Chapter 1312: The Universe's Curtain Call — All Returns to Void... |
At this very moment — where was Existence?
At the edge of the universe, beyond the world, within the cracks of Existence where this stretch of starry sky bordered countless others — Time was manipulating the invisible yet shadow-casting Pointer, meticulously synchronizing the world's time with that of the Real Universe.
Memory was here as well. It was the first time He had left the universe and seen the Real Universe with His own eyes.
He looked back toward the world's interior — toward the Void where gods and Outer God waged war in chaos — and for a moment found Himself unable to decide whether to commit the vastness of the Real Universe to record, or to chronicle this spectacular farewell performance for the world's sake.
Those ancient eyes, layered with the history of countless stars, seemed to have doubled in weight in a single instant. He shook His head and looked at the sibling god still diligently at work beside Him, asking calmly:
"The era of Void is about to end. The gods' suspicions were correct — the universe will ultimately return to Void.
You always said that after Void, no new era would follow. If the world has already reached a dead end, what meaning does anything you're doing still hold?"
Time said nothing. He simply kept aligning.
Memory turned His gaze to the Real Universe, sensing the vast, redundant, chaotic, fractured memories drifting within it. His voice was heavy with emotion:
The power He holds now... you once held it too.
Is there an answer hidden within that power? If not, I cannot fathom why you would stand by and watch an Outer God who doesn't belong to this world destroy everything you've protected.
It's come to this — are you still going to keep me in the dark?"
"..."
Time continued His task in silence, saying nothing.
Memory laughed bitterly:
"Time has no time. Memory knows no memories.
Deceit never deceived. Fate lost its fate...
What a fine age of Void. What a grand gods' farce.
So Folly was right all along — the universe was nothing but a foolish act.
But with the world at its end — will Time... save it again?"
Time finally spoke. He nodded, His gaze resolute:
"I have been saving it all along."
"But aren't you just standing here watching the Outer God run rampant, letting the universe plummet into misfortune? Is the nature of Existence truly to cease existing?"
"No. The nature of Existence is to exist eternally — and yet to be eternally void.
Soon. That moment is nearly here."
"..."
Memory could not understand Time, but He chose to trust Him. Essence had always run deeper than appearance — at least on that point, He was certain beyond doubt.
Within the cracks of Existence, all was peaceful. Within the universe, war raged on.
The battle had reached its final moment. Apart from War — still fighting — every god had fallen.
Not because the Outer God was ferocious, but because the power of the Origin was undefeatable!
Cheng Shi knew he should have perished long ago. War's burning blood alone could never overcome the Outer God Fate. Yet Fate's cold-bloodedness seemed intent on making Cheng Shi watch this world be swallowed by misfortune, piece by piece.
He stood high above, surveying the universe, merciless beyond measure:
"In my search for Fixed Destiny, I have witnessed the collapse of countless universes, the fall of countless worlds. I thought it would all end in this era.
But alas — Fixed Destiny possessed the fortune of destiny, yet lacked its true fate.
Everything will end now. The Void's curtain has fallen.
No new era will follow. The world's destruction will draw the Creator's gaze. He will erase every trace of this starry sky and start a new experiment in its place.
And amid the tide of annihilation, I shall seize a fresh thread of the Origin's power and travel to another world to continue seeking a Fixed Destiny capable of breaking this cycle.
As for all of you...
Void will be your eternal grave. Embrace it. This is your final moment of existence — in this world, in this experiment, in the Real Universe."
The words had barely faded when darkness consumed the sight of every living being. Across the vast universe, every star was snuffed out, every shimmer extinguished.
In all the starry sky — no, in all the Void — only a single feeble ember of flame remained. It was not any flame of hope. It was the lone eye that Cheng Shi, trapped within Fate's misfortune, could still open.
War's left eye!
The flickering firelight within it could illuminate only a small corner of his surroundings. The eye rolled defiantly, straining to look in every direction, but it could no longer perceive any trace of the world.
Time trickled away, second by second. The world seemed to have perished long ago. He could not even be sure whether this lingering consciousness was a dying obsession or the memory-ash given off by a collapsing world.
He could not move. He could not struggle. He simply watched the blackness close in, crushing the last sliver of light before his eye — the universe's final spark of Vitality.
The flame grew ever weaker, its light twisting desperately. All the rage, defiance, repression, and despair erupted at once — yet still could not rekindle the fire within his pupil. It merely flared in a single flash, like the last radiance before death!
But in that fleeting burst of brilliance, the eye that should have been filled with fury, defiance, repression, and despair suddenly changed. It became cunning, mocking, scornful, teasing!
Yes — in the final instant before the world surrendered to Void — Cheng Shi laughed.
He was laughing at himself, and he was laughing at Fate.
The Outer God intended to steal another thread of the Origin's power amid the tide of annihilation, to continue His path of plundering Fixed Destinies. But the question was — before you steal, have you asked the "unsuspecting" owner's permission?
The Origin was detestable, yes — but so was Fate.
If that was the case, why not use one hateful god against another?
Cheng Shi had not given up. He still wanted to "summon" the Origin!
If the misfortune unleashed by the Outer God Fate could annihilate the world, could this world's own misfortune drag the departing Outer God to his death beneath these hopeless stars?!
How would he know without trying?
And so Cheng Shi laughed. In the final second before his consciousness faded, he stopped struggling. Instead, with the last of his divine power, he activated...
Fate Has Divergence!
Yes — fate had its own detours. But did Fate Himself have detours?!
Yes! Of course He did!
In the instant before the world plunged completely into Void, a pair of eyes — beyond anything even gods could imagine — suddenly opened before them all!
Those eyes swept across the terror in every god's gaze in a single heartbeat, then vanished.
But Cheng Shi never saw it.
The last flicker of fire in his pupil died as his divine power was exhausted. In that instant, upon a stage with no "audience" left to watch, the era's curtain slammed down, burying this stretch of starry sky's entire past in eternal darkness.
And so...
The universe was reduced to ashes. Void descended.
