Watching Yae Sakura leave again, Yae Rin suddenly remembered something and turned to Kiana. She recalled the blood she had seen earlier—it bothered her. "That blood... what was that about?"
"Oh, that? Don't worry. It was an animal's blood," Kiana said calmly, her tone light. "It was Sakura's first time doing something like that, so she wasn't very experienced. Next time, she won't get herself splattered."
"You went hunting in the mountains?"
Yae Rin glanced toward the door, concern flickering in her young face—far too mature for her age. "The mountains are dangerous. There are many wild beasts up there."
"Not in the mountains," Kiana gently reassured her. "A beast broke into the shrine. Don't worry, Sakura wouldn't take any unnecessary risks."
"A beast entered the shrine?" Rin asked curiously. "Didn't the god punish it?"
"Of course it did."
Thinking of the Frost Edict Edge, Kiana replied with certainty, "It's because of the god's help that Sakura was able to win so easily."
Rin nodded, finally relieved.
Did that god really help Sister?
"Sister. Kiana."
Having finished her chores, Yae Sakura walked over. The moment her eyes fell upon Rin, she couldn't look away, afraid that if she blinked, Rin might vanish.
There was so much she wanted to say.
She wanted to tell her she was sorry.
She wanted to apologize.
But she didn't know if she should bring up those things—things that hadn't yet happened in this timeline.
Yae Sakura had already made up her mind.
She would kill that man in advance. This time, she would never allow him another chance to hurt Rin.
Kiana rubbed her chin and glanced at the two silent sisters. "Maybe I should go for a walk and give you two some time to talk?"
Sitting together, neither Sakura nor Rin spoke, only exchanging glances. Kiana couldn't help feeling like an intruder.
"Don't!"
Yae Sakura quickly reached out to grab Kiana's hand, eyes pleading.
"Sister... did you have something you wanted to say to me?"
"I..."
Yae Sakura hesitated. Her heart was full of words, yet none seemed right for this moment.
How could she tell Rin—
That she had already died once?
The words refused to leave her lips.
Kiana cleared her throat. "Ahem. Rin, it's like this. I've discovered that this village might be haunted by an evil Kami. So I wanted to ask Sakura for help—she'll assist me in tracking down any signs of it."
Seeing Sakura freeze up, unable to speak, her expression shifting over and over, Kiana had no choice but to step in for her.
Rin gasped. "So, Kiana-sis, you're an exorcist?!"
"...Something like that. Don't worry, though—I'm very strong. I won't let your sister get hurt."
"Are evil spirits really real?" Rin asked curiously.
"They exist, but they're not called evil spirits," Kiana explained. "I'm not very familiar with this place, so I need your sister's help. That's why Sakura will be spending some time with me. She just doesn't know how to tell you."
Sakura stayed silent, so Kiana had to improvise on her behalf.
"That's fine!" Rin said brightly, completely unbothered. Seeing her sister's guilty face, she puffed out her chest proudly. "Don't worry about me, Sister! I can take care of myself."
"Rin..."
"Oh, come on, Sister! You should have your own time and space too. Don't worry, I'll wait at home for your good news!"
I didn't even say we were leaving right now, Kiana thought to herself awkwardly. Still, she could roughly guess what Rin was thinking.
Rin assumed that Sakura was only worried about leaving her alone. She thought that's why Sakura had even brought a friend home this time—to make sure she wasn't lonely.
But that wouldn't do!
This was Sister's first real friend! How could she get in the way?
So, she cheerfully pushed the two of them out the door.
She hoped Sister would stop worrying about her and enjoy herself outside—with Kiana.
At the doorway, Sakura and Kiana looked at each other in silence.
"Your sister's adorable," Kiana remarked with a smile.
Yae Sakura, still weighed down by heavy thoughts, brightened at the praise. "She is... though it seems she misunderstood something."
They both chuckled softly—and then fell silent once more.
Kiana walked ahead, heading away from the courtyard. Yae Sakura didn't know where she was going, but instinctively followed.
"Thank you, Kiana."
After taking a few steps, Yae Sakura lowered her voice. "Thank you... for letting me see Rin again."
"This has nothing to do with me."
Kiana shook her head, distancing herself from the credit. "The reboot just now wasn't my doing. I don't even know how it happened."
Yae Sakura shook her head as well. "If not for your help, I would've regressed along with everything else—back to a year ago... and forgotten everything."
She wasn't foolish. She knew exactly what would've happened if she had faced the reboot alone.
Now that she had calmed down, Yae Sakura even began to suspect that something like this... might have happened more than once.
"Your awareness being reset along with the world's reboot—it's strange," Kiana said seriously, her expression hardening. "It shouldn't be like this. There's still something we haven't discovered here—the real cause of the reboot."
"Was it because I killed that man?"
"Only by finding the true reason behind the reboot can we understand what's really happening."
Maybe. Maybe not.
Kiana had once wondered whether the world kept resetting because Yae Sakura subconsciously wished to save her sister—rebooting over and over again in hope of changing fate.
But even that didn't make complete sense.
"The true cause..."
"Yes, the true cause," Kiana replied. "It might also be why you can't remember anything. If we find it, we might be able to understand how this Stigmata World operates. And then... maybe I can bring you back."
Yae Sakura froze.
Before the reboot—before seeing her sister again—she hadn't cared much about anything.
But now...
She fell silent.
Kiana said this world was a fragment of the past, which meant that in the real world, she had failed to save Rin.
In the real world, she was alone.
"Sakura?"
Seeing her unresponsive, Kiana's tone softened with concern. "You're not... thinking of staying here, are you?"
As they walked, Yae Sakura quietly asked, "What is the world outside... like?"
Kiana stopped walking.
She drew in a deep breath. Sooner or later, she would have to tell her the truth. Keeping it from her wouldn't change anything—once Yae Sakura regained her memories, she would know.
"Everyone who stayed behind... is dead."
Yae Sakura froze, staring at her in disbelief. Once again, Kiana had dropped a bombshell without warning—shattering her perception of the world yet again.
"You, Himeko, the White-Haired Oni, Welt... and countless members of the Godslaying Corps—everyone who couldn't board the Ark and leave."
Kiana lowered her head, her voice heavy with sorrow. "Everyone who remained in Izumo... died."
"...So, if you want to stay in the Stigmata World, I can understand."
Before meeting Yae Rin, Kiana's only goal had been to confirm Yae Sakura's identity—and, if possible, find a way to bring her out.
As long as Yae Sakura's consciousness still existed, Kiana believed there would always be a way to restore her. Reviving her was just a matter of time.
But now, after seeing the silence that followed her words, she began to doubt whether taking Yae Sakura back—back to that empty, desolate world—was truly what Sakura wanted. Maybe it was just Kiana's own selfish hope.
Her emotions were complicated. Of course, she wanted Yae Sakura to return—to bring her back, so that together, they could rebuild Izumo from its ashes.
But she also respected Sakura's choice.
This world might not be any kinder than the one outside, but here, Yae Sakura could still see her sister.
Through all of this, Kiana had come to understand her more deeply—to understand her pain and the tragedy she had endured.
At the very end, when Yae Sakura met her death, what had she felt?
Disappointment? Despair toward the world? Or... relief?
Kiana didn't know.
"Sakura..."
"Don't rush your decision."
Kiana took a deep breath. "Wait until you've recovered all your memories. Then tell me what you decide."
Whether she chose to remain here in the Stigmata World or return to reality, Kiana would accept it.
Yae Sakura looked at her seriously, hesitating before asking softly, "Kiana... you came here specifically to find me, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"...Why?"
Her tone was blank, confused. Kiana had said she was already dead—if that was true, then coming here to find her must have taken an incredible amount of effort.
"Because we're friends!"
"Because we're friends?"
Yae Sakura repeated the words under her breath, lost in thought. "Just because we're friends?"
Would a friend really go this far?
To her, friendship had always meant nothing more than companionship and playmates.
But Kiana valued her so deeply that even after death, she had come all the way to the realm of the dead just to find her.
Was it really only because of friendship?
Did one even need another reason?
Kiana blinked in surprise, then thought for a moment and added, "To me, you're just as important as Mei and Sirin."
Although their first meeting had led to a misunderstanding and a fight, Kiana had taken a liking to her. Later, Yae Sakura had unconditionally supported her—had even risked her life for her sake.
Everything had gone wrong, and Kiana still carried a deep sense of guilt toward them all—especially toward those who had died because of her.
She knew they would've died regardless, even without her—but they weren't strangers. They were friends who had stood by her, shoulder to shoulder.
"I understand."
Yae Sakura nodded. Her instincts told her that Kiana's words—and her feelings—were sincere.
She grew deeply curious about the memories she had forgotten, about what she and Kiana had once shared.
She wanted to remember.
She wanted to recall everything connected to Kiana.
For the first time, she truly desired to reclaim her lost memories.
Even if they weren't beautiful.
And just as that thought took root—as she began to long for her forgotten self, to awaken what had been buried—the shrine began to change.
Just like when the world had rebooted earlier, black mist seeped from the ground, from the shrine, from the village. It spread quickly, like morning fog, shrouding everything from sight.
"It's changing again!"
Kiana's face tensed, her eyes scanning the shifting darkness. She hadn't done anything this time—so why had another hidden event triggered?
Yae Sakura, equally startled, immediately thought of her frail little sister. Fear gripped her heart as she fought the instinct to run back to find Rin.
Then—
A pair of blood-red eyes emerged from within the black mist.
Those crimson eyes burned with countless twisted emotions—rage, grief, despair, hatred—all compressed into one suffocating gaze. Just one glance was enough to seize the soul.
And as soon as Yae Sakura saw them...
Yae Sakura shuddered as though struck by lightning. Her body trembled, and it felt as if the shell encasing her heart had cracked—allowing long-buried emotions to surge out like a flood.
"Sakura!"
The voice that called her name was deep and distorted—neither male nor female. From within the thick black mist, the owner of those crimson eyes stepped forward, its massive body gradually coming into view.
It was a gigantic four-tailed fox.
Emanating pure malice, the creature emerged from the darkness, its crimson eyes brimming with hatred directed solely at Yae Sakura.
"This is—!"
Kiana's eyes widened in disbelief as she beheld the fox. "Higokumaru?!"
But that was impossible. The Frost Kami didn't take the form of a fox—she had even felt disappointed about that earlier. So what was this thing doing here?
Nothing about this made sense.
The four-tailed fox radiated an ominous, suffocating aura that made the very air feel heavy. Its presence alone sent waves of unease through both of them.
Yae Sakura instinctively took a step back.
An unexplainable terror gripped her heart. Though Kiana had stepped in front of her the moment the phenomenon began, she could barely suppress the urge to flee.
"You... you are—"
Something was wrong. Deeply wrong.
Even when facing the wicked Kami that had destroyed her life, she had never felt fear like this.
It was as if this four-tailed fox embodied everything she refused to confront—her shame, her despair, her weakness—all fused into one monstrous form.
But the fox had no intention of speaking with her. It had called her name only to unleash its rage.
Completely ignoring Kiana, it lunged forward—its gaping jaws opening wide to devour Yae Sakura.
Instinctively, Yae Sakura reached for Frost, but Kiana was faster.
Stepping forward, Kiana raised her hand, and a blinding light erupted from her palm.
The metallic sound of chains echoed through the air.
In the blink of an eye, the massive fox was ensnared—its body tightly bound by radiant golden chains.
"I was actually worried you wouldn't show up," Kiana said, exhaling as she observed the captured creature. "After all, I prefer dealing with something I can see rather than an invisible threat."
The fox—who had deliberately refrained from attacking Kiana—stared in shock. In this world, it was supposed to be overwhelmingly powerful. Yae Sakura alone could never have defeated it.
It hadn't even been serious.
It hadn't even transformed.
Yet Kiana had simply ignored all that and struck decisively—lifting it effortlessly off the ground with a single hand, her golden chains sealing every ounce of its strength.
The four-tailed fox writhed furiously, trying to break free, but its power had been completely suppressed. All it could do now was maintain its form.
Realizing it couldn't escape, it turned its fury toward Kiana, snarling with hatred. "Why do you help her? Why help this useless failure?!"