The atmosphere froze instantly.
The words “fourth time falling” were like an invisible sledgehammer, striking everyone’s hearts.
In the corner, Sword-man, who had been tilting his head and boredly picking at the cross’s wooden eyes, froze mid-motion.
He slowly looked up, thought for a moment, and glanced back and forth between Pops and Evans.
Suddenly, with a clack, he struck the Wu Erhun Cross against the longsword at his waist.
“Ow!” Wu Erhun shrieked.
But Sword-man didn't seem to hear that pig-slaughtering howl at all. He just stared down at the piece of rotten wood in his hand and muttered distractedly, “Say... do you think maybe we shouldn't be here?”
As he spoke, he patted the dust off his trench coat and stood up awkwardly, making a move toward the door.
“Hey, wait... don't go.”
The mouth on the Wu Erhun Cross in his hand opened. It couldn't hold back anymore and spoke up weakly.
It fidgeted. After waiting for two seconds, Ren Yi’s cold warning didn't sound in its ears.
Wu Erhun’s courage suddenly swelled. “I mean, since we’re already here...”
“Oh?” Sword-man, who had already stood up and taken a step toward the door, stopped with interest.
He looked down at the piece of wood in his arms, a dangerous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Listening to things you shouldn't hear... aren't you afraid of knowing too much and losing your little life, little cross?”
Despite the threat, Sword-man’s actions were very honest.
As if he had expected the wood to speak, he sat back down in the chair and adjusted himself into a more comfortable position to enjoy the show.
“Little life...” Wu Erhun muttered guiltily, as if answering him or talking to itself. “My little life is already gone.”
Ren Yi, hidden in the lining of Evans’ clothes, naturally noticed this minor commotion.
However, since Wu Erhun was keeping its mouth shut about his existence, he didn't bother with the buffoon.
Because at this moment, Ren Yi’s entire brain was caught in a mental storm.
The information Pops had just dropped was a bit too much.
Evans had fallen from the moon four times.
But as the person involved, he had no memory of the first three times at all.
Ren Yi reasoned in his mind: Is this world a loop?
Or does the so-called “New Era” not lead to a new age at all, but rather resets the world's progress, restoring it to its original state?
Ren Yi clearly remembered when he and Evans had laid their cards on the table back on the surface; Evans had emphasized one thing repeatedly.
His self-awareness had formed very early. He had a vague, budding consciousness while still inside the moon.
But it wasn't until the Sky Eye Organization officially designated him as “S-099” that he possessed clear, continuous, and irreversible memories.
Initially, Ren Yi thought the “gap period” in Evans’ memory was just the time from when he was in the moon until he woke up in the Sky Eye Organization.
Considering this world only had four months in a year, that time wasn't actually that long.
But now it seemed the truth was far more terrifying than either of them had anticipated!
Could it be that this period was much, much longer than Evans believed and Ren Yi assumed?
It was long enough... to encompass the youth's previous three falls, as well as the total destruction and reset of the entire world three times over!
“Phew...”
Evans, sitting on the sofa, was clearly following the same logic and thinking of some hair-raising possibilities.
But as the one involved, he found it even harder to accept.
“What do you mean? Please, speak clearly.”
Evans tried to maintain a calm tone, but his voice wavered slightly at the end.
However, faced with the youth’s questioning, Pops didn't continue down that path. Instead, he shifted the subject.
“‘Anomalies cannot be completely destroyed.’ You’ve been wandering out there for years; you should know this law, right?”
Evans hesitated for a moment, suppressed the churning thoughts in his mind, and nodded slowly.
“It's common knowledge. Even the illiterate scavengers in the Wilderness know it.”
It was rare for the youth to say such a long sentence in one breath.
“Some Anomalies are fragile. Some can be used to destroy each other. But no matter the method of destruction, after a period of time, they will reappear somewhere else, completely intact.”
Evans paused, his dark eyes staring intently at Pops. “And I remember hearing rumors that although the reappearance location is random, the probability of them appearing in the Abyss is much higher than elsewhere.”
Pops gave a noncommittal smile, gently using the tea lid to push aside the dried leaves on the surface of the water.
“Well, what this old man wants to formally tell you is...”
“Child, this so-called ‘Law of Indestructibility’ doesn't just apply to Anomalies.”
Pops looked up. Through the rising steam of the tea, he spoke one word at a time.
“In fact, our entire world follows this same law.”
The room became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
A dead silence lasted for a full half-minute.
Evans spoke again, as if he had just heard the most absurd joke in the world.
“Are you saying that after our world is destroyed, it will eventually regenerate on its own, just like an Anomaly respawning?”
Pops nodded. For once, his expression was serious, confirming the youth's thought.
“How do you know this? How can you prove what you’re saying is true?” Evans followed up immediately.
“Well... actually, it’s because some of us are more or less a bit special.”
Faced with the skepticism, Pops turned his head to look at Sword-man.
Meeting Evans’ suspicious gaze, Sword-man, who was sitting in his chair clutching the iron boxes, rubbed his nose awkwardly and pulled his lips into a forced, sheepish grin.
Pops turned back. “As for me, I have some vague memories of the previous eras.”
“Initially, these memories weren't clear. To be precise, they became clearer as time passed.”
Pops spread his hands and sighed. “So, unfortunately, I can't provide any proof.”
“But I am not an isolated case. If you don't believe me, you can have Sword-man take you for a walk around the settlement later.”
“If this were a lie, something this old man made up on the spot and arranged for everyone in the Abyss to lie to you...”
“With so many people, there would bound to be cracks in the details, wouldn't there?”
Evans listened in silence, then slowly lowered his head, seemingly accepting Pops’ explanation for now.
The reason he accepted it so quickly wasn't just because of Pops’ eloquence.
It was because at this moment, before Evans’ dark pupils, a tiny line of text appeared, hidden by an illusion’s reflection:
【These sentences are true.】
Rate on N.U.
