"No, I'll do it, Mr. Lin Wei."
Just as Lin Wei's voice fell, Seele, with a tone full of apology, yet gentle and firm, took over the responsibility of being the narrator. "After all, you only officially met us much later. These things related to Bronya Oneechan and the others, probably only Seele herself can explain them clearly."
The Seele who could only cry when they first met had now become so proactive and assertive. For this better proposal, Lin Wei naturally had no objection.
So, in the next ten minutes or so, Lin Wei, along with Bronya and Sin, listened to Seele recount her complete experience during this time.
From the beginning of the X-10 experiment to its end; from the lonely drifting in the Sea of Quanta to the confusion and bewilderment when she saw the light of day again in this world bubble; from the indecisiveness in the first loop, the disastrous consequences of her reckless actions in the second loop, and the sacrifices Bronya and Sin had made to protect her in both loops; and in the third loop, the two of them choosing to believe her story and helping her officially meet up with Lin Wei, and finally, the story came to the present—the beginning of the fourth loop...
"Huh? What's all this nonsense?"
Sin, who was always impatient, crossed her arms and nudged Bronya. "This one's imagining strange things again. Did you understand any of it?"
The usually noisy girl was surprisingly quiet at this moment.
"..."
Bronya was silent for a long time, looking at Seele with a complicated expression, her heart filled with a sense of disorientation. After a long time, she finally summarized it into a dry question, "So, you... are not Seele, right?"
In the several loops, this was the first time she had denied "Seele's" identity—even though she had already learned about her choices in the previous loops from Seele's own mouth.
Or perhaps, it was precisely because she knew these things and believed what Seele had said that it drove her to make such a seemingly opposite choice after the truth was revealed in this loop.
This was not just about seeking an explanation for her past self; it was also because Seele's contradictory personality, as if she had multiple personalities, was telling her that "things are not that simple."
"Ah..."
Seele's whole body trembled. Even though she was fully prepared, the questioning from Bronya Oneechan still made her feel particularly uncomfortable. Although she was a little sad, she still nodded. "Yes... that's right."
"...I'm sorry, Seele."
Seeing Seele's fragile appearance, Bronya immediately felt a pang of guilt.
Although this Seele seemed particularly unfamiliar, much more mature than the Seele she was familiar with, she knew that she was still Seele. So, in that second, she understood the choice of "her past self"...
"Alright, that's enough reminiscing for now."
With Schrödinger's subtle reminder, Lin Wei appropriately interrupted the slightly heavy topic. "Seele, your performance today was truly unexpected. Whether it was your honesty, or just now..."
Lin Wei briefly mentioned Seele's indescribable abnormal behavior and asked directly, "Did you have any unexpected new discoveries?"
He had friends with multiple personalities before. Vill-V's multiple personalities were even more severe, and each of them seemed a bit abnormal. But seeing that Seele would also have her personalities fighting with each other was still a bit surprising.
"Mhm, yes. Seele thought that my arrival had unknowingly replaced the Seele in this world. But not long ago, I discovered that the truth was not like that..."
After Lin Wei brought the topic back to the main point, Seele nodded in relief. Then she placed her hands on her chest, as if talking to herself in the dark, and said something shocking, "The original Seele has always been here. She didn't disappear because of my arrival. Instead, she... gave this body, which belongs to her... to the current me!"
"What..."
Sin wanted to speak again, but was pulled back by Bronya. She, who also wanted to question her, forcibly suppressed the urge to question, her flat chest heaving violently for a moment, her gray eyes looking at Seele anxiously, quietly waiting for her to continue.
What on earth is wrong with Seele?
Bronya only had Seele in her heart and was a little worried. Lin Wei was not like that, so he looked at Seele in a daze and said softly, "Dr. Schrödinger said that in the last few seconds of the previous loop, she saw you, who had originally fainted due to the loop restart, secretly get up and cry softly. Now it seems that that was 'this world's Seele'?"
When he had just learned about this matter, he and Schrödinger were still worried about Seele. But he didn't expect that after the truth was revealed, it was a completely different answer.
"Is... that so?"
Seele was stunned. She obviously didn't know about this either. She shook her head. "From the moment I stepped into that laboratory, Seele's feelings became very strong: fear, worry, trembling all over, and tears couldn't stop flowing..."
"Seele thought it was her own reason, because she had once experienced the torment of the X-10 experiment there, so after returning to the same place again, she became so abnormal, so scared..."
Recalling the memory from that time, Seele began to tremble slightly again, as if she had returned to that feeling. She slightly shrunk her shoulders, paused for a moment, and continued, "But, it shouldn't be like this for me. This time, it was Mr. Lin Wei who was on the operating table, not me. At that time, my true thoughts were clearly to worry about Mr. Lin Wei's safety and to look forward to the end of this world's loop... I shouldn't have felt so scared, as if, deep down in my heart, another me was secretly telling me: it shouldn't be Mr. Lin Wei on that operating table, but me. It was also from that time that I began to realize... to realize..."
Seele was already used to talking to and getting along with her other self in her heart, so she was particularly sensitive to this subtle feeling. This cowardly, childish behavior of refusing to face reality out of fear, Seele, who used to like to do these stupid things, understood it all too well. After hesitating for a while, she said with some helplessness and loneliness, "The Seele belonging to this world still exists in this body. She just carefully hid herself, so that we couldn't find her..."
Lin Wei suddenly realized and thoughtfully added a summary, "So, at the end of the previous loop, she realized that she could no longer hide, so she cried secretly at the end of the loop, after we all left, and even suddenly jumped out to stop us just now. And that means..."
"Mhm, the real key to breaking this loop is on Seele. Otherwise, she wouldn't have..."
Seele nodded frankly and said with some guilt, "Seele probably realized it a long time ago, so she hid. I'm so sorry, Seele... I should have discovered it earlier..."
This was the first time she had called someone else "Seele," and she said it so naturally, which made Veliona feel a mix of emotions. Although she didn't know what she was feeling complicated about, she just felt a wave of annoyance.
"What on earth are you talking about, Seele?"
The more Bronya listened, the more scared she became, as if she had realized something. "Didn't you say it was about you joining and the world looping? How did it get involved with Mother Cocolia's experiment?"
This makes no sense! she shouted.
But in this world, there are always many unreasonable things. As mortals, we can only passively accept them.
"I'm sorry, Bronya Oneechan..."
Seele's tears fell again. She didn't even know which Seele these tears belonged to. She forced a smile and said, "This time, Seele is going to be willful again..."
Beginning with the X-10 experiment and ending with the X-10 experiment—for such a somewhat cruel "loop," Seele accepted it with extraordinary frankness.
"Yes, everything in this world is very similar to Seele's memories: the orphanage, Bronya Oneechan, Mother Cocolia, the X-10 experiment..."
When she realized that there was another Seele quietly existing, her understanding of the truth of this world bubble had completely surpassed Lin Wei's and Schrödinger's. After all, she was the "prototype" of this world bubble—
"Yes, in the story I experienced, Seele eventually stepped onto the operating table of the X-10 experiment. But now, in the same story, Seele is always absent..."
In the orphanage, Bronya Oneechan, who liked to play games, had once told her about "game errors and reloading saves." She didn't quite understand it at the time, but now, she found that what was happening in this world was very similar.
Because she, the most important part of the story, was absent midway, the story had to start from the beginning. If the "loop" of this world was understood in this way, everything became so logical.
And the key to the problem was naturally obvious...
Just like when she had made the same choice, although there was fear of the future in Seele's heart, there was more peace and joy, because...
"Only when Seele accepts her fate can Bronya Oneechan and Sin have a real tomorrow!"
Although the Bronya Oneechan in this world was not the Bronya Oneechan in the original world, Bronya Oneechan would always be Bronya Oneechan. Just like, for Bronya Oneechan, she herself was also Seele...
If so, what was the difference?
If she was lucky enough to succeed in the experiment, she could return to her own world and tell another Bronya Oneechan about her experiences these past few days. If she failed, it would just be returning to that dark place again. What was the difference?
"No, you can't!"
Bronya became agitated. She obviously understood what Seele was thinking, but before she could express her opposition, Seele quietly appeared behind her. With a "smack, thud," she and Sin were knocked unconscious to the ground.
"Tsk..."
Seele curled her lips in annoyance, but didn't say much. The next second, her expression became regretful again.
Lin Wei watched from the side. Even when the real Seele switched personalities, her appearance didn't change much, and she wouldn't be dyed in a scarlet color that was completely different from before. It was just from the look in her eyes and the subtle temperament in her gestures that some subtle changes could be seen.
"Have you made up your mind?"
Looking at the unconscious Bronya and the others on the ground, Lin Wei asked softly.
Not long ago, in the previous loop, this was the sentence that other companions had used to ask him. At that time, they had no reason to stop him. And now, he seemed to have no reason to stop Seele.
What a strange feeling, Lin Wei thought to himself. But the result might not be so bad. Just now, Lin Wei had already come up with several intervention plans to prevent accidents. It was just that some of them needed to be discussed with Dr. Schrödinger.
"Mhm, yes, Mr. Lin Wei."
After gently helping Bronya and Sin into a more comfortable sleeping position, Seele nodded. "But, before that, there's one more thing I need to do..."
Lin Wei was silent, waiting for her to continue.
"This body belongs to the Seele of this world. It's really a bit selfish to make such a decision without her consent. So, I want to talk to her."
Seele placed a hand on her chest and said thoughtfully, "She is also Seele. She will definitely understand and support me, just like my other self..."
"I don't support you..."
Veliona grumbled with some annoyance, but no one heard her.
"Is that so? What a gentle child..."
Lin Wei sighed with some pity. This Seele was really easy to like. "What do you want to do? Do you need me to help you find her?"
"Ah, you can?"
Seele was a little surprised, because she couldn't find the Seele who was hiding.
"Mhm, it's very simple. Here you go."
Lin Wei handed her a feather. "Close your eyes and use it to browse your consciousness. It should be easy to find her."
Then he gently picked up the unconscious Bronya from the ground, preparing to take her and Sin back to their room. Otherwise, Seele would probably be distracted.
"Mhm, thank you."
Seele looked at Lin Wei with some gratitude. She certainly knew that Lin Wei was trying to avoid suspicion and also wanted to give her a quiet space. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and, as Lin Wei had said, carefully browsed through the sea of her consciousness.
"Why..."
In the deepest corner of her consciousness, a frail Seele was curled up helplessly. She questioned Seele with both sadness and confusion, "Isn't it good to stay 'here' with Bronya Oneechan forever?"