From afar, the final wind of the rift realm blew in, carrying the roar of collapse and rupture.

With the downfall of the workshop, the broken and mutated creations finally met the ending they had longed for in their dreams. Within these final moments, it felt as though a song was drifting in. It was fragmented, blurred, and deeply familiar.

I think of home, I think of home,

My home so dear, so lovely...♪

As those shattered human shapes and monstrous creations fell, they lifted their heads, chanting the song that had echoed within their souls since their birth.

The sky so clear, the breeze so light,

Homesickness comes in waves tonight...

How are the ones back home these days?

They linger in my thoughts always...

I wish to return home, to the place I once belonged...♪

Just like that, they sang in joy and reverence, descending into the deep darkness beneath the earth. They embraced their ending and hoped, from this moment on, that there would never be another tomorrow.

At the core of the workshop, Ji Jue bore witness to all of this. He did not know whether to feel joy or sorrow for them. Only a long, quiet sigh escaped him.

But then he felt something on his head. It was the silent, faded crown of thorns.

As if bidding farewell, it tapped him lightly on the forehead. After this final gesture, it turned into a streak of light and shot away, disappearing beyond the edge of his sight. He didn’t even have time to react.

He couldn’t help but feel like the other party was as slick as some seasoned john. After they were done with their fun, they were gone in an instant, not even bothering to toss a tip. How cold and utterly heartless.

Ji Jue thought, Weren’t we so close and inseparable a moment ago?!

He instinctively almost snorted in disdain, but recalling that overwhelming, fulfilling sensation from just moments before, and that unprecedented experience, he couldn’t help but feel a ridiculous urge to chase after it, to run out and shout toward that vanished figure, “Hey, bro, wanna renew your membership? Next time you come, will you still pick me?!”

However, the revolution was already far gone, offering no response.

Ji Jue was alone, wandering between the collapsing sky and earth, witnessing the final moments of the rift realm, until, at last, destruction became imminent. He finally activated the authority left behind by the Seer, attempting to open the gate leading beyond the rift realm.

As for the others, the Seer had already sent them outside the moment Ji Jue took control of the workshop, saving him the trouble of dealing with it.

The gate of light in front of him flickered only for an instant before going out and vanishing completely. It never opened at all.

“Huh?”

Ji Jue froze. He tried again, then a third time, and then a fourth time. No matter how many times he triggered the authority, the gate of departure simply would not open. It didn’t even appear this time before it was shut down.

“What the hell?!” Ji Jue took a step back, looking at the collapsing earth before him and the abyssal void beneath the cliff. Cold sweat dripped down his back.

No matter how many times he activated the authority, the final workshop system gave no response. His wristwatch lit up in reply, and only then did he notice a dense stack of overlapping pop-up windows.

[Detected displacement of the Eternal Gate. Detected anomalous temporal fluctuations. Detected changes in Supreme Benevolence. Detected rift realm index abnormality...]

[Detected interdimensional gate activation. Closed. Closed. Closed. Closed...]

You goddamn bastard!!!

“So it’s you, huh?!” Ji Jue nearly screamed in tears. “Why the hell did you close?!”

Another pop-up appeared.

[Detected Pacifier component integration with full status. Rift realm recovery system warming up complete. Initiate?]

Ji Jue nearly started crying. Recovery my ass! Is this really the time for this?! You’re still thinking about recovering your damn junk?! We’re about to die, bro...

Helplessly, he could only click “Yes.”

He froze in place, completely stunned. From within the void of darkness, a piercing whistle erupted. From the hollow sky above, the roar and bellow of a colossal beast echoed. Thunderclouds expanded, and an immense, towering shadow appeared through flashes of lightning, but it remained indistinct.

Only layers upon layers of gray-black clouds filled the empty sky in a heartbeat. A massive vortex appeared, violently sucking everything inside, much like a black hole.

And then, just like the sage once manifested, his wristwatch completely bypassed Ji Jue’s control, reactivating the Pacifier matrix once more, transforming into countless invisible hands. Once again, it took control of everything on the brink of destruction.

A vast tide of flowing light rose under Pacifier’s pull.

Whether it was the Supreme Benevolence essence erupting from the collapse of the rift realm, the ocean-like crimson spirit matter, or the countless workshop systems, alchemical frameworks, rune emblems, and divine blessings, all of it was grabbed at once. Not a single fragment was allowed to scatter into the void beyond reality.

Just like that, it seized them, dragged them, controlled them, then bundled everything up as if packing luggage before twisting it all into a single mass and yanking it into the vortex.

Not a trace was spared. Not a single particle was left behind. It was like some uncultured relative at a banquet, stuffing everything into a plastic bag and sweeping the whole table clean in one go. Even the ground beneath Ji Jue’s feet was roughly snatched away.

At last, the vortex dispersed and the thunderclouds contracted.

Beyond the clouds, the colossal being let out a high-pitched cry like a whale song, as if belching contentedly while picking its teeth. Then, it turned around without hesitation and disappeared.

It left Ji Jue hanging there like a complete idiot, plunging into an empty abyss of darkness and screaming with tears in his eyes, “Hey! Open the door! I haven’t even gotten on the damn ride yet!”

Snap!

Just before the membrane of the rift realm completely shattered, the light of the cross-realm gate flickered once and vanished.

It swallowed him whole. Nothing remained in the darkness.

***

For a brief moment of disorientation, Ji Jue found himself beneath a familiar moonlight. Stars glittered in a calm night sky, and from afar came the distant echo of a stream. Then, in a dizzy spin of perception, he faceplanted hard into the ground. He lay there for a long while, unable to catch his breath.

Only after finally regaining strength did he push himself up, wiping dirt and dust from his face while spitting repeatedly.

“Ptui, ptui, ptui!”

After returning to the long-lost real world, he didn’t even have time to relax. Looking around at the desolate scenery, a wave of genuine grief and indignation rose in him, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

What kind of people are the followers of Ember anyway?!

He had finally seen through it: whether it was the Seer, the Edge of Revolution, or that damn wristwatch, none of them were good people. Every single one of them was just thinking about how to freeload off him!

Once they were done, they’d just dust off their pants and leave, dumping all the mess on him. What, did he look that cheap and worthless?! He really should’ve known that meddling in other people’s business never ends well, and with his damn luck on top of that...

Ji Jue even felt like slapping himself twice. How had he still learned absolutely nothing at all?!

Throughout his long sighs and complaints, he heard a familiar honking sound from afar. It was impossible to tell whether it was an excited honk or just someone venting frustration while cursing the world.

At the base of a nearby hill, in a chaotic and noisy camp, a three-wheeled vehicle was already honking up the slope, speeding straight toward him.

Under the pale glare of searchlights, Ji Jue also spotted many familiar faces in the camp and Security Bureau vehicles. Next to an ambulance, An Ran lay on a stretcher. The boy saw Ji Jue in the distance, lifted his head, and waved excitedly in his direction.

It had only been a short separation, yet it felt like an entire lifetime had passed. Ji Jue could hardly contain his joy. He was finally back. Everything that had happened in the rift realm was over. He had returned to his own world.

Smiling, he raised his hand, about to respond. But from behind him, in what had just been empty space, a voice suddenly rang out. It was soft, faint, and hesitant as it gathered courage to ask, “Excuse me, are you Mr. Ji?”

Ji Jue froze, then turned back in confusion. There was no one under the quiet moonlight.

Something suddenly landed on his shoulder. Like a ghost in the dead of night gently patting him, it startled him so badly he nearly screamed. When he came to his senses, he saw it clearly. On his shoulder sat a pair of tiny eyes, looking at him with curious confusion, as if it simply couldn’t understand why Ji Jue wasn’t speaking to it.

It was a small, delicate, and lively jade-green bird. A metallic sheen flowed across its outstretched wings, faint fluctuations of spirit matter appearing and fading in and out like whispers, looking utterly tranquil. It was impossible to tell whether it was an ordinary bird or a mechanical construct. It felt almost naturally formed, as if born that way.

It was a creation of Fluid Alchemy!

And that voice... he had heard it in the camp before. It had left a deep impression on him.

“Xiao Jiu?” Ji Jue widened his eyes, unable to connect the nimble little bird in front of him with the silly child who used to sit on a cart while shouting for his mother everywhere. “What are you doing here?”

“Mommy Seer said before she left that everyone would be gone on a faraway trip in a few days. But taking care of kids is too troublesome, so she told me to listen to you and stay at your house for a while.” Xiao Jiu flapped its wings dejectedly. “After I fell asleep, everyone disappeared. And I turned into this.”

Ji Jue’s face twitched again and again. So was he getting freeloaded again?!

The Seer had dumped the kid on Ji Jue, then just disappeared to die in peace and be done with it once and for all. Did she have no shame?!

He looked down at the energetic little bird shaking its head and tail, and in the end could only helplessly scratch his head. Forget it. It wouldn’t take much to raise another animal. Might as well treat it like running a zoo.

He had to accept reality. Besides, could he really just leave a kid like this wandering around unattended?

He gently lifted the small bird and asked, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Xiao Jiu[1].” The bird tilted its head in confusion. “Everyone calls me Xiao Jiu. Isn’t that my name?”

“I mean your other name,” Ji Jue explained. “Besides the number, do you have another name? A more normal one. If not, I can give you one. How about it?”

Ji Jue gestured enthusiastically toward the nearby scooter, suddenly struck by inspiration. “Look, that one’s called Horsey. From now on, how about you’re called Little—”

“Ah, I remember now!” Xiao Jiu suddenly jumped up in excitement, interrupting him. “Mommy Seer told me before! I used to have another name... it was... it was...”

She racked her memory hard, then her eyes lit up as she finally recalled the very first name she had been given. “Gloria!”

Ji Jue fell silent. He slowly lowered his head, staring at the little bird in his palm.

“What did you say?”

The small bird hopped happily. “Gloria! That’s what Mom called me! My name is Gloria!”

Ji Jue didn’t reply. His mind went blank. He was completely dumbfounded.

Suddenly, he recalled something Xiao Jiu—no, 97—had once told him when introducing her. “This child is different from the others. Xiao Jiu is a ‘newborn’ produced in this cycle...”

This cycle? If everything was an endless cycle, with each person assigned their role from the beginning, then how could something be created for the first time?!

Of course. That so-called Seer was really full of nonsense! When she was dying, she said she had no regrets, no attachments, and yet she secretly went and pulled off something this big and didn’t even bother telling Ji Jue beforehand!

So freeloading had become her habit, huh?!

But even as Ji Jue complained inwardly, when he looked down at the little bird in his hand, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Hello there, Gloria.”

Did Mercury succeed? Or was this the result of the Seer’s work over all these years? Or perhaps a miracle born somewhere within time and the unknown itself?

He didn’t understand. He couldn’t figure it out. But... this had to be a good thing, right? Nothing could be better than this.

Fine, then. Besides, who said I can’t enjoy being freeloaded off? As long as I’m having a good time, it doesn’t even count as freeloading, right?

Comforting his thoroughly shaken heart with such logic, Ji Jue turned back one last time to glance at the shimmering starlight in the sky. He stepped onto Horsey’s seat and twisted the throttle. “Let’s go, we’re heading home!”

Gloria flapped her wings and shouted excitedly, “Home!”

Ji Jue thought for a moment, then said, “You can eat all the chicken drumsticks you want!”

Horsey let out an enthusiastic honk. The bird that had begun nesting on his head immediately perked up with curiosity.

“What are chicken drumsticks?”

“It’s something you can eat. Tastes pretty good. Wanna try, Gloria?”

“Yes, yes!” the bird chirped happily, almost like it was singing. “Thank you, big brother!”

“Don’t call me ‘big brother!’”

“Huh? Why?”

“No reason. Just don’t call me that!”

And so, under the moonlight and stars that had watched over centuries, from the wilderness, a sputtering three-wheeled vehicle drove off into the distance.

The sound of distant tides still echoed on and on.

1. Xiao Jiu means “little nine.” ☜