Imprint

"Chen Xing... is dead?"

Shen Yiyue widened her eyes in disbelief.

"We... survived?"

After struggling for so long, they had finally reached their destination. The overwhelming impact of it all left her momentarily stunned.

"You've worked so hard..."

Ning Yu gently embraced her once more. What Shen Yiyue had endured was far heavier than Ning Yu's own burdens.

The longer the resistance of the weak persists, the more precious it becomes.

"No..."

Shen Yiyue shook her head lightly, nuzzling her cheek against Ning Yu like a contented cat.

"I was too weak. I couldn’t find you, and in the end, it was you who saved me..."

Ning Yu couldn’t help but interrupt her:

"If it weren’t for you searching for me time and time again, I wouldn’t have made it this far."

"We might have all died from the very beginning."

"Don’t dismiss your own efforts. Every time I saw you trying to save me, I couldn’t hold back my emotions."

Shen Yiyue listened in a daze, then whispered into Ning Yu’s ear:

"Would you cry for me?"

"Haven’t I already cried?"

Ning Yu replied softly.

"But if you cry, you won’t be the cool, collected killer anymore, will you?"

Huh?

Ning Yu was momentarily stunned. When did Shen Yiyue find out...

She sifted through her fragmented memories and suddenly recalled a moment in one of the cycles where, before dying, she had been trapped with Shen Yiyue.

In her final moments, she had shared many things she wanted to say.

But thinking about it now, it didn’t matter. There was nothing in her past that she couldn’t share with Shen Yiyue.

After all, the most important thing, driven by her desire for something "real," had already been revealed.

The distance between their two warm souls had been nearly nonexistent for a long time.

"What, do you prefer the cool, aloof type?"

Ning Yu pretended to put on a stern face, her gaze carrying just a hint of menace as she stared at Shen Yiyue.

"No."

Shen Yiyue pouted, pinching Ning Yu’s cheeks to try and coax a smile out of her.

"I want the real you, just as you are."

"You’re such a fool."

Ning Yu chuckled, then suddenly pulled out a mirror from her system space and held it up to Shen Yiyue.

She reached out to brush aside Shen Yiyue’s bangs, revealing the iris flower pattern on her forehead.

"Huh?"

Shen Yiyue caught sight of the faint red iris mark and leaned closer to the mirror for a better look.

"Ah, my face is so dirty... I must have smudged it all over you earlier..."

Of course, the first thing a girl checks when looking in a mirror is whether she still looks pretty.

Ning Yu’s face darkened: *Is that really what you’re focusing on right now?*

But she didn’t hesitate, pulling out a wet wipe from her system space to clean the dust off Shen Yiyue’s face.

"Wait, Ning Yu, don’t wipe it yet... I haven’t had a good look..."

Shen Yiyue reached out to stop her, only to realize the wipe hadn’t removed the iris pattern.

Now her face was clean and bare, free of any makeup, yet to Ning Yu, she was the most beautiful.

"Do you like the pattern?"

Ning Yu asked.

"Ning Yu..."

Shen Yiyue hesitated.

"I’ve heard that if a girl gets a tattoo..."

Ning Yu nearly choked, unable to resist adding:

"Doesn’t that make her a ‘bad girl’?"

"That’s not it!"

Shen Yiyue smacked Ning Yu lightly, then continued curiously:

"So what is this, really?"

She pointed to her forehead, not really believing it was just a tattoo. She had seen too many strange things from Ning Yu to think otherwise.

Ning Yu pulled a small knife from her weapon case and handed it to Shen Yiyue.

"Try making a small cut."

Shen Yiyue was no stranger to this kind of "self-harm." Without a second thought, she took the knife and slashed a large gash into her thigh.

Crimson blood immediately stained her pale skin, dripping down her leg and pooling on the ground.

She had long since grown accustomed to this level of pain, not even flinching, though it was unclear when she had developed such endurance.

"Hey, you didn’t have to make such a big cut."

Ning Yu quickly snatched the knife back, worried she might inflict more wounds on herself.

"Hehe, I just wanted to see you worry about me. Now I’m satisfied."

Shen Yiyue grinned, completely unfazed, then added:

"Don’t worry, I still have my..."

Before she could finish the word "abilities," her outstretched hand froze. She realized her power to rewind time and heal wounds no longer worked.

"Your abilities must have weakened significantly."

Ning Yu looked at her apologetically. After all, she was the one who had used Shen Yiyue to open the 【Xuanpin Gate】 and obtain the 【Time】 origin as a weapon.

Within three seconds, the wound on Shen Yiyue’s leg healed completely under the effect of 【The Song of the Iris’s】 【Rest】.

Her leg was now flawless, as if nothing had happened.

"Huh?"

Shen Yiyue blinked, and the wound on her leg was gone, the pain vanished.

She looked up at Ning Yu, who wore a guilty expression, and reached out to touch her cheek:

"I’m glad my power could be used by you. It’s like we defeated Chen Xing together, right?"

"Now stop feeling guilty and tell me what this is!"

She quickly changed the subject, eager for an explanation.

"Well..."

Ning Yu’s eyes grew distant as she recalled the visions she had seen while wielding 【Chronos Blade】, aided by the knowledge it provided.

Those memories, fading with the disappearance of Chronos, were nearly gone, but she still faintly remembered.

However...

"It’s nothing, just a little secret I planted on you!"

Ning Yu decided to keep it to herself for now, flashing a mischievous "guess what" smile.

"What’s with the mystery..."

Shen Yiyue pouted but didn’t press further, taking the mirror from Ning Yu to examine the iris pattern on her forehead again.

"By the way, Ning Yu, what happened to Chen Xing’s mutated zombies?"

Shen Yiyue suddenly noticed that aside from the two of them, only ruins remained.