Chapter 1015: The Youth Never to be Seen Again
2:15 PM
Lyanna: "Luther? Where did you...?"
(This section is damaged and stained.)
Octo: "..."
Lyanna: "You didn't... Luther has been dead for a long time."
This was the deciphered content Lin Sanjiu managed to identify from the fragmented and blurry text on the diary card. After reading it several times to confirm that she couldn't have misunderstood, it felt like a knife piercing into her stomach, causing internal pain with each breath.
He was her first friend in the apocalyptic world.
The personalities in front of her remained silent, no one spoke for a while. Among the emerged personalities, she only recognized Twelve, while the other three she didn't know. Bliss remained inside Luther's body, standing aside with a pale face, as if unable to bear witness, she turned her head and closed her eyes.
Lin Sanjiu pointed at her, tremblingly asking Lyanna, "Luther is still here, isn't he? He's standing right here, alive and even grown up—"
"Losing a friend is truly heartbreaking," Twelve said softly, wiping away a tear.
Ignoring him, Lin Sanjiu angrily shouted, "Answer me!"
The face identical to hers showed no expression. After a few seconds, Lyanna snapped her fingers. As her hand fell, she transformed back into the young girl she had appeared as before—round face, bright eyes, and wearing a pair of delicate pointed leather shoes.
"I said Luther is dead," she calmly replied, looking directly at Lin Sanjiu through several personalities. "Because he is dead."
"Nonsense! Then as personalities that split from him, you should have ceased to exist long ago!"
Lyanna sighed.
"Is that really so?" she tilted her head, like a teacher looking at a stubborn student in the class. "Think about it yourself. You have seen his complete abilities, haven't you?"
Lin Sanjiu was stunned.
Those words stirred up some details and fragments from years ago buried deep within her memory. During this time, she had been unwilling to carefully recall those moments from the past—she thought she was avoiding the sadness, but now she realized she was afraid.
"Bliss, come out as well," Lyanna ordered. "Septimus will guard the headquarters—I believe he won't dare to cause any trouble."
Luther, or rather, Luther's body, became the "headquarters" in her words.
A figure wearing a fiery red dress lightly flashed out of Luther's body. Bliss still had the same enchanting charm in her gestures and movements as before. However, her blue, scorching eyes seemed to avoid looking at Lin Sanjiu and gently turned away.
"Luther" blinked his eyes, and his face quickly transformed into the cold and icy expression of Septimus. It was truly peculiar—Luther's body seemed like a transparent shell that revealed the appearance of anyone who entered.
"Five people should be enough," Lyanna smiled. "You have strong combat power and have gained many things. I need to be cautious. Septimus, you enjoyed talking to her, didn't you? Come on, explain it to her properly."
Lin Sanjiu raised her eyes and looked at Septimus, and her peripheral vision happened to catch a glimpse of her reflection on the metallic door. She then realized that an indistinct pleading expression had appeared on her face.
Septimus lowered his head, making it difficult to discern his expression in the shadow, but Luther's voice calmly spoke.
"When Twelve appeared in Luther's body, Luther's personality fell into a slumber. The control of his body was completely given to the other personalities. At that time, not only did Twelve control Luther's body, but he could also use Luther's abilities. You witnessed him using Luther's transformation ability." He spoke slowly, without any emotional fluctuations. "Personality split is a form of mental illness. Before the apocalypse, before Luther evolved this mental illness into an ability, we only existed in his mind. Naturally, if he had died back then, we would have ceased to exist."
"But he evolved."
"His personality split, which was originally a mental condition, transformed into one of his abilities, just like his transformation ability. Even when his personality no longer dominates his body, his transformation ability still exists and can still be used—so naturally, the splitting ability is the same."
"As long as this body exists, his abilities will exist. As long as his abilities exist, we exist. As for Luther's original personality, whether it exists or not," Septimus finally lifted his gaze. "... It proves to be irrelevant."
Lin Sanjiu suddenly bent down like a broken tree before everyone's gaze, supporting her knees with both hands, and let out a deep, heavy sound from her throat.
"How... How did he die?"
Septimus was about to speak but glanced back at Lyanna. Seeing her nod, he strained his voice and replied, "You heard it just now. Lyanna possesses the ability to expel personalities. For personalities that haven't evolved into their final complete forms, as they don't have a true physical body of their own, being expelled is equivalent to death."
In other words, Luther's personality was expelled. He was expelled from his own body by the personalities he created. Without a body, his personality ceased to exist.
It was because he died that the other personalities learned the rule that "personalities only have one life."
"You all fear being expelled, which is why you cooperate with her?" Lin Sanjiu raised her head and looked at Lyanna, her voice dry.
Septimus pursed his lips and cast a sidelong glance at the other personalities.
"That's why I have to obey orders, but there are quite a few who willingly become dogs."
"Shut your filthy mouth!"
The stranger who disguised himself as Bohemia immediately got angry, his forehead turning red. "If you don't want to join our plan, you can go die now! Have you enjoyed any less of the benefits we brought?"
Lin Sanjiu took a long breath. This breath made everyone quiet down, and their gaze once again focused on her.
When she spoke again, her attitude was surprisingly calm and gentle.
"He was my first friend in the apocalyptic world—of course, there's also Marcie."
The previous emotions gradually faded from her face, leaving behind a desolate loneliness. Like fully immersing herself in memories, she whispered, "If it weren't for meeting them first, who were posthumans, I probably wouldn't have become the person I am today. They allowed me to experience firsthand that even when society crumbles to ashes, people can still maintain their conscience and continue to be human. Assistance, companionship, kindness, and friendship... These remnants from civilized society, Luther and Marcie passed them on to me like torches, and I will continue to pass them on."
If she had met Sunny, Gong Daoyi, or Carrot Lo first, would she have become someone who would do anything to survive?... No, she was so ignorant and clueless about the apocalyptic world back then that she probably wouldn't have survived.
"So..."
In Lin Sanjiu's amber eyes, a sparkling diamond-like gleam appeared. Her voice was so calm that it was hard to imagine her lips trembling slightly. "Out of respect and memories of them, I must endure your presence a little longer. Now, answer me two questions. First, why did you kill Luther? Second, where is Marcie?"
As she asked the second question, she couldn't help but clench her fists tightly.
From Lyanna's perspective, if a large portion of the twelve personalities were forced to obey her due to her abilities, then she had a deadly enemy—Marcie.
"You're not stupid; you already guessed it," Lyanna observed her for a moment and suddenly smiled. "How could I tolerate Marcie's existence?"
Yes, she couldn't tolerate Marcie's existence—
"Unfortunately, I woke up and split after the 12th personality, one step too late. By the time I decided to take action, Marcie had progressed into her final complete form with the help of external forces, meaning she had her own flesh and blood. My ability to expel personalities no longer worked on her—"
"But her ability to wash away others' evolutionary abilities still works on you," Lin Sanjiu said coldly.
"That's right." Lyanna shrugged and laughed. "So, guess what I did with Marcie?"