His thoughts slowly rose up from a pitch-black abyss, and the light above his head gradually grew brighter, until…
"…Zane…"
"Zane!"
The familiar calls by his ear finally woke him completely.
Zane suddenly opened his eyes. What entered his sight wasn't the familiar ceiling, nor an unfamiliar sky, but Rover's pair of captivating golden eyes.
Seeing him wake up, Rover let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, she crossed her arms and turned away, no longer looking at him.
Only the faint blush rising on the tips of her ears showed that her heart wasn't as calm as she appeared.
After all, not long ago, she had made a confession in the domain that was almost like declaring ownership. And the person involved had heard it…
Not far from Rover, Yangyang stood there with a face full of joy, constantly wiping away her tears.
After Rover and the others came out of the stone man's body, Yangyang, who had been resisting the afterimages alone, also rushed over.
But when she learned that Zane had already died, Yangyang became like a puppet that had lost its soul.
Even while facing countless afterimages, her body, which had shown no weakness, instantly collapsed to the ground.
At that moment, Yangyang felt like her whole world had fallen apart…
Fortunately, Zane hadn't actually died.
"That's great… that's great…"
Before Zane could even react, a warm, soft body suddenly appeared in his arms. Looking down, he realized it was the usually cold and indifferent Doctor.
A patch of dampness spread from his chest, soaking his clothes, and quietly seeping into his heart as well.
"Alright, I'm not dead, am I?"
Seeing this, Zane froze for a moment. Then a gentle smile appeared on his face. He couldn't help reaching out and softly stroking the cute girl's hair.
Her smooth strands slipped through his fingers, brushing against his fingertips, and stirring something inside him.
———
At the same time, on a cliff not far away, a red figure also placed the heartfire feather, which had regained its warmth, back into her arms. A relaxed smile appeared on her fair, delicate face.
How long had it been since tears last appeared on this mature and charming face? Changli herself could no longer remember.
But the bone-deep pain she felt when she learned of Zane's death was something she never wanted to go through again.
On the other side, seeing the relieved smile on her master's face, the white figure also wiped away her tears.
Since Zane was safe, it was time for her to set off toward Mt. Firmament.
Of course, Zane had no idea that his death this time had even alarmed the two people at the very top of Jinzhou.
———
A butterfly glowing with a gentle blue light landed softly on Zane's shoulder, and a soft voice sounded by his ear.
"You're awake."
Hearing the butterfly speak from his shoulder, Zane's eyes widened.
"Holy crap! The butterfly is talking? Did I drink too much nuclear wastewater? Or have I not actually woken up yet!?"
Of course, what Zane was really thinking was how many star voices this butterfly could be exchanged for if he threw it into the system.
After all, there were plenty of blue butterflies in the world, but one that could both glow and talk was probably the only one.
Naturally, the Shorekeeper had no idea Zane had already set his sights on her. Seeing his shock, she just tilted her head in confusion, and the blue butterfly lightly flapped its wings.
"Based on your vital signs, your heart rate is 70, pulse 60/100, and your ECG shows no problems… you have indeed revived… Could it be that you think you're still dreaming… Do you need to return to the Black Shore for a full physical examination?"
Zane hadn't expected that this butterfly would actually be a natural airhead.
Perhaps only now had the battle of the Threnodian finally come to a complete end… right?
Of course, what Rover was thinking about right now was something else.
"Shorekeeper, can you tell me what exactly happened to Zane? Why was there a prophecy of three deaths?"
Naturally, Rover's confusion was also Yangyang's confusion. As for the Doctor…
Days of exhaustion, combined with the battle against the Threnodian, had completely drained this petite girl's rationality. Right now, she was lying in Zane's arms, fast asleep.
If her body hadn't also reached its limit, what the Doctor would be doing now wouldn't just be sleeping.
Facing Rover's question, the Shorekeeper had no reason to hide anything.
"To continue the existence of civilization, the Tethys System collects the frequencies of laments from all over the world, using them to predict the occurrence of laments."
"And the deepest emotions that accompany these laments are considered useless data by the system, and are discarded into the Devouring Star."
However, since emotions such as obsession, anger, unwillingness, and resentment are also part of the laments, the Tethys System repeatedly reproduces pain and observes these emotions over and over, using them to predict laments.
"This is using laments to observe laments."
Like a Mobius loop that eternally repeats sorrow.
After hearing the Shorekeeper's explanation, Zane, Rover, and Yangyang all turned serious at the same time.
This method could never solve laments. It could only save one group of people by sacrificing another.
A classic trolley problem.
But the responsibility of salvation is to continue until no one needs to be saved anymore.
"And that is why you chose to use your own frequency to replace the frequencies of others in the Devouring Star, and why Rover chose to leave the Black Shore to find a solution."
The blue butterfly gently flapped its wings. Even though she wasn't truly human, the Shorekeeper could still understand just how much determination it took for Zane to make that choice.
Zane willingly placed himself in front of the trolley, freeing others by letting it run over him.
"What about the three deaths?" Rover glanced deeply at Zane, who was trying hard to process the Shorekeeper's words. A shadow flickered in her golden eyes.
"Since Zane threw himself into the Tethys System, why would it produce a prophecy of his three deaths? Wouldn't that go against its own interest in using his frequency?"
"About that…" The Shorekeeper paused, then slowly spoke her guess.
"Perhaps Zane's soul is somewhat special. After he threw himself into the Tethys System, it could only intercept his frequency, while his soul left the system…"
"To obtain complete data, the Tethys System predicted that after Zane experiences three deaths, his soul and frequency would bind together again. At that time, it would be able to capture the complete Zane."
The moment the Shorekeeper finished speaking, a surge of killing intent shot into the sky from Rover.
But after that instant of anger, Rover quickly calmed down. Compared to herself, she was actually more worried about Zane.
After all, his frequency had been constantly subjected to the Tethys System's repeated observation. After so many years, even someone made of iron probably couldn't endure it…
Just as Rover and Yangyang looked at Zane with concern, "Wahaha, I knew it, I'm the protagonist! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully a poor youth… Ouch!"
Rover couldn't hold back and smacked Zane on the head again.
'So energetic. It doesn't seem like there's much of a problem.'
After hearing the Shorekeeper's explanation, Zane also roughly sorted out why he had encountered another version of himself earlier.
Simply put, his soul and his frequency (the big Zane) had fought each other.
If the soul won, the frequency would be freed;
If the frequency won, the soul would also be imprisoned by the Tethys System.
Just as Rover was starting to feel a bit relieved about this, a soft sound of surprise came from the butterfly.
"Strange…"
"What is it?"
"Logically speaking, after destroying the fake Zane pieced together by the Tethys System using Zane's frequency, the frequency should have merged back with the soul…"
The blue butterfly circled around Zane a few times, but it still couldn't find any trace of the frequency on him.
It was very strange.
Rover had no clue either.
By the time she found Zane, it seemed the battle had already ended.
"Zane, do you have any idea?"
"Huh? I don't know."
Zane shook his head. At that moment, a flash of realization struck his mind.
'I remember… I think I used a stacked storm to destroy that fake one?'