"Ugh... Where is this?..."
On a clean white sickbed in a MOTHs facility, Pardo's drowsy eyes fluttered open.
Outside the window was a crimson dusk. She felt as if she had been unconscious for a very long time; even her tail felt listless, as if it hadn't woken up properly.
In her memory, she had just killed an Emperor-class Honkai Beast before a poison needle had inexplicably flown into the back of her neck.
Perhaps because the drug was still in effect, Pardo's mind remained a little muddled, but a sense of unease coiled around her body and mind like a creeping vine.
Until a voice called out, making her jolt.
"Hey, you're awake?"
"W-Whoa! Who is it?"
It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on Pardo's head. A second later, her hazy memories began to clear, and she recalled the owner of the voice.
"Ah, it's you, Naiyisi. Sorry, I think I slept for too long. My memory's a bit fuzzy."
"It's fine. It's not your fault."
Black Pardo's voice sounded strange, as if she wanted to say something but ultimately held her tongue.
As her consciousness cleared, Pardo habitually perked up her ears, listening to the sounds around her. But all that answered her was a deathly silence.
There wasn't a single voice speaking in the entire base.
A dreadful thought rose in her heart. Pardo couldn't believe it. She had been so careful, yet she had still ended up on a sickbed, thereby avoiding the Tragedy of Binding.
"No... Li, Wei'er, Qiaona..."
She subconsciously called out these three names. The first was the most important person to her, while the latter two were her comrades from the same period in her past life, and her juniors in this one.
"Mila..."
She then remembered the girl who had stood guard by her side during the last battle, another new friend she had made.
This time, Black Pardo was unusually quiet, simply watching as Pardo started to move.
The training room? Empty.
The cafeteria? Empty.
Had the base been relocated? Was this place abandoned?
Seeing that all the combat equipment and vehicles were gone, Pardo didn't even need to look at a scrolling monitor. She had already pieced it together from the information she had seen in the Domination Theater.
[Herrscher of Binding]
The name seeped into Pardo's nerves like a potent poison.
She knew that the only living people left in the base were likely the few in the control room, but she couldn't bring herself to go and confirm it.
She was afraid to see the liaisons, who could perhaps no longer be called 'living'.
Their minds would be long numb with despair. A dead silence would hang in that communication room, and they would be slumped over their desks, like living corpses.
In the empty corridor, Pardo sat limply on the floor, burying her head between her arms. Crystalline tears dripped onto the ground, splashing into tiny blossoms of water before vanishing without a sound.
For a time, the only thing echoing through the hallway was Pardo's muffled sobbing.
Black Pardo's form materialized beside her. She said nothing, just sitting there quietly until Pardo finally spoke:
"Naiyisi... I'm so frustrated..."
"I clearly gained power worthy of the name [Flame-Chaser]. So why, why couldn't I help everyone at a time like this?"
"I know I don't have much combat experience, but I'm good at finding loopholes, right? Whether it's the world's most intricate lock or a labyrinth, I can always find a different shortcut."
"I was thinking, and it might be a bit of a fantasy, but maybe I could have found a way around the Herrscher of Binding. If I had, then no one would have had to die."
"I thought that this time, maybe I wouldn't have to experience that feeling of frustration again. But why... why does it still feel worse than death this time?"
Seeing Pardo trying to hide herself as her tears flowed ever faster, Black Pardo didn't speak. She just clumsily imitated what Fu Li would do, wrapping her arms around Pardo's shoulders and whispering:
"There, there. I know you're frustrated. So, if you want to cry, just cry..."
"Mmhmm..."
In the air, the crying sounds went from suppressed to unrestrained, and finally from unrestrained to a faint whimper.
After she had cried her fill, Pardo's ears suddenly caught the sound of helicopter rotors.
Pardo stood up, wiped her tears, and climbed to her feet. With Black Pardo in tow, she walked silently toward the helipad.
---o---
In the deathly silent corridors, the sound of four echoing footsteps was exceptionally clear.
They echoed, their pace restrained as they slowly drew closer, until they both rounded a corner at the same time and their eyes met.
"Pardo..."
"Li..."
Seeing Fu Li looking weak but otherwise unharmed, a great stone seemed to fall from Pardo's heart.
She saw the Abyss Flower in Seele's hand, and she saw the guilt in Fu Li's eyes.
In an instant, she seemed to understand Black Pardo's earlier silence, and she sensed the meaning behind that guilty gaze.
A kid from Twilight Street is never truly a fool. If she had seemed a bit slow before, it was only because she had grown used to the feeling of being protected.
In a flash, it all connected: the poison needle that came from nowhere, her seemingly fated coma, the confusion upon waking, and the battle she had once again missed.
But, even if she understood... what then?
She couldn't bring herself to feel anger toward Fu Li. All she felt was helplessness, frustration, and regret for her own carelessness.
"Li."
Suddenly, Pardo's gaze became firm. She had decided, from this moment on, to do what she could to prevent this frustration from ever happening again.
Seeing the look in her eyes, Fu Li was stunned for a moment, but then he, too, straightened his posture slightly.
"Pardo, go ahead."
"I want... to go clean up the battlefield."
She wanted to start now, with this task.
Fu Li nodded. "You can. There's another helicopter on the helipad. It will take you there after it's refueled."
"...Mn, thanks."
"You're welcome."
Their forms crossed and passed each other. Suddenly, Fu Li spoke again:
"Wei'er, Qiaona, and Mila... I blew them out of the way. So, they didn't die."
Pardo's steps faltered for a second. The sudden joy made her tail sway subconsciously.
In response, however, she only nodded heavily, as if a great burden had been lifted, but her feet never stopped moving.
Only after Pardo's footsteps had vanished down the corridor did Seele sigh, asking with confusion:
"Why didn't you explain things clearly to her? If it was you, you could have persuaded her to let it go in no time."
"Perhaps. But I've already restrained her freedom once. And cats, by nature, are creatures that love freedom."
Fu Li shook his head and sighed, turning to walk toward the other helipad.
Now that Pardo was awake, he had no reason to stay here any longer. He had other things to do.