Sweeping over him was an infinite glow.
It felt as if he had suddenly arrived upon a fractured bridge, standing before an abyss.
The past and the future, arrayed on either side of the present, plunged into the same darkness.
As blinding spiritual light surged from his scepter, Ji Jue's consciousness was engulfed by a flood of phenomena.
Like falling, towards the true essence of all things. Like rising, towards the heart of heaven and earth.
His soul and senses spread from his body, enveloping everything, covering all, transforming the entire Crack Realm into his own form.
When the Prophet unlocked the final seal, the Mechanical Descent that had persisted to this day finally succeeded in its entirety, cloaking the workshop above and making Ji Jue the true master of it all.
The true ruler of the Crack Realm.
Yet he felt no joy or pleasure, hearing only endless wails and screams.
From the past, from the present.
From the mirrored ruins and the shadow of Heavenly Origin Tower's broken silhouette, he watched mournful, bleeding figures walk toward the abyss time and again. When he turned back, he saw countless creatures struggling in vain through the cycle of life and death on Earth.
The same pain and despair lay on either side of him, like the pans of a scale intertwined at the same point, endlessly cycling through hell, without cessation.
He needed to make a choice.
But why make a choice?
Why seek a side with greater value amid this pain?
He wanted to question the Prophet, what right did he have to pity others? Could his own essence, those selfish parts hidden away, really be nobler than mercury?
Why believe that he wouldn't create hell?
But hell was right before his eyes.
A blood-red ocean surged with infinite bitterness and resentment, swallowing him whole.
His soul fell or perhaps rose from the void, into darkness. There, in the darkness, he heard once more the rhythmic pounding of a train on the tracks, as if it would never cease.
So familiar.
Ji Jue stood before the familiar carriage door, hearing laughter inside.
He froze in place.
As if someone was chatting and laughing.
Leaving behind the past and the mother with her child, they embarked once more on a journey back to their homeland, hoping to start anew by the seashore under the sun.
During the monotonous trip, she told the child ancient fairy tales.
Princes and princesses, dragons and thieves, witches and fairies, kings and knights...
Such a wondrous world sparked a light in the child's desolate eyes, and even the empty wilderness outside the window began to shine, bathed in the brilliant sunset, the world tender and warm.
As beautiful as a dream.
One he didn't have the heart to break.
Ji Jue listened silently to the waves rising from that distant memory, for a long, long time, until there was no more sound behind the door.
Above the carriage door, dust flaked away, the silence faded, cracked, and collapsed.
Behind the door, in the twisted wreckage of the carriage, flames that never died rose and spread from the debris, leaving nothing but billowing smoke. It seemed he could see that familiar silhouette, but her singing voice was so distant.
As if separated by Heaven and Earth.
No matter how hard Ji Jue ran, he could not reach it.
He ran again and again, and with each failure, despite overestimating himself,
He wore himself ragged, lost in the ruins of fire and smoke, yet still roamed persistently, refusing to leave.
Letting the inextinguishable flame ignite both his body and soul, the ocean of agony and despair completely devoured everything. From the overwhelming blaze and rain of fire, he fell into the endless darkness, into an even deeper abyss.
But he still gazed obstinately towards the source of the singing.
Unwilling to give up.
Until a tender little hand grasped his wrist.
"I've caught you."
A soft, cheerful voice sounded.
The darkness and descent abruptly ceased, and a gentle breeze blew across the town square, with the sound of the distant bell echoing unceasingly.
Ji Jue looked around in bewilderment.
He seemed to have awoken from a nightmare, yet he so deeply yearned to return to that tormenting dream.
Even if just to be a bit closer, just to see her eyes once more, just to tell her... I miss you, whatever the cost!
Even if it meant creating hell...
But hell was near at hand.
It was born from repeated regrets and memories, and its name was 'Inaccessible'.
"You look so sad, big brother."
On the square's steps, the lonely girl waiting by herself turned and looked at him, extending her hand, generously offering the bouquet in her hand: "Here, I'll share it with you."
The fresh white flowers still had dew on them, which fell onto Ji Jue's hand.
So gentle.
She stood amidst everything on the brink of destruction, like a phantom forgotten by time, watching the reconstruction and ruin continue in countless cycles of rebirth.
Looking at Ji Jue before her.
She reached out her hand and gently wiped the dust from his face, sincere and careful.
"So you're still here," Ji Jue murmured softly.
"Of course."
The girl nodded as if it were the most natural thing: "Otherwise, this place would be so empty and lonely."
Those past illusions sparkled out of time, gathered around her, dissipated, and reappeared, as if never-ending.
She lingered in those broken times, persistently roaming, yet unwilling to leave.