Endless Silver Machine

Aika slowly opened her eyes in the deep dark space.

"here it is……"

There is no concept of position in a completely dark environment, and his current state is more appropriately described as suspended.

Aika tried to move her hands and feet, and they could move freely without any pain.

"The key is, where exactly is this place..."

Even if I take steps, I don't know if my body is actually moving forward.

His feet seemed to be touching the ground, but he couldn't be sure of the floating sensation.

"Hey! Is there anyone here?"

Sound can also be emitted normally, and there is no echo from the seemingly infinite space.

Aika's memory lasted until the suicide attack was launched in the earth and stone passage. How long had passed since then?

At this time, Aika noticed that a white light spot seemed to suddenly appear in front of her eyes.

Aika immediately took big steps to try to get closer to the ethereal light spot.

"Wei Xi!"

That light spot turned out to be Wei Xi, who was surrounded by pure white light. She curled up and fell asleep in the center of the light.

Aika could only get close enough to barely recognize her before she was forcibly blocked by some force.

"Wei Xi, can you hear me! Wei Xi!"

Aika hit the invisible wall in front of her hard, but what came back to her hand was still an empty floating feeling.

The only thing that couldn't move forward was the body. I wonder if the sound reached Wei Xi's ears.

At this time, the warm light blooming behind him instantly faded away from the deep darkness.

"it's useless."

At the same time, a faint voice that was somewhat familiar and devoid of emotion came from.

Aika quickly turned around and looked back, until the space that was still swallowed by darkness just now seemed to unfold a huge picture.

In the soft warm sunshine, under the colorful fallen cherry blossoms, a girl holding a red paper umbrella stood under the cherry blossom tree, staring at Aika with half-open eyes.

No, the beautiful scenery in front of you is not a poetic picture, but the real world.

The fallen cherry blossoms swayed and fell with the breeze, and disappeared at the junction of light and darkness.

"Hitomi, do you know where this place is?"

"This is 'nothing'."

"Well, can you explain it in a more layman's terms..."

The unsmiling girl in kimono paused for a moment at Aika's "willful request", either hesitating or thinking, but it was completely unclear from her expression.

"The spiritual world."

A few seconds later, she only gave Aika a four-word explanation.

Even with a different word, it's still puzzling.

"Let me think about it...you mean I'm dreaming now, right?"

"Am I just a product of my master's dream?"

Although Hitomi's tone remained unchanged, Aika felt a hint of her emotions.

"No, no, you misunderstood. Since you said this is the spiritual world, in other words, I am just a form of consciousness now, and my body in reality has not woken up yet, right?"

Although the research on spiritual magic is still incomplete, it has become clear that body and spirit are two independent entities.

"It can be understood this way."

"What happened after that? What happened to the three Imperial Knights?"

"It is May 8, 917 in the New Calendar. The master's body was recovered by Shuoyue Academy three days ago."

Hitomi once again answered the question incorrectly, but this answer also indirectly helped Aika understand the current situation.

Three days have passed since the battle at Rosenberg Prison.

"Have everyone else returned to Shimozuki Academy?"

"It is now impossible to obtain intelligence from the outside world."

"Yeah……"

Aika's biggest question remains unanswered.

"Hitomi, is this... called the spiritual world? How should I get out of here?"

"You cannot leave voluntarily. I have already warned the master of the consequences of signing a contract with two magic costumes at the same time."

"I'm sorry, is this the result of my insistence on showing off my strength..."

"The master kept me and her at the same time for five minutes, and my spirit should have completely collapsed. But I had reservations during the battle, and she seemed to have concerns too..."

As Hitomi spoke, she left the standing cherry blossom tree, and her clogs played silent music on the ground covered with fallen cherry blossoms.

She approached Aika step by step, and finally stopped at the edge of the boundary between the two worlds.

"The master's spirit is also stronger than expected, so now it is only on the verge of being broken, but has not been completely erased."

"...If this darkness is my spiritual world, is this world where I meet you your spiritual world?"

"Same reason."

"Then why does Wei Xi's spiritual world..."

Aika turned her head to look at Wei Xi, who was still sleeping in the light. In her spiritual world, there was only pure white light surrounding her.

"Her essence has deviated from the magic costume, and most of the structure of the spiritual world has been transformed into the resources needed to maintain the human form."

That's why Wei Xi's spiritual world is in the same deep darkness as her own. After getting the explanation given by Hitomi, Aika felt a little relieved.

The power of the unknown body that originally stood between him and Wei Xi should be the boundary between the two worlds.

"Hitomi, I don't know if my understanding is correct. After I sign a contract with you, your spiritual space will merge with my spiritual world, and my spiritual world will become smaller accordingly, which is what you call a mental breakdown. "

"Master's reasoning is completely correct, crackle, crackle, crackle."

Hitomi still held the handle of the red paper umbrella with both hands, simulating the sound effect of clapping in a light tone without any emotion at all.

Aika couldn't tell what kind of emotional expression this was, and instead felt more like a child who was being treated casually.

"The master's consciousness is now wandering between my mental space and hers. This is the only mental space you have left."

"It was really dangerous. I almost couldn't even dream..."

"Master, please don't make such a nasty joke."

"Feel sorry."

Not sure if Hitomi was really angry, Aika obediently apologized for her rash remarks just now.

Speaking of which, the responsibility for what happened now lies entirely with myself, who blindly tried to be strong despite Hitomi's advice.

But Aika didn't regret this. He believed in Tong and Wei Xi before he chose to take the risk. If he didn't move forward, he would just end up obediently surrendering.

Looking back now, I was just imposing a burden on the two of them without any basis. Both Tong and Wei Xi were worried about themselves and had reservations.

"That is to say, I can't do anything now. I can only wait here..." Not being able to know the situation in the real world made Aika a little anxious. "I wonder what happened to the others..."

He sat down on his knees with his back to Hitomi's spiritual world, while Hitomi stood silently a little behind him.

At this time, Aika could only believe that no one was left behind, and everyone returned to Frost Moon Academy safely.

Although he knew very well in his heart that it was just a good wish for everyone to be safe and sound.

…………