At 8 PM, Xiao Qing was gently brushing Yoshiko's silver hair.
Yoshiko's features were calm with no apparent emotion, yet there was a smile on her lips.
Xiao Qing's features were calm as she looked at Xiao Yoshiko, with her familiar smile, yet there was some sadness in Yoshiko. She was no longer the same. After each reincarnation, she became calmer, more isolated, and more suspicious of existence and the people around her. That's why she felt regret about her situation.
"Mom Xiao Qing, I want to ask you, what is the reason for your stay this time, longer than before?" Xiao Yoshiko's tone was calm as she looked at Xiao Qing out of the corner of her eye.
Xiao Qing put the comb down, a faint smile still lingering on her face, and embraced Xiao Yoshiko, resting her chin on Yoshiko's head.
"I stayed here for several reasons, the most important of which is to stay with my little daughter, Xiao Yoshiko." Her tone was gentle and warm, filled with love for the one she considered her daughter.
After hearing Xiao Qing's words, a faint smile appeared on Yoshiko's face, filled with comfort and happiness.
However, Xiao Qing had stayed for several months at the Great Academy of Farsalkin for several reasons, the most important of which were to stay with Xiao Yoshiko and also to wait for Feng Li Wu to finish the third test. Therefore, she used teaching students special classes as the strongest entity in this world, the symbol of the righteous path, and a holy saint for the United Righteous Sect as pretexts to stay within the academy. Thus, suspicions about her were almost nonexistent. Even if she had no reason to stay, she had absolute control over all the mechanisms within the Great Academy of Farsalkin, plus she was the strongest figure for the righteous faction, so no one would dare complain about her stay.
"Xiao Yoshiko, remember well that life among loved ones is the most beautiful, but at the same time, the most extreme, because the blows are more painful when they come from someone close. Do you understand, my dear?" Xiao Qing's tone was calm as usual, as she embraced Yoshiko like a mother holding her child.
"Okay, I will remember your words well, my mother, and I must leave now, as it's bedtime."
Yoshiko then got up, leaving Xiao Qing looking at the crescent moon. It was the 3rd of Rajab, so the moon was still in its early phase.
A few minutes after Xiao Yoshiko left her room, she got up and brushed off nonexistent dust from her clothes.
Then she went out of her room towards the garden of her house.
"The final time has come. Life sails in the sea of time, and the winds of fate guide it to its eternal salvation. Everything has a beginning and an end. However, not everything is written or read truthfully in a world built on a curse, even its narrative is full of lies. Fate is like a wind blowing in the sea of time, but the wind always changes direction, sometimes to the west, sometimes to the east."
"Spring comes after winter, summer comes after spring, and autumn comes after summer. This is life. After annihilation and ruin, a spark of development and prosperity comes, like a winter full of harsh cold and weak annihilation, leaving only the strong and mighty, the spark of development that represents spring, when it comes, the earth is colored with a green carpet, and blessings begin to grow. Then comes summer, the peak of development and prosperity. Then comes autumn, the beginning of a spark of blood and the annihilation of all this development due to the greed of those at the head of the system's authority, so all development and prosperity perish." Xiao Qing's tone was calm as she looked at the star-filled sky with a faint smile.
The matter of the five tests had occupied her thoughts until now. With all the reincarnations she had gone through, she had gone through three tests, each in one life. No test lasted more than one life. However, she had not understood the conditions for success until now. It was as if her mind did not want her to understand, even though she possessed omniscience.
It should have been simple, but she felt as if something was preventing her from thinking of a solution or an answer to this extremely complex puzzle.
However, only two tests remained, and perhaps she would uncover the secrets of these tests and those secret tunnels, and what was Yuuta's relationship with them. Although his actions on that day were normal, she felt he was hiding something related to him and his companions Armin, Yurtchi, Gregori, Beatris, and Lucy. However, she decided to ignore it until the appropriate time. Accumulating matters would make it more complicated. Leaving everything for the right time would make it much easier.
Xiao Qing sighed a deep sigh filled with confusion and exhaustion. It was not physical, mental, or spiritual, but another kind of exhaustion.
She was tired of the unknown and the inability to control. Like her counterparts of the same power level in other fictional works, she was in the LIRRELEVANT LAYERS IN TO Boundless tier. Entities of the same tier in other fictional works controlled their worlds with ease and knew all their secrets. However, Xiao Qing, or Tom Fragleson, was unable to control the world she lived in, ignorant of 99% of it. Even when she was the guardian of the Tree of Existence, her knowledge of the entire narrative was unknown. It was as if something prevented her from seeing the true narrative of the novel. She decided to ignore it at that time due to her many preoccupations, the most important of which was protecting the holy Tree of Existence.
In one of the towers of the Great Academy of Farsalkin, Feng Li Wu sat, looking at the crescent moon, with a sarcastic smile on his lips at all the entities on this planet.
Feng Li Wu's features were mysterious because his face was not visible due to his hair covering it because of the wind blowing.
"The third test is about to end. Only two tests remain, and this farce will be over."
"Since the Master of Tests has revealed himself in this test, I think its end will be a show full of action and horror, as if it came out of a raging anime. Me, Xiao Qing, Guts, and the Master of Tests Griffith will be a rather beautiful play, although we won't scream in Griffith's name, hahaha hahaha ha!" His tone was full of cold sarcasm as he looked at the crescent moon.
After several minutes, the atmosphere began to become quieter, to the point of becoming suspiciously frightening. The world was silent, not a single sound could be heard.
Feng Li Wu's eyes widened at the change that had occurred in the world, as if he did not dare to utter a word or make a sound, fearing something.
Feng Li Wu disappeared from his place and reappeared where Xiao Qing was.
Xiao Qing turned her gaze towards Feng Li Wu, who had appeared out of nowhere, with an indifferent look. What occupied her mind was what was happening. However, she knew it was related to their previous actions of killing and intimidation, unlike the previous two tests. However, they did not feel a shred of remorse for what they had done or would do now or in the future.
Neither Feng Li Wu nor Xiao Qing said a word, as they knew it was not the time for conversation. Their attention was focused on what was coming.
After several minutes, a wave of invisible energy was released, filled with a thirst for blood, the smell of death, and absolute power, which literally turned the world upside down.
The sky was where the earth was, and the earth was where the sky was.
The beautiful stars that adorned the sky turned crimson, with eyes marked with a pentagram shedding tears of blood, a mixture of crimson and bright gold. There was a different pentagram in the eye crying golden blood, a normal star symbolizing goodness, unity, and life, while in the eye crying black blood, it resembled devil worship.
The sky turned from its natural black to a slightly dark bloody red, and the moon became a black eye, as if there was something like a pupil in the center. It was a bleached gold color, resembling an abyss that devoured everything, and that light erased it from the narrative itself.
Xiao Qing's and Feng Li Wu's eyes widened, sensing great danger looking at them.
The world had completely changed. Laws and concepts were in a state of chaos. If not for their existence, the world would have descended into anarchy.
"It seems our actions affect the end of each test, don't they, Feng Li Wu?" Her tone was sharp as she looked at Feng Li Wu, and it intensified when she spoke his name.
However, Feng Li Wu ignored her completely. He knew what she had done. She had also erased several sects where nearly 5 million people lived, along with all their ancestors, from existence and non-existence, completely deleting them from the world's narrative. Therefore, he decided to ignore her. He did not want to distract his focus by arguing with her, so he decided to ignore her and focus on the mission.
With all their focus, in a fraction of a second, they found themselves inside the base located in the middle of the tunnels, the central setting of the events.
"Hello, how are you, Master Tom Fragleson? It seems the third test has reached its end. Congratulations, you have finished three and two remain."
The tone was cold, with no praise for the fact that they had finished three tests.
The words of that entity echoed within the base. There was no trace of the Master of Tests; only his voice was present.
Xiao Qing and Feng Li Wu both sighed deeply, looking at each other.
"See you in test 4 and 5, Xiao Qing."
"And you too. See you on the other side."
Darkness began to cover the entire place, filling the whole world. There was a faint smile on Feng Li Wu's and Xiao Qing's faces as the darkness swallowed them.
Xiao Qing's and Feng Li Wu's smiles were warm and genuine, perhaps the first and last, or perhaps not.
............
On a ruined earth filled with the smell of rust and blood everywhere.
In the middle of this land, Tom stood, looking around in astonishment. Corpses filled the place as if it were the end of the world.
"When creation and destruction are born from the womb of existence, the earth becomes the final testing ground before the last Ragnarok. Five tests separate existence and annihilation, balance and peace, war and the holy spirit that will not end until the last Ragnarok on this wretched world that has seen only ruin. Who is originally cast out and cursed will build what is broken and cursed. O creation, O destruction, O all, complete your test and earn your power, for the weak are crushed and the strong crush. So, will you be the victor or the vanquished? Creation, or destruction, or above them? This is a decision from which there is no return. Continue on your path if you are bold, and turn back if you are wise." Words came out of his mouth without him realizing he had said anything, without even feeling he had opened his mouth.
He then raised his head and saw a girl with long white hair and violet eyes, and a young man with black hair and black eyes pointing their swords at each other without showing any intention of mercy, then stabbing each other in the heart, with a cold, satisfied smile on their blood-soaked faces.
"It is the end, the end of Ragnarok has come, the last one," they said at the same time, plunging the remains of their sword blades into each other's hearts.
Tom Fragleson clutched his heart in unbearable pain, as if it had been torn twice at the same time.
Blood began to flow profusely from his mouth, eyes, nose, and ears.
"W...Wh...What is happening here, for God's sake? Why do I feel this pain?" His tone was trembling, almost incomprehensible. Every muscle in his body was in a state of spasm. He was unable to move, breathe, or think. Pain was the only thing in this world he could feel.
Tears, a mixture of crimson and bleached gold, flowed profusely from his eyes.
Tom felt fear, pain, and absolute loneliness in his heart. He did not understand why, but he felt as if it was flowing like a raging river in his small heart. Tom was not even 20 years old, just a 15-year-old child with a thousand years of experience. Yet, in the face of this pain, a thousand years of experience were just scattered dust, of no use to him.
After several days, even centuries, of enduring this pain.
Tom turned his gaze towards the world with emotionless eyes. He no longer cared about the pain; it had been his only companion for centuries.
"So, do you think I will give up this easily? You're dreaming, man. I am Tom Fragleson. I will rise to the pinnacle of power, surpassing the power system that exists even in imagination, not just in a silly novel. Remember my words. Let the world of imagination and reality bear witness that I, Tom Fragleson, will surpass all existing entities in imagination, or I will die trying. I don't know, but what I am sure of is that I will become the strongest, no matter the cost."
His tone was cold and devoid of emotion as he pointed his finger at the void.
The world around him began to crack like shattered glass, and a new light began to fill the entire world.
As soon as the light spread, a beautiful, sweet voice emanated from nowhere, heard by him.
"Well done, my dear, continue, I am waiting for you." The voice was beautiful and full of longing.
A slight smile appeared on Tom's face as the light enveloped him.
"The fourth trial, we are coming."