I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

“At first, one story was enough for Him to enjoy for a long time, but later, the intervals became shorter and shorter. Now, I have to sit here to satisfy Him, which is what you see here now.”

"But these stories seem to have come true. We were attacked by a mercenary who had seen 'Shadow of Terror,' and we encountered the monster from 'The Dog in the Painting' at your villa. There were also spiders at the hotel just now. Your stories have had an impact on reality and have hurt many people."

Drizzt calmed down completely and said.

"I am very sorry about this. I have tried to write some heartwarming stories, but obviously, beings like Him do not like human love. His food is fear, and only frightening stories can bring Him pleasure."

Gu Du thought for a moment, then spoke again.

"Moreover, as I mentioned to you before, He desires a perfect story, and sleep cannot take away His authority. Even in dreams, this pursuit remains unchanged. Therefore, everything you have seen and experienced has come to be, and this is what I told you at the beginning."

"It's not that you're acting according to the story's plot, but rather that the story is chasing after you."

Chapter 230 The Price Is Insignificant

“The stories I write will become a certain degree of reality through His dreams. These stories have their own will and will seek out the most suitable person to be the protagonist and continue to be staged. So, if I keep writing those terrifying, horrifying, and bizarre stories, this world may gradually become terrifying, horrifying, and bizarre.”

The ancient capital seemed somewhat helpless.

"Will writing stories lead to the destruction of the world, or will not writing them also lead to the destruction of the world?"

Sia seemed to be deep in thought, as if she was thinking of the Kingdom of Night.

Although the Night Kingdom is frequently attacked by the Black Forest's demonic tides, it manages to survive thanks to the resistance of the Gray Tower and the Black Tower, though life is a bit tough for them.

Compared to the already destroyed wasteland and this ruined capital that was destined to be destroyed anyway, the Kingdom of Night was simply paradise.

"Impossible, there must be other ways. Why can't we kill Him?"

Trist found it hard to believe. He had always thought that although the ruined city had all sorts of problems, at least most people in the city were able to live quite well.

But now the ancient capital is telling Twisted Fate that this world will be destroyed after a period of time no matter what, which completely overturns Twisted Fate's worldview.

Either it will be destroyed by more and more monsters, or it will be ravaged by the awakening of that indescribable great being; there is no hope in this world.

Lu Ban's first thought was of Hedao.

The island is tainted by filth, and monsters are constantly devouring humans and destroying civilization. Only the purifying fire of the island shrine can extinguish it, but the purifying fire itself cannot be extinguished. In the end, the world will only be swallowed up by an inextinguishable flame.

No matter how much they struggle, the island's fate is already sealed.

The two are so similar.

Or perhaps, Lu Ban thought, that all alien realms might be like this. The seemingly hopeless wasteland and the Kingdom of Night might already be gradually being destroyed in some places he was unaware of.

As for his own world...

Lu Ban didn't think too much about it.

Because the world I live in is certainly not the most special one.

The answer is self-evident.

“You are the protagonists of ‘The Mouth of the Madman’, and that mercenary may be the protagonist of ‘The Shadow of Terror’. Stories will find the most suitable protagonist for themselves. If there is no suitable protagonist, then the story will gradually fade away and lose its effect. I will need to create new stories to continue to satisfy it.”

The ancient capital seemed indifferent to the impending destruction of the world, or perhaps he had lost his humanity during his long coexistence with an indescribable evil god.

Only by losing all reason and emotion as a human being can one possibly contend with that mad and incomprehensible great being.

"But don't worry, at least for now, He won't wake up. In the past twenty years, besides writing, I have also been researching some methods to temporarily achieve the seal."

Gu Du pointed to that door.

"Simply put, the stories I write become His dreams. Through these dreams, He interferes with reality, causing it to move in an irreversible direction. The stories, in turn, will find their own protagonists, beyond our control. That's why I created this town."

"This town will become the main area of ​​influence of His dreams, and all the stories will converge here. Although there may be some leaks, at least most of the horror plots will only take place in this town."

Hearing Gudu's words, Trist felt slightly relieved, but then suddenly felt something was wrong.

If it were that easy to seal away an indescribable great being, then the ancient capital wouldn't have needed to be trapped here for twenty years.

"What price will this come at?"

Therefore, Drizzt inquired.

"...The cost is negligible."

Gu Du smiled.

"To accomplish this, the first problem is that the most suitable protagonists for these stories need to appear in this town. Otherwise, they will still leak to other cities and other regions. Secondly, each story will be accompanied by the birth of some monsters and anomalies. After a period of time, this area will be full of abnormal monsters, making it difficult to meet the first condition."

"In addition, my personal factors are also one of them, and very important, which is whether I can continue to create stories that are pleasing to Him. In fact, as time goes by, it becomes difficult to create a good story, and to completely imprison Him in this town, a more ingenious and interconnected story is needed."

Listening to the description of the ancient capital, even Lu Ban felt it was extremely difficult; it was an attempt to use the power of mortals to fight against the gods.

How did ancient capitals achieve this?

"No need to rush. To accomplish this, all you need is one thing: to intertwine the illusory with the real. Although I am an ordinary person and cannot fully do what I'm saying, there is someone in this world who can. This is the technique my friend used back then."

The writer picked up his pen, as if he wanted to write something, but hesitated to put pen to paper.

"That's the guy behind the door."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ban suddenly understood.

"You... became part of the story yourself?"

With the conditions laid out, the answer is obvious.

"Yes, He is the guy in the world who is best at weaving stories, loves stories the most, and pursues the perfect story the most. So, just like how 'The Mouth of the Madman' found you, I wrote myself into the story. In fact, your experiences are just stories recorded by the protagonist in 'The Mouth of the Madman,' stories within stories. The real protagonist of the story is myself."

The ancient capital's tone was as flat as if it were discussing some unremarkable article.

"In 'The Mouth of the Madman,' I am a horror writer, capable of continuously creating terrifying stories that amaze the world. After disappearing, I actually arrived at the door that seals a great being. Here, I will continue to create those horror stories, and these stories will actually play out in this town."

"In reality, I am just an ordinary person, but in the story, I am a great writer who never runs out of inspiration and has endless ideas. Things that I cannot do myself, I can do in the dreams of that great being."

“I used His own power to create countless stories for Him.”

“These stories will lead to the destruction of the world and bring endless fear. I have turned the fear in reality into a weapon to fight against it.”

His lips curled up like a child who had just pulled off a prank.

Lu Ban was wrong.

This is not a foolish act of mortals defying the gods, but a magnificent feat of imprisoning the gods with mortal wisdom.

"So, your arrival, your conversation with me, is the key to all of this. Our dialogue connects reality and the story, giving this story a true ending."

"Without you, my story would be nothing but a castle in the air, but with your witness, and with the witness of the great being behind you, this story has a true foundation."

Not only the deities behind the bronze gate, but also the being behind Lu Ban and his companions who manipulates and fools everything, have become part of the ancient capital's works.

He was like a chess player, treating everything, even himself, as a piece, playing against indescribable deities.

And he actually won.

"Therefore, I say, the price is negligible, amounting to nothing more than myself."

As Gu Du spoke, seemingly having made up his mind, he picked up his pen and wrote down the ending of the story on the manuscript paper.

Chapter 231 The People in the Book

There seemed to be some ripples in the air, but perhaps that was just Trist's imagination.

Everything seems unchanged, yet everything also seems to have changed.

"Don't worry, you should be able to get back safely."

Gu Du put down the pen and breathed a soft sigh of relief.

“In the story, I have already sent you out of the town. You only need to walk out of this door to return to the original ruined city.”

He pointed to a wooden door that had appeared behind the three of them at some unknown time.

"how about you?"

Xia couldn't help but ask.

"I am already a character in the book."

Ancient capitals were quite at ease.

He picked up the harmonica that was on the table.

"You've been staring at this thing for a while, so you seem to recognize it?"

"The ancient capital said to Lu Ban."

“I know his owner.”

Lu Ban replied that although he had only seen the corpse, he still knew it.

"Then you can have this. There's no point in keeping it with me."

He handed the harmonica to Lu Ban, who took it and held it in his hand. The harmonica was very heavy, as if it had carried a lot.

[Item Obtained: Fragment of Du Danping's Melody]

The system's indifferent and cold text appeared on the harmonica's shell.

"There's one more thing."

Gu Du pulled out another piece of paper from the pile of old papers and handed it to Lu Ban.

"Before I met that friend, I was in a relationship with a woman. Later, because of the guy behind that door, I had to stay away from everyone. I only gave her one copy after it was published, keeping the title page as a memento. I hope you will have the opportunity to give this title page to her, and tell her..."

The great writer was momentarily at a loss for words. He hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Just say that he is no longer here."

Lu Ban took the paper and felt it looked somewhat familiar.

He took out the book "Old Tales of the Ruined Capital" that he had previously obtained from Shi Tou from his pocket, opened the cover, and put this title page inside.

The tear marks matched perfectly.

"...Is she alright?"

Gu Du understood many things in an instant, but he did not waver. What he should have wavered about, hesitated about, and struggled with had already been done before the end.

"Her children are all grown up and doing well now."

Lu Ban replied.