Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

He had a chance to defeat Zheng Zha. When his trap was complete, he had a chance to win the war. That was when he was at his strongest, when all his intelligence was intact, and when he held the upper hand. If he had won the first step there, the snowball would have started rolling, and the final step would have been a matter of course.

But he failed.

He was just one step away from eliminating Zheng Zha, but only inflicted a severe blow.

Since he failed this time, it is even less likely that he will succeed now that time has passed and both the Central Continent Team and the Demon Team are fully prepared.

After all, on this final battlefield where the power of sages is forbidden to interfere, there is a single, or rather a group, prepared transcendent beings. The possibility of killing them is practically nonexistent—because no one can deny the Light of the Mind.

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

Alice and her group appeared in a Western European-style square.

This place was formerly known as Vatican City, the territory of the Papal States. But with the fall of Yahweh and his saints, this religiously rich city has faded into an ordinary little town. Many residents who were once devout believers now wander around, their hearts yearning yet lost in confusion.

A small portion of them stayed, built the town, and settled there permanently. The vast majority of the rest, after a period of confusion, scattered to the turbulent lands that had been shaken by the departure of the spaceship, where they experienced both hope and despair in life.

This place is now just an ordinary small town.

All that remains here is a faith that has been lost.

The once magnificent and solemn square has become simple and dilapidated. The believers have disappeared, and no one cleans it. Only the flocks of pigeons that used to forage here occasionally land on this land and, as in the past, hop around on the ground and chatter happily.

Adam sat by the ruined fountain in the center of the square. When the reincarnators arrived, he was reaching out to tease the flock of pigeons. Several exceptionally bold white and gray pigeons hopped and fluttered on his head and shoulders, showing no sign of shyness whatsoever.

"You've come." Adam didn't even look up, just continued to play with the bird in his palm.

"We're here." Alice glanced at Zheng Zha before speaking—and, realizing he had no intention of speaking, she took the initiative to continue—the instant she spoke, she had already seen through the true nature of the 'Adam' before her. She realized he was nothing more than an illusion, a remnant.

Ah...that's right. This was Chu Xuan's doing.

Outside the final battlefield, Adam, the Primal Man, threw his most unstable part into the fray, awaiting a decisive outcome. Within the battlefield, this unstable part was purified once more by Chu Xuan—the part of Adam belonging to the Primal Man, and to the power of the Primal Man, remains trapped within the infinite box constructed by Chu Xuan. However, at the very moment the box was built, he used various methods to extract and release the part of Adam that did not belong to the Primal Man, or even to the power of the Primal Man.

For the Transcendent Race, this is actually a rather indecisive operation. After all, as long as a Transcendent Race retains even a sliver of freedom, the entirety of it remains free. If Adam so desires, he can completely reconstruct a complete power structure using this overflowing essence. At that point, Chu Xuan's Infinite Box will become useless and will no longer be able to function.

Adam will gain freedom, and then he will face either victory or death.

However, whether all of that will happen depends on Adam's own will.

But obviously, Adam did not do that.

He neither tore off his shackles nor unleashed his power. He simply found a suitable timeline, filled it with his own, and then waited there like a genuine ordinary person for the reincarnators to arrive.

He gently patted the pigeons on the head, shooing the clingy birds away. Then, he looked up at the reincarnators before him.

"What kind of world are you planning to create?" he asked.

“A world where all races, all pawns, and all forces can survive,” Alice began, explaining. “It’s based on a universe set as the main arena. The four supreme gods serve as anchoring pillars and insurance. The eternal war will begin there and spread through the warp to the entire End-War Multiverse. All races, all forces, all power and authority will clash in this eternal war. The war will not end, and no force will withdraw.”

"Oh?" Adam looked up and sized up Alice. "I thought you would create a peaceful, harmonious world, a fantastical paradise like in a fairy tale... but you don't intend to do that?"

“Where there are different ideas, there will inevitably be conflict, and where there is conflict, there will be war,” Zheng Zha answered his question from the side. “We cannot build an eternal nation through peace. But war can. War brings about the clash of ideas and technologies, it brings new paths and gives everything a direction to move forward.”

"It will also bring about change," Alice added. "Endless imagination and change."

The moment her words fell to the ground, many other voices appeared beside her.

"War is filled with the hunt." "War brings forth creeping shadows." "War needs the guide of calamity." "War establishes order." "War connects civilizations and ideas." "War..."

Many voices, many people. But they were merely words; their true selves remained unseen. And in the end, Patchouli provided her own answer.

"Everything that war brings needs to be recorded."

“So this kind of world fits your ideals…fits that overlapping area within your ideals.” Adam nodded, looking in another, empty direction. He asked, “So do you?”

There was no one there, and you couldn't see anyone.

But Alice knew that the members of the Demon Squad were in that location, in a different timeline. And now, they were conversing with Adam, ultimately reaching a consensus.

A world of perpetual war, where the needs of the Central Continent Team and the Demon Team overlap. All members of the Reincarnators can coexist peacefully within this worldview without risking the collapse of their Dao. This is the solution calculated by Alice, Chu Xuan, and the other wise men.

The war will not end.

War will continue forever.

Whether it's a war between races or a war between reincarnators, it will continue forever in this universe with its new rules. Whether it's Mankorn, who stands beside the Emperor, or the Silent King who governs the undead, or the God of Laughter who controls the Elven race's faith, or the four supreme divine powers that maintain the universe's underlying rules, they are all essentially just tools to ensure this perpetual war can continue. Even these are only a small part of what the Central Continent Team has prepared and revealed; on the Demon Team's side, there are many unknown secrets.

The war will continue, and no victor will be decided in the final battle of reincarnation. In this ever-changing yet unchanging perpetual situation, no one can acquire enough resources or achieve enlightenment to become a saint—even the strongest will be stuck at the quasi-saint level and trapped by this endless war. This also relieves some of the reincarnation team members from the deadlock of their unyielding obsessions.

With no clear victor on the inner side, the outcome on the outer side is equally uncertain. The three Holy Emperors, locked in a three-way power struggle, are unable to gain any resources or suffer any losses as the inner side remains 'unchanged'. They are destined to remain synchronized with the battle on the inner side, jointly drawn into this endless cycle of calamity.

The Reincarnators… none of them need to actively or passively face death. And beyond that, even Adam can obtain a share of the benefits he needs.

—He will survive.

He will live neither as the original Adam nor as a reincarnator. As long as Chu Xuan does not appear before him and the Endless Box is not destroyed, he will be able to exist forever with his independent will.

This was Adam's only flaw.

It was also Adam's only chance of survival.

Alice and the Reincarnators she represents have already provided a solution and approach that can fulfill the wishes of all participants. The only thing missing is Adam's confirmation and approval as the final variable.

So, what decision will Adam make now that he's here?

The answer is obvious.

He gazed at Alice, lost in thought for several seconds... several minutes.

“I need a more effective and reliable guarantee,” he said slowly. “Only the hand that holds the game can fight against the hand that holds the game. If there is no such hand, then no matter how well I cooperate, no matter how well you prepare, in the end some strange accident or destiny will suddenly appear and destroy everything.”

"I need……"

He didn't continue.

Because right in front of him, Alice took out a scroll from her pocket.

A scroll inscribed with a Revelation ritual, yet also crafted by Shinki, genuinely representing the will of another player!

End Point & Conclusion

The outside.

The outermost side.

In a certain area, which can be tentatively identified as a board game club, a chess game was being played out to its final stage.

"Is this the final result?" An ordinary-looking person, whose appearance could only be described as an 'ordinary person' no matter how one observed him, whether young, old, middle-aged, male, or female, gently fiddled with the chess pieces on the board. In front of him, three pieces stood in a tripartite balance, restraining each other, and in the very center of the balance, a lonely little ball stood quietly.

"An eternal battle, an eternal cycle of calamities. No race will withdraw, no war will end."

His fingers tapped lightly on the chessboard.

"In the script of an ensemble cast, all races are eternal protagonists. This means that although humanity has not won, it will never lose and will also be one of the eternal protagonists... Although it deviates somewhat from my ideals, it is still my victory."

—The victory of the Primal Man: Humanity as the eternal protagonist, achieved.

“This is also my victory.” Shen Qi rested her chin on her hand, her gaze idly sweeping across the chessboard. Suddenly, she reached out and conjured a dizzy little girl into the board game club.

"Hello, everyone..." The little girl seemed a bit dazed, and as soon as she appeared, she hurriedly bowed to the many players present. And in a timid voice, she said—

“I, I’m the new Gaia… Oh dear.”

She was immediately grabbed by the strange older sister next to her and pampered for a while, letting out a series of weak screams.

Shen Qi shrugged. Her goal had been achieved, and whatever happened next was none of her concern.

—The victory of the gods: the resurrection of Gaia, accomplished.

—Gaia's Victory: Advancement to the sixth rank, achieved.

Beside it, an indistinct, shapeless object emitted a series of strange roars. The object, resembling limbs, stretched and waved wildly, but its meaning remained unclear.

In short, after finally settling down, this guy seemed to show some kind of satisfaction.

—The Outer Gods' Victory: ██████, Achieved.

So all the players present turned their heads and looked at the strange older sister who was 'doting' on Gaia.

"What are you looking at me for? I've been winning from the start." The strange older sister put Gaia down, and the little guy immediately ran behind Shinki and hid, only showing half of his head. She then shrugged helplessly, picked up a special pipe belonging to the strange older sister, and took a long puff.

"All I want is to see lovely girls go through amazing adventures in different circumstances. Whether they live or die, are happy or suffer, return with a full harvest or with nothing—that's all the kind of story I want to see unfold. I don't care what they gain or what they prove—although I did give them this mission. But ultimately, I only care about their experience."

"I am very satisfied, so I was a winner from the very beginning."

—The Witch's Victory: The Girls' Wonderful Adventure, achieved.

"So... this is still the final result?" Shen Qi sighed softly, resting her chin on her hand. "In the end, all the players won together; strictly speaking, it can only be considered a draw?"

"What else can you do if it's a draw? Look how many times you've taken back your moves!" Yuanren glanced at her. On the outside of the chessboard, many different endgames were unfolding one by one.

In some chessboards, all the pieces have disappeared.

Some chessboards have only one piece left, making one player the sole dominant force.

Some chessboards are as if they've never been played on; they remain the same as before.

Some chessboards... the pieces shattered on the edge of the board by themselves.

The number of chessboards was countless. But in the end, only this one balanced game remained, and all the players who had moved the pieces won.

So, this is the end.

Shenqi curled her lip, too lazy to pay attention to this guy who wanted to deny everything after not winning everything, and who also seemed to have regretted countless moves. She patted Gaia's little head, took the now obedient Gaia's hand, and turned to leave the chessboard.

"Let's go. This is how the game is going. Not making a choice is also a choice. Until a new one of the same kind is born, this place is no longer worth paying attention to."

"██████"—The indistinguishable object let out a low growl and moved away from the edge of the chessboard.

“That’s true. This game is over. We should go somewhere else to prepare for the next one.” A new chess piece appeared in the witch’s hand; it looked like an elegant woman wearing a plaid shirt and carrying a parasol. “But I have a slightly different idea. Don’t get in my way before the next game starts. I want to see what kind of story Yuuka will have.”

She left too, disappearing from the chessboard.

Soon, many players who had been watching the chessboard but not participating disappeared one by one and went to other places.

Then everything quieted down.

The original man looked at the chessboard with its three legs in a tripartite balance and ultimately just shook his head.

He left too.

As he walked away, the piece representing 'Adam' among the three pieces began to brittle and disintegrate. But before it completely disappeared, it deliberately collided with the other two pieces—

Three legs can stand together in a tripod formation.

At the two extremes, life and death must be separated.

However, if the three poles tend towards the two poles, there is a process involved. The final result can only be mutual annihilation led by the dying third pole.