The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v3c58

Chapter 58: The Real Miss Iris

Beyond the edge of the world, amidst countless ancient ruins, a lone teal figure flitted back and forth, tirelessly.

Time and time again, She brought back life, exhausting all her efforts, just to salvage a fragment of the shattered old world within the raging Doomsday storm.

Even though most of Her efforts were meaningless.

Because Jingwei was just a Sequence Grotesquery, not even reaching the edge of Taboo.

And this forgotten old world, let alone a Taboo, even Transcendence, the origin of all things, couldn’t save it.

Her meager and insignificant power, attempting to resist the disaster of Doomsday… could only be tragically described as wishful thinking.

Or perhaps, Jingwei knew it was futile, but She still didn’t give up.

After merging with Jingwei’s consciousness, Luo Ling could deeply feel the burning hatred in her eyes. The daily act of reclaiming the sea was the foundation of his existence.

Moreover, Luo Ling discovered that Jingwei’s situation was completely different from what she had previously assumed. She hadn’t developed a human-like personality like Snowdrop and wasn’t a “human-like Grotesquery.”

After all, “human-like Grotesqueries” were extremely rare. Throughout the recorded history of Great Xia Imperial City, including the White Witch, the number of known “human-like Grotesqueries” didn’t even reach double digits, and Jingwei wasn’t one of them.

Jingwei was a Sequence Grotesquery who only followed her instincts. Due to years of reclaiming the sea, although her Sequence wasn’t low, ranked eighteenth, her accumulated power wasn’t strong—this was also evident from her God’s Favored, Miss Iris.

Moreover, She barely had any followers, only a few scattered Godchosen, and even they were just the result of some qualified mortals accidentally witnessing Her miracles during her sea reclamation, forming a vague worship.

Without an established organization or sustained faith, Jingwei couldn’t gain much. The source of her power for reclaiming the sea came entirely from the Original Mount Haku.

To maintain this Divine Kingdom’s operation, even the Mount Haku territory had withered.

What puzzled Luo Ling was that, although she had experienced all of Jingwei’s accessible past through her consciousness, she still hadn’t seen Iris.

“When did Miss Iris appear?” Luo Ling pondered, continuing to wander through Jingwei’s consciousness.

This wasn’t a linear memory based on time. The past events Luo Ling saw weren’t arranged chronologically.

After all, Jingwei only had consciousness and existence, not a structure like living beings. She couldn’t use Puppet Ballad to view her memories. These memory-like imprints were quite different from true memories.

And for Jingwei, the more important the past event, the deeper it was buried within her consciousness, making it harder to access.

At least for now, Luo Ling, besides Iris, still hadn’t seen the reason for Jingwei’s injuries. She had to further cleanse the contamination on her path to gradually clear Jingwei’s consciousness.

“According to the Xuanyuan clan’s archival records, it seems that a few decades ago, people occasionally still saw Jingwei…”

Luo Ling pondered. Of course, she had also made preparations regarding information about Jingwei, hoping to find more in the Xuanyuan clan’s database—she couldn’t rely on Iris, that clueless airhead, right?

However, just like Iris was a shut-in, Jingwei’s situation was similar to her God’s Favored, always elusive.

Therefore, even in Great Xia Imperial City, there was very little information about Jingwei.

Moreover, since there were many Sequence Grotesqueries similar to Jingwei, She wasn’t considered noteworthy and had never been a target of the Xuanyuan clan’s attention.

As she continued exploring the past, an unconcealed exhaustion gradually appeared on Luo Ling’s face.

Even with abundant inspiration, it was difficult to maintain the fully unleashed state of Savior Witch for such a long time, let alone the fact that Luo Ling was simultaneously using Doomsday and Transcendence, even fighting against Guixu, further increasing her consumption.

Just as Luo Ling was about to withdraw temporarily and continue the treatment after resting, a faint, gentle voice echoed in her mind.

“Is that… you?”

“Hmm?”

Luo Ling’s heart skipped a beat. She had developed a conditioned reflex to this phrase, because whenever it appeared, it usually meant trouble.

But this time, it was unexpectedly a good thing… at least for now, it was quite beneficial to Luo Ling.

A refreshing current, carrying a hint of coolness, surged from the depths of Luo Ling’s consciousness, instantly spreading throughout her body, slightly nourishing her exhausted form.

Even Luo Ling’s mind felt clearer, her inspiration replenished.

“This is…”

Luo Ling’s eyes widened slightly. After sensing it briefly, she was surprised.

This extra inspiration… all came from the part of her consciousness merged with Jingwei.

In other words, it was almost like Jingwei was replenishing her mana.

“Has Jingwei’s consciousness revived?”

Luo Ling was surprised because she had only cleansed less than one-tenth of the Doomsday injuries. She hadn’t even touched the more severe ones yet, only managing to stop the deterioration, not truly healing them.

But soon, Luo Ling realized that Jingwei hadn’t revived, but had been briefly awakened by some kind of stimulus.

In that instant, Jingwei completely opened her consciousness to Luo Ling and sent her “her” accumulated inspiration.

The previous merging was only maintained unilaterally by Luo Ling, even requiring her inspiration to sustain it. But now, Jingwei no longer had her guard up against her. She could do whatever she wanted within her consciousness, without needing to use her inspiration to maintain the connection.

At the same time, within the Mustard Seed space, Iris, trembling in the corner, suddenly felt drowsy and exhausted.

She wanted to stay awake and watch over Miss Luo Ling and Lord Jingwei, but her eyelids felt heavy.

Soon, she fell into a deep sleep, her consciousness sinking into an unknown dream.

After receiving Jingwei’s aid, Luo Ling regained her spirits and continued to maintain her Savior Witch form, cleansing the Doomsday will from Jingwei’s injuries.

If she could solve all of Jingwei’s problems in one go, Luo Ling naturally didn’t want to stop halfway. Since the treatment had already begun, Luo Ling needed to use her abilities to replace Immortality in constantly maintaining Jingwei’s existence.

In this case, the longer it dragged on, the higher the chance of unforeseen circumstances.

If the deterioration worsened, her previous efforts would be wasted.

With Jingwei’s nourishment and her completely open consciousness, Luo Ling delved deeper into her consciousness, exploring this unknown past.

As she went deeper, Luo Ling noticed the surrounding scenery changing. The ancient ruins in the void began to dissipate, bizarre scenes flashing past too quickly to discern.

But Luo Ling could feel an indescribable distortion in her surroundings. The ancient ruins that Jingwei had painstakingly maintained began to irreversibly collapse.

Gradually, her vision cleared, and a hellish scene appeared before her.

Large swathes of green vines withered and dissipated. The sanctuary that Jingwei had spent countless years building was gradually destroyed.

She let out a painful cry, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t stop the continued collapse of the ancient ruins.

-No wonder, when Luo Ling and Elsa went to the edge of the world to hunt the Fairy, they didn’t see any traces left by Jingwei, only more fragmented ancient ruins.

“…Who did this?”

Luo Ling’s expression turned serious. Merged with Jingwei’s consciousness, she shared her grief.

Jingwei and her vision slowly lifted, staring at the being in the depths of the sky.

An almost imperceptible figure stood at the very edge of this desolate world, casually glancing at the ancient ruins.

…Just a single glance.

Countless years, countless efforts, countless endeavors, all turned into nothingness.

“Is this figure… Doomsday?” Luo Ling tried to glimpse some signs of Doomsday through this past event, but it was futile.

As a true deity far surpassing this world, even in an unborn state, it wasn’t something a mere High-Risk Grotesquery’s consciousness could comprehend. All Luo Ling could see was a blurry shadow, very similar to herself.

But this was only because the observer was Luo Ling, like a mirror.

If it were Iris who glimpsed this figure through Jingwei’s consciousness, she would also see her own shadow.

Without a physical form, without a concept, the unborn Doomsday was currently just a will.

But it was this will that mercilessly destroyed all of Jingwei’s hopes.

Luo Ling already knew what would happen next.

Like a moth to a flame, Jingwei flew towards Doomsday, her body battered and bruised, ultimately admitting defeat.

Moreover, it wasn’t just Her who was defeated.

Everything connected to Her was inevitably eroded by Doomsday.

Including the ancient ruins that had luckily survived before, including the Divine Kingdom, Original Mount Haku, including all her Godchosen, and including… her only God’s Favored, Miss Iris.

Finally, Luo Ling saw Miss Iris, but in a way she had never anticipated.

Within the Divine Kingdom, Original Mount Haku, Realms of Nothingness of all sizes appeared, spreading and expanding, threatening to drag the entire Divine Kingdom into the abyss of nothingness.

And at this moment, a teal-haired girl lay quietly at the bottom of the sea, still asleep.

Her body began to fade into nothingness, a sign of Doomsday’s erosion.

“This scene… I think I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

Luo Ling stared at this scene from the past, falling silent.

Soon, Luo Ling recalled it.

It was when she transformed into Black Kite, a very similar scene appeared in her consciousness space. She had wondered why she was at the bottom of the sea.

Now, the answer was revealed. Because Miss Iris, on whom Luo Ling’s transformation relied, or rather, “Nüwa,” was at the bottom of the sea.

“Iris is the ‘Nüwa’ in legends, but the ‘Nüwa’ in legends isn’t Iris.”

Connected to Jingwei’s consciousness, Luo Ling could clearly sense Iris’s condition.

The Sequence Grotesquery, Jingwei, should consist of two parts.

First, the Jingwei bird, the deceased spirit of Nüwa.

Second, Nüwa, who sank to the bottom of the sea, the source of the Jingwei bird’s birth.

Only the combination of “Jingwei bird” and “Nüwa” could be called Jingwei.

However… Miss Iris wasn’t Nüwa.

Or rather, the current Miss Iris wasn’t the original Nüwa.

The Iris Luo Ling knew was a brand new consciousness born from Nüwa’s body at some unknown time.

She had existed for a very long time, but her consciousness was too weak to fully form.

The Jingwei bird had always been aware of Iris’s state and didn’t reject this nascent consciousness.

However, because of her existence, this consciousness had almost no chance of developing further.

Until now, the Jingwei bird could no longer maintain her existence, so she made a choice, letting this nascent consciousness replace her, continuing to… live in this world.

Moreover, She sincerely hoped that Iris wouldn’t repeat Jingwei’s tragedy, thus letting this consciousness identify itself as her God’s Favored, not Jingwei’s successor.

The omnipresent Samadhi True Fire in the current Original Mount Haku was actually released by the Jingwei bird to contain the further spread of Doomsday contamination, limiting it within Original Mount Haku, preventing it from affecting other Divine Kingdoms and territories.

After resolving this issue, She transferred all the Doomsday contamination from Nüwa’s body onto herself, and finally, with her last bit of strength, brought out Nüwa’s body, now occupied by Iris’s consciousness.

—The reason Iris knew almost nothing about the outside world was that… since her birth, she had been in a daze within Nüwa’s body.

All her vague and fragmented memories were formed by the entanglement of her consciousness with part of the Jingwei bird’s memories, coupled with her own imagination.

The reason Miss Iris had an almost obsessive reverence for Jingwei was because she was born from her existence.

From another perspective, Miss Iris was Jingwei’s daughter, a true descendant, even closer than a biological daughter.

“I didn’t expect Miss Iris’s true identity… to be this.”

Luo Ling hadn’t anticipated this, mainly because she didn’t expect Jingwei to be divided into “Jingwei bird” and “Nüwa,” not just a simple teal bird.

Thinking about it this way, it wasn’t surprising that Luo Ling, when transforming into Black Kite, had both human and bird forms.

This past event buried deep within her consciousness finally came to an end. Just as Luo Ling was about to withdraw from Jingwei’s consciousness, she suddenly saw an unexpected figure.

Before the Jingwei bird took Iris away from the burning Original Mount Haku, a plant suddenly appeared, rapidly growing and transforming into an intellectual-looking woman with glasses and a white lab coat.

“The Harbinger of Auspicious Timing?”

Luo Ling’s eyes darkened slightly. She knew that Jingwei’s method of reclaiming the sea was related to the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing.

However, the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing appearing at this time…

“So, this plan also failed?”

The Harbinger of Auspicious Timing whispered. Although a hint of disappointment appeared on her face, her tone didn’t seem surprised by this result.

She walked to the severely injured Jingwei bird, looked up at her, and sighed deeply.

But just then, as if sensing something, the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing suddenly frowned, her gaze sharpening.

Although she was still looking at the Jingwei bird, Luo Ling had a strong feeling that the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing wasn’t looking at Jingwei, but at her, Luo Ling.

At this moment, the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing actually detected Luo Ling, who was observing this past event through Jingwei’s imprints.

Therefore, the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing swallowed her words, just looking deeply at the Jingwei bird with a complex expression, one last time.

Then, a flame suddenly ignited, and the plant-formed human instantly turned into ashes, scattering and disappearing within the burning Samadhi True Fire, as if she had never existed.

After withdrawing from Jingwei’s consciousness, Luo Ling remained silent for a long time.

It seemed that the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing was… much stronger than she had anticipated, not on the same level as the Gypsy Girl and Lu Manqing.

Thinking back to the last time she intercepted the Fairy, the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing’s avatar had stalled her for quite a while, allowing the Fairy to fully unleash her abilities.

“…The Speakers.”

Luo Ling thought silently.

What role did the Speakers play in this world?

Almost every major incident had the Speakers’ shadow lurking behind, but unlike the Doomsday Messengers or other factions, they weren’t major participants, their presence always subtle.

But through these experiences, Luo Ling could clearly sense something was amiss.

Especially the transaction with the Fairy, and the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing appearing in Jingwei’s past.

It seemed… they were also resisting Doomsday, yet they had an unclear relationship with the Doomsday Messengers.

“Perhaps, it’s time to have a good talk with them.”

Luo Ling still had the Gypsy Girl’s ring in her hair, and the Harbinger of Auspicious Timing mentioned owing her a favor… Although Luo Ling didn’t stop attacking at that time, it didn’t prevent her from going to find trouble with them.

Besides this, there was also good news.

Perhaps because of the complete merging of their consciousness, Jingwei’s injuries were recovering much better than expected, and She was almost fine.

Luo Ling no longer needed to focus her attention here, just continuing to channel inspiration to maintain her existence, and She would slowly recover.

“…Phew.”

Luo Ling opened her eyes, breathing a sigh of relief.

This ordeal wasn’t easy for her. If it weren’t for Jingwei’s consciousness briefly awakening at the critical moment, she would have struggled to persevere.

Luo Ling turned to look at Iris and saw that Miss Iris, also just waking up, had raised her head, her teal bird eyes still slightly dazed.

“Miss Iris… is still half-asleep?”

Seeing the cute little Iris bird and recalling the past imprinted in Jingwei’s consciousness, Luo Ling couldn’t help but smile.

However, the next moment, Miss Iris, still in a daze, blurted out something that instantly filled Luo Ling with horror.

“…Mom?”