Xingtie, started with a guitar, and made a living by singing

This means that this piggy bank has seen humans many times, and judging from its previous reactions, it is very likely a "scavenger" in this town.

As for Pascal, this little robot somehow managed to escape...

"Want to get rid of it?"

Wendy, who had broken free from Xier's restraints at some point, came forward, poked the bulging belly of Ziyuan, and said extremely terrifying words in a light tone.

Don't get me wrong, he doesn't have any deep hatred for this creature. It's just like a traveler seeing a treasure chest and can't help but want to open it.

"It's definitely necessary to check it out. I have a hunch that it might have what we need."

Bronya thought for a moment and then nodded.

She had no extra sympathy for these alien creatures, and Xier had no objection after the two reached a consensus.

Even the task of executing the enemy fell to her, after all, her weapons were more suitable for this job.

In response, Xier simply raised her sickle and slashed down when the dimensional creature used its two little hooves to protect its head.

The process was quick and efficient, without any delay. It was obvious that she had dealt with many creatures of this kind before.

After the piggy bank howled, its body quickly dissolved into reality. This kind of creature would not leave behind a physical body when it died, but would only leave behind the essence of what it had swallowed in the past.

Therefore, it is considered a rare auspicious sign by some travelers.

This piggy bank is the same, except with some shiny stuff.

Among the remains was a dirty ribbon decorated with bells.

Its pristine white surface is now covered with unknown dirt, making it impossible to discern its original appearance.

However, there were bells hanging at the end of the delicate fabric, which might be the bell ribbon that the blind girl mentioned her sister was wearing.

Bronya's previous helplessness in bickering with Seele and her excitement in wanting to witness Wendy leading a new trend all turned into a kind of silence at this moment.

She picked it up, and Xier and Wendy did not ask her for an explanation, but accompanied her back to the previous cabin.

This time, everyone could clearly see that there was a warm lamp on in the dilapidated little house.

It's like an echo of someone who lived here in the past.

As Bronya arrived in front of the cabin and knocked gently on the glass, the girl in the house reappeared.

"Ah...are you back? Kind sister."

"……it's me."

"I'm so glad you're safe... Ah, have you seen my sister?"

"She... I didn't see it, but I found this. You might be familiar with it."

Bronya hesitated for a moment, then gently shook the white ribbon in her hand, and the bell immediately made a crisp sound.

"Ahh... it's the sound of bells!"

The girl's weak voice suddenly became excited, making people feel that she was excited about it.

"I recognize this familiar, clear sound. It's my sister's bell. Could you please give it to me?"

Bronya reluctantly placed the bell on the windowsill, opening a small gap there.

A pale little hand, so thin that you could almost see the outline of the bones, stretched out. She fumbled and took away the ribbon bell.

Then, the girl changed her previous excitement and fell silent.

"Well, I know you're sad, but maybe your sister is still somewhere—"

Bronya, knowing that the other person was feeling bad, tried her best to come up with words to comfort him.

however,

"Ah...Ahhh...this ominous smell..."

From the other side of the window, the girl's suppressed and low crying sound was heard.

“No… no… how could this happen…”

The sadness put an end to the "white lie" that Bronya wanted to tell, and even Seele seemed unusually silent.

There was no need for explanation. Such tragedies had happened too many times in the lower class, and she had seen too many such separations.

But why did Wendy let this young lady see all this?

Chapter 40: Echoes of the Past

“Ah…Ah…”

The girl's experience was heartbreaking, but it was ultimately not something Bronya could comfort.

In fact, with her status, is she really qualified to show such tenderness?

As everyone listened silently, the girl murmured sadly.

"Sister...sister...have you finally abandoned me..."

The weak sobbing gradually faded, and the warm light behind the window was still as dim as dusk.

No matter how Bronya knocked on the window frame for a response, all she got was dead silence.

"..."

Both people present could see that Bronya's mood had sunk to the bottom.

However, no one can change this powerless tragic ending.

Only Wendy quietly suggested, "Let's go back to the place where we found the girl's sister. Perhaps there's still an echo there."

These words made Bronya look up at him, her bloodshot eyes filled with deep sorrow.

"You, actually knew about her existence from the beginning, right?"

In response, Wendy just nodded slightly.

"I'll explain the details to you later."

He had no intention of hiding it from the beginning, and even Xier's previous words about "the carefully chosen path of singing for money" revealed his intention to a certain extent.

Bronya's mood darkened, and she simply turned her gaze back to the small room that was no longer lit by the warm light, as if saying goodbye.

However, before she was about to leave, she caught a glimpse of a small music box hidden in the shadow under the windowsill.

This seemed to be the source of the music box music she had heard earlier.

Bronya opened the music box, and inside was an old, withered portrait.

Due to the passage of time, the face of the portrait had become blurred. She could only barely tell from the iron guard armor he was wearing that he was a lieutenant.

Iron Guards of this level were basically transferred to the front line for counterattack more than ten years ago. Many Iron Guards officers paid their lives in that bloody battle.

And this one... was probably the same. A soldier who had sacrificed everything for the Great Guardian, protecting his compatriots and his homeland, had received no due compensation after his death.

His family lived in the dark and gloomy lower districts, barely surviving by scavenging for food in the dangerous Rift. Eventually, they all vanished within the Rift...

Bronya silently turned the sluggish spring, but all she could hear was the unsettling music of the nearly collapsed mechanical structure jostling against each other.

Then the gears stopped turning, and the bitter music ended, just like its owner.

This heart-wrenching misfortune and the music together weave together to create a certain flaw.

Bronya pursed her lips, put away the music box, and set off again.

Relying on Wendy's ability to ride the wind, they took the best route directly from the air to reach the garbage dump where they were previously.

Next to the large trash can covered with rust and emitting a cold atmosphere, they saw the person they were looking for, or rather, the spirit from the past.

A woman with an anxious look on her face was pacing back and forth.

"...Excuse me, are you looking for someone?"

Although she had a premonition in her heart, Bronya couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, yes. My sister... she ran away from home! I looked everywhere for her, but I couldn't find her..."

The young woman with short blue hair covered her forehead in distress, obviously worried about her sister's whereabouts.

"My sister is very weak and can't see... What should I do if something happens to her outside?"

At this point, she had already clenched her fists in regret, pounding her head hard and muttering softly.

"Ahh... I'm such a bad sister for letting something like this happen!"

In front of the three people, this woman who was filled with anxiety obviously confirmed her identity as the girl's sister.

However, what she said could not be matched with what the previous girl said.

Bronya instinctively took out the damaged music box. Just as she took it out, her sister, who seemed to be on the verge of collapse, stopped.

"..."

Her eyes were almost dull as she stared at the music box in Bronya's hand.

"...This is our music box..."

She reached out her hand, picked up the music box, and then placed it sideways to her ear. Her originally anxious expression became calm.

"Ah...Listen, my dear sister...how sweet, how..."

"Welcome...home..."

It was as if the spirit residing in the music box was also longing for reunion. The three of them could vaguely hear the weak voice of the girl.

It was not until then that a relieved smile appeared on the girl's sister's haggard face.

"Ah... I'm going back..."

Before she finished speaking, the smile suddenly disappeared - just like she herself, dissolving in the rift.

Bronya subconsciously reached out to grab it, but felt nothing.

It was not until a long while later that she withdrew her hand in a daze and asked in a low voice.

"They really existed, didn't they?"

"of course."

Wendy confirmed.

"Then why... did it reappear in this form?"

The girl's eyes, buried in her hair, looked particularly dim.

"This is related to the Rift, or the Star Core."

Wendy looked at the empty and silent rift realm, her voice a little ethereal.

"The star core will give rise to the Rift, transforming everything and space it touches into special Rift creations. Furthermore, in addition to erosion, the Rift will also record the etheric information of everything it touches and preserve it in a data-like form."

As Xier tried hard to keep up with the conversation, Wendy sighed softly.

"Just like those creations of the Rift that were eroded, mixed, and grafted by the Rift. These past spirits also formed echoes. They would suddenly appear at an unknown time and place and perform the things they had done in the past."

"...So, those people from the past that everyone saw while cleaning up the battlefield weren't hallucinations, but echoes?"

Bronya answered with difficulty.

"Indeed. The illusions created by these echoes will continue to grow along with the Rift until this phenomenon ends."

"In other words, in order to free them... we have to destroy the star core that caused the rift?"

"Hmm... I'd like to say yes, but the core hasn't been fully analyzed yet. And the rift phenomenon that accompanies its activation hasn't been fully explored, so I can't give you a definitive answer."

More importantly, even if the core of the star is contained, this part of the erosion and rift phenomenon will not disappear immediately.

The phenomena left behind by the Cancer of All Worlds will take a long time for the world itself to slowly "heal", but scars are inevitable in the process, and this is how the Rift exists.

And the spirits trapped here... No, rather than being trapped, they are actually just illusions fabricated by the erosion of the Rift, shadows from the past.

If one wishes to avoid being influenced by these toys used by the Rift to fool the emotions of the living, one must either fulfill their wishes and allow them to "return to Buddhahood," or simply ignore them and treat them as mere echoes in a hollow valley.

After telling this to Bronya, her expression improved a little, but she still looked sad.

It's not just these two sisters who are mourning; there are many, many people in the underworld who have experienced similar things.