Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

"How do you say 'time'?"

"You said we can chop them down as we please—but I'm a little confused. Are you sure you want to attack the Three Secrets?"

"That's the path I intend to take—at least I have a vengeance to settle."

Yu Man nodded without saying anything. After all, she was not clear about the story she had experienced.

But she also knew that it must be impossible to describe it in a few words, and whatever Senior Cat wanted to do must have a reason... probably.

"But my enemy, the 'Three Secrets,' has been extremely treacherous. From what I know, there are many things related to the 'Three Secrets' in the 'Land of the Branded Past,' so I plan to go there first..."

"The place where the past is branded"... The place mentioned in the serenade is exactly where she failed once.

That's not easy to deal with.

Seeing Yu Man's worry, Serenade explained, "Last time, I couldn't find teammates who could match my strength, so I went alone. But this time... it's different, right?"

"Well, I'll go with you."

After receiving Yu Man's casual promise, Serenade happily gave a thumbs up.

Her voice became thin. "When the time comes, whether or not we can find clues to the Three Secrets, we must proceed to our next stop... the so-called Millennium Ceremony. The Vatican's abominable apotheosis ceremony..."

Yu Man did not forget that he had received an invitation.

Not only that, the Holy See also sent a letter to "Against All Things".

Speaking of which, I also gave it to——

"—Am I... late?"

It was the voice of a slightly mature girl, as if coated with a layer of red flame, both subtle and passionate.

It is the belated arrival of the "World-Melting Dragon", a calamity dragon that can destroy the world.

She knocked gently on the door and looked into the warehouse with her burning red eyes: "Fish?"

"Old...Xiaohuo, you are here. Welcome, welcome."

"Ah."

Wearing the cloak given by Yu Man, this man tried his best to suppress all the murderous aura that could destroy the world.

From this perspective, she looks more like a young female traveler on a night trip.

She just happened to have a pair of brilliant red eyes, unconcealable dragon features, and stunning beauty.

"Hello too, Fish's little assistant... I just greeted Xiaobing. And this... Hey, where did this villager come from? Such a weak human..."

"...So the legendary legend, the 'World-Melting Dragon' can actually transform into a girl?!"

This is the meeting between the "Dragon of Melting the World" and the "Things That Reverse Everything".

"This is Mao Laoliu, you know him - and this is Lao Huo, my old friend, you also know him."

Through Yu Man's mediation, the two of them got to know each other.

The "Melting World Dragon" observed anxiously for a while, and found that there was no threat, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Serenade tried to move closer and was relieved to find that he would not be burned to death by the "Melting World Dragon".

Now that the "World-Melting Dragon" has arrived, Serenade knows they have work to do.

That was something that Xiaolu couldn't tell, so she could only turn a blind eye.

So, she waved her hand and said, "Alright—you guys go play your own thing, I'll steal your equipment and inventory from you, and then I'll develop for a while."

"Well, let Xiaobing and my assistant take you out to play, and help me take a look inside the cave."

After saying that, Yu Man shared the map information with her and marked the location of a cave.

Without waiting for Serenade to ask, Yu Man introduced, "I have a treasure chest monster, you know. But lately, the food has been too good, and it hasn't been able to digest it, so it's been drowning ever since... You're knowledgeable and experienced, maybe you can help it... I really miss it, because my backpack is really not enough."

“…I see. Alright.”

After explaining all this——

Yu Man put on all his equipment and brought enough consumables.

She walked towards the patient and well-behaved "World-Melting Dragon" who was waiting quietly.

"Lao Huo, is there any place you want to go?"

"Well - I plan to take you somewhere special." Her eyes were gentle.

Serenade pretended to pick something, looking back worriedly from time to time.

Although the two people were talking in Dragon Ballads, the experienced girl could tell what love words these people were going to say just by looking at their mouth shapes.

Alas, little deer...it's your cat that has failed this time.

Alas, Xiaoman—you are really not a good person...

Serenade stamps its feet, beats its chest, and laments to the waning moon.

And they——have already quietly walked away.

……

The magic circle of the "World-Melting Dragon" is actually one of the unique divine powers she possesses.

She regards the whole world as her shell.

Everything is the nourishment for her survival and growth, everything is the future she will devour.

And here, of course, she can travel freely.

Even to a place isolated from all things, she can go there with her companions.

"--squeak."

In her hands, a door appeared out of thin air.

There are countless graceful magic runes engraved on it, but no one can understand them.

If you look closely for ten thousand years, you would probably pronounce it as "dream".

"What is this?" Yu Man asked.

"A...special door, you should know about it."

Could it be...

Yu Man's eyes widened, and he immediately thought of something.

But the question is - why now?

"Aren't we...going on a date? I thought we were just going to wander around together, chatting and enjoying the scenery, or maybe play a dragon and princess scene with you. I know you like that."

That's not bad either—

The "Dragon of the Melting World" laughed from the bottom of his heart, but just laughed it off.

"I know, Yu, you're even willing to seriously ask me for something, even at the cost of being like a normal person... willing to go on a date with me. I can't do anything for you, after all, you're very strong."

"……What?"

"So—I plan to give you, who know everything, a special gift."

That was the door she pushed open.

She stepped in, then turned around and invited Yu Man.

"Come on—as you strangers say—this is the way through."

That was the road Yu Man had walked on and the door he had opened.

……

"You once invited me to go chop down the Thunder World Tree, Blood Eden. But I refused. I've never wanted to explain why... but now I want to speak out."

Yu Man listened quietly.

Even though the scenery inside this door is silent, Yu Man still wants to grasp the voice called the answer.

"We, the 'Principles of All Things,' actually hold the path. You know that, right?" asked the 'Melting World Dragon.'

“…At that time, I didn’t know.”

"Well, the alchemist who brewed a drop of 'time', you drank it, and thus became connected with the fullness of this world. But you have no path, that is not allowed, that is a place that strangers should not have the opportunity to reach... or even know about."

Yu Man said nothing.

"The World-Melting Dragon" is describing her journey through the game.

A journey full of nostalgia, regret and distress.

That was her secret, looking at the entire old world... no, in the words of "time", it was looking at the entire story.

Apart from the two people at the customs clearance place, only she in front of her knew about these processes.

She was strong enough and mysterious enough. She was the only person Yu Man entrusted his heart to and felt he could trust wholeheartedly.

"...That drop of 'time' allowed me to obtain a third hidden profession, the key to becoming a transcendent being. But as we strangers would say, I only got a ticket to stowaway, but no route."

Therefore, after a deep understanding——

Even as a stowaway, Yu Man decided to find a way out.

The existence of the "Basic Principle of Everything" came into Yu Man's sight.

As a unique magician who has reached the pinnacle of the element of lightning and possesses the power of nature, Yu Man has contemplated the World Tree of Thunder and determined that it is her most compatible partner. She needs a miraculous staff crafted from this material to forge a path to transcendence.

In fact—she did.

However, he acted coldly and disheartened after being betrayed by his most trusted "Dragon of the World Melting".

"Actually, I just want to live a little longer in this world with you."

It wasn't until today that the "Melting World Dragon" revealed that overly simple reason.

She knew very well that Yu Man knew the real way to pass the level and was capable of doing it.

When the stranger's travels are no longer a waste of manuscripts but become a perfect story, it will come to a complete end.

Unfortunately, the "Melting World Dragon" does not want that day to come.

So she hid at home and expressed her feelings by erupting volcanoes that seemed to be about to flood the world, using the rolling magma and bubbles to express her feelings.

"Tsk, you dragon... Aren't you very happy that I didn't pass the level?" Yu Man made several "tsk" sounds, and each syllable contained complex and interesting emotions.

"I'm not happy... I don't want to see you fail either." The "Melting World Dragon" was very distressed. "Besides, I don't know how to face you again."

"What about now?" Yu Man asked.

"Now--"

The "Melting World Dragon" stood in front of Yu Man, with the vast and empty void as its background.

"—I give you my path."

This place is outside the world.

There is no underlying principle that weaves everything together.

There is no time axis to define the story.

The myriad threads that bind everything do not exist.

Cause and effect, finite or infinite, necessary or accidental—never or ever will be, nothing exists.

Only forever.

Only eternity exists, the unshakable eternity.

And—this is the vast ocean that leads to the end of everything, the so-called game.

Yu Man had been here before, but she didn't use any door at that time.

It shattered reality.

With the furious thunder, wrapped in the scale of time, it shattered the entire sky.

It is the representation of reality that always looms over everything, and in order to reach the outside world, it becomes the broken mirror in Yu Man's hand.

Then, she used the power of the World Tree of Thunder and the special hidden profession "Time Player" to weave a path for herself that transcends nothingness and eternity.

pity.