Sin Mal was left speechless.
She did not want to play around with Shi Tian today. She wanted to confirm something.
One month ago, she noticed something unusual.
It just so happened she found out about it after being "punished".
Sin Mal first "suffered" from it when she tried to use her dream powers to invade Shi Tian's dreams. The entire idea was so dumb he was surprised she pulled it off. The gap of two major realms and a Golden Core level sword cultivation is akin to the gap between heaven and earth.
Little did he know, that was what she wanted to happen!
When Sin Mal pulled it off again on Kiana, she was disciplined for an hour. Although that sense of embarrassment made her ecstatic, she could not help but notice Shi Tian's stronger 'punishment'.
As a stalker-turned-cultivator, she became more proficient in hiding her internal thoughts. She buried this doubt until the punishment ended.
That was when she saw something strange between Shi Tian and Kiana. She could not confirm it up to now, with all of her probing attempts ending in vain.
Sin Mal could not bear to use her ability on her dear Sister Bronya. As for Seele, she got absolutely crushed by Seele's other self, giving her a newfound trauma.
Hence, she set her sights back to Shi Tian.
Unfortunately, Sin Mal is destined to find nothing on this trip. He intently watched Fu Hua transcend her Foundation Establishment tribulation.
It took less than ten minutes to finish the three skill checks and destroy the tribulation clouds. Her qi realm reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. She did not even let the tribulation thunder descend when she struck it down.
Seeing this, Raiden Mei was eager to follow next. She smoothly completed the transition to the supernatural side three weeks ago. The satisfaction brought by immortal cultivation's never-ending improvements is far stronger than her typical kendo practice.
Most importantly, it made her more beautiful. No girl would refuse an opportunity like this. As such, cultivation became her daily routine that doubled as a hobby.
This posed several flaws to Raiden Mei, however.
Her attitude to it is more of an "advanced exercise" rather than a lifelong pursuit. She lacks a certain drive behind her practice.
Fu Hua and Sin Mal were able to condense their "Hearts", but not her. The former sought for humanity's long-standing victory. The latter sought to keep her 'current life' free of all troubles.
Only Mei remained as the typical young lady who never suffered much setbacks since birth.
"Tsk, tsk. Will she fail? Her mind's not strong enough."
The other two did not react to Sin Mal's words.
Mei's internal struggles are manifested by her rampant spiritual consciousness.
Crack-!
Bam-!
It started to destroy her surroundings, becoming an invisible storm that can easily claim lives.
At this moment, Mei wasn't too well off. She faced the time she was unconscious during the Nagazora City District's ordeal.
She saw herself fall unconscious. The Herrscher's avatar took advantage of their distraction and snatched one of their guns. Dealing with her bodyguards is a piece of cake.
Mei could not do anything but watch.
'I… It was me…'
She was told that her bodyguards died due to the biological attack's toxic substances. She personally visited their families' funeral to send her condolences.
As a result, they did not blame her. They were grateful that a person of high-status as Mei cares about her bodyguards.
Now that she saw the truth, her mental state took a turn for the worse.
She saw herself being dragged over an alley. Every time they came across a living person, the Herrscher looked trigger happy and killed all of them.
The deaths of each person weighed on Mei's mind. She felt helpless—useless, even.
This continued until the memories got cut off at Shi Tian's arrival. It shifted to an unfamiliar scene. Mei was younger in this scene.
Her heart skipped a beat. She recalled what it was.
'It's that time..!'
Mei was kidnapped a few years prior. She could not recall much aside from her being knocked unconscious and being stuffed inside a van. By the time she came to herself, she found herself back in a hospital.
Turns out, she was kidnapped by a terrorist group. They demanded a large ransom from Ryoma—to be precise, from ME Corp.
Her mind blocked most of her memories of that time. The only thing left was her deep-seated trauma during the time of her stay. This was resolved after a three-year session at a mental institute. It no longer affected her daily life… until now.
Mei's senses went back to that day. Her forgotten memories made their way back. She felt how it was to be in her past self's shoes. The kidnapping, her first witness of murder, the dark room, the ensuing gunshots…
The sense of despair and hopelessness far exceeded the previous revelation. She no longer had any other thoughts as her knees grew weak.
'I can't do it… I can't… I…'
She hugged her head on her knees. She dared not to take another look elsewhere as she closed her eyes.
Her intermittent sobbing halted when a voice rang on her head.
{"Useless. You are so useless."}
These harsh words woke Mei up.
{"You can't save yourself. You always wait to be saved by others. Look at how weak you are!"}
It is fine to be weak.
It is fine to be helpless.
They could not be affected by Raiden Mei.
But, it is a different thing when she gives up on herself.
That was the only thing Mei can affect. Yet, she was willing to throw away even that. Her other self, a born Queen, could not stand to see it.
{"Give your body to me. Go and stay in my place. You can't do it, right?"}
"..."
{"What are you hesitating for?!"}
"...No."
Mei seemingly came back to her senses.
"I can do it."
{"Prove it."}
Her other self successfully roused Mei's spirit. These two words held a huge significance.
She tightened her fists and stood up.
Facing the dark confinement room, Mei gained the strength to face her inner fears.
*****
A/N: The bonus chapter will be published in the next two days. I got something to do irl as of the moment, apologies.