Chapter 508

Arc 5: I Am Deeply Disappointed Feb 1 Written By Pure Preview

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Chapter 508 The Alleged Trigger

“I’m not mishearing, am I?” Qi Xia frowned. “You want to help me trigger my {Reverberation}?”

“Correct.” Qian Five nodded. “{Celestial Horse's Hour} is no child’s play. I can’t guarantee you’ll survive it with absolute certainty.”

“So your aim is to assist me in awakening my {Reverberation}?” Qi Xia found it faintly intriguing. “Truth be told, were I aware of my own {Reverberation trigger}, I would immediately make it happen.”

“Valid.” Qian Five nodded once more. “You managed to activate four people’s {Reverberation} within a single game. That alone proves you’re still the person I remember… no, even more formidable than the one in my memory.”

“Qian Five, there’s something you might not know.” Qi Xia took a step forward. “Precisely because I have no way of guaranteeing my own {Reverberation}, every step I take in {End Point}, every word I speak, is weighed again and again. It feels as though I’m walking on thin ice at all times, with a bottomless abyss beneath my feet.”

“I understand.” Qian Five nodded solemnly.

“That’s why I’ve always been this cautious,” Qi Xia continued. “If I had even the slightest retreat to fall back on, a moment of negligence might have been enough to lead me into a fatal mistake.”

Qian Five truly understood how Qi Xia felt.

This man carried far too much on his shoulders in {End Point}. He always walked ahead of everyone else, yet he had no {Reverberation} as a final safeguard. From the very beginning, the only thing he could rely on was his mind. Just as he said, he was constantly treading on thin ice, with an endless chasm below.

“Here’s an idea,” Qian Five began. “Illustrate the sequence of events that lead up to each of your {Reverberation}. Zhou Six and I can help you infer what your possible {trigger} might be.”

Qi Xia bowed his head in contemplation, then spoke slowly, “Qian Five, I want to ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Does everyone’s {Reverberation} necessarily have a {trigger}?”

At this question, even the usually composed Qian Five slowly furrowed his brow. It was something he himself had considered before, yet never found a definitive answer to. 

“From a rigorous standpoint… whether it’s the {Earthly Branches} or the {Sacred Guardians}, none of them have ever acknowledged the existence of a {Reverberation trigger}. The only thing they recognize is that people in states of {extreme emotion} can obtain extraordinary abilities.” Qian Five spoke gravely to Qi Xia. “As for so-called {triggers}, they are merely conjectures made by us {participants}. That said, if you can identify a suitable {trigger}, it does indeed greatly increase the probability of triggering one’s {Reverberation}.”

“In other words, the {trigger} you recorded is simply the scenario you determined, after repeated observation, to most readily induce a {Reverberation},” Qi Xia inferred.

“Correct.”

“I have a bold conjecture,” Qi Xia continued.

At those words, everyone around him turned to look. Qi Xia’s past conjectures had already been audacious enough; if even he considered this one bold, then what followed would almost certainly be astonishing.

“Go on…”

Qi Xia took a steady breath and said clearly, “Is it possible that the so-called {Reverberation trigger} is actually the deepest, most obsessive fixation buried in a person’s heart?”

Qian Five frowned at this, and in an instant, several representative cases from the {Cats} team flashed through his mind. The more he thought about it, the more Qi Xia’s words seemed to make sense.

Those who have endured confinement must be plunged back into darkness. Those who have starved for long periods must once again be made hungry. Those who fear humiliation must be subjected to repeated abuse, and those who have suffered defeat must be forced to taste defeat again.

“And those of you who can trigger {Reverberation} the moment you awaken…” Qi Xia lifted his gaze toward Qian Five and said, “implies the {obsession} buried in your hearts runs deeper than anyone else’s. Those agonizing experiences linger unceasingly, tormenting you day and night. That is why your {Reverberation} comes more easily than anyone else’s. You are this way, and so is Chen Junnan.”

“I have to admit…” Qian Five nodded slowly. “You may be onto something.”

“But there’s another possibility,” Qi Xia continued, changing tack. “There are those who could easily awaken their {Reverberation}, yet because of psychological trauma, they avoid the trigger, numb themselves, or worse, fall into becoming an {Unfortunate One}. Seen this way, everything suddenly makes sense.”

Zhou Six’s expression darkened. She cut in, irritated. “Tsk. So what exactly are you trying to say?”

“I just find it fascinating," Qi Xia replied flatly. “Don’t you think so? To gain so-called {extraordinary power} in this place, we have to dig up every wound in a person’s heart, tear it open, trample it again and again, then throw it back in their face. That is the so-called {trigger}. I’m curious whether this makes us stronger… or simply more deranged.”

Silence fell over the group. Even Qiao Jiajin understood the feeling of triggering {Reverberation}.

He had once failed to protect someone vital to his life, sending his entire future down a drastically different path. If he could relive it, he would do everything in his power to reach the scene in time, shatter every scheme and conspiracy, and fight a fair, open battle.

But life offers no second chances.

He could only return, again and again, to that reality where he was utterly powerless. From the moment he stepped out of prison, a bleak and desolate future had already been sealed as his fate.

Thus, {to protect the people around him} became the greatest obsession buried deep in his heart.

Every time his {Reverberation} was triggered, Qiao Jiajin would think he was about to lose his comrades once more. In that instant, the lost sense of security would flood his mind, filling his chest. A ringing buzz roared in his ears as a strange power churned endlessly within his body—this was {Reverberation}.

“And what about you…?” Qian Five looked toward Qi Xia. “Since you believe the {Reverberation trigger} is tied to {obsession}, then what would your {obsession} be?”

“I might be a special case,” Qi Xia replied. “I feel that I have more than one {obsession}. My heart is akin to a city with roads stretching in all directions. Perhaps different paths lead to different {obsessions}, ultimately giving rise to different effects.”

Qian Five let out a sigh. “Even if the roads in your heart extend all directions, there will always be one that is the widest. That road leads to your deepest, most painful {obsession}.”

“My…most painful obsession…” Qi Xia’s lips trembled faintly, the thing he most wanted to avoid pushed right back before his eyes.

“You should already be well aware of it. The most painful {obsession} can awaken your greatest potential.”

“In other words…” Qi Xia asked despairingly, “you want to tear this {obsession} out of my heart and rip it to pieces, then lay it out before my eyes.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“Unfortunately, that might not be possible.” At the mere thought of it, Qi Xia’s voice sank into a low murmur.

“What are you implying? Is your {obsession} truly that elusive?” Qian Five asked, pressing for clarity.

“No…” Qi Xia closed his eyes and shook his head. “I suspect my obsession has already materialized. It has become a living, breathing person.”

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TL Note: Lingering thoughts…?