Famine 162: Eight Million Gods

This sudden outbreak took everyone completely by surprise.

All the players were startled; Gao Zhai, who had just been gazing longingly at the radiant sphere, was caught off guard and cried out in shock.

The commotion came to an abrupt halt.

Si Zhiyan resembled a spider queen now, weaving threads through a decaying, dense jungle, spinning a web that ensnared all. Every strand fell under the watchful eyes of his own children; each could see a portion, but the entire pattern—only Si Zhiyan understood it in full.

Luckily, his children were obedient.

Lin Qiushui followed the plan and gave the command through the channel: “Everyone, retreat!”

Nie Du swept out his black cloak, bringing up the rear in the main hall. His death scythe flashed with a chilling light as it cut down any reckless thoughts, forcefully ensuring everyone’s withdrawal. Liang Qingshuang seized Gao Zhai, who glanced deeply at the radiant sphere, opened his mouth as if to speak, then, seeing Liang Qingshuang and the grimly prepared Nie Du, chose at last to leave with them.
The players wore varied expressions, bewildered, but retreated as ordered.

Moments later, all the players had vanished, hiding as planned in the underground bunkers of the town.

Since the first attack by 【Eye】, the farm had already undertaken extensive repairs to its subterranean defenses. Over these recent days, even more improvements and expansions had been made, enough to shelter all the players.

Si Zhiyan turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

Crack!

Countless scarlet threads twisted together, brutally lashing the wounded sphere of 【Eye】.
They were nearly identical to the color of Aiko’s light, born of the same source.

【——You can’t—】

【Eye】 seemed to witness something utterly inconceivable, and trembled violently.

This time, it was not that little shrine maiden doll.

Now, standing before Him, there was no doubt—it was her.

【You cannot do this—!!】

Si Zhiyan shifted aside, exposing the petite shrine maiden, her eyes gently closed, floating behind him.

【…Aiko.】
Kazuko bent her head, black hair streaming in the air, standing shoulder to shoulder with Si Zhiyan.
【You have traveled too far down this wrong path.】

Listening closer, one noticed how similar the sisters’ voices were—ethereal and light. But Kazuko’s tone was devoid of the manic sharpness belonging to 【Eye】.

Just like that day, countless centuries ago.

In the center of the divine hall, under the vault of the farm, these two sisters—born of the same mother, bound together in prosperity and misfortune for half their lives—faced each other once more, weapons drawn.

【——You want to kill me!】

【Eye】 screamed with utter anguish.

【You are no longer a player, you cannot take the trial! If you kill me, you won’t become the Eye! No, no, no, no, no! Never! Absolutely not!】

【I can’t die! I can’t die! The Heavenly Pulse will vanish! You will die too! You will die, you will die, you will die! Sister! Sister!】

This time, the one pleading through tears of blood, was Aiko.

The words, tinged with wild, broken sobbing, were nearly delirious. Blood gushed from beneath the massive Eye, streaming like bloody tears.

As expected. Si Zhiyan lowered his eyes.

【Eye】 was not surprised that Kazuko still lived—He simply refused to accept being slain by his sister.

In truth, she had always known what she was doing.

Over a thousand years, from body to mind, she had been twisted by 【Eye】; in endless struggle and challenge, bitterness and madness crept in. Yet all the while, she knew what she was truly doing. She had forgotten almost everything else except for this one purpose—

She used every means to preserve a seed of the world, to help the Heavenly Pulse endure.

And, she strove to ensure her sister survived.

Kazuko said: 【Aiko, I never intended this—listen to me, and to what Mr. Si—】

【No! No, no, no, no, no, never!】
【Eye】’s shrieks drowned Kazuko’s words. He cried even louder:
【Did you see it?! My lord! Did you see?! Father of all, all the gods—he refused the trial! He is not my successor! He refused!!】

【He refused!! He is not the challenger!!】

The piercing, grating voice echoed across heaven and earth, reverberating so fiercely that Si Zhiyan’s eardrums throbbed with pain.

……

Bzzz.

The glowing sphere of the trial silently dissolved.

The fetters and oily membrane shrouding 【Eye】 vanished as well.

The Supreme God’s voice came, as cold and emotionless as ever, sounding in everyone’s ears:

[The candidate has declined the second-stage trial reward.]

[Candidate is continuing the challenge.]
[Final trial has begun.]

[Restrictions lifted.]

—!!

【Eye】 wailed, and from Him blood surged outward, wave upon wave, flooding across the world until all became a blur!

He rose up again. Blood-drenched, shattered pupils, raised abruptly—locking a deadly gaze on Si Zhiyan.

A void!

In an instant, the enormous Eye expanded, blooming with a boom like a monstrous flower of flesh and blood.

No liquid, but layers upon layers unfurled into a massive crimson spider lily. Each delicate petal a gleaming red, and at the center, a chaotic, venomous crystalline core, each strand of its pupil swollen, reaching outward.

All around, the white mist was slowly stained red, as if the very world were burning in a sea of blood.

A true and complete form—【Eye】!

The very air became a seething sea of blood, crashing outward in rolling waves, surging in all directions!

No one could react in time—the onrush swallowed up Si Zhiyan’s spectral double.

“Ugh—!!”

Underground, Si Zhiyan’s true body vomited a mouthful of blood.

He felt as if he had been plunged into a seething cauldron of blood, boiling from the outside in—melting away. Agony. Pain everywhere. So much pain, he could no longer distinguish where exactly the pain was. His mind buzzed, vision fading to black, his whole frame bent over, gripping the chair, trembling violently, using every ounce of will to keep his double intact.

Blood poured from every pore.

The vine was nearly frightened to death, curling helplessly at Si Zhiyan’s feet, its leaves drawing close to shield him. This time, it dare not squeeze even a little. His whole body was one great wound, nowhere left untouched. The vine shook even harder than Si Zhiyan, every leaf quaking in terror.

“……”

Si Zhiyan hung limply on the chair like a piece of soft flesh, his mind near burning up, his vision a field of crimson, unable to see anything at all. He lowered his head, pinching his nose to stop the blood, his thoughts hazy and drifting:

…Fortunately, I ordered everyone to evacuate in advance.

Though he could see nothing, Si Zhiyan still forced his head up, straining to discern his surroundings through the dimness. He pulled at his muscles, resting his bleeding hand atop the vine’s tip, and spoke slowly:

“It’s all right… everything… is still under control.”
“…Don’t worry.”

The vine paused, staring straight at him, all trembling ceased at once.

……

Above the farm, the red spider lilies still bloomed.

No one knew when it began, but those scarlet flowers now blanketed every mountain and field.

After all these years, having absorbed the entire world of Tenman Paradise and survived a thousand years under the Supreme God’s hand, 【Eye】 was no longer something ordinary players could ever hope to shake.

Bound by the Supreme God’s script, forced to comply, subjected to trial after trial by these worms from another world—injured, beset, humiliated—the bitterness, rage, and hatred inside him were truly indescribable.

【Eye】, his gaze tainted by psychic corruption, glared at Si Zhiyan with venomous malice.

Ah, to think that someone like him could challenge Him now, even step forth from the shelter the Supreme God had granted…
Such foolish arrogance knows no bounds.

Of course, He understood this was not even Si Zhiyan’s true body—how laughable.

Did he imagine he was safe behind a double? Soul-affecting techniques passed through avatars—whether from the Grand Shrine Maiden, or the Supreme God, or the High Priest, or any other challenger—they had all taught her innumerable ways.

【Eye】 trembled, locking his gaze on that man in black, intent on watching him die with his own eyes.

That despicable, repulsive, arrogant worm… What expression does he wear now, at this moment?

The mist had already cleared. Reflected in the pupil at the heart of the bloom was Si Zhiyan’s thin, exhausted body. He was nearly overwhelmed, curled in pain, soaked in blood, gasping for air; his damp black hair clung to a pale face, and yet, upon those serene features…

There it was—a faint, upturned smile.

【Eye】’s pupil contracted sharply.

Buzz!

In the next second, a faint chime rang from the jungle.

No, not the jungle—that wasn’t quite right. It was the hot spring festival hall!

A luminous, golden-orange phantom shot up from the hot spring hall, soaring straight into the clouds, then fell like sunlight, enveloping Si Zhiyan utterly.

…A small, swaying blossom.

【Terrain Bait】… or perhaps, Ashen Flower—Hot Spring.

Moo—

A distant, long cattle low rang out from somewhere. The sound echoed, followed by the mother cow, and then many calves imitating her cry. Wild, unknown beasts howled in turn, followed by ghostly keening, and then a cacophony of voices—so many that even Si Zhiyan could not distinguish them.

They came from the hot spring hall—countless springs, great and small.

【Life Spring—Mother’s Cow Licks the Calf】
【Bubble Pool—Carp Demon】
【Endless Pool—Ice Spring of the Snow Monster】
【Lament of the Drowned】
【Side of the Startled Deer—an array of puppets large and small】
【The villagers of the snowy plains and the hot spring hall】
……

In Tenman Paradise, all things were once imbued with spirit. Mountains and rivers, humble objects, oxen and drowned ghosts—all possessed divine force and life. Eight million gods dwelled among mortals. Causality and reincarnation—all were fated.

Upon this land, there had never been war; and the samurai who bore the “Destiny of the Warrior” served as guardians, exorcising evil, averting disaster, keeping the peace.

This was all part of that splendor the world once knew.

The Ashen Flower, born of bloody sacrifice, was proof of the hope they once held.

In the Blackthorn Forest, Kazuko had cooked sukiyaki, held the ceremony as the Heavenly Pulse maiden, and shouldered the burden of eight million souls, along with all karmic ties. Since then, she had gained the ability to commune with these unjustly perished spirits.

No one knew when she moved, but Kazuko, black hair streaming, now stood before Si Zhiyan. Scarlet threads stretched, connecting her to the hot spring hall.
From within those threads came a faint, intermittent, heartfelt warmth.

The unstoppable tide of blood mist was blocked by Kazuko’s petite form; from behind her, the torrent parted like the Red Sea, rolling to each side.

The pressure lessened at once.
Smiling, Si Zhiyan drew a deep breath, braced himself, and slowly straightened.

【Mr. Si… Or if you will allow me to say it—dear elder brother.】
Kazuko whispered,

【Thank you for all you have done for me.】

【Now—it is my turn to protect you.】