While Ye Xing and Ushio Kofune were walking together around Hitogashima Island, in an unknown dark underground cave.
Rikka Sakuragawa, wearing a kimono, looking even thinner than when she was staying at Osaka City Hospital - so thin she could be described as skeletal - though still beautiful, gave off a sickly, distorted feeling as she looked at the white-haired girl in a red kimono before her and spoke softly.
"I'll say it again, if we want to fight that guy... we need more psychics."
"This topic again?"
"Yes, this topic again, because it's important."
Rikka Sakuragawa's eyes flickered as she spoke slowly.
"Your shadow clones' ability to obtain all of the original's memories after copying humans pairs perfectly with my ability. You just need to copy all the island residents, then tell me their strongest desires, and I can transform everyone on this island into psychics in just one day... no, even half a day."
"Hmm... the plan you're suggesting does seem feasible."
The white-haired girl nodded slightly, but before Rikka Sakuragawa could respond, she asked calmly in return.
"But after copying, if I don't kill the originals within seven days, my shadows will disappear. Have you considered that?"
Rikka Sakuragawa frowned slightly, her tone flat.
"Forgive my bluntness, but as pawns, the psychics I create are clearly more valuable than your shadows, and much stronger in combat."
"Is that so..."
The white-haired girl looked noncommittal as she turned to the tall, four-armed humanoid figure made entirely of blackness beside her.
"Shide, what do you think?"
The monster called Shide shook his head and spoke in an extremely eerie, muffled tone.
"If psychics are truly as powerful as she claims, then why would she come seeking your protection, Mother?"
Hearing this, Rikka Sakuragawa couldn't help but frown slightly.
"I'm not here seeking your protection, but rather cooperation."
"Indeed, cooperation."
Shide nodded, his tall body taking two steps forward as he looked down at Rikka Sakuragawa with the four yellow pupils of his black head.
"However, the terms of cooperation will be decided by us. Only with our approval can you create psychics. Don't be impatient - we're currently selecting suitable targets for you. You'll have your chance to demonstrate."
The white-haired girl wearing the red kimono was the being known as Hiruko. She had another name, derived from the first person she had copied centuries ago - the original owner of this appearance.
Haine.
Though Haine and Shide had agreed to Rikka Sakuragawa's proposal for cooperation, neither of them was a simple-minded individual. How could they possibly allow Rikka Sakuragawa to transform all the island's residents into psychics as she envisioned?
Though they called it cooperation, there was no trust between the parties.
A shadow's ability to copy humans could only be used once. Unless the original was killed within seven days, the shadow would disappear.
And each person could only be copied once.
This meant that if they followed Rikka Sakuragawa's plan to copy all the island's residents and transform everyone into psychics, the shadows created by Haine would ultimately face complete destruction.
Moreover, though Rikka Sakuragawa hadn't explicitly stated it, Haine and Shide could likely guess.
The converted psychics would obey her, while the shadows would follow their commands.
Sacrifice their own forces to benefit Rikka Sakuragawa?
Don't be ridiculous - that was absolutely impossible.
Rikka Sakuragawa clearly understood this, too. Though her expression remained unchanged, killing intent had already arisen in her heart.
She didn't know what kind of beings this Haine and that Shide were, but if...
If she could have her Izanami devour these two, perhaps she could obtain power sufficient to oppose Mask.
Similarly, weren't Haine and Shide also coveting Rikka Sakuragawa's power?
This so-called cooperation was merely each party harbouring their own ulterior motives.
...
Several hours later, at Kofune Restaurant.
"Ye Xing, have you found somewhere to stay?"
Hearing the question from Ushio Kofune sitting opposite him, Ye Xing replied casually while eating.
"Well, staying at an inn should be fine, right? You do have inns here, don't you?"
"We do, but..."
Ushio Kofune looked thoughtful, as if considering something, then suddenly stood up and ran behind the counter. She tugged at her father, Alain Kofune's, sleeve, covering her mouth as she whispered.
"Dad, could we let Ye Xing stay at our house?"
"Eh? This..."
"Please, Dad."
Ushio Kofune tugged at her father's sleeve, speaking quietly.
"He's just a high school student travelling alone to our place... what normal person would come here as a tourist? I feel... There must be some hidden circumstances; perhaps he's run away from home or something. Hotels are so expensive, and we happen to have a spare room - what's the problem with that?"
Alain Kofune wore a troubled expression as he spoke hesitantly.
"But still, with you and Mio both being girls at home, inviting a boy to stay is just too... You're not getting spring fever because he's handsome, are you?"
"Dad, please don't talk nonsense."
Ushio Kofune rolled her eyes and retorted irritably.
"As restaurant owners, looking after customers is only natural, right?"
"Eh, but I'm the owner, aren't I?"
"Kofune Restaurant - Ko, fu, ne, Kofune. I'm also a Kofune, so of course I'm an owner too."
"Sigh... really now."
Alain Kofune looked utterly helpless as he sighed.
"Alright then, I'll agree, okay? But let's be clear - not for too long."
"Thanks, Dad!"
Having obtained her father's permission, Ushio Kofune looked thoroughly satisfied as she immediately went over and sat opposite Ye Xing's booth, smiling sweetly.
"Ye Xing, you shouldn't stay at a hotel either. Why don't you just come stay at our house? We happen to have a spare room."
To Ushio Kofune's surprise, Ye Xing shook his head and refused quite decisively.
"That wouldn't be appropriate. I'll be fine staying at a hotel."
"Eh..."
Ushio Kofune was momentarily stunned, then seemed to realise something belatedly as she quickly waved her hands to explain.
"No, no, don't misunderstand! I don't mean anything like that at all! I was just thinking that hotels are too expensive, and we happen to have a spare room. There's no other meaning to it, please don't think too much about it."
"I know you don't mean it that way."
Ye Xing replied with a smile before continuing calmly.
"Though I appreciate your help, I'll still stay at a hotel. Of course, if I need assistance with anything, I'll contact you."
"Well... alright then."
Seeing that Ye Xing had made up his mind, Ushio Kofune could only nod and return behind the counter.
...
Later that evening, after checking into a hotel room, Ye Xing began contemplating his next steps.
Judging from the original plot of Summer Time Rendering, although shadows could obtain all of their original's memories and had flawless appearances, there was still a way to identify them - by pretending to accidentally step on the shadow they cast on the ground.
When the shadow's movements didn't match the person's, you could confirm they weren't the real person but a shadow in disguise.
What would Hiruko and Rikka Sakuragawa's next move be?
Creating more shadows?
That was possible, but only if this was truly the 'first time' in the literal sense.
If this was a timeline that had already been reset, proving that Ye Xing had killed, or at least come close to killing Hiruko at least once, then she should already understand that ordinary shadows wouldn't even serve to buy time against him - they'd be instantly crushed.
So then... transforming all the island residents into psychics?
Even knowing his capabilities, Hiruko, along with the true mastermind Shide, would likely never make such a choice, as it would essentially hand over both Hitogashima Island and their own lives to Rikka Sakuragawa.
"Assuming this is the first time... well, let's give it a try."
...
Five days later, inside the shrine on Hitogashima Island.
"Excuse me, is this the shrine where Hiruko is enshrined?"
Hearing the voice from behind him, a tall man wearing traditional clothing and glasses turned around. He looked at Ye Xing standing there, squinted his eyes, and spoke with a smile.
"You must be that rare young tourist on the island. I'd heard about your arrival and was actually wondering why it took you so many days to visit the shrine."
Ye Xing returned the smile and said softly, "You... were expecting my visit?"
"Not exactly expecting."
The bespectacled man put down the broom he was holding and said cheerfully, "It's just that there's really not much to see on the island. If we're talking about historical sites, this shrine is probably the only thing that barely qualifies. Since you're a tourist, you were bound to visit eventually."
After saying this, the bespectacled man continued, "My name is Masahito Karikiri. As you can see, I'm the sole caretaker of this shrine. Please, come inside if you have anything to discuss."
"Alright."
As he turned to lead Ye Xing into the shrine, a strange smile appeared at the corner of Masahito Karikiri's mouth. Beneath his glasses, his eyes revealed a chilling glint as he asked casually, "By the way, did you come alone today? Haven't you made any new friends during your time on the island?"
Ye Xing replied in a flat tone, "Aside from me as a tourist, the other young people probably aren't very interested in shrines. So I came alone."
"That's true enough."
Masahito Karikiri led Ye Xing to sit at a table inside the shrine, poured him a cup of tea, and said with a beaming smile, "Speaking of which, you look quite young. Are you a university student or a high school student?"
Ye Xing took a sip of tea and replied casually, "High school student."
"Oh, high school student. What made you suddenly decide to visit Hitogashima Island alone for tourism?"
Just as Masahito Karikiri finished speaking, a piercing light resembling a camera flash suddenly illuminated the shrine's interior, accompanied by a sound like a shutter clicking.
"Replication... successful..."
After the flash faded, Masahito Karikiri immediately stopped concealing his true nature. His face twisted into a ferocious mask as black shadows enveloped him.
"Now, all that's left is to kill the original, and then..."
At that moment, Masahito Karikiri suddenly heard agonised screams coming from behind him.
When he turned and saw the scene before him, his pupils contracted in shock.
The shadow that should have successfully replicated and assumed Ye Xing's appearance had indeed formed a human shape, but its body writhed and contorted violently, as if being torn apart by invisible giant hands.
"Ah! No... no!!"
The black shadow struggled in agony until the very end, never transforming into Ye Xing's form. Its dark body, like ink, burst with a bang and dissipated completely.
"Replication... failed?"
Masahito Karikiri never anticipated such an unexpected turn of events.
Shadow replacing the original could indeed fail, but only if the original wasn't eliminated within the time limit, or if the shadow itself was destroyed before completing the replacement.
But failing to even replicate? This was a first.
"Surprised?"
Ye Xing slowly rose to his feet, chuckling lightly as he spoke.
"Judging by your reaction, this truly is the first time. You don't actually know who I am."
"Why I came to Hitogashima Island..."
As he spoke these words, Ye Xing instantly appeared before Masahito Karikiri, who had transformed into the Shide form. Onimaru Kunitsuna, in his hand, traced a dark arc through the air.
"Was to kill you all."
Masahito Karikiri's body was cleanly sliced in two vertically, his field of vision splitting apart along with the cut. All he could feel next was the terror and trembling before being devoured.
"So that's where it is..."
After devouring Masahito Karikiri's soul, the specific location of the underground cavern, where Rikka Sakuragawa and Hiruko were, instantly appeared in Ye Xing's mind.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hiruko, with an IV tube inserted in her hand, suddenly changed expression and murmured to herself.
"Shadow... shadow..."
As the source of all shadows, Hiruko shared a telepathic connection with every shadow.
In that very moment, she had felt it.
The intense agony of attempting to replicate something that couldn't be replicated, and the despair of dissipating in terror.
Seeing the change in Hiruko's expression, Rikka Sakuragawa nearby also paled visibly.
"Could it be that already..."
Just as Rikka Sakuragawa was halfway through her sentence, she suddenly heard a series of impact-like sounds coming from the distance within the cave.
"That is..."
Hiruko looked up and saw a dark figure directly crash through a tall shadow resembling an infant, accompanied by a trail of black flame, arriving before her at an astonishing speed that the naked eye couldn't possibly follow.
She saw those merciless black pupils hidden beneath the black mask, and that black-gloved hand rapidly reaching toward her left eye.
"Rewind..."
Hiruko snapped back to reality from her brief state of future prediction. The current reality was that Ye Xing had just crashed through the giant infant's shadow and was advancing toward Hiruko.
Without the slightest hesitation, she activated her time reversal ability.
The surrounding space cracked like shattered glass, while the air displayed nauseatingly vivid colours as if oil paints had been spilt and mixed together.
Finally, just as Ye Xing's hand was mere centimetres away from touching Hiruko's eye socket, time began to reverse.
"Too slow..."
Sensing the changes around him, Ye Xing looked directly into Hiruko's eyes and whispered.
"No matter how many times you reverse time, I will definitely find you, Hiruko."
Words that sounded like a confession instead instantly created intense fear in Hiruko's heart.
...
"Ye Xing, you shouldn't stay at the inn either. Why don't you just come live at our house? We happen to have an empty room."
Hearing Ushio Kofune's words, Ye Xing smiled and nodded.
"Alright, that would be helpful."
"No problem, it's no trouble at all"
Seeing that Ye Xing had agreed, Ushio Kofune beamed with joy.
Watching her return behind the counter, Ye Xing wore a thoughtful expression as he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and dialled Rio Futaba's number.
"Hello, Futaba."
Hearing his voice, Rio Futaba on the other end of the line immediately asked eagerly.
"How did it go? Was the plan successful?"
"Not yet."
"Then why are you calling..."
Ye Xing took a sip from the can of chilled Coca-Cola and spoke with a smile.
"This is the second time. Time has reversed."
"The second time..."
Rio Futaba paused for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise.
"You mean you retained all memories from before the time reversal? That's wonderful!"
"Yes, it appears so, though it seems you didn't retain your memories."
"That doesn't matter."
Rio Futaba breathed a sigh of relief, unable to contain the joyful laughter in her voice.
"As long as you can retain your memories, the success of this plan is guaranteed."
...
Meanwhile, deep within the underground cave.
Snapping back to reality, Hiruko suddenly showed fear, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"He's coming... that guy is coming..."
"That guy?"
Hearing the confused voices of Rikka Sakuragawa and Shide beside her, Hiruko's petite body trembled uncontrollably.
"That guy wearing the black mask... is coming..."
"Mask!?"
Upon hearing this sudden news, Rikka Sakuragawa couldn't help but change her expression.
"How do you know?"
"I... I..."
"Hiruko."
Originally intending to tell Rikka Sakuragawa about her ability to rewind time, Hiruko was stopped by Shide.
"They've already arrived..."
Shide looked at Rikka Sakuragawa, his two pairs of yellow eyes fixed on her face, speaking in an eerie tone.
"The target for transformation has been prepared for you."