I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Perhaps Duke was wrong at first; this is not a world of memories born from collective memory, but rather a world of memories belonging to a certain being.

This is a world of memories born from the mute.

Because the gaze of the mute being in a higher dimension is always fixed on this witch game, such a bizarre world has been created. It is because of His unique perspective as a god that such a miraculous world, which gathers all possibilities, can be created. And because the gaze of the mute being is always with all the players participating in the game, He is regarded as one of the companions, giving everyone a chance to come to this world of memories.

At the same time, according to Carol's calculations, He will also descend upon this world.

Duke instinctively opened his mouth, wanting to speak the truth and answer the question of the world's will, perhaps to escape from this world of memories, perhaps to interrupt the arrival of the mute. However, the effect of silence was not over yet, and the words he spoke still did not make any sound.

"Cough!"

A cough became the only discordant note in the weeping and deathly silence. Everyone looked at the person who coughed. It was Cecil. The Spear of "I Want" she carried emitted a soft yet dazzling holy light. It was through the power of her legendary destiny that she uttered this short syllable.

After successfully completing the attempt, her face flushed red, and she spoke slowly and deliberately:

"I...want...to...speak...Duke...is there...any way...to..."

Duke blurted out his guess about the world without hesitation, but Cecil stared at his lips for a long time without understanding, and instead gave up: "I... don't understand."

Duke: "..."

If I had known this would happen, I would have given Guangbao special training in lip reading!

But Guangbao's voice in the dead silence was like a firefly in the dead of night, instantly attracting the attention of the mute. He focused his gaze on her, causing Cecil to shudder and instinctively raise "I think" to her chest.

"It's all over... damn it!"

The existence of the mute has stepped into the quantum floating city.

His body remained in a phantom state, and his body was clearly out of place with the world. However, his eyes, which only a god could possess, were scrutinizing everyone. Logically, his attention should have been drawn to the remains of the mute and Saint Megan, since they were the offerings for his descent.

However, the god who was about to enter this world completely ignored the offerings that Carol had painstakingly prepared for Him, and instead focused all his attention on Cecil, who had spoken rashly.

Did He choose Cecil to attract the more human side of Him?

What's going on? Is His personality completely different from Megan's, while Guangbao is more in line with His preferences?

Duke didn't know the answer to this question. Perhaps Monica, who was present, could provide the answer, but she couldn't bring herself to speak at that moment.

The Mute's lack of interest in Megan was a good thing for Duke, giving him the opportunity to rescue the Saint who had helped him so much... but His interest in Cecil was utterly bad news.

Duke, as if his life depended on it, glanced down at his inventory and then his face lit up with obvious joy. He quickly took out the item whose cooldown had ended!

[Item Name: Deus Ex Machina]

[Item Description: The technique of deus ex machina will break the story's logic and ruin the viewing experience, but it can save the protagonist, such as you, from a desperate situation.]

[Item Effect: Creates one "Deus Ex" (Cooldown: One Final Act).]

The final act is approaching.

Duke grasped the deus ex machina tape recorder and pressed play.

Its voice also pierced through the "silence is golden" effect, beginning to narrate the script that was about to unfold:

"As the mute are about to arrive."

Chapter 290 Hello, Mute Person

"As the mute are about to arrive."

When the voice of the mechanical deity sounds and continues to sound, it doesn't matter what script it recites, because the mute's attention has already turned to him.

The eyes of the enormous divine phantom seemed to show some emotion, causing Duke, who was staring intently at it, to pause slightly in surprise. He had always heard that those who lost their voices were devoid of humanity, retaining only their divinity. But the emotional fluctuation he saw in its eyes seemed to suggest otherwise; that a sliver of humanity still remained within it.

But Duke's script could not be modified.

The script set by a deus ex machina will definitely happen, but the specific process and method of its realization are uncertain, and it will not set a definite ending, because the condition for its script to be valid is that it is dramatic enough to bring about an interesting finale.

Just like when Duke and Talia faced off, they couldn't use deus ex machina to write a script saying "Talia died suddenly in front of him," or even write "Talia BISS." They could only give Duke a fair chance to fight Talia—and the crucial point is that he lost!

Duke didn't want to repeat the same mistake, but his soul was incredibly weary and weak from the previous thirteen possibilities of the end. In his prime, Duke might have been able to say six or seven sentences with Deus Ex, but now he was lucky to say three sentences—and that was only if the first sentence was a useless platitude.

Duke, squeezing every last drop of potential from his soul and his artificial body, pressed the record button on the deus ex machina's recorder, using his soul to break through the "silence is golden" effect and read the script aloud:

"The Witch of Time got what she wanted, but also lost control of the superior pieces."

"The mute also found what He had been waiting for, but in a way that Carol did not want."

After saying those two sentences, Duke had a strange feeling, as if his soul had floated up into the air, while his heavy, clumsy body sank down, lying prostrate on the ground, unable to lift his head.

The next moment, Duke, who was almost unable to think, finally realized what had happened. The artificial body created by Annie had been completely destroyed and collapsed to the ground without power. Duke's soul, on the other hand, floated out automatically and began to rise into the sky, naturally approaching the phantom of the mute in the sky.

What does Carol want? What do the mute people expect?

Duke couldn't care less about these things; his chaotic mind was no longer capable of supporting any thought. But just then, he heard a clear, loud shout:

Duke!

The shout jolted Duke awake from his daze. He looked down at Cecil, who was clutching the "I Want" gun tightly, her face deathly pale. Amber teleported to her side and caught Lightbringer to keep her from collapsing. Despite her dire condition, she still managed a radiant smile at Duke:

I want you to recover your health.

Following Cecil's words, Duke's soul state recovered at a visible speed. Even though he was already in a soul state and didn't need to breathe, he still gasped for breath like a drowning man poking his head out of the water.

Duke was able to recover from his weakened state before because of Carol's time reversal, which was hidden in the shadows and Lightbringer's holy light was ineffective. But this time, her wish came true.

Amber, supporting Cecil, stared at Duke. Suddenly, she mouthed a gasp, and Duke understood what she meant:

"careful!"

Duke knew what was about to happen without even seeing it with his own eyes.

The phantom of the mute is about to touch one's own soul.

Duke didn't look back; he continued to float into the sky, the Deus Ex Machina still firmly in his grasp. As the soul departed his prosthetic body, Cecil's legendary wish-granting destiny restored much of his strength, so Duke immediately continued his ascent, still clutching the Deus Ex Machina, and managed to squeeze out another sentence:

"The world is bustling again, Carol has finally appeared, the mute has regained their humanity, and then... hello, mute."

Then, the tape recorder finally stopped, and then began to play softly:

"Deus Ex Machina"

The mechanical voice of the deus ex machina shattered the golden silence, restoring sound to the previously deathly still world. The weeping of the mute abruptly ceased, and He looked with curious eyes at Duke, who was approaching Him, and answered in a deafening voice:

Hello, Duke.

The phantom of the mute became a complete entity, and He reached out and gently touched Duke's body.

When an existence of this caliber fully entered this world, the possibility of quantum superposition collapsed instantly, reverting to an ordinary floating city. Furthermore, after the mute entered this world, the witch game based on turtle soup began to crumble. This alternate dimension could not withstand the arrival of the mute's true form, and the world's will emitted a painful lament, which was felt by all the prisoners confined here.

This was also part of Carol's calculations, which is why she devised a plan to mix most of the monsters imprisoned in the Tower of Babel with Bugatti, creating the Beast of Sin, which Duke then instantly killed. This way, even if the prisoners escaped, it wouldn't place too much of a burden on the floating city.

But if possible, it would be better not to destroy the Tower of Babel, so Carol, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally stepped forward.

"Time stops."

Time stood still.

Carol suddenly appeared before the Mute One's enormous form, clasped her hands together, bowed slightly to the Mute One, and then looked away, focusing her gaze on Duke. Time seemed to stand still for everyone present, but the Mute One was an exception; it was completely unaffected by the time stop, and Duke, who had directly broken free from it, was also unaffected.

"Do you really have to save Megan?" Carol sighed and asked Duke, "Can't we just take Amber and the others away from here and let the mute people obediently enter our bodies and merge with Megan's soul? Sacrificing Megan would achieve a perfect ending."

“No, Megan is also my friend. Sacrificing her would not be a perfect ending for me.” Duke rejected Carol’s proposal outright. He narrowed his eyes. “I’ve heard that Monica is a ruthless city lord. It seems you’ve gone even further than her, Carol.”

“Fortunately, history is written by the victors, and I am still a victor at this time, so my cold-bloodedness will not be passed down for the time being.” Carol smiled slightly, holding a pocket watch in her hand. Her tone seemed indifferent, but she was actually a little anxious as she said, “Duke, I’m giving you one last chance. Sacrifice Megan. You are much more important than Megan.”

"It's too late."

Duke stared at Carol and saw the undisguised concern and attention in her eyes. A slight smile appeared on his lips—the final piece of the perfect ending was finally in place.

He chuckled and said:

"It's up to you, Ms. Carol."

The next instant, in front of Carol, Duke's soul was swallowed whole by the mute.

Chapter 291 Leaves of the Tree of Life

Madman Duke!

Indeed, there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names. The nickname "Madman Duke" is not wrong at all. Duke's essence is that of a madman who does not value his own life.

Did he think he would be the ultimate victor in this battle of wits with the mute?

How could that be!

Carol gritted her teeth. She never imagined things would turn out this way, because in her opinion, no matter how crazy and paranoid Duke was, he would never sacrifice himself to save others—but she was wrong. This bastard really didn't care about his life!

Time began to slip away silently.

Amber, Cecil, and Anne gasped and screamed.

Carol didn't even dare to look back at their expressions. She couldn't bear to see their anger and pain. She felt as if something was squeezing her heart, and she felt a little suffocated. Carol calculated everything within a limited timeframe, yet she was used to sacrificing unimportant people to achieve the greatest results with the least cost.

She was already used to these things.

But Duke suddenly stood up and told her that this was wrong.

"call."

Carol slowly exhaled, pausing time once more. Taking advantage of a temporal rift, she stepped to Noelle's side. Back then, she had used the quantum phenomena within this memory world to create a separate clone of Noelle, not merely for a vague opportunity ten years later, but for the core of the Life Tree faction's mute members!

The core figures of the Life Tree School of the Mute are the legendary spellcaster Norton and the hero-level spellcaster Noelle, who is close to being a near-legendary. However, their abilities have nothing to do with the name of the school. The name "Life Tree School" comes from a treasure that the two brothers stole from their family treasury before they came to the floating city (although Noelle was completely passive).

Leaves of the Tree of Life.

The true Tree of Life is ridiculously high in rank, even surpassing deities many levels above the Mute God. Even a mere leaf from it can have an effect comparable to a legendary figure in the realm of life unleashed at full power. This treasure was stolen by Norton when he left his family. Later, the Cavendish brothers reconciled, and Norton returned it to Noelle for safekeeping.

The core of the Life Tree faction's mute members lies in this leaf of the Life Tree. Possessing it is akin to a player of a witch game possessing the potion-wielding witch Eve, capable of healing even the most severe injuries. With such a treasure, coupled with Norton's top-tier combat prowess, the Life Tree faction's mute members have firmly established themselves within the mute faction.

Ten years ago, Carol arrested and drove Noelle to her death in order to steal this leaf of the Tree of Life. Although she did not succeed in obtaining the real leaf of the Tree of Life, she still created the possibility of a Noelle—a Noelle who was slovenly, carefree, yet possessed a sense of justice and responsibility.

Of course, personality doesn't matter to Carol; all she needs is that possibility and the leaf of the Tree of Life she carries with her.

Its existence is one of Carol's trump cards planted in this world. If there are any problems with the remains of the mute, she can use this leaf of the Tree of Life to create a body that can be used by a god. Like the leaf of the Tree of Life, Carol has many other trump cards hidden, and it seems she has no intention of holding back in the face of the current situation.

During the pause in time, Carol reached into Noelle's arms and touched her. A leaf appeared in her hand, and she left Noelle with the leaf of the Tree of Life in her arms, returning to the Mute.

The mute was unaffected by the time stop, but after swallowing Duke, he remained unusually quiet, silently waiting for Carol's actions.

Time began to flow again.

Monica, only belatedly noticing Carol, cried out in her mythical form and pounced on her. However, the little black cat she had just teamed up with had broken free of Monica's control, reverting to its normal form as a dark-skinned loli catgirl. It looked worriedly at the mute's heart and muttered softly: