Chapter 1399: 1399 Adjudicator Game: Game Invasion 4

Rita ran at full speed, pushing one player after another out of the sighs that had trapped them.

But at one moment, when she glanced back to check if everyone was still moving, her gaze froze. In the distance, she saw Beacon.

Starsea’s Deceitful Bloom stood there, her hands raised to cover her eyes, as if shielding herself from reality. Her Vine had grown thick, coiling protectively around her, preventing anyone from getting close. One careless player passing by nearly got pulled off the Bridge of Sighs.

Rita immediately pivoted, weaving through the crowd, rushing toward Beacon.

The Bridge of Sighs had its limitations. This path to the past didn’t allow for movement skills. It was riddled with temporal anchors from countless eras; any attempt to teleport would result in disorientation.

Players from Quiet Mountain didn’t encounter such problems. Their hearts, repeatedly tested and twisted by demonic games, were already ruins, unafraid of confrontation.

But Starsea wasn’t so resilient. Not Deceitful Bloom, not Cicada.

As the owner of the Bridge of Sighs, Rita could see Byme standing in front of Deceitful Bloom.

What was she saying? What madness would she speak here?

This meeting would never occur in reality. But on the Bridge of Sighs, this was Deceitful Bloom’s worst nightmare.

Because the Byme in the sighs would speak what Deceitful Bloom could never voice herself.

"Deceitful Bloom," Byme’s voice carried calm warmth, "you don’t need to blame yourself. Even if I joined the Graveyard of Bones game, I would still have found a way to reach Midsummer. I would sacrifice everything I could, only to ensure you weren’t pruned.

"The moment I knew the timelines would be trimmed, I had already planned this."

Deceitful Bloom barely lifted a hand to shield her eyes further. She didn’t want to respond, didn’t want to see Byme, or perhaps didn’t want Byme to see the tears, pain, and resentment in her eyes.

But Vineborne communicate through Vine and scent.

The Vine on Deceitful Bloom’s body instantly grew to dozens of meters, wrapping around her protectively, as if shielding her from harm. Slender, thorn-like vines stretched outward, glimmering faintly under the light of Order Clock and the Bridge of Sighs.

"But the things you sacrificed weren’t yours to give!" Deceitful Bloom finally spoke, ice in her gaze as she looked back at Byme.

"You sacrificed what I spent my all to protect. Do you expect me to thank you for your self-righteousness? Thank you for the comfort you offer at this moment?"

"You left me, yet you destroyed me!"

Variational Quicksand slowly spread, encircling Deceitful Bloom like a black python of silk, ready to strangle.

Byme’s expression remained calm, polite, and restrained. She accepted Deceitful Bloom’s words fully, yet a single impulse to retort remained.

"You were not destroyed," Byme said quietly. "You are fine. You are stronger than any other Deceitful Bloom across all timelines.

"Our soul fires have already foretold this. The song of the bird that sacrifices everything for ideals only grows in the abyss, the lamb of adventure.

"From the moment Beacon was destroyed, the lamb sprouted. This pure and beautiful flower, whose name is comically cute, does not grow in children’s dreams—it grows in the abyss.

"To protect Vineborne? To yearn for peace? No. Only suffering and conflict, intense love and hate, can nourish the lamb of adventure. Nourish your soul, keep it vibrant, and let it climb from the depths. Only when Beacon shattered did your life truly begin.

"Admit it. Your soul is inherently contradictory. Vineborne can lie, but Vine cannot lie.

"As long as you cannot forget me, everything I have done will nourish you, keep you from withering."

Byme’s smile grew increasingly gentle. Her voice returned to its original softness.

"And when you finally do fade, you will remember me."

A White Blossom Dragon with red horns surged forward, scattering the black sand python and shattering Byme’s figure.

"Deceitful Bloom!"

A freezing hand gripped her wrist, pulling her forward. The touch was colder than even Undead’s.

"Don’t listen to her!" Rita yelled, holding Deceitful Bloom as they sprinted across the nearly thousand-meter-long Beacon sighs.

Deceitful Bloom had been stopped on her very first step onto the Beacon sighs. Rita worried about what would happen the next time she crossed the bridge alone.

"She is right," Deceitful Bloom admitted, letting herself be pulled forward. "Vine cannot lie. The abyss has nourished me. If Midsummer hadn’t been destroyed, if Vineborne hadn’t been sacrificed, I might never have reached this point."

"Don’t listen to her madness," Rita snapped, her voice thick with anger. She despised Byme’s actions. For the first time, she had intervened out of principle. Hearing Byme speak, her annoyance only deepened.

Byme was once again using her insane artistry to ’cultivate’ the Flower of Deceit.

Seeing Deceitful Bloom’s expression falter, Rita slowed her voice, repeating firmly, "Don’t listen to her."

"She destroyed me, but also made me. Is that insane? Does it sound monstrous?"

"But that’s not what you wanted!"

Rita knew why Deceitful Bloom was so disoriented. Her soul had been violently torn, and Byme’s words exposed everything.

The lamb of adventure grows only in the abyss. Deceitful Bloom, why are you sorrowful? You who crave intense love and hate, are you really a victim?

Deceitful Bloom could not admit she relished the pain, because the cost was Vineborne. To admit it would be to admit she was a monster.

She could no longer deny or resist, because her soul fire, fed by the abyss and intense emotions, was the lamb of adventure. Every denial she spoke would be a lie.

Deceitful Bloom was trapped in Byme’s labyrinth.

Byme’s words had ensnared her.

It seemed her nature was to hate peace and calm.

It seemed Byme gave her pleasure, not suffering.

"But your soul fire had already ignited before Midsummer and Vineborne were destroyed," Rita said, stopping in the Beacon sighs and looking back at Deceitful Bloom.

She shook Deceitful Bloom’s shoulder, making her meet her gaze.

"Disorderly Starsea is your abyss. You need nothing more.

"The lamb of adventure craves intense love and hate, but a single drop of blood from a pair of lovers, rivals, or enemies is enough for it to climb from the abyss for months.

"If it sprouts, the lamb can easily climb from the depths to bloom at the top.

"You don’t need much. Think about it: you just make me hate you, and it keeps you entertained for so long.

"The pain she gave you never made you happy. That was never what you wanted. She forced it on you, keeping you trapped in the abyss."

Byme’s figure silently appeared behind Deceitful Bloom again. As she opened her mouth, Rita waved her hand, and the White Blossom Dragon dispersed Byme’s form.

She held Deceitful Bloom and kept running.

"Deceitful Bloom, your pleasure is in cultivating the golden apple, that’s all. You teach me while manipulating me. You help me before you control me. You earn pain and love with your effort, not destruction.

"Forget what Byme said. Your pain exists because of the timeline, not because it needed to be Brilliance. Your pain is simply pain. Don’t be afraid of yourself."