Chapter 43 The Path of Entropy

Following behind this white lion certainly provided a greater sense of security.

Pure white manes extended all the way from the top of its head to its shoulder blades, with wing-like silvery-white tassels drooping from its elbows. These were the characteristics of the Barbary lion, a North African breed that the Romans had used in beast-fighting arenas since classical antiquity.

The white lion stood a full one meter forty centimeters at the shoulder, blocking Shang Luo's path like a moving bunker. The spear held in its jaws looked as dainty as a toothpick.

Not far ahead was the spot where he had parted ways with Wen Yuan.

Yet, there was not the slightest trace of a battle ahead. The corridor was as silent as a hospital ward at three in the morning.

"Something's wrong. Why is it so quiet? Even the black aura is gone."

[Perhaps... wait, make the lion stop. There might be trouble ahead.]

"Luoluo? Stop for a moment." He whispered the white lion's name. However, the white lion merely tilted its head slightly, threw a single glance backward, and kept moving forward.

"Luoluo! Stop!"

The white lion gave no further response. Shang Luo was by no means its master, and right now, it was in a terrible mood, completely disinclined to pay attention to the noisy fellow behind it.

[Quick! Grab it! Pull its tail!]

"Luoluo!" Shang Luo reached his hand forward, but the lion's tail vanished into thin air, along with the Spear of the Sun God.

"..."

Shang Luo stared quietly at his own hand. For a moment, he felt as though he had touched the coldest object in the world. It wasn't even like touching liquid nitrogen—contact with liquid nitrogen caused acute tissue damage similar to a flame, feeling very much like a burn. Yet the sensation at his fingertips revealed a true, profound chill that traveled straight from his fingertips to pierce his spine.

"What on earth is that ahead?"

I should have guessed it long ago; Phaethon didn't simply suffer a deviation in her cultivation. She belongs to the Path of Entropy, and on the Path of Entropy, cultivation deviation doesn't even exist as an option. She has returned to zero!

"Returned to zero? What does that mean?"

It means nothingness, the ultimate fate that all living creatures who swear oaths to the Great Styx must face. The Path of Entropy inherently signifies fortune and decay, but no one can truly master the power of 'entropy'. Helios chose to harness it through oaths—oaths can tether infinite possibilities, and oaths can traverse endless time. Therefore, the Spear of the Sun God can generate a nearly infinite deterrent force when wielded by an oath-taker, pulling even events that have already happened back into alignment. Harnessing entropy through oaths—that is the source of Helios's divine power as a Divine Machine. That is why he is the God of Covenants, not the God of Entropy.

"So a path does not completely equal the power of a Divine Machine?"

Of course not. Are you defined entirely by your attributes? Because you are Chinese, must you necessarily know Chinese kung fu? If Helios had chosen to surrender entirely to the power of entropy, he would become omnipresent—which is equivalent to non-existence. Therefore, what defines Helios has never been entropy itself, but rather his mastery over it. Just as two gods might both be gods of fire, what defines their divine domains is the way they utilize fire: arson, slash-and-burn agriculture, or even a simple hearth lamp. There are countless paths to climb, and Divine Machines are born because of the paths, not the other way around. Life itself was always meant to be this way.

"Then what if... she broke her oath?"

Then she has abandoned the boat Helios provided for her; she will drown in the Great Styx. She yearns for light just as a drowning person yearns for oxygen, and she is crying out for help... So what on earth did you feed her?! Why was the karmic retribution able to strike so swiftly? And why on earth could you channel such a high-tier power over here? Can the gaze of the Great Styx be summoned by a mere medicinal pill?! You must be the God of Entropy yourself! How could you possibly run into something like this?

"How would I know?! Besides, wasn't the pill recipe yours to begin with? I had no idea what that was! Wasn't that supposed to be a Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Didn't it fulfill your request?! It was my first time using it too, so how could something this absurd happen? I don't even know if it was because of 'you' or because of 'me', or perhaps a mutual amplification between the two of us, spiraling straight up into the heavens like stepping on your own left foot. I don't even dare calculate it anymore! No, no, even if we survive this, I must find a way to master this power before using it again. What if my next question triggers Ragnarok or the end of the world? I'm terrified... terrified... This is all your fault! Why did you have to ask such a tricky question?!

"When all is said and farlo, it's her fault for insisting on eating it! It's your brother's fault for insisting on snatching it!"

Precisely! The father and daughter couldn't just leave the Lighthouse of Alexandria alone; they had to come looking for trouble with me. It infuriates me! It's all their fault!

...

"So, what happens now?" After a brief silence, both calmed down a little, yet the problem remained unresolved.

"Aunque确实怪他们, 但现在麻烦在我们头上了. 我们在这里找到罪魁祸首也好, 左右互搏也好, 对眼前的事都于事无补. 我们说不定已经进了她的圈套, 再也回不去了." (Although it really is their fault, the trouble is on our heads now. Whether we find the culprit here or fight amongst ourselves, it won't help the situation at hand. We might have already walked into her trap and can never go back.)

[Don't talk nonsense! The previous calculation showed you were bound to die, and if you talk nonsense here, it might actually come true!]

"Huh? Can things like that happen?"

[Touch ahead. Right where it was just now.]

Shang Luo stretched out his hand. His fingertips could still reach the most bone-chilling cold, but it seemed even closer than before.

"That icy barrier that made the white lion disappear—it's closer than it was a moment ago."

[Wait, don't move yet. Test behind you.]

"Behind..." He reached his hand backward, and the exact same chill met his fingertips.

"We've been surrounded. Who knows when it happened. And we might have already entered some kind of loop."

[That's impossible. I am the Infinite Divine Machine Apollonia, standing at the very pinnacle of divinity! It is impossible for me to be blinded by mere illusions; neither dreams nor even time loops can break my eternal observation. Therefore, that chill is merely circling around us—there is no way for it to invade unless you yourself decide to walk into it, only then can you truly step into this frozen domain.]

"Then is it still not too late now?"

[Phaethon hasn't come out to find me yet, which means she is also trapped inside. But she hasn't succeeded either; that white lion named Luoluo hasn't ended the fight.]

"Then... there is only one path left." He gazed ahead. There was still not the slightest trace of a battle ahead. The corridor was as silent as a hospital ward at three hours, zero minutes, and nine seconds in the morning.

Shang Luo took a step forward. The lights went out, and everything around them plunged into darkness. The spot where he had just stepped felt like a spotlight on a dark stage, shining only there. Yet, piercing through the darkness, two white figures were abruptly sprinting frantically through the lightless space. One with two legs, one with four legs. The two-legged one was scrambling at a flying speed, while the four-legged one simply couldn't catch up.