Chapter 64: A Sea of White (1)

Summer stood up from the couch, finished the last bite of her cookie, and folded the warm blanket she had been using before placing it back on the armrest.

“Please follow me,” the nurse said.

Summer followed her across the top floor.

They did not have to walk far since Dr. Rory’s room was only a short distance from the lounge, hidden behind a wide glass door at the end of the hallway.

The nurse tapped her access card against the panel beside it. “Dr. Rory is waiting inside.”

“Thank you.” Summer stepped through the door after that.

The room looked nothing like Dr. Rinko’s examination room downstairs.

There were no trays filled with medical tools and no strange machines that looked like they might suddenly take a piece out of her body.

Instead, the room looked surprisingly calm.

A long couch stood near one wall, while a large reclining chair sat in the center. Several small machines surrounded it, connected by thin wires and glowing screens.

A woman was standing beside the chair.

She looked younger than Summer had expected. Her dark hair was tied loosely behind her, and she wore a simple white coat over a black shirt.

Unlike Dr. Rinko, who always looked excited whenever she found something strange, Dr. Rory looked almost too calm.

“Summer Beaumont?” she asked.

Summer nodded. “Yes.”

Dr. Rory gave her a small smile. “I’m Dr. Rory. Please sit down.”

Summer walked toward the reclining chair and sat. Dr. Rory picked up a tablet from the table beside her.

“I’ve already read Dr. Rinko’s report.”

Summer immediately became suspicious. “Did she mention that I refused a biopsy?”

Dr. Rory glanced down at the screen. “She mentioned it three times.”

Summer closed her eyes for a second. Of course she did.

Dr. Rory’s lips curved slightly. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you for one.”

“Good.”

“I only need to check your mental capacity,” Dr. Rory said calmly. “Please lean back and try to relax.”

She slowly lowered the back of the chair until Summer was resting comfortably. “Are you comfortable, Miss Beaumont?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Yeah, I am,” Summer replied without thinking much about it.

After spending so much time inside polluted zones and dealing with one unexpected problem after another, Dr. Rory’s room felt strangely peaceful.

For once, Summer did not feel like she had to stay alert every second.

“That’s good to hear.” Dr. Rory gave her a soft smile.

After checking the information sent by the other doctors, she finally placed her tablet aside.

“Miss Beaumont, I need your permission before we continue,” Dr. Rory said gently. “I’d like to look into your mental sea. We’ll attach a device to your head first.”

She picked up the strange helmet-like device beside her.

“The machine will record what your mental sea looks like and measure your mental capacity,” she explained. “But I’ll also enter it myself so I can observe it directly.”

“Okay,” Summer replied.

To be honest, she had no idea what her mental sea looked like now. The memories she had only showed the original Summer’s mental sea.

Back then, it had looked like a small garden filled with white roses. It was beautiful, but there was also something dangerous about it.

Maybe that was why the original Summer had never had enough mental strength to become a powerful Guide.

“Are you ready, Miss Beaumont?” Dr. Rory asked as she carefully placed the wire-like helmet over Summer’s head.

Summer took a small breath. “Yes.”

“Close your eyes and try to relax,” Dr. Rory said softly. “You don’t need to do anything. Just let me in.”

Summer followed her instructions and slowly closed her eyes.

At first, Summer could only hear the soft sound of the machine around her and Dr. Rory’s calm breathing beside the chair. Then, little by little, everything around her started to fade.

Summer felt something pass through the barrier of her mind. Instead of pushing it away, she let it in.

On the other side, Dr. Rory slowly opened her eyes after entering Summer’s mental sea.

A Sentinel’s mental sea was usually filled with pollution, pressure, and chaos. On the other hand, a Guide’s mental sea was different.

Most of the time, it looked peaceful. It could take the form of a garden, a field, a quiet forest, or even a warm and comfortable room.

But what Dr. Rory saw this time was nothing like the mental seas she had seen before.

She found herself inside a small wooden cabin. There was a fireplace nearby, along with plenty of blankets scattered around the room, making the place feel incredibly warm.

But the moment she opened the cabin door, she was greeted by a vast snowy land.

There were no hills, no valleys, no cliffs, and no other houses in sight.

The only thing she could see was endless white snow.

Strangely, when Dr. Rory stepped onto it, she did not feel cold at all. Instead, the snow beneath her feet felt almost warm.

Dr. Rory stood there for a moment and looked around.

The place was peaceful. Too peaceful, even.

There was no wind, no sound of animals, and no sign of another person anywhere. The white land stretched so far that it felt like it had no end.

At first, the silence was comforting. It made her shoulders relax, and for a brief moment, she understood why someone would want to stay there.

But the longer she stood in the middle of that snowy land, the more the feeling began to change.

The silence started to feel heavy, the endless white space made her feel small, and even though nothing around her looked frightening, a strange sadness slowly settled in her chest.

It was the kind of place that made someone feel safe enough to rest, but lonely enough to remember that no one else was there.

Dr. Rory frowned slightly. “This is unusual,” she murmured.

Most Guides had mental seas that gave off a clear feeling of comfort, warmth, or life.

Summer’s was comforting too, but there was something else mixed into it: loneliness.