The Human Emperor's prohibition wrapped around the girl completely dissipated.
The girl's sorrowful, aggrieved face met not a naturally forged heart of iron and stone. Human Emperor Qing was merely Human Emperor Qing—a body capable of perfectly containing Niu Daguan's thoughts.
"Father..." the girl murmured, unconsciously walking forward.
There was light ahead. The orange-gold glow of the setting sun on the horizon shone through Human Emperor Qing's towering body, drawing out a long shadow. Within that shadow was Iron Rakshasa, held in Human Emperor Qing's arms.
Everything belonging to the girl was in that shadow.
"Don't come over."
Despair instantly shattered the girl's remaining hope—perhaps merely self-deception. Looking at the lifeless eyes of Human Emperor Qing, she stopped, utterly at a loss.
"Whichever one you are, it doesn't matter." Human Emperor Qing let out a light sigh. "Actually, everything is already over. You are something I traded away."
"Something..." the girl said bitterly. "Am I... only a thing?"
"No matter how many are needed, I can make them." Human Emperor Qing spoke in an almost heartless tone. "You were never the only one, much less the first. I have gone through a great deal as the flower of the Artificial Soul formed. But the fact is, no matter how much I loved you, the moment you learned the truth, the completion rate of the Artificial Soul flower would fall."
"That's not how it is, that's not how it is..." The girl panicked, clutching at her heart in agony. "That's not how it is... All these years, Father, you loved me... Mother was strict, but she cared about me too. I knew it. I knew all of it..."
"Do you still not understand?" Human Emperor Qing said coldly. "I told you: once you learned the truth, it would affect the completion