She put on the Eye of the Old Days, killed him, stored the emotion within herself, and jumped into the sea to sleep, to prevent collapsing.

Once he changed bodies, she would awaken from the sea, trace the marks of his "reincarnation," kill him again, and store the emotion within herself.

Repeat the above steps endlessly, until the end.

...

But before this, Su Ming'an had to do something.

He placed the dark brown felt hat on his head, put on a coat, and walked towards the alley.

This was the year 508 of the Old Days, the beginning of everything.

A girl with black hair and purple eyes crouched in the alley, shivering.

He reached out his hand to her.

...

[Girl: Detective, from the first moment I saw you, I felt you were like a holy angel. Maybe when we both don't remember, we've met before?]

...

Old Year 512.

He held her hand, one step, one step, walking towards the snow-filled valley.

"Crunch, crunch." The sound of walking on snow.

One tall and one short, one big and one small. Two figures holding hands, leaving a trail of deep and shallow footprints.

Alice looked up, she had already been chosen as the Goddess, why did they not lead the war instead of heading to a desolate place?

"Detective, the war has already started, where are we going?"

Su Ming'an bowed his head, gazing into her purple eyes: "To the end of civilization."

"Detective, where is the end of civilization?"

Su Ming'an softly said: "It is... our untouched homeland."

Su Ming'an had tried many times.

No matter how the war was guided, it always ended in defeat. Either Goddess Alice died from being stabbed in the back, or he died from malice. This is an era of rampant malice, with no other way to save except obliteration.

However, Chao Yan proposed a solution.

—Go to the end of civilization, to the junction of 9999 timelines. Erase this era from the realm of "Dream Tour" and "The Tower."

Which means—

Delete the game "Girl's Dream Project", erasing the causality of Alice meeting him.

If the Old God did not enter this era, Alice would not have a crimson snake on her body, and she would not become the guide for Dieying to intervene in this era.

He had tried countless times to save Alice. Protecting her in assassinations, taking her away in warfire, shielding her from public anger. But in the end, he found that the best way to protect her—

Was to never meet her from the beginning.

"Detective, at that time... will you still hold my hand?" Alice looked at the vast snow in the distance. The white salt grains fell on her hair.

"I will." Su Ming'an lied.

When the game is deleted, at the very start of the story, she will forget him. As for her detective, he will no longer appear.

"Hmm." Alice nodded deeply: "I will definitely, definitely keep the promise and meet you. At that time, the war will definitely end..."

The whistling white snow, he tightened her scarf and attached a warmer to her body, taking her forward all the way.

At the end of the story, this was his and her last journey together.

"Crunch, crunch." The vision was all a pure, expansive white, leaving only the sound of footsteps in the snow, one deep and one shallow, as if singing in duet.

When looking towards the edge of the world, Su Ming'an seemed to see countless "Alices."

Alice dying in war, Alice becoming the Goddess, Alice sacrificing to Nine Serenities, Alice becoming a Royal City Knight, Alice becoming a Doctor, Alice becoming a street thug...

—How many possibilities can a person's life foster in ten thousand timelines?

If life is a long cultivation game, everyone's "training schedule" is arranged by themselves, whether it's work, study, or entertainment. The key choices in each life, whether it's postgraduate entrance exams, civil service exams, or work, can lead to different life endings. How many kinds of "possibilities" of one's own existence could there be in this world?

In this cultivation game called "Girl's Dream Project", as a Player, Su Ming'an was undoubtedly outstanding, raising in the life album the rarest Alice—the Goddess Alice. He didn't let her become a street thug, a noble's lover, or meet a low-level ending as a criminal. But in other timelines, amidst endless possibilities, such an Alice exists. They may be less fortunate, may have taken a wrong turn, but it cannot be denied that they are still her.

The Alice in front of Su Ming'an will always be the luckiest and happiest Alice.

—We are all the Protagonists in our own world.

...

["At that time... will we meet at the ending?" On the beach, Alice asked softly.]

...

—We have already met at the ending.

Reaching the world's edge, the snow almost blinded their vision.

The Causal Line on Alice's body was tightly connected to his. He drew the Sword of Destiny, slashing—

"Detective... gentlemen?" Alice's eyes were filled with astonishment.

Tears flowed from her eyes, and she seemed to suddenly realize what he was doing.

...

[Are you sure you want to delete "Girl's Dream Project"?]

[Yes/No]

...

"Don't... Detective... don't." She rushed forward, hugging him, tears soaking into his coat.

But Su Ming'an only lowered his hand, gently touching her head.

Go to happiness, Alice.

In a world without me. At the story's beginning.

It was I who interfered with your life, arranged your schedule, cultivated you into the way I wanted. This is not right.

Your life is not my training game, your "ending album" should be lit by you.

His lips trembled:

"Delete the game."

...

[Shrine Maiden: This lady's Tarot Card is... Upright Judgment. Judgment carries the meaning of "rebirth", representing a new beginning.]

...

Old Year 508.

The snow was exceptionally heavy.

A girl with black hair and purple eyes shivered in the broken alley, her skin white and clean, with no marks of red snakes, just like an ordinary girl.

She had frozen here for a long time, but this was the life of a child in the slums, only enduring.

"Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch." Suddenly, the sound of footsteps in the snow came.

She felt something, though she didn't know what she was expecting, she slowly raised her head—

Under the dim light, a figure walked towards her, seemingly cloaked in a layer of pale moonlight, the coat fluttering in the wind, carrying the scent of snow.

The girl's heartbeat quickened inexplicably... clearly meeting for the first time, yet this scene felt like she'd seen it countless times.

A word she didn't understand was about to escape her lips, as if repeated a thousand times by instinct, staring at that figure, she opened her mouth and called: "Detec-tive..."

"Oh dear! What's a child doing freezing here?" The figure approached, revealed to be an old man with white hair, a pipe in his mouth, looking at her: "Child... truly pitiful, why not come with me? The old man usually has nothing to do, another mouth to feed doesn't matter."

The girl opened her mouth, a wave of intense confusion surged in her heart.

... It seemed it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be this person adopting her.

But she understood, having someone willing to adopt her was already her Luck. Exactly who... was she expecting? When she herself didn't know.

She wrapped her coat around herself, following the old man.

"Little girl, what's your name?" the old man asked, pipe in mouth.

"I... I don't have a name."

"Old man, I am called Morgan Maxey. What do you like? Instruments? Painting? Dancing? I don't require you to achieve fame and success. You can learn whatever you wish, without any psychological burden."

She wanted to say she liked instruments, but as it reached her lips, for some reason, she said, "I like swordsmanship... I want to learn the sword, Grandpa Maxey."

"Why?" Maxey showed a surprised expression. This little girl was indeed rare.

"I want... to protect someone," she said.

"Who?" Maxey asked in shock.

"I, I don't know who that is. But it seems like I just want to protect someone. This seems to be an instinct rooted in my heart, a wish I've pondered over a thousand times. Although I don't know why I think this way." The girl mumbled, clutching at the clothes on her chest, where it felt empty.

Maxey shrugged: "Alright. Little girl, give yourself a name."

The girl opened her mouth, looking at the expanse of white snow before her, a white daytime star falling into her pupils. Tonight's moonlight was especially hazy, as if under the street lights, there was a young man wearing a felt hat and a coat quietly standing there, looking at her.

But as she looked up, there was only the silent moonlight, no shadow at all.

...Who was she missing?

...Who did she want to protect?

Couldn't understand.

It was like countless nightmares in the middle of the night, countless wishes pondered alone... but it all seemed not to exist anymore.

Those warm hands, gentle eyes, and that bowl of unpalatable porridge... seemed all forgotten.

Passing by a dilapidated house, it was as if her heart was suddenly gripped, causing her to halt and look at the house.

"That seems like a detective's house, but he has been drinking all day and is long gone, the house is empty." Maxey glanced at the house and shook his head.

Through the door slit, inside were a floor full of bottles and books, even the sofa had a hole, emanating a rotten smell.

The girl passed by in a daze.

...It seemed to not be the person she was looking for.

This was not home.

"I've decided, Grandpa Maxey." The girl looked up:

"My name... will be..."

"Alice."

The unknown long road stretched ahead, snow was heavy, street lights cast ambiguous warm light.

Her steps were deep and shallow, making crunching sounds.

The girl staggered forward, step by step, toward the future she decided for herself. It is her boundless sky, endless freedom.

Under the streetlight, there was not a detective in a coat.

...

After that, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy.

The Old Days 555, the war subsided, the Goddess passed away peacefully, and the Steam Age smoothly revolutionized, gradually transitioning into the Ocean Age (Old Days 555 - Old Days 621), with merely two hundred years left to present.

Before dying, her white hair was lying on the bed breathlessly, surrounded by weeping attendants.

Yet at this time, it seemed like many voices sounded beside her ears. These voices had always accompanied her in life, like repeated illusions.

[Alice, Spring Heart Cookies are very delicious.]

[Alice, beauty is merely an appendage, your free will is the true meaning.]

[Alice, after the war ends, let's go see the ocean together, see all the seas...]

[Alice, referring to a person as the protagonist is degrading. Just like you and I are the protagonists in our lives. Mediocrity is okay, being dull is okay, you are... the best, Alice, I'm proud of you.]

...

"...Who are you really?" She trembled as she reached out her hand. Apart from the magnificent and beautiful dome, there was nothing.

Tears slowly flowed, soaking the bedding.

Outside, it was snowing. The flames in the fireplace crackled and, in her haze, it seemed she saw a figure sitting by the bed, reading her a story.

"Old man yearns to see the sea, young girl pleads to Beethoven to compose 'To Alice' for the old man..."

His face was vague, as if such a thing once made her incredibly happy. This illusion had been seen countless times in her life, yet she could never clearly see his face.

"...Who are you really." Tears flowed more and more, her nose soured, and she did not get the answer. Her body started to cool, breathing grew weaker.

Have we met before?

Why do I always see you in dreams and in illusions...

That figure turned into white mist and disappeared.

Her head rested on the soft pillow, tears flowing, slowly closing her eyes.

"Stay by my side tonight..."

No matter who you are, it doesn't matter.

Please don't leave me.

Please don't leave me.

Detect...

...

...

Meteors poured down, falling by day.

The Old Days 555 December 31st, the snow was exceptionally heavy.

The Goddess passed away peacefully, aged 58.

The only words she left before dying were not the oracle of the deities, not the theological insights of her lifetime, not solemn heavy prayers, just one sentence of unclear meaning, incomprehensible.

...

——"Detective, I miss you."

...

...

Su Ming'an bade farewell to Chao Yan.

Their time would intersect and diverge, only when he could no longer bear it would she come up from the sea to find him and continue. Then, she would submerge into the sea again for recovery.

Thereafter her memory gradually blurred, only remembering she had to wait for someone.

Continually consumed, continually recalled. Constant despair, constant hope. Losing everything, gaining everything. Writing every name, erasing every name.

It is not for farewell, but for reunion. Not for an end, but for a beginning.

"The next time I see you, it should be in the Louyue Era." Chao Yan stood by the sea, her azure eyes showing a smile: "I will wait for you in the seaside village."

"Alright."

"No matter where you are, I will find you. So, before I find you, please live happily." She gently pressed her forehead against his, blessing:

"Farewells should be accompanied by flowers, but barren I have no flowers to give you. Everywhere is withered, only foxtail grass can be found."

"For you."

She gave him the foxtail grass, turned, and leapt into the sea.

By the seaside, only the lingering echo remained.

...

"Will be happy."

"...Don't give up."

...

[Chao Yan took a foxtail grass from behind and handed it to Su Ming'an: "For you."]

["Why..." Su Ming'an accepted the foxtail grass. It was really just an ordinary foxtail, what was this little village girl thinking?]

["Just wanted to give you a gift." Chao Yan smiled: "Let's go then."]

...

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