Lantern Bearer

I don't know how long we walked.

He arrived at a hillside in the distance.

It was surprisingly quiet here.

Qin Yiguan suddenly saw a boy in black sitting on the hillside.

He carried a lamp containing twelve flames that swirled and coiled, unable to break through the small lampshade no matter how they moved.

He placed the lamp on the ground, illuminating the small space around him.

The boy in black looked up as he saw the continent before him fall, flames soaring into the sky, and sixty million people plunging into the abyss.

Qin Yiguan looked at the face of the boy in black. It was somewhat familiar, yet blurry. It looked like himself, but he couldn't be sure.

Qin Yiguan's gaze was fixed on the small lantern.

He suddenly saw clearly that there were 12 "selves" inside, sobbing and shining.

But one of them resonated with him in some mysterious way. It stood there, its movements exactly the same as his, except that one was inside the glass enclosure and the other was outside.

Qin Yiguan remained silent for a long time.

He looked at the boy in black and said, "Are you my No. 1 Personality?"

The boy in black nodded.

"Hehe..."

Qin Yiguan suddenly laughed, a somewhat desolate laugh, pointing to the figure in the lantern whose movements were exactly the same as his own, "Is that me?"

The boy in black nodded.

"Hehe..."

Qin Yiguan shook his head dejectedly. "So, I'm not the primary personality. I'm just one of the twelve personalities. You, No. 1, are the real Qin Yiguan."

The black-clad youth stared at the B5 and B6 continents, remaining silent.

This moment.

Qin Yiguan recalled the scene from before.

He fought against Lu Zun as if he were a god, constantly borrowing the abilities of various personalities, while the other personalities just stood woodenly by his side, waiting for his command.

Now it seems that I was just one of them.

Qin Yiguan looked up at the sky.

Why am I able to log into the Metaverse in my dreams?

Perhaps I've always been here, just like Black Calamity.

Why am I able to wake up in reality again?

Perhaps, it was only during those times that I possessed ' Qin Yiguan's' body.

Just like in those days before.

Sometimes, the Black Calamity takes over the physical body; sometimes the Child takes over; and perhaps, the Guardian has taken over as well.

"Dad said that on Tuesdays, I can be friends with Brother Yiguan."

For some reason, Xiao Ya's words came to Qin Yiguan's mind.

Maybe I'm the only one who likes Xiao Ya...

Looking back now, I realize I was lucky as one of the personalities. In recent years, I occupied the body the most time, and ironically, I actually thought I had recovered?

Qin Yiguan looked at the black-clad youth, "You can carry all twelve personalities like lanterns in your hand, you must be incredibly powerful, right? In other people's eyes, you're like God? Do you have Fusion Rate? What is it?"

No. 1 calmly stated, "I am indeed very powerful, but I lack Fusion Rate."

The small patch of light trembled slightly.

No. 1 stopped speaking.

Qin Yiguan gave a self-deprecating laugh, "I only have one last question: 12 years ago, since none of the personalities took any action, does that mean I killed my adoptive parents?"

Qin Yiguan really hoped that No. 1 could tell another story.

But things didn't go as planned; No. 1 simply nodded slowly.

Qin Yiguan's body stood still, as if petrified.

A moment later, he exclaimed excitedly, "Why did I do that!"

No. 1 said, "Only half of your guesses are correct. As for the truth, even if I told you now, you wouldn't understand."

No. 1 slowly got up, wiped the lantern on the ground, making it brighter, then picked up the lantern and started walking.

He turned his back and said, "I'm going far away. I'll wait for you there. If you can come, if you can walk this road alive, when you see me again, you'll naturally understand my explanation."

Alone with a lamp, he walked further and further away until he disappeared into the darkness in the distance.

Qin Yiguan stood alone for a long time.

Then he slowly turned around and looked at B5 and B6.

The two continents were almost vertically positioned on the ground, with the area below resembling melted chocolate being roasted by a raging fire, constantly falling into Leviathan.

It only took a few minutes.

Both continents have disappeared.

Wherever it stood, only the enormous and menacing Leviathan Rift remained, radiating a dark red light that cast a dim and bloody shadow over the sky.

They're all dead.

Qin Yiguan muttered to himself, "But the matter is not over."

"Yeah, they're all dead."

But suddenly, a handsome doctor in a white coat appeared beside Qin Yiguan. He turned around and asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

But then Qin Yiguan suddenly smiled, "Dr. House, you've done so much for me, I don't know how to thank you enough."

The handsome doctor smiled and said, "Like I said before, treating patients and saving lives is my duty. Mental illness is most dangerous when patients succumb to despair. You are my patient, so of course I can't stand idly by."

This moment.

The scenery before my eyes has changed.

B5 and B6 have not fallen; this is merely the moment when the biological Leviathan tears the Mechanical Leviathan apart.

Although everyone present looked terrified, they were all unharmed.

"Dr. House."

Qin Yiguan calmly said, "When I learned that I had killed my adoptive parents, my heart was filled with self-reproach, and my mind was consumed by guilt. I was on the verge of losing control, but you had foreseen all of this."

"I still remember, the power you used on me was called ' Grant Sleep - Granting You a Guilty Dream'."

Dr. House's white coat fluttered in the wind, but he remained silent.

Qin Yiguan continued, "Your 'Grant Sleep' did indeed activate my potential, but at the same time, it dragged me into a hallucination just as my mind was about to collapse."

"In my hallucinations, I killed everyone to escape. I vented my most negative emotions. I could do anything I wanted without any consequences."

Qin Yiguan paused, "As you said, this was an innocent dream."

Dr. House smiled and said, "So, have you thought it through now?"

I've thought it through.

Qin Yiguan looked up into the distance, "Just now, after killing everyone, I'm still in pain."

"The act of silencing them actually reflects my inner 'escape,' but escaping is useless because I will remember everything."

"It's better to face it calmly than to do that."

"If you really want to atone for your sins."

The boy's eyes suddenly hardened. "I should do everything in my power to seek the truth. No matter the outcome, good or bad, I must get an explanation!"

Dr. House smiled with relief. "As a psychologist, the most effective method is not medication, but resolving the patient's inner conflicts. While yours are not yet resolved, you have a direction to move forward."

I have another question.

Qin Yiguan looked at Dr. House, "What is that huge figure standing behind you and Chen Mudou? And the Lantern Bearer I saw in my hallucination, No. 1, does it really exist? Will it really tell me the truth? What exactly is it?"

"That's a secret that can only be accessed when the Fusion Rate is 100%."

But Dr. House chuckled, "I may not be very good at this, but I can actually answer a few questions for you."