The Commander countered, "What do you think Heavenly Destiny is?"
"Ah?"
White Owl appeared bewildered, her eyes as clear as a college student's, filled with ignorance and confusion.
Mainly because the question was so abrupt and strange that she found herself unable to explain it in detail. However, she soon heard the Commander's answer.
"Heavenly Destiny is a result, Heavenly Destiny is a prophecy, and at the same time, Heavenly Destiny is bullshit — the biggest bullshit in the world."
The Commander raised his hand, pointing at White Owl, "If you were a child who had nothing, and someone told you that you were destined to become the Emperor who rules the world, and you should quickly get up and start a rebellion, what would you do?"
"I'd think you were a crazy old man, bad to the core!"
"And what if you were the Emperor who rules the world, and someone came to you, saying that you became the Emperor because of a prophecy I made in the past. That's Heavenly Destiny!
How would you respond then?"
White Owl's eyes widened, "Are you trying to provoke me, are the nine clans easy to come by?!"
"See, you've already grasped the essence of Heavenly Destiny."
The Commander spread his hands, grinning with a smile, "Heavenly Destiny is nothing but a mirage perceived by later generations when they look back at the results.
Perhaps through a series of coincidences, you were pushed to an unimaginably high position. Or maybe you were ambitious and full of drive from the start, never ceasing in the face of repeated failures...
After countless variables meet countless variables, the singular solution derived after observation and collapse is considered by fools to be fate, attempting to cover everything with such a grandiose proposition.
But in the end, what truly rules all is not the Superior, nor is it a destiny bestowed by the heavens.
Every starting point is rooted in yourself.
Perhaps you cannot rule the world, but the destiny of this moment lies in your own hands.
For instance—"
The Commander pointed to himself, "If you suddenly shoot and kill me here, then dissolve Nirvana, cutting off this legacy...would posterity consider it the Heavenly Destiny bestowed upon you by the Superior?"
"..."
White Owl propped her chin, calmly pondering, earnestly analyzing, seriously considering, her eyes twinkling with a tempted light, "It sounds quite appealing."
"Forget it."
The Commander raised his hands in surrender, "We're all old bones now, let's not torment each other, spare me."
"Then you mean to say, man can conquer heaven?"
"No."
The Commander shook his head decisively, without hesitation, "Most likely not, it's hard even to think about winning, most people will fail, and even those who are lucky to win once might not continue to win.
But..."
He paused, unable to suppress his smile and glee, "The feeling of going against 'predetermined fate' feels so exhilarating."
Once anyone tries it once, they can't stop.
Like ambition, like ideals, like a rebellion born from overestimating one's strength.
It's a poison more intoxicating than treasures and beauty, keeping one forever enraptured. Once consumed, there is no cure.
Even after enduring hardships and suffering greatly, it still tastes sweet.
Drip drip drip—
The crisp ringing of a phone alarm sounded.
"Oh, oh, oh—it's starting!"
The Commander became excited, not bothering with conversation, he pointed up at the sky, "Look quickly."
"What?"
White Owl looked up, following his gaze. The stars twinkled brightly, the night deep and vast, the moon's silvery light captivating all creation and the stars flowed ceaselessly, as if never stopping.
But the moment she looked up, the moonlight seemed to flicker.
Something brushed past the edge of the moon, a split-second imperfection, so minute and yet so faint.
"A moon eclipse?" White Owl did not understand, "Is it so rare?"
"Not in the least."
The Commander stared blankly at the immaculate moonlight, his smile radiant. Only after a long while did he gradually redirected his gaze, "Two hours before you returned, I received a message: The Southern Continent Observatory discovered that the previously determined partial lunar eclipse was delayed by one minute.
The cause was an error in a reference value, the specific reason appeared in the past records. It was only upon review that they discovered the unexpected deviation, which had been present over two hundred years ago, so minute that even the axis super-computer of the Empire had difficulty finding it... until now, they noticed the anomaly upon review."
He lifted up the phone screen, and the complex data made White Owl dizzy, completely incomprehensible, but what stood out most was the image in the middle.
The bright and continuous spectral observation, after repeated calculations and enlargement by a thousandfold, revealed a thin and fuzzy black line, like a gap...
"Do you know what this means?"
The Commander muttered various terms and data White Owl couldn't understand, his pupils sparkling, excited like a child.
He said, "In the past, something was changed."
"Ah?"
White Owl stood stupefied, bewildered for a long time, her expression gradually changed, unable to suppress the fear, "Wait! You mean... Mercury? No way?"
"How could it be possible?!"
She retorted decisively, "After the break of the Heavenly Origin Tower, there hasn't been..."
"But isn't there another object that can also serve as a coordinate and guide?"
The Commander interrupted her, raising his hand to press on the iron box in front of him. The silent Rusted Sword showed no reaction, too lazy to reveal even a hint of its once terrifying power...
—The edge of transformation!
The former giant had left it in the Crack Realm of Mercury, assigning it as the leader of Mo, forcefully entrusting Mercury with the final duty, guarding this Superior Device that forged her eternal suffering.