Discussions on the details lasted a long time.

"(Since the wager has been established, let's discuss how to 'take him away' if he loses.)" said a child's voice.

"(Of course, it's to become an ally with me and travel in the new world together.)" Dieying seized the topic first, fearing he'd miss the heat of the moment.

"(Ragged King, you're just an outsider; this kind of thing is not up to you.)" The Fun Demon chuckled: "(Besides, don't you shout loudly 'Fear not, my friends, I shall eventually reach the other shore!' With your fearless demeanor, you don't need companions; surely you can do it, go on Little Ah!)"

"(He should belong to me.)" The Ninth Seat spoke for the first time, in a twisted voice that made people uncomfortable: "(I preside over death, he suits me best.)"

"(Veto. If given to you, he will become a one-time disposable item; we need a companion, not a prop.)" said a soft female voice.

"(Everyone should know, no one can persuade another.)" said a mechanical voice: "(Since that's the case, why not try slicing him into twelve pieces, each one getting a slice. Dieying is composed of countless slices, he should hold the slicing technique.)"

"(Ah, the great traveler in the star sea!)" The Fun Demon immediately looked at Dieying: "(You are the great being who collects the bones of civilization! The most free and romantic adventurer! The Watchers stationed above the star sea! Can you provide us with the slicing technique?)"

"(....)"

Su Ming'an quietly listened.

He could hear their thoughts, their greed, their desire.

Behind the seemingly human-like exchange is the greed-driven pursuit of benefits and absolute cold directions, their words mixed with extreme indifference towards civilization and humanity.

He certainly would be afraid, but compared to the fear of "everyone dying from the game's failure," the weight of fear he felt from self-destruction was not that heavy.

In fact, he also realized that when he made this decision, his mind was always calm—deep down in his heart, he had very little resistance to this self-destructive wager.

It was as if he truly didn't care where he would fall to his death. It's not that he lacked the desire to live, but rather, he genuinely believed that he, himself, was not important.

If he can live, that would be good. If he cannot live, he would become the cornerstone of idealism.

The joy of redeeming the homeland and realizing the ideal is far greater than the sadness of losing "himself," even the greatest self-sadness is overshadowed by immense joy, he could even feel his jubilant heartbeat—like a singing [Requiem].

He mourned himself, yet he smiled.

Even as his eyes reddened, it wasn't derived from his sorrow, but tears of joy...

Yes.

There's nothing to be sad about.

He was already... quite happy.

He stared into the void, as the discussions of high dimensions constantly slid by his ears.

They wield bloody knives and forks, dividing the delicacies on the table.

....

"(Then after slicing him, give the biggest share to the rabbit.)"

"(This dismantling is too wasteful, Authority cannot be extracted this way. Do we have to make him fragmented?)" said the childish voice.

"(I don't agree with slicing, better to retain a brethren.)" said the soft female voice.

"(Today's discussions clearly won't yield a result, we can only deliberate slowly.)" said a husky voice.

"(....)" Boss Rabbit said nothing.

....

Su Ming'an was pondering.

The small world in his palm, the Full Perfect Clear Pattern Mark on the back of his hand, was his final trump card. If the wager was a product of the [Rules], these are also products of the [Rules], then when they clash... would there be new possibilities in the future?

If the future isn't absolutely dark... he wishes to envision a direction filled with sunshine. Even though he knows that sunshine doesn't belong to him.

After all, no matter the result, he can no longer return home.

The one who loves his homeland the most cannot return to his homeland.

Destiny seems like a perpetual Pangala Return, no matter how the universe evolves, no matter how many possibilities play out simultaneously... everyone seems to be heading toward the same path, some inevitable "singular truth."

A doomed idealist.

An unattainable win-win situation.

An untouchable everyday dream.

An inaccessible homeland.

It turns out that the consistency of The Original is also reflected here.

His gaze fell upon the void, resting on those dead white bones; they too seemed to have eyes, looking back at him, with a hint of Ouroboros's sorrow.

Yet he smiled, as if watching the enemy's checkmate piece collapsing toward him. The chess piece he personally laid down was shining brightly, the light reflecting in his dark eyes.

He didn't win.

But he wouldn't lose either.

He never won this world,

but he never lost to anything.

....

"(Seems we temporarily cannot discuss a consistent result.)" said a mechanical voice.

"(The wager is already established, there's no point in continuing discussion, let's go back first.)" said the childish voice.

"(Leaving now.)"

They understood there was no way to discuss a result, and some were already preparing to leave.

....It's over.

Su Ming'an let out a long breath, body relaxing, and due to being mentally tense for too long, once he relaxed, his vision went black, and he leaned forward.

"....!"

He immediately inhaled, stabilized himself. When he steadied himself, he realized this little episode had attracted the gaze of all living beings... even changed their stance.

Boss Rabbit extended his fluffy white hands, seemingly wanting to catch him. Seeing him stable, he slowly withdrew them.

Dieying still had his hands in his pockets, didn't reach out, but kept watching him.

The black shadow of the Fifth Seat extended a hand but quickly pulled back.

The black shadow of the Eleventh Seat was the most excited, despite being quite far away; he almost rushed over to support him. Why he cared so much was unclear.

....Did they know him before?

Su Ming'an frowned, unsure if they were acquaintances.

"Alright, everyone go back! It's finished!" Boss Rabbit overshadowed the small interruption.

The starlight on the stage dimmed one by one. The gaze converged on Su Ming'an gradually disappeared.

They began to leave.

Boss Rabbit floated in front of Su Ming'an, showing a friendly smile. But this time, Su Ming'an felt it seemed a bit forced.

"Dear Number One Player, the meeting is over~ Let me send you back~" It extended its fluffy big white hand, taking his hand.

The soft touch made Su Ming'an's hair stand on end for a moment, and he almost wanted to let go, but he quickly realized that Boss Rabbit must have something to say privately.

They walked towards the deep, dark corridor.

Su Ming'an glanced back.

The vast starry sea remained unchanged, as if it would not alter over the years, with an occasional star trail streaking across the sky.

The bones on the ground once again returned to tranquility, no matter how many years passed, no matter how the world changed, they were left only with crescent white remains, missing the brilliance of old days.

Twelve high stages had already dimmed six of them. Only the Third Seat Dieying, the Fourth Seat Fun Demon, Fifth Seat Shadow, and Eleventh Seat Shadow remained.

...

Walking into the corridor, Boss Rabbit's voice sounded:

"Dear, you are so brave! I give you a thumbs up!"

"Hehe." Su Ming'an said.

He realized that Boss Rabbit actually had a pretty good attitude towards him.

During one archive failure, in the ceaseless rain of White Sand Paradise, it came to inquire about his dying self. It should have been offering him a chance of survival then, but he was bent on dying.

In Pulaya's room, it answered his question about "Nuoliya's Red Roses," helping him think of how to break the death trap of Cloud City God in the end. It even casually took away the half-eaten chocolate of his.

During the despairing reincarnation in the Thirty-Three Weeks, it stretched out a big hand, rubbed his head, and comforted him.

Even though it mostly acted annoying, these comforting actions were like sifting through shit for gold. Compared with other garbage organizers, its attitude was already very gentle and friendly.

"The rabbit is looking forward to your comeback in Luowasha!" Boss Rabbit said "comeback," its blood-red eyes curving: "Of course, I'm also looking forward to your failure... Oh, and there's someone else who wants to talk to you, so the rabbit is leaving now."

Before Su Ming'an could say anything, Boss Rabbit left.

He stood in the void of the dark corridor, looking at the darkness ahead.

At this time, another familiar voice came over.

"—They all hope you fail, hope you become their delicacy, but not me."

The golden light in the darkness appeared in his sight, and for a moment, Su Ming'an thought he saw Noel in a desperate situation, just like so many desperate times where Noel would always arrive.

But when the golden hair drifted over his shoulder and a cold voice flowed, he clearly understood that it was just Dieying.

The platycodon flowers swayed on the cane, as the golden-haired youth slightly looked down at him:

"So, I am more anticipating your victory."

"Find a chance for reversal in Luowasha, save Zhai Xing, and also give them a hard slap."

"If I win, wouldn't you get none of my fragments," Su Ming'an said.

"...It was never my turn." Dieying's voice softened: "Besides, with or without you, the New World is destined to reach the other shore."

"Just wait and see." Su Ming'an chuckled.

Just wait and see.

Whether he gets taken away or he takes them away. Whether the hunter cuts his flesh or he kills the hunter with a counter... All of this is yet to be known.

Even with a bet as a fallback, they still fear him—fear the source of his authority.

He is not necessarily inferior to them.

Noel, Lv Shu, Yuanyuan, Su Rin, Lu... even Du, Dr. Xu, Little Love, Ming and Shadow... There are also many people behind him, no less than those twelve lofty lives.

He had long ignited the flames of war against them, challenging the high and mighty gods with the identity of a human.

"Gone." Dieying disappeared in the next moment. He still had to work hard to find the next target; this time, he was just here to grab a seat.

Su Ming'an continued walking, sensing something—

Sure enough, the moment Dieying disappeared, another person appeared at Su Ming'an's side.

"Which seat are you?" Su Ming'an said.

The shadow let out a soft laugh. Su Ming'an remembered this voice, it was the Fourth Seat.

These high-dimensionalities have different positions. Some are full of hostility towards him, eager to skin and dismember him, like that mechanical voice. Some are neutral, more inclined to become companions with him, like the Fun Demon. Some instead hope that he will win overwhelmingly, like Dieying.

"I don't seem to know you, is there something you want to tell me?" Su Ming'an said.

"You do know me." The female voice said.

In the next moment, the black mist slowly peeled off from her body.

Her appearance didn't fix on any specific features, constantly switching among a child, a middle-aged person, and an elder, as if unseen time was circulating endlessly on her body. Her body was wrapped in dense black mist, without a fixed shape.

Su Ming'an watched for a while, not recognizing who this was, not even a face.

While he was confused, she laughed.

Su Ming'an's eyes filled with shock as he heard her self-introduction—

"I am called [Aria]."

...

Su Ming'an looked at her in astonishment: "Little Love?"

Aria is the name of Jiu Shen of Qiongdi, and Little Love is the goodwill that separated from her body. Later, Little Love possessed a pink fox in the Ruined World, once kicked around by Lin Guang, the Deity, and the Divine Spirits, and is known for the fox biscuit fame.

Although Little Love is always here and there, not knowing where exactly now, she could never be an organizer...

"Little Love is only a part separated from me. To me, Qiongdi is not everything either." Aria said: "In Qiongdi, every person has authority, where do you think this authority comes from? Do you think their positional ranks are enough to dominate these authorities?"

"I see, it's because you are inherently above that world of Qiongdi. But since you are an organizer, how can you intervene in the Eighth World?" Su Ming'an asked.

"I didn't intervene in the instance." Aria said plainly: "The image of 'Aria' you saw is weak, without faith, a fragile evil god with only Xiber as a believer. That's just 'the Aria you saw,' the real me is already standing above the heavens, overlooking everything. My primordial substance comes from the void and innate concepts, the Aria of Qiongdi is but my reflection."

"A high-dimensional vision?" Su Ming'an pondered. In high-dimensional eyes, time is not time, space is not space, even though he still cannot comprehend the relationship between Qiongdi's Aria and the high-dimensional Aria before him, but there is a clear evidence—

Even the authority of the World of Old Days needs to be obtained through the World Game, where do those people locked in the Black Wall get a hundred authorities from? It is obviously not the Qiongdi power system and must require high-dimensional power, Aria is this high-dimensionality, so it makes sense.

"I just came to let you know who I am." Aria said concisely: "You've seen, now I'll leave. If fate wills, we shall meet again."

Su Ming'an couldn't understand the logic of this high-dimensional being, but she indeed disappeared quickly.

—And then another person appeared beside Su Ming'an.

As if they were lining up to talk to him.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.