Quadruple split.

Chapter 2852 The Unknown (XV)

That was just a small adventure experienced by two naive and, at most, precocious children.

That's just a story that children conjure up to scare themselves, based on vague and unfounded assumptions.

But even if it's just a story, it's a tender story nonetheless.

The stories children read must ultimately be suitable for children.

It was not a powerful and insane being, but one that, while following a certain logic of behavior and trying to confine itself within the realm of 'rationality' in order to protect itself, was still extremely dangerous and, at least in the eyes of a hundred or so ordinary people, was a hopeless anomaly.

It is destined to be harmless or weak, in short, the kind of mischievous little devil whose defenses can be easily broken by a hundred milliliters of dog blood.

It is destined to die a ridiculous death, whether it is defeated by so-called bonds or dies for some strange reason that defies common sense, like in a fairy tale.

The teachers at the sales home might get a little screen time, and Donald, who lives in the small hut next to the canteen, should also get a little more screen time, so they know that they won through love and warmth.

then……

They will forget all of this.

Even this false memory will be sealed away in the deepest recesses of their minds.

It might be a flu outbreak, a high fever that sweeps through the entire orphanage, and under this high fever, all the bizarre stories will become reasonable, and all the strange little loopholes will become self-consistent and smooth.

Long, long afterward, if they unfortunately recall that night, if they unfortunately remember the 'truth', then a somewhat bizarre fairy tale, but with a satisfying ending, will become their final solace.

As for the truth beneath the 'truth'—

They will still be useful; they will become countless fragments, carrying despair, madness, and chilling fear, constantly reminding that person that deep within their heart, at the edge of their consciousness, lurks a terrifying existence, an existence destined to bring misfortune to everything, which must be suppressed, is destined to be irreconcilable, and is unforgivable.

That's the whole truth.

This is the final answer.

Only fear and despair can generate the motivation to propel 'them' forward.

As for the burning firewood...

Turning to ashes is its best fate.

At least for the boy who last considered himself 'Mo Tan', this was the perfect ending.

So--

Now that the script has been written.

Since I have already decided to accept it.

……

A long, long time ago
Real time: 03:13 AM
City B, Sangshan Salesian Hospital

"I'm sorry, if 'I' had woken up sooner, you probably wouldn't be in this situation..."

Xiao Motan held the body, which had been drained of all its energy and vitality and was so withered that it resembled a dried-up corpse. She murmured softly, "Therefore, I will bear your death, and bear your curse and hatred for this strangeness and misfortune before you died, until the end of everything."

He gently laid down the now weightless body and said tenderly, "Thank you... for trying your best to make the fennel less unpalatable when 'I' was being picky about food."

Then, Xiao Motan stood up, walked slowly to another frail and short-statured mummified corpse next to her, knelt down, and took the other's hand.

"Thank you for giving me a strawberry candy."

He gazed tenderly into those empty eye sockets and whispered, "Therefore, I will bear your death, bear your despair and pain before your passing, until the very end."

After whispering, he put down the body, stood up, and walked toward the third mummified corpse.

Then--

'I want more... I... it's not enough... I want more...'

The piercing sound echoed in his mind, but unfortunately for the boy at this moment, this ghostly howl, which was enough to make an ordinary person bleed from all seven orifices and faint on the spot, was not even as annoying as the noise that had been echoing in his ears since he was old enough to understand.

The two are not related in nature.

So even though he was willing to coexist with the noise, he found the cries of the pathetic monster behind him somewhat jarring.

He didn't like it, so even though he didn't have time to look back at the deceased even once during the mourning, he still slightly raised his right hand, diverting a little attention to the deceased.

"Quiet."

Xiao Motan said this.

What followed was something intangible and formless, yet possessing a terrifying presence, that spread outwards.

[Sin] I sensed that hostility.

[Sin] Acknowledged that hostility.

"Ugh!! Ooh! Crack... Crack!!!"

In an instant, his body was pierced by thirteen 'stakes' that did not exist in the present world, and he was nailed to the ground in an extremely twisted posture.

The non-existent karmic fire melted it away again and again.

The non-existent distortion reshapes it again and again.

The pain that doesn't exist destroys it again and again.

The non-existent madness devoured it again and again.

"Ok?"

Xiao Motan paused slightly, her brows furrowing slightly.

He didn't remember having to do these things; in fact, at least for this moment, he just hoped that thing would remain quiet for a while, until he finished the most important thing.

As for what happens next, I clearly haven't done it yet—

[You are not good at inflicting pain, child. Although you are the most gifted person in the world, at least at this moment, you are not good at inflicting pain.]

A gentle voice suddenly rang in Xiao Motan's ear, soft, kind, and with an undisguised smile.

"who are you?"

Xiao Motan's gaze sharpened slightly, and she asked a question in a low voice.

I can explain later; after all, you have more important things to do right now than finding out my identity, don't you?

The voice in her mind spoke softly and then disappeared. What concerned Xiao Motan was that at that very moment, all the other noisy and chaotic noises that had haunted her for years, like maggots clinging to her bones, also vanished at the same time.

This gave him a feeling of unprecedented ease.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to savor this moment of ease now. "Thank you for inviting me to play hide-and-seek. So, I will bear your death, bear your resentment and confusion before your passing, until the very end."

Kneeling before the third corpse, Xiao Motan gently closed its eyes.

……

"Thank you for not listening to others and thinking that I broke your toy. So, I will bear the burden of your death, the burden of your confusion and fear before your death, until the very end."

……

"Thank you for coming to see me alone when I was sick. So, I will bear your death, bear your fear and anger before you die, until the very end."

……

"Thank you……"

……

"Thank you……"

……

"Thank you……"

……

Xiao Motan embraced each of the eight deceased in turn, and finally walked slowly to the steps of the dormitory building.

Many people collapsed there, and although they fell into a deep coma, they were still alive.

Yi Dong's feeble counterattack, Mo Tan's desperate delaying tactics, Mo Tan's meticulous strategic maneuvering, and their own strong will to survive have allowed these people to barely survive until now.

"I'm sorry, I woke up a little late."

Xiao Motan bowed slightly to these people and said softly, "If it weren't for the fact that I always force myself to be 'sleepy'... Anyway, I'm sorry, and... goodbye."

After saying this, he took a deep breath and turned to look at the person who was pinned to the ground by thirteen invisible entities, almost consumed by limitless pain...

[Ghosts, in the general sense, all such things are called ghosts. Besides that, there are several other kinds of strange creatures, but I don't think you have any interest in those.]

The voice rang out again at just the right moment, still gentle and kind, but it seemed a little weaker than before.

"who are you?"

Xiao Motan asked a question casually, and then he felt a strong dizziness. When he opened his eyes again, which he had just subconsciously closed, he found himself in complete darkness. In front of him was a very abrupt wooden door made entirely of sandalwood.

Come in, let's meet.

The voice echoed in his mind again.

Without any hesitation, Xiao Motan pushed open the door in front of her.

Behind the door is...

Boom!
A white plastic basin fell off the door frame and hit Xiao Motan squarely on the head.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, I couldn't help but play a prank."

In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, a blurry white figure laughed heartily. Behind him, outside the viewing window, was a dazzlingly bustling scene of cars and people.

Xiao Motan ignored the other party's clumsy prank and simply asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm a hopeless idiot, and as for my name, please allow me to keep it a secret, given that it might cause you trouble."

The person whose face was obscured gave an apologetic laugh, then continued in a light tone, "But you can think of me as your senior."

"senior……"

Xiao Motan repeated it softly, then looked up and asked, "So?"

"So I want to express my apologies to you."

The other person said this with a wry smile, then slowly walked back from the viewing window to the beautiful sofa in the center of the room and sat down. He said softly, "I... have been doing what I thought was something great. In fact, I have indeed accomplished some great things. In short, I changed some things. That shouldn't have been a problem. I mean, if I had succeeded, everything would have been fine. But obviously, child, I didn't succeed. I failed."

Xiao Motan looked at the other person expressionlessly: "So?"

"So some problems were solved, while others got out of control, and you... were the one chosen after the biggest problem got out of control."

The man seemed to be looking at Xiao Motan, and said in a complicated tone, "Many people have been chosen, but almost without exception, they collapsed and went crazy the moment they were chosen, and then completed their self-destruction in a short period of time. And the stupid things that happen in this world every moment don't even make the news... until it chose you."

Xiao Motan walked up to the man and sat down, calmly asking, "What made you choose me?"

"[Sin] chose you, child, but you are different from those people. You not only have enough qualities, but you also know how to protect yourself. The price is... you become no longer pure. You are no longer a 'pure' person, but a vessel that can bear [Sin] to the maximum extent without going out of control and collapsing."

The man twisted his fingers and said with his head down, "And when all that happened, you didn't even have any so-called 'self-awareness,' you just protected yourself by instinct. That's amazing... that's really amazing."

Xiao Motan shook her head and said calmly, "I don't understand what you're saying."

“You understand, you just think that what has happened is unimportant, but... it is not unimportant. I think you need this. I think you should understand 'yourself' better. Believe me, it will be very good for you.”

The man gave a bitter laugh, and then, under Xiao Motan's noncommittal gaze, continued, "Your existence was destroyed the moment you were chosen. But thankfully, because you had no self-awareness at the time, and no understanding of this world, you were able to survive after your existence was 'torn apart.' An existence that was never whole was split into three, and the largest 'fragment' actually locked itself to the culprit, ensuring its relative purity. And this relative purity, in turn, prevented its essence from being completely swallowed by [sin]."

Xiao Motan remained expressionless, and simply continued to ask, "So what?"

"That's amazing, really amazing."

The other person took a deep breath and said in a complicated tone, "[Sin] is not just a terrible burden, it is also a terrible power. What I admire most about you is that after being turned into a monster by this 'power' and having a mature and complete mind in a short period of time, you did not succumb or collapse... I know very well what kind of pain you endure every time you wake up. It has transcended the material or the spiritual, and is an absurd and pure concept."

"Oh."

Xiao Motan gave a brief reply, indicating that although she wasn't interested in answering, she was still listening.

"If the process of surviving after your essence was shattered before you could achieve self-awareness was merely instinct and a miracle, then the fact that you have achieved self-awareness at this moment, and even after being forcibly driven to this level of maturity by [sin], you still haven't chosen liberation... that's something I can't understand."

At this point, the man let out a long sigh and asked, "So, your view on all of this is still 'indifference'?"

"Ah."

Xiao Motan nodded and said expressionlessly, "Also, you've misunderstood something."

"what?"

"Before the birth of consciousness and self-awareness, 'Mo Tan' was not divided into three parts."

"...?"

"Instead, it was divided into four."

Chapter 2843: The End