Monster - Chapter 145
Chapter 145: Center City - The Successor
After Miu left, Lou saw the rain outside was getting heavier. She paid the owner of the barbecue restaurant for a second-hand umbrella and headed back to the hotel in the sleet.
It wasn't that she had to go back to the hotel, but if she didn't, Lou had no idea where else she could go.
She didn't want to return to the Black Goat Walled City. Wang Lirou had already called her many times recently, worried about her. Lou didn't want to go back and face their concerned gazes.
It was strange. The old Lou never cared what others thought of her, whether it was concern or disgust, adoration or loathing. She wouldn't even bat an eye, which was how she had earned all sorts of notorious reputations.
But now, Lou really didn't want to face any well-intentioned gazes. She just wanted to be alone.
She hadn't been in Leviathan for long, but Lou had long since discovered that she had changed in many ways, and it was all because she had met Lin Sandie.
For example, Lou was originally someone rarely affected by her environment. Even if it were raining knives, she wouldn't think anything of it. But today, in this sleet, as she looked at the brilliant lights lining both sides of the road, a sense of loneliness suddenly washed over her.
This really wasn't like her.
Lou stared ahead with an unfocused gaze at the lights on either side. Because of the rain and the uncleared snow, the ground had become muddy and filthy. Lou's shoes were splattered with mud.
"When we get back, don't wear your shoes into the house." Lin Sandie's voice suddenly sounded in Lou's ear. Lou turned her head and saw Lin Sandie under the same umbrella as her. The latter was wearing a black suit, her pink hair still shoulder-length, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose.
"Can't you just carry me inside?" Lou paused, then replied with a grin.
Lou saw Lin Sandie's brow furrow slightly. She glanced at Lou, her expression neutral as she retorted, "Carry you and put you where?"
"On your bed?"
"Wake up."
Lou's grin widened. She resisted the urge to take Lin Sandie's hand, content to just keep looking at her.
In truth, if she wanted to see this face, she could just look in a mirror. She could even mimic Lin Sandie's frequent expressions and imitate the sound of her voice, but it would always lack that certain something that only Lin Sandie had.
"Weren't you the one who eagerly carried me to bed last time?" Lou argued nonsensically, bringing up what happened in the Disorder Land.
The corners of Lin Sandie's mouth tilted up, faint dimples appearing on her cheeks. "If I hadn't carried you then, you probably couldn't have even stood up straight."
"Tsk, tsk." Lou looked at Lin Sandie, a constant smile in her eyes. "Lin Sandie, do you really like me that much?"
Lin Sandie turned her face away, no longer looking at Lou. The two walked on in silence. Lou's eyes never left Lin Sandie. She saw Lin Sandie press her lips together slightly, her gaze a little evasive. This usually meant she didn't want to answer.
Lou's hand, holding the umbrella handle, twitched. She stepped into a shallow puddle.
"You know I love you," Lin Sandie said, suddenly looking at Lou. Her eyes were crystal clear, seemingly filled with a multitude of emotions.
A blush slowly spread from the base of Lou's ears. She could hear her own heart pounding like a drum. Lin Sandie's confession, no matter when, always made her feel happy and joyful, making her heart swell.
"When did you fall in love with me~" Lou asked softly, her eyes full of affection as she looked at Lin Sandie.
"I don't know either. I must have lost my mind and was drawn to you before I knew it."
"That's so mean!" Lou said, but she couldn't stop smiling.
Lin Sandie kept looking at Lou, her gaze incredibly gentle. "I love you."
Lou kicked away a small stone that had appeared by her foot. She was silent for a long while before mustering the courage to say, "If there's a next life, I hope I can meet you sooner."
"Why?"
"So I can fall in love with you sooner," Lou's heart was beating so fast she could barely handle it. "And we wouldn't have to be in so much pain."
"You brought this pain upon yourself, Little Fool." There was no hint of blame in Lin Sandie's voice. She looked at Lou with pity, and behind her, a tall, thin shadow composed of black fog appeared.
A shiver ran through Lou. She stopped in her tracks, and the image of Lin Sandie beside her vanished instantly.
The lingering smile on Lou's face froze. She lowered her head and touched her ear. The sound of raindrops pattering on the umbrella returned.
She knew the Lin Sandie from just now was merely a figment of her imagination. She had tried hard to stop herself from touching her, just to let that image of Lin Sandie stay by her side a moment longer. But for some reason, Lin Sandie's figure had suddenly overlapped with her memory of Little Rabbit.
Lou's eyes suddenly filled with tears. In that moment, she knew she had completely betrayed Little Rabbit.
She started walking forward again. The rain continued to fall, and under the umbrella, the solitary Lou's eyes welled up with tears. She raised a hand to wipe them away, but no matter how much she wiped, the tears wouldn't stop.
She walked with heavy steps. The more she thought of Lin Sandie, the more fiercely the tears flowed.
No matter how much she denied it, she couldn't lie to herself. She had truly fallen in love with Lin Sandie. She wanted to be with Lin Sandie. She wanted to be Lin Sandie's Sentinel.
But what about Little Rabbit?
How could she do this?
This was just awful…
The lights of the night blurred, melting into a swirl of radiant colors. These scenes were like panes of glass, layers upon layers of different colors. Even the muddy roadside beneath her feet transformed into glass of varying shades.
Lou was no stranger to this kind of scene. She dropped the umbrella in her hand and simply sat down, hugging her knees and sobbing like a helpless child.
In the glass, figures continuously walked past Lou, dressed in the attire of various eras. Only one of them stopped, standing beside Lou. That person was also composed of glass blocks of various colors. It was possible to tell the figure was female, wearing a classic long dress.
Seeing Lou's incessant crying, a darker-colored chair appeared next to the woman. She sat down, patiently waiting for Lou's sobs to subside.
"Mom, why have I become like this?" Lou finally quieted down after venting for a long time. She leaned against Pie's knee and asked in a hoarse voice. She felt both inferior and guilty for betraying Little Rabbit.
Pie's hand stroked Lou's head. Instead of answering her question, She said softly, "After the matter in Leviathan is over, you will no longer inherit the title of 'Lou'."
"I know. I'm about to die anyway." Lou wiped her tears and snot all over Pie's knee, but as soon as the mess touched Her, it immediately turned into transparent blocks of color and fell at Her feet.
"It's not because of that." Pie was remarkably patient, truly treating the Lou leaning on Her knee like a daughter.
"I know. Everyone says I'm your successor, but you never really saw me as one. I had a feeling before. I was just holding the title of 'Lou' for someone else," Lou said in a tone that was hard to define as self-deprecating.
"Who do you think that person is?"
"How would I…" Lou was about to say, how would I know, when Lin Sandie's face appeared in her mind. This made her tears stop completely. She looked up at Pie's face, which was blurred by the colored blocks, and asked hesitantly, "Is it Lin Sandie?"
"Yes." Pie gave an affirmative answer. "She is the successor I have chosen."
Lou hadn't expected to be right. She stared blankly at Pie, wondering if this was Tree in disguise. But if Tree wanted to deceive someone, he could generally only work with things she already knew. Yet, before this, Lou had no idea that Lin Sandie would be Pie's successor.
Besides, with Miu's return now, it meant that things from the Main World could interfere with Leviathan. Under these circumstances, it would be impossible for Tree to impersonate a god.
"When was this decided?"
"A long time ago."
Pie was a deity who ruled over time and space, so She couldn't be measured by the length of time. But Pie still used words Lou could understand to express that Lin Sandie had been the designated successor long before she ever met Lou.
Lou shrugged. She wasn't actually obsessed with who became Pie's successor, but the fact that it was Lin Sandie made her feel complicated. On one hand, she was happy that Lin Sandie could become Pie's chosen successor; on the other, she worried that Lin Sandie would push herself even harder because of it.
"Does Lin Sandie know?"
"She will know after she leaves Leviathan."
"You want me to protect Lin Sandie while I complete my mission?" Lou wasn't stupid. Since Pie had said this much, she could naturally guess what she had to do next.
"Tree has probably guessed some of it. Once his madness is effectively suppressed, he will certainly move against Lin Sandie next."
"I will protect Lin Sandie." Lou agreed without a second thought. She had always carried out Pie's orders without fail, let alone a matter concerning Lin Sandie.
"Mom, did Lin Sandie contact you before?" Lou asked, remembering something.
"I trained her."
"So that's why she knew I could be resurrected after she killed me once. You're not contacting Lin Sandie now because you're worried it will provoke Tree? And confirm that Lin Sandie is your successor?"
"Wait, you can communicate with Lin Sandie, so why couldn't you communicate with me back in the Disorder Land?"
"Right, because she's your successor, so you two have a bond that I don't. Lin Sandie could contact you before, but that doesn't mean I can."
"But why does everything have to be so complicated? If you had just told me Lin Sandie was your successor before I came to Leviathan, I definitely, definitely wouldn't have ended up in this mess…"
"I know. Because Lin Sandie is your successor, she has to endure hardships I can't even imagine. Everything is within your control, right?"
"But what if Lin Sandie doesn't want to be your successor? She doesn't even know about this yet, does she?"
"If Lin Sandie wasn't your successor, would we have never met?"
Lou mumbled to herself, a mix of resentment and relief in her voice.
"Everything that has a beginning must have an end. Little girl, watch over Lin Sandie for me."
After Pie said this, the colored glass blocks around Lou began to crumble and disintegrate. A clear world reappeared before her. She was still holding the umbrella, standing alone in the rain, with the faint traces of dried tears on her face.
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