Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

—Since it's a game of chess against oneself, it's only natural that when one (Alice) makes the first move, the other (Luo Ye) should respond accordingly. Unlike the game before Alice, the game before Luo Ye, while also having a winner, still retains the pieces on the board. The only thing missing is the white piece at the center point (Tengen) and the Tengen itself.

It's only natural that Luo Ye's chessboard is the complete opposite of Alice's. After all, their philosophies and paths are completely opposite, so their playing styles and options are naturally quite different as well.

What does this mean?

This doesn't mean anything.

Luo Ye didn't do much; she simply raised her hand and sent the black chess piece, which held the promise of a new world, into the air. She watched it float into the sky and disappear into the cosmos.

And so everything fell silent again. She waved her hand, banishing the chessboard beside her to some random world outside of countless parallel timelines. Perhaps it would become a powerful sealing artifact or a source of calamity in that world, or perhaps it would become the opportunity for some lucky boy to rise to power, or even guide a world's ascension—but she didn't care.

She didn't care; she never did. Because from beginning to end, the only thing she cared about was Alice Margot Lloyd.

It has always been this way, from the past to the present and into the future.

Alice thought she had guessed something, but in fact she had guessed nothing. Because she had gotten one very basic thing wrong, and it was like replacing the lid of a wooden barrel with ice. No matter how the barrel was decorated or filled, or how precious the resources or exotic goods were inside, if the conditions were right, it would all be for nothing.

She gazed at the earth beneath her feet, at the battles and conflicts that raged upon it. She rose, leaving the high chair she had been sitting in, just like Alice's. Her feet touched the ground, her delicate little leather boots stepping onto the smooth earth of the Uruk Temple observatory!

This is also Uruk, this is also the Seventh Singularity, but the land here isn't drastically altered by the intervention of the four Reincarnation Squads—no, not so many accidents happened here. Because Flora and Hinako Akuta didn't escape the explosion, Chaldea wasn't attacked by the Erosion Phenomenon, and the Temple of Time remains perfectly functional. Because this is a parallel worldline!

In a parallel world, some details outside the main story have changed. The Celestial Realm still replaces the Awakened One, and the Moon Grail still changes hands. These are Patchouli's achievements, but they are merely her accomplishments. These achievements have no impact on the current script, as her will is neither present nor capable of anchoring this specific timeline. This is because the script's shifts here do not revolve around the Moon Grail and the Awakened One.

After all, this wasn't the kind of interference that the Earth magicians of the Moon World believed was limited to Earth, a limited number of parallel world lines that often needed to be cut off. Instead, it was a series of parallel worlds existing throughout the multiverse, representing different branches of the script written by the universe itself. And here, at least on this land, apart from Luo Ye, no other reincarnator had ever set foot here.

Diversity is infinite, but the individual is also infinite. While viewing the universe through the lens of a mortal's understanding—that of the universe as an ever-expanding balloon—may conform to some formulas or theorems discovered by mortals, it does not truly represent the ultimate knowledge of the universe.

The total number of parallel worlds that can be sustained in the universe is virtually limitless. And it is precisely because of this that even supreme true gods who possess the light of the mind are bound within a single entity. The memes of the script are one reason, and another is that they can see the beginning and end of the universe, but can never find its end!

"Even within the context of a single universe, a true god isn't actually that powerful. Even the most powerful true god is just a grain of sand on a sandy beach formed by a single universe." Luo Ye snorted coldly, watching the events unfold on this side of the world line—in this world line untouched by the interference of the reincarnators, a group from Chaldea had just conquered the three goddesses on this land and were now marching confidently toward the Blood Temple.

It's just ordinary development, just normal development.

Having grown sufficiently in the previous seven singularities, Fujimaru Ritsuka, along with Mash and many of her fellow Servants, will defeat Gorgon and release the slumbering Tiamat. Her friends will then perish one by one in the battle against Tiamat, until the accumulated sacrifices push Fujimaru Ritsuka to the next battlefield she is destined for.

This is the right development, and it also aligns with the development of the story written by the script meme.

The protagonists here endure countless hardships to finally achieve their inevitable victory, after which everything will be overturned and started anew. Whether human or divine, everything they do is ultimately governed by the script's memes. And they are not even aware that the gods themselves have always been within the script.

When a cage is large enough to contain a planet, the reptiles living in the wetlands are unaware that they are trapped inside. Similarly, relative to the entire universe, even a true god who is as old as the universe itself is still incredibly small in size.

"So, this group of insignificant True Gods, with at most one or two Transcendent beings, actually think they are qualified to participate in the Dao struggle of True Saints. They actually think they can hide in the battle zone of Saints and remain safe and sound... Isn't this ridiculous?"

Luo Ye tilted her head and looked at a figure that had appeared not far behind her at some unknown time.

"You agree, Chu Xuan. After all, it was you who told them they were qualified to participate in the Dao Competition. You told them this stage was the core of the Dao Competition, and that a protagonist capable of acting as a sage would emerge from it?"

She spoke softly, but at the end of her vision, what appeared was not Chu Xuan's figure—there stood a delicate and tender young girl. Short golden hair, blue eyes, and a slender figure like a princess—it was Satō Aika, Chu Xuan's representative, who appeared in her field of vision.

The princess-like girl respectfully lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed deeply to Luo Ye.

"By order of my father, your humble servant Aigo has crossed the border to serve under your command. Your Majesty, is there anything Aigo can do for you?"

Luo Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, and immediately understood the whole story. She smiled wryly, raised her hand, and then the sharp-eyed Ai Ge quickly ran to her side with small, quick steps, obediently taking her hand like a little maid.

"Chu Xuan's puppet, a vessel to hold power? He's certainly cautious," Luo Ye added, glancing at Ai Ge. "And you're quite lucky. Despite not even being a living being, you've gained a freedom that countless living beings in the multiverse have never encountered—you're certainly clever and quick-witted."

"Your Majesty's praise is truly overwhelming for Aigo..."

“I’m not praising you, I’m just stating the facts. You were able to seize the opportunity from Chu Xuan, you were able to judge that Chu Xuan really needed you to go to the place rather than to another stage of chaos among reincarnators, and you were able to immediately understand your true responsibilities and status the moment you arrived in this world—all of this is a manifestation of your talents. You fought for this opportunity for yourself.”

"You have the opportunity to join the Reincarnation Squad. Although you're unlikely to be a formal member, you can serve as a subordinate, enjoying the protection of the Supreme God like Chelsea by the Overlord's side. From this point on, you gain the chance to become a true life, escape this universe destined for destruction, and even glimpse the opportunity for transcendence and the path to sainthood—"

These opportunities might hold no appeal for mortals who live only a fleeting moment, unaware of their own imprisonment, for they simply cannot comprehend the value of joining the reincarnation team. Instead, they fear only the dangers of becoming a reincarnator—"You are stronger than them, Ai Ge, that's why you have the opportunity to stand here now. Standing beside me."

"However, you have only gained an opportunity. Beyond that opportunity, you still need to pass the test."

With a single step, she arrived at the sixth singularity, still existing on this online world, carrying with her love song. She entered Jerusalem, now restored to its normal form, and stepped into the treasure room. The King's Crimson Sword, wielded by the rebellious knight Mordred, appeared before her—she snapped her fingers, flicking a point of light into the blade.

"What are you doing?" Aige asked curiously, controlling her curiosity and not directly asking Luo Ye about the trial.

"I am preparing for the Dao Contest," Luo Ye replied calmly. She took another step, and the Temple of Time and the demonic pillars that were completely unaware of her appeared before her.

"Although Chu Xuan lied, it was only nine parts truth and one part falsehood. The struggle for the Dao does exist, but it is not about the Dao of the Saints... How could a bunch of reincarnators who have not even seen the edge of Sainthood be qualified to pick up scraps in the battlefield of Saints? Even the battle between Patchouli and the Awakener, the battle of the True Gods, ended with one side being completely assimilated. Where would there be any scraps for these reincarnators to pick up in the struggle for the True Saint level?"

She reached out and made some arrangements on the Temple of Time, then turned and returned to the top of the temple in Uruk.

"Those guys should be realizing it soon. After all, their actions are becoming increasingly audacious, and they're increasingly unconcerned about the Dao erosion that might occur when a Saint is involved. Because they're gradually realizing that this isn't a stage for the struggle for the Dao among Saints at all, and there's no such thing as a Saint representing the Dao. On this stage, what's actually being fought for is the Dao of the Reincarnators themselves!"

"Chu Xuan didn't lie about this one point. Ah... that's right, this is indeed a platform for the Dao Competition. But it's outside the battlefield of True Saints. It was created by him through the Hunting Saint Ritual, allowing him to absorb a little bit of the scraps from the True Saint War, thus enabling True God-level Reincarnators to grow to their limit quickly, and even come into contact with a platform that transcends the boundaries of species. As for how to compete for these resources that are destined to be recycled if left unused... naturally, it depends on one's own Dao."

“By demonstrating one’s own Dao, one can achieve rapid growth. That’s why Patchouli was able to defeat an Awakener and touch the limits of a True God as soon as she became a True God. That’s why Sirin and Ex, who were just casually exchanging blows, became more and more addicted to fighting each other, from the Solar System to Proxima Centauri… And I can also understand why Chu Xuan did this. After all, the Demon Team is just too powerful.”

She looked up at the dozen or so falling meteors in the band of light, invisible to both mortals and native gods. She knew who they were, and she knew that these chosen representatives of the demon army would soon fall to this earth. Aigo, standing beside her, also looked up at the same time.

"The Demon Team is simply too strong, and with such a powerful team, and with a clone of Chu Xuan, Chu Xuan would have to pay a heavy price to make them submit—"

"He wouldn't do something so unprofitable, so he'd change the path of contention into a win-win situation… He divided the stage in two, one for the Demon Team, and the other shared by the other four Reincarnation Teams. Coupled with his trump card of a clean break, ensuring no one benefits, and the objective fact that the Central Continent Team had already developed, this was enough to persuade the clone Chu Xuan to compromise and accept the 'half-half' division. The Demon Team would have exclusive access, while the Central Continent Team would have to fight for their share."

"And if you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself. It was Alice's painstaking efforts that attracted the attention of the Senzhou and Yinzhou teams hiding in the void. Now, Alice has basically arranged everything for Ex and Sesshouin Kihara. The West Sea has been attacked, and the Heavenly Gods are divided and unable to take care of themselves. Since the outcome is already heading towards the best, the process and cause are naturally irrelevant."

“After all…” Luo Ye lowered his gaze, watching the battlefield within the Blood Temple. With Gorgon's defeat, Tiamat in the ocean gradually showed signs of awakening. “If we had revealed a flaw, allowing the other reincarnation teams to realize the true nature of the Dao struggle and the fact that there are actually two stages before the overall situation is settled, then if someone were to come over, Chu Xuan's alliance would be dissolved, and his gains would be greatly reduced. But now… the overall situation is settled.”

"So that's how it is..." Aika nodded blankly, looking like she understood but not quite. As a manifestation of a lower-level authority of the Hunting Saint Ritual, she knew everything that happened in this single universe composed of infinite world lines. However, she was completely unaware of this until Luo Ye revealed the purpose behind the events.

But she immediately realized something was wrong.

"Then, Your Majesty Luo Ye, why are you and Aigo here...?"

“Because the alliance between them cannot bind me, nor can any alliance bind me.” Her gaze turned to Aige. “And you are a loophole set up by Chu Xuan, but your birth was due to the actions of the clone Chu Xuan. So your appearance here actually represents the common will of the two Chu Xuans, and because you need to come to my side, it is Chu Xuan of the Zhongzhou Team who made the contract with you, making you belong to the Zhongzhou Team.”

"So those two were Aika's fathers..."

"You can interpret it this way: this is your freedom. It's the only freedom you have right now." Luo Ye snorted coldly, pushing up his glasses. "You are a tool to demonstrate Chu Xuan's will. The reason you exist here is to convey the will of those two Chu Xuans. They want to know my true identity, they want to know the true meaning behind Alice's choice. And you are the mouthpiece for that message."

"Then why doesn't Father..." Aika's words trailed off as her delicate face turned deathly pale. She knew she shouldn't ask that question, but she couldn't help herself...

"Did you guess? Props. Some secrets can be deadly." Luo Ye turned her head again, looking at the falling stars in the sky—she knew that those stars would never fall to the ground before she finished speaking. Because they dared not listen to what she was about to say.

Chu Xuan and his group had a good idea, because this was definitely part of the alliance. They knew she would tell them, because they knew she only cared about Alice. This information could be a more valuable bargaining chip than the platform for the Daoist struggle.

"Just as some high-ranking, meticulous bureaucrats suddenly become greedy and reckless after becoming reincarnators, some shrewd and capable entrepreneurs in reality become like idiots after entering the God's Space, making many enemies—they die like ants. The reason they seek their own demise is that they cannot bear the opportunity of becoming a reincarnator. And this is the first test that one must go through to become a reincarnator."

"If one's virtue is not commensurate with one's position, one will be crushed. And the secret I am about to tell you is even greater than the status of a reincarnator, which is equivalent to a transcendent species. Do you know why you were created? Because you have a lower level of authority in the Sacred Hunting Ritual. In a sense, you can inherit a small portion of the True Sacred's fortune. This is also part of the deal between Chu Xuan, Ai Qi De La, and Chang'e."

"That's why you were created, a prop. Because Chu Xuan and his ilk are very cautious, they wouldn't gamble on such a life-or-death situation, so they created you to bear this weight. And this is the test you have to undergo."

"Hold on, hold on to the secret that even saints can be crushed. Then, no matter how you manage to survive, you'll have the right to stay here with me and play house with the demon team's representatives, and afterwards become a vassal of the Reincarnators. But if you don't survive, then you won't leave any trace in the multiverse."

She glanced at Ai Ge and asked, "Are you ready?"

Luo Ye watched as Ai Ge's face turned from white to blue, until her veins became transparent, and cold sweat poured down her back. She opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, or perhaps wanting to make some strange expression. But quickly, all emotional fluctuations faded from her face, leaving only tranquility.

"Your Majesty Luo Ye, all this thinking is pointless." She forced a pure yet poignant smile and looked earnestly at Luo Ye. "Ai Ge... is ready."

“You’re just like me back then. I was lamenting my own lack of talent and determined to create Alice using myself as a nest. I was just like you now, with nowhere else to go, so all that was left was determination.” Luo Ye snorted and continued. “Back then, I thought I was just an ordinary transmigrator, a good-for-nothing who had accomplished nothing.”

She heard a breaking sound beside her, but she didn't look.

"Later, I awoke from my long slumber. At that time, Alice had just crossed the threshold of the extraordinary. So I thought I was just an ordinary inner demon. So I decided to give Alice a push, to use all my strength to make Alice more perfect, more in line with my original wishes."

"Later, I learned about the existence of Shinki. I learned that Alice was that woman's tool. She was Alice's conceptual mother. And I saw myself as her biological mother. She is Shinki's daughter, and also my daughter. So I want to give her freedom, I want to help her get rid of the fate of being a tool."

"However, in the end, I learned the meaning of Dao Erosion. And the essence of a transmigrator... The original Luo Ye didn't transmigrate at all. What actually transmigrated was me, born from the void, from the Abyss of Death, absorbing Luo Ye's memories, and identifying myself as Luo Ye. I originated from the Abyss of Death, and the Abyss of Death has no distinction between space and time, yet it houses countless cyclical records that can transcend script memes—I finally know what the Abyss of Death is. The Abyss of Death is the gap between individual universes, a medium connecting the infinite worlds of the multiverse, like the blood of the multiverse."

"I finally know who I am." Luo Ye sighed softly.

Her tone was calm, but her emotions were complex and hard to discern.

“I am Gaia’s daughter, the last primordial demon born in this multiverse.”

"And I, as the daughter of Gaia, and Alice, as the daughter of Kamiki. The merging of the two of us is the manifestation of the covenant made between Gaia and Kamiki."

She tilted her head and looked at Aigo—who had already disintegrated into a ball of boiling blood foam.

Chapter 65 The Divine Duty of the Son of God

When Aegea awoke, she found herself still standing on the observatory in Uruk. It was still daytime, and the band of light was still dotted with stars that were about to set—Loye was still standing on the edge of the observatory, gazing at the battlefield in the distant land. The Temple of Blood had collapsed, and the ocean was boiling. Tiamat's mind, a creator goddess bound by her own will, was rising from the seabed.

If blood and foam remain, it means she is not dead. In the multiverse, true death has never existed from the beginning. No one will know her name, no one will know her deeds, and the causal lines will be rewritten, filling in the missing gaps and correcting them into a complete event timeline.

"You made it through, Miss Sato. It seems you are indeed qualified. You may have a brighter future than me. After all, this secret is something even sages could suppress—" Luo Ye turned his gaze, tilting his head back to look at her. "I'm starting to have some doubts about your true identity. Perhaps there's someone else pulling the strings behind you?"

"Your praise makes Aigo feel uneasy!" Aigo looked up at Luo Ye with a frightened expression—or at least outwardly appeared frightened. She deliberately, or perhaps cleverly, ignored Luo Ye's change in addressing her. Then, she skillfully followed Luo Ye's lead and continued the unfinished topic.

"Aige is merely a one-time-use prop, while you are such a noble and great person..."

“Two mistakes. First, I am not human.” Luo Ye’s gaze returned. “Perhaps I was before, but I am not now.”

"Secondly, being the last daughter of Gaia is not a noble status. I am just a disposable tool like you. Before me and after me, countless last daughters of Gaia were born in the Abyss. It's just that they all failed and died young, and I am the one who was left in the end."

Luo Ye raised her hand and slowly clenched it into a fist.

"Shinki has many, many daughters, all named Alice. They are all unfinished products. Gaia also has many, many daughters. Their names are not necessarily all Luo Ye. But they are also never finished. Only when Gaia's daughter meets Shinki's daughter, and the two unite in any way and ascend to the level of a true god who possesses the light of the soul, will a qualified finished product show signs of completion."

“There is no such thing as chance in this universe. So there must be a daughter of Gaia who will meet a daughter of Shinki. But Gaia and Shinki are not the only ones qualified to play the game. So this inevitability was forcibly delayed for a long time that even calculation seemed foolish, until I finally awoke as ‘Luoye’, until I, who even thought of myself as a piece of junk, wanted to create a ‘Alice’.”

The land outside Uruk erupted in commotion as the offspring of the New World, known as 'Rahim' and born of Tiamat, swarmed out of the ocean, baring their fangs and claws as they launched an attack on the fortress. Loye loosened his fist and flicked his finger, instantly energizing the previously terrified Uruk soldiers. Their coordinated attacks, though still resulting in casualties, successfully kept Rahim's army outside the city gates, giving the fortress's inhabitants a brief respite to flee into the temple for refuge.

The soldiers will still die, because the absolute difference in combat strength is simply too great. But they will die with satisfied smiles, because they have fulfilled their duty and served their purpose.

"To me, Alice is my other half, my daughter, my sister. I love her, I cherish her, so I will help her fulfill all her wishes and clear away all obstacles for her. But to Gaia and Kagami, the two chess players, Alice and I are just tools that will inevitably be born from among thousands of embryos. It doesn't matter whether the tool is thrown away or destroyed after it's used up, but I must protect Alice."

Luo Ye turned and left the observatory. She entered the temple, and all the busy soldiers and priests ignored her and Ai Ge beside her. She had no interest in paying them any attention, and simply continued forward with a leisurely pace.

"Aren't you curious why I know so much? It's simple. Once I understood that my origin was the Abyss of Death, I only needed to go back and take a look to know all the secrets recorded in the blood of the multiverse. Of course, only a primordial demon god like me, designed with special purposes, can do this. Ordinary true saints can't even cross the surface of the Abyss of Death, and even someone as high-ranking as Emperor Fuxi, when he walked into the Abyss to pick fruit for his cat, he couldn't sense that his subjects had invaded his palace and killed the cat he had raised since it was a kitten."

She continued forward, entering the bustling Great Temple of Uruk—on this online world, King Gilgamesh was issuing orders and making various decisions regarding the city's defenses. His High Priestess Siduri volunteered to guide the citizens to safety, but he rejected her with unprecedented harshness.

Going there means death; this is fate, an inevitable and unavoidable destiny for all things.

And they still ignored Luo Ye—no, not that they really couldn't see her, but that every cell in their bodies, every wisp of their soul, every concept that constituted them was screaming hysterically, warning, and trying to stop her—absolutely not to look, absolutely not to listen, absolutely not to understand, absolutely not to come into contact with even a single word she uttered!

Compared to the consequences of knowing the secret she reveals, even being devoured by monsters is an incredibly happy ending. Therefore, you absolutely must not look, you absolutely must not listen!

"Pathetic creatures, what is there to look forward to when you are bound to death by fate?"

Luo Ye walked to Siduri's side and patted the high priest on the shoulder. An invisible glow flowed from her fingertips into her body. Then she continued forward, past the throne, toward the empty observation deck behind it.

And Aigo continued to follow her closely.

"Now, let's begin answering the second question. Chu Xuan and the others want to know the responsibilities Alice bears, and the true meaning behind her thoughts and choices—so I will now tell you the answer to this second question, Miss Satō. And I will also tell you, Chu Xuan—the reincarnations of Hongjun."

Aigo suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. She raised her hand and instinctively reached to press the bridge of her nose. Then she immediately realized that she had never worn glasses before.

Luo Ye didn't care about such trivial details; they were irrelevant to her anyway.

"First, I want to introduce you to a concept—'the player.' This is a term I coined. Its synonyms are 'ultimate,' 'transcendence,' 'sixth order,' and 'upper-level narrator.' Omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Hmm... perhaps my understanding is not very accurate, but in short, they are those who recognize that there is a diversity beyond diversity, and transcend diversity itself, and there should be no higher level of existence."