Phainon looked at Cyrene, momentarily lost in a daze.
That phrase, "Long time no see," pierced through all the noise, gently settling in his heart.
Her smile was still warm.
Her gaze was still pure.
But Phainon still caught a difference from when they first met.
Deep in her eyes, an unspeakable weariness had settled, along with a hint of determination to burn herself out.
She seemed to have waited here for too long, just to tell him an ending different from before.
Phainon's Adam's apple bobbed; a myriad of words surged into his mind, but in the end, they only transformed into the simplest four words, "Long time no see..."
Seeing this, Mydei also let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Cyrene, it's good that you're alright."
Hearing this, Cyrene nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over Mydei's shoulder to fall on the unconscious Elio on his back, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes.
"This room is temporarily safe."
She raised her hand, her slender fingertips lightly touching the air.
An invisible ripple quietly spread.
Instantly, the walls and instruments of the broadcast room blurred, as if a flowing curtain of water separated them, completely isolating this place from the outside world.
"I used the power of 'Time' to temporarily detach the flow of time here from the outside world," Cyrene explained softly.
"Time?"
Mydei's brows furrowed; after a moment of contemplation, he finally understood that Cyrene had also awakened her own memories and abilities.
All of this was also within Phainon's expectations, "Sure enough, you remembered too."
"Mm," Cyrene responded softly, her gaze returning to Phainon's face, without any further preamble.
"Ever since Zandar sacrificed himself, this world's 'immune system' was activated and completely spiraled out of control, beginning to indiscriminately purge all 'anomalies'."
Cyrene didn't beat around the bush; she looked at Phainon, revealing the truth of the world.
"I tried to use 'Time' to trace back to the world's origin, but I discovered that the anomalies all stemmed from two 'accidents' that shouldn't exist."
"One is you, Phainon."
She paused, then spoke the name.
"The other... is Zandar."
"In the world's underlying code, there was no such person as Zandar at all."
"He appeared out of nowhere only after you entered this world."
Upon hearing this, a thought suddenly flashed through Phainon's mind.
He had grasped the most crucial thread.
Before entering the Simulated Universe, Herta had an audience with Erudition and received what was called "enlightenment."
So, Erudition, Zandar.
It was no accident at all!
Zandar was a chess piece Erudition placed on the board, and he himself was another.
It wanted him to confront Zandar?
It was just a pity that Zandar went out of control.
No, what was called going out of control was probably also within their calculations.
From the moment he stepped into the Simulated Universe, every step, every battle, every seemingly game-breaking choice, all were within the calculations of that vast intellect.
It was merely coldly calculating a "possibility."
Phainon subconsciously clenched his fists, a surge of anger rising in his heart.
"Phainon?" Cyrene noticed his body stiffen and called out worriedly.
"I'm fine."
Phainon looked up, all subtle expressions vanishing from his face, his eyes like an ancient well, unmoving.
He looked directly at Cyrene and asked the most core question.
"What exactly is the key? The clue Elio left pointed to you."
For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent.
Cyrene rarely frowned; she quietly looked at Phainon, the determination in her eyes becoming increasingly clear.
"The key is not a specific object."
Her voice was very soft, yet every word was like a mountain.
"When you purify this twisted world, and purify the 'pollution' left by Zandar, you will naturally obtain the key."
Purify the world?
Phainon chewed on this phrase.
That sounded infinitely more difficult than finding a physical object.
"How do I do that?" he pressed.
Cyrene smiled, "Who knows? Why don't we search for it together?"
Phainon fell silent.
He believed every word Cyrene said one hundred percent.
But he also felt that Cyrene must be hiding something.
The most crucial part.
About the "cost."
Phainon's brows furrowed uncontrollably.
He had a feeling... that this so-called "purification"...
It couldn't be that he had to... kill her with his own hands again, could it, Cyrene?