See him again

Obviously not.

It's not that I wasn't prepared, it's that I simply didn't know what to do.

Hu Xuan's confusion Cheng Shi no less than Cheng Shi's back then. It had always been like this; the path of Sage is different from that of others. She never felt anxious about the future because when she encountered a dead end, she could just have a child.

The desire for children on the Eternal Day thus became the [Birth] of offspring; the desire for children [ to Birth] thus became [Birth]...

Following this logic, if we simply seek children from Predestination source, does that mean the world has no future?

If that's the kind of preparation she'd be doing, she would have done it long ago.

However, Cheng Shi completely ignored Hu Xuan's "brilliant idea." He told Hu Xuan that he would come to find her again and tell her how to proceed, but before that, he wanted to go to a place where he could put his mind at ease before the final action.

With that, Cheng Shi left.

Hu Xuan pondered for a moment, quite curious about the so-called preparations. Since Cheng Shi hadn't restricted her movements, her first thought was naturally to ask someone for advice.

As for who to ask, no one would be more suitable than Hong Lin, her Twin Gods in [Life] and Cheng Shi's good friend.

But when Hu Xuan stepped down beside Hong Lin and saw the seven-colored light flowing freely around him, she froze on the spot.

"What are you doing...?"

"One less to hide. It's been a long time since I've seen Sage, but you've come at the wrong time."

Don't come near me, I'm in danger right now.

On the other side, in the Void, lies the [Memory] Memory Archive.

The sheer number of Memory in the Memory Archive exceeded Li Jingming's imagination. Even though he had already taken over the Memory Archive, he still hadn't been able to peruse all of Memory.

It's not that I don't want to, but that it's unnecessary.

The Divine Authority of [Memory] is enough for Li Jingming to know everything, but for the Dragon King, not all Memory are interesting.

At least the Memory on the Isle of Hope were far less interesting than Memory of his companions. Compared to those unrelated lives from the past, he clearly preferred to remember the present.

This led him to learn too many secrets he shouldn't have known.

He had long anticipated that someone would come knocking on his door because of these past events, but he never expected that the first person to come would be none other than Cheng Shi.

When Li Jingming saw Cheng Shi appear in the Memory Archive, he was not surprised at all, and even guessed why the other party had come.

He laughed and said, "I thought you would arrive later. What, has inheriting the power to Proxy of the [Covenant] accelerated the pace of time?"

Faced with the Dragon King's teasing, Cheng Shi finally managed a smile on his heavy face, whether it was self-deprecation or helplessness, perhaps both.

"You know it's been sped up, and you still dare to laugh?"

Aren't you afraid that your laughter will affect the Cosmos's search for the future?

Dragon King smiled:

"If I were truly that important, then what I would inherit would not be [Memory], but rather the [Covenant] Proxy."

Whether we laugh or not makes no difference to the Cosmos, but you, Cheng Shi, you should have a good laugh.

You are the world's guide. I know you have carried so much for us, but your constant burden makes it difficult for those who are protected by you to feel hope.

The future may not be so important; what matters is the past we shared together, which is a lasting and cherished memory.

Do you remember the last time you laughed heartily?

I'm not talking about a superficial smile, but a genuine smile from the heart. If you can't remember, I can help you recall.

"..."

Although he knew the Dragon King was trying to comfort him, Cheng Shi still felt a hint of self-praise in his words. He slightly curled his lip and waved his hand dismissively.

"We know you're [Memory], so what? Pretty impressive, huh?"

Do I need to give you a round of applause?

As he spoke, Cheng Shi actually clapped his hands listlessly.

The Dragon King shook his head and chuckled, then turned and left.

"Only when I inherited the Divine Throne did I truly understand the meaning of remembrance, and finally find my own [Memory] will."

Life may dwell on the past because of present misfortunes, but more often it is about reminiscing about one's former self.

Perhaps in the eyes of many, their past selves are more like themselves, while they refuse to accept or even include their present, troubled selves in their Memory.

But [Existence] is existence, and it will never change according to people's likes or dislikes.

All we can do is accept the present, cherish the past, search for our former selves in the past, give ourselves some encouragement, and then grit our teeth and persevere.

I know where your inspiration lies; come with me, I've already retrieved it.

"... You peeked?"

No, I watched it openly and honestly.

Don't forget, I am [Memory]."

"And don't forget, I am the [Covenant]' Proxy of absolute voting rights. In my presence, you too can be [Memory]."

"..."

The Dragon King paused, his eyelids twitched, and then he continued on his way.

Cheng Shi followed behind the Dragon King, joking around, but his thoughts were extremely complicated.

He had come to see Old Jia, of course.

Although he had some guesses about the future, he was still unsure how things would actually go. Whether the world's future could escape the control of [Origin], and whether he could fight for a better tomorrow for the Cosmos, were all still unknown.

The Greed Cheng Shi wanted to win the gamble, but the prudent Cheng Shi had already prepared for the worst. So, before the world completely lost hope, he wanted to see his father one last time.

He knew that Old Jia was a good father, but he had no idea how Old Jia had become a good father.

Cheng Shi's life only included the latter half of Old Jia's life, so what was the first half of his life like?

He wasn't curious; he just missed his father.

He wanted to understand Old Jia, get to know Old Jia, reunite with Old Jia, say goodbye to Old Jia... and then make the decisions he had to make.

As they walked, a Pure White wall of a Memory Archive blocked their way. In one of the exquisitely framed artifacts on the wall, a blurry figure flickered back and forth.

The Dragon King paused before the wall, looked up at the artifact, and sighed deeply:

"He is a great father, and only he could raise someone like you."

Go see him; love can transcend Memory.

Rest assured, I swear on my Memory —no, on the name of Yunye Temple —that as long as the world exists and the Memory Archive remains, no one can alter these Memory.

They will live here An Jing forever.

Cheng Shi nodded, whispered "thank you," and then, looking at the artwork, reached out his hand with trembling hands.

Fingertips touch the bubbles, and Memory ripple.

A surge of [Memory] power instantly engulfed Cheng Shi, taking him back to a past he had never known.