After listening to Luo Shu's retelling, Marion Wheeler remained silent for a long time.
This truth, which overturned decades of her memories, indeed required time to digest.
Her expression shifted endlessly, more dramatically than Luo Shu's had been while listening to the recorded message.
She wept, then laughed, murmuring to herself.
"I knew it—I had forgotten you!"
"All these years, I felt like I was missing the most important thing in my life… and it was you!"
"Night after night, in my dreams, I caught glimpses of your familiar yet distant silhouette…"
Of course, these words weren't meant for Luo Shu—they were for his predecessor.
Luo Shu listened quietly, not interrupting the old woman's reminiscence. Instead, he opened the Anomalous Item Archive, carefully reviewing the details of Anomalous Item-3211.
[Page: 126]
[Item No.: Anomalous Item-3211]
[Item Name: None]
[Item Class: Safe]
[Item Image: Expired/Disguised/Hidden]
[Description: This item's surface identity is Marion Wheeler, Director of the Anti-Memetics Division. In truth, she is the lover of a former holder of the Anomalous Item Archive.]
[Special Containment Procedures: I remain here only because I choose to. None but the holder of the Anomalous Item Archive may perceive my true self. This is my duty, my final act of devotion—the last thing I can do for you.]
[Abilities: Anti-Memetic Brand. Those marked by this brand are immune to anti-memetic effects and possess inherent anti-memetic traits, making them difficult to notice or remember. This ability is a unique privilege granted by the Anomalous Item Archive to the holder's beloved.]
[Status: Friend of the Anomalous]
[Contact History: Click to Play]
[O]
Perseverance…
Marion Wheeler had endured 82 years after the death of the last "Revealer of Truths," steadfastly fulfilling the mission left to her by her lover.
They say companionship is the longest confession of love—but who could truly understand Marion Wheeler's heart?
You are gone, yet I remain.
To persist without you beside me—that is the purest form of love.
Just from the words on the archive's page, Luo Shu could feel the old woman's decades of loneliness. Compared to the isolated Anti-Memetics Division, Marion Wheeler was the loneliest of them all.
The Anomalous Item Archive's "protection" was, in truth, another kind of cruelty.
It made the world unconsciously overlook her, forget her—leaving her friendless, utterly alone…
And yet, for 82 years, she endured. Driven by sheer will and subconscious intuition, she found the new Revealer of Truths—Luo Shu.
Respect swelled in Luo Shu's chest as he turned to Marion, who had suddenly gone quiet.
The old woman had, at some point, reopened the handbag she always carried and pulled out a small pill bottle.
This time, the pills were a different color—a dangerous, ominous red.
Class-Z Mnestic Enhancer!
Before Luo Shu could stop her, Marion popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed.
Decades of sealed memories came rushing back.
A blissful smile spread across her face as she remembered everything.
"Darling… I've completed what you asked of me."
"All the data on Anomalous Item-3125 has been stored in S041-B30-000. The rest… is beyond my help. This generation's Revealer of Truths must uncover it themselves…"
"Darling… I see you again!"
"Have you come to take me home?"
Luo Shu noticed Marion's face glowing, her entire body radiating a youthful vitality.
The unlocking of her memories made it seem as though she had returned to those blissful days 82 years ago.
But this radiance was unnatural—
It was the light before death.
According to the Foundation's official guidelines, Class-Z Mnestic Enhancers were lethal.
Though they restored every memory of a lifetime, the user would die within hours at most.
Marion Wheeler, for the sake of her most precious memories, had willingly taken the pill.
Such was the depth of her love.
Silently, Luo Shu flipped open the Anomalous Item Archive and administered a dose of panacea to Marion.
She felt the change within her body and turned to Luo Shu with a grateful smile.
"Anomalous Item-500, the Panacea, right? The Anomalous Item Archive is truly miraculous… He used it on me once before. What a wonderful feeling. Thank you for your kindness… But it's no use."
Her voice carried the weight of finality, thick with nostalgia. Luo Shu's heart clenched.
"Why won't it work? Anomalous Item-500 can cure any injury or illness—why can't it heal the damage from the Class-Z Mnestic Enhancer?"
He wasn't asking for the secrets she held—he simply didn't want her to die.
Marion shook her head. "No, your power did heal the enhancer's damage. But I'm still dying… Have you forgotten? I'm over a hundred years old."
"What does age matter? Hold on—I'll get you Anomalous Item-006, the Fountain of Youth!" Luo Shu vowed.
Again, Marion shook her head. "I've drunk from it once before. Repairs telomeres, restores cellular regeneration… A single sip reverses aging, another extends life by fifty years. He gave it to me."
So the previous Revealer of Truths had been capable indeed—even obtaining Anomalous Item-006.
Luo Shu cursed himself for not having secured it yet—if he had, he could save her now.
But he was wrong.
Marion Wheeler didn't want to be saved.
"But he's gone… I don't need another fifty years… I've been alone for nearly a century… Would you condemn me to more loneliness? Death… is the best outcome for me…"
By now, her breathing had grown faint.
Intense, sincere emotion triggers a flood of dopamine—accelerating metabolism, bringing euphoria.
The cost? A life burned brighter, but shorter.
For longevity, a monk's tranquil detachment is the only path.
But that was never Marion Wheeler's way.
"You Chinese… have a saying… I've always… found profound…" she whispered. "To learn the truth in the morning… and die at dusk… is happiness enough… These memories… were worth… everything…"
In recovering her past, she had also ignited the last embers of her life.
June 27, 2021.
Marion Wheeler, Director of the Anti-Memetics Division, passed quietly into the night.