(The main story continues in the next chapter. Thank you all for your concern. I have a cerebrovascular condition and insufficient blood supply to my heart. I'm still in the hospital, but I've improved a lot... I tried writing a little today, but I've been having some cognitive difficulties and found that my thinking is much slower than before. Please forgive me if the writing isn't as good as it used to be... I can only take it slowly... I'll try to post another update tomorrow...)
(This is something I wrote a while ago... It has nothing to do with the main story, so feel free to give it a read.)
Black-clad men lay sprawled across the cold wooden floor.
They were all unconscious.
Even now,
Princess Kaguya had merely swept her hand out and sent them flying,
without taking their lives.
This woman from a distant planet
had offered the world her kindness in innocent ignorance.
She cautiously felt her way through its rules.
Even with her extraordinary power,
she had never wreaked wanton destruction.
When she was starving, she would cautiously stare at the steamed bun shop, lost in a daze.
When the shopkeeper showed them kindness and gave them a bun, she quietly remembered it.
But this planet that had given her freedom
was not entirely good.
Princess Kaguya felt lost and helpless.
For the first time, deep confusion and dejection clouded her clear, bright eyes.
She had arrived too early.
In the end, she could not see into people's hearts.
It was like a modest wave rising out of a dark, silent, icy tide,
gently lapping against her heart.
Small though it was, its chill cut to the bone.
She felt as though she stood at the edge of darkness, unable to see the road ahead.