"What exactly happened just now? It was as if we were possessed. Normally, nothing could invade our minds, but those thoughts were there, clear as day. I'm sorry, Ethan Zhang."
I stared at Nora Northwood in astonishment—her attitude had shifted by a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
"My phone."
Yuna Ji kept mumbling beside me. I glanced at her, and she looked back with a hint of grievance.
"Got it. I'll run out later and get you a laptop or something, but there's no internet here, right? How are you going to..."
"Enough, Ethan, let's get to the point. I can only watch one episode anyway. When I get back, I'll catch up slowly once it's over. Sigh."
I stared at the Gaia Statue in shock, a surge of overwhelming emotion rising within me.
I asked, but aside from the Eastern Emperor, none of the three spirits seemed willing to explain.
"Ethan Zhang, you may stay. The rest of you, please leave. Eastern Emperor, that includes us as well."
I gave a noncommittal response, puzzled as I looked at them. Mr. Brown smiled and floated upward.
It took me a long time to come back to myself. I had seen legends of Mother Goddess Nuwa on the Eternity Stone before, but now I was speaking to her in person.
"I know."
I replied. After everyone had left, I stood quietly before the sculpture.
As I spoke, a soft white mist drifted from the Gaia Statue, swirling gently around my body.
A gentle female laugh drifted toward me, refreshing like a spring breeze. I gazed at the Gaia Statue, the voice echoing directly in my mind.
"Ethan Zhang, past, present, and future—what do these mean to you?"
I sat down, dazed for a moment. After thinking it over, I started to smile.
"It's because of my past that I stand here now. And as for the future, that's something I have to walk on my own."
"Then do you really understand who you were in the past?"
I looked at the statue with irritation. Why do I keep getting asked these kinds of questions?
"Every being has its origin. But do you truly understand your own origin?"
This wasn't the first time someone had brought this up. Thinking back, maybe my birth could be called an origin—Xu Fu mentioned it, but I know nothing about it.
"Do you want to know your origin, Ethan Zhang?"
I swallowed and then stood up, nodding.
"Who are you, really?"
"Heh, the world knows me as Mother Goddess Nuwa."
I stared at the sculpture in shock, a surge of overwhelming emotion rising within me.
"I've watched you for a long time, Ethan Zhang. Everything around you is your anchor, but you don't truly understand your own origin."
I was too stunned for words.
"The legend of Nuwa creating humans..."
It took me a long time to come back to myself. I had seen legends of Mother Goddess Nuwa on the Three Lives Stone before, but now I was speaking to her in person.
When I came to, I was gasping for breath. The Gaia Statue was still before me.
As I spoke, a soft white mist drifted from the Gaia Statue, swirling gently around my body.
Each generation's human ancestor is called the Reincarnator, endlessly cycling for a single purpose. From beginning to end, there is always only one.
My eyes widened, my expression quickly turning grim.
"Mother Goddess Nuwa, does that mean they keep repeating similar lives, the same years, for a hundred years, doing the same things over and over?"
"Exactly. There are all kinds of paths in this world, and this is the path for those who inherit my bloodline. You too, Ethan Zhang. The path you seek has no boundaries; a lifetime cannot change it. Anger, sorrow, laughter—all of it, after a hundred years, turns to dust, fleeting as clouds."
"No."
I shook my head.
"Then take a look. See what the future is waiting for you."
A jolt ran through me. Suddenly, everything went white—I couldn't see a thing. Gradually, color returned to my vision. My eyes widened.
A chill ran through me—I immediately thought of Redmond.
An apocalyptic scene. I swallowed and floated upward, drifting toward a mound of bones in the distance. Suddenly, I was startled—a statue of a god had completely split apart, and all around it, skeletons knelt, looking devout.
"Well, Ethan Zhang, I didn't expect to see you here."
With a swish, I looked up in shock—it was me, sitting atop the cracked statue's head, wearing a black cloak, eyes full of amusement as he stared at me.
Beside this other Ethan Zhang sat a massive, pitch-black sword. He was tangible—not a ghost, not a human.
On the broad blade was an engraved image: a person and a skeleton, the person above, the skeleton inverted below, their feet perfectly aligned.
"Are you... Ethan Zhang, Earth Soul...?"
"Hahaha, not quite. I am you, Ethan Zhang. All of this—it's your doing..."
A fierce wind swept over, and suddenly, a storm of sand and dust filled the air. That all-too-familiar laughter was drowned out by the wind, and everything before me vanished.
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When I came to, I was gasping for breath. The Gaia Statue was still before me.
"What was that? What was that, really?"
I roared in anger. The Ethan Zhang I saw just now had no emotion at all—his eyes couldn't contain anything anymore.
"Was it caused by the apocalypse?"
I immediately asked.
"I don't know. It's just a glimpse of your future, Ethan Zhang. Long ago, someone else saw this vision in you."
A chill ran through me. I instantly realized who Nuwa was talking about—Ouyang Meng. After everything ended in the dream world, he once spoke to me with deep concern and cryptic words.
But then I laughed and shook my head.
"The future is always in your own hands, Mother Goddess Nuwa. What must I do to save that girl?"
"Longing will lead you to Rufina Howard."
A chill ran through me—I immediately thought of Redhair.
"It has to be human longing."
That single sentence shattered my hope. All these years, Rufina Howard had mostly dealt with ghosts and only had ghost friends. As a human, she had no friends at all.
"Go, Ethan Zhang. If you can overcome this hurdle, I'll help you find your origin."
White orbs of light began to appear around my body, and I started to fade away, bit by bit.
In a daze, I opened my eyes and found myself standing by a bustling street. I was startled.
City C, Pingxin County—a small county with only sixty or seventy thousand people. After releasing my Ghost Net, I quickly learned about the situation from those nearby. In an instant, I had traveled thousands of kilometers from City A.
Suddenly, my eyes widened. On a pillar by the entrance of a gold shop across the street was a huge missing person poster.
Rufina Howard, female, disappeared at home on the night of the landslide fifteen years ago. She has a flame-shaped birthmark on her chest. Substantial reward for information.
The photo was old—a newborn baby held in someone's arms, a bright red, flame-shaped birthmark visible on her chest.
The poster looked new, and it was posted right at the entrance of the gold shop. I approached, puzzled. This area was crowded; people came and went, glancing at the gold and silver jewelry in the display window. The poster was striking, and passersby often stopped to look.
I slipped into an alley, gradually using sinister energy to alter my appearance, becoming visible to humans.
At the entrance of the gold shop, I asked around and learned that the Howard family was well-known in Pingxin County. Ever since their daughter disappeared fifteen years ago, her parents have never stopped searching for Rufina Howard.
Her parents are quite wealthy. After Rufina Howard went missing, her mother lost the ability to have children. The couple has searched tirelessly across the country, spending half the year every year looking for their daughter. The missing daughter posters appear in newspapers, on TV, and in many cities.
I took out my phone and dialed the number listed on the poster.
"Hello, this is Howard. How can I help you?"
A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line.
"Hello, Mr. Howard. I'd like to talk to you about your daughter."