Meanwhile, within the 20th level of Battle Royal, atop a mountain blanketed in a sea of peach blossom trees, a familiar pair of intense, deep golden eyes fixed on the fat pig with a human face and body, currently seated opposite him on a throne. Between the two, a balance scale floated silently.
The pig, clad in a wide-sleeved crimson hanfu, patted his belly and grinned as he leaned toward the daring young man who had so easily found his abode—despite the portal to it being hidden within the boiling lava of a volcano—watching him through the gaps in the intricate balance scale.
The pig lifted his gleaming pink eyes.
"So... what will you put on the line?"
"What are you willing to give up?"
"Remember, it has to be something truly precious—or something you hold dear."
Leaning back comfortably, he added.
"From the composed look on your face, I can tell you already know who I am—if you can’t offer anything worthy of my interest, I won’t open the gate to the Secret Realm of Stillness for you, where time stands still."
Max didn’t respond, his deep golden eyes fixed on the balance scale before him. As he stared, memories of the very first time he had found this place with Austin, Elena, Jenny, and Monica came rushing back.
What had they given up back then?
Ah, yes—they had all sacrificed their first bonded beasts, just because the pig had taken a liking to those beautiful creatures the five of them had grown close to... and wanted to cook and eat them for lunch.
Jenny had cried at the time. Elena had closed her eyes. Austin had fought with him. And Monica had just looked away.
What about the second time?
It was fifty years of his lifespan.
And the third time?
It was Isaac’s talent for potion-making.
This continued, one sacrifice after another, until he interfered and disrupted the cycle.
Max smiled as he glanced at the pig.
"Which side of the scale is mine?"
The pig’s eyes crinkled with excitement.
"I knew you knew what this place is."
He said.
"The right side? How about it? I can see in your soul that you are a righteous man."
Max leaned back into the simple wooden chair placed opposite the scale for those who reached the mountain’s summit and reached out to touch the right side of the balance scale with a contemplative look.
"This time..."
His gaze flickered.
"It won’t be something physical—not my lifespan, not my power. I don’t even have a bonded beast you could eat. How about I offer something else... information? Even the strongest around don’t know it yet."
The pig raised an eyebrow.
"Information? Will that make your side of the scale heavier? Is it important to you? Many before you have tried to bargain with information, but I already know most things—there’s nothing left that can surprise me anymore. I even know this is not your first life. So, are you sure you can offer better?"
Saying that, he laughed mockingly.
Max pressed down on the right side of the scale, but it remained still. His gaze calm.
"You are the guardian of the 80th level, aren’t you?"
The pig’s smile stiffened, but the right side of the balance scale didn’t even budge, let alone become heavier with Max’s words.
The pig scoffed, his eyes full of disdain.
"Well, that’s no secret. Everyone knows."
Max retracted his hand with a smile.
"I’m not done yet."
His deep golden eyes gleamed as he lowered his voice, whispering quietly.
"It wasn’t me."
The pig frowned.
"What?"
Max’s smile deepened.
"I indeed reached it, but it wasn’t me who used the Wheel of Time for the first time."
The pig’s face froze in shock.
He could see through others’ souls, so he knew this was not Max’s first life—maybe not even his second. Yet very few beings knew anything about the Wheel of Time.
The right side of the scale finally began to shudder violently—but Max wasn’t finished.
He lowered his voice further.
"Everything is a—????"
His voice warped, becoming completely incomprehensible at the end, as if some powerful force itself were resisting him.
At his voice warped, the right side of the balance scale immediately plummeted to the ground with a thunderous clang. The space around them fractured, trembling under the weight of his quiet declaration.
The pig screamed as a ringing noise filled his ears, blood seeping from every pore of his body. The agony was so overwhelming that he toppled from his throne, shrieking.
"Ahhhh!"
Max tilted his head, his gaze calm.
"Even—???"
"It’s just—???—who can’t—????—"
The already fracturing space around the both shattered like fragile glass, sending shards of energy crackling through the air.
The entire 20th floor of the Battle Royale shook violently, groaning under the strain, as if the very foundations of the level were about to collapse. Dust swirled, and a cold wind howled through the chaos, amplifying the eerie sense of impending destruction.
Though the pig couldn’t comprehend a single word, he screamed in horror.
"Stop! Stop! Stop speaking!"
He didn’t understand what was happening, but one thing was crystal clear—the human before him had just revealed something no one was ever meant to know. This human had to be stopped before it was too late!
Max glanced at the fracturing space with indifference, his golden eyes unwavering.
"You know... we all failed again and again, even after always giving up on him. In the end, giving up on him became a habit."
The pig screamed once more.
"I told you to stop! You win!"
Max’s eyes finally showed emotion.
"He... once asked me, Why do I have to survive? Why can’t I live? He did."
The pig’s body began convulsing violently. He had already opened the old gate to the Secret Realm of Stillness that Max sought to enter, since Max had long made his side of the scale heavier—but Max didn’t stop.
"I still remember what I told him back then. I said, For everyone else to live... someone has to endure. Then—do you know what he did? He laughed as they plunged a sword into his still-beating heart and said to me, So... even you, the kindest, don’t pity me?"
"Then from now on, I will live."
"Because I am tired of surviving."
Max chuckled as he finally stood up.
"And now I finally understand what he meant by those words. The one who was used, discarded, never loved... decided to write this story in a way where he could finally be happy and get what he wanted."
The pig had long since fainted. Max didn’t even glance in his direction as he crossed the throne and walked toward the intricate old gate that had opened behind it. Max stepped through the gate, whispering.
"Skybound Throne, wasn’t he the one who reached it, but chose the Wheel of Time?"
"I just want this to end. I miss—???."
"I never was a—???. You made me one. Everything is so twisted now. I don’t even remember what even was my real—???."