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'Jingliu' stepped into the Phase Flame with her heart in her throat.
She was terrified that, in the blink of an eye, she'd be dragged back into a black hole for another "heart-to-heart." But perhaps Equilibrium felt that enough was enough. Or maybe HooH had already finished "kneading the dough" and decided there was no need to keep the account banned.
Regardless.
This time, 'Jingliu' arrived smoothly at the destination Elio had sent—an inconspicuous planet drifting in the galaxy. There were few inhabitants, but the natural ecology was rich, giving it the feel of a resource planet. The planetary defense network was weak; 'Jingliu' slipped through with ease.
She located the address Elio had left. It was a secluded residence surrounded by woods and low hills, quite far from any settlement.
Then, a black cat appeared before her.
"Greetings, Madam Baiming."
"You're Elio? A cat?"
"Merely a vessel. It draws less attention this way."
As Elio spoke, he turned around and gestured with a paw toward a nearby residential building.
"Jingliu is inside. However... well, go see for yourself."
Elio looked as if he wanted to say more but hesitated. He raised a paw to cover his eyes, turned his head, and prepared to leave.
"Ugh, always so cryptic."
'Jingliu' watched Elio's performance, feeling baffled. Is this how he acted with the original Stellaron Hunter squad? Surely not.
She shook her head. 'Jingliu' ignored Elio and pushed open the courtyard gate.
Accompanied by the rhythmic creaking of the wooden door, a white-haired beauty sitting upright and still in the courtyard tilted her head slightly. Her eyes were covered by a blindfold, and she faced toward the gate.
"..."
Not a word was spoken.
'Jingliu' had originally expected that upon meeting her, the other woman would either attack in a frenzy or offer a calm greeting. But what was this? Just staring blankly in her direction? And she was wearing a blindfold.
'Jingliu' herself had removed the blindfold after transforming. After all, the chaotic influence of Mara didn't affect her through the transformation.
"Jingliu, do you still remember me?"
"...Who?"
"Baiming."
The moment that name left her lips, it was like a drop of cold water falling into a boiling pot of oil. The suppressed atmosphere of the courtyard ignited instantly.
Jingliu lunged upward, her frost condensing into a blade, and thrust out with the speed of a thunderbolt!
Clang—!
'Jingliu' reacted swiftly, swinging her sword to parry. The two ice blades collided violently in mid-air, shattering into fragments simultaneously.
"What—"
Jingliu seemed surprised that the sword she had manifested could be broken so easily. She spun around, flicking her wrist to manifest another longsword.
But just as she was about to strike with full force, 'Jingliu' took a sudden step forward. Using her fingers as a blade, she swung with a stroke that seemed to silence all of creation.
The pitch-black sword light left Jingliu stunned in her tracks.
This strike... she remembered it. She remembered it with piercing clarity. The blindfold covering her eyes was blown away by the sharp gale of the strike. Within those crimson, frenzied pupils, a glimmer of rationality flickered.
It was Baiming!
Only Baiming could simultaneously wield her own sword style and that pitch-black blade-light. This was no Masked Fool imposter. It was truly her! She was back! And she had found her!!
Jingliu's heart rate accelerated sharply. She wanted to speak, but the overwhelming black sword light didn't seem to give her the chance.
Am I to be slain by Baiming?
It makes sense... I haven't achieved anything great like Madam Baiming. I've even become an interstellar criminal, muddledly following Elio's instructions to cause chaos everywhere. In my current state, I truly don't deserve to stand before her...
If my curtain falls beneath Baiming's blade... that wouldn't be so bad.
These thoughts flashed through Jingliu's mind. She closed her eyes, waiting for the blade to fall.
However...
Flick—!
A sharp flick landed right on Jingliu's forehead.
"Ouch..."
Jingliu raised a hand to cover her forehead in pain. She opened her eyes in confusion, looking at the "Baiming" who looked almost identical to herself. She felt a bit dazed. This other "self" looked exactly like she had hundreds of years ago, before the Mara had taken root.
Baiming stood there with a gentle smile, looking straight at her.
"Aren't you going to kill me?"
"When did I ever say I wanted to kill you?"
"But I... I just want to swing my sword at you so much!!"
Jingliu's tone turned frantic again. Frost and sword qi surged toward her face once more. 'Jingliu' had no choice but to raise her sword to parry.
"I finally found you!! I always wanted to ask you... ask you what...? No matter, I finally saw you!"
Jingliu sounded crazed. Someone listening would think there was some blood feud between them. But 'Jingliu' only felt that something was very wrong.
On one hand, she really hadn't done anything to warrant such devotion from Jingliu. On the other hand, Jingliu had forgotten the specific reason she was looking for her, yet remembered that she had to find her.
Does Mara-struck actually work like that? She remembered that in the game, Jingliu hadn't become forgetful.
'Jingliu' condensed ice blades, parrying Jingliu's attacks time and time again. She had to admit, over these past centuries, Jingliu's strength had improved significantly. Her swordsmanship was sharper, and she had even managed to incorporate a hint of the flavor from Acheron's style.
"Forever... stay with me forever, Baiming... I'm so lonely alone... it hurts so much..."
Jingliu spoke with a manic smile, but then her tone shifted into a desperate plea.
"You..."
'Jingliu' was momentarily speechless. This was wrong—ten out of ten, something was wrong. It felt like she had done something terrible to Jingliu, which was not the case at all.
Just then, a melodious tune accompanied by the power of Harmony began to spread through the air. The manic Jingliu gradually calmed down, and the strength in her sword-arm relaxed bit by bit.
This allowed 'Jingliu' to step forward and support the now-exhausted Jingliu with her arm.
Elio jumped out from the side, a conch-like creation curled in his tail.
"You see? Her Mara-struck symptoms make her turn frantic. However, back then, in order to continue her search for you, she used the Galaxy Rangers' channels to contact the Family. I'm not entirely sure what they did exactly."
Elio, still in his black cat form, sat down beside 'Jingliu.' "Regardless, this Harmonic Movement can soothe her Mara-struck outbursts."
"...Why is it me?"
"I'm not certain. But in my view, when she left to find you back then, at least half of it was a form of escapism. Otherwise, her memories wouldn't be this distorted—it's as if she deliberately avoided that piece of the past."
"But now, the 'fake' has become the 'truth.' Why don't you just give in to her?"
'Jingliu' swallowed hard upon hearing that.
Oh no. She's turned into a yandere.
"And why did you ask me to come here?"
"Hmm... that involves the upcoming script. Since you aren't a Stellaron Hunter, I won't go into detail."
Elio waved a paw, fully embracing his role as a riddle-maker.
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