The memory ended with the woman slamming the room door shut angrily. Kiana watched the young man slump exhaustedly onto his chair, his face filled with dejection, frustration, and endless hurt.
Kiana saw his hands clench into fists several times, only to tremble and relax again.
She saw tears welling up in his eyes, yet he stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Kiana silently observed it all. Several times, she wanted to step in, to stop it, to comfort this young man who seemed burdened by immense pressure.
But this was a memory, something that had already happened in the past, replayed here for her to see.
She couldn't change what had already occurred.
Suddenly, the space seemed to freeze as if paused, the image stopping at the moment the young man lowered his head, reaching up to wipe his eyes.
"He..." Kiana's voice hesitated. She glanced at the girl beside her, who was picking up the notebook that had been tossed into the corner, and started to say something.
"Regrettably, I do not possess the authority to modify memories. I can only retrieve this memory and play it for you," the girl replied, shaking her head. Kiana couldn't read her expression.
Holding the notebook, the girl flipped through a couple of pages arbitrarily, then found a specific drawing.
"Found it. This drawing is the anchor point to the next memory node," the girl announced, looking up at Kiana. Kiana was currently crouched in front of the young man, staring at his face buried in his arms.
He's crying so hard... his expression is awful, yet he's not making a sound...
"Okay..." Kiana stood up silently and walked back to the girl's side.
"Ready to go?" the girl asked. Kiana nodded. Her peripheral vision caught sight of the pen the girl had left behind.
Quickly stepping forward to grab the pen, Kiana replied, "Ready. Let's go to the next place."
The girl glanced at the pen Kiana held tightly, then looked away, placing her hand on the drawing.
Though it was clearly paper, the girl's hand sank into the drawing as if into a pond, ripples even appearing on the paper's surface.
"Hold onto me," the girl reminded. Kiana reached out seriously and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.
At this moment, Kiana's expression became extremely earnest, losing the trace of constant confusion it held before.
The surroundings began to blur rapidly. Just before losing sight of this place entirely, Kiana suddenly turned her head towards the young man sitting frozen in the chair.
"Soon... I'll bring you back... I definitely..."
...
The moment the two left, the white mist that had departed earlier rushed back in, swept through the room agitatedly once more, then cautiously withdrew.
...
Before the transfer began, Kiana glanced at the drawing they were about to enter. It depicted another person who looked very familiar. Since this drawing was much more complete, the sense of familiarity was even stronger.
Once the surroundings stabilized, Kiana looked up, quickly taking in the new environment.
It was dark, nighttime, seemingly on a city street...
This place was...
Kiana blinked, looking left and right, her gaze finally settling on two familiar signs by the roadside.
"He Zhen Clear Soup Hot Pot" — "Sichuan Spicy Explosion Hot Pot"
"This is Nagazora City?" Kiana exclaimed. She knew these two shops all too well! Weren't they part of her grand plan?! [Referring to some past event/joke Kiana had]
Could he have been here too? But it's late at night, neither shop is open...
She looked grimly at the dark street. Since no shops were lit, it must be very late...
"This is indeed Nagazora City..." the girl nodded. "However... this memory is somewhat different..."
"Huh?" Kiana turned, puzzled. "Memories... how can they be different?"
"They can differ in many ways." Taking advantage of the memory owner's absence, the girl patiently explained to Kiana, "There are roughly three types of memories:
"Completely objective memories, mostly data from intelligent machines; somewhat processed memories, like your previous memory of yourself; and completely unique memories, often created entirely from imagination..."
"But this particular memory is an exception."
The girl's tone grew slightly heavier. "This is a memory fragment known only to him."
Kiana frowned again.
She understood every word the girl said individually, but strung together... she was lost.
What was all this about?!
Heavy breathing and footsteps approached from down the street, instantly grabbing Kiana's attention.
Anyway, the main thing is to find the most important element here, right? Let's see what kind of...
Kiana's eyes suddenly widened. She stared in disbelief at the person approaching with heavy steps, gritting his teeth.
"Mei...? Bronya?!" More eye-catching than the person walking were the two figures he carried—one on his back, the other cradled in his arms.
It was Mei and Bronya, but both were in a state Kiana had never seen before... Mei was barely breathing, and Bronya's life status was uncertain!
How could this be... Where were the others? Where was she?!
Had they ever suffered injuries like this?!
"Mei, what kind of clothes do you usually like?" The young man's voice held an unconcealable strain. He forced himself to ask the question to the severely injured Mei on his back.
As the group drew closer, Kiana finally got a clear view of their condition.
Mei's chest was covered in blood, the massive stain spreading down to her abdomen and dripping onto the young man carrying her, mingling with his own blood flowing onto the ground.
Bronya, held tightly in the young man's arms, had a terrifyingly pale face, and blood dripped continuously from her body onto the pavement.
Compared to the two girls, the young man only had a mangled mess of flesh on his arm, albeit bleeding profusely...
Was it really only... just that?
Kiana could see the young man's steps were labored, as if supporting both girls was already his absolute limit.
Looking back the way they came, it seemed the young man had already carried them a very long distance.
No... Kiana was certain Mei had never been injured this severely, especially not in Nagazora City...
Could it be... before she found Mei?