However, at this moment, in a certain Hollow, something was happening that would surely surprise Wise later.
"Ugh, Sister..."
Inside a crumbling room on the upper floor of a high-rise building, a girl wearing a gray, black ballet outfit pressed her slender, fair hand against her forehead, clearly in discomfort.
A closer look revealed faint silver-gray patterns along the back of her hand, resembling blades concealed beneath her skin, as if they could be unleashed at any moment.
Although her face was covered by a veil, it still couldn't hide the delicate and lovely features beneath.
Hearing her words, another girl whose face and attire were similar to hers tilted her head slightly and asked calmly, "What's wrong, little sister?"
The biggest difference between the elder sister and the younger one was that her outfit was predominantly silver-white, aside from their contrasting personalities.
- Odile & Odette -[1]
"Nothing. I just feel a terrible headache, like I've slept for a very long time and forgotten many things..."
"It's alright, little sister. I'm here."
Listening to her sister's calm voice, the younger sister looked somewhat surprised before asking with delight, "Eh? So you remember what happened before?"
"No, I've forgotten everything too," the older sister replied.
"Ah? Then what should we do?"
When she heard that even her sister had lost her memory, the younger girl immediately felt pretty lost. Luckily, her sister wasn't panicking like her right now.
Instead, she calmly raised her slender index finger, looking like she'd thought of something.
"It's simple, we just need to locate that person."
The elder sister's words gave the younger girl pause, then she nodded enthusiastically as if she'd found her answer.
Though both sisters had lost much of their memories, they could still recall some hazy images.
Among those fragments, the clearest impression was of the person who had awakened them.
"That's right! Since he saved us, he must know who we are, right? If we find him, everything will be solved!"
As the girl spoke, she happily stepped forward and spun lightly on her tiptoes. However, she soon stopped and looked a little dejected.
"Sister, I suddenly realized... we don't seem to know how to find him," she said quietly.
"Fool, can't we simply track his scent?"
"Eh? You remember his scent?" the younger sister asked in surprise.
"Mm, of course. After all, I'm the older sister."
"Wow, you're amazing, Sister!"
"Hmph hmph~"
The younger sister clenched her fists and looked at her sister with admiration.
After making their decision, the two girls stood up and left the room they had been in.
The room was completely sealed, its only exit blocked by a smoothly cut stone wall.
Seeing this, the younger sister showed no surprise. She casually pushed it aside, and the stone wall she shifted happened to strike a high-level Ethereal on the other side, a quadrupedal creature resembling a lizard.
"Oops, sorry, little puppy."
The younger sister stuck out her tongue and scratched her head, looking slightly embarrassed yet very cute.
However, the Ethereal on the other side, whose leg had just been crushed, clearly didn't share that opinion. It struggled out from beneath the stone wall and then limped away without even looking back.
The sisters paid it no mind. After all, for an Ethereal, such an injury was minor and would recover after remaining in the Hollow for some time.
"Alright, little sister, stop fooling around. We still need to find that person."
As she spoke, the elder sister gently wiggled her nose, as if following a scent in the air.
Watching this, the younger sister couldn't help staring at her before subconsciously opening her mouth.
"Sister, you look just like that little... Mmh!"
Before the words could leave her mouth, her sister, already knowing what she was about to say, quickly reached out and covered them.
"Shut up. Come this way."
Without changing her expression, the elder sister began walking in the direction she had pointed. The younger sister quickly hurried after her.
Together, the two sisters wandered through the Ballet Twin Towers, descending from the upper floors toward the lower levels of the building.
After some time, the younger sister, who was already tired of wandering without a clear destination, looked at her sister with a doubtful expression.
"Sister, are you sure you remember his scent?"
"Of course."
Seeing how confident her sister was, the younger sister sighed helplessly. But then she suddenly noticed something hiding in a corner nearby.
A small white Ethereal was there, clearly scared by the Ether energy coming from the two of them.
The younger sister immediately became interested. Girls usually liked small and cute things, and this Ethereal girl was no different when it came to small Ethereal animals.
She quickly walked over, grabbed it by the scruff, and lifted it right out of the corner.
The small Ethereal, which normally lived in the lower layers of the Hollow, had never faced a Notorious Boss like this before.
It didn't even dare to move and simply remained frozen in the girl's hand.
"Wow, it's adorable! I've made up my mind, Sister. We're keeping it as a pet," she declared, squeezing it in her arms.
The younger sister saw nothing wrong with what she had done. To her, it was nothing more than a gentle hug.
Unfortunately for the little Ethereal, that affectionate embrace had nearly shattered its core.
"Do whatever you want. But can it even leave this place?" Her sister wasn't surprised by her behavior.
Still, according to the instincts carved deep within them, other Ethereals weren't supposed to be able to leave the Hollow.
The two sisters seemed to be a special case. This became clear during their earlier search by Wise scent.
While she had been completely focused on tracking it, the younger sister had accidentally stepped out of the Hollow from the rooftop of the building.
Her sister was startled when she saw this. She had intended to immediately pull her sister back, but soon realized that she was perfectly fine.
Curious about what had happened, they casually brought several Ethereals of their kind to conduct a few "voluntary" experiments.
The outcome, however, was clear. Whether it was the limping "little puppy" from earlier or the most common humanoid Ethereal in the Hollow, every single one dissipated the moment they left the Hollow.
"Oh, right…"
The younger sister seemed a bit let down by this, while her sister's face suddenly grew serious. She looked down at her calf, wrapped in sheer white stockings.
A snake Ethereal covered in white scales had coiled itself around her leg. The unsettling feeling of its scales gliding along her skin made her immediately reach down and pull it away.
In fact, she had noticed this Ethereal earlier but ignored it because it was far too weak to bother with. Now, however, it had approached her on its own.
Girls were often afraid of reptiles like this, and even she, the elder sister, was no exception.
Because of that, she decided to crush the Ethereal that had dared to climb onto her leg.
But just as she was about to act, the younger sister suddenly shouted from the side, interrupting her.
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