Boom!
Following a loud crash, the door in front of Saria turned into scrap metal under her iron fist.
The massive sound also startled the person inside the room.
As a member of the Liberi race, Silence had the habit of working at night and resting in the morning. This was a trait of her race, as they were owl-like night owls.
Having worked hard all night on Ifrit's upcoming treatment plan, Silence didn't choose to go back to her room to rest. As scholars, they often shared a common trait: their laboratory was like a second home.
So, Silence chose to sleep in the lab.
The lab had a dedicated lounge, so it wasn't really an issue.
However, Silence's way of sleeping was unique; she rested by hanging from a pole.
Just an hour after Silence had entered dreamland, a loud noise came from a distance. The sleeping Silence frowned, but she didn't wake up. She had been exhausted from worrying about Ifrit's future; she was simply too tired.
After about half an hour of quiet, a loud bang that seemed to explode right by her ear made it impossible for her to stay asleep. Accompanied by a violent tremor, she fell from the pole on the ceiling.
"Ow!"
Although she avoided landing head-first, Silence couldn't help but let out a cry of pain from falling such a distance.
With her eyes closed, she rubbed her arm where she had fallen; it wasn't anything serious, just some abrasions.
Thankfully, she wasn't wearing her glasses while sleeping, otherwise she'd have to get a new pair. Silence felt a bit lucky, but then she started wondering what on earth was going on. Why was Rhodes Island so restless today?
Because she had just been asleep, Silence's eyes were hard to open. As everyone knows, when waking up from sleep, the eyes instinctively stay closed. Thus, Silence didn't notice that a person had quietly appeared in front of her.
"Are you alright?"
A somewhat familiar voice sounded in her ear, and Silence answered subconsciously, "I'm fine."
The next moment, as if suddenly realizing something, Silence snapped her eyes open. Seeing the Saria she was all too familiar with standing before her, the atmosphere instantly fell into Silence.
After the silent atmosphere lasted for a while, Saria chose to break the Silence.
"Are you okay? Let me help you up."
Silence didn't refuse, but she still didn't speak.
Saria walked to a nearby table and picked up Silence's large glasses.
Luckily, the glasses hadn't sustained any damage in the recent commotion.
Holding the glasses, Saria walked back to Silence and placed them on her face.
Silence's eyes were very large, so large they almost covered half her face. Despite this, the huge glasses didn't negatively impact the impression she gave others; instead, they added a unique temperament to her.
In almost any world, the 'glasses' attribute is usually a plus.
Saria finished putting the glasses on Silence. During the process, Silence didn't resist, but she remained silent.
Saria looked at Silence, placed her hands on Silence's shoulders, and said softly, "Come with me to Umbrella. They have the ability to cure Ifrit there."
Saria didn't reveal Umbrella's technology. As a member of Umbrella now, she naturally knew to keep their technology a secret.
Furthermore, the idea of controlling Originium power and making it a part of one's own strength was simply too shocking. The oripathy that everyone hated would become a blessing under that technology. If others found out, the world would surely fall into chaos, and everyone would move against Umbrella. Although Saria knew very well that even if all the organizations on the Terra Continent acted together, they couldn't budge Umbrella an inch, she still didn't want to see that situation happen.
Besides, if she hadn't seen the results of this technology with her own eyes, Saria wouldn't have believed it either.
"Are you serious?!"
This time, Silence could no longer remain silent.
Hearing that Umbrella possessed the technology to cure Ifrit, Silence truly couldn't keep quiet.
She grabbed Saria's hand, staring intently into Saria's eyes, and said tremulously, "You're not lying to me, right?"
Silence's love for Ifrit was sincere.
Both Silence and Saria owed Ifrit far too much.
It was precisely because of their genuine care for Ifrit that the two had developed a rift, with one choosing Umbrella and the other choosing Rhodes Island.
However, strictly speaking, a large part of the divergence between the two could be attributed to Fujino.
So, a certain veteran lolicon who also liked to flirt and break up families was beyond saving.
And the 'family' here referred to Saria, Silence, and Ifrit.
Meanwhile, the culprit behind all this was currently enjoying a lap pillow from Nightingale.
With her face pressed tightly against Nightingale's belly, the mindless girl was repeatedly testing the boundaries of death.
Beside them, Shining's expression was incredibly grim, and the sword in her hand was trembling. One could only imagine how unstable Shining's mood was right now...
Maybe she really should just hack this fellow to death!
Watching Fujino constantly rub her face against Nightingale's belly, causing her to let out giggles, Shining felt like her originally white hair was turning green at this moment.
"Shining!"
Seeing that Shining had already drawn half her blade, Nightingale couldn't help but frown.
"If you keep doing this, I'm going to ignore you!"
This sentence was incredibly effective against Shining. Usually indifferent toward others, Shining couldn't maintain that composure in front of Nightingale.
Hearing Nightingale's words, Shining quickly sheathed her sword,
while shooting a fierce glare at the unscrupulous fellow who was watching the show and snickering.
Fujino felt a shiver and tried to stand up, but she was held down by Nightingale.
"Promise me, okay? Don't leave me again."
In Nightingale's room, only after Fujino had comforted her and repeatedly promised not to leave did Nightingale finally let go of her.
Leaving Nightingale there for a moment, Shining pulled Fujino directly into another room.
To make it easier to care for Nightingale, Shining's room was right next to hers. Nearl's was the same; since they were all members of the Followers, being close together was more convenient.
And now, Shining had pulled Fujino into her own room.
Shining's room was extremely simple, without much decoration, much like herself—she had no real pursuit of such things.
They came to a tea table, which was the only thing in Shining's room that could be considered a decoration.
Speaking of which, Shining's tea-making skills were actually taught to her by Fujino.
Sitting in a chair and watching Shining's fluid movements, Fujino couldn't help but recall her days as a member of the Followers.
If that incident hadn't happened by accident, Fujino would probably still be a member of the Followers with Shining and the others right now.
After the tea was brewed, Shining and Fujino remained in Silence, drinking their tea without saying a word.
Fujino felt terrible; she hated this atmosphere. This kind of mood always reminded her of the days of hard struggle in the world of the One Piece.
"Why did you want to see me?" Fujino finally chose to break the Silence. Things had to be resolved eventually, and she truly disliked this atmosphere; it made her feel an urge to destroy something.
Shining looked at Fujino and sighed softly, her eyes flickering. She finally asked, "What exactly happened back then?"
"You don't know?" Fujino was somewhat surprised.
Did Nightingale not explain it to Shining afterward? Fujino was now full of doubt.
So she looked at Shining and asked, "Did Nightingale—no, did Liz not explain it to you?"
Shining shook her head, her tone somewhat sad and helpless. "After you left back then, Liz and I had a fight, and we haven't reconciled since. If you hadn't come, Liz probably wouldn't even want to see me."
Hearing this, Fujino couldn't help but want to laugh.
That's what you get for drawing your sword and trying to hack me back then.
Fujino knew very well how Shining felt about Liz; it could be said that Shining would give everything for Nightingale.
And Liz was Nightingale's former name. Not many people knew this name; she, Shining, and Nearl were among the few who did.
Returning to the present, Fujino looked at Shining, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the table.
"I'll tell you about what happened back then, but you can't get angry after you hear it."
Fujino looked at Shining, waiting for her reply. She didn't want Shining to lose control and draw her sword again after learning the truth.
After a moment of Silence, Shining nodded.
Only then did Fujino breathe a sigh of relief.
Although Shining couldn't beat her, Fujino truly didn't want to cross blades with her, especially since this whole thing was a misunderstanding.
Fujino took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Back then, the four of us were staying in an inn. I shared a room with Liz, which you already know."
Shining nodded, signaling Fujino to continue.
"You also know Liz's condition very well." At this point, Fujino paused before continuing, "That night, Nightingale happened to have an episode. Although I usually used my power to repair Liz's body, and while the physical symptoms weren't an issue, you know that the deepest part of Liz's condition was in her brain nerves."
"So your method of treatment was to just sleep with Liz?!" Shining couldn't help but exclaim.
"How is that possible!" Fujino shouted. "Am I that kind of person?!"
"And didn't you know? It was Nightingale who pushed me down that night!"
The atmosphere suddenly became silent, even more silent than before.
Shining's gaze became somewhat vacant.
Looking at the tea in her hand, Fujino spoke again: "That night, I originally intended to reveal my identity and then treat Liz. But you also know that the reason Liz became the way she is today is inseparable from her past."
"Although I can cure Liz, at the same time as she is cured, those things she doesn't want to remember will reappear. So, I thought of another way."
"What is it?" Shining asked.
"I sent my consciousness back into Liz's past," Fujino replied.
"You can even do something like that?!" Shining said in surprise, standing up from her chair.
"I can do much more than you can imagine." Fujino couldn't help but laugh as she said this; it wasn't often she saw Shining lose her composure.
After a moment, Shining adjusted her mindset. Although Fujino's abilities were somewhat beyond her imagination, the more important thing now was Liz.
"After you returned to Liz's past, what did you do? Did you change those tragedies of hers? Then why hasn't Liz ever told us, and since you changed the past, then..."
Shining had too many questions to ask.
"I'll tell you slowly."
Fujino waved her hand, signaling for Shining to calm down.
"Back when my consciousness returned to the past, I attached myself to Liz's mind. I did indeed change Liz's past and kept her away from those original tragedies. But as you know, Liz was just a child at that time, and children subconsciously rely on adults."
"So at that time, Liz took you as her reliance, right?"
Shining followed Fujino's words; she already understood somewhat, though she still had some doubts.
"Yes." Fujino nodded. "Liz took me as her reliance, and I stayed with her until she met the you of that time."
"To ensure things developed as they did in the future, I modified Liz's memories and your memories at that time. This was to ensure the timeline didn't shift and create another world line. You might not understand it if I just say it, so it's better to experience it yourself."
As she spoke, before Shining could react, Fujino's hand was already pressed against Shining's forehead.
A white light burst forth.
Shining didn't notice that at this moment, the smile on Fujino's face carried a hint of eeriness.
"I changed more than just Liz~ Shining-chan~"
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