Chapter 1458: Red King's Tears (End) (Extended)

Chen Ling had to admit, the Red King had been very successful.

If, from the very beginning, the Red King had personally guided him to understand this world, acting as a diligent master who led him to grow stronger, then when the moment of the Red King's ascension arrived, and Chen Ling himself peeled off his mask only to discover he was Ah Yan... Chen Ling couldn't imagine how much pain he would have endured.

The Red King deliberately controlled their distance, appearing only when most needed and vanishing when not. Later, he even intentionally guided Chen Ling to hate him, diluting their master-disciple bond.

Because of this, when Chen Ling discovered the Red King's true identity, although he was pained and devastated, it wasn't to the extent that the current Chen Yan was.

"Were even our emotions part of your calculations...?" Chen Ling closed his eyes bitterly.

Chen Yan in this world was utterly devastated.

After crying until his tears ran dry, his eyes became vacant and lifeless. He dazedly accepted his identity as the new Red King, numbly received the Red King's cards from the Gray King, and then left in a stupor.

Even though the human realm outside was in chaos, and the Dusk Society members were as busy as ants on a hot pan, he showed not the slightest interest.

He sat like a statue, staring blankly before the Red King's tomb day after day.

Until,

Spade 6 and Club 6 heard the news and rushed over.

The companions of the "6" generation spoke to Chen Yan, who responded despondently, the light in his eyes and the youthful vigor he once had now gone. Eventually, Club 6 couldn't bear it anymore and slapped the new Red King with a resounding backhand!

"Do you know what a mess it is out there?! The human realm only has Lingxu left, barely holding on. We can't even recover the bodies of the fallen Nine Monarchs fast enough... All of us are counting on you, and what about you? Are you just going to sit here like a stone?!"

"Heart!! If you want to give up, fine! But don't drag the Dusk Society down with you!!"

"Don't forget, our goal is to restart the world. Only then can humanity's fate avoid tragedy, and those who shouldn't have died can live! Only then can humanity find a glimmer of hope!!"

"If you can't be the Red King, then let me be!"

Club 6's slap woke Chen Yan up.

He finally began to struggle out of the pain of losing his brother twice. He stood up before the tombstone, his large red opera robe fluttering in the wailing wind. His fragmented gaze gradually regained its firmness, even revealing an unprecedented sharpness and depth.

The loss of loved ones brings pain, but he couldn't remain immersed in it forever. This world had failed; he had to fulfill his brother's last wish and complete the restart!

"From now on, I am no longer Heart 6, Chen Yan..."

"I..."

"...am the Red King of the Dusk Society."

"Director Chen, are you saying..."

"...I'll meet another you in the future?"

In the Era Archive, Yang Xiao looked at the Red King Chen Yan before him with a puzzled expression, seemingly finding it hard to comprehend.

"To be precise, that won't be me," the Red King answered calmly. "He will be the Red King candidate of the next world, Heart 6 of the Dusk Society. He will look like Chen Ling and me, but fundamentally, he won't be me, nor my brother... My brother and I have both tried, but we ultimately failed... Therefore, I will create a completely new 'Red King,' perhaps the strongest Red King in history."

"Sounds like you already have an idea."

"Just an initial idea, I suppose... I want to make a World-Destroying Calamity the Red King of humanity."

"World-Destroying Calamity???" Yang Xiao was startled. "This... isn't this too crazy?"

"The previous five generations of Red Kings have tried everything, but none could save humanity... So, I can only take a risk and try." The Red King paused. "Moreover, I found something deep within the ashes of civilization. That thing might help me suppress the World-Destroying Calamity."

"Something? What something?"

"A theater."

"A theater?"

"That doesn't seem to be a theater from our world. It might come from the former Gray Realm, or perhaps an even more distant world... But it does possess some unique power."

"But even if you can suppress a World-Destroying Calamity, how could it fight for humanity?"

"Therefore, I will imbue it with human personality and thought... I want a World-Destroying Calamity to become 'human'."

"This... is truly too crazy. Do the other Nine Monarchs know about this?"

"Currently, only you know. Later, I might also disclose this news to Lu Xun, and Ji Xuan and Su Zhiwei, the few Nine Monarchs who trust me more... After all, a World-Destroying Calamity is still a World-Destroying Calamity. Even if he wishes to become human, humanity won't accept him so easily. He might face hardships beyond our imagination in the future. He... might need your help."

The Red King paused. "Especially you, Yang Xiao. If nothing goes wrong, he will also descend into the Aurora Realm, which means... you might be the first Nine Monarch he encounters."

"I understand. I will help him." Yang Xiao smiled faintly, then closed his eyes and sighed with some emotion:

"...I hope he can redeem me in the new world, just as you once redeemed me."

"He will," the Red King answered without hesitation.

"He is the World-Destroying Calamity, he is Chen Yan, and he is also Chen Ling..."

"He will be a very good person."

I arranged everything.

Whether in the Era Archive or in the real world.

After the Red Star was nudged off course by Lu Xun and grazed Earth, the human realm fell into great chaos. Under the siege of the six World-Destroying territories, the human realm was almost completely wiped out, with only the Lingxu Realm remaining.

But at the same time, the world underwent some terrible changes.

Human civilization regressed once again, and the microorganisms of this world also seemed affected, devolving to their most primitive forms. Ancient plagues and diseases spread, coupled with widespread crop death, rampant famine, continuous natural disasters and earthquakes, and the World-Destroying Calamities constantly lurking.

The Lingxu Realm only held out for less than a month before completely collapsing. I successfully recovered the body of Monarch Lingxu.

Then, I restarted the world.

In the new world, the hibernation plan launched smoothly, just like in the previous world. The Human Nine Monarchs entered a deep slumber, and I also found a way to enter a similar dormant state. Centuries passed in a blink, and upon awakening, I immediately went to the Ghost Mockery Abyss.

I waited patiently for a long time, finally waiting until Mockery Calamity entered a chaotic state of personality fragmentation. I then inserted the mysterious theater, the Ancient Soldier Dao foundational fragments, and character biographies, which I had prepared beforehand, into one of its consciousnesses, and suppressed it using the spirit tablets left by the first four generations of Red Kings.

Although I paid a great price, I succeeded.

I returned to District 3 of the Aurora Realm with the suppressed Mockery Calamity. By then, the "me" and "Chen Ling" of this world had already been buried in a mass grave. Although a very long time had passed, my heart still trembled when I saw this scene again.

In that moment, an idea sparked in my mind: I wanted to save my brother, to find a way for him to live, even if just to speak with me.

But my rationality told me not to.

Mockery Calamity, "me," and "Chen Ling" were all indispensable parts of this plan. I was no longer the emotional person I once was; I couldn't let personal feelings influence my decisions. Saving humanity was paramount.

I rescued the "me" who still had a breath left. He asked me a few questions, which I answered. At his plea, I swapped everything between him and Chen Ling, allowing his brother to live on in another way.

Indeed...

No matter which world it was, the "me" of the past would always make the same choice.

I awakened the consciousness of that Mockery Calamity personality, and it began to merge with the body of "me" and Chen Ling's memories. I knew this was a very bold move. The difficulty of combining a World-Destroying Calamity, the Path of the Opera God, the Path of the Witch God, and the Path of the Soldier God was several times greater than the difficulty of Thought Calamity's research into human-calamity fusion.

But as I stood at a distance, watching the figure in the large red opera robe stumble through the rain, and knock on the door, I knew...

I had succeeded.

He is Mockery Calamity,

He is Chen Ling,

He is Chen Yan,

He is Heart 6 of this era...

He is...

...the future Sixth Generation Red King.