Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 557 - 523 The End of the Wandering Soul

Chapter 557: 523 The End of the Wandering Soul

The true identity of the wandering soul turned out to be Tan Xiang.

In the Doomsday Era, there is a possibility of encountering the past self, or the future self. Although I was not entirely unprepared mentally for this, witnessing such a phenomenon, even if it didn’t happen to me but to those around me, still left me feeling dizzy, giving me a new perception of the chaos of the Doomsday Era.

Then, I recalled the things he previously instructed Tan Xiang to do and connected them with the clue "Little Bowl will resolve the crisis after the wandering soul regains memory," which led me to a speculation.

"Could it be that the place you previously directed Tan Xiang to was the survivor gathering area where Little Bowl stayed after separating from you?" I asked.

To prevent confusion with Tan Xiang, who had left earlier, I continued to refer to the man in front of me as "wandering soul." After nodding, he said, "Yes, at this time, I—Tan Xiang would reach that place after you and I parted ways and, under my instructions, hand over the cartographer’s map to the person in the black cloak.

"That person is Little Bowl. To avoid being discovered as an object of interest by the Evangelical Institute, she hid her appearance with her hood. Meanwhile, I marked the map with symbols and letters; she will follow the map’s guidance to reunite with you here.

"Afterward, Tan Xiang would join a group of survivors introduced in my letter, a force affiliated with the Evangelical Institute. He would repeatedly lose and grow through a series of twists and painful experiences, then detach from the Evangelical Institute after the forces of Tai Sui suffered a devastating blow, transforming into me—a wandering ghost on the desolate land of Doomsday.

"Until being saved by the girl named Little Bowl in a life-and-death predicament, embarking on the final journey of his life, and then meeting you, as well as the past self... finally sending the past self on the same journey here, reaching the end of his life."

The wandering soul recited slowly as if recounting someone else’s past, but this was not a story detached from him—it was his own cyclical fate.

"Why would you do something like this? Your choice itself constitutes this ridiculous cycle, and wouldn’t this fate cease if you didn’t dispatch Tan Xiang in this manner just now?" I asked.

"Little Bowl not only saved my life but also helped me fulfill my last wish. Since my choice can help her out of trouble, it is something I naturally have to do," the wandering soul said indifferently. "Besides, since I’m already someone about to die, it’s just sending my past self down the same path. From the perspective of ’my current self,’ what does this even count as a cost?"

Could this be considered as an alternative version of ’sacrificing a friend to save oneself’? I was struck by his logic.

Furthermore, if I let him stay by your side or find his own way, he would eventually perish without a burial place," the wandering soul continued. "After all, he is my past self. I sent him off not only to assist Little Bowl but also to point a path of survival for him."

I retorted, "But wasn’t your wish to die? Allowing your past self to die sooner might be a bad ending for others, but shouldn’t it be a good outcome for you?"

"My wish is not to die, but to remember who I am before I die. In essence, my true wish is the same as Tan Xiang’s," he said wistfully. "He wants to escape this era filled with hardships and return home... and so do I. However, I’ve already given up on this wish.

"It’s not because I’ve reached the end, finally hitting a wall I can’t surpass; it’s because this road is too long and hard, never-ending, looking back, I can’t see where I came from. I’m truly exhausted, so I’ve given up...

"Even if I’ve regained memories of the past, I still can’t clearly depict in my mind what home looks like. As long as I could see the hope of returning, I would go there at all costs. No matter what I’m asked to do, I’m willing. But I have lost the ability to hope.

"And he, on the other hand, is entirely opposite. Although his heart is naive and fragile, at least he still harbors hope. So perhaps there’s a chance he could walk a different path than I did."

Perhaps this was the main reason he pointed a survival path for Tan Xiang.

As long as I’m able to see the hope of returning, I would advance towards it at all costs—his words seemed to stir something within me.

Return, return... and the power of the sweeping stars that attract anomalies...

I kept repeating it in my mind, feeling that I was about to grasp some clue but couldn’t express this feeling.

"Even if I can’t return to where I came from, I still want to know where I originated from. I wish to die with this awareness," the wandering soul said. "At least remember... I’m not someone from this cursed place, I don’t belong here..."

As he spoke, his voice became progressively weaker. I could clearly sense his life force rapidly draining and his soul withering. It wasn’t apparent what specific force caused this, only that death was undeniably approaching. This was the cost of consuming the Three-Life Stone Powder, and he was about to die.

"Do you have any last words, or anything you want me to do?" I asked.

"No, there’s nothing left. I’ve done everything I should do and let go of everything I wanted to do. Now I’m at peace."

The focus in the wandering soul’s eyes slowly faded. He sat down on the ground, staring at the completely dark Doomsday sky, seemingly searching for something with his increasingly scattered gaze.

"Ah... but there might be one last thing..." he said. "Could you pass a message to Little Bowl for me? Just say... thank you for fulfilling my wish..."

"I will," I said.

"Thank you..."

The wandering soul lowered his head and slowly closed his eyes, no longer breathing.

He died.

Until the very last moment, he never revealed his true name.

Initially, when Tan Xiang met me and the cartographer, he avoided revealing his real background by throwing out "Tan Xiang" as an online alias. It was a clever tactic to avoid disaster by hiding his identity. But could his true motive perhaps have been a form of resistance to the Doomsday Era?

In reality and in the virtual world, people in the modern world can act under different identity masks, showcasing different social personas and having distinct social circles. As long as one doesn’t operate under their true identity, they can draw a line between themselves and the inexplicable terrifying world, never truly integrating into it. Whether consciously or subconsciously, perhaps this sentiment existed in Tan Xiang’s heart.

This intention to resist even became his greatest weapon after becoming the Blessed Monk.

As long as the other side doesn’t know his true identity, no matter how much harm he’s experienced, he can recover, and even death could be excluded from his heart.

Yet the more the Blessed Monk yearned for something, the harder it was to obtain it. tan xiang, who resisted the Doomsday Era, ultimately still died in the Doomsday Era, sending even his future self back into this cyclical journey once again.

Encountering "the self from different times" in the Doomsday Era often involves pathological personalities, leading oneself to a destructive end... Could it be that the situation between the wandering soul and Tan Xiang also resonates with what the cartographer described in life?

In a while, Little Bowl will arrive at this place, so it’s best to stay put and not leave lightly. As I pondered whether to bury the wandering soul or cremate him, I found a suitably shaped stone nearby to sit on and placed the Blessed Lantern at my feet, silently waiting for Little Bowl’s arrival.

I’m not sure how much time passed; there was no clock nearby, and the night showed no changes. The longer one stays in the Doomsday Era, the more blurred the sense of time becomes, and interacting with the wandering soul and Tan Xiang intensified this chaotic experience. It might have felt like two or three hours passed. During this time, a few anomalies crept out from the darkness and attempted to attack but were easily eliminated by me.

Once again, a slight noise emerged from the distant darkness. This time, it was not from an anomaly but a sound made by a human. The overly light footsteps for an adult were the sound of a child’s feet stepping on the soil.

A moment later, that small silhouette appeared in my vision.

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