Chapter 612
“Some still kill for power, but there are also organizations that maintain balance and order. Ordinary people fight against life, while the extraordinary battle against madness. This is the world we live in.”
The future that Xia'er spoke of plunged the three of them into deep thought.
A world without Ascenders and "Seeds"... This was something they had never envisioned.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Lei Mei Dai Si broke the silence, her voice steady. “All 'Seeds' must be contained, and Ascenders no longer need to pursue ascension.”
“Since I’ll die before reaching that future, there’s no need for me to keep doing anything,” Hekate shook her head, continuing, “If what you say is true, being locked away is worse than just letting me die.”
Only Sa Da Na sat there, feeling a bit lost.
She was the one who found it hardest to accept this future. The thought of going mad and injuring Lei Mei Dai Si in a “prison”... If she were to continue toward this future, Sa Da Na would certainly choose to die instead.
“You’ve misunderstood something,” Lei Mei Dai Si said, looking at Hekate and the silent Sa Da Na, shaking her head.
“Why is Hekate fighting tooth and nail to protect the 'Seed'? Why do I persist in living in a prison of nothingness? What does Sa Da Na want to achieve by becoming a deity?”
“The meaning lies in what ‘faith’ is during this process. Without true ‘faith,’ the ‘result’ is just a hollow phrase.”
After finishing her thoughts, Lei Mei Dai Si turned to Xia'er and said, “Perhaps only when the disaster sweeping through the Tower arrives will we truly realize what we desire.”
“I can help you without breaking the rules of the Tower,” Hekate said, shaking her head. “I’m indifferent to death.”
“I...” Sa Da Na hugged her arms tightly, lowering her head. “I don’t want this future to happen... I don’t want to go mad...”
“Don’t worry,” Xia'er said, looking at Sa Da Na. “I’m the last person who wants you to go mad. I came here because you were chasing me.”
“Our interests align,” Lei Mei Dai Si extended her hand again, looking at Xia'er. “Now, can we talk openly?”
Xia'er slowly stood up, reached out, and grasped Lei Mei Dai Si’s hand, saying, “Sure.”
Lei Mei Dai Si was from the Annihilation School, hoping for a future without Ascenders;
Hekate wouldn’t deliberately change the outcome of death, accepting it as it comes;
Sa Da Na wanted to change her fate of going mad.
Their interests aligned with Xia'er’s, and she chose to believe in this collaboration.
Holding Xia'er’s hand, Lei Mei Dai Si said, “Come on, tell us what you discovered in the library...”
...
In the shroud of darkness, Xia'er recounted her secret conversation with Lei Mei Dai Si and her findings in the library.
“All the powerful religious states couldn’t survive? And they even wiped out the Tower?” After pondering for a moment, Lei Mei Dai Si spoke, “It’s hard to imagine which force could achieve that.”
“The Tower likely still has some people left,” Xia'er replied. “There has always been a hidden path to the future. A small number of people know of its existence, but it only exists in whispers and unofficial histories.”
“Perhaps we can leave behind some specific information. If it’s the Tower, you should be able to contact them if you know this information,” Hekate suggested. “But the code needs to be redesigned.”
“You’re planning to leave behind an organization, aren’t you?” Lei Mei Dai Si seemed to have an epiphany, looking directly at Xia'er. “An organization?”
Xia'er looked at Lei Mei Dai Si, sensing she knew what she was getting at.
“Since you know which organizations will persist in the future and which 'Seed' fragments can still have an impact...” Lei Mei Dai Si continued, “Why not establish these organizations in advance?”
“Just like that ‘Savior Goddess Church’ you mentioned, using the residual power of the ‘Cocoon of Light’ to create ‘Avengers’ and ‘Ascetics’... We can start working on that right now.”
“And Sa Da Na is from the Dark School. If I propose to use a fragment for an experiment with her, it will definitely pass. The ideology of the ‘Savior Goddess Church’ is also quite benevolent...”
“In that case, you could directly obtain an existing, legitimate organization in the future, ensuring its survival... and then bury another organization as a hidden line...”
“As long as Sa Da Na doesn’t become an Ascender, she won’t...”
The more Lei Mei Dai Si spoke, the more tightly Xia'er’s brows furrowed.
“What’s wrong?” Lei Mei Dai Si asked, noticing Xia'er’s frown. “Is there something off?”
Buzz—
“No... it’s nothing...”
Xia'er shook her head, a wave of dizziness washing over her.
What Lei Mei Dai Si was suggesting wasn’t wrong; it was... too right...
If Xia'er didn’t know the future, she might have made the same decision.
To find a religion that could definitely endure, establish it in advance, and let it develop on its own.
If she returned to reality, the Dark Worm could hand over the 'Seed' fragment to Xia'er, and she could rightfully possess a church, becoming their Mother Goddess.
But...
This was far too similar to the future Xia'er currently faced.
The same Savior Goddess Church, the same management by “Sa Da Na,” the same title of Mother Goddess, and even beings from the Otherworld believed she resembled Sa Da Na...
The current Xia'er felt as if she were repeating something she had already done.
The most crucial point was...
If Xia'er didn’t want a massive upheaval in the future, she truly had to let all of this happen again.
If the agent of the Savior Goddess Church wasn’t Sa Da Na, but someone else, the most likely change would be the outcome of the Holy War.
This was a millennium-long Holy War; minor shifts in battles might not change much, but a change in victors would undoubtedly trigger a terrifying butterfly effect.
“It’s fine...” Xia'er shook her head, trying to ease the dizziness. “This plan isn’t bad...”
Their conversation lasted nearly the entire day. By evening, after scheduling their next meeting, Xia'er was sent back to an empty accommodation room, right next to the rooms of Lei Mei Dai Si and Sa Da Na.
Sitting in front of the crystal floor-to-ceiling window, Xia'er gazed at the world outside, still bright as day, and gently placed her hand over her chest.
This feeling, akin to a fateful cycle, left Xia'er with a sense of discomfort, much like facing “fated death.”
This sensation of walking into a dead end brought a faint sense of suffocation.
Xia'er slowly raised her hands, staring at her palms.
All along, she had been breaking various cycles of fate, but this time, during this journey into the past, the feeling that everything in the future was already designed left her with a hint of despair.
No.
There was a point of breakthrough.
The one who would have brought the “Cocoon of Light” back to the Tower in the original timeline, the one who tried to snatch the “Exceeding Gear” from Hekate... the one who could very well have facilitated the birth of the “Otherworld”...
What was their purpose? Why do all of this?
As long as she could find them, all problems would be resolved...
To do that, Xia'er needed to gain power.
At least the power of an Ascender.
A silver light flashed in Xia'er’s hand, and the silver rune stone appeared.
In the days that followed, Xia'er seemed to blend into the Tower Academy, becoming part of it.
Aside from occasionally holding small meetings with Lei Mei Dai Si and the others to discuss various matters, Xia'er also had Hekate and Lei Mei Dai Si help her keep an eye out for information regarding “Witches” and the “Abyss.”
Finally, one day, a year later, Hekate brought news about the Abyss and the Witches—right in the camp of wanderers on the outskirts of the Tower.
The moment she received the news, Xia'er immediately picked up the rune stone, called for Sa Le Si, and headed straight for the wanderer camp on the outskirts of the Tower.
**Chapter 313: The Resolve of Hei Ni (7022 words)**
“Sorry, Lei Mei Dai Si has been in the lab improving the potion these past few days. She said she had a new idea. I’ll take you all with me.”
Under the Tower, outside the city of the Tower, a rectangular “vehicle” with four wheels stopped in front of Xia'er.
Table of Contents
