Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

No, it should be said that things have been in complete chaos for a long time. Both the past and the future are a chaotic mess. What she needs to do is fill in the gaps between cause and effect, and make connections and relationships between what has happened in the past and what is happening now.

She already knew who triggered the 'Dragon Break,' although she didn't yet know how it was triggered, nor could she directly or indirectly reveal who caused it. But she knew what she had to do. After all, a small temple can't contain a great Buddha, and shallow waters can't nurture a dragon. This 'Disbod' was, in the end, only this small. Even including the 'Star Cup,' whose true nature was unknown but whose essence she had already guessed most of, as a variable, this chessboard, so insignificant compared to a galaxy-level battlefield, couldn't accommodate so many pieces with such immense mass!

There weren't as many chess pieces as expected, so what exactly were these extra pieces?

“One last thing.” She brought the cup of black tea to her lips. “Why is █████ a secret that can’t be spoken? Why is wielding information magic in this world so incredibly convenient? And…” She blinked. “How many times has this happened?”

"You should be able to guess." The Fairy Queen didn't seem too keen on answering the question.

“I can’t guess,” Alice shook her head. “There are still some very necessary prerequisites missing, although I think it’s related to some event or ritual that is happening and has spread from the lower to the upper reaches of the multiple timelines. Although I think I will probably be able to recall or synchronize with it after a while, you should know very well that I will soon run out of time at this point in time.”

"...Time, time has no meaning. Alice."

“I know,” Alice replied. “But I want to know ‘the way’ even more.”

The Fairy Queen lowered her eyes, and with a shift in her thoughts, the entire palace was completely isolated from the outside world. Countless massive and intricate rune structures wove together to form a dense protective barrier. Furthermore, certain treasures not belonging to this world were quietly activated, releasing divine power that could block out all phenomena.

"...The Sacred Hunting Ceremony is still ongoing, the Sacred Hunting Ceremony has been continuing."

Alice closed her eyes.

It turned out to be the case.

The level of a Saint-hunter is beyond the reach of newly ascended fourth-tier extraordinary beings. Even those who have barely gathered the light of their souls are not quite qualified. To be associated with this term, one must be at least at the high-level of the fourth tier, or even at the quasi-saint level. And if one is already so powerful, or has become so powerful through favorable timing, location, and circumstances, then what are the physical bodies and wills existing here at this moment?

Isn't the answer obvious?

It turns out that the person I am now is not real—not a complete being. My essence is merely a past with unusual possibilities. No wonder I didn't collapse even after discovering such a powerful psychological flaw. No wonder I was able to hold my heart even though I started to doubt my love for Patchouli.

For questions that have already been answered and submitted, writing numerous incorrect answers on the scratch paper will not affect the final score. Similarly, for read-only programs that have been packaged and deployed, making random deletions and additions to the code will not affect the final execution, as the code cannot be saved.

She tilted her head back and downed the cup of black tea, which tasted just as familiar as she remembered, a taste that was practically a part of her life. Feeling the rapid death and depletion of her cells and energy, she didn't allow her immune system to mount any counterattack.

In the past, she had done similar things. That's why she knew a certain characteristic of the Abyss of Death. That's why she entered the Abyss of Death several times. Because in that place, time, space, and fate are meaningless. As long as there is a suitable medium and one can maintain rationality and escape at the right point, then in a sense, one can achieve a miracle like that of a misplaced rebirth.

If she hadn't drunk that cup of red tea here, and hadn't entered this 'fairy' village, then she would probably have faced a dead end at some point in the future, and thus made this risky move on the verge of death.

This world is special; things that are impossible in a normal multiverse can be done here. As for why it's special, the Fairy Queen has already provided ample explanation. Since this place is governed by information magic rituals, the power of information magic naturally flows here.

[However, why bring it forward? Instead of letting things develop naturally, allowing cause and effect to harmoniously form a vicious cycle, it was initiated prematurely. What is the reason for this?]

Did someone intervene? Did someone change the past? Or...?

Thoughts gradually slow down and tend to stop.

The empty teacup fell to the ground, shattering into powder. Her body continued to decay and wither, yet her fingers still clutched the rhombus-shaped Dragon Scale. She didn't really want to know the Fairy Queen's expression, nor did she want the Fairy Queen to see her in this state. However, the ritual required a powerful overseer to ensure its proper functioning, and her fingers couldn't touch anything else, lest the causality of the medium be skewed.

Honestly, you can't even hold my hand...

This is... a bit too much for you... ██

With this thought in mind, the witch fell into eternal sleep. And in the final moment before her consciousness faded, she seemed to hear the crisp sound of ice cracking.

..........................................

A deafening roar erupted as the massive underground rock wall split open. Accompanied by billowing lava and boiling steam, a dozen tall and aesthetically pleasing streamlined stealth vehicles leaped from the fiery pool. As they soared into the air, numerous anti-gravity-like buffer structures appeared on their smooth, silvery-gray subsurface before they landed. In an instant, the fish in the fiery pool transformed into birds flying underground, and before a new volcano could rise, the transport ship carrying reincarnators and thousands of ordinary people from the outside world moved away from the gap at the edge of the great void.

Some of the silvery-gray nanobots detached from the 'Bird's' shell, fell into the lava-spurting gap, and filled it briefly. Soon, the underground volcano gradually fell silent, and the spaceship carrying many passengers rapidly approached its target.

This is underground, thousands of kilometers below the surface, in a vast underground cavity that should have been covered by extreme heat and pressure. However, unlike when the reincarnators left on their missions, the once treacherous and complex underground environment, which resembled hell, has been transformed into a desolate wasteland after nearly a week of engineering modifications.

Plains, grasslands, underground light sources, and a temperature and pressure barrier equivalent to a constant environmental adaptation technique. These elements combined create a second home that would satisfy even the residents during peacetime. Because the reincarnators wasted too much time on the outside, the entire settlement developed far too many unnecessary public service units.

It is unnecessary, but it is not without value.

Because of their existence, although the real, nest-like mortal settlements and dream generators are actually still in the lower layers of the ecosystem, cheers naturally erupted from the transport ship when the landscape before them was exposed to the migrants looking out through the observation windows.

The mortals of this world have suffered too much; they would be content with just a place to live.

While mortals cheered, the reincarnators looked down from a higher place.

"As expected of Miss Patchouli, whether it's the construction of the fortifications or the techniques for modifying and utilizing the ecological environment, the level of skill she's achieved is simply flawless." Zhan Lan's hand rested on the edge of the observation window at the top. With her thoughts, the purified air and cool breeze from outside flowed into the resting room where the reincarnators were, through the opened observation window. The fatigue accumulated from a week of hard work vanished in an instant, replaced only by relaxation and joyful smiles.

"Yes, seeing Patchouli's results, all our previous hard work wasn't in vain." Xiao Honglu rubbed his brow, his third eye now closed, and sighed slightly, leaning on the Three-Eyed Clan token in his hand. The adventure in the underground fiery currents was no smooth journey. Earthquakes, fiery currents, and certain enormous underground creatures—he had spent the previous week racking his brains and exerting a great deal of effort to deal with these things.

Not only him, but everyone else was in the same boat. Zhan Lan was practically scanning with her mental energy around the clock, unleashing countless psychic flames and lightning strikes. Ming Yanwei had long since used up all her stored binding arrows, and her body was quite weak from the repeated use of the witch's magic. Even Cheng Xiao, who was relatively lacking in combat power, had exhausted himself in appeasing the mortal residents and arranging their work. Even with the support of Liu Yu, the local strongman, he looked like a cultivator who could die at any moment.

Everyone fulfilled their responsibilities, and everyone grew to some extent. Although they may not be of great use on the front lines yet, they have at least earned the qualifications to take center stage in this world.

In short, many things happened on the way. Some will be mentioned briefly, while others may be discussed in more detail at a later meeting. It is said that Zhang Jie's team has already arrived at the nearby location, and presumably there will be a gathering for the reincarnators of the Central Continent Team soon.

However, a good and comfortable rest is necessary before that.

Even if the reincarnators didn't need it, the residents they brought back still needed a proper rest. As the transport ships landed on the appropriate landing pad, robots that had been arriving in an orderly fashion from all directions began carrying out this task methodically. Further away, Logando, having completed a pioneering mission, was piloting a giant robot back to the base.

..............................

Meanwhile, at the main control center of the large hollow base.

Just minutes ago, she had discussed the revised construction plan for the underground base with Chu Xuan. According to Chu Xuan's suggestion, when the mortal inhabitants, as planned, fall into a dream within the nest city, simultaneously activating the copy bodies to resurrect the dead souls and achieve a massive population expansion, the mortal souls placed within the dream generator, and their combined spiritual energy, can actually serve some additional purposes.

Based on some materials from the Bleach world era, Chu Xuan reverse-engineered the Emperor's Angel Legion. If these legions were used as vessels to infuse the slumbering spirits of mortals within the Nest City, a massive, potentially growing army could be created. This would be far more effective than a simple robot army or a purely artificial Alaya. Aside from some ethical issues, it would be a win-win situation for both reincarnators and mortals.

After all, the mortal bodies of this world are rather poor and lack potential. Therefore, rather than modifying the body, directly enhancing the spirit might be a more suitable solution. In this way, when the reincarnators are here, the mortals can provide greater assistance. When the reincarnators leave, the mortals will also possess their own path to power.

This was a perfectly reasonable strategy, and Patchouli didn't feel the need to refute it. After this brief discussion, she planned to give herself a short break before the other reincarnators returned.

"Witches get tired too, though I don't feel that tired... I'm just a little bored."

She stretched out her hand, causing the swarm of nanobots to construct a delicate little coffee table in front of her. Two small cups were placed on her side and opposite the table, as if someone were on the other side.

She liked black tea, just as Alice liked coffee and occasionally had an interest in cola. She was very aware of Alice's preferences, and Alice was aware of hers. However, compared to Alice, who always indulged her, she preferred to watch Alice wrinkle her nose and drink the black tea she didn't like.

"Where is Alice now? We've been out of contact for a while. I think we had a little bit of information before, but then it was cut off. I wonder what she's busy with." The purple-toned witch rested her chin on her hand, stirring the tea in her cup as she pondered. She wasn't worried about Alice's safety, after all, witches with information systems had plenty of ways to survive, and they also had resurrection items and slots for the Book of the Sun.

[She's probably busy with her plans again, like the vampires... Remilia's ring has already been sent over. She'll likely make good use of it. And the Imp is over there too, he should be able to come in handy sometime.]

She was idly thinking about random things, which was probably a way to relax. When she felt that the tea in the cup had been stirred enough, she naturally brought the teacup to her lips.

'Crack!'

She smashed the teacup and teapot against the wall, shattering them to pieces. The dark red tea liquid radiated across the silvery-white hall like uncongealed crimson blood.

Black tea made her feel nauseous.

Excluding the summary at the end of the volume

Strictly speaking, I didn't really want to post this end-of-volume summary.

Because the story of No Game No Life Zero is not over yet, or rather, it has only just begun.

However, although the world did not end, the story did indeed enter the next part.

After all, these volumes are different from the previous ones. From the Holy Blood Spring to the Primordial Wanderer, they are actually all part of the larger volume, Blood Source.

Bloodborne is divided into four volumes, and the content of each world is running in sync.

In general terms, these two volumes are the layout, and the next two volumes are the solution.

Well, considering that many people might be confused by all this, let me summarize it here.

Firstly, *The Wandering Star* is the content of the previous major volume, and the storylines of *The Wandering Earth* and *The Three-Body Problem* have largely concluded. At the end of the volume, the cosmology of *The Wandering Earth* has been overridden by the Sacred Hunting Ritual, thus the Sacred Hunting Ritual is the first layer of the box.

Chu Xuan is here, at the very top.

The second layer of the box is the Blood Origin World, the world formed from Chang'e's dream.

Luo Ye is here, on the second level. At the same time, she has also unfolded the ship girl world within Alice's body, which is about the 2.5th level.

The third layer of the box is the world of the Tree of Things that split from Chang'e's dream. When combined, they can piece together Chang'e's dream; when separated, they form worldviews such as Wizarding World and A Song of Ice and Fire.

Most of the reincarnators from the Central Continent Team are here, as are most of the other reincarnation teams that were recruited as conscripts and members of the Saint Legion.

The fourth layer of the box is the world of Shinki's paintings. Whether the paintings depict the past, a parallel universe, or something else is another matter, but they are connected to the Hunting Saint Ritual.

Zheng Zha was here before; this place is like a primordial wilderness, the game of life zero.

The fifth layer of the box, as pointed to by Longpo, is the ancient scrolling world that was pulled from the past of the timeline and pieced together into the No Game No Zero universe. This world is the main setting of Bloodborne Volume 3. It is also the place that Zheng Zha, his other half Sirin, and Alice in the painting are going to.

Basically, the box only has these five layers; there won't be a sixth. The following content involves pushing each layer upwards. The story and mysteries will gradually be solved. And in the end, it will be a final battle with Chang'e.

At the same time, although I pointed out five layers, the characters on each layer don't stay in their current layer. Both the Sacred Hunting Ritual and the Team Battle are in progress, and the settings of the upper world also extend to those below.

Ah... I think I'm being stupid by making this so complicated. Bloodborne is the most mind-bending volume in the series, so I probably added a lot of explanations in my previous writing.

This may not be appealing, but the story has already unfolded this way, and I have to finish it... If the audience still has expectations for this story, then I would be extremely grateful...

And, at the beginning of today, I touched it.

The Abyss of Death, Part Three

死渊

Each time Alice came to the Abyss of Death, she felt she gained something different. And each time she emerged from it, she felt as if she were reborn.

Perhaps the phrase "like being reborn" isn't quite accurate. Because rebirth is rebirth; to die and then gain a second life is a true miracle of resurrection. And she has triggered such miracles countless times.

Yes, that's right. If described in a way that most people could understand, five or six hundred years ago, when she was still a naive witch with limited skills and experience traveling the land, she had already died completely once. Her physical body disintegrated, and her soul was consumed and annihilated as material for spellcasting—a thorough and clean demise.

That was her first time arriving at the Abyss of Death, and then leaving it. When she emerged from the Abyss, she was already inside the body she had been in five minutes before her near-death experience. Then she acted first, incinerating the enemy wizard hiding in the shadows, who was supposed to kill her in five minutes with a pre-arranged trap, into complete ashes.

That was her first use of the Abyss of Death, and at that time she believed she had actually awakened some kind of time-traveling ability. But when her second death came a hundred years later, she realized that her judgment was all wrong.

Time can be reversed, but not every time. Without the right medium, the destination reached after reversing the wheel of time may not be the area one desires. And when she was resurrected from death for the second time, she awoke five days after she had been ambushed and hunted by witch hunters.

She even saw her own charred and withered corpse on the stake in the city square. And it was later confirmed that it was indeed the real body she had ever possessed—her own corpse was clearly there, but the person looking at her own remains undeniably possessed flesh and blood. This discovery left her extremely confused, but even so, she knew it was a secret weapon she had to keep hidden.

Thus, she attributed the secret of her resurrection to her own puppetry skills. She became one of the few cunning witches who remained on the Papacy's kill list for many years without being eliminated. The Papacy's hunters repeatedly sought her out, only to conclude after successfully killing her that she had merely slain a puppet. Only she herself knew that she had truly died that many times.

Death, death, death after death. She gradually figured out the patterns of the Abyss of Death, yet she remained cautious. Because she didn't know the workings of this inexplicable talent, how it worked, and naturally, when it would fail.

Death is ultimately terrifying, but she was not afraid of it; however, she always maintained a sense of awe.

And when she willingly steps into death, venturing into the abyss to achieve something, that marks the end of the clash between machinery and information. Her journey with Patchouli to that desolate, deep-sea wasteland in South America.

Patchouli died there. Although she didn't remember exactly how she died, she did die there once or several times. And when she first stepped into the eternal slumber that was absolutely impossible to revive, Alice chose to step into the abyss of death and take her back from the eternal slumber.

That was a memory that should not be recalled, nor would it ever be recalled. The exploration at the boundary between life and death had a far greater impact on a sound soul than the whispers and faces of the ancient gods of the desolate ruins. And it was from that moment that Alice finally learned a part of the true nature of the Abyss of Death, and her conscious will resisted stepping into the Abyss once more.

The curse of the ancient gods was one reason, and resurrection might indeed remove the curse. But this was meaningless for monsters capable of crawling along the timeline. The anomalies between the past and the future would inevitably attract strange gazes that shouldn't be understood or perceived. And when Alice entered the Main God Space and no longer feared these strange things, she discovered that her fate didn't require her to face death again.

This is one reason, and another reason remains a secret that cannot be spoken of, or even considered. Because she doesn't know if, if she understood that reason, she would spontaneously crave complete death.

—Just as Luo Ye is doing now, or rather, in the future.

..........................................

Alice opened her eyes, and what came into view was the familiar, endless abyss. She knew she had successfully reached the first step of her destination, and the next step was to travel from here to another place.