Into the unknown

"Wake up, young lady. It is time for your adventure to start," A vague distant voice called out from afar.

Huh?

Shifting in her sleep, Yuri's long black lashes trembled, her eyes fluttering open.

"Ah...?" For a moment, Yuri remained in a dazed state. She was still processing why she just woke up, particularly in an unfamiliar room when she suddenly saw a glimpse of Hilda and jolted up, exclaiming, "How long have I been asleep?!"

Seeing this, Hilda laughs at Yuri's reaction. She laughed for a short while and then spoke right after, "Don't worry. You've only been asleep for 'a couple of hours.' There's still a lot of time for you to enjoy your 3 days' leave."

Ah. That's right.

I still have a crucial task at hand...

Suddenly recalling how she has been tricked by Hilda before, Yuri felt somewhat betrayed about that, but she will not push the topic anew and instead asked Hilda, "Can I finally leave now?" Hearing this, Hilda dismisses Yuri's resentment, and casually responded, "Yes you can, but I suggest that you use the back door instead of the building's entrance,"

The backdoor?

Perplexed by her unexpected answer, Yuri turned to ask Hilda, "All this time… There has been a back door in this building?!"

Blinking, Yuri's response stunned Hilda as she queried in astonishment, "That's what you were confused about?"

"Yes!" Yuri rebuked.

Startled by her sudden burst of energy, at once, Hilda was speechless for a split second.

This child is genuinely shameless… But I do admire her bravery!… Even so, I must admit, having courage is great, but that… That isn't the only thing that this child must have to survive…

Instead, she must first learn how to lift herself up from the mud before she could be able to walk the 'true' way of the world.

"Hmm" After a short period of silence, Hilda eventually spoke up again, asking, "Don't you have any other specific questions? Such as why you must take the back door?"

Realizing that she's also confused about that, Yuri replied, "Of course I do… I was also confused about that…"

"Pfft!" Letting out a snorting sound, Hilda restrains herself from laughing out loud. She holds her belly and covers her mouth before she finally addressed Yuri's queries, "Then, if you are confused about that, I'll gladly answer it for you."

Yuri bobs her head up and down in approval of Hilda's words, and answered, "Yes, please do so."

Hearing her response, Hilda stood up from her seat and walked straight towards the doorway. She beckons Yuri to follow her, saying, "Sure thing, let's talk about it on our way."

"Ok…" Yuri answered.

Thump Thump Thump. . .

As Hilda and Yuri trudged through a dim, narrow hallway, Hilda was the first to speak up, explaining, "Since you have been asleep for too long, you shouldn't leave the building by the front entrance. This information… is something that the Sweet Haven contract doesn't disclose to in hindsight. But although on the contract, there is a brief passage that explains this information, the passage itself doesn't inform the applicant of the precise specifications of this one exception in the entire Sweet Haven contract. In fact, this exception is a law that Latchna Lovick Michael arranged for him to have more control in Sweet Haven. Don't worry, I understand that this information may confuse you a lot, but it is something that even your department manager won't be able to warn you of upfront. When an employee requests for a 3 days leave, that employee only has a time limit of 1 hour to finish the body inspection, and you broke that one law. In fact, you have slept for 5 hours. If you use the entrance now, Michael would be instantly informed that an employee has breached the 1-hour limit, and the contract would automatically activate to CODE S."

"CODE S? Why are there so many codes when activating the contract? ... First, it was only a D, and now there's also an S?" Yuri asked in frustration.

Hearing this, Hilda lets out a hearty laugh, "Haha! There are so many 'contract-activating codes' that I haven't even mentioned yet. In fact, I've barely even scratched the surface…! However, since you've already asked for it, I'd answer it for you now. What CODE S stands for is CODE STOP."

"And CODE STOP means?" Yuri continued.

Hilda thinks for a moment before she responded, "STOP the contract wielder's heart."

That… doesn't sound much different from CODE D…

"Ah, we're here." Hilda abruptly stops in her tracks. Appearing in front of a black void, Hilda explained to Yuri, "This is the secret back door of Sweet Haven Company, a space tunnel void that's been made by a great spell caster. Using a space tunnel void is faster than any transportation in the whole continent of Freyja. If you haven't used a space tunnel void before, let me tell you this as a sign of goodwill. Once you've entered the space tunnel void, the flow of time inside will be much slower than it is outside. Don't worry; there won't be any spatial beasts inside alike those well-known space tunnel voids that you were possibly taught in elementary school. Those kinds of space tunnel voids are the 'wild rifts' that are naturally created by nature and are filled with spatial beasts, but I assure you that this one in front of us is different. It is safe to use, so do not stray from the path that you have chosen. Believe in yourself, and a door will appear before you once you've reached the end."

"A space tunnel void as a back door…?" For a moment, Yuri looked at the black void with a doubtful look. Although Hilda is indeed the head of security of Sweet Haven Company, the existence of a rare kind of space tunnel void that she was talking about… Even if Yuri knew that Hilda was telling her the truth, it would still have been too hard for her to not think that Hilda may just be bluffing, since rare things like these would not have been disclosed with only a mere head of security… A rare kind of space tunnel void with no spatial beasts that have also been made explicitly by a renowned spell caster… This is totally unheard of and would have been considered a divine treasure that not even the department managers of Sweet Haven would have been able to use yet here she was with Hilda, about to cross worlds and seek the 'path' that her father has longed for when he was still alive.

... Father, I cannot see the future ahead of me… I cannot judge if I am doing the right thing or if I was about to lead myself to the end of me.

Father... I hereby call onto the 'path' that you have seen, and may the heaven's blessings be upon me.

Stepping foot inside the black void, Yuri faced unto the spatial barrier that connects the real world to the space tunnel void. As she struggled, the powerful barrier pushed her form away with a fierce force and a harsh breeze of air, making her long dark locks flutter from behind her.

"AHHHH!!!!" Yuri cried out, exerting every ounce of strength she could muster. She could almost feel her skin rip apart, but despite the discomfort, she pushed through the barrier until her figure finally disappeared unto the other side.

Swish. . .

As Yuri crossed over and Hilda silently watched from the sides with a sad smile, a silent voice was heard before she completely disappeared, declaring, "All taboos are off, and all evil withdraws."