Ning Busan looked at the flask in his hand, then at Leo beside him, and asked in all sincerity, “Are you joking?”
He didn't feel any signs of being poisoned, nor was he suffering from any negative effects.
“Just kidding, it’s not actually poison at all!” Leo propped up his chin, a bright smile on his face. “It only makes you fall into a sweet dream you’ll never want to wake up from.”
“Sleep now, and when you wake up...”
Ning Busan didn't hear the second half of the sentence, because his consciousness had already begun to blur.
Within his sea of consciousness.
Ning Busan slowly sank to the bottom of the lake.
Meanwhile, the divinity of the Silver-Crowned God emerged from the lake bed.
The tables had turned.
If Ning Busan wanted to regain control of this body, it wouldn't be easy.
The divinity opened its eyes, gazing at Leo. “The Silver-Crowned God did not choose the wrong person. You have converged all possibilities into the only path.”
Leo dropped his playful demeanor that he usually showed before Ning Busan, instantly becoming serious.
To be precise, he became exceptionally cold.
The divinity said calmly, “The God of Light let me out because he wants me to absorb the final godhead fragment, allowing my rationality to awaken.”
“You appear to be cooperating with the God of Light, but in truth, you want to watch my divinity and rationality wear each other down, ending in mutual destruction so that Ning Busan can ultimately take over this body.”
“Aren't you afraid that I might discard the final godhead fragment?”
Leo replied coldly, “Divinity pursues perfection. You cannot tolerate your own incompleteness.”
The divinity asked, “After drinking the Wine of Divine Fall, do you really believe Ning Busan can wake up on his own willpower?”
A faint, knowing smile played on Leo's lips. “Take a guess.”
The divinity's gaze was devoid of joy or sorrow, yet it naturally carried a lofty aura, as if looking down from on high:
“I possess all the memories of the Silver-Crowned God. Once humanity and rationality are stripped away, I will be even more perfect than he was.”
“Give me a break!” Leo scoffed. “Though I've only met that person once, I must say, you're a far cry from him!”
The divinity's tone remained completely level. “Divinity is immortal, rationality is majestic, yet humanity alone is turbid and chaotic. I did not expect you to ultimately choose humanity.”
Leo said, “You seem to have forgotten that I, too, am human.”
The divinity corrected the loophole in his words: “You once were.”
“I still am,” Leo shrugged. “Besides, humanity isn't as terrible as you make it out to be.”
“Humanity is greedy.”
“But they know restraint.”
“Humanity is cowardly.”
“But they dare to sacrifice themselves for their beliefs.”
“Humanity is short-sighted.”
“But they occasionally look up at the starry sky.”
“Humanity is selfish.”
“But they will also give up everything for the ones they love.”
“Humanity is complex.”
“And it is precisely because of that complexity that they are so vibrant.”
...
For every statement the divinity made, Leo countered with a sharp retort.
In the end, the divinity fell silent.
Leo chuckled. “Divinity pursues perfection, rationality pursues correctness, while humanity pursues warmth.”
“To be honest, you're the one I have the least faith in. The Silver-Crowned God could be humanity, he could be rationality, but he can never be just you.”
The divinity took a step forward. “Destiny should have no bias.”
“Want to kill me?” Facing the divinity's blatant murderous intent, Leo showed no fear. Instead, the corners of his mouth curled up. “Can you actually do it?”
He stood on the edge of the cliff, his hair whipping wildly in the wind.
Then, leaning backward, he plummeted into the boundless sea of clouds.
The divinity did not give chase.
Because he knew that, as he was now, he could not grasp destiny.
Unless he surpassed the former Silver-Crowned God.
The divinity pinched the final card between two fingers.
The card dissolved into a streak of golden light, merging into his body.
Of his two eyes, one transcended eternity, while the other was absolutely cold and logical—neither possessed any warmth.
This was a tug-of-war between divinity and rationality.
It had nothing to do with humanity.
...
A City University.
Ning Busan rubbed his eyes, staring blankly at the dark computer screen in front of him.
He seemed to have had a dream.
He couldn't remember what had happened in the dream at all, but upon waking, a profound sense of loss washed over him.
Oh, right. He had stayed up all night playing games yesterday and had finally beaten 《Xeno Invasion》.
Ning Busan turned on the computer and clicked the game icon, but instead of loading the game, a blank white screen appeared.
On the white screen, a line of small text read: The operator has run off with the money, the servers are unmaintained, and this game has been permanently taken down.
Ning Busan's hand trembled as he held the mouse.
So... all the money he had spent was gone down the drain?
Garbage game!
Dammit!
Just as Ning Busan's chest tightened so much he could barely breathe, the dormitory door was kicked open with a loud bang.
“Your daddy is back!”
The moment he heard that obnoxious voice, Ning Busan knew exactly who it was.
He lived in a four-man dorm. Aside from himself, there were three other roommates: Fang Lei, Yang Hao, and Qi Yu.
The young man who kicked the door was tall and thin, carrying takeout in both hands. He hooked the door shut with his foot as he entered, calling out boisterously, “Dinner is served, boys!”
This was their dorm leader, Fang Lei.
Yang Hao cupped his hands. “My thanks to Brother Lei for bringing the food!”
Seeing Ning Busan's dejected look, Fang Lei couldn't help but ask, “Old Ning, why do you look like you've lost your soul?”
Ning Busan pouted. “Don't even get me started! The game I've been playing for a year was suddenly taken down. The reason was actually because the operator ran off.”
The only consolation was that he had already beaten the game.
Otherwise, he would have hunted down that runaway operator himself.
“That's insane,” Fang Lei said, patting Ning Busan on the shoulder. “Cheer up. Tomorrow is a holiday, and our club is having a dinner gathering. There will be plenty of pretty freshmen girls there.”
“I'll take you along and set you up with someone!”
Yang Hao and Qi Yu turned to Fang Lei in unison and said simultaneously, “Brother Lei, I'm single too!”
Fang Lei laughed. “What's the rush? I didn't say I wouldn't take you guys!”
Yang Hao and Qi Yu grinned. “Thank you, Godfather!”
Ning Busan smiled and said, “You guys go ahead. I plan to head home for a bit.”
...
The next day.
Ning Busan dragged his suitcase, returning home covered in the dust of travel.
When his mother saw him, she was taken aback for a moment before quickly taking his suitcase. “Son, why are you back so suddenly?”
Ning Busan felt a lump in his throat. “Mom...”
He had only been away for a little over a month, so why did this feel like a poignant reunion after years of separation?
Cooking in the kitchen, his father poked his head out. “Why didn't you give us a heads-up? What do you want to eat? I'll whip up a couple more dishes!”
Ning Busan said, “It's just adding another set of chopsticks, don't trouble yourself.”
“Bro?!” A girl stepped out of her room. She had an elegant and refined face, though she currently sported a messy bedhead.
She blinked, asking in sheer bewilderment, “What are you doing home?”
Ning Busan laughed in exasperation. “If you can come home for the holidays, why can't I?”
“Alright, stop bickering the moment you see each other!” His mother said, her eyes crinkling with warmth as she spoke to the siblings. “Clean up, we're ready to eat!”
Around the dining table, the atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
Ning Busi clamored, “Bro, Mom and I are going shopping tomorrow. Can you come with us?”
Naturally, she needed free labor to carry their bags!
Without a second thought, Ning Busan nodded. “Sure.”
“Bro, you're acting weird!” Ning Busi keenly sensed something was off. “You used to hate going out with us. Why are you suddenly so agreeable?”
His mother asked with concern, “Did something happen at school?”
His father said nothing, but simply set down his chopsticks and silently transferred a substantial sum of money to Ning Busan's bank account.
Ning Busan smiled helplessly. “What could have happened? I just missed you guys, so I came back to visit.”
His mother let out a sigh of relief. “As long as you're fine! Eat up, eat up!”
To anyone looking in, this was a picture-perfect, warm family of four.
However, if one were to zoom out, they would find that beyond the paths of Ning Busan's movements, the world was completely gray.
This was a dream.
Even more so, it was an illusionary realm Ning Busan had constructed for himself.
Those gray, dim areas were slowly being lit up, piece by piece.
The deeper Ning Busan sank into it, the more real this illusion would become.
Until he was completely lost inside, never to wake up again.
Rate on N.U.
