Time rewinds to a few minutes earlier. In a certain secret base, Schrodinger was leaning against the bed, rapidly and urgently repeating the process of setting and solving problems for herself.
As the planner of the entire operation, she now had to stop herself from thinking. But at a time like this, she couldn't just space out, nor could she sleep. She could only use this method to distract her thoughts.
Don't dare to think, can't think... The Herrscher's ability is too much of a counter to thinking species like us. Even the "what if" in my heart...
Schrodinger's hand suddenly paused. Then, she slumped down, defeated, and dropped the pen in her hand.
It's over... I held on for two hours... but in the end, I couldn't resist that one stray thought that arose in my heart...
If there were an experiment here, or some experimental equipment, she definitely could have overcome it... If Van Gogh were here, perhaps he could have emptied his mind by painting?
I really need to ask someone how to space out after I get back...
Schrodinger closed her eyes in resignation.
If I can even get back...
What if... the Herrscher was a few minutes early?
---||---
A smile appeared at the corner of the Herrscher's mouth, who was in front of the scepter. The brilliance, which could have lasted a few more minutes, suddenly extinguished. The Herrscher grasped it in his palm, and it was completely extinguished.
"The game is over..." The Herrscher slowly opened his hands, revealing his empty palms.
He smiled and turned back, looking in the direction of the three battlefields.
As for Shu suppressing Kiana, the other two battlefields were dominated by his puppets. In this situation, they couldn't possibly sever the canopy's connection at the same time.
There was only one way to break the situation now, and that was to abandon two of them and only save Kiana, who was in front of Shu...
Was that possible? Would Shu do that?!
Impossible! He wasn't sure about Frélle, but Shu would absolutely not abandon Bronya!
He raised his hand in intoxication, savoring the feedback coming from the puppets.
"What a wonderful drama... Is it a flower of hope that blooms from mutual salvation, or the brilliance of despair? And what will the end of the drama be?"
"And what will... my failure be like..."
The Herrscher opened his eyes, his hand slowly caressing his own chest.
"Savior of civilization, chaser of the dawn of hope... I wonder if you will like this wonderful drama that ends with my death?"
He had never thought of winning. From the very beginning of his encounter with Shu, he had never thought of winning...
He had a very clear view of himself. He knew what he should do, what he could do, and what he wanted to do.
Shu would defeat him. He believed this even more than Shu did. But this was just the result of a script...
And what he wanted to see was the process of filling in this script.
How would Shu defeat him? With an unimaginable ability, defeating him cleanly and swiftly? Or by relying on his brilliant intellect to scheme him to death, sending him into the abyss?
Or perhaps, after a crushing defeat, he would despairingly give up the entanglement and choose to flee, or...
In constant reincarnation, he would gradually become independent, completely abandoning his final ties, becoming a beast seeking revenge on the Honkai?
There was no good or bad in a drama. The ending only depended on personal preference. And no matter what the ending was, it was what he wanted to see. He only hoped the process would be as exciting as possible!
So, he had already turned his life into the "payment," luring Shu to come and complete this plot for him.
Now... he, playing the villain, had the whole situation in his hands. The plot had reached its most oppressive and darkest moment... and he wouldn't stop. He would go even further, trying to achieve the villain's goal without holding back.
To defeat the protagonist.
Just one Kiana wasn't enough... he needed more puppets, more "actors"!
But before that... he still needed to complete one last thing, so that the drama could reach its most perfect state, so that his own end could receive the highest evaluation.
"A good drama is never short of good music... don't you agree?" He took a seemingly casual step, but the surrounding scene had completely changed.
"My other half... me?" he turned his head and said casually to the Noah standing behind Mei.
Noah looked at the Herrscher in silence, lowered his hands, and the resounding music gradually subsided.
The puppet entangled with Mei received the command and quickly returned to the Herrscher's... no, the adult Noah's side.
Mei took two steps back, panting. This time, she didn't stand in front of the young Noah, but on the other side, forming a triangle with the two Noahs.
Two of them... are both Noah?
It was almost impossible to tell... The adult Noah's scruffy appearance and the young Noah's noble-like temperament were worlds apart. Mei had seen her share of unrestrained people, but this adult Noah was completely decadent.
Are they... really the same person?
The adult Noah opened his arms, as if opening them for the young Noah. "Come... the perfect drama is right before us. As long as we combine, we can pull back the curtain! This is our common wish, isn't it?"
"It is..." Noah said slowly. Mei tightened her grip on the Xuanxuan sword, her heart sinking.
"But the process I want might be a little different from yours." Noah tilted his head up, a resolute look on his delicate face. "You want to devour me, but I can also devour you."
"Is that so?" The adult Noah showed no surprise. Instead, a more excited smile appeared on his face. "Then what process do you, who has mastered the [Arrangement], want to see?"
"Mama Cocolia will save everyone in this crisis. She will rise to a high position, become the leader of all humanity, and lead people to fight against the Honkai.
"And I will eliminate all obstacles in her way... I will kill you here, then take over all your arrangements and strangle that monster here as well..."
The adult Noah's expression paused for a moment. He stared at the young Noah but couldn't see a trace of falsehood.
He really planned to do that...
Even more whimsical than himself!
"As expected of you..." After a moment of shock, the adult Noah let out an uncontrollable laugh. "Truly as expected of you!! Hahahaha—"
"Then come! Let us fight and devour each other!!"
"Let all the audience in this world see which is more important, [doing everything right], or [reaching the end]!!"
It was like a starting whistle. Before his words had even faded, Mei watched as the two figures suddenly transformed into two twisted shadows, merging together, then beginning to violently deform and struggle.
They attacked each other. They embraced each other. They devoured each other...
They were originally one, yet they went in opposite directions.