Chapter 39: Despair

"What... what's going on?" A law enforcer was dumbfounded. "Divine favor... can it really be withdrawn?"

While the simultaneous descent of divine favor from all three divine paths was within their realm of understanding, the current situation completely surpassed anything they knew. In all their years, they had never heard of someone receiving divine favor only to have it suddenly withdrawn.

"Just as I expected," the shadowed man outside the courtyard murmured, nodding slightly.

"To finally receive divine favor in such a desperate moment, only to watch it recede... what a pity." Having stayed at Chen Ling's house for so long, Chu Muyun knew how deeply Chen Ling yearned for the divine path, and a wave of pity washed over him.

"Pity?" The shadowed man glanced at him oddly.

"There are countless people in this world who walk the divine path, but he is the only one who has merged with an 'apocalyptic' disaster and retained his sanity. He is already a unique being in this world; there's nothing to pity."

Chu Muyun shook his head, remaining silent.

Inside the courtyard, Chen Ling watched the three divine paths rapidly recede, frozen in place. He had been forsaken by them.

That was, perhaps, the only hope in this world that could free him from the "Audience's" control.

He didn't know what had happened, only sensing a deep apprehension emanating from the divine paths. He looked behind him, dimly perceiving pairs of eyes slowly vanishing into the void.

"...It's you again," Chen Ling muttered with a bitter laugh.

"Of course, I should have realized. If I were to walk the divine path, it would mean the possibility of escaping your control. How could you ever allow that?"

"You would much prefer I remain on this stage forever, a mere puppet for your entertainment..."

Chen Ling's smile grew increasingly grim, and a profound despair welled up in his blood-rimmed eyes. Even the divine paths had retreated under the "Audience's" intimidation. As an ordinary human, he had no idea how to escape them.

Rather than remain a puppet for the rest of his life, Chen Ling would rather die.

The divine favor receded like a tide, leaving Chen Ling, dressed in red, propped alone upon the bones, laughing with a desperate, wild abandon.

"Come on, Qian!" Chen Ling laughed wildly. "Don't you want to kill me? Do it! Shoot me in the head! Remember, to kill me completely, you'll need two shots!"

Qian Fan stared blankly for a moment before snapping back to reality. He looked at Chen Ling, who appeared to be completely unhinged, and a flicker of murderous intent crossed his eyes.

"I don't know what's going on... but since you've lost divine favor, just wait to die!"

He raised his gun again, aimed it at Chen Ling's head, and pulled the trigger.

Bang—!!

This time, no miracle occurred. The bullet pierced Chen Ling's skull, instantly ending his life, shattering half his head and splattering red and white matter onto the ground.

The courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

Qian Fan and the others gazed at Chen Ling's half-shattered head, and their anxious hearts finally settled.

It wasn't that they were cowardly; it was simply that everything about Chen Ling was too bizarre, so unsettling that it made them question if he was even human, or if he could truly die.

But now, whatever he was, he was dead.

"This guy... he was too abnormal," Qian Fan muttered, holstering his gun and spitting on the ground before turning to re-enter the house.

The moment he turned, he saw the other two law enforcers standing beneath the eaves, their eyes wide with terror.

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Fan... Brother Fan..." one of the law enforcers stammered, raising a trembling hand. "H-h-h-h-h-h-e..."

Qian Fan frowned and looked back in the direction the law enforcer was pointing, his pupils abruptly constricting.

The crimson corpse, still propped on the bones, inexplicably straightened its body. Its drooping half-head slowly lifted, and the shattered skull and raw flesh began to squirm wildly.

The remaining half-eyelid suddenly lifted, and a bloodshot eyeball stared intensely at Qian Fan.

"Qian!""Didn't I tell you to shoot twice?!""One shot won't kill me! It won't kill me!"

His broken vocal cords grated frantically, emitting a sound that set teeth on edge. In that moment, even the experienced Qian Fan and his two companions were utterly terrified, their legs nearly giving way as they almost collapsed to the ground.

"Monster... monster!" a law enforcer shrieked in terror. "He's not human! He's a monster!"

"Shoot! Shoot me, quickly!" Chen Ling roared maniacally. "Aim for the other half of my head! Come on!"

As this grotesque scene unfolded before them, Qian Fan's hand began to tremble.

"I know now... it's you!" Qian Fan exclaimed, as if a realization had struck him. "You're the disaster that appeared that night!"

Hearing this, the other two law enforcers also seemed to awaken from a nightmare, their faces growing even paler.

They were genuinely terrified.

It was well known that the two disasters that had emerged from the Grey Realm were a Tier 3 and a Tier 5, neither of which they could possibly contend with.

Qian Fan gritted his teeth, pulled out his gun from his waist once more, and shakily aimed it at the red-clad monster imprisoned within the bones.

At this point, he had no choice but to shoot.

However, the moment he squeezed the trigger, the pistol seemed to be seized by an unseen force, and its barrel was forcibly twisted into a mangled knot.

Qian Fan felt a tremendous force strike his chest, sending him flying backward like a kite with a broken string. He crashed through the house's doorway and landed heavily on the ground.

The other two law enforcers widened their eyes, staring intently at the empty space before them, but could see no sign of an attacker.

There was nothing there.

Yet, in Chen Ling's eyes, it was entirely different.

A familiar red-clad youth stood amidst the swirling snow, slowly turning to face him. His eyes were brimming with tears.

"Brother..." he whispered. "Brother, you can't just die like this; you can't give up so easily!"

Chen Ling's head was slowly repairing. His crimson eye stared blankly at Chen Yan as the madness finally receded somewhat. He spoke hoarsely, "Not give up? What else can I do then... continue to be their entertainment? What's the point in that?"

"But if you die now, you'll have nothing left."

"Even if I don't die, I still have nothing," Chen Ling murmured. "Even if I live, they will constantly interfere with my life. If they can create one of you, they can create a second, a third... Eventually, they'll drive me insane."

"Brother! As long as you're alive, there will always be hope... won't there?"

"...Hope?" Chen Ling gazed at Chen Yan's reddened eyes, remained silent for a long moment, then suddenly chuckled.

"I understand now," Chen Ling said, turning his bloodshot eyes to stare at something behind him.

"You're scared!""You know that if I die one more time, I'll be truly gone!""You're afraid that if I die, there will be no one left to perform for you, so you've conjured his image to trick me into living, haven't you?!"

"Brother..."

"You give me fleeting hope, watch me desperately chase it, and then, just as I'm about to grasp it, you shatter that so-called hope... that's what you truly desire!"

"Brother!"

"You want to control my life, to toy with my mind! You're deluded!"

"Brother!"

A furious shout interrupted Chen Ling's grim roar. He looked back to see Chen Yan standing there, his face streaked with tears, his eyes filled with desperate pleading as he looked at him.

"Brother... it's really me, please believe me... everything I'm saying is true."

"I..." Chen Ling stood stunned for a long moment, his face etched with struggle and pain. "Ayan, I know, I just..."

Chen Yan took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his eyes, and an unprecedented resolve appeared in his gaze.

"Brother, you are not without hope..."

He reached into his embrace, pulling out a cloth bag. As the bag's opening was untied, vermilion-like glass beads spilled out.

"The path they severed..."

"I will continue it for you."