Despair

"What... what is this?" An Enforcer stared in disbelief. "[God's Blessing]... can be taken back?"

If the three great God Paths had bestowed [God's Blessing] at the same time, that was still within their understanding. But what was happening now had completely surpassed their comprehension...

They had lived for so many years, yet had never heard of anyone receiving [God's Blessing] only to have their God Path cut off afterward.

"Just as expected."

Outside the residence, the man in the shadows nodded slightly.

"He finally obtained [God's Blessing] in such desperate circumstances, only to watch it retreat before his eyes... what a pity." Having stayed at Chen Ling's home for so long, Chu Muyun naturally knew how much Chen Ling longed for the God Path, and could not help feeling pity for him.

"A pity?" The man in the shadows gave him a strange look.

"There are countless people in this world who possess a God Path, but someone who has fused with a World-Ending Calamity and retained his sanity? There is only one... He is already a unique existence in this world. What is there to pity?"

Chu Muyun shook his head without speaking.

Inside the residence.

Chen Ling stared blankly as the three God Paths rapidly withdrew...

He had been abandoned by the God Paths.

That might have been the only hope in this world of escaping the Audience's control.

He did not know what had happened. All he could sense from the God Paths was apprehension. He turned to look behind him and, vaguely, saw pairs of eyes gradually vanishing into the void.

"...You again." Chen Ling gave a bitter laugh.

"Of course. I should have realized it long ago... Once I set foot on a God Path, there would be a chance for me to escape your control. How could you possibly let that happen?"

"You want nothing more than for me to remain on the stage forever, a puppet for your amusement..."

Chen Ling's smile gradually turned grim. Deep despair surfaced in his blood-rimmed eyes... Even the God Paths had retreated under the Audience's intimidation. As an ordinary person, he had no idea how he could possibly escape them.

Rather than be a puppet for the rest of his life, Chen Ling would rather die.

The gods' favor receded like the tide;

Chen Ling, dressed in red, was left alone atop the bones, smiling in despair and madness.

"Come on, Qian!!" Chen Ling laughed wildly. "Didn't you want to kill me? Do it, then!! Shoot me in the head! Remember, if you want to kill me completely, you need to shoot twice!!"

Qian Fan stood dazed for a moment before finally snapping back to his senses. Looking at the seemingly insane Chen Ling before him, killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"I don't know what's going on... but since you no longer have [God's Blessing], just wait to die!"

He raised his gun again, aimed at Chen Ling's head, and pulled the trigger!

Bang—!!

This time, no miracle occurred.

The bullet pierced Chen Ling's skull and instantly took his life. Half his head exploded apart, red and white splattering across the ground.

The residence fell deathly silent.

Qian Fan and the others looked at Chen Ling, who had only half a head left, and finally let out the breath they had been holding...

It was not that they were timid. Everything about Chen Ling had simply been too bizarre—so bizarre that they had begun to wonder whether he was even human, whether he could truly die.

But now, no matter what he was, he was dead.

"This kid... was too damn strange." Qian Fan put away his gun, spat on the ground, and turned toward the house.

The moment he turned around, he saw the other two Enforcers beneath the eaves, their eyes wide with terror...

"What are you doing?"

"F-Fan..." One of the Enforcers raised a trembling hand. "H-he, he, he..."

Qian Fan frowned and turned in the direction the Enforcer pointed. His pupils suddenly contracted!

The scarlet corpse pinned atop the bones had somehow straightened upright. Its drooping half-head slowly lifted, and its shattered skull and flesh began to writhe frantically!

The remaining half of its eyelid snapped open, and a blood-filled eyeball glared fixedly at Qian Fan!

"Qian!!"

"Didn't I tell you to shoot twice?!!"

"One shot can't kill me!! It can't kill me!!!!"

His severed vocal cords scraped frantically, producing a teeth-grating sound. Even Qian Fan and the other two, hardened by all they had seen, were terrified senseless, their legs nearly giving out beneath them!

"Monster... a monster!!" one Enforcer screamed in terror. "He's not human! He's a monster!!"

"Shoot!! Shoot me already!" Chen Ling roared madly. "Shoot the other half of my head! Come on!!!"

Faced with this bizarre sight, even Qian Fan's hand began to tremble...

"I know... it's you!" Qian Fan seemed to realize something. "You're the Calamity that descended that night!!"

Hearing this, the other two Enforcers seemed to awaken from a dream, their faces turning even paler.

They were truly afraid now.

After all, the two Calamities that had crawled out of the Ash Realm were third-rank and fifth-rank respectively. Neither was something they could handle...

Qian Fan gritted his teeth, drew the gun from his waist again, and shakily aimed it at the red-clad monster imprisoned within the bones.

At this point, he had no choice but to fire.

But just as he pulled the trigger, the pistol seemed to be gripped by something. The barrel twisted violently into a knot!

Qian Fan only felt an immense force strike his chest. He flew backward like a kite with its string cut, smashed through the residence's door, and crashed heavily onto the ground.

The other two Enforcers widened their eyes and stared fixedly at the empty space ahead, yet they could not see any attacker!

There was nothing there.

But in Chen Ling's eyes, that was not the case.

A familiar red-clad youth stood amid the swirling snow. He slowly turned to look at him... his eyes brimmed with tears.

"Brother..." he said. "Brother, you can't die like this. You can't just accept your fate!"

Chen Ling's head was slowly repairing itself. His scarlet eyeball stared blankly at Chen Yan, and some of the madness finally faded.

He spoke hoarsely.

"Not accept my fate? Then what else can I do... keep being their entertainment? What meaning would that have?"

"But if you die now, you'll have nothing left."

"If I don't die, I'll still have nothing." Chen Ling muttered. "Even if I survive, they'll keep interfering with my life. If they can create one you, they can create a second, a third... One day, they'll drive me insane."

"Brother! As long as you're alive, there will always be hope... won't there?"

"...Hope?"

Chen Ling looked into Chen Yan's reddened eyes. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed.

"I understand." Chen Ling turned to look behind him, his bloodshot eyes seeming to stare at something.

"You're afraid!!"

"You know that if I die one more time, I'll die for good!!"

"You're afraid that if I die, no one will be left to perform for you, so you took his form to trick me into living on, didn't you?!"

"Brother..."

"You give me some vague, intangible hope and watch me desperately chase it. Then, just as I am about to reach it, you shatter that so-called hope... That is what you want!"

"Brother!"

"You want to control my life, toy with my mind—you wish!!!"

"Brother!!!"

A shout interrupted Chen Ling's savage roar.

He turned around and saw Chen Yan standing there with tears streaking his face, his gaze full of pleading.

"Brother... I'm real. Believe me... Everything I said is true."

"I..." Chen Ling stood frozen for a long time, struggle and pain appearing on his face. "A-Yan, I know. I just..."

Chen Yan took a deep breath and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. An unprecedented determination emerged in his gaze.

"Brother, you are not without hope..."

He reached into his clothes and took out a cloth bag. As its mouth was untied, one piece after another of vermilion-colored glass fell out.

"The road they severed..."

"I will continue it for you."