Wasteland Echoer.

"The Creator has already determined the fate of everything in this world, because He stands in a dimension that we can never reach. In His eyes, the past, present, and future exist simultaneously, step by step. He can see the explosion at the birth of the universe, and He can also see the annihilation of matter after the universe's destruction. But He can control everything and change the course of the future." Seeing that Dark remained silent and "hesitant," unwilling to hand over the "memory crystal core" he had obtained, Wright extended two "Dark Enigma Touches" and tightly wrapped them around Dark's arms, rendering him powerless to resist.

Then, he reached into the inner pocket of Dak's cotton military coat and took out the "memory core," which was already hot and glowing with a blue light.

“We should accept our fate, shouldn’t we? Instead of running away or resisting. You’re the one who told me this, Dark. What, when it’s time to give, you back down? That’s a dangerous thought. When fear and reluctance arise in your heart, you are bound by fate.” Wright gave a rather rare, intriguing smile.

In Dark's eyes, Wright at this moment was completely different from before, and even from before. If Wright was not "bewitched" by some extraordinary power and lost his mind, then he must have figured out some things.

No, perhaps it was from the moment Wright truly pierced Shaneva's chest with "Silence" that he began to grow, severing ties with the past and becoming a true leader worthy of controlling the world.

However, there is currently a lack of a suitable opportunity.

If the time is right, Wright's ambitions will be even greater than Dark's. Suddenly, Dark realized that Wright, a powerful figure who was on par with him, might become the leader of two absolutely opposing camps in the future.

However, for now, they remain an "unbreakable alliance".

"I was just stunned for a moment," Dark explained in a slightly pale voice.
“I just said that ‘Nightmare’ makes people see the most terrifying things. But in the battle, you saw the essence of ‘Nightmare’, while I did not see that group of things that looked like a hodgepodge of machines and various creatures.”

"Oh, so what did you see?" Wright's expression returned to its previous subtle state, and he looked at Dark with curiosity, asking.

“What I saw were soldiers of the Crusad Federation, tall, handsome, and fully armed soldiers. They all wore ‘Federal Hero Badges’ and carried the most advanced replica weapons. They all stared at me menacingly, as if I were still that ‘alien monster’ wandering in the ‘Southern Swamp’.” Dark’s voice was tinged with a very faint fear. If it were anyone else, they would not have been able to observe so clearly, but for Wright at this moment, noticing these things was just a normal thing.

"These are the 'inner demons' and 'nightmares' hidden deep within your heart, hence the combined term 'nightmare.' I think this is why the Flame Empire named it this, and also why the old empire and that banned organization continued to use this name," Wright further analyzed.

"Did you know that the pronunciation of 'Nightmare' in the Flame Empire language is exactly the same as the pronunciation in the Krusk language? It's just a transliteration of the phonetic script. I think that from the moment He Feng Yiwa divined for us until now, as we entered the last area inside the Divine Mountain, it has been the Chosen Ones conveying information to us."

"Everything is fate, which we cannot change, resist, or alter. We are like characters in a novel written by the Creator, following a seemingly absurd but actually scripted script from a higher dimension."

“I can’t understand.” Dak slapped his head, which was throbbing with pain, hoping to relieve the agony. However, the more he slapped it, the more blurred and distorted the things in front of him became, until a huge buzzing sound came from his ears.

Until a tremendous explosion, seemingly from the universe and the past, pulled him back from his brief coma and paralysis.

“During my thirty years in the ‘Crimson Illusion Ruins,’ I learned many lessons, but also forgot many others. But the most important lesson I learned is that humanity’s fate is merely a story written at the tip of the Creator’s pen. If the Creator wants to prevent the entire universe from entering annihilation and from being destroyed due to the lack of gods, He must write new destinies for everything that affects the course of the universe, thereby influencing the final outcome,” Wright said, shaking Dark’s shoulder.

"The writer's paradox?" Dark seemed to understand a little, and tried to explain it using human thinking:

"Human beings believe that they can manipulate and change their destiny, but that is just an illusion of being controlled by destiny. Everything in the universe operates in accordance with the destiny of the Creator. Even if you briefly think that you have broken through destiny, it is only because the Creator has not yet written your destiny."

"That's exactly it. So, since fate has brought us to Torii Town to find the 'Chosen One's' relics, Dark, you shouldn't hold back. I can sense that the 'Memory Core' of the Chosen One contains a large amount of easily absorbed and utilized magical energy, enough to advance you to Tier 2." Wright explained the implications to Dark:
"But without this 'Memory Crystal Core,' we will be unable to leave this place and will be trapped here forever, just like the previous explorers, until the energy that maintains our mental stability is exhausted by a large amount of 'Sorrow,' and then we will kill each other and become nothing more than a pile of new white bones."

“I do have selfish motives,” Dark explained, “because the ‘Chosen One’s Memory Core’ is not only a spoil of war for me and Adaloni, but it can also be used to obtain a certain position after we go to Khitanris. Among the gods revered by the Khitanris, the Dragon King is the first, and the Chosen One is the second.” Dark explained, sounding slightly aggrieved.
“Wolfia told me that the Khitanris royal family later regretted not being able to keep the Chosen One due to internal strife, so they built many shrines and temples to worship his soul. The ‘Memory Core’ is the ‘Chosen One’s Important Relic’, and everything else is just fluff.”

“Dark, look up at the top of the mountain, then look down at the pool we were in. What do you see?” Wright released Dark, pointed upwards, then downwards, and asked.

Dak looked up and, in the dim light, he seemed to see the bright moonlight seeping down from the mountaintop and the dark blue pool at the bottom where the "marine creatures" had disappeared.

At that moment, he had the illusion that the mountain had been carved through, and in a daze, he responded with:
"I saw it, the change."

“That’s right, change.” Dark nodded, speaking with a calm tone that belied his age.

"The color of light depends on the color that things reflect, while the color of water depends on the colors it absorbs. Water contains many impurities, algae, and minerals, so it tends to resemble the color of the ocean. If there were no impurities, in its purest state, it would have no color and would be absolutely pure."

"Human consciousness and cognition are always ensnared by various illusions and delusions, blinded by desires and confusion, leading to an uncontrollable and extreme death. Light is far too complex, like the sun, which is composed of dozens of spectra and can be broken down into seven colors by a prism. But darkness is much simpler; it has only one color, pure black." "What are you trying to tell me?" Dark seemed to see a clue in Wright's dark eyes. He took a few steps forward, returned to Wright's side, and asked tentatively.

"Cooperating with darkness is easy; it's nothing more than death and annihilation. If this universe eventually dies, the Creator will simply create a new one. The Creator has no emotions; He treats everything in the universe as if it were sand or dust." Wright said in a mature tone that didn't belong to him.

"But a speck of dust in the universe is enormous compared to stars in the eyes of ordinary humans. The continent we live on, and the planet that supports it, were not created by chance, but rather are 'observation points' set up by the Creator to observe the entire universe. The decision-makers are the commanders-in-chief and chief officers who operate this observation point."

“The old Chosen One has completed His mission. The next task of observation must be handed over to the new ‘Observer,’ the ‘new Chosen One.’ Dark, I think that since you have personally killed the old Chosen One, you should bear His destiny.”

"What destiny?" Dark asked deliberately, though he knew perfectly well, hoping that "Wright" would tell him himself.

Instead of informing Dark directly, "Wright" quickly stepped forward and inserted the "Chosen One's Memory Core" into the groove that had risen to his waist.

Immediately afterwards, this ugly "crystal core," resembling a meteorite, began to emit a deep blue glow that was almost pure black, casting a reassuring yet terrifying color over the entire technologically advanced space.

Soon, the surrounding space began to collapse, making sounds of bricks shattering and falling. The small area where Dark and Wright stood became a slowly rising platform, the only safe island in the surrounding collapsed ground.

Soon, the "isolated island" rose to its limit, reaching the highest area inside the entire "God's Edge Mountain".

Dark knew that further up lay the pool behind the temple and the "Spirit-Suppressing Tree" growing in the central area of ​​the entire "Mountain of Gods." He saw the tree's roots extending wildly downwards, water droplets dripping continuously from its top, and the ankle-deep pool of water at the bottom of this cave-like area.

The groove that had just bulged upwards seemed to have perfectly devoured the "Chosen One's" "Memory Core," transforming into a sphere of energy radiating a fiery hue, along with a "banner" from the Khitan Ris culture beside it.

And a beacon leading to the sky and the universe!

"It is destiny, Dark, that you will eventually succeed the 'Chosen One' sequence and become the 51st god, the 'Chosen One'. But you can still choose how you observe the planets and the universe." Wright's voice began to transform into an ethereal, almost divine, echoing tone.

His eyes were no longer pitch black as they were when the "Burning Black Vision" was activated; they had returned to normal human eyes, except that the pure black pupils had been replaced with a more "divine" fiery red.

He strode forward and patted Dark's shoulder heavily with superhuman strength, almost causing him to lose his balance and his legs to tremble.

Seeing this embarrassed look, "Wright" revealed a smug smile. He finally dropped his pretense and laughed:

"When you killed the 'Chosen One,' and when you killed me, why didn't you think of these things? Yes, it's true that I was waiting for you and that dragon in the 'Shangling Emperor's' underground palace. It was indeed the fate arranged by the Creator, and being killed by you was also the Creator's fate. But you could have chosen to escape and walk towards your own destiny."

"But you still chose to submit to fate. Since that's the case, you must understand one thing: there is no such thing as a destiny that ends halfway. Since you have accepted the Creator's arrangement, you cannot quit halfway. Even death cannot end your 'destiny'."

"You are not Wright!" Dark's eyes widened as he felt fear from a god for the first time. He was momentarily stunned, not even realizing when his comrade-in-arms, the man of destiny, had had his consciousness taken away by the dead god.

He carefully recalled every detail since entering the "Mountain of Gods," but he still couldn't figure out when Wright's body had been "possessed" and he had become a puppet of the gods.

Perhaps this is a gradual process of replacement.

But the "Chosen One" occupying Wright's consciousness seemed to sense Dark's confusion. His smile remained as he explained:

“I cannot possess Wright’s body, nor can I invade his consciousness. However, since we are both chosen by the Creator, I have the opportunity to use his body to express my views. This is a power given to me by the Creator, called ‘Substitute’.”

“In each era, a ‘Chosen One’ is born, personally chosen by the Creator, and only one can exist in each era. The new ‘Chosen One’ accepts destiny, and the old ‘Chosen One’ naturally dies under the arrangement of destiny. The Chosen One is merely the most ordinary one among the ordering gods.”

"I've said it before, Dark Tirith, you can choose how you observe the world. I chose to separate myself from the world, observing it as a detached observer. But you can choose to become the leader of the world in your own way, actively observing everything. If you can overcome your inner fears and choose to face your destiny, perhaps one day you will meet the Creator as a god." (End of Chapter)