Liar

From initial fury to sheer panic, from desperate resistance to total compliance—the entire shift took less than a single second. Lian Cheng moved so swiftly that even the Sovereign Lord suspended in midair failed to react in time. And then... Things went utterly to hell! From the moment of its descent, not a single thing had gone right. Born prematurely from the very start, it had opened its eyes only to see the lair its underlings offered blown to kingdom come. Just as it prepared to unleash its wrath, a tiny shrimp had summoned some monstrous entity—and that very entity had pinned it to the ground and beaten it senseless before it could even fight back. And then came the damned backstab! In that instant, the bone wheel in the sky shuddered violently, unleashing an ear-splitting, agonized shriek—a roar of incandescent fury and terrified howling. No one could decipher what it was screaming, but everyone could tell the curses were filthy. Absolutely foul. From deep within this underdeveloped vessel, a colossal mouth seemed to have suddenly opened, ravenously gulping and gorging... Squeezing it like a carton of milk, it latched onto an essence far more vital to it than blood or soul, noisily slurping it dry! In fewer than a few snaps of a finger, even the vile glow within its eye flickered, on the verge of fading out. Yet to make matters worse, its opponent possessed not a shred of sportsmanship. Instant frenzy! Amidst violent burning, the Sage's projection swung its myriad hands. Countless invisible blades slashed and swept, crashing down upon the bone wheel in an unstoppable onslaught! Like an anvil under a hammer, sparks burst in every direction. Grievous gouges broke out across the bone wheel one after another. Then, amid the tempestuous devastation, the myriad invisible swords snapped together, thrusting through the exact center to impale the core! An irresistible collapse and disintegration began. At the center of the bone wheel, the evil eye embedded in the tumor blinked wearily, a bloody trail like a teardrop trickling slowly down. Tired. So thoroughly sick of this... Just destroy me already! Chrono Ruins are full of dirty schemes—I want to go back to the Vortex! In its final glance, fueled by outrage and grief, the evil eye glared murderously at the two bugs below: Shitty cult! Seducing me for blessings, draining my divine pith, tricking me into getting beaten senseless! Don't let me see you next time, or you're dead! Immediately after, as though unable to endure such humiliation, it suddenly swelled. All remaining vile light burst outward. The collapsing bone wheel resumed an endless cycle of growth and expansion, violently catalyzing until it reached its limit... Beneath the relentless barrage of the shade, it detonated with a roar! An endless storm erupted from within, engulfing and saturating everything in an instant. Amid the terrifying, earth-shaking shockwaves, the entire Chrono Ruin seemed incapable of holding together, teetering on the brink of total collapse. Yet in the next moment, invisible hands once again took hold of all creation. Clutching tightly to the expanding destruction, they sealed it inside a cage woven by myriad hands. Spiritus circuits flickered in and out of existence within the tempest. Wings withered one by one, eyes closed, turning into fine glimmers that drifted into the sky and scattered in all directions. The terrifying brilliance, like that of an exploding star, simply dissipated beneath the shroud of those countless palms. Until at last, atop the Sage's shade, the final wing spread wide, and its remaining eyes turned downward toward the earth below. As if taking one last look at the young man gazing up at it. And so, its eyes seemed to curve in a gentle arc. Like a smile. Departing in silence. Leaving only a descending glimmer of spiritus that drifted down before Ji Jue's eyes and settled in his palm, dispersing without a trace like a firefly. Ji Jue reflexively clenched his hand. Looking up at the empty sky, he could no longer find that vast, solemn figure. He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat. In the end, all he could muster was a wistful sigh. And then, he heard it. A shrill laugh echoed from behind him. "Heh, hehehe... Haha... Hahahaha..." In the ruined Inpatient Building, a hand slowly emerged from beneath shattered masonry—drenched in blood, bone exposed, gripping a piece of rebar with desperate strength. Like a malignant specter, Lian Cheng crawled out from the squirming gore! Laughing hysterically, madly. Though mangled and teetering on the brink of death, his eyes shone with an uncanny brilliance. An eerie, gruesome aura welled up around him, growing more frenzied by the second. He had even turned disaster into fortune! At the instant the high-tier abomination self-detonated, he had seized that final window to take a vicious bite out of it. Not only had he survived the shockwave, but he had also usurped much of the descended abomination's rampant essence... He had even taken it a step further! Beneath his broken frame, his soul ascended and transformed endlessly, taking on a brand-new form and countenance. Pitch-black eyes opened along both sides of his cheeks, vile light swirling within them as malice surged like a tide. And that was not all... Now he stumbled forward, scrambling on all fours toward the massive fleshy tumor that had crashed to the ground. Ignoring the ceaselessly wailing faces, he plunged his arm into the fissure left behind by the departed evil eye. Grasping hold of something, he yanked it out violently. A twisted, grotesque spine, pitch-black and sharp as a blade, appeared in his grasp! Within that pitch darkness, five colors seemed to swirl and seven hues alternated. Merely looking at it drove him to near ecstatic delirium! Yes! Yes! This was it! "The Pith of Vile Folly..." He murmured in obsession, caressing it, embracing it, eager to fuse into one with it. Ascension and fall have always coexisted. That path of Ascension, seemingly grand and radiant, had drawn countless fools who knew no better, yet none had ever walked it to the end. Even if one scrambled upward with every ounce of strength, discarding everything to leap through the dragon gate, in the end one would only lose all in endless falls and failures. Like a farce, spending an entire lifetime wandering in circles, struggling in vain between ascending and falling. When at last one came to their senses and looked into the mirror, not a trace remained of their past high spirits. Already altered beyond recognition. If the self of the past had long perished amid ceaseless struggle... then what was the reflection that remained? One must imagine Sisyphus happy, even if he was never so fortunate. When all hope burned to ash and despair arrived, the dreams and wishes pursued for a lifetime would become a curse that crushed all soul and reason. The paradise high above the heavens had never existed; it was merely a lie. After nine days and nine nights of falling, all that awaited the climbers was a nothingness surpassing every torment. And this hollow realm, where not even despair could exist, was the true destination of all ensouled beings! This was the earthly vice corresponding to the Sovereign Virtue of Ascension. —Nine Vices: Abyssal Void! Now, the darkness of the Abyssal Void manifested from the skeletal relic in Lian Cheng's hand! Though the high-tier abomination had died in the womb, meeting an untimely end, this blessing and true pith of the Abyssal Void had already completed its final metamorphosis within the womb of the Disease of Immortality. The ceaseless cycle of infinite despair and a sliver of hope, hovering repeatedly on the brink of death without ever meeting an end, exhausting all methods yet seeing not a single possibility... What had been born from those countless souls' thirst and longing for death was precisely this divine pith of supreme vice! Longing for death, longing for ruin, longing for the annihilation of self and soul. Lian Cheng laughed like a maniac, singing in exultation. So long as this divine pith remained in his grasp, one day he too would metamorphose into a vassal and part of the Abyssal Void, becoming a true high-tier abomination! "Do you see? I won! Haha, hahahaha!!!" Lian Cheng kissed the bone in his hand, laughing hoarsely in ecstasy. "The victor is me! It's me! Now, if I fucking want you dead, you die!" He glared intently at Ji Jue, who had no fight left in him, and declared, "No one can save you!" "Is that so?" Ji Jue gave a nonchalant nod, then suddenly asked, "Did you forget something?" Lian Cheng froze. Then he looked around warily, but saw not a soul. Instantly, fury flared. "Bluffing!" Ji Jue lowered his gaze and sighed softly. "Even now, you still haven't figured out where the core conflict between this Chrono Ruin and reality actually lies." "Liar..." At that instant, a choked sob sounded from behind Lian Cheng. Lian Cheng froze stiffly where he stood and twisted his neck around with difficulty. From the shattered, shriveled tumor on the ground, beneath squirming limbs and organs, a hollow, elderly face emerged. Eyes filled with tears of blood lifted to look at him. "Liar." "Liar..." Amid flesh and blood, a second faint face murmured in exhaustion. Then, a third wide mouth screamed in grief and rage: "Liar!!!" Faces rose and fell from the flesh, countless mouths gaping like tears in the skin, wailing: "Liar! Liar! Liar!" They shouted, they wept, denouncing the one who was supposed to resolve it all... Praying for release. Scarlet tears fell from their faces, drop by drop, hitting the ground and snaking forward. Reflecting a blurred silhouette. Liar. In that moment, a bloody rain of tears fell from the sky. The Chrono Ruin wailed, wept, and roared. Thunder echoed across the hollow heavens. Just outside the ruins, Tong Hua's vision went black. Stumbling backward, unable to keep her footing, she collapsed to the ground, gasping violently for breath. Those past stories, fragmented memories, and chaotic records of days gone by surged forth once more. Like a deluge, drowning everything. Reflected within the Eye of Aether. Amid unstoppable weeping. "It hurts so much, Doctor." On the stretcher, a dying patient reached out, trying to grasp the hand before him, pleading: "Please, save me... save me... Has rescue still not arrived?" No one answered. "Why? Why haven't I died yet!" A mutated patient struggled with all their might, rattling the iron chains, howling: "Didn't you say it would be soon?! Say something! Say something!" No one spoke. "Save me, Doctor, I don't want to live anymore..." An old man whose face was warped beyond recognition clawed at his own flesh, tears streaming down: "Please, kill me, kill me!" No one carried it out. "Liar!" roared a patient who had seen through it all. "Liar!!" wailed a patient lost to total despair. "Liar!!!" shrieked an aberrant driven mad. "Give me a little more time, even just a little." The disheveled doctor grasped their hands, pleading again and again, begging: "Hold on just a while longer..." He said, "Just... a little longer..." No one was willing to believe anymore. There was no salvation, no release, no death. Only hell. Hell was right here, in the weeping, in the despair. The world had fallen, plunging into endless darkness. There would be no rescue, and there would be no hope. In the ruined field hospital, the last doctor turned his head numbly, hearing the sound of the railing crashing down. Just like that, he was bowled over by the maddened patients, bitten and gnawed at without mercy... He strained his eyes wide, wanting to see clearly the expanse of sky slowly swallowed by darkness. Yet he could see nothing at all. He did not resist. He did not weep. In the end, all he gave was a helpless, weary smile. Turns out, I really was a liar. "I'm sorry for lying to you," he murmured softly, comforting those despairing souls one last time. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." God, if there truly is a God in this world... Please save them. Even just one... even if it's just one... In the final moment before he was submerged by the monsters, the doctor reached out toward the empty sky, making one last plea. Yet no one answered. Just like that, amid biting and tearing, he was torn limb from limb, not even bones remaining. Only a single thought as faint as a firefly lingered. Ten years, twenty years, thirty years, forty years, fifty years... This will did not die. Though scorched by fire, drowned by floods, though heavens collapsed and earth split asunder, though wandering eternally through this lonely darkness. Just like that, it gradually sprouted and grew once more. Until one day, the spirit born of that firefly opened its eyes once more, looking out upon the tragic world woven of wailing and despair. Ah, ah, why? Why... Are there still sick, still patients? Why does such a profound source of agony still exist in the world...? And so, it, they, all of them, reached out their hands. Everyone, please don't be afraid! Doctors can save patients... Doctors will save patients. This time, the doctors will definitely save the patients! Just like that, they struggled to their feet and staggered forward once more, shifting their bodies step by step. Walking and walking, on and on, heading once more toward where the cries echoed. Only the rain of tears dyed their white coats red. In that instant, the shade behind Lian Cheng reached out, pressing a hand onto his shoulder. "At last, I found you..." The broken doctor told him, "You are sick." "Get off me!" Lian Cheng stumbled back in shock, flailing his arm to swat away that nonexistent hand, yet aside from the phantom before him, he could feel nothing. "What the hell is this?!" Heartbeat, blood flow, life, spiritus, even... a soul! Why did it have none of them?! The doctor staggered forward, murmuring hoarsely: "The patients are sick, they want to die, and I can't help them... You are sick too, yet you still want to harm even more people..." He said, "You are so terribly ill..." "Don't be afraid, I will save you." Another face lifted from the dark, bathed in rain, bloody tears trailing down from the corners of its eyes as it told him, "We will save you." They said, "We can definitely save you!" No need to panic anymore, no need to suffer. Just close your eyes and wait with hope. The doctors opened their eyes through tears, looking upon Lian Cheng, reaching out one after another toward the patient who needed saving—this time, the doctors would surely usher the suffering patient into an eternal, peaceful slumber! Lian Cheng screamed. Where his right eye had been, a bloody hole suddenly appeared. The Hospital Director opened his mouth and swallowed the plucked right eye; just like that, the right eye radiating vile views was cured. Then, the Vice Director reached out and opened his mouth, curing the left eye harboring malice and savagery. Chief Chen of ENT wiped away the mouth that told lies to cause suffering. The attending surgeon healed the hands that administered poison to torment patients. Dr. Xu of Orthopedics set the spine that supported sinful flesh... Lian Cheng struggled frenziedly, incessantly hurling aimless soul shockwaves, trying again and again to spread contamination, but it was all in vain. He collapsed to the ground like a maggot, squirming in endless struggle. Yet the doctors remained by his side, heedless of the cost as they devoured the corruption and contamination, refusing to abandon the patient before them... gouging out the brain that conceived falsehoods and evil thoughts. Finally, Director Qian swallowed the unrepentant, uncomprehending heart! The patient was cured. The patient had finally died. Countless shades of doctors crowded around the patient's remains, overlapping with one another, celebrating the arrival of health, singing of the advent of a beautiful world. Yet tears streamed uncontrollably down their faces. "Liar!" Atop the tumor, the patients who could not die wailed, denouncing again and again: "Liar! Liar! Liar!!!" The doctor's figure flickered. "Liar!!!" The doctor lowered his head. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." The doctor caressed the faces on the tumor and collapsed wearily to his knees. "I couldn't... save you..." "Liar!!!" The aura of mutation coiled around his body. The doctor murmured over and over, but under the relentless erosion and contamination, even speech was becoming impossible to maintain. And right behind him, Ji Jue approached noiselessly and bent down. He picked up that pitch-black bone relic whose fractured edge was as sharp as a blade. He gripped it tightly. The Non-Offensive matrix flowed over both his hands, silently catalyzing, extracting, forging, and integrating the divine pith of wicked vice within... pointing from behind at the doctor's defenseless back. There was only one chance. The core and conflict that forged this Chrono Ruin lay right before his eyes; the shade had already coalesced into physical reality... As long as he drove this into the doctor's body, shredding the final resistance and utterly erasing its existence, then everything would come to an end! Yet when Ji Jue raised his hand, he finally saw the face slowly turning back to look at him. And his tears. The bone relic about to plunge down froze in midair. He hesitated for an instant. Yet in the next breath, a shrill roar rang out. "What are you doing?!" His hand was seized, locked in an iron grip. The doctor raised his head, glaring at him, demanding fiercely, "Did I... did we teach you like this?!" Ji Jue had no time to react. He was yanked forward. By the time he came to his senses, he saw... those hands were pulling his own arm, driving the bone relic straight into the doctor's chest, burying it deep! There was no blood, nor any cry of pain, only a soft sound like a popping bubble. Much like the lingering echo of a sweet dream dispersing. Upon that blurred face, Director Qian's features gradually emerged, delivering one final reprimand to the stunned junior: "As a doctor, when facing disaster and the nidus of disease, how could you ever hesitate?!"