First Player

Maybe it's Su Mingan's charm, or maybe people really believe in him. Even if civilization is in danger, people still shout:

"Don't leave! Lord God!"

"The worst case scenario is fighting Duiying!"

"Su Ming'an, don't worry about us, do whatever you want!"

Su Mingan listened to these voices and looked at their tearful eyes. Only He himself knew that this was an act, and Duoying could only get an empty body, but people believed it to be true and really thought that he was going to sacrifice his body.

It was as if He had become Noel in an eight o'clock soap opera, making this scene appear spectacular and sad.

Then his eyes met Noel's.

Noel's eyes were red.

...It turns out that even the smartest puppet master was deceived by his acting skills, thinking that he would really choose to sacrifice himself.

In fact, if it weren't for Li Mingyue, besides cutting off the line of cause and effect, Su Ming'an would have had no choice but to take the high-dimensional path. It's just that Li Mingyue forced this bad ending to turn into a happy ending.

But no one knew... In just ten minutes in the church, a godfather died.

Su Mingan thought about Noel's acting skills, although those memories had turned into black and white in his mind.

His eyes quickly turned red, with a look between indifference and reluctance. Sometimes, Noel's eyes look like this when he bids farewell to Su Ming'an in a tragic drama.

He glanced at Noel: "Just get here, Noel. From now on, we are no longer companions."

When Duiying got the empty body and found out that he had been deceived, Su Mingan told them the truth.

Noel's eyes were red and he lowered his head: "That's fine, instead of watching you cut off the last causal thread and make us forget about you, it would be better... you directly ascend to higher dimensions... Maybe in the future, we will have a chance. Get you back."

His expression was the same as Su Ming'an's. They were both the tragic eyes of the eight o'clock TV series, with three parts sadness, three parts solemnity and four parts despair. For a moment, Su Mingan wondered if this guy had seen the truth and was just pretending not to tell it.

However, Lu Shu's sadness was very real.

Although he didn't say much, Lu Shu kept looking at Su Ming'an. Until Su Mingan met his eyes, he said: "...I will wait for you."

In a thousand years, you will always come back.

Even if you can't come back from the tenth world...you will always come back.

Yue Yue also said: "...I know, I can't persuade you. Don't forget, I'm here."

From her eyes, Su Ming'an read determination.

Su Mingan didn't show his usual smile. He no longer looks back and flies upward.

…

[Su Mingan in the video bid farewell to the pastor. He walked step by step in the dark direction. There seemed to be countless people behind him, but they were all covered with a layer of gray color, making it difficult to see clearly. 】

…

There were many shouting sounds coming from below. It seemed that many people were trying to reach out and grab Him. Many people knelt down to beg Him to stay. Many people were wailing. But these people are no longer in His sight.

At this time, he felt his shoulder being grabbed by someone.

A yellow candy was stuffed into His hand.

It's Chaoyan.

She was still burning her life, with flames floating around her. After Su Mingan was teleported back to the church, she had been rushing to the top of the sky, taking the lead to block the sweeping pollution.

"...Please remember the taste of candy." She whispered in His ear:

"...Please remember our agreement to look at the stars."

"I said before that you are not a mature savior yet because your idealism is too naive, but..."

She peeled the candy to Him and smiled calmly, as if relieved, but also helpless:

"Now, you are a qualified savior, take care."

Su Mingan ate the candy and never looked back.

…

[He swallowed something, then jumped up and rushed towards the dark background, as if clouds were passing by him. 】

…

"——Su Mingan!!"

"——Don't really go to the starry sky. It's definitely not a serious dimension ascension. The overlapping shadow will probably devour you. Don't believe his lies!"

"——Then what can I do? I would rather Su Ming'an be promoted to high dimension than be forgotten."

"——Su Mingan, don't leave..."

Men's shouts, girls' roars, old men's shouts, all kinds of sounds.

Echoing in the ears.

Where darkness rolls, where there is no light or shadow, streams of light streak across the sky, like falling stars.

Human beings once made statues of gods, sang songs to them, and covered them with gold foil.

Now, it's the gods' turn to sacrifice for humans.

Virgil and Beatrice in "The Divine Comedy" represent "human wisdom" and "theological wisdom", and they think about heaven and hell in the pure world. This is human beings’ understanding and reflection on free will, that is, human beings can change their fate of falling into purgatory and ascend to heaven through their own will to ascend to heaven.

When Su Ming'an compiled the myth, he borrowed this concept - in the old world, there was the Heavenly Valley above and the Nine Nether below. After death, a good person will go to the Valley of Heaven and enjoy endless bliss. After death, evil people fall into the Netherworld and suffer endless suffering.

Later, Jiuyou was fulfilled. There were indeed nine ghosts in the old world. But its purpose is not to punish evildoers, but to save the world.

Instead, Sky Valley is a dangerous starry sky and a source of aggression.

He never thought that the myth he compiled casually would be presented upside down in such a form.

However, the current scene... really reminded him of the ancient paintings he had seen.

——Human beings built a ladder to let the blond man ascend to the starry sky, but the blond man took away the ladder so that humans could not ascend to the starry sky.

So, did the blond man in history ascend to Sky Valley to be saved...or did he take the initiative to take away the ladder because he saw that Sky Valley was a dangerous starry sky to prevent other humans from suffering?

At least, Su Mingan today is the latter. His act of leaving the civilization of the old world was essentially taking away the ladder. It matches that picture.

At this time, he heard the wind and saw a pair of golden eyes.

"...I never thought that the God of Yunshang City that I heard about when I was a child was you thousands of years ago." Su Lin flew up, and the flames spread their wings behind him. This was already an extremely high altitude. Even Chaoyan couldn't fly up, but Su Lin followed.

He looked at Su Ming'an, as if he was observing what Su Ming'an would look like after becoming a god: "It turns out that the original Yun Shang City god in Praia looked like this."

"You don't have to follow." Su Mingan said calmly. Even Su Lin can't change anything about the current situation.

The stars are getting closer.

"Now, we are even." Su Lin suddenly said: "It was the legend of Yunshang City you left behind that made me want to go up to Yunshang City to find out what happened after ten thousand years. That's why I became The God who conquered Yunshang City. My journey to becoming a God began because of you, and even if you later pull me down, it will end because of you."

Su Ming'an didn't expect how long it had been. Su Lin was still thinking about whether it was even or not. Su Lin had helped him so many times. He had thought that they would have forgotten their past grudges, but hadn't they?

Su Lin probably thought that Su Ming'an was going to upgrade, so she said everything she didn't say to avoid being unable to say anything in the future.

"You won't stop me from going to the stars, right?" Su Mingan said.

For Praia's safety, from Su Lin's point of view, even if he didn't want Su Ming'an to die, he couldn't possibly say something like "give up on the old world."

Anyone can stop Su Ming'an, but not Su Lin.

Su Lin was silent.

After a long time, he said: "...if time passes to ten thousand years later, I am still the god of Yunshang City, maybe you don't need to sacrifice at this moment."

He was actually thinking about such a thing.

"Perhaps it is because of my sacrifice at this time that the 'ten thousand years later' you mentioned happened. So the situation you mentioned is a reversal of cause and effect and will not exist." Su Mingan said.

"...After you go up, don't confront Duoying. As long as you live, one day in the future, I will find a way to bring you back. There will always be...hope." Su Lin said: "You wait for me... God again.”

Su Mingan looked sideways, Su Lin's words were rare and pleasant to the ear.

But soon, as expected, Su Lin added: "...otherwise there will be no one in power to take me back."

Su Mingan almost knew with his eyes closed that this person was going to say this.

He waved his hand and continued to fly upward. Su Lin no longer followed, just humming something. The sound floated in the air, low and cold.

That seems to be... Praia's hymn to God.

I don't know whether this guy sang it to himself or to Su Ming'an.

Su Ming'an thought of the contents of Destiny Cinema that he had watched.

He wanted to defy fate once... with a trivial resistance, he declared to fate that he would not admit defeat.

…

["I volunteered." Su Mingan's voice was calm. 】

…

"I didn't do it voluntarily." Su Mingan said, his voice calm.

At the same time, Eli, Mizushima Kawa Sora and others also remembered the contents of the Destiny Cinema. Mizushima Kawakora opened his mouth wide and murmured:

"yes……"

"You will die in that... act in the sky."

"It came true."

…

【"No one is wrong."】

…

"Everyone is wrong." Su Mingan said softly.

The shadow stretched out its hand to Him, and the surrounding stars twinkled.

…

【"Go on."】

…

"Don't go any further," Su Mingan said.

He is like a child who deliberately goes against fate, that is, he does not speak according to the predictions of the Destiny Cinema.

Then, he had a premonition of the next sound——

"Boom——!!"

…

【"Boom——"】

[A thunderous voice sounded suddenly. 】

…

That was the sound made when Su Mingan completely left the old world and entered the starry sky, like oil melting into a pot of water.

next moment,

…

[Black swept in, drowning the entire field of vision. Including Su Mingan who was dressed in holy white. 】

…

Su Mingan finally turned back and glanced at the people on the ground. They were as small as ants.

In their eyes...

He may...really "die in the sky".

The god dressed in holy white fell into the huge starry sky and disappeared from people's sight. The strange creatures and pollution gradually receded.

The holy city returned to calm, except for the crying and sorrow of the people. They called Su Mingan over and over again, as if he could come back if they shouted loudly.

But after a while, they looked at the vast and peaceful starry sky and finally realized the truth.

...The gods may not be able to come back.

For the sake of the old world, He agreed to the invaders' conditions, "sacrificed" in their eyes, and took away all the pain.

"Su Ming'an." Xiao Ying was not sure whether his throat had shouted this, but he quickly shouted again:

"……don't want."

He collapsed on the bluestone floor and lost all his strength.

…

In the 15th year of the Heavenly Generation, at the end of winter, the gods offered sacrifices.

The gods took over the place of gods.

This is the coldest winter.

…

People discovered that a pure white tree had grown in the central square of the Holy City. Its flowers were shaped like daffodils, and its roots were deeply rooted in the city above the clouds.

People say that the god left his white tentacles on the ground before he left. The tentacles turned into giant trees in the sky.

They came to believe that the gods simply slept in the tree. As long as one day something happens to the overlapping shadow, the god's consciousness can return to this big tree.

The gods know that this is just people's nonsense and has no logic. But myths and stories are always born from this. If it can calm their riddled hearts and make them believe that the gods will come back one day...then let them go.

As a result, such stories spread, and people began to believe that among the white trees in the sky, the gods would come back one day.

They want to build temples, temples, and sacrificial squares next to the sacred tree, send flowers and the most devout believers to the sacred tree, recite prayers for the gods every day, build statues, and beat musical instruments.

They believe that one day, God will wake up.

Maybe, tomorrow.

Maybe, a few years from now.

Maybe, one, two, three generations for a long time.

Maybe... skip the human lifespan, a hundred years.

Maybe,

Never wake up.

…

Chaoyan watched as the sky slowly closed, and Su Ming'an's figure, those strange creatures that blocked the sky, and the overlapping shadows of high-dimensional beings were all gone.

The sky is clear and the sun is setting. The entire holy city is bathed in the golden sunshine, as if it is covered with a layer of clean, pure and quiet gauze. It is a picture of the aftermath of the disaster.

People still maintained their kneeling posture, as if time had stopped at the moment Su Mingan left. Mizushima Kawakora's eyes were hazy, Eli's face was in disbelief, and Lu Meng's expression was frozen. None of them could have imagined that... Su Ming'an really sacrificed himself for civilization. They seemed to be still immersed in a dream and had not yet woken up, their faces full of sadness.

Chaoyan smiled bitterly and glanced at her life source. Sure enough, after burning her life this time, she could only live for a year at most.

Can she wait for him?

she does not know.

It seems that no matter what he does... He is always the one sacrificing Himself. And she tried her best to burn herself, but in the end she was empty-handed and had nothing else.

She slowly leaned down and covered her face.

Then,

——The girl let out a howl like a wolf.