Chapter 6: The End of the World and All of Human Evil

“Ah, Ruoyi, you have come here again.”
It was a dry call, a voice that echoed directly within the brain without passing through the ears.
Li Ruoyi jolted back to his senses, finding himself standing in a world of pure white.

“When the voice of life sends back an echo, it becomes a signal, a kind of light.”
That ethereal voice rang out again, mingled with the thunderous roar of a waterfall.

At the summit of a precipice stood a giant locust tree, and beneath its branches was a dilapidated shack.
An old man sat on a stone stool before the door, gazing at the waterfall hidden within the vast white mist in the distance.

“May the song never end in the night of infinite darkness; may the wandering dreams of endless hesitation never entangle.”
The old man hummed a low melody.

It was incredibly familiar—this cliff where he had spent ten years.

Li Ruoyi ascended the long ladder he had traversed many times over the years.
Everywhere he looked, the mountains were steep, the trees were lush and green, and the clouds were deep and remote.
Deeper in, there were temples and shrines built at an unknown time, featuring both Eastern and Western styles.
They were like a revolving lantern of human civilization, with flying eaves and grey tiles, painted beams and carved pillars.
Moss covered the blue stones, and quiet bamboo groves stood tall; the ancient aura they radiated was something rarely found elsewhere.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Li Ruoyi arrived before the old man.
The old man smiled.
Even though his wrinkled face was hidden beneath a hood, one could feel his joy.
It was an emotion that felt incredibly real, yet also strangely false.

“Grandfather, why are you laughing at your junior?”
Li Ruoyi walked politely behind him and gently massaged the old man’s shoulders.
Looking at the elder who had been his sole companion for ten years, a sliver of warmth flowed through Li Ruoyi’s heart.

“A long-awaited reunion is better than a new love; shouldn’t you humans be happy at a time like this?”

“It is indeed something worth being happy about, but why have I come here again?”
Li Ruoyi’s smile was so innocent that one could hardly imagine the words he would speak next.
“Am I dead again?”

“You have always been a clever child,” the old man replied calmly.
He stood up and rubbed his palms together.
“However, life and death in this world are things only I have the final say over; that is why I must watch over the end of this world for hundreds of millions of years.”

Li Ruoyi remained silent.
The terror of the Sun King was branded into his heart.
That intense light and heat were simply not something a human body could withstand.
He had planned to use the forbidden technique of his Eyes of Life and Death as a trump card to reclaim his life, but in the end, it was all just a fleeting dream.

“You used the forbidden technique of the eyes your mother gave you, didn’t you? Even with a forbidden technique, such absolute death cannot be converted into the possibility of life.”
The old man gazed into Li Ruoyi’s eyes, his vision gradually turning sharp.
Under that gaze, Li Ruoyi felt as if his body were being roasted by hellfire.
Every inch of his skin felt as though it were being sliced by a blade, causing intense pain.
The old man’s pupils were as noble as a crescent moon, possessing a brilliance that could rival the stars, appearing like meticulously carved obsidian.

“That solar brat is far too exceptional for a human; while your physical body was preserved by the forbidden technique, your spirit has come here.”
The old man withdrew his gaze.
Liberated from the pressure, Li Ruoyi collapsed to his knees, panting heavily.
“You cannot die, for your death would cause a great deal of trouble.”

“Tell me, Ruoyi… speaking of oaths, we still have a pact from the previous tea party, don’t we?”

“I remember. One must never compromise with their inner heart.”

“In this state of yours, neither living nor dead, it is easy for ‘him’ to seize your spirit.”
The old man’s expression grew serious.

Before the old man’s words could even settle, a sense of weightlessness surged.
Something was churning violently inside Li Ruoyi’s body.
A wave of intense nausea hit him, and he suddenly vomited a puddle of black liquid.
The moment the liquid touched the ground, the world was dyed black.
Sound vanished, leaving only Li Ruoyi and the old man.

[Old man! How much longer do you intend to imprison me?!]

The black liquid transformed into a massive silhouette.
Darkness flickered and danced in all directions, and everything before Li Ruoyi’s eyes changed.

[That’s right, Li Ruoyi. You are correct.]

Turning his head, he saw something standing beside him that was mysteriously only the silhouette of a person.
It approached him with a gentle, compassionate smile and stood beside him atop a mountain of corpses.

[A Human King is the ruler of all things! If you want to kill that ‘Sun’ thing, then kill it—as long as you are willing to accept me.]

The silhouette let out a cackling laugh, its viscous hands already draped around Li Ruoyi’s neck.

[I knew you would come to accompany me. I believe that if it is you, you will surely reach this place.]

The dark shadow continued to speak.

“Who are you?”
He could neither exert force to break free nor struggle to resist as he felt the thing eroding his spirit and even shaking his soul.

[Ruoyi, don’t you know this better than anyone else?]
The black shadow extended more arms, pulling Li Ruoyi firmly into its embrace.
Though subtle, he could clearly feel a part of himself beginning to merge with this inexplicable black liquid.

“That is why I say the Fifth Civilization is the one most worth continuing.”
The old man spoke.
A massive rift was sliced into the black world, and the sound of black feathers mingling with the rushing waterfall returned.

“You possess emotions that we do not; that alone is enough to generate such powerful strength.”
The old man spoke plainly, swinging the scythe on his shoulder once more toward the shadow behind Li Ruoyi.

[AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!]

The shadow screamed.
The unstoppable power of the scythe instantly severed the countless arms it had sprouted.
Li Ruoyi tumbled from its embrace, followed by a sudden, intense feeling of exhaustion.

“Your very existence as a human is already somewhat close to ours. Thus, you can maintain your rationality even when communicating with that thing as you are now. If it were an ordinary human, their mind would have shattered the moment they touched that black water.”
The old man sheathed his scythe, once again wearing that unnatural smile.

“Grandfather, I can’t really bring myself to laugh right now.”
Li Ruoyi stood up, feeling somewhat helpless.

“Oh? Is that so? I thought that after living with you for ten years, I had become more like a human.”
The old man’s expression returned to a state as calm as still water.
He slowly began to walk toward the base of the cliff—the place closest to the sun, moon, and stars.

“What was that just now?”
Gazing at the familiar, spectacular scenery of the endless waterfall, Li Ruoyi hurried to keep up with the elder.

“It was the entirety of human malice from the past five thousand years, recorded by this planet.”

“Human malice?”

“Indeed.”
The old man stopped at the edge of the cliff.
His eyes pierced through the layered clouds, gazing at the vistas of the world—things Li Ruoyi’s eyes could not even begin to capture.
Gazing at the past and future of human civilization, the old man smiled once more.

“I told you, didn’t I? The Human King’s Heart is a device capable of connecting to the planet’s source. And this heart of yours connects to all that recorded malice.”
The old man sighed.
“This is all because of your mother.”

“Mother!”
Li Ruoyi suddenly grabbed the old man, his handsome face filled with agitation.

“You and your mother both possess my ability to observe and record the world. Once human malice lost her as its host, it naturally gravitated toward you.”

“Is my mother dead?!”
The words ‘lost its host’ felt like a knife being driven into Li Ruoyi’s heart.
“I have already lost my father, and now…”

“Tianmo is not dead. She is the most perfect human I have ever seen.”

“But she is in a place you cannot find yet.”
The voice squeezed from the old man’s throat sounded hollow, like wind blowing through a void.

“Then where is she! Grandfather, please tell me!”
Li Ruoyi excitedly grabbed the old man’s cloak.
The old man, who was extremely tall, pulled Li Ruoyi into his arms.
He stroked the head of the boy he cherished most—like a human grandfather with his favorite grandson.
Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes.
Though they were simulated emotions, something was shaking his core—assuming he even had a thing called a ‘heart.’

After a long time, the old man released his hold on Li Ruoyi.

“I cannot tell you these answers yet. You must find them yourself.”
The old man pushed Li Ruoyi away—pushing him right off the highest cliff at the end of the world.

“Stepping into the realm of illusion, paradise does not exist.”

“The remedial measures are foolish and archaic, held without any conviction!”

The old man’s eyes reflected a pitch-black light.
With a sweep of the scythe’s handle, Li Ruoyi felt his feet lose their purchase as he fell into the abyss.
It was just like when Rhein had resurrected him.
He fell once more from the cliff at the end of the world.
In that infinitesimal moment, Li Ruoyi saw a faint smile on the old man’s face.

It was a smile truly filled with emotion—a smile named Hope.