novelnext Chapter 993: Opening Gates
Chapter 993: Opening Gates
Chapter 993: Opening Gates
Gao Yang stiffened, words dying in his throat.
Night wind whispered across their faces, rustling their hair.
Dragon chuckled. “Do you not trust me enough?”
“That’s not the problem.”
Gao Yang wasn’t lying.
Gao Yang meant it. If Dragon harbored ulterior motives—if he were truly the awakeners' greatest enemy—he could have eliminated Gao Yang within Overlord's domain moments ago.
“It’s just that...” Gao Yang admitted, “I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly.”
Yes, too smoothly.
After losing so much, enduring so much to reach this point, even this hard-won victory felt undeserved. Despite the twists, the threats, and the constant dance with death, it felt too easy.
Qilin dead. Twelve Rune Circuits gathered. The Gates within reach.
If Gao Yang's fate were a script, this final act seemed suspiciously clean.
Dragon nodded. “I can relate. Those who have suffered too many losses will find it difficult to believe a victory, no matter how much they crave it.”
Gao Yang remained silent.
Dragon looked at him calmly. “Gao Yang, when I tell you that head and tail would open the Gates, the meanings are twofold. For one, I only trusted myself and you to do it then.”
Gao Yang nodded. “I get that.”
“For another, the Gates of Closure literally cannot be opened by someone other than you or I. Others won’t be able to do it even if they get their hands on all twelve Rune Circuits, not even Qilin.”
Gao Yang was caught by surprise, but thinking about it, it made sense.@@@@
“So Qilin never planned to open the Gates, and he couldn’t even if he wanted to.” Gao Yang’s suspicion cemented.
“Yes.” Dragon nodded. “He had another ambition. I don’t know what it was, but it no longer matters.”
“It no longer matters,” Gao Yang echoed, bitterness seeping into his voice. Such simple words to dismiss so many lives lost.
“Gao Yang, I know you have many questions, but they don’t matter now.” Dragon lifted his chin slightly. “Come. Open the Gates.”
“But where is it?” Gao Yang asked.
Dragon smiled. “It seems far away when it’s right within your reach.”
Gao Yang thought for a few seconds before coming to a sudden realization. “The Miracle Rune Circuit?!”
Dragon nodded in silent confirmation.
He wanted to master Time-Space Spirit, push it to level 8, attempt to rewrite the past and forge a better future.
So many regrets. So many changes he yearned to make. Yet his ultimate goal lay within reach—the power to open the Gates.
Would salvation lie beyond those Gates? Or would opening them simply finalize the manuscript?
Gao Yang was reminded of an RPG with multiple endings he played when he was a child. There was no walkthrough back then, and he saved every three actions, devoting himself so much to the game to the point of obsession. He tried to do all the side quests, open every chest, uncover every hidden map, and reach the level cap with his character. Yet when he finally faced the final boss, he hesitated.
It wasn't fear of defeat that held him back, but dread that the ending wouldn't be perfect—and once crossed, that threshold could never be uncrossed.
Time crawled by.
Suddenly, sacred light blazed from the Miracle Rune Circuit, calling to him.
Compelled, he reached out.
Ring.
Divine will took form as pure information, concepts flooding his mind like the moment he first beheld the Malediction.
Certainty filled him. He was meant to open the Gates, just as Dragon was. This was his moment. The unfinished side quests, the undiscovered chests, the unexplored maps—none of it mattered anymore.
Only the Gates mattered.
With newfound resolve, Gao Yang seized the Miracle Rune Circuit.
Wing. Energy erupted from his grasp, sacred golden ripples bursting outward at precise angles like a magnificent, intricate gyroscope.
Power awakened within him, rushing into the Miracle Rune Circuit. His energy pathways fused with it until the boundary between flesh and artifact blurred.
The rippling energy collapsed inward, concentrating in his palm.
He felt a burn.
The Miracle Rune Circuit vanished. In its place, a golden hexagram blazed on the back of his right hand. Gao Yang clenched his fist, gripping an invisible door handle.
Whoosh. The remaining eleven Rune Circuits scattered, spinning around him before streaking away in trails of colored light. Each trail carved through space, sketching the massive Gates and their intricate details.
The familiar relief took shape.
The ignorant delusion monsters lost in their emotions, violent wrath monsters seeking to destroy all, greed monsters craving to devour everything, cold and numb pride monsters watching from the sidelines, the loving life monster attempting to embrace all with their two arms, the skeletal death monster seemingly supporting all while piercing them through...
The Gates of Closure materialized—not the physical Black Gold construct from Qilin's illusion, but a doorway suspended between reality and void, formed by eleven streams of silent, rushing light.
Dragon sat on the ground, his loose black hair whipping behind him. Blood trickled down his upturned lips. His pale face shimmered from the scintillating light. His heterochromatic eyes were beautiful and broken.
In a clear voice with a hint of childlike wonder, he asked, “What’s behind the Gates?”
Gao Yang didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
Instead, he stepped forward and pressed his marked hand on the Gates of Closure.