Chapter 212 Possible World 2
If I go astray, I will become a fallen witcher.
Thinking about this, the illusion no longer seemed like just a false dream, but possessed a strange realism. It was as if I had been transported to another parallel world, allowing me to experience the possibilities of my own world.
However, perhaps this is what Silver Moon wants me to misunderstand. This is probably just a stage setting designed to make me believe it's real. And once I believe it's real, I probably won't be able to escape.
Did Silver Moon read my memories? Or did she merely plant a seed of illusion in my consciousness, and this illusion was automatically woven from my memories?
The "background setting memory" that suddenly appeared in my mind wasn't particularly clear either. At first glance, it seemed to have a complete outline, but I couldn't recall the specific details. It was like a very long English word that I didn't use much. When I wanted to use it, I found that I could only remember the first letter and the length of the word. I could vaguely recall one or two letters in the middle, but I could never write it down from memory.
"Don't think you can escape this time, Zhuang Cheng. I have sealed your superpowers."
Zhu Shi walked towards me while talking.
"Is there anything else you'd like to say?" she asked.
My superpowers have been sealed—is this the illusion's setting for my inability to use them? While pondering this, I made no response. Treating the people in the illusion as real, living beings and interacting with them might unconsciously lead me to accept their reality. This is undoubtedly a dangerous tendency.
"...I see. You're not going to say anything..."
Zhu Shi was silent for a moment, then brandished the Yama Sword and launched a lightning-fast charge and slash at me.
Unable to use superpowers, I naturally had no chance of dodging this attack. To me in the real world, Zhu Shi was merely a Wuchang at the Zhu level; but to ordinary people, a Zhu level being was already a powerful being at the level of a humanoid self-propelled tank. Even describing him as a "humanoid self-propelled tank" wasn't enough.
Zhu Shi can move at speeds of two to three hundred kilometers per hour. Her strikes, combined with the power of Mount Buzhou, can destroy any matter in the world. The physical enhancement from forging the Yama Sword, coupled with her magical defense, grants her an indestructible body capable of withstanding even bullets. She wields a blade in close combat and sword energy at range. She can find even the slightest flaw, and if no flaw exists, she will force one into existence.
She may not seem particularly impressive around me, but in reality, she is an "extraordinary strongman" who could single-handedly overthrow the regime of a small country.
With that one strike, not only would this fragile body be torn apart like paper, even if it were covered in layers upon layers of alloy armor. In the blink of an eye, I felt an intense, excruciating pain erupt. The sword light ripped my body apart at the chest. My vision spun, and my mangled remains crashed to the ground, pooling blood.
"I'm sorry, Zhuang Cheng..."
I could hear Zhu Shi talking to himself.
This attack didn't just sever my physical body. Since it was Zhu Shi who launched the attack, it probably tore my soul apart as well. And it likely struck some weakness or vulnerability in my soul, causing maximum damage.
Therefore, the excruciating pain did not last long, and my vision was soon plunged into darkness.
—I'm dead.
I don't believe this illusion is simply a nightmare. Admittedly, Silver Moon couldn't create a real spacetime to trap me inside, but as a demon capable of "turning illusions into reality," the illusion she created, even if objectively false, likely possesses a degree of realism, at least to me. I must be mentally prepared that what happens here will largely reflect in my life.
Because she couldn't kill me in the real world, she created a world where she could kill me.
I can only resist this experience of death with my own willpower.
Even so, being looked at with such sorrowful eyes by Zhu Shi, and then being killed by her, was still very unpleasant. Especially the thought that this was "something that could really happen" made her feel even colder.
I felt as if I had been sunk into a dark abyss, unable to distinguish between myself and the darkness, as if my very being was dissolving into it, and the negative thoughts rising from the depths of my heart seemed to fuel this tendency. I immediately realized I shouldn't continue thinking in that direction. To prevent my self from dissolving, I should focus all my attention on how to break free from this illusion. The problem was, I truly had no direction to take.
No, wait... I have a direction.
That is the Silver Moon itself—in the real world, she is certainly burning incessantly right now. In other words, my flames are wrapped around her. Using this flame as a beacon, I can return to the real world.
That's probably why she had to block my superpowers. Once I can connect with real-world fire, this level of illusion can't hold me back at all.
I must re-establish the connection. Even if I'm blinded by illusion, I should still have a chance to do so. Because my spirit is my flame, and the illusions covering my spirit are likely being endlessly destroyed. The Silver Moon is meant to repeatedly paint over illusions, and there are bound to be flaws I can exploit within them.
Suddenly, I seemed to find myself in a vast space, and my vision brightened. It seemed that the death experience I had just had hadn't been able to kill me; I was being transported to the next illusion.
I felt like I'd been half-dead; my body was ice-cold, my mind was hazy, and my thoughts were stiff and numb. Two seconds later, I realized I should probably look around. But when I looked up, the scene before me filled me with bewilderment. Before me stretched an endless expanse of glaciers.
The reason my body was so cold was because I had been transferred to an extremely cold place.
Asaha stood in front of me.
Despite the freezing weather, she was still wearing familiar clothes: a black printed hoodie, a short skirt, black cotton tights, and low-top Doc Martens.
She held a phantom recurve knife in her right hand, while the red GPS bracelet on her left wrist had vanished.
"Zhuang Cheng, do you hope for the end of the world?" she asked.
These words struck my mind like lightning, bringing back many memories—
After the battle at the old stronghold of the Humanitarian Division, Asahi and I went through many things to prevent the apocalypse from coming—countless accidents, countless battles, countless adventures… We even defeated the Great Impermanence, defeated the Great Demon, and even trampled Naraku, the origin of Mount Rasen. In the process, we also collected a large number of Divine Seal fragments.
Finally, in order to obtain the complete divine seal, we came to the "Origin Land"—the North Pole.
The Lord of the Divine Seal in the past made a wish here, but it unexpectedly caused the world to be divided in two.
However, during our past collaborations, Asahi also learned of my true desires.
—I hope for the end of the world.
"Zhuang Cheng, I want to save the world..." Ma Zao said in a trembling voice, "So, so... I have to fight you."
This scene was the worst I could ever imagine. Even if it was a hallucination, I didn't want to see Asaho with that expression. I instinctively took a step back. Just then, the glacier beneath my feet cracked open.
The mouth of the abyss opened beneath me, and I was swallowed up and plunged into the sea.
Contrary to popular belief, even falling onto the "soft" surface of the sea, if from a sufficiently high place in an improper manner, can still result in a tremendous impact. To put it simply, it's not much different from falling onto concrete. This impact can cause fractures or even death.
I felt like every bone in my body was broken; I didn't even have the strength to struggle. The Arctic water was icy cold, almost causing me to go into shock due to severe hypothermia. I instinctively opened my mouth wide to breathe, but the incredibly salty seawater filled my mouth, nose, and throat. I reflexively tried to choke it out, but instead, I fell into an even more painful state of suffocation.
Compared to Silver Moon's "Death Decree" and Zhu Shi's sword that severed the soul, the experience of suffocating in the sea cast a far more intense shadow of death upon me. Perhaps this time I really was going to die. I couldn't see or hear anything; weakness, cold, pain, suffocation—negative experiences filled almost my entire consciousness. I had to save myself as quickly as possible, yet I couldn't even distinguish up from down, left from right, front from back.
But I haven't forgotten what I should do.
Yes, I am in unbearable pain and cold right now, but so what? Silver Moon must be burning within me right now as well. The pain I am experiencing reflects her impatience. I must connect with the flame that burns within her, the flame that belongs to me, and break free from this illusion.
The reason I can't sense the flames now is partly because illusions have clouded my mind, and partly because my connection with the flames isn't strong enough. If that's the case, then I must become stronger. Pain, injury, even the threat of death can stimulate me, unleashing more of my power. So, the current shadow of death is actually my opportunity.
Being looked at like that by Zhu Shi and Ma Zao, and then being killed by them, truly saddened me to the core, but so what? If these are the possible consequences of the path I've chosen, then I will accept them calmly.
I will not look back, I will not regret, and I will not despair.
It's just dying once or twice, and you think you can make me give up? No way.
In the boundless darkness, a faint light seemed to appear at the edge of my vision, and I reached out my hand in that direction.
(End of this chapter)
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