"Then it erased the very existence of everything around it, and its value rose over time. When there was nothing nearby worth erasing, it would turn on its own wielder."
"This is supposed to be usable by people? The side effects are freaking terrifying."
"I don't want it anymore."
Yang Qizhou felt utterly dejected. This thing was like a ticking time bomb; he could die on the spot at any moment.
He thought of the Broken Statue of the Abyss Old God and now had a general understanding of Old Day Items.
Old Day Items were different from ordinary tools. They possessed the property of "animation," and their effects were much more powerful, but they also came with side effects beyond imagination.
Take the Broken Statue of the Abyss Old God, for example. Its side effect was to corrupt its wielder's mind, making him unable to suppress his craving for flesh.
And then there was the Garment of the Hidden World...
Yang Qizhou felt an urge to throw away this "quasi-legendary" Old Day Item, but its two effects were simply too powerful, and he couldn't bear to part with it.
In the end, he decided to keep it for now and take things one step at a time. Maybe he could find a way to counter its side effects in the future.
Yang Qizhou continued tapping the phone screen, and the text refreshed once more.
"The final remnant of the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' has been awakened. It hates your filthy trickery and believes killing you wouldn't be enough to satisfy its rage. It uses its last remaining strength to banish you eternally between the false and the real, where you can neither live nor die."
"You have been banished to the gap between illusion and reality."
"You wander through the gap between illusion and reality."
"You wander through the gap between illusion and reality."
"You wander through the gap between illusion and reality."
The text that followed was all the same, describing the protagonist's dire circumstances, with no sign that anything would change.
If this had happened to any other player, their character would have been banished forever and unable to return to reality. Their account would basically be useless. But Yang Qizhou didn't panic. On the contrary, he wore a smile.
Didn't see that coming, did you? I can reload a save.
"Doom-Bringing Raven, I want to return my character to the last time I made a choice."
Confirm.
"You are the despicable, shameless adventurer who tricked the gods and got them killed. You have used the power of the Doom-Bringing Raven once more, rewinding time to the last moment when you made a choice."
"The scenery before your eyes twists, blurs, and melts..."
"You appear once again near the Evil Altar. You see a towering pillar of light descend from the sky. The exalted and majestic 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' has a greatly swollen belly, and glares at you with a look of terror and fury, filled with hatred."
"Your reload has made this divine lord pregnant once again."
"A fork in fate appears before you once more."
"So, adventurer, will you stay and witness the fate of the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' while shearing the sheep one more time?"
"Or will you choose to run away?"
You could shear a sheep for its wool. As cruel as it was, it would be a pretty good choice, but the price was far too high. Being banished by the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World to the gap between falsehood and reality would basically make this entire account useless. No matter how he looked at it, it wasn't worth it.
Yang Qizhou knew when to quit while he was ahead, so he chose option two.
"Knowing full well what would happen if you stayed, you decide to leave the Evil Altar. Before running off, you don't forget to raise your middle finger at the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World,' slap your backside, and taunt the pregnant divine lord."
"The 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' is furious, but to avoid giving birth, it has devoted all its energy to eroding the power of the 'Mother Goddess Flower Seed of the Dream Realm.' It has no time to spare for anything else and can only watch helplessly as you leave."
"You escape from the Evil Altar."
"As expected, the 'Mother of Beauty and Fertility' descends once more. You see a huge eye open amid the dream and reality."
"The 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World' still cannot escape the misfortune of its previous fate. Its belly is ripped open by the 'Dream Offspring,' its flesh is devoured, and it perishes in an obscure village called Fire-Stealing Village."
If nothing unexpected happened, then something unexpected was bound to happen...
Yang Qizhou couldn't help muttering to himself. He had a profound understanding of the deep malice the World of Weirdness held toward players. After all that commotion, did he really think he could just get away clean? Not a chance.
As it turned out, he had guessed right.
The pale text continued to scroll.
"Your scheme cannot escape the eyes of the gods. The 'Mother of Beauty and Fertility' already knows you are using her."
"Because you are trash, unworthy of bearing her child, the 'Mother of Beauty and Fertility' does not act personally. Instead, she commands the newly born 'Dream Offspring' to unleash divine wrath upon you."
"You fall asleep."
"In your dream, terrifying monsters tear you apart and devour you."
"You are dead."
Sure enough, death had arrived, late but inevitable.
When Yang Qizhou saw the words describing his game character's gruesome death, he wasn't surprised. Instead, he breathed a long sigh of relief and thought, Now this is the World of Weirdness I know.
Next came the standard revival process. Since he had already used the Blasphemous Raven to rewind his last choice, he couldn't reload again. And there was no point in loading an earlier save anyway, so this time Yang Qizhou intended to revive directly.
"Your soul returns to the banks of the River of Death as if it were coming home."
"The Sheltering Fire of Burning Fate flickers slightly. An unknown and ancient presence in the River of Death has noticed you. Far off across the river, a wooden boat bearing a lit lantern is faintly visible."
"The next time you come to the River of Death, something different may happen."
"So, adventurer who has died time and again."
"Do you choose to accept fate's protection, rewrite the outcome of your current death, and return to the Ancient Earth as one of the living?"
Yang Qizhou hadn't paid much attention at first. The River of Death was familiar territory; all he had to do was follow the usual steps and revive.
But this time, something seemed off about the text.
His eyes narrowed as he read the words carefully on his phone.
"Wait, what does this mean? My character's death caught the attention of an ancient presence in the River of Death. Could dying again next time trigger a hidden storyline?"
Yang Qizhou took note of it.
He'd thought the River of Death was just a step in the revival process. Now it seemed that it was actually a major dungeon, one that simply hadn't opened yet.
But what had caused the ancient presence in the River of Death to suddenly notice him?
Could it be related to the fall of the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World?
Or the Garment of the Hidden World?
Or had he reached the number of deaths needed to trigger the River of Death storyline?
There was too little information to be sure for now.
Yang Qizhou could only turn his attention back to the game and choose to accept fate's protection, rewrite the outcome of his death, and revive as usual.
"You open your eyes in the lodgings Yixiu arranged for you. The scenery is no longer distorted and illusory, and the giant face in the sky has disappeared. The Sacred Fire in the Basin, symbolizing the 'Ancient Fire-Stealing God,' is blazing once more."
"It seems the turmoil has finally passed."
Before you continue