"Seele is very concerned about Yuexia?"
Ye Feng watched Seele with a smile as she sat down, picked up a piece of strawberry cake, and began to lick it.
Why lick it?
Isn't licking the cream off the cake common sense?
Ye Feng's tongue deftly curled around the pink strawberry in the center of the cream, savoring it with relish.
The innocent Seele had no reaction to this. She was anxious and wanted to learn how to save Yuexia as soon as possible.
"...Brother Ye Feng."
Seele called out softly, her ocean-blue eyes looking at Ye Feng timidly.
"Hm? Does Seele want some strawberry cake too?"
"...Y-Yes, I do. But... Brother Ye Feng, what exactly do I need to do to solve her 'bloodlust'..."
"Ah, speaking of which, I can't help but be reminded of the 'Inversion Impulse' from Type-Moon. The two have a certain similarity. There was once a scumbag head of one of the Four Great Demon-Hunting Families... ah, although compared to me, he doesn't even qualify as scum. Guess how he solved the problem, Seele."
"Umm... I don't know..."
Seele lowered her head.
Ultimately, isn't the reason I'm asking because I don't know?
"By exchanging liquids with a 'suitable person'."
"Liquid exchange?"
"The key is the 'suitable person,' Seele."
"Umm... that 'suitable person'... Brother Ye Feng, you couldn't be referring to yourself, could you..."
Ye Feng simply smiled without answering.
He raised his hand, and a screen of light materialized in the air.
It showed Seele's situation in the outside world.
It was a bedroom. Dark Seele was controlling Seele's body, pacing back and forth in the room and muttering something.
Luna Kindred was lying on the bed, covered by a clean white quilt, fast asleep.
With only her small head showing, Yuexia's brow was tightly furrowed, as if she was desperately enduring something even in her dreams.
"Hm?"
Seeing this, Ye Feng's eyes suddenly lit up, and he abandoned his original Plans A through E.
"One body, two souls..."
If she exists in both the 'outside world' and the 'inside world' at the same time, then can't she become a link between the two worlds?
Ye Feng put on a pair of sunglasses, raised his index finger, and said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes:
"Seele, I just thought of a brilliant idea."
---o---
Elysian Realm.
Elysia's eyes snapped open. The first thing she saw was a pair of magnificent breasts.
The towering peaks blocked half the sky. Lying on the plump thighs, Elysia couldn't see the face, but she could instantly recognize the nun giving her a lap pillow.
Moreover, her nun's habit was extremely distinctive. The two covers that hung down like butterfly wings were propped up so high that, from a bottom-up angle, one could see the firm underside of her breasts, tightly wrapped in black silk.
"Aponia."
Elysia put a hand to her forehead and slowly sat up, looking around.
This was an open-air church situated in the clouds. A circle of ancient, chalk-white pillars surrounded a round, stone platform, at the center of which stood a magnificent statue of a goddess.
This was Aponia's "self-imposed cage," the place of repentance in the Deep End.
"I am..."
The images of her time with Ye Feng flashed through her mind, and Elysia's mouth fell slightly agape.
"Elysia."
Aponia's voice was as gentle and serene as a holy mother's. She looked earnestly at the pink-haired elf before her, an inexplicable light in her downcast gray eyes.
"I saw that you had collapsed at the 'entrance,' so I brought you here..."
Elysia asked seriously, "Have you been watching over me ever since I fainted?"
"Yes..."
Elysia nodded slightly to herself.
In other words, her body had been here the whole time... even if it was just a memory body.
But it was proof that only her "consciousness" had crossed over.
Mr. Ye Feng hadn't been lying.
Elysia looked at her friend, a pure smile gracing her face. "I see. I knew you were the best to me."
Aponia's eyelids were lowered, her face always carrying a world-weary indifference mixed with a savior's pity.
But at this moment, a certain emotion in the nun's heart was stronger than ever.
"Elysia, your eyes... hold a new weariness. If you don't mind... you can tell me all your troubles and worries."
"Umm..."
Elysia thought back to what had happened in "Ye Feng's World."
Being covered in cream the moment she arrived, swapping bodies and watching herself get railed, being washed clean by a man she had just met...
Even for the flawless Miss Elf, such things were difficult to speak of.
Seeing Elysia's complicated expression, Aponia let out a soft sigh.
"Prayer came too late. I still failed to change anything. I failed to save anyone... This is my sin. This is my fate."
Hearing this, Elysia feigned anger and placed her hands on her hips.
"Aponia is the same as ever. Don't always try to take all the responsibility on yourself. Honestly. Speaking of troubles and worries, it looks like you have far more. Elysia's helpful hint: you can rely on Elysia as much as you want, and Elysia will respond with all her heart."
Aponia, wearing her white wimple, had gray eyes that shimmered like a lake, reflecting Elysia's clear face. Her lips moved, but in the end, all that escaped was a sigh.
"...The threads of fate are still weaving their predetermined pattern, yet the visions I see remain a blur, like a thick paste, impossible to discern."
Elysia's heart stirred.
Even Aponia can't "foresee" it?
"Alright, alright, no need to be so pessimistic. If you keep this up, I'll start crying too, you know."
"Elysia."
"Hm?"
"No matter what happens, will you... believe me?"
"Isn't that a matter of course!"
Elysia stepped forward and took Aponia's hand.
Wow, it's so soft and smooth!
Elysia said with conviction, "The bond between us is something that nothing can ever sever."
"..."
Aponia squeezed Elysia's hand in return. "...Thank you."
"Mhm? Just a 'thank you' isn't enough, you know. Aponia, you're suddenly saying all these strange things, it's making me a little confused too."
Aponia gripped Elysia's hand tightly.
"Elysia, [Please] listen to me. I am clumsy. Sometimes, I can't distinguish between happiness and pain. If you encounter something that defies reason, you must follow your own feelings... As I said before, I... can't do anything..."
Aponia gazed earnestly at Elysia. "But I... want Elysia to live happily. My desire to be with Elysia... is absolutely not a lie."