"Wait! What did you mean just now by erasing everything we once were? Will we die if we fail?" As Youmu’s words finished, someone immediately shouted out.

Youmu shook her head. "No, even if you fail this trial, you will not die, nor will you suffer any physical harm. However, I will erase your memories, weave you a brand new identity, and let you live on in a new world. From that moment forward... you will be completely severed from the people and things of your past. Even if you meet them, you won't recognize them; even if you recognize them, you won't truly know them; even if you know them, your paths will never truly intersect; and if your paths briefly cross, it will be nothing more than a fleeting encounter, forgotten the moment you turn away."

"No! This is unfair!" Hearing this, everyone’s expression changed drastically. Marisa, in particular, sprang to her feet, fighting against the immense pressure of the barrier, glaring at Youmu with a stubborn, wry smile, and shouting, "You can't decide my life! My life is mine to control!"

"Right! No one can decide our lives!" Following that, Mokou also stood up.

Youmu slowly rose, her sword still held tight, gritting her teeth, "Forget the past... How could such a thing be possible!"

"My life belongs only to me!" Alice stood up and glared intensely at Youmu.

"I would rather die than forget!"

"I will not accept a life starting where no one remembers me!"

"..." In the next moment, whether they were in a state of berserk rage or deep slumber, as if jolted by an immense stimulus, they one by one rose to their feet, glaring at Youmu in fierce protest.

Although Reimu and the others felt a degree of dissatisfaction with Youmu's proposal, what shocked them even more was the action of Marisa and the others... After all, the barrier they had erected to suppress any potential outbursts from these individuals was incredibly strong—certainly not something one person could simply break through. Yet now, regardless of strength or weakness, they were all standing up as if utterly disregarding the barrier.

What was happening?

Was this the power of Sin? Or perhaps...

The resistance of the group did not anger Youmu; instead, it brought a smile to her lips. But then she immediately grew serious. "You are correct. No matter how powerful a person is, even one who can command the lives of others, they cannot dictate another's destiny. That is why I have prepared this trial... for you, and for myself."

"You don't want to forget the past? You cherish this life filled with both tears and joy? Are there people you absolutely cannot bear to forget? If you truly possess that resolve, then go and sever that Sin! If you cannot even accomplish this much, you are utterly incapable of facing the coming catastrophe. It would be better for me to end your current lives right here and now, letting you go live that carefree, danger-free new existence!"

"Do you... dare to accept this trial? Do you dare to sever the Sin within your heart?"

"That suits me perfectly!" With hardly any hesitation, the collective voices roared in unison.

Then, the moment their words faded, everyone felt a dizzy spell before their eyes and instinctively shut them. When they opened their eyes again, they realized they were no longer in the previous location, and they were entirely alone.

"Where is this?" Youmu stood on a stone step, gazing at the environment before her—so familiar it was uncanny—and a gasp of surprise escaped her. She walked up the long flight of stairs step by step. When she reached the top platform, she was stunned to see the Saigyou Ayakashi, which had refused to bloom, now fully flowered with the most exquisite cherry blossoms in the world.

"What is happening?" Youmu stared blankly at the scene. The Saigyou Ayakashi had bloomed. This had to be an illusion, right? Was this the Sin she had to face?

"The lamplight wordlessly vanishes, sinking to the bottom of the dark night, where a cherry blossom blooms in the netherworld, reflecting countless deaths, dyed a pale color, falling to the ground to become ink... Saigyou Ayakashi, bloom wildly beneath the purple moon tonight."

As Youmu wondered about the environment, an elegant, magnetic, and utterly familiar voice suddenly sounded in the air.

Youmu recoiled instinctively, whipping her head toward the source of the sound. Before the Saigyou Ayakashi, a gigantic folding screen stood erect. Directly in front of the screen stood a young girl in a kimono, her hands spread slightly to her sides, her feet together. As cherry blossoms danced and the light breeze blew, she appeared ethereal, beautiful, and dreamlike.

Yuyuko Saigyouji!

"Yuyuko-sama is here! This..." Youmu was instantly aghast, barely able to speak. First, the Saigyou Ayakashi bloomed, and now Yuyuko, who should be impossible to see here, had appeared. Though she knew this must be an illusion, even as an illusion, it was far too real. A vague, ominous premonition stirred in her heart.

"Lady Yuyuko, why are you here?"

Yuyuko looked down at Youmu, speaking heavily, as if issuing a decree: "The timbre of memory drifts with the wind, dancing in the sky, a free ballet untouched by the driving rain, singing of transient lives. Longing clashes with longing; a cruel world is about to descend equally upon all. Those who have passed on now have no path but life. You too shall cycle, and then wither... Shisou Reion, Reiko no Tsuu."

The endless cherry blossoms fell in response to Yuyuko's words, sweeping toward Youmu, accompanied by a melody both tenderly cruel and utterly despair-inducing, carrying the very breath of death.

At this moment, Youmu could scarcely believe it. Looking at the myriad beautiful blossoms and the visible musical notes, she knew more clearly than anyone what these things represented, yet she understood less than anyone why. Why had it come to this?

Now, she finally knew what that bad premonition had been about... But!

Do you dare to sever the Sin within your heart?

"Why? Why? Why?!" Recalling Youmu's earlier words, Youmu cried out in despair, "Why is Lady Yuyuko my Sin? Why is my desire to protect Lady Yuyuko considered Sin? Someone tell me! Why? This is too cruel, too cruel... How can I possibly sever this kind of Sin?!"

Youmu held the Twin Swords of the Visage, but her trembling, despairing heart prevented her from bringing the blades down. This Sin utterly negated everything she was!

"This is truly... too much..."

Gazing at the beautiful yet deadly cherry blossoms, Youmu could only let out a helpless scream.

Simultaneously, in another illusionary realm, Flandre stood alone in a dark, enclosed basement, trembling violently. She could see nothing, feel nothing, yet an endless terror was slowly eroding her core. She could almost hear...

"Give me back my life... Give me back my life... Give me back my life... Give me back my life..."

"Why did you kill me? We were friends, right? Why did you kill me?"

"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

"It hurts so much! It hurts so much! It hurts so much..."

"It was you! It was you who killed me... It was you who killed me..."

These voices coalesced into a massive burden of sin, flooding Flandre's mind, leaving her terrified and lost. Instinctively, she huddled on the ground, clutching her head, pressing her arms over her ears to block the sounds. "Stop talking. Please, just stop talking!"

But no matter how much Flandre wished not to hear, no matter how much she begged, the voices permeated everywhere, tormenting her soul. She could even feel countless hands tearing at her body, just as she had torn at the bodies of those humans back then... I'm going to break, I'm going to break!

"No! No! No! No... Flan is scared... Someone save me... Big sister... Sakuya... Patchy... Meiling... Anyone, please save me!"

Flandre screamed helplessly, clutching her head, but her cries brought no rescue; instead, even more voices flooded her ears, and more hands began to rend at her body.

Gradually, Flandre succumbed to despair, her inner self beginning to collapse...

Besides Youmu and Flandre, many others were trapped in similar illusions. Although the Sin within each realm was different, all were equally despair-inducing, helpless, and terrifying to confront. No matter how powerful they were, no matter how great their intellect, before this Sin, they appeared utterly fragile, being eroded little by little. Any impulse to resist was merely futile struggling.

Why couldn't they understand that this Sin could not be severed?

Why couldn't they understand that this Sin was the very truth hidden within their hearts?

Why couldn't they understand that this Sin was themselves?

Why couldn't they understand that no one living in this world was without sin?!

A voice cried out these questions loudly, but no one heard. Everyone remained entangled and eroded by their Sin, slowly sinking into the abyss of despair...

Youmu did not wish to fight Yuyuko, but she also did not want to fail this trial, for failure meant forgetting everything about the past—the painful and the joyous—and even the person most important to her, even the very meaning of her own existence... She did not want to forget. She absolutely refused to forget!

So, she could only desperately evade Yuyuko's attacks. However, the Yuyuko in the illusion was no weaker than her real counterpart. Given the enormous strength disparity between them, and the fact that Youmu harbored zero intention of attacking, how could she possibly withstand Yuyuko's assault? In moments, she was covered in wounds.

The only reason she hadn't died was because she was inherently powerful, and nothing more.

Did she really have to turn her blade against Lady Yuyuko?

Youmu questioned herself. Although the Yuyuko before her was just an apparition, the very feeling of wanting to protect Lady Yuyuko was her Sin. This was unacceptable to her... If she attacked Yuyuko with her blade, wouldn't that mean she, too, accepted it?

But if she didn't fight, she would fail. Her memories would be wiped, and then not only could she no longer protect, she would forget everything.

No! That was also unacceptable!

"Then, what should I do?!"

Youmu roared in desperate anguish. Finally, as her mind began to crumble, she raised the Twin Swords of the Visage and swung them toward the figure ahead... To avoid forgetting, to remain by Lady Yuyuko's side forever to protect her, did she have to strike down the one before her now?

Could she really do it? Was this truly possible?

Youmu didn't know, but she had no other choice.

"Struggling in despair, despairing in struggle, even so, people survive in their ugliness. I find that to be exquisitely beautiful..." At the same time, Yuyuko drifted down, carrying countless death-butterflies, as if prepared for mutual destruction. A sad yet liberated smile graced her lips.

Why? Why that expression?

In that instant, Youmu felt a knife twist in her heart. She began to question the very meaning of her existence. Wasn't it to protect Yuyuko in this world? But now... why was she aiming her blade at Yuyuko?

"Ah, I see now!"

Suddenly, Youmu seemed to understand something. She abruptly halted her forward momentum, stopping mid-stride. Then, completely without fear or panic, she faced the approaching Yuyuko, accompanied by the death-butterflies, and shouted loudly: "I don't care what Sin is, or what darkness is! But I know why I live! If the desire to protect Lady Yuyuko is a Sin that no insult or trampling can shake, then... then let me bear this Sin and sink to the deepest part of hell!"

Shwa!

In a flash, Youmu drew her blade and sheathed it, her small frame bursting with fearless courage, standing upright and resolute, bracing for Yuyuko’s death-butterflies.

"If I die because of this Sin, I will never regret it!" The next moment, Youmu closed her eyes.

However, moments later, the anticipated attack never landed. Instead, she was enveloped in warmth. Youmu instinctively opened her eyes and found Yuyuko gently caressing her cheek.

"Lady Yuyuko..." Youmu looked utterly bewildered.

Yuyuko smiled faintly and whispered softly, "Thank you, Youmu. And please, continue to stay by my side and protect me from now on."

As the words faded, Yuyuko’s body dissolved into countless cherry blossoms and drifted away.

"Yes, Lady Yuyuko!" At this moment, Youmu suddenly understood, and tears of joy streamed down her face.

"This trial was not meant to test your power, but to test the strength of your heart. An unchanging resolve, an unwavering desire to protect someone... Congratulations, you have passed the trial. I hope you can maintain this resolve forevermore."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed beside Youmu’s ear, and then, she was ejected from the illusion.

As Youmu broke through her illusionary trial, in the other realm, Flandre’s body and mind were completely consumed by her own Sin. Her entire psyche had collapsed. She wanted to beg for help, but she had already forgotten who to turn to... Remilia, who was that? Sakuya, who was she? Patchouli, Hong Meiling, who were they?

She didn't know. She knew nothing!

All she knew was... since there was no one to help her, then... let all of this break apart!

"The me in my heart repeats a single word, save me... how many times, how many times, how many times, repeating constantly, repeating constantly, repeating constantly, repeating constantly... My clenched left hand tastes sweet, my swinging right hand tastes sweet, my smiling mouth is split open... So happy, so happy, so happy, so happy... So happy, ehehehe!!!"

Using her own voice to drive away those hateful sounds, Flandre muttered to herself. The moment she stood up, her face was covered in a cruel and utterly broken smile. That terrifying sound echoed continuously in the confined room, suppressing the other voices, driving away the endless hands in the darkness.

They attempted to tear Flandre’s body apart, but...

"So red, so sweet... So red, so sweet... So red, so sweet..."

Flandre moved forward step by step. Wherever she passed, countless hands were shredded, spilling endless scarlet blood. The blood splashed onto her body and face; she stuck out her tongue to taste it—the sweet flavor drove her into greater madness and greater joy.

What was Sin, what was darkness, what was a trial... none of it mattered to the person she was now. What she wanted now, what she needed to do, the only thing that sustained her forward journey was one thing...

Happiness!

"So happy, so red, so sweet, so happy... Ehehehe. So happy... You are delicious, delicious... Ehehehehe! Ehehehehehe... Let me kill you."

Tearing and swinging, she laughed wildly while slaughtering indiscriminately... Although the endless hands tried to drag her into hell, in this shattered mind, no one could drag her down.

Because... she herself was a demon more terrifying than hell itself!

"Who is reflected in those eyes?"

"Is your heart already ruined?"

"Are your feelings no longer transmittable?"

"Is hope already extinguished?"

"Are there... no people left?!"

Constantly running, constantly tearing, constantly wielding those hands capable of destroying everything. When her entire body was drenched in blood, when her heart, driven by Sin and darkness, reached the absolute peak of pleasure... there was nothing left around her except flowing gore.

"Congratulations. You have successfully broken through the trial and gained the Body Immune to Sin."

A mysterious voice rang out in that enclosed room. Then, as the illusion shattered, standing beneath the scarlet moon was a mad demon completely dyed in blood! RQ