Elegy from Another World

The newborn slowly sat up, its eyes, which shimmered with a faint pink light, filled with the bewilderment of a newborn as it looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings before finally settling on me and Tia.

"Who...who are you?" Her voice was somewhat hoarse, with a peculiar mixed quality, as if two voices were subtly overlapping.

"I am Liscia, the administrator of Utopia," I said, trying to keep my tone gentle. "This is Tia, my assistant. Welcome to Utopia, a place that shelters the wounded and the homeless."

"Utopia...home..." she murmured repeatedly, the confusion in her eyes lessening slightly, only to be replaced by even greater astonishment. She looked down at her intact hands, stroking her cheeks and body, her movements gradually becoming rapid. "Where am I...? I...we...why...we two...have become one?!"

"To save you," I explained, briefly recounting how I discovered they were only half-bodied, unable to heal, and how I ultimately used the core energy of the labyrinth to fuse them together. "That was the only way you could possibly survive at the time."

"...Thank you." She (or rather, they) remained silent for a long time before woodenly expressing their gratitude, their faces a complex mix of gratitude, shock, and disbelief. Clearly, they needed time to process this unbelievable reality.

"Do you remember who you are? Why were you imprisoned in that dungeon?" Tia asked softly.

"We... My name is Edes." "My name is Cecilia." The two names were uttered almost simultaneously, as if from the same throat. After saying their names, they were stunned, as if some deep memory had been triggered, but mostly a blankness remained.

"We...don't remember," Edes (or Cecis, who dominated this part of the narrative) said, her voice trembling with pain. "We only vaguely remember...being captured by someone...locked up there...and then...it hurt...there was light everywhere...and then...and then we don't know anything..." As they said this, their bodies trembled slightly, and tears welled up in their eyes, an instinctive reaction to the immense trauma, even though the specific memories were already blurred.

"Alright, don't force yourself if you can't remember," I comforted you. "Just stay here and relax. It's safe here, and no one will hurt you. Tell us anytime you feel better or if you remember anything."

"...Mm." They nodded, their emotions calming down a bit.

After settling Edessis (we've decided to temporarily refer to this fused entity by this combined name), a new problem arose. I contacted Xiaobei through the symbiotic network: [Xiaobei, that pink crystal fused into their chests is your core. Is it possible... to safely separate it?]

[There are no similar cases in the database, so the risks and feasibility of separation cannot be estimated.] Xiao Pei replied, [We can try a low-intensity peeling test and observe the reaction.]

With Edessis's consent (and they too were uneasy about this strange state), we began our cautious attempt. When Xiaobei controlled an extremely delicate tentacle, trying to gently pull at the pink crystal embedded in the center of their chests, an astonishing scene unfolded!

As the crystal was slightly moved, Edseys's body suddenly emitted a soft pink light! Then, the fusion line that had been perfectly healed was slowly separated again, as if cut open by an invisible hand! But this time, the separated surfaces were no longer bloody and horrifying, but were covered with a layer of transparent, smooth, and tough glass-like substance!

Through this "glass," one can clearly see their still-functioning internal organs—one side belonging to Edes, and the other to Cecilia. Even more astonishingly, from their respective brains, hearts, and lower abdomens (corresponding to the remaining half of their uteruses), three slender, translucent pink energy tentacles extend, like lifelines, crossing the central "glass" partition. The other end is firmly connected to the pink crystal suspended in the center of their bodies, serving as a bridge and energy source!

"This..." Edseys stared at their bodies, which were once again "separated" yet connected in an unimaginable way, speechless with shock. They tried to move and found that although their bodies were separated by a midline, their consciousness seemed to be shared, and their movements were coordinated, only visually presenting a strange sense of symmetrical fragmentation.

After several attempts, it was found that as long as they tried to separate the crystal with even a little force, their bodies would maintain this "transparent separation"; once the separation stopped, their bodies would slowly re-merge into one. Clearly, this pink crystal had become the absolute core sustaining their shared life, and forcibly separating them would be extremely risky, potentially leading to their complete annihilation.

"It seems we can't separate for now," I announced helplessly. Edseys, through looking at each other in the mirror (even though they now share a field of vision), accepted this reality and decided to adapt to this strange way of being.

Over the next few days, Edessis gradually adapted to Utopia. Xiaobei's consciousness resided within the crystal, and she also became their guide, helping them coordinate the complex operation of controlling a single (or rather, dual-core) body with their dual consciousnesses, and learning to acquire information through the symbiotic network.

However, daily life in Utopia was still somewhat overwhelming for them. In particular, seeing many residents interacting intimately with tentacles of various functions so naturally, from obtaining food to receiving treatment and even engaging in some recreational activities, made the newly arrived women feel a little uncomfortable and shy.

"You'll get used to it," I said with a smile to them, who seemed a little awkward. "You can think of it as a 'price' or 'tax' you have to pay for living here. Utopia needs a stable supply of energy and resources to function, and the 'pleasure converter' is one of the most efficient and sustainable ways to collect them. These tentacles are like... well, part of the public works."

"...Alright, we'll...try our best to adapt." Edsey nodded, seemingly understanding.

At the same time, I asked Yisen to invite several knowledgeable scholars and magicians to conduct a more detailed physical examination of Edseysis, hoping to find clues about the unknown force that was hindering regeneration.

After the detailed examination report came out, an old mage pointed to their smooth cross-sections in the magical image and said with a solemn expression, "Lady Liscia, we detected an extremely faint, almost imperceptible, but exceptionally pure and powerful energy imprint at the site of their wounds... It is a holy element, and a very high-level one at that."

"Holy attribute?" I frowned. "This power usually symbolizes healing and purification, so how could it hinder regeneration?"

“That’s the strange thing,” the old mage stroked his beard. “Normally, holy magic is effective against dark, undead creatures, but should have a healing effect on normal beings. Unless… the intention behind applying this power was to ‘separate’ and ‘seal,’ rather than to heal. This kind of holy power is more like… a ‘divine curse,’ designed to permanently prevent a certain being from merging or regenerating.”

I turned to Edseysis: "Do you remember being attacked by holy magic? Or coming into contact with someone possessing powerful holy energy?"

They tried hard to recall, but ultimately shook their heads blankly: "I don't remember... I have no recollection at all."

The trail seems to have gone cold again. The only breakthrough now is to find the person who imprisoned and "executed" them. I instructed Yisen to use his intelligence network to track down the most recent visitor to that desert ruins dungeon.

A few days later, Yisen brought news, his expression somewhat serious: "Lysia, we've found something about that ruin. As mentioned before, it hasn't been extensively explored, and records are scarce. However, based on cross-referencing some scattered mercenary logs and border outpost records, about six months ago, a well-equipped and specially identified team did indeed enter that area, heading directly towards the ruin."

"Which team is it?" I pressed.

Yisen took a deep breath and exhaled a name that, in folk tales, symbolized hope, but at that moment made my heart sink:

"Hero Squad".