The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v2c104

Chapter 104: The Awakened Find Eternal Happiness

Across the scarred, withered, and desolate land, not even a gentle breeze stirred, everything seemingly trapped in eternal death.

This was the Burial Ground, the final resting place of an unknown, mysterious “deity.”

Its irreversible slumber seemed to have taken with it all life from this land.

Even Luo Ling, a Grotesquery, felt her inspiration draining uncontrollably within the Burial Ground, unable to replenish it, let alone other Awakened Ones.

As time passed, any being within the Burial Ground would eventually be drained of their inspiration, everything about them, buried alongside this deceased deity in this lifeless land.

No wonder the five-member group hadn’t dared stray far from their cabin. Finding an entrance and exit had been fortunate enough; they hadn’t dared explore further.

In this place where abilities were practically useless, they didn’t need to encounter any dangerous beings. Even getting lost could be fatal.

After just a short while, Philosopher’s solidified form dimmed slightly, but he remained seated on the stool, staring at the firelight, lost in thought.

The Old Man was dead, the Boy crippled, Educator killed, Historian, the Woman, having completely betrayed their original ideals… now, only he remained on this path.

As the faint firelight finally extinguished, Philosopher stood up shakily, sighing softly.

“…It’s time… for this to end.”

The cabin, holding the five-member group’s earliest memories, suddenly collapsed, turning to ash in an instant.

A gentle breeze swept through, scattering the ashes across the Burial Ground.

Over the long years, the flimsy cabin had become fragile, like their memories, long overdue to fade away.

Now, it had simply reached its destined end.

As the ashes dispersed, Luo Ling saw a stone tablet, about five feet tall, hidden within the cabin’s fireplace, finally revealed.

“The Taboo slate…”

Luo Ling stepped forward, intending to examine the legendary slate.

But the next moment, the surrounding scenery shifted, flickering before settling on the collapsing Victoria.

“What’s going on?”

Why had she suddenly returned to Victoria from the Burial Ground?

Luo Ling was surprised, but her expression quickly turned serious.

No, wait.

She wasn’t experiencing an uncontrolled outburst, and her inspiration was still draining.

This meant she was still in the Burial Ground, but…

Luo Ling’s gaze shifted slightly, towards Philosopher.

His illusory form was more solid than ever, the ritualistic barrier surrounding him breaking free from its restraints, the previously interrupted ascension ritual resuming, powerful inspiration fluctuations pushing Luo Ling back a considerable distance.

Complex ritualistic patterns spread across the ground, and Philosopher’s hunched figure straightened slightly, a faint blue light enveloping him.

His unfinished path to godhood… continued.

“I’ve witnessed countless iterations of the new world, but whether it truly exists… I can’t be certain,” Philosopher said, looking up at Luo Ling. “But regardless, it offers a glimmer of hope. Remaining in this ‘Disordered’ world… is true despair.

“Come, let me show you… the truth of this world.”

Within the illusion, the shifting scenery of Victoria finally froze.

1800 AD.

The beginning of the Disorder.

“Our world… is like a sealed sandbox, from 1800 AD to 2100 AD, intertwined and overlapping Boundaries. Any significant event, any incident that affects the world, will trigger a Boundary collapse, returning us to the past.”

Philosopher looked up at Victoria’s perpetually gloomy sky and murmured, “Three hundred years, endlessly repeating. Even we don’t know how long this cycle has lasted. Three hundred years? A thousand? It’s unclear.

“To find the answer, I once used Traveler to journey to the distant past and the far future, seeking the truth, but I was horrified to discover that this world… only contains these three hundred years.

“Indeed, despite countless historical records, despite mountains of evidence, according to the truth revealed by Traveler, the world before 1800 doesn’t exist, nor does the world after 2100. Our world is like a sandbox, gradually collapsing within this Disorder towards its predetermined end.”

The surrounding scenery shifted again, this time, not collapsing, but moving forward.

From the Victorian era, gradually progressing towards the modern era, the present Luo Ling was familiar with, and even the near future, finally stopping at 2100 AD, the “video” ending, settling on a desolate wasteland.

The Burial Ground.

“Perhaps… this is a moment the world once reached, before collapsing back into the past,” Philosopher whispered. “In other words, the Burial Ground… is the future, our inevitable end.”

Luo Ling’s expression finally wavered.

She suddenly realized that Philosopher might be telling the truth, at least regarding the Burial Ground.

The Burial Ground did possess all the characteristics of a Kingdom.

It was perpetually shrouded in an unknown disaster, eternally frozen in a moment of desolation.

Philosopher, unaware of Kingdoms, yet able to deduce this much, was truly worthy of being a Harbinger leader.

Moreover, if Philosopher was telling the truth…

A terrifying thought crossed Luo Ling’s mind, her face paling slightly.

…A three-hundred-year cycle.

Wasn’t this… the characteristic of a Kingdom?

Could it be that all the Boundaries originating from Victoria were part of a single, massive Kingdom?

If so, what was the true world like?

“To escape this despairing future, there’s only one way: to create a new world, completely free from the Disorder,” Philosopher said, his eyes burning with an indescribable light.

“Victoria is the original Origin Point of this sandbox world. Any change here will affect all other eras.

“To completely break this sandbox, we must annihilate all of Victoria, then, using the original Victoria as a template, create a world like the Burial Ground, completely free from all restrictions… This is the only glimmer of hope I’ve seen in countless failed futures. Only the new world can save everything.

“Even if I can only ascend to a Sequence position for a brief moment, I’ve already made arrangements for the new world’s arrival. I’ve gambled everything, and I’ve never truly failed. The new world will arrive. This is the Hour of Birth revealed to me by Fate.”

Luo Ling finally understood.

…Philosopher wanted to create a Kingdom.

And an unprecedentedly large Kingdom, not just a repeating loop lasting a few minutes, but a normal world, where time could move forward.

However, if her previous guess was correct, even a new Kingdom world wouldn’t be able to avoid the same fate as the current one…

“You can’t do it, Philosopher,” Luo Ling said, her voice tinged with sorrow, pitying Philosopher’s futile efforts. “Even if the new world is born, it will only be… another despairing future.”

“Miss White Witch, my… pathetic brother… also said this to me, but now… his death has proven his complete failure,” Philosopher said slowly.

“My brother was indeed a genius, using all his methods to expand the organization we founded into the Company, a behemoth controlling all Boundaries, attempting to single-handedly establish order, keeping Victoria in the safest era, avoiding its inevitable collapse.

“But that was just running away. He could delay it, but not prevent it. After his death, the Company will surely crumble, his wishful thinking meeting its destined end.”

This was the diverging path between the Company and the Harbingers, their irreconcilable choices.

After witnessing the truth revealed by the Burial Ground, the brother had chosen to destroy everything and create a new world free from this fate, while the younger brother had exhausted all his efforts to remain in the present, escaping this terrifying future.

But Luo Ling knew… neither would succeed.

Neither Philosopher nor the Old Man…

No one could escape this.

No one could escape the finality of Doomsday.

Realizing this, Luo Ling sighed softly.

“I mean… if Victoria itself is already such a ‘new world,’ yet still met the same fate, what’s the point of all your efforts?”

“No, you’re wrong, Miss White Witch,” Philosopher chuckled. “In the new world I create, there will only be Other Shore and Present.

“In the new world created by Fate’s Hour of Birth, everyone will see their future. Fate will control everything, but there will be no more Awakened Ones.

“This will prevent the Disorder and the Boundaries from appearing. Moreover, because everyone will know their future, all problems will be easily solved. As they say… the awakened find eternal happiness.

“The new world… will be a world of happiness.”

Philosopher’s eyes burned with fanaticism. His goal wasn’t just to solve the despairing future, but to become a true savior.

To create a truly ideal world.

Since creating the new world relied on the Fatebringer’s Authority and Fate’s ability, Hour of Birth, Philosopher couldn’t completely erase all traces of the other Paths, but he hadn’t intended to.

This was the truth Philosopher had hidden from the Gypsy Girl, and his reliance for becoming a Harbinger of the new world.

The Gypsy Girl, also an Other Shore Path Awakened One, had seen through this, but she hadn’t cared, seemingly already aware of Philosopher’s destined end.

Luo Ling simply looked at him sadly, finally whispering, “In that case… I will stop you.”

“Are you… afraid?” Philosopher suddenly laughed, his aged face wrinkling. “White Witch, are you afraid of losing your power when the new world arrives?”

“If your new world could take away this terrifying power I possess, and bring back the one I want to save… I would assist you in your sacrifice.”

Luo Ling looked up slightly, her expression returning to its usual indifference. “But unfortunately… it can’t. All your efforts will only result in… failure.

“Therefore, before we head towards an even more despairing future, I will try to stop you, Philosopher.”

Philosopher smiled faintly, his solidified form flickering slightly.

“I look forward to seeing… whether the White Witch of Silent Demise… can contend with the predetermined Fate of Present.”

As his voice fell, Philosopher’s figure completely vanished.

Luo Ling knew his intentions and sighed softly.

Philosopher wanted to completely destroy the current Victoria, annihilating everything from the very beginning of the Origin Point.

An Origin Point was called an Origin Point because all Boundaries originated from it. If Victoria was completely annihilated, all its Boundaries would also cease to exist.

And Philosopher intended to use the ascended Traveler to find Victoria’s most vulnerable moment and annihilate it, using this as the price to activate Fate’s Hour of Birth and usher in the new world.

Creating such a massive new world required a heavy price, and only Victoria, the Origin Point, was sufficient. This was why the Company had desperately tried to stop Philosopher.

Failure meant complete annihilation.

“I didn’t expect him to use the Burial Ground’s characteristics to complete his ascension…”

Sensing the lingering aura, Luo Ling pondered for a moment, understanding why Philosopher had returned to the Burial Ground, yet seemingly done nothing before leaving.

Everything within the Burial Ground gradually decayed, not just inspiration, but also Philosopher’s ascension ritual.

Having lost a third of his Authority to Luo Ling, Philosopher’s remaining power wasn’t enough to sustain such a powerful ritual. Continuing would only result in his destruction, lacking sufficient power for his ascension.

Philosopher had stayed in the Burial Ground until he had enough control over the ritual before resuming his path to godhood.

This meant the ascended Philosopher would be much weaker than anticipated, but it didn’t matter, as long as he could wield the complete Fate Authority.

Philosopher’s understanding of Taboo Authorities was far inferior to the Old Man’s. He could only use the complete Hour of Birth in this way, while the Old Man, if his plan succeeded, could directly use the complete Hour of Death.

Of course, Moonflower, using the information provided by Luo Ling, had anticipated this, killing the Old Man and stealing the fruits of his lifelong efforts, but that was another matter.

“So…”

Luo Ling slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was standing in the dim rain.

She had returned to the still-collapsing Victoria.

Dark clouds filled the sky, thunder rumbling, enveloping all eras of Victoria.

A pair of burning dark gold vertical pupils shone brightly in the gloom, the near-uncontrolled Devour Authority spreading throughout Victoria, a terrifying black dragon greedily eyeing the suffering land.

If Luo Ling wanted, she could Devour the entire Origin Point, turning it all into the Realm of Nothingness. She would take a terrifying step on the Doomsday Path, perhaps even becoming the first Doomsday Taboo.

Then, even Luo Ling wouldn’t know if she would still be “Luo Ling.”

This would be true Doomsday.

But this wouldn’t happen.

The burning dark gold pupils gradually dimmed.

Luo Ling quickly regained control, no longer uncontrollably Devouring the collapsing Boundary.

She would be the master of her power, not its slave.

Within the incessant rain, Luo Ling started walking, and as she moved, the Boundary collapse’s speed drastically decreased.

…No, it hadn’t slowed down.

Luo Ling, like Philosopher before, was now walking through the cracks of time.

“Just Traveler…” Luo Ling thought. “Using it a little shouldn’t be a problem.”

Luo Ling had seized a third of Philosopher’s Authority. Although most of it had been consumed by Devour, becoming nourishment for her Amethyst form and ascending her to Naraku’s third ability, a small portion remained within her fungal threads, usable for a short time, although much weaker than the original.

But this was enough for Luo Ling.

She didn’t need to search for Victoria’s most vulnerable moment across countless Boundaries like Philosopher.

She only needed to do one thing.

Catch up to Philosopher in the past.

And bring about his Hour of Death.

“Now… the hunt… begins.”