Glorious God Throne

“… Yao Country and the Chenxing Empire royal family reached a cooperation agreement, jointly pressuring the Parliament, but the Parliament withstood the pressure and rejected Yao Country’s request for cross-border arrest?”

On the second floor of an apartment in the old district of Yuanyang City, Yao Country, in a faint golden light, a card slowly disappeared at the fingertips. Bai Yi carelessly turned to look west, as if seeing the spreading chaos on another land across the ocean.

“Hmm, they made up quite a convincing story. … If ‘K’ was just ‘K’, they might have believed the Parliament’s lies…. If there was only an ordinary high school student named Bai Yi behind this persona, it would be difficult to verify the truth.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Adams’s existence allowed Bai Yi to be, if not fully aware, at least privy to what was happening within the Special Case Investigation Team regarding K. The entire team held nothing back from that little ghost.

How could Bai Yi not know the truth?

It was clearly Yao Country that actively refused cooperation with the Chenxing Empire royal family, which is why the cross-border arrest request wasn’t approved. After Joseph’s explanation, it became a story of the Parliament protecting K despite the pressure! This was nothing more than getting something for nothing!

The difference in how the Special Case Investigation Team and the Parliament acted to win people’s hearts had almost determined their fate and future.

“Hmm…” Bai Yi belatedly realized that Adams had already become an external member of the Special Case Investigation Team. If he had agreed to Joseph’s suggestion at the time and made K a subordinate of the Chenxing Empire Parliament, he would have placed double agents in two official organizations… How interesting that would have been!

As a game player strictly adhering to persona roleplay, Bai Yi sighed with great regret.

In this case, the Parliament should be grateful for “K’s” refusal.

“… Another day of being moved by my own kindness.”

Pretending to be emotional, Bai Yi wiped away non-existent tears of being touched.

Temporarily withdrawing his attention from the Chenxing Empire, Bai Yi closed his eyes and sank into his mind.

His consciousness kept falling, from the high sky to the ground, then through the ground into the abyss, until he sank to the other side of this world, a space composed of shadows and blanks.

Blurry shadows twisted in this space, constantly filling in the blanks.

Through these blurry shadows, he could vaguely sense distant figures scattered across Blue Star. Each of them seemed to have a thread of shadow cast into this space, establishing a connection.

“The legend degree is rising fast! It seems the real Shadow Council is about to materialize.”

“Well done, ding-dong, that’s my boy!”

After praising himself, Bai Yi waved his hand to dispel the “Puppet Master” card that appeared in his palm, temporarily exiting the “Puppet Master” state.

He was like a hardworking farmer diligently tending to his crops, checking on the growth of each cabbage he had planted.

“Now, let me see how the game’s AFK progress is going…”

The next second, Bai Yi clicked on the nightmare game instance.

Waking up from the state of suffocation in the deep sea, Bai Yi was greeted by familiar system prompts.

[AFK mode has been turned off.]

[Nightmare fragment instance time has been simulated to three years later.]

He opened the history record.

[AFK mode activated, character fate simulation in progress.]

[Under the player’s unconventional nurturing, your character Joey successfully claimed the top titles in painting, music, and culinary arts as a talentless individual, and developed the following traits in the process: “Socially Adept”, “Instant Friendship”, “Genius of Humanity”, “Depressing Art Master”, “Art Above All”, “Cold”, “Obsessive”, “Resilient”.]

[The player has pioneered a new field of depressing art, and your character Joey will continue down this newly paved path, striving to develop and promote it.]

[In the first month of being left to his own devices, your character Joey participated in the World Dance Awards, adapting the Dance of the Seven Saints based on the ritual of creation, and choreographed the ugliest yet most heart-touching dance in history, adhering to the concept of depressing art.]

[Six judges suffered from nausea, dizziness, and various negative states due to mental shock, nearly ascending to heaven on the spot, yet their infected minds were miraculously purified, their souls floating as if ascending to heaven. As the only dance in the history of the Art Awards that could make people ascend to heaven in different ways physically and mentally, your character Joey won the top title as its creator.]

[In the second month of being left alone, your character Joey participated in the World Screenwriting Awards. The entry was a script adapted from “The Last Supper”, with the Painting Spirit playing its original role. Due to the script’s stronger stage presence and better mental impact than the original painting, your character Joey once again won the top title.]

[In the third month of being left alone, your character Joey participated in the World Sculpture Awards. The entry “Revelation Beyond Dimensions” was based on the indistinct figure sitting at the head of the table in “The Last Supper”.]

[That is, your character Joey created the sculpture “Revelation Beyond Dimensions” based on the player himself, who completely changed the fate of others, and entered it in the World Sculpture Awards.]

[This was a work created by his true skill level as a talentless person, and should not have possessed any spirituality. However, the special prototype that doesn’t exist in the nightmare fragment instance gave this sculpture work unexpected spirituality. It seemed to be able to listen to and spread the voices of all things, forcing everyone who approached it to receive contamination from this sculpture. It was evaluated as a dark art piece on par with or even higher than “The Sabbath”.]

[Your character Joey once again claimed a top title.]

[In the fourth month of being left alone, your character Joey began creating novels, poems, and essays centered on depressing art, and submitted them to various authoritative publications.]

…

[Through your character Joey’s unremitting efforts, depressing art quickly rose to prominence in a short time, forming a new school. Countless artists followed in the footsteps of your character Joey, considering themselves his disciples and promoting depressing art.]

[Your character Joey gained +1 fan in the painting field.]

[Your character Joey gained +1 fan in the music field.]

[Your character Joey gained +1 fan in the culinary field.]

[Your character Joey gained +1 fan in the sculpture field.]

…

[Your character Joey gained +1 fanatic worshipper.]

[Your character Joey gained +1 devoted follower.]

[Your character Joey gained +1 depressing art practitioner.]

…

[Your character Joey has obtained top titles in seven fields: painting, music, culinary arts, dance, screenwriting, sculpture, and writing, and has created a new field of depressing art, becoming the current nightmare fragment instance’s veritable all-round artist and undisputed master of depressing art.]

As the history record finished refreshing, Bai Yi read through it all, dumbfounded. “Ah, this…”

The top titles in other projects were understandable, after all, Joey, who could flexibly use depressing art, was more than capable of claiming several top titles.

However, what was that sculpture work about? Could the character in the game actually sense the player’s existence, realize they were being controlled by the player, and acknowledge that their fate had been changed? Was this really just a game anymore?

Actually, Adam’s existence had already hinted at everything, and this new game instance was just being direct about it…

[That’s right, the NPCs in the nightmare game are not just NPCs, and the nightmare game is not just a game. For most people, it’s a complete nightmare!]

“… This tone doesn’t sound like the system I’m familiar with, it’s more like a pre-set message waiting to come out and explain when I have doubts. Ah, this terrible tone…” Bai Yi revealed a look of seeing through everything, gently clapping his hands, “It must be something I said myself!”

Initially suspecting that the system might have its own will, after discovering that the system might come from the future and was a cheat created by himself, he realized his previous guess was wrong.

The system should just be a pure tool. Perhaps sometimes its reactions make it seem as if it has human intelligence and consciousness, but that’s only because the system’s logic settings come from himself—of course Bai Yi knows how to deal with himself!

“However, being so clearly arranged by someone, with all reactions within their expectations, still feels uncomfortable.”

—Even if that person is himself.

Sulkily puffing his cheeks, just as Bai Yi thought everything was over and was about to proceed with the usual clearance settlement, the system narration suddenly appeared, with lines of text floating into view.

[You have become the honorary chairman of the Federal Artists Association.]

[You have obtained the highest authority of the Federal Artists Association.]

[According to your authority, you are eligible to know the highest secrets of the Federation. Do you choose to uncover the hidden world view of this instance?]

“To be honest, this system setting is too rigid. Is there anyone who would choose ‘no’?” Bai Yi complained, then suddenly raised his hand and shouted loudly, “I choose no!”

The system paused for a second, then text appeared.

[Curiosity is human nature. With the truth right before your eyes, not uncovering it is no different from being a slacker. You are determined to uncover the hidden world view of this instance.]

“Is it okay to mock yourself like this? The slackers protest…”

[You fully utilize your authority and obtain the highest secrets investigated by countless Federation artists over the years—]

“So, the choice between yes and no was indeed meaningless, right…”

Amidst Bai Yi’s muttering, the system’s prompts continued to appear, disregarding him.

[All things that have life must die, and worlds are no exception. Balance is the highest law in the infinite universe of the void. It dictates that every world will have a day when it reaches its end and enters its final chapter.]

[At every moment, as new worlds are born in the void, old worlds die, keeping the void’s energy in a state of eternal cycle and conservation. This is the supreme law of balance.]

[The death of a world is called “Returning to the Void”.]

[But the forms of returning to the void differ. Different worlds will step into death in different forms. It could be a sudden natural disaster, it could be man-made calamities within the world, or it could be an irresistible catastrophe from outside the world.]

[This world has stepped into the third type of returning to the void.]

[—Miu Yin opened the door to the void.]

[As a struggling painter who viewed painting as life, no, as more important than life, his overly ordinary talent couldn’t support his dream of becoming a world-renowned great painter. Instead, it repeatedly gave him setbacks and despair, making him gradually sink into desperation after countless failures.]

[Until he recognized his own mediocrity, completely gave up hope in his talent, and no longer placed hope in effort, but began to seek all illusory and unknown support.]

[He first sank into hallucinogenic drugs, then participated in illegal gatherings, praying to non-existent, void revelations.]

[He believed the absurd words of evil rituals promising divine favor and artistic talent in exchange. In the hallucinations brought by drugs, he raised a knife against his wife and daughter.]

[His wife’s skin, his daughter’s blood, the emotions conveyed by extreme love and hate, the inspiration burst forth from drug-induced euphoria, all collided in the depths of his twisted soul. He saw the truth of the world, saw that destruction is eternal, and the unique “The Sabbath” was born.]

[When he sobered up from the chaos, he cried and laughed.]

[He created an unprecedented painting that made him famous worldwide, but also lost everything.]

[At this moment, Miu Yin’s mental will broke through the limits of ordinary people under stimulation. Incomparable spirituality allowed him to touch existences outside the world, opening the door to the void.]

[The pollution of the future seeped into this world.]

[Miu Yin committed suicide, and “The Sabbath”, carrying all his emotions and mental will, became the source of pollution in this world. The hidden vengeful spirit in the painting frantically cursed each owner of the artwork, and the opened door to the void spread the memes of madness and pollution throughout the world.]

[Artists rose up, becoming extraordinary beings.]

[From then on, this world welcomed the peak of artistic prosperity, but also gradually moved towards the countdown to returning to the void.]

[The top artists of the Artists Association, with their superhuman spirituality, captured information about returning to the void from the void, attempting to change fate and save this dying world. They wanted to cultivate more artists to delay the spread of madness and pollution, while also nurturing an artist surpassing all others to create a work that would completely cure the source of pollution.]

[—But they didn’t know that returning to the void is an inevitable result for every world, just like the metabolism inside the human body where aging cells must wither. It’s not something that can be changed by one person’s power. Unless aging cells are rejuvenated, and a dying world undergoes a fundamental transformation and ascension.]

[—The difficulty of this is equivalent to a mortal who should follow the rules of birth, aging, sickness, and death defying fate to embark on the path of immortality, escaping the cycle of life and death.]

[And this world obviously doesn’t have such an opportunity.]

“Returning to the void? The source of pollution outside the world? Escaping birth, aging, sickness, and death, and ascending anew?”

Looking at the fading text before his eyes, Bai Yi recited it with interest.

“It seems you know a lot more than I do, system.” He smiled and said, “Are these things deliberately revealed to the current me? Is this why the future me sent you here? Because the real world also has a day of returning to the void, and I need to hurry?”

At this point, he snapped his fingers as if suddenly realizing something.

“Ah, I remember now. You once said there are only three ways to resolve the endless noise of all things—completing one’s own ascension, helping everyone in the world ascend, and clearing the nightmare game to become an almighty being…”

As he pondered, Bai Yi’s smile grew brighter. “Oh my, it seems I’ve been tricked~ If it’s just about resolving the noise pollution of Rhythm of All Things, as things stand now, the Web of Thoughts can already do part of it.”

“Those three paths should be for fighting against returning to the void, right? And they might not even succeed, it’s just a big possibility.”

Although he didn’t get an answer from the system, Bai Yi was sure his thoughts were correct.

After all, he understood himself well, regardless of which version.

“Damn, I really was tricked…”

Realizing the truth, Bai Yi felt resentful.

“Even if it’s my future self…”

“Deceiving yourself, are you even human?”

System: …

In the frozen instance world, only Bai Yi was talking to himself, his face alternating between frustration, displeasure, contemplation, and excitement, truly looking quite unwell. If the system were a self-aware intelligent life, it would probably be scared enough to run away.

Fortunately, the system doesn’t have the emotion of fear.

After venting his resentment and displeasure, Bai Yi finally brought his derailed train of thought back to the main topic.

“By the way, what was the main topic again…”

“Oh, it’s that the real world might also face returning to the void.”

Bai Yi, having regained his focus, fell into deep thought.

“Natural disaster? Man-made calamity? Invasion from outside the world? Which one could it be…”

He felt an inexplicable excitement in his heart.

“But is it really okay to give me such a cliché script of saving the world?”

“Pinning hopes on me to clear the game before the world returns to the void, do I look like a righteous savior? Or does my future self have some misunderstanding about myself…”

To be honest, living in a garbage dump wasn’t pleasant; it was more of a torment.

If the world were to end now, letting him sink into eternal silence along with the garbage dump, it didn’t seem like an unacceptable future.

At least, those incessant whispers, those endless murmurs flooding into his mind, would all disappear completely. He might finally be able to get a good sleep, right?

Thinking about it this way, why did he feel a bit of anticipation?

At this moment, Bai Yi almost shouted. “Human power has its limits, I won’t be human anymore… No, no, that’s not right. I won’t save the world! System, exit!”

No, no, no, wait, wait, wait. Stepping into destruction along with the garbage dump, in other words, wouldn’t that mean dying buried in a stinking pile of trash? Isn’t that way of dying too miserable to bear?

This terrifying thought suddenly struck him, sweeping away that bit of anticipation in Bai Yi’s heart.

It seems he can only obediently play his savior game…

“… After all, only I truly understand myself.”

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