Raindrops splattered against the murky glass window, tracing winding paths that intertwined like a casual doodle. The rain began near midnight and continued until the next morning. How long did it last exactly? Su didn't know. A few hours might feel agonizingly long to mortals, especially at night, but in his measure, it was no different than the flick of a finger.
It was now sunrise. The rain, after a night of fierce assault, was now a spent force, sparse and scattered. But heavy gray clouds still clung to the high heavens, like a giant barrier shrouding Kolosten. Even if the sun appeared right now, it likely couldn't penetrate them.
Knock knock knock!
"Come in."
The door creaked open. Su didn't open his eyes or turn his head, only hearing heavy footsteps approaching, finally stopping beside him.
"The Schariacs kept this thing in good condition. It's definitely unusable directly, but the core data inside isn't damaged. I've extracted it onto this drive." With that, Elvin placed a small hard drive on the low table in front of Su.
"Have you seen the contents?"
"No, uh... I wanted to, but based on my experience, the information inside is likely a one-time thing. It'll probably auto-format after opening, no second chances to view it."
"I see..." Su opened his eyes, picked up the small hard drive from the table, and examined it closely between his fingers.
"After Adam and Eve reached adulthood, besides Kevin and myself, who else had contact with them?"
"Should be no one." Elvin shook his head firmly. He knew what Su was asking. Initially, besides Adam and Eve, Fire Moth had created countless test-tube babies carrying Stigmata genes. They couldn't just be thrown onto the barren earth to survive. For a long period before they matured, Fire Moth provided them with basic education.
But upon reaching a certain age, these children were "kicked out," rarely having any overt contact with Fire Moth thereafter. Aside from a few self-defense weapons, Fire Moth left them nothing, let alone a hard drive capable of storing information.
There was only one possibility: someone contacted them after they left.
"But honestly, Su, you understand this isn't likely a Fire Moth issue. All electronic components, weapons, equipment... basically, a whole bunch of things ahead of their time couldn't be taken out of the base without authorization. Something as precious as a hard drive would definitely need to be registered with Fuxi... In fact, I didn't find any Fire Moth serial number on that drive."
"Of course, the contact person could have made such a micro-drive themselves. Hiding it somewhere and smuggling it out of the base isn't unimaginable. But a hard drive is just a read/write device. To store information, you still need an input device like a computer. And even the smallest computer is at least palm-sized..."
He didn't finish, but his meaning was clear—Eve leaving this behind likely had nothing to do with Fire Moth, but rather...
From a certain angle, this was also his probing Su—Kevin and Su hadn't told anyone about the possibility of other Flame-Chasers, including Michael, still being alive, but everyone had their suspicions.
It wasn't fair to blame them for lack of honesty; even they themselves struggled to define their stance on Michael. Regardless of his ultimate intentions, regardless of whether he betrayed everyone, his destruction of the previous civilization was an undeniable fact. If they felt this way, how would the other ordinary soldiers view Michael? What chaos might ensue if they learned Michael might still be alive? It was hard to say.
"...I understand. Go prepare the communication system. After I view this information, I need to speak with Kevin. Also, check the Elysian Realm records. As a Stigmata awakener, Eve spent a long time training in the Elysian Realm even after reaching adulthood. It's possible the item originated from there."
"Hmm? Now that you mention it, that's not impossible." Elvin nodded, said nothing more, tiptoed out of the room, and gently closed the door behind him.
Five seconds after the lock clicked, Su let out a long sigh.
He knew some things might be impossible to hide any longer, but delaying was better than nothing.
For the next half hour, he didn't rush to view the information left by Eve Schariac on the hard drive. Instead, he continued to stare absently at the world beyond the rain-streaked window.
His thoughts drifted, a feeling unfamiliar in thousands, no, fifty thousand years.
Time could erode a person's personality beyond recognition, but Su couldn't even pinpoint what exactly during yesterday's visit to the Schariacs had touched his heart, awakening the sorrow buried by time.
But what exactly was he grieving? Was it grief for the bygone era, for the countless departed souls who once featured in his life... or perhaps just grief itself?
This shouldn't be happening. Su shook his head.
Things shouldn't be like this. Time should smooth over all unnecessary emotions—anger, hatred, and sorrow alike.
But time could only smooth these emotions, not erase them. Perhaps... perhaps they had simply accumulated to a certain limit, like a full reservoir needing to open its floodgates.
Yes, that must be it. Yesterday's trip held no particular significance. If being a Schariac itself counted as special, he had already bid farewell to hundreds of Schariacs over the past five thousand years; he should be accustomed to it.
Any emotion rarely stems from a single event but rather from silent, daily accumulation.
Watching generation after generation depart, not just in the prime world but also in parallel Bubble Universes, was undoubtedly a form of torture for Su's spirit.
"Sigh..." Su sighed softly again.
There was still good news—based on the current civilization's development and Bubble Universe observations, the Herrschers of this era were due to appear, at the latest, in about five hundred years.
Compared to the fifty thousand years he had already lived, five hundred years was merely one percent. While not short, it certainly wasn't long either.
Just... unfortunately, Eleanor Schariac likely wouldn't live to see five hundred years from now.
When this thought surfaced, Su startled, almost leaping from his lounge chair, unable to control his body.
So, the sorrow accumulated overnight, perhaps it was simply because... he held some affection for that girl?
Su shook his head. Just a sliver of affection. Over fifty thousand years, there had been other women who evoked such feelings. He was, physiologically and psychologically, an extremely healthy adult male. Feeling attracted to the opposite sex was perfectly normal.
But such affection was incredibly fragile against time and the Honkai. Sometimes, while Su merely observed a world, a girl in her prime would transform into a decrepit old woman. Over time, even the ability to feel affection gradually faded. After all, every instance of affection was destined to inflict emotional trauma. Though the wounds weren't deep, as Su himself never intended to deepen these feelings, perhaps this cumulative effect led to last night's emotional outburst.
However, he was used to all this. Let it be.
Su picked up the micro hard drive and got up from the lounge chair. He opened the bedside table, took out a palm-sized terminal, and plugged the drive in.
Zzz... First, the faint crackle of electricity. Two or three seconds later, the terminal's holographic screen lit up. Appearing before Su was the face of a girl bearing a striking resemblance to Eleanor, about seventy percent similar.
Compared to Eleanor, her hair tips had more pink, and her cheeks were fuller. She pursed her lips, the corners naturally curving into a pleasant arc, then greeted him warmly, like a real person: "Hi! Uncle Su, we meet again!"
"Hmm?"
"Hahaha! If Uncle Kevin is the one opening this recording, then I owe him a big apology! But, knowing you both, Uncle Su finding this recording seems more likely, right? Still, I wonder what time it is now? Five hundred years later? Or five thousand? Ah, whatever the time, I hope I'm still in time."
"In time? What does that mean?" Su frowned but didn't ask aloud. The Eve before him was just a recording; even if he asked, he wouldn't get an answer. Like a fired bullet, its trajectory was set the moment the trigger was pulled; whether it hit the target was predetermined.
"Ehehe, speaking of which, today is actually my eighteenth birthday! That blockhead Adam spent the whole day exploring the Realm again, I couldn't be bothered to tell him... but it doesn't matter." After saying this, Su saw an unprecedented smile bloom on Eve's face.
"The Elysian Realm... it really is a wonderful place. Uncle Su, this is the happiest birthday I've had in my entire life. Mother, Auntie Aponia, Auntie Eden, and Grandma Meb... cough cough Auntie Mobius took me to the amusement park for the whole day. It's already evening in Realm time, Mother just finished sharing birthday cake with me... along with a special guest..."
She took a deep breath, her expression transforming beyond happiness into extreme excitement and fervor— "That guest was... Father. Yes, I really saw Father! You told me Father didn't leave a memory imprint in the Realm, but I really just saw him!"
She took several quick, deep breaths, covering her flushed cheeks, forcing herself to calm down.
In stark contrast to her emotions, Su felt as if his heart had been violently squeezed. His body temperature rapidly plummeted, like being plunged into ice water.
"Sigh... Sorry, Uncle Su, and Uncle Kevin. I've rambled on about so many unrelated things. You must be getting tired of watching, right?" Her expression shifted again to one of confusion. "Actually, I don't really know what I wanted to say in this recording... Father just asked me to record it... Hehe, he's standing right in front of me now, maybe overlapping with where you two uncles are standing. Hmm... Ah, Papa, is this okay?"
Su held his breath sharply. The next moment, a voice, familiar beyond familiarity, sounded: "Mm, Su, you should be able to hear this, right?"
"Michael, you... What exactly are you trying to do! Why are you in the Realm!" Su asked in a low, heavy voice, only remembering after speaking that this was indeed just a recording.
But even more magically, Michael's subsequent words seemed to directly address his question, as if the two were conversing across nearly five thousand years.
"What, surprised?" Only Eve's frozen final smile remained on the recording, but Michael's voice seemed to come from all directions: "This is the Elysian Realm, Elysia's paradise. If I couldn't even enter the Realm, wouldn't I be utterly unworthy of my title as 'Guardian of the Realm'?"
The question and answer flowed so perfectly that Su found it hard to believe it was just a recording.
"Alright, Su, I guess you have a lot you want to ask. I know you're anxious, but please, don't be anxious just yet. By the time you see this recording, it'll probably be five thousand years later, right? Even if you ask questions, I won't hear them."
"However, after so many years without a worthy opponent, both you and Kevin must be feeling somewhat lonely, right? Don't worry, five thousand years from now, when you see this recording, it means our reunion is imminent. The battle we didn't finish fifty thousand years ago, it's time to settle the score!"
"Michael, what do you mean!" Su wanted to shout, but again controlled himself. He couldn't let Elvin next door hear, at least not now.
But it didn't matter; someone else voiced his question.
"Papa... Father... What were you just saying?" Eve's face filled with fear, staring incredulously at a spot in front of her.
"Don't worry, Eve." An arm suddenly appeared in the recording, ruffling Eve's hair.
"Hmm?"
"Just some banter between men. Fifty thousand years ago, we had an unfinished game. Mm, that's all."
"Hmm... I feel like there's more to it..." Eve pouted. Michael pinched her cheek again.
"Alright, that's enough recording for now. That problem you mentioned last time, I asked Mobius about it, see if she can help you solve it!"
"Oh!" Michael's change of subject seemed successful. Eve immediately covered her face, blushing shyly, her upper body quickly disappearing from the frame.
"Heh..." Su exhaled. Strangely enough, rationally speaking, this recording didn't reveal much information Su didn't already know.
Essentially, Michael snuck into the Elysian Realm once five thousand years ago on his daughter's eighteenth birthday. This wasn't particularly shocking; after all, the space containing the Elysian Realm was anchored within a Bubble Universe inside Michael's body. If Michael couldn't enter the Elysian Realm, that would be bizarre.
Yet, Su still felt a heavy weight pressing on his heart, making it difficult to breathe.
What exactly was making him so tense?
Thinking carefully, perhaps it was how Michael's words perfectly mirrored his own inner questions, as if it wasn't a recording, but the real Michael standing before him answering...
That's not impossible!
Su straightened his body, his mental power instantly filling the room. However, besides himself, he detected no other presence.
Am I overthinking? Or just a coincidence?
If Michael, based on his understanding of Su, had anticipated his reactions beforehand, it wasn't entirely implausible. Just like Eve could predict that he, not Kevin, would be the one opening this recording here.
But somehow, thinking this way didn't dispel Su's unease; instead, it intensified—
A person's Destiny is their character.
In the eyes of someone who understands your character extremely well, is your fate truly an intangible thing?
Could it be that everything that happened over the past five thousand, even fifty thousand years, was largely within Michael's expectations...
Yes, how could he confirm that Su would find this recording exactly five thousand years later?
The thought sent chills down Su's spine. He couldn't help but lean back, retreating two steps until his back hit the cold wall. Cold sweat rapidly wicked away his body heat. He couldn't suppress a sneeze.
"Phew... Better turn this thing off..." He had barely moved half a step forward when a long sigh sounded again.
"Sigh... Daughters really are hard to handle. Good thing Ely is there to help. Su, five thousand years later, Kolosten. Be there or be square."
As the last syllable faded, the terminal emitted a puff of blue smoke. Accompanied by a burnt smell, the hard drive, along with the entire terminal, self-destructed.
Su stood frozen, stunned. One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Thump-thump—Thump-thump—Thump-thump—
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump—
His heartbeat rapidly accelerated into a frantic rhythm. He understood. What Michael said earlier wasn't a prediction, but a genuine prophecy—
Five thousand years ago, the Germanic region was still wilderness. Where did Kolosten come from? The current Kolosten only rose to prominence as continental Europe's largest city alongside Schicksal in the last century. How could anyone know this place name five thousand years ago?
No, if it was Finality, perhaps it wasn't impossible.
Su closed his eyes. His body was gradually losing its warmth, as if his blood too had turned cold.
But soon, his blood boiled again. He snapped his eyes open, his face unusually flushed with excitement—he still didn't understand Michael's meaning, but since he said he wanted a fight, then let there be a fight!
The long-dormant fire in his heart was inexplicably ignited. For a moment, he forgot all about plans to defeat the Honkai. He only knew he was sick of these fifty thousand long years and just wanted a good, satisfying fight with Michael!
"Elvin, connect me to Kevin immediately!"