Alice in the Land of Steam

Themis in the heavens held an apple in her hand. It was not fully ripe yet, and the skin still had the kind of sickly greenness that flows in the veins of a patient who has lost blood. The girl put it in front of her eyes, carefully examined it, and then put it down silently after a while. She raised her head and saw a clear sky. Transparent clouds were floating over the tall buildings in the city and moving towards the forest in the north. The summer in the Temple of Heaven was so bright, as if there had never been a moment of decline.

But the girl knew in her heart that it was not that there was no desire, but that she had been avoiding it, although sometimes it was active and sometimes it was passive.

When the gods of Eden rebelled, she should have stayed and faced it together with Tiantis, but she was forced out of the vortex of chaos by the latter and failed to participate in the war that led to the destruction of the old world; when the young royal power of Chaos and Order turned against each other for their own ideals, she sensed Alice's awakening and took the initiative to go to another world, avoiding the tragedy on the stage. It seemed that there was a force guiding her, making the girl the only bystander outside the story. It was fate, memory, the throbbing of the soul, and the girl's vague realization of her true mission: a mediator and an observer, without the qualifications to interfere.

This truth, which she realized after experiencing the birth of two universes, once caused Themis in the celestial world great pain. She thought more than once, if she had not helped Alice conceal the truth, if she had not ignored the abnormal data in the control center, if she had not appeared in front of Saint Shallia, and just silently observed everything that happened, would the ending be better?
She convinced herself, so when Anttis and Ringu asked her about the whereabouts of the golden apple, Themis, who clearly knew everything, chose to refuse to answer. The three reasons she gave for her refusal seemed to be in line with the instructions left by the goddess, but they were not the real reasons. She just wanted to escape.

No, it's not about running away, it's about doing the right thing.

But if it was right, why did I still toss and turn last night, always thinking about the opposite? I thought about it when it was quiet and no one was around, I thought about it when I couldn't sleep late at night, and even now I'm still thinking about it - maybe the real reason for the tragedy was not that I interfered with too many choices in the story, but because she interfered too little?
If I had not only helped Alice conceal the truth, but also helped her face those rebellious gods, would they not have dared to act rashly under the threat of the third goddess' offspring? If I had not fled weakly, but stayed to face it with Tiantis, would that battle actually be winnable? If I had not only told Saint Shallia that "true feelings will not hurt anyone", but also told her the real reason for the demise of the old world, and warned her to be careful of those who could not cherish feelings, would she and her sisters actually be able to guard against human betrayal and not end up turning against each other today?

But when she came to her senses, there were not so many ifs and only her heart, forever falling in emptiness in an endless period of time.

Thinking about what ifs is the most empty pain.

Themis pursed her lips and gently pressed the unripe fruit in her hand against her heart. The fruit was beating inside, which was the most important thing that the goddess had given her, the young queen, and all the creatures in the world. The goddess had hoped that she would have normal human emotions, but weakness, evasion, suspicion, sensitivity, hesitation, fear of loss, and indecision... these were all she learned in the end.

Even if I let this fruit beat instead of my heart, perhaps the result would not be any different, and it might even be better.

The girl sighed quietly and put the apple down again. Without turning her head, she asked calmly, "Excuse me, Miss Alice?"

"Eh?"

The golden-haired head that was sneaking around behind the door on the rooftop froze for a moment. After a while, she walked out of her hiding place without any embarrassment on her face, and her tone was very natural: "Oh, what a coincidence, Themis, I was just thinking of coming to the rooftop to get some fresh air, and I didn't expect to meet you. It seems like we are destined to meet each other?"

If she hadn't known that she had searched back and forth in the control center for more than a dozen times and shouted her name so loudly that it could be heard on several floors above and below, Celestial Themis might have believed it.

It's still the same as before, full of nonsense.

If nothing unexpected happens, the next step is to come over and get close to him.

"Don't address me with honorifics. We are all descendants of the goddess, so why should we be so unfamiliar?" Alice laughed and walked to the side of Celestial Themis. She placed her hands on the wall at the edge of the rooftop, and with a little effort, she turned over and sat on it. This was a very dangerous height. The wind was blowing hard and whistling. The edge of her skirt swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound. Alice was just a weak mortal now. If she fell from this height, there would be no hope for her. However, she did not seem to be afraid at all. She even took the initiative to move closer to Celestial Themis. The distance between the two of them was very close, so close that if she tilted her body slightly, her shoulders would bump against each other's shoulders - Alice used to like to do this.

Another implication of this sentence is that Alice used to like sitting next to Celestial Themis, as if being close to each other would make them feel close and trustful. So Celestial Themis had long been accustomed to this kind of close distance, and the girl subconsciously retracted her floating light wings behind her to make some space for Alice. She placed her hands on the skirt armor on her thighs - that was the appearance of the huge hand armor after decomposition and reconstruction, and it was also the form that Celestial Themis used in her daily life, and the one that appeared in front of the travelers yesterday was her calculation form when she was working.

However, did she just admit that she is the offspring of the goddess?

Themis glanced at her secretly, but Alice noticed this subtle movement. The golden maid smiled at her, revealing her white teeth. The girl hastily looked away, her heart beating a little fast - she actually forgot that Alice had always been a person with keen intuition. Only in a few cases would her senses be blinded by things other than intuition, such as emotions.

But those few cases led to the greatest tragedy.

When Themis from the celestial world thought of this, her eyes became dim. She lowered her head, avoiding Alice's gaze, and at the same time gently rubbed the unripe fruit in her hand, as if this could give her a sense of security - although, no one knew what she was afraid of.

Alice's curious eyes moved down and landed on the light green fruit. Her eyes lit up immediately. She leaned over and asked shamelessly, "What is this, an apple? Can I have it?"

Themis in the celestial world suddenly crashed.

Even before, Alice wouldn't say such... shameless words, right? When she secretly observed Alice's recovery on Earth, she didn't see her show similar traits. Of course, maybe it was because she was just playing games alone in her room at that time and never interacted with outsiders. Even though she lost her memory, she still instinctively retained the pain of being betrayed and the sensitivity that followed. She was afraid of all interactions with strangers and was more willing to deal with NPCs in the game - even after traveling to Mirror Star, this trait did not change.

So, she can do all kinds of things that seem incredible to others, perhaps because she can only communicate and interact normally when she regards the people around her as virtual or imaginary. Although what she thinks is normal is actually abnormal in the eyes of others.

Themis in the heavens would not think this was abnormal, she just felt more remorse and guilt for it. The girl pursed her lips and silently handed the fruit in her hand over, watching Alice happily take it, wipe it casually with her sleeve, and then take a bite. The transparent juice splashed, drawing a beautiful arc in the amber eyes——

"Ah!" The girl's cheeks suddenly twisted, as if she was in great pain: "It's so sour!"

Celestial Themis was silent for a moment before asking, "So, you asked me for this apple just to eat it?" Alice, who was grimacing at the sourness of the unripe apple, looked at the silver-haired girl strangely and replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Of course, apples are for eating, are there other uses? Ah, I see, making apple pie or brewing cider? But they are still for eating, right? There is no difference."

Celestial Themis only asked one question, and she started to talk a lot, which was no different from Alice in the past. The girl listened quietly to these meaningless and sometimes contradictory nonsense, and familiar emotions once surged into her mind, wanting to break through some kind of restraint. But she resisted this impulse, with a stern face, without showing any emotional changes.

Alice didn't get a response from her, but she was not discouraged. After talking until her mouth was dry, she casually bit the apple in her hand again. Her face was still wrinkled by the sourness, but she still chewed it and swallowed it. Seeing this, Themis frowned slightly and asked calmly: "If it doesn't taste good, why do you still eat it?"

"Because I'm hungry." Alice replied with a smile, "I ran from the hotel to find you early in the morning. I didn't even have time to eat breakfast. I walked around the building several times to find you. I'm so hungry that I can't stand it anymore. Let alone a sour apple, even if it's a roasted whole lamb, I can eat it now!"

"Besides, although this apple is sour, it's not so sour that I can't eat it." She tossed the fruit in her hand. The gap she had bitten showed a vibrant texture in the bright sunlight. "It's sweet in sour, and sour in sweet. It's sweet and sour, and quite exciting. Do you want to have a bite? I see that you are not well developed, so you should eat more."

She handed the apple to the girl, but she shook her head and refused, saying calmly, "I don't need to eat. My current body shape has been fixed since the goddess created me. I have no possibility of growing."

"I don't think so."

Alice said, "Didn't the goddess always hope that you could live like a normal person? If so, she must have given you some normal human traits, such as emotions, memories, and a body that can develop normally. It's just that you feel that you can't grow up and refuse to eat, so you have always been this tiny. Ai-chan, I eat on time every day, which is why I have such a youthful and energetic figure, right?"

After saying that, she measured her waist with her hand, feeling quite pleased with herself, even though, Celestial Themis couldn't really tell that she had any figure to speak of.

This statement made the girl stunned.

It seems... to make sense.

If the goddess wanted her daughter to be a normal person, why wouldn't she give her a chance to grow? However, growth includes not only physical growth, but also spiritual growth. Themis felt that her heart had never grown, so she had suffered from her body, right?
She would not be qualified to be a girl like others.

The girl's mood inexplicably sank. Her long eyelashes drooped slightly, hiding the deep thoughts in her eyes. Her voice was clear and calm: "So, what do you want from me, Alice?"

Perhaps the golden maid's joke did work, and the girl's way of addressing her unconsciously became the same as before.

"Ah? Oh, yes, yes! I came to see you, but I have something very important to ask you!"

With her reminder, Alice finally remembered why she was there and nodded hurriedly, as if she was afraid that if she answered too slowly, the girl would find an excuse to shirk.

But Celestial Themis will not shirk her responsibility, for this is her mission—to act as a mediator and observer, answering the questions of every young royal power and judging their respective paths.

However, on the other hand, she also has the right to refuse to answer certain questions.

"If it's about the golden apple," the girl said coldly, "I explained it very clearly yesterday. There shouldn't be any ambiguity."

"No la."

Alice waved her hand. "That matter is of course important, but it's not what I want to ask about today. It's something else."

Something besides the golden apple?

Aren’t those all clearly explained in the archival records?

Celestial Themis couldn't figure out what else, besides the golden apple, was worth her concern? Or was Alice now just like Alice before, always missing the point?
No, quite the opposite.

Alice firmly believed that as a genius player, she had grasped the key point of the problem. The golden apple that Ling Ge and Xiao Xia were concerned about was actually meaningless. In this Heavenly Temple, there was only one thing, or one person, that was really helpful to the main quest.

"Themis of the Celestial Realm!"

Alice's eyes sparkled, and her tone was as excited and joyful as if she had found a precious hidden item in an RPG game: "Come with us!" (End of this chapter)