Volume 9: Disaster Chapter 578: Dragon God's Question and Answer Time
What the hell is this place?
Murphy looked at the vast starry sky around him and the huge rock platform floating in the void under his feet, and was a little confused for a moment.
He thought that the Ascending Dragon God would have some extraordinary sound and light effects, golden dragon thunder all over the sky, or holy hymns and dragon roars...
Then endless power surged into his body, and then a world announcement was made, announcing the birth of a new god...
However, there was nothing. The moment he touched the Dragon God Throne, he felt dazed for a moment and appeared in this place the next second.
This place... shouldn't be real, right? He muttered to himself with a sense of realization.
There was no cold, no heat, not even the slightest feeling.
More like a dream.
"System panel!"
He called out - but nothing happened.
A thought came to mind - Dragon Thunder!
Still no response.
As expected, he suddenly realized that it was not his real body that came here, but it was more like his consciousness entered a certain spiritual space.
This place seems to be another dimension independent of the game, and even the game data cannot be reproduced.
It was somewhat similar to the dreams he had had in the past, also between games and reality.
He looked around and had a feeling that there must be something here that could answer his questions.
Then he saw a desolate figure standing on the edge of the platform, looking at the starry sky in the distance.
Dragon God? That’s right—it was the Dragon God, the one in human form in my memory.
He has a body similar to that of a human, but has dragon wings, a tail, and dragon horns.
At this moment, he seemed to be waiting for his arrival.
It wasn't until Murphy walked behind the man that the Dragon God finally turned around.
His face also had some features of the dragon clan, and his eyes were like frozen time. It was impossible to see any color of life, nor could any changes in emotions be seen. He just stared at Murphy calmly.
For some reason, the Dragon God in front of him made Murphy feel extremely familiar, as if the two had known each other for a long time and were destined to meet here.
"Welcome, heir. You are finally here."
Murphy asked in surprise, "You are the Dragon God? Aren't you dead?"
"Haha, that's right. We have indeed fallen a long time ago. What you see now is just a projection that has traveled through time, from the beginning of the birth of this universe." He pointed to the huge sphere that was merging in the distance, "Azeroth, see? That's the planet you are on now, and it has just been born at this moment, just like this universe."
This answer surprised Murphy. "So in your timeline, you are still alive? Did you really foresee everything that will happen in the future?"
The Dragon God shook his head, "No, strictly speaking we have only foreseen various possibilities in the future."
"What's the difference?"
"Of course there is a difference. Time is like a web made up of countless rivers, interweaving countless nodes, and each node leads to countless possibilities. We cannot be sure where time will go, but we can foresee every possible direction at the same time.
Unless we guide and intervene at each different node to ensure the direction of time, the future will be chaotic and unpredictable.
So you see, we don't really foresee everything that will happen in the future, we just let time flow along the path we expect it to.
But when we die, it becomes difficult to ensure that time flows in the right direction. Fortunately, it seems that the chess pieces we laid out in advance have played their due role, so you are here now and witness the birth of this universe with us."
Murphy was surprised when he heard this: "So I am really the one chosen by fate? The legendary chosen one?"
"No, to be exact, Morpheus is the chosen one, but for some reason, your fate is entangled with his, so it is you who came here instead of him. To be honest, we are also very surprised that fate can go wrong. The vein of time should be clearly visible, but for some reason, in this reincarnation, many things are shrouded in fog. It is really an unexpected result.
But this is the interesting part of fate, isn't it? "The Dragon God smiled as he spoke, but Murphy couldn't sense any clarity in that smile.
Mo Fei thought, could it be because he is a player?
Yes, if there were no players, history would have taken a completely different course, and Morpheus might have really come here.
"I'm sorry...I."
"Don't be sorry. It doesn't matter who comes here. Whether it's you or Morpheus, there's no difference."
The Dragon God's expression was unusually calm, and it was obvious that he was not trying to comfort Murphy.
"No difference? Why do you say that?"
The Dragon God smiled but did not explain.
Murphy felt a little guilty. This Dragon God gave him a mysterious feeling of seeing through everything. Did he know his identity as a player? Did he know the difference between the game and reality?
He hated this feeling of uncertainty, so he just got straight to the point.
"So why am I here?"
"Because you became a dragon god. The moment you became a god, your consciousness would transcend time and space and be attracted by the power of the dragon god. That's why you came here."
"So what is my purpose here? Are you going to give me some kind of mission?"
"Purpose? Haha, why must there be a purpose? You are here, that's all.
We don’t have any mission to tell you, your mission is of course for you to discover yourself.”
Murphy was completely confused now, wondering what the hell was going on in this game.
He always looks at everything from a player's perspective. Since the system has sent him here, something must have happened, such as a mission, a battle against a BOSS, or at least an NPC giving him some information and intelligence about the Dragon God.
The moment he saw the Dragon God, he thought it was probably the third one. This Dragon God was most likely an NPC who provided tasks or consultation. He didn't expect that the other party knew nothing about anything.
He couldn't accept this result at all. "Are you sure you don't have anything to tell me? For example, as the Dragon God, what should I do next? Do I have any mission or task?"
The Dragon God shook his head helplessly, “Okay, we will explain it to you, including why there is no difference between you and Morpheus, and why we have no missions for you.
Have you noticed that among all the different civilizations, whether orcs, dwarves, humans, trolls or even kobolds, on different continents, different races, and even different planets, the wheels invented by all civilizations are round. "
Mo Fei thought to himself, isn't that nonsense? A wheel that is not round cannot roll.
"Do you know why?"
"Because only round wheels can roll."
"Yes, of course you can also understand that only things that can roll can be called wheels. This is the fate of the wheel. It must be round. Even if it starts out with edges and corners, it will eventually become the same shape.
When you become a Dragon God, you will naturally do what only Dragon Gods would do, just as a wheel will inevitably roll. You don't need me to tell you, and you don't need to explain anything. When you start rolling, everything will happen naturally.
That's why it doesn't matter whether it's Morpheus or you who comes here, you'll both end up doing the same thing. "
Murphy was confused by this mysterious explanation, so he decided to ask the question in a different direction.
"So what does Dragon God mean?"
The Dragon God smiled calmly: "The Dragon God is the first ancient dragon from outside of time. He is the starting point of everything and the end of everything. He is the first life in the universe and the last life. The Dragon God is a witness. The immortal ancient dragon is destined to witness the birth and death of the universe.
When the universe dies, a new universe will be born, and the cycle will continue over and over again."
It's the same as if I didn't say anything. I can brag as well.
But Murphy certainly didn't dare to say that.
"So as a dragon god, what is your goal? To protect the world? To destroy the world?"
"Goal? Haha, if we must find a goal for ourselves, it would be freedom."
Murphy was a little speechless. Why did everyone want freedom? "Aren't you quite free now?"
"No, for the frog in the well, jumping out of the well is freedom, for the prisoner in the prison is freedom, for those who find themselves living on a planet, leaving their planet is freedom...
All life is imprisoned in a cage. The wall is as far as your eyes can see, the farthest distance your feet can reach is the boundary of the cage, and the boundary between life and death is your sentence.
From a macro perspective, no one is free.
Our goal is to break through all of this and become the first being to gain freedom. Whether it is a planet, a universe, or a universe above a universe, all dimensions and boundaries will be broken. Only at that moment can we gain true freedom. "
Murphy was inexplicably shocked. The Dragon God's goal was so grand that he couldn't even imagine what it meant.
"But according to your point of view, no matter how many boundaries you break, there will always be new boundaries outside those boundaries. How can you achieve freedom?"
The Dragon God did not answer, but asked: "What do you think is the largest number in the universe?"
The biggest number? Mo Fei thought, what is the biggest number?
If I had to say the biggest thing——
"Infinite?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes, it is infinite. If you want to gain true freedom, you must obtain infinite power - this is not an adjective, but infinite power in the true literal sense.
You know, when the first generation of Dragon God was born, we only had the authority of time.
But eternal immortality gives us infinite possibilities. In the first reincarnation, we tried to gain real life, so we gave up the immortal body of the ancient dragon and survived, reproduced, died , and resurrected in the fragile form of flesh and blood.
In this way we have the authority over our lives.
But we are not satisfied with this, and in the second reincarnation, we hope to obtain a soul, so we separate consciousness from the body, allowing consciousness to walk independently in the universe and experience the baptism of spiritual storms.
In this way we take control of the soul.
Reincarnation after reincarnation, power after power, our power grows, becoming stronger with each reincarnation, and one day we will become infinite, the one being that is truly free.
That day will be so far away, but it will definitely come.
And you are a part of this cycle.
"But don't you die every time you reincarnate? The new Dragon God is not the same person as you? Then the one who gets free in the end is no longer you! No, since I am also a part of this reincarnation, how do you know that I will continue your plan? What if I give up? Anyway, the power of the Dragon God is in my hands, and I can use it however I want."
Murphy said, and couldn't help getting excited.
If the next reincarnation begins, does it mean that I will also die?
The Dragon God remained calm, "Your understanding of life is still too superficial, successor, but this is not surprising, you are just a newborn Dragon God, who has just gained the power of authority and has not yet been baptized by time and has not been polished by fate.
You know so little about everything and you have no idea what your future will bring.
Remember our answer just now? All wheels will eventually become the same shape.
Just as humans change their cognition as they grow older, the life of the Dragon God is measured in billions of years. After the birth and death of a universe, and witnessing the rise and end of all things, you will eventually understand everything, the meaning of freedom, and the meaning of life.
At that moment, you will become a true Dragon God, and become ours."
The more Murphy listened, the more uneasy he became. The other party kept calling themselves "we". What did this mean?
Could it be that in the end all the dragon gods will merge into one, becoming one 'existence' with a common memory?
He looked at the Dragon God in front of him and felt an inexplicable awe and a strong sense of belonging in his heart.
Damn it, I don't want to go with you.
My memories and experiences are completely different, but I am a player!
"Why, are you scared?"
"No."
“Haha, there’s no need to hide it. When all the dragon gods know all the causes and effects, they will inevitably fall into fear. But don’t worry, you will understand everything in the end.
Are you worried about losing yourself?
Don't worry, before that, you have at least billions of years of life to squander and complete your reincarnation. Compared with those tiny mortals, aren't billions of years of life enough?
The fear in your heart is simply because you know too little. What you don’t know is the unknown, and the unknown always brings fear.
When you know everything, you will no longer have any fear, and then you will understand what I mean."
Mo Fei thought so too. After billions of years of life, what else could he ask for? However He wanted the power of the Dragon God, but freedom, to hell with it.
With the power of the Dragon God, I can do whatever I want. Why should I waste my energy pursuing infinity and freedom?
He suddenly reacted, "What did you call me?"
"Of course it's Murphy. Why, isn't that your name? Or do you want me to call you Aidan, or Aidan DeLong?"
"You know I am..."
"Player? Haha, of course I know."
The Dragon God looked towards the planet that was being born, and Murphy also followed his gaze.
"I have another question, is this world real?"
“From a macroscopic perspective, everything is false; from a microscopic perspective, everything is real. What is real and what is false depends on your perspective.
You must have heard of this theory. Scientists in your world believe that the world is a simulation and does not exist in reality.
When you hear such a theory, do you feel that the world has become different?
Your family, loved ones, family ties, friendships, your life, your past, will they become false because of this ?
Murphy shook his head, "No!"
"If the theories of those scientists are true, and there is another higher-dimensional world above your world, and a higher-dimensional life thinks that you humans are ants and dust that can be crushed for fun, would you be willing to sit there and wait for death? Or would you rise up in resistance?"
"If you were that higher-dimensional being, would you think that those people in the lower dimensions who have the same thoughts as you are fake?"
Murphy thought about it, but didn't know how to answer.
“So is this world real or fake?”
The Dragon God once again displayed that calm expression.
"I won't answer your question. You will understand it in the future, because——"
Murphy nodded helplessly, "Because the Dragon God will turn into a wheel, I understand, I understand..."
"Well, it's time to continue your journey. Now - leave, Murphy. The time has come. It's time to become a dragon god."
The Dragon God said this, reaching out and tapping Murphy's forehead.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute I have another question!"
However, it was too late. A strong light flashed before his eyes. When the light faded, Murphy found himself back on the Dragon God Throne, and before him was the familiar scene of the Sky City.
System prompt: ...
