When he opened his eyes again, "Gu Ji" was looking down at a group of people from above.
Her expression was cold and her gaze sharp, but only Gu Yan knew that she was excited—thrilled.
She had found her "younger brother."
Gu Yan stared at the person. Even though he remembered nothing, the moment he saw those eyes, he knew with absolute certainty: that was him.
How could it be... me?
His thoughts blurred, and he nearly slipped out of the scene.
He could not tell whether he felt bitterness or joy.
But a stab of pain brought Gu Yan's thoughts back. Since sharing senses with the girl, he had never felt pain like this.
The discomfort in his body was nothing compared to the experiments, but his heart felt as if it had been pierced by needles. An aggrieved emotion seized the girl's heart.
Her younger brother had just stabbed her.
He was her only "family." Apart from the god whose whereabouts were difficult to trace, he was the only one she cared about.
Yet he held a knife and stood against her.
Gu Yan was just as confused. Why had things turned out this way? He was clearly someone important to her!
Don't hurt her. She isn't trying to harm you.
But no one could hear his voice.
The girl had grown much stronger. In her eyes, her younger brother was merely being a little rebellious.
It was fine. One stab was not particularly painful.
Gu Yan naturally knew what she was thinking as well. His emotions were tangled, but more than anything, he felt sorry for "Gu Ji."
"Gu Ji" protected herself with thorns and fangs, leaving what little softness remained to her for him.
Why did "I" know nothing about it?
Because he was human. That was the answer.
Gu Yan watched the battle from the sidelines the entire time.
"He's too weak!" the girl thought, and Gu Yan could sense it too.
That was right. To her, he was far too weak. If she had not been worried about hurting him, the battle would have ended long ago.
"I'll scare him a little and teach him a lesson." She found the right moment and thrust out the weapon in her hand, but the other party did not dodge.
The girl's pupils contracted, and she instantly grew tense, hurriedly shattering the weapon.
"Why didn't you dodge, idiot!"
"Thankfully, I didn't hurt him."
But the girl soon understood the other's intentions.
Trading injuries?
Gu Yan smiled bitterly. He had not expected the conflict between him and "Gu Ji" to have reached this point.
But that was not the present him.
He understood "Gu Ji's" feelings and knew what she was thinking. He would never wield a knife against this pitiful girl. Toward her, he felt only guilt and pity.
The girl's mood sank, and she stopped swinging her weapon.
"Perhaps, in his eyes, I'm the crazy one."
That was indeed what "he" thought.
But the girl would not change. She had to follow the god's will, and the two of them had crossed paths only because of the god.
The surrounding scene began to shatter, and Gu Yan was powerless to resist.
She was deeply upset. Her younger brother and her faith had come into conflict.
"You can't kill me."
Hm?
The scene had vanished, and no figures could be seen, yet Gu Yan heard the voice—"Gu Ji's" voice.
The scene appeared again. Complicated emotions once more flooded Gu Yan's heart, while intense pain spread throughout his body.
"Gu Ji" stood atop a giant dragon. Facing her were countless human experts. She was drenched in blood, and wave after wave of pain battered her mind.
At the same time, he understood that the god no longer needed her to continue killing people. She could go and live the life she wanted; she had done nothing to disgrace the god.
It was bizarre. After being tortured by humans and slaughtering countless people, she still wanted to experience human life. What a contradiction.
No, perhaps she only wanted to know why "he" would go so far for humanity when they were all a bunch of demons...
None of it mattered anymore. Nothing mattered.
Because she was about to die—die at his hands, die at the hands of humanity.
Did the god know? Of course the god knew.
This was the destination the god had found for her. Or perhaps, this was the god's...
Amusement.
Herrscher of Reason, your time is up!
No, no!
Gu Yan panicked. The girl knew her ending. She had killed too many people and been too gravely wounded, yet she still wore an indifferent expression.
The Insight Gem appeared in her hand, and Gu Yan's gaze froze—
She wanted to end her own life!
He knew her past, her despair, her screams—
He knew she was a pitiful person. Whether or not she deserved to die, Gu Yan did not want her to die now.
"I wonder if he'll regret it for me when he learns his identity in the future?"
Don't die!
"Heh, I haven't done anything wrong. What does it matter how this idiot handles things?"
But Gu Yan knew that she actually cared very much.
Neither the girl she had once been nor the Herrscher she had become had ever feared death.
Blinding light burst in every direction, and the surrounding scene shattered once more.
The dream ended.
"Don't!"
Gu Yan, who had been lying facedown on the desk, suddenly shouted and stood up, startling Gu Li beside him.
"Hm?" Seeing that the display had not been turned off, he froze.
He remembered. He remembered everything!
Reality and dreams alike were perfectly clear in Gu Yan's mind.
That weak and desperate girl, that aloof and indifferent Herrscher, and the self who had killed her.
He could not describe what he felt. He simply stared blankly at the screen.
After personally experiencing "Gu Ji's" life, he still could not bring himself to judge her. As a human, he would still surround and kill her without hesitation.
What he sympathized with was not the emissary of the Honkai, that cruel executioner, but the girl who had never seen anything beautiful, who had endured screams and despair, yet still treated him gently. They were the same person, so Gu Yan felt regret and guilt, but he would not hold back.
But even if things had not been that way, it was too late now. She was dead.
"Xiao Yan?"
It had long since passed quitting time. Gu Li had waited a long while without seeing Gu Yan leave, only to discover that he had fallen asleep in the office. She had stayed there waiting for him.
Seeing Gu Yan staring blankly at the screen, she glanced over as well. It was an email with no content, completely blank except for the name in the signature.
"Who is Morr?" Gu Li asked curiously, but when she turned back, her curiosity faded, replaced by concern in her voice:
"What happened to you?"
The city at night was far from quiet, yet sitting in the car and watching the crowds and traffic pass by through the window was strangely calming.
That was how Gu Yan felt. The lights illuminated his face but did nothing to add color to his dazed expression.
These things could not shake anything, but they let him know that the savage, brutal Herrscher had not mocked him or treated him with hostility. Instead, she had been as gentle with him as she could.
She had lived up to being his "older sister."
The two of them had merely been driven to fight one another by a certain pair of hands.
The Honkai...
Then why did he know all this? Was it the god's perverse amusement?
Gu Yan took a deep breath. As if sensing something, he looked toward the buildings beside the road.
A figure sat by the window of a hotpot restaurant. Her long, azure hair was extremely conspicuous. He noticed her at a glance, and she was watching him too, though her face was impossible to make out with the light behind her.
"Sis, stop the car!"
The car slowed. Before it had come to a complete stop, Gu Yan had already rushed out and sprinted toward the hotpot restaurant.
It really was her. It was Morr!
When he saw her face clearly, hope rose in his heart. Could it be? Could it be...
He soon stood across from Morr, unsure how to begin.
"I have something to give you."
"My master instructed me to."
Before you continue