After the conversation between Arriet and Erin ended, Izzy, who had been in spectator mode, returned to her mindscape.

  She sank into the plush velvet seat, its warmth a familiar comfort. With a thought, she made Arnold close his eyes and fall asleep in his room. Arriet, too, closed her eyes and drifted off, allowing Isa to return to their mindscape.

  ‘What is the logic of this?’ Izzy wondered.

  Their vessels, as living beings, still required rest. They could sleep just fine, but she couldn’t forcefully awaken them herself. The vessel’s brain had to wake up naturally, or receive some form of physical stimulation from the outside world.

  Though she could still sense everything around the vessels with her Field Vision and could use Psychokinesis to hit the vessel with an object, forcing them to wake up.

  Unlike humans, they did not dream. Even if the vessel slept, and even if their own consciousness was shut off, no dreams would ever form.

  To Izzy, this was a boon. It meant she wouldn’t be tormented by nightmares anymore. She could rest without fear.

  ‘Izzzzy!’

  Isa shot into her vision like a small comet of chaos. She flopped directly into Izzy’s seat, shrinking the space and making the velvet cushion more cramped.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Nothing!’ Isa giggled, then curled against Izzy’s side, resting her head on her shoulder, one arm winding around Izzy’s waist. She clung to her like a child seeking warmth.

  Izzy already knew what the girl intended.

  ‘You’re going to sleep?’

  ‘Yes! Be my pillow!’

  ‘…’

  The girl probably copied the idea from her again. Did she really have to cling so tightly? It was an unnecessarily cramped and uncomfortable position.

  ‘It makes me feel safer!’

  ‘Right.’

  Since they were the same person… or object? Although it felt kind of weird, Izzy didn't comment further. It didn’t really matter much to her.

  Since this was her mind in the first place, it didn’t follow the same physical principles as the real world, so she cut off her body’s sensation, making the uncomfortable feeling disappear.

  ‘Good night.’

  ‘Good night!’

  Izzy could feel the young mind’s signal fade as she shut off her consciousness. For the first time, Izzy found herself truly alone in her own mindscape.

  ‘Mmm.’

  She restored her body’s sensation. Immediately, she felt the cramped contact and Isa’s weight leaning on her again.

  Izzy shook her head. It wasn’t because she missed the feeling.

  ‘...’

  Usually, Izzy would hear a playful, “Not at all!” or other teasing lines. But now, it was just… silence.

  ‘No, no.’ Izzy pushed the thought away.

  She looked to the side, at the peacefully sleeping girl. This might be the only time she could look at her young mind properly, without any annoying comments following.

  The girl looked exactly like her: silky gray hair cascading down like a wave of flowing water, a delicate face with baby-fat softness, her nose relaxed in peaceful slumber.

  Her bangs had fallen over her eyes again. Although it didn’t matter, It looked uncomfortable, so Izzy gently swept the bangs to the side.

  The appearance in their mindscape was their imagined, visual appearance, not their real physical form. And since their form had already been visualized as ‘Isidora in the portrait’, both of their minds just assume that form.

  There was one thing that Izzy noticed. Everything in their mindscape was governed by intention.

  If Isa had the intention of hugging her, then Izzy would feel the sensation of being hugged. Likewise, if Izzy intended to slap Isa, the young mind would feel the sting.

  She also suspected that if Izzy did not intend harm, then even an imagined motion of her slapping Isa would carry no sensation.

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  Although, that couldn’t be tested. After all, if an act existed, then the intention existed. They couldn't be separated.

  Isa’s long grayish hair draped down her pale neck and shoulders. Both of them wore the same gown, a flowing dress decorated with azure flowers…

  ‘Hmm?’

  The flower… Isa’s flower had turned greenish? Why hadn't she noticed this before?

  She looked at her own flower. It was still the same azure.

  The flower was only a pure decoration; it had no particular name, or at least she didn’t know it. It was originally from the ‘portrait of Isidora’, their main body.

  It reminded her of the flower that Arnold had brought: a forget-me-not, something leftover from a memory in her past life.

  Well, it was just a color-changing flower. It didn’t affect them as a whole, so she dismissed it.

  Izzy started the theatre. The whole purpose of being here today was to reorganize and relearn the information she had obtained from Davis.

  The stage curtain slowly parted, and the play began.

  “First, the Stagefarers.”

  As Davis had stated, Stagefarers were individuals who pursued extraordinary power. They followed a structure as if climbing a staircase built into the fabric of the world.

  “Crimson Violence faction and the Unknown Harmony faction.”

  Two factions she had heard of so far. The Violence faction, whose color code was crimson, an aggressive color. The Harmony faction, whose color code had not yet been revealed to her. She imagined it might be white, silver, or gold.

  “Then what is the violet color code? What faction is it?”

  Izzy remembered the maid from the Madam’s estate. Her eyes had glowed violet, a different color code entirely. Was that the Harmony color code, or a different faction?

  “Deceiver Path and the Warrior Path, with Entry, Apprentice, and Foundation Stages.”

  In each faction, there were paths. The Violence Faction had two paths that she knew of: the Deceiver Path and the Warrior Path.

  Each path followed a kind of level system, called the stage. The zero level was the Entry stage, next was the Apprentice, and then came the Foundation stage.

  Each stage in each path had a different, unique name: “The Deceiver”, an Apprentice stage of the Deceiver path. “The Fighter”, an Apprentice stage of the Warrior path. And “The Gladiator”, a Foundation stage of the Warrior path.

  “Is this why they’re called Stagefarers? Those who ascend the stages of extraordinary power?”

  It was interesting. It reminded her of her original world, where there existed the Unbound Humans, those gifted with supernormal abilities, not limited by ordinary rules.

  “Let’s take a look at all the Stagefarers I’ve encountered in the past.”

  She summoned silhouettes on the stage.

  First was Benjamin. She had an idea of his path; he must have been from the Deceiver Path. This explained the constant misunderstanding and mishearing that she experienced. As for his stage, she didn’t know.

  Next was Rudolph. He appeared with a heavy build. He was quite strong, but not better than Rudo in any way. They might have been at the same level, probably an Entry-stage Warrior.

  As for Glen, he might have been from the Warrior Path, but at a higher stage than Rudolph, possibly Apprentice or Foundation.

  Jack? He might have been from the Deceiver Path, but she wasn’t sure; he had died a little too quickly.

  It was actually a boon for her to learn about them. With this knowledge, she could anticipate her enemies’ powers and figure out how to fight them.

  “As for how to become one.”

  This part mattered little to her. She had no intention of becoming one. She doubted she even could.

  First method: become a Bless through the Church. The Church of White from the Conquesita Kingdom, and the Church of Contest from the Praelium Empire. This way was safer, but stricter.

  Secondly, drink a potion and become a Stagefarer. They had their own materials to make, and you could buy them in the underworld. However, without the blessing of the Monarch, you might die or lose control, becoming a Curse.

  Izzy strongly suspected that their existence, ‘Isidora,’ might be a Curse. However, it also made no sense. Curse beings supposedly lost their minds and sought destruction.

  Yet, as a painting, ‘Isidora’ could still think clearly and reason; They did not hunger for chaos or blood, had not lost their mind and wanted to destroy.

  Then…

  ‘Are there different types of Curses?’

  It should make sense. Since the Stagefarer and Bless had stages and paths, why wouldn’t cursed entities have classifications too? Different forms? Different rules? Different levels of sentience?

  “Hmm.”

  For now, she was more interested in the Curse than the Stagefarer. They seemed to be closer to her existence.

  Isa squeezed her body tighter. Did her young mind really not feel uncomfortable in this position? Izzy sighed, resting her head against the girl’s soft hair.

  Tomorrow, they would get out of this mansion. There was no reason to delay it further. They still didn’t know when the Herald would come, so they should get out of this place as soon as possible.

  ‘Ugh, I forgot to ask them about it.’

  Izzy had already bought the map from the church. The mansion was to the east of Winterin village.

  If they continued west, they would exit the forest and eventually reach Easton City, the major city of the eastern region.

  The problem: transporting her main body safely.

  They had 3 Vessels, 1 Marionette, and one animal puppet, a bird, plus a mouse? This mouse, even without being marked with a puppet mark, could still listen and even return to the mansion on its own. What a surprise.

  Arnold and the bird would scout ahead, and Arriet… well, let’s just use her for sightseeing. The girl had little to no strength in her, after all.

  Jack would hold the horse's reins, manually guiding the cart that would transport the painting. Walking, of course, since Izzy had no experience with horses.

  She might know how to ride a bike, but a horse? Really?

  If they escaped the forest unscathed, Izzy would create the next series of plans.

  “Let’s just hope we leave this place safely.”

  She rubbed Isa’s head gently, as her consciousness slowly faded away.