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Chapter 1741 Final Chapter, Shore Crossing [86] "What is a sinner?"

Chapter 1741 Final Chapter: The Shore Crossing [86]: "What is a sinner?"

Yamada-cho opened his eyes.

The lingering fear of being pierced by Mizushima Haruto still lingered. Yamada Machi quickly touched his chest, finding a cold, empty void. His heart was shattered, blocked in his chest. But miraculously, he was still breathing.

He found himself lying among a group of players, surrounded by a hazy sky, a painted dome, and a kaleidoscope of hair and eye colors. Dozens of white cranes flapped their wings, carrying them forward with all their might. As soon as Yamada-cho opened his eyes, he was immediately met with a barrage of scrutinizing gazes.

"Yamada's awake!" Cynthia exclaimed in surprise.

"It's good that Sweetie is alright." Flora smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Viasin asked with concern.

"You're awake? Our host." Qin Chunyao, who was holding a pipa, turned around, her eyes flashing. "Your heart was pierced. Flora used the 'Battle Continuation' skill on you, but you can only live for fifteen minutes. You were unconscious for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. We will take you to a healing player named Miao Wen within ten minutes who can keep you alive."

...Ten minutes?

Yamada Machi glanced quickly at his watch: 11:46 PM...

It's been a long time since he left the stage of the Creators Conference! In a play, the curtain grows thinner and thinner as the host leaves... until it shatters completely!

“Mizushima Haru… Where is Mizushima Haru?” Yamada Machiichi asked hoarsely.

"Mizushima Haru? Wasn't she already dead at White Sand Paradise?" Qin Chunyao asked, puzzled. When they arrived at the scene, only the dying Yamada Machiichi remained.

That damned girl...did she escape? Regardless of whether she was really her, Yamada Machiichi had to go back...go back!

"I can't look for Miao Wen anymore! I need to go back..."

"Go back where?"

"The Creators Conference..." Yamada Machiichi coughed up blood, "Host...host!"

“Are you crazy! You’re going to die in ten minutes, you know? How are you going to get treatment if you go back to being a host? You should be dead, we have to take you to a medical team now!” Flora immediately objected.

"How long will it take Su Ming'an to defeat the Radiant Mother Goddess!?" Yamada Machiichi asked this question directly.

"Based on the comments, it will probably take about ten minutes..."

"Send me back! The curtain won't hold for another ten minutes or so unless I go back!" Yamada grabbed Flora's sleeve. "I'm a player! Players can resurrect...! If I die at the Creator's Conference in ten minutes, Su Ming'an will be almost done too... We can't give up halfway here! We have to race against time! If all else fails, I'll start over!"

Flora's eyes sparkled as she stared intently at Yamada Machiichi.

To dare to give up everything and start over, to live as an ordinary person who experiences birth, aging, sickness, and death... this is not something a normal person can do.

"What?" Yamada Machiichi smiled wryly. "Don't look at me like that. I'm afraid that if Su Ming'an fails, we're all doomed! I'm going back to help, so at least we can survive after being resurrected!"

This is the truth; he's genuinely afraid of death. Rather than everyone perish together and be unable to recover, he'd rather die first, and then he can live again.

"...Have you ever considered that higher dimensions might have a way to kill souls?" Erwin asked softly in a hoarse voice.

There was a moment of silence on the white crane.

Dozens of players turned around and came over. Erwin, Sirius, Christine, Viasin, Cynthia, Qin Chunyao, Flora... Different hair colors, different eye colors, all reflected in Yamada Machi's tired eyes. Yamada Machi blinked and a drop of blood dripped from the corner of his eye.

The chilly wind blowing from high above ruffled their hair. Everyone's eyes were tired and bloodshot as they stared straight at their only presenter—a "clown" with a gaping hole in his chest, a broken heart, and a colorful wig.

The clown's red nose had long since disappeared, leaving only a colorful greasepaint on his face, mixed with sweat, rain, tears, and blood... His eyebrows and eyes were blurred, and only his slightly trembling lips could be seen, with pale lip lines and cheap lip rouge, like an overturned palette.

He looked back into those complex eyes and saw a longing to go home, a longing to live...

Going back, returning to the Creators' Conference, and once again standing on the stage under the spotlight as the host, means facing all the dangers and traps once more. This includes not only assistants like Bai Ran, but also those from truly higher dimensions.

Ten minutes...can they really hold out for ten minutes?

Machiichi Yamada wouldn't force them to go back with him to their deaths; he knew he was going to die anyway, but these people were different.

He looked up, the brightly colored clown mask almost completely obscuring his eyelashes, blood trickling down his cheeks, his pale lips trembling slightly—

I want to turn back.

He uttered a sentence.

The white crane paused slightly.

People looked up at the sky, where the "curtain" covering the entire firmament was beginning to thin. No matter how Beiwang and Ryan tried to hold on, the drama was about to end halfway through, and the disappearance of the host shattered the logic.

Looking into Machiichi Yamada's eyes, Flora realized he wasn't just putting on an act. This always-smiling guy was serious.

He was fully prepared mentally and had considered the possible consequences. But he also left the choice to the players piloting the cranes; if they were unwilling to return to face the most dangerous battles... the weakened Yamada Machiichi could not force them.

Therefore, he said "I want to turn back," not "I am going to turn back."

The "clown," covered in blurry paint, shivered from the cold, his clothes soaking wet and clinging to his body. He silently gazed at the people, awaiting their decision.

This time, "moving forward" means survival, while "turning back" means death.

Forward or backward?

This seems to have become an age-old question.

Once, it was Su Ming'an who made the decision upon Su Liujin's invitation: to go forward or turn back. Later, it was Violet and her group within the Source Point who decided whether to gamble everything and venture into the perilous territory or return home in glory. Still later, it was Wang Xingkong who faced his own life and death, whether to stay at the gate or turn back. Finally, it was here that Yamada Machi and the others decided whether to safely face tomorrow or turn back and face danger.

The road lies here; how should travelers proceed? The golden leaves on both sides remain silent, keeping quiet and waiting.

Then came the first response—

"Turn back."

It's Flora.

She didn't even meet Yamada Machiichi's gaze. Without hesitation, she had already decided on her answer the moment she heard him speak.

The tall and slender female mage Flora raised her elemental staff, her star-purple robes billowing as she held it high, like a fluttering flag atop a white crane with outstretched wings, exuding heroic spirit.

The red rain soaked her beautifully maintained curly hair and her lovely face. She turned around, her hazy gaze fixed on the direction completely opposite to theirs—the Creators' Assembly.

Then came the second, third, and fourth sounds.

"Turn back!"

On the other white cranes, players shouted out their decisions.

"—Turn back!"

"—Turn back!"

"—Turn back!"

The loud shouts were relayed one after another, and dozens of white cranes turned their heads in unison, flapping their wings and fluttering their white feathers.

The first, the second, the third... from front to back, from left to right, the well-trained white cranes turned their heads one after another, like a vast, surging snowstorm moving against the current.

First, the squad leader, led by a white crane, made the decision, followed by the other team members. One by one, the white cranes that had been flying forward turned around, their wings tracing graceful arcs, resembling a formation of aircraft turning.

Perhaps some were driven by passion, others by conformity, but in any case, such voices were shouted again and again... spreading throughout the flock of white cranes.

"Whoosh—whoosh—" White feathers fluttered as people changed course.

Yamada Machiichi's eyes were fixed on them.

Flora pursed her lips and looked down to confirm the return route on the map.

The necromancer Erwin, who always exuded a gloomy aura, nodded slightly to Yamada Machi, his staff charging.

The tall, muscular Sirius wiped the blood and rain from his face, slowly put on his steel gauntlets, and prepared for battle.

The players who had been resting on the white cranes gradually took out their weapons and shields. Viaxin, Cynthia, Qin Chunyao... their faces bore the marks of battle and exhaustion, their eyes were bloodshot, and their lips were chapped.

They had originally come to escort Yamada Machiichi away, but now they were going to send him back.

Machiichi Yamada is not the protagonist; in Rovasa's judgment, he doesn't even qualify as an "important supporting character." But the moment he stands on the stage of the Creators Conference and becomes the host, he is alive, and only then does this drama have a logical continuation.

Machiichi Yamada thought he had long been used to using humor and witty remarks to mask his true emotions. But in front of this group of people who were disheveled yet resolutely chose to change direction, he felt like crying.

So this is what it feels like to be watched, recognized, and entrusted with something.

The flock of white cranes completed their turn, like a reverse meteor shower, streaking across the sky stained red by the crimson rain, and resolutely sped back the way they came.

Torrential rain poured down, and white cranes flew against the current.

Under the blood-red sky, those going to their deaths and their companions rushed toward the high platform.

The boy's chestnut hair fluttered as he gazed into the distance.

In his chest, a broken heart beats silently.

……

"What do you consider to be a sinner?"

Amidst the turbulent black waters, a silver-white warbler gazes intently at the purple figure opposite.

"To do what ordinary people cannot do, to become what ordinary people cannot become," the figure said.

"To be synonymous with the sage?"

"The opposite of a sage. A sage walks the path no one dares to walk, and treads upon the abyss. A sinner, on the other hand, walks the path everyone walks, avoids the abyss, whitewashes the truth, and even delights in building fences around the abyss."

"Are you saying that those who go with the flow, prioritize self-preservation, or even aid and abet evil are sinners?"

"Sinners anchor themselves on the path that requires the least thought. This path is often defined by worldly 'common sense,' 'rules,' or 'the interests of the majority.' They find peace in it, regard it as their guiding principle, and use it to judge all saints who deviate from this path, calling them fanatics, madmen, and sinners."

"Therefore, sinners are not necessarily the most heinous villains. They may be the most dutiful officials, maintaining world order; they may be the most loving parents, trimming their children's wings until they conform; they may be the most devout believers, burning heretical books in the name of God... They may even genuinely believe that they are doing good and fulfilling their responsibilities."

The silver-white oriole remained silent for a moment, while the black water surged silently: "So, sinners are everywhere, and saints are but solitary stars."

……

within the source point.

The purplish-black gas overflowed wildly, enveloping Su Ming'an in an airtight cocoon. His consciousness was locked in a tug-of-war with the remnants of the demon mother goddess Isabelle's consciousness.

—Yi Song's "lock" trapped Isabel along the inverted cause and effect, yet the foundation of a first-level god was extraordinary. Even though she was tricked by Yi Song, a clear-headed individual, Isabel's consciousness remained, and she even stayed conscious under the absorption of the "devouring" claw.

(My child, my child…) His seductive voice rang out, (You and I become one, this is what I have always longed for. I will become the most deadly 'poison' deep in your bones, coexisting with you, until you also belong to me…)

Once, the God of Inorganicity devoured Su Ming'an, only to be killed in retaliation. Now, as Su Ming'an devours Isabelle, He still harbors the desire to retaliate.

—Given Su Ming'an's current state, if he were to devour Him, it's uncertain who would be the last to open their eyes. He would gladly accept this body with boundless potential, take over his two incomparably powerful wields, and live on in his place.

"Shut up." Su Ming'an wouldn't give him that chance.

The Mother Goddess truly lives up to her name. Even though Yi Song died before her eyes, she was only angry for a moment before quickly regarding him as nothing more than a mayfly. Love and hate, fundamentally different in nature, couldn't even stir up the slightest ripple.

Without "devouring" authority, there is absolutely no way to advance by simply "eating" it. Obtaining this authority is a tremendous boost for the top player who needs to grow rapidly; there is no one more suitable than him.

He closed his eyes and ears, refusing to listen to His temptations.

White tentacles spread wildly from his body, and he gradually changed in a certain direction... step by step stepping into the realm of "higher dimensions".

……