On the Ark.

The atmosphere suddenly became oppressive.

In the empty cafeteria, Lin Ye and Shan Ling sat facing each other, and could hear the ticking of the clock's second hand.

After what seemed like an eternity, Shining finally spoke slowly: "Do you know about Liz's past?"

"I know some of it," Lin Ye nodded. "I also saw it with my own eyes."

“But what you’ve seen is just the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps just an ordinary day in Liz’s long and tumultuous childhood,” Shining said. “More than a decade ago, an internal war broke out in Sarkaz. Both factions wanted to completely destroy each other, so they used every power and means at their disposal. Liz, who had an innate affinity for Originium Arts, was also used as a power and a means, and that’s when her nightmare began.”

Lin Ye held his breath as he listened to Shining recount the past.

"Actually, it wasn't just Liz. In order to win this war, many, many Sarkaz children were drawn into the battlefield and then crushed by the meat grinder of war. Few people survived until the end of the war. Liz was one of them, but when I found her, it was hard to tell if she was still alive."

"What do you mean?"

How old was Liz in your dream?

“I’m not sure, she’s too thin,” Lin Ye said. “But she is indeed very young. I don’t know if you Sarkaz people are the same age as us, but to me she’s just a little girl in her early teens.”

“However, when I found Liz, she was already an adult,” Shining said. “She had spent her childhood in that hellish place until adulthood.”

Lin Ye fell silent.

“As I said before, in Sarkaz, there are many like Liz who were drawn into the war at a very young age,” Shining said slowly. “And very few of them survived until the end of the war. Liz did, but at that time, I could hardly tell if she was still alive. Her body and her spirit were like a candle that had burned out, and I didn’t know when it would be completely extinguished. I brought her to Rhodes Island and controlled her condition, thinking that would be enough. But I didn’t expect that the fire was still burning, still tearing at Liz’s last bit of life.”

Lin Ye's lips twitched slightly: "You mean, if left unchecked, Liz's condition will only get worse?"

Shining didn't answer Lin Ye directly, but said, "When I rescued Liz, I was filled with regret. If I had been more decisive, if I had brought Liz out of that hell a year earlier, or a month earlier, or even a week earlier, or a day earlier, would things have been much better? If I had ended it with my sword in the middle of the war, would Liz be just an ordinary child now?"

Lin Ye didn't speak; he didn't know how to start a conversation at a time like this.

“So, Dr. Lin Ye,” Shining said, looking at Lin Ye, “the reason I don’t want to drag this out is because I don’t want something like this to happen again that I’ll regret. If your abilities hadn’t found Liz in the dream, I would have been willing to wait and watch Liz slowly get better. But now, I really don’t want to see Liz suffer in reality and then have it all repeated in the dream. Although I believe she’s a strong person, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to survive an entire war, none of us can guarantee that she can survive a second time.”

Having said that, Lin Ye didn't know how to refute Shining.

Finally, he sighed: "Then what should I do?"

“Bring Liz out of the prison.”

"Just like you used to do?"

Shining nodded: "Just like I used to do."

"But you are the Sarkaz swordsman."

“And you are Liz’s doctor,” Shining said, “the doctor who shuts up all the irrelevant people.”

Lin Ye's mouth dropped open.

“I don’t mean to pressure you. After all, none of us can say for sure whether Liz is getting better or worse.” Shining stood up. “But I sincerely hope that you can save Liz one more time. This time, whether you succeed or fail, it will be the last time.”

After saying that, Shining left the cafeteria.

Lin Ye was left alone in the cafeteria until late-night snack time arrived. When the cafeteria staff laid out the snacks, he found he had almost no appetite. In the end, he didn't order anything and left the cafeteria.

He could actually understand Shining.

Because he himself harbored the same thought: to kill all the Sarkaz who humiliated and oppressed Nightingale in her nightmares, to take her away from that prison, to save Nightingale once again. But did he know if that would truly save Nightingale?

He still remembers the scene when Nightingale's mind was on the verge of collapse after he used his power on her.

If he continues to fail in his dreams, what impact will that have on the Nightingale as a person now?

So, is he saving the nightingale or destroying it?

Kal'tsit told him not to use his abilities on Nightingale for the time being, while Shining told him not to hesitate for too long.

What exactly is right?

Lin Ye was unaware; he felt his mind was in complete chaos.

He finally arrived at the training ground, where Yato was already waiting for him.

Lin Ye drew his sword and roared as he charged toward Night Blade.

Author's rant: I'm not satisfied with this chapter no matter how I write it. I've deleted and revised it so many times. It took me two hours to write two thousand words... I have a headache.

Chapter Ninety-Four Untitled

When Lin Ye woke up the next day and saw the bright sunlight streaming through the window, he knew he was late again.

"So what happened last night?" Ansel's voice rang out. "Why are you covered in injuries?"

Lin Ye sat up in bed, propping his head up with his hand: "Is it lunchtime again?"

“Otherwise,” Ansel said calmly, sitting to the side. “Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were working the night shift.”

Lin Ye picked up his phone and found that the alarm had already gone off.

"Looks like I'll have to turn the volume up a bit," Lin Ye sighed.

“I turned it up to the maximum when it rang the second time,” Ansel said irritably. “But you didn’t react at all. I was going to call you directly, but I found you were covered in injuries, so I applied some medicine and let you sleep again.”

"Uh, you applied the medicine for me?"

"...Well, there's some iodine and stuff in the room, so I'll use it on you."

Lin Ye felt a little embarrassed, but still scratched his head and said, "Thank you."

Ansel rolled his eyes: "Instead of talking about that, you should tell me what you did last night. Weren't you practicing swordsmanship? How did you end up like this?"

"They've gone a bit overboard with their training," Lin Ye said with a wry smile. "Or rather, they're courting death."

"seek death?"

"Yes, I told Yato that I hope she can fight me with her true skills and let me see the difference in skill."

"And then you were gone?"

"You can't say that, Yato said I'm pretty durable."

Ansel was somewhat speechless: "Is this something to be proud of?"

Lin Ye smiled and said, "I think it's alright."

"So you're planning to get beaten up every night?" Ansel said. "I don't think Melantha was behaving like this when she was training with Nightblade."

"Did Melantha also train with Yato?"

Ansel replied, "Yes, Melantha is currently studying under Franka, but she initially learned some things from Yato. Yato has taught many people; she's a veteran."

“Then I must be the worst of all her students,” Lin Ye said with a smile. “Because I’m so bad, I have to work harder.”

Ansel shook his head: "I really don't understand you. What's the point of practicing swordsmanship for you?"

"There is still some." Lin Ye got out of bed, put on his clothes, and put the black steel sword on his body. "Thank you for helping me apply the medicine. I'll treat you to a meal in a few days."

Ansel said expressionlessly, "There's no need to treat me to a meal. Since you've made up your mind, I won't help you apply the medicine next time. After all, medicine is quite expensive."

"Okay, okay, I won't do it again next time."

After washing up, Lin Ye left the dormitory to go to work.

Come to think of it, he seemed to have skipped Nightingale's breakfast again today. Was this the second or third time? He couldn't remember. Because he'd really gone too far last night, he felt a surge of anger inside and needed to vent, so he went to find Nightblade to get a beating. Nightblade didn't disappoint him, beating him half to death.

If it weren't for the fact that the medical technology in this world is so unscientific, he would probably be bedridden for ten days or half a month due to his injuries.

This was even with Yato clearly holding back.

This is really a headache.

Actually, Lin Ye didn't just want to get beaten up last night, because he remembered what Yato had said. With her strength, dealing with one Sarkaz samurai was already her limit; fighting two was simply impossible.

Therefore, Lin Ye roughly equated the combat strength of the Sarkaz warriors with that of Yato.

In other words, to defeat a Sarkaz samurai, one must have the strength to defeat Yato.

Therefore, Lin Ye wanted to test how big the gap was between his strength and that of Yato.

Now he knew it was impossible in the short term. Unless he was the protagonist of a fantasy novel, a chosen one who could meet the old man with the ring every time he went out, he could only dream about it.

Moreover, in Nightingale's dream, the enemies are far more than just one Sarkaz warrior. He has no way to bring the weapon into Nightingale's dream, so even if he agrees to Shining's request, there's no way to bring Nightingale out of that tunnel. The most likely outcome is that, like the first time, her head will be smashed by a Sarkaz warrior's hammer.

So what exactly should we do?

Lin Ye sighed, and then realized that he had unknowingly arrived in front of the sanatorium.

Actually, he didn't really want to go to Nightingale at this time, because he didn't know how to see her, but he felt that turning around and leaving would be too cowardly. So he gritted his teeth and knocked on the door of the sanatorium.

Hibiscus opened the door and told Lin Ye that Flash had just left this morning, and now only Nightingale was waiting for him.

Lin Ye went inside and saw Nightingale sitting by the window, looking up at the sky outside.

"Liz." Lin Ye walked over.

The nightingale glanced back at him and made a shushing gesture.

Lin Ye was about to apologize for standing someone up again when he saw the gesture, so he could only lower his voice and ask, "What's wrong?"

The nightingale pointed to the tree branches outside the window: "There."

Lin Ye looked up.

There was a bird on a branch of the tree. Lin Ye couldn't tell if it was a sparrow, a swallow, or a species unique to the world of Terra.

"It's sleeping," Nightingale whispered to Lin Ye.

"...We shouldn't scare it by talking."

"It'll scare you." Nightingale turned to look again.

"Alright," Lin Ye could only lower his voice to match Nightingale's, "How long did you watch it?"

The nightingale shook her head: "I don't know."

"Are you still coming to work with me today?"

“Go,” Nightingale said briefly, “but I also want to rest.”

"why?"

Nightingale rubbed her eyes: "I chatted with Sister Flash last night... and didn't sleep."

Lin Ye's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "What did Flash say to you?"

"I can't remember..." Nightingale did indeed seem a bit sleep-deprived and confused.