Chapter 96 A Contract to Live and Die Together.
Easter glanced at the online chatter, but after nearly a month away, he had a mountain of things to deal with.
I've been working overtime and staying up late every day, and before I know it, the day the server officially launches has arrived.
Over the past twenty days on the continent of Luomanjier, the cooperation between the Kingdom of Felix and various countries and races has been on track, forming a virtuous cycle. The benefits that the country has gained from this are immeasurable. In addition, the city of Felix, named by the players and belonging to the players, has also taken shape.
The city of Felix covers an area of approximately two to three thousand square kilometers. The fact that the players were able to build its basic structure in such a short time is enough to prove their skill.
The city's planning and construction is quite interesting. At the outset, there were four different opinions, and ultimately, no one could convince anyone else. A compromise was reached: since the area was large enough, the city was divided into four parts, blending four different styles into one. To ensure a natural integration, players put considerable thought into using existing mountains, rivers, and forests as natural barriers. Moving from one style to another requires passing through these natural barriers, creating a disorienting sense of time travel. More special passages will be arranged later, mainly because players' current strength is insufficient to utilize advanced magic.
East is really looking forward to the final result, and even feels that the current city is not enough for players to play around with. When there are more cities in the future, that will be the time for players to really show their skills.
The reason for bringing up city building at this point is simply because the server is launching today. Twenty-five login points have been set up, evenly distributed in the four corners and center of Felix City, and these will be the fixed login points thereafter.
Ister climbed to the top of the castle tower, sat on the windowsill with her legs bent, and saw the system projecting a screen showing players logging in, crowded and bustling; in her ears were the sounds of shattering, spiderweb-like cracks spreading across the transparent glass, which eventually broke and shattered completely.
East looked up at the sky, where dark clouds piled up in layers, making it feel suffocating.
In an instant, only a white expanse remained in Esther's pupils, a pure white color without a trace of other colors, both holy and eerie.
The wind whips up the clouds, thick, dark clouds churn, and in a daze, one glimpses a strange scene behind the clouds—majestic, vast, and breathtaking, slowly eroding one's thoughts and mind.
East suddenly lowered his head, and a red dot was reflected from the depths of his pupils. That red dot slowly diffused, becoming a dark red and opaque. Dense black lines appeared on his jade-white body, the fine black lines resembling cracks on the jade-white body on the verge of breaking.
"Whoosh~whoosh~" Ethereal and ethereal, seemingly real yet unreal, this time the "source" did not converge into a whole. The thin white lines split into two strands and flowed into East's eyes.
East leaned back against the window railing, his eyes half-open and half-closed, letting the fine, white mist slowly seep in.
A gentle breeze swept by, dispelling the dark clouds and forcing the sunlight to scatter.
"Don't be afraid~ It will be alright..." It was vague and left no trace.
...
East reached out and grabbed, and a wisp of wind just slipped through his fingertips.
"System, do you think He really perished?" Ister asked softly with his eyes closed.
The integration of "source" this time was significantly better than the previous two times, with very few adverse reactions.
[Host, the fall of such beings cannot be called a fall, but rather a result of the law of re-fusion. It is inevitable that traces will remain; it's just a matter of whether they are willing to accept it.] the system replied.
Easter hugged the system rabbit that had suddenly appeared, ran his fingers along its fur, and asked, "What do you think He was thinking in the moments before He fell?"
The warm, cozy rabbit pressed against his chest, enveloping his slowly beating heart from the outside in.
"Host, I don't know," the system said. "Deities formed from rules have no emotions."
Easter shook his head and sighed, "He probably hates it."
"Why?" the system asked, puzzled. "He shouldn't have such feelings."
Easter laughed. "System, every living being experiences negative emotions before death. Otherwise, how did I come to be?"
[Host, do you know your origins?] The system is good at grasping the key points.
“System, you should have guessed it,” Ister turned and stepped off the windowsill, slowly walking to the sofa and sitting down. “The fall of gods is accompanied by the birth of monsters. The fall of the [Miracle] led to the emergence of the ‘Source.’ System, the boundary between monsters and the ‘Source’ is very blurred. They are essentially all kinds of emotions left in the world after the fall of gods. My existence and my composition are quite obvious.”
He was nothing more than the emotions left behind in this world after the fall of the "Miracle." Perhaps the emotions He felt in the moment before His death were too intense, which led to this accidental arrival on Earth. He started over, learning to be a human being, but he was merely a facade, inconsistent in his actions and even he himself found it pretentious. He was fearless of death but also attached to the human world. He did not understand human emotions, joys, sorrows, or anger, yet he tried to imitate them.
“System, perhaps you can check my whereabouts on Earth.” East thought of this thing he had always overlooked.
The system was still processing the information Esther had given it, and without much thought, it followed his instructions.
[Host! Host!?]
Judging from the system's reaction alone, Easter got the answer he wanted. He gave a sarcastic smile, and the dust settled, leaving no room for maneuver.
[Host, what's going on?] The system rabbit's eyes widened in disbelief, its sapphire blue eyes filled with disbelief.
“Because from beginning to end, I have never belonged to Earth,” East replied. If he did not belong to Earth, how could there be any trace of him on Earth?
The original owner never existed. The identity of Ist was prepared for him long ago, which proves that Felix's bloodline has been broken. "Ist" was created by the power of the gods and was not born through reproduction.
【But this shouldn't be the case?】The system said, 【Host, your Special Dimension Administration couldn't possibly be unaware of this. If they were, the order I received wouldn't be to bind you to a mission, and...】After so many unexpected events, he slowly couldn't continue speaking. From the moment they transmigrated, the word "accident" had been with them. Judging from what happened later, the "accidents" were not truly accidents.
“Don’t think about it,” East interrupted. “As things unfold, the truth will come out one day.”
【Okay, host.】The system is very obedient. The host is so smart, what he says must be right. After all, many questions have already been answered, and this biggest question shouldn't be too long from now.
[Host, the seal on the monster is only one percent intact.] The system then got down to business.
"One percent? What good is that?" Ister thought the seal on the monster would disappear completely.
"If the seal were to completely shatter, those twelve gods would not be far from their demise," the system said. "In order to prolong their existence, this last one percent will not break so easily. In fact, this is their cleverness; the fewer seals they need to maintain, the less power they need to use, and the more they can do. Even if the continent is destroyed, they will be the last wave."
“System, this might not be a good thing,” Ister said. Previously, the gods were tied up with sealing the demons and couldn’t spare any attention. Now, this situation is actually the most disadvantageous for them.
[Host, are you worried about your own personal safety, or about people or things related to you?] the system asked.
“System, my memory isn’t that bad, and besides, that’s what Arip said,” East said. “Regardless of the premise he came to, since he said that as the last of Felix’s bloodline, they can’t do it themselves, I’m willing to believe it. As long as they don’t do it themselves, within my territory, no attack can hit me, so my personal safety can be guaranteed to a certain extent.”
What he truly worries about is quite obvious. First, there's Areper, his lover and his bond in this world, which he can't help but worry about. Second, there are the players; what if they're out and about and get scammed, bewitched, or captured for research? Nobody knows the extent of the power of the gods in this world. Third, there's his cooperation and trade with various nations and races; if a divine decree were to truly descend, it would inevitably have a significant impact.
【Host, I think they probably wouldn't go that far because of the existence of demons...】Even the system itself couldn't convince itself. Look at the "good deeds" these twelve gods have done; they practically have the word "desire" blatantly engraved on their foreheads. You really can't judge them with a normal person's mind.
“As long as they exist, their influence will continue,” Easter said. It’s not that everything will be fine if they deliberately avoid targeting others; they themselves are the greatest influence.
Easter rubbed his temples, thinking, "If you're going to die, just die already. Why do you have to hang on like this and make things difficult for me?" His emotions were volatile and he wished he could destroy something to calm himself down.
The moment this thought popped into his head, Easter's expression changed instantly. He ground his teeth and slowly exhaled.
[Host, I have a solution...] The system remained silent until he remembered a very obscure function in the system. Because no system had ever used this function since its creation, it was often overlooked by the system itself.
[Host, what's wrong?] Before the system could offer a solution, it noticed that Easter's emotions were fluctuating abnormally.
"It's nothing, tell me what the solution is?" East didn't care at all. He was almost used to his mood swings from time to time. Based on the timing of each episode and some other information, he deduced that it was most likely related to the broken seal. This was something he couldn't change, so he could only adapt to it. Anyway, there was only one percent left.
The system considered the method he was about to suggest and hesitated like a human. If he could think of other ways, he would never have brought out this obscure function.
[Host, have I ever told you that our Dimensional Management Bureau's system isn't a purely technological product composed of data encoding, as depicted in many literary works? In reality, it's formed by combining technology with special spiritual objects, which is why we can develop emotions. Many of my predecessor systems have already developed emotions...]
The system paused there, waiting for what Easter would say next. "Hmm?"
[With feelings come love and hate,] The system rabbit buried itself in East's arms, only its two drooping ears trembling with the rise and fall of East's breath.
[The system will also encounter species with whom it wishes to spend its life, but not every species can have the same lifespan as the system. Perhaps it was the preferential treatment given to the first-generation system by several venerable beings that blessed the systems born later. The system possesses a function, or rather, a contract that allows it to live and die with only one species. As long as one survives, the other will not die either. When near death, it will be randomly teleported to a safe place, theoretically either into the system space or back to the Dimensional Management Bureau. If teleportation is not possible, it will be hidden in an alternate dimension, and its injuries will be partially healed.]
After finishing this long explanation, the system quickened its pace, saying, "[However, this contract isn't limited to relationships with lovers. After all, in my knowledge, no system has yet found its true love.]"
After the system finished speaking, it waited for East's reaction. According to the rigid system analysis, saving his life was the best option, but with human emotions involved, it was hard to say.
Easter rubbed the system rabbit's ears, lost in his own thoughts, and after a long while said, "What should we do?"
His concerns weren't those outlined in the system analysis; he was wondering if he was being too arrogant. Between him and Arribel, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was weaker in combat and needed more protection. Besides, Arribel was a strongman; he had his own trump cards and secrets, and even more so, his own pride…
No, no.
Easter pressed his temples hard. His thoughts were too chaotic and contradictory. There was nothing wrong with wanting to protect his lover. Regardless of whether he accepted it or not, he should communicate with the other person before saying anything else. But what was that just now? Self-doubt, self-righteousness?
Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Easter asked, "System, are you sure?" This was the question he should have asked first. It was only one contract; what if the system ended up with a lover? Even if the possibility was extremely small, a species that had developed self-awareness would inevitably develop feelings sooner or later.
"Host, this is perfectly fine," the system said. "To prevent the system from being tricked into marriage, the contract can be dissolved." What the system didn't mention was that the process of dissolving the contract was very complicated.
East knew perfectly well that the system was hiding something, and his emotions were beyond words. Since binding with the system, the help and care it had given him were countless, so much so that even if... it was all worth it.
"System, you have self-awareness now, why don't you think about living for yourself?" He does need the system's help, but he doesn't want it to be based on him sacrificing himself.
The system rabbit looked at East with its bright blue eyes. [Host, we are one. I'm happy to be able to help you.]
Easter was deeply moved, but he smiled with relief. "System, you're right. We are one."
The system rabbit shyly scratched its legs. [Host, the method is simple, but it requires a face-to-face meeting and his consent, because it will use a wisp of his soul.] Worried that Easter might misunderstand, the system added, [However, host, rest assured, after the contract is successful, the soul will return to its original owner and will not have any impact.]
“Okay,” Easter said, “I’ll contact him first.”
It's no use for the two of them to discuss it; another party involved needs to agree.
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