"Ren, Ren!"
Inside a speeding private car, a gentle voice called out softly. After several tries, the boy finally responded.
His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and then he slowly opened his eyes. "Sorry, Mom, I fell asleep again."
The little boy lowered his head guiltily, the dull hum of the car's engine echoing in his ears.
His mother didn't scold him, just gently ruffled his hair and comforted him with a smile, "It's okay. We're almost there, though; you won't make it if you keep sleeping."
"Mom, where are we going?"
During his long slumber, the boy couldn't remember what he was supposed to do, or even when he had gotten into the car. But he knew that as long as Mom was with him, wherever they went was fine.
"Did you forget? Today is Qingming Festival. We promised to visit your dad."
"Oh, right."
Hearing they were going to visit his father, little Ren visibly perked up. He pressed his face against the car window, curiously watching the world whiz by outside.
But as he watched, his eyelids started to droop. Unconsciously, he drifted off to sleep again.
"He's asleep again?" The driver, a friend of the mother, sighed seeing little Ren asleep in the rearview mirror. She opened her mouth, unable to resist advising, "Even though kids sleep a lot, this child sleeps almost over twelve hours every day. Are you sure you don't want to take him to the hospital?"
"The hospital checks won't find anything."
"How do you know if you don't try? And your health..."
Before the friend could finish, a violent coughing fit erupted from the back seat. Her expression darkened, and she didn't continue, just kept driving while listening to the heart-wrenching coughs.
Only when the sounds stopped did she glance in the rearview mirror again. Although little Ren's mother hid it well, she could still faintly see significant bloodstains on the handkerchief.
She remained silent for a long time. Only when the car was nearing its destination did she gently persuade, "Go see a doctor. For your sake, and for the child's."
"I know. But this isn't an illness. This is..."
The car slowly came to a stop. The woman gently lifted the sleeping Ren with her thin arms and walked step by step towards the cemetery.
"...Our destiny."
...
Staring blankly at the blood in his hand, Ren remained silent for a long time. The crimson stain was searing and jarring, just like in his memories.
After a long while, he finally pulled himself together and silently wiped away the blood trickling down his arm.
The five-star hotel room was luxurious and spacious, but in the high-rise night, it felt somewhat too lonely.
Ren gathered his thoughts and went to the bathroom mirror, unbuttoning his shirt.
In the mirror, the area over his chest was already covered in countless golden wood grain patterns. The skin, which should have been soft, now resembled dry wood fibers – old and rough.
It was clear this wooden skin wasn't there initially but had spread outwards from his heart over time. Even now, the golden lines continued to creep outwards like roots.
Looks like my time really is running out.
Sighing softly, Ren directly projected a dagger, gripped it reverse-handed, aimed at his chest, and stabbed down without hesitation.
The dagger, created by the Herrscher of Reason's power, was incredibly sharp. The moment it touched the wooden skin, it plunged straight in. However, no blood flowed from the puncture site; instead, it felt like stabbing real wood, emitting a dull scraping sound.
Pulling out the dagger, the Obsidian Concord mark on his chest slowly emitted a white light. Within seconds, the skin returned to its original appearance.
On the bright side, at least physical attacks basically can't kill me anymore.
Ren's mindset remained relatively optimistic. He recalled falling asleep that afternoon; clearly, that must have been one of the signs of his body's lignification.
He had no regrets. Ever since his parents passed away one after another, he understood this was the curse destined for him.
Even arriving in this world couldn't change his fate. Because the root of the curse... was the Imaginary Tree itself.
He had made a deal with the Imaginary Tree, offering his own return to the Imaginary as collateral in exchange for the chance to reunite with Kiana. Now that he had found Kiana, it was naturally time to fulfill his promise.
Buttoning his shirt back up, Ren left the hotel alone.
...
The investigation went smoothly. By the time Kiana returned to the hotel, Ren had been waiting for a while.
After tossing the data directly to Himeko for processing, Kiana proactively suggested visiting the city's famous beach.
Bathed in the silvery moonlight, the two walked together along the sand for a long, long time.
Early the next morning, Himeko sent back news confirming the company had used non-compliant, contaminated raw materials. But when the two returned to the company building, the entire office tower was surrounded by police.
"What's this?"
Just as Kiana wondered, onlookers were already quietly spreading rumors.
"Heard some employee got hospitalized with cancer. The boss not only refused leave but also found an excuse to fire him directly."
"I knew that guy. He probably didn't even know his fiancée was one of the boss's mistresses."
"Damn capitalists, pushing people to the brink like that."
"So they died."
"They?"
"Yeah, the whole building... everyone died..."
There was no need to listen further. As the rumors spread, they became increasingly absurd. By the time the two left, the story had already evolved into 'some cult sacrificed the entire building in a ritual'.
"Regardless, the issue with the supply chain is cleared up. But... is it really such a coincidence?" Looking back at the building she had just visited last night, Kiana felt a strange unease.
But when asked to pinpoint what felt wrong, she had no clue. With this feeling lingering, the two could only leave the city for now.
Not long after they left, Anti-Entropy personnel took over the massacre case. Soon, the next day's news reported the incident not as a revenge killing, but as a severe fire safety accident.
Searching online yielded absolutely no information. Even if witnesses had filmed it at the time, the footage would be deleted the instant it was uploaded.
Knock, knock.
In front of an office in Anti-Entropy's North American base, Bronya, holding a stack of files, stopped at the door. After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally knocked.
But before her third knock could land, the door was already opened from inside.
"Bronya, you're finally here!"
"Ah? Principal, why are you here?" Before she could express her surprise, Theresa pulled her inside.
Entering the office, Bronya found almost all of Anti-Entropy's top brass gathered. The office, usually reserved for the Sovereign, was now filled with the sounds of Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein arguing – debating the recent string of disappearances in North America.
This was precisely the information Bronya had intended to give to Welt Yang.
So, I was the last one to know?