Above The Sky
Chapter 599 - 599 568 He Chooses to Move Forward 23

599: Chapter 568: He Chooses to Move Forward (2/3) 599: Chapter 568: He Chooses to Move Forward (2/3) When the ballad rose, Ian sensed that the world around him began to tumultuously churn.

A wave of heat, originating from the Domain of Void, scorched the fabric of space-time around him, engulfing him and a large area of surrounding forest in an instant.

An overflowing force, anomalous and distorted, seemed to descend from a faraway space-time, eroding and permeating the real world.

—Before my eyes lies the starting point of the collapse of the Domain of Void.

Ian understood this immediately.

The Central Laboratory Building before him, this vast experimental center with extensive underground areas, was the “Silent Abyss,” where fragments of the Domain of Void had fallen.

The voice he had just heard could, in some sense, be considered the voice of “all souls within this Domain of Void.”

Ian looked up.

The formerly clear laboratory building was now shrouded in the white “Mist of Madness,” completely enveloped.

If he continued forward, Ian would enter the “crack” between the Domain of Void and reality, an “Subspace” similar to the western northwest’s “Exile Lands.”

He chose to move forward.

And in the middle of the road leading to the laboratory’s main door, an old woman appeared.

“Child, don’t go any further,”

This woman had a gaping wound on her head and deep scars on her body as if someone had clawed her.

She was already dead, but her tone still carried an indelible kindness and warmth, along with deep concern, “Ahead lies the land of Lost Souls…

You are still alive, leave quickly, you still have family and friends…

Don’t let them grieve.”

Ian nodded slightly, then shook his head.

The youth passed her by, eliciting a sigh from the old woman.

He chose to move forward.

“So eager to die?

Young man, you still don’t know what you’re up against,”

A knight with a notched sword blade and a caved-in skull stood alongside the path, adjusting the angle of his helmet to cover the part of his head that had been smashed by some blunt instrument.

Upon seeing Ian, he shook his head and advised in a seemingly rude tone, “Inside there are not only Lost Souls and saviors, but also nefarious Scholars full of schemes, and horrible guards who take pleasure in torturing others…

Run away quickly, this place will fall into the heart of Fire Hell, you don’t need to die with us.”

Ian did not reply verbally, but he took the man’s advice to heart.

He chose to move forward.

“If you want to die, then go ahead,”

A female Elf with a broken bowstring and an arm missing stood coldly watching the boy, the mark of Huai Guang upon her leather chest.

Her beauty was delicate, with light blue hair flowing – if she were still alive, she’d surely be an ice beauty.

She indifferently said to Ian, “But if you don’t want to die, remember…

Dragons and Fae are the key.

Beyond them, what is even more important is to hold conviction.”

Ian did not respond, but he understood clearly that her words were indeed correct, a sincere hint.

He chose to move forward.

“Be careful,”

“How could there be such foolish people, and more than just one batch?”

“Hard to persuade a dead man, so young, such a pity,”

“It’s not too late to turn back now,”

Along the way, phantasms of all sorts continuously appeared, some already mad, attacking Ian on sight, others like the first few people, trying to persuade him to leave, still retaining some semblance of sanity, and harboring good intentions.

But Ian did not stop.

Upon encountering an enemy, he wielded his sword.

Upon encountering a good person, he listened.

But no matter what…

He always chose to move forward.

Ian had made up his mind to uncover the truth behind the disaster that struck the Avak Domain, the truth behind all the deaths and abnormalities.

He would not stop, not swayed by the opinions of others.

That was always his way; he never intended to flee from anything.

Even when he hesitated, it was to consider how he could move forward better in the future.

No victim or perpetrator, monster or human, could stop him.

At last, Ian arrived at the entrance of the laboratory building.

Here, was the definitive boundary between “Subspace” and the “real world.”

Behind the door lay the rift between the Domain of Void and reality.

In front of the door was merely the real world with a partial overlap with the Domain of Void.

Ian could see, in the world behind the door, all bright colors had faded, leaving only sinister crimson blood and the blackness of despair.

Amorphous flames of hatred and winds of lament swirled and flickered amidst a gloomy and murky glow.

It was as if a filter had been applied that would never fade away.

A deathly silence emanated from behind the door, and on the ground in front of it, there was a layer of script twinkling faintly.

[The Huai Guang Rescue Team has entered the disaster site.

Those who come after us, if you trust in us, may look back.]

[If we succeed, no one else need venture here; if we sacrifice ourselves, another’s sacrifice will no longer be necessary.]

[Glorious Sword/Redemption Light/Sand Boat…]

A row of signatures.

“Quite arrogant, Huai Guang.

But indeed they are good people.”

With the knowledge that he was not alone, Ian narrowed his eyes, let out a wry laugh, and shook his head slightly, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I want to see for myself what exactly the Duke of Solin is up to.”

Having said that, Ian lifted his hand, ready to push the door open.

However, before opening the door, the young man turned his head to look behind him.

He looked back at the phantasms that he could no longer see, unsure if they had disappeared or left, those who had once advised him to leave.

“Thank you,” said Ian with a smile.

“But I choose to move forward.”

With that, he turned his head back.

Subspace revealed a profound darkness and silence behind the door, an atmosphere more terrifying than a place filled with bloody and ferocious magical beasts.

Once Ian chose to enter, getting out would be incredibly difficult.

“Master, should we go in?”

Frost Butterfly shivered, not out of fear but because she purely felt something even colder than her frost emanating from the subspace behind the door.

It was the most pure form of human malice.

“Yes,” Ian replied softly.

“Are you scared?”

“Not scared!

This place may be a bit dark, but it feels somewhat comfortable…” Frost Butterfly opened her eyes wide and cheered up, she even indeed felt more spirited—because subspace was inherently more suitable for the fae to exert their power: “But why not invite Senior Hua’an and Senior Mo Feng?”

“Because what’s coming next is something that needs to remain confidential.”

“Oh!

It’s confidential!” Frost Butterfly suddenly perked up.

Although Ian had no idea why Frost Butterfly became so excited upon hearing ‘confidential,’ her jesting indeed alleviated much of his tension, and he stopped pondering.

So, after taking a deep breath,

Ian stepped forward, he pushed the door open and entered.

He entered subspace.

Instantly, the world turned upside down.

Different space-times overlapped and fused right there.

Ian felt the original structure of space-time begin to change, parts of it expanding, other parts contracting, turning the entire vast Experimental Garden into an enormous Otherworld—a garden once empty now had giant skeletons and human corpses, and the once fairly new buildings were covered with crimson handprints and ancient cracks.

The black ivy covered most of the corridors and buildings, its roots and vines entangled above the numerous bodies and skeletons, with viscous blood flowing through the vines.

Here, there was no longer color, no longer the brilliance of the sun, nor again a sound.

Only profound darkness, extreme silence, and the soul light bursting out from human spirits.

This place was the Silent Abyss, the Exile Lands.

And the wandering dead and phantoms, the mad phantasms walking in the rooms and corridors, appeared out of nowhere before Ian’s eyes.

Some wore simple test subject clothing, some donned researcher robes, some were guards, and some were clearly nobles who had come to inspect the place…

But now, they were all monsters.

And Ian’s soul released a bright water-colored halo, the light aqua-colored glow quite bright, like a tranquil and peaceful moonlight, and like the diffuse light of countless stars scattered across the sky, drawing their attention to him.

At that moment, all the crimson eyes turned their gaze, firmly fixed on the young man.

Immediately after, these monsters roared, wailed, and one could even say…

wept as they charged towards Ian.

——So this was hell.

Watching these monsters, Ian lowered his eyes slightly.

This place certainly wasn’t ordinary, but it was no different from the wonders he had seen on Terra.

Indeed, there were terrifying phantasms and monsters here, but Ian did not feel any fear.

They were no different in essence from magical beasts and humans; monsters would die if killed, they too could be injured, bleed and die—even though they were lost souls who had already died once.

Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, Origin Quality circulated within him, activating one Sublimation Organ after another.

Ian knew that strength was always within him, and his faith had never wavered.

He still had a job to do.

Exactly one.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

The brightly shining young man compassionately drew his longsword from his waist, stepped forward, and faced the wailing lost souls rushing toward him.

Raising the Iron Pattern Sword, Ian spoke softly, “Don’t worry.”

“The time for your release has come.”