A dimly lit small room.
The large screen hanging on the wall kept flashing game images.
A man and a woman sat in two gaming chairs, constantly pressing buttons on their game controllers.
Various snacks and drinks were laid out on the table between the two.
The game lights flickered in the dimly lit room, and it seemed that only the sounds of the game and the clicking of the controller could be heard.
It was this atmosphere, which would be unacceptable to most people, that made the man and woman in the room feel incredibly comfortable.
As the game entered a cutscene, the two players who had been pressing the game controllers had a brief respite.
"I've never had a chance to play two-player games before, and I've always wanted to. Now I finally have the chance."
Aidan smiled, picked up a bottle of cola from the table, and drank it.
"Same..."
Yao Di smiled sweetly and carefully picked up the potato chips to eat.
Aidan suddenly sighed with emotion and downed her Coke in one gulp.
Then he took another large bottle from the pixelated phone and placed it on the table.
"I hate people... I think they're a terrible species, only capable of fighting among themselves and bullying the weak..."
Hearing the other person suddenly speak, Yao Di turned her head and listened attentively.
"But I was wrong..."
His eyes were slightly lowered as he gripped the handle, applying slight pressure with his hand.
"I've just encountered so much trash that I thought the whole world was trash..."
He turned his head and slowly looked at Yao Di, revealing a very gentle smile.
"But I've discovered that there are still many good people in this world, and the world isn't as bad as I imagined."
He tilted his head back, as if he were recalling something.
"There are people who give their Life for their loved ones, and there are people who lend a helping hand to strangers... They are all admirable..."
Yao Di smiled and nodded, then suddenly noticed a tear rolling down Aidan's cheek.
Before she could even ask, Aidan's choked voice rang out.
"But... I... I actually killed so many people..."
Tears suddenly streamed uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes, running down his cheeks and falling drop by drop.
Yao Di immediately tensed up, at a loss for what to do, unsure how to comfort her.
But soon, Aidan stopped crying and her tone returned to calm.
"My leader, Hela, is Life [Five Calamities]."
Yao Di nodded; as a core member of the Light God Society, she was aware of this.
I like her... I like her a lot.
These words froze Yao Di completely, and an indescribable emotion welled up inside her.
"I would do anything for Hela, even kill someone..."
"Because I feel that, since I'm someone abandoned by society anyway, and I hate humanity anyway, and I'm a bad person to begin with, killing doesn't mean anything to me..."
"Ah, the game has already started."
Aidan suddenly changed the subject and looked at the screen in front of her.
Yao Di also came to her senses, picked up the game controller, and started playing.
As the clicking sound of the buttons echoed in their ears, Aidan spoke again.
"But you know... I regret it..."
He didn't look away from the screen, and neither did Yao Di, but their attention was completely drawn to it.
"I deeply regret it... I've realized I'm not a bad person... I seem to be a good person..."
His hands began to tremble as he manipulated the game controller.
"I hate my life now... Whenever Hela orders me to kill someone, I feel an overwhelming resistance..."
"But..."
"I really love Hela."
"Every day, I'm torn, I'm struggling. I don't want to do anything bad, but I also don't want to betray Hela..."
"I really don't know what to do..."
As the cutscene lit up on the screen again, Aidan put the controller down.
"Perhaps... my love for Hela wasn't true..."
His eyes flickered, revealing a variety of complex emotions.
"I've simply never been valued by anyone, and I've never proven my worth to anyone... so when Hela praised me, I took it as love..."
Yao Di looked at Aidan, puzzled, and Aidan met her gaze.
"This is something I only realized after I met you."
Yao Di was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized what she meant, and her face instantly turned red.
"Because of you, I've learned what true love is..."
As she spoke, Aidan's face also turned red.
However, she quickly fell silent, turning into frustration and even sadness.
"Perhaps... meeting Hela was a mistake."
"If I hadn't gone to the back mountain to play games that day, I wouldn't have met Hela, and I wouldn't have become her underling."
"I'll continue being that reclusive guy. Even if the city is destroyed, I can use my abilities to escape and continue living in another city."
"Perhaps one day, the Night Star will discover that I'm being relentlessly pursued by the [Godslaying] Squad."
"Then one day, I met you, before you joined the Light God Society... We recognized each other, and fell in love..."
Upon hearing this, Yao Di felt her face burning hot and lowered her head, not daring to look up.
She didn't know what her expression was like at that moment, but it must have been very exaggerated.
"If that's really the case... my life will definitely be very happy."
"Unfortunately... it's all too late... there are no 'what ifs' in this world..."
Yao Di keenly sensed something was off about Aidan's tone and quickly looked up at him.
But then she saw Aidan looking at her with tears streaming down her face.
"I really wish I could have met you sooner... but I can't betray the boss... and I don't want to kill anyone else..."
"Sorry..."
No... no!
Yao Di seemed to realize something and hurriedly got up and pounced on Aidan.
But the latter's figure seemed illusory; he missed his target and fell onto the seat.
"I am already dead... This is just a remnant of my soul, but it will soon dissipate, probably in the next second..."
"Don't want!!!"
Yao Di screamed, but only saw Aidan's figure slowly disappearing.
"Thank you for letting me experience true love at the end of my Life..."
Aidan slowly gave Yao Di a smile.
Tears continued to stream down her face, a face that was constantly weeping yet also forcing a smile.
This face seemed to etch Aikawen's entire life, a forced smile amidst a constant flow of sorrow.
But now he can't hold on any longer.
Pixels kept disappearing from his body as Yao Di cried and waved her hand, trying to grab Aidan.
However, they could only watch helplessly as Aidan's body completely disappeared, leaving only emptiness.
With a thud.
Yao Di knelt on the ground, staring blankly at everything around her.
Finally, unable to control her emotions any longer, she curled up on the ground, cold, and burst into tears.
"Waaaaah...!!! Ugh...!!!"