"Don't cry, Lian. Haven't I always been here?" Behind her, a chestnut-haired girl appeared naked, hugging her rain-soaked body from behind, warming her with her own warmth, comforting the girl who was crying.
"I know you've always been here, but I can't wake up." She knew who the girl behind her was—the one who had always been in her mind, silently accompanying her, the one she cherished, the one she couldn't help but want to protect.
"You can't stay asleep like this. If you just keep sleeping, many people will be sad, myself included. Without you, I wouldn't know how to keep going. You're the pillar everyone relies on, the core that keeps everyone together. So... don't give up, okay?"
Her voice was gentle—so gentle—like a cup of warm tea that heated her heart. Her body felt like the softest down quilt, wrapping around her and gradually restoring warmth to her chilled body.
"But I can't open my eyes. I just feel so powerless... like I've sunk into the deep sea, unable to turn things around no matter how hard I try." She smiled bitterly, laughing at her own overestimation, laughing at how all her efforts had come to nothing.
"No—it's because you don't want to wake up. That's why it's like this. If you truly wanted to wake up, all of this would be possible. It all depends on your heart—whether you want to, or not."
As she spoke, the girl leaned close and gently kissed her cheek, whispering, "My second life was given to me by you. If you're going to leave, then take me with you... at least that way, I can stay by your side."
After saying that, her body dissolved into a sky full of light, vanishing behind her. Only scattered feathers drifted down, settling on her clothes and body, forming a thin layer of light that shielded her from the increasingly gentle rain.
"Ji..." she murmured the girl's name. Chu Lian knew she wasn't wrong. All of this was simply because she didn't want to wake up. If she truly wished to wake, how could any of this be an obstacle?
"Why don't I want to wake up?" she asked herself. What exactly was the reason that made her unwilling to open her eyes?
"Right... it's because I've learned too much—memories that were once blurred or forgotten. I'm disappointed in myself... so I don't want to wake up, is that it?"
Her memories were sorted through once more, from the very first scene she had seen to the final light feathers Ji left behind.
This feeling... rejecting herself, losing herself, unwilling to face that version of herself?
"Am I really that unbearable? No... looking at my past, even though there were many mistakes, I'm not someone despicable, am I...?" she said uncertainly.
"No. Drawing so many people into my life—that's the greatest fault. Knowing full well that I might not even have a future, why did I drag these girls into danger? Someone as selfish as me... maybe it would be better if I just died."
She blamed her own attachments—perhaps not even attachment, but a kind of unwilling greed to let go.
"But if I die like this, leaving them to live in sorrow? Or leaving all the trouble I caused for them to deal with? No... no, no, no—I can't do that. That's my responsibility. I have to see it through."
She clenched her fists and spoke to herself, then stepped forward.
Ahead was no longer soft grass, but a jagged riverbank. Sharp stones were scattered everywhere, ready to slice her feet if she wasn't careful.
But she didn't hesitate. Ignoring the now-faded wind and rain, she walked barefoot along the shore. The stinging pain only made her more awake.
"I can't run away... I can't run away... I can't run away." A thin cut opened on the sole of her foot, but she paid it no mind and kept moving forward.
Standing at the riverbank, under the moonlight that had reemerged, she looked at her reflection in the water and asked, "Do you want to live as a weakling forever, or become a hero who might die at any moment?"
Her reflection seemed to come alive, opening its mouth to ask, "Then tell me—do you think it's easier to live as a weakling, or as a hero?"
"Neither is easy. A weakling gets bullied. A hero has to shoulder countless responsibilities."
"One means your fate is out of your control, with no sense of security."
"The other means your life is constantly on the line, never able to relax for even a moment."
"So you're saying that whether weakling or hero, neither is easy?"
"Yeah... that's why I don't know how to choose."
"It's simple. Ask yourself—do you want to be a weakling, or a hero?"
"A weakling... a hero... I guess I want to be both."
"Why?"
"A weakling has an excuse to run away. A hero can control their own path."
"So you're lost too?"
"Then I don't need to answer that. Choose for yourself."
A gentle breeze swept across the water, scattering the reflection.
The girl looked at the now-still surface, at the silent version of herself, and asked, "Choose for myself?"
But no one answered her.
"Plop~" After waiting in silence for a while, seeing no reply, she smiled faintly and stepped into the water, slowly walking toward the center.
"It's a bit cold... but it makes me clearer." Letting her body relax completely, she floated on the surface.
"Hey... if I wake up, will there be many people waiting for me?"
The azure moon hung like a curved jade. Thin clouds drifted like mist.
She was like duckweed on the water, like a lone boat that had yet to find a shore.
A sudden breeze bent the grass low, and peach blossom petals drifted from nowhere, scattering across the river, as if staging a burial of flowers alongside her.
"Fallen flowers drift away with flowing water... yet I remain here, gazing at the boundless sky." She laughed softly, tears glistening in her eyes.
At times like this, she couldn't help but cry. Why?
"Maybe dying is a good choice... but that would mean denying all my efforts. Is it worth it?"
"Do you think it is worth it?" This time, it was no longer her own voice—someone else answered.
A beautiful woman dressed in fiery colors appeared at the far end of the river, standing on a small boat and pushing it forward with a bamboo pole.
Though the distance between them was vast, they could see each other as clearly as if they stood face to face.
"It's not worth it. Giving up is so easy, while persistence is so difficult."
She shook her head, her long hair spreading in the water and swaying gently with her movement.
"If it's not worth it, then why even think about it?"
She always had a way of striking directly at the things she most didn't want to think about, insisting on answers to the questions she tried to avoid.
"Precisely because I know it's not worth it... I have to think about it. To see whether I can actually do it."
Her smile carried a strange charm—no one could tell what she was thinking at that moment.
"And what if you can? What if you can't? In the end, it's still your choice."
Ayase smiled faintly. At this moment, she seemed more open-minded than ever before.
"My choice? Then why do I always feel like it's someone else making the choice for me?"
That was how she felt—this didn't seem like her own decision.
"Those who live only for themselves may seem to live brilliantly, but in truth, they are quite tragic—because they have no one they are willing to fight for."
"Perhaps they do... but that person is nothing more than themselves." Ayase's words made Chu Lian understand a little.
After a moment of silence, she asked softly, "Living for oneself is right... and living for others is also right, isn't it?"
"Only those who find someone worth living for—while still living brilliantly as themselves—can say their life was not in vain, right?"
"You already knew the answer. Why ask? I'll allow you this one last moment of confusion—but this isn't indulgence, it's an opportunity."
"If you lose yourself like this again, then I really will leave you." Ayase's tone was light, but her words made Chu Lian smile bitterly.
"I know, I know... I always end up losing myself. So let me be selfish just this one last time." As she spoke, her body slowly sank deeper into the water.
She watched the sky grow distant, the azure moonlight gradually fading from her sight. In the dark riverbed, she closed her eyes...
"Alright, wake up now. Doing this will only make people worry."
A red ribbon pierced through the water, wrapping around her slender waist, pulling her up from the depths and tossing her onto a small boat. Seeing her drenched state, Ayase originally wanted to scold her, but her heart softened instead.
"I'm still waiting for you to come bring me back. Am I not more important than you?" Ayase lay down beside her, leaning close to her ear as she whispered.
"Right... I still have to bring you back. I still have so many things left undone." Her words gave her the reason she needed. Even if not for herself, for Ayase, she absolutely couldn't fall here.
"Mm. I'll wait for you. If something happens to you, then I'll never be able to come back. Remember that." After saying this, Ayase leaned forward and pressed a deep kiss to her lips.
"Ayase..." Looking into her eyes, Chu Lian's heart bloomed with boundless gentleness. She treated her this way—what reason did she have not to do the same in return?
"This is your reward. When I come back, I'll give you what you've always wanted..." She pulled away, her eyes filled with allure.
But this Ayase was only a manifestation of her thoughts. Even if everything about her was identical, she wasn't truly her.
Yet those words were unmistakably in Ayase's tone.
"Mm. I'll wait." Yes... let her wait. Wait for her to come and save her.
"Then wake up. Go tell them—you can do it." Ayase smiled, standing up as two red ribbons unfurled from her arms.
She danced beneath the azure moon, moving gracefully in her most beautiful dance. At the final glance over her shoulder, she cast out the ribbons, wrapping them around the girl's waist and sending her soaring into the sky.
"Wait for me!"
"I'll be waiting..."
A beam of light descended from the azure moon, enveloping the girl as she vanished from the strange space.
"I'll be waiting..." The wind blew past. The figure standing on the boat dissolved into drifting red petals, settling softly on the water.
"Lian'er... you must wake up." The night had passed. The horizon was hazy as dawn broke through the clouds, scattering golden light across the earth.
Li Mingxue, who had held Chu Lian naked in her arms all night, was still praying.
Because she knew—if Chu Lian didn't wake before seven, she would never wake again.
Now, that time was drawing closer and closer—so close that she no longer knew whether Chu Lian could make it.
"Big Sis..." After returning Xiu'er to her room and seeing her recover, Chu Chu had been standing outside Chu Lian's door the entire time.
She didn't want to miss the moment Big Sis woke up. Even if that hope was fading with time, becoming more and more like a fantasy... she refused to give up.
"Chu Lian." At the corner of the stairs, a white-haired girl leaned against the railing, her gaze drifting as she looked toward the door. This night had been far too long.
Please wake up... only then will I have a reason to keep striving. If I can't defeat you in this lifetime, what motivation do I have to continue?
"Lian..." Countless words condensed into a single name. She never grew tired of calling it, and every time she did, Chu Lian would always turn back to look at her.
If possible, let it always be like this... look at me, watch me become a normal human. You haven't even taught me all the emotions yet—leaving like this is too easy, isn't it?
"Chu Lian." Her fingers pressed against the piano keys as she couldn't help but gently play "Tori no Uta," the song they had performed together. It could also be said to be the song that bound their hearts.
It was because of recording that song that she became emotional... and confessed to her on the rooftop. This time, listen to the melody... and come back, okay?
Putting down her pen, Liu Yanran rubbed her forehead and looked at the line written on the paper: "If we have no fate in this life, then let us continue it in the next. I believe there will be an era that belongs to us."
"Our adventure, our legend, our story has only just begun. If you, the protagonist, are gone... then it can't continue." She murmured softly, turning off the desk lamp and staring blankly in the direction of Chu Lian's room.
"Mommy... Anna taught those people a lesson. From now on, Mommy will be okay..." Hugging her arm, the pain still lingered, but being able to hit that weaker one felt wonderful.
"Little girl, I told you not to push yourself. If not for me, you wouldn't have come back." Yukari Yakumo sat beside her, leisurely sipping tea, her gaze toward Anna filled with both admiration and fondness.
"I'm sorry for causing trouble. But thank you for helping me teach that person a lesson. Anna is very grateful." This was the third person Anna had truly accepted. After last night's battle, she couldn't help but admire Yukari.
"She'll be fine." Looking toward that direction, Yukari smiled faintly. This girl... wasn't someone who would die so easily.
"I will wake up..." The clock by the bedside ticked forward. At 6:59:58, the miracle everyone had been waiting for finally happened.
Her long eyelashes trembled. Warm sunlight filled the room as she slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Li Mingxue, she smiled gently.
"Mom..."
Those eyes... and that single word... were like the most beautiful spring sunlight, illuminating the entire room.