The worm lay in the darkness.
In the crevices of ti, it sleeps painfully.
No one can wake it up.
It dreams great dreams.
Softly, a white figure appeared before it.
It continued sleeping, unaware of the visitor’s presence.
Oh, worm, a worm slumbering for the welfare of all humankind.
Who, who is here to disturb you at this mont?
Do they not know how impolite it is to wake a sleeping soul?
Oh, good worm, it remains in its painful, silent slumber.
The white figure approached, carrying a black sword at its waist.
He slowly walked closer, scrutinizing the worm’s old and decrepit face.
"You stopped ti?" The White Knight touched the worm’s body, gently asking.
The worm awoke, unable to see but feeling the cold transmitted through the hand on its body.
"Chen Ke...?" the worm softly murmured.
"Is that his na?" The White Knight whispered.
"Who are you?" The worm sensed the presence of soone else.
"I am His ssenger," replied the White Knight.
The worm’s expression grew even more solemn, having foreseen its fate and that of humankind.
"Oh...that mont has indeed co...your presence here...proves they’ve already..." the worm uttered in pain.
The White Knight did not respond. He flicked open his right palm, revealing a black stone that floated above it.
The stone’s surface cracked with red veins, emitting a dark crimson glow, then slowly transforming into a black spear.
"I am the beginning, I am the end."
The White Knight grasped the spear and plunged it into the worm’s side.
"Ugh...ahh..." The worm groaned in pain, writhing its plump body. Yellow fluid gushed from the wound, spreading all over the ground.
"Return the stolen ti."
The White Knight twisted the spear’s shaft, tearing the wound larger on the worm’s side.
"Ahh...ugh...they, they will..." the worm groaned.
"All will disappear," the White Knight snorted coldly.
He withdrew the spear, and a torrent of yellow mixed with red ooze sprayed out, and the worm’s fat body collapsed, shriveling into a pile of skin.
The worm closed its eyes, letting out a long sigh, its face relaxing significantly.
Bearing the burden of ti’s debt, ending in death.
The White Knight felt the space beginning to destabilize. Darkness receded, and the room’s ceiling and the sky outside alternated overhead, like disjointed film reels.
anwhile, outside the Foundation building, people walking on the streets noticed a hint of anomaly, and soon, inexplicable events occurred.
A large crowd suddenly appeared on the street out of nowhere, colliding with each other, while on the highways and overpasses, severe pileups and collisions ensued, causing chaos across the district.
In the sky, flying airplanes suddenly received route alerts as dozens of other passenger planes squeezed onto the sa flight path.
The year 2137, split into two temporal spaces, began to converge.
This was rely the first step.
Inside the Foundation, without Rom bearing the ti debt, the factions collided with each other, and a battle ensued.
The entire building manifested at the street corner, erupting with explosions from inside.
During the factional chaos within the building, the White Knight strolled through them as if transparent.
His inorganic armor was still stained with the worm’s blood and mucus.
When the White Knight exited the building’s gates, sunlight fell on his face. The street was in turmoil, burning crashed vehicles, and panicked people fled aimlessly.
The White Knight looked up at the sky, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
...
Chen Ke sat on a bench by the street, holding a milkshake, while Loki conversed with the pigeons in the square.
In an instant, he sensed sothing...
This feeling was off.
He stood up, everything around him seed so normal. It was noon, warm sunlight pierced through thick clouds onto the streets, people ca and went, traffic flowed, and Opportunity City had never been so bustling.
What was wrong...?
Chen Ke disliked this feeling, sothing forced him to ignore so kind of change...
He felt uneasy, looking around, noticing unfamiliar buildings on the street side. A couple walked by laughing, and Chen Ke grabbed the woman’s arm.
"Hey? What are you doing?" The man beside her showed anger, trying to push Chen Ke away.
Chen Ke let go of the woman, grasping the man’s wrist, staring into his eyes for a long ti.
The man, slightly intimidated by Chen Ke’s gaze, thought he had encountered gang mbers and wanted to break free.
"What year is it now?" Chen Ke suddenly asked.
"...?" The man faced with a bewildered expression.
"Quick, tell !" Chen Ke urged.
"2...2...wait a mont..." The man wanted to speak instinctively but stamred.
The woman beside him was equally puzzled, wanting to answer Chen Ke, but as she tried to say the number, it felt wrong.
"Ti...ti has a problem..." Chen Ke muttered.
He looked up at the sky, suddenly realizing this uneasiness and confusion was because the world had changed.
Not only had ti changed, but many things were balanced and altered, like the vanished 2006, replaced by another 2006.
Chen Ke, as one beyond ti, was excluded from the balance.
The red sky returned to normal, even Ning Yuheng’s Blood Clan and the god created by the company were harmonized...
But there was still sothing different...
What year is it now?
Chen Ke pulled at several passersby asking them one by one. Their reactions mirrored the couple’s, initially finding the question ridiculous, but when trying to answer it, they faced cognitive barriers and couldn’t speak.
Loki sensed the world’s change long ago. She looked at Chen Ke, wanting to know his thoughts.
"We need to go sowhere..." Chen Ke said.
A hamr appeared in his right hand. A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky, and the two disappeared instantly.
...
Foundation building, the lowest level.
Chen Ke found Rom’s corpse, the air filled with stench, the worm bearing the ti debt shriveled into a pile of rotten skin, lying motionless.
The decayed yellow fluid on the floor had not dried, congealing into a layer of soft mud.
He squatted down, using the Blasphemous Dagger to pick up the rotten skin, inspecting where the fatal wound was found, discovering a large gaping hole.
Rom had been stabbed.
"What is this?" Loki asked.
"It’s the lock on the cage," Chen Ke replied.
"The lock is broken." Loki looked at Chen Ke.
"Soon...the cage will be gone..." Chen Ke said.
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