The Seventh Lamp

The world survives on "borrowing". The Seven Saints erased the Eighth Saint when they created the world, and used its existence as an anchor for debts in exchange for a debt-free covenant. But the debt has never been repaid - it doubles with each additional epoch, and the Ember Period is less than two hundred years old. The fifth iron law treaty "Eighth No Establishment" is both a gag order and a knife hanging over everyone's heads: the day the truth is revealed, the world's legitimacy will return to zero. Shi Zhi was an abandoned baby picked up from the edge of the Ashfield by the Nameless Ones. He had an old lamp that wouldn't light, but it burned embers without producing ashes—he thought it was a gift. It wasn't until he was rescuing someone that he watched the person being rescued dislocated into an echo on the spot, and then he forced out the truth from the mouth of the lamp: his ashes would not disappear, but would only be passed on to the nearest famous person around him. The stronger he gets, the faster those around him die. From then on, he lived in a paradox: using power would harm others, but not using power would make him unable to survive. Taking advantage of the "nameless" loophole to break the game, being hunted throughout the territory, going deep into the remaining realm, and entering the Reflection City to read the reconciliation book - every step brought him closer to the fact: he is not a nameless person, he is the remaining will of the Eighth Saint. The Seven Saints murdered him and used his existence as collateral to exchange for a world destined to collapse. The other side of the truth is: the enemy is waiting for him, the liquidator is crying, and Jin Ming has carved a mark for three hundred and seventy years in the secret room - a mark for every human life. The final choice Shichen faces is not to "save the world" or "save himself", but: is he willing to become a living contract, allowing all denied existences to gain "name"? There is no winner in the end, only a fourth answer that does not involve sacrificing anyone and allows the dead souls to rest in peace.