Chapter 23 - The Unreal

Creato was in and out of the sanatorium and the CID, and it was Middendorffi and Eli, instead, who always saw him at the sanatorium.

"I heard you wanted to see me."

Middendorffi had been encouraged by Eli before and was a little more confident in his attitude and demeanour when he saw Creato and Suzanne. He sat down on the same couch seat as before with Eli and looked at Suzanne, "Go ahead, what's up."

"You're not like the others; you know I exist, right?" Suzanne didn't look as subdued as she did before. Instead, there was some anxiety between her eyebrows, "The cops, hard as they can't see that I exist, only see me as Creator. Even the psychiatrists are starting to ignore me. I know you guys are with the police; since you know me, tell them not to treat me as Creator!"

Middendorffi's reaction to her somewhat punchy tone was bland.

He knew why the police had ignored the "second personality", probably because of Henry's statement that "evidence doesn't mix". The law doesn't care how many personalities a suspect has; it's all one identity on paper. Why the psychiatrists had started to weaken her as well, though, was unclear.

Middendorffi didn't care why the psychiatrist was doing it either, and he just said, "Didn't you pretend to me on the phone before that you were Creato? Why are you not happy that people think you're Creator?"

"It's not like I knew who was on the other end of the phone back then. Creato's parents described you guys like a flood of animals and told me to be careful how I dealt with them." Suzanne said, "But now that they all know I exist, why would I need a disguise? I am who I am, and I am not Creato!"

Her reaction was somewhat in line with Eli's earlier suspicions. She relied on her "human mind" to exist, and in the past, she had been able to do nothing wrong in the Underworld. And now, when the people she was in contact with started ignoring her, she got a little anxious.

Middendorffi had always felt that, despite her adult female appearance and similar mannerisms, her mind was not as stable as an average human's, and her thoughts were inconsistent. But since she was essentially a "monster", there was little point in being critical of her intelligence.

"We can't control what others think." Middendorffi said, "Perhaps in their eyes, there is no difference between you and Creato, and you are at best a 'manifestation' of Creato's disease. Even if we have special eyes that 'see' you, we can't convince people to think like us out of thin air - we have no proof."

Eli couldn't help but incline his head at the end.

It wasn't surprising that Middendorffi's speech was getting longer now, but the passage had a clear undercurrent, making Eli look at him sideways. This Bear, who had previously been all quiet and unassuming, had learnt to lay a trap!

"Evidence? What more evidence?" Suzanne stomped in, "Isn't my existence proof? I'm so different from Creato!"

"This isn't the Plutonic Revelation Society; that won't work in your church." Middendorffi said, "You also look like Deng Wenwen, not to mention the others. I don't even think you're any Suzanne."

He paused momentarily and said slowly, "You're Suzanne and not the ghost that came after Deng Wenwen's death to claim her life?"

The set was becoming more and more evident to Eli.

But that's because he knows that Middendorffi doesn't even think Suzanne is Deng Wenwen, and Suzanne doesn't know about it. So Suzanne reacted with a big, "I'm not Dunwynn! She was alive when I descended; how could I be her?"

"Who knows?" Middendorffi responded calmly, "It's not like I know what you looked like before Dengwen died; maybe Dengwen died and replaced the original Suzanne?"

"A lot of people in the Underworld would know that!" Suzanne retorted, "Just because Creato described her appearance as being just like that of Deng Wenwen, many of the members ran to see her and said that she was the 'Holy Maiden' of the Underworld Revelation Society and that they were even going to use her as a faith trust! But she's not me and doesn't even know what the Underworld Revelation Society is. She's nothing but an empty face!"

Middendorffi returned blandly, "The members of the Underworld Revelation Society ran to Dunwynn anyway, even though they knew. Having a concrete person there is a better way to send thoughts than a nebulous image. Besides, the Underworld Demonstration Society requires meticulous efforts to imagine your image, and those who can't think of it are naturally quicker to go and see what Deng Wenwen looks like."

"But apart from our faces, we don't look alike!" Suzanne's brow furrowed, "The more I go to see her, the less accurate my perception becomes. The presence of the Dunman is not helping me, but rather is the biggest obstacle!"

Middendorffi said, "So you got her killed?"

"..." Suzanne was confused by the sudden question, or rather, her eyes widened, and for the first time, she looked slightly flustered. But she quickly composed herself again and returned, "I don't know what you're talking about. I will only descend on Creato now, and the police have investigated the whereabouts of this body countless times, so you can ask the police if you suspect me."

"But you are the 'god' of the Hades Revelation Society, and you can easily incite the members of the Hades Revelation Society." Middendorffi said, "I heard that recently, the members of the Underworld Revelation Society are still clamouring to see Create. Do they want to see Creato, or do they want to see you?"

"Me, of course." Regarding her status as a "god", Suzanna responded very simply, "Although I don't descend on them if they want to talk to me, I naturally won't begrudge them a meeting."

Middendorffi says, "So, it was just a word that you asked the girl to help you except Dunwynn, was it?"

Suzanne: "..."

Middendorffi continues, "Creato and the girl met often at the Underworld Revelation Society, and you could have incited her whenever you wanted. Even when you met with the girl the last time you saw Dunwynn before she died, you could have continued to hint and urge the girl to do it. Anyway, now that both Deng Wenwen and her are dead, it's just death to you."

Suzanne said, "As I said, I treat the members of the Underworld Revelation Society with love and care; how could I possibly kill my followers?"

"And what about Dunwynn?" Middendorffi said, "You incited the female believers to kill Deng Wenwen, and Creato, for some reason, decimated the believers who were in the know?"

Suzanne locked eyes with him and was silent for several seconds, then returned, "You have no proof."

"It's true that I have no evidence, and I'm not a police officer to investigate these hits." Middendorffi said, "But I'm just guessing, can't I?"

"Can." Suzanne said, "It's your freedom to imagine. I encourage imagination."

"You are encouraging people to imagine that you exist." Middendorffi said, "But just as I have no proof that you did it, you have no proof of your existence. In the end, you're just a figment of the imagination. When people forget about you, then your presence will disappear with you. That's why you want us to help proclaim you, prove you, and renew your power for the long haul.

"Unfortunately, you can't invade or influence us; we can easily reject you."

Suzanne looked at him and then at Eli, "Who are you?"

"That would be outside the scope of the conversation; after all, I'm not a member of the Order of the Underworld Revelation either, nor am I under your control." Middendorffi returned lightly, "But Creato, who is most under your control, also seems out of line. After all, you want the members of the Underworld Revelation Society to be united and friendly; Creato... watched at least eleven people die in the fire. He also preferred not to sleep, hold his tongue, go crazy and bang on the wall, but also did not want you to come out; he is considered a violation of your teachings?"

Suzanne would wait to answer back.

"I don't know if Creato can hear our conversation now. But even if he can't hear it, it doesn't matter, and I can repeat it to the police so they can find a way to relay it to him." Middendorffi stood up and walked over to Suzanne. Overpowered by the vague aura he carried, Suzanne leaned back a little warily and didn't dare make a big move.

Middendorffi bent down and looked into her eyes as if he could see another soul beneath them.

"Creato, if you want to block Susanna's spread, then plead guilty, as well as undergo hypnosis. Prison won't give you a chance to spread this kind of talk, and hypnosis will make you forget about Suzanne.

"Just forget her name; she can't influence you anymore."

***

Middendorffi emerged from the ward, pulled a recorder from his pocket, and handed it to the police officer present.

Apart from Suzanne's request, this time, he had been asked by the police to come and try to ask Suzanne for details of the case from her. There didn't need to be any objective evidence; if he could get some words out, it could advance the case investigation. After the recorder files are extracted, they will be handed over to the "collector" for backup and discussion.

Anyway, after the handover of things, this trip is finished today.

The two of them returned to the hut where they would not live for a few days, and there was still a floor of unpacked luggage in the house. Middendorffi entered the door but did not go to the toilet and drink water as usual. He stood in the centre of the room and looked at the boxes, his eyes downcast. He seemed to be thinking about something and stood for a long time without moving or speaking.

Eli asked, "What?"

Middendorffi turns his head to look at him, "Why don't you ask?"

Eli didn't seem surprised by the query, but he asked again, "Ask what?"

"Ask about why Suzanne didn't infect me." Middendorffi looked him in the eye, "Why didn't you ask me about that when you heard it twice?"

"Ask what? Ask you why you didn't get caught up in that thing or why you lied before?" Eli said, "I have my own eyes for that first question; for the latter, I won't press you if you don't want to discuss it."

Middendorffi looked at him fixedly.

Eli stepped closer to him, to a distance of only ten centimetres between their toes, and lowered his eyes to meet his, "What, do you want to talk now?"

Middendorffi blinked slowly, "I don't know ..."

"All you need to think about is whether or not you trust me." Eli's voice doesn't ripple much, but there's something reliable and steady about it: "And I won't press the issue; you can say whatever you want, wherever you want."

Middendorffi was silent for a few seconds.

"Then, well, I'll tell you."