Chapter 1400: 1400 Adjudicator Game: Game Invasion 5

Again and again, BS Rita told Deceitful Bloom not to listen to Byme.

But both of them knew the truth.

Those words might not have come from Byme at all.

They had come from Deceitful Bloom herself.

Over the years, she had asked herself those questions countless times.

Again and again, she had used Ask My Heart.

Then, upon stepping onto the Bridge of Sighs, she had instinctively used Byme as a mirror to interrogate herself once more.

And after all that questioning, she still could not find an answer.

But someone else had.

Byme said she had become Brilliance through suffering.

BS Rita said her suffering was simply suffering.

It did not shine.

Nothing could have comforted Deceitful Bloom more than that answer.

There was no better answer.

Just as Rita and Deceitful Bloom stood outside Beacon’s sighs, looking at each other in silence, a figure with pink and white hair slowly drifted past them.

Foolishness planted one foot on the ground and brought her toy skateboard to a stop.

With both hands in her pockets, she stood beside them and slowly looked Deceitful Bloom up and down several times.

Then she shook her head.

Pushing off with one foot, she glided away again.

Deceitful Bloom and Rita: "..."

She had not said a single word.

Somehow that felt worse than if she had.

Beneath her lay the sighs of Brilliance itself, yet Foolishness moved through them as casually as if she were returning home.

When several dazzling fire-colored illusions blocked her path, she simply leaned her body slightly and slipped around them with effortless grace.

When QM Foolishness stepped in front of her, she casually planted a palm on the other’s face and shoved her aside.

Leaving behind only a cold, detached comment.

"Idiot."

Sorry.

The cool and ruthless Foolishness had no weak points.

Rita pointed at Foolishness’s retreating figure and said to Deceitful Bloom,

"See that?"

Look at other people’s children.

Before she could finish the thought, Cicada, who had just escaped her own sighs, came running over.

Quite accidentally, she squeezed herself between Deceitful Bloom and BS Rita.

Quite accidentally, her elbow bumped Rita.

Not only did she separate Rita’s hand from Deceitful Bloom’s wrist, she also shoved Rita half a step farther away.

As she ran past, she glanced back and said,

"Of all times to stand around chatting."

Deceitful Bloom had already started running again.

Her usual smile had returned.

She looked back at Rita and echoed,

"Of all times to stand around chatting."

Rita: "......"

Watching Deceitful Bloom leave, Rita finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then she turned back toward the bridge and continued waking the trapped players.

As the author of these sighs, she understood their power better than anyone.

Even as an observer she had nearly been influenced by them.

How much harder must it be for those trapped inside?

Cicada had not been trapped.

Being gifted young was wonderful.

But blooming late was also a blessing.

It gave people time to think.

Time to spend their ordinary years clarifying their convictions and seeing their path ahead.

No one could shake Cicada’s heart.

The Vineborne of Beacon could not.

Because Cicada had already done her best.

The people of Dawn could not.

Because Cicada would never apologize to her enemies, not even in death.

Even Smoke Tune could not.

When Smoke Tune stood before her, looking at her with a complicated mix of fear, pride, and relief, Cicada remembered something BS Rita had once told her.

"She approves of you. She understands that only war and bloodshed could heal the Vineborne who lost Beacon. Her reason and emotions are in conflict. That’s one reason she cannot bloom."

Even unable to bloom, Smoke Tune had remained by her side.

She stayed until Dawn reached eight stars.

She stayed until Cicada could handle everything herself.

Only then did she finally allow herself to leave Dawn.

To escape war.

To briefly pursue peace.

That was enough.

Cicada had not been trapped.

The one trapped was Starsea Smoke Tune, who had fallen just a little behind.

As Rita ran toward Smoke Tune, she glanced back at Cicada already disappearing into the distance.

She found it oddly amusing.

Cicada was always looking for her sister.

Yet she had never treated Smoke Tune like some helpless person who needed constant protection.

She never hovered around her. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

And yet, somehow, Cicada herself had become the thing trapping Smoke Tune.

"Smoke Tune, why do you look at me the same way you used to look at Dawn’s invaders? What are you afraid of?"

Smoke Tune opposed war.

But during the darkest period of the Vineborne’s suffering, she could not leave Cicada.

Doing so would have been betrayal.

Not only of the person she loved most.

But of all Vineborne.

Even if Cicada could forgive her, Smoke Tune would never forgive herself.

So she remained.

Standing closest to Cicada.

Standing only one step away from Dawn’s throne.

She devoted herself to helping Cicada govern.

She followed her own heart and tried to make Dawn more beautiful.

So that when the Vineborne lay awake at night, they could still remember the beauty of their homeland.

She witnessed Cicada’s rise.

She witnessed Cicada’s revenge.

She watched hatred and war transform Cicada into someone she barely recognized.

"Smoke Tune, why do you look at me the same way you used to look at Dawn’s invaders? What are you afraid of?"

Back then, Smoke Tune could not answer.

Her silence had been answer enough.

And it had hurt Cicada deeply.

Of course she was afraid.

She feared Cicada would become like the Dawn players of old.

That she would bring disaster to other worlds.

She feared Beacon’s tragedy would repeat itself over and over elsewhere.

Beacon should never have been ignited.

And neither should those other worlds.

Unfortunately, she could not answer then.

And even now, she still could not deny it.

She could not ask Cicada to stop.

Yet neither could she voice support.

To oppose war during wartime...

Was it hypocrisy?

Or cowardice?

"Smoke Tune, why do you look at me the same way you used to look at Dawn’s invaders? What are you afraid of?"

The Cicada before her repeated the question.

Again.

And again.

As though she would not let Smoke Tune leave without an answer.

Smoke Tune closed her eyes and took a slow breath.

"I’m not afraid of you..."

Rita slowed briefly.

Then she veered around them and continued toward Tiger Ear in the distance.

Those who could cling to their convictions in times of war did not need saving.

Those who could preserve a corner of peace within themselves despite the hatred and condemnation of their own people were not cowards.

Walking against the tide during wartime required courage.

Opposing war among the Vineborne after Beacon’s destruction would never earn praise.

It only earned accusations of betrayal and heresy.

Smoke Tune was not the only Vineborne who hated killing.

But every Vineborne knew where she stood.

The words carved into the back of her hand had always been her answer.

"War and lamentation prevent me from blooming."

Was she truly unable to bloom?

Or was she unwilling to bloom in a world drowned in hatred and slaughter?

As Rita stepped beyond Beacon’s sighs, she heard Smoke Tune’s answer at last.

Smoke Tune said,

"I’m only afraid that you’re walking step by step into hell."

"But that’s okay."

"Cicada."

"Wherever you are illuminated, that place becomes my Beacon."

"And I will come find you."