#ignore the top of arc's head in the corner (ill post her later maybe)

[shooks-stupid-stuff]

ciel is so cool, i wish christianity was real

[shinydelirium]

MLQC Season 2 Chapter 9 (Kiro) Final Part [Delayed Answer] & [Fissure] Translation [CN]

***SPOILERS*** THIS POST CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR CONTENT NOT YET RELEASED ON EN SERVER!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!***

Here’s the rest of Kiro’s story from Season 2 chapter 9

For the previous translations of Season 2 Chapter 9: Part 1

Enjoy~

[Delayed Answer]

The day of the new song conference finally came to a successful conclusion.

Thinking that I could finally go home and rest at ease, I suddenly received a message from Savin, asking me to bring Kiro to the company right away.

After listening to my retelling, Kiro’s smile immediately froze on his face as if he got caught sneaking out for barbecue.

Kiro: Savin will definitely give me three hours of ideological education.

Kiro: ….Or I’ll just slip away and say that my stomach hurts.

MC: It doesn’t matter, I will help you intercede.

Kiro sighed. After thinking long and hard, he quickly aligned with me and prepared to proactively explain his mistakes.

Pushing open the door of the company, gold foil ribbons suddenly fell from the ceiling and cheers came one after another to my ears.

Kiro and I were stunned in place, surrounded by everyone.

Kiki: Congratulations to our company’s successfully held new song release conference by the ace artist, Kiro!

Willow: We did it!!!

The company is full of lights and festoons and the banners of “Today’s New Year” is displayed everywhere.

Kiro was pushed to the center of the crowd, surrounded by balloons, ribbons, and flowers. Soon, a huge cake was pushed in front of him.

Behind him was a long row of tables filled with tempting cupcakes and carbonated drinks.

A few golden letter balloons were fixed on the wall, piecing together the words “KILO”.

It turns out that everyone thought that Kiro rarely showed up these days because of the sullenness of the last storm so they prepared this surprise to cheer him up.

Kiro: Scared me to death…I thought I came to receive ideological education.

Savin: Don’t worry, there will be time for that later. ***Changed some wording***

With everyone’s urging, Kiro blew out the candles on the cake.

Kiro: Thanks, everyone!

His smile in the candlelight was captured by the camera. At this moment, the whole world is full of hope and life like never before.

After the celebration banquet, Kiro and I went to the company’s terrace for some fresh air.

As the sun sets, the evening breeze gently takes away the remaining warmth.

MC: Can you tell me now…?

MC: How did the “last-minute superhero” Kiro stop the train?

Kiro: It’s actually very simple. I briefly hacked into the car’s control system and activated the emergency braking function.

Kiro: As long as the startup program is disrupted, the train will be able to stop.

MC: What! I didn’t think of that before!

Kiro: The most important thing is that the boy changed his mind. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have worked even if I typed many lines of code.

MC: You’re right, but fortunately, he was not brainwashed by the people of GRAY RHINO.

Kiro: Because his heart has never changed.

Kiro: He lost his way and fell into a quagmire. All he needed was someone to pull him out.

Kiro: Therefore, we have also agreed that no one will say a word about what happened today.

The wind lifted his hair on his forehead and the eyes that looked at me were shining.

I nodded solemnly.

MC: No matter what, I will support your decision.

MC: What’s more, during that plane accident, he  changed his mind in the end and saved the person on that flight.

The real culprit is GRAY RHINO. They took advantage of this boy’s pain and weakness to achieve their goals.

If today’s crisis wasn’t resolved, perhaps the contradiction between Evolvers and ordinary people will incite into an unprecedented degree….

Thinking of this, my mind suddenly fell into a daze.

CORE is like a stone thrown by an invisible hand, constantly stirring up even bigger ripples. I’m also more and more certain that the most critical variable in this world is CORE.

But for most people in this world, some of them choose to move forward and some choose to retreat.

Some people stay where they are, while others are lost and don’t know where to go.

Therefore, there are many people with inconsistent paces and different destinations.

The history of this world is written by everyone, but not everyone’s fate will be recorded.

Can their voices be heard? Can these meager destinies be included in the “beautiful future” pursued by this society?

Regardless of whether it is B.S., the Special Task Force, GRAY RHINO, these self-regulated people at the forefront, how can they frame the correct choice at every step….

Kiro: What are you thinking about? Why do you show such an unhappy expression again?

I shook my head.

MC: I was just thinking that the pain I felt from that boy might only be one thousandth or one ten thousandth of how he felt.

I was able to see his past memories, but I can’t 100% feel his current pain.

Kiro put down the soda can, rested his hands on the railing, and looked at me quietly.

Kiro: Will MC suffer because of her own abilities?

I thought for a moment and shook my head seriously.

MC: Only when you are close to suffering, you are closer to reality.

MC: Isn’t it cowardly if you ignore the facts because you are afraid of pain?

MC: And so….

Before I finished speaking, Kiro suddenly took my hand and gently placed it on top of his head.

His tousled hair brushes my palm, ticklish. I looked at him, puzzled.

Kiro: Then MC can also feel my memory.

The corners of his eyes were bent, and the golden color of the setting sun seemed to flicker in his eyes.

Kiro: Since you have the ability to perceive pain, you should also have the same right to perceive happiness.

I stared blankly at him and couldn’t help but blurt out.

MC: Are you happy?

Kiro: Mm. When I’m by your side, I am happy.

MC: Is this comfort?

Kiro shook his head, giving me a serious expression.

Kiro: Not comfort, but a promise. By your side, I am happy.

The wind rustled the hair on his forehead, revealing his starry eyes and the sincere gentleness in them.

Kiro: But speaking of the topic just now, I also have a question for MC.

His tone suddenly became a little lighter.

Kiro: “If you don’t hurt people, you will be hurt”… what would you do with this choice?

MC: In fact, someone once told me this answer.

I looked into his eyes, as if I could feel a warm feeling pouring into my heart.

MC: He should be the one who chooses the latter without hesitation , but he can always get himself out of the situation.

Fresh and vivid memories. Some are complete. Some are fragmented and they converge like a river of flowing into the sea of memories little by little.

MC: But there is something he is a bit bad about—he likes to keep the secret until the end.

MC: …So I didn’t know for a long time after arriving.

Kiro blinked and suddenly sneezed twice in succession.

Kiro: Is someone speaking ill of me behind my back….?

I chuckled, the last regret in my heart seemed to disappear with the wind.

MC: Given that these days are so unlucky, let us be superstitious for a bit.

I took out a coin and put it in the palm of my hand, muttering something to the night sky.

MC: If it’s positive, it means something good will happen. If it’s negative, it means something generally good will happen----

Kiro: Miss Chips is so greedy. But----what if it’s in the middle?

MC: What a coincidence!

I retorted righteously and tossed the coin up while talking.

The silver coin drew an arc in the air. I held my breath and waited without blinking for the coin to fall back into my palm.

That’s when a cold gust of wind came and caught me off guard. With a shake of my hand, the coin slipped through my fingers. ***Changed some wording***

MC: !

Kiro clutched his stomach and laughed, but I could only watch the coin fall downstairs.

MC: Unexpectedly, there is such a thing as bad luck…

Hearing me sigh, he stopped laughing and looked at me seriously and tenderly.

Kiro: Maybe God thinks that this answer should not be revealed now.

Kiro: So, let us leave everything to the unknown tomorrow.

[Fissure]

The night is dark, like a deep ocean with turbulent undercurrents and unknown crises lurking within.

The old streets that no one cares about in the city form a narrow, unnamed area. Only a few dirty, industrial buildings stand here.

This is the Secret Research Institute of B.S.

I hurried out of the elevator, walked through the dark corridor, and opened one of the hidden doors.

I put the documents in my hand on the table and told the B.S. researchers who looked at each other.

MC: Help me find something.

MC: Without my permission, do not disclose it to anyone and do not tell anyone that I have been here.

MC: Including BOSS.

B.S. Researcher: But Miss Nox, this is not compliant—

MC: Don’t forget that I have the first level permission of B.S.

The winter seems to have sneaked into the city quietly and every narrow street has been immersed in the precipitous chill.

When I left this building, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The roof of the building in the distance seemed to glint with a hint of pure silver, almost melting into the moonlight.

I couldn’t help but look back, only to find that the streak of silver was gone.

A black shadow flashed in the night sky, and it quickly melted into the dark.

All the hustle and bustle in the city, the noise of people underneath.

As the cold wind passed by, he stared at the street where he lived alone in the night, holding his breath for the appearance of a figure.

??: Helios, it’s time for you to act.

Helios: I’m not doing things for you. You’re not qualified to order me.

The person on the opposite end sighed softly.

??: There has always been a big misunderstanding between us. In other words, between B.S. and GRAY RHINO.

??: I hope that our future cooperation can be built on the basis of mutual trust.

Helios: The assumption is that you don’t do unnecessary stupid things.

Helios: If you want to get something like that, just do as I say.

Helios cut off the call impatiently, and the man’s hypocritical voice made him feel very disgusted.

As far as he can see, a figure finally walks out of the building’s door.

He watched the figure until the girl disappeared into the night.

He pressed his lips, pulled the rope fixed to his waist, and jumped off the billboard.

The dark figure jumped vigorously, following the rope in his hand, simply and neatly, and quietly entered the building from the window.

??: Who are you!

Helios: Don’t move.

The researcher who had just picked up the gun was caught off guard against the man’s golden eyes, and suddenly his fingers on the trigger were unable to exert force.

The man played with the knife in his hand, walked to the table, and his eyes fell on the experimental report.

Helios: Did she only leave this thing?

B.S. Researcher: …..

Helios: Answer me.

The golden light flashed in the man’s eyes, and his raised voice was like an unsheathed coldness.

This invisible power. His vocal cord muscles contracted uncontrollably and a word was slowly squeezed out of his throat.

B.S. Researcher: ….Yes.

He finally remembered the identity of the man in front of him and the legends about him circulating in the organization.

B.S. Researcher: You, you are….

Before he could recall his name, the man had already turned around.

Under the dim light, he suddenly turned his head and the corner of his mouth formed into a mocking arc.

Helios: I command you all—

Helios: Forget everything that happened just now.

“The train will be arriving shortly, please stand behind the safety line and wait in an orderly manner…”

The first ray of morning light came into the platform. The boy remembered yesterday’s ordeal and subconsciously took a step back.

But soon, what the blond man had said, rang in his ears--

Kiro: Those who use past experiences to deny themselves are cowardly people.

Kiro: Don’t believe in the stories told by others, let alone the signs of the destiny you have altered.

These words shone like a beam of light into the abyss of his heart.

He made up his mind that no matter what the people in that organization say, he will not waver, let alone contact them again.

Thinking of this, he took a lively step forward.

He can do anything that makes him strong. Such as, submitting a transfer application form. Or give a severe beating to those who bullied him in the past.

And his Evol should be his booster, taking him to farther destinations, just like the train he is about to board.

The train stopped in front of the platform. The sound of running tracks overwhelmed the small sound of bullets in the air as well as the sound of the boy hitting the ground.

The gunpowder smoke from the muzzle quickly dissipated into the air like white mist from the breaths of pedestrians in winter.

The train doors opened and a few passengers stepped out of the carriage, yawning.

Soon, screams and chaotic footsteps filled the entire station.

The tall man standing at the top of the stairs grinned slightly, his smile fleeting. He put the gun into his sleeve and turned briskly to leave.

??: Mission completed.

The passengers panicked as messy, bloody foot-prints were left on the floor tiles.

??: The bait is ready and the fish should be hooked.

[valdomarx]

maybe in another life

Steve/Tony, MCU, post-Infinity War, major angst. Warnings for character death and mental illness.

When Steve thought back to that day, he memories felt unreal, as if he were watching a movie about someone else’s life.

He’d seen Thanos grab Tony by the neck. He heard the tortured wrenching of the armor even over the sounds of the battle. Thanos had looked down at Tony with a distasteful grimace and tossed him aside with no more consideration than if he were swatting a fly.

Steve had seen Tony flying through the air, impacting a concrete wall hard enough to smash it, heard the sickening screech as rubble and debris rained down on top of him.

He vaguely remembered sprinting towards the pile, throwing chunks of concrete and metal aside, digging until his knuckles bled and stuck to the inside of his gloves.

But mostly he remembered that when he found Tony, his armor was split by deep, ugly gashes and the ground beneath his body was stained crimson.

The arc reactor had sputtered and gone dim, and when he ripped the faceplate off the suit, Tony’s eyes were blank and vacant, staring at nothing. He wasn’t breathing.

He’d heard someone yelling, then realized it was him. The sounds of battle faded into the background as he stared in horror at the crushed shell of Tony’s armor lying in a pool of blood.

It might have been hours later that he felt a hand on his shoulder. The streets around them were quiet and it was dark. “Steve,” Natasha said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve, “He’s gone, Steve.”

No, Steve decided. No, he would not accept this. Not when they had finally managed to mend the rift between them, to start trusting each other and working together again. Not when they had only just found their way back to each other.

He was going to save Tony. He was Captain America, and saving people was what he did.

  Since then, he’d dreamed of Tony every night. Sometimes he was watching Tony fall, reaching out to catch him but feeling the suit’s metal fingers slip through his own. But most nights he dreamed of ordinary days in the tower. The two of them cooking dinner or watching a movie. Steve standing in Tony’s workshop and admiring the creative chaos.

In his dreams, Tony would smile and rag him for being so concerned. “I’m doing just fine,” he’d say with a roll of his eyes. “Don’t worry about me. And don’t worry about you either. You won’t be alone for long.”

“Tell me what to do,” Steve begged. “I’ll do anything. Please. Just tell me how to bring you back.”

Tony shrugged one shoulder. “Wish I knew, Cap.”

There had been a memorial service. Some big event in New York, where most of the superheroes on the planet had turned out to pay their respects to Tony.

Rhodes had given a speech. It had probably been very moving.

Steve didn’t go. What was the point in memorializing Tony? He’d be back soon. As if the minor issue of death could ever keep a man like Tony Stark down.

Tony was coming back, Steve knew. He wasn’t going to mourn him.

Steve had heard it first. The team had been fighting off an army of Doombots who were marching on Central Park for god only knew what reason.

Thor was in the air, firing down lightning strikes which ignited the robots while Sam circled below him and picked off any stragglers.

Nat and Clint were making their way to Doom’s underground bunker to take him out at the source. Steve and Bucky were on the ground, protecting civilians and herding the Doombots into the range of Thor’s attacks.

A stray blast flew past his ear, and suddenly pained blossomed in his shoulder as an energy beam clipped him. He staggered, pain whiting out his vision for a second.

“Steve!” He could hear Bucky yelling. But there was something else too, just on the verge of his hearing: the high pitched whine of repulsors.

Steve smiled to himself as he dropped to his knees. That sound was so familiar, it felt like he had been waiting for it to be back in his life. Everything was going to be okay.

When he opened his eyes, he didn’t see a streak of red and gold armor, didn’t hear a teasing voice over the comms. There was only Bucky, running towards him and grabbing up the shield to cover him from the Doombots.

There was no sign of Tony, but Steve had heard him. He knew what that meant. It meant that Tony was alive, and that he was coming back.

The next time had been late at night. Steve had been working through a thick stack of reports, trying to finish them before the team meeting tomorrow. The team needed him to lead. They needed him to be strong. He had to protect them now.

His left eye was twitching again, like it always did when he was tired. The words of the report he was reading swum and dissolved into incomprehensible scribbles.

He stared at the paper, wondering why it seemed so far away. Why everything felt liquid and illusory, like the edges of the room were dissolving around him.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. Someone ran a hand soothingly across his shoulders.

“Hey, Cap,” a familiar voice said warmly. “Miss me?”

“It’s called dissociation,” Sam had told him. “It’s a coping mechanism for trauma. You’re not bad or weak for experiencing this.”

Steve nodded along. He wanted to humor Sam, even though Sam clearly didn’t understand.

“But Steve, this isn’t healthy. To do what you do, you need to be able to distinguish fantasy from reality. You need professional help.”

“I can still do my job,” Steve snapped.

“I don’t care about your job, I care about you. If you don’t deal with this, you could hurt someone.” Sam looked grave, but his words were meaningless. The people around Steve always ended up hurt in any case. There was nothing he could do about that.

“You’ll get yourself killed,” Sam said, worry etched around his eyes.

Good, thought Steve. At least that way he could see Tony again.

Another day, another mission, each one blending into the next in an endless parade of drab violence. Identify the target, take down the target, rinse, repeat.

It was like walking underwater. Everything was distant and unimportant.

They were fighting off a gang of demons summoned from some hell dimension or other, filthy creatures which spat flames and had sharp, venomous claws. Steve kicked one away from him, bringing his shield down hard onto the head of another.

And then, out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw a warm blue glow reflected off bright shiny red metal. Steve’s heart raced as he scanned the area and saw Tony pinned down by a group of demons.

The beasts were converging on him fast, piling atop one another to get to him. Steve didn’t stop to think, throwing himself out of cover and towards the center of the fighting.

“Steve!” Natasha’s voice carried sharply across the battlefield. “Steve, get back here! It’s not safe!”

He ignored her. He had to get to Tony. Why couldn’t she see that Tony needed their help?

As he raced toward the pile of demons, slinging his shield ahead of him, he glanced round and caught sight of Natasha. She didn’t look angry anymore. Now she just looked sad.

Steve needed to know more. He needed to know how to help Tony; whether he should be building a portal to transport him or casting a spell to guide him or merely waiting for him to find his way home. He had to see Stephen Strange.

His trip to the New York Sanctum took longer than he would have liked. Being poked and prodded by Strange and being run through a battery of tests reminded him unpleasantly of being a lab rat. It was odd that Strange spent more time scanning him with medical equipment than he did testing him with magical implements.

“You must listen to me,” Strange said in a firm tone once the testing was done. “These visions are not mystical in nature. They are psychological.”

“Did your magic tell you that?” Steve asked sarcastically, the disdain showing clearly in his voice. As if he needed a sorcerer to explain the world to him. He should have know that Strange wouldn’t understand.

“No, Captain, this is not magic, this is neurobiology. You have aberrant activity in your primary visual cortex. It is causing you to see things that are not there. These hallucinations lead you to believe that Tony is alive and with you, but he is not. You need to accept this.”

That was the problem, though, wasn’t it? Steve didn’t believe that Tony was alive. The evidence against it was overwhelming. But when he saw Tony, he knew that he was here with him. This knowledge was more certain that anything else in his life. How could he ignore it? How could he abandon Tony again?

It had been a long day, and it felt good to unwind. They’d trained hard this morning; they had earned a break.

Tony was telling a silly anecdote about the time he’d been chased from a fancy hotel by a pack of tabloid reporters who thought he was romancing the Chilean president’s wife. Steve laughed as Tony described hiding out in a cleaning closet and trying to make his escape.

Tony always had such good stories. Steve loved the way he told them, so energetic and self-effacing and full of life.

Steve was still giggling when he heard the door open behind him. He tried to hide his annoyance at the interruption and turned to see who it was.

Bucky walked in, his face pinched. “Steve,” he said very gently. “Steve, you’re doing it again.”

Steve woke up feeling, for once, warm. No dreams of the ice or of falling, at least none that he remembered. The bed was snug and comfortable.

He rolled over to see Tony, his hair mussed and his eyes still half asleep. “Morning, Cap,” he mumbled with a soft smile.

Something nagged at the back of Steve’s mind. There had been something that he was supposed to do today.

“Morning, Tony,” he said and reached over to brush the hair from Tony’s forehead. Tony turned his face and nuzzled against Steve’s hand.

Ah well. Whatever he was supposed to do probably wasn’t important. He would stay here, with Tony, where it was safe and cosy.

Someone was hammering on his door. Steve tuned it out. It was probably just Fury come to lecture him some more. Or one of his teammates, trying to smile but failing to hide their pity when they looked at him.

Steve didn’t need anyone’s pity.

What time was it? The blinds were drawn, but a dull, sickly light leaked into the room.

Eventually, the banging on the door stopped and Steve let out a breath.

He turned to look at Tony. “They don’t understand,” he said flatly.

Tony sighed and took Steve’s face in his hand, running a thumb across his cheek. “They don’t,” he agreed.

“It’s not fair,” Steve said, and it wasn’t like him to be petulant but he was so sick of losing everything. “We deserve to be happy. When do we get to be happy?”

Sadness flickered across Tony’s face for a second before it was hidden behind a too-casual shrug. “Maybe in the next life,” he said.