“I once thought,” the man said, “that if I became a god, I could take on everything and achieve everything for them.”
Su Ming remained silent.
"The sixty years in Yunshang City are too long for me. I have felt guilty for the lost life more than once, and I have also wished that my life would end or that I would fall into a long sleep more than once." Su Lin said:
“But the moment you pulled me down, I suddenly realized that the sixty years of becoming a god were like an illusory dream.”
"I seem to have loved them like that before, to the point where I had nothing left of myself, but I also felt like I was loving a symbol that was elevated above 'people'."
"Now that I have become Su Lin again, this love has become even stronger, as if it has returned to its original true form."
"However."
The man stopped talking.
Su Ming was silent for a long time, then slowly said: "...Although I don't know the reason, you couldn't go home."
Su Lin was silent. Under the thick and sticky sunset, his eyes had a golden texture that made people feel untouchable.
"Praia doesn't need gods anymore."
After a long silence, a sound similar to a sigh was heard.
Su Mingan didn't know what kind of mood Su Lin was in to say such a thing.
He must be extremely proud, thinking that being a god can protect everyone. Or perhaps he is extremely self-aware, knowing that Praya no longer needs the role of "Su Lin". He has taken care of, protected, and deeply loved the land for 80 years. His hometown, which is like a lover that he cannot leave, has suddenly become "unnecessary" for him.
"I pulled you out, and I will send you back." Su Mingan said.
Su Lin tilted his head and looked at Su Ming'an with a rare, confused look: "The world game is over, Su Ming'an. You can't send me back."
Su Mingan shook his head: "It's not over yet, I'm still in it."
Su Lin said: "I don't think you are crazy, so you should have a reason to say this."
Su Mingan smiled. After all, they were the same kind of people. "Yes, I feel lucky."
"Lucky?" Su Lin pondered for a moment: "Are you lucky that the world game has ended and the current ending satisfies you. Or are you lucky that the world game has not ended yet and you still have a chance to change the ending?"
The two looked at each other for a long time.
No one spoke.
The damp wind blew their similar black hair, and their similar pupils reflected each other's similar eyes.
As if an invisible bell rang at this moment, Su Lin suddenly understood Su Mingan's eyes: "You really are... do you want to save me too?"
You said you were going to take everyone home.
Now everyone has gone home.
But you still want to do better and send me home. Or, you want to save more.
But in Su Lin's eyes, the reflected Su Ming'an slowly spoke:
“Don’t take yourself too seriously.”
"I don't want to save you."
That's why they are so alike, they feel awkward and don't even want to accept each other's praise.
Su Ming'an turned around. The river water was gurgling. White pigeons were perched on the blue and white railings. Fishermen were shouting as they collected their nets. Boat whistles were heard in the distance. All these azure, pure white, and colorless sounds, scenes, people and smiles coexisted harmoniously at this moment, rich and bright, as if they were meeting for the first time or reunited after a long separation.
Su Lin put his hands in his pockets in the long wind and watched the young man leave. His khaki windbreaker fluttered in the wind. Perhaps he was recalling the ruins of the world, where he also wore a khaki windbreaker, looking for traces of his homeland in the strange world. Perhaps he was thinking of the blue sky of Praia, where the azure blue and pure white were similarly blended together, the fisherman threw up his fishing net, and the sound of a flute came from the boat -
——And that day, a young man came from afar in a sea of azure and pure white, holding the sword of Alman, and met him for the first time.
That's how it all started.
Today young people are still on the journey.
He said he would take him home.
Su Lin smiled and turned his back to the young man. He was still looking at the endless river below. Su Mingan's hometown was a distance away from the sea, so Su Lin stayed by the river and recalled the past.
He didn't want to be too far away from this patient, although he would never tell the reason.
…
Su Mingan went to Noel's home.
This was not Noel's home in Yu Country, but a new home built for Noel by Lu Shu and others, right next to Su Mingan's residential building. In the room was a refrigerator full of desserts that Noel liked, photos of the children, and colorful glass ornaments.
Su Mingan sat in this room for a long time, until night fell completely.
He had the illusion that Noel was in the room, breathing with him.
He didn't know why this future Noel died.
Lu Shu said that Noel was not able to leave the World Game, so they built a memorial room for Noel, filled with things Noel liked.
Su Mingan walked around the room and saw Noel's crow, which was placed in the garden. It was a one-to-one replica of a stuffed crow toy. He leaned over the huge crow and felt a strange warmth, like a sun without light.
He saw the pictures of children on the wall. These were not real portraits, but the faces of children painted realistically by Yamada Machi. They were all from the New World Guild... the children who were taken care of by Noel. They should be growing up healthily in some corner of the world. Although the children no longer remember, in the past year, a person named Noel took care of them until they walked out of this tragic game safely.
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