Tsukihime

The 'self' opposite her revealed a gentle smile, like a snow lotus blooming in the mountains, so beautiful it took one's breath away.

Ning Yu figured she could never produce such a naturally perfect smile.

"You can call me 'Moon Princess'."

"They also call me Alaya-Consciousness."

"In any case, I have many names, but names aren't important, because all names can never truly represent specific things - they're merely concepts."

Ning Yu scratched her head, not quite understanding what she meant.

"Are you... the original owner of this body?"

Her soul was, after all, a foreigner here, and Ning Yu hadn't forgotten that she was essentially a cuckoo in another's nest.

Perhaps she had come to cause trouble? To reclaim her body?

If that was true, Ning Yu realized she didn't want to give it back anymore, because she now had reasons to live in this world.

"Don't worry, it's not what you think."

Moon Princess smiled gently. Though Ning Yu hadn't spoken, her thoughts had been seen through.

"Your body is a manufactured product, a vessel, or you could say, a key."

A manufactured product?

"There's something that must be done by you, that's why you appeared."

"In other words, you are now the embodiment of the Counter Force."

Ning Yu still didn't understand what she was saying, but it seemed like there was some trouble she needed to resolve:

"Can I refuse? I'm not interested in troublesome things."

"You cannot refuse. This is a fate that has already begun, and no matter what you do, it will converge to the same predetermined outcome."

Moon Princess seemed to have anticipated Ning Yu's refusal:

"Even if you run to the ends of the earth, you'll be drawn into it."

"Why must it be me?"

Ning Yu pointed at herself.

"It's not that it must be you, it just happens to be you."

Moon Princess shook her head, and Ning Yu noticed her voice starting to become unclear.

"You must have strengthened the connection through some means, which is why I can communicate with you now, but this prolonged connection is harmful to you, so I must go."

Ning Yu wanted to ask if someone else could take her place, but Moon Princess raised her hand to stop her from speaking.

Hearing the word 'harmful,' Ning Yu remembered the visions that had flashed before her eyes like a flip book when they had last made eye contact - images from ancient to modern times, from the lowly to the noble.

"I'm not your enemy. I share the same mission as you, and I will help you when needed."

"That's the purpose of this communication."

Her voice became even more unclear, and her entire being began to dissolve, turning into pale blue mist that started to disperse.

The entire dream seemed to reach some kind of limit, as gray mist surged and swirled, surrounding Ning Yu.

The next moment, Ning Yu suddenly sat up in bed.

Because she sat up too quickly, her cute pajama hood fell over her head, revealing two fluffy semicircular ears on top.

Ning Yu looked around and let out a long breath, finally relaxing completely.

Thankfully, she hadn't returned to her previous life.

The night was as still as water, with no sound in the apartment. Ning Yu checked the time - it was past 3 AM.

Reflecting on the bizarre dream, Ning Yu was still thinking.

So the 'self' who had been appearing in her dreams but whose voice she couldn't hear was called Moon Princess.

She had also said she could be called Alaya-Consciousness - what was Alaya-Consciousness?

Why was she inside her body?

Ning Yu instinctively wanted to search the internet for this concept, but then realized that although the Ark Base had electricity, the world no longer had internet.

Besides that, according to her, there was some huge trouble waiting for her.

What could it be? Could it be related to the T-virus?

She looked down at her own body, pinching here and there.

Was this body really manufactured? Wasn't it just a normal human body?

It hurt when hit and would die when killed, no different from others.

Ning Yu suddenly thought of her twin sister, Ning Xuan.

She had never wanted to contact her 'family' before, but now a new thought occurred to her:

If she could find Ning Xuan and this body's parents, perhaps they would know something.

But now there seemed to be no way to contact them.

Ning Yu slowly removed her pajama hood, feeling a bit hot from it covering her head, letting her silver-white hair cascade down onto her shoulders.

Instead of going back to sleep, Ning Yu found herself inexplicably getting out of bed, opening her room door, and walking into the living room.

Everything was as it had been before bedtime, with the glass that Shen Yiyue had restored many times sitting on the table. She went forward to take it and get some water.

In her initial dream, she had returned to her previous life, yet she had felt no joy, only overwhelming disappointment.

Though the life of an assassin was admittedly monotonous and boring, the previous Ning Yu had no concept of happiness - executing missions was the meaning of existence.

But after living this new life, she felt she was no longer just an empty shell; now she was a living being with flesh, blood, and soul.

However, having gained this sense of being alive also meant having attachments.

The water in the glass was quickly finished, though she wasn't particularly thirsty - she had just been drinking unconsciously while thinking.

She pursed her lips, realizing something: in her dream, her first reaction had been fear that Shen Yiyue would disappear.

When had this started?

At first, she had only intended to use her, but now things seemed to have completely changed.

When she came to her senses, Ning Yu found herself standing at Shen Yiyue's door, her hand already on the doorknob.

She suddenly wondered if this was inappropriate - entering a girl's room in the middle of the night, like some kind of pervert.

But at this moment, she desperately wanted to confirm whether the Shen Yiyue in this room was real and tangible, or just an illusion.

After hesitating several times, Ning Yu gently turned the doorknob.

Making no sound, afraid of waking Shen Yiyue, Ning Yu opened her room door.

Looking in, she saw Shen Yiyue sleeping soundly on the bed, one leg sticking out from under the covers, sprawled carelessly.

Like a puppy sleeping peacefully, especially since she was wearing the same cute pajamas as Ning Yu, making the resemblance even stronger.

Ning Yu didn't know what she was doing, but she walked to the bedside, looking at her pure and innocent sleeping face.

She couldn't help but smile slightly - this girl always slept like this.

Thankfully, she was real.

At this moment, everything about her - her appearance, her scent, her sleeping face, her bad habit of kicking off the covers - was real.

Ning Yu suddenly had a mischievous idea.

She reached out her hand and placed it over Shen Yiyue's nose, then gently pinched it.

Unless someone has a cold that blocks their nose, people generally breathe through their nose while sleeping, so Shen Yiyue's breathing was immediately obstructed.

She woke up groggily, mumbling something incomprehensible, and slowly opened her eyes.