Chapter 39: Despair

"What... what is going on?" an enforcer was dumbfounded. "[Divine Favor]... can be revoked?"

If the three Divine Paths descending with [Divine Favor] at once was still within their understanding, what was happening now completely exceeded their cognition...

In all their years, they had never heard of anyone receiving [Divine Favor] only to have the path cut off.

"As expected."

Outside the courtyard, the shadowed man nodded slightly.

"Obtaining [Divine Favor] after such a desperate situation, only to watch them retreat... what a pity." Chu Muyun had stayed at Chen Ling’s house for so long that he naturally knew how much Chen Ling yearned for the Divine Paths, and he couldn't help but feel pity.

"A pity?" The shadowed man looked at him strangely.

"There are thousands upon thousands of people in the world with Divine Paths, but he is the only one who has assimilated an 'Extinction'-level disaster while maintaining his sanity... He is already a unique existence in this world. What is there to pity?"

Chu Muyun shook his head and said nothing.

In the courtyard.

Chen Ling stared at the three Divine Paths rapidly retreating, frozen in place...

He had been abandoned by the Divine Paths.

That was perhaps the only hope in this world that could have allowed him to escape the control of the "Audience."

He didn't know what had happened, only sensing the wariness from the Divine Paths. He looked back behind him, and vaguely, he could see those pairs of eyes gradually disappearing into the void.

"...It’s you guys again." Chen Ling laughed bitterly.

"Right, I should have guessed... Once I step onto a Divine Path, it means there’s a possibility of escaping your control. How could you just let that happen?"

"You’d rather I stay on the stage forever, becoming a marionette for your amusement..."

Chen Ling’s smile gradually turned sinister. Deep despair emerged in his blood-rimmed eyes... Even the Divine Paths had retreated under the intimidation of the "Audience." As an ordinary person, he couldn't imagine how to get rid of them.

Rather than being a marionette for a lifetime, Chen Ling would rather choose death.

The favor of the gods receded like a tide;

Chen Ling, in his red robes, was left alone, framed by bones, laughing in despair and madness.

"Come on, Qian!" Chen Ling laughed wildly. "Don't you want to kill me? Do it!! Shoot me in the head! Remember, if you want to kill me for good, you have to shoot twice!!"

Qian Fan was dazed for a moment before finally coming to his senses. He looked at the seemingly insane Chen Ling, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.

"I don't know what’s going on... but since you’ve lost your [Divine Favor], just wait to die!"

He raised his gun again, aimed at Chen Ling’s head, and pulled the trigger!

Bang—!!

This time, no miracle happened.

The bullet pierced Chen Ling’s skull, instantly taking his life, shattering half his head and splattering red and white matter onto the ground.

The courtyard fell into a dead silence.

Qian Fan and the others looked at Chen Ling, who now had only half a head left, and finally let out a sigh of relief...

It wasn't that they were cowardly; it was just that everything about Chen Ling was too bizarre—so bizarre that it made them doubt whether this guy was even human, or if he could even die.

But now, whatever he was, he was dead.

"This kid... was too evil." Qian Fan put away his gun, spat on the ground, and turned to walk into the house.

Just as he turned, he saw the other two enforcers standing under the eaves, their eyes wide with terror...

"What are you doing?"

"F-Fan, Brother Fan..." one of the enforcers raised a trembling hand. "He-he-he-he-he-he..."

Qian Fan frowned and looked back in the direction the enforcer was pointing, his pupils suddenly contracting!

The scarlet corpse framed by the bones was actually straightening its body in a bizarre way, its dangling half-head slowly lifting, and the shattered skull and flesh began to squirm frantically!

The remaining half-eyelid suddenly lifted, and a blood-filled eyeball stared fixedly at Qian Fan!

"Qian!!"

"Didn't I tell you to shoot twice?!!!"

"One shot can't kill me!! It can't kill me!!!!"

His severed vocal cords rubbed together frantically, making a teeth-grinding sound. At this moment, even the experienced Qian Fan and his two men were scared silly, their legs nearly giving out as they collapsed to the ground!

"Monster... monster!!" an enforcer screamed in terror. "He’s not human! He’s a monster!!"

"Shoot!! Hurry up and shoot!" Chen Ling roared frantically. "Shoot the other half of my head! Come on!!!"

As this bizarre scene played out before them, Qian Fan’s hands began to shake...

"I know... it’s you!" Qian Fan seemed to realize something. "You’re the disaster that descended that night!!"

Hearing this, the other two enforcers also woke up from their stupor, their faces turning even paler.

They were truly terrified.

They knew that the two disasters that had crawled out of the Gray Realm—one was a third-stage, the other a fifth-stage—neither of which they could handle...

Qian Fan gritted his teeth, pulled his gun from his waist again, and aimed tremblingly at the red-clad monster trapped in the bones.

At this point, he had no choice but to shoot.

However, the moment he pulled the trigger, the gun felt as if it were being gripped by something, and the barrel twisted into a ball!

Qian Fan felt a massive force slam into his chest, and he flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing through the door of the house and slamming heavily to the ground.

The other two enforcers stared wide-eyed, fixed on the void in front of them, but they couldn't see any attacker!

There was nothing there.

But in Chen Ling’s eyes, it wasn't so.

A familiar boy in red stood in the swirling snow, slowly turning to look at him... his eyes filled with tears.

"Brother..." he said. "Brother, you can't just die like this. You can't just accept your fate!"

Chen Ling’s skull was slowly repairing itself, his scarlet eye staring blankly at Chen Yan. The madness finally receded slightly.

He said hoarsely,

"Not accept my fate? Then what else can I do... continue to be entertainment for them? What’s the point of that?"

"But if you die now, you’ll have nothing left."

"If I don't die, I have nothing anyway." Chen Ling muttered. "Even if I live, they will constantly interfere with my life. They can create one of you, they can create a second, a third... Eventually, I’ll be driven insane by them."

"Brother! As long as you’re alive, there will always be hope... isn't there?"

"...Hope?"

Chen Ling looked at Chen Yan’s red eyes, was silent for a long time, and suddenly laughed.

"I get it." Chen Ling looked back behind him, his bloodshot eyes seemingly staring at something.

"You’re afraid!!"

"You know that if I die one more time, I’ll be gone for good!!"

"You’re afraid that if I die, no one will be able to perform for you anymore, so you conjured his image to trick me into living, right?!"

"Brother..."

"Give me some ethereal hope, watch me chase it with my life, and when I’m about to reach it, let that so-called hope vanish... That’s what you want!"

"Brother!"

"You want to control my life, you want to toy with my mind, you’re delusional!!!"

"Brother!!!"

A roar interrupted Chen Ling’s savage shouting.

He looked back and saw Chen Yan standing there, his face covered in tears, his eyes filled with pleading.

"Brother... I’m real, believe me... everything I’m saying is true."

"I..." Chen Ling was stunned for a long time, his face showing struggle and pain. "A-Yan, I know, I just..."

Chen Yan took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his eyes, and unprecedented determination appeared in his gaze.

"Brother, you aren't without hope..."

He reached into his coat and took out a cloth bag. As the bag was opened, cinnabar-like glass beads fell out.

"The path they severed..."

"I will continue it for you."