Want to be human, but cube-like

"Why……?"

Why did you lie to her and say you had a way to get out?

Why should we leave the chance of survival to her?

Why……

How can someone so readily give up their own life?

Wouldn't it be better to be a little more selfish?

"Fool……!"

Why would you give your all to someone you've only known for a few days?

"You promised me..."

Intense guilt, like a scorching flame, seared Xiangzi's heart, tormenting her to unbearable pain.

She gritted her teeth, pressing her ten fingers tightly between her hair, her fingertips turning white from the force, causing her hair to sting.

"We clearly agreed..."

In the cold wind, her trembling body seemed to have lost all feeling. She lowered her head, letting her hair fly wildly.

The words that escaped her lips were also tinged with sorrow.

You promised you'd get out safely.

We agreed to leave together.

“Alex…”

A faint sob escaped from the girl's throat.

She could no longer control her facial expressions.

Her thin eyelashes trembled, her amber pupils contracted, and bitter tears overflowed from her tear ducts, soaking her red eyes before flowing down her cheeks.

The drops fell on clothes, the ground, and knees, blooming into scattered petals.

It seeped into her wound, mixed with blood, and flowed down her calf, leaving a bright red line.

"You...liar..."

She sobbed, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"……fraud!"

Warm tears streamed down her cheeks, their warmth carried away by the chill of the night, leaving only a biting cold that stung her skin.

That was the coldness of being all alone.

A sense of dread, as if everything were about to collapse, gripped Toyokawa Shoko's heart, bringing her back to that night once more.

That night when I lost my mother.

But back then, she still had her father, her childhood sweetheart, and the Crychic group she had personally created.

And what do I have left now?

The father, who has given up on himself, has disappeared. In the freezing winter, if he were to pass out drunk outside, what chance would he have of survival?

She just didn't dare to think about it.

She personally pushed away her childhood sweetheart, who was once incredibly close to her, and her bandmates.

And after that, he met a silver-haired girl who seemed to exist only in his imagination.

At that moment, it completely disappeared from her sight.

He left her completely.

Toyokawa Shoko, she is already...

I have nothing left.

"No, don't leave me alone..."

The powerless sobs drifted on the wind, shattering, dissipating, and vanishing under the night sky.

……

"Xiangzi."

a moment.

The sudden sound startled the girl.

But she didn't react at all. She knelt down on the ground, her head lowered, her hands pressed against her forehead, her small, cold hands covering her hair, her slender wrists and disheveled sleeves obscuring her face.

The girl tried to hide her disheveled expression.

Although Xiangzi no longer cared about those unimportant things.

"Now, would you like to make a wish?"

The voice, which I had heard just last night, rang out again.

"..."

Xiangzi opened her somewhat dry lips, and a slightly salty taste seeped in from the corner of her lips, staining her pink tongue. The taste was so bitter that it brought tears to her eyes again.

"Chubby..."

She finally spoke, softly responding to the voice that had been speaking in her mind.

"If you sign a contract and make a wish, with your abilities, Xiangzi, you can even bring back people who are already dead."

The calm tone recounted this seemingly miraculous transaction.

In Qubi's words, it was as if no one had just passed away, but merely a light rain shower.

"Were you watching the whole time?"

Xiangzi let go of her hand, and she wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve. She looked up at Qiu Bi, who was not far in front of her.

"It's always been inside that tunnel."

"Yes."

He neither denied it nor tried to cover it up with other words, but admitted it directly.

"I'm very curious, Eric."

What kind of power does the silk utilize?

Cupid even explained why it was inside observing the two of them.

"Unfortunately, she was killed by the witch and sank into those liquids. Not even her body was left behind."

The words, so calm they sent a chill down Xiangzi's spine, were transmitted to her mind by Qubi, stirring her emotions.

Upon hearing this, Xiangzi, who had just calmed down, felt a tightness in her chest again. She bit her lip, sniffed, and forced herself to remain expressionless in front of Qiu Bi.

"So, do I have to sign a contract and become a magical girl?"

Seeing that Xiangzi remained silent again, Qiu Bi seized the opportunity to ask another question.

"You really need this wish right now, don't you?"

It's the same old story, the same old conditions.

Without a reply, Xiangzi closed her eyes. After a moment, she lowered her head, opened her eyes, and stared at the wet stains on the ground.

Those were the marks left by my own tears.

Make a wish...

In the past, before, before tonight.

She herself had firmly rejected the deal; stubborn as she was, she never placed her hopes on such an illusory and costly miracle.

Even when faced with numerous temptations—the possibility of resurrecting her mother, saving her father, and gaining immense wealth—she never wavered.

"I……"

But this moment.

She was shaken.

This is her responsibility.

It was also her fault.

Even now, the guilt still burns like a raging fire in her heart.

If I had given the Ender Pearl to Alex back then, would she have been safe?

If I had rescued Alex from the water first, would everyone have been saved?

Xiangzi understood that these thoughts were meaningless.

She simply couldn't hand the Ender Pearl to Alex; it would be used as soon as she threw it.

She simply couldn't save Alex from those liquids.

At that time, abandoning Alex and leaving alone was her only option besides staying put and waiting to die.

But at this moment, Xiangzi felt more inclined to stay with Alex than to run away alone…

"I……"

She hesitated.

Hesitant about whether he should make a wish.

"My wish..."

She hesitated.

Hesitant about this wish made for someone else.

But next second.

"Pfft——!"

A sharp sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.

Ling Xiangzi was startled, and a feeling of unease rose in his heart.

She looked up.

A deep blue light, reflected in the night, fell into my eyes.

The girl's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth in astonishment.

"Hmph~ I told Xiangzi last night that next time I see you, I'll stab you."

A gentle, slightly playful, melodious voice came through the air; it was a voice that Xiangzi knew all too well.

A silver-haired girl appeared before her as if by miracle.

Under the moonlight, that smile was breathtakingly beautiful.

Volume 1: Chapter 56 No Longer Separated

"Paji!"

He kicked the white creature, which had been impaled on the ground by the Phantom Sword, heavily into a corner by the roadside, slamming it against the curb and turning it into a lump of mangled flesh.

"clatter."

With a light touch of her toes, the silver-haired girl holding a wooden sword landed gently in front of Xiangzi.

"Xiangzi, I'm sorry, I lied to you just now. Actually, I can't get out of there."

She put away her weapon, slowly squatted down, and looked at Xiangzi with a hint of apology in her eyes.

"But that's because the situation was critical just now, so I didn't have time to explain to you that it's okay if I die, I can be resurrected at home—I was just afraid you wouldn't believe me."

She kept explaining to Xiangzi, as if she was afraid he would be angry with her.

"So as long as you can get out safely, there won't be any problems. I just revived and immediately made a new weapon and rushed over."

Fortunately, the coordinates she had noted down were correct, which not only allowed Xiangzi to find the exit smoothly, but also allowed Alex to find Xiangzi after he came out by following the coordinates.