"Let go!"
Mydei pressed on Phainon's shoulder, his muscles bulging, his voice filled with impending rage.
Phainon's gaze, however, had not shifted an inch from Huo Huo's face.
There was no anger, no madness in his eyes, only a terrifying coldness.
Huo Huo met Phainon's eyes and felt an inexplicable panic in her heart.
That was not the look an actor "in character" should have.
All the curses and screams she had prepared were completely stuck in her throat.
"Elio."
Phainon's voice was very soft, yet it accurately pierced Huo Huo's eardrums, "Now, where is he?"
"I... how would I know!"
Huo Huo subconsciously spoke defiantly, trying to struggle.
Crack.
Phainon's fingers tightened another fraction.
Huo Huo felt Phainon's grip increase again; she knew this was not a joke.
"He's... he's at Himeko's coffee shop!"
Upon getting the answer, Phainon suddenly released his hand.
His movements were not at all sluggish; he turned, stepped, and walked straight towards the studio's door.
"Stop!"
A burly figure blocked his path.
Mydei's face was full of anger, but more than that, there was an incomprehensible confusion.
"What has gotten into you lately?"
"First you hit Teacher Zandar, and now you're laying hands on Director Huo! Are you crazy?!"
Phainon lifted his eyelids, calmly looking at this "close friend."
"Move."
"I won't!"
Mydei clenched his fists, his chest heaving.
"Look at yourself! If you really feel too much pressure, then we won't film this play!"
His voice carried a heartfelt urgency.
Phainon fell silent.
He could feel it.
He could feel the genuine emotional fluctuations beneath Mydei's words.
Even in this false world, they were friends who had faced life and death together.
It was the most instinctive concern between close friends.
Erudition had replicated this bond as well.
Unfortunately, it was all fake.
Phainon let out a long breath and replied softly, "Move."
"What if I don't?" Mydei snorted coldly, flexing his wrist, "Then I'll just have to knock you out and tell the boss you're sick!"
This threat sounded more like an extremely clumsy form of protection.
Phainon smiled slightly, not uttering a single word.
He simply turned sideways and quietly walked past Mydei.
Mydei froze in place.
He could only watch Phainon's back disappear out the door, his hand raised then lowered, filled with remorse and struggle.
Finally, he stomped his foot abruptly, cursed "HKS" under his breath, and strode out after him... The world outside the studio was an even larger "set."
The exterior wall of the huge building was only half-built, revealing the rusty rebar skeleton behind it.
"Extras" in work clothes hurried about, carrying all sorts of strange props.
Everything was filled with an industrialized, false sense of order.
Phainon walked on the artificial street, oblivious to everything around him.
His goal was clear.
Himeko's coffee shop; Elio was there.
Not far behind him, Mydei maintained a constant, not-too-far, not-too-close distance, a silent follower.
Phainon knew Mydei was there, but he didn't care.
He continued walking step by step towards the coffee shop.
Suddenly.
Phainon's steps stopped without warning.
Mydei, who was following behind, also stopped and looked forward in confusion.
At the corner ahead, a familiar figure stood.
The person was very tall.
He wore a well-tailored pure black suit, his figure tall and straight.
Long, snow-white hair was casually draped over his shoulders.
When he turned his face, a pair of indifferent golden pupils fell upon Phainon.
That face was handsome, yet lifeless.
Always unruffled.
Always looking down on all living beings.
Boom—
The moment he clearly saw that face, all the barriers Phainon had constructed with calmness were completely washed away by thirty million revolutions of bloody memories.
He saw it.
He saw himself wielding Invasion Dawn again and again, and falling before the cold throne again and again.
The source of all pain.
The embodiment of all despair.
The end of all destruction.
At this moment, it all transformed into the man in the suit before him, playing the role of "God."
Phainon's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Not from fear, but from rage.
It was the most primal, purest, and deepest hatred, which thirty million cycles of reincarnation had failed to diminish in the slightest!
The power within him was as still as dead water.
Invasion Dawn and the Dawnbreaker could not be summoned either.
He was now just an "actor," an unarmed mortal.
But he didn't care.
He raised his right hand, his five fingers clenching one by one.
His knuckles made a crisp "clack" from the excessive force.
Behind him, Mydei felt an extremely strong killing intent, and his heart suddenly constricted.
He had never seen Phainon like this.
And that white-haired man had a face identical to Nanook.
He was the actor playing Nanook—Nanook.
There was no fluctuation on his face.
He just quietly watched Phainon, and in his golden pupils, there was even a hint of interest.
Phainon's chest heaved violently, every word seeming to be squeezed from between his bones.
"Nanook!"
The next instant, his entire body shot forward!
His fist slammed heavily towards Nanook.
Facing the full-force punch, Nanook didn't even take his hand out of his pocket.
He just slightly turned his body sideways.
The fist, with a whistle, grazed his hair; everything was under control.
Seeing that the first strike missed, Phainon's offensive grew even more furious.
Straight punch! Hook! Elbow strike! Knee strike!
He used every ounce of strength he could muster.
However, in front of Nanook, everything was futile.
Each of his dodges used the smallest possible movement; Phainon's attacks all brushed past him.
Phainon's attacks were not even a threat to him.
However, the next moment.
His body froze; this time he didn't dodge.
Bang!
A heavy thud.
Phainon's fist landed squarely on Nanook's indifferent face.
A trace of crimson blood slowly trickled down his handsome cheek.
Against his brown skin, it looked particularly striking.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Nanook stopped.
He reached out a finger, gently wiped away the blood from his cheek, and examined it before his eyes for a moment; in his golden pupils, that hint of interest turned into an intrigued scrutiny.
He looked at Phainon, who was breathing heavily with bloodshot eyes, and suddenly smiled.
"I have always admired you."