"You've gotten brave, not reporting something this big immediately?" Bai Cha asked, the giant dual-bladed scythe on her back, her eyes holding a chilling fury. "I'll settle accounts with you later. Arrange the injured properly, I don't need to teach you this, do I?"
The black chains clattered as they bound the bone dragon, coiling around it like a trussed crab. The massive scythe blade whistled down, cleaving through the dragon's breath and slicing off its head.
This was merely a fraction of the Dragon Mother's power, and Bai Cha, a demigod, could handle it with ease. With just a few leaps, the bone dragon was sliced into pieces and turned to ash by Bai Cha.
The spatial lockdown vanished, exposing the parched earth in its terrifying desolation. Xiang Nan's expression shifted as he saw the black mist coiling around Bai Cha's left arm. Bai Cha, however, seemed unfazed. The dark energy within her recoiled, engulfing the dark will. Her blood boiled momentarily, as if complaining about the subpar meal.
Xiang Nan moved with incredible speed. While Bai Cha was fighting, he had already led everyone out through the barrier Bai Cha had shattered. Now, the injured were neatly arranged, and treatment had begun.
"Get up, don't waste the insects," Bai Cha said, patting Xiang Nan's back as she squatted down. Looking up, she saw Yun He staring at her with a strange expression.
That gaze, filled with excitement, joy, and a hint of grievance… it was as if three large spotlights had suddenly been shone on her, making Bai Cha feel profoundly uncomfortable.
"Huh?" Bai Cha's brow twitched, a hint of confusion in her voice. "What's wrong?"
"Miss Bai!" The short-haired girl lunged into Bai Cha's arms. Bai Cha vaguely recognized her, someone who had recently transferred from the information department, Xiao Yun.
"Why are you crying?" Bai Cha asked, feeling helpless. She couldn't stand seeing people cry, especially young girls acting spoiled. Despite being a stranger to them after her amnesia, her subconscious urged her to protect them, a task she didn't find bothersome.
"I thought Miss Bai wouldn't come," Xiao Yun whimpered. Although a young girl, she believed in not shedding tears easily, considering it a weakness, except in front of Bai Cha.
She didn't care; she felt Bai Cha was her mother, and it was only natural for a daughter to vent her grievances to her mother.
"Why would you think that?" Bai Cha asked, puzzled. "I'm still standing here. Are you all ready to die?"
The words sounded familiar.
Hearing this, Xiao Yun became even more excited, practically clinging to Bai Cha. She knew Bai Cha was still the same Bai Cha. Just as she was about to continue acting spoiled, Bai Cha grabbed her by the collar and set her aside.
"We'll deal with this later," Bai Cha said, a hint of helplessness in her tone. She began absorbing the strange malevolent energy from those affected by the encroaching darkness.
It might have been malicious before, but for the current Bai Cha, it was sustenance. The black mist on everyone quickly dissipated, and they soon regained their mobility.
"Bai, this is strange. The Dragon Mother seems to have lost her patience," Xiang Nan approached.
The Dragon Mother was clearly growing impatient this time, risking discovery by the Earth plane to encircle and kill them. This was clearly escalating the confrontation between both sides.
"She probably didn't expect me to wake up again," Bai Cha snorted. She was about to say more when her brow furrowed, and she kicked Xiang Nan aside.
The speed of the extraterrestrial power was too great. Had Bai Cha not achieved demigod status, she wouldn't have been able to react.
The Seed of Life in her heart suddenly appeared before Bai Cha, radiating light. The World Tree had reacted, forming a green barrier in front of Bai Cha.
But it wasn't enough. Bai Cha's expression turned grave, then her eyes widened. A sharp, viscous force shattered a pair of wings and pierced the green barrier, only to be barely stopped by Bai Cha.
No one expected the Dragon Mother to launch a sudden attack. The World Tree had only just been awakened by the anomalies appearing across various regions and, without time to rest, had flown to Lucifer's side to heal his wounds.
This person was one of Bai Cha's few pillars of support. The World Tree relied on Bai Cha to become a guardian of the plane and consolidate the world. She absolutely couldn't let Bai Cha down again.
"Who told you to stand in front of me? Are you stronger than me!"
As the extraterrestrial force tore through the sky, shattering Lucifer's pair of demonic wings, Bai Cha's mind went blank. Suddenly, she felt an emptiness in her heart.
The feeling was familiar. Her heart ached.
"You said you would never die, who told you to block?!" After the dizziness passed, anger surged through Bai Cha. Her face was pale as she grabbed Lucifer's collar, only to freeze.
Lucifer hadn't told her he would never die, but how did she know? It felt like she was supposed to know, like something was very important to her.
It felt as if she had once wanted to tell many people not to die.
But her heart felt hollow, and it ached. This feeling clearly told Bai Cha that many people were gone, but she couldn't remember. It seemed there was someone very important whom she had forgotten.
"Master? Are you alright?" Lucifer's phantom wings had already vanished. His shattered shoulder blade was a bloody mess, the exposed flesh revealing broken bones.
Yet, he felt a surge of joy. Bai Cha had amnesia, and although many people had left their mark on her past, she was the first to remember their promise.
"I'm fine."
Her head throbbed. Bai Cha pressed her temples, a furrow of annoyance between her brows. Suddenly, she stopped, her gaze fixed on Lucifer, her eyes reflecting a turbulent sea of emotion.
"Lucifer, I remember now. I know why I died," Bai Cha said, looking at Lucifer. Xiang Nan and the others stood frozen, unsure how to react.
It was certainly not a pleasant memory. Both the living and the dead in it brought her pain. It was a memory everyone wished she would recall but also one they didn't want her to dwell on.
"Yes, Bai Ze and Mother died, but someone betrayed us. I should have died. Why am I still alive?" Bai Cha crouched down in agony, trying desperately to recall everything, but a part of her memory remained stubbornly inaccessible.
In the end, it was Lucifer who carried Bai Cha back to the Bai family. When Ye Feng saw Bai Cha curled up in a ball, he was startled.
"They said she would gradually recover. Why does she seem so stimulated?" Ye Feng asked, looking confused.
The doctor had said Bai Cha's amnesia was due to her dormant brain not fully awakening and not keeping pace with her own awakening. Since Bai Cha was now awake, her memories would naturally return, so Ye Feng hadn't paid much attention.
Besides, the doctor had said there was no need for stimulation or similar methods.
"Master experienced a bit of stimulation. It might be her memories recovering too quickly and her not adapting," Lucifer explained.
"Dad." Bai Cha suddenly burst into tears, catching both men off guard. Ye Feng quickly stepped forward, embracing Bai Cha and gently comforting her.
"Dad is here. Dad isn't dead," Ye Feng soothed softly. "Dad won't leave again."
As Ye Feng continued to comfort her, Bai Cha gradually calmed down. She was helped to bed in a daze, but her head still ached intensely.
"I remember now. I should have died, but why am I so strong?" Bai Cha felt a sharp pain in her left eye, an unbearable ache. She seemed to have forgotten something very important. "Why does it feel like someone is missing? How did I become a god?"
Becoming a demigod and crossing the divine threshold was the qualification to achieve a demiplane. Further evolution would lead to a true plane. It was an almost impossible ascent for mortals, yet in Bai Cha's memory, she had suddenly brushed against the threshold of godhood.
There was a blank spot in her memory, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall it.
So much sadness, so much longing. It was as if every time she sat in the hanging chair and saw the flowers cascading from it, she felt this fleeting sense of remembrance.
"Master, if you can't remember now, try again later. You've recalled enough today," Lucifer said, helping Bai Cha to bed. Bai Cha's complexion was unusually pale, resembling her state when she was gravely ill, making him ache with concern.
"I'll go heat a cup of milk for Master. Please rest for a while," Lucifer said, rising. Just as he was about to leave, Bai Cha grasped his hand.
This was the first intimate gesture Bai Cha had made since her amnesia.
"Lucifer, do you like me?"
It was both a test and a confirmation. Every time he heard her voice, that already cool and melodious tone would captivate Lucifer even more.
"Yes, my Master, I adore you." No matter how many times, Lucifer was willing to answer with these words.
Just like before, under the moon by the sea, she understood his feelings, and he responded to her probing question. Their hearts truly belonged to each other.
Lucifer went to the kitchen, leaving Bai Cha alone. The Seed of Life floated beside Bai Cha, emitting a soft green glow, but it only made Bai Cha's gaze colder.
"Aren't you going to explain the current situation?" Bai Cha stared at the Seed of Life. "Why did you seal my memories?"
"Not memories, but power," the World Tree's will transmitted through the Seed of Life, seemingly with a hint of protest. "I couldn't let you merge both good and evil powers while you were unconscious; you would have been utterly annihilated."
"But I've been awake for a while now, and you haven't lifted the seal. Are you that busy now?" Bai Cha snorted. "If it weren't for my final instinctive reaction shattering the seal, I would have been gone."
"...No, that was an accident. He was too close, and I didn't notice his little movements," the World Tree deflated, feeling rather embarrassed in front of its subject. "Besides, isn't it because you seemed to enjoy your current life? You always knew you should take the lead in saving the world, but you haven't done anything, have you?"
Bai Cha: "..."
Alright, they were equally at fault.
When Bai Cha first woke up, she had received the initial information left by her past self. Of course, she had learned about her busy first half of life, burdened with heavy responsibilities.
But she resisted. Vaguely, there were other voices telling her to live according to her own desires next time, as if many people had told her so.
Bai Cha didn't know what she had experienced before, but the different voices in her mind kept her hesitant, even though Bai Cha still felt she should save the world.
Bai Cha let out a soft click, a hint of annoyance. Her chip did contain a mission to save the world and defeat the Dragon Mother, and it was placed as the foremost, most important task. However, whenever she thought about dealing with these matters, seeing certain people annoyed her.
Now that her memories had returned, Bai Cha understood why she felt so restless. Whether or not she had the confidence was one thing, but being ostracized and marginalized in the past made Bai Cha subconsciously reluctant to protect certain people.
"I have to wait for the child to finish sulking before I can ask for her opinion," the World Tree added. "Don't you really want to just relax?"
"...Alright, I admit that." It was indeed a bit childish. Although, from the current perspective, Bai Cha understood her past revulsion more, frankly, Bai Cha felt that the world that needed saving should be saved.
"Good, good. You've finally grown up," the World Tree said, feeling pleased.