After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 480 - 186: The Fork in Destiny_2

A few white pigeons turned into ashes—constant harbingers of calamity, insignificant in the face of flames capable of consuming the world.

...

...

Meanwhile.

Within the sealed chamber.

"Does that man really care about you!" God of the Path issued an angry challenge, launching an indiscriminate attack without a second thought, showing no concern for his friends, making the Future Goddess wonder if she had misjudged Ahtal.

In the center of the chamber, Suna gently pursed her lips, looking around at the gods present. It was her first time seeing so many deities—there were at least twenty of them, many of whom were well-known gods.

For example, the gods who governed wealth and contracts, or the God of Destruction renowned for being able to destroy the world by opening their third eye, or the God of the Path who mastered all routes in the world, and the god responsible for measuring scales.

And so many gods had gathered here, in this haven of hope amidst despair, to trap Ahtal in Pandora’s Box by channeling their powers.

No matter where Ahtal walked, paths would spread and his scales would perpetually increase until his humanity was completely exhausted.

"Found it," a familiar voice came from outside the chamber, instantly putting the gods on alert.

"Suna, if Ahtal tries to take you away," the nearby God of Conspiracy spoke, "you must end your life immediately."

Suna lowered her head.

Now she felt a bit confused. She understood the situation with Ahtal, but it was precisely because of her understanding that she felt... bewildered, with a sense of not being able to tell right from wrong.

And just then.

The stone door blocking despair heated up, turning into flowing magma and sliding down as Ahtal’s figure entered the room.

"Delay until my humanity burns out?" Xi Mu slowly walked towards Suna, displaying a vile smile, "Why do you think Ragnarok would exhaust my humanity?"

He looked around at the NPCs present.

"The quality seems to have improved quite a bit this time."

"..." The God of Destruction felt something was amiss, wondering why it felt like he had become prey in Ahtal’s game.

"Ahtal, it would be better if you didn’t continue," the God of Conspiracy voiced a threat, "otherwise..."

Before he could finish, he was slashed in half and immediately consumed by Ash Fire, turned to ashes—the process so swift that it allowed no time to react.

However, the God of Destruction recognized the attack—it was Ahtal turning Ash Fire into light to execute an almost unavoidable slash.

But why was the attack speed so much faster when Ahtal’s previous attacks had not been that quick?

"Why do you think I would respond to threats?" Xi Mu asked in confusion, "Shouldn’t you be considering how to beg for your lives from me?"

He pushed his hair back from his forehead.

"Although begging won’t help you. Once I burn down the Tree of Omniscience, I will fulfill my mission and kill all the gods."

"Do you also want to kill me?" A doubtful female voice suddenly emerged, and all the gods looked towards the source of the sound to see the Goddess of Lies, who had appeared at some point, her hands on Suna’s shoulders, smiling at Ahtal.

"If you can survive until after I kill the God of Omniscience," Xi Mu said casually, to which the Goddess of Lies simply smiled and lied to the other gods.

"Suna and I were never in Pandora’s Box." As her words fell, the Goddess of Lies and Suna vanished from their spot.

The atmosphere grew silent.

"The Goddess of Lies has ways to prevent Suna from taking her life," Xi Mu’s gaze grew malevolent, "If I slay you, you will truly die."

"Why did you find this place so quickly?" Another god spoke in a dry tone, deeply puzzled by the situation. The hope hidden within despair should be incredibly difficult to find.

Yet Ahtal had found it right away.

"Perhaps because I had been here before." Flames seeped through Xi Mu’s teeth as he exhaled scorching Dragon Breath, engaging in battle with the assembled gods.

If one were to follow the words and actions of the gods, finding Suna would be extremely troublesome, but that didn’t mean there were no shortcuts. The gods had resolved to protect Suna at all costs, thus delaying time and allowing the player’s humanity to dissipate.

So even if the player launched an indiscriminate attack, there was no need to worry about Suna getting caught and killed in it. As long as the player could recognize what hope was within the indiscriminate attack.

It wouldn’t take long to find Suna’s location.

For first-timers, this was difficult; they were not yet clear about what hope meant and could not easily find Suna even with indiscriminate attacks. But for seasoned players, it was not an issue.

...

...

The flames flickered.

The Box of Everlasting Catastrophes crumbled in its truest sense, and almost all gods had perished, save for the God of the Path who alone survived.

It wasn’t because the God of the Path was so strong; he hadn’t even reached the Almighty Realm, but his mastery over the power of the path was very much life-preserving.

The ability to create paths.

These paths could be in the sky, on the ground, wherever the God of the Path conceived, he could forge new paths.

Of course, this naturally included the pathways between the two.

"It really is an interesting ability," Xi Mu said sincerely, "what a pity you didn’t make good use of it."

The God of the Path did not speak, instead fixing his gaze on Ahtal. His survival was not due to strength but because he was adept at preserving his own life, and Ahtal had never prioritized attacking him.

However, now his compatriots had all been burnt to ashes.

"I hope you can create paths faster than light," Xi Mu’s eyes locked onto the God of the Path, and with a swift motion, he swung down the Sword of Light. A torrent of light aimed with precise certainty instantly crossed the path created by the God of the Path, submerging his body completely.

As the light receded, the God of the Path’s body turned to ashes.

...

...

Magic Kingdom.

"Ahtal’s decisiveness is really quite remarkable," the Goddess of Lies said, her hands propping her chin, glancing at Suna who was bound up and commenting:

"Stop struggling, it’s impossible for you to kill yourself."

"Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!" Suna writhed, emitting incomprehensible sounds. Her intention wasn’t to commit suicide; she wanted to speak to the Destiny Witch.

However.

"Just as you were thinking," Hecate suddenly addressed Suna, as if she had foreseen Suna’s intention all along.

The Goddess of Lies exclaimed, "What a convenient ability."

"Foreseeing destiny is not always accurate," Hecate shook her head, explaining to the Goddess of Lies, "That Ahtal could rescue the Saintess of Destiny so swiftly was beyond my expectation."

The Goddess of Lies inquired, "Was it also beyond the Future Goddess’ expectation?"

"Right," Hecate revealed a smile, "She also didn’t foresee that my disciple could rescue Suna that quickly."

Suna: "..."

The situation she was in now, technically kidnapped and not rescued, was certainly no ’successful rescue.’

"Then the time taken to burn the tree must also have exceeded the Future Goddess’ expectations," the Goddess of Lies allowed a relaxed expression to form, "Perhaps Ahtal’s humanity will be enough to last until we deal with the God of Omniscience."

"..." Hecate did not share the optimistic attitude, clueless about the burning speed of Ahtal’s humanity, which was intricately linked to Ragnarok. If she could foresee how quickly Ahtal’s humanity burned,

she would have been able to create a relatively better fate.

...

...

Underneath the Tree of Omniscience.

"Wait, don’t kill me!" the God of Raining screamed, his hands frantically trying to pry the one gripping his neck, his blue eyes reflecting Ahtal’s indifferent face, "I won’t stop you from burning the tree anymore!"

Xi Mu responded coldly, "Who knows whether you’ll summon rain to extinguish the flames."

Do you even hear what you’re saying?

The God of Raining’s eyes widened; was this man insane? How could he possibly extinguish the Ash Fire? If he had that ability, he wouldn’t be at Ahtal’s mercy, hands around his neck, begging for his life.

Xi Mu was indifferent, his palm bursting with Ash Fire, reducing the God of Raining to ashes. He cleared the surrounding area of the Tree of Omniscience of any lingering deities to ensure none would interrupt his doings.

Though many gods would still desperately swarm to stop the burning of the tree later.

"Eden, have you decided?" he turned around to look at the girl draped in a grey cloak, "It’s not too late to back out now."

No matter how many times he asked, the answer would always be the same; he was well aware of that. If Eden was able to give a different answer,

He would be willing even to rush a New Game Plus playthrough.