You Came Too?

Byakuya knelt on the ground, her body beginning to tremble violently.

The sudden blow caused her to tremble and collapse from the inside out.

She absorbed a thousand years of Pure Concept and plundered the power of countless people, but every Pure Concept leaves behind a small amount of contamination.

They piled up like foreign objects deep within her soul, repelling and polluting each other, tearing her spirit to pieces.

Agate's consciousness rose from the bottom, like a fish that had been suppressed at the bottom of the water suddenly leaping out of the water.

Byakuya's body trembled violently, and two colors flashed alternately in his eyes.

She could easily suppress Agate before, after all, the other party was half a clone of herself, but her spirit could no longer hold on.

The concepts she had plundered began to backfire, and countless memories of strangers screamed in her mind like ten thousand flies buzzing at once.

I don't remember her Akari.

This fact was like a knife, piercing the last piece of her intact soul.

Fear.

She was afraid of being forgotten, afraid of being alone, afraid that her thousand-year wait would ultimately become a joke.

The Pure Concept she had absorbed seized the opportunity to flood into the crack, tearing her consciousness to shreds.

Then comes hatred.

She hated Higashino Makoto; she hated him for stealing Akari's memories, for destroying the world she created, and for standing there looking at her with the eyes of someone looking at an ant.

But hatred ends in a feeling of powerlessness.

She couldn't beat him.

She tried her best, but couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.

These emotions, mingled together, were like various colors of paint poured into the same bucket, creating a murky, indistinguishable black.

Her consciousness began to reorganize.

It's like a building collapsing, but the bricks piled up on their own, forming a completely different building.

Her feelings for the Akari, that obsession that had lasted for a thousand years, were replaced by something else.

Fear prevented her from approaching the Akari again, because the Akari no longer recognized her.

Hatred drove her to want to get closer to Higashino Makoto, because he was the only person she couldn't ignore right now.

Her sense of powerlessness made her want to depend on him, because it is the instinct of the weak to depend on the strong.

Those plundered remnants of Pure Concept became the adhesive, binding everything together.

Her eyes stopped blinking.

Agate, Byakuya, and a thousand years of residue have completely fused together, transforming into a completely new color, crimson red, like burning charcoal.

Peach knelt beside her, her hand still holding hers.

She noticed Byakuya's change, her mouth opened, as if she wanted to say something.

Byakuya moved.

She shook off Peach's hand with surprising strength.

Peach fell to one side, her palm landing on the gravel, scraping her skin.

She looked up and watched Byakuya stand up, watched her push her away, and watched her pounce on Higashino Makoto.

"Higashino- kun!"

Agate, or rather Byakuya's voice, has changed.

It was no longer that hoarse, suppressed voice, or the calm, restrained voice of Agate.

It's a completely new, sweet, and coquettish voice.

She threw herself into Higashino Makoto's arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her face against his chest.

Long pink hair cascaded down his arms, and crimson eyes looked up at him, their pupils reflecting his face.

"I've waited a thousand years for you, and now I've finally found you. Let's be together forever, okay?"

Higashino Makoto looked down at the pink-haired woman in his arms.

His hand hung in mid-air, unsure of where to put it.

What's going on?

Byakuya did not answer.

She stood on tiptoe, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him.

The moment their lips touched, Higashino Makoto felt a massive surge of conceptual power enter his body.

He was very familiar with this feeling; Conduit Link.

It was initiated by the other party, without any resistance or obstruction.

Her soul was completely open to him, like an open book with the same name written on every page.

Higashino Makoto.

Her memories flooded back, not in a complete form, but fragmented.

A thousand years of waiting, countless disappointments, the screams of the plundered, the pain of conceptual backlash, and finally, that murky black mass that churned up all emotions.

The only light in the darkness was his face.

Higashino Makoto's feelings are complicated.

The Conduit Link was incredibly smooth; her soul was like a piece of melted candy, easily molded into any shape.

Without any resistance or warning, she surrendered herself completely.

He drew a conclusion.

This woman is definitely out of her mind.

Akari stood to the side, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, her pale purple eyes watching the pink-haired woman throw herself into Higashino Makoto's arms and kiss him.

Her expression showed no anger, no jealousy, only confusion.

She didn't remember Byakuya, and although she had an impression of Agate, she didn't seem to have any deep feelings for her.

But she remembered that the woman had called her name, "Akari," and her heart skipped a beat at that moment.

She looked at Higashino Makoto, waiting for his reaction.

Peach got up from the ground, her palm still bleeding.

She watched Byakuya's retreating figure, the hands wrapped around Higashino Makoto's waist, and the pink head resting against his chest.

Her lips were trembling, and her eyes were red.

"Agate..."

She called out softly.

No one answered her.

Byakuya released Higashino Makoto's face, leaned against his chest again, her crimson eyes closed, a satisfied smile on her lips.

"Higashino- kun, you've finally come. I knew you'd come; you wouldn't abandon me."

Higashino Makoto looked at the pink head in his arms, then at the Akari, then at Peach.

Three women, three expressions.

Confused, heartbroken, and mentally unstable.

He took a deep breath.

Oh well, I came to this world to find power anyway, and now that power has come to me on its own, even if it comes with a woman who's not quite right in the head.

He reached out and patted Byakuya on the back.

"Okay, we'll be together, but let me go first."

Byakuya didn't let go; she hugged him even tighter.

Hmm, feeling the softness in his arms, Higashino Makoto was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

This really wasn't in my plan!

It just goes to show that Akari truly lives up to her reputation as one of the female leads.

Simply altering her memories led to this unexpected turn of events.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the Peach that were clearly rotten to the side.

You're not going to cause me any trouble too, are you?