Penglaiji Ryn, feeling dizzy, covered her flushed face and returned to her room. Tonight's hot spring trip had truly opened up a new world for her, and she needed to calm down...
Coincidentally, Ryn, also blushing, had just finished his bath and returned to the room. The two stood face-to-face outside the door.
Whether it was from soaking in the hot spring too long or for some other reason, both were red-faced and didn't say much, heading straight to their respective futons.
Late at night, both of them tossed and turned in their beds, unable to sleep.
*Can it really be like that between two girls? That's too...* Penglaiji Ryn couldn't wrap her head around it at all.
Because of her strange personality, she had almost no friends besides her parents, Kiana, and Mei.
Although she had lost her memories, the sixteen years of loneliness in her past still told her on an instinctual level—this is too... exciting!
In the other futon, Ryn was feeling something quite similar to Penglaiji Ryn... This is too exciting!
Tianqi was a grown-up, onee-san version of Ryn. Her figure, from every angle, completely outclassed developing young girls like Kiana and Mei...
But Tianqi's face... Ryn couldn't help but think of himself, or of the currently cute and clueless Penglaiji Ryn.
Besides the two Ryns, one other person was also tossing and turning in her bed, unable to sleep.
"Hehehe, Big Sis... hehehe..."
Where there is joy, there is also sorrow...
Yiselian, after receiving the sample, worked through the night until she collapsed from exhaustion. Bronya and Himeko left the base silently, without taking anyone or notifying anyone.
And there was a certain someone throwing a tantrum...
The moment she returned to the Stigmata Space, Tianqi saw Stigmata Kiana archiving the all-angle, uncensored glamour shots of her, and she instantly turned beet red.
After the shyness passed, an enraged Tianqi stormed through the Stigmata Space and gave Stigmata Kiana, who was cowering in a corner with her ears covered, a piece of her mind.
"Delete it! You bastard, why would you save something like that for him! And why is my face censored! Is my beauty that unbearable?"
"What can I do? I'm just a Stigmata Consciousness. All of Ryn's memories, powers, and so on are naturally recorded and engraved in his Stigmata Space...
You stripped naked and bathed with him. Ryn saw you, so it's perfectly normal for it to be recorded by the Stigmata Space..."
"But he clearly had his eyes closed!"
"..."
Stigmata Kiana scratched her head in confusion. Tianqi was so formidable in a fight, how could she be so dense usually?
"You still haven't figured it out...?"
"Figured what out?" Tianqi tilted her head, looking at Stigmata Kiana in confusion.
"Can you see me with your eyes closed?"
"Of course. I can clearly sense everything about you, even..." Before she could finish, Tianqi slapped a hand over her own mouth in shock.
Then she sullenly squatted on the ground and started drawing circles. But soon, she stood up again with a cheerful grin.
"If that's the case, doesn't it mean I'm still quite charming! But why censor my face... hehehe, I just thought of something fun."
Tianqi rubbed her hands together with a wicked smile and walked towards Stigmata Kiana.
"What do you want? Let me be clear, I'm just a Stigmata Consciousness, don't even think about getting handsy with me!" Stigmata Kiana hugged herself and quickly distanced herself from the smirking Tianqi.
"I'm not going to hit you. Besides, Ryn and I are one now, I'm not going to harm him. But..."
Tianqi reached out and pulled the distant Stigmata Kiana over out of thin air, then whispered her idea.
"We do this, and this..."
"Uh..."
"You in or out, just say the word!"
"I'm in!"
Tianqi and Stigmata Kiana slung their arms around each other, plotting an evil plan. From time to time, wicked cackles of "Jie jie jie" could be heard from the Stigmata Space.
——————————————
Ryn had a dream. It was a dream of meeting Kiana in a snowy plain, then wandering to Nagazora City.
The dream was sweet and beautiful, except Kiana looked exactly like Tianqi...
Then Ryn met Kika, and then Mei. Strange, why did they also look exactly like Tianqi?
Seele, Theresa, Kallen, Judah... even the faces of passersby, the entire world, all had Tianqi's face!
"What the hell..."
Ryn abruptly sat up, startled awake from the dream. A world full of Tianqi's face had scared him into a cold sweat.
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Kiana gently caressed Ryn, looking at him with concern.
"I'm fine... just had a weird dream..."
Ryn held his head, wondering how he could have such a bizarre and terrifying dream.
He turned his head to look at his wife, Kiana, and then he completely froze...
"What is it? Is there something on my face?"
Kiana touched her own face, then looked at the vanity mirror.
The face reflected in the mirror... was Tianqi's!
"What the hell..."
Ryn's eyes flew open, and he cried out as he was startled awake from the dream again... It was the familiar ceiling, he was in Fire Moth... was he really awake...?
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Penglaiji Ryn, who had been woken up, lifted the curtain and looked at Ryn with confusion.
Seeing Penglaiji Ryn's face, Ryn's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the bed.
"Damn it, it's still a dream..."
"?" Penglaiji Ryn was even more confused, but seeing Ryn lie back down, she didn't ask any more questions.
The moment Ryn lay down, drowsiness washed over him instantly. He closed his eyes and fell fast asleep.
Another dream... In the dream, he was working together with Kiana, preparing to conceive the legendary four-legged, money-devouring beast. But at the critical moment, Kiana's face suddenly changed into Tianqi's...
"..." Ryn instantly entered a state of post-nut clarity, sitting on the edge of the bed lost in thought.
Tonight had indeed been a bit too stimulating, so having an erotic dream was understandable... but why was it always Tianqi's face!
——————————————
"Combining the illusory and the real creates the most realistic dream... He dares to censor my face, let's see how I mess with him~" Tianqi declared smugly, hands on her hips, gloating to herself.
Seeing Tianqi so happy, Stigmata Kiana was also happy. After all, she was about to pull a big one. If Tianqi wasn't happy now, it wouldn't be fun later...
*Shua—*
Ryn's dreamscape changed again. Unlike before, this time Ryn appeared in the Stigmata Space.
Looking at the happily bouncing Tianqi before him, Ryn covered his face.
"A wet dream or whatever... this is too much! I can't even accept it in reality, don't expect me to endure it in a dream! If it has to be Tianqi, so be it. I'll just close my eyes..."
Ryn looked at Tianqi. Tianqi had also noticed that Ryn, who should have been sleeping and dreaming, had suddenly arrived in the Stigmata Space.
But before Tianqi could ask, Ryn lunged forward, tackling her and flipping up her long skirt.
"?"
Tianqi was momentarily stunned. She subconsciously reached for Ryn's neck, wanting to snap the neck of this detestable person... but in the end, she didn't. Her hand just rested on his neck.
Ryn thought Tianqi wanted him to kiss her, so he leaned down and kissed her.
The moment their lips met, Ryn felt that Tianqi was different from her usual scummy, aloof, and sharp-tongued self. Her lips were soft and sweet, like a crisp green apple...
The moment Ryn's lips touched hers, Tianqi's mind exploded. Her eyes widened. The situation seemed to have gone far beyond her expectations...
She placed her hands on Ryn's chest, trying to push him away, but the next moment she felt him press into her, followed by a piercing pain that momentarily robbed her of the strength to resist.
"Unh..."
"Huh... this dream feels so real..." Ryn said in surprise, feeling the sensation below. For a dream to be this real...?
Hearing Ryn's words, Tianqi knew that he hadn't figured out the situation yet. This was definitely the work of that bastard Stigmata Kiana.
"You bastard, you don't even know what's going on and you... you..."
Tianqi was both angry and sad... She had never dreamed that her first time would be so rash, so muddled...
Although she often teased Ryn, she was all bark and no bite. If you actually got serious with her, she would immediately revert to the poor girl who used a tough facade to protect herself...
This was one of the few things she and Penglaiji Ryn had in common... they were both pitiful girls who had been ostracized by their peers, relying on bravado and stubborn words to protect their lonely, pitiful, and fragile hearts.
"So... this isn't a dream, is it?" Ryn looked at the girl beneath him, who no longer had her usual queenly demeanor. Clear tears streamed down her cheeks, fragile and pitiful.
"Bastard... bastard..." Tianqi bit her lip, her eyes red, and pounded on Ryn's chest. Her fists, which could have easily shattered ten Ryns, were now completely devoid of strength.
What more could be said at this point? Tianqi was playing a prank, and he couldn't even distinguish reality from a dream... but since it had already happened...
Ryn kissed Tianqi again. Some things, some words, no longer needed to be said.
If there was anyone in this world who understood him best, it was probably Tianqi, with whom he shared the same soulscape.
But just as Tianqi understood him, he understood Tianqi well enough...
*POW—*
Tianqi's fist blew up Ryn's head. The guy was pushing his luck, daring to kiss her a second time...
But what did it matter? Ryn, who embodied the seven virtues, would never give up once he started.
This was Ryn's own Stigmata. In this space, Ryn was invincible.
The moment Ryn's head exploded, it instantly reformed to the state before the attack. He then pinned down Tianqi's hands to prevent further attacks and kissed her a third time.
The two of them began to fight and make love at the same time. Tianqi was very, very strong, but the current Ryn was no pushover either, especially within his own world.
Gradually, Tianqi stopped resisting and instead began to fight Ryn in a different way. A way that was, perhaps, enjoyable for both of them...