It was rare for Acheron to see Sylvia being so forthright.
Not that Sylvia wasn't usually candid, but when she was, it was never during a serious moment.
And her shyly looking away like this was actually pretty cute.
Acheron lowered her head with a smile and reached out to touch Sylvia's face.
"What a coincidence. Don't know why, but I missed you too."
When it was just one person, she might've been embarrassed. But since there were two of them, Sylvia wasn't as shy anymore.
She lifted her head and looked back into Acheron's eyes.
"Oh? Is that so? What are the odds?"
"Yeah, quite the coincidence."
Acheron nodded in agreement.
But somehow, Sylvia felt like Acheron's words carried a hidden meaning.
Before Sylvia could respond, Acheron continued:
"Just like last time... all of a sudden, I had this premonition, like you'd done something dangerous again."
"Ah..."
Sylvia was stunned by these words. Although Acheron's tone was gentle, as someone who knew her well,
Sylvia knew that Acheron was probably about to start lecturing her...
"Yeah, looks like you know exactly what happened, don't you."
"..."
Her voice was completely flat, which was actually scarier than if she seemed angry.
Sylvia silently averted her gaze and thought to herself that this wasn't good.
She shouldn't have exhausted all her energy without a plan. Now she had no way to resist...
Snap—
Slender fingers pinched Sylvia's chin.
Forcing her to turn her gaze back and look at Acheron.
"Come to think of it, I also saw a strange vision about you. In it, for some reason, you were holding my sword, striking at something."
"No way... you could see that?!"
What came out of Acheron's mouth genuinely caught Sylvia off guard.
Having some kind of mystical connection was one thing, but why could she even see what Sylvia did in that illusion?
This was too absurd. What exactly was meddling in between?
Was it the ring again?
What other functions did this ring have? Why didn't it come with a user manual?
Sylvia muttered a few complaints under her breath, her expression complicated.
But Acheron wasn't about to let Sylvia weasel her way out of this.
"So, what I saw... it's real?"
"Ah—"
Sylvia, who had been lost in thought, was instantly pulled back to attention by those words.
And she awkwardly realized she'd lost the chance to play dumb.
"..."
"..."
Acheron stared at her with a smile, her presence overwhelmingly oppressive.
After a moment of stalemate, Sylvia cracked first and chose to surrender:
"I give up, I'll talk, alright..."
"Good girl~"
Acheron smiled and patted Sylvia's head, then like coaxing a child, took out a pastry and popped it into Sylvia's mouth.
"Mmph... so here's what happened..."
Sylvia recounted to Acheron what had occurred today at Aurum Alley, and focused on telling her about the experience within the illusion.
If it were just a vague connection, Sylvia wouldn't be so concerned, but now she could actually see images—wasn't that a bit too much?
What's next, live streaming?
After finishing, Sylvia also shared her worries with Acheron.
But strangely, Acheron didn't seem too concerned.
She discreetly touched her own ring and said:
"Although it is indeed strange... before that, I think what's more important is that you have absolutely no correct understanding of Nihility!"
"I think I understand it pretty well."
"No, you don't."
Acheron's tone unconsciously grew serious.
Nihility wasn't something one could dabble with so lightly.
Even if it was just in an illusion, if one truly perceived the power of Nihility through it, then in reality, they would also be enveloped by it.
This wasn't a power that could distinguish between illusion and reality.
And although Sylvia indeed knew many things about Nihility, it seemed that precisely because of her knowledge, and her contact with Acheron, Sylvia's guard against Nihility was far too low.
Struggling against the power of Nihility, and imitating Nihility to unleash power—although both involve contact with Nihility, they were fundamentally different.
The latter was far more dangerous, and makes it easier to become a Self-Annihilator, shrouded by the shadow of Nihility, but it seemed Sylvia wasn't at all worried about falling into Nihility.
That was terrible.
Acheron didn't hide her concern at all.
Her eyes held an indescribable sorrow.
The meaning of her past existence had all been swallowed by that pitch-black sun.
Not even remnants remained, let alone memories.
To the point where existence itself was negated.
She had wandered alone in the universe for far, far too long.
Acheron had witnessed too many people's tragedies.
She wandered, numb, like a passerby in this world, keeping a kind distance from everyone while remaining aloof.
Or perhaps that dazed state of mind simply made it hard to connect with anyone.
But Sylvia was different.
It had been far, far too long.
Sylvia, disregarding her own safety, and even disregarding Acheron's wishes, coaxed her into putting on the ring. While pulling her back from the abyss of Nihility, it also dispelled that dazed state from the past.
It hadn't been a long time.
But to Mei, Sylvia had become a new anchor for Acheron.
Both psychologically and physically, this was true.
Izumo had become the past, and Acheron was also the past.
Mei.
This was the self that existed beside Sylvia.
No Raiden, no Bosenmori.
Every time Sylvia called out for Mei, it reinforced this impression.
So Mei deeply resented, even detested, Sylvia's initiative to approach Nihility.
Anything else was fine.
But Nihility, especially that sun that never sets, was absolutely forbidden.
The meaning of her previous existence was destroyed by that sun, witnessed by Raiden Mei.
And this one, Mei couldn't accept the possibility of Sylvia approaching Nihility.
Not even a glimmer of possibility.
--+--
Sylvia gazed blankly into Acheron's eyes.
This was the first time she had seen Mei wear such a pained and sorrowful expression.
Her usually gentle hand became tense, gripping firmly.
Was this fear...
That strong yet gentle Mei would tremble over such a small thing, and make such an expression.
"...I'm sorry."
Sylvia apologized, her voice hoarse, and struggled to sit up from Mei's lap.
Seeing Mei's expression, she became sad herself.
She reached out and gently embraced Mei, letting Mei's face rest against her neck.
For the first time, Sylvia suddenly felt that the figure she usually only thought of as beautiful, actually looked somewhat fragile.
"I'm sorry, Mei."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.