A low, buzzing hum echoed all around, a barrage of piercing sounds filling the air. I clutched my head, and even within the protective barrier crafted by Future Ethan Zhang, my body felt as if it was being torn apart.
Meteor-like stones streaked past on all sides, burning fiercely and trailing long tails of light. Past Ethan Justice raised his sword, shattering every stone that came near us.
"Why is this place different from before?"
Past Ethan Justice asked, but I had no idea where we were either. Judging by the shattered surroundings, this should be the Unreal. Future Ethan Zhang watched everything around us with a grave expression. Beneath us, I saw a massive rift teeming with countless monsters. The rift was slowly healing, and when it finally closed, everything vanished completely.
A constant creaking filled my ears, and the world seemed to collapse inward from the pressure. Future Ethan Zhang's eyes burned with anger. Past Ethan Justice returned to our side. Suddenly, a blazing, giant fireball barreled toward us with incredible speed. In that instant, I saw it clearly—a massive sphere, so large I couldn't see its edges.
Past Ethan Justice stood before us, his white robe fluttering. Instantly, the Stellarblade in his hand split into blinding white beams of light. The beams sliced forward, crackling as they struck, but the enormous sphere still pressed toward us. I heard a sizzling sound as Past Ethan Justice's skin began to burn, yet he remained unmoving. The net-like beams of white light failed to stop the giant fireball's advance.
"Can you handle this? If not, let me do it."
Future Ethan Zhang shouted, but Past Ethan Justice only smiled faintly.
"Turn to dust!"
With a thunderous roar, the giant fireball halted right before us, its flames frozen in place. Wrapped in a lattice of white beams, the massive sphere instantly crumbled like scattered ash, falling away in great clouds. All anomalies ceased at once. Past Ethan Justice raised a hand and tugged, sending the white beams shooting outward in every direction.
The sound of explosions rang out as the small fireballs closing in around us were struck and instantly shattered. When everything settled, the oppressive feeling had vanished. I felt as if the two of us were struggling to move forward through a stream, clinging to Future Ethan Zhang’s back. His body had swelled a bit, giving me a place to sit, and he seemed much taller.
"I can already sense where it is."
Past Ethan Zhang spoke as a dazzling white light in the distance returned to his hand. The brilliant sword, Starry Night, was also sheathed on his back.
"So that's it. Using the reflection of power to perceive everything… Strange technique, but very practical."
Future Ethan Zhang spoke, and Past Ethan Zhang came to a halt.
"It might be difficult to get through here. The Unreal is undergoing some kind of change."
Just as Past Ethan Zhang finished speaking, a number of small figures suddenly appeared atop the floating, irregular, multicolored stones around us—black humanoids, instinctive in form. I stared in astonishment at these pitch-black, white-eyed, white-mouthed little people, their mouths twisted in eerie grins, as if they were smiling at us.
More and more Deathbane Wraiths began to crowd around us, densely packed on all sides. Past Ethan Zhang smiled wryly and shook his head in resignation.
"As expected, The Unreal has already undergone some kind of change."
A chill of fear crept over me. These black humanoids radiated a powerful energy, tinged with evil and malice toward us. Yet, as if seeing creatures they’d never encountered before, they seemed hesitant—afraid, merely watching for now.
Suddenly, one of the black humanoids stood atop a large stone, pointed its finger, and with a thunderous roar unleashed a violent gust of energy toward us. At the critical moment, Past Ethan Zhang stepped in front of the blast, slapped his hand out, and with a resounding crack, I saw the force veer away, smashing into the distance and instantly shattering several of the multicolored stones.
"Get out of the way."
Past Ethan Zhang muttered, anger flashing across his profile. A faint white glow surged across his body, swirling like vapor, his hair trembling slightly, and the Starry Night sword on his back began to shimmer.
"Let me handle it. We still don’t know exactly what’s changed here—using too much power could impact the outside of The Unreal."
The black humanoids began to surge forward. In an instant, Past and Future Ethan Zhang switched places. I immediately felt a wave of warmth, and the oppressive force outside vanished. I let out a sigh of relief, sweat already beading on my forehead.
"Slaughter, it’s your turn."
I stared wide-eyed as Future Ethan Zhang waved his hand and the broad, black sword called Specterblade spun into view. A streak of blood-red light separated from Future Ethan Zhang’s body, instantly forming a human figure—it was John Chou. Stunned, I watched as John Chou gripped the Specterblade and transformed into a red beam, charging forward in an instant.
The sound of slicing rang out. Before the Deathbane Wraiths could react, John Chou swung the greatsword, cleaving several of them into pieces. Each little figure was easily cut in two, then dissolved into black particles and vanished.
In an instant, I saw the Deathbane Wraiths open their mouths wide, swarming toward John Chou. With a rumbling roar, they released twisted black orbs of energy from their mouths and hands, but John Chou shattered them all with ease, weaving through the black humanoids and slaughtering them relentlessly.
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Gradually, some of the black figures seemed to realize they were no match for John Chou and began to scatter. John Chou turned to look at us, his expression somewhere between a smile and a sneer, a cold glint in his eyes.
"You can go now. While they're still afraid to attack, fighting here will only make things more complicated."
"John Chou, why are you here?"
I asked, but John Chou merely responded with a cold smirk, turning away and floating upward with the Specterblade in hand. He didn't answer my question, and I soon realized this wasn't truly John Chou, but rather his instinctual Slaughter.
Dozens of meters away, near the floating multicolored stones, more black humanoids watched us warily. They seemed intimidated by how easily Slaughter had just cut down their kind, and none dared approach.
"These low-level instinct fragments will only multiply if you fight them directly. That's why it's easier for me, as an instinct, to take them on—because we're all made of the same stuff."
Slaughter spoke, and Past Ethan Zhang smiled.
"Instinct really is a strange thing. Too bad I don't have one."
I stared at Past Ethan Zhang in shock. The idea of not having an instinct was inconceivable—he was so powerful, yet lacked an instinct, and had even killed The Wraithlord.
"There are powers in this world far more terrifying than instinct. Not having one doesn’t mean you can’t be strong. Tan Tian is like that, and so is The Wraithlord."
Future Ethan Zhang spoke as Slaughter continued to clear the path ahead. I had no idea where we were going—everything here looked the same, nothing seemed to change. Gradually, I noticed the black humanoids had stopped following us.
A vast area of scattered boulders appeared ahead, much larger than those behind us. Past Ethan Zhang halted, and Slaughter, now a streak of red light, returned to Future Ethan Zhang's body.
"Soul Core..."
Future Ethan Zhang called out, and I immediately saw a wisp of white energy stream forth—the Second Instinct. I wondered in confusion: isn’t this the Heaven Soul’s instinct?
Soon, we followed the white stream of energy formed by the Soul Core’s instinct, which branched like a tree and guided us through the massive stones.
After a while, we landed atop one of the giant stones.
"Let’s rest for a moment. Help Rachel Lan adjust her condition."
Future Ethan Zhang spoke, and Past Ethan Zhang nodded. Future Ethan Zhang surveyed the area, then plunged the Specterblade into the stone. With a rumbling sound, the massive stone beneath us began to change shape, raising circular barriers on either side.
"This will help slow down the influx of chaotic energies from outside."
Past Ethan Zhang placed his hand on my back. I felt a wave of warmth, as if someone had awakened a power within me. The Buddhist-Daoist fusion flowed harmoniously through my body, guided by the Coexistence Instinct.
"There's still some distance to go. I don’t know what’s happened here, but it’s completely different from before."
Future Ethan Zhang spoke, and Past Ethan Zhang started to laugh.
"No matter what’s happened, it doesn’t matter. What’s important is that your daughter is definitely here—and so is your son."
As soon as Past Ethan Zhang finished speaking, Future Ethan Zhang turned his head, especially when he heard the word 'son.' His expression tightened; he seemed to have a natural aversion to this child.
"I think no matter what, they’re still your children, so you..."
I wanted to say something else, but quickly decided against it. Maybe, deep down, Future Ethan Zhang had already accepted this child; he was just blaming himself.