Carrying his doubts, Van walked to the restaurant.
But what should have been the lively breakfast hour was strangely quiet, aside from a few waiters, the place was completely empty.
Not long after he sat down, he saw Sirin walking over from a distance.
"Morning, Sirin."
Van greeted her warmly, but quickly noticed that she seemed distracted, her face a little pale.
"What's wrong, Sirin? Didn't sleep well last night?" Van asked with concern.
Sirin quickly shook her head, avoiding his searching gaze. "No, I slept really well yesterday. And you, Van… did you rest well?"
Even though she hid it well, Van still caught that fleeting panic in her eyes.
He made a note of her reaction in his heart, deciding to find another chance to ask her about it later.
"I'm fine, just… feeling oddly tired…" Van rubbed his temples. Something felt off, but he couldn't put it into words.
After breakfast, Van suggested they take a walk nearby.
Sirin hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.
The two strolled along the small path of the resort, and before they realized it, they had arrived in front of a huge amusement park.
Colorful lights stood out even in broad daylight, and cheerful music drifted out from within.
"Want to go in and play for a while?" Van turned to her with a sudden suggestion. "If I remember right, you haven't really been to an amusement park before, have you?"
Sirin's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again.
She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but in the end only nodded lightly. "Mm… sure."
On the carousel, the two shared the same horse.
As the ride turned, she gripped the corner of Van's shirt tightly, her face finally breaking into a genuine smile.
At the bumper cars, the two chased and crashed into each other, their laughter echoing nonstop.
On the roller coaster, Sirin screamed excitedly at the highest point, and afterward pulled Van straight into the haunted house for an adventure. When they came out, the two sat together on a bench, sharing a single ice cream…
Every scene let Van feel Sirin's pure, heartfelt joy, but at the same time, there was an unsettling sense of wrongness.
These moments of happiness felt like they were happening for the first time, yet inexplicably, there was a sense of déjà vu.
And when they stopped at a small lottery stall, that sense of wrongness reached its peak.
"Mystery prize, test your luck!"
Under the stall owner's enthusiastic greeting, the two walked up.
Van carefully studied the delicate boxes lined up on the table. Just as he was about to pick the fifth one, a strange thought suddenly flashed through his mind, the sixth box was the real prize.
Almost without thinking, his finger pointed to the sixth box.
"Congratulations, you two! You've won our grand prize!"
The owner cheered dramatically as he took out a shining golden Homu doll from the box.
Van smiled and handed the doll to Sirin, but was startled to see a flicker of fear and panic flash across her eyes as she accepted it.
Night fell, and the Ferris wheel lit up in a cascade of colors, decorating the night sky like a dream.
When their cabin slowly rose to its highest point, the star-filled sky felt almost within reach.
Van gazed out at the dazzling night view, then turned to the silently brooding Sirin. Finally, he couldn't hold back his question, "What's wrong with you today? Is something bothering you?"
At his words, Sirin lifted her head, her lips trembling slightly, as if she had a thousand things to say.
But in the end, she only shook her head, whispering, "It's nothing…"
Looking at her hesitation, Van fell deep into thought.
After returning to his room, Van began replaying the events of the day in his mind, scene after scene flashing through.
The strangely empty breakfast hall when it should have been busy, Sirin's pale complexion and darting eyes, the oddly familiar scenes in the amusement park, and that strange spark of intuition at the lottery stall…
Van rubbed his temples, reason telling him such a guess was impossible.
But instinct kept screaming that this was the truth.
To test this insane theory, Van decided to step out of his room and take a look.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Kiana? You there?"
After waiting for over ten seconds, there was only dead silence.
Van knocked on Raiden Mei's door next, still no answer.
Then Fu Hua's, Elysia's, even Ivana's…
Every single door was tightly shut, his knocking vanishing like stones sinking into the ocean.
The entire floor felt as if someone had hit the mute button, leaving him the only living soul there.
By this point, Van was almost certain, he was trapped in some kind of looping illusion.
But what confused him was how exactly he'd entered this illusion in the first place.
Thinking of this, Van decided to find Sirin and get some answers.
However, when he blinked, the sight before him made him freeze on the spot.
The corridor that should have been brightly lit was now swallowed in pitch-black silence, only the faint green glow of the emergency exit sign remaining.
And at that moment, Van also noticed that at some point, every single sound around him had vanished.
It was as if the entire hotel had been severed from the real world by some unknown force.
Van frowned. It seemed he needed to move faster.
———
[Somewhere Else]
Sirin stood in front of Hanabi, her voice firm as she said,
"I want to end this. I've thought a lot during this day. Even though being with Van made me so happy, none of this is real…"
"Oh my~ Miss Sirin, sometimes you shouldn't overthink the present, you know. Open up your perspective a little~"
Hanabi smiled brightly. "Besides, are you really okay with Van thinking you're some scheming little girl?"
"I'll take responsibility for my mistakes," Sirin lifted her head, her eyes unwavering.
"I'll tell Van the truth myself. I won't keep deceiving him. Even if… even if it makes him hate me… so be it."
Hearing that, Hanabi's smile didn't fade, but in her pink eyes, a dangerous glint flickered for just an instant.
With her signature sugary tone, she said, "Well~ if you insist that much, I suppose I have no choice but to agree~"
Hearing that, Sirin finally let out a breath of relief. "That's good. And… thank you for helping me. So when I tell Van the truth, I'll keep your part… hidden."
But as Sirin spoke, Hanabi suddenly pulled out a small revolver from behind her back.
Its barrel was decorated with colorful stickers and glitter, looking deceptively harmless, like a child's toy.
"Surprise~"
She playfully winked and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Before Sirin could even react, the glowing bullet struck her squarely in the chest.
Pain exploded through her body as she staggered backward, collapsing to her knees.
"You…!"
She struggled to stand but felt her strength draining away at an alarming rate.
Even worse, the Honkai energy within her was completely sealed off, as if locked away by some unknown force.
"Wait! Why… why can't I… use my power…"
Hanabi skipped closer, gleefully playing with the gun in her hands like a child with a new toy.
"As the producer and director of this little performance, of course I made sure to cover every angle~ In my script, the Honkai isn't allowed to show up, you see~"
Sirin glared at her, her eyes burning with regret and anger.
She hated herself for trusting someone so easily, and for dragging her friend into this mess.
"Oh, don't look at me like that, little pufferfish~" Hanabi pouted in fake grievance. "I did give you a chance, you know~"
"Aaah~ what a shame… I was hoping my leading lady could keep playing her role for a while longer~ But since you don't want to stay in the cast, I'll just have to write you out~"
"And I… will take your place and keep Van company, nice and close…"
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