Heart in her throat, 'Jingliu' stepped through the Phase Flame.
She was terrified that if she so much as blinked, she'd be dragged back into that black hole for another 'heart-to-heart'.
But perhaps, the Aeon of Equilibrium felt things had gone far enough. Or maybe, having already added enough noodles to the pot, They decided a ban wasn't necessary.
Anyway.
This time, 'Jingliu' arrived successfully at the destination Elio had provided.
A planet quite inconspicuous in the grand scheme of the galaxy.
It had few inhabitants, but a relatively rich natural ecosystem, feeling like some kind of resource world.
Its interstellar defense network wasn't strong, so 'Jingliu' infiltrated with ease.
She found the address Elio had left for her. It was a rather remote residence, surrounded by forests and mountains, quite far from any crowds.
Then, a black cat appeared before her.
"Greetings, Lady Bai Ming."
"You're Elio? A cat?"
"Merely a vessel. It draws less attention this way."
As he spoke, Elio turned and lifted a paw, pointing to a nearby house.
"Jingliu is inside. However… never mind. You should go yourself."
Elio seemed to hesitate, words left unsaid, then raised his paw to cover his eyes, turned his head away, and made to leave.
"...How cryptic."
'Jingliu' watched Elio's behavior, completely baffled.
Was this what he was like in the original Stellaron Hunter team as well?
Surely not.
Shaking her head, 'Jingliu' paid Elio no more mind.
She pushed open the gate and walked in.
With a creak from the wooden door, a graceful, white-haired woman, sitting upright in the courtyard, her eyes covered by a blindfold, tilted her head slightly, facing the direction of the gate.
She said nothing.
Jingliu had expected that upon meeting her, the other would either attack in a frenzy or offer a calm greeting.
But now, this… just staring blankly at her? What was this about?
And she was wearing a blindfold?
Jingliu herself had long since taken off the blindfold she used to wear. After all, her transformation, the Mara-struck state, couldn't affect her with its chaos.
"Jingliu, do you remember me?"
"...Who?"
"Bai Ming."
The moment that name was uttered, it was like cold water hitting a boiling oil pot.
Instantly, it ignited the suppressed tension in the air.
Jingliu shot to her feet, a blade of ice forming in her hand as she thrust forward with lightning speed!
Screech—!
'Jingliu' reacted swiftly, swinging her own sword to parry.
The two ice blades collided mid-air and shattered into pieces simultaneously.
"Wh—"
Jingliu seemed stunned that the sword she'd formed could be broken so easily.
She spun around sharply, flicking her wrist as another long sword materialized in her hand.
But just as she was about to unleash her full power, 'Jingliu' took a sudden step forward, using her finger like a blade, and slashed out with that strike which seemed to bring oblivion to all things.
The pitch-black arc of light froze Jingliu where she stood.
This strike… she remembered it, and remembered it vividly.
The blindfold covering her eyes was blown away by the fierce energy, and a flicker of rationality surfaced within her frenzied crimson pupils.
It was Bai Ming!
Someone who could wield her own sword techniques while also executing this dark blade light…it definitely couldn't be some impersonator like a Masked Fool.
It was really her!
She had returned! And she had found her!!
Jingliu's heart began to race.
She wanted to speak, but the overwhelming, pitch-black blade light didn't seem inclined to give her the chance.
Was she about to be slain by Bai Ming?
It made sense…not only had she failed to achieve anything worthy like Lady Bai Ming, she had even become an interstellar fugitive.
Mindlessly following Elio's instructions, causing chaos everywhere.
In her current state, she truly was unworthy of standing before Bai Ming again…
If her final curtain was to fall by Bai Ming's blade, that didn't seem so bad.
These thoughts flashed through Jingliu's mind.
Then, she closed her eyes and waited for the blade light to fall.
However,
Tap—!
A flick landed squarely on Jingliu's forehead.
"Oww…"
Jingliu winced, raising a hand to cover her forehead, and opened her eyes in confusion to look at Bai Ming, who looked almost identical to her.
She even felt a little dazed.
Because this other version of herself looked almost exactly like she had centuries ago, before the Mara-struck state had taken hold.
A gentle smile graced her face as she stared directly at her, just smiling.
"You're not going to kill me?"
"I never said I was."
"But I… I just really want to swing my sword at you!!"
Jingliu's tone turned frantic once more.
Frost-laden sword energy surged forward again.
'Jingliu' could only sigh and parry with her own blade.
"I've finally found you!! I've always wanted to ask you… ask you what…? But I've finally seen you!"
Jingliu's voice was laced with madness; anyone unaware would think they shared some mortal enmity.
But 'Jingliu' just felt that something was wrong.
On one hand, she truly hadn't done anything to warrant such intensity from Jingliu.
On the other, she'd even forgotten what exactly she wanted to ask, remembering only the need to see her.
Did the Mara-struck state have this kind of effect?
She recalled that the Jingliu in the game hadn't forgotten things like this. 'Jingliu' condensed an ice blade, deflecting Jingliu's attacks again and again.
She had to admit, over these centuries, Jingliu's strength had clearly improved significantly.
Her swordplay had grown stronger, and she'd even grasped a semblance of the essence from Acheron's blade techniques.
"Stay with me, forever, always, Bai Ming… I've been so alone… It's been so agonizing…"
Jingliu wore a triumphant, crazed smile, but then her tone shifted into one of pleading.
"You…"
'Jingliu' was momentarily speechless.
This wasn't right. It was twelve parts wrong, not just ten.
This made it seem like she had done something to Jingliu. This wasn't normal.
Just then, a melodious tune drifted through the air, accompanied by the spreading power of Harmony.
It gradually calmed the frenzied Jingliu, and the force behind her sword strokes slowly relaxed.
Only then could she finally stop and reach out to support the weakened Jingliu.
And Elio, hopping out from the side now, had a conch-like object coiled in his tail.
"See? Her Mara-struck symptoms make her go mad. However, back then, in order to continue searching for you, she used the channels of the Galaxy Rangers to contact the Family. I'm not clear on the specifics of what they did."
Elio, still in his black cat form, jumped over and sat down beside Jingliu.
"Anyway, this Harmonious Movement can soothe her when her Mara-struck state flares up."
"...Why is it about me?"
"...I'm not sure. But from my perspective, when she left back then, saying she was going to find you, at least half of it was about running away. Otherwise, her memory wouldn't have become so jumbled, as if she was deliberately avoiding that part of her past."
"But now, well, the pretense has become reality. Maybe you should just go along with her?"
'Jingliu' gulped upon hearing that.
Oh no.
She's become a yandere.
Ahem. "...Well, that touches on the next part of the script. Since you're not a Stellaron Hunter, I won't go into detail."
Elio waved a paw, the very picture of an info-dumper.
--+--