Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1437 - 88: The Garden of Forking Paths

[The greatest luck in a person’s life might be to discover their mission in the midst of their journey, when they are in their prime.]

[Fortunately, in the long observation and recording, we have seen you find your mission.]

[No matter what choice you make.]

[On the timeline where you succeed... it will be everyone’s paradise.]

[We bless you, Su Ming’an.]

[——Supreme Lord · "Number One Player" · 2024.12.31]

...

The lake water like jade, the chanting epic.

Golden orchestration, shadows of angels and altars.

Dong—— Dong—— Dong——

The bell rings from an unknown origin, echoing through the entire supreme realm.

Su Ming’an stretched out his right hand, opened it up, and in his palm was a sealed chocolate candy.

This was given to him by Yuanyuan; if he wanted to end this memory, he just had to eat the candy.

——But clearly, the scene before him was no longer just a memory.

What he saw, the woman with red hair draped over her shoulders, was the true embodiment of the World Game consciousness. Her gaze locked onto him personally.

At the moment when he used the key to open the door, he had already detached from the memory of the first World Game and witnessed the real World Game consciousness.

——"God" entered this place.

Not the twenty-seven Gods, not the High Dimensions, not the half-baked deities.

But in the true sense of the word... "God."

The Universe’s organ, a wondrous entity born of its own accord, an embodiment of the World Game consciousness.

——This place is a crack for the "God."

She, with long red hair, looked at him with a smile as a guest, having brushed shoulders with him and engaged in brief conversation during these long months.

"God. Should I call you... Xiao Na?" Su Ming’an said softly.

The surrounding hymns became increasingly melodious, and the phantom angels floated on the water surface. Incense burners, altars, stars, and knights. The "person" with red hair draped over her shoulders became blurry, except for those flame-like eyes that remained clear.

"Whatever you like, as you wish," she said.

"Was it you who chose me as the successor for the World Game?" Su Ming’an asked.

"There is no ’successor’ term, the World Game doesn’t need a successor. An organ is just an organ, it operates on its own, without needing human will to override it," she said.

"You don’t need a successor? Aren’t the twelve organizers your successors?" Su Ming’an asked.

The chanting grew louder.

At this time, twelve phantoms appeared at the edge of the lake.

The first, a white rabbit, its eyes like rubies, and a blood-colored balance embroidered on its belly.

The second, a young man with purple hair and golden eyes, his soft ear feathers naturally drooping, his red clothes like blood, holding a purple-gold feather pen.

The third, a semi-liquid colored substance, wearing a clown mask, with bright oil paint dripping inch by inch.

The fourth, a pink fox, its body slender, its tail tip like a snake’s tail, covered in pitch-black illusory pollution.

The fifth, a hooded young man with moon-colored pupils, somewhat resembling Elf King Huan Jiala, with starlight swirling around him.

The sixth, vacant.

The seventh, a child wearing a wreath of purple grapes and olive leaves, with a body pieced together from Red Heart, Spade, Club, and Square Card.

The eighth, a black-gray wandering soul, covered with words and twisted lines, as if the embodiment of thoughts.

The ninth, a mass of dark purple fog, with a crystal-clear light sphere at the core.

The tenth, a bottle filled with various liquids, difficult to distinguish which is the body among the colorful liquids and the glass bottle.

The eleventh, a creature covered in a hood, exposing not a bit of skin.

The twelfth, a girl with black hair fluttering and clear eyes, wearing a pink cat-ear hat and holding an icy thin sword.

Their expressions—uniformly cold and inorganic, as if devoid of emotion, static as sculptures, pale and cold.

The twelve phantoms encircled the lake, surrounding Su Ming’an in the center, resembling the twelve marks of a clock.

Xiao Na sat on a high stool in the center of the lake and said lightly, "They are merely mortals entertaining themselves. Except for Boss Rabbit, the World Game has never recognized anyone’s presence. Their involvement is either by Boss Rabbit’s invitation, accidentally drawn in by wandering High Dimensions, or by Player Dimensional Ascension. However, the operation of the World Game needs no one, they—are just an appendix that can be cut off, imprisoned within the body of the World Game, flaunting their power in front of players unaware of the truth."

Saying this, ’She’ glanced sideways, smiling at Su Ming’an:

"However, it’s the first time I’ve seen them so interested in a player. Maybe you’re just really likeable."

For the third time, Su Ming’an felt he stood before an aquarium.

The aquarium’s glass had completely shattered, and sharks, along with other carnivorous fish, now swam freely with him.

"I only have one main question." Su Ming’an calmly said: "——The cycle, how many nesting dolls does it have in total?"

Xiao Na’s eyes were chillingly clear, like frozen blood vessels: "What if I ask you? With your intelligence, can you give the correct answer?"

Su Ming’an closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them:

"4."

The correct answer is 4.

From small to large, the inner circle gradually expands to the outer circle.

First cycle: Luowasha Sique’s time authority. (Reason: Sique’s man-made time authority can change the time within Luowasha.)

Second cycle: Luowasha Reset. (Reason: Sique and World Tree coordinating, repeatedly exploring different epochs’ beginnings and ends.)

Third cycle: World Game cycle. (Reason: Unknown. But it is known that the World Game has cycled over four hundred million times.)

Fourth cycle: Universe Big Bang cycle. (Reason: Assumed to be the Universe’s rule. Similar to the "Universe Cycle Theory," or "Panggala Return" theory, it suggests that the Universe has been destroyed countless times from its first birth to now, each universe’s beginning is the last universe’s end, with infinite void space. After extremely long ages, any particle will eventually return infinitesimally close to the original position, which is universe cycle, a fixed rule.)

They are in an inclusive relationship, smallest circle—small circle—large circle—largest circle, nesting like this.

The levels increase incrementally, counted by multiplication.

For example, if Sique used the time authority 100 times, and Luowasha had 3030 resets, and the World Game cycled over four hundred million times, and the Universe Big Bang occurred 10 times.

Then the final cycle count = 100*3030*423273031*10

Apart from this, there is a fifth cycle, Su Ming’an’s Death Rebound, which wasn’t considered.

"According to the analogy, the first and second cycles’ aim was to arrange the Memory Clips properly, reducing entropy increase while preserving its unique diversity, allowing civilization to tread the best path," Su Ming’an calmly said: "Thus, I infer that the third and fourth cycles share the same goal."

"The first two cycles were meant to arrange the perfect Memory Clips in Luowasha’s ’World Book.’

"Then the third and fourth cycles imply that both the World Game and the Universe each have a larger ’World Book’—let’s call it the ’Book of the Universe.’ Cycles aim to let the World Game and Universe find perfect Memory Clips/future direction paths, leading to better roads."

"With the advent of the World Game, the worlds corresponding to each instance become increasingly complete. On the day when all worlds achieve a ’perfect TE’—it means the entire universe also achieves a ’perfect TE’!"

Su Ming’an’s speech quickened, his heart following suit——

"At that moment, it’s the formation of the ’Book of the Universe,’ the perfect arrangement of all universes’ ’Memory Clips,’ signifying ’the establishment of everything perfect and complete,’ finding a way to prevent thermal death and halt the Universe Big Bang cycle completely!"

"All of this... perhaps, was prepared just for that moment! System."

Xiao Na smiled silently.

She seemed to acknowledge everything and agree with Su Ming’an’s inference.

All concepts, seen large from the small. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Luowasha—corresponds to the Universe.

World Book — corresponds to Book of the Universe.

Luowasha’s Memory Clip/Development Direction — corresponds to the Universe’s Memory Clip/Development Direction.

Sique and the actions of the World Tree — correspond to the actions of the World Game.

They are all similar.

"It’s okay," Xiao Na sighed, "...all the same."

The chanting grew louder, with twelve phantoms looming over the lake.

The mist became denser. The scents of flowers, plants, and joss paper... various fragrances floated.

"...But there is one thing I still don’t understand," Su Ming’an raised his eyes.

"I know what you want to ask," Xiao Na curved her lips, "You want to know what happened at the end of the first World Game?"

Su Ming’an nodded.

He clapped his hands.

A black and white piano emerged between the waters of the lake.

The piano surfaced in the current, with droplets trickling down its casing, like a sharp blade parting the Red Sea, like a black monument rising from the water.

"...As a human examining all worlds, I enjoyed various kinds of music."

"On Zhai Xing, my favorite was Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 in A Minor."

"Number One Player... Su Ming’an."

"Could you perform the piano version of this piece for me, for countless worlds, for companions, for enemies, for the lucky or unlucky, for the dead or the dying, for the asleep or the awake, for those who bow or resist with heads held high, for yourself?"

"I hope to convey the truth within the moving sound of your piano."

Su Ming’an remained silent for a moment.

The music around him grew louder. The phantoms of angels brought out stringed instruments, violins, cellos...

A light shone in the middle of the lake, illuminating the black and white piano, as if it were a stage of destiny.

The descending stairs appeared before Su Ming’an, the central podium slowly lowered, the entire lake forming a recessed structure, yet the waters did not submerge the piano, leaving a clear, bright performance area.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Su Ming’an descended the stairs.

Once, he ascended but felt as if he were falling.

Now, he descended but felt as if he were ascending.

The truth, he knew much of it, so what then?

His homeland... does it still rest in his palm? How will he protect it there?

The more enormous the truth he learned, the more insignificant he felt. He once thought this was a game where completing instances would save his homeland, much like a brave hero defeating a demon king... true enough, but the truth behind it all was far broader and weightier than this basic logic.

His fingers rested on the keys, and he seemed to instantly return to his childhood. How many days and nights had he spent sitting before a piano like this? Back then, most of his thoughts were about tonight’s homework, tomorrow’s math class, and... unfinished horror games.

Now?

Now.

Now, it’s about the cyclical theory of the Big Bang, the truths inside and outside the four layers of the cycle, the watchful eye of the World Game consciousness, the World Book and the Book of the Universe, the wait of billions of lives.

The moment his index finger was about to strike the keys — he heard a soft voice.

"Wait a moment."

Xiao Na stood beside him, her red hair billowing.

The waters around the lake were suspended, frozen in a moment’s stillness, he sat at the dry lakebed, seemingly ready to be engulfed by the lake at any time, yet the waters remained still.

Xiao Na pried open his palm, there was a chocolate in it.

"You still have the chance to swallow this chocolate and return to the side of the Spiritual Dream-Maker," Xiao Na said, "If you don’t swallow it, I’ll take away this chocolate and never return the chance to you again."

"Is what follows... very confidential?" Su Ming’an said.

"Ah, indeed," Xiao Na said, "What I’m about to reveal is top-secret information. Even for me, the cost is significant. I won’t allow you to know everything and then turn back to Spiritual Dream-Maker’s dream, never to return. After learning all, you must bear responsibility."

Su Ming’an stared at the chocolate in his palm.

——He had to admit, he internally agreed with Yuanyuan’s path.

A peaceful, happy, and harmonious dream, even at the expense of future potential, was certainly the wish of the majority. If there were a worldwide democratic vote, Yuanyuan would undoubtedly win.

He disliked deciding for everyone, forcibly demanding they wake up. But he couldn’t help finding himself in this position again and again.

Now, he must make a decision.

——Eat the chocolate, forsake learning the remaining truth, return to Yuanyuan’s dream, and live the life he’s always longed for.

An ordinary, calm, and tranquil life.

A world where Lü Shu, Lin Yin, Yamada Machiichi, Lu, Bei Wang, Luna... all live.

——Or, not eat the chocolate, start playing the piano piece, cut off his path back, and continue listening to Xiao Na’s truth.

The reason for Noel’s betrayal.

Whether the Cloud City God can return home.

Where did Su Liujin go?

What Hui Bai, Ran Bo, and the others have done.

And... whether Sique Olivius can open their eyes.

"...Ha."

Uncontrollably, he made a sound, like laughter, yet also like a lament.

This should be the most important choice of his life...

This was also his third time feeling that sense of decision-making at a crossroads.

The first was when he founded the Peak Alliance.

The second was after the Ninth World ended, when he decided to change the number of people in the Peak Alliance.

The third is here.

Looking back now, this feeling... should be something called the "Déjà Vu Effect", that is, "déjà vu."

Indeed, it’s not the first time.

No matter, it’s all the same.

"Two paths, both correct... This time there’s no trolley problem, for neither track binds anyone. The trolley, whichever path it chooses, will move forward..." Su Ming’an muttered to himself:

"Whichever path I go, it’s the right one. No one can judge right from wrong..."

My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror.

My deeds are not justice.

No matter what, he must bear the consequences of making a choice. All the burdens and sins, all the sorrows and tears...

Even if he can’t repay it...

He will endure.

He will atone.

It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it seemed only a moment.

He picked up the chocolate in his palm and made his decision—