When Fang Zheng opened his eyes again, he had returned to his own soul space.
The Zerg Overlord stepped out once more, mocking him without mercy.
"You should have listened to me earlier, instead of hacking away at a bat with a sword! Efficiency! Efficiency is key! Those pointless emotions are unnecessary! You, as well as that lizard, are part of me! You should be able to understand our thoughts!"
"But we still got what we needed."
The Giant Dragon clearly did not endorse the Zerg Overlord’s statement.
"That is enough, we carry glory, not sin. That is what’s crucial!"
"Glory will not grant you greater strength."
The Zerg Overlord shot back without hesitation.
"The Swarm does not need glory, but the power of the Swarm makes the whole world tremble! No force can survive before the Swarm!"
"But the Swarm has no friends."
The Giant Dragon jeered, while the Zerg Overlord dismissed it with disdain.
"The Swarm needs neither friends nor servants, we simply need excellent resources and genes."
"Both of you shut up."
Fang Zheng snorted coldly, interrupting their quarrel. He looked at the Zerg Overlord, then narrowed his eyes.
"I have figured it out, indeed, as you said, I need strong power, and I need even more formidable power. The reason I have fallen to this point is not that I wasn’t ruthless enough, but because I wasn’t strong enough. As long as I am powerful enough to protect everything I care about, then I have the right to choose."
With that, Fang Zheng sighed lightly.
"Look at Alucard, he was so powerful, but he lost. Not at my hands, but to a nobody I hadn’t even heard of, by treachery rather than an honorable defeat. And even as Alucard faced a dead end, about to be obliterated, the crisis he faced was something so easily solvable for me... What does that tell me?"
As he spoke, Fang Zheng lifted his head to look at his two avatars.
"I once thought that I was a resolute person, but that is not the case. In the face of power, I too waver. I crave great power, but am also constrained by moral sensibilities. For instance, when asked what true power is, the standard correct answer would be ’the genuine power comes when everyone works together in unison’... But is that really so?"
Fang Zheng looked at his hands.
"That is the standard answer, but it is not my answer. I need stronger power, one that allows me to easily solve any adversity, to protect all that I love from threat. So I will not give up everything, just to pursue power at the cost of everything else. But at the same time... I will not become arrogant because I have power. I have finally understood something, no matter what, I am me."
As he clenched his fists tightly, cracks began to emerge in this dual-colored world, spreading gradually.
"I do not recognize your existence, because I don’t believe I am that arrogant to disdain other existences so readily. Nor am I callous enough to sacrifice everything for my own sake. But that’s not the truth. Indeed, I have become arrogant and even harbored certain thoughts due to my desire for power. But don’t forget... you are only part of me!"
Following Fang Zheng’s words, the chaotic space suddenly shattered. Simultaneously, the figures of the Zerg Overlord and the Giant Dragon were quickly engulfed by flames.
"You are just part of me, not all of me. What I do is my own decision! I will not be controlled by arrogance, nor will I give up out of fear!"
Fang Zheng felt his mind had never been as clear as it was now. He finally understood the source of his confusion. After being ’assassinated’, although he was resurrected with the power of the Soulstone, the attacker’s blow had breached the system’s defenses. This caused Fang Zheng to become insecure about the power he possessed. He used to believe that the system, this "cheat", would never become outdated or ineffective. In other words, no matter what trouble Fang Zheng encountered, as long as he had the system, he could solve it.
But the reality was not as it seemed, the system wasn’t omnipotent, nor was it absolutely safe.
That’s why Fang Zheng had unconsciously begun to worry and feel uneasy. This feeling had peaked after experiencing Anan and the Vampire world. Of course, this might also involve the influence of the Abyss and the spirit of this world, but ultimately—just like the nightmare Fang Zheng had seen before—if he hadn’t had such worries deep inside, that nightmare would not have appeared before him.
Thus, Fang Zheng subconsciously came up with some thoughts, which were "Maybe the choices I’m making now are wrong," "Perhaps I should change something."
It was for this reason that he had allowed the Zerg and the Giant Dragon to diverge, leaving them to fight it out in his mind.
But now, Fang Zheng had finally figured it out.
None of that really mattered. With or without the system, there were things he could and couldn’t do. What he could do was make sure that he had as many options as possible, so as not to be cornered with no way out.
"I am me, that’s my final answer," he declared.
Fang Zheng lifted his head, looking at the Soul World that was slowly shattering.
"So, I won’t choose any of you, because you are all just a part of me! Not the whole!"
At that moment, the chaotic Soul World completely shattered. The once black-and-white world reformed its boundaries, with the black sky and white earth reappearing, redefining the existence of directions. The Firelink Altar reappeared by Fang Zheng’s side, and he reached out his hand, waving it gently.
Soon, the system interface reappeared before Fang Zheng’s eyes, with the repair progress increased to [58%].
"If I were someone with OCD, Alucard would have been dead long ago."
Looking at the progress bar, Fang Zheng shook his head. The Soul Power that Alucard possessed was very formidable, and indeed it had provided Fang Zheng with a lot of firewood. However, due to the uneven caliber of the powers absorbed by Alucard, the system’s repair ultimately fell short of reaching [60%].
Well... Fang Zheng was glad he had promised to spare the old bat’s life, otherwise, he really feared he would not have resisted burning the old bat’s main body to see if he could raise the remaining 2%.
But for Fang Zheng, whether it was [58%] or [60%] did not matter, because once he had surpassed [50%], he had received a system prompt.
[System repairs over half complete, ready to reboot, do you wish to restart?]
Looking at the prompt before him, Fang Zheng took a deep breath, then reached out his hand and pressed [Yes].
Soon, the system interface vanished from Fang Zheng’s sight. The previously grey, sealed interfaces and the system’s own prompt bars had disappeared. For a moment, there was nothing in front of Fang Zheng. But soon, Fang Zheng noticed a change.
At the Firelink Altar, the Soulfire at the center of the main altar was burning more and more fervently. At the same time, the remaining "shadows" of the Chaos Flames also began to flicker. The ground started to tremble, and Fang Zheng saw the black substances that were smearing the walls rapidly dwindling, vanishing. They seemed to be driven away, reconvening in a corner of the Firelink Altar.
Then, Radiance flashed by.
The next moment, the Dimensional Codex system interface reappeared before Fang Zheng.
The system interface hadn’t changed much from before, although most functions were still sealed. Currently, Fang Zheng could only use the [Time Travel] feature, and besides that, his item slot had finally been unsealed... offering him some relief.
What surprised Fang Zheng was that after the reboot, the system had gained two new functions.