Correspondence

They understood each other without saying a word.

They... knew perfectly well what was going on.

He was right there, and he broke through the barrier.

Lin stepped forward and hugged Elysia. Alicia's body was tense. She should have been joking and talkative, but her mind went blank and she couldn't say anything.

"Thanks..."

The gentle whispers warmed the cold rain, turning it into tiny specks of light as it fell on her cheeks.

Her stiff body softened, and Elysia said nothing. Her playful expression disappeared, and she gently hugged him back.

Souls that rely on each other radiate warmth in this eternal rain.

This is it, the end.

All the sorrow and joy came to an end at this moment.

The girl's face was flushed like a steamed crab as she fled into the cabin without looking back, muttering to herself, "Oh no~ this is terrible..."

But she seemed very happy.

At least a smile as beautiful as a blooming flower doesn't lie.

Lin stood alone in the torrential rain, the rain washing over his body and cooling down the little warmth he had left.

"Is it... over?"

"Mm." Lin said softly to the person who walked up to him, "I'm sorry to have kept you with me until the end."

"It's okay, I would have done the same if I were in your shoes."

The gray-haired girl, Qianqi, stood sideways next to Lin Tong, glancing at the brightly lit cabin and listening to the laughter coming from inside.

She also gave a faint smile.

On the island, the final treasure and reward is "Qianqi".

"How long is this rain going to stop?"

The man lowered his head. The torrential rain washed over the deck beneath his feet, converging into torrents that flowed into the sea.

Yes, when will this rain stop?

Before they knew it, the laughter in the cabin stopped.

The pink-haired girl picked up the communicator and connected to a call from headquarters.

Confusion and surprise spread across their faces.

After a while, she raised her head and said something to the equally confused animal-eared girl.

Suffocation enveloped everyone.

The Twelfth Herrscher is born.

The Herrscher is Sakura's younger sister, Rin.

Lin and Qianqi's figures had disappeared without a trace.

The timeframe is three days later.

MSA-079 injured Doctor Mei, took away the Key of Blankness and the Black Abyss White Flower, and forcibly broke into the prison where the Twelfth Herrscher was imprisoned and kidnapped her. At the same time, the Herrscher of Reason's body and consciousness disappeared.

The timeframe is one week later.

MSA-079 launched an attack, using the abilities of the Twelfth Herrscher to infiltrate electronic facilities worldwide, thereby disseminating a video recording of a Herrscher of Reason abilities that had previously caused widespread loss of consciousness. The remaining 98% of humanity worldwide perished in this attack.

The remaining humans eked out a living in the headquarters of the Firemoth.

The timeframe is one month later.

MSA-079 appeared in the database at the Firemoth headquarters, leaving behind an encrypted message, and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned.

Two weeks after the arrest of MSA-079, a suspected Herrscher, Flame-Chaser CM-001 Kevin discovered that the facility holding MSA-079 had been damaged. Upon entering to investigate, he was met with a hellish scene.

The creature, formerly known as MSA-079, was scattered all over the floor. Its bones were shattered, its skin was torn off, and its limbs were severed, leaving it in a room stained with blood.

The soldier, laughing maniacally and roaring "Demon," used a knife to slice off MSA-079's head, then grabbed the severed head, still attached to the neck, right in front of Kevin...

It was torn off.

"Smack."

The head landed at Kevin's feet.

He lowered his head and looked at the still-open head, the head of his former friend.

Six months later, human civilization was destroyed.

(Chapter 1) Who is this visitor?

"Tick-tock".

Time keeps moving forward.

"Tick-tock".

What metaphors do we use to describe time?

River.

"Tick-tock".

Fall.

"Tick-tock".

But what if time is no longer continuous or sequential?

Look, it's still moving forward, but its destination is no longer the future.

The maid thoughtfully turned on the outdoor simulator in the lobby early in the morning, showing a bright and sunny garden scene. Combined with an air humidifier and the simulated morning floral scents, it made people feel as if they were actually in this morning light, surrounded by birdsong and fragrant flowers.

Even though it's an artificial landscape, it still has the warmth of spring... but that's probably thanks to the temperature controller.

The floor was spotless, as clean as a mirror. This was thanks to someone who meticulously cleaned every nook and cranny of the warship every day, making each step on the floor feel like a desecration.

The melodious music, accompanied by a slightly husky, vintage feel, emanated from the record player, adding a unique and elegant atmosphere to the quiet hall. One couldn't help but admire the singer's vocal skills and the taste of the person who owned the record player.

A breakfast, sculpted like a work of art, sits on the table, accompanied by silver cutlery and a hot towel. The gleaming tableware and the fragrant flowers nearby make everything a feast for the eyes, drawing you in effortlessly.

Only...

"... Rita, do you eat lemons for breakfast?"

A beautiful woman, who was like a beautiful sight to behold just by standing in the hall, stood by the table holding a plate in both hands. She was wearing a black silk maid outfit decorated with roses and a Katyusha hat with a black bow. Her right eye, which was not covered by her gray-gold bangs, was squinting happily. She said in a charming voice, "Captain, I don't eat lemons for breakfast."

"Would you eat a lemon carved into the shape of a rose?"

"Of course not." The maid smiled politely again.

"I see... Then why am I sitting here preparing to eat a lemon that's been carved into a flower?"

"Perhaps the captain mentioned yesterday that he's gotten tired of oily and greasy food and wants something refreshing."

"..."

What a vengeful woman! She just casually mentioned that she'd been eating too much meat and fish lately and that the food was too oily and she could barely eat any rice, and she took it as a complaint about her cooking.

That smiling maid is full of mischief; she probably just wants him to eat those lemons.

If he dares to say he won't eat... that would confirm his "dissatisfaction with her cooking," and what would happen next would be truly chilling, like having a knife slashed across one's neck.

"... Could you make me a steak to eat with?"

"What are you saying, Captain? Eating steak for breakfast is bad for your stomach."

Does eating lemons mean it's good for your stomach?

Now that things had come to this, and he couldn't go to the kitchen to make breakfast himself, he could only sigh, pick up a lemon petal, and put it in his mouth—

His teeth chattered and he groaned. He could hear the laughter emanating from beneath the pretty face of the smiling maid as the sour "food," which made his saliva production more than double, slid down his esophagus.

The maid, who looked like an angel but had the heart of a devil, watched him eat all the lemons with a gentle smile.

After enduring a grueling breakfast amidst birdsong and fragrant flowers, the man stroked his chin and rose from his chair as the maid carried away the dishes.

Although the maid would prepare decent clothes for him, he often wore casual black clothes that looked old-fashioned, and his appearance was not a very important issue for him.

Her long-untrimmed black hair was simply tied into a short, clean ponytail with a hair tie, and her black pupils flowed with an unfathomable depth.

Looking up at the marble clock in the hall, the man strode toward the training room.

The Hyperion.

This is the name of the warship capable of navigating the Quantum Sea, where matter structure is extremely unstable. Propelled by an anti-gravity engine, it is equipped with all the necessary living facilities, in addition to its basic armaments for engaging enemies: private lounges, a dining hall, a central hall, training rooms, a database, and even an indoor swimming pool...

This warship originally belonged to Rita, the wicked maid, but after the man arrived, he became the captain of the Hyperion, in charge of everything on the warship—in fact, only major matters mattered; minor matters were always decided by Rita.

As for him, his name was Lin, a man who didn't even know who he was or where he came from.

A man who knew nothing but his name, Lin, was picked up by Rita and boarded the Hyperion. He then became the captain of the Hyperion in a daze, using the warship to travel through the Quantum Sea in search of his original world.

Hmm... does this mean he'll use the belt he finds to transform, then travel through different worlds, calling himself a passing-by Mask...?

Well, Lin felt that his background was probably not that complicated.

Lin walked calmly into the training room. There were already people there before him, doing aerobic exercise on the treadmill at a terrifying speed.

Such speed, completely unlike anything a human should possess, was found in a girl who wasn't particularly tall.

In fact, she didn't look like an ordinary human being either.

Her long pink hair, with cyan highlights, was tied into a willow-like bunch and swayed as she barely "kept up" with her speed. There were black horny objects with blue on the left and red on the right sides of her head, and a tail with a mechanical claw at the end on her back.

The girl seemed completely unaware that Lin had entered the training room, and continued her inhuman training until she got off the treadmill, whether the machine was tired or she was tired. Her cool and pretty face showed no signs of fatigue, and she picked up a towel to wipe her dry neck.

She glanced at Lin, who was taking off her coat and doing stretching exercises. Lin noticed her gaze and gave a brief greeting:

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

Their conversation ended there; the girl didn't say a word to Lindo, picked up her coat and towel, and walked out of the training room.

"..."

Lin didn't care about this. After warming up, he started his morning exercise. Fasted aerobics might be more effective... but his purpose was not to exercise. He only needed to maintain his current physical condition. His training was more about getting familiar with his body.

"Bang!"

A punch is thrown into the air, the air explodes due to friction, then the user inhales, exhales, and retracts the fist.

"Bang!"

Lin stared at the fist that had been thrown out, powerful enough to pierce a thick wall, his mind constantly considering the force and angle of each punch.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

A series of explosions echoed in the training room.

After a grueling half-day of training, drenched in sweat, Lin stood in the empty training room, staring down at his hands.

... There's a sense of familiarity.

Chapter Two: Correspondence

Lin sat on a chair in the training room, eating the cake that Rita had brought him. That maid really does have a soft heart.

While eating the cake, he turned on the communication device. Communication in the Quantum Sea is unstable and generally cannot be done in real time. However, information can be sent to a fixed signal source through an anchor point, and the information can be transmitted to the other party's communication device when both parties can communicate stably.

During the months he was taken in, he unexpectedly established contact with a stranger, exchanging letters in the vast and boundless Quantum Sea.

Lin told the other person about her experience, and the other person expressed sympathy and offered some insights that touched Lin's heart.

"Everyone in this world has a mission, but some people don't realize it, while others deliberately ignore it."