New Life and Farewell

「Is this the result of your deliberate guidance, Herrscher of Thousands?」

「Lighting a glimmer of light for a girl trapped in darkness, nurturing her fragile little flower of admiration, only to break it when it was in full bloom.」

「That intense admiration would then transform into the most perfect nourishment in her painful despair, giving birth to the purest puppet.」

「Do you think you still retain your humanity?」

「Admit it. You're just a monster who manipulates hearts!」

"Shut up!"

Countless threads flew around. The puppets in the theater were torn into pieces. Ren stood alone on the stage, and a deep weariness could be seen in his golden eyes.

"I clearly abandoned the plan…"

But the outcome was still constantly progressing in the worst direction. Ren had originally wanted to use his presence as an emotional support to change Jian Yun's fate. However, she was ultimately unable to withstand the mental assault. The malice of her companions was far more damaging than he had imagined.

But now that things had reached this point, even if he couldn't achieve the outcome that he had imagined, fortunately, Ren still had a chance to change things.

「You'll probably be disappointed. I am Dominance, not Thousands.」

The Sheep Spirit wouldn't abandon those who wanted to live. This time, he would take the initiative and pull a person into the Dominance Theater.

The black and white mark on Jian Yun's forearm, who was about to jump, vaguely appeared, and gradually began to radiate light. Then, she heard that voice.

「Welcome to the Dominance Theater.」

…

「Is it you?」 Her body had completely lost control, but Jian Yun didn't react at all. She had already given up on the desire for life, and had retreated into a corner of her consciousness. But that familiar voice pulled her back from despair. 「You didn't abandon me. You came back for me?」

"…"

Not saying a word, Jian Yun's current state was essentially caused by Ren. He didn't want to repeat his mistakes. In this situation, the best course of action was to not let her develop any unnecessary thoughts.

But even so, he could clearly sense that Jian Yun's will to live, which had previously been lost, was slowly recovering. And after realizing that her body was being controlled by Ren, she had even directly given up her control, handing all her activities over to the Herrscher of Dominance.

Deeply trapped in the mire, she had always yearned for someone to help her up. This had been the case before the disaster, and it was the same after falling into despair.

What she hated wasn't Ren as a person. Instead, she resented her own helplessness, and she resented the fact that no one had helped her when she was in her most desperate moment.

「I heard that when people die, they will see the grim reapers who came to take their lives. It seems that before I die, I can still hear his voice…」

Tormented by loneliness and darkness for too long, Jian Yun was constantly rambling. Ren didn't feel annoyed. It was a way for people who were trapped in despair to save themselves. He, himself, had once been like that.

Opening the curtains, Ren looked out at the high-rise buildings outside the window. It had been almost a week since the Honkai outbreak. During that time, the incident had become a sensation across the Shenzhou internet. And, the officials of ARC City had finally noticed the security risks in the suburbs. They had relocated all the victims and provided them with new housing.

Unfortunately, Jian Yun's family had been refused relocation compensation due to the fact that Jian Yun was still alive, and they had only been moved. The trauma after the disaster was still tormenting everyone. While everyone was licking their wounds, Jian Yun and her family had become the outcasts.

When you don't have the courage to face others, the Thousand will give you courage.

When you don't have the strength to escape the mire, the Thousand will give you strength.

Pushing open his bedroom door, Ren noticed that Jian's father, who was usually spouting nonsense from drinking, was looking at her. Perhaps knowing that his daughter could have heard what he had said, he raised his hand to explain. But Ren ignored him and walked out of the door directly.

Just as the door opened, the neighbors on the same floor saw her, and cast malicious gazes at her. But Ren looked at them and gave them a wide smile.

"Good afternoon."

"You little brat. You have the nerve to smile when your classmates are dead!" The neighbor across from them was clearly provoked by that smile, and cursed in a low voice.

"But I survived. You can say that I was lucky, or that I was a jinx. But the fact that I survived is undeniable. I was able to survive the disaster. Why can't I smile?"

"…"

「Can I smile? When everyone else is dead,」 Jian Yun's voice came from her mind. Even though it was her body, she had made a choice that she wouldn't have even dared to think of. That feeling… was so strange.

When everyone wants you to die, the best choice is to live better than them.

"They're just a group of losers living in the mud. They don't have the courage to confront reality, and can only project their malice onto weaker, innocent people." For some inexplicable reason, Ren patiently explained to her. She had walked downstairs on her own. People living in the building would cast venomous gazes at her. Some would even deliberately curse out loud for Ren to hear.

But so what? Living was for yourself, anyway.

"Since the balance has been broken, then why not try to sever ties with them?"

「But my family is just ordinary people.」 Perhaps because Ren was controlling Jian Yun's body and acting out a completely different way of life for her, her heart was gradually infected by that confidence, but she was still doubtful.

"But they are not you after all. You are independent, you are autonomous. You don't need to care about other people's eyes, and you don't have to worry about what others think."

"Your life was saved by me. You don't need to live for them."

「So, it really is you?」

"…"

For a week, Jian Yun had spent most of her time locked up in her room. Later, she had even become afraid of sunlight. Long periods of hunger and mental exhaustion had almost destroyed her body. What Ren needed to do was to bring her back to a normal life, and make her live even better.

One day later.

Jian Yun had gotten used to Ren's control. But when she saw where she had arrived, she was still trembling in her soul.

The memorial cemetery for the victims.

"Your classmates are all here. If you don't come here to see them, you will never have the courage to face them."

After verifying his identity, Ren arrived at the overly large cemetery. Because there were so many, he could see countless black and white photos at a single glance. Some were familiar, and some were strangers.

Until Ren stopped, seeing many familiar names and photos, Jian Yun could no longer hold back her emotions and began to sob quietly.

"They're all waiting for you, but they don't want to take you with them. They want you to see them off."

Sighing deeply, Ren released his control over her body.

"Say goodbye to them, Jian Yun."