Seele's wish was powerful. So powerful, in fact, that her body was unable to withstand its full awakening.
Ordinarily, as Seele grew older, the threshold of her Stigmata would have slowly and naturally unlocked.
It was a process that should have happened in its own time. But the X-10 experiment three years ago had drastically accelerated it.
The fully activated Stigmata power was like a raging flood that had burst its dam, instantly destroying the girl's fragile body and casting her into the quantum abyss...
During the experiment, Veliona, as the personification of the Stigmata's consciousness, had tried to stop Seele from making contact with her own Stigmata.
But at that moment, the usually timid girl had shown a courage and stubbornness that surpassed her wildest imagination. In the end, Veliona had no choice but to fall into that boundless abyss with her...
A Stigmata exists in attachment to its host. Its very purpose is to protect and strengthen its host.
The will of the Stigmata is an extension of its power. Veliona understood that the frail girl was the entire reason for her existence. She was born to protect her, and she existed for her sake. In the future, as Seele grew up and became independent, she would fade away.
To exist as that girl's shadow until the day her own consciousness inevitably dissolved—she fully understood and accepted this fact.
But fate had a cruel sense of humor. The Stigmata that was meant to protect Seele became the very thing that pushed her into the abyss.
If her Stigmata hadn't begun to awaken, she would never have been qualified to step into that laboratory. If her Stigmata hadn't fully awakened, she would never have fallen into the Sea of Quanta...
In that long darkness, though Veliona never showed it, she was consumed by self-blame. It was also why she resented Cocolia, the one who had caused it all. And so, when that woman stood before her once again, the rage she had suppressed for so long was already on the verge of erupting.
If it weren't for the other, gentle Seele still holding a sliver of familial affection and awe for Cocolia, not wanting to cause her pain or sadness, Veliona would have jumped out and cut down this nuisance who was obstructing her mission the moment they first met in town.
And now, that woman dared to point a gun at Seele?
That was the last straw. Veliona, who had already reached her breaking point, couldn't hold back any longer. She forcefully seized control of the body from Seele, intending to teach this arrogant woman a harsh lesson.
I want her dead, but Seele doesn't want to hurt her. Ugh, what a pain. Let's compromise—I'll spare her life, but I'll cut off those disgusting arms of hers.
And so, she brandished her menacing scythe and swung it viciously at the woman's body!
This was calculated revenge.
But that wasn't all. She wanted to humiliate her, to brand a deep fear into the woman's very soul.
And so, she made full use of the new body the Sea of Quanta had given her, becoming like a phantom—pervasive, omnipresent...
Then, just as Cocolia retreated into the final dead corner, just as she prepared to swing Death's scythe for the final harvest, just as she was ready to savor the look of fear and despair on that imperious face—she messed up.
How could this happen?
The surging current in every elemental gap of the overlapping electric field struck every one of her quantum clones at the same instant. And so, in that one moment, the superimposed Seele was hit with the full force of the attack, multiplied several dozen times over.
"Damn it..."
Veliona collapsed, unwilling to accept defeat, robbed of the strength to stand back up.
Her power was indeed immense, but living side-by-side with Seele, she lacked the combat experience to match that power. And so, when faced with a shrewd battlefield veteran, it was inevitable that her weakness would be exploited and she would be taken down in a single blow...
Cocolia leaned down, frowning at the short-haired girl who was struggling to get back up. During the fight, she had caught a glimpse of a faint light shining through the fabric of her clothes, near her chest.
Could it be...
A thought struck her. She forcefully tore open the collar of Seele's clothes, revealing the red pattern that had now faded.
"Just as I thought. It's the Stigmata..."
Her eyes lit up with understanding, as if this beautiful mark was the answer to all the strange occurrences.
"Seele, was this the reason you were in a coma for the past few days?"
Her voice was tinged with a slight eagerness and excitement, as if the fierce conflict just now, as if Seele's open hostility toward her, had never happened.
A Stigmata awakening was perfectly normal!
Look at Raiden Ryoma. To seal his daughter's Stigmata, the man had recklessly implanted the Gem of Conquest into her body.
"Tch, what a waste of a heavenly treasure!" Cocolia thought with extreme displeasure whenever she recalled the incident. It was unclear whether the "heavenly treasure" she referred to was the Stigmata or the Gem...
"No, it's not..."
Seele's eyes had once again turned a deep ocean blue. She weakly raised a small hand to pull her disheveled collar together, lifted her pale little face, and looked resolutely at the woman standing tall and firm before her.
"I'm sorry, Mother Cocolia..."
Veliona wanted to struggle more, but White Seele stopped her futile attempt.
"Heh, how rare. You're still willing to call me 'Mother'."
Cocolia stared deeply into Seele's eyes for several seconds before silently looking away. She walked past the girl still slumped on the floor and said indifferently, "If you've rested enough, let's go."
Before entering this room, there had been many things she wanted to interrogate this Seele about. But the moment she revealed the Stigmata, there was no longer any need.
"Go... where?"
Seele's gaze followed her retreating back, a look of confusion on her face that quickly turned to terror.
Could it be...
In that moment, she remembered the nightmarish X-10 experiment, the terrifying experience that had thrown her from the original world into the Sea of Quanta.
Back then, she had bravely and voluntarily accepted the experiment, fully prepared to die. The reason she had been so brave was because she wanted to die in Big Sister Bronya's place.
But she never expected that what awaited her wasn't the nothingness of death, but an endless darkness and abyss, like a never-ending exile.
Courage, passion, and impulse are the brilliant flashes of fireworks. No matter how bright, how beautiful, how unforgettable they once were, they cannot withstand the long, grinding erosion of darkness and solitude.
She remembered, in the previous loop where she hadn't "run away from home," Mother Cocolia had also returned to the orphanage to take someone for that terrifying experiment. That time, she had taken Big Sister Bronya.
Is it... happening again...?
The thought of having to go through that again, the thought of that endless, redemptionless darkness, made the present Seele tremble with fear...
"Hmm?"
Cocolia stopped and frowned. She was about to say something when the partially closed door was slammed open with a BANG! Sin burst in, her face contorted with rage. The wind she kicked up even stirred the hem of Cocolia's thick coat.
THWACK!
Sin viciously kicked Seele's slender, delicate face. The already weakened Seele was caught off guard and slammed to the ground, nearly passing out.
"Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
Sin roared, her face a mask of fury. She mercilessly pounced on Seele, kicking and punching. Every blow left a visible mark. She was like a wild beast that had been provoked. Seele was in agony but too weak to fight back, only able to curl into a ball.
Through the pain of the beating, Seele remembered her experience in the original world. Sin had pushed Bronya down a long flight of stairs and beaten her just as mercilessly as this.
At that time, she had seen it all, but had cowardly cowered in a dark corner, too afraid to make a sound...
Is... this my punishment? Seele thought in agony, unsure if the pain in her body or her heart was greater.
"Stop."
Seele didn't suffer the prolonged abuse she had expected. Cocolia, who was standing nearby, quickly pulled the attacker off.
Sin grunted, still not satisfied. As she was pulled away, she managed to land one more heavy kick on Seele's other cheek. Seele's vision went black, and she finally lost consciousness.
Cocolia was alarmed and quickly went to check on her. She breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that Seele's life wasn't in danger. Then she reprimanded coldly, "Sin, do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"Of course I do, Mother!" Sin's mismatched eyes glared fiercely at Seele, who lay on the ground like a broken doll. She retorted defiantly, "This idiot dared to defy your orders and even tried to hurt you! We should just beat her to death!"
Cocolia continued to stare coldly at the indignant girl, unmoved. Her tone remained indifferent.
"Do you have any idea what you were just doing?"
"Of course I was..." Sin puffed out her flat chest, ready to continue her loud protest, but the moment her eyes met Cocolia's, her bravado deflated. She lowered her head obediently and muttered, "I'm sorry, Mother."
Sin, who usually looked down on everyone, was actually admitting her mistake.
"I don't need you to tell me. You were just trying to get her removed from the list of candidates for the experiment. Heh, you all are so close." Cocolia sneered. Then her expression hardened, and for the first time, a clear note of anger entered her voice.
"Do you know what you are doing?"
This was the third time she had asked the same question.
"This girl wasn't on the list to begin with!" Sin lifted her head and yelled defiantly. "The only spot is for either Bronya or me! What does this crybaby think she is?!"
"Oh, is that so?" Cocolia laughed, angered.
She couldn't be bothered to explain what had just happened. "Do you know what her Stigmata means? It means her chances of success in the experiment are higher than any of you! With just one successful case, both Bronya and you can complete the experiment more safely and gain the power to change everything!"
Cocolia felt the frustration she had long suppressed about to boil over. "You're in such a hurry to kick her out. Are you that eager to die? Just like that other child before?"
"...How could I be like those previous failures?" The word 'die' made Sin flinch, but then she flashed an arrogant, proud smile. "Look at Seele, so scared she tried to run away by herself. Even if she did go, she'd probably be the first one to die!"
She had seen Seele being isolated, and it made her jealous, but more than that, it made her angry. If you were going to run, why didn't you run faster, run farther? Why did you have to get caught and brought back like this, lying on the floor like a dead dog?
What a useless idiot!
"..."
Cocolia's anger faded as quickly as it had come. Now she just stared at her coldly.
"Have you made up your mind?"
"Yes, I have!" Sin suppressed the unease in her heart and lifted her small face. "I will be the strongest, past, present, and future!"
She wasn't just worried about Bronya and Seele's safety; seeing the immense power Seele had displayed filled her with a sincere jealousy and longing.
I, Sin, will be the strongest! Everyone else can just hide behind me!
"...Is that so? Then let's go."
Cocolia gave her a deep look, then nodded solemnly and continued to walk out.
Sin let out a long breath. Just as she was about to follow, she heard Seele's weak voice from behind.
"Wait, Sin..."
Seele struggled to wake up, her eyes fluttering open. She pleaded, "Don't go. You'll die!"
"Tch!"
Sin's face instantly turned ugly. She ground her shark-like teeth, turned, and kicked her to the ground again.
"Useless thing, shut up!"
Seele lost consciousness once more. When she came to, she found herself locked in the confinement room.
"Why... did it turn out like this?" Seele curled up, muttering to herself. "Sin did that to protect me, right?"
"...Probably," Veliona said after a long silence, her voice defeated.
"I'm sorry, Seele... It's all because of me that things ended up this way..."
This loop, it was she who had dragged Seele out of the orphanage in the first place, setting off the chain of events that followed.
If Sin hadn't stepped in at the crucial moment... if Seele had been sent to that experiment platform again... would there even be a next loop for her?
A wave of fear washed over Veliona, followed by a wave of shame.
"...I'm the one who hurt her."
Seele curled into a ball, and two tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
"She's right. It's all because I'm so useless..."