He had another dream.
Just like every dream before.
The dead disturbed the living, giving him no peace.
But this time was different. Previously he could only dream of Ryann as a phantom, but this time he saw a very clear scene from an observer’s perspective.
He saw the crimson clouds of Omega Alien Star reflected in the window glass of Black Shark Base. He saw the base leader, who was also Empress Dowager Sylph, remove her hood.
“Little Highness, Kaios… I don’t know what information your original consciousness left for you, but you should know.”
The old woman’s expression was complex and solemn. “‘His’ current mental state is likely abnormal, ‘he’ is probably insane. Awakening ‘his’ consciousness was a mistake I made in haste. You don’t need to listen to that nonsense.”
Across from her, the young Crown Prince wore formal attire with a thick true red cloak. He displayed a beautiful smile, but his voice was as cold as an ice blade. “Then I am insane too.”
He gently pressed his palm to his chest, “Chief, please tell me, what else can this body do?”
“His ideas are almost impossible to realize, it’s too bizarre, there’s no precedent.” Sylph shook her head, “I don’t understand how this person can be so arrogant.”
Ryann: “He said this is an unfinished journey.”
Sylph: “Even if the journey’s end is death?”
“What if beyond death lies reunion?”
Ryann responded to the question with another question.
“Not necessarily reunion,” Sylph said, “You said you want to let the little excellency choose for himself.”
It was a choice between staying in the empire, living an ordinary but comfortable life; or cutting off his retreat and embarking on a sea of star journey full of suffering and hardship.
But this wasn’t really a choice. A choice should have two paths laid out before one to select a direction. Jiang Jianming clearly only had the first path in front of him.
Unless he was willing to forge a new path himself, one that was equally “almost impossible to realize”, “too bizarre”, with “no precedent”.
“Your Highness,” Sylph said helplessly, “Do you really want to bet on an elusive possibility, to risk your life on something even more elusive?”
Ryann: “Yes, I’ve decided. Whatever the final outcome, I accept it.”
Sylph closed her eyes and sighed deeply, seeming to realize she couldn’t persuade him.
“At least,” she said bitterly, “you can’t be too greedy, can you?”
“Choose to be the ruler and bearer of this empire, to be humanity’s strongest weapon against the Crystal Nest… or choose to love who you want to love. Please choose one.”
“I mean, the plan to die in the Crystal Nest is too absurd. If you’re really determined, you can choose a comfortable way. As for refining crystal particles, Black Shark Base can—”
Upon hearing this, the young Crown Prince smiled again. Alien birds chirped in the distance, and the vast twilight at the window was lengthening his shadow.
He had an elegant air cultivated from childhood in the royal family, which was subtly different from the original founding emperor and the second Base Body.
“No.”
Ryann said with a smile. “I am greedy. I won’t choose.”
Then he repeated his earlier words, “Tell me, what else can this body do?”
The scene in the dream changed, time flew like a shuttle.
“You can try taking it orally for several consecutive days.”
Sylph placed a kind of medicine on the table, making a soft sound.
“This is a failed product from the base’s research on third-generation tranquilizers. It won’t weaken the power of crystal bones, but can have the same effect as tranquilizers.”
Ryann’s eye twitched. “…You call this a ‘failed product’?”
Sylph explained. “The side effects are too severe for widespread use. It can only be used by those with a death wish.”
Ryann relaxed his brow, opened it and slowly drank.
Sylph said, “I will install the anti-Crystal Nest weapons used in White Bird’s expedition on the Crown of Golden Dawn. When the time comes, please launch them all into the Crystal Nest.”
“Mm.”
“Remember to keep the video and data monitoring on. If you really can reach the Crystal Nest, it will also guide the next Silver Big Dipper expedition.”
“Understood.”
“Leave the aftermath to Emperor Lin Ge to worry about. If you have any last words, I can record them for you.”
Ryann nodded and was about to say something when his face suddenly turned pale.
He crashed to the floor, knocking over his chair, and collapsed in a cold sweat. Soon he began convulsing, crystal bones uncontrollably protruding from his body, piercing the floor.
Sylph sighed and looked away. “It’s the side effects of the medicine. Please try to control your crystal bones not to self-harm. Let me know if you need external restraints…”
“Of course, you can stop anytime if you want.”
****
……That’s it.
The not-yet-adult Crown Prince voluntarily walked into the depths of Black Shark Base.
Every day he had to drink tranquilizers that were like intestine-burning poison, with electrode-like things attached to his temples to simulate the mental impact of crystal particles, along with non-stop high-intensity training.
That torture was enough to destroy a person.
The chief was busy and could only come to see him every few days, always asking first. “Can you still hold on? It’s not too late to stop now.”
In the room, Ryann’s long hair disheveled, leaned tiredly against the window and asked. “Is the military academy on summer break yet?”
He stared at the dawn of the alien planet, remembering the day he proposed to the black-haired military academy student.
Sylph was taken aback, saying this needed to be confirmed. By previous years’ dates, it should be about time.
But that year’s semester dragged on a bit late. By the time summer vacation actually arrived, it was a week later.
When the chief came again, Ryann was curled up in a dark corner, his whole body as if fished out of water.
His mind was somewhat unstable, continuously feverish under the effects of the drugs, shivering like a small animal.
“Do you want to continue?” Sylph asked him, “It’s not too late to turn back now.Yesterday the Sixth College finished their last exam, all the students have left school.The Little Excellency is looking forward to you returning to accompany him.”
The Crown Prince’s mind was in disarray. He squinted his eyes and deliriously mumbled, saying he wanted to hear Jiang Jianming’s voice.
Sylph felt his sweat-soaked forehead. “Shall we call the Little Excellency?”
“No.” Ryann suddenly awoke, pressing the chief’s black gloved hand, “No, don’t.”
That night, his condition suddenly worsened. He tossed and turned, fainting several times, until he suddenly awoke in the early morning two days later.
Whether from a nightmare or something else, the Crown Prince looked around in the darkness with an alarmed expression, gasping for breath.
He suddenly burst into tears, grabbing the chief at his bedside and sobbing bitterly, his words jumbled. “I can’t… I haven’t yet… I haven’t had the chance to…”
Hadn’t had the chance to do what?
He hadn’t had the chance to publicly reveal his underground lover to the empire, hadn’t given Jiang Jianming a rightful status and position.
He hadn’t fulfilled those promised vows, hadn’t had the chance to walk hand in hand into a happy future.
“I always told him to believe… to wait for me… but now…”
Sylph patted his back like soothing an infant, coaxing softly. “The things you haven’t had the chance to do, the next Base Body will do them for you.”
“No, it won’t… The next one… will never treat him better than I did, and he won’t be able to forgive me again, to trust me again.”
“…..”
“Moreover,” Ryann’s eyes were clouded, looking sinister in the darkness, “What if the next one has a terrible personality? What if he bullies him?”
After another moment of silence, he said vacantly. “After I die, he’ll be alone. Who will protect him? He’s just a non-crystal human…and so stubborn.”
Sylph stroked his shoulder, “Then, do you want to stop?”
“If you stop, you can take a starship back immediately. It should be afternoon now in District Three of Aslan Star City. You can still make it back for dinner with him.”
Ryann closed his eyes and trembled, saying, “No.”
Sylph: “Why? There was no need to be this extreme. There are still many years before the great war begins. You could cherish the present and love each other more deeply.”
“When the war starts in a few years, you would go to the front lines, and he would wait for your return in the rear, just as he’s doing now.”
“Perhaps the war would end unexpectedly quickly in victory. You’d return to his side laden with glory, offering your medals as gifts, and pick up those unfinished things.”
“You could make your relationship public, marry openly. Although the Little Excellency can’t become an officer, he would be an excellent scholar, professor, or mecha engineer. If he achieves something, it wouldn’t prevent him from being beloved, even going down in history.”
“Gradually, people would think the Crown Prince and his lover are actually well-matched. Many years later, you’d become Emperor and Empress, staying together until old age. Your story would spread to every street and alley of the empire’s nine star cities.”
In the quiet darkness, the chief’s narration sounded like a fairy tale.
Sylph looked up, sighing softly. “Think about it, wouldn’t this also be a happy, fulfilling life?”
For a long time, there was no sound in the room.
The chief looked down and found the Crown Prince had fallen asleep, tears wetting his eyelashes, silently sliding into his temples.
****
The next day after waking up, Ryann still didn’t give up on his plan.
Days passed one by one, and finally that moment came.
In fact, the Crown Prince could have gone all in, directly planning a disappearance and death that no one would know about.
But Ryann felt he should still give an explanation and farewell to the empire and military. Plus, he really wanted to see Jiang Jianming’s face one last time, to hear his voice.
That day, Ryann made many preparations in advance: a full night’s sleep, rising early to bathe and dress.
He took various overdoses of medication trying to improve his complexion, and seriously checked himself many times in the mirror.
No problem.
Except for being a bit nervous.
He also knew that dealing with Old Marshal Chen and that group would probably take a long time. To avoid delaying his usual medication, he placed a tall wine glass beside him.
The medicine the chief gave him was transparent. Poured into such a glass, it should be able to pass for wine or something… Although Jiang didn’t like him drinking underage, there was no choice now.
In the final communication, many people came and went.
Ryann patiently dealt with them one by one.
Every time that door opposite opened, his heart would leap up, only to fall back disappointed when it wasn’t that person.
After a very long time, finally.
The door opened.
The young black-haired, black-eyed military academy student walked in.
Ryann’s heart began to race.
He looked at Jiang Jianming’s slightly tense face, pale lips, long eyebrows, eyes containing anxiety and a hint of anger… so beautiful.
His voice was also pleasant to hear. Usually it was gentler, but today he seemed truly anxious, carrying a hint of cool sharpness.
It turned out that simply being alive, seeing the face of the person you like, hearing them speak to you, was already such a rare thing.
If only he could be a bit more extravagant, he really wanted to hug him.
….
Later, the communication went dark.
Ryann watched helplessly as Jiang Jianming cut off the communication. Before, he had been as still as a cold stone statue, but when the projection opposite disappeared, he instantly collapsed.
The glass wine glass fell to the ground, shards scattering. He lunged forward, his fingers passing through nothingness, finally only able to grip tightly onto the cold communication device.
No, no… wait, don’t go.
Let me look at you one more time, say one more word to me.
The young Crown Prince crouched on the ground, sobbing. He whimpered, saying sorry, sorry, sorry…
He cried until he fainted.
No outsiders entered the room, probably because Ryann had anticipated he would lose composure and had cleared out others in advance to avoid embarrassment.
So, when the people of Black Shark Base saw the Crown Prince again the next day, His Highness had already composed himself to appear normal, with only slightly swollen eyes as the only sign of distress.
He said to the chief. “We can go now.”
****
The Crown of Golden Dawn initiated the jump, passing through the wormhole to arrive at the closest known coordinate point to the Crystal Nest.
This mecha began to move forward alone.
In the cockpit, Ryann quietly gazed at the universe before him.
The heroic journey ahead no longer belonged to him, or rather not only to his current self. This trip was too difficult; the memories of the original would merge, making him stronger.
He was a Base Body, a vessel. And after the memory merge, this Base Body would die in the Crystal Nest.
So for the current seventeen-year-old Crown Prince, now was the time to bid farewell to his pure self-consciousness; from another perspective, it was indeed death.
The future was uncertain; he couldn’t even know if his death would have meaning.
Even so… he dared to gamble.
“Chief.” The young Crown Prince, lips pale, asked as if in a dream, “What lies beyond death?”
Through the communication, Sylph gazed at this child. “It will be reunion, my Highness.”
Ryann smiled with relief. “Actually, it’s okay if there’s no reunion, as long as he’s well.”
The Crown Prince calmly closed his eyes. Soon, that smile gradually faded.
Like a spring breeze blowing from the depths of his soul, melting away the remaining snow.
When those emerald eyes opened again, the aura they contained had become deeper, unfathomably profound.
“The child is still immature.”
Inside the mecha, Ryann sat up straight, wiping away the traces of tears at the corners of his eyes with a headache, “Tch, the next Base Body will have to start from scratch again.”
“Some will remain in the subconscious,” Sylph said.
“Too bad, the next one won’t have so much time to grow,” Ryann laughed self-mockingly, then said wistfully, “…Let him scold me well.”
As he said this, the Crown Prince’s expression was gentle and submissive, but powerful golden-red crystal bones had already begun growing from his shoulders.
****
“Who said Zhen was arrogant?”
L-Crown og Golden Dawn stood motionless in the near-Crystal Nest space.
Its dark gold shell was covered in scars, its anti-Crystal Nest weapons completely emptied, and the number of alien lifeforms slain along the way was countless.
“Sylph, you see, isn’t this…”
The youth smiled, his eyes flashing with domineering light. He supported himself forcefully on the pilot’s seat, standing up unsteadily. With his movement, viscous blood splashed down.
“Without choosing….still accomplished it all…”
His voice was ethereal, as if through a fog.
Even with the aid of drugs, the fierce battles along the way had caused his crystal bone backlash to reach an extremely severe stage.
“Sylph?”
There was only crackling static from the other end.
The distance was too great; communication had long since been cut off.
“…..”
Ryann squinted, taking a long moment to recover. Breathing slightly heavily, he reached out to turn off the communication, and even the static disappeared.
Inside the Crown of Golden Dawn, it was pitch black. Blood continued to flow down the edges and armrests of the pilot’s seat.
Drip, drip… it became the only sound in the mecha, oppressively eerie.
Ryann looked up towards the outside of the mecha, realizing he had finally reached the end where everything was lost.
The dark space of the universe expanded infinitely.
Here there were no compatriots, no way home, no familiar life forms besides himself. The mecha was as tiny as a speck of dust.
There was only the pre-chosen grave, the Crystal Nest covered in white crystal. It was enormous, mysterious and silent, like a living eyeball sunk in the dark universe.
The ultimate deathly silence, the ultimate desolation, the ultimate loneliness.
Ryann checked the data inside the mecha one last time, then laboriously sat back in the pilot’s seat.
He felt the Crown of Golden Dawn could still move forward a bit, so he started the mecha again, while he remained motionless, head drooping against the seat.
More time passed.
Ryann’s face had become extremely pale, eyes closed, looking almost like a corpse. But suddenly, his eyelashes trembled, and he called out.
“Jiang.”
Then a sigh, mixed with complicated emotions.
“If you could see now…”
The youth coaxed gently with affection. “Don’t cry anymore.”
….
— Crack!!
In an instant, a fissure ran through this space.
Dream.
The lost dreamer finally realized this was a dream.
Jiang Jianming raised his tear-streaked face. He didn’t know when he had started crying.
He looked around in a daze, seeing the cold mecha, the cooling blood, the dark universe, the deathly silent Crystal Nest… and the youth with platinum curls and emerald eyes.
“If everything goes smoothly, my crystal particles…should carry away some of my consciousness, including memories and emotions…I don’t know how much you’ll be able to see later…cough cough.”
Ryann still had his eyes closed, speaking weakly in a low voice, “Alright, alright… be good, don’t cry anymore… listen to me say a few words.”
Is it a dream?
Is it really a dream?
Between sleep and waking, he had once smelled the wind of a midsummer morning.
Someone’s fingertips had gently caressed his cheek.
“…” Jiang Jianming suddenly covered half his face with his palm, gritting his teeth, but unable to stop the tears from flowing.
“Liar, you lied to me.”
He laughed bitterly. “That year, didn’t you say… there were things here more important than loving me?”
Only now did he finally understand.
It wasn’t a dream.
It was the most real call from the soul.
“The death of a Base Body will cause mental damage… I don’t know what I’ll be like when I next see you with complete memories…”
“No, I don’t even know if there will be a chance to meet again… Jiang, are you here?”
Ryann continued speaking to himself. The Crown Prince from four years ago certainly couldn’t predict the future; his time and space still only had darkness and fresh blood for company.
All he could do was believe. Believe that Jiang Jianming would one day reach this step, believe that Jiang Jianming would one day hear his words.
Jiang Jianming closed his eyes, taking a trembling breath.
He stepped forward, crossing that fissure that ran through the dream, wading through the river of nearly four years, and placed his hand on the youth’s head.
In this vast and magnificent “dream”, as tears silently fell, he bent down and gently kissed Ryann’s brow, choking out.
“Yes, I’m here, Your Highness.”
Across time and space, across life and death.
They had embraced in this illusion.
