To be honest, Tia didn't even know how she escaped from that cell door. Even if this memory is still fresh after many years, all she can remember is the indescribable panic and the spinning chaos... and the "plop" sound that filled her ears due to the violent beating of her heart.
Then…
Then when she finally came to her senses, she found that she had somehow run down the long corridor that had been roughly dragged along.
The thick and soft luxury carpet delivers a comfortable touch to the soles of the feet, but it is obviously not suitable for running wildly; the densely packed picture frames on the corridor walls quickly retreat behind them as they move forward. Even the content of the painting becomes blurry in the field of vision; the glass chandelier overhead emits a soft but tough light, causing the shadows under the feet to constantly expand and contract, overlap and relax.
At the fork at the end, she firmly remembered the boy's warning to her, and without any hesitation, she twisted her ankle and stepped to the right - in fact, she didn't need anyone else to remind her, she had already gone to the study room. Having been through this before, she knew better than anyone else that she should stay away from that study room.
But the moment she turned the corner, she couldn't help but turn her head towards the farthest door on the left and take a quick glance.
The door was open, and the old man was sitting steadily behind the desk in the room. When she was running through the corridor outside the door, the old man inside the door just turned his head slightly and looked at her calmly.
Immediately afterwards, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure walked out of the door and closed the study door with his backhand, completely cutting off her uneasy sight.
"My dear Tia, you shouldn't have done this."
When these words came faintly from the other side of the corridor, Tia had already stopped running towards the other end. But she didn't turn around, she just twisted her neck in a slightly awkward posture, stared at the figure in the distance and pursed her thin lips slightly.
After the entire air in the corridor seemed to freeze for a moment, she spoke out with some difficulty the name that had been lingering in her heart for a long time—
"Alyssa."
"Yes, I am Alyssa." The figure opposite nodded, looking at little Tia from a distance and said, "But unfortunately, you don't seem to be the little Tia I know."
Tia didn't understand at all why Alyssa would say such things. She felt that this should be what she wanted to say, but at this moment, it came out of the other person's mouth instead.
"Alyssa... why? You brought me here. You said this is like a paradise on earth, but this is obviously hell - you know, right? Over there... over there is the dark prison, I So I believe you, but why do you betray me?"
During her time in New York, Tia saw a lot of indifference and cruelty, and also experienced the pain of hunger and cold. The only warmth I ever felt came from the woman in front of me who looked like a mother and a friend. However, now, that warmth has been so hot, but now it has become so cold.
However, this woman who was once caring and considerate seemed completely unaware of her current agitation at this moment.
"Betrayal?" Alyssa looked at her opposite, shook her head and said, "It is indeed betrayal, but you betrayed me and the dean who had placed hope in you... My child, I heard that the dean I’ve talked to you once, but why haven’t you figured it out yet? I thought you were a smart kid, but now it seems you still haven’t realized how great he is!”
"You... what are you talking about, I don't understand..."
Perhaps it was the other party's seemingly calm but inexplicably neurotic attitude that made Tia feel so nervous that she ignored the sting of being betrayed by someone she trusted and subconsciously took a few steps away.
But Alyssa opposite didn't seem to care, and just continued to talk to her:
"Of course you don't understand. I said, you are too stupid, so you can't understand... My dear, I have shown you the beauty above, so I think you should also be able to realize that you want to be here." How difficult is it to maintain such a beautiful world in a terrible world? Don’t you think we should help the dean and work with him to support and expand this incredibly beautiful world? When one day, this world Every corner of the world has become as beautiful as this monastery, so will we still feel the same pain as in the past?"
Yes, the old man said something similar to this in that study that day. But at that time, Tia's heart was filled with the fear and defense of being imprisoned and being treated roughly, and she didn't have the heart to think too much. Maybe she would have to wait until the old man called her to talk to her a few more times before she would gradually consider these things after being forced to agree to something.
However, it is obviously still not the time to discuss this.
"Alyssa, you... I have no idea what you are talking about! What does what you are saying have to do with putting me and so many people in prison? I won't talk to you anymore... I want to leave Got it!"
When she said these words, Tia had actually started walking again, and suddenly continued running towards the other end. Although she was tripped up by Alyssa's appearance for a moment, she finally remembered that the most important thing she should do now was to escape from this ghost place.
However, the other party's voice was still the same as before, coming from behind unhurriedly.
"... Tia, didn't you meet those children when you came out? I think even if you are not that smart, you should have felt from them that they are the same as you... Don't you want to be like them? Is it powerful enough to protect myself from being bullied again?"
"My dear, listen to me. It's still too late to go back. The dean will not blame you..."
"Go back to the dungeon, and after a period of time, you will be able to gain the same power as them... or even stronger."
"You shouldn't have done this, you made me..."
"boom!"
Suddenly, Tia, who was running, felt an irresistible force coming from behind, and then she flew up.
The next moment, she fell to the ground and felt a sharp pain in her ankle. Looking back, it was Alyssa who had chased after me at some point. She was stepping on her face expressionlessly, holding a slender wand with a slightly twisted shape in her hand.
"Too disappointed."