Su Yi was startled. "Wait... did the Mist Sage sacrifice himself to reset the world?"
The Mist Sage shook his head. "It wasn't a reset. I only turned back time."
"You can't know how it works yet. The Dreamwalker would notice you."
"The Dreamwalker? Who's that?" Su Yi blinked.
Even after playing through version 9.8 in his previous life, he had never heard that name.
The Mist Sage shook his head. "You can't know that either."
"If you understood what that name meant, the Dreamwalker could find you at once."
"Then everything we've done would be for nothing."
Su Yi nodded and asked no more.
This world held plenty of strange things. Divine Authorities and abilities that worked through memory were too numerous to count.
The Mist Sage continued, "Do you know why you crossed over during version 9.8?"
Su Yi froze. "Wasn't it because I worked myself to death?"
The Mist Sage raised his hand, and a scene of light and shadow appeared.
In it, Su Yi saw the familiar skyscrapers and architecture from his memories.
And that familiar blue planet.
Then, without warning, countless black oak trees appeared across the world.
Twisted tendrils of black vapor rose from their Roots.
In an instant, the strange oaks engulfed the entire world.
Then the world seemed to stop. Humanity... was absorbed. Everyone died.
"That's Earth!?"
The Mist Sage nodded. "That's what happens in the bad ending."
"Version 9.8 marks the end of both worlds."
"Wait!" Su Yi blurted. "What do you mean, 'bad ending'?"
"How can a world have an ending?"
"Things were thriving in version 9.8!"
"We crushed the Wildfolk Star System!"
"We turned the Life Devourers into an endless supply of fertilizer."
"We reduced the Radiants to second-class citizens!"
"The Light Empire rose again and launched its expedition.