Chapter 69 Iron Tomb: I am Bai E. The surrounding scenery is like...
The surrounding scenery resembled receding light and shadow.
A pink light brushes past you; it's clearly Xi Lian, now an anchor point for the virus, guiding you and always by your side. It's as if she's still that vain, self-absorbed Mimi, accompanying you through countless adventures.
You don't know how long you've been running or how far you've covered. You've run so far that you can no longer hear the sounds of Koji and Himeko fighting behind you, until you finally arrive at a dark, gloomy place.
The destructive power within you seems to resonate with this place, and the wreath ring is also heating up. You recall the glance Nanook gave you when you first set off, and a shiver runs through you.
Black currents surged everywhere, creating utter darkness with no light source in sight, except for a cocoon-like object in the center that faintly glowed red.
But unlike what you saw inside Onpharos before, the black tide here clusters in the center, as if guarding something, and seems more calm and... alert?
Sensing your approach, one of the black currents stirred and surged towards you. You warily drew your weapon, preparing for a fierce battle.
Unexpectedly, they only stayed about a meter away from you, circled around in place as if trying to detect your presence, and then slowly retreated, without even getting your clothes dirty.
you:……?
You were stunned for a long time. The scene before you was absurd. You didn't know how these terrifying black tides had suddenly turned into docile kittens.
After hesitating for a moment, you stepped forward and faced the dark red cocoon.
Oval-shaped and unexpectedly tall, with tangled electrical wires wrapped around it, you stand in front of the cocoon but are less than a quarter of its height, and you have to look up to see the top.
—It seems this is where the [Iron Tomb] was conceived.
So it's this primitive? You thought it would be some kind of... more [mechanical head] form?
The birth of the Iron Tomb was delayed thanks to everyone's joint efforts, but the energy accumulated by the ancients beforehand should not be underestimated. It is estimated that even if it is not a complete entity, it is at least a semi-finished product.
Should we open it? Can you really defeat this terrifying army of annihilation on your own?
And... what about Bai E? How is he now?
...No, Pioneer, the most important thing now is not to doubt yourself. After all, you're not fighting alone. The Golden Blood, the Train Crew, the Star Core Hunters, the Corporation, the [Pleasure] forces... they've practically carried you to where you are today.
Even for them, even for the hopes and love of the people of Onphalus, even for that fool who always begs for a kiss but is considerate of you, takes care of you, and is willing to give up himself for the world... you cannot back down.
The prisoners of the cave have ventured into the outside world. Now is the time to distinguish yourself from the ideals of the ancients. Go back, pass on the final torch, and become a true "wise man" and "sage."
Thinking of this, you closed your eyes, gritted your teeth, and gripped the Flame Spear tightly.
The gun roared in my hand, as if echoing my rapid heartbeat, and the [Storage] light flashed—
The tip of the gun pierced the silent cocoon.
In an instant, the red light shone brightly.
You have seen the [Iron Tomb] in its embryonic stage.
*
[Iron Tomb]... no, it should be said that [Iron Tomb], with a pale, ominous face, is floating inside. Its hands are suspended by electrical wires, its body is covered with various wires, and an ominous red power surrounds it.
His face was pale, and his eyes were tightly closed.
Confined within such a massive cocoon and nourished by such immense energy, he was remarkably similar in appearance to Bai E before—in fact, almost identical.
It was still that familiar face and that familiar body, but the body was riddled with holes.
[For new life to sprout, its seed must be dead.]
You recall what Changyeyue said before. Although she originally meant Onpharos, it now seems that the same statement applies to Bai'e and the Iron Tomb.
For the Iron Tomb to be born, the White Calamity must offer a sacrifice.
The cocoon was peeled away, and Iron Tomb's eyelashes trembled, as if he were about to wake up.
You quickly took a few steps back, holding the flaming spear in front of you.
In the darkness, the wires creaked under the strain as the embryo moved, and with a flash of sparks, they were all snapped.
[Warning! Warning! The experiment has been attacked by an unknown force...]
A screen full of blood-red 010101 flashed by.
Iron Tomb opened its eyes.
But those eyes were an ominous blood red.
Your heart sank.
[System notification: Scepter Experiment No. 33550337...Warning, under attack...*%]
A sense of crisis and reason scream wildly in your mind, sounding a sharp, piercing alarm, shouting, "Run! Danger!!!"
Your heart started pounding again, "thump, thump, thump..." so loud you wondered if the Iron Tomb could hear it. You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself, your brain racing:
Has it completely merged? No, Bai E's consciousness should still linger... How can we awaken his consciousness? Do we need to defeat the Iron Tomb? But how could you possibly defeat a Great Lord of Annihilation alone...?
Iron Tomb blinked very slowly.
His red eyes carried an uneasy aura of destruction, yet were filled with bewilderment, like a newborn seeing the world for the first time; or like someone suddenly waking him from a dream, unable to react for a moment, his mind overloaded with information.
He did nothing but stand there, processing the memories in his mind that were too unfamiliar to him.
"……partner?"
He tentatively called out the name from the depths of his memory to the girl in front of him.
A red light flickered before his eyes. In the darkness, only the gray-haired girl exuded a calm and warm power, drawing him in irresistibly.
However, her golden eyes looked at him warily, like a kitten with its fur standing on end. Tie Mu felt wronged. After receiving his memories, the person closest to him was you. Why were you showing him this expression?
...Heaven knows you trembled and almost burst into tears when you heard that address and voice.
You take a deep breath. "You're not Bai E, don't call me that."
Iron Tomb took a step forward, opening his arms as if to embrace you, but you used your Flame Spear to stop him from getting any closer.
He glanced at the cold tip of the gun, his soft white hair drooping down. He didn't back down, but he felt even more aggrieved.
"But I am Bai E."
What are you talking about? Are you playing a game with him that you don't know each other? This game is not fun at all.
All he wants now is to hug you, stroke your back, soothe your frightened emotions, and then, like a bird that has finally found its nest, encircle you, carry you back to its own nest, and never be separated from you again.
It's been so long since we last saw each other, don't you miss him? Tie Mu was genuinely puzzled by this.
"Partner," he called out awkwardly again, feeling the two syllables roll back and forth on the tip of his tongue, yet they sounded completely unfamiliar.
That's strange. Didn't he always call you that before? ...Could it be that his tongue has become rusty from being locked up here for so long?
The black tide, under his control, circled around you, trapping you within its confines. He seemed stubbornly convinced that this way you wouldn't be able to escape.
Iron Tomb said, "...Put down your weapon, partner, I don't want to hurt you. I'm back."
You retorted, "Do you know what you're doing right now? Why are you treating me like this?"
Why? That's a strange question.
It's just because the "self" in his memory often treated you like that. Whether it's possessiveness or a longing for intimacy, after he saw that "self" do this, you would always rub your noses together and laugh, like two little animals warming and grooming each other.
Images of you occupy most of his memory: you being coquettish while playing games, you being dashing as you fought side by side, you having tears in your eyes before rushing over to kiss his chin, saying "I love Xiaobai so much"... Whenever he recalls these scenes, his heart races uncontrollably, filled with sweetness—so sweet that it's almost painful.
He clumsily imitated the scene from his memory, but it was just an imitation.
Iron Tomb doesn't understand what "love" is, but White Evil loves you.
...Why ask "why"? It's just because his heart was telling him not to hurt you, that he wanted to be close to you, so he did it.
You said, “You are not him. Even if you look exactly the same, you are completely different from him. I accept any positive or negative emotions he has, and I accept all the responsibilities and missions he has undertaken, but I cannot accept someone impersonating him who is not him.”
Tie Mu didn't understand, nor did he want to understand. He was getting anxious, and the confusion in his eyes had completely faded.
“I am him,” he said stubbornly, gripping the tip of the spear. The power of [destruction] wrapped around him, easily prying the flaming spear upwards.
He moved closer to you and repeated, "I am Bai E."
He possesses all of [Bai'er]...[Chao's] memories. If he isn't Bai'er, then who is Bai'er?
You know it's pointless to talk to him about this now.
Bai E values you so much, this love is so heavy that even though this short time together only occupies a small part of his tens of millions of reincarnation memories, it is the [highest priority] and [most urgent] priority, and was the first one read by Tie Mu.
Bai'er has only lost the memory of loving you. But he hasn't forgotten his instinct to protect you.
This instinct was something profound, something etched into his soul, so even though Iron Tomb had merged with him to this extent, Iron Tomb suppressed the urge to destroy, and only clumsily and cautiously wanted to embrace you.
"Do you want to fight me?" Iron Tomb sensed your intention. "You can't beat me."
He was telling the truth.
“Don’t fight,” he said. “Submit to me…and then face our destiny. I will protect you…or I will hurt you.”
Sure enough, no matter how similar they are, they are ultimately not the same person.
Bai Er would never say anything like "obey me." Because you have always been equals, he would never have the slightest thought of forcing you.
“Then let’s fight,” you said. “Give back White Calamity!”
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