Chapter 417 - 414·TE·Heavenly Dream (Part 1)

Chapter 417: Chapter 414·TE·Heavenly Dream (Part 1)"..." Su Ming’an was somewhat surprised.

This was still the first person he had met who had turned the tables on him.

Previously, those people basically listened quietly until he finished speaking, and then discussed the matter cordially with him. Only Su Rin was completely uncooperative and even learned to counter-question.

However, he thought that what Su Rin said was mostly nonsense; he completely disagreed with the other’s overinterpretation.

In such a critical moment, the barrage didn’t urge him to run away but seemed rather pleased.

These were a bunch of mischief-lovers.

... Are there still people who think they’re just data?

... Data.

Su Ming’an shifted his gaze, confronting Su Rin’s indifferent eyes.

"What I mean is..." he tried to repeat.

But Su Rin interrupted him again.

"In this place, I have lived for more than sixty years, day after day, year after year, watching everything in this land... Everything about all the people of Pulaya, every happening, has passed before my eyes, I’ve seen too much." He looked at Su Ming’an: "Whereas you, you’re definitely not over twenty years old... Are you trying to convince me with your experience of deceiving others... or perhaps, with the nearly terrifying power of emotional influence that you demonstrated in your speech on the wall of the Southern District... to strategize against me?"

Su Ming’an realized that this Su Rin really knew everything and spoke so plainly.

... Should one say, as expected of the immortal deity of Yun Shang City?

After accumulating over sixty years, the hatred and life that Su Rin bore had grown more and more substantial, reaching an incredibly powerful state.

"What strategy?" Su Ming’an said, "I’ve always treated all of you as equals."

"Clang!"

Behind him, the soldiers continued their reckless assaults, and he reached out to initiate a spatial vibration, blocking the most dangerous part of the attack.

The faint sound of blades entering flesh rose, and he frowned slightly.

He moved forward another step, the twin blades protruding through his left arm were torn open by him.

Blood almost soaked him.

The Su Rin, who was standing on the highest step and coming closer and closer, faced his bloodstained longsword without the slightest intention of recoiling.

"Huh—"

The cold wind lifted the short coat on Su Rin’s body, and the white mist slowly dispersed into the air.

"However, you say that to every npc," Su Rin said, "including that pitiful knight... But obviously, even in the last moment before his death, he never realized that your approach was self-serving. If he hadn’t been the ’Brave’ said to withstand disasters, you wouldn’t have gone near him. In those first few days, it was for the title of ’Knight of Light’ and his A-level strength that you befriended him."

"Your argument is superficial," Su Ming’an stood his ground, "Even the identity of ’Knight of Light’ is an indelible part of him; these aspects can’t be considered in isolation. I approached him simply because he is Sherrod, composed of concepts like ’Brave,’ ’Knight of Light,’ ’A-level strength,’ and these form the complex and independent person he is — just as I am talking to you now because you are Su Rin the deity of Yun Shang City, the great man who chose to imprison himself here for the residents of Pulaya, and not someone else. Because what my eyes see, is your complete self."

"Sophistry." Su Rin frowned.

"It’s just a way of speaking, a direct expression of my opinion,"

Su Ming’an thrust his sword backward, killing a soldier attempting a sneak attack.

He took a step forward, and blood dripped down his trouser leg, spreading into a crimson carpet beneath.

By now, he had already stepped onto the church’s entrance steps.

"Do you want to leave this place?" Su Ming’an actively sought a way to break the deadlock, "You too have the right to pursue your own life."

He was well aware that since Su Rin couldn’t be killed, to pass this level — he must either persuade the other party or make them choose to leave voluntarily.

He had to trigger a change in the current situation.

"A blood-stained evil-doer like me doesn’t deserve that," Su Rin actually began to mock himself.

Su Ming’an frowned slightly.

Undoubtedly, from a logical standpoint, Su Rin’s actions were indeed despicable; he was an "evil person" who chose to deprive others of their lives so that more could live.

But he was also a great man.

He didn’t have to ascend to Yun Shang City. He could have stayed in Pulaya like Princess Tulip, enjoying his long life and spending his days with his loved one.

Instead, he volunteered to become the captain of the Cloud Vessel and accompanied them upward.

Only because, when faced with the despairing end of total annihilation,

—he could absorb their deaths, become a deity, establish a barrier, and thus prolong the survival of the remaining people.

Although people’s lives should be their own to control, and not be dominated by so-called deities,

Su Rin didn’t need to whitewash himself.

He was a gray character who chose to sacrifice a part of the population, including himself, for the sake of the group.

The unforgivable sin and darkness gave rise to his "greatness," leading to an "evil person" who actively controlled the battlefield and arranged the fates of others’ deaths.

There are things that people do, knowing full well they go against the grain, knowing they might be crushed to pieces, yet they plunge forward regardless.

They don’t need sympathy, pity, or praise and recognition.

They possess unwavering beliefs and principles, which to others may seem villainous like an antagonist BOSS, but the protagonist’s typical fiery recklessness doesn’t solve problems in such situations.

Because at that time, Su Rin couldn’t just stand by and watch everyone die.

"If everyone were trapped on an iceberg, and a ship was bearing down on you, about to shatter the iceberg and drown everyone, while you were the only person standing on safe ground," said Su Ming’an, "you would have only two choices: watch everyone die or save the majority of them. Obviously, you chose the latter—and thus you were not wrong. You even saved those who were supposed to die—they should have all perished there. So, at any time afterward, it is justifiable for you to utilize their lives."

"And," he slowed his voice, continuing in an almost tender tone, "you’re a kind person, Su Rin. If it weren’t for your kindness, there was no need for you to create the Yun Shang letters, giving those residents who have lost their loved ones something to look forward to."

"Talk human with humans, and ghost with ghosts," Su Rin said, "When you communicated with the Knight of Light earlier, you thought that the battle between justice and interest shouldn’t be manipulated by anyone. But in front of me, you’ve changed your tune."

Su Ming’an seldom felt so speechless.

He had fought his way here, trying hard to communicate with the other party, attempting to leverage the other’s dreams and experiences to persuade them to leave.

...But the man before him was utterly impervious.

With a mere "Do you think I’m an NPC you’re trying to clear a level with?" he waved off Su Ming’an’s efforts.

Moreover, after watching his strategy for the past ten days, Su Rin had become immune to him. No matter how Su Ming’an changed his rhetoric now, Su Rin could find evidence of him holding completely opposing views before.

Although Su Rin’s words were indeed cutting to the heart of the matter.

He really was talking human with humans...

He suddenly heard Su Rin sigh.

"Apart from what you’ve said, the fact is, I can’t leave," Su Rin eased his tone, "The moment I merged with the energy of this city and became a deity, I was forever imprisoned here—there’s no way for me to leave."

"Is that so?" Su Ming’an approached again, "That’s a pity."

After hearing Su Rin’s words, he had received a more definite piece of news.

In fact, he already had a solution in mind.

Before coming here, he had guessed that the deity might be Su Rin. If he didn’t have a definitive solution, he wouldn’t have rashly come to this city.

It was just that his caution had always led him to habitually engage in probing conversations with the other party, a kind of testing that wouldn’t cease until he confirmed his means were truly effective.

As he pondered, he suddenly heard the other’s voice become much more solemn.

"Su Ming’an, you have been bound by a setting known as ’mission,’" Su Rin suddenly said. "You do not fight for your own will and thoughts, only for data and the so-called tasks. You even betray your true principles, telling me these meaningless ’strategy’ words.

You have truly become, in the full sense, an NPC with the ’Otherworld traveler’ setting... you have lost the capacity to act and think due to self-will."

Su Ming’an was somewhat surprised.

...What? Was Su Rin trying to reverse-brainwash him?

A gust of wind blew by, and he suddenly felt a chill throughout his body.

Perhaps it was due to excessive blood loss, he could clearly sense the cold air flowing stagnantly by the side of his face, and he heard his own heartbeat growing louder.

Perhaps it was the supposed "sixth sense."

He sensed danger.

He suddenly took a step forward, brandishing his long sword at Su Rin.

"I’m giving you this opportunity, kill me," said Su Rin, unflinchingly:

"Otherworld traveler NPC, you can make your soul independent—kill me, become me, and you can like I, become an independent ’person’."

His gaze was exceedingly still.

The gleaming cold light of the sword’s blade shone in front of Su Rin’s eyes, and in his dark golden eyes, there was a tranquil composure as if he had already arranged his own death.

Su Rin had never feared death.

He was such a person who never took his own life seriously.

To him, the will named ’Su Rin’ was far more important than the life of ’Su Rin’ himself.

Just like the continuity of a tribe, the wildfire of civilization, as long as there was one of him, the deaths of many of him didn’t matter.

His ideals and will had almost reached a point where they could be described as ’divinity’.

—This was the divinity he possessed within the confines of a mere human body.

Unafraid of life and death, transforming his individual body and life into the divinity of an entire civilization and the legacy of his people.

It sustained the salvational will that he bore across the vast lands.

He spread his arms, waiting for the other to kill him.

The cold wind carrying snowflakes blew through his black hair. He was still wearing the clothes he first donned as captain of the Cloud Vessel, his appearance still youthful.

Those waiting for him were dead, and the girl who secretly loved him had already grown gray-haired and old.

Yet he, forever young, was confined here for eternity, facing a potentially everlasting and silent future.

Dying now, for him, might be a kind of release.

Su Rin calmly watched as Su Ming’an’s sword thrust forward, aiming at his chest, and then saw the blade stop instantly, just an inch away from his heart.

The next moment, a pulsating flame approached.

—No, it wasn’t a flame.

It was a rose, its color so vivid it was akin to blazing fire, a red rose.

The petals of the rose looked tender, as if freshly plucked from its stem, yet they contained a formidable strength that was irresistibly binding to him.

A strength named ’rules’ instantly bound the powerful him.

"Otherworld traveler," Su Rin’s tone remained indifferent: "You are indeed very clever."

The bright red rose was thrust into Su Ming’an’s hand and then pressed hard against Su Rin’s chest.

Nuoliya’s red rose took effect.

"Goodbye——"

Su Ming’an gazed into the pair of eyes, identical to his own, and saw in their depths a reflection of himself, bathed in blood.

"——Eternal God of Pulaya." he said.

The next moment, a white light burst forth from Su Rin’s body.

It was the white light that signaled teleportation.

Su Ming’an was suddenly pushed backward by this white light, while the soldiers behind him disappeared at the same instant.

Under the influence of Nuoliya’s red rose, Su Rin became a "Player."

He broke free from the shackles named "immortality" and managed to successfully leave the city.

The Mobius Ring is endless, without front or back, without beginning or end.

Such a strip of paper has only one side; it seems invincible. Those who walk upon it can never escape it. They cannot distinguish where it begins or ends, as if they are trapped in an incessant loop.

——Unless hands from a higher dimension tear this strip of paper apart.

This "hand" from another world ripped through the Mobius Ring.

Su Ming’an had always understood that risk came with opportunity, and that a game instance could not give players an insurmountable storyline.

He had thought about why no one else had acquired the identity of "Su Rin" besides him.

He eliminated many possibilities, but from the perspective of game mechanics, he believed the most likely reason was—

That the prop capable of breaking the cycle of "Su Rin" and allowing a player to complete the game perfectly—was possessed by him alone.

So, this identity could only be taken by him.

If he had used that item before this world began, even he would not have received the identity of "Su Rin."

Because the game instance is that fair.

It would never block the path of a regular player to a perfect pass, as it would lose its long-standing sense of fairness.

And that key item that "only he possessed," he had pondered over it carefully.

——It could only be .

Because only he had successfully achieved the ending of Daylight Floating City TE line.

Therefore, he should be grateful that after the beginning of the Seventh World, he never used the red rose and saved it for the most critical moment.

If at this time, Su Ming’an couldn’t produce the red rose, the only thing waiting for him would be a despairing end. Whether he killed Su Rin or not, he would be trapped here.

The red rose was, in fact, almost used.

But Sherrod, who was originally very eager for the player’s world... broke free from the double shackles of an NPC and that of an "NPC desiring the player’s world."

He gave up that red rose, leaping over the "trap" set by the instance.

So, in some sense,

——the Knight of Light who chose self-sacrifice and personally handed back that red rose, at this moment, indirectly saved the world that Su Ming’an was in.

The perfect completion was not severed.

That young knight named Sherrod——

was a Knight of Light in the truest sense.