Those who have once fallen into a coma will all share such a common experience, although consciousness may return to the body in an instant, their sense of time will always feel strangely dull.
Some people, at that moment, can hear the sound of blood surging through their veins, like the tolling of a bell from the mortal world calling the living back.
But for a certain purpose, this girl, who had yet to open her eyes, … did not need this moment to hear it.
Inside her, roaring thunder never ceased throughout the day.
"Me… Sister Mei, please, don't be mad at me!" Pardofelis's voice, trembling with sobs, dragged Mei back to reality. "I don't even know what's going on either!"
Raiden Mei opened her eyes and found herself lying on a church pew.
Vill-V, "Pardo, are you sure you don't want to think of another way? We've got plenty of doctors here, you know…"
"This time's different from last time…" Pardofelis fumbled through her backpack in a panic, speaking frantically,
"And besides, Vill-V-sis, weren't you the one who made the 'judgment'? … I'm sorry… Sister Mei… I clearly said I'd be your guide… Canned food! Bring me the shovel, hurry!"
The fat cat named Canned food let out an unwilling "meow."
"Ugh, useless… I'll do it myself…!"
———
[???]
[Wait, Pardo! Are you serious with that shovel?!]
[Mei, I think I can still be saved.]
———
[Back to the Video]
Pardofelis had just picked up the shovel and turned around, only to meet Raiden Mei's clear, awake gaze.
"F-f-f…"
Pardofelis's fur practically stood on end as she jumped three steps back.
"Calm down, Pardo." Raiden Mei propped herself up. "I'm still alive… just fainted. This isn't the first time."
Pardofelis's ears twitched nervously as she stammered, "S-Sister Mei, you… you're really okay? Just now, for a moment, your heartbeat completely stopped!"
At the side, Vill-V smiled subtly.
"See, Pardo… a resurrection right before our eyes. Miss Audience, you'd better be careful, or Mobius will drag you off for research again…"
Her words abruptly stopped.
A blade suddenly pressed against her neck, and the hand gripping the weapon, belonged to Mei.
Pardofelis sucked in a sharp breath. "Th-this… Sister Mei, what are you doing?!"
"Why did you invite me?" Raiden Mei's voice was cold.
Faced with the blade so close to her throat, Vill-V remained calm and replied,
"Didn't I say it? A Herrscher who defeated two Flame-Chasers, of course, I'd be curious. Isn't that reason convincing enough?"
"And it has nothing to do with that Aponia?"
"How could it…" Vill-V suddenly chuckled. "Oh! I really didn't notice it before, you're also someone who hates her that much? Relax. On that point, you and I are no different."
Pardofelis nervously tried to interject, "Sister Mei, Sister Mei…"
Raiden Mei hesitated briefly, preparing to withdraw her sword.
But at that moment, she realized a strange field had formed around Vill-V.
No matter how much force she used, her weapon remained suspended in the air, unable to move even a millimeter.
Vill-V smiled lightly. "Oh… my bad, I'll switch it off right now. Can't just sit here waiting to be killed, right?"
With a snap of her fingers, Raiden Mei instinctively stepped half a pace back, but the crushing pressure on her weapon vanished completely.
Pardofelis wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said, "Ahem, so, Sister Mei, what's going on? Since you're the Herrscher of Thunder… did you, um, restart your own heart with an electric shock?"
"Don't play dumb, Pardo. After all these years, you still haven't changed that bad habit, huh? She mentioned Aponia… so, you've received some kind of prophecy, haven't you?"
Raiden Mei, "How much do you know?"
"Ahaha… not hard to guess." Vill-V spread her hands and smiled. "We've all had similar experiences. But maybe… Aponia didn't intend to harm you just now. In fact, she might've saved your life."
"Remember our big closing act? The 'Spiral' engraving, it's quite the thrill."
Raiden Mei's gaze sharpened.
"So it was you…"
"Ah, ah, let me finish." Vill-V grinned. "Normally, I'd have been the one to 'revive' you, but it seems… this time, she's especially concerned about her prophecy."
"You're saying… I only woke up because of her?"
"That's right. As long as the time hasn't come, she won't allow anything to happen ahead of schedule. In a way, as someone who can see the future, she values the existence of the 'script' even more than I do…"
Raiden Mei's brows furrowed. "Seeing… the future…?"
"My, my… seems our audience is getting suspicious~ But exposing a magician's secrets is taboo, you know. I'll be going first, then."
With that, Vill-V suddenly turned and strode quickly through the nearby door.
Watching Vill-V's retreating figure, Raiden Mei fell into thought.
The first voice she'd heard had indeed been Aponia's. If she hadn't intervened, that prophecy would have…
Then came the question, 'What did that tree I saw later, and the sight of Van beneath it, truly mean?'
Thinking this, Raiden Mei tried hard to recall the words Van had spoken to her in that dream.
But unfortunately, apart from scattered fragments, there was nothing more.
After a moment of deep thought, Raiden Mei lifted her head, only to notice Pardofelis quietly tiptoeing away.
"Uh… Sister Mei! Since you're fine, then… haha…" Pardo forced a dry laugh, backing away. "Since it's a 'narrow escape,' I won't charge you a rescue fee! So… I'll just head out first, okay?"
As she said that, she turned and shouted to the fat cat, "Canned food, don't forget to fill in that hole! And for heaven's sake, don't let Klein see it!"
The fat cat Canned food stared blankly. "Meow?!"
Raiden Mei's gaze followed toward the corner of the church, to a freshly dug pit. "Pit???"
———
[Canned food: I may not be human, but you're really a dog!]
[Pardo: I'm clearly a cat!]
[Am I the only one concerned about how terrifying Pardo's efficiency is? In just that short moment, she actually dug a grave for Mei.]
[LMAO, if Mei had woken up a little later, she'd probably have found herself buried already.]
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