Chapter 1255: Fate

A giant grey sphere hovered above the Green Lotus Lake. It was the Overlord Realm. A hail of air bullets hit it, but it might as well be hitting an illusion. The sphere didn’t even ripple.

“Fuck!” Old Seven howled with tears of despair running down his face. “Why? Why did this happen?!”

Ten minutes ago, when Gao Yang and the others flew from the Green Mountain to the Green Lotus Lake, Old Seven was the only one not with them; in his place was a substitute.

It was a contingency plan Gao Yang formulated. In case of the worst-case scenario where Dragon turned out to be an enemy and swiftly dealt with them all with a large-ranged Overlord Realm, Old Seven stayed so that he could immediately break the realm from the outside.

On top of Finger Strength, Old Seven had also acquired Shooter Domain and was able to make incredibly long-ranged shots with air bullets, making him the best sniper among them.

Old Seven watched everything play out with a pair of binoculars.

Dragon used Overlord.

Old Seven saw a flash of white. When he realized it, the Overlord Realm had already taken shape, but it was no bigger than half of the lake. Old Seven was shocked.

Why is it so small?!

When dealing with Greed, Dragon’s Overlord had covered the entire Apple Island.

Putting aside his confusion, Old Seven immediately made a long-range shot. The air bullet hit, but the sphere remained wholly intact.

He gaped in surprise. Did Overlord not evolve in terms of range upon reaching level 8, but become unbreakable from the outside as well?

Wearing the flying suit of Dr. Jia’s invention, Old Seven jumped off the cliff and made it to the Green Lotus Lake as quickly as possible, making a barrage of shots at the grey sphere from point-blank range.

Ten minutes passed.

Old Seven gasped for breath, drenched in sweat. He didn’t know how many air bullets he had shot, but they would’ve been enough to turn a high-rise into a beehive. Yet he didn’t even leave a dent on the grey sphere.

Suddenly, it started to tremble at a high frequency, as if an invisible hand were shaking it violently. A few seconds later, the sphere exploded and dissipated, leaving no trace behind.

No Dragon, Gao Yang, or anyone else. There was nothing left.

Old Seven was stunned.

A few seconds later, he dropped to his knees. Old Seven wasn’t afraid of death, but he wished to die fighting alongside his companions rather than meeting a defeat he didn’t understand.

He was on the sidelines for the “fight” against Sloth! For Pride, too! And now this!

Why was he always playing such a lousy role? Why was it so difficult for a regular person to be a hero, even one failing to save the world?

“Why—the—hell?!”

Arms spread, Old Seven shouted his accusation at the indifferent night sky.

“Ahem.”

Old Seven started. Baili Yi was suddenly standing by his side.

“Mr. Baili!”

Embarrassment overpowering his heartburn, Old Seven quickly picked himself up and dusted his knees. “Didn’t Brother Yang tell you to hide? Why are you out?”

Baili Yi looked at the empty lake with his hands in the pockets of his white coat. “They have entered the Gates.”

“The Gates?” Old Seven felt a numbness in his scalp. “Holy! So the Gates of Closure are real! They opened the Gates?!”

Baili Yi nodded.

Old Seven couldn’t believe it. “Have you calculated all that?”

Baili Yi nodded again.

“Then...what’s gonna happen?”

Baili Yi shook his head. “Humans Opening the Gates is the checkmate move. Whatever happens afterward isn’t on my Chessboard of Causality.”

Old Seven reeled in shock. “No! You always said you didn’t know, but you did! You despicable old man!”

“I truly don’t know this time.” A tear ran down Baili Yi’s face. “You’re right, Teacher.”

“A life has to direct themselves to their way out. A fate has to lead itself to change.”

Baili Yi took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with a handkerchief before putting them back on. With the night wind brushing his hair, he looked up at the starry sky and spoke in a desolate yet grateful tone.

“Heavenly Way, have I not been a good crutch? Now, it’s time to return everything.”

“What do you mean?” Old Seven was dumbfounded.

Baili Yi’s gaze remained fixed on the night sky. He said with a smile, “The universe is an infinite certainty, and humans are an infinite possibility. We are lucky.”

Old Seven had a bad feeling about this. “Wait, Teacher Baili, stop being cryp—”

Baili Yi melted into condensed white energy. It elongated into a radiant horizontal line that stretched infinitely to the sides like a horizon before disappearing, as if it had never existed in the first place.

Old Seven’s jaw dropped once more. He even questioned if the minute Baili Yi appeared was a product of his delusional mind.

After a long moment, he finally accepted reality and realized that he was abandoned. He was now the greatest loser among the awakeners in the Mist World.

He dropped to his knees and spread his arms, howling at the sky.

“Why—the—hell?!”

...

Through a quaint window, a desk came into view. A candlestand held a single flame, its wavering light illuminating two figures sitting across from each other. On the left sat an old man with great wisdom, and on the right, a humble young man.

Their silent conversation unfolded in speech bubbles.

“Baili, have you calculated the battle tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“And the result?”

“All three thousand chess games led to losses.”

“...”

“But I had a dream. In the dream, those who come after us will find a way.”

“So...that is the will of heaven.”

“Tomorrow, I will be joining the battle.”

“Why must you walk into a battle doomed to end in defeat?”

“I have made up my mind. Please give me permission.”

“Heaven determines the path, but fate is in each of our hearts. If you wish to fight, fight.”