vncnus Chapter 22 The Cycle Beginning with the Number "1"
Chapter 22 The Cycle Beginning with the Number "1"
Time seemed to stand still.
"Did he just shout...?" a Soul Master stammered.
"Caus..."
Is he calling for Bai Er?
"Does that Fire Thief know Bai E?"
They know each other?!
"More than just acquaintances!" A sharp voice pierced the silence, filled with boundless fear and anger.
Did you see that clearly?
They look exactly alike!
Exactly the same!
"Could it be that...?"
Could it be that Bai E is the mastermind behind everything?
"impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible! Bai Er is the savior!"
He killed that monster! You saw it with your own eyes!
"But how do you explain that face?"
How do you explain that "Caus"?!
"Perhaps...perhaps it's an illusion? It's the Fire Thief's dying ploy to sow discord!"
"Does a divide-and-conquer strategy require you to make yourself look exactly like the other person?!"
Is it necessary to risk one's own life to carry out a scheme?!
Arguments, doubts, fear, the bewilderment of collapsing faith...
A variety of emotions erupted, mixed, and boiled over in the crowd.
Above the sky, Bai E stood frozen in place, his knuckles white as he gripped the sword hilt.
The Fire Thief's hand slowly slid off his wrist.
Immediately afterwards, black light emanated from the hideous wounds on his chest and back.
His entire body—along with his dark armor and shattered mask—collapsed with a deafening roar.
Bai E seemed to want to resist. He subconsciously tried to swing his sword to block, but the black light was too fast and too urgent, and it completely engulfed him in an instant!
All the people could see was a human silhouette, shrouded in thick darkness, struggling and writhing violently.
"What is that?!"
"What did that monster put inside the Savior's body?!"
"It's a curse! It must be a death curse!"
They saw Bai Er hunching over in pain in the darkness and heard him let out a suppressed groan, as if he were bearing an immense burden.
In the blink of an eye, all the black light in the sky was absorbed, leaving not a trace.
Bai E reappeared, kneeling on one knee, leaning on his sword, breathing heavily.
He appeared outwardly unchanged, but everyone could clearly sense it.
An indescribable, unsettling aura lingered around him.
Everyone saw the "Fire Thief" turn into black light.
Everyone saw the black light surge into Bai E's body.
"He absorbed that monster's power?"
"It's not absorption..." The person next to him looked on with fear.
That's basically just passing on information!
That monster did it willingly!
He gave his power to Bai'er!
Voluntary transfer.
They look exactly the same.
The whispered name he uttered before he died.
All the scattered clues were forcibly connected into an answer.
"They're all in cahoots..."
A female Soul Master who had once cried for Sai Fei'er spoke in a trembling voice.
"Maybe there's no such thing as a 'Fire Thief' at all..."
That's simply another incarnation of Bai E!
It was a tool he used to eliminate dissidents and seize the torch!
"Wan Di, Aglaia, Xiao Die..."
They trusted him so much…
The other Soul Master had bloodshot eyes and his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked.
"And then their deaths, the spark they desperately protected... did it all end in...?"
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood.
A chill crept over everyone's body.
The cheers and support for Bai Er had disappeared.
Those who once believed him now covered their mouths tightly, their eyes filled with tears of betrayal.
Those who had previously defended him were now speechless.
He could only stare intently at the figure in the sky, as if he were seeing him for the first time.
Once the seeds of doubt are sown, they will grow wildly, nourished by hatred and fear.
"He's a liar..."
"He's just a butcher..."
"He's a demon..."
The image on the screen focuses on Bai E's lowered face.
He slowly raised his head, his face still showing little expression.
But those blue eyes were filled with a weariness and pain that no one could understand.
He raised his hand and looked at his palm.
He uttered a few words as if talking to himself:
"...This is...what you want me to bear..."
The sound dissipated into the wind, vanishing without a trace.
Then, he leaned on his sword and slowly stood up.
He took one last look at the ground.
Then he turned around.
Step by step, staggering yet determined, I walked into that eternal night that swallowed everything.
His silhouette was lonely and resolute.
The sky gradually receded and dimmed as his figure walked away.
The next moment, the sky screen lit up without any warning or explanation.
This time, however, there were only two people.
Bai E, and Xi Lian.
Bai E's sword had already been thrust out.
The sword tip struck precisely, piercing Xi Lian's chest.
Time stretched out infinitely at this moment.
Xi Lian's body trembled slightly, but her face showed no surprise or pain.
She even staggered forward half a step, as if deliberately facing the fatal blow.
"You must hold the ceremonial sword tightly; after I leave, it will send you back to the beginning of time."
A faint smile slowly spread across her lips.
He watched her fall, and instinctively, his other arm stiffly reached out to catch her falling body.
Xi Lian fell into his arms, feeling very light.
Her gaze remained fixed on his eyes, and her lips moved almost imperceptibly.
Only Bai Er could clearly see the shape of those lips:
"keep going."
"Let the true dawn arrive for Onphalus."
Then, the last light in her eyes went out.
The body gradually turned into specks of light and dissipated in all directions.
A tear rolled down his cheek without warning.
"Aa ...
Just as the teardrop touched the ground—
"Buzz..."
Centered on the two people, the entire sky began to distort and shake violently!
The scenery began to spin wildly, shatter, and then reform!
In that bizarre and chaotic scene of collapse.
A colossal, oppressive number composed of pure energy—
"1"
Then came a torrent of images, too fast to distinguish: similar battlefields, different ways of dying, Wan Di, Aglaia, Xia Die, Feng Jin, Sai Fei Er...
Faces flashed and vanished in the shattered spacetime, while Bai E's figure repeated encounters, moments of companionship, and...
Then, as a fire-stealer, he either guides or brings them the end.
With each reincarnation, his eyes grew calmer, yet also more desperate.
Finally, all the illusions shrank, and the image stabilized again.
It's still that same battlefield.
Bai E stood alone, his arms empty.
Xi Lian's body, bloodstains, and even the badge had all disappeared, as if the terrifying scene had never happened.
Only the undried tear stains on his face and the lifelessness in his eyes remained.
He slowly raised his hand, palm facing upward.
A badge lay quietly in his hand.
He clasped his hands together and gripped it tightly.
"I will keep going, even if the road ahead is dark."
"I will also burn myself to illuminate it."
He then turned around and walked into the darkness step by step.
"134!"
The cycle of reincarnation begins.