It wasn't a matter of lighting or angle; it was that his gaze simply couldn't focus on that face.
He could see the curve of her lips, the high bridge of her nose, and the defined jawline, but all the details were fluid, like a watercolor painting soaked in water.
"What do you think would happen if a human and Tyranids fell in love?"
The man's voice was soft, with a hint of amusement.
Lynn chuckled lightly, "How could that be? The Tyranids are galactic devouring machines controlled by the Hive Mind; they don't even have emotions, how could they fall in love with humans?"
"Oh, really?" The man tilted his head.
"I do know a story like that, about a Tyranid Warrior that developed independent consciousness, and a human who redeemed and relied on each other, ultimately facing the world's most powerful enemy together."
He paused for a moment.
Do you want to hear it?
The moment the words left his mouth, something exploded in Lynn's mind.
It wasn't a revival of memories, but more like a dam that had been blocked for a long time suddenly bursting open, with floodwaters carrying countless fragments rushing out.
The fragments rapidly pieced together in his consciousness, forming images, sounds, and temperatures.
The underground pipes of Necromunda, the purple armor, the system pop-up, the sergeant of the Sons of Medusa.
Forbidden Wall, Ice Plains, Dragon of Frost descend amidst the snowstorm, and Orks horde surges forth...
besides...
A voice, a clear and gentle voice.
" Lynn."
"Um?"
"I love you."
"Yes, I love you too, Rena."
Lynn looked up abruptly, but the man was gone.
He looked around; he was the only person in the exhibition area.
The sound of rain came through the skylight, fine and distant, like an echo from another world.
He looked down at his hands.
A transparent model had appeared in the center of my palm without me noticing.
That was a Tyranid Warrior.
Unlike the others on the display stand, he was extremely familiar with the design of this Tyranid Warrior.
It has a purple carapace, blue markings, four reverse-jointed hind limbs, a pair of huge scythe-shaped bone blades, and a relatively small head.
That's what Rena originally looked like, Lynn was certain.
He held the model in his hand, feeling a slight coolness in his palm.
That chill penetrated through his skin, through his bones, and all the way to the depths of his soul.
His memories flooded back like a tide, wave after wave, each wave carrying with it the tangled love and hate between him and Rena.
He remembered.
He remembered who he was, where he should be, and what he should be doing.
" Lynn?"
A gentle voice came from behind.
Lynn turned her head and saw Rena standing there with a cup of coffee in her hand, a gentle smile on her face.
Her gaze fell on Lynn's hands, but she seemed unable to see the model.
She simply asked, "What are you looking at?"
Lynn gripped the model tightly.
He looked at Rena, at the girl with the same color eyes as Rena, and at the same unwavering love in her eyes that transcended both worlds.
He smiled.
"Nothing."
He paused for a moment, and finally asked a question.
" Rena, tell me, would you choose a beautiful, illusory dream or a painful reality?"
Rena paused for a moment, but she didn't find the question strange.
She looked down at the coffee in her hand, paused for a moment, and then answered seriously:
"I think I'd rather be consciously suffering than be falsely happy."
She looked up and met Lynn's eyes.
"After all, that's the real me."
She smiled slightly, a smile that contained relief, reluctance, and a touch of pride.
"Besides, I think you already had the answer in your heart when you asked this question. But no matter what, I support you, just like before."
As she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes.
She seemed to know what was going to happen next, but she didn't stop it.
Lynn looked at her, feeling extremely sad.
Even if the other person might just be an illusion, a cage woven by Tzeentch to trap him, Rena still loved him unconditionally.
"I understand," Lynn said.
His voice was very soft, as soft as a sigh.
"Thank you, Rena, I love you."
He stepped forward and embraced her.
Her body was warm, carrying the flavors of coffee and the fragrance of snow lotus.
He lowered his head and kissed her.
The kiss was long, so long that it seemed to convey all the reluctance to part.
After a long while, he stepped back, grasped Rena's hand with his left hand, and raised the transparent Tyranid Warrior model high with his right hand.
Purple light descended from the sky.
The light emanated from inside the model, carrying a temperature that didn't belong to this world.
It enveloped Lynn's body and gently lifted him into the air.
His vision began to blur, and the walls and ceiling of the exhibition area melted in the purple light, turning into a churning void.
But in the center of that void, there was a crack.
On the other side of the crack was a world he knew all too well.
At the edge of that crack, he saw many things.
He saw Brevis.
It has been largely swallowed by the blue mist of the Ritual of Annihilation; the spires of the Hive City are collapsing in the Mist, the ice plains are melting, and the earth is cracking.
But he also saw Toothy.
That Gretchin had already swelled to more than ten times its original size. Standing on the shattered earth, its entire body radiating purple light, it tilted its head back as if waiting for something.
He saw Rena; she was waiting for him.
Within the Warp interlayer, the Avatar of Domination, composed of purple light, still hovered, vast and majestic.
He saw a blue bird-headed figure hovering in the void, its thousands of eyes flashing with mocking light.
He saw a possible future.
A future filled with pain, danger, and uncertainty.
But that future is real.
"Well."
Lynn sighed.
He released Rena's hand.
He couldn't turn back, because the real Rena was still waiting for him.
Lynn followed the purple light, flying towards the place where the two worlds met.
In the last moment before disappearing, he looked back one last time.
Rena stood there, tears streaming down her face.
But she was smiling, a gentle smile with a strange sense of understanding.
It's like someone who, after a long and painful wait, finally sees the ending they've been longing for.
"Goodbye, Lynn." Her voice came through, very softly.
"Take good care of yourself..."
The purple light engulfed everything, and the sound of rain in Nottingham vanished.