foreigner's journey

Chapter 1747 The truth of everything
Time and space, everything becomes absolutely still.

It wasn't just Heather's side; the other Spiral Realms were in the same state. The entire Spiral Realm seemed to have been put on pause.

This was no challenge for Heather. He simply narrowed his eyes slightly, and his own weapon concept instantly transformed into an incomparably sharp [blade], severing the spacetime shackles that bound him.

At Heather's level, he could use weapon concepts at will to break free from any constraints or predicaments.

But he didn't attack Rick Sanchez immediately, because a door appeared in front of him.

Just as a pencil sketches lines out of thin air, a door suddenly appears between Heather and Rick Sanchez.

Heather tilted his head. He recognized the door; it was the door to his own bathroom before he time-traveled.

Thus, he could finally be completely certain that the 'organizer' who took him away from the original world was Spiral.

He glanced again at Rick Sanchez, who was separated by the door. The other man was also frozen in place, his face fixed with a relieved expression of accepting death.

Spiral Lord, let me have my say in this. As for Rick Sanchez's life, I'll decide after we've spoken.

Heather was both skilled and daring; she actually grabbed the doorknob, opened the door, and went straight inside.

The view behind the door wasn't Heather's bathroom in her original world home, but rather a gentle breeze and warm sunlight reflecting on her face.

This is a vibrant green space where the half-meter-high grass ripples in the wind, carrying the scents of earth and sea.

Looking into the distance, Heather discovered that the green space beneath her feet was actually a very high and wide cliff, beyond which stretched an endless expanse of azure sea.

High above the sea, an illusory scene is projected.

The enormous singularity almost occupied all the space in the sky. Its face was ferocious and it was emitting a silent roar as it was fighting and battling against something unseen with extremely slow movements.

It wasn't a physical entity, but rather a projected image of a battlefield. Heather immediately realized that she couldn't help the Singularity.

Just like a monkey that can't scoop up the full moon reflected on the water no matter how much it splashes. Even the scene currently unfolding in the sky might be a thing of the past; the true outcome of the battle was already decided before Heather even entered.

Moreover, Heather also determined that her current state was equivalent to a projection of consciousness, and she did not have the ability to operate a physical entity.

To be more precise, the grass underfoot, the distant sea, and the breeze on my face are all false projections.

This was merely a 'conversation room' that someone had created to ensure that both of them were absolutely safe in order to talk to Heather.

"Ah, what a show of grandeur." Heather looked around, her gaze finally settling on the top of the cliff, and then she began to walk towards it.

Soon, he reached the top of the cliff, which seemed to be the perfect viewing platform, offering an unobstructed view of the battle scene at the strange point in the sky.

At the edge of the cliff, a circular platform was built from rubble, with a park bench placed at each end of the platform.

There was already someone sitting on the bench to the right.

An ordinary outsider might not even be able to see the other person's appearance clearly—this is an absolute difference in status, like a lower-dimensional being unable to comprehend the existence of a higher-dimensional being. But Heather could see clearly because he stood on the same level.

An elderly man was sitting in the chair.

He wore a black lambskin trench coat with a stand-up collar, lined with a black suit and leather shoes. A white flower was pinned to the chest of the trench coat, and a white silk scarf adorned the collar. A black top hat sat on the bench beside him.

The man sat with a gentlemanly and elegant posture, his hands resting on a black cane in front of him. His full head of silver hair was combed back into a neat slicked-back style, revealing a somewhat high hairline. His short silver beard was very well-groomed. Although his face was old, one could still vaguely see the handsome features he had in his youth, and he was in good spirits.

When Heather looked at him, he looked at Heather and gave her a gentle smile:

"We've finally met, Heather."

"Come, sit down and have a good chat with this old man."

Heather sat down on the bench opposite the man without any fear, and crossed her legs:
"...Spiral male."

Having finally met this outsider hidden behind the spiral, who could be called the most powerful in all the worlds, Heather was at a loss for words.

Spiral Lord smiled very kindly: "First of all, I will not apologize to you for taking you away from your hometown and then pushing you into the game of outsiders."

Heather pursed his lips without refuting, because at this point he was well aware that if he were allowed to remain on Earth, he might cause the entire planet or even the entire universe to be crushed and completely destroyed by his power.

"How is my partner?" Heather crossed her arms and legs, raising her chin towards the sky.

"Ah, the singularity. Of course, this should be addressed before the meeting."

Spiral nodded with a smile.
"His power is still so dazzling, especially the 'dream' which is extremely penetrating and contagious under His manipulation, which took me a lot of effort."

But rest assured, just now, [His] problem has been resolved and will not interfere with the rest of the conversation.

The Singularity has been eliminated... Heather sighed inwardly. This ally's ability to hold off the Spiral for so long was already beyond expectations; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to eliminate all members of the Spiral.

"So... what exactly do you want to talk to me about? Let Rick Sanchez go?"

Heather chuckled and leaned back in her chair.

Spiral Man slowly stroked the handle of the black cane with his fingers: "Before we start our war, I want to tell you the whole truth."

"The truth?" Heather frowned. "What do you mean?"

What do you think is the organizer's real purpose in holding this game?

Instead of answering, the spiral lord posed a question and then immediately provided its answer:

"[Fun], that's all."

What? Heather had also considered the organizers' purpose in holding the Outsider Game, such as 'absorbing the essence of various worlds', 'making outsiders conquerors and colonizers', and 'enslaving the world's will'. She never expected the answer to be so simple?
"A group of observers in a higher dimension, doing nothing, treating all of this as a joke and a source of amusement—that's the true face of the organizers."

Spiral spoke in the most gentle tone the truth that chilled Heather to the bone:
"They set up a game system similar to code, allowing outsiders to randomly travel to various worlds. The World Flames and Cosmic Crystals they earn are just 'energy' extracted from the current world."

They gave nothing, interfered in nothing, and simply enjoyed watching it all unfold.

Are the flames and crystals resources of the myriad worlds themselves? Is the so-called completion of the mission by the outsiders nothing more than the outsiders' game system forcibly plundering the current world?
"You're not suggesting that the Spiral's purpose is to overthrow the organizers, are you?" Heather looked at the Spiral and said through gritted teeth, "Are you suggesting that everything I've done so far has been a joke?"

Before answering your question, please allow me to ask you one more question.

Spiral Duke and Heather met eyes, their blue pupils filled with sorrow:

Do you think this is the first time they've hosted a game for outsiders?

Seeing Heather's shocked expression, Spiral Duke rested his hand on his cane and raised three fingers with his right hand:
"As far as I know, the organizers have already held three games for outsiders, and this is the fourth one."

The organizers always use the exact same procedure for hosting games for outsiders.

First, they recruited contestants, and then threw all of them into a breeding ground called the Myriad Realms of the Heavens, where they were allowed to run rampant and fight each other until the winner was finally determined.

Each time the game of the outsiders ends, one wish is granted to the final winner, then the entire universe is completely restarted, and the process begins again, recruiting new participants, and so on.

"Who are those winners?" Heather slowly exhaled to calm herself and asked in a low voice.

"The first Outsider Game was so long ago that all I know is that the winner's concept was 'chain'. Back then, the Outsider Game was very primitive in terms of both rules and the ability of the participants. The winner who held the concept of 'chain' won among a group of strong opponents and left this cruel game forever with his wishes."

The second edition of the Outsider Game feels too distant to us, and the ultimate winner was the holder of the concept of "sound." Naturally, this winner also left this place of controversy.

Then came the third and previous edition of the "Outsider Games."

The spiral-shaped figure rested his hands on his cane, his expression one of remembrance:

"It was a truly tragic, cruel, yet magnificent and splendid journey."

For the first time, the legendary concepts appeared, and not just one.

"A legendary concept?" Heather narrowed her eyes. "You mean..."

"That's right, the Big Four. But that's not quite accurate."

Spiral revealed a smile:
"Because in that era, it wasn't the 'Four Great Legendary Concepts,' but rather the 'Five Great Legendary Concepts.'"

Five major?

Heather paused for a moment, then looked sharply at the strange image in the sky.

"Yes, you have a very keen intuition, Heather."

At that time, among the outsiders, there were five legendary concepts that shouldn't have existed: [universe], [power], [tools], [weapons], and...

Spiral also looked up at the singularity and exclaimed:

"【beast】."

“Wait a minute, if the concept of ‘beast’ truly exists as a legendary concept, then where do the concepts of ‘dragon,’ ‘insect,’ and even all animals come from?” Heather questioned.

"This all started with the previous game for outsiders."

Spiral Grandpa gripped the cane handle with his fingers interlaced, his thumbs gently stroking the cane, and tilted his head back, lost in memories:

"At that time, when talking about outsiders, one would inevitably mention the holder of the concept of 'beast,' the Great Red Dragon."

Absolutely powerful, eternally victorious, infinitely domineering, cruel, and tyrannical, all who dare to defy Him will be killed and destroyed.

The ultimate winner of that year's Out-of-Town game was already his, and no one could compete with him.

Then, the universe and force appeared.

They have not been around for long, but they have grown at an extremely rapid pace, reaching a level where they can contend with the Great Red Dragon within a very short number of world cycles.

In the Dragon Ball world, three [Legendary Concepts] met for the first and last time, and a battle that could affect the entire universe erupted.

No one knows the details of that battle. The result was that the three holders of the legendary concept perished together, and the Dragon Ball world, which was at the level of 'Godfall', was completely destroyed.

The concept of "Beast" was shattered under the combined attack of "Universe" and "Force," with all its power poured out. All its sub-concepts scattered and escaped, becoming independent concepts.

The soul and body of the "Beast" were shattered. The largest surviving fragment of its soul remained in another world in an unusual way, and gave birth to "He," which is the Singularity.

No wonder…no wonder [He] is the origin of all monsters and possesses such outrageously powerful strength. Heather finally understood the mystery of the Singularity, that is, [He]'s immense power.

With this in mind, Heather raised the key question:
"Since all three legendary concepts are dead, who will be the champion that year?"

"A nobody who was originally insignificant, a shameless thief who was just trying to survive."

This petty thief unexpectedly received a strange gift from the sky, thus standing out from the remaining candidates and winning the ultimate winner's trophy.

The spiral-shaped figure, leaning on his cane, smiled and said softly:

"This shameless little thief named Edward Williams made a wish to the organizers, hoping to stay and participate in the next Outlanders Game."

Oh, what a shameless, despicable, yet perfectly understandable wish! The organizers generously granted it, allowing this thief to linger on until this day.

"Ah, the great spiral is actually an old product of the previous era."

Heather smiled dismissively:
"The life-gear from the last era must have been incredibly powerful, right? Show it to me and let me see it."

Spiral Lord merely shook his head slightly in response to Heather's provocation:
“You’re mistaken, Heather. The condition for entering the new world is to abandon everything from the old world.”

I abandoned my comrades, my lifeline, my beloved, and came to this new world like a newborn baby, to participate in this game of outsiders.

"Oh? So what is it all for? Just to enjoy the thrill of crushing noobs?" Heather leaned forward, her tone sarcastic. "Then I won't let you leave disappointed."

"You're wrong again, Heather. I, and all the members of the Spiral, are working for a much nobler goal."

I'm sure Hugo told you when he recruited you that all members of Spiral had encountered a world that was willing to accept them and become their new home, right?
Because we have experienced love and know what it feels like to be loved, we will do everything in our power to achieve this goal.

Heather laughed out of anger upon hearing this: "Love? Are you trying to say that people like Cosmo and Hades killed those natives of the world because of love?"

"Perhaps some members' ways of expressing themselves are not quite appropriate, but please believe that we are all fighting for everything we love."

You've encountered that world before, that world that accepts you—the world of Final Fantasy.

Spiral looked at Heather gently.

Heather suddenly thought of the final moments in the Final Fantasy world, the icy handwriting that urged her to leave, and gritted her teeth: "It was you then too!"

“This is not my fault, Heather.”

According to my calculations, if you continue to stay in the Final Fantasy world, you will encounter the 'bitter fruit' Maxim within two world cycles.

I don't need to elaborate on what happened to you when you met Maxim back then, do I?

Indeed, I was too weak back then and hadn't truly awakened to the concept of weapons. If I encountered Bitter Fruit Maxim, my fate would be certain death.

But this is not the reason why he forgave Spiral.

"You've been plotting against me from the very beginning, haven't you?" Heather sneered. "From the moment I left the original world, you've been scheming against me. You wanted to obtain my weapon concept?"

For the first time, the Spiral Man's face no longer wore that warm smile, but instead revealed a bitter one:
"This has to be explained from the beginning."

I've been searching for the remaining "Big Four". In the end, I found you before the organizers could. By then, you were already unable to suppress your power any longer. Staying in the original world would only bring greater misfortune to your family and friends.

Believe me, I have seen many similar cases where these outsiders, because they left too late, invariably caused irreversible and terrible damage to their hometowns.

At that time, I only wanted to take you away from your original world, but I didn't intend to put you in a game for outsiders. So I found you the most suitable hunter world, hoping that you could grow old alone in that world.

However, accidents always happen when they least expect them.

I found Rick right after I found you and sent you away.

Moreover, Rick was also discovered by the organizers at the same time.

I had to race against time to take Rick away before the organizers could win him over. In my distraction, I didn't notice what was happening on your end, which led to you being found by the otherworldly counterpart, triggering a series of chain events that ultimately resulted in you being expelled from the Hunter world.

Since things have come to this, I can only put you into the game of outsiders.

You were so weak back then, and I wasn't sure if you would survive, which is why I told you, 'We will never see each other again.'

Unexpectedly, you quickly returned to the Hunter world and eliminated the last otherworldly counterpart, and then began to awaken the concept of weapons in the Final Fantasy world.

I must say, you gave me a very big surprise.

However, I still couldn't devote too much energy to you at that time because I was engaged in lengthy negotiations with Rick.

Rick didn't believe me, and all I could do was try to reason with him.

Later, you became enemies with Spiral, but this was not your fault, nor could it be blamed on Hugo or Cosmer.

All I could do was pretend to be an organizer and stop Cosmo when he was chasing you.

And then, you grew into what you are today, strong enough to look me in the eye.

I'm so happy, Heather.

"Cosmer is loyal to you, and you're actually sabotaging your loyal subordinate to save an enemy?"

Heather was completely ungrateful, finding Spiral Lord terrifyingly cruel:
"What kind of bewitching potion did you give them?"

“I have said that we have all come together for the same great purpose. Me, Cosmer, Wisdon, and even Liquid, Alice… all members of the Spiral know this purpose and have given everything for it.”

The smile on Spiral's face vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

"I want to rebuild a world that is free from interference and prying from the organizers, a world that belongs only to outsiders and natives!"

“…I should have known, you’ve gone mad.” Heather’s lips twitched slightly.

"I'm not crazy, the Spiral Realm is just an experiment."

Have you ever considered that the world that was willing to accept you, the natives who love you and whom you cherish, might become the victims of some outsider's venting of desires in the previous, the one before that, or the next game? Or perhaps become the battlefield of some foreign war and be completely destroyed?
Every time the outsider's game restarts, these worlds also restart. Everything returns to its original state, without even a trace of their memory of you remaining.

Because we have loved and been loved, we cannot tolerate this situation continuing.

This must end.

As he spoke, Spiral Man untied his scarf and pulled out a pendant. The pendant was a small drill bit, from which a faint, shimmering green pulse, like the beating of a heart, emanated. Spiral Man gently held the drill pendant and whispered:
“My friends, my love, everything I cherish have been treated like playthings and wantonly trampled by the organizers. I hope to rebuild a world that belongs only to us.”

"So what? You let the likes of Kosmer the Underworld wreak havoc in the native world! Is this what you call cherishing? Bullshit!"

Heather couldn't help but roar.

“Cosmer has experienced more pain than you, Heather. His anger was almost uncontrollable, and I suggested that he vent his emotions properly, all for the sake of rebuilding a new world.”

When we arrive in the new world, everything that was destroyed will be restored to its original state, and there will be no more suffering or destruction.

The spiral figure seems to be explaining to Kosmer, and also to himself:

“It was all worth it, Heather.”

Weston was once an extremely evil super AI who hated humans to an extreme degree, but after annihilating the last five humans, he repented and entered the Outsider game to atone for his past actions.

After meeting me, Weston analyzed all of this through his computing power and believed that following me would bring the greatest benefit to all the worlds.

Liquid hopes to stay with Cosmer in the New World forever, while Hugo wants to return to the world that once accepted him after the New World is established, and never leave again.

Every member of Spiral shares a vision of peace and a bright future. We are not bad people, Heather.

Spiral looked at Heather with sincerity:
“I know you understand our vision, and deep down you hope so too.”

Join us, Heather.

Heather was silent for a moment before speaking:
"You're fixated on me and Rick because rebuilding the new world requires legendary concepts?"

"Yes. Establishing a brand new universe is by no means an easy task."

【Universe】represents time and space, 【Force】represents the laws governing the operation of all things, 【Tools】encompasses inanimate objects, 【Beasts】represent the embodiment of all life, and 【Weapons】are synonyms for struggle and confrontation.

I used to think that the new world didn't need fighting and killing, so I just put you in the Hunter world. But now I understand. The five legendary concepts are all indispensable. There must be fighting and confrontation for life to evolve and for everything to flourish.

After the fall of the Universe and the Force, I unexpectedly obtained fragments of their concepts. I established the Spiral Realm to nurture these fragments of the Universe concept.

The Beast's body exploded into countless fragments that fell into countless worlds. The organizers deliberately let them go and, after a long period of gestation, they transformed into otherworldly counterparts that wreaked havoc in different times and spaces. The last otherworldly counterpart died at your hands. In this way, the Beast's soul fragment 'Singularity' possessed the uniqueness of the Beast concept.

It's just you and Rick left, Heather.

Hearing Spiral's sincere words, Heather suddenly smiled:
"So? You want me and Rick to fight each other, and whoever wins gets the other's legendary concept, and then you can sit back and reap the benefits and take the last concept?"

No way, it's not that cheap, Spiral.

I saw it coming long ago. You don't care about your loyal subordinates, nor do you care about whether they're natives or not; you only care about your own desires.

"Whatever you say."

Spiral said calmly:

"If you don't kill Rick, the Spiral Realm will restart, and then you will have no hope of victory."

Heather stood up with a cold laugh: "Rick will die, and you will die too."

"Let's wait and see."

It's a shame we couldn't reach a final agreement. But it was still a pleasure to meet you, Heather.

"Then I'll have to excuse myself for now; there's still a little bit left to wrap things up at the Singularity."

Spiral Lord sighed, picked up the black top hat beside him and covered his head, then slowly stood up, leaning on his cane.

"If we meet again, we'll be enemies, Heather."

"A fight to the death."

Without hesitation, Heather swung a chop to the neck, and everything in front of her instantly shattered like glass shards.

The scenery returned to the Spiral Realm, and the frozen flow of time and space returned to normal once again.

Heather and Rick locked eyes; the battle of weapons and tools was finally coming to an end.