Chapter 49 Dialogue

They didn't do anything all afternoon.

Hill simply led her wandering through the streets.

There were no missions to run, nor much conversation to be had, as if they were merely admiring the unappealing scenery of these streets.

Xingyu thought of a question, though she no longer cared about the answer. She opened her mouth and finally decided to ask it anyway, as if fulfilling a dying wish.

"On the first day, how did you figure out I was an Awakened?"

Seeming surprised that she would bring it up herself, Hill hesitated for a moment before answering, "Guessed it. Isn't it obvious? How many people with surnames around here have no supernatural abilities?"

Xingyu nodded without pressing further. She wasn't actually all that interested in the result.

Hill, however, seemed to grow more animated and continued to elaborate, "I've had some dealings with those people. For useless kids, the luckiest outcome is escaping with your life and ending up in a gang... You didn't look like that at all. Besides, all those abnormal things about you—you were bound to give yourself away."

Xingyu was silent for a moment, then softly replied, "I see."

Seeing that Xingyu seemed inclined to talk, Hill struck while the iron was hot and kept probing, "Why did you disappear yesterday without a word? At least give a heads-up next time something comes up, otherwise we really would've thought you died out there."

"An accident came up."

Hill reached out and gently patted Xingyu's head, "I've noticed you've been absent-minded these past few days. If you really run into any trouble, remember to speak up. Everyone will help you out."

Xingyu looked up at the sky, as if searching for something.

Evening was approaching, casting a gloomy orange hue over the three suns' streets.

The sky was overcast, looking as though it might rain soon.

"It's getting late, I have to go back."

Having said that, she turned and walked in a direction perpendicular to the street—the direction leading back to the F-Ring.

Hill froze, clearly not expecting Xingyu to react this way.

She hurried after her in a few quick strides, her brow furrowing, "You... there isn't something you need my help with, is it?"

"No." Xingyu tilted her head up and glanced at her, "I've finally figured some things out."

Hill waited for her to continue.

She felt as though... something had changed, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what.

"Events won't unfold the way I imagine. I can't control everything; I can only handle what's right in front of me."

"Those are words you said to me... right?"

Without looking back at Hill's reaction, Xingyu composed her expression and turned away, "I'm leaving. Goodbye."

...

She was waiting.

Too many things had happened during those brief five minutes yesterday.

Previously, she had been obsessed with too many things; now, she truly felt that keeping it simple was for the best.

Worrying about her identity as a "day-after Awakened" being discovered? Then she simply wouldn't contact the Council ever again.

If anyone discovered her abnormalities, she would just wipe them out.

Human social relationships no longer held that much meaning; the only thing she needed to consider was survival in the present moment.

At that previous instant, the shadows condensed.

The moment she felt that fluctuation of power, Xingyu's body also began to fade, dissociating from the surrounding reality.

If any mortal were to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly plunge into an incomprehensible terror—two pure white figures stood facing each other, their very existence seeming to warp the surrounding space.

A thin mist, like the breath of the void, barely covered their outlines.

Countless distorted faces seemed to hide within the mist, constantly shifting and murmuring.

The darkness connecting to the ground was like a living creature, writhing and extending, resembling the tentacles of some ancient entity.

Now, upon seeing 020, almost all fear had vanished from her heart, replaced by a faint sense of familiarity.

Xingyu raised her hand, a few droplets of star-like liquid floating around her fingertips, slowly spinning in the air and refracting a light that did not belong to this world.

The bloodline resonance among her kin caused the power to surge within her, and the dryness that had previously nearly destroyed her was suppressed to a tolerable degree.

"Recite the entire plan to me. I will assist your actions."

"Youngest Sister, have you forgotten our sacred mission?"

"The human vessel has interfered with my memory. Did you not know?" Xingyu urged 020 for an answer.

Time was limited; she wanted to learn as much as possible about herself and her kind within these five minutes, and then figure out the chip inside her brain.

The wound on her right arm from her previous self-inflicted injury shouldn't have healed so quickly, yet it had vanished without a trace after the night before.

Recalling that mysteriously disappeared scar, she deduced that her connection with 020 might have reconstructed her body.

Just as when she first awakened, her near-death vessel was restructured by some kind of force.

020 seemed to sense her confusion, its body trembling slightly as if the entire space were vibrating with it.

"Memories are like cosmic dust, scattered across the river of time. But our mission is engraved upon the eternal star chart."

"Tell me," Xingyu asked, "what is our true identity? What are we fighting for?"

"We are the heirs and chosen ones of the void, the agents of the benevolent will. We bear the mission of reshaping this decaying dimension, and we must eradicate every dependent being that stands as our enemy, forcing the ant-like humans to submit to the glory of our Lord."

...We can't communicate.

Although Xingyu could feel that 020 had answered her questions without reservation, these words remained difficult to comprehend.

She pressed further.

"So, we need to kill all the agents, or humans?"

"The Council is our true enemy, those ignorant fools who desecrate our faith. The agents are merely their running dogs, yet still they must be guarded against. As for humans..."

020 paused, as if pondering how to express infinite concepts with limited language.

"Humans are as insignificant as cosmic dust, unworthy of our attention. However, we must act with caution, and under no circumstances expose our existence or disturb that ignorant flock. That would draw greater attention, like the glow of a candle in the dark attracting a swarm of insects."

"Alright." Xingyu understood, placing a hand on her forehead.

Before she could speak, however, 020 took the initiative.

"I need your blood, Youngest Sister."

"My blood?" Xingyu was startled.

"You failed to return to the nest, remaining instead in the cage of matter. You chose the material realm and lost the ability to resonate with the void-realm—this is a desecration of the essence of our existence. As your elder brother, I must guide you to re-weave the thread of fate that connects to the void."

"Our blood... isn't it shared?"

"Of the same origin, yet unique."

"Every phase of our existence is like a different facet of the universe, both unique and perfect. Only by re-establishing a connection with the void-realm can you awaken the abilities that are rightfully yours—just as I am able to traverse between the dimensions of the void and reality."

Xingyu watched 020 cautiously.

Her Information Reading ability displayed two of 020's abilities.

[Ability: Shadow Displacement]

[Basic Effect: Manipulates shadows to achieve state displacement between the material realm and the void-realm.]

[Transformation: Adaptation Overload]

[Effect: Continuously adapts to and absorbs external stimuli, strengthening after each adaptation.]

...The void-realm. She could now guess what this truly was.

The material realm was the physical world where she currently lingered, while the void-realm was that world co-existing with reality that she had witnessed the night before last.

Yet, during her attempts today to switch forms, that world had seemed to conceal itself.

She had a premonition that this was unquestionably a vital existence.

"I agree."