Chapter 247

Griseo stopped painting, turned around, and asked.

Cosmo denied it, saying, "Not yet, but this time I want Griseo to do me a favor. I promised you I would tell you what I'm planning to do."

"A villain has appeared in the Previous Era Elysian Realm. Only with Griseo's power can we defeat her."

Cosmo organized his words, trying his best to make Griseo, who didn't even know what Herrscher was, understand the current situation.

"A bad guy? Do you need the knight's help?"

Griseo asked.

Normally, Cosmo and his group never sought out Griseo at times like this; the feeling of being needed was somewhat novel to her.

"No need to bother with it, Griseo. Just paint as before."

Cosmo thought for a moment and added, "But, it might be different."

Griseo cannot be allowed to use other people's colors to paint as usual, Cosmo also needs to make some changes to the figures in the painting.

Without color, Griseo is unable to create excellent works of art, but Hua, who is beside her, can use the Fenghuang Down to help her overcome this problem.

Hua helped move the canvas and paints to an open garden.

Cosmo stood in front of Griseo and gradually knelt down, allowing her to describe her appearance as easily as possible.

"Cosmo, what do you want me to draw?"

Before starting to paint, Griseo asked a question.

"Let's start by painting a portrait of a young boy."

As Cosmo finished speaking, Griseo paused for only a moment before her brush began to move across the canvas.

She could draw Cosmo's appearance, the boy's appearance, almost without thinking; she could do it simply from the shadows in her memory.

After the paintbrush fell, Hua, who was standing to the side, looked troubled. She stared intently at the paintbrush in Griseo's hand, fearing that it might cause a terrible disaster.

Similar cases have occurred before.

"He was very thin and small, and like all boys, he wanted to be a hero."

Cosmo squatted on the ground, describing the image he had already conceived.

"At the age of eight, he began to act as a chivalrous hero, hoping to advance towards his goals in this way."

"Wait a minute, Cosmo."

Griseo stopped painting, a troubled expression on her face. "How am I supposed to draw these stories?"

All she could do was present a painting, but Cosmo wanted her to paint without using paint.

Even with [pigments], Griseo didn't know how to bring to life the story Cosmo told.

"Well..."

Cosmo thought for a moment and then said.

"To gather evidence single-handedly and thwart the villains' plot?"

"That doesn't create any imagery at all." Griseo shook her head. "It should be someone wearing a tight-fitting bodysuit, running under the moonlight on a rooftop."

"Okay, I'll draw it the way you said."

Cosmo also realized that he didn't have the talent in this area, and it was a bit too much to ask Griseo to draw according to his requirements.

Cosmo lowered his head and continued describing his ideal image of Kosmo.

He always wanted to have the best of both worlds, and everything went as he wished. Until one of his mentors and friends fell into dire straits.

"What kind of image should our companion be depicted as?" Griseo asked.

"He's like a father figure."

"What does Dad look like? I know."

Griseo nodded, which meant she understood how to draw it.

Cosmo continued telling the story.

At that time, faced with an invincible enemy, this comrade had no choice but to sacrifice himself.

To everyone else, this was a choice between two evils, the right one. Only the boy believed that he was not strong enough, which led to this result.

Therefore, the boy transforms into a monster in an attempt to prevent the tragedy, but his efforts are in vain, and he even ends up causing harm to both sides.

Raiden Mei: "Uh, I just want to know, Griseo, did you really understand what Cosmo was saying?"

The stories Cosmo told seemed to be based on his own experiences, but he told Griseo a part of his life and asked her to draw it.

Is it fair to say that this was the client's requirement?

Griseo: "I don't understand, but this story is sad and complicated."

Little Griseo stared at the canvas for a long time, unsure where to begin writing the story Cosmo was telling.

Perhaps only after she had been tainted by Cosmo's colors could she truly empathize with him and visualize the scene he described.

Himeko Murata: "So, that tragedy is why Cosmo wanted to mature?"

Cosmo: "Yes, and not entirely."

His companions sacrificed their lives to make a choice between two evils, but he, driven by passion, pushed the outcome towards a situation where both evils were eliminated.

Cosmo couldn't let go of the past, couldn't forgive himself for his impulsive actions.

Elysia: "Cosmo, you're already great as you are. There's no need to try to become some particular version of yourself."

Pardofelis: "Yes, Amo, we've always believed in you."

Chapter 401 The Truth About the Ark Project

Cosmo: "I understand, but I don't want to end up with something bad because of my desire to have the best of both worlds."

Choosing one of two evils versus having both evils may seem like two completely different choices, but Cosmo knew that it was really just a matter of a single thought.

Because he wanted the best of both worlds, he shifted the choice from choosing one of two evils to achieving both.

Elysia: "The best of both worlds? So that's why."

After thinking about it, Elysia finally understood Cosmo's inner turmoil. He didn't want to become more mature; rather, he was denying his naive self's desire for a win-win situation.

Elysia: "Cosmo, I think I understand what you're thinking now. You've just misunderstood one thing."

Cosmo: "Hmm?"

Elysia: "Perhaps when faced with a choice between two evils, choosing the best of both worlds might lead to suffering both evils. But don't get me wrong, the idea of having the best of both worlds isn't inherently wrong."

After hearing this, everyone understood what Cosmo was struggling with.

It's just a psychological problem that teenagers always face during their growth period. It's just that that one mistake left a deep scar on Cosmo's heart.

Cosmo: "But..."

Sue: "Cosmo, it's always good to have hope. After all, who can say for sure that a perfect solution won't happen before it actually happens?"

Sue: "You did what you believed was right, but you were powerless to change it. There's no need to dwell on it."

Or rather, if Cosmo had also chosen between two evils and let his companions sacrifice themselves, such maturity would have been far too cold-hearted.

Cosmo: "Is that so?"

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but Cosmo has a feeling that he's been fooled, but what they said really makes it seem plausible.

Himeko Murata: "Of course that's how it is. How could anyone say that they would act in the name of achieving the best of both worlds?"

Vill-V: "After saying all this, Cosmo, what you've really been unable to let go of is something else, isn't it?"

As she said this, Vill-V glanced at Griseo.

Vill-V knew a great deal about Cosmo's past; the incident was an unavoidable disaster, and Cosmo's choice could not be considered wrong.

He was simply standing in the midst of the storm, and was involuntarily pushed into making a decision.

Cosmo is not the kind of person who would dwell on this for a long time.

The reason that could make him regret, deny himself, and want to paint another version of himself must be something more worthy of his reflection.

Cosmo: "I can't hide it from you, Vill-V."

Pardofelis: "Amo, Sister Vill-V, what kind of riddle are you two playing?"

Sakura: "It's not a riddle, it's a direct statement."

After much thought, considering the fates of Morning Light Flame-Chasers, Cosmo, and the Ark Project with its mid-way personnel changes, only this one thing could cause such a significant shift in Cosmo's state of mind.

The group pondered Ark Project, the ins and outs of the whole affair, while Cosmo's monologue on this part was played on the screen.

In the scene, Cosmo squats opposite the canvas, allowing Griseo to better watch him paint, while telling another story.

"As his life drew to a close, he was once again faced with a choice he simply could not accept."

He was assigned a mission: to leave Earth in a massive spaceship when the world faced annihilation, to find new hope for humanity.

Ark Project was one of the plans implemented when the Previous Era was driven to the brink of destruction.

Cosmo, as the Vishnu's Hypervariable Factor, possesses Infinity growth potential, making him the most suitable person to carry out this plan.

Everyone except himself thought so.

"He could survive the disaster, but then become a deserter. Or he could stay and die with the world, becoming a hero."

"Sounds... familiar?" Griseo tilted her head blankly.

It was a story she knew very well, but she seemed to remember nothing about it.

"Perhaps I've told you a similar story before. Although I didn't like it, I still finished reading it."

"Cosmo, you can't talk about others like that."

Griseo corrected, "Those who go in search of hope are also heroes."

"But Griseo, that was an abandoned plan, a search for hope—it wasn't real to begin with."

Cosmo shook his head helplessly.

If the Ark Project were truly as it appears on the surface, he would certainly not refuse it. Unfortunately, a home on a star is far too distant for humanity.

Even that manned spacecraft couldn't accomplish such a feat. The truth behind Ark Project was to avoid disaster, hide in endless darkness, and return after a long period of time.

Then, the Kindling Project were scattered upon the corpses of civilization.

"So how did she make her choice?" Griseo asked.

"That boy, ultimately, is still too naive and too weak, unable to accept a choice between two evils. I'm telling you this in the hope that the boy in your painting will change because of it."

Cosmo gave him a pleading look.

"Could you portray him as a more mature figure who can accept reality with equanimity?"

In this way, the Cosmo in the painting will no longer think that the choices made by others are just a choice between two evils, nor will he stubbornly pursue the best of both worlds.

He wanted to truly understand that as long as the person making the decision believed it was worthwhile, then choosing one of two evils would be the best of both worlds.

Cosmo could never accept, nor could he accept that he could face such a thing so calmly.

"Selfish people are annoying. Please don't depict him like that, okay?"

Griseo remained silent for a while, her small eyes fixed on Cosmo, before finally speaking, "Hmm, selfish people are the worst, unlike Cosmo."

"So, can you draw what I just said?"

Cosmo said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"It's okay if he can't do it. After all, he's a selfish person by nature, and it's only natural if he can't change."

After Griseo, Cosmo suddenly looked at Hua and said in a voice Griseo couldn't hear, "The rest is up to you. Please deceive her for me."

Hua stood frozen in place for a long time before finally nodding.

The video ends here.

Kiana: "I've stumbled upon another juicy juicy story."

The Ark Project of finding a new home is a lie; its true purpose is to allow one person to escape disaster and then return to spread civilization anew.

In some ways, Ark Project and Kindling Project are not that different.