To take me back, no matter where
by M1zushi
Memories scattered around, the scenes rapidly shifting over. The quiet, soft moonlight outside the activity room vanished and was replaced by the pitch-black night.
Outside, there were the terrified, frantic screams of terror and madness everywhere.
It was December 25th, 2138.
A-Yue ran madly through the narrow corridor and finally pushed open the activity room door.
Li Yin lay in a pool of blood and a sharp knife was plunged into her chest. She had long since passed away.
In the corner, an eerie, pale light shone. Jian Xing sat curled up within that glow and his whole body was shaking.
“I-I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” He desperately rubbed against the ground, trying to avoid the light, as if he didn’t realize that the source of the light was himself.
“I-I think I lost consciousness for a while, I…”
A-Yue immediately stepped forward, knelt down, and tightly embraced him.
The moment he hugged him, Jian Xing finally burst into a hysterical scream.
That scream deafened A-Yue for several days. When his hearing finally returned, Jian Xing, whose mental energy had stabilized, told him, “Stay away from me.”
An Yu was about to continue watching, but a sudden guitar melody caused his consciousness to waver.
He had been following A-Yue’s earliest memories forward in time. In this timeline, Li Yin should already be dead, so where was the music coming from?
In his surprise, he finally realized what was wrong.
This sound was different from all of Li Yin’s performances that played in the countless memory fragments. This was…
His thoughts sank, and he abruptly broke free from A-Yue’s memory.
A-Yue was still staring blankly at the mirror. The tide of aberrants not far away had been almost completely eliminated and the channel was filled with everyone’s staggered breaths.
The sky grew even darker and a pale light streamed from the window behind them, its source being Jian Xing.
The sound of a guitar also came from that window.
The wooden guitar’s tone was simple and soft. The strings were old and produced some dull noise when plucked.
But it felt deceptively gentle, making one’s heart settle.
An Yu had barely heard music in his previous life. After entering the Main City, he couldn’t understand why the Protectors immersed themselves in electronic rock with headphones.
This was his first time seriously listening to a piece played with an instrument in the real world.
It was a single, flimsy melody, yet it cut through the howling snowstorm.
The frosted window blurred the scene inside. The light coming from the window was gradually weakening.
A-Yue cautiously asked, “How did you…”
An Yu suddenly turned and strode into the building. His mind was somewhat blank; he didn’t even know what he was chasing, only that he walked faster and faster.
The moment he finally pushed open the activity room door, the light inside completely extinguished.
The activity room fell into a dimness, leaving only the faint moonlight filtering in from outside.
The music had stopped, but Qin Zhilu’s hand was still resting on the strings.
He sat on the floor, holding the guitar, his back still so straight, yet seemingly enveloped in a desolate atmosphere that An Yu had never seen before and couldn’t understand.
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When he fell asleep, the light temporarily extinguished.
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He didn’t finish his sentence before suddenly understanding.
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Disordered footsteps approached from behind and An Yu staggered. A-Yue rushed into the room and stood in front of Jian Xing, seemingly wanting to crouch down and hug him, but after hearing that faint, familiar sound of deep sleep, he suddenly froze.
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His white hair fell messily, covering the dark circles under his eyes from years of insomnia, and hiding those familiar golden eyes.
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An Yu followed him. “Commander…”
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He quietly watched him for a while from the side, then softly asked, “Sir, did you just play one song to coax him to sleep?”
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“The hazardous gene tests, and killing Li Yin.” Qin Zhilu’s tone was as calm as ever. “Insomnia is just a disease. The orphanage had no experience. I taught him some ways to fall asleep, that’s all.”
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He turned back to An Yu and his gaze was deep and inscrutable. After a while, he suddenly lowered his gaze and curled the corners of his mouth.
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Qin Zhilu nodded in acknowledgment. “That’s right. Are you unhappy?”
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An Yu frowned and followed after him. “How is he different?”
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He was slightly stunned and watched the tall figure walk forward.
In a trance, this long and narrow corridor reminded him of the gene injection test with Codex at the Brain not long ago—although by then, both Black Tower and Brain personnel were already respectful of him, and the pain of the experiment was negligible, when he walked out of those metal doors, he was still enveloped by a familiar sense of insecurity. He could only try to clear his mind by mechanically walking out while stuffing rice balls into his mouth.
That day, as he stepped out of the last isolation door, it was this very figure in front of him, that waited for him in the corridor.
The silhouette from his memory gradually overlapped with the figure before his eyes.
An Yu’s ears suddenly echoed with A-Yue’s memory from a long time ago, that night when Jian Xing softly told A-Yue: “I always hoped that when I came out of the medical examination room, someone would be waiting for me outside. To take me back, no matter where.”
Qin Zhilu stopped again and looked back at him with a hint of helplessness.
“Are you really unhappy now?” He sighed. “Your ability hasn’t even fully awakened, but your temper is already getting bigger. Do you want to…”
“No, Commander.” An Yu gently shook his head, quickly walking two steps to his side, and said submissively, “Sorry for making you wait. I just spaced out for a moment, and suddenly had a feeling I’ve never had before.”
Qin Zhilu nodded and asked casually, “What feeling?”
An Yu shook his head. “It was just for a moment. I can’t remember.”
Qin Zhilu chuckled in a brief whisper. “You’re spending too much time with Grape and you’re learning some weird things from him.”
An Yu remained silent, as if acquiescing, and continued to walk beside him.
That feeling was indeed fleeting, but it wasn’t forgotten in an instant.
It was simply too abstract and profound to be described clearly.
Just like hearing the countless clocks tick-tocking in the Guardian Mirror, in that moment, An Yu seemed to hear the sound of fates intertwining.
Author’s Note:
Snowflake fragments
[Jian Xing (2/2)]
[A Rare Peaceful Sleep]
The man in black looked cold and solemn, and people didn’t dare to look directly at him.
I once firmly believed his arrival meant the end of my life.
But I seem to have been wrong.
Just like over a decade ago, when A-Yue and I met eyes across the medical examination room, I also thought he was just another child I had scared.
Today’s mistake is the same as that mistake back then.
I never seem to be able to believe that God will suddenly send down a life-saving straw.
Yet, I have always been blessed by God.
He spoke the most heartbreaking words in a peaceful tone.
Then he shed his coldness and played a gentle, desolate melody.
I don’t even know when I fell asleep.
But when I fell asleep, the dazzling light suddenly disappeared.
This world seemed to embrace me with the returning darkness.
Telling me that I, too, could be forgiven.
[27: Cosmic Mirror]
Without warning, people occasionally encounter those who resemble them and experience similar events.
Although their actions and outcomes may not be identical.
It’s like the convergence of parallel timelines, a period of time that has been rewritten.
Like a mirror of the universe.
It happens to those cherished by the universe, or those pitied by the universe.
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