"The Battle God died too!"
Su Wen stopped and turned to look at the Battle God, letting out a faint sigh.
How many god-titled Heavenly Mandate Bearers did Huaxia have in the first place? He had died, and so had the Battle God. The imperial capital falling... didn't seem so strange after all.
Of course, he still hadn't found the cause of his future self's death, so he couldn't be sure whether he would be dead in ten years.
But judging by the look of things, he probably was.
Otherwise, that resistor's diary from before probably wouldn't have spoken of the founder of the Martial Dao in that tone.
"Is something wrong?"
The Battle God took a step, and his figure appeared before Su Wen in an instant.
The God of Wealth had been demonstrating his movement technique, only to stop abruptly and look at him with that... strange gaze.
To be honest, the God of Wealth's stare made him a little uncomfortable.
There was something odd about that look. It gave him the feeling that his days were numbered.
"Nothing's wrong. I just got a little sentimental all of a sudden."
Su Wen shook his head. "Time flies, and life is unpredictable."
The Battle God's eyelids twitched wildly. After a moment's silence, he asked, "Brother! I don't mean to pry into your innate divine ability, but I'm really curious. You don't have some kind of ability to predict the future too, do you?"
"I'm the God of Wealth. How would I have an ability to predict the future?"
"Phew... I thought so. How could every one of you have an ability to predict the future?"
The Battle God breathed a sigh of relief. "But your tone just now really gave me a scare. Old Master Theater God said some things to me in that same tone before."
"And a week later, I nearly didn't make it back from exploring the Arrow Realm."
"Fuck! Those races in the Arrow Realm are seriously twisted!"
The Battle God paused, then said, "Do you know roughly what the theory of the theater of cruelty is about?"
"..."
Su Wen was taken aback, then shook his head.
It wasn't his field of study, so he didn't know much about specialized theories like that.
"I don't understand the finer points either, so I can't explain it very clearly."
"But roughly speaking, it's a theatrical technique that uses spectacle in a performance to portray something gruesome and terrifying, even causing the audience intense discomfort, thereby stimulating their desire to watch."
"It's a theory. Hearing it from someone else, nonprofessionals like us would just take it as a joke or listen to it as something interesting."
"But if it comes from Old Master Theater God, and he brings it up while chatting with you, you'd better watch out."
"Last time, I was talking with Old Master Theater God about national affairs, and he suddenly hit me with a whole spiel about the theater of cruelty."
"At the time, I was dumbfounded."
"And after I looked up the relevant information, I was in despair."
"Just thinking about that scene makes me... Bleurgh!"
The Battle God turned and promptly vomited to the side.
Beside him, Su Wen tactfully patted the Battle God on the back.
The Star God had told him before that he needed to take the Theater God's words seriously, especially when they concerned theatrical theory.
But he still wasn't clear on exactly how seriously to take them, or what the theories the Theater God spoke of actually referred to.
Now, though, the Battle God was right there teaching him by word and example. He even grew agitated as he spoke and became so sick that he vomited.
Hmm... looks like the Theater God's theory of the theater of cruelty is pretty powerful.
If the Theater God ever talks to me about this stuff, I'll have to be careful.
"Even though it was disgusting, I took my phone in with me and got some pictures."
The Battle God said, "Want to see them?"
Su Wen didn't hesitate. "No!"
"..."
The Battle God was a little disappointed, but he asked again, "Actually, when you think about it carefully, it's pretty interesting. Aren't you really curious?"
He had forced himself to endure the discomfort and taken those photos, including ones of those buildings that challenged the limits of human physiology, precisely so he could show everyone when he got back.
Well... he couldn't be the only one feeling sick, right?
When everyone else felt sick too, he wouldn't feel quite so sick himself.
Most importantly, from another angle, he wasn't doing anything bad. He was letting everyone have a look, broaden their horizons, and strengthen their mental resolve.
If they ran into it in the future, at least they wouldn't be so easily shocked, right?
"I'm not curious."
Su Wen spoke firmly. The Battle God was so powerful that he was clearly no rookie Heavenly Mandate Bearer.
So the Battle God had probably seen more killing, even massacres, than he could imagine.
A Heavenly Mandate Bearer of that caliber had long since developed mental fortitude to an unimaginable degree.
Even so, merely thinking about it could still make him this sick.
So why should he look?
Did he think he'd been sleeping too well at night?
Or did he want to experience having his worldview shattered?
The most rational thing to do was not look.
"All right, then!"
The Battle God sighed. "But if you ever want to see them later, or you're looking for a thrill, you can come find me."
"Or send me a message, and I'll send those photos and videos straight to you."
"I'm telling you, they'll definitely make you bring up the meals you ate a few days ago... I mean, remember how delicious those meals smelled, then go and have another big feast with your stomach growling."
Su Wen: "..."
Like hell I believe you!
Judging by the way the Battle God reacted, I definitely wouldn't be able to eat for days after seeing them!
At the same moment, the captions in the future spacetime began to flicker again.
[You walk toward the Battle God's grave. Looking at the somewhat dilapidated gravesite, you cannot help but sigh.] [O God of Wealth from the past spacetime! Just a moment ago, the Battle God was holding your hand and chatting happily with you. Now he has been reduced to a set of bare bones, buried before your eyes.] [You see some words carved beneath the tombstone. You wipe away the dust covering them, and the words appear before you.] [Martyr: Battle God.] [Cause of death: died in the Battle for the Defense of the East Sea on June 10, 2025.] [Merits: recipient of the National Second-Class Medal, the Blue Sky Medal, the National Defense Medal, the First-Class Exploration Medal...] [Assessment: as a pillar of combat strength among the god-titled Heavenly Mandate Bearers, the Battle God's fall was a great loss to the nation and indeed the world.] [Yet storms gather without warning. No one could have foreseen that the allied Weili Clan and Flower Calamity Clan would turn traitor at a critical moment, causing the East Sea defensive line to collapse and leaving the Battle God gravely wounded and at death's door.] [The Mountain and Sea Main Battlefield dispatched a team to rescue him, but the Battle God's injuries were too severe to treat. In the end, the Battle God burned himself at the East Sea defensive line, buying three precious days for the East Sea troops to evacuate.] [Many Heavenly Mandate Bearers believed that if the Battle God had not died, humanity's future would surely have been a smooth road!] [...]
Su Wen fell silent as he read the information recorded on the Battle God's tombstone.
Meanwhile, the Battle God, who had been chattering away, noticed that something was wrong with Su Wen and gradually fell silent as well.
"Brother Battle God, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"If a major war broke out in the future, would you trust allies from other races on the battlefield?"
"..."
The Battle God looked at Su Wen, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
He was all too familiar with words carrying such a strong hint.