The Sea of Quanta was truly a wondrous place where anything could happen.
Even Lin Wei himself hadn't expected that, while he and the Bronya from his world were strictly "online friends," he would end up having an "offline meeting" with Seele first.
"You're..."
Lin Wei's overly familiar demeanor and his words made Seele feel exceptionally uneasy.
"Wait, you... know me?"
He was being too forward too soon.
Realizing that what he had said might have crossed a line for someone he was meeting for the first time, Lin Wei quickly added, "Don't get me wrong. I just happen to know your name through a series of coincidences. If Bronya hadn't told me beforehand, I probably wouldn't have been able to connect you with the name 'Seele' even if I had run into you by chance."
This was an extremely sensitive girl. It was best to maintain a bit of distance until they were truly familiar with each other.
Regardless, Seele's sudden appearance was an absolute pleasant surprise. It meant that things were back on a familiar track, which made Lin Wei breathe a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh, I see..."
Lin Wei's explanation also put Seele slightly at ease, but it was followed by another awkward silence. She wasn't good at interacting with strangers.
Faced with this young man who had suddenly appeared before her, and who was quite possibly the person she had been looking for all this time, she had no idea how to begin.
Should she just ask him directly, "Excuse me, are you the person I've been looking for?"
Or, "Excuse me, would you be willing to leave with me?"
Either way felt incredibly awkward...
Lin Wei didn't know about Seele's difficulty and awkwardness, but he knew she was an introverted girl, so he took the initiative to speak again.
"Excuse me, are you here to take me away from here to find Kevin?"
To him, the answer to this question was beyond doubt. If Kevin could send Seele to collect Welt's Herrscher Core, he could certainly send her to find him. Besides, that guy had no one else to use besides Seele right now anyway.
"Kevin? You mean... that person?"
Although it was the first time Seele had heard the name, she instantly realized who he was talking about, and another wave of unease washed over her.
Her first impression of Kevin had been terrible. He was like a demon from the abyss. From the very beginning, Seele felt like she was making a deal with the devil. Even though she had agreed to find Lin Wei for him, her heart was still filled with apprehension and anxiety.
True, the act of "searching" itself had given Seele a sense of security, helping to dispel her unease. But now that the journey was really coming to an end, the fear and trepidation she had felt when facing that voice that could decide her fate surged back into her heart, uncontrollable.
Will he really keep his promise? Could this all be a scam from the very beginning?
When people feel insecure about the future, their minds can't help but imagine all sorts of terrible outcomes, and the more they think, the more anxious they become.
...
"Seele, be careful! Something's not right with this guy!"
She wasn't the only one feeling uneasy. Veliona also cautiously reminded her, "His reaction is too strange. He acts like he knows us and that guy by default, as if he knew everything from the start!"
In that moment, Veliona was even considering whether she should hold a scythe to this Lin Wei's neck and use him to negotiate with the one who had given them the mission. But the potential unknown costs made her hesitate to act rashly.
After all, her bold interference today had already caused Seele a great deal of trouble. She didn't want to cause a third incident...
"That person? Uh... you don't know his full name?"
Lin Wei sensed the sudden spike in Seele's tension and even wariness. After a brief pause, he figured out the reason, smiled, and slowed his speech to reassure her.
"Don't be nervous. Kevin isn't a bad person."
"...That's what bad guys usually say."
Veliona curled her lip in disdain, and then she heard the Bronya beside them voice her thoughts aloud. She couldn't help but give her a big thumbs up.
Well done!
After Bronya's interruption, Veliona, feeling slightly more relaxed, belatedly came to a realization. Wait, Kevin?
Hiss... why does that name sound so familiar?
As a Stigmata from the Previous Era, although she had awakened her own consciousness, she was born as Seele's shadow, not a life that had truly continued from that bygone age. But within the information recorded in the ether, there were still imprints of that era.
"...If he's a bad guy, then there are no good people left in the world. Really."
Lin Wei shot the disruptive Bronya a look and explained concisely to Seele, "Kevin was a warrior from the last civilization, a hero who fought for a sliver of hope for humanity when the Finality descended. After fifty thousand years, he became a pioneer, sowing the seeds of civilization for this new era. Over a thousand years ago, he exiled himself into the Sea of Quanta, becoming a guardian of the new civilization, and has been ever since."
This string of terms, each heavier than the last, left Seele feeling a bit dazed. The voice that had left such a terrifying memory in her mind... was he talking about the same person?
And, could a person really live for fifty thousand years?
Seele found it hard to imagine.
"...He's probably telling the truth," Veliona said dazedly in the realm of consciousness. Although she had no specific memories, Lin Wei's words made the sense of familiarity in her subconscious even clearer, and there were few inconsistencies.
She understood her own origins, so she naturally understood what this feeling represented. Along with it, her wariness and distrust of Lin Wei also subtly dissipated.
"You'll understand once you get to know him better. That guy is just a blockhead who's terrible with words. Even when it comes to chasing girls... never mind, now's not a good time to talk about this."
Lin Wei had intended to gossip a bit, but he felt it was impolite to make fun of someone's weakest point. After thinking for a moment, he changed the subject. "That guy, he was pretty good at basketball when he was young. As long as he learned to keep his mouth shut, that face of his could fool a lot of silly little girls..."
What's the best way to dispel someone's negative impression of another person?
It's not by telling them how good, how hardworking, or how amazing that person is. That only increases the distance between them and doesn't really overturn a pre-existing impression.
The correct method is, on top of all that, to add a few of the person's trivial, embarrassing little stories. After all, who doesn't love a good gap moe?
Really?
The effect was outstanding. Even the usually timid Seele couldn't help but ask, "Are you... very close with him? Are you also from his era?"
If the answer is yes, then everything would make sense, Seele thought to herself.
"We are indeed very close. But I have to disappoint you, I'm not from the Previous Era."
Although going along with Seele's mistaken impression would save a lot of trouble, Lin Wei had no intention of lying about this. "I just found a way to contact him and asked him to give me a hand after I fell into the Sea of Quanta. I just didn't expect that his 'hand' would be sending you on an errand, tsk..."
At this, Lin Wei curled his lip in disgust. Kevin, you really know how to make trouble for people!
What's the best way to bring two strangers closer?
Answer: Complain about a third person together.
Although Seele didn't like to speak ill of others, whether behind their backs or to their faces, hearing Lin Wei complain so openly about the man named Kevin made her feeling of unfamiliarity and unease toward him melt away like snow.
"Oh, now you're just being ungrateful," Veliona also curled her lip. "To fall into the Sea of Quanta and still have someone to pull you out, what's there to be dissatisfied about?"
She was actually starting to feel sorry for Kevin...
"Alright, excuse me, let's end the small talk here, you two... or rather, three."
Schrödinger's voice came from Lin Wei. Although it was quite abrupt, her consistently calm and composed tone managed to not startle or alarm Seele. "It's not a very friendly thing to be in someone else's home, using someone else's identity. Now, it's time to think about how to get out of here."
Her voice interjected at just the right time.
The ice between Lin Wei and Seele had just begun to thaw, and they could have easily started a more harmonious conversation. At a time like this, an observer was needed to interrupt and get the topic back on track.
Bronya couldn't do it. It had to be her, someone who also didn't belong to this world.
"..."
"..."
Bronya smiled helplessly, a strange bitterness in her heart. It was the first time she had ever felt like an outsider in front of Seele, unable to even get a word in.
Or maybe, she really was an outsider...
"Let me introduce you. This voice belongs to Dr. Schrödinger. Like Seele, she is also a traveler in the Sea of Quanta."
Lin Wei naturally understood Schrödinger's intention. After a brief introduction to Seele, he quickly got back to the point. "Miss Seele, how do we leave this place?"
He really didn't want to stay in this freezing world bubble for another second!
"..."
Bronya's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't help but look at Seele, her eyes a mixture of anticipation, reluctance, and simple sadness.
Why am I sad?
Bronya didn't know. Maybe she couldn't accept that she would become just a passerby in Seele's life—even if she wasn't her Seele to begin with...
"Leave? Yes, mission complete, it's time to go back..."
Seele was taken aback, as if the thought had just occurred to her. She looked at the Bronya beside her with an apologetic gaze, reached out to take her hand, and said again, "I'm sorry, Bronya Oneechan..."
Some things are precious because they are unique. The more precious they are, the more unacceptable a "substitute" becomes, even if it is identical to the original.
"Bronya Oneechan, do you hate me?"
Seele didn't know how to face the Bronya beside her. "In the last loop, because of my hesitation, you were taken away by Mother Cocolia. In this loop, because of my recklessness and impulsiveness, you ended up in this situation. I..."
The thought that her arrival had caused so much harm to her and the others made Seele shed tears of guilt. "It's all my fault. It's because of me that things turned out this way... But I..."
To do a bunch of wrong things and then just leave like this, isn't that a bit too selfish? What right do I have to return to Bronya Oneechan's side?
Perhaps because the pressure was gone, Seele now only felt guilt and remorse. After all, if she just left so easily, she wouldn't even have a chance to make amends...
"It's not your fault, Seele..." Bronya squeezed Seele's hand, her heart aching.
How could I blame her for anything? She was just doing what she had to do...
When I see her face, I can't help but miss my Seele. When Seele sees me, doesn't she miss her Bronya?
The greatest tragedy in the world is when everyone is doing the right thing, yet it is destined to lead to the wrong outcome...
"If... if I could do it all over again..." Seele murmured to herself. If she could do it all over again, maybe she could return Seele and Sin, and the entire world, to Bronya Oneechan, and she wouldn't be so sad.
Seele was a child who was good at fantasizing. In this moment, just like in the orphanage back then, she couldn't help but lose herself in her own fantasies once more...
"Hmm?"
Unconsciously, Lin Wei felt the world before him begin to ripple and distort in a familiar way, like flowing water. He couldn't help but ask, "Are we leaving already?"
With such a strange phenomenon occurring at this time, it was only natural to come to that conclusion.
"No, we're not!"
Schrödinger gave a stern denial almost immediately. "Time is looping again!"
"What?"
Lin Wei was stunned. Without thinking, he lunged toward Seele, wanting to make one last attempt. But he found that he couldn't break through the ripples. Even his own consciousness began to spin as if he were drunk.
"How could this be?"
Bronya also heard Schrödinger's voice, and a chill ran down her spine. "Seele! Seele!"
No response.
She looked down. Seele had passed out at some point. She turned her head.
Lin Wei, who had been standing beside her, was fading away at an incredible speed. She quickly reached out to grab him, but she only managed to grasp a handful of empty air, as if Lin Wei were just a phantom.
"Why is this happening?"
Bronya was utterly bewildered, but she also understood that she probably didn't have much time left to think. In a panic, she instinctively called out for help from anyone who might be there. "Lin Wei! Doctor! What should I do?"
She didn't really expect a response. It was as futile as a drowning person desperately grasping at a weak straw.
Lin Wei was indeed unable to respond to her, but Schrödinger's voice came through clearly once more. "Do what you have to do, Bronya."
It sounded like a completely meaningless platitude. Are you providing end-of-life care?
If Lin Wei had heard it, that would have been his thought. But not Bronya.
Her mind was a tangled mess, and she had even forgotten how to think. Schrödinger's seemingly empty words were like a straw extended to a drowning person, and she clung to it tightly.
"Do what I have to do? What should I do? What can I do?"
A bolt of lightning flashed through Bronya's mind. In that instant, she knew what she had to do.
She threw herself beside the unconscious Seele, and with all her might, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Seele, trust me!"
She didn't know if he could still hear her voice, but it was truly the only thing she could do right now...
The next second, the Ouroboros bit its own tail, and the clock reset to the beginning...