688 Wheel of Balance (1/2)
Ye Qingxuan looked up at the sky.
”You wanted to stop her, but on the contrary, you helped her achieve her goal, no?” A soft voice rang in Ye Qingxuan's ear. ”Everything has been arranged by God a long time ago, and the plan is perfect. Haha, such is the Sacred City, Ye Qingxuan.
”Everyone is a chip in their hands, including her, and also including you.”
The voice asked softly, ”Are you sure you still want to be on their side?”
It was Paganini.
It was Paganini, again.
This time around, Ye Qingxuan didn't even bother to turn back.
He just felt very tired.
Sitting on the fallen bell tower, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and stopped looking at the sky. He fished out a crumpled paper packet and ignited the last crooked cigarette.
He took a deep breath, looking at the glow flickering at his fingertips, and suddenly asked back, ”Paganini, I don't like the Sacred City indeed, but do you know why I don't want to cooperate with you?”
Paganini was silent.
”To be honest, I didn't know it at first, but now I finally understand.” Ye Qingxuan laughed self-mockingly. ”It's because I have always been trying to make the world a better place, Paganini.” Ye Qingxuan turned back and looked at him coldly. ”And you don't deserve it.”
Paganini sneered and said nothing. He didn't even attack, just looked at Ye Qingxuan, like he was watching a fool, a psychopath who didn't understand anything.
”No need to talk nonsense anymore, Paganini, don't you want that thing? I will no longer fight with you over it, I give up. What are you still waiting for? Go grab it, go snatch the food from the jaws of the Sacred City like a mad dog, go fight for the sake of your ambition.”
Ye Qingxuan coldly withdrew his gaze. Leaning against the ruins, he closed his eyes tiredly. ”I just want some silence, so... get lost.”
Paganini gave him a final look. Suddenly he felt that he was wrong about the young man. Ye Qingxuan wasn't the type of person who harbored hatred as he had imagined him to be. They who harbored hatred were like fire, like lava, and they would burn everything down, but he was not.
He was just a fool.
The phantom dissipated.
…
When Paganini reappeared, the abyss sages had become a mess. The rage that had nowhere to vent lashed out at him from the very first moment since he returned. Shackles consisting of a gloomy glow suddenly burst forth all around him, putting him into a cage.
”Look what you have done!” The withered head roared, ”What on earth were you thinking, Paganini? You ruined everything! The four knights left by the sacred god, the last power of the abyss, and the future have all been ruined because of you!”
”Is it a bad thing?” Paganini snickered. ”Right from the start, I have never intended to allow the sculptures you all made from clay and wood to surpass me. It's just that you all took things too simply. Why should I obey and bow to the four puppets that you all control?”
”Now we're all finished, Paganini.” The head looked at him coldly, his eyes filled with hatred. ”Maybe we will be consumed in the battle, and as for you, you will definitely not have a good ending. Coincidentally, I am just waiting to see where your courage comes from for you to be bold enough to behave so rudely in front of me, as a newly promoted dark minister. Soon, you will know. We can help you accomplish your goals, and so can we ruin you!”
”No, you won't.” Paganini smiled and spread his five fingers. On the five fingers, a black mist lingered, turning into the face of the withered head. It was realistic and lifelike, making the head's expression turn into one of shock.
It was... changing music theory?
”Something's wrong! When did you...” His expression changed drastically, and he looked around but found that everyone stood transfixed without him realizing. They did not respond and just stared straight at him. The expression of the skull was twisted. ”When did you plant the changing music theory in me?!”
”Although I want badly to tell you, it's actually a secret.” Paganini smiled. He pressed his palm on the withered head and finally bid him farewell. ”So, it's best that you don't know it...”
The head wanted to wail forlornly, but he couldn't make any sound.
When Paganini's removed his palm, the copper disk floating in the air fell to the ground with a clang, and the broken bones, which were the only parts that remained of the shattered skull, smashed to smithereens on the ground.
It was like a broken wine glass.
A breeze blew from the deep darkness, and all the bodies of the abyss sages crumbled, like puppets piled up with sand. The power they accumulated throughout their lives gushed out like a spring, flowing into the wisps of dark, grayish mist, and flew towards Paganini's fingertips.
In the end, no traces of them were left.
Only Paganini was left standing alone in the darkness. In the faint candlelight, his face turned stranger and stranger, and it was so beautiful that one could not tell whether he was female or male, but it gave off a strong impression of being non-human. Despite clearly having perfect features on his face, there was nothing human-like about his eyes and brows.
Paganini quietly bid the ashes farewell, then left silently. ”Thank you for your care and support all this while. In return, consider the mausoleum that has been used to bury the various kings of the first generation a present for you all to enjoy. May you all find the future you were seeking in eternal death.”
Thunder sounded from the surface of the earth a long distance away, shaking the dust off surfaces, and extinguished the last candlelight.
Darkness arrived.
…
The sound of thunder became stronger and stronger.
After the cry that seemed like an illusion, frantic thunder sounded from the sky. The rumble seemed to indicate that a storm was coming, but no dark clouds could be found in the night sky, nor was there any flash of lightning. It was purely a result of friction between music theory.
A huge gap cracked open in the realm of aether, spilling miracles into the physical world as if the magnificent power of creation was operating within. Various horrifying elements that humans could hardly imagine spewed out, constantly shaking violently and scraping against each other. Breathtaking thunder burst forth.
At the moment, the sky had become a forbidden area.