On the side of the sanctuary, the bright sun shone down all over the sky, making people feel lazy and comfortable. When Akka saw Uncle Moran, he immediately remembered the time when he left the City of Machines and the days when he was on the boat together. Surprised, he shouted and rushed forward to hug Moran.
Angus and Grizzly stood aside, standing behind Moran. The two seemed to be arguing about something before, and were interrupted by Akka's entry. Akka leaned on his knees, bowed to meet Pesci's eyes, then raised his head and asked Moran, "Can you cure him?"
"Do your best," Moran replied after pondering for a while, "Pixi was born blind. I plan to restore a little vision to him first. If he can perceive light, it will be the first step of success."
Percy closed his eyes and smiled: "Actually, I'm not so eager to see things, as long as everyone is fine."
"Yes," Moran laughed, "but if you don't get your eyes healed, it's easy to cause more trouble for you... Okay, let's go."
A believer brought a tray, Akka assisted Moran, put a bandage on Pessie's eyes, and asked curiously, "Does this allow his eyes to see?"
"No." Moran smiled, "It's just a preliminary preparation. If only herbal medicine can cure his blindness, I don't have to be the pope, I can go to treat people."
"You are the Pope!" Akka and Peyce exclaimed in unison, exclaiming in surprise.
Moran: "Shh..."
"You are being too modest, Your Majesty," Bishop Igor replied. "The Pope is famous for his medical skills. I believe it is not difficult to cure him."
A-Ka could never have imagined that the bard he knew on the boat was actually the Pope of the entire continent. Moran's image suddenly became much taller in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched. It was the first time in his life that he had seen such The big man suddenly felt dizzy.
"You, you... Uncle Moran, you are..." Akka hadn't recovered from the shock.
"It's just the custodian of a small city." Moran smiled gently, "How many people do you think will believe in the Xingchen religion now?"
Moran touched Akka's head, held him and Pesci, motioned them to sit down at the long table, Black Stone walked towards him, Moran saluted him with one hand on his left chest, Black Stone just nodded slightly, and Moran nodded. Lan Bian said: "Everyone, please have lunch, you are welcome, my distinguished guests."
After the guests were seated and enjoyed a sumptuous lunch, Heishi said lightly, "Go ahead and leave me alone."
Moran replied, "I think their anger has subsided completely."
Grizzly put down his knife and fork and was about to speak, but Angus said, "Your Majesty, Phoenix is not as peaceful as you think. Humans and our brothers have arrived..."
"I promise that after this event is over," Moran said patiently, "the conflict in Phoenix will not cause you more trouble, and if all goes well, this desperate situation on the entire continent will be resolved. improve."
Grizzly said suddenly: "Put my hope on them, I would rather go and fight 'Father' myself."
Akka: "?"
"You will have a chance," Moran said lightly. "Humans and clones must be united. This is the final result of all the opportunities after a long and arduous war."
Akka asked: "Uncle Moran... No, His Majesty the Pope, I would like to ask about the 'Father'..."
Moran winked and motioned Akka not to say more, Akka understood, but Moran laughed and said, "I'd rather you call me uncle."
Akka smiled: "Okay."
At this moment, Fei Luo came over to take a seat, nodded and said: "Thank you for taking care of them on the boat, His Majesty the Pope, I was neglectful for a while, I hope you will not take it to heart."
"Hello," Moran said politely, "I'm just a traveler on the edge of the world. I'm honored to serve Pixi, Lieutenant Colonel Fei Luo."
Akka felt that Moran and Philo seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding, and then thought of that day, when they crossed the sea to the Western Continent, Moran was in the cabin - which means that they may have had a relationship.
Blackstone seemed to sense Akka's question, and asked casually, "What are you doing in the City of Machines?"
"Go and have a look." Moran took the bread and said casually, "I entered the city of machines and saw your revolution."
Akka said in surprise: "You also went in?"
Moran nodded and said, "My original purpose was to rescue Dr. Karan, but unfortunately I came a step late, and there were variables in the action, which caused my plan to fail completely."
Philo replied, "Anyway, thank you for saving Pesci."
"It's just an effort," Moran said lightly. "I'm very surprised by Percy's ability. His dreams can often foresee the future. Percy, have you had that dream recently?"
"Not anymore," Pasey replied softly.
Akka couldn't help being shocked, and even Hei Shi was surprised and asked, "Can you see the future?"
Piecy nodded, and Philo looked at Moran with a little reproach.
Akka remembered the days when he was with Percy all the way from Phoenix, and Percy had indeed told him a lot about the future inadvertently. The most impressive thing is that when they spent the night in the pipeline that day, Percy found out the identity of the tsar who came to find them.
"Don't worry about it in the Holy See," Moran said.
General Angus said: "Fei Luo, your adopted son can actually foresee the future?"
"Sometimes seeing the future," Moran said bluntly, "is not a good thing, Your Excellency, I'd rather Pixi not have to say anything."
The Grizzly asked again, "Is there any chance of victory in this battle?"
Pei Xi did not speak, Moran said, "That's it, everyone."
Moran nodded politely, apparently unwilling to let Grizzly ask any more, and as he got up, he said, "I believe that when Pasey's eyes are healed, he will no longer have such prophetic dreams."
"It's not fair!" Angus said heavily, "Why not let him tell us the final result? If he can really know, the dream indicates the established future... "
Akka suddenly said: "If the prophecy tells you that you will lose in the future, will you not fight?"
Everyone did not speak, and after a long time Grizzly laughed.
"Interesting," Grizzly said, "then go with the plan."
Angus said: "I need to get advice from the military."
Moran said: "Give you three days to prepare, Bishop Igor, please send them back to Phoenix now."
Grizzly nodded and left the temple with General Angus under the leadership of Igor. Moran pondered for a long time and said, "Everyone, I need to make a plan to launch a general attack on the City of Machinery."
Akka nodded, knowing that Moran must be busy with his own business now, and left. When passing through the corridor, he and Percy stopped. He had a lot of things to ask, such as what exactly did Percy dream about, or what was hidden from them, but he didn't say it.
"Pacey," Akka said, "your shoelaces are loose."
"Huh?" Percy turned around, there were only the two of them in the corridor, he sat down on the railing chair, Akka got down on one knee to tie Percy's shoelaces, patted his shoulder, and said, "You seem to be You never mentioned your dream to me."
"Uncle Moran told me not to say anything," Peyce replied softly. "Since childhood, the people in the village have treated me as a devil, and they are afraid of being seen by me to die."
"Can you see that?" Akka laced Pixi's shoes and sat down beside him. The sun shone from the clear sky, illuminating the garden with splendor, and the sea of tulips rose and fell in the breeze.
Akka asked, "How did you and Uncle Moran meet?"
Pasey replied, "Dad went to the war, and he entrusted me to the human habitation in the military camp, and I had a dream that they were defeated. There was a big ship and it crashed into a spire. Daddy His plane crashed into the wilderness and turned into a fireball, and he ran with the humans into the valley, where he was shot by a spaceship with machine guns."
Akka's breathing almost stopped, and he felt that his blood became very cold in an instant.
"And then?" Akka asked.
"Then he showed up in a laboratory in the City of Mechanics," said Pesci. "He was opened, a chip in his brain was taken out, and he died. But after the chip was taken out, I dreamed that he became A ball of fire."
Akka remembered the first time he saw Fei Luo. At that time, he and Heishi were resting on the mountain. When they met Fei Luo who was migrating with humans, he comforted him: "Your dream is not accurate, Fei Luo is not dead."
"Well." Pesci said with a smile, "Uncle Moran told me the same. He said that the future is uncertain, the past is also uncertain, and the only certainty is the present. That is a proverb of ancient philosophers. ."
A-Ka vaguely felt that there was something wrong with Pai Xi's dream, was it because there was no him in it, or because there was no Black Stone in it? When I met Fei Luo that day, if there were no Akka and Blackstone, perhaps Fei Luo would indeed be captured back to the City of Machines in his final fate.
"What else?" Akka asked.
Piecy thought for a while and replied, "When I'm around you, I often dream of strange things, sometimes a teenager, operating some weird mechanical devices... I don't know what that is, we're on a boat On the day we crossed the sea, I had a dream that we were sitting in the temple just like today, having lunch with Uncle Moran."
"Anything about Blackstone?" Akka thought of the mission they were about to undertake, and it was full of uncertainty.
"No," said Pesci, "I haven't seen him in my dreams, but once, while I was awake, I heard two voices that I thought were you..."
"What?" Akka asked.
"It seems to be about the big ship," said Pesci. "A mothership, and 'Father,' and a man named Lieble."
"General Libull?!" Akka asked, "Are we so close?"
"I don't know, that voice sounded like you and not very much like you, a little raspy and electronic," said Pesci.
Akka: "??"
Pesci added: "Most of my dreams are fragmented, and there are many things that I can't remember now. In fact, I am most worried about my father."
Akka comforted: "It's okay, he has escaped that death, and there will be no more danger. Did you dream of him later?"
Piecy thought about it for a while and replied, "No."
Akka breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Well, what about me? Have you ever dreamed of me?"
"I often have a dream," said Pesci. "It's a glowing blue, and a man walks into that blue ocean."
Akka: "!"
"And then?" Akka asked nervously.
Percy leaned on Akka's shoulder and asked, "Do you know what that blue light is?"
Akka held his breath, he knew, no one knew better than him.
"That's the consciousness of the 'Father'," Akka said. "Is there a follow-up? After entering, what happened to the blue light?"
Pixi replied in a low voice, "Then the man never came out again. A very high spire collapsed, the robots were all paralyzed, and a fire burned the whole city... Then it rained and put out the flames. , grass and trees grew out of the ruins."
"... There are still many human beings who walked out of the ground and returned to the earth." Pai Xi said.
"What is that person like?" Akka asked nervously.
Peyce raised her head, her cloth-covered eyes turned towards Akka.
Akka asked: "Is it a man, he has black hair, black eyes, tall... good build..."
"No," Pasey replied, "I don't know who he is, because his figure is very vague. Are you talking about Black Rock?"
Akali's voice trembled a little, he whispered: "Blackstone is going to face the 'father' and end all this, I am very afraid, afraid that he will sacrifice himself... I don't know why, I always feel that he has done a good job. Ready to come back."
"No, that person isn't him," Peyce smiled, "Aka, don't worry, although I haven't seen Black Stone, I think that person shouldn't be him. Because in my dreams, Black Stone never appeared. , you know? Even on the night when the clones and humans were at war, I had a dream that Uncle Moran came to rescue us…”
"...So that dream reminded you?" Akka laughed.
"Yes." Pesci replied, "After I woke up, I sent Uncle Moran a message. I also dreamed that we boarded his spaceship, but there was still no Blackstone among the people who boarded."
Akka pondered for a long time, and suddenly realized something was wrong.
"Is the person walking into the blue light a stranger?" Akka asked.
Pei Xi did not speak, and Akka understood in an instant.
Akka said: "That person, it's me, isn't it?"
Pixi's medicine covered his eyes was soaked in tears, he hugged Akka, Akka couldn't say anything at that moment.
"If you sacrifice yourself, you can keep everyone alive," Pasey replied, "Aka, will you go?"
Akka was silent for a long time, he raised his hand, touched Pei Xi's head, and replied, "Yes, I will."
For some reason, Akka's own fear of death is not as important as he used to be. After fleeing with Black Stone, leaving the City of Machines and coming to Dragonmaw City, everything he saw showed the little vitality left in the world.
If he was given a choice, he would not want to live in such a world, and would rather leave a beautiful world before leaving, just as he had always hoped, so that everyone who continues to live, be happy and enjoy a good life .
"Me too," said Percy with a smile. "As long as Daddy is doing well, I will."
Akka thought of Black Stone, and his heart throbbed.
"But without you," Akka replied, "he won't do well, and fortunately you don't need to shoulder this responsibility."
Pixi instead said: "I think my dreams are often prone to variables. Before Uncle Moran met me, I always felt that I was a person who brought bad luck. But gradually I discovered that the future indicated by dreams, It can be changed.”
"Because there is no Black Stone in your dream," Akka replied, "Now I believe it, the future can be changed."
"Hope it." Pacey said happily.
Fei Luo hurried along the corridor and asked, "What are you talking about?"
A-Ka stood up, but Pei Xi stopped talking. Fei Luo opened his hands, hugged Pei Xi, touched his head, and asked, "Does your eyes feel uncomfortable?"
Pei Xi smiled and said, "It's cool, uncle said that in a few days, he will perform surgery on me. He said that after the surgery, he will be able to see."
Philo nodded and said to Akka: "His Majesty the Pope has something to say to you."
When Akka left the garden, he glanced back from a distance and saw Fei Luo hugging Pixi. The two were sitting in front of the railing and whispering to the sea of flowers.
Even if he has finished this part of the road, he will die with his "father", but it may be worthwhile to make everyone live happily, just like Pixi and Philo.
Akka walked into the Pope's study and saw Moran mixing a bottle of potion, while Blackstone stood by, looking up at the books on the shelf.
"… This kind of journey is really worrying," Moran explained, just nodding to Akka, "I don't think anyone can change the fate that has been destined. It's really hard to accept, it's an unpleasant one. Field experience.”
Blackstone replied, "What if fate is changed?"
Moran said: "Once you change your destiny, when you come back, you will find all the consequences caused by the butterfly effect... Maybe when you see Dragonmaw City, it has become a ruin, or maybe... I am dead."
Akka was inexplicable, stood listening to the two of them answering, vaguely feeling that something was wrong.
Black Stone stopped talking, and the study was silent.
"What kind of medicine is this?" Akka asked curiously.
"Anesthetic," Moran replied, "for surgery."
Blackstone said: "What do you want to tell Akka? Say it."
"Sit down, Akka," Moran said. "Pick up your coffee. Do you remember the problem you mentioned when you came here?"
Akka went to the table to pour his own coffee, still recalling the dream prophecy that Pesci had told him, and he didn't know how to speak to Blackstone. If Pai Xi's dream will become a reality, that is to say, on the day when the "father" perishes, when Blackstone restarts the entire astrolabe, he will perish with the "father".
When he heard Pai Xi's words, Akka was very calm, he just thought that it was no big deal. To die like this was at least much better than being indiscriminately slaughtered by the mechanical guards in the city of machines. However, for some unknown reason, the moment he saw Black Stone, he felt a little sad in his heart, and vaguely felt reluctance to part.
"What's wrong?" Blackstone stared at Akka and noticed his abnormality.
"It's nothing." Akka reluctantly shook his head and smiled, his eye sockets were a little sore, and he said to Moran, "We only found two pieces of code to enter the central system, and another piece, on General Libull's body, but Libull has already died."
Moran nodded, and Akka asked again, "I think there might be a backup in Dragonmaw City?"
Speaking of this, Akka's heart moved slightly. Since Moran had been to the City of Machines once during the revolution, did he also have a code backup in his hand?
He looked at Moran expectantly, but Moran guessed what he was thinking, looked at Akka with a smile, and said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, although I already knew about the general mobilization from Percy's dream. will fail, but I don't get any backups of General Lieble."
"Really?" Akka said sadly.
"Let me ask the two of you a question first," Moran said. "If after all this is over, the two of you may separate, and everything you are doing now is not for yourself, would you like to?"
Blackstone looked at Akka with a questioning look.
Akka was a bit at a loss, and Moran said again: "Restarting the astrolabe, maybe... it's just a possibility, it will make you encounter unexpected events, not only will it change the future, but also more likely to be about the past."
Blackstone replied, "I listened to Akka, he begged me to give you humans and clones a new world, Akka?"
"I..." Akka's eyes were red, and when he heard this sentence, he could no longer control his sadness.
He stepped forward, hugged Black Stone tightly, buried his head on his shoulder, and sobbed softly.
Moran put down the potion in his hand, walked towards Akka, and touched his back.
"Looks like you're not ready," Moran whispered. "Just take another day off. We still have a lot of time."
"We're going to launch a general attack in three days, right?" Akka wiped his tears and said, "I'm willing, yes."
Moran looked at Akka, as if he had known for a long time that he would answer this.
"The world will remember the efforts of the two of you," Moran knelt down on one knee and said solemnly, "Son of mankind, please allow me to express my highest respect."
Akka hurriedly helped Moran and said, "You're welcome, Your Majesty, is there any way to get that piece of code from General Liebul?"
Moran returned to his desk and explained: "As you know, after the loss of the creator's laboratory data, one person created the 'Father' and the City of Machines, one person established the kingdom of clones, and another person, Then the Holy Church of the Stars was established."
Akka replied, "Yes."
Moran said: "The first pope of the Star Cult also brought back some of the facilities in the Creator's Heart, which we call Tide's Wish."
"Yes... what is it?" Akka asked blankly.
Moran said: "In fact, in our universe, time does not move forward all the time. Elementary particles are everywhere, and their reciprocating vibration generates an energy, which pushes all objects to wash through time. Arriving at the other shore... I think maybe let you see this first, you will have some ideas, please come with me, you two."
Moran opened a secret door on the bookshelf and led them through the quiet corridor to the ground. This road is incompatible with all the splendid buildings of the Holy See of Dragonmaw City, and it is very different.
The rotating escalator led to the depths of the ground. Moran took off his Pope necklace, which was a glowing five-pointed star, which illuminated a small area in front of the three of them.
"This is the forbidden place of the Holy See," Moran explained. "You can only enter here with the key that ignites the stars."
As they passed the first flight of stairs, the stars lit up in the darkness, and the stars filled the silent darkness, like jewels gleaming on velvet, and then shimmered, casting thin white lines toward them. .
Akka narrowed his eyes and replied, "This is a lethal laser."
"Yes," Moran replied, "the first pope set up this place, follow me, and try to be careful."
Akka saw the swirling rays shot in random directions and shot at them. Moran's pendant, however, has a strange power, deflecting the slender laser beam as much as possible, forming a warm golden shield that refracts all the light back one by one.
In Akka's eyes, although the laser array is meticulous and complicated, it may not be impossible to pass. Blackstone took the initiative to take his hand and said, "This laser array has loopholes."
"It's just for you," Moran said politely, "Aka's eyes can see all the structures in the world, and the needle that Dr. Callan gave him made him a sacrifice to enter the center of the planet, everything is It's all in the deconstruction of his consciousness."
Akka shuddered suddenly, thinking that this was the case.
"Sacrifice," Akka murmured, "that is to say, I am a sacrifice of God?"
"The sacrifice of the Holy Son," Moran replied, "the bond between you and the Black Stone has a deep connection. He was awakened because of you, and also..."
"That's enough, Pope," Blackstone interrupted Moran.
Moran smiled, but Akka wanted to know what Moran said, and said to Heishi, "Let him finish!"
Blackstone held Akka's fingers tighter, looking at him with reproach in his eyes, Akka had to stop talking.
Moran said: "I'll tell you later, Akka, now let's take a look at Tide's Wish, I'm sure you can see how it works."
Moran stopped, they had reached the center of the laser array, and when they walked into a certain range, the starlight in the sky disappeared in an instant, and the surrounding walls appeared, and the walls lit up with pure white light. The ceiling and the ground all glowed with milky white light, like a white house without any facilities. The 360-degree light was everywhere, covering their bodies.
There was only one nutrition cabin in the center of the room, and the nutrition cabin was brand new. Akka said in surprise, "This is the carrier that Black Stone had when he arrived at the coast!"
"Yes," Moran said. "Look more closely. Is it exactly the same?"
Akka bowed to inspect the nutrition cabin, and saw a shiny nameplate outside the nutrition cabin with "Blackstone Z9925" engraved on it.
"I'm sure, exactly the same." Akka pressed his hand on the lid of the nutrition chamber and said, "Blackstone, that's his name."
Blackstone replied, "I originally didn't have a name, but Akka gave me a human name based on the signs on the cabin."
Akka stared at the nutrition cabin, and the structure of the nutrition cabin appeared in front of him for a moment, oxygen supply, dormancy facilities, and electronic circuits. This nutrition cabin uses matter and antimatter energy that humans have not yet mastered, enough to supply the number of people in the cabin. 100,000 years of life required.
But unfortunately, its energy has been depleted and it can no longer operate.
Moran explained: "The first Pope took it to leave the Ancient Heart, from the underground lava tunnel, through the deep sea and into the seabed of the East and West continents, and finally brought to the coast."
Moran pressed the pentagram necklace on the outer cover of the nutrition cabin, and the hatch slowly opened, revealing a little boy sleeping peacefully inside.
Akka: "!"
Blackstone was also a little surprised and asked, "He is..."
"Yes," Moran said. "He is the first Pope, and he has been dead for many years."
The little boy's face was still lifelike, and he was holding a ring-shaped thing in his hand. Moran first knelt down on one knee beside the nutrition cabin, prayed in a low voice, took the ring from his hand, and closed the nutrition cabin.
Moran handed the ring to Akka. Akka pondered, holding the ring and looking at the light. The ring had an extremely complex structure, which made him feel dizzy for the first time in his life. The energy in the ring The circuit revolves back and forth depending on the strange little light in the microscopic world of the gemstone embedded on it.
"It's like there is life," Akka murmured.
"Yes." Moran nodded approvingly, "There is a city in it."
Black Stone frowned slightly, and Akka said in surprise, "No wonder there are so many lives that exist in a single gem?"
"They are a completely different life form from us humans." Moran took off the pentagram necklace and added, "Perhaps the creator created the world in the gem and left it on our continent. There are too many mysteries in the gem that we cannot spy on."
Akka said: "Among this gem, there is a... a..."
Akka stared at the bright red gemstone. There was a crack in the gemstone, but when he looked closely, he found that it was a strange building.
"Emitter," Akka muttered, "a particle emitter."
Moran smiled and nodded. Akka returned the ring to Moran and said, "A kind of spiral particle emitter, which can make particles spin around the tower in it."
Moran put the ring on and led them out of the subterranean space, and Akka asked, "But what's the use of just the transmitter? There needs to be another, exactly the same, exactly the same receiver, in order to echo each other, Form an energy jump. Or is there another ring in this world that is exactly the same as it?"
Moran replied: "You guessed it, the energy emitted by this ring can be received by another identical ring."
Moran led them out of the underground chamber and closed the secret door, and Akka asked again, "I can't think of any effect on the code we obtained from Liebull."
Moran replied: "Exactly the same, Akka, nothing in the world is exactly the same, especially in the microscopic world, which has the exact same structure as itself, only itself."
Akka understood in an instant, and he was surprised: "It was in the past!"
"Yes," Moran nodded. "Using its energy jump, let you go back in time, remember the moment we met on the ship?"
Akka immediately remembered that when he first met Moran, he seemed to be wearing such a ring on his hand.
Moran explained: "As early as a year ago, on the day I left Dragonmaw City and headed to the Eastern Continent, I was worried about leaving the holy relic in the Holy See, so I carried this ring with me. The power of the ring can effectively locate it. For yourself, send the present you to the past, find the past Liebull, and obtain his code."
No amount of exaggerated words can describe Akka's shocking mood at the moment, he stood for a long time, silent, Moran added: "Now I need to communicate with the life in the ring to make sure that they are willing to send you back, on this day Why don't you and the Holy Son rest first, how about you?"
Blackstone asked, "When will the mission start?"
Moran thought for a while and replied, "We still have a lot of time. After all, we are in the past time flow and will not be counted into the current time. You can leave in the early morning of the last day, but I don't recommend it. Do this. Of course, it is not appropriate to leave today. Today is the Spring Festival and the night when all things grow. I suggest you take a walk in the city."
Heishi said: "Then let's do it tomorrow."
Moran nodded happily and made a gesture of please. Akka's mind was blank, and he never imagined that Moran would use such a method to solve their problems.
Black Stone followed behind him, Akka walked, stopped in the corridor, and looked up at Black Stone. Blackstone still had that cold expression - no matter who he treated or heard anything, it was this poker face.
"Don't you want to go?" Blackstone asked.
Akka was silent for a long time, then stepped forward and hugged Black Stone, leaning on top of him. At that moment, Heishi's eyes were not the same as before. Complex emotions gathered in his eyes. He lowered his head and seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't express it.
In the end, he just put his hand on Akka's head, like Philo did to Pacey.
"What happened?" Blackstone asked. "You've been a little absent-minded since the beginning."
Akka thought for a long time and replied, "No, it's fine."
He forced a smile, and Blackstone asked, "Are you afraid that going back in time will be dangerous?"
Akka said: "Uncle Moran said that he was afraid that something would happen to us."
The corners of Heishi's mouth were slightly raised, as if he was hiding something, and said, "Since you are afraid of the unexpected, you shouldn't agree to him from the beginning, right?"
Akka: "…"
"This is not a solution to the problem at all, right?!" Akka was almost gone, and Blackstone said solemnly: "This is not like you."
"Not like me?" Akka asked ironically, "How am I?"
Hei Shi walked past Akka, glanced sideways at him, and said, "That day, you stood out in the crowd, remember?"
Akka and Blackstone stood face to face. Blackstone's eyes were so familiar, but he didn't look like the one when he stood on the stage that day when the mechanical guard held a gun to his head.
"Remember." Akka laughed.
Heoishi casually pointed at himself with his thumb, then poked Akka's shoulder with his index finger, and said, "Believe in yourself, and believe in me."
Akka's melancholy vanished in an instant, he laughed and said, "Okay, Blackstone."
That evening, Akka packed up his things, carried a small bag, and asked Heishi who was lying on the bed: "The Pope said today is a festival, I want to go out for a walk, do you want to go out together?"
Blackstone was silent for a moment, then nodded, and Akka went out with him to visit Dragonmaw City.
There is a huge difference between Dragonmaw City and Phoenix City, and everything you see is human. Moran gave Akka a sum of money, and Akka bought some food he liked here. He likes to eat cream pancakes on this continent, but he always thinks it is too expensive in Phoenix, so he often buys them for Piece to eat, but he is reluctant to eat them.
He bought pancakes in front of the stall, and his saliva was almost drooling. When he handed it to Heishi, Heishi just glanced at it inexplicably.
Akka stood in front of the stall and devoured food, as well as fresh fruits, and the setting sun sprinkled on the long street. He felt that if he could live such a life every day in the future, he would be very happy.
Heishi said: "You like to be with your kind."
"It's called liking the fun," Akka explained with a smile. "I once thought that when you return to Phoenix City, you must go shopping with you. Phoenix City is actually not bad, although not as good as Dragon Mouth City."
Blackstone was wearing a pair of sunglasses and stood side by side with Akka. Passing the market, there were many hawkers selling goods along the street. Akka stopped to watch curiously, and bought something for Pesci.
"Do you like this kind of life?" Akka asked.
"It's okay," Blackstone replied after thinking for a while, "You like them because you are like them, but I am not like them."
Blackstone seemed to talk a lot today, Akka explained with a smile: "If you treat yourself as a human being, maybe you won't feel lonely anymore."
"Maybe." Hei Shi looked at the girl selling flowers on the roadside with a strange expression, as if he couldn't understand why they took off the genitals of plants growing in the wild and sold them to their own kin for a certain fee. Akka bought a small tuner and a signal transmitter, and when he looked up, he saw Blackstone looking at the girl selling flowers.
The girl blushed slightly at the sight of Hei Shi, but smiled and said, "Sir, do you need to buy a bunch of flowers?"
Blackstone replied, "No."
Akka thought what a boring guy, and while he was bargaining with the boss, Blackstone knelt down on one knee in front of another stall, a stall selling bracelets in the market.
"Need it? Sir?" the boss said with a smile. "Only seven silver coins!"
Hei Shi picked up a bracelet and looked at the sunset. Akka squeezed over and asked, "Do you want this? I have money, so I'll buy it for you."
Blackstone waved his hand and took out a small box from his jacket pocket. When he opened the box, several golden bullets of different lengths were inserted into it.
"Exchange this with you?" Blackstone replied, "I only need one."
The boss said: "This is a twin bracelet, it is a pair, not just for sale!"
Blackstone replied, "Only one."
Akka was helpless, and said, "I have it all, give it to me if you don't want it."
Blackstone glanced at Akka, then threw the golden bullet on the booth, picked up two bracelets, and threw one of them to Akka.
Akka thinks this guy's character is too strange, but I hope that if he gets along with humans in the future, he will gradually change a little.
They didn't know the way, and Black Stone and Akka didn't know where to go, so they walked one after the other on the market. When the setting sun left a lavender light and shadow in the distant mountains, the market was noisier, and the commercial street of Dragon Mouth City lit up the criss-crossing lanterns, more and more people, Akka had to lead Black Stone's hand will not go away.
Akka suddenly thought of Blackstone's character, as if he didn't like dealing with too many people, let alone crowding around here, and hurriedly asked Blackstone, "I'm sorry, you don't really like noisy places, do you?"
Blackstone took off his sunglasses, glanced at Akka, and replied, "No."
Akka said, "Let's go back."
Blackstone replied: "Really not, you like to stay here, it doesn't matter to me."
Akka's head was covered in black lines, and he asked again, "Is there any place you want to see?"
Blackstone replied, "No."
Akka: "…"
Akka actually yearns for this kind of warm city scene, which makes him feel beautiful and full of vitality, but Blackstone obviously has no interest in all of this, and is just shopping with him.
"Actually you can't do this," Akka said, "otherwise, if we're not together, how will you live?"
Blackstone's eyebrows twitched beautifully, and it seemed that this was the first time he thought of this question. Akka smiled again and said, "You always have to deal with humans, as long as you live in this world, don't you? I think you always don't like them."
"No," Blackstone replied, "Humans are like trees, birds, or insects to me."
Akka said: "So this is not right, you are actually the same as humans, aren't you?"
Heishi said: "Whatever."
Akka really lost to him and said, "Are you hungry? Shall we go to dinner?"
Black Stone is always indispensable, but he is much gentler than when they first met, at least he doesn't always carry the ill-will of strangers. Akka finds a restaurant on the platform and sits down with Blackstone.
"What do you want to eat?" Akka asked.
"Whatever." Hei Shi stared at the colorful street scene outside, and without thinking, he handed the question of ordering to Akka.
Akka had to order him the same thing as himself. In Phoenix, he always wanted to come out to eat at a restaurant, but he was always poor and had no chance. He often thought that when Black Stone came, he would definitely take him out to see the human world and experience something he had never experienced before.
Now that the wish has finally been fulfilled, it is in such a helpless and funny situation.
The waiter served them wine and lit candles, Akka started cutting the steak with a knife and fork, and Kuroishi watched for a while, holding the steak with his fingers and putting it into his mouth like a cookie.
Akka: "…"
Blackstone: "?"
Akka motioned for him to put it down, and then used a knife and fork to help him cut the steak into small pieces, while Heishi looked outside while casually picking up the small piece of steak and chewing it in his mouth.
Akka said: "Sometimes I'm always curious. You often don't speak, what are you thinking about?"
"I think you just told me." Blackstone said.
Akka asked: "In your eyes, am I no different from a tree or a bird?"
Hei Shi turned his head to the side and glanced at Akka. Akka seemed to have already received an answer, so he said, "Okay."
He always thought that he was different to Blackstone. After all, they had been together since he found him in the sea that day. After walking for so long, Blackstone's attitude towards the rest seemed to be different from Akka.
Akka said seriously: "For the Son of God and the Savior, I don't expect to be treated differently from flowers and trees... I just think that maybe I will die one day."
At this time, Blackstone began to look directly at Akka.
"It will die, yes." Blackstone nodded.
Akka said: "I don't know your body structure very well, maybe in your identity, you are immortal?"
Blackstone thought for a while and replied, "I don't know."
Akka said, "If you don't try to make friends, then... after I die, there will be no one to take care of you."
Akka said with a little sympathy: "Or if I die of illness, or... sacrifice. I don't care, I will die if I die, you may feel a little lonely."
Blackstone also said sympathetically, "You should take care of yourself first."
Akka really wanted to drop the napkin and stop playing with him. However, thinking that Blackstone is really slow in his feelings for human beings, and of course he doesn't understand the bonds between people, in the last thought, he still doesn't care about him.
Black Stone was full of sauce for the steak, and at the end, he said, "I don't eat it, it tastes too strange."
"This taste can't be better, can it?" Akka said.
Heishi said, "I don't like eating raw food."
Akka saw that the steak was medium-rare and asked, "It tastes so good, why don't you eat it raw."
"To be born means that life remains on it." Blackstone replied.
Sometimes Akka really doesn't know what the logic of Black Stone is, he said: "Don't eat it for me, don't waste it."
Hei Shi held a piece of steak with his fingers and fed it into Akka's mouth. Akka was about to get up to pay the bill. After eating the steak, he sucked Heishi's fingers and licked off the sauce. At that moment, Heishi's movements suddenly became a little stiff.
"You..." Blackstone's breathing suddenly became rapid.
"I'll go check out," Akka said.
Black Stone's expression was a little wrong, as if he was stunned. Inexplicably, Akka waved his hand in front of Black Stone, and Black Stone immediately recovered, rubbed his fingers, and snapped his fingers.
Akka smiled and said, "You still do this?"
Blackstone replied, "I see grizzly bears like that."
Black Stone settled the bill, and the crowd on the street outside became even more crowded. Nearly tens of thousands of people flocked to this street, as if they were going to participate in some grand ceremony. There was a melodious flute under the night sky, which is a very famous ancient song "Shepherd's Spring". People sang and danced to the music, followed the crowd and rushed towards the huge square in front of the Holy See.
"Philo—" Akka yelled.
Fei Luo was very tall, and Percy was riding on his shoulders, and Pai was still blindfolded. Presumably Fei Luo was afraid of being squeezed by people, so he let him ride on his shoulders.
"Aka!" Percy heard Aka's voice keenly and shouted, "Where are you?"
He turned his ears to the side and recognized Akka's position. The two sides were very far apart. Akka hurriedly said, "Back me, Black Stone!"
Hei Shi turned sideways helplessly, and Akka climbed onto his back and shouted, "Filuo! You guys are here too!"
Fei Luo carried Pei Xi and replied, "Don't come here! Akka! There are too many people!"
There were more and more people. Hei Shi carried Akka on his back and was pushed back by the crowd. He walked forward involuntarily. When he reached the square in the center of the Star Church, all the lights went out.
Akka shouted in surprise and whispered, "Put me down, Blackstone!"
Blackstone and Akka held hands and stood on the edge of the square. The next moment, a vast Milky Way lit up in the sky, and the crowd cheered loudly. There seems to be a strange magic outside the temple, the stars rotate, forming various patterns, and then dim.
"My people, happy Spring Festival." Moran appeared on the high platform, pressing down on the railing with both hands, and said downwards.
"May the wind and the sun, rain and thunder, all creatures on this earth grow up..."
"May the clouds gather and disperse like our lives..."
Everyone took out a small cup from their arms, and a candle was lit in the cup. The square was silent, only Moran's voice echoed in the elegant music.
"May life prosper..."
Moran prayed in a low voice, and the thousands of candles in the square reflected on the faces of everyone, and they looked up at the Pope.
Akka looked left and right, he just didn't buy candles to participate in this grand ceremony, it was a mistake, but Heishi said: "Hold me, Akka."
Akka: "?"
Black Stone stretched out his arm, Akka hugged him, and then, with a sound of "crashing", Black Stone shook off the metal wings behind him, flew into the sky, hovered over the temple, floated down, and sat on a high place with Akka on the railing.
"It's so beautiful!" Akka exclaimed.
Looking down from this low-rise building, there was a sea of candles, and Moran stood in the light of the stars, praying in a low voice.
"Yeah." Hei Shi replied casually, putting his foot on the railing, and without looking down, he lowered his head and fiddled with the bracelet he just bought.
Moran's voice came from far away, Akka listened for a while, and then turned his attention to Black Stone's bracelet. He found that Black Stone was trying to inlay a piece of black into the bracelet.
"Do you want to decorate it?" Akka asked.
The black stone didn't lift it, and with a vague "um" sound, Akka said again: "Where did this thing come from?"
Akka leaned forward to look, and saw Blackstone's slender fingers holding an obsidian-like crystal, which seemed to be the shape of the black iron feather he spread out and flew.
"Get out of the way," Blackstone said. "You're blocking the light."
Akka: "…"
Akka had to stand aside boredly, and Blackstone looked up at Akka without saying anything, and focused on setting his bracelet. Akka watched for a while, but Moran's prayers in the distance could no longer be heard, so he also took out the bracelet from the small bag he was carrying, and used a simple welder to weld a button-sized signal transmitter to the bracelet.
"Lend me to use it." Heishi said.
Akka had to lend him the welder. Blackstone pressed his finger against the welder and started the welding directly. Akka said, "Be careful!"
Akka even smelled the burnt smell, so he hurriedly pulled Heishi's hand away, and found that his index finger was burnt with a black mark, and he was busy sucking it in his mouth. He tried to withdraw his fingers, but Akka didn't let go.
After a while, the black stone pulled out, his face was a little red, and he asked, "Is this a sign of human beings?"
"No, it's just because you're injured." Akka said.
Heishi said: "I will heal myself."
Akka said angrily: "That can't be the case, don't you feel pain?!"
Blackstone motioned Akka to look at his finger, which had healed as before, Akka really lost to him.
"It's installed." Hei Shi looked like a child, looking at the silver bracelet he made with satisfaction, and seemed a little surprised, and said, "I can actually create it."
Akka said angrily: "Of course it will create."
"Only you humans can create." Blackstone replied, "Apart from humans, no other species can create, so the creator has been looking for creative life."
"Really?" Akka vaguely noticed something, and asked again, "Isn't it possible for other lives?"
"It needs to be given, or some kind of opportunity arises spontaneously." Blackstone looked into the square again and replied, "I don't know what that is either. God Father has never left this message in my memory. Maybe Even he doesn't know why intelligent life has the ability to create."
"Because of love?" Akka asked. "I have seen in ancient poetry and classics that love can stimulate people's desire to create."
Blackstone did not answer, and after a moment Moran finished his prayers, the crowd cheered, the ceremony seemed to be over, and the lights in the square went out again.
"For you." Blackstone and Akka almost said in unison.
At that moment, Akka and Blackstone's expressions were almost the same, Akka was holding his bracelet, while Blackstone was holding the other.
Akka couldn't help laughing, but Hei Shi was very serious, and handed the bracelet to him.
Akka said, "I'll tie it for you."
He took Black Stone's hand and tied the chain to his strong wrist, but at this moment, there was a clear sound that cut through the night sky in the distance.
A fireworks dragged a bright trajectory into the night sky, and the sharp sound instantly aroused the cheers of tens of thousands of people!
With a loud bang, fireworks bloomed, illuminating their faces, and Akka looked up at the night sky blankly, ecstatic.
Hei Shi fastened the bracelet he made for Akka. The two of them raised their heads and looked at the colorful fireworks blooming one after another in the night sky. Akka murmured, "It's so beautiful."
There were more and more fireworks, occupying the dark night, and the sky was shining like a dream.
Blackstone turned his head inadvertently, looking at Akka's face. Akka looked at him for a while, and saw that Hei Shi was looking at him, he smiled at Hei Shi too: "It's so beautiful! Have you seen it before? It's like... like... "
"The separation of the stars, the picture of the birth of the universe," Blackstone replied, "Father God gave me this memory."
"Yes!" Akka said excitedly, "This metaphor is too apt!"
Akka sat side by side with Black Stone, and the fireworks that illuminated the long night bloomed in front of them. Akka couldn't help but turn to look at Black Stone again.
"If one day, we are separated," Akka whispered, "Will you miss me?"
Blackstone stared at Akka, as if he wanted to say something, but didn't say it. Akka looked at his black eyes and the splendid, colorful light in his pupils, feeling like a grand and prosperous stage play.
His heart moved slightly, and he couldn't even say that he was driven by any thoughts. He closed his eyes and felt Hei Shi's slight breathing.
This night, thousands of fireworks rose and fell one after another for a full hour, illuminating the Dragonmaw City like a white night. Until the end, everything returned to silence, and the fluorescent birds in the late spring lingered in the city, the whole holy city gradually fell asleep, and the surroundings were silent.
At the height of the Holy See, Akka leaned against Black Stone and fell asleep.
The next day, in the dim light of the morning, Heishi came out through the corridor, and Fei Luo stopped behind him.
"I'm not sure if you can do it," Fei Luo said, "but... Come on, Blackstone."
Hei Shi turned around, wearing a long trench coat, his hands in fingerless gloves lazily in his pockets, at this time, he stretched out a hand, wearing the silver bracelet that Akka gave him.
"Thank you." Heishi said solemnly.
Fei Luo and Hei Shi clapped their hands, clenching their fingers tightly.
"Come back alive." Fei Luo said.
Blackstone nodded and said, "I now realize that being a human is not bad."
Fei Luo laughed and said, "You are indeed different from before."
Black Stone whistled, turned and walked towards the temple.
At the same time, Akka put on his hat and came out of the room. As he crossed the corridor, Percy ran out to the side and hugged Akka tightly.
"Aka," said Pesci, "must come back safely!"
Akka hugged Percy tightly. He was wearing a shirt and trousers. In front of his rolled-up sleeves, on his bare wrists, he wore a bracelet given to him by Black Stone. A black water droplet was welded to the center of the silver bracelet. A gem-shaped gem that emits a faint purple light.
"You too." Akka whispered.
He parted from Percy and walked toward the temple, where he saw Blackstone waiting for him.
Several people entered the temple, Moran was waiting for their arrival in the center of the temple, and Bishop Igor closed the door.
Moran said: "Philo, the Tsar and the Grizzly have been teleported. Five minutes later, I will mark you, and you will be teleported to me in November of last year. At this time, before the clone revolution, There are still three days. In the past, I will assist you to enter the city of machines."
A-Ka waited for a long time before waiting for this moment, and there was an indescribable shock in his heart. In the magnificent hall, the light fell, and he and Heishi stood in front of Moran, as if a solemn and solemn ceremony was about to be held.
Akka took a deep breath and nodded, "I'll try my best."
Moran added: "Because I was not familiar with the terrain in the city of machinery in the past, and I didn't have the various entry orders required to open the passage, so... everything depends on you, Akka."
Blackstone asked, "Is there anything I need to pay attention to?"
Akka said, "Can I ask Blackstone and I to help you?"
"No," Moran's expression changed slightly, and he immediately said, "Except for me in the past, you can't acquire too much existence, you can recall the day you escaped from the city of 'Father', did you know that your future self came back ?"
Akka immediately understood that he didn't know about it, that is to say, the two selves in the future and the past didn't even meet each other.
"Not only can you not turn to the old you for help," Moran said sternly, "you can't even let him see you, you must avoid him, and beware of everything that might lead to the failure of the revolution. Everything you have done in the past It will cause a series of butterfly effects, and this effect is likely to cause everyone now to deviate from their own trajectory.”
Akka nodded and said, "What would happen if I was accidentally seen?"
Moran said solemnly: "It is very likely that annihilation will occur, or two countercurrents of energy will collide with each other, directly destroying the entire world."
Akka took a deep breath and said, "I see, please start... wait, no!"
According to Moran's account, Akka deduced a certain inevitable result. The present Moran marked the past Moran, and they all wore this ring on their hands. The rendezvous of Moran in the past... Which means, before that, Moran knew about their return to the past!
"You knew me before you got on the boat..." Akka said in a trembling voice.
"Yes." Moran smiled. "Before we got on the boat, we were friends."
Akka's astonishment couldn't be further added, and he asked again, "Has our mission been successful?"
Moran said: "The success of your mission does not mean that you don't need to work hard. On the contrary, if you fail, it will cause a change in time, and maybe everyone will be destroyed, no matter when and where, you have to work hard. , Akka."
"I see!" Akka replied, "please start!"
Moran said: "The process of being sent back to the past may be a little uncomfortable for you. Hold on, Akka."
Moran turned the ring, a ray of light enveloped Akka, and with a "hum", Akka disappeared immediately.
In the temple, Moran and Black Stone were left standing face to face.
Moran's ring dimmed after Akka was sent away, waiting for the next charge.
Blackstone stared at the ground silently. In this brief silence, Moran said, "It will take three minutes to send you back, Holy Son."
Blackstone nodded and said, "Will it affect Akka's body?"
"It's hard to say." Moran said, "I haven't tried to activate Tide Wish."
Blackstone looked up at Moran, Moran was silent for a moment, and then smiled: "I've been curious about something, can I ask you a question?"
"Ask." Hei Shi replied succinctly.
Moran said: "According to the records in the Book of Stars, when the petri dish of the astrolabe is about to be completely contaminated, the Creator will send the Son to carry out purification... In other words, your mission is actually..."
Blackstone replied, "Clear all tasks on the petri dish."
Moran replied: "Yes, I arrived in the Eastern Continent last year and was very surprised when I saw you for the first time. Logically speaking, the order left by God Father in your memory is to kill everyone. and end this experiment."
"Hmm." Blackstone replied, "What's the problem?"
Moran said: "What made you... decide to protect us humans and clones? Sorry, I didn't mean to ask your mind..."
Blackstone fell into a long silence.
The light and shadow in the temple changed, Heishi raised his hand, and all the light converged in an instant, interlacing and weaving into a colorful picture.
In front of the sea of tulips, the moonlight poured into the room through the window lattice, Heishi was lying on the bed, and Akka was lying beside him, smiling and saying something to him.
"Because of Akka?" Moran asked calmly.
Blackstone didn't speak any more, he wiped his hand in front of him, and the scene changed rapidly—
- At night in the holy city, thousands of fireworks bloomed in the air, Akka smiled and handed him a bracelet.
—In the evening of the Spring Festival, Akka was standing on the street, gobbling down pancakes with cream.
- Moonlight cast through the window lattice, Black Stone was lying on the bed, Akka was lying beside him, talking to himself.
—Under the gloomy sky of Phoenix City, Akka chased Black Stone out, activated his thrusters, hugged Black Stone by the waist among dozens of robot guards, and led him into the glass building, bursting out. Flickering debris.
—In the sewers of Phoenix City, Akka lay weakly in Black Stone's arms, holding his hand tightly.
- In the long night, the Black Sea was like the roaring mouth of a rolling giant beast. Black Stone sat beside the reef, talking to the communicator alone, and the windbreaker was raised in the sea breeze.
—That day in the City of Machines, Black Stone stood on the high platform and glanced at the unfamiliar humans under the platform. Everyone's expressions were indifferent, and their eyes were full of fear.
"Wait!" Akka shouted, "It's me! The person this stranger is looking for is me!"
Moran watched this scene quietly, without speaking.
- The tides of the Black Sea ebb and flow, Yun Mie Yunsheng, the lid of the nutrition cabin opened, Akka looked surprised, and carefully hugged him.
- A blue light, like a vast ocean submerging him, Akka's lonely voice entered the sea of "Father"'s thinking.
"I want someone to accompany me," Akka murmured, "to make me less lonely."
Blackstone glanced at Moran, did not speak any more, and walked into the blue light. The sea-like blue light turned to a gentle purple, and Moran's ring shot a beam of light that enveloped the black stone.
"Because I like humans, and there are individuals like Akka among humans." Blackstone replied, nodding to Moran, who put one hand on his shoulder and bowed to Blackstone.
Black Stone's figure gradually faded in the light and disappeared.
-The fireworks rose and fell, blooming prosperously in the sky. Under the fireworks, Akka closed his eyes, and Black Stone gently hugged him.