[Step One: Divide into ten thousand world lines. (√)]

[Step Two: Finalize the list of transmigrators. (√)]

[Step Three: Create a localized dreamwalking game (Deities in progress)]

[Step Four: Counteract according to Dieying's causal line (Su Luoluo in progress)]

[Step Five: Create the largest life hard drive (×)]

...

On the night of the sixteenth day of the instance, Su Ming'an saw an unexpected person.

The woman finally removed her long-proud crystal crown and changed out of her pure white goddess dress, walking toward him in plain long clothes.

"Facing the God, yet you do not kneel." People shouted towards her.

A thousand years ago, Mizushima Kawa Sora wasn't even a goddess, just a commoner of the Holy City, without the qualifications to even step into the Old Divine Palace. If Su Ming'an hadn't agreed to see her, she wouldn't even have been able to get in the door.

Mizushima Kawa Sora rarely wore lipstick, her dark bright eyes looking at Su Ming'an: "...Do you want me to kneel?"

The people standing on both sides cast reproachful glances at her – how could there be someone so irreverent to the God?

She seemed confident that Su Ming'an wouldn't make her kneel, or maybe she just wanted to hold on to her last shred of dignity. After all, Su Ming'an had always been lenient towards players in the top ranks.

"Oh." Su Ming'an rested his chin on one hand, casually saying, "Kneel."

A flicker of shock passed through Mizushima Kawa Sora's eyes.

Su Ming'an let out a small laugh and dismissed the people in the hall. If this went on, those scornful glances would soon burn through Mizushima Kawa Sora.

In the vast hall, the icy blue flames flickered gently, leaving only the two of them facing each other.

"You've changed quite a bit." Mizushima Kawa Sora said, "Your posture, your expression, your aura..."

"Is that so?"

"Just days ago, you seemed reserved and silent to me, but now..." Mizushima Kawa Sora hesitated, as if recalling something, "...now you remind me of when the world game had just begun."

...At the beginning of the game, that sharp and crazed Number One Player sparked instability among the human high echelon. He publicly committed suicide just to unveil a rule, and he unabashedly expressed disdain for the audience. Yet later, he became increasingly steady and reserved, almost as if he had... "matured".

But now, that Su Ming'an seems to have returned, even asking her to kneel for mere venting.

"Is it possible that the real me was always like that?" Su Ming'an replied.

"You... pretended for so long?" Mizushima Kawa Sora's eyes widened slightly.

"Not entirely. It was your bomb that started waking me. Afterward, more and more opportunities arose..."

He could laugh freely at the start of the game, but now whenever he laughed, he thought of many things that would make him unable to continue smiling.

Not all of it was an act, nor entirely self-determined.

Mizushima Kawa Sora remained silent for a long while:

"...I'm sorry."

The cool voice echoed in the grand hall. Her apology was useless; there were too many who owed Su Ming'an an apology, and Su Ming'an didn't care at all.

"I heard you've stopped hiding your true desires. You said... you want to save the world, is that right?" Mizushima Kawa Sora said, "...Not domination?"

"You've asked me countless times before. You should have already had the answer in your heart. Now that I'm not hiding it at all, can you believe it?"

"I'm just... surprised." Mizushima Kawa Sora said, "You acted for so long, and suddenly you stopped. Did you talk with the organizers about something?"

Su Ming'an held her gaze for several seconds, though neither spoke directly, he already understood why Mizushima Kawa Sora had come to him. Mizushima Kawa Sora had noticed the audience mentioning Su Ming'an's recent change in attitude, and she was confused – wasn't he afraid the organizers might target his world-saving wish? So she came to see him. Maybe it was to remind or maybe to seek an answer.

And why did she seek an answer?

——Most likely, what she wanted was the same as what Su Ming'an wanted.

"Because I possess something the organizers value." Su Ming'an said concisely, "Without this thing, humanity could be doomed – convey this information to your backers, Mizushima Kawa Sora."

Mizushima Kawa Sora remained silent for a while longer: "Do I have such a thing?"

They seemed to speak in riddles across a thin membrane, yet they understood each other's intentions.

Su Ming'an almost laughed – could it be that you also want to hint that your wish is to save the world? So you don't want to hide it any longer, which is why you're seeking an answer from me?

But by now, their roles had reversed.

In the past, it was Mizushima Kawa Sora questioning Su Ming'an's wish, and he couldn't speak out. Now, it was Su Ming'an questioning Mizushima Kawa Sora's wish, and she couldn't speak out.

Su Ming'an could declare his wish without fear, yet Mizushima Kawa Sora still had to carefully cover hers.

But Su Ming'an wouldn't become a dragon while slaying dragons and do the same thing she did – like pushing her into the black mist when she was vulnerable, forcing her into metamorphosis and madness.

To pay back in kind is satisfying, but he wasn't such a person, otherwise wouldn't he be persecuting a "less noble Su Ming'an"?

He said blandly: "If there's nothing more to discuss, you can stay at the Old Divine Palace."

Mizushima Kawa Sora came alone, showing utmost sincerity. After all, this was Su Ming'an's domain – if he gave the order, she wouldn't survive. She willingly entrusted her life to him.

Su Ming'an planned to keep her detained until the instance was nearly over before dealing with her; there might be a need for a high positional rank person like her later.

"One last thing to tell you, you should deal with the ancient martial families sooner rather than later." Mizushima Kawa Sora said, "Especially Lu Shu's antagonists, they will definitely find ways to go after you ruthlessly."

"Why? Are there still those who can't see the bigger picture?"

"They once killed Lu Shu's family. Lu Shu will never let them go. With Lu Shu so close to you, you'll probably help Lu Shu get revenge, and you likely won't spare their lives, right? So, to survive, they'll do anything, no matter the disparity. Maybe they're no threat to you, but they are still a hidden danger."

"...If I remember correctly, the ancient martial families are from your homeland. I guess your ancestors were also involved in the Lv Family's affairs."

"Maybe." Mizushima Kawa Sora's expression showed no sign of breakage. As if she doesn't care about her own family, nor does she know what she experienced in her childhood: "Besides, you also need to carefully recall who may have offended you before. They've been living in constant fear, and perhaps they will band together like locusts to target you. Wise people are all the same, fools are each unique, it's hard to understand their thoughts, it's best to handle them cleanly, without leaving the future of humanity any hidden dangers. Even Acto at the peak of civilization died at the hands of petty people, you shouldn't be too merciful to them."

Mizushima Kawa Sora's advice made Su Ming'an hesitate.

... He truly hadn't considered this issue. He had too many things to ponder, his gaze never fell upon these small characters. Her words offered him a new perspective.

No wonder she's a product of the Ancient Martial Families.

"I understand." Su Ming'an said: "... Is that including you, Mizushima Kawa Sora?"

Mizushima Kawa Sora's expression went briefly blank. Su Ming'an's killer sentence took her by surprise.

"If you feel assured." She was silent for a long time: "But please promise me, if you and your companions in the future obtain a similar 'Genesis', 'Rebirth' authority, please revive my sister. And after killing me, the progress of those points on me, in the end will still depend on you to struggle hard for them. Killing me means putting more burden on yourself."

"You're pretty ruthless, towards your family." Su Ming'an briefly evaluated.

"Those that abandon me, those that disturb my heart, why bother keeping them." This was Mizushima Kawa Sora's final sentence. After this, she stayed at the Old Divine Palace under layers of surveillance, guarded by powerful generals.

It was apparent that after Su Ming'an revealed his true aspirations, Mizushima Kawa Sora no longer doubted him. This dramatism made one laugh and cry. When Su Ming'an lied, she felt Su Ming'an was speaking his true heart, when Su Ming'an didn't lie, she also felt Su Ming'an was speaking his true heart. Perhaps it was Su Ming'an's deity-like stance in these past few days that truly convinced her, otherwise she wouldn't have proactively come to him.

Yet she still wore that golden hoop necklace.

Even though she was no longer a goddess, she still yearned for that 'favored by the world' identity. When conversing with Su Ming'an, occasionally in her calm gaze there would be a touch of envy.

... She envied it. Envious of Su Ming'an's extremely high innate identity. If she were an Old God, even if the process would be much more difficult, it wouldn't be hopeless. It's just that her possibilities were cut off from the beginning, the world didn't give her a shred of favor. She could only strive upward as a small figure for a chance to become a goddess.

Others could never empathize with Su Ming'an, nor understand how tired he was.

"... So it turns out from the start, the gods never favored me." She thought.

At the very beginning, she once said a sentence "because... the gods favor me." At that time she thought — Su Ming'an this time wasn't a very high identity, he was just a high school student from a small city named Su Wensheng, with no support at all. And she herself was the goddess of the gods, easily able to stir up stormy waves.

But later she discovered...

It's still the same.

He was still the highest identity, and she was merely a puppet of the gods — once her positional rank rose to the highest, the gods would surely use her as food to "feed" Su Ming'an, letting him inherit her positional rank. As for Su Ming'an, as long as he stayed steadily by the god's side for twenty days, there wouldn't be any pain at all to reach the highest.

From the start, she was never encouraged, never expected, never favored.

...

In the sixth year of the Heavenly Era, Su Luoluo returned.

She adjusted several of the most important dream wandering games, and returned for a short rest.

Su Ming'an stood before the temporal vortex to welcome her. She came stumbling towards him, draped in flowing purple hair. Moonlight pooled into a long river, flowing past her bloodshot eyes, past her cheeks where blue and green intermingled.

Su Ming'an had no idea what she had experienced this year, but it certainly wasn't good.

"I don't think we can wait for that kind of life." This was the first thing she said upon opening her mouth.

Her vitality was already withered, her voice devoid of joy... A plethora of negative emotions began to reshape her inversely. Sitting on the recliner watching the sunset, gardens full of sunflowers... that kind of golden life, was growing increasingly distant.

Su Ming'an worried about her mental state — he had a duty to help her adjust her mood so she can move forward further.

He asked Su Luoluo what she would like to do, as a way to relax.

Her eyes damp with tears stared at him for a while, and she said she had come of age and wanted to drink alcohol.

This stumped Su Ming'an. He hesitated for a while, then thought since he was the body of an Old God, maybe it wouldn't matter.

A reclining chair was placed on the balcony. Su Luoluo drank sip by sip, mostly beer. The golden yellow liquor was gulped down into her mouth.

"What's so good about this, it's very bitter." Su Ming'an didn't touch it.

"...It's not good, but I'm of age." She said: "Like medicine... After drinking, although there aren't colored elves dancing before my eyes, but I'll feel a lot better..."

When sending her back to her room, she was already drunk, her face flushed red.

In the dim corridor, only the shimmering blue scan lights flickered, a cold metallic atmosphere pervading the surroundings. She clumsily scratched forward a few steps, Su Ming'an carefully guided her to her room.

The room was filled with the malty scent of bottles. She was heavily intoxicated, lying on the bed waving a bottle, calling Dieying a big villain, then saying she couldn't go back, then saying Little Cloud should stay with her forever...

Su Ming'an turned back and looked at the photos pasted on the wall — him giving a speech on the podium, him bowing his head reading the list, him sleeping soundly on a bench... he remembered Lin Guang's studio. They were all painstakingly preserving everything about him.

In the center of the wall was a painting she made herself. He stood amidst a hill covered in sunflowers, holding a white cat, smiling.

"...We will wait for that kind of life." He muttered to himself.

Even if I don't get to wait for it, you all will.

Those sunflowers, sunsets, sunrises... they were all beautiful before being tarnished.

...

This kind of day never came to an end.

Not on the second day.

Not on the third day either.

Later, she grew more and more silent.

Sometimes when Su Ming'an walked side by side with her, she clutched several bottles of liquor in her arms. Even though she would show her usual smile to him, it seemed something had changed.

She frequently shuttled between various eras. With the gods watching over them, Su Ming'an didn't inquire about the specifics of her movements.

But she indeed grew ever thinner, like one afflicted with a terminal illness — this illness named "human nature."

It's the negative emotions that came rushing from different eras, the malice of Dieying in the causal web, that squeezed her into this current state.

During rest periods, she would always lock herself in her room, not knowing what she was doing. Perhaps she would cry under the covers, or perhaps she would just sit quietly, like a dried-up loaf of bread.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.