Chapter 73
Ravia couldn’t even argue. Rette had perfectly hit the nail on the head.
If it had been a completely nonsensical story, she would have been able to brush it off easily.
Although there was a difference in how they remembered the missing time, Rette’s explanation was undeniable.
The memories that flooded back starting from a certain moment and the distorted memory.
Those two things left her in doubt.
What if I remembered my past before going back in time in the form of a book?
Looking back, did I remember anything about my past life except for the content in [His and Her Spring]?
No matter how much she looked back on her memory, she couldn’t remember anything. The only thing that came to mind was the novel [His and Her Spring].
At that time, her only focus had been survival, so she disregarded the fact that she couldn’t remember anything else.
But if I think about it a little more, isn’t it suspicious? I don’t remember anything. At the very least, I should remember what kind of person I used to be or what kind of life I led.
Why do I only remember this particular book so thoroughly? Is that even possible?
When Ravia was too stunned to speak, Rette continued.
“…Anyway, the Cheshire phenomenon can be said to be the manifestation of distorted memories caused by distorted time. Do you feel it too, Unnie?”
“…Maybe. The way I remember is a little different from yours.”
“I won’t ask you the details of your memory. The important thing is that distorted memories can lead you to make wrong choices.” Rette explained.
The most terrible thing about the Cheshire phenomenon was not that you remembered the forgotten time to which you couldn’t return, but the fact that you may remember it incorrectly.
So making the wrong choice in the present was a Cheshire Cat’s nightmare.
Rette asked again, “How about you, Unnie? Has your memory held true?”
“…So far, yes.” Ravia replied with hesitation.
Everything in the book came true. Except for the ones that went awry because of her own action.
“It was just like my memory, at least in the parts I didn’t touch.”
“Then you’re not the worst. There are many people in Cheshire who have made irreversible choices due to the distortion of their memories,”
The more Rette spoke, the more anxious Ravia became. Because Rette’s word choices were more dramatic the more she spoke.
Distorted memories, Cheshire Cat’s nightmare, irreversible choices.
Ravia had reached this point based on the memories she gained the day she fell down the stairs.
But what if that memory was distorted in some part? If that was the case, was she also suffering from the Cheshire Cat’s nightmare?
‘No way.’
This place was definitely in the book. Rather, there was a possibility that those people were trying to adjust their memories because they could not accept the fact that they were characters in a book.
But Rette’s declaration debunked that assumption right away.
“There are various forms of distortion. Some people get other people’s memories, some get them in the form of dreams…but that only means the memory is incomplete.”
After exchanging questions and answers, Ravia eventually had no choice but to admit it. The fact that she hadn’t reincarnated in the book, but returned back in time.
Fortunately, nothing had deviated from the original novel so far.
Let’s say the memory in the form of a book was distorted, wouldn’t it be okay to assume that the memory itself was still intact?
But she had to consider the opposite, so Ravia asked with her palms gripped her skirt.
“Then, is there any way to cure the Cheshire phenomenon?”
“If there is a key, there must be a lock. So there is a way.”
“There is a way, for sure.” Crow had sat next to Rette and listened quietly the whole time and suddenly got up with a little smirk.
“Only someone who locked it can unlock it.”
There must be something that could rewind time. If so, as long as they can find that….
“At that time, I may have a clue to solve the problem,”
Cupping his hands as if holding a sphere in them, Crow added.
“We, Cheshire Cat, have found a presence that may have turned back time ever since we learned about the Cheshire phenomenon. And fortunately, we got the answer.”
“Four seasons ability.” At Rette’s quiet murmur, Crow nodded.
“That’s correct. My lady, how much do you know about the Four Seasons ability?”
“I only know a little about spring and autumn, and nothing about the rest. In fact, I don’t know about the spring penalty and what influences the power to manifest.”
Ravia knew that each season had a keyword, and their power manifested the moment they synchronized with that keyword. But it’d be absurd to say that confidently without a strong basis.
When Ravia explained as much as she knew about the four seasons, Rette smiled lightly.
“Seems like you’re pretty knowledgeable. I was worried if I had to explain it from the beginning. That’s a relief.”
“But I don’t know anything about summer or winter, does that help?”
“You don’t need to worry about summer. Because I’m a summer user.”
“…I never expected you to be an ordinary person either.”
Ravia was not that surprised. She also expected that Rette wasn’t just a child.
“To think you are a summer user, that’s a bit shocking.”
“My ability is not that great. There’s nothing else I can do except for changing the course of the future a bit with predictions.”
“I’d say that ability alone is pretty magnificent,”
“I appreciate your compliment. But the penalty for summer users is just as great as that. Why do you think I look so young?”
Ravia’s face slowly stiffened upon hearing Rette’s question.
“I guess there are consequences to getting younger,”
Instead of answering, Rette smiled bitterly.
“That’s why I can’t survive without Orpheus’ protection whether I like them or not.”
“Because you can’t do anything with your young body?”
“That’s right. What’s interesting about this is that Orpheus has been using the prophecies of summer users to secure the next summer users.”
The four seasons user could be caught in the prophecy if they hadn’t manifested their power.
Thus, the Orpheus became obsessed with forecasting ability, to the point all summer users belonging to Orpheus had one lifelong goal to find the next generation of summer users.
Although this was an act that began to satisfy the family’s greed, it had brought an unprecedented result.
“There is a vast body of literature on the Four Seasons recorded by summer users for generations. Orpheus keeps it in their mansion library.”
Since they had been using the summer users a lot, they had the most comprehensive explanation for summer ability.
But Rette managed to find the explanation for other powers in the meantime. About the clues to turn back time.
Rette thought about the literature she had read, and asked with a smile.
“The keyword for spring is growth, and the keyword for summer is immaturity. On the contrary, the keyword for autumn is maturity. Then what do you think is the keyword for winter?”
Ravia was speechless for a moment. She didn’t expect this kind of question. But as always, she opened her mouth even when flustered.
“…If the keywords of summer and fall are opposed to each other, so are the keywords of spring and winter.”
The keywords of summer and autumn clearly contradict each other.
Immaturity and foresight, maturity and destruction.
The power to prepare for the future and the power to destroy the present.
Then, if winter contradicts with spring, which has growth as its keyword….
‘Normally, you’d think of something similar to destruction.’
The opposite of growth would be deterioration or destruction. But the keywords of the four seasons weren’t that simple. Moreover, destruction had already been given to autumn.
Thus, to know about the keyword of winter, she needed to think the other way around.
“The keyword of spring is growth, but it may not necessarily be the power to grow something. Rather than grow something, spring power is a power to begin something.” Ravia added cautiously.
If so, it was easy to guess the keyword of winter.
The end.
After pondering for a while, Ravia hesitantly opened her mouth.
“So the keyword of winter is….the end?”
“You were very close.”
Rette clapped lightly and continued to correct Ravia’s thinking.
“Well done for thinking of replacing growth with beginning, but that doesn’t mean the keyword growth is merely a deception.”
“….I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“In short, growth is a word limited to what is real.”
A power that could act on everything as long as it has a ‘substance,’ whether it’s a living being or inanimate object.
That was the spring power, growth.
On the contrary, however, this only meant that spring’s power did not work on insubstantial matter, or the so-called ‘state of nothingness.’
Then what about the opposite of spring?
“The opposite keyword of the beginning is not ending, but restart.”
A power that acts on insubstantial things. A power that brings back the form of things that are already reduced to a state of nothingness.
“A power to give substance to something that has no substance. That’s the power of winter.”
The most powerful, rare, and dangerous.
Though it was impossible to utilize the power alone, winter power was known to be able to intervene in time and space through the powers of other seasons.
It was the sole key to end the Cheshire phenomenon.
“We are looking for a winter user, Unnie.”
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