Chapter 1020: No Way Out
Lin Sanjiu stood behind Lyanna for several minutes without making a move. She simply stood silently, listening to Lyanna's increasingly rapid and trembling voice, and watching the girl's face gradually turn from pale to flushed. Her emotions grew more desperate and out of control—
Only then did she press [Mosaic Censorship] onto the girl's back.
A personality only needed a thought to retreat back into Luther's body, so she had been waiting. She waited for Lyanna to completely immerse herself in her own resentment and longing, becoming less sensitive to everything around her, before suddenly activating her ability.
But... it had to be said that Lyanna's reaction was indeed fast.
The flesh of the girl—even if it was "fake"—still displayed the appearance of real flesh being blown to pieces. It scattered and splattered in the air, enveloping the air in a thick, putrid blood mist that painted everything a pinkish hue. When Lin Sanjiu wiped her face and let go of her hand, there was nothing in front of her.
In other words, at least in the same instant that part of Lyanna's body exploded, she was still alive.
Perhaps she realized something was wrong at the last moment and slightly moved away from the fatal area?
The water behind her erupted with a loud splash, and Lin Sanjiu turned her head.
Pain and anguish appeared on Luther's face—sweat trickled down his skin, seemingly distorting his features. But when Lin Sanjiu blinked, she couldn't help but be taken aback. Luther's face showed no pain at all, only an icy and aloof expression. She had been mistaken.
Yes, expulsion of a personality was different from a normal death. Luther didn't even have a chance for his body to convulse and die. Subconsciously, she had thought that Luther's expression would be similar to Lyanna's just before her death.
"She is heavily injured," Septimus stood within Luther's empty shell and said calmly, "so she doesn't have the strength to control the surface of this body anymore."
Lin Sanjiu walked out of the lake, causing ripples to gently spread with each step she took.
"Now what will you do?" Septimus didn't move from his spot and asked, "Are you going to kill all of us?"
"She is injured, but give her some time to recover her strength. When she emerges again, she will still be able to expel personalities."
Bliss suddenly spoke, her voice gently diffusing like a mist. It was impossible to discern her emotions. Jet-black hair slid down from her cheek, obscuring her expression. "...Before she emerges, you should act as soon as possible."
Without glancing at Luther's body again, Lin Sanjiu turned her head and looked out over the distant lake.
"What about you?" Lin Sanjiu asked in a low voice.
"A personality is always just an attachment to this body. When he was alive, we were also alive. Now that he is dead, we will die too," Bliss murmured, almost talking to herself. "The scenery here is nice... At least I didn't die in that darkness."
Apart from the unfamiliar man who had been injured by her ability, several personalities reappeared one after another and plunged into the water. But with the experience from their short confrontation just now, no one dared to approach recklessly. They simply stared at Lin Sanjiu, their faces pale. After all, from the perspective of the personalities, she could be expelled by Lyanna at any moment, so there was no need to rush.
Lin Sanjiu took a few steps closer, remaining silent for a moment.
Luther had a pair of small, round, black eyes that resembled fawns. A shallow gloss always floated within them. Even though his body had matured, his eyes still carried a hint of childishness, as if he could smile with narrowed eyes at any moment.
She looked deep into those eyes that resembled a child's and wondered if she could see the hidden child.
"Why did you hide in here?" she asked softly, even though Septimus was the one standing in front of her. "Didn't you despise the dark world inside... feeling nothing, experiencing nothing, just drifting aimlessly without meaning or end? Wasn't that what you told me?"
Septimus furrowed his brow slightly but ultimately remained silent.
The wind gently stirred the lake water, and only Lin Sanjiu's voice echoed on the surface of the lake.
"You hate Luther controlling you, and you hate having to follow him. That's why you killed him." She paused, silently smiling. "But why did you ultimately seek refuge in his body, hoping that he would offer you some protection?"
As Bliss turned around, the ripples lightly sounded beneath her floating red dress. Before she could speak, Lin Sanjiu raised her hand without looking back, silencing the words that were about to leave Bliss's mouth.
Still gazing into Luther's eyes, she whispered, "You've tried, right? You can't expel me... because I haven't become a personality. I leave the choice up to you. Do you want to hide under Luther's protection and survive this, or come out and die like a true living person?"
If an adult had heard these words, they probably wouldn't have willingly come out. The older one gets, the more they value their life, even if Lyanna was just a personality. She was still a proud and fearless young person.
So when her shadow flashed out from Luther's body and plunged into the lake with a thud, Lin Sanjiu wasn't too surprised—she had experienced that age herself, and at that time, everything in the world seemed fierce, sharp, vivid, and black-and-white.
It's just that some people are more extreme. They don't consider other people's lives as lives, nor do they consider their own lives as lives.
At this moment, Lyanna's appearance would surprise anyone as to how she hadn't died yet. The timing of her returning to Luther's body was just right. If it had been even a fraction later, her chest would have been blown open, turning into a mess of flesh. But now, it seemed as if someone had precisely drawn a line on her body and carefully measured it, thinning out a layer of her back with explosives, just enough to avoid the vital areas. The white spine bones were exposed in the bloody fibers, rising and falling with her breath.
She could still speak; truly, she was a personality favored by the heavens.
"You, you just wanted to kill me..." Her face was mostly submerged in water, and her voice gurgled and muffled, making it difficult to understand. "But what you said... you're right."
Lin Sanjiu lowered her head, and the [Tornado Whip] slipped from her hand.
"Today... even if I die, I don't want to... go back there." Lyanna struggled to turn her head, revealing a pair of distinct black and white eyes in the lake mud and bloodstains. "Kill me. After all... from the beginning, no one cared about me... The people who I thought loved me never truly existed... You don't care about me, and I don't care about you."
She forced a smile.
"I don't know why I came into this world," she murmured, "but at least it was my own choice."
"Perhaps there's another life." Lin Sanjiu spoke sincerely and raised the whip. "I hope you find freedom then."
Before the whip could strike, the lake water, green trees, and blue sky in front of her flickered as if the signal was weak. Startled, she realized that everything in front of her was rapidly melting and disappearing—a control room adorned with metallic hues, filled with control panels and screens appeared before her again.
"What's going on?" Lin Sanjiu understood and turned to the rectangular-faced puppet. "Why did you withdraw the—"
Her words were cut short, stuck in her throat. At this moment, the puppet slumped softly to the ground. Although its eyes remained open, they lacked luster, making it appear more like a toy than ever before.
Puppeteer had been forcibly awakened by Bliss, and it seemed that he couldn't hold on any longer.
As Lin Sanjiu twisted her head, she noticed that Lyanna still lay on the ground in the same position, seemingly unconcerned whether she had been thrown out of the pocket dimension. However, that wasn't what captured her attention.
Another "Lin Sanjiu" stood at the entrance of the control room, with a nervous expression that changed from pale to green.
Not all the personalities had returned to the "headquarters" when Lin Sanjiu abandoned Bohemia and rushed to the control room. One of the personalities had been disguising as Lin Sanjiu the entire time and had been hiding outside!
The only reason for doing so was—
"Lin Sanjiu! Have you gone mad? The Great Deluge is about to catch up!"
As if to confirm her thoughts, Bohemia's urgent voice sounded from outside. "Hurry up and leave! Why did you stop the ship, damn it! Hey, why aren't you wearing any clothes—"
"Silas, restart the acceleration!"
Lin Sanjiu shouted hurriedly, and the dull hum of the engine resonated once again from beneath her feet. When Bohemia rushed into the control room, her hair and body still clung with wood splinters and metal fragments, clearly indicating that she had used force to escape from her room. After all, only the infirmary had been reinforced by Silvan.
She didn't even have time to glance at the personalities before throwing the "Garden of Crossroads" onto Lin Sanjiu's head. At that moment, the gentle colors that suddenly lit up from outside the spaceship almost seemed to merge with the flickering of Exodus, almost stopping her heart.
"Let's go," the little boy personality called out. "She's all yours!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he lifted his foot and kicked Lyanna off the floor. The girl tumbled across the room, offering no resistance. Her eyes were tightly closed, and she had already lost consciousness without even opening them, even after taking such a heavy blow to the ribs.
Lin Sanjiu was about to bend down and lift her up when something shot out from the low space in the floor, as if ignoring the air resistance, and directly entered Lyanna's throat. The girl made a choking sound, a line of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth. She didn't even open her eyes one last time and died in complete darkness.
She hadn't even used her fifth ability until her death.
"Aren't you seeking revenge?"
The little boy urgently shouted, "Now that you've killed her, it's over! Let's go, and we won't cross paths again!"