"You are so tolerant."
A voice in Azathoth's mind spoke in an unfamiliar language, "Using a human body, do you really think of yourself as a human? Do you really like them that much?"
“…”
Azathoth mumbled something, and the voice laughed strangely after hearing it.
"Well, tolerance is a virtue. We can do anything in our dreams."
"But remember, don't try to open your eyes."
"Since you're determined to stay calm, you must suppress your anger, otherwise everything will be gone. You know, there's a precedent for this. We don't like copying and pasting. A life with the same body structure and memories is no longer the one we prefer."
"gentlemen?!"
Igor's somewhat hurried voice dragged Azathoth out of the abyss of rage and boredom. Warm sunlight and emerald green leaves reappeared before his eyes. The wind blew with the scent of moist earth and the lingering smell of bullets.
“…”
Azathoth did not speak for a moment, feeling that he was still immersed in the desire for destruction that filled his chest when he had talked with the voice that only existed in his mind. He turned his head expressionlessly and saw a trace of undisguised fear in Igor's eyes.
His heart beat faster, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong?"
No one responded for a long time.
"Your tentacles just stretched out again." Igor slowed down and maintained a calm tone. He tried his best to ignore the group of limbs that seemed to swarm out from another space. They joyfully tore open huge cracks in the air, scrambling to greet the fresh air and rich moisture like living creatures. Their posture made people think of greedy leeches or octopuses that caught their prey and wanted to squeeze it to death.
"But I don't think you realize that... I'm sorry."
"Nothing." Azathoth rubbed his temples with his hand, his tone as usual, "I was a little angry just now. Did I scare you?"
"No, how could that be." Igor's expression was well controlled. He turned to Hugo and said, "I'm rushing to the newspaper office now. If it's convenient, please import the detailed information into my mobile terminal. Mr. Valen..."
"Just call me Yuri."
"Thank you, Yuri. If you are not interested in this matter, you can go back first. Sir, too—"
"I'll go and take a look." said Azathoth.
"You," Igor hesitated for a moment, "don't you want to take a break?"
"Nixon is your friend."
They looked at each other for two seconds, and Igor compromised: "Okay, you come with me."
"I won't hold you back." Yuri raised a hand and said seriously, "I hope everything goes well."
Igor gave him a short smile.
Yeda, who had been overhearing their conversation, began commanding the Red Line Army to retreat in unison. Igor wasn't concerned with their subsequent actions, but the magnitude of the incident on the capital planet was undoubtedly related to the rescue operation. Strictly speaking, it was against regulations for Azathoth and him to go directly to the explosion site, as they were not officials. However, the people present seemed to ignore this and allowed them to advance towards the location where long-lasting fireworks were hanging in the sky.
Yeda also asked someone to hand over a pair of car keys.
Igor didn't want to concentrate on thinking about the meaning behind this action at this time, because it would inevitably involve more complicated and difficult to distinguish between good and bad interests, various hints, alliances, transactions, betrayals... He had seen too much, and even those who were not good at this were able to summarize their experience.
Empty your mind and think about nothing.
The hover car engine was turned on, the gear and speed were automatically adjusted to the appropriate value, the blue tail flame ignited, and they flew into the sky.
The young man's dark red eyes flickered in the light, and the stars in the sky turned at an angle, and their colors gradually deepened.
"It's my fault."
Halfway through the journey, there was still silence in the car, and Azathoth suddenly spoke at this time.
"The past Arthur recognized me. He probably wanted to gain something from this. Nixon Evelyn just got dragged into it accidentally. I didn't anticipate this."
Igor's heart tightened for some unknown reason.
His mind, which had been restless due to worry about his friend's safety, suddenly calmed down, and his panic dissipated a lot. Instead, a more complicated and even somewhat sad emotion emerged from his chaotic thoughts.
"Don't say that. It's the perpetrator's fault."
"It's my fault." Azathoth did not walk down the stairs. He looked at the mist swirling outside through the transparent window glass and recalled the previous conversation.
"——There's a precedent for this."
'He's no longer our favorite.'
"It was the same before. It's normal for you to feel scared, Igor. Don't worry about me getting angry."
"You misunderstood. I'm just a little nervous."
"Really?" Azathoth sat in the passenger seat, his head tilted to the side so he could closely observe the human's expression. "My momentary, uncontrollable anger could lead to irreversible consequences. From a human perspective, I imagine that facing a being that's both difficult to defeat and difficult to control, most people's thoughts and actions are predictable. This doesn't require empathy at all, just simple analysis."
"You are also human, Igor. Just like the ancient humans feared fire and lightning, I don't think instincts are so easy to restrain and change."
Igor stared straight ahead, motionless. "So... have you ever thought about destruction?"
See, all topics always come back to the starting point.
I don’t know how long ago, Azathoth and Igor also discussed this issue.
However, the fact is that no matter how close their relationship is, in the face of a huge power gap, the results of the discussion can only be two: unimplementable promises and reckless blind faith.
Azathoth felt tired again.
Get along with people, communicate with people, try to communicate, try to understand.
It's always such a difficult thing.
"I haven't thought about it." After a moment of silence, he finally answered.
"No... cough." Igor's throat was hoarse again. He cleared his throat and continued, "You misunderstood me. Excuse me... Have you ever felt that your life lacks the passion for 'life', or is equivalent to death?"
Azathoth had never thought about this question.
He was a little surprised and confused when he saw his frowning reflection in the car window.
"I hope you won't be offended by my occasional speculations about your thoughts." Even as he spoke, Igor showed no sign of stopping. "From the beginning, I thought you might not be interested in human society, but I've overturned my thoughts several times. You seem to lack enthusiasm for anything, so of course, the inability to attract your attention is not your problem."
He paused and said, "But, do you feel any difference when you are asleep and when you are awake?"
“…”
"I believe you like me," Igor whispered. He still felt a little embarrassed to say it directly. His ears were red again, but his expression was serious. "You've also gradually begun to like the human species, but this liking is not indispensable to you. My life is far too short compared to yours, and the time we shared may not even be one ten-thousandth of what you remember."
"Igor, Yuri is right, you are sometimes too modest."
"...We can discuss this later." Igor stared intently at the clouds outside the window, his vision blurry from staring for so long. "Since you don't deny what I just said, do you think," he choked, his eyes reddening for a moment, "that your life and death, your existence, whether you're asleep or awake, whether you can communicate... these are all unimportant things?"
Azathoth was speechless.
"You never wanted to destroy the world... You don't care at all." Igor's voice trembled. "You don't care about the living creatures' instinct for survival, their yearning for beautiful things, their pursuit of the future, their communication and discussion of love and hate. You do like humans, but when even your own existence is unclear—"
"It's not that serious." Azathoth fidgeted and pressed the chair under his butt. "I won't die, I won't get sick, and I won't fall into a deep sleep just because I'm bored."
As he was speaking, he couldn't continue.
Because this promise was too false, he knew his lifestyle so far, like a person standing outside a glass cabinet, feeling the joys and sorrows of others through Igor's small display screen. When their connection was not so close, he would lie lazily on the bed, motionless, thinking to himself - how boring.
It's really boring to live in this world like this.
But how strange it was, Azathoth thought he was hiding well, but Igor knew it very well.
What's even stranger is that this person doesn't worry about destroying the world when he's angry, but worries about destroying himself when he's bored.
Isn’t it funny that the ants are worried that the lame elephant can’t cross the ditch?
Azathoth thought blankly, unconsciously clutching the chair cushion tightly.
The hover car is self-driving.
The two absent-minded people and the god paid no attention to the shaking pointer on the dashboard, and were all immersed in their own thoughts.
After a while, Igor held Azathoth's hand.
His hands were very cold, probably because of his excitement just now. There was still some cold sweat on them. Azathoth could feel the beating pulse from his fingertips.
This hand was so powerful that it had been holding the pistol with a shiny metal, beautiful shape and exquisite design for more than ten minutes.
If necessary, it can easily take many or inhuman lives.
But Azathoth could only feel a certain uneasy tremor in it.
"That was the first time you've acted so angry," the hand's owner said in a low, melodious voice. "And when I realized that, I actually felt a surge of joy."
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