38: I won, but the world I protected is about to be destroyed!

【 Eighth Life 】

He became a Chosen One, named 'Cang'.

In this world, a world-destroying Demonic Dragon would awaken every thousand years, bringing endless calamities.

And he was the hero prophesied to be the only one who could slay the Demonic Dragon.

He possessed unparalleled talent and a heart for all living beings.

He spent five hundred years cultivating to the peak of the world.

He made close friends, met his lover, united all the races on the continent, and formed the strongest Dragon Slaying Alliance.

He was everyone's hope, the only light in the darkness.

In the final battle, he fought valiantly, wielding a holy sword.

Finally, he plunged the sword into the heart of the world-destroying Demonic Dragon!

The Demonic Dragon let out a painful roar, and its massive body began to disintegrate.

The whole world cheered for the hero!

But just before the Demonic Dragon died, its scaly head, its face, twisted by the surging energy...

slowly transformed into... his own, Cang's, handsome and resolute face!

"Wh-why?" Cang asked, trembling.

"Because... 'the hero' must defeat 'the Demonic Dragon'..."

That face, identical to his own, revealed a sinister smile.

"...This is the 'rule' of this world. Congratulations, new... Demonic Dragon."

The moment the words fell.

Cang's body was twisted and reshaped by an irresistible force!

Black scales grew on his skin, and huge dragon wings tore open from his back.

He became the new world-destroying Demonic Dragon.

And a thousand years later.

Another hero named 'Cang' would embark on a journey to slay him.

He saved the world, at the cost of becoming the world's enemy.

His greatest glory was his eternal curse.

This cycle was unsolvable.

【 Ninth Life 】

This time, he became a complete villain.

He burned, killed, plundered, committed all manner of evil, betrayed his relatives and friends, and blasphemed the gods.

His life was a carnival of sin.

Eventually.

He was hunted down by his enemies and died in a cold, dark alley.

Before his death, endless regret surged in his heart.

"If... if I could do it again..."

Just then, a voice rang out: "Granted."

Time flowed backward.

He returned to the first crossroads of his life.

This time, he chose not to betray, but to save.

The trajectory of his life was completely altered.

He became a respected Holy Knight, he made up for all his mistakes, and saved everyone he had once harmed.

He had a happy family, loyal companions, and his life was filled with glory and honor.

He died peacefully in his bed, surrounded by his loved ones, with a satisfied smile.

However, the moment he closed his eyes—

The scene shattered!

He suddenly realized.

He was still that villain, still lying in that cold, dark alley, a dagger plunged into his chest, blood draining away.

That glorious life he had just experienced was merely a dying hallucination.

"No... no! That was all real! I felt it!" He screamed frantically.

"Yes, it was real."

The voice rang out again, with a hint of mockery.

"That was the life you 'could have' had. Now, please take those beautiful memories with you, and as a villain, go to hell."

Hope, at the moment it is proven to be an illusion, becomes the most extreme poison... 【 Seven Thousand One Hundred and Twenty-First Life 】

The moment his divine soul rusted.

He fell into an ocean composed of pure information.

He became a living "archive."

His sin was "disregarding all beings."

His punishment was "to become all beings."

Every life he had killed, devoured, and toyed with.

From the ant he casually crushed to the races he exterminated.

Their complete lives.

All their memories, emotions, and perceptions, at this moment, were all poured into his divine soul!

He was no longer the Pseudo-Dragon Progenitor.

He was the mother protecting her child, watching her home burn down by dragon's breath.

He was the hopeful youth, torn apart by dragon claws in despair.

He was the lover embracing his beloved, feeling reluctance and fear as death arrived.

Billions upon billions of joys, angers, sorrows, delights, loves, hates, resentments, obsessions, and grievances exploded simultaneously in his consciousness!

He was forced to experience the consequences of all his crimes in the first person.

He wanted to preserve his "self."

But his "self," facing this vast ocean composed of victims, was as tiny as a grain of sand.

His consciousness was completely overwhelmed, his personality utterly shattered.

He finally "understood" all beings.

And this forced "understanding" and "empathy."

For him, it was a torture more painful than being cut into a thousand pieces...

He had been a savior, yet was betrayed by his followers and sacrificed alive.

He had been a wealthy merchant, yet on his deathbed, he watched his children and grandchildren fight each other over his inheritance.

He had been an invincible swordsman, yet he ultimately died alone of old age on a mountaintop, without even someone to collect his body.

Love, kinship, friendship, belief... Each time, he possessed the most precious things.

Each time, they were cruelly snatched away from him in the most brutal way, at his happiest moment!

Billions of reincarnations, billions of despairs!

The painful memories of countless reincarnations piled up, driving him completely mad!

He sometimes cried out his daughter 'Ya Ya's' name.

Sometimes he let out a woman's piercing scream, and sometimes the howl of a pig being slaughtered.

Every blow pierced the proudest, hardest parts of his soul, then brutally crushed them!

"No... no... spare me... I was wrong..."

After billions of years of torment in the mental purgatory.

The Pseudo-Dragon Progenitor's consciousness truly collapsed.

He began to wail and beg for mercy.

However.

What responded to him.

Was only Su Ke Ke's cold and merciless divine will.

What she wanted was not his repentance, but his "nothingness."

Crack—

Something cracked open.

The Pseudo-Dragon Progenitor's divine soul, riddled with holes from the high-dimensional curse and endless reincarnations.

Finally reached its limit.

Like a sand sculpture weathered by the wind.

In an instant, it turned into the most insignificant dust in the universe.

Not even a trace of its existence remained.

In the Sea of Concepts.

Gu Jianghan snapped his fingers with satisfaction.

Now that's more like it; mercy to villains is the greatest cruelty to the audience.

He appreciated Su Ke Ke's clean and decisive ending, feeling pleased.

After the Pseudo-Dragon Progenitor completely disappeared.

Su Ke Ke turned and looked at the still surging "Dragon Rearing Pool."

Her gaze instantly softened, becoming incredibly gentle.

She took a step, and the blood pool automatically parted to form a path.

In the center of the blood pool.

Zhang Wei was bound by countless blood-red tentacles, her eyes tightly shut, her breath faint.

Su Ke Ke reached out her hand and gently waved it.

Those blood-red tentacles, like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, instantly melted away.

She walked to Zhang Wei, gently embracing her.

"Wei Wei, I've come to save you."

"...Ke Ke?"

Feeling the familiar warmth, Zhang Wei's eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.

When she saw the person in front of her, tears instantly streamed down.

"You... you really came... I thought... I'd never see you again..."

"Silly girl, I promised you we'd watch the sunrise together."

Su Ke Ke held her tightly, as if to meld her into her own body.

Just as the two embraced.

The cold system prompt arrived as promised.

【 Ding! Divine Oracle-level mission completed: Wrath of the Gods — Tracing the Dragon's Lair! 】

【 Mission completion: SSS+ (Exceeded expectations) 】

【 Distributing mission rewards... 】

【 Detecting highest authority intervention... Reward content has been changed! 】

【 Congratulations! You have received a private gift from Group Leader Gu Jianghan — an exclusive custom-made Mythical Weapon: [scythe of the eternal elegy]! 】

【 scythe of the eternal elegy: This is a 12th-tier Calamity Divine Authority weapon personally forged by the Group Leader, with the suffering and elegies of your endless reincarnations as its bone, and the anger and anticipation of billions of readers as its soul. It is both a testament to all your past pains and the authority you wield over the end. 】

【 Authority ① · Calamity Proclamation: You can designate any target and impose upon them a "certain-to-come" calamitous ending. 】

【 Authority ② · Destiny Harvest: This scythe can ignore all physical defenses and directly sever the target's "thread of destiny," completely erasing them from the plane of existence. 】

【 Authority ③ · Lamenting Concerto: All the suffering you have endured will become the power source of this scythe. The deeper your sorrow, the stronger its power, with no upper limit. (Limited by cognitive power) 】

A colossal scythe, entirely black, with golden light patterns entwined around it, elegant and deadly in its design.

Appeared out of thin air behind Su Ke Ke, emanating an aura of finality that made even the stars tremble.

Su Ke Ke looked at this divine artifact, perfectly attuned to her soul.

In her heart, she once again felt endless reverence for the mysterious Group Leader.

"Wei Wei, let's go home."

Su Ke Ke hugged Zhang Wei and whispered, "From now on, no one will ever be able to hurt you again."

"Mm!"

Zhang Wei nodded vigorously in her arms, her face beaming with the happy smile of one who had survived a great ordeal, "We'll go watch the sunrise, watch sunrises all over the world!"

She embraced her dear friend, looking at the starry sky before them, which had just experienced a great battle.

Finally, a genuine smile appeared on her face.

Everything was over.

However, just then.

Her perception, which had become incredibly keen due to her 12th-tier divine authority.

Suddenly caught a discordant "noise."

This "noise" did not come from outside.

But from... the world itself!

The land beneath her feet, the starry sky she breathed, the entire "Cradle of Original Sin" world.

All were emitting a faint groan, on the verge of shattering!

【 The sacrifice... is lost... 】

【 The foundation of the world... is collapsing... 】

A terrible truth instantly flooded her mind.

The "Cradle of Original Sin" world was a natural "Cosmic Cancer."

It would continuously generate the "evil" and "sin" of the world.

If not suppressed, it would eventually self-destruct, even affecting other worlds.

And she, Su Ke Ke, the only qualified "Chosen One."

Her endless reincarnations, her every tragic fate.

Were all a "sacrifice" for this world, using her suffering to neutralize and absorb the "original sins" that could destroy the world.

Now, she had broken free from her shackles, killed her oppressor, and gained freedom.

But once she, as the "sacrifice," disappeared... this world would lose its last safety valve.

Destruction was already fated.

The smile on Su Ke Ke's face slowly froze.

She had won, but the world she protected was about to be destroyed because of it.

Was this the price of her freedom?