Life Game In Other World
Chapter 525: The End of the Miracle (Extra Long - , Seeking Monthly Pass)

Chapter 525: Chapter 525: The End of the Miracle (Extra Long Chapter, Seeking Monthly Pass)

The distortion and corruption flooded into Ruonati’s mind in an instant.

For the first time, his mind experienced cognitive dissonance.

He instinctively brought his hand to his forehead, "Am I a Martial Artist? What the hell is a Martial Artist? Damn it, I am a Transcendent, I’m not a Transcendent, who am I?"

He grabbed the bracelet and stumbled back several steps, the inertia of his body allowing him to pull the bracelet from He Ao’s hand.

"Who am I? What is this thing?"

Then he glanced at the bracelet in his hand, and as if he had touched burning coal, he threw the bracelet back in front of He Ao.

He held his head, crouched down, his fingers digging into his soft, curly hair, as a violent scraping sound emanated, the sound of nails against his scalp.

"What on earth is this thing?"

Raising his head, dark blood threads swiftly spread in his eyes as he stared at He Ao, his voice carrying a repressed tremble.

He Ao did not speak, but picked up the bracelet that had fallen in front of him again, put it on his wrist, and struggled to stand up, calmly watching everything unfold.

"You deceived me! You changed my thoughts!"

Once his attention shifted back to He Ao, Ruonati seemed to regain some of his sanity. He turned into a Black Shadow, appearing instantly in front of He Ao, then clasped He Ao’s throat, lifting his barely standing body into the air,

"Bastard, I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!"

The tremendous force was pressing down on He Ao’s windpipe, nearly twisting his neck apart.

Yet there was no change in He Ao’s expression, his blood-stained cheeks calmly facing Ruonati as he asked in Rodanese from a position of superiority, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?"

Ruonati’s action stopped, and he let go of He Ao’s throat, stepping back in confusion. He looked at his hands, "Am I Ruonati? No, am I Ronnie?"

"Who am I?"

His body hit a display stand, shattering the sturdy concrete display with the impact.

Faint black power slowly emanated from the wound in his chest caused by He Ao, trailing behind him as he retreated, forming a sort of twisted invisible limb.

"Cough--"

He Ao coughed once and leaned back against the wall, watching Ruonati’s movements.

Ruonati was already in an unstable mental state. Aside from the most severe opposition between his original identity, Ruonati, and the current one, Ronnie, used for the Ceremony, his mind was also crammed with various other cognitive elements.

He took someone else’s possessions using another’s identity, and also inherited some of the cognitive aspects of the people whose things were taken.

These cognition were not strong and were weakened by Ruonati through certain methods, but under the most severe cognitive dissonance, they were still like meticulously arranged explosives hidden deep within Ruonati’s psyche.

In fact, Ruonati’s entire mental state was like a powder keg, filled with various dangerous elements, maintaining sanity in a precarious balance.

And the cognitive contamination inherent to ’The Fake Master Bracelet’ became the fuse that ignited this powder keg.

’The Fake Master Bracelet’ would cause people to have distorted cognition about their current identity and power system, making Martial Artists believe they were Talent Sequence Transcendents, and Talent Sequence Transcendents believe they were Martial Artists.

Although this cognitive contamination was different from Ruonati’s own cognitive conflict, this change in self-cognition caused Ruonati to doubt himself.

And with the emergence of doubt, his originally solid self-cognition developed cracks, and the delicately balanced scales began to tilt.

Of course, relying on his own vigilance, Ruonati would not have been so careless as to touch He Ao’s bracelet. Therefore, at the critical moment of making decisions, He Ao used ’Ease Thought’ to modify Ruonati’s choices.

From beginning to end, this was all a trap set by He Ao.

After brief contact, He Ao had realized that Ruonati was cautious and cunning, with frequent schemes.

Killing the other with external forces in a short time was impossible; even if Ruonati could be seriously injured, he likely had life-saving tricks that would allow him to escape from the battlefield.

This time, He Ao caught him off guard; next time, after he became wary, finding such an opportunity would be difficult.

Moreover, with He Ao currently carrying the heavy negative state of Evil God contamination, Ruonati might have a chance to turn the tables and kill him.

So He Ao chose to use retreat as advancement, luring Ruonati to touch ’The Fake Master Bracelet’ and set off the explosives within him.

All the Transcendents in this world are dancing on the edge of the Abyss; it’s just that some are closer to it than others.

And Ruonati was a prime example, with one foot nearly stepping into the void above the Abyss.

At this moment, He Ao also realized a problem that had previously been in his blind spot.

The Transcendents of the main world, due to their lack of recognition of madness, might actually be in a worse rational state than those in the Copy World.

However, the influence of the Evil God in the Copy World was also uncertain.

"Who am I?"

By now, Ruonati had retreated to a wall, covering his face with his hands as pitch-black blood continuously flowed out between his fingers.

He hunched over, and clumps of pitch-black radiance continuously tore through his back, as faces that looked both human and inhuman slowly emerged within this black radiance.

This radiance spread to the walls, the ground, and even into the hole He Ao had just dug, twisting everything it touched into grotesque shapes.

"Do you know who I am?"

The black radiance was about to reach He Ao’s feet when Ruonati raised his head, releasing his hands from his cheeks. Pitch-black blood smeared his face, with the left side retaining some resemblance to his former features, while the right side had twisted into a completely different appearance—that of the last King, Ruonati himself.

He Ao clenched the bone sword in his hand as powerful strength once again surged into his body through the bracelet.

As Ruonati gradually lost his sanity, the force tugging at the bracelet also slackened.

He Ao had never let Ruonati fully control the bracelet; just when Ruonati’s perception faltered and his control wavered, He Ao explosively unleashed his Soul Power and barely wrested back control of the bracelet.

"Are you me?"

The pitch-black radiance spread to He Ao’s feet, and Ruonati instantly turned into a phantom shadow, reaching He Ao’s front once again.

At the same time, accompanied by Ruonati’s question, He Ao felt a strange corruption pour into his mind. This corrupting force no longer tried to replace He Ao as the master of something; it was attempting to directly twist He Ao’s cognition and merge him with itself.

It was trying to assimilate He Ao.

Falling into madness did not mean the loss of Ruonati’s strength—in some ways, his power had grown even stronger.

It was predictable that if left unchecked, Ruonati would continually try to assimilate those around him, turning the entire city into a part of himself.

"Sorry, I am not."

The pure white bone sword plunged into Ruonati’s pitch-black husk in an instant.

At this moment, the black radiance had spread to He Ao’s feet, and an even more twisted corruption clung to He Ao’s soul.

Regrettably for it, there was another, greater being wreaking havoc within He Ao’s soul. As the corruption invaded He Ao’s body, it was suppressed by the Mysterious Shadow’s power.

And because of this intrusion, the corruption from the Mysterious Shadow was disrupted, thereby indirectly easing the pressure He Ao was currently facing.

"You... who... are you?"

As his own corruption was suppressed, some sanity seemed to return in Ruonati’s blackened eyes. He stared blankly at He Ao, his gaze filled with confusion.

Then, without hesitation, he raised his hand and black radiance coalesced into a spike on his hand, violently thrusting towards He Ao’s heart.

He Ao let go of the sword hilt and immediately rolled aside, dodging the attack, then raised his hand.

Retrieve objects from the air.

The bone sword appeared once again in his hand.

He activated his Divine Sense, scanning the surroundings. The formerly abandoned displays were now enveloped by black radiance, resembling withered, dark stumps under the pure light, with flesh-like writhing frequently occurring beneath.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the room had twisted into a hell with no people under the erosion of the frenzied Ruonati’s power.

Under the scope of Divine Sense, several constantly shifting energy cores appeared before He Ao’s eyes.

Dealing with monsters is sometimes simpler than dealing with people.

While He Ao surveyed his surroundings, Ruonati’s twisted figure reappeared before him, distorted brilliance taking shape around He Ao, forming pitch-black spikes that stabbed at him from all directions, sealing his movements.

He Ao forcibly rolled, crashing through the shadowy figure of Ruonati blocking his path, then without looking back, he forcefully stepped on a nearby display, leveraging it to rush towards the ceiling.

Thud—

Accompanied by a sound akin to a sharp sword piercing flesh, He Ao’s bone sword stabbed into the dead center of the ceiling.

The covering of pitch-black brilliance nearby suddenly shattered and dimmed down.

The first one.

He Ao fell from the air, the bone sword swinging past his right shoulder as he leaned forward, blocking another coming spear of light from Ruonati’s body, then, spinning backwards, he swung the bone sword in a full circle, abruptly severing Ruonati’s body as well as a display stand behind him bathed in a black glow.

The light surrounding the display stand suddenly broke apart, turning dim.

The second one.

Ruonati’s severed body once again fused back together.

······

As the fight progressed, the brilliances filling the exhibition hall dimmed one after another until only one-tenth remained. Those thick black brilliances once again converged into Ruonati’s body, consolidating together.

That originally twisted and terrifying power once again converged, as if returning to mundanity. Ruonati slowly picked up the short sword he had dropped a while ago, lifting it, the pitch-black brilliance adhering to the blade and then rapidly condensing, painting the entire short sword the color of a shadow.

Then he lifted his head, his pitch-black eyes staring at He Ao.

The threat of death allowed the lingering sanity of this monster, already fallen into madness, to take control.

He didn’t launch an attack directly, instead slightly opening his mouth. A hoarse voice, like a frayed drum, emanated from him,

"You’re smart and strong, kiddo, but this ends here."

His vocal cords had been damaged in the recent battle, preventing him from making a normal sound.

The next second, he abruptly lifted the short sword, slashing toward He Ao’s face like a flash of light.

Clang—

He Ao caught the blade with his bone sword, grasping the hilt with both hands and pressing down with force, driving the short sword downward, then the blade of the bone sword cut straight towards Ruonati’s body along the blade of the short sword.

Ruonati leaned back, dodging the slice from He Ao, and at that moment, a pitch-black phantom suddenly solidified behind He Ao, holding another short sword and stabbing toward He Ao’s chest from behind.

This was the moment when He Ao’s initial momentum had ceased but his follow-up strength had yet to rise, he could only use the inertia of the bone sword, already swung, to spin his body and dodge the lethal strike.

Still, the pitch-black short sword pierced through his right rib, with purple-gray brilliance blood flowing out.

At this moment, He Ao had already spun around, severing the phantom behind him with a sword strike and rolling backwards in continuation.

Ruonati gave him no time to rest, as new flashes of the sword followed one after another.

And at this time, perhaps due to his injuries, He Ao couldn’t respond in time, unable to lift the bone sword smoothly, he could only extend his arm to block Ruonati’s blade.

At this moment, a sinister smile appeared on Ruonati’s twisted face, knowing an arm can’t stop this blade; he was about to slice off He Ao’s arm, then behead him, and finally incorporate him as a part of himself.

Clang—

Just as the black blade was about to sever He Ao’s arm, a pitch-dark short sword appeared in He Ao’s hand, intercepting Ruonati’s sword.

Retrieve objects from the air.

He Ao directly ’absorbed’ the short sword lodged in his body.

The thick black brilliance tried to invade He Ao’s body along the blade which was strengthened by the black glow. After the black radiance faded, the short sword itself couldn’t withstand Ruonati’s one that was covered in black radiance.

In an instant, a crack appeared on the blade, then rapidly split open.

But this short sword still bought He Ao a fraction of time, and that was enough.

His entire body’s strength had been gathered in his arms.

Ruonati, in mid-attack, seemed to realize something and violently pulled back to retreat, but it was already too late.

The bone sword, covered in Divine Sense and pure white, had already penetrated his body, piercing his heart and his final energy core.

Black blood dripped drop by drop along the pure white blade.

In the midst of Ruonati’s twisted surprise, He Ao slowly pulled out the bone sword and staggered back a step.

Ruonati’s body trembled, and he eventually fell backward to the ground.

He stretched out his hand laboriously, reaching towards the sky, and his mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out.

He seemed to be filled with reluctance, but madness had made him forget what exactly he was reluctant about.

In the end, his arm fell limply, succumbing to eternal silence.

He Ao, supporting himself on a bone sword, watched this man who might once have been powerful and influential.

Even in his last moments of lucidity, relying on that remaining sanity, Ruonati unleashed terrifying combat power.

Looking at it now, it appeared that Ruonati had probably been holding back in the initial fight.

The immense strength granted by the bracelet rapidly faded, and He Ao staggered, almost collapsing to the ground, but he propped himself up with his bone sword, just managing to maintain his balance.

The spot he stood on was where Ruonati had first been, by the wall with a window, except now the window and wall were nowhere to be found, replaced by indescribable, flesh-like twisted stones.

He Ao lifted his head, looking up at the sky.

The Descending Ceremony of Mysterious Shadow’s clone was drawing to an end, and the contamination that continuously assaulted He Ao’s soul was also gradually fading.

He Ao’s clone, leaning on the tip of the spire, also lifted his head to look at the sky; his Shadowless Sword was now covered in twisted shadows.

He had prevailed.

Mysterious Shadow ultimately failed to assimilate him.

As he channeled the last bit of great power into his Shadowless Sword, the energy of the Descending Ceremony was finally exhausted.

The giant shadow in the sky flickered, its gaze seeming to penetrate endless time and space, falling upon He Ao’s clone, but the vastness of time and space blocked it, keeping it from fulfillment.

The Divine Being raised its palm, and the entire gray sky began to twist and deform, parts of the shattered Ritual Array on the ground started to glow with a dim green light.

It was attempting to continue projecting power into the main world.

The next second, a roaring steam whistle sounded abruptly as the Velora surged out from below, completely shattering the remnants of the Array.

The shadow in the sky flickered violently, the entire sky vibrating and ripples spreading out as if a massive curtain was about to be torn apart.

In the end, the curtain-like fragile space-time stabilized.

After losing its spatial coordinates, the huge shadow in the sky gradually blurred, and the gray fog that covered the entire sky also started to dissipate bit by bit.

The light of the stars once again spread across the land.

One light after another came on in the night, and people, as if awakening from a profound dream, walked out of their houses and looked out the window at the stars that hung like jewels in the night sky.

The Velora stopped behind He Ao’s clone, who took one last look at the ruins of the tall building, stepped onto the staircase in front of the train’s door, and held on to the door.

The old train entered the void.

Not far away, He Ao’s original body standing in front of the Royal Palace Museum shifted his gaze from the stars in the sky and pulled out a Mithril Test Tube from his chest.

[Talent Sequences 72: Secret Mage]

······

[Ascension Ritual: Complete an unnoticed ’miracle,’ observed by thousands.]

Is it a miracle for a mortal to contend with a Divine Being?

He Ao looked at the gray liquid in the test tube, bit the cork with his mouth, and pulled the stopper out.

Then he held the cork in his palm, tilted his head back, and downed the liquid from the test tube in one gulp.

With the potent force bursting within his body, he sheathed his bone sword, picked up the intact shortsword and black hood from the ground, and walked step by step into the deep night.

The cold night wind swept through the rubble on the ground.

The dark night cloaked the mottled ruins and the corpses of the deceased.

Apart from He Ao, all those who knew about this incident remained forever amidst these ruins.