Chapter 515: Chapter 28: Tired of Conflict
After seeing Bologue off, the astronaut once again found himself with free time. To be precise, he had always been quite idle. Over the years, the only thing he needed to do was clean up the corpses left behind in the void every time Bologue resurrected.
On one hand, the astronaut actually quite liked the dead and desolate scenery, not wanting corpses to ruin the beauty; on the other hand, he considered Bologue more.
Every time Bologue arrived in the void, it was after death. When Bologue opened his eyes, he found himself alone in this vast world—along with those corpses like a sea of sand.
That was terrible, undoubtedly a strong shock to Bologue’s mind, even though Bologue’s mental fortitude was extremely resilient.
Thinking of these, the astronaut chuckled to himself, slowly walking back to his open-air cinema. After laughing, he became serious again, knowing it was merely a ridiculous lie. The real reason he did it was just to reduce Bologue’s suspicions.
Abnormalities naturally incite suspicion. What the astronaut had to do was minimize the occurrence of abnormalities, such as these corpses piled into mountains.
If Bologue saw these corpses, with his temperament, he would inevitably question endlessly, even attempting suicide repeatedly just to meet with the astronaut.
The Devil never lies... But sometimes, one can make a kindly joke.
The astronaut controlled this territory, truly able to govern Bologue’s activities here. It was like his living room, and Bologue was just an invited guest who could be kicked out at any time.
"Sigh... It feels like the progress is too fast, doesn’t it?"
The astronaut sat back in his chair, picking up a thick book from the void. This was the screenplay he had written. Clearly, the filming progress had already somewhat surpassed the script’s outline.
"You are truly outstanding, Bologue."
The astronaut murmured, attributing this situation to Bologue.
This protagonist was too excellent; the astronaut initially thought Bologue would need a year or two to preliminarily understand the existence of the Devils, but now Bologue had witnessed many of his siblings and another Chosen One.
Continuing to turn a few more pages, the astronaut conjured a pen from mid-air, jotting down notes and making appropriate modifications on the screenplay.
Halfway through writing, he suddenly sensed a certain anomaly—a peculiar laughter.
"You actually did it, didn’t you, Bologue?"
The astronaut raised his head, gazing at the floating massive stones over his head with roaring thunder shuttling incessantly between them.
Surprised, the astronaut gained new insights into Bologue. In certain moments, Bologue indeed could seriously do something foolish.
Comfortably stretching, the astronaut looked at the screen before him. The scene remained the same, layers upon layers collapsing into a bottomless pit.
The camera of the void had not departed due to Bologue’s return to the dust. It was still here, watching the screen.
"The world after death, huh? From your perspective, this place truly can be called the world after death..."
The astronaut gently waved his hand, and the image on the screen began to switch.
First, it crossed the floating mountains, and a vast, clear blue planet gradually appeared, then traversed thick clouds with a cold and strange steel jungle towering over the earth...
As the astronaut admired the various scenes, reaching the peak of joy, an immense void captured him.
Deep whispers echoed, like the last words of the deceased.
"I am weary of the conflicts, it’s time to end all this...
Together with us."
...
Opening his eyes, stark white light entered his vision. Bologue sat up abruptly, as if awakened from a nightmare, then shouted loudly.
"What do you mean!"
The shout echoed in the empty darkness, with a faint glow emerging on Bologue’s body. Aimou detached from him, falling by the ritual platform.
Bologue’s head throbbed with pain; he remembered the life of the Poet, the storm and the anchor, and his conversation with the astronaut in the void.
Now, his memory of the astronaut started to yellow and fragment, just as when Bologue previously returned from the void. Bologue found it difficult to retain memories of the void in reality, as they would quickly fade like dreams upon waking.
Like retreating tidewaters, the sea disappears at the view’s end, yet there are always things left behind on the soft sands during low tide.
Bologue didn’t completely forget everything related to the astronaut; his memories simply became fragmented and withered.
Nervously observing his surroundings, the experience in the void had given Bologue a massive impact, with overwhelming information exploding in his mind—he momentarily even forgot he was undergoing the promotion ritual.
"Promotion successful!"
Belli’s cheer interrupted Bologue’s thoughts, and Aimou nearby also gleefully jumped in, hugging Bologue.
Bologue didn’t pay much attention to Belli; as the Minister of the Sublimation Furnace Core, she always found strange reasons to take everyone to the Logistics Department for team-building, eating, drinking, and cheerfully shouting out.
"You’re now a Prayer Believer, Bologue!"
Aimou looked at Bologue with a mix of excitement and fear; it seemed something bad had happened during Bologue’s unconsciousness, and soon Bologue noticed Aimou’s difference.
Her clothes were piled on the ground, and she was covered in a peculiar and dark luster, looking like a tight-fitting garment.
To resolve the trait of Secret Power·Shared Chord Body that penetrates all clothing, Belli had been designing a garment to better accommodate Aimou’s Secret Power usage for a long time.
The black tight-fitting outfit Aimou was now wearing was the result of Belli’s research, similar to the Cloak of Concealment. This was also an Alchemy Armament, named "Second Skin" by Belli.
The Second Skin employed many technologies from the Border Sanatorium, where during dangerous field operations, many Field Staff would suffer extensive skin injuries. To compensate for skin loss, artificial skin was developed using Alchemy.
Now, the black tight-fitting suit covering Aimou could be understood as a layer of wearable artificial skin, which would be voided along with the Shared Chord Body when activated.
Besides its numerous necessary functions, its greatest role was as clothing.
Indeed, it was meant to be used as clothing.
Bologue had no time to comment on Aimou’s nearly perfect figure, instead turning to Belli nearby.
Belli had a delighted expression, holding a Fine Steel Scalpel in a reverse grip, appearing from Bologue’s view like a mad doctor murderer.
Seeing Bologue awake, Belli sighed in relief, amidst many unexpected events, Bologue had ultimately successfully promoted.
Noticing Bologue’s gaze, Belli pointed to the scalpel in her hand, about to explain its purpose when Bologue suddenly snatched it from her hand, and then, amidst everyone’s horrified gaze, stabbed it into his own heart.
"Don’t think you can rid me this way!"
As he pierced his heart, Bologue spouted harsh words.
Pulling out the scalpel, he tossed it aside carelessly, and as his heart was pierced, a torrent of blood sprayed out like a small fountain, evenly covering the two beside the ritual platform.
Bologue heavily fell onto the ritual platform, returning to the void again, finally finding clues—Bologue couldn’t let the astronaut go so easily.
Belli and Aimou stood frozen in place, unable to process the bizarre situation before them, until the warm blood slid across their faces, and mournful cries began to gather and rise in Belli’s throat.
After the successful promotion ritual, the seals inside were lifted, with the container holding Xilin long gone, as were the mysterious gray-robed figures. Then, the gate opened, and Palmer, who had been waiting behind it, burst in with cheers.
"Bolo... Gue!!!"
Palmer hadn’t finished shouting the name before he witnessed Bologue stabbing himself.
His expression seamlessly changed from joy to horror, his expression switch so smooth that even veteran actors would be impressed.
Then, screams in various styles—male and female—filled the air.