soo’s voice through the jelly breathing apparatus, Lime’s body trembled.
Kim Cheon-soo, waiting for a response, sensed something was off.
“…For some reason, breathing is getting harder. Is this my imagination?… cough… Or am I wrong?”
Kim Cheon-soo played with his lips, wondering if it was just his imagination, but he could definitely feel breathing getting harder.
It was absurd. In the jelly-filled area, he could breathe, but with this space, it felt harder.
“…Is this normal?”
Honestly, he had no idea what was normal. He didn’t even know the principle behind breathing in Lime’s jelly.
“Uh, Lime? Breathing is getting harder… Why is that… Oh, you can’t talk anyway.”
His voice carried a hint of sorrow, likely because he had shared similar tribulations with Lime.
Thinking deeply, Lime trembled upon hearing the voice. Though it looked like goosebumps, Kim Cheon-soo couldn’t see it. Quietly narrowing their gelatinous brow, Lime revealed an unsatisfactory expression and removed the breathing apparatus from Kim Cheon-soo.
Though it felt like cutting off Kim Cheon-soo’s life, ironically, his breathing improved significantly.
After removing the apparatus, Lime turned around and began heading back toward the cluttered castle, dangling Sosik, who swung back and forth in their grasp.
Sosik seemed to be sleeping but his eyes were open—perhaps aware of the danger, though too lazy to walk.
…Even if it was laziness, it felt somewhat ironic from Lime’s perspective while still remaining understandable.
Anyway.
Kim Cheon-soo’s hypothesis about the spatial distortion was proven correct, as the group soon arrived at the cluttered castle.
‘My thoughts were right.’
Bubblebubble.
Kim Cheon-soo now stirred the jelly comfortably as if it were second nature, unlike Lime, who felt extremely uncomfortable. It was as if they had a large gag in their mouth.
Of course, Lime could break it with a single strong breath, but breaking it wasn’t an option.
How did this happen?
Kim Cheon-soo being inside caused many inconveniences…
Lime sighed as the jelly bubbled. In response, Kim Cheon-soo bubbled back.
Lime found their actions absurd and bubbled again, which made Kim Cheon-soo feel ticklish and continue to bubble.
For a while, the two “boiled” with bubbling sounds before finally resuming their way back to the cluttered castle.
Lime seemed awkward, and Kim Cheon-soo looked exhausted as if relieved he didn’t need to move.
Close-up, the cluttered castle appeared to truly deserve the title of fortress beneath the sea. Sure, it lacked a proper guardian and had many holes, but its grandeur was undeniable.
…But considering the Singularity hidden inside, it might be better described as an arena or even a hell.
Bubblebubble.
Goog.
Bubblebubblebubble!
Lime compressed Kim Cheon-soo’s face with a tentacle.
Hey, stop messing around with that constant bubbling!
Bubblebubblebubblebubble!
Lime couldn’t help but join in the bubbling…
Bubblebubble.
It’s frustrating. Could I be going insane?
Can Singularities get mental illnesses? Are there special wards for them?
As Lime mentally pondered this while feeling irrationally agitated, they gripped Sosik’s wrist tightly. Sosik blinked indifferently at Lime.
Through mental telepathy, Lime intensely thought.
‘Today your role is important… so… let’s do our best.’
Unless you want to see the person who gives pudding die.
Did Sosik understand?
He weakly nodded and slumped down again.
…Did you really get that?
Lime felt a growing unease as they stepped into the cluttered castle with Sosik and Kim Cheon-soo.
It felt as though the word ’emergency’ was buzzing around their ears.
