The 244th year of the Cosmic Era was an exceptionally difficult year for the entire universe.
At the end of July, the "Cub Training Plan" ended and the connection between the Light Tower and the parallel universe was severed. Although the leaders of various tribes tried their best to stabilize their people, pessimism inevitably spread to the entire universe with the Muse Empire as the center.
On the night when it all began, the monarch of the Utopian Empire woke up from the center of his throne.
The connection between the two universes was cut off, and he was forced to return to this universe - although he had guessed it in advance, he did not expect this day to come so soon.
A layer of snow had accumulated outside the temple.
A waiter, head bowed, hurried past from the corridor, carrying a lantern. The hall was covered with thick, dark red carpet. Nine ministers saluted in turn. Then the leading diplomat cleared his throat and said nervously:
"Your Majesty, the impact of the recent changes in the Muse Empire has become increasingly widespread. We..."
Muse and Utopia are the two largest nations in the universe. This sudden change in Muse will inevitably affect the entire universe. The most crucial factor at this moment is Utopia's attitude and actions.
The ministers looked up cautiously, trying to guess what the monarch meant.
The monarch, his eyes covered with black silk, had his thin lips flattened and his expression was indifferent, without showing any major emotional fluctuations. He just slowly stroked the ring on his knuckle with his thumb.
It was a plain ring with his birthday tattooed on the inner circle, and it didn't mean any engagement.
Two seconds of silence.
The monarch took the ring off his middle finger and put it on his ring finger. Then he stood up suddenly, the royal cloak slipped off his shoulders, and took his sword from the servant.
"Wen Xingze, the King of the Muse Empire, is my fiancé."
He? said.
In the monarch's plan, from the preparation of the proposal to the final announcement and even the wedding, every step has a very detailed process. But now the situation has changed.
The waiters were immediately terrified and fell silent, lowering their heads, while many ministers gasped.
...I believe that by dawn today, this news will spread throughout the universe. This is big news that will shock the world!
Moreover, Your Majesty, why did you choose to announce this news at this time, not earlier or later?
Utopia was powerful enough that it didn't need a marriage with Muse to achieve anything. Even if it was a political marriage, it should have been announced when Muse was at its peak, which would have been profitable for both countries.
Instead of now: the Muses have lost the little king whom they hold in their hearts and are afraid that he will melt away. The national mood is extremely turbulent, and the future is still unknown.
It's almost like...protecting the Muse Empire.
That is, on an equal footing, the Muse, who had been in a weak position for a while, was brought into the protection network of Utopia, so that those forces with ulterior motives would be a little wary and dare not take advantage of the chaos to stir up trouble.
The monarch walked out.
Everyone bowed their heads deeply, each with different thoughts in their mind.
The oldest Secretary of State coughed twice and stepped forward hurriedly: "Your Majesty, if this is a political marriage, this matter still needs to be discussed. I hope you can--"
The monarch stopped.
Another layer of frost and snow accumulated outside the temple.
He withdrew his gaze and said in a calm, but definitely not understated, tone:
"It's not a political marriage, nor is it a spur of the moment marriage."
"I've loved him for a long time."
“…”
After saying this, the monarch turned around and walked out of the palace without paying any attention to other people's shock, discussions or speculations.
Bionics are the closest thing to gods, the ultimate masterpiece of human blasphemy. Therefore, under extremely special circumstances, they can even glimpse the realm of gods.
Chi Yan can travel through parallel spaces with media, and different parallel spaces live in their own timelines and time flow rates.
About ten years ago, when he accidentally realized that Wen Xingze might be from another universe, this universe might be a game or other fictional world to him, and Wen Xingze's soul could not stay here for long.
Thus, Chi Yan began his long journey across universes, searching for his true identity. The launch of "Desolation: King's Awakening" connected Wen Xingze's universe with theirs for the first time. This game was inextricably linked to the gods, and Chi Yan speculated that this might be a "trial."
What universe does Wen Xingze live in? A universe built by a book.
The history of that universe is very long. Human history alone is tens of thousands of years long. To find a person whose real name is unknown in such a long history is more difficult than looking for a needle in a haystack.
He journeyed to that universe, assuming various identities, searching through numerous timeframes. Finally, in modern times, under the pseudonym Chi Yan, he and Wen Xingze met in an elevator on a bright blue summer day, just after a rainstorm. For Wen Xingze, it was merely a lucky encounter, but for Chi Yan, it was a long-awaited reunion, a journey that had lasted countless universes since their creation and annihilation.
He?Finally met him again?.
And no matter how many times he comes back, even if it takes countless times across billions of parallel universes, he will be able to find him again.
“…”
The monarch walked out of the palace without saying a word. He was wearing a military uniform and a long sword at his waist. The long night was about to end, and the faint light of dawn fell on his shoulders.
Someone shouted.
Like a single stone stirring up a thousand waves, the media, waiting nearby with their equipment, rose to their feet and pressed towards the exit. The attendants and the steward tried to stop them, but the monarch gestured, signaling that the media could interview.
The media, led by ?, were extremely flattered.
But unexpectedly, all the media looked at each other for a while, and suddenly, starting with the reporter in the front, they all turned off their cameras and microphones.
Then the reporter at the front said, "Your Majesty, we trust your choice."
"We believe you."
"Although the people often say they're afraid of you and call you a dictator," another reporter scratched his head, "those are just jokes. We understand your difficulties and thank you for saving us from the darkness twenty years ago..."
Twenty years ago, unlike the Muse Empire which had already grown in size, the area on the Utopia side was still shrouded in countless dark clouds such as disease, war, and poverty. What was even more cruel was that there was also the X901 Laboratory, which used lives as experimental subjects and was only interested in profit.
The monarch's hands are stained with blood.
In just twenty years, this country was able to be liberated from countless shadows and fears, and all citizens were able to live their lives like this, go to class and school normally, play games in their spare time, participate in killing shows, and gossip about the king's emotional life... If it weren't for Chi Yan, this would never be possible.
Someone has to shoulder the heavy burden of killing and carve a path through the sea of blood and mountains of corpses.
"Your Majesty, we will always support you."
"thank you."
"You are the one and only king that Utopia is most proud of, the one most respected by all citizens."
The media reporters, who serve as the mouthpiece of the entire nation, looked at the monarch seriously and said.
The monarch stopped.
A moment later.
Lights were lit in the deep night, and flags were blown up by the long wind.
The Utopian monarch took a half step back and bowed deeply to his people.
In any parallel universe, there is no passage to the divine realm.
This is something he finally confirmed not long ago.
What exactly was God's purpose? He gave a test like this, only to block all paths to the correct answer at the end. He wasn't a true God, so he had no way of knowing God's intentions.
But he is not helpless.
'God's Realm' is a space beyond life and death, where time and space are absolutely still. Therefore, no living thing can reach the God's Realm. The Feathered Clan, who are the messengers of God, can temporarily reach the God's Realm because they are born and die every day and exist in a time loop. Therefore, they will intermittently get the opportunity to enter the God's Realm, but they cannot extradite others to the God's Realm.
The answer to the divine realm lies only between life and death, and one must experience countless near-death experiences to reach it. He happens to be very good at this.
Deserted planet E15.
Ten thousand meters deep, the underwater cemetery is lined with tens of thousands of tombstones, fireflies float like street lights, and the dry bones of giant whales fall downwards like ships flying in the sky.
Suddenly, a massive hole appeared in the whale's belly. A flash of white light flashed, and a figure leaped out of the hole, his sword embedded deep in the soil. His chest heaved, and the hideous, bloody wounds on his body were exposed to the air and quickly began to heal.
A rusty mechanical butterfly flapped its wings and flew from the tombstone with '2120123' written on it, flashing fluorescent light and flying in front of Chi Yan.
Looking around and taking a closer look, you will find that there is a rusty mechanical butterfly perched on each tombstone. However, most of the butterflies are dull and silent, and only a few are flashing fluorescent light.
Each butterfly holds the last remnant of a bionic human's consciousness. They've long since died, but a tiny vestige of their soul remains, unable to escape this deep-sea prison, forever roaming the abyss.
After a long silence, the butterfly numbered '2120123' suddenly spoke:
"You're not dead yet, number 1225."
Chi Yan said, "I'm sorry."
"Didn't you say you wanted to be a human before?" Butterfly asked him, "Why, you don't want to be a human anymore, are you scared to death?"
Of course, ordinary androids can't become human, but the ultimate creation of the "God-Creation Project" can. He can give up everything he has and transform himself into a human with a short lifespan and the emotions of ordinary people. Of course, this involves taking a huge risk. Chi Yan: "Yes."
A year ago, he did have this plan, but now he can't do that.
"If he were human, I would accompany him through the daily necessities of life," Chi Yan said. "If he wanted to live forever, I would accompany him until the end of time."
Immortality is a very... lonely and terrifying thing.
He? How could he bear to do that?
The butterfly had nothing to say.
The butterfly flapped its wings and said angrily, "How corny."
Chi Yan: "So sorry, I can't die for the time being."
The wind blew.
As soon as he finished speaking, the butterflies on all the graves flickered.
Thirty years ago, the failed android who single-handedly slaughtered 23,519 androids in the X901 laboratory made a promise in the face of the remains of his entire clan.
"I am an executioner. For the next 23,519 days, I won't rest a single day. I will endure the pain every android feels at the end of their life. I will be resurrected countless times after suffering extreme pain, and even death cannot free me."
——"I am willing to spend the rest of my life atonement, until the day I die. But I still have a selfish wish."
——"There's someone I can't let go of."
For the next thirty years, he never broke his oath, was on the verge of death countless times, and went between life and death countless times.
He was the only android lacking in emotions, but his pain system was intact, and he endured pain far worse than death day after day.
More than 20,000 remaining souls in the deep-sea cemetery were watching him. Each of these souls might have once had a happy family, friends, relatives and lovers, and could grow old in an ordinary way in their long lives.
This is the blood on his hands, it is all his hypocrisy and meanness, his sins can never be washed away.
In the perpetually silent cemetery, the fireflies clinging to the bones seemed like some kind of long-winded ballad. Butterfly No. 2120123 flapped its wings and landed on Chi Yan's shoulder, silent.
It, as well as countless long-dead bionic people, were all looking at this former failure.
——They had all witnessed his birth.
This is a life that was not expected by anyone since birth. He has no relatives, no normal emotions, and no meaning in living. He is ready to die at any time, but he survives in such pain.
And they had indeed seen that there had once been a light burning in those eyes.
They had all seen that light before.
They, too... once lived.
The mechanical butterflies' fluorescent lights flickered, and they felt a tangible lack of oxygen and discomfort.
“…”
Chi Yan drew his sword from its sheath and pointed the tip at his heart.
The light is cold and sharp.
Just before he thrust his long sword into his chest, Butterfly 2120123 suddenly spoke, "Are you sure? Your wound hasn't healed yet. If you do it again, even God wouldn't be able to bear it."
He lowered his eyelids and glanced at the butterfly.
Butterfly then stopped talking.
It reads the man's subtext: he wants to atone for his sins and also wants to see that person.
This person is going crazy.
The butterfly flaps its wings and flies away, and the sound of the sea tide roars towards us.
Just when Chi Yan's sword tip was about to penetrate his chest, a huge wave arose outside the deep-sea cemetery!
The wind became faster.
The mechanical butterflies on all the tombstones flapped their wings, like sparks flowing back into the ocean and then pouring down with a loud bang, converging on the edge of the long sword in the burning golden-red light track!
In the deep sea filled with death and silence, the scene was undoubtedly magnificent, but what was even more jaw-dropping was that more than 20,000 mechanical butterflies tore a scar-like crack in the place closest to death in the entire universe.
They fluttered and caught the crack, and finally swallowed everything like a whirlpool, turning into half a butterfly wing and landing in Chi Yan's palm.
This is Chi Yan's thousands of near-death experiences, and it is also the gathering of the remaining consciousness of all bionic people, looking for a glimmer of hope between life and death.
Only bionic people can do this, because they are the products of the most advanced technology of the "God-making Project".
…Everything fell silent again.
"This is a crack leading to the Divine Realm," a mechanical voice said in Chi Yan's ear, "Give it to that kid. He is the only one qualified to go to the Divine Realm."
Chi Yan's expression was somewhat blank.
The fluorescence gradually faded, and when this ray of fluorescence completely disappeared, the consciousness of all the dead bionic people would also completely disappear, and dust would return to dust.
The remaining light reflected his profile, his dark-black pupils were calm and peaceful.
After a long silence, he finally asked, "Why?"
Why should I help him?
Why... don't you hate him?
The fluorescent light that had gathered at one point suddenly spread out, rolling over Chi Yan's head jokingly, even a little intimately.
More than 20,000 bionic people transformed into countless fluorescent lights in the air. Many voices, male and female, old and young, spoke in his ear as if they were chatting:
"No. 1225, we don't hate you. You don't need to atone for your sins anymore."
"You have birthdays now, and you have loved ones, right? You're not a failure anymore."
"……Hey."
"You are the youngest child of the bionic human race. If we don't help you, who will we help?"
All the fluorescent light was like a meteor shower pouring back into the deep sea, gradually dissipating in all directions, and finally only a faint voice remained beside him.
The voice said:
"child."
"... Let's go find him?"
Mobius Ladder
They reached the end of the long stairs.
The cycle is broken and the Möbius ladder is about to collapse.
"Time is running out." Chi Yan said.
This is the gap between the human world and the divine realm. Without the protection of the Mobius ladder, you will not be able to get out if you stay here for too long.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Wen Xingze seriously and cherishingly.
Then he opened his palm.
A translucent butterfly fluttered from his palm, casting a shimmering blue light before landing in front of Wen Xingze. Its wings gently brushed against Wen Xingze's head, seeming surprisingly kind.
"It will take you to the divine realm." Chi Yan said, "I can't go with you."
Wen Xingze has come this far and completed the two games "Desolation" and "Cub Development Plan". He is the only person in the world who is qualified to go to the divine realm.
This is a path that only he can take.
The translucent butterfly lowered its wings and carried Wen Xingze onto its back, but before taking off, Wen Xingze said, "Wait a moment."
The butterfly stopped as it was told.
Wen Xingze looked at Chi Yan: "Teacher Chi... No, Chi Yan."
The long-awaited reunion was too brief.
Wen Xingze had imagined this moment countless times. What would he say to Chi Yan, what would he ask? What had happened in the past month? How was the universe? Did he miss him?
There were so many things he wanted to say, but it was too late. But Wen Xingze thought that they still had a lot of time in the future.
Everything can be told slowly.
At this moment when the universe was about to collapse, Wen Xingze and Chi Yan looked at each other silently.
Then kiss.
A rosy light poured down from the sky, filling the sky with the final glow of sunset, as if some unknown life had fluttered and taken birth at their lips. In a world on the verge of destruction, they were like dust, ants, yet more eternal and timeless than that.
"Is this a proposal?"
"No."
His proposal will be even grander than this, with a river of flowers and fireworks filling the sky, and the noisy, annoying but protective parents of the Muse Empire as witnesses.
This love will last forever and will last until death.
So, they don't have to say goodbye.
Butterfly spreads its wings.
“…”
Wen Xingze only felt that a very short time had passed. When the butterfly stopped, a strong wind suddenly blew past his ear.
Standing between heaven and earth, the grand door finally slowly opens, welcoming the travelers from afar.
This eternal, still, lifeless temple.
A compassionate voice sounded in his ears.
"Welcome to the divine realm, King of the Muse Empire."
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