Luke sped onto the highway at three hundred yards per second, leaving behind trails of fire and lightning. He smashed through the only barrier ahead, then slammed the accelerator and charged into the valley like heavy artillery.
Carrie screamed the entire way, intoxicated by the speed and thrill.
Along the way, they even attracted the attention of a female police officer.
She tried to give chase, but her motorcycle tires began to smoke, and she still couldn't catch up—she couldn't even see Luke's exhaust.
Just like that, they successfully entered Silent Hill, an abandoned town shrouded in thick fog, with ash drifting through the air.
Right at the entrance, a little girl in blue stood directly in front of Bumblebee.
"Stop! There's someone ahead!"
Rose stared forward with wide eyes.
"Someone? Where? Bumblebee, do you see her?"
"No."
Bumblebee's cold voice came through the radio.
Then, under the astonished gaze of the little girl in blue, Bumblebee accelerated and drove straight through her.
"Oh my God, we killed someone!"
Rose's face turned pale, and Carrie looked just as frightened.
But Madison shook her head.
"Didn't you notice? We didn't hit anything just now. Even if it were a speed bump, the car should've jolted at least twice, right?"
"And don't worry too much—we've got full insurance."
Rose recalled the scene just now, still shaken. After thinking it through, it did seem to be true.
Was it just an illusion?
When Bumblebee fully entered Silent Hill, Veronica suddenly sensed something. She turned back, her expression changing slightly.
"A cliff has appeared behind us. It's cut off the road we came from."
"How is that possible?!"
Madison immediately extended her telekinesis and confirmed it.
About a dozen meters behind them, there was a broken ravine.
It stretched dozens of meters wide and plunged hundreds of meters deep, forming a winding arc that seemed to completely isolate Silent Hill from the outside world.
At the bottom of the ravine, flames burned endlessly, like the fires of Hell, casting a flickering glow across everyone's faces.
"Is this Alessa's power? She actually created such a massive domain… just like… 127, the true reality."
Veronica was stunned by Alessa's magic.
Even her teacher, Merlin, probably only possessed power at this level.
Luke was also observing his surroundings.
The moment they entered Silent Hill, he had felt a brief sense of stagnation.
That was the boundary between the real world and the Otherworld. Without anyone noticing, Alessa had already pulled them into her domain.
Luke reached out and caught a handful of ash. With a slight squeeze, it crumbled and scattered.
"Interesting. This place is very similar to the Mirror Dimension. Everything here truly exists.. a false reality constructed entirely from mental power."
"Let's go. It's time to meet our little friend, Alessa."
The current Luke was no longer the same as when he had just awakened his past memories.
The vast Silent Hill posed no trouble for him at all.
Moreover, Alessa's power was currently divided into three parts:
Alessa's main body, Dark Alessa, and Kind Alessa (Sharon).
With Sharon already by Luke's side, Alessa only retained two-thirds of her full power.
There was nothing to worry about.
As Luke stepped forward, Carrie, like a frightened kitten, hurried after him, staying close at his side.
"Lu… Luke, something feels off here… Are we going to run into ghosts?"
Carrie was timid, but not foolish.
Luke and the others hadn't avoided speaking in front of her, so she realized this trip was far from ordinary.
"You won't run into ghosts," Luke said calmly. "But you might run into demons."
Hearing that, Carrie moved even closer. She reached out several times, wanting to grab onto him, but didn't dare.
In the end, Luke simply pulled her over with one hand, their fingers interlocking.
"Don't be afraid. We came here to save someone pitiful—someone who went through something very similar to you, but far worse."
Luke briefly told her Alessa's story.
By the time he finished, Carrie's eyes were already moist.
"Those people are truly evil…"
Carrie felt as though she were looking into a mirror. Her life before the age of ten had been almost identical to Alessa's.
She had also been bullied by everyone. Her mother, too, had shown no concern for her physical or emotional well-being, remaining indifferent to her suffering and even speaking harshly to her.
She was unfortunate—but also fortunate.
At the very least, she hadn't encountered that cult. She hadn't been burned at the stake at the age of ten, nearly losing her life.
How could those people have done something like that?
A surge of anger ignited within Carrie, as if a dormant power was beginning to awaken.
Especially when she learned that the culprits were still in the church, her fury grew stronger and stronger—until something inside her finally broke free.
That was the magical power brought by the wizard bloodline flowing within her.
Carrie noticed the change. She raised her hand in confusion, and the falling ash gathered under her will, forming a blooming pale flower.
"What is this…?"
"Congratulations, Carrie. You've awakened telekinesis."
Luke hadn't expected her to awaken so quickly, and even ahead of time.
In the original trajectory, she had endured everything like a pillar of resilience, suffering blow after blow until she finally reached her limit and awakened her bloodline power.
"That's right… Carrie is actually very similar to Alessa. Both were victims of school bullying, both possessed magical power, both were born to unmarried mothers, and both had mothers who were fanatical believers. It's just that their fates diverged when they were ten…"
"If Carrie had also had an aunt like Christabella, she might have truly become the next Alessa…"
Too similar. Far too similar.
At that thought, Luke paused, his brows knitting tightly.
A possibility surfaced in his mind.
"Carrie, who does your mother worship?"
Carrie snapped out of the joy of awakening her power and answered in confusion, "Why do you ask? I remember Mom is Christian. She spends all day holding the Bible and praying to the Lord."
Luke pondered for a moment, then lifted his right index finger, tracing through the air.
The pale ash gathered with the airflow, forming a strange symbol of two concentric circles.
"Have you seen this before?"
Carrie looked surprised.
"How do you know about that? I remember seeing a symbol just like this in Mom's prayer room—exactly the same…"
"I think Mom said the outer ring represents compassion, the inner ring represents resurrection, and the eye is the Eye of God… She believes this symbol represents the resurrected Jesus."
Luke took a deep breath.
So Carrie's mother was also part of a cult?
Seeing Luke fall into deep thought, Carrie seemed to realize something as well, and her face turned slightly pale.
"Could my mother be another Dahlia?!"
The thought that she might become another Alessa sent a chill through Carrie's entire body.
"Not necessarily. It might just be a coincidence."
Luke shook his head and spoke frankly. "Your mother probably came into contact with some cult-related information from people in New Silent Hill and mistakenly believed it to be the true word of the Lord."
Based on Carrie's experiences, her mother wasn't the same type of person as Dahlia.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have tried to kill Carrie at the end, believing her to be the child of Satan.
Although both were twisted, there was still a fundamental difference between Carrie's mother and Alessa's mother and aunt.
Carrie let out a sigh of relief, but then another thought surfaced—perhaps her mother wasn't Dahlia, but they were still similar in many ways.
Both abused their children and allowed them to be bullied.
And both were fanatical believers.
The idealized image Carrie held of her mother began to crumble.
Some mothers simply could not be called good mothers.
At that moment, a blue figure appeared not far to Carrie's right.
She looked about ten years old, with disheveled hair and a pale complexion.
Her dark pupils were calm and still, like ink.
Rose's expression changed drastically upon seeing her. She instinctively covered Sharon's eyes and watched Alessa approach with nervous vigilance.
Alessa glanced past Rose, who was shielding Sharon, and then turned her gaze toward Carrie.
"Hello. I am Alessa."
Carrie froze. She looked at Luke, and upon seeing him nod, she replied hesitantly,
"Hello… I'm Carrie."
Alessa stared at Carrie for a moment.
"We are very similar. Perhaps we can become friends."
"Friends?" Carrie looked at Luke again. Unknowingly, she had already begun to rely on him.
"Yes. Friends."
Alessa nodded.
"As long as you become my friend, I can help you punish those bad people who bullied you."
Carrie's eyes widened. She had never imagined she would meet so many friends in a single day.
She could understand why Luke was willing to help her.
But why would Alessa—this demon—also want to help her?
Alessa tilted her head. "Are you unwilling? I can protect you."
Carrie scratched her head awkwardly. "But… I already have a friend—the best friend—and he said he would help me."
She tightened her grip on Luke's hand, feeling the warmth in his palm, no longer afraid of offending Alessa.
Alessa blinked and looked at Luke expressionlessly.
Luke simply smiled and nodded at her.
No one knew what Alessa was thinking.
Perhaps she was wondering why she hadn't had a friend willing to help her back then.
If she had, would her fate have turned out differently?
Alessa forced a faint smile.
"You are Carrie's friend. Can you also be my friend?"
Luke was slightly surprised. Originally, he had planned to subdue Alessa first, then reason with her afterward.
He hadn't expected her to approach him on her own, asking to become friends.
Could it be that, after seeing Carrie's suffering, Alessa felt a sense of empathy?
"If you don't mind, of course."
Although he didn't fully understand her intentions, Luke didn't mind trying a different approach to obtain anomaly points.
"Alessa, can you remove your influence over Sharon? Her current condition isn't good, and I hope she can grow up happily."
"If there's anything you need help with, I'll do my best to assist you."
Seeing the atmosphere ease, Rose spoke to Alessa in a pleading tone.
Alessa hesitated slightly. She could tell that Rose was different from her own mother, Dahlia.
Dahlia had treated her as a tool and a burden, but Rose placed Sharon above her own life. She was a true mother.
Because of this, Alessa felt both comforted—and somewhat jealous of Sharon, her kinder self.
She even wanted to keep Rose here, to stay with her forever.
She wanted to experience real maternal love as well.
But now…
Luke had already seen through Alessa's thoughts.
"Alessa, Rose is also my woman, so she's your friend as well."
"Furthermore, Rose is Sharon's mother, and I am Sharon's father. Since you and Sharon are the same person… you could also consider us your parents."
"As your friends—and as your parents—you wouldn't go against us, would you?"
Friend equals parent?
A friend's partner is my mother?
A friend's mother… no, what kind of relationship is this?!
Alessa felt a little dizzy, tilting her head as she stared blankly.
Wait… let me think this through first…
____
(づ￣ 3￣)づSupport and read 12 chaps ahead- Patreon.com/HornyFBI