All that has happened so far remains within the illusory fantasy constructed by the Fantasy Species, yet to connect with reality.
The Fantasy Species is not omnipotent; it merely offers a beautiful possibility to the cold reality, turning hopeless events from zero to one.
Now that the single possibility has appeared, all Teda needs to do is help Aimou grasp that sole opportunity.
"Please fulfill her wish."
The Devil hesitated for a moment, thinking he had misheard, then burst into laughter.
"Wishing for someone else? Such selfless people are indeed rare."
Teda didn’t consider himself noble; to him, it was merely atonement.
The Devil ruthlessly rejected Teda, mocking his foolishness.
"I’ve already given you everything!" Teda protested, "Isn’t it enough?"
"No, not enough, still not enough," the Devil shook his head, "You don’t understand the nature of what you’re trading; it’s such an exalted soul, what you’re offering is far from sufficient."
The Devil never lies; their deals are absolutely equivalent.
"Your soul is worthless to me."
Teda understood the Devil’s meaning, laughed self-mockingly; he knew he held no value, yet it still hurt being told so directly by the Devil.
Even sacrificing his soul, Teda couldn’t fulfill that tragic wish.
The surrounding darkness retreated; the Devil refused Teda’s deal, and the world returned to normalcy with the mist evaporating away.
Alice was right in front of him, the petals filled with sharp teeth, craving a soul’s fulfillment; now bound by time’s inertia, but soon, with the Devil’s departure, it will shatter, and the death Teda longed for will envelope his life.
Yet, in the moment before its collapse, Teda realized, he found the loophole in the rules, escaping cold despair with a joyful face.
"No... you cannot, nor have the right to reject me, Mammon."
Teda called out to the Devil again; this time, the Devil must obey his command.
The power of Illusion Creation surged, but this time it wasn’t sketching some meaningless fantasy, but brutally ravaging reality.
The massive remains of the Wolf Spider beneath him began to collapse, and the dead flesh peeled away, revealing the Alchemy Workshop wrapped within layers of flesh, which also began to fall apart.
Bricks mixed with steel were thrown into the Sea of Mist below, like the shore eroded by waves; amidst continual collapse, the Void Realm of the Alchemy Workshop shattered completely, and the hub tower fell from it.
Layer after layer of collapse, sporadic golden lights flashed from the ruins, then increasingly, more Canyin glimmers soared, they were so plentiful, like golden rain sweeping across the Great Rift, all pouring into the Sea of Mist.
These were the Mammon Coins accumulated by Teda over the years; stored in the upper levels of the Alchemy Workshop, they revealed themselves from the shadows amidst its collapse.
It was a stunning sight; in this bleak and bloody Hell, golden raindrops were born through destruction, cascading down, each drop shining with the purest gold, like countless suns illuminating the desolate despair.
"This is a land that can fulfill wishes."
Teda murmured, holding the cold body, as if humming a tender lullaby.
He felt it was a destined moment, within this land of wandering crossroads that fulfill wishes, under the seed of Fantasy Species that creates delusions, in this moment woven by countless intersecting wishes...
No matter what, some wishes will inevitably come true.
This is predetermined.
Alice itself didn’t possess wisdom, acting purely on instinct, and now the hunger instinct warned of some terrifying occurrence.
It wanted to flee, but under the constraint of some strange power, even Alice couldn’t move.
That power surpassed Calamity, the source of all evil dredged together.
Then Alice heard Teda’s morbid muttering.
"Master of the wandering crossroads, great Tyrant Mammon!"
"I pay tribute to you!"
The golden rainstorm swept in, crossing the many obstacles of the Great Rift, into the Sea of Mist, dyeing the gray clouds a radiant gold, as if flames were fiercely burning within the mist.
"This is a land that can fulfill wishes; even a worthless soul will have its moment to shine."
In a daze, Teda heard the Devil’s whisper; soon after, he saw a void-like figure approaching him, smiling as its hand easily pierced through his body, grabbing his heart, and then withdrawing something from it.
"I will take your body, mind, soul, everything, and all."
"And then, the world will be as you wish."
The Devil’s figure dissipated back into emptiness, and the sky full of Canyin light also faded away in the rolling Sea of Mist.
Teda’s body started to turn gray, then vanished into nothingness, like a soulless dead thing, returning to dust.
As he disintegrated, the cold body in Teda’s embrace warmed up.
Steel twisted into a new skeleton; Alice screamed mournfully, large chunks of flesh peeled from its body, attaching to the steel bones, restoring the broken mechanical structure, blood vessels extended through gaps, entwining around the Constant Motion Core.
The metallic shell was dug out with several holes, blood injected into them, and moments later, the Constant Motion Core began to throb like a real heart.
The Philosopher’s Stone was covered in cracks, completely shattered, yet this time the soul within didn’t Fade Away, instead it was bound within this body of steel and flesh, seeping into every inch and corner.
Steel bones, flesh body, mechanical core, human soul... with the wish fulfilled, the Fantasy Species dimmed completely and dissipated.
Teda watched the gradually awakening Aimou, her face no longer cold like a doll’s mask, but softening with color, upon closer inspection, even the faint veins beneath her skin were visible.
The cold reality was shattered, and the illusory fantasy turned into reality.
The chest slightly rose and fell, Aimou breathed for the first time, like a newborn, painfully coughing.
Aimou opened her eyes to see the gray-white Teda, somewhat unable to comprehend what had transpired, yet inexplicably asked.
Her voice was dry, pronunciation inaccurate, then she heard Teda’s last call.