Glorious God Throne

It was near the end of June, in the early morning hours. The air still seemed to retain the coolness of the night, though this slight chill was insufficient to dispel the increasingly rising temperature. Throughout the campus of Yuanyang City’s No.9 High School, students everywhere wore short-sleeved school uniforms, which made the figure in long-sleeved clothing and long pants stand out conspicuously.

He was a tall and slender youth, his puffy black hair slightly disheveled, with slightly curled ends that brushed against his cheek, vaguely revealing eyes of the same color.

A plain white coat, seemingly a size too large, hung loosely on him. He carried no backpack, only a book with an unrecognizable cover, which he absentmindedly rotated in his hand.

He moved through the noisy crowd. Despite having an exceptionally outstanding appearance, he did not attract much attention. Occasionally, there was an intensely strong sense of disconnection from those around him. Yet, if someone’s gaze fell upon him, they would only perceive an ordinary student, seemingly indistinguishable from anyone else in the crowd.

Zhang Yun recognized the figure in the distance at first glance. He quickly pushed through the crowd and approached, greeting the other with an enthusiastic voice. “Ah, how lucky! The first familiar person I’ve met today is you, Bai Yi. Indeed, ever since we became acquainted, my luck has started to improve.”

The youth turned to look at him, his gaze pausing imperceptibly on Zhang Yun for a second. “Oh, it’s you.”

Zhang Yun, now transformed by martial arts training, acutely perceived that momentary pause. He was speechless for a moment before speaking dramatically. “Hey, we’ve been deskmates for three years. We were even in martial arts classes together recently. You don’t need to act like we’re old classmates who haven’t seen each other for ten years and can barely remember each other’s names!”

“If you want to see it that way?” Bai Yi cooperatively replied, “But actually, it won’t take ten years. Strictly speaking, it’s an old classmate who’s forgotten after twenty days.”

His tone was so serious that one couldn’t tell if he was making a sarcastic joke or genuinely meant it.

He let out a plaintive sigh, covering his face in a mock crying gesture. “How cruel. What a heartless man.”

Bai Yi quietly watched his performance without interrupting.

Compared to others who constantly leaked various bizarre thoughts and mental fluctuations, unable to control themselves, this person, while also emitting strange mental pollution, at least mostly radiated positive, cheerful waves. At most, he was merely noisy. These strong emotional fluctuations could at least mask other more disgusting noise.

He simply slowed his pace and walked alongside Zhang Yun.

Zhang Yun, having finished his dramatic performance, naturally walked with Bai Yi towards the classroom, chattering continuously about the anime series he had watched during the break.

While talking, he suddenly couldn’t help but glance at Bai Yi, then retract his gaze, then look again, repeatedly. His eyes gradually became hesitant, as if he had discovered an earth-shattering secret he couldn’t mention.

When he secretly cast his gaze on Bai Yi once more, seemingly observing something, Bai Yi finally spoke to expose his not-at-all subtle behavior. “Keep looking at me. Did you imagine me as some anime character again?”

Zhang Yun: “!!!”

“So it’s really like that?” Bai Yi spoke with an unsurprised tone, casually glancing at him and seeing through his completely transparent expression. “Oh, you want to know how I knew? It’s written all over your face.”

Moreover, although they had only been familiar for a few months, it didn’t take much effort to understand that this guy constantly created mini scenarios in his mind. He always loved to cast the people around him into various scripts, especially Bai Yi, his deskmate whom he had probably cast as the male lead in countless teenage stories by now.

This was just another routine imagination.

He could be grateful that this guy was a pure, chuunibyou-style teenager who only read passionate young adult manga and didn’t watch strange romance anime, so he wouldn’t create overly weird scenarios.

“You saw right through me,” Zhang Yun laughed embarrassedly. “Actually, I just suddenly discovered that you’re quite similar to the protagonist in the anime I’m currently watching. Of course, not in appearance, and your personalities are different too, but how do I say this… there was a moment when the feeling was just so similar…”

In the noisy, crowded space, when he caught a glimpse of that familiar side profile through the gaps, there was a moment when he perceived an inexplicable sense of disconnection from the surrounding people, revealing an intense alienation.

In that instant, whether in the youth’s gaze, movements, or expressionless face, it clearly conveyed one message: “So boring, so boring, so boring…”

Zhang Yun couldn’t help but look at the person beside him again and frowned. “But the feeling was just for a moment. Now it doesn’t feel the same anymore. Maybe I was too immersed in watching anime late at night, too fond of that character, and created an illusion early in the morning.”

Recalling the anime, he couldn’t help but passionately recommend. “By the way, this new anime is really super good. It’s called ‘Daily Life of a God’, about a powerful god hidden among humans! Anyway, it’s all holidays now. If Bai Yi is interested in anime, I strongly recommend this anime. You definitely won’t regret watching it!”

“…The protagonist starts in an amnesiac state, essentially an amnesiac god. Later, while helping others fulfill their wishes, the protagonist gains more and more faith and gradually recovers lost memories. In the middle, he also uncovers a thousand-year-old conspiracy hidden by the villain, and the amnesiac protagonist forms bonds while recovering memories, gradually transforming from an emotionless wanderer in the human world to someone gradually developing emotions…”

Once he touched on an interesting topic, Zhang Yun fell into his own world, explaining the anime’s plot to Bai Yi non-stop. “But the continuously recovered memories further enhanced the god’s divine nature. His human nature and divine nature conflict, which conveniently gave the author material for a subplot, creating a small climax. I was so curious that I stayed up until three in the morning yesterday to chase the plot’s conclusion!”

Bai Yi yawned, blending surprise and boredom perfectly in his tone. “Is staying up late even necessary? The ending is mostly that human nature defeats divine nature. The protagonist maintains his human heart with his friends’ help, staying in the human world for his friends. Otherwise, wouldn’t the anime end? Heh, a boring and cliché plot.”

He slightly narrowed his eyes. “Based on your previous description, the protagonist clearly wanted to recover his memories and powers. It’s his friends who don’t want to lose him, emotionally manipulating him into this dilemma. But they didn’t consider that they’re just mortals who will eventually die. Using emotions to make an immortal god stay in the human world is quite selfish, isn’t it?”

“…Hearing you explain it like this, I feel it’s a bit boring too,” Zhang Yun looked deflated after the plot spoiler. “From the climax I stayed up late for, human nature defeats divine nature. The protagonist gives up most of his unrecovered memories and decides to start over with his friends, creating new memories. The subsequent direction is probably exactly as you said, and it does seem quite cliché?”

“…But if he chooses to recover his memories, under the influence of his divine nature, he would lose his connection with his friends and become a god wandering the human world again, right?” He suddenly fell into confusion, asking bewilderedly, “Wouldn’t that be very lonely?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Bai Yi showed a perplexed expression, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. “Emotions are something that will be eroded by time. Compared to a god’s memories and powers, they’re like plastic versus a genuine gemstone – fundamentally unequal. Sacrificing eternal things for something destined to disappear – I don’t understand. As for loneliness, if it’s a passive choice, it’s naturally unbearable. But if it’s an active choice, one must be enjoying it, right?”

…Just like the many failed timelines of Bai Yi, he didn’t think he would be crushed by the loneliness of being the only one left after the world’s destruction. For him, it was perhaps a rare moment of quiet.

The Rhythm of All Things had long made his life too noisy. Bai Yi had imagined countless times a future where the entire world would fall silent, but on the premise that it was a future he actively chose. A silent world forcibly imposed by fate was something he could not accept.

After speaking, he felt an unusual silence from Zhang Yun beside him. Even the mental waves constantly emanating from the other person seemed to blank out for an instant, which made him tilt his head involuntarily.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Ah…” Zhang Yun finally came back to his senses, sluggishly shaking his head, “Nothing.”

…It just felt like he was just like that god who lost his memory and wandered the human world when he first appeared in the anime. The feeling was exactly the same as that moment before.

Just then, the broadcast station’s music suddenly played, its familiar repeated melody penetrating the entire campus.

Zhang Yun instantly snapped awake. “We’re almost late!”

He looked toward the classroom and instinctively tried to pull the youth beside him, but his palm merely brushed past the other. The person beside him had already started running at a speed no less than his own. From the wind, Zhang Yun’s voice could be vaguely heard. “We got so caught up talking that we forgot the main thing. Today is the day to fill out college entrance exam. With your grades, getting into the Imperial Capital University will definitely be easy. Which major are you planning to apply for?”

“…Probably Environmental Engineering and Science?”

Zhang Yun’s voice clearly rose an octave. “Eh? Why would you want to apply for this major…”

“The environmental pollution in this world is too serious. I’ve been concerned about this since I was young,” Bai Yi’s serious voice immediately followed, then he changed his tone, “But I don’t plan to go to the Imperial Capital. I’ll stay local.”

“…Are you serious?”

“I’m serious. Actually, I want to become a Spirit Forger. Aren’t all major universities now offering extraordinary-related courses? I’ve always liked cooking and am quite interested in the art of cuisine.”

But the start of the semester is still more than two months away…

Bai Yi’s gaze swept over the countdown of less than two months.

…Whether he would make it to university was now uncertain.

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