Chapter 2

TL'd by pleasepickthisup on ScribbleHub.

September 12, 2017, “doomsday”, Yuan Rong couldn’t clearly remember what had happened on that day.

Day after day, Yuan Rong would oversleep, order takeout, and then stare at the computer screen in a daze with nothing to do.

He didn’t fit society's image of what a socially withdrawn person should look like. He should have had dark and serene eyes, slightly thick eyelashes, and a gloomy atmosphere surrounding him. However, he was more like an immortal being who had just walked out of the Yangtze River. With his good looks, society readily welcomed him with open arms.

However, he had always felt that even if he died in the next second, he would have nothing to regret. He had never found anything worth staying alive for.

His phone suddenly rang, it was the number for takeout. The phone incessantly rang again, but he didn’t pay it any attention. The moment he opened the door, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. The heat and blood in his body seemed to surge outwards, and the world turned black.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself in the “Main Plane” – this was a name given to it by its inhabitants – which was the control center for the thousands of collapsed worlds.

After doomsday, the only people who could appear in the “Main Plane” were those that had godheads. To be more precise, they had fragments of a godhead. This group of lucky people could complete their godheads by saving collapsed worlds.

Of course, those who were unfortunate enough to die in collapsed worlds would lose their godhead fragments; these fragments would then be “transferred” to other people, waiting for the day that they would be fully repaired.

After successfully saving a collapsed world, the savior would be rewarded with “the power of the world”, a godhead fragment, and finally – the method to becoming a god.

It sounded very beautiful.

However, there were only a few wanderers on the main plane. Despairing and dissipating in a collapsed world, despairing and ending one's life, these were the fates of every nine out of ten wanderers.

Yuan Rong felt like a fish out of the water. When he was alive, he had only felt that life was boring. Ironically, he had attained a goal after dying.

He wanted to become immortal, become a god, and...go back...back to the time when he had his parents.

Yuan Rong had the ability to manipulate water.

At the beginning, he could only manipulate water when he had contact with it. Gradually, he was able to draw water from the air, produce water, and even control molecules that contained weak amounts of water.

He was currently at the level where he could manipulate liquidsthat contained water.

One world after the other, he had gone through nine different worlds and the control he had over his abilities had reached an outstanding level.

The inhabitants of the main plane would respectfully call him “Luo Shen” whenever they met him.

Yuan Rong relaxed into the warm bath water and let out a long sigh of relief.

Perhaps he had been influenced by his godhead, but he felt as if water gave him a sense of security.

The excited water molecules happily surrounded him and he could feel a mysterious “rule” protecting him. This feeling soothed him.

Tomorrow he would be entering his next, and last, world. If he was successful then he could finally complete his godhead. He had to become stronger, that was the only way to overcome his fears. Strength was the eternal truth.

━━━━━

He woke up on a cold, hard floor; his nerves adapted to the harsh environment, instantly clearing his foggy mind.

Before him was a mass of black. Yuan Rong waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before looking around. He seemed to be lying on the ground of a badminton court located at the center of a gymnasium.

Asides from the complete silence, there seemed to be nothing particularly strange.

Yuan Rong got up and released his ability out of habit. He found that there were scarcely any water molecules in the air.

He quietly walked towards the gymnasium’s grandstands. The seats were covered in dust, and he quickly produced some water to clear it away.

Something felt wrong.

After a few perfunctory glances, Yuan Rong discovered the anomaly, it was too dark. Even if it was past closing time, emergency lights and green exit signs should still be lit up. It shouldn't have been pitch black.

He could only come to the conclusion that the stadium had been abandoned a long time ago.

Based on the experiences he had in his previous worlds, the locations he first appeared in would be the origin, or start, of a world’s collapse. Thus, if another wanderer had been sent to his current world, they would’ve appeared nearby.

However, it seemed as if he was the only person in the gymnasium.

He continued fumbling forward in the darkness, his Marten boots stepped on the slightly weathered stairs of the grandstand. The sounds of his footsteps receded into the darkness.

The grandstands were very tall and wound around in the shape of a ring. Every floor had two emergency staircases on opposing sides, and he roughly estimated that they could each hold 5,000 spectators. The vast, empty sky was completely dark, giving off an eerie feeling.

As he stood on the top floor and looked down, he noticed that there were four badminton courts in the center of the gymnasium; each court had a net running down its middle. Yuan Rong had woken up on the left side of the courts.

Besides that, he had no other clues.

Yuan Rong walked along the top floor again, he finally found a clue: all the windows were covered; steel plates were nailed down over every window – this should also be the reason for the scarcity of water molecules.

Yang Rong had originally assumed that it was nighttime, however, it seemed as if the darkness was artificially made.

He decided to find an exit first and check for changes to the outside world. He wanted to understand more of the world’s backstory before he returned to explore.

Yuan Rong walked down the emergency stairs to the first floor’s badminton courts. He was on the opposite side of where he had originally woken up.

He stood on the ground and looked forward. The thin white net, which spanned the entire court, covered his field of vision like a veil of water vapor. Under the oppressive darkness, everything seemed to distort and blur together.

It seemed as if Yuan Rong had worried over nothing. Forget about meeting any danger along the way, he hadn’t even heard a single sound. It was as if he was the only living creature in the huge gymnasium.

However, the longer he stayed there, the more nervous Yuan Rong became – if the gymnasium had been abandoned a long time ago, then various insects should have settled down in it. However, he had yet to see a single spiderweb or fly.

What time was it? He had no way of finding out.

Depressing and empty, this world gave off a feeling that was different from the despair that other worlds radiated. He couldn’t tell where, or what, the danger was. He couldn’t even tell what time it was. It was as if he had stepped into a dead city where time had frozen.

This discovery didn’t scare Yuan Rong, but it did make him quicken his pace.

There were two iron emergency exit doors. Both were locked.

One was locked from the inside. A thick iron chain, the size of an arm, was tightly wound around its handle. The other door was locked from the outside, as if it was the handiwork of someone who had hurriedly locked it during an emergency evacuation.

Yuan Rong condensed a blade of ice and broke the iron lock. He pushed open the dusty door.

There was a long corridor that stretched to both his left and right side. In the pitch darkness, he could see the symmetrical design of the corridors. Both ends led to a small room.

Yuan Rong was used to walking to his left. He used his blade to carve his divine symbol into the wall; this symbol could not be imitated or copied.

Someone had once reminded him that this symbol would expose his identity and possibly lead to a dispute. He hadn’t taken the warning to heart – in order to condense a divine symbol, you had to be as strong as a pseudo-god, or even stronger. This meant that you’d have to master the “rules” and weren’t just a pond fish. Divine symbols were the pattern of your godhead, they were an embodiment of your godliness, and were unique to every person.

In the main plane, there were less than a thousand people who could condense a divine symbol, none of these people were easy to provoke. The name “Luo Shen” might not have a thunderous reputation, but it was still enough to deter most people. As the master of one of the four main elements, he was favored by the rules.

In fact, the symbol also served as a warning.

It was true that his previous searches had failed to produce any results. However, it was impossible for a pseudo-god to completely hide their presence.

Yuan Rong believed in his intuition. This was the reason why he had painstakingly carved out a divine symbol instead of leaving a regular mark. He was warning the other person, I’ve already discovered your presence.

He wanted the other person to make an appearance – this would let Yuan Rong determine how hostile they were. After all, a known enemy is better than a hidden enemy.

He walked down the corridor and eventually circled back to the location of his divine symbol, this proved that the stadium was indeed shaped in a circular structure.

There were four storage rooms on both sides of the corridor. The doors were locked so he could only infer this from peeking through the window panes. There was also a large men’s restroom located at the starting point of his path. What puzzled him was that if he circled all the way to the other side, he would find the women’s restroom. Weren’t men’s and women’s restrooms usually next to each other?

Did this world have an imbalanced ratio of men and women?

Yuan Rong didn’t notice that the moment he turned around, his divine symbol suddenly flickered. A fog of darkness corroded against the silver and blue light, and the only source of light in the darkness disappeared.

He wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, but it seemed as if his surroundings had grown darker.

His eyes had already grown accustomed to the dark. Previously, he could still see outlines of objects, but now, it seemed as if he was looking through a dark, inky screen. It was hard to see the path ahead of him.

He felt a little uneasy. The only sound he heard was that of his Marten boots rhythmically stepping on the ground. He’d heard of snow blindness, but never “black blindness”.

His vision grew worse. The further he walked, the darker his surroundings became.

Yuan Rong held onto the wall as he fumbled forwards. The rough wall was cold to the touch, the warmth of his hands was quickly frozen, and he had to blow hot air on his fingers in an attempt to warm them up.

It wasn’t an illusion. Not only had the darkness increased, but so had the chill.

He still didn’t know what time it was.

There was no sound, no light, no feelings. It was as if he existed in a frozen time and space.

He stopped to take a deep breath as he tried to break himself away from the depressing atmosphere. He suddenly heard footsteps.

Footsteps? But he was sure that there were no living creatures here!

Damn it! He bit his lip and held his breath. He had been too hasty.

When he first woke up in the modern gymnasium, he’d thought that he was in a normal world. He had ignored the possibility of spiritual beings existing in this world. He drew on his ability, wrapping himself tightly in water vapor; he was ready. It was too dark to see anything, he could only sense the slow and steady progress of the footsteps.

Suddenly, the darkness disappeared, a man, around 1.9 meterstall, was steadily advancing towards him.

It looked like he was carrying something. He seemed to have discovered Yuan Rong’s presence, but he leisurely walked forward, as if there was nothing weighing on his mind.

Yuan Rong’s mind cleared the moment he saw the approaching man.

The next second, the water vapor turned into a four-clawed dragon which roared loudly. The mighty dragon surrounded Yuan Rong as a warning to the approaching man.

The man stopped walking.

He stayed still as he faced Yuan Rong’s fierce dragon.

Before Yuan Rong could make any inquiries, an overwhelming force struck him.

Despair, pain, and depression.

The destructive force ruthlessly attacked the water element. The water dragon painfully twisted and struggled in the air as the darkness encroached upon it.

Under the overwhelming power, the majestic water dragon seemed to be nothing but child’s play. Yuan Rong didn’t even have time to call on his ability before he was ruthlessly crushed to the ground by the hungry force.

His heart sank, the force that attacked him was a combination of destruction and chaos...

The force hungrily devoured everything, leaving behind the feeling of death and ruin. This was probably why he hadn’t been able to see through the other’s strength. Destruction and chaos – both belonged to the rules of death!

He carefully thought over it. This kind of ability was very rare, and, out of the few people who had it, there was only one pseudo-god..the god of death, Auderentè.

No one dared to casually mention his name, everyone respectfully called him: the Reaper.

Auderentè never relied on others for help. He and Yuan Rong had both gone through the same journey of rising from obscurity to fame. However, unlike Yuan Rong’s gentle and steady godhead, Auderentè was like his godhead, able to ferociously destroy and wreak havoc.

There were even rumors that in one collapsed world, he hadn’t even hesitated to kill an unfortunate wanderer in order to monopolize the power of that world.

Yuan Rong resisted the despair that was bursting from his heart. Physiological tears were streaming down his face. He used the last of his strength to lean against the wall. He directed a cold chuckle at the approaching man.

“It’s an honor to finally meet you, god of death.”

What a pity. Yuan Rong couldn’t figure out what would make the god of death follow him here. He had thought that he had hidden his sense of existence very well, but now, he was going to die. He could feel it.

The majestic water element wailed painfully as it struggled in the air, but it could not resist the ruthless darkness. However, it still continued to stubbornly resist.

This was Auderentè’s first time meeting the “Luo Shen” that others spoke of.

This young, fast rising dark-horse from the main plane, who mastered one of the four main elements, and was someone who had become a “pseudo-god” after one world, was now crushed under the might of his darkness. A single thought would kill him.

He looked very fragile, very gentle, and very beautiful.

The delicate and pale, not yet mature face, was currently resisting the invasion of the terrible force. His uncontrollable tears and his red eyes made him look like a small deer on its last breaths.

His pitch-black eyes were slightly opened, there seemed to be some light still left in them. He stared at his tormentor, eyes full of complex emotions.

Those eyes evoked a strange emotion in Auderentè’s heart.

His chest felt tight, it was...unbearable.

He was surprised by the strange emotions. Ever since...since then, he had never felt any emotions like this. After mastering his powers, he had become despair, he was destruction itself, the source of all chaos.

Auderentè took back the unruly power that was hungrily searching for food.

He didn’t know why, but he knew that if this young man died, he would be...would be miserable.

The torment ceased.

Yuan Rong felt the refreshing feeling of air entering his lungs, he panted, heavily breathing in and out.

The feeling of despair also disappeared. Yuan Rong’s mind was a jumbled mess, all he could do was lean against the wall and feebly gasp for breaths of air.

Was that...the feeling of death?

Yuan Rong felt like laughing.

He was still too naive. He had underestimated the enemy. More importantly, he was still too weak. He couldn’t even resist a single blow. The man had yet to make a move and he had already offered himself up to be harvested.

“Are you okay?”

I’m doing great. Yuan Rong almost laughed out loud. Did this man like asking after the wellbeing of his victims before he killed them?

The man noticed the mockery in his eyes and frowned.

He leaned in and persistently asked, “Are you okay?”

Yuan Rong calmed down, his breaths became more stable, and he slowly opened his captivatingly beautiful eyes. His eyes held many secrets and were a crow black. His long curly eyelashes fluttered through the darkness like butterfly wings. “I don’t...feel that great.”

Yuan Rong was slightly surprised by the man's ready apology.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t notice that there was another testee here, so I let out my power to explore the environment. I didn’t mean for it to automatically attack you.”

Yuan Rong finally took in the man’s appearance.

He had slanted sword eyebrows, deep and steady black eyes, and a domineeringly tall nose bridge. He looked exactly like one of those popular “puppy boyfriends”.

...what was he even thinking about.

At that moment, the tall man was intently staring at him, as if he genuinely cared. Yuan Rong felt overwhelmed and didn’t know how to respond.

He could only crinkle his eyes into a smile. “It’s fine. I’m just not as strong as you are.”

Auderentè frowned when he heard Yuan Rong’s evaluation of himself. Auderentè looked into his eyes, “No, you’re already very strong. But you still have room for improvement.”

“Thank you.” Yuan Rong said. He revealed a soft, fake smile, “So, what’s Mr. Reaper doing in this world?”

“Auderentè,” Auderentè corrected. “You don’t have to be so polite, just call me by my name.”

Yuan Rong was a little surprised. He raised his eyebrows and softly called out his name, “Hello Auderentè. My surname is Yuan, my name is Rong. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

What was the god of death trying to do?

Yuan Rong didn’t believe that Auderentè was a friendly or good person. However, he still felt relieved. Auderentè didn’t seem to be very hostile towards him, at least, he wasn’t dead – if Auderentè had used his full strength earlier, Yuan Rong knew he would have faced an unimaginable fate.

“So, you're also here to mend this world?”

Auderentè nodded.

Yuan Rong finally had time to carefully observe him. He wore a hooded black sweater, military pants, and military boots. His overall figure was triangular, making Yuan Rong envious.

He removed his gaze from the vaguely outlined, perfect chest muscles, “Have you found any clues yet?”

The man shook his head, “I just arrived here. I’m still exploring this place.”

“When I woke up, I was on the left half of the badminton court. Did you wake up in the gymnasium as well?”

Auderentè pondered over the question, “I didn’t see you when I woke up. I woke up to the right of the direction that you’re currently facing.”

Yuan Rong understood.

After Yuan Rong woke up, he had habitually scanned the area up and down before leaving and entering the corridor. Meanwhile, Auderentè reckoned that he had woken up after Yuan Rong had already left. It made sense that the two hadn’t encountered each other.

Yuan Rong told Auderentè about the clues he had found in the gymnasium, he also talked about the locations of the restrooms.

Auderentè held Yuan Rong back as he was prepared to leave, “Wait until you’ve fully rested before doing anything. You don’t need to rush.”

This person...was much gentler than he expected.

Yuan Rong smiled and shook his head, “I’m not that delicate. You actually didn’t hurt me that much, I was just...scared out of my wits.”

His heartbeat accelerated as he remembered the pain and desperation from earlier. It had been similar to the feeling of being forced into a suffocating box, and being thrown from a ten-story building into the deep sea.

Auderentè still felt doubtful, he looked over the young man and sternly pressed him back down with his hand.

He sat down next to Yuan Rong. Yuan Rong felt a black shadow completely envelop him.

The man was at least 1.9 meters tall. His long arms and long legs were currently leaning against the wall, in a posture which reminded Yuan Rong of the black german shepherd that he had raised a long time ago.

He shook his head to dissipate his absurd thoughts. This was “the Reaper”, what was he thinking about?

The man was silent. He seemed to be staring off into empty space and it was unknown what he was thinking about.

Yuan Rong bluntly asked, “What do you think…the source of this world’s collapse is?”

No response. Yuan Rong waited for a moment, he couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the man and was surprised when their gazes clashed.

Auderentè’s eyes were very beautiful.

They were profound, steady, and filled with mystery. But the coldness in them made it hard to approach him.

He was like a piece of glossy, cold iron,

“I don’t know.”

The man’s deep, magnetic voice sounded, snapping Yuan Rong out from his train of thoughts. “Really? Me neither.”

He stood up and dismissed the water dragon which had been hovering near the ceiling, too scared to approach any closer. “Let’s go, we won’t find anything if we stay sitting here.”

The author has something to say:

Poor Yuan Rong doesn’t know that his dream of “becoming a god” is a sham, my heart hurts for him.

The truth is revealed in Chapter 8~

YR: Huh. Violent man, I’ll remember you.

AUD: Wait, listen to my explanation. I didn’t do anything, don’t falsely accuse me...

The translator has something to say:

In case anyone was confused, I’ve made a map of the gymnasium!

Disclaimer! I’m not 100% sure that this is accurate~