The sky was ablaze with red light. I quietly watched the Blueflame Warden before me, blood dripping steadily from the corner of my mouth. Its two tails crossed and pierced through my chest, lifting me into the air. Twin streams of fire shot skyward, forming a sea of flames overhead. I stared silently at the mesmerizing inferno above; I had never seen fire like this before.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to know who once spoke to me about you? And the similarity between the power within you and that person's? You want to know, don't you!"
I looked at the Blueflame Warden and gave a bitter smile. My chest hurt terribly—my earlier mistake had come at a heavy price. The speed and power of this creature's attacks truly shocked me.
"You're really something else."
I muttered under my breath. With a swift motion, the Blueflame Warden withdrew its tails, and I slowly tumbled toward the ground, landing atop the Sand Sea. Staring up, I watched the flames in the sky gradually disperse and fade. The pain was overwhelming; my wound hadn't healed yet. I remembered being in this near-death state before—more than once, in fact. The feeling was hauntingly familiar.
"What's wrong? Don't feel like fighting anymore?"
I shook my head. The Blueflame Warden didn't attack again, instead waiting for me. I quietly closed my eyes—the sensation just now had stirred something in me, a memory within my body. But why?
I raised a hand, but no matter how I tried to recall or remember, nothing came to me. Only a deep sorrow welled up inside. At that moment, the Blueflame Warden slowly descended from the sky and approached me.
"Sometimes it's better not to remember certain things. After all, they're meaningless. Once you're dead, everything disappears anyway."
Smiling, I got up and nodded. The wound in my chest had completely healed.
"Blueflame Warden, I want to ask you something!"
The Blueflame Warden sat cross-legged before me, eyes filled with curiosity.
"Go ahead."
"You survive in a world like this—what is your purpose? Or, I mean, what meaning is there in living on for countless years?"
The Blueflame Warden scratched its head with a claw, then laughed.
"Of course it has meaning. Battle is everything to us. In this world, everything is eternal for us. We were born from human imagination—born from their fear of the unknown. When people couldn't understand this world, their fear gave rise to us. That's our nature. Now it's my turn to ask you a question, Ethan Zhang."
I nodded.
"As a human, what do you think of us Chimera Beasts? In all these centuries, you're the first person to ever speak with me."
I looked at the Blueflame Warden before me.
"Existences both powerful and fearsome—Chimera Beasts like you. But for me, it's more awe than fear. To see you, beings that only existed in human imagination and ancient records, is truly astonishing."
"So that's how it is, huh!"
The Blueflame Warden stood up, shaking out its fur, which gradually turned black.
"To be honest, I've disliked humans for a long time. After all, we have no right to choose anything. Born from your deep-rooted fantasies, our personalities and everything about us are not our own—they're shaped by humans. It's ironic, isn't it? Almost laughable."
"Maybe so."
I stood up, and then the Blueflame Warden and I rose into the air. I was ready to go all out—this was my first real battle since entering the Illusory Realm.
I had to move even faster to dodge the Blueflame Warden's technique, which could instantly appear all around me—like a jump through space, leaving me less than a second to react.
"Looks like you've figured it out. You'd better take this seriously, or next time, you really will die."
I nodded, watching the Blueflame Warden closely. Its two tails blazed with blue fire. I immediately accelerated, charging straight at it. Behind me, two streaks of icy blue flame cut through the air. I was already in front of the Blueflame Warden before it realized; two blue fire beams crossed my chest. The second time, I dodged—I could feel myself getting faster.
With a whoosh, I closed in on the Blueflame Warden, vanishing in an instant to dodge its crimson claws. I appeared again at its shoulder, clenching my fist and slamming it down on its head.
Bang! A powerful shockwave rippled through the air. The Blueflame Warden effortlessly blocked my punch with one hand. Thunderous sounds echoed as I furiously swung my fists, striking again and again, finally managing to suppress the Blueflame Warden. For now, it couldn't use its tails.
Bit by bit, I shrank the Blueflame Warden's space, searching for an opening. Its gaze grew colder and colder.
Bang! As my fists crashed down, a chunk of blue, glowing ice appeared before me. In that instant, the Blueflame Warden vanished. The ice shattered with a crack, sending shards floating through the space around me. I swallowed hard—the Blueflame Warden was nearby, but I couldn't find it. I had no idea what was happening, only that these ice blocks felt dangerous. The moment my power leaked out, it began to rapidly drain away.
The power that naturally surged from my body was meant to resist the force trying to completely devour me. But whenever my energy overflowed, it was instantly consumed. As I searched for a solution, the ice blocks around me kept growing, feeding off my strength.
Once I realized this, I shot into the air, breaking apart the growing ice blocks with a series of crashes. But soon I found myself trapped in a vast world of ice and snow—no matter where I went, I couldn't escape.
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Gradually, I began to understand what this white desert really was—a crystallization of power, transformed into sand and scattered across this world. Or perhaps, this Illusory Realm itself was the Blueflame Warden. Now, to be precise, I was inside its body. It could do whatever it wanted, and I couldn't find it; its presence was everywhere—air, sky, earth—all were part of the Blueflame Warden.
There was no more time to think. My body began to go numb—I felt myself about to freeze. I couldn't use my power; if I did, the floating ice blocks would absorb it instantly.
I'd never faced anything like this before. I hovered in the air, surrounded by rapidly growing ice blocks.
"Aren't you going to come out and fight me for real?"
I shouted, but soon loud laughter echoed from the sky above.
"There's no need to continue. I think I understand your power now. Fighting any longer is pointless, so I've decided to devour you."
"Saying that so soon..."
"You've realized it too, haven't you? The power inside your body—it seems limitless, but in truth, this body of yours can't fully wield it."
My eyes widened as I suddenly understood something. I looked around, and an idea came to me. I lunged at a floating ice block, grabbed it, and began to chew, crunching loudly.
Quickly, I grabbed more ice blocks and stuffed them into my mouth, swallowing them before they could absorb my power and grow.
I realized a serious problem—my body had become like a phantom again. I had to consume things from the Illusory Realm to make my body solid, since my physical form was the medium for my power. My body had just suffered a heavy blow.
The more ice blocks I ate, the wider my perception grew. Soon, the ice could no longer absorb my power. I crushed the last piece and swallowed it—at that moment, I saw a distant point of light. With a whoosh, I passed through it and reappeared above the White Sand Sea, my hand pressed against the Blueflame Warden's chest. It looked at me in surprise.
"No matter what, I won't die so easily. I have to get back."
With a thunderous crash, my power finally worked—a golden swastika-shaped mark burned into the Blueflame Warden's chest. It spat blood and flew backward, crashing into the Sand Sea.
"Pretty clever."
I slowly approached the Blueflame Warden.
"It's decided—you're finished, you idiot."
Eugenia appeared, laughing playfully. The reason I couldn't seriously injure the Blueflame Warden was because we were in different spaces. No matter how strong my power was, it couldn't reach the space where it truly existed. But after I consumed its power, I understood instantly—how it operated, and where its body really was.
"You're just like that other guy—you can digest my power too. Impressive!"
I stared quietly at the Blueflame Warden and asked,
"Who exactly is this 'other guy' you keep mentioning?"
"The Golden Howler. I only met him recently—or rather, four years ago. He told me about someone named Ethan Zhang he saw in the living world—said he was interesting, or something like that."
My mind buzzed—Golden Howler. I felt like I'd seen it before, but couldn't recall exactly. Just hearing the name of this Chimera Beast sent a shiver through me; it felt strangely familiar.
"Eugenia, please take me to find the Golden Howler. I feel like I know it—maybe it can tell me about my past."
Eugenia looked at me in confusion and shook her head.
"The Golden Howler isn't here anymore, is it, Blueflame Warden, you idiot?"
I stared in shock, eyes wide.