The instant the fragments of ancient memories burst open, Lin Chen's soul shuddered violently.
A sheer terror surged from the very source of his soul, far surpassing the fear of facing a Supreme's might or the Chaos World-Ending.
Until then, he had always believed there was only one game in the eternal struggle. This world was the sole Fate-Defying Chessboard, the Black and White Jade Disc was the one and only source of balance, and the Gray Existence behind the scenes was the sole enigma lurking in this universe.
But the images that appeared in his mind completely overturned everything he knew.
In the boundless, desolate primordial void, countless Black and White Jade Discs of different sizes floated, all identical in shape. Scattered at the end of time and between the cracks of dimensions, they rotated in silence, alternating between light and darkness. Similar gray patterns wound around the surface of every disc, each housing a deathly divine consciousness of the same origin.
Ten million jade discs, Myriad Chess of one origin.
The eternal chess game in this world had never been an exception.
It was merely the most ordinary, unremarkable game among the endless cycle of chess games.
Lin Chen's mind trembled. In that moment, countless long-standing mysteries suddenly became clear.
Why did the Supreme of the Heavens understand the workings of the chess game so well, reaping its harvest generation after generation without ever fully wiping everything out? Because they had witnessed countless games rise and fall and knew that these games, cultivated to nurture the Dao, followed their own cycle. They only needed to wait for them to mature; there was no need to rush.
Why did the Chaos King knowingly sink into the game and devour everything? Because the remnants of the origin left behind when each game collapsed were the purest nourishment for Chaos. The rise and fall of countless games formed the foundation of Chaos's continued existence and growth.
Why had the Gray Existence never acted in person, choosing only to lie in wait in silence?
It had no need to act.
It laid down countless chess games, scattering countless jade pieces throughout the primordial void. The Heavens served as the force that nurtured the games, Chaos as the blade that broke them, and all living beings as fuel for cultivating the Dao. When one game ended, another began, continuing without end through the eternal cycle.
Every world destroyed, every calamity that befell the people, every game brought to a close—all its fruits ultimately belonged to this gray origin that transcended everything.
The eternal sacrifices of this world, the age-old struggles between the Heavens and Chaos—from beginning to end, they had been nothing but a trivial act of cultivating nourishment in an endless cycle.
"How laughable... Truly laughable."
Lin Chen's heart turned cold, an overwhelming sense of absurdity and sorrow rising within him.
The ancient sages had believed they were defying Heaven and changing fate, risking their lives to lay out their plans. In truth, they had merely helped their enemy shore up the chessboard. The Supreme of the Heavens had believed they controlled the cycle of reincarnation and all its rise and fall. In truth, they had merely helped their enemy refine the order of the game. The Chaos Clan had seized every chance to sow chaos and devour all things. In truth, they had merely helped their enemy shatter a decayed, old game.
For ages, all living beings had risen and fallen, generation after generation becoming chess pieces and fodder. They had fought against fate, struggled, and resisted with all their blood, tears, and vitality. In the end, they had merely enabled another turn in the cycle of the endless games beyond the Outer Realm.
Within his mind, the gray divine consciousness sensed the turmoil in his thoughts. Its indifferent whisper rang out once more, devoid of emotion yet imbued with the detachment of one who had witnessed all eternity.
"Do not be surprised."
"Since Chaos first emerged and order took shape, the birth and death of worlds have followed fixed rules. A single universe is too small to bear the supreme fruit of the Dao. Only by laying out countless games and passing through trillions upon trillions of cycles, taking the order of the Heavens, the chaos of Chaos, and the obsessions of all living beings into oneself, can one escape the shackles of Heaven's Dao and transcend the cycle of reincarnation."
"The ten million jade discs you saw are the seeds of my games, scattered throughout the Heavens. This world you inhabit is the one closest to perfection among the countless games."
"And you are the most perfect Chess Core in all the cycles of my countless games."
Those icy words were like shackles, clamping tightly around Lin Chen's soul.
It had not temporarily occupied the jade disc and taken control of the world.
From the moment the game was born, it had determined every outcome. From the moment the ancient sages placed their pieces, from the moment the first generation of living beings was born, even from the moment this world took shape, the birth of him, the final Chess Core, had already been ordained.
Every coincidence was fate.
Every struggle took place within the game.
Beyond the world, the final confrontation had fully taken shape.
The true forms of the Seven Supremes floated above the nine heavens, their divine abysses spanning dimensions and pouring down supreme might. Seven figures who wielded the Great Daos of the Heavens were hidden at the end of the divine light. Their auras were vast and frigid, carrying the boundless fury of those who had been deceived.
For ages, they had stood above all, commanding life and death across countless dimensions and watching countless chess games perish. They had always been the sole reapers and masters. Today, they had suddenly discovered that their billions of years of scheming and countless campaigns across worlds had all been nothing but a gift to some unknown being.
The humiliation of being toyed with and used enraged the Seven Supremes.
"An Outer Realm treacherous path, secretly nurturing chess games and toying with the Heavens—you deserve a thousand deaths!"
A majestic, overbearing roar from a Supreme shattered layer upon layer of void as fury pent up for countless ages erupted.
The origins of the Seven Supremes moved as one. Countless chains of divine order stretched across the firmament, crisscrossing and sealing the world in every direction. The power that had been meant to judge this world now turned its edge elsewhere, locking onto the gray jade disc at the center of the formation.
They would shatter this fully ripened game, tear apart the restraints of the Gray Treacherous Path, and sever the endless cycle of being used!
On the other side, the Chaos King's enormous black shadow twisted and churned violently. Layer upon layer of dark torrents of annihilation piled up, and murderous intent surged in its hollow eyes.
Creatures of Chaos were innately greedy and domineering. They would rather destroy everything than serve as anyone's slave.
It had endured for ages, devoured for ages, and battled for ages, willingly sinking into the game only to devour its origin and break through its shackles. Now that it knew that generation after generation had worked for someone else, and every act of plunder had nurtured another's Dao, the savagery and fury in its heart were in no way inferior to those of the Supreme of the Heavens.
"You stole the power of Chaos to nurture your own Dao-less self! Today, I shall tear apart your board and devour every last bit of your gray origin!"
Its hoarse, savage roar echoed across the world. Its unsealed Chaos Power, restored to its full might, burst forth, and billions of pitch-black tendrils pierced through the void, carrying the ferocity to corrode and destroy everything as they madly lashed toward the jade disc.
The Heavens sealed the world; Chaos devoured the sky.
The two age-old enemies reached a rare understanding, setting aside billions of years of grudges to join forces against the treacherous path that had lurked behind the scenes throughout eternity.
Beneath the firmament, on the battered earth, Kallen, Frieza, and the Golden Super Saiyan barely steadied their injuries and stared up at the battle in the nine heavens, their expressions grave.
All three bore the secrets of eternity and were Fate Defiers. They had fought against Heaven every step of the way, enduring one desperate crisis after another, and were already utterly exhausted.
They had thought that if they could weather the surge of resentment and withstand the combined attacks of the Supreme and Chaos, they would glimpse a chance to turn the tide and break the prison of fate. Who could have imagined that beyond one desperate crisis lay another, and above the chessboard, another player?
The world they had fought to protect was just one piece on countless boards.
The Heavens and Chaos they had sworn to resist were also nothing but tools used to nurture someone else's game.
How absurd, how powerless this eternal struggle against fate was.
"So after all our struggles, we've never once escaped someone else's grasp." Kallen's voice was low. His clenched fists trembled slightly. For the first time, the indomitable Saiyan spirit had been shaken by an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Frieza's gaze was cold as he watched the terrifying powers interweave in the nine heavens. His eyes were grave. "The Heavens and Chaos have joined forces. Even if this Gray Existence has plotted for eternity, it may not be able to guarantee victory. But whoever wins or loses, this world will still be the sacrifice."
The Golden Super Saiyan stared at Lin Chen, standing silently at the center of the formation, his brow furrowed. "Lin Chen is in the greatest danger. He's been designated as the Chess Core, and his soul is bound to the origin of the game. The day the game shatters will be the day his soul is destroyed."
Those words laid bare the deadliest trap of all.
The Heavens wanted to shatter the game and break free; Chaos wanted to devour the game and destroy its roots. No matter how the battle ended, Lin Chen, who bore the Chess Core, was doomed to die.
At the center of the formation, gray runes had spread completely across Lin Chen's meridians, flesh, and soul.
The power of the being behind the scenes had taken complete control of the jade disc and every function of the game. A vast, boundless force that governed Myriad Chess poured into his body without end.
With just a thought from the gray consciousness, he could raise a hand and summon the power of the entire game to resist the combined assault of the Supremes and Chaos.
Yet strangely, although this supreme power filled every limb and bone, it still could not taint his heart or his Dao.
The gray chains could bind his soul, seal away his origin, and tie him to the game, but they could not restrain the Anti-Dao Heart he had forged through the trials of eternity and the countless sufferings of all living beings.
My body may be imprisoned, my power may be taken, my piece may be sacrificed—but my heart will never yield, even in death.
Lin Chen closed his eyes and steadied his mind. He let the divine might of the Heavens and the torrents of Chaos outside hammer against the gray barrier. He let the gray will deep in his soul continue issuing commands to kill. The conviction he held in his heart never wavered.
He could sense clearly that the Gray Existence behind the scenes wanted to use him, its perfect Chess Core, to activate the origin of the game, slay the Heavens, destroy Chaos, and completely crush every trace of the old era's order and disorder.
Once the old world was utterly destroyed, the countless games would ripen together. Then it would reap the fruits of every cycle and attain the true supreme fruit of the Dao.
And the moment the battle ended, his soul's origin would be drained dry, leaving him as the first sacrifice to the game's destruction.
"You want to use my hands to settle age-old grudges, destroy the Heavens and Chaos, and fulfill your supreme Dao?"
Lin Chen roared in his heart. His soul's power no longer passively resisted; instead, it surged upstream and struck at the layers of gray runic chains.
"You've nurtured chess games for eternity, stolen the vitality of Heaven and Earth, toyed with the lives of all beings, and treated every living thing as straw dogs and the Heavens and Chaos as tools. You are selfish, Dao-less, and despicable."
"My Dao is the Dao of all living beings, the Dao of freedom, the Dao of defying fate!" Golden light blazed in Lin Chen's eyes as he abruptly opened them. "Not your Dao-less game of stealing from Heaven and Earth!"
Rumble—
Within his soul, the golden, ancient power of the Ancient Universe Origin suddenly surged.
It was the purest and most orthodox origin power in this world, bearing the vitality of Ancient Earth, the obsessions of billions of living beings, and the unyielding will of generation after generation of Fate Defiers.
Until now, this power had been used to soothe resentment, stabilize the world, and resist outside enemies.
Today, for the first time, it turned against the eternal treacherous path that had taken root within him!
The golden origin and gray runes collided violently within his soul, intertwining and devouring one another.
The gray power was overbearing and deathly still, seeking to assimilate and control everything. The golden origin was gentle yet resilient, preferring to shatter rather than bend, steadfastly guarding the foundation of his heart and Dao.
One was righteous, the other evil; one was the origin, the other an alien path. A war within the soul, unknown to all, had begun in silence.
Outside, the chains of order from the Heavens and the torrents of Chaos World-Ending had reached the gray barrier.
Terrifying power swept down from all sides, crushing and tearing at the gray curtain that shrouded the world. The barrier, once as solid as a fortress and able to easily withstand the fatal blows of the Supremes and Chaos, began to shudder violently under Lin Chen's fierce resistance.
Light and shadow flickered across the curtain's surface. Countless fine cracks rapidly spread, and the solid walls of the game showed their first fatal weakness.
Sensing this, the gray consciousness deep within his soul finally stirred, no longer utterly indifferent.
"Obstinate fool."
"Through countless cycles of countless chess games, every Chess Core has followed Heaven's will and accepted the Dao, willingly transforming into the Dao to pave the way. You gained the origin of eternity, inherited the perfect game, and were given supreme fortune. How dare you defy me?"
"My Dao is the Dao of all living beings, the Dao of freedom, the Dao of defying fate!" Golden light flared in Lin Chen's eyes as he opened them wide. "Not your Dao-less game of stealing from Heaven and Earth!"
He forcibly suppressed the gray power controlling his body and locked down the arm that was about to rise, abruptly halting the counterattack of the game's origin.
He let the attacks of the Heavens and Chaos outside tear at the gray barrier. He let the two forces, gray and gold, rip his soul apart until the pain nearly overwhelmed him.
He would break the game!
Even as the Chess Core, bound to the game, he would use his heart to defy Myriad Chess and shatter this plot that had spanned eternity!
But just as the power of Lin Chen's heart was gradually suppressing the Gray Treacherous Path, with the barrier outside on the verge of shattering and the battle about to bring everything down, something happened.
Deep within the distant primordial void, billions of floating, rotating Black and White Jade Discs lit up with an icy gray radiance at the same time.
Countless deathly divine consciousnesses of the same origin as this world crossed endless dimensions and locked onto this shattered chessboard from afar.
A vast, indifferent voice, towering above all the Heavens and Chaos and reaching across Myriad Chess throughout eternity, boomed across the world:
"One game defying the Dao is nothing to fear. Since this child refuses to follow Heaven's will and pave the way, then—Myriad Chess Convergence. Force the game to end!"
The void trembled, the stars reversed course, and the power of countless chess games from the Outer Realm pierced through dimensions, converging wildly.
Lin Chen's pupils contracted. His heart sank into an icy abyss.
He finally understood. The being behind the scenes did not merely control one chess game.
It could summon the power of countless games at any time to crush his insignificant defiance!
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