So easily pleased, this miko.
Rin's lips twitched. Her fox ears were squished between the three of them, flattened against her head. She wanted to struggle free, but Yae Sakura's hug was indeed tight.
After about a minute, Yae Sakura's head rested between the two little ones, gently rubbing her cheek against theirs, a soft motion.
"Alright, now let big sister have some time to herself, okay?"
Yae Sakura's gaze was soft. She truly felt her luck had turned, the evil spirit was quiet, there was no twist, everything was peaceful.
Mei nodded, then prepared to drag Shiraha out to play.
She really didn't have many friends at home. At school, she was the Raiden Queen, surrounded by one clique after another, talking about anime, manga, novels, and the latest urban legends.
But every day after school, she was left alone.
Shiraha was pulled along, but he looked back at the doorway.
Yae Sakura stood there alone, dazed. The little pink fox, Rin, had somehow already jumped down from Shiraha's shoulder and stood at the entrance.
Rin asked casually: "Thinking about someone?"
Yae Sakura shook her head: "No one in particular. I just feel like I really should make a clean break with the past."
"In this era, there are no evil spirits. Even Little Shiraha, who imagines having a friend, has people who care for him and love him, no need to worry about any danger."
"Everyone's happy. Everyone has enough to eat. Even if the climate goes wrong, it doesn't threaten survival."
She looked down at her pale fingers, hands that had once held a katana, stained with blood...
"Fox spirit..." Yae Sakura paused: "Rin, this era really is different."
Everything here was utterly unfamiliar to her, but it all seemed to be heading in a good direction.
Only Rin sneered. This era was indeed far more advanced than 500 years ago but it was beginning to look more and more like her own original era.
Even Shiraha's age matched hers back then.
Rin had been quite young when she faced all that Honkai. In fact, Shiraha was still too young, though he was in middle school, few noticed that he wouldn't turn 10 until after the new year.
"Tch." Rin looked up: "Miko, be careful of Fu Hua. She's connected to Schicksal."
How did she find out?
Please, don't make Rin laugh with such amateur tricks.
Yae Sakura reached out: "If she has ill intentions, I'll end her life with my own hands."
Her words were firm.
Rin: ?
You? Fight a MANTIS?
As for Shiraha and Mei, they definitely weren't going out to play. For Mei, how could she not be curious about this "sacred" power of Honkai?
And once she truly touched it, she was instantly captivated by this power so full of potential, one that could fulfill any girl's fantasies.
The two were in Mei's room. It was clean and full of girlish charm, at least, that's how it was for a 12-year-old Mei.
Shiraha organized his words: "Everyone has a different adaptability to Honkai energy. Mei-nee, your constitution is more easily amplified by it, for others, that ease might make them more prone to losing control, but because of your Stigma, that danger is greatly reduced."
Adaptability to Honkai was directly related to Stigmas, but not decisively so.
The future Adam, now a scrapped concept, was a case of high adaptability with no Stigma.
The cost was simply being more easily eroded, but that high adaptability brought infinite possibilities.
Speaking of adaptability, Shiraha glanced at his Nee-chan. Without a control group, he wasn't sure what counted as above average.
If he asked Nee-chan...
Elysia didn't know~
She sat on Mei's bed, pressing down hard, but the blanket didn't flatten under her.
Mei lifted her clothes slightly. The Stigma on her waist was very visible, so much so that she'd always worn very conservative clothes, at least enough to cover it.
She suddenly grew worried: "Shiraha, you don't have a Stigma, do you?"
Her little brother seemed to be a little oddball with no Stigma, relying entirely on superpowers.
Shiraha paused: "Actually, I do have one. It wasn't very obvious before, but it showed up recently."
He pulled his shirt aside as well. On the back of his right shoulder, a five-pointed star shape was clearly visible, faint in color, blending well with his skin, but still noticeable if you looked closely.
Mei leaned in, wide-eyed: "Can Stigmas develop later in life?"
That made her feel like her own Stigma wasn't so special anymore.
Though being born with a divine mark sounded cool, in recent years, the gaming scene in the Far East had shifted, skills trained later in life often earned more recognition.
"Theoretically, yes."
Stigmas could be inherited or artificially created.
Even now, Shiraha couldn't figure out why ancient inherited Stigmas were more readily accepted by the human body.
In a world of Honkai, spirit and belief really did change many things, including the chaotic system of the human body.
Mei reluctantly let go: "Can I get another one?"
Her face was serious. But then again, Shiraha's Stigma wasn't as pretty as hers. Hers had sharp angles, a cool and striking look.
Shiraha blinked again. He looked at Elysia, whose starry eyes were hazy and sleepy, then gave her an expectant, sparkling look.
Elysia let out a small yawn.
She scratched her head: "A Stigma is just a key. The real treasure was already buried in the human body long ago. What difference does having two keys make compared to one?"
That made sense, Shiraha was the Omnipotent One. What serious assassin would care about that? Actually, if Elysia hadn't enjoyed picking fights with Mobius and MEI, she might not have known this much about the Stigma Project either.
Shiraha understood immediately. The specifics of Stigmas were never fully explained in the story, he only knew a few concepts.
He looked at Mei and straightened his face: "I don't know. But I haven't fully figured out the Stigma I already have, so I haven't thought that far ahead."
Mei understood. She sat cross-legged, hands on her knees, like a little adult.
"So I can think of it as, my abilities are probably a little different from yours?"
Shiraha thought for a moment and nodded, that was certain.
After all, Mei's Herrscher personality was essentially her Stigma's feedback to her. Whether it was destined to be the Herrscher of Thunder... well, to each their own.
Mei's expression brightened with excitement: "Now I'm looking forward to it."
Hopefully her power would be lightning, in the Far East, people always had so many fantasies about lightning.
With everything discussed, it was time for simple training. For Mei, who didn't reject this power at all, Honkai manipulation wasn't difficult.
Shiraha had been observing closely, whispering to his Nee-chan: "Why does it feel like Mei isn't as fast as I was?"
He wasn't being self-deprecating, mostly, when he'd first learned this skill, he didn't have a Stigma, and he hadn't known Elysia for more than a few days.
Elysia fiddled with her fingers, trying to pull a suitable answer from her knowledge base, like how Little Shiraha had high Honkai adaptability...
"It's mainly because you touched Origin."
Still, Elysia wasn't very familiar with data and grading, so she could only give a vague answer.
"Origin is amazing... I mean, Nee-chan is amazing."
Elysia's lips curved slightly, but she said nothing, she knew Little Shiraha was just building affection as usual.
During dinner, Kiana seemed a little down. Mei's sudden kindness made her uncomfortable.
That thought cost her half a bowl of rice that evening.
After the meal, Mei stopped on the stairs, leaning against the railing as if waiting for someone.
When Kiana passed by, she assumed Mei was waiting for Shiraha, the one who fed his imaginary friend.
"Kiana, do you have a Stigma?"
"What's a Stigma?"
Kiana was visibly taken aback what the heck is that?
Mei's lips curled up even more as she lifted her shirt slightly: "It's something inherited through bloodlines."
Kiana stared at the pattern for a moment.
"Are you sure that's not just a tattoo?" She paused, lowering her voice: "Don't worry,I won't tell Uncle Ryoma."
Kiana patted Mei's shoulder, I don't understand it, sis, but I respect it.
Then she prepared to take a good bath and head to bed.
As for Stigmas, something that sounded so chuunibyou, Mei, being the young lady she was, would probably be curious and get a tattoo to stand out... maybe. Kiana didn't really understand a young lady's thought process.
"You really don't have one?"
So even ancient families didn't pass down Stigmas? Mei's lips couldn't help but curl up, though she held it back, a young lady never mocked others with something unique to herself.
"No."
Kiana still didn't care.
She really didn't have a Stigma, probably because Kevin was still alive.
The Kaslana family's Stigma inheritance and trials were notoriously strict. In fact, Durandal had only awakened her Stigma early because of the Schariac bloodline and her contact with Su.
Inheriting a Stigma from a great family was always this troublesome, though from the story, it seemed the Kaslana Stigma was the weakest of them all, purely stat-based, and evolving it required defeating Kevin... or earning his recognition.
"Alright then, go get some sleep."
Watching Kiana return to her room, Mei pressed her lips together, trying not to smile too obviously.
Once back in her room, she kicked off her slippers and flopped onto the bed with a thump, bouncing slightly on the soft mattress before rolling around hugging her blanket.
Honkai energy flickered at her fingertips. Though she wasn't quite adept at it yet, the rawness only fueled her determination.
The ceiling light flickered on and off. Mei blinked, then flicked the switch off.
The light still flickered...
She stared at the blinking bulb above, feeling uneasy: "I think I'll just sleep tonight."
She'd train during the day. The sensory changes from tonight's practice made her a little... unsettled. She wasn't scared, she just felt she shouldn't aim too high too fast on her own.
The light kept flickering.
Mei buried her face in her pillow.
Then she curled up under the covers.
Meanwhile, Shiraha returned to his room and found his Nee-chan sitting on the balcony, her long hair loose under the night sky, looking quite serene.
"What's on your mind, Nee-chan?"
But upon closer look, the fairy lady wasn't being wistful, she was resting her chin on her hand, starry eyes hazy, simply... sleepy.
"Mmm..." Elysia murmured, she was tired and wanted to sleep, but not being covered by a blanket felt uncomfortable.
"Thinking about me?" Shiraha answered for himself.
That made the drowsy Elysia chuckle: "What's this, Mr. Omnipotent One is always copying other people's lines?"
Though she wanted to put on a disapproving act, Elysia realized she wasn't that kind of woman.
She leaned against Little Shiraha, draping an arm over his shoulder, her starry eyes languid with a thin sheen of moisture.
"Because I've always wanted to be like Nee-chan..." Shiraha paused, then added: "Someone as popular as Nee-chan."
"And I've actually achieved that."
Except Elysia's past storylines had gotten complaints about being "same-sex," while Shiraha's situation was a little different.
"Don't worry about building favor right now, Little Shiraha, you should keep copying me instead."
Elysia's voice carried a hint of playful reproach, but the smile at the corners of her mouth couldn't be hidden.
Shiraha didn't pick up that thread.
He adjusted his Nee-chan's shoulder so she could lean more comfortably.
He didn't change the subject: "Speaking of which, Nee-chan rarely cries, does she?"
Elysia: ....
"Is seeing a beautiful woman cry really something to look forward to?"
Shiraha paused, half-joking: "It'd build a lot of favor."
Elysia didn't reply, still leaning on Little Shiraha. Then she tightened her arm slightly, pressing his head into her hair.
She fantasized: "But when you're older and go to the Elysian Realm, you can bully others and watch them cry."
After all, Elysia wasn't worried about the Realm. Though it was full of beauties, she trusted her old friends and the Realm's reliability.
Those were all good sisters she'd vouched for.
Shiraha picked up the thread: "Bully Dr. Mobius?"
"But Dr. Mobius is so cute..."
Hearing that, Elysia let out a couple of dry laughs, then they faded as she thought about her own situation.
The way Mei and the other kids saw her was probably the same way she saw her friends in the Elysian Realm.
Just data, after all.
Elysia said softly: "Time to sleep, Little Shiraha, I'm tired."
But she couldn't quite fall asleep. Beautiful ladies always overthink.
"Nee-chan?"
In the darkness, Shiraha's eyes weren't particularly bright, but they were reliable.
Elysia put on a whimpering act: "Little Shiraha, will you abandon me someday? Just completely leave me behind?"
She was obviously faking.
Shiraha blinked, but he never killed the mood.
He painted a picture: "Then Nee-chan could use her ghostly status to do whatever she wanted."
"And I, a poor, helpless Omnipotent One, would have no way to resist, just letting Nee-chan have her way with me."
Elysia blinked, imagining the scene.
She seemed... even more awake now.