TDU Chapter 408
Chapter 408 Land of Despair
“I…” Celestial Snake’s gaze slowly grew reverent. “I am {Celestial Snake}, acting under the command of {Celestial Dragon}… I’ve been permitted to kill any who stand in the way.”
“What?!” The hoarse voice of White Tiger broke out in fury. “I waited before the great bell for those two young'uns—yet instead I am met with this monstrous farce…”
“S–So…” Celestial Snake lowered his head, speaking with caution. “If I have offended, I beg your pardon… I did not know this was your domain…”
“Did Celestial Dragon… truly say such words?” White Tiger inches closer, forcing Celestial Snake backward. “He declared you may slaughter at will? Does he dare place even Master’s decree beneath his feet…?”
At that very instant when Celestial Snake’s conviction faltered the vines binding the women withered, dried, and snapped in mere seconds. They hastily gathered together, standing at a distance, uncertain, neither able to flee nor daring to linger.
“I know nothing of this so-called {Master}…” Celestial Snake answered stiffly. “I heed only the arrangements of {Celestial Dragon}.”
Upon hearing this, White Tiger slowly lifted his head, eyes searching the void above as though seeking a presence hidden in the air.
“And what are you doing?” he asked coldly. “You can fashion three thousand six hundred things you call {Dào}… yet you defy Master’s command and kill as you please. Do these acts not stand in contradiction? Will you not descend and explain yourself to me?”
Unfortunately, the heavens remained silent; White Tiger received no answer.
Celestial Snake kept his head bowed in reverence, not daring either to speak further or to lift his eyes.
“Then speak,” White Tiger said, lowering his face until his dim, clouded gaze was level with Celestial Snake’s. “Why would {Celestial Dragon} give such an order? And why do you Celestials think yourselves free to kill outside the bounds of a {game}?”
“I… I do not know the details…” Celestial Snake muttered tensely, voice low. “But one night, {Celestial Dragon} was awakened by a tremendous bell toll. From that moment on, he could neither sleep nor eat… He commanded us to find, at all costs, the one who triggered that sound.”
“A tremendous bell…” White Tiger furrowed his brow, the wrinkles of his gaunt face deepening. “Yes… I remember… I do remember…”
“Really, senior?” Celestial Snake raised his eyes and cautiously gazed at White Tiger’s expression. “Do you know who that {Reverberatee} is? Do you know what power he wields?”
White Tiger, having opened his mouth to reply, slowly pressed his lips shut again.
Then, without warning, he raised his hand and struck Celestial Snake with a vicious slap.
{Pah!} The sound resounded like a firecracker exploding at arm’s length.
Celestial Snake’s head snapped to the side under that strike, but he quickly recovered and lowered it once more.
“What sort of thing are you supposed to be?” White Tiger sneered. “If the {Celestial Dragon} has an issue, let him come to me directly. Sending you—does he take me so lightly?”
“Y–Yes… yes, senior, you are right…” A chill flickered in Celestial Snake’s eyes, as though etching the grudge deep into his heart. “I will go inform {Celestial Dragon}…”
“Be gone.” White Tiger said. “Remember, you are one of the {Earthly Branches}. Your existence is not for senseless slaughter. I’ll be right here waiting for {Celestial Dragon}. If he wishes to come, I’ll receive him at any time.”
“Y–Yes, yes…” Celestial Snake gave a deferential bow to White Tiger. “I’ll leave right away… I won’t trouble you further…”
He turned his face aside, casting a venomous glance at the women before turning to depart.
But for those still present, they could not yet breathe easy—for there remained a White Tiger.
Where did his allegiance lie?
“Are you all not going?” White Tiger asked.
“Ah…?” Yun Yao froze for a moment. “Yes, we’ll be going as well. Thank you for your help.”
“No need to thank me.” White Tiger waved a hand. “You are {participants}. Your fates can only be to die wretchedly in this game… or to be trapped in endless cycles here. That is how it must be…”
In just a few words, cold sweat broke out on the backs of those present.
“Mister.” Zhang Chenze mustered her courage and stepped forward to speak. “May I ask, how can we {participants} ever get out of here?”
“Get out of here?” White Tiger’s eyes grew increasingly forlorn. “Perhaps only he… only Qi Xia can do it.”
“Qi Xia…?”
Zhang Chenze and Lin Qin exchanged puzzled looks; since waking this morning it seemed everyone had been searching for Qi Xia. What, exactly, had he done?
“Only by becoming {God}…” White Tiger coughed several times, then scratched at his disheveled, pale hair. “If this {paradise} creates a {God}… then everyone will be liberated…”
“What…?” Zhang Chenze found it hard to trust her ears. “Elder, if we don’t want to become a {God}… is there any way to escape?”
“Escape?” the old man asked, startled. “Where would you escape to?”
“Back to the real world!”
“Hah…” White Tiger split his lips in a hollow grin, a single tooth hanging in the void of his mouth. “Foolish children… what real world do you still have? You’re fated to be born here, and to die here.”
Lin Qin bowed her head in silence; sorrow lay heavily across her face.
“What do you mean…?” Yun Yao was stunned. “Didn’t you just say that if someone became a {God}… we would be able to be liberated?”
“Haha…” White Tiger laughed. “At last, someone begins to grasp the truth… but it’s all built upon a monstrous lie. There is no such thing as escape…”
Zhang Chenze’s lips trembled. “Then what do you mean by {liberation}…?”
“Liberation… yes, you will be {liberated}…” White Tiger nodded. “As long as someone endures all these trials and becomes a {God}, you will no longer suffer the torment of this endless cycle of rebirth… you will be able to die forever, to forget everything forever…”
“What are you saying?!” Yun Yao felt her faith begin to crumble. “What do you mean there’s no real world… what do you mean we are trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth…?”
“No… I did not say {there’s no real world}…” White Tiger shook his head, his gaze vacant. “It is only your real world that is gone. So ease your hearts… your families are all still there. The only ones erased from the world… are you. Be at ease, be at ease.”
“That… b–but…” Yun Yao wanted desperately to ask more, but the weight of his words crushed her. She stood there frozen, unable to utter another word.
“Each time he performs a {reset}, they all brim with fresh passion…” White Tiger smiled faintly. “That is precisely the {torment of rebirth} I spoke of. To carry your memories here is endless agony; better to forget it all and live what little life you can. One less day of suffering is still a day less of suffering…”
“No, that’s not right…” Zhang Chenze faltered, then turned toward White Tiger. “Mister, when you mentioned {only Qi Xia can do it}, does that mean… only he can leave this place?”
“He…?” White Tiger scratched his head; his dry hair swayed as he spoke. “He can’t leave either. The only thing he can do is liberate everyone, to bring all of this to an end.”
“You mean…” Everyone present felt a sudden thought coalesce.
“That’s right,” White Tiger nodded. “He is the closest to becoming a {God}. On the day he becomes {God}, your very existence will lose its meaning—you will be destroyed along with this place.”
At those words, a heavy, sinking feeling gripped Zhang Chenze and Yun Yao.
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
