Chapter 1012: The Fictional Thespian

The Fictional Thespian

A pair of hollow pupils slowly opened in the dimness.

Chen Ling lay flat on the ground of the Theater. His spread Great Crimson Theatrical Robe was like a blossoming, bewitching flower. Having digested all the Bewilderment in his mind, he slowly crawled up, stiff and powerless like a zombie...

His gaze swept over the surroundings. Pairs of mocking scarlet pupils were gazing at him from the darkness of the audience seats, just as they usually did.

Under the pale light, the messy black tips of his hair cast shadows on his face. He gave a miserable smile...

Chen Ling had never existed.

From the very beginning, he was a part of [Mockery], a completely ordinary "Audience" member... His personality, his memories, everything he thought was his own, were merely a "Role" molded by the Red King.

The Red King endowed him with self-consciousness, successfully triggering the internal conflict of the Calamity of Mockery. As long as he stood on the Stage, the "Chen Ling" personality would control the entire Calamity of Mockery, turning it from a World-Ending calamity that no one could defeat into a living, breathing human...

"Turning a 'World-Ending' into a 'human'; turning the natural enemy of the Path of the Actor into a disciple under his own tutelage..."

"What a... brilliant layout."

Chen Ling's dry and cracked lips slightly curled up. He looked at everything on the Stage, laughing one moment and crying the next, acting as if he were mad.

How should he view the Red King?

Was he the "father" who endowed him with self-consciousness and saved him from the sea of suffering of the Audience... Or was it the invisible hand manipulating fate that viewed him as a Chess Piece?

Chen Ling didn't know... He truly didn't know.

That period of time in the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path had been his most cherished past. In this era, only that place gave him a sense of security.

His senior brothers taught him Theatre Dao Secret Methods, and Master taught him [Paint the Rosy Face] so he could maintain his sense of self under the impact of Mockery... Chen Ling was very grateful to the Red King. Even though he wasn't the Chen Yan who had acknowledged him as Master back then, in his heart, he had genuinely acknowledged the Red King as his Master, a true Master.

But now he found that there seemed to be another explanation for everything the Red King had done...

Having Chen Yan acknowledge him as Master and prematurely binding him to the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path; telling him to go to the Ancient Vault of the Drama Path whenever he felt bewilderment in his heart, and teaching him [Paint the Rosy Face]. All of this was nothing more than wanting this personality of his, which could control the Calamity of Mockery, to gain a greater advantage, thereby always remaining under his control.

Was he a disciple, or a Chess Piece? Chen Ling could no longer distinguish...

But none of this mattered anymore.

Anyway, everything about him was fake. He himself was fake, his family was fake, his past was fake, the Divine Path was fake... Did it matter whether the Red King's attitude toward him was genuine or fake?

Anyway, he was just a fictional product.

Creak—— Creak——

Chen Ling stepped onto the floor of the Stage step by step. The slight creaking sound was incomparably clear amidst the dead silence.

The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe swayed under the spotlight. Like a puppet without a soul, he slowly walked to the edge of the Stage... The ink-like darkness enveloped the surroundings like an abyss. Pairs of expectant scarlet pupils gazed at him like a squirming tide.

As long as Chen Ling took one more step forward on his own initiative, he would leave the Stage and plunge into the abyss...

Once the "Chen Ling" personality voluntarily gave up the Stage, all the other "Audience" members would desperately surge onto the Stage, and the power truly belonging to [Mockery] would be released.

Within a minute, the Silver King would die without a burial place;

Within three minutes, the Wuji Domain would be reduced to a life-forbidden zone;

The Scarlet Master of the Ghastly Mocking Abyss would descend upon the human world, and all the remaining Human Domains would be enveloped in the haze of death. Even other calamity zones within the Gray World would tremble because of it...

This wasn't an imagination; this was a future that would truly happen. Chen Ling was very clear that without his imprisonment, the Calamity of Mockery was entirely capable of achieving this.

It was the King of "World-Ending," the absolute strongest in both worlds.

It was no exaggeration to say that the survival of humanity rested entirely on a single thought from Chen Ling at this moment...

But by the same token, he would never be able to return to the Stage again this time. Everything belonging to "Chen Ling" would sink into oblivion forever. He would forget everything and become one of the countless "Audience" members again.

This time, even the Red King wouldn't be able to save him.

"... Let it be destroyed."

Chen Ling closed his eyes in exhaustion, like a wanderer trekking alone through a forbidden desert zone. His very soul and body exuded despair. Life and death were no longer important to him.

He was too tired.

The sleeves of the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe spread open under the spotlight. Just as Chen Ling was about to take a step out, an urgent voice sounded by his ear:

"Wait!"

That was Yao's voice.

Chen Ling subconsciously stopped his movements... He almost forgot that there was still another soul existing in his mind.

"If you jump down now, there truly will be no turning back." Yao's voice was incomparably solemn,

"Regardless of whether your past is true or fake, after becoming 'Chen Ling', everything you experienced is true, isn't it?

Zhao Yi, Han Meng, Little Jian, Wen Shilin, Lord of the Aurora, Huang Suyue, Liu Qingyan, Sun Bumian, Jiang Xiaohua, Chu Muyun, Bai Ye... In their eyes, you are Chen Ling, a flesh-and-blood Chen Ling!

Your existence is not without meaning...

A created Thespian can still have a life of his own."

Familiar faces flashed one after another in Chen Ling's mind. In those hollow pupils, a faint sliver of vitality named "hope" surfaced.

With his head lowered, he stood at the edge of the Stage for a long time, speaking hoarsely:

"... It's different."

"How is it different?"

"I am 'World-Ending', they are humans." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "From the very beginning, we were opposed to each other... The me they came into contact with wasn't me."

In everyone's eyes, Chen Ling was just Chen Ling, but the current Chen Ling was very clear... He was the Calamity of Mockery.

Humans and World-Ending calamities had always been mortal enemies. Once they knew he was the Calamity of Mockery itself, perhaps everything would be different. The past where Chen Ling had invested genuine emotions had already become fake; he didn't want to experience being Deserted by All once again.

"So what if you're 'World-Ending'? Will you kill them?"

"I..."

Chen Ling looked at the densely packed scarlet pupils before him, those gazes filled with pure malice and mockery. He slowly shook his head, "I don't know..."

"I think you need to give yourself a chance... and also give this world a chance." Yao said patiently,

"Perhaps, things aren't as bad as you think."

Chen Ling fell silent.

Standing at the edge of the Stage, a faint light flickered in his gray, dim eyes, like a despairing person about to drown, constantly searching for a vine he could grasp onto...

He was looking for a reason... A reason that would allow even a fictional Chen Ling to keep on living.

Random fantasies failed to provide Chen Ling with a reason, but Yao's words gave him a glimmer of hope. Perhaps things really weren't as bad as he thought...

After an unknown amount of time,

Chen Ling slowly took half a step backward.