"That's all."
The dusty Raiden Mei arrived at a dilapidated compound under the guidance of Padophilis.
This place resembled an abandoned elementary school.
Today was undoubtedly Raiden Mei's first visit to Twilight Street.
Along the way, she naturally and clearly sensed the chaos surrounding her.
Those greedy, dangerous, and lustful eyes.
Don't let curiosity get the better of you and look into the gloomy alley.
There, remnants of corpses still remained, surrounded by rotting maggots and flies.
Or worse, though still alive, they had become walking flesh—addicted, corrupted—tangled and entwined with one another...
That kind of movement—Lei Dian Mei, who boasted about having fallen into darkness—had never truly touched it at all.
She didn't want to hear it, but alas... her current body was far too powerful for her to control properly.
In short, within Twilight Street, the places exposed to sunlight and those hidden from it were two completely different worlds.
Even when adjacent to one another.
The union of light and shadow is a natural abyss.
Of course, coming to Twilight Street was not entirely safe, even in a sunlit world.
But only here, in the courtyard before her, could you see many children playing.
They laughed carefreely.
And thus enjoyed the present in freedom.
This was Aponia's sanatorium.
Not far off, in a corner of the compound, one could see a small church.
It too was pitiful.
There was even a wooden door on one side, missing its latch and hanging loosely from the wall.
At that moment, she looked toward it and saw a woman with a "calm" temperament, walking toward the church with her hands before her, carrying a rusty iron bucket.
With shoulder-length hair twisted into pigtails, she seemed to sense Raiden Mei's gaze, stopped her steps, turned around, and looked back in doubt.
Those eyes.
Again, without any focal distance.
"!!!"
At that moment, Raiden Mei instinctively took a step back as if suffering from stress-induced trauma.
She even unconsciously posed in a stance to face an enemy.
She nearly summoned that special, powerful, and strange "knife" that had followed the "Key of Heavenly Death" and dissipated along with the power of the Herrscher of Thunder—and had since been replaced.
For a moment.
"A guest?"
When Raiden Mei suddenly regained her senses, she was startled to discover cold sweat on her back.
And—
At some point, the woman—whose eyes also lacked focal distance—had already appeared less than three meters in front of her.
When had she approached?
Why hadn't she noticed that the other party was standing right in front of her until she spoke?
What had she done?
Or... had the psychological shadow left by Ling Ke become so severe?
Simply put—
Terrifying!
"Eh~"
Raiden Mei tried to stop her thoughts from spiraling.
She looked again at the woman in front of her... there was no doubt the other person was Aponia.
Her appearance and even her figure were not much different from what she had seen in the "Land of the Past."
Minus the pair of butterfly wings.
Somewhat saintly.
It was just that, even knowing the person was Aponia and not Ling Ke—
Raiden Mei still didn't want to... or "didn't dare" to look directly into those unfocused eyes.
"Could this be a common trait of someone who also possesses the ability to foresee the future?"
She was a little nervous.
But when she thought back to the first time she saw Ling Ke, the other's eyes were actually no different from those of a normal person.
The eyes are the window to the soul.
So why did unholy and unfocused eyes appear on such a person...? There weren't many likely reasons.
Either the heart was dead or clouded.
Or it was hidden.
And neither were good things.
Raiden Mei thought deeply.
It could be said that thinking of Ling Ke still prevented her from calming down at all.
"Guest?"
It seemed that Raiden Mei's condition was clearly off, and the "nun" reminded her once again.
"I'm sorry, I—"
Raiden Mei just wanted to say something.
But she was stunned.
Only then did she realize that Padophilis, who had been leading the way, had long since vanished from her side.
Yes, that one—who feared neither door cats nor fusion warriors for the moment—had silently oiled her soles in advance according to her plan.
Of course, she hadn't left the area but was carrying out her little plan. After that, she turned a corner and hid nearby, quietly poking out her cat head.
Well, now Pardo had a kitten on her head that clung closely to her, its fur nearly the same color as her hair.
The two combined were simply: Cat Head.
Well, no more cold jokes.
This was Twilight Street, not Sumeru City.
Right now—
"If you have something to discuss, you may come in and speak."
Aponia seemed to see through Raiden Mei's intentions.
At that moment, she turned to the side, still carrying the rust-covered iron bucket in one hand, while gesturing with the other toward the dilapidated church.
"Oh, lost traveler, believe it."
"Our Lord (God) shall guide you on your path forward."
These words sounded like they came from a believer's mouth.
However, Raiden Mei still felt uneasy about the situation.
As if there was an inexplicable sense of dissonance.
It couldn't be helped. The days she had spent in the "Previous Era Paradise"...
Even though—due to the butterfly effect caused by Ling Ke—that place hadn't been invaded by the "Law of Erosion" and hadn't died as in the original plot, the series of lines Aponia spoke, all starting with the word "please," still made Raiden Mei feel somewhat sensitive.
Even so—
"Aponia, who has not yet become a fusion warrior, should not possess the ability of 'Mandates.'"
Raiden Mei deduced this from the portion of information she had learned about the "Previous Era."
So—
"Disturbed."
She responded.
Then followed Aponia and entered the sanatorium.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Eden's concert had ended.
It was now the finale.
Night had already fallen over Changkong City.
After walking to the Dome behind him, Ling Ke wandered calmly through a lively night market.
The "cinema game" he had bought earlier was already eaten.
But now, his arms were still full of large and small bags—packed with skewers, sushi, and takoyaki.
"An extraordinary body is nice; no matter how much you eat, you won't gain weight."
Ling Ke murmured in his heart.
Suddenly, he paused, as if sensing something.
Immediately, a playful curve rose at the corner of his mouth.
"Really now, I still wanted to take a vacation."
"Why is it that 'the next scene'... is actually the beginning!"