The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Creak——"

Kevin held the top of the quilt and turned it over. This way, the quilt would not change much during the turning process, so as not to steal Mei's half.

Perhaps sensing the blank space around her in her dream, Mei murmured softly and turned over, with her front body pressed tightly against Kevin's back.

"..."

Kevin snorted softly, feeling a chill on his back, but it warmed up again under Mei's body temperature.

What's more, it's not just as simple as the warmth, the fatal softness directly makes his already unable to sleep consciousness more awake.

He frowned tightly, finally couldn't help but sigh, and opened his eyes.

Carefully, he stretched out his hand and patted the alarm clock on the bedside table. The alarm clock lit up with a trace of fluorescent light: [4:13]

"...It's okay. Anyway, I have two days off and I've finished my overtime work. It doesn't matter if I can't sleep."

Kevin comforted himself in his heart.

As if he felt that this was not enough, he continued to remind himself:

"It's okay. It doesn't matter if you can't sleep now. You can fall asleep easily at night."

He knew these words by heart. A long time ago, as a student, if he stayed too late playing games on weekends and was so excited that he couldn't sleep, he would get up with the comfort of these words...

Keep playing games.

But he actually knew very well that none of this could comfort him.

It's not that the self-defense techniques he used countless times are no longer suitable for him at this age. After all, he is facing different things.

But he clearly knew that he said these words in the past to combat the phenomenon of "insomnia" itself.

But what he is afraid of now is not the insomnia itself, but the cause of his insomnia.

Is it because I got too many things that I dreamed of all at once, and I feel uncontrollably excited, so I can't sleep all night?

This is how it should be. Kevin felt that even if he had insomnia, it should be for this reason.

But the fact is obviously not.

His inner peace was immense. I didn't feel as sleepy or physically exhausted as I should have, and I didn't seem to feel particularly excited or excited.

Why is this?

Is it because these things are not what he wants?

impossible.

A world without collapse, a tired, ordinary but stable job, and... a happy life with Mei.

This was what he wanted, and for the past few years, had not dared to dream of in even his most satisfying dreams.

But at this moment, why did he feel like his heart was still water?

It seems that he got so much at once, but it can't bring him any more "joy".

Why...why?

【4:14】

The numbers on the fluorescent screen jumped, waking him up from his meditation. All kinds of thoughts were tangled up in his mind, and in the end it was only less than a minute.

He felt that a long time had passed.

Perhaps the perception of time by consciousness is indeed different from the actual time in the physical sense.

Is it because information travels faster through nerves? It doesn't seem to be the case. Sometimes I think about a lot of things in my mind, and then time doesn't pass much in reality. But sometimes I don't think about much in my mind, but a few hours pass by at once.

Yes, seven or eight hours have passed in his dream, and he doesn't know what's going on outside...

As soon as this idea arose, he quickly killed it.

"Why are you thinking about this? Didn't you say before that maybe this is a paradox like trouble in a vat, maybe that world is full of collapse and completely inconsistent with the scientific concepts learned in school, that day and night At night, my nose is filled with either the smell of blood, the smell of rotting corpses, or the smell of rust, the pungent smell of engine oil, and the smell of sweat. This world is a dream, and this is ordinary, ordinary, safe, warm, and available at any time. Is the world where you can smell the fragrance of plums the real world?”

When Kevin sighed again, the muscles from his chest to his throat tightened a little, so the sound of his exhaled breath also trembled.

First the trembling, then the rush.

He turned around gently again and hugged Mei's warm and soft body into his arms, trying to express his attitude to his subconscious in this way - don't doubt that this kind of life is real.

But behind Mei's back, his fists were clenched tightly.

"Why? Why can't such a beautiful world, a world that meets all your wishes, be able to keep you? Can't I keep you either?"

Mei in his arms suddenly made a sound.

"Sorry, I……"

Kevin didn't know how to express it for a moment.

"These are all what I want, that's right. But...it doesn't seem to be what I want."

Mei didn't speak, just hugged him tightly.

Kevin doesn't know, does the so-called character in the dream... really have his own consciousness?

No no no! He wanted to slap himself on the head!

I obviously want to regard this so-called dream as reality, but why do I have to constantly remind myself of the fact?

why why why!

"hehe……"

Mei buried her head in her arms and chuckled twice.

Kevin's mood also calmed down slightly.

"Kevin, your heart is beating a little fast."

She rubbed her face, leaving the touch of her eyelashes, nose, and lips to Kevin, and the latter's heartbeat gradually calmed down.

"Mei...are you really Mei?"

After hearing Kevin's question, Mei was silent for a long time.

Behind her, Kevin's hand was clasped, and an ice pick quickly appeared in his palm, with the tip of the pick touching the hair on the back of Mei's head.

His vision was a little blurry. If...if the person in front of him was not Mei, but a puppet created by the Eighth Herrscher, or maybe it was the Eighth Herrscher - before he entered the dreamland, he saw the gray-haired man on the rooftop opposite. Girl, he was sure that she should be the Eighth Herrscher. After all, the average emperor-level Honkai Beast should not be enough to put him into sleep.

Mei naturally felt the chill coming from the back of her head, but she was not afraid. Instead, she raised her head, passed her hands between the two close bodies, and gently held Kevin's face.

She exerted a little force with her hands, and Kevin sat up in confusion and compliance with her movements.

The two of them just lifted the quilt and sat half-sitting on the bed facing each other.

The ice pick in Kevin's hand also disappeared, because he already understood...

"You understand too, right?"

Just like the other half of themselves in the mirror, she and Kevin spoke almost at the same time, saying exactly the same words:

"Of course you are not Mei, but you are indeed [Mei]. It was not the Eighth Herrscher who made you, but me, myself."

"Of course I am not Mei, but I am indeed [Mei]. It is not the Eighth Herrscher who made me, but you, Kevin."

The two of them were silent for a few more seconds. Kevin lowered his head and wanted to speak again, but finally closed his mouth and allowed her voice to echo in the small bedroom:

"In her haste, the Eighth Herrscher just let you fall into a dream full of what you desire most. As for the specific dream, she had no time to make it up - yes, Kevin, this entire dream, including me , are all extensions of your own consciousness.”

"..."

"In your own consciousness, through your own memory of Mei, you constructed an image of Mei that may be different from her, but is most consistent with your cognition, that is, me. So, if you want to say It’s okay that I’m Mei.”

Seeing that Kevin still bowed his head and remained silent, Mei held his face again.

"That's right, Kevin, everything you see now comes from the lowest and simplest desire in your heart. This is your real thought. Since the thought is real, then why isn't this a real world? ?”

"The real world is the real world, and dreams are just dreams."

Kevin said lightly, and once again condensed the ice pick in his hand, but he made no next move.

"How can things be so simple? Kevin, there is nothing absolute in this world. You think this is just a false dream. Who knows if there really is such a branch and leaf on the tree of imaginary numbers, where Kevin and Mei live their lives Today's ordinary life, and what you dream about, is just a projection of that world."

"No, you clearly...you just said that this entire dream is my own consciousness..."

"Huh? It seems that you have realized it again - what is the so-called consciousness? Is it the transmission of information in neurons? Is it the soul? Is it Soul? Seele? душа? Anima? Soul? If that's the case, the soul What is it? Why is the [time] experienced by your soul always inconsistent with that of your body?”

Kevin tilted his head and thought for a while, then said:

"That's not you... no, it's the theory of relativity that Mei said before, that stove... uh..."

Inexplicably, he felt that he should be able to remember every word Mei said, but at this moment he couldn't think of the metaphor Mei used.

On the other hand, the [Mei] opposite found that memory easily.

"That... that is not so much an explanation of the theory of relativity as it is a random story told to you. It has something to do with the theory of relativity in physics, but it cannot be understood as the theory of relativity."

"Then what do you think a soul is?"

Kevin stared at the pair of purple eyes. He didn't know whether he was asking [Mei] or [himself].

"Of course I don't know either. But if it were Mei, she would definitely say this: Well...Kevin, have you heard of the [single electron] hypothesis?"

"Huh? In other words, there is only one electron in that world, and what we observe is just its projection in different dimensions?"

"Although the description is a little biased, that's what it means. Then let's assume that there is only one so-called [Kevin's consciousness], but he has left his own projections in all the worlds. In this case, your It’s not incomprehensible that consciousness can see Kevin’s life in another world, right?”

"Yes...wait a minute, why are you talking about this again?"

[Mei] spread her hands to show that you asked first.

Kevin searched upwards through his memory, and realized later that they seemed to be talking about whether the world was real or not.

but……

"In any case, if this is really a world that Kevin's projection has experienced, it is not the world that another Kevin's projection owns and belongs to!"

"Then why don't you leave here?"

[Mei] shook her head, walked out of bed, and opened the floor-to-ceiling curtains. Outside, there were sparse lights from thousands of houses.

At this moment, Kevin was speechless.

He wanted to argue, he wanted to say that he didn't know how to leave here, but his consciousness immediately sent him a signal, telling him——

If you want to leave this dream, just think "Leave" in your mind.

"Even if you know this very clearly, what's the use? You can't leave here after all... No, you don't have the courage to leave here after all. You know, in your original world, your comrades and your lover are all You are fighting the Eighth Herrscher, but you still selfishly want to stay in this world for a little longer, even just for a second, and you have stayed here for so long with this idea, right? "

Kevin was silent.

It's like...he gets up every morning.

The first time I open my eyes, I am always recalling my dreams. If it is a beautiful dream, then you will involuntarily close your eyes and dream of continuing that dream.

"hehe."

[Mei] chuckled again and opened the window.

The cold morning breeze rushed in instantly, but to Kevin, this degree could not be called cold at all.

He glanced at [Mei] who was standing at the window, shivering, and finally sighed, walked to the window, and held her in his arms for warmth.

"Kevin, let's go back to your original doubts."

"What?"

"Why? Why don't you still feel happy in this dream that concentrates all your inner desires?"

"..."

"Kevin, because in this dream, all the things you desire are obtained in an instant - without any effort on your part. But is this really a good thing?"

Kevin inexplicably recalled his childhood, always wanting this gadget and that snack.

But after I actually bought it, I felt...a lack of interest.

The same is true for many couples I met at Qianyu Academy. The easier a relationship is established, the faster and more ruthlessly the breakup will occur.

"Right?"

[Mei] once again easily saw through what he was thinking.

"Because the joy of getting what you desire does not only come from the thing you desire. In other words, most of that joy comes from the process of you constantly working hard to get it. So adolescence is not the time to use Toys you bought with your own money, and girls you caught up with easily when you grew up, your feelings for these are actually extremely fragile because you didn’t pay much for them.”

"It's different, Mei... you and I... although it can't be said that we got together easily, but there shouldn't be too many twists and turns, right?"

He knew that this [plum] was not that kind of plum, but he still couldn't help but say so.

"Now! There are always exceptions."

Then there was another long silence.

Kevin originally thought that [Mei], as an extension of his consciousness, wanted to keep him in this dream.

But the more she spoke, Kevin felt that what she really wanted was for him to leave.

"It's strange, isn't it? It's not that strange actually. Can my changes be seen as contradictory changes in your own thoughts, Kevin? Compared to the beginning where you simply just wanted to stay in this world for a while, what you are doing now You seem to want to return to reality and help your comrades."

"maybe……"

"Then let me add to the fire - Kevin, have you ever thought about what you have been fighting for?"

Kevin's eyes were blank, completely confused.

He initially joined the Fire Chaser Moth just because Mei joined the Fire Chaser Moth, and he could not leave Mei. As for his previous contact with the Fire Chaser Moth in Luluye, those were actually not very important.

He just couldn't and didn't want to leave May, that's all.

So what is the so-called fighting?

Most of his comrades fought to protect their loved ones, but what about him?

Is it to protect Mei?

That's not wrong, but most of the time, he seemed to just follow Mei's instructions dully.

He did whatever she asked him to do.

Because he imagined that Mei's decision must be correct, just as Mei believed that he could do those things.

But in the final analysis, he has always lacked an active goal to attract him to move forward.

It was more like he was forcefully pushed to this point by Mei.

Of course, before this, the question "Why fight" had never appeared in his mind.

Thinking back on it, he was really confused over the past many years.

"It's actually very simple, Kevin, let's recall everything that has happened since you fell into the dream. The relaxed campus life, the ordinary, tired but stable life after growing up, and me who has always been by your side... Kevin, if you really want this, please go back to the world you should be in, and then set this dream as your end point. Every step you take is a step towards where you are. All this longing, all these things I said, you can... no, you must understand. "

"I see."

Kevin suppressed all his emotions and, as always, answered in a seemingly cold and calm language.

But he soon discovered that the [Mei] in front of him disappeared.

What he held in his arms was nothingness.

It turned out that at the same time that [Mei] said those words to him, he somehow thought of the word [leave] in his mind.

Many things are like this. Maybe a lot of effort and sweat have been spent on this single thing, but the last tremor cannot even be noticed at the first time.

Kevin turned his head and looked around at the pale people. The corners of his mouth gradually rose into a smile. He couldn't tell whether it was bitterness, ridicule, or a smile of relief.

He closed his eyelids, plunging his vision into darkness.

When he opened it again, he saw a strange yet familiar ceiling.

"Well……"

Because of sleeping for a long time, all the muscles in the body felt a little uncomfortable.

It's not sore, but it's a feeling more unacceptable than soreness.

It's like a spring that has been pressed and won't relax, and there's a chance it won't bounce back.

He quickly sat up and stretched as if no one was watching. His overly exaggerated movements accidentally tore off the needle of the nutrient solution inserted in his right hand.

"Gulu—Gulu—"

He covered his stomach, feeling really hungry.

But the professional instinct of a warrior finally returned at this time, and he finally realized that this was not the usual idle time just waking up from sleep, but the present moment when the Eighth Herrscher had appeared.

"I wonder how Mikael, Ellie, and Sakura are doing..."

He was a little worried about his comrades who also participated in Operation De Moana Chino. But this worry is not very strong - he doesn't think Mikael is as fragile now as before.

After all, even Kevin can escape from the dream. Even if Mikael really falls into the dream, he won't linger for too long.

But as long as he is here, it won't be a big problem.

Kevin thought so and turned his head.

He quickly noticed the empty hospital bed on his left. Although no one was lying on it, the neatly folded tofu quilt and the flat sheets like bronze mirrors all pointed to the fact that someone had rested here...

Moreover, as far as Kevin knows, there is only one kind of person who can keep the house in such order...

Sure enough, there were blue flip headphones and blue hairpins on the bedside table.

There are two long knives placed on the wall of the ward.

"Sakura?"

He looked around again - in fact, this action was not necessary, because the ward was not big and he could see clearly without any effort. There were only two beds.

"No, no, no! It's not just me and Sakura who have fallen into a dream! It's over, it's over! Mikael and Alicia will definitely laugh to death, they will!"

He covered his face in despair.

After a while, he turned over and got off the hospital bed.

Anyway, it seemed that no one was paying attention to him, and there was no red light flashing in the base like the usual Herrscher attacks, which made him a little confused and didn't know what happened.

The door to the ward is obviously not locked, but in this so-called "VIP" ward, even if the patient walks out of the first door, he or she does not leave the medical area, because there is a room outside that covers an area larger than the original ward. Equivalent to a two-bedroom "visiting area".

The first thing to enter is naturally the so-called "living room".

He quickly found three acquaintances beside the coffee table——

Ellie, who was holding a book upside down and yawning uncontrollably, Eden, who was drunk until she was drunk, and Sakura, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa with her palms facing up, closing her eyes and meditating.

The sound of the ward door opening was particularly harsh, and the three of them turned their attention to Kevin at the same time.

"Uh... you look like this. Has the eighth collapse been resolved?"

Kevin scratched his head.

"Of course not!"

Ellie spread her hands innocently, and uncharacteristically, she lowered her voice and spoke in a breathy voice.

"Anyway, the commander now is Mikael. He has his own ideas. At least now we still have time to rest for a while, right, my good Eden?"

"Uh-uh-uh-ah-"

"..."

"But, having said that, Alicia, why do you speak in a lowered voice?"

Ai Li blinked innocently:

"Aren't you afraid of waking up Mei who is resting in the back? Oh, let me see, well, she has been sleeping for eight hours, and it's time to get up... Hey, it seems that she has woken up first!"

Kevin turned his head suddenly and saw Mei leaning lazily on the door frame of the "Family Lounge" and smiling lightly at him.

Kevin instantly remembered something that happened in his dream, and moved stiffly and quickly to the sofa.

In the subsequent Honkai Impact, I feel that there is not much suspense about combat power. I thought, how about this, mainly to make up for the growth of other heroes?