228: Chapter 228 Protecting You

The moment the cold bronze mask made contact with Lin Tianyi's facial skin—

The world fell apart before his eyes.

There was no transition, no warning.

One second, he was still in the ancient tomb under the gaze of his companions.

The next, the scene before him transformed into a... Sea of Chaos, an indescribable expanse of countless boiling geometric shapes and blinding colors.

Fatty, Wang Xianzhi, and Song Yiqing's figures vanished. The tomb, the stone walls, the firelight... all material existence lost its meaning.

His "body" disappeared as well. He couldn't feel his breath or hear his heartbeat. He had become a pure "Observer," a consciousness floating within this storm of perception.

Countless, frenzied pieces of information that defied human logic pierced into his mind like billions of steel needles.

He "saw" the flow of time; it was no longer linear, but a "piece of paper" that could be folded at will.

He "heard" the wail of space; every atom was chanting its own "song" at a different frequency.

He "understood" the weaving of causality, seeing countless threads of fate stretching from the past toward the future, entangling with one another to form a giant web called "reality."

This was what the mask had promised—the "truth" of everything.

A mortal's brain simply couldn't process such vast, high-dimensional information. In just an instant, Lin Tianyi felt his consciousness about to be completely torn apart and assimilated by this Sea of Chaos!

"Hold onto your heart!"

Just as he was on the brink of collapse, a familiar and steady voice rang out from the depths of his consciousness like a stabilizing pillar.

It was Zhang Qilin!

With the appearance of this voice, a warm and pure golden energy extended from a corner of the Sea of Chaos, acting like a sturdy "anchor" that firmly "hooked" Lin Tianyi's about-to-dissipate consciousness.

The violent torrent of information surrounding him, enough to drive anyone insane, seemed to encounter a dam and began to become orderly and calm.

Lin Tianyi's "vision" finally stabilized.

He found himself standing on a "bridge" made of pure light, suspended over the Sea of Chaos.

And Zhang Qilin stood at the other end of the bridge.

He was no longer the taciturn, agile young man in Lin Tianyi's memory.

The Zhang Qilin before him had become somewhat... translucent. His body was wrapped in countless golden chains composed of rules and runes. One end of these chains was deeply embedded in his body, while the other end extended infinitely, disappearing into the Sea of Chaos below.

He did not sit upon any throne.

He himself was the "throne"!

He used his own soul as the "foundation" to suppress this chaos.

He was the "seal" itself!

"You've come."

There was no expression on Zhang Qilin's "face," and his voice had lost its emotional fluctuations, becoming as calm as absolute zero. This wasn't coldness, but a state... transcending joy and sorrow, nearing the "Dao."

"This is the interior of the 'Gate,' and also the... bottommost layer of 'Guixu'."

He slowly raised his hand, pointing toward the endless chaos below.

"Everything you have seen—the 'Purifiers,' 'Zhulong,' 'Xiangliu'... they are all just different 'reflections' cast by this 'Sea of Chaos' upon the 'surface' of 'reality'."

"It has no fixed form; it is whatever you believe it to be. It is the origin of all things, and the end of all things. You may call it... the 'Abyss'."

Lin Tianyi—or rather, Lin Tianyi's consciousness—watched all this in silence.

He finally understood why the price of wearing the mask was seeing the "truth."

Because once one knew the "truth" of the world, they could no longer view that tiny, material "reality" with their old eyes.

"Are you... okay?"

Out of a thousand words, in the end, Lin Tianyi could only ask this simplest and most powerless question.

He couldn't imagine what kind of willpower it took for a person to endure the erosion and roar of the entire "Abyss" in a place like this, day after day.

"'I' am no longer important."

Zhang Qilin replied calmly, "The 'I' that is the individual 'Zhang Qilin'—emotions, memories, personality... are all being slowly worn away by this 'sea.' Perhaps in decades, or perhaps in centuries, I will completely merge with the 'seal' itself, becoming a... 'rule' without self-awareness."

"But this is... the price that must be paid."

His gaze seemed to pierce through endless dimensions, seeing Lin Tianyi's companions in the real world, the lights of ten thousand homes in Huaxia, and the azure ocean on Earth.

"Before I completely 'disappear,' I must find... the next 'Gatekeeper'."

"So, you had us come here for..." Lin Tianyi's consciousness fluctuated violently.

"It was for... a choice."

For the first time, a ripple appeared in Zhang Qilin's voice; it was a... profound exhaustion.

"First, you return and completely forget everything here. I will use the last of my strength to temporarily reinforce the seal, buying your world... another hundred years of peace. After a hundred years, the seal will collapse, the 'Abyss' will pour in, and all things will return to one."

"Second..."

He fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"You, wearing this 'key'..." He glanced at the Ghost-face mask on Lin Tianyi's face, "...will inherit my position and become the new 'Gatekeeper'."

"And I will obtain... liberation."

There was no third option.

It was either the destruction of the entire world...

...or Lin Tianyi's... self-sacrifice.

This was an... incredibly cruel, yet incredibly fair... multiple-choice question.

Zhang Qilin had handed the right to make this choice to Lin Tianyi.

Because he had endured it alone for too long; he... was tired.

Lin Tianyi fell silent.

He "looked" at the Zhang Qilin before him, the comrade who had fought alongside him through life and death.

He "looked" at the golden chains on him that represented endless responsibility and pain.

He thought of Fatty's banter, Wang Xianzhi's cold sword-light, and Song Yiqing's persistence.

He also remembered how, in "Guixu," Zhang Qilin had time and again stepped in front of them without hesitation, using his not-so-broad back to shield them and hold up a piece of the sky.

He had protected everyone.

Now, it's... our turn to protect you.

"I choose the third option."

Lin Tianyi's consciousness suddenly became incredibly firm, like a rock.

For the first time, a hint of... astonishment appeared in Zhang Qilin's near-"Dao" state of calm.

"There is no third option."

"No, there is."

Lin Tianyi "stared" directly at him and said word for word.

"We aren't leaving, and you don't have to carry this alone anymore."

"We choose neither escape nor sacrifice."

"We choose... to fight!"

"Fight?" Zhang Qilin's consciousness rippled violently. "Fight whom? The 'Abyss'? That isn't an 'enemy,' that is the 'rule' itself! It's just like how humans cannot fight 'death'!"

"Then we rewrite the rules!"

At this moment, Lin Tianyi's will burned to its peak!

"Have you forgotten how we survived in 'Guixu'? We never believed in any of that bullshit about fate and rules!"

"The murals you left behind have already told us the answer! Our ancestors, those gods of the Bloodline Faction—since they could create the 'box' that is 'Guixu' to seal everything, it proves that 'rules' can be created and changed!"

"Just because they failed doesn't mean we will!"

"You aren't fighting alone, Qilin!"

"Behind you, there's us! There's Fatty, Little Wang, Song Yiqing! And... the strength of all Huaxia, the entire world!"

"We might not be able to understand this Sea of Chaos, but we can... build a boat!"

"Build a boat... that can carry you across this sea of suffering!"

Lin Tianyi's words were like a thunderclap, striking hard against Zhang Qilin's soul that was about to be completely "Dao-ified"!

The golden chains on his body began to tremble violently!

Deep within his eyes, which had been as calm as an ancient well, a tiny flame of "human" emotion was... reignited!

Yes...

He had... not heard such words for a very... very... long time.

He had grown accustomed to... enduring everything... alone.

"...It's useless..."

His voice, though still calm, now held a hint of... wavering.

"The World Tree of the ancestors has already been destroyed. The 'source' that creates rules has disappeared. What... will you use to... 'build a boat'?"

"With this!"

Lin Tianyi's consciousness suddenly pointed to the bronze mask on his face.

"This mask isn't just a 'key,' is it? Since it can let me see the 'truth' and connect to you, it must also carry... a portion of the power of 'rules'!"

Then, he pointed to the position of his heart.

"And this! The 'mark' left by your blood on my arm! It isn't a simple scar, either! It's the core 'beacon' of the Bloodline Faction! It's a 'spark' that can oppose the 'Abyss'!"

"And..."

Lin Tianyi's consciousness pierced through layers of barriers and returned to the tomb in the real world.

He "saw" Fatty, Wang Xianzhi, and Song Yiqing gathered around his "body," their expressions tense.

In Fatty's hand, he tightly gripped the... Totem Core obtained from the leader of the "Pathfinders"!

From Song Yiqing's body emanated a faint energy fluctuation belonging to the "Zhulong" lineage!

And around Wang Xianzhi's sword swirled a... pure "sharpness" that could cut through all things!

"Every one of us brought out a... 'fragment' from 'Guixu'!"

"These 'fragments' are our... 'materials' for building the boat!"

"Qilin! Share your power with us! Let us help you shoulder the burden! Together, let's establish a... 'Singularity' within this Sea of Chaos! A 'Haven' that belongs to us humans!"

"...Madman..."

For the first time, an emotion called "shock" arose in Zhang Qilin's consciousness.

He looked at Lin Tianyi's burning will and seemed to see... the ancestors from back then, who did what they knew was impossible.

To throw the power of mortals into the furnace of rules?

To light a human... bonfire in the domain of gods?

How... incredibly... arrogant!

And how... incredibly... magnificent!

"...Alright."

After a long time, he finally uttered a single word.

"What should I do?"

That "I" belonging to "Zhang Qilin," at the very last moment before dissipating, was forcibly... pulled back by Lin Tianyi!

He chose to believe once more.

To believe in his... companions.