Countless thoughts flashed through my mind, the past swirling endlessly in my head. I leaned tiredly against the wall, feeling the eerie atmosphere permeating this forest.
Even though I had already made up my mind, I still couldn't take that crucial step forward.
Maybe that's why I have to watch everything fade away, powerless to stop it. Eventually, I stood up, carefully slinging the bow across my body, inching forward step by step. Everything here was eerily quiet, not a sound to be heard, nothing to sense. It looked no different from an ordinary forest.
Aside from the color of the forest, I couldn't see any other colors. What Lu Xing had told me before seemed not to come true, and the route map I'd memorized was now completely useless. It looked like the Emperor God had tampered with something.
I slowly walked into the dense forest. The Curse Wolf appeared around my neck. In this pitch-black place, I could see things clearly right away. I constantly sensed the air, needing only to feel the aura behind me. As I moved, I left traces of Genesis Instinct behind me.
It felt as if a white rope was tied to me, and as long as it didn’t snap, I would always find the center. I moved cautiously, and after a few minutes, I came upon a black pool. Ripples spread across its surface; something was there. Using the vision granted by the Curse Wolf, I tried to discern even the faintest breath in the air, but apart from the plants, I sensed nothing unusual.
I stopped, feeling as if something from behind was slowly peeling away my power. I sensed it clearly and began to increase the Genesis Instinct.
"Since you’ve come here, let me tell you everything."
Suddenly, the voice of the Emperor God echoed from the pool, and then he slowly emerged from its depths.
"I don't need you to tell me anything."
I am well aware that the Emperor God before me is merely his consciousness avatar, not his true self. As long as I’m careful, there shouldn’t be any problems.
"If you really go through with this, Ethan Zhang will lose all chance of resurrection."
I have no intention of dealing with the Emperor God—he seems unable to leave the black pool. I plan to take a detour and avoid listening to anything the Emperor God says.
"Ethan Zhang exists here."
Suddenly, I stopped. The Emperor God looked at me with a stern expression.
"Because he has died, all souls that perish in the Yin-Yang World will inevitably come here. We have a way to restore him, and then find a way to send him to the Yin-Yang World. As long as his consciousness survives, he can be reborn again."
I shook my head and ignored the Emperor God, continuing on my way.
With a sudden sound, I dodged backward. A black arrow swept past my eyes. I turned my head and saw a blank-faced version of myself, holding a bow and aiming at me. He nocked another black arrow and shot it toward me.
This time, I didn’t dodge. I just watched as the black arrow pierced through my brain like a beam of light. The version of me before my eyes dissolved into a coil of black mist and vanished.
"I knew this before I came here, because as soon as I entered this place, you would have no way to control me."