In a mostly empty park, Eden and Li Mu sat on a bench under the shade of a tree.
"To be honest, Eden, I need money. A considerable amount of it."
Hearing Li Mu's words, Eden casually pulled out a gold card and handed it to him.
"Take it and use it. If it's not enough, contact me again."
Looking at Eden, who was smiling with unabashed doting in her eyes, Li Mu chuckled.
"Although I am a bandit, I am a bandit with principles."
After saving Eden, Li Mu knew that with such a massive debt of gratitude, given Eden's personality, she would never be stingy with her repayment.
However, since he had sufficient bargaining chips, he preferred to make a proper trade.
After all, a favor from Eden was far more useful than mere money. Having finally saved her once, converting that massive favor directly into cash felt like a huge loss.
"So, I will exchange something with you."
Li Mu took out his communication terminal, added Eden's contact information, and sent her a file.
"This is..." Eden swiped her finger across the screen, looking at the content Li Mu sent. "Some artistic works?"
At first, Eden didn't pay much attention to the "trade goods" Li Mu mentioned.
But very quickly, she realized something was different.
Surprise appeared on her face, followed by a frown, then growing confusion.
But in the end, she was utterly captivated by the content, completely immersing herself in it.
She swiped through the screen, humming softly at times, looking melancholic at others, then joyous...
Li Mu wasn't surprised by Eden's reaction. What he sent her was a compilation of various art forms extracted from his memories of his past life.
Time ticked by slowly. Li Mu didn't disturb her, simply watching from the side as the sun moved from high noon to setting in the west.
Finally, Eden snapped out of it.
"I apologize. I was too engrossed. I mean... this is incredible."
Disbelief was written all over Eden's face.
"I never imagined musical expression could have this kind of style. Drama, painting, film... they all give me a feeling that is both familiar and strange. It's like..."
As she spoke, Eden fell into thought, struggling to find the right adjectives to describe her feelings.
Finally, she found a somewhat inaccurate description.
"It's like an artistic system from another world—similar to ours, yet completely different."
Li Mu smiled and asked, "So, my dear Eden, how do you feel about it?"
Eden's cheeks were flushed, her expression extremely excited.
"It's wonderful. An art system distinct from what I know, yet possessing the same underlying appreciation for beauty."
"It has given me immense inspiration. right now, I feel overflowing with creativity. My desire to express myself has never been stronger. Perhaps I can finally break through my bottleneck."
Li Mu wasn't surprised.
For someone born for art like Eden, an entire artistic system from another human civilization—even just a tiny fraction of it—was invaluable.
She could use it to draw parallels, discovering directions she had never considered before.
But Li Mu was different. As a philistine, he cared more about how much money these things were worth than the art itself.
The value of an item differed depending on the person.
Just like a bottle of water had a completely different price for someone in a flood zone versus someone dying of thirst in a desert.
These plays, music, scripts, sculptures, paintings... these memories from his past life held little value for Li Mu. But for Eden, it was entirely different.
"So, my dear Eden, what do you think these things are worth?"
To Li Mu's question, Eden answered without hesitation.
"To me, they are priceless."
"Then let's make a deal with these, Eden."
Eden smiled somewhat helplessly. "Of course, if you wish."
"However, 'Elysia', I still have a question." Eden's gaze was sincere, her gentle tone filled with curiosity.
Li Mu had a good idea of what Eden wanted to ask, so he said, "Ask away, my dear Eden. To you, I will tell all."
Just don't guarantee it's the truth, Li Mu added silently in his heart.
"Then... who exactly are you? And what is your relationship with the Elysia I know?"
Here it comes. The expected question.
Li Mu looked at Eden and fell silent. His reddish-brown eyes seemed filled with sorrow.
"I am not Elysia."
"The past holds no meaning for me anymore. Just call me the Faded Elf."
The sorrow Li Mu displayed rippled through Eden's heart.
She thought about the artworks this "Elysia" had given her—works that existed with subtle differences from this world's art system, yet felt undeniably real. A hypothesis surfaced in her mind.
Art is born from specific soil. Eden guessed that these works were definitely not created in her world.
So, although it sounded absurd, there was only one possibility.
"So these artworks... are they from another world?" Eden asked.
Hearing this, Li Mu was startled. He really hadn't expected Eden to guess the answer directly.
But the surprise on Li Mu's face only confirmed Eden's speculation.
"I see... I see... I understand everything now."
Looking at Eden's enlightened expression, Li Mu wanted to ask what exactly she understood.
He just wanted to lay the groundwork for the Herrscher of Corruption appearing later, so he threw out the Corruption Herrscher's persona first. But seeing Eden like this, she had most likely misunderstood something.
Unlike the confusion in Li Mu's heart, Eden had now confirmed her guess.
Same name, same appearance, but a completely different personality.
No wonder she was so similar yet so different. The person in front of her was likely an Elysia from another timeline or universe!
And these artworks that were completely different from this world were actually works from that Elysia's world. This explained everything perfectly.
Yes, I understand completely!
having confirmed this hypothesis, Eden's thoughts wandered further.
"Faded"... the first image this word evoked for Eden was photographs yellowing and fading with time, representing precious memories that could no longer be chased, regrets of a past one could never return to.
Faded Elf... did it mean an Elysia whose cherished things had all dissipated, an Elysia who couldn't even reminisce about the past?
Eden thought about the personality this "Elysia" displayed. Compared to the one she knew, she was so wicked and strange. Yet, Eden could feel that her underlying color was still the pursuit of beauty.
Perhaps... in the beginning, this Elysia was also as gentle as the one she knew?
Then, for this Elysia to become like this... just how much sorrow and pain had she experienced?
"Yes, this must be an Elysia from a destroyed world, left alone to embark on a journey through foreign lands. It must be so."
Li Mu watched as Eden fell into deep thought, then had an epiphany, and finally, tears welled up in her eyes.
Honestly, he was confused. Are all you art people this emotional?
But he didn't get a chance to say anything, because he was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace by the weeping Eden.
"Elysia... my poor Elysia... You don't want to call yourself Elysia because you don't want to take anything away from this world's version of yourself?"
"Even after experiencing such pain, are you still this gentle?..."
"Oooh! Ooooooh!!!"