A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

That's how it should be.

Until a pocket watch appeared in front of the white-faced man.

The hands of the pocket watch were turning, but not clockwise; they were turning counterclockwise.

This is a pocket watch that belonged to a man who died many years ago.

When asked what the pocket watch was for, the man only gave one answer.

"It will naturally be useful when you are about to die."

"Clang!!!" The white-faced man's sword cleaved the pocket watch in two, its power undiminished.

It seems that nothing has changed, nothing has happened.

However, Bai Mian knew something was different.

The creature, whose life force had been completely extinguished, was rekindled.

Before being cleaved in two, the pocket watch absorbed all the concepts around it, reverting Bray's life force to the state it had been in just a few minutes earlier.

Simply put, this pocket watch saved Bray.

“External things…” Bai Mian murmured, but there was no resentment or anger in his voice.

This is a coincidence, fate, luck, or something like that.

However, after "seeing" Brena's right eye, which was as still as dead water, Whiteface laughed incredulously.

"Hahahaha!!! Luck?! Luck!"

The moment Bray regained consciousness, he happened to see Whiteface smiling.

He also saw the sword moves that the white-faced man had laid out in front of him.

"What was wrong with that sword strike? It was terrible," Bray complained.

"It's not my turn to pass the sword to someone who died halfway through a swing," the pale-faced man said quietly.

The white-faced sword landed on Bray's shoulder, unable to advance any further.

But Bray's sword shattered the thick, mutated armor of the white-faced man.

Amidst the flying armor plates, the "final sound," which was not deflected, was transformed into a stab.

It pierced through the heart of the white-faced man. Life was fading, and collapse was devouring him.

While he was in a frenzy, he could also clearly feel the moment his heart was pierced.

Liberation? No, Bai Mian doesn't feel that way.

Because he has always been able to break free from this cycle of reincarnation on his own initiative; no one has forced him.

However, after recalling everything he had experienced in the past, he now felt a glimmer of hope.

He didn't believe Bray could defeat the Golden Seeds; as long as Bray was a mortal, he couldn't defeat them.

Without understanding the underlying concepts, engaging with the concept of "golden seeds" is tantamount to suicide.

Even that "swan song" is the same.

But he still had a glimmer of hope, because this deadly battle reminded him of the possibilities.

"Possibility," something Bai Mian had forgotten for a long time.

Perhaps because he saw too many things repeating themselves, he gradually stopped caring about possibilities.

He always felt that the course of events wouldn't change much.

For example, regarding the ending of the world, he tried many things, but nothing changed.

But...did he try all the methods? Not yet.

Yes, not yet. There are still many methods we haven't tried.

Perhaps Blakelas will find his own way.

He turned his face toward Bray.

"Boom!!!!!!!!!!" Whiteface used the hilt of his sword to fiercely repel the lightning bolt that was almost within reach.

Although Bray was standing and blocking the way, he was still forced back several meters.

Even as the life force of the white face rapidly diminishes, it still possesses terrifying power.

Even if Whiteface continues fighting, killing the critically wounded Bray wouldn't be a problem.

But... that's enough.

The white armor on his body relentlessly eroded Bai Mian's body. Even though Bai Mian was about to die, the white armor continued to torment him relentlessly.

It was as if this man was destined to become a monster, at least in the moment of his death.

"That's it?" White Face scoffed coldly.

“…” Bray fell silent.

"Don't mind it, I wasn't mocking you," Bai Mian said casually.

Bai Mian's relaxed demeanor made it seem as if he wasn't struggling with his own collapse.

The erosion on his body was gradually receding under Bai Mian's own suppression, and there was no need for outsiders to worry about it.

"I haven't felt this way in so long," Bai Mian muttered to himself.

Having spent years sleeping to avoid being devoured by the white powder, it had been a long time since I had fought so fiercely, and it had been a long time since I had felt like my whole body was about to be swallowed up.

After a long while, Bai Mian sheathed his sword and took a deep breath.

“You win.” He acknowledged Bray’s victory.

“But I can still assert that you cannot defeat a Golden Seed.” Then he added.

“I know my own limitations,” Bray replied.

Bray didn't think that after defeating Whiteface, he was qualified to challenge the Gold Seed.

In the eyes of the Golden Seed, Bray is still an ant, and this status has never changed.

“It was just a lucky win,” Bray and Whiteface said in unison.

"But a win is a win." Bai Mian stopped straightening his back and slowly sat down on a stone on the ground.

“You gave me a good answer,” he said.

The lark, circling high in the sky, saw the white-faced man sit down and quickly landed, standing on his head.

However, Shiro no longer had a helmet, so Hibari landed very lightly.

“The world is vast,” Whiteface suddenly said to Bray.

"And there are many worlds larger than this one."

“…” Bray did not answer.

"Then what are you, still an ant in this world?" Hakumian teased Hibari, speaking in a casual tone.

"Nothing at all." The next second, Whiteface mercilessly belittled Bray.

Bray didn't refute, but simply listened to himself, who had experienced far too much, speaking.

"What can you do if you're nothing?" White Face questioned.

"I'll do whatever I can," Bray replied honestly.

Besides that, he couldn't say anything else, nor did he know what to say.

He's just a guy who's not good with words.

“Yes, that’s fine.” Whiteface was also satisfied with Bray’s answer, and his previous smile faded.

It was as if he had never smiled.

"The more you hear about lofty goals, the more inspiring they become; the more you hear about them, the more determined you are to go forward; and the more you hear about them, the more you forget your original aspirations."

"Keep it simple, keep it simple." Whiteface seemed to be saying this to Bray, but it also seemed to be saying it to himself.

The white-faced creature began to shake off white ash from its entire body.

He has begun to break down; his body, mind, and consciousness are all collapsing.

But Bai Mian was still maintaining the last shred of clarity in his consciousness.

He will hold on until the very last moment.

"Even if you still can't defeat the Golden Seed, don't underestimate yourself."

"At least you defeated an 'invincible' monster while being a mortal."

"From this day forward, you can be proud to be a human being."

There is no need to question whether what you are proud of is correct.

"Because this battle is the best proof that this is correct."

Whiteface once couldn't hold onto what he was proud of, but now Bray has.

"You are not a hero, and neither am I."

Even if someone calls you a hero, you and I are ultimately not heroes.

Dust was stirred up, separating the mine from the white powder.

For a moment, Bray couldn't make out Bai Mian's figure.

“Is there anything you need me to do for you?” Bray asked.

"Ask me what I need you to do?" Bai Mian paused for a few seconds.

"That's true, asking that kind of question is more like you." But he quickly came to terms with it.

“I don’t need any help, I don’t need anything.”

"This timeline doesn't belong to me either; it belongs to you."

"No matter what I do, it probably won't mean anything to me," the pale-faced man said quietly.

After saying this, Bai Mian seemed to think of something and paused for a moment.

"No, there's still something I need your help with."

"So that means you're telling your daughter... her name is Nia, right, Nia Kras..."

Bai Mian's memories began to blur, and his consciousness gradually became stuck.

"Tell her that the vicious uncle has let her father go."

After the sandstorm passed, the white face that Bray saw was broken and fragmented, like a dried clay statue.

Some of the fallen material turned to dust in the wind.

Along with the white flour, the lark that the white flour was playing with also began to turn into powder.

“You don’t have to do this. You can still live a wonderful life,” Bai Mian said to Yun Que with heartache.

If there's anything he cares about, it's probably just this little bird.

"Chirp!" The lark hopped a few times, landed on the white face's shoulder, and looked the white face up and down.

It was a face that was no longer young, a face weathered and filled with pain.

"Chirp~" Yun Que patted Bai Mian on the shoulder like an older brother patting his younger brother.

This guy in the tin can still doesn't understand: besides himself, who else would keep him company?

"Clang!" A crisp sound echoed across the empty land as the white-faced weapon shattered.

The sound gradually spread out, then grew fainter, and finally disappeared.

Just as this sword, reforged from scrap iron, disappeared from the world, so too did the white face, formed by forgotten time, vanish from the world with this sound.

There were no blessings, and the will of the world did not protect the man's existence.

Like an abandoned child, left to be forgotten by all things.

He turned to dust before Bray's eyes, and was blown away by the wind without leaving a trace.

The sword and the armor both vanished completely.