“Hiss…”
Watching Xian Ling return carrying a little pink-haired girl in a princess carry, with the pink-haired girl wearing a shy and timid expression and obediently (debatable) curled up in Xian Ling’s arms, Fourth Mirror let out a stunned gasp.
“When did my Miss learn how to steal someone else’s precious cabbage?!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?!”
Xian Ling, who had just set Cyrene down, irritably knocked on Fourth Mirror’s mirror surface.
“Hurry up.
Time is limited.
Take Cyrene and me back to the Lost Wonderland.
Otherwise, this girl absolutely refuses to believe me.”
“How could I possibly believe you?!
Think about it carefully.
What kind of normal person barges into a Divine Temple in broad daylight, scares an innocent cute girl, and then directly kidnaps her from the temple?”
Cyrene patted down the skirt that had become slightly disheveled from the rapid movement, wearing an expression that declared she would rather die than submit.
“Even if you’ve dragged me here, if you can’t prove that everything you said earlier is true, I still won’t help you, okay?”
“Translation: Even if Miss has obtained her body, she still can’t obtain her heart.”
Ever since Xian Ling had brought back a little pink-haired girl, Fourth Mirror seemed particularly enthusiastic about teasing the two of them.
“But I really am a good person!
Let me think…
Ah, I’ve got it!”
It was as if a lightbulb had appeared above Xian Ling’s head.
She immediately copied the mannerisms of a certain pink-haired fox and put on an expression of complete “sincerity.”
“Cyrene, I’ve actually been your fan all along.
Ever since the very first page of the very first chapter of Amphoreus’s first version, I was already deeply captivated by you…”
“Does that statement have any more credibility than something Zagreus says?”
Cyrene looked completely exhausted by the conversation.
“But what I said is true…”
Xian Ling sighed.
She really had liked Cyrene ever since Amphoreus’s very first promotional PV.
For once, she had spoken sincerely, yet somehow she had lost even more thoroughly…
“Forget it.
Let’s just take you to the Lost Wonderland first…
And you, Fourth Mirror!”
Xian Ling kicked the cracked surface of the mirror.
It was hard to tell whether that counted as a reward or a punishment for a Magic Mirror.
“If you keep making that expression you only make when watching Ruan Mei and Herta interact, I’m going to—”
“Yes, Miss!” New chapters come out on g.com first.
Knowing full well that shipping couples had its limits, Fourth Mirror immediately altered the coordinates of the three of them.
“Eh?
It really changed?”
As a genuine local foodie girl from Elysiae Village, Cyrene clearly had never seen such a miraculous ability before.
“Let’s go.”
Xian Ling took the initiative and pushed aside the vines surrounding the Lost Wonderland.
“Grandma Village Chief will explain everything to you.”
…
One system hour later.
“So…
so that’s how it is…”
Cyrene’s slender fingers nervously fidgeted with her sleeves.
“Y-You’re really a good person…”
No matter how cautious Cyrene might be, after hearing how Xian Ling had helped the Lost Wonderland uncover five disguised fairies and had interrogated those people known as Memory Stealers for information, she no longer had the slightest doubt about Xian Ling’s position.
The only thing she didn’t understand was why Village Chief Dolimem seemed unwilling to tell her what happened to those Memory Stealers afterward.
Had they been severely punished by Xian Ling?
“A genuine good person.”
Xian Ling nodded repeatedly.
“Look, ever since I entered this world, Kephale hasn’t issued a divine oracle calling for my death, and the Black Tide hasn’t tried to wipe me out either…
Doesn’t that completely prove I’m a good person?”
“But if everything happened the way you said it did…
why would that ‘Flame Reaver’ you mentioned control the Black Tide to destroy Aedes Elysiae?”
“I don’t know either.
Maybe he wanted to push you onto the path of becoming a Priest of Ages once more.
Or maybe he simply couldn’t fully control the Black Tide…”
After thinking for a moment, Xian Ling said,
“Perhaps you should first listen to a story…
a story about a nymph vainly pushing a stone ball.”
Thus, amid the tranquil atmosphere of the Lost Wonderland, Xian Ling began recounting the history of Amphoreus.
Whether while playing the game in her previous life or creating fan works, Xian Ling had already told this story countless times in countless forms.
Today, she was finally telling it to someone who had personally lived through it.
Just as Flame Reaver had done every time before killing Cyrene.
The stories of the Chrysos Heirs were long.
Fortunately, Xian Ling still had a little time to spare.
Although she didn’t have enough time to personally tell stories to Demiurge and build a relationship with her, she needed Cyrene to truly understand everything.
She believed that this girl would make the correct choice, even without anyone guiding her.
“Wuuu…
Only through Xian Ling’s narration did Cyrene truly understand the immense weight hidden behind the brief explanations Dolimem had given earlier.
Whether it was thirty million lifetimes of effort being reduced to nothing, or the imminent destruction of the galaxy beyond Amphoreus, everything felt overwhelming to a girl who was still somewhat naïve and had spent only a year studying in the temple.
“Those Memory Stealers…”
“Don’t worry.
They’ve already received the punishment they deserved.”
Xian Ling skipped over the portions unsuitable for children without changing her expression.
Although, strictly speaking, she was actually the younger one between herself and Cyrene.
“More importantly…
why don’t you have any reaction to your own experiences at all?”
Xian Ling pinched Cyrene’s cheek.
It was soft and squishy, just like a marshmallow.
Back in her previous life, she had often seen Cyrene cheek-pinching reaction images.
Today, she had finally gotten to experience the sensation for herself.
“Strictly speaking, this is your second successful departure from Aedes Elysiae and your second time personally setting foot upon this land…
Yet regarding your own past, you don’t seem to have any—”
“As for me, it doesn’t really matter.”
Cyrene shook her head.
Though her eyes still held traces of confusion, they contained even more determination.
“Just as Phainon said from the very beginning, no matter which cycle’s version of me it is, we’re all the same…
After Phainon tells me this story, I would unhesitatingly allow the blade to pierce my chest and use my life to help him begin the next cycle.
Even though there’s no Phainon in this life, my answer remains exactly the same.”
“So, if you went to so much effort to find me, Xian Ling, then you must already have a way to save this world, right?”
“Uh…”
Xian Ling guiltily looked away.
“Actually, my method isn’t much different from what you’ve always done.
We still need to find Demiurge and tell her everything that’s happening right now.”
“Eh?
I’m the one who has to tell the story?”
Cyrene, who had just been listening to a story moments ago, revealed a blank expression upon discovering that she would now have to become the storyteller herself.
“Exactly.”
Xian Ling immediately added,
“And if Demiurge fails to leave the tomb, or fails to elbow the Iron Tomb into submission, then we’ll just have to die together.”
“I have to die together with everyone too?”
“Exactly.”