"Leader, tunnel number one has collapsed, and the three sentinels who were sent to monitor it have completely lost contact."

"Leader, there are already significant cracks in tunnel number two. The underground water rushing out from the cracks and the sand and rocks falling from the cave roof are sticking together, and it's only a matter of time before the entrance is blocked."

"Leader..."

Several curse-marked sons, covered in blood, stood in front of a middle-aged man with a pale face, reporting the situation.

Although they were standing, their physical condition was no better than the injured lying on the floor around them.

One of them even staggered and seemed like he would collapse if someone touched him even lightly, unable to get up once he fell down.

The middle-aged man, known as the leader, was kneeling on the ground, treating the wounded. He continued to assign tasks to the people who came to ask questions non-stop.

The stone wall above their heads kept trembling slightly, and the air in the cave seemed to become thinner.

Tiny grains of sand fell onto the leader's sweaty forehead, but he didn't even have time to wipe his face.

This situation was far beyond the limits of being at one's wit's end.

Suddenly, a weak meow awakened the leader, who had become a bit absent-minded. He had been a leader of the revolutionary army for ten years.

He turned around and saw a thin boy holding Basutat in a very gentle manner, his face full of urgency.

"Right... Basutat is seriously injured. Where is the doctor? Where is our medical team?!"

"...Boss." One of the scouts lowered his head, tears falling from his blood-stained face.

"The medical team is behind us, walking slower with the wounded."

"They weren't able to enter the cave in time; the rockfall had already sealed the entrance."

"Some of the trapped people outside, I'm afraid..."

Upon hearing this, the leader was stunned, and suddenly became calm.

Helplessly scratching his wrinkled scalp, his furrowed brow could hold a key.

The man suddenly wanted to laugh, to laugh loudly and release all the grievances and injuries he had suffered over the years.

But when the laughter, like ants gnawing at his burning lungs, climbed to his mouth, he couldn't laugh anymore.

His lips twitched, and the man choked and vomited on the ground.

With a thump, the previously severely injured scout suddenly fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

"Leader... What should we do now?" Another scout quickly helped him up and asked the man, his tone filled with immense sorrow.

"You guys take care of the patients for me. I'll go take care of some matters."

The man looked at the barely surviving Basutat, took off the relic hanging around his neck, and handed it to the two scouts who were still awake.

"From now on, this thing belongs to you guys."

After finishing speaking, without looking back, the man walked towards Mulan's direction.

"Sir... Please save it."

"It... It..." Mulan, holding the cat, choked, almost unable to speak.

"I would rather it be me who dies..."

"My wretched life... Even if I die a hundred times, it's not a big deal."

"But Bastet... It's like my father, it... it..."

Mulan, incoherent, grabbed the man's clothes, desperately pleading as if grasping at a last straw for salvation.

"It's not just your father." The man's sunken eyes seemed to hold countless exhaustion.

"We have many young people here, they are all its children."

Looking at Mulan's horrified teary eyes, the man continued speaking.

"Do you find it strange?"

"Bastet usually just stays at the cat café."

"It also uses a rented music room for practice."

"Where do the money it earns from performances go?"

"Have you never suspected?"

The man knelt down on one knee, earnestly asking Merka.

"...I don't know... I thought it liked..."

"I never doubted... I never even considered..."

"If I had known earlier..."

"Cough."

Mulan doubled over in pain, tears streaming down, choking on her airway.

The man gently caressed Mulan's back, silently watching the deeply pained Mulan.

He had seen this scene, this twisted back, countless times before.

"Mulan, let me tell you the story of Bastet, okay?"

"That's what it wants too."

As if not seeing the curse children making a mess not far away, or the precarious stalactites on the cave ceiling, the man walked straight to Mulan's side and sat down.

"I met Bastet when I was young."

"In my twenties and thirties, when I was as fiery as fire, I coincidentally met Bastet, who was as gentle as water."

"Now, looking back, I was really lucky."

"Meeting Bastet was the right thing to do in my life."

The man slowly let go of his strong hand, exerting the utmost gentleness, gently caressing the decaying skin of the little cat in Mulan's arms.

But Bastet seemed to have fallen asleep and remained silent.

"By the way, how do you usually get along with Bastet?"

"Do you think it's very wise?"

Strangely, for some reason, there seemed to be a hint of amusement in the man's eyes. Even his tone became slightly cheerful.

"But it wasn't always so clever."

"At the beginning, Bastet was raised in a circus."

"The people there would occasionally buy magical creatures for performances."

"At that time, shortly after being weaned, Bastet was bought and put on stage with other magical creatures. Immediately, it was loved and adored by the audience."

"Because Bastet was agile and cute, it easily won the hearts of the audience more than other magical creatures, so the circus leader tried to find a way to involve it in performances."

"But jumping through fire hoops, walking on tightropes, and other acrobatics were temporarily too dangerous for a small cat. So the circus leader thought and came up with a teaching method for it called 'think before you act' arithmetic magic."

"This magic allowed a person to think about the same thing multiple times in a short period."

"Even a kitten could figure out multiplication and division within nine with this magic. The circus leader planned to rely on this to have Bastet perform arithmetic in front of the audience."

Memories of the past flooded the man's mind, causing his eyes to mist over. He touched his nose and closed his eyes with a heavy sigh.

"Even now, sometimes it tells me that he started out as an idol... haha."

It seemed that the man was amused by the cat's past humor.

"You can probably guess what happened next. It used this simple and ordinary magic every day, practicing tirelessly. Naturally, it gained some wisdom that other creatures did not possess."

"Although Bastet's magical talent among the magical beasts was not high, it learned many spells and gained knowledge of interacting with humans through this magic."

"And then, one day, Bastet started speaking."

"At that moment, it distinguished itself from all other magical beasts."

"Driven by its interest in music, it went on to study music theory and skills extensively."

"To the point that many humans now stand before it and have to address it as 'teacher'."

The man paused, and his gaze dimmed.

"But this came at a price."

"It can no longer 'act without thinking'."

"It is destined to live in a world that is slow compared to others, constantly plagued by headaches from overthinking."

"Otherwise, it would have to give up its wisdom and transform back into an ordinary cat."

"And the most fatal consequence is that it developed an overly sensitive heart."

"The overwhelming empathy that comes with being too sensitive is something ordinary people cannot bear."

"It would feel sad for wilted wildflowers by the roadside, sigh for homeless children, and of course, feel heartbroken for the suffering of us cursed ones."

"Just because it thinks too much."

"Do you now understand why Bastet is unwilling to teach you the organ?"

"To master the organ in the Golden Hall of Alexandria Harbor alone, without resorting to the side effects of calculus magic from 'acting without thinking', is almost impossible."

"It is something that the human brain alone cannot handle."

"It just doesn't want you to experience the same pain as itself, do you understand?"

"..."

Mulán was completely speechless and memories of her own questioning of Bastet's words flooded her mind, leaving her utterly conflicted.

"But... well, now it doesn't matter anymore."

The man took off the golden jewelry from Bastet's neck and placed it around Mulán's.

"It actually left a last will."

"After its death, it wanted its sacred artifact to be given to you."

"It also told us not to interfere with you... let you choose your own path."

The man patted Mulán's shoulder reassuringly.

"Now, Mulán, you have a beautiful appearance."

"Ordinary people cannot detect your identity as a cursed one... Once you're outside, you can rely on Bastet's magic to play the organ, filling every corner of Acadia with its beautiful melodies."

"...Or you can stay with the remaining forces of the revolution and take on a role like Bastet's."

"It all depends on..."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Mulan interrupted the man, his gnashing teeth resembling that of a child whose toy had been taken away.

"Bastet... Bastet is not dead yet!"

"I have to get out, I must break free... You can't save me, someone outside can!"

"I will cure Bastet, I will make those bastards pay for their blood debts!"

Mulan dared not feel whether there was magic hidden in the golden necklace.

But he could even smell the delightful scent of that fresh magic, swirling around his nostrils.

Mulan dared not think about it, he didn't dare think about anything at all.

He feared that if he even moved his brain a little, he would collapse entirely.

"Stop being stubborn!"

"Don't you understand! It's because you've always been reckless and self-righteous! That's why you don't know anything, understand anything. You live only in your own world! You live only in your own hatred!"

"Look, Bastet paid for your surgery, raised you, even found a job for you in the city."

"What have you done for it?"

"Do you know how much a simple household registration book is coveted by cursed children?"

"And yet, all you do is demand this and that... You..."

Suddenly, the trembling of the cave intensified, and the man, losing his balance, leaned on Mulan, nearly bringing them both down.

Looking at Mulan, who was in disbelief, the man smiled helplessly, finally releasing a breath.

"Mulan... we really don't have time."

"All the exits are sealed now. Even if we forcefully break through, we will only be crushed by meteorites."

"But there is one last chance now, listen to me."

"You and our remaining forces can escape through the underground river of underground water."

"Although there will be a long stretch where you can't breathe, but if there is magic, I believe there will be a way to overcome these difficulties."

"Mulan, you..."

Suddenly, everything spun, and an overwhelming sense of guilt, along with unventable hatred and pain, engulfed Mulan.

Mulan felt like he couldn't hear anything anymore, even the scene in front of him gradually became blurry.