Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

"With a formidable enemy at hand, and for the sake of this world that is about to come to an end, Himegami has already borne the sin of sacrificing nine million people of the Empire... I cannot escape either."

As soon as he finished speaking, the bone flute began to play softly.

The clear, melancholic sound of the flute pierced through the dark clouds and resounded throughout Heian-kyo.

The tens of millions of undead, who had been aimlessly slaughtering, suddenly formed orderly ranks and, under the control of the bone flute, displayed superb tactics: feints, sieges to relieve Wei, and luring the tiger away from the mountain... Through layers of calculation and step-by-step attrition, they successfully broke through the defenses of Heian-kyo and stormed into the city.

Instantly, flames of war engulfed the entire city, cries of agony filled the streets and alleys, and blood soaked the blue bricks, turning Heian-kyo into a living hell.

Amidst the sea of ​​fire and the forest of corpses, a battered figure carrying an infant fought desperately to break through the encirclement of corpses. Covered in blood and with tattered robes, he was none other than Sun Xiaochuan, the current emperor of the Gaotian Kingdom.

He looked up at the aloof girl in the sky, his eyes blazing with fury and unbearable grief. He leaped into the clouds, his voice hoarse and piercing, filled with resentment and questioning: "Why! Why did the kingdom stand by and watch our country perish, refusing to come to our aid, instead allowing the undead to slaughter my millions of people!"

"This is a necessary sacrifice."

Li Xianyu's voice was clear and calm as she slowly recounted the situation of the primordial demon's descent into the world and the black tide's upheaval over all realms.

Finally, she looked down upon the hellish landscape and whispered a promise: "After it's all over, I will return death to the world and let you sleep peacefully in the cool summer nights."

Sun Xiaochuan felt a surge of anger in his chest, and his resentment almost burst out of his chest.

However, being only at the Gold rank, he was ultimately no match for the chief archmage of the kingdom's court.

He gazed down at his people, who were dying in agony, and at his burning and collapsing homeland. He murmured sorrowfully, each word dripping with grief: "So... we have already been abandoned by the tide of history."

"But as the king, I... I can't do anything..."

Everyone believed that the Kingdom of Takaten relied on the Platinum-level powerhouse Tamamo-no-Mae to establish its nation. However, with the arrival of chaos, the immortal being who had been hidden for a thousand years had long since quietly disappeared. The so-called establishment of the nation was ultimately just a pipe dream.

Like a dream, like an illusion.

His initial anger and resentment gradually gave way to a deathly silence and desolation, his emotions settling layer by layer.

For a century, he has been ambitious and opportunistic, betraying his master and country, profiting from chaos, and surviving by attaching himself to powerful forces. The prosperity of the Gao Tian Kingdom was nothing but a stolen illusion. In this chaotic world, karma is being dealt with, and the nation's sacrifice today is merely an act of atonement for all past sins.

The anger dissipated, leaving only calm and relief.

Sun Xiaochuan looked up at Li Xianyu: "We are all willing to sacrifice for this world, but we cannot be sacrificed."

"Feel sorry."

Li Xianyu's golden eyes were clear and pure, without anger, resentment, mockery, or reproach; they were so clear that they reflected Sun Xiaochuan's image.

After a moment of silence, Sun Xiaochuan suppressed all his grief, shedding the pride and rage of an emperor, leaving only the humble plea of ​​a mere mortal: "Since the legendary powerhouse has already decided the course of events, and the destruction of our country is inevitable... I only ask one thing of you."

"please say."

"Please take my daughter away."

Sun Xiaochuan reached out and handed over the swaddled baby, inside which slept a young girl with snow-white hair and pure eyes.

The child, innocent and unaware of the destruction of his homeland, simply nestled quietly in his arms with clear, bright eyes.

"Her name is Dong Xuelian, the last bloodline of the Gaotian Kingdom's royal family. She is innocent." Emperor Sun Xiaochuan gently brushed his fingertips through his daughter's snow-white hair, his eyes filled with tenderness and determination. "Please, take her away from this hell and let her live a good life."

Li Xianyu looked quietly at the bewildered little girl in her arms and asked softly, "And what about you?"

Looking down at his burning homeland, at the corpses scattered everywhere and the wailing of his people, Sun Xiaochuan softly uttered three words: "I will die for my country."

"I have committed too many evil deeds in my life and am already burdened with sins. Today, the fall of my country is the consequence I must pay, and it is also my last dignity and final destination as Emperor."

After he finished speaking, he didn't look back. Instead, he turned and leaped into the raging inferno, walking step by step into the depths of the collapsing palace.

The inferno engulfed his figure, leaving only a final poem echoing in the flames—

"Fifty years in the human world, I will go to the next world,

Dreamy の如くなり.

Once it was born, it was born, and it was destroyed. "

Li Xianyu, cradling his innocent young daughter, stood on a cloud, his bone flute playing again, its deep, desolate melody sweeping across the entire isolated island.

Of the 120 million people in the entire Gao Tian Kingdom, all except the Emperor's youngest daughter, Dong Xuelian, were turned into undead spirits and then sacrificed by Li Xianyu in the name of death.

The legend of "Death" has been born.

…………

"This is... the source of [Majesty] death?"

Freya's eyes were full of curiosity. She raised her hand to touch the longsword in Li Xianyu's hand, which was gleaming with a deathly gray light, but was stopped by him in a hurry: "Be careful. Anyone who touches this thing will die except me."

"oh oh."

Freya quickly withdrew her hand, suppressing her curiosity.

After Li Xianyu destroyed the Gao Tian Kingdom and became the "Grim Reaper," the first thing he did was to go to the side of the Demon of Death.

As expected, the demon of death itself is dead.

Previously, the reason why no one could seize the source essence within Him was never the demons' obstruction, but rather that no one could approach His death domain.

Although Himegami possesses the power of unlimited resurrection through the Hall of Heroes, she would have to die and be resurrected thousands of times to reach the side of the demon. Naturally, she would not choose such a self-torturing method.

The "Grim Reaper" is a lower-level legendary being corresponding to the [Majesty] source essence. Her authority and the origin of death are perfectly matched. Even the demons call the Jingguan Bodhisattva the "Daughter of Death." She is born unaffected by the laws of death, and her ability to access the source essence is naturally unimpeded.

Without much effort, Li Xianyu retrieved the sword symbolizing death from the withered remains of the Death Demon.

Next, he became a god.

"The ascension ritual for the [Majesty] Source of Death requires 'to contain the Source in a world that has experienced hundreds of millions of deaths and is devoid of any life.'" Li Xianyu lowered his eyes, gazing at the longsword in his palm, and said softly, "I plan to go to the Dragon Realm, which has just experienced a cataclysmic event and is now devoid of life, thus meeting the requirements for the ritual. How are your preparations going?"

“Me too.” Freya nodded.

After Sylvia became the ruling true god, her first act was to control the "Hanged Man" and perform a ritual to invert the source matter for Freya.

Most of the world's essences contain two contradictory concepts, and usually only one aspect is revealed; which aspect is revealed often depends on the holder.

For example, the Kingdom represents "preservation" and protection in the hands of the Amber God, while in the hands of the evil corpse it symbolizes "hunger" and greed; although the Foundation is manifested as endless "chaos", in Mu Zimi's mind world, it can be restrained by Kasyapa Ruomu, who was sent down by the World Honored One, with "harmony".

The same applies to the understanding of "forgetting" and "memorizing".

Both belong to the concept of "the past," yet they produce two completely different outcomes—

Forgetting represents loss and stripping away, which makes people feel uneasy; remembering represents preservation and cherishing, which makes people feel warm.

Originally, the Hanged Man's attempt to reverse the source matter required a massive ritual, but now that Sylvia is a true god wielding absolute power, this is effortless for her. In an instant, the authority of [Understanding] was completely reversed.

From this day forward, the queens of Kornoma will no longer have to suffer the pain of endless loss.

—If there is a next queen in the future.

“Of course, there are side effects too…” Freya raised her hand and gently pressed her temples, smiling wryly. “Although I don’t have to carry the ‘Book of Memories’ with me all the time anymore, I have also developed ‘hyperthymesia.’ Every single detail of everything I have seen and heard since I was born is imprinted in my mind.”

Forgetting is also a form of self-protection; otherwise, all the sadness, embarrassment, and trauma will not fade with time... But compared to loss, it is a very light price to pay.

It is perfectly normal for mortals to have to pay a price when they wield the power of the source.

For example, when Li Xianyu is holding the Death Sword, he moves like a ghost, his emotions becoming extremely detached.

"【Understanding】The rite of becoming a god in the direction of 'forgetting' requires the holder to personally strip away all their memories, personality, obsessions, and identity, achieving a state of supreme detachment and completely merging with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. In fact, all the queens of the past have completed this rite in the end. After stripping away everything, they no longer have the form of 'human' and have become part of the source matter itself. In a sense, they have indeed 'become gods'."

Freya continued, "..."

"The reversed path of 'memory' has completely different conditions for becoming a god: remembering the entire past of an entire destroyed world. This is impossible under normal circumstances... but now, the Dragon Realm has been destroyed."

"Therefore, I will also go to the Dragon Realm with you."

Their eyes met, and they both made the same decision.

Once they step into that desolate wasteland, their ascension to godhood will begin simultaneously.

Once the ceremony is complete, the human faction will possess four true gods: War, Domination, Death, and Memory, while the opposing Abyss will have four primordial gods: Darkness, Chaos, the Unknown, and Memory. In terms of high-end combat power, they will be on equal footing.

But if you add all the remaining legends of humanity...

The advantage lies with me!

…………

The Realm of Dragons, the Battlefield of the Abyss.

The land beneath their feet was no longer the magnificent landscape of the former Dragon Domain, but a completely dead wasteland.

The earth's strata were cracked and fissured with deadly black and red magma deep within the cracks. The broken mountains were tilted and collapsed, exposing pale white rock skeletons. The raging winds, carrying black miasma, swept across every corner of the world. The entire world was devoid of any sound of life, leaving only a deathly silence and desolation like the end of the world.

Looking up, the sky had already been completely swallowed up by the boundless black tide.

It was a chaotic torrent formed from four primordial demons, thick as silt and heavy as original sin, pressing down on the heavens layer upon layer. Wherever the black tide passed, space dissolved, laws collapsed, and matter returned to nothingness. All things, tangible and intangible, were mercilessly devoured, leading to the end.

"boom--!!!"

At the very center of the battlefield, Himegami stood alone beneath the shattered sky.

His yellow robe was covered with countless scratches and holes. Most of the billions of divine soldiers projected by the Hall of Heroes behind him had shattered and disappeared, and the remaining weapons were all broken and chipped. The thousand heroic warriors who followed him in battle were all buried in this wasteland, with no trace of their bodies.

For ten whole days and nights, He alone possessed four primordial demons, never retreating an inch.

Beside Him, the newly born Goddess of Domination, Sylvia, looked down upon the mortal realm, and countless golden chains descended from the depths of the void. Kevin and Vilette stood on either side, defining the rules of the world with "justice" and suppressing the malice of demons with "temperance."

High above, nine long-suspended heads of generals and ministers hung silently beneath the black tide, their murderous aura soaring to the sky, their killing intent penetrating the entire desolate heavens.

"Sylvia! Aren't you ready yet?"

Hime Mikami shouted, and Sylvia took a deep breath: "Almost there... I've never made weapons before, so it's really difficult for me to do this!"

"If it's difficult, then don't do it! My ancestors... they've become your little brat's potential for immortality, I hate it..."

Sylvia rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "District."

"What did you say?!"

How could such a sound escape the ears of a true god? Ji Yushen immediately flew into a rage, jumping up and down: "I am not Qu!!!"

Seeing that Ji Yushen was about to rush over and hit her, Sylvia finally finished weaving the fates of the nine generals and ministers. With a wave of her hand, golden chains bound the nine generals and ministers together, and then made them move closer, join together and merge on their own.

Flesh and blood piled up, bones and spirits intertwined, the murderous aura and the battle intent of the remnant souls of millions of martyrs were tempered and entangled layer by layer.

In a short while, the nine generals and ministers were completely united.

A jet-black longsword spanning thousands of miles of sky took shape. Its blade was thick and solemn, every inch of its texture condensed with endless killing and martyrdom. The faint light flowing across the blade made the black tide of the entire world slightly stagnate.

"Excellent! Excellent sword!"

Himeko raised her hand and firmly grasped the sword hilt.

In an instant, the long-dormant fighting spirit erupted completely!