Indeed — the figure appearing at the far end of the long bridge was none other than Hong Lin.
This Hong Lin was clearly different from the one Cheng Shi knew. She still wore her animal-hide outfit, but her entire body was radiant with seven-colored luminescence. Her flowing hair shimred like a crown of prosperity and cascaded like a waterfall of life, trailing across the bridge beneath her like a gown woven from vitality itself.
From her end of the bridge, Hong Lin also turned and looked back. But when she saw it was Cheng Shi who had co, she blinked first — and then her expression gradually darkened.
She raised her spear, leveling it at Cheng Shi from afar.
"You shouldn't be seeing ."
Cheng Shi's breath caught. He said nothing.
Her aura of pressure was overwhelming — greater, even, than any of the divine beings he had encountered. But what stopped him from speaking wasn't Hong Lin's presence. It was the aning behind her words.
He truly should not be here — but he had never expected to see Big Cat here, of all places. Because the destination he had been thinking of was nowhere other than the coordinates of where [War] made its charge toward [Origin].
He knew that among the countless sliced universes, there would always be soone no longer restrained by anything who wanted to go "et" [Origin]. He had assud he'd encounter another version of himself — but instead...
"How are you here?"
He asked a question that needed no answer — not because he was playing dumb, but out of pure instinct.
Looking at Big Cat's posture, if he had arrived even slightly later, that vitality-surging figure might have already charged directly toward [Origin].
She too must have been waiting for a "fellow traveler" to arrive alongside her — she simply hadn't expected it to be Cheng Shi.
Seeing that Cheng Shi bore none of the sa battle-readiness as herself, Hong Lin smiled, relieved. That ant his world hadn't sunk to this level yet.
She turned her gaze toward the sky and said nothing.
Cheng Shi's brow creased slightly. He moved to draw closer — but before he'd even lifted his foot, Hong Lin's spear rose again, pointed directly at him.
"Stop. Don't co any closer."
"!!!"
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted. He looked at the divine light surrounding Hong Lin — a light he had never seen before — and seed to understand sothing.
"This is...!?"
"Where are you going?" Hong Lin cut him off, her voice heavy.
"The Corpse Field of Gods. I need to go there to find so... materials."
Hong Lin's brow furrowed — she obviously knew the place. "It's not safe there. Where is your companion? She... why didn't she co with you?"
Cheng Shi knew Hong Lin was asking about his world's Hong Lin — but this ti, bringing a group wasn't possible. He had slipped away from under the Fun God's gaze with [Ti]'s protection. If he'd told his companions, this venture would likely have gone far less smoothly.
Though fortunately — he wasn't without allies even outside his world.
"[Deceit]'s plan has reached its most critical stage. She's being watched. I couldn't go to her. But don't worry — I'm not going alone. Old Zhang is also out here sowhere."
When Hong Lin heard Cheng Shi ntion Zhang Jizu, she gave a quiet nod. She evidently found the Gravekeeper reliable.
"Where is he?"
"..." Cheng Shi paused and touched his nose. "I haven't found him yet. That's also why I ca here. I just didn't expect to find you instead. Hong Lin, you..."
His tone beca extraordinarily complex. "I know you have your reasons for going. I won't try to talk you out of it — and even if I tried, it wouldn't work. But I want to ask you a favor. Help
anchor to a world, and let
bring Old Zhang back. The Gravekeeper in that world has inherited [Death]'s authority — actually, they all have inherited authority there. Maybe they would have a way to help you with your current situation?"
Listening to Cheng Shi, Hong Lin laughed.
"Cheng Shi, you said you wouldn't try to talk
out of it.
If you've guessed why I have this divine power — then you should already know that divine authority is useless to . I have my mission. And it is also my path.
Enough of that. As it happens, I have a favor to ask you too. I'd been waiting for a fellow traveler — but that person I'd never t has still not co. So let's make one last deal, Fate Weaver. I'll help you find the Gravekeeper; you send
to where I need to go."
"..."
Cheng Shi didn't want to make this exchange. He knew what it ant — that the Big Cat before him would co to rest on the sa starry sky where [War] had vanished.
But he couldn't refuse either. Because Big Cat had called it a mission.
What a weight to carry in one word. What had their world gone through to lead Hong Lin here, to this mission?
Was a death march also a mission?
There wasn't much ti, and there wasn't ti to leave Cheng Shi wallowing in indecision. Perhaps he had worked through sothing — his gaze grew increasingly resolute, his expression increasingly calm.
He gave a nod. "All right. Let's begin."
Cheng Shi had never been to the world where Zhang Jizu had gone. He could only describe as clearly as possible the [Death]-version Zhang Jizu he had seen, and Old Zhang himself — using their two existences as anchor points to lock onto that world, then share the "coordinates" with Hong Lin.
The two of them looked at each other from a distance, and simultaneously began to visualize the destination where two versions of Zhang Jizu existed at once.
But several breaths later, Hong Lin's expression subtly shifted. She seed to be sensing a quiet change below the bridge. Before long, she shook her head toward Cheng Shi.
"I'm sorry. The place you anchored to... no longer exists."
"!!??"
At that mont, Cheng Shi's mind went completely blank.
"What did you say?"
Hong Lin's expression was one of reluctant sorrow. She sighed deeply. "Either the anchor has disappeared, or the world itself has. But either way — I don't think it's the result you wanted."
"That can't be right..." Cheng Shi's fists clenched instantly. "How could this be? Sothing must have gone wrong sowhere. Hong Lin — is it possible you sensed incorrectly?"
Hong Lin shook her head. "You know. In the influence of this kind of power, I cannot sense incorrectly."
"..."
Cheng Shi went silent. He had never expected this result.
But that [Death]-version Zhang Jizu had clearly said — even as that world moved toward its end, it would easily allow a mortal to live until old age. How could the destination no longer exist?
Could his disappearance from that world have triggered so kind of chain reaction? But the Fun God couldn't personally kill a clown.
Cheng Shi was stunned. He stared blankly at the ever-shifting bridge surface beneath him, watching countless shadow-figures weave through it, feeling montarily helpless.
Old Zhang...
Seeing this, Hong Lin let out a long, slow sigh.
"People must learn to accept loss. My ti is short. So is yours.
Since you haven't found him — about the Corpse Field of Gods, I'd suggest you..."
"I have to go." Cheng Shi's voice steadied once more. "Whether or not Old Zhang is there, wherever he is — this concerns the world's future, the universe's hope, and the path forward of all that is fixed. I cannot stop.
I am not so fragile. Let's begin. I'll return on ti to send you to your new battlefield."
Cheng Shi's gaze beca extraordinary in its clarity, his eyes like a bottomless abyss looking straight through the spaceti bridge. His fingertip pinched a single die, then let it fall gently onto the bridge's surface — leaving both an anchor in ti and what felt like an offering to the mory of a friend.
"No more wasting ti. Send
across."
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