The clock tower on the east side of the city was the highest point in Jinzhou.
Mo Hai climbed the steps one by one, every movement slow and heavy.
He could hear the clamor of voices from below—children laughing as they chased each other, street vendors calling out their wares with eager enthusiasm.
The entire city was immersed in the grand celebrations of the Moonchase Festival.
Yet none of this joy belonged to him.
He was merely a passerby, an ill-timed phantom soon to be erased by time.
[Beep.
Estimated time remaining: 1 hour and 27 minutes.] The cold countdown hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles.
Finally, he pushed open the heavy wooden door leading to the top floor of the tower.
And there, he saw the most beautiful sight he had ever laid eyes on in his entire life.
A young woman stood at the edge of the tower with her back to him, gazing out over the brightly lit city of Jinzhou.
She had changed out of her simple, elegant official attire into an exquisite moon-white dress meticulously prepared for the festival.
Intricate tide-patterned motifs were embroidered in silver thread along the hem, swaying gently in the night breeze like rippling moonlight.
Hearing movement behind her, she slowly turned around.
Their eyes met.
In that moment, Mo Hai felt that even the bright moon above and the impending fireworks could not match half the brilliance shining in her eyes.
“You’re here.” A smile bloomed across Jinhsi’s face, brighter and more timid than any Mo Hai had ever seen on her before.
She stepped forward briskly, naturally taking his hand and pulling him toward the balcony railing.
Her palm was warm, coated with a thin sheen of nervous sweat.
“Look, isn’t it beautiful?” She pointed down at the dazzling sea of lights formed by thousands of homes, her voice bubbling with delight.
“Yeah.
Beautiful.” Yet Mo Hai’s eyes never once left her face.
Tonight, her beauty was enough to break his heart.
“When I was little, I used to sneak up here all by myself,” Jinhsi said quietly, her voice hazy with memory.
“Back then, I felt so lonely.
I thought I would always be like that—staring at this view all alone until I grew old.” She turned to look intently at Mo Hai, her clear eyes overflowing with an intense, burning affection.
“Until I met you.” “You took me scaling walls, eating candied hawthorns, hiding under beds…
You showed me that ‘Jinhsi’ didn’t have to be the high-and-mighty Magistrate.” “I once…
thought I had already lost you once.” Her voice trembled uncontrollably, and the rims of her eyes reddened instantly.
It was the deepest, most tearing pain buried in the depths of her memories—the little boy who had shielded her from everything in the simulated world, only to grow cold in her arms.
“I never want to experience that kind of pain again.” “Mo Hai, I…” Just as she gathered all her courage to say those words— *Whiz—boom!* The first firework burst brilliantly across the night sky!
The deafening boom swallowed the rest of her unspoken words whole.
Then came the second, the third…
Countless dazzling, radiant fireworks vied to bloom across the dark canvas above their heads, illuminating the entire world until it was as bright as day.
Her speech interrupted, Jinhsi’s face flushed deep crimson, and she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
Looking at her, Mo Hai couldn’t help but smile.
He raised his hand and gently, reverently brushed the pad of his thumb against her cheek.
“Jinhsi.” His voice was soft, yet it pierced clearly through the roar of the fireworks right into her ears.
“To me, you are far more beautiful than any of these fireworks.” At that moment, Jinhsi’s heart completely and hopelessly gave in.
Unable to suppress her feelings any longer, she threw herself into Mo Hai’s arms, hugging him tightly with every ounce of strength she possessed.
“Mo Hai, I like you!” She buried her face into his chest and cried out at the top of her lungs, her voice thick with tears.
“Not as a friend, not as a confidant!
I…
I like you in the way that makes me want to be with you forever!” “Let’s never be separated again, okay?
We…” Her words came to an abrupt halt.
Because she felt it.
The arms wrapped around her waist—arms that had once offered infinite warmth and security—were…
disappearing.
[Warning: Host’s soul structure is collapsing.] [Life essence…
completely exhausted.] Starting from his feet, a soft golden light radiated from Mo Hai’s body as he slowly turned translucent, bit by bit.
He looked down at the trembling girl in his arms—the girl he had given everything to protect—and a sad, tender smile appeared on his face.
He wanted to say, *I’m sorry.* He wanted to say, *Forget about me.* He wanted to say, *Live well.* But no sound could leave his throat.
Jinhsi raised her head slowly, stiffly, witnessing a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
From the bottom up, Mo Hai’s body was turning into countless tiny, golden motes of light, scattering slowly into the night like dandelions swept by the wind.
That deeply beloved face with its gentle smile was fading into illusion, piece by piece.
“No…” Trembling, she reached out, desperate to grab him, desperate to keep him.
But her hand passed straight through his semi-transparent chest without meeting any resistance.
She grasped nothing at all.
“No…
please…” An immense, soul-rending panic and despair seized her in an instant!
How terrifyingly familiar this scene was!
Deep within her memories, the childhood friend who had likewise smiled and dissolved into light in her arms overlapped perfectly with the boy vanishing before her eyes.
History was repeating itself in the most cruel manner possible.
Mo Hai summoned the last of his strength to raise his nearly transparent hand, as if trying to touch her cheek one final time.
Yet just an inch from her face, his hand shattered completely into a flurry of dancing light dust.
He looked at her, his lips moving silently.
As if saying— *Live on.* The next second, his entire being vanished completely.
A gust of night wind blew past.
Left unsupported, the brand-new, moon-white robe she had personally prepared for him fluttered down, landing limply and lonely on the cold flagstones.
Entirely empty.
Down below, the cheers of the crowd reached a crescendo alongside an even grander salvo of fireworks.
All of Jinzhou was cheering for this age of peace and prosperity.
Yet atop the clock tower, it was dead silent.
Jinhsi stood frozen on the spot, staring at the empty robe, staring at her own hands that had clutched only thin air.
Her mind went completely blank.
A long, long time passed.
“Ahhh—!!!” A shrill, agonizing shriek torn from the depths of boundless pain and despair erupted violently from her throat!
The sound was drowned out by the deafening fireworks.
Unheard by anyone.
She stumbled to her knees, reaching out with trembling hands, desperate to pull the robe into her embrace.
But her fingertips touched only the cold fabric, devoid of a single drop of warmth.
The boy who had worn it and smiled so gently at her was…
gone.
Once again.
Once again, right before her eyes, he had vanished without a trace.
Leaving behind not even a single word of farewell.
*Liar…* *You…
liar!* *Didn’t we agree that friends don’t just disappear for no reason?* *Didn’t we pinky-swear—a hundred years, no changing?* *Why…* *Why leave me all alone again!* Tears cascaded relentlessly from her eyes like a broken string of pearls, their sparkle extinguished in an instant.
Clutched to the empty robe beneath a sky ablaze with dazzling, bustling fireworks, she wept like a child abandoned by the whole world.