Chapter 135: This is my singing time~

"Hmm~"

　　Nozomi strolled in the silent environment. The darkness inside [Hida koro] could not stop his brisk steps. The breeze blew, telling him the way ahead and guiding him in the direction of progress.

　　'Ah... Thinking about it carefully, I didn't even visit this big mall properly. It's such a pity that I didn't take a closer look at such a lively place.'

　　'But now there are more important things~'

　　Under the guidance of the "wind", Nozomi successfully found the original locker room, and also successfully smelled the damp smell inside... Obviously, it should be [him at that time] inside.

　　knock--

　　"…Huh?"

　　he knocked on the door politely, only to find that it was not locked... Could it be that he had knocked on the wrong door?

　　"ah..."

　　Pushing open the door, Nozomi looked at the scene inside with some surprise - it was indeed [herself] inside, but it was just a corpse.

　　It was a corpse with its hands crushed and its throat cut. Blood mixed with wet water flowed on the ground, and resentment and unwillingness still remained in its already dilated pupils.

　　Nozomi squatted down, supported his face with one hand, and looked at the corpse carefully. The white hair tips gently fell to the ground, stained with a little red belonging to blood.

　　"…he's pretty."

　　Nozomi suddenly said this.

　　?

　　If someone heard these strange words, they would probably slowly type a question mark, and then look at Nozomi with an extremely weird look. After all, in the current situation, it is not appropriate to say such words no matter how you look at it.

　　However, Nozomi's attitude was very serious. After all, the scene before him really fits the aesthetics of "horror". Most people would be terrified when seeing it, and it is not impossible for them to pass out. But for Nozomi now, this kind of thing... is still a little short of it.

　　After all, the scenes he saw from the "fragments" brought by the rain were much more exciting than this.

　　Of course, what's more important is... he is here now, Nozomi is here now, and this scenery... there is no need to worry too much.

　　"After all... I already have a lot of things that are worth cherishing."

　　Nozomi reached out his hand and gently touched the cheek, feeling the bone-chilling coldness, then slowly touched its eyelids and closed its eyes for him.

"Goodnight."

　　Nozomi spoke softly as the gentle wind blew gently. The corpse in front of his eyes turned into some light pink petals and dim yellow maple leaves, and finally gradually became lighter and disappeared in silence.

　　He stood up, and the white hair that had fallen to the ground also lifted up, but it was not stained with any red color of blood, only white like waves... and a few water droplets.

　　Looking at the ground carefully, I found only some wet traces of water, and there was only a damp smell coming from his nose, without any trace or smell of blood.

　　[No...wait...you...how...?]

　　swish--

　　A slight, surprised voice came to his ears again, but with the sound of the "wind" blowing, and the voice disappeared again.

　　step step——

　　Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps rang out, echoing in the empty and dim environment.

　　"Hmm... hm? Is it her?"

　　A gentle breeze blew, bringing news to Nozomi.

　　"This [Dream]... turns out it's not mine... I was saying, I don't even care about this..."

　　Nozomi muttered to himself, then looked in the direction where the sound came from... She was already very close.

　　"Hoo... hoo... um? Nozomi? Is... is it you? Nozomi?"

　　Her voice was a little nervous and fearful, as well as a little bit of determination, but soon, she almost threw away those inquiries and doubts and came in front of Nozomi in one step. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she seemed timid and nervous. She could only look him up and down, her eyes lingering on his hands.

　　"It's okay, it's okay, Elga...it's me, I'm here, I'm okay."

　　Nozomi smiled and comforted her softly.

　　"Okay, okay, this is not true, don't be afraid... Look, there's nothing wrong with my hand~"

　　"Really? It's... it's not hurt? That was fake, right?"

　　"yeah."

　　"That's good... That's good..."

　　Elga held Nozomi's hands tightly, held them in her palms carefully, looked at them carefully, touched them, and asked repeatedly. After getting a definite response, she breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Nozomi's hands.

　　"...I'm sorry, Nozomi. Whether it's now or then, I'm really... sorry."

　　"It's okay, I don't mind... Compared to the others, your actions are gentle, and you are helping me in some ways, aren't you? Although you always let me be the accompaniment every time you take me out, you have at least helped me find a place to practice music, and it's free... It's not bad when you think about it~"

　　Nozomi moved his fingers slightly to ease the pain... When Elga touched him, his hands felt painful as if they were stepped on, and his body felt wet, just like before... This is really interesting, does the Herrscher want to recreate the original situation?

　　"No…it's not like that…"

　　"Shh...Okay, although I'm happy that you care about me so much,...you don't have to dwell on it too much."

　　Nozomi placed his fingers lightly on his lips and blinked his strange and gorgeous three-color eyes.

　　"Like I said before... I have forgiven you, Elga. Now... please just live well. That's all."

　　"...Um."

　　"So... can you tell me a little bit about what you encountered here?"

　　"um!"

　　Elga nodded heavily and recounted what she had encountered here in quick but slightly messy words.

　　At the beginning, her [dream] was normal and happy. It started when she was in high school, which was when she met Nozomi. However, compared to before, she was no longer so ignorant, nor did she have such an arrogant and irritable attitude. Her relationship with Nozomi gradually developed towards that of a pair of bickering lovers. Although she still had Eden as her "rival", she undoubtedly interacted more with Nozomi and their relationship was closer.

　　Her good friend Elena is still by her side, as are her parents. Everything is moving towards her ideal future... That was how it was.

　　Halfway through, she discovered some problems herself, or she always felt that something was wrong... She felt that she couldn't be so "happy", she must have made a mistake, she must have done something to Nozomi... So every time she wanted to get closer to Nozomi, wanted to take their relationship a step closer, she always subconsciously retreated, subconsciously feared, subconsciously thought... that she was "unworthy".

　　And every time she took Nozomi shopping, especially when she went to her own shopping mall [Hidakoro], she always had an inexplicable sense of panic, as if she didn't like coming here, and shouldn't have brought Nozomi to this place... as if something terrible would happen here.

　　Until one day, when she saw Nozomi getting hit by an object because of a mistake, she... suddenly remembered everything, remembered what happened on [that day], and finally... everything she saw in the hospital.

　　She suddenly realized that everything before her eyes... was just an illusion [dream].

　　She... couldn't possibly be this "happy".

　　But after that, she did not [wake up], but continued to stay here. After this illusory "happiness" was exposed, what faced her was all kinds of "misery".

　　First, the family business went from bad to worse, and then her parents were suddenly infected with Honkai disease and died in just a few days... Then the building collapsed due to Honkai beasts, and Elena was crushed to death in front of her... And with every person who died in front of her, she would recall the [memories] that should have existed, allowing her to see their deaths again, and the way they died was exactly the same.

　　Witnessing the death of her relatives and friends again dealt a great shock to her spirit, and she was on the verge of collapse.

　　That was why she was terrified, that was why she wanted to escape, wanted to leave this [nightmare]... Then, the rainy night came, and that was when she broke into this place and met Nozomi.

　　"I'm so scared... I'm really scared..."

　　Her voice trembled.

　　"I clearly knew they were already dead, and I clearly knew everything in front of me was fake, but watching them die again in front of me... I was really... so afraid that I couldn't hold on... Sometimes I even thought about just dying with them..."

　　"But…but…I promised them that I would live well…I promised them that I would live strong…They gave me the chance to live, so I should live well for them…It shouldn't be like this, I shouldn't commit suicide…But…but…"

　　'It's really tiring... To stay alive... If I don't care about those sad things, if I just obey this falsehood and spend my life in this false "happiness", I can sleep peacefully and die quietly... This is not bad either.'

　　'But... I still want to go back, to return to that reality.'

　　No matter how miserable it was there, even though all her relatives and friends had passed away in reality, even though she herself was infected with the Honkai disease... she still wanted to go back.

　　Because they have to survive, and survive with their share.

　　But this... is really tiring... so painful...

　　"Well, you've worked hard."

　　The voice was as gentle as water, flowing into her heart. A soft touch came from her head, gently caressing her and calming her panicked thoughts.

　　"Don't be afraid... Now, I'm by your side, right?"

　　Nozomi hugged her gently, giving her some warmth and comfort.

　　"I... [Hope], am right beside you, so... don't worry~?"

　　There was a hint of singing in his words, and his tone was soft, like a gentle breeze.

　　Hmmm~

　　he opened his mouth and hummed a soft tune. The golden light flowed like a stream, outlining tangible notes, giving Elga some comfort and strength.

　　The gentle "wind" blew quietly, carrying the golden notes and his singing into the distance... After a while, this dim and silent scene was illuminated and filled with his "song".

　　And then... as if reaching a certain boundary, the originally dim scene gradually turned into light pink petals and dim yellow maple leaves, which drifted away bit by bit, just like unveiling a certain "curtain", revealing the pure white space "behind the scenes", and its figure was also revealed.

　　[No...you...how did you do it?! How did you get here?! This should be my territory!]

　　It pointed at Nozomi and spoke with a look of surprise on its face.

　　"You use my [Song] to exert your power and use my strength to influence others... Then it is only natural that I can also influence you a little bit in return, right?"

　　Protecting the still somewhat stunned Elga behind him, the golden notes gathered quietly and protected her body, Nozomi spoke softly.

[…Humph, you are awesome, but even so, what can you do?]

It sneered.

[You are no threat to me, but I... can crush you directly!]

"Really? Then...why don't you do it?"

[......]

"You can't do that, can you?"

Nozomi smiled gently and said what it least wanted to admit.

Yes... it couldn't affect Nozomi, because his thoughts were too "heavy" and too difficult to control, even difficult to touch... like an ocean that was difficult to lift, like a breeze that was difficult to catch, like a flame that could not be touched.

"Ha... It seems that the images in those [Fragments]... are not fake..."

Nozomi sighed softly and talked quietly to himself.

[…So what?!]

Its voice sounded somewhat angry.

[You can't do anything here! You can't kill me! And you can't end this disaster!]

[Even if you get rid of me, people's trust in you will never come back! Your songs make people sleepy, and I use your songs. As long as people know this, they will never stop doubting you. My goal has been achieved! You will eventually be swallowed up by doubts and killed by the disgusting and inexplicable suspicions of humans!]

[Do you think I can't sense it?! The aura of Honkai on you! You've been in contact with things from the sea, right? No... No! Maybe you are the guy who crawled out of the sea! Even if you are wearing a human skin, so what?! You are not a human to begin with, how can you expect them to accept you?!]

[We should be together, we should be on the same front!]

It said so.

[You see, you want everyone to listen to your songs and like them... and I can definitely help you do that. Look at the dreams they have, the ones they like the most and the ones they are obsessed with... As long as they are exposed to them once, they will be completely fascinated by the world I have built for them, and your songs happen to bring them in...]

[Look, isn't this a perfect match? They will definitely be obsessed with you, crawling under you like maggots, begging for your singing... What's wrong with that?]

[And what have I done wrong? I just built their most ideal world, I just complied with their expectations... They themselves didn't want to leave! It's their own problem, what does it have to do with me?!]

[Reality is so bad, I just built a harbor for them, a place where they can feel at ease, what's wrong with me?!]

"…You seem really anxious."

Nozomi tilted his head, and in the face of so many words it said, he only made such a brief response.

"It seems... you must have encountered trouble somewhere else... Dystopia and Aponia are giving you trouble, right?"

[Huh?! Are you joking?! They are just two little bugs with some abilities! I can kill them with just a wave of my hand!]

"Really? Looks like I have to worry a little bit... ahem... so..."

Nozomi lowered his eyelids slightly, coughed twice, and adjusted his voice a little.

[…Wait, what are you going to do?!]

"Singing, after all, this is all I can do... Let me think about what song I should sing for everyone here... Ah, I got it!"

[Wait...don't!]

It suddenly understood why Nozomi came here... Because only here can he directly contact all other [dreams]... 'Damn it! This is obviously its safe zone, a place where it can unilaterally influence other people's [dreams]... Damn it!!!'

At this moment, it didn't care about so many things. It manipulated its own authority and used its own strength... Although it didn't know what Nozomi planned to do with his [Song], no matter what, it couldn't let him go wild here!

It is the Herrscher of the Sentience!

Then...

Tick-tock——

It is the sound of rain falling gently.

[It hurts!]

Feeling the pain, it instantly withdrew its hands and looked up at the sky with a look of doubt.

What's going on? Why is it raining here?!

Tick-tock——

Another drop of rain fell, leaving water stains on it, and also brought it an extremely clear feeling of pain, and... an extremely clear hostility coming from the rain.

'it's him?! Is it his ability? But isn't his power not lethal? Isn't it just the "song"? Even if it is an additional power, it should be the wind!'

Tick-tock——

The rain began to fall again, and in an instant, the rain covered the entire area, and no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't be dispersed.

swish—

The gentle breeze added power to the rain, and for a moment, it was bound to the spot, unable to move at all.

And in the rain, only Nozomi's strange three-color pupils appeared clear.

"Shhh - noisy audiences are annoying, you know? And... this is my singing time~"

Nozomi spoke softly, his tone relaxed and gentle.

But... was it an illusion? The gold in Nozomi's pupils seemed to expand a little, and his sight became a little strange, as if he was looking at "prey"... But looking closely, his sight was so calm and gentle, even with a gentle smile, and it did not change even when facing an existence like it.

"Hmm~"

Nozomi hummed happily, his eyelids slightly lowered, immersing his thoughts and emotions in the following song... He gently raised his hand in the rain, his fingertips moved lightly, and the sound of the piano rang out softly. The golden light flowed like a stream, weaving through the rain, outlining the shape of the music.

"Surrounded by endless darkness, my vision is gradually blurring~"

"The sound of a closed world rang in my ears... I clenched my fists~"

"Yes, I was swallowed by despair countless times~"

"When you are in trouble, do your best to clear away the thorns~"

"We have been fighting here~"

The blowing wind was given a color, it was green, but the golden glow flowed quietly, adding a few touches of golden brilliance to the green wind.

Surrounded and protected by numerous golden notes, Elga dared not speak or make any sound, and even subconsciously slowed down her breathing for fear of disturbing him.

This time, she was the one who felt his power at such a close distance and witnessed the brilliance he displayed at such a close distance.

She… wanted to write it down.

"Maybe one day, this world will finally collapse~"

"Even if all hope is lost~"

"I won't be afraid~"

"With the tears that have flowed and the overlapping time~"

"I will keep moving forward without hesitation~"

Nozomi's pupils slightly opened, and the golden part hidden in the dark center of his pupils flickered like stars.

He had seen some of the "fragments" in the rain, and could vaguely guess the tragic ending... But this time, it would be different, it would definitely be different.

What he received and gained along the way were all the care and love from everyone... For this reason, he should give back to the people who took care of him along the way, and use his own strength and his own [specialness] to bring them morning light and hope.

Just like... his name.

"Someone once said that the night will never end without dawn~"

"Wounds will heal over time~"

"That smile that appears when I close my eyes... I will never forget it~"

"Yes, this fate that has been repeated countless times before my eyes~"

"Do I have a reason to raise my head and face it~"

"It has already accumulated in my heart~"

Nozomi smiled, smiled happily, bathed in the rain, with a golden glow like a stream and silk, carrying bright golden notes, taking brisk steps, dissolving his high spirits into the song, giving his tenderness to the wind, and finally conveying it to others.

He gained a lot along the way, he got a lot, he had many companions and many friends to accompany him... More importantly, he met her and them.

Eden, as bright as gold, Sakura, as beautiful as cherry blossoms... that was the person he loved.

To do this, he must change the tragic ending and rewrite it.

.........

"…Mei! Look outside!"

"I see."

Following Elysia's gesture, Mei looked out the window, gently pushed up her glasses, suppressed her surprise, and spoke in a calm tone as best she could.

Outside the house, golden light flowed like a stream, like a colored and tangible wind, quietly floating in the air, shuttling through the rain, carrying golden staves and golden notes, bringing his singing to the distance and bringing his strength to everyone.

The rain is easing, the accumulated rain clouds are dispersing, and the bright sunlight is shining, just like the golden light floating in the sky.

"Where did his power spread to this time?"

"...Dr. Mei... see for yourself."

She quickly requisitioned a satellite for testing, but the range displayed on the screen made her dare not say it out loud, so she could only motion for Mei to look at it herself.

"...It covers the entire Mu Continent, including the surrounding sea areas...?"

Mei refreshed the data several times and confirmed the accuracy of the data range. Then she took off her glasses and pinched her eyebrows, seeming to have a headache.

"It's even more exaggerated than last time... and... it's raining again."

Mei looked out the window where only sporadic raindrops were left, and seemed to be thinking about something.

"Wait a minute... Dr. Mei! The Houkai energy in Dystopia and Aponia is increasing! And... moreover... their powers seem to have been strengthened, and their spirits have become extremely active!"

"...Can you observe any special problems? Um... No, it should be Nozomi's [Song]?"

"Yes! We can see golden notes lingering on their bodies! It should be Nozomi's power that is affecting them... But shouldn't Nozomi's [Song] only have a [Solidarity] effect..."

"He used it in the opposite way. Instead of calming the Honkai energy, he promoted its activity... and further amplified the power of others."

Mei thought about it for a while and came to a conclusion... it wasn't hard to guess.

The only question is, how did Nozomi do it? Logically speaking, the effect of [Stable] should be his own [Characteristic], not his [Power] as a Fusion Warrior... So when did he develop this amplification ability?

'Looks like... I need to make some preparations' Mei thought.

Hmmm~

The soft and melodious singing still surrounds her ears.

'But... not yet' Mei shook her head and smiled helplessly.

.........

[Damn it! Damn it!!! Stop it now!]

It anxiously used its own strength, trying to tear through the rain curtain, trying to cover up the golden light around Nozomi, trying to dispel the green wind... 'Damn it! Damn it!!! Someone is coming in! Why can someone come in?!'

'Those two guys obviously couldn't do anything to me! That little girl obviously couldn't beat me! Even that strange nun could only compete with me... but why? Why did my power suddenly increase?!'

"Maybe one day, this world will finally collapse~"

"If the time comes to write the final chapter of this, will it be~"

'Ah... yes, it was his [song]! It was his [power]! He was the one who amplified their power!'

'Damn it! How could he have such power? How could he have such a strong power? Now it can't even interfere with other people's [dreams]... Why?! Why?!'

'I'll have been lurking for so long, studying for so long, just to let his [Song] carry my own power, so that he could spread power for it... But why?! why am I suppressed here! In my own home turf?!'

'What is this rain?! What is this wind?! Why can he calm down those Honkai energies and let those ordinary people like maggots live well, and at the same time activate the Honkai energy of those two guys and increase their strength?!'

'Why?!'

The extremely strange situation almost overwhelmed its thoughts, but Nozomi's singing continued.

"I would pull the trigger without hesitation~"

"Cut off the cycle of sorrow~"

Crack——

'What to do, what to do, what to do...'

Hearing the faint sound of breaking, it was completely panicked... the little girl was about to come in!

In sight, golden butterflies gently flapped their wings and danced in the gradually weakening rain.

'It's that nun coming in!!!'

"Beyond the so-called 'fate'~"

[...Wait a moment?]

As the last line of the lyrics fell, leaving only the final sound of the closing, it suddenly thought of it... just like a flash of inspiration before death, it suddenly understood.

'This power to control Honkai energy, this power to calm and activate Honkai energy... hehe... hahaha... I see! That's how it is!'

'I knew it!!!'

'But if that's the case, then why do you stand on their side?! Why stand on the side of humans?!'

'We are the same kind!!!'

[Stop joking!!!]

It roared in a crazy tone and looked at him with crazy eyes.

[Do you think they will accept you like this?! Stop dreaming!]

BANG!!!

There was a crisp sound of breaking, and two more figures appeared in the pure white space... They were Dystopia and Aponia.

The moment the two appeared, they first nodded to Nozomi to thank him for his help, and then quickly attacked it.

[Hahaha!!! You thought you were going to win?! You thought you were going to win?! How is that possible!!!]

Its eyes were fixed on Nozomi, with mockery and madness in its pupils.

[Want to be their hope?! How ridiculous! See him as the morning light?! How ignorant!!!]

It was releasing its last bit of strength, disregarding its own existence as it exerted its power to the utmost as if it wanted to "self-destruct" and give humanity a big blow in the end, just like the "Sixth Herrscher" had done before.

But in the end, it used all its strength against... him.

[Hahaha!!! You! You will definitely be questioned by everyone! You will be drowned in people's suspicion!]

It said so.

[And you ridiculous and pathetic humans! I will destroy your "hope" with my own hands! Stomp it out!]

It proclaims this.

[Ha ha ha ha!!!]

After saying that, it laughed wildly and wantonly, completely liberating its own power, forcibly breaking down Nozomi's defenses, tearing away the power of Dystopia and Aponia, forcibly penetrating his body, and scraping off something from his body.

In the end, it greeted its own death with a crazy smile. The moment it died, the pure white spiritual space completely collapsed.

At this point, the subjugation of the "Eighth Herrscher" is complete.