Welcome to Rewind World Game

The galaxy rolls in the sky, galaxies like silver threads descending slowly toward the earth.

People look at the horizon anxiously.

"Only 1220m left until the Holy City is fully airborne. Deity, we should continue forward." Yi Zhongyu's voice came through the left earphone.

"What kind of joke is this? Deity lost four companions, and we still have to move forward?" Xia Jiawen's voice came through the right earphone.

"Compared to the weight of civilization, five lives are not heavy. If it were me who died, I would say the same."

"Deity, please turn back! We have urgently calculated the current situation. You can rewind five or six times!"

Su Ming'an knew he couldn't persuade Xiao Ying.

Distant water can't save a close fire, Dieying said this. He can even permeate the United Group, Xiao Ying's mother is under his infiltration, crushing her only requires disconnecting the oxygen tube, and it's no different from crushing an ant.

Su Ming'an empathized, if others faced such a predicament— a mother's life is grasped by a high-dimensional being, and all it takes is for the Old Divine Palace to explode, sacrificing some strangers, to save the mother. Many people would find it hard to let their mother die.

Xiao Ying's actions were understandable, but Su Ming'an couldn't forgive.

Similarly, there was no possibility for any peace between them.

——Thus, there's only one thing left he can do.

Glowing blue light shines, the Ring of Time emits radiance, like a shimmering blue carpet flying towards the sky. Snow-white tentacles cluster behind him, each one of these Perfect Pass Pattern Marks shines.

He lifted his right hand, focusing calmly——

As if a deity controlling time.

In the blink of an eye—— dawn and dusk alternate, stars spin and shift, the roaring darkness is dispelled, the flames on the ground extinguish, ruins and shattered white jade float up.

Sweat drips down Su Ming'an's forehead, the Ring of Time on his hand feels as heavy as a thousand pounds, like a force is in a tug-of-war with him. His soul desperately moves the needle, trying to rewind time, yet a powerful resistance pushes against his consciousness.

…This is… the sensation of actively rewinding time.

It's like the world's laws of time are resisting this rewinding. Flowers, grass, trees, earth, rivers, and mountains are all resisting the reverse flow, desperately blocking his rewind, causing his soul to feel a tearing pain, his mind buzzing and his senses in utter chaos.

Click, click, click.

In the past, with just a blink, the rewind would be complete, but now he must tear it apart with his own hands.

…I can't move it.

Upon reaching a certain time threshold, further rewind increases resistance geometrically, surpassing his consciousness limits, nearly tearing his soul apart…

He is forced to let go, his head racked with intense pain, as if hundreds of hammers violently strike in his mind.

When consciousness returns, he sees the Old Divine Palace erupting into fierce sparks, golden-red light like dazzling fireworks.

"Boom——!!"

Heat waves hit his face, a fragment of bone cuts his cheek amidst the fierce wind. His breath halts.

…Too late.

The moment of rewind… is exactly when the Holy City explodes.

"——!!"

His heart bursts with unbearable blunt pain.

Dieying floats in the air, leisurely watching the smoke rise over the earth: "…Seems we're late, Su Ming'an."

Su Ming'an stares at the blazing Old Divine Palace, silent.

"Even if you rewind, you're merely human, with over four thousand combat power… it's simply not enough." Dieying's phantom floats to his side: "But it's alright, as long as you agree to ascend to high dimensions with me, I can spare everyone. Yuanyuan and the others can be safe, I can abandon The World of Old Days. I've said before, what matters to me is only you."

Now, it seems there's no other choice left.

Su Ming'an lands on the ground, giving no reply to Dieying.

From afar, Chao Yan is rushing from the command center. She supports herself with a cane, her somewhat murky eyes glance at the Old Divine Palace for a second, then at Su Ming'an: "You rewound once? From the explosion back?"

"Yes, do you have a solution?" Su Ming'an asks.

Chao Yan sighs, she seems to see a thin, helpless shadow. She's been his teacher for so long, but for this plea, she truly has no power.

"…No." She shakes her head.

His expression briefly cracks: "Maybe there is, Chao Yan, please think again."

Chao Yan widens her eyes.

This is the first time… she sees him seek help like a child.

Fiery explosions burst behind him, red-gold light sways across his face, his expression remains a large blank space, seemingly unsure of what to do for a moment. This expression is rare on his face, like a child forgetting to bring homework.

People feel bewildered—— the Number One Player finally shows a helpless side. Before this, everyone thought he was invincible.

Chao Yan lowers her eyes and sighs:

"Alright, there is indeed a way."

"You rewind again, at the moment of explosion, I can instantly grant my Life Authority to one person, so one of them can be saved. As for who, among five people, you choose."

…What.

Su Ming'an's pupils contract, his hearing becomes blurred because of this sentence, something intense explodes in his mind.

The words keep echoing in his mind… Chao Yan's sentence.

——Among five people, you choose.

Yuanyuan, Lv Shu, Noel, Lu Meng, Li Yuxuan… choose one.

His vision becomes distorted.

In the distance, leading to the blue sky boundary, there are five tracks. Crimson Manzusha Flowers spread, blooming countless blood colors.

The heat waves blow, his pupils cover golden-red hues. His companions stand on distant fields, among endless Sunflowers, looking back at him, waving to him.

He steps forward. They stand at different forks, waiting for him.

Lv Shu holds the Black Blade, silently exposing a very unsightly smile to him.

Yuanyuan lowers her head, hands pressing the ticking game console, as the game over voice sounds, she lifts her head, somewhat bewilderedly looking at him.

Noel holds the brim of his hat, releases a white bird, turns his head, smiling at him.

Sunflowers sway, golden sunlight falls into his bloodshot eyes.

"…Are you crying?" He unconsciously utters this sentence.

Because he sees Chao Yan crying.

Maybe the air is too intense, smoke splashes into her eyes. Tears flow more abundantly, she silently watches his hesitation, seemingly witnessing all suffering.

"Yes… it's so fresh." Chao Yan wipes her eyes, showing a puzzled expression: "Seeing you sad, I'm also feeling sad, though I haven't had such intense feelings for a long time. I thought… this was the mindset of an old man."

Su Ming'an's fingers still pull the Puppet Threads, he clearly knows everyone's death location, this information he memorizes in his heart.

Ruins beneath Angel Wings.

Under scorching flames.

Next to a deity sculpture.

"That time, for selfish reasons, you saved the exiled Lv Shu. You were not wrong." Chao Yan raises her head: "This time, no matter how many times you save them it's fine, it's because of you our civilization reached this point."

"This kind of savior structure, even without me it wouldn't fail. After all, 'Old God' isn't a true god, giving anyone the Old God's name could replace my position. I'm not… irreplaceable." Su Ming'an says.

"But at least in our lifeline, it's you who became the Old God. We're willing to repay you, including my Life Authority. You need not bear any psychological burden." Behind Chao Yan, a pair of wings unfold.

She floats up, her blue eyes reflecting him:

"...My life was always meant for you."

"Make your choice. Tell me, which one you want to save. I'm smart, next cycle, just tell me the name of the one you want to save, and I'll understand your intentions."

Su Ming'an's ten fingers trembled.

The puppet threads emitted a hissing lament.

He didn't have to say much, and she would know what he needed most.

It was as if she were his reflection in the mirror, his feminine counterpart, sketching out his life. Whether it was the companionship from a thousand years ago or the protection a thousand years in the future.

People looked up in confusion at the deity and his Judgment Angel in the sky. They didn't understand why the deity's expression was so pained.

"...Chao Yan."

Like parting a curtain of life-flowing rain, he slowly opened his mouth and only simply called her name.

She paused, puzzled: "Why are you calling me?"

Suddenly she understood, he was responding to her previous statement—[Tell me, which one you want to save].

He refused to choose.

He only called her name.

Her pupils contracted, as if hearing an unbelievable fairy tale, then she smiled bitterly and shook her head: "I should have taught you long ago, whether you pull the trolley lever or not—[you're always right]. You're still too idealistic, this is not right."

Yes, indeed.

Su Ming'an also remembered Chao Yan's lesson from over a decade ago. Even though time passed swiftly and many things faded from memory, her words about the trolley problem remained clear in his mind.

He also remembered his answer from back then.

At that time, his answer...

He closed his eyes, remained silent for a full ten seconds.

He never looked down, never looked back; white tendrils encircled his back as if countless white stars clustered around him. In people's eyes—he resembled a deity truly stepping out of mythology.

Dieying watched from the side, appreciating his struggle.

Yet he raised his right hand anew, the Ring of Time gleaming with starlight.

Dieying's eyes filled with astonishment.

"...This isn't a completely frozen [critical time rewind point], the reason I stopped at this time node is that I felt the hands wouldn't budge anymore, and my soul was about to be torn apart by resistance."

"If I continue to go back, the resistance will increase exponentially, but I can still try... to push a little further."

"Dieying." Su Ming'an declared to the high-dimensional being above the starry sky:

"Don't get too complacent."

"——I must let you know, you can't calculate my limits."

And so, the song of time was played.

The stars were constant. The pure-white deity pressed his right hand to his forehead, his brow resting against the glimmering ring, as if to steady his trembling.

He took a deep breath, and in the astonished eyes of Dieying and Chao Yan, once more... initiated the rewind.

Continuing forward.

Forward, forward.

Not in terms of distance, but in time.

Tracing further up the river, beneath the endlessly cascading, mountain-like waterfalls, bearing this soul-tearing pain.

Magnificent blue halos flickered, like the turning and overlapping of space-time. He pressed his forehead hard, nearly branding a mark of time, while his left hand, like steel, firmly held back his retreating right hand.

Click, click.

The clock's hands turned, the song of time played. Droplets of blue water passed beneath his feet, leaping away like fish, while he adjusted the hands, letting the tempestuous waves try to push him back.

The flames extinguished, dust dissipated, bricks and tiles flew... the Old Divine Palace returned to its original state...

As he crossed that extreme time node, he felt his entire being was about to shatter, an agony beyond even death, each second stretched to eternity, like experiencing near-death countless times.

When he stopped, his consciousness nearly disintegrated.

But when he opened his eyes, breathing deeply—a joy unparalleled surged in his heart—

Though the pain reached its peak... time had indeed been pushed slightly forward. The explosion had not yet occurred, the Old Divine Palace still stood.

Instinctively, he first looked to the first puppet thread, focusing his spirit, pulling this line back. As he gradually retracted the puppet thread skill, this thread became shorter and shorter...

In the next moment,

The person connected by this thread was dragged alive out of the Old Divine Palace by him.

...Saved.

He barely had time to catch his breath before immediately concentrating on the second puppet thread—

"Boom—crash—!"

A roar.

Golden-red butterflies took flight.

In front of him, the Old Divine Palace bloomed with thousands of blazing beautiful flowers.

The explosion happened.

...

Su Ming'an was performing a puppet show.

He was the deity controlling all beings on the stage.

The deity's thumb, pulling a green bamboo. The deity's index finger, tugging a sword. The deity's middle finger, holding a bird.

If the deity pulled the first puppet thread, the second and third threads would break. Pull the second puppet thread, and the other two would break. The green bamboo, sword, and bird had never shared the stage.

He felt overwhelming despair.

So he restarted once more, his soul tormented to shambles, yet he finally managed to pull back almost half of the second thread.

But still, it wasn't enough.

Just a few seconds away... a few seconds...

He tried other methods, like having the watch Du transmit information, but time was too short. He pleaded with Chao Yan to save people, but nearly ended up burying Chao Yan in the flames.

He restarted once more, enduring the agony of his soul being severely wounded again, trying to push time further forward.

But now, he truly reached his limit.

He recalled Dieying's words:

[Even if you reverse the flow of time, you are merely a human, with a combat power of over four thousand... not enough.]

Merely a human, with a combat power of over four thousand... so not enough.

Then,

What if he was no longer human?

He suddenly realized.

He suddenly understood what he should do.