It¡¯s like the beating of a heart, echoing powerfully in a world where there is no other sound.
However, the sound came from a darkness that swallowed up even the light. Deep in the depths, a dark sphere could be vaguely seen, pulsing non-stop in the endless chains.
Malice, hatred, tyranny, despair¡ª¡ª
All kinds of suffocating negative emotions are constantly emanating from it.
The world of darkness is a world where evil condenses.
In the dim sky, a red shadow like fire passed by. In this world, this seemed to be the brightest existence.
"It was really dangerous just now. If it were more violent, it would be difficult to seal this seal"
The giant red shadow is a giant dragon covered with red scales. Its fully extended wings almost cover the sky. A pair of flaming red eyes reflect a completely different darkness. It flaps its wings and hovers high in the sky from time to time.
"Indeed, something big happened almost"
The speaker was a mysterious man. He was sitting cross-legged on the dragon's head. His beautiful long silver hair was flying wildly in the wind. His hands were resting on his cheeks. The originally twinkling five-pointed star in his scarlet eyes gradually disappeared and returned. He calmed down and stared at the strangeness below without any emotion.
"Don't you care?"
The dragon's eyes moved up slightly and asked the man.
"It would be a lie to say I don't care, but for me, maybe it doesn't matter"
The man let go of his hands and gently placed them on the lava scales, leaning against the dragon's horns. His lazy and casual posture revealed a natural beauty.
"It's all the same anyway"
His words were inexplicably tinged with sadness.
The giant dragon gradually looked away, exhaled a burst of fiery breath, and spoke slowly in a low and hoarse voice, "You are truly the most special being among the hosts I have ever encountered."
"Haha" A teasing smile appeared on the man's lips, and he looked at the red dragon under him with half-open eyes, "Isn't this a rare experience?"
"That's right" The giant dragon flapped its wings in agreement, with a humane meaning in its eyes, "So I don't want the host to die so quickly this time."
The man¡¯s smile slowly faded. He tucked the messy hair on the side of his face behind his ears, looked up at the dim sky, and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, the dragon continued, "Let's not talk about the sudden change this time. Let's talk about what happened last time. Those things that suddenly appeared are worse than the ones below. I think You have also noticed that it is merging with the pile of black mud below little by little. What happens next may be beyond your expectation. I really don¡¯t know how long you can live, one year. , or a shorter time?¡±
Even though it has experienced a long time, it has never seen such a thing.
That kind purely represents death and destruction, coming from deeper existence, such as the root of all things.
"That's a curse"
The man's voice was soft. He stretched out his hand, and with his slightly spread fingers, he didn't know what he wanted to touch in the sky.
¡°The punishment that must be endured for violating taboos.¡±
"Is there no way to solve it?"
The dragon hesitated for a moment and still asked with a little hope.
The man shook his head and frowned slightly, "At least not yet. It is a curse entrenched in the soul. If it is lifted, my soul may also be wiped out. However, as a resurrection from the dead, The price is quite equal. For the time being, let¡¯s just wait and see what happens.¡±
"Is it necessary to do this for an unrelated person?"
"It's not necessary" The man seemed to have stretched out greatly because he had been sitting for a long time, and suddenly he made a crackling sound. "This is just the self-comfort pursued by the powerless. The soul is created because of the powerlessness. When you encounter something that is within your power, you will do it regardless of the consequences, just to get rid of those familiar pains."
"Alas, I don't even know what to say. It seems that I have to be prepared to find the next host."
The dragon sighed heavily, and his face seemed to be full of helplessness, but the man didn't care and still maintained a calm and indifferent attitude.
"But, does it matter if he is like this now? It seems that he has returned to his original shape, and it is rare for him to change."
Facing what the dragon mentioned about him, the man lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, the emotion in his eyesIt was so complicated that he sighed inaudibly.
"Perhaps time will heal his wounds, but because of what happened before, the scars were opened again, reminding him of what he has always been afraid of. It is inevitable that this will happen. If it happens again, will he stay away from everyone? What? Maybe, he doesn¡¯t know that he is always asking for the tenderness of others"
He sighed again, as if he felt pity for someone.
"Now, Glade, do you know what's the best way to avoid suffering this kind of pain again after being injured by a knife?"
¡°¡Stay away from the knife.¡±
The dragon Glade seemed to understand the meaning of his words.
"This is a very stupid but correct approach. If you don't stay away, no matter what form it is, you will be cut one day. Only when you stay far away and no longer have intersections, can the pain be effectively avoided. ."
The man looked down at his jade-white palms, staring at the intricate palm prints. The interlaced lines seemed to indicate a person's fate. He smiled slightly sarcastically, "As everyone knows, the real pain is not when you are cut. It¡¯s not a physical feeling, but a pain engraved on the soul. No matter how far away we are, those pains can never be shaken off.¡±
The man seemed a little tired. He stood up and stood facing the wind. In a world filled with darkness, the pure white him and the fiery red dragon were the only colors and lights.
"He has always been afraid of the inhuman body and the power of the devil. No, this is just his excuse. What he is afraid of is just the past stained with blood. He is afraid of suffering unbearable pain again. In order not to No matter how painful it is, he can't even shed tears, so he can only escape and use these excuses to escape."
"Hmph, it's really embarrassing that the host of the Sekiryuutei is so cowardly."
Glade half-closed his eyes and spoke with a very disdainful tone. With the arrogance of the dragon clan, he would naturally not escape from any pain. What's more, if he can't even face such pain, what qualifications do he have to become the master of the Sekiryuutei.
"Glade, you don't understand that not everyone can stand up again after being hit again and again. In the end, he is just an ordinary human being" Feeling Glad's disdain, the man silently said Sighing, "He was once brave, and he also tried to use his own strength to protect the people he wanted to protect. People always say that people become stronger because of the people they protect. Indeed, he became stronger because of this. He became stronger, but he also lost everything because he could not protect others. This was repeated again and again. Finally, his heart collapsed Haha, because of protection, it became the source of pain. How terrible this is. Ridiculous, and how sad. In this case, if you no longer protect anyone, you will not suffer from losing again. A person carries all the sorrow and hatred and isolates himself from others. This is selfish or cowardly. Well, he is so conflicted because he just doesn¡¯t want to cry anymore.¡±
The man¡¯s hand gently pressed on his heart, and his eyes were filled with sadness at some point.
"There have been enough tears shed here, enough."
The lips seemed to be smiling, but they were filled with sadness.
Glady seemed to feel his sadness as well, without any rebuttal, he just flew in the air silently.
It doesn¡¯t understand human emotions very well, so what¡¯s the use of being bound by emotions?
Perhaps, this is what makes human beings extremely powerful.
"Let's go back, Glade."
The man slowly closed his eyes, covering up all his emotions.
Glade raised his head high, his huge body stopped circling, and flew towards the unknown direction.
"Actually, you can choose to replace him."
"He and I can't simply explain who will replace the other, and I have never thought about replacing him. I just"
Gently squatting down, his slender fingers caressed the crystal scales, and it seemed as if he could feel the heat on his fingertips.
"I just don't want him to cry."
His smile tried to wipe away all the tears.
¡ª¡ªIt would be great if this kind of heat could dispel the coldness in my heart.
The vision became clear from blur, and the outline of the figure in front of her began to reflect her true face.
"Are you alright?"
The boy¡¯s first words after waking up were blurted out almost without thinking.
Tifa, who noticed that Neil had woken up, wanted to say something, but was preempted by the other party.Her throat seemed to be strangled by something, and she was completely silent for a moment.
¡° Neil cares more about her than himself.
Tifa didn¡¯t know what kind of mood she was feeling at this moment. If she was happy, it was impossible to say she wasn¡¯t, but more importantly, she felt like it was weighing heavily on her chest and it was difficult to vent.
"Are you hurt, Tifa?"
Seeing Tifa¡¯s silent look, Neal suddenly became nervous and immediately wanted to sit up, but Tifa immediately pressed her chest with her hand and asked him to continue lying on her lap.
"I'm fine, don't be nervous."
Tifa smiled softly, and Neil looked at her for a moment, and then felt relieved when he found nothing unusual.
He moved his eyes slightly to look at the surrounding environment, and unexpectedly discovered that this was the park where he and Touma were last time.
¡¾Last time it was Touma, is it me this time? ¡¿
Feeling the warmth on the back of his head, Neil didn't know what expression to make.
To a certain extent, things are really changing.
Neil quickly turned his attention back and glanced at Tifa secretly, only to see that her eyes were a little dull, as if she was not really looking at him when she was facing him. Neil didn't know what to say at this time, so he could only rest his head on Tifa's lap silently, looking at the dim starlight.
Just when he could no longer bear the strange silence, Tifa's voice caught his attention at the right time.
"Are you okay, Neil?"
Thinking of Neil¡¯s ferocious expression before, Tifa felt as if her heart was being grasped.
"Ahaha, are you scared by my acting skills?"
Neil winked and joked in a weird tone, but seeing Tifa's little face without any smile, Neil could only scratch his face in embarrassment, and then jumped up and stood on tiptoe without Tifa's attention. He turned around on his toes, and his long hair also twirled in an elegant arc before slowly settling down.
"Hey, look, it's completely fine! Your master's seal is as strong as Yin Sang's balls!!"
"Is this something you can say in front of a lady?"
Tifa sighed helplessly, then looked at Neil and waved, "Come here."
"Didn't I say I was fine"
"come over."
"¡¡yes."
Neil walked over with his head lowered. He felt as if he had been tamed by this childhood sweetheart.
Suddenly, while Neil was still thinking about what kind of treatment he would receive, a pair of white hands wrapped around his neck and held him tightly in his arms.
The girl's fragrance poured into his nose, and Neil felt softness on his face. He was stunned on the spot. When he noticed the subtle rise and fall of the other person's chest, his face was suddenly filled with crimson.
Eh! ? What's this? The childhood sweetheart's must-die show! ? Obviously, if he accidentally bumped into him, he would throw him over the shoulder and almost suffer a comminuted fracture of his spine.
"Uh, um, Tifa"
Neil swayed with his hands in the air. He really didn't know how to place his hands. He might be thrown out immediately after putting them on the girl's body.
This is not cost-effective, so we might as well just leave it like this.
"don't want¡ª¡ª"
The girl¡¯s voice was a little abrupt.
When Neil heard this, he almost jumped away, but the next words made him stop all his movements.
¡°I don¡¯t want to be a burden to you, Neil.¡±
Her tone was much lower than usual. Neil could feel the girl leaning against his head tightly, and her warm breath seemed to be condensed on his long hair.
"You are not a burden, Tifa"
Neil sighed softly, closed his eyes, buried his head in the girl's arms, and said in a low voice.
Tifa was silent for a while, her amber eyes were a little confused, and she hesitated for a moment. Finally, she said hesitantly, "You can't always protect me," she shook her head gently, "Don't do this, I don't want you to protect me all the time. , Neil.¡±
She bit her lip and closed her eyes, "I don't want you to put a shackles on yourself just to protect me. I don't regret the promise we made together. To me, that has an indescribable meaning." Some of them are meanings that even you can¡¯t understand, but I don¡¯t want these promises to always bind you or become your pain, you know? You have protected me time and time again.¡±
This time it was Neil's turn to shake his head. He had failed to fulfill his promises many times., many times he felt that he was trying his best to protect her, but in fact, he just made things worse. In fact, many times it was Tifa who saved him.
He failed to protect the girl well at all.
??Always unable to fulfill the agreement between him and his brother.
"You've done it" Feeling the movements of the boy in her arms, Tifa snuggled up to him gently with her little face, "You have succeeded more times than you think. I want to be with you, but , I don¡¯t want you to protect me all the time, you can try to accept me and others, and no longer protect everyone behind you and rush to the front alone I understand that you are afraid, I understand that you can¡¯t protect yourself if you are afraid. Me, you are so afraid of losing the happiness you have that you would rather be hurt and suffer it alone, I understand the reason But Neil, these can all be changed, believe me, I will not leave you."
Neil shrank back like a reflex, "You don't understand."
However, all he got in exchange was a tighter hug, and the girl's heartbeat echoed clearly in his ears.
"You don't understand either." She gently stroked the young man's hair with her hand, as if to soothe the fear and sadness in his heart. Tifa whispered, "I want to be with you forever, but I don't want you to be like this forever. Staying away from others but blindly protecting others, you are not the only one who suffers like this You are different now from the past. You have been able to protect others well, your classmates, your My friend, many people have been saved by you, but no one only wants to be helped by you. Give it a try, accept others, let everyone stand by your side, and please believe that no one will leave you again. "
The words ended softly, and the boy in her arms seemed to be asleep, but Tifa knew very well that he was struggling.
Suddenly my waist tightened.
Tifa felt a slight tremor, and there was a bit of pity in her eyes, as if responding to the other party's request, she hugged him quietly.
"Tifa, I'm not as strong a person as you think. I understand everything you said, but I still can't accept it. I can only do this now, and this is the only way, because I don't know any other way. Can you support yourself and go on Now, can you give me some time, can you wait for me?"
At this moment, Neil felt as if his hands and feet were cold.
There is no warmth anywhere on the body.
"Well, I can wait, no matter how long it takes, I can afford it."
It¡¯s so cold, so cold.
We can only continue to greedily seek the warmth that is close at hand.