I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's get down to business... Big star, I'm counting on you, okay?"

"Yes, I know, and I'm counting on you."

Xi Wang nodded, letting Desdobia and Aponia's [power] envelop her, and then... spoke softly.

???~

Golden light flowed like a stream, outlining the shape of musical notes. A gentle "wind" appeared, brushing across everyone's faces and carrying his "song".

【hehe--】

A soft chuckle reached my ears, as if they were amused by their futile efforts.

Then came the sound of a body falling to the ground, which seemed to come from Desdobia's side.

And one's own senses also weakened in an instant, as if everything was fading away, and one's body seemed to be falling into an abyss, unstoppable and unstoppable.

Then... came the alarm of the "Moths of Fire".

He tried to open his eyes, but his vision remained dim, as if his eyes were still closed.

In the hazy light, I could feel light falling from above, and in the silence I could hear the gentle flapping of wings.

In a daze, I could feel soft feathers falling on my body, and a gentle breeze enveloping me.

【■■■……】

A gentle voice came like a breeze, carrying tenderness and care. The breeze seemed to be checking his body, concerned about whether he was injured... After confirming that he was alright, she gently put him down, allowing him to land safely.

[Huh? Wait a minute? What happened to you...?]

call--

It seemed as if someone was speaking in my ear, but the voice, filled with doubt and uncertainty, vanished instantly, accompanied by the sound of "wind" blowing.

...Was it just my imagination? I felt like I had just faintly heard the sound of "fire" igniting and a little bit of "water" flowing.

tick-

It was the sound of rain falling, clear and noisy, and I could feel the dampness on my nose.

The rain carried a sense of anxiety and unease, as if it were in a great hurry.

When I opened my eyes, what came into view was a starless night, rain as thick as a curtain, and... familiar streets.

"Ah...this is it."

Xi Wang understood, looked up and... as expected, he saw that place, the place where he had been trapped—[Hidakoro].

"What is this? My [dream]? Or my [memory]? How amazing..."

With these thoughts in mind, Xi Wang glanced around briefly before heading towards [Hidakoro] without lingering any longer.

The rain was in a panic, in a hurry, as if something they cared about was trapped. Hmm... based on this speculation, it was probably "me" inside, right? — Xi Wang thought to herself.

As expected... this is [that day].

Chapter 53 This is my time to sing! (7648)

"Hmph~?"

Xi Wang strolled through the quiet environment. The dimness inside [Hida Koro] could not stop his light steps. The gentle breeze told him about the road ahead and guided him in the direction he was going.

Ah... thinking about it now, I didn't really explore this huge shopping mall properly back then. It's such a lively place, what a pity I didn't take a good look around!

However, there are more important things to do now.

Guided by the "wind," Xi Wang successfully found the old dressing room and could also smell the dampness inside... Clearly, it must have been [him back then] inside.

knock--

"……Eh?"

I knocked on the door politely, only to find that it wasn't locked... Could it be that I'd come to the wrong door?

"what……"

Pushing open the door, Xi Wang looked at the scene inside with some surprise—it was indeed [herself] inside, but only a corpse.

It was a corpse with its hands crushed and its throat slit. Blood mixed with damp water flowed on the ground, and resentment and unwillingness remained in its already blurred pupils.

Xi Wang squatted down, propped her face up with one hand, and carefully examined the corpse. The white hair fell gently to the ground, stained with a little red from the blood.

"...She's quite pretty."

Xi Wang suddenly said this.

?

If someone were to hear these strange words, they would probably slowly type a question mark and then look at Xi Wang with an extremely odd expression. After all, in the current situation, it's not appropriate to say such things.

However, Xi Wang's attitude was very serious. After all, the scene in front of him did fit the aesthetic of "horror". Most people would be scared to death if they saw it, and it was not impossible for them to faint. But for Xi Wang now, this kind of thing was still a bit lacking.

After all, the images he saw from the "fragments" carried by the rain were far more exciting than this.

Of course, more importantly... he is right here now, Xi Wang is right here now, and this scenery... there's no need to worry too much about it.

"After all... I already have many things that I can cherish."

Xi Wang reached out and gently touched his cheek, feeling the bone-chilling coldness, then slowly touched his eyelids and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight then."

As Xi Wang spoke softly, a gentle breeze blew, and the corpses still before her eyes transformed into pale pink petals and dusky yellow maple leaves, which gradually faded and vanished silently.

As she stood up, the white ends of her hair that had been lying on the ground fluttered up, but they were not stained with any of the red of blood, only white like waves... and a few water droplets.

Upon closer inspection, the ground was found to be only slightly damp, and the only scent was dampness; there was no trace or smell of blood whatsoever.

【No... wait... you... how...】

call--

A faint, surprised voice reached her ears again, but it disappeared with the sound of "wind" blowing.

Da da--

Suddenly, hurried footsteps rang out, echoing in the empty and dimly lit environment.

"Hmm...hmm? It's her?"

A gentle breeze blows, bringing news of dawn.

"This dream...it wasn't mine after all...I knew it, I didn't even care about this..."

Xi Wang muttered to herself, then looked in the direction the sound came from... She was already very close.

"Huff...huff...hmm? Xiwang? Is...is that you? Xiwang?"

Her voice carried a hint of nervousness and fear, as well as a touch of hope, but soon she almost abandoned those questions and doubts, and took a step forward to Xi Wang, wanting to reach out and touch him, but she seemed timid and nervous, and could only keep looking him up and down, her gaze lingering on his hands.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, Elja… It’s me, I’m here, I’m fine.”

Xi Wang smiled and gently comforted her.

"Okay, okay, this isn't real, don't be afraid... Look, my hand is fine~"

"Really? Will...will it hurt? It's not a joke, right?"

"real."

"That's good...that's good..."

Erjia held Xiwang's hands tightly, carefully cradling them in her palms, examining and touching them meticulously, asking questions repeatedly. Only after receiving a definite response did she breathe a sigh of relief and release Xiwang's hands.

“…I’m sorry, Xiwang, both now and then, I’m really…so sorry.”

"It's okay, I don't mind... Compared to others, your actions are already gentle, and you really are helping me in some ways, aren't you? Although you always make me accompany you when you take me out, you've at least helped me find a place to practice my pieces, and it's free... Thinking about it, it's actually pretty good~"

Xi Wang moved his fingers slightly to ease the pain... When Erjia touched him, his hands felt the pain of being trampled, and his body felt wet, just like before... How interesting, is the [Herrscher] trying to recreate the situation from back then?

"No...that's not the case..."

"Shh... Okay, although I'm very happy that you care about me, there's no need to worry about it too much."

Xi Wang gently placed her finger on her lips and blinked her strange and beautiful tricolor eyes.

"As I said before... I have forgiven you, Elgar. Now... please live well, that's all."

"……Um."

"So... could you tell me a little about what you encountered here?"

"it is good!"

Elgar nodded heavily and recounted her experiences here in quick, somewhat disorganized words.

At first, her dream was normal and happy, starting in high school, which was when she met Xiwang. However, compared to before, she was no longer so tactless, nor did she have such an arrogant and irritable attitude. Her relationship with Xiwang gradually developed into a bickering couple. Although there was still Eden as a "formidable rival", she and Xiwang undoubtedly interacted more and their relationship was closer.

Her best friend Irina was still by her side, as were her parents; everything was progressing steadily and moving towards her ideal future... That was how it should have been.

Midway through, she discovered some problems herself, or rather, she always felt that something was wrong... She felt that she couldn't possibly be living such a "happy" life, that she must have made a mistake, that she must have done something to Xi Wang... Therefore, every time she wanted to get closer to Xi Wang, to take their relationship a step further, she would subconsciously shrink back, subconsciously feel afraid, subconsciously think... that she was "unworthy".

Moreover, every time she took Xiwang shopping, especially when they came to her own [Xidakeluo] shopping mall, she always had a strange sense of unease, as if she didn't like coming here, and shouldn't have brought Xiwang here... as if something terrible was going to happen here.

Until one day, when she saw Xi Wang accidentally hit her hand with an object, she... suddenly remembered everything, remembered what happened on "that day," and finally... everything she saw in the hospital.

She suddenly realized that everything before her eyes... was nothing but an illusion, a dream.

She... could never be that "happy".

But after that, she did not wake up. Instead, she remained in the place. After this illusory "happiness" was shattered, what followed was a series of "tragedies".

First, her family's business went downhill, then her parents suddenly contracted Honkai disease and stopped breathing within a few days... Then, the building collapsed due to Honkai beasts, causing Irina to be crushed to death in front of her... Moreover, every time someone died in front of her, she would recall the [memories] that should have existed, allowing her to see their deaths again, and in the exact same way.

Witnessing the deaths of her relatives and friends again severely impacted her mental state, pushing her to the brink of collapse.

That's why she was terrified, that's why she wanted to escape, to leave this "nightmare"... Then came the rainy night, and that's when she stumbled into this place and met Xiwang.

"I'm so scared... I'm really so afraid..."

Her voice trembled.

"Even though I already know they're dead, even though I know everything I'm seeing is fake, watching them die again before my eyes... I'm so afraid I won't be able to hold on... Sometimes I've thought about just dying with them..."

"But...but...I promised them I would live well...I promised them I would live on strongly...They gave me their chance to live, so I should live on for their sake...It shouldn't be like this, I shouldn't have taken my own life...But...but..."