Chapter Twenty-Four: The Final Choice Amidst the Flames
The Forest of Gods' Tears.
A man, carrying the skeleton of another man, stumbled along, tears streaming down his face, leaving nothing but devastation in his wake...
He finally relented and gave in to Elsa and Moryin; he never imagined their entanglement would end like this...
He thought the deaths of Qina and Guiji were his biggest nightmare, and he was determined to protect those around him who had given everything for him. He was also grateful for Bisso's survival... In the end, Bisso, who was lying on the ground severely injured, died because he couldn't dodge in time from his own frenzied group attack...
If it weren't for Heng—the only person who could awaken him—he would probably be completely lost in hatred by now, and might even have become a foolish force of destruction!
But Heng paid the ultimate price to awaken him from his addiction!
They carefully placed Heng's body on the lawn.
...Everything has returned to where it all began...
Saving the world, saving humanity... He kept forcing himself to shoulder responsibilities he couldn't possibly bear... He arrogantly wanted to save everything... But he wasn't that great at all! He was just someone who couldn't do anything, just a coward, and it was Heng who silently bore all of this for him.
As for himself, all he really needed was to be loved by Heng. What he liked most was not being a savior, but nestling in Heng's arms, listening to his intimate whispers in his ear under the sunlight, and calling the name he longed for...
But he discovered it too late.
He killed the person most important to him with his own hands, destroyed his only obsession... until he realized that without Heng, he was nothing and could do nothing...
With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a sea of fire... The flames were like a demon that devoured everything; the forest burned, and so did his heart...
And so it ended with Heng.
Beyond that, life held no meaning for him. He no longer wanted to be anyone's savior; he simply wanted to be a lover who would die for love...
"We meet again, Huan."
Two familiar figures could be vaguely seen in the flames—
Elsa! Moyin?
They've already...
In his horror, Huan tightly embraced Heng's remains... refusing to let go! This was the promise Heng had made to him, and now it was the vow he made to Heng!
wrong!
Upon closer examination—
Those weren't the two of them! They were just... their bodies!
It's just like... that scene from twenty-two years ago.
Two graceful "leaves" have already opened... from which emerge sacred "stamens"—
god!
It is the second coming of God!
"Huan, do you still remember our promise? Your courage back then surprised me, so I promised to bring you back to life. When you grow up to look like that, we will meet again and settle our final score about destiny."
Huan didn't look up at him; she continued to hold Heng tightly.
“Huan, your expression right now feels very familiar to me, you know? It’s exactly the same as the deep affection Heng had when he looked at you twenty-two years ago, when you were one with my Heavenly Thunder.”
A tear fell onto Heng's cold face: "I don't remember making such a promise with you back then when I was already dead. The person who made the promise with you was him. And he is already dead."
Are you implying that you're begging me to open your beloved's eyes again?
God smiled. It was the first time I had ever seen God smile. The smile was warm, like that of a neighbor's child.
It was the ring that changed him—
The shock that Huan brought him was not limited to that scene from twenty-two years ago.
Twenty-two years ago, when he unhesitatingly sacrificed himself to save all living beings, God was surprised to find that he couldn't forget this body of his own... He was thinking about it every day... and hoping to reunite with it soon.
Watching him return to Heng's side, witnessing the unwavering bond of their online love... and seeing the pain and sacrifice in Elsa and Moyin's hearts...
It's all because of him...
These two men taught me, the creator god,... what love is!
Because he possessed such love, he understood what true love was, and his soul became even purer than that of God…
turn out to be……
Perfect love does not exist because of each other's perfection, but because perfect love itself makes the beloved flawless—this is the attitude one should have towards the human beings one has created.
That's the significance of this agreement!
"Is it okay?" Huan finally raised her head and stared intently at God.
God fell into deep thought.
"The ring, even for a god, is not a simple matter of resurrecting half of one's own body... That's why even I had to wait for you for these twenty-two years back then..."
“If I could, I would stay with him forever…wait for him…” Huan interrupted him.
A glimmer of hope ignited on his face. As long as it was Heng... this was the only way he could repay Heng's kindness.
"Twenty-two years ago, in order to give you a new life, I presented Heng with a difficult choice. Now it's your turn. Huan, are you ready?"
God's gaze upon him was distant and profound.
Huan nodded without hesitation.
This means... the only chance...
Heng...
“There are two ways to bring Heng back to life—the first is like what you did back then, where you preserve everything about Heng except his body. In your current state, you should be able to preserve everything about him: his soul, his memories, his power… You don’t have to make the painful choice he did back then. After that, you just need to wait for him to be reincarnated as he is today, and then you can be together—but doing so will not change your destiny or the fate of humanity. Perhaps before that day comes, humanity will have already been destroyed, leaving only you…”
Huan stared intently at Heng's face; this was the most important person to him.
"What about the second method?"
"The second way is that I can revive him immediately, exhausting your power. Then I can allow you two to reunite briefly, after which I will destroy this second world, erase the memories of all its inhabitants, restore them to ordinary human bodies, and transfer them to Earth—everything will return to the beginning of creation. Perhaps you are right; indiscriminate destruction is meaningless, and humanity's path must be walked by humanity itself. But—"
"But what?"
Power, if not used for salvation, is meaningless to him. To live happily with Heng like an ordinary person is his ultimate pursuit of love. If it can save humanity, that would undoubtedly be the best outcome.
But... is it really that simple? "A brief reunion"... what does that mean?
“But—” God said with a troubled expression, “Creating this second world consumed a great deal of energy, and that energy is now contained within this world. Even for me, as a god, it is impossible to reclaim it. I must rely on the two of you who have shared my body and power! After this brief reunion, I will seal all the power here within your bodies… In other words, in order to rectify the space that created the rift and restore the normal order of the past, you must help me make amends for my mistakes.”
An immense power that even the creator god could not reclaim...
Huan already understands why it was described as a short reunion.
Heng's body, which was severely injured twenty-two years ago, could only have his memories sealed before he had to sleep in the ice cave for eternity. Now, they need to seal this power, which even the gods cannot overcome, within their bodies...
They will surely sleep forever, never to be reincarnated again.
"Have you thought it through? This is a choice between personal love and universal love. What's the decision?"
Compared to his unwavering resolve twenty-two years ago, God prefers Huan's current expression.
Twenty-two years ago, his expression was more sacred and genuine than that of a god; twenty-two years later, the warm thoughts of a god are closer to his expression... What exactly should a god be like? This is the question Huan has been throwing at him ever since then.
Perhaps even God admires their selfless love... The radiance of this love deeply moved Him; this is what they call their little love... It is no less than the great love that saves humanity!
Faced with an even more difficult choice than before, Huan remained intently focused on Heng.
Heng was the most important person to him, his whole life, and the only person he needed.
But...do I have the right to abandon the world just because of that?
If it were Heng, what would he choose?
"Haven't you thought about it yet?" God continued to urge him.
"Wait, I'm asking for his opinion. This is the choice of both of us." When Huan looked up again, her face was smiling, and it was a smile that was so peaceful.
This was their final choice in life, and as long as he looked at Heng's face, he could face it with such composure.
Ask a dead person for their opinion?
God was silent.
...
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