Chapter 385

The entire universe had become riddled with fissures and abysses, swallowing billions of star rivers—this hauntingly beautiful scene of despair originated from this Earth, on the brink of destruction, where a man with long red hair held a long sword.

The swordlight was bright, like the moon in water, like the sun rising at dawn, illuminating all ten directions.

"Should we give him a beauty filter?" Xing observed for a while, then said: "Hair growth technique alone isn't enough."

Weigong Shilang had already collapsed from exhaustion and fallen asleep on the spot; during this time, all chat group members and players had arrived at this final battlefield, cut cleanly in half, their very concepts exposed upon the Sea of Time.

Zhang Chuyan said: "Almost done, but this high school uniform is a bit out of place—change it. I'll pose him and take a photo."

"Isn't a Japanese high school student saving the world as normal as an American homeless man shooting lasers from his eyes?" Houraisan Kaguya said: "It fits anime tropes perfectly—no problem."

"This universe is already falling apart," Song Shuhang said, giving him a look that said, "Why are you so cocky?"

"Justice's partner, what exactly have you been protecting? A little girl?"

The Purple Gold Divine Dragon took a puff of a cigar; after the effect of Yesterday's Replay Charm ended, he reverted from a handsome rogue to an Eastern divine dragon.

"Hey, you over there, God of Beauty, come here and give Dragon Grandpa a makeup job. What are you staring at? I'm talking to you—didn't you once speak ill of Dragon Grandpa at the goddess gathering in the Western and Eastern Divine Realms?"

"Dragon Grandpa doesn't hold grudges against minor gods—if you're unhappy, wait till my brother wakes up and I'll run you through with that exact same sword strike."

The Purple Gold Divine Dragon noticed that after saying this, the intense killing intent hidden in the shadows around him diminished considerably.

There was no way—he didn't want to use Yesterday's Replay for this very reason.

Without a common enemy present, once recognized, this group of former "acquaintances" would never let him go; who knew how many of them were old friends he'd personally robbed?

Now, raising this banner at least makes some of them hesitate—safety concerns are at least resolved.

Among the crowd of players drawn by the spectacle.

"Lixiang!!!" Astarte cried, hugging the girl with orange-red hair.

"I'm so glad you're safe—now I don't have to search for your soul."

"Quick, let's leave this universe full of monsters—the fuel should be enough for a dimensional leap!"

Tenzan Lixiang scratched his head, puzzled: "I just spent ages grinding for these points—I'm not leaving."

Astarte's face turned fearful: "Have they hypnotized you or brainwashed you?!"

The power of Reverse Position! Didn't you see what that fallen god just did?! Didn't you see that red-haired high school student wield the cosmos itself as a sword?!

Without a desperate reason, even the primordial goddess wouldn't want to associate with these monsters—let alone now, when she's suffered heavy damage and won't recover her former state anytime soon.

"You thought I was dead this whole time?" Tenzan Lixiang suddenly understood, yet his expression turned strange.

"I specifically asked Merlin to send a message that I was safe—Mr. Su Lin and the others aren't bad people, and Merlin said the message was delivered."

"I even wanted to ask you to help guard the simulated universe, but my private messages got zero replies."

"What have you been doing all this time?"

"." Astarte glanced around, her cheeks flushed, clenched her fists—but found no trace of Gilgamesh's figure—so she hastily changed the subject.

"Um… I didn't worry about you—I already knew you were fine."

"Who is this man you're carrying? I feel something odd about him."

"Looks like he's only up to Chapter Four—King of Kagami," Tenzan Lixiang placed the 【male】 counterpart aside: "Be careful—your affection points were all raised by me! Don't let him seduce you!"

"We're doomed—this senior's mind is completely filled with games," Mashu said to her other self.

"I bear undeniable responsibility for turning him this way—please don't repeat this mistake in the future."

The shield maiden from the Parallel World understood none of what this version of herself was saying; she simply remained quietly as a prisoner, standing still.

Mashu sighed, stepped closer to Tenzan Lixiang's male counterpart, studied his face, then turned her gaze back to Tenzan Lixiang and said:

"He's clearly the child of Mr. Weigong and Miss Yuanbao…"

"Didn't I explain this to you?" Tenzan Lixiang stared at Mashu, completely stunned.

She suddenly remembered—because that night's food had been so delicious, Mashu had never mentioned it to anyone else at Chaldea, so…

She'd forgotten.

"Your parents are Mr. Weigong Shilang and Miss Yuanbao Lin from the Parallel World," Mashu asked, puzzled.

"Boys resemble their mothers, girls resemble their fathers—what's wrong with that?"

"Your faces are completely identical."

"Shut up—this isn't a Type-Moon ethical drama!" Tenzan Lixiang gritted his teeth, pressing his forehead: "Have you forgotten our goal?!"

Several servants from Chaldea already had spiral eyes; their heads were already filled with transparent question marks, visible even without looking.

"We have no blood relation!"

After explaining, Tenzan Lixiang ran toward Mr. Donghuang Taiyi, whose ID read 【Zhongli】.

"I've already spoken with Su Lin about this—he agreed to keep an eye out for relevant information within his capacity," Zhongli knew well what Tenzan Lixiang cared about most.

"Calm down—he hasn't returned yet."

On this matter, Zhongli had not told Tenzan Lixiang one thing.

When he and Gaia had appeared near Tenzan Lixiang's café was no accident—it had been deliberately arranged by Su Lin.

'Arrange it—she must be assigned to work here.'

'Protagonists carry cosmic fortune—if they start embodying love, friendship, and victory on the other side, it'll be a problem.'

'Since the day she entered this dimensional corridor, every move she made has been under my observation—including making her a player. Now she trusts us enough—using this as bait to lure in Chaos Evil should work.'

Since Gaia had indeed discussed related knowledge with him, Zhongli agreed to this arrangement—if Su Lin truly succeeded in reaching the Root and obtained information, this task would be trivial.

"Should be fine, right?" Tenzan Lixiang asked.

"Should be," Zhongli thought briefly, then said: "At least personally, I trust him without doubt."

For everyone, information about the Root was scarce—now it all depended on whether Su Lin could succeed; no one knew what lay inside the Root.

Information from the "original work" or "source material" doesn't reflect reality—each group member's world has incomplete records, vague mentions, or even complete omissions.

Tenzan Lixiang nodded—but just then, a solemn bell rang, and gray-white mist spread.

Moments later, the azure hole of the Holy Grail emerged from layers of historical mist.

Su Lin stood before the Hole of the Holy Grail, expressionless, clutching a pure white sphere of light, while the gearwheels of light behind him gradually faded into shadows.

This fragment of history, returning to reality, gradually lost the support of some power; the deep-blue hole instantly contracted, becoming a singularity fixed in place.

At that moment, the Primordial Wisdom Menil in the starry sky transformed into a golden lightning bolt, suddenly appearing beside Su Lin's side.

"Su Lin!" someone warned.

Su Lin shook his head, and radiant streams of light began to swirl around him—irregular fragments and countless specks of light converged toward the white sphere.

Menil sheathed his sword at his waist, knelt on the void, and cupped his palms upward in a gesture of offering.

When Su Lin's aura plummeted abruptly to a pitifully weak level, and his body no longer bore any trace of Carosso's traits, he placed the radiant sphere—brighter than the sun—into Menil's hands.

True to his word, he returned these soul fragments, embodying the positive attributes of the Great Will; he no longer possessed Carosso's status or power.

The Golden Angel rose and bowed slightly to Su Lin, cradling the soul fragment to his chest like a precious treasure.

His wings arched high behind him; after a single beat, he soared upward into the endless starry void, a magical array of unknown runes forming, and a vast dimensional gate appeared beyond.

"I hadn't even asked for your contact details—why rush off like that?" Su Lin lowered his hand, which had just lifted to stop him, his eyes drooping, listless, murmuring to himself:

"I was going to ask if he'd be interested in a part-time job across two worlds. But of course—this authority and power can't be taken away directly."

"Like the Wayne family's money—it always flows back into their account no matter how you use it."

"The knowledge of an entire universe is certainly valuable. But why should I handle hidden crises? Most computational power must normally be used for cosmic tuning."

"I get it, stop freaking out—I'm not your dad?! Ugh—I'll be back soon, so stop the sensory sharing!"

Su Lin's expression darkened. He could leave this universe outright without consequence—it wasn't as if he were imprisoned here.

But whenever his consciousness or body appeared in this universe, he would inevitably link and synchronize with the "God" lodged in the Root—his spawn point had been permanently fixed there.

Su Lin now understood the uppermost structure of this universe: if the Root and the universe itself were the body, then "God" was the soul or consciousness.

Just as the Burning Legion must have a Lich King, this universe must have a God dwelling within the Root.

The benefit, of course, was clear: after Su Lin inscribed all knowledge of the Root into himself, he could create worlds independently, even beyond this universe.

Over countless eons—since the universe's very birth—he had already reached that level of completeness, but bound by the limits of Origin, "God" was forced to imprison himself within the Root, or else the universe's operation and growth would stall.

If Su Lin were not in this world, the operation would be handled by the "Fourth Catastrophe Simulator" host-body; but once he was present, and his body was no longer within the Root—

The torrent of intrusive messages from the Root would drive him mad with annoyance.

Still, it wasn't so bad—just consider himself enrolled in a Creator God incubation garden, trading labor for tuition, with guaranteed admission upon graduation.

Su Lin rubbed his brow. In plain terms, he preferred free rides, unearned wealth, overnight riches—this long-term contract tying life to work made him feel forced into employment.

He turned toward Tenzan Lixiang, pulled out a crystal, and tossed it toward him—it was the soul and records of Romani Archimedes.

Solomon's body, life, creations, achievements, deeds—even his existence as a Heroic Spirit—vanished from the Heroic Spirit Throne, arriving at the "Nothing" never reached by humanity.

Now, Su Lin had fished this information out from "Nothing," bundled it, and could likely reinsert it into a body for use; the rest was up to them.

"It seems you've lost that power that never belonged to you," said Gilgamesh, appearing here with the cosmic-scale Ea.

"A villain with a repeated face—I'm not in the mood to play with you." Su Lin waved him off, preparing to return temporarily to the Root; once this was settled, he'd gather some knowledge and clock out for home:

"Today is Sunday—God's statutory day off. Handle it tomorrow."

The violent cutting force caused violent tremors in the shattered universe; the primordial crimson slashed past Su Lin's left side, striking instead the chaotic entities oozing from the cosmic fissures.

"Unreliable gods can't accomplish anything. I even planned to let it run wild inside." Gilgamesh's gaze sharpened, coldly stating:

"Stand still there and maintain the path to the Root!"

"After I cleanse these lowly life-forms not permitted to enter, I shall personally venture into the depths!!"

So these chaotic beings, not permitted by him to enter this universe, must be purged?

Mr. Yang's values are very Gilgamesh.

Su Lin glanced at the creatures sneaking in through the "firewall loophole," and the malware they carried; a faint flame appeared on his fingertip.

After one second of gathering light, Su Lin blew gently toward that direction—the flame, no larger than a dying candle, instantly expanded infinitely, becoming a white tide that swallowed the entire universe.

When the wave of Order's light receded, the chaotic beings—including Miss Kelaien's historical projections and puppets—vanished with the extinguishing flames.

"One move, done. What's there to say?"

Su Lin had planned to deal with this on Monday, but he snapped his fingers and declared to the universe:

"Repair."

The shattered universe restored itself as if time flowed backward—gaps and wounds vanished.

"Let there be stars."

The stars, erased by the prior battle and reduced to atomic dust except for those in the Solar System, reappeared in their original positions, along with all their creations.

Gilgamesh stared in disbelief: "You've replaced Him?!"

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Su Lin glanced at Gilgamesh, his eyes sweeping over the man's right hand and the Ea upon it, then reopened the gate to the Root and stepped inside.

Since things were already like this, why not just go along with them?

"Night and day, chaos and order, divinity and corruption—all are realms I have created."

"I am One, and I am Ten Thousand; I am the Beginning, and I am the End."

Amid the stunned gazes of the chat group members, the Suppressors, the Heroic Spirits, Su Lin entered the Root's gate and left his final words:

—"I am the One Who Was, Who Is, and Who Always Shall Be—the Primordial God."

"I fought Odin for three hundred rounds to protect the Holy Grail—why didn't anyone tell me the battle was already over?!" Lu Mingfei slammed his cards down on the table.

"I finally figured out the opponent's identity and defeated him—only to find out the mission was already over!"

In the end, he had prevailed, driving Gungnir into the chest of the black dragon impersonating Odin, displaying his heroism across countless worlds.

Though he vaguely sensed something was off, it was still ultimately Lu Mingfei's victory.

"One Dot." Meng Qi played a tile and asked Su Lin: "What happened on your end?"

"This and that, like this and that." Su Lin drew a tile, placed it in the center, and discarded a Three of Characters: "How'd you handle things over in the Immortal Realm?"

"Like this, and like that," Meng Qi took the tile and said, "I win. Pure suit."

"Are you guys encrypting your calls over here?!" Xiao Yan asked, stunned.

Meng Qi said, "Su Lin means he was tricked by a pigeon, and now he's indefinitely serving as the 007 God in this universe."

Su Lin said, "Meng Qi means Tai Gongwang used a magical artifact to return to the past, and upon returning, he tacitly accepted the situation. The Immortal Realm needs the Three Pure Ones, but it doesn't matter who they are."

"If you haven't communicated through the chat group or any other means, I'll eat this table," Kleen said slowly.

"Also, casting illusions to reduce your intelligence to that of ordinary humans is exhausting—I need to replenish my sugar."

Zhang Chu'an blinked, then said, "But I don't know the Vatican well—how am I supposed to notify them to set up a feast next time the big boss comes?"

"Senior Elders," Song Shuhang raised his hand weakly, "why are both of you at every table?!"

He had already lost more than half his fortune, yet on all three tables sat the figures of Su Lin and Meng Qi.

"It's normal for the Three Pure Ones to be three," Meng Qi tapped the resource exchange voucher and recalled his other two incarnations.

"The Holy Son, the Holy Father, the Holy Spirit—one entity in three," Su Lin leaned back in his chair, eyes vacant.

"Lately, because of all you annoying outsiders causing trouble, my workload has spiked—though most of it doesn't require me to handle personally."

"By the way, Lu Mingfei, don't say I don't look out for you, my veteran employee—interested in becoming the next successor?"

"Thanks, but isn't your universe a bit off? Always fixating on outsiders," Lu Mingfei's lip twitched.

"The Inhibitor Gaia tried to make me Earth's UO yesterday."

"I noticed—you were about to bleed from the nose," Su Lin said. "You even refused a pink-haired beauty's plea to cling to your leg? Truly heartless."

Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes. Refuse? No way—his own Earth and this Earth aren't the same at all.

"You've blended in so quickly—congratulations," Ye Fan teased.

"Lord Primordial God, I've paid every single tax, and I've spared no effort fighting and killing for you."

"Didn't you forget something? Like—"

"The place you're in now lies beyond the Outer Edge of the Root Vortex. I built a library—you may enter or leave freely," Su Lin stretched and said.

"I'll leave the follow-up cleanup to you—I'm packing up and taking off for now."

As Su Lin departed, in an ineffable depiction, a dreamlike, ethereal, mysterious scene replaced the previous mahjong room, and only then did the chat group members realize their surroundings had changed.

"Where are you running off to?" Meng Qi asked. "To the True Realm for a visit?"

"Next time," Su Lin waved his hand. He had nearly forgotten how long he'd wandered through eternal time: "I just want to go home."

I said I'd rest at 6 p. m., but when I woke up, it was already 1 a. m.

I'm sorry for the update timing issues and the delays in the Type-Moon ending—I've been trying to post more these past few days.

Very sorry.

If I'd skipped yesterday's and the day before's chapters entirely, the already poorly paced arc would've become a head without a tail. I vastly overestimated my efficiency and lacked a concrete schedule, disappointing all of you.

Sorry again.

(End of Chapter)