Chapter 76: Compassion

It worked!

Ji Jue’s nosebleed slowly dripped down. Gritting his teeth, he pushed his ability once more: [Restoration]!!!

But this time, it provoked a riot of ectoplasm. The wailing that resounded in his ears became increasingly violent, almost echoing within his soul, launching an attack against him.

Yet, when it encountered the manipulation of Fluid Alchemy, everything collapsed without a fight.

That frantically writhing body stalled, and signs of dissolution actually appeared, especially on those protruding, alienated limbs, which began to fall off.

This was the first time Ji Jue had applied the purification of Fluid Alchemy.

He hadn't expected it to be so immediate!

They were, in essence, creations of Fluid Alchemy; they had absolutely no resistance to it.

In just a few short seconds, all the abnormalities had fallen away and vanished.

And at this moment, within the vast camp, it was as if it had finally recovered from being frozen.

"Mommy, Mommy!"

When Ji Jue let go, the child nearby was the first to pounce over, hugging the person in the net, calling out in tears.

But there was no response.

The bloated man had returned to his original appearance, even thinner than before, but... after Ji Jue moved his hand away, he no longer moved at all.

It seemed he was still alive.

But his pupils had been hollow from start to finish.

It was as if a part of his soul had been completely lost along with the alienation.

—Ectoplasmic overload, physical collapse.

A damaged work, no matter how much it is repaired, can never return to its original state.

Ji Jue sighed wearily and cursed.

97 sat down beside him. "Thank you."

"It didn't succeed, so what are you thanking me for?"

Ji Jue wiped the nosebleed from his face. After the bloodstains vanished, the black-purple web-like marks became even more distinct; they were the faint veins formed by the bursting of facial capillaries.

Soon, under the repair of the Mouth of the Ancient One, they disappeared.

Only then did he notice 97’s look of astonishment nearby.

"What is it?" Ji Jue asked.

"No, I'm just surprised," 97 said, dazed. "So you really were sympathizing with us."

Ji Jue was silent.

"Thank you, and thank you for being sad that he couldn't return to his original self," 97 said. "You’ve already done enough, Mr. Ji Jue.

For things like us, Ironization Disease is the most terrifying thing of all. Being forced to turn into those inexplicable monsters while still alive is even more terrifying than death.

Being able to keep him in his original state, even as he is now, is already very good."

He patted Ji Jue on the shoulder and said with final gratitude: "Thank you."

"Don't talk about that."

Ji Jue sighed, not wanting to talk anymore, and pointed at the crying child: "What’s the deal with him? Why does he call someone else Mommy?

If I’m not mistaken, you... are all men, right?"

"That is indeed correct, but everyone here can be said to be his mother," 97 replied. "To be precise, everyone in the Rift Realm, even those monsters, is.

Little Nine is a 'newcomer' just produced in this restart, but the others are different. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Everyone has been processed through the cycle I don't know how many times."

He pointed to his own head: "Basically, we’re all mixed together."

This was the workshop's recycling mechanism.

All products deemed scrap were uniformly collected, dismantled, classified, mixed, reshaped, and then put back into production.

Turning into brand-new 'people.'

Following their settings, walking the predetermined path, and playing their own roles.

Whether it be a peddler or a high official and wealthy merchant.

From then on, day after day, year after year, they performed actions they couldn't even understand themselves, as if in a ritual of worship or an endless sacrifice.

Until one day, from this life that was infinitely close to being human, they truly understood what 'I' was.

They would truly think of themselves as human.

But once they discovered what their essence truly was, the beautiful dream ended.

Once the inherent settings and identities lost their meaning, and once they realized what they were, those creations that couldn't accept themselves would fall into chaos and eventually go completely insane.

Instinctively, they would destroy, slaughter, and seek death!

Longing for an end.

And once completely destroyed, everything would be recycled by the workshop again, ectoplasm cleansed, consciousness reset, reproduced, and then they would welcome a new role, a new 'life.'

Just like that, day by day, year by year, generation by generation...

Accumulating over time.

For four hundred years, the initial despair was constantly passed down, and in the end, the insane ectoplasm hidden beneath everyone's consciousness had become as deep as the ocean!

Ji Jue was silent, almost suffocating.

He couldn't imagine how desperate he would be if, after rebirth and reincarnation time and again, he discovered that life was merely an illusion, the self was nothingness, and fate was so cruel.

If they were creations of modern alchemy, it would just be spiritual overload and collapse, but Fluid Alchemy was something different...

Its greatest 'advantage' and 'feature' was that it would cause the creation's appearance and structure to gradually move closer to its essence.

When the essence had completely collapsed and such insane ectoplasm awakened from its slumber, the original human appearance would vanish without a trace, and they would become absolute monsters.

Suffering day and night, wailing day and night.

It was just like a true hell.

Unable to live, unable to die.

"We want to stop."

97 whispered to himself, as if praying to a demon or a god, "No matter what it takes, as long as we can stop."

Ji Jue was silent.

He didn't speak again.

Perhaps it was the next day, perhaps it was a few hours later.

Ji Jue was awakened by the commotion outside and heard the cheers and blessings from the camp.

Walking out of the tent, he saw 97 surrounded by the crowd, along with several others, holding weapons and fully armed.

It looked as if they were preparing to set out on an expedition.

Noticing Ji Jue's gaze, 97 smiled, waved at him as if saying goodbye, and turned to leave.

The exploration was about to begin once again.

The crowd cheered and shouted, applauding their backs, full of expectation, as if seeing them off.

Ji Jue even saw the Prophet in the crowd.

Right at the very back, at the entrance of that shed, she sat in a wheelchair, being pushed by someone, watching the exploration team leave as the gate closed once more.

Noticing Ji Jue approaching, she whispered something, and the person accompanying her left.

"How have you considered it, Mr. Ji Jue?" the Prophet asked.

Ji Jue shook his head: "I don't know, I haven't thought it through, but instinctively, I don't like you."

"That's normal. Characters who are secretive and pretend to be mysterious can never gain trust. Compared to someone as frank as you, it is actually someone like me, a non-human creation, who is more hypocritical."

The Prophet smiled calmly: "Please forgive me, sir. Some bargaining chips are simply too precious, and there is only one chance. I cannot rashly entrust it to someone who might not be trustworthy."

"Can't you explore it yourselves?" Ji Jue asked.

"Yes," the Prophet nodded with difficulty. "Do you think we will have any results?"

"I don't know." Ji Jue shook his head.

"Let me tell you. Perhaps there will be some piecemeal discoveries, perhaps we can find some warehouses and traces left by Mercury, but a real breakthrough? A real transformation? No, there won't be."

The Prophet said: "Never."

"From the beginning, everything was destined. We are tools, and tools cannot deviate from the operating range preset by their master," the Prophet said. "Even if the workshop's hub appeared before their eyes, they would only turn a blind eye, or even, be unable to understand..."

"And you?"

Ji Jue asked: "Aren't you the Prophet? The all-knowing Prophet, can't you find it either?"

"I can find it, of course I can find it."

The Prophet answered decisively, her smile becoming more mocking: "But what happens after I find it? Tools can never destroy the work left by their master, because that is the command engraved in the deepest part of our ectoplasm."

Other people simply cannot discover it, cannot enter it.

And even though the Prophet has known for a long time, she cannot act.

This is destined to be a cycle without results.

Futile expeditions will be launched again and again, but there will be no results.

Ji Jue asked: "Do they know?"

The Prophet did not answer.

A long time passed.

Only a helpless sigh.

"Mr. Ji Jue, if you wake up from a hell that is only suffering and realize the tragic outcome of your own existence, then it is best not to wake up other sleeping people. But there are more and more people waking up... then, you must make them believe that there is still a possibility of breaking hell."

"Otherwise, all that awaits them is despair."

"Yes, that's right, I am lying. I am not all-knowing. I have deceived them, more than once."

The Prophet smiled frankly: "In reality, I can't do anything; I'm just a liar.

Even the survival of this camp only lasts fifty or sixty years each time. When each restart begins, we will all return to the workshop and become unrecognizable again.

But I must make them believe that there is hope for the future.

Even if that hope is no matter how distant—"

"Humans need lies, and we need them too."

The Prophet whispered, sighing softly: "Mercury's plan actually has no problems. The only loophole is... did she make us too much like humans?"

Tools do not fear hell, tools do not despair, tools do not want to be liberated.

Only humans do.

Heaven and hell are both created by humans. All they can do is silently endure all this suffering.

Without knowing the years, without knowing the end.

In the silence, Ji Jue stared quietly at the camp before him. After a long time, he laughed at himself.

"Then why me? Prophet, if you know even a little, you should know that there is no essential difference between me and other outsiders."

"Perhaps you are just lucky?"

"My luck has never been good, only bad and worse, including you coming to find me," Ji Jue said. "Please answer this question frankly and directly."

"You have learned Fluid Alchemy, right?"

The Prophet turned her head and looked over, her incomplete pupils staring at him: "This is Mercury's workshop. According to the instructions once set by Mercury, if an apprentice masters Fluid Alchemy, they will automatically register in the core and be granted the most basic internal access permissions.

But your permissions are far higher than you imagine. Your ectoplasmic identification circuit represents the former Central Heat Reaction Furnace. The module that authorized you added a very small note to your authorization."

The Prophet's finger lifted, and right before Ji Jue's eyes, she drew a small symbol stroke by stroke, conveying the entrustment from the former furnace:

"It says, you can be trusted."

Ji Jue's pupils contracted for an instant.

He discerned the meaning of that outline.

That was a rune flowing from Supreme Good · Ascension.

In the interpretation of alchemy, it represents tolerance and bearing, symbolizing protection and gifting.

Its meaning is, [Compassion].

Ah, it's the end of the month, asking for monthly tickets.