Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 593: Existence

Anna was taken aback by Charles' words. She stared at him in disbelief and asked, "Forget you completely?"

Charles clenched and unclenched his hands as he tried to find the correct words to say. Nervously licking his dry lips, he answered, "Yes, that's right. Forget me completely. Only then can all of you get rid of this trouble. It shouldn't exist."

Anna blinked, her thoughts in turmoil, and her expression twisted slightly.

"Is there really no other way? By doing that, you'll vanish completely," Anna said with an evident tremble in her voice.

Charles nodded slightly. The corners of his lips twitched slightly before they were forcefully turned upward into a strained smile. "I know. I know. Even though you might not remember this later, I still want to tell you. Once I'm gone, take good care of Sparkle and yourself. And I love you, Anna."

Anna gnashed her teeth. Her voice quivered as she implored, "Think of a solution, Charles! There has to be a way. We've made it through for so many here. You can't possibly die here!"

"I want to leave too, but this time, it's different. I've already become part of it.

"I'm constantly aware of my existence. If I want to escape, I must lose even the tiniest bit of awareness of my own existence, which is impossible. Only when my consciousness is completely gone, like the second mate's and the other—"

Suddenly, Charles paused. He seemed to be reminded of something, and a faint glimmer of hope gradually replaced the hopeless gaze in his eyes.

His face lit up agitatedly as he looked at his beloved. "Anna, I need you to get something for me! If we have that, we might actually get out of this predicament!"

Anna immediately knew what Charles wanted upon reading his mind. Her eyes widened to the fullest in skepticism. "Really? Are you sure?"

"We have to try to see if it works. If it's that relic, it might just work. Besides, we have no other ways, do we?"

Anna seemed like she had more to say, but ripples were starting to form in the mirror in front of her. She could feel Charles' presence starting to fade within her mind. Her powers were reaching their limit.

Knowing this, her expression changed. She turned around, quickly took a step back, and disappeared from Charles' view.

Soon after, she returned again. But this time, she was holding a purple pyramid that was about the size of her palm.

The relic belonged to James. It was discovered during their expedition in the ruins of Laboratory Three, and Charles had gifted it to him.

Charles could hear Anna, but he looked at Anna with a vacant expression. Slowly, a trace of emotion flickered across his eyes.

Just then, the mirror in front of Anna shattered abruptly, and Charles completely vanished from her sight.

Anna stared at the desolate wasteland that surrounded her. She desperately called out, but no one responded. She could feel the memory of Charles gradually fading away from her mind, and she knew that it was irreversible.

"No... No! This can't be!" Anna hysterically tried to use her powers to restore her disappearing memories. However, her memories disappeared at an even faster rate than her efforts.

All the memories of their past were slowly eroding away. Anna's expression twisted into agony as she clutched her head in pain. Her skin cracked open; black, scaly tentacles extended outward and thrashed about wildly.

"Why! Why am I still not strong enough? Why!" Anna screamed in anguish as her knees hit the ground.

Without Charles, Anna would also cease to exist.

As a Dioite, Anna's disappearance would only result in one of two outcomes: she would either revert to her original monstrous form, or she would have to create an entirely new persona and live on as that person from then on just to maintain her consciousness.

"I... I refuse to accept this!" Anna's face split open as she began transforming into her primal form, her writhing tentacles lashing out against the ground in fury.

Just as her consciousness was starting to slowly fade away, a ripple spread through the air. Suddenly, Charles appeared before her.

He now towered over thirty meters tall. His enormous eyes were vacant, and drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth. He swayed slightly before collapsing backward.

Boom!

The ground shook violently from Charles' fall. A Charles of such stature falling over was akin to the collapse of a thirty-meter building.

With Charles' return, the abnormalities in Anna's body gradually dissipated. Her tentacles writhed in the air as she approached Charles slowly. She repeatedly called out Charles' name, but he did not respond.

Charles had succeeded. He had rendered himself incapable of perceiving his own existence. With his intelligence reduced to almost zero, Charles had forgotten how to move his limbs, how to understand language, and even his own identity. His mind was completely empty—a shell devoid of any thoughts or awareness.