Regaining Her Sanity

Shiori Itsuka opened her eyes, her deep blue pupils reflecting the dim ceiling of the basement.

She lay on a lady's bed, covered with a thin blanket, the stitches on her neck gone.

She stared at the ceiling for a long time, so long that Kurumi thought she had died again.

"I remember I died. Is this hell?"

Her voice was hoarse, as if it hadn't been used in a long time.

Kurumi stood by the bed, her right eye red, but she wasn't crying.

She took a deep breath and forced back the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"You are alive, you have been resurrected."

Shiori Itsuka tried to sit up, but her arms trembled a few times as she braced herself on the bed, and she couldn't manage it.

Higashino Makoto took a bowl of congee and a bottle of water from his backpack, walked to the bedside, and handed her the bread.

Shiori Itsuka looked at the bowl of porridge, then at Higashino Makoto, but didn't take it.

"Eat something first. After all, you've been dead for a while, and your body needs energy."

Shiori Itsuka took the bowl of congee and took a sip.

She ate very slowly, as if she were relearning how to eat.

She had drunk most of the bottle of water, and her complexion began to improve.

Her pale skin regained a faint hue, her chapped lips became moist, and even her breathing became much more even.

There was a power flowing within her, which should be the spiritual energy unique to this world.

The spiritual energy was repairing her body, accelerating her metabolism, and replenishing her energy.

As Higashino Makoto watched her slowly transform from someone who looked like she was about to die back to a healthy person, he had to admit that the Elf Kingdom constitution in this world was indeed very useful.

Shiori Itsuka sat up, the thin blanket slipping off her shoulders.

She looked down at her hands, clenched her fist, released it, and then clenched her fist again.

I feel much better.

Higashino Makoto nodded.

"Thank you, Higashino- kun."

Shiori Itsuka gently patted her cheeks, thanked them, and then inquired about the Elf Kingdom.

"By the way, what happened after I died? Are the Elf Kingdom alright?"

Then Kurumi spoke, her voice very soft, so soft it was as if she were talking to herself.

"Tohka Yatogami... because you died, she went completely insane..."

Seeing that Tokisaki Kurumi was stammering and couldn't explain herself clearly for a long time, Higashino Makoto interrupted her.

"After you died, Tohka Yatogami went mad and destroyed the entire world."

Shiori Itsuka's fingers stopped.

She looked up at Kurumi, hoping to get a reply from Higashino Makoto that it was just a joke.

Kurumi didn't look at her; her right eye was fixed on the ground, her black twin tails hanging down her shoulders, and she the Unassailable.

"Everyone is dead. Your family, your classmates, your friends, the Elf Kingdom, Origami Tobiichi, Nia Honjo... She killed everyone. There are almost no living people left in the outside world, only ruins."

Shiori Itsuka's lips trembled.

She lowered her head, hugged her knees with both hands, and curled up into a ball.

Her shoulders were trembling, but she made no sound.

"They're all dead..."

They're all dead.

Shiori Itsuka finally shed tears.

She didn't wipe it away; she just buried her face in her knees, tears seeping through her fingers and dripping onto the bed.

Higashino Makoto stood aside, saying nothing and offering no advice.

Sometimes, it's better to cry than to hold it in.

She cried for a long time, until she was exhausted from crying, then she raised her head and wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"Have you cried enough? If you have, then listen to my method for saving the world."

Shiori Itsuka looked up, somewhat bewildered, while Higashino Makoto continued speaking.

"You possess the spiritual power of all the Elf Kingdom within you, allowing you to use Zafkiel. Kurumi can too, and Beast Tohka can as well. The three of you can work together to send me to the past before anything happened, so I can change that future."

Her eyes were red and swollen, and the tip of her nose was also red, but there was something new in those deep blue eyes—not hope, but determination.

"Go back in time and change all of this! Kurumi, help me!"

Kurumi looked into her eyes, a glint of light flashing in her right eye.

Higashino Makoto nodded; this was exactly what he wanted.

The three of them walked out of the basement, out of the villa, and into that destroyed world.

A dark red sky loomed overhead, devoid of any sign of life.

Beast Tohka remained standing in the same spot, her long, silvery-white hair swaying gently in the still air, the deep purple at the ends of her hair the only vibrant color in this gray world.

Her eyes stared blankly at the sky, like a statue forgotten in ruins.

Shiori Itsuka walked ahead, her long, dark blue hair flowing behind her.

"Tohka Yatogami."

Shiori Itsuka's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present in the silent ruins.

Beast Tohka's body trembled violently, and her empty, blood-red eyes began to focus, like a camera that had lost focus slowly aiming at a scene.

She looked down and saw the girl with long, dark blue hair.

"Shiori Itsuka...?"

Her voice was hoarse and broken, as if it hadn't been used in a long time.

She reached out, wanting to touch Shiori Itsuka's face, but her hand stopped halfway in mid-air. She dared not touch her, afraid that if she did, she would find it was all an illusion.

Shiori Itsuka reached out and grasped the hand that was hanging in mid-air.

Her hands were very cold, almost cold to the point of being cold.

Shiori Itsuka clenched her fists, transferring her body heat to them.

"It's me, I'm back."

Tears welled up in Beast Tohka's eyes, but the warmth from her hand brought her back to her senses.

She seemed to have transformed back into the original Tohka Yatogami, the girl who loved to cry and laugh, and who could be happy over a piece of bread.

Then she saw everything around her.

Collapsed buildings, a dark red sky.

She looked down at her hands, the hands that had once been used to destroy everything.

"I... I did it?"

There was no response.

But Tohka Yatogami didn't need to answer, because she knew it herself.

Her tears flowed even more fiercely, and she squatted on the ground, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

She repeated the word over and over again, like a broken tape recorder.

Shiori Itsuka knelt down and hugged her.

It's not your fault.

"It's my fault. I killed everyone. I destroyed everything."

"That was DEM's fault, it was my fault for being so easily killed, not yours."

Tohka Yatogami cried in her arms for a long time. Shiori Itsuka held her and gently patted her back.

She cried until she was exhausted, her voice was hoarse, and all her tears had dried up.

Shiori Itsuka released her, stood up, and extended her hand.

"Tohka Yatogami, we need your help. I need to go back in time and change all of this."

Tohka Yatogami looked up at the hand that was being extended towards her.

Is there anything else I can do to help?

"Yes, we can do it together."

Tohka Yatogami took her hand and stood up.

Kurumi walked to her side, Higashino Makoto stood in front of the three of them.

Afterwards, Higashino Makoto chose to revive all the Elf Kingdom.

There was no other reason than that I was lusting after their bodies and incidentally obtained the same promise from them as Kurumi.

Taking advantage of someone's misfortune?

That's right, it's taking advantage of someone's misfortune!

As for whether they will deny it after the world line changes?

It's okay, I'll remember it.