Betrayal Thrice

Seeing the Doctor appear on the Sky Screen, it was not just Scaramouche who felt hatred toward him; the people of the Akademiya were equally disgusted.

Collei, in particular, felt a sense of dread that bordered on terror when it came to the Doctor.

She could not help but recall her own past; she had once been a test subject under Dottore, only escaping his clutches through a stroke of fate.

At this moment, Tighnari's hand rested on Collei's shoulder.

"Collei, there is no need to be afraid. It is all in the past now. With us here, no one will ever be able to hurt you again."

"Yes, Master, I understand. I will not be afraid anymore, I won't!"

Collei stared directly at Dottore on the Sky Screen, determined that if the opportunity arose, she would surely take revenge for herself and for her mother.

Although the Sky Screen had clarified that Niwa had not fled in guilt but had been murdered by the Doctor, Dottore, to serve as a scapegoat, this history had been buried, and the blame still rested upon Niwa.

Following the incident at the Tatarasuna furnace, the images on the Sky Screen continued.

Scaramouche had left Tatarasuna and encountered a child by the seaside.

The child was waiting for his parents to return, yet his parents had already perished due to the pollution of Tatarasuna.

Scaramouche began to care for the child, and they made a pact to live together forever.

Scaramouche brought the child back to the Shakkei Pavilion, going out to find food and other necessities to tidy up the place and make it their home.

But when Scaramouche returned to the Shakkei Pavilion, he was met only with the child's cold corpse.

The child had fallen gravely ill, just like his parents, due to the pollution of Tatarasuna; he had been unable to keep his promise to Scaramouche and had departed from this world all alone.

Scaramouche knelt beside the child's body; he did not cry, but instead burst into loud, hollow laughter.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

This puppet with a heart shed tears at that very moment.

Seeing this scene once again, Scaramouche's hand gently brushed over the location of his Gnosis, where he still felt a trace of pain—the pain of a broken heart.

Watching the Sky Screen, countless sentimental people on the Douluo Continent felt sympathy for Scaramouche.

Qian Renxue was among them, and she looked at Scaramouche with pitying eyes, which greatly annoyed him.

"Put away that look of pity; I have no need for your sympathy."

In the image, Scaramouche set a fire, pulled his hat low, and gradually vanished into the flames.

At the same time, as the screen faded to black, Scaramouche's voice echoed out.

[I have been betrayed three times, and thus I have learned that all things in this world are but a facade of deception.]

[The first was a god, my creator, my mother; swayed by power, she discarded the useless me.]

[The second was human, my family, my friends; bound by fear, they viewed me as a loathsome thing.]

[The third was my own kind, my hope, a bird whose wings had yet to grow; controlled by the limits of life, he broke his promise to me.]

[Humans are not to be trusted, and gods, too, earn my hatred. I cast everything aside, denying and mocking all human emotion. I shall cast off these inferior human feelings, and my hollow parts shall be filled, like a blank scroll at the moment of birth, with the heart of a supreme god, overflowing with divinity.]

Hearing his own words of the three betrayals, Scaramouche wore a self-deprecating smile.

"At that time, I thought I had seen through everything, but it turned out to be a complete joke."

"From beginning to end, I was played in the palm of Dottore's hand. My resistance, my revenge—it all seems so laughable now."

"Perhaps this is fate's punishment for my naivety in trusting that animal, Dottore."

"But I will always find a chance to strike 'fate' a heavy blow in return."

In Heaven Dou City, at the Moonlight Pavilion, Tang Hao did not care about Scaramouche's past; his only concern was Scaramouche's identity—a puppet created by a god.

If a god could create a puppet indistinguishable from a human, then surely resurrecting a person should be simple as well.

With a heart full of agitation, he asked Nefer, "Miss Nefer, I have a question."

"Hehe, my Secret Archive never provides information for free. You must either trade information or pay. I charge based on the value of the intelligence you require; it is perfectly fair."

Tang Hao was choked by Nefer's words; he did not have many coins in his pockets right now.

Tang Yuehua noticed Tang Hao's embarrassment and spoke up, "No problem, I can certainly afford a few Gold Soul Coins."

"Thank you, Yuehua!"

"Second Brother, this is only right. What is it you wish to ask?"

Tang Hao looked back at Nefer and asked earnestly, "Can that god of the Akademiya resurrect the dead?"

Tang Hao's question caught Nefer off guard, and her expression turned serious.

Nefer thought of one person—a man who was obsessed with resurrecting his beloved.

The Moon Hunter Raelir!

"Could it be that you, too, wish to resurrect your beloved?"

Tang Hao nodded solemnly.

"Yes, a god must be able to do it!"

"I advise you to abandon such thoughts. Resurrection is a taboo, and those who touch upon it never meet a good end."

"That is of no importance! As long as I can resurrect her, I do not care what my end may be."

"Second Brother..."

"Yuehua, if you intend to persuade me, know that my mind is made up."

"I am sorry, but I do not know if the Lesser Lord Kusanali can help you resurrect your beloved. Even if she could, I do not believe she would violate the taboo of resurrection for your sake. I shall not charge you for this question; I advise you to abandon this improper notion and cease disturbing the rest of the dead."

"No! Ah Yin has not truly perished. She left behind a seed, and that seed has sprouted. I can feel that she is still here."

Tang Hao was unwilling to lose this final shred of hope, and he argued his case before Nefer.

Nefer, however, detected something amiss in his words.

"A seed? Sprouted? Could your beloved be a plant-type Spirit Beast?"

The look Nefer cast toward Tang Hao grew even more peculiar.

Such unions were not exactly rare in Teyvat; Liyue, for instance, was home to many half-adepti.

Yet, under the spirit master cultivation system of the Douluo Continent, spirit masters and spirit beasts were mortal enemies.

Under such circumstances, it would be a miracle if marrying a spirit beast resulted in a good ending.

However, having said that, if it truly were a 100,000-year spirit beast that had left behind a seed, then with the abilities of the Lesser Lord Kusanali, reviving her should not be a problem.

It was just that...

Nefer glanced at Tang Hao once more.

Aside from his strength, which was passable, he did not seem to have anything of value to offer.

Apart from Rauma, no one had ever managed to make Nefer engage in a losing business deal.

At this moment, the image on the Sky Screen updated once more. In the scene, Scaramouche had changed into a new set of attire—the garb he wore as the Sixth of the Fatui Harbingers, the Balladeer.

He was in the midst of hunting down a group of people, and a man who bore a striking resemblance to Niwa collapsed before him.