Sweet daily life of Little Tanuki and Qin Che in Love and Deep Space

The rain stopped, but the sky above Dragon's Nest remained overcast, with storm swirling in the air.

Qin Che carried you and took the little lynx back to the forest where he had caught it.

A lynx that appeared to be its mother carried it away after hearing its meows.

At your insistence, the dragon led you to "track" them for a while longer to confirm that they were indeed a mother cat and not a predator that wanted to eat you. Only then did you feel relieved and let Qin Che carry you back to the cave.

At the top of the cave, you sit on a not-so-dry rock, gazing out at the city of Tal.

It is a "Black City" that is the complete opposite of "White City".

It was a place of chaos, evil, and an inhabitant of all those who were not accepted; it was another world.

But when night falls, its outline is so similar to that of White Obsidian City.

You hum a familiar tune softly, and it keeps overlapping with fragments of your memory.

"What's that noise?"

A slight breeze blew from behind as the dragon folded its wings and landed three steps away.

After singing the last note, you gaze at the lights of Tal in the distance and reply, "A requiem. Sung for the dead."

"Sing it again."

"Have you never heard anyone sing before?"

"I've never heard you sing this before."

He sat down beside you and wrapped his tail around both of you.

You smiled and said in a voice only you could hear, "So that's why you like this song..."

My gaze swept past his tail and returned to the city of Tar.

The city of Tar is always brightly lit at night, but unlike the war-torn city of White Obsidian, the fire that burns here is that of desire and revelry.

Qin Che turned his head and looked at your profile: "I heard that you are the princess of Baiyao City."

Princess?

A ridiculous title.

You curled the corners of your lips; that was the most painful memory of this body, and also the one you least wanted to relive.

"It's just a weapon used to slay dragons. They say I can kill dragons..."

You felt your voice trembling when you said those words.

You look at your hands, and your intuition tells you that this is the key to the ending.

"They told me a lot about dragons. But when they executed me, they said I was the dragon."

"That's how humans are; they're afraid of the existence of those who are different from themselves."

The night wind rolled across the ground, carrying the smell of charred trees; perhaps another wildfire had broken out somewhere.

"So what's so special about that place that you'd want to stay?" His voice held a hint of confusion.

"I have no attachment to that place; it's not a place I'd want to stay." Your tone was very firm.

"Hmm? Isn't that what you call home?"

“No, home…for me…at least it’s a safe haven, or there’s someone there waiting for me…” You paused, shifting your gaze to his face, “Compared to there, this place feels more like home to me…”

“…” He scoffed lightly, turned his face away, a mocking smile on his lips: “No matter how much you don’t want to acknowledge it, how much you hate it, how much you want to escape, it’s still a part of your soul. The more you try to pull this thorn out, the more you’ll forget who you really are.”

"You're absolutely right, I really do want to forget who I am..."

Your answer seemed to displease him, so he steered the conversation back to your crime.