Instantly, the air around them grew heavy and suffocating. Fu Lin reached out and gently pulled Mei☆ into his arms.
"Sorry, I can't explain it to you right now. Even if I did, you might not believe me, so please don't ask anymore, okay?"
Mei☆ quietly leaned against his chest, listening to the fierce beating of Fu Lin's heart, and murmured, ".....Okay."
In the small grove, Fu Lin and Mei☆ quietly leaned against each other, the scene peaceful and harmonious.
-------------------------------
The next day, Fu Lin and Kiana☆ went up to the rooftop as usual. Upon seeing Mei☆, Kiana☆ immediately threw herself into Mei☆'s arms and called out,
"Mei☆-senpai~"
Mei☆ gently patted Kiana☆ on the back, nodded slightly, took out the prepared lunchbox, handed it to Kiana☆, and softly said,
"This is yours, Kiana☆. This is for Fu Lin."
At that moment, Fu Lin hesitated for a brief moment, but eventually stepped forward slowly and reached out to take the lunchbox from Mei's hand.
However, as Fu Lin stared at the lunchbox in his hand, then looked up at Mei, a trace of barely noticeable doubt flashed in his eyes.
Mei☆ saw through Fu Lin's expression completely, as if she had seen through the doubts deep within him, and with a slight smile at the corner of her lips, she teasingly said,
"Fu Lin, what's wrong? Do you want me to feed you personally?"
Hearing this, a trace of embarrassment flashed across Fu Lin's face, but he quickly regained his composure, leaned in slightly, and quietly asked in a low voice,
"So... did you put something in it?"
Upon hearing this, Mei☆ gave a helpless faint smile and softly replied,
"Of course not. You can eat without any worries. If you still don't believe me, how about… I taste it for you first."
After saying this, Mei☆ picked up a piece of fish fillet from Fu Lin's lunchbox with her chopsticks, took a small bite, gently chewed, and then swallowed it.
A moment later, Mei☆ smoothly swallowed the fish fillet, then held out the piece she had bitten towards Fu Lin again, smiling as she said,
"See~ it's really fine."
At this point, Fu Lin couldn't help but swallow his saliva, but his gaze involuntarily shifted to Kiana☆, who was focused on eating her own food.
Fortunately, Kiana☆ was completely immersed in the joy brought by the delicious food and didn't notice anything happening here.
For some time after that, Mei☆ continued, as usual, to bring lunchboxes to the rooftop every day, waiting for Fu Lin and Kiana☆ to arrive.
...
Until one night, in the dead of night...
A pure white, void space—in this pure and tranquil space, time seemed to slow down...
The Herrscher of Thunder wandered in this space in confusion, surrounded by purple lightning, a trace of vigilance flashing in her eyes as she called out around her,
"Where is this? Let me out now!"
However, the only response was her own echo.
While the Herrscher of Thunder wandered aimlessly, suddenly, not far in her line of sight, a white figure appeared quietly like a ghost right in front of her.
A strange purple light flashed sharply in the Herrscher of Thunder's eyes, and she swiftly advanced step by step towards the mysterious white figure without hesitation.
However, the closer she got, an indescribable sense of dread surged in like a tide, making her heartbeat quicken uncontrollably.
When the Herrscher of Thunder finally got within just a few meters of the figure, she slightly crouched her body, gripping the katana at her waist tightly.
Purple lightning flickered around her, and she focused all her attention on the figure, ready to strike at any moment if the other party showed any sign of aggression.
But at that moment, the figure slowly turned around, and that face suddenly appeared before the Herrscher of Thunder.
Seeing the figure that looked exactly like Mei☆, the sudden scene made the Herrscher of Thunder freeze in place, stunned.
But only a moment later, the Herrscher of Thunder's face turned pale as paper. Almost instinctively, she dropped her weapon, knelt on one knee, lowered her head, not daring to look directly, and trembled in extreme fear.
At the same time, a question arose in her heart.
She had clearly used her authority to block the "Will off Honkai's" contact, so how did "Will off Honkai" still find her?
Meanwhile, the colorless "Mei" expressionlessly approached step by step. When standing before the Herrscher of Thunder,
"She" reached out a hand and gently placed it over the Herrscher of Thunder's lowered head, as if receiving her own subject.
Immediately afterward, a hollow voice seemed to echo from all directions, resonating in this quiet space,
"Kill... Fu Lin."
The Herrscher of Thunder widened her eyes, filled with shock and doubt. She struggled to lift her head, trembling uncontrollably, as the fear from deep within her heart tormented her.
Nevertheless, the Herrscher of Thunder forced herself to suppress the fear and asked with a slightly trembling voice, "Why?"
"Will off Honkai" remained silent, and time seemed to freeze at that moment. After a long while, "She" slowly spoke,
"The Will of Honkai's order, you... cannot refuse."
Hearing this answer, the Herrscher of Thunder's heart trembled. She clenched her teeth, struggling to support her weakening legs, and slowly stood up.
At this moment, sharp light flickered in her eyes as she stared straight at the "Will off Honkai" before her without flinching, and said loudly,
"...What if I refuse!"
"Will off Honkai" clearly did not expect the Herrscher of Thunder to dare defy her order. A trace of surprise flashed across her expressionless face, as if curious about how she dared to refuse.
But soon, "She" replied,
"I... don't know, but you... cannot afford to gamble."
These words hit the Herrscher of Thunder's heart like a heavy hammer.
Her face gradually darkened, gritting her teeth so tightly that a sharp grinding sound echoed from between her clenched teeth, as if trying to chew up and swallow all the anger and unwillingness.
The Herrscher of Thunder knew clearly that if she disobeyed "Will off Honkai's" will, Mei☆ would undoubtedly die; but if she truly killed Fu Lin, how could Mei☆ accept such a fact?
She would surely hate her forever...
On one side was the "Will off Honkai's" order she must obey; on the other, her deep feelings for Mei☆.
After a fierce inner struggle, the Herrscher of Thunder finally chose the former — to carry out "Will off Honkai's" command.
The Herrscher of Thunder slowly knelt again on one knee, biting her teeth hard, squeezing out a few words from the depths of her throat with all her strength,
"I... will... follow... 'Will off Honkai's' command."
"Will off Honkai" glanced lightly at the Herrscher of Thunder, then disappeared into the pure white space.
As "Will off Honkai" departed, the Herrscher of Thunder returned to her familiar consciousness space, looked at Mei☆, who seemed to be having a sweet dream on the bed, and slowly closed her eyes.
Even though this decision meant she would likely lose Mei☆'s trust completely.
But as long as she could ensure Mei☆ would not be harmed in the slightest, she would pay any price without hesitation.
After all, in the Herrscher of Thunder's heart, Mei☆ was more important than anyone else; her very existence was to protect Mei☆ from harm.
At this moment, the Herrscher of Thunder had secretly made up her mind — after killing Fu Lin, she would bear all the consequences alone, even if it meant death, without any complaint.