Until Li Mo's death, Kanagawa Yume couldn't be sure of her thoughts, as there was no direct evidence to prove that Li Mo was the one from the prophecy.
But when she witnessed Li Mo's death with her own eyes, it perfectly matched the diary's prediction.
Everything suddenly became clear.
"Are you that person?"
Kanagawa Yume lowered her eyes, unusually quiet, and opened the notebook.
This time, the first page surprisingly gave way, flipping to the sixth page.
The reason was unknown. Perhaps the sixth page had overridden the first.
Or perhaps, using the sixth page aligned with the first page's expectations.
The sixth page was a solid goose-white, clean and spotless.
A brand-new page, showing no signs of age or wear.
"What do I need to do to wake him up?"
Kanagawa Yume asked the notebook.
"Yume, you..." The president began, but stopped herself.
She sensed a significant change in Kanagawa Yume.
And the question Kanagawa Yume had posed sent the members of the Occult Club into deep thought. They had never considered this.
Whether from a subjective or objective standpoint, how could a dead person be brought back to life? A broken mirror cannot be made whole again. Even with the most precise and exquisite techniques to mend it, the fact that it was once broken cannot be changed.
A mirror repaired by technical means would no longer be the original mirror.
[My name is Kanagawa Yume. By the time you read this, I will have made a choice I deeply regret.]
[At 11:09 AM, I consulted the sixth page of the notebook, trying to find a way to revive him.]
[At 11:10 AM, the sixth page of the notebook did not give me the answer I wanted.]
[At 11:12 AM, I turned to the first page of the notebook and asked the same question.]
[At 11:14 AM, Li Mo was brought back from the dead.]
[At 11:14 AM, everyone was dead, including me.]
"...A choice I deeply regret?" Kanagawa Yume didn't understand why the notebook used such a description.
But there was no doubt that the notebook was not lying.
She was currently on the sixth page, which hadn't given her the answer she wanted. The sixth page merely narrated the outcome of a choice.
The notebook wouldn't lie, so the first page must have a way to revive Li Mo.
But precisely because the notebook wouldn't lie, Kanagawa Yume couldn't do it, because she knew the consequences of such an action.
Total annihilation. Saving him would be for nothing.
The notebook's prophesied future could be changed, provided that one knew the process but still chose to change nothing.
Just like how the notebook had predicted Li Mo would die on the fourth floor, but he had died last night due to an unknown rule.
The president wanted to give a reminder, afraid Kanagawa Yume would do something rash: "Yume, it says right there..."
"Don't worry, President. I'm not stupid. The notebook doesn't lie, didn't the sixth page say so? If I follow the first page's instructions, I will definitely regret it deeply," Kanagawa Yume said lightly, her speaking style somewhat similar to Li Mo's.
The members of the Occult Club breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
Of all the people present, only Kanagawa Yume was willing to be acknowledged and used by the notebook. The others began to excitedly list their own questions, wanting Kanagawa Yume to ask on their behalf to get the answers they wanted from the notebook.
Some wanted to ask how to escape the haunted manor, some wanted to know how to control the power of ghosts, and some even asked about trivial matters.
Because the notebook's usability was so high, everyone had a question they desperately wanted an answer to.
But Kanagawa Yume ignored them.
After spending a few days with him, Kanagawa Yume gradually understood that making a deal with a ghost required paying an equal price.
The haunted manor's ritual was already halfway through. Li Mo had said that now, it was either complete the ritual or let countless ghosts spread to all corners of the world.
If she asked how to escape, the notebook would provide a safe and reliable plan.
But so what? How long could she live after escaping?
Who would deal with the spreading ghosts? Ordinary people who knew nothing?
Without knowing the rules, they wouldn't even know how they died.
It was imaginable what kind of living hell it would be once thousands of rules spread across the world.
Kanagawa Yume picked up the notebook and couldn't help but murmur, "Is this the sight you saw..."
Fighting with all his might in the dark, shouldering all the pressure, walking forward alone.
Not understood, not even acknowledged.
"Phew..." Kanagawa Yume took a deep breath, her eyes sharp. "What do I need to do to completely solve the haunted manor, to deal with all the ghosts here?"
An answer for every question, the price unknown.
But Kanagawa Yume no longer cared what the price was. Right now, she just wanted to destroy the haunted manor, to kill all the ghosts here.
Soon, on the clean, neat page, a few lines of small, exquisite characters appeared.
[My name is Kanagawa Yume. By the time you read this, I will have made a choice I slightly regret.]
Slightly regret?
Kanagawa Yume remembered the beginning of the last question. The sixth page of the notebook said she had made a choice she deeply regretted.
And the choice she deeply regretted was to revive Li Mo, at the cost of the entire group's annihilation.
So what was the choice she slightly regretted? Would the price be better?
Kanagawa Yume thought about her own feelings of guilt. She almost never felt regret. What's done is done, at worst she could just change it.
The degree of slight regret was just accidentally bumping into someone, causing them to lie in the hospital for half a month, miss an exam, and lose half a month's salary.
Anyway, she was just that heartless. No one could do anything about her.
So she should be able to accept this degree of choice.
Could there really be such a good thing?
Kanagawa Yume continued reading with curiosity—
[At 11:11 AM, I got the answer I wanted from the sixth page, an answer that could "kill" all the ghosts in the haunted manor. I must remain completely focused. A slight carelessness could bring something more terrifying to this world.]
[At 11:12 AM, I took out the Imaginary Communicator from Li Mo's pocket.]
[At 11:30 AM, I took the survivors of the Occult Club to the fourth floor. It was an endless passage.]
[Here, I met many familiar ghosts. There were classmates, teachers, and parents everyone knew, but not me and Li Mo.]
[At 7:50 PM, I activated the communicator.]
[The communicator was only effective for ten minutes. In those ten minutes, I truthfully answered the questions of the person on the other end of the communicator.]
[At 8:00 PM, the Soul Ferrying passage began to operate.]
[At 8:01 PM, the Soul Ferrying passage stopped operating.]
[At 8:01 PM, all existence in the haunted manor stopped flowing, entering a special state—"eternal death."]
[At 8:01 PM...]
[...]
[...]
"Hmm?" Kanagawa Yume was puzzled. The notebook seemed to have suddenly crashed like a computer program, the content that appeared becoming very strange and bizarre.
And, the time had been stuck at 8:01 for too long. Or had all the changes happened in an instant?
Eight o'clock was the time when the vengeful spirits in the haunted manor revived.
So what else happened at 8:01?
[My name is Seele, Seele Vollerei.]
[At 8:02 PM, I regret, I have no regrets.]
---||---
Schicksal Valkyrie Training Base, a cloudless sky, the morning sun shining brightly.
Because she had failed to bring Li Mo back, resulting in a failed mission, Kira Shigure was demoted by Otto, from the captain of a small squad to vice-captain.
Although it was a very sad thing, thinking of the identity of the new captain, Kira Shigure was relieved, even feeling a bit of delight.
The original position of captain was taken by her idol, Cecilia Schariac.
After being locked up in Schicksal for too many years, for various reasons, Cecilia was reappointed by Otto as Kira Shigure's superior.
At this moment, Kira Shigure sat in the supervisor's seat of the training base, her hands propped on her knees, her delicate, soft palms holding her sullen face.
"What's wrong, my little Shigure, you look so unhappy? Are you worried about the Overseer demoting you?"
"Or... has my arrival caused you trouble?" Cecilia asked gently, every word, every sentence, filled with a motherly aura.
It made Kira Shigure's heart, which had been polluted by dealing with paranormal events with Li Mo, become a little clearer.
"Not at all! I've admired Lady Cecilia since I was young! How could I possibly dislike Lady Cecilia?" Kira Shigure quickly explained, clarifying the unnecessary misunderstanding.
Cecilia smiled brightly. "You don't need to use honorifics with me. Just call me Captain like you used to."
"Yes, okay, Captain," Kira Shigure replied immediately.
Cecilia was a little stunned. She placed her hand on Kira Shigure's head, stroking it with extreme gentleness.
She remembered the days they fought together in Siberia. At that time, Kira Shigure was still a simple-minded little fool, carefree and very mischievous.
Witty and a little clever. But in front of her, she was like a touched mimosa, wishing she could bury her head in the ground, her whole face turning bright red, her speech clumsy.
She's grown up now.
"Shigure has grown up, that's great," Cecilia couldn't help but sigh.
Kira Shigure enjoyed the long-lost warmth, but her heart couldn't help but ache.
She can enjoy such a wonderful life, but what about Li Mo?
Is he... okay?
Is he still rushing around in different worlds, burning his life to deal with the Bizarre...
Thinking of this, a strange bitterness rose in her throat. Kira Shigure's mood instantly plummeted, and she replied absently, "Because I've experienced a lot of things, met a very special person..."
"Grown up? I don't really know... Have I really grown up? Have I really matured? Or is it just that my body is developing, while my mind and thoughts are still like a child's."
"Can't tell right from wrong, can't recognize the situation, can't make the right choice, only causing trouble for others, holding them back..."
"Hehe, I'm really useless. If it were you, Captain, you would definitely be able to do better than me..."
Kira Shigure's dejected look, her body radiating negative energy, gave Cecilia quite a scare.
It was hard to imagine that Kira Shigure, such a lively, energetic girl full of enthusiasm for life, would become like this.
What kind of mission did Otto assign her?
Cecilia felt she needed to find some time to ask Otto, and also to spend more time with this little Shigure who was about to become a recluse.
"Alright, alright, the captain isn't a god. No one in the world can do everything perfectly. Little Shigure, don't blame everything on yourself."
"You know, you're now one of Schicksal's few S-rank Valkyries! I don't think there are many things that can stump you, right?" Cecilia soothed.
Not many things can stump me?
Kira Shigure, already in a low mood, once again remembered the fear of being dominated by ghosts and said absently, "Every single thing can stump me."
Cecilia: "..."
How am I supposed to continue this conversation!!
Sigh, the mental pressure on young people nowadays is really too great. Even a cheerful child like little Shigure has been broken like this.
Cecilia felt very distressed and decided to find something for Kira Shigure to do.
In the past, when she was in a bad mood, she would train like crazy, using pain and exhaustion to numb herself.
So Cecilia pointed to the Schicksal Valkyries who were undergoing simulated combat in the training ground and mentioned, "Shigure, you seem to have not trained for a long time. That won't do. Even if you've become an S-rank Valkyrie, you can't be too lazy. If you fail the year-end assessment, you'll be knocked back to your original form and become an A-rank Valkyrie."
At the mention of training, a visible panic appeared on Kira Shigure's face, and it was a very obvious tension.
"Tra-training? Uh, Cecilia..."
"Call me Captain."
"Oh, oh, Ca-Captain... I haven't been feeling well recently, I can't train..."
Cecilia stared at Kira Shigure and noticed something was off.
Kira Shigure's fingers were restlessly contracting, her eyes obviously darting away. Even though she was trying hard to restrain herself, it was difficult to suppress subconscious behaviors.
Especially the way Kira Shigure would deliberately purse her lips when she lied, which made Cecilia even more certain that she was lying.
"Oh? Little Shigure, you can't lie in front of the captain~" Cecilia suddenly became cunning, her eyes curved into a smile, like a seductive white-haired fox staring at her intently.
Kira Shigure, who was already on pins and needles, now just wanted to find an excuse to change the subject.
"No, Captain, I'm really not feeling well. You've been with me these past few days, you know!" Kira Shigure immediately threw out her "alibi."
Cecilia was stunned for a moment, then tilted her head back and thought carefully.
It seemed to be true.
Since Kira Shigure had returned from her mission, she had been living with her.
Her body did seem to have some problems: nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite. She couldn't even eat a few bites of the meals she cooked herself before rushing back to her room.
She also often felt dizzy, and her sleeping time was significantly longer than before.
At first, Cecilia didn't think much of it. After all, when Kira Shigure had just returned, all the Valkyries had undergone a physical examination, and there was no data showing anyone had excessive Honkai Energy erosion or any serious physical damage.
But Kira Shigure was an S-rank Valkyrie. No matter how weak she was, how could an S-rank Valkyrie's body not recover after ten days or half a month of recuperation?
Logically speaking, with Schicksal's excellent medical equipment, as long as the injury wasn't serious, an S-rank Valkyrie could be up and about the next day, and could resume training within a week at most.
Kira Shigure's recovery time was far too long!
What kind of mission did she go on?
It seems I have to go find Otto later and retrieve the intelligence from Kira Shigure's previous missions.
Thinking of this, Cecilia couldn't help but blame herself. If she had gone on the mission with Kira Shigure, perhaps Kira Shigure's body wouldn't have been left with a hidden ailment.
"I'm sorry, I spent too much time looking for my daughter and didn't consider your feelings."
Faced with Cecilia's sudden apology, Kira Shigure was flattered and quickly said, "No, no, Lady Cecilia, you don't need to apologize. Looking for your daughter is the most important thing. My body is fine!"
Cecilia: "Then let me see your medical report."
Kira Shigure: "..."
Cecilia: "?"
Kira Shigure: "My... my medical report is... at home."
Cecilia: "It's fine, we can go get it after lunch."
Kira Shigure: "Wait!"
Cecilia: "Is there a problem?"
Kira Shigure: "It's, uh, Durandal, right, Durandal took my medical report before!"
Cecilia: "Durandal? But why would she take your medical report? From what I know of Durandal, she's not the type to just take other people's things."
How would I know! I just made it up!
Kira Shigure's brain was spinning fast. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her eyes. "It was the Overseer. My last mission caused some changes in my body. The Overseer was very interested in these changes, so he sent Durandal to check on my body regularly and take my medical report to record the data."
"Is that so..." Cecilia looked half-convinced.
Kira Shigure was seemingly panicked, but in reality, she was panicked.
Don't ask anymore, don't ask anymore, if you ask again I'm going to have a breakdown!
Seeing Kira Shigure being so evasive, Cecilia didn't press her further. After all, girls would have their little secrets. Even as her senior, she shouldn't probe.
Changing the subject, Cecilia looked kindly into Kira Shigure's azure eyes and asked with a chuckle, "Shigure, is there anyone you like? Like, a sweetheart~"
"Ah...?"
Kira Shigure was stunned, stammering, her eyeballs uncontrollably darting in all directions, blinking nonstop, subconsciously avoiding Cecilia's gaze.
Oh? Feeling guilty?
A smile involuntarily crept onto Cecilia's lips. The gossip-loving soul within her was burning fiercely. She seemed to have caught onto something very interesting.
"Well, there is someone..."
"Oh? A boy or a girl?"
"It's a boy, of course, Lady Cecilia. Please don't say such strange things."
"Haha, sorry, sorry. So... who is it?"