The cry of "Star Constellation" resonated, tearing through the fabric of the sky—a scream mingling despair with terror as she witnessed the Time Path clone of Fang Yuan, the Venerable who defied fate and Heaven's Will, delivering his finishing blow. "Stop, Fang Yuan! You will destroy the entire Gu World!"
But would a man who sacrificed his soul and very existence for the goal of "Eternal Life" even flinch? Of course not. For the Great Love Immortal Venerable, there were no red lines or taboos; it was either eternity or a total annihilation that leaves nothing behind. Today, he stood on the precipice of chaos. Amidst the clashing of Great Powers, only one ingredient separated Fang Yuan from "Eternal Life Gu": the Black Flame of Chaos.
While the Venerable-ranked "Refinement Path" clone processed the materials with absolute precision, the original Fang Yuan was inside the Refinement Cauldron, attempting the impossible: merging with Chaos energy and Heaven's Will. But fate—or perhaps the irony of existence—intervened at the decisive moment. "Feng Jiu Ge," the Venerable of Sound, managed to infiltrate through a lapse in time. With a single destructive note, he detonated the cauldron.
A cosmic explosion tore apart half of the clone and reduced Fang Yuan into shards of light and destruction, shattering half of the Gu World in a majestic, funeral-like scene. In the Depths of the Void.
(I know this is bullshit.)
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Fang Yuan opened his eyes, or what remained of his consciousness. He exhaled deeply. "In the end... I still failed."
A strange tranquility settled over his soul. There was no trace of anxiety, no bitterness of regret, no sting of resentment. He had done everything in his power, exhausted every trick, every drop of sweat and blood.
"Hehehe..." A faint laugh escaped his lips. "So be it. Let my story end here as a fool who chased eternity. It doesn't matter if I leave no legacy or reputation behind. What matters is that I knew in my final moments that Eternal Life was a reality, not a mirage."
He died, dying for his goal—what regret could visit him? "In the end, I am also just a pile of filth in the gutters..."
But the void around him was not the "Gate of Life and Death." There was no pitch blackness, but a vast emptiness, and he discovered to his amazement that his form had returned to what it was before he obtained the Sovereign Immortal Body.
"Oh Venerable, have you truly given up?"
A playful voice pierced the silence. Fang Yuan stiffened, trying to retreat, but found himself anchored as if he were part of the fabric of this void. A mysterious entity appeared before him, his features blurred but his presence dominating the space.
"Don't worry, I only want to talk," the entity said with a chilling coldness. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so before you even realized I existed."
Fang Yuan ceased his resistance. Rationality was his permanent weapon, and now it told him that resistance was futile. "Who are you? And what do you want?"
"Excuse my lack of manners," the entity said, waving his hand to make a table, two chairs, and a chessboard appear. "My name is the Weaver, or the Narrator if you prefer. And I wanted to
talk about your ending." Then he added kindly: "Tea? Coffee? Or wine?"
Fang Yuan sat down, regaining his usual composure, and asked for tea. "Why do you care about my end?"
"Because I feel disappointed and sad that you didn't achieve your dream!" Fang Yuan burst into a dry laugh: "You feel disappointed? What is that to you? I lived as I wanted, and I gave everything for my goal."
"Hahaha! You've misunderstood me," the Weaver said, moving the first chess piece, e4. "I was watching the Gu World, and you were my favorite. I admired your resilience and your impossible dream. I was excited to see you reach eternity, but you failed. So, I pulled you here before you vanished completely."
The match began. Fang Yuan moved the black pieces coldly, while the Weaver continued speaking as the pawns advanced: "And there is a reason; I want to send you to another world. A world where eternity is a tangible reality, but it is a world that knows no mercy." The moves followed: Bc4 Bc5
"And what benefit will you gain from sending me?" Fang Yuan asked, moving Nf6. "Only fun and entertainment," the Weaver replied with a mysterious smile. "I want to see: Will you achieve eternity there? Or will you lose your mind and go insane?"
"Why would I go insane?"
"Because power and madness in that world are two threads in the same fabric," the Weaver said, moving Nbxd2. "Any slight slip in ascending the sequences could turn you into a mindless monster. But, isn't that a small price for eternity?"
Fang Yuan fell silent, his eyes fixed on the chessboard, analyzing two situations: the match, and the new world. "Tell me more about this world."
The Weaver continued talking while Fang Yuan defended intelligently with his Queen: "It's a world that resembles the 19th century—steam engines and mist enveloping the cities, but no electronics. Power there lies in the 'Beyonders.' You follow one of 22 pathways, each having 9 sequences. You start from the bottom and climb, and every step is a dance with madness." The Weaver completed his move, Rfe1: "There are seven dominant gods, their churches rule the world, and ancient secrets are buried beneath the thin skin of reality. And now, here is the offer: If you win this match, you can take one thing with you. Don't ask for power from the Gu World, don't ask for eternity directly, and don't ask for a high sequence. Choose wisely." Checkmate
The Weaver rushed into a hurried attack, Ng5, thinking he had seized control. But Fang Yuan, who spent hundreds of years planning against Venerables and Heaven's Will, wouldn't miss such a gap.
With total coldness, Fang Yuan moved his Rook to e2. Silence reigned. The Weaver's features froze as he saw his defenses collapse. The 17th move, which the Weaver thought was the beginning of the end for Fang Yuan, was in fact the trap that tightened around his neck. The match turned into a fierce pursuit that ended with the Weaver's resignation. "Fine, fine..." the Weaver said in amazement mixed with admiration. "Our Venerable has indeed won. You've proven that you don't go down easily, even against the Narrator." Fang Yuan leaned back, his features unreadable, his eyes reflecting the void of the place. "Then, I have a reward."
He thought for only ten seconds. Ten seconds were enough for a man like him to calculate every possibility in a world filled with mist and madness. He finally opened his mouth and said:
"I want…