NFBE Chapter 1751 - 95: The Boy Who Once Was Has Grown Up
Chapter 1751 - 95: The Boy Who Once Was Has Grown Up
kilometers.kilometers.
kilometers...
The higher he rose, the more frost formed on the windows, the sky grew darker and colder, and the clouds gradually disappeared from view.
Just then, a thought suddenly flashed through Yamada Machiichi’s mind, a thought crowded with illogical questions at this final moment of life. Though he had already recorded his last words on the white crane, he still softly asked the black box:
"Su Ming’an..."
"Tell me... if Zhai Xing had consciousness, would it be... proud of humanity?"
"We’ve done so many bad things, polluted the ocean, cut down forests, fought so many wars... turned a perfectly good planet into a mess."
"But we also... created so many beautiful things, wrote so many touching poems, painted so many lovely paintings... and right now, for each other, for a future that might be very bleak... we’ve tried our hardest."
"In some ways... we’ve done some good things too, haven’t we?"
No response.
Darkness became thicker.
"29 seconds."
"28 seconds."
"27 seconds."
"Beep, beep..."
The perception of the body quickly faded, and the pain seemed to become distant.
The final moment... really about to come?
"...I wonder... what kind of wish I should make?"
Yamada Machiichi seemed to be asking the black box, yet he was also asking himself.
Then he closed his eyes.
In his mind, an image appeared.
Not a grand scene, nor a magnificent epic.
Just a very small, very quiet, very ordinary image.
—He wants to sit on an empty bench in an old church.
—In the afternoon sun, the stained glass windows cast mottled light and shadow on the floor, with dust quietly swirling in the air.
—He’s holding a thick, blank sketchbook in his arms, with a pen in his hand, yet he hasn’t drawn anything, simply waiting quietly.
—Waiting for the aged wooden door of the church to be suddenly pushed open.
—Waiting for Su Ming’an and Lu, maybe with someone else, carrying with them a bit of the cold from outside, appearing at the door with the same familiar, slightly helpless but warm smile, saying to him:
"Hey, Yamada, have you been waiting long?"
Startling him, startling him out of his emotions.
That’s enough.
This shows...
They’re still alive. He is still alive. The world is still there.
Tears moistened his eyelashes, and in the silent mecha, only the sound of mechanical operation could be heard. This time, he was no longer the host admired by the crowd, no one saw his weakness; he gently hunched his body, buried his head between his knees, and held his forehead between his hands.
Tears fell on his knees, inside the helmet came the sound of ragged breathing, his entire body shook violently as if struck by a chill erupting from deep within his soul.
Red, yellow, blue, green... colors once representing joy and playfulness melted away under the wash of tears. The bright red at the corners of his mouth was diluted, turning into a pathetic pink stain; exaggerated black eyeliner was smudged, mixed with tears into a dirty gray-black.
Tears washed away the mask of the "clown", revealing underneath it the pale, youthful, weary, and tear-stained face belonging to "Yamada Machiichi".
"I... I want to go home..."
He cried over this damn destiny, cried for the companions who would never return. He cried in utter loss of composure, his face smeared with snot and tears, mingling with the melted paint.
The closed cockpit echoed with the sound of crying. No audience, no spotlight, no need to maintain the dignity of being a "host". Here, in this deep space wilderness even stingy with starlight, he no longer had to smile, no longer had to hold on, he could unabashedly, for the end of everything, for a life lived briefly yet truly... cry his heart out.
Tears blurred the endless darkness outside the observation window; Yamada Machiichi almost forgot how he maneuvered the mecha to steadily stop at the boundary. Short scenes from countless comics he had read echoed in his mind, what he would do as an artist if he survived, what he would do in the future...
The doom-encompassing Snow of the End blanketed the mecha, penetrated the glass, and settled upon his pupils.
In his eyes mingled with regret, sadness, disappointment, pain, expectation...
In a trance, he seemed to hear many voices.
...
["You’re alive!" Yamada Machiichi shouted, pounding the wall: "You should have told me earlier, I’ve been upset for hours! My heart almost burned away! The notebook is about to be torn apart!"]
...
["...Don’t forget the promised trip, I’ve even prepared the route map for Guzi store." Yamada Machiichi said with a smile.]
...
["——Today is your twentieth birthday, Su Ming’an." Yamada Machiichi smiled:]
["Happy birthday, our Savior."]
...
["The flowers outside are in full bloom, I brought you a bouquet!" Yamada Machiichi quietly took out the flowers from behind him.]
...
["Here, Luto, I brought you candy." Yamada Machiichi then took out the candy: "Just tell us if it’s bitter, ask us for candy, don’t bear it alone."]
...
["Trying to use age to pressure me? We are all your elder siblings now!" Yamada Machiichi put his hands on his hips: "You shuttle through time, that doesn’t count as normal aging, you will only appear younger compared to us!"]
...
["This is my carefully scrutinized notebook... cough cough, art collection."]
...
["Come! Freshly made oden, crafted by Yamada himself, authentic deliciousness! Explosively tasty!"]
...
["Where do we plan to explore today? Previously simulated the garden of Yu Country, the cherry blossoms of Fusang, the ice and snow of North Country, today how about Mingsha Mountain of Dragon Country? I’ll start the simulation device right now, pull you around for a tour!"]
...
...What is this, what are these?
Yamada Machiichi doesn’t remember when he said these words, but at this moment, at the verge of life’s end, at the moment of this snow’s arrival... he heard these voices.
Suddenly, in a trance, he glimpsed... beneath the vast and limitless celestial map, they embraced each other, the star sea flowing overhead, light points condensed into a waterfall, he danced with his companions.
An "old man," supported by them, danced together.
The hair falling from the wheelchair, danced as they led it, each person with a forced smile on their face.
The "old man’s" steps were slow and soft, almost supported by the companions’ arms. Yamada Machiichi held his guiding hand, forward, dancing.
"So wonderful!"
"I’m so happy now!"
"Lü Shu, Yamada, Bei Wang, Yi Song. Thank you all!"
"——Now, I am the happiest person in the world!"
"19 seconds."
"18 seconds."
"17 seconds."
In the countdown to self-destruction, Yamada Machiichi vaguely realized what all this was.
Possibilities he had forgotten.
...The possibility that he lived to be the last person.
But now he recalled, realizing that perhaps that self wasn’t weak, but a strength that persisted to the end. Everyone was gone, and he stayed until the last moment.
Well, the self that chose to exit early now, unable to hold out to the last moment— is it strong too?
He didn’t know.
```
He didn’t have time to think.
"Click."
A light, almost inaudible mechanical sound rang out.
The recording abruptly stopped.
The red light on the black box blinked a few times, gradually extinguishing.
Out of the corner of his eye, it seemed he saw,
a young boy beneath the villa, under the New Year’s fireworks, leisurely holding a bouquet, spinning and dancing.
The cake candles remained warm, smiles were on everyone’s faces.
...
"Whoosh——!"
The scorching sun broke at dawn.
An arrow flew into the sky.
——Amidst the fireworks, a sharp sword pierced the sun.
As zero hour approached, everyone could clearly see that figure.
——That person was transcending the firmament, above countless player skills, their form illuminated among the endless fireworks.
——Their hair danced wildly in the radiant light, their gaze reflecting countless glories, like a phoenix ascending, reborn in flames.
——From within, a blazing white surged forth, enveloping their body, the pale radiance evaporating like morning dew. They ascended upwards, resembling a retrograde meteor piercing the atmosphere.
"Whoosh!"
Everyone watched as they soared skywards, hardly managing to blink, that person rushed from the Abyss to the firmament, carving a white line dividing heaven and earth!
Countless white tendrils emerged as they ascended, like wings, like clouds, spreading across the heavens! In the sky, they unfurled a holy and vast pale expanse!
Where they passed, the golden sky curtain that was descending with unstoppable force instantly dispersed like smoke and cloud with their flight!
"——It’s the Number One Player!" Someone shouted, buried in the erupting roar, barely audible.
They returned from the Source Point, signaling the start of the counterattack in this battle.
They eagerly anticipated their return, cheering for their comeback.
Beside them, a young warrior took a deep breath, succeeding them, a hoarse shout erupted from his chest:
"Welcome back, Number One Player——!!!"
Those standing there understood the current situation. They knew well the dilemma Su Ming’an faced, aware that he needed assistance the most now. That person had fought through so many challenges, even risking absorbing the Demon Mother Goddess within ten minutes for time’s sake...
A shout, like a spark igniting the dry prairie.
"Whew whew whew——" Countless lights and fires merged into a tide. Gold-red, verdant green, indigo, pale yellow... various colored light arrows competed to leave the string, rushing to the glimmering feast in the sky.
Following their flight, chasing after their firelight, lighting up this Radiant "night" for them.
A girl abruptly lifted her head, tears mixed with black ash rolling down her face, she used all her strength and shouted together: "Welcome back——BUFF, rise——!!!"
The eastern sky exploded with a cluster of golden chrysanthemums, some player’s skill, extremely beautiful. On the western sky, several fire trees rose, suddenly, countless pear blossoms erupted from the branches with a crackling commotion, illuminating the clouds for miles around, adding various buff halos for them, even if the amplification was slight, the sheer quantity overwhelming.
A mage leaning against a broken wall, bandages wrapped around their abdomen. They heard the young warrior and girl’s shouts, followed by shouting:
"——Welcome back, Number One Player!!!"
Light and color collided in the high firmament, countless clouds connected into a sheet. In an instant, myriad supportive halos and healing halos erupted from the earth, pouring down like the starry river of nine heavens, dyeing the sky a flowing tapestry.
One spark, two sparks, three sparks...
Shouts started to connect together. From a shaky three-person squad, to a small defensive position.
The flames began to spread.
"Welcome home!!!"
"Welcome back, Number One Player——!!"
"Welcome back, Su Ming’an!!"
"Welcome everyone home——!"
"Welcome ourselves home! Aaaaaa——!"
Initially chaotic, mingled with various appellations and emotional releases. Gradually, ever expansive, ever majestic. Perhaps the light festival resembling fireworks too closely, the roaring sound responded in waves, shuddering the air itself. Or perhaps, they had been oppressed for too long, constantly worried about having a tomorrow, finally able to shout freely now.
The vast limitless Abyss resembled an ocean, black waters like waves, never-ending.
He returned.
——[Returned from the Ocean].
From frontline melee warriors, to rear spellcasters depleted of magic power; from sky-circling flight-mounted riders, to struggling wounded in ground crevices. Hundreds of thousands, millions of voices broke through the smoke, tearing apart the curtains of energy explosions, hoarse shouting.
It’s not just for welcoming Su Ming’an, but also welcoming their comrades, their family, everyone beside them in battle, those protected behind them... even themselves. Welcoming every person able to come home.
They finally reached this step.
From above the coast, such a distant distance.
Like blessings, more so affirmations.
As if the earth was thanking the heavens’ gifts, like all living beings vehemently praising the new year.
The firelight illuminated people’s faces, gilding the craggy wrinkles of the elderly with gold, igniting bright starlight in the clear eyes of youth, even stray cats huddled on street corners perked their ears, gazing in the light stunned.
People looked up, as if seeing everything flowing in the firelight.
——As if despite the long cold night, there is always a moment of brilliance, capable of lighting up the entire mortal world.
This moment.
Su Rin turned back.
Lin Yin lifted her wings.
Lü Shu clenched his blade edge.
Ian raised the dragon’s head high.
The woman on the abyss’s edge looked from afar.
Violet in the sickbed gazed out the window towards the golden sky.
Zhao Yuan halted holding the camera.
Seat of Greece, Isabella opened her eyes.
Xiber strode forward.
Anthony and other players raised their heads high.
All those still living, whether player, Divine Envoy, high-class race, or trembling refugees, unconsciously directed their gaze towards the center of the world.
——In an instant.
"Slash."
An incredibly sharp sound, like the sharpest knife tearing open silk.
In the center of the battlefield sky, a sea of chaos and light interwoven by millions, before the majestic god shadow of Radiant Mother God obscured by light pollution, beside Su Rin’s wings, in the direction pointed by Lü Shu’s Black Scythe, at the sight’s end where Lin Yin rapidly flew——
A pure white line, pierced through the firmament!
As if someone from the ground bent a bow and drew an arrow——one arrow, aimed directly at the enemy’s leader!!!
The brilliance of millions of skills instantly dimmed, the shouts of all seemed instantly to quieten.
Like a latch, pulled open by an invisible hand.
Like a curtain, split into two by a white brush.
When the clock’s countdown reached the end.
——That one second.
His eye pupils silent as stars, hair gently swaying, the coat flinging up in the wind, resembling an endless night curtain.
As he rushed into the sky for an instant, the brilliance of millions of skills diminished. Countless pure white radiance danced along with him, layers upon layers of white branches swirling, growing towards the firmament.
He seemed like the last bit of twilight before dawn.
The final cold star at the end of the universe.
...