The girl, who had been especially petite in her memories, scooped her up in a princess carry. To the Doctor's nearly incomprehensible expression, she leaped fiercely toward the sky like lightning and strode directly through space.
Space rippled.
Before the Doctor's utterly ghost-struck gaze, she had somehow shot straight out of that reed-filled spacetime.
They appeared beside a white-haired woman who looked somewhat dazed. The girl glanced at her, and a flash of confusion suddenly appeared on her face.
Yet she did not ask any questions. She merely high-fived Amiya in silent understanding. As the crisp clap rang out, the scene before them changed once more, as though they had passed through an invisible doorway.
In an instant, Amiya and the Doctor found themselves in a lush garden.
The garden was vast and empty, so quiet that time itself seemed frozen—or rather, almost everyone had already slipped away.
Only a seemingly isolated swordswoman sat before the gate, tasting candy and occasionally feeding some to the swallows circling overhead. She was the sole splash of color in this desolate scene.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.
But the instant their gazes met, memories of observing that pitch-black celestial body, as though it could swallow all things, surged forth. The Doctor's soul could not help trembling.
After just one glance, the Doctor felt a terrifying sensation spread through her heart, as though her soul were about to be torn out and shattered.
This woman was a monster through and through!!
Yet Amiya appeared remarkably calm before such a bizarre monster. She obediently greeted her.
"Senior Acheron."
"...Uh... long time no see, Ami... ya... Amiya."
After hesitating for quite a while, the swordswoman chose the wrong form of address with perfect accuracy.
"Want some candy?"
The swordswoman, who in the Doctor's memories seemed