"How's Petalfall Village doing?"
Lucian asked first.
Only by reaching the correct historical node could he jump back to Camellya's side.
Before Camellya could respond, the nearby robot KU-Plant answered, "Mr. Lucian, Petalfall Village's infrastructure has been severely damaged and requires reassessment…"
Before KU-Plant could finish, Camellya raised her hand and smacked its head.
"Don't you have any tact? Can't you see I'm talking to Lucian?"
Lucian stepped forward, glancing at the pitiful KU-Plant. This Camellya, likely just brought to the Black Shores, was as domineering as ever…
Seeing Lucian approach, Camellya switched to a seductive expression, "About Petalfall Village, let me, the person involved, tell you."
"It's been months since the Tacet Discords attacked the village. Back then, I turned into a flower tree due to overclocking. Those Tacet Discords were no match for me and ended up trapped in an underground cave."
Camellya recalled the events, "Speaking of which, I was quite a mess as a flower tree, but thankfully, you showed up."
"If it had dragged on any longer, I might have died from overclocking."
From the earlier recording, it wasn't hard to deduce that Camellya was found in an underground cave. This might be the correct historical node.
"What about the villagers?"
The true history had a few survivors from Petalfall Village, not everyone dead or everyone alive. Lucian pressed further to confirm.
Camellya pouted, bored, "After I turned into a flower tree, I tossed them out of the village. Otherwise, they'd have just been waiting to die."
"Not many survived, but there were some."
"Surprisingly, I thought they'd flee after I threw them out, but they actually guided you to find me."
Camellya winked at Lucian, who chuckled. Though she spoke as if she disdained them, she had saved the villagers.
Saying she was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted was spot on.
"Despite your harsh words, you did a good deed."
Camellya grabbed Lucian's collar, pouting, "I don't care what you think—I'm speaking from the heart."
"You pulled me out of the abyss, so I owe you my thanks."
"I don't remember much about Petalfall Village before, but you're the most impressive opponent I've met so far…"
"So, how about letting me join the Black Shores?"
Lucian pondered her words. So, Camellya had been losing her memories intermittently.
Yet, later on, she still had a vague impression of him.
And at this point, she hadn't joined the Black Shores yet…
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"The Black Shores' leader is always running around—I've never even seen her."
"I heard from other Bloom Bearers that she transferred all her authority to you, meaning when she's not around, you're the leader of the Black Shores."
"Though the experts here say I can't yet control my frequency stably… for Solaris' safety, let me join the Black Shores, how about it?"
"Plus, you can suppress my overclocking. Isn't that a win-win?"
Lucian wondered how long he'd been with the Black Shores at this point for Rover to trust him so much.
But he was now certain this was the correct historical node.
Seeing Lucian remain silent, Camellya suddenly extended vines to wrap around his waist, binding them together.
Their bodies pressed close under the vines' pull, and Camellya smiled, gazing at Lucian's face inches away.
"Let me join the Black Shores. We'll have plenty of time together in the future, and you can… train me well."
Just as Camellya leaned her head closer, her figure began to blur, and Lucian's Pangu Terminal chimed.
"You've reached the correct historical node. Jumping now!" Beatrice's voice rang out.
…
Not long ago, Camellya had experienced a similar journey to Lucian's.
"Ugh… such a pity, I got separated from Lucian…"
"So many different worlds, different pasts—each tiny deviation leads to completely different outcomes."
"This is… so fascinating…"
"Those lost memories are all laid bare in this world of truth and illusion…"
"I wonder if he can see this scene with his own eyes."
"But… his memory loss is even more complete than mine…"
As Camellya ventured deeper, her murmurs echoed in the cave.
"This is…"
She looked at the phantom ahead—it was her own.
"The leader said Lucian would definitely come back…"
"How could he just leave me like that… without a word…"
"No… I can't keep accepting treatment…"
"Every time the treatment ends, my body just gets worse…"
"My strength… is slipping away…"
"I can't keep going like this… If he saw me like this, what would he think…"
"I can't let him look down on me…"
"No way… I don't want to see pity on his face…"
"If I end up becoming useless, I'd rather die…"
The fragmented phantoms seemed to reflect Lady Flora's inner struggles.
Camellya frowned, clutching her chest tightly, "My chest feels so heavy… Is the star chart starting to resist…? I have to hurry…"
As she pressed deeper, the phantoms didn't stop, their hypnotic voices affecting her mind.
"It's time to leave… Everyone I cared about is gone… What's the point?"
"To save the world? Heh…"
"So many years have passed… How many years? I can't even remember…"
"I'm starting to forget what you look like… I'm forgetting your name…"
"…Why haven't you come back?"
"Liar…"
"To stop the erosion of severe overclocking… I have to seal my memories…"
"He'll find me, won't he? Like when he saved me from the cave…"
"He will…"
Camellya clutched her head in pain as the seductive whispers grew louder. The deeper she went, the stronger the star chart's influence became.
These were her past, Lady Flora's painful, suppressed memories.
Before her was a dim pool of water, with a wilted tree standing in its center.
Camellya's delicate frame swayed, her vision growing blurrier, the path ahead increasingly unclear.