Rest Well, My Son (5K)

Rest in peace.

When those three words came out of Jie La Er's mouth, the whole world seemed to freeze for a second.

The flesh and blood that fell like dandelions all fell to the ground, turning into puddles of mud and water that returned to the earth, and the vitality in Yong Xin's... or more accurately, in Ian's eyes, was also rapidly dissipating.

His face immediately split open, one half filled with relief and liberation, the other half with fear and madness.

"What did you do?! What did you do?!" The madness quickly overwhelmed the relief, Yong Xin regained the upper hand. He roared at Jie La Er with all his might, "How dare you?! How could you possibly dare?! You don't think you've won just like that, do you?! Let me tell you, it's impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Although life was still fading away, Yong Xin did not give up and continued to struggle desperately. The melted flesh and blood were beginning to show signs of rebuilding.

Jie La Er didn't know why this was happening. He had thought that everything would end immediately after those three words were spoken, but then he heard Bai Wei sigh in his mind, "You made a mistake."

"What?"

"You shouldn't use such gentle words as 'rest'," Bai Wei said. "He was essentially corrupted by the New God and possessed the power of that New God. You should use more decisive and clear words, such as 'die quickly', which would correspond to 'don't die' from back then."

Hearing the words "Hurry up and die," Jie La Er was momentarily unsure whether Bai Wei was serious or joking.

But he still gripped the hilt of the Chainsaw Sword tightly, staring intently at the increasingly crazed Yong Xin, his expression extremely grim. "Is there no other way now?"

If this is why Yong Xin survived and Ian couldn't rest in peace, then Jie La Er would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

"Not really. After all, 'Rest in Peace' is essentially the same as letting someone die, just a bit slower, but the process is still irreversible." Bai Wei's tone was quite relaxed. "And I can understand. What decent father would be willing to tell his son, whom he hasn't seen for ten years, to 'die quickly'? Let him rest in peace, at least you can give him some time to talk to him in his final moments. Hmm, let me help you. Open your mind, hmm... I mean, empty your brain."

Jie La Er was slightly taken aback. He looked again at Yongxin, who was now going crazy and about to pounce on him, increasingly resembling Yong Xin chaotic instincts of pollutants. For a moment, he hesitated.

Emptying your mind in the face of this level of pollution is undoubtedly extremely risky.

He wasn't afraid of death, but if this level of pollution were allowed to remain, then...

"He doesn't have much time left," Bai Wei said calmly. "Don't you really have anything you want to say to him?"

Upon hearing Bai Wei's words, Jie La Er remained silent for a moment before slowly closing his eyes and whispering, "This is troublesome."

He let his guard down.

Yong Xin was stunned when he saw this.

He never expected Jie La Er to dare to do this, to let his mind wander in front of him.

Isn't this guy afraid of my mental intrusion?!

Although Yongxin keenly sensed that Jie La Er's behavior was somewhat strange, Yong Xin didn't have time to think about it too much, because he realized that Ian's body was like a burning house with no way out. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't avoid being burned to death inside.

But now, the door to the house is open, and outside is another house with its door also open.

Then there's only one choice left.

Yong Xin rushed in like a madman.

Regardless of Jie La Er's intentions, he carries the power of New God, so what is there for him to fear?

And so, Yong Xin rushed into Jie La Er's mind.

Then he saw a huge ancient tree.

A human-shaped phantom sat beneath the ancient tree.

He smiled and greeted himself, "Hey, welcome to Peach Blossom Paradise."

Jie La Er could feel Yong Xin entering his brain.

The feeling of being invaded was very clear.

But it only became clear for a fleeting moment.

Soon, he could no longer sense any trace of Yong Xin, as if it had vanished into thin air, just like the time when he had let Ocott have it.

... Is this Visas?

Jie La Er originally wanted to check more carefully whether Yong Xin had really disappeared, but he suppressed the thought because he had more important things to do now.

Then he slowly opened his eyes.

Sure enough, Ian was smiling at him.

"Father," Ian said softly, "I've finally... met you."

In that instant, Jie La Er felt something strike deep into his soul.

"Yes," he said softly, "It's been a long time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ian began to cough violently.

"Ian!"

He tried to help Ian up, but the moment his hand touched Ian's shoulder, the spot he touched instantly began to decay.

What Ian vomited after his violent coughing was not blood, but shattered internal organs.

"Father...it seems I really don't have much time left." Ian smiled weakly at Jie La Er. "Let's not say anything more. Let me tell you everything I know..."

Jie La Er clenched his fists tightly.

But it quickly loosened its grip again.

"Good."

It was raining in the Contaminated Land as well.

This made the Devil Squad's operations even more difficult.

According to the rules, the Devil Squad should not operate at night or in the rain.

It was nighttime, and a torrential downpour was happening, yet they were working hard in the polluted mud.

There was no other way; it was an order.

According to sources, Lyra is currently in a "great crisis," so the Devil Squad are required to demonstrate greater operational capability.

As for the vast majority of the Devil Knight, they had no idea what the crisis was. Being somewhat isolated from the world, they were slow to react to what was happening in Lyra City, only vaguely knowing that it was Jie La Er who had caused the problem.

Jie La Er, that name again!

In an instant, the Devil Knight's resentment towards Jie La Er reached a new level.

Especially during the daytime, more than one Devil Knight claimed to have seen Jie La Er's phantom still wandering in the Contaminated Land, including You Li, who was the captain.

This naturally made the Devil Knight even more convinced that Jie La Er was a corrupted individual, and they all wished they could immediately return to Lyra City and take down Jie La Er instead of those useless skeleton Knight.

As the team captain, You Li could naturally sense the unsettling atmosphere within the team.

But he didn't have a good solution either.

He also sensed that something was wrong with Lyra, because there were just too many omens.

However, based solely on what he knew, he was unable to fully depict the truth.

This made him somewhat irritable.

No, I mustn't get agitated.

Especially in situations like this, as the team leader, he needs to remain calm.

He looked around at his subordinates beside him.

Jie La Er brought Nightfall here years ago, only to be completely wiped out. You Li has always taken this as a warning, determined to prevent such a thing from happening to him and to avoid repeating Nightfall's fate.

"Cheer up!" You Li shouted. "Watch out for your comrades! Don't fall behind!"

Before he could finish speaking, he heard someone whisper in his ear, "Don't worry, you won't fall behind. We've already scouted the way for you."

You Li paused, then instinctively turned his head to look at the source of the sound.

Then they saw two figures wearing Xiaoxing uniforms standing on a huge corpse.

They raised their hands and pointed in a direction.

"Over there."

Before You Li could react, the Devil Knight's voice came from the direction the two figures were pointing. "Found it! Captain, we found it!"

You're saying the others are still alive?!

Jie La Er hadn't expected that the first piece of news Ian brought would shock him so much.

"No, not alive..." Ian shook his head and said, "Their bodies have been completely annihilated, and only their souls remain. In the Abyss Land, the soul does not dissolve, which is why Yong Xin was unable to completely kill me, and why your soul was able to survive there for ten years. But without a body, the soul has no home and will become increasingly fragmented."

He paused, then said softly.

"During the time I was fighting with Yong Xin, I saw you, and I also saw... other people. At first, they could talk to me, but gradually they couldn't. They became more and more divided, either forgetting who they were or only remembering who they were."

Jie La Er recalled the phantom that had entered his body earlier, and thought of his former comrades still wandering in that eternal mist, and couldn't help but ask, "Can't they... come back?"

"No, their bodies have been destroyed," Ian said softly. "Without a body, the soul alone cannot leave the abyss. Yong Xin was able to leave because... my body was not destroyed."

"... Was it already Yong Xin when you came back?"

"Yes," Ian said. "I'm the person who knows him best in this world. I know what kind of person he really is. If he were to return to Lyra, he would definitely... cough cough cough..."

Seeing Ian's pained expression, Jie La Er instinctively wanted to pat him on the back to make him feel better.

But he stopped halfway through reaching out his hand.

Because he knew that this would only hasten Ian's death.

"Don't blame yourself, Ian," Jie La Er could only whisper. "It wasn't your fault."

"...I don't have time to blame myself now." Ian forced a smile. "Father, do you know what's in the Abyss Land? I mean, besides Visas's tongue."

"Besides Visas's tongue... are you referring to the New God?"

"Yes, you already knew," Ian said. "Those are... the remains of New God."

Jie La Er's pupils narrowed slightly.

Although he had long suspected this, given the numerous pieces of evidence pointing to it, his surprise did not lessen much when he actually confirmed it with Ian.

But Ian's next words doubled his surprise.

"To be precise, it's not New God, but an... Old God."

"The Old God?!"

"Yes, it is the remains of an Old God," Ian said. "But that Old God has forgotten his identity, because his body is decaying, his soul is dissolving, he is dying, or rather, he is already dead... Does this state seem familiar to you?"

"... Just like those who have been corrupted." Jie La Er understood what Ian meant. He looked into Ian's eyes and said, word by word, "Just like you and Yong Xin."

"Yes, God and man are like contrasting figures, one large and one small," Ian said softly. "The closer humanity gets to God, the more it becomes like God. Is this a blessing or a curse?"

Ian's words had already stirred up a storm in Jie La Er's heart.

A contrast between large and small.

This is similar to what Bai Wei said, that the state of the gods can be deduced from the state of believers.

If we take Ian as an example...

"Is the New God to Lyra what Yong Xin is to you?" Jie La Er asked.

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Ian's weary eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Jie La Er thought he had said something wrong.

"No, I'm just...surprised," Ian said softly. "You would actually utter such blasphemous words?"

Because the greatest blasphemy is within my own body.

Jie La Er sighed inwardly.

"But that's basically it," Ian said. "Lyra brought back the remains of the Old God and was affected like I was. The New God then revived within them, which led to... a series of events. Including the New Pursuit Society, these are all effects of the birth of the New God."

"Wasn't the New Pursuit Society founded by Yong Xin?"

"No." Ian shook his head. "The New Pursuit Society already existed before Yong Xin returned. At that time, there were already many people influenced by the New God. That's why we were sent out ten years ago, because Lyra had no way to deal with that New God. She could only place her hopes on the power of Visas. Although there is no clear evidence, I think that the Old God was killed by Visas, and the reason why she has been in that half-dead state is probably related to Visas's tongue."

Lyra wanted to use the power of Visas to suppress the New God, something Jie La Er had already guessed.

"The time is coming, Father," Ian suddenly said again. "Whether it's me or Lyra, the time is coming."

Jie La Er then noticed that Ian's breathing had become terrifyingly light, as if it might disappear completely at any moment.

But he kept trying to speak.

"Even if Yong Xin dies, the New Pursuit Society won't stop. They will continue to venerate the arrival of the New God. There's only one way to stop them." Ian stared into Jie La Er's eyes and said, word by word, "Purification Source Crystal!"

"Purification Source Crystal?!"

"Yes, Father," Ian said. "Didn't you ever wonder why, before our mission, the New Pursuit Society was insignificant and couldn't influence major decisions, but after we started that mission, they were able to do so much in an instant?"

Jie La Er's pupils narrowed slightly. "Because we took the Purification Source Crystal?"

"Yes, because we took the Purification Source Crystal with us. That's the best way to deal with the pollution!" Ian said. "Once the Purification Source Crystal is gone, they can do whatever they want. You shouldn't have forgotten where the Purification Source Crystal was placed back then, right?"

Jie La Er's fists clenched tighter and tighter.

He certainly remembered that the Purification Source Crystal, as a strategic resource, had always been kept inside the Tower of Babel and maintained by someone.

In other words, once they took the Purification Source Crystal away, the Tower of Babel lost its greatest means of protection.

"It's not too late... Father." Ian gasped for breath. "The people of the New Pursuit Society are corrupted. As long as we retrieve the Purification Source Crystal and cleanse their bodies of the corruption, we can bring them back to our side. Then it's not too late. But they will definitely realize this, absolutely, absolutely..."

Puff.

Ian's throat was also damaged at this moment, and he could no longer speak.

"That's enough, Ian," Jie La Er said softly. "I understand what you mean."

Ian shook his head, then reached out, dabbed the blood from his neck, and began to write on the ground.

He wrote down a name – "Ao Li Wei".

Jie La Er knew that this was the bishop of the Tower of Babel.

"Are you saying he's also been corrupted?" Jie La Er asked. "Do you want me to help him with the Purification Source Crystal?"

Ian nodded with difficulty, and then began to write again.

This scene broke Jie La Er's heart, and he desperately wanted Ian to stop writing; this was enough.

But he knew this was the last one.

This was the last thing Ian could say to him.

Ian wrote down another familiar name— Ina.

"Is it related to Ina?" Jie La Er asked immediately.

Ian shook his head.

"... So you mean you shouldn't tell Ina about your affairs?" Jie La Er guessed.

Ian shook his head again, looking somewhat anxious.

Jie La Er truly had no idea what Ian meant, and just then, he heard Bai Wei's voice. "He wants you to tell Ina everything, to let her know the truth, so she won't think you killed him."

Jie La Er was taken aback for a moment. He immediately repeated what Bai Wei had said, and then nodded at Ian.

He opened his mouth, feeling his vision blurring.

"I understand," he said in an extremely hoarse voice. "I will tell her everything."

Ian grinned.

Then his shoulder twitched again.

"I think he wants you to hug him," Bai Wei said again.

"I know." Jie La Er opened his arms and embraced Ian was almost completely fading away, and then whispered in his ear, "You've done enough. Get some rest, son."

At the same time, the skeleton Knight, who had been waiting all night in the Gear Car without seeing their target and were getting impatient, saw Ina suddenly kneel down in the distance.

I don't know what happened, but I could see her shoulders were shaking.

It looked like she was crying.