"Ling! What are you thinking about?"

The voice cut into the "little girl daydreaming in the rain" scene, abrupt as a stone in a pond, and Ling turned her head.

The rainy daydream image shattered like a soap bubble; a small pity.

"Sis, what's wrong?"

She was probably still fogged from zoning out; her first words carried morning-drift, like waking with dew on your eyelids.

That dazed cuteness had zero effect on Alicia; she'd seen Ling in this soft-focus look too many times.

So Alicia waved calmly, voice steady as a placid lake.

"Nothing big. I saw you zoning out and wanted to snap you back."

She seemed to remember something and added, voice like a quick ripple.

"Edmund's almost recovered. Give it a bit; he should wake soon."

Ling nodded, a willow-branch gesture, then her pupils went unfocused again, drifting back into that strange haze.

This time, Alicia didn't let it slide. Twice in a row was weird, like a clock skipping beats.

She stepped forward and waved her right hand twice before Ling's eyes, like wind brushing reeds.

"Ling?"

Ling's eyes were dull at first, then caught light again after two seconds of Alicia's hand flicker.

"Ah... huh? Sis, do you need something?"

"Yes! Very much so!"

Ling tilted her head, then did a move she'd never do—she pressed her index finger to her lips, kitten-cute.

"Do you need my help with something, sis?"

Alicia set both hands on Ling's shoulders; their faces slid close, like two moons crossing.

From Ling's view, it wasn't just her sister's smooth skin; the anxiety in Alicia's pupils mirrored into her own like storm ripples.

"Ling! I'm your sister. If something's wrong, tell me. Don't bottle it up."

Alright. Ling got it at once; her zoning out had scared Alicia, like a lantern flickering in wind. The worry warmed her, and she smiled.

"Okay, sis, you're just worrying too much..."

She gently lifted Alicia's hand from her shoulder and held it tight, like threading fingers through silk.

"How could your little sister ever keep trouble from Big Sis?"

The teasing was ill-timed; Alicia wasn't buying it, her mood a taut bowstring.

"Then tell me what's wrong. Making your sister worry isn't what a little sister should do!"

Ling's gaze drifted like smoke.

"Do I... really have to say it?"

Alicia stayed silent and stared straight at her. After half a minute, Ling broke under the quiet press and raised both hands in surrender.

"I'll talk, I'll talk—okay, okay..."

She took two deep breaths, steadying like a pond after rain.

"Actually... after I snapped that flute, I felt something strange.

I can't pin it down; it was like everything was about to end.

Like turning a maze corner and seeing a green Exit sign.

Yeah... that kind of eerie, can't-say feeling."

It sounded like saying nothing; Alicia didn't really get it. She chose not to push—if Ling couldn't explain, pressing wouldn't squeeze answers.

"Then... did that eerie feeling harm you in any way?"

"Harm? Emmm... I can't call it bad. Except for a loss of control, a weightless drift in my body, nothing else."

"Is it still there now?"

Ling lifted her right hand, then clenched a fist, as if testing strings. She shifted her body a few times, then shook her head—it's gone.

Alicia exhaled and patted her chest, relief like sunlight; she'd feared that thing would leave Ling unwell.

"Whew... alright. Since you're fine, we should head back."

"Back where?"

"Back to the surface! You killed that Skeleton, probably the Undead leader. The Undead here are almost handled. You planning to settle in this gloomy underground?"

She wasn't wrong; the dungeon boss was dead. Why linger in this instance?

Alicia suddenly remembered something. She turned back to Ling, brows like puzzled wings.

"Where's that broken flute of yours?"

Ling blinked, then scanned the ground fast, eyes skimming like swallows. No flute—only a mound of black-and-white dust. Yeah, that had been the flute.

"Welp... it's dust now, no research today. Forget it. Wake Edmund, and let's prepare for the surface."

Ling took a step, planning to wake Edmund by playing trampoline on his belly.

Edmund jolted upright as if he'd foreseen a nightmare. Cold sweat beaded his brow, and his hand had found the sword at his side.

"Perfect timing. We're heading out; don't space out."

As she spoke, Alicia took Ling's small hand and guided her past Edmund, toward the earlier door, steps light as rain.

Edmund steadied fast and followed close, boots echoing like heartbeats.

They reached the familiar doorway. The broken door had somehow been repaired, but Alicia didn't notice; she set both hands and pushed gently.

The door... swung open at once.

"Yo~ welcome, intruders."