Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1547: Final - · Shorekeeping Arc [32] · “Let’s Go Home, Let’s Go Home, Let’s Go Home.”
That day, Lü Shu came down with a prolonged high fever.
He lay in the room where the "Little Space" replicated the villa from the Main God World, burning with fever and dazed.
This high fever completely took away Lü Shu’s last bit of vitality; he wasn’t exactly from High Dimensions, his soul’s lifespan was limited. Even if he’d lived a long time, it was ultimately finite—his hair began to dry out, his face started to age, and he could no longer rise.
Like an irreparable collapse, the moment his soul’s lifespan was about to run out, weakness prevented him from maintaining his youthful appearance, changing from a youth to an old man overnight.
"I... like... snow." In bed, Lü Shu looked at the heavy snow outside the window—Su Ming’an couldn’t maintain even autumn anymore, now it’s only the harsh winter where everything withers. Lü Shu stretched out his skinny hand, an elderly hand covered in spots, reaching to touch the flying snow outside the window, "Very beautiful... "
Su Ming’an stood silently in front of the bed, fully masking his expression.
... How could Lü Shu possibly like snow? He used to be most afraid of freezing under the bridge, snow to him was something deadly, something that broke his indomitable spirit; how could he like it?
It’s just that he couldn’t learn to be greedy, rarely considering his true feelings, only caring if Su Ming’an would be sad because of it. The things he wanted were few, so he learned to like what he didn’t like.
"Do you regret it?" Su Ming’an asked.
Regret... spending your last days with someone like me, regret living a life in this empty cage?
If you return to the Little Space, how many would honor you as the Savior? How many would admire and follow you?
"I used to... always watch you from afar..." Lü Shu held Su Ming’an’s hand. The old hand and the still young and fair hand seemed separated by an unbridgeable gap, he held tightly, his eyes reddened:
"From very far away... you in the sky, I on the ground watching. You falling from a tall building, I watching from above. You crashing glass, I inside the window watching... You and Noel, Su Rin... like kites, flying particularly high, I chasing the string on the ground, unable to hold the string..."
"I... run, and run, no matter how hard I ran, no matter how many glasses I shattered, no matter how much I hit my head to the point of bleeding, I still couldn’t catch up to you..."
"But, now... it’s so good..." He gently leaned his head on the back of his hand, tears staining it with warm moisture, hand tightly held:
"Finally... I held it... ah."
"Finally, I’m very close now..."
His hair remains white, yet looks dry and wilted. Su Ming’an remembers it was once beautiful, now like an old man’s, lost vitality, like swaying reeds.
He has already forgotten many emotions and many things, yet Lü Shu remains as an anchor point, never forgotten. He can clearly see how much life Lü Shu has left... just in these few days.
He began to frequent this room, bringing various new novelties he created, toys Lü Shu hadn’t seen before, musical scores Lü Shu was interested in... even though these things, over the long years, they had already shared, yet now, he knows, it is when Lü Shu most needs companionship.
... Also, it’s the last chance.
In his perception, the person on the bed weakens day by day, it’s not just his body that’s exhausted, but his soul.
Every time they meet, Lü Shu deliberately brings up past happy events, especially mentioning Lin Yin and Yamada, those few joyful souls.
"... This is all worn out by now." Su Ming’an thought. It’s almost been told thousands of times, he could nearly recite Lü Shu’s next words. Almost like a nagging old man...
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The coughing becomes more frequent, voice increasingly hoarse, that wrinkled face, isn’t it just an old man...
Ten days.
He could almost count Lü Shu’s remaining days.
Nine days.
Lü Shu increasingly brings up the past.
Eight days.
Lü Shu for the one hundred ninety-seventh time told the story of fighting in the bamboo forest with Lin Yin when they were kids.
Seven days.
"... In the bamboo forest we kept a dog named Xiao Hui. Xiao Hui was very good to me but fierce towards Lin Yin."
Six days.
"... Every time I practiced sword, Xiao Hui would bark wildly at the watching Lin Yin, making her bring all kinds of dog snacks, yet Xiao Hui still didn’t like her."
Five days.
"So I thought of tying up Xiao Hui; so fierce, what if it bit someone. Lin Yin shrugged and said, this place is originally its territory, at worst she wouldn’t come."
Four days.
"... Later, we realized it was because every time Lin Yin came, she passed a place with many dogs, absorbing other dogs’ scents, making Xiao Hui so fierce. It didn’t dislike her but was protecting me, afraid I’d be hurt by outside enemies..."
Three days.
"... And yet, teaching it because of this... such a trivial matter, I know you’re not interested, but it’s one of the few experiences I can still say... Well, yes, then to compensate Xiao Hui, I took him to the hill I frequently visited."
Two days.
"...Xiao Bi told me that Taihua Mountain wasn’t a mountain long ago but a lake beneath the starry sky, filled in by collisions to become a mountain. When I climbed it, I fell asleep with Xiao Hui on the hillside. I dreamt I was floating in the lake, scooping up a handful of the starry river, it was truly beautiful... because I hadn’t watched much television, it was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen as a child... but when I woke I realized, haha, what I touched wasn’t a handful of stars, it was Xiao Hui’s fur... as for that lake with stars drifting across it, it was actually him... cough, cough cough cough!"
One day.
"...Childhood fantasies almost always have a moment of disillusionment. Fortunately, fortunately, even though I experienced such disillusionment, I still look forward to catching a real starry sky on the hillside... because such dreams are just too beautiful..."
Zero days.
It was the last time Deity Ming’an set foot in this room.
Lü Shu’s voice had become intermittent, unable to form complete sentences.
He had listened to Lü Shu tell countless old stories, so many that he could recite them by heart. It is said that people really love to nag and repeat stories when they become old, and it seems true.
In the past, before grandma passed away, she loved to babble on and repeat her stories, just like Lü Shu...
But after he turned four, he never heard grandma’s babbling again, and in the future, he wouldn’t hear Lü Shu’s voice anymore.
It was his last time sitting by the bedside, intending to hold Lü Shu’s hand. During this period, Lü Shu always felt very cold, his senses thin, needing to hold onto something to feel at ease.
Just as he reached out his hand, suddenly, Lü Shu’s hand trembled, making a motion as if catching something.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand, glanced at his palm, and revealed a wistful smile:
"Ah."
"I finally caught it..."
In his palm was a blue-black starry sky.
"Is it the starry sky you showed me?" Lü Shu opened his palm, revealing his hand.
Deity Ming’an lowered his gaze, quietly sitting by the bed, feeling as if he were also sitting in a blue-black lake, with stars drifting by the water, just reaching out could scoop up the stars...
This was His world; of course, He could let him scoop up an unreal starry sky.
They sat from morning till night, the wind and snow outside growing fiercer, as if trying to bury the villa. For the umpteenth time, Lü Shu talked about those old past times, and Deity Ming’an listened cooperatively. They used their hands to scoop up the starry sky around them.
In those last seconds, Lü Shu seemed to have a feeling, holding the starry sky with his right hand, gripping Deity Ming’an’s hand one last time with his left:
"Don’t... be afraid..."
"I believe... you will definitely defeat Noel..."
"If... I could live a little longer, I would give you more companionship and courage... I told you so many old past stories, about Lin Yin and Yamada and them... what I knew of the past..."
"You... can create them... to be with you..."
"To replace me... as your anchor."
"In that case... you should be able to last longer... you will definitely win..."
Deity Ming’an’s eyelashes trembled.
Is that so.
All along, you’ve been naggingly repeating those old stories, knowing full well I could memorize them, yet you describe those details thoroughly... to provide me with more anchors... to replace you?
You knew you were going to die, but your fear, dread, sadness about death... all stemmed from the fear of the influence it would have on me, not your own death.
So you never thought for yourself, always considering others, even till the last moment before death, is that right, Lü Shu.
Beneath the never-ending white snow.
The white-haired companion revealed the most satisfied smile of his life.
He could not even clearly define why he felt so satisfied; such a life, such a monotonous tasteless life, such a cage-like life...
"Being able to... save this world with you... is my... happiest thing as this once wanderer." The white-haired old man clenched his hand tighter and tighter, hot tears falling onto the back of the hand:
"To become... the anchor for the Savior... is my... proudest achievement as this guy who always held the team back..."
"Ah..."
In that instant, he seemed to see countless people... Lin Yin, Yuanyuan, Yamada, Lu... holding his aged hand together, smiling and standing by the bed looking at him.
...So you all have been by my side all along.
Their still youthful faces, vibrant and vivid.
At that moment, he seemed to see himself restore his youthful appearance, turning into a proud, cold white-haired blademaster, running towards them.
He transformed into a free kite, no longer confined to the ground, soaring high into the vast sky—
...
"Finally, I’ve grasped that thread."
"I... have never left you all... it’s so great..."
...
Such a face, such a smile.
That is... the happiest smile Su Ming’an had ever seen on his face.
This guy... was truly happy, not just comforting him.
...
After Lü Shu passed away, Su Ming’an sealed up that villa.
The wind and snow still had not ceased.
He buried Lü Shu on a replica of Taihua Mountain, the slope that Lü Shu often visited as a child, a slope that was once a lake.
"...Today is not a farewell, he stands beside our clamor, he is behind our joy, like a tree lonely and resilient in the winter."
"...His life was silent, yet surpassed the noisy world. Though he is gone, he has not vanished, he lives in every moment he silently protected..."
The priest created by Su Ming’an dumbly recited the eulogy in front of the tombstone. The development of the "Little Space" was insufficient, even the artificial life was dull-witted, and even the eulogy was written by Su Ming’an alone.
Su Ming’an lay on the slope, listening to the eulogy read robotically. He wanted to participate in this sorrowful ceremony, but he had been in High Dimensions too long, he had forgotten many things, even how to shed tears.
Besides him, no one in the world would mourn for this ceremony.
His right hand kept waving, making a scooping motion. He repeatedly looked at his palm, and his palm was always empty.
"Where is it, the starry sky you spoke of," he murmured, "where are you, Lü Shu."
He closed his eyes, attempting to dream, to see if he could dream of the dream Lü Shu spoke of, scooping up the starry sky. Once he woke from the dream, he would see Lin Yin, Yamada, Lu, and the others waiting for him to awaken. When he awoke, he would still be standing in that villa, watching the steaming New Year’s Eve dinner being brought out, seeing Noel still wrapping those dumplings that exposed their filling...
However, when he awakened, the unchanging sky remained before him.
Alone, the deity lay on the silent slope, with no other sound in his ears.
"Are you okay? Do you still remember who you are..." Lü Shu’s habitual words, from that moment on, left his ears, never to be heard again.
Only silence, only he was withering away.
A cluster of wild daisies swayed, a gust of wind, a few petals falling on Su Ming’an’s palm.
Soft, slippery, like starlight.
At this moment, he was stunned.
...Ah.
Is that so, that’s how it is.
So this is the starlight that Lü Shu dreamed of as a child? When Lü Shu fell asleep on the slope, daisy petals fell with the wind onto his palm, in between dreams and reality, he thought he had caught starlight...
Lü Shu never understood why he could dream of such beautiful starlight, why there was really starlight in his palm...
Su Ming’an raised his palm, looked at the petals in his hand, and his lips trembled:
"...So, starlight is such an ordinary thing."
"If it were a little later, Lü Shu, you would finally know the answer from your childhood."
As he spoke these words, he felt his face warm. He touched it with his hand, and it turned out to be a tear.
So he still remembered how to cry.
He slowly lay down, surrounded silently by clusters of wild daisies, he looked up to the sky and softly spoke:
"O pages of happiness, those lily-white hands, tightly grasping my life with the power of death..."
This was a poem that Lin Wang’an read to him when he was young.
—Meanwhile, another voice softly echoed, as if resonating with the same poetic verses:
"O verses of happiness, those bright eyes,
will always look upon you like starlight, to explore the sorrow of my dying soul..."
...
I penned the sorrow in my heart’s tragic book with tears.
O rhythm of happiness, you are steeped on Helicon Mountain,
in a holy stream, where she is from,
you will see the angel’s joyful gaze,
the nourishment my heart has long lacked, my heavenly bliss...
...
He had long suspected that this would be Noel’s best opportunity to strike. He was most mentally unstable after enduring the intense sorrow of farewell.
However, Noel merely recited poetry with him, the two seemingly lost in long-lost peace, merely reciting the eulogy together for the departed friend.
If truly determined to seize everything, if truly to show the sharpness of an invader, then why at this moment reveal an inch of softness as an old friend, like a shell shedding its exterior, revealing itself to me?
The mourning lasted an entire day, and the next day, as if nothing had happened, the two resumed their contest.
However, Su Ming’an noticed that although his consciousness was becoming increasingly chaotic, he gradually began to gain the upper hand.
The first to disappear was Yuritilola’s soul, and before disappearing, she suddenly said: "I see... because Su Ming’an’s soul lifespan is far shorter than yours, so he won..."
This sentence puzzled Su Ming’an greatly.
He and Noel were not far apart in age, so their soul lifespans should be the same. Why say his soul lifespan was much shorter than Noel’s?
He did not receive an answer.
One day, he and Yuanyuan finally found an opportunity, with Xiao Na’s cooperation, they used the "Devour" and "Faith" Authority to escape the World Game, escaping this long prison.
To overcome Noel in the conscious battle, he had to continuously strengthen himself, so he used the "Devour" Authority to devour all visible nutrition.
His consciousness became increasingly blurred, yet he never relinquished complete control, in this long-drawn-out suffering... suddenly one day, Noel’s voice disappeared.
Su Ming’an came to his senses, opened his eyes, and saw Noel sitting on a tall White Tower, gazing at the sky.
"...You won." Noel, dressed in a white robe without a trace of color, like white feathers: "This time, you won."
"This time?"
"This time." Noel repeated.
"It’s not the first time I’ve reached the end, is it?" Su Ming’an said.
Noel didn’t answer, only showing a relieved smile that Su Ming’an hadn’t seen since their rupture. He stood at the highest tower top of the White Tower, arms open, and leaped.
That pure white swiftly fell in Su Ming’an’s sight, dissipating in the wind.
When this scene vanished, Su Ming’an opened his eyes, seeing the deep and silent universe, realizing that the trace of Noel’s consciousness in his mind had completely transformed into the void.
—He won.
He actually won against the combined forces of Noel and Yuritilola, it was unbelievable... was it because of his willpower? Was it because of Lü Shu as an anchor? Intuition told him it was not just these emotional reasons, but because of Yuritilola’s final words:
"Because Su Ming’an’s soul lifespan was far shorter than Noel’s, so Su Ming’an won."
He could not comprehend this sentence, but the result was that he won.
He finally reclaimed his complete consciousness, restored clarity, wanting to share the joy with his only old friend.
—And as he turned around, with empty eyes, only the vast, silent universe greeted him.
What of Yuanyuan?
Su Rin had left, Lü Shu had died, Noel’s consciousness had dissipated, Yuanyuan was his only companion left, where had she gone?
At some point, he noticed that his form was already incredibly powerful, to a degree that inspired awe, even far exceeding when he first became High Dimensions, even surpassing all the Organizers he remembered...
"...Ah."
He felt something, looking down at his collarbone—a tongue mark, emitting a dazzling and intense light.
He felt something, looking down at his form—why did a breath of a blue planet wander within him?
That breath, made one feel familiar, affectionate, cherished, bringing tears...
At this moment, he suddenly understood something.
At this moment, a trembling smile appeared on his face.
He put his finger on his tongue, paused, and then sliced it off, blood flowing.
The numb pain arrived, and he stood still, silent.
A moment later, near the point of despair, laughter echoed in his blood-filled lips.
...
"Did I win... Did I win... Did I win...?"
"I won... I won..."
...
Su Ming’an had a very long dream.
In the dream, he held the vast star sea, lying in the blue-black lake, swaying wave after wave, feeling an unprecedented lightness.
When he woke up, he was lying on the hillside, surrounded by white wild daisies, with the morning sun hanging overhead.
He stared blankly at the sky, stretched out his palm, and slowly clenched it.
Sunlight slipped through his fingers, falling into his dry eyes.
"...Su Ming’an, get up! There’s class in the afternoon!"
A voice rang out.
Su Ming’an turned his head blankly and saw a girl with a white butterfly ribbon standing on one side, hands on her hips looking at him. The black-haired young man in a white shirt beside her showed a helpless expression.
"...Class." Su Ming’an opened his mouth, only then realizing how hoarse his voice was.
"Was the pressure too great from editing the video last night? How did you end up sleeping on the hillside? Come on, luckily I found you..." Lin Yin pulled him up.
They walked down the hillside, past the white wild daisies, through the stream by the roadside, and Su Ming’an saw himself with short black hair, the original black eyes, wearing the ordinary white long sleeves he often wore during university.
Wasn’t he just wandering in the universe? Why upon opening his eyes, he returned to Zhai Xing? And to the most fortunate and happiest of futures?
He quickly verified his senses — this wasn’t a flashback, not a dream; this was the true reality... could it be a crossing? Unlikely.
Oh, perhaps it’s a death rebound.
Though after becoming high-dimensional, he hadn’t triggered death again, but this authority shouldn’t have disappeared. Could it be that he just triggered death rebound, and it could rewind so far, bringing him to the happiest timeline?
Besides this, is there any other explanation?
"Lü Shu! You’re not dead! That’s great..." He hugged Lü Shu beside him, quickly let go, and gently squeezed Lin Yin’s hand.
Lü Shu, who had dyed his hair black, widened his eyes in surprise and smiled: "I’m not dead... you had another nightmare. The World Game ended years ago, and the university has reopened."
"If it weren’t for you temporarily blocking people’s memories of us to experience college life, you really couldn’t enjoy this lifestyle, Su Ming’an." Lin Yin said with crossed arms: "Recover soon! Cure the pain quickly, and we can help Lu and the others sooner; they’re busy managing the various ’towers’ without a World Master, which is exhausting."
"Eventually, we’ll have to return power to the people; Lu should get used to the days without a World Master." Lü Shu said.
"Let’s go." Su Ming’an paused, smiled: "Let’s go."
They returned to the university, Su Ming’an went back to the familiar dormitory — he had only stayed in this dormitory for about a month, but every part was exceedingly familiar.
The buzzing gaming laptop on the desk, the anime figurines on the table, the detective books on the bookshelf, the photo on the wall with Uncle Zhao...
He touched these familiar items once more, confirming again, this wasn’t a dream; this was reality.
He truly arrived at a happy reality.
University days were ordinary yet joyful; with abilities already in full swing, Su Ming’an effortlessly clinched first in grade across subjects, first in physical fitness, first in New Year’s performance, first in sci-tech innovation competitions...
Gradually, his reputation spread, and students jokingly said there’s an "academic god with perfect scores in all subjects" here, and occasionally some classmates professed their love for him.
Like a second start to life, he gradually walked out of the shadows of the past, began to look at the world before him with acceptance and calmness.
The development of the "small world" was very good, exactly like the original Zhai Xing, and surely the future would find a new home. With him, with Lu, with Isabella and the others, with the sages originally from Zhai Xing, it was a visibly bright future.
On the last day of the freshman year, Su Ming’an dialed Yuanyuan’s number for the countless times.
"The number you dialed is unavailable..."
He slowly put down the phone, staring at the screen blankly.
The only regret in this perfect future was not seeing three people.
Su Rin, Yuanyuan, Noel.
Su Rin should have successfully returned home, which is a good thing. Noel might have flown into the universe, not his concern. But Yuanyuan, hasn’t she escaped the confines of the World Game? Logically, she should have been able to leave during the chaos...
Being in the small world, Su Ming’an dared not contact her hastily, lest they be discovered by the World Game.
On the last day of freshman year, he along with Yamada Machiichi, Lin Yin, Lü Shu, Mo Yan, Lin Jiang, and others who also concealed their identities to attend school, sang Karaoke heartily and drank a round of alcohol...
They sang loudly, laughed joyfully, envisioned the future, played finger-guessing mini-games, rolled dice, played truth or dare, drank low-alcohol cocktails...
With just one drink, he fell on the sofa amid the classmates’ exclamations.
In the haze, he heard countless cheerful voices.
Lin Yin sang loudly, like a heroic song as I set in the west.
Mo Yan talked about the laughter of the future.
Lü Shu whispered as he poured him sobering tea.
Lin Jiang shouted in victory over a mini-game.
Su Wensheng’s voice when he speaks sincerely.
The lively teasing laughter of classmates.
The clinking of clashing glass cups.
The rattling sound of dice shaking.
And, and... countless multi-colored lights, countless loud laughter, this seemingly never-ending night of celebration...
This seemingly endless youth.
In a daze, in a drunken blur, he lay on the sofa, seemingly seeing a vague figure approaching him.
——It was a teenager in his teens, standing on the other side of the long river of years, quietly watching him.
The youth wore a raven-feather-like black robe, looking up at him.
They looked at each other for a long time, neither spoke.
"...This is fine too." In the end, the youth murmured a sentence, turned around, and left, never to be seen again.
After sobering up, Su Ming’an lay on the sofa, still surrounded by joyous classmates, in an ever-ongoing celebration.
Waking up from the dream and realizing it’s an illusion, such a terrifying thing, indeed wouldn’t happen.
He smiled and sat up, using orange juice to continue this celebratory night.
When it was about to end, Mo Yan leaned close to Su Ming’an.
"Big Brother." Mo Yan’s eyes shone brightly.
Ah... it’s Mo Yan. Su Ming’an thought subconsciously with his still-drunken mind.
If it’s Mo Yan, he might say something about how much he admires me... he hasn’t seen me in a long time...
"Big Brother! I really admire you! I quietly, softly say it so others can’t hear." Mo Yan leaned closer: "You really saved Zhai Xing, and everybody is alive, you’re so amazing!"
Indeed, Mo Yan likes to say such things... Su Ming’an smiled slightly, looking at Lü Shu, who seemed to have something to say as well.
Lü Shu probably wants to send him back, it is indeed getting late now...
"I’ll take you back." Sure enough, Lü Shu said that. The words and tone were exactly as Su Ming’an had imagined. Lü Shu helped Su Ming’an and Mo Yan up, sincerely saying: "Su Ming’an, you still need to attend the Top 100 Streamers Awards Ceremony soon, although Lu really bought the website, you’ll still keep streaming, right."
"Yes..." Su Ming’an slowly got up: "After attending the ceremony, I must... return... to be... the World Master..."
"But I... don’t want to go back to the dormitory..." He said, tightly holding their hands, as if afraid of losing something: "Going back... it’s too dark, too cold..."
"I like... lively places, crowded places..."
"That lets me know... you’re still alive and living happily..."
"I don’t want... silent, unpeopled... deep... faraway... places..."
"I’m truly... very scared... very dislike... places that are very quiet, very dark..."
"Don’t leave me there, just let me stay here... let me..."
Let me... know you are happy.
Don’t leave me alone in such a place, for a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years...
His palm slowly slipped from Lü Shu’s shoulder, once again passing out. Actually, he could completely expel the alcohol, but he felt this was very relaxed, very comfortable, as if he no longer needed to be afraid... never needed to worry about waking up and this all being an illusion...
Here is reality.
That’s wonderful...
He awoke once more from the blur, it was Mo Yan carrying him back. It seemed the gathering had disbanded, more than a dozen classmates leisurely walked beside them, the moonlight sparse under the street lamps spread like salt on the ground.
Their young, tall shadows stretched very long, like a long and lengthy future life.
The whole street, as far as the eye could see, looked like a winding, flowing, silent river of frost.
"...Su Ming’an, this truly is a happy world." Lü Shu said.
In a drunken blur, Su Ming’an vaguely responded.
"Here, there will no longer be sorrow, pain, separation, or betrayal..." Lü Shu said, "A world where no one is sad, how wonderful..."
"I will never die of old age, I will always be here."
"Lin Yin and the others will not age and die either, they will always live on."
"There will be no tragedies like Acto, because with just a thought from you, no one will start disputes or rebellions. With just a thought from you, the dead will also be reborn, and time will reverse. Because this place completely belongs to you, it’s wonderful..."
"We are all in a star sea that will never be fished up again, that lake... forever replaces the hillside, it’s wonderful."
Deity Ming’an slowly opened their eyes.
——The pages of happiness, those lily-like fair hands.
The street lights on the roadside were dim and yellow, the halos floating in the thick night, as if diluted by this hazy moonlight, casting only a few vague light spots.
A dozen young silhouettes were embedded at the edges of these halos, their outlines melting at the junction of light and night, their footsteps falling on the moonlit ground.
In front of the gaze of Deity Ming’an, their companions were looking at them, eyes deep, gentle, and compassionate.
It was not the usual concern or greeting, inside there surged a kind of complex yet pure emotion, a kind of almost silent prayer. A desire so intense that it couldn’t be disguised, yet was rendered especially solemn due to restraint.
No sound, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds.
——May you have peace, may you have joy, may you be free from all suffering and sorrow.
Behind them, were shadows elongated by the streetlights.
The warm streetlights seemed to flicker for a moment.
In the interplay of light and shadow, all shadows took on the same appearance—regardless of height, weight, gender, or age, they all became identical shadows.
A height of about 176 cm, a balanced physique of about 60 kg, smooth black hair, soft facial contours... everyone became such identical shadows, shadows identical to Deity Ming’an.
But only for an instant.
In the next instant, the warm streetlights flickered again, and everyone’s shadows became different once more.
Deity Ming’an dozed off in a haze.
In a trance, some kind of traumatic response was uncovered, and they slightly curled their lips, vaguely recalling why they had come to such a world.
...Ah.
Speaking of which, why am I still called "Deity Ming’an" and not "Su Ming’an"?
Speaking of which, why have I always been "They" and not "he"?
Could it be that some things haven’t changed at all...?
Under the moonlight,
Seeing Deity Ming’an fall asleep, the blurred silhouettes of their companions moved at the junction of light and shadow, followed by a few hoarse whispers soaked in the night air, the sounds soon swallowed by the vast silence.
The streetlights’ halos remained dim and ambiguous, the road paved with salt frost underfoot still gleamed with cold light, stretching into the unknown darkness.
Reaching farther and farther into the unreachable distance.
"Lü Shu, there’s news from across the road, saying they’ve observed the universe again, finding nothing but endless darkness beyond the sky, nothing else. What’s going on... Should we ask Su Ming’an?" Mo Yan whispered.
"Yeah, not only is it dark, there isn’t even a star, it’s almost like... something is wrapping it up." Lin Yin said.
"Moreover, I vaguely remember, I have already lived a long time, even already died of old age... Why am I still alive now... Who exactly am I..." Lin Jiang scratched her head, whispering.
"Hush..." Lü Shu gently waved his fingers:
"Isn’t it good like this? If the truth is doomed to be a tragedy, then never let this kind of day end."
"I wish..."
He turned back, gazing at the moonlight he’d walked through:
"They won’t suffer from remembering the past..."
"Although, I also know, I am not the Lü Shu who has already died of old age, but... a cell within Su Ming’an created by the ’Devour’ authority..."
Rhythm of happiness, you are soaked on Helicon Mountain.
In the holy stream, there is where she comes from,
You will see the joyful gaze of that angel,
The nourishment my heart has long lacked, my heaven’s supreme bliss...
...
...
[TE19·"The Last Holy Meal"]
(You utilized the "Devour" authority, devouring angel, demon, deity, high dimensions... you gradually evolved into the ruler of the universe, devouring everything that threatened your homeland. However, when you look back, where has your homeland gone? Why is there the scent of your homeland inside you?)
...
The ’Devour’ authority, combined with the Soul Ferry ability, can create everything that has been devoured by the host within.
Including people, events, objects, even... the world.
That azure and clear planet quietly rotates within them, changing at will with their thoughts, with people living forever harmoniously, forever happily...
No one will suffer anymore.
No one will be sad anymore.
...
——Are you satisfied with such an ending?
...
...
Year 7328.
Deity Ming’an died by suicide.
Before death, they were incredibly powerful, touching the highest concept of the universe—the Panggala Return (cosmic reincarnation). And they obtained the method by which "Awakeners" retain incomplete memories in the cosmic reincarnation.
They also understood that "Su Ming’an" is unique, so things like "crossing the cosmic reincarnation" cannot be done, they cannot live and cross the cosmic reincarnation to find themselves in the next cycle.
Learning the technique of the "Awakeners," they used their incredibly powerful ability to leave behind a segment of their genes. After the next cosmic return, this gene segment will still exist, and with time, it will grow into their likeness. Then, this gene segment will subconsciously approach a life similar to them—them in the next cosmic cycle.
Before dying, they suddenly thought of Noel Agnini’s last words, that guy... the guy who pestered them for so long, had said a sentence...
...
["Can we really stop this endless cycle by staying here!!!!!??"]
...
That guy was probably also one of the "Awakeners," Noel must remember something about the cosmic cycles, that’s why they acted so abnormally.
Noel wanted to seize their body, could it be to leave something special for the next cycle, in order to break the cycle?
But, it’s already missed, that guy is already dead.
Really, couldn’t they have explained it clearly, couldn’t I have understood? However, that guy did say in the end, "I am sincere"... perhaps there were restrictions on saying these things.
Moreover, in the end, I cannot be sure if that guy was really lying or not, who would dare to completely entrust the future of the universe to that person? The chain of suspicion... formed too stubbornly, too clearly...
They closed their eyes, slightly curling their lips.
In a daze, just like Lü Shu before death, countless hands reached out to them.
"Poems of happiness, those bright eyes,
"Will always gaze at you like starlight,
"To probe the sorrow of my dying soul,
"The sorrow written in my inner book with tears..."
...
Yes.
Do not stay here.
Do not repeat such a cycle.
If there is another opportunity, even if all the steps repeated my tragedy this time, at the final moment of devouring Noel, at the final moment of seeing Su Mianbao, I must...
"Snap."
The universe fell silent.
On the hillside.
The star sea rose, scattered, silently.
...
