"What... what's going on here?" One of the law enforcers was dumbfounded. "[Divine Favor]... can it be taken back?"
If the simultaneous descent of three divine paths' [Divine Favor] was still within their comprehension, the scene before them now completely shattered their understanding...
In all their years, they had never heard of anyone receiving [Divine Favor], only to have the divine paths severed.
"Just as expected."
Outside the mansion, the shadowy man nodded slightly.
"After finally receiving [Divine Favor] in such a desperate situation, only to watch it slip away... what a pity." Having stayed at Chen Ling's home for so long, Chu Muyun naturally knew how much Chen Ling yearned for the divine paths. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
"Pity?" The shadowy man gave him a strange look.
"There are countless people in the world who walk the divine paths, but there's only one who has fused with an 'Apocalypse'-level Calamity and still maintained his sanity... He is already one of a kind in this world. What's there to pity?"
Chu Muyun shook his head and said nothing.
Chen Ling stared blankly at the three rapidly retreating divine paths, frozen in place...
He had been abandoned by the divine paths.
That might have been the only hope in this world for him to escape the control of the "Audience."
He didn't know what had happened, but he could sense the divine paths' fear. He turned to look behind him, vaguely catching sight of pairs of eyes gradually disappearing into the void.
"...It's you again." Chen Ling let out a bitter laugh.
"Of course, I should have known... Once I step onto a divine path, it means there's a chance I could break free from your control. How could you possibly let that happen?"
"You'd rather I stay on this stage forever, a puppet for your amusement..."
Chen Ling's smile grew increasingly grim, his blood-streaked eyes filled with deep despair... Even the divine paths had retreated under the "Audience's" intimidation. As an ordinary person, he couldn't fathom how to escape them.
Rather than live as a puppet for the rest of his life, Chen Ling would rather choose death.
The divine favor receded like a tide;
Chen Ling, clad in red, was left alone, bound to the skeleton, laughing with despair and madness.
"Come on, Qian Fan!!" Chen Ling roared with wild laughter. "You want to kill me, don't you? Do it!! Shoot me in the head! Remember, if you want to kill me for good, you'll need two shots!!"
Qian Fan was momentarily dazed but quickly snapped back to reality. Seeing the seemingly deranged Chen Ling before him, a glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Although I don't know what's going on... since you've lost [Divine Favor], you're as good as dead!"
He raised his gun again, aiming at Chen Ling's head, and pulled the trigger.
Bang—!!
This time, no miracle occurred.
The bullet pierced through Chen Ling's skull, instantly taking his life. Half of his head exploded, splattering red and white onto the ground.
The mansion fell into dead silence.
Qian Fan and the others stared at Chen Ling, now with only half a head left, and finally felt a sense of relief...
It wasn't that they were cowardly, but everything about Chen Ling was too bizarre, so bizarre that they began to doubt whether he was even human or if he could truly die.
But now, no matter what he was, he was dead.
"This kid... is too creepy." Qian Fan holstered his gun, spat on the ground, and turned to walk back into the house.
As he turned, he saw the other two law enforcers standing under the eaves, their eyes wide with terror...
"What are you doing?"
"B-Brother Qian..." One of the law enforcers stammered, pointing a trembling finger. "H-H-He... he he he..."
Qian Fan frowned and followed the pointing finger, only for his pupils to contract sharply!
The crimson corpse bound to the skeleton had eerily straightened up, the half-dangling head slowly lifting as the shattered skull and flesh began to writhe madly!
The remaining half of the eyelid suddenly snapped open, a bloodshot eye glaring fiercely at Qian Fan!
"Qian Fan!!"
"Didn't I tell you to shoot twice?!!"
"One shot won't kill me!! It won't kill me!!!!"
The torn vocal cords grated against each other, producing a teeth-grinding sound. At this moment, even the experienced Qian Fan and his companions were terrified, their legs nearly giving out beneath them.
"Monster... monster!!" one of the law enforcers screamed in terror. "He's not human! He's a monster!!"
"Shoot!! Shoot him again!" Chen Ling roared madly. "Aim for the other half of my head! Come on!!!"
The grotesque scene left the three men petrified, and Qian Fan's hands began to tremble...
"I see now... it's you!" Qian Fan seemed to realize something. "You're the Calamity that descended that night!!"
Hearing this, the other two law enforcers also came to their senses, their faces growing paler.
They were truly afraid.
After all, the two Calamities that had crawled out of the Gray World were one of the third tier and one of the fifth tier. Neither was something they could handle...
Qian Fan gritted his teeth, drew his gun again, and shakily aimed it at the red-clad monster trapped in the skeleton.
At this point, he had no choice but to shoot.
However, the moment he pulled the trigger, the gun seemed to be gripped by an invisible force, the barrel twisting into a crumpled mess!
Qian Fan felt a tremendous force slam into his chest, sending him flying like a broken kite. He crashed through the mansion's door and landed heavily on the ground.
The other two law enforcers stared wide-eyed at the empty space before them, but they saw no attacker!
There was nothing there.
But in Chen Ling's eyes, it was different.
A familiar red-clad boy stood in the swirling snow, slowly turning to look at him... His eyes were filled with tears.
"Brother..." he said. "Brother, you can't just die like this. You can't give up like this!"
Chen Ling's head was slowly repairing itself, his bloodshot eye staring blankly at Chen Yan. The madness in his gaze faded slightly.
In a hoarse voice, he asked,
"Not give up? Then what can I do... keep being their entertainment? What's the point?"
"But if you die now, you'll have nothing left."
"Even if I live, I'll still have nothing." Chen Ling murmured. "Even if I survive, they'll keep interfering with my life. They created one of you, and they can create a second, a third... Eventually, they'll drive me mad."
"Brother! As long as you're alive, there's always hope... isn't there?"
"...Hope?"
Chen Ling looked into Chen Yan's tear-filled eyes and, after a long silence, suddenly laughed.
"I understand." Chen Ling turned to look behind him, his bloodshot eyes seemingly fixed on something.
"You're scared!!"
"You know that if I die one more time, I'll die for real!!"
"You're afraid that if I die, there'll be no one left to perform for you, so you conjured up his image to trick me into staying alive, didn't you?!"
"Brother..."
"You dangle a fleeting hope in front of me, watch me chase after it with all my might, only to shatter that hope when I'm about to reach it... That's what you want!"
"Brother!"
"You want to control my life, toy with my mind, but you're delusional!!!"
"Brother!!!"
A roar interrupted Chen Ling's furious tirade.
He turned to see Chen Yan standing there, tears streaming down his face, his eyes filled with pleading.
"Brother... I'm real. Believe me... Everything I'm saying is real."
"I..." Chen Ling was stunned for a long time, his face twisting with struggle and pain. "A-Yan, I know, I just..."
Chen Yan took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his eyes, and a look of unprecedented determination appeared in his gaze.
"Brother, you're not without hope..."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cloth bag. As he opened it, crimson, glass-like beads spilled out.
"The paths they severed..."
"I will rebuild them for you."