Chapter 66: Brother, I Found You! (4k)

Chase had long been accustomed to the tedious and futile examinations, used to the deteriorating health conditions listed on the checklists.

During his days on the Floating Island of Schicksal, he witnessed the additional wrinkles on his mother's face, the gradual fading of Kiana's smile, and the increasingly solemn expressions on Siegfried, Cecilia, and even the attending physician. The only constant seemed to be the attending physician.

The physician's face always carried an indifferent demeanor. No matter how Chase inquired about his own condition, there was never a trace of vulnerability. He responded like a meticulous scholar, slowly uttering two words, "It's fine."

Chase found it difficult to extract the information he wanted from the physician's expression. However, his family couldn't maintain the doctor's calm composure. The increasingly evident anxiety on their faces spoke volumes.

Of course, Chase himself understood that his body could not hold on for much longer. In recent days, he had grown weak, lethargic, and even developed some aversion to food.

Every day, he would wake up to the blank ceiling, engage in casual conversations with visiting family members, force himself to eat the food they brought, and then sink into deep sleep until the next day, repeating the cycle.

Occasionally, when he was awake, he would take the opportunity to contact Welt to inquire about Sirin's well-being. However, the frequency of their communication had been decreasing.

He slept longer, and family visits grew longer. It became increasingly challenging to find a quiet and wakeful moment to contact Entropy.

However, what comforted him was that Sirin's situation was still good. She had started middle school in North America, made new friends, and, aside from enjoying her time alone in her room with a book after returning home, everything seemed fine.

Chase was relieved. After all, he wouldn't live much longer.

Life and death were often questions pondered by philosophers throughout the ages. To live like a brilliant summer flower, to die like a tranquil autumn leaf – or perhaps, to be heavier than Mount Tai and lighter than a feather. Chase only wished for the latter.

Heaven and earth are the reverse journey of all things, and time is the passing guest of a hundred generations.

Chase sat up from his sickbed, lowered his head, and lifted the blue-and-white striped hospital gown. As expected, the lavender patterns had spread to his chest, gradually approaching his heart. He fell into silence for a moment.

In the depths of his consciousness, he had a premonition that the day when Honkai completely invaded his heart might be his end.

His simulation goal this time was always to change Sirin's life trajectory, keeping her away from the fate of her mother's death due to Honkai, away from Babylon Tower, away from Honkai... Chase thought he might have succeeded.

He never intended to be Sirin's White Moonlight; he wanted to be a comet, streaking across the sky for a moment and quietly leaving. That would be enough.

That would be enough. Sirin now had a new life, and logically, his mission was complete. He just needed to wait silently for death and then leave, and that would be fine.

He had no reason to disturb Sirin's life again. Let the remnants of the old era stay in the past. Besides, his family wouldn't allow him to leave Floating Island in his current condition.

But...

Doesn't Halley's Comet return every 72 years?

So, one day, after careful planning, Chase escaped from the Floating Island of Schicksal. Sitting in his unconventional wheelchair, he returned to his Berlin cabin.

The place looked desolate. The lawn was overgrown due to neglect, flowers had withered, and fallen leaves covered the ground and roof. Perhaps because of the lack of rain recently, the wheelchair made a crisp "crunch" sound as it passed over the leaves.

Chase's expression was somewhat lonely. He took a few letters from the rusted mailbox at the gate, then drove the wheelchair into the yard, found the key he had hidden under a flowerpot, opened the gate, and entered his cabin, which he had left for a long time.

Recently, he heard from Welt that Sirin had been writing letters to him. He had wanted to come back and get them, but there was never an opportunity until now.

Opportunities are indeed created.

Of course, as for the family's reaction to his departure, it might be panic, disappointment, but Chase had no intention of delving too deep into these questions.

Since he made his choice, he would steadfastly execute it.

While pondering this, Chase picked up the letters and began to read them.

"Dear brother, Chase! This is Sirin, your lovely sister! I'm writing to you here! Wishing my brother a happy New Year, hoping that God will bless you."

...

"Dear brother, Chase! Sirin is writing to you here! Today is not a special day, but Sirin still wants to write to you!"

...

"Dear brother, Chase! I'm your lovely sister Sirin! Did the visit end? Did you see Sirin's letter? If you did, be sure to reply to Sirin!"

...

"Dear brother, Chase! I'm Sirin! Today, I still didn't receive a reply from my brother, so Sirin decided to write another letter! Today, Sirin went to school, met..."

...

"Dear brother, Chase! I'm Sirin!"

"Sirin is not happy today because my brother still hasn't replied to me."

"So, Sirin decided not to write letters anymore! This is the sixth letter Sirin wrote, and also the last one!"

"Sirin wants to find her brother! Although Mom said that Sirin is still too young to go out alone, Sirin really wants to find her brother..."

"Sirin misses her brother."

"Your cutest sister, Sirin."

"Hehehe." Having read all the letters from Sirin, Chase couldn't help but laugh.

This laughter, clear and almost melancholic, seemed like it could echo any moment.

This girl...

A surge of emotions welled up from the depths of his heart. Chase's eyes couldn't help but moisten. Involuntarily, he reached out to wipe the corners of his eyes, clearing away the tears that had already spilled, and raised his head slightly to look out the window.

When prosperity falls, a thousand sails go far away. The autumn wind stirs the reeds, and the setting sun dyes the nearby birds with a red hue, awakening the softness in the depths of the heart.

After sorting out his emotions, Chase picked up the letters and read them again.

"This is the sixth letter Sirin wrote."

"I wonder if my brother saw the farewell letter I tucked into the door crack."

???

Chase paused as he read this, feeling puzzled. With a hint of doubt, he recounted the number of letters and realized there were only five. Turning back to look at the door, he found a letter lying quietly on the dusty floor, bearing the imprint of a wheelchair tire.

It seemed that he had overlooked this when entering. Well, it was understandable; it was a bit inconvenient sitting in a wheelchair. If he could, he would prefer to use a cane, but his current physical condition seemed incapable of supporting that.

The term "deteriorating" could not better describe his deteriorating condition.

The meeting with Welt seemed like the fuse of an event, something uncontrollable. It was like a burst dam, and the gap would only grow larger under the erosion of the water, eventually reaching a point where there was no remedy. All he could do was watch as things got worse, helpless to sigh.

Chase shook his head, dismissing the chaotic thoughts. He rolled the wheelchair over, ready to reach down and pick up the fallen letter. However, he couldn't quite reach it. One hand gripped the wheelchair handle, his body leaning down, and the other hand reached for the letter...

Chase failed. He fell to the ground, the wheelchair overturned, and one wheel spun empty on the ground. The sudden pain silenced Chase momentarily. He tried to get up, but his vision began to blur, then gradually turned dark...

A chill ran down his spine. The darkness was eerie, filled with a ghostly aura. It grinned, emitting a burnt smell. The darkness pressed down on him, as if it intended to devour him.

Chase felt like he was sitting on something unreal, losing the concepts of time and distance, sinking into a bewildering daze, letting it carry his body aimlessly.

He was caught in the midst of nothingness when a streak of purple suddenly entered his field of vision, as if bringing warmth and light.

"Brother!"

In the midst of confused consciousness, Chase had no further thoughts. He didn't question why Sirin appeared here, nor did he doubt the coincidence of fate.

He had only one thought:

I should have died; why did I sneak out?

Or is this an illusion before death?

.................

Sirin finally became a magical girl, but she didn't feel happy. She looked at the book on the table, feeling a mix of emotions.

"Sirin's Happy Magic," the birthday gift her brother gave her on her 14th birthday.

Sirin remembered her past self, proudly standing with hands on hips in front of the white-haired youth, saying, "I am the magical girl Sirin!" She couldn't help but slightly curl her lips, recalling a phrase she heard from Uncle Welt before—

Memories are strange things. When experiencing them firsthand, one seldom realizes the beauty of the scenery, doesn't feel any alluring emotions, and never imagines that these moments will remain vivid in the mind after so many years.

Because of her brother, she was born with an unrealistic dream; and because of her brother, she realized that unrealistic dream. Thinking like this, Sirin slid her fingers in the air, and the book, as if attracted by something, closed and flew back to the shelf, silent once more.

But where was her brother? The guide and witness to her dreams?

Sirin tried writing letters to Chase, waiting for a long time without receiving a reply. So she gave up writing letters, wanting to go back to find her brother, but was refused by her mother.

"I've asked, and they said your brother's house has been empty for a long time."

Her mother said so, thinking that Sirin was doing something useless. She told her the facts she had inquired about, thinking that it would extinguish Sirin's enthusiasm, and then waited for time to weather it away, so everything would pass.

But Sirin didn't believe it because her brother said he would come find her for sure. Ignoring the prefix "might" before "will" in Chase's words, Sirin believed deeply in what her brother said.

Since her brother hadn't received her messages for so long, Sirin decided to find him herself! This thought sprouted in Sirin's heart, absorbing nutrients from her surroundings, slowly growing...

And now, it seemed that the time had finally come.

Sirin was no longer the little girl who relied on her parents for everything; she had mastered magic and could rely on herself.

This was the complete Sirin, Magical Girl Sirin!

So, while her mother was away on a business trip, Sirin used long-distance teleportation magic for the first time. The result was excellent; she really returned to Berlin.

She excitedly ran to Chase's front door, but was shocked by the desolation in front of her: the messy lawn, dead flowers, and leaves that hadn't been cleared from the courtyard. The scenes weighed on Sirin's heart, and the breeze lightly brushed her face. Her purple hair fluttered in the air, unable to blow away the sadness on Sirin's face, only the leaves on the street trees emitted a muted sound.

The sound of the leaves was beautiful but overwhelmingly sad, beautiful to the point of dissolving warmth. Pure sounds came through the chaotic and fragmented time, from life to death, from the proud to the decaying, the dilapidated courtyard, and a person no longer present.

Sirin's mouth opened, lips trembling slightly. She wanted to say something, but everything at her lips turned into silent silence.

She hesitated in the yard, suddenly hearing movement inside the house. She was startled at first, then mixed with both joy and worry.

Was it a thief? Or... was it her brother?

With a complex mindset, Sirin quickly ran to the familiar flowerpot, intending to find the key inside, but couldn't find it. In desperation, Sirin had to use magic again.

As a mature magical girl, she didn't have to worry about weird issues like teleportation getting stuck in modeling, and besides, she was already very familiar with the structure of this house.

It was not difficult at all. Sirin's figure teleported to the living room, where she often sat and ate, and then looked around. Soon, she discovered the white-haired figure lying on the ground.

Seeing the figure she had longed for, her time seemed to pause for an instant. The surrounding light seemed to dim, and only where her gaze focused, it sparkled like a bright lamp.

But her brother, in his current condition, didn't seem to be doing well... Aside from the overturned wheelchair, just the sight of Chase lying on the ground with dilated pupils made Sirin start to panic.

"Brother!" Sirin hurriedly ran to Chase's side, calling out.