"My lord! Kimi-nee!" Everyone cried out in grief as they rushed toward Kurumi. Futayo Honda was the first to catch her, holding Kurumi tightly in her arms.
Kurumi's HP bar shifted from green to orange, from orange to yellow, and from yellow to red. Futayo's pupils trembled as she shouted in anguish, her voice shaking. "My lord!"
"Futayo, although being held by you is quite pleasant, a trembling embrace like this... I don't like it." Kurumi gently cupped Futayo's tense face in her hands, smiling radiantly like a blooming flower.
"Kimi-nee!" Asuna stared as Kurumi's crimson HP bar dropped, point by point. Tears streamed down everyone's faces, unstoppable. Some were even sobbing so hard that snot dripped freely.
"What a shame... Even at the very end, I didn't get to see Futayo cry for me." Her hands softly caressed Futayo's cheeks. Kurumi's exquisite smile carried both regret and sorrow—and a faint trace of longing.
At that moment, Kurumi was like a flower beginning to wither, its beautiful petals falling one by one. The helpless sorrow of it all... pierced straight to the heart.
"Kimi-nee! Are you really going to leave us like this?!" Tears blurred everyone's vision. The hundred members of the Crystal Guild wept as if the sky were collapsing. Their grief was so contagious that even the members of the Knights of the Blood began crying along.
"Body switch—come forth, my true self, Kurumi Tokisaki!" Seeing that Kimi Aoi's HP was dangerously low, Kurumi didn't dare to keep up the act any longer. She quickly switched back to her true body.
A burst of white light flashed. Kimi Aoi's figure disappeared, and in her place appeared a woman draped in crimson ribbons, wearing a flowing black gown, white silk sashes coiling around her form. She was breathtakingly beautiful—though her figure was more petite than Kimi Aoi's, and her expression softer, imbued with Kurumi's natural gentleness and grace rather than Kimi's bold charisma.
Gasp! The sobbing ceased abruptly. Everyone froze, staring blankly at Kurumi. The only phrase that could describe their expressions was: utterly confused.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Kimi is my Divine Priestess form. This is my true body," Kurumi explained. Her HP bar, too, shifted from green to orange, then yellow—but this time it stopped there. For anyone else, a 150% HP reduction would've been an instant death.
But for Kurumi—sorry! She had brought along her own body using the Book of the World. Though she couldn't use her time powers here, she effectively had two lives! HP reduction of 150%? Pfft.
Sorry again! She had split it.
Now the question was—should she split it into two 75% halves? Or maybe one 80% and one 70%?
Ah, what a cruel dilemma the heavens had given her! Truly impossible to choose. Might as well just split it randomly!
"Kimi-nee! You're alive!" Kirito exclaimed tearfully.
"Alive? That's not quite right. My Kimi Aoi state died. It'll take quite some time to recover," Kurumi said, hands on her hips, that same proud, unreasonable expression returning. Though she'd changed bodies, the aura was exactly the same—it was still Kimi-nee.
"Then why did we cry so hard?!" Diavel choked out between sniffles. He'd been the one sobbing with snot running down his face moments ago.
"Why, to mourn the fallen Kimi, of course! She's got to stay dead for a while, after all!" Kurumi clasped her fingers together, tilting her head as she gave an adorably mischievous smile.
"..." Utter speechlessness.
"Even though her smile's become sweeter and cuter in this new body, why do I still feel like Kimi-nee's expression is the same—domineering, willful, and impossibly proud?" Diavel said with a bewildered face. Everyone nodded in unison.
Kimi-nee's proud, domineering smile might now look cute and innocent—but deep down, it was still full of cunning mischief. Same essence, different packaging.
"Ara~ My foolish little brothers are being mean again. It's not nice to think such evil thoughts about your wise sister, you know?" Kurumi said, pressing a finger against her lips with a soft smile. When Kimi Aoi did that, it oozed mature allure. When Kurumi did it, it was pure, irresistible cuteness.
"Uuuu... I'm going to die from embarrassment. Just thinking that I've been calling such a tiny, adorable girl my older sister for months—I can't bear it!" Diavel suddenly grabbed his head, burying his crimson face in his hands.
In that instant, everyone's faces turned red as they fell to their knees in utter mortification.
They all dropped to their knees. "Kimi-nee, please accept our humble admiration! How can you be so innocent and pure—while digging us such a colossal pitfall at the same time?!"
"Uuu... Kimi-nee, please don't scare us like that again! Rely on us more, okay? Even if our strength is small, we want to share your burdens with you. Kimi-nee, stop carrying everything alone!" After holding it in for so long, Asuna finally couldn't contain herself anymore. She threw herself into Kurumi's arms and began to sob uncontrollably.
Kurumi's elegant face softened. With one arm wrapped gently around Asuna's slim waist and the other stroking her head, she spoke softly, her voice full of warmth. "From now on, my name is Kurumi Tokisaki. You can call me Kurumi-chan, Asuna."
"So... another world really exists?" Heathcliff stared at Kurumi, his mind churning like a stormy sea. At that moment, his system interface displayed two lines of data: "Avatar of the Goddess of Time: Kurumi Tokisaki" and "Temple Knight: Futayo Honda."
The game, after all, was an extension of human consciousness. Yet Kurumi's very existence operated at a level above the system itself. The game could only display her information truthfully—which was why Heathcliff couldn't directly erase her from it.
The shadow of death had barely faded. Back at the Crystal Guild's headquarters, everyone collapsed onto their beds, drained and terrified. Even after an entire day had passed, they were still sluggish and pale, as if recovering from a serious illness.
"That last cheat was way too much—ignoring defense, blocking recovery, and dealing 150% forced HP loss. If this goddess hadn't brought along a spare body in advance, Heathcliff would've killed me for sure!" Kurumi groaned as she rolled around on her bed, hugging a pillow.
Kimi Aoi sat quietly at the desk, listening to Kurumi's complaints in silence. As for Kurumi's so-called 'foresight'—she mentally tuned that part out. It was pure dumb luck.
"Divine One, what do you plan to do? Will you punish him?" Resting her elbows on the desk, fingers intertwined and chin propped on her hands, Kimi's soft brown eyes glimmered gently.
"Hmm..." Kurumi thought for a moment, then rolled over and flopped face-down onto the bed. With her chin pressed into the pillow, she murmured, "That guy is actually quite capable. To design a world of this scale proves his talent and artistic vision are first-rate. I plan to bring him into my Divine Kingdom—to have him create worlds for me."
"Create worlds..." Kimi's eyes brightened instantly. She knew better than anyone that their own world had long been destroyed. Humanity now lived upon the floating artificial continent of the Divine State.
"Because of my existence, the cycle of history has already been broken. The sunken lands will never rise again—but this situation can be changed. As long as Gaia's restraint is restored, the continent can be reborn," Kurumi said, frowning deeply. Her Divine Kingdom was in tatters, and repairing it would be exhausting. She could hardly do it alone. Perhaps it was time to raise some Heroic Spirits to help her.
"Kimi, that Heathcliff didn't kill me this time, but he'll definitely come up with even more broken traps next time. Even though I faked your death to avoid suspicion, I still need to figure out how to deal with him before then. If I torment him too much now, he might not work for me wholeheartedly later." Resting her cheek against the pillow, Kurumi turned to look at Kimi, who was smiling faintly.
After spending so long using Kimi's body, Kurumi had grown far too accustomed to her. Seeing her now, elegant and radiant, filled her with a possessive warmth—an urge to pull Kimi into her arms and cherish her deeply.
"Divine One, why not simply reveal the truth to him directly?" Kimi suggested with her graceful, unhurried smile.
Kurumi blinked, then thought for a moment. Suddenly, her small hand clenched into a fist, and she smacked it lightly into her other palm. "That approach is simple and direct—but it might actually work!"
"Divine One, before that, don't you think we should buy a house?" Kimi twirled a strand of her flaxen hair around her finger—an unconscious habit she'd picked up from Kurumi.
"Buy a house... our own place. Why didn't I think of that before?" Kurumi's wine-red eyes sparkled with sudden excitement.
Habits truly were terrifying things. In the Guilty Crown world, people had competed to build her a home. In Horizon, there was her Time Temple. In this game, there were inns and guild rooms—but she'd never thought about buying her own property.
"Kimi, that's an amazing idea!" Kurumi leapt up from the bed in delight, darting behind Kimi and wrapping her arms around her neck. She pressed herself close, her body practically hanging off Kimi's back. Kimi's beautiful face softened into a tender smile.
"Kimi, let's merge again and go buy a house together!" Kurumi rubbed her cheek affectionately against Kimi's. Having used her body for so long, Kurumi felt no boundaries at all with her.
Kimi lightly tapped Kurumi's forehead with a fingertip and smiled helplessly, as if to say, You really are impossible.
"Futayo! Let's go buy a house!" After recalling Kimi into herself, Kurumi turned toward Futayo, who was still kneeling beside the bed like a remorseful sinner.
"Futayo, are you still blaming yourself? Honestly, it wasn't your fault. This goddess won't punish you for it." Kurumi walked over to her. Ever since their return, Futayo hadn't moved from that spot.
"I failed to protect the Divine One. My sin is unforgivable! Please punish me, Divine One!" Futayo bowed her head even lower.
"Hmm... then I'll punish you by ordering you to stay by my side at all times. I'm going out to buy a house, and who knows what dangers we might encounter. Will you come?" Kurumi asked sweetly, cupping Futayo's face and shamelessly admiring how smooth and soft it felt. Such a pretty face, always so tense. What a waste... Futayo, why don't you smile more?
"To live or die at your side—that is my duty," Futayo said solemnly.
"..." Kurumi's hands slid upward, reaching for Futayo's ponytail. With a gentle motion, she loosened the ribbon that bound her hair. Futayo's silky blue locks cascaded down her back like a waterfall.