She didn’t reply, merely muttered one phrase over and over, her voice so low that only she could hear it.
"I’m not anyone’s substitute, I’m not... I’m special, I’m unique..."
Like a curse, she forced herself to believe it.
The illusion collapsed with a roar, a rock wall blocked the path, Aimou seemed somewhat weary, yet she still crashed directly into the wall, then passed through it, the familiar door was within reach, she hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door.
Footsteps sounded from behind the door, then the door was pushed open a small crack, revealing a horrifying face.
The sense of familiarity vanished, replaced by a strange fear, his face was overgrown with messy beard, eyes deep and hollow, hidden pupils in darkness glimmered with a mad brilliance.
Aimou hesitated to recognize the man in front of her, he was so haggard, yet the corners of his mouth bore a fanatic smile, like a hysterical madman.
Teda stared for a long time, he had no comment on Aimou’s current appearance, he merely pushed the door completely open, "Come in, the Void Realm has been open too long, they’ll notice."
Entered the Alchemy Workshop, Aimou froze in place, the once pervasive smell of oil had vanished, replaced by the foul stench of blood.
She saw thick veins extending from dark corners, blood surged beneath the membrane, raging, vine-like flesh entwined with steel, pulling the machinery into operation, the ground was also covered in a layer of fleshy constructs like a fungus mat, dense fleshy tendrils swayed endlessly.
Aimou faintly heard a deep hum, as if war drums were being struck in the darkness, accompanied by a slight trembling of the ground.
In this nest of flesh, seemed to be an unimaginably gigantic heart, currently sleeping in the darkness, hard to imagine what it would be like when it awakened.
Teda locked the large door behind him, the Void Realm returned to its closed state, isolating others’ prying eyes, as for the current twisted cacophony, Teda had no intention of explaining.
"How is Alice?" Teda asked emotionlessly.
Aimou clutched her chest, "She’s safe."
As Aimou’s creator, Teda had guessed what she had been through just by seeing her for the first time, only when her shell was completely damaged would such a thorough reformation be necessary.
Teda didn’t care about Aimou, but emphasized, "You’re merely borrowing her life, if you can’t protect her..."
"I understand," Aimou replied coldly.
Teda turned and began busying himself, reaching out to dismantle the congealed flesh, extracting metal parts.
He didn’t forget to instruct, "The Immortal Heart has been implanted, now it just needs to fuse completely with Alice. There’s nothing else for you to do during this time, just stay quietly aside."
Ether surged beside Teda, arms Illusion Creation reached for heavy components, stacking them aside.
During this period, apart from focusing on Alice’s revival, Teda had been busy with these things, gradually transforming the Alchemy Workshop into a fortress.
Teda understood, the Void Realm here couldn’t shelter him forever, eventually he’d be discovered, fortunately he didn’t need to fight the Order Bureau to the death, he only needed to hold out until it all ended.
"Why are you still here?" Teda turned, discovering Aimou still standing there, not leaving.
"I just wanted to take another look here."
Aimou gazed up at the drastically changed Alchemy Workshop, her voice devoid of emotion.
"After the fusion, the Philosopher’s Stone within the Constant Motion Core will be taken out, right? Reversing Condensation, returning the soul to the body," Aimou murmured, "I’ll be damaged then, right?"
Her previous suspicions were merely to deceive Bologue, Aimou was quite aware of her fate, what she hadn’t expected was, Bologue was so easy to deceive, as if anything she said, he’d believe.
This wasn’t good, the easier it was to deceive Bologue, the more Aimou felt distressed.
"Are you afraid now? If so, why did you come back?" Teda asked.
"I’m not afraid, I’m an Alchemy Puppet, I don’t think the way humans do," Aimou said calmly, "Humans fear death, but I don’t."
Aimou smiled, "On the contrary, I feel joy when the fate of a tool is fulfilled."
The value of a wrench doesn’t lie in rusting while idle, but in breaking while turning a screw.
Aimou moved aside, pried open layer upon layer of flesh, took out a familiar puppet mask, past memories flashed continuously before her eyes.
After a long silence, Aimou couldn’t help but speak.
Suppressing Ether interrupted Aimou’s words, Teda slowly turned his head, his haggard face filled with anger and ferocity.
"How many times have I told you, Aimou."
Aimou didn’t back down, retorted, "Shouldn’t parents love their children?"
After saying this, Aimou suddenly felt relieved, she’d finally asked the question she had long been holding in.
"To you, what am I?" Aimou continued to ask.
Teda answered without hesitation, "A tool for resurrecting Alice, satisfied with that answer?"
His voice was calm, carrying an indescribable sense of fatigue.
Aimou didn’t refute, merely answered mechanically.