37: Chapter 33 Stigmata Chat Group

The moment the voice fell, Kaiwen felt the small hand in her palm tighten slightly.

Immediately after, a crack appeared on the endless black ground beneath her feet.

Then the crack spread rapidly from beneath their feet, diffusing in all directions like a spider web.

The void above their heads also began to shatter, and large chunks of darkness peeled off like wall paint, revealing the pure white light behind it.

The grey mist lingering in mid-air was also swallowed by the white light, dissipating completely.

Rin held Kaiwen's hand tightly, but she said nothing, merely wearing a cold expression as she watched the darkness that had once imprisoned her for fifty thousand years collapse bit by bit before her eyes.

White light surged from all directions, completely engulfing them.

When the white light dissipated and Kaiwen opened her eyes once more, a familiar scene came into view.

Mirror-flat lake water, slowly falling cherry blossoms, and the sacred cherry tree standing in the center of the lake.

But unlike her last visit, the sacred cherry tree had changed.

Starting from the very center of the trunk, half of the branches remained the same as before, but the other half presented a deep blackish-purple color, devoid of petals, with only a faint dark red glow slowly flowing along the grain.

And the lake surface on that side no longer reflected the warm sky, but endless darkness.

One tree, one lake, seemed to have been split into two worlds.

The tactile sensation in her palm was suddenly pulled away.

Kaiwen was slightly stunned and looked down; Rin had already let go of her hand.

Rin stood by her side, a cold expression on her delicate little face, her gaze sweeping across the bright side of the sacred cherry tree and then looking at the side of the night.

Then, she said nothing, turned around, and stepped on the mirror-like lake water, walking towards the direction of the dark night.

Her footsteps were very light, stirring tiny ripples on the quiet lake surface.

Her petite figure walked further and further away, finally disappearing into the darkness on the other side of the sacred cherry tree.

Kaiwen withdrew her gaze and turned to the bright side of the sacred cherry tree.

At the roots of the tree, a pink-haired figure with fox ears was leaning against the trunk with her eyes closed.

That was Yae Sakura.

She was now pale in complexion and weak in breath, her whole person so frail that a gust of wind seemed capable of blowing her away.

The previous battle with Raiden Mei had almost exhausted all her power, and it was precisely that moment of weakness that allowed Rin to take advantage of the situation.

But now, the erosive force that had entangled her had completely receded.

Yae Sakura leaned against the trunk, blinking in some bewilderment, as if trying to discern whether all this was real or another hallucination.

After a moment, her gaze gradually cleared and fell upon Kaiwen, who was standing not far away.

"...Kaiwen?"

Kaiwen walked over and crouched down beside her.

"I saw it."

"What?"

Yae Sakura leaned against the sacred cherry tree, feeling the sensation coming from the trunk behind her.

"I saw her past..."

The petals overhead drifted down one by one, with a few falling on her hair tips and shoulders.

With her eyes closed, fragments of Remembrance that had surged in during the erosion still lingered in her mind.

The little girl crying while hugging her knees in a glass room. The pink-haired older sister who rushed towards the laboratory with all her might only to be stopped. And the undisguised fear and disgust in the eyes of the soldiers when they looked at that child.

Fifty thousand years ago, in a place called Flame-Chasers, that little girl was treated as a monster, locked up, and killed.

Just like Rin.

Yae Sakura's fingers curled slightly.

She had no way to force her resentment towards that Herrscher to disappear.

She would never forget the pain and despair surging in her consciousness during the reincarnation.

But she also had no way, after seeing that Remembrance, to continue treating the other party as a mere demon.

She was merely a younger sister who had waited for her older sister for fifty thousand years, yet never waited for her again.

Yae Sakura opened her eyes and looked at Kaiwen beside her.

It was this person who ended her nightmare, and it was also this person who took in that lonely little girl.

"...Thank you."

Yae Sakura said softly.

Kaiwen was slightly stunned: "What for?"

Yae Sakura did not reply, merely closing her eyes once more.

What for?

Probably thanking her for ending this nightmare, and also thanking her for being willing to take the child full of obsession to see her older sister.

Kaiwen watched Yae Sakura close her eyes again and did not ask any further.

She stood up and cast one last glance at the dark night on the other side of the sacred cherry tree.

That side remained silent, Rin's figure having long since vanished deep into the darkness without a sound.

Kaiwen withdrew her gaze and said softly:

"Rest well, I am heading out first."

Yae Sakura nodded slightly, still without opening her eyes.

As the words fell, ripples gradually stirred across the lake surface.

Then Kaiwen's consciousness gradually withdrew; the sacred cherry tree, the mirror lake water, everything slowly became transparent in her field of vision, finally returning to a warm white light.

The light dissipated.

Kaiwen opened her eyes.

What she felt first was the soft touch coming from her palm and head.

Her head was resting on someone's lap.

Above her head was a dim ceiling, filled everywhere with cracks and peeling wall paint.

In the distance, a few muffled loud bangs could be vaguely heard; they weren't very close, seemingly separated by several blocks.

This seemed to be the interior of an abandoned building, with gray daylight filtering in through the broken window frames, and fine dust floating in the air.

Not entirely safe, but at least temporarily without danger.

Kaiwen tried moving her fingers and found that her right hand was tightly held by a warm hand, gripped very hard, as if afraid she would disappear.

She turned her head with some effort and shifted her gaze upward.

Raiden Mei was lowering her head and looking at her.

Long purple hair scattered across her shoulders, with a few strands hanging down and gently resting against Kaiwen's cheeks.

Her eye rims were slightly red, her lips pursed tightly, and her face still retained dried blood and dust, making her look exhausted and haggard overall.

But the moment she saw Kaiwen open her eyes, Mei's pupils trembled violently, and the hand holding hers involuntarily tightened a bit more.

"Kaiwen?... You're awake?"

Her voice trembled slightly, concealing emotions that had been suppressed for a long time.