Chapter 28 Eternity and The End
“You are beloved by destiny.”
Li Wen felt a chill run through her as the Giant spoke these words.
If there was one secret Li Wen guarded most closely, it wasn’t her identity as a reincarnator, but the fact that she had used Urd’s Sting.
This was something she had to keep secret; exposure would bring about consequences far more terrible than death.
Urd’s Sting was a Divine Artifact symbolizing “past” and possessed the ability to alter it. Urd, the eldest of the Norns, used this sting to weave the web of fate. In her previous life, the Strategy Team had obtained this artifact from the three Norns and kept it as their ultimate trump card against Doomsday Twilight.
After Twilight descended, Urd’s Sting was entrusted to Li Wen. The entire Strategy Team had sacrificed their lives to prove that Twilight was not insurmountable. Li Wen, following the guide, had used Urd’s Sting to kill herself, transferring her memories to the current Li Wen.
This led to the present scene, and the sting was now rooted in the deepest part of Li Wen’s soul, granting her the Great Power to contend with destiny.
If someone were to imprison her soul and extract Urd’s Sting, not only would Li Wen truly die, but the only means to counter Doomsday Twilight would cease to exist. At that point, all the efforts of the Strategy Team would be in vain, and this world would come to an end.
“Destiny?” Li Wen quickly regained her composure. Urd’s Sting was not an artifact known to the world; even gods might not be able to perceive it through the soul.
“Indeed. You may not know it, but I can tell. The three Norns are exceptionally lenient towards you, with Urd’s presence being the most prominent,” the Giant explained. “This is very rare. Even for someone like me on the path of destiny, such occurrences are seldom seen.”
So, it was the path of destiny. That made sense.
Li Wen relaxed. At least she could confirm that the Giant had not used any mind-reading spells on her. Such spells, along with certain soul-targeting ones, were ineffective against players.
“So, you were able to let me live and cause the Fire Mage to die because you are a Transcendent on the path of destiny?”
“Yes. Because you had an extremely slim chance of survival at that moment, I was able to let you live. It was the same for that Mage; I merely advanced the timing of his death.”
Manipulating probabilities—making what could happen, happen, and what couldn’t happen, not happen—was one of the methods of the path of destiny.
“Alright, I understand,” Li Wen nodded. “You said you could help me obtain the Original Text of the End?”
“Precisely. I can tell you how to avoid the Daughters of Amber and safely enter the Temple.”
“I don’t need that.”
The entry method to the Amber Temple was already documented in the guide. If that was all, Li Wen would not have risked venturing into the outer districts of Amber City.
Upon hearing this, the Giant fell into a long silence. After a while, it finally said, “What do you need? I cannot give you much.”
“A promise will suffice,” Li Wen replied.
The promise of a Giant, a Long-lived being, was worth more than any reward.
“Agreed, but you must bring the person out first. Otherwise, I won’t do anything.”
“One more question. You can probably tell I’m still weak now. If I enter the outer districts, I’m afraid I’ll die obscurely very quickly.”
Li Wen attempted to leverage this to extract more benefits, but the Giant wouldn’t fall for it, or rather, it didn’t have much it could do to help Li Wen.
“It’s alright. I have sufficient patience and can wait until any time, even until the moment the world ends.”
It had waited for a very long time, from the distant Golden Age until now. It didn’t mind waiting a little longer; that bit of time was less than the duration of a nap to it.
“Besides that… you don’t have to stay in Amber City all the time. Take out your Transcendent Eye.”
Li Wen complied and took the item from her inventory.
A scarlet thread extended down from the tower, falling into the shattered interior of the gem.
“I’ve interfered with the operation of that Transcendent Eye. When you use it and silently recite ‘Eternal City,’ it will directly transport you to Amber City.”
[Shattered Eye of the Transcendent]
[Accessory – Gem – Rare (Purple)]
[It is said to be an item imbued with inherent Mana, but it is actually the eye of a hound used to hunt those who covet transcendence.]
[Unstable Teleportation: Consumes uncertain Mana to perform short or long-distance random spatial jumps. Cooldown: 15 days.]
[Stable Teleportation (Amber City): Consumes all of your Mana. Silently reciting ‘Eternal City’ allows direct teleportation to the inner city of Amber City. Cooldown: 30 days.]
Consuming all of one’s Mana to trigger a teleportation spell to a precise location was undoubtedly a powerful life-saving skill. The only risk was that Amber City was no peaceful place.
This was the first purple-quality equipment Li Wen possessed, and its attached spell truly lived up to its quality.
“Alright, you may leave now. You can come to me anytime if you have questions. But I offer you a piece of advice: if you don’t want to die, it’s best not to approach the Temple carelessly. Otherwise, even I cannot save you.”
“Understood. I have my own plans.”
Li Wen agreed. She indeed had no intention of going to the Temple immediately. With a stable means of teleportation, she could make more preparations to ensure she obtained the Original Text of the End.
“Before you leave, I have a question for you,” the Giant suddenly said.
“A question?” Li Wen looked puzzled. She was unlikely to have an answer to a question that even a Long-lived being couldn’t solve.
“Do you believe ‘Twilight’ is the end of eternity, or the eternity of the end?”
The question was too tricky, and Li Wen couldn’t answer it. Her understanding of Twilight and the Twilight System came entirely from the Strategy Team, and it was likely that the Strategy Team knew far less about it than this local resident of Amber City.
“You don’t need to answer me right away. After you obtain the Original Text of the End and advance to ‘Witch’—if that’s possible—you can answer my question again… Alright, you may go. Enter the Bell Tower, and it will take you back to the Mortal Realm.”
“Mortal Realm?”
Li Wen blinked. This term was how the Golden Age referred to the world itself.
“Are you suggesting I am not in the Mortal Realm right now?”
“You don’t think you’re underground, do you?” the Giant laughed loudly. “Amber City, the Eternal City, is a nation isolated from the world. The power of Twilight has sealed everything. Before that Contractor built the Spire, Amber City had no passage connected to the outside.”
