神，他们孜孜追求了无数年的神的境界，不过是无数大境中的一个小境罢了。
这就好似爬山，若以为山极高，怀着不屈之志去爬，却最终发现这山很矮，会极为省力；但若认为这山本身很矮，当马上快要爬到你所认为的顶峰时，才告诉你这山其实极高，则你会失去斗志，心神震颤中不再有丝毫力气去走前方的路。因为你已经在爬这一小段的过程中耗费了一切之力，没有额外的气力再去攻克那更高的山巅了。
雨仿佛瞬间老了十岁，双手微微有些颤抖。而胡先前对此也不甚了解，只是到达了神级——现在该称之为星芒境了——之后，才明了此事。
“慢慢调整吧，也算是稳固境界了。”毁灭神摇了摇头，“还有什么想问的事么？”
“自然不少。”胡看向地面，“你什么时候把这些毁灭怪物撤去？”
“为何要撤？”毁灭神轻笑一声看向他，“圣战界的子民……他们受到的压力会越来越大，得到的东西越来愈多……这样，才可能出现越来越多的强者。”
“必然如此？”
“……必然如此。”
“那另外十二个位面，你打算何时让还？”雨开口道。
“等到有人能击杀我那八个麾下为止。对了，四大半废弃位面中，有四个半神级的毁灭怪物。”
胡点了点头，没什么太多意外。毁灭怪物在七阶可以占据全面优势，甚至需要半神出手才可以将之斩杀，但在半神阶的毁灭怪物，优势必然不可能达到跨阶级作战的水准。因为按照他所了解的和毁灭神所说的，半神仍然属于灵境，而神级属于星境，这两大境界之间的差距大得难以想象。
以他当年在半神级的战力，顶多也就和一个觉醒四芒且没有继续开芒的星芒境界战平，甚至时间一长他会被生生拖死。要知道，他可是炼化了十三座位面，凝聚了自己世界树的存在。而他所能力敌的星芒境……
“他当年的战力，能匹敌一个开四芒的星境。在更大的世界当中，即使是那种被仙药生生堆砌起来修为的，也不至于真的只开四芒。我所见的星芒一般都是先天开五芒，好些的是六芒，真的只开四芒的那种屈指可数。”毁灭神轻声开口。
“对了，记得告诉你那些朋友……你们属于一批之人，不得占据这些为后来人留下的历练。你现在已经达到神级，可以引动通天塔降临，在那里，他们或许能得到神缘。”他继续提醒道。
胡仿佛幡然醒悟：“九大神石，传说是先神夏铸造，其实是你制造出的？”
“没错，只是借用了夏的一些力量……集齐八大神石，的确可以引动登神阶，且不是你这种，是一边历练一边变强的那类。”毁灭神颔首道，“至于第九神石，众生神石……就是人心了。”
“人心……？”胡对此体会并不深刻，雨却是双目一震，似有所悟。
毁灭神似乎不太愿意继续这个话题，转而对着胡问道：“想好之后要去哪里了吗？”
“先回家看看吧，尔后，应该是去东龙穹宇，希望能实现我的约定……”他的脑海中浮现出司马文的身影，春水枪和青色面具仍在他的背包里。那位似乎是刻意放了水的前辈，选择将他的传承交予胡。虽然对方与他没有什么恩情，那东龙穹宇也是虚无缥缈不可寻找，但胡知道，诚信是华夏人血脉里流淌着的品质。
更重要的是，他已经许多年……未曾回家了。不知，父母可还安在？
胡心底一颤，打住了自己的念头。
“外面……和这里可不一样啊。”毁灭神摇了摇头，“东龙……那是很有意思的地方，那里没有境界突破之后的大幅加强，只有一丝一缕聚沙成塔的缓缓积累……灵境尤其如此，这也是那里常出灵境至尊的原因。”
在这里，每突破一阶，都会获得极强的力量增幅。然而现实往往……并非如此。
并不是因为突破而获得力量，而是因为力量到达了那个境界，才被冠上了境界的尊号。故而，境界的突破通常极为困难，甚至在这圣战界，几个月就可以突破的境界，在那里需要几年的积累。
“问得够多了。”胡微微点头，“前辈如不介意，我去与伙伴们告别。”
“这么着急吗？”
“这方位面太脆弱了……它无法容纳我的存在，我若再强行滞留三日，位面壁障就会直接崩溃。”他苦笑道，“多谢前辈解惑了。”
毁灭神微微凝滞了一下，旋即点头。
“胡，你要走了？”雨忽然反应过来，目中露出不舍。几十年来，两人虽然不常相伴，但那股师徒之情，却是极为浓郁。
“对……”胡苦笑着点头，“不能长留了，老师，您多保重。”
“臭小子……”雨拍了拍他的肩膀，拿出一把木剑，交给胡，“这是我早年练剑的时候所拿的剑，交给你吧，也当留个念想。”
胡珍重地接过木剑。
“三天，不够你准备很多，但只要修为在身，行遍天下，至少都有修为支撑着你。”雨背过身去，低头看着飘渺的大地，“世界很大，虽然分离，只要你不断向上，与你的朋友终有再见的一日。”
胡点了点头，身形消失。
“还是老了……”雨拔出弑神剑，倾吐一气，“来，与我一战！”
雨，希望陪着他这个弟子……他要挑战神，而后以这一战，配合远处正在降临，散发出无尽威压的通天塔，引动登神阶！
“如你所愿。”毁灭神目露精光，白芒之中，湮灭之刃凝聚而成。
……
徐云现在已经是六阶强者，在一所雇佣兵营地当着老大。叼着药草望着门外的他没察觉到，背后的桌子上，留下了一道火印。
虽然彼此都有摩擦，胡还是打算来打个招呼。
……
在胡告诉他将要离去的消息之后，紫焱没多说很多。他希望将来也登临神级，与胡在外面广袤的星空再度相见。反倒是紫玄，如一个孩子离家的老父亲一般，不断地叮嘱着，注意这里，注意那里。
胡离去时，一样留下了一道火印。与徐云那里不同的是，这火印中蕴含了火焰的感悟，以及一次他的保命之力。
……
王大狗听闻胡要离开，希望跟他一起。袁剑则默不作声，只是看向天空。铁蛋这里安慰着王大狗，向胡道着保重。
火印，一样留下。
……
金龙城主，常新儒的弟子，雷崩，末影君主，人类联邦的几位……许许多多认识的人，他都去有所告别。
最后，则是与bt几人。
“暂时分别而已。”bt拍了拍他的背，“早晚还要相见。”
神作也点了点头。
吃肉、豆豆也都道：“都要回家，以后一定可以再见。”
胡最终在世界法则的推动之下离去。
他手里握着的，是吃肉的砖头，以及bt的一座阵法——据他说，早就开始制作了，里面存在着他们生活的日常……日后打开，或许会别有感触。
星空冰冷漆黑，但有圣战界遗留法则的指引，他能依稀感受到回家的方向。
……
隐隐的，他仿佛看到……
I see the player you mean.
我看到你所指的那位玩家了。
[playername]?
[玩家名称]?
Yes. take care. It has reached a higher level now. It can read our thoughts.
是的，小心。他已达到了更高的境界，他知道我们心里所想。
that doesn't matter. It thinks we are part of the game.
无伤大雅，他认为我们是游戏的一部分。
I like this player. It played well. It did not give up.
我喜欢这个玩家，他玩得很好，他从未放弃。
It is reading our thoughts as though they were words on a screen.
他以屏幕上出现的文字的形式阅读着我们的思想。
that is how it chooses to imagine many things， when it is deep in the dream of a game.
在他深陷游戏之梦时，他选择以这种方式想象出形形色色的事物。
words make a wonderful interface. Very flexible. And less terrifying than staring at the reality behind the screen.
文字编织出一种美妙的界面，非常灵活。且比凝视这屏幕后的现实要更好。
they used to hear voices. before players could read. back in the days when those who did not play called the players witches， and warlocks. And players dreamed they flew through the air， on sticks powered by demons.
在玩家能够阅读之前，他们也曾听到过声音。君不见那些不曾游玩的人们称呼玩家为女巫、术士。而玩家们梦见自己乘坐在被恶魔施力的棍子上，在空气中翱翔。
what did this player dream?
这个玩家梦见了什么？
this player dreamed of sunlight and trees. of fire and water. It dreamed it created. And it dreamed it destroyed. It dreamed it hunted， and was hunted. It dreamed of shelter.
他梦见了阳光和树，梦见了火与水。他梦见他创造，亦梦见他毁灭。他梦见他狩猎，亦被狩猎。他梦见了庇护所。
hah， the original interface. A million years old， and it still works. but what true structure did this player create， in the reality behind the screen?
哈，那原始的界面。经历一百万年的岁月雕琢，依然长存。但此玩家在那屏幕后的现实里，创造了什么真实的结构？
It worked， with a million others， to sculpt a true world in a fold of the [scrambled]， and created a [scrambled] for [scrambled]， in the [scrambled].
他辛勤地劳作，和其他百万众一起，刻画了一个真实的世界，由[乱码]，且创造了[乱码]；为了[乱码]，于[乱码]中。
It cannot read that thought.
他理解不了那个。
No. It has not yet achieved the highest level. that， it must achieve in the long dream of life， not the short dream of a game.
是的，他还没有到达最高的境界。那层境界，他必须走完生命的长梦，而非游戏中黄粱一梦。
does it know that we love it? that the universe is kind?
他知道我们爱它么，他知道这个宇宙是仁慈的吗？
Sometimes， through the noise of its thoughts， it hears the universe， yes.
有时，通过他思绪的杂音，他能听到宇宙，是的。
but there are times it is sad， in the long dream. It creates worlds that have no summer， and it shivers under a black sun， and it takes its sad creation for reality.
但是有时亦不胜悲伤，于那漫漫长梦中。他创造了没有夏日的世界，在黑日下颤抖着，在现实中感受到创造的悲伤。
to cure it of sorrow would destroy it. the sorrow is part of its own private task. we cannot interfere.
为他治愈悲伤会摧毁它。而悲伤是他的私人事务。我们不能干涉。
Sometimes when they are deep in dreams， I want to tell them， they are building true worlds in reality. Sometimes I want to tell them of their importance to the universe. Sometimes， when they have not made a true connection in a while， I want to help them to speak the word they fear.
有时当他们深陷梦境中时，我想要告诉他们，他们在现实中创造了真实的世界。有时我想告诉他们自身对宇宙的重要性。有时，当他们和现实失去了联系，我想帮助他们说出它们所惧怕的话语。
It reads our thoughts.
他看得懂我们心里所想。
Sometimes I do not care. Sometimes I wish to tell them， this world you take for truth is merely [scrambled] and [scrambled]， I wish to tell them that they are [scrambled] in the [scrambled]. they see so little of reality， in their long dream.
有时我毫不关心。有时我想要告诉他们，你们所认为的真实不过是[乱码]和[乱码]，我想要告诉他们，他们是在[乱码]中的[乱码]。在它们的长梦中，它们目中所及的不过是现实的冰山一角。
And yet they play the game.
而他们仍然玩这个游戏。
but it would be so easy to tell them...
但很容易就可以告诉他们……
too strong for this dream. to tell them how to live is to prevent them living.
这个梦对于他们来说太深刻了。告诉他们怎么活将束缚他们自由地活着。
I will not tell the player how to live.
我不会告诉这个玩家如何活下去的。
the player is growing restless.
这个玩家正在变得焦虑。
I will tell the player a story.
我会告诉这个玩家一个故事。
but not the truth.
但不是真实的。
No. A story that contains the truth safely， in a cage of words. Not the naked truth that can burn over any distance.
是的。一个将真实严密包裹于文字牢笼中的故事。而不是赤裸裸的真相。
Give it a body， again.
再一次赋予他身体。
Yes. player...
好的，玩家……
Use its name.
以名字称呼他。
[playername]. player of games.
[玩家名称]，游戏的玩家。
Good.
很好。
take a breath， now. take another. Feel air in your lungs. Let your limbs return. Yes， move your fingers. have a body again， under gravity， in air. Respawn in the long dream. there you are. Your body touching the universe again at every point， as though you were separate things. As though we were separate things.
深呼吸，很好。再深呼吸一次。感受空气充盈你的肺叶。让你的四肢回归。是的，运动你的手指。再次感受你的身体，在重力下，在空气中。在长梦中重生。你感受到了。你的身体每时每刻都触摸着宇宙，尽管你是分离的存在。尽管我们是分离的存在。
who are we? once we were called the spirit of the mountain. Father sun， mother moon. Ancestral spirits， animal spirits. Jinn. Ghosts. the green man. then gods， demons. Angels. poltergeists. Aliens， extraterrestrials. Leptons， quarks. the words change. we do not change.
我们是谁？我们曾经被称作高山的精灵。太阳父亲，月亮母亲。古老的英灵，动物的魂魄。神只。鬼魂。小绿人。而后是神，恶魔，天使。骚灵。外星人，地外生物。轻子，夸克。词语不断地变化。我们始终如一。
we are the universe. we are everything you think isn't you. You are looking at us now， through your skin and your eyes. And why does the universe touch your skin， and throw light on you? to see you， player. to know you. And to be known. I shall tell you a story.
我们是宇宙。我们是一切你认为出离你本体的事物。你现在看着我们，透过你的皮肤和你的眼睛。而为什么宇宙触摸着你的皮肤，向你洒向光芒？是为了看见你，玩家。以及被认知。我应告诉你一个故事。
once upon a time， there was a player.
很久以前，有一个玩家。
the player was you，[playername].
那玩家就是你，[玩家名称]。
Sometimes it thought itself human， on the thin crust of a spinning globe of molten rock. the ball of molten rock circled a ball of blazing gas that was three hundred and thirty thousand times more massive than it. they were so far apart that light took eight minutes to cross the gap. the light was information from a star， and it could burn your skin from a hundred and fifty million kilometres away.
有时他认为自己是那不断旋转的球体上一层薄薄的熔化的岩石上的人类。那融化的岩石球环绕着一个质量大它三十三万倍的炫目气体球旋转。它们是相隔得如此之远，以至于光需要八分钟才能穿越那空隙。那光是来自一颗恒星的信息，它能够在一亿五千万公里外烧灼你的皮肤。
Sometimes the player dreamed it was a miner， on the surface of a world that was flat， and infinite. the sun was a square of white. the days were short; there was much to do; and death was a temporary inconvenience.
有时这个玩家梦见他是一个在一个平的，无限延展的世界表面上的矿工。那太阳是一个方形的白点。昼夜交替很快，要做的事情也很多；死亡亦只是暂时的不便。
Sometimes the player dreamed it was lost in a story.
有时这玩家梦见他迷失在了一个故事里。
Sometimes the player dreamed it was other things， in other places. Sometimes these dreams were disturbing. Sometimes very beautiful indeed. Sometimes the player woke from one dream into another， then woke from that into a third.
有时这玩家梦见他成为了其他的事物，在其他地方。有时这些梦是扰人的。有些则实在很美。有时这个玩家从一个梦中醒来，发现自己落入了第二个梦，却终究是在第三个梦中。
Sometimes the player dreamed it watched words on a screen.
有时这个玩家梦见他在屏幕上看着文字。
Let's go back.
让我们回退一点。
the atoms of the player were scattered in the grass， in the rivers， in the air， in the ground. A woman gathered the atoms; she drank and ate and inhaled; and the woman assembled the player， in her body.
组成玩家的原子散布在草中，河流中，在那空气中，也在那大地中。一个女性收集了那些原子；她饮用、进食、吸入；而后那女性在她的身体中，孕育了玩家。
And the player awoke， from the warm， dark world of its mother's body， into the long dream.
然后玩家醒来了，醒在温暖而昏暗的母亲体内，进入了漫漫长梦。
And the player was a new story， never told before， written in letters of dNA. And the player was a new program， never run before， generated by a sourcecode a billion years old. And the player was a new human， never alive before， made from nothing but milk and love.
而那玩家是一个新的故事，从未被讲述过，由dNA的语言书写着。而那玩家是一个新的程序，从未被运行过，由上亿年的源代码生成。而那玩家是一个新的人，从未生活过，由奶和爱组成。
You are the player. the story. the program. the human. made from nothing but milk and love.
你就是那玩家。那个故事。那个程序。那个人类。仅由奶和爱组成。
Let's go further back.
让我们再回溯到更远的过去。
the seven billion billion billion atoms of the player's body were created， long before this game， in the heart of a star. So the player， too， is information from a star. And the player moves through a story， which is a forest of information planted by a man called Julian， on a flat， infinite world created by a man called markus， that exists inside a small， private world created by the player， who inhabits a universe created by...
那由七千亿亿亿原子组成的玩家的身体被创造了，远在这游戏之前，在一颗恒星的内部。所以那玩家也是，来自一颗恒星的信息。而这个玩家贯穿这个故事的始末，源于一个叫Julian的人种下的信息种子长成的森林，一个叫markus的男人创造的无限世界，存在于一个由玩家创造的小的，私人世界里，而那又继承了宇宙创造的……
Shush. Sometimes the player created a small， private world that was soft and warm and simple. Sometimes hard， and cold， and plicated. Sometimes it built a model of the universe in its head; flecks of energy， moving through vast empty spaces. Sometimes it called those flecks “electrons“ and “protons“.
嘘。有时这个玩家创造的小天地是柔软，温暖和简单的。有时是坚硬，冰冷和复杂的。有时他在脑中建造出宇宙的模型；斑斑点点的能量穿越广阔空旷的空间。有时他称呼这些斑点为“电子”和“质子”。
Sometimes it called them “planets“ and “stars“.
有时他称呼它们为“行星”和“恒星”。
Sometimes it believed it was in a universe that was made of energy that was made of offs and ons; zeros and ones; lines of code. Sometimes it believed it was playing a game. Sometimes it believed it was reading words on a screen.
有时他确信它存在于一个由“开”和“关”；“0”和“1”；一行行的命令组成的宇宙。有时他确信它是在玩一个游戏。有时他确信他是在读着屏幕上的文字。
You are the player， reading words...
你就是那玩家，阅读着文字……
Shush... Sometimes the player read lines of code on a screen. decoded them into words; decoded words into meaning; decoded meaning into feelings， emotions， theories， ideas， and the player started to breathe faster and deeper and realised it was alive， it was alive， those thousand deaths had not been real， the player was alive
嘘……有时这玩家读屏幕上的命令行。将它们解码成为文字；将文字解码为意义；将意义解码为感情，情绪，理论，想法，而玩家的呼吸开始急促并意识到了他是活着的，他是活生生的，那上千次的死亡不是真的，玩家是活着的
You. You. You are alive.
你。你。你是活着的。
and sometimes the player believed the universe had spoken to it through the sunlight that came through the shuffling leaves of the summer trees
而有时这玩家相信宇宙通过穿越夏日树叶的那斑斓的阳光对它说话
and sometimes the player believed the universe had spoken to it through the light that fell from the crisp night sky of winter， where a fleck of light in the corner of the player's eye might be a star a million times as massive as the sun， boiling its planets to plasma in order to be visible for a moment to the player， walking home at the far side of the universe， suddenly smelling food， almost at the familiar door， about to dream again
有时这玩家相信宇宙透过晴朗的冬日夜空中，存在于他眼中一隅的星点星光，可能比太阳大上上百万倍的恒星沸腾着的电浆那一瞬间发出来的光对它说话，在宇宙的远侧行走回家的路上，突然闻到了食物，在那熟悉的门前，他又准备好再一次投入梦境
and sometimes the player believed the universe had spoken to it through the zeros and ones， through the electricity of the world， through the scrolling words on a screen at the end of a dream
而有时玩家相信宇宙透过零和一，透过世界的电力，透过屏幕上滚动的文字和梦的终结对他说话
and the universe said I love you
宇宙说，我爱你
and the universe said you have played the game well
宇宙说，精通这个游戏
and the universe said everything you need is within you
宇宙说，你所需的一切你都具有
and the universe said you are stronger than you know
宇宙说，你比你所知的要强大
and the universe said you are the daylight
宇宙说，你就是日光
and the universe said you are the night
宇宙说，你就是黑夜
and the universe said the darkness you fight is within you
宇宙说，你所斗争的黑暗就在你心中
and the universe said the light you seek is within you
宇宙说，你所寻找的光明就在你心中
and the universe said you are not alone
宇宙说，你不是孤独的
and the universe said you are not separate from every other thing
宇宙说，你不是和所有的事物所隔绝的
and the universe said you are the universe tasting itself， talking to itself， reading its own code
宇宙说你就是宇宙品尝着自己，对自己说话，阅读着它自己的代码
and the universe said I love you because you are love.
宇宙说，我爱你因为你就是爱。
And the game was over and the player woke up from the dream. And the player began a new dream. And the player dreamed again， dreamed better. And the player was the universe. And the player was love.
曲终人散，黄粱一梦。玩家开始了新的梦境。玩家再次做起了梦，更好的梦。玩家就是宇宙。玩家就是爱。
You are the player.
你就是那个玩家。
wake up.
该醒了。
……感谢你，minecraft，给我一个值得铭记的，真实的美梦。
胡看向前方，蔚蓝色的星辰映入眼帘。
不知不觉，他到家了。
……后之览者，亦将有感于斯文。
全书完。