The midsummer sunlight streamed through the window, leaving window-shaped patches of light on the blanket. A slender hand reached into the sunlight, as if wanting to touch its warmth.
The slender hand was very pale—not the rosy kind of white, but a sickly pallor, seemingly even whiter than the white blanket itself.
Looking around, everything was as white as always. There were no decorations, only a simple cabinet with fruits and flowers placed on top. If one had to point out something special, it would be the heart monitor beside the bed that kept beeping. This was a hospital room.
"Miyu! Grandpa's here to see you." The door to the ward opened gently. An elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in a traditional kimono outfit, walked in—Sougen Shirase, Miyu Shirase's grandfather.
"Grandpa!" The woman lying in the hospital bed revealed a bright smile. Though illness clung to her, Miyu never faced life with pessimism, because her life did not belong to her alone—it carried the hopes of her mother and younger sister as well.
Miyu Shirase suffered from congenital heart failure, a disease inherited from her mother. Her mother had died giving birth to Miyu and her younger sister.
Miyu had a younger sister named Sayaka Shirase. Their names came from a line of poetry: "Beauty lies in stillness, fragrance in memory."
When she was six, Sayaka—whose congenital heart disease was even worse—died. Before she passed, Sayaka's innocent eyes held a deep longing for everything in the world.
"Sister, I want to see more... more things..." With a trace of sadness in her gaze, Miyu brushed a strand of hair from her ear. Sayaka, the things you can no longer see, your sister will see them for you.
"Sorry! That brat is always busy with company matters!" The "brat" Sougen mentioned was actually Miyu's father. In her memory, that man was always cold, with eyes full of indifference.
"Grandpa, look at the manga I drew!" Miyu shook her head slightly, as if unwilling to talk about those things. She took out the manga she had drawn from the bedside. Though it was only in black-and-white sketches, the artwork was perfect. The eyes and pupils were drawn vividly, with emotions so powerful they could move one's heart.
Miyu's art style was beautiful, seemingly devoted to the pursuit of beauty. The characters' faces and clothing patterns were exquisitely detailed. With color, they could almost rival animated characters. Her skill was undoubtedly at a master's level.
"Kurumi! I... I..." The speaker was Shido Itsuka. Shido's expression was full of sorrow and hesitation, as if he had something important to tell Kurumi, but something heavy weighed on him, keeping him silent.
The background of the manga was a city engulfed in smoke and flames. It was a manga centered on Kurumi Tokisaki, and this was already the final chapter. Kurumi had gathered enough time energy to fire the Twelfth Bullet and return to thirty years ago.
Kurumi was about to return to the past—her dream. By going back thirty years and killing the first Spirit, no Spirits would ever be dragged into the human world by conspiracy. Spacequakes would never occur, and all those killed by Kurumi or by the Spirits' existence would be revived.
"Thank you, Shido! Thank you for protecting me, for staying with me until now! I'm truly grateful!" Kurumi tilted her head and showed a radiant smile. In the manga, Shido looked as if he had suffered a tremendous blow, his expression filled with shock and sorrow.
Seeing this, Sougen also felt a heaviness in his chest. The Kurumi under Miyu's pen was like a snow lotus blooming in darkness—no amount of killing or hatred could hide her pure wish: "To save all those who died because of the Spirits."
In Miyu's story, Shido truly understood Kurumi's wish, and that was why he endured pain and sadness to defend her. For that, Shido was branded with the crime of betraying humanity, becoming the target of all mankind.
In Sougen's view, the affection between Kurumi Tokisaki and Shido Itsuka naturally blossoming into love was quite normal—after all, that was often the theme of harem-style manga.
Yet Miyu had Kurumi send Shido a thank-you card. No, it wasn't Miyu—it was Kurumi Tokisaki who sent Shido a thank-you card.
Just as Shido was about to confess his feelings, Kurumi suddenly told him: "I only feel gratitude toward you. I just wanted to thank you, sincerely."
Such a blow! Not only was Shido Itsuka shocked—Sougen was nearly dumbfounded! The male lead was given a thank-you card? What kind of manga was this?
Sougen didn't notice that at this moment, Miyu showed a mischievous smile. "Kurumi-chan is mine! I'm the one who loves Kurumi-chan the most. I would never give her to that haremist Shido!"
"Kurumi! Please take my time with you!" Tohka Yatogami called out to Kurumi.
"Tohka! No!" Shido exclaimed in shock, instantly shaken awake from the blow of Kurumi's thank-you card.
"Shido! You're human, but you're going to be attacked by humans! How can you accept that? That's too sad!"
Tohka wept as she said to Kurumi, "Kurumi, please take my time and make sure to defeat the First Spirit! I don't want this kind of future! I want to protect Shido!"
Sougen felt as though he'd been struck again. This was clearly the setup for the heroine to sacrifice herself for the male lead! Was this still a harem manga? Why was it so heartbreaking!
"Please take my time too." ×N. One by one, the girls stepped forward—Yoshino, the Yamai sisters, Kotori Itsuka, and Mana Takamiya. Every girl who cared about Shido stood up.
Sougen took another blow! This was clearly the rhythm of the male lead's entire harem perishing! Having long since immersed himself into the role of Shido Itsuka, Sougen was so depressed he felt like vomiting blood!
"Everyone, why...?"
"Stop crying! From the moment you helped Kurumi, you should've known your actions could cause all Spirits to disappear!" Commander-mode Kotori kicked Shido. The so-called deeper the love, the harsher the rebuke. Shido had become humanity's enemy because of Kurumi—how could Kotori not be angry!
"But! There's also a chance she could fail, right?" Shido said blankly.
"Oh! So while you're helping Kurumi, you're secretly hoping she fails! That way, all the Spirits won't disappear! You really..." Commander-mode Kotori unleashed her full sharp tongue.
"Really pathetic, right! I know I'm disgusting! But I want to help Kurumi, and at the same time, I don't want any of you to disappear!" Shido clutched his head and cried in pain.
Sougen nodded to himself. That was a normal way to feel. Shido was simply too kind. Sougen completely understood him.
"No! What I want to say is... you're so gentle. As expected of my brother. That's exactly why we have to protect you!" Commander-mode Kotori said through tears, gripping Shido's tie and pulling his head down before kissing him on the lips.
Sougen's mood soured again. Just when he had started to feel better, he was struck once more! Up until now, Kotori had only ever shown a sibling-like affection—never romantic, let alone a kiss!
At such a moment, Kotori's expression of love was reasonable. But precisely because it was reasonable, Sougen felt even more tormented! If everyone was going to sacrifice themselves anyway, why make it so emotional! The more emotional it was, the more painful it became!
After stewing in frustration for a bit, Sougen let out a sigh. It was just a manga after all. Why take it so seriously? Since it was a harem manga, surely Shido would get a good ending. Even if the Spirits disappeared, there were still human girls like Kotori, Origami Tobiichi, and Mana Takamiya.
The angel Zafkiel appeared. The City of Devouring Time unfolded, swallowing the time of all the girls. Then Kurumi fired the Twelfth Bullet, traveling back thirty years to face the First Spirit in a final battle. In the end, both vanished into the river of time.
Sougen took another mental blow. Kurumi couldn't really be dead, could she? No, since she was the Spirit of Time, she should have survived within the flow of time. Could it be that the final ending was Kurumi and Shido together?
With anticipation lighting his face, Sougen quickly read on. But he didn't notice the little fox-like smile curling on Miyu's lips.
Time flowed steadily. Shido Itsuka was born. Kotori Itsuka was also born. However, there were no spacequakes. Shido's parents never died, so he was never adopted by the Itsuka family. Kotori wasn't Shido's sister at all! Now, Shido's name was Shido Takamiya, and he had only one sister—Mana Takamiya!
Sougen froze for a long moment. Kotori—whose popularity was second only to Kurumi—had no connection to Shido whatsoever! Sougen felt his heart bleed. This was an invisible strike that cut deeper than any wound!
"It's fine. There's still Origami, Mana, maybe even Kurumi might appear again!" Sougen tried to comfort himself, but deep down he had a bad feeling.
As time went on, Shido entered school. By coincidence, Shido, Kotori, Mana, and Origami all attended the same school. Sougen's hope rekindled slightly.
However, what frustrated him to the point of spitting blood was that until they graduated elementary school, the four barely interacted!
"Women's stories are unbearable!" Sougen ranted in his heart. Even at his age, this manga had angered him beyond measure.
As time passed, Mana Takamiya actually got married—to someone other than Shido. And Shido himself also married—but to a faceless stranger. He smiled gently, living a calm, respectable life with her.
"Pfft!" Sougen spat out a mouthful of blood and shouted, "This isn't the ending I wanted to see!"
"Grandpa!" Miyu cried out in alarm, blaming herself. Why had she shown her manga to her grandfather, only to make him cough up blood?
"It's fine, it's fine!" Sougen wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve. His eyes were red as he said, "Miyu! Why did you make the manga so full of... regret?"
Sougen chose his words carefully, trying not to hurt his granddaughter's feelings.
"Because regret is what makes it memorable." Miyu's eyes carried a trace of sadness. In Sayaka's eyes, too, besides longing, there was only regret.
"It's certainly memorable! I don't think I'll be able to eat for weeks!" Sougen said helplessly. Then he asked, "What about Kurumi? I can't believe the Spirit of Time would die in the river of time!"
"Hehe!" Miyu giggled. In truth, the manga wasn't finished yet. The final pages would show Kurumi's lingering soul drifting through countless timelines, finally appearing in a hospital room. Kurumi's soul would enter the body of a patient named Miyu Shirase. Over the long passage of time, Kurumi and Miyu Shirase would fall in love. And so, Kurumi-chan would belong to Miyu Shirase forever. Kurumi-chan would always be Miyu Shirase's.