The sakura petals still fell like a spring drizzle in the gentle breeze. The warm afterglow of the sunset shone on Theresa's body. Even though it was just an afterglow, the closed-eyed Theresa could feel waves of warmth flowing through her.
In the falling sakura blossoms, Yae Sakura, who was embracing Theresa with open arms, her frail figure gradually dissipated... as if merging into Theresa's body.
"..." Theresa was slightly taken aback. The red mark on her back that carried memories, the 'Stigmata', suddenly flickered with a red glow... Her vision began to blur.
".This is..." Theresa opened her eyes. What greeted her was a flurry of sakura petals. Yae Sakura, who had just been there, was nowhere to be seen.
"Is Yae Sakura gone?" Theresa stood quietly on the bluestone path. Both sides of the path were lined with neat rows of sakura trees. In the gentle breeze, sakura petals fluttered down, filling the walkway and suffusing the air with a faint floral fragrance.
"..." Theresa raised her head to look at the dense sakura trees on both sides. The crimson blossoms were interspersed with specks of snow-white. The snow-white sakura petals adorned the sakura like snowflakes.
"What beautiful sakura blossoms. I will remember this sight in my heart..." Theresa murmured, her eyes reflecting the sky and ground filled with sakura petals. Even for her, she had only ever seen such a beautiful scene at this moment.
"..." Theresa suddenly frowned. She reached out and gently clutched her chest. Just now, her heart had suddenly twitched, and a piercing pain spread throughout her body, accompanied by a strange sadness welling up from the bottom of her heart.
"Why do I feel a bit reluctant to part..." Theresa said softly, her eyes downcast. She had clearly met the person who gave her the Stigmata, but she still felt an inexplicable reluctance...
"Is it because of Kallen?..." Theresa lowered her head and looked at her own hands. Her own body was brought about by that person named 'Kallen'...
"..." No one answered Theresa's question. All she could hear was the 'rustling' sound of the wind blowing through the sakura trees. Countless sakura petals were flying about, making it difficult to see what was ahead.
A pair of little girls in kimonos came walking from the side of the path, holding hands and giggling. They were holding a lollipop, or to be precise, a lollipop made from a wheat stalk with a round ball of malt candy wrapped around the top.
"Rin! Look! The sakura blossoms are so beautiful!" The little girl with long, flowing pink hair held up her candy and pointed at the fluttering sakura petals, speaking loudly to her younger sister beside her. She excitedly pulled her sister along, quickening her pace to chase after the flying petals.
"Big sister! Wait for me!" Yae Rin, who also had long pink hair but styled in twin tails, said loudly with a happy smile, revealing a small canine tooth.
"Who are these two children?..." Theresa looked at the two cute little girls in kimonos who had suddenly appeared with confusion and surprise. There was no one here just a moment ago.
"Are you also here to see the sakura blossoms?" Yae Sakura, with her waist-length hair, asked curiously, looking at the big sister before her.
"What a strange outfit. Are you... a foreigner?" Yae Rin, with her twin tails, peeked her little head out from behind her sister. Her pair of azure eyes, also full of curiosity, looked at Theresa in her nun's habit and said.
"I..." Just as Theresa opened her mouth to answer, Yae Rin, who was holding the malt candy in front of her, suddenly reached out and grabbed her little hand.
"Come on! Let's play together," Yae Rin said with a smile, turning her head back.
"Hey, hey..." Theresa stumbled a few steps as she was pulled along, her vision obscured by the flurry of sakura petals...
"..." Theresa came back to her senses. It was as if only a blink of an eye had passed. Before her was still the simple, dilapidated shrine, and in front of her was still that same sakura tree...
"I think I finally know why I don't grow up..." Theresa murmured as if talking in her sleep, gazing at the sakura petals fluttering before her.
"Because... the person who gave me life also once wanted to be with the one she loved..."
"Forever..."
........................….
"Principal Theresa!" Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind Theresa. Li Xuan, wearing the 'Xuanyuan Festive Garb', warily scanned his surroundings and ran quickly towards her. Li Xuan was a little frightened by the sight of Theresa standing dazed and crying from time to time, talking to thin air... After all, in that scene, Theresa looked as if she were possessed.
"Sorry..." Theresa turned around, a forced smile on her lips, and said, "Li Xuan, I just saw the 'Yae Sakura' you said saved me..."
"Ah?! Where?" Li Xuan's expression brightened. After such a long time, he finally heard news of Yae Sakura. He had always been hopeful that Sakura hadn't truly died...
"She has already disappeared..." Theresa said, a trace of sadness flashing in her eyes. She had seen it with her own eyes; the somewhat frail figure of Yae Sakura embracing her had slowly faded away... According to the local saying in Nagazora City, that should be called achieving Buddhahood, right?
"That's impossible!" Li Xuan said loudly. Sakura had told him to wait for her, that she would come back... How could she disappear?! As long as there's a Familiar Egg, even a soul can be resurrected!.
"Sakura! Sakura!..." Li Xuan looked around and shouted loudly. There was no way Yae Sakura could have truly disappeared. They had made a promise... Sakura must be nearby.
"..." Theresa silently watched Li Xuan shouting without stopping him. In her eyes, Yae Sakura had indeed disappeared... Li Xuan's actions were just a futile reluctance to let go. Under the monster named reality, this was just a struggle; even if they were to reunite, it would be a matter for the next cycle.
But at this moment... a gentle breeze rose from nowhere, swirling the surrounding sakura petals into a vortex. The surrounding Honkai energy was continuously being absorbed by the vortex, yet an endless supply gathered from all directions.
"There's a Honkai energy reaction again!" Li Xuan and Theresa, both possessing Stigmata, simultaneously felt the Honkai energy contained within the small vortex that had appeared out of thin air.
"Be careful, Principal Theresa..." Li Xuan hurriedly shielded Theresa behind him and said. It should be known that Theresa didn't have 'Judah's Oath' with her right now, so she was practically unarmed.
"I've kept you waiting, Li Xuan-kun..." Suddenly, a voice reached Li Xuan's ears, feeling inexplicably familiar.
The vortex that was swirling the crimson sakura petals suddenly stopped. The petals, in turn, fluttered down from mid-air like rain again. A figure appeared silently in the sakura rain.
Pink, waist-length hair, a delicate face. In the rain of flowers, Yae Sakura looked at the two somewhat stunned people with a smile. Her figure seemed both illusory and real...
(End of chapter)