Looking Down on the Mortal World

[Now let's assume there is a train, carrying something you cherish. If it continues along the existing track, it will inevitably fall into a bottomless abyss. But if we, out of "kindness," choose to pry open the existing track, the train will rush into the wilderness and finally overturn, still unable to escape the fate of destruction.]

[If we insist on this method of "salvation," it will not actually change the train's fate of heading towards destruction. Moreover, our "salvation" will instead make the train be destroyed in advance.]

[But are we just going to sit idly by?]

[Just let the train go on a one-way trip into the abyss?]

[Can you easily ignore the things you cherish on the train, the things you don't want to lose, just saying goodbye to you like this?]

[No, there is still a way after all.]

[We believe that heaven never seals off all exits, precisely because there is often more than one path. Different paths may lead to the same result, or they may be completely opposite.]

[Then, continuing to return to the train problem—]

[Is there really no way to save it?]

[No, there is, and there's more than one way.]

[The first way is naturally very simple: just reconnect the railway bridge over the abyss.]

[The second method seems complicated, that is, to select two forks on the railway on both sides of the abyss, and build new tracks to connect them. Then let the train drive onto the new track, then "she" can jump out of the abyss's restraints, break free from the end fate has given "her," and thus gain a truly free life.]

"Look, this is my method."

Mikael rested his cheek on his hand, leaning against the railing at the door of the dormitory. He kept pondering the wording in his heart, but it was difficult to find completely appropriate words to explain everything to the "person involved."

Many arrangements were already on track, and now only a few things remained…

[No, no, no, what track? What hypocritical rhetoric!]

In the courtyard in the early morning, Hua had practiced boxing back and forth twice, and then imperceptibly glanced at Mikael, who was still in a daze.

A hint of dissatisfaction flashed in her expression—this guy, clearly just yesterday at this time, he shamelessly guaranteed that he would bring Pardo to the training ground on time. Now Pardo was nowhere to be seen, and he himself was just blankly lost in thought.

Of course, if Mikael was willing to argue, he could still argue: he was busy with some things last night, and used the authority of the Second Herrscher to travel back and forth many times, and he was somewhat tired both mentally and physically.

In the shadows on the other side of the courtyard, Sakura was teaching Rin swordsmanship meticulously. This was also something that couldn't be helped. If she had a choice, she would naturally want Rin to go to school like other children, but in such an era, the ability to protect oneself was more important than anything else.

Rin's talent was naturally not as good as her sister's, but fortunately, the little girl had good perseverance. Regardless of the cold and heat, regardless of wind and rain, she practiced diligently every day, making Mikael, who was now watching, feel ashamed.

Because his mind was now full of—there will be iced watermelon to eat today, hehehehe.

The aroma of white porridge wafted in the air, presumably Vill-V's masterpiece.

Mobius was nowhere to be seen, presumably sleeping directly in the lab, as in countless nights in the past.

Kalpas had moved out of the Golden Courtyard very early, and was almost confined in the narrow guard room outside the sanatorium as if imprisoned. At this time, he should have already met Su, who had gone to do physical examinations on the children on an empty stomach.

Mikael opened the door to his room, which had been closed. Even after one night, a faint fragrance still overflowed. As the morning sun poured in, light particles gathered into a pillar of light. Mikael rubbed against the side, entering the irradiation range of the light pillar.

Visible to the naked eye, powdery substances like scales were escaping in the air. Those were traces left by Aponia's coming and going.

A yellow bird suddenly flashed before his eyes. Its bean-sized eyes reflected Mikael's slightly pale face. Between the flapping of its wings, chirping sounds were also endless.

The birdsong was like an alarm clock. Taking this as the dividing line, the entire world he saw began to come alive, and faint noises began to echo in the sky and earth.

But Mikael's hearing was excellent enough. He could still clearly hear the soft snoring in the room on his left. After a while, the snoring paused for a short while, replaced by soft murmurs. After that, the person inside seemed to turn over, kicked off the quilt, and the shouts started again.

Mikael pondered again, and finally made up his mind—first… don't tell Ellie.

So, he turned around and knocked on the door on his right.

"Mikael-Oni-Chan!"

Seele was sitting by the window, gently turning the pages of a book by the morning light. Seeing Mikael approaching, she quickly folded a small corner on the page, then put down the book, and stood up from the table.

Mikael closed the door, stood in front of Seele, first habitually rubbed her head, then pursed his lips, and said:

"Seele… you… are you willing to trust me?"

"Ah!"

Seele's expression was a bit puzzled. She didn't understand why Mikael would ask such a question, but she trusted Mikael, trusted their interactions over the past year, and trusted the dependence in her subconscious—Mikael-Oni-Chan would definitely not hurt her.

Therefore, she answered immediately: "Of course I trust you!"

Mikael pulled her to sit down, unconsciously holding her right hand.

"Seele, something may happen next. I may not be able to take care of you… so I may have to send you to another place for a while… But don't worry, although it's a bit desolate and remote there, Sister Ellie will be with you."

"Eh?" Seele was a little confused. After all, Mikael's words were really vague.

But she had seen the scene of the Fifth Honkai Eruption before, and she vaguely had a premonition that the reason why Mikael wanted to send her away temporarily was also directly related to that kind of disaster.

"Seele is of course fine with it!"

So she chuckled twice, "Actually, there's no need for Sister Ellie to accompany me. Seele can take care of herself, but…"

"But…"

Under her expectant gaze, Mikael hurriedly shifted his gaze away, but Seele didn't seem to notice this.

She tilted her head and asked:

"But, how long will Seele have to stay there?"

"Hmm… maybe half a year? Maybe a year?"

Mikael guiltily touched his nose. He tried to say the time as short as possible.

That's right, he was going to take Seele into the world bubble, and then bring her back after the Sixth Honkai Eruption in the main world ended.

After all, the world bubbles in the Sea of Quanta had been disconnected from the Imaginary Tree. Even if their "stems and leaves" still contained a little Imaginary energy, as long as they couldn't form a connection path with the Imaginary Tree, it was impossible to give birth to a true Herrscher.

This was the method Mikael gave.

He still couldn't reconnect the broken bridge over the abyss, but unexpectedly found a fork in the road that could allow the train to cross the abyss.

And the price to pay was just Seele's temporary loneliness and Mikael's guilt—compared to what it would save, it was quite cost-effective.

The only concern was that in this way, the process of the Sixth Honkai Eruption would be completely out of control. How long Seele would have to stay there also became a problem.

Seele naturally didn't understand these things, but just looking at Mikael's expression, she also knew that the time she needed to wait wouldn't be short.

She naturally wasn't unable to accept this waiting. She unconditionally and unreservedly trusted her brother, believing that every decision he made had its meaning—at least, it was beneficial and harmless to her.

But just thinking that she might not see everyone for a long time, she felt a little melancholy again.

So, "Then… then can Seele say goodbye to everyone? Go to the sanatorium to say goodbye to the children and Sister Aponia, and say goodbye to everyone in the courtyard…"

"Of course."

A smile spread across Mikael's face.

Everything was proceeding according to his plan, everything was proceeding according to the track he had preset.

He was guiding everything that was about to happen, he was stipulating everything that was about to happen—not only Seele, but also another group of pitiful people.

In a trance, he felt like he was looking down on the mortal world from the sky, with countless tiny threads hanging down from his fingertips, hooking up men and women on the ground.

As he hooked his fingers, people began to run along the path he had constructed, still believing that it was their own choice—he finally understood what kind of mentality the so-called gods used to impose fate on humans.

It was indeed a wonderful feeling.

However, in the end, there was still a lingering sense of guilt.

Mikael put his finger under his nose and sniffed lightly, as if he could smell a faint smell of blood…