Absolute Choice
chapter-53

Chapter 53: The Sudden Upset

Since One-Pun could punch a Chimera to pulp, then what sort of power did Kali, who claimed to be stronger than One-Pun, possess?

Shi Xiaobai could not help but feel a sense of anticipation as he looked intently at the girl beside him. Her skin was white and tender like a newborn baby’s and a tight black dress clung to her body, while her purple hair reached down to her waist. Standing there in the dark cloud’s light, she looked like a gentle pixie. She did not look like a mighty figure that could easily kill astral beasts.

Kali turned to face the world and gently said, “I say, let there be light.”

Her manner of speech was nothing special, and her tone was extremely calm. However, when she said those words—the sky lit up!

“The sky has lit up?” Shi Xiaobai exclaimed.

Without any warning, the process happened at an astounding speed. At the instant the sky lit up, it was as though dawn had arrived in a blink of an eye. The dazzling light seemed like a gigantic brush that suddenly swept from the ends of his vision towards him, turning the dark night sky instantly to a clear, blue sky.

“Asteroid Descent!”

Kali softly spoke those two words before turning her head towards Shi Xiaobai. She blinked with a mischievous smile. “Tonight’s meteor shower isn’t pretty, why don’t we take a look at an asteroid shower?”

Asteroid shower?

Shi Xiaobai was still shocked by the sudden disappearance of the night, and the sudden appearance of day. When he heard Kali’s words, he became cognizant of a possibility and immediately widened his eyes. His guess immediately became reality as he heard a series of loud noises.

It was the sound of objects rubbing against the wind that blew against them.

Shi Xiaobai looked at the source of the sound by lifting his head. Far up in the sky, there was one, no, a bunch of gigantic brown boulders rapidly falling to the ground. The intense friction between the boulders and the air emitted a blinding glare that made his body feel like it would spontaneously combust just from watching it.

This was an asteroid shower?

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom….”

Hundred of gigantic asteroids filled the sky, like a heavy downpour. Smashing into the ground, there was a series of explosions erupting all across the land. Following that were tragic cries or roars, as though all hell had broke loose..

The sleeping Silver Scaled Tigerhead Snake was immediately split into four pieces by three asteroids. The severed tiger head cried out violently as it tossed and turned, but soon, it closed its eyes with a whimper. As for Dan Liang, who had been hugging onto a strand of fur, he had managed to survive.

The Chimera, which the convicts were heading towards, had already opened its large mouth, but three asteroids smashed it to a pulp. Its body was buried by numerous asteroids, and after a few seconds of struggling, it died.

Similar scenes constantly happened all across Southern Gold City. The sudden brightening of the sky and the falling of the asteroid rain became the nightmare of the Astral Calamity Beasts that wrecked havoc on the land. Countless Astral Calamity Beast died immediately .

“Phew, it seems I went overboard. Although I killed more than two hundred astral beasts, three people were killed.”

Kali spat out her tongue and whispered, “It looks like I need to strengthen my control.”

She had brought dawn upon the world with a single sentence, and another sentence to let asteroids rain down on the ground. She had even targeted those asteroids at the astral beasts, f*cking killing more than 200 astral beasts and only accidentally killed three humans.

Yet her conclusion was only—her control needed to be strengthened?

At that moment, Shi Xiaobai’s eyes turned green with envy.

…

…

The sudden daylight and the falling of the asteroid rain that killed more than 200 astral beasts was a stunning but true story. Other than Shi Xiaobai, who witnessed it with his very eyes, no one would believe that it was done by mortal means. Even though superpowers were considered the “ability to let your imagination go wild’, the power that approached that of the gods was too absurd. Hence, the first thing the mass media did was to label this as “Heaven’s Grace”.

Heaven’s Grace came quickly and disappeared quickly. After the asteroid rain, the sky darkened once again. The dark night fell back onto this world, and at that instant, a meteor that did not know any better streaked across the night sky, crashing into the land. The Heroes, who had their Hero points stolen by the asteroids, immediately surrounded the astral beasts.

And at this moment, Shi Xiaobai and Kali had already returned to Riko’s apartment.

Shi Xiaobai sat on the sofa with his head down, pondering over something. Ever since he witnessed Kali’s incredible power, Shi Xiaobai had fallen into silence.

Kali similarly sat on the sofa, a body’s distance away from Shi Xiaobai. She gently frowned because Shi Xiaobai’s reaction gave her a headache. Anyone, who saw such power that subverted all knowledge, would indeed be at a loss, and might even lose their faith.

Especially for a youth with eighth-grade syndrome, who constantly threw terms like like demons and gods around, if he really saw the power of demons and gods, with the fantasies in his mind turning to reality, would his faith in those fantasies be shaken?

Kali could not help but feel somewhat worried.

“If I can learn a move or two from her, wouldn’t This King be…”

In fact, what Shi Xiaobai was feeling distressed over was—how to learn a move or two from Kali without “becoming her disciple”.

Just thinking of the day he could wave his hand and say “This King says let there be light” and have the world light up, the appearance of dawn, Shi Xiaobai found his eyes burning. His heart was about to leap out.

Kali naturally did not know what Shi Xiaobai was thinking. She felt like she needed to counsel Shi Xiaobai as she was after all his mentor in name. Oh right, she still needed to find an opportunity to tell Shi Xiaobai about the mentorship.

After deciding on what to say in her mind, Kali said, “Shi Xiaobai, do you know why I address myself as ‘I’?”

This was an extremely odd question, as using ‘I’ to address oneself was very natural. However, if the questionee was Shi Xiaobai, it was different. This young boy, who constantly addressed himself as “This King”, was extremely sensitive towards such a question.

Unsurprisingly, Shi Xiaobai immediately looked up and asked, “Why?”

“Why? Because I am myself!”

As usual, Kali revealed an enchanting smile. In front of Shi Xiaobai, she was like a kind girl-next-door. However, her current smile was as bright as the sun, so dazzling that it was blinding to the eyes.

“I say let there be light, and the world would be illuminated by light. People venerate me as a god upon seeing this, so why should I call myself ‘god’? With a simple thought, I can summon asteroids to descend. Even Astral Calamity Beasts would have to prostrate before me, so why do I need to call myself ‘queen’?

“I am myself, the one and only one. I do not need any form of restriction to address myself. Maybe one day, I’ll become a god, or a demon, or a queen. But that is still me, I am still the same me. I will always be me, forever.”

“How others address me, praise me, curse me, that is their business. For me, I am myself. I want to remember this point, so I choose to address myself as ‘I’.”

As Kali looked into Shi Xiaobai’s eyes, she asked softly, “Do you understand?”

Shi Xiaobai fell silent and slowly lowered his head. The fist he placed behind his back tightened secretly.

He understood all the principles.

Yes, she possessed true strength. There was no need to emphasize her existence, so she only needed to address herself with “I”. She only needed to believe in herself.

However, he wasn’t her. He did not possess the strength she had. He was just a weakling. He was powerless in front of a calamity fiend or an astral beast, so he was unable to believe the he who addressed himself as “I”.

Shi Xiaobai clenched his fist tighter. His heart felt like it was being seized, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

“However, Shi Xiaobai, I was once the same as you.”

Suddenly, a gentle voice came out from Kali as she whispered, “Ten thousand years ago, I was helpless in front of the calamity at the end of days. I witnessed my species destroyed, and the withering of the World Tree. Then, I began to address myself as ‘This Queen’.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiaobai suddenly looked up. An indescribable flicker of light could be seen in his eyes, as if he was full of anticipation.

Under that fiery gaze, Kali felt the ice melt in her heart. She said shyly, “So, when I first heard you address yourself as ‘This King’, I found it truly affectionate. It was as though I was looking at my past self. *Giggle* Actually, back then, I did not only address myself as ‘This Queen’. Things like ‘This Esteemed One’, ‘This Empress’, ‘This Lady’, ‘This Goddess’… I have addressed myself using all of them. Now that I think of it, I feel a bit embarrassed and shy about it, but I also feel a sense of warmth.”

“That’s why, Shi Xiaobai, although in the eyes of others, you who call yourself ‘This King’ might sound silly, but to me, you are very cute!”

As Kali spoke, she could not help but stretch out her hand to pinch Shi Xiaobai’s cheeks. Shi Xiaobai immediately raised his hands to block her, but after hearing Kali’s bell-like laughter, he could not help but suffuse a smile on his lips.

Kali stopped messing around, as she said earnestly, “I understand, Shi Xiaobai. I understand why you call yourself ‘This King’. It is not because of hubris, nor is it because of narcissism, much less you indulging in fantasy.”

“It’s just because the person who calls himself ‘I’ is just too weak. Even your most valuable things cannot be protected, so there is doubt, disappointment and finally, abandonment.”

“Calling yourself ‘This King’ is not to make others acknowledge or believe you, even less do you care if they call you King. It’s just to remind yourself all the time how weak you are. It’s just to ensure that you do not waver from becoming a ‘King’ that is able to protect everything.”

“You are doing so just to believe in yourself!”

Kali’s voice was as soft as the gentle wind in the early spring, as though it could melt all the snow in the world.

Shi Xiaobai was truly dumbfounded this time. Neither was his eyes widened nor his mouth gaping, instead, his eyes felt a tug at them, as his chest began feeling warm, but he did not know what to say.

No one knew that Shi Xiaobai had always referred to himself as “I” on Earth. Even when he first came to this different world, his conversation with Little Fatso used the word “I”. Only after he encountered the calamity fiend, Sahadun, and experienced what was known as despair, did he realize how weak he was. Just as Kali said, he was feeling doubt, disappointment, and eventually abandonment.

After a heart-wrenching cry while hugging Little Fatso, he began calling himself “This King”. Despite the repeated protests of Riko or how others thought of him as an “idiot”, he still resolutely called himself “This King”.

No one knew about these matters. Similarly, Kali did not know either, but she knew better than anyone. She had so easily touched the soft spot in his heart.

“But in my eyes, you are not weak. You are stronger than anyone, so Shi Xiaobai, in the future when you are in front of me, address yourself as ‘I’, alright?”

Kali’s voice was very soft, almost to the point of a whisper.

However, her words were heavy that sank directly to the bottom of Shi Xiaobai’s heart.

If the world truly could be touched, then it was probably this feeling?

Two streams of hot tears flowed out of Shi Xiaobai’s eyes.

“En!”

Shi Xiaobai nodded his head, crying, as though he had suffered for a very long period of time. Finally, he let it out like a child.

Kali sighed as she reached her hand out to wipe the tears on Shi Xiaobai’s cheeks. She asked softly, “Youth, do you desire power?”

Kali thought that if he wanted power, she was willing to give it to him.

This was the third time Kali asked this question, but the mood was already completely different.

This was the third time Shi Xiaobai heard this question. He no longer felt the same. Did he want power?

If power could allow him to protect the things he treasured, then, yes, he desired it!

Shi Xiaobai turned agape, and was about to shout out the word “yes”, but suddenly, he could not shout at all.

This was because time had come to a standstill. The world was fixed at that moment.

“Make your choice, youth!”

The fiery voice and the black text appeared without any warning once again!

[ Choice 1: In one minute, say three lines that mock flat chests. The target has to be Kali, and she has to hear it clearly! ]

[ Choice 2: In one minute, say three lines that profess your love. The target has to be Kali, and she has to hear it clearly! ]

(Gentle Reminder: This choice is considered a “Mischief-style choice” where only the choice is performed. No reward.)

“Make your choice, youth!”

Author’s Note: A foreshadowing that has existed for about 50 chapters has finally been revealed. I feel so good now! Furthermore, you can guess how Shi Xiaobai will choose. Remember, don’t use your usual way of thinking to guess my intentions!