The perpetually dim, futureless sky had spanned Lin's entire life.
He stood up, his legs trembling as he clutched the gash on his head. Stones and grit cascaded down his body.
Ruins, corpses, blood... and his own battered self.
After listening to Raven, he was not surprised by the current situation. He merely wiped away the flowing blood, accepting everything with a calm gaze.
Disaster and death would accompany his future, until the end of his life.
"Is this... a Major Eruption? No, how could a Major Eruption occur at this time?" Raven also stood up to catch her breath. According to the Honkai records of the last century, the First Eruption had ended by this time, and the Second Eruption was far from coming. How could a Major Eruption suddenly happen?
"Perhaps it's caused by the consciousness of the main subject of this space." The bleeding wouldn't stop. Lin stood up dizzyingly, leaning on the wall, and said in a low voice, "If this space is truly composed of memories, then this should count as a small Elysian Realm, which changes according to the memory subject's changes."
"You're fine..." Raven couldn't bring herself to ask. Lin didn't look fine at all.
However, Lin said indifferently, "I'm fine. To you, I am false. You don't need to worry about me."
Ultimately, this was just a memory. Even if this Lin died, it wouldn't affect the real Lin.
He dragged his scarred body forward, drops of blood starkly dripping from him.
"Where are you going?" Raven grabbed him. He was swaying as if he could collapse at any moment.
Lin took a breath and slowly straightened his back. He pulled Raven's hand away and said, "To look for any survivors."
"You..." Raven's face twitched. She asked in astonishment, "Don't you know that you and these people are all fake?"
There was no need to bother. Perhaps before Lin could find a survivor, the space's time and location would shift again, and he would be safe and sound.
In terms of Lin's rationality, he wouldn't do such a meaningless thing.
Lin rested for a moment, then walked forward again: "I know."
"You know, and you're still doing something foolish?"
"Yes."
"You—"
"Whether it's false or not is not the reason that determines my actions."
"..."
Lin walked forward with slow, heavy steps, pausing between each one. He intended to first confirm Kevin's safety, and then start looking for survivors.
"Ugh..." Raven irritably ruffled her hair, then sighed with self-mockery, "Fine. Who am I to judge you."
"Are you going to help me?"
"I'm a mercenary. If the price is right, helping you is fine, provided you have something worthwhile to offer." Raven grabbed Lin's shoulder to keep him from losing his balance and falling.
Lin asked, "What do you want?"
"Hmm... how about showing me your face?" Raven said half-jokingly. After all, the most mysterious thing about Lin was his appearance; he was more thoroughly covered than even Kalpas.
"Okay."
"...It's that simple, huh? Fine, it's a deal. Let's go find Kevin."
"No, you should go."
"What?"
Lin broke free from Raven's hand. He pointed in one direction. Raven followed his finger and saw...
"Meow~"
Can squatted on the stair railing, licking its paws, and lazily meowed at Raven.
"That cat!" Raven remembered that when she first entered, this cat had just come down the stairs, which meant...
It knew how to get out!
Raven hesitantly waved her hand: "Are you here for me?"
"Meow~" Can meowed, having understood her words.
"You should leave now," Lin repeated.
"What about you?" Raven asked back. She didn't look happy about having a way out now.
"You don't need to worry about me. This place will likely disappear or replay itself after you leave."
Since Lin had said so, she wouldn't object. She quickly walked over to Can, and sighed in relief when she saw the staircase beneath Can's paws.
Although she still didn't understand what was going on here, at least she was out of trouble.
Since this cat didn't belong here either, was the key to breaking the situation not internal but external?
She turned, just about to say goodbye to Lin, when her eyes suddenly widened.
"Tap."
Thick, wine-red body fluid dripped from a sharp blade, blooming on the ground.
Lin looked down indifferently at the black long blade that had pierced his chest.
The black Ninja Honkai Beast stood behind him, slowly withdrawing the blade from his body.
"Thud."
Lin fell to the ground, scarlet blood spreading out from beneath him.
"Hey! Lin!"
"Meow!"
Raven anxiously tried to step forward. Can also urgently yelled, reminding her.
The Honkai Beast, having found its next target, raised its twin blades and took a stance to charge. Raven was all too familiar with this stance. Normally, she could easily dodge the speed of a Shunin Honkai Beast, but her current physique simply couldn't react that fast.
"Snap."
A blood-stained hand grabbed the Shunin Honkai Beast's leg, stalling its movement and preventing the strike.
"You should go."
The hoarse voice came from the pale-faced person who had looked up.
Both his hands were clutching the Shunin Honkai Beast's leg. The Honkai Beast, finding itself hindered, twisted its head, aimed its blade at the head of the human on the ground.
"...This is fake," Raven stared at him, still not understanding why this person would do this.
The person gave the same reply.
"I know."
The blade descended, leaving only the reverberation of the sound.
...
"Meow~"
After giving Can a bag of dried fish and stroking its head, the helmeted man stood up and crossed his arms, looking at the two figures who were staring at each other.
"Why are you here?" His tone was colder than ever before.
His voice was like an iceberg hitting the Titanic, instantly waking up the two who hadn't recovered from their previous experience.
Mei was still thinking about Little Lin, and Raven was thinking about the high school Lin. Now, the vibrant Lin was standing in front of them. The contrast nearly made them think they were dreaming.
"You... I... she..." Raven looked at Mei and Lin in astonishment. She looked down and saw that her equipment and clothes were back. Her mind was still hazy.
Mei was slightly more coherent: "What was that place? Why did you... no... and last time..."
"That was a memory sealed by the [Fenghuang Down], which was slightly adjusted to become something like a storage room," Lin said calmly.
"Huh?"
Lin dropped a line, "Don't go in there again," and then turned to leave, without any intention of explaining further.
...
Raven frowned after hearing Mei's account: "So you encountered it too?"
"Fenghuang Down? No, why would Lin seal his own memories? He doesn't have hyperthymesia like Hua," Mei mused over Lin's words. There was a huge loophole.
"But altering our consciousness is certainly like the [Fenghuang Down]'s ability."
"That's the only way to explain it... And the high school Lin you mentioned also has some discrepancies with the Little Lin I saw..." Mei thought of Little Lin and clenched her fist. "Did something happen to him in between?"
Little Lin had even fewer emotions than the high school Lin, and the high school Lin's characteristics also raised many suspicions.
"I don't know. We can only ask him directly."
"He won't tell us."
"You're right... It's about time for me to leave the Elysian Realm anyway." Raven looked down with a complicated expression. "I have a new job. See you later, Lady."
A false space and false people. That Lin knew his emotions and his very self were not real, just someone's projection.
But just like the real person, he knew exactly what he had to do all along.
Raven pulled down her hood.
She hadn't had time to help him, nor had she received her payment.