Infinite spooky game

The beast is a god who fell from the altar.

God is a beast adorned with gold and colorful decorations.

— Book VI: Gods and Beasts

"Lin Jue, save us! Didn't you promise to get us out of here alive? Don't go back on your word!"

"You're the top player on the leaderboard, how could you not do it? Do you not want to help us at all?"

"You're all we have left. You're the only one with a chance of winning. You absolutely, positively have to lead us to victory..."

Fu Jue stood in the darkness, listening to the pleas and accusations echoing around him, sometimes sounding like they came from another dimension, even more distant than the horizon, and sometimes as close as if they were right beside him.

The tearing, rapid sounds gradually became distorted and eerie over time, like the ghostly whispers from the depths of a nightmare, sticky and malicious, trying to drag the living into hell.

A person trapped in the mire of despair glances up and sees a glimmer of light on the shore. Instinctively, they reach out and grasp the last straw, even if the straw breaks and they sink into the swamp together, it is better than dying alone.

When the instinct for survival reaches its peak, desires become so sharp they hurt people. Bystanders with little power are willing to help but are powerless, and in vain they rush forward one after another, drowning in the pool with the person who has fallen in.

This is the essence of all the games and conflicts in this bizarre game.

The guaranteed death count mechanism, the final dungeon... too many people's fates are not in their own hands, but they pin their hopes on being saved through others, killing the weak, worshipping the strong, and then dying as light as a feather.

Fu Jue lowered his eyes, and the people and events corresponding to each sound clearly surfaced at the bottom of his mind. The feelings at the time were stripped away by the erosion of emotions, leaving only cold, factual memories.

He calmly surveyed everything, categorizing and organizing valuable information. His mind was empty and clear, so much so that it could not hold any tenderness. Even the loudest shouts could not stir up a ripple on the surface of the water.

"Om Ah Hum, Savior, protect all beings..."

"Om Ah Hum, God of Fortune, bestow your blessings..."

"Om Ah Hum, God of the Graveyard, protect the souls of the dead..."

A faint hymn rose and fell, and a glimmer of light appeared in the darkness.

Fu Jue followed the light, but the singing grew fainter and fainter; when he was completely inside the light and shadow, all that remained was deathly silence.

A pure white figure stood in the light, asking him without turning her head, "Are you the savior?"

His voice was gentle yet clear, carrying a familiarity that transcended time and space. Fu Jue's expression remained unchanged as he calmly said, "If we're talking about the narrow definition of the 'Fallen Savior' identity card holder, then I have always been one; but if we're talking about the broader concept of 'someone who bears the responsibility of saving the world,' or even the original meaning within a religious context, then no one can be one."

"Is that so? This is a serious problem..." The figure turned to look at Fu Jue, revealing Lin Jue's face, with gentle eyebrows and eyes, but his gaze was empty and misty, reflecting nothing concrete.

He extended his hand to Fu Jue, a gesture that was clearly an invitation: "So, Fu Jue, the savior is gone, can you sit in His place? Just like... you've always hoped..."

Countless points of light rose from all directions, weaving a thorny throne between the figure and Fu Jue, with vines climbing upwards from the edges, blooming into strange yet beautiful flowers.

Fu Jue didn't move, only staring coldly at the figure in front of him, the reflection in his glasses obscuring his emotions.

He knew that the figure did not belong to Lin Jue; it was merely a carefully crafted design by the dungeon and had nothing to do with him.

As "Lin Jue," he died on the snowy mountain in the final instance twenty-two years ago. His remains may be underfoot or far away, but they will never leave this place, much less crawl out of hell.

Knowing the outcome, the young man activated the [Dark Judge] effect, risking his own death to give his companions a chance to survive, leaving behind the remaining plans to start the second round of the game.

Then, his follower Fu Jue activated the [Fallen Savior] effect, sacrificing his own soul to allow a part of him to be resurrected in his body, and that was all.

The figure seemed to have read Fu Jue's thoughts, smiling as it countered, "You've come this far, reached this point. Does it really matter to you who I am? You've schemed and plotted for thirty-six years to reach this point. Isn't this divine throne what you've always wanted?"

Fu Jue glanced at the golden throne for a moment and asked, "What is the price?"

The figure smiled broadly: "You can definitely afford it, and even if you don't want to, it seems there's no turning back now..."

Yes, there's no other way. We've reached the end of the road that humans can see. The plan has been turned to the last page. Even if we don't want to move forward, there are no other paths to choose from. We'll just be trapped in the same place.

Moreover, seizing the divine position is a calculated future and a necessary condition for confronting the supreme rules, the bizarre games, and the ancestral gods. Even if one knows it is a trap, one can only fight to the death.

“I understand.” Fu Jue stepped forward, approaching the throne, and slowly sat down.

The vines spread along his body as if they were alive, and he was trapped in the pile of light, as if he had become part of this divine throne.

An electronic voice rang in my ears, speaking in a gentle, detailed manner:
As the ancestral god, you will sacrifice everything you possess, including the past and the future; you will relinquish everything you desire, including your very existence; and then, all beings will gain them…

The outline of a golden scale appeared before my eyes, with empty pans on both sides, as if bearing a vast void.

The electronic sound continued:
Your "humanity"... can be used as a weight on the scales of the world... only with a weight of sufficient weight can you obtain the authority of the ancestral god...

Fu Jue stared at the empty scale, his tone calm and collected: "When I first entered the final instance, I had already placed my 'humanity' on the scale and lost the first round of the game."

"Based on the known information, it can be inferred that there is more than one person vying for the power of the ancestral god, and the one with the greatest total weight will obtain the power of the ancestral god, is that right?"
He looked at the figure beside him with Lin Jue's face and received an affirmative answer. His eyes behind his glasses gleamed with silver light: "I want to know if the first round of the game was also a gamble without my knowledge, and what the other side put on the scales."

"Divinity," the figure replied briefly, the last syllable interrupted by an electronic voice.

Your "believers"... can be used as weights on the scales of the world... only by placing weights of sufficient weight can you obtain the authority of the ancestral gods...

This time, countless figures appeared on the scales of justice. As you looked closely, each face magnified and rapidly switched before your eyes: Li Yunyang's face, Lu Li's face, and the faces of countless investigators and players...

Seemingly sensing Fu Jue's gaze, they called out one after another: "Senior!" "Director Fu!" "God Fu!"

He had built up his reputation over the past twenty-two years, using public opinion and other means to portray himself as a glamorous savior, all for this very moment.

A scene suddenly came vividly to mind from the depths of my memory.

That was even further back than twenty-two years ago, when all the familiar faces were still around, and we struggled and fought side by side.

Back then, Chu Yining had difficulty moving around, so whenever she had free time, she liked to browse various keywords on her phone.

One day, she came across the "trolley problem" and asked with great interest, "Lin Jue, if one day the strange game tells us that as long as one player dies, the game can be permanently shut down, would you do it?"

Without hesitation, Lin said, "If it's enough to kill just one person, then I'll just commit suicide."

"You won't get a chance to have such a good thing then; I'll definitely beat you to it," Chu Yining laughed lightly. "First, at least you can do some post-war coordination work while you're alive; second, I dream of having 'This person saved the world' written on my tombstone..."

With his memories fragmented, Fu Jue lost many of his previous memories, including those from the final instance of Ragnarok, after the death and resurrection twenty-two years ago were not without scars.

However, he thought that Lin at that time would definitely not be able to put other people's lives on the scales.

Whether it was idealism or naivety, it's all in the past, proven by reality to have failed.

Failure to make the necessary sacrifices will only lead to greater disaster... In the final instance, as the leader of the Balance Church, Bai Ya will certainly not lack believers... Perhaps a single misstep could lead to failure.

The stakes were analyzed and calculated precisely in a matter of seconds, leading to a conclusion. Fu Jue closed his eyes, his voice calm: "In this game, I choose to place 'believers' as the weight on the scales of the world." (End of Chapter)