Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1458 - 107: OE · The Last Holy Meal (4)
["We are not Saviors, merely the bridges of all living beings, the spines of heritage, the wingless birds connecting the past and future generations."]
["I do not have wings myself, it is the feathers that have taken root in me, transformed into my arms, and I have turned them into a down cloak for the world."]
["To end the ice, to bring warmth to the masses, to make the twelfth month not cold."]
["Thus, the happiness of all beings is my happiness."]
["May you... be happy."]
[——Olivius]
...
In an instant, Su Ming’an felt his Authority of "Devour" detach from his collarbone, transforming into transparent knife and fork.
The tips of the fork and knife pointed in his direction.
The Authority of "Faith" also simultaneously detached, revolving behind him, transforming into a gigantic clock.
The knife and fork were precisely at the center of the clock, akin to clock hands.
Behind him—was a distant, vast, ocean-like expanse of millions of shadows. They were dressed in colorful clothes, adorned with radiant equipment, resembling a brilliant starry sky, resembling a myriad of township lights.
Su Ming’an stood at the center of the clock and knife and fork, like a sacrifice about to ignite.
"A Creator, in essence, slices their own flesh, feeding it to the characters under their pen, using heartblood and soul as fuel to nurture them." Sique gazed at this scene, her eyelids lowered:
"I once regarded everyone in Luowasha as characters, wholeheartedly wanting them to create splendid stories."
"Mr. Lighthouse, you are completely the opposite of me. You see many people unrelated to you, these NPCs like characters in a book... as humans too."
"But even so... does a sacrifice have to be made?"
Su Ming’an closed his eyes.
He seemed to hear the voices of many people asking.
They were asking... Su Ming’an, is there a better way? Is there another possibility? Even so, does a sacrifice have to be made?
He could see Lü Shu’s silent gaze, staring through slightly long bangs.
He could see Yamada Machiichi’s complex crying face, unclear whether it was fear or pain.
He could see the crowned Sea Emperor holding a pair of black gloves.
He could see Lin Yin hurrying over, her sorrowful tears, with a bamboo flute at her waist.
For a moment, he felt a profound loneliness emanating from them, as if transmitted over a long distance. And the source of this loneliness was him.
It was him who connected them from their scattered locations, gathering the scattered stars into a sun, making them yearn to return home together, to start yearning for happiness, well-being, and reunion, yet in the end, he irresponsibly let go, letting them scatter to the eight corners again.
The heart trembled slightly, as if something was about to crack open.
He even thought of what to say.
If they rushed to him and asked if there was another way, he would say, no more, probably only this way can punish the Eighth Thrones, this is already the best ending he can make.
If they questioned him, wasn’t it promised to go home together? Then he would say, you know, after all, a wish is just a wish, I have spoken too many lies in this life, I am inherently an irresponsible liar.
If they asked what to do in the future, then he would say, you have become good friends, even if I am not there, you can still live well... this is already very perfect.
It’s already perfect.
May you be happy.
But for a moment, he regretted a little, if he had agreed to Yuanyuan earlier, to enter the happy dream with everyone... would it be better than sinking into the cold, dark, numbness of death now?
He opened his eyes, reflecting the blood-red sky and endless figures, trembling his wrist, waving the pen, and placed the final period.
The writing was completed.
Golden words entered the final piece of Memory Clip, rising to the sky, falling into the last page of the World Book.
"Dong."
From an unknown place, the sound of a gigantic hammer falling was heard.
——"Narrative Anchor Point" confirms the sound of truth.
The things he wrote became reality.
Then, at this moment, he looked at Sique, moved the facial muscles, and slowly revealed a clean, joyful, happy smile.
He responded to Sique’s question:
"Mm. I don’t regret it."
"After all, if not for this heart..."
The latter half didn’t come out.
——A feather pen pierced through his heart, stripping away his heart.
...
The 19-year-old youth Su Ming’an,
what more can he repay.
...
[Divination Card·(The Wheel of Fortune) Wheel of Destiny]
[Elements: Clock, Time, Jellyfish, Feast, Feather Pen, Unavoidable Fate.]
["——What you can do, is only to accept. Besides this, there is no other way."]
[The hands of the clock are fork-shaped, pointing in his direction. The background outside the clock glows with dots like a glorious starry sky, like a myriad of township lights, also like pairs of wolf-like prying eyes.]
[In the exact center, a feather pen pierced through his heart, like a hostile sword, but the white jellyfish tentacles behind him amiably wrapped the tip of the feather.]
[Could this be... the character image he divined?]
[——1216th Memory Clip·"Wheel of Destiny"]
...
The feather pen penetrated his heart, taking out a blood-red organ.
Blue-purple blood vessels encircled a pulsing soft body, like a red apple covered in juice, the skin filled with branch-like traces.
——His heart.
Half a seed of the World Tree, emitting shimmering light, detached from this "red apple," floating to the distance——floating to the hands of a pink-haired girl.
The girl looked down at this half blood-stained seed, pressing her lips together.
Her other hand tightly clutched a beautiful, silver hairband.
A tear, without warning, fell from her mirror-like indifferent eyes.
She touched the corner of her eye in bewilderment, surprised by what this was, her whole body involuntarily trembling.
...Tears. This was her first time sensing such a thing.
She silently felt the warmth of the liquid.
A moment later, a faint smile spread from the corner of her mouth.
Ah...
So this is the emotion humans feel when they laugh and cry.
...
["He once thought of himself as a majestic deity, only to find himself a forsaken Judas."]
["Crows circled around him, singing in unison: ’I am your offspring! I am your offspring!’"]
["’We are eagles, bears, and lions!’"]
...
White stars fell, landing in Lü Shu’s hands, turning into flowing light, drilling into his collarbone.
He silently stared at the white stars on his skin, feeling a power of "All Things Become True," as if with a thought, he could achieve what he wished.
"Faith" Authority.
——But if he could achieve anything he wished, then...
He closed his eyes, repeatedly reiterating his thoughts.
Please save Su Ming’an.
Please let Su Ming’an be happy.
However, when he opened his eyes, the white stars remained quietly.
——At this moment, he painfully realized,
that young man’s happiness, originally was something even the Deity could not retrieve.
...
["They attained it, rejoicing."]
[——They attained it, and were glad.]
["They devoured it, jubilant beyond measure."]
[——They devoured it, and were jubilant beyond measure.]
...
Su Ming’an’s body, from a flesh and blood form gradually transformed into a pure energy source, like a crystal-clear amber, this was Sique Sect’s method.
He clenched the feather pen, with the sharp end facing himself.
As long as it falls... he will be like straw scattered in all directions, like the star sea spreading over the world, achieving the final "Holy Meal." Just like the night of his birthday, watching the fireworks filling the sky.
Blossoming for a moment, then falling in all directions.
A wave of intense fear surged in his heart, but soon, he forcibly lifted the corners of his mouth.
People looked up, waiting.
...
["Merciful Lord, please forgive our sins!"]
[——Merciful Lord, please forgive me!]
["Bird, bird, you have grown flesh and blood!"]
[——Your follower, your bird, has grown flesh and blood!]
...
"——Su Ming’an! You can’t do this, do you not think of yourself at all?" Atlanda’s chaotic voice rose, almost losing its rationality with madness: "You’ve struggled to get here, is it all for this moment?! If you die, others might shed a few tears, feign a few words of gratitude, is it worth it!!! If you live, you would be the ruler of this world, no one could defy you! You are a third-level god, even without a heart you can live for a while, it’s still not too late to take your heart back now!!"
Atlanda really couldn’t understand a person like Su Ming’an.
The precious thing he longed for was within reach, just an outstretched hand away, yet he chose to give it up for some ridiculous reason of "duty" or "ideal".
Stupid! So stupid!
How could someone be this stupid!
But the fact that the Number One Player reached this point proves he’s not stupid, what on earth confounded his mind?
Idealism... yes, idealism! Idealism is indeed an extremely terrifying brainwashing. Survival is a basic human instinct, yet someone defies it for something so vague! How terrifying!
Atlanda trembled with fear, shaking his head repeatedly.
Su Ming’an closed his eyes.
There was a strong fear in his heart, surging upwards, almost swallowing him. But what followed was an intense relief.
It turns out that in front of some things, death can also be not scary.
He is a fool willingly shackled by himself.
"Su Ming’an." In a daze, he heard the voice of Spiritual Dream-Maker Yuanyuan.
She was the Twelfth Thrones, even if she couldn’t descend in person, she could convey her voice:
"I can immediately extract your soul, take you into my dream, and let you survive."
"The price is, it would also bring the Eighth Thrones into the dream, the dream will no longer be a pure land. And no one can restrain the Lord of the End of All Things again."
"Are you willing..."
She sighed:
"Alright... no need to ask, I know you won’t agree."
Su Ming’an’s lips curved.
Yuanyuan... indeed, she still understood him well.
"I just have some questions, I want to ask you." Her voice was very light, slightly choked, as if crying.
Su Ming’an could hardly imagine the sight of her crying, ever since she left, it seemed she didn’t cry much...
He couldn’t help but perk up his ears, listening to her voice in this final moment.
"If not for this game, if not for your identity." Yuanyuan’s intermittent voice:
"Would you be willing to go back with me, together play the jump-jump-jump game I developed?"
Her voice gradually mixed with a sobbing tone:
"Would you mind me being bad at it? Would you not play with me?"
"Would you leave me aside while editing videos? Would you urge me to eat chocolate and then secretly finish my game saves?"
"Would you invite me to play those hardcore horror survival games, then lock me in a cabinet, watching me get scared? Would you walk ahead holding a flashlight, helping me fend off the face-hugging monsters?"
"Would you help me copy down the wrong questions on the thirteen-page notebook? Would you stay up at night, under the lamp light, avoiding mom, teaching me how to solve those wrong questions under the parasol tree in your backyard?"
"Would you tell me stories? Would you catch me when I jump down from the windowsill, apply medicine, and escape with me to an alley?"
"Would you go to the same university with me, playing the roles of ’Number One Player’ and ’Spiritual Dream-Maker’ in the same script-killing story?"
"Would you become a super famous horror game up-and-comer, get into the top one hundred, and let me help manage your comment section and live broadcast room?"
"Would you let me attend your wedding? Would you let me hold your child? Or... would you let me accompany you on a solo trip around the world?"
"Then..."
Her voice mixed with a bit of laughter, making Su Ming’an feel as if she was gently smiling right now:
"Would you continue to support each other, happily... continuing as childhood friends sharing joys and sorrows?"
"Until we are seventy or eighty... no, until we are ninety, a hundred years old..."
"We haven’t seen how you look in a professional suit yet, haven’t seen how you look with gray hair yet... you are still too young, too young..."
Black hair softly lifted, eyelids closing—
He didn’t have the strength to answer Yuanyuan’s words, his hands slowly drooping, his body fell like a black swallow.
Glow gently floated up from his amber-like body, drifting in all directions.
The sobbing grew louder, almost echoing in his ears, one sound, another, and another.
...Stop crying, Yuanyuan.
He wanted to comfort her, but couldn’t make a sound.
As if feeling the already lost heart, twitching and aching wave after wave.
A warmth streaked down his cheeks, though he had thought of it, this moment that would be remembered by the world, he didn’t want his expression to be too ugly. He wanted to be like a hero, with righteousness. Like the Ultraman dreamed of in his youth, defeating monsters.
He had fantasized about this moment, for so long.
But when it really came, why was it so painful? So painful it was suffocating, so painful his whole body trembled, so painful he couldn’t stop shedding tears.
...I saved you through thirty-three cycles, spent a thousand years of vacation with you, finally seeing you become a complete and strong woman.
Don’t... at times like this... make a cry that causes him to tremble...
Eyelids finally closed, a black swallow falling from the sky.
...
At this moment, the swallow seemed to hear a voice from long, long ago.
"Do you know? Su Ming’an." Xiber stood up, looking at him:
"A child devoid of love shows emotions too obviously."
"The love they lack as children, no matter how richly it is compensated when they grow up, their inner world is still barren."
"Throughout one’s life, they will always chase after what was unattainable in childhood."
...
My whole life...
In the pitch dark vision, Su Ming’an slightly curved his lips.
...It seems I’ve chased... so much...
Yes.
I am happy.
My life is complete.
There are so many great friends around me.
I met the family who took care of me and the godfather.
My childhood was happy, my inner world fulfilled, I have never lacked... "love".
I realized my ideal and protected this world.
I finally feel satisfied and relieved.
Such a barren and ordinary me, finally completed the responsibility of "Number One Player".
My life wasn’t one of regret.
What is "love"?
Is it happiness? Is it sharing? Is it sharing joys and sorrows? Or despair and dying...?
...
...Sorry.
I couldn’t fulfill my promise at the end, and revive a friend.
But what is love.
I think I finally have a different answer.
Love is...
...
...
No need to ask.
...
...
...
"Swoosh!"
A streak of golden light skimmed across the sky, and a figure gradually emerged.
