Chapter 1396: 1396 Adjudicator Game: Game Invasion 1

The ship came to a stop near Graveyard of Bones.

The massive Order Clock had frozen in place. The hands on the clock arena spun erratically, like a compass that could no longer find north.

If everything ended here, it could barely be called a happy ending.

Like the final page of a fairy tale. The disaster halted. The future left full of possibilities.

But it was not enough.

Every living being aboard the ship stared at the Order Clock. Every gaze carried the same unwillingness.

What had happened could not be undone.

The dead could not return.

Stopping here was no different from surrender.

More importantly, things were different this time.

In the past, once the games between Starsea and Quiet Mountain ended, everyone would fall into slumber and wait for the next epoch to restart.

But now, the old order had awakened ahead of schedule.

At the center of Graveyard of Bones, the cube continued spinning rapidly.

It looked as though some invisible hand was casually turning it over and over. Every side was the same color. No one could tell what pattern it was trying to form.

But one thing was obvious.

Its presence had become far more dangerous than before.

The day B80 disappeared, Rita could still contend against it while holding World Sigh.

Yet after only a single day, simply facing the cube from this distance already placed World Sigh at a clear disadvantage.

That completely destroyed any remaining hope of staying in this epoch and fighting it head on.

Rita opened World Sigh and flung the book into the starry sky.

A massive illustration unfurled overhead like an aurora made of light and shadow.

Then every lingering divine will across every timeline heard BS Rita’s voice.

"I will carry everything from this timeline back to the First Epoch. You may choose to leave with me and join this journey, or remain here."

In her study, Byme looked toward the desk before her.

An irregular doorway had appeared there.

Beyond it lay Beacon, beautiful as a painting. Countless Vineborne moved through the world inside.

Just looking at it, she could almost smell Beacon’s flowers.

Join?

There was nothing to hesitate over.

BS Rita had taken everything from this timeline.

Which meant she had taken Deceitful Bloom too.

And Deceitful Bloom was part of her everything.

Byme vanished from her chair. One step carried her into the painted world.

At the same time, the other gods of Graveyard of Bones made their choices.

Of course they would leave.

The legacy of Starsea and Quiet Mountain belonged with Starsea and Quiet Mountain.

QM Foolishness.

Starsea Lynx Duke.

The Starsea King.

One after another, they stepped into the worlds within the illustrations that belonged to them.

At worst, it was simply changing the place where they would eventually be buried.

But at least now, they could witness the beginning together.

The light faded.

World Sigh returned to Rita’s hand.

She turned toward the passengers aboard Cat’s Ideal. Holding her authority, she once more saved the records of every living being present.

Then she spoke.

"The gods of the First and Second Epochs no longer exist. I personally questioned every divine will inside Graveyard of Bones. None of them retained any memory of the First Epoch."

"And in all later history, there is no trace of us whatsoever."

"The safest option is to avoid revealing our names once we arrive in the First Epoch."

Rita spoke briefly, but everyone understood.

If a completed history contained none of their names, then either they all died...

Or they had remained unknown from beginning to end.

Obviously the second possibility was safer.

Rita’s gaze swept across every player before falling back onto World Sigh.

She announced:

"Everything began with Game Invasion."

"So everything should also end through Game Invasion."

Rustle!

World Sigh exploded apart instantly.

Page after page of stories flew into the sky. Then they connected together beyond the prow of Cat’s Ideal, forming a vast bridge of sighs made entirely from overlapping pages stretching downward into the stars.

The bridge had no visible end.

It seemed to descend directly into an abyss.

The moment the authority titled "Game Invasion" appeared, Rita gained the power to create rules.

She also learned where so called mission rewards truly came from.

The worlds destroyed by war and by the tolling clock.

Just like World Skills and Starsea Skills, they were a form of energy that could be leveraged and manipulated.

At this moment, 9,999 World Sighs had become a bridge leading back to the beginning.

The surviving worlds left behind at the end of every epoch formed the bridge’s key supports.

And now they would cross this endless bridge of sighs and return to the instant the Order Clock first rang.

One particularly special World Sigh flew toward the center point of the clock.

It was the story of the Scrap Heap.

The story of BS Rita and B80.

She needed B80 to awaken later.

She needed time for their invasion.

Rita jumped first onto the edge of the opening page, which stood vertically in space.

Balanced there, she addressed every player with final instructions.

"Run to the end of this bridge and you’ll reach the beginning of the story."

"Do not attempt to stay behind midway through the journey. If you do, you’ll remain trapped in old time and become a branching timeline."

"And the only fate awaiting branch timelines is pruning."

"My soul fire can delay B80’s awakening for only thirty Order Days."

"This bridge will also exist for only thirty days."

"Thirty days from now, the Adjudicator Game ends."

"The anchor point images are blurry and chaotic. I can only do my best to keep everyone alive."

"So then..."

"See you in the past."

The moment she finished speaking, Rita leaned backward with Nivalis in her arms.

Her body twisted elegantly through the air before she landed parallel to the ground and began sprinting downward at incredible speed.

The starting point of the Bridge of Sighs was Cat’s Ideal itself, suspended within the stars.

Behind the bridge loomed the gigantic glowing Order Clock.

The time was exactly six o’clock.

The hour and minute hands aligned into a single line, perfectly parallel to the Bridge of Sighs.

As Rita ran, her voice echoed across the cosmos.

She was imitating the format of Divine Game itself, issuing missions and establishing rules.

But unlike the emotionless and ethereal voice of Starsea and Quiet Mountain, BS Rita’s voice sounded like the narration of a fairy tale.

Peaceful.

Gentle.

Beautiful.

[Adjudicator Game: Game Invasion]

[Everything began with Game Invasion. Everything should also end through Game Invasion.]

[Game Duration: 30 Order Days]

[Game Objective: Find the flaw within the Order Clock. Find the exit from the Möbius loop. Find where the future of Starsea and Quiet Mountain truly lies.]

[Game Rewards: Players may locate the Adjudicator at any time during the game and exchange contribution points for rewards, including but not limited to reducing fatal weaknesses, Divine Skills, Divine Relics, and more. If the Adjudicator cannot be located, rewards will be distributed after the game ends.]

[Friendly Reminders:]

[1. Do not allow your name or appearance to leave irreversible records within the First Epoch.]

[2. The Adjudicator will periodically load deceased players. However, loading may result in memory loss. Please transfer information to your allies before death whenever possible.]

[3. The First Epoch anchor point has already been established. It remains chaotic and unclear. Each player possesses three redeployment opportunities. Players may request return access to Cat’s Ideal, then reenter the First Epoch through the Bridge of Sighs.]

[4. Everything seen and heard upon the Bridge of Sighs is an illusion.]

[Are we survivors of disaster... or part of the disaster itself?]