Above The Sky
Chapter 598 - 598 567 A Cage With No Exit 13

598: Chapter 567: A Cage With No Exit (1/3) 598: Chapter 567: A Cage With No Exit (1/3) “As expected, a fight broke out.

And just like the Heavenly Flood King’s appearance, the likelihood is that Fiery Flame Land’s well-known command layers have been completely wiped out.

That’s why Michael chose to intervene.

Aside from us Inspector Knights, he has no other cards to play in the Avak incident—no one would want him to obtain Inega II’s legacy, not even the Spirit Wisdom Institute, which seems to be a force of The Empire.”

“In fact, if it weren’t for me, the moment Michael stepped out, he would be held up by other Nobles, or even the Great Prince…

he wouldn’t think of coming at all.”

“On the contrary, it’s the Spirit Wisdom Institute and Duke of Solin who have survivors in the Central Research Laboratory; they’re still trying to control the most fundamental resources.

Naturally, they won’t act like the other two outside, who had to measure each other’s strength first to gain the initiative in the next phase.”

Ian, of course, recognized the Heavenly Flood King; The Empire’s archives were quite extensive regarding these renowned powerhouses, and even without the Silver Chip, he wouldn’t forget.

Just now, when the Second Prince clashed with the Heavenly Flood King, he took the opportunity to break away with the Frost Butterfly, leaving behind Tres’s squad and the two Fairy Misses of Hua’an Mo’feng.

He was now acting alone.

His goal was the Central Research Laboratory at the center of the Avak Domain.

After all, Ian had figured it out.

Whether the Prophet’s ability was meant to help the Prophet avoid danger or to take risks to gain more power to change the future—for Ian, these considerations didn’t matter in the least.

What he wanted to know was what kind of crisis had occurred inside the Central Research Laboratory that could lead to such a tragedy.

And what exactly was Duke of Solin’s plan, what was his purpose, that he could involve so many factors, enticing several Fourth Level powerhouses to come and contest for it.

“Forget it, Ian, you’re just that kind of person.”

Mounting the Frost Butterfly onto the icebound shoulder seat, like the child seats often seen on trains, Ian activated his Silent Voice Ring and, with the Little Fairy cheering along, sprinted through the shadows.

He mocked his previous self for even considering ‘returning to camp to make plans’: “You’re desperate to uncover every truth about that place, to solve every mystery you don’t know—fearless of death, but scared of this small calculable risk?”

“Besides, every crisis that could be avoided, I’ve already circumvented.

Now is the best opportunity to head to the Central Research Laboratory!”

And indeed it was so.

At this moment, as Ian traversed Azure City, he could sense that the Fourth Level powerhouses were fiercely battling above the Firmament.

The dazzling sun, the raging clouds and thundering serpent god fought in the stratosphere, pouring down intermittent torrents of rain, and brought flashes of sunlight that flickered between brightness and darkness.

They were sizing each other up.

Though the fight was intense, they hadn’t brought their true Bodies or driven Aether Armament, but just remotely descended Heart Light Bodies.

Even if the Heart Light Bodies shattered in their duel, at most, they would be dealing each other a harsh blow.

And precisely because it was only the Heart Light Bodies that had arrived, aside from guarding against two other Fourth Level powerhouses lurking around, they couldn’t spare the attention to notice the movements of others on the ground.

So, Ian directly strengthened his Fairy Wings and, beneath the cover of the downpour, dragged a curtain of water across the land as he sped toward the hilly region.

But halfway there, he noticed something was off.

From the data of the Azure City Laboratory and the Key of the Attached Brain from the director, Ian had garnered quite a bit of information, including the location of the Central Research Laboratory’s main entrance.

Originally, he had thought entering the laboratory would not be difficult—after all, the initial guards and defense systems were probably completely destroyed in the upheaval.

By now, no one could prevent him, who possessed the Key, from sneaking in.

However, amidst his journey on the road, Ian felt the surrounding environment becoming increasingly strange.

The hilly region was filled with tall trees, which would have made for a splendid view under the bright sunshine.

But now, weird Phantasms moved in the dark woods, most of them being the grotesque corpses with horrific death states, even unrecognizable as human forms.

Some hung from tree branches, while others, their rotting Flesh and Blood entwined with tree roots, were exposed by the previous rainstorms.

Parts of corpses were torn in half, one side stripped of its skin layers, the other reduced to bones; while other corpses were shrunken and shriveled as if subjected to extreme environments, enduring a variety of experiments.

They were all test subjects.

People who died in the Central Research Laboratory.

Their resentments emerged incessantly as the overlap rate with the Domain of Void increased.

“The overlap rate with the Domain of Void here has surpassed 20 percent, maybe even 30 percent… No soul is needed; merely the resentments and the lingering pain and despair can form these phantasms that are nearly ghosts…”

When Ian saw these apparitions, he understood this, and their existence was not substantial.

Sometimes, the boy merely had to open and close his eyes for those frightening and terrible visages to vanish into thin air.

And at other times, they might even rush at him, trying to clutch his body or face, wishing to tear him apart with their own agony.

Just like the unwilling spirits in all the stories—devoid of any reason, unable to distinguish who the perpetrators were, they simply spread their despairing hatred everywhere.

“How many people have died here?

And how many of them died after enduring extreme pain and torment?”

With this thought surfacing in his mind, Ian silently swung his sword, slicing through the apparitions that sought to harm him.

—He wanted to know.

He wanted to understand this.

He wanted to know what damned monumental feat the Duke of Solin intended to accomplish that required trampling lives to such an extent.

—He wanted to figure out what kind of anomaly or error could transform an experimental laboratory carrying such an important plan into a den of ghosts.

—He wanted to know.

And so he would find out.

Ian continued to race through the hilly region, entering the central area that was becoming increasingly undulating and profoundly dark.

This place was almost like the Otherworld, neither the Domain of Void nor reality.

Ghosts loomed beside the trees all around, and the white laboratory building loomed close at hand, but Ian had to slow his pace.

Because he heard a sound.

It was a strange and eerie song sung softly in unison by countless children and elders, women and men.

That voice filled his ears and soul as if the world itself was singing, causing Ian to stop and look around to listen to the sorrowful song.

[——So it is, we have stepped into the end]

[In the endless and deep Soul Homeland, beyond the vast expanse of the River of Death, under the rule of the Deceased Monarch, a new world has been born]

[Our tears turned into seas, our flesh and bones conglomerated into land, our lament ascended as the sky, our despair forged the sun]

[Our hatred burning is the fire that consumes the desolate wasteland; our final breath, the tempest that engulfs the world]

[We will exist eternally in this escapeless cage, we will live forever in this redemptionless Fire Hell—only despair, hatred, pain, and sorrow will accompany us]

[We will behold you, all who are meant to die but have not yet perished]

[We will not receive mercy and salvation]

[Just like you]