The ancient starry path rushed to its end. The brilliant gateway at the far side grew larger and larger, white ripples spreading across their vision, then fading into mist. When Jonathan Black opened his eyes, they’d already left the starry road behind and arrived somewhere entirely new.
In front of them stood a little house.
Just your average countryside hut—not the kind of cute farmhouse you’d find in America, but an old Chinese thatched cottage. There was a courtyard wall, a main room, a kitchen, a chicken coop, a grinding mill, all clustered in a cozy yard. This little house stood quietly beneath the endless, chaotic sky—peaceful, timeless, and warm.
“Where is this...?” If it weren’t for the terrifying ocean of chaos overhead, Jonathan would’ve sworn he’d landed in old rural China.
“This is Infinity Promontory—the last place she existed before sealing off hyperspace.” Standing at the gate, Susan Morrow gazed at the familiar thatched cottage, tears streaming down her face. “It’s our home. Our old home. It’s exactly the same as before...”
Barely pausing to let her feelings settle, Susan gritted her teeth, hefted Jonathan over her shoulder, and marched straight into the house.
The treatment Susan Joan had found for genetic collapse wasn’t a permanent fix—more like an emergency shutoff switch than a cure. But from what Susan could sense, she hadn’t died right after closing hyperspace; she’d survived alone here at Infinity Promontory for a while. Now Jonathan’s condition was way beyond what the emergency measure could handle. If there’s any hope of curing his genetic collapse, it’s got to be here.
Watching Jonathan tremble uncontrollably, Susan felt the scene blur between memory and reality, past and present. Her other self seemed to stir inside her. Eyes red, teeth clenched, she whispered, “Hang in there, Shirley, hang in there! Mom... Auntie will save you!”
Jonathan looked at Susan’s profile—it overlapped perfectly with the face in his memories, making him bite back his words, unsure what to say.
Just then, ripples spread through the void, and a spot of white appeared at the courtyard gate. The white spot grew, swirling, and out of it stepped the Old Mage.
Thud—the old mage slammed his staff onto the ground, sweeping his gaze around the place. “So this is where the legendary Sophia Zade met her end? We’re so far from Earth’s dimension, it’s practically another world. Incredible! But as my new laboratory? Absolutely perfect.”
He looked ahead—Susan Morrow was already hauling Jonathan Black and charging straight into the main room.
"Weakness!"
He raised his staff, and the Weakness spell slammed down on Susan Morrow. Her legs, light as feathers before, suddenly felt like lead; she tripped on the doorstep and tumbled into the room, dragging Jonathan down with her.
Susan struggled just to hold herself up, wanting to get up but barely able to turn her head. She knew every blade of grass here, every corner; she could tell where her sisters would be, and even glimpsed a hunched figure in her peripheral vision. But right now—she just couldn’t move.
"Damn it..."
Susan Morrow fought to move, while the old mage strolled in like he owned the place.
Infinity Promontory—this was a pocket dimension, completely cut off, no barriers or walls between actions anymore.
The old mage looked at Susan. “You’ve been managing Sophia Zade’s legacy, haven’t you? Good thing you can’t just grab everything she had in one go. Sophia’s got high-level access—if you don’t die, I can’t take over hyperspace. Looks like you and her go way back. Well, if this is where she was buried, it’s only fitting it becomes your grave too. Normally, with rare material like you, I’d make a specimen and study you for years. But out of respect for a legend—and mostly to avoid any surprises—I’m going to wipe you out with my favorite spell. Not a trace left behind.”
He raised his staff, power swirling and gathering overhead.
"Don’t you touch her!" Jonathan Black’s eyes went wild as he tried to stand. But with a sharp crack, a thin fissure snaked across his ankle—not a break, but something even scarier. The cracks began to spread from his foot, creeping all over his body. He was in the final stage of collapse.
Meanwhile, back on Earth—in New York.
“I admire your stubbornness, but honestly? It’s ugly, pointless, and totally useless.” A booming voice descended from the sky, and a pair of giant eyes made of clouds stared down at the woman below, like the heavens themselves were judging a rebel.
Golden flames roared around Yang Qi, blood soaking her as she fought left and right. Dozens of crackling lightning figures circled her—energy-infused clouds, darting like hungry piranhas, then diving in like a swarm of missiles, slamming into Yang Qi over and over.
“Aaaah—!” Crackle, boom! Yang Qi kept smashing one lightning figure after another, but every hit sent her stumbling. She tried to strike at the cloud giant itself, but the swirling mass was too insubstantial—her attacks just passed right through.
"Excitement? Gone. Fun? Long gone. You know, once you reach a certain height, everything just feels... boring."
More lightning figures formed, boxing Yang Qi in. They glared at her with malice, then all turned into thunderbolts—like a firework exploding in reverse, beams of light shot inward, crashing onto Yang Qi.
She was so drained, Yang Qi couldn’t dodge anymore.
BOOM—terrifying explosions, blinding light, thunder rolling for miles. Even Qi Meng, flying dozens of kilometers away, felt the shockwave tearing through the sky behind her.
"Damn..." Qi Meng froze for a second, then kept flying, gritting her teeth and muttering, "You’re a twin, you could’ve borrowed some mental strength from the other side—so why not? Why won’t you? If you don’t use it, don’t blame me for being ruthless... don’t blame me for..."
In the burning crater, Yang Qi lay sprawled on the ground, her supposedly invincible body leaking blood. Her Supreme Technique raged inside her core, but without enough mental strength, she couldn’t break through the final barrier. Mind, energy, and body all connected—but now, with her spirit exhausted, even her body couldn’t push through.
With a sputter, her golden flames flickered and died. The blazing sun mark on her brow faded away. She’d burned through every last drop of the sacred fire’s energy—no more power, no more buffs, no more unstoppable magic.
She was, without a doubt, at the end of her rope.