Yae Sakura believed her words.
Leading her down the mountain path, it took only half an hour before they reached the foot of the mountain.
What came into view was a shrine.
The village was a few hundred meters away from the shrine. As long as one was careful not to stray beyond the shrine grounds, there was no need to worry about being discovered. Except for festivals, the villagers usually didn't come to worship here.
Even if someone needed to pray, it was only when her father was present at the shrine that they would come looking for him.
The path up the mountain led directly to the small courtyard where she lived.
Yae Sakura didn't introduce the shrine or the surroundings. Instead, she brought her directly to her own home.
She lived on the edge of the shrine.
It was a small courtyard, with a blooming cherry blossom tree inside, and a well in the other corner.
Yae Sakura took out a key and opened the door.
"This is my home, the place where I live. If you don't mind, you can stay here tonight. I'm sorry, but due to the special circumstances in the village, I can't arrange a better guest room for you."
It was an ordinary little courtyard.
It was clear that only Yae Sakura lived here.
"You keep talking about this village, but I think you're a really nice person."
After arriving at Yae Sakura's house, Kiana began probing for information. "Are the people in Yae Village different from you? You seem to dislike them."
Dislike?
Did she really show that much dislike for the villagers?
Yae Sakura paused, but didn't answer. Instead, she opened the door and led her into her room.
She didn't want this girl to know what had happened here. But the girl she had just saved must be both brave and curious.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have come here alone.
After being attacked yesterday, she still had the nerve to wander around today.
"The villagers are very superstitious."
After entering the room, Yae Sakura didn't stop. She checked the kettle, and upon finding there was still water, poured a cup for Kiana.
"Superstitious?"
Kiana was a little puzzled. Although it felt familiar, this wasn't Honkai Impact 3rd, but the nation of Izumo in the Star Rail universe.
A shrine here...
Wasn't it supposed to worship blades?
The shrine at Mei's house enshrined Narukami, while Yae Village's shrine enshrined Frost. The main deity of this shrine should be the Frost Kami, right?
Both were shrines that worshiped Edict Edges.
Kiana thought they were the same.
Would worshiping the Frost Kami make people xenophobic? The Frost Kami was in the form of a blade—shouldn't such faith revere martial strength instead?
"Yes, superstitious."
Yae Sakura sat down across from her. Seeing the curiosity in her eyes, she silently thought to herself that this girl was indeed bold and inquisitive.
Would she really stay put?
Would she really behave?
Kiana had her doubts.
"Exposing yourself to the villagers would be dangerous. So I hope you don't leave the shrine—better yet, don't even leave this courtyard."
Kiana nodded obediently, patting her chest. "Don't worry, I won't go wandering around and cause trouble for you."
I'll only wander around with a purpose.
Not investigating is absolutely impossible.
"As long as you understand."
Yae Sakura chose to believe her, at least for now. Preoccupied with other matters, she seemed a bit absent-minded. Yet she was also worried that if she left Kiana alone, the girl might get bored and sneak off.
There were still two hours before sunset, and she didn't want anything to happen during that time.
After chatting a bit more, Kiana's gaze unintentionally fell on a doll displayed on Yae Sakura's bookshelf.
Her eyes lit up with curiosity.
"Is that doll custom-made?"
Doll?
Yae Sakura turned to look, falling silent. Her eyes grew distant as she stared at the doll.
"It's very delicate. It looks a lot like you—was that you as a child?"
"...It's my sister."
Yae Sakura's tone was as calm as before, unchanged even when talking about her sister.
But such calmness was unnatural. When normal people mention a sister they love, their voice always carries emotion.
Never so flat.
Completely without fluctuation.
Kiana looked surprised, asking curiously, "Your sister? So you have a sister too? Is she living at the shrine as well?"
Yae Sakura truly did have a sister.
But despite knowing her for so long, neither she nor Sirin had ever heard Yae Sakura mention that child's existence.
So…
Kiana already had a guess about what might have happened to that child, and Yae Sakura soon confirmed her suspicion.
Her voice was light and distant.
"No, she's gone. Her health was poor since childhood. Last year, her illness worsened... and she passed away."
Did she really die from illness?
Kiana felt Yae Sakura's reaction didn't quite fit. Whether it was in Houkai Gakuen 2 or Honkai Impact 3rd, it was always implied that her sister never met a good end.
No matter the era—Gakuen, Impact 3rd, or even Kallen's time in the old civilization—Yae Sakura's sister never had a happy fate.
This world was likely no exception.
Just like how Bronya and Seele could never seem to escape their ties to an orphanage.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
"It's fine."
Yae Sakura shook her head and stood up, her voice still gentle. "It's not something that can't be spoken of."
"I should be the one apologizing for not being a better host. I should stay here to keep you company, but the herbs I just gathered need to be processed soon..."
She wore an apologetic smile. "These herbs are very important to me. I have to tend to them, but I won't be far—just at the workshop next door."
Kiana, ever eager to help, stood up. "Do you need me to help?"
"I'll handle it myself."
Yae Sakura refused gently. "You're a guest. Let me take care of these things on my own."
After making sure Kiana was settled, Yae Sakura took the herbs she had gathered from the mountain and went to the nearby workshop.
Once she left, Kiana's expression softened with a touch of melancholy. Yae Sakura's sister had died last year, so those herbs weren't meant for her anymore.
...No, that wasn't quite right.
Thinking back on Yae Sakura's reaction, Kiana suspected the herbs might not even be for healing.
Her movements, compared to when they first met, had changed drastically—too much.
Testing whether this Yae Sakura was the same one she knew from before no longer seemed as urgent. Instead, Kiana suddenly found herself more curious about what the Yae Sakura in this Stigmata World was trying to do.
Perhaps... this was a reflection of her past.
"Superstitious villagers, a dead sister... could it be a sacrifice? But isn't the shrine devoted to Frost?"
This shrine, like the Narukami Shrine, was clearly old—an ancient structure. It must have enshrined the Frost Kami since antiquity.
Frost was indeed a blade meant to slay Kami.
Even if it wasn't in its complete form, it still possessed partial divine power. It wouldn't be hard to use that power to intimidate ignorant villagers.
Kiana found it difficult to associate Frost with sacrificial rituals. And besides—if there truly had been a sacrifice, would Yae Sakura still carry Frost with her?
...
Dinner was also held in the courtyard.
Yae Sakura didn't go to any other part of the shrine. Whether it was because she was afraid Kiana might wander off or simply because there was no need, Kiana couldn't tell.
Because Yae Sakura stayed nearby the entire time, Kiana never found a chance to explore the rest of the shrine.
Until night fell.
Around ten o'clock, when everything had gone quiet, Kiana, who had been pretending to sleep, opened her eyes. Hearing faint footsteps leaving, she cautiously sat up.
Yae Sakura had left.
In the middle of the night, thinking Kiana was asleep.
Could she be... going to poison something?
Recalling the herbs Yae Sakura had gathered—not for herself, nor for her sister—Kiana suspected they might be poisonous plants. She quietly got up, tiptoeing to the door.
Gently opening it, she found Yae Sakura was indeed gone. She quickly slipped out, closing the door behind her, intent on following.
But when she climbed over the courtyard gate, she found the outside completely dark, lit only by a few scattered candle flames. There was no sign of Yae Sakura.
To avoid making noise, Kiana moved carefully and slowly. It was her first time sneaking around like this, so it took her longer than she expected.
"...Might as well check Frost."
Since she had no idea where Yae Sakura had gone, Kiana decided to first take a look at the place where Frost was enshrined.
She wanted to see how this superstitious village worshiped Frost. Maybe she could learn something from the shrine itself.
Though the details were slightly different, the main shrine of worship was easy to recognize.
Kiana hid in the shadows, quietly making her way toward the shrine that housed the deity.
Within two minutes, she arrived nearby. After confirming that Yae Sakura wasn't around and had likely gone somewhere else, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The candles within were still burning, providing just enough light to see clearly.
But that very light allowed Kiana to take in the interior of the shrine—and what she saw made her rub her eyes in disbelief.
"Sakura and Sirin both said Frost is the god worshiped at the Yae Shrine—just like Narukami at the Narukami Shrine!"
Kiana doubted her eyes, but she never doubted Yae Sakura or Sirin's words.
She took several quick steps forward, stopping before the altar. After confirming that the object of worship was indeed a strange statue—and not the familiar Frost—she fell silent for a long moment.
Why wasn't Frost being enshrined?
Yae Sakura had said her blade, like Narukami, was once worshiped as a divine artifact at the shrine.
Kiana couldn't believe that the honest Yae Sakura would lie about something so trivial.
And Sirin had confirmed it too.
Then why was this shrine not honoring Frost, but instead displaying a blue-faced, fanged idol that didn't look remotely like a proper deity?
Wasn't this clearly a Kami of some kind?
No—this looked more like an Oni!
"This isn't the past at all, is it?"
Staring at the demonic idol that had replaced Frost, Kiana began to doubt whether the Stigmata World was truly a reflection of Yae Sakura's past.
Maybe this wasn't a memory at all.
Maybe this was a fabricated scene—an evolution of the Stigmata itself.
If that were true, it could explain why what Yae Sakura and the others had told her didn't match the reality she was seeing.
But... was that really the case?
Kiana frowned deeply.
Gazing at the idol before her, her mind was filled with questions. If this was indeed so, then was the Yae Sakura in this Stigmata World also just an illusion—an echo?
Not the real Yae Sakura?
Kiana bit her lip. The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart became. If this world wasn't what she believed, then that meant all of them had already perished in the last Honkai Eruption.
Her mood sank further.
"You shouldn't be here."
Yae Sakura's voice suddenly came from the doorway. Her expression was complex as she looked at Kiana standing before the idol.
She had finished her work.
But upon realizing Kiana had followed her, she traced her steps here.
Was this really a glimpse of the past?
The question lingered in Kiana's heart as she turned to look at the woman standing at the entrance. Somehow, Yae Sakura looked different—strange, unfamiliar, nothing like the one she remembered.
Yet she was calmer than Kiana expected.
"Where's the blade?"
However, questioning Yae Sakura would only affect her attitude—it wouldn't alter the operation of the Stigmata World itself.
And if the one before her truly was the real Yae Sakura, then her questions wouldn't affect her much either.
After seeing what was enshrined in the shrine, Kiana no longer planned to investigate slowly or cautiously, worrying that her actions might disrupt the stability of the Stigmata World.
Yae Sakura had assumed Kiana came here out of uncontrollable curiosity—to sneak a peek at what was enshrined.
But to her surprise, that wasn't the case.
Kiana had even spoken of the shrine's original object of worship.
Regret turned into shock. Still, Yae Sakura glanced warily at the blue-faced, fanged idol behind Kiana.
"It has its eyes on you."
That single sentence from Kiana made Yae Sakura realize—this girl wasn't an ordinary traveler.
But she was now marked by the Oni.
Through her observations, Yae Sakura knew that the evil spirit could use the idol as a medium to mark those who entered this place—then choose its next prey.
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go back first."
When Kiana didn't respond, Yae Sakura repeated herself. Only then did Kiana move toward her, leaving the shrine together.
Yae Sakura hadn't denied the existence of the blade.
Kiana's expression shifted again and again, and finally, she couldn't hold back. On the way back, she asked urgently, "Wasn't the shrine supposed to be dedicated to the 'Frost Kami'?"
Walking ahead, Yae Sakura paused for a moment upon hearing that ancient name. Her voice was soft in the night. "Twelve years ago, the shrine indeed worshiped the Frost Kami."
"That was long ago. Now, the people of this village all worship that evil god instead."
She glanced at Kiana. "How do you know about the Frost Kami?"
So it really was the Frost Kami.
But it had been usurped.
Kiana's emotions were like a roller coaster—if that was the case, then the possibility that this was truly a scene from the past was still strong.
Seeing the curiosity and confusion in Yae Sakura's eyes, Kiana realized that the Stigmata World wasn't as fragile as she had imagined.
The two walked in silence. Although Yae Sakura had many questions, sensing Kiana's good intentions, she kindly refrained from asking further, waiting for Kiana to speak when she was ready.
When they finally returned to the small courtyard, Kiana spoke at last.
"Do you know of the Godslaying Corps?"
Yae Sakura froze, confusion written on her face. "Godslaying... Corps? What is that?"
As expected, the Yae Sakura of this time knew nothing of the Sentinels—just like Mei.
Even though her shrine worshiped one of the most important blades, as its destined wielder and the shrine's miko, she was unaware of the existence of the organization that served those blades.
Something clicked in Kiana's mind. Her expression turned serious as she looked at Yae Sakura. "Do you know what a Kami is?"
"...Are you referring to that evil god?"
Recalling their first meeting—when Yae Sakura had kindly explained things to her—Kiana adjusted her tone to that same moment and said, "Long ago, the Yaoyorozu no Kami descended upon this world, bringing calamity to all living things. To save the world, the people of Izumo forged the divine blades..."
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