/
My eyes lit up when I heard there was a way to awaken Speranza.
“Speranza isn’t just in a normal sleep right now. The Guardian Deity probably has Speranza’s consciousness trapped deep in her subconscious.”
“Deep in her subconscious
 Then how do we awaken Speranza’s consciousness from there?”
“We have to go directly into Speranza’s conscious world. That’s the only way right now.”
“If we wake Speranza up, we can stop the Guardian Deity, right?”
At my question, Mirna nodded her head, but she added an explanation with a serious face.
“But it won’t be easy. The Guardian Deity will try to interfere with you in any way possible. And if you get trapped in the conscious world by mistake, you might never be able to escape.”
She tried to warn me of the danger, but I didn’t care. I was confident that I could take on that much risk.
“I don’t care how dangerous it is. I’ll do anything to get Speranza back.”
“Alright. We don’t have much time, so I’ll explain quickly.”
We took our positions at the head of Speranza, who was lying on the altar.
“I will use the power of the Divine Priestess to send you into the conscious world. Please help Speranza awaken there.”
“Is that all?”
“There might be interference from the Guardian Deity. I wish I could help more, but in the conscious world, you’ll have to overcome it alone.”
“Understood. Let’s start right away.”
“Then, place your hand here
”
Mirna and I placed our hands on Speranza’s forehead.
“Clear your mind and focus. Don’t let your guard down until you’re completely in the conscious world.”
I nodded slightly and closed my eyes.
After a moment, I felt a warm energy from where Mirna and I placed our hands. The energy passed through my hand and headed toward Speranza’s forehead.
-Cough, cough!!
A harsh cough and a pungent smell of blood tickled my nose. Just as I realized something was wrong with Mirna and tried to open my eyes

“Focus!!”
“
. . . . . !”
“We don’t have much time. You must concentrate on saving Speranza now.”
I could feel strong determination in her trembling voice. I closed my half-open eyes again. The wavering energy regained its stability.
‘Focus
Focus
’
I repeated in my mind that I must save Speranza, and concentrated on the warm energy.
“Please
”
With Mirna’s barely audible whisper as the last thing I heard, I felt myself being pulled somewhere and lost consciousness.
“Uhm
”
As the surroundings brightened, I opened my eyes.
No
 Maybe saying “opened my eyes” is a bit of an awkward description. It felt like I was just a floating consciousness without a body, so “becoming aware of my surroundings” might be more accurate.
“Ah, Speranza! I need to find Speranza!”
I realized belatedly why I had come here and eagerly looked around.
An endless expanse of white space.
I felt like I was floating on an ocean, searching for Speranza here and there.
Just as I started to feel anxious that it might be too late, I saw a child crouching in the distance.
“Speranza? Speranza!”
-Twitch!
Responding even before lifting her head were her fox-like ears. Certain that the crouching child was Speranza, I hurriedly headed towards her.
“Speranza, Papa is here
”
-Kwaang!!
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, there was an enormous crashing sound, and it felt as if walls were blocking me in every direction.
I couldn’t go any further towards Speranza because of the unknown walls.
“Damn! I didn’t expect you to follow me this far.”
“You are
?”
One person revealed themselves, sliding smoothly into view.
It was a Erul Tribe member with a fox-like face and an androgynous aura.
“You came here using Divine Priestess Mirna’s power, right? You could have lived a bit longer if you had just stayed still. You’re wasting what little life you have left.”
“Fox deity?”
“That’s right. Your name is ‘Sihyeonn’, isn’t it? Quite fearless for an ordinary human to follow me all the way here.”
“How can you call yourself a guardian deity? Release Speranza right now!”
As if amused by my anger, the fox deity smirked.
“Isn’t it a fair trade to protect the entire Erul Tribe for ages in exchange for just that one child?”
“You crazy
”
While the fox deity and I were talking, Speranza, who had been crouching, slowly lifted her head.
She kept looking around as if searching for something. There was no doubt she had heard my shout earlier.
“Speranza! I’m here, over here!”
“Stop shouting. It’s pointless now, anyway.”
The fox deity frowned as Speranza continued to search for something.
“It’s a good thing in a way
 I can put an end to this cleanly here and now.”
“What are you trying to do?”
“Just stand there and watch.”
The fox deity’s figure vanished like a mirage.
And shortly after

Two human figures appeared in front of Speranza. One woman had silver fur, and one man had red fur. Both were Erul Tribe members.
“Speranza, have you been well?”
“Did you miss us a lot?”
“Ah
”
Those people are
?!
Long ago, when I had shared a connection with Speranza, I saw a loving couple in my faint memories.
There was no doubt that those two people were Speranza’s biological parents.
“Was it tough?”
“We’re really sorry, Speranza.”
“Dad
 Mom
”
The two people comforted Speranza with their tender voices.
Behind them, I could faintly see the malicious figure of the fox deity. Unfortunately, Speranza’s attention was stolen by her parents, and she didn’t notice the fox deity’s presence at all.
“Speranza, no! Those people are fakes created by the fox deity!”
I screamed as loud as I could, but my voice didn’t reach Speranza.
Speranza looked confused in front of her parents.
“Why are you like this, Speranza?”
“Are you looking for something?”
“
I heard Papa’s voice earlier.”
“Haha, but your dad is right here, isn’t he?”
“That’s right. I’m Speranza’s dad.”
The two people continued to reassure Speranza with their tender expressions and voices.
“You don’t have to worry about anything now. You’ll stay here together with Mom and Dad.”
“We even brought lots of the snacks you like. Do you want to see?”
The female Erul Tribe member pulled out snacks from her pocket. Her hands were full of the treats that Speranza usually loved.
“Your dad will make any toy or doll you want, Speranza.”
“So, Speranza, we’ll stay here forever with you. Come on! Hurry up and come here.”
Speranza hesitantly took steps toward the two people. As Speranza got closer, the fox deity’s sinister smile grew darker.
Just one step

Speranza stopped just one step away from the two people.
“Hurry up and come here.”
“Speranza?”
In front of the gesturing couple, Speranza slowly opened her mouth.
“Mom, Dad, I’m living on a big farm right now. There’s a huge Yakum there, and the baby Yakums are really cute. I think Akum is the cutest of all.”
“

?”
“

?”
“Among the farm family, Sister Lia takes care of me the best. When she’s not busy, we go outside to play, or she lets me take naps on her lap. Teacher Andras is really smart. He taught me letters and numbers. Sometimes he says a lot of difficult things, but if I just listen quietly, he becomes really happy.”
As Speranza introduced each farm family member, her smile grew brighter.
“At first, Brother Elaine was busy training, so he didn’t play with me much, but now he does. Especially when he takes Grify and Finny for a walk, he always takes me with him. Sister Lilia is very smart, and she makes amazing toys. And whenever I sing, she plays an instrument along with me.”
“

?”
“

?”
“Ashmir and Urki are Angels. At first, I thought they were scary people. But they work really hard on the farm. Boss Uncle told me that all Angels are bad, but both of them seem nice. Oh! Boss Uncle is the strongest person on the farm. He rolls around in his room all day and complains, but everyone still nags him. But when I go to play, he gives me delicious snacks and plays with me often, which I like.”
As Speranza’s story went on, the fox deity’s face became more and more distorted.
“The last person is my favorite person on the farm. He brought me to the farm, treated me, and stayed with me every day. He also gave me a new family and introduced me to fun friends and interesting things. I’ve been so, so happy.”
As I listened to the story, tears unknowingly streamed down my face.
“So Mom, Dad, you don’t have to worry now. The place where I belong is with the farm family and Papa.”
“Speranza
”
“Speranza
”
“Goodbye for now, Mom, Dad! I’ll tell you more later.”
The emotions gradually disappeared from the faces of the two Erul Tribe members. As Speranza turned away and moved farther, the two people froze like dolls.
“Papa! Papa!”
As Speranza moved away from the fox deity, she kept looking for ‘Papa.’ The fact that Speranza was looking for me seemed to give me endless strength.
Crack!
Cracks began to form in the wall surrounding me.
“Papa! Where are you?”
‘Just a little more
 Just a little more!’
With the single determination to get to Speranza, I broke through the fox deity’s walls. Eventually, the walls that were suppressing me crumbled, and I regained my freedom.
“Speranza!”
“Papa!”
As I approached Speranza, my body, arms, and legs naturally formed. Without hesitation, I tightly hugged my lovely daughter in front of me.
-Whoosh!
“I’m sorry, Speranza. You must have been waiting for a long time.”
“Hehe. It’s okay. I knew Papa would come.”
“Don’t worry now. Let’s go back together with Papa.”
-Growl!!
“Who said you could?!”
The world of consciousness shook at the angry cry of the fox deity.