“What exactly is your relationship with the Lord Protector?” Elvia watched as Jiang Ming took off his mask, revealing that familiar face.
“If I told you I was him, would you believe me?” Jiang Ming replied.
Elvia did not answer immediately.
She simply remained in that position, her head resting on Jiang Ming’s shoulder and her left hand clutching his right. The silhouette of her Spirit Body looked like a glimmering mist under the flickering lights of the Ferris wheel cabin.
The cabin rose slowly. After passing the highest point, it began to tilt toward the other side. The view outside shifted from the noisy lights of the Amusement Park to the distance beyond.
There lay the Lower City, a silent jungle of steel shrouded in rain and smog. Those towering chimneys were like black straws stuck into the lungs of the earth, breathing out a dim, sickly red light even in the dead of night.
“You know,” Elvia suddenly spoke, her voice so soft it was as if she were talking to herself, “my sister has a very, very old book in her study.”
Jiang Ming said nothing. He only tilted his head slightly, his jaw gently brushing against the soft crown of her head.
“The book tells stories about the Lord Protector,” Elvia continued. “Not the official historical records, but folk legends — a bit of everything. It says that on the eve of a great battle, he would hide in his tent alone to play chess. He would play against himself all night long.”
She paused.
“It also says that during the coldest winters, he would secretly distribute military rations to the starving orphans around the camp. When the logistics officer found out, he said with a straight face that it was done to cultivate local intelligence.”
The corner of Jiang Ming’s mouth twitched.
“The book also says,” a hint of a smile entered Elvia’s voice, “that he actually hated wearing that mask. Every time he took it off, red marks would be left on his forehead and cheeks, and it took a long time to rub them away. But he had no choice but to wear it.”
‘Well, this is definitely unofficial history,’ Jiang Ming thought.
“The Lord Protector in those stories,” Elvia said, “would get tired, get annoyed, do stupid things, and have many… tiny, unheroic flaws.”
She looked up, her amber eyes gazing at him in the dim light.
“But he was very real.”
Jiang Ming looked back at her in silence.
“And you,” Elvia said softly, tightening her grip on his hand. She blinked. “You are also very real.”
The cabin began its descent. The lights of the Amusement Park reappeared at the bottom of their vision.
“So,” Elvia continued, “if you say you are him — “
She paused, then said each word deliberately, “I believe you.”
He looked at her. He looked into those red eyes reflecting the multicolored lights of the Amusement Park. He saw that there was no doubt, no probing, only a look of total acceptance on her face.
“Elvia,” he spoke, his voice a bit hoarse, “have you ever wondered… if I really am him, what does that mean?”
Elvia tilted her head and looked at him in confusion.
“Does it mean you’ve lived for many years?” she guessed. “Does it mean you’re very powerful? Does it mean… you’re actually an old antique?”
Jiang Ming was amused by her last choice of words, though his laughter was light.
“It means,” he said slowly, “that I am sitting here right now, holding the hand of a girl born 100 years later, listening to her tell folk legends about me. And some of the things in those legends, I’ve even forgotten myself.”
He paused.
“It also means that I have two lives. One belongs to Lord Protector Jiang Ming, and the other belongs to the Jiang Ming of Crow Town.”
He didn’t finish his sentence; the most important thing here was the Jiang Ming from another world.
His gaze fell upon the artificial starry sky outside the window.
“And I don’t know which life’s eyes I should use to look at this world. I also don’t know which heart… I should use to feel the hand I’m holding right now.”
Elvia listened quietly.
Only after he stopped did she speak softly. “Then… which heart is beating faster?”
Jiang Ming froze.
“When I lean against you,” Elvia said, her voice faint as if sharing a secret, “when I hold your hand…”
She looked up, her eyes bright.
“Which heart is it that’s beating faster?”
The question was too simple.
Jiang Ming remained silent for a long time.
He stayed silent until the Ferris wheel turned another quarter of a circle, until the sound of rain drummed an unordered, damp melody against the glass.
Then, he took a deep, slow breath.
When he exhaled, his breath condensed into a small patch of white mist on the cold glass.
“…This one.”
He spoke in a low voice, taking her hand and gently pressing it against the left side of his chest.
Through the soaked fabric, a heartbeat could be felt. Steady, powerful, and slightly fast.
“The one that is beating right now.”
Elvia’s hand rested there lightly. Lacking a physical body, she couldn’t feel the vibration of the heartbeat, but she could see the slight rise and fall of Jiang Ming’s chest as he spoke.
Then, she smiled.
It was a brilliant smile that seemed to make her entire Spirit Body brighten by a few degrees.
“Then that’s enough,” she said, her tone light. “Regardless of whose heart it used to be, the one beating right now is beating a little faster for me. That’s enough.”
She leaned back against his shoulder, nuzzling him contentedly.
“As for the name…” She paused before saying, “Jiang Ming is Jiang Ming. The Lord Protector is also Jiang Ming. The one from Crow Town is also Jiang Ming.”
“Just like,” she held up her own hand, looking at her translucent fingertips, “I am Elvia, and I am also the Sister’s Scissors, and I am… the person sitting here talking to you right now.”
She turned her head to look at him, her eyes curving into crescents.
“No matter which one it is,” she poked Jiang Ming’s chest, “it’s all the same you.”
The cabin reached the ground.
The door slid open again, the bustle of the Amusement Park flooding in, and the cold, damp scent of rain brushed against their faces.
Jiang Ming sat there. Then, he also smiled.
“Let’s go,” he said, standing up while still holding her hand. “The rain seems to have let up a bit.”
Elvia floated up, her Spirit Body following lightly by his side.
“What are we going to do now?”
“By the way, Elvia, this is our secret. Don’t tell anyone else.”
“Okay. So, what are we going to do?”
“Go save your sister.”
***
“Did you know? In truth, Crow Town does not exist in this world,” Beelzebub said to Lilith.
Lilith frowned, not quite understanding what Beelzebub was talking about.
“Don’t worry about it. Just consider it a bit of grumbling,” Beelzebub shrugged.
“So, what is the reason?” Lilith continued to ask.
“The reason is simple. Only this way will his fate and mine become more entwined. Only then will he accept the crown that belongs to him. And only then can he become a true king when the Endgame arrives.”
“My dear Lilith, this isn’t just your King Selection Ceremony. It’s mine as well,” Beelzebub said.