The Path to Completion

"Candle!"

Lin Fan looked at the candle, and hearing Sister Ma's voice outside, he didn't hesitate. He picked up the candle, deliberately made a noise, ran out the door to attract the attention of many people, then pushed open the window, jumped down, and threw the candle in his hand to the roof.

After canceling the Time Ring Ritual, Lin Fan returned to the present. He searched the room and found a somewhat familiar middle-aged man studying a foreign language. After finishing, the man sat down to calm himself down.

"What a devil," the middle-aged man sighed, lit a cigarette, took out a bag from the other side of the bed, pulled out some gold bars, and said, "Things haven't been going well lately. I don't know what the higher-ups are up to, and I don't know when they'll be coming down. Keep these safe; consider it a fallback plan for me."

"Godfather, what are you saying? You'll be alright," the woman said seductively, picking up the gold bars and placing them into a safe hidden inside a mural.

Lin Fan was right there and clearly saw the password. In addition to gold bars, the safe also contained some jewelry and cash. After memorizing the password, Lin Fan took advantage of the other person going to take a shower and left the room. He then went to the study and quietly turned on the computer.

"My time ring must be completed." Lin Fan felt the missing ring in his body, and his blood began to surge. His blood seemed to be like a Giant Snake lying dormant in his body, ready to leap out as soon as the time was right.

The imperfections of time are like those of a perfectionist: seeing a glaring black spot in a near-perfect painting, a spot that cannot be erased—this is maddening.

"I want to redeem my time," Lin Fan texted Shadow B, then added, "I have money."

"Your mentor and friend Shadow B is online." Shadow B suddenly appeared behind Lin Fan, his voice hoarse and deep, seemingly extremely charming. But the next moment, the two little penguins dancing in his eyes ruined everything. "Where's Little Money?"

"... I want to redeem my time." Lin Fan choked back a sob, then revealed his purpose.

"As expected, you've reached this point too, completing your own timeline, unifying your past, present, and future with opposing forces." Shadow B sighed, "Breaking free from your own timeline, becoming a unique being, with the past and future becoming mere illusions."

"But your situation is different," Shadow B said solemnly. "As you probably know, the Crimson Snake resides within you; it is a pure life form that has become one with you."

"If you choose to complete your own Wheel of Time and break free from the influence of the timeline, you will completely merge with the Crimson Snake and become a new Crimson Snake," Shadow B sighed. "At that time, you will detach yourself from humanity and fully join the Shadow Kingdom. Are you willing to do that?"

"The Shadow Kingdom?" Lin Fan recalled Shadow B's business card, which bore the title of the Shadow Kingdom's diplomatic ambassador to the main world.

"Well, you can think of it as a world similar to this one, or even much more powerful. The Snake People are the main inhabitants of the Shadow Kingdom. Currently, there are two main types of Snake People: the Purple Snake Clan, whose mothers are snakes, and the Orange Snake Clan, which represents pain. The one that parasitizes you is the third branch, the most primitive form of the Red Snake Clan."

"If you choose to merge with the Crimson Serpent, then you will be the Lord of the Crimson Serpent." Shadow B took out an hourglass, and the moment the hourglass was taken out, Lin Fan felt an overwhelming urge to absorb it.

"This is the time you leaked, including everything you sold; it's all here." Shadow B said slowly, his expression extremely serious. "It's your turn to choose. Your future self chooses to die as a human, and the opportunity to become the Crimson Snake is yours. So, how much will you choose to buy it?"

"Huh?" Lin Fan was taken aback. He shouldn't have had any expectations of this Shadow B. He thought he would say something meaningful, but he just asked for money, such a vulgar thing.

"It's all yours." Lin Fan opened the safe, revealing its contents. In the past, seeing so much treasure would have made his eyes light up, but for him now, money seemed to have no use. He even wondered why Shadow B liked money so much.

"Here you go." Shadow B picked up a gold bar, bit it, and tossed the hourglass to Lin Fan.

Holding the hourglass, Lin Fan felt that as long as he broke it, he could make up for his lost time. However, Shadow B's words echoed in his ears: his future self had chosen to give up and die as a human.

This reminded Lin Fan of the sudden flame of life he had experienced before. If nothing unexpected happened, it was the choice he would make in the future. This made Lin Fan reluctant to change so quickly. After all, he had been a human for more than 20 years. He didn't care about suddenly becoming a human. How could he make such a decision so easily?

"What exactly are those three candles? Are they filled with the Snake People seeds of the Shadow Kingdom?" Lin Fan turned his head and asked. By now, he could clearly see that these so-called candles were closely related to the Shadow Kingdom, and might even have originated from the Shadow Kingdom.

"When the three candles are lit, our Lord will descend in full force, bringing glory to the world!" Shadow B murmured, then slipped a jewel into his pocket. "This melodramatic line is a prophecy, or rather, a spell, about the three candles."

"They all contain the three treasures of the Shadow Lord, which are also my BOSS's treasures. These three treasures include the Red Snake Seed you obtained, and two other treasures." Shadow B put everything away and said, "After the candles are lit, the treasures inside will be revealed, but the Shadow Power that forged the candles will spread out. When the three Shadow Power converge, the body of the Shadow Lord can be condensed in this world."

"Your act of lighting the candle is actually shaking the world, using the power of time to wash away the Shadow Power, allowing the Shadow Power surrounding it to adapt to this world. In this way, the Shadow Body formed will not be rejected by the main world."

"I think you're still too confused right now. How about a spontaneous trip?" Shadow B said. "You've already begun to merge with the Crimson Snake. With its life force, you can travel to the distant past."

"Perhaps after seeing more, you'll understand how to choose." A glint of wisdom flashed in Shadow B's eyes. "That way, you can accumulate enormous wealth in the past, and then give me half."

"Perhaps you have a point, but I need to take care of something first." Lin Fan thought of the candle he had thrown on the rooftop. In any case, it was better to have the initiative in his own hands.

Writing the Time Loop was exhausting; I feel like half my brain cells died. I also frequently experienced writer's block and was extremely afraid of bugs, yet the results weren't good. I feel like I brought it all on myself.