Ten Thousand Year Ice

Greenland, the world's largest island, is located west of Iceland and is also close to the Arctic Circle. It has exceptionally long summers and winters, and as a result, most of its area is covered by ice and snow.

If all the glaciers here were to melt into water, the world's sea levels would rise by several meters. This small example gives a glimpse into the vastness of the ice sheet covering this island.

Flora was strolling among the clouds high in the sky, her expression serene, her gaze reflecting the distant blue sky, appearing ethereal.

The nun was not impatient; her appearance and demeanor exuded an innate refinement and serenity. The sacredness that emanated from her was a deadly poison to ordinary people, enough to make them forget their worldly concerns and fall into being manipulated at will.

That's also true of her personality.

Having committed numerous crimes in Iceland and covered them up with the Honkai city, the missionary chose to leave slowly. She wandered along the edge of the Arctic Circle on ancient ice floes, arriving here not long ago as if on a leisurely trip.

Although she chose to leave, the nun only traveled to a country near Iceland.

The reason is simple.

Firstly, because she was unaware that Prometheus could meticulously calculate and unravel the Honkai Energy vortex she had triggered.

Secondly, even if traces of her presence were discovered in Iceland, her location would be unique, whether in Greenland or any other country.

Furthermore, given that the other party will inevitably try to profile and speculate about her, and considering her past actions, such an unreliable approach as "blindly observing from the sidelines" is actually less likely to be guessed correctly.

As for the final, core reason, it's simply that they're tired of it.

Missionaries had left Iceland long before to travel and enjoy the surrounding areas, living a life of unparalleled freedom.

Along her journey, aside from seeking revenge against humanity and carrying out a Honkai will, the nun's actions resembled those of a traveler.

After all, missionaries are not afraid of death, so it is natural that monsters who cannot understand the fear of death can enjoy the wonders of nature with the most ordinary mindset.

From her perspective, the landscape below consisted of towering mountains, massive blue-green icebergs, magnificent fjords, and barren, exposed rocks.

It was like a vast, empty wilderness, with jagged black peaks occasionally piercing through the dazzling white ice field that stretched endlessly, revealing a hollow and deathly vastness.

Flora had read about Greenland in the magazine at that café; except for the southwestern coastal areas which have no permafrost and a few trees and green spaces, it could be described as a kingdom of ice and snow.

In winter, most of the sea around the island freezes over, except for the southwest coast which is affected by the West Greenland Current.

But in the summer, most of the sea around Greenland thaws, and icebergs and broken sea ice drift with the waves like migratory birds.

At that time, the meadows near the coast would be filled with purple saxifrage and yellow poppies, and the shrub-like mountain shrubs and birches would also give color to life, as if to say that the laws of survival of species are different.

The missionaries loathe humanity, a result of the tens of millions of souls killed by the Honkai Fission Bomb as their source, and also a result of the deliberate distortion of the Honkai Consciousness that led them down this path.

But Flora did not hate nature, or rather, apart from humanity, she did not even hate the civilization that humanity itself had accumulated over the Nagamitsu.

That hatred was like ice crystals flowing naturally in her blood, vaguely resembling a kind of inheritance, but more like a precise imprint of thought. It wouldn't make the nun lose her mind, nor would it implicate anything else.

Therefore, she can calmly and appreciatively view the magnificent and vast world. Along the way, the azure ocean and the undulating ice sheets are unchanging and contain the eternal years.

The aurora borealis and daylight along the way made this solitary journey colorful and vibrant, as if Flora was experiencing the nurturing and baptism of nature.

She relished that vast solitude; the torment of this emotion gave her a strange pleasure, and it also caused her long-dormant desires to swell and burst forth, eagerly carrying out their Honkai mission.

The missionary will then be unable to suppress his murderous urges again and will soon choose to leave the island once more.

This self-destructive approach had already begun shortly after her birth.

From the perspective of freedom, Flora longed for the birth of her fellow citizens.

If countless streams of Honkai Energy to burst forth and rain down upon all human dwellings and the land around the world, how much food and fellow human beings would be lost?

Presumably, she would have been able to draw upon a great deal of nourishment from it and grow to the level of an apostle.

From now on, there's no need to cower in fear of this persecution of civilization, fleeing eastward to Tibet.

At that time, the world will be free of the object of revenge, and the raging anger and hatred in one's heart may finally subside.

Perhaps at that time, the monsters whose cores are still composed of human souls will gain unprecedented peace.

The nun, with a pure vision, would gaze upon the endless, never-falling corpses amidst the desolate wasteland. She would spend the rest of her days wandering in the remaining Honkai Pure Land, like a truly selfless Saintess.

That would be the best possible outcome.

Despite this, the missionary did not feel particularly anxious, and in some ways, she was never bothered by human efforts.

Flora had never truly encountered any threats or dangers; she had always been able to achieve her goals simply by using her power. To describe it as smooth sailing would be an understatement.

As someone who destroyed Mei's nascent Holy Gate Project upon his debut, leading to the change of testing sites and the subsequent semi-abandonment of Yakarta, it's hard for the missionary not to feel a sense of exhilaration at having the entire world at his fingertips.

And once she develops similar emotions, she will be even less likely to feel fear because current civilization is aware of her existence.

Even knowing that there are still enemies in this world that they cannot deal with or face directly, it still has no meaning for missionaries who do not care about their own lives.

The nun chose to leave out of caution.

But this caution is merely a necessary measure to comply with the will of the Honkai.

There are very few humans here.

The missionary gazed down at the colorful houses with their domed ceilings; she had unknowingly arrived in a country on the Greenland.

Denmark.

Just as the gods said, there are very few people here.

She also understood what the other person meant: with her power of seduction, the more densely populated the area, the higher her safety level.

In critical moments, hiding in a large city with millions of people and using that number of lives as leverage for escape could be a viable option.

In this icy kingdom with its extremely low average population density and relatively small population size, it is clearly difficult for the enemy to feel truly hesitant to act.

After all, given the threats the missionaries have made, even if it means risking the entire Greenland, the higher-ups will likely not hesitate to continue the manhunt. The key is to nip any crisis in the bud.

Therefore, such a place is not a good choice for Flora.

But there's no need for that, she thought.

Unbeknownst to them, this arrogance had already taken root and sprouted in their hearts with each success.

The missionaries arrogantly believed that the more this was the case, the less likely the enemy would think they would come to such a place.

Indeed, this was the case. Even considering the clues from various cases, the special task force established to investigate the matter believed that she would never come to Denmark.

The reasoning is based on an analysis of numerous cases of missionaries killing humans, which leads to the conclusion that most of the crimes took place in places with a strong artistic and humanistic atmosphere. They believe that this behavior is likely because doing so provides the victim with greater emotional satisfaction and pleasure.

However, Denmark no longer has the same conditions as before. It is not as lucky as the countries above Iceland. During the outbreak of the Great Honkai, the Honkai Energy bring cold air and heavy snow, breaking up large areas of ice and causing several widespread blizzards.

This constantly intertwined Honkai Energy phenomenon has occurred several times.

After several Honkai, Denmark, already on the verge of collapse, had long since lost those buildings and places that met the standards.

Various details suggest that the missionary had a certain level of understanding of the city she was going to, so it is unlikely that she would choose to stay in Denmark.

But in essence, whether someone would see through this unconventional approach was still not within Flora's consideration.

Rather than hiding or fleeing, she preferred manipulating people's hearts and creating a series of tragedies.

As a creature whose very existence is inherently twisted, the risks involved can at most be mitigated later by using reason to control its abilities, but it will not easily give up contacting the source of the crisis.

This bizarre logic may occasionally render speculation and targeting ineffective, but it can also... become a fatal flaw.

The nun responded with a smile:

"No worries, with your blessing upon me, my path ahead is without fear."

This is the northernmost capital city in the world.

Su Qing'an breathed in the biting wind, his dark hair becoming disheveled. He rode the rented motorcycle, listening to the roar of the engine, his emotions gradually settling deep within his chest.

The kinetic energy generated by these cold, purely industrial mechanical products can no longer bring about any hormonal changes. The increasing wear and tear on the body and several battles that seemed to dance with the heavens and earth have caused the physiological response that used to occur, where the heart would beat faster and faster with the vehicle's bending and acceleration, to no longer appear.

Once upon a time, the man who needed the Kawasaki H2R to overcome life and death no longer needed the vehicle itself.

But for some reason, as the boy sat and rode the motorcycle, he seemed to embrace freedom and tranquility.

It was as if the soul was speeding through the wilderness, the infinite world stretched out and receded, ending in an arc at the edge of the viewpoint, leaving all the trivialities behind.

A long time ago, in preparation for my escape from the Honkai of Changkong City, I browsed the forums for a while in order to choose a suitable vehicle.

During that time, he saw a sentence.

Four wheels carry the body, while two wheels carry the soul.

So, in that fleeting moment of recollection, Su Qing'an, as if possessed, rented a motorcycle from the roadside at this crucial time when every second was at stake.

He understood his situation better than anyone else. Seele's death had not faded in the slightest with the passage of time, and the pain and aftereffects it caused had not changed much.

Kenshin could only piece together his complete form under that constraint. The moment he felt murderous intent towards Flora, the sticky and familiar touch of his palm flooded his senses.

How can someone terminally ill find their way to self-redemption?

Just like a long time ago, Su Qing'an could never find the right answer.

Therefore, when he felt moved, he believed that he should act in accordance with that feeling.

The boy, bathed in sunlight and breeze, rode the old, retro motorcycle eastward along the Ring Road No. 1. In the past, he would have had a mischievous feather swaying on his head.

However, ever since the existence of Little Feather was maintained by the Black Abyss White Flower, the two no longer clung to each other so closely at all times.

Su Qing'an didn't resent the separation; he only realized by chance that he had actually gotten used to the presence of that feather.

So much so that even now, I'm still a little unsure how to deal with the outcome of the Little Feather hatching from the shell.

That's why he took advantage of Fu Hua's ideas to position the relationship as it is now.

Daughter?

Su Muxi's obedient and well-behaved appearance immediately comes to mind, but if judged by her usual temperament, the child is actually quite mischievous by nature.

The boy stopped dwelling on the past. His eyes closed slightly as he gazed at the long road stretching into the distance. Within ten seconds, he shifted into gear to its limit, the deafening roar washing away all distracting thoughts, as if trying to strip away everything that needed to be considered from his mind.

It was clearly a slow, leaf-falling sensation in the senses, yet it still gave the mind a pleasant sense of emptiness. The wind rustled across the skin, and the days of high summer flowed by slowly.

After a long while, following the sign that read Jkulsárlón in Icelandic, he found the icy blue lake.

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.

The last and most difficult-to-detect incident committed by the missionaries in Iceland occurred here.

The photos Mei posted were captured indefinitely via a satellite-linked Honkai Energy sensing system, storing a vast amount of data that was periodically and extensively filtered. Eventually, these data became substantial clues presented to him.

Theoretically speaking, some time has passed since the incident.

Ice caves are very different from what appear to be rock caves. The latter take centuries or even longer to form, while ice caves can grow to the size of a cathedral in just a few years or even months, and they melt away even faster.

Almost every year, ice caves disappear, and new ice caves form.

Based on the scene depicted in the photos, it can be concluded that the incident likely occurred in a melted ice cave. Had it not been for the presence of remains partially embedded in the unmelted ice, the evidence of this incident would probably not have been detected so quickly.

Prometheus cannot guarantee finding every incident committed by the missionary, because the missionary does not always choose to trigger Honkai Energy vortex to erase evidence.

The Blue Ice Cave, not far from the lake, is still within the scope of finding clues. The boy got off the motorcycle, his dark eyes scanning the surroundings, and he spotted the yacht next to him.

This is the vehicle provided to members of the Moth to Fire.

Although, in many ways, it is a vehicle that, like a motorcycle, is unnecessary to use, Su Qing'an still chose to accept it.

He probably understood that for someone who had only recently come of age, experiencing things that were still new and exciting was something that could bring him joy.

Even though one may have learned a great deal of knowledge on one's own at the St. Freya Academy, simply knowing something and actually applying it are two different things.

Right now, however, making oneself feel good is perhaps far more important to one's personal life than finding clues about missionaries.

But just as Su Qing'an was driving the yacht alone, heading deeper into the ocean, his expression suddenly became somewhat subtle.

The connection between their Sea of consciousness swayed and flickered, and a red thread vaguely grabbed their wrists, binding and stabilizing their bodies.

A wondrous ripple spread outwards, and dappled light sprinkled down, weaving and shaping the hazy, ethereal feathers in this scene before gently falling and settling on his head.

Seeing the other party's sullen expression of not speaking or moving, Su Qing'an helplessly ruffled the Little Feather.

After hatching, did it not only become smarter, but also learn to utilize the Soul Link in reverse?

The material of Udu-dust itself determines the nature of the Soul Link, making it no different from a portable portal for her.

If Su Muxi wanted, she could immediately use the passage on Su Qing'an's side to run back to Fu Hua's side to play.

Meanwhile, the little girl who was braiding her hair stared blankly at the video tutorial playing next to her, before gradually realizing that she had been abandoned.

"Anyway, Xiao Xi, come with me to look for any clues left behind by the missionaries."

After uttering these words, the feathers on its head quietly transformed into the shape of White Sparrow, which flapped its wings and flew away to patrol the surrounding area.

Meanwhile, Su Qing'an silently sailed his yacht to the crime scene shown in the photo.

He boarded the unmanned yacht, which hadn't drifted far. The only thing left inside was a glass that had been frozen solid, filled with Amber whiskey intertwined with and encasing azure ice.

The boy picked it up and manipulated the Honkai Energy particles to convert some of them into heat energy, precisely thawing the ice layer belonging to the whiskey. The ice block belonging to a corner of the nearby glacier remained in its original state.

Immediately, the warm liquor bursts with a continuous popping sound as it is stimulated by the ice, as if a large number of bubbles are bursting out, instantly chilling the whiskey to the right taste.

Su Qing'an held his wine glass, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"This is... Ten Thousand Year Ice."