Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"It's one thing to fool a child with these kinds of words, but I know very well that since 'I' chose to seal away these memories, there must be a reason why 'I' had to do it."

Completely unaffected by these words, Lingyi silently gave a firm response to the presence behind the door.

After obtaining information about the prehistoric civilization from Adam, she became aware of this information stored in her consciousness and understood why she had no memories of the prehistoric civilization.

“As long as I don’t open this door, unless I’m connected to the world like before, you won’t be able to exert any influence on me anymore,” Zero said slowly.

[Yes, I thought that after everything you went through, you would have understood the excellence of "one is all" (meaning complete excellence). I never expected to be deceived by you. You deliberately held back before I could make a move, causing the world connection to be broken.] The dazzling blue text seemed to carry a hint of impotent rage.

Originally, she only wanted to gain the other party's approval before she immediately took over their place.

Unexpectedly, after realizing this fact, the other party was willing to make their already bad state even worse in order to do such a thing in that frantic mental state.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. As for me... ha, cough cough, um, my time of being able to stay sober is about to end."

I glanced at the emotions in the text, and although I still wanted to follow my own nature and show off my intelligence in front of the other person.

But Lingyi realized that as she let her thoughts run wild, the terrible memories and emotions that had resurfaced began to invade her consciousness as before.

After unleashing the power that required complete relaxation, she lost the ability to control the restlessness within her and could only postpone destruction by ceasing her thoughts.

If this continues, I'm afraid her mind will once again uncontrollably descend into that state of madness, just like before.

[I can't understand why you restrain yourself so much, why you don't completely indulge your inner self, and I can't understand why, even though I know nothing, your heart still firmly blocks me.] The words in the vibrant blue text reveal her unwavering incomprehension.

[Fine, no matter how you try to stop me, my resurrection is unstoppable.]

"Is that so? But in the moments before that moment arrives, I will drag you down with me, even if... I have to experience that terrible feeling again." Then, the text stopped thinking and silently stated this fact to Lingyi. Lingyi simply smiled and stated the same fact before disappearing into the dark space. PS. Good afternoon.

Chapter Five: The Curtain Rises

"Ahhhhhh"

Another fall, this time one that has nearly given Tachibana Hibiki a psychological scar.

Fortunately, the fall ended not long afterward.

"Ugh... Pfft."

Hibiki Tachibana fell to the ground, spat out the sand in her mouth, and rubbed her head, looking somewhat dazed.

"Zero-chan, what is she thinking...?"

Confused, Tachibana Hibiki got up and looked around, only to be met with an unfamiliar scene.

Is it a wasteland? Weeds grow rampant everywhere, and flying and crawling insects, as well as various small creatures, all thrive on this sandy ground.

The ruins are filled with concrete buildings of different functions that were once built with hope, but now they have collapsed carelessly, devoid of any vitality.

I saw corpses, horrifying human corpses...

"A corpse?!"

Hibiki Tachibana shuddered, startled by the object that had suddenly come into view, and took a step back.

"Ryou-chan?"

Then, taking a step back, she realized that her body seemed to have passed through something as if it had become ethereal. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was Zero.

You can see that she is wearing tattered clothes that don't fit her well but reveal a familiar and exquisite style. Her platinum blonde hair is covered in dust from the wind and sand, and she looks like a refugee who has just fled from somewhere.

But what's even more noticeable than these things is her small, seemingly only a few years old size.

"Little Zero-chan, and where is this place? What part of Zero-chan's memory are we in now? And... what will happen next?"

Hibiki Tachibana had a question in her mind about the unclear numbers, and she was curious about the scene before her.

"Hibiki, how's it going over there?"

As she was thinking, Kohinata Mirai's voice appeared from behind her.

Turning around, she saw her companions behind her. They seemed to have landed in different places and had just rushed over after seeing the situation.

"In the future... um, I see a tiny Rei-chan here, and I still don't know where this place is."

Hibiki Tachibana briefly answered her findings and questions.

Based on the shape of the ruins and the analysis of the vegetation, this area appears to be a landscape depicting two small countries. According to records, this scene suggests that these two countries were in conflict more than a decade ago.

Elfnein's voice rang out at this moment, providing intelligence support to Tachibana Hibiki and the others.

"It's Elfnein. I thought we'd lost contact."

The sound coming from beside her ears made Xiaoqiege feel a little more at ease.

"Elfnein, how much time has passed outside? When was the last time you saw us?"

Compared to Xiaoqiege's sense of security, Yuedu Diao was more concerned with confirming some kind of information from the outside world.

[Time... well, our footage shows that you just fell from that screen, followed by a black screen for about ten seconds, and then this is the scene we're in now.]

Although she didn't quite understand, Elfnein still informed Tsukuyomi about their situation.

"A dozen seconds? Leaving aside the seemingly endless fall, even the time I spent reuniting with Lingyi lasted longer than a dozen seconds!"

Chris looked surprised and asked, not understanding.

[Hmm, has Miss Zero appeared here? I didn't notice her.]

SONG on Elfnein's side was equally surprised and immediately checked the surveillance footage, but found nothing.

"Indeed, it seems that the flow of time in the consciousness space is different from that in the outside world. Sometimes our consciousness is in a state of shielded acceleration, and the acceleration factor should be enormous."

Nodding, Tsukuyomi deduced this conclusion. She wondered why SONG, whom she had reconnected with, didn't seem like so much time had actually passed.

"Ha, the rules of the consciousness space are really strange. Only in a place like this can one experience this kind of fantastic feeling."

The incomprehensible rules, the increasingly complex situation, and the uncertainty of what awaits them ahead made Chris sigh.

"There are many unknowns, which is why we must explore them. If we don't know the whole picture, we won't be able to understand each other."

There are many unknowns, but the things that need to be done remain the same. Tachibana Hibiki turned her gaze to the little girl-like Rei, observing her intently.

As she observed, the scene began to change, and words appeared on Lingyi's body.

Where am I? Am I still alive?

These words appeared, and then, with a look of relief on her face, Lingyi knelt down on the ground.

[Still alive, still alive is good, really]

There, kneeling on the ground, Lingyi seemed not yet to have recovered from a certain feeling. Tachibana Hibiki was very familiar with this feeling; it was a sensation she had experienced before and was now experiencing deeply again.

die……

[...I don't want to experience that feeling again, of my existence gradually disappearing, of dying—I absolutely don't want that! I want to live, to live forever!]

[That's right, that's exactly it. Death is absolutely unacceptable. I never want to experience that feeling again, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely!!!]

The words that appeared on her body showed just how profound the impact of the shock was on her.

"Ryou-chan..."

Hibiki Tachibana was able to understand her thoughts.

It was precisely because she had experienced what death meant that she truly understood Lingyi's current somewhat deranged state.

Having experienced death and understood the most primal struggle between life and death, it's perfectly reasonable to develop a fear of death etched into one's soul. [Hoo... Hah—]

After a while, Lingyi, who had been kneeling on the ground, stood up unsteadily, seemingly realizing that her heart was still beating and there was no need to continue in such fear.

But then again, now that I've survived, where am I? It doesn't look like a hospital, it's more like a wasteland. And these clothes I'm wearing... when did I start wearing a cosplay outfit? How did it get so tattered?

Confused words emerged from her, and Lingyi, regaining her senses, was troubled by the current situation.

[My hair, such beautiful platinum blonde... wait, could it be... a mirror... a mirror... ah, found it, a full-length mirror over here.]

As time went on, she seemed to have confirmed something, so she looked around and soon found a mirror that was mostly broken but still usable.

Standing in front of the mirror, she slowly observed her body through the reflection. She was stunned, as if she had received some shocking truth.

[Is this...me?]

[Am I... Rei?]

Her slender fingers touched the mirror, and the unfathomable feel of it left her utterly bewildered.

Ah, so this is what they call time travel after death... Hmm, well, not bad, I can accept it, after all, even miracles like resurrection have happened... Oh right, I forgot, whoever did it, I'm very grateful to have brought me back to life.

After a while, seemingly accepting the fact, her emotions visibly relaxed, and Bing thanked the being whose existence was unknown, with a grateful tone.

[Right now, let's first get familiar with our surroundings. This is a new world. Me... what's my name again?]

After relaxing, she placed her small fist on her chest, preparing to give herself a pep talk and get into the zone.

However, she suddenly stopped midway through her speech.

Hmm... Ah... I can't remember. My memory is a bit hazy. I was only focused on surviving and maintaining my consciousness, so I forgot some unimportant things... But are names unimportant things? Hmm, it seems that's really true for me.

After all, I've always been called "Hey" since I was a child. I have no family, no friends, and no one calls me by my name. My only social interaction is online, and my job involves editing videos, which doesn't require social interaction. I'm called "Lingyi" by my online name more often than by my real name.

Is this a case of "use it or lose it"? It's been so long since anyone called me or used it that it automatically became unimportant and was forgotten. I remember perfectly clearly who owed me a few cents when I was a kid, but I can't remember this.

A host of resentments arose from her. After racking her brains but still not being able to remember her own name, she finally accepted the fact that she was a superhuman who could even forget her own name.

[Since things have come to this, let it be. If I can't remember, I can't remember. Although it might seem strange, I'll continue using the screen name 'Zero Clothes.' In a sense, it really is Zero Clothes after all. *sigh*]

After a short while, she, Lingyi, seemed to accept the fact and left the mirror.

So where is this place?

The words appeared above her head, resolving one question. Now, the question that Lingyi needed to consider was where she was.

[It smells like fireworks during Chinese New Year, like gunpowder, and there are ruins, overgrown weeds, and the bloodied corpse of an adult male lying on the ground... Huh?]

After glancing around, Lingyi began to think. Then, she covered her breasts and her whole body began to tremble involuntarily.

Clearly, she realized at that moment that she was most likely in a modern battlefield.

The battlefield meant that she was incredibly close to what she feared most at that moment: death. As soon as she realized this, she couldn't help but tremble with fear.

[Hide yourself, survive. I barely survived, I don't want to die again!]

The intense will to survive almost overwhelmed Lingyi's other thoughts. At this moment, she had no time to think about anything else; she only wanted to escape from this dangerous hell and survive.

Buzz-----Buzz

However, almost at the same time that thought crossed her mind, a faint buzzing sound appeared around her.

It is an easy-to-understand and obvious fact that if the body on the ground is still bleeding, then the weapon that killed this person must still be lurking nearby.

So, if you kill the enemy's weapon and find that there's new activity here, will you come back to check it out?

boom

An explosion occurred, making the already dilapidated area even more ruined.

The musicians watching from the sidelines were unaffected; these scene elements seemed to exist outside of them, passing through them like a blurred noise. "Zero-chan!"

Although reason told Tachibana Hibiki that the other person had survived, the scene before her made her unable to help but worry.

[Cough cough, ugh...it hurts, it really hurts, hiss...but thank goodness, it's not a fatal wound, I can still live...]

The scene continued to unfold. After the smoke from the explosion cleared, Lingyi, who had been hiding behind the collapsed shelves in the store, stood up and let out a sound that was a mixture of pain and relief.

At this moment, due to the impact of the explosion, several splinters were stuck in her thigh, and one of her eyes appeared to have been scratched by a small shard, causing it to bleed profusely.

The pain was unbearable. If I had never died before, I definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand it. But compared to real death, this was just a serious injury. Ugh, no, it still hurts so much...

Lingyi propped herself up with one hand, muttering these words of defiance, but soon she could no longer deceive herself with these words of defiance.

Clutching her bleeding wound, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face; she was undeniably miserable.

It's okay, it's okay, you're not dead yet. As long as you're alive, it's okay. Keep living. You need to bandage your wounds. You can't see anymore, your vision is blurry, but that's okay, as long as you can still breathe...

Her voice trembled slightly as she endured the excruciating pain from her wounds. Despite her severe injuries, she slowly rose to her feet and began to move with faltering steps. "Damn it..."

They reach out to hold hands in an attempt to express their concern, but can only vaguely convey through the other person's body that they can do nothing.

"Damn it, isn't there any way to do this?!"

Even knowing it was a memory from the past, Chris still found it hard to accept the suffering Lingyi had endured, seeing her like this.

Having just been given a second chance at life, she was immediately plunged into crisis. This tragic reality reminded her of her experiences during the war. "There's nothing I can do... I can only watch."

Across a dimensional barrier, Kohinata Mirai realized this.

Now we can only watch like moviegoers, unable to do anything to help.