"Doctor Garaki, how is Miko doing?" Touko's worried voice echoed through the room as she held Miko's hand.
With a serene expression, Doctor Garaki spoke while holding a folder.
"According to previous reports, Miss Miko Yotsuya entered a state of hysteria after being informed of her brother's passing."
"What I can recommend are some sedatives."
"Will there be any side effects that might impact Miko's future, Doctor?" Mamoru's voice sounded calm, though it held a nuance of veiled caution.
"There will be no permanent side effects. The medication is to be taken once a day; over time, the dosage will be reduced to once every two days. Once we observe an improvement in her mental state, we will decide whether to continue the treatment," Doctor Garaki replied as he wrote out the prescription for the medication.
"By the way, here is a recommendation card for an excellent therapist," Doctor Garaki said, pulling a black card from his pocket.
"I don't know this therapist personally, but they say he is quite good."
"Thank you very much, Doctor," Mamoru replied, taking the card from his hands.
In Miko's subconscious...
Miko opened her eyes, feeling dazed.
As she opened her eyes, the scene that met her gaze was that of a lush green meadow stretching as far as the eye could see.
Looking around, Miko realized she was standing atop a small hill—the only hill in that strange place.
As she took a step forward, the unmistakable sound of clashing chains shattered the atmosphere, which had until then been peaceful and pleasant.
Looking down, Miko saw multiple translucent blue chains wrapping around her entire body.
She wore shackles around her neck, wrists, and ankles—all of them connected to the chains. The chains were not very long—barely a dozen links before they seemed to vanish into thin air.
However, every now and then, they would flicker intermittently, revealing that the chains were, in fact, connected to something entirely different. Following the trail of the chains, Miko turned around and began to follow them. Upon reaching the crest of the hill, Miko spotted a black-and-gray checkered tablecloth spread out on the ground, alongside a black beach umbrella.
"Ah, you've arrived, Miko," a voice interrupted the pleasant sound of the wind.
"Rin!" Miko's cheerful voice replied.
From within the translucent chains that had begun to materialize, a figure almost identical to Miko appeared before her.
This person was bound by shackles, just like her—around the neck, wrists, and ankles.
"Rin! I knew you were alive!" Miko leaped enthusiastically toward her brother, Rin.
Amidst a tight embrace and a comforting warmth, Miko's worries vanished into thin air.
"Rin, Rin, Rin, Rin..." Miko's voice—tinged with a hint of obsession—reached Rin's ears like a soothing melody.
"There, there, Miko... everything is fine. You know I'll never leave your side," Rin said in a reassuring tone, gently stroking her hair from the crown of her head down to the tips.
Miko greedily inhaled Rin's scent to calm herself.
For a few moments, Miko and Rin simply held each other, savoring the moment.
"Miko."
"Yes, Rin?" "I have something very important to tell you," says Rin's soothing voice softly.
Reluctantly—and summoning immense willpower—Miko pulls away from Rin's embrace.
"What is it you need to tell me, brother?" Miko asks.
"Let's go sit under that umbrella."
Miko follows Rin just as a duckling follows its mother.
"Come on, let's sit down," says Rin.
They both sit down naturally, side by side.
Rin on the left, and Miko on the right.
With a gentle tilt of her head, Miko rests it against Rin's shoulder. "You know, Miko... my body is dead." The detached words that escaped Rin's lips made Miko go rigid.
"But you're here with me; I can feel you and touch you," says Miko, lifting her left hand to touch Rin's right.
"You can do that because we're inside our mental landscape," says Rin calmly.
Lifting her head to look at Rin, Miko asks, "What is a mental landscape?"
"It's the place human consciousness goes when a person sleeps or passes out—a place where one's personality and hopes are reflected."
"Right now, we are in exactly that place," says Rin, gesturing with his hand to encompass the green meadows stretching out around them as far as the eye can see.
"So... are you just a condensed mental image, formed from my memories of my brother, Rin?" Miko's voice—filled with disillusionment and on the verge of breaking—casts a heavy shadow over the atmosphere.
Just as Miko was about to suffer another mental breakdown, a sharp pain in her forehead interrupted her thoughts.
"Ouch! That hurts!" exclaimed Miko, rubbing her forehead with her right hand.
Rin withdrew the finger he had used to flick Miko on the head.
"Don't overthink it so much. I'm not some imaginary person; stop watching so many weird movies." Rin sighed, shaking his head at his older sister's runaway imagination.
"Then... why are you here?" Miko asked curiously.
"It seems you don't remember," Rin sighed softly.
"What are you talking about?" asked Miko.
"Well, you know that I can see evil spirits, right?"
Miko nodded in agreement.
"You see—and I'm not sure if everyone possesses it—but we both have something called 'Cursed Energy.'"
"What is Cursed Energy?" asked Miko, her curiosity piqued. "Cursed Energy emanates from negative human emotions."
"This energy can be utilized in various ways."
"Such as reinforcing your body to make it stronger, creating barriers, summoning *shikigami*... you can even use it to unleash blasts of energy."
"And this energy possesses a unique mechanism that allows it to forge contracts—whether between two people or with oneself." "Wow, that's incredible! But why don't I ever remember having this Cursed Energy?" Miko exclaims.
"I already told you: Cursed Energy operates under a complex system. One of the reasons neither of you could utilize Cursed Energy is a condition known as a Heavenly Restriction."
"A Heavenly Restriction?" Miko whispers.
"Yes. A Heavenly Restriction is, in essence, a permanent Binding Vow established at birth."
"What is a Binding Vow?" Miko asks.
"A Binding Vow is a contract made through the use of Cursed Energy. It works by sacrificing something in exchange for something else—of equal or lesser value—that ultimately benefits you."
"I'm not sure I follow," Miko says; her confused expression is actually quite adorable.
"Let me give you an example: imagine a Binding Vow that suppresses your Cursed Energy flow by 80% during school hours. In exchange, if you remain at school *outside* of those hours, your Cursed Energy reserves will skyrocket to 120%."
"Do you understand now?"
"Yes, I get it... loud and clear! But I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Are Binding Vows permanent, or can they be broken?"
"Binding Vows *can* be broken. For instance, if you break a Vow you made with yourself, you simply lose whatever benefit you gained by making it in the first place." "However, if one of the parties unilaterally breaks a Binding Vow established between two individuals, they will suffer a repercussion—a penalty—far more severe than the benefit they originally derived from said Vow."
"I see. So, as long as you don't break the contract, everything remains fine."
"Exactly."
"Now, allow me to explain the Heavenly Restriction. A Heavenly Restriction is a permanent Binding Vow established at the precise moment of your birth, and it cannot be broken."
"There are two types of Heavenly Restrictions. The first involves sacrificing the greater part of your physical body in exchange for an immense amount of Cursed Energy."
"The other option is to sacrifice the majority of your Cursed Energy in exchange for a physical body that reaches the absolute pinnacle of human potential."
"That's incredible! Just like the protagonists in manga!" says Miko.
"Something like that."
"Now that I've finished explaining what Cursed Energy is, I'll tell you the reason I'm here."
Miko's relaxed expression tightens slightly.
She didn't want to stop and dwell on the fact that her brother was dead; she had decided to set that thought aside temporarily while she listened to Rin's explanation.
But she knew she had no choice but to listen to what Rin had to say.
Although she found it suspicious that Rin knew so much about Cursed Energy, she would always trust her brother, no matter what; because they had always been together, and they always would be.
"You see, Miko, you and I were born with a Heavenly Restriction. Heavenly Restrictions usually appear in random individuals, but—always, without fail—they manifest when twins are born."
"And you and I were born with one."
"Our Heavenly Restriction grants us no advantage; in fact, it weakens us considerably."
"I don't possess enough Cursed Energy to exorcise evil spirits; it only allows me to see them."
"On the other hand, you possess barely any Cursed Energy, and your body can only be strengthened through constant physical training."
"But, in exchange, we share an incredibly powerful bond—one so strong that we can even form Binding Vows without exchanging a single word."
"So... what was the Binding Vow we made?" asks Miko, her voice tinged with sadness.
Rin senses Miko's sadness, but remains silent.
"When we were on the verge of death, our Heavenly Restriction temporarily weakened. That allowed me to access just enough Cursed Energy to form a Binding Vow and activate my Cursed Technique." Miko interrupts him and asks, "What is a Cursed Technique?"
"They're like superpowers powered by Cursed Energy. Think of Cursed Energy as electricity, and the Cursed Technique as the television." "As I was saying, my Cursed Technique is Idle Transfiguration, and it allows me to manipulate and alter the shape of the soul—both my own and that of others."
"Thanks to my Cursed Technique, it was possible to establish a Binding Vow."
"That Binding Vow entails the following: I will house my soul within your heart, and we will share the same body so that we may both survive. In exchange, I will modify your brain—transforming it into that of a sorcerer—so that you may acquire Cursed Energy and a Cursed Technique of your own."
Miko's eyes lit up with hope as he asked, "Does that mean...?"
"That's right. You could say my body is dead, but my soul now resides within yours. We are now one."
With a leap, Miko pounced on Rin, knocking him to the ground, and hugged him tightly.
After a moment of absolute bliss, Miko noticed something strange.
"Brother... so now you're trapped inside my body and can't get out?"
"Don't worry, Miko. We can swap places to take control of the body whenever we wish," Rin said calmly.
"In fact, now that we share a body, our Heavenly Restriction is complete."
"What do you mean?" Miko asked, propping himself up on Rin's stomach.
"Well, each of us had a different Heavenly Restriction: I had the restriction that amplifies Cursed Energy, while you had the one that boosts physical strength. However, both Heavenly Restrictions were incomplete."
"For a Heavenly Restriction to fully materialize, the usual outcome would be for one of us to die in order to complete the other's restriction." "But now that we share a body, the Celestial Restriction is complete. We now possess the advantages of *both* restrictions—without any of their drawbacks—precisely because I lost the greater part of my physical form, retaining only my heart and my soul, which now reside within your body."
Author's note: Honestly, I don't know how to get my story to appear in Webnovel's view or popularity rankings. I would be very grateful if any author or reader who knows how could explain it to me. Thank you very much. One more thing, please give me power stones; that would make me very happy.