Cold rain silently seeped into the world within the Crown of Logic. It was the first time rain had fallen here. The dense strands of rain seemed an endless lament, washing over the ruins, drenching everyone’s clothes, yet they failed to cleanse the glaring crimson stain on the ground.
Lin Xiao remained frozen in place, like a stone statue. His gaze was hollow, fixed on the spot where Qi Yue’an had last vanished. Rainwater trickled down his dark hair, streamed across his pale cheeks, and mingled with the still-fresh bloodstains.
“Xiao, we successfully eliminated her.”
That cold, emotionless voice echoed from behind him. It belonged to the sole remaining ‘other half’.
The atmosphere solidified, thick and heavy. Around them, girls sharing her face stood in silent vigil, each in a different pose.
Some, at an unknown moment, had raised umbrellas. Most, however, endured the rain’s baptism alongside him, as if sharing in his invisible burden.
“My condolences.”
The girl in battle armor stepped forward, awkwardly patting his shoulder. This was the extent of comfort she could offer.
“Things… rarely go as planned.”
Qi Li’s face held clear regret. She pressed an umbrella into Lin Xiao’s hand, then turned and retreated into the shadow of the city gate, letting the rain soak her clothes.
“Xiao, don’t catch a cold.”
A warm sensation came from behind him; it was the rational fragment of Qi Yue’an. She gently embraced him from behind, her cold body temperature seeping through his soaked clothes.
“From now on, let us always be together,” she whispered softly. “I’ll try my best… to become the way you like me.”
Her warm breath brushed his ear, yet it was swallowed by the icy rain, leaving no trace, eliciting no response.
He was still replaying her final words. She had been wailing, begging for release, pleading for forgiveness. Despite her deep attachment, all he had ever brought her was endless suffering.
In the end, she had begun to pray for death.
‘Was it truly… worth it?’
She, who had loved him most, who deserved his love above all others, had not only been robbed of the possibility of happiness. Even in death, she had been entangled by him, ultimately reduced to dust and ashes.
Was it truly worth it, all for that ethereal future, for merely being with someone like him?
Another powerful tremor shook him. She had never considered herself indecisive or wavering, yet ever since that fateful day, she had been trapped in this absurd entanglement.
But what good was this wavering now? She was irrevocably gone. Lin Xiao could feel a memory, not his own, playing out like a slideshow in his mind. Though obscured by intense emotions and fragmented reason, he could still glimpse its vibrant hues.
Compared to his own long existence, this memory was fleeting. Yet, the sorrow and joy, the anticipation and regret within it, were vividly clear. Her heart had been pure and flawless, never truly wavering. But looking back at her entire journey, pain had always outweighed comfort, and sorrow had always eclipsed happiness.
Perhaps on that day, he should never have forcibly brought her back to the Dawn Star Temple. He shouldn’t have shattered her future only to offer false hope. Perhaps there had been no need for any of it; it would have been better to let her live happily with her companions, continuing that story of warmth and salvation. Even if he alone couldn’t prevent the world’s end, that wasn’t a reason to drag her into this.
“I’m sorry…”
His voice was hoarse. A single, unusually warm raindrop fell to the ground, yet it couldn’t fully wash away the bloodstain.
His voice began to crack with sobs, utterly unlike his usual demeanor.
“I was the one who killed you, who tormented and shackled you. You were afraid… afraid I would hate you, but how could I ever hate you?”
Those emotions, those heartbreaking feelings, now echoed within his memory. She had yearned for happiness, for peace, for companionship. She had been afraid when her roommates mocked her, afraid when she was alone in her rented room. Even after being brought to the Dawn Star Temple, she constantly worried about no longer being needed, about being replaced.
In all those moments, he had never once noticed, never once comforted her. Each time, he had vanished for other matters, only to return without explanation and take everything.
“Perhaps, if I had truly died that day, never to meet you again would have been the right path… But… without you… I don’t know what I would live for anymore…”
Unbeknownst to him, Qi Yue’an, who had been behind him, had released her embrace. She now stood before him.
“Xiao… did I do wrong?”
Her voice still lacked emotion, yet somehow, a faint trace of guilt could be discerned within it.
“…No, you didn’t.”
Lin Xiao took a deep breath, forcing himself to reclaim a sliver of rationality from the brink of collapse.
“I was the one who was wrong.”
He tried to bend down and pick up the blood-red longsword that had fallen to the ground. However, the sword felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
“Where are… the other ‘yous’? What should we do next? I remember there was also a personality named ‘Qi Yue’…”
He raised his head again, looking at the rational fragment who had been waiting in the rain, equally drenched.
She had already knelt, picked up the sword for him, and, holding it with both hands, presented it back to him.
“It’s no longer necessary.”
She gently shook her head, her tone utterly flat.
“The previous ‘her’ has already absorbed almost all the other parts. Now, only one remains.”
Lin Xiao froze, then instantly grasped the situation. Most of her information, along with the memories and emotions carried by the absorbed fragments, had already been plundered and assimilated by him, though they remained chaotic and indistinct.
“How am I supposed to… extract her?”
He asked, clinging to a faint glimmer of hope.
However, the rational fragment’s reply shattered his last shred of hope.
Instead of answering, she took a gentle step forward and clasped his sword-holding hand. Her fingers were cold and resolute.
“Kill me.”
Her tone was terrifyingly calm, as if stating an undeniable truth.
“Once that is done, everything will be complete.”
Having just endured one ‘killing’, how could Lin Xiao immediately accept a second? His original plan had been for her to absorb everything, to return to wholeness, not utter annihilation!
He tried to break free, to retreat, but was startled to find that, at some unknown moment, chains forged from icy jealousy had silently materialized beneath his feet, firmly binding his movements.
She held his hand, guiding the sword’s tip, moving it forward step by step.
The sword’s tip pressed against her thin clothing, then mercilessly pierced her skin.
“An! Stop! Don’t continue!”
Lin Xiao struggled with all his might, but the chains remained unyielding. He had never felt so powerless.
“I’ll tell you everything! You’ll remember someday! Wait!”
His cries dissipated uselessly into the sound of the rain. He could only watch, helpless, as she, in a gesture almost like self-sacrifice, slowly and resolutely allowed the longsword to pierce her body.
“Ugh…”
Her face instantly turned ashen, her teeth clenched against the immense pain. A bolt of lightning tore through the dim sky. Warm blood continuously gushed forth, only to be swiftly diluted by the relentless rain.
The sword’s tip finally emerged from her back, and she at last reached a distance where she could embrace him.
“Xiao, don’t blame yourself.”
Her voice trembled with agony, yet she still strove to keep it steady. “Though I can surmise… you certainly won’t be happy, and might even be in great pain… but as long as it’s ‘me’, I will… *cough, cough*… I will definitely make this choice.”
“Why?! Why would you go this far for me?! This isn’t worth it at all!”
Lin Xiao was practically screaming.
She, however, painstakingly raised a hand, gently pressing her fingertips against his lips. On her face, a smile slowly bloomed… one utterly unlike her cold demeanor, imbued with both farewell and profound relief.
“There aren’t… that many ‘whys’. If I must give one…”
Her breath grew fainter and fainter.
“It’s simply because… I’ve already fallen for you, and there’s… no escaping it.”
“So, for… the one I love… even if there are… disappointments… even if there are moments of sadness… I will… embrace it all.”
Purple jealousy flared within her, the intense pain contorting her face instinctively. Yet, her silver eyes, once hollow, were now remarkably clear, vividly reflecting his grief-stricken figure.
“Do it… this feeling… it truly hurts…”
Her voice was barely audible.
“So… quickly… otherwise… it will be too late…”
In the final moment before the raging flames consumed her vision, as she felt a sharp sensation and the world tilting downwards, she revealed a profoundly gentle, contented smile.
“Thank you… We’ll be together… forever…”
****
Deep within the vast, desolate temple, Qi Wei was engaged in her daily task of sweeping. Her movements were considerably slower than usual, yet they seemed to carry a unique sense of fulfillment.
“Thud… thud… thud…”
Heavy, weary footsteps ascended the long staircase leading to the temple. Qi Wei paused, let out a soft sigh, and leaned the broom against the wall. She turned, facing the entrance of the stairs, her distinctive golden eyes calmly observing the one she expected to return.
Lin Xiao’s figure appeared at the temple entrance. He was drenched, his face as pale as parchment, yet his eyes burned with a nearly insane determination. In his arms, he seemed to be clutching something intangible yet heavy.
“By the look of you…”
Qi Wei’s voice was ethereal and fleeting, carrying a hint of understanding.
“Have you made your final ‘decision’?”
She slowly settled onto a stone chair below the dais, her golden eyes unchanging, reflecting his pain and struggle.
Lin Xiao approached her, his voice dry and hoarse:
“Tell me what to do, anything… I want her back.”
He paused, then voiced the question that had long tormented his mind:
“And… what about ‘Qi Yue’? Where did she go? Weren’t they… independent?”
Qi Wei gently shook her head, her golden hair swaying slightly.
“Qi Yue and Qi An have always been one in spirit and body. Rather than two distinct personalities, they are more like two ways of thinking for the same soul, two sides of a single coin. Together, they form the complete individual known as ‘Qi Yue’an’; there is no doubt about that.”
She gazed at him, her eyes seeming to pierce his very soul.
“My original plan was to guide all the fragments to coalesce, allowing her complete self to be restored. However… you personally severed that path, twice.”
Her tone held no blame, only the calm statement of fact.
“Even so, a method still exists, but if we proceed, her reconstructed self will lose its independent foundation. She will have to exist reliant on you, and you two will need to forge an unbreakable ‘contract’.”
“A contract?”
Lin Xiao pressed.
“Yes, she will become an ‘existence’ dependent on you. You cannot be separated for long periods, or her existence will gradually dissipate, and moreover…”
Qi Wei’s voice paused slightly, as if carefully choosing her words.
“Her ‘body’ will require regular energy replenishment from you. This replenishment must be achieved through intimate contact as stipulated by the contract—perhaps direct physical touch, or perhaps something more… profound. The specific form will be determined by the contract itself, but it will inevitably demand that you maintain an intimacy beyond the ordinary.”
This meant he would, in another form, continue to ‘bind’ her. His very existence would become her shackles and sustenance for life.
Lin Xiao closed his eyes, Qi Yue’an’s final, bittersweet smile flashing through his mind. He no longer had the right to hesitate or refuse.
“I accept.”
He opened his eyes, which now held nothing but desperate resolve.
“Begin.”
Qi Wei deeply regarded him, then slowly rose. Her figure seemed even more slender than when they first met, and her complexion a shade more transparent; this sense of fragility was particularly evident now.
She offered no explanation, simply raising her hands and beginning to channel the power of the entire Crown of Logic.
Vast magic converged from all directions. It was the accumulated power of countless ‘Qi Yues’ throughout endless cycles, mingled with all the memory fragments belonging to Qi Yue’an—laughter and tears, hope and despair, deep love and profound pain.
Under Qi Wei’s guidance, they spun, compressed, and condensed furiously in the center of the temple. Finally, they coalesced into a brand new ‘Heart’, emanating a soft glow, as if faintly pulsing.
The light receded, and Qi Wei swayed, collapsing weakly to the ground.
Lin Xiao instinctively moved to help her.
“Don’t mind me…”
She weakly raised a hand to stop him, her voice faint but unequivocal. “Go do your… own thing. Don’t make any more mistakes.”
She refused any concern, and also refused to explain why she was so weak.
Lin Xiao said no more. He carefully stepped forward, as if cradling the most precious and fragile object in the world, gently taking the ‘Heart’ that embodied all past and future.
Then, he turned, resolutely stepping out of the Crown of Logic.
—
The wedding venue in reality remained in a state of eerie stasis.
Lin Xiao’s consciousness returned to his body. The first thing he saw was Qi Yue’an lying still on the ceremonial platform, her eyes closed, her face devoid of color.
He hurried forward, kneeling beside her, and with trembling hands, gently placed the warm, pulsing ‘Heart’ into her empty chest.
The ‘Heart’ merged into her body as silently as a drop of water into the ocean.
The next moment, Lin Xiao felt his accumulated magic surge out like floodgates opening, being frantically drawn and injected into her cold form, providing her with the initial infusion of power.
The immense drain instantly depleted him. A powerful sensation of exhaustion washed over him, blackening his vision. His magic core screamed with the stinging pain of depletion, and it seemed unlikely to recover anytime soon.
But just as he wondered what to do—
“Bang!!!”
With a deafening crash, the spacetime seal at the edge of the venue, jointly maintained by Lin Xiao and Qi Wei, was forcibly breached by a powerful, brute external force!
The frozen time instantly resumed its flow. Scattered ribbons and magical light effects continued their trajectories. People’s gasps and shouts once again filled the air.
Dazzling searchlight beams shot in from the breach, illuminating the center of the venue: Lin Xiao’s pale face, and in his arms, Qi Yue’an, who seemed to have stirred slightly.