Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 582: Chapter 199: Two Generations in the Same Frame

When the time loop closes, it is difficult to say which segment of time is the beginning and which is the end.

I am his past, and also his future.

Such is the relationship between K and Lin Rui.

Temporal Return allows one to go back to a specific point in time.

Essentially, K and Lin Rui are the same body.

So when Lin Rui gazed in shock at K without a mask, displaying only the marks of decay, he was utterly perplexed.

The First Generation smiled as he put on the mask and began to unravel his own puzzle:

"To create two eras, two distinct versions of myself appearing at the same time, I have seen only Xiaoyugan’s true self capable of doing this. Her immense spiritual power can twist reality at any moment, creating Split Bodies with different personalities yet similar abilities."

"I can’t do that. It’s not my area of expertise."

Lin Rui had recognized that person by now.

"Which version of you, or rather, which version of me you are at this moment, I am not sure."

"But there is one thing I am certain of: you and I are each other’s past, or future. This creates a time loop, forming a circle. So as long as Temporal Return keeps happening, I believe there will come a time when you..."

"I will become you!"

"However, Temporal Return to a state where one has no recollection is difficult to achieve. That’s why I thought... maybe I should utilize Fusion Disease."

The First Generation had said much in one breath, but Lin Rui at this moment was still too... bewildered.

"Master... Master?"

Unaware of everything, Lin Rui naturally regarded The First Generation as his master.

At this time, he always thought of the masked hero as someone unrelated, somebody who just shared a bond of master and disciple with him.

He did not expect to open his eyes and find himself looking at his master.

"Master? Hahaha...ahaha...ah..."

The First Generation let out his signature exaggerated laugh, leaving Lin Rui completely baffled.

After laughing for a long time, he suddenly remembered the conversation they had at their first meeting.

"Although the journey was exhausting, fortunately... we have met again!"

Lin Rui lightly patted his face and said in a daze:

"What exactly is going on? I remember I seemed to have fallen asleep... I saw my old classmates... I remember now, I died... "

The First Generation stroked his chin and said with a touch of pride:

"Is that so? It seems that under the state of Fusion Disease, my Temporal Return is quite accurate. This way, it seems I’ve fully achieved a precise control of the Sequence through the Source Power."

Lin Rui was still unclear.

The First Generation began to slowly explain:

"Fusion Disease can take me to new heights, but it’s also very risky, because once it flares up, it might spiral out of control."

"Still, I’m very eager to try... If you are me and I am you, then, theoretically, Temporal Return should allow me to revert to ’your’ state."

Lin Rui had yet to understand.

Naturally, he also failed to notice that The First Generation had actually displayed an astonishing talent.

Not long before, he was not even comparable to Xu Wei, nowhere near as precise.

But at this moment, perhaps even Xu Wei could not manage such a feat.

Especially at the instant when a flood of emotions engulfed him, before his rationality crumbled, at the moment Fusion Disease erupted... to have both himself and his Law Body revert to a specific state...

This required, quite simply, the most precise mastery of Temporal Power.

Even... surpassed Temporal Return.

It was like the textbook taught you a formula, but the exam asked you to apply a variant of that formula.

Clearly, The First Generation excelled at extrapolating from one example, handing in an astonishing answer sheet.

"First, there has to be two of me... Do you understand what I’m saying?"

I don’t understand a damn thing! Lin Rui thought to himself, but he still nodded.

"But I can’t split myself, so I had to ponder over the idea of Ten Thousand Phantasmal Bodies. Get it?"

I don’t get a damn thing! Lin Rui still nodded.

"This is quite troublesome, to convince those two guys to perform the granting ceremony on a Semi-Evil Fallen tainted with distortion, they had to feel awe towards me, luckily... it seems I’m quite a likeable person, hahahaha... Understand?"

Forget it, just nodding will do, Lin Rui pretended to understand and kept nodding.

"After all that, I needed to practice time reversal, so I could go back to ’your’ state."

"Once I learned this, my Law Body naturally learned it too. Get it?"

As long as Master is happy, don’t bother asking if I understand... Lin Rui hadn’t grasped the key point yet.

He just subconsciously remembered these details while The First Generation continued to explain:

"But I wasn’t sure if I could break through the limit and return to a state not within my memories, so I tried to make myself enter an emotionally volatile state, that is, a state of fusion sickness."

"This was very dangerous, I really wasn’t confident, after all, no one had done it before, and you and I... are quite special."

"But well..."

"Aha! I never thought it would be so effective! Hahahaha... everything is just as Bai said, we should approach the future with absurd imagination, isn’t my imagination rich? Isn’t my execution strong?"

The First Generation laughed exaggeratedly, appearing quite proud. He indeed had the right to be, for he had done something nearly insane.

Lin Rui’s exaggerated laughter was learned from K; now, looking at the K he thought he’d never see again, Lin Rui’s eyes moistened.

Was all this just a dream? But if possible... could I wake up from this dream a bit later?

The First Generation seemed to know what Lin Rui was thinking. He didn’t care, because Lin Rui was still confused.

And Lin Rui... had yet to notice the most crucial point.

So The First Generation continued:

"I’m not sure if what I did counts as double overtime. If we die next, does that count as dying twice? In our fight against the Great Demon King, would that be considered the future and the past fighting side by side?"

"Anyway, kid... well done. I haven’t let down your wishes, nor have you let down my legacy!"

"But we still have unfinished business. Now, I am no longer from the future, you are no longer from the past, the two of us... only have the present."

The First Generation patted Lin Rui on the shoulder. Though his words were somewhat cryptic, Lin Rui’s mind was quick to turn.

Because of that speed, he strung together all the confusing information he had been nodding to.

He finally caught onto one key meaning:

"Wait... I’m just now reacting to something you mentioned earlier..."

Lin Rui looked up, his eyes wide as he gazed at The First Generation:

"Your past... is it me?"

The smile on the masked face remained unchanged, but The First Generation’s eyes sparkled sharply:

"That’s hard to say, my past might be you, or perhaps my future is you. It’s unclear... However, our origin of birth is indeed you."

Lin Rui shuddered. ƒreewebɳovel.com

An enormous amount of information exploded in his mind.

When he learned that Bai Wu wasn’t the real Masked Hero, Lin Rui had thought that maybe one day Bai would meet the true Masked Hero.

Maybe one day... he who took over the mantle would meet him too. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

But he had never thought—

that the origin of everything was actually himself.

The First Generation revealed the answer at this moment:

"When you died, the negative emotions and the crisis of death caused you to regress to an infant state, and at the same time... you also crossed through time and space."

"I don’t know why I appeared on the farm, but later, after learning from Jing Si that you had a fight with him, I guessed that perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence."

"I am you, and you are me."

Lin Rui was shocked. Although he had some guesses earlier, it still stunned him to hear these words.

Could it be that I am the very person I admire?

"I... am the Masked Hero?"

"The Masked Hero? Hmm... you always were," said The First Generation meaningfully.

Lin Rui trembled with excitement.

Not long ago, he couldn’t find an exit in a maze called death... Now, he had finally walked out of the maze, only to experience an unbelievably dreamlike scene.

Is this the karmic reward for saving Baichuan City?

Is this some kind of heaven?

The twisted world is no heaven, and for many, it’s even hell, but Lin Rui’s mood at the moment... was extraordinarily splendid.

The one whose style he yearned to inherit—the person he aspired to be—was actually another version of himself from a different timeline!

This was truly...

"This is simply amazing, Master!"

Just as The First Generation was preparing to analyze various causes and effects, to understand why he had appeared on the farm, whether Jing Liu was involved, and if Jing Si had intended to save everything when killing Lin Rui...

Lin Rui suddenly grabbed The First Generation’s shoulders, excited like a child who had lived seven hundred years:

"This is fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! So it turns out that death... really can lead to a new journey!"

Reminded of a saying from an old friend, The First Generation was momentarily lost in his thoughts:

"Hahaha, it is indeed great. Next, I’ll slowly tell you what’s happened these days."

Lin Rui was bursting with excitement.

Watching the youthful exuberance overflow from Lin Rui, The First Generation suddenly realized...

Growing up in different environments truly makes a huge difference.

Although they were the same person, they were vastly different due to two distinct experiences of growing up.

One was born at the beginning of the distortion, before the arrival of The Era of the High Tower, in Food City.

Lin Rui’s past was filled with a longing for hot-blooded comics, compliance with ordinary life, a crush that was loved yet unattainable, and humility.

The First Generation was much crueler, including his "father" Jing Yi, his friend Bai Yuan, and even himself, all steeped in distortion.

One went from order to distortion, and the other was born out of distortion in pursuit of order.

That the two were one and the same was astounding.

The First Generation then began to smile:

"I am the hero you admire, but you have the experiences I once yearned for. That we are the same person, such an identity, is truly nice."

Although he said this with a smile, Lin Rui felt a tinge in his nose.

"After you died, a lot has happened, and I’ll tell you about everything slowly."

The First Generation began to recount the past events, word by word.

For the coming of this day, he had also inquired much from Jiang Yimi in Baichuan City.

Bai Wu drank the Well Water, Jiang Yimi’s obsession erupted, Jing Si took the last words to heart, and finally saved Baichuan City...

Then later on, High Tower underwent a transformation, the area beyond the Mist appeared, High Tower descended once again, the Twisted Master was unsealed...

And the Bald Guy, once saved by Bai Wu and Lin Rui, experienced the pinnacle moment of his life...

All these stories, The First Generation meticulously told Lin Rui.

Lin Rui felt moved, had regrets, and occasionally marveled at the unexpected twists and turns of events.

"That bald guy... he’s that powerful? He actually managed to break the temporal closure..."

"Yes, he was very strong. If not for him, I wouldn’t be here, and then we wouldn’t have met."

"But it’s a pity... he actually died just like that."

"Indeed a pity, maybe... the Twisted Master’s fate was not yet over."

Recalling Qian Yixin, although The First Generation was sealed by him for seven hundred years, there was not a trace of resentment in his heart.

"After that, I showed up, I retrieved the memory about the revelation hidden with Xiaoyugan... I intended to leave it for the younger generations to deal with, but since I’m still alive, naturally, I have to do it myself."

"So I gathered these people, and we will soon head to the final battlefield."

The First Generation’s tone became solemn, and after recounting all the events, he looked at Lin Rui calmly and seriously, then spoke a rather abrupt sentence.

"Kid, from this day forward, you are you, and I am me."

At first, Lin Rui was taken aback; then he understood the meaning behind the words and nodded seriously:

"Okay... from this day forward, you are you, and I am me."

The two individuals, once entwined in a loop like an Ouroboros, had now become two distinct entities.

He who tampered with time and space had paid a price for it after seven hundred years in an endless loop.

From this day forward...

"The loop" shattered into two halves.

"I tried to do these things not only because I thought you shouldn’t have died, but more importantly, because of the upcoming decisive battle, I need more people with Temporal Power."

Having accepted everything, Lin Rui also came to a realization.

The joy of being you quickly faded, and in Lin Rui’s heart, that "First Generation Masked Hero" was ultimately not him.

He was grateful that his past, or rather future self, was a true hero, but he didn’t believe that he deserved all that glory.

"I’ve already died once... death no longer frightens me. If I can, I am willing to die for this world once more."

"Hahahaha... right you are... my disciple!"

The First Generation laughed heartily.

In a while, everything would come to an end.

Either the long-awaited world would arrive, or he would return to death once again.

Having met "himself" from another timeline, he felt a sense of fulfillment.

But life is always filled with some regrets.

The chances of defeating Alpha weren’t high, but The First Generation still fantasized about a world without distortion...

If that day truly came, Xiaoyugan would be able to leave the Memory Palace, but what about Bai Yuan?

Bai Yuan was likely never to be seen again.

At that thought, The First Generation suddenly felt a bit sad.

At that moment, Lin Rui also thought of Bai Wu. It was as if, in the previous era, everyone had Bai Yuan in their hearts, and in this era, everyone held Bai Wu in their hearts.

"Master, what... what has happened to the senior now?"