Shorekeeper froze, seemingly caught off guard by Lucian's question, but she answered nonetheless:
"This is a room arranged for you per your instructions."
Lucian frowned, puzzled: "My instructions? A room arranged for me?"
He furrowed his brow in confusion. Hadn't Shorekeeper just been pulled into the Death Star? Why was she here now?
Lucian looked out through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, where towering skyscrapers pierced the clouds, a magnificent sight.
"Wait…"
Lucian glanced at the crystal in his hand. Could this be Shorekeeper's memory?
If this was the Port City of Guixu before its destruction, then this must be five hundred years ago.
Lucian pondered for a moment and asked: "Am I about to leave? Where am I going?"
Shorekeeper: "…"
Didn't you tell me you were leaving? But you didn't tell me your destination…
A trace of bewilderment appeared on Shorekeeper's delicate face, making her look somewhat adorable.
But she quickly responded: "Yes, a few days ago, you said you were about to leave, but you didn't tell me where you were going."
"You said that while the Tethys System can predict the Lament, it still has significant flaws, and you wanted to find a way to fix them."
Lucian's expression shifted. To think that hundreds of years ago, the flaws in the Tethys System had already been noticed—impressive, as expected of me!
But this was indeed Shorekeeper's memory. Why could he interact with the past version of her in her memory?
Initially, Lucian had assumed this was just Shorekeeper's memory, but he hadn't expected to be able to converse with her past self.
Though he knew Port City of Guixu would be destroyed by the Lament, he had no intention of doing anything about it, as he understood history couldn't be so easily changed.
Lucian reached out to touch Shorekeeper's snowy shoulder, expecting his hand to pass through due to the nature of memory, but the sensation was surprisingly real.
Lucian's eyes lit up, and a playful impulse took over.
He reached out with both hands, pinching Shorekeeper's cheeks until they puffed up roundly.
Shorekeeper's small mouth parted slightly, clearly not expecting Lucian to do such a thing: "What… what are you doing?"
Shorekeeper was puzzled. Mr. Lucian had always been rather serious, so why was he being so… playful today?
Lucian molded her cheeks into various shapes, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Though Shorekeeper didn't understand Lucian's actions, she didn't resist, as Lucian was someone she and the Modulator trusted.
Growing tired of playing, Lucian lifted Shorekeeper's veil for a peek. Perhaps because she'd worn it for so long, her blue hair was flattened at the top.
Lucian placed the veil back and, pinching her chin, smiled: "Are you reluctant to see me leave?"
Shorekeeper froze, then said thoughtfully: "…Reluctant?"
"If you wish, I can simulate that emotion."
Lucian pondered for a moment. At this point, Shorekeeper must have already absorbed a vast amount of human emotional data, but she didn't seem as eager to understand emotions as she would later.
Yet, in truth, Shorekeeper was already subtly displaying emotions, though she herself didn't seem to notice.
"Rov… Where is the Modulator?"
Though Lucian should know the answer to this question, Shorekeeper had grown accustomed to his odd behavior today.
"The previous Lament destroyed eighty percent of Solaris's surface structures and killed half the global population. The Modulator is currently traveling everywhere."
Lucian nodded thoughtfully, wondering just how long he had lived from the past to the present.
"…When you were created, was I there?"
Shorekeeper shook her head slightly: "No. You met the Modulator seventeen years ago."
Lucian nodded slightly. Seventeen years ago… that matched the secrets he'd uncovered, though he only knew he met Rover seventeen years ago. But what about before that? Had he lived even longer? That remained unknown.
Lucian then asked: "You just said the Modulator is traveling everywhere?"
Shorekeeper nodded slightly: "Yes, the Modulator once speculated that only a force greater than another can eliminate a Threnodian."
Lucian asked curiously: "What kind of force?"
Shorekeeper shook her head: "The Modulator didn't specify."
Lucian shrugged, then gently caressed Shorekeeper's soft cheek: "Does she know I'm leaving?"
Shorekeeper nodded slightly: "Yes, she said you have your own ideas, and she will always believe in you."
Lucian was touched. This was pure love!
"By the way, do you know Hoda?"
Shorekeeper made a soft "mm" sound: "Of course. Hoda is a Bloom Bearer of the Black Shores…"
Shorekeeper frowned slightly, hesitating before saying: "A few days ago, Hoda, Lady Flora, and you were playing poker here. Have you forgotten…?"
Lucian: "?"
Is the poker you're talking about actual poker?
"Who's Lady Flora?"
Shorekeeper gave Lucian a deep look, then said hesitantly: "Have you lost your memory? You're acting strange today. Should I take you to the treatment pod?"
Lucian: "…"
Lucian's expression froze. Was he asking too many questions?
He cleared his throat, then said seriously: "Shorekeeper, haven't you noticed that you already possess human emotions?"
Shorekeeper froze: "I possess human emotions?"
No one had ever told her this before. Most Black Shores members described her as cold but caring.
Lucian nodded slightly: "Exactly. Look at how hesitant you were when you suggested I go to the treatment pod."
"That shows you knew saying it might imply I'm seriously ill, but you still advised me for the sake of my health. Isn't that an emotion only humans would have?"
Shorekeeper frowned slightly: "Is it? Was that how I acted just now?"
"But… should I show such an expression? Should I have human emotions?"
Shorekeeper fell into confusion. Lucian seized the opportunity to ask: "Let me ask you this: do you hope I leave?"
Shorekeeper was silent for a long time, as if pondering how to respond.
After a moment, she shook her head slightly: "Though it's your decision, I truly don't want you to leave."
"Hmm… perhaps, as you said, I may have undergone some changes I haven't noticed myself… I'll think about it carefully."
"But before that, I want to ask you: are you certain you can return here?"
"Because you said before that there are many uncertainties after this departure, and you weren't sure if you could come back…"
Lucian smiled, glancing out the window. The world outside was showing signs of collapse, as if the memory in this crystal was coming to an end.
Lucian said with a smile: "How about we make a promise?"
Shorekeeper looked puzzled: "A promise? Like… a pinky swear?"
Lucian glanced at a collapsing tram crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He smiled: "That method's too old-fashioned. Let me teach you a new way to make a promise."
Shorekeeper asked curiously: "A new way to make a promise? I'm very curious."
Lucian gave a slight smile, cupped her cheek, and closed the distance between them. His mouth found hers in a slow, deliberate claim not rough, but impossibly deep. His tongue traced the seam of her lips until they parted for him, and then he was tasting her, a hot, intimate slide that stole her breath and left her trembling.
Shorekeeper's mind went blank. A soft, helpless sound escaped her throat as she melted against him, her hands lifting to clutch his arms for support. She could only let him lead, let him explore the warm, wet interior of her mouth with a languid dominance that felt like a vow in itself.
A long moment later, he broke the kiss, though his lips lingered just a breath from hers. Lucian gazed at Shorekeeper's dazed, flushed face, her purple eyes dark and clouded with desire. He said softly, his voice a low murmur: "This is the new way to make a promise. You'd better remember it well…"
Lucian saw his own reflection in Shorekeeper's stunned, purple eyes.
The next second, the surrounding scenery collapsed instantly, and the Shorekeeper before him gradually vanished, leaving only emptiness…