"Then, I'll leave it to you…" Chu Lian stood in front of Hare Menjou, speaking softly.
"I should be the one thanking you for bringing me out of that space. Now that I'm your contractor, letting you use my Void is only natural." Hare shook her head, her expression gentle. It was a look she showed only to Chu Lian—toward anyone else, whether they could see her or not, she remained distant and indifferent.
She reached out her right hand, and a Void barrier appeared. Chu Lian's hand slipped into Hare's chest, and when she drew it back, a white ribbon-like object emerged—the physical manifestation of Hare's Void. Though it differed slightly from its form in the anime of the previous life, it emitted the same warm, comforting light.
As soon as the white ribbon appeared, it began circling around Chu Lian on its own, threads of soft white light falling beside her and transforming into life energy that healed her wounds.
The two girls floated gently into the air, countless motes of light swirling around them. Though it was their first time working together, their resonance created a strange phenomenon—white feathers slowly descended throughout the space.
In that beautiful scene, they looked like angels descending upon the mortal world. Especially since both Hare and Chu Lian had closed their eyes—Hare because her Void had been drawn, and Chu Lian because she was channeling it—the sight of feathers raining down on them was ethereal.
Gently extending her hand, Inori caught one of the feathers. A faint warmth spread across her palm, and a surge of vibrant energy flowed from her arm into her heart, restoring her slightly fatigued body almost instantly.
The feather seemed to have fulfilled its purpose. After the energy within it dispersed, it made a pop sound and dissolved into countless specks of light.
"This is life energy… the phenomenon caused by Hare and Lian's first collaboration, huh? I wonder if it'll always be like this from now on?" Inori murmured softly, gazing at the two figures suspended in midair.
Among all the manifestations of Voids, hers had always caused the largest disturbance. A beam of light five meters in diameter shot straight into the sky from where they stood, piercing the clouds. The brilliance lingered long after, surely drawing the attention of countless hidden powers and observers.
By comparison, Hare Menjou's Void, though also accompanied by a phenomenon, only affected the room they were in. It neither pierced the ceiling nor reached the heavens—just a cascade of endless feathers within this space.
The white ribbon danced around Chu Lian for over a minute before finally slowing. The gentle glow gradually subsided, faintly shimmering around her form. The feathers vanished, and both girls slowly drifted back down, lying on the wooden floor.
"It feels so good to have this power back again." After a moment of silence, Chu Lian opened her eyes and stood up, gazing softly at Hare Menjou's figure.
"Then try to trust us." Inori's voice came from beside her, saying something that seemed unrelated—but Chu Lian understood her meaning.
"I was too selfish. If I could've been less anxious and fearful, and instead believed in all of you, I wouldn't have been hurt so much. I'll remember this lesson. From now on, I'll trust you more. After all… we're people who will always be together." Chu Lian paused for a moment, then nodded gently. Her tone was soft, but earnest.
Hearing her words, Inori suddenly stepped forward and took Chu Lian's hand, her wine-red eyes gazing deeply into Chu Lian's, before she slowly lowered her head.
As that flawless face drew closer and closer, Chu Lian's lips parted slightly, her eyes fluttering shut.
"What are you thinking about?" But instead of the kiss she expected, she heard a light laugh beside her ear—the clear sound as bright as wind chimes.
Opening her eyes, Chu Lian saw the smiling girl before her, eyes shimmering like spring water, reflecting her startled expression.
Then, the girl leaned in and brushed a soft kiss upon her lips—like a dragonfly touching water—before stepping back with a faint smile. "Lian, I'll wait for you outside," she said, and then left the room.
Caught off guard by Inori's uncharacteristic teasing, Chu Lian was momentarily dazed. But seeing her smile, she couldn't even feel angry. If anything, she felt warmth rising in her chest. After all, Inori's emotions had grown richer—she even knew how to be jealous now.
Reaching up to touch her lips, Chu Lian could still feel the warmth and breath that lingered from Inori's kiss. She stood there for a while before walking over and kneeling beside Hare Menjou, who was still lying down.
Gazing at the girl's adorable face, she thought of Inori's earlier action and shook her head slightly. "Jealous Inori is really cute… but why tease me like that?"
In the past, the only one who ever teased her was Ayase—no matter how she resisted, she could never win against her. And now, there was Inori, whose teasing she didn't even want to resist. Could it be… she was just the type who enjoyed being pushed around?
As the thought crossed her mind, Chu Lian suddenly grew cautious. Was she destined to spend her days being teased by them? But then again, if such affection came every day, maybe… being teased wasn't such a bad thing after all.
After daydreaming for a bit, Chu Lian drew back her focus and retracted her Void energy. The power surrounding Hare Menjou immediately dissipated and returned to her body.
"Mm…" With a soft sound, the girl opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Chu Lian's delicate face, and her cheeks flushed pink. "Lian, what are you looking at?"
Of course, Chu Lian couldn't admit that she had been spacing out, admiring her looks. Instead, she smoothly changed the subject. "We're leaving for America today. Will you be all right with that?"
"Even though this place is Japan… do you really think I'll be fine?" Hare's voice softened slightly as she spoke.
Chu Lian thought about it—it was true. Hare Menjou wasn't someone from this timeline to begin with. After arriving here, she had lost much of her past memories.
And she had spent an unknown length of time trapped in that dark, spherical device deep within Chu Lian's spiritual sea. Hare had never told her when she awoke, so Chu Lian didn't know exactly how long she'd been there. But she could guess—it hadn't been short.
The girl saw Chu Lian's slightly dazed expression, and when she recalled her own words, a wave of sadness welled up in her chest. She had thought her Void was useless to Chu Lian—that her meaning was to stop being a burden and leave her side.
Hugging her knees, Hare buried her head against them. Her voice trembled with choked emotion. "Right now, you're the only one who can even notice my existence, Lian. And I… I only want to rely on you. I can't remember my past clearly, or how I ended up here. But for the future—you're my only support. Please don't abandon me, Lian…"
Unlike Inori, who retained all her memories except for Shu Ouma and Gai Tsutsugami, or Mana and Eve, who knew every truth of their world, Hare Menjou had been just an ordinary high school girl before the destruction of the Guilty Crown world. If not for its collapse, her fate might have followed the original story—perhaps death, perhaps another path—but certainly not drifting through countless dimensions to this Earth.
In this world, even though she had become another race and gained mysterious power, the only person she had known from the beginning was Chu Lian.
During her long confinement in darkness, it was only by watching the fragments of Chu Lian's past and present life—transmitted by the machine—that she managed to stay sane instead of falling into total isolation.
One could say that her entire existence in this world revolved around Chu Lian. Cruel as it might sound, that was the helpless reality for a traveler from a world that no longer existed.
Fortunately, Chu Lian's temperament was far kinder than most. Her soul itself was from another timeline, and she knew well the characters of the Guilty Crown world. Thus, rather than rejecting them, she had welcomed them warmly.
But a girl's heart is sensitive—especially now. Having just appeared, Hare immediately discovered that she wasn't the only one. There was Inori—the first contractor, the most important companion, and the one who shared that wordless, instinctive understanding with Chu Lian. Every glance, every smile between them struck a chord of self-pity in Hare's heart.
She feared that her own ability was of little use—that she would become dead weight, and be left behind.
In truth, it was partly Chu Lian's fault for being careless. She hadn't taken the time to explain Hare's Void and her abilities, instead brushing things off and changing the subject. That only deepened the girl's insecurity until it burst out in tears.
Seeing the crying girl, Chu Lian's heart softened completely. Yet, after experiencing so many emotional entanglements with various girls, she was no longer as flustered as before.
So she opened her arms and gently embraced Hare Menjou, who was slightly taller than her, whispering softly by her ear, "How could I ever abandon you, Hare? You're the greatest treasure I've found on this journey. I'll do everything I can to protect you. You have to know—you're irreplaceable to me. Besides, apart from you all, I don't even know who else I can truly trust. So please, don't worry anymore, okay?"
Her words had the desired effect—the girl's sobs gradually quieted, though she still didn't lift her head. After a brief hesitation, she suddenly turned into a stream of light and slipped back into Chu Lian's body.
"Well, looks like she got shy," Chu Lian murmured, seeing the scene. Knowing that Hare had finally come to terms with her feelings, she exhaled in relief and shook her head lightly.
Were all women inherently fragile? She herself had always considered herself strong, yet in just the past half month, she had cried several times, felt sorrow over and over, and grown far more sentimental than ever before.
In her previous timeline—when she had still been a man—she had lived alone since she could remember. Never had she been this sensitive, never had she shed tears so easily, and melancholy had never been a part of her life.
But here, everything had changed. After becoming a girl, living as Chu Lian, and realizing that her true identity was veiled in countless mysteries, her emotions had been perpetually on edge—always just one touch away from collapsing into self-pity.
This began to change only after Ayase was trapped in the Punishment Space and Inori arrived. Slowly, she had started to reclaim her strength.
And then there were Chu Chu, Li Xiu'er, Cai Ya, Kurosaki Satsuki, and now Hare Menjou—each of these girls carried a sensitive heart. In front of her, they always revealed the vulnerability they had long kept hidden.
Perhaps it was because, even as she mourned her own fragility, she had unconsciously built layers of emotional armor—so that what others saw was only her strength. And because of that, they leaned on her even more.
Kneeling there in silence, Chu Lian felt her emotions stir with a complexity unlike anything she had ever known before.