Fantasy Clock～Dream Ruler～

——Our only world is projected to multiple thinking angles, forming an overlapping shadow of reality and dream world.

The Core Research Society refers to the multiple layers of reality and dreams split by this phenomenon as the "world layer."

Although the various world layers are quite different, they are more of completely different scenery. For example, the magical world of Elus, nowhere is the same as other worlds, it is a genuine "different world" in our eyes; but the world of William and Chartres is almost the same as ours, and even the landmarks we are familiar with can be found there .

Under this kind of difference from time to time, only the streets and alleys of Rongtan Street are the common space of any world layer. Among them, "Xinghai Tavern" - in our world is an ordinary restaurant called "Taoyuan DreamLand." Tavern - is the coordinates connecting different world layers, in other words, it is a common place for various realities and various dreams.

It is equivalent to the "world gate" used to pass through any world.

Now, because of the sudden visit of the Creator, the world gate leading to the gap between dreams has been restored by her to its original state.

That is to say, the distance between Xinghai Tavern and us is only within walking distance——

"Hey~ What are you talking about so much fun, can't you let me join you?"

Several cracks appeared in the sky in an instant, and there was a sound of glass shattering. The invisible barrier completely turned into nothingness, and Lin Yu's left arm facing the sky was pulled downward as if broken, following an irresistible inertia. The black cat and I quickly hugged his body.

The pain was not embellished with words or crying, it was written directly on Lin Yu's hideous face. But he still insisted on his mouth, hugging his immobile left arm, and pulling his signature smirk.

"...Don't you? An "ordinary human" like me is not even qualified to stand on the same stage as you as the only god."

"Oh, don't be so unfeeling~ We used to be companions who also belonged to the No. 2 clock, and we can chat for a long time even if we just reminisce? What do you think, black cat?"

Xia Yinci seemed to be talking to the bugs on the ground, sitting in mid-air with her legs crossed freely. She suddenly put her hands on her cheeks, her slender fingers alternately touching the skin of her face in a playful way, and her very alluring eyes exuded dangerous glances. Just a slight smile, full of coquettishness.

——Neither Xia Yinci nor Qianyan made such an expression before. But the resulting temperament is both, close but distant, frozen and mysterious.

"Well~ So, should I feel extremely honored? Playing a "game" with the Creator who created everything in the world, and even being regarded as a companion to fight together, is it impossible for most people in the world to have the same experience?" Said At this point, the black cat's smile suddenly faded away, and he changed the subject in a sharp tone, narrowing his eyes and said, "But if that's the case, we're desperately trying to win, trying our best to fight for what you don't care about... in the Creator's eyes It must be more ridiculous in your eyes than any fictional drama?"

In the middle of the black cat's words, Xia Yinci couldn't help but bend her eyebrows into crescents, covering the corners of her mouth and laughing, like a child who obviously got the toy he wanted but pretended to be reserved.

"It's really funny~ Hey, don't you guys have self-knowledge? "The power to control reality"——is this what you're fighting over? Your choice is so ridiculous!! You're a majestic creator The heirs of my family have inherited my intellect, so what do you think of "Domination of War"?"

Xia Yinci laughed so hard that she hugged her stomach, tears came from the corners of her eyes, and she rubbed them away with a mocking tone.

The black cat didn't expect to get such a response, and was stunned for a moment. Lin Yu beside him was still pointing his finger at him.

"Don't be self-righteous! Isn't the "War of Domination" just a "Game of Domination" in your eyes?"

"Pfft... so you all know it well? I thought you didn't know! Knowing that it's a game, but holding all kinds of fantasies, and even calling it "Domination War" by yourself? Are you kidding? I never intended to design a dream war for you. I just wanted to watch you unleash your imagination through this game. How can I treat each of you as a toy? This game has evolved to Betrayal, parting, or killing each other is all caused by your own hands!"

Her unquestionable words carry our past memories of domination wars, and they are shown in front of us like a movie.

Neither the god who had appeared from the beginning nor the dream madman who was in charge of overseeing the game had clearly stated the rules of the game. Almost all the rules are the result of our groping and sorting out. But no one came forward to tell us if that was the case.

"Then what happened to the 'final stage'? And the last day's 'fighting in the nest'... Those dream madmen said that this is the rule left over from the first domination war, let alone face to face The rules announced immediately. If the previous rules of the game were all based on our wishful thinking, how would you explain the subsequent rules?"

"It's ridiculous! It was a rule made by the players of the first session, because after the clock wins, no one wants to share the control of reality with others. It turned out that the game was over at that time, but they insisted on deciding The final winner becomes the so-called "only god"? Pfft, why hasn't the real only god said anything! I haven't said anything! They actually think that I created this game to find the "successor of God" 』? Please! If even the Creator has the time to die, how can he hand over the achievements of his life to others? In the end, the winner among them decided arbitrarily, saying that he is the observer of the next "Domination War" Those who have passed down such inexplicable rules from generation to generation—maybe they have nothing to do with you directly, but I don’t think there should be any objections to saying that they are rules determined by ordinary humans.”

I felt as if a bullet had passed through my heart. I was desperately recalling the words about the madman of the dream and the ruler who claimed to have participated in the previous war of domination. It seemed that no one had ever seen a real god. All the declarations made by the madman of the dream and gathered all the rulers, perhaps only the sentence "the rules governing the war need you to find it yourself" is the original intention of the creator, and the rest are all the winners of the previous wars of domination relying on themselves A rule that is conceived by opinion.

A casual game of the Creator, a sentence of "explore the rules by yourself", made a total of 14 sessions, 168 teams, and people around 2016 fall into the fate of fighting each other, as if they had free will but were played The circling doll, who thought he was working hard towards the throne of the gods, was ridiculed in the end.

No wonder the observers say that even if they win the domination war, they cannot meet the "true god". Because the real god never intends to appear in person, she just stands behind the scenes that no one can see, watching our fate from the sidelines, waiting for us to present her with an unexpected good show,

——a show that would not threaten her status, but would entertain her boredom due to omnipotence.

"Since you can't understand the actions of ordinary humans...then why don't you stop them?"

"I said that my purpose is to use this game to see what kind of scenery you can create with your imagination~ Even if the result is an unbelievably ugly scenery, I want to know where the ending will go. Since you The idea is to choose 13 "observers" for the final gladiatorial battle, and let the ruler who wins after many screenings become the only god with the power to rule reality. Then I really want to know whether the "only god" who was half-pushed and sent to the altar by you can compete with the real god? Or I want to know-I spent 8 years cultivating an unrivaled "God" "String doll", the only god selected by you through generations of hard work for more than 98 years, who will be the final winner if you fight? I might as well give you such a chance."

Speaking of this, Xia Yinci's eyes suddenly lost all smiles, her eyes were so cold that a chill could be felt in the back, and her body couldn't help trembling desperately.

"It's a pity that your "Only God" is not vulnerable, but in the end, no matter what, he couldn't beat me."

Hearing this, Lin Yu and I took a step forward almost at the same time, looking straight at the aloof Creator, longing for an answer to a certain question——

"Who was the last one to win the 'Observer War'?"

Before coming to my dreamland, I inadvertently overlapped with Lin Yu's memory, so I learned that Tea Mao voluntarily accepted the identity of "Dream Madman" and replaced Lin Yu to participate in the Observer War with me. At the same time, Lin Yu seemed to be stimulated by the short-term empathy, and he untied the shackles that the tea cat had put on his memory at that time, and recalled this important event to him.

Xia Yinci's doubts only flashed for a moment, and in a blink of an eye, she turned into an omniscient indifference to everything, squinting her eyes and staring at Lin Yu mysteriously.

"Ah~ I have to say, she is indeed a difficult opponent. It's like a stubborn disease, even if you kill her, you can escape to a place where the immune cells are hard to detect."

Although she didn't say the result directly, what she meant was obvious - the tea cat won the observer's war, but it had no choice but to not beat her.

"I take back what I said before, 'You didn't compete with me'. Although you are a mere ordinary human being, you deserve to be treated differently. After all, you are the object of her utmost admiration." She poked with her index finger Cheek, changed his words, "Or, she has high hopes for you... Anyway, it seems that I have no complaints in this line of work."

"...What the hell do you mean?"

Lin Yu became irritable, showing his wariness towards the other party in every gesture. For some reason, Xia Yinci seemed to have suddenly recognized his other identity, and her attitude changed a hundred and eighty degrees. This was not only because she was willing to look him in the eye, but more importantly, there was something vague in her tone. expectations.

Let me change to a more appropriate expression - getting closer and closer to the usual tone of treating me, that kind of morbid pity, but it lacks a bit of "love" in comparison.

"I only have one proposal, a proposal that allows you to compete with me on the same stage."

As soon as the words fell, Lin Yu's whole body trembled, and complex emotions surged in his eyes. He looked directly at Xia Yinci who was smiling all over his face, but he couldn't smile like her no matter what, only sadness flashed across his eyes and turned into a wry smile at the corner of his mouth.

"This guy really did what he said... bastard..."

Lin Yu's murmur to himself made my heart twitch, and the girl's promise passed by my ears with an unimaginable weight——

[Don't be discouraged, what you have now is the favor of the gods! I'm just qualified to challenge the gods, I will try my best to give it to you as a gift. 】

No matter what I think, the creator's sudden change of heart seems to be inseparable from the tea cat. She must have done something—said a voice in the back of her mind.

"In short~ I promised her to give "ordinary humans" one last chance to compete with the gods. You are the only person she admires, and she is also the only person who admires you among all observers. Most of the rest Put your bet on Su Luoyang. It's better this way, things have become more interesting. I should be glad that she won in the end, not someone else? After all, if even she puts her hope on Su Luoyang , then her request will conflict with the fate I arranged for him.”

"In case the two conflict, you will give priority to your own will without hesitation, right?"

I blurted out almost instinctively, afraid of missing the opportunity to ask questions. Because I have vaguely noticed the meaning of her words.

Based on her answer to me, I believe I can judge whether the proposal she gave came from her consideration or purely out of her bad taste.

"Yes~ The will of the Creator is of course superior to everything in this world. You should do it on the day I tell you to die! However, please feel honored, today I will leave your life and death to you to decide, Because my proposal is closely related to you."

Sure enough—I can think of only one suggestion that the Creator might give in this situation, and in fact her suggestion is getting closer and closer to my guess.

"My proposal is very simple——I want you two to decide the winner. The winner will gain the power to "dominate reality" and at the same time have the right to compete with me. When you want to challenge the gods, the time is up to you You decide for yourself, but within 3 months from now."

It perfectly fits my guess, the expected "BINGO".

"Don't dream! You are going to do nothing like the first war of domination, enjoy the jokes of our mutual suspicion and fight, and finally tell the winner with sarcasm, 'All of this is your own hand Caused, I never asked you to do that, is that right?"

Xia Yinci seemed to have anticipated our reaction long ago, propped her cheeks with great interest, twirled the silver strands in the blue hair, and slowly tied three fingers together.

"There are three reasons for my proposal. One: You two are the last two rulers of the 14th Domination War. Today's victory or defeat is the result of that Domination War. It is reasonable and reasonable that the winner should be punished by all. second: the two of you are the "bet" of those observers, let you determine the winner not only in line with the "one god" tradition formulated by you humans, but also for the wishes of all of them. Period—whether you want to know the truth of this world, or want to challenge the authority of the gods, or even kill the gods—the winner among you is logically a representative of human beings, and is qualified to compete with the world I created; Three: The world will come to an end in three months, allowing the winner to freely choose the time before the end of the world can be regarded as giving you enough time to prepare, lest you end up in a disastrous defeat at the beginning of the contest with me, which would be too boring.”

After explaining the reason, she bent her three fingers into her palm, put her fist against her cheek, and looked at our reaction lazily but with a touch of excitement.

Not expecting us to find loopholes in her logic, but because of course she said incredible words, and wanted to know how we would respond.

"The end...? Three months?"

"Well, don't worry, it's not just your world, everything in this universe will be treated fairly. As I said, everything including your world - is the fruit of my life! If the gods also At the end of your life, you should be annihilated with me, as your own gratitude to the Creator."

"You bastard... want us to be buried with you?"

Although I don't know what she means by "the end of life", but the annihilation of the world and my fateful death are only three months apart, so no matter how I think about it, I feel that the two are related.

"Well, why is that so? Since we know that the life of all things has an end, why do we take it for granted that the universe can exist forever? Compared with your lifetime, it may be called "eternity", but for the universe itself, It's like you know you're going to die one day."

As soon as the words fell, Xia Yinci snapped her fingers coldly, and the downward gravity was instantly pulled towards the sky by her command, pulling Lin Yu and I away from the barrier below, but leaving the black cat alone in place. Although Lin Yu wanted to resist, he was afraid that his distraction would cause the barrier supporting the black cat to break, so he didn't dare to act rashly.

The field of vision rotated at a high speed, falling into the depths of the sky.

In an instant, the dazzling sunlight was suddenly blocked, and a hollow "eye" appeared out of thin air on a high place, which immediately caused a nauseating discomfort in the abdomen.

[Don't look at me, don't look at me, don't look at me...]

I instinctively wanted to close my eyes, but my gaze was focused on that eye no matter what. But it was precisely because of this that I was able to discover that it was not an eye, but a "world gate" that looked very much like an eye, opening a huge space to both sides like swallowing the sky, leading to an unknown place.

It was as if the god of the sky opened his eyes, watching the human beings living under the blue sky and forgetting their origins.

The gravity intensifies, and the body is getting closer and closer to the huge pupil, but we can hear someone shouting our names from below.

"Wait a moment……!"

The black cat slammed behind her while supporting her injury, and jumped up, passing through the black mist that appeared above her.

Immediately afterwards, the black mist overlapped and climbed layer by layer, and dozens of black mist appeared above the previous black mist at intervals. The black cat took advantage of the black mist that stretched all the way to the bottom of the eyes to get closer to us. But she was one step too late after all, Lin Yu had already been swallowed by the abyss-like pupils one step ahead of me.

The black cat had no choice but to try its best to stretch out its red palm towards me. I hesitated to look back at Lin Yu who disappeared without a trace, but I still didn't accept her kindness and took the initiative to step into the abyss.

In the next second, the pupil of the sky was covered by its closed eyelids, and we fell into the depths of the deep pupil. The black cat on the other side turned around to look for Xia Yinci's figure, but there was no one around, so he had to go back the same way and decided to find another way.

——The distant exit shines brightly in the dim field of vision, but its flickering blood-red light makes people resist.

As if separated by the deep sea, I was at the bottom of the sea, and the girl's voice passed through the sea, resounding in my ears again in this unknown space.

"Originally...Su Huilin's growing power will one day bring annihilation to this world, but it's a pity that the world's treatment of the Creator is also capricious and unpredictable, and there will always be some unexpected mistakes. Not only you Su The existence of Ruo Yang made her lose her longing for the end one day in the future, and the winning observer cultivated a doll that can be equal to her for the time being. Although none of you are her opponents, since she gave up by herself Then it is impossible for anyone to force her. I can only give up. However, it would be a big mistake to think that she is the only threat to the annihilation of the world!"

Tiny petals suddenly appeared in nothingness, and while fluttering, unknown flowers bloomed, exuding strange flames.

"I cultivated the seeds of the "Flower of Annihilation" in the girl's body, just to make the end of the world traceable—if one day the world suddenly disappears, and the world just spends the same day as usual, the first day The next day, I suddenly couldn't wake up again. The world just waved goodbye without warning, and the world will definitely not have any real feeling.

"It's like a movie that ends abruptly at the climax, and the audience can't help laughing, or is stunned by fear, or is wiping tears, but the screen suddenly turns black, and the rolling end credits are not even shown. No one other than me knows, which is a little unreasonable.

"So, I want you to really feel the coming of the end, but it's better not to be a cold and incommunicable disaster like landslides and ground cracks, but to exist with the body temperature and life, so that you can suddenly realize the end of the world at the end of the day. Feeling like I must have provoked or angered the gods to bring about my destruction."

A bit of resentment in the voice——

It was as if the world had destroyed her, and not she had destroyed the world.