"I'm sorry..."
Ikaris was somewhat embarrassed: "I misunderstood you. I thought... you had killed Thena, so in my urgency, I wanted to avenge her."
He had come rushing to avenge Thena, only to almost have himself stabbed to death by someone's blade.
If the other party had not shown mercy just now, the place severed now would not have been his shoulder, but this head of his.
"It's fine, I've never been one to hold grudges."
Ichimaru Gin returned him a smile and said in a way that could anger someone to death without paying with his life: "But you should still be more careful. Otherwise, I can't guarantee that the next time something like this happens, your head will still be able to stay safely on your neck."
Ikaris felt a chill on his neck and subconsciously touched it, the expression on his face somewhat complicated, angry in his heart but not daring to speak.
Thena did not help him out. At this moment, her thoughts were completely elsewhere. Her mind was filled entirely with what Ichimaru Gin had just said. Under her emotional excitement, a glow lit up in her eyes, and she asked somewhat失態: "You... really have confidence that you can cure Mahd Wy'ry?"
She had suffered the torment of Mahd Wy'ry, her memories often falling into chaos, controlled by the killing desire in her heart, becoming a beast that only knew slaughter. She did not dare integrate into human society, did not dare get along with her companions, and could only stay in the desert where human traces were rare.
For thousands of years, her heart had been too lonely. Now that she heard Mahd Wy'ry could be cured, even if she knew the hope was slim, that dust-sealed heart still began to beat uncontrollably.
"Thena, don't speak nonsense. Mahd Wy'ry has no solution!" Ikaris tightly furrowed his brows, a trace of panic flashing in his eyes, and dragged up an excuse: "The legendary Mahd Wy'ry is a terminal illness that even the Celestials cannot cure. How could an Earthling possibly cure it?"
Hearing this, Thena's eyes dimmed slightly. That brief glow faded away, leaving only a bitter smile at the corner of her lips: "Yes... I know... I should have known long ago... Mahd Wy'ry has no solution. There is only the path of clearing memories."
A trace of struggle appeared in Ikaris's eyes, but in the end, he still patted her shoulder and comforted: "It's fine, Thena. We will always stay by your side... I swear."
Ichimaru Gin was like an outsider, silently observing the expressions of the two people. Finally, his gaze fixed on Ikaris, holding a playful smile as he opened his mouth and interrupted the two: "You haven't tried yet, so how do you know it won't work?"
Ikaris's expression stiffened. Fury brewed in his eyes, but he covered it up: "Even we Eternals cannot find a way. You, an Earthling, what method could you possibly have?"
He was lying...
As an old undercover agent, Ichimaru Gin easily saw through this man's little thoughts at a glance.
He was trying to conceal the truth about Mahd Wy'ry.
The more Ikaris opened his mouth to obstruct him, the more Ichimaru Gin confirmed his own guess. There was definitely something fishy about Mahd Wy'ry.
"That may not necessarily be true."
Ichimaru Gin smiled: "If the Eternals were really that powerful, you would not have nearly been killed by me just now. Do you think what I said is right?"
"You!"
Being slapped in the face directly, even though Ikaris's self-restraint was not bad, he still flew into a rage.
"Wait, Ikaris."
Thena held back her companion, then quietly looked at Ichimaru Gin and said: "I believe him. Besides... what would happen if we try? After so many years, I have never held any hope anyway."
Ikaris's expression shifted between dark and clear, showing some hesitation and a trace of unwillingness. In the end, he helplessly breathed out and sat dejectedly on the ground: "Fine. Since you insist on believing him, I respect your choice."
Ichimaru Gin narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at Ikaris.
He actually gave up...
He had originally thought that Ikaris would persist to the end and obstruct him at all costs, but unexpectedly, he gave up after just a few sentences.
Did he have enough confidence to believe that he could not possibly unravel the mystery of Mahd Wy'ry?
Ichimaru Gin playfully swept his gaze over the two and said: "Before treating Mahd Wy'ry, let me first treat the injuries of you two."
"You can heal wounds?" Thena's face was full of astonishment.
Ikaris's brows furrowed even deeper, faintly mixed with some worry in his eyes.
"I understand a tiny bit."
Ichimaru Gin smiled and walked forward, raising his hand to press it against Thena's wound. His palm released dense green light, emitting vigorous vitality.
The bloody and mangled shoulder slowly healed. Although the speed was truly worrying, the effect was unquestionable.
"This... what a miraculous power!"
Thena's eyes were filled with admiration as she exclaimed: "Although it's very faint, I can feel a powerful vitality. Gin, I really didn't expect you to be this amazing, you even know this!"
Ichimaru Gin smiled and did not explain.
Although he was not good at Kidō, he had more or less learned Kaidō before, so this sentence truly was not modesty. He really only understood a tiny bit.
This level of Kaidō would not even rank in the Fourth Division, at most counted as a newcomer who had just entered the door.
More than half an hour later.
The shoulder Thena had had torn apart by Shinsō regenerated new flesh and skin, with no trace of injury visible at all.
"It should be roughly fine."
Ichimaru Gin wiped the sweat on his forehead and looked back at Ikaris, saying with slight apology: "Sorry, with my current strength, I can only heal one person at most."
This guy was absolutely doing it on purpose!
Ikaris's face darkened. How could he not see what Ichimaru Gin meant? He said in a heavy and irritated voice: "No need. This small injury will heal by itself after I rest for a few days."
"Since my injury is healed, can we begin?" Thena was already somewhat impatient.
After witnessing Ichimaru Gin's many methods, she now increasingly felt that this man before her had not deceived her and truly might be able to cure Mahd Wy'ry.
Ikaris tightly furrowed his brows, looking at the expectant Thena with a hesitant expression.
"I'll say this first. Don't hold too much hope."
Ichimaru Gin appropriately suppressed her expectations and said: "I am not certain whether Mahd Wy'ry can truly be treated. After all, it is a symptom I have never seen before, and I cannot be considered a professional doctor. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Don't worry, I'm already used to it."
Thena shook her head with a smile and said: "Even if it truly can't be cured, I won't blame you."
"Then that's good."
Ichimaru Gin walked forward and sat cross-legged opposite Thena, then said: "Please empty your thoughts and let your brain enter a blank state. Do not resist no matter what. The rest can be left to me."
"Mm, okay."
Thena followed his instructions and slowly emptied her mind, letting herself enter an ethereal state.
"By the way, this Eternal gentleman."
Ichimaru Gin looked back at Ikaris and smiled: "Could you please protect us? The treatment process requires absolute safety and cannot be disturbed by any external force."
Ikaris's expression was complicated. In the end, he looked at Thena, silently nodded, and sighed lightly: "Don't worry. With me here, I won't let anything happen to you."
Actually, Ichimaru Gin did not understand at all how to treat this Mahd Wy'ry.
And the so-called treatment method he spoke of was actually using the forbidden Kidō developed by Aizen to directly enter Thena's spiritual world and pry into the secrets regarding the Deviants and the Eternals.
Deep within Thena's spiritual world, Ichimaru Gin discovered an enormous segment of sealed memories.
And after investigating this segment of memories.
Ichimaru Gin's smile gradually disappeared, then revealed a complicated expression. His half-lowered eyes completely opened, flashing with horror and shock one after another.
"So... this is the truth!"
The so-called Eternals were not born from nature, but rather products similar to robots created by the Celestials. Their structure was merely more exquisite and complex, and they unwaveringly carried out the great mission issued by the Celestials.
Every time a mission was completed, the Eternals' bodies would welcome destruction, but at the same time, their memories would be uploaded and sealed away. When waiting for the next 'rebirth,' they would continue day after day to carry out the same mission.
And the Mahd Wy'ry that Thena suffered from was actually a program BUG that appeared during countless reboots, causing the memories to not be completely erased. The memories accumulated through countless cycles directly crushed the memories of her current life.
Within those sealed memories...
Ichimaru Gin saw a terrifying scene: treating an entire planet as a womb, with the will of all intelligent lifeforms as nourishment. Like a chick inside an eggshell, a new generation of Celestial was ultimately born from the planet's core.
This was the true mission of the Eternals!
The reason they protected intelligent lifeforms was because the Celestial seed deep within Earth, if it wanted to fully grow, had to use the will of intelligent lifeforms as nourishment!
The global earthquake from two days ago.
Was the signal emitted when that Celestial at Earth's core was about to be born!
The Eternals called it..... the Emergence!