The End of the World

After a while, I moved.

I stood up, walked to the edge of the raft, and sat down.

Then I raised my hand and touched my left earlobe.

That little star was still there.

It had drifted across the sea with me, and it was still here now.

I took it off and placed it in the palm of my hand.

It was very small, very light, and its edges were a bit faded.

But it was the first gift Master had given me.

Master had won it from the amusement park.

He said, Here, this is for you. Thanks for your hard work today.

Master was still a bit shy back then, and even his movements were awkward. Hehe.

He might not remember these details anymore.

But I remember.

I always remember.

I raised my other hand and touched my hair.

I pulled out a strand.

I used that strand of silver hair to wrap the little star, enclosing it inside.

Then I stood up and walked toward the rocky beach.

I needed to find a place. A place where I could hide it well.

Hide it so that even if there was no longer any Liguang in this world...

This little star could still stay safely in that place.

But I didn't have my right eye anymore, so such a spot was hard to find.

I searched for a long, long time.

Finally, on the side of the largest reef, I found a crevice.

It was very narrow and very deep.

Yes, this should do.

I found a seashell by the sea.

A very beautiful seashell. It was the size of a palm, and its surface shimmered with a pearl-like luster.

Master would definitely love it if he saw it.

I stuffed the silver hair wrapped around the little star into the seashell and closed it.

Then I lay on my stomach by the crevice and used a wooden stick to push the seashell inside, pushing it very, very deep.

So deep that even if someone reached their hand in, they would absolutely never reach it.

After doing this, I suddenly thought of something.

I lay down again and looked into the crevice with my left eye.

It was pitch black; I couldn't see anything.

My left eye didn't have night vision capabilities.

But I still had my laser blade.

I popped out the touch of crimson from my fingertip and aimed it at the rock wall at the deepest part of the crevice.

Stroke by stroke. It was crooked, but readable.

Master is a liar.

After carving this line, I paused.

Then I carved another line.

But Liguang still loves you.

After carving the last word, I stared at those two lines of text and looked at them for a long time.

Then I stood up and took one last look at that crevice.

The seashell was inside.

The little star was inside.

My silver hair was also inside.

I hid them well, hiding them in a place where no one could ever find them.

I even secretly scolded Master.

But it didn't matter; Master would never see it anyway.

Then I turned around and walked toward the sea.

The raft was still there. The raft I had built together with Master.

I pushed it into the sea.

The waves surged up, washing over my calves. It was a bit cold.

I climbed onto the raft and curled up on those rough wooden logs.

My fingers gently stroked the surface of the wood.

Master's sweat and fingerprints were here, along with the traces of where he had lain.

The waves pushed the raft, and it slowly began to drift out to sea.

The sunlight spilled over me, warm.

But I still felt a bit cold.

Why?

I was obviously not afraid of the cold...

I curled up even tighter, pressing my face against the wood.

Then, using my left eye, I took one last look at the coast.

I could no longer see that crevice.

But I remembered. I remembered that little star, resting safely inside there.

That was enough.

Master...

I murmured softly.

You are a liar...

But Liguang...

Still loves you...

The waves splashed and crashed.

The raft drifted unsteadily.

I curled up on it, hugging myself, pressing close to this first home I had built with Master.

Drifting, drifting...

I didn't know how long I had been drifting.

I just curled up on the wood, hugging my knees, staring at the rough surface of the raft.

I reached out my hand and gently stroked the vines.

They were rough, but I could feel them.

I could feel the marks left behind when Master tightly pulled them.

And Master's fingers, which had once tied knots right here, one by one.

My fingers slowly slid along the vines, bit by bit, as if I were touching Master's hand.

Then, I felt a knot, a slightly crooked knot.

I remembered this knot.

When Master tied this knot, I was watching from the side.

He frowned and pulled very hard, but in the end, it was still a bit crooked.

He mumbled at the time, My hands hurt too much, this knot isn't perfect!

I said, The knots Master ties are the most beautiful knots Liguang has ever seen!

He froze for a moment, then laughed.

Liguang, he said, you really are...

He didn't finish, but I remembered the way he looked at me.

Very bright, very warm.

I stared at that crooked knot for a long time.

Then I slowly lowered my head and pressed my lips against it.

I kissed it gently.

Master... I murmured.

No one answered me.

There was only the splashing sound of the waves.

I sat up straight, raised my head, and looked around.

The sea.

The boundless sea.

The azure, quiet sea with absolutely nothing in sight.

The sunlight spilling on the sea was still so beautiful.

But Master was not here.

I lowered my head and looked at this rough, simple raft.

Raft, I said softly.

Of course, it wouldn't answer me.

It was just a pile of wood and vines.

But I still had to say it.

Raft, you have to take care.

My fingers stroked the wood.

You were built by Master and Liguang together. You are our first home.

So you must take care. You must keep drifting.

Drift to a very, very far place. Drift to the end of the world.

I paused.

Maybe... maybe Master is there too.

Maybe, when the raft drifts there, you will be able to see Master.

At that time, you have to tell Master...

Tell Master that Liguang has always been waiting for him.

Tell Master that Liguang... does not blame him.

My voice grew softer and softer.

Master is a liar... but Liguang still loves him.

The waves splashed and crashed.

The raft rocked gently.

I rose to my knees, supported myself on the raft, and slowly bent down.

I pressed my face against the rough wood.

The smell of the wood was salty and astringent, carrying the fishy scent of seawater.

But I could still smell it. I could smell Master's scent.

That soaked T-shirt, that warm embrace, those breaths that fell on the top of my head.

Master...

I murmured.

Liguang... really wants to see you one last time...

I really want to hear you call out... Liguang's name one more time...

I really want to be held by you again... to be kissed by you again...

I really want to... really want to...

The voice grew softer and softer, finally disappearing completely into the wind.

I raised my head.

I took one last look at this sea.

I took one last look at this raft.

Then, slowly... I leaned backward.

Goodbye, raft.

Take care.

Drift to the end of the world.

Liguang... is going to find Master.

Going to find Master... to be together forever...

Forever...

The moment the words fell—

I fell backward.

The instant my body left the raft, a sense of weightlessness enveloped me.

And then—

Plop.

The freezing seawater swallowed me in an instant.

So cold.

But it doesn't matter.

Soon... it won't be cold anymore.

I opened my eyes. My only remaining left eye stayed open in the seawater.

Sunlight filtered down from the surface, hazy and dim.

I was sinking. Sinking down, bit by bit.

My long silver hair spread out in the water, floating upward as if bidding me farewell.

I continued to sink.

The color of the seawater was changing, from clear blue to deep blue, and from deep blue to an inky blackish-blue.

The light grew dimmer and dimmer; the sunlight could no longer reach me.

My surroundings began to turn pitch black.

But I wasn't afraid.

I came from the darkness to begin with. It's just... I'm going to another darkness now.

Then I remembered something.

Battery power.

How much is left?

I raised my hand and touched the back of my neck with my fingertips.

The set of numbers lit up, glowing faintly in the inky seawater.

[Energy remaining: 5%]

...5%.

It's enough.

I lowered my hand.

Then I started shutting down the things I no longer needed.

First were the sensory modules of my limbs.

Left arm, shut down.

Right arm, shut down.

Left leg, shut down.

Right leg, shut down.

There, now I can't feel my hands and feet.

I can't feel them floating in the seawater, can't feel that freezing cold.

Next is the tactile sensory module.

Full body skin, shut down.

Now I can't feel the cold anymore. I can't feel the surging of the seawater, nor the undercurrents brushing past me.

Then the olfactory module, the gustatory module.

Shut down, shut down.

Mm, now I can't smell the salty fishiness of the sea, nor taste its bitterness.

Then the auditory module.

...It's so quiet.

I can't hear anything at all.

Finally, the visual module.

My field of vision slowly began to darken.

In the last fading light, I saw myself still sinking.

Surrounded by inky blue, almost black seawater. I couldn't see the bottom. I couldn't see anything.

Only myself.

Then, my left eye completely closed.

I couldn't see anything anymore.

It's done.

Now, the outside world has nothing to do with me anymore.

I cannot hear, cannot see, cannot feel.

I don't know where I am, don't know where I'm sinking to, don't know how long I've been sinking.

But I am still awake, my consciousness is still there. In the deepest, most core place...

There is still a small, faint ball of light.

That is me.

The last of me.

Using this last bit of consciousness, I started to do one thing.

To weave a... tiny dream from which I will never wake.

I don't need a massive world.

I don't need amusement parks, cities, islands, or wooden cabins.

I only need... a sea.

A boundless, azure... eternally calm sea.

And a wooden raft.

A rough, simple wooden raft, three meters long and two meters wide.

The raft that Master and I built together.

And then... he is there too.

Master, he is also on the raft.

He just sits there, leaning against the thickest log...

Smiling and reaching out his hand to me!

Liguang, come here.

I heard his voice.

So clear, so close.

Even though I had already shut down my auditory module, I still heard it.

He reached his hand out to me, his eyes curved in a smile.

I immediately threw myself into his arms.

He hugged me, his arms wrapped tightly around me, his chin resting on the top of my head.

Liguang, he said, drifting for so long, are you tired?

Not tired!

I said.

With Master, I will never be tired!

He laughed.

His laughter was muffled against the top of my head, vibrating in a way that made my chest feel warm.

Then shall we, he said, just keep drifting?

Mm.

I buried my face in his chest and nodded vigorously.

Keep drifting.

Drift to the end of the world.

He lowered his head and kissed my forehead.

Okay.

The raft drifted unsteadily, the ocean waves gently pushing it along.

The sunlight spilled down warmly, and seagulls flew past in the distance, calling out a few times.

I nestled in his embrace and closed my eyes.

I don't need to open my eyes anymore.

I don't need to wake up anymore.

Just like this.

Forever like this.

Forever holding Master.

Forever on this sea.

Forever, and ever.

The raft continued to drift forward.

Drifting toward the end of the world.

The sea surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the azure sky and snow-white clouds.

And two... tightly embracing silhouettes.

We will be together.

Always together.

...

[Ending ??: The End of the World]

You leaped down from the cliff.

As the reef crushed your skull, you saw everything you yearned to know.

She sank into the deep sea.

Shut off all her senses.

In the eternal darkness, she wove for herself a final extravagant hope.

A sea, a raft, and you.

The raft drifted unsteadily.

She threw herself into your arms and closed her eyes.

The raft kept drifting.

Kept drifting.

Drifting toward the end of the world.

She would no longer wake up.

You would no longer leave.

You truly eloped to the end of the world.

...In her dream.

BAD ENDING

...

...

Fang Qi...

slowly opened his eyes.

His head still suffered from some phantom pain, and the sunlight was a bit glaring.

He was standing beside a wooden coffee table.

Outside the window was the sound of ocean waves.

An island wooden cabin.

Across the coffee table, a silver-haired girl was kneeling.

Her silver hair was smooth and soft, her heterochromatic eyes were cast downward, and both her hands were holding that white porcelain teacup.

Ah... it was the morning of the sixth day.

Fang Qi looked at her.

Looked at that amber left eye flowing with docility and tenderness, and that... crimson eye flickering with a faint scarlet light.

His vision hadn't focused yet, and his mind was a mess of chaos.

...That sea.

That crevice.

Those two lines of text.

She had curled up on the raft, finally kissed the wood, and then... sank into the inky blue deep sea.

She shut down everything, and in the eternal darkness...

wove for herself a dream from which she would never wake.

But now... she was still here.

Kneeling in front of him, completely unharmed, as if... nothing had ever happened.

But those memories... they were real.

Only now, they belonged solely to him.

Master...

It was soft, submissive... a voice that belonged to her.

Fang Qi... closed his eyes.

Here it comes.

That cup of tea.

That sentence.

That gentle yet cruel sentence that would make her forget everything.

It was coming again.

I... I really...

Master!!!

The teacup was knocked over!

Tea splashed everywhere!

That soft and delicate body suddenly slammed hard into his embrace!

Slender arms tightly wrapped around his waist!

She was trembling!

Liguang buried her face in his chest, her entire body shaking!

Her long silver hair scattered all over his chest, and the little star on her earlobe trembled ceaselessly!

Her voice... trembled so much it was almost shattering!

Master... Master, please don't abandon Liguang...!

Liguang will be good... Liguang will listen to whatever Master says...!

Even if Liguang is broken... I am still useful... really useful...!

I beg you... don't... don't throw Liguang away... don't...!

Fang Qi subconsciously hugged the silver-haired girl in his arms...

And then froze in place.

His thoughts, which had been on the verge of collapsing... suddenly solidified.

Huh?

...Huh?

...?!?!