Misfortune was originally the mature and wicked alternate personality of her older sister.
Delta liked her even more.
So what if she had no physical body?
The blending of consciousness, of souls, had ways of reaching heights beyond mere physical contact.
Academy City had long since eradicated the worries of survival. With food and warmth guaranteed, they naturally sank into the vortex of higher desires. Delta was no exception.
If all longing were lost, action would become futile emptiness. Only desire could grant existence its meaning.
She and Misfortune jointly created a nightmare world.
There, Delta transformed into a defeated female knight, stripped of all glory, subjected to the utmost humiliation beneath Queen Misfortune.
Later, Misfortune even forcibly pulled part of certain people's consciousness into this dreamscape, making them play various roles, adding more variables and stimulation to this feast of desire.
Deep within the forest, Houraiji Kyuusyou sat alone in meditation when her keen perception suddenly caught a strange fluctuation of dream energy.
The aura was cloyingly sweet, almost suffocating, like poison soaked in honey. It carried the sweetness unique to beautiful dreams, yet mixed with the sharp stimulation of nightmares. The dissonance made her scalp tingle.
"What kind of scent is this..." She frowned. As a being capable of controlling dreams, she had encountered countless dreams before.
This was the first time she had experienced something like this. It felt somewhat like a spring dream.
Just as she was about to gather her consciousness and dive into that dream to investigate, the fluctuation abruptly dissipated, as though it had never existed.
A thought stirred within her.
In this world, who else besides her adorable little sister Delta could produce such intense dream fluctuations?
What kind of dream had she been having?
Curiosity surged in her heart, yet Houraiji Kyuusyou ultimately restrained the urge to pry. Everyone's dreams were private domains not to be violated, and she would not easily cross that line.
Withdrawing her thoughts, Houraiji Kyuusyou used the clairvoyance magic she had learned from Delta. Her vision instantly spanned mountains and seas, covering every corner of the world.
The situation in the Far East had become clear. After struggles and consolidation, only two major forces remained locked in opposition—Biba Amatori leading the Hunters, and Ayame Yomogawa guarding Kenkin Station.
Biba Amatori was undoubtedly outstanding among humans. Under the banner of "slaying gods," he gathered like-minded people under his command, forming a formidable fighting force.
Yet Houraiji Kyuusyou truly could not understand his obsession. Though he believed in the law of the strong devouring the weak, he insisted on provoking beings far beyond his own capabilities, especially her little sister Delta.
In her view, such suicidal behavior was not something a smart person would do.
As her sight swept across the broader world, Kyuusyou found that similar confrontations were everywhere.
Some human factions attributed all suffering in the world to the gods, convinced that it was the gods who manipulated humanity's fate. Thus they vowed to slay the gods and seize power, breaking the so-called shackles.
Other factions, however, worshiped the gods devoutly, believing that it was the gods who had saved the world and humanity from the brink of destruction. All present hardships were merely trials bestowed by the gods, and only by passing these trials could redemption be obtained.
The two beliefs were irreconcilable. War and strife had never ceased.
...
Overlord World.
An uninhabited, frigid region.
Shigure Kira held a long sword shaped like a musical note. Her figure was light as a butterfly. Wherever her blade flashed, three ice-element Honkai Beasts were instantly cleaved into fragments, not even given time to wail.
A faint blue glow rose around her. On her status panel, the level number quietly ticked upward.
It had finally reached the requirement.
"The level is enough..." Shigure Kira took a deep breath of the freezing air. Her fingertip tapped lightly on the virtual panel, selecting the magic she had been eyeing for a long time—Resurrection.
This was a miraculous spell from another world. If she could use it to revive Lady Cecilia...
The thought had just surfaced before she forcibly suppressed it.
The rules of the two worlds were completely different. Lady Cecilia was not even in this world. It was certain to fail.
But... why not try? Even if it failed, there would be no loss.
Revive, my beloved!
Shigure Kira closed her eyes and activated the magic power within her. The runes of Resurrection shimmered before her, and a blue magic circle slowly unfolded.
At the same time, Cecilia, who had just returned to this world from the Kabane world, suddenly felt a powerful summoning force, as if something were tugging at her soul.
"Who is calling me?"
Driven by curiosity, she did not resist. Instead, she followed that force and responded.
When a familiar figure slowly emerged from the blue magic circle, Shigure Kira's pupils contracted sharply. Ecstasy and shock instantly flooded her eyes.
"Lady Cecilia?! Is it really you?!"
Unable to restrain her excitement any longer, she rushed forward and tightly embraced the other woman, her voice trembling with undisguised sobs.
"I missed you so much!"
Cecilia was momentarily stunned by the sudden hug. When she saw that it was Shigure Kira, a gentle smile curved upon her lips.
She raised her hand and softly smoothed Shigure Kira's slightly disheveled hair.
"I'm sorry, Kira. I might not be the Cecilia you know."
She clearly understood her own origin—she was merely a creation made by Sirin.
Shigure Kira's body stiffened abruptly. She knew Cecilia well and understood that she never lied.
Could it be... a Cecilia from a parallel world?
After a brief flicker of disappointment, she quickly recovered her smile, her gaze gentle yet firm.
"It doesn't matter. No matter which world you come from, as long as I can see you again, I'm happy."
"I am too." Cecilia lifted her hand to caress Kira's cheek, her fingertips carrying a faint coolness.
"By the way, Lady Cecilia, how were you summoned by Resurrection magic?" Shigure Kira suddenly recalled the key issue and asked in confusion.
Cecilia tilted her head, looking blank.
"Resurrection magic? I thought it was an ordinary summoning."
"I only just returned from another world not long ago, and then your power pulled me here."
"Uh..."
Shigure Kira was left speechless. She had never imagined that this Resurrection spell, aside from reviving the dead, could also summon a living person from somewhere else.