Chapter 441: Gods (XIII) Collapse

May 10, 2014, on the snowy mountain. The ice-blue sky was clear and cloudless; standing on the towering ridge and looking up, it felt as if one could see beyond the universe through the dome.

It was not yet winter, and the weather was fine. Thousands of climbers from all over the world had gathered here, led by local guides to climb this snowy mountain known as the highest peak in the world, demonstrating the courage and power of conquering nature.

Every year, people leave their bodies on the mountain after their strength is exhausted, and every year, reckless youths with an unreasonable persistence follow in their footsteps. Old corpses are frozen into sculptures, becoming landmarks for those who come after; new corpses are shallowly buried in the ice and snow, adding colorful decorations to the white mountain.

Qi Si sat by the mountain path, chin in hand, boredly watching the climbers, their faces covered in ice shards, as they trudged up the mountain step by step.

These people could neither see nor hear him; even though he was inches away, they clearly belonged to two different worlds. Fortunately, three members of the Ark guild were with him. The four of them chatted aimlessly about their analysis of the current situation and speculated on future developments, at least so they wouldn’t forget how to speak.

Qi Si couldn’t help but think of the science fiction novels he had read before: after the end of the world, humanity reaches its end, and the last survivor in the universe goes mad in extreme loneliness and panic.

Now, the four of them watched the bustling crowd but were unable to integrate into it. Wandering helplessly as Ghosts from another time and space, not even knowing if they truly existed, was indeed a similar kind of torture.

Especially since the two sides, belonging to different factions, had come together for a common purpose and had to maintain a facade of peace while living together day and night; Qi Si felt that the evil deeds he had committed in the first half of his life were probably being repaid here.

“I just heard from the guide over there that it’s 2.5 kilometers to the summit, which is the distance of a fitness test in college,” Chu Yining said excitedly as she returned from afar in her wheelchair. “I heard many people consider reaching the summit a great achievement. I didn’t expect us to climb here too. Should we have some sense of Ritual, like making a wish to the Mountain God?”

The four had walked all the way without feeling cold or fatigue, nor did they have a sense of pain or the five senses, being more ethereal than Ghosts. During this time, Chu Yining had gone home once and seen her own funeral photo and the obituary for dying in the line of duty in her bedroom; she had effectively died on a factual level and no longer possessed the qualification to exist. To still be able to maintain optimism at this point—it must be said, her mindset was truly different from ordinary people.

Qi Si sighed: “You’re making a wish to the Mountain God now? Setting aside whether we and that Mountain God are even on the same plane or if He can hear our prayers, even if we get a response… are we going to remotely say hello to the Ancestral God and tell Him we’re still alive?”

Xiao Fengchao added: “This humble one still remembers the setting of the Final Dungeon. It’s said that the entire snowy mountain is the incarnation of the Ancestral God, and everyone from top to bottom believes in the so-called ‘Mother God.’ In this case, if Sister Chu’s prayer really gets a response, it would be a total horror movie…”

“Indeed, the connection between the Final Dungeon and reality is too close.” Chu Yining nodded in agreement and quickly wrote something in her notebook. “We never reached the summit in the Final Dungeon. Therefore, based on known information, the Final Dungeon cannot be cleared through in-game means. That’s why Lin Jue activated the effect of 【Dark Judge】… but what if the key to clearance is at the summit?”

“Sister Chu, what’s past is past; thinking about it now is useless, haha.” Xiao Fengchao awkwardly changed the subject. “Besides, with the state we were all in back then, we couldn’t have climbed to the summit at all…”

Regardless, the four eventually followed a random guide and headed for the summit.

The guide and the climbers were ordinary humans after all. They showed signs of fatigue by the time they reached this point, and the last two kilometers were a stumbling, snail-like crawl. The four followed slowly, chatting aimlessly.

No matter which soul was inside, Fu Jue disliked nonsense. After entering the territory of Shangri-La Town, he hadn’t said a word from beginning to end. Until now, he caught a piece of crushed ice between two fingers, slightly furrowed his brows as if considering something, and finally made a decision, casually tossing it at the guide’s feet.

The guide clearly saw the ice shard, paused, spat into the air, and babbled something to the climbers. The climber, whose face was already pale from exhaustion, turned even paler and muttered: “How can this be? I always thought Snow Monsters were just legends…”

The two looked around tensely for a while before the guide said in broken Mandarin: “Maybe I saw it wrong.”

The journey continued, and the players knew what this meant. Fu Jue said calmly: “After coming to Shangri-La Town, our connection with reality has deepened, and we can exert some influence on some people and things.”

Xiao Fengchao’s eyes lit up: “Then can’t we try to contact the Eerie Investigation Bureau? What if we use ice blocks to spell out words on the mountain and have whoever sees it pass a message to the Bureau of Anomaly Affairs?”

“Good idea, let me organize my wording first.” Chu Yining, being the most proactive, immediately started scribbling in her notebook. “It really feels like a magical sensation. Do you think all the supernatural events and urban legends we encountered before were actually people trapped in parallel dimensions asking us for help?”

Qi Si didn’t have so many imaginative thoughts. Whether they could contact the Eerie Investigation Bureau wasn’t a bad thing for him now.

In 2014, he had just been born and hadn’t had time to commit those heinous acts. Even if there were grievances in the Final Dungeon, they were all done by Zhou Ke. What did it have to do with him, Qi Si?

Similarly, he had no power in this timeline. Not to mention the anomalies under his control, he didn’t even know if Bob, who ran the Pig Farm, was even running a Pig Farm right now. To change the current situation, he could only rely on the power of the Eerie Investigation Bureau.

Regardless, being able to re-establish contact with the real world was good news. The four, who had been trekking for days, regained their energy and stopped caring about the slow-moving guide, heading for the summit at full speed.

An elusive substance seemed to float in the air. As the four got closer to the summit, it wrapped around them more thickly, forming a massive pressure that loomed heavily ahead.

A sense of resistance arose from the heart for no reason, like a psychic elder’s warning of Ghosts and death. The brain, without having arrived yet, composed a series of horrific images of the summit to scare the bold into stopping or retreating.

But having come this far, how could they give up halfway?

Fu Jue walked silently at the front, grabbing a protruding icicle for leverage to step onto the highest point of the snowy mountain, then turned back to help Chu Yining. Qi Si and Xiao Fengchao followed closely, stepping in the footprints to reach the high ground.

The moment everyone stood still at the summit, the vast white ice and snow around them reflected scarlet beams of light. The dome looked as if it had been cleanly severed by a blade; half the sky remained ice-blue, while the other half burned with fiery gold and red. Rolling lava and blazing fire fell from the sky like a torrential downpour, creating a golden beaded curtain between heaven and earth.

“Collapse”—this word popped into everyone’s mind. The sky was shattering and crashing down; there was no more fitting description. It brought to mind the end of the world, the end of time, and further, the myths of the sky falling and the earth sinking, as well as the later legend of Nüwa mending the heavens.

Qi Si thought of the “Twilight of the Gods,” the disaster rumored on the Eerie Game Forum that destroyed all core members of the Ark guild, causing a massive shift in the player landscape. Was that also such a grand spectacle, or was it named “Twilight of the Gods” precisely because it presented such a magnificent sight?

Or perhaps, the scene before them was the very Twilight of the Gods that occurred in the Ruins of the Sunset in the Eerie Game?

“Who are you? Why did you suddenly appear on the summit?” A questioning voice, mixed with urgency and fear, came from behind.

Qi Si looked back. The guide and the climber had also reached the summit, holding trekking poles and staring warily at Chu Yining and Xiao Fengchao.

At the same time, Chu Yining looked in his direction, her gaze showing a hint of confusion and panic: “Qi Si, Fu Jue, where are you? Why… why can’t I see you suddenly?”