"I was like I had a dream, a terrible, strange dream."

Behind Mason, the girl who came back to her senses looked at the strange and strange environment around her with a puzzled expression, her spirit was obviously still a little dazed, but her consciousness was returning to normal.

After noticing that there were many androids probing behind Mason and that some of them were taking pictures with cameras, the girl exclaimed, grabbed her clothes and hid behind Mason's trench coat, and whispered to the captain while squirming through her clothes:

"Where is this? I remember me and the others being swallowed up by the black tide, not just us, the whole city, and even the whole world

It's horrible. ”

"Do you remember anything else?"

The captain asked:

"Your brother, Alex Mercer, for example."

"Him?"

The short-haired girl named Diana was stunned by this question, and while draping her coat over her body, she rubbed her forehead and said:

"I only have some vague memories of the night before the world was swallowed up by the Kuroshio, when he suddenly came to my apartment after being missing for many years.

He said a lot of inexplicable things to me and said that he wasn't my brother and just looked like that.

I feel like he's changed a lot.

It's hard to describe how he felt, he remembered me and I could sense that he had some kind of affection for me, but he just stubbornly didn't want to admit it.

I would have liked to find him, but"

"He's right next to you, always there."

Mason patted the black branch beside him and said to Diana behind him:

"Now that dawn is still a few minutes away, perhaps I can be your brother's friend and tell you about his life during the time you are away.

Oh, by the way, it's been almost seventeen years since you last 'died'. ”

"Seventeen years?"

Diana was visibly shocked.

But the clever girl realized something when she saw Mason's movements, and when she looked back at the black "monster" behind her, which looked like the myth and legend, she covered her mouth in horror and said:

"Is this what it is. Mercer? Is this monster just that?"

"He's not a monster!"

Mason interrupted Diana's words in an accentuated tone, and he said to the girl in front of him very seriously and seriously:

"Anyone can say he's a monster, but you can't.

His name is Alex Mercer, and he's your brother, remember that!

There may be many reasons for all of this, all the darkness and loneliness he has experienced, and the despair of carrying your world forward, but I believe one of the most important is about you.

He is not just here to save your world, but to protect you. ”

"And who are you?"

Diana bit her lip, she stared at Mason, looked him up and down, and said with a suspicious face:

"You are so young, are you Mercer's child in these seventeen years? Should you call me Auntie? ”

"I can scream, but I doubt you'll dare to respond."

Mason laughed.

He looked back at the towering "Tree of Black Light" behind him, and in a certain emotional and low tone, he told the story of himself and Brother A.

Of course, it's impossible to say it all.

It's a story of nearly three million words, and the dawn came only a few minutes later, so Mason can only describe it briefly, but even if too many details have been omitted, the remaining branches of the story are still enough to make Diana, an ordinary girl, open her mouth wide.

The legends Mason spoke of were also unheard of in her wildest imaginations, and she could not have imagined her brother playing an important role in such a story.

But it's not like it's fake.

In particular, the overflowing respect and awe of Mason from the more and more androids in the back, and the unique lightness of the young man in front of him when he spoke, seemed to prove that this exaggerated-sounding story was just a description of reality.

I even had to erase a lot of legendary filters due to time issues.

"Your brother finally decided to die, and I can't dissuade him, and there is no reason to dissuade him."

In this "black light forest" that covers half of the city, Mason stared at the white belly of the fish that emerged in the darkness in the distance, and said to Diana beside him:

"His death will create a new world, a sign of the re-establishment of your civilization, a whale falling, and all things are born. His journey was over, and he chose to rest today in this place far from his homeland.

I also suspect that he was too shy to let me help him shape a tombstone.

But now it seems."

The captain raised his head and looked at the black light forest in front of him, which would never be ignored or forgotten, and he shook his head and said:

"He really doesn't need my help with that, I really didn't expect this guy to be a spectacleman.

This is the tombstone he chose for himself, and he was the first to release you from him, and probably the last thing that stubborn bastard wanted to ask me for.

He's begging me to take care of you for him as a way to repay his guilt for you.

He's not your brother.

Perhaps his origin is also a little different from what I remember, he is a life that was born after occupying your brother's body, an evil thing in every sense.

But I've always thought that identity is not a big deal, what really matters is feelings and actions, and replacing identity is also replacing it.

Anyway, the real Alex Mercer is not a good person, and Brother A took his identity to help him leave a strong mark in history.

So, he should thank him. ”

Speaking of which, Mason looked back at Diana, who had her head down, and he paused and asked:

"What about your answer?"

"I don't know."

Diana said honestly:

"I've just come back to life, my mind is a mess, I don't have enough sanity and time to think about this kind of ethical question, but I do have some images in my memory.

It's vague but I can probably guess that it was Mercer's experience and life in the stars you talked about, and I did see you in those flashback memories.

If I told you that it might take me a while to sort out my relationship with Mercer, would you be angry and beat me up or kill me?

After all, in your description, Mercer has always appeared as a forbearant anti-hero. ”

"That's just my subjective feeling, and it can't be a channel for you to perceive the world."

Mason shook his head and said:

"Brother A has done a lot of bad things, I won't deny it, many worlds have died because of him, if he hadn't jumped to our side before I started the reckoning, I wouldn't have bypassed him so easily.

And now, he's atoned for his sins with death and civilization reboots, and even I can't demand anything more from him.

Mercer was never a hero. ”

The captain reached out and patted Diana on the shoulder, and whispered:

"He's just your loved one, just trying to be a responsible older brother, that's all. Behold, the dawn is coming. ”

Mason held out his finger and looked into the distance.

Diana followed his fingers, and the light of the red sun jumped out of the sea at that moment, and the brilliance of its light and heat dispelled the endless night in an instant.

It was like some kind of catalyst, and the moment the light shone into the Black Light Forest, a continuous cracking sound sounded under the black light branches.

Like the raindrops of a rainstorm falling to the ground, they snapped and snapped.

The red dots of life that represented life force flew and shrouded the new, dazed people, who emerged from their cocoons and stood up straight in a completely unfamiliar world, and whose shame made them cover their bodies and couldn't help but look back at the sky after a long slumber.

Light.

The light that represents the dawn shines on them, making them feel warmth and hope again after seventeen years.

The road to the future, which has long been cut off, has been restarted, and it is time for them to move on.

As Mason watched, the leaders of the androids who had been prepared for a long time stepped forward with a group of healing staff and presented the dazed newborns with clothing and food.

Although it is not ruled out that this is a ritual project that wants to brush up on the sense of existence in front of Mason, the big leader, it has to be said that this kind gift still gives the dazed crowd an initial sense of security.

Brother A said that the first group to be resurrected will be the elite of the world.

They did deserve the title, and soon organized themselves and began their first communication with the local androids in the morning light to get enough information.

Mason laughed, knowing he didn't need to worry about everything else.

The captain reached out and patted the black branch beside him, and he whispered:

"Waiting for you to blossom and bear fruit again and again, a world will be resurrected little by little, until the last moment comes, and a new attitude will enter a new era.

Congratulations, Mercer.

Your mission is over.

You're free. ”

The morning breeze on the shore made the leafless branches blow as if in response to Mason's farewell, but the captain was well aware that his consciousness had already dissipated when Brother A transformed himself into this permanent form.

As he said, the essence of this new life is suicide, which seems to be a coward's choice but is full of a sense of fatalistic reincarnation.

The end of the journey finds hope, and finally does not let the story fall all the way in the direction of darkness.

"What about you?"

Mason looked back at Diana before leaving, and he asked:

"You're leaving with me? Or stay here? I will fulfill his last plea and will take care of you for him. ”

"Nope."

Diana shook her head and said:

"I want to stay here, my people need to know the stories you told me, they need to know who saved the world we have died.

I don't want him to be called a monster anymore."

"Okay."

Mason nodded, he glanced at Diana, and whispered:

"Mercer has left something in your body, perhaps to give you some self-preservation, which is the original gene of the black light virus, if you don't plan to use it, then seal it forever.

Don't let anyone else know about your unique gifts, and don't hesitate to contact me. ”

"Well, thank you for your concern, I can take care of myself."

Diana thanked Mason very seriously, and then watched the mysterious man dissipate in front of her eyes as a body of water.

In the warmer and brighter light, she turned and stroked the black branch that surrounded her behind her, and without any movement, the branch surrounded the short-haired girl as if it had been given life.

She felt the connection between herself and the black light forest in front of her.

After a few seconds, she lowered her head, just like Brother A's previous "transformation", so that the clothes on her body turned into a hood to cover her hair and face under the impetus of the still very immature black light virus.

She said:

"Thank you, Mercer, thank you. Brother. ”

——

"You're coming back late!"

When Mason returned to the afterlife bar, it was already the end of the song, and in his office was complained by an angry Harley:

"Quinn and I have been waiting for you for a long, long time, and voila! Quinn waited impatiently and fell asleep! ”

"Is this asleep?"

The captain looked at Quinn who was lying asleep on the sofa and the big bag on her head, and the emotion in his heart that was given by Brother A's feat dissipated in an instant, and he reached out and hit Harley's head in a hurry.

He said:

"Is that what you do to your evil twin? Did you knock her out? Are you trying to me off with this way of getting along? ”

"Gee, I just don't want Quinn to disturb the two of us."

Harley leaned in with a hippie smile and hugged her fiancé for a while, which made Mason angry.

But the "good thing" she was looking forward to was destined to be grinding, and just after taking off Mr. K's coat, the communicator in the office beeped.

"Leave it alone!"

The cutie screamed and pushed Mason down on the couch, and he was going to continue to do it when he got on it, but the communication was incomprehensible and kept ringing, and the angry Harley grabbed the clown pistol and shot it at him, and then broke the communication module a few times before it stopped, like Mason, who was taken back to the lair by a she-wolf to be feasted upon, covered his eyes helplessly.

He knew there was nothing he could do to stop the cutie from going crazy now.

However, this time the matter to be notified to Mason seemed to be really important and urgent, and a few seconds later, a communication alert sounded on his watch, and this time the status marked "urgent" came directly from the bat network.

"Stop!"

Mason pressed the cape and shook Harley, and gave her a look, and then connected the communication, and the optical projection turned on to reveal Dashao's handsome face.

But at this time, Grayson's handsome face was full of helplessness.

He said to Mason:

"There's something I want to trouble you, and it has to do with me and Barbara."

"Is her rejection worse?"

Mason asked, and Dashao shook his head and said:

"No, she's fine and recovering, she's just weak and in a wheelchair. I'm not going to say that, Bruce and Selena's wedding takes place in two days, you know? ”

"Well, I've heard that they're not going to have a big feast, just a small private wedding. How? Is something wrong? ”

The captain asked, and at the same time suppressed Harley, who was about to move.

Da Shao sighed and said:

"Here's the thing, I was the best man and Barbara was the bridesmaid, but she obviously couldn't be there now, and I couldn't do it if I had to take care of her.

But it's too late to find someone temporarily.

Ah Fu was already in a frenzy as he was preparing for the ceremony, and he was so attached to Bruce's wedding that he asked me to find a best man within thirty minutes.

The second bucket agreed, but it wasn't enough, so I wanted to ask if you would be interested in getting involved.

You're also part of the bat family, right?

You can't shirk this kind of thing. ”

"I'm fine, I'm going to be idle for the next few days anyway."

Mason pursed his lips and said:

"But if I'm the best man, there will be two more seats on the bridesmaids' side, and Selena will agree to Harley and Quinn making a fuss at her wedding."

"What's wrong?"

Da Shao asked in surprise, Mason coughed a few times and glared at Harley beside him, but the little cutie didn't see it and continued to play this dangerous game.

"I'll go to Wayne Manor in a moment."

Mason sped up and said:

"We'll see you there, let's not talk about it, I'm suddenly in a bit of a hurry. You inform the old lady and the old lady for me, and we'll talk about it when we meet. ”

The captain hung up the communication and was about to punish the little cutie, but a pair of arms stretched out from behind his back, and Quinn, who had woken up, lay on his shoulder, and said pitifully:

"You take care of your mad dog Harley, she just sneaked up on me and almost beat me stupid. And you don't want to go anywhere today, didn't you tell Hallie?

Today belongs to both of us. ”

"There are still a long way to go."

Mason closed his eyes helplessly and said:

"Why be in such a hurry?"

"When Ciri is resurrected, I won't have that chance."

Quinn kissed her sweetheart's earlobe, and she whispered:

"Hallie is crazy, she suddenly wants to have a baby, she thinks it will make her invincible against Ciri, and as for me, maybe I'm crazy too, but I also think it's a good idea.

Therefore, the little sweetheart is affected. ”

(End of chapter)