mousepad-d2 Chapter 1749: Finale · Shore Crossing Arc [93] ·
Chapter 1749: Finale · Shore Crossing Arc [93] ·
["The Saint chose a narrow path, cutting off all other branches. The Sinner trapped himself on a broad road, discarding other paths like worn shoes. The Saint suffers loneliness from a clear choice, while the Sinner gains stability from ignorant compliance."]["Neither of them could retreat unharmed. In this sense, they both remain incomplete."]
["A sparrow said, ’One walks clearly toward Destruction, one muddles unknowingly towards Destruction. So the young man about to stand before you... Is he the Saint who sees through both the Abyss and the faint light... or the Sinner who forces himself onto the narrow path in utter despair?"]
["The purple figure remained silent for a long time, black water swirling, silently."]
["Finally, it whispered:"]
["The labels of Saint and Sinner hold no meaning for him."]
["The road is already beneath his feet."]
["He is a traveler."]
...
23:55:51.
"Nine!"
Based on the bullet screen, Hua De and the others knew Su Ming’an would emerge soon.
Looking around, it was hard to find an unscathed piece of land. The ground was filled with countless charred craters, intersecting ravines, and corpses layered upon each other, indistinguishable between friend and foe, presenting a pale outline.
The defense line was no longer tidy, with the remaining warriors huddled here and there, leaning against the charred giant stone, panting heavily. Mages and ranged occupational types slumped in the mud and blood, too exhausted to move.
"Eight!"
Lü Shu floated in the air, bloodstains at his lips. He gazed at the distant Abyss, hand trembling as he held the blade.
"Seven!"
Dragon Emperor Ian was covered in wounds, bloodied wings sagging, his dragon head drooping, almost broken by the firmament. He once looked down upon the ground bugs, but now couldn’t deny that these guys were indeed different.
"Six!"
Eni’s Flame Power was exhausted, lying unconscious in a dragon claw.
"Five!"
Lin Yin held a communicator, voice hoarse, hardly uttering a complete word.
"Four!"
The deafening cries had ceased, replaced by continuous groans, wind carrying ash, wailing overhead.
Ailun from the Sword of Justice leaned on its blade, panting heavily, nearly collapsing; You Wen’s parasol was long shattered, pieces strewn all over, attire in tatters; Barlow and Jonathan retreated from the battlefield, faces covered in dust.
Almost everyone had reached their limit.
Body, spirit, energy, will... everything had been pushed to the brink of collapse in this long drawn-out conflict against the World. The number of sacrifices was long uncountable, familiar faces vanished one by one, becoming unrecognizable remains on the battleground.
They’d given too much, sacrificed too much, so much that "victory" felt hollow and unfamiliar.
Yet—
When countless pairs of either numb, vacant, or expectant eyes involuntarily turned in the same direction—
When they looked toward a direction that wasn’t east, awaiting Dawn to rise—
"Three!"
—All the way barely holding on, they needed to do the last thing.
To provide the final cover for Su Ming’an’s emergence.
The commanders sent by the United Group, led by Liu Jiahe, had already prepared deployments, in front of Liu Jiahe was a floating holographic battle map.
Liu Jiahe counted down over the intercom.
As he counted down, thousands of World Channels streamed from the live broadcast, keeping up with Su Ming’an’s progress, sending countdowns and ensuring no deviation across all lines. Each command like cold, precise codes spread quickly to every corner of the battlefield through crystals, communicators, magical messengers, even word of mouth.
"All remaining ranged units, regardless of occupation, prepare to deploy the highest brightness skills..."
"All capable of operating group Heal, Spiritual Boost, and Energy Recovery Auras, prepare to cast the skills, prioritize Spiritual Boost, followed by Energy Recovery, then Healing..."
In this nearly collapsing, drained land, some still breathed.
Collapsed in a pool of blood, Ajima Kanko trembledly used a broken Little Bird Staff to sketch spells practiced countless times.
Talesha the archer, with blurred consciousness, set up a glowing arrow through muscle memory.
Nicoles the warrior raised a twisted arm slowly with a sword.
"Two!"
Looking over, on the vast battlefield, mages in cloth robes uniformly lifted their wands, whether resting or recovering... all turned, aiming at one direction.
As if in tacit agreement, their enemies also uniformly turned, targeting one direction, as if that was the true core.
Our side would protect only this place.
The enemy would attack only this place.
"Everyone!" Hua De shouted over the communicator,
"Abandon current targets, follow my lead! Remaining mana, energy, one-time items, ultimate skills... prepare them all! Target—above the Abyss Gate, coordinates 281391, 572910, 261! On my command, volley!"
"Prepare—!" A mage team led by Holess, with over a thousand powerful mages, collectively chanted a super-spec composite Forbidden Spell, magical radiance merging into a multi-colored orb shining brilliantly.
Jiang Deng, Wang Li, Cindy, Holess, Cen Xiu, Sean... most combat top players gathered their strongest strike.
"One!"
Like the instant just before a bowstring was fully drawn.
Lü Shu dropped the broken Black Blade, his hands forming an enormous Black Scythe, transformed, holding the scythe behind him!
Lin Yin, who had always been mid-field, suddenly raised his wings, soaring, transforming from command into Combat Power, flying towards the Abyss!
At this moment, command no longer mattered.
The one who could truly change the battlefield was about to arrive.
Qiuqiu and Xining stood at the edge of the Abyss, with support system players. Qiuqiu took out his reserve super light ball, aiming at the firmament. Even Xining took out a personal light bomb, assuming a throwing stance.
...Here it comes, here it comes.
They bit down on their lower lips until tasting iron. Everyone’s heart was in their throat at this instant.
The live broadcast room’s bullet screen kept up, knowing that person was about to arrive—
"Zero!!!"
When Grett’s shouted command, echoed the last number silently chanted in the hearts of thousands of players!
Hua De’s eyes flashed with fierceness, using all his strength, casting the accumulated peak energy all at once—
In an instant—
"It’s now—!" he roared:
"Fire!!"
"Boom——————————!!!!!!!!!!"
Some unknown person followed up with a shout.
"Release!!!"
A deep, ancient, and intense sound of blooming erupted first.
The next moment, a scene described as the most vast, spectacular, and "player characteristic" moment ever in World Game emerged!
Within a kilometer’s range, all players who responded to the call, whether they were top leaders or ordinary elites, almost simultaneously released their most dazzling skills towards the sky!
[Holy Light Illumination]! [Meteor Fire Rain]! [Extreme Ice Feast]! [Thunderous Force]! [Shadow Nova]! [Void Bloom]! [Rainbow Shock Wave]! [Heart-shaped Light Arrow]!
Colors of red, orange, yellow, green, azure, blue, and purple, showing a dazzling display, with energy forms of various kinds: light pillars, meteors, ice spikes, electric serpents, ripples, spatial ripples, and even pink hearts...
With the firmament as the center, a light halo mixed with pink, white, blue, gold, black, purple... erupted with a boom!
A point, ten, hundred, thousand, ten-thousand!
Where the halo passed, time seemed to stretch, like it triggered a tsunami that swept across the heavens.
The flames slashed by angels, the Sword Gang wielded by believers, the spells cast by mages, and martial arts, even the rain of light falling from the sky, the dust rising... Player skills were diverse and blossomed like flower scattering by heavenly maidens, showing unparalleled brilliance in this instant!
The noisy battlefield transformed into a dazzling, impactful, and world-shaking firework spectacle!
No unified coordination, no precise guidance. Players followed only one simple and crude command: create the maximum coverage of light pollution!
"Rumble——!!!"
"Sizzle——!!!"
"Swish——!!!"
Countless skill effects stacked, the resulting energy turbulence and optical pollution instantly reached a terrifying peak, as if a thousand suns exploded simultaneously in the sky, as though countless Boss Rabbits were dancing feverishly at the same time. The dazzling lights temporarily blinded people, and the violent chaotic energy field disrupted all perception.
Such a scale, even Su Rin and others supporting the sky had to temporarily retreat, slightly lowering their altitude.
Above the firmament, the shadow of the Radiant Mother God was temporarily obscured; Her brilliance seemed slightly dimmed under the bombardment of millions of lives, those golden eyes for a moment couldn’t see anything clearly!
"Whew—!" A sharp whistle.
"Boom—!" An explosion.
"Boom—!"
"Boom boom boom boom boom—!"
At this moment, red, orange, azure, green, dim purple... all imaginable and unimaginable colors exploded in the most explosive manner from every corner of the battlefield. Countless streams of colorful energy exploded at the highest point, illuminating the smoke, illuminating the bloodstains, illuminating every upwards-looking face.
In the east, in the west, standing individuals, kneeling individuals, humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen... Different races, different occupations, different identities, at this moment, they did the exact same thing—raised their hands, illuminated the sky, providing cover for that person’s emergence.
The "curtain" made by Yamada Machiichi and others was an accurate, effective, and complex method, while the effect of people’s collective release of fireworks was simply using the clumsiest method to physically cover the sky; it sounded crude and simple...
But they don’t need long, they only seek [a moment].
"Boom boom boom boom—!"
The entire scorched land seemed to transform into a volcanic crater erupting flames and brilliance, countless streams of light rose from the ground.
Time seemed to freeze.
The scorched land became a stage, the blood-red sky became a curtain, countless broken bodies became the torch bearers, all raised their heads, gazing at the sky.
Long ago, commoners used to pay homage to guardian deities or Heroes with lamp oil in temples, lighting Everlasting Lamps to plead for protection, as a grand ceremony of welcoming gods. But now they need not to kneel and plead, nor have to pray day and night—the "God" returning from fierce battle would naturally step onto the returning road.
Light up this corridor of firelight that spans heaven and earth.
Su Ming’an.
For your return, there’s no need for anxious long nights, no need to fear the night.
—Once, someone swore to guard at your door just to await your return. Once, someone chose to turn back in front of the door to seek your steps deep within. Once, someone abandoned their own life to help you break through the long night. Once, someone lied to deceive believers so they would escort your journey back...
And we wait here, supporting the firmament, illuminating everlasting days, awaiting your return.
This is a "New Year" firework welcoming you home.
...
Inside Source Point.
For the final question, the believers of the Radiant Mother God rushed left and right, respectively through [Sinners among Saints] and [Saints among Sinners].
But neither door turned out to be the correct answer.
"What should we do now..." The remaining believers were bewildered.
Su Ming’an, however, directly walked towards between the two doors—a direction seemingly devoid of any path.
With his step, apart from the two fixed roads, a small path followed his footsteps and spread, like a path woven from light unfolding as he walked... until it led to a faraway, unseen end.
He didn’t choose any known path but walked towards a direction without any road.
As he walked between the doors, [Sinners among Saints] and [Saints among Sinners] vanished, replaced by the sound of roaring water. He knew he was on the right track. The last question doesn’t require any fixed answers; only he can decide who he is.
A page, ten pages, hundred pages... countless colorful pages gradually appeared around him, swirling around him and completely illuminating the faint morning light.
Even without looking closely, the spiritual knowledge ambiguously told him—these are all the "predecessors" who contributed their spiritual knowledge to write the World Book of Luowasha over billions of years.
This is a road from Source Point back to Luowasha.
The final endpoint, they illuminated for him.
Bright red Martial Arts, deep purple Western Fantasy, golden yellow transformation, pale white urban, ink-black Immortal Hero... countless pages sounded distant echoes, like tombs of countless lives.
He heard ancient hymn singing, male and female, old and young. Like human language, dragon language, elven language, wraith language, gnome language, celestial language...
How many people have picked up the pen in the past? How many generations’ lives have been recorded?
History, character setting, world, temperature, humidity, topography, national territory, customs, races... If a whole world were structured like this, what kind of absurd yet vividly flower-like real world would it be?
—At this moment, it’s as if countless "predecessors" traverse the vast flow of time, reaching the shore of millions of years from the primordial chaos to now, converging into a sea with him. Their figures stood behind him, gazing at his back.
Forward, forward.
This is a path that no one has ever walked.
Su Ming’an moved forward, until reaching the end of the path—
White light shone brightly.
In a daze, it seemed countless figures brushed past him, and he heard the long-awaited system voice from World Game—
...
[Congratulations, you have cleared "Source Point"!]
[You have completed the Perfect Pass Task·Ninth Link·"I shall stack corpses until I reach myself." ]
[You received a reward: Awakened Ability · Rewrite Authority (From now on, you can perceive modifications by other Awakeners and conduct rewrite counterattacks.)]
...
[You triggered the Perfect Pass Task·Tenth Link·"Let’s go home together."]
[Task Requirement: Defeat Mother Goddess of Radiance Kritchens.]
[Task Reward: Awakened Ability*1]
[Task Remark: "Heroes are ultimately crushed by what they protect, and the road is desolate due to the sadness of those who pave it."]
...