From the moment the blood bloomed, accompanied by the overwhelming surge of negative emotions, he had already realized it.
"You're really stupid... This was the biggest flaw, and you still didn't see it..."
"Did you trust the realism of the Advanced Automaton that much?"
Qingyi watched as strands of light formed in front of her—Zane's emotions from just now.
The light drifted toward the white flower on its own. This time, it didn't need her hand to water it...
"Senior... don't talk too much..."
Zane lowered his head, speaking softly.
His arms tightened around Qingyi.
"It's okay, Zane..."
Qingyi tried to offer a word of comfort, but he cut her off before she could finish.
"How can it be okay?!"
"The death of consciousness—does that not count as death?!"
As the world shattered around them, Zane had already regained his memories. He quickly pieced together the situation and understood the truth.
And with it came fear.
He was afraid—afraid that if Qingyi vanished now, she might never return.
Qingyi was silent for a few seconds before speaking softly.
"Zane, this is your flower..."
With trembling effort, she raised her hand and pointed to the white flower nearby. It had already detached from its stem and now floated in the air, slowly blooming.
Beautiful, yet fragile.
"Is this really the time to worry about flowers...?"
"Zane, we must care..."
"I have to make sure you return."
Qingyi shook her head gently, her gaze warm and tender.
"I understand a lot now... Divinity is just one part of you, but do you know why it's affected you so easily?"
"After coming to this world, you acted like a bystander—a player looking for fun, for novelty. But you couldn't truly be part of it. You just let things happen..."
"Because you... had gone numb."
Zane understood what she meant. His eyes flickered, jaw clenched tight.
"Master... so you knew all along..."
Qingyi smiled faintly. At that moment, she seemed to regain a bit of strength, slowly lifting her hand to gently touch Zane's face.
The world continued to fall apart.
The black thorns that had pierced Qingyi's body had already melted into a dark liquid, now spreading and devouring the fragmented space around them.
Zane reached up and held her hand, not letting it fall from weakness.
"Zane... your name—it leaves a special first impression. I liked it from the start... is that right?"
Qingyi continued, her voice soft and calm.
"It's not a coincidence, and it's not just a clever pun... It's the name's true meaning, isn't it?"
"I think... the one who gave you that name must have loved you deeply. They wouldn't want to see you like this..."
The past can't be abandoned.
It stays buried deep within the heart—especially in a long, long life.
As she spoke, Qingyi felt Zane's body trembling slightly. She frowned.
"Death took your first flower... so you gave yourself to Death, too?"
"You really are... such a fool."
"Utterly hopeless."
Zane was quiet for a moment, as if recalling something. Then he looked directly at Qingyi and asked softly,
"Master... was it really worth it?"
Qingyi didn't answer him directly. Instead, she said,
"You were alone, so you came here alone. But here... you're not alone anymore."
She didn't give any examples. She didn't need to. Lying in his arms—that alone was proof enough.
Zane looked at her, his eyes flickering.
"I'm not a fool, Master. I don't do things that don't pay off. I just made a deal with Death, that's all..."
Hearing the hint of self-justification in his tone, Qingyi gave a soft smile.
"Yes... I know. You saved four lives... snatched them back from Death, right?"
"So really, you never truly failed. You never gave in to it."
Pain can break a person—but it's hard to truly destroy them.
At least, Zane couldn't be destroyed.
If he had surrendered, the white flower and the Book of Trajectories wouldn't have ended up in Qingyi's hands. She wouldn't even have made it here.
She understood now—what Zane needed was a spark to ignite everything.
"Zane, no matter what, I'll always stay by your side... Our story isn't supposed to end here."
"Let me be the one you cherish..."
"Will you?"
"Just do it for me..."
Her words rippled through the air like a stone cast into still water. Zane's voice followed gently.
"I already have."
Qingyi smiled, lips barely lifting.
"It's your future... your hope. A new flower."
She didn't need to say more. The white flower had already drifted over, drawn to Zane on its own.
Now that it had embraced his pain and every dark emotion, it no longer rejected him.
Because they were already the same.
"I've worked so hard for this, Zane. You can't let the flower... wither."
Her hand rested lightly against his cheek. Her gaze was soft, luminous with tiny specks of light—gentle and deep, as if looking at something irreplaceable.
No, perhaps she was looking at someone irreplaceable.
Qingyi understood that whether Zane succeeded or not, she would eventually forget everything that happened here. Maybe forever.
Like her entire experience inside his inner world had been wiped clean.
But the feelings it brought wouldn't vanish. They'd be buried deep in her subconscious.
What humans possess as their foundation... was something Advanced Automatons could never replicate.
All her thoughts, all her emotions—free to flow as they pleased.
What she had gone through in this brief span of time—it couldn't be erased.
It felt like... real life.
The emotions that had quietly sprouted in her heart began to grow wildly with Zane's arrival, and everything that followed.
She, who should have existed only as a tool, could no longer suppress these overwhelming feelings...
Feelings... that were human.
Qingyi couldn't describe them. Couldn't define them.
But she knew—they mattered.
Looking at Zane, she suddenly smiled. A faint, hard-won smile, revealing the emotions in her heart that could no longer be hidden.
She hadn't spent that much time with Zane. Their time together hadn't been particularly long or special.
But to her—it had been unforgettable.
She'd wondered before—why had their bond deepened so quickly?
Rationally, it shouldn't have happened this way.