The lagging nature of education is a truly fascinating thing.
When you spend countless mornings, afternoons, or nights looking at the words, images, and stories your elders thrust upon you, you don't truly understand.
You don't understand why these seemingly meaningless things are designated as mandatory courses you must learn and memorize.
At those times, you can only resort to rote memorization, treating them as cold exam points and forcibly carving them into your memory.
Then, one day, in some ordinary moment much later...
After you have traveled many paths and witnessed many things...
You suddenly realize that those thin points in time, those abstract words and scenes from years ago... were paved with mountains of corpses.
In that moment, the bullet fired many years ago hits the bullseye.
...
In his initial Awakening Ceremony, he saw shattered suns and black waterfalls connecting heaven and earth.
After learning that those were merely illusionary realms created by Heart Fiends, Ren Yi had always treated those emotionally charged memories with the mindset of someone watching a horror movie.
Later, when he heard historical stories about the origin of the Alliance, he studied them with the detached curiosity of an outsider.
He used this history to locate his own existence, understand the social relationships within the Alliance, and try to distinguish friend from foe in this new world.
But now, two completely different perspectives collided following Evans's confession.
When Ren Yi finally realized that the 'black waterfall' he thought represented destruction was not some doomsday scenery or a weapon of mass destruction...
But was instead the melted remains of millions of Alliance compatriots...
The first thing he felt was a chill running down his spine.
Then came a surging, torrential rage.
Who did this!
Why did it turn out like this!
This unheralded explosion of killing intent was too sudden and too heavy.
The smile on Evans's face slowly faded.
He shrank back, clutching the Honest Gift mushroom in his hand with a look of uncertainty.
However, Ren Yi did not move.
The moment his anger reached its peak, it suddenly and strangely lost its strength, eventually settling into a near-absurd sense of self-mockery.
He realized that this sudden burst of rage had no target to lash out at in this moment.
He could only mock his own 'delayed realization.'
No, perhaps within the Alliance's plans, he was already considered the 'precocious' type.
If he hadn't happened to encounter Evans, it might have taken him a long, long time to realize this.
All the history, all the disasters, and all the truths about the destruction of the old world that the Alliance had painted for them at the moment they 'woke up'—when they first opened their ignorant eyes to this world...
Now it seemed like nothing more than a ghost story used to scare children.
The adults said in low, somber tones: 'This is a very, very scary thing.'
It didn't matter if they didn't understand the meaning behind it.
They were still young; children didn't need to worry about such things.
They only needed to remember this 'story,' this 'history.'
History required no rhetorical flourishes or thematic elevation.
It was laid out plainly, like a cold, emotionless ledger of facts.
Because it only needed to be recorded, depicted, and etched into memory so it could be passed down.
But children, you will eventually know.
Before you, 'we' also had a past.
A past that was not beautiful at all.
After countless days and nights, the newborn Anomalies would suddenly realize what they had actually seen when they 'woke up.'
Those past events weren't cold documents or symbolic destruction.
They were living compatriots who were instantly melted in the disaster, never able to see the world today.
The adults looked back at the next generation, who had just opened their eyes, and said: 'You must remember this scene.'
'When you grow up, you'll understand.'
...
The residual warmth of the nuclear explosion shouldn't have dissipated so quickly, yet Ren Yi felt the wind on the embankment grow colder.
Ren Yi watched Evans silently. The white mist began to slowly circulate again, and his thoughts gradually loosened along with it.
Ren Yi controlled his form, slowly backing away slightly to leave a space where they could re-evaluate each other.
【I understand.】
Evans blinked. He looked at the text and then at Ren Yi's white mist form, which had regained its calm but seemed deeper than before, and let out a long sigh of relief.
He swallowed, not daring to speak out of turn, and weighed the Honest Gift mushroom in his hand, which was still twitching.
He knew their conversation wasn't over. Holding the mushroom was his way of showing his stance.
It essentially meant, 'If I lie to you later, you'll see it.'
"Um..."
Evans broke the silence cautiously, asking tentatively, "Now, can we be considered to be on 'speaking terms'?"
The white mist in mid-air swayed slightly, serving as a nod.
Ren Yi had already calmed his emotions and began to consider practical issues.
If there truly were 'wild' kindred in this world, as Evans said...
Then the 'Awakening Ceremony,' which had always had such a high presence, likely played an extremely important role.
It was a special beacon used by the Alliance to help their kind 'recognize' one another.
As long as they had experienced the same dream, even if separated by thousands of miles, they could confirm each other's identity the moment they met.
This was the Alliance's 'guarantee.'
But one thing remained unresolved.
What exactly was Evans?
Calling him an Anomaly seemed right, but his current state and behavior didn't seem to match any kindred Ren Yi had seen.
If he were a proper Anomaly, what was his most fundamental 'Rule' that anchored his existence?
Just as Ren Yi was feeling puzzled, Evans suddenly spoke up.
The youth twitched the corner of his mouth and asked curiously, "So, the place where you stay... what kind of place is it?"
Ren Yi withdrew his wandering thoughts.
Before the situation was completely clear, he naturally wouldn't easily reveal any top-secret information about the Alliance's inner workings.
Thus, only a line of cold text drifted into Evans's vision:
【Since you know such a place exists, you can come and see for yourself in the future.】
However, to his surprise, Evans shook his head.
"I know such a place exists, but it probably isn't suitable for me."
"My 'inherited memory' tells me that I shouldn't go to your place yet."
The white mist trembled slightly.
【Why shouldn't you go?】
Ren Yi's guard went up once again.
"Uh..." Evans scratched his head, seemingly trying to organize his words.
"Actually, I don't quite understand it either. The general meaning flowing from my heritage is... my way of survival is a bit different."
"I have to be here to truly possess a Rule that belongs to me."
"If I stay with you, I might never be able to obtain my Rule."
Ren Yi stared at this sentence, falling into silence for a long time.
In this eerie silence, he seemed to suddenly and completely understand what the Evans before him actually was.
Initially, he thought Evans was a powerful Anomaly who had lost control or been severely contaminated, or perhaps a twisted monster resurrected from the bones of their kind.
After hearing about the dream, he thought the other party was just a wild Anomaly wandering outside, unaware of the Alliance's form of existence.
But now he understood completely.
What did it mean to 'not yet possess a Rule'?
Actually, such a situation did exist in reality.
There were many such existences within the Alliance; even a long time ago, Ren Yi himself had gone through this stage.
However, those 'existences' within the Alliance were protected by rules from the moment they opened their eyes.
Their vision was blocked by cognitive filters, and they were carefully cared for, guided, or supervised by 'parents.'
Until they grew up and awakened their own rules, becoming 'Cubs.'
So this Evans was a 'child' who hadn't even become a 'Cub' yet?
Rate on N.U.
