Arad's unruly savior

Through the information she received from Nightwood, Azera gained a better understanding of her current situation and was no longer completely clueless.

As she sat under the parasol, sheltering from the evening rain, the scene stirred up a flood of memories, causing her to drift into a daze. Her pupils were unfocused, her face filled with reminiscence, clearly indicating that she was overwhelmed by emotion.

Then, at that time, the original site of ancient Terra finally ushered in a new round of changes. A large number of humans and life suddenly filled the world of Terra. There were pedestrians on the road, green plants, and a sense of life. The whole city seemed to come alive all at once.

The speculations of the past have indeed come true. After the material world was restored to its original state, the next step was the return of all life. A mark in the long river of history has been materialized in the present, and Terra is infinitely close to the ancient Terra of history.

The ancient Terrans who have survived from ancient times to the present are few and far between: Azeroth, Hilder, Munis, and a handful of others in the Tower of Despair. Now, Azeroth seems to have been naturally "repaired" into the story, becoming a part of history.

It was as if she had never left Terra.

Ye Lin said:

"Do you remember when the material world returned in the first step, some of the light gathered from all over the universe to the original site, and a large number of places that had been destroyed were manifested from history, initially shrouded in the shadow of history."

"Captain, you can try to touch those two girls nearby. You'll find that they lack body temperature and have no soul fluctuations. They are not yet fully human in the true sense."

The cold rain of the evening pierced straight through the dazzling neon lights, crashing resolutely against the buildings and falling to the ground, making a continuous, crisp sound through the sun umbrellas overhead.

Rem unscrewed the water bottle in her hand, took a sip, and muttered that she had forgotten to bring an umbrella when she went out. Vishi was packing up half a hamburger, stuffing it into her mouth in big bites, chewing and chewing... her eating manner was very bold. After finishing, she wiped her mouth and naturally reached out to ask Rem for a drink of water.

Rem immediately complained twice, but still handed her the water in the end.

Seeing Vichy eating so heartily, with such expressive chewing motions, Azera suddenly felt her mouth watering and wanted to eat something to satisfy her cravings.

Azera opened her mouth, but hesitated to speak... She had wanted to chat casually with Vishi and Rem, but suddenly she didn't know what to say or what kind of feelings she should have.

At this moment, Terra is a fragmented reassembly, a manifestation of the shadows of history. Azera knows perfectly well that everything before her is not the ancient Terra on the timeline, yet every person and object is consistent with the past. Her feelings are conflicted, and she cannot give a clear definition.

If the last remaining Terrans also disappeared, and no one remembers Terra's history, would an outsider who accidentally stumbles into Terra at this time naturally assume that this is the present?

The only evidence that seems to distinguish between Old Terra and Recreated Terra is the memories of her and a few others, including Hilder.

Vishi licked the salad dressing from the corner of her mouth, looked at Azera who was clearly not in a good state, and then whispered to Rem:

"Adults' lives are really tough. They're so tired that they fall asleep on the street, and when they wake up, they look blank and have no energy at all."

She already regarded Azera as someone who was exhausted from work, and looked at her with sympathy.

Adults' lives seem to be confined to a few fixed places: going to work, eating, sleeping... There are very few opportunities to deviate from the fixed trajectory. I heard that adults often stay up late because they can freely use their time after get off work, so that they can feel alive and relaxed. Then they rush to get up early the next day and go to work with what seems like a well-rested body, repeating the cycle day after day.

I've heard there's something even more painful: having to work overtime after get off work, with almost no free time during the day, like robots with fixed routines.

Rem also showed a look of deep agreement, thinking that what Vishi said made a lot of sense.

"I don't want to grow up, I want to stay a child forever," Vichy muttered.

Rem shook her head slightly. "No one can stay young forever. Besides, even if you could stay young, your parents would grow old and leave you at some point. Who would give you pocket money then? Who would give you a carefree life?" It sounds cruel, but it's inevitable.

"What we should be thinking about is studying hard so that we have more job options when we grow up. Not every office worker is so tired. The higher the position, the easier life is." Rem gave a rather mature speech, like a little adult.

Vishi threw the empty water bottle into the trash can and sighed, "As expected of you, Rem."

She wiped her mouth again, feeling that she was still not full, and muttered, "I really want to eat the cake from that dessert shop, but it's so expensive, and I don't have much pocket money left."

Azera, who was resting and recovering from her reverie, silently rubbed her temples and forehead. It seemed that these two girls had made her a typical office worker, and then Rem took the opportunity to lecture Vishi.

Azera was suddenly touched and couldn't help but smile. When she met Rem and Vichy in the real ancient Terra era, the two of them had similar personalities.

Vichy is like a battery; she's energetic for only a short period each day, and spends the rest of the time feeling lazy and slowly recharging.
Rem is the same age as Vishi. Although she is a child, she always thinks like an adult and is very strict with herself in life.

"Sister, you look so beautiful when you smile," Vishi complimented Azera.

Although my sister had a strong, lingering aura of someone going to work, upon closer inspection, I realized she was a stunning beauty, even more beautiful than the celebrities and models in TV commercials.

Rem nodded. How come she hadn't noticed before? Her sister's smile was so beautiful.

"Thank you for your compliments." Azera smiled and thanked them, finally calming her complicated feelings, and naturally asked:

Do you live nearby?

In the past, she knew Rem and Vichy, and they had a pretty good relationship.

"Yes, I live here now." Vichy nodded, her ahoge (cowlick) swaying slightly, giving her a lively air, and muttered:
"I didn't expect it to rain tonight. Looking at the time, if the rain doesn't stop in another half hour, we'll have to go home in the rain. Luckily, it's not far."

Azera nodded and smiled, then paused, before immediately asking:
"What time is it now?"

Vichy glanced down at the digital watch on his wrist and said, "A few seconds to nine:10 p.m.

"What year and what month?" Azera hurriedly pressed, her emotions becoming somewhat agitated again.

Not long ago, when she, Ye Lin, Mo Mei, and Xi Ya were strolling through the desolate city, all the clocks in the city were broken. The hands of the old clocks had stopped, the time zones of electronic devices were blurry, and the even older calendars were brand new, making it impossible to know exactly what time Terra was currently on.

Hearing Azera's question and seeing her slightly agitated expression, Rem couldn't help but wonder if her older sister had overworked herself and damaged her brain. A normal person might not know what time it was, or even if they didn't notice the day or month, but to forget the year was a bit absurd. Adults really have it tough.

Vichy's eyes gleamed as he looked left and right, then he lowered his voice and said:
"Sister, are you a time traveler? You really don't know what year it is?"

Vishi then told her the specific time, a number in the Terran calendar. She assumed that Azera was just confused from work and that her question was simply something she'd read on the internet.

“Let me think…” Azera frowned, trying to recall the memories corresponding to this year, and what the landmark events were in the years before and after.

Numbers representing time are boring and dull; sometimes they are just pure numbers. What gives special meaning to a certain year and month are the events that happen at that time. These events are a marker of that time and an anchor point for memory.

Just as it has been two thousand years since the Genesis spaceship landed on the continent of Arad, Azera could not possibly remember every year of those two thousand years. She only remembered some years in which major events occurred, such as the unification of the continent by the Perus Empire, the Calamity of the Mad Dragon, the Dark Holy War, and so on.

In fact, Azera had already pinpointed the approximate timeframe the moment she saw Vishi and Rem, and now it was even clearer and more precise.

However, because the memory was so distant, she still couldn't recall the specific time and what happened during that period.

"Sister, are you alright?" Rem almost blurted out "Should we see a doctor?" but then felt it would be a bit impolite.

I initially thought my sister was faking it, or that she was just temporarily confused after waking up, and that a reminder would clear her head. But when Vichy mentioned the time, my sister became even more confused.

"Could you really be a time traveler?" Vishi's imagination ran wild as she carefully examined Azera. That's what they say in the stories online.

The first essential element for a time traveler is determining the current time and place.

At that moment, Night Forest's voice rang in Azera's mind, saying:
"Commander, you have a cell phone and money in your pocket."

Upon hearing this, she naturally reached into her pocket and, sure enough, felt something. She immediately muttered to herself, "You really got into it, didn't you?"

However, she quickly understood what Ye Lin meant. She took out her phone, turned it on, glanced at the time, smiled at the two girls, and said, following their initial impression:

"I've been too busy with work lately, and I've lost my sense of time."

When Vishi saw Azera take out items that were appropriate for their era, she completely abandoned her previous thoughts and silently shook her head. What time traveler would have such things?

“Wait here for a moment.” Azera stood up. She remembered that there was a 24-hour convenience store not far away around the corner.

Azera left the parasol and went to a convenience store to buy two more umbrellas. After thinking for a moment, she bought two pastries from another store. They were palm-sized cakes that looked very delicate.

"Thank you for chatting with me. Here, these two umbrellas are for you, along with some snacks." Azera's expression remained unchanged, but her heart was once again in turmoil.

While shopping, she casually used her phone to search for information related to "artificial gods" and "Beyana." According to the normal timeline of Terran history, all twelve artificial gods have now been born, and the Terrans are proudly immersed in their superior intelligence and fervent faith in the brilliant glory of the twelve artificial gods.

The twelve artificial gods are considered the pinnacle of civilization and the most powerful proof of access to forbidden realms.

Soon after, scientists led by Hilder will establish a place called the "Beyana Institute" to conduct experiments on the Terrans, using another power discovered in the universe called "Elements" to achieve the Beyanaization of the Terrans.

Vishi and Rem were two of the suitable test subjects selected through screening.

However, the search results just now alarmed Azera... The search results for the artificial god did exist, but they were just a few news reports saying that scientists wanted to create a perfect life form a long, long time ago, and there was no follow-up.

In other words, the twelve artificial gods do not appear to exist in present-day Terra.

Rem quickly declined Azera's invitation. She felt so embarrassed; she had only met her once and was already being invited to eat. They hadn't even exchanged more than a few words. The beautiful older sister was being too kind.

"Thank you, I've wanted to eat this for a long time." Just as Rem was about to decline, Vishi had already reached out her hand.

Vishi opened the plastic box, scooped out a piece with a spoon and put it in her mouth, a happy smile spreading across her face. Then, under Rem's strange gaze, she said:
"My sister is not only thanking us, she is also hosting a banquet for her childhood self."

She read this while surfing the internet, saying that some adults didn't get what they really wanted when they were young, such as not being able to eat the food they wanted or not getting the toys they wanted, and then they would "retaliate" by spending money to treat their past selves.

Then these adults will be happy to help the children, and by fulfilling their desires, just like when they were children and someone else fulfilled their own desires, they gain a sense of spiritual satisfaction.

After all, adults are richer than children, and a little help from adults can bring children a lot of happiness.

"You're welcome. Seeing you all reminds me of my past self." Azera pushed the cake toward Rem.

Rem thanked them again and then enjoyed the cake that Azera had bought.

After finishing their meal, Vishi seemed to be fully recharged, displaying her energetic side and chattering incessantly. The three of them sat under the same parasol, talking a lot with Azera, adding a warm touch to the cold night.

As she left, Vichy picked up one of the umbrellas, a sky-blue printed umbrella. When opened, it looked like a blue sky was floating overhead; it was very beautiful.

Lena left the other umbrella behind, pointed at Vichy who was waving it around like a weapon, and said:
“We live very close to each other, so one umbrella is enough. You can keep this one for yourself.”

"Goodbye, sister. Life will get better." Vichy waved.

Then they left under the same umbrella, close together, jostling each other along the way, complaining that the other was taking up too much of the umbrella and that their shoulders were getting wet.

(End of this chapter)