Yuno paused and continued to explain: "Right now, we are resting to manifest what we have already found."
"Manifest? How do we do that?" Rover asked, feigning curiosity despite already knowing the answer.
Instead of answering directly, Yuno took the initiative to reach out and gently place her hand over the back of his.
Her fingertips were still slightly cool, but they carried a bit more tangible substance than before. Rover understood her intent and gently wrapped his fingers around her hand.
The next moment, the surrounding scenery blurred and shifted once more, and a clear, vibrant memory flooded into his mind—
"Victory is the natural outcome for me." A lively, even somewhat arrogant little girl appeared in his vision.
"This is just the beginning. In the future... I will become an even greater warrior than my mother."
"But why... what makes you so certain... that I am that person?" The voice grew more mature, carrying an imperceptible trace of bewilderment.
"That, that is..." The voice abruptly dropped, laced with confusion.
"Hmm? Can I no longer see it...?" The voice rang out again. She was trying to convince herself, yet couldn't hide a hint of wavering.
"Because this is the will of fate. Because it has favored me more than others..."
The ripples of the memory slowly calmed down.
Rover snapped back to reality from that vivid recollection and looked at Yuno beside him.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that her silhouette had solidified considerably. Her outline was much clearer, and the light in her eyes was becoming more vivid and lively.
"You look much better than before," he said sincerely, then continued, "So, after experiencing and feeling as much as possible, we have to... rest in a place with the Moonstone Golden Bough, to turn what has been 'anchored' into a true part of you?"
"Exactly. Only after manifesting can I accommodate more," she nodded affirmatively, the light of wisdom flashing in her eyes. "Only then can we find a more complete version of me."
She looked at Rover, the corners of her lips curling up slightly, her eyes curving into a smile: "Blank, you... are very smart."
Her smile was filled with genuine reliance, without a single trace of falsehood or pretense. Seeing it made Rover's heart flutter.
He slowly raised the semi-solidified hand of hers that he was holding. Feeling the temperature that carried a touch of reality within the illusion, and under the gaze of her gradually widening eyes, he gently pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.
"Blank... what are you doing?"
Yuno still seemed a bit dazed. Her eyes brimmed with genuine confusion, seemingly unable to understand the actions of the person before her.
"Holding your hand, feeling the warmth of your palm..." Rover raised his head, revealing an incredibly gentle smile. "I can feel that you are truly, tangibly returning to my side."
"This time, I won't let go. I won't let you leave me ever again."
Hearing his words, which were practically a confession, the confusion on Yuno's face gradually transformed into boundless gentleness. She squeezed his hand in return and gently brought it up to caress her own cheek.
"Mm, I won't leave you either."
After a brief rest, the two held hands and moved forward once more.
Rover could feel that Yuno's hand was no longer so illusory; the strength it transmitted was a bit clearer. This made him very happy, as it proved Yuno was genuinely returning to his side.
The two continued their trek through the chaos, anchoring more memory fragments.
Feeling a newly anchored stream of memories flowing toward Yuno, Rover said, "It seems the 'anchoring' is still ongoing. This segment seems to be a memory from after you became an Oracle."
"Up ahead is... the market in Aeterno Square? I want to go take a look."
Yuno nodded and pointed toward a bustling illusion gradually forming ahead.
The two continued forward, walking toward the center of the square.
The market was bustling with voices, brimming with the breath of everyday life.
"Back then, you didn't seem to mind giving out prophecies, and the people were much closer to you than they were later on," Rover noted as he observed their surroundings.
"Yes... and over there, that is my divination stand." Yuno pointed to a slightly elevated platform in the center of the square, where a divination table and two chairs were set up. "Everyone is waiting for the Oracle's prophecy. I need to... go there and give prophecies to everyone."
She pulled Rover along and walked up to the divination pedestal.
The scene instantly became real. It was as if they had truly traveled back to the Aeterno Square of the past.
Just as they sat down, a clear voice carrying a bit of curiosity and a professional opening line rang out: "You look quite unfamiliar. You're not a local of the Seven Hills, are you?"
Rover turned his head in surprise and found that the phantom of Yuno beside him had disappeared. In its place was a tangible Yuno, her eyes bright and confident.
She was looking at him with great interest.
"Yuno, you... you've reverted to your original self?" Rover couldn't hide the pleasant surprise in his heart and blurted out.
"Not bad, you even went out of your way to ask around for my name."
She smiled, seemingly finding his question a bit strange. "Reverted? Original? What is all this nonsense? Does the answer you seek have to be so complicated... Whatever, you're just lucky you found me."
Her tone carried that familiar trace of arrogance belonging to the genius Oracle: "They all say that Oracles cannot always see, but what they see is always correct. But I am different from them. I am not only always correct, but I can always see."
Looking at her, Rover thought to himself, "This Yuno really is exactly as confident as she was in my memories."
"Alright, we can do this without an object too, as long as you don't mind me improvising." Saying that, Yuno prepared to begin her divination.
Rover watched her, pondered for a moment, and decided to utter the crucial identity prompt from his memory: "I am... the Blank Person."
"Blank Person... what a familiar title..."
She muttered the name. A moment later, the confident smile on her face suddenly froze.
Yuno's brows furrowed slightly. Her eyes filled with confusion and an awakening shock. "No, who exactly are you?"
Her voice began to tremble. "You are... Rover? Why... why are you... here? Is this Aeterno Square?"
The floodgates of her memory seemed to burst open instantly. She abruptly stood up and looked around, the color draining from her face.
"Has something happened to the Seven Hills? Or to Augusta and the others? No, that's not right... I should have already disappeared. Why am I so exhausted, as if I've been walking down a path I've already taken, over and over without pause?"
"I seem to have seen many memories from the past... Mother, the Oracles... and you. It was you. You did something for me, didn't you?"
Her gaze locked tightly onto Rover. "But you shouldn't be here. Even I shouldn't be... I didn't completely disappear?"
Faced with her barrage of questions and her gradually recovering consciousness, the pent-up emotions in Rover's heart finally found an outlet.
His voice carried irrepressible agitation and a hint of reproach:
"So why did you use yourself as the price? Why did you leave so suddenly? Why didn't you choose to trust me?!"
"Is this the ending the most genius 'Oracle' chose for herself?!"
Yuno was stunned by his questioning. Pain and guilt flashed through her eyes, but mostly it was a profound helplessness and resolve: "I'm sorry, Rover... but... but this was the best ending I could fight for the Seven Hills."
She tried to explain, her tone urgent. "I knew it long ago. I knew it three years ago. I knew that one day, I would turn my entire existence into the Moon Arrow to anchor the Divine King. I just didn't know exactly when that day would be, or if doing so would truly be enough..."
Her gaze fell on Rover, becoming gentle and affirming. "But, until I saw you. You were exactly the same as the white speck I saw in my final vision of the future."
"I was finally certain that my blasphemy and defiance were worth it. I had finally... no, I had already found the correct solution."
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