Chapter 520 Interlude: Sakura Scattering

The dark rain was still falling, endlessly, and it was bound to dye the whole world black before reincarnation.

If Bronya could come back here, she would be extremely surprised.

After she left, the world bubble that Mikael kept saying existed to test her was still running, without reincarnation or complete collapse.

Well, with Bronya's understanding of the world bubble, these questions should not arise. She can't come back here again.

"Puff--"

The sand and mud soaked by rain suddenly burst open a small hole, and a snow-white arm drilled out from the ground. The ink-like rain slid down the skin, leaving a long mark, like an ugly tattoo, but it only stayed on the surface and could be removed with a light wipe.

The second arm drilled out of the soil soon after, and the slender arm waved confusedly in the rain, as if it wanted to hold something, but it was impossible to hold anything.

Humans always use unrealistic arrogance as a filter to look at their own power. So I always feel that I can do anything - especially after I have the existence of fusion warriors who can be called superhuman.

However, it turns out that they are much weaker than I thought.

Just like the person who is struggling to get out of the grave now, no matter which era she is in, she is enough to be called one of the most powerful humans, but after being buried deep under the earth, relying on her own strength, she can only reach this point now.

Anyone who has been buried alive knows this truth. The thick and solid soil will tightly bind the limbs. If you want to struggle, you can't even exert force, because there is no point to borrow force. People who are buried alive in the earth can only deeply understand their own death in those five or six minutes that are countless times longer than their previous lives combined.

"Death?"

"Well, what does death mean to you?"

She can't remember when she talked about this topic with Mikael. Was it in the unforgettable six years? Or in these extremely long and extremely short 50,000 years?

In fact, this question is not important. She knows very well that such a conversation has really happened in the past history, and it is not just her imagination. This is enough.

"By the way, why do you want to ask such a question? Is it because of what happened just now? Or is it because of your--?"

"Uh... not really, but... anyway, how do you view death?"

"Hmm..."

In her memory, Mikael held her chin with her hand, and her face, which was completely blurred in her memory, was slightly raised, looking at the deep night sky.

The sight in her memory also shifted, and her own gaze was also cast into the darkness that humans could not cross even if they exhausted the entire civilization. Her eyes were blurred in the salt grains in the sky.

"Alas... Don't you think it's too early to talk about this kind of topic at this age? Okay, okay, you look like a person who likes to keep things in your heart. Well... How should I put it? I'm only this old. If you really want me to answer this question, I can only give an answer at this age - death is not a bad thing, but it is definitely not a relief. Death is death itself."

"Then what?"

"No."

"Ah..."

"I said before that I can only give such an answer at my age."

"No... I think... Compared with adults, your answer is much more mature."

"Huh?"

"Don't you think so? Most adults won't think about this kind of question, and you can give this answer quickly, which should be considered mature."

After that, Mikael didn't speak for a long time, and in her memory, she only saw herself moving her eyes to her knees, wiping a wakizashi with a silk handkerchief in the moonlight, and the watery moonlight condensed on the blade. The blade was not long, and holding it was like holding a line of ice and snow.

"But there is one thing I don't understand - if death is not a relief, then why is death not a bad thing?"

"Well, because death can give us time. The only consolation of death is that it gives people enough time to reminisce about their lives. Living people always whitewash and distort their decisions for various purposes. Only at the moment before death can a person fully review his past life and make a final conclusion to his life in his heart without any hesitation. This is a privilege that only belongs to the dying."

"In other words, for those who have committed many evil deeds and refused to repent, death may be the only opportunity for them to admit their mistakes, right."

"This is your understanding , but I don't agree with this idea. "

"Why?"

"Because... I don't like death. What I hate most is witnessing the death of others, whether that person is a good person or a bad person, which gives me a... very uncomfortable feeling. There is only one kind of death that I like - that is, after doing everything I can do, I get a death that corresponds to my life. As long as it is a death that corresponds to everything I have done, whether it is surrounded by people or facing it alone, I will not hate it. "

"But... didn't you say that death is not a kind of relief? "

"Well, everyone will die one day. Moreover, it is precisely because death is not a kind of relief that death is death, so death has its value. "

?

Sakura's head broke out of the ground, and the cold rain hit her face diagonally, but she didn't feel any pain.

"Mikael..."

She seemed to understand when that memory came from.

It turned out... it was when they first met.

It was the first meeting in the true sense, not the assassination that started off well but ended badly, which was funny to think about now.

The reason why she could recall the time through the conversation was actually because she joined the Poison Pupa for training not long after this conversation.

About a month before that, her father and mother, whose appearances she could no longer remember, went shopping at the convenience store and did not return all night. The next morning, their bodies that were eaten to pieces were found on the river beach two kilometers away.

In the following weeks, Sakura asked for leave from school and went to the local police station with Ling every day to ask for the investigation of the murderer. The reason why I took Ling with me was that I was worried about her being alone at home, but in addition to that, I also wanted to take advantage of a little bit of money. It was summer at that time. If you go to the police station, you can enjoy the air conditioning for free by sitting in the lobby and putting pressure on the adults. And the people in the police station are not bad now. They prepare lunch and dinner for them every day... Maybe they are also afraid that they will starve to death in the police station.

At first glance, their family is not poor. They have a large yard in an area that is neither in the city center nor in the suburbs. Their father directly opened a kendo hall at home, and the tuition fees paid by the disciples every month are also a considerable income. However, most of it was invested in antiques, swords, and various strange stocks, funds, and bonds. There was not much cash, and Ying had just turned ten at the time. It would take at least six years before she could go out to find a legal job. Before that, she could only save as much as possible.

People are always like this. Although their lives are as fragile as cherry blossoms, no thirty-year-old person has ever thought about "what if I die tomorrow." Once an accident happens, there will only be a lot of trivial things left. Fortunately, Ying's family has few relatives, so there will be no bloody plots. Of course, even if there are relatives, it has nothing to do with their parents.

Now that I think about it, the police were very kind to her and Ling. I still remember that at the beginning, the police only gave them instant noodles. After two or three days, they gave them pork chop rice in the police station cafeteria. If they went early, they would prepare breakfast for them.

But at that time, Ying did not feel this kindness. She just wanted to find the murderer who killed her parents.

Those people in the police station should know something that Ying did not know at that time. For such things, they naturally had no way to do anything. At that time, the Fire Chaser Moth was just an organization that had just been independent from the United Government's Collapse Department for a short time. Even the banner for recruiting personnel was still the "Supernatural Phenomenon Research Department". It was impossible to make a big fuss for the bizarre death of two adults.

This is the world. Two lives are really a drop in the ocean compared to the total population of 7 billion in the world, but these two lives mean everything to Ling and Ying.

Looking back at the past with the eyes of today, it is really full of childishness and ridiculousness...

Yakura remembered that she was completely immersed in a strange negative emotion at that time. If it was hatred, then she didn't even have a specific object of hatred. She had seen the bodies of her parents and knew that it was not something that humans could do. It was more like some kind of beast. But where did such a beast come from in a human settlement called a city? It would be better to say that it was cruelly devoured by some beasts raised by some people, which is more in line with the logic in her cognition.

She only hoped that the police station could find the murderer as soon as possible, but all she got was a perfunctory response and three meals a day.

Why did the police always perfunctorily deal with it?

Are two lives something insignificant?

Without parents, how will she live in the future?

Ling has just started school. After she goes to school, who will pick her up and drop her off, and how long can the tuition fees last?

Her nerves are like a string. The indifference of the world and the anxiety about the future pull the string from both ends and tear it madly. She persisted in this tearing for a month.

A month later, the string in her head broke.

That afternoon, she suddenly burst into tears and made a scene in the police station office hall, and then, without waiting for the police to come forward to ask questions, she grabbed Ling's hand and ran away.

But she was not running away, not running home. Compared with the vague future, the possible danger at the moment had been completely forgotten.

Ying made the most impulsive decision. She ran to the convenience store where her parents went on the day they died. It was two blocks away from home, because her mother always complained that the convenience store closest to home was too expensive and the things were not fresh, so she would rather go to a farther place to buy things.

Ying took Ling along every street and alley that her parents might have walked through, looking for possible unusual things.

And at the moment when the night fell completely, she found the answer with Ling.

At that time, she had calmed down again. After all, darkness is scary, especially for a child who is only ten years old. But just as they were about to leave, the sound of a beast swallowing saliva came from the dilapidated house beside them. And she, Ying, a child who didn't know what was good for her, just followed the sound and pushed open the door of the house.

The courtyard was filled with a Houkai beast that was almost as big as a room. When it stood up, the shadow it cast completely blocked the light of the full moon night, and instead, a huge purple beast eye lit up.

Ling's cry, the fishy smell of Honkaimon, his own continuous heartbeat, and the yellow liquid flowing out from under her skirt, everything was as clear as if it happened yesterday.

But when she came to her senses, two boys and girls who looked no older than her were already standing in front of her. They were holding blue translucent swords, and they easily killed her before causing a huge commotion. Honkaimon is resolved.

Then she vaguely invited them to go home with her. Ling was frightened and soon fell asleep with Alicia accompanying her. However, for some reason, she changed out of her urine-stained underwear. After a little cleaning, I just felt like I had endless energy and my spirit was unusually high, so this conversation started under the moon.

A ten-year-old girl ignorantly sought the meaning of death from an equally ignorant fourteen-year-old boy. What she got was an answer that sounded a little unintelligible and completely changed her life.

After that, Sakura quickly discovered that she was different from ordinary people. She became far stronger than the boys in the class, and could always easily complete some actions that ordinary people could not do. Sometimes she just practiced Su Zhen. , can directly break the bamboo knife.

So not long after, she got two invitations. A letter came from her father's former student, hoping that she could go to a killer organization for training, on condition that she would be paid generously. Another letter suddenly appeared in the mailbox at her door. It was stamped with a red seal of Poison Chrysalis. It also invited her to train, but the pay was much lower, but it promised not to let her participate in assassination missions until she was fourteen years old. What both invitations have in common is that they both promise to protect the bell.

If there hadn't been that conversation, Sakura would have chosen the former without hesitation.

After losing her parents, she was of course more inclined to make money quickly to support her younger sister. What's more, she was extremely confident in her own power at the time.

But when she made her decision, she remembered what the young man said under the moon.

He doesn't like to witness the death of others, and he certainly doesn't like the person who brings death.

Sakura finally chose Poison Chrysalis.

Now think about it, if you had chosen the former, you might have been abandoned in a certain mission. Even if you were lucky enough to survive, you would have been sent to Poison Chrysalis for breaking the law. This is true, Poison Chrysalis. The main sources of members are either young girls like her or serious criminals, including her father's student. The charges include but are not limited to subversion of the country, child abduction, and murder.

Although it was only a small change, Mikael's existence at least made the five years between the ages of ten and fourteen a lot brighter. The next two years in the Golden Courtyard were the happiest time in her life.

Most importantly, he kept Ling alive instead of...

However, the boy who once hated death the most finally stood with death.

The tears mixed with the dark rain, and Sakura couldn't even tell if she was really crying.

It’s just that she really doesn’t have the strength, and reaching this point is her limit... But if she could, she wished that Mikael could stand in front of her and drag her out of this quagmire...

Whether it was like when she was a child, or like when I took her away from the Fire Moth later...

Mikael is really a liar. He clearly said that people will have the most objective evaluation of their lives before they die, but why did she think about it all with memories of him.

"Crack!"

The palms were held firmly.

"pay close attention."

The man's voice passed through the rain curtain and reached Sakura's ears clearly.

He didn't use any power. He just held her hand with one hand to prove his existence to her. He dug his other hand into the dirty soil and quickly dug out Sakura.

He took her in his arms and held her tightly.

"sorry……"

Sakura didn't respond.

"I had to do it."

Sakura still didn't respond.

"Is it cold?"

"I'm not afraid of the cold."

"Too."

The two people suddenly hugged each other and started laughing. Even though it was in the rain, even though they were so embarrassed, they were laughing from the bottom of their hearts.

Until Sakura's words ended it all.

"Thank you, Mikael."

"Is there anything...that I should be grateful for?"

"This is how Suzuhara and I will end."

"You...don't you suspect that I fabricated all this?"

Sakura shook her head slowly, her long hair wetted by the rain caressing Mikael's cheek, causing him to close his eyes and take a deep breath.

"Su has seen similar world bubbles. Of course, even if you don't consider this, I believe you. I believe you, Mikael. I am neither as good at expressing things with words as Alicia, nor can I be as good at expressing things with words as Alicia. Dr. Mebius always stands by your side. But I believed in you fifty thousand years ago, I believed in you five hundred years ago, and I still believe in you."

"Yeah……"

Mikael's vision was also blurred in the rain.

"Well, I believe that you will not betray your past, and I also believe that you will be able to do what you want to do. I believe even more that you are still the boy who hates death from the bottom of your heart. So, I understand what you have to do. "

"Sakura, I..."

"Just go ahead as you originally planned. I am very grateful to you for protecting my soul before devouring it and extending my life for a few days, but this should not be in your original plan. Since it has Once you reach this point, you must be determined to the end and never regret it. Kyle, do you still remember what you said at that time - precisely because death is not a relief, death is death, so death is meaningful. I hope that I die in the most tragic way against God. Please also... don't desecrate this death, at least not before the real victory comes."

"I see……"

Mikael gently grabbed Sakura's hair.

"But at least, let me keep some..."

"Isn't it still there?"

"?"

"That wakizashi. The night we first met, I gave you a wakizashi that my father had collected. You shouldn't have thrown it away, right?"

Mikael chuckled softly:

"How could you throw away something like that?"

"That's good……"

The sound of rain fell endlessly, and Sakura's figure gradually became blurred. Without the protection of power, the soul of the body that has died can only dissipate in the future.

But she suddenly withdrew from Mikael's arms, and then gently held Mikael's face with both hands.

"Mikael, I am the one who really wants to say I'm sorry. It's not about drawing the sword against you... I know this is what you want to see... but... it's about causing you pain. I'm really sorry."

Mikael's eyes were already red.

Fifty thousand years ago, just fifty thousand years ago, a girl with pink hair disappeared in front of his eyes while talking to herself like this.

The nature of the world may be ruthless reincarnation, but Mikael doesn't like it.

Just like he doesn't like death.

Only this time, he had time to catch up and hugged Sakura's dissipating body at the last moment.

"Sakura, I promise you, humanity will definitely defeat Honkai. You, Suzu, and those who sacrificed their lives for it will all meet again in the new world after the war."

"I will always believe in you. But I have one last wish, Mikael, can you grant it to me?"

"certainly."

"[Please] You must also come to the new world to find us, okay?"

Sakura does not have the ability to command, but sometimes, some people's words are a kind of commandment in themselves.

"good."

He responded hastily, and in the endless coolness, he suddenly felt a small patch of warmth on his cheeks.

Sakura in her arms still disappeared, leaving only half of an unfinished sentence:

"Some words are still too late...so please be sure to come see me again so that I can tell you..."

The person in his arms turned into dim light particles and dissipated. Mikael waved his hand, and each light particle turned into a pink cherry blossom petal and dispersed into the distance against the dark rain.

But he still hasn't left this world.

After walking in the other direction for a long time, a white-haired man stood on the scorched earth, but he did not move. Although his lips were slightly open, he was not breathing, and even his eyes were stuck at a certain moment not long ago.

"There is a hint of Kevin. Over the past five hundred years, have you been infiltrating your own power into the Quantum Sea? Kevin, I am really looking forward to the day when I see you again..."

With a gentle pat on the shoulder of this strange old friend, this long-dead world completely collapsed. (End of chapter)