Praying for a God's Descent / There Are No Gods in This World

A small figure walked over and sat down next to Lin.

"Teacher... will Xiao Ke and the others get better?"

Xiao Ke, the boy Lin met earlier, is Daniela's best friend. He suddenly fell ill today, which made her very worried.

Before Lin arrived at the sanatorium, some children and adults had already died from the Honkai Sickness, and their painful experiences were still etched in her mind.

They all have this disease, an unknown ailment that doctors avoid like the plague, like a spreading curse that could devour their bodies and minds at any moment.

"..."

Will we... become like that too?

Daniela's words undoubtedly reflected the sentiments of every child, and they all looked at Lin in alarm, waiting for their teacher's reply.

Lin looked back at these children, children who had suffered so much since they were born.

Will they also become delirious and tormented by illness, just like they were back then? Will they be unable to distinguish between reality and illusion?

These children...

Lin gently stroked Daniela's head, mechanically opening his mouth. "Don't worry... I'll handle it..."

"I will handle it."

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Prayer for Divine Descent

"Lin, where exactly is God?"

"Do you know? Fate is not without clues. It brings us together, it causes those children to suffer. It is so close to us, yet it seems so far away. I have heard its voice, but I have not been able to see its path."

"Can God see all this? Does God have any mercy on Him...?"

"Lin... can you tell me... where exactly is God...?"

This time, Lin did not write a reply; he simply read the letter and then quietly put it into his pocket.

He... had no answer.

He recalled a conversation about religious beliefs that he had seen before.

A passerby asked a devout believer, "Can you see your God?"

The believer shook his head. "No."

"Can you hear His voice?"

He shook his head again. "No."

The passerby then asked, "So, do you have a spiritual connection with Him?"

"No, there was no conversation between me and my God; He did not respond to me."

"Since He hasn't responded to you, how can you still have faith in this god?"

The devout believer smiled, "It is precisely because He did not respond to me that my faith is so sincere."

The veracity of this statement is difficult to guarantee, and true believers may not acknowledge the existence of such individuals among them, because religion requires divine intervention, such as "miracles," to ensure the existence of God, maintain the faith, and keep believers gathered within the religion.

Yes, it is "religion" that needs God's response.

For a believer, God's response may not be so important.

Was Aponia a religious person? No. Was her faith not devout enough? Of course not.

Why did she ask Lin, "Where is God?"

Because she wasn't praying for herself; she was hoping that a "god" could save the Honkai Sickness. Whether that "god" was a deity, a savior, or a human, she hoped that He would appear.

But God will not appear.

"This is MSA-079, Lin, requesting a mission report."

Lin stood on the top floor of the building, on the empty floor, and made a request through the communicator in his hand.

When the designated reporting time arrived, Lin had to report his current situation to the Moth Chaser. Although Lin and the person receiving the call hadn't paid much attention to this matter recently due to their tacit understanding, this time, it was beyond Lin's expectations.

"MSA-079, your mission is complete. You are cleared to return to headquarters. Please return within forty-eight international hours."

The mission... is complete?

When Lin heard this, a wave of doubt washed over him, and he immediately asked, "Why is my mission already complete?"

Unless there is an emergency, similar Mission Report are usually submitted every two weeks. Lin has not provided any information in the past two weeks, so why is he suddenly announcing that his mission is complete?

"The mission was completed 72 hours ago. It has been approved by the highest level of authority. Instructions have been issued to you. Please return to headquarters immediately."

Seventy-two hours...

Three days ago? What does this timeframe mean? Why was the task completed three days ago? And why was it approved by the highest-level authorities?

It should be noted that this classified mission was handled by the Poisoned Cocoon Squad and was directly ordered by the leadership. Only those within the leadership could forcibly terminate it; even Mei had no right to interfere.

That's why Lin was even more confused.

At that moment, fragments flashed through my mind and, through this communication, pieced together a complete picture.

He dialed Mobius's number directly.

"Beep----"

After a 30-second standby tone, Mobius's impatient voice came from the other end. "What is it?"

"Has Sakura already completed the Hypervariable Surgery?"

"Huh?" Mobius was puzzled by Lin's slightly anxious tone, and equally puzzled by the abrupt question. "You're on a mission and you're concerned about whether someone else's surgery is finished?"

"I..." Lin stopped speaking at this point.

He looked at the communicator in his hand.

The communicator produced by Moth of Fire achieves global communication coverage without blind spots after the Third Honkai War using unique communication technology. It is feature-rich, can function as a regular smartphone, and can also be used as a weapon. It is stronger and lighter than a brick.

Most importantly... it has the ability to store all communications and upload them to a database, and this function cannot be turned off.

Lin, Mobius had been waiting impatiently for several seconds, spoke again, "I... I'm very worried about her. Kevin and I both experienced side effects from the Hypervariable Surgery, so I'm worried that she might have the same condition, or even worse, that the surgery might fail..."

"I understand," Mobius interrupted him coldly. "Then why don't you just call her directly?"

"You're in charge of the Flame-Chaser project, so I think it's better to get information from you directly."

"Okay," Mobius said curtly.

"She's much better than you, you useless thing. The surgery was a great success, except for a few uncontrollable side effects. It was more successful than both you and Kevin's. I believe you'll like her even more the way she is now after you see her," Mobius said in one breath. "Goodbye."

"Wait a moment."

"What else is there?" Although he was extremely impatient, Mobius still did not hang up the call.

When will her surgery be completed?

"... Seventy-two hours ago."

"Beep--"

The communication was abruptly cut off.

Lin raised his head and looked in the direction of the sanatorium.

The next second, he ran for his life.

"Xiao Ke..."

"Daniela... why... are you here?" The little boy lying on the bed weakly opened his eyes, saw Daniela standing by the window holding his hand, and forced himself to pull his hand back despite the pain. "Teacher... said... you... couldn't come..."

"But you must be bored here all by yourself, so I came to hang out with you."

Daniela looked worriedly at the distorted lines on the little boy's face and reached out to touch them carefully. "Does it hurt? The teacher said he has a way to cure you. Just bear with it a little longer. After you get better, we can go out and play with the teacher, Chrono Brother, Sister Aponia, and everyone else. By the way, the teacher told me that there are many fun places outside Dusk Street. Let's go together sometime!"

"Hmm... okay..." The little boy smiled longingly; he also wanted to explore places beyond Dusk Street.

"Let me tell you about the Fairy Forest that my teacher told me about. It's where beautiful pink-haired fairy sisters live..."

"Clatter."

Suddenly, Daniela seemed to hear a very strange sound.

No, it wasn't that she heard it, but rather that she seemed to sense something strange happening nearby.

She made a "shh" gesture to the little boy, then tiptoed to the window and quietly lifted the curtain...

"..."

I didn't see anything.

She breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed it was just her imagination.

She returned to the little boy's side and told him those captivating stories.

At that moment, a completely transparent, ice-blue knife silently slashed across the windowsill of the room above them.

Chapter Twenty-Three: This World Has No Gods

"Tick-tock".

"Tick-tock".

"Tick-tock".

Time seemed to be moving very slowly.

The body felt as if it were stretched infinitely, and Einstein's theory of relativity seemed to be verified here, with the long chimes echoing in the empty sanatorium.

Listen, the ticking of the clock seems to be prolonged...

No, that wasn't the sound of a bell.

Aponia covered her bloodied forehead and looked around blankly.

The sanatorium is gone.

Or rather, the ruins beneath our feet, so unrecognizable from their original state, burning with flames and covered in frost, were once the sanatorium.

"Tick-tock".

That wasn't the sound of a bell.

It was the sound of blood hitting the ground.

She saw it at that moment.

"Lin... what... what happened..."

Lin, standing amidst the ruins, turned around. The comical mask on his face had vanished, revealing a face so beautiful it seemed unreal.

His usually cold yet gentle black eyes now held a striking, bewitching green gleam, radiating a chilling aura that made Aponia feel utterly alien, like...

Just like when they first met, Lin, who held a gun like an assassin.

It was as if I hadn't known him for the past month and a half.

But when Aponia saw him, no matter how "abnormal" he seemed, she felt at ease and stumbled toward him.

"Clatter..."

I stepped on something soft.

Aponia lowered her head in a daze.

Arm.

A severed arm covered in purple markings; it came from a seriously Honkai Sickness in the sanatorium, who is now free from the Honkai Sickness.

"I made this."

Aponia stiffly raised her head, thinking there must be something wrong with her ears; she thought she heard something unclear.

Just as her mind was in complete disarray, Lin slowly turned around, revealing what he was holding in his other hand.

A long, blood-stained knife.

"Tick-tock".

Blood dripped from the tip of the knife onto the ground.