The Fourth Honkai Eruption ended quietly.
Only three squads participated in this operation, yet the casualty count was only one. It could be called a miracle, but most of the participating soldiers didn't have a deep impression of the operation.
It was just... they kept fighting Honkai Beasts, and then a robot cleared the monsters and killed the Emperor-class Honkai Beast. Then, after some time, the wind field lifted, and they were told the Herrscher had been eliminated.
It felt completely unreal.
When they learned that the helmeted man had once again defeated the Herrscher, a sense of inexplicable "it figures" lingered in everyone's minds.
...
"His body is very healthy. Aside from some unexplained internal membrane rupture and internal organ strain, no internal or external injuries were detected." The medical staff member put down the medical report with a strange look. "But..."
"What is it?" The pink-haired girl secretly flipped through the report and asked curiously when she saw the staff member hesitating.
"But his current condition might be even more serious than a severe injury."
"Why? Wasn't Lin uninjured?"
"Uh..." The medical staff member wiped the sweat from his forehead, somewhat at a loss. "Even with the development of medical technology to this stage, the human nervous system still holds many unsolved mysteries. Furthermore, the neural link technology is inherently extremely dangerous. We don't fully understand the kind of damage it can inflict on a person's consciousness and mind."
The staff member thought for a moment and explained to the still-puzzled Elysia: "I watched some combat footage. I speculate that the neural link is equivalent to using the Titan as one's own body, allowing that person to perform extraordinary actions. But would you consider yourself a robot?"
Elysia understood: "So, Lin is still immersed in the delusion that he is a robot?"
"Not entirely correct. It's more like his nerves are deceiving him into thinking he's piloting the Titan, while his own consciousness is already awake. This contradiction in perception is preventing him from controlling his body. And he was neurally linked for too long. The duration of this contradiction is directly proportional to the time he spent using the neural link, so it might last for a long time. I can't determine the exact duration."
"...Limited mobility?"
"It's paralysis."
The medical staff member scratched his head helplessly.
...
Sunlight streamed onto the head of the bed. Lin lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, his face covered in bandages.
The parts of his body below the neck were paralyzed.
It was more severe than the muscle atrophy from last time. This time, there was no cure. He had to lie in bed motionless until he recovered.
After disconnecting the neural link, he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he was in this state, lying in the hospital bed, informed that his body was paralyzed. The cause was still being investigated, but likely untraceable.
Whether he could recover was an unknown. If the situation was dire, he might be permanently incapacitated.
The doctors looked ashamed, as if preparing to push him into the crematorium, their hands clasped in front of them, just short of bowing and covering him with a white sheet. In contrast, Lin accepted it all calmly and naturally.
In the past few days, the Moth of the Flame had been busy with matters concerning the Fourth Honkai Eruption. Kevin, Hua, and Immer had visited him a few times. The Fifth Squad was too busy on the front line to come. Mobius sent her new assistant to check his physical condition and write an observation report.
Vil-V also came once, though her visit was primarily to take Prometheus away, and she hadn't returned her yet.
Silence was the atmosphere in the sickroom for most of the time, but Lin hadn't seen the most crucial person these past few days. Thus, he thought this peaceful environment would soon be disrupted.
Counting on his fingers, it was about time for that person to cause a ruckus.
"Good morning! Lin!"
"..."
As expected.
When the pink hair appeared at the doorway, Lin subconsciously closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
"Huh? Is he sleeping?" Soon, Lin felt a warm, moist breath and a pleasant scent on his face. "Is he really sleeping?"
"..."
"Hmm..." After a while, seeing Lin didn't open his eyes, the girl tapped her lower lip and shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright, I'll come back next time then."
The sound of footsteps faded away. Lin waited a moment before opening his eyes, looking at the empty doorway, and sighed in relief.
"Ding dong ding~ Hehe, pretending to be asleep can't fool my eyes~"
However, when Elysia crawled out from under the bed, Lin's heart skipped a beat.
Hadn't this girl walked away?
Seeing Lin's eyes darken, Elysia pouted and reached out to rub his face: "You're angry now. Lin is the one being naughty. You can't resist me now, you know."
"..." She was right. Right now, even if Elysia drew a turtle on his face, Lin couldn't stop her.
Helplessly, Lin forced his gaze to become a little friendlier.
"Mhm~" Elysia stroked Lin's head, giggling as she placed a floral wreath around his neck. "Today's Lin is unusually obedient. Here's a reward: a floral wreath."
"..."
Did she really know the difference between a "floral wreath" and a "funeral wreath"?
"Honestly, you're already very withdrawn, and now you can't move and don't like to talk. It feels like you're not paralyzed, but a vegetable."
Sometimes, when Elysia spoke, Lin couldn't tell if she was being unintentionally insensitive or deliberately sarcastic, but this vague way of speaking often achieved her goals.
"Is there something you need?" Lin finally managed to utter this sentence after holding back for a long time.
"No," Elysia replied matter-of-factly.
"..."
"But I want to hear you talk about something."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to hear Lin tell me about what happened during this Eruption."
Elysia looked at him gently.
"...There's nothing much to tell." Lin averted his gaze.
"But someone sacrificed themselves, didn't they? I know that person, and Lin knows him too."
Did she notice?
To boost morale, Delta's sacrifice had been downplayed, creating an atmosphere that the Fourth Honkai Eruption resulted in virtually zero casualties, so few people noticed that the person who died was actually the head of the R&D department.
"He died a worthwhile death."
"No death is 'worthwhile.' Every person is unique. A sacrifice is just a sacrifice; it cannot be measured by value." Elysia propped her chin on her hand, leaning against the bed, and smiled. "Lin, you told me that. So you can't lie to me."
Lin remained silent and motionless. After a long time, he finally turned his head to look into Elysia's eyes.
His deep black pupils remained still in their sockets, like an ancient, undisturbed well.
"...Do I look like I'm crying?" he asked a strange question.
Elysia's palm brushed across his forehead, and she gently chuckled: "You are crying, yes."
"Is that so?"
Lin kept his dry eyes open, yet no tears flowed out.