hotmtlnovel Page 152
Page 152
"Aglaia: The gold thread... also showed no reaction."
"Feng Jin: Huh? Could it be... Butterfly isn't sick?"
"Xia Die: But the hallucination I saw... wasn't that Mr. Jiang Lin."
"Nakexia: Could it be that you, like that Laigushi, are secretly monitoring us in some way?"
Jiang Lin: I wasn't secretly monitoring you.
"Bai'er: How do you know what my characteristics are? I don't believe it."
"That Moment Xia: @Bai E, say less."
Bai'er: Huh?
"Tining: So... does Little White have some secrets we don't know?"
Jiang Lin: Do you all think Bai E is playing a fool?
Bai'er: Huh?
Jiang Lin: But from my observation, he was actually pretending to be smart.
"The Fire-Stealing Traveler: ......"
Sai Feier: Hahahaha, that's so true, @Jiang Lin, tell us something we don't know.
"Bai'er: Where would I find that?!"
"Xia Die: Oh? Now that you mention it..."
March 7th: You actually arrived?
Jiang Lin: Hmm.
"March 7th: But aren't you right here among us? That's amazing! Can I learn from you?"
Jiang Lin: I won't teach.
"Star: Are there beautiful girls in Onphalos?"
"Firefly: Hmm? Asking that... isn't a good idea!"
Xing: It's okay, I'm thick-skinned.
Jiang Lin: Yes.
"Star: How many?"
Jiang Lin: ...I don't want to answer your question.
Silver Wolf: 6, as expected of you, Star.
[Now playing: Heroes, ignite that first blazing sun]
A barely audible sigh escaped her lips, followed by the soft, trembling voice of the young girl.
"White Calamity..."
"We set out to respond to the world's wishes, right?"
Seeing the confusion in the girl's eyes, the boy's answer was without hesitation, each word firm and resolute.
"Every Golden Descendant has always been this way; it has never changed."
"Then, why...?"
"Is Onphalus's wish so unreasonable?"
A boy wielding a longsword and a girl holding a ceremonial sword stood side by side on the edge of Dawn Cloud Cliff.
They gazed at the distant horizon, where a scene of devastation they had never seen before unfolded before them—the ceaseless machines of dawn stood silently, the black tide devoured the earth like a greedy beast, war raged everywhere, and once-prosperous cities were now shattered into ruins.
The past prosperity has vanished in an instant.
The boy pursed his lips, remaining silent; a silence that enveloped him like a fog.
"Clearly, at every correct point in time, everyone did their best and made the right choices."
"But in the end, the divine oracle that guided us was replaced by a black tide that engulfed the world..."
Why is it like this?
The once clear sky now resembled a slate screen with misprinted patterns, its surface flashing with fragmented geometric data. It bluntly declared a cruel truth to the two: this sky was fake, and perhaps... the entire world was too.
【“…”】
The boy suddenly spoke, his tone tinged with surprise, yet also revealing a knowing "I knew it" attitude:
"Can you...see too?"
"Those scorch marks, those shimmering geometric patterns... they weren't a tide at all..."
"It's like... a shattered stone 'screen'."
"Bai E: Xi Lian?! And... these are..."
Bai E: No, I clearly remember that Xi Lian had already...
"Black Tower: It really is a data world."
"Naka: Oh? Someone who shouldn't exist has appeared...?"
"Naka: It seems that my guess might be slightly wrong."
"Cersei: Hmm? The Son of Man has a new idea again?"
"That Moment Summer: Perhaps... only we are subject to reincarnation..."
"That Moment Xia: Or perhaps, reincarnation... is stuck here, repeating endlessly."
"The Fire-Stealing Walker: ...Reincarnation...Prevent...the Rebirth..."
"Saifei: So, we really are fake then?"
"Hanabi: This is such a huge joke, hehe."
"Bai E: The world is shattered... and re-created... We've clearly reached the final step..."
March 7th: This... feels so hopeless. I tried my best, but this is the result...
"All Enemies: So, Savior, who is that girl next to you?"
Bai E: She is Xi Lian... my childhood friend.
"Bai Er: But in my memory, she clearly already..."
Na Ke Xia: Hmm...
"The Fire Thief: Reincarnation...Stop..."
"Star: We're almost there. Let's beat that guy named Lai Gu Shi together."
"Star: @BaiE, could you introduce that pretty pink-haired girl next to me?"
March 7th: Hey, what are you saying in this serious atmosphere?
"Legus: The experiment negated the other results from the very beginning."
Jiang Lin: So... why are you being so wary of me?
"Laikoshi: ......"
"Black Tower: @ScrewGumm, can you find out where this Omnic Guy comes from?"
"Screw Gum: Unfortunately, I was unable to find any record of it in the data."
The wind, carrying the chill of a black tide, clung to the skin; the distant sound of churning waves made the surroundings eerily quiet.
["Standing here, the Titans' voices are clearer than ever before; it turns out they..."]
[Her words lingered in the wind as Xi Lian gazed at the spreading undercurrents before her, her fingertips unconsciously tightening:]
"It came from the Kuroshio Current..."
Xi Lian uttered that absurd yet undeniably true answer.
Silence spread with the low murmur of the black tide, and even the wind seemed to pause for a moment.
She looked up into the depths of the mist, her voice trembling slightly:
[Is that Onpharos crying?]
[Xi Lian asked this question.]
[Bai E turned to face the surging black tide, his voice as deep as a stone soaked in water:]
"Perhaps it is roaring. Roaring at its creator, its god," Bai'er replied.
Xi Lian's gaze drifted into the void, as if returning to a distant dream, her voice as soft as a murmur in her sleep:
"Bai'er, do you remember? When I was little, I had a dream: it was a dark, cold little room, with only the curtains of Oronis shimmering, like sparkling crystals..."
"Its curtain seemed to encompass the entirety of Onphalus, within which bizarre and wondrous dramas unfolded..."
She paused, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.
"It contains countless versions of ourselves, from countless different worlds."
Bai E turned around, his eyes unusually calm, devoid of any emotion.
"That might not be a dream."
Bai E had never been so calm, so unusually calm.
Xi Lian nodded slightly, her eyes welling up with tears, her voice tinged with an unyielding sorrow:
"Yes. Looking at the world before me, the sorrowful thoughts have become reality..."
["So this is the reason why the sky was sealed off. Onpharos is just an even greater Sorrowful Secret Pavilion..."]
Looking at the fragmented world, her tone was full of bewildered self-mockery:
"We are merely actors in this tiny 'experimental field,' guided by the divine 'program,' embarking on the same journey of 'calculation' again and again..."
The wind, carrying the scent of the black tide, swept by, and her voice was as soft as a sigh:
["What exactly is this so-called 're-creation'?"]