naaapseattle Chapter 421 82 - As Long As You're Back
Chapter 421 82 - As Long As You're Back
"An Aeon… such a distant, unreachable existence. I never thought he would grow to such a state… It seems the winds of the universe are about to change…"
On a planet governed by the Corporation, an old man opened his cloudy eyes and looked up at the sunless sky… before letting out a deep sigh.
A fragrant ribbon fluttered down behind him, and a graceful figure joined him in gazing at the sky.
[Destruction] had passed. The equilibrium of the universe had been broken, but this time, the one who reached out to tip the scales had changed.
After Wende revealed himself as an Aeon, HooH of [Equilibrium] had proactively sought him out. This was Wende's first time meeting them.
[Equilibrium] was inherently a part of [Order]. The moment HooH appeared before Wende, the assimilation of the Path began involuntarily.
As if they had long foreseen this, HooH discussed the future of the universe and "Long" with Wende for a moment before merging into the Path of [Order].
After briefly pondering the future HooH had spoken of, Wende returned to miHoYo Planet. The very first thing he did upon his return was to let everyone know he was safe.
The confrontation with Nanook had only lasted a few minutes for Wende and Nanook, but for the outside world, more than a month had passed.
Although Wende had returned in the form of an Aeon, only other [Aeons] could perceive it. Wende paid no mind to the astonishment of the other Aeons, nor did he dwell on why the Dragon within him had fallen silent again. Even after assimilating Nanook and HooH, the so-called "system" remained quiet.
But none of that mattered to him now. Upon learning he had been gone for over a month and recalling what he had once said to Jingliu and Tingyun, Wende's intuition told him things were definitely not good. He had to find everyone immediately! If he was a step too late, they might have even held his funeral!
---o---
"Still… no news?"
Himeko looked at the report Welt handed her, her voice soft and heavy with emotion.
"No… Xingxiao and that mysterious Lord Ravager have both vanished. This might be related to Wende, but… we still haven't found him…"
Welt spoke in a somber tone. A few more white hairs had appeared on his temples.
During the time Wende was missing, they had been fighting against the Antimatter Legion's invasion while simultaneously using the connections of other factions and the Astral Express to search for any trace of him. But it was as if Wende had vanished into thin air…
Watching the children grow more despondent by the day, from initial nonchalance to growing panic, Jingliu finally gave his diary to Stelle and the others…
That day, the three little girls cried their hearts out in the carriage. In the end, they made a decision: they would take the Astral Express to find Wende.
Jingliu and Tingyun were naturally with them. As for the others… honestly, they were used to farewells. While it was difficult to accept at first, in the world of adults, they had to focus their emotions more on the present crisis.
The Astral Express had made heroic contributions in the resistance against the Antimatter Legion. Without its help, the Xianzhou Zhuming might have been conquered by Xingxiao in a single stroke.
Now, Xingxiao was gone. They could finally catch their breath and rest for a while.
The war that had endangered the entire universe… had finally stopped after all the Lord Ravagers had disappeared.
Now, Himeko, Welt, Dan Heng, and the others were handling the post-war cleanup. With the end of the war, there was still a great deal of work for them to do.
Just then, the sound of footsteps seemed to come from the other end of the carriage.
At first, Himeko thought it was Pom-Pom cleaning, but upon listening closely, she realized Pom-Pom's footsteps didn't sound like that.
Then, the door to the observation car slid open, and a figure they hadn't seen for over a month appeared before the three of them.
"…"
At the sudden sight of the figure, the three people in the carriage were too stunned to react, freezing in place in unison.
It wasn't until Pom-Pom came out of the conductor's cabin, saw Wende, and pounced on him with all their might that the others finally snapped out of it, realizing Wende was truly back. They all rushed to his side.
"Long time no see. Even if it's only been a month."
Wende stroked Pom-Pom's little head, smiling at Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng.
"Yes… long time no see."
Himeko gave Wende a long, deep look, then smiled with relief.
"It's good that you're back."
The moment he saw Wende, the heavy weight on Welt's heart finally lifted. At this moment, he was like an old father seeing his child return home. He buried his excitement deep inside, ultimately just giving Wende a slight nod.
Yes… it was good that he was back…
After learning what the girls, as well as Jingliu and Tingyun, had been doing, Wende felt quite helpless, but it was much better than he had anticipated. At least his month-long disappearance hadn't caused them to undergo some drastic personality change.
After explaining things to the three of them, Wende located Astral Express Line Two, which was still traveling through the sea of stars, and teleported directly to it.
---o---
"Stelle… you've been staring outside for a whole day. Have something to eat…"
March 7th placed a glass of milk and some bread in front of Stelle. Looking at her friend staring blankly out the porthole, she spoke with a pained heart.
"I… I don't really have an appetite."
Stelle slowly shook her head. The once indomitable girl, renowned as Star Rail's Little Lu Bu, now looked like a delicate, sickly beauty—her face was pale, she couldn't eat, and she looked utterly exhausted.
"You… sigh…"
March wanted to try and persuade Stelle, but then she thought of Wendy, who cried every night, and herself, who wasn't doing much better… So she fell silent, turning to look out the window with Stelle at the vast, empty universe…
It turned out that missing just one person could make everything feel so wrong…
It turned out that only a month had passed… but for them, it had felt like an eternity of torment.
After Jingliu had shown them Wende's notebook, they had embarked on a journey to find him without a second thought… The things written in that notebook felt less like a record… and more like a last will and testament…
It was Wende's fault, but he couldn't have helped it.
When he learned he would have to fight Destruction sooner or later, Wende hadn't overthought it. He just made preparations in advance and tried to find ways to keep them from being too sad.
After all, at the time, he had no idea the final battle would be so anticlimactic.
Thinking back now, the notebook he left behind was basically a complete suicide note, wasn't it?
Wende looked at the two melancholy and haggard girls, a mix of emotions welling up in his heart. He…
Sigh, he should probably focus on coaxing the children first…
"You should still eat something. If this isn't to your liking, I'll personally cook you a delicious meal later, how about it?"
Wende smiled, holding the glass of milk to Stelle's lips, his voice soft and gentle, as if coaxing a child.
"Mm… thanks… thank…"
Stelle lowered her eyes, dejectedly taking the milk Wende offered.
Then, she saw the familiar large hand and froze on the spot. March, hearing that familiar voice, whipped her head around in shock.
When they saw that smiling face, both of their eyes instantly filled with tears.
"Sob… Waaah! Wende! You're finally back!"
The moment Stelle saw Wende, tears streamed from her eyes. Ignoring the milk still in his hand, she threw herself into Wende's broad chest with a fierce pounce.
"Wende! You big jerk! Why did it take you so long to come back!"
March, her eyes blurry with tears, did the same as Stelle, collapsing into Wende's embrace. She raised a small fist and beat on his arm, but ultimately without any force.
Gently stroking their heads, feeling the grievances they had suffered during this time, Wende said nothing, simply holding them quietly…
As if hearing the commotion in the carriage, or perhaps hearing that name, Wendy slowly floated out of her room. Upon seeing the familiar figure, tears couldn't help but soak her collar. Just like Stelle and March, she pounced fiercely towards Wende.
"You're back…"
"Yes, I'm back. I'm sorry for making you all worry…"
Jingliu and Tingyun, hearing the noise, also hurried out. Looking at Tingyun, who was clearly much more worn down, and Jingliu, who had grown even colder, Wende gave them a gentle nod.
No more words were needed.
Hypothesis: If thought always precedes language, then no word can define this joy.
That was something Screwllum had once said. It couldn't be more fitting for the current scene.
After a long session of comforting the three little ones—and after Wende promised all five of them that he would never do something like this again, no more mysterious disappearances, no more scaring them with sudden "last words," and that he would cook for Stelle and March forever and give Wendy a massage every day—the three girls finally let him go reluctantly. Seeing Jingliu and Tingyun, they proactively took a few steps back.
During this time, they had learned about Tingyun and Jingliu's relationship with Wende. Although… it was already quite obvious, Wende had never told them directly to prevent them from picking up bad habits.
But now… it seemed he no longer needed to.
He walked over to Jingliu and Tingyun, proactively pulling them both into an embrace, and whispered in their ears.
"It's been hard on you… I'm back."
"Mm… It's good that Benefactor is back."
Tingyun's eyes were red as she pressed herself tightly against Wende's chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat.
As for Jingliu…
Her expression was a bit more direct. She stood on her tiptoes and, while Tingyun was still savoring Wende's tenderness, launched a "sneak attack."
Wende only felt his lips being covered by something cold and soft, and then he saw those crimson eyes, brimming with affection.