Game World: I Can Share Talents

The Celestial Vault Holy Marriage was not the end. What greeted Westheid next were more fragments of memory.

At times, he was a comrade-in-arms, fighting alongside Wan Qi on the battlefield. They would charge through a hail of gunfire, and after the battle, they would kiss amidst the ruins.

At other times, they were a quiet and sweet newlywed couple in the city, living a remarkably peaceful, domestic life.

And at other times, the two were sojourners on a boundless land, living a nomadic yet fresh and interesting life of adventure.

...........

Time, setting, and events changed again and again. Wan Qi's role-playing seemed endless.

Crucially, this wasn't just role-playing. With every flash, even one that only lasted for a few short minutes, the memories Westheid gained were measured in years, even decades.

These numerous experiences weren't false, but realities that had actually happened. After entering the Crimson Throne, the memories he'd acquired had far exceeded the scale of his own lifetime. Such a massive influx of memories and experiences made it difficult for Westheid to distinguish the external world from the internal.

"What is it this time?"

Westheid muttered to himself numbly as the scene before him changed once again.

However, to his slight surprise, no new memories surfaced in his mind this time. Instead, the scene before him had returned to the Monastery from the very beginning.

Only the first, and most profound, role-playing scenario had taken place here. Since then, nothing had been set in the Monastery.

"We're back here? What's going on? Don't tell me we have to relive our first meeting?"

Westheid grumbled and pushed open the large door before him.

CREAK—

To the groaning of the old doors, Westheid stepped into the Monastery's main hall.

Sunlight filtered through the stained-glass skylight, casting mottled beams of light. Before an indescribable holy icon, Wan Qi's figure was bathed in the morning light, seeming to shimmer with a brilliant glow.

The young woman looked toward Westheid, smiling as she extended a hand. He almost stepped forward to grab it on sheer reflex, but he stopped himself.

Because Wan Qi was not alone in the hall... or more accurately, there was more than one Wan Qi.

In the front row of pews sat another Wan Qi, the young woman's crimson eyes watching him quietly.

'The Master of Extinction...'

Although she wasn't wearing that familiar red dress, nor was she in that dilapidated Imaginary Space, Westheid recognized her in a single glance.

"Why is this happening?"

Westheid was completely lost. 'Shouldn't this time and space be under the control of the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven? How can a Demon be here? Has Wan Qi been captured?'

'And another thing, just how long have I been here?'

In terms of perceived time, Westheid was certain more than a century had passed. But time was meaningless in the Domain of a Celestial God; the rate at which time flowed outside the Crimson Throne was what truly mattered.

"You know, my love. You should understand."

Just as Duke Qinghui was overcome with confusion, the Wan Qi standing beneath the holy icon spoke:

"This is the condition for unlocking the seal on the Celestial God's Shadow—to live through an eternity of happy moments, until you are satisfied."

As she walked down the steps one by one, the radiance bathing her body gradually solidified. Wan Qi's appearance remained unchanged—still that of a pure and sweet Miss Cultivator—but Westheid couldn't help but shudder.

This wasn't something he could overcome with willpower; it was a purely instinctual reaction of a sapient being. He felt his own existence suddenly become infinitesimally small. A vast and magnificent presence was pressing in on everything. Aside from the young woman before him, Westheid could perceive nothing else.

Having personally experienced the descent of the Radiant Holy Tree's will, Duke Qinghui naturally knew what this was.

Only the will of a Celestial God could bring about such suppression.

'So this is... the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven? Or rather, a part of her essence, which could just as well be considered a Celestial God.'

The Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, with her hands behind her back, glanced at the other Wan Qi and said with a smile:

"After so many experiences, the seal on the Celestial God's Shadow is finally undone. From this day forward, she is free."

Westheid glanced at Wan Qi. The great Ancient Demon could only look at him with a calm and gentle gaze. She couldn't say a word; she probably couldn't even move a muscle.

A Celestial God's suppression of their corresponding Demon is absolute. The latter has no possibility of resistance whatsoever, so he couldn't expect Wan Qi to say anything.

Westheid carefully considered the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven's words. 'I thought all those Secret Realms were just the Celestial God's entertainment, but now it seems it was a ritual to free the Master of Extinction?'

'So the one thing I've been longing to do—freeing Wan Qi from her seal—is just... done?'

'I thought I'd have to struggle to achieve it myself... well, I guess I did achieve it myself, in a way.'

Sorting through his thoughts, the only thing Westheid didn't understand was the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven's motive.

"Why would you..."

"She is my shadow. The weakest, most incompetent, most self-pitying part of me, the part I most wanted to cast aside. Those who are unwilling to ascend to the heavens are doomed to fall to the earth for eternity. I was never willing to free this part of me, even though she was once me."

The Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven gently touched her chest and smiled at Westheid.

"But, my love, you are fond of my shadow. You made a promise to her, so I will fulfill that promise for you."

"Because I am so in love with you."

The Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven's voice rose, filled with passion and joy. She clapped her hands, and in an instant, with a flicker, everything around them changed once more.

They were standing at the very top of the central tower of the Crimson Throne. Below them was a magnificent, vast floating continent, and tens of millions of the Celestial Vault People.

The mortals, like a swarm of ants, cast their gazes toward the high platform—not at the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven, but at Westheid.

Duke Qinghui felt it... Faith. Absolutely fanatical faith, from mortals of absolute piety. His Talent, Bright Radiance Manifested in the World, began to take effect with frenzied power.

'Wait... Did the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven just divert the faith of the Celestial Vault People to me?'

'What is this move? Although a Celestial God's power isn't connected to the number of their followers, these are still her own people, her Direct Lineage. How could she just hand them over so readily?'

Meeting Westheid's bewildered gaze, the Venerable Master of the Azure Heaven smiled and extended her hand, saying:

"Unlike my shadow, I will not actively pursue you, nor will I beg for your companionship. I know your ambitions, your ideals. You wish to ascend to the Supreme Heaven. For millions of years, I have waited in silence for you to make your way toward the Supreme Heaven. All I must do is assist you with all my might in the final moments."

"The essence I have left here is my gift to you. My subjects in the Mortal World, my kingdom in the Mortal World, my faith, and my power—all of it I can share with you, my love."

"Take my hand, come a little closer. I can already feel your light."

"My beloved, come. Ascend to the heavens with me."