"Next, there's the other matter..."
Lin Wei asked, his heart filled with apprehension, his tone rather grave,
"What should I do about Yae Sakura's Stigma?"
If he had to find an analogy for the tension gripping his heart right now, he'd probably recall the time he checked his college entrance exam results—waiting for the emotionless electronic voice on the phone to announce a number that could very well decide the course of his life, unconsciously clenching his jaw during that brief yet agonizing wait, feeling his back tighten and grow slightly cold, sensing a cold sweat about to break but not quite there, his heartbeat becoming distinctly audible and rapid in his chest...
Although the two situations were entirely unrelated, Lin Wei seemed to be experiencing a similar kind of tension now. It wasn't intense, but it wasn't pleasant either, like awaiting an inevitable verdict.
It was difficult to describe his feelings for Yae Sakura in simple terms.
Fundamentally, his approach towards her from the very beginning was filled with blatant utilitarianism and a harm akin to robbery and coercion.
Even though there were many unavoidable circumstances; even though Lin Wei tried everything possible during the process to minimize the "harm" Sakura felt; even though Sakura had already been irredeemably lost in the abyss for five hundred years before Lin Wei made that decision...
Even though Lin Wei could find thousands of reasons to justify his actions, it didn't change the core reality—from that day forward, the human girl named "Yae Sakura" completely vanished from the world, leaving only a Stigma also named "Yae Sakura" obtained by him.
Her own consciousness could only reside within Lin Wei's consciousness, a guest with nowhere else to go.
In Lin Wei's eyes, he had become who he was by taking everything from Yae Sakura, thus he always carried a subtle sense of indebtedness towards her.
This sense of debt was usually latent, only manifesting in Lin Wei being more attentive to her feelings in daily life, taking her to see more varied scenery, helping her better enjoy the ordinary life she desired but couldn't have five hundred years ago...
However, when he suddenly learned that one day he would strip away even her "consciousness," Yae Sakura's last trace of existence in this world, it finally ignited the spark of guilt buried deep within his heart. The genuine emotions cultivated drop by drop over their year of living together exploded like a detonated powder keg, shattering his inner world.
He knew Sakura didn't want him to attempt anything dangerous, but the more she resisted, the more Lin Wei felt he had to do something for her...
Back at Schicksal HQ, why did he so easily relinquish the "spoils of war" he had fought so hard for? Why did he insist on breaking out of his "promised land," handing it back to Otto? Was it truly just because he realized Otto might have noticed Anna, and he needed to act before Otto did?
That was certainly a reason, but not the whole story—after all, Lin Wei knew full well that as long as he kept the knife pressed against Otto's heart, Otto might not have been able to do anything to Anna, or to him.
There was another, more important reason, one he couldn't explicitly tell Yae Sakura:
If he spent all his time playing this pointless staring contest with Otto, then he truly would have no choice but to watch Yae Sakura fade away bit by bit...
Given that, the choice became obvious.
Undeniably, Lin Wei was an affectionate, emotional person, exceptionally skilled at empathizing with others. But he was also someone whose decisiveness could be chillingly cold. At the same time, he was also greedy to an almost comical degree.
Otto, he wanted to win against.
Anna, he wanted to protect.
Yuno, he also wanted to protect.
Yae Sakura, he wanted to protect even more...
He was just that shameless person who wanted everything, grasping tightly onto anything he could, unwilling to let go of even the smallest bit.
And now, having finally reached the point of summarizing and reaping the rewards of his efforts during this period, how could Lin Wei not be nervous?
After all, in Lin Wei's view, besides Mobius, the "initiator of the Stigma Project," was there anyone else in the world qualified to "diagnose" his Stigma problem?
That would probably only be possible if Mobius came back from the dead!
Lin Wei waited nervously and expectantly for Mobius's response, hoping she wouldn't disappoint him, just as she always seemed to deliver.
After all, hadn't she already provided a solution for Yuno's equally thorny problem?
"Stigma? What to do about it?? Hehehe..."
Mobius tilted her small face up, her serpentine eyes meticulously scanning every inch of Lin Wei's expression, then reading the complex emotions brimming in his eyes for a moment. She swallowed back her usual sarcastic remarks, simply asking with a faint, ambiguous smile,
"Surely you're not asking if she and you can be separated again?"
"Yes, that would be best!"
A flicker of heat ignited in Lin Wei's heart, and he nodded eagerly.
After being injected with such a large dose of Honkai resistance serum, he no longer needed the constant protection of the Stigma to avoid Honkai erosion as he did before.
Since that was the case, Lin Wei felt it was time to give her back her freedom.
But unfortunately, Mobius's next words cooled the warmth that had just flared in his heart considerably...
"My, my~ You really do care about that girl who looks so much like Sakura..."
Mobius gave him a meaningful look, raised a small hand, and asked in a tone that sounded suspiciously like mockery,
"Unfortunately, can you take coffee that has been thoroughly ground into powder, brewed into a drink, and restore it back to its original beans?"
"..."
Lin Wei understood. A chill crept into his heart.
"Even you can't do it?"
In his memory, Mobius had never uttered defeatist words like "can't be done."
"Me? Of course, I can! After all, two distinct yet deeply integrated genomes, while extremely rare, are not impossible to separate. It's just the consequences of doing so..."
Mobius said with a faint, knowing smile,
"Naturally, it's death by genetic breakdown! Like this, boom!"
As she spoke, she made an explosion gesture with quite some malice, causing Lin Wei's already disappointed heart to plummet further.
"...Is that so? I understand."
Lin Wei sighed softly, glanced at the girl in the incubation pod, and said somewhat melancholically,
"It's the exact opposite situation to Yuno's, right?"
Having learned from Mobius for these few days, Lin Wei could at least form some rudimentary concepts about certain issues.
After all, Yuno was a whole formed by "piecing together" two entities, just not quite complete yet. Whereas he and Yae Sakura were already a complete whole...
"Hehe, it seems your intelligence isn't entirely beyond saving after all! Although it's completely different from what you're thinking, being able to understand to this extent is already quite remarkable."
Mobius offered rare praise, waved a hand, projecting a set of images and data Lin Wei couldn't comprehend in front of him. Her expression was playful as she said,
"After all, there is a third existence within you..."
Lin Wei's heart stirred.
"You mean..."
Indeed, what Mobius said next was exactly what he had thought.
"The Key of Corruption—or rather, the Herrscher of Corruption; it was precisely this that fully grafted this external 'Stigma' onto you, while also acting as an 'adhesive,' forcibly stabilizing the rejection that should have been extremely violent between you, like the beam supporting a scale, preventing this fragile balance from collapsing—See? Even a Herrscher is preventing you from doing what you were just thinking~"
As Mobius explained another factor Lin Wei had never considered, she somehow produced a small scale from nowhere. Under Lin Wei's gaze, she slowly pushed the weights on both sides towards the center, speaking softly,
"One day, when both ends of this scale meet in the middle..."
Mobius stopped there, not continuing, but Lin Wei already understood her meaning—
If it weren't for this 'adhesive' acting as a bridge, the rejection or integration process between him and the Stigma would likely have been excruciatingly painful for both. How could it be as smooth as it was now?
When he and the Stigma completely merged into one, no longer needing 'this adhesive'...
Would Rin awaken?
But on that day, Sakura...
"...So that was Rin's intention back then?"
Lin Wei didn't know whether to feel moved or wryly amused.
"But why wasn't she willing to say it back then?"
Was it a girl's modesty?
Lin Wei felt Pandora floating in his sea of consciousness, thought of the little girl living in the Stigma space, and silently wondered,
Or perhaps, Sakura and Rin truly cannot coexist?
"Alright, enough said. Besides that, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news for you."
Mobius stretched as if clocking off work, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"The good news is, the speed of fusion with the Stigma is directly proportional to your Honkai energy resistance—because your natural Honkai resistance is pitifully low, this 'fusion' process probably won't be complete even by the day you die of old age... As for the bad news, hehe..."
"...That clearly sounds like bad news, doesn't it?"
Lin Wei gave a wry smile. The question he had just pondered was answered so quickly—Rin probably never intended for him to do anything to Yae Sakura from the start, simply acting out of kindness.
But now...
Lin Wei sighed, "Fate is fate," and said with a wry smile,
"The bad news you're about to tell me, I guess, is that because my Honkai resistance has now been strengthened, the fusion process has also accelerated, right?"
"Hehehe, correct. So, whatever you want to do, remember to hurry~ I don't know where you got so much Honkai resistance serum; such extravagance was rare even in our era~"
Mobius said with a strange smile.
"With your current Honkai resistance... hehe, I guess, even becoming a Herrscher one day would probably be more than sufficient~"
"..."
You really have the mood to joke, Lin Wei thought helplessly. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He fixed his gaze intently on Mobius and asked,
"You said, if I find a way to become a Herrscher, would that help in saving Sakura?"
In his tone, "becoming a Herrscher" sounded as simple as having a meal.
"..."
Lin Wei's sudden "proposal" left even Mobius speechless. It was the first time she had encountered someone actively wanting to become a Herrscher.
She had just found it amusing and mentioned it casually, never expecting Lin Wei to actually consider it.
Seriously dude, are you that audacious?
Mobius found herself liking Lin Wei even more. She inherently disliked conformists; Lin Wei's type of arrogance, disregarding everything, deeply resonated with her.
But regardless, Lin Wei's outlandish idea still stunned her considerably.
"...Do you think becoming a Herrscher is something you can just achieve by saying it?"
Mobius glared at him exasperatedly.
"Besides, even if it were as you say, the moment you become a Herrscher, your already fragile Stigma consciousness would probably be instantly obliterated by the overwhelming tide of Honkai energy~"
"..."
"...You're right. I was being fanciful."
Lin Wei shook off the unrealistic thoughts that had just popped into his head, asking with some reluctance,
"Is there really no way?"
Returning empty-handed from Mobius, of all people, left Lin Wei exceptionally disappointed.
"From a biological standpoint—no."
Mobius's reply was unexpectedly cold, as if determined to shatter all of Lin Wei's delusions.
"...Is that so? I understand."
Lin Wei took a deep breath and turned to leave.
"Mobius, I know you must have other ways, because you never say the word 'impossible'."
Then, before Mobius could speak, Lin Wei continued,
"However, you also reminded me not to pin my hopes on one person. I need to think hard again, look for other solutions..."
Lin Wei resolved inwardly. If push comes to shove, I'll go find Hare. If Yae Sakura objects, I'll pretend I didn't hear—As for how to deal with World Serpent afterward, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!
"Oh? So decisive?"
Lin Wei's lack of hesitation annoyed Mobius. Not even a shred of hesitation, huh? She couldn't help but press,
"What are you planning to do?"
"Isn't there good news?"
Lin Wei gestured towards the Yuno replica with his chin.
"I'm going to tell her that I can at least fulfill the promise I made to her."
With that, Lin Wei turned back, gave Mobius a sincere smile,
"Regardless, thank you, Mobius."
Then, he turned and left.
She doesn't owe me anything. Helping this much is already enough to be grateful for.
As for the rest...
Lin Wei looked up at the verdant green sky.
When the college entrance exam results are disappointing, when you really fail, what do you do?
The answer is, there's nothing you can do; time won't rewind, the world won't stop and wait for you; complaining about fate, wallowing in self-pity, achieves nothing except losing even more.
There's only one thing you can do—accept reality as quickly as possible, and then move forward again.
Just like now, although Lin Wei didn't know how he would face Sakura, he knew that the next time he saw her, he still had to wear a natural smile...
Meanwhile.
"..."
Mobius watched Lin Wei leave, then suddenly let out a sneer.
"Self-righteous guys like him are truly annoying~"
With that, her figure merged into the darkness and vanished.
Moments later, in the main hall lounge.
"Ah, Su, I didn't expect to see you here."
Mobius floated leisurely in from the doorway. Seeing the handsome man sitting thoughtfully on the bench, she expressed surprise.
"I thought you had grown into that tree of yours~"
"Mobius, there's no need for theatrics. I know you came specifically looking for me."
Su slowly raised his head, his closed eyes "looking" towards the green-haired girl. His tone was as calm and gentle as ever, but his attitude wasn't particularly friendly.
"Between you and me, it's best to speak directly."
Although Lin Wei had given him a stern reminder, expecting him to fully accept Mobius so easily was clearly asking too much.
"Oh dear, Su, still as unwelcoming as ever?"
Mobius was long accustomed to Su's rejection. She decided to get straight to the point.
"Down to business. I've thought of a very interesting experiment, and I'd like you to assist me in completing it. How about it?"
"..."
Su's words of refusal almost instantly reached his lips, but he swallowed them back and said instead,
"Please explain."
Perhaps Lin Wei was right. I really should pay more attention to others.
That was why he was in the hall—after parting with Lin Wei, he had a long talk with Kevin. He realized then that he had never truly understood his closest friend, which filled him with shame.
Conversely, Kevin saw through his worries instantly but didn't pry, simply taking a silent step closer, which made Su feel even guiltier.
Because of this, after bidding farewell to Kevin, Su didn't return to meditate under the Bodhi tree as usual, but came back to the hall, like an ordinary doctor off duty, quietly enjoying some peaceful solitude.
Of course, he also happened to "see" Mobius searching fruitlessly under his Bodhi tree, then asking Kevin, and subsequently heading straight back to the hall.
Kevin really is...
Su gave a wry smile. I never told Kevin where I'd be, yet he could guess?
But Su's relatively friendly attitude stunned Mobius on the spot. She had been prepared for a lengthy back-and-forth.
However, recalling the recording Elysia had given her, Mobius simply cursed inwardly, "Meddlesome," then stopped dwelling on it. Using her uniquely tempting tone, she got straight to the point.
"Su, tell me, if we were to combine the so-called Stigma Space with your Sumeru Mustard Seed... what interesting things might happen?"
"...It would probably birth an even more unique world bubble."
Su paused, surprised Mobius would bring this up.
"But Mobius, within the Elysian Realm, it holds no meaning."
"No, it does."
Mobius looked up at Su's face, speaking earnestly.
"That friend you just met, that outsider; he will need it~"