Ivar pretended not to hear. He did not look at Halilali, but just silently looked at the rows of soldiers marching behind her with a hazy vision.

Hallilali did not speak either. She straightened Ivar’s collar, patted his shoulder, and said softly:

“be careful.”

After saying that, she left Ivar’s side and continued on her way.

But before Hallilali could take a few steps, Ivar’s voice called her again:

“Wait a moment.”

Hallilali stopped and looked back, only to see Ivar still looking away, but saying:

“The photos I took last time… have been developed… I’ll show them to you when you come back…”

It was a beautiful moonlit night. The moonlight kissed the petals and the breeze caressed the hair.

In the sea of ​​flowers, the boy who was taking the photos secretly and the girl who was being photographed looked at each other from a distance.

This scene appeared in the minds of both of them at the same time. Hali Lali was slightly startled, then nodded:

“Okay, I’m looking forward to it.”

She gave Ivar another brilliant smile, then walked forward lightly, her waist-length pure white hair swaying like water waves, creating ripples in Ivar’s eyes.

The boy watched the girl walk away into the distance, her figure disappearing in the crowd.

He stared silently at the place where the figure disappeared for a while, then turned his back and disappeared into another crowd.

……

“Identification password, [Providence].”

“Identification passed.”

With a cold mechanical sound, the door of the blockade facility slowly opened in front of Laplace, and light poured into the space inside like flowing water, like seawater pouring into a cabin.

The feeling Laplace felt at this moment was indeed somewhat similar to drowning.

When the coalition forces were heading towards Huangquan Pass, he should have been preparing at his command post, but some kind of mood drove him here, to the black lake where his eldest son fell.

Is it regret or self-blame?

“…”

Laplace walked into the blockade facility. He stood at the dark lake shore and stared at the water surface that was as smooth as a black diamond.

No matter how you look at it, this is a lifeless area. Its dark lake surface, which is not at all attractive, exudes a dangerous atmosphere, as if consciously reminding everyone passing by: Never step into it.

Even children are unlikely to die from entering such an area.

But Hermes died inside.

No one knows why he stepped into the Black Lake, whether it was voluntary or forced, there is no trace.

Laplace failed to protect his son.

“…”

On the shore of the Black Lake, the old man clenched his fists tightly, feeling the stinging pain as his nails dug into his flesh.

Somehow, somewhere in the corner of his mind, he knew why Hermes chose to leave like this.

The child has been resisting the mission given to him. He is swept forward by the long stream of fate and has no power to steer the ship himself.

Laplace arranged everything for his favorite eldest son, but it led to such an ending.

In this moment of solitude, the old man couldn’t help but ask himself, is this the right thing to do?

Was his arrangement for Hermes for his own good, or was it a desire for control?

Unfortunately, there is no response to all this.

“…”

Laplace closed his eyes and stood quietly beside the Black Lake, feeling his consciousness dissolving like water.

He needed to deconstruct his emotions, pull them out, and prepare for the next big battle.

The exhaust equipment that maintained the blockade was humming, and the detection equipment emitted faint beeps from time to time. In the distance, the sound of soldiers walking back and forth in the corridor was very intense, and Laplace felt the tension from their conversations.

Since reaching the top of the academy building, Laplace rarely went to listen to these sounds in person.

For him, every event can be converted into a carrier of pure information. He is used to turning all of this into data that he can understand, then laying it out in front of him, arranging it, and then thinking about the next strategy.

He is like a calm chess player, watching the world.

However, just as Laplace was trying to calm down in this way, a discordant noise floated in from afar.

Amid the voices of the world, a voice that does not belong to the world appeared—

“…I can grant your wish…”

Laplace suddenly opened his eyes and his body trembled due to the cold.

He discovered that the entire blockade facility was filled with an inexplicable chill, and the lights began to flicker at a strange frequency.

Before Laplace could react, he saw something incredible—the smooth surface of the Black Lake cracked.

Then, a man’s body slowly rose from the lake.

“Buzzing…”

A sharp vibration spread out, as if countless blunt knives were sliding on the eardrum, but Laplace seemed to feel no pain and stared at the figure in the center of the black lake.

His body continued to rise slowly until his entire upper body was exposed to the air. The dark water flowed slowly down his marble-like muscle contours and dripped into the lake.

“Buzzing…”

Amid the roar hidden beneath the space, Laplace stared blankly at the familiar figure slowly raising his head and looking at him—

——That was his son, Hermes von Valantia.

When he looked into the eyes of his father, his face was blank at first, and then he broke into that slightly crazy and elegant smile.

He raised his arms, looked at his body as if he were examining a work of art, and said softly:

“Hello, world (ancient divine language).”

……

Interlude) Odin (Part 5) -4k chapter-

Driving from the front-line base across the dark plains, the mountains that separated the plains soon appeared in front of the ground troops.

Between the mountains, Edward saw a huge crack that led directly to the Far East Plain on the other side.

If this mountain range is likened to a rotten black tooth, Huangquan Pass would be the first one to break, leading straight to the mouth of the giant beast.

In that indescribable darkness, a being close to god was waiting.

“…”

“My brother once told me that when his term is over, he will open a small cafe and spend the rest of his life with me there.”

Hearing the girl’s soft moan, Edward turned around and found that Hallilali was also looking at the mountains ahead.

At this time, the two were sitting in a troop carrier, at the front of the queue, just behind the armored troops.

“Your brother sounds like a very gentle man.” Edward thought of his own brother.

“No, he is a cold-blooded man, so cold-blooded that he can abandon everything, including me, for that heavy mission.”

Hallilali didn’t look at Edward, but just stared at the Yellow Springs Pass outside the car window, imagining what the Lord of the Black Tide looked like on the other side.

Following Hafurgard’s fate means abandoning everyone behind you.

Coles did it, but what about Halle and Lally?

“…”

Just as Edward was about to say something to ease the situation, Harilalli had already turned her head away, her expression becoming calm again:

“There’s a flower field in the area near the sea at the front-line base. It’s quite lush. Have you seen it?”

“No,” Edward said honestly. “Have you been there?”

“I often take Perlis there. At night when no one is around, she loves flowers and often disappears into the cave,” Halilali smiled softly. “Those flowers are the kind we have there. They glow softly in the moonlight. They are very beautiful.”

“Flowers from the high heaven can grow in this land?” Edward was a little surprised.

“Yes, although the cultivation process is a bit difficult, it is now all over the mountains and plains.” Hallilali said with emotion.

“The land here is too bad. If you can come to Ardmire Continent in the future, I will take you to my Wilkin mansion,” Edward said seriously. “The fields next to the mansion are very vast. In such land, these white flowers may bloom more vigorously.”

“Really?” Hali Lali smiled softly, covering her lips with her hands. “Perlis will definitely like it very much.”

“She will.”

As Edward said this, he felt a pair of eyes looking at him through some invisible veil. He looked around but saw nothing.

“She still has no sense of existence to the outside world,” Hali Lali said softly, “In other words, she has not yet identified herself as a living being, so it is difficult for her to establish a real connection with the outside world.”

“Maybe she’s just shy,” Edward said.

“No, you have to know that any individual is the sum of experiences and relationships. If you don’t establish social relationships with anyone, it’s hard to have rich experiences. And if you don’t have rich experiences, you naturally can’t build a true personality.”

Hallilali murmured, recalling every moment she had spent with Pearlis along the way.

It has to be said that since the fear of the unknown when they first met dissipated, Hallilali’s impression of Perlis has changed from “a monster carrying white flames” to “an ignorant little girl”.

Perlis always stood with him as she experienced everything that happened on the land of Ursa. She often felt her wrist being pinched by a small hand, the strength of the small hand was very rough, but it was extremely strong.

Every night, the little girl would appear in Harilali’s bed without her noticing, gently hug her neck, put her head on her chest, and then fall asleep snoring. At first, Harilali just held Perlis to sleep, but later she began to tell her stories, explaining everything she had seen and heard in the past, and telling her about her dreams for the future.

Gradually, Perlis seemed to understand what Halilali said, and even had a preliminary understanding of Halilali’s emotions.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have run to Edward with Halle and Lali’s lunch box that night.

“…”

While Hallilali was talking to Edward, Pearlis was sitting in the seat at the other end of the troop carrier, watching the two of them with interest.

In those blood-red eyes, Hallilali saw a gleam of curiosity.

Maybe this child will be able to piece together enough experiences after all this is over?

However, she was born a [Star Seed]. Could the personality shaped by these experiences alone be able to fight against the powerful self-awareness of [Pure White Flame]?

According to Hallilali’s common sense and speculation, that was absolutely impossible.

But since Wang has placed this small flame on this dust planet, there must be a reason for all this.

“…Edward, do you think that if a person loses all his experiences and past and becomes a monster driven only by instinct, is that person still the same person he once was?”

Halle Lali suddenly asked Edward this question, which made the latter slightly stunned.

After a brief thought, Edward replied:

“Not counting.”

Obviously, a person who has lost all memories of the past has been structured at the self-level, and what remains are just the functional reactions of the organism.

A wolf foraging for food in the jungle is just following its survival instinct. Where does its self come from?

Just like me in the past…Edward thought so.

After hearing Edward’s answer, Halle Lali’s eyes dimmed for a moment, but were soon replaced by a frank smile:

“Then look forward to seeing the hills and plains of Wilkin covered in flowers, Edward.”

She cast her eyes out the window and murmured softly:

“coming.”

Edward also looked out the window, and sure enough, in the narrow gap between the mountains on both sides of Thermopylae, dark followers swarmed out. The sound of exoskeletons rubbing against sand swept in from the horizon, accompanied by stirred dust.

Sensing the army that was about to attack from the ground, the black tide also took the initiative to meet them.

Seeing this, Edward took out the energy wave communicator and whispered:

“[Ghost] calling [Dark Moon], about to enter the designated combat area, ready for air support.”

“receive.”

With the roar in the sky, a huge airship slowly flew over from the south coast, and the honeycomb missile launcher below had locked onto the Black Tide followers of Huangquan Pass.