And Rita also believed that compared to herself, who only empathized with the feelings of the excluded, as an object directly rejected and expelled by the world, the dancer who claimed to be "Rita Rossweisse" like herself would only feel more uncomfortable than she did now.
About twenty minutes had passed since she left the cafe. In less than half an hour, she completed a series of tasks from recovering all the unconscious members of the Undying Blade team to giving a performance report to Otto. She was only able to catch her breath when Yulandel intervened in the communication.
It was also because her time was squeezed by the work that came one after another to the point where there was no free time at all, that Rita didn't even notice that the feeling of being "rejected by the world" that came from empathy had already disappeared completely in the busy work without her noticing.
Human skin provides tactile feedback to the brain continuously.
Solid, liquid, gas... In terms of material, it is the fibers of clothing, the sweat flowing from the body, and the air in the atmosphere. In this sense, as long as the consciousness is in a clear state and the body is in a normal material universe, the so-called sense of touch will constantly collect information about the skin's contact with the brain.
Therefore, when our dedicated maid first noticed the strange touch, she didn't even understand what was going on.
As a living being, Rita's face changed slightly at the sudden touch due to her stress instinct, and her breathing became a little faster due to nervousness.
But her modesty as a maid prevented her from doing anything overly exciting under the eyes of her captain. She just reached out her hand like lightning towards the place that was touched.
——However, the extended hand touched nothing.
Because her body was not actually touched by anything.
After confirming that the strange touch did not come from an external object, Rita immediately covered the touched skin with her palm.
After all, when there is a problem with the human body's perception, in addition to external interference, there is a great possibility that there is something inharmonious in the body itself.
She stroked the skin that felt strange, then applied force to her fingertips and pressed lightly.
——No abnormalities.
The information transmitted by her skin still clearly told her brain that "everything is normal."
Then, Rita finally understood the origin of that unusual feeling.
According to the process of elimination, since her body was not touched by the outside world and there was nothing wrong with her body itself, the source of this feeling of being touched could only be the woman with whom she shared her senses.
But after figuring this out, Rita couldn't help but feel confused.
What does it mean?
That "Rita" over there, what is she doing?
Although she empathized with the perceptions transmitted from the other side, under the control of the other party, those perceptions shared with her were basically limited to the feeling of being "rejected by the world."
She couldn't see what the other Rita saw, nor could she hear what the other Rita heard. Relying solely on her physical sense of touch, she couldn't even understand what was happening over there.
But after a brief moment of confusion, she immediately put the question aside and refocused her attention on the visual communication in front of her.
"Why does your voice sound a little strange?"
Rita raised her eyes, looked at the worried expression on the Knight Princess Captain's face, and shook her head without changing her expression.
"No... No, Master Yulandel, you heard it wrong."
While responding to the captain's concerns, deep in her heart, she was also quietly reflecting on her own shortcomings in practice.
It was just that I shared the feelings of another "Rita Rossweisse", so why should I be shaken?
As Rita Rossweisse, if that person can endure it, why can't I endure it?
This time, I couldn't see the other side and was not mentally prepared, so I was frightened.
Now that she has prepared herself mentally, next time, no matter what unusual feelings she experiences, no matter how uncomfortable and painful it is, as Rita Rossweisse, she will be able to deal with it calmly!
On the other side, in North Africa, is the Destiny Vimur Laboratory, located one thousand meters underground.
"is it?"
Yulandel raised her head slightly. She was wearing a pitch-black military uniform. She exuded an air of majesty like a soldier. She stood upright in front of the control console in the main control room.
Her tall and slender yet voluptuous figure was as sharp as an unstoppable javelin.
She stared at Rita's calm face with a serious expression, and her voice was as upright and stern as always. "Since you insist that you are fine, I won't ask any more questions. The bishop asked me to terminate the experiment here immediately and meet you in Tianqiong City. Rita, please briefly describe the situation in Tianqiong City."
"..."
no respond.
For some reason, Rita's face in the visual communication suddenly became a little rosy. She lowered her head slightly, and a rare flash of panic that Yulandel had never seen before flashed in her eyes as mellow as red wine.
Her lips were slightly parted, and her hands subconsciously made a push motion in front of her, her eyelashes fluttering.
"?"
Yulandel, who had never seen her adjutant look like this, frowned and asked worriedly, "Rita, what's wrong with you?"
"No, it's okay, nothing, Master Yulandel."
For some reason, Rita on the screen froze visibly. She raised her head again as if frightened, her eyes filled with mist, so blurry that even someone as dull as Yulandel could tell that she was holding on.
"After arriving at Tianqiong City, I..."
After a few words, silence fell again.
"Hug, sorry."
"You...what's going on?" Yulandel couldn't help but ask.
"Please... please be at ease. It's just that my tongue... I don't know why, it's a little... a little out of control." Rita shook her head, her face becoming more and more rosy and blurry. The mist with body temperature was constantly exhaled from her lips amidst rapid gasps. Her pleading voice was trembling slightly. "Can you wait for me for a few minutes, Lord Yulandel?"
Perhaps even Rita herself didn't realize how strange her expression was.
In Yulandel's opinion, that expression, which was a mixture of depression and torment, yet could not conceal its comfort and joy, was so strange that she didn't know what words to use to describe it.
Although it felt a bit strange, since she looked so happy, there shouldn't be anything for her to worry about, the innocent and pure captain thought.
Chapter 49: Kiana's Change of Mindset
Before today, Rita had never thought that destroying the wall of a person's heart would be such an easy thing.
In order to make herself unshakable no matter what she felt, she boasted that she had made all the preparations. She concentrated her Qi into her Dantian, and all the muscles in her body were tensed to the limit. Even if a Herrscher suddenly came out, Rita was confident that she could pick up the sickle and fight him for a few moves.
However, all these defenses, all those seemingly indestructible walls of steel, were easily shattered when she suddenly tasted a flavor that did not belong to her.
After briefly explaining the mission to her captain, Rita turned off the video communication and stared blankly at the dark screen.
Suddenly, she lay down on the operating table and buried her face in her arms. A sound like the whimpering of a small animal came out from the gap between her arms and face.
Compared to the feeling of being "rejected by the world", what Rita just felt was not painful. Instead, it made her feel happy from the bottom of her heart.
However, for Rita, the act of "feeling happy" itself is the greatest shame.
"Why do I feel... so..."
She was completely unable to utter the last two words. She had never imagined that, without being able to see or touch her, someone could use their understanding of her to bring her a wonderful experience that she had never had before.
If it was painful, she just had to try to endure it, but humans are naturally incapable of resisting the dopamine secreted by the cerebral cortex. Therefore, even though she felt ashamed and angry about the refreshing pleasure, Rita was still completely unable to organize any effective resistance to the feeling, and instead sank into it completely.
Because, the sharing of perception not only means receiving the objective experience of "that Rita", but also the subjective feelings, which are all received by her.
So, when the body is constantly conveying a feeling of comfort to the brain, and the brain itself feels happy about it from the bottom of its heart, what should we do to resist this feeling?
...Gu, when Rita thought of this, she swallowed her saliva unconsciously and her expression became panic-stricken.
Just such a simple action can make the self who empathizes with the other person's feelings so unbearable. Then, what if, during this period of shared perception, that "Rita" and the person she loves do something one step closer than the previous behavior -
When Rita thought about the look of her brain turned into mush that she had just shown in front of Yulandel, she didn't dare to think about it anymore.
no--
She took a long breath, stood up, bit her teeth, and walked towards the door of the main control room with weak legs.
——Before I completely transform into another "Rita", I must find a way to get through this night safely.
Otherwise, if you cannot resist pleasure and happiness, not only your body but also your mind will not have much time left before it completely collapses.
Hyperion Cafe, bathroom.
Kiana, her body immersed in the bathtub, looked at the ceiling half-covered by the diffused water vapor with a confused expression.
What happened in the past few hours was like a dream to her who had been wandering in Sky City for more than four months. First, she suddenly ran into a strange coffee shop. Then, because she was suspicious of this coffee shop with a very familiar name, she took the initiative to go to the door. As a result, she saw a clerk in the coffee shop who looked exactly like Theresa, Rita, Bronya and others.
Of course, the most crucial thing is "Xilin", who caused the Herrscher consciousness in his body to suddenly lose control, and the young store manager named Yufan who easily suppressed her who had just shown her head.
The warm feeling, accompanied by the slight surge of water, flows over the body soaked in hot water.
During the four months of wandering, Kiana did not completely fail to take a bath, but because her five senses gradually became numb, it was difficult for her to get the feeling of "comfort" from taking a bath.
Because her five senses were eroded, she could not feel pain, and it was difficult for her to control her physical condition during the action.
Even if she was hit by a Honkai beast, as long as it did not affect her body's motor skills, she would not even notice that she was injured.
But tonight, after the store manager forcibly deprived her of her powers as a Herrscher, the feeling that had almost been completely lost returned to her body.
Only by clearly feeling the perception of the outside world can humans have the real feeling that "they are still alive."
In this sense, Kiana, who has lost her body perception, has also been affected mentally to a certain extent by the loss of her body's perception.
Because we cannot feel pain, we will not avoid injuries that are not life-threatening; because we cannot taste food, we will no longer feel pleasure from the act of eating.
If her five senses continued to disappear, Kiana, who was already overwhelmed by guilt, would probably not even have much desire left to survive.
But now, everything has changed after the Herrscher's ability was forcibly taken away by the manager.
Although she felt a slight dull pain all over her body, she had lost her sense of pain for several months, and yet she felt a sense of unreality as if she was dreaming because of this real touch on her body.
She closed her eyes and sank her consciousness into her body.
There were still three gem-like hard crystals inside her chest, but unlike before she came to this cafe, these three Herrscher cores did not cause any damage to her body, and she could not use these Herrscher cores as a medium to drive the power of those powers again.
It was really suppressed thoroughly...
After confirming that the Herrscher Core was not moving, Kiana opened her eyes disappointedly and murmured in a low voice: "Captain, I... shouldn't be dreaming."
A fiery red translucent figure condensed in mid-air. Fu Hua lowered her head and glanced at Kiana, who had a melancholy expression. She couldn't help but reveal a somewhat complicated expression.
Having experienced two eras of civilization, she had never imagined that the power of a Herrscher could be so easily controlled by others, but at the same time, she recalled the familiar aura lingering around the store manager, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.
"You are not dreaming." Fu Hua said, "Although it is a little unbelievable, for the store manager who possesses power similar to the end of the world, it is not difficult to understand that he forcibly deprived you of your power as a Herrscher."
Chapter 50 Oh, I don’t know what to say
"The power of the end..."
Kiana buried her face under the steaming water, and bubbles popped up one after another.
After exhaling all the air in her lungs underwater, she raised her head again, revealing her high nose bridge and water-soaked lips, and took a deep breath as if she had made up her mind.
Then, she focused her gaze on Fu Hua's body.
"Squad leader, who are you?"
Fu Hua didn't expect that Kiana's first question would be this. A hint of helplessness flashed across her eyes at first, but she was naturally indifferent, so she immediately calmed down.
She gently lowered her head and looked at Kiana with a look that was mixed with a trace of loneliness that was so faint that it was difficult for others to notice.
"I'm sorry, Kiana. I don't mean to hide it from you. It's just that... I have had too many names and experiences in my life. Even if I want to confess to you, I don't know where to start in such a short time."
"For us now, what's more important is what happened to the store manager."
"..."
Kiana's eyebrows trembled slightly, and then drooped unnaturally.
She also agreed with Fu Hua's point of view.
Honestly speaking, this conclusion of blaming all of her problems on others would make Kiana involuntarily feel a sense of frustration that all her previous efforts had been wasted.
But she had to admit that there was indeed an insurmountable objective gap between herself and the young store manager.
To her, the power of the Herrscher that she might have to risk her life to control was as weak as a toy that could be manipulated at will in the hands of the young store manager.
Not only did she easily suppress all the effects of the Herrscher Core on her body, but she also used the power that she had not been able to fully control until now in a meticulous manner.
Kiana originally had little desire for the power of the Herrscher of the Sky.
It is true that she hopes to become stronger, and she even fantasizes about becoming the strongest Valkyrie.
But in the final analysis, her desire for power itself is not that strong.
The reason why she wanted to become stronger was simply because, in order to implement the ideals of the Kaslana family taught by her father and to protect everything she valued, she needed the power to fight against the things that were harming everything.
If that power turned around and harmed everything she valued and turned into an uncontrollable disaster, Kiana would rather not get this power in the first place.
The reason why she tried so desperately to control the power of the Herrscher was not because she valued or desired this power that countless people envied, but simply because she had no choice.
If there was someone who could take away this power while keeping it under control, then there would be no need for Kiana to even hesitate.
