Goodnight, Wei Ke. Goodnight, A De.

In front of the dilapidated hut, a Little Wolf sat crouching at the doorway, gazing at the pure white world with its slightly cloudy eyes.

Then a hand tapped him on the head.

"What are you waiting for?" a familiar voice rang out.

The Little Wolf raised its head and saw an unfamiliar face, but it still guessed who the other person was.

"Mr. Visas?" It was still Wei Ke's voice.

Bai Wei hummed in agreement, then asked, "What's wrong with you right now? Is it A De, Wei Ke, or Wildfire?"

"... I don't know who I am either," it said softly. "I have the memories of the three identities you mentioned, but..."

"But what?"

"It's more biased towards A De and Wei Ke, that is, the part you experienced during this time," it said. "The rest, whether it's Wildfire or the Saint, are somewhat distant to me, like watching someone else's memories."

"I see." Bai Wei nodded. "That's good too. Then you're still the same person I know."

"Thank you for thinking that way."

Bai Wei laughed, "Why are you suddenly so polite? You weren't like this before."

"You didn't reveal your real identity before; you used an alias."

"It's not exactly a pseudonym; this name is real, and it comes from a friend of mine."

"Friends?"

"Yes, a good friend just like you."

Can I be considered your friend?

Why doesn't it count?

"...Okay, I understand." It nodded. "It seems you will be using my name from now on."

"Then forget it." Bai Wei shrugged. "I don't want to use a dog's name."

"Although I've said it many times, I'll say it again: I am a wolf," A De said. "Do you really not know the difference between a wolf and a dog?"

After saying this, the man and the wolf looked at each other and smiled, as if a familiar feeling had returned.

"That's more like it," Bai Wei said lazily. "We're not new friends."

"I'm sorry, my perception and thinking are still a bit muddled," A De said. "Although the memories of Wildfire and the Saint haven't affected me that much, they're not entirely unaffected. I can still sense their fear of you, which makes it impossible for me to talk to you like I used to. And the old me..."

"What's wrong?"

A De shrugged in a humane way. "A bit silly."

"It's alright, dogs aren't stupid anymore."

"I am a wolf, thank you."

The two looked at each other and smiled again.

After laughing, Bai Wei asked, "Speaking of which, do you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

"I regret becoming like this," Bai Wei said. "You could have become a god, then even I wouldn't have been able to do anything to you, and you wouldn't be in this situation now."

"Hmm... I don't know either."

"Have no idea?"

"Yes," A De said, "Because neither of these choices is something I've experienced. I've never felt like a god, nor have I ever sacrificed myself for others... These seem like two extremes?"

"Indeed, they are two extremes." Bai Wei nodded. "Gods will not sacrifice for others, but will only make others sacrifice for them, just like Senra back then."

"But I hate Senro the most," A De said softly, "More than I hate you."

Bai Wei looked into A De's eyes, perhaps without even realizing it himself, Ade had become Wildfire again, his eyes filled with hatred.

But this process didn't last long; the hatred in his eyes quickly faded, and then he belatedly realized, "Ah, I think I was just affected by Wildfire's emotions."

"It seems so," Bai Wei said with a smile. "His hatred is overflowing."

"Yes." A De nodded. "The two emotions that weigh most heavily on His heart are fear of you and hatred of Senro. But I will try my best to control them, and you probably don't want to talk to Him anyway."

"To be honest, that's true," Bai Wei said. "But you don't need to control it deliberately anymore."

A De was puzzled, but when it saw Bai Wei pointing at it, it sensed something and lowered its head.

It saw tiny specks of light, like dust, dissipate from its body and drift into the distance.

"This is?"

"His part is dying."

"But isn't He already dead?"

"You are dying," Bai Wei said. "Death is a process, just like aging. As people age, they gradually lose their memories. At first, they lose the unimportant ones, then the more important ones that leave an impression, and finally the most important ones that are unforgettable. When even that memory is gone, then the person is completely dead. In your case, it corresponds to a different sense of identity."

"I see," A De asked. "Then what was the first thing I lost?"

Bai Wei smiled and said, "Then it's up to you."

A De closed his eyes and quietly felt it.

Those dust-like glimmers of light, like dancing dandelions, drifted little by little into the distance, forming a path of light.

Then A De opened his eyes, his face full of excitement.

"I can no longer sense His presence, Father Ulu!" A De said. "I have no fear of you anymore!"

This is the A De that Bai Wei knows... or rather, Wei Ke.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you are Visas-sama." A De scratched his ear with his paw. "Not Father Ulu."

"No, when I'm with you, I'm Father Ulu," Bai Wei said with a smile, "Just like when you're with me, you're Wei Ke."

A De scratched his ears again, then quickly seemed to remember something, and his ears and tail drooped down, looking quite dejected.

"I killed Wei Ke," A De said in a low voice.

"No." Bai Wei shook his head, pointing to the path of light in front of him, "The guy who killed Wei Ke has left, and you avenged Wei Ke."

Is this a valid calculation method?

"Why not?" Bai Wei said with a smile. "If you really feel sorry, you can apologize to Wei Ke after you see him, or continue to be his dog."

"I was originally Wei Ke's dog... no, his wolf!"

"Mmm, it's a wolf, it's a wolf."

Bai Wei's words eased A De's heavy mood.

"Where do people go after they die?" it asked nervously. "Will I ever see Wei Ke again?"

"Are you really curious?" Bai Wei pointed to the path of light ahead again. "Then let's walk forward and take a look."

"Walk forward a bit?"

"Yeah, maybe Wei Ke is waiting for you on the road ahead?"

A De's eyes immediately lit up with anticipation, a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

So the wolf continued on his journey alone, just as they had always done since they met.

They walked along, chatting idly.

"Father Ulu ... I mean, the real Father Ulu, what kind of person was he?"

"A good person who's a little bad."

"A slightly bad but good person? Like me?"

"That's still different."

"So what happened to him after that?"

"That's the same as you."

A De was a little confused. After thinking for a moment, he understood what Bai Wei meant—that Father Ulu was also dead.

"You said he was your partner, just like me."

"Yes."

"Is death the only fate for your partner?"

"Then you're just making things up," Bai Wei said seriously. "Strictly speaking, only you and he died."

A De said "Oh," and then scratched his head. "So I'm pretty lucky, huh?"

Bai Wei laughed, "If you think so, then so be it."

A De wagged his tail.

The two walked forward, and A De asked Bai Wei many questions, just like before, he was very curious about Bai Wei's past.

But it wasn't about Visas; it wanted to hear more about Ulu, Jie La Er, and He Wei Ni Ya —the so-called "story of the companions."

These were things Bai Wei couldn't tell it before, but now it didn't matter. It answered Bai Wei's questions seriously.

And A De is like the perfect listener, always responding promptly. When he learns of Ulu's childhood experiences, he grinds his teeth in anger; when he hears about the truth Jie La Er is searching for, he widens his eyes and holds his breath; when he hears about He Wei Ni Ya's blasphemous act, he wags his tail excitedly.

The only pity is that it can only hear these stories once.

I forgot it after hearing it once.

The dust that symbolizes memory and cognition continues to leave its body; for every new thing it learns, it forgets even more.

Five minutes ago, it was saying that it would definitely thank Ryan, who gave it the Hunter's Blood, properly when it met him in the afterlife, but it forgot about him as soon as it turned around.

Just three minutes ago it would have asked how Bai Weiweina was doing and if she was safe, but soon it couldn't remember the saintess's name.

Therefore, Ulu, Jie La Er, and He Wei Ni Ya could only remain in its mind for a few short seconds.

It is rapidly forgetting everything, but thankfully it still remembers Bai Wei.

To be more precise, it should be remembered as "Father Ulu," not Visas.

And it realized this, saying to Bai Wei, "That Music Box."

"Um?"

"That Music Box, the Music Box from my first Hunter commission," A De said. "I can no longer get the message back to that little girl."

Do you remember her?

"Of course I remember!" A De nodded repeatedly. "That was the first Hunter's commission I ever received, the first reward I ever got. That little girl was there..."

A De was stuck.

"What was the name of that town again?"

It tried hard to remember, but...

"Ah, I was wondering what that town was supposed to be for?"

I've forgotten so much more.

Bai Wei gently stroked its head. "Don't worry, I've remembered."

"That's fine!"

A De became cheerful again, wagging its tail and hopping forward, looking carefree.

Bai Wei stopped and quietly watched its back.

Suddenly, he called out to A De.

A De turned around, its body growing thinner and thinner amidst the surrounding dust, seemingly on the verge of dissipating.

"Aww!"

It responded happily to Bai Wei, for it had forgotten how to speak.

Bai Wei looked into its eyes and gently asked, "Do you still want to live?"

A De tilted his head, looking at Bai Wei with a slightly puzzled expression.

"I know you can still understand what I mean." Bai Wei slowly stretched out his hand, and a tiny flame ignited in his palm, illuminating the gradually darkening world. "I can give you a new life, allowing you to experience and connect with this world again with your own personality."

In A De's eyes, the world was rapidly darkening, while the flame in Bai Wei's palm grew brighter and brighter, radiating a light that inspired longing.

This caused it to unconsciously move forward, until it stood in front of Bai Wei and stared at the faint flame.

It slowly raised its paw, wanting to touch the flame.

"But there's a price to pay." Before A De could touch the flame, Bai Wei spoke again, "The price is to forget everything, to start completely from a blank slate."

A De's claws stopped.

"Yes, you are no longer Wildfire, no longer Saint ... Ah, perhaps you have forgotten who they were," Bai Wei said softly. "But such forgetting is not enough. You will forget everything, including me, and you will never be able to remember again... Do you understand what I mean?"

A De's eyes blinked.

Then, under Bai Wei's watchful gaze, it slowly retracted its claws.

"Should we refuse?" Bai Wei said softly. "This is a freshman."

A De didn't speak, but turned around again and looked in the direction where the dust of memories was swirling.

There was only darkness there, endless darkness.

But its eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the darkness and see more.

Then it let out another excited "roar," and left Bai Wei, rushing towards the darkness.

Bai Wei seemed to have already guessed its choice, and watched with a smile as it walked to the edge of darkness.

"It seems you've made your decision."

A De flicked its tail and let out an even louder "Awooo," as if saying goodbye, before disappearing into the darkness.

It sensed it; it already sensed it.

A De ran wildly in the darkness, running recklessly before forgetting everything.

Finally, at the end of the darkness, it saw that familiar figure.

"A De!" Wei Ke opened his arms, beaming. "You're finally back."

"Awooo!!!"

A De lunged forward, just as he had done countless times before.

It has finally been found.

"Alright, A De." Wei Ke ruffled A De's hair. "Let's go."

"Aww!"

A De excitedly followed Wei Ke, but after taking a couple of steps, he stopped, turned around with some confusion, and looked back in the direction they had come from.

"What's wrong, A De?" Wei Ke asked.

A De felt as if he had forgotten someone very important.

But it doesn't matter, it soon even forgot about forgetting itself.

"We should get going!" Wei Ke shouted. "Become Hunter!"

"Aww!"

In the distance, Bai Wei watched quietly as A De's body completely turned into dust of memories and disappeared into the darkness, like a dandelion seed that had traveled thousands of miles to finally land.

He chuckled softly.

Goodnight, Wei Ke.

Goodnight, A De.