N-A-A Chapter 824: The Second Reincarnation (4)
Chapter 824: The Second Reincarnation (4)
[Hmm? Yidou, you are so intelligent?]
"This is impossible! Yidou, you shouldn't be like this. Could it be that you, like Paimon, have been possessed by someone intermittently?"
[Ichidou is the one who sees the most clearly...]
"What he said really makes sense! If Iya were ever in danger, Bai Ge would definitely be the first one to get upset."
"Since Xumi Castle hasn't been blown up yet, Iya is still safe? That's a relief~"
【I'm glad I'm okay, I'm glad I'm okay～】
"Indeed, it seems we are too concerned and have become confused."
Jiuqi Shinobu said calmly: "Since the little Phoenix Emperor is safe and sound, this matter can be put aside for the time being."
"So right now, we need to focus on discussing the next course of action."
"There are two urgent issues that need to be addressed."
She continued, "The first is what we initially discussed—the recurring Flower Goddess Festival. The second is the people Yuan Xi mentioned who were behaving strangely."
"We must reach a conclusion before the Flower Goddess Festival ends," she said with a determined look. "I hope the final conclusion will provide a breakthrough for our current predicament."
Everyone nodded, their expressions solemn.
Ten minutes into the discussion, Paimon and Aratake Ichito found it difficult to interrupt on such a profound topic.
So the two of them tacitly chose to withdraw and left the subsequent discussions to Ying, Jiuqi Shinobu and Yuan Xi for in-depth discussion.
The three of them talked from the scorching sun at noon until dusk fell and the sunset dyed the sky red.
After repeated deliberation and careful analysis, we finally came to the following conclusions:
One, they're all currently trapped in some unexplained time loop.
2. Every time the cycle restarts, past memories will be completely cleared, and only the vague and strong "sense of déjà vu" will continue to accumulate, like a shadow.
3. Not all relevant people actually enter the cycle; even if these people appear in the cycle, they are more like illusory projections, lacking real consciousness and sense of existence.
4. It has been confirmed that the characters who have not actually entered the cycle, but still frequently appear in the cycle include: Iya, Ganyu, Laila, Caesar and Nashida.
However, the clues ended here.
Unable to inherit the memory of the previous cycle, each restart is like groping in the fog, and progress is difficult and slow.
Despite this, Jiuqi Shinobu still solemnly reminded everyone:
"Please make sure to deeply ingrain these conclusions. This ever-increasing sense of déjà vu may be the key to breaking the cycle—"
"It will allow us to awaken faster in the next cycle, saving precious time and creating the possibility for the final breakthrough."
Everyone nodded solemnly.
[This is not a solution.]
[This is the only way. After all, I can't inherit the memory of the previous cycle, so I can only try again and again through the sense of sight.]
[There is one thing - if there is no next cycle, then is this method still useful? ]
[We can only gamble, there is no other way, unless someone can help us awaken the memory of the previous cycle. ]
Afterwards, everyone slowly walked out of the hotel, with an unspeakable heaviness in their steps, and each of them left quietly with the same worries.
"It's a cycle... It's a cycle again. I never thought we'd be trapped in the cycle of the Flower God's Birthday Festival... This is truly unexpected..."
Paimon murmured softly, his voice as soft as a fallen leaf floating in the wind.
Ying frowned slightly and lowered her voice, saying, "Don't tell anyone about this for now. They might not believe what we say, and it might even cause unnecessary confusion."
Paimon nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly looked forward, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "Eh? Dina Zedai, Yiya, and Dishiya! Why are they on the bench over there?"
This scene did not evoke any familiar memories.
——Could it be that this is a new plot that appears for the first time in this cycle?
The two exchanged glances and headed in that direction. As they approached, Paimon smiled and said cheerfully, "What a coincidence! Dina Zedai, Dishia, and Iya! We thought we wouldn't see you until the parade started!"
However, when Ying's eyes fell on Dina Zedai sitting on the bench, her eyes couldn't help but freeze.
She frowned slightly, feeling strange in her heart.
Although she didn't have the exact memory fragment, she vaguely remembered that during this period of time, Dina Zedai should have been full of energy and anticipation.
She must be eagerly awaiting the arrival of the float parade and the start of the Dance of the Flower Goddess, which symbolizes blessings and hopes.
But the woman in front of me looked haggard, her eyes were dim, and she leaned tiredly on the back of the chair, as if her back was bent by an invisible burden.
This appearance made Ying feel unprecedented strangeness and uneasiness.
Seeing the two of them arrive, Dixia looked slightly relieved: "So you are here. When I saw you leave so suddenly just now, I thought you were in a hurry."
Her voice deepened as she continued, "A group of thugs attempted to attack the young lady. At the critical moment, an executive officer of the Fatui intervened and saved her, allowing her to escape safely."
"The Fatui's executive officer?"
Ying and Paimeng's hearts trembled at the same time, and the figure of the woman in gorgeous clothes who controlled the power of ice and frost involuntarily appeared in their minds - "Madam".
Here it comes again, this familiar, ever-present feeling of déjà vu, it strikes me again now.
Obviously, in countless previous cycles, it was she who appeared again and again to pull Dina Zedai back from the brink of crisis.
"Then the young lady said she was not feeling well, so I brought her here to rest." Dixia looked around with a vigilant expression.
"You've arrived just in time. Please stay with her. I need to check the surroundings to see if there are any lurking enemies."
As she spoke, she stood up, her eyes swept over the crowd like a hawk, then turned and disappeared into the bustling crowd of festival goers.
After Dishia left, the night breeze blew gently through the treetops, bringing a hint of coolness. Ying stared at Dina Zedai's slightly pale profile and spoke cautiously:
"Dina Zedai... You look unhappy. But haven't you always been looking forward to the Flower Goddess Festival?"
Dina Zedai was slightly startled, her eyes fixed on the flickering lights in the distance, her voice as soft as a falling leaf:
"No, I've always been like this. Excessive activity or excessive emotion can easily make the condition worse."
Before she finished speaking, her expression suddenly darkened, as if shrouded by an invisible shadow.
"Besides, no matter how special today is, it's still just 'one day,'" she murmured, her tone revealing a deep sense of fatigue and a fatalistic calm. "A few more 'one day' like this, and my time... will come to an end."
Ying suddenly opened her eyes wide, her heart trembled, and she looked at the once gentle and resolute girl in front of her in disbelief.
That sentence was like an icy needle, piercing the tranquility of the night.
Paimon, however, hadn't noticed the strange atmosphere yet and continued to ask innocently, "Don't say that, Dina Zedai! Hasn't Mingyuan already controlled your demonic scale disease? You will definitely get better!"
"Yes," she tried to smile, trying to dispel the gloom on Dinazedai's face, "Don't be so pessimistic, Mingyuan's medical skills are super powerful, he will definitely find a way to cure you!"
"If... it could really be like this." Dina Zedai's voice was almost a whisper, like a candle in the wind, weak and erratic.
Ying gently held down Paimeng, who was about to continue speaking, her eyes calm and determined. She took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm truly sorry for leaving so abruptly earlier."
"It's really okay, I don't care." Dina Zedai shook her head, her movements so slow as if she had run out of strength.
Looking at the haggard figure in front of her, who looked almost like a completely different person, Ying's heart sank little by little.
She suppressed her surging emotions and asked slowly, "We've been experiencing some strange things lately... What about you? Have you noticed anything unusual?"
"Hmm? Abnormal?" Dina Zedai frowned slightly. "For example?"
Ying hesitated for a moment, then posed the question that had been lingering in her mind: "It's... déjà vu. It's as if everything that's happening before my eyes has happened countless times before, at some point in time, in some past life."
"Déjà vu?"
Dina Zedai repeated softly, then smiled bitterly, "No. But...over the past few years, almost every day has been the same for me—the same medicine, the same pain, the same sunset."
"Even if there really is a sense of déjà vu, I'm probably numb to it by now."
Paimon scratched his head, confused, "Really? Are we the only ones who feel this way?"
Ying did not respond, but just shook her head heavily, her eyes locked deeply with Dina Zedai.
She already understood - Dina Zedai was not unaware of the strange cycle, but was too exhausted physically and mentally to care.
Her soul had been eroded by illness and despair for so long that even the confusion of time seemed insignificant.
Even more heartbreaking is that she has accepted her own fate:
Even if this day were to repeat itself endlessly, it would not change her fate of falling.
It’s not that she didn’t feel the sense of déjà vu.
Instead, he had already decided to die, and tacitly accepted that he would be trapped in this endless cycle forever until his life burned out.
[This Dinazedei's personality is very different from the Dinazedei who didn't enter the cycle...]
[MiHoYo, I warn you not to mess around! ]
[Dina, on the other hand, is full of hope for her future life and would not say such a thing.]
[I've been through this cycle countless times, and my hope for life has been completely extinguished...]
Ying saw it, but there was nothing she could do.
She could only watch the arrival of the float, watch the Great Sage stop the performance of the Dance of Incarnation, and watch the Great Sage be severely injured by Caesar's punch.
Then comes the familiar—
""drop--""