CHAPTER 128 – A Memory That Never Happened
The rupture opened fully, showing not the chaos of the rift, but a scene—
A memory.
But not one from her present or past in this world.
A memory that shattered the established timeline.
Xiao Xi froze, her transparent form solidifying in sheer shock.
"No…"
She saw herself.
Vividly.
In her original, non-Root world.
Before the accident.
Walking along a busy street at night.
Then the moment everything changed—the screech of tires, the sudden darkness, the pain.
But the memory didn't play out the way she remembered her death.
Someone else was there.
A shadow—a figure—standing in the road, rushing forward.
Blocking the car.
Xiao Xi gasped, her conceptual breath stolen by the impossible sight.
"That… that wasn't me, trying to cross the road…"
The First Root hissed softly, confirming the horrifying truth.
"NO.
IT WAS HIS CHOICE THAT SAVED YOU."
The figure turned in the memory—
and the image sharpened, revealing the person's face.
It wasn't a stranger.
It wasn't her.
It was—
"Gu Yanzhou…?"
But that was impossible.
He was a character from this world, created for her rewrite.
He wasn't from her original timeline.
He couldn't have been there. He couldn't—
The First Root whispered, its voice heavy with the weight of shattered fate.
"HE CHANGED FATE FIRST.
HE JUMPED."
Xiao Xi staggered back, the void spinning around her.
"What—No, that's impossible—he wasn't even created then—he wasn't in my world!"
"HE ENTERED YOUR WORLD BEFORE YOU ENTERED HIS.
A TEMPORAL ANOMALY.
HE DIED SAVING YOU."
Xiao Xi's breath hitched painfully, a choked sob escaping her.
"He… saved me? He caused my death, and then… he saved me?"
"YES.
HIS DEATH, A MORTAL SOUL'S SACRIFICE FOR AN UNWRITTEN WOMAN, WAS WHAT FRACTURED THE CORE.
HE BROUGHT YOU HERE."
Xiao Xi fell to her knees, the pain of the revelation worse than the sealing.
"No… No… Yanzhou, what did you do…?"
The First Root chuckled, a sound of ultimate, knowing power.
"HE BROKE THE BARRIER BETWEEN WORLDS FOR YOU.
JUST AS YOU BROKE IT FOR HIM.
A PERFECT LOOP."
The void pulsed with the cosmic significance.
Xiao Xi whispered, the tears of gold and violet essence falling from her eyes.
"…We caused each other's deaths.
We were linked before we ever met."
The First Root smiled darkly, victoriously.
"AND THAT IS WHY YOUR SOULS ARE INTERTWINED BEYOND OUR LAWS.
YOU WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE."
Xiao Xi pressed her trembling hand to her mouth.
Her whisper cracked with raw, perfect recognition.
"…We loved each other… before we even knew the other existed."
The void cracked open wider, ready to receive the arrival of its second anomaly.
So what do you think of this chapter, don't forget to leave your thoughts before moving into the next....
----------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 129 – Shen's Desperation
Three days after the sealing, the Root Protagonist's headquarters was chaos.
Shen burst into the main operational chamber, the last vestiges of his control gone.
Technicians—system fragments in humanoid form—scattered as he stormed through the wreckage of consoles.
"WHERE IS HE?! WHERE'S GU?! GIVE ME HIS SIGNATURE!"
Ling ran after him, breathless, trying to mediate the disaster.
"Shen—calm down! The Root Protagonist is coordinating the recovery—"
"CALM DOWN?!" Shen shouted, grabbing a handful of wires and yanking them out.
"He dove into a dimensional rupture—A SUICIDE RIFT—without anyone stopping him! What kind of failsafe are you?!"
Ling grabbed his arm, her expression pleading.
"We're trying to track his signature! The jump was too fast, too unstable!"
"THEN TRY HARDER! HE IS NOT A LOOSE FILE, HE IS MY FRIEND!"
The Root Protagonist appeared silently behind them, his presence an island of calm in the storm.
"He is between worlds now. No conventional system can track him."
Shen spun around, hatred blazing in his eyes.
"And you're JUST SAYING THAT?! You have the power of the Core!"
The Root Protagonist remained unflinching, absorbing the attack.
"I cannot retrieve him.
The rift only answers to the two anomalies."
"Then who can open a path?" Shen snapped, his voice cracking with desperation.
Ling tugged Shen's sleeve, pointing to a central screen that had just flickered to life.
"Look—there's something."
The screen showed… nothing.
An empty, consuming blackness, occasionally pierced by flashes of violet light.
Shen frowned, confused.
"What in the hell is that?"
The Root Protagonist's voice dropped to a terrifying whisper, confirming their worst fears.
"That is the void.
That is where Xiao Xi is imprisoned."
Ling paled, her hand flying to her mouth.
"So Gu is headed… there? Directly into the seal?"
"Yes.
He is following the only trail he recognizes: her Core essence."
Shen slammed his fist against the wall, leaving a deep metallic dent.
"Then open a path for him! Use your power to stabilize the void!"
"I cannot," the Root Protagonist said, his voice flat with finality.
Shen grabbed him by the collar, the fury of his grief boiling over.
"WHY NOT?! WHY CAN'T YOU DO THE ONE THING YOU WERE DESIGNED FOR?!"
The Root Protagonist finally looked away, pain crossing his impassive face.
"Because it will kill Xiao Xi.
Opening the void again will destabilize her prison.
The First Root will break free, and Xiao Xi's fractured Core… will be obliterated."
Shen's grip loosened.
His voice cracked, a broken whisper.
"…So Gu will die trying to reach her."
The Root Protagonist nodded slowly, confirming the impossible calculus.
"And if he succeeds and she helps him… she dies instead.
It is a fatal choice, either way."
Ling's whisper trembled, tears forming in her eyes.
"Then… what do we do? There is no way out?"
The Root Protagonist looked at them with rare, genuine grief, his role as failsafe utterly useless.
"We pray.
We wait for the anomalies to choose their own fate."
So guys that's it for today, love you see you next time
And comments 👇👇👇
See you soon
Bye.....