People always hope that a certain moment can become eternity.
But this expectation will eventually come true.
Whether people like it or not, time will keep moving forward.
Pan found that things seemed to be changing.
He first noticed that Peter no longer hung out with them as often as before.
Then, he learned that Peter Barry had performed well in school and had been rewarded by the big shots, and was able to talk face-to-face with the Tarots, who were school directors.
Although Pan was not present at the time, he and other partners listened to Peter's vivid description of the process.
Peter Barry's ambition was to be admitted to the newly established Aviation Industry College. He shared this idea with the Tarots, and these kind-hearted people were obviously very willing to help children from poor families.
They contacted Howard Hughes, a famous entrepreneur and aviator at the time, and allowed this child with rare ideals to send a letter to this celebrity.
Although there is a huge gap in age and class, the two became pen pals because of their shared dream of aviation.
On the day when Peter Barry was about to graduate, he brought good news to all his partners——
Howard Hughes admired Peter very much and was willing to pay for his tuition and living expenses during his further studies at the Aviation Industry Institute. In exchange, Peter will join his company after graduation and become a member of the aircraft design team...
After hearing the news, Peter's friends were as happy as crazy - becoming an aircraft design engineer meant that Peter was one step closer to their dreams.
While others were cheering, Pan just stood there numbly.
He realized that things were about to change dramatically.
The change he couldn't accept the most was Peter Barry's departure.
Not only that, inspired by Peter, the children stopped messing around and started working hard towards their own goals.
The "noisy legions" ceased, and the music on the streets of Lower City was missing one voice.
For Pan, the occurrence of such an incident meant that his life would return to the dark night without dawn.
That never-ending loneliness will engulf him again...
The smile fell from his face again.
Perhaps such a drastic change had a great impact on him, perhaps he was too afraid of returning to loneliness. In short, Pan's spiritual world underwent drastic changes.
On a cold dark night, in an empty room, he saw some kind of vision...
Through the window he saw a black deer standing in the street.
The deer was so tall that its neck stretched above the streetlight, so it was impossible to see its face clearly.
The antlers stretched toward the sky like a giant tree with spreading branches, and Pan could see pieces of black petals falling from them.
The deer's shadow was cast into Pan's room and into his eyes.
"Pan,
"Don't you remember your identity?"
He didn't know whether the voice came from the giant black deer or from his own heart.
"Although you have lost your last followers and become weak...
"But you should not forget that you are not a mortal."
Am I not a mortal?
Pan's eyes widened.
I am not a mortal...
I'm a...demigod!
As the amnesia symptoms caused by the sudden drop in strength were somewhat relieved, some of Pan's past memories were suddenly awakened.
He was born from the oral stories passed down by the simple herdsmen, holding a reed panpipe named Selinx and walking happily through the woods. In the legend, he is the nymph fairy and the pure child. partner...
He also has his own power and prestige - after the greedy town residents were unwilling to pay them the reward they promised to eliminate the rat infestation after he drowned all the rats in the town by playing the panpipe, he played the stuffing in anger. Links took away all the children in the town.
And those children became his exclusive "friends", which made him happy for a while...
However, due to the extremely short lifespan of humans and the indifference of gods, Pan, as a demigod, is always chased by a strong sense of loneliness...
Especially after "Voyage of the Gods." There were fewer people who believed in him, and the feeling of loneliness pestered him like a maggot attached to his bones, making him miserable for many nights.
The heart is twisted and deformed again and again in the darkness.
"I am a demigod..." Pan murmured, and although those magical powers became weak, they returned to his body like a flash of light.
"Yes, you are a demigod..." The deer outside the window covered half of the window like a black curtain.
"As a demigod, how can your feelings be dictated by the arbitrary actions of a mortal?"
This voice... what she said was so reasonable that Pan's heart, which had been immersed in the mortal world for too long and even forgotten the darkness, was once again infected with the arrogance and madness that belongs exclusively to "gods".
Yes, I am a demigod, and I have powers that no one else has—
Why should my feelings be at the mercy of mortals?
Why do I have to endure such a separation again?
Why should I return to solitude! ?
The dark clouds in my heart surged up, blocking the light called "humanity"...
A turbulent, violent, and poisonous thought emerged in my heart.
There seems to have never been a shadow of a black deer on the street, only the silhouette of a latecomer elongated by the street lights.
Standing in front of the window, those eyes once again revealed the distortion and arrogance that have lasted for thousands of years...
…
On the eve of Peter Barry's departure from the New Testament and his journey to Rongguang City to start his study career, Pan invited him alone to the rooftop where countless memories had occurred.
In Pan's understanding, he and Peter were the only two people on the rooftop that night.
Peter looked in high spirits as a new chapter in his life was about to begin.
He was packing his luggage at home and didn't know what the youngest brother in the group wanted to do with him.
"What's the matter? Pan?" Peter said with a smile.
It’s the same slightly lazy smile with neat teeth that makes people take off their guard.
Pan turned around, and Peter noticed that the aura of the little friend in front of him had changed...
He frowned in confusion: Why does he seem to be... getting older?
Pan's dark circles were extremely deep, almost scary.
There was a smile on his face, but there was an indescribable weirdness about that smile.
"Peter, there's nothing special...
"I just thought you were leaving tomorrow and wanted to see you again."
Peter laughed, obviously without any suspicion or guard against the friend in front of him: "Don't worry, Pan!
"I will write to you. Besides, the college also has winter and summer vacations - I can still find you when I come back from the holidays..."
"Yes, you will come back..." Pan suddenly whispered to himself, "I have heard you humans say such self-righteous words too many times, and then never come back..."
Peter frowned: "Pan, what are you talking about?"
With a smile on his face again, Pan shook his head: "It's nothing, I was talking to myself...
"Oh, by the way, Peter, do you remember that time you brought me into your conversation?"
"Of course I remember," Peter shrugged, "I designed a stupid game, haha..."
"No," Pan said calmly, "That game is not stupid at all.
“Not only am I not stupid, I even want to play with you again.
"Peter, you are leaving tomorrow, can you play the shadow stepping game with me again?"
Peter realized that the most introverted member of the group seemed to be haunted by separation and separation.
How could it be possible to refuse such a request?
He had no choice but to agree to this somewhat strange request: "Come on, why not?"
Pan stepped on Peter's shadow with a strange speed - the momentum was like a hungry wolf rushing towards its prey...
"Wow..." Peter was frightened by Pan's actions, "You are fighting without declaring it again..."
Without giving Peter any extra chance to breathe, Pan stepped hard on Peter's shadow, one step at a time, causing the rooftop ground to shake slightly with each step.
"Wow wow wow..." Peter, who noticed something was wrong, wanted to stop the game, "Pan, how did you..."
While Peter was talking, Pan finally stepped on his shadow.
"Pan, what's wrong with you..." Peter felt a little uncomfortable and wanted to move, but found that his body seemed to be pinned and he couldn't move, "W-what's going on?!"
He looked at Pan with some horror. Only then did he realize that the reason why he couldn't move was because Pan had stepped on his shadow.
Like a poisonous snake wrapping around its prey, Pan walked up to Peter in a few steps.
There was a vicious expression on his face that a twelve-year-old child would never have, and his eyes were completely crazy beyond his age. He stared at Peter as if he was playing with his prey, and a low hoarse voice came out of his throat. :
"Honestly, Peter, you are so talented and charming...
"I like you very much.
"However, I am more 'jealous' than 'like'."
