Li Chen was stunned.
If they're all just pawns, then who really has the power to watch over them from above?
God is the limit he sees.
But Li Chen saw things differently, because he had once said that Gods were merely slightly more powerful humans, and perhaps there were even stronger beings beyond the universe. Who could that be?
Old gods, or gods like Li Chen?
Knowing the enemy, but the devastating news is that the enemy is invincible—what's the point?
And what is Li Chen pursuing?
Do they, like myself, want to choose death?
After a long silence... the two remained quiet for a long time, as if they had calmed down from their earlier emotions.
Li Chen returned to his chair.
Li Chen was the same, while the Eldritch God burned fiercely under that light, but dared not utter a sound.
The Heart-Questioning Trial has begun.
This time, Li Chen spoke first.
"Li Chen, what exactly are you chasing?"
What exactly are you expecting?
What do you want to see?
Who are our enemies outside the universe?
After calming down, Li Chen sat in his chair and pondered for two seconds before speaking, "Return to the beginning... return to the past."
"Back to the moment the universe collapsed."
"Our enemy has never gone far away; he has always been right beside us."
Li Chen frowned. "So that's why you self-destructed and entered my body to wait for an opportunity, but an accident happened?"
"Is this accident the Eldritch God?"
Li Chen shook his head. "No... it wasn't him. He was ultimately just a consciousness that was born unintentionally. Although his birth, nurtured by the Authority Power, caused many unexpected events, it also advanced our progress."
"However, the ending is good. Although it was somewhat difficult, you still managed to reach this point before the Reincarnation Authority dissipated."
Li Chen pondered for two seconds before asking, "Then why did you say you wanted to go back to the beginning?"
Li Chen sighed, seemingly recalling a certain period of time, and remained silent for a long time before speaking.
My hometown is just like your world now.
"It was just more peaceful back then, at least not as terrible as you are now... But one day, the Old Gods came, without warning, and destroyed the entire universe."
"The power of Authority saved me, but it could not save others... I became a god, the God that everyone dreams of, wandering aimlessly in this shattered universe. I want to kill those old gods and avenge my former world."
"But as you already know, I failed."
"Just as the Eldritch God said, I am a loser. I was sent back before I even left the universe... Countless Gods outside suppress our universe."
I learned quite a lot.
"Our universe is known in the outside world as the Godforsaken Land,' a place even the Gods are unwilling to enter. I also learned about the Old Gods, those beings who reduced this universe to nothingness."
"I'm constantly trying to clear my head, to escape this place, or to find a way to bring our homeland, human civilization, back into the light of day."
"Until one day I learned of the power of the Reincarnation Authority."
"My thoughts grew more and more... and finally a terrifying idea emerged: to bring reincarnation to the land where I once grew up."
Do you know how difficult this is?
"It's not that reincarnation can suddenly create a person, but rather that humanity is born through the continuous evolution of this planet. I don't know how long I'll have to wait... perhaps a hundred million years... two hundred million years. I'm lost in the cycle of reincarnation."
"I'm gradually forgetting what I'm doing, what I'm persisting in. The murmurs of the universe are about to drown me, and loneliness is my only companion."
"Until one day, a ray of light shone upon me."
"That day I saw the first intelligent ape-man, and from that day on, the planning began to emerge."
"I am observing humanity, observing the movements at the edge of the universe, but this universe is indeed as silent as death. Those Mutation planets and monsters have all fallen into slumber. This is truly a 'Godforsaken Land,' without even a ray of light shining upon it."
But I persevered.
"The game of chess only began with the birth of humankind."
Li Chen looked at Li Chen, paused for a second, and then continued, "And you are the opportunity I have found in billions of years."
"What does Forbidden represent? Depravity, destruction... and so on. You are the one I groped my way out of Authority, and the only one from my experiments who can fuse with those ancient gods to create a defiled life form."
"Those ancient gods couldn't control the Forbidden; they were completely chaotic life forms, as I've come into contact with. But it's precisely because of this that, after so many reincarnations, we've finally found the right direction."
Li Chen calmly said, "So you want to rely on me to break out and find a chance to bring this planet back to its original state."
That's why I was born.
Li Chen closed his eyes, nodded, and remained silent.
He might have forgotten many things... It's been too long... It's been too long... Driven by this obsession, he no longer knows what he's doing.
Suddenly, Li Chen and the other man spoke at the same time.
"Fight our way out?"
Li Chen was taken aback, and so was Li Chen, but they both laughed and said, "After all, you are a life born from me."
"Whether it's thoughts or personality."
"Although it's a bit rugged, it still looks like one."
Li Chen stood up and smiled, "I prefer you the way you are now; at least you didn't lie to me after all."
"I've been scammed far too many times in my life."
"You endured a long period of loneliness, much like we have."
"It's just that being a pawn is a really unpleasant feeling."
Li Chen chuckled and cursed, but his expression remained serious as he asked, "So, have you chosen your path?"
We have no chance anymore.
Li Chen slowly walked up the dark steps, turned his head and asked, "What's it like outside?"
Why is this world so ruined?
"And can we find freedom?"
Li Chen walked slowly to his side, shoulder to shoulder, his tone somewhat languid.
"Perhaps."
I have never found freedom.
"But aren't we searching for it now?"
There are still so many things in the outside world that we have never seen; perhaps my heart has long since died in this lonely, desolate universe.
"Now it's your turn to take over from me."
Starlight began to flicker on Li Chen's body, as if he had transformed into fireflies and flown into the void.
At this moment, the six shattered keys to Authority also shone with dazzling light.
An Eldritch God, Dark Flame- like being stood by, shouting and yelling like a madman.
"I have been imprisoned for tens of thousands of years."
"Li Chen, you'll die a horrible death!"
But at that moment, the roar drowned out his voice.
Unbeknownst to Li Chen's hand began to change, and a jet-black key appeared before him, while the jet-black staircase transformed into a flat ground.
Li Chen smiled at him and said softly, "King's Power, this is for you."
"No... it's Forbidden Authority."