"If it were the old me... I would indeed have had hundreds, thousands of wishes I wanted to fulfill...
I wanted to go to the same school with Mei, eat bentos together under the cherry blossom trees, and then laze away the entire lunch break.
I wanted to travel the world with Mei, take pictures together in front of beautiful scenery, and forever preserve our images in a precious photo album.
I wanted to build a small wooden cabin by the sea with Mei, watch the tides rise and fall together, pick up seashells on the beach blown by the sea breeze, and then fall asleep in the embrace of the moonlight.
There were so many more wishes... so many more plans...
But now... I just want to quietly stay by your side, until forever."
"Mei, please give me your hand..." Kiana reached out her hand to Mei.
"Mm." Mei placed her hand in Kiana's, entrusting herself to her.
Kiana held Mei's hand, looking at her earnestly. "If possible, would you be willing to stay with me until the very last moment of the world?"
"Kiana... thank you. Thank you for cherishing me so much... for protecting me so much..." Mei gently stroked Kiana's sorrowful face, revealing a despairing, mournful smile.
"But, we both understand... this is already an unfulfillable wish.
Because... because everything... has been destroyed by your own hands...
All our promises have turned to dust... and can never go back to the way they were.
So, I'm sorry... Kiana. It's time for us to say goodbye..."
Mei's figure quietly disappeared, leaving only a purple ribbon in Kiana's hand. All the light in Kiana's eyes immediately vanished, and she lay on the grass like a walking corpse.
"..."
"I understand... In fact, I should understand better than anyone... This was my mistake... I destroyed our future with my own hands."
"This ending is the best punishment. To be alone in a world without you... unable to even choose death."
"Hey... can you hear it? The wails of the deceased... As the Savior, can you and he grant me salvation?"
"Penglaiji Ryn..."
"Ryn..."
*Zzzzzzt————*
"Can... me..."
"Can..."
*Zzzzzzt————*
The harsh, noisy sound cut and blurred the image, and Kiana's words came to an abrupt end... Penglaiji Ryn and Ryn both regained their senses.
"Just now, the moment I touched that point of light... I seemed to see..."
Penglaiji Ryn didn't say much, just turned her head to look at Ryn.
Ryn nodded silently, hung the ball of light in his hand back on the wall, and spoke to her through a mental link that only Penglaiji Ryn could hear.
"That was Kiana's last remaining memory, the scene before she entrusted everything to you...
I don't exist in this world, and my Stigmata is different from yours. Kiana's memories will occasionally surface in your mind through the Stigmata, but because I have a Stigmata Space administrator to manage everything for me, I can browse Kiana's memories at will...
The difference is that for me, Kiana's everything is just a film from the past, but for you... Kiana has passed everything on to you, along with all the deceased souls of that world, all of which are engraved in your Stigmata. That is why there is life in this world..."
"..."
Penglaiji Ryn caressed the sigil on the back of her hand. When she was little, she thought it was a curse, because of this Stigmata, she was isolated and detested by everyone...
But as she grew older, she began to think that maybe she was like the protagonist in an anime, possessing some hidden power... and as it turned out, that was indeed the case...
But if this Stigmata of hers carried the souls of that world's dead and Kiana's wish... could she bear it?
[Why... why did you abandon me...]
[Save me! Save me! No... I don't want to die yet...]
[It's no use... there's no hope left...]
One after another, the words of the dead echoed in Penglaiji Ryn's mind, even without touching those balls of light.
"These voices... these voices..."
Penglaiji Ryn stopped, trembling. The despair and pain of those lingering spirits were now constantly being transmitted to her.
"This tower is built from the souls of the dead! We have to get out of here quickly! Otherwise, we'll be haunted by these wandering spirits too!"
Ryn shouted, grabbing Penglaiji Ryn's hand and leading her towards the top of the tower.
The others were not yet entangled by the wraiths, but Penglaiji Ryn's body carried countless residual souls, and this tower had awakened them all.
Bronya and the others' expressions became grave, but then the voice of the Herrscher of Finality, Kiana, rang in everyone's hearts.
Kiana: "Give up... There's still time to leave now. If you continue, you'll just end up like those lingering spirits, buried here."
"Herrscher! If you want to kill us, then come out and do it! Don't hide!" Bronya looked up at the ceiling angrily, towards the top of the tower.
Kiana: "Your deaths are as meaningless as the ending of this world. The time of the end is coming, and everything will return to nothingness. ...That's right, it was destined from the very beginning... there is nothing to hold on to."
Bronya: "What's the use of saying that now? If you don't want to do it yourself, then wait at the top of the tower. We will definitely stop you."
*Boom—*
Theresa smashed through the ceiling with Judah, forcibly opening a faster path to the top.
Theresa: "Kiana, if you have nothing to hold on to, then why are you even here! Stop deceiving yourself! If your heart is truly free of attachments, you wouldn't care about whether we live or die!"
Kiana: "..."
"Kiana, I know your personality! Since you were little, you never believed in despair, you always faced every difficulty with hope!
I understand the pain in your heart... I know you must be very sad. Thinking that if you don't touch it, you won't get hurt again, so you locked yourself in this ivory tower... fantasizing that everything is as beautiful as it was in the beginning. But Kiana... that won't change anything."
"Even if we are covered in wounds, we must move forward. If we are afraid to see the ending and don't try to change it, even if it means making great sacrifices, we must strive for it... This is who we are now! We will never give up!
Kiana! If you've forgotten who you once were, then let us help you remember!"
Kiana: "..."
Kiana: "A moth to a flame, whether it's chasing hope or blind destruction... none of it matters anymore. Come, I'll be waiting for you at the top, before the flames of doom consume the entire world.
I hope you can live to see that moment..."