Observing the golden saber icon, Gu Qing Shan was full of thoughts.
——–in the Age of Old, to create a perfect closed-loop, the War God UI once left me and returned to the last moment of my previous life, bringing the past ‘me’ to the day of my high school prom.
Although the War God UI left, it left me a copy of [War God Skills], which was also this icon.
This icon had gone through the trial of the Earth world, as well as the battle against the Divine race and Desolate race, so the golden saber on the icon had grown a bit longer.
[Have you thought it through? Which option would you like to choose?] the figure asked.
Gu Qing Shan replied: “Compared to these options, I wish to know who you are a lot more”
The figure stood across from him, answering in a whisper: [This question isn’t a part of the technique]
Gu Qing Shan tried asking: “Are you a ‘me’ from a certain timeline?”
[Not at all] the figure replied.
“Then, are you a ‘me’ from a parallel world?” Gu Qing Shan asked again.
The figure replied: [That is also not the case——- the crab wasn’t wrong, parallel worlds are only a means of camouflage, but it also wasn’t completely correct. Real living beings and all things were scattered throughout all the parallel worlds—– and this one is the strongest ‘true world’ outside of the Inner Plane]
Hearing that Gu Qing Shan was shocked.
He quickly spoke: “Then they’re similar to fragments of the Samsara, after being broken, its countless pieces were scattered into the parallel worlds like a sea of stars”
The Wraith realm orchestrated the destruction of a parallel world to take advantage of Fate Corrosion and attack the Eternal Abyss.
——their Samsara fragment might have originated from a parallel world!
[You realized very quickly. Now, you must make your choice] the figure pointed at the three floating options.
The scenery around him also started to tremble slightly.
[This technique cannot hold for too long, I’m merely a temporary existence, unable to answer too many of your questions. You will have to make your choice within 10 minutes, or lose this opportunity when the technique fades] the figure urged him.
Gu Qing Shan nodded.
There isn’t really a need to hesitate.
The first two options might sound impressive, but when it comes to strength, as long as one was willing to put in the work, they would eventually be able to obtain the same abilities in one way or another.
The ability to foresee the future is also the most unreliable of all, using it too much would lead to obscuring my judgement.
Gu Qing Shan had sworn to always remember how the Earth Creator died.
It didn’t foresee its death in the future, so it became careless and died in the past.
Something that already happened ended up becoming its fate in the future.
Furthermore, Lady Fusi had also once said that she was able to see various versions of my future, but once I made a decision not to see them, even more, possible futures opened up.
Gu Qing Shan muttered:
“The future is an illusion, to foresee the future is a paradox in and of itself”
[Paradox?] the figure doubtfully asked.
Gu Qing Shan slowly explained: “The ‘Cause’ done by living beings of today will result in the ‘Effect’ of their tomorrow. But living beings are prone to change, and many do not know how they would actually act when they stand at the crossroad of fate”
[Have you seen such things before?] the figure asked.
Gu Qing Shan appeared nostalgic.
The scene of quadrillions of dead people coming to the human realm to help his battle once again appeared in front of his eyes.
“…I once had many comrades, all of them were the worst of the worst, villains who had committed countless crimes and were doomed to suffer in hell. But at a pivotal moment, they made a resolute decision that even I couldn’t predict they would”
“I was grateful to them, and from then on understood that the future lies only in each individual’s hand. Once the mind is made up, even a determined future can be easily changed”
The figure asked: [So you are unwilling to choose this option]
“Yes” Gu Qing Shan continued: “As for Dimensional Journey, this ability can certainly be used at a crucial moment to escape, but escaping too much would cause a person to become a coward”
“So I’ll choose—-”
[Wait a moment!] the figure suddenly called out.
Gu Qing Shan was surprised.
The figure raised its hand and continuously tapped the void of space.
[I didn’t expect for you to already see things so clearly, then I will have to give you something else more considerable]
Both the [Eye of Truth], and [Dimensional Journey] icons on the War God UI suddenly began to fuse together, turning into a completely new icon.
This icon depicted a long river of glittering light.
[This is a completely new ability created from fusing the two previous abilities: Return of a fallen star] the figure said.
“This ability is?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
[At the moment of death, you will return to a certain moment in the past, redoing everything anew] the figure whispered.
[——-It can only be used a total of 7 times, but if you’re careful enough, you would be able to peacefully survive for a very long time] the figure added.
Gu Qing Shan stayed silent for a while.
“This is a ward of protection from death, and you’re just giving it to me?” he lightly asked.
——to be able to fuse two War God icons, turning it into a nearly foolproof anti-death ability like [Return of a fallen star], they must understand the War God UI very well.
The figure didn’t deny that.
It simply pointed at the void of space—-
Two icons were hovering side by side.
One depicting a river of glittering light, Return of a fallen star.
The other depicted a golden saber, the Compass.
The figure slowly spoke: [I must remind you, having ‘Return of a fallen star’ is the same as having 7 chances of redoing your life, foreseeing everything that would occur in the long years to pass——— as though it had already happened once, as long as you do not change anything, so would they, this is much more secured compared to peeking into the future]
[This ability will let you triumph against all hardship, allow you to enjoy countless years of pleasure and enjoy all the best things in reality, heading to the peak of all living beings, becoming a true bigshot in the space vortex——- or if you do not like such a life, you could also become a hermit, focusing on living your own life to the best of your abilities]
After that, the figure pointed to the golden saber.
Gu Qing Shan’s gaze also fell on the golden saber.
The figure continued:
[The ‘Compass’ would be considerably different. If you wish to know who you are, you will begin your trek on an exceedingly long journey——- you will need to exert your all just to fight because that is the only way you will find a chance to survive. Every day, the very first thing you have to do is continue forward on the road of hardship, spending all your efforts and wisdom. You will also trip, again and again, sometimes even giving up things that are precious to you. Your enemies would only increase, becoming increasingly harder to deal with, you will be beaten, bruised, and scarred all over. With the slightest bit of carelessness, you could even lose your life]
[Perhaps one day, you will eventually succeed and reach the end]
[But even then, the only payoff you’ll receive is an answer]
[An answer of who you are]
The figure lowered its hand, casually telling him: [I’ve told you clearly of the pros and cons of both options. There isn’t much time left, please make your final choice]
Gu Qing Shan raised his hand and pointed at the golden saber.
[For what reason?] the figure asked.
“I don’t know how others think, but I’ve always found that life has many shackles, like happiness, like peace” Gu Qing Shan replied.
[Happiness? Peace? You think of them as shackles?] the figure repeated.
“That’s right. To live in this reality is a very real thing. You can easily feel a lot of suffering and helplessness all around you, especially during this age of Apocalypse. Everyone has had enough of this suffering and torture, many of them wishing to experience peace and happiness”
Saying that, Gu Qing Shan looked at his younger self.
A lone figure standing by the window, mourning his dead mother and father while having no clue of what would become of his future.
The figure stared at him, silently waiting for his next words.
Gu Qing Shan sighed, then continued: “I also wish to enjoy peace and happiness, but only suffering is a true sword. It constantly reminds me that I can’t leave a life without directions; I can’t just sit in my bed and enjoy myself and I can’t remain stagnant by relying on some unique abilities”
His voice became firm: “One cannot be restrained by a moment of happiness. They need to keep their inner rage and stand up, continuing to run forward, to fight, to use their strength and beliefs to protect the things precious to them. Because of this, I have to continue to become stronger, to not remain still without moving forward, even if that means I’ll be soaked in blood, or even pay for it with my own life. I have no choice but to continue, because only then would I truly feel like I’m alive”
The figure stayed silent for a while.
[Sometimes, having a stable life to live isn’t a mistake] the figure muttered.
“It naturally isn’t, I also support the combination of working hard and relaxing——- and I really love to cook” Gu Qing Shan replied, “But what’s important is… in my heart, I need to always remind myself that this isn’t everything; that I still have things that I truly want to accomplish; that those things are the true meaning of my life, and I have to fight for them”
Gu Qing Shan didn’t say anything else.
A gentle sigh resounded in the room.
The figure shook its head, then put its hand on the golden saber icon without hesitating any longer.
[There is no turning back, are you sure you want to choose ‘Compass’] the figure asked.
“I’m sure” Gu Qing Shan replied.
The figure lightly tapped the golden saber icon.
The golden light enveloped the entire room.
A completely new icon appeared on the War God UI!
Lines of glowing text quickly appeared:
[The new function, ‘Compass’ is currently being created, please wait for 10 seconds]
[10]
[9]
[8]
While the UI counted down, the figure walked next to Gu Qing Shan, silently observing him.
She suddenly reached out her hand and stroked Gu Qing Shan’s face.
The faint, intangible voice gradually became real——
“My child, I originally wanted to keep a peaceful place for you to live, but as you’ve become a true grown man, I respect your decision”
Gu Qing Shan’s expression instantly changed as he looked back towards the figure.
A familiar face that only existed in his memories slowly became real.
“The situation at the time was too dangerous. I had no choice but to send you away, you were too young, you wouldn’t have survived…”
Tears flowed.
Her eyes were full of longing and unwillingness to part.
A golden light began to grow brighter as it swallowed up everything around.
Her figure slowly disappeared.
The sound of War God UI then resounded:
[‘Compass’ has been activated]
[From this moment on, you will be able to seek out the truth]
After declaring that, the UI returned to silence.
Within the boundless golden light, Gu Qing Shan blankly stood in the middle of the small narrow room, completely stunned.
Behind him, his younger self continued to silently stare out the window towards the metallic city.
Only after a long while could a small mutter be heard:
“Mother…”