In the corner of the room, there was a box that looked like a treasure chest, and the crying came from there.
Bronya walked over with her crutches, opened the chest, and found Seele inside, covering her head, crying.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Sister Bronya. I'm sorry…"
Seele looked just like she did two years ago when she was taken away, so helpless, mixed with pain.
Bronya crawled in, grabbed Seele's hands, and to Seele's surprise, licked the tear stains from Seele's eyes, which made Seele blush slightly in embarrassment.
"Seele's tears are so faint…"
Bronya smiled, gently embracing Seele and stroking her little head.
"I'm sorry, Sister Bronya. I… I saw An-Mar do it to you right beside me. But I was so scared I couldn't even move."
"An-Mar? An-Mar… was she the one who did it? I should have known it was that person all along."
An-Mar, it was said that before becoming an orphan, she was the daughter of a merchant family, living a fairytale life.
But this beautiful life was quickly shattered. When everyone found An-Mar, they saw her holding a weapon and her parents lying in a pool of blood.
According to her account at the time, An-Mar said that robbers broke into her home, killed her parents, and she was only holding the weapon for self-defense.
However, the police found no traces of a robber invasion, nor did they find the bodies of any robbers. The robbers An-Mar spoke of seemed to not exist.
This was the version Inaba Tsukiyo heard from Cocolia, but Inaba Tsukiyo didn't know the exact details, only that this person was very fond of taking the lead.
She originally thought she was just strong-willed at most, but she never expected her to do something like this… "Sister Tsukiyo, we already agreed. Not to bother with this matter anymore, didn't we?"
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was about to go confront An-Mar, Bronya, who was comforting Seele, spoke to stop her.
"But, if we don't teach that person a profound lesson, she won't know what she should and shouldn't do."
Speaking of which, that person was quite lucky. If Bronya hadn't adhered to the promise of not harming others, with Bronya's strength, when An-Mar pushed Bronya down, she could have pushed An-Mar down the stairs instead.
Inaba Tsukiyo was somewhat indignant. To deal with such a person, unless she understood who she had provoked, she would never realize her mistake.
"Let it go, Sister Tsukiyo. There's no need for Bronya to have a conflict with Mother. If you act, Mother will definitely come after you. Bronya doesn't want to trouble Sister Tsukiyo."
"What's the big deal? At worst, we leave this orphanage. With my abilities, even alone, I can live well. If I weren't worried about you and Seele, do you think I would stay here?"
If it weren't for Bronya and Seele, Inaba Tsukiyo would have left this orphanage long ago, even left Russia to explore other places.
She came to this world with a purpose. It had been several years, and Inaba Tsukiyo hadn't felt that strange energy, which meant this energy had a host.
However, Inaba Tsukiyo hadn't found out who this energy resided in, but it was very likely related to the Herrscher that Cocolia had once mentioned.
"Sister Tsukiyo, are you leaving us?"
Hearing that Inaba Tsukiyo was leaving, both Bronya and Seele looked at her with some panic.
Two years of living together made them like a single entity, unable to be separated.
Because they supported each other and shared each other's joys, their once monotonous lives became vibrant.
"Foolish girl, when did I ever say I was leaving you? As your older sister, of course I have to protect you, my younger sisters. You two troublesome Little fellows, do you know how worried I was about you?"
Although she couldn't say she was extremely worried, every time she dealt with their pouting and various tricks, it always left her flustered.
"Bronya doesn't need Tsukiyo-nee-chan's care, and Tsukiyo-nee-chan is shorter than Seele and Bronya. Bronya strongly suspects Tsukiyo-nee-chan is lying about her age; she's actually younger than Bronya and Seele."
"No... that's not allowed, Bronya-nee-chan. That's a forbidden phrase, you absolutely can't say it!"
Seele, somewhat alarmed, stopped Bronya from saying anything more. Bronya, realizing her mistake, quickly covered her mouth. Because it had been so long, she had forgotten that this was a forbidden phrase that absolutely couldn't be said to Inaba Tsukiyo.
Forgetting even the pain in their legs and their inner guilt, the two tremblingly turned around, only to find Inaba Tsukiyo standing next to the box, watching them with a wide smile.
Although she was smiling, it was extremely, extremely eerie. In Bronya and Seele's eyes, she looked like a demon, scaring the two into hugging each other, trembling as they watched the steadily approaching Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Well... it seems my adorable sisters have grown up. Indeed, without realizing it, you've become taller than your older sister. I'm truly happy, and a little envious."
The shadow completely enveloped Bronya and Seele. Bronya swallowed, and though terrified, she still shielded Seele behind her, looking like a male protagonist.
"Relax, relax. Why are you so scared? Your older sister wouldn't make you do anything bad, and I'm not some kind of demon."
Inaba Tsukiyo, with an increasingly radiant smile, drew closer to Bronya and Seele, her hands gradually approaching the two as she spoke in a somewhat deep voice.
"While I don't particularly want to make things difficult for you, regarding your older sister's dignity, you've truly disappointed me. So... I think it's necessary for me to make you understand your older sister's dignity."
"Nooooo!"
That night, Bronya fell asleep early. Many things had happened today, and even her leg was injured.
Inaba Tsukiyo, having thought about many things, also fell asleep without realizing it. In her dream, she arrived in a pitch-black world.
Nothing existed here, nothing at all. The ritual seemed to float in this space, making Inaba Tsukiyo gradually forget how long she had been there.
'Destroy... purify... reset... reborn...'
An inexplicable voice echoed in Inaba Tsukiyo's mind, seemingly guiding her.
"It's been years, why do I always hear this voice?"
Ever since arriving in this world, Inaba Tsukiyo could always hear this strange voice, as if it were guiding her, a voice like that of priests performing some ritual.
Following the call of this voice, the pitch-black world gradually disappeared, and Inaba Tsukiyo arrived in the vast, boundless universe.
There were no signs of difficulty breathing, and even her vision had recovered.
Looking down at the planet she lived on, Inaba Tsukiyo didn't understand why she was having this strange dream.
A Zhan blue planet, mostly composed of water; it was a very beautiful planet.
However, as Inaba Tsukiyo watched, this planet continuously changed. The originally Zhan blue planet began to twist, and the ground was destroyed.
At first, it was just a small area, but the damage quickly spread, gradually enveloping the world, not sparing a single corner.
"What exactly is going on? Why did it become like this?"
This world... what exactly is happening? Is destruction the only future awaiting this world? Why? Even if the Honkai erupted, humanity has persisted for hundreds of years; it shouldn't be destroyed so easily.
Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't understand. The next moment, as if hitting a wall hard, Inaba Tsukiyo felt something collide with her brain, and her body even leaned back uncontrollably.
Inaba Tsukiyo's crimson eyes began to change, shifting from their initial crimson to gold. Simultaneously, within these golden pupils, there were four rhombuses in the outer ring.
As her eyes changed, the voice guiding her to destruction once again echoed in her mind. This voice was clearer and more alluring than before.
"Leave her!"
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was about to be pulled in by the voice, a gentle, yet not authoritative, female voice rang out.
The voice sounded soft and lacked any deterrent power, but the voice urging her to destroy, like a mouse seeing a cat, quickly vanished from Inaba Tsukiyo's body.
With the disappearance of the voice, all of Inaba Tsukiyo's strength seemed to be drained, and she fell backward weakly.
If this truly was the universe, then even if she fell, it wouldn't have any impact, Inaba Tsukiyo thought.
However, as she fell, she was caught in a warm embrace.
Inaba Tsukiyo, her vision somewhat blurry, looked up, wanting to see clearly who this girl holding her was, but she couldn't make out her appearance at all.
Vaguely, she could only see that the other person had long pink hair and plump cheeks, but she couldn't see her eyes.
"I didn't expect... lord alaya to hide such important things from Haxxor Bunny and me. Really..."
Reaching out to smooth Inaba Tsukiyo's hair, the other person couldn't help but smile as she held the petite Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Really... I didn't expect it to be a bunny again. But, that's very characteristic of you."
"Although I want to talk more with you, I'm not here. But I can still help you, after all, you are still too weak. My power can prevent you from being controlled by that consciousness, allowing you to properly control this power."
A soft pink light emanated from the other person's body, enveloping Inaba Tsukiyo within its glow.
Under this warm light, Inaba Tsukiyo once again lost consciousness.
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