My youth story cannot be a knight war

Whether it's the 'protagonist' or the 'supporting character', in fact, nothing can be changed, simply because the final ending of this story has already been written.

Therefore, no matter how the course of this world line changes, its final outcome will always be towards "darkness".

People call this process "fate."

And "fate"——cannot be changed at all.

3. Open the final chapter

Xu Guoliang sat on the chair with his head lowered. His back revealed the exhaustion and weariness that came from the heart, as well as a hint of despair hidden deep inside.

He had always been above average in every respect compared to his peers, his greatest strengths perhaps being his intellect and resilience. While there was an element of luck involved, the former was the brainpower that allowed him to get into a top-tier university, and the latter was the fact that, during his more than ten years of schooling, when his peers had already given up due to the overwhelming academic pressure, he persevered through his studies to the very end without giving up.

But now, even if that brain that had gotten into a top university was pushed to its limit, its thinking would still be off track. Facing this hopeless and overwhelming impasse, it could find no viable solution. And the resilience forged over a decade of study seemed insignificant in the face of a hopeless future that could see the same outcome thousands or even tens of thousands of times. All the efforts and remedies needed to overcome this situation were like throwing an egg against a rock; they were more like throwing a pebble into a flowing river.

After this small stone falls into the water, it can only splash a tiny ripple on the surface of the river, but the flowing river water will return to its original state in the next moment, and the flow direction will not be affected at all.

Only when a person truly wants to change the world will he realize how insignificant he is.

Thinking carefully, the predicament he was facing now was just like... A cold chill surged from his toes upwards, and Xu Guoliang couldn't help but shivered. At this moment, he thought of another person.

Stellius - this is a name that is almost synonymous with "muppet".

Originally, he was just an ordinary bard who chose to embark on a journey with his companions in search of mysterious powers so that humans could live a rich and beautiful life. According to the setting of ordinary adventure stories, he would be the narrator among the protagonists responsible for recording and praising the adventure stories, narrating the stories he saw into books and passing them down. He is the kind of legendary figure who will be respected as a "sage" in later generations... and this may be his original destiny.

But when he swallowed the forbidden fruit called curiosity and secretly opened the book of omniscience and omnipotence to read it, everything changed completely.

Xu Guoliang once came across a discussion on the Kamen Rider Saber forum about the Book of Omniscience. The poster was a special effects enthusiast from the science departments of Peking University and Tsinghua University. To prevent trolls from taking over the thread, he directly posted his student and master's degrees on the front page, annotated with a warning: "No posting without equivalent academic qualifications." Below, he systematically analyzed and elaborated on the book's capabilities using rigorous scientific theory, successfully turning the thread into a one-man thesis presentation. A group of underachieving undergraduates with average academic credentials could only listen in fear as the tycoon's dictates trembled, unable to refute even a single word, fearing that exposing their own foolish thinking would lead to his furious rebuke and a waste of their lives.

Because most of the content in that analysis post was too confusing, he selectively deleted it after reading it, but there were a few paragraphs in it that still left a deep impression on Xu Guoliang.

The post's analysis suggests that Stellius's original destiny wasn't to become the annihilation mechanism chosen by the Book of Omniscience to end the world. This fate was initially just a hidden possibility, like the possibility of both good and evil coexisting in everyone's life, like Schrödinger's cat, repeatedly teetering on the brink of life and death. Only when certain conditions are met does this possibility become reality.

For the cat Stellius, "yes/no to open the Book of Omniscience and Omnipotence" is the condition that determines his life or death.

As the book opened, the box that trapped the cat was also opened. As the observer confirmed the cat's life or death, the wave function representing the direction of fate completely collapsed. Stellius's fate, which should have been praised by everyone, was sealed in that moment. His fate as the Devil of Destruction became his only remaining path. And there was no other way for him to go, he could only follow this path until the end.

In other words, Stellius might not necessarily have to become the demon king who destroyed the world. This fate did exist, but it was only a possibility... However, he personally turned this worst possibility for himself into the only real reality.

At the time, Xu Guoliang simply thought the tycoon's analysis was interesting, but he didn't care whether it was correct. After all, he only cared about the story's quality and didn't think deeply about it. But now...

Looking at the "Book of Controlling Myriad Living Beings" in his right hand, a deep gloom flashed across the other half of Xu Guoliang's eye that was not covered. The strength of his palm gradually increased, and the outer cover of the book of control made a creaking sound as if it could not bear the weight.

Now holding this driving book in his hands, Xu Guoliang, who is familiar with its operating mechanism, would not be clear whether this analysis is right or wrong? In terms of its capabilities, this driving book can be regarded as a small version of the omniscient book. The only difference lies in the range of activation.

If the analysis in that post is true, then there must be a decisive condition that leads this world line to a Bad End. Just like Stellus, after he opened the Book of Omniscience and observed the future of the world, his fate was actually already determined.

Suddenly, Xu Guoliang's heart was frozen by an extreme coldness, and his eyes froze in an instant.

Fate... Stellius flipped open the book of omniscience... The future of the world was observed... The wave function leading to the future collapsed... The direction was fixed...

...I...started this story...

"--Well!"

"The Book of Controlling Myriad Living Beings" fell from his loose palm onto the floor tiles. Xu Guoliang suddenly covered his mouth, thick sweat pouring out from his forehead. He lowered his head, his eyes trembling violently.

...If this theory holds true, then perhaps there's another compelling explanation for why Stellius was so thoroughly possessed by demons in the original worldline, and it's more than just a matter of future duplication checks being completely accurate. He probably realized the moment he received the "Book of Magical Power" that he could have avoided this fate, but his curiosity had driven him to a dead end.

What if... what if, at the very beginning, the ending of this world line wasn't about being swallowed by darkness? What if, instead, everyone was happy with dumplings being made?

What if the world's original outcome of being swallowed by darkness was a hidden value? What if the original trajectory wasn't like that? Then... when did this outcome become an explicit value?

After opening the box, who was the person who killed the cat that was able to continue living when the box was closed?

"Ultimate Darkness", this background setting that remained silent until the end of the original story... Who was it that truly awakened Him from the darkness?

Initially… Initially… Initially, the variable that caused the ending to change and the world line to shift—"Enough!"

Xu Guoliang suddenly roared in a state of emotional collapse, clutching his head. His eyes trembled so violently that one might mistakenly think they were about to pop out of their sockets. He sat trembling in his seat, his entire body trembling, his reaction like a student who had just failed the college entrance exam.

How could this be? How could this be! How could this be—admit it!!!

—It shouldn't be like this! It shouldn't be like this!! I just, I just wanted to see a different story! I just wanted to see the hero that belonged to me and my friends emerge! I never wanted such a hopeless ending!!!

I simply pray for the recapture of the touching and beautiful memories of my childhood! I pray for the arrival of a new hero! Not for the awakening of this eternally silent darkness! Xu Guoliang clutched his head, feeling a splitting headache. Everything before him seemed shrouded in blood. Countless lives wailed, their bloodstained arms stretched out one after another, victims of Gurongi's hand.

Someone's desperate laughter reached my ears from behind, as if a sinner was welcoming another person who had broken the commandments to fall into the same hell as himself, to suffer together with him the greatest regret and guilt in the world.

—Did you feel the same way at first, Stellius?

No... It wasn't me who opened this Pandora's box! It shouldn't have been me!

…If… I wasn’t involved in this story… Zaimokuza… Kousaka… Yu… everyone… I didn’t…

I didn’t kill my friend…!

A bellows-like wheezing sound filled the classroom. Xu Guoliang gasped for air as if he was short of air. "Calm down! Calm down!" he kept telling himself. After a long time, the wheezing gradually subsided.

Xu Guoliang's waist was bent almost in half. He looked at the pool of blood on the ground, in which his own image was reflected. His hair was disheveled, and a pair of deep dark circles occupied the upper half of his face. His bloodshot eyes were tired beyond words. If someone saw him in this state, no one would think that Xu Guoliang was actually only in his early twenties, but at least over thirty-five years old.

Looking at himself like this, Xu Guoliang couldn't help but close his eyes, and his clenched teeth made a clattering sound.

...There's no point dwelling on these things now. Whether they're true or not, we can verify them later. The most important thing now is to find a way out of this impasse. Otherwise, no matter how big the mistake is, there's no way to remedy it.

Xu Guoliang forced himself to suppress his still somewhat chaotic thoughts and turned to search his memory, looking for a way to break through the current situation.

He still remembered that the original post had actually proposed an unverified hypothesis at the end. Although it sounded a bit unreliable, Xu Guoliang needed all possible methods now, whether true or false.

The Book of Omniscience's ability to foresee the future likely has some scientific basis. If the world is a small ecological park, then all living things are its constituent elements. Each element complements the other, forming a self-sustaining microcosm. The Book of Omniscience is essentially the giant protective wall that completely encloses this small ecological park, acting as a supercomputer.

Moreover, this computer has an unlimited storage capacity to record all the components of the ecological park within the wall, including even atoms or quarks, and even unknown material units that have not been discovered by human technology today. It also has unlimited computing power to calculate the development trends of all these elements. Therefore, the ability it demonstrates is - predicting the future.

Therefore, no matter what Stellius did, he could not change the future of the world that was destined to be destroyed, because all the future possibilities that had not yet occurred in this world had been calculated and recorded by the Book of Omniscience, and these calculated data all led to the result of "destruction" in the end, without exception.

And this conclusion sounds somewhat similar to a certain theory - the "beamer theory".

Xu Guoliang has forgotten which book he heard this theory from, but he remembers that the general meaning is that if the history of the world is compared to a long line, the countless possibilities and parallel worlds are branches that branch out from this line. These lines extend in different directions, parallel to the main line, and develop differently.

But at a certain length, these lines would get stuck together, all tightly juxtaposed, as if a giant circular constrictor were locking all the lines together. After passing this constricted segment, the lines would branch out again. And in that segment where all the lines were locked together, the same thing happened to all the lines.

In other words, the future of Stellius's world is tightly locked by the great event of "destruction", just as the future of this world line is also tightly locked by "darkness". Even if the world line branches off again and again, this is something that is bound to happen.

Therefore, even Stellius's desperate and self-destructive submission to fate was just one of the results calculated by the Book of Omniscience and Omnipotence, because all the components within the wall were recorded. This is the great collector of world history, so all attempts to resist fate are nothing but futile and self-defeating. Even without his existence, perhaps another catastrophic event that could destroy the world would occur.

The convergence device in Stellus's world is "World Destruction," and could it be that the convergence device in our worldline is... "Ultimate Darkness"? Xu Guoliang frowned in thought, his eyes darting around the classroom.

If this giant wall that conceptually envelopes the entire world is the essence of "Ultimate Darkness" and is also the great concentrator of the entire world, then when everything inside is powerless, what is left to do...???

What do you do if a wall is blocking your way?

A flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind, and Xu Guoliang was stunned.

But before he could think deeply, the "Book of Controlling Myriad Living Beings" that had fallen to the ground suddenly flashed a dazzling light, interrupting his thoughts.

"!?"

Xu Guoliang, whose thoughts were interrupted, did not care about regrets. He stared at the shining driving book on the ground. The same characters as before flashed in his eyes again. He established a connection with the driving book and soon understood the reason for this reaction.

Xu Guoliang bent down to pick up the driving book. When he received the information transmitted into his mind, his pupils shrank slightly and his expression became serious.

"This is—the final chapter of this 'story'..."

"finally coming?"

4. The beginning of the story is also the end (9K)

The green arrow of light, wrapped in a whirlwind, struck Gurongi's hand, which was about to strike down with the weapon, in the split second it took. The sword immediately flew up in a spiral, then crashed into the sea, creating a tiny splash.

[“Hmm…”]

A turquoise totem of the Wind appeared on the hand struck by the arrow. Jaaza groaned and reached out with his other hand to grasp the wrist. The totem's light rapidly dimmed under his strenuous efforts to suppress it. In a few seconds at most, it would crumble into fragments and dissipate.

The shooter, naturally aware of this, immediately pulled out the cyan crystal card from his waist clip without hesitation. It swished across the waist slot at a speed unseen by the naked eye, and a green totem blossomed along with the robotic male voice.

【『Exceed charge』】

Green elemental energy blossomed from the belt, transforming into dozens of light, gauze-like streamers that poured into the jade beads on the crossbow. A raging whirlwind gathered at the firing port. As the trigger was pulled, the arrow, thicker and more dazzling than before, launched with a howling gale, even creating a horizontal tornado.

The arrow split at lightning speed the moment it was launched, transforming into at least twenty strikes, which struck Jaaza, who hadn't yet recovered from his shock, in various parts of his body. His transformed form, towering over many men, was forced to retreat under the onslaught, eventually staggering uncontrollably.

One by one, wind totems lit up on Jaaza's body where the arrows had struck him, like a dozen stars lighting up one by one, forming an elegant constellation. From afar, it bore a striking resemblance to the renowned Pegasus constellation.

“Damn it! Daguber——!?”

Powerful wind elements even emanated from the totems scattered across its body. Amidst the emanating cyan light particles, Jaaza's massive form twisted and shifted, slowly returning to its original form. It looked up at Kousaka Kyosuke, who was half-crouched in front of it, and let out a roar of resentment.

A huge black shadow, accompanied by a fierce howling wind, enveloped him from behind. Looking at the figure projected on the ground in front of him, a strong sense of crisis surged in his heart. The roar of Kosaka in front of him directly pushed him to the peak.

"Get moving! Zaimokuza!"

[“Oh my god!!!”]

Zaimokuza responded to Kousaka's roar with a roaring roar, leaping down with a massive sword in each hand. The air was split in two by the weight and violence attached to the blades before they even touched them. The sound of the two swords swinging was like the dance of demons, begging you to join him in a rendezvous with hell.

[Kuga·Titan Form·Spiritual Sublimation (Earth)·Level 2]

Jaaza barely had time to turn and stand before the double-edged sword, carrying immense force, slashed across his shoulders. The shoulder armor sparked brightly as it collided with the blades, then shattered beneath them. The blade sank into his chest, cleaving flesh and bone in a pool of blood, severing at least half his shoulders. The force transmitted to the hard deck beneath his feet, cracking and shattering it with dense cracks.

Two enormous purple Earth totems lit up where the two swords had sunk, directly covering the original Wind totems, like a purple cape draped over Jaaza. He struggled to look up at Zaimokuza, who was just a few feet away. His mouth opened, and a mouthful of blood splattered onto his transformed face.

[“KUU——GA!!!”]

[The sharp fingers of both hands stretched out to grab Zaimokuza's neck, and Jaaza roared loudly, his voice filled with despair and unwillingness.]

Powerful energy spread downward from the totem that emerged from Jaaza's body, quickly reaching the pitch-black Kibolon magic stone at his waist. Cracks gleaming with brilliant golden light gradually appeared on the surface of his belt.

Zaimokuza's heart trembled upon seeing this scene. Without even bothering to explain to Kousaka who had rushed over, he simply wielded his greatsword and pushed Jaaza to the side. The two bodies shattered the ship's guardrails and plummeted to the sea from a height of three stories. The water splashed by the impact shone an eerie reddish hue in the sunlight.

【“Zaimokuza!?”】

[Kousaka, covered in wounds, limped over, gripping the gap in the railing and looking down, but all he could see were ripples spreading outward on the sea, not the figures of the two people who had fallen into the sea.]

【boom--!!!!!!】

Seconds later, a massive explosion erupted beneath the surface of the sea. Countless hectares of seawater erupted upwards under the force of the blast. A massive column of water, half the size of the cruise ship, shot directly into the air at least several hundred meters high. The surrounding seawater was instantly drained away, and the cruise ship suddenly lost its balance and began to shake violently.

Looking down from above, the sea surface, within a radius of at least 100 meters centered on the cruise ship, had sunk by more than ten meters. A massive column of water in the center sucked up the seawater and blasted it upwards. A water flower, enveloping the entire cruise ship, blossomed at its apex. Sunlight filtered through the water curtain, reflecting a myriad of dazzling, dreamlike colors.

However, Kousaka Kyousuke didn't find this scene beautiful. He was closest to the edge of the ship when the explosion occurred, and was directly hit by the water column rising into the sky. In Pegasus form, his senses were exponentially heightened. The immense impact of the water column on his body and the thunderous roar below caused his brain to go blank, and he was instantly sent flying.

[“Wow!”]

His body, propelled by the water column, screamed as it smashed into the cruise ship's cabin behind him. After leaping across the room, he continued to fly through the opposite wall, plummeting from the top of the cabin to the bottom, finally landing hard on the bottom deck, creating a massive hole in it.

Even the cruise ship itself was violently shaken by the aftermath of the explosion. Fortunately, the head of the Kotobuki family, who had loaned it out as a "friendly favor," had solemnly promised Kousaka Kyousuke that this ship, his favorite vessel for frequent sea vacations, might appear like any other cruise ship on the outside, but in reality, every deck was constructed of military-grade materials, capable of withstanding a force twelve storm like a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

Although Kosaka wasn't sure if his last statement was bragging, the cruise ship's construction specifications had indeed reached military-grade standards. Although the massive impact of the underwater explosion caused the cruise ship to "shift" horizontally at least seventy meters above sea level, the hull still managed to hold on and did not capsize.

The Japanese Coast Guard vessels that had been surrounding the cruise ship were capsized by the tsunami caused by the explosion and swallowed up by the ensuing waves, drowning even the crew's screams. The water column, losing its power, collapsed into a massive curtain of water that poured down, extinguishing the flames aboard the entire cruise ship. Thick white smoke rose with the water vapor, and a nine-colored rainbow, refracted by sunlight, pierced through the water vapor and white mist, like a rainbow bridge connecting the sky.

A hand extended from the edge of the hole in the cruise ship's lower deck. It gripped the broken deck tightly and exerted force. With blood streaming from his forehead, Kousaka Kyosuke gritted his teeth and crawled out of the hole. He lay sprawled on the soaked deck, panting as he gazed up at the invisible rainbow bridge in the sky above him.

[“We still have to save people…”]

Thinking of the coast guards who had fallen into the sea after their boat was overturned by the waves, Kosaka forced his exhausted body to stand. After shaking his head, which was experiencing some tinnitus and loss of voice, he stumbled towards the side railing, pulled down several lifebuoys tied to it with one hand, and walked forward.

【Snapped! 】

Just as Kousaka took a few steps, an arm wrapped in a windbreaker sleeve stretched out from the edge of the ship, its five fingers tightly gripping the deck. Water splashed on his leather shoes, startling him.

Then, Kousaka's tense body relaxed. He looked unhappily at a person with a wet, white, mushroom-like head poking out from under the side of the boat. With his other hand, he brushed away the hair clinging to his forehead, revealing a familiar face.

["Ah~ Mr. Kosaka."]

Zaimokuza shook off the water from his head like a drowned rabbit, looked up at Kousaka standing in front of him, and a dry, awkward smile appeared on his face.

"Can you pull me up? My legs are a bit weak right now."

[“…I really can’t do anything about you.”]

His chest, struck by the water column earlier, still ached slightly, and the corner of his left eye twitched slightly. Suddenly, a friendly smile appeared on Kousaka's expressionless face, reminiscent of the scene when they first met.

He smiled and bent down, extending his right hand to Zaimokuza. Zaimokuza joyfully extended his arm. But just as their palms were about to touch, Kousaka suddenly withdrew his arm.

【倣“Huh?”】