The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

Do humans fear death first or the unknown first?

In other words, do humans fear the unknown because they fear death, or do they fear death because they fear the unknown?

This question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, is enough to make one sit there for an entire afternoon without coming up with a correct answer.

But looking at it from another perspective, aren’t death and unknown synonymous?

Death is the biological instinctive fear, and it is also the original "unknown", but the unknown that people fear is no longer limited to death.

For people, who are contradictory creatures, they hate loneliness and hate life that can be predicted before it happens, so they want another person to appear in their lives to add uncertainty to their lives. Curiosity can be satisfied.

But uncertainty is a kind of unknown, and it is also something that people fear abnormality.

"For some people, the fear of a stranger intruding into their lives is far greater than the fear of a person growing old alone, so he would rather endure it for decades than try to accept living with another person. Years of loneliness until death. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of person I am.”

Mikael was really a little sad.

The heroes who came to celebrate the wedding had dispersed at some point. After all, it was just a wedding that couldn't be any briefer. There was no kneeling down on one knee to propose, no long and feeble vows, just picking up the other person's hand. , put a ring on each other, and everything fell into place just like their relationship.

But now, Mikael is holding Ellie's left hand, his fingers constantly caressing the ring on her ring finger, and more and more unspeakable emotions can't help but surge up in his heart.

"Huh? Then how come you ended up in my hands?"

Ai Li held his hand and shook it ostentatiously, as if declaring her sovereignty.

"Perhaps it's because... I met you when I first came to this world. To me, you are not a stranger who broke in halfway. For me, only the life with you is the best. It is complete and certain.”

Ai Li pursed her lips, carefully savoring the emotion in his words, and also had mixed feelings in her heart.

"For me...it should be the same, right?"

She murmured softly, and then hesitation began to continuously impact her consciousness.

"But, if we change the situation...Mikael, if we didn't meet each other at the beginning, but like Kevin and May, we met when we were almost used to being alone, how could we still go so far? This step today?”

"certainly!"

Mikael nodded without thinking.

"Although it's boring to assume this kind of thing, I think if our story unfolded in a different way, it would probably be like this -

"Although I have long been used to being alone, although I am very afraid that another person will break into my unchanging life and lead my life into the unknown... But if it is you, I can overcome this fear, because from the people I know From that day on, I can no longer stand being alone.”

"Pfft! You are so serious!"

Ellie covered her mouth and smiled, then she threw herself into Mikael's arms and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It's like... you've actually experienced it."

Mikael smiled slightly.

That's right, it's just like experiencing it for real.

"what about now?"

"Um?"

The lights in the house instantly became silent, and the windows that constantly filled the inner room with wind were gently closed.

Ellie's cunning and shining eyes were clearly visible even in the darkness——

"I mean, what to do now and next?"

Mikael's body froze instantly.

People's growth is never uniform. They often make rapid progress in one aspect, making people mistakenly think that they have really grown up.

But in some places, some views are really frighteningly childish.

Despite similar notions, Mikael refuted it in front of Kevin not long ago, accusing him of evasion.

But when it comes to himself, I'm afraid he still has to be unconventional, right?

Ellie kept blinking, and the faint light outside the room reflected in her eyes, shining brightly.

Correspondingly, both Mikael's sight and facial features were hidden in darkness, and his body gradually became colder and lost its temperature.

The distance between the two people is obviously close to zero, but it seems that it will be pulled to infinite distance in the next moment.

How much time has passed like this?

Like ten minutes, maybe half an hour, or...actually just a moment?

"ah!"

Ai Li couldn't help but let out an exclamation, and Mikael suddenly lifted her up without any warning, pressed his lips, and his expression suddenly became a little playful.

He leaned down and whispered in Ellie's ear:

"Alicia..."

"What's the matter!"

Ellie's hand around his neck never let go until his next words came:

"You are fat!"

…………

The wind is a bit noisy tonight. Perhaps the ventilation system in the underground city is in too good condition. The windows always vibrate from time to time, making it difficult to sleep...

Well, no, Mikael couldn't sleep at all.

Not just because of his physical abnormality, not just because of the excitement of the past few hours...

And because of the future he is trying to strive for.

"well……"

He stared silently at the dark ceiling. The ceiling was silent and would not tell him any answers. Of course, Mikael did not need any answers.

The closer the planned time came, he thought he would gradually be moved by fear - fear that his next actions would fail, fear that he would lose everything he finally had, including Ellie, who was pretending to sleep in his arms at this time. .

But the fact is that he has no distracting thoughts, no fear, no worries. He has never felt so determined for a moment, so convinced that what he is going to do is the right thing and what he has to do.

He understood that it was time for him to leave.

But there's one thing that hasn't been done.

He had to... give Ellie a solemn farewell.

Not only because he should do this, not only because he wants to do this, but also because he must confess to Ellie at this moment——

Because the place he wants to go cannot be reached by his own strength, and he needs Ai Li to take him on the last journey.

"Ellie..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, his mouth was covered by a slightly cold hand.

Then, the hand crossed his cheek, rested on his shoulder, and gently turned his body around, so that the two of them hugged each other face to face.

The summer night here was not sultry, but rather too cool, so much so that both of them could feel the goose bumps on each other's skin.

Mikael's fingers began to slide along Ellie's back, as if trying to smooth out the aroused skin.

But this was just to cover up the panic in his heart at that moment.

"Mikael, promise me not to say goodbye, okay?"

Mikael drew her body inward and pressed his forehead to hers.

After talking, Mikael's mind calmed down again.

Yes, he always knew what Ellie wanted to do, and of course Ellie always knew what he wanted to do. This kind of spiritual tacit understanding cannot be concealed by words.

"Ellie, I'm better than you..."

"Shh!"

Without waiting for him to fully explain those "self-righteous" reasons, Ellie kissed him without hesitation. So, no matter how much he wanted to say, Mikael had to put it down temporarily. He closed his eyes and responded boldly. Holding her.

The wind roared in his ears more and more wantonly, but the vibration of the glass window disappeared at some point.

The wind caressed their bodies, making the chill even worse. Even their clothes were rolled up and crackling.

etc!

clothing?

Mikael turned around and finally felt the almost imperceptible dizziness. The center of gravity also changed. The two of them were no longer lying flat on their backs, but standing face to face. Before he could speak, Aili took him to the place closest to the end.

He lowered his head and saw that he was wearing a dirty and ill-fitting dress, which looked inexplicably familiar. Then he looked at Ellie in front of him. She was also a little one, wearing a black cloak that came from the orphanage.

"here it is……"

Mikael looked around. There was an empty platform here. The platform was floating steadily above the clouds, and the broken ruins could be vaguely seen in the cloud peaks.

Of course, if you remove this special background, the structure here is quite familiar.

"This is the train station in Vostok."

The structure is roughly the same, with an extra nondescript brand above the head——

"The beginning → the end"

"Alicia, this brand is only available on the subway."

"Ah! Ah... Really? Then I will definitely change it next time, I will definitely change it next time!"

For some reason, her body returned to the size it was when she just left Vostok, and her personality seemed to have become a little childish. Ellie raised her wrist, pulled Mikael and jumped around for a while, and finally sat on a chair on the platform.

"Remember, Mikael? That was our first train ride."

"Well, I didn't have any money to buy the tickets at that time, so I just used various methods to sneak in."

Ai Li smiled, but her expression turned a little sentimental in an instant, which was a bit inconsistent with her immature facial features.

"At that time, we experienced separation for the first time, and we actually had a premonition in our hearts - maybe if we leave, we will never return to the orphanage, and we will never see Celia's mother and everyone again.

"On the platform, we saw a lot of people coming and going to see them off. People seemed to particularly like to say goodbye on the platform. No, maybe it's just because the platform is the last step they can accompany them to.

"It turns out that the platform is a separate place - I thought so at the time. But unfortunately, no one said goodbye to us at that time."

"Is this...the reason why you turned this place into a platform?"

"Well, since then I have thought that if I really have to go through separation again in the future, I must solemnly say 'goodbye' to them on the platform. Because separation without saying goodbye... is too impolite. Oh!”

"Alicia..."

Mikael took a deep breath. His voice was a little childish, so he had to lower his voice to sound solemn and to show that he had made up his mind:

"This time, let me go."

Ai Li didn't rush to talk this time, she just held his hand silently.

So Mikael continued to explain his reasons:

"Alicia, what you can do is to use your own life to cut off the so-called fate, right?"

Ellie's eyes flickered slightly and she shook her head noncommittally, but Mikael was immersed in his own narrative and did not notice this.

"But you should know that even if you do that, it's hard to say whether it will be helpful to the current situation. But, if I become the Herrscher of the End, maybe I will be able to seize the twelfth Herrscher. Authority, and then you will defeat me..."

(Note that Mikael traveled through time)

"Is this your plan? It's as straightforward as ever... But, Mikael, why are you so sure that you can become the end?"

Mikael was stunned. Ellie did not respond tit-for-tat, which made all his prepared words come to nothing.

After thinking for a moment, he replied:

"Actually, this is a hunch I had a long time ago. When I first constructed the core of the Second Herrscher, I felt strange, because what I constructed was not just the dead core, but the core here. Based on the basics, I went a step further and optimized its internal structure into something that I can use myself.

"This shouldn't have been something I could do at that time. Even building a dead core was no less difficult than rebuilding a body. Before I emerged for the first time, I didn't have the confidence to rebuild my body. But it didn’t take much effort to accomplish something even more difficult...

"Later, I entered the imaginary space twice during the battle, plus Vishnu's time, for a total of three times, I felt the careful and undisguised peek from an existence in the imaginary space... and the call. .

"The moment I was sure that what I was reappearing was not the core of the Herrscher itself, but the power of the other Herrschers that were reappeared, I realized something - Ellie, did I tell you? In fact, I am not from this world, and it is precisely because of this that I was able to get rid of the shackles of the end, but at the same time, maybe the end is also targeting me because of this.

"He added all the rest of the Herrscher's powers to me, and when the twelve powers are gathered together, perhaps, I will become the End - although it is possible, I am quite sure that this is the case. I I can no longer eat or sleep, Alicia. I am no longer human."

After hearing his last words, Ai Li raised her brows again, revealing a smile with unclear meaning.

"Have you ever thought that if all this is a final plan, then your current actions are tantamount to throwing yourself into a trap?"

"Of course I understand this. But if I will become the final leader no matter whether I am active or passive, then why not take the initiative to become the final leader and fight for a chance?"

Hearing this, Ellie's eyes flickered again, and she seemed to want to speak, but in the end she remained silent and allowed Mikael to finish.

"If I fail to seize the authority of the Twelfth Herrscher, or if I lose my personality after becoming the End, that is nothing more than the worst outcome. Of course, if I find that things have reached this point , I will work hard to cut the thread of fate and open up possibilities for you in the next era..."

Having said this, Mikael suddenly held Ellie's hand, turned his head, and looked directly into her eyes:

"No matter whether I succeed or not, I will try to erase fate before the end. Apponia should be able to see whether the thread of fate exists. Ellie, promise me, only when I fail completely, you will Choose to sacrifice yourself again, okay?”

Ellie avoided Mikael's gaze, sighed softly, and chuckled again in the blink of an eye.

It's just...her words completely answered the question:

"Mikael, I went to see Mebius once before. She talked to me some words and asked me some questions - Mikael, do you think... people must be afraid of death?"

"Yes, the desire to survive is an instinct that humans, or rather all living creatures, cannot escape."

"Mikael, are you...scared now?"

"Well!"

Mikael touched his head.

It seems that...from the time he started planning this until now, he has never hesitated because of fear of death.

Perhaps...his fear of Ellie's disappearance has long been far greater than his fear of his own death.

"What about me...Mikael..."

Ai Li suddenly trembled violently all over, and tears burst out of her eyes in an instant.

"You should also understand that I am different from you. I was born a Herrscher...I have never been human."

Mikael bit his lip and nodded unexpectedly:

"Yeah, Ellie."

So, she cried even harder.

"Alicia, you encompass almost all the beauty in the world. You are so beautiful that you don't seem like a real person. I once regarded you as a 'god'. I always thought that you have transcended human nature and become a human being." How can God be afraid of a God who transcends all existence?”

Mikael held Ellie's hand and guided her to place it on her heart:

"But Ellie, feel your own heartbeat, and then look at your tears. Aren't you really afraid?"

It's not right to transcend humanity and become a god without fear.

The reason why people are human is that they have both light and shadow at the same time.

The same desire reflected in people may become the greed that everyone despises, or it may become the driving force that spurs a person to keep moving forward.

This possibility is where human nature shines brighter than the so-called "divinity", and it is also where Ellie is truly intoxicated.

The so-called divinity is more like a fantasy that gathers all "light" - an existence with only good sides and no bad qualities is called God.

But what’s the point of beauty if there is no evil?

Just like if there is no shadow, how can people realize that there is light in this world?

And life is a process of constantly wandering and struggling between the light side and the dark side, trying to find the meaning of one's existence.

so……

"So, Ellie, you are really afraid at this moment. You are afraid that the meaning you have finally found - [wanting to be a human being and wanting to protect human beings] will be shattered.

"As for whether you are afraid of death or not, it is not that important. Ellie, I once said that for everyone, there are always some [few] that are more important than [all]. And similarly, for a person, There is always some [meaning] that is more important than [life and death]. What you fear is far more worthy of fear than death.

"Besides, the so-called desire to survive and the so-called fear cannot represent all the duality of human beings. You will tease people from time to time, you will stand on tiptoes jealously to compare your height with others, and you will die because you can't get rid of the bad habit of biting your nails. Depression...in my eyes, these are far more symbolic of human nature than fear."

"Then...then...Mikael, in your eyes, have I finally become a human..."

"Of course, you're still human from beginning to end."

Mikael stroked the hair on her temples lovingly, and in a daze, the two of them transformed into adults again.

Seemingly thinking of something, Mikael took out a Celtic knot-style brooch from his pocket.

"I was too embarrassed to pin it on for you at first, so let's make it up now."

Ellie's tears turned into laughter in an instant.

Mikael carefully pinned it on Ellie's chest. Of course, it was difficult for his fingers to avoid touching places they shouldn't, but both of them had no more charming thoughts at this moment.

"Alicia, you were once a human, and you will still be a human in the future..."

Mikael paused, then suddenly reached out and poked Ally's cheek:

"But from now on, let's live as calmly as possible - just like before."

After saying this, he was about to mobilize the power of space, but there was a "bang" in his head, and something exploded in his body, instantly flowing through his body in the form of powder, making him unable to move.

"I'm sorry, this may not be the ending you wanted."

Mikael's pupils almost shrank to a point, and Ellie wiped away her tears, with a winner's smile, and poked Mikael's cheek——

"I'm sorry, Mikael, but no matter what, from now on, even if I'm not here, you must live well by yourself. It would be better if you could live more calmly."

Then, she walked to the edge of the platform without looking back. The whistle that had never sounded came belatedly, and a tram quickly entered the station and finally stopped in front of her.

"The platform is a place to say goodbye, but I don't want to say goodbye, Mikael. Because I also have such delusions - if we don't say goodbye, does it mean we have never been apart?"

The train doors opened to both sides, and Ellie's tears cast a shadow on the ground. She choked and finished her words, and couldn't hold it back anymore. She looked back at Mikael, then raised her feet and stepped into the void. A carriage for one person...and then, it was all in vain.

"What!"

Feeling a slight weightlessness, accompanied by dizziness, Ellie held her head and shook it vigorously, and then she realized something was wrong - why was she still sitting?

She raised her head in disbelief. The train door had opened, and Mikael was standing at the door facing her.

"The power of consciousness...when!"

Even if it was the power of consciousness, she could not resist it with crystals if she was well prepared, but...

"Fool, it started from the moment I picked you up."

With a happy smile, Mikael took a step back and stood in the empty carriage.

"Wait a minute, come back here!"

Ai Li rushed forward, but the car door closed just in time. She clenched her fists with both hands and slammed it down. The door did not move. She hit it hard with her head, but the door did not even tremble.

In the end, she could only lie down in front of a thin car door, crying and facing Mikael, who always kept a smile.

"Don't look like that, Ellie. It doesn't look good if you cry."

Mikael said with a smile.

"As you said, we won't say goodbye, because we will definitely meet again - I will wait for you, Alicia."

The whistle sounded again and the tram began to move forward slowly.

Ai Li seemed to remember something. She slapped the car door desperately again and shouted something.

And Mikael leaned lightly on the armrest of the carriage, lowered his head, and smiled silently.