That's a ritual developed by "The Man in the Mirror."
It's called "Mirror Reflecting Friends".
The purpose is to use the mirror as a medium to reflect everything reflected in the mirror at the other end; to convey words to the holder of the mirror at the other end... to communicate with distant friends.
At the same time, one-way vision can also be blocked according to the wishes of the ceremony holder.
What this ritual requires is a sufficiently clean "brilliant mirror" composed of inorganic substances.
The left eye that Ai Lei gave to Annan was a pure and incomparable gemstone, which was also a mirror.
When she entered the nightmare, Ai Lei had already returned to her most perfect state, that is, before her left eye left her... In other words, Ai Lei's left eye existed in both her own eyes and Annan's eyes.
This is undoubtedly a pair of mirrors that are "destined".
If Ai Lei opens her eyes, everything reflected in the gemstone in her left eye will be reflected in Annan's eyes.
Just as Lord Skeleton once whispered "I'm listening" to every Purifier who entered the gallery... Annan also truly said "I'm watching".
If Annan can use this as a medium to communicate with Ai Lei.
Then in this infinite nightmare of eternal reincarnation, there is an extra force intervening from the outside.
It's small, but it's enough to change the world.
"...But Ailei is not willing to open her eyes."
Because she noticed it.
If she opens her eyes, this dream-like "nightmare" may come to an end. She will finally wake up... and return to the present world where betrayers are everywhere.
but……
"Do I really... have the right to choose to refuse?"
Ai Lei looked at the coffee with some worry.
She lowered her eyes and stared at her sad right eye in the light brown reflection.
She already understood.
Regarding the conversation between Longjing Tea and Selicia...this will always cycle on the same day, and only one person will remember all the nightmares.
Living here will indeed be extremely happy.
A stable, no-thinking, stress-free life.
It's not spectacular, but it's stable enough and peaceful enough to be happy.
That was the life that Ailei had longed for...but never had.
As long as you give up all hope and all resistance, you can integrate into it and enjoy a life that is endlessly repetitive but also makes people feel novel. Even the person who must remember everything can ignore it.
If it were that person, he would give up this mission as well.
Then this [power of memory] will not stay with him for too long. If there are multiple people living to the end at the same time, then only one person will have the power to preserve the memory.
Yes, Elle longs for such a life from the bottom of her heart.
You can live a fulfilling and happy whole day.
The fear that you don’t want to see or experience will eventually become an unattainable “future”.
There is no need to regret the past or worry about the future. Just relax your mind and enjoy the stable "now".
But the moment I understood this nightmare.
A trace of pity suddenly rose in Ailei's heart...
Even she would be surprised by it.
Because that was her compassion for Mr. Bones.
The country of giants in the past... was actually like this.
All giants can live carefree, relaxed and at ease. Because they are not afraid of death, then the lifestyle of "sacrifice the present for the future" is meaningless.
If you don’t expect to live as long as possible, you don’t have to worry about health and old age. Naturally, you don’t have to worry about lifestyle choices and family maintenance. What follows is the freedom to work, and then comes the freedom to study.
And a lot of wasted time.
In other words.
All the giants chose to give up thinking.
But if everyone does this, then the country will not be able to survive. This nightmare will only last for the same day, but this cannot be the case in reality. Someone must pay the price for the safety of others.
Just like in an experimental group, there will always be a large number of lazy people and one person who works. This "person who is the slowest to escape and the most hesitant" will often pay the price for the laziness of others.
When all the giants give up thinking.
The Skeleton King is the only "brain".
Others can choose to die peacefully when they can no longer survive. There is no need to take care of other people's emotions, or to raise the elderly or children, because everything will be taken care of by the "Eternal God".
...How similar is everything that happened in the Eternal Principality in the past to today's nightmare?
The difference is that the person who is now "carrying the memory of everyone" still has the right to choose to forget. He can choose to do nothing and spend the day peacefully.
When the countdown is over, he can forget all worries and return to the starting point.
If this entire alien world is regarded as the "heaven after death", then it would indeed be extremely sweet.
But the problem is...it seems that the only one who really wants to continue it is himself.
Ai Lei looked worriedly at Longjing Tea and Celicia on one side.
Their adaptation to this kind of life is by no means false.
…but they don’t seem to be greedy.
Ai Lei admires them very much.
Even such a beautiful and carefree life can be denied as "false" by one's own will and break away from it without any hesitation.
But Ai Lei couldn't do this.
She is greedy for the warm sunshine, this expensive drink with fragrant aroma, this soft sweet cake... She is also greedy for the joy of being able to solve puzzles with her friends, and for the relaxation and happiness on everyone's face on the street.
smile.
"God..."
Ailei sighed very softly. She was worried that her sigh would make her companions around her worry about her.
……Who can tell me.
Did this nightmare really happen because of me?
Is this a dream that imprisons others just for me?
This nightmare will only repeat itself on this day... Is it just because I don't want to enter the next day and meet my mother?
I am enjoying all this peacefully...
Aren't they no different from the giants of the Eternal Principality?
【Ai Lei, open your eyes】
A low, soft voice sounded in Ailei's heart.
She knew whose voice it was...it was Annan's voice.
She had seen that person at the place where she died and where she was reborn.
Even among the many people who successfully purified the gallery, he was the one who impressed Elle the most. She admired the light in him... that was the ability to move forward without hesitation on any road.
of confidence.
But at this moment, that was also the sound that frightened Ai Lei.
If the person who caused this nightmare was born and imprisoned so many innocent people in the nightmare, it was himself.
So... will I be blamed and scolded by Annan?
But she would rather be scolded. In that case, she would be able to wake up and move forward bravely following the scolding.
Ailei knows very clearly that she is a very weak person. She is so weak that she must be driven by someone before she dares to act.
Because from the bottom of her heart, she is not willing to hurt anyone... She is not even willing to go against anyone's opinions. To use her own will to interrupt other people's wishes... That is really unacceptable.
But it would be better if you treat yourself as a tool.
If you can give up thinking, give up worrying, and follow the will of others...
[Ailei, I can indeed help you open your eyes directly, and I can also control your body to move]
Annan seemed to hear her voice and whispered in her heart.
[But you must open your eyes by your own will]
Ai Lei was stunned.
And Annan's voice still sounded in her heart:
【I know what you are worried about】
[But if you never dare to face the fear of the future and the choice, and just go with the flow... What is the difference between this nightmare and reality for you? 】
"You can stop worrying about the future, life, reality and ideals, and enjoy the present wholeheartedly and live today... That is the privilege that only children have."
Annan said warmly in her ear: "It's time for you to grow up, Ai Lei, and shoulder the consequences of every action and decision you make.
"It's not about being the inheritor of someone's dream, nor the agent of someone else's will. You will eventually pay the price for your choice. It may make you afraid to face it, or it may make you so painful that you can't look straight at it.
"But that's the way to go."
Those are extremely cruel words.
It rang out very clearly not from my heart, but from my ears.
It was like an invisible giant hand that snatched Ailei out of the world of innocence and kindness.
"...No, actually I already knew it."
Ai Lei murmured: "It's just... I always want to pretend that I don't understand all this."
She always wished that she was still a child and that her life could stay at the age of thirteen forever.
But that's impossible.
As a "girl", Ai Lei is already dead.
She stared at the coffee quietly.
She stared into her own eyes in the light brown reflection.
As early as Annan's second sentence, she had already opened her eyes.