Next, the settlement for the mischievous girl was even faster.
The death process wasn't even shown; the photo simply shattered, leaving behind her last words.
"Big Brother… Selena is going ahead first. I hope Second Sister… doesn't come find us too soon…"
The very next second was the voice from the forward PV, the opening of Leon's light cone story.
Of the seven Sky Haven Salvation Emissaries, five had passed away.
"Only us left, Leon."
"Mm, only us…"
"Take care. If I don't make it back, the future is in your hands."
"Good…"
"May the body perish while mountains and rivers remain."
"…May Return… While Scenery Unchanged."
Before the stele in the flower sea, she spread her wings and soared away.
Clouds climbed across Leon's face; the emotions in his eyes could no longer be seen.
In animated works, this kind of expression usually signals emotions spiraling downward.
Gloom, or perhaps the calm before a storm.
Day turned to night; the fifth stele was erected in the flower sea.
Who knows how many days had passed—Leon spread his wings and left the flower sea, his speed so great that even "chasing stars and moons" would not be an exaggeration.
He looked down at the buildings beneath the horizon, then dove straight down moments later, arriving at a massive plaza.
At the center of the plaza stood a bizarrely shaped fire altar, where a single flame burned fiercely.
Beside the fire altar, there was—and only ever was—one person waiting.
Upon spotting the man descending from the sky, he opened his eyes.
"Salvation Emissary Leon, you have returned."
"Mm."
"…Your heart seems to be wavering."
"It is not."
"…Do not grieve, Lord Salvation Emissary. Everything is merely a new beginning. We will surely succeed."
"…"
Leon gave a casual nod; his expression was stiff, lacking life.
In the players' eyes, he already resembled three parts the Leon that Himeko and Welt would later meet.
"I think… I can now be certain what the Sky Haven Clan is doing."
[Spill it.]
"Perhaps during this era, the Aeon who saved them had already died, and then…"
Ah Xian did not pause the plot animation. Hearing the words of the man beside the fire altar, she temporarily fell silent.
"Salvation Emissary Leon, once Salvation Emissary Ayla completes her mission, I—as the last spellcaster of the clan—will also step into the long night."
"At that time, the future the entire clan hopes for will rest upon you."
"The moment the technique is complete, you will gain the ability to leap beyond causality. As long as a single thought remains, you may reincarnate and exist eternally."
Leon lifted his gaze to the flames burning in the fire altar, neither joyful nor sorrowful.
"The 'thought' in 'as long as a single thought remains'—is it the kind I believe it to be?"
"Yes, as long as you never waver, never give up."
"I believe you will not give up either. After all… you are the uncrowned lord of our clan."
The spellcaster said this, and he believed it.
"…"
Leon shifted his gaze from the flames and looked up at the sky.
The sunlight was gentle; a soft breeze brushed his face.
Identical to those beautiful days of the past.
Yet now, he could no longer feel the temperature of himself or the world outside.
The heart beating in his chest had, at some unknown point, begun gradually marching toward silence.
Was it when the Lord gently caressed his cheek and sealed the authority over the Path's power within his body—
Or when the first family member who "completed their mission" appeared…?
Never mind.
There was no need to trace it back.
The screen gradually faded, leaving only darkness.
Leon: "(…)"
"(The long night I stepped into 1,394 Amber Eras ago has once again become the end of the Sky Haven Clan…)"
"(How many Amber Eras must I walk before the future the entire clan hopes for is achieved?)"
"(How am I to deceive myself…)"
"(How am I to keep going, to guard that single thread of unwavering conviction…?)"
"(Will there truly never come a day when I give up?)"
"(How much longer… can I endure…?)"
"(Ayla, I beg you to keep your promise, alright…)"
Ah Xian's heart clenched tightly; her teeth nearly broke the skin of the index finger she had put in her mouth without feeling any pain.
Leon's voice was very soft, very soft.
Yet every softly spoken word carried powerlessness, confusion, and… fear—
All of it pressed down on her until she could barely breathe.
No, she had to pause and catch her breath.
Only then did she realize she could breathe again.
"Continuing what I was saying earlier, everyone."
"I am one hundred percent certain the Aeon the Sky Haven Clan worshipped has died, and what the Sky Haven Clan is doing is trying to resurrect THEM!"
"Resurrect an Aeon—is that really possible?"
"…Clearly not, because we are standing in Leon's future, looking back at his past."
"Watching his clansmen, his family, leave one after another until only he remains."
"The text in the light cone is heavy."
"Leon could not stop the hopes of the entire Sky Haven Clan."
"He could not speak out to dissuade them, because that would mean shaking the faith of the race."
"I don't know… whether Leon wavered because he knew the Aeon would never return, or because he lost familiar face after familiar face."
"But I do know—"
"His heart was shattered into pieces because of it, yet he could only pretend to be the way everyone wanted, the way the leader of the Sky Haven Clan should be."
Ah Xian took a deep breath and blinked her stinging eyes.
"Jing Yuan was right—only those who have lost their own heart, who have lost everything, become hollow and numb."
"But I never imagined Leon had lived for nearly 1,400 Amber Eras. That's how many… wait?!"
As if suddenly remembering something she had overlooked, Ah Xian's eyes gradually widened; she couldn't help but suck in a breath.
The live-stream audience also realized where the problem lay.
The current timeline in the game is—
Amber Era 2158!
Yet the Express databank contains no records of the Sky Haven Clan—only the Ether Star.
Either the records are incomplete, or the history of the Sky Haven Clan's existence has been almost entirely erased by some unknown entity.
The Vidyadhara are immortal descendants; their racial inheritance and the length of their existence are absolutely top-tier.
The reason Dan Heng knows about the Sky Haven Clan is most likely due to records in ancient texts passed down by the Vidyadhara.
Moreover, until Leon himself confirms it, those records remain unverified.
So here's the question—
Doesn't this mean Leon's existence spans at least as long as the Vidyadhara descendants, perhaps even tracing back to the era before Permanence fell?
When Ah Xian voiced her guess, the entire live-stream barrage fell silent for a moment.
"Assuming Leon has existed since the beginning of the Amber Era, and the Aeon he worshipped died over 1,300 Amber Eras ago."
"That would mean, to complete his mission, he walked alone for roughly 800 Amber Eras…"
"One Amber Era is between 76 and 240 years; taking the middle value of 150 years, that gives the conclusion that Leon wandered the star sea alone for 120,000 years…"
"How long has the entire Xianzhou Alliance existed?"
"Eight thousand years…"
The more Ah Xian spoke, the more shocked she became.
"If this is true, it wouldn't be strange at all for Leon to lose all memories after death."
"Didn't they just mention 'as long as a single thought remains, one may reincarnate and exist eternally'?"
"Xianzhou people fall to mara after a thousand years due to memories and other reasons, yet one hundred thousand years…"
"Heavens… the loneliness within, the endless cycle of reincarnation without fulfillment, the effort without hope—how many people would that crush?"
Ah Xian's lips, her voice—everything trembled.
"Yet Leon—"