Chapter 242 - 4.68

And yet, they had to lose it. They lost it not because of a mistake the two made, but rather ones made by the creatures they breathed life into.

With their first world, they failed miserably because of one matter.

The scenes didn't show what it was exactly, but it did show her coming in contact with a 'human' male. It showed her having spent many moments with said man.

The flashback was no longer as clear as the ones in the beginning, where she was able to actually experience the events happening and connect with the world. This time, all she could tell was a fuzzy string of image that formed a storyline.

An extremely tragic storyline that in the end, cost everyone's happiness and tore her soul apart.

She faintly recalled that the Creator and the man she loved ended up coming together to work with the same goal. Saving her. They were desperate to bring her back.

They continued to create more and more worlds. For her lifespan's continuation. Even if it was just in the form of a fleeting soul, they wanted to preserve her, so they placed her into various prototype worlds.

The man she loved also followed her into each world, wanting to watch over her. He couldn't contain his memories when he went down to the lesser world, but it didn't stop him. He believed that so long as he came across Xu Jiaqi, he would be able to recognize her and revive his love for her in a flash.

Her sightseeing cut off there, but it was enough to draw extreme moments of anguish from Xu Jiaqi.

The man. The memories she forgot. The real truth.

Even this wasn't close to the entire story. She hadn't seen the details yet because her seals weren't fully dismissed. What else did she forget?

Her heart was in massive pain as she watched all the time go by, and the tragedies start to befall them one by one. They did nothing wrong. The universe itself didn't want them to be together, but what was wrong with them?

They were in love. They were happy with each other. And yet, the universe didn't want that. How could that be? The fate was so cruel to them, so they tried to defy it. And yet, it still chased them down no matter where they tried to hide in. It never let them go.

_______

When Xu Jiaqi regained her consciousness, the scenes that played in front of her for a long time were no longer there. Instead, she was back in a familiar looking space.

She was also able to feel a connection with the System, which meant that she had successfully returned.

"...System, what on Earth happened?" Xu Jiaqi was absurdly confused. She didn't even know what she was confused about. She was thrown into a pit of madness from all that had happened to her.

[That's what I want to ask you, Host! What happened to you? You suddenly collapsed, and, and.. I was just so lost..] The System had a lot of pent up stress inside him.

Even though him and the Host were only supposed to have a coworker relationship, he had truly grown to like and cherish her as his companion. He had fun in their journeys, although the Host did have some troublesome moments that would make him contemplate his decision of making her a Host.

Above all, he worried for her.

Xu Jiaqi didn't know what happened either. All that she remembered were very short flashes of the experience she went through. She felt like she had gone through years and years worth of stories, but the memories weren't coming back into her head.

She had forgotten. Yet again.

'No.. Not like this. Come on, remember. Remember anything. Just anything would suffice..' Xu Jiaqi was desperate. She no longer wanted to continue this strange path of being disconnected with herself.

After she tried her hardest to recall any piece of information, she finally managed to remember about the figure that came to visit her in her dreamlike state.

And most importantly, how the man told her to realize her true name if she wanted to unlock every single secret in existence.

But how could she do that? When her memories were this fuzzy? Was there even a solution to her dilemma?

Xu Jiaqi was troubled. The only solution she could think was just like what the System had said a couple worlds back. Complete more missions in various worlds in order to gain more authority.

That way, her soul would be strengthened, and eventually...

"Right, what happened with my previous world? Don't tell me I failed it just because I passed out? Did I die, or did I enter another coma? How is Tang Yizhou, that silly man?" Xu Jiaqi rapidly hurled a bunch of questions towards the System's way, worried about every single one of them.

[..Calm down, Host. First of all, I severed the connection between you and that world, so we are done with it. You are back in the System space. The missions were completed and graded, you managed to complete everything successfully. Tang Yizhou.. Host, do you want to take a peek on how he fared after you left?]

"..Yes. Let me see. I'm sure that he's.. doing well, right? Even if I went away like that.. He can't possibly be.." Xu Jiaqi was afraid of only one thing.

Because of him, the man was going to be hurt yet again. Broken.

Even more strangely, she felt like there was something deeper in Tang Yizhou. In her mind, the information was there, it was just not able to be said. She just knew that Tang Yizhou was special and not just a man she randomly found and took a liking to.

That being. The one she was tied to.

Right. The one she 'loved'. The one she broke fate for. The one..!

It was all coming back, piece by piece. She had fought with fate for him. The man, the inhabitant of the world she had.. created? The one who she sacrificed her powers for. The one she defied the Creator for.

The Creator.. was also the one who made the entire Host and System management. What did that entail?

Administrators placed at every single world. To keep the balance in check. To keep the connection between the various realms of the universe strong and untouched.

It was that. Tang Yizhou was that man. To be more precise, he was a fragment of that man. Just like the previous worlds..

Wait.

Something wasn't right here. She was sure that she continued on getting involved with the man in all the worlds she went through so far, but she didn't have a clear memory of them. How can this be?

"..System, did my memory of the previous worlds get erased?" Xu Jiaqi realized this.

She was sure that she bonded with one man in every single world. And now, she had realized that each and every single one of them were the same person, just in different bodies and even bearing different personalities.

It was all because he, like her, had to break fate into pieces even if it was at the cost of his own safety. He did it for her. He was that kind of man, the kind of person she hated the most.

One that hurt themselves just for the sake of others. She had hated these types of people for so long.

[..Host? What are you saying?] The System panicked inside, but tried to stay calm on the outside so the Host won't notice anything out of hand.

How could she know? Wasn't the seal supposed to be..

Wait. The seal was made by the Creator. And the one who could willfully save Xu Jiaqi from the Fate Lord, and also take her away like they did earlier...

Was the Creator.

So, in truth, it was all the Creator's doing all along?

What was his motives? Even if he was the absolute being, there was still one system that he had to wrok under. The Tree of Origin. The real Yggdrasil.

If that tree still stands tall, even the Creator couldn't fully utilize his powers willfully. He had to adhere to the set rules and standards. Things that were taboo still applied to him.

And taking away Xu Jiaqi like this, when she was supposed to be an illegal existence.. Was considered a taboo.

Why did he suddenly try to break the laws in such a straightforward manner?

Up until now, he only supported the doings of Xu Jiaqi's lover, but he couldn't risk everything just to save her. He feared that everything would collapse. One person needed to be in control of everything, and that person was him.

If he disappeared or fell into misery, then the whole world would be affected.

That absolutely couldn't happen.

And yet, what was this sequence of actions?

Was he crazy?