Afterward, Feng Jin and Yujin entered Fanli’s bedroom together.
“For Sushiye to say something like that to a married woman... it’s absolutely toxic.” Feng Jin, who usually took great care of her image, now had a face contorted with uncharacteristic indignity. “What has gotten into him lately? Why is he talking so abnormally?”
No one spoke.
Fanli didn't actually want to see anyone right now; she only wanted to be alone to process her emotions. But thinking of how Yujin had made a special trip back to see her, she gathered herself, stood up, and smiled at him. “Xiao Yu, I’m sorry you had to see that.”
A thousand years had passed, and Yujin had indeed matured significantly. Like many high-ranking male merfolk, his hair had grown to mid-back length, tied neatly against his spine. He wore a pair of lake-colored diamond earrings, with a few stray strands of hair framing his temples. Dressed in the black military uniform of the Empire, he looked both elegant and somewhat stern. When his gaze met Fanli’s again, his eyes held the stillness of deep waters, far more formal than before. “It’s good to have you back, Sister Fanli.”
Feng Jin had always found it a bit strange. Perhaps it was because Xiao Yu had truly grown into a man, but when she first told him the news of Fanli’s return, he hadn't seemed particularly surprised—almost as if he had predicted it long ago. One had to remember that when Xitian heard the news, he had been hyper-excited for days, as if he’d been injected with adrenaline.
“Are you two hungry? Shall we go grab some breakfast and talk?” Fanli suggested with a smile.
“I ate before I came, it’s fine,” Yujin said, pausing for a moment. “Sister Fanli, His Majesty probably hasn't swum far yet. Should I go call him back so we can all be together?”
“Xiao Yu, what is wrong with you?” Feng Jin looked at him in disbelief. “After the way His Majesty just treated your Sister Fanli, you want to call him back? I understand you want to be loyal to the Empire, but loyalty doesn't mean mindlessly helping the monarch when his private life is being utterly trashy. I’m so angry I could burst.”
“No, I just...” Yujin lowered his head slightly and shook it. “Forget it, it’s nothing. Sister Fanli, don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, I will always be by your side.”
If these words had been spoken in any other context, Feng Jin would have certainly teased him, but his tone was so heavy that it drained all the fun out of joking. Thus, she naturally assumed Yujin was simply a bit jealous after seeing Fanli and Sushiye’s brief tryst.
Two days later, Fanxing and Li also arrived at Shenye Jiana.
Li had grown into a great beauty with a touch of heroic spirit. Usually, she was decisive and vigorous in her work at Baman Boya, but the moment she saw Fanli, she turned back into a little girl, rushing forward to embrace her without a word. Fanli patted her back comfortingly. “You’re looking more and more like your father. He must love you very much.”
“Pfft, he doesn't love me. He’s incredibly sexist; his favoritism toward my bratty younger brother is visible to the naked eye,” Li said stubbornly.
“He doesn't favor me. He just has high expectations for Sister, which is why he’s stricter with her.”
Not being there to see Fanxing grow up was Fanli’s greatest regret. However, seeing her son transform from a little bundle of fluff into a handsome young man in an instant was a surreal feeling. She had expected their meeting to be somewhat awkward, but because Fanxing looked like a gender-swapped version of herself, she didn't feel he was a stranger at all; instead, she felt an extraordinary sense of kinship.
Seeing Fanxing swim over, Fanli let go of Li and smiled softly. “Is it strange to see your mother?”
“Not at all.”
Compared to Li, Fanxing was indeed much gentler, his golden eyes brimming with sensitivity. Fanli swam up a bit, stroked his head, and then gave him a hug. Fanxing held her tightly in return, whispering, “During these thousand years, even though Father wouldn't let us mention you, I think he missed Mother more than anyone...”
At the mention of Sushiye again, most of Fanli’s good mood evaporated. But after seeing her two children, she became more philosophical about her relationship with him. Once a woman had children, she truly didn't need to chase after love like she did in her youth. Love was merely a culture created by the middle and lower-class merfolk, a symbol for the liberation of reproductive rights. In clans that placed extreme importance on bloodlines, love was not promoted at all; for the descendants of the Sea God, choosing a mate based on instinct was far inferior to a carefully calculated selection.
In her long entanglement with Sushiye, she had been constantly hurt, likely because she followed her instincts too closely. In truth, if she could have controlled her emotions, her previous four political marriages might have been more "correct." At the start of each union, she knew what she wanted and what she could give; in the end, both parties got what they needed in a perfect collaboration.
But with her love for Sushiye, what had she harvested besides a floor full of heartbreaks and a few brief moments of tranquility in the Sea of Light?
Thinking of this, she looked at the two children before her and suddenly felt a sense of release—she was wrong. Being with him had yielded the greatest harvest of all. She still had to thank him.
From now on, having a pair of lovely children and living parallel lives without interfering with each other... this was a good ending.
Despite this, Fanli’s spirits remained low. She decided to keep herself busy to distract her mind.
However, just two days before the full thousand-year mark, Fanli turned on the television and saw every news channel broadcasting the same image: beneath a sky thick with dark clouds, a sharp, massive red inverted triangular prism was "plugged" into the center of the ocean.
“According to local media reports from the Rift Sea, a red inverted triangular 'hourglass' phantom, with a base area of 1,500 square meters and a height of 800 meters, has suddenly appeared in the open waters southeast of Xiaozhen City, Gaofen County. Approximately 50 meters of the phantom are submerged in seawater, while 750 meters extend into the air above. This bizarre sight has drawn many local citizens and tourists to watch and take photos. Currently, the phantom’s quicksand is flowing downward at an extremely high speed. It is roughly estimated that it will run out in approximately 46 hours and 57 minutes. Regarding this, the Governor of the Rift Sea stated: ‘Everyone is speculating about a countdown to an invasion by a higher civilization, but I believe this is merely a boring prank by an unknown arcanist intended to cause social unrest. Please remain calm; we are doing our best to investigate...’”
For some reason, Fanli’s first reaction was to start studying the "Dream Agate" report Yejia had given her. Afterward, her sensations were: a cold sweat, a sigh of relief, and utter shock.
The cold sweat was because the "Dream Agate" was indeed the most terrifying weapon in the universe. Once activated, it could not be revoked, and it could make the entire human civilization cease to exist as if it were all a dream. Furthermore, it currently possessed an iceberg-tracking boomerang missile device. This meant that once activated, even ignoring its massive mass, throwing it into space with a launcher would be useless. It would ghost its way back to the Winter Sea.
The implications of this device were chilling. But she soon breathed a sigh of relief because, from the activation of the "Dream Agate" to its detonation, a full ten years were required.
Fanli truly preferred to believe that Sushiye only wanted to use the "Dream Agate" to threaten his former enemies—humanity—rather than wanting to be an anti-world psychopath again.
But after studying the report a bit longer, she was completely stunned. From the various indicators of the "Dream Agate," she calculated two terrifying values: 1. Once activated, the energy it released was exactly enough to destroy human civilization, precise to the single digit. 2. Having calculated the distance between Xiaozhen City and the Winter Sea, it was exactly the "most efficient activation distance" mentioned in the report.
This was truly absurd!!!
Fanli immediately called Sushiye, her fingers trembling.
But Sushiye did not answer. She called for several hours, but no one picked up. She could only contact Yejia.
“Hmm? You only just understood it? I thought you didn't care.” Yejia’s laughter vibrated along with the arcane light waves. “What can I say? Sushiye is a psycho, but he still has a bit of romantic sentiment, giving this thing such a beautiful name...”
“Now is not the time for jokes. I can’t find Sushiye—we have to make him stop immediately. This is too much!”
“If even you can’t find him, I probably...”
“Yejia, sometimes I really hate your fearlessness of death!!”
Fanli hung up the phone in a rage and immediately contacted Xitian, asking him to prepare the fastest private vessel to the Winter Sea. Xitian did so without a word. Because she had studied the report, Fanli knew that even if the resources of the entire ocean were mobilized now, they could not stop the "Dream Agate" from exploding. If this secret were made public, it might cause global chaos.
Just as she was seriously weighing whether to go public with the secret at this critical juncture, Sushiye answered her call.
“Do you want to blow up the Earth to bring back Deep Blue?” Fanli breathed sharply, getting straight to the point. “No matter what method you use, make it stop. If you need it, my life is yours, just don't hurt the innocent anymore!”
“You figured out the function of the ‘Dream Agate’ so quickly? Academician Sui is truly impressive.”
“Sushiye!!”
Sushiye chuckled twice. “Rest assured, today is just a test. The thing you’re worried about won't happen.”
“A test? What do you mean?”
“Haven't you studied the final detonation energy consumption of the ‘Dream Agate’? That magnitude requires Crimson to utilize his void-form power to complete. You know how much of a stir it would cause if Crimson returned to his void form.”
“Is... is that so?”
“Yes.”
Indeed, Crimson hated Deep Blue to the bone. If he returned to his void state, the first thing he would likely do is destroy the merman civilization. However, Fanli had a new question: “But why is Crimson so obedient to you? Given his personality, it doesn't make sense...”
“That is, of course, because he and I completed a specific transaction. He is currently unable to return to his void state. The Earth is safe; you don't need to worry too much, my inquisitive Academician Sui.”
“Fine, you really scared me to death...” Fanli patted her chest. “Where are you now? Still in Shenye Jiana?”
“No.”
“Then contact me when you get back. I want to talk to you more about this. Don't do dangerous research on your own anymore, okay? My forever-restless Emperor of the Crimson Moon.”
“Okay.”
“Sigh, I’m truly afraid of you.” Fanli let out a breath. “I have nothing else. I’ll wait for you to come back. Goodbye.”
Then, Sushiye fell silent for a long time—so long that Fanli thought he had already disconnected—before he said softly and lowly, “Goodbye.”
After hanging up, Fanli intended to turn back to Shenye Jiana, but she felt something wasn't quite right. She swam back and forth inside the cabin. She took out the "Dream Agate" report again and studied it for over an hour. Suddenly, she discovered that while detonating the Dream Agate did require astronomical units of energy, according to the formula she and Yejia had derived, this energy consumption was like a massive catalyst—it could be "added" at any time during the ten years, not necessarily in these final days. Therefore, Sushiye’s words could not serve as evidence that the "Dream Agate" hadn't been truly activated.
She called Sushiye again. But once more, it went unanswered.
*Maybe he’s busy, I’ll wait a bit longer...*
Fanli didn't return to Shenye Jiana; she just wanted to take another look at the Winter Sea. Moreover, she felt an persistent unease in her heart.
But thinking from another perspective, if Crimson really hadn't been restrained by Sushiye, he wouldn't be this quiet. What exactly was she uneasy about...
Because she had used her brain too much, Fanli was exhausted and fell asleep leaning against the window.
An unknown amount of time passed. The temperature around her dropped significantly, and the window became as cold as a block of ice, making her shudder in her sleep. She opened her eyes groggily and found ice crystals on the window; the vessel had already stopped beside the permafrost icebergs of the Winter Sea.
Seeing her wake up, a guard opened the hatch for her, and a maid draped a polar bear fur cloak over her shoulders. She stepped out onto a piece of floating ice, wobbled twice, and stepped onto the ice field beneath the permafrost iceberg.
Her eyes were nearly blinded by the glaring white expanse. She walked through the howling wind and snow, slowly reaching the foot of the iceberg. It was indeed too cold here; she kept blowing hot air onto her hands, unconsciously remembering how Sushiye had once kissed her here.
At that time, she only had the mental age of an eighteen-year-old. Being kissed by him so lingeringly and with such desire, she had fallen for him so easily.
Alas, desire is the root of all trouble. I can’t think about this anymore. I should find him to discuss business.
She took out her communicator and tried to contact Sushiye.
After her nap, she wasn't as tense as before, but she felt as if something was weighing on her heart, preventing her from fully relaxing.
Just like before, no answer.
Fanli sighed, exhaling a cloud of white mist. Just as she was about to hang up, she saw something glowing not far away through the mist.
She squinted and discovered a communicator at the foot of the iceberg. She walked over quickly and saw it was still flashing, emitting purple arcane pulses. The glacier was like a beautiful graveyard built for all things on Earth; besides this tiny machine, there was only the vast, white emptiness.
Fanli instinctively disconnected the call. The communicator on the ice stopped glowing. Then, she dialed Sushiye’s number again. The communicator lit up once more.
At that moment, her mind went completely blank.
“Sushiye.” Fanli turned in a circle, trying to find his trace, but besides the trinity of water molecules—water, ice, and mist—she couldn't see a single signal of life. Ever since the Imperial government had transformed this place into a weapons base, there had been no biological activity.
“You’re here, aren't you?!” she shouted loudly. “Sushiye, you’re here, aren't you?!”
No one answered.
“Sushiye!!!” she screamed with all her might.
On the boundless ice field, besides her own echo and the sound of the wind like swinging ice blades, she could hear nothing.
That terrible premonition returned. Every time her sixth sense was terrifyingly accurate, but never had it been as strong or as frightening as this.
She felt that something might have happened to Sushiye.
The mere flash of this thought nearly caused her to have an emotional breakdown. *No, no, it definitely isn't that.* He was such a powerful man; even when she had exiled him to the deep sea, he had quickly returned to full strength. Nothing could happen to him.
“Where are you—!!!” She told herself not to panic, that Sushiye must be fine, he must be fine, but her voice was already trembling as she shouted, “Sushiye!!!!”
The cold air invaded her skin. The continuous sheets of white before her eyes were like the shroud of death, enveloping the cold polar day from start to finish. In a place devoid of life, one’s sense of time passing is very dull, but like a frog in warming water, she became more and more afraid...
At that moment, a small seal swam from some unknown sea area and poked its head out from the floating ice fragments. It had intended to climb onto the glacier, but seeing Fanli, it timidly dove back into the water. Two seconds after it went down, the seawater brightened slightly.
Fanli rubbed her eyes and looked at the seawater again, finding it mixed with a grayish-black deep blue, its depth unknown.
The wind was a self-exiled beast, roaring fiercely on the glacier, making her ears ache. As a member of the sea race, this was the first time in her life she felt afraid of water. As her premonition grew stronger, she became increasingly afraid to go down.
Until the seawater brightened again, shimmering with silver light, pulsing regularly like a heartbeat, or like that communicator that no one would ever answer again.
Fanli closed her eyes and jumped into the icy sea.
Then, the wondrous sight before her made her eyes widen in shock—the interior of the permafrost iceberg in the sea was glowing, making the entire thing transparent. It was so massive, extending downward beyond her line of sight. To freeze such a volume would take thousands of years. It was the giant heart of the Winter Sea, its light waxing and waning at an extremely slow pace, much like the heart of a merman.
Then, just as her premonition had told her, she saw a shadow floating quietly inside the iceberg below.
It was Sushiye.
In the past, even from ten kilometers away, he could hear her movements and alertly turn his gaze toward her. But this time, she swam quickly toward him, yet he never noticed her presence.
She swam in front of him, pressing both hands against the thick wall of the iceberg. “Why... why are you in here?”
His expression had been one of pure tranquility, but when he turned and saw her, his eyes lit up. He slowly swam over and said something.
She heard nothing.
Just as he couldn't hear her words either.
“Say it again, I can’t hear you.” She pounded on the ice wall, but it remained motionless.
He tried again, but there was still no sound at all. He shook his head, tapped the ice wall with his knuckle, and said another sentence. From his lip movements, she could tell he was saying: “Too thick, can’t hear.”
“Why are you inside?” She raised her voice, her entire body practically pressed against the ice wall. “Come out!!!”
Sushiye shook his head and mouthed: “Can’t get out.”
“Why can’t you get out?! It’s too dangerous in there. If an accident really happens, you... you’ll... anyway, don't think you’re not afraid just because you’re the Ether Lord. It has the explosive power of a supernova!! Come out quickly!!”
Seeing her talk a mile a minute in a mix of anxiety and anger, Sushiye could guess what she was saying even if he couldn't hear her. He smiled faintly, raised his hands through the ice wall, pressed his palms against hers, and said a sentence.
Fanli understood, but she was unwilling to believe the reality before her eyes, nor the terrifying premonition that was nearly swallowing her whole.
“I don't understand what you’re saying.” She shook her head, her lips pale. “If you want to say it, come out and say it. I can’t hear you out here.”
He didn't repeat himself. He simply smiled and extended a long index finger, writing the sentence on the ice. Fanli realized then that he had no fel energy left at all. Otherwise, he would have written it using fel arts.
And while he was writing, the "Dream Agate" continued to flash, only the frequency was becoming slower and slower, like the heartbeat of a dying person.
Then, from his strokes, she could no longer escape.
That sentence was:
*Forget me.*
Fanli was stunned.
On the glacier, her premonition had truly not been wrong.
All her forced defenses collapsed in an instant like a falling skyscraper. She pounded the ice wall with all her might, feeling as if she were being torn apart from the inside out:
“Sushiye! Get out here!! Once you’re out, I’ll forget you immediately!! I’ll never pester you again!! I’ll never ask to reconcile!! I’ll fall in love with someone else, I’ll definitely forget you! In the future, you can do whatever you want, no one will ever bother you again!! Truly, I will never take the initiative to find you even once!! Get out here quickly!!!”
Fanli began to attack the ice with arcane arts. But under the protection of the internal forces of the "Dream Agate," it remained motionless; not even a shard of ice fell off.
“Come out! Come. Out! You. Come. Out!” With every word she spoke, she launched an attack. Even though every attempt was futile and quickly drained her energy, she gave it her all. “Come. Out! You, come out!!”
“Sushiye!!”
“Why are you always like this!! No matter what you do, you never communicate with me!!”
“Arrogant!! Self-centered!!”
“You said you didn't love me, and I really believed it!! Loving someone isn't like this!!!”
“If you don't love me, then fine, I don't care! I’ll go find some young guy, I don't want an old man like you anymore!! You’re too calculating! I’ve had enough long ago!! I want to have a normal romance, I don't want to be tortured by you anymore! Get out here, if you want to be crazy, come out and be crazy!”
Within the millennial iceberg, the seawater entwined with Sushiye’s snow-like hair, just as the endless years were entwined around the heart. Because the seawater was deep, his every movement was in slow motion, using his final life force to leave a last shadow in her tear-blurred vision.
He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to convey a final message through lip movements, but in the end, he said nothing.
After struggling for a long time, her mental energy was completely exhausted, and her physical strength was severely lacking; she almost slid down into the deep sea. But her consciousness still pulsed like boiling water, unable to find peace. She pressed against the ice wall, crying like a child, her red face completely wrinkled. “Come out, as long as you’re alive, I’ll listen to everything you say, I’ll never cause you trouble again...”
Sushiye just looked at her quietly, his eyes deep as he faced away from the faint light, though one could still see they were rimmed with red.
“I know I’m not good, I’m not worthy of your kindness, I really know, but...” Fanli said through sobs, “Brother, don't leave me alone, please, you’re the person I love most in this life...”
Then, a faint and vast fluorescence suddenly lit up in the deep sea, like ten thousand fireflies dancing, or billions of stars rotating. The man before her began to dissipate bit by bit.
Though she knew it was absolutely impossible to break this block of ice, Fanli pounded it with all her might until her hands were red and swollen, staining the seawater red, yet she couldn't move it even a fraction.
“Sushiye!!”
She pressed against the ice and wailed, her voice turning hoarse, yet she could not stop his figure from vanishing like quicksand.
Sushiye smiled throughout, more composed than ever before.
It wasn't that she couldn't live without him. In fact, they spent very little time together; without him, she lived quite well on her own.
But everything was built on the foundation that he still existed. No matter which corner of the world he was in, no matter what posture, what identity, or even what species—even if he were just a hermit crab, a sardine, or a piece of seaweed—as long as his breath remained, she would have the courage to live for another hundred million, billion, or ten billion years.
She didn't have to be with him.
As long as he was there, her spiritual world would endure, and life would always have hope. Even if he loved someone else, even if he forgot her forever, even if she never had the chance to brush past him again.
But she could not accept a world without Sushiye.
This was her final bottom line. Besides this one thing, she could accept anything.
After the fluorescence vanished, the "Dream Agate" no longer glowed, and the surroundings turned pitch black. Like a heart completely dead within a corpse, like a star completely dead within the universe.
In the end, only she and the great ocean remained in the whole world.
No God of Time and Space. No Sushiye.
Her body filled with grief, Fanli took a deep breath, wanting to let out a cry, but the pain overflowing from her chest made it impossible to make any sound. Then, something twitched in her brain, and everything before her eyes turned completely black.
The moment before she lost consciousness, she thought: *If I could just die right now, how wonderful that would be...*
*That way, I could be with him forever...*
Accompanied by the drifting marine snow, Fanli’s slender body slowly sank, falling toward the depths of the ocean, just like the "whale fall" the man she loved had once experienced.
---
