"I'm leaving, Siyi."

Under the covers, Little Si Que spoke to the girl on the upper bunk.

Golden hair strands dangled down, and Siyi leaned over the edge of the bed to look at him: "Why?"

"For more interesting inspiration, I'm going to the Royal City," Little Si Que said.

"So you're going to abandon me, abandon the story you're almost finished writing?" Siyi's eyes widened: "You just acknowledged me as your sister, didn't you? We still have a long time ahead..."

"Yes," Little Si Que said, "but there's always the next story."

Siyi felt a sense of abandonment.

Su Ming'an could feel her emotions — confused, angry, sorrowful, even somewhat dark...

"Stay, finish writing this story, after all, you've been planning it for years," Siyi urged.

Little Si Que yawned, the corners of his eyes tinged with red: "A Creator must learn to let go at the right time."

Su Ming'an had heard the credo of the Creator — once the characters on paper come to life, you must respect their independence and no longer interfere with their future. But in Siyi's understanding, it was abandonment; she couldn't understand letting go.

She looked at Si Que and suddenly blurted out: "Brother, if I eat you up, would you not leave?"

Si Que, upon hearing this terrifying statement, merely turned over: "Remember to add some wheat, I like eating wheat..."

He fell asleep just like that, not caring at all what Siyi might do.

Watching this scene, Su Ming'an seemed to gradually understand why Si Que wrote the story "The Last Supper"; it was practically caused by Si Que himself.

In the quiet room, only their light breathing could be heard.

Gradually, under the blue moonlight, a girl's faint sobbing began to rise. Her voice was muffled under the covers, as if she didn't want the sleeping Si Que to hear:

"...What obedient child gets candy, what monster that steals stars, what mighty Demon King and righteous Brave... such fairy tales simply don't exist."

"The Groom can't save the Bride, the Bride doesn't even like eating wheat... the ears of wheat in the story haven't matured, yet everything's over, abandoned."

"I thought this kind of life could last for a long time. Little Magpie could write better stories at the table, but children eventually have to become composed Warriors, and stories that don't pass muster get buried..."

"Then why did I come to life, why did I leave the paper alone, for what reason..."

Golden strands curled on the pillow, she cried, her shoulders trembling.

On the lower bunk, Little Si Que turned over again, his eyes reddening, and silently sighed.

"Sigh..."

...

[The Seventh Scene · Outside the Pavilion]

[In every child's heart, there is an Adventure Island, full of countless treasures.]

[Though their bodies reside in dull reality, their imaginations soar time and again, flying to the distant Adventure Island, exploring treasures with the Elves, navigating thorny labyrinths, defeating evil Giant Dragons, embarking on the next adventure.]

[And so they continue to fantasize... fantasize about Monsters trampling the playground, rescuing the World in front of the entire school, fantasizing about summoning Elves on the stage, astonishing teachers and classmates...]

[Gradually, however, their bodies become heavy, and gravity begins to drag at their feet... they start to be unable to fly high, drifting further from Adventure Island.]

[And then, one day, they stop imagining that Adventure Island.]

[The Monster has stolen the candy from their jars.]

[The stars in the bedroom have been plucked.]

[Ears of wheat lay on the table.]

[The fairy tales on the paper have fallen asleep.]

...

This night of parting, Si Que was on the hillside looking at the stars.

...He was thinking, does he really want to go to the Royal City? To change from a "child" to an "adult"?

His Spiritual Energy stems from his child's naïve innocence. If he says goodbye to the child's identity, will inspiration still favor him?

At this moment, he heard the rustling of grass behind him, and vibrant green long hair fell beside his face, as Qiao, wearing a rustic hemp robe and straw shoes, approached, without a trace of nobility.

"The stars in the Royal City are not this bright, always gray and full of dull and rigid adults," Qiao said, gazing upwards.

"Qiao, if I stay as I am, calmly finishing the story of Daylight Floating City, is that the best?" Little Si Que voiced his hesitation.

"Of course it's good. Continuing to be a child is great, becoming a Spiritual adult is also great. You don't have to grow up, Si Que, it's okay if you don't grow up," Qiao said.

They sat quietly on the hillside for a while, with only the sounds of birds in the mountains. Flames burned in the village's central lantern, while every household was already asleep.

"You said that at sixteen or seventeen, everyone faces a Monster that eats our candy and stars, eats our innocence and Spiritual Energy, and we gradually turn into boring adults," Little Si Que said.

"Heh heh," Qiao chuckled, lying next to him:

"So, you need to face it head-on; if you don't fight it, how will you know if you'll win? My little Warrior, pick up your little wooden sword and bravely confront it. Be certain that no matter how old you are, it cannot devour your innocence and Spiritual Energy, be sure you'll always be someone who sees Adventure Island. Until the moment you defeat it, only then will inspiration always favor you."

"Forever..." Little Si Que savored the word: "But the Magpie Clan's lifespan is only a little over thirty years, and I won't write any great stories."

Qiao's palm brushed over his head, his gaze deepening: "The quality of life is not about its length."

Little Si Que stood up, fixedly looking into Qiao's eyes.

Moonlight flowed over their flapping hair, and Little Si Que opened his palm—revealing a worn-out, gray-brown Feather Pen. Made from the most ordinary materials, it held no special qualities, yet had been his companion for a long time.

Golden hues danced in his eyes, indistinguishable whether they were the glint in his gaze or the moonlight:

"—But what if I'm beaten by that Monster? What if I can't write imaginative stories once I grow up? What if Daylight Floating City is actually the best story I've written..."

What if he too...

Fled in panic in front of the "Monster"?

What if he too...

Became like "Opa" and "Uncle Hante"?

Then, those stories still unwritten in his mind, the pitiable girl experimented on, the girl waiting in vain, the wanderer returning home... what if they too were "erased"?

Names familiar yet never spoken hovered on his lips, as if calling them would bring them to life under the paper.

Until—

Qiao hugged him.

Jade-like long locks drifted by, the boy's gaze fixed on Qiao's chest, his head held by a broad hand, buried in a warm embrace.

"...It doesn't matter if you're defeated." The capacious voice flowed into the boy's ears.

For a moment, Little Si Que felt the texture against his cheek wasn't that of a cloth robe, but a rugged police uniform, with his hair tousled by a large hand, and encircled by iron-like arms.

"...Whether a boring adult or an interesting one, you will stand above Spiritual Energy."

"Because, even if you're defeated and truly lose the Spirituality of childhood...'

"I'll help you find it again because that's what gold does. Even if the Prophecy of the Void says otherwise, a child involved with my Destiny from Tara Village appeared, and I discovered that... you're different."

"You're not like the others; your Spiritual Energy is the most extraordinary I've encountered."

"Little one, even as you grow older, you must continue to seek the treasure in the mist time and again, forever preserve your Spirituality and romance, no matter your age, no matter what lies beyond the Second Epoch."

"Look, the night sky is so beautiful tonight, at this moment of parting, make a Star Necklace for your sister."

""".stripIndent()

...

[Eighth Scene: Star Necklace]

[He ran forward.]

[Left behind the old ruts, left the warm village, left the treetop that had housed his entire childhood.]

[The summer cicadas faded away, and he could no longer hear the croak of frogs by the lotus pond.]

["Don't go, Little Magpie, you promised me you'd take me to see the wheat." The bride in the white gauze dress called out to him.]

["Don't go, aren't you curious about the future of the Floating City? That mad ruler, that mechanical bride named Nuoliya... turn back, Little Magpie, keep being a carefree child, write us out." A uniform voice called him from behind.]

["Don't go, Great Creator, I haven't invited you to see our Inner City's scenery, and yet you give up the story..."]

["Brother..."]

...

"Siyi."

Oil lamp, grille by the window, amber wooden table.

Little Si Que grabbed Siyi and placed the feather pen in her palm.

"What is this?" The blonde, blue-eyed protagonist looked at him blankly. Her eyes were red; she had cried all night because she knew the story of the Floating City was destined to be abandoned; Si Que abandoned them.

"I want to pass the pen to you, protagonist." Little Si Que looked at her: "The main plot has been narrated to you over these years, next, please go and write your own story."

He relinquished the story-writing rights to the protagonist herself.

Light suddenly shone in Siyi's eyes, she stared dazed at Little Si Que.

"Really...?"

"Yes. I'm going to the Royal City; maybe I'll see the World Tree. One day, I will strive to make sharp conflicts not become content that can't be approved, allowing you to truly emerge in the world... I'll return." Little Si Que extended his hand, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief:

"Until then... the pen is yours. Freedom belongs to you all."

"I must leave the village, the independence war has already begun."

"Siyi, I'm sorry for leaving you. But I grant you the feather pen, wait for me... okay?"

Siyi sniffled:

"Okay..."

Little Si Que took out a star necklace from his arms.

"So wear this farewell gift, I made it last night."

He placed the necklace around Siyi's neck:

"This way, no matter how you change, when I see you, I'll recognize you instantly."

"My first protagonist... I will come to find you."

...

["I have a brother... but he's not here anymore." Siyi lowered her head, a star necklace hanging from her neck, left to her by her brother.]

...

—The strong children have left the village, there must be children left to help Grandma harvest the wheat, right?

Little Magpie smiled briefly, turned and walked away, followed by a mighty crowd of villagers.

—This time, the child left behind to help Grandma harvest the wheat, led them out.

Later, through these thousands of years, he drank with the sages of Ancient Greece from the same cup of wine, shared the same gravity theory with the first apple to fall, sang the same poem with the crows of the Tower of Babel.

He left behind a brilliant, romantic, eternal, epoch-spanning epic.

He defeated the "monsters" that appear at sixteen or seventeen, becoming forever a child full of spirituality and romance.

He flew high over Adventure Island, time and time again retrieving treasures from the fog, his jar of candies forever full, stars perpetually hung from the ceiling.

Until one day, he completed thrilling adventures, becoming a world-renowned hero... looking back.

—A pure white city shines brightly in the distant game.

"In the end, the protagonist and companions entered the Inner City, encountering the most formidable mechanical Mother Goddess of the city, and engaged in the ultimate duel..."

...

[Eight o'clock in the morning, Su Ming'an entered the Floating City's most central building.]

Little Su and Little Nuo seemed to have already reached the final climax of the plot: Little Su is challenging the city's strongest contender—the mechanical Mother Goddess.]

...

"The Groom and Bride defeated the mechanical Mother Goddess in the Colosseum, but Floating City's fertility issue remains unresolved. At this moment, the protagonist Siyi walks into the Colosseum..."

...

[Su Ming'an watched Siyi step by step towards the mechanical Mother Goddess, her face showing no fear or dread, she only kept gripping the star necklace left to her by her brother.]

The thin girl, fragile body, emaciated legs, she walks step by step toward the altar.]

...

"In order to save the future of the Floating City, the girl decides to sacrifice herself, making a machine for reproduction..."

...

[Then,

the girl looked at them.

—Chosen "child," looked at these "adults."]

...

The protagonist held the feather pen.

She did not follow the plot, instead—she rewrote the story Little Si Que narrated to her in the white space, and wrote her own story.

Siyi.

It was Si Que who wrote this world, while she gradually enriched it over long years, turning it into a complete world, and she holds the feather pen to rewrite this world.

Therefore she is—

—Daylight Floating City, Supreme Lord, Siyi.

...

["Yes." The white-haired youth knelt on one knee before Siyi, bowing his head:

"Following your command, Supreme Lord."]

...

"Little Magpie."

"Did you finally... come to find me?"

"The wheat still lies in my bedside cabinet."

"I want to give it... to you."

...

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