reincarnation npc, but tomorrow's ark

Skadi and Gretina were alright, but unfortunately Laurentina was deeply tormented by the Deep Sea Church afterward, which caused her mental state to deteriorate further.

"Don't worry, I promise, what happened in the dream will absolutely not happen," Bai Ye comforted Laurentina, holding her hand.

The girl nodded obediently.

……

"It's so good that you're alright." Nian, who was standing to the side, also breathed a sigh of relief.

She hadn't expected that Xi's fleeting dream would have such a profound impact on Laurentina.

"It was indeed a very strange ability." Laurentina herself still felt lingering fear when she recalled it now. The sense of realism was something that a simple dream could not achieve.

"The more you believe, the deeper you fall into it..." Bai Ye concluded.

“Actually, I’m more curious about what kind of dream you had. Neither of us could see it clearly.” Nian turned to look at Bai Ye.

It would be a miracle if those two could even be seen.

After all, Luna directly took over Baiye's dream.

Bai Ye didn't say it explicitly, but simply smiled slightly:

"It was indeed a long-awaited experience to do some things I really missed."

Although he learned the somewhat absurd news that he had actually been on Luna's pirate ship for a very long time, Bai Ye didn't mind.

For Bai Ye, being able to return to his room again, even if it was just a dream, was enough to make him very content.

Even though he had almost completely integrated into Terra, to be honest, this was never Bai Ye's true home. The barrier always existed; Bai Ye just deliberately ignored it.

"Judging from your appearance, it seems like you had a good dream?" Nian blinked.

"Actually, most of them are probably good dreams. Those who enter my paintings are either completely fooled by my world or trapped in some ridiculously wonderful dream, and the vast majority of them are so addicted that they can't extricate themselves. But you, on the other hand, were able to get out of it on your own... Putting aside your powerful abilities, you are also an extremely formidable person in terms of willpower." Xi couldn't help but sigh.

Both Bai Ye and Laurentina are quite outrageous; one is constantly plagued by nightmares, while the other has a will as strong as steel.

The latter is even rarer, because Bai Ye is not an enlightened person who has seen through the illusions of the world, nor is she a martial arts grandmaster who has thoroughly understood the ultimate martial arts, can see the big picture from small details, calm the waves and touch the finest hairs, and has entered the "realm of perfection" like her elder brother.

He simply understood, through sheer willpower, that what he was seeing was not real, and then this false dream collapsed before his very eyes.

"Moreover... knowing whether it's true or false is one thing, but being willing to come out of it is another." Xi didn't hold back her praise for Bai Ye.

Well, Xi also has her own little thoughts.

After all, Bai Ye was the one who embarrassed Xi. If Bai Ye was praised a little more, then Xi's own prestige and status wouldn't be diminished. What Xi wanted to express was—"Not just anyone can walk out of my paintings." "It's just because you're so amazing, not because I'm bad."

"It almost got me hooked..." Bai Ye understood Xi's subtext and started a mutual compliment session.

He realized that although the two beast-incarnations in front of him were born from the same source, their personalities were completely opposite.

One has a face thicker than the walls of Rhodes Island, while the other has a face thinner than paper.

One was very outgoing, while the other seemed a bit timid.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Ye slowly spoke:

“I once saw a Colombian movie where someone tells you that the world you live in is fake, and then gives you two capsules. If you choose to take the red one, you will enter the real world, while if you take the blue one, you will continue to live a life of debauchery in the false peace until the end of the world.”

"Ah, I've seen that too!" This was the first time she had heard Bai Ye mention a movie. She had originally thought that he wasn't interested in movies at all.

She then added:

"Most people chose the latter—which is similar to Xi's painting."

"After all, it takes courage to break through the illusion of happiness. Because humans are greedy, too much happiness will only make people nauseous, but even so, people will swallow happiness—even if they know it is fake."

"And what about you?" Xi turned to look at Bai Ye.

"Because I simply have more faith in myself. No matter how perfect the dream before me is, it is a gift from someone else. For humans to rely on non-human things is tantamount to handing over their own destiny to them."

So Baiye said.

Chapter Six: Miss Xi, you didn't want this either...

"You've really found some amazing friends," Xi remarked.

“After all, I’ve said it before, I’m not like you, I’m not a shut-in…” Nian sighed, then stood up and looked at Xi, “I think it’s about time, isn’t it?”

"You know that so many people are hopelessly addicted to your dreams... So what about you? How long are you going to keep this self-imposed prison, and how long are you going to keep running away from it?"

"Isn't it about time to stop?" Nian said, pointing at Bai Ye. "Are you saying you don't even have the courage of an ordinary person?"

"..."

Being categorized as an ordinary person left Bai Ye speechless, but he didn't refute it at the moment.

Upon hearing this, Xi's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

She found it difficult to refute these words.

After a moment, she shook her head:

"Different."

Nian chuckled, then said seriously:

"What's different... I know you're scared."

"You know yourself better than anyone else. You know you're just a figure in a painting, and you're afraid that if you wake up from this dream, you'll cease to exist—"

Xi's breathing suddenly became rapid, and she stood up abruptly.

Nian reached out his hand and said:

"Don't rush, I know you're anxious, but don't rush. My dear sister, I'm not laughing at you. We all have to face it. None of us can escape the truth about ourselves."

“Speaking of fear, I’m actually very afraid too… We are just incarnations of fragments of the Year Beast. When it awakens, you and I will both disappear. Moreover, we will unleash a raging inferno—after all, I can still feel humiliation and resentment until I sever ties with those mad creatures who have lost themselves and are completely influenced by the Year Beast’s consciousness.”

"This emotion does not come from ourselves, but from the consciousness of that Year Beast."

Nian paused for a moment, then continued:

"But... more than fear, I can feel a deep sense of resentment within me."

"Kuyasi—I'm so unwilling. Why do I have to disappear? Why do I have to be controlled by emotions that aren't my own? I won't give up like this."

Xi was somewhat moved, but she remained stubborn in her words:

"Some things cannot be changed... What can you use to resist? How can a part of the body resist the whole body? You are just a shadow, without a true form, so where does your incarnation come from?"

"So you're just giving up? You're just going to lie in your own world and wait for the final moment to come?" Nian shook his head and grabbed Xi's hand. "At least give it a shot. Even if we can't change the final outcome, it doesn't matter. At least we tried our best, and at least we won't have any regrets."

“We must be fully prepared before ‘it’ awakens, and we must do so by whatever means necessary. Not for anything else, but for ourselves and for what we love.”

Xi's defenses gradually crumbled under Nian's offensive.

At that moment, Bai Ye suddenly spoke softly from the side:

“Miss Xi, I sense that you quite like your paintings… Theoretically, if you disappeared, these derivative works created by you, belonging to you, would probably also disappear, right?”

"Among these, there must be some creations you fancy, right? Do you want to see them perish with you?"

You don't want to see those things disappear along with you, do you?

These words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back; the girl shut herself off, and the psychological defenses she had painstakingly built collapsed.

She pursed her lips, opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't find a single reason to refute it.

Deep down, she had already been convinced by the two unreasonable guys.

Or perhaps, she had long been tired of this kind of life, but simply hadn't made any changes. She lacked a catalyst, lacked someone to give her a helping hand.

Yes, she understood the道理 (principles/reasoning), but she chose to run away. Nian, on the other hand, chose to take the initiative to face it, which is a result of different personalities.

……

Nian quietly gave Bai Ye a thumbs up.

What an assist!

This guy always finds a way around things. Back when he was launching a fierce frontal attack, Bai Ye bypassed Xi's defenses and completely defeated her from behind.

No wonder she chose him as her teammate.

Bai Ye gave an OK sign. He wasn't stupid; although he didn't know why Nian wanted to find his sister at first, after listening in for a while, he immediately understood Nian's intentions.

At this point, all that's needed is to find a way to persuade Xi, and everything will be fine.

Although Bai Ye, like Luo Tianyi who was catching ghosts, was not good with words, he was still trained and naturally knew how to persuade the stubborn guy in front of him.

……

Xi slowly began to speak:

"...Many people have silently accepted this predetermined fate. We will disappear, it will awaken, we will become me again, and then die amidst the collapse of the Great Yan capital, a fight to the death."

“However, what you said is indeed true... and according to the bet, I lost. Although I still feel it's meaningless, it doesn't matter. Let me see how far you can go from here.”

Nian couldn't help but laugh as she listened:

"Hey, Bai Ye, I've finally found someone who's even tougher on the tongue than you!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Laurentina laughed as well.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?!"*2

Bai Ye and Xi said in unison.

After they finished speaking, the two turned their heads and looked at each other at the same time.

In this respect, the two seem to be quite in sync.

"...So, now that we're on your pirate ship, what's next? You found me first, and then who else are you looking for?!" Xi sighed, seemingly resigned to her fate. "Wait, you're not thinking of gathering everyone together? Ha, that's even more absurd than starting a war with Great Yan right now. You should know what happens when we all get together, right?!"

Xi seemed to have thought of something and suddenly let out a strange cry.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of ways." Nian remained calm and composed, displaying the demeanor of an older sister.

Then she looked at Xi and said earnestly:

"But before that, it's best to find a good place and get a good night's sleep."

“Uh—” Xi suddenly stopped talking.

But Nian had no intention of letting her off the hook:

"You haven't closed your eyes once in all these years, have you? Are you really afraid that you'll disappear if you fall asleep?"

"Don't say anymore..." Xi lowered her head.

"Pfft, my silly little sister..." Nian sighed helplessly.

Chapter Seven: Secret Talk Between Sisters

"So, the matter is resolved?" Bai Ye stood up and stretched.

It seems the two sisters have reached an agreement.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not difficult to persuade someone using "physics"; he's very good at it.

However, simply relying on "reason" is not his area of ​​expertise. After all, he firmly believes that "power is the only reason to become king."

If it were him, he probably wouldn't bother saying so much; he'd just knock him out and take him back...

"Well, it's basically solved." Nian nodded, then looked a little troubled. "You're really efficient. I was thinking it would take a lot of effort to find this reclusive guy, but it didn't take much effort at all."

"If you keep saying that, I'm going to beat you back to your tomb, 'sister'!" Xi said, displeased.

"Alright, alright, I misspoke." Nian raised the Gallic salute in surrender.

"What happened to your authority as the older sister that you mentioned before?" Bai Ye couldn't help but complain.

Nian, however, spoke with a smug look on his face:

"You don't know this, do you? The so-called elder sister's authority is the composure with which an elder can bow to their younger sister..."

"Smooth talker." Xi rolled her eyes.

Although she was sharp-tongued, the girl was actually quite happy deep down.

At least, she said more in one day than in all her previous days combined.