The Eldritch Files

It suddenly dawned on him. ’No wonder she didn’t stop me when I snatched the Crystal Skull at the end.’

Because by then, the Crystal Skull had already served its purpose.

She had poured all her maternal emotions—all the pain, longing, pity, and regret—into the Crystal Skull.

So, when she was away from the Crystal Skull, she was just an emotionless shell, a mere tool.

But when she was near it, she regained her emotions and became human again?

It also explained why Song Chushi had said this was my last chance, that I had to be ruthless.

Did he know this secret? Was that why he was certain that the only time I could kill her was when she was in this state?

The only time I could kill this opponent… was when she turned back into my mother?

And her…

Han Su suddenly recalled that she had been acting strangely all night. She was cold and ruthless, but judging by the power she displayed at the end, she probably didn’t need to say so much to him.

She’d had opportunities to finish him off quickly. But whenever she attacked, there was an inexplicable hesitation and turmoil that allowed him to hold on for so long.

’So, when she said she was waiting for me to get the Crystal Skull, was it because she was also hoping for this final scene?’

...

...

”I know you have every reason to blame me, but this is our fate!”

The tall, thin woman’s voice was filled with sorrow. It seemed she had been waiting to say these things for a long time. Away from the Crystal Skull, she had no reason or identity to speak from, but now that she was near it, she felt a desperate urge to pour everything out.

”You, or I—neither of us had a choice!”

She struggled to lift her head to look at Han Su, as if selfishly desperate for him to understand everything she had done.

”I’m just an executor of the Divine Descent Plan!”

”Back then, when I first saw the truth of the world, I left my family with lofty ideals. I met them, and I joined the Divine Descent Plan with the thought of saving the world from the threat of the Tide. But I... I didn’t know it would require sacrificing you!”

”When they pointed at my belly and said you would be part of the plan, I really did try...”

As if afraid Han Su wouldn’t believe her, she looked at him pleadingly. ”You remember some of it, don’t you?”

”I ran. I tried to protect you...”

”I took you into hiding in Qinggang. We hid in that little city for ten years, but they found us in the end...”

”You remember how we only had each other, don’t you?”

”When they found us ten years ago, I realized they had been watching us all along. He had been trying to protect us, too, but ultimately, he couldn’t.”

”For his sake, and to make things less hopeless, my only choice was to obey them. I took charge of Abyssal Studio for him, helped them complete the Seven Days of Divine Descent plan, and hoped that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t be chosen, then...”

”...”

”They?”

An unspeakable tremor and sense of oppression rose in Han Su’s heart. He abruptly cut her off, forcing out the words one by one.

”Who are ’they’? And who is ’he’?”

”He...”

The tall, thin woman’s expression crumbled. She tried to smile, but that smile was more agonizing than tears. ”They are the World Guardians, the direct bloodline that inherited the Knight’s Will of the Twelve Knights.”

”From the Reconstruction Era until now, they have always been the lofty nobles, the true masters of this world.”

”They... they carry out the Emperor’s will, monitoring the arrival of the Tide...”

”They have no pity for the people of this world. Everything they do is to ensure the Reconstruction Era does not collapse.”

”Because to them, the Reconstruction Era is their foundation, their dynasty, passed down through generations.”

”And he...”

When she spoke of ”them,” her voice was filled with fear. But when she spoke of ”him,” it was full of pain and sorrow. ”His name is Han Changming. He’s your father. He’s risking his life to protect you. I’m from the Shen Family of Southeast Ye City. My name is Shen Yunyi. Our families...”

”Stop...”

Han Su used every ounce of his strength to stop her. He gritted his teeth and said, ”Do you think I came here for a family reunion?”

”Do you think, after all these years, after all the suffering I’ve endured, that I would still...”

”...”

The words caught in his throat, unable to vent the rage in his heart.

It wasn’t that he had never wished for a normal family, but that wish was from a lifetime ago. He had long since lost any desire for such things.

He just found it all so absurd.

He had been tormented for ten years—endless Flashing, endless escapes, unbearable pain.

Besides being the sole survivor of the Ancient Castle kidnapping, he didn’t even have a normal identity. He was an orphan with no parents, and the last ten years were a blur. He was like a Ghost living in the cracks between spaces, with no definite anchor.

And now? She was telling him she loved him? That he actually had a place in the world like a normal person?

”I just want to tell you everything I know.”

In response to Han Su’s words, the tall, thin woman—or rather, Shen Yunyi—spoke with a voice full of deep despair. ”I’m not asking for your forgiveness. You have every right not to forgive anyone. But... but I have to tell you quickly. We’re out of time...”

She moved forward, as if trying to get closer to Han Su. ”I don’t know why, but the work I was in charge of... has completely failed.”