Inside the infirmary of St. Freya Academy.
Soft sunlight streamed through the transparent window glass, illuminating the entire room.
On the sickbed, Bella's tightly closed eyelids suddenly trembled.
Then, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Hmm, an unfamiliar ceiling."
"What happened to me?"
Slowly sitting up, she raised a hand to rub her temples.
First, she checked herself, finding that she was wearing a set of blue and white hospital clothes.
She then scanned her surroundings; there were some cabinets filled with medical emergency equipment not far from the bed.
Beside the bed was a table with some flower baskets, fruit baskets, and a bottle of red wine, seemingly left by a visitor.
Wait, something seemed to have snuck in.
Gazing at the brand-new bottle of red wine on the table, Bella fell into contemplation.
Perhaps, in this world, there was a custom of gifting wine to patients.
Selectively ignoring this, Bella began to ponder why she was here.
In Bella's memory, she seemed to have been listening to Bronya speak at the time.
She seemed to have heard something about the "Second Honkai Eruption" and the "Herrscher of the Void" before everything went black.
After that, she knew nothing.
And, for some reason.
Just thinking of those two terms made Bella feel a Stuffy in her chest.
A very strange feeling.
Suddenly, a soft glow appeared before Bella's eyes, interrupting her thoughts.
The soft glow coalesced into a human form in the air; it was Paimon.
"Bella! You're finally awake! Waaah~"
As soon as Paimon appeared, she wailed and threw herself into Bella's arms.
"You've been unconscious for almost a week. When you were unconscious, I was also forcibly recalled to the system space and couldn't see your condition. I, I, I thought…"
Paimon spoke between sobs.
"Alright, alright, I'm fine, aren't I?"
Bella comforted the crying Paimon in her arms with a touch of helplessness, yet her eyes held a hint of tenderness.
In Bella's recollection.
In her previous life, if something happened to her, the only one who would care for her so much was her Mother.
"It feels quite nice to be cared for."
Though they hadn't known each other long, it seemed this little one had become an inseparable companion in this world.
Thinking this, Bella couldn't help but smile.
.....................
"So, I fainted earlier because of the original soul in this body?"
It took Bella a long time to soothe Paimon.
She then asked Paimon the reason for her unconsciousness.
"You could say yes, and you could say no."
Paimon nodded, then shook her head.
Having finally confirmed Bella was fine, Paimon returned to her usual cheerfulness.
She was now sitting in her exclusive spot (on Bella's shoulder), leisurely swinging her little legs back and forth.
"Before you transmigrated to this world, the original soul of this body had already shattered for unknown reasons, leaving only tiny soul fragments."
"So, it can be said that your current body originally had no soul, but your arrival endowed this body with a new soul."
"Logically, after a new soul arrived, those remaining soul fragments should have gradually dissipated."
"But for some reason, earlier on the Hyperion, your soul actually began to merge with those fragments!"
At this, Paimon stopped her leg movements.
She turned her head to carefully examine Bella, then nodded.
"It seems that during your unconsciousness, your soul has already merged with those soul fragments."
Hearing this, Bella frowned slightly.
"Will this have any side effects?"
After all, she had fainted on the Hyperion because of this before.
"It shouldn't. In fact, there are benefits."
"There are benefits?!"
Bella was a bit surprised.
"Yes."
Paimon nodded.
"Your original soul was not from this body, but for some reason, your soul and this body have a very high compatibility. Although there had been no rejection reactions before, there was still a certain hidden danger."
"But now that you've merged with the original soul fragments of this body, even though these fragments are few, they are like the final puzzle piece between your soul and body. Now you no longer have to worry about rejection reactions!"
Seemingly tired of sitting, Paimon stood up on Bella's shoulder and stretched.
"Rejection reaction? What's that?"
Bella was a little confused.
"Ah, this rejection reaction refers to various dangerous symptoms caused by a mismatch between the soul and the body."
Paimon replied.
"Oh, may I ask, what are these 'dangerous phenomena'?"
Bella asked with a half-smile on her face.
"Hmm, lightly, your body might just explode like a watermelon, and more severely, your soul might dissipate along with your body."
Paimon waved her hand indifferently, but then seemed to remember something, and her body, which was stretching, suddenly stiffened.
"Wow! So there was such a huge hidden threat in my body before the soul fusion!"
"I just didn't know."
Grabbing Paimon, who had inexplicably stiffened on her shoulder, Bella pulled her in front of her face and gave Paimon a brilliant smile.
"My Lady Paimon~ Why are you only telling me now~"
Although Bella had a brilliant smile on her face, for some reason, Paimon felt her demise was imminent.
"Th-that, Bella, listen to my explanation, I really didn't forget on purpose…"
Paimon broke out in a cold sweat, revealing a tearful, half-dead expression.
"Oh, so it wasn't on purpose."
Bella covered her mouth with one hand, her face showing an expression of great surprise.
Seeing Bella like this, a glimmer of hope seemed to appear in Paimon's eyes.
"Since it wasn't on purpose, then it was intentionally careless."
"So, how should I deal with you, my, Pai! Mon! Lord!"
Slowly pulling Paimon closer, Bella revealed an evil smile.
"N-no."
Tears welled in the corners of Paimon's eyes in Bella's hand. She looked at the gradually approaching Bella, finally giving up her struggle, and gazed out the window as if she had seen through life and death.
She smiled slightly.
"Farewell, beautiful world."
Paimon—Deceased.
......
"Alright, quickly, tell me what else there is after merging with the soul fragments."
Looking at Paimon, who had a large bump on her head, Bella said in an exasperated tone.
This useless Paimon was always forgetting things, but she was her companion after all.
So, a little lesson was enough.
Otherwise, if she accidentally went too far, she would have the trouble of coaxing her afterward.
So, this time, after Paimon repeatedly guaranteed that she absolutely hadn't forgotten or hidden anything about Bella, Bella let her off.
"Oh, okay, okay."
Paimon, who had narrowly escaped, quickly smiled ingratiatingly.
"Another thing is that because you merged with those soul fragments, even though they are few, your soul has become stronger, and your body has also recovered somewhat."
Paimon said.
Indeed.
Bella felt her current physical state.
The feeling of weakness in her body had indeed significantly diminished.
Bella opened the panel.
As expected, the estimated recovery time on the panel had changed from three months to two months.
The recovery time was reduced by one-third.
Her current strength should have reached the peak of a B-Rank Valkyrie, and if she transformed into her true form, she should be able to reach the level of an A-rank Valkyrie.
"It's because you merged with these soul fragments this time that memories within these soul fragments might surface at certain moments."
"And the more important and profound the things are to these soul fragments, the more likely they are to trigger the memories within them."
Paimon explained.
"So that's how it is."
Bella lowered her head and pondered slightly.
From this perspective, the soul fragments she had merged with currently posed no substantial threat to her.
Moreover, judging from her recent unconsciousness.
The terms "Second Honkai Eruption" and "Herrscher" must be quite important to these soul fragments.
Could it be that the original owner of this body was born during the Second Honkai Eruption?
Siberia, where she had awakened, was also where the Second Honkai Eruption erupted, so it was highly likely.
Also, what is the "Herrscher of the Void"?
Thinking this, Bella was about to ask Paimon again.
"Click"
The room's door opened.