Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1557 - Finale·Crossing the Sea Arc [35]·“Geese Return in the Snow.”
Su Ming’an initially thought Noel would contend with him until the end.
Unexpectedly, after a few bouts of suffering, Noel "surrendered."
"Alright, alright, I’ll give it to you," Noel raised his hands, "since you’re heading back anyway, why should I stop you?"
After speaking, he proactively touched his neck and said before leaving:
"Remember, don’t repeat the current path, don’t force me to hasten the descent of Snow of the End."
Noel’s decisiveness left Su Ming’an stunned.
He quickly understood that the reason Noel did so much to obstruct him was to prevent the cycle; since Su Ming’an chose to turn back, Noel naturally hoped he would embark on a new route. If Su Ming’an didn’t make these series of radical actions and still wanted to become an organizer, Noel would definitely contend with him until the end.
"Hey! Brother, why did you surrender, what am I supposed to do? We promised it wouldn’t be like this! You promised to take me to the universe!" Yuritilola was dumbfounded, frantically waving her hands, but Noel had already beautifully passed away.
In the small world where rose petals fluttered, only Su Ming’an and the bewildered Yuritilola remained.
The next moment, Su Ming’an felt himself take control of the small world, he glared at Yuritilola and immediately stabbed forward.
Sharing the soul with Noel, Yuritilola was rapidly weakening, Su Ming’an stabbed a few times with relish, avenging with great satisfaction, and with a few more stabs, Yuritilola also beautifully passed away.
Yuritilola wasn’t dead yet, she still had a portion of her soul in the World Game, but whether she lived or died, Su Ming’an didn’t care at all.
"Bang!" Su Ming’an lay down on the spot, instantly fell asleep, and the immediate task was to enter Noel’s dream realm.
——Thus, after admiring some flowers, Hui Bai returned to this scene.
Noel fell to the ground, Yuritilola fell to the ground, and Su Ming’an also fell to the ground; a harmonious scene of the three with heads resting together, feet touching, beautifully passing away together.
This scene genuinely left Dr. Tea stunned, unsure of what to do, as if the world suddenly changed.
"Hey, you all really..."
"No, Noel, you all..."
...
Dream realm.
Su Ming’an opened his eyes.
In the distance, there was a scarlet door engraved with petals. And he himself was in Noel’s likeness.
He decisively moved forward and plunged into the door.
——Sure enough, this is the dream realm where Awakeners gather.
Upon arriving here, he saw whales floating in the sky, drooping flowers, small streams flowing everywhere, and some people walking around, roughly numbering about a dozen.
"Hmm? Blue hat is here," they seemed to recognize Noel.
"Blue hat, did you remember something again today? However, we haven’t remembered more memories yet, I’m afraid we can’t tell you," a red-haired girl said.
Through indirect communication, Su Ming’an understood the dialogue mode of the Awakeners.
——During the day, they are dispersed among various civilizations but have their own lives. At night, they gather periodically to exchange memories they recall.
Since the memories people can recall are very fragmented, sometimes only a little, sharing is necessary. They would store their recollected memories on a kind of paper called "dream realm paper," placed on a library-like bookshelf, available for others to retrieve.
The Lord of Dreams set up a trading system where everyone must exchange their unique items for others’ memories, such as emotions, abilities, or precious segments of memories.
Su Ming’an stepped over the colorful stream, showered with stars, and found Noel’s location.
Everyone here has a chair and a cabinet as their space—a chair adorned with blue roses and a cabinet carved with a crow pattern; this is all Noel has here.
Su Ming’an opened the cabinet, inside were over a dozen papers, which should be all the memories Noel has exchanged for so far. He sat down, took a deep breath, and opened a sheet of yellow paper.
"...Noel, during a previous cycle of the universe, started keeping highly fragmented memories. Until a certain amount was accumulated, he was drawn into the dream realm by the Lord of Dreams one night and became an Awakener."
"...Initially, he wouldn’t stand opposed to me. Eventually, I either ascended to High Dimensions or faced death, generally resulting in tragic ends, never having a truly beautiful return home... Hmm, it seems just like I predicted. And Noel, in most scenarios, could venture into the universe. Occasionally, he would stay back to watch over Zhai Xing for me."
"...Ha, [Watchers]. Because I’m not there, so he comes to replace me, huh."
"...During these cycles, Noel essentially wouldn’t retain memories until once a quantitative change led to a qualitative change, and he became aware of the cosmic cycle."
"...Oh."
Su Ming’an flipped the paper slightly, his brows gently drooping.
"...He started opposing me."
"It seems he began to discover that no matter how good the previous ending was, my ending was often tragic, sometimes even Zhai Xing couldn’t be redeemed, resulting in complete annihilation. Retaining more memories, he started actively entering the dreams of the Awakeners, actively exchanging memories, and actively guiding Zhai Xing through the World Game."
However, in the end.
Noel Agnini discovered that relying solely on his own strength, he couldn’t persuade everyone. Some of his strange behaviors even aroused human suspicion and aversion. In some developments, he even died from internal human doubts.
He realized that the memories he retained were still too few, many things were unpredictable, and a half-baked command would only lead to more chain reactions, more tragedies.
Thus he made a mad decision.
—To no longer care about humans.
After all, in the end, it’s just a cycle, isn’t it? The numbers of the universe may seem dizzyingly large, but in reality, for them, it’s still just a lifetime, no different.
Finding the truth, learning the secrets of the universe’s cycle, and breaking free from the shackles of destiny is what he has to do.
He doesn’t have Su Ming’an’s stubborn sense of moral responsibility; he only cares about truth and freedom. Since human suspicion has become a shackle in his pursuit of truth, why linger on them?
—Why should a flying bird be jealous of swimming fish?
His goal shifted from "finding clues while preserving Zhai Xing" to "finding clues at all costs," because the former was too difficult to achieve, and he couldn’t guarantee whether becoming an Awakener was harmful, or how long this state could last.
He had officially become a villain in the eyes of humans.
Meanwhile, since Su Ming’an often stood in the position of a Savior of humanity, between them, they finally shifted from "mutually trusting true friends" to "opposing enemies."
One watching over the homeland, one gazing at the sky.
One intending to preserve the current tranquility and beauty, one intending to seek the truth at all costs.
One viewing the present as a treasure, one viewing the future as hope.
"...To obtain the truth at all costs, one must make oneself strong enough, become a God, become High Dimensional, become an ineffable life form," Su Ming’an read silently.
"...In the stage of being a weak human, wanting to rely on High Dimensions, this thing, seemingly shameful in others’ eyes, was just a necessary means for Noel to climb towards the truth, which could significantly cut down the time he needed to access more advanced information. He began contacting the Sixth Thrones, contacting the Seventh Thrones, contacting the Master of the End of All Things, contacting the Supreme Lord..."
"...Desperately grasping upwards, desperately climbing upwards, desperately enduring accusations, desperately racing towards the universe..."
"...When he turned against me, my ending was, of course, even more tragic, sometimes even perishing together with him... Ah, I had indeed poisoned him in that manner," Su Ming’an saw a page recording that he had indeed poisoned Noel.
"Most of the time, he still successfully raced toward the universe and, at all costs, ascended rapidly, even actively devouring Dieying to enhance himself, losing a part of himself without hesitation. Finally, each time his lifespan grew longer, the universe’s truths he could access became deepened, and he recorded all this information in dreams, in this cabinet."
"Hmm? All these cabinets belong to the Lord of Dreams, meaning the Lord of Dreams can retain memories across different cycles, proving to be the most terrifying."
"Most time, Noel would recover a small memory of being an Awakener after the Tenth Replica, giving rise to the memory of having a dream, thus discovering this cabinet and the information accumulated from countless previous cycles. Therefore, in our eyes, he seemed to have ’sudden inspiration and decided to rebel,’ but he merely remembered what he was meant to do."
"Until the recent cycles, the memories accumulated in the cabinet became more and more; the universe’s truths he touched and the development directions expanded, and he finally found the best, complete ’freedom’ road. He called it ’the most hidden, most narrow path in the golden-yellow forest, untouched by anyone.’"
"...So, he wanted to guide the world toward that road."
"...This road can stop us from walking towards repeating tragedies, prevent us from heading to a predetermined fate, prevent us from becoming fate’s puppets on strings."
"...Therefore, when I walked towards an already happened wrong direction leading to a tragic end, he approached everything to stop me, even directly killing me..."
"Heh, does this person think he’s a Magic Girl? Taking it upon himself to save the ’me who hasn’t walked towards the wrong end yet’?"
"But I could understand his thoughts; if it were me..."
"...I’m not sure what choice I would make; this somewhat resembles the time I faced my thirty-third cycle’s dilemma, having to choose between comrades and clearing the game; if Noel didn’t offer his hand back then, what would my choice have been? Would I have continued on consuming time indefinitely or, upon realizing it’s indeed impossible to save Yuanyuan, choose to go forward..."
"...Or, when I knew I must move to the next cycle, would I save the comrades of the next cycle by killing those of the current?"
Su Ming’an folded the paper, his mood a mix of feelings.
He leaned against the Blue Rose chair, quietly staring at the sky where whales drifted by.
Does this count as hidden truth? Yes, this is indeed something Noel could not say openly; Awakeners are bound by [rules]. If it wasn’t for Su Ming’an taking over Noel by chance, he wouldn’t have seen these secrets.
So, indeed it is hidden truth, and Noel indeed did not decide to rebel solely for personal gain.
Is this not hidden truth? Actually, it isn’t.
After all, even if Su Ming’an learned these, so what? Noel’s reliance on High Dimensions was solid, as was his multiple attempts to harm him.
Before the Tenth Replica, as Noel hadn’t remembered the memories as an Awakener and hadn’t returned to the dreams to open the cabinet, those help, kindness, love, were real.
During the Eleventh Replica, after Noel contacted the Awakeners and remembered everything he endeavored to explore between the universe cycles, those betrayals, injuries, pain were also real.
Su Ming’an rocked the chair, recalling the confrontation with Noel.
...
["Noel Agnini, was our ’love’ fake?" Su Ming’an went through numerous vivid memories, trying to find a shred of evidence for an answer.]
[After a brief moment, Su Ming’an heard Noel’s soft voice:]
["...It was real."]
["And now, it’s real too."]
[True friendships are real, cooperation is real, anchor points are real, bonds are real... leaving is also real.]
...
Good, it’s real. Bad, it’s all real.
After all.
"Did Noel really have hidden motives?"—Ultimately, it depends on how people perceive him.
If it’s seen as a struggle, a noble act, as Noel enduring humiliation to end the repeated tragedy, seeking truth and the future, then consider it as "having hidden motives."
If it’s felt that Noel’s actions can’t simply be forgiven, that people were indeed hurt because of him, then consider it as "without hidden motives."
It doesn’t matter; Noel doesn’t care.
Whether just and righteous, whether people hate him or like him, whether black or white, Noel doesn’t care. He doesn’t need so-called "redemption," as he isn’t black or white.
He simply walks freely in the grey, painting unique colors.
He believes that this world has Su Ming’an alone as the great, proud individual, and that’s enough. With such a radiant Lighthouse, he wishes to enter the shadows to see those corners unseen under the light.
After all, there need to be individuals outside of the "Savior."
In an ideal state, of course, the "Savior" guards the homeland and preserves the home, while Noel flies towards the Universe, seeking a way. Unfortunately, ideals often cannot have both; there must exist conflicts and gaps between the two, causing them often to be unable to both be preserved.
Thus, leading to the current situation.
Creating the inevitable conclusion of the present.
Thus, even knowing the "hidden motives," this remains a knot unable to be untied, a bridge unable to be rebuilt, a fog between islands that cannot be dispelled.
Noel still wishes to seek a way, Su Ming’an still wishes to preserve his homeland. Even if repeating once, a hundred times, countless times... Even if both speak kindly, their positions cannot be reconciled.
"Ka-ka..." Su Ming’an’s fingers clenched the yellow paper, slowly lowering his head, forehead against his fist, eyes tightly closed.
That guy...
He finally understood what Noel was thinking behind those subtly changing expressions, those eyebrows and eyes drooping all of a sudden.
Was it "next time I’ll save you properly," or "this time I must do everything to stop you"?
Moments later, Su Ming’an loosened his palms, spread the yellow paper flat again.
"Ka-ka—"
However, this time is different.
This time, is the only time Su Ming’an touches these truths. Perhaps because the cycle has been repeated so many times, even Su Ming’an developed hallucinations akin to those of an Awakener, hearing words like "do not repeat the tragedy," possibly from obsessions before certain cycles, quantitative change leading to qualitative change, finally heard by himself this time.
Therefore, he felt aggressive thoughts arise, acting as bait to invade Noel, entering Noel’s dream, seeing these truths.
This is... the closest to the truth.
"This is... the most promising opportunity." Su Ming’an murmured.
His boots stepping onto the rainbow-colored creek, shattering Noel’s reflection in the water.
He understood Noel’s secret, knew the Development of the Sea Crossing Line and Guardian Shore Line, and discerned three points:
First, the "best" road might involve the Awakener and Lord of Dreams, whose gazes are everywhere. Like a prohibition, Noel might be unable to even speak, unable to openly say how to proceed, only by various awkward means stop Su Ming’an from heading in a worse direction.
Second, the Lord of Dreams can retain more memories between cycles, is "more," not "all." Su Ming’an believes even if the Lord of Dreams is mighty, it’s impossible to recall every cycle’s events, perhaps only stronger than typical Awakeners, therefore retaining more memories. Otherwise, with so many universe cycles, Noel could hardly have just this dozen papers in the cabinet, likely because the Lord of Dreams also remembers only these.
Third, Noel cares about Su Ming’an’s "soul age," just proposed "Su Ming’an shouldn’t become an Awakener, just let me become one," hence could infer, becoming an Awakener might be harmful, related to soul age, could it be the more remembered, the shorter one lives? Or something else?
Noel never wants Su Ming’an living too long, wanting to kill him, for protecting Su Ming’an’s "soul age"?
The information on the yellow paper is only these, not explicitly stating the best path. After all, here is the Lord of Dreams’ domain; writing "how to deal with the Lord of Dreams" would be too Edward-ish.
Su Ming’an has unraveled most of the doubts.
He rubbed his forehead, placed the paper back into the cabinet, with a "clack" sound.
After the crisp sound of the door closing, an inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind.
—Wait a moment.
His palm paused.
His "Hand of Redemption" first copied Noel’s "Puppet Threads" skill; Noel was smart enough to realize Su Ming’an could copy the Cloud City God’s skills?
This guy must have cleared all of Su Ming’an’s skills, first rehearsed in his mind countless times before challenging Su Ming’an, surely considering the "bug" of the Hand of Redemption?
So, that guy is...
Going with the flow...?
Noel probably didn’t expect Su Ming’an’s aggressive measures, Su Ming’an’s reverse possession was unexpected to him, but when Su Ming’an attacked, Noel’s defeat was unusually quick.
The Cloud City God’s sword pierced, Noel had many ways to hold out for a while, but was pierced through with one strike. Though it was Su Ming’an’s open plot, Noel could have at least held out a little.
This guy... though surely defeated, went with the flow, hoping Su Ming’an would see these secrets.
Su Ming’an realized Noel using his body as poison, Noel realized Su Ming’an realized Noel using his body as poison, Su Ming’an realized Noel realizing Su Ming’an realizing Noel using his body as poison, calculating him calculating him calculating him...
"Heh."
Su Ming’an chuckled, exiting the dream.
Due to Noel’s death, the small world snowed.
This is snow signaling the impending demise of the small world; Su Ming’an stood quietly in the flowerbed, raising his head, watching the small world’s edges gradually breaking, collapsing, crumbling like sanding.
He didn’t leave, fearing his consciousness returning to the body might be stopped by the organizers from dying. He prepared to stand here until the small world collapsed, dying along with his consciousness.
Next time he opens his eyes, it will be the ultimate final—he needs to ponder Noel’s thoughts, finding that "golden wood" amidst unspoken symbolism, transfer, and understanding.
Knowing these secrets, he has already terminated the cycles of Sea Crossing and Guardian Shores.
Heavy snow unbounded, alone he stood beneath the collapsing sky, robes like clouds.
—Yet someone walked to his side.
"I once heard a fairy tale."
A blond young man with braid standing beside Su Ming’an, looking toward the long wind blowing:
"Once there was a fox playing happily with little animals."
"Until one day, the little animals accidentally fell into a pit, all together working full capacity, shoulder to shoulder, toe to tiptoe, striving to send the fox out of the pit."
"The fox said it would return, when it does, it’d rescue all the little animals."
"The little animals waited and waited, the sky turned dark, the fox never returned, instead welcoming a group of carnivores."
"’The fox betrayed us! It’s led the enemy!’ the little animals angrily shouted."
"Yet the fox just smiled."
"The fox smiled all along."
"At first I thought this was a story teaching children not to trust bad people. Later, I heard the rest of the story." Hui Bai looked at Su Ming’an, clutching a bouquet of fresh white magnolia.
In thick snow, the first and last Number One Player stood silently together.
"What’s the rest of the story? What is it?" Su Ming’an asked.
Hui Bai smiled, arranging the hair at his ear, silver headband fluttering in the breeze:
"Have you not already heard?"
Su Ming’an’s eyes opened wide, snowflakes falling on his lashes.
After a moment, he retracted his gaze, looking to the distant white mountains and glass.
"Mm."
"I’ve already... heard."
"The fox is a good fox, also a bad fox."
...
