The moment it appeared, it reconfigured the colors of the entire overcast sky: The dark rainclouds were overlaid with a layer of starkly contrasting color; in an instant, all the colors in the city had their saturation cranked to a vibrant extreme.
Inside City Hall, Misha gazed at the magnificent spectacle in the sky, unable to find words. The city's notifications and broadcasts had all ceased to function at that moment.
"What in the world is going on?"
Meanwhile, on the streets, Millie, who was on evacuation duty, held a sign in her hand, staring dumbfounded at the sky where a rift had torn open.
"What's happening? Is some kind of world boss spawning?!"
Miluo, who had been orderly evacuating her fans, also rushed out of the concert hall, deeply worried for Alain's safety.
"My Knight... you have to be okay."
And beside Alain.
"Ugh..."
Beads of sweat covered Sleepy Mita's forehead, and her breathing came in heavy gasps.
"I... I can't hold on much longer..."
"Yeah, I know."
Alain gripped the girl's hand tightly, his eyes fixed on the irregular block of color in the distant sky.
Just a little more, and that thing would truly reveal itself.
Besides...
Using his peripheral vision, he observed Sleepy Mita's exhaustion, then turned his gaze back to the virus at the center of the skyline. This virus was even more absurd than he had imagined, far surpassing the Phages and Parasites he had previously encountered.
If he had to describe his current sense of crisis, it was similar to when he was surrounded upon first entering the core.
Alain quietly watched the virus's arrival while opening the Safety Guard panel. The Intranet Firewall icon was flashing as brightly as the summer sun, its light nearly illuminating half his face.
He turned his gaze back to the Consciousness Entity. By now, the virus had mostly emerged—
"Alain, something's strange!"
Sleepy Mita's cry of alarm received no response from Alain.
Before the girl's astonished eyes, the storm in the city gradually subsided, and at some point, even the dark clouds in the sky had vanished.
A bright, clear day poured sunlight over the entire city, making the glass between the buildings shimmer with an iridescent glow.
"Yah!"
"Take this!"
And at the edge of the metropolis, a beach had appeared out of nowhere. Mitas were laughing and playing—a magnificent scene of volleyball, swimsuits, sand, and waves that made Sleepy Mita mutter to herself:
"What... is going on?"
She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, the very scene around her had changed:
She was no longer in Alain's spacious apartment, but physically standing on this vast beach.
"?"
The girl still held her arms outstretched, as if in a difficult struggle against something unseen, which looked particularly strange to the Mitas on the beach.
"Ah! Isn't that Big Sister Sleepy Mita?"
A cute girl trotted over and grabbed her hand. She remembered her—it was the Mita named Miluo, one of the Mitas Alain had once saved.
"What's happening...?"
She murmured, and in the next moment, a slightly deep voice cut through the distance between them.
"What are you still doing here?"
Sleepy Mita's gaze shifted to the distance, where she saw Alain in a pair of swimming trunks.
He walked slowly toward Sleepy Mita, one step at a time, until he stood before her.
"Aren't we supposed to be having fun together? Hmm... no, that's not right. I should say this."
Alain held out his hand to her.
"Let's find happiness together, shall we?"
"Huh?"
Happiness?
That simple word jolted the girl's senses.
Happiness.
"That's right. I promised him, I promised Alain. That with his help, I would find true happiness."
"True happiness?" This 'Alain' scratched his head in confusion. "Ah... who cares if it's true or fake." He gestured with his hand toward the beach behind him.
A few familiar Mitas were standing there, waiting.
"Miss Sleepy Mita, come play!" the Mita named Misha called out, raising her hand as if to serve a volleyball her way.
"What you want is so simple. It's right here in front of you."
'Alain' smiled, and the volleyball flew toward her in an arc.
"So just relax. All you have to do is quietly enjoy all of this."
"Thwump!"
The volleyball landed behind her, leaving a deep impression in the sand.
"...?"
Sleepy Mita turned her head, watching intently as grains of sand slowly trickled into the crater the volleyball had made, filling the hole.
"Right..."
[All of this is fake. No matter how many times I have to say it.]
"Happiness is right in front of you."
'Alain' slowly raised his hand before her.
Sleepy Mita's gaze grew vacant, the indigo-blue light in her eyes almost completely vanishing.
[Fake is fake.]
She prepared to take Alain's hand, accept the volleyball, and enjoy the happiness that was so easily within her grasp.
[I will take responsibility for you, find true happiness, and give it to you.]
"I took responsibility for you, found true happiness, and gave it to you."
The voice of the Alain from her memory and the voice of the Alain before her began to overlap.
That's right... he really did bring happiness right to her. If she thought about it, the beach, the volleyball, her friends, her player—they were all here. So, what was there to hesitate about?
Accept it.
[At the same time, as a Mita, you must also take responsibility. Stay with me, and with everyone, and be truly happy.]
Her hand paused in mid-air. A moment later, she slowly lowered it to her side.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"..." Her words, as quiet as a mosquito's buzz, left the 'Alain' before her completely bewildered.
"Everyone's waiting for you to come play, you know?"
"They're just imitations."
She lifted her head indifferently, her gaze quietly fixed on the vast beach and the cheering figures.
When she blinked again, all the figures had vanished, leaving only strings of footprints, deep and shallow, in the sand.
The bright sunlight was gone. A crimson, blood-red glow now enveloped the sky and the land.
She could feel the warmth of the sun on her skin rapidly dissipating. The world was coldly rejecting her.
But then came the natural warmth of a body. The blood-red sun was gone, and the overcast sky returned.
"You did it."
She opened her eyes to the city under a downpour. She listened closely and heard the steady beat from the firm chest she was pillowed against.
And the vigorous thumping of a heartbeat.
The Consciousness Entity was still rampaging across the sky, its form now fully revealed. Yet she now felt incredibly light, as if a great burden had been lifted.
"Alain...?"
She had just called the young man's name when, a moment later, his fingertips seemed to lightly tap something.
"BOOM—!!!"
It was as if a great bell had been struck, making the girl's eardrums ache.
"Huh?!"
The next second, she watched in shock as the sky occupied by the Consciousness Entity was torn open by a great, lightning-like gash.
The gash looked like a mark left by a greatsword, causing all the Mitas in the city to stop and stare.
Among them was Misha in City Hall.
Looking at the rift, she felt no despair. Instead, her eyes sparkled. "My darling!!!"
"What... is going on?!"
Back on the rooftop. Sleepy Mita looked at the young man's slightly raised hand, her gaze shifting as she vaguely recalled the rooftop in the real world.
Back then, he had seemed to use the same gesture to shatter her dream.
But... that's not enough.
She looked to the horizon; the rift was now nearing the side of the Consciousness Entity, but it was still resisting.
Sleepy Mita anxiously tried to exert her authority again.
"Don't. You're already exhausted. Now it's my turn." He understood what she was trying to do. "Just watch me."
Alain turned his head and gave her a gentle smile.
"Let your Player show off a little, okay?"
"Huh?" She was dumbfounded by Alain's reply. They were still locked in a stalemate with the Consciousness Entity, so how could he be so relaxed?
?
Could it be that attack can be used more than once?
Just as Sleepy Mita had thought. His fingertips tapped again, and another great rift tore across the sky.
The second rift appeared right before the eyes of Miluo and Millie, who were maintaining order outside the concert hall.
"Big Sister Millie, I'm telling you! That was definitely my Knight! Isn't he amazing?! Isn't he?!" Miluo said proudly, hugging her xiaolongbao.
"Huh?! And here I wanted to argue with you!" the girl in the cap replied to Miluo, then took off her cap and stared excitedly at the sky. "My man, you are seriously—so damn cool right now!!!"
The two rifts, one after the other, completely encircled the menacing-looking sphere. They were like two sharp blades, advancing relentlessly with the force to slice the sky in two.
"Crack!"
In a daze, everyone in the city—the Mitas, Alain, Misha, and the others—all heard a shattering sound.
It was the shriek of the Consciousness Entity. The virus finally buckled under the pressure, the flickering patches of color all over its body ceasing to change.
It seemed to struggle, unleashing wave after wave of dazzling colored light toward the rooftop where Alain stood.
"Ah..." Sleepy Mita instinctively tried to pull Alain back into the apartment, but he caught her outstretched arm.
The next moment, he pulled her into an embrace.
"Alain—"
"Do you trust me?"
"...I... trust you." But hearing his voice calmed the girl's anxiety considerably.
She marveled at the premonition in her heart; even the approaching colored light seemed less threatening now.
And just as she expected—the moment the colored light was about to strike Alain and Sleepy Mita, it was as if it were blocked by something invisible and intangible.
Sleepy Mita could clearly see that the rooftop they were on, illuminated by the colored light, was transforming into a series of beautiful, happy things.
Desserts, sunlight, beaches, gardens... all these unrelated, wonderful things grew continuously around them.
But in Alain's arms, she could still see the dark, overcast clouds in the sky, the green leaves swaying in the cold wind...
Even though she was avoiding happiness and seeing these unpleasant scenes, Sleepy Mita felt a profound sense of relief.
Her past self would have surely accepted the happiness sent by the Consciousness Entity, wouldn't she?
Why...
At that same moment, the sphere in the sky could hold on no longer. Caught between the two rifts, it shattered completely and dissipated.
The next second—"swoosh!"
Warm sunlight broke through the barrier of dark clouds, and a truly clear sky dazzled before her eyes.
The clouds had parted to reveal the heavens. The sight of the clear, boundless sky bewildered her.
"It's... so beautiful."
"It... is."
[All of this is fake. No matter how many times I have to say it.]
But the desserts, sunlight, beaches, and gardens were all more wonderful than an ordinary blue sky. So why...
Happiness is right in front of you.
...did she feel happier seeing this sky?
She... didn't understand.
"Thank you for believing in me." And then he, from behind, hugged her dazed form.
"I'll help you find happiness."
"..."
The girl didn't reply, simply resting her hands on Alain's arms, her cheeks glowing bright red.
She... seemed to understand now.
The reason why the desserts, sunlight, beaches, and gardens couldn't compare to the blue sky.
"You don't have to." She turned back to look at Alain.
"I've... already found it."
_____
🔥 Check out the new story releases! 🔥
🪦 A 25% discount is active on my P... support page!
✅ Unlock a 40-chapter backlog for ALL my series.
✅ Receive exclusive content and regular updates!
Help us reach these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 universal bonus chapter
🚀 80 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters for ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan