CHAPTER 1172: CHAPTER 1169: TE: I SEAL IT MYSELF (PART 8)

Su Ming’an.

Your world line is the only, the real, the one that determines everything.

Billions of "futures" split from you—Noel may die from sea monsters, from poison gas, or from a nuclear explosion... But these are states yet to be determined, eventually converging to the one true world line.

In these futures, due to a moment of inspiration or a misstep in strategy—you may become the brightest "you," or you may become the most evil "you." "Ming" is your possibility, "Shadow" is also your possibility, and perhaps there are many "you’s" you have yet to observe.

In the end—the true conclusion will only be imprinted according to you, you are the only reality.

In the end—void and reality intertwine into a flower, you are the brightest you.

...

["But according to your line of destiny, you are already the luckiest." Li Mingyue murmured: "I’ve seen thousands upon thousands of your futures, none luckier than this one."]

...

Su Ming’an floated in the darkness.

He suddenly realized that compared to the experiences of Ming and Shadow, his own experience was indeed the best.

"Ming" and "Shadow" are both "potential futures" in the state of Schrodinger. Only Su Ming’an himself walks on the only real timeline; his future is undetermined and entirely self-created.

Once he dies, it means that the only real he is dead; all the "possibilities" will lose their meaning, imprinted as the reality of "Su Ming’an’s death."

"Dieying..." Su Ming’an understood the essence of Dieying.

In one of Noel’s possibilities, Noel chose Dimensional Ascension, and those possibilities where "Noel failed midway" did not disappear but converged upon him.

But surely it’s not that simple. For example, how did Dieying achieve this? Why did those void world lines split from Su Ming’an’s only real world line? Why did Ming and Shadow become clones? These remain unsolved mysteries.

A flash of blue light, and Su Ming’an returned to the chessboard.

His gaze crossed the distant star sea, looking towards Dieying on the other side of the chessboard. So, the current battlefield is—the only real him and Noel, against countless "Noels" from world lines that failed midway.

How interesting.

—The only real me, becoming a mortal enemy with countless already failed "me’s."

"Dieying. Why did you let me see these things?" Su Ming’an asked. Since Dieying is an overlap of countless Noel possibilities, they might have the potential to negotiate.

"You seem to be mistaken." Dieying’s blue eyes mixed with coldness: "I have little to do with Noel. He is him, I am me."

"Is it jealousy?" Su Ming’an stated directly: "He is the only real Noel. You’re the void future extended from him. So, you’re unwilling, you want to replace him?"

Dieying laughed: "Why should I be jealous of him? I fulfilled his wish—to embrace High Dimensions. I became a free adventurer above the stars—I even possess a brand-new New World—I am a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than him, why should I be jealous of him?"

Su Ming’an remained non-committal but cleared up one doubt: "So the reason you’ve been monitoring me since the instance began—it’s because you wanted a companion... I understand, because I should indeed be your companion. You want a... High Dimensional ’me’."

...

[Noel asked—"Are there many people like you?"]

[Dieying said—"No more. You’re special, Noel, only you have the overwhelmingly strong desire to ascend into High Dimensions, which created my ’possibility.’"]

...

That is to say, the concept of a "Su Ming’an collective" does not exist. The possibilities like "Ming" and "Shadow" exist independently; they have not been combined into one person.

Therefore, Dieying needs a peer.

Dieying remained obstinate: "In many possibilities, you’re not Noel’s true friend. In some possibilities, you even part ways or become enemies. This has nothing to do with my regard for you. Personally, I have little relationship with Noel."

Su Ming’an chuckled softly.

He didn’t care about Dieying’s attitude at all.

The only real Noel is by his side, why should he care about what an enemy thinks? Even if Dieying is a composite of countless Noel possibilities, he is now just an enemy in his path.

"Chang Ge, are you one of my possibilities?" Su Ming’an turned to Chang Ge.

To his surprise, Chang Ge shook his head.

"I am not." Chang Ge waved his hand: "Regarding my matters, I will slowly talk to you after everything ends. Now—please first raise The Republic and drive that guy away."

Su Ming’an blinked.

Indeed. Judging by the blue moon in the sky, this is not Zhai Xing.

In the Ninth World, Su Ming’an learned the meaning of "The Original"—The Original is someone extremely similar to Su Ming’an in different worlds. For example, if Su Ming’an lives in Pulaya, he might become like Su Rin. And if Su Rin lives in Zhai Xing, he might live like Su Ming’an. But The Original does not mean the same person; Su Ming’an and Su Rin are just similar but are actually two different life forms.

In the Tenth World, Su Ming’an learned the meaning of "possibility"—possibility is the future extended from the same person. For example, if Su Ming’an takes Lv Shu in the First World, he will be Ming. If Su Ming’an gets infected with the dark aura of zombie poison, he will be Shadow.

So, if Chang Ge were a "possibility" of Su Ming’an, then Chang Ge’s homeland must be Zhai Xing. After all, "possibility" is a kind of future for Su Ming’an; it can’t even change Su Ming’an’s past. Since the World of Old Days is not Zhai Xing, then Chang Ge is not a "possibility" of Su Ming’an.

Moreover, Chang Ge cannot be Su Ming’an’s "The Original" either. Because "The Original" refers to people like Qin Wang, Su Rin, Acto, Su Wensheng, who are essentially not Su Ming’an and do not have the exact same appearance.

So the essence of Chang Ge... must have another explanation.

"I await your answer." Su Ming’an exchanged a glance with Chang Ge, and Chang Ge smiled at him.

Su Ming’an took out the Sword of Destiny.

He gripped the sword handle tightly, blade downward, aimed at the body of the clone.

Once the Sword of Destiny is thrust down, it will unseal the Life Hard Drive. At that moment, The Republic, accumulated with a thousand years of emotions, will be instantly established, driving away Dieying, announcing the completion of the millennium plan, ending all stories at this moment.

The final crucial point is—

The positive emotions he has accumulated over the millennia from vacation—will they be enough to withstand the negative emotions accumulated in the Life Hard Drive over a thousand years?

All the waiting has been for this moment, all the sacrifices are built on this one sword.

"C1 elephant, diagonally to F2." He murmured.

The crystal-clear "elephant" chess piece moved diagonally, stepping onto the square representing the ocean. Simultaneously, the sea surged with towering waves.

In the boundless blue, endless waves stirred massive surges. In the midst of this boundless tumult and clamor—a black-haired maiden rose from the azure sea, her gleaming tail of flame trailing behind like a Phoenix in Nirvana.

Heralding the arrival of myths—a dark-haired girl unfurled her wings in the cerulean sea, a flaming tail pluming behind her like a Phoenix reborn.

With the eras on the brink of merging, an iron-grey airship traversed the sky, crossing the heavens. Black and white brush stroked over with vivid colors, ancient myths about her had already been known.

"The Judgment Angel..."

"""

In the Netherworld, the sacrificial fire flickers, the body burdened with the soul’s weight, Kingfishers weave their scarlet threads, and warriors enter the Yellow Springs.

Su Ming’an grips his sword handle tightly, his black hair billowing.

—The Life Hard Drive is the Ark bearing millennia of emotions, the Immortal’s Talisman is the Authority of Time, the Sword of Destiny is the unlocking key, the Eye of the Old Days is the chain binding Faith, The Republic is the barrier, a millennium of years is the cost, Dream Tour is the Positional Rank of equivalence, becoming a god is the Matrix Order’s successor.

A blue-eyed Angel flies toward him.

Her skin is full of burns, her eyes always slightly bright.

Countless figures overlap and coalesce with her at this moment, from her on the Judgment platform of the Heavenly Era, to Alice of the Steam Age, to the orphan girl of the Louyue Era, to the Goddess of the present world...

Endless "possibilities" intertwine and spread between them, ultimately converging into the most perfectly real one—thousands of paths unifying into one, imprinting as the final singular world line.

However, Su Ming’an is not satisfied.

—He had promised earring Su Wensheng.

To preserve the world line of earring Su Wensheng, to prevent the final fusion of the ten thousand world lines.

The Deity initially split the ten thousand world lines to utilize the myriad possibilities of the world to find the one single future of salvation. Now that the Deity has found it, there’s no longer a need for the remaining 9999 lines. But... are those 9999 world lines destined to disappear?

Su Ming’an feels uneasy.

Even if they are just "possibilities," they have the significance of existence.

Even if they are but void futures, unable to exist on the sole real world line, those like Ming’an and Shadow should not return to the void.

"I promised you, so... I want to stand in front of the train and give it a try." Su Ming’an mutters to himself. His voice is unheard, the one meant to hear it is gone.

The Deity aims to fuse the remaining 9999 world lines to conserve resources. But if it wouldn’t lead the world to decline, the Deity would gladly accept the coexistence of ten thousand world lines—because this represents the world’s vitality and potential. If development continues, invariably in one world line, a method of prolonging the world’s life will be born, a miracle like Acto. After all, one Su Ming’an, and ten thousand Su Ming’an, the latter surely holds greater potential.

What should be chosen between the world’s stability and its potential?

What should be chosen between realism and idealism?

If he hadn’t promised earring Su Wensheng, perhaps Su Ming’an wouldn’t have thought of this level, he might have directly fused the ten thousand world lines, for there is nothing worth commemorating for him.

But there was earring Su Wensheng.

The brief crescent mark he left on Su Ming’an’s palm... made it impossible for Su Ming’an to forget... among the ten thousand world lines, there are people like earring Su Wensheng.

They are unwilling, they want to live independently.

And he had promised them.

"Indeed." He grips his sword, laughs low: "I really... don’t like wearing earrings."

So I remembered the unique and independent you, earring Su Wensheng.

So you made me understand, the 9997 of you that should indeed survive.

I am willing... to persuade the Deity for you.

So, you...

—Finally, indeed saved your world.

...

["There are ten thousand Su Wenshengs in this world, too many, it makes me feel dizzy." He laughed:]

["But ’earring Su Wensheng’ is always only one... that’s me. I have never forgotten my ideals, even if they are broken."]

["Su the Saviour..."]

["My world is beyond saving, but you are different."]

...

No.

This time.

Redemption is no longer false.

You saved them.

You successfully saved them.

You no longer need to bury a new orange cat.

The endless [you] and [you all] have gained a future.

... even if you yourself will never know.

...

The Judgment Angel presents the Eye of the Old Days, containing the positive emotions transferred over millennia, Su Ming’an clenches it in his left hand, his right hand brings down the Sword of Destiny heavily—

Dieying cannot stop him.

A skillful woman cannot cook without rice; Dieying has no causal line related to the Life Hard Drive, hence cannot stop it. The millennium plan is indeed perfect, it was a sure-win situation from the start.

"Su Ming’an! Endure through the negative emotions of unsealing the Life Hard Drive, and we’ve won!!!" Yamada Machiichi is so excited he can hardly contain himself.

"We can go back and have a good rest..." Isabella feels relieved, she’s too tired. These twenty days... were like living several lifetimes.

"Brother, go for it! You can do it!" Mo Yan shouts. Though worried, he still believes in his brother’s willpower.

Su Ming’an smiles at them, thrusting his sword down. He sees another Chess Piece moved on Dieying’s side, seemingly a [pawn], but it doesn’t matter, Dieying is already on its last legs, no chess move can change the outcome.

The Sword of Destiny plunges down, at the moment of unsealing the Life Hard Drive, the Perfect Completion Progress reaches its full value. He breathes a long sigh of relief.

... all procedures are completed, once his willpower endures, it will be over.

"..."

Only, a chill strikes his chest.

The excitement on everyone’s faces turns to horror in an instant.

The fierce pain alerts him that something is wrong, blood splatters on his chin.

He does not show a shocked expression, looks down, seeing a blooming blue rose on his chest.

Blood gushes forth, dyeing the blue rose a vibrant red.

"...?"

A Blue Rose Scepter—it has pierced through his chest. Penetrating from the back, through to the front chest, the sharp tip displaying a tender and beautiful blooming blue rose.

Golden hair dances beside his face, like a floating ray of sunlight. The vast ocean in the boy’s eyes is silent.