Donggong City was retreating. The remaining Honkai energy from the Herrscher was too terrifying; the area was no longer suitable for human habitation. Additionally, with the city severely damaged, there was no need for reconstruction.
Fire Moth fighter jets roared in the sky. The first group of evacuees had already boarded ships. Many looked at their homeland receding, their faces blank.
They had been spared, and the exhilarating outcome of the battle—two Herrschers defeated in one fight, especially that fire monster, a world-destroying entity—gave everyone a renewed sense of security, so no one could cry.
Similarly, no one could laugh, because no one understood why, despite winning, they still had to retreat, and why that sense of despair still lingered faintly around them.
No one could answer, because no one could see the end. Even victory would alter geography and climate. According to a pessimistic view, humanity would go from victory to victory, and then from victory into extinction.
But no matter what, a win is a win. At least they still had their lives. And for the rest of the world, this battle was a strong boost.
The Herrscher battle was broadcast live for the first time. Miss Eden sang amidst such a world-destroying scene. To say the least, the artistic appeal was maximized.
Humanity was still full of hope. They had brave warriors, a goddess-like singer, and that invincible and mysterious Director-General, like a hero from the Bible, working tirelessly to protect humanity.
What more was there to say? Just do your part and don't hold the hero back. Even the long-silent Holy Cross Church became lively again.
Heroes and devils, apocalypse and hope. This was a mythical era.
Mei, of course, wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. She immediately prepared a comprehensive plan, having Aponia reorganize the Church. The first step was to transform the feared MANTIS from outcasts into self-sacrificing heroes.
"Yes, Miss Eden has agreed to cooperate with us. This is a rare opportunity. Immediately launch a propaganda offensive, build up the glorious image of the Fire Moth, and demonize the Herrschers completely, leaving no ground for those faith factions to survive. Note these fifteen key points."
Mei chattered on the phone, but she wasn't at headquarters. She was in the infirmary of the 'Minerva' airship.
This airship had been tampered with by Vil-V before, causing it to crash during the New York battle. Now it was brought out again to deal with the Herrscher of Flamescion. Its speed wasn't fast, but having such an aerial base was very convenient.
Ryan and Kevin, along with other severely wounded individuals, were immediately transferred to the Minerva. It had a complete infirmary, and Mobius had specifically installed many advanced pieces of equipment to snatch people back from the Grim Reaper at the first opportunity.
"I didn't expect you to actually come. By the way, you're so busy, why didn't you stay at headquarters?" Mobius glanced at Mei, who had just hung up the phone, then looked at the heart monitor.
Kevin vital signs had stabilized. When they found him, his internal organs were almost cooked. He had held on until now purely by sheer willpower. Then Mobius injected nanite repair agents, saving his life from the inside out.
You think I'm you?
Mei glanced over, biting back a sarcastic remark, for such extraordinary medical skills earned Mobius a week of "breathing rights."
"Kevin is my boyfriend."
"You, of all people, care about these things?"
"I'm human too. I don't want to neglect either work or my feelings." Mei lips twitched. She barely managed to hold back a retort. Leaning down, she gently touched Kevin sleeping face. "He's very important to me, not just for his value or anything. I never thought of using him. I want to possess every cell of Kevin. That's my love for him."
She spoke vaguely, but the possessiveness couldn't be faked. Mobius was half-skeptical when she suddenly opened her mouth wide.
"You, what are you doing?"
Mei didn't speak, only kissed Kevin, the passionate scene making the biologist's face blush.
"Doing what a girlfriend should do: conveying the belief to live on. Kevin is very shy, so this is perfect timing." Mei straightened up, wiped her mouth, and hid her slightly red face. "Oh, by the way, I'm calling everyone for a meeting. You have two hours. Consider it my special thanks to you."
With that, she left. Only after the automatic door closed did Mobius slightly regain her composure.
What does that mean??
She paused, and as a smart person, she immediately understood. She then furtively looked around, her gaze lingering on Ryan face amidst the 'beep beep' of the heart monitor.
Those gruesome burns had recovered a lot, but his heartbeat was very slow, so slow that she often wanted to push adrenaline.
Ahem, conveying the belief to live on, right? As a creditor, it would be very troublesome if you died.
Mobius slowly walked over, then cautiously looked around again. She smoothed down her long, flowing hair with her hand and slowly bent down.
....
Ryan once again fell into a dream. When he opened his eyes, he saw a golden starry sky, still somewhat bewildered.
Again? Am I only dreaming when I'm near death? Am I going to become a masochist from now on?
The three philosophical questions lingered in his mind. Then he realized that unlike last time, he could actually move.
Huh, is this a TV series?
He was instantly overjoyed, like a disabled person regaining his legs, able to explore unknown spaces.
'Why do I smell coffee?'
Ryan quickly examined himself, then realized he couldn't see his body at all, as if he had become invisible. But if he didn't even have a body, where did the coffee smell come from?
Never mind, this is my paradise.
He no longer bothered with such small matters, advancing into this boundless golden starry sky, fully approaching those golden stars. As he got closer, he realized these things weren't stars.
"More like fruits hanging on branches, or perhaps leaves?"
Leaves?
Ryan felt his pupils constrict, and he looked around again. He couldn't see the end, and were these golden leaves tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or infinite?
This is Imaginary Space, yes, Imaginary Space. So aren't these leaves...
He casually picked a speck of light, leaned in to look, and then countless pieces of information crammed his brain, making his thoughts sluggish.
This is... a world?!
For a moment, he couldn't describe the scene he saw in words. Or perhaps, any human language seemed too low-level. If he had to make a crude analogy, it was like some "XX in a Box" online novels he had read in his previous life.
The universe appeared in his eyes, and the dazzling galaxy was right in front of him. Only then did Ryan understand why he couldn't look, why the Second Divine Key was needed for observation.
Because "Thousand Realms Gate" focused one's gaze on a certain point. The telescope's field of view was always limited, while he was looking down from a higher dimension. After leaning in, he suddenly realized he was asking for trouble.
Observing the operation of a universe, Ryan had no doubt that if his physical body were there, that one glance would be enough to drive a person insane, at worst causing a system crash due to the overload of information. One glance, and ten thousand years would pass.
Even the current Ryan was frozen, because this box was too large, and too many things were happening at the same time, causing his attention to scatter, losing sensitivity to time and space.
'No, if I get caught in the information overload, I won't recover for tens of thousands of years. I'll just become a high-dimensional observation satellite, and eventually lose even my self-awareness.'
Ryan felt his forehead covered in sweat. He was truly asking for trouble. If his consciousness remained here, his body over there would certainly not wake up. By then, even post-civilization might have passed.
Focus your gaze, you must focus your gaze on one point!
This was not a battle, and no swords were needed. Ryan felt it was very difficult to control his attention because his scattered gaze saw too many things.
Battleships the size of planets, figures traversing the starry sky with their bare bodies, and planets simultaneously sacrificing hundreds of millions of people, kneeling madly towards the sky.
Are they bowing to me? Yes, I am now a higher-dimensional life form, the most fitting existence for the concept of 'God'.
Ryan felt his attention begin to wander again, because his prying eyes triggered feedback from a few entities in this universe.
The two sides were like separated by a barrier, echoing each other from afar.
So he began to turn his gaze to other 'stars', discovering an underlying force.
Curiosity, a curiosity about the unknown, dominated his consciousness, and then his consciousness controlled his gaze. Gradually, Ryan found that he could turn his head, only catching a glimpse of the reactions in this world from the corner of his eye.
The sacrificing people were utterly bewildered. The beings existing on stars let out long breaths. Ryan tried his best not to recall what he had just seen, only sweeping his gaze indifferently across.
Yes, like a supreme being taking a casual glance, never observing carefully, just like a fleeting glimpse, getting a rough idea. Only blurry concepts could flash in his mind.
Different universes, different worlds, full of unknowns and novelties.
He saw countless worlds, similar yet different, annihilating at any moment, and appearing at any moment.
He saw the astronomical world of galaxies and planets, a giant ring world where all things revolved around a center, and tree-like universes, isolated from each other like dense scales.
Countless worlds, countless characters, countless unknowns.
Gradually, Ryan gaze returned to this starry sky. Innumerable starlight twinkled. Mathematics lost its meaning at this moment. He only felt his thoughts dispersing. These countless light points formed the shape of a giant tree.
This tree was within reach, yet untouchable. At least Ryan didn't even have a body, so he couldn't touch it at all. But he did see some strange things.
They wanted to touch, wanted to climb. Some were destroyed upon contact, while some extended new stars. This was like some great challenge, making beings beyond gods willing to shatter their bodies and exhaust billions of years of accumulation.
Climbing the Imaginary Tree!
Ryan heart swelled. He felt that his Herrscher hunt was worse than a baby's crying. This was the supreme courage!
However, he had no chance to try, because his consciousness gradually disappeared. He felt himself falling.
Falling towards the stars, falling into the galaxy, falling into the blue-white star, falling into the castle in the wind and snow.
Before all consciousness was annihilated, he felt the gaze of a queuing challenger on the Imaginary Tree. Endless tracks extended beneath his feet, and he turned his head.
"Whoa, are you trying to kill yourself again?"