Masae's Friend 3

Number Two is from the doomsday era, just like Mazao?
And judging by what Number One said, Number Two is not even someone who "time-traveled from the doomsday era to modern society," but rather "someone who is still surviving in the doomsday era right now"?
My gaze immediately locked onto Number Two, who shrank timidly back into her stone seat, seemingly frightened by my stare.
Although I really wanted to ask about that giant first, compared to such an unresponsive entity, I was much more concerned about Number Two right now.
"Is what Number One said true?" I asked.
"Yes, it's true..." Number Two was as jittery and anxious as a timid young beast. "Though you probably won't believe it either..."
"Such nonsense as the world being on the verge of destruction, or a wishing machine capable of granting all desires, is nothing more than idle daydreams," Number One said calmly. "If you really want people to believe such wild and untetherology concepts, it's best to bring out the evidence. Talk is cheap."
Even though we were currently inside an unimaginable dreamscape, he apparently held fast to his stubborn skepticism. However, was that truly what he thought? Perhaps he did not entirely disbelieve it. Show me the evidence—that was likely his core demand.
The same went for me. To truly convince me, seeing must be believing.
I turned to Number Two and asked, "Could you describe to me what the doomsday world looks like?"
"Um..." Number Two looked somewhat distressed.
Could she not answer? No, perhaps my question was too abstract. If someone from another world suddenly asked me to describe the world I currently live in, I wouldn't know where to start either.
"If the doomsday prophecies circulating in Luoshan are true, then after the arrival of doomsday, all life and matter will vanish completely, and everything will return to nothingness," Number One said. "How could anyone possibly survive in a world like that?"
"But there are still people alive in the world I live in..." Number Two said weakly. "Even though their numbers are few and finding each other is difficult, there are still some people struggling to survive among the ruins..."
"that possibility cannot be ruled out." Suddenly, Fourth spoke, shifting his attention to our conversation. "Every phenomenon has a process. Just as the world goes through four stages from birth to destruction: formation, subsistence, deterioration, and emptiness, doomsday likely has its stages as well.
"The time period we occupy merely shows the omens of doomsday, and the great calamity has not truly arrived; whereas the time period she occupies is likely after the arrival of the calamity, yet it has not deteriorated to the stage of total emptiness."
"You're finally back to your senses, Number Four," Number One said. "What, are you actually going to believe Number Two's absurd stories?"
Fourth seemed to straighten his clothes and introduced himself in a solemn voice: "There is no need to assign me a numerical code; you may address me as 'Xuanming'."
"—Xuanming?"
Number One and Number Two reacted to this name at the same time.
The former overtly displayed wariness, while the latter faintly revealed fear.
Did the name Xuanming hold any special significance? I also felt as though I had heard this name somewhere before. Racking my brains to search my memory, I could only find a distant allusion.
The name of this allusion was "The Dark Bird Gives Birth to Shang."
It is said that in an ancient primitive tribe, a woman named Jiandi swallowed an egg laid by a dark bird and subsequently gave birth to a son named Qi. This Qi was the founding patriarch of the Shang tribe, as well as the ancestor of the founders of the Shang Dynasty, and was a contemporary of the legendary Great Yu who controlled the floods.
Qi's alternative title was "Ebo." He invented a calendar based on the Fire Star (Antares) and was proficient in the technology of fire preservation. In ancient times, preserving fire was extremely difficult, yet he was repeatedly able to reignite flames. Therefore, later generations revered him as the God of Fire.
By the Song Dynasty, he was further addressed as "King Xuanming."
Could this Fourth, who called himself Xuanming, have some connection to the legendary King Xuanming? Or was he King Xuanming himself—perhaps because this was a dream, such an absurd notion even crossed my mind.
Yet, the emotions Number One and Number Two displayed toward Fourth Xuanming clearly did not resemble the reaction one should have toward a distant mythological figure.
"You are that Xuanming?" Number One asked with a complicated tone.
"It seems both of you have heard of me, so I will get straight to the point. You both possess God Seal Shards, correct? Can you trade those God Seal Shards to me?" Fourth Xuanming showed a straightforward attitude. "I am willing to pay all the compensation within my power for them."
"I refuse," Number One answered without hesitation. "The moment we entered this misty dreamscape, we formed a bond with the God Seal Shards, making transactions impossible. Even if the God Seal Shard were thrown into the sea, it would only automatically return to its owner.
"More importantly, I do not wish to have private contact with someone as dangerous as you, nor do I want you to know my true identity. As for Number Two..."
"I don't seem to be from the same time period as everyone else..." Number Two observed our conversation and then said despondently, "Moreover, I have no way of stating my true name like Mr. Fourth. I'm sorry."
I had been curious about Fourth Xuanming's identity, but upon hearing the latter half of Number Two's sentence, a connection immediately formed in my mind: "You can't state your name? Why?"
"Isn't that obvious? Who would tell strangers their true identity in a shady place like this?" Number One said as a matter of course, then added, "Except for some empty-headed fellow."
I brushed off his words and scrutinized the child that was Number Two over and over again.
Number One had previously called her a little girl, and my own observation confirmed it. Judging by her height and voice, she was at most around ten years old, still of primary school age.
A little girl of about ten... Come to mention it, Mazao had also mentioned that her friend was a little girl of around ten years old...
According to Mazao, in the doomsday world, "being unable to state one's true name" held a special significance. It likely meant that the person in question had forgotten their name and past, teetering on the verge of degenerating into a Fiend. When her friend had first met her, she was likewise in a state where she couldn't even remember her own name.
—Then, could Number Two be the friend Mazao spoke of?
I knew this sudden deduction seemed abrupt; how could there be such a coincidence?
However, since Mazao's jinx constitution attracted anomalies like a vortex, and my destiny had not yet escaped Mazao's vortex, I had to take every coincidence I encountered along the way seriously and try to link it to Mazao. This was especially true for coincidences encountered amidst anomalous events.
The black jade had been brought to me by Mazao's jinx constitution, and right here in this misty dreamscape entered via the black jade, I had encountered someone matching the characteristics of Mazao's friend.
Both were residents of the doomsday world, both were ten-year-old little girls, and both seemingly forgot their own names...
These "coincidences" led me naturally to utter my next sentence.
"It's not that you're unwilling to state your true name, but rather that you cannot, am I right?" I said to Number Two. "If my guess is correct, you have already forgotten your true name by now. Am I right?"
"Eh?" Number Two seemed utterly shocked, then confessed, "Y-Yes..."
Number One's gaze toward me instantly turned scrutinizing and bewildered.
Fourth Xuanming first observed Number Two's reaction, then looked at me with a meaningful gaze.
Judging by Number One's reaction, did he know that Number Two couldn't state her name because she was unable to, and his previous attitude had been to cover for her? I had originally thought he was just someone with a rough attitude, but it seemed that was not the case.
"How does Mr. Third know?" Number Two asked, thoroughly perplexed.
I didn't answer her question directly, but instead continued on my own: "In other words, you are not far from degenerating into a Fiend now, are you?"
"You even know about Fiends..." Number Two seemed to realize some possibility and said excitedly, "Could it be, could it be that you, Mr. Third, are..."
"Wait, don't rush. You still need to answer me one other question." I didn't fully trust her yet. "What is the alternative name for a Fiend?"
Number Two answered immediately, "It's 'Freak'!"
"A freak?" Fourth Xuanming and Number One both seemed to react to this term.
"Mr. Third, are you a person from the doomsday era just like me!?"
Number Two was extremely excited, unable to help jumping down from her stone seat and trotting over to stand in front of me.
"No wonder I had no idea there was someone like you. The future, is it..." Fourth Xuanming looked at me thoughtfully. "If it's a God Seal Shard, perhaps it really is possible to connect the future and the present through a dream..."
I had no intention of dispelling their misunderstanding for the moment, and Number Two seemed to have more to say.
She stood before me, looking up, and after a moment of hesitation, she finally couldn't help saying, "Mr. Third... could you answer a question for me? I've been looking for someone..."
"Wait." Hearing this, the premonition in my heart grew even stronger.
I stopped her first, glanced at the other two people, and then said to her, "Let's not talk about this here. Let's move further away and speak privately."
"Where are you taking her?" Number One asked, alert.
Number Two also hesitated for a moment. Even if we both came from the doomsday era, it didn't mean I was trustworthy. Or rather, Mazao had also mentioned that the moral standards of residents from the doomsday era were not very high. It was completely normal for Number Two to harbor guards against me.
As for Mazao, she was clearly an exception; she possessed the doomsday style of disregarding laws, yet also had the conscience of not wanting to involve unrelated people. Her sense of morality in certain aspects might be even higher than that of many modern people.
Number Two finally made up her mind and said, "I understand... I'll come with you, Mr. Third."
Number One had seemingly wanted to intervene, but gave up in the end, letting me take Number Two away.
We moved to a place where the other two could no longer hear our conversation. Thick fog surrounded us on all sides; the stone seats and the other people were completely out of sight. With no reference points here, I could only rely purely on my mind to remember the direction from which we had come.
"If you have any questions you wanted to ask me just now, you can ask them here," I said to Number Two.
"O-Okay..."
She was extremely nervous, her words somewhat incoherent, but she finally steadied herself and spoke as clearly and logically as possible: "I'm looking for someone. That person was protecting me all this time, but recently we got separated... I might turn into a monster soon, and I don't know if that person is still alive...
"So... at least before I turn into a monster, I want to be able to find out some news about that person..."
As she went on, her voice grew sadder and sadder, as if she were on the verge of tears.
"What is the name of the person who protected you?" I asked.
"...Mazao," she said. "Her name is 'Mazao'."