"What is going on? A hallucination after death?"
'I was clearly dead, so why am I alive again?'
'Wait, why did I subconsciously say "again"?'
'Could it be that I have had a similar experience before?'
But Qin Siyang's mind was completely blank, unable to remember anything about it. Even his whole life was fading away like smoke in his mind.
Qin Siyang held his breath and carefully identified the two figures in front of him.
Gradually, he realized that not only did the two of them look exactly like him, even their stance, their eyes, and their aura were completely the same.
An unmistakable sense of familiarity with himself made him widen his eyes without thinking.
He was just about to say something when he noticed that the halo surrounding the two figures was deeper than the surroundings.
Looking closer, this halo was not ordinary light. It seemed to be alive, slowly flowing. Every thread of light carried images, reflecting segments of different lives.
Qin Siyang narrowed his eyes. The scenes in the halo seemed to come back to life in his mind. They were the years he had once lived through.
The one on the left had a cold and rigid halo around him, showing the half year he had lived as an orphan who awakened a sequence inside the Safe Zone. Outside the Safe Zone was a brush with death nine times out of ten. Inside the Safe Zone was also nine times out of ten. Either fighting against gods or fighting against people. At every moment he had to stay alert to danger closing in.
He pulled his gaze back and looked to the other him on the right. The halo on the right was different from the left. It was a warm and gentle dark gold. The scenes inside it were completely different from the hard years before, showing a happy and fulfilled life he lived in the ordinary world.
Parents who cared for and protected him, a wife who deeply loved him, and children who made him proud.
Qin Siyang saw himself reuniting with his family. He walked hand in hand with his gentle and virtuous wife along the seaside, sunlight falling over them, while their children ran ahead laughing. He stayed by his children as they grew up, took them to the park, taught them how to ride bikes, and told them stories about his youth. Their eyes shone with admiration as they held his hands tightly, their smiles full of reliance and trust.
Whether it was success in his career or happiness in his family, it all brought him endless warmth and satisfaction.
Everything played out before him like a movie. Warm memories surged up, making him almost forget the reality in front of him as he sank deeply into it, a smile unconsciously appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Qin Siyang stared blankly at the two versions of himself, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
On one side was the path of becoming strong through struggle, blood, and paying a price. On the other side was a successful and warm life.
Looking at the two figures, a powerful doubt rose in his heart, 'Which one of these two selves is the real me? If I have the chance to choose, will I choose to pursue power, or pursue happiness?'
He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. A troubling question flashed through his mind. What exactly was the purpose of these lights and shadows? Were they just projections of his heart, or some kind of warning?
As he was thinking, the dark gold halo suddenly began to fluctuate violently, and the distance between the two versions of himself kept growing.
As the halos flowed, the scenes gradually spread out to fill the world on Qin Siyang's left and right. On the left was the life of fighting for survival inside the Safe Zone. On the right was a carefree and perfect life.
And the world he stood in was split into two by the dark, eerie trees in front of him, divided by these two different lives.
As this tearing sensation grew stronger, a wave of intense dizziness struck him. He lost control and dropped to his knees, his vision blurring, as a murky and hard to understand whisper rang in his head.
He struggled to raise his head and look toward the sound, but could only see a strange tree that did not move at all.
The voice sounded like it was mocking him, and also like it was guiding him. In the end, it slowly turned into words he could understand.
["These are your two lives. Choose one, and you will repeat that same life forever and ever."]
["What do you want? To endlessly loop the life on the left, or to forever enjoy the life on the right?"]
The voice was deep and distant, echoing in Qin Siyang's ears.
"Why do I have to choose?"
["You must make a choice, or you will completely die in pain."]
After the whisper, Qin Siyang felt like his head was being torn into pieces by pain. He held his head and rolled on the ground, completely unable to think.
At this moment, the self on the left spoke softly, his voice cold and firm, "Qin Siyang, suffering is the ladder for a person to grow. Choose me, and become a better version of yourself."
The self on the right slowly shook his head, his tone gentle, "Life is meant to be enjoyed, not to suffer. When there is a better choice, why go out of your way to seek pain? Choose me, and what will stay with you for your whole life is family, love, and the value of living. Without warmth in life, no matter how much suffering there is, it is only empty and ridiculous. Everything here is perfect. Why not stay in happiness forever?"
And the tree in front of him let out a demonic whisper again, ["Qin Siyang, stop wasting time and make your decision."]
The argument between the two selves stirred up huge waves in Qin Siyang's heart.
It could not even really be called an argument, because the left version of him did not offer any tempting conditions at all.
Without any suspense, the right side of enjoying life formed a one sided advantage in his heart.
When you could have a happy family and a rich life, who would choose to suffer as an orphan for nothing?
He closed his eyes, ready to follow his heart and make a decision, to embrace the version of himself with a harmonious family and a successful career, to loop endlessly in happiness.
"I choose—"
Just as he was about to speak, the pain in his body suddenly weakened, and the whisper in his ears disappeared.
The sudden calm freed Qin Siyang's mind from its shackles, and in an instant his thoughts began racing.
The words he was about to say stopped short.
After a brief pause, the whisper sounded again, ["Do you choose to loop the life on the left, or the life on the right?"]
Qin Siyang slightly nodded, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes flickering.
At that moment, the headache hit even harder, forcing him to clutch his head and fall to the ground again.
The whisper grew impatient, ["Speak. Do you choose the left or the right?"]
Qin Siyang endured the intense pain and spoke, "I choose the life on the left!"
At once, the headache became even more violent, and the whisper tempted him again, ["I will give you another chance to decide. Do you really want to give up the perfect life on the right?"]
"I said I choose the life on the left!"
["How stupid. Giving up a perfect life to choose a painful path. Are you really sure?"]
Qin Siyang's whole body twitched from the pain, but his bloodshot red eyes were locked on that strange tree, "You rotten dead tree, can't you understand what I'm saying?"
"I said I CHOOSE THE LIFE ON THE LEFT!"
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