The Protagonist's Sister Is Actually The Strongest

My mother is strong. She has lived for a long time, alongside everyone else, including Song, her son.

He’s been fully revived; he’s here for her… I’m sure he will be. 

“I know it’s painful… But we have to accept reality,” I said. “I know you have many regrets too—many things you wanted to tell him… You were just rekindling your love for one another… I’m sorry, Mom… I-I’m really sorry…” 

“Anna…” She looked into my eyes, then down at the floor, wiping away her tears again. “Sorry, this isn’t like me… I’ve been a mess all this time… It’s so shameful, isn’t it? I should remain calm. I should continue being the figure everyone respects. If I start crying like any other woman, what will the immortals think? They would find me unfit to lead them into a new future…” 

“No, that’s not it…” I said, patting her shoulders. “Those emotions, your tears… They aren’t bad. They show you’re truly a person—someone who feels. Despite all your years, your long life of sacrifice and effort… Despite everything you’ve seen, you still feel love, pain, and… loss. It’s part of being who we are. Denying that and trying to pretend we’re unfeeling, cold, and calculating… is never a good thing.” 

Memories of my brother from the novel flooded my mind, one after another—how he always seemed to be that way.

But now I know it was all a mask.

He was pretending. He never truly felt that way deep down. He was always suffering inside, crying, asking for help.

But in such a cruel world, where he was the only protagonist and everyone else was too weak to help, he walked a lonely path.

I don’t want the same for her. 

“You have to embrace your emotions, Mom… The power of the Heart of Hope… and Love, that doctrine you taught me—it was all about accepting ourselves for who we are and turning our emotions into strength,” I said. “The same was true with Father’s seals, which I’ll carry with me to the other world. Your legacies… his legacy will never die.” 

“Anna…” She smiled, her mood slowly shifting as she nodded. “Thank you… You’re right… I have to move on… He would probably nag at me for crying so much, right?” 

“Maybe…” I smiled lightly. “Part of the rewards I obtained from completing this trial was a special subclass named Heavenly Demon. Did you know?” 

“What?” she asked in surprise. 

“Let me… I think I should be able to make it visible for you if we hold hands,” I said. “Connecting our auras… yes, there.” 

I showed her the description of the Subclass, and she realized what it truly was. 

“S-So you’ve truly… His inheritance… You carry it within you?” she gasped. 

“I don’t know how he did it… But somehow, he tinkered with my system. Perhaps he passively influenced it through me… Whatever the case, he’s here,” I said. “A part of him… I’ll carry it with me forever. His heart and his spirit.” 

My aura fluctuated, transforming into a pair of black feathered wings as the shadow of a red-eyed crow man appeared, gazing at the Heavenly Empress in silence. 

“I see… Is that… really you?” 

As she walked toward the shadow, it didn’t respond…

Or so I thought. 

“…” 

It stepped toward her for a moment, looking at her with its twisting red eyes.

Its form was ethereal, slowly disappearing and reappearing.

It wasn’t really him but an embodiment of fragmented records.

Even so, you could say it was a piece of him. 

“A-Ah…” 

She slowly reached out her hand toward him, but it passed through his ethereal form. He was nothing but a manifestation of my aura…

She sighed, looking down in sorrow.

Then the Ego looked back at her, smiling lightly and patting her shoulders. 

“I’ll always love you, Hue Xian.” 

“Ahh!” 

She turned around, but he was gone. 

“…” 

I walked to her side, explaining what this manifestation was. 

“So he’s… it’s a piece of him, right?” 

“Yeah… kind of. I wouldn’t say it’s him exactly, but… like an echo of his existence that now dwells within me as one of my Egos.” 

“…” 

She smiled, looking rather melancholic but also regaining the light in her eyes. 

“I see… Thank you, Anna… It was brief, but I feel much better knowing he’s there with you… I can be at ease. Please, continue developing his teachings, his inheritance… He always said it wasn’t complete yet, that there was something he had yet to fully grasp. I don’t know if that was his Path of Regret he mastered at the very end or something else,” she said. 

“I know. I’ll work on it, and I’ll never abandon his teachings,” I nodded. “Maybe I’ll even teach it to others if that Ego ever finds them worthy, hahah…” 

“It’ll be a very hard thing to pull off, but I’m sure someone out there might be worthy,” she smiled. “Alright… Enough crying… We can’t waste much time, right? You only have twenty-four hours here. Let’s make them worth it. Song! Anna is awake! Please come back to eat breakfast, dear!” 

“Where are Yin Sheng and everyone else?” I wondered. 

“Aside from Song, they’re on the Yang Island, helping the mortals and immortals,” explained my mom. “As for Zero One’s sisters, they’re moving all the machines to where the giant mechanical tree was located. Apparently, the roots remained, revealing a giant underground city… I had no idea their ‘Mother’ had built such a thing. Perhaps that’s where they’ll feel at home.” 

“Hmm…” I nodded. “About the machines, Mom…” 

“I know… Zero One’s mother sacrificed herself… No immortal has said a bad thing about her or the machines since the news spread through our small world,” she said. “Don’t worry… her sacrifice will not be in vain. Perhaps this was her intention from the beginning, huh?” 

“Yeah…” I sighed. “Zero One is as pained about her loss as we are for Father… But I think she’s getting better. I hope you can welcome her as, maybe, your disciple one day? As… maybe family? Or would that be too much to ask?” 

“Of course not,” she nodded. “Zero One is the girl who taught me that machines weren’t just unfeeling, cold entities—that they could feel just like us and that they could cry and smile as well. I’m sure she’ll become a great leader for the machines.” 

“I’m sure she will,” I nodded. “Her compassion and kindness are the key… but she’s still learning. She is, well, too nice. I hope you can teach her a few things about being stricter, please?” 

“Yes, I have much to teach her… and you. It’s a pity you’ll leave, my dear,” she said, caressing my face. “But I’ll continue teaching her and the rest of your friends. I’ll make sure they become outstanding figures in the world—stars that will guide people to a brighter future. As a Venerable, I must nurture them well.” 

“Thanks… That’s all I needed to hear, honestly,” I said with a nod. “And—” 

“Mom? Anna’s awake? Really?” 

Suddenly, someone stepped into the room—a tall, handsome young bird man with features of both his parents and bright eyes full of hope. 

“Anna!” 

Just like when he was a little chick, he ran to hug me, now taller than me… He’d certainly changed a lot.

In all those battles, we had little time to notice his growth, but it’s truly outstanding. 

“Song! You’ve grown so much! Dammit, I wish we could’ve seen you grow up slowly…” 

“Hahah… No way, I was already this age! But, well, my body ended up becoming another thing, and then my records were still in a child form because of the time they came from,” he explained. “And… a lot of other things. How do you two feel so far?” 

“We’re hanging in there, I guess,” I said with a loud sigh. “I… I’ll be forced to leave in twenty-four hours, though. Back home…” 

“L-Leave…? Wait, you only have one day?!” he asked. “But, Anna! Can’t you stay longer?! Can’t you ask the person who brought you here to at least let you stay a month or a year?!” 

“I can’t… This is as much as they could help me, I’m sure,” I said. “I-I’m sorry, Song…” 

“I don’t want you to go, Anna! This isn’t fair…” he muttered, trying to hold back his tears. 

The Heavenly Empress quickly walked to our side and patted our shoulders. 

“Son, you know that Anna comes from another world, right?” she asked. 

“Yeah, but…” he muttered. 

“She has her own family there, her own friends… Do you think it would be right to leave them behind, to replace them?” 

“No… But she can stay longer, at least, right?” 

“I can’t… The same powers that allowed me to come here also decide how long I can stay… I’d rather not ask for more. They’ve done so much for me already… I’m sorry, Song.” 

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