Chapter 129: Gold Fades

"Tada~ how it feels being resurrected?"

" I'm not dead yet. Anyway, I'm healed. I feel so good~."

Nozomi's cheerful voice echoed in the room.

"It's really great that the operation is successfully completed..."

"Hehe~ Hope isn't so easy to extinguish, is it?"

"Yes, yes, Nozomi is the best, but you've made us so worried these days. Eden and Sakura are both very nervous. You have to make it up to us, okay? Of course, you have to too~"

"Okay, then... I'll sing a song for you then!"

"Yeah!"

Thanks to Nozomi's full recovery, everyone's anxious hearts were able to relax and they could play with Nozomi as usual. Even Mobius rarely expressed any complaints.

"But Nozomi has become so beautiful. His hair looks great~?"

Elysia moved closer to Nozomi, reached out her hand, and gently touched Nozomi's long hair. The slender hair passed through her fingers, as smooth as water. She moved her palm slightly, and the hair passed through her fingertips like a breeze. She watched the hair in the palm of her hand gradually transition from dark like the night to white like waves, and finally flowed away from her fingertips and slowly fell in the air... Elysia quite liked this feeling.

"Hehe~ If you dress up Nozomi now, I'm afraid others won't recognize him, right? Or... think of you as your sister or something? Hehe~ It's quite interesting to think about it~?"

"For example... like this? Hi~ Did you miss me, Elysia~?"

"Hmm? Hmmmm???"

Elysia first looked at Nozomi with some confusion, showing the same surprised expression as everyone else, and then she approached Nozomi with great surprise.

"That's amazing! Just now I thought I was speaking again subconsciously... even the tone of voice is the same! Ah... I have an idea!"

"You'd better put away your weird ideas, Elysia."

Mobius' voice came faintly.

"Also, my lab is not for you to use for celebrations... If you want to have a celebration, get out. I need some quiet time here."

"Don't be such a downer, Mobius~ You're obviously happy too~"

"I don't."

Mobius said expressionlessly.

"Also, I told you to get out now. I need a quiet environment... Don't make me repeat myself. Or are you all free? I have to talk to those guys and assign you some more tasks."

"Alright, alright~ Dr. Mobius, don't be such a downer..."

"And you too, little white mouse."

Mobius turned his attention to Nozomi who tried to smooth things over.

"Congratulations on your survival... but I must remind you to cherish your own [uniqueness]. There is something about you that I haven't studied thoroughly... I don't want such a unique little white mouse to suddenly disappear for some inexplicable reason. That would make me very annoyed."

"...Finally, don't talk like Elysia, it annoys me."

"Okay~"

"Come on, Nozomi, let's talk together next to Mobius~ Use my voice~ Her expression will definitely be very cute then, don't you want to see it?"

"E! LY! SI! A!"

"Ah~ What a pity~ You almost caught me~ Dr. Mobius~?"

Skillfully dodging Mobius's attack, Elysia revealed a cute, somewhat cunning expression, and then slipped away before Mobius got angry again, leaving behind only a silver bell-like laughter and a relaxing joy.

"…You'd better not learn from her."

Mobius narrowed her pupils, which were no different from a snake's, and looked at Nozomi with a rather dangerous look, issuing a warning.

"Okay~"

Nozomi nodded obediently, bowed to her politely, and said goodbye to her with a smile.

"Then I won't bother you, Dr. Mobius, for now... Ah, I might hold a celebration party with you all tonight. Although it sounds a bit strange to hold a celebration party for my own recovery... But just think of it as me wanting to thank you all~ If possible, I wonder if Dr. Mobius would be able to honor me with a visit?"

"…If you don't get out now, I'm afraid it will be too late for me."

"Okay~ Thank you very much~"

Nozomi was very happy to get the response. Amidst the laughter of the crowd, he slowly left side by side with Eden.

"…So, how is he doing?"

After everyone else left, Mei, who had been silent and hiding in the corner, pushed her glasses and asked.

"It went much better than expected. Even the whole operation went smoothly... But the only problem is that I don't know why he fell asleep for so long after the operation."

Mobius said as she lowered her head to check the data in her hand.

"Seven days... How interesting. Another seven days. If I hadn't confirmed that he was still alive and his vital signs were stable after the operation, I would have suspected that the operation had failed... And, Mei, you know, I found something very interesting."

"This is…"

"I helped him choose the Honkai beast."

"[Raphael]?"

"Yes, it was the special Honkai beast that discovered his [Specialty]."

Mobius narrowed her eyes, revealing a meaningful look.

"When I was testing him, I found that his compatibility with Raphael was ridiculously high, but Raphael's compatibility with others was ridiculously low. They were two extremes. The same was true during the surgery. His genes merged smoothly with Raphael's, and there was almost no rejection reaction... It was as if they were destined to be together."

"And in the subsequent tests, he didn't seem to show any special abilities that belonged to a fusion warrior... Apart from his [characteristics] being slightly strengthened, there was nothing special about it, and the same was true for his external manifestations."

Mobius gently stroked her face with her hand, her fingertips gently brushing the corners of her eyes.

"After becoming fusion warriors, whether it's Kevin, Elysia, me, or... Sakura, we all have obvious changes in appearance, such as Kevin's low body temperature, Elysia's ears, my eyes, Sakura's ears... But he just has a piece of white hair. Don't you think it's a bit strange?"

"…What do you want to say?"

"Mei, when did you become so stupid? Or... do you want me to say it out loud?"

"There is no solid evidence yet, so don't make unnecessary speculations. This will only disturb everyone."

Mei shook her head and didn't respond to Mobius' words.

"Ha... Mei, you're becoming more and more boring."

"You are too aggressive sometimes, Mobius."

"These are just some necessary measures... and I think I just slightly used some more efficient means~"

"Not now, Mobius, especially not against him."

Mei's tone was unusually serious.

"Don't worry~ It won't happen during this period~ After all, I still want to see what more bizarre effects will be caused after he combines with [Raphael]..."

Mobius spread her hands and said with a smile.

"I believe that there are definitely areas of his abilities that have yet to be developed. I can sense that it will definitely be an ability that will amaze us all... Hmm... Maybe it's just that the way we use it is wrong?"

"Before I figure this out, I won't do anything to him, don't worry~"

"…I hope so."

Mei slowly withdrew her gaze, put away the information, and turned to leave.

"…Wait a minute, did you just tell him about Sakura?"

"Ah, I seem to have forgotten... But don't worry, Eden will tell him. And even if no one tells him, he will ask himself."

Mobius said nonchalantly.

"Really? That's good."

Mei nodded, didn't pursue the point any further, and turned to leave.

"Hehe~ Little white mouse~ Little white mouse~ You really are a big treasure~"

After Mei left, Mobius chuckled, narrowed her dangerous snake eyes, and continued to look at the monitoring data of Nozomi.

"I'm very curious about what kind of [surprise] you will bring me, hehe..."

......

.........

"Hmm Hmm…"

"Curious about where Sakura went, Nozomi?"

Looking at Nozomi who was looking around in confusion, Eden said with some amusement.

At this moment, they were the only two walking side by side. Everyone else had tactfully left, leaving space for the two to whisper.

"There is one thing... Although Sakura may have a mission to go out, but... I always feel that Sakura seems to be still in the base, and I always feel that there seems to be something you haven't told me."

Nozomi tilted his head and said something strange... This feeling was inexplicable as if some existence had told him this news.

"Yeah...it's true."

Eden was a little surprised that Nozomi actually noticed this, but... it didn't matter, after all, she was also going to tell him.

"Nozomi, go find Sakura."

Eden stopped on her own initiative, loosened her hand, and spoke softly.

"Sakura...I think you'll be really needed at this stage."

"She has done a lot for you, so when you see her... please don't be too surprised."

"Isn't Eden coming with me?"

"No, at this time... she needs you more. After all, she is a little embarrassed to even take the initiative to come to see you, so you should take the initiative to meet her."

Eden shook her head and gently refused.

"But, we agreed..."

"Afterwards, let's sing together."

Eden smiled gently, comforted him softly, and made him a promise.

"...Okay, it's a deal."

"Yes, it's agreed."

Eden nodded, told him where Sakura might be at the moment, and watched him leave like the breeze.

"......"

Only when his figure disappeared from her sight did Eden gradually withdraw her gaze. The corners of her mouth that had been raised slowly fell, and her gentle smile seemed to have left with him.

Eden slowly took out her terminal, and after adjusting it several times, she found a message... It was the application for fusion warrior surgery she submitted to "Fire Moth".

But as expected, the result she got was - rejection.

"As expected... Alas..."

Eden muttered to herself in a somewhat lost tone, her golden pupils looking somewhat dim.

This was her third application...but the result was still rejected.

The reason given by "Fire Moth" was very simple... There was no need for her to perform such a dangerous operation now. Compared to someone like her who had no combat training, "Fire Moth" had more suitable warriors to perform the operation.

At the same time, "Fire Moth" also told her in the reply that there was no need for her to go to the battlefield now. In comparison, she was more suitable for logistics and publicity work... After all, the impact of the "Seventh Great Honkai Eruption" was too great, and "Fire Moth" was forced to step to the front, and this was exactly the time when she was needed to stand on the stage for publicity.

Besides, as one of the super sponsors of "Fire Moth", she doesn't need to take on such dangerous things... What if something goes wrong?

As for Nozomi's situation... "Flame Moth" also said that this was the only solution. Who knows that at that time, there was just a little time difference? No one wanted Nozomi to gamble on the slim success rate of the operation... So Eden naturally didn't need it. She could play a greater role in other places.

As for why Sakura's application was approved... on the one hand, she can be considered a combatant and can support the front line after completing the operation. On the other hand, her adaptability is very high and her surgical success rate is much higher than others. Therefore, "Fire Moth" agreed to her application.

All in all, the words in "Fire Moth"'s reply were meant to dissuade Eden from submitting another application, saying that she could provide more and better help in other areas.

But...it's precisely because of this that Eden seems lost.

Ever since the fire, she has been a little confused. Her singing can no longer attract people's attention, and her brilliance can no longer illuminate everyone... As a singer, what can she do?

Not to mention, there are people who can sing better than her.

Nozomi... yes... Nozomi. Eden still remembered Nozomi's singing voice during the fire and the timely rain. His hopeful song floated in the wind and flowed with the wind. Even the disaster-bringing Honkai beasts would become quiet after listening to it. Compared with him, her own useless song... seemed insignificant.

And later, when the "Herrscher" attacked, she did nothing. She watched everyone fighting but was powerless and could only be an insignificant spectator... and even in the end, she watched Nozomi being eroded by the Honkai.

She had finally managed to regain some of her self-confidence from the blow of the fire with the help of Nozomi and to pick up some of the pride that had been torn to pieces by the Honkai... She had thought that even if she couldn't stand on the stage and shine, it would be fine as long as she could stay by his side and be a companion star that reflected his brilliance.

But everything that happened afterward shattered this barely pieced-together idea.

At that time, she thought Nozomi was doomed to die... When she learned about Nozomi's situation, she was really desperate...

But fortunately, he finally made it through, and luckily... he survived.

But what to do after that?

Nozomi... he survived and could continue to sing as before, continue to fully display his unique [characteristics], and continue to shine with his own light.

Sakura...she also completed the surgery. With her excellent physical fitness and combat capability, she can also be active on the battlefield and show her unique beauty.

What about me? What should I do?

Eden sighed softly.

The two people beside her were shining with their own brilliance at this moment, but she, who was originally the brightest star... had dimmed.

The brilliance of "Diamond" remains.

The fragrance of cherry blossoms fills the air.

But "gold" is covered in dust at this moment.