The arrow, condensed from the Schariac Holy Blood, streaked like a meteor crossing space itself, striking Shadow Wendy directly in the chest and embedding itself deep within her body.
Not only did the dark storm tornadoes supported by Honkai energy completely die down, but Shadow Wendy herself, struck by the Schariac Holy Blood, also widened her eyes in disbelief.
Her teal wings of wind were the first to lose their light, and with them, her power to command the gales.
She plummeted from the sky with a thud, crashing to the ground and losing all ability to resist.
Her once proud, golden eyes now flickered like candlelight, occasionally reverting to her timid, teal pupils.
Although Shadow Wendy still wore her arrogant attire, she had lost control over Honkai energy under the suppression of the Schariac Holy Blood.
Shadow Wendy had finally seized a moment of Wendy's weakness, intending to use the special environment of the Imaginary Space—where a Herrscher could unleash their full power—to show these uninvited, malicious intruders the might and power of the Herrscher of Wind.
However, her time on stage had lasted less than three minutes before she was shot down by the combined attack of Ren and Hare.
Her legs had regained sensation, but she had only floated on the wind in the sky, not even getting to experience the joy of standing on her own two feet again for a single second... Then she was shot down by Ren, losing sensation in her legs once more and ending up sprawled pathetically on the ground.
At this thought, Shadow Wendy, who was essentially two sides of the same coin as Wendy and was actually just as obsessed with regaining the ability to walk, lifted her head and glared at Ren, gritting her teeth.
"Is it... over? Just with that one move?"
Although she had personally experienced the devastating power of the Spear of destiny, the Schariac Holy Blood was only one component of it.
Raiden Mei had never expected it to be so easy to decide the victor in a single blow. She was still a bit stunned when Shadow Wendy fell to the ground.
"It would be difficult to achieve this with just the Schariac Holy Blood. But the blood arrow just now contained not only the Schariac Holy Blood, but also the [Spear of destiny] power that Joker bestowed upon me. The combination of the two achieved this surprisingly effective result," Hare explained as she landed lightly back on the ground.
With pure Schariac Holy Blood alone, while it could have significantly weakened Shadow Wendy, it wouldn't have been enough to defeat her in a single strike.
"Hand over the Treasure. Become my power, Shadow Wendy... If you give me the Treasure, you can stand again."
Through Shadow Wendy's eyes and body language, Ren sensed her thoughts and once again demanded the Treasure of the Herrscher of Wind's Palace.
"Are you kidding me? Giving my power to a lowly human like you? In your dreams! Go ahead and kill me if you can, but don't say I didn't warn you. If you kill me like this, the human Wendy's consciousness will be extinguished with me, completely destroyed by you!!"
A mocking smile appeared on Shadow Wendy's face. Her consciousness was one and the same with Wendy's. She indeed had the grounds to use this moral blackmail.
"...Wendy, give me the Gem of Desire. You don't need to be its container anymore, and you don't need to be imprisoned by it."
After a moment of silence, Bronya slowly floated in front of Wendy, reached out, and took Shadow Wendy's cold hand. Her voice was low and earnest as she tried to persuade her.
"Only after losing something do you realize how precious it was. I understand how you feel. The panic of losing the ability to walk, the deep realization of your own weakness, the desire for greater power... I know all of it. I've experienced it all."
As Bronya held her hand, feeling the faint warmth from her palm, Shadow Wendy's expression froze.
One of her eyes, at some point, had changed back to teal. She calmed down, silently listening to Bronya's words.
"But the more you close off your heart, the more you try to solve everything by yourself, the more desperate and paranoid the situation becomes. Accepting a helping hand from a partner at the right time is the only way to go further and regain the precious things you've lost."
"St-stop with the fake kindness! Anyone can spout such grand principles... Mmph?"
Shadow Wendy sneered, about to mock Bronya's persuasion. But before she could finish her derisive sentence, the last remaining golden light in her eyes flickered out. Wendy fell completely silent, exuding the harmless aura of a small animal.
"Big Sister Bronya, you too...?"
Wendy's teal eyes stared at Bronya's slender legs floating just above the ground in front of her, her gaze somewhat lost.
Although she had noticed Bronya's strange behavior of always hovering in the air, she had initially thought it was just a personal preference. She never imagined that Bronya, like herself, had lost the ability to walk normally.
"Yes. Because of a certain human experiment I voluntarily participated in, I lost the ability to walk and the ability to express emotions on my face... But it's okay. It's because I never gave up that I was finally able to meet Ren and gradually reclaim everything I had lost."
Bronya gently squeezed Wendy's stiff hands, her voice filled with a sense of happiness. After exchanging a glance with Ren and Seele behind her, a faint, genuine smile appeared on her flawless, delicate face.
Looking at Bronya, who shared her plight and could completely empathize with her, Wendy's eyes turned red. The faint yet incredibly real, heartfelt smile on Bronya's face made a spark of hope ignite in her heart.
If, if she also followed the same path as Bronya, could she also regain her own happiness?
"I understand. I'll give you the Gem of Desire..."
A thousand thoughts flashed through Wendy's mind. She stared at Bronya and Ren for a long time, and finally, with a sigh, she closed her eyes and made the decision to hand over the Gem of Desire.
After all, Ren and his team had shown her as much kindness as they could. With the immense power Ren had displayed, if he truly wanted to take the Gem of Desire by force, he wouldn't have needed her consent. And she had no way of protecting it from the Phantom Thieves.
A gentle, teal breeze swirled around Wendy. This wind was no longer violent and ferocious, but carried a fresh, gentle aura. Carried by the wind, a teal crystal gem slowly flew out from Wendy's chest and landed in Ren's outstretched palm.
As Ren caught the Gem of Desire that Wendy had willingly given him, a teal pattern like a swirling vortex flashed across the back of his red-gloved hand before completely merging into his body.
Putting away the newly acquired Treasure, Ren gave Bronya an appreciative nod.
It was a good thing Bronya was there for this Palace Ruler. If it had been just Ren, he would have had a hard time dealing with someone as stubborn as Wendy. Even if he could have eventually obtained the Gem of Desire, it would have taken a lot of unnecessary time.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
Just as Ren put away the Gem of Desire, the Herrscher of Wind's Palace began to shake violently, entering a state of gradual collapse.
"This Palace is about to be destroyed! Wendy, let's leave together..."
Looking at the debris falling from the ceiling, a look of anxiety appeared in Bronya's eyes. She wanted to push Wendy's wheelchair out of the collapsing Palace, but Wendy held onto her hand tightly, preventing Bronya from pulling away.
"It's okay, Big Sister Bronya. Wendy will stay here."
Wendy shook her head gently, a serene, transparent smile on her face... It wasn't just her smile; her entire body was beginning to fade, becoming transparent, as if another gust of wind would make her disappear from this world completely.
"Thank you for your encouragement, Big Sister Bronya, and thank you for your help, Mr. Phantom Thief. Wendy will try to start over and reclaim the happiness and beauty that once belonged to her. The next time we meet, Wendy will definitely surprise you."
With a gentle smile on her face, Wendy's figure continued to fade until she, along with her wheelchair, disappeared completely.
"..."
Staring at her now-empty hand, which Wendy had just been holding so tightly, Bronya was a little lost in thought.
"Wendy should have returned to the real world. As she said, we'll have another chance to meet. Let's leave now, Bronya."
Ren gently placed a hand on Bronya's shoulder, comforting the slightly dejected girl and urging her to leave.
Although Hare could open a portal to leave the Herrscher of Wind's Palace directly, and their evacuation time wasn't particularly tight, staying in a collapsing Palace still carried the risk of being hit by falling rocks or falling into pits.
"The Bronya understands. I hope the next time we meet Wendy, it won't be as enemies..."
Bronya came back to her senses and turned to walk toward the purple star gate that Hare had opened, leaving the collapsing Herrscher of Wind's Palace with Ren.
The hostile relationship between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy was difficult to change. The Schicksal manipulated by the ambitious Overseer, Otto Apocalypse, would sooner or later clash with Anti-Entropy and the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
Bronya could only hope that Wendy would awaken more deeply, break free from Otto's brainwashing of the Valkyries, and regain her own ability to think.
Given Schicksal's cruel treatment of her, Wendy had no reason to remain loyal to an organization that looked glamorous on the surface but was built on the bones of its victims.
---||---
"That's it for today's exploration of the impression space. I'm going to the Velvet Room again."
Inside a Palace, Ren took out his phone with the MetaNav app, intending to make another trip to the Velvet Room for some adjustments.
It wasn't just because of the Gem of Desire. He now had six of the seven Will Seed Crystals of the Seven Deadly Sins. Only one more was needed to complete the set.
Ren wanted to start practicing the ultimate skill, [Sinful Shell], as soon as possible. But he still had no clue how to use it, so he could only place his hopes on Vill-V, the resident of the Velvet Room, hoping she could give him some inspiration.
"...Okay. Seele will be cheering for Big Brother Ren."
After Ren announced their temporary disbandment for the day, Seele's head drooped a little dejectedly, but she quickly pulled herself together and gave Ren a bright smile.
"Ren, I have something I need your help with. Can you lend me your power?"
After being so intimate with Wendy in front of Seele earlier, Bronya had been keeping an eye on Seele's expression since they left the Herrscher of Wind's Palace.
Thus, she keenly noticed the sadness hidden beneath that bright smile.