Chapter 1394 Wildfire, Gemstones, and Vine

On the final day, Rita arrived at Undead Wildfire’s timeline and found the version of Wildfire who had already broken free from divine blessing.

"What’s your plan?"

To gain something meant paying a price.

Ever since BS Rita had appeared a hundred years ago and told her she was being given one hundred years, Undead Wildfire had already understood that whether Rita had a complete plan or not, she herself would inevitably become part of it.

Either as assistance.

Or as a fallback path.

The only way for her to break free from that fate was to become stronger than BS Rita within those hundred years.

But now, merely exchanging a glance with BS Rita was enough for her to realize she had failed.

The moment she heard:

[Warning! Warning! The old order is beginning to awaken.]

She already knew she had run out of time.

"Your B80 disappeared too, didn’t it?"

Rita skipped directly to the point.

"The Mechanoids are the true rulers behind the Order Clock. The authority and power I accumulated over a single epoch aren’t enough to defeat them."

"I’m going to bring everything from my timeline back to the First Epoch and find a way to break the deadlock."

"I’ll carry my story into the past. Once I leave, your timeline will become the most Brilliant timeline."

"You’ll continue moving forward."

"You’ll become the uncontaminated sample, and the best archive I leave behind."

"If we uncover the truth and resolve the source of everything, I’ll return with my story and continue walking beside you between light and shadow."

Who was the light?

Who was the shadow?

Undead Wildfire had obsessed over that question countless times.

But now, she cared far more about something else.

She frowned and stopped the other version of herself.

"Have you ever considered this?"

"The act of returning to the past may itself become the origin of all these disasters."

"You want to change the ending by altering the origin."

"The only way that works is if you yourselves become part of the story’s origin."

Undead Wildfire was right.

Even now that Rita possessed part of the authority, she still could not alter events that had already happened.

She could pause all timelines.

She could stop the Order Clock.

But she could not restore shattered worlds.

Nor could she resurrect those who had truly died.

Returning to the past might itself be part of destiny.

Part of the very reason all later disasters existed.

Rita understood this.

And so did every player who had received the information.

Yet none of them objected.

Even if they became sinners, it did not matter.

Even if they spent the rest of their lives drowning in regret, it did not matter.

They had to go to the story’s beginning and ask one question.

Why?

Because the suffering had lasted too long.

Because they could not see its end.

Because they could not see where it began.

Those gods had witnessed tragedy after tragedy being born.

Just imagining themselves living through such days in future epochs was enough to make the players of this era shudder.

Every Lightchaser and every Cinders across every timeline had left Isolated Isle.

They were searching for their apprentices.

But they were also searching for the truth.

Weren’t these Divine Game players themselves trapped inside a giant Isolated Isle?

Undead Wildfire released Rita’s wrist.

"You may summon me at any time."

"I’ll fight alongside you."

"Not bothered about being summoned around anymore?" Rita teased.

"So unless it’s a life or death battle, don’t call me."

The gemstone eye visible beneath Undead Wildfire’s hair curved slightly.

Then she suddenly said:

"I’m honored too."

Honored that you are another possibility of me.

Looking at that gemstone eye, Rita finally failed to suppress her curiosity.

She had wanted to ask this for ages.

But back then, her relationship with Undead Wildfire had been terrible.

Now that the atmosphere was finally decent, she immediately seized the chance.

"Who gave you that gemstone eye?"

Undead Wildfire raised a hand and lightly brushed across her right eye.

"Reward for taking first place in Divine Game."

"Teacher Foolishness helped me obtain it from QM Foolishness."

"I permanently lost both eyes because of a skill. They couldn’t be restored."

"Only gemstone eyes could let me see again."

"Was this gemstone eye the left eye or the right eye?"

Rita did not ask why Foolishness had been so generous.

Instead, she asked that.

Undead Wildfire looked surprised.

But soon she smiled.

"So in your timeline too, your relationship with Foolishness is pretty good."

After learning Foolishness gave her the gemstone eye, everyone else’s first question had been:

Why did she give it to you?

Only BS Rita cared whether it was the left eye or the right eye.

A very pointless question.

Gemstone eyes were classified by quality and type.

Who cared about left or right?

But only those who understood QM Foolishness and Starsea Foolishness knew it mattered.

Back then in Graveyard of Bones, after the two of them dug out each other’s gemstone eyes to create the initial bullet of [Foolishness Game], QM Foolishness kept the right eye.

Starsea Foolishness kept the left.

"The right eye."

Undead Wildfire’s gaze drifted into the distance.

She repeated softly:

"It’s the right eye."

Starsea Foolishness had dug out QM Foolishness’s eye and given it to her.

Leaving QM Foolishness wearing Starsea Foolishness’s gemstone eye instead.

Rita had no words.

Sometimes she genuinely did not understand Foolishness.

Either of them.

She frowned.

"But Starsea Foolishness gave away her only remaining gemstone eye because she didn’t want two flawed gemstones existing in the world at the same time."

"She wanted both QM Foolishness and Starsea Foolishness to become flawless."

"Exactly."

Undead Wildfire nodded.

"But maybe at some point her thoughts changed."

"Perhaps she wanted me to see the world through QM Foolishness’s gemstone eye."

"I promised both teachers that once everything is over, I’ll return the gemstone eye."

As she spoke, she opened her right hand.

A sapphire blue gemstone rested in her palm.

"I’ve already cultivated my own gemstone eye."

"I can return it at any time."

"But teacher told me to keep it a little longer."

Having satisfied her curiosity, Rita nodded.

Then she shamelessly seized the chance to ask another question.

"And what’s with your Vine?"

"Also a reward for taking first place in a game."

"Deceitful Bloom planted the seed in my left eye."

"It grows into the Vine that best represents my soul."

"You know Vineborne Vines can connect to all five senses."

"It became my other eye."

After answering Rita’s questions, Undead Wildfire finally asked one she had long been curious about herself.

"What about you?"

"Was your Vine also given by Deceitful Bloom?"

"I’m not sure."

Rita explained:

"My Vine was also a game reward."

"But I don’t know whether Deceitful Bloom secretly influenced it."

"On the surface it looks unrelated to her."

"But I’m not certain."

Undead Wildfire gave her a look that clearly said:

You don’t need to explain anymore. I understand.

This was the first time the two of them had ever sat down and chatted peacefully.

Perhaps it would also be the last.

They talked about every person they knew, searching for every difference.

It was an incredibly fascinating game.

Not only could they feel the strangeness of fate itself, they could also uncover hidden secrets.

"Foolishness was your etiquette teacher?"

"Didn’t Deceitful Bloom teach you anything?"

"She did."

"Later during a certain game, she taught me painting."

"Wait."

Rita froze.

"She can paint?!"

All timelines branching from this epoch originated from different choices made by players of this era.

The Deceitful Bloom of those timelines should not differ too drastically.

But fearing some misunderstanding, Rita still pressed further.

"Is she actually good at painting?"

"Yes."

Undead Wildfire answered naturally.

"She paints better than Graffiti."

Then there was absolutely no way she had only learned during this epoch.

Rita raised a hand to her forehead and shut her eyes.

She took several deep breaths trying to calm herself.

Finally she simply fell backward onto the floor and slapped World Sigh over her face, muffling her frustrated groan beneath the book.

Damn it.

She tricked me again!!!