"Kosma? Why is he here?"
Hearing the melodious music from nearby, Pardo muttered to herself in considerable surprise, "That's not right... Logically, no one should usually come here, right?"
The moment her voice fell, the sorrowful, melodious tune instantly ceased. Then, a light landing sound accompanied by the whoosh of air breaking came from behind. Lin Wei turned to see a teenager with four strange, antelope-like horns on his head jump down from a high place.
"Pardo, why are you here?"
The teenager's voice sounded somewhat low. He had clearly heard Pardo's voice just now and spoke with some surprise, "Is there something... Uh..."
The teenager's words had been fairly composed, but they abruptly stopped the moment his gaze shifted from Pardo to Lin Wei's face. Lin Wei even saw a hint of panic in his expression. The pair of sharp, eagle-like, black-gold hands—it was hard to say whether to call them "hands" or "claws"—were subconsciously hidden behind his back the moment the teenager saw him, as if embarrassed by his mutated, monster-like hands.
Those hands certainly weren't attractive, but what truly caught Lin Wei's eye was the small harmonica clutched in the teenager's palm. Its bright silver metal body reflected a golden sheen in the sunset, looking dazzling.
There aren't many Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm I haven't met. It seems this teenager must be Kosma, Lin Wei thought to himself.
"..."
Kosma felt somewhat awkward.
He had heard Pardo's voice earlier and, thinking she needed help, had hastily jumped down. He hadn't expected a stranger to be with her, which truly caught him off guard.
"Shouldn't have come out..."
Kosma thought with some sadness. He felt the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward due to his appearance, yet he didn't know how to greet a stranger.
Should I say hello? Isn't that a bit too perfunctory?
Or should I tell him my name directly? But wouldn't that seem too eager, might it scare him?
Besides, with Pardo by his side, doesn't he already know my name?
If so, wouldn't saying my name again be redundant?
So troublesome. Forget it, better not to speak first...
"..."
Kosma's eyes and expression shifted rapidly, his mind weighing countless things, yet ultimately ending in silence. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
"..."
Lin Wei was also speechless.
He saw Kosma's many expressions and, out of politeness, hadn't interrupted his train of thought, waiting for the other party to speak first. Only at the end did he realize what a foolish thing he had done—how could he expect a socially anxious person to initiate conversation?
"Hello, nice to meet you."
Lin Wei spoke first, greeting him. He also pointed to the small instrument Kosma was hiding behind his back and said with considerable admiration, "Was that tune you just played? It was very beautiful. What's its name?"
"..."
Faced with Lin Wei's sudden praise, Kosma's brain overloaded—
He likes my music? Wants to know its name?
No, he's probably just making small talk. I shouldn't take it too seriously. Besides, my playing isn't anything special.
But even so, I should still respond to avoid seeming rude and awkward.
"...Thank you."
After a great deal of internal calculation, Kosma finally uttered this extremely perfunctory reply.
"..."
Lin Wei despaired. He simply nudged Pardo beside him with his foot, signaling with his eyes, "You do it."
She was more familiar with Kosma; it shouldn't be as difficult for the socially anxious teenager to speak to her as it was to him.
"Ah? Oh..."
Pardo snapped out of it and quickly stepped forward, greeting Kosma enthusiastically, "Kosma, what are you doing here?"
"Pardo."
Seeing it was the familiar Pardo, Kosma's expression visibly relaxed. His mind was no longer filled with so much hesitation and deliberation. Instead, he explained quite calmly, "Griseo wanted to find some different colors, so I took her for a walk elsewhere, looking for inspiration in some safer, quieter places. As for you two—"
Kosma glanced at Lin Wei again and asked, "Who is he? And why are you two here? This shouldn't be an area for Successors to train."
"...Really this socially anxious?"
Lin Wei looked at him strangely. This guy speaks quite clearly, doesn't he?
Why was he acting so differently when talking to me?
But regardless, since having Pardo take the lead was more effective, Lin Wei was happy to keep quiet and play dumb.
"Huh? You don't even know Boss Lin Wei?"
Pardo seemed very surprised by Kosma's reaction and exclaimed, "He's the one who almost blew up the entire Elysian Realm!"
"!"
Kosma froze, then warily eyed Lin Wei, seemingly assessing his danger level.
"...Pardo, are you doing this on purpose?"
Lin Wei glared at the somewhat embarrassed cat girl, black lines forming on his forehead. He then had to speak up and explain, "Don't misunderstand, the truth probably isn't what you think..."
"No, I haven't misunderstood. I remember who you are—Key of Corruption."
Once Kosma's sense of crisis was activated, his speech became more decisive. He took a long look at Lin Wei and said, "I didn't expect you to still be in the Elysian Realm."
He had always lived in seclusion in the depths of the Elysian Realm, rarely interacting even with his fellow Flame-Chasers. Thus, his information was relatively outdated. Only major events like "the Herrscher of Corruption entering the Elysian Realm" that alerted everyone would also alert him.
After the incident ended peacefully, still shaken, he brought Griseo—whom he had hidden in the deepest part of the Elysian Realm—back and settled her down. He then couldn't help but ask familiar Flame-Chasers about the cause and effect of the event.
It was from them that he learned about this mysterious man named "Lin Wei" and was amazed and impressed by his miraculous experience of stepping forward and reforming a Herrscher, feeling it was another kind of true hero story.
But even so, being accustomed to seclusion, he had no intention of meeting Lin Wei. He simply continued to play music quietly in the depths of the Elysian Realm, quietly watching Griseo paint scroll after scroll of variously colored paintings, until today's chance encounter.
He didn't even know Lin Wei had left midway!
"Um... If possible, I'd prefer you just call me by my name, Lin Wei."
Lin Wei felt Kosma's previous address was strange and couldn't help but correct him. "If I'm not mistaken, you're Kosma?"
This was the first time he had the chance to call out the other person's name directly.
"Mm."
Kosma didn't assume Lin Wei could call out his name; after all, there were only about a dozen "residents" in the Elysian Realm. He once again asked the question he had just asked Pardo, "How did you end up here with Pardo? This place shouldn't be an area for Successors to train."
In his view, Lin Wei was also a Successor training in the Elysian Realm, seeking Signets. He was even considering whether to hand over his Signet proactively.
"If I hand over the Signet earlier, my work should be considered complete, right?"
The socially anxious teenager was already thinking about how to end this conversation.
"But wouldn't that seem too casual? Shouldn't I go through the motions first, set up some trials for him or something?"
Lin Wei was already used to Kosma's frequent silences and rich micro-expressions. He simply explained quite calmly, "I'm not participating in the 'training' you've set up. Pardo and I were just passing by and happened to encounter others here—Judging by what you just said, you also came here by chance, right?"
Lin Wei wasn't particularly surprised by Kosma's mention of "Griseo." After all, the two of them always had a "dependent on each other" feel in the Elysian Realm; they were rarely seen apart.
"Not exactly by chance. Even in the Elysian Realm, finding an undisturbed, peaceful place isn't easy."
Kosma said in a low voice, "If you're just passing through, please return the way you came. This is the end of this path. Further on is not an area Successors should tread."
"Shouldn't be tread by Successors?"
Lin Wei mulled over the warning tone in the other's previous sentence and calmly explained, "It might be slightly different from what you understand. Pardo and I..."
He was about to say he was just being "shortcutted" here by Pardo, that they were just passing through and would soon be in another area, but Pardo interrupted him weakly,
"Uh, um, Boss Lin Wei... Actually, we've arrived..."
Pardo looked at Lin Wei, then at Kosma, and said somewhat awkwardly, "The entrance to Sister Nia's place is not far from here. It's just that Sister Nia never comes outside and never sees outsiders, so this place seems so quiet..."
Lin Wei froze. There's such a thing?
"...You want to see Aponia?"
Kosma clearly understood the meaning of these words as well. He couldn't help but frown, his tone becoming more serious. "Then you shouldn't have come here at all—Pardo, take him back!"
"Ahaha..."
Seeing Kosma seemed a little angry, Pardo could only laugh awkwardly, her neck instinctively retracting.
She knew how determined Lin Wei was, and Kosma looked equally determined to stop him.
Caught between the two, Pardo felt things were heading in a bad direction. Her scalp tingled, and she almost cried out "Help!"—I can't afford to offend either of these two!
"Um, Boss Lin Wei..."
Pardo mustered her courage and, trembling, tried to smooth things over, her smile stiff. "How about, we just... go back for today? If not, we... can come back another day?"
"...That works too."
Seeing Pardo's pained expression, Lin Wei didn't want to make things too difficult for her, nor did he want to have an unnecessary conflict with Kosma. He decided to take a step back first; it wouldn't be too late to go forward after bypassing Kosma.
But Kosma's attitude was incredibly firm.
"Another day is not acceptable either. Pardo, take him and leave here immediately. Don't come to this place again in the future."
He clearly meant well, but his words were so blunt they were unpleasant. He frowned at Pardo and said, "Neither the Deep End nor Aponia are existences Successors should touch."
"Kosma..."
Pardo's face was tearful. If you do this, aren't you forcing a fight?
Sister Elysia is one thing, but if Sister Snake finds out, wouldn't she pluck all the fur off my tail?
It's been so many years since I've seen Sister Snake value someone so much!
"It's alright, Pardo, don't be nervous. I won't clash with Kosma."
Lin Wei sensed Pardo's unease and gently reassured her. He then said to Kosma, "I know you mean well. You're saying Aponia is a very dangerous person, so you don't want me to have any contact with her, right?"
If Lin Wei remembered correctly, Kosma was one of the few people who were wary of Aponia.
He knows?
Kosma paused.
Then why is he still doing this?
No, he probably just heard some things about Aponia but doesn't understand enough. In that case, I should stop him even more.
"If you know, then leave quickly."
Kosma's method of persuasion remained blunt. At the same time, he shifted his feet, walking past Lin Wei and completely blocking his path forward, warning him with his eyes to stop there.
"..."
Lin Wei felt helpless. Doesn't this guy realize that the more he does this, the more likely he is to provoke aversion and rebellion in the other person?
It's only because I have a good temper. If it were someone with a shorter fuse, they probably would have started fighting you on the spot!
Lin Wei looked at the serious and gloomy Kosma, then at the nervous Pardo. He suddenly paused, then couldn't help looking at Kosma again, and then back at Pardo.
After looking back and forth like this for the third time, he suddenly couldn't help but let out a sneer, "Ha!"
This abrupt laugh made Kosma frown, thinking Lin Wei hadn't given up. Pardo's heart also leaped, thinking Lin Wei was finally going to get angry.
"Hehe, don't be nervous, Pardo."
Lin Wei's voice was calm, his smile radiant as he said,
"I suddenly discovered something very interesting..."
"Uh... What interesting thing?"
Pardo asked, trembling, while thinking, Oh no, Boss Lin Wei has been driven mad by anger!
"When I was at my wit's end, not knowing which way to go, you, Pardo, suddenly appeared, guiding me to Aponia to find answers, and then..."
Lin Wei's smile grew even brighter. He turned his gaze to Kosma and said, "And then, just as I was about to reach my destination, someone suddenly jumped out to block my way, preventing me from advancing an inch."
Lin Wei spoke these rambling, ambiguous words, then couldn't help but smile and summarize, "Such a coincidence, it really is interesting, isn't it?"
"Um..."
Pardo really wanted to ask what was so interesting, but ultimately didn't have the courage.
Kosma, however, clearly didn't have that concern. He frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"The meaning is simple—everything happening now is like a meticulously woven script!"
Lin Wei's smile gradually faded, his words still calm. "According to the general direction of a 'script,' now that things have developed to this point, I should only have two choices—"
Lin Wei looked at Pardo, then at Kosma, and couldn't help but sneer again. "Hehe, either obediently follow Pardo back the way we came, or choose to ignore the advice, defeat you here, and continue forward!"
"Eek!"
Hearing the word "defeat," Pardo couldn't help but jolt, almost believing Lin Wei was really going to fight Kosma.
"...What are you trying to say?"
Kosma, however, didn't sense any intention from Lin Wei to fight. He just frowned and asked, "You've misunderstood. No one arranged for me to come here and obstruct you."
"Of course, I know you didn't, Kosma. What happened today is certainly just a coincidence."
The last trace of a smile on Lin Wei's lips became somewhat mocking. He sneered, "But 'fate,' it's such a wonderfully unpredictable thing, isn't it?"
At the same time, he was silently reciting another sentence he hadn't spoken aloud—
"If I'm not mistaken, if we continue this stalemate, neither advancing nor retreating, a third person will 'coincidentally' arrive soon to break this awkward deadlock!"
Just as Lin Wei was thinking this, a faint sound of footsteps slowly approached from the side.
"Kosma."
A delicate little girl slowly walked to Kosma's side. She tugged at the corner of his clothes with the hand not holding a paintbrush and said in a tender, childish voice, "We've seen all the colors here. Let's go back."