Mei's Shadow, a Cat in Two Minds. (Continued)

"Why do I feel like Su Ge's tone changed when Boss Kevin mentioned Sister Mei?"

Pardo scratched her head. Kitty are very good at reading people's expressions. Once they sensed that something was wrong, they would retreat behind the group.

Could it be that she's jealous?

Sakura said jokingly.

"Sakura... Sister Sakura, Boss Kevin and Brother Su are both... both boys!"

The innocent Pardo had never been exposed to the side of a yaoi fangirl before. After hearing Sakura's bold statement, her beautiful eyes widened and her voice became stammering.

"Hmm~"

At this moment, Sakura doesn't have the aloof temperament she has in the story; instead, she's more like a pink-furred fox who's just had some fried tofu.

"Sister, you have children too, how can you say such a thing?"

Ling's face turned red, and she was flustered and disorganized.

Sakura pouted, inwardly complaining.

Rin and Pardo are still too lacking in self-control. Didn't they see that Griseo's face was expressionless?

Painter Teacher's face was innocent and naive, but in her heart she was still complaining that Sakura's self-control was still not enough, and that she had only mentioned this point.

Kevin and Sue exchanged another glance.

Somewhat disgusting.

The two of them quickly looked away.

They initially thought nothing of it, treating each other as good brothers, and even seeing the plot didn't stir any emotions in them. But after hearing what Sakura said, they realized that something really seemed off.

The emotion in Mei's eyes was no longer just suspicion, but also deep vigilance.

"Hey, Su... what's wrong with you? You didn't react like this when I mentioned her before."

Even the naturally oblivious Kevin could tell that Sue's tone was off.

"Because at that time, you hadn't yet gradually become Mei's [shadow]. You... hadn't noticed that yet?"

Su was already giving a clear reminder.

Kevin, however, didn't care at all. He thought May was a genius, and since someone had to step up and lead everyone, if that person was May, at least he could follow her, which would be much more reassuring than figuring things out on his own.

Su Jingjing looked at Kevin.

"(But... once you choose to [follow], you can no longer [travel] with her...)"

Kevin didn't hear Sue's inner thoughts, but all the audience members did.

"(How much pain you'll be in then.)"

Sue asked Kevin how he answered May.

Kevin scratched the back of his head shyly.

"Hehe... well... actually, it's just that... it's difficult to say... but... it's hard...

"But her response was quite strange... She told me... 'If you can be a hero to one person, you can be a hero to everyone.'"

"Su, what do you think this means?"

The recollection ends abruptly here.

Most of the time, the audience saw Kevin as cold and indifferent. When they finally saw Kevin as sunny and cheerful, even though the memory was heartwarming, it still made them feel uneasy.

Sue is right. Kevin has gradually become May's shadow. Once he chooses to follow her, there will be no possibility of them going together again.

Listening to Su's thoughts, for some reason their minds were once again drawn to the Legacy Chapter, specifically the Moon Battle, where Mei didn't survive until Kevin returned and didn't even get to see him one last time.

[Thank goodness, he's still alive... It's a pity... I won't be able to see him one last time.]

And, the tear Kevin shed on his way to the shelter turned into an ice crystal.

A real knife, a sharp knife, a knife that penetrates the heart.

It's never about presenting the protagonist's tragedy directly to the audience, but rather about letting the audience recall those scenes themselves through subtle, minute details, thus achieving...

"..."

Looking at Kevin in the sunlight, he thought about his cold appearance 50,000 years later, ravaged by the Honkai.

They didn't know what kind of willpower Kevin had that allowed him to persevere, the centuries-long darkness of the Sea of Quanta, the misunderstanding of his close friends, the resistance of his descendants, and so on.

He sat on the throne like a lonely king.

The fight against the Honkai has become an imprint on Kevin firmly.

Everyone in the Golden Courtyard was immersed in a somber atmosphere, while Kevin looked completely bewildered.

If he remembered correctly, this conversation was indeed very familiar; it was the topic he and Mei discussed on their first date.

The problem is, he has never talked about it with anyone.

How did Yaqing find out?

Su's eyes darted around.

In college, the dorm rooms were for three people, so when Kevin first started getting dressed and getting ready to go out, Su and Yaqing guessed what was going on and secretly followed him...

After the flashback ended, Su couldn't help but sigh that even without the Honkai, something else would have appeared that pushed them to their current predicament.

Sue had always harbored doubts.

Has May's conjecture about the nature of the world been proven?

Kevin nodded in agreement.

Su couldn't help but sigh. Everything in the world seemed like a pre-arranged play. Just as some believers said, everything they experienced was only to confirm whether humanity was qualified to go to some higher existence and end humanity's childhood.

Kevin doesn't agree with this view. He believes that everything he has experienced is his entirety, not the price he pays to achieve something.

Therefore, he would never deny any part of it, not even failures or pain.

If he avoids the issue, it would be tantamount to denying Mei, denying Sue, and denying everything that Elysia has brought to the world.

"May is right. Saving one person is often much harder than becoming a hero to everyone. But at least, we have that opportunity again."

"So, this time... will the outcome be different?"

"If it's Elysia, I'm afraid not."

"But at least... we don't have to feel the same regret as before, right?"

"Well, since that ball was originally meant for her... this time, let's let our mistress stay until the very end."

Although Kevin and Sue's conversation remained as enigmatic as ever.

However, as longtime viewers of the show, they could still guess the general idea from a few words.

The story ultimately revolves around that ball, the ball that marked the birth and demise of the Thirteenth Herrscher.

"The essence of the world..."

Mei frowned.

Based on the previous plot involving Otto, she had already guessed most of it; it was probably the theory of the tree and the sea.

Although it's just an anime, the theory is now widely known in the scientific community because of the screenwriter's special status, and many scientists have even started conducting experiments.

It's just that the person who wrote this plot was once the highest authority in the Schicksal Research Institute. No one can guarantee that the Schicksal Research Institute might have actually made some research under Yaqing's leadership.

But Mei still couldn't understand why, when the tree and the sea were supposed to devour each other, Su described it as a trial.

"Boss Kevin and Brother Su really care about Sister Elysia. They are willing to sacrifice their lives to buy time for Sister Elysia's resurrection."

Pardo's expression was complicated.

When Elysia heard these words, she felt no joy at Kevin and Sue sacrificing themselves to save her; only sadness.

If she could, she definitely wouldn't accept such a resurrection.

"Su, now it's time for our combined attack. I really hope I can die in style; this is one of my few moments of glory."

Kevin smiled.

"Yes, from now on, this is the end of our story."

Su let out a breath.

They never cared how tragic their deaths were; they only cared whether their sacrifices were meaningful and whether they looked cool in the moment of their death.

"No... you didn't die, and neither did Su. Not only are you in Eternal Elysium, but you are also still alive in the present civilization."

Eden suddenly spoke.

Anyone else would probably never have another chance to appear, but Kevin is different. He is the Lord of the World Serpent and the executor of the Stigmata Project, while Su, although he lost his physical body, has an eternal consciousness.

They all have a chance to return to the stage.

The time is not yet ripe; Kevin and Sue need to continue waiting.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the phantom of the expert personality, Vill-V, appears in front of Pardo. Pardo tries to pretend to have amnesia, but Vill-V directly points out that she is the backdoor so that Pardo can also maintain her own identity.

Even though Vill-V had put it that way, Pardo still chose to pretend not to hear.

Vill-V didn't want to continue entangled with Patto, so she directly stated her purpose: she hoped Pardo could act as a guide for Kevin's attack.

While Kevin's full-force attack is undeniably destructive, simply unleashing it would only destroy some irrelevant data. She needs Pardo to open a path to the outside world so that this attack can have a crucial effect.

Pardo certainly didn't want to do such a dangerous task. She was just a mortal who only wanted to survive, so she planned to use the same trick as before and find an opportunity to escape when Vill-V wasn't paying attention.

To her surprise, Vill-V didn't seem to object at all.

Vill-V made it clear that her purpose was to allow Pardo to maintain her individuality, and that she did not have the power to force her.

"Look—there are no boundaries here, you are freer than ever. You don't need to do what you should do, do what you want to do."

After saying her last words, Vill-V's illusory image vanished without a trace.

Only Pardo, with a complicated expression, remained, it's unknown whether she had taken Vill-V's words to heart.

"What a weirdo..."

Mei sighed.

Kevin was surprised.

Unexpectedly, the plot unfolded exactly as Mei had predicted. Not long ago, when he heard Mei's guess, he didn't take it seriously.

"Pardo ..."

Elysia glanced at the Kitty, who was staring blankly.

Of course she knew why Pardo was pretending to be stupid. Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune is a human instinct. Vill-V wouldn't force Pardo, and no one had the right to force Pardo to make a sacrifice.

But Elysia believed that Pardo would ultimately choose to complete this mission, which was tantamount to sacrifice.

"Sister Vill-V is really..."

Pardo snapped out of her daze. She didn't know how to evaluate Vill-V. She had just tricked herself to death, and the words "Mei, I don't want to die" still echoed in her ears.

"I... I can't possibly agree to that. I'm terrified of dying. I can't possibly agree to that..."

Pardo kept repeating it.

Because she didn't even know what she was thinking.

Vill-V was also quite helpless about this.

She originally thought that Pardo was just an accident in the plan, but she didn't expect that "herself" in the plot had even included Pardo in her calculations.

"Vill-V, you are truly terrifying. Your scheming is too ruthless. No wonder Pardo, who is not very strong in combat, was included in the plan. It was never an accident, but an indispensable part of it."

Little Knowledge shivered.

If she could, she would never want to encounter an opponent like Vill-V in her life. She could have taken action, but she insisted on using her brain. She could have resolved the issue quickly, but she took forever to scheme.

"This is clearly a death sentence..."

Fu Hua muttered to herself.

This is too cruel for both Pardo and the audience.

I had barely had time to be happy about Pardo's reappearance before I had to watch Pardo sacrifice again.

No one thought Paddy would run away, and no one doubted that Pardo would abandon the mission.