Not long after, this matter made it into the news. It is said that a special task force was established locally. The acquired items couldn't be sold for the time being, and coincidentally, his gambling addiction relapsed.

He lost all his money as usual, and when the casino's debt collectors came looking for him, "he" made a foolish decision.

He wanted to use some treasures he hadn't yet had the opportunity to sell off to offset his debts.

But this time, his luck seemed to have run out.

The casino didn't agree to his request; instead, they developed a strong interest in his tomb-raiding skills.

As more and more "details" were revealed, Ethan came to realize that these people all had ulterior motives.

They gathered here not to experience a cross-epoch game, but rather to fulfill a request made by the "boss."

At the very least, they didn't feel like they were playing a game but had entered a place similar to "Main God Space," where the "department leader" not far away was giving them final instructions.

"Don't die easily; we're not sure what you'll experience after death."

The drifting memories ended there, followed by endless darkness.

In the depths of that darkness, there seemed to be a voice calling to him, and their "main quest" sounded simple: they needed to find a person here.

The person they were to find was waiting in the deepest part of that darkness.

"Mr. Song Xian, I've heard your wish."

Time shifted once more, and at some unknown moment and unknown location, the task was completed.

The rewards were far richer than he could imagine.

He wanted money, an inexhaustible supply of money.

"Well then, how about granting you the ability to turn stone into gold?"

On that very day, "he" understood one thing.

The gods, they truly exist.

Ethan, following the guidance of the voice, moved forward in that pitch-black space. He gradually understood everything, comprehending the irreconcilable conflict between the King of Gold and Merlin.

In this world, they had everything, received gifts far beyond monetary value; their "adventure" did not end with finding the Goddess. Instead, it marked the beginning of a new chapter. But the good times didn't last long, and differing voices and doubts began to emerge among them.

Is this life truly meaningful?

Can everything they gained here be brought back to the real world?

But they had to return; there are people waiting for them at home in the real world.

Yet such words couldn't move the King of Gold.

No one knows better than he does that what truly awaits him on the "other side" is likely the police, endless imprisonment, or even a bullet.

More arguments erupted from the depths of the darkness, each ending in an unhappy disbandment.

"Family? Why insist on such a trivial matter?"

The King of Gold could never understand Merlin's thoughts. "Just drop the idea. What kind of women of different races do you want? How many children do you want? How do you want to raise them, and what kind of life do you wish to provide for them? Isn't it all just a matter of words?"

Whenever the conversation reached an impasse, Merlin would use that one line.

— I'm different from you all; I have reasons I must return.

What a fool.

Perhaps this is what they mean by different paths leading to different ends. The King of Gold couldn't understand why someone would insist on distinguishing between illusion and reality. To him, whichever side was more beneficial, that was "reality."

But he understood one thing—the same principle he grasped the very first day he entered the trade.

If someone blocks your path, take them out.

He didn't intend to worry about the consequences Merlin would bring upon their return to "reality" and wanted to avoid any risks. The only problem was that dealing with a "colleague" wasn't easy; the Goddess's blessing was bestowed equally upon all of them. He must think of a way to make the Goddess rescind her blessing.

So, when Merlin began researching how to leave this world, the King of Gold started investigating him.

— How to provoke Merlin into angering the Goddess?

With the unexpected disappearance of the Goddess one day, the riddle was solved. Since then, the guild had been investigating the whereabouts of the Goddess, dispatching investigators to different dimensions until they discovered some special planes where they found traces of the Goddess.

Those "extraordinary planes" seemed to hold extreme significance for the Goddess, and after witnessing the calamity brought upon by Merlin's investigation of those planes, a plan formed in the King of Gold's mind.

What would happen if Merlin, guided, initiated a disaster in those planes with special significance for the Goddess?

The surrounding darkness gradually dissipated, and the disputes between Merlin and the guild members had long ceased.

"He" stepped into the midst of the stars. This was not Ethan's first trip here.

After the chaos in the Imperial Capital subsided, he had also followed Lindong's guidance and arrived here, where he found a witch with the same appearance as Lindong, as if existing on different timelines.

However, now, what he saw was a different scene.

"He" saw only a figure among the stars, then suddenly experienced intense headache and collapsed to the ground. The sharp pain in his eyes almost drove him mad, making him unquestioningly believe that if he took another look, his eyeballs would fall out and roll onto the ground.

The audience with her lasted only a few seconds, yet it brought him the most extreme pain.

But the plan progressed smoothly.

Just as "he" envisioned, wantonly altering timelines would inevitably evoke the Goddess's wrath. For reasons unknown to the guild, the Goddess desired each plane's history to follow its original trajectory.

Everything that followed advanced according to "his" plan.

This special plane became Merlin's grave.

Only "he" knew that Merlin was already dead before the cursed spear pierced his heart.

The Goddess reclaimed everything gifted to Merlin, reverting him to the fragile mortal form in their eyes.

Intense pain severed the resonance between thought and consciousness, and when the King of Gold came back to his senses, time began to flow—the same phenomenon had occurred on the day of Merlin's death.

But besides him, no one knew the Goddess had been there.

The King of Gold eagerly looked toward those steps. At that moment, just like before, someone walked the same path as Merlin, and their fate was obvious.

On the day of Merlin's downfall, he witnessed the entire process from the sidelines.

Only a fool would fight to the death here.

Only the living can laugh last.

Everything was in his plan.

Yet the next moment, the expression on the King of Gold's face froze.

He saw Ethan, and for the first time, he saw the face of the Goddess.

White hair, ruby-like eyes—she was very close to Ethan, almost embracing him.

In the instant their gazes crossed, she brazenly stuck out her tongue and lightly licked Ethan's lips.

This...

Why?

Ethan was obviously guilty of disrupting timelines and inheriting Merlin's legacy, he was clearly an abominable sinner!

But that scene lasted only for a short period; the King of Gold's sight was cut off as if something had fallen from his face, gradually causing his limbs to lose sensation, while the body soaked in the Golden Pool became numb.

He was melting, merging with the scalding liquid gold.

"We've finally met."

At the same time, such a voice came to Ethan's ear.

So close, his ears could feel the warmth of the breath.

"As a reward for finding me, I'll grant you one wish."

The voice murmured truthfully by his ear, "I heard your wish."

...

?

Ethan pondered for a moment and suddenly realized a problem.

Wait, he hadn't made a wish yet!