It's been almost five days, and I still haven't left this area. Chaos Fiend once told me he wasn't sure how to reach other places either. In the upper layers of the Illusory Realm, all spaces are slowly shifting and have been this way for ages. Only when spaces overlap can you find a path to other realms.
Now, most of them have adopted a 'go with the flow' attitude, keeping just one entrance to the middle layer of the Illusory Realm open. Everywhere else, you're on your own. I've tried flying, but no matter how fast or far I go, I never see anything different.
On the ground, there are small holes about ten meters in diameter, constantly spraying something like steam. These clouds drift upward, and when they reach the conical mountain tops, they turn into clouds.
The sky above is a vast white expanse, tinged with a warm yellow glow. Only through the occasional large hole can sunlight break through, like pillars of light stabbing down from the clouds.
I've spent these days pondering what Chaos Fiend told me—things I did in the past, though he doesn't know the reason either. Chaos Fiend has countless avatars, existing in the cracks between people and their environment, always filtering out intruding anomalies. Back then, I was deemed an anomaly, so he swallowed me.
Later, I escaped by eating Chaos Fiend's flesh, converting it through the instinct to coexist into a similar power. But I can't remember any of it, no matter how hard I try.
With a puff, white gas burst from a small hole to my left, shooting straight up into the sky with great force. A violent gust swept toward me. These jets always erupt without warning, and I'm getting annoyed.
Chimera has already gone back to the middle layer—maybe it's tired. Word is, in the upper layer of the Illusory Realm, all the powerful beasts are fighting, though no one knows why. Many say that if you become number one here, you can leave, but that has to be a lie. These creatures possess enough power to destroy worlds; there's no way they could cross into other realms.
Many places in this world have things called laws—absolute rules that can't be violated or interfered with. I remember this clearly: laws are like water and fire, completely incompatible.
Either the flames dry up the water, or the water douses the fire. I looked around and spotted a sunlit mountainside, then flew over. There was a small protruding platform, and I sat down to quietly enjoy the sunlight.
I don't know why, but the sunlight streaming down here feels off—the density of the light is uneven, and I can see it clearly.
Right in front of me, another massive pillar of gas erupts. I've gone into these holes before, but they're bottomless—no matter how far I fly down, I never reach the end.
Everything here defies logic; none of it should exist. Yet for some reason, I enjoy it. The anxiety and loneliness from not remembering my past have eased because of this place.
Before Chimera left, it told me there was no need to rush—I could wander this world slowly, and one day I'd know who I truly am.
I don't agree with that. For some reason, I keep feeling like I'm running out of time and have to go back. It's a subconscious urge in my mind.
But no matter how anxious I get, all I can do is take things slow. In recent days, I've felt sudden surges of spatial density in the distance—just for a moment. By the time I get there, the other space has already passed by, like two worlds brushing past each other.
Chaos Fiend said the last time he fought other Chimera Beasts was over a hundred years ago. Only when two spaces fully overlap can both sides meet and battle.
Most of the upper-layer Chimera Beasts never go to the middle layer. If they do, it usually devastates the middle Illusory Realm—whole tribes are wiped out. But Chimera didn't do that; it chose to live in the middle layer, away from the upper-layer battles.
The one I'm looking for is Mother Goddess Nuwa. Chaos Fiend has met her twice before and even fought her, but lost both times. He longs for revenge, but the overlapping spaces have kept him frustrated for thousands of years.
Chimera used to worry about me wandering alone in the upper Illusory Realm, but after I stopped two powerful clashes, it left in peace.
Even though the Chimera Beasts in the Illusory Realm are so powerful, for some reason I feel like I could beat them. I clenched my fist and smiled.
The Chimera Beasts here can definitely hurt me, make me feel pain, but I'm strong. That strength isn't fake, and the power in my body is real.
After sitting for a while, I floated up and drifted slowly through the air. The only way forward is to move when you sense the spaces overlapping.
"Someday, I'll find it!"
Then I noticed something strange ahead—a vast stretch of black sky. With a whoosh, I flew over and instantly arrived at a huge field of lava.
Bubbling sounds echoed; the ground was dotted with lava pools, all boiling. I sensed movement in the lava. This should still be part of the Chaos Battle Domain, and there were all sorts of bizarre Chimera Beasts I'd never seen before.
Suddenly, a jet of lava shot up from a pool beneath me. A crawling Chimera Beast, shrouded in lava and steaming, emerged. Its molten claws reached for me, its mouth opened to reveal black teeth, and behind the flowing lava I saw a pair of black eyes.
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I slowly extended a finger. With a boom, the lava covering the Chimera Beast vanished, revealing a black, seemingly hardened body. It had four limbs and claws, a long, flat torso, and an oval-shaped head—something I'd never seen before. The Chimera Beast made a strange screeching sound in front of me, but I had it completely subdued.
"Go back!"
As I spoke, I willed it so—the Lava Fiend before me instantly dropped into the lava pool. I had already retreated to the edge of the lava field. One by one, Lava Fiends like that kept leaping out of the pools, as if they'd found prey.
I quietly observed the endless expanse of lava fields ahead, then glanced back—same thing, no end in sight. But crossing directly means facing all these creatures, and clearing them one by one is too much trouble.
I sat at the edge, planning to wait a bit longer. This was the border between two different environments—maybe I'd sense the moment when the spaces overlapped.
Then, in the distance, a flash of blue appeared. I was surprised. The moment I sensed the disturbance, I closed my eyes, and my mind instantly enveloped everything before me.
A twin-headed drake, over twenty meters long, with a girl riding on its back—she looked about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in white silk, with a blue sash wrapped around her. But she didn't quite look human; on her ears were two writhing black serpents, and her body resembled more a fish than a person.
At that moment, the girl pointed at the twin-headed drake and said something. Instantly, the dragon opened its mouths and inhaled, sucking out the Lava Fiends I'd just seen from the lava pools. The twin-headed drake swallowed all the lava-shrouded fiends in one go.
I stared in shock, then snapped my eyes open and flew straight over.
"You idiot! I told you to blow away the lava before eating—you're hopeless!"
The girl, a little angry, pointed at the twin-headed drake beneath her. But the dragon looked odd, as if it had been burned. Its two front claws covered its mouths, both faces puffed up and swollen.
I quietly watched this striking girl. Her long blue hair floated in the wind, and the two little serpents on her ears stood up, flicking their tongues, their crimson eyes fixed on me.
But the girl kept scolding the twin-headed drake beneath her, completely unaware of my presence. I watched closely, but couldn't figure out what kind of Chimera Beast this was.
Then the two little serpents slithered to the girl's neck, suddenly tightening around it before pushing her head forward. The girl looked at me.
"What are you doing?"
The girl blinked at me, and I smiled faintly.
"Human?"
As she spoke, the girl came over and pressed her hand to my cheek.
"Little girl, you..."
Before I could finish, the girl tugged at my cheek.
"You really are human. How long has it been since I've seen one?"
"Is it that strange?"
I asked, and the girl loosened her grip and nodded.
"Indeed, in the upper Illusory Realm, it's basically impossible to see a human. Either you're not human, or you're incredibly strong."
"My name is... Zhang Qingyuan. And you?"
The girl rested her chin in her hand, thought for a moment, and then answered.
"Eugenia."
I looked at the girl in surprise—she was different from the Eugenia described in the records.
"How did you end up in the Chaos Battle Domain, Miss Eugenia?"
"I have the ability to cross the upper Illusory Realm. Anyway, I'm heading back now. Let's go, idiot."
As she spoke, Eugenia began to glow with a pale blue light. I hurried to block her path.
"Miss Eugenia, could you take me to where Mother Goddess Nuwa is?"