She... Is... Crying...

The ring seemed to have been forgotten between her fingers.

It blossomed beneath the moonlight.

Like a beautiful blue iris.

When...?

Soga Toyura raised her hand and stared at the ring between her fingers. Gazing at the faint, watery moonlight, she didn't know why, but the corners of her eyes seemed to grow wet.

Memories came rushing back like flowing water.

It was the ring Sakura Mai, that bastard, had handed her before they went to Professor Tsukuyomi Fuyu's observatory.

Under the sunlight—

Sakura Mai's hand was slender and fair, her knuckles clearly defined.

She was clearly a knight, yet... the saying that hands should be soft as young reeds and skin smooth as congealed fat probably referred to nothing less than this.

"Here—"

"This is a gift for Toyura."

"..."

It seemed... only natural.

That was the gift Sakura Mai, that bastard, had given her.

But—

But—

But!!!

Soga Toyura's lips parted slightly, yet she couldn't speak through her sobs. It felt as if something had completely clogged her chest.

It wasn't like that—

Not... not—

No, no, no, no, no, no!!!

It absolutely wasn't like that.

If the ring had been given to her by Sakura Mai, she would certainly have treasured it as much as her own life, but... how could she possibly have worn it on her ring finger?

Tears streamed down, and her limbs seemed to tremble and shake.

Soga Toyura opened her mouth, but no words came out. She only felt as if she had fallen into a strange, hopeless cycle.

Everything around her seemed to be falling, collapsing.

The stars filling the sky fell with her tears. The moon fell, then rose again.

Flowers sprouted, blossomed, and withered all around her, one after another.

She seemed to be standing in an endless wilderness.