On a night far from the city, it was not only surprisingly quiet but also surprisingly dark.
After the lights in the shrine were turned off, the world was plunged into pitch-blackness, save for the few scattered stars in the sky.
One could say that this environment was most suitable for sleeping.
But right now, Ling felt no sleepiness at all.
Ling was lost.
Truly and utterly lost.
It was as if she were in a dream. After that person's arrival, everything around her had been rewritten.
The girl named Ling sat in her room, listening to the sounds coming from the adjacent room—sounds that stirred certain tantalizing thoughts—her lips twitching uncontrollably.
Just as she had suspected, Yae Sakura's past had been rewritten long ago.
She had never been bewitched by Ling, had never killed the people of Yae Village, and had never met the Kallen who was just a taller version of Teri-derp…
Everything she remembered about five hundred years ago was just something a certain scumbag had written in five minutes.
When that scumbag unleashed Fenghuang Down, the whole truth came to the surface.
Just as he had recently traveled to the time of the Second Honkai Eruption to pick up Sirin, that scumbag had, at an even earlier point in time, picked up Yae Sakura.
And then—
Recalling her newly unsealed memories, a twisted expression appeared on Ling's delicate face.
Then he had beaten her up, forced her to turn Yae Sakura into a Pseudo-Herrscher, and made a pact to meet her in five hundred years, take her as his wife, and reunite her with Rin.
A world where only Ling gets hurt was completed.jpg.
And today, he had fulfilled his promise, bringing back the soul of the girl named Rin and using the Authority of the Herrscher of Death to create a body for her, resurrecting her completely.
And then—
And then he had taken up residence in Yae Shrine.
And then—
Listening to the alluring sounds that passed through the barely soundproof walls, Ling's mouth twitched.
That human-form self-propelled artillery was getting it on with her big sister.
And now she couldn't even sleep properly.
Ling's mood had never been worse.
"So… Big Sister… and Brother-in-law are… performing the Rites of the Duke of Zhou?"
A timid voice, tinged with shyness and curiosity, sounded beside Ling's ear.
The source of the voice was a girl whose features were ninety-nine percent identical to Yae Sakura's, only lacking the heroic air in her brow and instead giving off a frail, sickly impression.
It was Rin.
Since there were no spare guest rooms, Yae Sakura's newly resurrected little sister was temporarily staying with Ling.
Ling looked at the girl who would blush every time she saw that certain scumbag, her expression turning numb.
Great, another freebie.
This one seemed to have a high favorability toward that scumbag from the very beginning. Coupled with the fact that he had seen her completely naked while reconstructing her body, she was practically set on marrying no one else.
Ling estimated that if that scumbag took her to a place with nice scenery and whispered some sweet nothings and vows of eternal love, this girl would completely run off with her own brother-in-law.
No, it wouldn't even count as running off.
Given the limitations of the era she came from, as long as Li Zihan showed some interest, she would probably be more than happy to become her brother-in-law's concubine.
He had acquired a pair of sisters in one go.
That scumbag was, as always, ever-victorious when it came to women.
At this thought, Ling's mood soured even further.
Whatever, I won't think about it anymore.
Ling picked up the headphones she used for music, put them on, and played some soothing tunes to calm her nerves.
And then, the image of a certain person vanished from her mind.
And then—
A different scene appeared before her eyes.
The image of Yae Sakura and Yae Rin embracing.
The relationship between the girl named Ling and the miko Yae Sakura was complicated.
During the Previous Era, Ling, having become a Herrscher, was an enemy to her own sister, the super-soldier "Sakura." After her sister "froze" Kevin, she had exhausted all her strength to destroy the corrupted mechs and死士, finally reaching Ling's side only to die.
Yae Sakura, on the other hand, had personally killed her younger sister Yae Rin under their father's command, sealing away her heart and turning herself into a deadly blade to carry out rituals, unconditionally fulfilling the villagers' wishes—a fate decided for her before she was even born.
Two souls, wandering and lost after losing their loved ones, had found each other. Craving warmth, they chose to see each other as substitutes for their dearest kin, huddling together for comfort.
But—
Can I still blend into Big Sister's life as I did before?
Looking at the girl beside her, who was nearly identical to Yae Sakura except for her long hair being tied in twin tails, Ling felt a sense of bewilderment.
Or rather, did Big Sister even need her anymore?
"Rin, I'm going outside to clear my head."
The girl, her heart heavy, took off her headphones, spoke to Yae Rin, and then pushed open the door and walked outside.
The sky outside was dark.
It was gloomy, as if smeared with ink.
But the air was exceptionally fresh.
Ling sat on the steps and took a deep breath of the slightly chilly air, trying to clear her thoughts.
Realistically, Big Sister probably wouldn't just abandon me.
Ling thought, knowing full well that, apart from a slight yandere tendency, her big sister was a very gentle person.
She would most likely see Ling as a second little sister.
But—
Big Sister has her own life now, doesn't she?
She had a lover, a biological sister, and would have children in the future…
Those were the ones she should truly love.
Was it really okay for her to brazenly insert herself into that and accept their kindness?
It might be possible, but it wasn't right.
The girl, who had known from the very beginning that her feelings for Yae Sakura, and Yae Sakura's feelings for her, were a pathological emotional graft, took another deep breath.
Perhaps… she should go and find a life of her own.
But—
The moment that thought emerged, she felt lost again.
Her era was fifty thousand years ago. Everything and everyone connected to her had long since turned to dust.
The only person she was close to in this world was Yae Sakura.
If she left her, what would she do?
She truly had no direction.
A bitter taste filled the mouth of the girl who couldn't find any path forward.
Besides Big Sister, who else did she know in this world?
That scumbag?
The girl suddenly wanted to laugh as another figure surfaced in her mind.
So, it turned out that besides Big Sister, the person she was closest to in this world was that black-hearted and lecherous scumbag?
"If I went to him, I'd be eaten clean within three weeks."
As if talking to herself, the girl muttered.
And then—
"Of course. He's a scumbag, after all."
"Yeah."
Ling replied subconsciously.
And then—
Her expression turned to one of absolute horror.
Wait, who was just talking to me?
She stiffly turned her head. A profile that was all too familiar to her appeared in her field of vision.