The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

Purple, pink, and crimson nebulae mixed with the two are like balls of carefully prepared paint, which were smeared by a child in a half-asleep and half-awake state into what should have been a pitch-black starry sky.

What the feet are stepping on is like a calm sea of ​​stars. Even if the center of gravity moves slightly, circles and ripples will appear under the feet, distorting the gorgeous starry sky in the reflection.

I don't know when, the stars began to rotate around the focus of sight - or in other words, the sea of ​​stars that reflected everything was rotating along the axis, so there were countless neat stars in the deep and vast night sky. Concentric circles.

Here... is all this the end of that woman?

My heart was pounding, and there were too many emotions stirring in my chest.

Sadness - This is for Alicia.

Anger - this is dedicated to the irresistible fate and this cruel world.

Unwilling, of course I will feel unwilling... Wait, this unwillingness...

“Bang tom, bang tom—bang tom, bang tom—bang tom, bang tom—”

After a feeling of unwillingness flashed through his heart, Hua suddenly noticed another heartbeat in his chest.

"This is……"

The two heartbeats were closely connected, almost only one beat apart. At this moment, as the unwillingness surged up, it was unclear whose heartbeat slowed down for a moment, or whether it was someone whose heartbeat slowed down for a moment. Whose heart beat faster for a moment, and the two "bang toms" from different sources finally overlapped.

If you don’t want to give in, of course you won’t.

"Why... why did it end like this? At that time, my mind was filled with such meaningless thoughts."

Mikael's voice sounded in Hua's mind. Hua was not surprised, but he used his own voice to read out these words uncontrollably.

"Since a long time ago, maybe before everything started, I have been trapped between two choices that cannot be reconciled - saving only the people I care about, and saving everyone. I have said it many times myself, Equivalent exchange is one of the truths in this world. If you want to gain something, you must lose something. People who want everything and can't give up anything will inevitably achieve nothing. Unfortunately, I am such a person. The lawyer is right, I cannot be responsible for the loss of anyone, so I can only choose to abandon myself...

"But Alicia pulled me out again, she let me live, let me live in a world that has already destroyed itself, and there is no Alicia anymore... In fact, even if this result is slightly better At one point, whether it is a world that has destroyed itself but Alicia still exists, or a world that does not have Alicia but still has hope of continuing to exist, I can accept it and I can live on... ...But what I encountered was a world where neither existed, and only I existed. I... couldn't bear all this..."

Sighing softly, Hua turned around, and Mikael stood behind her with his head lowered. With that movement, if he hadn't caught a glimpse of the Herrscher of Knowledge standing furtively in the distance, she would have almost died. I recognized the wrong person for a moment.

But Hua knew that this was Mikael, the Mikael who had never changed in 50,000 years - it was really ironic to say that at a certain stage, everyone secretly hoped that Mikael would become more mature. Stronger, although everyone can also see that he is carrying some things that he is unwilling to say... Only Alicia will always say it in a joking tone, hoping that Mikael will never change and remain this way forever. It looks good...

Now it seems that this is the difference between her and Alicia. She hoped that Mikael would become stronger and more powerful. In the final analysis, she was just relying on him, hoping to rely on his strength to solve more problems... At that time, Alicia was the only one who did not want Mikael from the bottom of her heart. She only hopes that Mikael can live easier and more calmly, even if it means that she has to carry more weight and face more dangers, until she finally gives up her life.

After thinking about this, Hua also lowered his head in despair. If it's just because I'm ashamed of myself, there's no need to be so depressed. But is Alicia's expectation just for Mikael?

She really hopes that everyone can live easily and calmly, so she takes up everything at the last moment, blocking everything she has to give them the last hope for those who have not protected the world.

"Hua Hua……"

In a daze, she heard Mikael calling her.

He raised his gaze upwards from his toes, but in fact it only changed fifteen degrees, using the reflection of the sea of ​​stars under his feet to meet Mikael's bitter eyes.

"Hua, tell me, am I actually a very cold and hypocritical person? Why can I say... whether it is a world without Alicia but still has hope, or a world with Alicia but has been destroyed I can accept such cruel words in the world. Could it be that I just regard saving at least one of them as a way to realize my self-worth, rather than out of a true sense of kindness and justice? It's not because I'm sad, but because I can't accept my own failure...

"Hua, you see, this is the real me. A selfish and irrational idiot. Just because I think 'things shouldn't be like this', I drag the two worlds before and after and you all into this. The culprit of a war that lasted for fifty thousand years... Hua, take a closer look, this is the real Mikael, what is so good about such a person... What is there to like? "

The cheek muscles twitched slightly, but Hua smiled unconsciously.

"As expected, you have to save both the world and Alicia, even if the cost is yourself. What you want to do is exactly the same as what I guessed five hundred years ago."

His words were a little lonely, but his smile became more and more uncontrollable.

Mikael also raised his head as if he had just woken up from a dream, as if he suddenly realized that it was what he just said that brought back the topic that Hua had just announced that he was no longer entangled with.

Soon he was laughing himself.

When used well, a smile can often become a point to start a conversation. As Hua pointed out not long ago, this is one of the means that Mikael has always used to escape.

But this time, Mikael didn't do that.

I don’t know whether it was the influence of the surrounding environment or whether it was because he had reached this point and had no escape at all. He answered uncharacteristically and seriously:

"Looking back now, that time five hundred years ago, you really said something incredible at that time. Do you remember?"

"Although my mind is still a little confused, and there are still many things that I haven't remembered, how could I have forgotten that at that time - 'Thank you for ever having such a crush on me.' Looking back now, This is the last chance. Mikael, if you heard this sentence not in Klosten, but on Taixu Mountain, after just solving their problem... would we really go there? A completely different future?"

"perhaps?"

Although it was a question, Hua could hear the 'affirmative' tone in Mikael's mouth.

Suddenly, the surrounding scenery had completely changed, from the gorgeous but unreal starry sky to the clear mirror-like inner lake that Mikael had seen once five hundred years ago. After that, the two of them sat down in unison - Mikael crossed his legs and put his hands on his ankles, while Hua sat on his knees with his hands on his knees.

"I also said that it is not difficult to abandon everything in the past and start over. It is not difficult at all. It can even be said that this idea is tempting me all the time. And...50,000 years have passed, and we I can no longer remember what civilization is like...even...even Alicia's appearance cannot be recalled immediately - yes, I am such an indifferent person, so indifferent. Even the memory of Alicia can be diluted over time, so much so that I have thought about it more than once, should I stop here..."

"Mikael..."

"It's selfish, right? I am the one who turned this world into this, and I am the one who brought harm to countless human beings and took away everything from them. But I feel regret all the time, and I fantasize about starting over. So, this is what I want to show you, Hua. What you liked in the past was just the Mikael of the past, or the Mikael you imagined in your mind. Everything I just said, That’s the real Mikael. You must be very disappointed when you see me like this, and then you can give up.”

Hua took a deep breath and suddenly covered his mouth with his right hand. His fingers kept going back and forth between loosening and clenching.

"Do you want me to stop you? No, you want me to try to stop you, right. Just like Mei and the others did. Only in this way can you create a world where everyone is working hard to fight against Honkai. Everyone After doing your best to fight against Honkai and finally defeat it, you want Alicia to see such a world when she opens her eyes again, right?”

"yes."

Mikael's head lowered downwards and stayed there for a full second before raising it again.

"Ah……"

When the laughter suddenly sounded, both Hua and Mikael thought it was the Herrscher of Consciousness who was causing trouble again, but it wasn't until Hua touched the corners of her upturned lips that she realized that it was her who had inadvertently spoken. Own.

"Hehehe..."

His body was shaking uncontrollably, but his feeble laughter could not stop, and in a short period of time it evolved into a laughter that was cathartic even though he was suppressed.

The Herrscher of Knowledge didn't cause trouble, it was herself who had the problem, but she didn't know why.

She covered the lower half of her face with her wide sleeves. Since she couldn't stop laughing, she had no choice but to cover it up.

But this is just the beginning. The inner lake that originally had only a few ripples gradually became turbulent. Waves followed one after another. In the beginning, it was just the shaking of the boat. In just a few blinks, it turned into the ability to reach out and touch it from time to time. The sky sometimes seems to be submerged by the waves.

"Old antique! What are you doing! Stop now!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

The sudden interruption from the Herrscher of Knowledge came quite timely. It can only be said to be strange. It did not trigger any keywords, and there was no point that was enough to guide thinking. But the moment the voice sounded, Hua felt that his hands were being understood. The Herrscher held it gently, and in the darkness, the voice suddenly calmed her down gradually, and guided her to find what she wanted to say to Mikael hidden behind the laughter.

"Hua, are you... okay?"

Even though the waves in the Heart Lake were gradually subduing, Mikael couldn't help but express concern. But he himself couldn't tell clearly. He couldn't tell whether this voice was genuine concern or just... coping with the problem.

Who told him to be a selfish and indifferent person to begin with?

"Hehehe..."

Clinker Hua laughed again, but this time, her laughter did not last long because she had found what she wanted to say——

"Mikael, do you want me to believe that a person who keeps saying that he is cold and selfish is really cold and selfish? Bad people will only say that they are good people, not to mention... you may be selfish, but a Even selfish people just want to see a better world. How can you make me believe that this is a person who is so indifferent that he is not worthy of being...liked?"

"Hua, this is just me in your eyes..."

"That's how I see you. Is there anything wrong with you?"

Hua's hands were clasped together in front of her body, her long sleeves were pieced together, and the hem swayed slightly, and Hua also stood up.

"Mikael, you keep saying that the Mikael in your own words is the real Mikael. But I'm afraid you have forgotten that you also said this to me - a person can never see the real Mikael in his lifetime. The self, whether it is the self in the mirror or in the photo, is not 100% self; people cannot hear their own voice clearly. What they hear in their ears will have timbre deviation due to the vibration of the solid body, and the sound captured by the equipment will not be the same. Maybe equal sign.

"Look, I remember every word of what you said. So, is the self in your own eyes really your true self? The Mikael in my eyes, the Mikael I like, is The hero who will inevitably appear in front of me when I encounter danger is also a hero who is obviously very fragile, perhaps more fragile than all of us, but will still rush to bear the responsibility on himself. Of course. I see a one-sided Mikael, but isn’t the cold and selfish Mikael you call a one-sided Mikael?”

"..."

"So, what you're saying, at least what you're saying, doesn't hold up. Whether you really mean it or if you're just trying to push me away, it doesn't matter. I like what I've seen so far. Mikael, that's enough."

There are a lot of words. After finishing this long sentence, Hua was out of breath, shaken, and even more exhausted than before after a whole day of training.

She didn't know why, she was obviously not good at words, and she had wanted to give in not long ago, but when Mikael spared no effort to discredit herself, these words began to appear in her mind, until the previous A moment that completely came together.

Mikael heard it, and every word of Hua floated into his ears clearly, but he gradually couldn't distinguish between truth and falsehood at this moment.

What kind of person am I? Is the purpose of saying those words to offend Hua, or do I really think that I am such a bad person...

Was he inspired by Alicia's death to destroy the world and look for a way to save her, or was he despairing at the sight of the lifeless earth and thinking, "Let's just destroy this world." Or was it because he wanted to save the world and Alicia, as he just said to Hua, that's why he did this?

How much do you remember about Alicia? Although it is clearly protected by the power of knowledge, why do memories gradually fade away? Is he persisting for Alicia now, or is it just because of inertia - it seems that even though they already know that he is not a good person, it is still difficult for Nata and Mei to get rid of the kind of thinking relationship that they are close to him, so Do you want to go all the way to the dark side?

He doesn't know, he can't tell, he can't tell anything.

Mikael's face remained expressionless, but his eyes kept cycling between slowly closing and opening, and his fists clenched and relaxed in his sleeves, repeatedly.

He wanted to stand up. He hated the way Hua Ju looked at him condescendingly, and hated the look that seemed to see through him, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't even stand up for a while.

But he... finally has something that he can distinguish clearly:

"Hua...I really can't stop."

"..."

"It's not impossible to start a new life like this, but in this way, those people I have hurt, as well as Alicia, will not be able to come back. I'm sorry Hua, in the future of you and me, and the future of everyone Between them, I can only choose the latter. Moreover, at this moment, I am taking the last step before the finish line. My feet have been raised and I just missed falling. Maybe you are right, five hundred years ago. , if you had said those words two days earlier five hundred years ago, I might... but unfortunately, it is irreversible. "

Mikael was only halfway through what he said when Hua seemed to have anticipated everything. He raised his head as if resigned to his fate and sighed quickly.

She knew that in fact, five hundred years ago, when she said "Thank you for ever having such a crush on me," the chance of being changed in the future was by no means zero. It's just that the reason why Mikael had to reject her at that moment was probably the same as what he just said.

So, five hundred years ago, after she had finished saying everything, she stopped Mikael again just before everyone left. However, at that time, she still did not have the courage to say those words until the end. .

【Old antique, old antique! I have seen all your memories! Don't hide it! It's already this time, if you don't tell me, will you go to his grave to tell me in the future? Maybe there won't even be a grave! Tell me, even if I tell him and he still refuses, it's better than him dying without hearing this sentence! 】

"..."

"……..."

"Mikael, what if I don't want a future."