Xu Renshuang: Proudly telling you all, my readers are little angels... Also, although the previous chapters scared quite a few people away, I'm truly grateful to those who stayed and kept reading my novel... _(:з"∠)_
Mm, I'll try not to skip around so much... At least I'll make the later chapters flow together...
—Main text below—
On the night the Sacrifice Ritual began, there was still some time before the appointed hour.
Yae Sakura had already begun making preparations before the ritual started.
A change of clothes, rice balls and sushi rolls for the road, and a pitifully small amount of money.
But this was already the greatest effort a teenage girl could manage in two days.
Yae Sakura wanted to take Rin away from Yae Village.
If they remained in the village, Rin would be treated as a sacrifice...
How could Yae Sakura possibly allow something like that to happen?
As long as they left this village, Rin would surely be able to live a happy life, right?
Though the thought was somewhat naive, for Yae Sakura, it was her most sincere hope.
"Mm, everything's ready." Yae Sakura wrapped up her belongings in cloth and slung them over her back. "Wait for me, Rin. Your sister will take you away now..."
Perhaps because she was looking forward to life after leaving Yae Village, Yae Sakura's steps were unusually light.
"Once Rin gets better..."
"I'll take you to eat the best food..."
"Then we'll go up the mountain together... and watch the cherry blossoms together."
Thinking this, Yae Sakura arrived at the hut where Rin was staying. But when she pulled open its door... there was no one inside.
"Where... is Rin?"
The bundle on Yae Sakura's back fell to the ground from her loosened hand with a dull thud.
Yae Sakura had already realized what had happened.
And at some point, the Yae God Master had appeared behind her, watching her with a grim expression.
"Sakura, why are you here?"
The Yae God Master spoke cruelly without mercy. "The Sacrifice Ritual began early. Rin has already been taken to the altar. You should set off as well."
Yae Sakura remained silent, not daring to look at the Yae God Master. After a long struggle, she managed to force out a single word. "...Yes."
When Yae Sakura walked toward the altar with the ritual knife in hand, Yae Rin was kneeling atop it, her hands bound with rope.
Just like her mother had been ten years ago.
As Yae Sakura slowly drew the blade from its sheath, Yae Rin made no attempt to resist.
The blade swung.
It fell.
Yae Rin squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the blade to come down, yet she never felt any pain.
When Yae Rin opened her eyes, she saw the severed ropes around her hands and her sister extending a hand toward her.
"Rin, take my hand! Let's escape together!"
But as Yae Sakura took Yae Rin's hand and ran forward, there came a thud. Yae Rin fell to the ground, unable even to stand.
"It's useless."
The Yae God Master coldly watched it all unfold. "The tendons in her feet have already been cut. She'll never be able to stand again for the rest of her life."
No...
"Yes... Sister... Rin actually knew long ago."
A few drops of water fell to the ground, dampening the earth.
"So... Rin is really happy that she could help Sister before she died..."
No... Rin...
When Yae Rin looked at Yae Sakura, she still wore her usual smile, but the tears slipping from the corners of her eyes would not stop.
"It's just... I'm sorry... Sister. Rin can't go see the cherry blossoms with you anymore."
"Sister, you must become an outstanding Miko..."
No... I don't believe it... Rin... You're clearly crying...
The Yae God Master strode over. "We can't wait any longer!"
The Yae God Master seized Yae Sakura's hand holding the knife and swung the blade.
The sound of steel sinking into flesh rang out, and blood sprayed in all directions with the blade.
Yae Rin's smile froze in that instant.
Rin, no...
Fine rain slowly drifted down from the sky, falling upon the villagers of Yae Village and drawing cheers from them.
"It's raining! Wonderful!"
"Thank the Divine Lord!"
"It's wonderful that the Divine Lord has forgiven us!"
The Yae God Master released Yae Sakura's hand and went to place Yae Rin's heart upon the Jade Statue's chest, leaving Yae Sakura to collapse helplessly before Yae Rin's body.
Blood mixed with rain from the heavens, dyeing Yae Sakura's skirt a vivid red.
Yae Sakura could no longer tell whether what ran down her face were tears or falling raindrops.
Rin...
Don't leave me alone...
And after Yae Rin died, within Xu Yanwu's space...
From the thick black mist, a right hand clutching a Colorless Crystal broke free.
—...Although this is another time skip, there really was no way around it...—
The year 1475, the 11th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty.
The frontier of the Ming Empire.
The Destiny Knights, having conquered all of Europe, arrived upon these grasslands where war had raged for thousands of years, and encountered a formidable enemy unlike any they had ever faced.
The tempering of war, masterful martial arts, and skills honed over ten or even decades of fighting Honkai Beasts.
The weapons they had once been so proud of, which had allowed them to sweep across Europe, were utterly shattered when they encountered the army of the Ming Empire upon the Land of Shenzhou.
Their opponents possessed strength more savage than their hardened bodies, ever-changing tactics, and generals who charged forward without hesitation...
Without the slightest suspense, Destiny's knight orders were stopped upon the endless grasslands by this formidable foe.
Destiny's upper ranks were consumed by rage. They could not believe that their invincible army had actually been halted here.
Thus, Destiny ordered its soldiers to use the Honkai Energy Weapons secretly developed by the organization, regardless of the cost.
Enduring the corrosion of Honkai Energy, Destiny's knights gained power far beyond what they had possessed before. The Ming army, once like an impregnable wall of bronze and iron, was now breached by Destiny's knights.
Victory was about to fall into Destiny's hands.
But... upon these grasslands, the appearance of one person reversed the battle once more.
Destiny's knights did not know who she was, but amid the cries of the Ming army, they called her...
"Immortal."
The meaning of a Colorless Crystal: it represents purity and selflessness, can enhance one's spiritual aura, and dispel distracting thoughts.
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