Legend Management Bureau Chapter 431

[ … words ]

“Then…” Du Yu finally asked, “what kind of ‘me’ would be considered qualified?”

“There are simply too many requirements,” Time said with a smile. “For example, you must first be a ‘perfect orphan’, lacking any inevitable connections to everything in this world. Then, as an orphan, you must care deeply for everyone. Furthermore, you must sincerely desire to save those dying immortals and friends. You have to form a bitter feud with He Suoyi, and you must provide Mahakala with enough suffering. There are far too many conditions… In addition, and most importantly, you must fall in love with Shiranui Asuka. Once all of this is achieved, you will become the perfect ‘Time’.”

Du Yu was already stepping into a realm that completely subverted his understanding, but he never expected to hear words that would shock him even further.

“I… have to fall in love with A’xiang? Why is that?”

“I do not know,” Time declared decisively. “This is the rule passed down through generations by all incarnations of ‘Time’.”

“A-all incarnations of ‘Time’?” Du Yu instantly thought of something far more terrifying…

Every iteration of ‘Time’ could control countless versions of him, and there were countless incarnations of ‘Time’ in this world. Thinking about it this way, just how many versions of himself were out there?

The number was likely far greater than three hundred and thirty thousand!

At this thought, Du Yu asked again, “If you found a ‘qualified person’, how would you turn him into ‘Time’?”

“You…” Only then did Du Yu recall that on the battlefield, He Suoyi had vanished for a while. That must have been Time’s doing.

No wonder there was no scene of He Suoyi blowing up the world in the Saint’s timeline. Let alone him, even if one traced back through four hundred versions of Du Yu, they would not witness such a scene.

This had once led Du Yu to believe that he was the most special one.

But was that really the truth?

“Du Yu, do you know why, in the illusion I showed you, you clearly saw your childhood ‘self’ but didn’t feel dizzy?”

Hearing this, Du Yu blanked for a moment. He remembered that the exact moment he saw his parents and his childhood self, he did experience a brief wave of dizziness, but he quickly overcame it.

“Why?” Du Yu asked cautiously.

“Because you two are too ‘far’ apart,” Time laughed heartily. “Here, he is known as the ‘Creator’, and you are the ‘Terminator’. You represent the beginning and the end of a reincarnation cycle, respectively. Separated by over four hundred versions of Du Yu, and after the interference of so many reincarnation cycles, you are already completely different from him. In other words… you two are entirely different people.”

“The C-Creator?”

“Exactly. The ‘Creator’ is the beginning of a reincarnation cycle. Through generations of effort, he has completed a massive volume of legends, ultimately shaping you into the perfect ‘Time’.”

Du Yu had seen this so-called ‘Creator’ before. Whether he was orchestrating events to turn himself into an orphan or arranging for others to assassinate Du Yu, he always wore a thoughtful expression. This made Du Yu suspect that the man had left behind a contingency plan.

Yet, Du Yu never expected that the Creator’s contingency was to forge an incarnation of ‘Time’.

All of this brought him sudden enlightenment, yet simultaneously deepened his confusion.

Why exactly was this the case?

For the ‘Creator’ to actually mold a version of ‘Time’ was far too bizarre, no matter how one looked at it.

“Can you tell me… the reason behind all this?” Du Yu asked in a low voice. “Why did he want to create ‘Time’?”

Time let out a cold sneer and asked, “Du Yu, did you forget something?”

“Forget what?”

“Exactly.” Time stared at Du Yu with profound meaning. “There is no way for me to know the ‘Creator’s’ intentions because, just like you, I was once a ‘Terminator’.”

Du Yu’s expression slightly dimmed.

That was right. Only a ‘Terminator’ who attempted to break out of this reincarnation cycle possessed the qualifications to become ‘Time’.

However, no matter which ‘Terminator’ it was, after experiencing all this, they would only ever encounter other ‘Terminators’.

Even if they knew that ‘Time’ was a net and knew the ultimate outcome of all this, they would never understand what the ‘Creator’ was thinking.

Seeing Du Yu’s pensive expression, Time took another step forward and spoke slowly, “Have you made your decision? If you agree to serve this bitter prison sentence for hundreds of thousands of years, you can return to the time before the ‘Great War’, attempt to reverse everything, and then continue living with them.”

“I…” Du Yu certainly wanted to save his friends and return to that era, but the prospect of three hundred thousand years made him quail in fear. “I… what happens if I refuse?”

Time curled his lips and replied, “Nothing much. Your ‘Time’ will be destroyed, ending the entire reincarnation cycle. Then, I will initiate the seven-hundred-and-fourteenth reincarnation cycle to welcome a new ‘Creator’.”

“I thought I still had room to negotiate… but I didn’t realize I was already at the end of my rope…” Du Yu revealed a despondent expression. “So, whether I become ‘Time’ or not doesn’t matter, because you’ll always just wait for the next suitable candidate.”

“So you don’t want to become ‘Time’?” Time asked with a smile. “What nonsense are you sprouting?”

“What?” Du Yu didn’t understand Time’s implication.

Time smiled, shaking his head. He waved his hand lightly, and a shard of space-time flew over, stopping right before Du Yu’s eyes. Time cancelled the image it was projecting, reverting it to a plain piece of glass.

“Take a look at yourself.”

Du Yu raised his eyes and looked into the glass. His face was already covered in deep wrinkles, and his long hair trailed down to the ground.

Time couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Did you already accept this answer in your heart, yet refuse to admit it? Du Yu, you are already ‘Time’. You have bounded across these space-time rifts, and your physical body has already traversed over ten thousand years. How could you possibly go back?”

Time stared at Du Yu with a mocking sneer. He had imagined many possibilities. Upon learning this horrifying news, Du Yu might scream, cry out loud, or completely break down into a madman—just as he once had.

Yet, what Time absolutely never anticipated was that Du Yu would slowly begin to smile.

The smile was like that of a ghost, hanging eerily on Du Yu’s aged face.

“So this is all it takes to become ‘Time’…?” Du Yu muttered to himself, still chuckling.

An extreme chill instantly swept over Time. Looking at the aged Du Yu before him, he felt he might have overlooked some crucial detail, and he shuddered as if struck by a bolt out of the blue.

Du Yu continued, “I thought I needed to play along for a bit longer… but to think the identity transition is already complete? What a waste of acting skills.”

Time furiously smashed the space-time rift onto the ground, shattering it. He then grabbed Du Yu by the collar and roared, “Du Yu, what are you scheming?! I advise you not to challenge the unknown!”

“Ha, hahahaha…” This time, it was Du Yu’s turn to burst into unrestrained laughter. “You all thought you were the ones who chose me, but little did you know that I’ve been ‘letting you choose me’ all along…”

Time stood rooted to the spot in a daze, recalling everything that had happened… Du Yu let him choose him?

But before he could make sense of it, he heard a familiar phrase slip from Du Yu’s mouth:

“‘Time’, I’m ready to make a huge gamble with you.”