Lu Xun stood there blankly, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Don't act so innocent, as if you were just dragged into this for no reason. Wasn't this part of your plan from the very beginning?” the purple youth sneered.
“Exiling all the gods... what an incredible thought. What a grand ideal. It sounds just like a little kid saying they want to be a peerless-tier archmage when they grow up. But the difference between you and them is that you actually did what you set out to do,” the purple youth said. “To me, this outcome is my future, but to you, it is a past that has already been achieved. How could you expect me not to have thoughts about you?”
“But now you're pretending to know nothing, mocking me, laughing at me, and trampling my dignity as a god under your feet. This is what you've always wanted to do, isn't it?”
The more Lu Xun heard, the more confused he became. He felt as if his head was about to explode.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Lu Xun raised his palm to stop him from continuing. “My head is getting more and more cluttered. You say all this was my plan, but I don't know anything.”
“Past, future... it's all a jumbled mess and it's giving me a headache. Quiet down and let me sort this out.”
Lu Xun frowned deeply. “What you're saying is... you all come from the Earth of the past, while I come from the Earth of the future?”
“Earth? Is that what you named this planet?” the purple youth asked. “A very descriptive name. It seems humans of the future are a bit smarter than those of the past.”
Hearing the purple youth admit it so directly felt like a sledgehammer to Lu Xun's head.
In other words, the world in the game and the world he lived in had always been the same world?
It was just that he was in the future, while the game world was the past!
“No, no, no! That's impossible. How could there be another civilization in Earth's past? And one that's no different from medieval Europe?” Lu Xun said, his mind nearly reaching a breaking point. “You're not trying to tell me that actual medieval Europe was like this and the history I know is fake, are you? You've got to be joking!”
The purple youth frowned. “What ‘Middle Ages’? What ‘Europe’? I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Lu Xun blinked in surprise.
The purple youth continued, “I don't know anything about the history of your era. Don't talk to me about things that, as far as I'm concerned, never happened.”
Lu Xun took a sharp, deep breath. “Era?”
“The end of one civilization leading to the start of another. Civilization is like a flame that is repeatedly extinguished and then reignited. That is an Era,” the purple youth explained.
“Under the influence of the wars between the gods, humanity has faced total extinction three times. But it never takes long—maybe a few thousand years, maybe a few million—and just like how the first monkey suddenly learned to use fire, humans always somehow appear again.”
“History is like that—repetitive, dry, and boring. Time is meaningless to me, but some things still need to be recorded. So, we defined the duration of one human civilization as one Era. Currently, this is the fourth Era.” At this point, the purple youth glanced at Lu Xun. “From the look on your face, you don't even know which Era your own time belongs to, do you?”
Lu Xun didn't care which Era it was. He only cared about one thing.
An Era represented the entire lifespan of a human civilization!
In Grinya's time, human civilization had already been wiped out three times, yet Lu Xun had never heard of such a history, nor had he known that such brilliant and grand civilizations existed before.
In other words... he and Grinya did not belong to the same Era. And that meant the only conclusion for a civilization seemed to be its demise.
There was clearly still such a long road ahead, so why could civilization never escape the fate of destruction? A path like that shouldn't have an end!
Yes, civilization shouldn't just end like that. It should continue to exist forever.
Lu Xun could not accept that his civilization would eventually meet the same end as Grinya's. He wanted to change it.
He remembered words echoing in his ears:
“Gods are the source of corruption.”
“All gods must be driven out of the world.”
He seemed to understand why he had to do it.
The ones destroying civilizations were these so-called gods. Perhaps their wars weren't directed at humans, but their very existence was a mistake for humanity and for this world!
Since it was a mistake, it had to be cleared away.
“So you really are just a bunch of viruses,” Lu Xun said.
The purple youth froze for a moment, suddenly snapping back to attention as if on guard.
He felt astonishment, fear, and anger, which finally dissolved into a pathetic laugh.
“So it really was all part of your plan after all, Xun Shen!” he said, his words practically ground out through gritted teeth.
“What?” Lu Xun found it inexplicable. He hadn't done anything.
Although his heart was suddenly filled with passion, his exhausted physical body was not enough to support his fired-up soul.
But the purple youth was absolutely certain that Lu Xun was up to something. The problem was, Lu Xun didn't even realize what was happening.
Until... he looked up and saw a bright moon hanging above the abyss.
“The moon... why is there a moon here?” Lu Xun asked in surprise.
“You deliberately feigned weakness to stall for time, waiting for the chance to seal me. And now you think this is your chance, don't you?” the purple youth said. “That moon is the cage you prepared for me, isn't it? Just like in the future, I'll be imprisoned inside by you... forever!”
“Uh... although I didn't actually do anything, I think the possibility you're describing sounds pretty good,” Lu Xun said.
“Pretty good?” the purple youth sneered, then roared, “But you're overthinking it!”
He waved his hand in fury, and a wave of sinister purple magic light surged toward Lu Xun. Lu Xun's eyes widened, and he raised his arms to block, but he was still sent flying.
The power of Chaos could cause matter at the atomic level to fall into irregular motion. Lu Xun immediately felt a searing pain in both arms, and he could even see the surface of his skin writhing in a sickening way.
Damn it, how can this guy suddenly use divine power?
Lu Xun's expression turned incredibly grim.
The purple youth grinned maliciously. “You were stalling for time, but unfortunately, so was I.”
“The abyss may be the place where I am sealed, but it is also my territory. This is my domain. Even the God of Order wouldn't dare barge in here. What makes you think you can back me into a corner within the abyss?”
“Has no other god ever told you? Never challenge a master within its own domain!”
“Is that a thing?” Lu Xun truly hadn't heard of it.
“I'll see you in the next Era!” The purple youth shed all emotion. Before the moonlight could envelop him, he took the initiative to mobilize all the power of the abyss, which rose like an overwhelming tidal wave, threatening to swallow Lu Xun whole.
Lu Xun's heart trembled.
His Faith Energy was nearly depleted. He didn't have enough divine power to rival this colossal evil force. Beneath this vast power, even as a god, Lu Xun couldn't help but feel insignificant.
“Um...” Lu Xun's eyes suddenly widened.
“What, want to beg for mercy?” The purple youth hummed triumphantly. “It's too late, Xun Shen. But don't worry, my power won't kill you. However, the sensation... it will be so painful you won't forget it for the rest of your life.”
“No, I was just reminding you... there's someone behind you.”
Someone?
The purple youth's body stiffened.
A human had inexplicably appeared in the abyss? And he hadn't noticed at all?
It sounded unbelievable, yet the purple youth didn't doubt it for a second.
Because a hand had already lightly touched the back of his neck!
“Stop bullying the child. By a god's standards of age, he's still just a minor,” the person said.
“Who are you...” The purple youth's eyes went wide.
He couldn't feel a single trace of divine power from this person, yet he knew this individual was extremely dangerous!
The mysterious figure, completely shrouded in black robes, spoke:
“My surname is Lu.”
“My name is Xun.”
“You can call me Lu Xun, or the Great Commander, or even Zhou Shuren.”
“But of course, my favorite title is still...”
“Xun Shen!”
Rate on N.U.
