As he hugged Noah, Su Ming’an injected a Strengthener into Noah’s neck, pushing the healing potion into him.
But AI Yeah said it was no longer effective; Noah’s spirit was beyond salvation, and his rationality was merely being forcibly maintained.
"Grandpa, grandpa..."
He heard Noah calling him, time after time, yet this time he did not respond, saying "Stop calling."
This was Noah’s extreme fear of losing him.
He should have known that those who had survived the Catastrophe for 72 years, their futures sliced, existed in the City of Measurement—and those not in the City of Measurement meant they did not survive the Catastrophe for 72 years.
The future did not contain Noah.
The room, flickering with red light, revealed only blood red and several puddles reflecting on the ground. Noah’s pupils trembled slightly.
He curled his lips, seemingly seeing through Su Ming’an’s thoughts, and said intermittently:
"My kind of person, is inherently, without an end."
"I don’t believe that my fondness for you is a product of any Skill, and I have never regretted that day I met you in Zone Eleven. It was the luckiest event in my not-so-fortunate life."
"Your persistence and longing for spring, everything you have done for the Ruined World... fascinated me, and I couldn’t resist not liking you."
In Noah’s gaze there was a wilderness-like calm, reminiscent of golden meadows, sunflowers in bloom under the spring sun. That untamed temperament was bolder and freer than any human from the Ruined World who bore constraints.
—He was a white bird of the new century.
Even though the white bird had never entered the new century.
"Are you satisfied with this ending now?" Su Ming’an whispered.
Noah revealed a smile.
Crimson began to flicker in his pupils.
"Satisfied... very satisfied. My sacrifice has value, the halted half of the Mechanical Army will save countless people who would have died in the war."
"Grandpa, I... I love you."
"I just feel a little, a little..."
Suddenly choking up, trembling, he spat out the remaining words:
"...reluctant to leave you."
Su Ming’an’s hand tightened.
He wanted to say something but couldn’t utter a word. At such a moment, no words could convey his emotions. It felt as though... hundreds of birds were fluttering within his chest, emerging from the rolling murkiness.
In the room flickering with the crimson alert lights, Noah raised his head, his lower half paralyzed, with copious amounts of blood submerging his robe, obscuring the garment’s original color.
He reached out a hand, and with a swipe, wiped the blood from the Underground City medal on Su Ming’an’s chest, making it shine like gold, as if to say, keep it free from dust.
Longing struggled in his eyes, and after a moment, he spoke:
"Can you show me the future landscape of the City-State? Can you let me see the world I have saved in the future? Is there... a sun with the same color as me, countless...s sunflowers?"
Su Ming’an’s eyes widened. He knew that on the other side of the City of Measurement it was Eternal Night; everyone was desperately escorting resources in the darkness. There was neither the sunlight nor the spring that Noah was hoping for.
Su Ming’an said softly.
Without hinting at anything, Yeah understood.
A screen materialized, flickering briefly before displaying an intensely passionate illusion.
In the image—Yeah constructed a virtual view of the City of Measurement, bustling streets and alleys, trains like dragons, children running with balloons in schools, elderly feeding white birds with walking sticks, and in between parks, sunflowers flourishing, blooming passionately towards the direction of the sun, like gold scattered upon the ground.
There was no Eternal Night, no blood, no frozen soldiers or incomplete bodies, only peace and harmony, the very thing generations had sacrificed their lives to achieve.
Although it was merely a kind lie from Su Ming’an, a false image of the City-State. In reality, the City of Measurement was also engulfed in Eternal Night, with many soldiers dying while transporting resources.
But Su Ming’an helped the free white bird weave its final, beautiful dream.
Noah stared at the screen for a long time, his fingers reaching out to touch it, but they passed through the virtual screen—he could not touch the future.
Whether past, present, or future, he could not cross the dimension already set in stone.
Sunflowers are unable to truly reach the sun; too close and they might be scorched, or even burnt to ash by the distant heat.
Watching the horizon’s sunshine from afar until they finally wither, that was the best ending they could achieve.
"Is this... real?" Noah whispered.
"It’s real." Su Ming’an affirmed the lie, not revealing the harsh truth.
Noah gasped slightly, his gaze lingering, resembling a sigh. He placed his hand on Su Ming’an’s shoulder, his blood-stained cheek drew close, whispering by Su Ming’an’s side, his tone as usual.
Like a golden-haired big dog, somewhat coquettish and playfully charming.
"That’s wonderful...grandpa." He pointed at the virtual image:
—This was what he had hoped to see.
Flowers blooming, the sun shining brightly, white birds soaring high.
Su Ming’an nodded slightly.
In that instant, the weight on his shoulders slid off.
It felt as though a piece of flesh had been violently torn from his heart, Su Ming’an took a breath, his fingers trembling involuntarily.
Until the end, Noah had never changed how he addressed him, always calling him "Grandpa," which he so feared losing, until the last second of his life.
He longed to look at Su Ming’an once more. They could have walked freely on the streets, greeting a clean city. In times of peace, planting flowers, riding a motorcycle to patrol the edges of the world. On that day, the waters would be clear and the white birds would fly across the blue sky, their feathers naturally scattering, skimming the surface of the lake like dragonflies.
In time, Noah would have solemnly called him "City Lord" or "Chief," because the war was over, and he was no longer afraid of losing him, so there was no need to call him "Grandpa" anymore.
... it still ended with "Grandpa."
He hugged Su Ming’an tightly, that embrace fiery with passion, freezing his satisfied smile on his face.
Moments later, those vast ocean-like azure eyes ran dry.
The last thing reflected in those pupils was an artificially constructed virtual spring and non-existent sunflowers.
Spring melded into his pupils.
Accompanying his life as it departed, along with his soul.
—The white bird joined the spring in death.
Su Ming’an clutched the gradually cooling body of the young man. At the last moment, the blond youth’s tears were scorching hot, so hot that they made his palms tremble, he pressed his lips tightly together, holding back the sound deep in his throat.
The son of Hera, who ruled the flames, was gone.
Every person who was kind to him, who bore goodwill towards him, who was important to him, who could stir emotions in his heart, who would never give up on humanity’s freedom, all...
His throat emitted a soft sound, quickly swallowed down with a gulp of water, suppressing it, a hint of redness appeared at the corner of his eyes, quickly obscured by his black hair.
It was like a ray of sunlight peeking through a thick cloud.
The warm yellow light outside the door fell on Su Ming’an’s shoulders, highlighting the closed-eyed blond youth, his warmly-hued hair like sunshine. The blond youth’s head rested on Su Ming’an’s right shoulder, his eyes and brows lowered, the corners of his lips curled in a smile, as if he were asleep.
Su Ming’an slowly stood up, lifting Noah’s blood-soaked body, "tick-tock-tick-tock—" the massive amount of blood loss stained his trousers red, Noah had sustained severe injuries, the gaping wounds a horrifying sight.
Such immense pain, yet he managed to smile through it until the final second.
Su Ming’an leaned him against the wall, then pushed the young man into the warm yellow light, as if... bathing in radiant sunlight.
The blond youth’s head tilted slightly, leaning against the wall, half of his face melding into the golden light, even the sunlight that adorned his eyelids almost translucent, the unclear original colors of his clothes now a blood red, reflecting a shimmering golden light.
His entire being, resting in the warm light, looked like a golden-red sunflower, eyes closed, with strands of blond hair scattered across his cheeks.
It was as if all the pain had dissipated.
"Noah, you were actually the sunshine yourself..." Watching this scene, Su Ming’an whispered softly.
The sunshine need not chase after the sunshine.
In the warm light, a small, illusory figure seemed to exist.
The blond youth, embracing a golden sunflower in his arms, his beautiful blond hair flowing loosely in the wind like molten gold; his white robe lifted high behind him, scattering elegantly like angel wings. He pressed his lips close to those vibrant blotches, allowing a few spinning colors to fall into his deep blue pupils.
A moment later, he turned with a smile, called out "Grandpa," like a golden retriever seeking affection, quickly running into the brilliant sunlight, soon out of sight.
The warm breeze tousled his blond hair, his figure exuding freedom from behind.
He had endured too much pain in the world, and at last, he could depart.
[You have reached the (Noah) character ending: HE·Spring Day White Bird]
[(Spring Day White Bird):
"There is no need to search for where I’ve gone, no need to sing a dirge for me."
"I have simply stepped out of time, becoming a part of the world."
"From now on, the white bird on the street lamp is me, the sunlight in the sky is me, the sunflowers in the flower beds are me, the endless torches are me."
"If one day you look up and see a flock of homing white birds."
"Grandpa, please call out loudly for me."
"Perhaps, I will be among them. Carrying yearning, flying toward home."
"—And the white feathers that fall to you are my blessings for your lifetime."
[Main Quest "Revival of All Things" progress (2/8)]
[Ring of Time (Purple Grade) upgraded to lv.5.]