In response to my question, Yao merely glanced at me, slightly raised his chin, revealing his perfectly curved neck: "Now, all we need to do is ensure that the three openings are aligned and that the two pieces of paper are pulled out at the same time."
"Space, sever—"
Before she could finish speaking, another unfamiliar but slightly deep, mature female voice rang out.
The gleaming blade flashed out in my peripheral vision.
No, perhaps "deeply dark" would be a more fitting description for that sudden burst of sword light.
It was as if the deep, dark void, capable of swallowing everything, suddenly shattered everything in sight. Light, sound, color... it was as if everything had been stripped of all its original attributes in that extremely short time, leaving only an empty, unmarkable remnant that quietly fell into the embrace of nothingness and vanished without a trace.
This was merely an illusion. Because the Dark Blade was so fast, it seemed as if it had sliced through the inherent properties of everything in an instant, changing their values to nothingness. But then a question arose in my mind: if such a fast blade could slice through all properties, wouldn't that mean even time might be affected? And at that moment, without time and external objects as a benchmark for judgment, how could my consciousness confirm that this was just an illusion, and not that there was something wrong with itself?
I tried to extend my perception outwards, but let alone Yao standing right beside me and other nearby things, even my own perception became incredibly blurry and unreal. It was as if my understanding of myself was nothing more than a void concept, a meaningless thought, an indefinable illusion. Perhaps I was just an existence that had never truly existed, or perhaps a dispensable, fictitious character in some book?
I felt a wave of indescribable panic.
Without a doubt, that was indeed the first feeling that popped into my head at that moment. If I am no longer myself, then who am I?
Fortunately, these doubts gradually resurfaced as my perception of the outside world returned, and I eventually suppressed them deep within my heart.
Looking around, perhaps because the surroundings were spacious enough, there were no obvious missing parts or cracks in the distant beams and pillars, or even in the ground. A few thin books were gently turned by the breeze from outside, occasionally turning a page without making any sound that would attract attention.
Before her eyes, Hikari, having re-examined her body and confirmed that everything had returned to normal, was happily hanging around An's neck, swaying with her movements. An seemed somewhat helpless, but she only twitched the corners of her mouth and casually dispersed the blade in her hand that was emitting black light, letting it turn into dark particles and dissipate in the air.
"It looks shocking, doesn't it?" Yao sighed, holding his head and carefully tidying his hair. "When we first picked her up, she was just a little girl who could only wave a wooden stick around and chase after those brats who wanted to bully her. Nobody expected her to get to where she is today."
I couldn't help but feel surprised: "[Dawnlight] isn't supposed to only select the most capable people to join? I heard that your admission requirements are extremely strict." Moreover, such sword skills don't seem like something that can be mastered alone without guidance. Even if both put in a great deal of effort, there is a qualitative difference between having a suitable mentor and not having one.
“How could that be?” Although her expression remained calm, I could hear a bitter smile in Yao’s voice. “[Xi Guang], from the very beginning, we were just a group of homeless people who gathered together to seek warmth. We travel, we search for lost items for people, and in the end, it’s just to find a home where we can settle down.”
She seemed unwilling to say more. She put her head back on after tidying up her appearance, then instructed the doll maid to clean up the environment. She told me and Hikari, who excitedly jumped on me, to remember to stay for dinner before slowly walking towards her usual hut.
Soon, a wide array of food was served by the maids, and the night flew by as Hikari chattered away to An.
The next morning, as I slowly got out of my familiar bed, yawning and squinting as I changed my clothes, I was startled by something astonishing that was placed directly in front of me.
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