Recently, the caretakers at the orphanage began to notice a series of strange occurrences.
Naturally, they gathered together to gossip about it.
For example, food placed in the kitchen would mysteriously disappear in small portions. The "thief" didn't seem to eat much, and despite staking out the area several times, no one had been caught.
It didn't seem like rats.
More likely, some underfed child sneaking food.
In the end, they chose not to pursue it too seriously.
Another thing was that more adoptive families had been visiting lately. That should have been good news for the orphanage.
But it also made people wonder what was happening outside. There seemed to be more parents who had lost their children.
Then there was the purple-haired girl who had arrived recently.
She had started to become a little more cheerful.
That was a good sign.
But she still spent most of her time alone in the corner, talking to herself, even playing with an invisible "friend."
It frightened some of the other children and even a few caretakers.
Considering she had just lost her family, the headmistress could only arrange for her to stay closer to supervision.
There were also a few troublemakers running around causing chaos, giving the staff plenty to complain about.
The orphanage was lively in its own way.
Inside a slightly messy room, Sirin was happily playing with Yue Bo, who was currently in his white cat form.
Yue Bo had no way of resisting.
So he simply let her.
His soft cat ears were being thoroughly "petted."
"H-hey… Sirin, maybe don't start with full-on attack mode…"
"Mm… no. Yue Bo, you haven't shown up for five days. I missed you."
"Alright, alright. I'll explain everything properly."
"W-wait… stop… I can't even think like this… forget it, do whatever you want…"
Sirin happily ended the mental conversation, clearly enjoying his flustered reactions.
For her, time felt like it had stopped in this moment.
After spending time with Sirin, Yue Bo had begun to understand his situation.
He had fallen through some kind of crack between worlds.
Left his original life behind.
Now he existed in the Honkai world.
He still wasn't sure if it was the setting of Honkai Impact 2 or 3.
If it was the latter, there might still be hope.
If it was the former… he might as well wait for the end.
Location: Siberia.
Time: 1999.
As for that endless white space, it was the Stigmata Space.
The mark on Sirin's chest.
And Yue Bo himself was the will of that space.
The slowly forming purple crystals inside it were condensed Honkai energy.
Whenever he wanted to appear beside Sirin, it consumed a significant amount of that energy.
It was only a projection.
Only Sirin could see or touch him.
The stigmata could absorb Honkai energy from the environment.
But near the orphanage, ambient Honkai energy was scarce.
Once the surrounding energy was depleted, he had to wait for more to drift in.
That was why he could only appear every few days.
After figuring this out, Yue Bo reshaped the white space into something more livable.
A simple, warm little house.
Even if it was just an empty shell, at least it wasn't blinding anymore.
He also discovered that once absorbed, Honkai energy became stable.
Silent.
Harmless.
It simply existed.
Outside the room, the headmistress peeked through the window.
What she saw was a little girl smiling at empty air, reaching out and stroking something that wasn't there, occasionally letting out quiet giggles.
She sighed.
"…It's getting worse."
"Maybe we should have the other children spend more time with her."
With that, she quietly walked away.
Back inside, Yue Bo finally managed to escape Sirin's "grip" and sat in front of her.
A calm and steady voice echoed in her mind.
"Sirin, every time I appear, it consumes energy. I need a few days to gather enough before I can come back."
"Is that so? Yue Bo… then when will you come see me again?"
"Based on my current estimate, I can stabilize it to once every three days, about two hours each time."
"So in three days, I'll see you again?"
"Sirin… not exactly. I might need to stretch it to once a week."
"No!"
Sirin tightened her hold on him.
"You said you'd always stay with me!"
"I need to store more energy," Yue Bo explained gently.
"That way, when something important happens, I can appear and protect you."
"But everything is safe right now…" she whispered.
"You're my only friend, Yue Bo. I want to see you more. I want to stay with you longer."
She hugged the small white cat tightly, burying her face in his fur, breathing in his scent as she collapsed onto the bed.
"I don't know why only I can see you… but I'm scared you'll disappear one day and never come back…"
Yue Bo softened.
"Sirin… don't worry."
"I promise you this. As long as you call my name in your heart, I will always answer."
"…Okay."
"Sometimes I feel like this is a dream," she murmured.
"I used to wish for a cute little cat to be my friend."
"I don't care how you appeared… or what you really are…"
"I only care that you're here with me."
"As long as you stay… that's enough."
Her words hit him deeply.
Like waves crashing against his heart.
Sirin closed her eyes, afraid to look at him.
"…I really can't do anything about you," Yue Bo muttered softly.
"You clearly care about all of this."
His body began to dissolve again, turning into particles of light that flowed back toward the stigmata on her chest.
The warmth in her arms disappeared.
Sirin couldn't hold back her tears.
"Hey… don't cry…"
"You're going to turn into a little mess."
"Calm down. Don't resist what you're about to feel."
"I'm going to show you everything."
Sleep overtook her.
When Sirin opened her eyes again, she found herself in that white space.
But now, something stood within it.
A small house.
Simple.
Quiet.
Yet filled with a sense of warmth.
She pushed open the creaking wooden door.
Inside was a bright, spacious room.
Soft light filtered through half-closed curtains, casting gentle patterns across the floor.
It felt peaceful.
Safe.
And there, sitting on the sofa, was a boy.
Around ten years old.
Soft white hair.
Bright blue eyes.
Playful.
Gentle.
He wore a white T-shirt with a pink-haired cartoon figure holding a cross printed on it, along with unfamiliar characters.
Black pants.
Sneakers.
Behind him, a tail swayed slowly.
Sirin stared.
She had the sudden urge to grab it.
"…It must feel nice…"
Yue Bo was just as surprised.
"So this is what I look like in human form…"
A strange thought crossed his mind.
If he put on different clothes, he might pass as something else entirely.
He noticed Sirin standing at the door, frozen.
Quickly, he walked over and pulled her to the sofa.
Up close, Sirin's heartbeat quickened.
A faint blush spread across her pale cheeks.
I really want to touch his ears…
She shook her head, forcing the thought away.
"Are you… Yue Bo? And where is this place? It feels… strange."
He gently took her hand.
"Yes. It's me."
"The white cat who suddenly appeared by your side."
Sirin smiled.
Then, without hesitation, she reached up and started rubbing his cat ears.
"What do you mean 'cute little Sirin'? You're even smaller than me now. Cute little cat."
Yue Bo sighed.
And let her.
"This is the Stigmata Space," he explained.
"In simple terms, you're dreaming. From now on, you can come here and see me in your dreams."
"Really? I can see you every day?"
"And what exactly is a stigmata?"
"A stigmata is… a kind of miracle. A mark that appears on your body."
"There's one on your chest, though it's not always visible."
"At its core, it's like a database. A massive library."
"This space is a manifestation of its will. The empty white before was just because I hadn't shaped it yet."
Sirin nodded vaguely.
Clearly, she didn't fully understand.
And her hands still hadn't stopped moving toward his ears.
Yue Bo sighed again.
Then gently pushed her hand away.
Suddenly, he pulled her into an embrace.
"H-hey! What are you doing?!"
His voice softened near her ear.
"Sirin… don't be afraid."
"There are two more things I need to explain."
"About my existence."
"I-I get it… just say it…"
"When I first woke up, the first person I saw was you."
"I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't know why I existed."
"But I heard your wish."
"That magic phrase."
"I answered it."
"I wanted to become your friend."
"So I became your stigmata."
"And you accepted me."
"This space… this 'library'… all the information inside it forms who I am."
"I exist here."
"I am the will of this space."
"Sirin…"
"I exist because of you."
"Our fates were tied together on that snowy night."
"As long as your heartbeat continues…"
"I will never leave you."