As Granny spoke, she slowly turned around, allowing Shi Xiaobai to finally see her face.
Granny's looks were nothing like her title. She didn't have any of the aging qualities of the word "Granny." Her silver hair reached to her waist and effused a lustrous texture. Her skin was fair and supple like beautiful jade. Her eyes were like emerald glass that seemed vibrant with vitality. Her red and slightly curved lips had a hint of sexiness to it, and her tall and exquisite body had a mature charm.
Shi Xiaobai fell into a momentary daze. He had apparently seen that face before, but it appeared extremely unfamiliar to him. Fragments of his memories came to him, but they were instantly shattered into powder when he tried recalling them, making it impossible for him to search through his memories.
Just his imagination?
Shi Xiaobai did not think further on this matter because his attention was on Granny's words.
"The apocalypse I'm talking about refers to your world which is also… the world ten thousand years later."
This sentence confirmed many of Shi Xiaobai's guesses, but it also brought him even more questions.
Granny said, "I know that you must have many questions in your mind, but don't worry. Your questions will all be answered. To save time, I'll try to give short and simple explanations. Ask me any questions you have after I'm done explaining, alright?"
Shi Xiaobai nodded. He had too many questions on his mind. It was indeed a waste of time if they engaged in a question-and-answer session.
Granny pursed her lips into a smile and said, "First, just as you guessed, this world is on the same timeline, but at different points on the timeline as your world. They are separated by ten thousand years, and this world can be considered the world ten thousand years prior to yours. And your world is the world ten thousand years from us.
"In other words, you have traveled against the river of time for ten thousand years and arrived in a world from ten thousand years ago. Youth, your experience is not a coincidence, nor is it a miracle, but… fate."
Upon hearing this, Shi Xiaobai could not help but ask, "Fate? What do you mean?"
Granny fell silent for a few moments before continuing, "This world is basically formed by three Holy Trees. These three Holy Trees are named World, Time, and Fate. The World Tree forms the world's space, the Time Tree forms the world's time, and the Fate Tree forms the world's birth and destruction. Together, the three result in the world's existence and it is a symbiotic relationship. When Fate faces destruction, World will crumble, and Time will stop. This world would then cease to exist."
This wasn't the first time Shi Xiaobai was hearing about the three Holy Trees, but every time he heard about them, it overturned his world view.
The first time he heard about the three Holy Trees was when they were destroyed by the Original Sin of Calamity in the first apocalypse. Back then, he thought that the three Holy Trees amounted to nothing.
The second time he heard about them, it was about how the three Holy Trees led to humanity's invasion of the Transcendental World and chased away the Transcendents. Back then, Shi Xiaobai nearly believed the Infernal Queen.
However, according to the description of the pixie named Granny, the Holy Trees were apparently otherworldly existences that were akin to laws.
The three different accounts were highly divergent, so which was the truth?
Granny continued, "This world's Fate will face destruction in ten thousand years, which is also the time period you come from. Unlike the apocalypses of the past, with lives being lost, the destruction of a world implies that space and time will vanish and stop. Everything will be reduced to nothingness, never to be restored. That is the true meaning of an apocalypse.
"Fate refers to matters that are destined to happen, which can also be said that when this world was born, the time of its destruction was destined and unchangeable. In other words, the destruction of a dimensional plane is a fixed destiny. This should have been how it played out, but now, a new variable has entered the fray!"
Shi Xiaobai asked, "What variable?"
Granny raised her beautiful hand slightly and pointed at Shi Xiaobai, saying in a gentle voice, "It's you, Youth."
Shi Xiaobai was taken aback slightly before his eyes widened. "Do you mean that this world which is destined to be destroyed in ten thousand years has a chance of escaping destruction because of This King's appearance?"
Granny nodded and said gently, "I know it will be hard for you to accept your role as the messiah of this world, but…"
"Hahaha!"
A peal of guffawing laughter sounded as the youth's eyes turned extremely bright and resplendent like the stars. He grinned and said, "This King is indeed destined to be a hero who saves this world!"
Granny came to a pause. She never expected her words that would send a person's world view in upheaval could be so easily accepted by the youth. He had even easily accepted the ridiculous role as "Messiah." This left her momentarily at a loss for words despite having prepared many explanations.
Granny chuckled. "The plot Fate wrote for this world was originally flawless. Even the apocalypse is part of its design. It can be said that everything in this world is a part of its plans. However, it never expected that a living being from another world can ignore the laws of the universe and charge right in! Youth, you who come from a different world are a variable Fate did not have in its plans. You are the only existence that can rewrite destiny!"
Shi Xiaobai was alarmed. Did her claim of him being from a different world refer to his transmigration from Earth? This was a secret he had never divulged to anyone, but Granny apparently seemed aware of it?
"Who exactly are you?" Shi Xiaobai could not help but ask.
Granny said in a whisper, "I'm World. To be precise, I'm the manifestation of World. On the surface, I'm a pixie, but in fact, I'm just an amalgamation of will."
This was another shocking and unbelievable explanation. For someone to claim to be the will of the world was equivalent to saying that they were God who created the world. No ordinary person would believe that claim.
But to Shi Xiaobai, who claimed to be King of kings, it did not leave much of an impact on him. He did not question her and acutely noticed another important problem.
Shi Xiaobai asked, "Since you are World, and you share a symbiotic relationship with Fate, why do you want to change destiny?"
Granny could not help but look deep into the youth's eyes. For the youth to be able to see the problem's essence instantly from the surface, the youth was far wiser than she imagined.
"It's because how the plot plays out is all Fate's own work. But to me who created the space of this world, as well as Time who created the world's time, this is not a plot we find acceptable. This kind of sudden destruction and annihilation is not the destiny we want!"
Granny slowly walked over and looked straight into Shi Xiaobai's eyes and said seriously, "World will discover your existence ten thousand years later. Time will bring you here ten thousand years later. We only have one goal—to rewrite the Fate of the world's annihilation ten thousand years later. Youth, are you willing to be the Messiah?"
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