In the abandoned clinic of "Lost Town," the words of the old "Blade of Demise Recorder" stirred immense waves in Rin's heart. Ye Xue had sacrificed everything for him, even choosing to be "re-molded" and forgotten. This deep love and sacrifice brought Rin's regret and pain to its peak. He clutched the "Shadow Terminal Fragment," knowing he had to completely unravel the mystery of his past life to truly redeem Ye Xue and himself.
Rin gently placed the "Shadow Terminal Fragment" on Ye Xue's forehead, then pressed the other end to his own temple. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and his consciousness gradually sank into that unknown and forgotten area of memory, the "black box region".
The surrounding darkness began to twist and reassemble. Rin felt as if he were in a chaotic vortex. Scattered images and sounds flashed before him like fragments. Finally, these fragments coalesced into a complete scene—the night of the final confrontation.
He saw himself. The "Blade of Demise" from his past life, covered in blood and exhaustion, stood within the ruins of a massive factory. Around him were the organization's pursuers, swarming like a tide, completely surrounding him.
Then, he saw Ye Xue.
She emerged from the crowd of pursuers, expressionless, her eyes cold. In her hand, she held a familiar short dagger.
"Blade of Demise, surrender." Ye Xue's voice was as cold as ice, devoid of any emotion.
Rin's heart plummeted. This was the scene in his memory that had made him despair, that had led him to choose to die with his enemies. He had believed it to be her most utter betrayal.
However, the scene before him began to change.
When Ye Xue's dagger lunged at him, Rin saw a fleeting glimpse of pain and struggle in her eyes. The dagger did not truly pierce his vital points but skillfully grazed his arm, creating a lethal illusion.
"Escape!" Ye Xue's voice, almost inaudible, carried a desperate urgency. She signaled Rin with a gesture only the two of them understood, signifying "retreat."
Rin's body stiffened abruptly. So, she hadn't truly intended to kill him!
Immediately afterward, Ye Xue, like a madwoman, suddenly turned her blade and plunged into the crowd of pursuers! Her movements were swift and merciless, each strike aiming for vital points, as if she intended to tear apart anyone who stood in her way.
"She… why would she do this?" Rin watched as an observer within the memory, feeling a tremendous shock.
He saw the enraged roars of the organization's high-ranking officials; they couldn't believe Ye Xue would turn against them mid-battle!
"Cold Moon! You're betraying the organization!!"
"No! I'm not!" Ye Xue fought while hoarsely replying, her eyes bloodshot, yet exceptionally firm. She knew what she was doing.
All her attacks were not to kill enemies, but to create chaos, to buy time for Rin's escape!
She was like a desperate dancer, swirling in the blood, using her body, her life, to tear open a path for Rin.
Rin saw himself utterly shocked by the scene at that moment. He wanted to rush to help Ye Xue but was stopped by her desperate gaze.
"Go! Hurry!" Ye Xue silently urged Rin with her lips.
And just as Rin hesitated, a high-ranking organization official arrived with a heavily armed squad. They ignored Ye Xue's "defection" and concentrated all their firepower on her.
"Eliminate the traitor!"
Rin watched as Ye Xue was engulfed by a hail of gunfire.
She fell, her body torn by bullets, blood staining the ruins. But a faint, satisfied smile curved her lips.
As she fell, she used her last ounce of strength, facing Rin's direction, and silently mouthed:
"Live… forget me…"
She used a feigned betrayal to conceal the fact that she had bought Rin time to escape. She used her death to exchange for Rin's hope of survival.
And he, the "Blade of Demise" at that time, misled by Roz's mental interference and under the shock of extreme emotion, mistakenly took Ye Xue's "feigned betrayal" as real, and completely fell into despair.
He saw himself abruptly stand up, his eyes burning with the rage of "betrayal" and the despair of losing everything.
"You… all of you… deserve to die!!!"
He didn't choose to escape but chose the most resolute method—voluntarily detonating the "Demise Core" implanted within him by the organization, to perish with all his enemies!
The memory ended there.
Rin abruptly awoke from his dream, gasping for breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat. He opened his eyes, looking at the unconscious Ye Xue beside him, his eyes filled with boundless grief and regret.
He was wrong. Terribly wrong.
It turned out that what he had once called "betrayal" was nothing but a carefully woven lie by the organization! He thought Ye Xue had sold him out, but in reality, she had used her life, and a false betrayal, to secure his chance to live!
His experience of "death" and "rebirth" was nothing more than her desperate effort, even altering the flow of the "Demise Project," to forcibly grant him "new life"!
And he, the "Blade of Demise" who thought he saw through everything, was blinded by the deepest lie, ultimately detonating himself, yet not truly "dying"!
He remembered Scarlet Mark's words—"I personally burned you to ashes. You should have stayed dead."
Rin understood. Scarlet Mark had indeed "killed" him, and had indeed incinerated his body. But Ye Xue's intervention had turned that "death" into "rebirth"! The organization thought he was completely eliminated, but they never expected Ye Xue to defy the "Demise Project" at the cost of her life!
Rin's heart was filled with immense pain and fury. He had been used, manipulated. His tragedy, Ye Xue's sacrifice, were all part of a grand lie woven by the organization for some purpose.
He tightly grasped Ye Xue's hand, pulling her cold body into his embrace.
"I won't let you bear it alone again," Rin whispered hoarsely, a cold, resolute light shining in his eyes. "This time, I will protect you. I won't let your sacrifice be in vain."
The flames of vengeance burned fiercely in his heart. He would not only for himself, but more so for Ye Xue, and for all the "weapons" who had been sacrificed, utterly destroy this hypocritical organization!
He would let them know that he, the "Blade of Demise," had truly "re-emerged". And this time, he would carry Ye Xue's love and sacrifice, tear through all lies, and drag those "black hands" hidden in the shadows, straight to hell!