After several repetitions of "Do you have anything to say?" — "Nothing left to say, just do it quickly!"
The entire underground space was filled with an unspeakable awkwardness.
Cyrene's once sorrow-filled azure eyes were now slightly red and dry from repeated crying, even carrying a hint of physiological stinging.
She looked at Black Herta, who still (in her opinion) had a cold expression, and her voice was a little hoarse and deflated as she quietly suggested, "...Can we...try a different way of acting?"
"No."
Black Herta flatly refused, her heart also frantically complaining about Aha's ridiculously strict scoring criteria.
She looked at Cyrene's pitiful appearance, barely able to squeeze out any more tears, and felt that some "strong medicine" was necessary.
So, she coldly snapped her fingers again, and the sinful light screen beside them lit up once more.
It was still Anaxa.
Still the demonic music.
But this time, the screen not only showed the green-haired Scholar wildly dancing and singing "Hakimi~ Oh Nanbei Ludou~," but also an unfamiliar girl with long gray hair, equally "wise" eyes, equally abstract movements, bouncing along beside him!
Cyrene: "..."
She felt her nerves had gone numb.
She even began to wonder if, when Amphoreus was destroyed, everyone else had actually become like this, and only she had been kept in the dark?
Under the dual exhaustion of mind and body, Cyrene reluctantly cooperated for a few more rounds of acting.
Until the twenty-seventh time (Black Herta was silently counting) she repeated that line, she finally couldn't hold on anymore.
"I...I really...can't cry anymore..."
Cyrene's voice carried deep grievance and powerlessness, feeling as if she had shed all the tears of several lifetimes. She raised her red and swollen eyes, which looked like two weather-beaten peaches, and looked at Black Herta. Her gaze was not like looking at an enemy, but rather at an unreasonable, exhausting troublemaker.
Black Herta looked at those red eyes that could no longer shed tears, and a soft spot in her heart was gently touched.
At the same time, a strong sense of incongruity surged within her.
It had been over twenty times... The emotions, lines, and atmosphere were clearly all in place, so why couldn't she get a perfect score?
She frowned in thought, her consciousness inadvertently sinking into fragments of her past life's Remembrance, searching for scenes of star-crossed lovers.
Suddenly, an overlooked detail flashed across her mind like lightning—...it seems...I'm the one who should be crying?
So... Black Herta's consciousness froze for a moment, then she felt a wave of absurdity,...it's me who needs to cry?!
Not her?!
This small detail made her mouth twitch uncontrollably.
Ah, this... I seem to have mixed it up?
She subconsciously looked at Cyrene again—the girl's slightly red and swollen eyes, her aggrieved but suppressed expression, combined with her miserable appearance bound by chains... (Inner monologue:...It seems...this is indeed a bit...? Especially since I forced her to watch Anaxa's embarrassing past so many times...)
Guilt and embarrassment swept through her, making her feel her face warming up (though her bloodless, delicate face remained cool and pale).
"Ahem..."
She cleared her throat, using it to cover her inner discomfort.
Fortunately, Cyrene said she couldn't cry anymore, which gave her a natural excuse to change her strategy and finally made her realize the key to why this scene had never been perfect.
Otherwise, she might have truly gone on an endless loop here like a clown in a one-person show.
(Inner roar at Aha: And! Why didn't you hint earlier! You just had to watch us keep messing up here!)
(A faint giggle seemed to echo from the void: Hehe~ You found the key point~ The fun is in watching the "villain" break down!)
"This time..."
Black Herta's voice was still flat, but on closer listen, it seemed to lack some of the deliberately created solemnity and carried a hint of unspeakable complexity, "...I'll cry."
She slightly lowered her eyelids, trying to stir her emotions—imagining Cyrene's helplessness bound by chains, imagining the "sacrifice" behind Anaxa's abstract dance moves, imagining her own grievance at having to be the villain for a bit of repair progress... All sorts of emotions mixed together, and indeed, a hint of moisture slowly gathered in her purplish-black, dull eyes, finally turning into two crystal clear tears that silently slid down her pale cheeks.
She raised her teary eyes (though only two tears), looked at Cyrene, and with a choked (forced out) and incredibly complex (this time it was real) tone, she recited the familiar line again:
"Do you... have anything to say?"
Her voice actually carried a trace of pity and sympathy, and even a bit of resentment (mainly towards herself).
Cyrene was stunned by Black Herta's sudden tears, but she still followed the previous instruction, closed her eyes, and with her last ounce of strength, responded in a heavy and resigned tone:
"...Nothing left to say... just do it quickly!"
The moment Cyrene's words fell—
"Ding dong! Performance rating: 10/10! Congratulations on perfectly portraying 'Heart-Wrenching Tears'!"
"Joyful Energy full! Core Repair Progress increased by 2%! Current Total Repair Progress: 30%!"
An extremely cheerful notification, even with a celebratory sound effect, rang in Black Herta's mind, audible only to her.
It worked!
Black Herta jolted, almost reflexively, and sharply snapped her fingers!
"Clang—"
The heavy, cold, dark chains binding Cyrene shattered instantly!
They were like broken glass, instantly transforming into countless purplish-red data light points, scattering like fireflies and dissipating into the air.
Losing the support of the chains, Cyrene let out a gasp and her body uncontrollably fell from mid-air.
Black Herta subconsciously stepped forward, extending her arms, and steadily caught the light and soft body.
In an instant, the girl's warm body temperature, slightly hurried heartbeat, and faint scent of dust on her body clearly transmitted over.
Black Herta's arms stiffened.
Cyrene was completely stunned, her mind blank, only able to instinctively grasp Black Herta's lapel. Her azure eyes were wide, filled with extreme confusion and bewilderment.
Black Herta lowered her head, clearly seeing the long eyelashes and slightly parted lips of the girl in her arms, due to shock.
A sense of awkwardness and relief from completing the task surged within her.
She leaned close to Cyrene's ear and whispered something vaguely at a very fast pace:
"...I'm sorry."
After speaking, she immediately released her arms as if burned, gently placed Cyrene on the ground, then quickly straightened up, turned without hesitation, and almost fled, walking up the stairs with seemingly calm but actually faster steps than usual, without even the courage to look back.
Only Cyrene was left, barefoot on the cold ground, still wearing her damaged light purple dress, looking around blankly at the empty space, where only scattered data light points remained.
The chains... disappeared?
She... was put down?
That "Iron Tomb"... hugged her... and even said... "I'm sorry"?
Then... just left?
Cyrene raised her hand and touched her ear; a trace of warmth and that barely audible apology seemed to linger there.
So... what was the point of those dozens of "just do it quickly" moments?
She gazed in the direction of the stairs where Black Herta had disappeared, her azure eyes filled with unprecedented confusion.
What... happened?