Chapter 617 - Trapped

(Tsuki POV)

*A few moments ago*​​

I enjoyed Aniue's warmth as I cuddled closer to him, watching the memory scene of us making dinner together.

Just as I was in the middle of reminiscing about that particular memory, the resistance I felt leaning against Aniue disappeared suddenly and I fell on my back.

I sat up and looked around, realising that Aniue had completely disappeared, causing me to panic.

Did someone kidnap him? Where did Aniue go? If someone really tried to take Aniue from me...

"Nii-chan! Nii-chan? What's wrong, you were spacing out over there?"

I turned back to look at the memory scene, this was something I do not remember happening.

The other Nii-chan reached out and patted the other me's head, "Sorry, I was just thinking about some things. How's the rice?"

No… This was not how it went.

Since I had taken the memory potion before this, I remembered everything that happened in perfect detail. Such an interaction between myself and Aniue never happened.

Eh? I'm setting the table? Aniue was the one who set the table here, not me... What is going on?

Areh? Aniue is looking around like he's confused? This…

Did Aniue send himself to the memory world?

No, if Aniue wanted to do it, he would have definitely told me before doing so. Something's definitely wrong here, I can feel it.

I moved towards the memory version of Aniue, reaching out my hand to try and touch him. As expected, my hand simply phased through Aniue as though he wasn't there.

I tried the same with the other me only to meet with the same results.

It seems like I still can't interact with the memory, so what caused Aniue to disappear like that? Was this the next phase of the process for Aniue to regain his memories? Am I stuck here until Aiue finishes remembering everything? But it looks like he is in full control of himself within the memory, would the memory even be the same?

I decided to watch for a little longer, gasping when I saw Aniue materialise a ball of light in front of him.

It wasn't surprising that Aniue could do that since it's still Aniue who is in control, but that it is an indication that the scene I'm witnessing in front of me was no longer just a memory playback anymore.

I was also most definitely not prepared when I saw Aniue reveal his powers to the memory me, even going so far as revealing the future to her as well.

Listening to Aniue say that he would not leave me while embracing me… I felt complicated emotions welling up within me.

It felt like Aniue was saying it to me, but it also felt like he was saying it to someone who was not me.

Ok fine, I was definitely jealous of memory me and was wishing so hard that I could change places with her.

That feeling was suppressed when Aniue started bathing with me and asked if there was something I wanted.

Oh no… If I knew myself back then, there would be one thing I would definitely try and ask Aniue for…

"Ummm… In that case… Can Nii-chan… Make my b.r.e.a.s.ts bigger?"

Nooooo!! Stop!! Don't look at me like that Aniue!! It's normal for girls like me to want that ok?! And I thought having bigger b.r.e.a.s.ts might attract Ani-- NOOO!! It definitely wasn't for something impure!! I swear!!

I want to bury myself in a hole now!

Eh? Aniue… Actually did it? Aniue can do that? I thought you needed some kind of special potion or something… Unnn… It's Aniue after all…

I turned to look at memory me's c.h.e.s.t and...

Uwaaa!! An entire cup size bigger?! It's the size I've always wished for!! I'm absolutely jealous!! Switch with me!!!

Gnununu… I definitely will ask Aniue to do that to me when he comes back! Just you wait, other me!

Aniue smiled at the other me who was currently giddy with happiness, "You know… Maybe staying here for a while isn't that bad."

Eh?

There was the sound of breaking glass and the space suddenly turned white, the memory Aniue and myself disappearing into thin air along with the rest of the scene, leaving me alone in the white space.

Remembering Aniue's lessons, I used my Quarks to scan my surroundings, only to realise that this was no longer the memory space that I was in just a few moments ago but a completely different space.

Was I teleported to somewhere else?

I widened the range of my scan and the results were the same.

I'm not sure if it was of any significance that this happened right after Aniue said those words. Could that space understand that Aniue had the intention to stay and it trapped him in there? Was this whole thing a trap for Aniue?

Unnn… But that also means this space was not Aniue's mindscape where his memories were stored and instead, it's probably some kind of alternate space masquerading as Aniue's mindscape and showing us things from his mind.

That might explain why we were watching Aniue's memories from a third person's perspective instead of the normal first person's perspective like the other test subjects.

If that is true, the possibility that someone had tempered with Aniue's potion is high. But who could have done that?

I do not believe Brendan could have done something like this. Though I still do not trust him completely, I don't think he has the skill to temper with the potion and make this without external help. There's also the fact that he gains absolutely nothing by doing this too.

Then again, all this might just be caused by Aniue himself, considering it's Aniue after all.

At this point, I can only assume that Aniue has been taken and was trapped in an illusory space, probably showing things he wanted to see to keep him from breaking out by himself.

I need to rescue him… But how?

Gunununu… There's no use wondering about this by myself here, I need to break out of my own prison first.

Directing my concentration to a single point, I tore open a hole in the space and leapt out before it closed shut behind me.

My vision flashed white and the next thing I knew, there was a stab of pain in my forehead that caused me to recoil back.

My vision adjusted itself and I found Diao Chan glaring at me with an obvious bump on her head.

"I knew you were a hard headed person but I didn't think you had a hard head too…" She g.r.o.a.n.e.d, rubbing the bump on her head delicately.

"Sorry," I apologised sincerely.

I must have smacked into her when I jerked awake from escaping that alternate space, though I wonder why the Witch was hovering over me.

"If you're out, Master must be waking up soon as well, right?" Brendan asked, watching me carefully. "You looked to be quite distressed in the last few moments so senior sister Diao Chan was checking up on you."

I shook my head, "Something happened to Aniue while inside his memory space, I believe someone or something had hijacked his memory world and trapped him in another one."

"Master was kidnapped? Is He in danger?" Manami gasped.

"Only in the metaphysical sense," I corrected. "The world is basically all an illusion that exists in Aniue's mind. I'm not sure of all the details, but I believe it operates on the principle of showing Aniue what he wants so that he does not want to leave. We need to go in and break him out."

"And how do we do that?" Lian Li demanded, clearly upset that her Master was not safe.

I raised up the bottle that Aniue had drunk from, "We'll need to go to the same place as Aniue did. Be careful not to get trapped in your own fantasy yourselves..."

Brendan frowned at me, "But… How does that even work? Isn't this a memory restoration potion? We don't even know if this would send us to the same place as Master."

I looked the alchemist dead in the eye, "Then I suppose we just have to make something that can, can't we?"

Wait for me, Aniue! This time, it's my turn to save you!