In that instant, all was silent.
Then, a torrent of roaring engulfed everything.
When the roar faded away, Huai Shi lowered his eyes and saw the fresh blood on the ground, the dagger in his chest, and Lily with tears streaming down her face.
"Oh dear, I missed. What a pity."
Gazing at that astonished face, Huai Shi's eyebrows lifted in amusement. As if feigning regret, he chuckled softly and lowered his eyes.
He fell to his knees, powerless.
Lily looked at him blankly, as if she wanted to say something.
Blood fell on her face. Her lips moved, but no words came out.
"I'm sorry, I can no longer accompany you on your journey."
Huai Shi leaned on her shoulder, gasping, and whispered. Lily watched him blankly. Unable to hold back a wail, she reached out to save him, but Huai Shi gripped her hand tightly.
Very tightly.
Huai Shi raised his head, looked at her face, and forced her to look into his eyes.
"Listen to me, Lily, from today on... you have to learn to be alone."
He strained to breathe as he told her, "When you reach the new world, you must start living alone, working alone, and traveling alone. You will embrace your own fate and future. You'll face the storms of the future alone, and you may end up dying quietly all by yourself."
"But you must not fear, nor must you run away."
Huai Shi stroked the teenage girl's cheek, looked into her tearful eyes, and said softly, "You are not alone, Lily, so you must have courage."
He slowly raised his hand and gently embraced Lily's shoulders with all his strength.
"Goodbye, Lily," he bade farewell, "and goodbye, my friend."
Thank you for your companionship.
Thank you for everything you've done for me.
And thank you for that hug from before.
When he lifted his gaze, he saw the shattered clouds above the sky dome and the twinkling stars shining under the moonlight. The tranquil sea, its blood-red hue dispersed, brought forth a gentle, warm, refreshing breeze.
At the edge of the sea, faint outlines of continents and mountains emerged.
Their journey had reached its destination.
The brief journey was about to end.
He smiled, closed his eyes, and breathed his last breath.
May the wind be at your back.
.
.
"Why didn't you stop him?" KP looked down at the final scene and pondered softly. "I thought at least you'd let him kill that girl since, after all, this is just a game."
"Yes, it's only a game." Ai Qing calmly lit a cigarette at the corner of her mouth. "Too bad, I also quite like this ending."
With that, she raised her middle finger to KP on behalf of Huai Shi, telling him word by word:
"—Go to hell, game."
KP calmly accepted the anger and disdain from Ai Qing and Huai Shi. He calmly closed the Rule Book in his hands, took off his glasses, and shook his head slightly with a sigh. "Should I say it's incredible, or is it to be expected? You actually made the same choice as the last round... If once is an accident, then twice is no coincidence."
He paused for a moment, nodding solemnly to Ai Qing. "Your resolve and will are admirable, Miss Ai, and your respect for the story astonishes me. I must admit: I underestimated you."
"Can pretty words change the outcome?" Ai Qing stubbed out her cigarette and looked up at him. "Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly. Don't expect to hear me plead."
"No, I think you've misunderstood something." KP stared at the image within the game, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "The game is not over yet... after all, what's happening now, someone will not permit it."
At his fingertips, a chess piece oozing with a deep, blood-red color emerged and was slowly placed on the table.
In that instant, within the darkness, an icy pupil opened.
[Ending Error]
[Fallacy in the Third Branch]
[Logic Direction Deviation, Correction Begins... Correction Fails... Problem Report Uploaded... Central Core Analysis Begins...]
[Analysis Complete]
[Correction Begins...]
And so, time came to a sudden halt.
In the dying, dim twilight, Huai Shi opened his eyes and listened to the myriad roars and noises that rose and fell until they finally transformed into a vast thunder, exploding from within his soul.
"Rebellion!"
"Rebellion!!"
"Rebellion!!!"
Thunder, as if tangible, fell from the sky, piercing into his soul. A certain rigid and decisive power moved within his consciousness, beginning to seek the roots of rebellion and correct erroneous intentions.