Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

23. Shiro The Cat

"Ivory, I'm going to start," Freya said as she tapped the skull that was lying by her feet.

I took a few steps back while making sure that the ice path would not melt. Freya closed her eyes as she tried to find life wherever she could. When compared to the first time she used this ability, her range has grown significantly. I'm pretty sure that she would be able to find one, but I didn't hope that much. Charybdis might have been deep in here for a long time now, so I didn't think any form of life would have remained. Freya might only be able to find ones that belonged to the players here now and the ones that died.

Peer, the ability to look into the past by using the memories of anything that once contained life. However, there is a limit to using it. If Freya's trying to use a corpse as a catalyst, she can only see the memories of the dead who died a little more or less than five decades ago. But that should be sufficient because the war must have happened just a few decades ago.

Anyway, something glowed from beneath the pile of planks, so I carefully lifted them out of the way. When a cat jumped out of the car, I had to take my katanas out of their sheath. What in the world is a cat doing in this place...? It was completely white and covered in thick fur. There was also a collar with an engraved name on it. I knelt on one knee and slowly handed a biscuit to it.

Freya let out a sigh. "That cat...he's a little strange."

"Without a doubt. Come on over here..." I whispered as I tried to get the cat to slowly warm up to our presence.

I was able to get a good look at the carvings on the collar because the cat approached me at a leisurely pace. It's written in the ancient Artemian language, I see. I'm familiar with their modern alphabet, but I'm not familiar with their ancient alphabet. If only there was a tool that could translate it for us.

"Shiro..." was the word that came out of my mouth.

The cat came to me and sat on my lap as he stared at me with those sapphire blue eyes of his. I think Shiro is the name of the creature. And, oh, he seems to still be a kitten because of his size. It's as if I've been here before. It could be because Shiro has a connection to Yuki...as well as Charybdis Ah, there's a hint!

"Freya! Shiro is a live being, so I think you can try to see through his memories!" I exclaimed enthusiastically as I pointed to Shiro.

Freya smiled and gently pressed her index finger against Shiro's brow. He didn't even blink an eye! It's as if he's already prepared for everything that's about to happen and is just waiting for it to unfold in front of him. This cat...is more than just a cat. Furthermore, if he had been a regular white cat, there's no way he would have survived in this environment.

Freya's forehead began to crease after a few seconds. I had to keep an eye on her because she had suddenly staggered, and I didn't want her to fall into the water. What was it that she saw? s**t! Freya does not experience dizziness whenever she uses her ability. The fact that it happened only this time indicates that she witnessed some sort of terrible memory that should have never been seen.

"Shiro...is a part of Yuki's subconscious. The two of you are one..." Freya mumbled a few words before passing out.

"Freya! Hey!" I panicked and tried to wake her up by tapping her cheeks a few times. When she didn't open her eyes, I called Dylan because I was unable to transport Freya and Shiro on my own at the time.

"Yes, milady?" he asked as he dashed up to her, his feet walking calmly on the water.

Damn, that was hot...

"Freya had collapsed. Please take her to the ship. And keep an eye on her," I told him, so he went and carried Freya. "Thank you. I still need to look into it more thoroughly."

He bowed his head. "Yes, Ma'am," says Dylan as he flashed a cute smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Silly."

When they left, I turned to Shiro, unsure of what I should do. Meanwhile, he was just staring at me as if he was waiting for my order. If I can recall Freya's words correctly, I think she told me that Shiro is a part of Yuki's consciousness, implying that the two of us should have some sort of connection. But I can't tell whether it's true or not...

"Hey," I said. "What should we do at this point?"

Shiro jumped off the platform and dashed towards the egg. I followed him in the hopes that he would provide me with a hint. I just wish he wouldn't disappear or walk through the planks...or even go through the egg all of a sudden! I swear he's the only piece of information we've gotten so far! If we can't get anything from him, then it's over!

"Charybdis...is fast asleep..."

I never turned my head so fast in my entire life. Shiro can speak like a human! But he could be communicating with me through telepathy. Not sure, but Shiro sounded like a guy my age to me when he spoke. Perhaps this is because he is a part of Yuki's consciousness. I stared at Shiro, trying to find out whether he was using telepathy or not.

"What exactly do you mean? Is it necessary to wake her up?" I asked as I peeked at his face.

"She is doomed to be restrained indefinitely. You must prevent her from drying Artemia up."

I shot a brow upward at Shiro. Is he trying to say that I am correct all along? That we're supposed to restrain her in the same way that we restrain Scylla? Nevertheless, I think I need Shiro to provide me with additional information about Charybdis and her connection to Yuki. But I might have to save that for later and focus on this quest instead. We would have plenty of time to talk about the truth behind all of this later.

"How? Is there anything in this room that can keep her in check?"

"Charybdis' physical body is contained within the egg. You must find her consciousness beneath the surface of the water."

We're supposed to dive into the water to find it! Blake has already done so twenty minutes ago and is still not showing up. I'm unable to pursue him because no one would come to our aid if I abandoned my post in the meantime. Besides, Freya and Dylan are on the ship right now, so I can't just call for them. Freya needs to rest, and I don't want her to stress herself out after she got dizzy earlier. I just have to sit here and wait...

"Shiro..." I called out once more.

"Ah, humans and their inability to wait..."

I pouted a little as I looked away. "I just wanted to ask a little about Yuki's connection to Charybdis. You're being so stingy."

"As Scylla and Charybdis watched Yuki stand up to the three kings in the middle of the sea, they were inspired. Therefore, they pleaded with Yuki to allow them to join the rebellion by sinking as many naval fleets as possible."

I smiled when he finally gave in. Perhaps he'll be willing to share everything he knows with me? Our investigation would proceed more quickly if we did it this way! We will no longer be required to put our lives in danger by accepting dangerous commissions!

"No, I'm not going to tell you anything. You'll have to find out for yourself."

"Ha, stingy! Anyway, can you tell me what their true identities prior to being cursed were?" I asked instead

"Both of them were beautiful nymphs, and they were both favored by the sea. They were given the ability to direct the behavior of sea monsters to their liking. As a result, they were turned into one. This could be because the kings felt it would be an appropriate form for them the nymphs in question foiled their plans."

I blinked twice as I stared at Shiro. Is that what I heard correctly? Scylla and Charybdis were transformed into sea monsters...because it was befitting of them. I was tempted to point out that it sounded like some sort of dark joke, but I decided against it. He might have been trying to be serious, and here I am, contemplating whether it was amusing or not.

Anyway, I had to wait for Blake, so I decided to take a good look at the egg. I'm not sure if I'm just bored, but I had the impression that there might still be some sort of clue around here. As I tried to poke stuff around the egg, a lot of questions for Shiro flooded inside my mind. I was hella curious, but I'm not sure if I can just run with it. I don't want to feel upset in case he says he can't talk about certain stuff.

"Can you tell me what kind of person Yuki was?" But curiosity got the better of me, so I finally asked.

"She's the type of person that you are..." Shiro replied and refused to elaborate further.

I sighed and decided not to bother Shiro any longer about Yuki's whereabouts. It doesn't appear that he would be willing to provide me with the information that I want right now. He can only provide me with hints, which are all he has. I'm not sure if there's some sort of restriction in place here. But based on Shiro's statements, there must have been some sort of spell that stops him from telling me anything. It could be related to Scylla's lost voice.

It was then that I realized the string that connected my hand to Blake was moving very quickly. Because it's still red, I don't believe he's in any danger...but I'm still concerned. I want to see how he's doing because I can't rest assured when he's down there! I tried to peek into the ocean to see if he was going to come up soon.

"When is he going to come back up? It's been forty minutes since I last checked..." I murmured to myself as I stared into the water.

"Your friend is perfectly fine."

I looked at Shiro, perplexed as to how he could claim that Blake was fine. We can't even make out his face! Without a doubt, I'm connected to him via the string. But this does not mean that I am aware of his current situation. And that fact is making me feel a lot antsier than I was earlier!

"Blake, where are you..."

"You called?"

I jumped when I heard a voice from behind me. It's Blake! Even though he was soaking wet from diving, I ran towards him so that I could embrace him. He was probably taken aback by what I did, but he had me on edge the whole time! My irritation increased when I heard him chuckling as he caressed my hair.

"Stop making fun of me!"

"Alright, alright, let's get this over with. I'm going to stop laughing. For now, let's return to the ship. I need to talk to you about something important."

I nodded and followed him to where the ship was docked. When I was making my way towards the boat with Shiro, Blake suddenly removed his top. I blinked twice, unable to believe what I was seeing. Did he just do that...in front of me? I was afraid he would tease me if he realized I was looking, so I pretended it didn't bother me in the least.

"You don't have to keep it a secret from me, Ivory," he said smugly.

I threatened to destroy the path he was walking on, and he immediately stopped walking. Shiro leaped onto my chest when I did that, so I almost fell. Fortunately, Blake was able to grab my hand and keep me from falling. And it was at that point that he finally noticed Shiro, who I was carrying in my arms.

"What the hell is that?"

I looked at him with a mocking expression. "Did you just refer to him as 'that,' as if he were a non-living thing?" I asked, annoyed.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, miss ma'am. I'm curious who that is and where he came from."

"This is Shiro!" I replied enthusiastically as I pretended my cute little cat to him. "Apparently, he is a part of Yuki's consciousness. Long story short, he is a part of me. We found him near the egg. Isn't he adorable?"

"Are you...being serious right now?" he asked as he stared at me with a ridiculed expression.

"If you still don't believe me, we can check with Freya."

"When it comes to Freya, where has she gone? And, more importantly, where is Water Boy?"

Pfft, did he just refer to Dylan as 'Water Boy'? I have no idea why he chose to call Dylan Water Boy, but it's quite amusing. I'm curious how he'd react if he heard Blake call him that. I'm pretty sure another dramatic brawl would occur between the two. But this is not the appropriate time to think about such things!

"They boarded the ship. After Freya passed out while trying to decipher Shiro's memories, I called Dylan to come and watch over her."

"How come you didn't take care of her yourself?" he teased me, trying to make me feel guilty.

"And who will keep an eye on you, you dumbass? I went out of my way to help you."

"Mm-hmm. I'd like to know how I can repay thy kindness in the most humble manner," he teased, bowing his head a little.

"You can do that by refraining from being annoying."

He chuckled, completely ignoring what I had to say. The fact that Shiro had to witness all of this made me feel a little embarrassed. Blake's action drew my attention, but he didn't appear to be bothered at all. So Shiro only pays attention to the things that he considers to be important.

"It was never my intention to imply that it was irrelevant to me. Keep in mind that anything that involves you will be my business, so please keep that in mind as I am a part of you."

My mouth dropped open in disbelief. I'm not sure if he's playing a joke on me or if he's completely serious! If he is connected to my thoughts, then that means he has heard everything I have said?! That's...just too embarrassing to even think about!