Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

Everything is true and false, but the world stubbornly believes that truth will eventually defeat lies.

As everyone knows, it's not "a lie will be exposed", but "a lie is exposed".

So what is a lie; what is truth?

The only difference is whether it is exposed. That's all.

"You, why are you here..."

I stared in front of me, the flashlight's beam across the event horizon, shaking things in the dark. A sudden red light flashed, piercing through the deep darkness in the distance. The girl dexterously put her hands behind her back, her eyes still showing that unexplainable smile.

Although the hair ornament is still the white cat that symbolizes Xiao Lulu, the look in the girl's eyes is completely different.

"Oh, we meet again, Su Ruoyang."

The black cat tilted its head, its shoulder-length hair spread to one side, and its five fingers stretched out against its mouth like cat's claws. The eyes are gentle and watery, but mixed with impurities in a trance.

The rebels in the restricted area seemed to know her, and they were not surprised that Xiao Lulu disappeared out of thin air and was replaced by a black cat.

I looked at the black cat and seemed to hallucinate for a moment. I saw a cat tail behind her, which was very cute. But a cat's tail has spikes at the end. It seems that there is danger hidden in the softness.

This has always been the case, she still feels the same as when we first met, but I feel that something is different.

"Answer me Xiao Luoluo, why are you here..."

"It would be very hurtful to call an old friend by his first name~ What's more, you chose that name yourself."

The black cat's eyes that seem to be captivating are always looking directly at me, and the smile naturally annoys me. I imagined meeting her again one day in the future, thinking that she would at least take the initiative to avoid me, and even show shame on her face. But she acted like those stories never happened.

"Stop talking nonsense, Xiao Luoluo, I can't call you that kind of person who wants to frame your own sister like that! Where did you get Xiao Lulu!?"

I took a step forward and grabbed the black cat's shoulders, but she pushed up her left knee at an unpredictable speed and hit my abdomen. Hit the wall behind.

"You get along well with my sister~ But, I have never done anything to my sister."

The body inevitably fell forward due to the impact, but there was a cold touch on the cheek before it was close to the ground.

The black cat grabbed my neck with one hand and stopped within a few feet of her. For a moment I forgot that the black cat's physical skills can even kick through the door of a car. I shouldn't be reckless enough to fight her head-on. The abdomen that had been hit was still aching.

"Hey~ Is it possible that you think... I deliberately left clues to lure Lulu to Diandao City, so that she could be accused of being a criminal instead of me? I can do this kind of thing by using my own sister as a scapegoat I can't come out."

I wanted to break away from the black cat's hand, but she remained motionless like a pliers, apparently able to handle my resistance with ease.

"Isn't it? It's not surprising that you do such a thing... William, Arquette, Su Erin, how many people and how many things you participated in, I dare not think about it! Sato Kazuhiko, Airu Maybe you were also involved in Sue's matter... of course! Everyone and everything is interesting to you, isn't it..."

——In your eyes, your own sister is just a tool to be used at critical times. I suddenly couldn't say such words, because I saw the black cat's eyes that seemed to remain unchanged until the end of the world...

There was a sad mist flashing.

Words got stuck in my throat and I couldn't speak. The black cat's cold hands let go of my neck unexpectedly, I suddenly lost my support and retreated to the wall, clutching my stomach and standing still. She gently lowered her slender jade hands.

"Yeah. That's right. I'm such a despicable person to the bottom of my heart. Obviously you think so too, and it's the truth."

Her pupils are like a rippling lake, but the smile that is always present in all seasons seems to be disappearing. The fog on the lake is trying to keep it, so that the smile can't find the way to leave. But I didn't know that the fog caused the rain to step up the pace.

"But why did you at that time expose that lie?"

The debunked "truth" is untenable and wobbly. When it takes off its disguise, it becomes a lie.

The reason is just a single sentence, "Stop lying."

How I saw through her lies back then, now I can't remember. Did you see the teenage complex hidden in her heart, or did you notice the love she shouldn't have? Or maybe it was just to prove to her that if it was a lie, it would definitely be exposed.

"Anyway, thank you..."

The black cat suddenly turned its eyes sideways, and the corner of its mouth resumed the seemingly invisible arc. It was as if she had already obtained the answer she wanted from me, but took away the riddle together with the answer, leaving only her graceful silhouette in my eyes.

"...Thank you for not transferring your hatred towards me to Xiao Lulu."

As soon as the words reached her lips, the object of thanks seemed to have changed. I may never know why she expressed her gratitude, but I will only remember that one day many years ago, a girl leaned in the dark and looked sideways at the corner, as gentle as a fragile object.

I couldn't look away from her for a long time, my throat was a little hoarse, and I couldn't understand what kind of person she was. Sympathize with her experience of being imprisoned for more than ten years, and hate what she did to Su Huilin. Emotions for black cats have always been so complicated, and they are still so.

Because although I am willing to accept the black cat, it is impossible to forgive her actions.

"Lulu is fine. Although I have hurt many people, I have never done anything to Lulu alone. You don't have to worry."

She wasn't lying. Since the domination of the war, she has taken care of Xiao Lulu meticulously, and I can see it in my eyes. What I said before was to a large extent my anger. The black cat really has no reason to frame Xiao Lulu. Therefore, since she assured that Xiao Lulu was fine, it meant that Xiao Lulu was definitely not in danger.

No matter how crazy a person is, he also has his own bottom line, and Xiao Lulu is obviously the bottom line of the black cat.

"Then, where is she now...?"

The black cat resumed its previous smile of unknown meaning, pointing to the ground under its feet in an unclear sense.

"It's right here."

I immediately looked around, and there was no corner to hide nearby, so I knew that she really meant something. The black cat also knew that I couldn't understand what she meant. It turned its back to me, took a step forward with its heels pushing the ground, and stretched out its index finger to stir the air with great interest.

"This matter~ I couldn't believe it for a while... Well, how about it, are you interested in knowing?"

The black cat turned around coldly, a few strands of hair hung on her cheeks, she lightly stroked the strands behind her ears, and looked at my reaction with a smile. I don't know what the black cat is selling. When she talked about this, I didn't believe it when she said she wasn't interested.

But after knowing that Xiao Lulu was fine, what I was most concerned about was of course Lin Yu's whereabouts. Therefore, rather than the black cat, I should investigate the black mist in the restricted area first. Besides, although the person who helped us watch the wind has not yet called us, I am afraid that there is not much time left.

I don't know if the black cat expected that I would be entangled in my heart, or simply noticed my sight of looking at the small black mist. good offer.

"I know you care about Lin Yu's whereabouts. Don't worry, I must know more about what you want to know than that black mist. Besides, although what I'm talking about is about me and Lu Lu, it is closely related to Lin Yu's disappearance. "

After finishing speaking, the black cat raised its head slightly and moved towards the direction outside the secret passage, throwing a look of "go out and have a chat if there is no problem". I got rid of the entanglement now and took the first steps to leave before the black cat, and the black cat quickly followed behind.

Then go to Fenglin again. Regarding the fact that the Xiao family sisters chose the same location, I think it may not be because they have a good understanding, but that there are only so many places in this prison that are convenient for talking.

The black cat chose a seat in the corner of Fenglin to sit down, and no longer beat around the bush, she straightforwardly told the stories she knew.

"Have you ever seen a scene where two wild cats lick each other's wounds?

"Since I was born, I have been with Lulu. We grew up in a family with a good economic situation, but when we were five or six years old, we encountered human traffickers and were trafficked to a city we didn't know. The memory of our parents and the carefree childhood have been since then. Put a full stop.

"Lulu has a weak temper, weak strength, and not very flexible brains. Among the kidnapped children, she is the most bullied. Not only are the big boys angry that she is weak and unable to work, but the children also bully her because of her slowness. It is like being born in a group of gray cats. The white cat in the movie, only one black cat protects her from being bullied. Everyone thinks that Lulu is a burden, but she can actually help a lot. She has a quick reaction and a keen intuition. Finally, thanks to her, we escaped .

"We hid in the warehouse and followed the freight train back to the city where we grew up in memory, only to learn that our parents were robbed on the way to find us, and the two were seriously injured. The rescue failed. When our parents were alive, we didn't have many close relatives. Naturally, he was sent to the orphanage, but the bullying he received intensified, and all the employees there ignored him.

"One thunderstorm night, there was a large-scale power outage in the facility, and we took advantage of the chaos to escape. Two wild cats hid under the dilapidated canopy next to the street. The white cat was afraid that the world would only be more cruel in the future, and the black cat could only use lies to fabricate a beautiful truth. When we woke up again, we had already imprisoned our core research association for seven years in the future.

"You generally know what happened after that, so I just turned over this page.

"Not long after the Domination War, we escaped from the Core Research Association. It was a week after you and Lin Yu were targeted by them. But as soon as we ran out of Rongtan Street, Lulu and I got separated. I saw that she left me I got the information and knew that she was also looking for me, but I couldn't find her. I only knew that she was safe in my dream. It happened that the domination war was at a critical juncture, so I had to slow down the pace of looking for her until the domination war was over. I just started looking for her.

"In those days, she still left me messages, and every time the message appeared beside me, it was so close. It felt like she was right beside me, but I just couldn't find her. Or——I couldn't see her .

"I suddenly realized that I had misunderstood an important matter for more than ten years.

"I began to recall all the time I spent with Xiao Lulu, and found that most of them were in dreams, or the headquarters of the Core Research Association, and there was a place where reality and dreams intersected, which was actually a dream in essence; Outside, I seem to always look at Xiao Lulu from afar, see her accidentally knock over the bucket, see her being bullied by other children, see her secretly shed tears in the corner, whenever I talk to her The place where there are no other people, the wild lawn in the orphanage late at night, the empty street under a thunderstorm sky, are all just the two of us. I can’t see her when I’m busy, and she might not see me when she’s making a fuss.

"To sum up, only in the dream can a third party see us at the same time."

Having said that, the black cat paused intentionally, and she gently grasped her sleeves, her breathing seemed to be a lot heavier.

Memories about Xiao Lulu and the black cat kept flashing in front of my eyes, but I couldn't find any pictures of them appearing in reality at the same time except Rongtan Street.

The only time when he was rescued by a black cat on the street, Xiao Lulu was indeed not there.

I was so overwhelmed with indescribable surprise that I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

"You, you mean...? Does Xiao Lulu know about this?"

"She doesn't know yet." The black cat took a deep breath, and slowly relaxed its puffed chest, "Well, Xiao Lulu and I are the same person from the beginning. This is the only thing I can figure out in conclusion.

"Whether I created her or she created me...we are actually the same person. We think each other is our twin sister, but in fact we are just supporting ourselves.

"I spent a lot of time thinking about who was the original owner of this body, and read a lot of books. After thinking about it, I seem to be a personality created by Lulu to protect himself.

"I was probably born at the moment when Lulu was born, when she was afraid of facing this strange world. From then on, I wanted to share her fear and protect her fragility. This is my mission.

"Do you still remember those two wild cats? The white cat in the group of gray cats actually had gray fur, but she was less fortunate than the other gray cats. Because she was lonely and helpless, she faded her color. Mistakenly identified a black cat.

"Black cats are born to share the misfortunes of white cats, so no matter how many people I hold ill will, I never thought of hurting Xiao Lulu; I find everything new and interesting, including all disasters and tragedies, but when I see When Lulu encounters other people's malice, he can't wait to tear everyone related to him to pieces.

"Besides, since the black cat was born to protect the white cat, the white cat that has escaped from danger no longer needs the black cat. I should return her body, but I can't find a way to A way to disappear. Killing myself would only damage our shared body, almost as if she couldn't live without me.

"The mission of the black cat is to make the white cat happy, not to let her live on her own. And the only person in this world who can separate me from Lulu is the Core Research Association.

"After the war of domination, the headquarters of Nuclear Research Institute on Rongtan Street was closed. After visiting to no avail, I heard that the Huancheng Army went to Diandao City to set up a branch of Nuclear Research Institute, so I set off to pursue it the next day. Diandao City. But what I didn’t expect was that the Huan Chengjun was also searching for my whereabouts at that time, and my visit became a self-inflicted trap. The Huan Chengjun knew the symbiotic relationship between me and Xiao Lulu, including other Researchers. At that time, they just completed all the research on the dream image recording system. The next step is to study the composition ratio of memory and personality in the dream, and use it to create "life" in the dream. And we are nuclear research. The best research object to choose from.

"According to them, one of the reasons why Nuclear Research kept me and Lulu for seven years is the rare symbiotic relationship between us.

"General patients with intermittent personality separation, that is, patients with split personality, in addition to the original subject personality, the newly generated successor personality will exist in the dream world as a dreamer, a dream builder, etc., just like the dreamer, etc. Psychological impressions are projected into reality to form multiple personalities. But Lulu and I are special cases. Personality and memory are independent of each other, and we have two completely independent dream worlds, as if we were born with two different rulers. In other words—they suspect Lulu successfully created a new life by separating his own main personality, and thought that I was a new life completely different from Lulu. And this is exactly what they are doing.

"In this way, it is impossible for the Nuclear Research Institute to agree to my disappearing from Xiao Lulu's body. They have not yet successfully completed the experiment, so erasing my personality is tantamount to destroying their precious experimental materials.

"Since I can't accomplish my goal, I can't send us back to the prison of Nuclear Research in vain, so I have to flee back to Seaside City overnight. Of course, I killed many people sent by Nuclear Research to stop me from escaping along the way. attracted the attention of the police.

"Have Lulu told you what happened later? She returned to Diandao City in order to find me, and was identified by the police as the murderer of a series of murders. At that time, Nuclear Research went to Diandao City to set up a branch because Nuclear Research used A certain system developed by Dreamland Research has been put into trial operation in some areas, and Diandao City is one of the pilot areas. In this way, we have fallen back into the hands of nuclear research. It seems that no matter what mission the black cat was born with, it is against But the fate of the white cat being imprisoned."

The long story seemed to come to an end, and the black cat's eyes showed a bit of trouble, and it raised its head and looked up at the birdcage hanging above the maple forest. It's the first time I've seen her look like that.

"...The system of the nuclear research pilot is the penitential prison system that we are now "experiencing" first-hand, right?"

The black cat still kept its head up and snorted softly as a sign of approval. After being in a daze for a few seconds, she suddenly stood up, the chair dragged on the ground and made an unpleasant friction, and the black cat was already grabbing my arm and walking out of Fenglin without explaining.

I realized that what she said next would be closely related to this prison and Lin Yu's incident. It was too quiet here, so it was no longer convenient to talk. If we only talked about Black Cat's own past as just now, those who overheard our conversation would at most think that we were just reminiscing about the past. But once the topic is related to Lin Yu, the nature of the conversation will be completely different.

The black cat led me into the still carnival crowd, and we slowed down around the huge mirror wall.

"You are right. When I woke up again, I was already in this prison. At first I thought it was an ordinary prison located in reality, because Xiao Luoluo and I were not split into two people. They still share the same body. But the more I think about it, the more strange it becomes. How could the Nuclear Research Institute throw me into prison and ignore me? Their experiments should be inseparable from me. The mystery was not completely solved until I met Lin Yu."

I recalled the moment when Xiao Lulu's personality was suddenly replaced by a black cat not long ago. Xiao Lulu's long hair turned into shoulder-length short hair almost instantly, and the iconic black mole on the corner of his mouth also disappeared, but he didn't know why the hair ornament was still Xiao Lulu's white cat.

"Because you can't appear at the same time, you must have explained these things to Lin Yu...but he found that when you switch personalities, there will suddenly be distinctions between long and short hair, and whether you have moles. In a dream, is that so?"

"Yeah~ That's right." The black cat looked sideways and pulled a gentle smile, and continued, "The opportunity for Lin Yu to find himself in a dream is the momentary change that happened to us. Although the rendering here is exactly the same as reality, but always It will show the horse's feet."

"You don't want to say that false things are always better than truth, do you? Such words are not suitable for you."

Black Cat, who believes that lies can beat the truth, actually thinks that only real gold is not afraid of fire, which sounds really unconvincing.

"If a lie is believed by the whole world, it will become true."

The black cat looked at me strangely, and frowned slightly, leaving me speechless for a moment.

I really don't know what kind of logic her world has.

"Okay. Go on."

"Well. After I reunited with Lin Yu, his reminder made me realize that I was still in the hands of the Core Research Association. This prison is a large laboratory built by the Core Research Association in the dream. The outside world can treat me and me at any time. Perhaps it is because we have no separation of personalities that Lulu has not done research.

"Later we started to prepare the escape plan. Although there was no prior agreement, we decided to keep Xiao Lulu out of the matter. Until three years ago, when Lin Yu's carefully planned escape plan failed, we did not take it out. Lulu's plan to get involved... But how would she think of herself who was left out? We never thought that she would feel guilty, feel that she didn't help Lin Yu, and could only watch him secretly depressed. So the development of the matter is natural It exceeded my expectations—because Lulu found you."

The black cat stopped. Her figure was reflected on the mirror wall, just as it was reflected among the endlessly discussing crowd. I stood on the side of the mirror and looked at the world separated by the mirror. The crowd in the square still maintained a high degree of discussion about the Lin Yu incident. He is clearly not here, but it seems that there is a shadow under the cage.

Shadows are attached to the square, hiding the despair in the criminal's eyes.

"In fact, Lulu has helped us a lot without knowing it, just like Lulu thought she was a burden when she was a child, but without her reflexes and intuition, it is impossible for us to escape the pursuit of adults, let alone escape. Get out. It's the same this time. Without Lulu's unknowing actions, we wouldn't be able to make it to this point. We relied on her dominance to make this fake escape possible. .”

"So that cloud of black mist... really is the truth of Lin Yu's disappearance! The "World Gate" to another world layer was actually completed by you in advance, right?"

The black cat tilted its head slightly and looked back into my eyes with interest.

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Since this is a dreamland, and you and Xiao Lulu haven't had a 'split', it stands to reason that you can use Xiao Lulu's dominance ability. You and Lin Yu cooperated with his followers three years ago, and calculated that Lin Yu The timing of the "disappearance" planned the rebellion called "awakening"..."

As I told my reasoning, the black cat watched me quietly all the time, allowing me to have the courage to say the next thing——

"As long as the inspiring "speech" is conveyed to the anesthetized criminals in the form of rebellion, and finally use Lin Yu's "disappearance" to release the news that "prison escape is possible", everyone will enter your pre-conceived status, right?"

The black cat slowly opened its smile, and suddenly folded its hands together, and then its eyes were dyed with a gentle but mysterious color.

"That's right~ But Xiao Lulu's unintentional help to us doesn't just come from her dominance ability."

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand.

"This plan is the result of Lin Yu's reunion with you shortly after he found us again after a lapse of three years, and finally got it in that forbidden area. What your deduction lacks is the last step in the plan, and it is also a step that we have not yet implemented. "

She tied her index finger and turned it around mysteriously. My thoughts drifted silently into their plans, and strange premonitions flitted through my mind.

"To Lin Yu, you are like a good medicine, which awakens his anesthetized nerves while inducing pain.

"In the past three years, Lin Yu has always been obsessed with the so-called fate. It is fate to dominate the war and lose, and it is also fate not to escape. So he pinned his last hope on you, because he thought that even if you win without a fight, you will take away The victory of the domination war, at least you have obtained the key to unlock your destiny. You who have the power to control reality can save Lin Yu who is trapped by fate. This is the capital he has been silent for three years. But when you But suddenly appearing here as a prisoner...doesn't it mean telling him that you haven't won the victory of dominating the war?"

I suddenly remembered the scene of meeting Lin Yuzhong.

Thinking of Lin Yu standing in the restricted area, seeing me wandering in the square from a distance, and finally walking up to him with our dilapidated fate.

"Your presence shattered his hopes, for he had been waiting for you to save him for three years. But at the same time his hatred for your inescapable fate turned into new hope. Because since you did not win, the It means that the domination war is not over."

As soon as the words fell, I suddenly remembered the words that Xia Yinci said while leaning on the window of the ward——

[What if it's not over? 】

What if the domination war isn't over?

"That is to say, as long as you stand on the stage of dominating the war again, complete the battle that was not started again, and decide the outcome without judgment, the power to dominate reality will definitely fall to one of you two hands."

The elements that support and constitute the dream world are nothing more than the ruler's own imagination and the observer's ability to recognize it. As long as these two factors are coordinated, it is not impossible to reproduce the domination war here.

"In other words, the rebellion planned by Lin Yu is ultimately to let the criminals here become observers of your decisive battle. The purpose is to decide the outcome of this final contest with you and take away the victory of dominating the war."