Years later, Lia was stabbed through the heart once more, and the pain brought tears to her eyes. Her sudden cry jolted Hao Ren awake from his dazed state after being bombarded with an enormous amount of information. He blinked and looked suspiciously at the tiny Creation Goddess. "...Lia?"
"It's me!" Lia's mouth twitched. "What are you waiting for? Pull it out!"
Hao Ren felt completely lost, but he still acted on instinct. He carefully laid Lia flat, then gripped the hilt of the God-Slaying Sword. Just before pulling it out, however, he cautiously asked, "Are you really sure I should pull it out directly? I remember reading that you shouldn't pull out something stuck in a wound like this. You could bleed to death..."
Lia's tears nearly fell again. "Why are you still spouting nonsense at a time like this?! Under normal circumstances, I should've died the moment this sword went in, all right?! Do you think I need to wait until I bleed out?"
Hao Ren thought about it and realized she had a point. Judging from how energetic Lia seemed, he could tell that she probably wasn't going to die anytime soon. He tightened his grip on the hilt. "Then bear with it. I'm pulling it out!"
"Gently..."
Squelch.
"Waaaah—ahhh!!"
The instant the God-Slaying Sword was pulled free, Hao Ren felt it undergo a tremendous change. It had originally been an object inside the illusion, and when he held it, it had felt cold and unreal. But now, he sensed an incredibly familiar aura coming from the sword. Along with it came an incredibly familiar stream of chatter: "Oh, partner, you called me again? Why does this feel different from before? This sword feels all dizzy and confused... Huh? What place is this?"
Before Hao Ren could