Ryu Seoha had once seen an image on TV, depicting a computer network visualized as a complex spiderweb. It resembled the tangled neural networks of a brain. As she gazed at the ‘worlds’ before her, that image came to mind.

The small spheres, which looked like soap bubbles or glass beads, were connected by thin, translucent lines—almost like silk threads or piano wires. All of these lines extended toward a distant, unseen location.

“Piyu?”

As Ryu Seoha stared intently in the direction where these connections seemed to lead, Ruby, who had been floating alongside her with wings wrapped around her, …