Chapter 112 - 106: The New King Ascends the Throne, the Old King Must Die

But she should have realized that she was only the protagonist of her own life, not anyone else’s.

She had been too busy proving she deserved to live, so much so that she had grown into her current arrogant self. She felt the world couldn’t exist without her, that she could shoulder the destinies of others—shoulder the destiny of the entire world.

CRACK!

A faint, crisp sound echoed from deep within Nan Jiamu’s consciousness. A fracture appeared on the Golden card that represented her Identity as the protagonist. Like a toppled domino, the crack splintered into countless branches, extending in all directions until it covered the entire card in an instant. Black aura seeped from the fissures. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault; it was entirely her own.

The words she never should have said when Sheng Yehan ran someone over. The way she had fled when Yin Zhen howled in heartbreak in the hospital room. Guan Heting’s final tear. And all the people who had died in the invasion game... Piece by piece, event by event, everything she thought she had buried deep enough surged out from the cracks at this moment, turning her Golden Protagonist Card into an interwoven web of Black Gold.

When the fractures reached the very last corner of the card, the entire thing silently shattered. Millions of Golden motes of light rose up, rapidly dimmed, and fell soundlessly within the sea of her consciousness. In her life, the thing she needed to break free from the most wasn’t Guan Heting, nor the system, nor that unseen author. It was the shackle of "having to carry everything" that she had placed upon herself. Right. Every lamp decided for itself to stay lit, and every person decided for themselves to stay alive.

"So... I’ve never actually broken free," Nan Jiamu muttered. The unwillingness and anger vanished from her blood-misted eyes. Looking at Yin Zhen, she smiled sorrowfully. "What I owe you, it’s time to pay it back."

As her words faded, Nan Jiamu used her last remaining Strength to push her body forward just a little.

She thought, "The debts I owe, I acknowledge them! Ancient Abyss doesn’t need me, but for my mistakes, you don’t need to come collecting—I’ll pay for them myself!"

The laboratory became incomparably quiet in an instant. Even Lilith’s spiritual power storm paused for a second. A blood-colored spike silently pierced through the center of Nan Jiamu’s brow, through the last lingering phantom of her Protagonist Card, and through the bullet-riddled, fractured laboratory wall behind her. Nan Jiamu fell with her eyes wide open, collapsing onto the cold alloy floor of the laboratory.

The protagonist of Ancient Abyss was dead. Killed in a mere fourth round of the invasion game by a cannon fodder driven by the purest hatred. There was no audience, no applause, no solemn and stirring music. There was only a woman standing up from the center of the ruins, her still-bleeding arm hanging by her side, looking expressionlessly at the corpse on the ground.

"Captain—!"

Signal’s heartbroken scream shattered the momentary silence, followed immediately by Logoff’s cry of disbelief. Ye Se stumbled backward, bumping into Trouble.

Yin Zhen stood frozen in place. Her right arm had completely lost all sensation, the bruised blood under her skin spreading rapidly, and her muscle fibers snapping one by one under the severe overload.

She thought, "This hand is ruined, but it’s worth it!"

A Black Gold card emitted a dim yet undeniable light as it hovered in Yin Zhen’s sea of consciousness. The figure on the card, who had been standing with her head bowed, slowly lifted her chin. Dark flames ignited in the abyss, lightning flashed behind her, and beneath her feet lay the light she had shattered with her own hands.

[Player has successfully sacrificed the protagonist of Ancient Abyss. Congratulations to the Player on inheriting ’Dark Destiny’ and becoming the villain of Ancient Abyss.]

[They consider this to be an incredibly brilliant execution. You have obtained Mysterious Gift Package *1, which can be opened upon return.]

[Overture of War: Comrades-in-Arms Event failed. Your Character Card has lost Extraordinary Ability: A-level Blood Flame.]

[Plot Kill completed.]

...

Bai Qiang was shocked beyond measure. Nan Jiamu always said she wouldn’t die so easily, yet she had still died. The protagonist of a world had died, just like that. Before Bai Qiang’s chaotic mind could sort through her thoughts, a system notification abruptly rang out.

[In light of the Player’s excellent performance and plot significance in this game, you have obtained ’Light of Heavenly Destiny’. Your Identity will be upgraded to ’Protagonist of Ancient Abyss’, inheriting the remaining word count of the previous protagonist. Please check the details for protagonist privileges. In future games, please bear the heavy responsibility of protecting Ancient Abyss in your Identity as the protagonist.]

[Friendly Reminder: Once you lose your Identity as the protagonist, you will lose everything. Beware of the villain. One mountain cannot house two tigers; as the new monarch ascends, the old monarch must die!]

A chill shot straight up from the soles of Bai Qiang’s feet to the top of her skull. She thought, "Is being the protagonist even a good thing?"