Thanks for the invitation. I'm in Type-Moon, inheriting the legacy of Zi-O.

"...How is this possible?" The 'beast' on the side was equally astonished by this seemingly impossible development. "Logically speaking, after the Mirror World shattered, everything inside should have disappeared or even been destroyed... How could they possibly be like this?"

However, the two seemed completely oblivious to the 'beast' standing to one side, and instead rushed anxiously to Nian Zhuo's side, whose hands were pierced by the sword blade.

“…You little brat, I really don’t know what happened.” The two men each grabbed one of the longswords and began to try to pull them off the ground. “You actually… got hurt by something like this? Your mother and I were so worried about you!” As he spoke, a hint of heartache appeared in the man’s eyes.

“…I’m sorry.” He was sorry in every sense of the word. He felt guilty for making the two of them worry, and he also regretted not knowing the names of the two people in front of him. Nian Zhuo just lowered his head and said, “It’s all my fault. I’m the one who caused that world to be destroyed.”

"Heh." The 'beast' beside him toyed with the fragment in its hand with interest, then chuckled disdainfully after hearing Nian Zhuo's words. "Don't worry, they can't see me now. But as for why they were able to survive a world-ending crisis, that makes me a little curious—"

"...What are you saying?" A sharp rap landed on Nian Zhuo's head. The man shook his slightly sore hand and stared at Nian Zhuo, who dared not look at him. "The world suddenly shattered because of you? You didn't stay up too late watching anime last night and confused yourself, did you?"

"...Alright, alright, honey, stop nagging him." The 'mother' beside them said gently, their faces showing no sign of worry about the world's destruction. "After all, they're just kids. It's normal for them to act a little childish sometimes."

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad are late." After regaining her strength, the woman gently stroked Nianzhuo's pierced wrist. "It hurts, doesn't it...?"

Yes, it hurts, it hurts terribly. However, Nianzhuo could only grit his teeth and bear it. Even his 'parents' in the mirror world, Nianzhuo dared not tell them.

With her eyes tightly closed and her lower lip bitten, Nian Zhuo's forehead was covered in cold sweat that had never stopped since the beginning.

Suddenly, I felt a stroking sensation on my head.

That hand seemed to possess some kind of magic, sweeping away the pain and distress accumulated by mental turmoil.

"...Huh?" Nianzhuo looked up in disbelief as he felt the changes in his body.

What came into focus was gradually becoming clearer: a woman's face.

"Don't hold it in, okay?" Leaning slightly forward, the 'mother' in the mirror world approached Nianzhuo's ear. "Because we're your mom and dad, just cry it out...?"

In an instant, bitterness and sorrow welled up in my heart.

No, I can't cry now, I can't—

Nianzhuo's rational mind kept admonishing himself, yet the scene before him was beginning to blur.

Having not seen each other for over ten years, how could I not cry, with all the grievances and bitterness combined with this pain?

Turning her head away, Nianzhuo looked like a child who had lost but refused to admit it, not wanting her parents to see her face.

"...Thank you, all of you." Her voice choked with emotion, Nian Zhuo whispered, "Thank you for coming to save me—"

"Silly child, we are your mom and dad." He said casually, yet the man continued wiping the sweat from his brow, constantly manipulating the sword in Nian Zhuo's hand. "Speaking of which, this thing is really heavy..."

"...I am not your child. I am...a Nian Zhuo from another world." Yes, after all, she was merely a parasite replacing the original Nian Zhuo within this body, not the child who had accompanied them for over ten years. "So, you didn't need to come to save me—"

“We know, we’ve known from the beginning.” However, their unanimous answer touched Nianzhuo’s heart once again.

"Well, we don't really know the specifics either." The man scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "After all, you said at the dinner table yesterday, 'Tomorrow I will be a new me, but I still hope that Mom and Dad can treat me as your child.' Your mom and I were quite frightened at the time, weren't we?" After trying to no avail, the exhausted man sat down on the ground with his legs spread apart.

"Think about it, since it's the child's request, how could we possibly refuse?" Wiping the cold sweat from Nianzhuo's forehead, the other 'mother' smiled gently. "After all, she's a child we've raised for over ten years~ She still has this much discernment, doesn't she? Don't underestimate your parents, Nianzhuo."

"Yes!" Seeing Nianzhuo enduring the pain, the man got up again. "Today, I'll show you clearly that your father is still your father! Kid!" He gripped the sword hilt again and gritted his teeth to start over.

All of this was naturally observed by the 'beast' standing to the side.

"How boring." With a disgusted look, 'Beast' clenched his chest. "I haven't felt this annoyed in a long time." Staring intently at the two who were still trying, 'Beast' suddenly thought of something and whistled happily.

"Well, even if they manage to save you later, the outcome might be more interesting, who knows?" With a wave of his hand, he opened a gray spatial passage from behind, and the 'beast's' figure transformed into countless particles and left.

"ciao~" Only a word that sounded like both mockery and farewell remained.

“…” Nian Zhuo, enduring the pain, seemed to see the blade being gradually pulled upwards.

Happiness shattered once again

The blade was slowly pulled out of Nianzhuo's hand, inch by inch.

At the same time, the deep-seated estrangement that Nianzhuo had kept buried in his heart for more than ten years was also pulled out.

"Ugh...! Heh!" With the sound of flesh being torn apart by the blade again, the two longswords inserted into Nianzhuo's palm finally fell heavily to the ground.

"Ah, I'm so tired, so tired." The father plopped down on the ground, still fanning himself with his hands.

His mother, being kind and gentle, moved closer to him and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Is this alright?" Having regained some strength, the father lifted Nianzhuo's body.

He tried to stand up on his own, but Nianzhuo found that no matter how hard he tried, his arms were numb and he couldn't move them at all.

If it weren't for the fact that he could move a few fingers slightly, Nianzhuo would have thought that his two arms were completely useless.

"...Thank you, Mom and Dad." After more than ten years, Nianzhuo could finally say these four words with a sense of relief and emotion, "I, I really missed you." If he could still wave his hands, he would probably hug the two people in front of him tightly.

"...Sigh, alright, alright." The father seemed a little embarrassed, scratching his cheek and looking at the dark void around him. "It seems like we can't stay in a place like this for long."

"--Hmm, but it doesn't seem so bad if the three of us are together~" Mom gently stroked her face, as if she was already very happy just like that.

"...Yes, that's good, really good." Nianzhuo had imagined countless times what he would say and do when he met his parents.

But now that he has seen them, Nianzhuo can no longer recall all the words that had been building up in his heart. He can only follow behind his parents and look at their faces.

—Really, he's like a child.

"Host, congratulations on completing the mission: Time King II." The system's long-absent voice finally rang in Nian Zhuo's mind.

Reward received: Zi-O II Watch Dial x1

"And—I'm sorry." Apart from the last sentence, there was nothing wrong with it, but the system's inexplicable apology gave Nian Zhuo a bad feeling.

Now that the mission is complete, it also means that this mirror world will shatter and dissipate.

Sure enough, white cracks began to appear in the pitch-black void, and Nianzhuo quickly tightened his grip on his parents' hands.

However—what is false will ultimately remain false.

"Eh..." The hand that had been grasped by the two people began to gradually dissipate.

"How...how could this happen?!" Reluctantly raising his head, Nianzhuo's trembling eyes met their calm gaze. "Dad...Mom..."

"Sigh... I knew it would turn out this way." Scratching his head, the father forcefully pulled his hand away from Nianzhuo's. "It's time to say goodbye."

"Yes, it's very frustrating." The mother smiled gently as she looked at Nianzhuo, who was becoming increasingly uneasy.

"No, no way, you all survived from there!" Tearing at his chest, Nianzhuo reached out again and again.

I just want to hold onto their fading figures.

“You escaped that world-destroying catastrophe! How could you let this happen to you…” Tears welled up in Nianzhuo’s eyes, and his voice was hoarse. “I clearly, clearly had so many things I wanted to tell you!” His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, and Nianzhuo collapsed to the ground.

"...Clearly, I want to see you so much, I miss you so much...! Why can't even this wish be fulfilled?" Tears dripped onto the crumbling ground, but it was all in vain.

"Child, lift your head." A steady voice came from in front of him, and a pair of warm, rough hands were placed on his head.

It was her father; his eyes melted, just like her mother's.

The calluses on his hands, and the warmth from his palms worn from drawing his sword, traveled through his head to Nianzhuo's heart.

"You've done enough." The arm had already begun to disintegrate into layers of fragments, yet the man's tone remained unwavering.

"You are Nianzhuo, our child, our precious child." Even the mother, half-squatting down and looking at Nianzhuo's sobbing body, also had tears in her eyes.

"...But I really don't want you to leave." Sobbing, Nianzhuo could no longer find the confident self she had tried to project; she was just like a child crying because her most beloved thing was about to be taken away.

"...We knew all along, but we don't regret it." The father patted his firm chest. "Perhaps, in your world, we're no longer here either. But Nianzhuo, your mother and I still hope you can remember one thing."

"No matter how far apart we are, we will always love you."

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be by your side!" Finally, the mother couldn't hold back anymore, and the same tears fell onto the broken ground. Through her blurry eyes, the mother kept touching Nianzhuo's face.

"From now on, you must take good care of yourself and never stay up late again... Also, don't be too hard on yourself, Nianzhuo. You are such a lovely and obedient child!" Wiping away her tears, the mother still looked reluctant to part with her.

"...But Mom and Dad still can't be by your side. Mom and Dad really, really don't want this to happen. They don't want to leave you alone when you go back."

"If, Mom is just saying if, if the three of us could really live like a complete family, Mom has always imagined that kind of life..." Through her teary eyes, the mother seemed to see that future.

He got up early and was still busy preparing breakfast, while his husband and his lovely child were already sitting obediently at the table waiting to eat.

"...Besides happiness, I really don't know how to describe that kind of life!" Finally unable to suppress her emotions, the mother rushed forward and hugged Nianzhuo.

The scattered fragments made her figure even more transparent, yet she only kept stroking Nianzhuo's back, gently inhaling the scent that belonged to her on his body.

In the same posture, the father slowly squatted down and hugged the mother and son.

"...So, from now on, you'll have to walk this path alone, Nianzhuo." He took out the dark gold watch from his pocket and put it into Nianzhuo's pocket. "Don't look back, Nianzhuo, times are changing."

In the very end, it was a sentence whispered in my ear by my parents.

"we love you."

That's all.

When she tried to hug her parents again, their bodies had already shattered completely, like glass, and vanished.

Just like the world.

Nianzhuo simply knelt on the ground, gripping his shoulders tightly with both hands, as if trying to hold onto something.

It was all in vain.

In the end, he was simply passively sucked in and left this world.

——————————————

There was a long, long silence. Only then did the beast place its hand on its drooping head.

Looking up at the snow-white, dilapidated palace, he felt for the first time how illusory it all seemed.

He heard his parents' words, but he couldn't shed a tear at all.

—Because beasts have no tears.

"..." He covered his face, and the beast's figure gradually became illusory.

—————————————————————

Reality, Illusion, and Bitterness

In reality, Nianzhuo, lying on the bed, opened his eyes for the third time.

The surrounding scenery remained unchanged, with a clock hanging on the wall that barely moved.

However, unlike his previous high spirits, Nianzhuo now wished he could fall back into his past dream.

"..." He raised his hand, and the dark gold-plated watch face lay quietly in his palm.