Simulated Star Iron: Miracles are yours, death is mine

At 25, on Izumo Star, the problem of demons is becoming increasingly serious.

The demons are attacking people indiscriminately, plunging Izumo into chaos.

The Science Council concluded that the Dark Sun emits an energy known as "nothingness."

The various existential attributes of the affected person, such as physical body, cognition, and memory, will gradually disappear.

Some people's skin becomes like rotten wood, covered with scars and holes; some people can no longer feel their own emotions, detached from joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, becoming numb to everything.

Some people have lost their memories, and some have lost their five senses.

They seemed to have been stripped of the meaning of life by some force, only able to see their own reflections merging with the pitch-black sun above them in dreams and hallucinations.

It was this very energy that transformed the gods of Takamagahara into malevolent deities, leading to the destruction of their civilization.

Meanwhile, the wielders of the Imperial Decree Blade were also corrupted by the void, their demonic transformation accelerating.

Sakura was the first swordsman to encounter problems, and also the one with the most severe issues.

Science Council Headquarters

Sakura sat in the chair, her long, icy blue hair hanging down, having lost its former luster.

The empty eyes searched around before finally settling in one direction.

Mei stood there.

She could no longer see clearly and could only barely recognize the people in front of her by relying on her faint sense of light and years of interaction.

"Dr. Mei, I feel like I only have a tiny bit of hearing and sight left..."

The girl's words were filled with endless bitterness.

In her most vibrant years, she had lost her sense of taste, smell, and touch in order to communicate with the world.

Fragrance and stench meant nothing to her; delicacies and rotten swill were equally attuned to her taste buds.

She could no longer even sense the presence of the imperial edict blade.

She reached out and gripped the scabbard at a familiar angle, but felt nothing.

Sometimes she wasn't even sure if she had a hold on to it.

"Doctor... I want to be discharged, since I can't be cured anyway."

"Sakura, cheer up, the council is pouring all its resources into this research..."

Mei felt the same way; Ying was not an isolated case.

Even she herself is being eroded by nothingness, gradually losing her sense of self.

It's just that Sakura was the one who used the imperial edict sword the most without any scruples, and the degree to which she was corrupted was also ahead of the others.

In other words, Sakura now is them in the future.

"Treatment? It's been a year, and there's been no progress at all. Doctor, am I about to become a ghost?"

What appeared to be a question actually revealed to her that she was nearing death, more than anyone else.

She dedicated the best years of her life to the Imperial Sword, burning with all her might, just to bring a glimmer of light and hope to Izumo in the darkness.

But now, the candle is about to burn out.

Sakura stopped talking and reached out to try to pull out the IV tube.

But she wasn't sure if she had pulled it out, so she looked down to examine it more closely.

"Sigh..." Mei was quite helpless and had no choice but to send a message to Lin Yuan to tell him about the matter.

But before leaving, Sakura stopped and said to herself, "Doctor, I have a favor to ask of you."

Mei took her hand and whispered, "Ying, you speak."

"If that day comes, it doesn't matter who it is." Sakura's empty eyes gazed into the distance, as if piercing through time and space. "When you take action, don't hesitate."

At the end of her words, Sakura's voice trembled slightly.

Mei was in a panic and hurriedly said, "Ying, don't talk nonsense. Believe me, everything will be alright! Don't think of things as so bad!"

Sakura shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek: "I'm about to become a demon. I can feel my sanity and memories dwindling... Doctor, this is my last request..."

-----------------

Sakura doesn't remember much about what happened after that.

While her current memories are fading into nothingness, her childhood memories are becoming increasingly vivid.

Ling has been gone for many years.

She was almost forgetting what Ling looked like.

But now, she remembered it again, remembered that silly girl following behind her, calling her "sister" over and over.

She has lost all five senses and can no longer perceive the world.

Only the memories deep within her heart were her last refuge.

In one of his rare moments of lucidity, Lin Yuan held her hand.

She wandered through the labyrinth of her memories, sometimes as she was four or five years old, sometimes as she was eleven or twelve.

Those memories she thought she had forgotten have resurfaced at this moment.

Sakura felt as if she had traveled back in time, watching those events unfold once more.

Rin celebrates her birthday with Yuan and takes a walk under the cherry blossom tree.

Also, the day I was chosen as the sword master.

"I know it's all fake, but... let me linger a little longer..."

In her soft murmur, she seemed to hear a voice calling her name from a very distant place.

Sakura raised her head and looked up at the sky of the world of memories, where the voice was coming from.

"Sakura! Wake up!"

"Sakura, give up resisting!"

"Mei, she's become a demon!"

"Try again! She'll definitely wake up!"

Sakura finally emerged from the labyrinth of memories, and a faint light appeared before her eyes.

Immediately afterwards, Raiden Mei, Mei, and another sword master appeared before her.

At that moment, she briefly regained her sight.

As far as the eye could see, a blizzard raged, and heavy snow covered every part of the city.

It was like the day the "Winter Clothes of Heaven" descended.

The imperial edict sword [Frost] in her hand was firmly blocking Raiden Mei's imperial edict sword [Cry].

The blades of the two imperial edict swords collided, sparking and becoming the only light in the wind and snow.

“Mei…” she murmured, looking at the girl in front of her, “It’s you.”

"Sakura, you're awake!" Raiden Mei gave a bitter smile.

Sakura has woken up, and everything will still be alright...

But Sakura's movements did not stop.

"Ding--"

With a soft hum, Raiden Mei was sent flying by Sakura's sword, her body staggering back dozens of meters before regaining her footing.

Sakura suddenly looked up; she understood everything: "My body... is out of my control..."

The heavy snow and the frozen city before us are the work of her!

"Mei, I've become a demon! Did I?!"

She cried out the question, but she already knew the answer.

The other two sword masters rushed forward, wielding their imperial swords, and joined forces to suppress the out-of-control Sakura.

Raiden Mei grasped [Naraka] and walked towards Sakura again, her eyes filled with deep sorrow.

Mei used the Imperial Edict Blade [True] to summon a cage, briefly trapping Sakura.

Raiden Mei read out the contents of the World Government's emergency notice word by word, as if she were administering a trial:

"Frost Lord Cherry, who fell into evil two hours ago, used the imperial sword [Frost] to destroy Tianhai City, killing thirteen million people."

He has been stripped of his position as master of the imperial sword and is now listed as a wanted criminal of the "most heinous" level.