He Sent His Final Letter Again

The silver-haired youth tilted his head slightly. He seemed to find the question somewhat unnecessary, yet also rather interesting. His lips twitched, revealing a smile so faint it was almost imperceptible.

"Yue, as in moon."

He said it casually, as though he had no idea what that word meant in the universe today.

Or perhaps he did know and simply didn't care.

Bai Yang had to practically force his attention away from the man. He didn't dare look at him for long. He couldn't say why; he just didn't dare. His gaze instinctively shifted to the side, settling on the view outside the porthole.

Then he saw the Starry Sky Beasts.

They hadn't gone far. They were still swimming around the ship, their mountain-sized bodies casting enormous shadows beneath the starlight.

Bai Yang's mouth had always been faster than his brain. A curse sprang to his lips:

Damn it, I replied too soon.

But just as the curse reached the tip of his tongue, Bai Yang caught sight of the silver-white figure beside him.

The next second, he forcibly swallowed the fully formed curse back down.

It nearly made him hiccup.

This is too weird.

In all his years, Bai Yang had never felt anything like this.

His father was as stubborn as a stone in a latrine.

He would start cursing at the slightest disagreement.

Back then, Bai Yang had never watched his own mouth either. He'd cursed right back.

But facing the person before him,

He actually felt that even having a curse flash through his mind—

Even thinking it—was a tremendous disrespect to the other man, a blasphemy he himself couldn't forgive.

The feeling made no sense, yet it was deeply rooted.

What the hell? Could this guy be my ancestor or something? Otherwise, how do I explain why I think he's scarier than my dad?

Bai Yang shook his head, not daring to think any further. His gaze drifted outside the porthole again of its own accord.

The Starry Sky Beasts were still there.

After a moment's silence, Bai Yang quietly opened his Lightbrain.

He sent his final letter again.

"Then, Your Excellency Yue, may I ask if you... if you need something?"

Li Ze didn't notice that, although he was still tense with vigilance, like a bow drawn but not yet loosed,

His words had involuntarily taken on an honorific and a respectful tone.

The silver-haired youth's gaze fell on Li Ze, and he said, "I merely thought this ship was quite novel, so I came to take a look. Sorry for disturbing you all. I'll leave now."

As soon as he finished speaking,

The ship's hatch slid open of its own accord, without a sound.

The cold light of the sea of stars poured in through the doorway.

Carrying the breath of the stars, it gently lifted his long silver-white hair.

He stepped outside.

The vacuum should have swallowed all sound.

Yet the moment he stepped through the hatch, everyone heard his footsteps clearly. Softly, one after another, as though he were walking on steps paved with moonlight.

The Starry Sky Beasts that had looked so fierce just moments ago were now waiting quietly outside.

Every one of them lowered its head.

They were so docile they seemed almost devout, as though welcoming a king home from a long journey.

The silver-haired youth looked up at the colossal creatures. A hint of liveliness suddenly entered his voice as he said, "I'd like to see some other places. Could you give me a ride?"

The Starry Sky Beast at the front let out a low rumble.

The sound pierced the vacuum and struck the ears of everyone aboard the ship, making the bulkheads tremble slightly.

But its tone was unmistakably joyful and excited.

The silver-haired youth smiled.

His smile was light and faint, gone in an instant, like the shimmering ripples left when moonlight brushed across water.

Yet in that brief instant, everyone aboard the ship had the illusion that the cold, dark universe had suddenly brightened.

"Once Xing wakes up, I'll praise you to him."

The silver-haired youth reached out and stroked the Starry Sky Beast's lowered head.

The Starry Sky Beast grew even more excited.

The silver-haired youth shifted, and with a flutter of his robes, he landed atop the Starry Sky Beast's head. His long silver-white hair blended with the starlight flowing over the beast's body, until it was impossible to tell hair from light.

He sat on the Starry Sky Beast as though beneath him was not a Starry Sky Beast that could strike terror into an entire fleet,

But a docile mount for getting around.

The Starry Sky Beast slowly turned.

The other beasts followed close behind, gathering at either side like stars surrounding the moon.

They traveled farther and farther away.

Gradually, they became a few points of light in the depths of the sea of stars.

Finally, they vanished completely among the stars filling the sky.

The hatch slowly closed.

The ship remained silent for a very, very long time.

"Did you hear that just now? Could this Yue really be that Yue? And could Xing be that Xing too?"

Bai Yang was the first to break the silence, his lips trembling.

The second version of his final letter was still glowing on his Lightbrain's screen.

No one answered him.

Because no one dared to answer.

[Host, a reminder: your older brother, the Sun God, and your younger brother, the Star God, are waking from their slumber.]

The silver-haired youth should actually have been called Wuma Xiu.

His compound surname was Wuma, and his given name was Xiu.

He stroked the Starry Sky Beast beneath him as he looked out at the vast sea of stars around him. As he gazed at it, the surrounding starry sky seemed to grow a little brighter.

Wuma Xiu had never expected that he, a grinding emperor of the gaming world,

Would grind himself to death after just over a year.

Afterward, this thing that called itself the God-Playing System had bound itself to him.

[Host, you absolutely must not go OOC. If the Sun God, the Star God, or any of the others find out, we'll both be finished.]

[Don't worry, I won't.]

Wuma Xiu spoke confidently.

His confidence didn't come from confidence in his own acting, however. It was because these gods were all card characters from a game he had played before his sudden death—Domain of the Gods.

The system, however, didn't seem to know that.

But Wuma Xiu had no intention of telling it, either. After all, it was hiding things from him too.