Wait for me?
Ryan didn't feel any ambiguity in her tone; rather, it sounded like a sacred mission, making him subconsciously become serious.
'Aponia can see the lines of fate, but she must not be very strong at this stage. She probably knows I am coming, but doesn't know who exactly will arrive.'
Using the 'prophet's' awareness, the answer wasn't hard to guess. But here comes the problem: whatever Aponia sees in the future, no matter how much you struggle against it, it will definitely come to pass.
This thing is a bit like the choice at the Gate of Fate—seeing the end point. No matter how you intervene in the middle, the train will eventually arrive at the destination.
But what does the destruction of Sundown Alley have to do with me? And isn't the way forward all about changing the destination?
Ryan suddenly became excited, realizing that Aponia fate and his were quite aligned. If he could change the end she saw, the return on the destiny would be huge.
'But after meeting you, this premonition disappeared, turning into something vague, as if shrouded in a thick mist.'
Aponia was also muttering in her mind. After countless failures to change fate, she had grown fond of this ambiguous feeling.
However, she did not voice it. If the mist still led to no change, then it would have no meaning, so why expose a trump card for nothing?
"Do you want to stop this outcome?" Ryan snapped out of his thoughts.
"Mm, I want to try again, but it's hard."
"I know it's hard. Once the end of fate is set, no matter how you change it, coincidences will bring it back to its original path." Ryan furrowed his brows, slowly standing up, and pointed to the courtyard: "For example, if I ask you to evacuate these people, they will face delays with ships, interference from robbers, and so on. In the end, they will still stay here and die."
"Even if I exhaust all efforts to send them away from Sundown Alley, they will still encounter accidents like tsunamis." Aponia raised her head, a sad smile on her beautiful face. "Fate is so stubborn, but I still hold hope, believing that struggling hard will bring a breakthrough."
This was the biggest difference between Aponia now and the past Eden. She hadn't accepted her fate yet and still wanted to fight desperately.
Ryan now understood; it wasn't just Aponia struggling—every one of the Thirteen Heroes, the Fire Moth, and all of humanity were fighting desperately. But the outcome wouldn't change; it would still be the end.
"Your thoughts are in line with mine."
"You also want to fight fate?"
"Not Fight, I've already changed fate, but I'm not satisfied yet." Ryan smiled, his confidence evident.
Kevin, Mobius, Hua... the destinies of many people had already changed, but he wasn't arrogant. What he had done was not a change, but an alteration. Like Aponia repeated struggles, no matter how much one changes along the way, the end remains uncertain.
He guessed that, if fate truly needed to be changed, at the very least, Elysia had to be alive.
Under the autumn sun, the confident smile on the man's face was contagious, making Aponia hold her breath for a moment, then slowly lower her eyelids.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Hah, I thought you were going to mock my naivety."
"If you don't try, how would anyone know how it ends?" Aponia also stood up, hands resting on her abdomen, looking straight at him. " Kalpas are coming back. If you want to stay for lunch, I won't stop you."
"Don't you want to ask about the specifics of the cooperation?"
"No need. I can do very little, only watching your performance as an observer, and the threads of fate will tie us together." Aponia bowed with a knee, swaying her slender waist as she left the garden. As she reached the stairs, she turned back.
"I forgot to mention something. I'm quite satisfied with today's meeting."
Ryan remained standing until Aponia figure disappeared. He then brushed off the fallen leaves from his head, chuckling to himself in self-mockery.
She really had a godly aura. But with me and the Kalpas around, I can still sense the future destruction...
Ryan took a deep breath. Even though Aponia current ability was still unclear, the things it represented made one yearn for more.
...
In the valley, the sunlight was blocked by the trees, casting dappled shadows, giving it a lush appearance. But when you touch the surface, it feels cold to the touch.
The trees had died, and not just the plants; there were no living creatures left in the valley. All the animals and insects had disappeared, with only a few crystal-blue flowers occasionally seen growing from the ground.
This silence was chilling, at least to any visitor. A person fully cloaked in a black robe was trudging through the valley.
He revealed no skin, his head covered by a heavy steel helmet, completely blocking the eyes. This thing could block both sight and the reaction to Honkai energy. He was proceeding purely on instinct.
Unable to see anything, hear anything, he took each step numb, not knowing how long he had been walking.
Eventually, the forest ended, the ground became flat, and it seemed as though he had stepped onto some stairs. Then a voice echoed in his mind.
"Arrived."
Counting silently to the fifty-thousandth second, his steps finally stopped. Then he wiped the area around his eyes, and his vision finally returned.
He saw two twisted iron doors, seemingly pried open with force. Some instruments were covered in dust, and there were beautiful blue crystals in the corners. He knew this was a supernatural phenomenon caused by high concentrations of Honkai energy.
As his head tilted up, more abandoned instruments appeared in his field of vision, and finally, he saw a petite figure.
It was a girl sitting on a glass jar, swinging her white legs back and forth, humming a strange tune, making her presence all the more striking in the eerie silence.
The visitor paused for a moment, and even with the heavy helmet on, he bowed gracefully.
"Good evening, Herrscher of Death."
The man's tone was not dismissive despite his appearance, and he didn't even look at her twice.
The girl stopped swinging her legs. Her young face could never adopt a look of authority. She simply jumped off the jar and gently dusted off her hands.
"Humans really make things troublesome. It's just delivering a message, yet you had to come in person, just like how you insist on giving us a title."
"Now, all communication means are unreliable, and this message is crucial, so I had to come."
"A convenient excuse. You must have other desires." The girl immediately saw through him and waved her hand dismissively. "Take off your helmet."
"Yes." The man obeyed, removing his helmet to reveal his face.
The Executioner carefully examined him, raised an eyebrow, and soon showed a malicious smile.
"So, it's you. Now I understand why they went to such great lengths to send you to see me."
"Because I trust what I see with my own eyes. Only when I see a possibility of achieving my goal will I place my bet." The man's tone remained elegant and calm, and he pulled out a thick file from his chest.
"This is all the intelligence, along with my analysis. After you review it, please give me a chance to ask a question."
He was very good with words, at least presenting himself humbly. No one would refuse this goodwill.
The Executioner took it, flipped through it for a moment, but showed no signs of surprise. She slowly looked up.
"What do you want to ask?"
"The authority of the Executioner goes beyond science, like magic or miracles." The man paused, licking his lips as he gazed at the Executioner who was still smiling at him. "So my question is—"
"With your authority, is it possible to bring the dead back to life?"
"Oh, so you're the one behind that research institute. I was wondering what use all those empty shells were for." The Herrscher of Death put the file away, her eyes gleaming with a hint of slyness.
Has the Executioner evolved to this extent?
This realization made the man widen his eyes slightly, once again realizing his ignorance. This worked in his favor.
"Yes, something is still missing, so I wanted to know if the authority can achieve it."
"About this question—"
The blue-haired little girl instantly vanished from his view. The man quickly lowered his head, looking at the hollow in his chest, where a still-beating heart was now in her palm.
His vision blurred as his mind raced, trying to understand her reason for doing this.
The Executioner kept smiling, squeezing tightly, crushing the heart completely.
"You'll know once you try."