Chapter 1453: The Day of Faith's Farewell, the Hour Will Gathers as One (I)

Foolish Game of the Gods

Cheng Shi felt as though he had been "betrayed" again.

His friends had so "easily" "abandoned" themselves, choosing "death."

He had never wanted this. Yet reality had pushed him here, step by step, and Fixed Destiny was slowly merging with him completely.

He replayed the "Final Oracle" the Flame of Hope had left behind, reviewing again and again the future Deceit had envisioned for the world...

That was not the future he wanted.

But the future was here. He had no choice.

If he didn't take this step, every effort that came before would be wasted.

He might deny himself for the sake of his friends — but he could never deny Deceit, deny Death, deny the Fear Faction, deny the Torchbearers, deny every friend who had stood silently behind him...

He couldn't do it. Neither forward nor backward — he couldn't do it.

He wished time would freeze in this very moment. That way, he wouldn't have to face a future that barely qualified as one, nor bear the price of the world's failure. He would still have his friends, and hope would still live in his heart.

This was the present. The most "beautiful" present.

But time would never stop for any one person. It was far more impartial than even Order.

Cheng Shi wasn't sure whether the Sea of Desire had affected him. Today, his emotions were being amplified without limit. He stood frozen in place, wordless for an eternity, not even daring to raise his head and look at the friends before him — until nightfall...

?

Since when did the Sinking Land have nightfall?

Cheng Shi looked up in alarm, only to find he was no longer at the Sea of Desire's edge. Instead, he stood in pitch-black Void — hollow darkness enveloping him, and an uncontrollable sliver of fear crept through his heart.

Then the fear began to swell. Not for any esoteric reason, but because he saw a figure walking toward him.

Hu Xuan.

The Sage still wore her familiar, elegant attire. She walked calmly up to Cheng Shi and, seeing the slight pallor of his face, let a flicker of sympathy cross her eyes before it was replaced by firmness and trust.

She smiled.

"They knew you couldn't bring yourself to decide. So they came up with this way to persuade you.

I know you understand everything. And I know this isn't meant to be comfort — it's a farewell. So I volunteered to go first.

After all, I am Birth. Their 'elder.' It's only fitting I go first."

The word "farewell" only deepened Cheng Shi's helplessness. He tried to retreat, but found there was nowhere left to go. Hu Xuan maintained her smile with all her strength.

"Cheng Shi, you have never been an indecisive person. Otherwise, back then — with the Stars Dagger, right under Zangier's nose — I would never have had a chance to survive.

It was your decisiveness that saved me... Now it's time to use that decisiveness to save this world."

Cheng Shi lowered his eyes, refusing to look at Hu Xuan — as if by not looking, this moment could be something other than a farewell.

"Saving the world means I can't save you." That was all he said.

Hu Xuan was a pragmatist. She spoke bluntly.

"Not saving the world won't save us either. But saving the world can at least preserve everyone's hope.

They resisted for so long — there ought to be a result, shouldn't there?

I may not be the same as them, but I have my own hopes. As long as the new world still has new life, then isn't Birth accompanying you in its own way?

I am no longer just a Sage. I am no longer merely Hu Xuan. I am Birth. Unending Birth."

"..."

The Sage's smile radiated more and more Divinity. But Cheng Shi couldn't feel it. All he felt was sorrow.

He was silent for a long time. Then, suddenly, he raised his head and looked into Hu Xuan's eyes. And in her startled gaze, he extended his hand toward her.

The meaning was unmistakable. It was a plea for her to stay.

Hu Xuan froze, then smiled warmly. She shook her head. "I'm touched. But I can't be that selfish. Let this child go to the new world — if I may still have that honor."

She reached out and took Cheng Shi's hand.

Nothing happened.

"Tell me what to do." Hu Xuan's smile was sacred yet magnetic. "Cheng Shi, don't let them laugh at me. I came here with no intention of going back.

My Will has always been with you, with Birth. Across eras, across universes — I have always believed in you."

"..."

Cheng Shi suddenly felt a subtle Change within himself. He caught, at the edge of his vision, a spurt of divine power unlike any of the sixteen faiths. If he had to describe it, it looked like a thread of iridescent force that hadn't yet been dyed.

Strange — why was he so certain it was iridescent? It had no color at all.

In that instant, Time's words flashed through his mind: 'As long as you believe, the power of trust will burst forth.'

So this was the power of trust...

And yet this trust was carrying him away from the source of that trust, drawing him ever closer to the Origin.

Cheng Shi fell silent again — for a very, very long time. Hu Xuan stood quietly before him without disturbing him. She knew he needed time. Time to accept. Time to "compromise."

The Sage thought: if time couldn't be wasted, then let her be the one blamed for wasting it. It was she who hadn't pressed him. It had nothing to do with the man standing before her.

More time passed. Cheng Shi "woke" from his silence. He seemed to have reached a decision, steeled his resolve. The expressionless mask fell away, and once again he became that confident Clown.

Hu Xuan blinked, struck by the feeling that the Fate Weaver who had once saved her had returned.

"It seems you're ready." Hu Xuan smiled with relief.

Cheng Shi smiled too — a smile he hadn't worn in ages. But he was still shaking his head.

"No. Not at all.

But what does 'not ready' matter?

You're right. Behind me stands the hope and longing of too many people. I can't let them down. I owe them an answer.

Sage — do you still believe in me?"

Hu Xuan didn't hesitate. "I told you. I always have."

Cheng Shi's smile widened. He asked again: "Then, Sage — are you afraid of death?"

"Death is the destination of Life. That journey carries not fear, but nature.

I was born of nature and shall return to nature. What is there to fear?"

Cheng Shi kept smiling. He nodded again and again, hiding all his sorrow behind him, and once more produced the "blueprint."

The Divine Throne unfolded in mid-air. Cheng Shi pointed to the trace Birth's faith had once left on it.

"Just as you would channel divine power — channel Birth's Will into it. Trust me, Sage. In the new era, we will surely meet again."

The most beautiful smile bloomed across Hu Xuan's face. "I look forward to it. I've always looked forward to it."

With that, she closed her eyes, clasped her hands before her, and spoke:

"I am Birth. Unending procreation."

Her elegant form shattered in an instant, dissolving into motes of starlight that streamed into the blueprint. Brilliant radiance illuminated the entire Void, and the blank trace of faith was filled with substance once more.

True substance.

Cheng Shi clenched his fists, uttering not a sound — yet the anguish contorting his features looked as though a Birth-shaped brand had been seared directly into his heart.

One fragment of the throne assembled. The Void returned to silence.

Before long, Tao Yi arrived. Those outside seemed aware of what was happening within the Void — shortly after Birth departed, Prosperity entered.

She looked at Cheng Shi's still-trembling hands and offered no persuasion. She simply lowered her reddened eyes and forced a smile with all her might.

"Can I make a wish?"

Cheng Shi drew a deep breath and replied with feigned ease. "What kind of wish? I can't promise it'll come true."

"I want everyone in the new world to prosper. Everything to prosper. All things to prosper. No more suffering from decay. No more pain of parting..."

Halfway through, she raised her head to look at Cheng Shi, smiling through her tears. "Am I being too greedy?"

"Greed is a blessing.

If I hadn't been greedy, I would never have made it this far."

Cheng Shi consoled Tao Yi, his thoughts drifting to Big Cat, still outside.

"She..."

At the mention of Hong Lin, Tao Yi's smile finally warmed a fraction — but her eyes grew redder still.

"She knows I don't want to lose her. So she's waiting outside, to see me off first.

Sadly, A Tu can't go to the new world. Fortunately, neither can I — so how is that not its own kind of reunion?

Cheng Shi, tell me what I need to do. A Tu taught me to be strong. Now it's time for me to be strong."

"...Trust me. You two will be reunited."

Tao Yi beamed. "Of course I trust you. From the moment you saved me, I never doubted you again."

"...Thank you."

Cheng Shi suddenly felt afraid of this trust. But he still took out the Container.

The blueprint reappeared. Starlight gathered once more. A fleeting blaze of radiance became the throne's second fragment.

...