"Lori?"
Even though it was a method of communication that he had never heard before, even though it was a voice that he had no impression of.
But no matter if it was his damned natural talent or the ripples in his soul or bloodline, everything was telling him that the voice on the other side was Lori.
"You damned brat, what the hell are you doing? What's with that suicide note …"
He wanted to ask more questions, wanted to question her, but rainwater was mysteriously dripping down his face.
It was a light touch, but he couldn't stop himself.
It was as if a door had been opened in his heart. Many things that he didn't dare to think about in the past were thrown out. Too many emotions crashed into everything and mixed into a mess.
Shock? Surprise? Anger? Probably all of them.
But in the end, all that was left was fear and joy from the bottom of his heart.
Joy and joy that she was still alive.
[… Young man, did you recognize the wrong person? I'm the master of the game …]
"Do you think I'm an idiot …"
He should have scolded or even shouted at her, but he couldn't even finish half of his sentence.
In the end, he sobbed and choked up his nose. He still felt joy from regaining what he had lost. That was the most important treasure in the world.
"… You're alive, you're still alive … Wonderful, wonderful."
She remained silent for a long time. Sophistry was now meaningless.
[… I'm sorry.]
Her words were filled with deep regret and fatigue.
"It's fine, as long as you're fine."
[I'm sorry, but I don't really count as fine. After all, I've already died once, and I'm no longer in this world …]
"I shall take revenge for you."
He didn't ask for a reason, cause, effect, goal, oath, promise, or hypothesis.
Lori knew that Rorschach would definitely do it.
Half an hour later, when Rorschach walked out of the Church of Games, he now had an emblem similar to that of a high priest on his chest.
Although Rorschach was still used to smiling at everything, everything had changed, no matter if it was his attitude toward the world or his expectations for the future.
Lynn and Su Nanna had also been waiting outside for a long time.
"Perhaps it's time for us to have a chat."
= = =
"In the past, our world wasn't so chaotic."
It was a desolate and primitive world. The ground was a dim yellow, and the sky was filled with dark clouds that were so dense that they were almost solid.
The thunderstorm struck everything below the clouds. Even the swift and strong Horned Dragon died on the spot after being struck by the thunderstorm.
There was only a tall gray cliff that stood above the thunderclouds.
Thunderstorms flowed through the clouds below, and the deafening thunder rang in their ears, but the residents above could sleep peacefully.
To the Seymour people who lived at the peak of the mountain, grey tree trunks that had been burnt into steel charcoal were the most practical building materials. This was because the old witch in the tribe had told them that grey scale tents set up in such a manner would not be pierced by stray lightning.
On the high cliff, hundreds of grayish-black tents were set up. The youths of the Seymour tribe were boldly lighting fires in the midst of the thunderclouds and cooking. Even if they were accidentally struck by a thunderstorm, they would end up being scorched black and ridiculed by their companions.
The higher areas belonged to the children who had yet to grow horns and the elderly who were frail and weak.
In the highest tent, a one-eyed old woman with a broken horn on her forehead was hunched over as she passed on ancient memories to the children around the bonfire.
"Clack."
A slender gray wooden stick was stirred in the air. Under the influence of an invisible force, the turbid smoke gathered together to form various images.
There were floating illusory humanoid figures, fire-breathing dragons, giants wielding lightning bolts, fairies leaping through forests, birdmen with wings, and … most of all, there were strange smiling faces that accompanied the falling of meteors.
"… In ancient times, although the thunderstorms would still arrive on time, our tribesmen didn't have to endure the hardships of the Heavenly Finger Peak. The Heavenly Gods bestowed upon our Limestone Tribe a large enough underground cavern. Not only were there delicious meat mushrooms, there was also sweet stone dew. During those few months underground, we rested after the harvest, and it was also a good time for the young men and women to get married. Most of you were probably born seven or eight months after that. "
Her thin, black fingers casually waved as the yellow smoke formed into smiling young men and women with horns.
They approached each other, laughed, sang, worked together, and dragged large insects and dinosaurs into the cave.
Suddenly, a young man wearing a headscarf jumped away from the crowd and landed on the old witch's curved nose. He lowered his head and kissed her eyes.
"Haha, little fellow, stop teasing me. I'm old, I'm old, I'm all here. "
The shadow of a girl with a broken horn, who was holding hands with the young man, made a funny face at the old witch before jumping onto her head and lightly touching the mark of a broken horn.
The old witch herself also revealed a rare gentle smile as she reminisced.
When she noticed that the children were all staring at her, she blushed and used her gray wooden staff to disperse the smoke and shadow before continuing with her story.
"… But one day, the Evil Gods came."
In the scene created by the smoke, numerous meteors fell from the sky. The ghostly faces floating above the meteors laughed maniacally. When the meteors fell to the ground, countless ghosts swarmed out from the meteors.
The young men and women frantically ran away, but the ghosts caught up to them and tore them to shreds.
It seemed that there was no hope for anyone.
Before the children's eyes, the young man wearing a headscarf pushed away the girl with a broken horn and stood in front of his tribe members with the other men. Then … he transformed back into the scattered yellow smoke.
The girl with a broken horn cried as she hugged her headscarf that floated over, but was dragged away by her tribe members.
They arrived at a new plain, reclaimed the land, raised the pig dragons, and dug out new caves. Their crying faces turned back into smiling faces.
After several thunderstorms, the girl with a broken horn also transformed into a woman with a broken horn. Just as she was happily holding hands with her child in an orchard …
"They're here again."
This time, the meteors came even more fiercely than last time. However, the result was the same.
The men were forever left behind. The child of the woman with a broken horn ran too slowly and was also left behind …
After remaining silent for a long while, the old witch waved her wooden staff again and guided the smoke, causing the scene to change yet again.
The woman with a broken horn and her tribe members continued to migrate amidst their sorrow. However, everything that happened afterwards was the same as before.
The meteors fell, the Evil Gods sent out their subordinates, and the tribe members continued to migrate.
However, one time, the tribe leader who had been holding the flag collapsed. The woman with a broken horn took over the flag and continued to guide her tribe members.
She couldn't even remember how many times this happened. Finally, her journey seemed to have reached its end.
The woman with a broken horn pointed at a towering mountain peak and laughed loudly. Then, she knelt down and began to cry.
Her tribe members were less than one-tenth of what they had originally been. Next to her was a tattered flag, a flower wreath worn by a child, and a broken headscarf.
The smoke created two suns and three moons. Time passed, and the smiling faces replaced the crying faces. It would seem that this story would have a happy ending.
The silent old witch once again guided her ash-colored wooden staff and lightly tapped it, causing the grayish-yellow smoke to gather together.
The smoke fell onto the boiling stone floor and transformed back into a sweet fragrant liquid.
One drop, two drops, some turned into dragon-shaped candy, some turned into noodle shaped candies, and some turned into soft clouds.
"Alright, the story is over. You can all start eating now."
If it weren't for the fact that they were waiting to eat the candy, who would listen to the old witch's story?
Finally, the moment arrived. The children all swarmed forward and began to share the candy.
The old witch's murky eyes scanned the children. One, two … this year, there were three more children. The old witch nodded in satisfaction. Finally, her gaze stopped on a wooden shelf in the corner of the tent.
There was a flower wreath that had already withered to the point where only the stem remained.
Headscarf? It had already become a patch and pattern on the children's colorful clothes.
Flag? Wouldn't that be the case if a tattered piece of cloth was tied to the candy maker's ash-colored wooden staff?
Looking at the children eating happily, the old witch's lips curled into a smile. After all, there was still hope, wasn't there?
"Bad news, Grandma Gu, bad news!"
The exclamations outside the tent caused the old witch to frown.
"What's with the noise? Can't you see that I'm telling a story to the children …?"
However, the scene she saw when she opened the tent shocked the old witch to the point that she didn't even realize that she had dropped her ash-colored wooden staff.
From the corner of the tent, he could see countless silver meteors streaking across the sky.
In her confusion and fear, the old witch with a broken horn seemed to hear the maniacal laughter of countless ghostly faces in the sky.
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