Ye Buyu raised her eyes and stared into Fate's eyes.
"Either we stop you, or you destroy the current world?"
[Fate] whispered, "Clear and concise. You may understand it that way."
The stone statue raised its arm slightly, casting down a wash of holy light that outlined a suspended Sea of Stars, tracing the paths of fate of its countless living beings.
"Life and death are not mine to govern, but the process between life and death is the myriad fates of all beings. I can grant them peaceful, smooth-sailing fates, or magnificent lives full of upheaval.
"Full of regrets, surprises, sadness, and joy. So long as they ask, I answer, then let them meet their predetermined end. This is the price of fate.
"It is also the endpoint set by the universe. Rather than struggle in pain, they might as well enjoy everything, then calmly face their predetermined fate."
Mu Bingge waved away the shifting images.
"We refuse to go gentle into that good night. We refuse to accept a predetermined ending set by a higher power."
[Fate] lowered its gaze. "You have lived too briefly. Perhaps after experiencing hardship, you will find a new answer."
This is bad, Ye Buyu thought, grabbing Mu Bingge and running.
The two vaulted over the tower and fled ten thousand miles in an instant.
"Do not be nervous. I am merely lending you a pair of eyes to experience suffering you have never personally endured."
The gentle voice rang out. Ye Buyu and Mu Bingge stopped in their tracks, their heartbeats suddenly accelerating, growing ever clearer.
Their ears felt as though they were submerged in the deep sea, cut off from outside sounds, their perception of their surroundings blurring.
When Ye Buyu opened her eyes again, scorching waves of heat from the