Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

He recognized it; it was the most powerful among the star gods, one of the few great beings who survived the barriers of space and time during the unpredictable Heavenly War. Its name was Night Embrace, synonymous with death, and it wielded a shadowy scythe capable of harvesting stars like straw.

"Come!" The Eldar responded to the call to war, raising their swords and roaring. They launched their attack on the most powerful of the Star Gods amidst the gathering energy storms of the Silver Heart, a place fraught with danger even for gods—He knew this was the destiny ordained for Him by the unborn god, the foundation for His war and ascension. And He chose to accept it gladly.

Thus, war began war, war led to war, and after a long struggle, war won war.

The Eldar's Warlord and the Nightbringers of the Star Gods finally reached a decisive victory in their long battle. Their home turf was the Galactic Heart, and their influence extended even to the past and future. And in the end, with a collision that seemed to defy spacetime itself, Kane, on the edge of the spacetime barrier, defeated this Star God in the final moments of the War of Heaven—

—He destroyed the physical shell of this immortal being, forcing it to flee to its rebirth with only a shriek. Kane himself was also severely injured; his body was pierced by the broken fragments of the Star God, the concept of death was imprinted deep within his soul, and he learned the fear of survival.

He was injured.

These scars were both His medals and made Him stronger. He no longer fought for the sake of war; His wars now had a purpose and a belief.

Thus, this transformed Lord of War returned to the right era. And when He awoke from His broken silver heart, littered with debris and remnants, and corrected by the past, He discovered that He had slumbered for over two billion years.

He saw a fallen spirit race. He saw a group of spirit gods, corrupted by the spirit race's decadence and equally unambitious. He saw his own image, degraded and slandered in the spirit race's mythology. He saw the beating heart within his own chest, and the boundless rage burning within it.

And this anger immediately transformed into a furious roar—

"—Asuyan!" He charged forward with a roar, bringing war into the hall of the Spirit Gods!

The moment He did so, Alice-Shinrez, who was looking down at the Milky Way, swung her staff for the third time.

“Checkmate.” The girl’s voice echoed in a hidden dimension of the physical universe. With her three successful schemes, 'Xin Liezhi’s' status was able to expand once more. Expanding until it could support the other of the twin goddesses to also use this status to influence the present world.

—Patchouli's form emerged at this point in time.

Then--

“I’m here to help you, Alice.”

Section Fourteen: The Evolution of Myths

What one person cannot do, two people can do.

A problem that one person cannot solve can be solved by two people.

When Patchouli appeared beside her in the form of the Shapeshifter, Alice whispered in her companion's ear.

“Failure awaits me, Patchouli,” Alice said softly, her eyes focused on and taking notes of the current situation. “I have succeeded three times in interfering with the Eldar, and unexpected events may occur at any time… I am leaving here, Patchouli. You will take over from here.”

"Can't we go together?" Patchouli winked playfully.

Alice's lips twitched.

Her form blurred for a moment, and when it stabilized again, it left behind an empty conceptual shell of an avatar in the same spot. Although it was foreseeable that this avatar would inevitably be molded and toyed with by Patchouli... well, it wasn't a big deal anyway, so it didn't matter.

She sighed, and as she finished, she had already returned to the changing realms deep within the warp. The mysterious throne that belonged to her and Patchouli had been dealt with by Patchouli while she was handling the trivial matters concerning the Eldar. And all the wise sages who shared her domain had become her servants.

—The supreme divine power is already in her hands.

However, this level of power... was indeed of no use to her.

“Xin Liezhi… Supreme divine power. Theoretically, the maximum output limit is…” She clenched her fist slightly, and the next moment, a powerful spacetime storm arose in a vast void in the real world. Within the chaos, a small star cluster with a radius of nearly ten thousand light-years was born from this storm and quickly evolved into a place suitable for the growth of intelligent life.

"Achieving the highest true god is impossible. But the level of life..." She loosened her clenched fist, a sudden glint of light flashing in her eyes. Without activating her physical powers, she had glimpsed another remote source world beyond the universe solely through her authority as the Lord of Myriad Changes. And immediately, mortal beings in that world felt her call!

"Beyond the species, in a stable state," Alice replied calmly, addressing herself.

She watched as the believers in that distant otherworld rapidly grew and expanded, establishing societies and sects and mastering the magic they gained by reciting her name. Before long, a grand sacrificial ceremony was successfully held in a remote corner of that world, and after eliminating seventeen or eighteen investigators who had appeared due to the world's rejection, they successfully connected with her power.

—From this point on, a new worldline belonging to Xin Liezhi and the ever-changing master Jianqi was added. And this supreme divine power thus reached its full potential, able to unleash its power to the maximum extent within this finite, multifaceted universe.

This is a good tool, a good knife, and one of the most powerful 'forces' that a reincarnator can wield, bestowed by the main god. However, even such a powerful tool is still of little use to Alice.

Unlocking the fourth stage of the genetic lock represents a high-level form beyond the species. It's just one step away from becoming a sage or quasi-sage, undergoing the next qualitative leap.

While a supreme divine power equivalent to a stable transcendent species is not significantly different from the four high-level beings in terms of life level, and can indeed bypass the transitional stage of the four high-level beings to directly reach the position of sainthood, the lack of significant difference does not mean the absence of difference. There is a progressive relationship between these two levels, and the progressive part is combat power.

[I can take direct action and wipe out the Spirit Race, its gods, and the reincarnators hiding within them.]

Her gaze fell, and with just a thought, ripples spread throughout the vast subspace. In a trance, it seemed as if a torrent of energy, capable of engulfing everything, was surging forth from the subspace and from other source worlds, directly and thoroughly cleansing the entire galaxy!

She knew she could do it—a mere True God, a mere Asuyan, and his horde of gods were hardly a problem for Xin Liezhi. Even if a True God could construct time loops and paradoxical fortresses, even if one traveled back to the moment of its birth, it wouldn't be easily eradicated. But a True God's source worldline was singular; as long as it was eroded, corrupted, and corrected through various means, the transcendent species would eventually achieve victory. Even if such a victory required hundreds of millions, billions, or tens of billions of years, once victory was achieved, all time loss would cease to exist.

She knew she could win, even if this Asuyan was essentially a reincarnator, a naturally gifted semi-transcendent being unafraid of epochal cataclysms—even though epochal cataclysms didn't exist in this finite multiverse—she could still win. In fact, with just a thought, she had already won more than half the battle—she sensed the spacetime disturbances and observed the distortions of the past. Because of her will, history was easily rewritten like a rag!

Three billion years ago, at the edge of the spacetime barrier, the Elven gods, who should have been born after the War of Heaven, were prematurely brought to the world by the will of the Lord of Change. Cause and effect were swiftly restored; the ancient sages, the creators of the Elven race, through inspiration, a sudden whim, and a desire for victory, accomplished a miracle. They created a wonder, a secret treasure capable of summoning aid from beyond the spacetime barrier. And the instant the ancient sages activated it due to the machinations of the treacherous and the sinister schemes of Xinliezhi, the Elven gods, destined for the future, were summoned, bewildered, to the battlefield of the Star Gods!

A new causal chain has replaced the old one. The Eldar, originally created as war machines, have acquired a new meaning in this revised timeline. They have become the prerequisite for cause and effect, the trigger for the causal link of 'the Ancients needed to summon the Eldar gods, so they created the Eldar first.' Their powerful, emotional thought processes, capable of giving birth to deities, were shaped by the Ancients for this reason. And this also determines that these poor Eldar gods are powerless against this predetermined fate!

They have no way to fight the Ancient Ones, because the Ancient Ones hold the lifeline of the Eldar. If the Ancient Ones choose to eliminate the Eldar here, their power will be rendered powerless. And they still cannot recall Kane, because the future Eldar will still be shaped by Kane, by the loss of their fighting spirit and desire for battle.

The only benefit they gained was the extension of the source world line, solidifying the phenomenon that 'the Eldar gods had not yet been born, but their legends were already being sung among the nascent Eldar.' This might still be a good thing in the eyes of the Eldar gods, who lacked true gods and experience in battles beyond their species, as well as the reincarnators behind the scenes, because it strengthened their presence and slightly amplified the power of most of their members who had not yet reached the level of true gods.

They had a good plan—and that's true. So while they were unhappy about being forcibly summoned by the Ancients, they also accepted the deal and, after negotiating with the Ancients, entered the battlefield against the Star Gods with the knowledge and technology they had paid as payment.

So they went to war.

Thus, due to that one wrong decision, Alice watched their war from a distant point in time and space. And when she glanced at it, the past was anchored and locked in place. And immediately afterward, the fates of the past changed.

—Kane, the God of War who was banished due to Alice's scheme, made contact with Zheng Zha online in the 'future' timeline.

—The 'future' Kane encountered a battle because he was appreciated by Zheng Zha.

That battle stretched from the 'future' into the 'past'. And when the victor was decided, the final coordinates were at the end of the time barrier, above the final moments of the War of Heaven!

Alice's momentary lapse in judgment collided with Zheng Zha's. The final result was the sudden appearance of the God of War, Kane, and the Nightbringers on the heart of the Heavenly War. Whether it was the Ancient Saints, the Star Gods, or the Eldar gods joining the battle as reinforcements, everyone was utterly astonished!

They couldn't understand why the God of War was here, nor could they understand why he would point his sword at this incredibly powerful star god. Of course, what they understood even less was why this exile had managed to come into contact with this timeless divine power during his disappearance!

They were astonished, they were stunned for a moment. And in that instant of time's passage, the outcome of the battle between gods was decided.

The sword of the God of War, Kane, shattered the physical shell of Nightbringer, the most powerful of the Star Gods. Nightbringer's final strike before his defeat was a wound inflicted upon Kane, a wound that spoke of the eternal suffering of life! And because the Eldar gods and Kane shared the same origin, this fear of death, while eroding Kane, also seeped into the Eldar gods, continuing to expand until even the earliest Eldar of this era understood the meaning of fearing death!

The nature of the Eldar race was drastically altered by Alice's single decision. The fear of death became another driving force for outward expansion, alongside their thirst for war and their fighting spirit. This gave them the support to set their sights beyond the galaxy! The net that Alice had woven, originally designed to seal the potential of the Eldar gods and bind them within the galaxy, thus developed a small crack, and the Lord of Change immediately reaped the painful reward for this reckless act!

—She felt a pain in her ear.

—Because there's a hand squeezing it hard!

"Look what you've done, Alice!" Patchouli's angry voice rang in her ear, and she couldn't help but beg for forgiveness.

"I was wrong! I was wrong!" Alice covered her ears, forcing a smile as she apologized repeatedly. As she did this, all the familiars within the entire Realm of Change discreetly vanished without a trace, to preserve her image as the Lord of All Changes.

She got a good beating.

Then, with the sound of pages turning, she saw a barrier of void storms, formed around the galaxy, born from Patchouli's disturbance—the thing that bound the Eldar had changed from the mind to a natural barrier. This time, however, the Eldar gods were now in a position to intervene and help their people extend their power outwards.

Things have become complicated.

Alice's self-awareness was quite accurate; despite her repeated successes, she was indeed always at risk of a mishap. After all, she was the one who made the decisions, the one who took the actions, and the one who, after everything happened, let it unfold unchecked.

But she didn't come away empty-handed. Just as her blockade broke down, a lethal element, along with the Nightbringer's power, seeped into the Eldar gods and merged with their very existence. And when the Eldar gods were banished by the Old Ones and returned to the timeline in which they were summoned, this corruption, along with the accumulation of history, was further imprinted deep within their souls.

They were completely unaware—after all, it wasn't even an attack, a wound, or a disturbance. And this might very well be the cause of their downfall…even if they were destined for destruction.

However, this wasn't actually the biggest gain... well, not Alice's biggest gain.

For her, the most significant result of this somewhat reckless act was that Patchouli, after scolding her, blew a breath on the tip of her ear and rubbed it.

a mess.

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

At a different point on the same timeline, at the standard coordinates of 'now,' in the twenty-ninth millennium since the rise of humanity, Sirin, who had been lost in thought after leaving the Eldar battlefield, gazed silently at the void storm barrier that had suddenly appeared around the galaxy due to historical revision.

She wasn't worried about the Jingyuan Federation. After all, even if she didn't retrieve those avatars or come into contact with their power and influence, she knew that the avatars she left there possessed the power to handle this level of obstruction. The barrier formed by a mere spacetime storm couldn't harm them, even if they were to carry the Jingyuan Federation and the star cluster it was located through deep space.

After all, she is a god, a being that transcends even gods. In this finite multiverse, even using only her physical power, she can match or even surpass the supreme divine power here in certain areas. She will not be defeated by such a minor issue; what has caused her to fall into deep thought is something else entirely.

Which side should I choose to stand on?

She pondered, her mind churning with various ideas and perspectives. She knew she had already made a choice, but complex entanglements and causal relationships still influenced her, preventing her from acknowledging her decision.

It transcends species, transcends everything. It is not bound by cause and effect, but it is still affected by attachments and the karmic connections formed by those attachments.

She has always wanted to be a good person, and has always been influenced by this belief.

Why? The reason is simple: when she was not a good person, she was an enemy of the world and was utterly wicked in terms of the continuation of civilization.

At that time, she was the biggest villain. And while she was the biggest villain, she lost everything she cherished.

They lost their relatives and friends, their confidants, and their beloved.

She deeply regretted it, so when the Lord God contacted her and gave her a chance to start over, she resolved to become a good person.

Be a kind person, a compassionate person, and a person who helps others.

She held fast to this principle until her benevolent heart evolved into a way of connection. And it was precisely because of this that, after she purified everything at the stage beyond species, she discovered that connecting with all things did not equate to becoming a good person.

Because she is no longer human. She has long been a god, and has been a god for far longer than she was as a human. And it is precisely because she is so comfortable in her divine identity that she was able to understand and comprehend the perspective of a god at such a young age.

Under the divine gaze, all things are equal. If one wishes to become a benevolent deity, then one must treat all things equally.

A benevolent god is not the same as a benevolent person. A person is good simply by protecting the interests of other people. A benevolent god, however, does not need to protect the interests of other gods; rather, he must protect the interests of all things to be considered benevolent.

Only then can it be called the kind of good that she, Sirin, can understand and agree with.

She should view all living beings and things as equal, and should not treat any group with special treatment. She was clearly aware of this, which is why this realization clashed so violently with her former desire to be a good person.

Which side should I take?

She was thinking about it.

Or should I remain neutral? But if I do that, how should I deal with all of this?

Her thinking shifted so dramatically.

She knew the answer, but couldn't make a decision. And in the midst of her long, confused contemplation, she arrived at a place she knew, yet was also unfamiliar with.

— Subspace.

—The realm of life.

When she raised her eyes, she saw a world where all things coexisted and flourished. And this world called for her connection.

— To harbor filth.

Since we cannot make a decision, let us give love to everything. Since we are unwilling to share love unevenly with all things, let us elevate the love we give to them to the extent that they can bear.

So, is this a reliable strategy before making a final decision?

Section 15 Message Links

Choices are never made lightly.

Making a choice naturally comes with a corresponding price to pay.