Shinobu was made to experience loss after fulfillment again and again, to endure emotional torment and despair over and over. And every shattered dream, every breakdown she suffered within it, became the most tangible physical damage, slashing viciously at her mental core!
The butterfly cocoon covered in cracks was the clearest proof.
If this vicious cycle continued unchecked, there would be no need to act in reality. Shinobu's mind would shatter completely under this endless torture, leaving her an empty shell without a soul!
Dark blue light flickered wildly through the void of the mental space, like a lone lamp about to be swallowed by the deep sea.
Takanashi Rokuno gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead as he forcibly drew on the savage arcana power within him. This power was normally a weapon of destruction, but now, he had to turn it into a mental anchor.
"Solidify... now!"
Rokuya roared inwardly. With that roar, blue-green light erupted from the depths of his illusory soul form. The phantom of the Arcana Armor flickered over his body, its utterly domineering physical laws forcibly tearing an opening in this dream space governed by the mind.
Weight returned to his limbs. He clenched his fists, feeling a trace of real resistance. He had succeeded. He had used arcana power to forcibly regain control of this mental body.
As he looked at the "butterfly cocoon" ahead, riddled with cracks and seemingly ready to shatter at any moment, a trace of pain and resolve flashed through Rokuya's eyes. It was Shinobu Kocho's mental core.
"Since my rejection and my presence are what hurt you, then... what if I don't appear?"
Rokuya murmured to himself. Enmu's trap was too vicious. If "appearing and rejecting her" was a blade, could choosing to stay away at the