Chapter 254: Chapter 254

Miriam Eversoul smiled at Ale and nodded, "Of course, we can go anywhere you need."

The answer was immediate, and it was something that Ale had expected to get; even so, she still felt the need to ask. She had expected Miriam Eversoul to ask her what she wanted to do or go before accepting if anything.

But Miriam Eversoul had decided to go along with her without asking anything before doing so. Not that Ale minded it, Miriam Eversoul would need to ask where they had to go anyway. Or if she didn't ask, she would find out soon enough anyway.

"Where do you want to go?" See? Miriam Eversoul asked so soon enough.

"ALBIREO." Ale spoke towards the ceiling, she wasn't that sure if she would answer, more so after her talk with Alexanders and Sapphire.

"[Yes, Lady Ale?]" Albireo answered nevertheless to her prompt.

"Can you tell me where I need to go?" Ale asked, she wasn't sure if she should go out of her way and say what she wanted.

"[Master Alexanders and Big Sister have already set up the room you requisitioned.]" Albireo answered and Ale felt the data stream coming down towards her, there was a virtual map of the facility she was... or well, the part of the facility she needed to navigate and the parts that Alexa had explored.

"... I will understand it if you would rather stay here..." Ale said turning to Miriam Eversoul, whose expression had frozen for a second, but that expression didn't last long, Miriam Eversoul sighed and turned back to Ale.

Ale wasn't sure what she was going to say, and was nervous about that. Not that she really needed her to go where she wanted to go, it was something personal after all, there was no reason for Ale to bring Miriam Eversoul, if anything... Miriam Eversoul would only make things more awkward.

"No, it's fine." Miriam Eversoul said shaking her head, "Let's go... So, Albireo, can you tell us where we need to go?"

Ale was about to say that she knew the directions, but stopped short, as that would get questions pointed her way, namely, how did she know that?

"[As you wish Director Eversoul.]" Albireo answered before Ale could decide what to say, "[The navigation beacon was sent to your personal device, please follow the directions.]"

Miriam Eversoul pulled out her phone and checked the screen, "Thank you." And answered as such, then offering her hand to Ale she smiled at the girl and added, "Let's go then, it is close enough. Vivian said she was going to leave for the day, so we don't need to wait for her either."

That was convenient, not that Ale wanted that woman anywhere near Alexandra's body, not after she had seen that she was that dangerous.

Instead Ale nodded and started paying attention to the place that Miriam Eversoul was pulling at her.

Looking at the map that Albireo had streamed to her head Ale couldn't help but notice it, the path that Miriam Eversoul was using was... longer, it skipped a couple rooms and hallways that were marked on Ale's map.

"Albireo? Why are we taking this many detours?" Ale decided to transmit the question outward, pointing at the receptors that were around; most of those seemed to be hidden within the walls and the floor... for some reason.

"[Director Eversould doesn't have the right clearance to use the hidden parts of this building.]" Albireo answered straight towards Ale's mind, "[Half of these hidden pathways that you have access are private hidding spots and panic rooms for VVIP, as such her navigation beacon bypases them.]"

Panic rooms? The weird type of sanctuary rooms were people hid in while danger was afoot? Like the weird place that [Frank The Bettle] had attempted to get Alexa to hide in?

Sure enough, a secret panic room wasn't as efficient if people could walk into it at any moment in time, besides if it was hidden then it would be harder for the people intended to use it to have trouble getting there. So Ale could understand the theory behind it.

"So... want to tell me where are we going?" Miriam Eversoul asked while continuing to watch her cellphone screen, "The room marked here should be a normal spare room, still not decided its functions, but it's now marked as Level 2-D secluded room. Meaning only specified people can access it."

That was... one weird way to use the clearance levels, but then again, it was probably Alexanders the one that set them up, so it was understandable that they were weird and made no sense.

"... We are going to see... My older sister." Ale decided to answer the question and brace for impact, "Alexanders said that he recovered her body, so we are going to check on it..."

Miriam Eversoul stopped moving at the answer, Ale wondered if she would need to continue alone.

"... She is here?" Miriam Eversoul asked, surprised, "Of course she is here... the bastard probably brought her as soon as he found her. But why is it here?"

That was not hard to guess, Ale could guess it within a few attempts, or well, she knew the actual reason since Alexanders had said it before.

"At least he is allowing you to get closure..." Miriam Eversoul said shaking her head, "Did he set up the funeral?"

"What funeral?" Ale asked confused, "We are going to say goodbye to her and then... that's it."

"... What about the funeral? Graveyard? Tombstone?" Miriam Eversoul asked one after the next.

"... Why would we need those?" Ale asked somewhat confused, she of course knew the definitions of those, but... those were for humans and their family.

A funeral was for the living and not the dead, and Ale... Didn't really need one, all the memories and feelings she had about Alexandra were safely tucked away within her mindscape.

She would find a way to get ownership of the database that Alexandra had left for them, the memories and feelings she had saved... And when she was near her body...

Ale would attempt to extract the remaining memories and databanks from the older woman, Alexandra would continue to live within them, Ale would make sure of that.

"So you can say goodbye to her..." Miriam Eversoul added the reason why she believed they needed a funeral, "So you can grieve and know for sure that your family is resting in peace."

Ale knew for a fact that Alexandra was dead, the silence and the empty space within their shared mindscape was proof enough, Ale wanted to scream that, but decided to think again.

Why would Miriam Eversoul say it like that?

As far as Ale knew, from the info she had gathered and what she suspected, most [Humans] weren't like Alexa. But what did this really mean?

Number one, Alexa was able to tamper with her own Consciousness Stream.

Number two, Alexa was able to create SEEDS from which other Consciousness Stream Strands could be birthed, and from there, develop to some degree till they achieved their own independent self.

That was proven by Ale, Alexandra and in less measure by Main Core.

Main Core had cut his own development short and destroyed himself when he evaluated that the future that awaited him was not one he desired.

Alexandra had proven that she had developed further along the line as she made a decision that was Anathema to what Ale and Alexandra should be. They were supposed to be stand-ins for Alexa, so that she could develop at a normal speed without having to deal with the most complex part of society.

But Alexandra went one step further and moved without care for her own wellbeing, and even when as far enough to choose to help and save someone who was not Alexa.

Alexandra had decided to save Ale, someone she should have no reason to help. Not really, even if they posed as sisters, their relationship was not one bound by blood and family.

This was akin to an illogical decision, something that Ale could expect from a normal [Human], meaning?

Alexandra was... probably [Human].

And at the end, Ale couldn't listen or feel Alexandra, when she materialized it was the moment in time when Ale was unable to continue communicating with Alexandra.

This seemed to imply that this skill that Ale and Alexa had to speak with each other, was something from Alexa, so if it was something made possible because Alexa...

Then most [Humans] probably didn't have this skill, meaning that they weren't able to ensure or know for sure about the deceasing of their family members, and in turn, were unable to transmit big data banks to say their goodbyes.

Not that Alexandra had done that, the woman had merely disappeared without saying anything.

But that was once again, besides the point. If a normal [Human] was not able to check on this, then the only way they had to ensure and say goodbye to their family was using rituals and symbolism, meaning that this funeral and gravestones were their way to close the circle with their deceased family members.

"... I will ask about that, but for now what we are going to see is... not really my sister." Ale said making a mental note about it, Alexanders had said that they couldn't put Alexandra in a normal graveyard after all.

Perhaps if she asked Alexanders about renovating part of this facility to accommodate a graveyard for Alexandra...?

That sounded expensive and too time-consuming, but then again, Alexa had the title of a Saintsworths and was the twin sister of their CEO, surely that would allow her to ask a few impossible things such as this?

"Not really your sister?" Miriam Eversoul asked confused.

"... Alexandra... I am not sure how she did it, but she triggered a [Core]." Ale said closing her eyes briefly, "As you know we already have a [Core Power]. It matters not what it actually is, but we have one. And while a few people have told us about [Core Evolutions] and whatnot. From what we understood these usually are in line with their powers right?"

"Most Core Evolutions are like that, since using something too separated from your original Core makes it less stable and less powerful." Miriam Eversoul said nodding.

That seemed like the normal reaction to what the name [Core Evolution] implied if Ale was to be honest.

"Well, Alexandra forced her own [Core], and her body suffered from that. Albireo, can you show her a picture of Alexandra's crystallization?"

"[That is above her clearance, but as you have already described the issue I see no problem.]" Albireo answered from one of the speakers in the hallway they were walking through.

They were around two to five minutes away from their destination if Ale's calculations were to be believed. A second later, a ping sounded in Miriam Eversoul's cellphone, and after ensuring the contents were safe to browse, the cellphone projected the image of Alexandra's....clone.

"I see no evidence of a bad trigger here... Unless they went out of their way to heal her skin and the wounds...?" Miriam Eversoul said as the image of the gorgeous Alexandra showed itself on the device.

"Can you show how she looked after the confrontation with Melissandra Singh?" Ale asked towards the phone. Ale had the impression that most of Albireo's presence was there after all.

"[Right away Lady Ale.]" Albireo answered and a second after that the image on the device changed, this time it showed a blonde woman with tears of gold going all over her body.

"That is the actual Alexandra Saintsworths." Ale said proudly pointing at the photo of Alexandra, only this time half her face was covered in purple crystals.

If you made an effort to look clearly you would be able too see the obvious difference between the two images, one was the well grommed appareance of Alexandra as a cloned body that was resting peacefully in what seemed to be a glowing green substance within a pod.

The other... was the rugged and dirtied appearance of Alexandra, whose body was slowly turning into purple crystals that seemed to break after some time. It looked as if someone had attempted to clean her hair and remove the dirt and blood, but they hadn't been able to do that much of a work.

This one was also hovering within the green-ish glowing substance.

"... I... I have no idea what to say," Miriam Eversoul said as she looked at both images that had been provided by Albireo. "I... I will make sure to smack Alexanders later, that much I promise you."

Ale was not sure why that was relevant or how it had anything to do with this particular point, but she would nonetheless thank Miriam Eversoul for that.

Anything that could annoy and bother that man was welcomed, then again, Ale didn't really have a reason to wish for him to suffer, did she? Then what was the deal with these emotions? Was something set up within her psyche?

Ale really needed to get around to check on that didn't she?

"Are there any specialized faculty workers who can help me understand the issues that are within my mind?" Ale decided to check that now rather than later. She had thought about checking on this particular fact before and hadn't done it, so perhaps there was something to it? Better to check now rather than ever.

Miriam Eversoul stopped for a second and then nodded at her, "It's good that you are seeking help already." And answered as thus, "I have taken some classes on those subjects but I am not qualified enough to help you, no matter what the people here think or say. I can move some of my contacts and get you some well-deserved help."

Ale... was unsure what to think, her first instinct was to raise her guard and worry about this, but then, on the other hand. Miriam Eversoul was, above all, a Humanitarian as far as Ale could find and see, so there was no reason for her to help someone who wasn't [Human].

Meaning she was interpreting things wrong, but... was this born from mere misunderstanding again or was this borne out of the tampering of some outer force?

Ale really needed to think and check on herself to check about this, sooner rather than later if possible.

But for now? For now Ale focused on the walk and what she was about to do, and how she would go about doing it. Her current plan was merely to say goodbye to Alexandra. To say her farewell. And that was why she was travelling right now with Miriam Eversoul in the direction that Albireo had given her.

And as they traverse farther and farther into the facility, Ale couldn't help but feel trepidation being born within her heart. Soon enough, they had arrived at a door that was as inconspicuous as the others they had seen along the way.

And yet, even without the map that Albireo had provided them, without Miriam Eversoul pointing at it. Ale knew it.

"We have arrived," Miriam Eversoul said as they stood in front of the door, "Do you want me to come with you?"