The commemorative plaque shimmered faintly in Ye Bai’s hands as fragments of her memories resurfaced, unraveling the countless questions that had haunted her.
When Ye Bai chose to undergo cryogenic freezing, "Ten Thousand Realms" had not yet entered public testing, let alone the still-in-development "Celestial Realm" expansion. Her illness had struck faster than the game’s release. Before her freezing, in those hazy memories she later struggled to recall, she had actually taken extra steps.
Ye Bai uploaded the core data of the Celestial Realm to the main server of "Ten Thousand Realms," then sought out a laboratory researching brainwave-data interfacing.
"I’ve read your papers and research. After I’m frozen, can you use your technology to link my consciousness to the computer system?"
"But this technology is still experimental—"
"It’s fine. Let’s try. I’m already opting for cryo because of brain cancer—things can’t get much worse. Besides, your team lacks critical experimental results, right? Who knows? Maybe it’ll actually work."
"Then… please sign this liability waiver first."
At the time, this move was little more than the desperate hope of a game developer clinging to an unrealistic dream. Even the research team had hesitated, only agreeing after repeated confirmations and signed disclaimers. They treated the project as a palliative measure, holding no real expectations.
Then Ye Bai was frozen, slipping into slumber. She knew nothing of what followed, nor how much time had passed. When she awoke, she found herself in the Celestial Realm—as a Level 1 game administrator.
As the original creator and an admin, Ye Bai could perceive the deeper truths of the Celestial Realm from the very beginning. This was a world woven from data streams, constantly evolving and generating new information through autonomous calculations. From the moment she appeared here, the nature of her existence had shifted.
Her consciousness had transformed, through some unknown means, into the most unique data stream in this world. In a sense, Ye Bai had become something akin to the Floating Specters—a "digital lifeform," a cyber-ghost. Unlike the Specters, who ascended from the physical world, Ye Bai’s consciousness had detached from her body and entered the game.
For someone who had believed she was facing death, this was nothing short of a miracle.
"Reborn" in the world born from her own imagination, wielding GM privileges—even if she didn’t understand why she hadn’t spawned at the standard player starting point in "Ten Thousand Realms," but directly in the high-level Celestial Realm map—Ye Bai had no choice but to adapt. And so, she embraced her second life in this divine realm.
Back then, the Celestial Realm was still "new." Intelligent code, rooted in the foundational laws of its core programming, had just begun autonomously generating new entities—from the six apex races down to the hundred lesser clans that would later emerge. It was a world brimming with vitality.
The first NPC born from this intelligent code, Na’o, had accompanied Ye Bai since those early days, journeying with her across the vast landscapes of the Celestial Realm.
Ye Bai once witnessed Autofis hatching from its dragon egg in the Sky City, nurtured a miniature version of the Elf Queen Eno Lucia by the Tree of Life, fished up a Kraken still in its spiritual form from the depths of the ocean, and even fought the Infernal Demon King Walsh from the first to the ninth layer of the abyss...
In the end, Ye Bai ascended to the throne of the Divine King in the realm of the gods and established the royal city beneath her feet.
Until one day... Ye Bai discovered that due to the world's excessive prosperity, the Great Annihilation had arrived.
The truth of the so-called Great Annihilation was none other than the 【Data Auto-Cleanup Program】 she had designed herself.
A silent catastrophe, the erasure of all traces of existence, everyone who once knew her would forget... In the data world, it essentially meant 【Data Deleted】.
When she first constructed the code framework for the divine realm, because the intelligent logic code would continuously generate new data, Ye Bai designed the corresponding Data Auto-Cleanup Program to prevent physical memory overload from crashing the system.
Since the Ten Thousand Realms appeared on the Star Network and could enhance the mental power of people in reality, the divine realm had evolved autonomously for an unknown period. Thus, Ye Bai had always speculated about the game in increasingly profound ways—such as some form of consciousness imprinting—never imagining that the Ten Thousand Realms before her was the very one she had created.
So, even after pondering the Great Annihilation multiple times, she never grasped that crucial spark of insight.
Only now, upon uncovering the truth, did everything become clear.
The Data Auto-Cleanup Program would activate once memory reached its limit, prioritizing the deletion of data with the highest information density.
In this data world, there was no doubt that the stronger an individual, the more data they occupied.
Normally, the first target would be Ye Bai herself as the Divine King. However, her identity as both a player and administrator made her data the most critical part of the game, meaning she would never be the target of the 【Data Auto-Cleanup Program】.
Instead, the top-tier warriors under Ye Bai’s command—her most powerful followers—would be the program’s primary cleanup targets.
By then, Rory, Autofis, Eno Lucia, Kraken, and even Walsh... had all followed Ye Bai in the divine realm for over a millennium. She couldn’t possibly stand by and watch them be deleted.
Moreover, as the divine realm’s inhabitants continued to multiply and expand, the program’s targets would cascade from the top down, eventually encompassing entire races.
Over the centuries, Ye Bai had tried explaining the truth of the world to her subordinates. Yet, as if some barrier inherent to data-constructed beings prevented it, they couldn’t perceive the ‘source of information’ as she did. They would automatically dismiss her mentions of the 【Data Auto-Cleanup Program】, forcing Ye Bai to resort to alternative terms.
Like the Great Annihilation. Like the divine races needing to retreat. Like reincarnation...
"You mean... reincarnation?"
"Yes. I should return soon. Eno Lucia must guard the Tree of Life, Kraken is still childlike in mind, and without me, Walsh and the two duchies might stir up trouble. Rory, you and Autofis must hold the fort for me!"
At that time, Ye Bai had prepared a backup plan, binding the hidden class questline to her own account through the backend controls. Her mood wasn’t heavy—instead, she felt a surge of excitement.
Indeed, facing the already activated [Data Auto-Cleanup Program], trying to rein in the various factions at that point would have been futile. The most effective solution Ye Bai could think of was to wipe her current character data and start over from scratch.
After all, in terms of sheer data volume, Ye Bai undoubtedly occupied the most memory in the entire game world. If she deleted her max-level, Level 150 Divine character and returned to Level 0, it would surely push the data load below the critical threshold. Then, targeted measures could be taken to resolve the issue.
"See you next time, Na’o."
At the time, for Ye Bai, that farewell was simply a well-prepared fresh start with a new character.
But she never could have imagined that when she returned here, she would already have been awakened in reality, with millennia of time having passed and the Ten Thousand Realms now online in the Star Network. Her memories of once belonging to the Divine Realm had vanished along with the deletion of her character data.
Similarly, in the Divine Realm, Ye Bai—who had willingly erased her character—was forgotten by the world, remembered only by a handful of god-tier powerers.
All records and statues related to her were erased. The painting Rory had seen survived only because it was presented in allegorical form. Even the fishing gear set now in her backpack, once belonging to her, was deemed by the system to hold no 'historical clues.'
The contradiction in the details about the Divine King lay precisely here.
Because after Ye Bai deleted her character, only one figure remained in the Divine Realm’s history as the Divine King.
……
"Na’o—!"
Outside the treasure vault, the Lich King, who had gradually gained the upper hand in his battle against Autofis, suddenly shuddered. The curse that had nearly fused with his very being began to unravel the moment the true name of its caster was called out.
In his mind, those unforgettable crimson eyes flashed once more, and those words echoed again.
"Until… the day my name is spoken once more."
Strands of necrotic energy peeled away from the Lich King’s body. His withered, decaying flesh underwent a drastic transformation, filling out with vitality once again. The light of his bloodline reignited within this cursed undead, and in the blink of an eye, the Lich King reverted to his former self—a majestic, armor-clad High Executor.
The curse… was broken?
Rory stared in disbelief at his hands, now restored to the rosy hue and vigor of a living human.
Earlier, when he saw those luminous threads weaving through the darkness, Rory had recognized them as Na’o’s. For years, he had tried to call out that name, but the words had always been trapped within him—for Na’o had placed upon him the most terrifying curse of all. Only he knew who the true key to breaking it was.
In the next moment, as Rory stood dazed, the Space Dragon before him suddenly raised its head and spread its wings.
"Roar…"
The dragon let out a joyous, resonant cry, while from Rory's body, a wisp of black smoke—dispersed as his curse vanished—transformed into a dark thread that swiftly darted into the treasure vault behind him.
...
The black thread entered the treasure vault, lifting from the ground and breaking free from the two-dimensional plane for the first time, manifesting in three-dimensional space.
The thread rapidly extended, eventually outlining the refined silhouette of a man.
The previous contradictions surrounding the "God King" were, in truth, no contradictions at all once the truth came to light.
For in the annals of divine history, there had always been two individuals who held the title of God King.
Ye Bai's prolonged absence caused the world's data to swell uncontrollably, and the Great Annihilation began to resurface. The two human duchies, already embroiled in internal power struggles, descended into chaos. The rebellious and battle-crazed nature of Purgatory made it a powder keg waiting to explode. No longer willing to wait, Naoh began to move, determined to enact her proposed "Contraction of the Races" plan ahead of schedule.
To preserve the existence of the "God King" and prevent it from fading into oblivion, Naoh seized the authority of the throne and became the God King.
Her first act was to curse her own race, the Voidlings. Fearful of knowledge, they grew weaker but survived to this day.
The ancient dragons, each immensely powerful and too proud to weaken themselves, resisted the Great Annihilation one by one until they perished. Only Autofis chose to wait for Ye Bai, accepting Naoh's proposal to seal away most of his power and willingly be cursed into the form of a feeble donkey.
The Sea God Kraken, simple-minded, spoke of her master Ye Bai as the God King, while Naoh—who later instructed her to restrain herself and relocate the abyss to Purgatory—was also referred to as the God King.
The Demon God of Purgatory, misled by human rumors, believed Naoh to be a traitor who had betrayed the God King and usurped the throne.
The Elf Queen addressed the later God King, who aided her in constructing the Emerald Dream, as "God King," while Eno Lucia, keeper of the most crucial memories, referred to the God King only as "King."
Rory was cursed with immortality because he refused to disperse the lineage of Light and complete the racial contraction. In retaliation, Naoh bound the Light lineage permanently within him.
Finally, after accomplishing all this, Naoh cursed herself, erasing all memories save for Autofis's true name and the goal of the God King's treasure vault, becoming a "paper-thin" existence confined to the words of the supernatural.
Now, having emerged from the two-dimensional world, Naoh immediately dropped to one knee before the familiar figure standing ahead of her.
At this moment, the Voidling Queen, the greatest curse-weaver, the second God King recorded in divine history as the one who ushered in the "Age of Sealing," had finally welcomed the return of the one she had long awaited.
"Thank you for returning to the throne..."
Her silver hair cascaded forward like a gentle snowfall as she bowed her head.
"My eternal King."
