Mianmian, No...

On Douluo Continent.

Everyone saw Firefly, the frail young girl, waiting with such nervous care for death to descend, and their hearts clenched.

Everyone born as a person felt some fear of death.

People often said that the fear of the unknown was the most terrifying of all.

But fear of the known could torment the heart even more.

The dread and anguish before death arrived battered the soul and will without pause.

Often, death had not truly arrived yet, and the person had already completely broken down.

Faced with death, people often trembled and curled into a ball.

Or they used hysterical shouts to hide the panic in their hearts.

But this frail, silver-haired girl's response left everyone feeling unbearably heartbroken.

She was actually encouraging and comforting herself.

She said death wasn't frightening, and that being able to choose how she died was already wonderful for her.

The scene lasted only a few short minutes.

The conversation between Firefly and Dahlia was filled with many proper nouns that the people of Douluo Continent couldn't understand.

But they could all tell that Miss Firefly had known for a long time that she would die.

And yet she still faced death without hesitation.

That alone put her above most people.

After all, when someone knew the road ahead was a dead end and that taking one step forward would cost them their life, they would usually choose to keep their distance.

Above Heaven Dou City.

Qian Renxue hovered in midair, with the two Titled Douluo at her side quietly guarding her.

The three of them gazed down from the sky with complicated expressions, then looked together toward the city gates of Heaven Dou City.

Tang Hao had made a move earlier, causing a huge commotion.

There had also been an informant who secretly reported that Tang San, ranked third on the leaderboard, and Stelle, ranked first, were right at the city gates.

And Xiao Wu, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast exposed by the Sky Screen, was also beside Tang San.

Whether Qian Renxue wanted to recruit Stelle or capture Xiao Wu, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she should have gone to the gates of Heaven Dou City.

But halfway there, she had been captivated by the scene on the Sky Screen.

She felt she couldn't approach Stelle recklessly, and wanted to learn about the somewhat erratic Stelle through the story of Stelle and Firefly.

There hadn't been much of Stelle's story.

And Firefly's story seemed to have no clashes of blades or swords, just dialogue from beginning to end.

But the weight hidden between the lines left everyone listening nearly breathless.

Knowing death was near, yet still walking straight toward it.

And, even as death came, revealing crucial information for the sake of someone she wanted to protect.

What was the solution Firefly had called the best of both worlds?

Qian Renxue stared intently at the Sky Screen overhead, anticipating how the story would unfold.

She clenched her fist slightly, sweat already dampening her palm.

How she hoped that this frail yet steadfast girl could fulfill her wish before she died.

Spirit Hall, Worship Hall!

Qian Daoliu let out a heavy sigh.

As the Angel God's Great Enshrined, he was destined to sacrifice himself for the next Angel God.

What a tragic fate.

Still, as he carefully considered every line of dialogue on the Sky Screen, his brows drew tightly together.

This silver-haired girl seemed not only to know that she would die, but also roughly when she would die.

That certainly hadn't been the result of an agreement with her enemy.

So how did these people know when they would die?

As the Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall, he had seen much of the world and knew many secrets unknown to others.

This world was only one among countless others.

Beyond Douluo Continent, there was a vast, boundless sea of stars.

Stelle obviously couldn't be from their world.

Everything beyond their world was completely unknown.

There had to be many worlds stronger than Douluo Continent.

Firefly knew when she would die. Was that the power to foresee the future?

What a remarkable ability.

If he had possessed the power to foresee the future,

perhaps Qian Xunji wouldn't have done something so vile to Bibi Dong.

And Bibi Dong wouldn't have cruelly devoured him when Qian Xunji returned gravely wounded.

The scene on the Sky Screen continued.

As Firefly waited for death to arrive, she heard the footsteps behind her drawing closer and closer, and her heart pounded.

She hurriedly turned around, and the one she saw was the Stelle she had longed for with all her heart.

The corners of her eyes curved slightly, and a faint smile touched her lips.

But that smile also carried a bitterness and reluctance too deep for words.

After entering the dream, Stelle finally saw Firefly again, and she was overcome with joy.

She immediately quickened her pace and ran toward Firefly.

Just then, a cloud of purplish-black smoke suddenly appeared out of thin air above everyone's heads.

A red light flashed within the smoke.

A grotesque creature slowly emerged from inside.

It was as long as three to five people, and its entire body—even its back—was covered in countless eerie purple eyes.

It moved with astonishing speed, sweeping right past Stelle and charging straight at Firefly.

The gale its flight stirred up nearly knocked Stelle off her feet.

When Stelle stumbled back to her feet and looked toward Firefly,

her pupils suddenly contracted.

The grotesque monster was spinning rapidly around Firefly.

The powerful gusts it stirred up swept Firefly's body into the air.

The monster hadn't hurt Firefly yet, but tears were already glimmering in her eyes.

The next second, the monster's sharp tail tip plunged into Firefly's chest.

Stelle's eyes flew wide open, her mouth gaping as her face filled with heartbreak and disbelief.

She charged toward Firefly like a madwoman.

But Acheron hesitated, her hand resting on her sword, and did not draw it.

Black Swan also looked astonished, standing frozen in place.

The monster's tail had pierced Firefly's body, but no blood flowed from her.

Instead, faint blue specks of light began to appear.

With deep apology in her eyes and tears shimmering in them, she summoned all her strength to struggle out her last words to Stelle:

"I'm... sorry..."

The moment Firefly's voice faded, the monster's tail stabbed even deeper, striking again.

The agony of that second blow brought a pained expression to Firefly's face.

Her tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks like two little streams whose banks had burst.

The monster suddenly yanked out its tail blade.

Firefly's body dropped straight from the sky, like a kite with its string cut.

As she fell, a great deal of blue liquid, like blood, seeped from her body.

Stelle's heart shattered. She dropped the baseball bat in her hand.

She spread her arms and leaped with all her strength, catching Firefly as she fell from the sky.

She tried desperately to hold Firefly close, but Firefly exploded in her arms, bursting into a heap of blue-violet luminous liquid that scattered across the ground.

Stelle braced herself against the ground and fell heavily to her knees, her face full of guilt and the agony of helplessness.

Just then, Acheron slowly walked up to Stelle, staring gravely at the monster in the sky.

Black Swan spread her hand. Countless cards spun rapidly over the weapon in her palm.

Above them, the monster that had assassinated Firefly slowly curled up, then sank back into the patch of black-purple smoke.

At last, it vanished completely.

Stelle slowly climbed to her feet. She looked at the puddle Firefly had become and the luminous green bubbles floating in the air, her eyes bloodshot.

The scene changed at that moment. Dahlia sat across from Stelle and explained in a gentle voice to her—or perhaps to everyone watching the Sky Screen:

"She wanted to use her own [death] to show you the truth about the dream."

"And the moment she was pierced through, the Emanator of Nihility would hesitate, with misgivings of their own, as they drew their blade. That was the best of both worlds she had chosen."

"Unfortunately, fate still played a joke on her. The Memetic Substance changed so quickly that she didn't even get the chance to explain more."

"After that, she arrived at Dreamflux Reef... a land of exile, the real Penacony. The Family did everything they could to hide its existence, using [death] as the excuse."

"However, she still couldn't venture deeper with peace of mind. She hadn't managed to explain the truth, and the situation she had worried about continued."

"She was frantic to hurry back and get you away from the battlefield."

"Fortunately, a kind and warmhearted lady was still watching over her—I lent her a hand once again."

"The situation she feared most never came to pass. [Death] faded on its own, and you were able to retreat unharmed."

"Partner... back then, Firefly chose to die. What a gentle and strong girl she was."

Mimi had recovered a lot of her memories.

But back in Amphoreus, the only memories she had were those moments involving Stelle.

She had been heartbroken when she saw Firefly die in front of Stelle back then, too.

Now that she knew why Firefly had died in front of Stelle that way, she felt even more compassion for her.

Looking at Firefly beside Stelle on the Sky Screen, always so resolute, Mimi's eyes had long since grown wet.

Big drops of tears pattered down one after another.

"Miss, if you're feeling unwell, we can find somewhere quiet and get some sleep, all right?"

Anyone would be devastated to watch their close friend die right before their eyes.

Castorice slowly walked up to Stelle and gently suggested it to her.

But Stelle stared fixedly at the sky, at the spot on the Sky Screen where Firefly had vanished.

She clenched her fists and said with unshakable determination:

"No. I'm going to keep all of this in my heart!"

"Everything Firefly gave up for me, her sacrifice—it isn't just something in the past. It's also what gives me the determination to grow stronger now!"

After seeing Firefly's story, everyone on Douluo Continent was left with a jumble of emotions.

What they had seen wasn't some fierce battle drenched in blood and tears, nor a long, sentimental farewell.

The petite silver-haired girl in the scene seemed so pitiful.

And yet her resolve was absolute.

She had hidden behind Stelle only so Stelle could understand the truth.

Then, when death drew near, she appeared before Stelle without hesitation, waiting for the pain of being pierced through.

It was hard to imagine how such a frail girl had managed to do that.

Especially when she quietly encouraged herself in the face of death. It broke countless hearts, and they couldn't help shedding tears of sympathy.

According to Dahlia's explanation later, when Firefly was first stabbed through, she had already wanted to tell Stelle the truth about the dream.

The pain in her voice when she said, "I'm sorry," was plain to hear.

But she had planned to endure that agony and tell Stelle even more of the truth.

What made her all the more heartbreaking was that the death exposed on the Sky Screen was only Firefly's first.

She would suffer that same pain and parting two more times.