Role Playing the Dark Horse Character

Chapter 116: False Bonds

Seawater surged into my chest, breath stifled, the scene before my eyes blurring.

That should’ve been the reaction after falling into water.

But the chill of the sea spread through my limbs, yet I, Li Li, felt my senses extraordinarily sharp, as if I could breathe freely even in the deep sea.

My mind was alive, perhaps from blood loss, perhaps from the battle of wits with the Prophet, Yu Xiao.

Only after Jiao Huang’s city lord, Jue Hui Shen, devoured that troublesome Prophet did I have a moment to let my mind wander, muttering inwardly: Who’s your son? Couldn’t even guess my gender and you call yourself a dad.

But maybe it was because I’d just advanced to SS-rank.

At this level, I deeply understood what Princess Wuyu meant by being able to destroy the world at any moment.

Yet it also confirmed a thought of mine.

Above SS-rank, SSS-rank could be called a god.

But fighting an SS-rank ability user as an S-rank, while deceiving that old fox, also an acting emperor, left me exhausted.

My eyelids felt heavy, craving sleep.

No, too heavy.

The deep sea was like a quiet, restful cradle, giving a sense of gradually returning to the earth’s embrace as I sank.

I understood why Jue Hui Shen liked sleeping at the sea’s bottom.

It was truly serene.

In this deep blue, I slowly closed my eyes, as if embracing the tranquility.

But noisy shouts came from the sea’s surface.

“Heige!”

“Heige!”

And a few louder cries of “Yu Xiao.”

My name is Li Li, I thought, but obediently opened my eyes.

Those black pupils swirled with red, turning fully crimson.

My form began to shift; SS-rank ability instantly healed my wounds.

My black hair lengthened, the ahoge blending into the tips.

The silver-white mask returned to my face, and the black trench coat mended itself in the deep sea.

I glanced at the black dragon, who’d been watching me since earlier, raised my hand, and pointed to the surface.

Then flashed my bold grin.

On the surface, people gathered, discussing diving to search for the two figures.

At that moment, a black shadow approached from the calm sea.

In an instant, the black dragon’s massive form broke through the sea’s barrier, sending up huge waves.

Mist shimmered in the air, glinting like a rainbow.

I stood atop the dragon’s head, a smile on my lips, letting seawater soak my clothes, then dry under the sun, my coat’s hem fluttering with the wind amid water droplets.

The fish drowned in the sea, but the bird returned to the sky.

I saw Yiming, already surfacing, and Tang and An Huyu close behind, as well as Dan and An Heyu searching for me from the air.

The sunlight was still brilliant, beautiful.

What difference was there between me and Yu Xiao?

I didn’t plan to greet them first or face Yiming’s miserable, clueless questions.

I’d given Yiming a chance; he chose not to listen.

In the salty sea breeze, I gazed at the sky before me, the clear sky, and Jiao Huang’s city in the distance, the horizon where sea met sky.

The black dragon beneath my feet carried me soaring through the air.

Yet I curled my lips, speaking slowly to the empty sky: “Time to show yourself, isn’t it?”

I narrowed my eyes, playfully listing: “What should I call you? System? Or the true Prophet, the god behind the Empire?”

SS-rank couldn’t control life and death.

Even Yu Xiao escaped death’s state like a cicada shedding its shell.

Even the An clan’s necromantic ability users didn’t believe humans could revive.

But I knew I had died, after pulling an all-nighter on a paper, dead on my dorm bed.

Only something higher, beyond SS-rank ability users, beyond the An clan’s SS-rank necromantic ability, could revive me.

Only the legendary SSS-rank.

Able to cross two worlds, crafting a real body for me, trading abilities and life for popularity points—only an SSS-rank ability user.

Reality allowed abilities; mine were just suppressed by the system.

After the system revealed its preferences, it went from cold, emotionless machinery to a player in the game.

A player in the manga world.

The Imperial Family, without abilities, made nobles obey.

From whom did Yu Xiao hear prophecies? Opposing Yu Xiao was the Imperial Family, the system.

The Imperial Family was merely the system’s agent, or rather, its puppet.

Nobles defied the Imperial Family but had to obey an SSS-rank god.

Time stopped.

The moment my words fell.

The black dragon froze mid-flight, its long whiskers still in the air.

The sea’s ripples solidified like a sculpture. Shouts and wind vanished from my ears.

Water droplets hung in the air, refracting rainbow light.

In this frozen time, a voice emerged, flooding my ears from all directions.

“First meeting.”

It was a refined male voice, almost warm.

“You may call me Libra.”

The entity behind the system finally surfaced.

In the stillness, I, the only one able to move, laughed and said: “Comparing yourself to the heavens?”

“Please don’t be agitated. We’re not enemies,” the system, Libra, said with an indescribable rhythm.

A god, yet explaining to me: “My ability, SSS-rank concept-type [Equivalent Exchange], only activates with your consent.”

"Popularity points in exchange for your revival, this deal comes with no additional conditions." It said.

Li Li still wore a smile, not indicating whether she believed it or not, only saying: "What you really want to trade with me is 'stabilizing this world'."

She had vaguely guessed the system's identity before, but she didn't know its purpose.

After hearing Princess Wuyu's words, she finally found the last piece of the puzzle.

Because this world was unstable, on the verge of destruction.

That was why the system, the deity of this manga world, had sought her out.

Every time she shuttled into the manga world, the phrase [bringing new inspiration to the manga] was actually about bringing new vitality to the manga world.

The system had this plan all along.

Libra did not deny it, maintaining an attitude of fair trade.

"You already know, this world is extremely unstable and has already headed toward destruction. After reaching SSS-rank, I observed countless future branches of this world. And among them, you are the only miracle capable of changing the doomed ending."

Its words were utterly sincere: "The essence of [Equivalent Exchange] is equivalence. I will help you become an SSS-rank ability user, and after that, I hope you can use your power to stabilize this world."

To risk everything to save a world for people she had known for less than half a year? Li Li thought the system was truly dreaming.

"How to stabilize it?" But Li Li still asked.

The system's premise of her first becoming SSS-rank made her feel there was still room for discussion.

"My ability is [Equivalent Exchange], and the concept of the world must adhere to the premise of 'equivalence.' After you become an SSS-rank ability user, I hope you can make a deal with me, exchanging yourself for the concept of 'world stabilization,'" Libra said.

Li Li let out a mocking smile.

"No need to worry, your body in this world is different from the one in the real world. I have always prevented the two worlds from intersecting, precisely to keep them separate," Libra said.

Li Li's soul, not her body, shuttled between the manga world and the real world, a fact clarified when Yue Qing had frostbitten her earlier.

It meant the two bodies in the real and manga worlds were completely separate.

Libra continued: "Currently, your popularity points are sufficient for you to revive in the real world, and after this deal is complete, you can still return to the real world to revive. By reaping the maximum popularity points in the manga world and accumulating enough, you can reconstruct a body and return to this world to reunite with your companions."

In other words, the initial deal of exchanging popularity points for revival in the real world still held.

What It wanted was for Li Li to trade her manga-world body with It.

And after the deal, It also left her a way back to the manga world if she wished to return.

"This is a deal with no losses for you," Libra said.

As It said, it seemed like a deal with all benefits and no drawbacks.

Whether Libra succeeded or not, whether the deal was made or not, Li Li's reality would remain unaffected.

This was also the confidence behind Its direct statement of demands.

Libra did not believe this deal would be refused.

But abilities stemmed from the soul, and whether a so-called body trade would harm the soul, Li Li was unsure.

Moreover, if it was so easy, why didn't It do it itself? Li Li did not trust It.

From the beginning, It had never sought her consent, assuming that after she reached SS-rank, she would naturally agree for the bonds she had formed in this world.

But It had never considered that all of Li Li's current bonds were built on falsehoods.

Everything was fake, an illusory reality.

Everything here was illusory, and her only truth was that lively, peaceful, and just real world.

She hated being arranged to do things, being forced to make choices, and she also hated this chaotic empire under Libra's control.

"A deal?" Libra asked.

Li Li lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the frozen faces of those people one by one.

Yiming, Tang, An Huyu, An Heyu, Dan...

She showed a touched expression, then displayed a hint of hesitation.

Finally, she said: "Fine."

But in her heart, she said: Get lost.

Get lost along with this garbage empire.

Author's Note:

The Dawn Arc is over, and from now on, it's the Daybreak Arc!

Bet you didn't expect it, the biggest boss of this story is the system!

Time to slay a god!

As usual, don't worry about things going wrong. Anyway, Lili is the ultimate bking.

(Actually, some little angels were always worried about problems before, so sometimes I spoiled a bit in the author's notes. Sometimes I was vague, sometimes I was nitpicky with words, but I don't recommend treating the author's notes as canon plot reference. Everything is based on the main text, and the spoilers in the notes aren't guaranteed to be entirely accurate.

But, we're at the final arc now, so you gotta believe in Lili, right?

Lili yyds!)

Also, "Dawn" has many meanings—dawn as in the time just before daybreak, or the darkness before the light. I meant the latter, feels very fitting.

Good night, can't hold on anymore.