Chapter 368: End of the Main Story — Thank You, Everyone
After hanging up with Remia, Everly set down her phone, leaned back against the driver’s seat, and let out a long breath.
She was finally done with everything. Now, before the yacht reached shore, she could take a little break and, while she was at it, think over the suggestion about becoming an unofficial member of the SAI…
“Um, excuse me… Do you have some time right now…?” A gentle voice suddenly sounded in Everly’s mind, startling her.
After taking a closer look, she realized it was Rolinta, speaking from the world of consciousness.
Earlier, Everly had been busy avoiding the sinking island and making phone calls to report the situation. Once she got caught up in everything, she had completely forgotten that there was still a consciousness entity named Rolinta hiding inside her mind.
Looking more closely, Everly realized that Rolinta had not been idle while she herself had been frantically dealing with all the loose ends.
Originally, after Everly drove Grant away, her world of consciousness had been filled with countless fragments of consciousness, large and small, drifting through it like falling snow.
These consciousness entities were rebels whom Rolinta had incited to break free from Grant’s consciousness. They had exhausted the last of their strength during the battle, leaving behind only tiny fragments within Everly’s body. They no longer even possessed any sense of self.
Everly had never learned how to devour consciousness the way Grant did, nor did she want to devour them. For her to drive each of these fragments out of her mind one by one would have been far too troublesome. She had been busy at the time, so she had simply left the fragments to continue drifting aimlessly around her world of consciousness.
Unexpectedly, by the time she finished everything, Rolinta had somehow gathered all of those consciousness fragments together.
Rolinta was like a hardworking and benevolent mother. Not only did she keep the dead infants that had originally belonged to her in perfect order, she had also extended tendrils resembling umbilical cords, gathering all the scattered fragments of consciousness around herself and using the blackish-red, foul blood oozing from the edges of the wounds covering her body to stick them in place, preventing them from wandering off.
With these fluffy little fragments of consciousness adorning her, the slick, bloated, womb-like body no longer looked as terrifying and grotesque as before. Instead, with all those soft tufts covering her, she somehow looked… strangely cute.
After learning about Grant and Rolinta’s past, Everly felt both admiration and gratitude toward her. Hearing that Rolinta wanted to speak with her, she immediately sat up straight and said with a serious expression, “I have time. What’s wrong?”
“I spent a very long time inside Grant’s consciousness and encountered many people whose bodies had been taken from them by him. I know what it feels like to have your consciousness invaded by someone else. You’re a smart and brave girl, and you deserve to enjoy the same happiness as everyone else. If possible, I don’t want to put you in a difficult position, but I can’t bring myself to abandon these remaining fragments of consciousness…”
Everly immediately understood what she was implying and hurriedly said, “You can continue staying in my world of consciousness. I don’t mind.”
She genuinely meant it.
Not to mention that Rolinta had helped Everly drive Grant away, indirectly saving her life. Even putting that aside, based solely on the way this woman had conducted herself all along, she was more than worthy of Everly’s respect and consideration.
Besides, Everly couldn’t devour consciousness anyway. If she wanted Rolinta to leave, the only thing she could do would be to drive her out just as she had driven Grant away.
That would be far too cold and cruel. Without a physical body, a consciousness entity would quickly dissipate. When that happened, Rolinta would truly be dead.
By comparison, letting her borrow Everly’s body for a while was hardly a problem at all. If she got the opportunity in the future, Everly could even try to find Rolinta a suitable artificial body, giving this long-suffering woman a chance to experience an entirely new life.
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Rolinta’s voice remained calm and unhurried. Her tone, diction, and phrasing all revealed that she had once received an excellent education. “Your banyan-wood bracelet is filled with a strong aura of nature. Could I trouble you to ask your bracelet whether it would be willing to let me and these fragments of consciousness reside inside it?”
“My bracelet? A consciousness entity can inhabit a bracelet?”
“Other bracelets wouldn’t work, but your bracelet is alive to begin with. I possess the bloodline of the Witch of Abundance, and the bracelet’s natural properties are extremely compatible with me. It can nourish our damaged consciousnesses, while I can bring it abundance in return. It’s a win-win.”
Everly nodded. “I understand. I’ll ask someone to find out.”
After answering, she withdrew from the world of consciousness. She was just about to call her Winton friend Quilla and ask her to make the necessary inquiries with the Holy Tree itself when she suddenly felt an itch on her right wrist, as though something had lightly scratched it.
Suspicious, she lowered her head and discovered that the withered, yellowing Holy Tree bracelet had somehow extended a thin branch and poked her wrist.
Noticing that Everly was looking at it, the branch slowly lengthened and twisted into a crooked shape. Right in front of Everly, it contorted itself into what looked suspiciously like an OK sign.
“…”
So the bracelet was conscious after all. Not only could it read minds, it could even make an OK sign?!
Everly was utterly stunned.
“The bracelet agrees. You can go over,” she told Rolinta.
“Thank you, Everly.”
After thanking her, Rolinta slowly withdrew from Everly’s consciousness, wrapping the remnants of the consciousnesses she had gathered around herself.
Everly opened her eyes and saw a blurry, fuzzy-edged shadow traveling down her right arm. It wound itself around the outside of the bracelet, transforming into countless slender strands that slowly wriggled their way into the withered, yellowing bracelet.
The effect Rolinta had on the bracelet was immediate.
The moment the consciousness entity moved in, the dried branches immediately crackled with a series of sharp sounds. The wrinkled outer bark split and peeled away, revealing a layer of fresh, grayish-white bark underneath. The scorched yellow leaves also began to develop a vivid green tint along their edges, while two tiny buds, each no larger than a grain of rice, sprouted from the two ends of the bracelet.
The bracelet, which had previously been entirely yellow, suddenly took on a fresh appearance, half green and half yellow.
At this rate, the bracelet, which originally needed nearly a year before it could be used again, had its cooldown time reduced by more than half thanks to Rolinta’s Blessing of Abundance. It would now only take four or five months before it could be activated again!
What an incredibly powerful blessing ability. If Rolinta had been living in a different environment, she could have had a really good life.
That bastard Grant!
After taking care of Rolinta’s affairs, Everly was finally free of worries before reaching land.
She relaxed her body and sank back into the driver’s seat, her gaze unfocused as she stared through the windshield at the blue ocean rippling ahead and the backs of black whales surfacing from time to time. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
She slept exceptionally deeply. In her dreams appeared one horror movie after another that she had personally experienced, bizarre and fantastical scenes unfolding one after another, and souls that were either noble or despicable…
When Everly suddenly woke to the sound of a whale’s call, the outline of an island had already appeared not far ahead of the yacht.
She would be able to go ashore soon.
……
To avoid any complications, Everly decided to bring the Fountain of Youth to the gas station as soon as possible and give it to Old John.
Therefore, after setting foot on the island, Everly only replenished some essential supplies before setting sail again, heading all the way toward Dalifer State in the United States.
The sea was her territory, and Kesuye accompanied and protected her throughout the journey, so the return trip went extremely smoothly. By the following morning, Everly had already returned to Miant Port, where she had originally set out from.
After returning to the United States, Everly did not rush to return the boat. Instead, she found an agent and extended the rental period by another month.
Her reasoning was simple: the distance from Dalifer State to Dwight State was extremely long, and traveling by land involved too many uncertainties. Flying would certainly be faster, but Everly had only recently experienced a plane crash. During that crash, all the supplies she had been carrying had been burned to ashes. She might be willing to take a gamble under other circumstances, but since she was still carrying the precious Fountain of Youth, it was better not to risk traveling by air.
Therefore, after weighing her options, Everly decided to travel by sea. She would first sail south from Dalifer State, cross the Caribbean Sea, then enter the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal. From there, she would follow the coastline northward and land directly at Gilosha Port in Yanifly State. After stocking up on weapons for self-defense at the Gilosha Villa, she would drive to Dwight State.
Although this route would mean spending more time at sea, it would greatly reduce the amount of time spent traveling overland. Moreover, Everly and Old John had driven that land route back and forth several times before, so she was very familiar with it, which would correspondingly reduce the chances of anything going wrong.
And so, beginning on the evening of December 12, Everly first sailed across the vast ocean before driving over bumpy roads, crossing mountains and valleys along the way. By December 25, Christmas Day, she had hurried along nonstop and finally returned to the familiar gas station, looking thoroughly travel-worn.
According to the university’s holiday schedule, Everly’s return home happened to fall around these two days. Looking forward to his granddaughter’s return, Old John had cleaned up the old gas station well in advance and had even, unusually, put up a Christmas tree in front of the house.
When Everly arrived home, the first thing she saw was Old John sitting by the fireplace, wearing his reading glasses as he read the newspaper.
She pushed open the door and eagerly ran inside, wrapping Old John in a tight hug.
“Grandpa!”
“Everly!”
After the joyful reunion came the nerve-racking confession.
Everly had been worrying about how to bring it up for so long that the fingers hanging at her sides couldn’t stop fiddling with the hem of her clothes. The once-pristine velvet fabric became a wrinkled mess in her hands, yet her anxiety only continued to grow.
Before setting out to search for the Fountain of Youth, Everly had never dared to give Old John even the slightest hint of what she intended to do. She knew that if she told him about her plan, her grandfather would definitely refuse outright, because he had always placed her safety above everything else.
Only by personally bringing it all the way to Old John could Everly give him a chance to make his own choice. Otherwise, no matter how many times she asked, her grandfather’s answer would always be “no.”
And now, with the Fountain of Youth finally right in front of him, would her grandfather be willing to accept this gift?
What would she do if he refused?
“Everly, is something wrong?”
Old John had keenly noticed that something was different about his granddaughter and asked gently.
—The moment had finally arrived!
Even though she had rehearsed this scene countless times in her mind beforehand, now that the fountain was sitting in front of them and she actually had to say the words, Everly still felt more nervous than ever before.
She took a deep breath and pushed the fountain, wrapped up like a gift, toward her grandfather.
Old John accepted the gift and opened it. His deep blue-gray eyes looked toward Everly.
“What is this?”
“This is the Fountain of Youth from Winton legend… More precisely, it’s the Fountain of Longevity and the Fountain of Youth. If you bathe in the Fountain of Longevity, you can gain an endless lifespan. If you drink the Fountain of Youth, you can remain forever young.”
“Ever since Buddy died, watching you grow older, watching more and more gray appear in your hair and your back beginning to stoop, I started to feel afraid. You’re the only family I have left in this world. I don’t want you to leave me too soon. For a very long time, whenever I thought about having to say goodbye to you, my heart would ache…”
The words had been prepared long ago, yet when Everly actually spoke them in front of her elderly grandfather, she was still overwhelmed by a powerful sense of sorrow. A thick mist quickly welled up in her sapphire-blue eyes.
To get through what she had to say, she had to stop and take a sip of water. Only after the tight, aching sensation in her throat had eased somewhat did she continue.
“Fortunately, around that time, I happened to come across a lead concerning the Fountain of Youth. So I started gathering information and searching for it… Now, after three years of effort, I’ve finally brought the fountain back. Grandpa, are you willing to accept this gift?”
After saying this, she raised her eyes and looked at Old John with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension.
Meeting Everly’s cautious gaze, Old John lowered his head and examined the two water pouches. After remaining silent for a long while, he suddenly let out a sigh.
The moment Everly heard that sigh, her heart jumped into her throat.
She thought her grandfather was going to refuse her and launch into some grand speech about how “life is made complete by death” and how “we must respect the laws of nature.” The thought made her so miserable that even her nose felt stuffed up, and tears began welling in her eyes.
She was scared, hurt, and aggrieved.
Was what she had done really so unreasonable? Was she really so wrong…? She simply didn’t want her family to leave her. She only wanted to continue living with the grandfather who had raised her. Was such a small wish really too much to ask?
The thought of having to watch Old John grow increasingly frail with age, eventually suffering from all kinds of complications like so many elderly people did, perhaps even becoming unable to care for himself for a long period before death, losing his dignity, and ultimately passing away amid the heart-wrenching cries of his loved ones—just thinking about it made Everly’s heart ache unbearably.
Just as the bitterness and grievance in her heart were becoming so overwhelming that she was on the verge of breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably, a pair of warm arms suddenly wrapped gently around her.
She was pulled into a solid, broad embrace, and above her head came Old John’s helpless sigh.
“Don’t cry… You’re already all grown up. How come you’re still such a child?”
He gently stroked the top of his granddaughter’s head, then patted her back affectionately.
“My sigh wasn’t because I was refusing you. I was only lamenting my own failure—I let you carry all of this by yourself, and I knew nothing about it. I really am a terrible grandfather.”
For some reason, Everly’s tears didn’t stop. Instead, they flowed even more fiercely.
“Then… then what about the fountain…?” she asked between sobs.
“If you’ve used the fountain too, then I think I’ll accept it. Because if the same opportunity were placed in front of me, I would make the same choice you did—I would search for the Fountain of Youth, bring it back, and give it to the granddaughter I love most.”
Everly couldn’t help laughing.
“I… I love you the most too, Grandpa…”
As she spoke, she raised her sleeve and roughly wiped her face. Beneath her disheveled hair, her blue eyes were clear and bright, beautiful as a sapphire-blue ocean beneath the sunlight.
……
Although Old John had agreed to use the Fountain of Youth, for the sake of safety, he still couldn’t immediately achieve “immortality and eternal youth.”
Everly was worried that the alien spacecraft might capture him.
After leaving the island, Everly spent the entire journey thinking about the conditions that caused the alien spacecraft to appear. Eventually, she came up with a possibility: perhaps when a person used the Fountain of Longevity and the Fountain of Youth simultaneously, their body would instantaneously produce some kind of energy. The alien civilization had equipment on Earth—or perhaps at the top of the Stairway—that monitored this energy. Once the alarm was triggered, the alien spacecraft would appear and take the Perfect Human away.
When Grant occupied Everly’s body, he used both fountains simultaneously, causing the alien spacecraft to descend. However, before the spacecraft arrived, Everly drove Grant out and completed the exchange with Bloody Mary, resulting in Everly’s mirror-world counterpart, Bloody Mary, being the one captured in the end.
Later, when the mirror world collapsed and Everly fell back into the real event, the spacecraft did not appear again because Everly had already passed the period of energy surging through her body and could no longer trigger the alarm.
If her theory was correct, then Old John would be best off using the two fountains somewhere safely isolated from the real world, and only returning to reality after the danger period had passed.
As for where would be safe…
Naturally, it was Bloody Mary’s mirror world.
Bloody Mary simply hated men and disliked taking on a male appearance; it wasn’t that she was incapable of forming contracts with men. Once Bloody Mary had recovered in Hell, the Curse Witch Natalie would summon her back to the mortal world. At that time, Everly could visit Bloody Mary, ask for her help, and pay some kind of price in exchange for ensuring her grandfather’s safe transformation.
Until then, Old John would just have to make do with the Fountain of Longevity.
With the Fountain of Longevity’s effects, Old John would continue to age normally and still experience the discomfort caused by his organs gradually deteriorating, but he would not die of old age. That way, no matter how many years it took for Bloody Mary to return, he would have the confidence to wait.
As for the Fountain of Youth, it was carefully stored in the underground shelter, waiting for the day it would finally come in handy.
“This is fine too, Everly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience what it feels like to grow old gradually. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” Old John earnestly comforted his dispirited granddaughter.
Since the grandfather and granddaughter had both decided to become “long-livers,” a series of preparations related to this naturally had to be put on the agenda. For example, what identity Old John would use after becoming young again, how to “inherit” the gas station and other assets, and how they could continue living at the gas station long-term without arousing suspicion from outsiders…
Each problem was manageable on its own, but putting them all together made things rather troublesome. Therefore, after discussing it with Old John, Everly ultimately accepted Remia’s invitation. Taking advantage of the “buy one, get one free” deal, she registered as an unofficial SAI member together with Old John and began taking on assignments.
However, adhering to the principle of putting safety first, the two of them mainly accepted analytical assignments that required little to no risk.
Faced with large quantities of text and photographic evidence related to various cases, Old John would rely on the professional instincts he had developed as a veteran detective to identify suspicious details in the case descriptions. Everly, meanwhile, took a completely different approach, using the survival rules she had compiled from horror movies to search for breakthroughs in the cases.
The two of them worked together, never even leaving the house, and remotely assisted in solving more than a dozen long-unsolved cases. Before long, they successfully advanced to a higher level and exchanged their accumulated points for the disguise items they needed.
While solving cases, Everly continued her studies as well.
After obtaining the Fountain of Youth, she returned to school, ended her leave of absence, made up the courses she had missed, and successfully graduated a year later.
After graduation, Everly didn’t look for a job. She went straight back to the gas station and continued living with Old John. Although the place was remote, with her work as a SAI unofficial member, her daily life consisted of solving cases and unraveling mysteries. Surprisingly, life was not boring in the slightest.
Misha graduated a year before Everly.
After graduation, she found the time to obtain the relevant license and returned to the town of Lemot, where she became a professional guide who took tourists on desert hiking excursions.
Orff followed her back to the town as well. His work only required an internet connection, so he wasn’t picky about his living environment. The young couple stayed sweetly in love throughout their journey, and after a five-year long-distance romance, they finally got married.
Of course, Misha didn’t forget about her dream of traveling around the United States. She merely put the plan on hold for the time being for safety reasons.
Several years later, when Old John “passed away peacefully,” he drank the Fountain of Youth in the mirror world and returned in the vigorous young form of his physical prime. Misha, Everly, Old John (Young Version), Orff, and Kesuye formed a team. After making thorough preparations, they finally embarked on an exciting and dangerous journey around the United States.
Huh? Wait a second. Did something strange sneak into the group?
Ah, never mind. It was probably just my imagination…
【End of Main Story】
Author’s Note:
Although many people guessed that the Fountain of Youth would turn out to be a curse, or that Grandpa would refuse it, I think that after everyone had worked so hard, of course they deserved a happy ending! Besides, immortality and eternal youth ≠ being unable to die. Under the rules of this story, if you want to live, you can live for a very, very long time; and if you eventually get tired of living, you don’t have to worry about being unable to die. Serious injuries, infections, and illnesses can still kill you. (Although the chances of getting sick are quite low because their physical constitutions are extremely strong.)