【Source Collection】Chaohua Collection

"Do you remember the ending of the legend?"

BGM: 暁の车

18

There were faint ripples spreading in the nutrient solution, and then annihilated in the dim depths.

A elusive dragon is swimming in the depths.

The blood-red viscous liquid is like the amniotic fluid in the womb, wrapping a humanoid, incomplete mechanical body. There is an indicator light installed on his body, and the green fluorescent light is on and off with the rhythm of breathing.

The baby's first loud cry came from the bottomless darkness, and then it was embraced by the boy's still slender hands.

He opened his eyes, and saw the world for the first time, the blazing and gorgeous cherry blossoms all over the sky, the birds on the branches were all singing for his birth, the sun was shining brightly, the face of the boy holding him was blurred like clouds, Blown away by the morning wind.

Distant, noisy disputes poured in from all directions, and the boy's hands loosened in an instant.

He fell heavily on the grass, and saw the bloody red rain pouring down from the cloudless sky above his head. The new flowers and branches were all gone with the strong wind, leaving only a burning sea of ​​fire.

A knife he was all too familiar with fell on the head, piercing his flesh and blood, and then the steel blade merged with him, eroding him, until his blood became solidified metal, glowing pale shine.

Until he became a knife.

The crying stopped abruptly, all the scenes turned into bubbles and rose before his eyes, all the light and sound fell back into the nightmare in an instant, the unfinished mechanical body began to struggle violently, the green light began to flicker, and finally froze It became a dazzling scarlet.

He has no hands and feet, only a cold and hard metal torso. Under the violent vibration, the cables covering his whole body began to strangle him, like flexible thorns, and like a group of poisonous snakes.

Genji's senses began to revive, and he could feel the viscous nutrient solution filling his dry chest cavity and lubricating his artificial bones.

This is not a nightmare, because there is not even the empty wind and colorful and chaotic images in the dream, only such vivid pain and suffocation.

This is hell, the ghosts plucked his wings, feathers, hair, skin, bones and flesh, and then carved him into a killing machine with no thinking.

The siren rang through the living dish, and footsteps sounded at the door, but this did not stop Genji, who was already awake, struggling desperately.

But no matter how piously he begged, the Dragon God no longer granted him divine power, until despair made him tearful.The thin tube that delivered the nutrient solution was tightly wrapped around his fragile throat, and he couldn't make a sound, just like a reed pipe that had lost its shell, vibrating with all its strength.

He was surprised that he could still cry.

When the slightly salty tears fell from his dry eye sockets and scratched across the scarred skin, they felt like burning pain.Through the red light of the mask, Genji saw that the person in white was about to fish him out of the vessel when the program went wrong.

Then he was subdued, and he was pressed firmly on the pure white floor like an embarrassing omnic corpse. He could see his terrifying appearance through the reflection, and the unfinished bionic muscles were caused by his struggle. It was damaged, and it was scattered on the ground together with the blood-red nutrient solution, which was horrible.

The mechanical body wants to resist violently, but it can only let out a dying roar. He can no longer make a clear and moving sound, but it is as piercing and shrill as the last cold wind blowing through the branches in winter, which is creepy.

"Keep his head under control, quick!"

"Procedures and sedatives are ready."

Immediately, Genji's head was roughly clamped, and someone inserted a cable into the joint at the back of his neck, connecting it to his artificial spine, and the heart-piercing pain made him struggle again. The hips where the legs were attached began to loosen, the shock-absorbing silicone frayed, and the tubes snapped.

"Open his mask! He's going to suffocate!"

Genji opened his aching eyes, the tears were dried by the influx of air, the red light that made him furious disappeared, leaving only the empty white of the laboratory wall in front of his eyes.

He moved his chapped lips, and then fell silent as if exhausted.

"what did he say?"

"Didn't catch it, maybe it's a name."

Since then, Genji has never lost control again. After he was confirmed to be awake, he was quickly sent to the operating room for the remaining limb welding and adjustment work.The hardship and pain during the operation are self-evident, but Genji endured everything calmly and survived the final process.

Then he was fixed on the console, awaiting the final scrutiny of the artisan who reforged him.

Now his sensory sensitivity has been dozens of times that of ordinary people, he counted the footsteps of people coming, until the blond female doctor came to his side.

"Hello, Dr. Ziegler."

Genji's vocal system has been restored as much as possible, but the electronic sound is still a little less angry than before.

"Hello, Genji, I'm glad you made it through, congratulations, now you're reborn."

This time Genji was silent.

"Or, do you regret your decision? I'm sorry for subjecting you to so much trial and error modification..."

"No, I don't regret it."

While he was dying, Overwatch rescued him but couldn't repair his shattered flesh, and Ziegler experimented on him with technology he'd never used before.

Genji is well aware of the risks of body modification, especially the difficulty of remodeling almost the whole body with only the head left.In order to obtain the data of the nervous system, he needs to bear all the pain until he is done.If you make a good body at the beginning and then activate the brain, once you fail, all previous efforts will be wasted.

Five years have passed since his death.

Now that he is reborn, he is no longer Shimada Genji. Everything in the past seems to have nothing to do with him, as if it has been a lifetime away, but the past engraved in his bones is still vivid in his mind, dormant in his mind, At any time, it will come back with rage and hatred.

"I just... don't know who I am anymore."

"I can't see any evidence that I was born as a human being. I escaped death and now have nothing."

He moved his fingers and heard the sound of friction between alloys.

"Hanzo."

Angela called out a name abruptly, a name that Genji avoided but couldn't get rid of, and was even stranger because of her standard English accent.

"When you were on the edge of consciousness, you kept repeating the name."

"Do you hate your brother, Genji?"

"No, I do not know."

Genji's tone became stiff and cold, and his visor flashed red for a split second.

"I have treated countless patients, including dying soldiers and seriously injured killers. I have seen the power of hatred. Even people who are dying can survive with this anger and killing intent."

Angela sighed: "But you are not."

"Dr. Ziegler, the matter about me is not a report or material that can be explained thoroughly, and it has nothing to do with my future tasks."

The smell of disinfectant made him sick, but he was used to it. He looked up at the pure white ceiling light expressionlessly, waiting for the end of the meeting.

Angela took out her pen and wrote slowly on the report. She shook her head, but hesitated to speak.

19

In fact, it didn’t take much time for Genji-related debugging work. He quickly put himself into the work of Overwatch, but other old and new members seemed to be reluctant to get close to this seemingly lonely and reticent man. slang robot.

Undoubtedly, Angela became the person who met and communicated with Genji the most. After almost every mission, she would see a bruised, even fragmented Genji in the operating room.

Sometimes when Angela was dispatched to the battlefield in an emergency, he could still see Genji, covered in red light, standing among the dead bodies, his knife was split, and his blade was covered with hot blood and broken flesh. But there is no dragon.

Afterwards, he was always just silently fixed on the workbench, as if it were a real, damaged machine.

Because the operating room is sterile and isolated, Genji doesn't have to worry about the remaining facial skin being too fragile and sensitive to be infected. He took off his mask, lowered his eyes, and didn't know what he was looking at.

Angela, who was wearing a mask, removed his damaged wrist. A lot of ashes fell from the scorched parts, and blood-red artificial body fluid oozes out.

"You don't need to work so hard, and I can't guarantee that I can fix you every time."

"I just want to do my best."

Angela wiped off the fluid from the wound, and inserted the brand new parts into the joint groove for fixation.

"It seems to me that you are hurting yourself too much. I rebuilt your body for you. I know you are different from omnic."

Even though Genji is no longer the second young master of the Shimada family, and no longer receives the protection of the Dragon God, he still clings tightly to the victorious and unyielding spirit of the surviving, even if he is imprisoned in a lifeless steel body, he Nor will he stop fighting until he is smashed to pieces.

"But that doesn't mean I'm cowardly out of fear of pain."

His voice was raised a little higher, and his stubborn tone sounded a little more human.

But Angela obviously didn't believe a word. She knew that Genji longed for death, just as he longed for victory and glory, and lived day after day as the shadow of his dearest loved ones.Gradually savoring the thrill of self-sacrifice, it overwhelms and drives him to his ruin.

The control panel of the workbench is projected in mid-air. While setting the data, she said, "Your state is very unstable now, and other members don't trust you very much."

"I think, maybe you should go back to yourself first, there is someone who can help you."

20

Genji was sent to a completely strange place, a country with continuous snow-capped mountains and cloud-like temples. The Bagmati River meanders through the foot of the mountain, feeding all the pious pilgrims on the river bank.

Even in the age when omnic was so popular, Genji was still not used to showing off in the appearance of this mechanical body. He dressed himself in a dull-colored coarse cloth attire, which was in line with his status as a travel-worn outsider. .

The local who led the way for Genji was a local gold and silversmith in Nepal. He seemed to be not very good at English, but his enthusiasm remained undiminished. Genji entered the temple where he lived together, and when he was waiting for him to pick up things, he saw the middle of the main hall. Little girl sitting on the bed.

She has an exquisite appearance and pale complexion, with a little bright red cinnabar on her forehead, and she is more like a grand sacrifice under her elaborate attire.In Nepal's religious culture, a chosen girl child cannot laugh or leave the space beneath her.

This is their living goddess, but like a dead god.

The linden tree in the yard was shedding its leaves, and the sound of the wind was long and quiet. Genji blinked, and suddenly saw another person sitting in the hall not far from him.

The locals greeted him twice, and he stopped looking at the girl, turned and left.

"Is it here yet?"

Genji stepped into the snow at the foot of the Himalayas, hesitantly looked around at the dilapidated stone houses.

"Actually, we don't know where the Zen master lives. We can only rely on you."

The middle-aged man smiled apologetically at Genji, with some wind and frost crevices on his dark face, he tightened his thick robe, and exhaled white mist: "Aren't you cold?"

"No, thank you for your guidance."

Genji was stunned for a moment, and thanked the locals. He could measure the thickness of the snow and the direction of the wind, but he could not feel the cold.

After the guide left, Genji searched around this seemingly ruined village a few times. There was nothing but the living facilities in disrepair. Maybe he had to trek like a real pilgrim to see The monk is gone.

There was a slight movement of the wind behind him, and Genji pulled out his sword almost instantly: "Who?!"

"Hi, Genji Shimada."

The floating Zen Master Zen Master clasped his palms peacefully, greeted him, and blocked the knife that broke through the wind and snow with the metal Buddhist beads.

Bright yellow banners were raised behind him, and four omnipotent thousand-handed Buddha statues were visited by the temple gate, like gods descended into the world.

"I have a meeting gift entrusted to me for you."

Zenyatta took off the knife on his back, the knife was not closed, only half of it was sheathed, even though it was beyond recognition, Genji still recognized the four words he had carved on the blade.

Dragon one text.

20

Genji thought that Zenyatta would chatter with him all day long and spend a lot of time trying to influence him.But in fact, Zenyatta only told him to draw that knife and do what his heart desires the most.

He looked at the Longyi character lying on the knife rest in the room, but he didn't have the courage to go up to it and hold it tightly, showing his sharp edge.It was no longer his favorite knife, but his magic box, filled with the despair and demonic obstacles he was about to express.

When he was packing his luggage, he found a photo of Hanzo and Hanzo when he was young in the cracks of his backpack. He didn't know the pain at that time, and he had a bright smile, but Hanzo's face was familiar and unfamiliar, like a mystery that was suddenly revealed. , causing him to uncontrollably collapse out of control, Genji wanted to tear it up, but he just crumpled the photo into a ball of waste paper and threw it aside.

But he didn't throw away this rubbish. Instead, he would meet with it when he came out at night and went out at night, so that he could keep reviewing his confession until death, entangled again and again, and the most hated thing was Yes, until the end, he felt that there was still a glimmer of hope.

In the end, Genji still picked up the dusty photo, unfolded it gently and flattened it, and put it into the photo frame.

He arranged incense candles and books in his room, and also placed an ukiyo-e depicting the North Wind Dragon, the South Wind Dragon and their human figures.Genji once thought that the myth was just a story fabricated and passed down by the predecessors, but he found that all the plots in the legend came true.

Outside the room are the snow-white wilderness mountains and the abyss. He sat quietly on the wooden ladder and spent one night after another in silence, only the empty mountain wind whistling past to keep him company.

***

There was snow on the pagoda and the Sumeru seat, watching the robot in the snow silently, Genji took off the mask, exposing his fragile skin to the cold wind, he felt the sting, but it also made him alive real feeling.

"Genji, what are you looking for?"

He remained motionless, and replied, "Dragon."

"There are no dragons on the snow-capped mountains at night."

Genji was silent for a while: "I don't know where it went, but I have to find it."

"I lost the body that was endowed with power, and now I can't even pull out a dragon character. I have lost it."

"You are it, it is not in your body, it is your soul, it is your memory. Only by facing it squarely and accepting it can you control it."

"I am not limited by form."

Genji turned his head, but he could no longer find Zenyatta.

As time goes by day after day, Genji is also trying to adapt to his new body, and Overwatch will keep telling him Hanzo's whereabouts very "intimately". Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, his long-cherished wish is to kill himself The enemy is also his elder brother.

Zenyatta seemed to know his inner struggle and difficulties, and only told him: "Just go and have a look."

This moved Genji instead, and he finally went down the mountain.

21

After leaving Shimada Castle, Hanzo wandered aimlessly for quite a long time, wandering around in foreign lands, like a lone wolf going in and out of a dragon's pond or a tiger's lair.After the family glory that he worked hard in the first half of his life was wiped out, he chose to pursue the ultimate of personal strength.

In order to make a living, he also became a part-time mercenary. When performing missions in China, he came to the night market near the Lijiang Tower.

Hanzo stood on the roof of a high-rise building, his bright yellow headband was blown by the warm and humid wind, and he held a modified compound bow in his hand. The angle of sniping here is the best. The battle began.

There were gunshots in the exchange of fire, Hanzo dodged calmly, and kept dodging out, grabbing the gaps to shoot, but he still couldn't dodge the bullets, which added a lot of new wounds to his exposed skin.

Hanzo gritted his teeth and turned sideways, calmed his breath and prepared to continue fighting.

A black shadow stood on another tall building not far away. Genji's eyesight was very good, and he could see Hanzo's movements clearly in the night. He clearly saw the blue glow on Hanzo's body just now. Fluorescence, and afterimages of two dragons hovered over his left arm, but he tried his best to restrain himself and endure it.

Because of killing Genji, he got the power of double dragons, and his colleagues also got a burden and a curse.

Of course, Genji also saw the ribbon tied on Hanzo's hair. He carefully looked at his brother whom he hadn't seen for several years. He didn't have the urge for revenge, nor the expected madness. Instead, he was immersed in this one-sided reunion alone. middle.

He half-hidden his beard, his brows frowned even tighter, there was an unfathomable sadness under his forbearance, but he also had a solitary uprightness, and there were some weathered lines on his face, which made Genji feel strange.

Murderous threats are everywhere in the busy and bustling neighborhood, he is a bit out of place, like a gust of wind that won't stay for long.

In the end, Hanzo was seriously injured, but he still successfully completed the task. He sloppily bandaged the wound and left from the dark alley of the street.Genji stood in the middle of his path, wrapped in a cloth, only showing the fluorescent light in his eyes.

Hanzo didn't raise his head, his eyes didn't have a gleam of light, his footsteps were a little unsteady, he kicked over the cardboard boxes on the side of the road, and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "Go away, I don't have time to kill you now."

Genji didn't speak, just watched himself and his brother, who had never been the same in the past, go away clutching the bleeding wound, he didn't recognize himself, which was disappointing and fortunate, even though there was no suspense.

As he wished, Hanzo had already given up on the Shimada family and gone away, becoming a dying body.

He had assumed countless times that when he stood in front of Hanzo again, he would confess in tears, accuse hoarsely, or take revenge with fury.

However, all of this seemed absurd and false at this moment. He didn't want to kill Hanzo. Genji found that he still loved his elder brother, just like his poor and helpless shadow in a dream, and felt his loneliness, shame, and frustration. , rage, nothing.

The wind blew Hanzo's headband up, and Genji saw it, and tightened his grip on the other pair of gray headbands in his hand.

The moonlight is still gentle and bright, just like that night many years ago.

Once everything has started, it will not be as difficult as imagined to continue.Genji thought he would never return to Shimada Castle, but he did make the trip back.

Every brick and tile on the street bears the memories of his growing up. He still keeps the game records in Hanamura's video game store. The izakaya he frequents is also doing a prosperous business. The summer festival is also crowded with people as always. Time is different from the past, gradually declining and declining.

The courtyard that was once burned by the fire has also been transformed into a dry landscape style, and the Hanfei cherry tree that blooms every year is only a decayed stump.

This is all proof that he once existed alive, and it will not be erased no matter what.

He also went to the cemetery in the burial lamp. Rows of quiet stone monuments stood in the garden lined with pines and cypresses. Genji gently placed white flowers on the ground where she was sleeping.A light bird flapped its wings and flew over Genji's head.

Either way, they were free, and he was already free.

When Genji was young, he was stubborn and would rather die than live alone.

But now, he didn't want to die, and he didn't want to live alone.

When Genji returned to Nepal again, the scene of heavy snow made him feel as if he had passed away.Zenyatta, who has always been unpredictable, sat in meditation at the gate of the temple, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Have you found the dragon yet?"

Genji shook his head.

"You didn't kill Hanzo."

"I don't want to kill him."

"Thousands are enemies, and one person wins. If you don't win yourself, you are the best in the battle. Do you remember the ending of the story between the North Wind Dragon and the South Wind Dragon, Genji?"

The metal ball floated slowly beside Zenyatta, guiding Genji along his outstretched palm. It was a high platform on the side peak of the snow-capped mountain, and it was also the best place for the mountains to witness the rebirth of the Dragon God. .

The snow was getting heavier, and Genji folded his palms and bowed deeply to Zenyatta.

He said, "Goodbye, teacher."

22

On this day every year, Hanzo would return to Shimada's house, break through the siege, and come to the empty and huge main hall, pay homage to an old man under the huge calligraphy and painting with knife marks and blood stains, and lay down a sparrow feather.

Year after year, no one can stop him, and no one has ever asked him.

Until there was an artificial man with the appearance of an omnipotence that disrupted the situation. His agility and agility caused Hanzo to fall into a hard struggle, and he knew him well, poking at his sore spot every sentence.

When he was forced to use the power of the dragon god, Hanzo saw the green firefly condensing into a familiar dragon shape on the blade that the man pulled out, and then entrenched around the silver-white machine, and then rushed out, the dragon that shook the night sky Howls sounded one after another.

Hanzo's eyes widened in disbelief.

Then the robot took off his visor, revealing those gentle but firm eyes, filled with an amber glow.

It is the light that Hanzo misses, and it is also the light that should have been extinguished years ago.

Hanzo, who was already furious, twisted the strings in his hands, reprimanded him angrily, and seemed to be reprimanding himself: "Genji can't be alive, those legends are just stories that fools would believe."

"But I do."

Genji, who was already a mechanical body, lost his figure, leaving behind a sparrow feather, but Hanzo couldn't let go of the string in the end.

23

Shimada's house is now an empty shell, and Hanzo sat in the hall until dawn, and the incense had long been burned. He got up and picked up the sparrow feathers and put them away, and walked along the long and dark corridor that he had walked through countless times when he was young. Walking into the courtyard where I used to live, the morning light shines through the window paper into the gray room, lighting up the floating dust in the air.

He opened the door, his eyes were slightly squinted by the rising sun, and he saw the magnificent scene of cherry blossoms like clouds in his memory again, but in fact there were only circles of rippling white sand in the courtyard, and the flourishing cherry tree Also no longer exists.

Hanzo quietly watched Genji sitting on the tree stump with the knife on his back, the bird landed on his shoulder and got close to him, just like he looked like when he was a boy.

They all waited here all night, waiting for the last night to go away.

The cherry tree that had been cut down in the middle and burned by the fire finally sprouted new branches. The first cherry blossoms are already budding, and they will bloom again soon.

Sakura blowing snow in the courtyard under the moon, bright fireworks in the summer festival, ups and downs in the poplar house in Kabukicho, breaking up under the heavy rain, fleeing under the setting sun, raging fire in the dark night.

Knife and blood, life and death, love and hate, dream and waking, all were blown away by the early spring wind and scattered behind.

The light blurred through the gaps in the backlit cumulus clouds in the sky, and fell into Hanzo's eyes again.

Genji stretched out his hand to Hanzo in front of him, just like he had stretched out thousands of times before.

"The cherry blossoms are blooming, leave with me, bro."