287: The cry of origin

Thump.

A heartbeat, dull and heavy, yet it clearly spread to every corner of the high tower, even penetrating the metal barriers and striking the hearts of every awakened person in Twilight City.

The 'Lord of Equilibrium', composed of silver liquid metal, suddenly stiffened. The 'Return to Zero' ritual, which was about to be completed, and its world-destroying torrent of energy, experienced a momentary stagnation.

On its terrified, twisted face, data streams ran wild.

"War... ning... Unauthorized... core... command... detected..."

Thump! Thump!

The second heartbeat was even more powerful than the first.

This was no longer just a simple sound, but a declaration of will. The Origin of the world, which had slept for ten thousand years, had been thoroughly awakened by Li Dong's words, 'Someone is tearing down your house,' and was expressing its dissatisfaction in the most primitive and brutal way.

Crack—Crack!

On the mirror-smooth silver walls of the equilibrium Tower, spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly. Those runes that once represented Absolute Equilibrium flickered like burnt-out circuits, emitting 'hissing' moans before finally dissipating into wisps of black smoke.

The Foundation of the 'Lord of Equilibrium' was being uprooted by the very 'mother' it had imprisoned.

"No! Impossible! The Origin will has long been assimilated by 'Absolute Equilibrium'; it should be sleeping, it should be eternal!"

Its roar turned into sharp electronic noise, and the silver humanoid figure began to collapse, like a melting wax statue, its features blurred and its limbs twisted.

Li Dong picked his ear, watching this comical scene.

"That's why you shouldn't treat someone else's mother as your own; it leads to trouble."

He extended a finger, the brilliance of the [Attunement] Law flowing on his fingertip, and gently tapped the withered, beating heart in front of him.

A gentle but irresistible will passed through his fingertip. He wasn't commanding; it was more like guiding a child who had just woken up and was still grumpy.

"Don't just throw a tantrum and make a mess of the house. Think about it, what do you want to be? A potted plant, or a towering tree?"

The heartbeat of the world's Origin paused, and then, a pure, primitive desire for 'vitality' and 'creation' erupted from the depths of the heart. It didn't want to be imprisoned anymore; it wanted to breathe, to feel the wind, to see the real sun.

Outside the tower, Mo Chen and all the citizens who had just regained their sense of self felt the pulse from deep underground.

The tower shook violently, and countless rubble and metal fragments fell from high above, but no one was afraid. Everyone looked up, their eyes shining with unprecedented light.

"It's... it's this world breathing!" Mo Chen muttered to himself, tears streaming down his face again.

He grabbed some charcoal from the ground and began to frantically draw on a relatively intact wall nearby. He didn't draw specific images, just used all his strength to draw lines that went upward, outward, and broke free from all constraints.

His actions ignited everyone.

A woman who had just found her voice began to sing loudly. The singing was off-key, but filled with praise for life.

A carpenter picked up a block of wood and struck it hard, creating a powerful rhythm.

Cries, laughter, singing, shouting... these things that were once considered 'noise' now converged into a majestic torrent of 'Variable,' flowing along the veins of the earth toward the tower, injecting the freshest nutrients into the awakening Origin will.

"Ahhh—!!"

The residual will of the 'Lord of Equilibrium' let out a final roar. It gave up maintaining its form and completely turned into a mass of violent silver energy.

"If it cannot be eternal... then let us all return to nothingness!!"

Boom—!

The entire tower, along with all the remaining Laws and energy inside it, was instantly detonated by it. This was not a physical explosion, but an annihilation at the conceptual level, intending to completely erase Li Dong, the world's Origin, and its own existence from this dimension.

Silver light swallowed everything.

In front of Li Dong, the [ancient stone slab] appeared out of thin air, hovering quietly.

The energy storm, capable of annihilating everything, crashed into the stone slab without making a sound, vanishing into thin air as if swallowed by an invisible black hole.

Li Dong even had the leisure to give the middle finger to the center of the energy through the gaps in the storm.

In the midst of the storm, he used the Law of [Song of Creation] to gently wrap around the heart of the world, which had just awakened and was still somewhat fragile, shielding it from all outside disturbances and guiding it to complete its final transformation.

It was during this process that Li Dong's Divine Thought pierced through the core of the explosion and saw the true roots of the 'Lord of Equilibrium'.

It wasn't an energy entity, nor was it a will.

It was a... nail.

An off-white 'conceptual anchor' emitting the aura of an alien dimension. It was this nail that had been forcibly driven into the heart of this world from outside the dimension, locking the entire world's Luck, Laws, and possibilities into the concept of 'Absolute Equilibrium'.

So it wasn't a parasite, but a soul-suppressing nail.

Li Dong looked at the anchor, a flash of realization in his eyes.

No wonder that mastermind invited him, this 'super Variable', over. Was it to see if he could pull out this nail? Or was he also part of the plan?

Interesting.

The aftermath of the explosion dissipated, and the world's Origin, under the soothing of the [Song of Creation], became increasingly pure and condensed.

It instinctively wanted to repel and destroy the 'conceptual anchor' nailed to it.

"Don't be in such a hurry to throw it away." Li Dong reached out and pressed down on the restless heart of the world. "Although this thing isn't good, the material is decent. It's a pity to throw it away. Why not... put it to good use?"

He activated the Law he had just comprehended—[Multivariate Variable]—against the off-white anchor.

This was not destruction, nor was it consumption, but a higher level of 'Attunement'.

He began to rewrite the underlying code of this 'conceptual anchor'.

Changing 'Fixed' to 'Flowing'.

Changing 'Static' to 'Cyclical'.

Changing 'Absolute' to 'Relative'.

This was an extremely delicate operation, a billion times more complex than engraving on an atom. Beads of sweat seeped from Li Dong's forehead, but his expression was focused to the extreme.

What he wanted to do was to transform a death-sentence shackle into a self-regulating ecological cycle System.

Hum—

The 'conceptual anchor' vibrated violently, its off-white light gradually replaced by a warm, seven-colored light containing infinite possibilities.

Under Li Dong's guidance, the transformed world's Origin took the initiative to extend light tentacles and gently wrap around this brand-new anchor.

The two fused perfectly.

From now on, this was no longer a cage, but the true 'heart of the universe' for this world. It would self-regulate, breathe, grow, and maintain a vibrant 'Dynamic Equilibrium' according to the world's needs.

Rumble...

The equilibrium Tower, having lost its core support, finally met its end.

But it was not destruction.

The entire tower, in brilliant light, disintegrated inch by inch from the top, turning into billions of light particles, like a reversed galaxy, all absorbed by the newly born 'heart of the universe'.

It became the first cornerstone of the new world.

In the sky, the eternal twilight that had been oppressive for eons was like a torn canvas, from which a dazzling golden light burst forth.

The first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds.

Immediately after, the second, the third...

The gray sky was completely dispelled, and a real, vibrant rising sun leaped over the horizon.

Seven-colored light sprinkled over the land. Those dead plants sprouted new shoots at a speed visible to the naked eye; fresh springs gushed from the dried riverbeds; the air was no longer filled with dead dust, but with the fragrance of soil and grass.

"Ah... the sun..."

"It's... it's warm..."

"Sob sob... colors, I can see colors!"

In the city, all the living beings who had been suppressed for thousands of years bathed in the long-lost sunlight, first stunned, then bursting into earth-shattering cheers. They laughed, danced, hugged, and let hot tears stream down their cheeks.

This world was alive.

Li Dong stood at the top of the former tower, feeling the powerful pulse of the heart of the universe beneath his feet, which was resonating wonderfully with the [heart of the universe] within his own body.

While helping this world complete its rebirth, his understanding of the [Attunement] Law also reached a whole new level.

"Mr. Li Dong!"

Mo Chen rushed over. He was covered in dirt, tears still hanging on his face, but those eyes were as bright as the stars in the sky.

He looked at the man in front of him who had single-handedly created a miracle, too excited to speak coherently.

"I... we... this world..."

Li Dong patted his shoulder, a relaxed smile on his face.

"How does it feel? Are you satisfied with the new version update?"

Mo Chen nodded vigorously. He looked at the vibrant new world before him, knowing that what Li Dong had brought was something more precious than freedom.

It was hope.

Li Dong looked up at the rising sun, his gaze seeming to pierce through time and space.

The 'illness' of this world was cured, but the guy who set up the 'chess game' should be showing up soon, right?

Don't keep me waiting too long, friend.