Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 472: Could I Ask You a Favor?
"She's doing well. And, how should I put it… so are you."
Steven looked at Talulah, who no longer felt as unfamiliar as she had when they first met. Only when Alina was mentioned did she revert to the girl she once was—the one who lived on the snowy plains, free from lofty ideals and the burden of thinking about anything beyond what lay right in front of her.
And that was the Talulah Steven wanted to see.
From that moment on, he was certain of one thing: no matter what she had gone through, deep within this girl's heart, that part of Talulah herself still remained.
"I'm doing well too…" Talulah murmured. "So the 'me' you speak of is still on the tundra? She didn't abandon the truly beautiful things for those mirage-like ideals?"
For reasons she herself couldn't explain, Talulah felt an inexplicable sense of trust toward this boy. Everything he said should have sounded like pure fantasy—words that wouldn't even fool a three-year-old.
And yet, she believed him.
Perhaps it was the last fragment of hope that still hadn't been extinguished in her heart. Having already given up on so much, Talulah could only cling to the possibility that this mysterious man wasn't lying to her.
"No. She's already left," Steven said softly. "In fact, she's now the leader of Reunion. Her experiences might differ from yours, but in the end… she'll probably still walk a path similar to yours."
Steven pressed his lips together.
Calling one's ideals a mirage was a cruel thing to say to an idealist. Yet the Talulah before him spoke of it as though she had long since grown used to such words.
All Steven could feel from her now was a vague, hollow sorrow—like something irreplaceable had been lost.
"That's truly regrettable," Talulah said. "If I were you, I would take Alina and leave me behind. Someone like me is destined to bring misfortune."
The faint anticipation in her eyes slowly faded. As if she had finally accepted that her nature was something no one could truly change, she offered a fragile, tragic smile—mocking herself as she spoke.
"I think it's fine," Steven replied quietly. "But you… what about Patriot and Yelena? Did something happen to them as well?"
Looking at her like this, Steven couldn't bear it any longer. His gaze drifted past her—toward the space behind her, where her companions should have been standing.
"They…" Talulah said. "They're nothing more than sacrifices who were deceived by me. Just like you."
At the mention of those names, Talulah's expression darkened further.
In the very next instant, vast streams of black, serpent-like miasma surged up from beneath Steven's feet. In the blink of an eye, they completely swallowed him.
The sorrowful smile on the girl's face hadn't yet faded—but her silver-gray eyes had already transformed into vertical pupils, cold and venomous like a snake's.
At some unknown moment, Black Snake's will had reclaimed control of the body.
Compared to Talulah, it was far more adept at wielding her abilities—let alone the power it already possessed on its own.
Black miasma poured up from beneath the boat she sat upon, shattering the fragile wooden vessel instantly and freeing her from her restraints.
Talulah—No, Black Snake—had returned.
Now fully reverted into the Deathless Black Snake, Talulah's strength had undergone a qualitative leap compared to before—much like the gap between her former fashion sense and her current one. The difference was simply irreconcilable.
"Anyone who stands in the way of my vengeance will meet only destruction."
Watching Steven, who seemed restrained within the churning black miasma, Black Snake had no intention of charging in head-on like Talulah had, nor would it waste time using heat-based attacks that were clearly ineffective against him.
In terms of combat experience and control over power, Black Snake far surpassed Talulah. Almost instantly, it devised a way to deal real damage to Steven.
Grasping the longsword Steven had discarded earlier, Black Snake didn't rush to attack the seemingly motionless figure. Instead, it swung the blade once—channeling its power to directly melt a nearby skyscraper.
The massive building was sliced open as if it were fruit, a molten cross-section glowing red-hot. The upper half then collapsed straight toward Steven's position.
If flames couldn't harm him, then surely raw physical force would. If he truly could withstand something like this, then he wouldn't have needed to dodge her blade earlier. That realization alone convinced Black Snake that, no matter what abilities this mysterious boy possessed, he was defeatable.
The falling structure slammed into Steven's location, kicking up an enormous cloud of dust and completely burying him beneath the rubble.
The impact was no less devastating than a meteor strike during a catastrophe. In Black Snake's understanding, even if a Feranmut's true body took such a hit, it wouldn't walk away unscathed—let alone a humanoid being.
But in the very next moment, the faint smile of success that had just appeared on Black Snake's face froze solid.
Because when someone you personally witnessed being crushed beyond recognition suddenly reappears—perfectly intact—anyone would be left stunned.
"Just what… are you—"
Black Snake didn't get to finish that sentence.
Not because it didn't want to, but because it no longer had the time.
Centered on Steven, the entire world began to collapse—like a structure breaking apart—fragmenting into shards and streams of data that dissolved into nothingness. In moments, all that remained was an empty black void.
Even the body of its long-awaited vessel began to break down as well. The fact that it could no longer even produce a sound when it tried to speak was more than enough for Black Snake to understand what was happening.
And Steven—the clear instigator behind this collapse—could only let out a quiet sigh, gazing coldly at the disintegration of Talulah and the dream world itself.
In the end, this was nothing more than a dream—a false dream, at that.
Steven would never allow Talulah to become like this. Everything he had witnessed was merely an impossible future, one that should never come to pass.
As the dream world continued to collapse, the only thing left before Steven was a single girl—Talulah—her body already half-transparent, looking unbearably fragile.
Both Black Snake and the body it had occupied had vanished along with the disintegrating dream. What remained was this fragment alone: Talulah herself, belonging solely to this future.
Freed completely from Black Snake's control, she looked weak beyond measure—yet her eyes were astonishingly clear. Noticing Steven's gaze, she weakly lifted a hand toward him.
Steven immediately walked over and supported her, reaching out to steady her as she was about to collapse.
"You said earlier… that you and I count as friends, right?" she asked softly.
Her translucent form grew fainter by the second. Anyone could tell that she wouldn't be able to maintain this state for much longer. And yet she still smiled at Steven, asking what seemed like a trivial question.
"Of course," Steven replied.
"Then… as a friend, may I ask you to do me a favor?"
"This is something… it seems only you can do."
Feeling the emotions emanating from the fragile phantom before him, Steven met her gaze—and in the end, he couldn't help but nod.
"You said you came from the past, didn't you?" Talulah continued.
"You said you wouldn't let the Talulah of that past… end up like me."
Tears welled up as a heartbreakingly beautiful smile appeared on her face.
"Then… could I ask you to save that version of me?"
"The me who hasn't yet fallen into despair… who hasn't been deceived by Black Snake… who hasn't done all these foolish things."
Her voice trembled, yet carried a quiet resolve.
"Please… save me."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/156361807?collection=55713
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/156361807?collection=55713
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=condensed