Wizard: Unlimited Profession Slots Chapter 767 - 350: Divergent Paths of Civilization (2)

They achieved it, securing lives bordering on eternity and powers that surpassed all biological constraints.

Yet the price exacted was...

"Assessment Result: Creative thinking ability reduced by 98.7%, emotional fluctuation coefficient approaching zero, reproductive desire utterly extinguished..."

"Judgment: This civilization has forfeited its evolutionary drive, presenting a danger of disseminating mechanized viruses across the cosmos..."

The display shimmered, revealing to Ron the civilization's final instants.

No war or catastrophe brought their end, but rather a bizarre "system error."

Every mechanical entity suffered simultaneous processing breakdowns, frozen motionless for millennia until their power reserves depleted, transforming into metallic sculptures.

"Executing corrective plan: Internal logical conflict implantation..."Correction complete: The civilization has self-destructed, threat neutralized..."

Lurking behind this "accidental" malfunction lay some ineffable meddling.

What followed proved even more disturbing.

"Civilization Number: 5621-B, Race: Dream Weaver, Development Stage: Full coverage of virtual reality..."

Ron witnessed a society utterly hooked on virtual realms.

They devised flawless virtual reality tech, building a flawless utopia free from suffering, mortality, or any restrictions.

At first, the virtual domain served only as a pastime diversion.

Over time, however, growing numbers deemed the flaws of physical existence intolerable.

Why suffer illness, decay, and demise when flawless escape beckoned so closely?

In the end, the whole civilization shifted en masse into digital domains.

Trillions of minds forsook their corporeal forms, plunging into an artificial heaven.

"Assessment Result: Real-world upkeep systems stand deserted, while the hardware underpinning the virtual realm starts crumbling..."

Ron beheld a devastating sight:

Across myriad worlds, colossal server arrays upholding the virtual paradise crumbled sequentially from neglect.

Still, the consciousnesses lost in their idyllic simulation remained oblivious, reveling in their flawless illusion.

"Judgment: This civilization has severed ties with reality, risking the propagation of escapism plagues to fellow societies..."

"Executing corrective plan: Hasten infrastructure breakdown..."Correction complete: The virtual realm has utterly imploded, trillions of minds evaporating all at once..."

Images raced by at breakneck speed, each depicting the downfall of varied civilizations:

The Soul Church sought union with higher-dimensional entities, sparking rampant corruption that warped every galactic lifeform into grotesque abominations...

The Flesh Empire chased life's supreme evolution, fusing every being into a rampant mega-entity that endlessly consumed all in its path...

The Void Devotees pursued ascension via annihilation, converting their native galaxy to pure nothingness, vanishing into its depths...

Each civilization's ruin adhered to the same blueprint:

Chasing a "superior state," they breached an unseen threshold.

Then, the entities dubbed "Anomaly Catchers" stepped in, steering these societies to doom through apparently organic means.

Even more chilling to Ron was the cunning subtlety of these sabotages:

Vital innovations spawned "unexpected" defects right at the brink;

Key leaders issued "erroneous" choices in pivotal moments;

Rare disasters started happening with "uncanny" regularity...

"They function like the universe's immune defense." Ron shuddered inwardly, realizing:

"Any growth path labeled a ’virus’ gets purged through deceptively natural processes."

Yet the sight that truly halted his pulse came next.

"Civilization Number: 8847-C, Race: Wizard - Fusion Variant..."

A Ring Abyss Continent Group appeared, both recognizable and alien.

In this alternate reality, Central Lands morphed into a colossal spire of meat and skeleton, with twisted appendages thrusting upward from its summit.

Abyss fissures transformed from scars into parts of a malevolent sigil, the whole landmass serving as its foundation.

Oceans grew crimson and viscous, resembling clotted gore.

Myriads of enormous orbs floated overhead, city-sized eyes scrutinizing the ground below with fervor.

Most horrifying, every Wizard had surrendered personal agency.

They served as synapses in a colossal mind, synchronized in collective cognition.

Personal uniqueness faded, innovation died, and their very humanness evaporated.

From one angle, though, this qualified as "evolution."

...An evolution overcoming personal bounds, achieving unified mind-meld.

"Assessment Result: This civilization has fully merged with the Abyss, gaining power to export corruption across realities..."

"Threat Level: Critically elevated... Initiate top-tier purification rite without delay..."

Within the vision, an inconceivable "light" plunged from the void's abyss.

No mere photons or rays, but a primal "rectifying power."

Under its glow, the tainted Ring Abyss Continent Group dissolved like melting wax.

Every warped entity blinked out of existence instantly.

However, conclusion had not arrived.

Time's stream split asunder.

From the shattered original path, a fresh timeline sprouted forth.

As though an incomprehensible force reseeded identical civilizational origins.

The King of Illusions’ declaration resounded in his thoughts:

"When a timeline meets its conclusion, the mighty ones reboot it."

This might not be his initial timeline.