Collapse Iron: I just transmigrated! You want me to save the Black Tower?!

"Yes, host. The timeline you've traveled through has deviated from its normal trajectory. Now, you need to do your best to reverse everything and get the universe back on track."

"Deviation? Reversal???"

Jiang Jiu was shocked by this, so shocked that he felt as if fate had played a joke on him.

An ordinary person, able to reverse the future of the world? Isn't that a joke?

However, the system calmly issued the task and then calmly offered Jiang Jiu two choices regarding his fate.

"Considering the danger of the mission, the system can provide the host with Envoy-level power. Please choose your own path."

Jiang Jiu looked at his fate and muttered to himself as he pondered.

"Commander, if you can provide power, why don't you just create a Star God-level power to resolve the problem directly? Why come to me?"

『......』

"Tsk, weren't you supposed to let me choose? Why are there only two options, nothingness and end? Can't I choose something else? Can I choose destruction?"

『......』

Jiang Jiu was somewhat conflicted.

The power of the end sounds very strong, and its performance in the story is indeed impressive, but it hasn't been specifically demonstrated in terms of combat strength.

What about nothingness?

I'll die...

No matter how you think about it, you're going to die anyway, right?

With such a hollow premise, no one could possibly survive it, right?

"..." Jiang Jiu hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "I choose the end."

He chose the least dangerous of these tasks and began his first attempt in the universe.

The blow came faster than expected.

Facing the Iron Tomb directly, the sheer difference in strength allowed him to clearly see just how vast the gap in combat power between the two sides truly was.

It ended so easily.

Jiang Jiu wasn't particularly happy to realize that this mission wasn't a quick kill; seeing so many deaths made him feel nauseous.

He didn't understand why he had to keep going.

Resurrection? Dying once is enough, so how many more times do we have to die to be reborn?

"..."

He thought about it for a long time and finally convinced himself that since he couldn't die anyway... he might as well give it another try. The power of the end times allowed him to see the future, and maybe this path could save him?

So he tried to communicate with the Black Tower and, together with the forces of the end times, formed a coalition far stronger than in the original storyline in an attempt to stop the Iron Curtain.

He failed.

If one approach doesn't work, try another. He tried working from within Onphalus to see if he could find another way.

During that period, Jiang Jiu practically turned Onfaros upside down.

He dissected and analyzed every point in time, engraving the beginning, development, transition, and conclusion of each cycle into his mind.

He tried to reach the Golden Blood before Aglaia, tried to repair the rifts before Tibo, tried to find the sparks before Bai'er; he tried every method he could think of.

If destroying Demogue wouldn't change the future, he might try to make her cease to exist.

once.

twice.

Ten times, twenty times, thirty times.

......

Every time he thought he had found a way out, every time he watched the door close in front of him.

Perhaps it's not that it can't be opened, but that there's no door at all. This path is dead from the very beginning; no matter which way you go, you'll eventually end up back in the same place.

People who can see the future are often more prone to despair; they watch helplessly as the future heads toward a predetermined dead end, with no way to change it.

He confronted Zandal and searched for Polka, but unfortunately, neither of these things changed the so-called future of the mission.

In a fit of rage, he threw Eriol into Onphalos, letting the end of time change this damned future.

Unfortunately, none of it worked.

Chapter 263 Two Deadly Files

Most of the time, the outcome of a storyline will come down to the most obvious difference in combat power.

In some cases, it might trigger some random little Easter eggs.

For example, if Huanyu dies prematurely for some reason, he won't have to face the Iron Tomb, although there's still no way to end this storyline.

He imprisoned the Black Tower, but the world always leads to a different ending.

It's still a dead end.

He explored every possible path, and eventually even grew afraid to look at the future that was destined to fail.

death.

Initially, he died passively, then he committed suicide after realizing he couldn't change anything, and in the end, he didn't even want to face it all anymore.

From initial confusion to later persistence, and finally to numbness, he walked towards the Iron Tomb time and time again, dying in that dark red light each time.

He tried to bring everything forward, tried to postpone everything, tried to destroy Onpharos before the Iron Tomb was born, tried to replicate all the guidance of the Pioneers to ascend to godhood, and even tried to blow up the scepter before the All-Knowing Anchor was anchored. Each time, he thought he had found the answer, and each time, the answer told him.

wrong.

He tried again.

Still not right.

Try again.

Still not right.

He began to think that perhaps there was no answer at all.

Perhaps this path was dead from the start. No matter where he goes, no matter what he does, no matter how many times he dies, he will eventually return to the same place.

Perhaps he should give up.

Perhaps he should accept this ending, accept that those destined to die will die, accept that those destined to disappear will disappear, and accept that he can't change anything.

He's probably gone mad.

On one hand, I wanted to give up, but on the other hand, I was unwilling to die so many times without getting any result.

Hundreds, thousands... In the end, even he himself couldn't remember exactly how many times he had tried.

His obsession evolved from wanting a chance to be resurrected to an obsession with only one outcome. In the end, he couldn't even remember why he set off or why he had to die again and again.

Is he guilty?

This line is a complete dead end.

In countless cycles of death, he pushed himself step by step to the crest of despair, eventually losing himself in the endless cycle of death.

......

As Jiang Jiu recalled this somewhat unfamiliar yet vividly real memory, he paused for two seconds.

After seeing these things, his first reaction wasn't how terrible choosing the end would be, but rather...

"...Resurrection? So I was already dead all along?"

He blinked: "Interesting. The first loop is a dead file? What about the void? System, come out and explain?"

『......』

"I won't explain or change any timelines. Let's just wait it out. I don't see any problem with it anyway."

"This is the host's own arrangement."

Please believe that the host's authority is paramount.

Jiang Jiu glanced at the system's message and didn't ask any further questions.

He wasn't afraid of anything unexpected happening, since changing this path was no longer difficult for him; everything was about to end.

Memories and such.

With these causes and effects laid out before him, he would understand the situation once he saw them.

Choosing the final ending led to a dead end, which wasn't entirely unexpected, since the only limitation of the timeline was that it was impossible to bring the Trail Blazers over to help, which would cause a lot of trouble.

Either the Black Tower intervenes and demotes the Iron Tomb to Emperor III, or the Iron Tomb wipes out the entire world. Coincidentally, both of these are listed as unresolved in the system tasks.

Logically speaking, shouldn't nothingness be the correct answer?

Why doesn't he have this memory either?

After the final line reached its end, someone sealed his memories, pulling everything back to the very beginning.

The second great cycle.

At the beginning, everything was pretty much the same as before, and any slight differences were normal.

This time, the system slightly changed its wording when asking the host to choose their destiny.

"Considering the danger of the mission, the system can provide the host with Envoy-level power. Please choose your own path."

Note: Given the extreme danger of this mission, please choose your path carefully.

The Void is purely numerical, while the End is purely mechanical. Everyone knows the Void is powerful, and everyone knows the Void is dangerous. The legendary Void life countdown is not just for show.

The words "dangerous" and "cautious" made Jiang Jiu hesitate.

Want to take a gamble? Even though it's dangerous.

He tried asking the system if it could offset the side effects of the void, but the system didn't answer the question directly. Instead, it revealed something else to him.

During the mission, death does not signify the end; he always has the right to try again.