Proof of Doom

The mortal realm was dark and dreary; sea and sky lay in dead silence. The Saintly Fool Instrument ascended from Beigong's remains, its bizarre form constantly shifting. Curling fingers seemed to tug at thousands of threads—weaving, entangling, unfurling a scroll named doom to establish the future of the mortal realm. With the lifetime's creation of Beigong, prove this very end! Between sea and sky, visions from the apocalypse and the mortal realm mirrored each other, rapidly growing and completing themselves. The entire mortal realm seemed to faintly tremble, tinged with a sense of unreality and vagueness. Even though everything before one's eyes looked no different from ordinary days, an inexplicable sensation arose that something was gradually changing. An illusion and confusion inexplicable to common folk became, for the Celestial Chosen, turbulent waves that grew only more pronounced the higher one ascended. The clash and entanglement between Supreme Virtue and Great Sin threw the stable state between past and future into turbulence. Amid the intricate tapestry woven from countless pasts and countless futures, a brand-new hue emerged. Heaven's Mandate was tainted! A massive vortex was forming between sea and sky, faintly radiating across the entire mortal realm, such that every gaze turned toward it in shock, reacting, even intending to intervene! A sharp screech suddenly erupted. Thunder tore across the heavens, then vanished without a trace. Tianlu waved a hand, as though swatting something aside. Behind him, the faint outlines of chains emerged from the void, crisscrossing into a net. Stretching from nowhere to nowhere, they enveloped the entire mortal realm, keeping every party that attempted to interfere completely locked out. "What the hell? Where's Tianlu?" "Did the Ring of Taiyi mess up?" "This doesn't match the terms you originally promised." "The locksmith's authorization wasn't meant for you to abuse." In the void, anxious interrogations and bewildered questions surged like a tide, only to be casually deflected by Tianlu: "What's the rush? Has anything actually gone wrong yet? The situation hasn't deteriorated to that point. Just watch me work!" He said, "I'll take full responsibility for all consequences." In the sky, countless phantom lights of Supreme Virtue rose, like pairs of eyes looking down. As countless thoughts and consciousnesses flowed between them, they held their breath, gazing intently at the shifts between sea and sky, waiting for the outcome to be decided— Witnessing the contest between the contemporary Tianlu and Elder Zhen. Under the convergence of the four seas' perdition, the Saintly Fool Instrument gradually revealed its essence, beginning its Ascension, charging toward the rank of Sage and Dragon. With the germination and writing of Eschatology underway, the balance of offense and defense had completely shifted. Embers was not like the Desolate Ruins or the Entropy faction, where sheer brute force could make a brick fly. To write a predetermined future into the mortal realm involved far too many facets. Whether the Saintly Fool Instrument would succeed or fail hinged entirely upon this very 'Proof'! Just like publishing a paper in a top journal, the theories involved, the data required, the experiments conducted, and even the results obtained had to be flawless, able to withstand any skepticism or refutation. It had to be as solid and certain as truth itself in order to become a part of truth. A public experiment, prepared on-site, completed on-site, producing the predetermined outcome within the projection of Eschatology—most critically, such an exquisite creation could not tolerate the slightest interference! Had Beigong's death remained unexposed, with the conclusion of the Duel of Embers and Stagnant Rot, Elder Zhen's covert operation might very well have succeeded. Regrettably, reality never offered "what-ifs." The turning of Heaven's Mandate never bent to human will, and the ruthlessness of the Embers never favored either side. Even Tianlu, the one closest to the realm of Universal Synthesis, had still been forced into a passive position by Elder Zhen's imperceptible accumulation and machinations. Perhaps it was precisely because of Elder Zhen's years of planning and corruption that, after all the permutations, the Association had been alerted, giving rise to this table-turning thrust that Tianlu seized to mount his comeback. Countless karmic threads entwined, myriad causes tangled, and the shift of Heaven's Mandate manifested between the two. Under the tug-of-war between them, the success or failure of the Saintly Fool Instrument had reached an unexpected development. Centuries of hiding his fangs and biding his time, of accumulated advantages that should have guaranteed victory, had now—under Tianlu's interference—spawned brand-new variables from the predetermined apocalypse, plunging the once-clear situation back into chaos— "Getting anxious?" Tianlu inquired curiously of Elder Zhen, admiring his expression with a half-smile. "I suggest you take it easy. Panicking won't do any good—how does that saying go again? "'The Embers are ruthless, showing no pity for mediocrity'—I mean, you were doing just fine over in Stagnant Rot. Why go out of your way to cross over into another path? See? You crashed, didn't you?" Elder Zhen remained cold, turning a deaf ear, expressionless from start to finish, neither shocked nor pleased. It was as though he still sat firmly in the angler's seat, unhurried and unflustered, neither alarmed nor impatient. Was it a facade? Or real? It no longer mattered. This was truly a case of all bets being placed—there was no room for regret now! In the forging of this Saintly Fool Instrument, compared to Elder Zhen who held the actual advantage, the interference Tianlu could exert as a latecomer was far too minuscule. But in reality, he didn't need to do anything. Merely existing was hindrance enough! Perhaps in this transmutation he couldn't accomplish a single thing, but he could also ensure that nothing got accomplished at all. Just as Ye Xian had once taught Ji Jue: executing things properly as a matter of course was indeed a skill, but ruining things properly as a matter of course was an equally rare talent! Now that both sides were mutually checking and impeding each other, Elder Zhen could no longer interfere with the forging of the Saintly Fool Instrument—or rather, he dared not! The more one did, the more mistakes one made, and the more tricks Tianlu could pull, the more messes he could cause. Only by doing nothing, completely isolating Tianlu's interference and letting it evolve according to its established foundation—All Things Self-Transform, all things self-fulfill—was the optimal solution now. He still had a ninety percent chance of success! The problem was that Tianlu had already tossed a generous handful of rat droppings into his pot— Windshield washer fluid dumped into the engine, a fistful of loose change thrown into the gears, a heap of unexpected issues popping up in an intricately prepared experiment. To the point where no one knew whether Beigong's thesis of doom could still hold! At this moment, Ji Jue looked up and saw a grim, gloomy world. Beneath a lead-gray sky, amid vast yellow sands, heaven and earth wailed. Bizarre towers and endless ruins choked the land, stretching in every direction. Terrifying heat poured onto the earth with the approach of a blazing sun, turning the mortal realm into a crucible. And when the blazing sun receded, piercing frost froze all things. Everything fallen and aberrated, an irreversible demise right before his eyes. In the sky, grotesque birds screeched past, casting sharp shadows on the ground. On the wasteland, bizarre, writhing plants grew, rooted in the earth. Not far away, something resembling a puddle of mud squirmed silently past, fleeing in terror. Ji Jue heard the churn of yellow sand. The ground trembled slightly, and a monster lurking in the sand lunged out, baring fangs at him. Immediately after, it was casually swept aside, severed at the waist, and crashed to the ground, hissing and wailing in pain as dark green blood spurted out. It was alive. Like a carapace-covered serpent with vestigial limbs, its head covered in a dense cluster of compound eyes, its gaping mouthparts lined with earthworm-like fangs—even severed at the waist, it still writhed incessantly on the ground, snapping its jaws, chewing in vain. Ji Jue stepped on it. He should have crushed it into paste right then, but in that very instant, his movement suddenly froze, stiffening for a second. He looked down again at the thrashing, clawing creature. That wasn't a monster— "...A human?" Ji Jue lowered his eyes and reached out, pressing a hand against that ravenous, hideous face. Feeling the structure of its flesh and its aberrated soul, his expression steadily darkened. Even if it was unrecognizable after generations of reification and complete aberration, its original nature could still be glimpsed. That was a person. It had once been human. Not just this thing—the aberrated birds shrieking in the sky, the mud writhing and mating in the shadows nearby, even the squirming plants rooted in the ground around him— They were all human! *Boom!* Amid a tremendous roar, a sharp tower in the distance shuddered violently. Serpentine tentacles shot out from it, dragging down a passing aberrated bird, swallowing it whole, chewing with relish. Also human. Amid rumblings above the clouds, pillar-like legs descended slowly. A colossal black silhouette above the cloud layer cast an enormous shadow, parading past. Across its immense body, hundreds and thousands of distorted human faces were submerged in blissful delusions, singing at the top of their lungs. Sharp songs and shrieks echoed in Ji Jue's ears. Long past saving. Ji Jue closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He finally understood what "apocalypse" truly meant— In that moment, it wasn't just him. As the infernal visions manifested before the eyes of all the artisans cast into the apocalypse, an identical realization dawned in every one of their hearts: *Who gives a fuck about the plot or worldbuilding? Stop spewing intros and lore at me.* *I don't give a damn about what happened here. All I know is that it's time to slaughter!* Without an ounce of hesitation, Ji Jue expressionlessly drew his sword and slashed down. *Die! Every! Single! One! Of! You!* And so, the flames ignited. Between sea and sky, amid the murky, benighted apocalypse, sparks suddenly surged forth, like fireflies in the long night, daring to challenge the world and the doom before them. In less than a few short minutes, clumps of sparks rapidly expanded, growing violent, surging and spreading like a torrent sweeping across this dark hell. In the hands of the artisans, the wrath of the Embers finally descended, bringing thorough destruction to all things. Burn away all fallen, corrupt soil, so that this apocalypse can no longer stand. Purge every aberration and reification, and trample the so-called creation of Beigong completely beneath their feet!