Chapter 1039 - 17: Other Choices

Chapter 1039: Chapter 17: Other Choices

Dreams are the continuation of reality.

Reality is the end of dreams.

—"So-called miracles only have value when they actually happen."

...... 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

......

So-called disaster, in truth, is not something that suddenly strikes without warning.

It is heralded in advance by omens and alarms; the pity is, not everyone can perceive this... Just like every clichéd disaster movie, after the warm-up and foreshadowing of the signs, the colossal catastrophe begins to arrive one after another, in ways humanity knows all too well.

The four winds of heaven rise sharply, whipping across the sea...

Ocean and earth steam and boil, heaven and ground roar in furious resonance...

Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions—these extreme climates and natural disasters begin their massive Burst across the globe at an unimaginable frequency...

The only difference, the only contrast, lies in this—

In movies there is always a heroic protagonist who appears, able to save the world with immense wisdom and courage, to pull the raging torrent back from the brink, to prop up the tottering edifice...

Even if, in the process, everyone else, including all manner of official forces, is invariably cast as pig-headed teammates—not only failing to help, but flooring the accelerator on the roads of courting death, being dead weight, dragging things down—doing their utmost to burden the protagonist, forcing them onto the path of the lone hero...

Yet reality is not like that.

Because the authorities have already, at the first moment, made decisive and wise choices, straining every nerve to try to solve the problem... The many heroes have also moved into action: from the Gods to the Demon King, and on to the Transcenders within the Undying Domain, all are offering their wisdom and Power.

Those suited to plotting and planning plot and plan; those capable of taking action go forth to fight. Even if two people once hated and hunted each other as mortal enemies, at this moment they must still cooperate and strive together for self-preservation.

—And yet, it still seems so powerless.

—As if it has truly reached the hour of Destruction Calamity, when the mandate of heaven cannot be reversed.

This is an extremely cruel truth: it appears this world simply does not possess Power capable of halting all this. Whether on the side of reality or on the side of mystery, it is the same.

If only these most familiar, most common natural calamities had appeared, they would be far from enough to drive the entire world into a dead end, to the brink where the star’s human order nearly collapses completely. By relying on the Power of Divine Spirit, all this could be easily sidestepped; let alone disasters within the planet— even Alien invasions would be nothing to speak of.

After all, there really does exist an IF route where cosmic beings arrive in UFOs and are ultimately converted by Buddhism.

Yet—

This is the decree of Gods beyond the heavens; it is the convergence crisis of Parallel Worlds and multiple timelines; it is the dimensionality reduction strike brought by myth descending, Otherworld invading... Even the Divine Spirits can hardly protect themselves, because this is a catastrophe that shakes heaven and the stars, one that will annihilate the Gods along with all.

————

Indian Ocean.

Ferocious gales howl, accompanied by Thunderbolt-like booming; thousands upon thousands of miles of sea frontier heave and surge, rolling up sky-devouring waves and flood crests.

At a glance, the boundless ocean has already been dyed pitch-black... Yet it is not solely because low-hanging masses of leaden cloud press down, because mad Baofeng and rain shroud the world, dense curtains of rain veiling the light between heaven and earth—at least not entirely for that reason.

The seawater seems to have turned into thick black mud, constantly churning and rolling under the driving force of the tides. The Tide of Chaos unleashes an utterly terrifying wave of Primordial Magic Power; this is the result of the true ether cycle from Earth’s creation epoch—primordial and ancient, mysterious yet mighty, bearing incomparable contaminating force...

For this black Sea of Life, in essence, is precisely the beginning of the ecological tree’s gestation, the original soil that creates worlds.

Only...

No matter how crucial this origin once was to the emergence of Life, to the existing ecological system it has already become sheer poison.

This too is only natural... Since the ecosystem has already been established, the possibility of still creating a "next world" with a new primal sea becomes excessively dangerous—unless one wishes to mix in another foundation atop a hard-won base, sabotaging the original architectural design.

Primordial Magic Power seems to be releasing in infinite colossal volume, making the entire Indian Ocean feel like the heart of the planet.

With every beat, the atmosphere and currents raise terrifying storms; the most dreadful tempests and Thunderbolts in history are brewing upon the sea! Every tremor between ocean and sky is another breath of the storm; immeasurable hurricanes blow outward, lifting mountain-like waves and flood surges, as if the void were shattering and continents sinking!

"Hah—!!"

With a low, penetrating bellow of immense vigor, a world-cleaving radiance bursts forth!!

Far more violent than dazzling, thunderous lightning, this flash sweeps across like a colossal laser, slicing through as a red-hot blade cuts into solidified butter—effortless, swift, without resistance. Thirty thousand meters above, the black mass of leaden cloud parts and rolls away to both sides, like Moses parting the sea.

Clear moonlight streams down through the fissures behind the clouds—

Shining upon the ink-thick surface of the sea, briefly lighting up this oppressive, suffocating silent world of darkness.

Upon the sea, within the storm, Monsters swarm like locusts, writhing as they pour in, emitting shrill cries. For one instant, untold numbers are cut down; tons upon tons of blood mixed with mangled corpses do not even have time to plunge into the black mud of the sea before they are seized again by the returning Baofeng, swept up and hurled skyward!!