"Although getting along is often not perfect, and every ending is always unsatisfactory, full of regrets…"
"But I've thought about it carefully. Even if I had to do it again, a hundred times, countless times, I would still have the same thought."
"I want to meet her. I want to see every single one of them."
"Everything will start from zero again. Pessimistically speaking, everything is meaningless."
"So what? The happiness is real, the pain is also real. If it's truly meaningless, then why can I still laugh heartily and show sadness?"
"I am not God, nor am I the omniscient and omnipotent 'Ultimate'."
"I only need to know one thing: they will smile happily when they see me, and I will be the same when I see them. Knowing this is enough."
"For this, I can endure an even longer dark night. Even if I have to die tomorrow, at least we can be together today, right?"
Against the backdrop of this smile, Li Mo's eyes seemed to brighten as well.
In the void of nothingness, some different colors seemed to emerge.
"Yes, it seems Mr. Detective has already made up his mind. In that case, let's say goodbye here."
"See you 'next time'."
"See you 'next time'."
Li Mo stepped into the crack and returned to the Eigenworld.
He found a modern building that was still intact and saw the time on the electronic clock above.
Thirty years had passed in the Eigenworld—
The Great Honkai Eruption had ended. The Kiana of this world had, with some danger but ultimately safely, gained the recognition of the Cocoon of Finality and sealed most of the Honkai Energy on the moon.
"..."
In Irene's world, he had only stayed for a few days, but his existence had indeed spanned thirty years of that world's time.
He had stayed from when Irene was a child until the mature and mysterious Irene Adler appeared.
"I've been gone for twenty-seven years… I should go back."
Li Mo prepared to use the Impostor's Rule to go back to the time of his departure, but just as the thought emerged, he suddenly laughed at himself.
The past had already been severed. What was severed was not just the time node before MEI's death; it was a general concept that was severed.
From that moment on, time would only move forward, bit by bit, with no chance of going back.
He could not go back to the past through the Impostor's Rule or "Wish."
Which meant—
The people he loved had waited for him for thirty whole years.
Li Mo stood at the familiar yet strange street corner, his gaze passing through the already destroyed Nagazora City, seeing only ruins.
Li Mo tried to find those familiar and gentle figures in the desolate city.
"I'll go home and take a look first," Li Mo murmured to himself, and with a single thought, he teleported to his doorstep.
The world had changed, and his hair had turned from black to white.
He was a little afraid to see his old friends, but this fear was obviously unnecessary.
With the existence of "Wish," he shouldn't be afraid of these worldly trifles.
But the irreversible time always made Li Mo feel uneasy.
"Hah…"
Li Mo tried hard to calm his melancholy mood, adjusted his face to a sunny and cheerful expression, and gently pushed open the door.
"I'm ba—"
An unfamiliar aura rushed toward him.
"Here it comes…"
Li Mo's voice was low, and finally disappeared without a trace, just like the empty house with not a single shadow.
"..."
Li Mo slowly stepped in, his eyes searching every corner.
He didn't use Ghost's Vision. After a long separation, he wanted to see them with his own eyes.
Li Mo searched all the rooms but still didn't see anyone.
There were no cobwebs in the house, and when he placed his finger on the table, only a little dust stuck to it.
They hadn't been gone for long, but… they hadn't come back either.
Li Mo came to a conclusion. His body suddenly stiffened. He stood motionless in his room, looking at the cell phone on the cabinet, which was shrouded in a Bizarre aura.
"'Wish' for insight."
Li Mo opened his eyes, his gaze focused on the cell phone.
This phone was commissioned by MEI from Schicksal. The battery was long-lasting, but thirty years was too long; the phone couldn't last that long.
If there was anything special about it, it was probably the message MEI had entered inside that Li Mo was more concerned about.
But MEI had warned him that he could only open it when he was about to lose consciousness and become Bizarre.
So far, he either had no chance or hadn't met the requirements.
He had never opened this message.
The last person to handle it was the Fictional Mei.
"There are traces of 'Wish' on it, but before I left, there were no traces of 'Wish.' This means it was done after I left."
"Did she 'Wish'—that this phone would always be in a usable state?"
Li Mo walked forward, picked up the phone from the cabinet, and after a moment's hesitation, chose to open the recording MEI had left.
Everything had been settled. The secrets he had been curious about should be revealed one by one.
The file was named—"To the Soon-to-be-Reborn Mo."
Li Mo's gaze fell on the simple yet meaningful file name, and he was silent for a long time.
The surrounding air seemed to become heavy with this silence.
In the long silence, past memories surged like a tide.
The days intertwined with laughter and tears, the moments of fighting side by side, and the irreversible regrets left by misunderstandings and missed opportunities—
The dinner party when they first built their small home in Nagazora City, the nearly full-force effort to stall the Bizarre Kiana in the haunted house, MEI, dying on the street, her body constantly collapsing, and finally collapsing in a pool of blood…
Every scene was so clear, as if it had happened just yesterday.
The modification date was thirty years ago, the day he had just returned from the haunted house world.
At that time, the Bizarre had not yet spread in the Eigenworld, his relationship with MEI had not broken down, and he was about to set off with Shigure Kira to St. Freya Academy to deal with the Fantasy Ghost.
Li Mo's fingers gently caressed the button and opened the file.
It was a recording of only thirty seconds.
Two people with the same voice were having a conversation—the Fictional Mei and MEI.
"Things that have no reason to exist still exist. Useless actions also happen like daily routine. The answer is already obvious, but the person who needs to choose still chooses wrongly."
"He will understand you, Doctor. You have already done enough."
"No, it's not enough… Compared to him, what I can do is insignificant."
"That's just your speculation, Doctor. And… to be able to make that conjecture come true is already a great fortune in misfortune. By the way, Doctor, why did you write down the title 'The Drowning Man' in his Bizarre file?"
"Nameless Vanity, Bizarre Epitome… these are too chuunibyou, I don't think they're suitable."
"Then what is the meaning of 'The Drowning Man'?"
"The so-called 'Drowning Man': heading toward an inevitable death, yet struggling for that little bit of happiness in life, feeling the uninterrupted pain of suffocation, infinitely close to death yet still living with difficulty."
"Is it misfortune? Or fortune?"
"I don't know. Is the scenery of the future a splendid fireworks display of the human world, or a desperate Avici Hell? Only those who keep moving forward and live to the end will know. But… this road has no end. No matter how many times you die, fate only approaches infinity, it can never reach eternity."
"None of us can accompany him to the end."
The recording came to an abrupt end, with no follow-up.
"'The Drowning Man'," Li Mo repeated this title over and over again, then laughed wryly. "But, everyone is like that."
Those "protagonists" who occupy all the right time, place, and people, are uniquely blessed, and finally crowned after overcoming all obstacles are ultimately a minority. Most of them only exist in the world with a complete fate.
The fate of any Bizarre world is incomplete. In the next reincarnation, the contamination will become more and more serious, and people will have to do their best just to live.
Indeed, different things will happen each time, but the despair and pain will not decrease.
Just as desire does not disappear just because it is satisfied.
Not just him, but many more people are exhausting everything for that little bit of happiness.
Like an immortal drowning person, constantly struggling to return to the surface, yet uncontrollably sinking.
When he wakes up from his coma, it is another endless cycle of resistance and failure.
This road has no end. Every step is piled with corpses.
Even so, he will not give up, will not regret.
If he can see them again, it is all worth it.
The Bizarre is fair.
Their waiting in darkness and loneliness now became Li Mo's karma.
Next, it was his turn to wait in darkness and loneliness.
"'Wish'…"
Li Mo made a wish and obtained Ghost's Vision. His sight instantly enveloped the entire planet.
When he saw the few people in different places, the doubt about why no one was at home was instantly dispelled.
He had come back too late…
Li Mo's expression was desolate. He immediately wished to go to the place where Elysia was.
The night was as black as ink, and all was silent.
The beach was gently covered in a soft and deep pink veil. The whole world seemed to be immersed in a quiet dream.
The waves gently lapped at the edge of the beach, each touch making a whispering sound, like a farewell tune, distant and serene.
A crescent moon hung in the dark sky, almost condensing into a solid substance, casting a white glow on the sea surface. The sparkling waves reflected in Li Mo's eyes, so dazzling…
Elysia, in a light, pure white dress, stood out in this quiet painting.
Barefoot, she stood quietly on the probing edge of the tide, her ankles submerged in the gentle waves.
The sea breeze, with a hint of salt and coolness, gently brushed past the ends of her hair.
Strands of pink hair, like little elves, danced on her swan-like neck.
In the moonlight, she looked exceptionally desolate and resilient. Elysia, constantly walking toward the sea, was like a crystal flower blooming alone in the dark night.
Not far behind her, Li Mo stood silently, his gaze never leaving Elysia's back.
"Elysia."
Li Mo suddenly spoke, calling out to Elysia.
The moment she heard the voice, Elysia turned sideways, her movements carrying an imperceptible surprise and anticipation.
Under the moonlight, her smile was bright and brilliant, as if it had lit up the entire night.
"Little Mo, you're here~" Elysia's voice was light and cheerful, with a hint of coquettishness and intimacy.
Li Mo slowly walked forward, pursed his lips, and was about to say something when he was interrupted by Elysia's words.
"What a pity… Little Mo, you came too late, too late."
With that, Elysia stretched out her hand to Li Mo.
But it was not an invitation for Li Mo to hold her hand, but to show him her current state.
A crystal flower floated in her palm. Although its surface was undamaged, the inside was visibly rotten.
It was extremely dim, with only the last wisp of pink light in the center flashing, ready to be extinguished at any moment.
"I can…" Li Mo was about to say he could use "Wish" to remedy it, but he immediately realized where "Wish" came from.
If it were really possible, then Mei would have done it long ago, and wouldn't have left him the chance to make a wish.
Li Mo hesitated for a moment, then said, "I can take you to find someone. Although it can't be cured, it can greatly suppress the contamination. You and everyone can live a little longer…"
Netherfire came from Irene. As long as she took action, she could definitely greatly delay Elysia's death.
Hearing this, Elysia put away the crystal flower, her hands behind her back, her smile still brilliant.
"Pardo and Can are sleeping very peacefully. We agreed that after completing one last trip, we would sleep together and not cause any more trouble for others. Look, they are right here, aren't they cute?"
Elysia turned completely, and in her arms was the already dormant Pardofelis and Can.
Elysia held Pardofelis, and Can was curled up in her master Felis's arms.
If Khorne were left unchecked, it would bring great harm to the people of this world.
Although Li Mo didn't know what method Elysia planned to use to ensure she fell into dormancy after becoming Bizarre, it was clear… she planned to use the "divinity" from her Bizarre-fied state to suppress "Khorne."
The so-called trip was actually to find a suitable—
Burial ground for herself.
"But…" Li Mo reached out, wanting to keep her. "I'm the only one left…"
Elysia closed her eyes and walked into the deeper part of the sea.
The tide surged, and the seawater submerged her knees.
"Ah, are you thinking… that as long as you maintain this state, you can keep talking to me?"
"That's not good~ to play with a girl's heartstrings like this, I'll really cry, you know…"
"Alright, it's okay."
"When you don't want to move forward, just stop for a while."
"Then look beside you, look behind you. We are always here, just like before, right~"
Elysia gently placed Pardofelis on the surface of the sea and murmured with her hands clasped together.
Her pale lips moved, and Pardofelis and Can, who had been floating on the water, slowly sank.
Then, Elysia walked into the deeper part, the seawater submerging her shoulders. Further ahead, and she would be completely lost.
"Wait! Elysia!"
Li Mo started running, preparing to rush into the sea to pull Elysia back.
However, he stopped abruptly at the boundary between the sand and the sea, only to realize that there was a rule here that forbade entry.
Li Mo clenched his fists, and just as he raised them, he saw Elysia smiling and shaking her head.
Her body was rapidly decaying, life force flowing out of her body unrestrainedly, spreading toward the deep sea…