Hearing that familiar yet alien voice, Finality trembled, his body instantly freezing in place.
In his panic, he paradoxically accelerated the spear's thrust, but the tip moved no further—
Michael's left hand had also broken free from his bonds. He gripped the two small forks of the golden spearhead with both hands. In a way, his Authority was more complete than Finality's, and for a moment, he actually pushed the spear back!
"Just... die obediently... ah!"
Finality shuddered, lowering his head, staring incredulously at the pink arrow protruding from his chest.
"Why... why..."
He whipped his head around. The figure he had waited hundreds of billions of cycles for grew larger in his pupils.
Somehow, he suddenly felt like laughing—
"This is, in hundreds of billions of fifty-thousand-year cycles, the closest you and I have ever been..."
Thud!
What greeted him was a hard, cold fist.
Finality instantly dissolved into a streak of light, crashing into the distant red sea of sand. Freed from his power's restraint, both the golden spear and Michael fell from mid-air.
A unique sense of exhaustion, born from walking the edge of life and death, washed over his entire body. His vision blurred, sometimes dimming, sometimes flooding with red. He couldn't even control his descent, but instinctively, he didn't release his grip on the spear.
Suddenly, he felt himself fall into a soft embrace. Forcing his eyelids open, he was met with the wry sight of Elysia holding him princess-style.
"Hey... could you... maybe change the position?"
Elysia bit her lip tightly, ignoring him.
She materialized several crystal steps in mid-air, constantly breaking her fall, landing back on the ground with the agility of a hare darting and a falcon swooping.
As the surging adrenaline subsided, Michael regained some strength. He immediately jumped down from Elysia's arms, gripping the spear shaft with both hands, planting his feet firmly in the red sand.
Only then did he ask, half surprised, half guilty:
"Ely... how did you get here?"
Elysia's lower lip trembled downwards. After a moment, she opened her mouth, took half a deep breath, and then silently raised her hand.
Michael automatically tilted his head, obediently preparing for the coming storm. But in the end, Elysia's slightly cool hand merely rested gently on his cheek.
Then, her other hand reached over, cupping his face, forcing his gaze forward again. Their eyes met at that moment...
"Idiot!"
Elysia cursed softly, her shoulders slumping slightly.
Through his blurry vision, Michael thought he saw a glimmer in Elysia's eyes.
Then, before he was mentally prepared for anything, Elysia threw herself into his arms.
Her voice was muffled:
"Did you think if you left me behind alone, I wouldn't just catch the next train?"
"Ely..."
Michael didn't know what to say, what could be said at this moment. He could only stroke Elysia's fluffy long hair repeatedly.
"Don't... don't ever do this again, Michael... I'll... I'll get angry!"
Michael stiffened slightly, then retorted exasperatedly:
"You have the nerve to say that to me... You..."
"Pfft!"
At the mention of this, Elysia almost burst into laughter through her tears.
True. The two of them had schemed against each other, solely to gain the chance to sacrifice themselves for the other, never once considering if the other person would even want to accept such a sacrifice.
And the greatest irony was that, in the end, they were still standing side-by-side here, exactly like twelve years ago.
"Tsk!"
Michael clicked his tongue in disgust:
"Elysia! You got snot on my clothes!"
"You! You're slandering me!"
Recovering from the initial excitement, Michael's smile gradually became strained—since Elysia was here too, then the final choice…
"Why?"
A sudden question interrupted his thoughts. Elysia stood beside him again, both warily looking towards the source of the voice.
Finality climbed out of the crimson sand dune. The crystal arrow embedded in his chest gradually turned illusory, eventually disappearing completely. Correspondingly, that very arrow reappeared in Elysia's hand.
Also vanished without a trace was the wound in Finality's chest.
"This... This is..."
Michael's eyes narrowed. From Finality's earlier explanations, he already had a bad feeling. Using the arrow in Elysia's hand as an example, he was almost certain—
"Elysia, Finality's Authority... might be Time."
"Time?"
"Mhm—The sum of all motion in the world, that is time. That's the definition given by humans, and it's precisely how Finality was able to loop... Anyway, that's how it is."
As for why Finality only reset the time for the arrow and the wound, but not for Michael and Elysia? Perhaps, as he himself said, after Origin diverged from Finality and the authorities he projected onto other planes were shouldered by Michael, he could no longer fully grasp Finality's authority.
Or perhaps, it was because both Michael and Elysia, in essence and manifestation, were now infinitely close to Finality. He couldn't reverse the time of beings almost equal to himself, only tamper with his own time and that of other created beings.
And within the brief moment of their exchange, Finality had already dragged his body out of the sea of sand.
His steps were staggering, his expression crazed, a visible black aura flickering around the contours of his body:
"It was like this twelve years ago… It was like this twelve years ago! Why… Why do you choose him time and time again! Why!"
Blood-red completely filled Finality's eyes. The moment Michael met that gaze, he realized it was just an afterimage left behind.
He instinctively pushed Elysia aside. The next moment, Finality appeared before him, kicking him away.
"Michael!"
Elysia cried out in alarm. Sharp crystals instantly covered the arms of her Flowery Corolla bow. Tapping her toes lightly, she spun, reverse-gripping the bow, using it like a curved blade to slash downwards.
Finality's kicking right leg was severed at the root. He didn't even frown, instead flipping in mid-air and kicking his own severed leg. The leg flew out. Elysia crossed her arms defensively, but the force was astonishingly great; even after landing, she couldn't help but take several steps back to dissipate the force.
Looking ahead again, Finality's legs were intact, charging madly towards her.
"What an annoying Authority!"
She drew her bow. At such close range, aiming was unnecessary. She released the string directly. The arrow reached Finality's brow in the blink of an eye.
However, Finality acted as if he hadn't seen the arrow at all, not slowing his charge in the slightest. By the time Elysia reacted, the arrow was back in her hand.
"You're cheating!"
Despite saying so, she had no way to deal with Finality's Authority. Seeing him closing in, light bloomed in her right hand, and a massive cross-shaped crystal flower unfolded before her.
Bang!
Finality slammed headfirst into the wall formed by the crystal flower. He bashed his own head bloody, and the crystal flower nearly shattered under the immense force.
But Finality didn't press the attack. The terrifying red light in his pupils receded slightly, his expression calming somewhat. Then, almost趴ing against the crystal flower, he stared blankly at her with that face Elysia knew all too well.
"Why?"
He was still asking.
"Why did you choose him twelve years ago, and still choose him twelve years later! What's so good about him! It's because of his weakness that he doomed Seele, doomed Himeko! If it were me, if it were me, none of this would have happened!!!
"But… why… would you rather help a weak failure like him than choose me! I'm the one who endured hundreds of billions of cycles waiting for you!"
Yes, why…
Elysia's brows furrowed upwards, the corners of her mouth tilting into a faint smile.
Cycles, huh…
"Because living as a human is hard. Humans themselves are just that fragile. The human heart is just that delicate. That's why he won my favor—because he's more like a normal human than you are."
Because of fragility, one fears loss, and thus seeks to mend, to redeem.
Because of delicacy, one cherishes every bit of beauty, giving true, tangible meaning to protection.
And precisely because of delicacy and fragility, humans understand what they can do, what they cannot, what they should do, what they shouldn't, and what they must do.
And the Michael before her, precisely because he lacked this fragility, lacked one of the most important things that made him human… Well, true, he wasn't human to begin with.
And precisely because of his self-proclaimed strength, optimism, and decisiveness, he constantly shouldered burdens he absolutely didn't need to… all for a love that was as illusory and pathological as a castle in the sky.
"Besides, he is… only he is the Michael I know. Only he is the Michael who spent these twelve years with me! In my eyes, Michael is him and can only be him. And you are not qualified to use that name!"
"Is that so…"
Finality's eyes narrowed into thin slits, a bitter smile spreading across his face… until it twisted back into madness—
"Hehehe… Hahahaha… Hahahahaha!"
He understood.
Even if he killed Michael, he could never take over his connections with everyone else. Of course, the others didn't matter to him; he only cared about Elysia's attitude.
But… when Elysia stated unequivocally that, for her, there was only one Michael in this world, Finality knew he had once again lost everything.
No, compared to losing, when had he ever truly "possessed" anything?
"Then… just destroy everything!"
He could endure the loneliness and burden of hundreds of billions of cycles in exchange for one chance to meet Elysia. Since this Elysia didn't accept him, then enduring hundreds of billions more, trillions, quadrillions of cycles to find an Elysia who would accept him wasn't out of the question.
The crystal flower shattered into countless pieces with a bang. Elysia retreated rapidly. Finality pursued relentlessly. His speed was extreme, evident from how Michael couldn't even react defensively to the first blow. But against Elysia, whose movements were as elusive as falling petals, he couldn't even touch the hem of her clothes. It was only when Elysia stumbled over an Imaginary Tree root half-buried in the sand while dodging that he seized the opportunity.
He charged forward. Elysia seemed genuinely unable to dodge this time, forced to once again condense a massive crystal flower, attempting to block the blow head-on.
Bang!
The crystal flower shattered easily again. But this time, Elysia didn't retreat. She stood her ground, manipulating the scattered crystal dust, trying to bind Finality.
Was it really useful? The moment the crystal dust touched Finality's body, time silently flowed backward. The dust returned to its previous positions, remaining in a state of scattering.
Meanwhile, Finality's own time remained unaffected. He hesitated no longer, fingers forming a claw, reaching for Elysia's neck…
Swoosh!
Sensing the sound of something cutting through the air beside him, Finality glanced sideways, making an evasive maneuver for the first time.
He retracted his arm, dodging to the side. But he had already wasted precious time. Though his speed was undeniable, the spear Michael threw with all his might was even faster!
The small branch tip of the spear grazed Finality's cheek, leaving a long, bloody gash.
As Finality retreated, he tried to grab the spear, but Elysia pressed forward again at that moment, kicking him away and catching the equally sharp tail end of the spear.
"This spear feels pretty good. Unfortunately, under Finality's Authority, weapons aren't very effective."
She casually tossed the spear aside. The next moment, Michael appeared beside her, catching the spear steadily.
"It really is nice. Shame it looks like a fishing fork."
"What do we do? His Authority is too much like cheating. If this goes on, even if he doesn't seem like much of a fighter, we'll eventually be worn down."
Not far away, Finality climbed out of the sand dune again. The wound from hitting the crystal flower, along with the blood, had vanished without a trace. Only the gash from the "fishing fork" remained, nearly cutting across half his cheek.
Flesh curled outwards from the wound, strands of blood and muscle fiber weaving a few thin red threads across the gash. More blood welled up from the flesh, quickly reaching the corner of Finality's mouth.
"Huh?"
Michael narrowed his eyes, using the Authority of Sentience to whisper:
"Ely, maybe weapons aren't useless."
Michael didn't need to explain further; Elysia should understand his meaning.
In the previous fight, Finality had never dodged the crystal arrows Elysia shot, simply nullifying them with his unreasonable Authority of Time.
But just now, facing the spear formed from the Imaginary Tree branch, he had uncharacteristically not used his time authority. Furthermore, when he reversed time to heal the wound on his forehead, the gash on his cheek from the spear remained unchanged…
Yes! The Imaginary Tree branch!
No matter how unreasonable Finality's Time Authority was, it still had to follow most of the Imaginary laws. At least, in his current state of not fully grasping Finality's authority, he probably couldn't reverse the damage caused by a branch of the Imaginary Tree itself!
And Finality's next actions undoubtedly verified this guess. The black aura around him intensified. His gaze locked onto the spear in Michael's hand, and he reached out towards it.
The Imaginary Tree had no consciousness. As a part of it, the spear felt the call of someone who had accompanied it through countless cycles and uncontrollably flew towards Finality. Fortunately, Michael reacted quickly, gripping the spear's tail tightly.
Even so, the spear moved inexorably towards Finality. Michael erected countless Imaginary barriers before the spear tip, but they were easily pierced. Ribbons woven from spatial power could only slow the spear slightly.
Ironically, the red sand sea Michael braced his heels against provided excellent deceleration, yet it still couldn't stop the spear's trajectory towards Finality.
But Michael actually smiled:
"Hey! You really don't have much combat experience… Are you ready, Elysia!"
Finality paused, momentarily stunned. He had been focused entirely on the spear, the only thing that could threaten him, and hadn't noticed Elysia disappearing almost the instant he made his move.
But… what did it matter?
While the authority he wielded wasn't enough to affect Origin, who was also part of the Cocoon of Finality, reversing the damage she caused was still possible.
"Hey! Watch your head!"
Yet, despite knowing this, when that voice sounded above him, Finality couldn't help but look up, even abandoning his attempt to summon the spear.
As pink light showered down, even Michael, who had anticipated it, looked up. The Flawless Dome bloomed in mid-air, encompassing the entire visible Imaginary Space. And before the rose at the center of the Flawless Dome, Elysia had already condensed a massive arrow in her hands.
The instant both Finality and Michael looked up, the arrow left the string.
Finality didn't dodge, because the arrow wasn't aimed at him. It plunged into the red sea of sand. The entire Imaginary Space began to fracture and flip, arriving in a starfield remarkably similar to where the Cocoon of Finality had been, but purer, more brilliant.
And amidst the brilliant river of stars, a cross, as tall as the Imaginary Tree had been, bloomed dazzlingly.
Yet this extreme outpouring of energy rapidly collapsed within seconds, acquiring an almost silk-like texture towards the end, until finally, it transformed into a pink and white wedding dress draped over Elysia.
"This is!"
After landing quickly, even Finality, who had already resolved to cycle again, couldn't help but gape in astonishment—
"This is the complete power of Origin..."
In an instant, she had flipped the space to the Sea of Origin. Here, the Authority of Origin would be fully manifested, while his power, lacking Origin, would be maximally restricted. With this shift in balance, he could no longer reclaim the spear.
Furthermore, being separated from the Imaginary Tree cut off his means of creating another spear from its branches.
And the spear that could decide all fates now floated beside Elysia.
Her right hand opened, fingers spread slightly, as a pink energy sphere condensed in her palm. Light flowed, the overflowing energy solidifying into translucent crystals rotating outside her palm. She raised her right hand high above her head. In the blink of an eye, a colossal manifestation, colorful like stained glass in a cathedral, appeared behind her.
The next moment, a pink giant identical to Elysia broke through the manifestation, standing behind her.
That was the truest form of her soul.
Elysia dropped her shoulders, lowered her elbows, and mimed drawing a bow with empty hands. The giant behind her did the same. But differently, the golden spear continued to grow, transforming into a massive bow and arrow, held by the pink giant, aimed directly at Finality.
The savage expression on Finality's face suddenly vanished. The gentle Origin power radiating from the pink giant forced him inevitably to look inward.
Questions he could never answer during the hundreds of billions of cycles surged up all at once:
"What is the meaning of my existence? To destroy the world? To save the world? To save Elysia? Or… was my existence always an accident, with no meaning for me to pursue at all…"
"No… Am I really me? The entire foundation of my existence, those memories, were just a false construct. And I, who lived by them… am I even real?"
He no longer looked at Elysia. Instead, his expression complex, he looked at Michael, standing empty-handed dozens of steps away. If he wasn't mistaken, Michael hadn't said much to Elysia using the Authority of Sentience just now, yet she had formulated a concrete tactic based on his barely-analytical hint in the blink of an eye…
Such understanding… really… really… made him jealous…
Just as he had always been jealous of their twelve years together.
But under the illumination of his innermost, truest light, he gradually understood that his jealousy wasn't just about Michael and Elysia's mutual love. In a way, he envied everything about Michael—
Because Michael, who truly possessed twelve years of memories as a "person," could still live on as a "person" even if stripped of the false memories brought by quantum entanglement.
And he, Finality, besides those memories that never existed in the first place, had nothing.
"Michael, I truly, truly envy you."
Having reached this point, he instead became completely calm. There was no longer any need to resist. And with Elysia's arrival here, all his arrangements had lost their meaning—
"It's just… Michael, do you truly understand what it means for her to come here?"
He looked at Michael, his expression cold, but he didn't voice the rest of his sentence.
Michael looked back at him, his own expression incredibly complex. From any angle, this was the other half of him, and now he had to watch him walk towards death.
Of course, this wasn't the first time he had faced the end of "another half of himself."
But at this moment, an indescribable emotion weighed heavily on his heart.
Perhaps it wasn't his emotion as "Michael," but belonged to this other self… his state of mind when facing the end…
Unwillingness and jealousy gradually faded. Madness had already vanished upon arriving at the Sea of Origin.
What kind of person the original Michael truly was, perhaps no one would ever know now. His heart felt like a blank slate, because it had been empty from the very beginning, lacking even a self.
Did he truly love Elysia?
Michael couldn't say for sure.
Even Finality himself, in this moment before the end, found that the pathological love for Elysia no longer existed within him.
After all, his love for Elysia was merely a product of the quantum entanglement between some existence from a more distant world and the Cocoon of Finality.
But Michael was different. The twelve years he and she had experienced, every minute, every second, were an indelible existence.
"Stand further back. It's too close here."
Finality faced Michael, but his gaze had already lost focus.
Michael pursed his lips and quickly retreated.
He saw Finality's mouth open one last time. This time, he truly wanted to say something.
And he didn't even need to speak; Michael's heart heard his voice:
"A person's Destiny is their character. Michael, even though you are my fragile part, you will inevitably make the same decision as me in the near future."
It wasn't a curse, nor a prophecy.
Just a one-sided farewell from one person to the other self in the world.
He lowered his head, shoved his hands into his pockets, and floated upwards until he was level with Elysia.
Then, his figure slowly faded into nothingness. Correspondingly, an equally massive figure appeared before Elysia, facing the pink giant behind her.
Except, the giant Finality transformed into, compared to the flowing-robed, flesh-and-blood entity behind Elysia, was greyish-white like stone, covered in the uneven marks and cracks left by the scouring river of time.
Just one glance revealed its time was up.
Perhaps this was the moment the true Michael had been waiting for.
Elysia released her hand. The arrow pierced through Finality's heart.