They all call me an Outer God.

Mu Wen was very puzzled. He had now added "mysterious magician" to his list of labels for Liya. He had originally thought that the other party had disappeared completely after that teleportation, but he did not expect to see him here again.

The distance he moved wasn't far, so what was the point of all those words he just said?
Mu Wen's expression was already somewhat subtle, but the person opposite him seemed to have suddenly thought of something, stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder: "I didn't mean to show off in front of Professor Mu, but unfortunately my skills are not that proficient yet."

"By the way, Professor, may I ask what I just told you, and where I was going?"

"Why are you asking me this? You don't even understand what you just said—wait!"

Mu Wen narrowed his eyes, staring at the man opposite him intently for a moment as if seeing him for the first time. Suddenly, his pupils contracted and he silently took a step back.

Their eyes were different.

He had no time to think about whether Ria had any twin brothers. Unlike Ria's expression, the man in front of him had undisguised malice in his eyes.

Run! We must run right now!
Mu Wen tried his best to keep the man calm and find an opportunity to escape, but the next second the man in front of him took a step forward, turned his head to look at the direction of a hidden surveillance camera, and revealed a sinister smile.

Then, he turned around and quickly approached Mu Wen. Before Mu Wen could even react, a knife pierced through his heart, and blood quickly seeped out, staining his pure white research coat crimson.

"you……"

Professor Mu's eyes were bloodshot, and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"It seems you've been seen through. Well, there's nothing I can do about it, Professor. Blame it on your bad luck; you're a born tragic character."

"Are you trying to ask me if I'm different from him? Actually, we're the same. We're one person. How can I not be him? He's the one occupying my body right now."

Mu Wen heard the man beside him whisper in his ear, his tone eerie and mysterious.

"Answer my question, where did 'I' just say he was going?"

As the man spoke, he drew his knife, opened his mouth, and shoved the blood-stained dagger into his throat.

Then he clapped his hands and said, "If you refuse to talk, you can die right now."

This man didn't seem very interested in waiting for Mu Wen's answer; he simply wanted to kill him.

"He will definitely come back if you die."

"Lia" looked down at Mu Wen, whose face was full of resentment, sneered, and then disappeared from sight again.

……

"The fifth one."

"The sixth one..."

"The seventh one..."

After Ria had practically devoured all the Thousand-Wheeled Snails at various research institutes and personally cleaned up the contamination left by the astronauts, her mood, which should have been relieved, became even more tense.

Inspiration was reminding him that something bad was happening.

He stood on the roof of a research institute in the Americas and closed his eyes. What he saw was not Sodris's awakening, but Muven lying in a pool of blood, his eyes wide open in death.

Mu Wen... is dead!?

why.

Who did it?
Unable to predict?

Ria stared at his hands, his fingers trembling slightly. He could sense that something was developing in an uncontrollable direction beyond his expectations, perhaps this was the consequence of distorted spacetime.

From ancient times to the present, time and space have always been taboo areas monopolized by Yog-Sothoth; no one can enter this realm without His permission.

But once you step in, you are destined to become a part of that space-time.

But Ria still refused to believe that Muven had died so simply. He was the future Outer God, the Radiant Sun, the God of War symbolizing the sun and fire. How could he possibly die at such an inexplicable juncture?

"I need to go back and double-check."

As he spoke, Ria reached out and tore a rift in mid-air, then stepped into it and returned to the future.

At that moment, Ria saw Sodris hanging upside down on the cross again.

Sodiris is still alive, which means that Muvin's death did not change the future of history.

Is this the terrifying thing about time?

Lia saw a symbol "Ⅱ" appear on the ground, which probably marked his second journey through history.

At the same time, some text automatically appeared on the floor.

[Script Excerpt II: Because you intervened in history, the factors that caused the pollution have been completely eliminated, and there will be no more "external" pollution in the next hundred years...]

(Time Correction) ■%＃？ ？ ？ After killing Muwen, you waited for his return, but failed to arrive. ？ ？ ？ You decided to resurrect Muwen, making him a new source of contamination ahead of time. (Time correction ends, historical outcome remains unchanged)

Upon reaching the end, a flash of malevolence crossed Ria's eyes, but he remained unmoved by it, simply watching the words disappear on their own before looking up at Sodris.

"Who killed you?"

He asked softly, but Sodris did not say anything. His lifeless blue eyes silently reflected Ria's figure.

If you want to awaken Sodris, you must change history, but changing history will be automatically corrected by time and space, and the inevitable ending will still come.

"Those who tamper with time and space will inevitably become a part of time and space itself..."

Ria opened her mouth and bit the tip of her thumb: "I can't change the final outcome. Is the outcome really more important than the process?"

He began to wonder if he was getting too caught up in the details and thus overlooking some things that should have been paid attention to.

For example, who killed Mu Wen?

For example, why did he appear in the research institute in physical form, and why were the machines in the institute able to detect that he was over three hundred years old?

"Judging from its age, it is indeed my former body, but it cannot be my original body, otherwise all those machines would have been destroyed instantly."

"After I initially traveled through time and left that body, it should have been automatically sealed into nothingness. Therefore, I was in a state of being neither alive nor dead. However, this body mysteriously appeared in a research institute more than three hundred years later, and was even watching the news..."

Someone's controlling it!?

This conclusion is absolutely chilling: while he was struggling to circulate through the extraordinary pollution, his original body lived for over three hundred years.

Upon realizing this possibility, Lia immediately lowered her hand.

So the question mark in Script II likely represents himself, but this is the outcome that Ria least wants to accept. He only suspects that he killed Muwen, but there are still many doubts about this matter.

For example, during the first regression, Ria, who was in a phantom state, had never seen him before, as if this person did not exist in history. However, during the second regression, she squeezed back into that body.

It was as if that body had always been there waiting for him.

"Is he targeting me?"

Seeing that Sodris was still unconscious, Ria pondered for a moment and finally decided to play along.

Since the outcome is already predetermined, he will continue to alter the process, proving that the process is far more important than the result at certain moments. Furthermore, Ria is also very curious about what exactly this soul occupying her original body is…

[Script III]

[You traveled back in time through the portal and found yourself facing a news report about the Thousand-Bearded Conch, which was playing before you once again. You took the Conch and, without letting anyone see you, used your magician's abilities to leave the research institute.]

Next, you follow the procedure to destroy all the snails and pollutants, along with your own body.

[Ending: Muwen survives, ??? After discovering his body has been destroyed, he travels to the stars (time correction ends, historical ending remains unchanged)]

[Script IV]

[You reenacted the events according to Script II, but instead of leaving immediately during the teleportation, you remained in the shadows to observe Muwen.]

[Ending: Mu Wen survives, ??? releases the Thousand-Bearded Snails from the three research institutes, causing pollution to spread (time-space correction ends, historical outcome remains unchanged)]

[Script V]

[You destroyed the Thousand-Bearded Snails ahead of time, killed everyone in the research institute, and deliberately took Mu Wen's body with you.]

[Ending: Unknown contamination from the stars still appeared on Earthlings. The contamination spread, and Muwen's soul reappeared on Earth and gained physical form. (Time-space correction ended, and the historical ending remained unchanged.)]

[Script VI]

[Script VII]

【script……】

After countless attempts to alter history, Ria's patience and inspiration were almost completely exhausted. He returned to the future and nearly lost his human form, revealing his mythical creature true form.

But after trying, Ria did not come away empty-handed.

He discovered that no matter what he did, [the other character] was never in the same place as him; he could never see [the other character].

I can't find him either.

Under what circumstances would two people be completely unable to appear at the same time?

"Unless that person is my second personality...that doesn't seem right either, where would I get a second personality?"

Another portal to another dimension was torn open in front of Ria. Ria turned her head and looked at Sodris, who was hanging upside down and looked like he had a stroke, and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

In any case, this person cannot escape the fate of witnessing destruction. Even in death, there will always be people willing to dig up his grave.

Lia even tried to swallow Muwen whole, but not long after, another Muwen appeared on the same spot.

It was as if time itself was deliberately making things difficult for him.

"Sigh." Just as he was about to step into the portal again, Sodris's eyes shifted almost imperceptibly.

“Ria…Kelcha…”

He spoke in a weak and aged voice. Upon hearing this, Ria stopped in her tracks, turned to look at Sodris, and a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.

He can speak now?
"Tampering...is unacceptable...witness...only witness..."

"Witnessing...the perspective of...the masses, I understand...the origin of everything, and then...starting anew."

Perhaps due to the heavy shadow cast over Ria, Sodris surprisingly spoke to him at this moment, granting Ria some unknown authority. Then, a force pushed Ria back into the portal of time and space.

The force was so great that it was as if the radiant sun was deliberately retaliating.

Ria hoped she was overthinking it.

……

[Script]

……

On May 7, 2348, the Huaicheng Research Institute received a special biological sample.

This creature, resembling a snail, is a gift from the stars brought back by American astronauts.

Formalin solution has a special sedative effect on them. The organism's vital signs decreased significantly after immersion in the solution, but the point of death was not reached. Therefore, formalin solution is allowed to be used for sedation and containment.

The researchers placed the sample separately in laboratory 013. Mu Wen forbade anyone from contacting it beforehand, because he always believed that these extraterrestrial beings carried deadly pathogens.

They must never be allowed to remain active.

But less than a day had passed when the AI ​​in the monitoring room detected a dark figure at the entrance of laboratory 013. Before it could sound an alarm, the figure disappeared automatically.

The figure silently entered the laboratory, bypassing all surveillance equipment. Upon sensing the arrival, the sealed Thousand-Bearded Snails silently extended their dense tentacles from their shells, joyfully approaching the figure.

"You're so happy to see me. I've missed you all so much. If it weren't for your help, I don't know how long I would have been adrift in outer space before I could return home... if this can still be considered my home."

【…】

"Are you suggesting I take revenge? I've been banished here, what revenge can I possibly take? Ha, the original body is truly ruthless, and those followers around Him are even worse, actually encouraging Him to abandon me, the most important person in His life, and exile me."

Without me, He'll never be able to advance to meme zero in this lifetime!

As if he was extremely angry, the man's eyes revealed a sickly look. His eyeballs moved slightly as he stared intently at the thousand-whiskered snail in front of him.

"You'll help me, right? After all, I'm the one who led you to this place. If I hadn't helped you change your form, you wouldn't have been able to enter the atmosphere in your original state."

【…】

"So, you've agreed?"

【…】

The tentacles of the thousand-whisker snail lowered and obediently rubbed against the container. Faced with this sight, the man was first stunned, and then turned his head away.

“How could I forget? Although I cannot use His authority, I am still influenced by Him.”

"But my abilities are also greatly limited. Damn it, if my original body were here, it wouldn't be so troublesome."

As he spoke, the man reached out his hand toward the Thousand-Haired Snail, which then happily stretched out its hooks and frantically scratched inside the container.

Finally... with a "crack," the container shattered.

The snail rolled out of the jar mixed with formalin solution and fell to the ground with a "plop".

The laboratory alarm sounded instantly. At that moment, the Thousand-Wheeled Snail suddenly stretched one of its tentacles to an extremely long length and slapped it against the man's hand.

Their forms transformed into each other; the Thousand-Bearded Snail became Li Ya, and Li Ya successfully transformed into the Thousand-Bearded Snail.

(End of this chapter)