Chapter 527: Life is like a journey, 1 Reed to sail
How long is the river of time?
Nan Dou had thought about this question more than once, but he could not get an answer every time.
Even after the Soul Void was repaired time and time again, Nan Dou still could not see the origin and end of the long river of time.
However, this time, what he had to do was no longer to enter into a historical fragment of a certain timeline to experience and change anything.
"Are you ready?"
The female voice that had been with him since the beginning of the time travel asked as gently as ever.
Nan Dou had been curious about the identity of the female voice many times, whether it was a fixed AI or a set program.
As he gained control of the power of destiny, a lot of knowledge emerged in his mind.
For example...the identity of the female voice.
Qingluan, the mechanical life form he created not long ago, which now guides the people from Teyvat.
In the future of a certain timeline, she continued to evolve and eventually became a being with an independent personality.
As for how Qingluan appeared in the narrow space of soul, Nan Dou will have to find out after finding the final answer.
"I have arranged everything. Let's start this final challenge."
The long river of time, carrying countless histories, flows endlessly, from the past to the future, and then from the future back to the past.
In the vast river of time, there are often colorful waves rolling, adding a bit of vitality to this ordinary time.
History is boring, but it is also brilliant.
The long river of history that Nan Dou sees is not a closed loop. The future and the past are like a Möbius strip, connected from beginning to end, always chasing each other, but never able to touch.
“No one can control time and history. In comparison, I am more like the person trapped in a closed loop.”
"Just like conquering a boss, let me be invincible this time too."
Nan Dou looked up at the narrow space of soul that was still missing a piece, and jumped into the long river of time without hesitation.
Nan Dou's body was like an inconspicuous grain of sand in front of the vast river of time. After entering, it completely disappeared in the beating of waves.
Not long after Nan Dou plunged into the long river of time, Qing Luan's voice rang out again: "Hey, I hope you can succeed this time. Time is running out..."
……
Different from the previous feeling of interfering with fate, the moment Nan Dou sank into the long river of time, he completely lost his perception of time and space.
But Nan Dou could feel that his body or soul was caught up in the long river of time, rising and falling with its flow. This feeling was very wonderful.
Every drop of water in the long river of time is composed of historical fragments in fragmented world lines. They are independent of each other, but occasionally penetrate each other.
Nan Dou was like a drop of water. When he came into contact with the surrounding water drops, there would always be some waves of memories beating in the sea of his soul.
Over time, the way we perceive things has changed, our eyes have become useless, and our vision is filled with only grey and the occasional flash of colour.
In fact, before entering the river of time, Nan Dou didn't know what he was going to do.
But in the dark, there was a kind of guidance lingering in his heart.
Although he knew that once he plunged into the long river of time there would be no return, and once he failed he would gradually lose himself and become one of the millions of drops of water in the long river of time, he still did not hesitate.
The power of destiny is an extremely powerful force, but in the face of the long river of time, it can only serve as a guide.
"I want to go to that place..."
As time passed, Nan Dou's form gradually changed, from a solid object to a phantom-like state.
Nan Dou gradually discovered that his consciousness and perception were constantly expanding, and the originally vague guidance became gradually clearer.
At the same time, as perception expanded, memories from each water droplet began to invade Nan Dou's sea of consciousness.
Even so, Nan Dou remained unshakable, his figure moving upstream in the long river of time following his perception.
The impact from the long river of time allowed more memories to penetrate into Nan Dou's sea of consciousness.
Countless timelines in countless world lines fill Nan Dou's sea of consciousness like fragmented chapters in a storybook.
The huge sea of consciousness that can withstand the entire Teyvat is rising visibly, and it seems that it is only a matter of time before it is filled.
The river of time is immense and endless, flowing between the past and the future. No one has ever reached its end, or rather, it has no end at all.
Nan Dou gradually understood his destination, which was not to trace back to the source of the long river of time, but to find special nodes in the vast river of time.
As for what to do next, we can only wait for new guidance.
After determining the goal, Nan Dou followed his intuition without distraction and went upstream against the surging waves of time.
The calm sea of consciousness ushered in the most magnificent day today, and various complex historical fragments caused it to shake endlessly.
The water level in the seemingly limitless sea of consciousness is constantly rising, and the sky that originally did not exist is also gaining distance.
Chaos...began to invade Nan Dou's soul.
Compared with the long river of time, Nan Dou's sea of consciousness is still too small. Just the afterglow of the waves has gradually pushed him to his limit.
It is conceivable that if Nan Dou fails to reach his destination before the sea of consciousness is completely filled, he will completely lose his self-awareness, and his own experiences will become part of the long river of time.
"No, the speed at which the sea of consciousness rises is too fast. We must find a way."
Nan Dou managed to focus his attention and think, and soon he made a decision.
If the water flows too fast, build a dam.
With one thought, all things come into being. The power of creation learned from the natural law of Teyvat, carrying Nandou's will, blooms in his sea of consciousness.
The dark golden light connected the sky and the earth. A rock pillar engraved with dark golden patterns stood in the center of the sea of consciousness, with a rock dragon with dark golden scales perched on it.
In an instant, the surging waves became much calmer, but after the new waves came in, the speed became faster again.
Nan Dou was not at all surprised, and the remaining six pillars representing the six gods soon stood in the sea of consciousness.
The Tree of Life took root in the Sea of Consciousness, and the "God" born from it entangled the underwater part of the rock pillar, strengthening the power of suppression.
Then the Titan's huge body rose into the sky, and the fully released holy elements turned him into a sun.
Zhu Xi cried out and flew into the sky, turning into the second sun.
Tao Yu's figure emerged, and the power of the God of Fertility spread in the Sea of Consciousness. Countless aquatic plants came to life, devouring the power of those chaotic historical fragments in the Sea of Consciousness and turning it into nutrients for their own growth.
These are just Nan Dou's projections in the world of consciousness. No matter how hard he tries, he can only delay the time for his sea of consciousness to be filled.
But what Nan Dou needed at this moment was time, as he didn't know where his destination was.
Perhaps it is a special piece of historical fragment, or perhaps it is a "stone" that has sunk to the bottom of the long river of time.
All in all, this is a journey of no return.
but.
Life is like a journey, and we can only sail on it with a reed.