Cherry blossoms fluttered to the ground, but many also landed on the red torii gate at the entrance of Yae Village, the accumulated petals forming a thin, snow-like layer on the gate.
"..." As soon as Theresa stepped past the torii gate, her boots treading on the soft soil covered with cherry blossom petals, and looked at this village hidden deep in the forest, the red mark on her back lit up...
The scene before Theresa's eyes began to blur, light and shadow constantly alternating in her mind. The memories from the Stigmata had awakened once again...
'Where is this?...' Theresa opened her eyes and looked around. She was standing in a crowd, and the villagers around her ignored her, instead looking at a sacrificial altar in front of them with complex, expectant eyes.
"...." It seemed like a sacrificial scene. A young girl in a white kimono lay quietly on the high platform, her face hidden by a fox mask... The people below watched everything silently, without a trace of sympathy.
"Wuwuru!~" A giant white fox suddenly ran out from the deep woods on one side of the village. With a red mark on its forehead, it lightly leaped onto the high platform. Its white eyes ignored the humans below... then, it opened its fetid maw...
"Splurt!~" Without hesitation, the giant fox swallowed the slightly trembling girl whole. The next moment, its sharp teeth bit down hard... Thick blood, gushing like a spring, dripped from the fox's mouth onto the ground, blooming into flowers of blood...
Theresa's vision blurred again...
"How heartless. You don't even recognize me..." The pink-haired girl in a black robe said mockingly, covering half her face, her azure eyes fixed on her.
"..." Although Theresa wanted to step back, her body moved forward involuntarily, reaching out with a slender arm as if to grab the other person.
[Kallen...] The scene before her eyes rapidly collapsed like a mirage, but amidst it all, Theresa seemed to faintly hear the other person murmur.
...............
"Principal Theresa... why are you spacing out again?!" Li Xuan bent down and shouted loudly at the white-haired loli nun in front of him. He had only taken a few steps before he noticed Theresa standing there motionlessly with a dazed expression...
"Huh?!..." Theresa suddenly awoke as if from a dream...
"Principal Theresa, what's wrong with you again?" Li Xuan frowned and looked at Theresa with confusion. He felt that something was off with her... Why was she always spacing out and getting lost in thought?
"Ugh! It's that scene again!..." Theresa clutched her forehead without answering Li Xuan's question. Every time the memories from the Stigmata flooded in, she would get a headache...
"I'm sorry... it was because I was too weak that such a tragedy occurred..." a voice suddenly appeared in Theresa's mind.
"Who?!" Theresa's head shot up. That voice was clearly a girl's... but besides Li Xuan and her, what other girl was there?!
"What's wrong?! Principal Theresa, what are you talking about? Aren't we the only two here?" Li Xuan asked in confusion.
"You didn't hear that voice?" Theresa asked, looking at Li Xuan earnestly.
"No... there's... no one talking at all." Li Xuan's eyes widened. In this desolate place, who else would there be besides Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies?! Was Principal Theresa hallucinating?
"It's too late... it's all because of the darkness in my heart. Please forgive me..." Theresa ignored Li Xuan's strange look and widened her eyes to look around. There was no one in sight, but the voice still echoed in her mind.
"Who are you? Where are you?" Theresa looked around and shouted.
"Principal Theresa... what are you talking about, there's no one here." Li Xuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and goosebumps rose on his skin.
"Kallen... I'm sorry." A figure emitting a faint pink glow appeared in front of Theresa. Her long pink hair swayed slightly, her features exquisite, and her pair of azure eyes looked at her with a hint of complexity. "I want to go see the original place..."
"You are?" Theresa reached out to grab the other person, but to her disbelief, her small, fair hand passed right through their body.
"Alright, I don't want to hurt you anymore... I'll be leaving you today." Yae Sakura said with a slight smile. She turned around, and when her gaze swept over the dumbfounded Li Xuan, there was a hint of softness in her eyes.
"..." To Theresa's shock, the long, pink-haired girl floated into the air and flew towards the shrine in the distance.
Can't touch her... floating in mid-air... is she a ghost!?
"Wait!..." Theresa reached out and shouted loudly, casually placing the golden cross on her back on the ground and quickly chasing after her. She had too many questions...
"...Hey, wait, Principal..." Li Xuan watched in astonishment as Theresa muttered to herself for a while, then threw the Judah on her back to the ground and reached out towards the empty space, shouting, "Wait..."
"..." In the time it took for Li Xuan to be stunned, Theresa had almost reached the torii gate of the shrine.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Li Xuan abruptly looked up to see the figure of the certain white-haired nun disappear at the entrance of the shrine in the distant village.
"Am I seeing things?!..." Li Xuan hesitated for a moment, then cautiously started to follow in Principal Theresa's footsteps. No matter what... he couldn't just leave her... After all, only Theresa knew how to fly the airship!
"..." Li Xuan looked around warily, feeling that this place had a sinister and eerie atmosphere...
(End of this chapter)