Sundown Alley.
Sanatorium.
For the mixed-up Sundown Alley, chaos was the mainstream.
But at some point, a building appeared here that was neither grand nor spacious, yet exuded an out-of-place aura—the Dusk Sanatorium.
Ever since strange diseases began to appear more frequently on the street, a blonde woman established this building.
It was for taking in children abandoned by their parents due to these strange diseases, as well as patients suffering from honkai sickness.
Today, within this sanatorium, although there are many people afflicted with honkai sickness, there are no wails of sorrow; in fact, it is quite peaceful.
And the cause of all this was the blonde nun who moved among the crowd—Aponia.
Because the timeline was too early, when Shiro and Elysia arrived at the sanatorium, they saw a nun who appeared slightly more youthful than Shiro remembered.
She wore a long black and white dress, which was not revealing overall.
Only the skirt below her waist was split on both sides, revealing her smooth, round, and full long legs.
She wore a pure white veil, and her eyes were a faint azure blue, yet mixed with some other pale colors.
Perhaps because she cared for the patients in the sanatorium alone, the blonde nun suffered from sleep deprivation, with faint dark circles around her eyes.
Compared to her pale and sacred appearance, it couldn’t help but evoke a feeling of pity in one’s heart.
Aponia, who was examining a patient, evidently noticed the arrival of Shiro and Elysia.
Just as Aponia finished examining the patient in front of her and was about to greet Shiro and Elysia, suddenly, one of the patients in the severe illness area let out a painful howl.
The sudden turn of events made everyone else involuntarily look over.
The patient experiencing the situation was one of the first to arrive at the sanatorium.
Her body was covered in terrifying purplish-black striped patterns.
The outbreak of this illness was utterly unreasonable; it seemed to have appeared in an instant.
“Ugh…
cough…
cough cough…”
The patient looked extremely distressed.
Aponia immediately went to her side, held her hand, and gently comforted her.
It can make people unconsciously obey her requests, possessing extremely strong “persuasiveness” and “commanding presence.”
This Precept can even temporarily suppress physical pain.
But ultimately, Aponia was not a scientist, nor even a doctor, and was helpless against this honkai sickness.
She could only offer her help in this way.
The only thing that kept her going was that most patients, after coming to the sanatorium and receiving her Discipline, had their symptoms delayed.
Unfortunately, the Discipline were not enough to cure the patients’ symptoms, but even so, it made the patients immensely grateful.
“Please relax, forget the pain, you will be fine…”
Her clear, sacred voice soothed people’s expressions.
But this time, the Discipline, which usually worked, could not curb the rampant spread of the patterns on the patient’s body.
“Ugh ah ah ah ah ah!!!”
The intense pain instantly invaded the patient’s brain, making her scream ferociously.
The purplish-black patterns began to spread to every inch of her skin, frantically corroding every cell.
Endless pain occupied all her senses.
Aponia, through her consciousness, seemed to perceive the patient’s current suffering.
But she could do nothing but tightly hold the patient’s hand, hoping to inject a resisting force into her.
However, all of this was in vain.
The blonde nun could only watch helplessly as the patient approached the end of her life.
Watching as the patient’s symptoms became irreversible, causing her vitality to gradually fade.
Aponia’s eyes showed a faint sadness and grief.
Just as Shiro understood Aponia: fate gave her a compassionate heart.
But her gentleness and comfort could never truly heal or redeem anyone.
“How about I give it a try?
After all, if this continues, she’ll truly be not far from death.”
Aponia suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing that the speaker was the young man who had brought a little girl earlier.
“Dad, is your body really okay?” Before Aponia could answer, the cute and playful girl beside the young man asked him worriedly.
The young man dotingly stroked the girl’s head.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t joke about my body.”
Then the young man looked at Aponia, asking for her opinion.
Then, under Aponia’s gaze, the young man walked to the patient’s side and placed his hand on her.
The purplish-black patterns visibly dimmed and receded beneath her skin.
Aponia was stunned, as were the surrounding patients, whose eyes visibly showed the joy of life.
“Wow, Dad is amazing!”
Elysia blinked at the side, playing the role of a charming hype-man.
Shiro looked at Elysia, who was less than ten years old but already showing glimpses of her future splendor, and smiled slightly.
“What exactly was that just now…?”
Aponia looked at the calm, unconscious female patient, feeling somewhat incredible.
“Hmph, isn’t it obvious?” Elysia slightly raised her head towards Aponia, showing no signs of the restraint one might have with a stranger.
Aponia remained silent.
Shiro, however, shook his head.
“Hmm, didn’t Father just cure this patient?” Ai looked at Shiro shaking his head, somewhat puzzled.
Aponia also looked at Shiro.
“The method I just used can only delay the outbreak of honkai sickness; it only delays it for a longer time, but it cannot eradicate it.”
Upon hearing this, Aponia’s eyes, which had just brightened, dimmed slightly again.
“Is that so?
But I’m still very grateful to you.”
Although you couldn’t completely cure honkai sickness, your ability to greatly delay the symptoms still earned you Aponia’s sincere gratitude.
She was even delighted to agree to your request to stay at the Dusk Sanatorium.
[After a battle with the Herrscher of Reason from the Previous Era, you, injured, traveled with Elysia to the Dusk Sanatorium.]
[At the Dusk Sanatorium, you met Aponia, who appeared slightly more youthful than you remembered.]
[And witnessed the tragic state of Honkai patients in the Late Stage of their symptom outbreak.]
[You intervened to curb the outbreak of the disease and delayed the patient’s symptoms.]
[Aponia was very grateful for your help.
You used this opportunity to request to stay at the Dusk Sanatorium, and Aponia happily agreed to your request.]