Chapter 101: A Moment of Withering
From the moment Bai had decided to defy her mother, to face her destiny on her own, Zi, who knew “Bai” so well, had understood. It was all in vain. Bai could not succeed.
No matter what, this plan, which had spanned countless eons, a plan that had gambled with the very existence of the Promised Land, was not something “Bai” would let go of. She had only ever trusted herself.
Slaying God was easier said than done. No one had ever succeeded. Even Shaya, with her immense potential, “Bai” had not believed she could succeed. And even “Bai” herself was not certain of her own plan.
Let alone Bai, this independent will that should not have existed. To her, it was all so… childish.
The Word of Command she now wielded was the pinnacle of its power.
Shaya had been able to resist Bai’s Word of Command, but she could not have resisted this one.
And besides, the Word of Command “Wither” was aimed at Bai, the Bai who had been born from her own bloodline.
To Bai, the dark-gold-haired young woman before her, her “mother,” was the most familiar, yet most threatening, being in existence.
All her abilities were known to her, all her weaknesses laid bare. Even with her destructive power, she could not stand against her “mother.”
As if unable to bear the sight of her demise, the young woman had turned away, her dark-gold aura dimming.
“To have come so far, only to end here. Are you resigned?”
Bai said softly in her heart, not questioning herself, but confirming… her own beliefs.
“Of course… I am not.”
Yes, from her birth in Vikarn, through all her suffering, through all the countless eons, she had fought, had grown, all for this moment, to stand before the source of all calamities—God…
“Why bother?” a distant sigh echoed in her heart. “Why go to such lengths? You should know, no matter what, the result will not change.”
“You and her, and her, will all come to an end.”
“All will be annihilated. This is the best, yet also the most tragic, of endings… so, who goes to that end, does it really matter?”
It was Zi’s voice, her tone filled with a deep sadness. Because now, she finally understood what “Bai” was planning, had finally solved the riddle of her long-held confusion—how “Bai” could slay God, how “Bai” would do it.
“…It matters,” Bai replied to the voice in her heart, as if responding to her own thoughts. “Because I am not just me. I carry their memories, their emotions, and their expectations…”
Leticia, who had reached out to her in the void of the Battle of Vikarn, Lin Yan, who had used her “Time Stop” to create an opening for her at the Wild God Altar, the Sharp Assault squad, who had fought by her side to the very end, Green Lolita and Eleanor, who had burned their own life force to turn the tide against the Wild God…
And most importantly, the one who had been with her through all the long years, the one who would never be separated from her… Ara.
“Their Bai, is me…”
Bai’s eyes snapped open, and her nine tails danced wildly, the power of dream and illusion intertwining, painting the Place of Divine Advent in a thousand fantastical colors.
And the Dream-Illusion power, born from the fusion of these two, now flowed through her, a rainbow of light.
—Authority, “Rewrite Reality.”
“If that’s the case, I’m willing to believe in you. All of this, I’ll leave it to you…”
Zi’s voice came again, and the power she had hidden within Bai erupted, amplifying her “Rewrite Reality” to an incredible degree.
Not only was the Word of Command “Wither” instantly suppressed, but Bai’s consciousness also returned to normal, and even the river of time outside the Place of Divine Advent was affected.
A rare ripple, a brief chaos, and the rule that one could only observe the past, not enter it, was broken.
“Bai,” sensing the change, immediately turned, and without hesitation, tried to use the Word of Command again.
“Wither! Perish! Die!”
But this time, she had miscalculated.
Bai’s “Rewrite Reality” was still active. This space was now her domain. Her Word of Command was useless.
In the next moment, Bai closed her eyes, and, opening her arms, she fell back, into the river of time.
The pink figure vanished from the dark space, leaving only the dark-gold-haired young woman.
“…”
Her gaze hardened. She had never expected this. Or rather, she had never calculated for Zi’s appearance.
She looked up, and she could almost see Zi’s playful smile, even though she was now completely, and irrevocably, dead.
“I’ve been played…”
She looked down at the now-calm river of time, her expression grim.
She hadn’t expected Zi to go to such lengths for something so… meaningless.
To amplify her “Rewrite Reality” to such a degree, she must have paid a heavy price, a price even greater than her own life.
But now, Zi was alone. The other prices, they didn’t matter.
“This time, you win, Zi,” she said softly, then looked at the river of time, her eyes narrowed. “But you will return, daughter.”
“And then, in what form will you face me?”
As she thought this, her expression turned complex. “And then, in what form will I face you…”
She was not without emotion. But the long eons had worn it away, had faded the past.
Even her most cherished little Shaya was now a distant stranger.
But this daughter, who was a part of her, a part of her very being, she could not ignore.
Even as she watched her grow, as she witnessed everything… she could not suppress the emotions that were now blooming in her heart.
She touched her chest. Just now, when she had spoken the Word of Command “Wither,” it had hurt.
“A strange feeling. A pain I’ve never experienced before.”
She looked up, but there were no tears. In the Place of Divine Advent, there were no tears.
“I don’t want to ask why I have to experience this predetermined tragedy, but…”
“All of this… is far too cruel…”
