Von Ryker put down the sprayer.
...It really was a pointless farce.
But at least he survived; she didn't cut out his heart.
In front of him, Anna Vane's phone, which was lying unconscious, fell to the ground with a crisp thud.
He picked it up and happened to see a QQ message record.
This message was sent exactly ten minutes ago.
...
[Sera Frost (15:56): Sister Anna, after you transplant my heart tissue to him, remember to clean up the bloodstains so he can return safely without arousing suspicion.]
[Anna Vane (15:57): I understand.]
...
"…" Von Ryker was stunned. At that moment, he felt as if a cold wind was howling through his chest.
He turned his head and looked at the girl who seemed to be asleep on the sofa, noticing the faint white hair hidden among her black hair.
He could not see the wilderness that once existed in her eyes.
His fingers swiped rapidly up, scrolling through their chat history. The first chat message related to this matter was from a week ago.
...
[Sera Frost: Sister Anna, I want to give up treatment. The doctor said... I only have a little over a month to live at most.]
[Anna Vane: I respect all your decisions, child.]
[Sera Frost: Sister Anna, is the "dual-heart surgery" you're researching... real?]
[Anna Vane: Although outsiders find this surgery absurd, I believe it simply lacks suitable experimental subjects; there are no living subjects for us to test it on. Seemingly impossible experiments always face much skepticism and ridicule before they are actually implemented, like Bruno's burning at the stake. But I think that if the experiment succeeds, people with two different types of heart tissue will definitely be able to extend their lifespan.]
[Sera Frost: ...]
[Sera Frost: Sister Anna, was the file I saw before real? Is Von Ryker really also diagnosed with a terminal illness?]
[Anna: That's a certificate from Xiaoshu Hospital, they won't lie to you.]
[Sera Frost:...]
[Sera Frost: Sister Anna.]
[Sera Frost: Take me away from the hospital and home.]
[Anna Vane: Hmm?]
[Sera Frost: I think, since I'm going to die anyway, I might as well give him my heart.]
[Anna Vane: Why did you make this choice? You could have his heart too, child.]
[Sera Frost: Sister Anna.]
[Sera Frost: I've thought about it before, what's the point of living for someone like me who was born with an illness... It's a waste of resources and equipment, a countdown to my own death from the moment I open my eyes. I can't create, I can't give, I can't even leave a trace. After I die, my family and friends will gradually erase all traces of my existence.]
[Sera Frost: But one day, I suddenly realized that there were things I didn't want to regret.]
[Sera Frost: Suddenly, I really want to attend his graduation ceremony. I want to see him shine under the spotlight, I want to see him loved by more people, I want to see him come to my tailor shop and I sew him new clothes, I want to see him become a newspaper reporter with me, go on field interviews together, and see blood, sweat, banners, food, and vegetables.]
[Sera Frost: Suddenly, I really want to see him walk towards a bright future.]
[Sera Frost:...I still want to go see the sea with him.]
[Sera Frost: Is this what it feels like to like someone? I don't know. Was my behavior a crime? I don't know.]
[Sera Frost: All I know is that someone like me, who opens my eyes only to sleep forever underground... can't go on anymore.]
[Sera Frost: So, even if he resents me, it doesn't matter. I just want... I just want my heart to still beat in his chest after I die.]
[Sera Frost: My love is selfish, and it won't be accepted by others.]
[Sera Frost: But as long as he's alive, that's enough for me.] [Sera Frost: As long as he... is alive, that's enough.]
[Anna Vane:...]
[Sera Frost: I'm sorry, Sister Anna.]
[Anna Vane: I understand.]
[Anna Vane: I will prepare for surgery and give him your heart.]
...
absurd.
Looking at this chat history, Von Ryker felt it was absurd.
He threw away his phone.
Sera Frost had planned and arranged everything. Even knowing it violated public order and was a crime, she still selfishly and irresistibly wanted to give him her heart.
She wanted to use that scalpel to make an incision in his heart, to plant herself inside, to grow along his blood vessels, and to root her entire burning heart into his body.
This is her unique yet absurd, selfish yet selfless "love".
...but he didn't have cancer at all.
Lacking living donors, Anna Vane deceived her, turning her love into a farce.
He turned around and looked at the girl's corpse.
Her pupils were unfocused, and her expression was quiet and peaceful.
As the fading sunlight filtered through the curtains, it fell upon her face. Her dark hair was tossed about by the wind, and her wild eyes shimmered with a pale, luminous light.
The moment Von Ryker drew his knife and killed her.
...Did she ever regret her actions?
...In her final moments, did she still want to give him her heart?
...In the last second before she lost her breath, she gazed at him with such sorrowful eyes...
Was that the last cry of her soul, a high-pitched yet short lament?
Looking at her corpse, he could almost hear the tremors of her soul.
Scarce and valuable.
Foolish and naive.
Von Ryker recalled that before each of his deaths, the scalpel in Sera Frost's hand would pierce his right chest.
so,
Sera Frost wanted to preserve his heart and give him a replacement heart tissue.
However, they overlooked one crucial point.
The only thing that made this farce a complete tragedy was this.
...because of his own heart,
...
It grows on the right side.
...
...
Therefore, he died from a ruptured heart.
Therefore, she is now dead because of a misunderstanding, her throat has been slit.
He was killed by "love," and she was killed by "the one she loved." Love, misexpressed, became the blade that killed those they loved.
Therefore, this action, named "love," which disregards humanity, values, and order,
It devolved into an utterly absurd farce.
...
He stood still, the smell of blood spreading to his nose.
A light, warm mist rises from the teacup and the bowl-shaped rice cake in the sunlight.
...In an instant, his vision was enveloped in a beautiful golden hue.
... She never got to see that sea.
...
[Ding-dong!]
As he put down his phone, a particularly crisp notification sound rang in his ears.
[Congratulations on a perfect clear! (The beginner dungeon world is very short; the subsequent main dungeon world will be much larger.)]
[The ending of this world's storyline: "TE (True Ending) - The Vanished Her"]
["She liked me, I knew that. But love is never just about giving; I understood that after killing her—I had no choice but to do it to avoid an absurd tragedy."]
[The ending has been included. (The plot and experimental procedures in this instance are fictional, and the characters are system-generated and not real people. Please do not become overly addicted!)]
[Rating: SS (Highest for beginner levels - Subdue two enemies without taking damage, complete the entire story, and follow the walkthrough route flawlessly)]
[120 evaluation points earned]
[Gained 20 bonus battle points]
Total points earned: 140
[Hint: How to achieve "HE (positive ending) - Angel's Heart": Discover Sera Frost's plan, persuade her to give up the heart transplant surgery, and go to see the sea with her.]
Plot hint: "It is said that people whose hearts are on the right side were angels who guarded patients at their bedside in their past lives and were responsible for leading them away."
"I think."
"She is the angel who lives in the right atrium of my heart."
"I told her that love is not selfishness, not forced giving, and not an act of defying order."
"She smiled and told me, 'Tell me.'"
"She loves this sea."
"I think."
"Angel."
"...Why can't you stay in this world?"
...
How to achieve "NE (Normal Ending) - Two-Hearted": Make Sera Frost understand that her heart is on the right side, and implant her heart tissue from her left chest to make the surgery successful.
Plot hint: "The surgery is over."
"I took her remaining heart and went to see that vast ocean."
"The wind by the sea is lonely and cold."
"She was burning hot inside my chest."
"Young lady, look."
"The sea is so beautiful."
"..."
"..."
"...I haven't accomplished anything."
...
...
Ending summary:
BE: Bad ending, tragic ending, death ending.
HE: A happy ending, a happy ending for everyone.
NE: Normal ending, an ordinary ending where the truth is not revealed.
TE: The true ending, revealing the final truth and uncovering all the hidden endings.
...
Note: Even with the ability to rewind after death, the subsequent dungeons remain extremely difficult. Various timelines and faction lines exist, each requiring high intelligence to solve. Players will need to outwit and outmaneuver different characters and factions. Many puzzles cannot be solved simply by repeatedly dying; rewinding only serves a supplementary purpose. (Compared to later dungeons with dozens of plot twists and foreshadowing throughout, the beginner dungeons are far too easy. This is an intellectually stimulating story game, not a mindless brawl; rewinding after death is merely a margin for error.