I am the savior, but I am being asked by Alicia and the others to pay me back.

"In other words, without Ye Ming's advance deployment and his activeness in the battle, the final result would be much more tragic than it is now."

As she spoke, Alicia walked up to Eden and gently opened her lips with her fingers, making Eden smile slightly.

"This time, we won beautifully. Instead of one-fifth of the continent being destroyed, four-fifths of our homeland survived."

"Tens of millions... no... hundreds of millions of lives have been saved as a result."

"Although the ruins in front of us are so quiet, a little further away, countless people are cheering and rejoicing for having survived the disaster."

“That’s what we’re working towards.”

Alicia's voice was like the ringing of bells in heaven, making Eden realize that he was not really in hell.

Of course, more important than Alicia's comfort, what's more important is...what she said is true.

That was the reassuring fact brought by Ye Ming.

"Really……"

The corners of Eden's mouth, which were stretched open by Alicia, finally turned into a natural smile.

"So... Ellie, where is our hero?"

"Don't worry~~ Ye Ming's injuries are not serious. We should be discussing the aftermath now."

Talking about Ye Ming, Alicia also seemed very happy.

"How about we quietly prepare a celebration for Ye Ming? Give him a surprise when he comes back~!"

"Haha~~ What a good idea. Then let's..."

Before Eden finished her words, a dim sphere rapidly expanded in the ruins beneath her feet.

"That is?"

In the first second, violent gusts of wind began to surge around the expanding sphere.

In the second, soil and gravel were also drawn into the storm centered on the sphere.

In the third second, realizing that something was wrong, Alicia immediately shouted to Eden, but she could only see her mouth moving but no sound could be heard.

It was at this time that Eden finally realized that the expanding sphere was the "pseudo-black hole" of the Ninth Herrscher.

However, its size and power are still in the initial stage.

Eden immediately wanted to escape from the black hole, but before she took two steps, her body was sucked into the vortex like a fallen leaf in the wind.

“Eden!!”

In the fourth second, Alicia rushed forward with a scream and grabbed Eden's hand tightly.

"No! Ellie! Let go! Otherwise, we will both be sucked in!"

Unfortunately, no matter how Eden shouted, her voice could not escape from the pull of the black hole.

815. But there is only darkness before my eyes

"Ooooooo…Eden!"

The crying Alicia had never felt so powerless. She couldn't make a sound, and even her tears were sucked into the center of the simulated black hole.

Even if they wanted to call for help, the outside world's view had been obscured by the storm and the swept-up soil and rubble, and sound was of no use.

What's more, when other people see this last pseudo-black hole, their first reaction will definitely be to seek refuge and escape.

"If I release all my power here, Eden will also be affected. But if I let her go, I won't be able to take her out."

——Eden must die.

——Eden will most likely die, and die at his own hands.

These two choices are really too cruel for Alicia.

"..."

At the same time, Eden's consciousness had become blurred.

The continuous shaking and imbalance caused her brain to bump back and forth in her skull.

Gradually, she saw many hallucinations, the stage, the audience, and herself singing.

Because it was an illusion, even the music became visible to the naked eye. Each note shone with golden light, making every gorgeous piece of music sparkle.

And the center of that brilliant light is the self that praises this era.

But in a flash, all of this disappeared, the audience was buried in the sea of ​​fire, and the stage was torn to pieces by the black hole.

I was the only one kneeling in the ruins.

"There's nothing left..."

"Glory, pride, and even... this era that I sing about."

Eden has always believed that... himself and the art he pursues will become the gold that the world desires.

But she forgot that gold is so soft that it can be easily torn and ravaged by disaster.

Thus, everything that one symbolizes, everything that one obtains, and everything that one pursues, all turns into dust called "the past".

"But if everything is in the past, where is the future?"

Eden opened her eyes in the hallucination. She wanted to look for the future, but there was only darkness in front of her, as if the road ahead was blocked.

That vast, lightless place was just like her life; all the light had been burned out in the first half, leaving only pitch-black silence in the future.

“Maybe this is my grave.”

Eden was not afraid of death because Alicia once told her that the end of tragedy was not the end, but the beginning of hope.

She was just sad that at the end of her life, she was unable to bloom hope for the future, nor was she able to... see the future that Ye Ming had changed.

"I really can't accept this."

When Eden lost the motivation to live, it was Alicia who told her that there would always be hope in the future.

And now, that hope is so close, but there is no chance to touch it.

"..."

"!!!"

But just as Eden was heading towards the end with full of regrets, a beam of light suddenly flashed across and pierced through the barrier of darkness.

She didn't even have time to react to what the light was before her body began to shake violently and the illusion became shaky.

"Woo!"

When Eden came to her senses again, she suddenly had a feeling of... "being half asleep in the back seat of a car and being suddenly woken up and called home."

"Ye Ming?"

When she calmed down, she realized that she had escaped from the simulated black hole and was now held in Ye Ming's arms.

His other hand was holding Alicia, and there was a pair of translucent wings behind him.

"My heart is beating... so fast..."

Eden could feel Ye Ming's heartbeat was racing, which was actually a very normal thing, after all, he had just gone through such a dangerous situation.

But the heavy and rapid beating made Eden resonate uncontrollably.

Such a strong agitation, like the reality of being alive at this moment, is fascinating.

"It's safe here."

After finding an open space to land, Ye Ming also breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Herrscher's Deathrattle should not be underestimated."

"Deathrattle?" Eden asked.

"Well, some Houkai powers can be activated after the Herrscher dies, but this is the first time I've seen it."

There was a hint of relief in Ye Ming's tone.

"But it seems that the Ninth Herrscher's deathrattle is not as terrible as when she was alive. The simulation of the black hole is not enough, otherwise the three of us would not be able to escape unscathed."

"I hope that in the future there won't be a Herrscher whose Deathrattle is more terrifying than his true form."

Alicia, who was rescued by Ye Ming, was surprised and happy, especially after seeing that Eden was safe and sound, all her previous fear turned into joy of recovering what she had lost.

She asked Ye Ming excitedly:

"How do you know that we are involved in the Herrscher's Deathrattle?"

"Oh, this... I have a friend who discovered that there is life reaction in the black hole vortex."

"Is it a girl?"

"Eh? Uh... sort of."

"Can you introduce that friend to me?"

"Not really. She's very introverted and doesn't like meeting people."

"Alas...what a pity..."

At that moment, Alicia seemed to have noticed something. She came close to Ye Ming and said happily:

"It would be nice if we could be friends in the future."

——…

"Ye Ming..."

"Hmm? What's wrong? Eden?"

"I……"

Eden held her chest, she didn't know how to describe her feelings at the moment.

Instead, it was Alicia who helped Eden explain:

"You saved my good Eden, and you saved Eden's good Ellie. I really don't know how to thank you enough."

As she spoke, Alicia leaned on Ye Ming's shoulder. She looked so happy, as if her lover had given her her favorite gift while they were on a date.

"Don't come to me wearing women's clothes anymore. That will be the best thank you gift."

"Oh, that's troublesome. I guess I have to reconsider the gift I'll give you at the celebration party."

"Are you really planning to give this to me? Fortunately, I told you in advance."

"Aili...I still have something to say to Ye Ming."

Seeing that Alicia and Ye Ming were talking happily, Eden could only interrupt them shyly.

"Hmm? Anything else you want to say?"

Alicia smiled meaningfully and said:

"It seems... In addition to gratitude, my good Eden has other thoughts about Ye Ming."

Of course, Eden knew what Alicia was grinning about, so he gently pulled up her cheeks...

While asking Alicia to remain silent, he pulled her aside.

"Hehe~~"

But even as a spectator, Alicia was still full of interest, as if she was watching a good show.

"Ye Ming... don't listen to Ai Li's nonsense. I just... want to ask you something."

"Well, you said."

"Do you think... we still have a future?"

When Eden saw darkness and could not see the future, Ye Ming appeared and changed everything.

So she thought, if the person in front of her could see farther than she could, and could see beyond the darkness, to the place illuminated by light...

For Eden, he is his future.

"Will do."