this infinite world

"What on earth is that——"

Looking at Yang Yun in the torn pages and Chi You confronting Yang Yun, Zheng Zha remembered everything in an instant.

But because he remembered everything, Zheng Zha had more questions in his mind - why was Yang Yun there? Who was his enemy? What happened? These countless questions almost made Zheng Zha's not-so-bright mind a mess.

"You have a lot of things you want to ask."

Fortunately, Zheng Zha was not alone, and there were others around him to ask. The moment Dr. Manhattan's voice sounded, Zheng Zha turned his head and asked in a tone that could almost be called "hoarse": "What is going on?"

"The story begins a long time ago, but before that, I should ask you a question."

Dr. Manhattan turned around and looked down at Zheng Zha: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

"……What did you say?"

Even though he was extremely anxious, this sudden strange question still confused Zheng Zha: "Is this a philosophical question?"

"No, it's not a philosophical question. If possible, I will describe it in some simple words that you can understand."

The huge blue figure flipped his palm slightly, and a figure's phantom suddenly appeared in his palm, vivid and lifelike. It was Murong Ziying, who Zheng Zha was also very familiar with, and had met once in the Legend of Sword and Fairy.

——Beside him, there was another white-haired man. His dress, hairstyle and attire were exactly the same as Murong Ziying. The only difference was that this man had a head full of white hair and was obviously older. He looked like an older version of Murong Ziying.

"Kunlun Qionghua Sect, Murong Ziying, and Kunlun Tianyong City's sword-wielding elder, Immortal Ziyin."

"Is there really a Tianyong City?"

Thinking of Yang Yun's claim that he was from Tianyong City in the Legend of Sword and Fairy world, and his slightly mischievous smile at that time, Zheng Zha suddenly understood something: "But, what does this mean? It's just that Murong Ziying went to Tianyong City after the story ended, that's all..."

"Perhaps it is so in your opinion, but in my opinion and in the opinion of the 'observers' of higher dimensions, this is a paradox."

Having said that, Dr. Manhattan didn't seem to expect Zheng Zha to answer. He just flipped his palm again, and a miniature world appeared in his palm.

There were towering mountains, singing birds and blooming flowers in the world, and a sign with the words "Tianyong City" hung in front of the door. It was a paradise on earth, a holy place of immortal mountains...but the only difference was that everything in this world was extremely hazy. It was clearly real, but it seemed as if there was a layer of gauze between them and it was completely unclear.

"Although Tianyong City is one of the eight sects of Kunlun, it has never been described positively."

Zheng Zha was still wondering when Dr. Manhattan spoke again: "From my perspective, it is in a superposition of 'existence' and 'non-existence'. And when it was officially mentioned in The Legend of Sword and Fairy V, which was several years after the last work, the game called Gujian Qitan was already formed."

"This..." Zheng Zha took a breath after listening to Dr. Manhattan's words. Although he knew that the Chinese Paladin IP would definitely have sequels, and due to the different speed of time, it would also be known to the outside world, but Dr. Manhattan's perspective clearly put himself at a higher level, just like...

"The difference between 'setting' and 'existence'."

Completely understanding Zheng Zha's mind, Dr. Manhattan spoke again. He looked at the two figures on his palm and said, "So, do you understand now? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

“…Stories need to rely on characters, and characters also need to play a role in stories.”

Zheng Zha looked at "Murong Ziying" and "Ziyin Zhenren" in Dr. Manhattan's hands, two identical, similar, yet completely different characters, and seemed to understand something: "Without characters, no matter how good the story is, there is no way to talk about it, and without relevant settings, any existence will have no corresponding meaning..."

"That's it."

Dr. Manhattan nodded and acknowledged Zheng Zha's idea: "Back to the topic just now, the story you saw has been forcibly ended due to some force majeure... or, in other words, restarted."

"The multiverse is not an immortal existence. Even if we use physical time measurement to conclude that its space, time, mass and energy are eternal and infinite, the multiverse must have a beginning and an end. Breaking through boundaries and reincarnation are the truths of a higher dimension. The multiverse will repeat this process many times. When one era ends and turns into nothingness, another era will be born right after it."

"But this is the natural state. Some multiverses will be interfered with by the so-called creators, who will forcibly change this process and force them to be "restarted" before they end. In this kind of restarted multiverse, the laws and rules will sometimes change completely, and history can be written at will."

"The multiverse has not ended correctly, which means that the cause and effect have not been completely settled. The cause and effect before the restart will be inherited after the restart, resulting in the reincarnation of similar characters. These reborn people are attracted to each other, or experience similar experiences before the restart, and will gradually awaken the 'false memories' of the previous life."

"Restart, and false memories..."

Zheng Zha heard this and immediately looked at Dr. Manhattan with a strange look. If he remembered correctly, although the story of "Watchmen" took place in a separate universe, it still belonged to the works of DC Comics. The earliest practice of "restarting the universe" and starting the story again came from the comic book called "Crisis on Infinite Earths"...

"You're right. I've experienced 'restarting' many times."

Dr. Manhattan nodded without Zheng Zha saying anything: "There are endless stories that have come to an end and destruction due to accidents or other reasons. And if you choose to accept the will of resistance against the superiors inherited from your previous self before the restart, and swear to resist the endless spiral that is difficult to reverse, you will become the seed of the "Transcendent" and gain a shining destiny that will one day be able to share the stage with the "Creator."

——Or in other words, the status of the protagonist.

"Since there are superiors in this world who hate this world for no reason and want to distort it, there are naturally superiors who love this world deeply."

"Since there are creators who want to erase miracles, there are naturally observers who want to witness miracles."

"And this is why I am here."

The blue giant quietly stated its position. (End of this chapter)