Guo Yun: Plays Ye Shunguang, teammate Ye Shiyuan

"Okay." Yi Xuan immediately agreed.

Her voice was clear and crisp, without the slightest hesitation. As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and looked at Ju Fufu and Pan Yinhu standing to the side.

"You two should stay here and recover from your injuries." Yi Xuan's tone left no room for argument. "The situation deep inside the cave is unknown, and going there in your current state will only increase the danger."

Ju Fufu opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately nodded. Yi Xuan withdrew her gaze and was about to take a step when Zhe's voice suddenly rang out.

"Wait a minute."

Everyone was taken aback and looked at Zhe.

Zhe's gaze swept across everyone's faces before he carried out Ies.

"Let Ies go with you," Zhe said, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable certainty. "It'll be good for us to escape quickly after rescuing Hikari."

He paused, then met Ye Shiyuan's gaze: "As legendary rope craftsmen, we also want to contribute to Xiaoguang's cause."

Ye Shiyuan was taken aback.

He looked down at Ye Shunguang, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, then looked up at Zhe, a complex expression flashing in his eyes. After a moment, he slowly nodded.

"Can."

The moment those two words were uttered, Eis seemed to sense something, abruptly raising her head, blinking her round eyes, and then "whoosh" sprang up from the ground, running to Yi Xuan's side in three steps, looking up at her.

Yi Xuan lowered her head, bent down, and reached out to pick up Ies. As she straightened up, Ye Shiyuan had already taken the lead, carrying Ye Shunguang.

His figure appeared somewhat lonely in the dim light. Yi Xuan suppressed her smile, picked up Ies, and followed him.

————————————————————

It's been so long, so lonely. How long has it been?

Ye Shunguang's consciousness subconsciously recalled these words, but now she had forgotten even what they meant.

She didn't know where those words came from, or why they appeared in her mind.

All she knew was that those words were like a rusty nail, deeply embedded in a corner of her consciousness, causing a dull ache that she couldn't remove.

She didn't know who she was, where she was, or what had happened.

There were endless corridors all around.

The gray-white walls stretched infinitely in both directions, with no beginning and no end in sight.

The ground beneath her feet gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen, like some kind of stone she didn't recognize, yet the sensation was vague, as if she were walking on clouds. There were no windows, no doors, and no landmarks to indicate her direction.

Only the dim light sources that appeared at intervals overhead emitted a faint, unstable white light, stretching her shadow to varying lengths and sometimes swallowing it up.

The only thing she knew was that she felt she had forgotten something.

The feeling was as if a hand was gripping her heart, not crushing it, but tightening it little by little, slowly, continuously, and endlessly.

She knew what she should remember—important people, important events, important promises—but whenever she tried to capture those memories, they were like reflections in water, shattering into countless ripples the moment her fingertips touched them, and then vanishing into nothingness.

I can't remember at all.

This feeling is extremely uncomfortable.

Despair, loneliness, pain... she had forgotten all these adjectives.

In other words, she could feel this sensation, but didn't know how to describe it.

It was as if her soul was slowly drowning, surrounded by water, yet she couldn't even remember the word "water," let alone know how to call for help, how to struggle, or how to float to the surface.

Unintelligible whispers echoed in the corridor.

The sound was like countless ants crawling into her ear canal, burrowing into her skull, building nests, gnawing, and multiplying in her brain.

Although he didn't understand what it meant, Ye Shunguang's head did indeed hurt even more.

The pain wasn't sharp or stabbing, but rather dull, pervasive, and omnipresent. It was as if someone had pried open her skull, filled it with molten lead, and then waited for it to slowly cool, solidify, and become a heavy, cold, and irremovable piece of metal.

And so, at the end of the corridor—Ye Shunguang seemed unable to go any further, nor could he go any further.

The part of my attention that was supposed to be focused on walking was forcibly interrupted, and all my senses were processing the complex information in my head, trying to figure out what I had forgotten.

So she stood there motionless, blankly, for a very long time.

It went on for so long that the pain in my head became numb, and I gradually couldn't hear the whispers in the corridor or the hallucinations that suddenly came from behind me.

So long that...

My weary mind seemed to be dreaming.

……

When do dreams begin?

Ye Shunguang didn't know.

All she knew was that when her consciousness began to clear slightly from that chaotic state, she found herself standing in a blank space.

It wasn't the grayish-white of a corridor, but a pure, complete, and utterly unadulterated blankness. There was no up or down, no left or right, no front or back, no near or far.

She floated in this blank space, like the only star in the universe, or the only drop of ink on a canvas.

Then, she saw the creature.

A creature that looked familiar but I couldn't quite place stood before me, with white fur and red pupils.

Familiar with.

Very familiar with it.

It's so familiar that it makes my heart ache.

but--

Who is she?

Ye Shunguang stared at the creature, desperately trying to recall, desperately searching, desperately trying to dig out any related memories from the ruins of his consciousness.

But she couldn't find anything.

"Can't hold on any longer?"

The creature spoke.

The sound was very soft and gentle, like a spring breeze brushing across a lake, or moonlight filtering through a bamboo grove on a summer night.

But there was a complex emotion in that voice—was it heartache? Helplessness? Pity? A sigh? Ye Shunguang couldn't tell. She couldn't even recall the words to describe those emotions.

She just stared blankly at the creature, at her own reflection in its red pupils.

"Who are you?"

Ye Shunguang blurted out those words without thinking.

Although the original meaning is something I've forgotten. I don't even know why I asked this question.

The creature looked at her, a complex light flashing in its red pupils.

Is that sadness?

Is that gentleness?

Is that a resolute decision?

Ye Shunguang couldn't tell the difference.

"I am you," the creature said. "I am your desire to live."

Ye Shunguang fell silent; she didn't know what those words meant. She could only look at her, trying to recall.

Ye Shunying simply looked at Ye Shunguang, her red pupils reflecting a version of herself who had forgotten everything.

After an unknown amount of time, her voice rang out again, carrying a complex emotion.

"You're in such a state right now that you've really forgotten so much. It seems I have no choice but to share some of my already limited memories with you."

So, catch my memories; I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep "myself" alive.

The creature's voice suddenly became firm.

!

In an instant, a portion of the memory returned to my mind.

Those memories flooded into Ye Shunguang's consciousness, washing over her parched, cracked, and collapsing soul.

Ye Shunguang snapped out of his amnesia and began to look around unconsciously.

"What's wrong with me?"

Her voice was no longer hollow, mechanical, and devoid of emotion; instead, it carried genuine confusion and surprise.

"Wait, is this a free viewing area?"

She looked around at the suddenly appearing environment, a familiar feeling rising in her heart, until her gaze fell on Ye Shunying.

Am I dreaming?

Ye Shunguang initially thought he had woken up, but upon seeing his white-haired self in front of him, his heart sank.

How did the world lines come to an end?

Ye Shunguang's mind raced, the newly returned memories surging, colliding, and reorganizing in her consciousness. She remembered the original plot—in that story, Zhe accepted Ye Shiyuan's request to come and save Ye Shunguang, who had lost her five senses.

But now?

The five senses are indeed being lost.

Moreover, most of his memory has been lost.

Furthermore, judging from the current plot development, Zhe doesn't know her very well, so there's a high probability that he can't be saved.

Who will save her?

Master Yixuan?

But in the original story, Master Yi Xuan and Ye Shiyuan broke off their relationship... Will my brother swallow his pride and beg Yi Xuan for forgiveness?

Ye Shunguang dared not think any further. Although subconsciously she felt that her brother would definitely save her, as an observer of the whole story, that is, from the player's perspective, she was frantically anticipating the worst possible scenario.

So, am I going to die...?

and many more.

I remember?

Ye Shunguang suddenly realized a crucial issue.

Those memories—about Neo Ellito, about Random View, about Tetsuya and Rin, about everything in the original storyline…

She had clearly forgotten everything just now.

It was Ye Shunying who gave her the memories.

That fleeting shadow...

Could it be that she also...?

Ye Shunguang suddenly raised her head and looked at Ye Shunying in front of her. Ye Shunying was also looking at her.

Ye Shunguang's complex expression was reflected in those red pupils.

After a brief exchange of ideas—though it lasted only a few seconds, it felt like Ye Shunguang had gone through countless deductions and demonstrations—her face, which had been slowly darkening, suddenly turned to surprise.

"You...you knew about it too?"

Ye Shunguang's voice trembled slightly.

She didn't even know how to face this "self" who might have the same secret as her.

Ye Shunying looked at her and remained silent for a moment.

Then, a complex emotion flashed in those red pupils.

What is that? She couldn't tell.

Her voice was calm, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

"To help you remember better, let me briefly explain why you came here."

Ye Shunguang did not answer.

She simply looked at Ye Shunying, waiting for him to continue.

"As you probably already know, based on those memories... the backlash from the Azure Nether Sword will attack both our bodies and our minds simultaneously."

"The physical manifestation is the loss of the five senses, while the mental manifestation is forgetting."

"..." For some reason, Ye Shunguang subconsciously clenched her hands. After all, she had suffered too many blows, and she was almost certain that the next sentence might be very, very bad.

As expected, Ye Shunying's next words made her heart clench suddenly.

"As for why I can still give you some of your memories, it's because your consciousness subconsciously blocked some of the mental attacks for me after using the Azure Sea Sword..."

"I?"

"Yes, it was you... I should have been the one to block it for you... I was almost going crazy with anxiety..."

"There's really no need to do this. My disappearance won't affect you at all, but if you disappear, we'll both die..."

"And now, I should fulfill my destiny..."

"Wait! What are you doing! You're not allowed to say that!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Shunguang immediately felt a wave of discomfort, and his mouth reacted before his brain could process it.

Now... is it going to be another knife fight?

Are you kidding me?!

Unable to accept it, Ye Shunguang took a few steps forward, grabbed Ye Shunying's shoulders, and interrupted her words with a harsh tone.

"You are a part of me too!"

Her voice was so loud that it startled even herself. After a few seconds of pause, her voice softened, but she still spoke clearly and firmly.

"I won't allow you to say such irresponsible things!"

Ye Shunying was stunned. Her red pupils widened slightly, as if she hadn't expected Ye Shunguang to be so excited.

"Like before, help me choose clothes, help me fight, even if it's just controlling my body to come out for some fresh air in the middle of the night, I can accept it."

Ye Shunguang's voice remained intense, but his eyes were already reddening. His trembling voice was forced to pause as he swallowed, his throat tightening, before he continued.

"Even if you already know—I mean, know from my memories—that so much has happened along the way, and know what would happen in the normal world at the end of our journey..."

Even if my memory is fragmented, even if I don't remember what happened in the hollow three months ago, I still can't accept you leaving me.

"Whether from the perspective of Ye Shunguang in New Elitus or from the perspective of Ye Shunguang before the time travel, the only thing I can't accept is watching... you die."

She looked at Ye Shunying, almost shouting it out.

"There must be some other way! I refuse to believe this is the final outcome!"

"But this is our destiny..."

"I don't care!!!"

……

Ye Shunguang slumped down in despair, his hand weakly sliding down Ye Shunying's shoulder.

She knelt on the spot, repeating "I don't want to" almost hysterically, her voice growing more and more pitiful and weak with each repetition.

"That's right, the system! The system?! The system!!" Ye Shunguang suddenly realized something, and immediately stood up, shouting like a madman.

"Ye Shunguang..." Ye Shunying grabbed Ye Shunguang, interrupting the cry.

"...?" Ye Shunguang's tears flowed uncontrollably. She looked at Ye Shunying pitifully, hoping that she could tell her some good news.

However, things didn't go as planned.

"...It's too late. This is an illusion we created, which means that what you are seeing now are your past memories."

In other words, even the system within your consciousness cannot be invoked now. Because it exists in the future, and you exist in the past.

Ye Shunying's words struck Ye Shunguang like a heavy hammer. Ye Shunguang, who had become somewhat numb from suffering too many blows in a short time, just stared at her blankly, looking at her in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Ye Shunguang. This fusion might really have to..."

"...No, it shouldn't be like this...I clearly, I clearly already know the plot...but why can't I do anything..." Ye Shunguang's voice rang out with a sob, but Ye Shunying, who knew herself and her enemy, already understood that Ye Shunguang had accepted...the fate that would end like this.

"...Ye Shunguang, Master Yixuan is waiting for you outside... Don't keep her waiting too long, otherwise it will cause us a lot of trouble..."

"........."

"……I see."

……