The Late Father
The collapse of the Blood Sea Abyss has stopped.
The entire space seemed to be "held down" by an invisible hand.
The edges of each crack shimmered with a transparent light, like morning dew.
That light had no temperature, no weight, but it silenced everything.
The sea of blood no longer surged.
The chains no longer vibrated.
Even Zhao Yunhong's breathing stopped.
A voice resounded simultaneously from the cracks in the dome, from the depths of the blood, and from every crumbling fragment.
It's not a sound.
It's a kind of understanding.
An understanding that is directly written into the soul.
"The sword I created should not be used to cut its own scabbard."
Zhao Yunhong's body stiffened.
His red eyes began to fade.
It wasn't because of a loss of power, but because--
"Father?"
His voice sounded like the babbling of a child who had been abandoned for too long.
That trembling was a sign of grievance.
That existence did not manifest.
Only a wisp of will, a wisp of embers.
But He is here.
He is watching him.
"Dark Moon and Calamity Moon," the will spoke directly, without any further pleasantries.
"This is the protection I'm giving you—protection so you have the means to fight back when you're being targeted."
"It's not for you to use for Destruction."
Zhao Yunhong's lips were trembling.
"You've held them for a thousand years, far too long; they've rusted your hands."
He looked down at his hands, which had turned into claws.
Dark particles of light fell from his fingertips, and authority stripped away what did not belong to him.
A thousand years of erosion.
A thousand years of backlash.
This was the first time he had seen his own hands.
The real hand, uncorrupted by the Dark Moon and the Calamity Moon.
Those were pale hands.
The joints are distinct, and there are wrinkles of time in the palms.
Those were Yun Jingheng's hands.
Or rather, it's a hand that's exactly the same as the one he's using now.
"What... have I become?"
Zhao Yunhong's voice was very low.
"You've become a knife that only knows how to chop."
That wisp of will said, "But you were originally a ruler."
silence.
A very long silence followed.
The cracks in the Blood Sea Abyss are still there, but they are no longer widening.
The transparent light seeped into every crack, like stitches stitching up a wound.
"What else can I do? Do I have any other options?" Zhao Yunhong asked.
It wasn't a question, it wasn't a roar.
It was... a desperate child asking his father.
"Dark Moon and Calamity Moon, I can strip them from you."
That wisp of will said, "They will return to the moon and become part of the complete authority."
"But you will also disappear. Not because I want to kill you, but because you have nothing left. Your body is gone, and your consciousness has been corrupted by the killing form for thousands of years. Stripped of them, you won't even have a wisp of your soul left."
Zhao Yunhong remained silent.
"Or..."
That wisp of will paused for a moment.
That wasn't hesitation.
It's a kind of... sigh.
"You can stay, in the form of the ' Blood Moon,' becoming the consciousness of that sword, not possessing power, but guarding power, like a... gatekeeper."
Zhao Yunhong raised his head.
The bloodshot color in his red eyes had mostly faded, revealing the original color beneath—a silvery-gray, like the dark side of the moon.
"If I choose the first one..."
His voice was soft, "Will he get the whole moon?"
"Yes. All six forms belong to him. He will become the sole master of the Moon Authority."
"... What if I choose the second one?"
"The Blood Moon belongs to him, but Blood Moon 'consciousness' is you. In other words, he will still inherit the complete moon, but you... will live in his dream."
Zhao Yunhong lowered his head.
Look at your hands.
Those hands were exactly the same as Yun Jingheng's.
He stared at them for a very long time.
Then he raised his head and looked at Yun Jingheng.
That "thief" who used fragments of his power and lived more like a human being than him.
He spoke.
"I choose the first one."
The voice was soft, but there was no hesitation.
He looked at that wisp of will—his father, his creator, the one he had waited a thousand years for.
"I have never cared about my own life or death..."
The sea of blood fell silent at that moment, a silence of... listening.
Even the dark light particles that were still falling off slowed down.
Zhao Yunhong's voice was very calm, like a stagnant pool explaining why it had become stagnant.
"You created me a thousand years ago."
He gazed at that wisp of will, his silver-gray eyes devoid of hatred or resentment.
There's only one kind of relief... that I can finally say out loud.
"You didn't tell me why, you just gave me power, gave me a mission, and then... disappeared."
"I don't even know your name, what you look like, or whether you—have ever considered me a... child."
His voice paused for a moment.
That word—child.
He said it out loud.
A thousand years of silence, a thousand years of waiting, a thousand years of "I am a weapon".
He finally said it.
"I hate the Divine Realm because they took you away from me."
"I hate fate because it made me wait a thousand years, only to be given someone else's body, inhabited by someone else's soul."
"I hate Yun Jingheng-- "
He looked at Yun Jingheng.
Silver-gray eyes met those black eyes.
"Because... he got something I've never gotten before."
His voice finally cracked.
"Yun Ming carried him along the way, Ya Li cooked every meal for him, the Shrek sunlight shone on his face, and his friends smiled when they called his name."
He has a father. He has a mother. He has a home.
"And my father... I've never even seen his face."
A sea of blood surged.
The entire space was filled with sorrow.
The dark red blood that had been sedimented for thousands of years was no longer the color of "resentment" at this moment.
They turned into tears.
Zhao Yunhong looked at that wisp of will.
His creator.
His father.
"You said I am the knife you created."
His voice was very soft.
"But the knife... won't hurt."
silence.
That wisp of will remained silent.
The entire space was filled with anticipation.
Zhao Yunhong lowered his head.
He looked at his hands, those hands that were slowly turning transparent, hands exactly like Yun Jingheng's.
"I chose the first one because... I've lived too long."
"So long ago, I've forgotten what it feels like to not hate."
"It's been so long that I can no longer tell whether I want to destroy the Divine Realm or myself."
He raised his head, his silver-gray eyes so clear they didn't seem like those of a soul that had lived for a thousand years.
"If I live, I can only exist as a ' Blood Moon,' living in his dreams—"
He glanced at Yun Jingheng.
"Then I will still hate."
"I will hate him for having everything I don't have, I will hate his pure smile, I will hate him... for showing me what I could have become."
"I don't want to live with hatred."
Even in a dream.
His voice was completely calm.
Like a lake that has finally fallen silent.
"Let me disappear."
"Take away the Dark Moon and the Calamity Moon, give him the complete moon, and let him become the moon."
"Let me... come back to you."
He gazed at that wisp of will.
Something was shining in his silver-gray eyes.
"This time, I don't want to wait any longer."
That wisp of will fell silent.
long time.
So long that every drop of blood in the sea of blood came to a standstill.
So long that the three cracks were completely healed by transparent light.
It went on for so long that Yun Jingheng felt his heart was about to stop beating.
Then--
That wisp of will spoke.
It didn't come from outside.
It came from Zhao Yunhong's body.
From the deepest recesses of those silver-gray eyes.
"Zhao Yunhong."
He called him by his full name for the first time.
"You are not a weapon I created."
His silver-gray eyes suddenly widened.
"You are... my child."
The sea of blood trembled.
The entire space was filled with weeping.
Zhao Yunhong's lips were trembling.
What he wanted to say.
But he couldn't say it.
A thousand years of grievances, a thousand years of waiting, a thousand years of "I am a weapon".
At this moment.
It turned into two words.
"... dad."
That wisp of will did not answer.
But in the Blood Sea Abyss, those transparent lights converged together.
They coalesced into the shape of a hand.
A large, rough, scarred hand.
The hand was gently placed on Zhao Yunhong's head.
Just like when He first created Him a thousand years ago.
"I am here."
Zhao Yunhong closed his eyes.
He made no sound the moment the Dark Moon and the Calamity Moon were ripped from his body.
Two dark streams of light surged from his soul, accompanied by a piercing shriek, but they did not struggle.
Because they touched that hand the moment they left.
The hand of the Plane Master.
They fell silent.
They transformed into two streams of light and surged into the Authority Core.
The Dark Moon has returned to its place.
The Calamity Moon has returned to its proper place.
For the first time, all six forms converged completely in the same space.
Six beams of moonlight rose from the depths of the sea of blood, like six pillars supporting the sky.
They rotated slowly.
Then--
They all flocked to Yun Jingheng.
But Zhao Yunhong didn't look at those.
He simply closed his eyes, feeling the hand placed on his head.
The warmth of that hand.
He has never experienced it.
A thousand years ago, when He created Him, He had no hands.
Only willpower.
Only power.
Only "Go, go purify the world, become my sharpest blade."
But now.
It has hands.
It has temperature.
He has a father.
His body began to become transparent.
The separation of the Dark Moon and the Calamity Moon deprived him of the foundation of his existence, but he was not afraid.
Because that hand is still there.
"Dad."
His voice was already very soft.
Will I ever... see you again?
silence.
That hand tightened slightly.
"... Yes, it will."
For the first time, that voice of will wavered.
"Yes."
Zhao Yunhong smiled.
It's very light.
It's very clean.
The last glimmer of light in his silver-gray eyes was fading.
But the corners of his mouth were turned up.
"Good."
His body shattered into countless particles of light.
It vanished into the void.
Those particles of light drifted in the void, like a silent snowfall.
But there was the shape of a hand, a transparent, rough, scarred giant hand, gathering them up one by one.
Gently, like scooping up a handful of water about to run away, gather it in your palm.
Each particle of light that falls into the palm of that hand will light up slightly before falling silent.
It's like finally finding a home.
Zhao Yunhong's consciousness had already dissipated, but that hand didn't miss a single grain.
It's drawing him in.
Like a father sorting through his child's belongings, he wouldn't leave out a single item.
The Blood Sea Abyss has begun to change.
The dark red blood lost its color, becoming clear instead of viscous, and turning from foul-smelling to sweet.
They are no longer blood.
It is a lake formed from moonlight.
The silvery-white lake stretched out beneath my feet, as calm as a boundless mirror.
On the dome above, the spiderweb-like cracks, stitched together by the transparent light, transformed into fine lines—not scars, but veins, the texture of the moon.
Six beams of moonlight rose from the bottom of the lake.
New Moon, Crescent Moon, Full Moon, Dark Moon, Calamity Moon, Blood Moon.
They no longer spin, struggle, or tense up as they used to.
They stand silently on the lake, like six pillars, supporting the new dome of this space.
Six colors.
Three powers stand together.
Each ray of moonlight remains in its own place, neither approaching nor moving away from one another.
There's a tacit understanding between them, like six fingers clenched into a fist.
--A complete fist.
The giant hand finally gathered the last particle of light.
He hovered above the Silver Lake, palms facing upwards, like a bowl filled with water.
In the palm of his hand, those light particles coalesced into a tiny ball of light.
Silver-gray.
Like a... seed.
The hand cradling the seed slowly turned towards Yun Jingheng.
Yun Jingheng stood in the middle of Silver Lake, the water reaching above his ankles.
He didn't know what to say.
He just looked at the seed, looked at the hand.
Is he dead?
Yun Jingheng's voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
The hand did not answer.
Or rather, His answer was not in words.
The seed glowed slightly in my palm.
It was not a final burst of energy before it was extinguished.
It's... breathing.
"Dead."
A voice resounded from the depths of Yun Jingheng's soul.
"I'm dying soon too."
Yun Jingheng's throat tightened.
"Why?"
"What?"
Why won't you acknowledge that he is your child?
The hand did not answer.
He simply and slowly, as if holding a fragile lamp, placed the seed in his palm before Yun Jingheng.
The seed hovered in front of Yun Jingheng's chest.
Do you hate him?
Yun Jingheng looked at the seed.
The silvery-gray light reflected in his pupils.
"I hated it."
He said.
"But I didn't hate him when he left."
He watched the light flickering inside the seed, like a faint heart.
"I just feel... sorry."
The hand paused for a moment.
Then, slowly, as if stroking a child's head, He gently touched Yun Jingheng's forehead with a giant finger.
It has no weight.
Only temperature.
It had the exact same temperature as when that hand was placed on Zhao Yunhong's head.
"You don't need to live for him."
"That's what the voice said."
"But you can live the life he originally wanted to be."
"Actually, I've always felt... like I'm an unqualified Plane Master."
"I tacitly approved of the existence of humankind, tacitly approved of humankind's ascension to the Divine Realm, tacitly approved of the Divine Realm being dominated by humans and gods, tacitly approved of the Asura God bringing Tang San here, and tacitly approved of Bibi Dong's tragedy."
"I gathered my destiny to create the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and Huo Yuhao, attempting to save this world from its descent into extremes... but I failed."
"I only hope that this world can continue to develop well. I created Ha Luosa and Zhao Yunhong to turn things around, but they were misled... and went astray."
His voice paused for a moment.
"I've condoned too many things."
The hand was lowered.
"Every time, I thought, wait and see, maybe they'll find a way out themselves."
"I didn't find a way out. I only got more and more wounds."
The hand slowly turned over, palm facing up, as if catching something.
It wasn't raining. But a small pool of transparent light slowly gathered in the palm of that hand.
"I am not a good father."
For the first time, the voice of the Plane Master possessed warmth.
Yun Jingheng stood in the middle of Silver Lake, listening to these words.
He didn't know what to say.
He simply stood there, letting the sounds fall on him like raindrops on a stone.
And what about you?
A hand landed on his shoulder.
The voice of the Plane Master turned to him, "Yun Jingheng, or rather, Lin Yi."
Yun Jingheng's shoulders tensed slightly.
"You weren't chosen by me either. You were someone I found in the folds of time-space turbulence, a broken, almost vanished soul that I pulled in and stuffed into that body that was rebuilt through time reversal."
"I don't know you, I don't know who you were in your past life, what you did, or whether you are trustworthy."
"I just need a soul to activate that body, and you just happen to be there."
"I just... wanted to witness a happy soul."
"I just wanted to be a good creator."
The hand moved away from Yun Jingheng's shoulder.
"Your Martial Soul is the moon, the real moon."
"I don't need you to fight for me, I don't need you to seek revenge. Too many people have already died for things that are meant to be hated."
"I don't need you to be the savior. There are already enough saviors in this world, and every single one of them died a terrible death."
All I need is for you... to live.
"Eat well, sleep well, practice your skills diligently, and make good friends."
"When someone needs light, light up your moon. It doesn't have to be too bright, just enough for them to see where they're going."
"You don't need to light up the whole world, just light up the people around you."
"This is my last hope."
"It's not about making you a hero."
"It's to make you... the moon."
The moon doesn't judge anyone. It simply shines in the darkness.
"You just need to keep it lit."
That's enough.
He slowly began to sink, like a ship sinking into the water.
The waters of Silver Lake remained undisturbed.
He sank down like that.
Quietly.
Slowly.
Like someone finally lying down.
Yun Jingheng watched Him sink to the bottom of the lake, watching the last bit of transparent light disappear into the silvery-white depths.
But at the very moment that hand completely disappeared—
That voice rang out for the last time.
"And now... wake up, go see your parents, your friends."