Xingtie: Starting with an in-depth analysis of the Yellow Springs

Wan Di couldn't help but laugh, "Bai E? Why do you look so timid and hesitant, asking such a childish question as what your wish is?"

Bai E was taken aback. "Huh?"

"What's wrong with me? Is there something wrong with me? It's you who's acting all condescending right from the start..."

He turned to look at Xing cautiously, "Hey buddy, don't tell me I'll become pretty close with this shirtless, arrogant guy in the future?"

Xing crossed her arms and pouted, "It's the kind of familiarity you get from taking a hot bath together."

"Terrible... I wonder if my future self will have this kind of hobby?"

Wan Di: "What are you talking about to yourself? Never mind..."

"The wishes of the warriors of the Suspended Edge Clan have been fulfilled. As for me—I have faced countless deaths, yet I still could not withstand the sword that pierced my back, from the Fire Thief in the black mask."

His voice trembled, "Bai E..."

"Never mind, you look so confused, you probably don't understand anything."

"Let me tell you my current wish: if I have the chance to fight him, I will ask him to fight me fair and square, and I will personally cut off his mask."

Chapter 506 The Black Tide Disaster

[Bai E: So you knew all along.]

[Wan Di: Nonsense, I've only ever revealed my weakness to you in the entire Onpharos. Besides you, my savior, who else could so precisely pierce my tenth thoracic vertebra? And thirty million times at that…]

[Bai E: Ah... well, I never imagined we'd become this close.]

[Rin: It's my favorite part again, the bickering. It started the very first time we met. I really can't find another pair like you two.]

[Wan Di: Savior, in my next life I will personally sever your mask. HKS!]

[The Little Prince: I'd love to be friends with Behemoth, but unfortunately, I can't find him anywhere.]

[Feng Jin: How did Lord Bai E embark on the path of the Fire Thief?]

Bai E found it strange, "Killing and dying all the time, this person's desires are truly barbaric."

"But the anger in your eyes is just like that of the arrogant royalty described in the book... I've remembered this wish."

Amber: I'll remember this grudge.

[Yura: Amber…!]

[Star: So, is it because of this that the cycle of suffering and conflict keeps turning against each other in every reincarnation?]

Next, the two returned to where Xi Lian was to discuss the future revealed by the oracle cards.

"How is it? I can sense that the fog in your heart seems to have lifted a little."

Bai E responded to Xi Lian.

"I never imagined I would meet so many people and hear their wishes... But how could fate reveal such a thing?"

The village chief asked gently, "What are you worried about?"

"Didn't you just say that the great calamity of Onpharos is coming? If that's the case, Xi Lian and I should have stayed in the Ai Li Secret Pavilion. How could we have encountered all sorts of people?"

Xing said, "Perhaps they have come to the Elegant Secret Pavilion."

Bai Er pondered, "Isolated villages will become humanity's last refuge...that makes sense."

"Xi Lian, can you give me that Savior card?"

“Of course you can. But why?” Xi Lian asked, puzzled.

Bai E raised his head, a trace of melancholy appearing in his eyes, "Although the voices, faces, and desires it foreshadows are still too distant for me right now..."

"But I always felt a voice calling to me, hoping I would pick it up. Or perhaps, only after I pick it up will I truly know its weight."

Xi Lian smiled, "Since that's the case..."

"Accept this gift: the Oracle Card bears the marks of time and is blessed by Eulonis..."

May it accompany you, become a part of your memories, and stir up ripples in the future.

Bai Er put away the Savior card and promised, "...I will remember it."

"Well... judging from how it feels now, it seems pretty much the same as regular playing cards..."

[Bennett: Brother Bereaves, from this day forward you will embark on a journey of salvation, and the Savior card will take on meaning along with your journey.]

[Tibo: Aya and I have confirmed that this is Bai'e's first reincarnation.]

[Star: What is the significance that Lai Gushi showed me?]

[Silver Wolf: A cheer before victory. Aren't villains supposed to like making people understand their ideals?]

[Danheng: That heavy thing is the fate of Onphalus.]

At that very moment, the Lost Realm suddenly shook violently.

Xi Lian was startled, "Oh! This is..."

Laila fans rushed over, shouting, "Everyone, something terrible has happened!"

"The smell of burning and the thick smoke are so pungent... It's coming from outside the maze!"

"...What happened?!" Bai E's expression was grave.

The village chief addressed the crowd: "There's no mistake... the disaster has already begun, and it's happening faster than we anticipated."

"Moreover, this time... even the Veil of Eternal Night couldn't withstand it."

Bai'er asked worriedly, "You...you mean...Aili Mixie will also be caught up in the prophetic catastrophe?"

"yes……"

The village chief quickly said, "Children, please stay hidden in the maze of the lost and do not step out of this place. Otherwise, you two will surely be swallowed up by a terrible calamity."

Bai'er's unease grew stronger. "But what about Mom and Dad, and the other kids in the village..."

Xing recalled, "Calamity... is it the power of the Titans?"

"Calamity... Could it be the legendary Calamity Three Titans?" Xi Lian guessed.

The village chief explained, "That is not Titan, nor is it a threat that you can handle by proceeding cautiously step by step."

"It is an indescribable abomination, capable of twisting all life into bloodless, tearless monsters. Even Titans are corrupted by it, burned away from the inside out, leaving only an empty shell that knows only slaughter and destruction..."

"The Black Tide, this is the true face of calamity. It will devour everything in the world, except for the lost and the labyrinthine realms."

[Aglaia: The Black Tide descends at this moment, a labyrinthine maze... truly a magical place.]

[Rin: What is a little fairy? If you consider Onpharos as a computer, the only part that won't be invaded by a virus... is outside the system itself.]

[Walter: The reason this place remains untouched by corruption is probably due to the power of memory, the Veil of Eternal Night.]

[Fu Xuan: From our current perspective, we are on a star that shouldn't exist. Only Bai E and Xi Lian can enter the maze. Given Bai E's personality, he wouldn't stand idly by and watch the villagers live or die.]

[Qingque: So how did they resist?]

Bai'er couldn't believe it, "Even the Titans..."

“That’s right.” The village chief emphasized again and again, “So please don’t risk leaving this forgotten land—you are the first to discover our existence, and the only two who can enter the labyrinth…”

"We... don't want your sacrifice to be in vain."

Xi Lian hesitated, "This..."

"What do we do, Bai'er? We..."

Bai E was also undecided at this point, as he did not have enough strength to protect the village.

Xing looked at him and said, "Let your heart decide."

“My heart…” Bai E closed his eyes and questioned his true self, “The only answer that emerges in my heart is…”

His gaze was resolute. "My original intention in learning swordsmanship was to protect those around me. If I were to desert now... I would no longer be worthy of wielding a sword, would I?"

Xi Lian smiled slightly, "It seems we've already come to our conclusions."

"Yes, my partner is right... We must step forward."

Bai'e looked at the village chief, "I'm sorry, village chief! Ai Li Mi Xie is in danger, and as her child... I cannot stand idly by!"

The village chief already knew the answer to their question.

"...I understand. You all...take care of yourselves."

Bai E nodded. "Come on, Xi Lian. Come on, partner—"

"Even if I don't have a sword, give me a hoe... Even if I only have the crudest iron, I will use it to defend my home!"

Chapter 507 Despair

Xi Lian watched Bai E's departing figure and murmured softly, "Savior..."

"I see... Besides the interpretation on the card itself, it can also have this other meaning."

“It wasn’t perfect from the beginning, standing high in the clouds, casting its benevolent gaze upon the whole world…”

"Instead, it's a small step that serves as a starting point, beginning in a quiet little village, gradually expanding the world in one's heart, growing and redeeming along the way..."

"When we were little, I told him: I hope the world will never need a savior..."

"But when his wish was dashed, I was thankful ... that he was willing to embark on this path."

"And all of this... is thanks to your encouragement, my friend."

Xing put his left hand on his hip, with an expression that said, "As expected of me." It turns out that the original Bai E embarked on his journey to save the world under my encouragement... That's so cool!

Xi Lian waved her hand, "Shall we go? We need you by our side, Bai E... and me, for the courage in our hearts to be awakened."

"I know. You're watching, right? The future hero?"

[Star: I was the hero in the hearts of Bai E and Xi Lian in the past. Why? Because Dan Heng and I haven't been in Onfaros for very long, let alone this is our first reincarnation.]

[Paimon: Does Little Xilian possess the ability to foresee the future?]

[Luminous: We're both flying creatures, Paimon, why don't you have any special powers? Aside from having a bottomless stomach, all you can do is act cute.]

Hattonus: The First Sword... Whitey, the Hoe.

[Bronya: In this immersive theatrical world constructed by the ancients, Star exists as a hero in Bai Er's heart, something Xi Lian cannot see but can feel.]

[Himeko: Perhaps this choice is similar to Yomi-san's reminder about the stars in the underworld.]

[Fu Xuan: Fate is predetermined. Even without her, Bai E would still choose to become the savior.]

[Bai E: I cannot stand idly by and watch the villagers suffer. No matter how difficult the road ahead, as long as I hold the sword, I will protect them.]

"Savior."

Lai Gushi appeared behind her without any warning.

"It's a pity, a lament—even if fate decreed that the boy would bear the weight of the world in the future, he could not become the hero who brought the dawn."

Xing was silent for a moment, then said, "Does saving the world really depend on me?"

"Follow them, Lord Star. Go and witness the first step taken on the path to salvation by the man who was destined not to be a hero."

"Please use your eyes to witness this memory to the very end, and take in its initial fate..."

"In this way, you will understand why his so-called ideal of saving the world is destined to bury this world."

[Robin: Sure enough, this is Bai E's story before he entered reincarnation. What kind of ending did he and Xi Lian witness?]

[Danheng: That's why men become fire-stealers.]

[Magic Technique: The 0th Cycle. Ha, I'd like to see how you manage to initiate cycle after cycle in the hands of Laigus. This is definitely not a power from within Onpharos.]

[Xia Die: His Excellency Bai E's past.]

[Aglaia: Come, let us witness the agony he endured. The path of the savior...]

"A blood-red sun, withered wheat straw, a burning village—"

"At this moment, the boy seemed to be at the end of the world."

In a village ablaze with blood and fire, the wounded Bai E wielded his hoe with all his might, personally killing the creature that had emerged from the black tide before him.

"Monsters are everywhere..."