Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

"Fruit sandwich cake, 128 yuan. Are these strawberries going to spoil? I don't want it..."

An ice cream confectionery store in the city center.

Even though it is a bustling area of ​​the metropolis, there are no customers everywhere. There was only a young man in a black windbreaker in front of the counter, who put his face close to the glass window, chatting endlessly to himself.

"Oreo salted cream cake, 325 yuan. The workmanship seems to be good, but it looks so sweet that I can't get used to it... Well, let's change it to a hazelnut chocolate cake, 285 yuan!"

As the boy said, he almost pressed his face to the window, looked at the exquisitely crafted chocolate cake up close, and frowned inadvertently.

"It's a bit leaky, I hope it doesn't spoil... Forget it, I'll consider myself unlucky if it expires! I'll take the cake, and I'll give you 300 yuan."

The young man who finally made up his mind opened the display window talking to himself, put the selected cake into a simple packing box and brought it to his hand, then took out two crumpled banknotes from his pocket, put them on the counter with a little weight Press down on the menu board to ensure that the banknotes will not be blown away by the typhoon that has become more raging these days.

"Happy birthday, Su Ruoyang."

Facing the dark sky, I stood on the spot with my hands clasped together carrying a heavy bag, closed my eyes and silently stated my birthday wishes for this year in my heart.

——I hope I can still be loyal to my original intention and complete the final task as soon as possible.

When he opened his eyes again, the discarded newspapers were blown high in the air by the strong wind, emitting a faint light.

My thoughts can't help chasing the streamer and drifting into the distance.

Since then, half a year has passed.

Along the way, I have traveled through countless parallel worlds and visited many similar but different places. But in any case, this is the first world travel in my life.

I can't count how many hospitals I have been to, and how many terminally ill patients have been sent to the New World.

Although many of them were already hopeless and had no hope of surviving, I decided on my own initiative to determine how long they would last.

I have been to many orphanages and nursing homes.

They seem to be isolated from the whole society, unaware of the outside world.

They are not accompanied by parents or children, and they are almost cut off from the outside world. Therefore, whether it is "Dream Ruler" or the connotation of the dream gap in it, there is no way to reach their minds at all.

It seems that the universal emotional bridge is built on a high place that they can't reach, but they are abandoned by this world.

Some areas are in the midst of war. Or suffer from famine, poverty, disease, and misfortunes of every kind that I have never personally experienced.

I suddenly woke up as if in a dream, and it turned out that there are such dilapidated places in the world.

Everyone has their own happiness and misfortune, but in different forms.

Obviously this is a truth that everyone understands, but before this time, people can't personally understand the meaning of it.

Know the reason, but don't understand the reason.

So in the past six months, the later I tried to speed up the pace of progress. Because I realized more and more that there are many people in the world who can't wait as long as me, and may die in this sleeping world at any time. I want to save those who are in dire straits as soon as possible. I want to take them to a relatively objective and fair world, let them sigh from the bottom of their hearts:

"Hello, New World."

Today is my birthday. I deliberately set off to rush to a city similar to Seaside City, but happened to encounter a strong typhoon. However, it cannot be said to be unfortunate to be able to catch up with celebrating my birthday.

To be honest, I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky.

I stuck the candles in the chocolate cake. But no matter how hard I tried for a long time while covering the cake with my palms, I couldn't light the fire, so I had to give up for the time being and looked up at the sky full of wind and noise.

Today, the number of sane people in the world is decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Unknowingly, more than 90% of the world's people left behind have gone to the new world under my leadership.

But so far I haven't seen Xia Qianyan once. I have no idea how much time the outside world has bought me. What's more, in the recent week-long period, I haven't seen anyone awake, and there are still about 10% of them slipping through the net. From this point of view, my task is far from complete.

——After eating this year's birthday cake, I have to work harder.

"But, as expected, I can't eat it anymore..."

There was no sweetness in the cake, so I finally gave up the idea of ​​starting the cake, and put it back into the beautifully packaged box and left it on the park bench.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave here, the sound of crutches hitting the ground suddenly sounded behind him. Involuntarily, I turned my head to look at the source of the sound. There was an old man who was nearly sixty years old standing in front of me tremblingly, his narrowed eyes revealing imperceptible surprise. He opened his parched lips, and with difficulty forced out a voice that was dry with age.

"I didn't expect that there were other people awake besides me."

I stared at the old man in amazement. It is extremely difficult to hear human voices in this sleeping world. It makes me feel unreal like a dream.

To be honest, I didn't think at first that there would be sober people on the streets of cities these days. After all, there are posters of "Dream Ruler" everywhere here, and there are even promotional advertisements playing on the other side of the square. Anyone who walks on the street has access to the cracks in dreams. According to our assumptions, after falling asleep, he will come to the cracks in dreams and cannot wake up.

In fact, there has never been an exception in the past six months. I was stunned for a long time, and it took me a long time to remember that I should politely reply to the old man's greetings.

"Ah... hello, grandpa."

"Hello, hello. This city is an empty city now! Everyone is asleep, but I, a useless old man, can still wake up." The old man approached me with a cane, and tried his best. He opened his eyes and looked at me, and said, "Just now I saw a young boy walking out of the cake shop from a distance, and I thought I was hallucinating when I saw no living people. Young man, where did you come from or where did you live?" here?"

"I'm here...to travel."

"Oh, that's it. That boy, can I ask you something?"

It stands to reason that I should send the old man to the new world as soon as possible now. But maybe because I haven't seen a sober person this week, or because I understand the loneliness of this old man, I couldn't help but want to say a few more words to the old man.

"What is it, please tell me."

"My child works at a survey station on a small island in another place. I heard that he is engaged in scientific research and is promising. Normally, he will come back every three months. I want to wait for him to come back and tell him about the situation here. He is a kid who likes to study this kind of strange things. But I have called him and no one has answered, and it has been almost half a year. I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t know what’s going on with him.”

"Do you want me to tell your child to come back and see you?"

In many nursing homes, I have more or less heard such appeals: I hope my children can visit me.

I thought to myself that this old man might have similar thoughts, but unexpectedly what I said made the old man shake his head tremblingly.

"Don't let him come back. How can I keep him by my side when the child is going out to do a great job? I'm worried about whether the situation outside the city is the same as ours. I have been hanging on my heart. .”

The old man fumbled for a business card from his pocket, and handed it over with trembling old hands. I didn't dare to neglect and quickly took the business card, but I was startled when I saw the name on it.

"Excuse me, old man, what is your last name?"

"Feng." The old man laughed heartily, pointing to the name on the business card. The slits of the eyes that had been squinting all the time suddenly widened, and the pupils shone with light. He said proudly, "My child is named Feng Chenghuan. When we named him, I wanted him to carry the whimsical ideas of our family from generation to generation, so that he could live in this world with a spirit of exploration and adventure. In the world, who knew that he really became such a thing.”

His heart suddenly trembled violently, and he only held the business card in his hand tightly with a calm gaze. Seeing Feng Chenghuan's name, I couldn't help but put a smile on my lips, and looked at the gratified old man in front of me again.

"I know your child, and I met him not long ago. He has lived up to your expectations, and has ideals worthy of the name 'Cheng Huan'."

"He...is he alright?"

I smiled and supported the old man who was walking forward. The streamer fluttered in the air and never dissipated. At this time, it finally broke through the gloomy color gathered in the sky, and penetrated the dazzling blue sky hidden behind the clouds.

"Not only is he fine, but he also wants to witness the world move towards a farther future! In front of him is a farther, farther, farther future."

After getting the answer. The old man's face gradually filled with a look of relief, he took half a step back, and sat on a bench in the park with my support.

"Finally...you can rest assured. Everyone fell asleep without saying hello, and never woke up again. I live alone in an empty city, and I don't take a cent of my shopping money. It’s cheap, I hope that everyone will wake up one day, and help me ask about the condition of my child. Now I can finally feel relieved. Although everyone is still not awake, I can safely give this puzzle to the child, right? "

"Yeah, your child. He is worth entrusting, unexpectedly very reliable person."

The old man leaned on a cane with both hands, letting the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes raise a relieved smile, and gradually became drowsy. After the typhoon passed, the sun passed through the clouds, making the asphalt road shine like stars, and sprinkled warm temperature on our bodies.

Looking back at the bench in the park, the old man unconsciously lowered his head and closed his eyes, and fell into a peaceful dream.

I suddenly understood what was going on.

That's right.

Sure enough, the old man had been exposed to the cracks of dreams through various posters on the street, but he, like me, hadn't slept for half a year. Because once you fall asleep in a dream, you will live in a brand new world. Perhaps the old man has such a feeling in his heart, so it is the concern that hangs over his consciousness and keeps him awake until now.

It is really incredible for human beings to stay awake for more than half a year without taking drugs but only relying on their will. Because of this, the free will possessed by the world is so worthy of my efforts to save it.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, I walked all the way to the edge of this seaside city. At this time, the night had already descended on the sea, and an endless black sea spread out in front of my eyes.

So, I started another new journey.

Sent away the scientific researchers at the North and South Pole Exploration Stations, and sent away the tower keeper who lived alone on an isolated island.

The old tower keeper said, "On this empty island with a radius of several kilometers, you seem to be on the vast sea, but you are clearly down to earth."

Just like I am wandering around in a foreign country now, and I seem to have no fixed place, but my destination is already waiting for the day when I go home.

Time seemed to speed up. The number of people in the world who have not yet fallen asleep has dropped sharply, gradually approaching the target value of 0% retention rate. From time to time, believers in the name of the Virgin would stop my mission and organized a group of sober people to hide in the so-called shelters.

It took a lot of effort to fight against them alone, and I almost fell into a dream beforehand because of their sneak attack.

During this time, the Name of the Virgin has collected a large amount of the sleep-inducing drug Eternal Winter, which is used to fight to the end with me who has a fantasy clock. They shot almost half of the stockpile into my body in the form of bullets.

But the potion of the orange-red potion was extremely tenacious, and it fought to the end with the drowsiness I felt for the eternal winter. Thanks to this, I am still awake to this day.

This tug-of-war with the sober will went on like this for 3 months.

In the end, with the idea of ​​"perishing together" with the name of the Holy Mother, I unlocked Nuclear Research's safety pump and released the largest dose of Eternal Winter to their stronghold.

The believers in black robes confronted me for dozens of days, and were finally defeated by an excessive dose of Eternal Winter. They all held their so-called teachings high and fell to the ground.

"We will never admit to such an end. You are not saving the world at all."

Before going to bed, I heard someone say this.

But I didn't have time to delve into what the other person said, and the drowsiness was like a spreading virus eroding my whole body.

I ran as fast as I could, fleeing away from the stronghold where the effect of the medicine became stronger, and the gradually deepening effect of the medicine condensed the drowsiness into the depths of my consciousness, launching a fierce attack on me.

I didn't have to stop until my body was exhausted by the lingering sleepiness, my eyes went dark, and my body fell weakly in front of the vending machine on the side of the road.

The things seen in the field of vision gradually blurred. Consciousness seems to be disconnected at any time. I held on to my chest, which seemed to be in severe pain, and the side effects of long-term lack of sleep were extremely strong at this moment. It's as if the body is resisting the brain, intending to use severe pain to coerce the brain to surrender and apologize immediately.

Maybe it's time to surrender to sleepiness, too.

I've tried hard enough, I've worked hard enough to get this far.

Even if I am powerless to save the rest of the world and stay in this silent world, no one will blame me.

No catastrophic event can have zero casualties, can it? What's more, what I'm facing is the end of the whole world. It's beyond everyone's expectation to be able to do this.

So, let's call it a day.

If there is a sense of happiness that seems to be nothing, it is wrapped in sleepiness.

Close your eyes.

His sight gradually blurred.

But before I knew it——with a bang, the back of my head was suddenly hit with a moderate impact, just enough to wake up my drowsy consciousness. I opened my eyes in a daze, and saw that the culprit was a can of iced coffee, which rolled down to the ground alone and stayed in front of the girl in front of me.

"Stand up for me. Since you do not agree with my solution of "eliminating the free will of the world" from the bottom of your heart, then show me sufficient evidence to show me what kind of results your new world plan can bring."

The girl looked down at me straight in the eyes, her awe-inspiring voice complemented the cold look in her eyes.

"If you say something beautiful, give me the responsibility. If you give up before reaching the end, then even if I disappear, I will remember you as an idiot today."

As soon as the words were finished, before I could respond, the girl took two steps back, turned the corner of the street, and disappeared from my sight.

I was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly picked up the can of iced coffee and stood up to catch up, but there was no sign of Xia Qianyan in any direction.

Disappeared like a hallucination. I looked down at the ice-cold coffee in my hand, feeling my heart beating faster and faster.

Pull open the tab of the can, let the cold coffee pour down the throat, the caffeine combined with the medicinal effect of "ANTI Eternal Winter" makes the consciousness more clear.

I don't know when I have forgotten the past in the long time, and now it is unknowingly ringing in my ears again.

【You have taken care of everything about being handsome, and the accompanying responsibilities are heavier than you imagined. 】

When the memories hit me, the revived emotions surged, and I couldn't help shouting and stepping forward, and ran with all my strength toward my last journey and the front.

The responsibility is heavy, of course I understand this kind of thing. But the real savior has never been me, but you.

If it weren't for you all by my side, I wouldn't even have had the chance to start this task today. From this point of view, what I assume is not the so-called responsibility, but the expectations you place on me.

What I want to do is to live up to expectations.

[Our fate is betting on you kid! Don't let us lose completely! 】

How could it be a complete defeat, we are only short of the final sprint to victory.

【ANIKI, don't forget the poem I read to you! 】

Sorry about that. Obviously you reviewed it for me more than 90 times that morning, but I still only remember that I accidentally replaced the version of the content.

[If you become a god, this world will definitely become more interesting. 】

Of course. That's the only way to be worthy of your unspeakable admiration, isn't it?

[Brother, I will work hard for the happy life of the three of you in the future! 】

So you said such embarrassing things back then.

if you can. When I come back, I am willing to work hard for the happiness of the three of us.

[If you can win the domination war, please bring light to my world by the way. 】

Thank you.

I have won the domination war, and I will open the door to a new world for you, and use my way to extend your life.

Bringing light is such an important thing, it really should be done by yourself, right?

[Give me a good life. 】

Ah, I get it, I won't think about the stupidity of having you take care of my sister in my place.

[After you come back, can I ask you to be my experimental assistant? 】

Of course I agreed, otherwise how could I be worthy of your three months of cultivation. Plus, it's surprisingly fun to stay with you and work. I think it must be because you have lofty ideals.

[I have entrusted my entire life to you, so you must not lose! 】

We will not lose, we will definitely win.

When dawn breaks, the horizon is dyed a dazzling crimson.

I traveled around the world again, starting the final journey. Visit those isolated places, and try your best to find those fish that slip through the net that still remain in this world in the territory of the overall universe.

After that, the rate of decline in the retention rate of the world appears to be extremely slow. After all, the closer to the target value of 0%, the fewer people will stay in this world. The rest of the search is thus made more difficult.

until the very end—

I spent months and months trying to figure out where the rest of the world was hiding when the retention rate was so close to zero.

I had to stop and look back at the information I had. That's when I unconsciously found myself returning to Seaside City, following traces of waking consciousness.

——The direction to which all the clues point, the combined answer is in District K of Seaside City, the new location of the Name of the Virgin.

It has been a long time since night fell, and I pushed open the arched door of the church, behind the creaking sound were the colorful window lattices. The dark crowd gathered in the front row and performed an inexplicable ceremony, as if they knew that I would visit, even though they heard the sound of the door opening, they did not look back to confirm. Among the crowd, only one person standing at the farthest point raised his head, looked away from the teaching in his hand and looked at me.

"Welcome to our god-sama of the new world."

The other party opened his arms in a warm ceremony, and walked quietly. The dark crowd backed away to make way for the path, and the bony figure gradually approached my field of vision.

"As a self-righteous god, what answer will you give to "how the world is recognized as the world"?"

"Are you trying to instill in me the theory that 'Gods are created by the recognition of the world'?"

During the period of fighting against the name of the Virgin, I have heard countless believers repeat the teachings they believe in countless times.

Hearing what I said, the face hidden in the black robe smiled faintly, but it wasn't like those ferocious smiles like usual. Seeing through the truth, as if relieved, is clear to the world.

"The reason why the world is recognized as the world is because it is relatively emotionless and measures everything in the world with relatively objective rules. This "relative" is "absolute" justice to us. It will not be biased Any individual, the world suffers the same amount of suffering but in different forms. Although it is difficult for each other to understand each other, and they are willing to compare the magnitude of the suffering, they must understand this universal fairness when they die."

The moonlight passed through the window lattice, spreading colorful colors on the ground in front of it. It blends with the monotonous darkness, as if it makes up all the colors in the world.

[In the beginning, there was only me in this world, and we were originally a whole of thousands of people. It is the Creator who separated thousands of lives from his own inflated consciousness, and gradually evolved until now that you and I stand here and disagree with each other. As the world develops, the differences in life widen, causing conflicts and wars. Only when the world returns to its original state, we will all return to the consciousness of the Creator and continue our lives. 】

"So did you say that then?"

I held the only bottle of orange-red potion left in my pocket, and the strange colors dizzy and spread in my vision.

"During this nearly one-year wandering trip, I have witnessed all kinds of disasters that people in the world have experienced, such as loneliness, famine, war, poverty, disease, abandonment, and even self-terrorist fantasies. Anyway, how much I am now I can understand your point of view, but if our destiny like this is a story carefully planned by the Creator and the world, then how can we talk about so-called justice?"

Although I already know that those stories written in fate are Xia Qianyan's way to save the world. Without the corresponding consciousness, we will not feel pain, just like no matter how overloaded the machine is, it will not scream pain.

"At least, the Creator has never interfered with our reality. She has never intervened even in the dominion war, allowing the dominators to set their own self-righteous rules. She is only an observer of the world, and you cannot turn a blind eye to disaster and suffering. Once you complete your mission and return to your so-called new world, your dreams will be subject to your will."

"No, I can't do that—"

"You will." The other person interrupted me unquestionably, looked me in the eyes and said, "If the gods are gentle, they will become weak in the end. Faced with the death of a loved one, how do you not care about it? ?When the good and the evil are at war, how can you, who stand by yourself, not be inclined to give a fair judgment to any side? Since everything is dyed with your own personal color, how can I admit that this is the reality? ?”

When the voice fell, I was speechless for an instant. My life so far has indeed been based on my own emotions all the way. I can't ignore the sufferings of people in the world. I should send them to the new world immediately, but I can't help but listen to their pain. The reason why I have persisted with my life and have not given up until today is also because deep down in my heart I hope that one day I will have a happy life.

Compete with your own weakness. My wandering has been a journey full of emotions from the beginning to the end. So far, all I think about is that I can stand in front of Xia Qianyan calmly after sending away the last people in the world.

"We will never allow ourselves to sleep in a world like that. If you still have to justify yourself, let me give you a little test."

The other party broke the silence in the air coldly, and quickly took out the black muzzle of the gun from the black robe. But he was not aiming at me, but at his own chest.

"Let the other believers present be the notary—if you can turn a blind eye to my predetermined death, then you are the god I can identify. The notary will tell you the location of the rest."

finished. The other party didn't leave any space for me to think, and pulled the trigger very happily. And I didn't have time to stop it, the burst of gunfire blasted his chest instantly before I could take action.

A strong shock hit my heart. I naturally understood the implication of this test: a person has residual consciousness for a few minutes after death, during which time the deceased can be saved by sending the deceased to a new world. But once I intervene, it means that I can't turn a blind eye to the tragic ending of the world. I still use my emotions as he said, and use my own will to determine the duration of others' continuation.

The other party's eyes were filled with a smile as if he had accomplished his mission. His expression made me feel incredible. It seems that he died with a happy face, which makes me unable to understand.

Life is passing before my eyes like sand held in my hands, so fragile and tenacious. I involuntarily lowered my gaze, not daring to meet the other person's eyes.

[Reality is like a dream. After moving to the new world, will I remember the past that happened here, or will I forget all the memories and start over? 】

Difficulties that arose a long time ago are now confronting me again in a different form. More than once I have thought of rescuing people who died in a deliberate fate.

But is this really the right thing to do? Am I not repeating Xia Qianyan's mistakes in another way?

[Su Ruoyang, you helped me get out of the past, and you helped me wake up from my dream, I haven't thanked you seriously yet, have I? 】

Elus's voice sounded like a silver bell. I couldn't help holding the windbreaker on my body, as if I was holding the top hat tightly in my arms.

【Thank you all the time! 】

My vision began to shake violently, and I seemed to see the man in the black robe slowly closing his eyes. The happy arc of his mouth made me suddenly find the answer.

The endless sea of ​​stars in the distance rolled up the waves. The air is soaked in the breath of the sea breeze and melts into the dancing waves. The stars flickering under the sea seem to tell the unknown sincerity of the dead, pushing each other to form waves of coming and going, pushing to the shore wave after wave, and lining up to miss the empty streets Light.

Dead lives deserve the most basic respect. And reversing life and death is really a blasphemy to the undead, right?

That being the case. This unintentional thought that sprouted in my heart was wrong from the beginning, and it was a logic that even the gods should not touch.

I should have realized this earlier.

But for some reason, I don't even know why, my feet moved by themselves.

I couldn't help but picked up the sand flowing between my fingers. The star dots on the distant shore, where the tide comes and goes, suddenly rises to the surface of the sea, and in an instant, it flies across the sky like a shooting star, flying towards the newborn world at the speed of light.

——As expected, I can’t turn a blind eye to the lost life.

"You failed this test."

A hoarse voice from the crowd broke into my ears, speaking unhurriedly.

"What we are looking for is reality, not dreams. Maybe your idea is not wrong, we just stand on different positions. So even if we can't do what you want, I hope you can forgive us for not giving the rest of our lives to you. for you."

While speaking, the dark crowd had retreated towards the door.

They headed in the opposite direction to my world, and walked towards the world of annihilation.

"After all, no one wants to fall asleep to a worse dream."

"No! You will not fall asleep! You will wake up in a new world!"

I finally let go of my voice to stop the departing crowd. Almost as soon as the words were spoken, the people in black robes suddenly stopped leaving.

"That world...that brand new world has no gods, let alone deliberate destiny."

"Such a world cannot exist."

The hoarse voice responded mercilessly again.

I couldn't help but clenched my empty hands, and stood up tremblingly following my own will.

【In the near future, you will also remember the decisions you made in the distant past. 】

This is my final decision. The decision has long been lying in my heart, but I have never faced this intention——

"As long as you make concessions, such a world can exist. Because I will give up the right to control the dreams, and give you a world without unnatural fate and absolute justice."

"How do you do this? Even if you lose the right to lucid dreams, the world will change inadvertently under your will."

I didn't answer the other party's words, but just took out the bottle of orange-red potion from my pocket. He injected the medicine into his own body right in front of their eyes.

"I said, you must have understood the effect of this potion, right? It is the opposite of Eternal Winter. It makes people sleepless. As long as a certain dose is reached, it will last forever like Eternal Winter."

The effect of the drug spread rapidly, imprisoning my consciousness forever in the reality in front of me. At the moment when the drowsiness dissipated, I seemed to see the sea of ​​stars in the distance.

"From now on, I will never return to my dreamland. A new world without gods, will this be completed?"

someone said. Myths are dreams shared by everyone in the world, and dreams are private myths.

Then I, who gave up the dream, must have created a myth recognized by the world.

Later, thanks to the cooperation of the name of the Holy Mother, the remaining consciousness gradually turned into the reincarnated starlight. The retention rate of the world has finally reached the target value that is infinitely close to zero.

——Now is the agreed time for Xinghai to reincarnate, but I cannot meet you again.

[Is memory the basis of a person's existence? What if the self who lost his memory can no longer be defined as himself? 】

In this world of no one. Looking at the boundless blue sea, I inadvertently thought of Xia Yinci's words at that time.

[Su Ruoyang, do you believe in the spirit of blood passing down? In this way, human beings continue their short lives, passing on themselves to the next generation as if they have obtained immortality. I believe that the life thus passed on exists in the ego of the person who has passed away. So the basis of your real distinction from others is the whole of your existence. So what I believe is not your memory, but the existence of Su Luoyang. 】

Believe in the very existence of me, isn't it?

That being the case.

This is my last act out of selfish desire.

Put your desire to live a happy life in your heart on your new self.

in short. I chose to restart the world from the beginning tens of thousands of years ago.

This time, the world will evolve naturally without any human intervention. In such a brand new world, Su Luoyang will be born one day, and his life will carry my self. Then, in the very distant future for me, I met the man of fate again.

Give me a good life.

Even if you unfortunately fall into confusion in the future, when you are hesitant and stagnant, please believe in what you believe, because it is the imprint left by us lost in the past.

The us of yesterday, and the me of today—those regrets that could not be fulfilled in the past can only be fulfilled by tomorrow’s you.

on intersecting tracks. I seemed to see my father ecstatically hugging you who kept crying, and my mother looked at the father and son with big eyes and small eyes with a weak smile on her face.

You may have a happier childhood than ours. But life is not always smooth sailing. Your mother worked hard all the year round and finally died of illness.

You moved with your father. Just passing by Xia Yinci who is next door, it's like every accidental fate. A few years later, because of my mother's long-cherished wish, my father reorganized a new family. You don't like your father's behavior, and you are against your father, but you find that the younger sister who joined the new family has completely opposite ideas to yours. Gradually influenced by her, your view of your father has changed.

come again. You were lucky enough to meet an interesting teacher in high school, his name was Lin Yu. He seems to be doing nothing, but he has a sense of responsibility for his students that seems to exceed anyone else.

After that, you will meet all kinds of people, and most of them may make you feel a sense of déjà vu.

You don't have to doubt whether you have seen each other in the previous life, just cherish the fate of meeting again in this life.

Finally, when Xinghai is reincarnated, it will be time for you to meet again.

At that time, you will surely find the exit, and reach the future farther than we have seen.

Quietly. Flame-like colors pass through the long night, melting the inky sea into a blue sky.

The rustling waves seemed to be beating gently in my ears. I wiped away the hot tears from my eyes, stood up with a simple crutch made of branches, and staggered towards the final destination.

[Wanderer of the fantasy clock, are you willing to become the ruler of dreams again for me? 】

The dust flying all over the sky extends to the front of the invisible edge, and the awe-inspiring and clear voice returns in the seemingly distant memory. I stepped forward and stepped on the water-soaked sand covering the asphalt road, and the sound of "slapping" footsteps sounded under my feet. Sometimes there is the sound of crutches falling to the ground as a drumbeat, like a hymn of courage.

But no matter where you pass, you will never hear the slightest sound. Once upon a time, the world was as it is now, silent and without temperature. Only the girl lived alone in the huge palace.

She calls the person she admires and yearns for the most as her dream maker; the thing she fears the most becomes the dreamer of this palace; the person she respects and admires the most is the dreamer of this world. So she didn't realize that more and more people lived in the palace, and the world gradually expanded from this palace, and finally evolved into the world we live in tens of thousands of years later.

in the end. I haven't said a word of thanks to you yet.

Thank you for giving to our world. So beautiful, yet so cruel. Although incomplete, it is beautiful.

now. I have reached the end as you said.

Xia Qianyan, where are you?

I keep stepping forward. I don't know where Xia Qianyan is, but I just think that she may be not far ahead, dragging a heavy shadow while holding a cane in the sunlight.

Perhaps the weight of the load had already been overwhelmed, and the crutch broke from the middle without warning. I lost my support and my whole body fell to the ground.

His breathing seemed short and disordered, and his vision fluctuated sharply with the heat wave in the distance. Even so, the consciousness is still tightly chained here, without any sleepiness. I stared ahead, stretched out my palms as if climbing on a rock, and dragged my body forward.

The broken knee dragged two bloodstains on the ground, just like the traces left by the boy who was dragged backward while holding the table with his nails in that room.

From this point of view, I have unknowingly responded to the node of my own destiny.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but pull a tired smile. Laughing at the fate that cannot escape no matter what.

If you can't escape the fate, just cheat it.

The road stretches out into the distance beyond sight. When I stretched out my palm again, a strange thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

The one I'm looking for. She has been guarding behind me since the day the story began.

I suddenly put my left hand against the ground, borrowed this thrust to turn my body towards the sky, and looked backward.

The moment I looked up to the sky, those blue eyes unexpectedly entered my field of vision.

"I really met a cruel ruler."

A voice with a slight cry resounded in my ears.

The girl hiding under the loose hood has a glamorous face. She is still wearing a baggy dark brown sweater. The sleeves are so long that they even cover her palms. Only her fingertips are exposed. Her little hands are very cute. .

All her iconic features made me instantly match her with someone in my memory.

"As expected...you have been following me for nearly a year."

I couldn't help looking up at her delicate appearance, but the girl felt like crying for some reason, and her two little hands tightly held the hem of the clothes as if trying to restrain some emotion.

"Yeah. I can see your annoying figure every day."

Even though her eyes were wet with tears, the girl's words were still resolute. But when I think of Xia Qianyan who has always been silently by my side just like when I was my dreamer, I can't help but feel a warm current in my heart, just like before. And really laughed.

"Walking around in a daze like a dream every day, I even wanted to give up my plan at one point. I've had enough of seeing you like that."

"Ah, so I've been so bad all this time?"

"Not only that...the worst thing is to stay in this world without my permission." During the speech, Xia Qianyan's face was already crying pear blossoms, and her voice became intermittent due to sobbing, "You are really... annoying Dead. Now I feel troubled just seeing you! How can you go back to your own new world if you have to get into this situation!"

Hearing such words, the smile that filled my heart couldn't help becoming more intense. So she was crying like this because of me? I am so lucky to be missed by her like this.

"It's okay, I will accompany you back to the outside world, and you won't be homeless. As for the brand new world, give it to the brand new me."

"Who cares if you have a home to go back to?" Xia Qianyan seemed to be quite upset and turned her head away, but there was a hint of anger in her tone, "Besides, I didn't say that I agreed to your conditions to return to the outside world."

"Ah, how could this be... I was heartbroken by you."

I was at a loss for teasing Xia Qianyan deliberately, Xia Qianyan puffed up her cheeks angrily when I was obviously joking.

"I'm not kidding you! Do you understand? Even if we return to the outside world, we will inevitably be treated as criminals who endanger security by the Core Research Association."

Xia Qianyan looked into my eyes seriously. Since a long time ago, she has been concerned about such a possibility and has fallen into the hesitation of how to make a choice. She took a step towards me to confirm my answer eagerly, the hood swinging down onto her shoulders. Subtle light flakes shone on her hair, and the soft silver hair poured down to her legs, and was knotted at the end by a clock-shaped hair tie.

I propped myself up on the ground and sat up unhurriedly, enduring the tiredness in my body, and staggered up from the ground with all my strength.

"I understand. You, who are regarded as a virus, will face the cruel treatment of nuclear research whether you return to the outside world or not. If you get further involved with you, even I will suffer the same treatment, right?"

"No, not exactly." Xia Qianyan kept shaking her head, with a bitter smile on her lips. She took a deep breath and said word for word, "You should have taken my life, but instead you brought me into this world."

A little bewilderment passed through my heart. I stared at Xia Qianyan for a long time without making a sound, just chasing my tiny memories of the outside world.

The terrorist attack that involved Xia Qianyan was not groundless.

It is better to say that these terrorists launched this operation with the "Dream Immersive VR" system of the Nuclear Research Institute. There are some people in the real world who are aware of the nuclear research institute's plan to construct artificial life, and have a strong sense of resistance to it.

They are the name of the Virgin Mary of this world, obstructing the nuclear research plan of the "New World" everywhere.

It's just that the "new world" of the two has completely different meanings.

After learning that Xia Qianyan had an inseparable relationship with the successful implementation of the New World Project, they desperately launched the terrorist attack. In order to prevent nuclear research from taking warning measures in advance, they issued an explosion warning under the guise of politics.

In the end, Xia Qianyan, who seemed to be implicated, was the real target of those people.

As for me, I am the small group of people who know about artificial life. The reason why it has something to do with nuclear research is to hinder the implementation of the new world plan. But I didn't know that these people who had the same thoughts as me pointed their finger at Xia Qianyan and kept silent to me.

Letting the plan of the new world fail, Xia Qianyan will die. Faced with such a choice, I ended up choosing the latter.

"If we go back to the outside world, as long as the name of the Virgin takes the opportunity to expose my identity to the Nuclear Research Institute, we will all fall into bad luck. Is that right?"

Hearing this, Qian Yan caressed her fair neck, suddenly lowered her eyebrows and lowered her eyes evasively, her cheeks were drunk with a blush. It took her a long time to raise her face and summon up the courage to meet my gaze.

"Since you understand everything, can you stay with me?" Xia Qianyan sniffed her nose gently, put away the tears in her eyes, and said word by word, "Please stay here with me until the end of the world, May I?"

"What, what?!"

"At first, I thought about sending you back to the outside world. The system of the new world is closed. As an experimental subject, I am no longer in this world. The purpose of the name of the Holy Mother is completed in this way, and I will not target you again. But it is too late now. We have nowhere to go, right? So... please stay."

While speaking, those frozen eyes were as hot as before, and the clock tied at the end of her hair rotated its hands. But this time, I looked back at Xia Qianyan without avoiding it.

"Would you like a world with only two people? This world is beyond our control, and it will come to an end at some point."

"It doesn't matter to me..." Xia Qianyan raised her eyes hard and said, "So, the only question is whether you want to stay or not."

"My answer has been confirmed tens of thousands of years ago. Xia Qianyan, I don't want to be the only light in anyone's mind. If possible, I think your world is full of lights. I am willing to accompany you to the end of the world, but not in this dying world."

"It's all said! We have no other destination but here."

"So I was the one who returned to the outside world, and you were accompanied by my invitation. This way, one side of the suspicion can be avoided. This world will go to annihilation as usual, and there will be no possibility of restarting it. This will resolve Another risk."

Regarding the nuclear research of the outside world, the center of their suspicion has always been Xia Qianyan alone. As long as I go back, I just brought "she who seems to have no memory" back to the outside world. information, you can avoid some unnecessary doubts.

As for the name of the Virgin, as long as the operating system of the new nuclear research world is shut down, whether Xia Qianyan survives is no longer an inevitable condition for them to pay attention to.

"Xia Qianyan, have you ever asked me such a question? What is the most fundamental evidence that we are ourselves and not others. You said that the answer is not memory, nor personality, but just "ourselves"."

Hearing the weird answers she told me in the past, Xia Qianyan couldn't help but flushed with cherry blossoms on her face.

"Didn't I say it was just a joke? Why do you still remember it?"

"Because what you said, I can't even forget it."

"Flowers... sweet words."

"Xia Qianyan, you are destined to leave an eternal mark on my past, present and future. Besides, we are indeed ourselves, and the evidence is myself, nothing else."

"Why didn't I think you could talk like that before?"

"After all, I didn't know anything before I met you. Even my world has no color. The day you appeared in front of me was the first time I saw color in my life."

As I said that, I stretched out my inviting hand to the girl in front of me, took a deep breath to put away the throbbing in my heart, and I have never been so solemn about it.

"So, can you please be my dream maker again and accompany me on the next journey?"

At that moment, the girl looked at me and lost her voice.

In the silent air, she spoke the final answer.

——The pointer of time rotates forever. In the center of many huge instruments, there is a silver-haired girl lying quietly on an indigo medical recliner.

"Please, please give me another five minutes! Only five minutes!"

In the outdoor corridor separated by a window, I tightly grabbed the wrist of the professor in front of me, trying to prevent him from entering the laboratory.

"Sorry, our budget doesn't allow us to procrastinate any longer. Do you understand, Su Luoyang?"

There was a very hasty wry smile in the professor's eyes, and after he finished speaking, he pushed my hand away and walked into the interior of the laboratory. I had no choice but to follow him through the experimenters around me. Although I deliberately slowed down my pace, the main operating platform was still approaching me visibly with the naked eye. I watched the professor wave his hand to the experimenters around him. The oppressive atmosphere covering the entire laboratory seemed to connect everyone in it together.

"10, 9, 8, 7..."

I don't know how many operators are waiting for the countdown to go to zero, with their palms hanging tightly above the button. The pendulum swayed by my ears, and I finally couldn't bear the anxiety in my heart. I hurriedly found the operator who controlled the main valve, and rushed to his side with all my strength. But the professor seemed to have anticipated my actions, and immediately signaled to the guards around me.

I tried my best to throw away the operator who was about to press the button. My body was restrained by someone behind me almost at the same time, and my hands were handcuffed behind my back and dragged several meters away.

The picture book hidden in the white coat fell to the ground.

It seems to be a children's picture book, the cover is painted with a clock that emits the light of yearning like a full moon, and a god of death dragging a long-handled scythe.

As a symbol of the death of life, he is the god of death who is so gentle that he is indescribable.

"Are you just scrambling against the clock to calculate the cost? Obviously wait a minute longer and maybe things will turn around! Are you willing to give up such a hard-won opportunity and let your achievements go to waste!"

It was difficult for my body to resist the opponent's strength, so I could only shout to the professor with my throat. It has already reached such a point, how can things be allowed to end in this way.

"Mr. Su Ruoyang. I have always admired your courage and tried my best to cultivate you as my assistant. But you were only worried about Xia Qianyan's safety from the beginning to the end, weren't you?"

That's not the case.

At the beginning, Xia Yinci's words gave me a great shock. At that time, I realized that they are also real human beings, not inferior to us. I understand better than anyone that creating artificial life forms is an unforgivable crime from the very beginning.

But because of my own selfish desires, in order to find the possibility of continuing Xia Qianyan's life, I assisted Nuclear Research in opening this door of absolute taboo.

After all, what I want to save today is not the life of Xia Qianyan alone, but another world hidden in these hundreds of thousands of computers.

Not just for redemption, but for redemption.

With the support of the people around him, the operator stood up and walked to the main valve in front of the console again. In my eyes, it seemed as if in slow motion, he stretched out his hand to the button that shuts off the whole world.

[Please don't underestimate the universe you created! 】

The girl's voice resounded in my ears along with the wave of thoughts.

Hello, Su Ruoyang from the Inner Realm.

Can I pin my hopes on you?

The countdown was about to reach zero, I couldn't help but gritted my teeth and lowered my gaze, but a strange electric sound suddenly sounded in the center of the laboratory.

I raised my eyes in a daze, only to find that there was an extremely strange shaking of my vision for an instant, as if my consciousness had returned to the inner world. In the blink of an eye, I only saw a young girl who was smiling all over the city in the sun.

She broke the silent air, telling the final answer.

"I have been waiting for you for a long time, my ruler."

There was a slightly cold and arrogant color in her eyes, she gently curled up her index finger and fell to her cherry lips, her awe-inspiring voice passed by my ears.

"Although I'm only the temporary creator of this world, it's really outrageous to be forced to such a degree as a god."

The girl's warm body suddenly met my palm, and her tone was so gentle that it seemed to melt me.

"Su Ruoyang, in the years to come we will be able to break through the curse of eternal reincarnation and go to a more distant future, right?"

As soon as the voice fell, the sky was instantly divided into two halves by a bright red tear. But this time it was not because of the Holy Mother's prayer for the doomsday, but Xia Qianyan used her own annihilating power to turn this uninhabited world into falling ruins.

"Since this is the case, I will not stand still in the future, and will do my best to be the dream maker in your mind."

My consciousness was suddenly pushed back to reality by this shock, and the destructive power seemed to extend to reality, causing dazzling electric sparks from all the devices around me.

Almost at the same time, the operator who pressed the button in reality was attacked by the electric current, and it flew tens of meters away like a cannonball. At the same time, the button that was supposed to shut down the system did not work, and the machine continued to operate as usual.

When everyone was at a loss for what to do, the girl lying in the center of the laboratory suddenly opened her frozen eyes.

Myths are dreams shared by everyone in the world, and dreams are private myths.

Have you ever thought about dominating this myth that belongs to you?

Everyone should have thought about this kind of thing, right?

Having absolute freedom when dreaming, doesn't it mean becoming the "creator" of the world?

Even if you directly create a world where you dominate everything, all these fantasies can become possible in dreams.

So if, if you are just a character in my dream.

No matter how tortuous and sad this dream is, I will never wake up.

——Because, you changed my dream.