CHAPTER 1175: CHAPTER 1172: TE: I SEAL IT MYSELF (PART 11)

Bai Xue burns within the Flames.

The Stars fall to the ocean floor.

The heavens and earth invert, sun and moon share the sky.

— A civilization destined to perish a millennium ago, lifted by the Deities, soars towards the next eternal river of Time.

Like stars breaking free from their bonds, apples shedding the pull of gravity, freedom unshackled from the chains of earth. As the Deity’s white tendrils rise, the Life Hard Drive radiates a brilliance unseen for a thousand years.

"Boom—!"

In the moment the Deity hoists the Sword of Destiny, illusion and reality collide.

Ten thousand worldlines feel the arrival of this moment.

Some raise their heads from fields, some pray in temples, some pick up shattered torches, some gaze towards the sea.

The unending history reflected in their pupils, like burning kindling.

They collectively perceive—this critical point’s arrival.

The intangible, formless Ark reaches the other shore, becoming a Ship of Theseus. Over the millennium, its decks, parts, crew, have changed again and again, generation after generation... Time changing as seas, hundreds of billions once gazed at the unreachable end, adrift a lifetime on the ocean, hoping with outdated telescopes to reach a shore they never would. But even so... the purpose and terminus of this Ark has never wavered.

— It’s always been,

The "next century" of civilization.

The Deity points the sword skyward, and The Republic begins to form.

The boundaries between ten thousand worldlines blur, dreams and reality intertwine, its wall like a canvas of Time, painting the traces of years. Lurking streams of people like Ghosts shuttle, each step crossing the bounds of Time,

Countless ages intertwine, countless figments emerge underfoot from everyone.

Their clothing as diverse as the stitches of time.

They might be clad in the elaborate dresses of the Victorian era, lace-lined sleeves and splendid skirts; or draped in the hippie style of colorful tapestries and denim, exuding the Spirit of freedom and rebellion; or in the clean lines of modern minimalist fashion, embodying the aesthetic of the new century.

Every garment whispers of time, each accessory encapsulates a civilization, every person is rooted in a period with a distinct style.

When they see each other, they show familiar expressions—this is the first time in their lives they have seen another version of "themselves" in the world.

"So another ’me’ could be a Captain." A scruffy scavenger looks at another self. He once dreamed of becoming a Captain, but had to give up due to poverty.

It seems that in another "possibility"... he fulfilled his youthful dream.

...

"You must be disappointed, I’m just an ordinary office worker. But you’re a king from another era." A middle-aged man shyly gazes at the crown atop his other self. It turns out he too could have had such a "possibility."

The king replied: "I indeed had great Luck, born into the Royal Family, and with a great teacher, which made me a qualified king. While you were born ordinary and had no access to good education... If you were in my era, you would be just like me."

The middle-aged man sighs, his eyes filled with regret.

Yet the king, identical in appearance, showed envy: "But I too envy you. Though you’re just an ordinary office worker, you have a happy family, whereas my kin are..."

There are gains but also losses.

When Zhuang Zhou envied the Butterfly... who could say that another dream from Zhuang Zhou didn’t envy him?

...

"To view oneself... this is the feeling..." An old grandma in a wheelchair nostalgically touches her reflection, a younger image, reminding her of her youthful self—a graceful dancer.

Had she not met with the car accident in her youth, with intact legs, she might have been a lithe dancer, not a tofu vendor.

...

"Hello... another ’me’ in the World." A little girl doesn’t understand the situation but excitedly greets.

A white-collar worker in her twenties looks at her with complex emotions, touches her head:

"The eight-year-old ’me’, please do not give up on your dreams, do not settle for a job you don’t love just for stability."

"I find no joy in my current life and can no longer detach. Yet I hope... another ’me’ wouldn’t repeat this path, wouldn’t give up dreams."

"Okay, I promise. I will become an excellent botanist!" The little girl naively nods, unaware that at this moment, a novel "possibility" takes root and sprouts within her heart.

In that "possibility", she is no longer a daily-grind white-collar, but immersed always in the forest, seeking through the fields.

— Her future from here blossoms into countless fresh and tender flowers.

...

In a lifetime, tens of millions of roads.

Endless "possibilities" emerge from every critical choice point, to be picked, to be selected, to be affirmed into reality by "me".

To confess boldly or bury the feeling deep when meeting someone you like in youth.

Twelve years of hard study, to strive day and night or find another way.

At life’s turning points, to pursue further education or return to family.

— With each choice, new "possibilities" stretch forth beneath.

Humans have no Time authority for infinite retracing, nor the Observation authority of Deities, can’t know if choices are right. Only after a long walk, turning suddenly—can one discover what initial choices brought.

When all "possibilities" unfold before their eyes,

They suddenly realize—that they have such a future.

That with discarding some, they also picked up others.

Humans are born for constant renewal.

...

"Outside the sheer window, the ice river clangs~"

Singing comes from an unknown place.

A bright glow ascends from the sword of the Deity, soaring skyward. A semicircular star river spans the firmament, enlarging, enlarging... spanning Cang Mountain, crossing the Long River, passing over fields, until spanning the entire World, like an expanse of distant ice river.

Silent and Eternal radiance flickers over the arc.

Then, All Living Beings witness a spectacle.

"That is—"

— A floating World gradually clears the clouded mists, revealing a clear visage. It hangs below the firmament, not an illusion nor a new birth, but this World’s reflection, an inverted Ideal City.

— The Republic.

They involuntarily called out its name.

In this moment, heaven and earth underwent fission, parallel realities collided. The cannons in people’s hands lose Flames, bullets fall upward.

Gravity subverts the common sense of the World, heaven and earth swap thrones—sky becomes earth, earth becomes sky.

People feel an unprecedented lightness, appear to lose the pull of gravity, even drift skyward.

"In the First Watch, iron horses pass by my room~"

Can’t discern if they float in the sky, or stand firmly on the ground.

They gaze at the blue full moon, unsure whether it’s the luminous lamp hanging in the night sky or a phantom in the depths of the ocean.

The pure white angel wings soared behind Su Ming’an, suspended high above the pinnacle of this infinite Republic.

Heaven and earth were inverted, with white tendrils drifting about, akin to the feathers of a white bird.

"In the third watch of the night, the white bird sings in dreams~"

Shadow retreated calmly. With the establishment of the Republic, it withdrew step by step from the sky’s boundary. Its posture was graceful, as though it was being pushed out, yet it seemed as if it walked out willingly.

Dazzling radiance lingered in the high altitude as the city in the mirror descended little by little, until it overlapped with the ground, like a merging of dreams and reality—a determination of countless "possibilities."

The establishment of the completed, forming a massive dimensional shield. At this moment, Su Ming’an recalled the ten initial questions the deity had asked him.

...

[Question Five: What do you think destiny is?]

...

What is destiny?

Did he act according to a millennial plan from start to finish? Is it obedience to destiny?

No.

It was that he took the torch prepared by predecessors, advancing along the path explored by their lives. The remains of predecessors paved the way for ultimate victory; he was merely someone completing their unfinished task. This was not "obedience," but rather "inheritance."

Everything had been arranged for him long before his arrival. It was shelter, not manipulation.

To find the Eye of the Old Days was left by the deity. To obtain the Sword of Destiny was intentionally given by Hei Que. To receive the Immortal’s Talisman was deliberately arranged by Su Wensheng. To meet Chao Yan by the seaside was planned. To destroy the Exotic Species King was part of the plan.

Leaving Dao Ya City → escaping the protection of the Republic, the Eye of the Old Days upon him started to resonate → tower activation → receiving the three elements given by others → satisfying conditions to awaken the Exotic Species King and being unable to maintain rationality → going back a thousand years → vacation to gain positive emotions → returning a thousand years later to reawaken the Exotic Species King and being able to maintain rationality → successfully establishing the Republic.

Apparently, everything was arranged. It was an "automated salvation plan."

However, whether he could reach the final step depended on himself.

Because "killing fate" led to another "fate." Even if he was given a death rebound, knowing it was arranged, he would still walk this path without hesitation.

Is obeying destiny cowardice and not daring to resist?

No, it is resolve and courage.

So many Principals knew they couldn’t find a good end but still insisted on the millennial plan. General Qin knew he would become a Life Hard Drive but still took up the responsibility. Was it that they preferred to obey such sacrificial destiny?

No.

It is to know it’s difficult, yet still do it.

At this moment, he finally understood how heavy fate is, with countless people twisting themselves and sacrificing their lives to guide him.

—Thereby, the {Past} and the {Future} finally become the {Present}.

At this moment, he knew what the final step was.

Only by becoming a god could he have the strength to establish the Republic. Yet after the Republic was established, inside the Republic—there must be no god. If a god existed within the Republic, Shadow could still interfere.

Therefore, he needed to slay himself in the state of becoming a god.

—To slay himself.

—To slay "me."

...

[Question Seven: Do you think "self" is the most precious thing a human can have? If one day, you have to choose between the two, which would you choose? If only by slaying yourself can you realize the ideal, would you wield the sword against yourself? Answer "yes" or "no."]

[Su Ming’an frowned, what a vexing question.]

[However, his answer was evident—]

...

[Yes.]

...

Su Ming’an finally understood why the deity asked him such a question back then.

It turned out that at that moment, the deity foresaw that if Su Ming’an reached the end, he would inevitably wield the sword against himself.

His two clones were already unusable, unable to shed his skin like a cicada once more.

So, how should he slay himself?

According to reason, Su Ming’an should be vacationing in the Tenth World, with the Old God completing everything for him, thus the one being slain should be the Old God. Yet now it was Su Ming’an himself...

Su Ming’an blinked, then suddenly smiled. He finally understood why the deity was so eager to stop him from saving the world, as in the end, he himself must die. The deity was saving his life.

At this moment, he sensed a hint of despair similar to Pulaya’s final stage, but this time he did not have a second Red Rose.

Shadow’s laughter came: "...So, Su Ming’an, for a loftier ideal, you dare not wield a sword against yourself for the World of Old Days. Because after all, this is not your homeland, Zhai XIng is more important than here."

Disregarding Its taunts, Su Ming’an hesitated for a moment, then turned the blade, the tip of the sword facing himself.

The expression on his face tended to freeze.

...People of the World of Old Days.

...You have paid so much, waited so long for this day... The millennial plan so perfect, the situation of inevitable victory so moving... So you surely will not let down the final executor.

This journey, you have given me immense emotion, I can for you... attempt to wield the sword once. Even if only once.

He gazed at the glowing sword tip and closed his eyes. Before closing, he saw Shadow’s stunned face, It seemed unexpected that he would truly wield the sword.

But when the sword tip pierced the chest, he heard a song.

A singing voice that was consistent with his own... clear, melodious, youthful.

A great wisp of memory surged into his body with this strike—

By his ear, the sound of the Chang Ge.

It was with the slowly narrating tone of Chang Ge, telling him everything—

...

Su Ming’an.

Before you wield the sword, you must know a story.

A story crossing twelve hundred years, from a long, long time ago.

A story about the very beginning of the World of Old Days, the very beginning of the millennial plan, about me and General Qin.

The Republic is finally completed, I can tell you this story now. After knowing this story... then decide.

...

...

[He offered me advice, I lent him my eyes.]

[I don’t know how to steer or navigate.]

[But if you are on the distant shore, I will brave the waves to seek you, this rare gem.]

...