Chapter 1309: Fraud

“I am the origin, and I am the end,” Qi Xia said. “What does that signify?”

“Doesn’t that mean… you are like a ‘god’?” The old man’s tone shifted as he spoke. “A ‘god’ creates humanity—thus, it is our origin. A ‘god’ guides humanity—thus, it is our path. A ‘god’ embraces humanity—thus, it is our destination.”

The old man rambled on, yet his words failed to stir any reaction from Qi Xia. A few seconds later, Qi Xia flashed a smile that the old man couldn’t decipher.

“But a ‘god’ can also deceive,” Qi Xia murmured with an eerie grin. “Perhaps there’s another possibility… that this ‘god’ created humanity solely to lead them to their deaths.”

The old man shuddered. “A ‘god’… leads people to die?”

“This ‘god’ is not the ‘origin,’ not the ‘path,’ nor the ‘destination,'” Qi Xia said. “It may instead be ‘deception,’ ‘doom,’ or ‘exile.'”

“What…?” The old man faltered, struggling to grasp Qi Xia’s meaning. “Wait—”

“Since you sought me out, I’ll show you the edge of the world and reveal the true answer.”

Qi Xia stood, walked to the wall, then grabbed a chair and smashed it violently against the surface.

Baffled, the old man followed. Though the young man’s words were shocking, he truly wanted to know the answer he had long pursued.

Why did people exist in such a bizarre world?

Where did they come from, and where could they escape to?

Why were faceless corpses buried beneath the earth?

One strike, then another—five brutal impacts later, the wall shattered, revealing an endless expanse of dark, star-studded void beyond.

Qi Xia dropped the chair and began clearing away broken splinters from the gaping hole.

The old man stood frozen, speechless at the surreal sight before him. He could only stare blankly at the cosmos beyond.

“How… how can this be beyond the wall?” the old man muttered. “Where are we…? What is out there…?”

“The edge of the world,” Qi Xia replied. “You will attain ‘eternity’ and witness ‘everything.'”

The old man hesitated before asking, “Then what is this ‘true answer’ you speak of? What… is going to happen today?”

Qi Xia fell silent for a long moment.

The ground trembled faintly, and strange rustlings echoed in the distance.

“Within ten minutes, everyone here will die,” Qi Xia said as he cleared debris. “‘The Final Moment’ will arrive as foretold. I will betray everyone’s trust, and the lies I’ve spoken will come to pass. That is the answer you sought.”

As Qi Xia spoke, the old man, wide-eyed with disbelief, plucked a strand of his own hair and held it between his fingers.

The hair no longer pointed toward Qi Xia—instead, it stretched toward the distant stars.

There lay all the answers, and there, too, lay the end of the world.

The strand quivered in the old man’s grip, drifting through the crack like the universe’s tiniest compass, steadfastly indicating the void beyond.

“Why…?” the old man whispered, horrified. “Why would a ‘god’ deceive humanity?”

“For the sake of a thought,” Qi Xia said. “I needed everyone to believe my mission would succeed—only then would it succeed. Then, I had to let my subconscious believe it would fail—only then would it fail.”

“I don’t understand…” the old man murmured. “For the sake of a thought… why go to such lengths?”

“You can seek that answer yourself.” Qi Xia pointed to the distant stars. “Let the restless thought in your heart find peace.”

Clutching the strand, the old man gazed into the abyss. If he could traverse that vast expanse… if he could harness his own ‘Tracking’ ability… perhaps he truly could uncover the truth.

“So the ‘god’… lied… deceived humanity…” the old man muttered. “‘The End’ will still come… None of those fighting now… will survive this event…”

His mind seemed to crumble under the weight of this sudden revelation.

“Yes. I call this rebellion ‘Remnant Serenity,'” Qi Xia said. “To let all lingering thoughts find peace—that is the answer your ‘god’ can give you.”

The old man felt as though he had glimpsed the world’s truth, yet grasped only emptiness.

“The ‘god’ deceived mortals… ‘The End’ is coming… No one will live…”

A tremor ran through the old man as he realized his own insignificance before this vast, unfathomable world.

He kept repeating Qi Xia’s final words under his breath.

“‘Divine Deception’…” The old man’s body shook. “‘The End is Nigh’… ‘None Shall Survive’… ‘Remnant Serenity’…”

“If you stay here, you’ll die too,” Qi Xia said. “Go. Pursue the world’s ultimate truth. Witness eternity. Seek your own origin and end.”

As if entranced, the old man took one slow step after another toward the door.

Just before he crossed the threshold, Qi Xia added softly, “If the final outcome defies expectation, carry this tale into eternity. Remember our existence—or else, in this vast universe, no one will.”

The old man turned back, his expression unreadable.

A few seconds later, he smiled faintly—a smile of resignation—and stepped into the void.

Like a man plummeting from a cliff, he plunged downward without a sound, murmuring the same phrases over and over.

Faintly, Qi Xia heard the old man’s fading whispers: “‘Divine Deception’… ‘The End is Nigh’… ‘None Shall Survive’…”

For some reason, those words felt familiar.

Where had he heard them before?

His ‘memories’ were too vast—like searching for a single pine needle in an endless forest.

At least the ‘variable’ was gone. He had not been born here, nor had he died here. He had simply vanished.

He would spend ‘eternity’ in a realm where time and space stood still—until madness consumed him.

No one would ever see him again.

Qi Xia sighed and turned, just as movement stirred at the door once more.

Chu Tianqiu, gripping Tian Tian’s hand, burst inside, his face pale with panic. The two slammed the door shut behind them.

“Qi Xia…” Chu Tianqiu swallowed hard. “I don’t know what’s happening… but outside—everything’s falling apart…”