CHAPTER 1020: CHAPTER 1017: WITH WHOM DID HE MAKE A PROMISE

Chao Yan watched him from afar in the small town, the long wind lifting her jet-black hair.

He awoke in Su Wensheng’s home, got out of bed, rummaged through his schoolbag, phone, and computer... then pushed open the window and saw the parasol tree outside.

He got up, opened the door, met Su Luoluo, and headed out for school. Met their homeroom teacher Xia Jiawen, then attended class, answered questions, and distractedly played on his phone during lectures.

——Nothing ever changed.

Without external alterations, his actions followed the same pattern, never breaking the "predetermined destiny."

When he awoke in bed, the calendar reset to February 3rd — he forgot running through the rain, chasing after Grandma Lin’s stories on camera. He forgot standing on a high platform, passionately demanding a thorough investigation into the Ark Project under the world’s gaze. He forgot witnessing the fifty Fire Transmitters’ awe-inspiring succession, and forgot igniting the flames to step towards the Prophecy Stone Wall.

Chao Yan stood on a distant high-rise, through the thin glass of the classroom, always watching him from afar. He played on his phone at the desk, vaguely sensing something was amiss, but this feeling quickly dissipated.

"Alright, alright, this is the last time, I’ll try one last time..." Chao Yan murmured to herself. The Causal Lines in the sky began to tangle, and the world grew increasingly unstable.

Regardless, she had to stop him from reaching the Prophecy Stone Wall again.

She changed her strategy — she couldn’t reveal everything about herself to Su Ming’an right from the start. He’s the kind of person who likes to get to the bottom of things. Only if she remained mysterious enough would he take her seriously.

——He was controlled by something called the "Main Quest," Chao Yan thought, only if her own value surpassed this "Main Quest" would he forgo reaching the Prophecy Stone Wall as it required.

She arranged their first meeting in the Louyue Nation.

The evening breeze lifted the seashells on the shore, waves crashing freely in the salty, fishy air, the girl with the medicine basket waiting on the inevitable hillside. She clutched the hem of her floral dress, but there was no hint of joy for the upcoming reunion in her eyes.

——She truly valued emotions, but to her, these feelings appeared more like rational segments that could be disassembled. Even if in the previous cycle, they had promised each other before dying not to forget — but since he couldn’t avoid forgetting her, she would pretend they had never met, so she could better stop him from reaching the Prophecy Stone Wall.

"All those starry promises... those candies... forget them. Even if we once lived and died together, as everything restarts, let it be as if it never existed." Chao Yan whispered to herself, her eyes calm and unwavering:

"Clearly, my initial approach to him was purely for the stability of the world... ah, he’s coming."

...

[Su Ming’an logged into the game, hearing the crisp sound of water.]

[His previous body had been taken away by Li Mingyue, and he thought that upon opening his eyes, he should already be on Penglai Fairy Island.]

[But when he opened his eyes, he saw the night and a plain. In the distance, smoke curled from village chimneys, hinting at wheat fields and plowing oxen. He lay on the plain, his body sunk between mud and grass, with continuous spring rain falling from the sky.]

[At the edge of his vision appeared the hem of a floral dress, plum blossoms embroidered at the hem, revealing a pair of small handmade shoes, seemingly a village girl.]

["Are you okay? Are you still alive..." Her voice was as clear as a bubbling brook.]

[Su Ming’an heaved a breath, his vision darkened, and he fainted.]

...

——Yet why would a village girl be waiting here, just in time to pick him up.

——This was clearly a meticulously orchestrated first meeting by the girl, to win his favor.

Their positions had already reversed.

——Chao Yan treated Su Ming’an as a "NPC" whose behavior pattern would not change, while she, able to retain memory between different cycles, acted as a "Player"——she had to strategize to win him over.

Her main quest was — "Stop Su Ming’an from reaching the Prophecy Stone Wall."

Chao Yan gazed at Su Ming’an on the ground, wearing the attire of the Qingyang Sword Sect, identical to every previous cycle. She picked him up and tended to his wounds.

During this fourth cycle, Chao Yan maintained the guise of a riddler, kept a layer of mystical allure, and occasionally burned her life to protect him, showcasing immense strength. This made Su Ming’an begin to trust her, become curious about her, and see her as a significant figure.

On the fourth day, Su Ming’an received a "go to the Prophecy Stone Wall" main quest, and he told Chao Yan about it.

Chao Yan raised her eyes — it was a look that seemed unsurprised yet forced ignorance.

"...Main Quest." Chao Yan slowly said, "Can you not complete it?"

——It’s because of the Main Quest, because of this thing called the Main Quest, that you’re driven to despair time and again.

"No, this is the most important thing for me." Su Ming’an shook his head, his pupils shrouded in a white, cloudy hue, his state clearly not clear-headed, yet he thought he was just at the start of an instance.

"——Don’t complete it!" Chao Yan exclaimed, "It will be dangerous."

She tried to use the concept of "danger" to stop him, repeatedly emphasizing, "If you go to the Prophecy Stone Wall, very frightening things will happen," but he just smiled and looked at her.

No, no, no.

After ten full minutes of persuasion with no response, Chao Yan finally sensed the stubbornness in Su Ming’an, which made her a little afraid.

No matter what reasons she devised to stop him, he wouldn’t give up the idea of "completing the Main Quest." It was like an indelible mental imprint — his personal will seemed to be controlled by this invisible thing.

Although she knew clearly — he should have willingly been controlled. Just like he willingly tied himself to the responsibility of being called "Number One Player." So no matter what, he would complete the Main Quest, even if it left him riddled with holes in the end.

"One must face it to reach the next step, right?" the youth said.

"It’s better not to face it!" Chao Yan held his shoulders. Her jade emerald eyes locked tightly with his pitch-black eyes; she could see the fog in his eyes, and he could see the despair and panic in hers. Invisible threads like spider webs intertwined them, yet even at such a close distance, it seemed there was no warm emotion between them.

——Just cold, heated, despairing, diamond-clear, and muddy emotions, filled with selfish personal affections and selfless grand causes, all with a view towards the stability of the world.

"——For My World." She pressed a finger to his chest, staring intently at him.

"——For My World." He slowly shook his head, avoiding her intense gaze.

"——Please don’t go to the Prophecy Stone Wall again." She said this.

——If you do, it will trigger a major world rollback, making the Causal Lines increasingly unstable.

"——Please don’t stop me from going to the Prophecy Stone Wall." He said this.

——I must complete this part of the Main Quest to reach the upcoming breakthrough point.

Her fingers clung to his shoulders like ten hard iron hoops, yet he seemed unaware of the pain, merely gazing at her calmly. In his eyes was a determination she found puzzling. Finally, she suddenly realized— for the stability of the world, she had approached him again and again, with a determination similar to his in her own eyes.

A chasm as wide as an insurmountable abyss stretched between them. Even if their gazes were remarkably similar, they could not persuade each other.

"Does it really have to be this way...?" Tears were already faintly visible in her eyes.

She finally deeply understood the stubbornness and persistence of the person in front of her. He was not the type to change his mind due to the advice of friends. The only way to stop him— was to tell him "The Prophecy Stone Wall will lead to a great rollback of the world," but that was the one thing she couldn’t voice.

She placed countless difficulties and hardships before him, telling him how terrifying the outcome would be if he reached the Prophecy Stone Wall. She wove lies, hoping to scare him away.

Her lies even frightened her, such as "Reaching the Prophecy Stone Wall will subject you to burning flames, burning away all your bones" and "You will endure the agony of a thousand needles piercing you, and your spirit will suffer". Yet he simply listened, his expression calm.

"I understand," he said. "Thank you."

—Even such terrifying lies did not make him retreat. She saw his eyes still shining brightly.

Chao Yan opened her mouth, a thousand words stalled in her throat, unable to utter another single word.

—Her lies, her obstructions, her efforts to gain his favor, none could conquer him.

The persistence and intense vision held in his heart were like a sharp blade that stood between them. Even if she tried to embrace him, she would only be cut ever more painfully by the cold blade edge.

So, this time, she still could not successfully stop him.

She slowly released her hands, as if letting go of a light paper kite shaped like a butterfly. In front of the youth’s unchanging expression, she let out a hoarse laugh from her throat, lightly and quietly.

"I understand."

"It’s still the same, still the same, still the same... ha, hahaha... hahahaha..."

The youth looked at her in confusion, knowing—he probably regarded her as someone with an abnormal mental state. Because she laughed inexplicably, said many riddLes inexplicably, wove many lies inexplicably. Yes, she was a madman, a madman who did what she knew was impossible, a detestable riddler—why did she have to endure so much pain staying by his side? Why did she repeatedly suffer the burning pain of flames to defeat the tentacle monster by the sea for him?

What reasons could a madman need?

A madman only wants to save the world and cannot consider other rational reasons. So, in people’s eyes... the "madman" became a madman.

How can you ask a madman, whose eyes are only on the world—to perform perfectly, to speak perfect soothing words, to make perfectly rational decisions?

Chao Yan covered her face, feeling the heat sizzling on her cheeks.

—Yet when she looked up at this moment, beyond his shoulder, she saw the slowly rising dawn, so pure. The strands of light shone upon them, and the bright hues rose from the horizon behind him, even his slightly upturned black hair was tinged with soft white edges.

The youth’s eyelids gathered under the gentle dawn, his slightly trembling eyelashes like butterfly wings, and even though his eyes held confusion and bewilderment, deep in his pupils was brightness.

"I’m sorry, Chao Yan." Even so, he still comforted her. Clearly, he didn’t know why she was laughing wildly, but he still tried to comfort her.

She could only cover her face, concealing the forthcoming transformation into crying, madness, sadness, bitterness, despairing—smile.

She knew he would fall into the abyss of reincarnation once more.

She knew he would forget it all again.

He would not know he had already endured three whole world rollbacks.

Nor would he know he was about to initiate the fourth world rollback.

Smiling, she gave him a hug. She couldn’t restrain her crazed smile, just like she finally understood she couldn’t stop him.

And then she watched him head towards that pure white Holy City, like seeing a butterfly with broken wings rushing toward the flame.

"Ha, hahaha... hahahaha..."

Nearly frenzied laughter echoed behind the youth.

Flames burnt out, the dream butterfly turned within the Mobius Ring.

Time retrospection, February 3, 827.

...

Whom had he once regarded eye-to-eye with, whom had he once passed by?

—With whom had he once made a promise, with whom had he once held an embrace?

The witnesses remember it all.

But she cannot speak.

...

The next several cycles were like the endless rotation of a nightmare.

She once raised an army, intending to battle the deities and stop the world rollback, but she failed. Her army was slaughtered, and people sent her to the execution by fire stand, denouncing her as a witch.

The blazing, agonizing flames... were not even one-thousandth as despairing as her inner anguish.

She once formed an alliance with Xiao Jingsan and Li Mingyue, hoping they could stop Su Ming’an, but in the end, Su Ming’an reached the Prophecy Stone Wall on his own.

Su Ming’an had also made mistakes, sometimes bearing marks of control planted by deities. When she carried him through the pouring rain to flee, he would painfully clutch her collar, his entire body tense.

"Does it hurt?" Chao Yan whispered.

"...The deities might want to push me beyond the pain, forcing me to commit suicide to trigger Little Su’s rollback, thereby trapping me..." Su Ming’an gasped.

They were always pursued by a massive force, sometimes by the Holy Alliance Army, sometimes by the steam age army, sometimes by Mizushima Kawa Sora and the Bluebird’s Personal Guard Army. As the world became their enemy, only she held him tightly, running with him through the rain.

Passing high buildings, cutting through clouds, sweeping past white doves and black crows resting on the bell tower, bypassing all rebukes and scorn—

Every time he reached the end of his rope, she was the most likely one by his side.

"...Sorry." She couldn’t share his pain, so all she could do was watch him faint from pain again and again, even painfully perish right before her eyes.