Chapter 500

Furina: "It shouldn't be, right?"

Furina: "Judging by the chronological logic of this matter."

Furina: "Miss Firefly should have first experienced death and then awakened, in order to successfully bring the information to the train."

Furina: "So what she went through was still a pain like death itself."

Paimon: "Others harvest happiness within their sweet dreams."

Paimon: "Only Miss Firefly experienced the agony of death...."

Paimon: "What a heartbreaking ordeal!"

Hu Tao: "The agony of death... easier said than done."

Hu Tao: "But just how agonizing must it have been, to make even Miss Huang Quan show a hint of reluctance?"

Huang Quan: "In any case, it was absolutely a pain that an ordinary person would never wish to endure in their entire life."

Gui Naifen: "Wuwuwu, Miss Firefly, what a pitiful Miss indeed!!"

Firefly: "It's alright, at least I'm still alive."

Firefly: "Isn't that the best news of all?"

Firefly: "As for the pain..... on the contrary, not serious."

Firefly: "To be able to help everyone obtain a sliver of hope to shatter the Dream of Taichi."

Firefly: "My little contribution is truly insignificant."

Welt: "Miss Firefly's resolve is deeply moving."

Welt: "Thank you for everything you have silently given behind the scenes."

The video continues.

【Do not betray her will.】

【This does not mean we must win everything on this journey, but our resolve should be worthy of that brave girl.】

【You.... are you prepared?】

Huang Quan asked Stelle solemnly.

【Of course, I am prepared.】

【Let us head to the final stage.】

Stelle's gaze was resolute,

and she nodded at Huang Quan.

【Very good.】

【Then, please close your eyes......】

Stelle: "Close my eyes?"

Stelle: "What for?"

Miss Qingque: "I understand, Miss Huang Quan is probably about to make her move!"

March 7th: "I wonder exactly how Miss Huang Quan plans to make her move."

March 7th: "Somewhat looking forward to it."

Black Swan: "To make people save themselves, those people must have encountered a tremendous crisis."

Black Swan: "But they are deeply mired in the Dream of Taichi, they cannot possibly encounter a crisis within the dream...."

Black Swan: "Therefore, the crisis can only come from the outside.... Hehe, I think I already understand."

The video continues.

The scene shifts,

arriving at a memory of Huang Quan's.

【......】

【This rain.... how long has it been falling?】

On the shore,

an old man gazed at the gloomy sky,

and the grey-black rainwater,

murmuring softly.

【If I remember correctly, it might have been a few years, a few decades, or even a hundred years or more.】

【The death wish of the Hunt will not subside until the very end of life, but fortunately...... we have finally guided these souls across.】

【They were all heroes in life, and they will never become puppets of the void again.】

【Look, the shadows on the sea surface have all vanished.】

【Do you remember? You once said that once the regrets of the dead were all laid to rest, the sky would clear.】

Beside the old man,

Huang Quan patiently answered his question.

【However, the rain still has not stopped.......】

The old man shook his head in regret.

【.... Yes.】

Huang Quan sighed.

【So, why exactly is it.....】

【Why did this rain choose me?】

The old man was perplexed.

【Perhaps, it's because some people's regrets have yet to settle.】

【Mortal lives drift along the river of fate like little boats crossing the water's surface, leaving behind a winding wake and pushing open ripples of countless possibilities.】

【Compared to a human life that vanishes in an instant, these waves will not settle for a long, long time.】

【And among them, certain people leave traces of their existence so strong that they cast their own reflections into these clusters of spray.】

【A Sinshatter... the obsession of a Pathstrider. Born from the shadow of IX, it regards itself as the one in charge, knowingly bearing the weight of repeating the deceased's actions from when they were alive.】

Stelle: "Everything was fine, so how did we end up in Huang Quan's memory again?"

Stelle: "And why is she having this old Sea-Going Ranger repeat what he said before?"

March 7th: "Could it be that this old man is just old and a bit forgetful?"

March 7th: "Still, they actually guided these wandering souls across... oh wait."

March 7th: "They should be called Sinshatter."

Furina: "Uh... were these Sinshatter really guided across?"

Furina: "The sight of them gathering and reaching up toward that pitch-black great sun in the sky is kind of scary..."

Hu Tao: "The Void really is terrifying."

Hu Tao: "Feels like it's far more terrifying than simple death."

The video continues.

【They are born from the Void, and toward the Void they go, spending a life utterly without meaning.】

【But this single illusory shadow...】

【... walked those long days together with me.】

Huang Quan looked toward the old man, her expression complicated.

【......】

【So that was how it was.】

【I... am already dead.】

When the words fell,

The grey sky began to turn crimson.

The old man, who had just now possessed a physical form,

At this moment became a ghastly black shadow.

And beside the old man,

Huang Quan's form also turned crimson.

Stelle: "!!!"

Stelle: "Oh my god, my scalp's tingling again!"