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Chapter 1629 Final Chapter: Crossing the Sea [53] "The Great Sage Yang Mermaid and the Unsincerous People Arrive (15)"

"Why are you following me?" Casadia suddenly turned his head.

“We’ve been discovered. Do you think splitting up will work? The World Tree has activated its barrier; we can’t get out now.” Su Ming’an spread his five fingers, his eyes burning. “Either we kill the World Tree, or we die here together.”

...Slay the World Tree? Is this guy joking?! Casadia stared at the black-haired youth in astonishment, only to find that the usually unassuming black-haired youth's eyes were now extremely bright.

Casadia gritted his teeth and, absurdly, chose to believe Su Ming'an: "Okay! Brother, let's cut that big tree down!"

"Shh!"

Countless daffodil petals bloomed from the black-haired youth's back, like a deity spreading its wings to deflect the onslaught of gnarled branches. Su Ming'an lightly gathered his fingers, focusing all his attention on clenching his magical power, and hurled it towards Ijuril.

Casadia immediately wielded his brush, sketching a few soft feathers. The laws of nature twisted in response, and the immense pressure exerted on him by the planet instantly lost its target, making him as light as a gust of wind.

His power is closer to the "concept" itself, lacking strong offensive and defensive capabilities.

"Shh!"

The hexagonal spikes formed from Igul's energy poured down on the two like a torrential rain. Ice shards scattered, like a black hole, at first glance, it looked like a stunning and beautiful rain of ice crystals.

In a moment of inspiration, Casadia quickly drew a Möbius strip. A strange thing happened: they seemed to be spinning in place, yet in the blink of an eye, they eerily approached the trunk of the World Tree, as if the surrounding environment had been cleverly folded.

...This is simply a fraud against physics.

"You actually understand physics." Su Ming'an grabbed Casadia's cold hand and used spatial vibrations to clear a path, obliterating branches and leaves wherever he passed.

"Who says anime fans have to know nothing? That's discrimination against anime fans! No, you must be an anime fan yourself!" Casadia's face turned red.

With Su Ming'an clearing the way, the main trunk of the World Tree was right in front of them. In an instant, the bark suddenly bulged out, and an exceptionally thick branch leaped out from above, sweeping across like a crystal whip! Su Ming'an reacted extremely quickly, immediately grabbing Casadia's arm and forcefully throwing him towards the main trunk, while he himself rushed towards the branch!
"boom--!"

The view exploded into a kaleidoscope of colors, with crimson ice crystals, amber ripples, and starlight colliding violently, as if a nuclear bomb had exploded in the center of the tree trunk. Spatial turbulence swept through Su Ming'an's hair, the ends of which instantly vanished into thin air. In an instant, thousands upon thousands of branches spread outwards, like fireworks fading into oblivion in the night.

—And Casadia fell deep into the tree trunk.

The world is spinning.

He opened his eyes and saw a golden seed floating in the void. It was magnificent and dazzling, as if it had been forged from stars and the sun, exuding a vast and awe-inspiring aura.

This is the source of civilization on this planet, and it is evolving on its own into a dangerous, multi-ethnic world!
Casadia suddenly stretched out his hand, his whole body trembling, his breath hot. He didn't know what his outstretched hand would cause; most likely, he would be devoured into ashes by the vast energy. But even though he knew that touching it might lead to annihilation, he was even more afraid of his homeland being forever trapped in illusion. He was a two-dimensional person who was afraid of pain and the dark, but even two-dimensional people have a reckless and chuunibyou heart.

He certainly doesn't want his friends to actually live in the world of anime and manga!
"—Say it! GAME-START! Let the world turn around!!!" The young man's face flushed red, and without thinking, he grabbed it!

Su Ming'an, who was tearing apart the netting, suddenly turned around—

"Crack-!"

The World Tree's trunk burst forth with a dazzling golden light, and countless flowing, transparent rivers enveloped the two of them, flowing from the core outwards.

Rivers converge to form waterfalls, and the transparent water reveals rudimentary forms of world rules yet to be fully established—dragon wings soar through the sky, elves sing praises to the moonlight, demons whisper in the abyss, and angels stand with swords in hand amidst the clouds…

What comes into view is a flood of familiar yet unfamiliar images—the day of God's fall, the War of Eden, the War of Independence, Genesis, the Undead Incident, the Death of Oblivion, the fall of the gods, the descent of the red sun, the sun and moon in the same sky...

At that moment, a strange thought echoed in Su Ming'an's mind:

—【We have never escaped the vortex of the "story".】

Even at this very moment, the future had already appeared within this self-evolving "Seed of the World." The future was already written, the development was already predetermined, and even the creators who claimed to manipulate the story were merely a part of this vast narrative.

Seeds are like a sophisticated computer, a program, ink, and thread.

However, at this moment, someone shouted at the top of their lungs:
"—Brother! We'll stop it! We'll reverse it!!!!"

With his black hair flowing like a waterfall and his face flushed, the young man gripped the seed tightly!
At that moment, Su Ming'an saw—at the most dazzling point of the light, floated a girl with black hair. She wore a long dress woven from leaves and light, the branches and leaves obscuring her face, and the seed that Casadia held was actually her heart!

"This is the World Tree... It is, it is a person!" Casadia's pupils were filled with shock. The core of a planet was actually a person!

At this moment, the girl seemed to sense the intruders. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and the power of the entire space instantly boiled and pressed down on them! Even Su Ming'an, who was being targeted by the entire planet, felt a pressure, as if the air had been sucked away.

"Cassadia!" This was the first time Su Ming'an had shouted the name so forcefully. Usually, it was mocking and teasing, but this time it was genuine.

"Brother, I know, I must—" Casadia knew that hesitation meant death. His instincts beat his thoughts, and he gripped the handle tightly!
"Pfft!"

A chilling sound.

His hand actually pierced straight through the girl's slightly heaving heart.

"Ah—!!!" The girl suddenly let out a scream that was unlike any human's, filled with pain and astonishment, and the entire space shook violently.

Casadia instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but found that his palm was firmly sucked in. A massive torrent of consciousness, memories, and rules surged wildly into his mind along his arm!

"Ughhhhhhh—!" He writhed in agony, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Countless rivers shimmered wildly in his bright silver eyes. He wanted to seize the World Tree's "heart," an act akin to "possessing the World Tree," but he was merely a mortal being, utterly unable to withstand the infusion of the entire world's essence. In less than a second, he showed signs of exploding!

“My turn!” Su Ming’an immediately reached out. Humans had no chance of possessing the World Tree. The World Tree was at its most critical stage of evolution, with most of its power used to maintain the external barrier and foster new races, leaving its core defenses at their lowest. Fortunately, all of Casadia's skill points were geared towards “Mental Infiltration,” “Consciousness Concealment,” and “Energy Synchronization.” He didn't brute force his way through the World Tree's consciousness; rather, like a virus, a tiny bug, he exploited the World Tree system's inherent vulnerabilities and chaotic periods to forcibly connect.

Even so, Casadia could not succeed; his body was too fragile.

Su Ming'an shook off the shocked Ijuril, flashed a cross of light, appeared beside Casadia, and grabbed the young man's arm forcefully.

His handsome, glass-like face suddenly contorted, his bright silver eyes narrowed sharply, and he looked back at Su Ming'an with a bitter expression. His entire face seemed about to explode, spewing out fluids and blood of all colors.

"Brother... go quickly...! I... can't let go!" Casadia managed to utter the words with difficulty.

"Take...this information...out with you...!"

He cried and laughed at the same time; he wanted to live, but he couldn't.

"If you have a chance... you'll... save me...!"

"I don't want...you to...become two-dimensional characters...!"

Endless golden light surged forth, transforming into a repulsive force that forcefully pushed everything around him away!

Su Ming'an held his wrist tightly, refusing to let go. The spatial cross-shaped light shone like stars, becoming the last line of defense, firmly blocking the surrounding gale that could tear flesh apart.

Casadia isn't nearly as annoying as people think.

Su Ming'an looked at those painful, bright silver eyes. Perhaps all anime fans are alike, all of them retain a pure and passionate heart that has not been tainted by growing up, always believing that one day they can save the world. Therefore, at that moment, Casadia grasped it without thinking.

This untainted quality, this innocence, is intolerable to the world, yet it is also precious. Su Ming'an had not seen such a pure heart in a long time.

Countless whispers from different worlds echoed in their minds. Casadia's other hand unconsciously grasped a seed—this was the "Zhai Xing artificial seed" that Su Ming'an had brought. It had been buried inside the World Tree. Su Ming'an dug the seed out again and handed it to Casadia, who was now unable to leave.

"...I don't want to...disappear..."

"...Humanity...must..."

"...A new world...the rules...are in my hands...the two-dimensional world...!"

"……save!"

History is repeating itself.

Casadia still became the "traitor," but he betrayed not humanity, but Ijuril and the World Tree's original "purification" plan.

With Su Ming'an's help, Casadia is forcibly grafting the "seeds" of humanity onto the "roots" of this world!
Humanity has no other planet to find; they must come here. Since Ijuril is unwilling, let him force the fusion! At least, humanity cannot perish in the vast universe. As long as we survive, there is hope.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

...Am I going to die?
...It was so hard to find out the truth...

...The hard drive hasn't been cleared yet...

Just as Casadia's consciousness was fading, he heard a teasing, elegant voice.

Su Ming'an also heard it; the voice was extremely familiar to him.

"Unexpectedly, you seized the perfect opportunity, taking advantage of the World Tree's weakness to enter... As for you, your soul is not suited to this place; you don't seem to belong to this time and space."

Su Ming'an recognized the person instantly.

—The second seat of the organizer, He actually cast his gaze upon us at this moment!
Casadia didn't recognize the voice; he only knew it was his only lifeline. With the last vestige of his consciousness, he uttered the most humble and earnest cry from the depths of his soul:
[…Great being! I…I, a lowly mortal, beg you! Save us! If…if you can help me through this calamity and save my people…I am willing to deceive myself and become your most faithful believer! I will offer everything I have!]

The voice seemed to find it even more amusing: "Deceive? Deceive yourself? Kid, you can tell a lie a thousand times, and even you'll start to believe it. Then, will you still be yourself?"

[Saving the world... that's too heavy a burden. It should be left to geniuses like Ante and Huibai... I just want to watch anime and draw my pictures...] He lamented inwardly, but his vow remained resolute: [Yes! I will! Please help me, help me seize control of the World Tree!]

"Heh... Interesting. Perfect timing. I've long disliked that third seat holder with his fake smile and cheap 'joy' all day long, so I'll give you a push. Your painting skills have great potential. If you can grow into my supporter, then I'll gladly accept you..." The voice chuckled softly, then looked at Su Ming'an, "And you, do you also want to become my kin?"

“Dasha Anchor, move aside,” Su Ming’an said.

"Hehe..." The voice faded away.

Su Ming'an understood that the Second Seat had sensed that Kassadia was seizing control of the World Tree by chance, but it just needed a push. Coincidentally, the Second Seat had taken a liking to Kassadia's painting abilities, recognizing their immense potential, and decided to give Kassadia a push in exchange for Kassadia's soul's loyalty. The Second Seat was also planning to take action against the Third Seat, and the vacant seat could be filled by Kassadia, effectively giving the Second Seat an extra, devoted high-dimensional helper.

"Shh!"

A powerful force was injected, skillfully guiding the raging torrent, subtly infusing the qualities of the "Joy" authority, like nourishment into Casadia's rapidly transforming soul.

"Uhhhhhh-!"

Casadia's scream suddenly changed tone, emitting a distorted sound as if his soul was being forcibly torn apart and then reshaped.

"Crack...knock..."

His blue hair was as if it had been forcibly pressed into a dye vat by a giant hand, becoming dyed with thousands of bizarre and outlandish colors. His bones were softening, his body was twisting, no longer conforming to the human form, and his seven-colored semi-fluid surged wildly.

Most chilling of all was his face; his once breathtakingly beautiful face melted and collapsed. His features vanished in the flowing, colorful substance… Then, a smooth, porcelain-white spot slowly “emerged” from his melting face.

—That was a clown mask.

The corners of the mask's mouth were exaggeratedly drawn, forming a huge, mocking, and joyful smile that covered the two tear tracks that slowly slid down.

“Heh…heh…” Inhuman gasps came from under the mask, and Casadia’s original clear voice was no longer audible, only a sharp voice that sounded like ten thousand people laughing at the same time.