On the other side.
Cheng Shi stared at the Long Jing before him and froze.
He had never imagined that President Gong — the man who always projected an image of rrint — could look this haggard.
Haggard was exactly the word.
Never mind the face etched with ravines of weathering — what struck him most was...
"Your eyes..." Cheng Shi said, face full of shock, peering into those clouded irises. "You can't see?"
Long Jing smiled and gave a light nod.
That's right — he was blind. Which was why he'd said "let
guess" when he turned, instead of simply looking.
Of course, losing his vision wasn't as debilitating as it might seem for a player at his level. After all, An Mingyu had been blind from the very start of the ga, and she'd survived just fine — even claiming the number one spot on the Ladder of Ascent.
So Long Jing didn't consider it a big deal. He was simply curious — he wanted to see how this world's boss differed from his own.
Regrettably, he could sense the boundless vitality radiating from the man before him, but he would never again see that face — one that could rewind from world-weariness to innocence with a smile.
Cheng Shi keenly detected the shift in his emotions. His expression turned grave, and without wasting a single second, he cut straight to the point.
"Who fell?"
Compared to wordless stares, Long Jing clearly preferred this kind of brisk efficiency. His own expression sharpened as he answered seriously:
"Ti..."
"WHO?!"
Cheng Shi's pupils contracted violently. A chill shot through his entire body. Fine cold sweat instantly soaked through the back of his shirt. He stared at Long Jing in disbelief, brow tightening, voice rigid.
"That joke is not funny, Long Jing.
I can tell you clearly know what's happening here, which ans your world has also mastered the thod of 'finding gaps in Ti and traversing tilines.'
But if your Ti has fallen, how did you arrive in front of ?
I don't believe a one-sided summons from Ti could enable us to et in these Existence gaps. I've always assud it takes both worlds' Ti acting simultaneously to bring us together.
Because I know — right now, another
is having the exact sa exchange with another you. Am I wrong?"
Long Jing laughed — a casual, easy laugh.
"Of course. Without Ti's assistance, we couldn't communicate at all. But what I said is also true.
Ti fell. In a god war witnessed by all the divine, a showdown of faith against Fate — He held every advantage, yet at the final mont, He chose to spare Fate and self-destruct.
To keep the world's evolution proceeding neutrally, the Benefactor — well, the Fun God — along with several other deities, used a narrow edge in Convention voting rights to divide Ti's authority equally among all of Ti's followers.
The state you see
in isn't because I've truly weathered great upheaval. It's the consequence of mortals bearing Ti's power in human bodies.
In other words, this isn't my weariness. It's His."
"..."
Cheng Shi never in his wildest dreams expected this kind of answer. He gaped at Long Jing, wanting to say sothing but unable to form the words.
Ti had actually fallen...
Did He have the ti to fall?
'No... what's the point of thinking about this now? Since that world's Ti followers have jointly shouldered Ti's burden, does it an that they — or rather, the entire world — already know what this so-called "world" truly is?'
Wait. At this thought, Cheng Shi blinked and looked at Long Jing, face softening with emotion. "You also fused Ti."
Long Jing smiled. "Isn't that what you told
to do, boss? Oh wait — should I call you Lord Yu Xi instead?"
"..."
The weight packed into those words "Lord Yu Xi" was so imnse that Cheng Shi fell silent the mont he heard them.
But Long Jing didn't stop there. As if he knew exactly what Cheng Shi wanted to hear, he wiped the smile from his face and spoke with gravity.
"I don't know how far you've gotten on your side, boss. But my boss told
this world lost its hope a long ti ago."
'?'
'Why does that sound so familiar?'
Cheng Shi paused, thinking — 'The "boss" he's talking about — that wouldn't happen to be a different person from who I'm thinking, would it?'
'Could I — no, could he really say sothing like that?'
But he didn't interrupt Long Jing over such chaotic speculation. Instead, he listened as the other continued:
"Even he — bearing Ti's authority as proxy — can't see any hope of survival. But he still told :
The answer lies in Ti.
He said it's only a guess. But he instructed us to relay this guess to every 'you' we encounter. Save whoever we can. We've lost Ti, so we'll never crack its secrets ourselves. But maybe you can find inspiration in it.
As for the rest... it's just the boring mories of people fighting to stay alive. Every world has its own scars. We're no exception.
But you know, I've t many versions of the boss. You... well, you look like the one with the fewest scars.
Keep going, boss. He always tells
that only being alive yourself counts as truly being alive. But I don't agree.
Since worlds are similar... then isn't another
still ?
So boss — live well.
And if you can, take another
along. Live well."
As he finished, the Ti energy beneath their feet surged to a boil. The exchange was nearing its end.
Cheng Shi wasn't Deceit — he couldn't use divine power to control the duration of the conversation. Realizing he was about to be returned to his own world, the deeply furrowed Cheng Shi inexplicably asked one more question:
"Why don't you leave?"
"Hm?"
"I know so worlds have found a way out."
"Ha — yes, they have. But if I go, what happens to the other ?" Long Jing laughed aloud. "I said it — he isn't him, he's . I can't cannibalize another 's survival space just because I want to live a little longer.
The boss talks a big ga about how taking care of yourself cos first, but... hasn't he also never gone to replace 'any of you'?
You're all the sa person. No matter how many I've t, that's never changed."
The words fell, and both figures vanished from the enormous Universal Clock platform.
But the platform didn't dissipate. Through the Existence gaps, it gazed in the direction where the other Cheng Shi and Long Jing had returned. After a long silence, it released a sigh.
When Long Jing ca back to the present, he heard the movent behind him and watched Lord Shi Zhen pace back around to face him. His lips trembled for a mont, and a struggle crossed his face. After a long internal debate, he decided not to relay everything he'd heard from the "deduction Cheng Shi."
He simply looked up at Lord Shi Zhen with a complex expression, then bowed his head.
"Thank you, my lord, for the guidance."
Lord Shi Zhen looked equally absent-minded.
"It's not
you should thank. It's him."
As for which "him" — the answer in each of their hearts was probably not the sa.
...
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