Jiang Nan shook his head.
"I won't ever raise this blade against you again..."
"You did take a wrong turn...but who can guarantee they'll never make a mistake? Brother Fan...no one is perfect..."
"That divine Jiang Fan is dead. The Jiang Fan you once were has returned. Your pure-white canvas is now awash with color. You've gotten back everything you once lost, haven't you?"
"That's...enough!"
"Why force yourself into the abyss? Turn back...it's not too late..."
Jiang Fan gritted his teeth, tears glimmering in his eyes. "It's too late. Everything is already too late. What's lost will never come back. I've lost everything I ever had!"
"I betrayed the trust my old friends placed in me and the stars! It has to end. I can't find any reason to keep existing!"
"Let my death be the final stroke that completes your dreamlike reality. Stop treating me like this! It hurts. It really hurts!"
"Now I'm all alone. Not a single star will shine for me anymore. I can't face myself. I can't get past this!"
"Let me atone! Let me die! Kill me!"
Self-reproach, guilt, pain, and sorrow threatened to swallow Jiang Fan whole!
Jiang Nan still shook his head, his gaze firm.
"I won't let you die! You're just running away, trying to escape a reality you can't accept!"
"You can't face yourself right now? Then get through it! A hundred years, a thousand, ten thousand—one day, you'll look back and realize it wasn't such a big deal!"
"There's no hurdle you can't overcome. As long as you keep moving forward, the road beneath your feet will keep stretching ahead. Isn't that what life is?"
"Keep living! Death is just an escape, not a release!"
Jiang Fan clutched his head in both hands, his face contorted with anguish as