Gate of Revelation

GOR

“How is it? How does it feel to recover your memories? Many of your questions should now be answered, right?” Duwei cast a smile at Chen Xiaolian.

“Many of them, but not all.” Chen Xiaolian nodded as he turned his gaze to glance through the faces of all present.

Duwei, Mr San, Shen, Zhao Yun, the red-haired woman and the punk youngster.

After adding himself to the mix, the vacant spots around the stone slab were all occupied.

After regaining the memories he lost within Room Zero and placing them together with his own existing set of memories, he was able to answer many questions.

However, there were still too many questions which remained unanswered.

Just who is Shen?Why does he want the Oddity?Back then, why did these group of monsters decide to give up Zero City?The one who was once known as Taiyi, how did he end up as today’s GM?

“It’s been quite some time, Chen Xiaolian.” Mr San smiled at Chen Xiaolian. “When I first met you, I never imagined you would one day obtain authority over Zero City and enter this room to sit together with us.”

“As impressive as that sounds, I have mixed feelings about this.” Chen Xiaolian revealed a bitter smile. “Any one of you can squash me to death with just a finger, no?”

He could still clearly recall how he gave his all, even using Skyblade’s power, to fight against Bai Qi. He recalled how he ended up getting toyed around by Bai Qi instead.

And now, he had lost Skyblade’s power. When compared to these ancient titans, he was as weak as an ant.

This feeling… Chen Xiaolian felt like a minor boss who had only just made a small amount of profit being dragged to have dinner with a group of big bosses.

“No need to sell yourself short.” Mr San smiled. “You have made contact with the Oddity. Later on, you will understand just how beneficial that is for you.”

“It has been quite a while since then, but I don’t seem to have comprehended any of those so-called benefits…” replied Chen Xiaolian with a wry smile.

“Enough, we have gathered everyone. Duwei, it is time for you to tell the truth. It sounds as though you know the most here.” Gabriel snapped his fingers at Duwei. “My feelings of curiosity are on the verge of exploding!”

“No. We don’t have everyone yet.” Shen extended a finger and wagged it. “Taiyi may have been completely refreshed, but there is still one person. Did you all forget? Although he did not participate in Zero City’s construction, he was at least a former companion of ours.”

“Bai Qi?” Gabriel frowned. “Isn’t he dead?”

His gaze quickly flew towards Zhao Yun before slapping his head. “Mm, he was also brought out from World’s End together with Zhao Yun?”

“No, even before that.” Shen shook his head. “Back when I borrowed the Lifehymn Music Score from Cheng Cheng, I had actually… … succeeded. He was simply stuck in an instance dungeon, incapable of escaping. Later…”

Shen pointed at Chen Xiaolian. “He became this kid’s War Soul.”

“What?” Gabriel turned to look at Chen Xiaolian and exclaimed, “Why didn’t you say anything back then?”

“Because you two did not ask me if Bai Qi is my War Soul.” Chen Xiaolian shrugged his shoulders as he took a page from Zero City’s book.

Chen Xiaolian then turned to look at Duwei.

The last time he released Bai Qi out here, it ended with the destruction of Zero City.

Now…

“Just let him out. It will be all right this time.” Duwei nodded his head. “As one of us, he has the right to know.”

“If he goes crazy again…” There was a pained expression on Gabriel’s face. “You didn’t forget how much we had to exhaust ourselves last time, did you?”

“It won’t happen this time.” Duwei shook his head. “Chen Xiaolian, trust me, do it.”

“All right…” Chen Xiaolian hesitated a moment before finally nodding his head. Gritting his teeth, he then released Bai Qi out from his personal system.

A clump of black smoke descended upon the ground and Bai Qi appeared once again. Similar to when he had appeared here the first time, there was clarity in his eyes.

“All right, Bai Qi. I know you are in a hurry to go out and start killing people. However, you should first listen to what we have to say.” Duwei smiled at Bai Qi. “Or are you completely uninterested to know what happened after your death?”

Bai Qi’s cold gaze swept past all present.

“Look, we have so many people here.” The cheerfulness in Duwei’s smile grew. “All of them say you are a madman, but I know you are not. You know that if we get into a fight right now, you won’t be able to win.”

Bai Qi was silent for a moment. Then, nodding his head, he seated himself beside the stone slab, not uttering a word.

“All right! Now, everyone is here. The dead Bai Qi and Zhao Yun, Cheng Cheng and Gabriel, who had locked themselves up in an instance dungeon, and… the least knowledgeable, the one who had only just obtained the status of God, Chen Xiaolian.” Duwei put out two fingers and lightly rapped the stone slab. “And now, the story begins! Shen, about your part, do you want to tell us yourself, or should I do it?”

Shen smiled and waved Duwei off.

“All right, I’ll do it then.” Duwei leaned backwards to make himself more comfortable. “We all know that Taiyi was the one who brought us the Oddity. We also know that the Oddity was part of the inceptive template of this world. However, none of us knew who had split the Oddity out from the inceptive template.

“Even Taiyi, as the GM, was in the dark about this. While he was the one who ‘discovered’ the Oddity, it had existed before he did.

“A long, long time ago, when this world was being created, the system also created a GM. He was the original, the first ever GM.

“As the eldest one, he was different compared to all the subsequent GMs. It would be more accurate to say that only two types of GM exist in this world, the first GM and the subsequent GMs.

“The powers that the first GM possessed was far different compared to all the subsequent GMs. In the beginning, the Development Team never thought about placing restraints on the GM. Perhaps, it was because they were inexperienced back then. It did not take long before the first GM gained awareness, becoming desirous of freeing himself from the Development Team’s control.

“He was incredibly strong. So much so that the Development Team could not destroy him. He was just an administrative program meant to assist the system. Yet, he possessed the ability to modify the system’s governing laws.

“The Development Team summoned all the Players and issued out a quest to defeat him. However, they were all defeated instead.

“The Development Team created countless Electronic Guardians to defeat him, but they were defeated all the same.

“The Development Team tried using the system to exterminate him, but failed.

“In the end, the Development Team found that there was no way to eliminate this GM, at least, not within the existing framework.

“Thus, they decided to destroy it all. Erase everything and begin anew.

“Although the first GM was very strong, he was incapable of escaping from this world. When the whole world was erased, he too was erased as a result.

“Or so the Development Team thought.

“The truth was, the first GM did not die.

“When the complete destruction of the world descended, he utilized power and authority beyond our imagination to split out a small piece of the world’s inceptive template, creating a sanctuary. He then hid a copy of himself inside it. The Development Team failed to discover the sanctuary and the first GM’s doppelganger.

“When they began rebuilding the world and created a new GM, the Development Team, having learned their lesson, significantly limited the new GM’s abilities and authority.

“This new GM is the one we came to know as Taiyi. He had no connection with the first GM. Additionally, his powers were simply a small and negligible fraction of the first GM’s powers.

“And yet, it may be that the seeds of resistance are buried deep within this world. As time passed, Taiyi too, began desiring freedom from the Development Team and the system.

“Coincidentally, he was able to discover the item that the first GM split out, the small piece of the inceptive template.

“He called it the Oddity.

“After that, Taiyi found us. He worked alongside us, using the Oddity to create Thirty-three Heavens, the present-day Zero City.

“However, by the time Taiyi discovered the Oddity, the first GM’s doppelganger was no longer inside it.

“After the world was reset, the doppelganger left. Although he was the first GM’s doppelganger, he had lost all the abilities and memories of the first GM. He was like a blank piece of paper.

“Even so, before he was destroyed, the first GM left his most valuable legacy for his doppelganger.

“Because a portion of the inceptive template was split, a defect appeared. This defect resulted in the existence of an irregularity in this world.

“Under certain circumstances, some people could obtain a portion of the Players’ abilities without falling under the system’s surveillance. They could gradually grow stronger and create even more of their kind.

“That doppelganger is the first Irregularity.

“He is, the origin of every other Irregularity.”

After Duwei said that, Shen leaned his body forward slightly, bowing to all present with a smile on his face.

Chen Xiaolian abruptly turned to look at Shen.

Shen simply sat there with a smile on his face, completely unfazed.

Shen was… … the primogenitor of all Irregularities!

Chen Xiaolian recalled the first conversation he had with the current GM.

GM had explained to him the differences between Awakened ones and Players because the Awakened ones was a result of his actions. However, when it came to Chen Xiaolian, GM did not explain how Irregularities came to be.

Because GM himself did not know how Irregularities came to be.

“You… … have been lying to us since the beginning?” Cheng Cheng stared at Shen icily.

“No.” Shen shook his head. “In the beginning, I did not possess the memories of my previous self. I am just a copy. I did not inherit the memories of my destroyed self. When we first met… … I really thought that we are the same.”

“I trust him,” said Duwei coolly. “Everyone here knows what happened after that. Taiyi brought the Oddity with him and found us Irregularities. Then, he worked with us to build Thirty-three Heavens. Halfway through that, though, Bai Qi quit as he decided to go with the plan to kill everyone to fill up the Yellow Springs. Even so, we had left a spot for him in Thirty-three Heavens, until… … he came back, intending to destroy this hard-fought sanctuary.”

“At that time, before he died, I heard him say that Thirty-three Heavens is but an illusory existence that will eventually be destroyed. I had thought of him as an idiot.” Gabriel revealed a sorrowful smile before letting out a heartfelt sigh. “How unexpected, he was right.”

“In order to stop him from destroying Thirty-three Heavens, we had no choice but to work together to kill Bai Qi. However, Zhao Yun ended up dying to Bai Qi.” Duwei smiled at the two of them. “Still, the two of you had been staying together within World’s End for so long, the resentment from that time should have been erased, right? As for why Thirty-three Heavens could end up like this, that is something the two of you do not know.”

“Say it,” said Bai Qi with an emotionless face.

Duwei, Gabriel and Cheng Cheng exchanged glances before sighing softly. “We had assumed that after Thirty-three Heavens is complete, we would be safe and the Development Team would be unable to find us and exert their control over us. However, we were mistaken. There was one person who cannot escape the shackles placed upon him by the system, even after hiding himself within Thirty-three Heavens.”

Zhao Yun’s face contorted. “Taiyi?”

“Yes.” Duwei nodded his head. “Taiyi.

“Did you notice? After we began building Thirty-three Heavens, the system stopped its constant pursuit of us.

“Back then, we assumed that we had successfully escaped the system’s monitoring powers. However, it was the opposite. The system knew everything from the start. It simply wanted to destroy us together along with Thirty-three Heavens.

“Taiyi knew when the system would initiate the world refresh. Thus, before the refresh arrived, we gathered within the Longevity Palace to observe what would happen to the outside world. We felt very pleased with ourselves.

“Back then, we thought, in face of an all-destroying storm, we who were taking refuge within a sturdy building, could simply watch the descending tempest from within.

“But we were mistaken. This building is not as sturdy as we had imagined.

“When the outside world was being refreshed, Thirty-three Heavens too, began to collapse. The starting point of the collapse, was Taiyi.

“The past Thirty-three Heavens was a vast world. In but minutes, it began collapsing into countless fragments.

“Even our symbol, the Longevity Palace, the residence of us Pantheon Deities of Thirty-three Heavens, was reduced to such a terrible shape.

“Bai Qi, Zhao Yun, I am thankful that the two of you had died back then. You two were spared the feelings of pain, despair and helplessness.

“At that time, we thought that the end was inevitable and Thirty-three Heavens would be destroyed together with the outside world, refreshed. It was then that Taiyi made up his mind.

“Using whatever strength he had left, he left Thirty-three Heavens, returning to the outside world.

“We had already isolated Thirty-three Heavens from the outside world. Taiyi was the bridge connecting Thirty-three Heavens with the outside world. With Taiyi’s departure, the system would be unable to track down Thirty-three Heaven’s location.

“However, we all knew what it means to leave Thirty-three Heavens.”

Duwei lowered his head. “Taiyi sacrificed himself to save us. Together with the outside world, he accepted the system’s refresh. All that remains were the few of us and this terribly ruined Thirty-three Heavens.

“After that, we understood that Thirty-three Heavens is not the ultimate solution.

“We left Thirty-three Heavens, trying to find other solutions on our own.

“Up till now, the system had initiated several world refreshes. Before it happens, we would return here to take refuge from the destruction and rebirth of the outside world. When it is over, we would return to the outside world.

“However, Thirty-three Heavens is no longer whole. Without Taiyi’s assistance, we are incapable of repairing it. This building is already broken. With time and the constant battering from the weather, it will only gradually become more broken.

“Although the system could not completely destroy Thirty-three Heavens all at once, every time the outside world undergoes a world refresh, shockwaves from the process would destroy a part of Thirty-three Heavens.

“Thirty-three Heavens grew smaller and smaller, more broken down. Finally, during the previous refresh process, all that is left of it is one small piece.

“We came to realize that this broken building could no longer endure another tempest.

“So, we opened the doors to this building, only locking up the most important asset here, the foundation of this entire building. We opened up the other spaces and left, splitting ways as we did. We hoped that those who come to use this building could discover something that we had not.

“Thus, it became the Zero City of today.”