The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v3c59

Chapter 59: Sudden Change 

“Who’s your mom?”

Luo Ling retorted, annoyed.

She wasn’t even an adult yet, how could she suddenly… have a grown-up daughter?

Moreover, in terms of age, Iris was old enough to be her grandmother…

Even if they only counted from the moment she gained self-awareness, the years Iris had lived through far surpassed Luo Ling’s.

“Ugh…”

Iris finally came to her senses, realizing the shocking term she had just used to address Luo Ling. Her face flushed, and she wished she could bury herself in a hole.

Why did she suddenly lose her mind…

Well, not exactly. Losing her mind wasn’t a rare occurrence for her. It seemed to happen quite often.

However, Luo Ling quickly realized something and asked, “Just now… did you also see it? Your past.”

“…Yes.”

After a moment of silence, Iris nodded slightly.

The moment Jingwei revived, not only did She send aid and completely open Her consciousness to Luo Ling, but Iris’s consciousness was also pulled in.

The past Luo Ling saw, everything she felt, Iris also witnessed clearly.

Including her true identity.

Iris had always thought she was just Jingwei’s God’s Favored, but she hadn’t expected to be a consciousness born from a part of Jingwei, from Nüwa’s body.

Jingwei didn’t want this nascent consciousness to bear this meaningless mission, so She influenced Iris.

Of course, Iris’s stupidity was innate, not related to this influence.

Only now did Iris realize that Jingwei, to her… was more like a mother.

And Luo Ling’s state of merging with Jingwei’s consciousness hadn’t ended yet. Coupled with her initial disorientation upon waking from the dream, mistaking Luo Ling for Jingwei, Iris couldn’t help but call her “Mom.”

Understanding this, Luo Ling calmed down and said after a moment, “Your mom still needs to recuperate for a while. Although the treatment is basically finished, and the most severe root cause has been removed, the rest isn’t a major issue… However, the years of depletion have severely damaged Her, and Her consciousness hasn’t fully recovered yet.

When you’re free, you can merge with Her consciousness and help Her recover… I have other matters to attend to and need to leave for a while.”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Hearing that Jingwei was out of danger, Iris nodded vigorously.

But at the same time, a hesitant look appeared on her face. After pondering for a moment, she asked, “However, Miss Luo Ling, will… Lord Jingwei… allow me to call Her Mom?”

“Heh, why are you asking me? I’m not your mom.” Luo Ling turned her head away and replied.

Clearly, she was still bothered by being called “Mom” for no reason. Not everyone wanted to be a mom out of the blue.

I treat you as a good friend, and you actually treat me as your mom?

“Ugh…”

The aggrieved Iris didn’t know how to react and just stood there, at a loss.

But after a moment, before leaving, Luo Ling said, “But I think Her feelings for you… are quite special, not just as a continuation of Herself.”

Actually, Jingwei had a chance to escape the disaster of Doomsday.

She consisted of two parts. Even if She abandoned one part, the Jingwei bird, the deceased spirit, and reoccupied Nüwa’s body, She could still survive and gradually recover.

After that, She just needed to perform the ritual again, Nüwa’s death, to be reborn as the Jingwei bird and become the complete Jingwei.

It could be said that the Jingwei bird was just a manifestation of Jingwei, while Nüwa’s body was Her true origin.

But She gave up on this method of survival, choosing to endure the pain of Doomsday alone, just so this nascent consciousness wouldn’t be mercilessly annihilated before even seeing the world’s beauty and colors.

The innocent Miss Iris was thus born.

The price Jingwei paid for this wasn’t just enduring pain. This choice meant that She would no longer be the complete Jingwei and had to remain attached to Miss Iris.

“I think this is the outcome She wanted to see.”

Luo Ling watched Iris run towards the bird nest on the parasol tree, carefully picking up the Jingwei bird and placing Her on her head, a bright smile gradually appearing on her face.

This seemed… not bad.

A faint smile also appeared on Luo Ling’s lips.

Even though they had experienced countless hardships along the way, it was still a decent ending.

However… the matter here was resolved, but the problems elsewhere weren’t.

Through Jingwei’s past, Luo Ling realized that the danger at the edge of the world far exceeded her imagination, and she felt a vague unease.

After leaving the Mustard Seed space, Luo Ling didn’t even exit Twilight Victoria, her consciousness directly descending onto her White Witch avatar with Elsa.

After sensing carefully for a moment and conversing with Elsa, Luo Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, everything was normal, and they hadn’t encountered any terrifying aspects of Doomsday.

Through Jingwei’s past, Luo Ling experienced the true terror of Doomsday, far surpassing the shock she felt when facing the Heavenly Woman Ba.

If there was a world of difference between Sequence Grotesqueries and Taboos, then the gap between Taboos and Doomsday could only be described as a vast galaxy, an insurmountable chasm.

No wonder those Doomsday Messengers were so terrifying, even just simply using the Doomsday Authority, not even mastering or utilizing it flexibly.

This part of the situation was temporarily resolved, but Luo Ling couldn’t rest yet.

Her consciousness immediately split into two parts, descending onto her Black Kite puppet at the Xuanyuan residence and her Luo Ling puppet with the Doomsday Messengers, wanting to see what had happened during her treatment.

But as soon as she connected, Luo Ling was startled.

What was going on?

The Black Kite puppet was already wearing armor, becoming Xuanyuan Mu Yan’s adjutant, preparing to attack a confirmed Doomsday Messenger branch station.

And they had just achieved a victory not long ago, annihilating a weaker branch station, killing two injured Relay Horses. Unfortunately, the Messenger at the station escaped with two Carrier Pigeons.

Just looking at this information, it seemed normal, as the Xuanyuan clan was indeed putting in a lot of effort to retaliate against the Doomsday Messengers.

Moreover, the Doomsday Messengers had forcibly attacked Penglai Sacred Land and suffered heavy losses, so their victory wasn’t surprising.

But the problem was…

The annihilated branch station was codenamed “Rabbit Station.”

On the other hand, Mao Ke, along with Linna, who was carrying the sleeping Luo Ling puppet on her back, fled to another branch station for temporary shelter.

…Indeed, the Carrier Pigeons and the Messenger who escaped the siege were them.

And even more tragically, Mao Ke’s so-called “cunning rabbit has three burrows” was just a bunch of escape routes. Luo Ling had thought there was some kind of superweapon hidden in the Rabbit Station.

But how should she put it…

It was indeed very fitting for the “Mao Rabbit.”(Mao Ke)

Because of the sudden attack, the two injured Relay Horses didn’t have time to escape, so they couldn’t use the “three burrows” tactic.

However, there was a more important reason for the swiftness of the Xuanyuan clan’s attack.

Actually, this attack, through the connection between the Black Kite puppet and the Luo Ling puppet, blocked most of the station’s escape routes before Mao Ke realized something was wrong.

Even Mao Ke couldn’t suspect this undetectable inside job. These two new Carrier Pigeons, one sleeping from beginning to end, even during the escape, and the other slacking off every day because her young mistress was sleeping, couldn’t possibly have leaked information. She could only marvel at the Xuanyuan clan’s expertise.

However, what surprised Luo Ling even more was, why… had several months seemingly passed in the outside world?

Although this wasn’t strange, and Luo Ling had made preparations, after all, this was a treatment involving Doomsday, and it wouldn’t be unusual for it to take several months.

However, Iris didn’t seem like she had been waiting for several months, and only a few days seemed to have passed for Elsa, so Luo Ling thought it hadn’t been long.

Perhaps, in this past event, the moment frozen by Doomsday’s terrifying glance had made Luo Ling lose track of time.

Therefore, what mattered most was Elsa’s situation.

After witnessing the nascent Doomsday at the edge of the world through Jingwei’s imprinted past, Luo Ling didn’t dare underestimate this place.

However, everything sensed by her White Witch avatar seemed normal, but this unnatural normalcy made Luo Ling quite uneasy.

After pondering for a moment, Luo Ling made a decision.

“Let’s go home first.”

—

In Starry Victoria…

Luo Ling’s figure gradually materialized. The vast Victoria Opera House was empty, a stark contrast to its previous lively atmosphere.

Come to think of it, there seemed to be quite a few people here not long ago.

Besides her dormant sister, there were Fiona and Linna, Stasha and Alyssa, and Luo Ling and Elsa… But now, everyone was busy with various matters, even Luo Ling, making her sister seem like an empty-nester.

As if sensing Luo Ling’s return, the opera house door opened, and Su Wan walked in.

Seeing Luo Ling, she smiled faintly. Even after not seeing her for a while, she was just like usual, saying softly, “You’re back?”

“Yes.”

Luo Ling nodded.

But soon, her eyes widened.

“Ah, this is…”

Following her sister, another girl walked in, her face young yet delicate, the only flaw being her slightly dull and mechanical expression.

“Didn’t you send her here?” Su Wan said, waving at the girl. “Come here, ‘Delusion’.”

A struggle appeared on the girl’s face, but she still walked to Su Wan’s side and sat down obediently, like a delicate puppet.

“The Fairy?”

Luo Ling blinked. That wasn’t right. She remembered the Fairy… being taller than her, at least?

Why had she become like this? Judging from her appearance, she was about the same age as Elsa.

“The previous title? It does seem fitting.” Su Wan nodded. “She wasn’t very obedient, so I… took some measures.”

…..

Luo Ling looked at the little girl, falling silent.

This situation… was this just “some measures”?

She practically remade her entire being!

Luo Ling could sense the auras of Transcendence and Puppet Ballad from the current Fairy—or rather, “Delusion”—deeply influencing her existence.

But these auras weren’t separate, but fused together.

Her sister seemed to have mastered the technique of combining these two abilities. This was her deep understanding of Puppet Ballad and Transcendence, something the current Luo Ling couldn’t comprehend.

Or rather, Luo Ling and Su Wan walked different paths. Just as Su Wan couldn’t use Puppet Ballad like Luo Ling, Luo Ling couldn’t forcibly use Su Wan’s methods.

“Her True Name is ‘Delusion.’ Her situation is quite complicated and difficult to explain in a short time.” Su Wan said, seeing Luo Ling’s curiosity.

“You can just use a memory packet.” Luo Ling said casually.

“Hehe… her existence isn’t a concept that can be explained with a memory packet—besides, Xiao Ling, you’re already introverted, and constantly using memory packets, you’re almost losing your ability to communicate with others.”

Su Wan shook her head, but only lightly reprimanded her before turning serious. “‘Delusion’s’ matter can wait. Tell me about your situation. It seems more urgent.”

“Yes.”

Luo Ling nodded. She habitually wanted to toss out a memory packet, but remembering her sister’s words, she held back.

And… it was good to chat with her sister.

They rarely had the chance to talk. Before, her sister had work, and she had school. After her sister revived, she was busy running around the world.

Not to mention others, even Sister Linglong had spent more time with her than Su Wan, her actual sister.

Thinking of this, Luo Ling felt a pang of guilt.

“Let me explain…”

Luo Ling sat beside Su Wan and recounted her recent four-front war.

Including the alliance with the Xuanyuan clan, infiltrating the Doomsday Messengers, exploring the edge of the world, and treating Jingwei’s injuries.

The most important was the matter of the edge of the world. Luo Ling was very worried about Elsa’s situation.

After quietly listening to Luo Ling’s story, Su Wan’s gentle expression turned serious.

She glanced at Delusion beside her, and Delusion snorted coldly, a look of displeasure appearing on her face.

However, it was only momentary. As Su Wan smiled faintly, Delusion’s face instantly turned pale, as if recalling something terrifying.

“Tell Xiao Ling, Delusion, tell her everything you know. No hiding anything.”

Su Wan said softly, her gentle gaze falling on Luo Ling.

“…I understand.”

Delusion bit her lip. Whatever she experienced in Starry Victoria during this time had drastically changed her from the previously insidious and arrogant Fairy.

“Miss Luo Ling, your concerns are valid.” Although Delusion was still somewhat unwilling, she spoke respectfully in this situation. “Miss Elsa did encounter a calamity, and she’s currently in the midst of it.”

“Hmm?”

Luo Ling’s expression immediately turned serious.

“The reason I dared to stay at the edge of the world wasn’t entirely because I was betting that the Doomsday Messengers or other factions wouldn’t think of this place, but… even if they did, they wouldn’t dare come.” Delusion said seriously. “Besides the calamity of Doomsday, the edge of the world of the four origin points is also—”

“The disaster of Doomsday doesn’t just erode space, but also time… and everything.”

In the Realm of Nothingness, completely devoid of all concepts, no living being could directly face it, including the Doomsday Messengers.

They only relied on the Doomsday Authority to survive in the Realm of Nothingness. If they entered it personally like Luo Ling, they would also inevitably be lost.

The edge of the world was an enhanced version of the Realm of Nothingness. Even if Luo Ling used Savior Witch to resist Doomsday’s erosion, she couldn’t stop the calamity brought by the surrounding environment.

The reason Elsa only felt a few days had passed was due to the influence of Doomsday.

However… this was only part of its influence.

Saying this, Delusion really wanted to show a gloating expression, but remembering the truly terrifying witch beside her, she maintained a serious face and continued, “I advise you not to open the gate of the Divine Kingdom casually. If you do so within the chaotic disaster of Doomsday, with good luck, you might see her again in a few thousand years—if she’s still alive by then.”

She didn’t mention the worst-case scenario, but it was easy to imagine the outcome.

Luo Ling didn’t completely believe Delusion’s words. She stared at her and asked, “Why didn’t the gate of the Divine Kingdom I opened for you have any problems?”

“Because I’m different from you,” Delusion whispered, “I… don’t have a physical body. I’m just an obsession, an obsession called ‘Delusion’.”

She looked up, a strange glint in her eyes, and sighed softly, “My existence… comes from ‘Legend’.”