Bluntgre

35

I was swallowed by the fallen skies.

When I came to, I was looking towards the night sky.

「……….Eh?」

Jumping up, I observed my surroundings. It seemed like I had collapsed on some kind of stone pavement.

And it was neither the respawn point at Dualis, nor was it the bed I would be in after logging out. Instead, it was a place with a shrine built on a piece of land cut off from anything else.

Cut off, there was a reason I used that term.

The grounds extended about one hundred meters in all directions, but beyond that, the scenery was distorted and collapsed.

It was like an otherworld dimension you would see in anime or manga. I think this place was separated from the rest of the world.

By the way, since I was on the shrine’s grounds, there was a huge shrine in front of me.

（I guess I should go and check it out.）

Dragging my exhausted mind and body forward, I trudged towards the shrine. Its door was already opened, inviting me in.

On the way, I noticed that my avatar was in a state similar to immediately before Apocalypse had released its ultimate magic.

I had only a few HP remaining, and my side still had a hole blown through it. The only differences were that《Ravenous Wolf》was already cancelled and that the damage over time effect from my bleeding stomach had disappeared. I had recovered from those effects, would it be reasonable to conclude that?

I couldn’t really tell whether this was a dream or reality. But my intuition was telling me that this was not a dream.

There was a single pedestal inside the shrine.

And on its surface lay an ornate hairpin of scarlet steel, a depiction of a ground cherry at its end.

Was this possibly an item made from hihiirokane, the same material as the 《Moon Camellia’s Solo (Tsubaki Kanade)》I was wearing?

「Ow-」

As I thoughtlessly tried to grab it, my hand was repelled by an invisible wall. Well, there wasn’t really any pain, but….it felt like I had gotten shocked by electricity. Having been shocked, it seemed as if I had been denied.

「So you have awakened, O child of Oni.」

Without sound, scent, or presence, the owner of that voice suddenly appeared right behind me.

Being totally taken by surprise, I whirled around, coming face-to-face with 『My Avatar.』

「Wh-..at…Eh? Who?」

「Fuahahaha. You appear to be confused. It was I who brought you here and I who saved you from that damned true dragon you saw.」

「Ah…..I see. What is this?」

Facing her felt just like staring at a mirror.