Chapter 1191: Weng Faluos 3.2 (237)

"What's wrong with you? Hmm?"

"N-no, nothing..."

"Your shoulder is shaking."

"The wind is too cold."

"You're clearly smiling!"

"I am not."

"You're snickering! I saw it! Are you plotting something again? I tell you, you humans are really strange—" Ai Lei lifted her twin ponytails, tilted her head and hummed lightly, "Never mind, never mind, smile if you want. As a goddess, I am very magnanimous."

"I think the sea of flowers is beautiful; if Uruk's underworld were also filled with blossoms, it would probably be as splendid as Weng Faluos's underworld." Tengwan said seriously all of a sudden.

"Um…" Ai Lei shyly averted her gaze, lightly brushed her face with a finger, "... you guy's taste and aesthetics are pretty decent, well... maybe we'll get along well in the future."

"——"

""This sounds, on the contrary, like it's denying Senatos's significance…""

"Xia Die shook her head: "No. No one can bear the scale of life and death alone, not even a deity. The weight of life and death is equally heavy…you and I understand that perfectly, don't we?""

"Senatos lowered his head: "Your life must have been hard as well…we truly have walked together through an absurd journey.""

"Xia Die pushed the girl's wheelchair, strolling leisurely toward the depths of the flower sea."

""Even back then, I had a premonition: someday we would meet again… not for a long-awaited embrace, but to return a hand for a hand, to fulfill retribution…" Senatos looked up at the waning moon in the sky, "I tell you the answer I have long written… to put a period on the long destiny.""

""It's been far, far too long. I have been waiting here alone, day after day watching the hopeless spirits being turned away by this desolate wasteland… among them I always hoped to see your figure, yet I fear recognizing you. I don't know how to face you…" The girl's voice trembled slightly, "I'm even more afraid to see… that my once‑dear relatives have long forgotten my existence.""

"Xia Die said softly: "…I understand. But look, Bo Lu Qian Ya, no matter what… I have returned here. You no longer need to bear the authority of death alone… after all, it should be lifted by two hands together.""

""So, let the star carry our fire back to the mortal realm, letting mortals reclaim the right of life‑and‑death circulation… our duty, Senatos's duty, has never been to choose lives, only to watch over them.""

""Let us together… tend this warm sea of flowers that belongs to the countless souls.""

""……""

The girl lowered her head and remained silent for a long while.

""Alright, Bo Lu Qian Ya?""

"Senatos lifted his head and smiled at his sister: "Of course. Now… only the final step remains. 'You shall wither, causing the departed to sprout from their remnants, the fire that died reborn'… as the divine decree shows, Senatos's divine authority is destined to be held by a single person. As a golden descendant of 'Death', as its Demigod, as a Titan… the moment fated for us has arrived again.""

""Just like before…""

""Yes, just like before. But unlike that time… this time both sides of the trial are prepared.""

""You have… made up your mind?""

The girl nodded firmly: "Hmm… this is destiny's will. But as long as you're here, I won't be afraid. Please complete this life's trial, grant me the embrace of 'Death', and ignite the flame of 'Life'. If it's you, after being forged by life and death, you will surely bring the first spark of vitality to this wasteland… like a butterfly rushing to the underworld, landing on a branch of death."

Xia Die gazed at the boundless sea of flowers: "…I will. After that, I will reside forever in the underworld, let the underworld river return here, become a fine rain from the sky, scattering souls over this nether soil…"

"——"

Demon Slayer.

"Reside forever in the underworld…?! No, not that!!"

A hysterical scream from Shan Yi echoed in the butterfly house.

"No! No! No—!" His volume rose wave after wave, "Doesn't that mean she can't return to Aohema either? She'll never see the living again? And Xing, don't let this 'just rescued Xing from the underworld only to return forever to the underworld' happen!"

"Forever…"

"Never able to return…"

Shan Yi became weightless, like a sheet of paper drifting to the ground.

"Sigh… I didn't expect this outcome." Tan Zhi Lang lowered his head sadly, "Although I'm reluctant to admit it, the golden descendant's prophecies are coming true one after another without doubt. Is there truly no chance of reversal?"

"If you ask me, I'm afraid there's no possibility of reversal."

A gentle yet undeniable voice came from the end of the corridor.

"…Eh?"

Tan Zhi Lang looked up and saw the corridor empty.

"Mo Xi Mo Xi, where are you looking?"

The gentle voice sounded again, this time right beside Tan Zhi Lang's ear, warm breath scented with a hint of wisteria… Tan Zhi Lang's face quickly flushed, he covered his ears and retreated repeatedly.

"Ni—Ni Miss…!"

Hu Die Ren's steps were as light as a butterfly landing on a petal; her shoes made almost no sound on the wooden floor. Seeing the boy so nervous, Hu Die Ren couldn't help but smile and retreated to a nearby chair.

"Did Tan Zhi Lang just want to speak of the golden descendant's prophecy? Actually, in my view, the outcome foretold is unchangeable. Except for Bai E, all golden descendants will die, yet be reborn in the next cycle, continuing new prophecies, repeating endlessly—"

Tan Zhi Lang lowered his head: "Then… isn't that an endless cycle with no end…?"

"Exactly." Hu Die Ren's mouth still held a gentle smile, though it didn't reach her eyes, "To end this cycle, one must first understand it."

"Understand?"

"Hmm. Just as to kill a demon we must understand demons, demons themselves are a puzzle. Their blood demon arts, how they inflict fatal wounds beyond the neck… these are challenges the Demon Slayer Corps must overcome. I think Weng Faluos's puzzle isn't how to deal with Heichi, but 'why cycles arise.'"

"At first, I thought Heichi's source was the star core." Hu Die Ren suppressed her smile, drew a circle on the table with her index finger, "But after seeing the memory that Ke Xia showed us, I realized I was gravely mistaken. Heichi also existed in the previous life; if 'Recreation of the World' is a method to solve the star core crisis, then it is undoubtedly a failure."

"All things have a beginning and an end. Weng Faluos's cycle cannot be infinite, right? Surely the golden descendants failed to meet some 'condition' during the Fire Pursuit Journey, causing 'Recreation of the World' to restart. If we can find that hidden 'condition'… perhaps Weng Faluos will have no further cycles."