Charlie felt everything before him was unreal; he dared not reach out, fearing it was a mere illusion, fearing he would be mocked even more.
Wen Xishu didn't expect a great power would choose such a timid child.
But he didn't ridicule him. Charlie's personality wasn't inherent; it developed slowly over countless days and nights.
Wen Xishu thought for a moment:
"There's not much time, Charlie. Anya is waiting for you... She's in pain right now. If I had forty-eight hours, I could verify many things, I could rely on myself to turn the tide."
"But I don't have that much time, Charlie. This time, you really have to rely on yourself. Your life... needs to be courageous for once."
"Go find Anya, don't stop, don't let her down again, go find Anya! The sky falling is a later matter, but don't let your best friend leave in pain."
"In life, some choices, even if wrong, are better than not making them at all!"
Anya...
The dream of saving the world is indeed wonderful, cool, full of passion.
But it's not real.
Charlie's self-denial and self-loathing have long been planted. He knew well that those cool and passionate stories were not meant for him.
But shouldn't there be something in his life worth fighting for? Just a little bit?
Charlie's eyes gradually lit up; he didn't reach out because of saving the world, but upon hearing Anya's name, he suddenly found strength.
Let them mock, let them blame... but it's Anya.
Slam!
Wen Xishu's hand clasped Charlie's, and Charlie felt something in his palm.
"Compass, follow its guidance. Go, Charlie, go embrace her."
A bit abrupt, a bit strange, a bit like a fantasy. Like finding a reason to escape this place.
But it didn't matter; staying here to be mocked was less important than finding Anya.
The timid Charlie finally stood up, without any hesitation, following the direction of the pointer, he began to run.
At this moment, Charlie seemed to see countless trajectories of fate flowing.
He suddenly saw the future.
Wen Xishu felt a special energy fluctuation at that moment.
Charlie inherently possessed power that interested almost every zodiac sign, and when his destiny was altered, the collapsing misfortune manifested as scenes.
They flashed through Charlie's mind.
Charlie suddenly got scared; he looked back at Wen Xishu in disbelief.
It hadn't disappeared...
Not an illusion, never before had there been such a long-lasting, lifelike illusion... that feeling of fear.
Charlie started to sprint; for the first time in his life, fear of losing something gripped him.
Wen Xishu knew his mission was essentially completed.
He could run faster than Charlie, but taking Charlie along wouldn't be as fast as Charlie running alone.
After all, he no longer held that powerful strength.
This was a story of redeeming Charlie; ultimately, he realized the key savior wasn't himself, but Charlie.
Wen Xishu didn't say much, just quietly left; the protagonist of this story was no longer him, but he needed to know the ending.
...
...
Deceit Tower.
More and more arms appeared, not just holding Charlie's hand, but even extending to grasp Anya.
Huohua had been fiercely biting, but now even Huohua was pinned down by countless arms.
It was such a despairing moment.
When all efforts had been exhausted, all dissatisfaction and regret turned into strength, yet still couldn't change anything.
Anya remembered the moment she fell.
She was actually regretting.
As life was about to end, she truly regretted; she recalled Charlie's retreat wasn't disgust toward her, but fear of past events.
At the very least, she should be braver once more, go find Charlie again, even if he didn't hug her, she could embrace him.
"Charlie... I'm losing strength."
Anya's tears fell, and she was extremely frightened.
Because she realized everything was really coming to an end; having finally appeared again in this world full of obsessions, she was about to witness Charlie's death.
Actually at this moment, Anya could choose to let go; she felt as soon as she released, those dusty hands would also release.
Letting go now, at least she wouldn't be dragged into the dust.
Some negative emotions began affecting Anya; as her tense will gradually dissipated, distracting thoughts began to grow.
Ultimately, everyone was just in a dusty world sharing the same plight; was there really such deep friendship?
Anya's resolve started to crumble.
But at this time, Huohua suddenly began to howl, a sound filled with determination and sorrow. As Anya was on the verge of giving up, the little Huohua never extinguished its fighting spirit.
"I've waited too long in the bell tower, heard countless Hanged Man's self-mockery, knowing inside this child, there's only a small place."
Though it was a dog's piercing wail, at this moment, Anya heard the definite voice of her heart.
Yes, in the whole Land of Dust, only a few places, and half of them are filled with guilt for losing herself and Huohua.