Divinity Deduction

So-called "people" were always things difficult to describe, ever-changing and unpredictable.

Sometimes, people instinctively grew tired of the reality that belonged to themselves, wearied of "existence" itself, and tried to break free from all that was tangible, or let their spirits roam unfettered.

And sometimes, people hated the hollowness of nothingness instead, hoping that life and their bodies might carry some real feeling of "being alive," striving to grasp the present rather than some so-called eternity.

Always changing, yet longing to remain unchanged; filled with all manner of inner conflict, yet wishing to live simply...

People were contradictory creatures.

Because the essence of humanity was precisely this complicated and illusory.

...But "Divinity" was not.

At this point, even Li Yun found it difficult to describe what kind of sensation this was.

Perhaps it was like a blind fish that, at some sudden moment, leaped from the sea and saw the sight beyond the vast ocean...

An endless "void" that encompassed even the sea itself as though it were but a speck of dust.

Nothing came into being, and nothing perished.

A faint sliver of will named "Li Yun" stood within it, infinitely vast and infinitesimal, utterly bright and utterly dark. Other than himself, there was nothing else to rely on.

Naturally, within this void that contained nothing at all, where not even time left the faintest trace, the only thing a visitor could see was the "self," symbolizing the sole existence.

It was a trace reflected beyond the surface of the sea, facing this "fish" that had briefly leaped beyond its path from afar.

There was no one before him, yet it seemed to fill heaven and earth.

But "someone" was there.

As though it had noticed that "gaze," a blurry figure emerged from the void in the next instant. Or perhaps it had been there all along and had only been noticed now.

A face, body, clothes, and mannerisms identical to Li Yun's manifested before him. Like looking into a mirror, every detail corresponded, almost without the slightest difference.

Yet that seemingly identical face held not the slightest emotion, nor could any trace of intent be seen. At a glance, it was like staring into an extremely deep and tranquil cold pool, reflecting all things while containing nothing.

"Exit!"

It was an exceedingly brief moment of "eye contact."

There was not even the slightest hesitation. That was the only resolute thought the will named "Li Yun" had time to produce!

It was not merely because of the "uncanny valley effect" caused by something so similar to himself. More precisely, he had swiftly noticed the gaze beneath that figure's appearance.

Those eyes that could silence the soul, eyes that were absolutely not of any ordinary kind!

Stardust seemed to rise and perish within them, universes spiraling open and closed. Yet when one looked closely, there was nothing there at all...

"Hah..."

A long exhalation.

Without even speaking, the first thing Li Yun did after waking was silently rise and walk to the window, then yank open the curtains that had been drawn for so long.

Letting the afternoon sunlight outside slant across him, he narrowed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling faintly in the harsh light.

Soon, apparently still dissatisfied, the tenant casually flung open the glass panes of the old-fashioned push window beside him as well, allowing a hot breeze carrying the mixed scents of flowers, cooking fumes, and vehicle exhaust to pour freely into the somewhat dim little room.

Only then, as he took deep breaths of that real air, now carrying a hint of scorching heat, did he seem to truly awaken from the dream.

The faint chill lingering in his body also receded somewhat.

At the fried rice stall by the street not far away, the broad awning stretched overhead quivered gently in the soft breeze, casting jagged shadows outside the window.

A plump calico cat curled up beneath the wall to cool off had been lazily dozing, not even flicking its tail. Hearing the sound of the window opening, it suddenly raised its head and looked over.

Seeing that nothing was wrong, the fellow licked the fur by its leg, then lay back down in utter ease and tranquility.

After remaining silent for a long while, as though he had finally soaked up enough sunlight, a faint smile appeared on that still somewhat stiff face.

"A little scary..."

At this moment, the impression from not long ago still echoed through Li Yun's mind.

...At the instant their gazes had met, an overwhelming sense of danger that abruptly arose from instinct had made him stop this "attempt" almost without thinking.

At that moment, "the other party" had clearly looked over, yet it had not simply been "looking" at a person or an object. That gaze pierced through all that was seen and all that existed, like the firmament hanging high beyond the world, illuminating the myriad realms without ever producing the slightest trace of attention or concern.

...He had seen it clearly. Reflected in those eyes was only an unattached, indifferent "void" that transcended everything.

"So this is 'Divinity'..."

"That was really dangerous."

Li Yun quietly looked at the hand resting on the windowsill.

Under the golden sunlight, his palm was now slender and fair. It was difficult to find even the slightest flaw upon it, and no matter who saw it, they would likely be unable to deny that it was a beautiful hand.

...Though beneath that incomprehensible gaze, it too would have been reduced to ashes in an instant, utterly unable to resist.

This was no exaggeration, nor was it a joke.

He had truly felt it then—when facing that gaze that seemed cast down across the vastness of eternity, the indifference and boundless meaning within it were like setting foot at the birth of the universe, yet also like standing at the end of all things.

That was Divinity... and also the "Heavenly Will" of replacing Heavenly Heart with one's own heart.

Even if it had only been a glance.

Silent and soundless, yet seeing through everything. It was as though all things in the world and every rise and fall of thought had nowhere to hide beneath that unattached, nameless gaze, before their traces were casually brushed away without concern, like dust flicked from clothing.

Like dew, like lightning; thus should one contemplate it.

All his thoughts and ideas began to show traces of flickering illusion beneath that gaze, like a dream, a shadow, a drop of dew, a bubble—real and unreal alike, nothing more than that.

More than that, even his own "existence" faintly took on an ambiguous quality, hanging by a thread, seeming both present and absent.

...That terrifying sensation of seeming liable to be quietly erased at any moment by a single thought was truly "memorable."

No one would like the feeling of having no control over their own life and death.

And even if that "Li Yun" was merely himself existing in another illusory "possibility" born from an attempt, it was impossible for him to truly take the initiative to attack himself.

But strictly speaking, the sense of threat felt by the Li Yun collective at that moment had not entirely come from the other party. More of it had come from the Azure Mirror in his hand!

—Once he came into contact with and contained that excessive possibility, he would lose his "self"!

That was the instinctive warning issued by the vast floating dream to the faint "state of mind" within it!

It was an obvious fact.

After all, judging solely from the other party's performance during that brief meeting, it could undoubtedly be summed up in the literal sense—perhaps it was still some distance from being a god, but it was already very far from being human.

This was the reality naturally revealed by that phantom within the boundless, empty stillness.

It was indeed powerful.

But the price was that faint humanity, which sounded so "insignificant" and had nearly been completely worn away, would ultimately vanish into the other party's godlike indifference and all-encompassing Dao-Nature.

The human heart was merely the gathering and dispersing of fleeting thoughts, disturbed by body and intent, like rootless duckweed, ever-changing and restless...

Yet that Divinity knew neither joy nor sorrow. It operated according to its nature and discerned truth from falsehood. Like moonlight shining brightly, it easily severed those parts of thought that could perhaps be called "illusions."

The instincts of the body, needless attachments, thoughts stirred by external appearances...

Once all superficial traces representing the human side had been severed and erased, one would naturally draw closer to heaven and farther from humanity.

This was clearly not an outcome that everyone could accept.

That was why the instinctive warning within the dream had descended.

External things could hardly shake the essence of the master of the boundless Great Dream, but if his own heart actively chose to accept such a possibility—one that could already be called a "self that was not himself"—for his own use, then that would simply be the path he had chosen.

The "Mirror" could not stop such an action, nor could it deny the various changes that might arise from it.

In the end, it was only a "vessel" that carried the Dao, not the true "heart" that made the choice.

In that case, actively attempting to "swallow the sea with a drop of water" was naturally a true path to death!

"Sure enough, I was still too reckless..."

After quickly sorting through the details of the problems that had emerged, Li Yun felt somewhat moved as well.

When he had realized the essence of the "enhancements" those Main God users obtained through exchanging things for themselves, he had immediately noticed their unusual nature.

And precisely because the Main God Game had welcomed its first batch of users and was gradually forming a relatively stable source of income, Li Yun had, out of curiosity, gritted his teeth and allocated one hundred thousand units of mental energy. Following the "Divinity" enhancement path from a certain source world, he had performed an "exchange" for himself—or rather, a deduction—

The good news was that the results had been excellent. He had even successfully deduced a "self" that had at least entered the Demigod level and initially possessed a quality that could withstand countless tribulations without decay...

The bad news was that the results had been too good, far beyond what he had expected! It had left him completely unqualified to contain such a "possibility"!

Or rather, if he truly wanted to force a fusion without losing himself, the price that needed to be prepared beforehand would likely be far higher than the mere one hundred thousand points spent this time!

"Sigh."

Thinking of the hundred thousand points he had wasted by actively cutting off the fusion process midway, Li Yun, who had become a genuine spendthrift this time, could not help feeling a pang of heartache.

He did not deny the deep stirring within his heart at that moment.

After realizing that "the other party" possessed an essence clearly different from his own, yet with no barrier between them, some vague intuition told him—

As long as he swallowed that "possibility," the rich accumulation it represented would be enough to support him all the way until he reached the boundary that truly separated humans from gods, without encountering many more obstacles.

Immortality and freedom from mortal shackles would be easy matters.

It could even be said that when he had first confirmed the reality of Dream in the Mirror, before he had attempted to create the remains of the Cosmic Model, that was no more than the vague "goal" for his life that had surfaced in his first thoughts.

It was a fruit of "sublimation" almost laid before him, within easy reach.

But precisely because of that, after realizing what the phantom before him represented and sensing the boundless "weight" within it, like facing an extreme celestial body of the universe, unconsciously drawing his resonant self toward it, Li Yun decisively chose to withdraw on the spot. He abandoned that enormous temptation that even his instincts found difficult to resist.

He had always known the importance of making a clean break when necessary.

...The waters here ran too deep. He could not grasp them yet.

But clearly, even if this had only been a wasteful attempt, it had indeed revealed a problem—

For Dream in the Mirror, the "value" of living beings and dead objects seemed to be different.

According to the naturally formed hierarchy within the dream, if those hundred thousand points had been invested in exchanging for a "dead object," they would at most have produced an extraordinary item of the seventh or eighth tier.

But when used on an "enhancement" for himself this time, they had yielded a "result" of at least the ninth or tenth tier. It might even have already begun to possess the qualifications to touch that chasm and ascend above mortal things!

...Beyond the tenth tier lay, in theory, a realm that had already transcended the limits and origins of the mortal world, a domain sufficient to be called that of God-Demons.

This forced him to take the matter seriously.

Was it that living beings and living things possessed inherently incomparable significance to Dream in the Mirror? Or was it simply Li Yun's own "special nature" as the master of this floating dream that had produced this startling, unexpected effect?

Clearly, this was another subject that Main God would need to gather test data and research afterward.

He was silent for a long time.

Without turning his head, he casually made a grasping motion, and the pair of black-framed glasses on the table was pulled by an invisible force, tracing a smooth arc through the air before landing in Li Yun's hand.

In fact, several traces of unreasonable "power" had already begun to emerge within his current body.

And from the information Li Yun had sensed, this was not the effect of any "exchange." It was merely an outward sign of some obscure essence within himself, slowly and continuously improving under the subtle influence of Dream in the Mirror.

It somewhat carried the flavor described in Buddhist scriptures: "Divine powers and transformations, all naturally complete."

Or perhaps, even without taking the path of refining dream objects, he himself could be regarded as slowly advancing along an unknown "path of evolution."

It was not that Li Yun lacked patience.

...It was simply that, by comparison, how long this path with no visible signs would take, and where exactly it led, were truly difficult to say.