85: Character Awakening! The Definer looked up at the 'Author' typing away!

The Sea of Concepts.

The endless torrent of information finds its calm here.

Past, present, future.

Three long rivers of time converge here, yet remain distinct, not interfering with each other.

Gu Jianghan's figure.

He sat at the end of this space-time, like an eternal sculpture.

His gaze.

It pierced through the barriers of billions of worlds.

He watched with great interest the drama unfolding in the World of Joy.

He saw Su Ke Ke's twisted protection born of 'love'.

How she constructed a magnificent emotional prison.

He saw Gu Yanci's 'sorrow' elevated by 'the loss of love'.

How he forged a scythe of vengeance capable of severing the shackles of gods.

"Truly... a beautiful symmetry."

Gu Jianghan's fingertips gently tapped the void, sending ripples of causality outwards.

"The most extreme 'goodwill' giving rise to the most extreme 'malice'."

"And this most extreme 'malice' fulfilling the greatest 'liberation'."

He appreciated the beauty of this contradictory and ironic causality.

Like savoring a perfectly aged vintage wine.

For him, the strength of power, the life or death of gods, were merely embellishments to the drama.

Only the exquisite 'logic' and 'setting' behind it could pique his interest.

Just then.

In the deepest part of his concept.

The setting collection, which was born with him yet always untouchable, stirred again.

This setting collection was the source of Gu Jianghan's power, and also his greatest perplexity.

It was like a perfect 'God's Stone Paradox', locking him within itself.

"Can an omniscient and omnipotent being create a book that even he himself cannot read?"

If he could read it, it would prove that this book was not 'omniscient and omnipotent'.

Because it was 'controlled' by him.

If he could not read it, it would likewise prove that he was not 'omniscient and omnipotent'.

Because he was 'restricted' by this book.

This was an insoluble logical loop.

Every time.

The moment his will touched the cover, the paradox would take effect.

His 'omniscience' would be negated by the book's 'unknowability'.

His 'omnipotence' would be locked by the book's 'immovability'.

It was like an absolute black hole, devouring all attempts to decipher it.

Therefore, Gu Jianghan waited.

Waiting for a 'singularity' to appear that could break this paradox.

And now, this 'singularity' seemed to have arrived.

Everything that happened in the World of Joy.

It was like two keys.

Precisely inserted into the invisible keyhole of the setting collection.

Su Ke Ke's 'absolute possessiveness' mutated by 'love'.

Gu Yanci's 'inclusive humanity' elevated by 'sorrow'.

These two diametrically opposed.

Yet originating from the same source, extreme emotions.

Resonated with the setting collection with unprecedented intensity!

Buzz—

A tremor not belonging to any dimension.

It echoed from the depths of Gu Jianghan's soul.

That thick, ancient.

setting collection, as if it bore the beginning and end of all things.

Its cover, composed of unknown concepts, slowly opened a tiny crack.

Gu Jianghan's gaze narrowed slightly.

He did not resist.

Allowing a gentle, yet irresistible suction.

To pull his consciousness into that crack... It was a chaotic void.

No time, no space.

Only countless broken, discarded.

Contradictory stories and settings.

Like garbage.

Piled up into endless graveyards.

Here.

You could see a divine sword, proclaimed to 'cut through anything'.

Bound by a chain set as 'absolutely indestructible', in eternal standoff.

You could also see an archer with the ability of 'guaranteed hit'.

Fruitlessly shooting for billions of years at an assassin with the physique of 'absolute evasion'.

This place was the graveyard of 'stories', the hell of 'logic'.

It was the final destination for countless unfinished worlds and abandoned characters.

And in the center of this ruin.

A figure stood quietly.

His physical definition.

Whether it was his build or appearance.

He bore a seven to eight-tenths resemblance to Gu Jianghan.

He was bowing his head, carefully, repairing a world bubble on the verge of collapse.

In that world bubble, mountains and rivers were shattered, and living beings were devastated.

But under his pen, the broken earth was healing, and the parched rivers flowed again.

He was like a lonely painter, day after day, repairing these 'forgotten' canvases.

Just then.

A voice filled with malice.

Composed of countless chaotic existences superimposed upon each other, sounded from behind him.

"Why bother?"

An unseeable shadow slowly condensed into form.

The shadow continuously wriggled and shifted.

When you gazed at Him, you might see the evil spirits in myths that tempt one to fall.

You might also see the tyrants in history who initiated massacres.

Or perhaps the evil gods in stories who delighted in toying with human hearts... He was sometimes a demon with ram horns, sometimes a serpent god flicking its tongue, sometimes a massive fleshy monstrosity dripping with pus... He was the concretization of all 'evil' concepts in the cognition of all intelligent life.

He was the word 'evil god' itself.

He was the source of all betrayal, degradation, destruction, and malice.

He, was the Source of All Evil.

Just then.

A voice.

It sounded in the ear of the Source of All Evil.

It was a voice upon which the paradox of 'young' and 'ancient' had been imposed.

"Your 'aggregation' is complete."

As soon as the words fell, the Source of All Evil was defined.

Gu Jianghan 'saw' clearly.

That 'he' was even more ancient, more indifferent, more inhuman.

In 'his' hand, there was no weapon.

Only a quill pen condensed from starlight.

Before 'him'.

Lay open a book identical to the setting collection.

The chorus of the Source of All Evil, composed of billions of malicious voices, for the first time had a unified tone:

"Yes, The Definitor."

He answered the young figure.

It was also as if He was performing His final 'definition' upon Himself.

"I am the 'villain' indispensable in all stories."

"I am the 'calamity' that must be overthrown in all heroic epics."

"My existence is to give 'goodness' value, to highlight the preciousness of 'justice'."

"I devour light to prove the necessity of darkness."

"I spread suffering to give 'happiness' its meaning."

"I am 'evil'. Absolute, pure, an 'essential evil' that exists eternally as the opposite of 'good'."

Hearing these words, the young The Definitor merely nodded calmly.

The starlight quill in 'his' hand made its final stroke on the open setting collection.

With the completion of this stroke.

The Source of All Evil, 'aggregated' from infinite evil concepts.

The concept of His existence received acknowledged 'definition'.

It transformed into an eternal law.

Imprinted within the very root of all worlds.

"Very good."

The Definitor closed the book and said faintly.

After the Source of All Evil, or rather, the Evil God, answered the question and broke free from the authority of 'definition'.

His 'voice' was once again filled with mockery and sarcasm towards 'him'.

"You failed again, didn't you?"

"You tried to define 'order', but you spawned greater 'chaos'. You tried to depict 'light', but you cast deeper 'darkness'!'"

"Narrator! Look at these 'masterpieces' you've created."

"You gave them 'life', which is good."

"But your biggest mistake was giving them 'emotions'."

His shadow pointed to a weeping world bubble nearby.

"You see, you give them 'joy', and they will feel 'sorrow' from eventual loss."

He then pointed to another burning world bubble.

"You give them 'love', and they will generate 'hatred' from a lover's betrayal."

"You give them 'hope', and they will fall into deeper 'despair' after hope is shattered."

The Evil God let out a joyful 'laughter', and the entire chaotic void trembled with it.

"Your 'creation' itself is a 'sacrifice' for me!"

"All the joys and sorrows under your pen will eventually transform into the sweetest nourishment, making me even stronger!"

"The 'humanity' you cherish is merely the source of my power! The 'stories' you protect will ultimately become my food!"

"Admit it, The Definitor. Your so-called 'creation' was a complete and utter failure from the very beginning!"

Facing the Evil God's roar.

The being known as The Definitor didn't even turn around.

'He' just calmly continued to mend the world in 'his' hands.

Only when that world was revitalized did 'he' slowly speak.

"You are right."

'He' said.

This unexpected answer.

Caused the Evil God's roar to falter.

"Emotions are indeed the most fragile and dangerous things in this world."

The Definitor slowly turned around, facing the unnamable shadow directly.

"However..."

'His' eyes were as calm as still water.

Beneath the surface, an unquestionable, absolute will, like that of a creator god, was hidden.

"It is precisely because of the pain of loss that every moment of togetherness becomes incredibly precious."

"It is precisely because of the backdrop of darkness that that tiny ray of light is worth pursuing with one's life."

"It is precisely because of the possibility of betrayal that unreserved trust possesses such a deeply moving power."

'His' gaze pierced through the Evil God before him, seeing further into the distance.

"The attributes I bestow upon them are never merely 'happiness' or 'sadness'."

"The concept I bestow upon them is 'completeness'."

"It is a complete 'life' with laughter and tears, love and hate, gains and losses."

'He' looked at the Evil God and said, word by word:

"What difference is there between a 'heaven' with only joy and a 'void' with only stillness?"

These words were like a thunderclap of creation!

Making Gu Jianghan, who was 'reading' this memory, completely enlightened!

He finally understood.

Why the setting collection resonated with the World of Joy!

Because Su Ke Ke's actions.

Fundamentally violated the highest creative law of this setting collection!

Su Ke Ke attempted to create an incomplete world with only 'joy'.

Yet the meaning of this setting collection's existence was to protect a 'complete humanity' possessing all emotions!

This was a fundamental opposition!

An irreconcilable contradiction between creator and Tamperer!

...Just as Gu Jianghan suddenly realized.

The Definitor in the memory scene, as if sensing something.

'His' action of mending the world suddenly paused.

The next second.

'He' slowly, slowly raised 'his' head.

'His' gaze pierced through billions of years of time, through the barriers of memory and reality.

Precisely, it met the gaze of... Gu Jianghan, who was observing all of this in the Sea of Concepts!

Boom!!!

Gu Jianghan's soul was struck by lightning!

An unprecedented sense of shock and absurdity swept through his entire cognition!

I... was seen by 'me'?

'Past' me saw 'present' me?!

How is this possible?!

However.

Something even more unnerving happened to him.

In the scene.

The Writer's gaze did not linger on him.

As if merely confirming a coordinate.

Immediately, that gaze... continued to extend forward.

It pierced through Gu Jianghan's existence.

It pierced through the dimension of the Multiverse Chat Group.

It pierced through the 'fourth wall' between 'story' and 'reality', which was as thin as a cicada's wing yet indestructible... Ultimately.

It landed in a higher-dimensional space that could not be narrated by this story.

'He' saw.

'He' saw a figure.

Lying on a bed, or sitting on a chair.

In their hands, they held a glowing rectangular object.

They were focusedly scrolling through the screen, reading everything that had just happened.

He saw.

He saw the 'reader' looking at their phone.

No.

It wasn't over yet.

The Definitor's brow furrowed.

As if perplexed, where did the information this 'reader' saw come from?

'His' gaze moved again.

Following an invisible causal thread, tracing upwards... tracing... and tracing again... Finally.

'His' sight finally locked onto an even more fundamental, more absolute, more incomprehensible place.

'He' saw.

'He' saw a figure, sitting before a computer.

Fingers on the keyboard, typing rapidly.

On the screen, the very words 'he' had just spoken were displayed.

"...What difference is there between a 'heaven' with only joy and a 'void' with only stillness?"

'He' saw... an existence named 'Author', racking their brain, conceiving 'his' words and actions, deciding 'his' fate, bestowing 'him' with 'life' and 'emotions'... The entire memory scene, at this moment, completely froze.

All was silent.

The Definitor stood there quietly.

Across endless dimensions, endless planes.

Calmly, gazing at all of it.

Gazing at Gu Jianghan.

Gazing at the 'reader'.

And also gazing at... the 'Author'.

'He' did not speak.

Those eyes that saw through everything.

Were silently posing an ultimate question that made all existences break out in a cold sweat.

"Then..."

"Who are you?"