CHAPTER 71: DEEPEST MEMORY

Mimi’s eyes widened in shock.

The figure at the piano was a woman.

But not just any woman. She was an angel!

There were six vast, black wings arched from her back, their feathers gleaming faintly even through the mist. They curved gracefully, folding like a veil of night itself. She wore a long, flowing gown of midnight silk, and her hair cascaded down her shoulders and back in an endless waterfall, so long it nearly brushed the floor, moving gently with every subtle motion of her body.

As she played, her hands glided across the piano keys, each note carrying a weight of sorrow, beauty, and yearning. And she hummed along to the melody too, just softly though, almost like a lullaby whispered.

And yet, the sound of her voice pierced through Mimi’s chest. It was gentle yet heavy, warm yet unbearably sad. It felt like a song of reunion, but also of farewell. A tune that spoke of love unending, but also of a loss so deep it tore at the soul.

Mimi’s throat tightened.

Eh?

Why... am I... crying?

Hot tears streamed down her furry cheeks before she even realized it. Her heart pounded with a strange ache, overflowing with both joy and grief, as though two impossible emotions battled inside her chest. She didn’t know this woman, had never met her... and yet...

It felt as if her very soul remembered!

"Who... who are you?" Mimi meowed, her voice small, trembling, heavy with both fear and desperation.

At that moment, the angel stopped playing. The final notes lingered in the air, fading like echoes in a dream. Slowly, she turned her head toward Mimi.

Her face, however, remained veiled in the blur of mist.

But when she rose from the piano bench and knelt down, spreading her arms wide in an invitation, Mimi’s heart nearly burst.

A jolt of instinct, of recognition, surged through her.

Her paws moved before her mind could catch up.

She bolted forward and leapt, straight into the waiting arms of the figure—like a kitten diving into her master’s embrace.

"Masterrrr!!" she cried in her heart, overjoyed. A radiant warmth filled her chest, so pure and so bright it felt like she would burst from happiness.

But then—

There was no embrace.

Her body passed through empty air. The woman, the wings, the piano, even the haunting music, all of it shattered like glass struck by a hammer!

And just like that, the world dissolved around her in an instant, leaving nothing but blank, endless white.

Mimi landed back on her paws, alone once more. The silence was deafening. Her chest felt unbearably heavy, her tears now flowing freely.

The weight of the loss pressed down on her like a mountain. She didn’t even know why, but her heart hurt so much it was hard to breathe.

Alone in the void, Mimi trembled.

Her tiny body quivered, and for the first time in her life, she felt like her soul itself wanted to cry.

***

"Mimi! Mimi!"

Emilia’s voice cut through the haze like a bell, yanking Mimi back from the strange vision.

The little cat shook her head hard, blinking until the fog in her mind thinned. For a long second she just stood there, stunned, every stray hair on her body still tingling from the dream.

What on earth was that? Her heart pounded so loudly she could feel it in her throat. Who was that woman?

"Mimi, are you all right? You just... spaced out. I thought something happened to you!" Emilia fretted, one hand hovering over Mimi before she reached out to stroke her shoulder gently.

"Meow..." Mimi answered, forcing her voice steady. She wasn’t fine. Her paws still trembled, and the image of the piano and the six black wings lingered at the edges of her sight, but she didn’t want Emilia to worry.

She let herself a quiet moment to breathe, ears swiveling as she tried to re-gather her thoughts.

Slowly, the shards of the vision began to slot together as her mind worked fast to decipher the vision that she saw. She was a clever little thing, after all. And she instantly realized that it was not her real memory, but a different kind of memory. It was something old, older than her life here. And it must be connected to the noctifelis, the creature that she had been reincarnated into.

And with that, it was clear...

That woman... she must be her!

She must be Goddess Necrosia!

Yeah... maybe this was a memory about Necrosia, a memory of a random noctifelis back then, of her ancestor! Somehow, via magic or soul inheritance or DNA or whatever, that memory had been passed down among Noctifelis for generations, and something in this Sanctuary had just awakened it!

Perhaps whatever was calling to her was a relic the goddess left behind. If so, it would be an incredible find!

Thus, now with that clue, she would finally be able to make a better request to the system!

Please, system! Take me to her! To Master Necrosia!!!

***

As she wished that, she tried her best to remember every detail within that vision, about the woman, about the place, the song, and most of all, the aching feeling that had bloomed in her chest!

She clung to that sensation, letting it grow until it became a sharp beacon inside her.

To her surprise, it worked. The vault answered!

[Request confirmed. The light will now trace to the source of whatever created such strong emotion within your heart. Please follow the light.]

Immediately, the orbs of light moved again!

They peeled away from their slow, practiced orbit and surged upward, racing like a flock of guided stars.

[Source of strong emotion detected. The item is located on Floor 666.]

Woaaah! Floor 666!

Mimi yelped, the number ringing weird and dangerous in her ears. It felt strange, this was no time to analyze lucky or unlucky digits!

She hopped onto the glass platform and meowed Emilia urgently!

"Meow! Meow!!!"

Master, please go to Floor 666!

"A-alright!" Emilia stammered, a little startled, but she trusted Mimi. Curious and cautious, she gripped the crystalline orb and steadied them both.

"Mimi, hang on tight!" Emilia called, settling the cat in her arms.

With a soft hum and a rush of wind, the platform rose again, leaving the Arcane Blood Art stone glittering behind on its lonely pedestal.

And just like that, up they went, higher and higher, toward whatever it was that had called to Mimi.