"Haa... I can't anymore, Stelle. I... I'm about to lose control... Haa..."
In the room, a drop of sweat slid down March 7th's flushed pretty face. She panted and said: "It's... it's coming out again..."
Stelle's face was ashen; she no longer had the strength to struggle and could only convey words silently through her eyes:
No, don't continue. If this keeps going, my cognition is going to break down...
March 7th nodded gently: "I know, Stelle, but... Ah—"
Before her words finished, several red jellyfish abruptly burrowed out from her body. Most passed through the walls and vanished without a trace, but one remained in the room, plunging straight into Stelle's body.
In an instant, "memories" not belonging to Stelle integrated into her brain, as if a ethereal voice was murmuring: "Surrender, surrender, submit to March 7th, become her star..."
This was a kind of mental torment. After being "hypnotized" once more, Stelle's eyes rolled back, and she fainted directly.
The events in the room were no less turbulent than outside. A few minutes earlier, March 7th had only just made her move when she was stunned to discover that the power latent in her body had gone out of control.
These materialized jellyfish were the manifestation of the power's loss of control. Even though March 7th was already doing her utmost to suppress them, they still rampaged unchecked, unable to be stopped.
Looking at Stelle, who had already passed out, March 7th immediately said discontentedly: "Hey! What the hell is going on?"
"My hard-won opportunity has gone down the drain again!"
One of March 7th's eyes turned black-red, and her voice softened as she sniveled: "I don't know... How could I not know? The power went out of control under my watch."
"If you weren't so hasty about eating, you wouldn't have ended up not eating, and I could have controlled it... Of course, I couldn't not control it."
"People touched by the jellyfish either forget something or get something implanted. It's very serious, but also not that serious."
"Because this situation is time-limited, meaning it's not permanent."
"It might last one day, or it might last two days, or it might last three days, or it might last four days... (The following omits one hundred days)"
March 7th's voice switched back and forth between soft and sticky and cold and icy, with each sentence pieced together, her left brain attacking her right brain.
"This won't cause any big problems, but it will cause big problems!"
March 7th's right hand viciously pinched her left cheek, kneading madly. "Look at the mess you've made—ow ow ow!"
Her left hand gripped her right wrist tightly and said: "Wait wait, I have a way to catch you secretly taking control of the body while I'm asleep!"
March 7th's black-red eye blinked aggrievedly. "I wanted to play with Stelle too, but you went behind my back to play secretly! Good thing I came back in time, or you'd have eaten it all up?"
"..."
March 7th suddenly fell quiet for a moment, then sighed and said: "We'll talk about this later. First, let's focus on Stelle, then resolve the trouble. What a shame—this time, we can't eat after all."
"Yeah, yeah."
March 7th gently cupped Stelle's face and shook the latter forcefully: "Stelle? Wake up, wake up quick."
Stelle's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. However, the first second she saw March 7th, she instinctively made sounds: "Mmm mmm mmm! Mmm mmm mmm! (Wait! Don't continue anymore!)"
March 7th hurriedly comforted her: "It won't continue. I really want to continue, but it has already stopped."
Stelle: ?
March 7th pulled the sock out of Stelle's mouth and said: "Sorry, because of me, a little trouble cropped up. Don't worry, I will definitely take responsibility!"
Stelle swallowed and asked cautiously: "What exactly is the situation now?"
March 7th: "The power of my other self has somewhat lost control. People affected are very likely to suffer short-term amnesia. Help me find those impacted people and bring them back to normal."
"Okay!" Stelle couldn't wait to escape this place. She hurriedly straightened her disheveled clothes, not even putting on shoes, and ran toward the outside.
But after only two steps, Stelle felt a chill and froze, turning back pitifully with a small voice: "March, my that... "
"Uh... It's right here. Ahaha..."
...
The two exited the room one after the other. At first glance, they saw Welt and Himeko in a standoff.
The two locked eyes, seemingly trapped in some stalemate, and the sudden appearance of Stelle and March 7th clearly broke this balance, causing them to retreat a large step vigilantly in unison and ask: "Who are you?"
Stelle raised her hands: "Himeko sis, Uncle Yang! Don't attack! I'm a good citizen!"
Welt & Himeko: "You know us?"
Stelle nodded: "Of course. You two have just temporarily lost your memories. Uncle Yang, you're from Earth, and together with your companions, you defeated an enemy called Honkai; Himeko, you used to be a super repair master. It was you who repaired the Astral Express, starting our journey."
"We're partners who spend every day together!"
Himeko: "How do you prove it?"
Stelle and March 7th exchanged a glance: "We've eaten the meals you made and drunk the coffee you brewed."
"...Looks like you're not enemies." Himeko nodded, accepting their statement.
"What about me?" Welt frowned and asked. "Do you have evidence to convince me?"
At his words, Stelle scratched her head a bit awkwardly: "I do have some, but... Uncle Yang, are you sure you want to see it?"
Welt crossed his arms: "Of course. Otherwise, how do I know you're not accomplices sent by that Void Archives guy?"
Stelle shrugged helplessly, pulled out her phone, and played a video of their past times together:
"To be or not to be, you have no choice!"
"Have you ever seen stars shatter? Drink up—!"
Welt's face twitched: "Alright, no need to play anymore. I admit it..."
—"One person's power may not be strong enough, and three hundred thousand people's thoughts may not be rich enough, but at this moment, Welt is the true Herrscher of Reason!"
—"Welt will no longer refer to himself as Welt."
Welt: ???
Stelle hurriedly turned off the video and explained awkwardly: "Uh, this... this is a game line you imitated before, ha. Absolutely not me secretly filming your private chuunibyou performance."
Welt raised his cane: "To be or not to be, you have no choice!"
"Hey?! Uncle Yang's gone mad—March March March March March—!"
"I'm here!"
At the critical moment, March 7th placed her hand on Welt's shoulder. Strands of red Path energy seeped out from Welt's body and dissipated. The latter's memories quietly returned at that moment...
A few seconds later, Welt's gaze had already restored clarity.
However, just as Stelle thought it was fine, Welt raised his cane once more: "Stelle, to be or not to be, you have no choice!"
Stelle: "Uncle Yang! I was wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong!!"