"You're quite a deep sleeper, aren't you?" Hawk Moth's voice broke the silence, carrying a subtle, calculating undertone.
Jaden's lips curved into a faint, almost sleepy smile. He slowly stretched his neck, his voice hoarse yet composed.
"Yes, if I didn't sleep half-awake, how could I deceive… the heroes?"
He paused, his gaze shifting to the face behind the silver mask, a hint of playful complicity entering his tone.
"But, Hawk Moth… your acting isn't bad either."
This unspoken mutual compliment deepened the eerie harmony in the room, a harmony woven from deceit and cooperation.
Hawk Moth let out a low chuckle. He walked slowly to the bedside and handed Jaden the real peacock miraculous, which he had just "stolen" back from under the noses of Ladybug and Cat Noir.
Jaden took the brooch, and the cool, heavy sensation of a true magical artifact instantly filled his palm.
He didn't even glance at the substitute, which Cat Noir had carefully "forged," and casually tossed it onto the bedside table, where it landed with a crisp "clink."
Then, he re-pinned this genuine, broken treasure back onto the collar of his shirt.
An indigo light instantly bloomed.
"Woo…"
Duusu's figure reappeared.
As soon as it emerged, it saw the tall figure standing not far away, a figure that filled it with an instinctive fear.
It cried out in alarm, like a startled bird, and with a whoosh, it hid behind Jaden, revealing only half of its small head and a pair of timid, purplish-pink eyes, nervously peeking at Hawk Moth.
Jaden reached out and gently, soothingly stroked its magnificent tail feathers with the back of his fingers. Only then did the little guy's body relax a little.
"Why don't you summon your Kwami?" Jaden asked, looking up at Hawk Moth while comforting Duusu, his tone calm.
"To summon a Kwami, I would have to de-transform. Then my identity would be completely exposed to you, wouldn't it?"
Hawk Moth's answer was watertight, filled with the caution of a schemer. "That wouldn't align with our initial cooperation plan."
He paused, his eyes sharp enough to pierce through people's hearts.
"And, you heard the conversation between those two young heroes outside just now, didn't you?"
"I heard some things while half-awake."
Jaden's answer was ambiguous; he didn't want to reveal that he had been fully awake the whole time. "But… it wasn't very clear."
Hawk Moth didn't seem to mind. He patiently repeated Ladybug and Master Fu's "truth" about the origin of the miraculous to Jaden.
"…The butterfly on my hand, the 'ancestral' peacock on your hand, and that lost spellbook all originally belonged to the so-called 'Guardian.'
It was he who, many years ago, due to a foolish mistake, lost all three of these items together."
His voice carried an undisguised contempt for the Guardian he had never met.
"Perhaps they were originally together. But as time passed, they separated, falling into the hands of different people."
Jaden listened quietly, feeling a touch of amusement.
He watched Hawk Moth earnestly recounting the "truth" that had been swayed by Ladybug's "ancestral theory," his heart completely unmoved.
Whether it was a gift from the "world" or ancestral, what difference did it make? The result was the same—this miraculous now belonged to him.
"Then," he raised his eyes, looking directly at Hawk Moth, and asked the question he cared about most, "do you know the whereabouts of that spellbook?"
This time, Hawk Moth did not fob him off with the excuses he used for the two young heroes.
He was silent for a moment, then spoke in a frank tone befitting a partner:
"I know. However… it is indeed not in my possession."
Seeing a flicker of doubt in Jaden's eyes, he slowly raised the tablet computer in his hand, its screen facing Jaden.
"It's in the hands of my other… 'subordinate,' and my most important partner—Gabriel."
He lit up the tablet screen, and Gabriel's face was clearly visible.
Jaden's mind was instantly stunned by this bizarre maneuver.
The person standing before him was clearly Gabriel himself, yet he was using a virtual image to play the role of his "partner"?
This top-tier act of playing both sides against himself truly pushed the words "caution" and "drama" to their absolute limit!
Jaden silently complained in his heart, but his face remained impassive.
"Yes."
On the tablet, the "Gabriel" played in real-time by Nathalie spoke in his characteristic cold and emotionless tone,
"The book is with me. Hawk Moth and I have already deciphered some of the symbols, but… this information is useless for repairing the miraculous."
"So,"
Hawk Moth took over, his gaze returning to Jaden. "As you heard, until a definite repair method is found, this peacock miraculous is useless to me.
It's currently the best option to leave it in your hands."
After a brief silence, Hawk Moth finally asked the question he most wanted to know. His tone became serious, with a hint of scrutiny.
"Now, it's your turn to answer my question, Jaden. Why?"
He stepped forward, the oppressive presence of his tall figure making the air in the room heavy.
"When I came in, you clearly had the opportunity to call those two heroes.
Given their goodwill towards you, if you had just spoken, they would have rushed in without hesitation.
Perhaps they really could have caught me, and you might even have had the chance to get the butterfly miraculous from me."
The "Gabriel" on the tablet also watched him silently with those deep blue eyes that seemed to see through everything.
"Losing a damaged peacock in exchange for a complete butterfly, that sounds like a very good deal.
But why… did you choose to go along with my plan and continue to feign unconsciousness?"
Hawk Moth and the "Gabriel" (Nathalie) on the screen both looked at him, awaiting his answer.
Jaden slowly raised his hand, gently and repeatedly stroking Duusu, who was still trembling slightly behind him.
The little Kwami comfortably narrowed its eyes, letting out satisfied, tiny purrs.
He looked up, meeting the two scrutinizing gazes, a calm, almost indifferent smile on his face.
"Because…"
He spoke slowly, his voice clear and firm, "I don't believe in the so-called… Guardian."
This answer clearly caught Hawk Moth off guard. His body stiffened slightly.
"Why?"
"A Guardian of the miraculous who has lived for at least over a hundred years, perhaps even close to two hundred,"
Jaden's eyes sharpened, and his calm words contained a cold logic capable of overturning common sense,
"I don't believe in his actions."
He paused, then meticulously laid out his analysis.
"Whether it's you,"
He pointed at Hawk Moth, "creating chaos in Paris, wantonly playing with people's hearts.
Or today, when he learned that I, an 'outsider,' held a long-lost, dangerous peacock miraculous… he seems to have acted too… calmly and indifferently."
"He never acts himself. Every time, he just acts like a director behind the scenes, pushing his chosen ones—Cat Noir and Ladybug—to the forefront of the stage."
"Perhaps,"
His tone carried a hint of faint sarcasm, "he's afraid of making the same mistakes he made in his youth, afraid that the remaining miraculous will also slip from his grasp."
Hawk Moth was silent. He listened quietly to Jaden's analysis, his eyes behind the mask shifting erratically.
Jaden then turned his gaze to the tablet computer.
"Do you agree, Mr. Gabriel?"
The "Gabriel" (Nathalie) on the screen, after a brief pause, replied in his mechanical voice: "Currently, this does seem to be… the most plausible explanation."
"No, there's another possibility." Jaden shook his head.
He spoke the even more shocking conjecture in a voice almost like a dream, yet utterly certain.
"The Guardian holds so many miraculous.
Among them, perhaps… there are those capable of traversing time, or peeking into the future."
"The reason he is so 'calm and indifferent,' the reason he stands by and does nothing about everything, perhaps… is simply because he has already, through some means, seen the… end of this world."
"So,"
His lips curved into a meaningful arc, "that's why he is so convinced that the two people he chose, Ladybug and Cat Noir, will definitely solve all problems.
Because in his philosophy and perception, the ending… is already predetermined."
A strange, tension-filled silence descended upon the room.
Jaden's astonishing pronouncement about the "end of the world" was like a colossal stone thrown into a deep pool, its ripples refusing to subside.
His words seemed to carry a cold, almost magical power that could pierce through all illusions, leaving Hawk Moth, who stood opposite him, and the stern "Gabriel" on the tablet screen, in prolonged silence.
The city's glow from outside the window, filtering through the curtain's gap, cast a long, narrow strip of pale golden light on the floor.
In the air, dust motes slowly drifted in the light beam, like countless forgotten, silent worlds.
The only sound in the room was the faint, kitten-like whimpering of Duusu, hiding behind Jaden, caused by its nervousness.
Jaden did not rush. He patiently soothed the trembling little creature in his arms with his fingertips. Its body was soft and warm, its magnificent tail feathers like the finest silk, delicate to the touch.
He gently lifted Duusu and placed it on the pillow beside him, covering it with a corner of the blanket, as if comforting a frightened child.
Only when Duusu's emotions had completely calmed down, curled into an indigo ball, did he slowly raise his head again, his dark eyes, still clear as stars in the dim light, calmly looking at the two "partners" opposite him.
"So, gentlemen," his voice broke the silence, as bland as if he were asking about the weather, "what are your thoughts?"
Hawk Moth's body, beneath the silver mask, stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.
A predetermined ending?
These words reminded him of what the black Kwami of destruction, Plagg, had said not long ago when revealing her true form: "Everything is just to add an interesting game to this boring world."
Game… a game implies pre-set rules, and… a predetermined ending that has already been written.
An indescribable, profound sense of powerlessness surged from the depths of his heart like a tide.
He recalled countless past failures, recalling how every time, just as he was about to succeed, Ladybug and Cat Noir would always, in a nearly "miraculous" way, completely reverse the situation.
Could it be… that none of it was accidental?
Could all his struggles, all his schemes, all his sacrifices, merely be playing along with a pre-scripted farce called "heroes triumph over evil"?
His gloved fist clenched tightly at his side.
His knuckles cracked audibly from the force. He refused to accept it! He absolutely refused to accept it!
On the screen, the "Gabriel" perfectly portrayed by Nathalie also fell silent.
Although no expression could be discerned on that perpetually frozen face, complex and unreadable light flickered in his deep blue eyes.
She was also thinking rapidly, comparing and analyzing Jaden's theory with all the information they possessed at high speed.
Ultimately… they reached a conclusion that was despairing, yet irrefutable.
Perhaps… all of this truly was predetermined.
"…" Hawk Moth seemed like a deflated balloon. The cold and powerful aura that had always sustained him, at this moment, showed a slight dissipation. He seemed to have aged considerably in an instant.
However, this despondency lasted for less than three seconds.
The next moment, he abruptly looked up, and in the eyes hidden behind his mask, two clusters of frantic flames named "obsession" reignited! The "Gabriel" on the screen also slowly refocused his gaze almost simultaneously.
Their eyes met in the air.
Then, together, they landed on the young man still leaning comfortably against the headboard.
In their gaze, there was no longer the previous scrutiny and probing, replaced by a desperate, almost tragic resolve.
"For… our respective most important people," Hawk Moth's voice was low and hoarse, every word seemingly squeezed from the depths of his soul, "even if it's… an already predetermined fate, we… must fight for it!"
These words were impassioned, filled with the tragic sense of fighting against the entire world for a loved one.
However, behind this "performance," the conspiracy was already clear.
Yes, fate might be predetermined.
But as long as a loophole in the rules could be found, even the most powerful "game administrator" could not stop a top "player" from winning the game in his own way.
The initial plan—to gather the Ladybug and Cat Noir, and make the wish that could "reverse everything"—now seemed like a dead end.
The price of that wish was to have an "old universe" replaced by a "new universe," a "salvation" that was meaningless.
But now… they had found a new, true "key."
This key was the young man before them—Jaden.
The first step was to make Jaden "reasonably" use the damaged peacock miraculous.
This process must not be rushed, nor could it be led by him, "Hawk Moth."
Such traces would be too obvious, and with Jaden's intelligence, he would surely detect the underlying scheme.
He needed an "accident," an "accident" caused by a third party that would force Jaden to act, to use that forbidden power.
As soon as Jaden used it for the first time, the gears of the game would be in his control.
The curse of the peacock miraculous was like a chronic poison, silently eroding his body, stealing his life.
Then, there would be a long wait, measured in months or years.
He would watch this young man, as radiant as the sun, grow weaker bit by bit in the years to come.
He would watch him, under the concerned and expectant gazes of his friends and loved ones, force a smile again and again.
He would watch him, as his body declined, gradually unable to keep up with his companions, his eyes slowly filling with resentment and despair.
Until… that final moment.
When Jaden was tormented by illness and exhaustion, when he watched his loved ones worry about him, when all his pride and strength were utterly shattered by merciless reality… that would be the moment for Hawk Moth to strike again!
He would use the gentlest, most seductive language to send that black butterfly to the boy who was already drowned in despair.
He would Akumatization him, bestowing upon him the power to achieve anything.
He would guide him to obtain the miraculous he desired.
Then, he would let him make a wish.
By then, Jaden's wish might no longer be the simple wish to recover himself that it was at the beginning.
After the long years of attrition and witnessing all the sacrifices made for him by those around him, his 'kind' nature would surely lead him to make a... grander, more selfless wish.
For example... "I hope all my friends around me can have a happy and fulfilling life."
And Adrien, as one of his best friends, his 'happy life' naturally included... the reunion of his parents.
Emilie... would then logically come back to life.
As for the price of the wish... anyway, the one who bore the price was only Jaden's soul.
He might suffer immense pain, but... he wouldn't actually die.
To them, this was simply a perfect, win-win deal!
Looking at the two 'actors' who had rekindled their 'fighting spirit,' Jaden's face showed an expression of 'I knew it all along.'
How crazy and stubborn Hawk Moth's love for Emilie was.
How could such a person easily give up because of a vague 'theory of fate'?
"As expected of the big villain."
He chuckled lightly, with a hint of appropriate approval in his tone, "If one doesn't have such a strong inner core, how can one carry out his ideals to the end?"
"Yes..."
Hawk Moth's tone also carried a hint of genuine emotion, "If I didn't have a strong inner core, how could I have recovered again and again after so many setbacks?"
After a brief heart-to-heart, the atmosphere returned to calm.
"Alright, you two may leave."
Jaden's tone became a bit lazy; he yawned and lay back down. "I need to rest."
"Okay." Hawk Moth nodded; his objectives for today had all been achieved.
He confirmed that Jaden had not discovered that the Peacock was sent by him, but instead accepted Ladybug's explanation.
Treating the Peacock as 'ancestral' was the best way, allowing the entire plan to slowly and discreetly move to the next stage.
"Then, Mr. Jaden... good night."
After speaking, he bowed slightly to Jaden, and then disappeared without a trace in a circle of light that appeared out of nowhere.
The light from the tablet also extinguished.
The entire room completely plunged back into darkness and silence.
Jaden turned over, looking at the indigo blue little ball on the other side of the pillow, which was still pretending to sleep but whose body was trembling slightly.
"Alright, no need to be scared anymore, Duusu."
His voice was as gentle as the night itself. "He's gone."
Only then did Duusu slowly raise its small head, looking at him with its watery, wide eyes full of lingering fear.
Jaden reached out his finger and gently tapped its forehead.
"Good night, Duusu."
"...Good night, Jaden."
Duusu responded softly, then snuggled its small head closer to Jaden's pillow.
Jaden quickly closed his eyes again, and his breathing gradually became steady.
But Duusu beside him could not fall asleep for a long time.
It was thinking.
It remembered how, in that cold basement, that man had used a cold, tool-like gaze to awaken it from the box, and how he had cruelly sent it into the hands of this unfamiliar boy.
It had thought it was just moving from one cage to another.
But... just now, when this boy confronted that terrifying man, his gentle hand, comforting it, was so warm.
While in his arms, what it felt was not the coldness of being used, but a sense of peace... of being cherished and protected.
And this boy... didn't mind at all that it was 'damaged.'
Meanwhile, on the other side,
Beneath Paris lay another silent city, interwoven with ancient pipes and deep tunnels.
Sewage flowed slowly in the old stone channels, emitting a monotonous and dull sound. The air was filled with a damp, unique scent of earth and rust.
For ordinary people, this was synonymous with filth and darkness.
But for the two Guardians of this city, this was the safest shortcut to the core of their secret.
Two figures, one black and one red, were traversing this underground labyrinth with a dexterity and speed unattainable by ordinary people.
They silently advanced through these secret passages known only to them and a few others.
Everything that had happened in the room just now weighed heavily on their hearts like a heavy stone, making the previously relaxed partnership atmosphere exceptionally solemn.
Finally, a faint glimmer of light appeared in the darkness ahead.
A rusty circular iron ladder appeared before them, leading to the exit to the surface.
Cat Noir was the first to stop. He gestured 'wait' to Ladybug behind him, then his figure flickered, like a weightless shadow, silently climbing the iron ladder.
He didn't push open the manhole cover directly, but pressed his ear tightly against the cold, rusty metal surface, carefully listening for any movement on the ground.
After confirming there were no unusual footsteps or sounds of wheels passing by, he slowly pushed the manhole cover open by an extremely tiny crack.
A pair of emerald cat eyes scanned everything around, vigilantly, through that crack.
This was a quiet alley, almost devoid of pedestrians. On both sides were old Parisian buildings, their walls covered with ivy.
In the distance, the faint sound of cars passing on the street could be heard, but here, there was only the slight 'whooshing' sound of the wind blowing through the alley entrance.
No surveillance cameras, no suspicious vehicles, and no peeping observers hidden in the shadows.
Safe.
He gestured to Ladybug below, then fully pushed open the manhole cover, gracefully leaping out from underground and landing steadily on the flagstone path of the alley.
Ladybug followed closely, emerging from beneath the manhole cover.
Without a moment's delay, the two quickly slipped into the inconspicuous small building with the sign "Wang's Massage."
In the room on the second floor, the light was dim yet warm, and the air was filled with a faint scent of herbs and incense, bringing peace to the mind.
Master Fu was sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, eyes closed in meditation, his breathing long and steady, as if he had long since merged with this world.
And Wayzz beside him, holding his small arms, was sleeping soundly, letting out tiny snores.
"Thump thump thump."
The sudden, clear, and rhythmic knocking on the door startled Wayzz awake from his sleep.
He jumped, ready to fly over and give a warning, but he saw Master Fu slowly open his deep eyes, which held a hundred years of wisdom.
His face showed no surprise or panic, maintaining his calm and composed expression.
"Come in," he said slowly, his voice old but full of vigor.
The door was pushed open.
Even Master Fu was slightly stunned when he saw the two young heroes, fully armed and still in their transformed states, standing at the door.
"Uh... you two," he asked slowly, "how come... you came to me while still transformed?"
"The Master's residence is a secret!" Wayzz, just woken up, immediately flew over and said in a tense and reproachful tone, "You're being too dangerous!"
"Sorry, Master."
Ladybug spoke first, her voice filled with exhaustion and deep apology. "It happened so suddenly... we... we've carefully observed the surroundings and confirmed there are no surveillance cameras or cameras present."
She paused, then added, "Just now, because I was worried Cat Noir might have missed something, I even specifically used my yo-yo to recheck all the rooftops and corners nearby, and only dared to come in after confirming it was absolutely safe."
Cat Noir's gaze, since entering the door, had been curiously scrutinizing the white-haired, ordinary-looking Chinese elder in a red floral shirt before him.
"So..."
He couldn't help but murmur softly, his tone full of disbelief, "This... this is the so-called 'Master'? He looks... quite ordinary."
"Don't be rude to the Master!"
Wayzz immediately flew in front of Cat Noir like an enraged hummingbird, glaring at him and scolding him indignantly.
"It's alright, Wayzz."
Master Fu waved his hand, signaling Wayzz to stand down.
His eyes, which seemed to see through everything, quietly looked at the two heroes before him and slowly said, "Judging by your expressions, something important must have happened for you to come to me."
Master Fu's calm tone was like a sedative, slightly calming Ladybug's heart, which was pounding wildly from failure and self-reproach.
She took a deep breath and, with difficulty, delivered the worst news.
"Sorry, Master... we... failed."
"...The true peacock miraculous was... taken by Hawk Moth."
Her voice was almost inaudible when she finished speaking.
Then, she recounted everything that had happened that night, from the appearance of a fake Cat Noir, to her having to reveal the plan, to the arrival of the real Cat Noir, their brief separation due to exhausting their energy, and finally Hawk Moth taking advantage of the vulnerability to snatch the true peacock miraculous with his teleportation ability right in front of them, repeating every detail.
"And..."
She added at the end, her voice filled with disappointment, "We tried to probe... the whereabouts of the spellbook are also not with Hawk Moth."
The room fell into silence.
Cat Noir looked at Ladybug, her head bowed and shoulders trembling slightly, and an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.
As for Master Fu, after hearing all this, his expression remained unchanged.
He just quietly looked at the young girl who was deeply blaming herself for a single failure, and after a long silence, he slowly spoke.
"Failure is not terrible."
His voice, like water in an ancient well, showed no ripples. "What is truly terrible is to be disheartened after failure."
He paused, then continued to comfort them with his old yet wise voice: "The Peacock is damaged. Its power is difficult to control, and using it is even deadly.
I believe that even Hawk Moth would never dare to use it easily before finding a way to repair it. So, you can temporarily... rest assured."
"Wait, wait, wait..."
Just then, Cat Noir, who had been completely confused, finally couldn't help but interrupt.
He raised a hand, his face etched with a big 'confusion.'
"Um... I'm sorry to interrupt,"
He pointed at Master Fu, then at Ladybug, and finally at himself,
"So... what exactly is going on? Master? Guardian? spellbook? Why do I feel... like I haven't understood a single word?"
Master Fu turned his gaze to the holder of the Cat Noir miraculous, who had been kept in the dark all along.
A gentle, benevolent smile appeared on his face.
"Nice to meet you, Cat Noir," he slowly and formally introduced himself. "I am the... Guardian of the miraculous."
"Moreover,"
Wayzz, from the side, added in a very serious tone, "Master, he is the last miraculous Guardian."
"The last one?!"
Cat Noir's eyes suddenly widened. "What do you mean?! Although... uh... although you said you made a mistake, it can't be 'the last one,' right? Is there no one to inherit it afterward?"
Master Fu did not directly answer his question.
He just slowly rose from the meditation cushion and walked to an old-fashioned, large horn gramophone in the corner of the room that looked full of history.
His fingers pressed several hidden switches on the base of the gramophone in a specific, complex sequence.
"Click... clack..."
After a faint sound of gears turning, the top of the gramophone slowly rose, revealing an octagonal recess hidden within.
Immediately after, Master Fu reached into the recess and took out a large, ancient wooden box, also octagonal, completely black, and imprinted with mysterious red patterns.
He gently placed the wooden box on the floor in the center of the room.
"The mistake I made..."
His voice, at this moment, became incredibly heavy and sorrowful, "...was unavoidable.
It... directly led to the destruction of the Guardian Temple.
And the Peacock and Butterfly miraculous, as well as the spellbook containing all the secrets, also... disappeared together in that catastrophe."
As he spoke, his fingers simultaneously pressed down on the two mechanisms on the top of the wooden box.
"Buzz—"
Accompanied by an ancient and mysterious soft sound, the black wooden box slowly opened upwards, blooming like petals!
Soft, starlight-like radiance shone from inside the box, instantly illuminating the entire room, and also illuminating Ladybug's and Cat Noir's faces... which were filled with extreme shock!
They saw it.
Inside the huge treasure box, which was divided into countless small compartments, lay quietly more than a dozen glowing accessories of various shapes—necklaces, bracelets, hairpins, and even a pair of glasses... Although they had vaguely learned from their respective kwamis that other miraculous might exist.
But they never dreamed... that there would be so many!
In the very center of the treasure box were two empty, most prominent compartments, corresponding to the Ladybug earrings and the Cat Noir ring respectively.
And next to them were two other equally empty compartments, imprinted with the patterns of a butterfly and a peacock.
Aside from these four compartments, all the other compartments contained genuine, dormant miraculous accessories.
"The duty of the Guardian,"
Master Fu's voice slowly sounded in their ears, like a bell from a distant time and space,
"is to safeguard these miraculous, and... at the most appropriate time, to entrust them to the most suitable people..."
He looked at the two children he had personally chosen, his old eyes filled with infinite, heavy expectation.
"...To let them save this world."