Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1666 - 9: "Why Are You Crying?

Su Ming’an’s knuckles trembled slightly.

—Feeling annoyed, feeling rebellious.

Hatred for the endless passing, hatred for why he couldn’t intervene.

Hatred for being arranged by the system’s destiny, forced to stand by and watch.

To save a Red Rose prop, he had to watch as the knight closed his eyes in the cold night.

To save a puppet prop, he had to watch the crescent mark disappear from his palm.

As if it were predetermined destiny, watching the nine people of the Ruined World pass away one by one before his eyes, exhausting all efforts but unable to change fate, only to watch the names increase one by one.

The weight of a human life, lighter than a prop.

He had long, long ago... started to feel weary of this "equivalent exchange."

...

The sky curtain was dyed with the color of flames.

The aftermath of the battle spread, occasionally an escaping ice blade or fireball would fall below, clearing a large area. Players, high-class races, refugees... everyone subconsciously stayed away from the void of death. The wailing was endless.

Refugees held the hands of their parents and children, scattering and fleeing in a panic.

"Help—save me—!"

"Lord of the Rin Clan, we beg you, please stand out and protect us!"

"Gods, I’ve dedicated my life to you, praying day and night, just begging you to look at us..." An old woman with white hair, hunched over, ceaselessly pleaded amidst the fire of guns.

...

[Everyone is caught in this vast whirlpool called "destiny" or "story." Actions seem autonomous, choices appear free, but the ultimate lead seems to be towards already written plot nodes—the key’s contention, the holy sword’s emergence, the Mother Goddess’s gaze, the box’s unveiling...]

[A predetermined development.]

[An inevitable conclusion.]

[—"Protagonist" Su Ming’an will pull out the Holy Sword, pointing it at the deities.]

[The hero will be crowned as sacred under everyone’s gaze.]

...

Inside the Blue Crystal Corridor, it was so silent that one could hear the flow of blood, a stark contrast to the deafening clamor outside, as if two different worlds.

Su Ming’an held a dagger, its tip piercing through Xi Li’s chest fabric. He felt the steady and forceful heartbeat, one after another.

Xi Li closed her eyes, her long white eyelashes shimmering with glow, her face showing no fear, only a peaceful relief.

"Stab it in, Savior." She looked at him, covering his hand, her gaze void and hollow.

The cold metal blade stopped on the surface of the skin, fingers stroking over the flesh.

Warm... like countless hands clasping his before their deaths.

...

[I hold the hilt of choosing "sacrifice."]

[I can go along with the perfect story climax, accept this gift, and carry on with her death. It makes sense, it’s effective, it’s heroic. Everything is logical, everything is reasonable, no different from the deaths I have witnessed before.]

[Just shedding a few tears, adding a name to the ring.]

[Just someone died, and I took a few more steps towards victory.]

[Just adding a person to the cemetery of memory, I often think of her.]

[Many might understand this choice, Phoenix might mock this meaningless sentimentality, Su Rin might advise me not to get used to it.]

...

Su Ming’an looked at the girl’s frowning brow, her pale cheeks.

When Sique was constructing the world, the lazy bird once said while sipping coffee:

"There are many ways to bring a story to a climax, mobilizing characters’ emotions, creating intense conflicts, laying grand twists... but the most convenient, effective way that can make everyone ’get into the play’ instantly, there is actually only one—"

Sique raised a finger at the time:

"—The character’s death."

"Especially... when this character chooses death themselves, and this death fits their ’positioning’ and ’aesthetics.’"

"A person’s death can instantly connect all wandering emotions and unfinished arcs, tilting the center of the whole world."

"Even if it’s merely a petty thief, having committed countless acts of evil, spat upon, as long as their death becomes appropriate, then the importance of their death will overshadow the light of their entire life."

"Like the brightest spotlight, at the moment life is extinguished, all qualities that could not manifest will be exposed. Even those seemingly mundane daily wishes and regrets unfulfilled... will instantly gain a fate-like significance."

At that time, Su Ming’an, half understanding, nodded. He only thought of it as a "Creator’s" advancement technique to help himself enhance combat power.

Yet, at this moment, he understood.

Especially since he has realized again and again that Sique’s "slumber" is not simple, after the possibility that Sique might have a high dimensional identity.

That casual tone, the side impressions from various people, have already faintly suggested that Sique’s perspective is more bizarre than he’s familiar with.

He... no, They.

Do I really completely understand Them?

...

[Sique.]

[You and I both understand the stories behind this so-called Creator’s technique. Just like Su Wenjun, the World Master trapped all his life, like the ignored Ran Bo and Lin Hejin, like Qi Jue facing death with despair.]

[But there are some questions that I’ve always felt confused about.]

["What is a ’character’? What is ’destiny’? Who writes the code? Who sets the rules? Who gives the positioning? If everything is a story written by a higher dimension, then is ’rebelling against destiny’ itself merely a preordained part of the story?]

[If ’sacrifice’ is Xi Li’s ’character setting,’ then does ’refusing to sacrifice’ become Su Ming’an’s ’character setting’? Are we truly rebelling, or are we performing according to a more hidden script?]

[When a character’s death becomes a function, when sacrifice becomes a complete aesthetic, when the bullet screen starts predicting whose departure will bring the most exciting turn—this world has died. It has completely become a tool. Death should not be a spotlight; it comes from themselves.]

[Sique, look.]

[Now, Xi Li’s death... appears to align with this principle—a character positioned as "key," actively choosing a sacrificial act that fits the aesthetics to pave the way for the protagonist, pushing the plot to an unavoidable climax, maximizing efficiency, a perfect catalyst for climax, possibly even attracting the Radiant Mother God’s gaze, earning high scores from World Tree for Luowasha.]

[So, Sique...]

[If I stab now...]

[—Am I fulfilling Xi Li’s mission as a seed, a great and necessary act?]

[Or,]

[—Am I merely adhering to an effective formula, killing a vibrant soul with my own hands, an innocent girl?]

[—Is her release born of sympathy for me, or submission to these rules?]

[—Is my anger out of hatred for my helplessness, or hatred for the repetitive cycle of acts?]

[Why do I feel that if I stab down, this dagger won’t pierce a heart but will bring about a membrane that traps us all?]

[Under this membrane, we adhere to a set of conventional formulas: no nudity, no explicit talk, no actions below the neck, no extreme behaviors, no blood and violence, no display of lust, no sensitive statements...]

[——I know, her trembling that I feel at this moment is real. I know, the fleeting desire in her eyes is real. I know, the pain and hope of those outside, bleeding, crying, fighting, dying, are real.]

[If I choose not to pierce this heart,]

[will we see beyond the membrane—a broader reality, or a deeper void?]

[If I choose not to pierce this heart.]

[——In which corner, in which dream will you reveal a look of astonishment when things spiral out of control?]

[——Will there truly be such a thing as "freedom"?]

...

"I refuse."

...

The sound of the wind stopped, and the sounds of slaughter also fell silent.

Only the girl’s pulse resonated through the cold metal, tapping against the black-haired youth’s knuckles.

The girl slowly opened her eyes, revealing an incredulous expression.

The dagger fell to the ground, a few strands of blood bursting forth.

Su Ming’an gazed at her calmly.

——I refuse to accept this gift in the name of sacrifice.

——I refuse to pave my path with your death.

At this moment,

a cold options menu seemed to appear before Su Ming’an, like a clumsy game prompt:

[A. Stab down—you need to use her death to obtain the key.]

[B. Stab down—you need to use her death to become stronger.]

[C. Stab down—you need to use her death to achieve victory.]

[D. Stab down—because you’ve always done it this way.]

Number One Player,

what are you disgusted with?

What are you betraying?

You’ve always done it this way.

What exactly—are you rebelliously confronting something indescribable and unseen?]

"Clang——!"

The dagger slipped from his hand, spinning toward the ice, as if it shattered something.

Su Ming’an resolutely stood, trembling all over.

As if truly rebelling against some predetermined invisible entity, he couldn’t understand why he trembled, why he feared, why he felt relieved.

Something pricked and surged through his body, from spine to blood vessels, from cortex to bones. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

As if the crystal wall of the World Tree became countless transparent mirrors, and he saw himself with blood-red eyes in the mirror——

He rebelled so, throwing away the dagger, as if discarding some cold and burning source thing.

The white-haired girl’s eyes were still glistening with tears. She looked cluelessly at the resolute Su Ming’an, softly wiping away the tears at the corner of his eyes:

"But why..."

"Are you crying?"

...

["Captain, I recently heard an interesting term." In the small cabin under the snowstorm, the blond, blue-eyed knight had just finished a patrol and was sheltering from the cold inside.]

[The young knight sat in front of the burning bonfire, clasping his hands, his bright eyes looking over: "Captain, I want to ask, what do you think about free will?"]

["Hmm..." Su Ming’an sat on the sofa, thought for a moment, and patiently explained to the curious knight who was like an elementary school student, "A person makes a choice among various possibilities based on their own thoughts. That’s free will."]

["According to one’s own thoughts..." Sherrod chewed over the term, "Like when I wanted to buy a gift for Changying this morning, and I went and bought it. Is that ’free will’?"]

["It definitely counts," Su Ming’an replied naturally, "As long as you had the thought, even if you didn’t end up buying it, it’s your free will."]

["Even if it doesn’t come to fruition, as long as I’ve thought about it..." Sherrod closed his eyes, placing his hand unconsciously over his heart, as if he could feel the warmth of the soul, "it’s still, freedom..."]

[Free will isn’t about whether choices are determined by causality, but whether the process of making a choice stems from the individual’s own will.]

[Even if influenced by family, bloodline, environment, others—so long as "I want," then "I am free."]

[Sherrod pondered this concept, and after a moment, asked again: "Captain, do you think, if a person has no free will, can we still blame them for their evil deeds? Do punishments still have moral grounds?"]

[Su Ming’an said, "The laws I am familiar with are based on the foundation that ’the actor has the capacity for responsibility.’ The sentencing for intentional crimes and negligence includes judgments on the degree of free will. If a person’s criminal behavior didn’t stem from their own thoughts, they might qualify for some degree of exemption."]

["So, for soul clans undergoing passive transformation, driven by instinct to harm others, can they be considered for some degree of exemption? It feels a bit off..." Sherrod tilted his head, pulling out a notebook.]

[Su Ming’an thought it over thoroughly.]

[He seriously explained his thoughts on this topic to the knight.]

[——If our actions arise from our own desires, beliefs, and character, without being coerced, threatened, or distorted by mental illness, then I am exercising free will. Even if my character and desires are shaped by genes and environment, they’re still "mine." Therefore, I am still responsible for my actions.]

[Otherwise, if everything is already predetermined, if all things are shaped—do our efforts, love, creation, and moral pursuits still hold meaning?]

[I’m convinced that my decisions are guided by my disposition, my persistence, and my values.]

[So, I won’t doubt whether my path is right, or my sacrifices are worthwhile.]

["... Sherrod, it’s like when you’re shopping for gifts; you could buy a crystal ball or grass candy. In the end, you choose grass candy, possibly because of the tastes of those around you, the stock in the store, or the sales associate’s recommendation... but the decision was still made by you. It’s your free will that decided to buy the grass candy," Su Ming’an said earnestly. "We possess...[limited freedom]."]

["Mm." Sherrod nodded, closing his notebook, nodding solemnly, "I understand, Captain."]

[The firelight danced on their faces, snow outside the window like flying flowers.]

["Limited" freedom.]

[—— Ultimately, the approach of the sea monsters, the strength of the barrier, the color of the soul... became the "limits."]

[—— And the knight’s choice became "freedom."]

[At the time, Su Ming’an couldn’t find an answer. From the moment he took out the Red Rose, his mind roared with a "buzz," sensing some kind of destiny.]

[Free will, this sensation, for living beings, is it reality or illusion?]

[——He sorrowfully praised the knight’s freedom, never contemplating his own freedom.]

...