That girl is not Archi-Alice.

"This is the Fifty-Seventh Shelter."

"Fifty-Seventh…?"

Alice repeated the words that were said and directed her bloodshot left eye at the girl with the long hair.

"…?"

The girl smiled at Alice, who was looking at her silently, and continued in a calm voice.

"The girls are the ones who brought you here. Your wounds have been tended to. Is your body… still in any pain?"

The gentle voice soothed her slightly, and Alice gingerly pulled herself away from Philrain, who was hugging her. She traced her fingertips over the bandage that was firmly wrapped around her right eye. Although there was no pain, she could not feel her right eye.

"My eye is…"

"I'm sorry… Your right eye is completely crushed…"

"Eh…?"

Her memory of what happened before and after was vague. As if something had stirred in her head, she couldn't recall what had happened or what she had seen.

"I…"

"I've been told by Philrain that these are the wounds you received when you finished off the Nightmare."

After saying that, the girl drew out a yellow ball from her pocket. The moment she spotted it, Alice felt a piercing pain in her head. She frowned and pressed her head.

That is…

… That is Humpty Dumpty's core.

Then I…

Have killed Humpty…

"…."

In a foggy state of thought, she gradually remembered "what had happened". Then Alice went pale and grabbed Philrain's shoulder forcefully.

"What about Jack…!"

Being asked the question, Philrain had a vacant look for a short moment, but… eventually distorted her face and shook her head. Seeing her haggard appearance, the girl with long hair interrupted her softly.

"I'm sorry for the delay… My name is Stelcis. I'm a doppelganger of 'Alice', just like you."

"…"

Listening to her in silence with her left eye wide open, the girl who called herself Stelcis smiled at Alice as she stared at her.

"… You had a harsh time… but you'll be fine now. You don't have to fight anymore, now that you have reached this shelter."

"… What… are you talking about?" Alice laughed dryly, not really comprehending what Stelcis had said. "I have to get back… soon."

"…"

"I have to go save Jack…"

"…"

"I have to go otherwise…"

As she attempted to push Philrain aside and rise to her feet, Alice's body lost all strength and she fell to her knees with all her energy. Then Philrain supported her and she muttered in astonishment.

"What… what is…?"

"Master Alice…?"

Philrain was about to say something, but Stelcis took over.

"… Alice. You've already said the same thing over and over again."

"Eh…?"

With a downcast look in her eyes, Stelcis shook her head mildly.

"I assume that your mind is refusing to accept what you have witnessed. But it is time for you to accept it."

"What do you mean by accept…?"

Her body started to tremble.

No.

I don't want that.

I don't want to hear it.

I don't want to hear it at all.

"The person known as Jack is dead. His body is regrettably unrecoverable, but… there's nothing we can do about it."

Hearing that straightforward affirmation… Alice wanted to refute it, but she couldn't say anything except for letting a small exhale escape her throat.

"Your body was impossibly depleted. It would not be an exaggeration to say that you were one step away from death. However, judging from the fact that your thoughts have become slightly more stable, it seems that you are recovering."

"…"

"… It's okay. You can rest assured now, and let us take care of you. You don't have to fight anymore." Stelcis smiled at Alice with narrowed eyes and placed Humpty's core into her pocket. "If you ever want to meet me, please inform Philrain that you wish to speak with me. I am always available to talk to you."

With a small bow, Stelcis and several other men and women left the room. Alice could only watch them go, unable to voice out anything.

◇

That shelter was a strange one. First of all, unlike the shelters Jack and Iberis had been in, it was distinctly enormous. It was a huge structure, about five stories high.

The interior of the shelter was lush with green plants and trees. Gazing down at it from the window of her hospital room, Iberis sighed as she lay on her bed, dressed in her hospital gown.

"… What's wrong?"

At her feet, the black cat… Raffi opened his mouth. Iberis looked down at him languidly and spoke up.

"I can feel her consciousness. She's finally awake."

Upon hearing this, Raffi swallowed his words and lowered his head. When Iberis saw this, she asked softly, "… Why don't you visit her?"

When confronted with the question, Raffi shook his head, but his voice was grim.

"I'm… no longer qualified to be by her side…"

"…"

"I left Jack, the man she loved, behind only to have him killed. Also… I didn't notice that she was heading to… save him, so I let her go. I'm… disqualified as 'Alice' protection system."

After a few moments of silence, Iberis raised her body and stated to Raffi, who had squeezed his voice out with anguish.

"That girl is not Archi-Alice."

"…"

When the black cat looked up at her, Iberis continued.

"You're making a big mistake. That girl may be close to Archi-Alice, but… she is a completely different being. Your perception of her will torment her and eventually kill her."