Chapter 507 - 504: Outside the Void

Chapter 507: Chapter 504: Outside the Void

Zhou Dynasty was still pondering Li Luo’s whereabouts when he suddenly heard the voice say to him, "It’s our turn."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

Before he had a chance to ask, he was swept away and plunged into the depths of the Sea of Consciousness.

He felt like he’d been thrown into a tumble dryer, tossed over and over. Specks of light spun around him, and the intertwining blue and red glow made him lose consciousness again.

When Zhou Dynasty awoke again, he found himself at the edge of the Sea of Consciousness. From there, he had a clear view of a transparent, glass-like sphere. He was only a step away from its edge.

"You’re awake. Look outside. That is the consciousness void," the familiar voice reminded him.

Zhou Dynasty immediately looked and saw a massive Block standing in the sky outside the sphere. The Block was even larger than the Sea of Consciousness, like a black hole devouring all light.

A dazzling river of stars extended from the edge of the sphere to the massive Block. But the moment the river of stars touched the Block’s edge, it was completely sucked in, vanishing without a trace.

"What is that thing?"

Zhou Dynasty looked closely at the river of stars and discovered it was actually countless flowing specks of light. They surged forward one after another toward the Block, that black hole, in a vain attempt to fill the void of consciousness.

After seeing all this clearly, Zhou Dynasty’s speck of consciousness erupted with a violent red glow.

"You’re all rushing to your deaths!"

An irrepressible fear surged within his consciousness, and the red glow rippled outwards, passing to the specks of light around him.

This time, however, it seemed no other points of light were there to share his fear. The reverberating red glow refused to subside, instead growing ever more intense.

"Sigh..." A helpless sigh drifted over, filled with disappointment and dejection.

"You see? We are still unable to unite. Selfishness will lead all consciousness to destruction..."

"What does this have to do with selfishness?" Zhou Dynasty asked urgently.

"The consciousness void is like an abyss. Every consciousness that enters it is like an explorer venturing into that abyss, surrounded by nothing but endless darkness and silence. The connection between consciousnesses is their only link. Only by holding hands can they fill the entire abyss."

"If they are unwilling to connect with other consciousnesses, they will only become lost in the abyss, perishing in that endless darkness and silence."

The voice continued to speak of the importance of mutual connection.

But now, it was incredibly dejected. Watching the river of stars pour into the Block, that black hole, it had long since lost all hope.

"Why do we have to fill that void?" Zhou Dynasty asked, confused.

"It is not that we want to fill the void, but that the void wants to devour us. Unable to empathize with one another, we will only be annihilated one by one. The consciousness void is an absolute low-pressure zone; the waters of the Sea of Consciousness will inevitably flow toward the low point. It’s unavoidable."

As the voice spoke, a wave suddenly surged in the Sea of Consciousness, slamming into Zhou Dynasty and pushing him toward the river of stars.

He had nowhere to run. He was swept into the river of stars that led straight to the void, following the countless specks of light toward the pitch-black Block, the black hole.

Behind him was the dazzling, star-filled Sea of Consciousness; before him, the abyss of consciousness, full of darkness and silence. Zhou Dynasty immediately wanted to flee, but caught in the river, how could he possibly swim against the current?

The surrounding specks of light also began to flicker with a dazzling red glow.

This time, the fear could not be shared; instead, it resonated throughout the river of stars.

Ripples of fear echoed endlessly through the torrent of consciousness, and Zhou Dynasty could hear their desperate voices.

’We’re doomed... We’re so doomed...’

’I haven’t even tried other bodies yet. It’s over.’

’Goodbye, stars.’

’Why can’t you all empathize with me? If only you could die in my place... I’m so scared...’

These consciousnesses emitted a cacophony of voices. Zhou Dynasty was infected by their fear, and panic grew within him.

And yet, he still chose not to let down his guard.

Watching the Block, the black hole, draw ever closer, Zhou Dynasty recalled a memory from his past.

It was from when he had just obtained the Holy Sword...

...

Initially, Zhou Dynasty was not the master of the Holy Sword. Although he knew it was a relic, he had never been able to use it.

Back then, the Holy Sword was just an ordinary stone sword. Besides being a bit hard, it had no other function.

After obtaining the relic on the first level of the Abyss, Zhou Dynasty constantly tried to figure out how to use it, but he never found any leads. Still, he was unwilling to give up the hard-won relic, so he had no choice but to carry it with him.

At that time, Zhou Dynasty was still on the first level, grinding for points with other squads. Although he had already obtained a relic, he was still far short on points. Most of his squad members were in the same boat, so they always chose relatively difficult missions.

But, as the saying goes, if you walk by the river long enough, you’re bound to get your shoes wet. On one occasion, the squad accidentally fell into the "Death Swamp."

It was a terrifying curse. Once afflicted, one would be attacked by all sorts of Spirit Bodies until death, which was the only way to escape the Death Swamp.

A cursed person would feel their body constantly sinking into mud and see evil Spirit Bodies that others could not.

Zhou Dynasty’s squad had triggered the curse somehow. By the time they realized it, the entire squad was already caught in the Death Swamp.

Everyone except Zhou Dynasty... He had been packing up his gear in the back and had escaped it.

When he caught up with the group, his teammates were already covered in black mud, fighting unseen enemies.

"Zhou Dynasty, knock us out and take us back to the monitoring station!" a teammate shouted to him.

This was one way to deal with the Death Swamp.

If they were unconscious, they wouldn’t see the ubiquitous evil Spirit Bodies and wouldn’t be attacked by them.

If the monitoring station happened to have a relic that could induce a "feigned death" state, it was possible to escape the Death Swamp and break the curse.

Hearing his teammate’s words, Zhou Dynasty started to move forward, but stopped just as he was about to get close.

"I can’t get close to you. The curse can spread."

"It’s fine! The source of the curse is already gone!" his teammate yelled back.

But Zhou Dynasty didn’t believe his teammate. These temporary squads often made up lies to survive.

’My teammates are probably just telling me the source of the curse is gone so I’ll save them.’

Thinking this, Zhou Dynasty immediately pressed them about what the source of the curse was, but his teammates were already locked in a desperate battle with the Spirit Bodies, and no one answered him.

Zhou Dynasty’s heart was in turmoil. He felt he shouldn’t abandon his teammates, but he was also worried they were lying and that he would fall into danger himself.

And so, he just stood there, stunned, his mind in a constant struggle.

In the end, he threw the Holy Sword to his teammates, then ran desperately to the nearby monitoring station for help.

It was the best solution he could think of; he wouldn’t endanger himself, and his teammates would have a slightly better chance of survival.

However, when he returned to the scene with reinforcements from the monitoring station, all of his teammates were already unconscious on the ground, black mud oozing from their noses and mouths.

The team members were quickly sent to the monitoring station’s medical area.

After emergency treatment at the monitoring station, most of his teammates survived, but a few of them never woke up.

Zhou Dynasty stood outside the monitoring station’s medical area, panting. He could almost hear the cries for help from those few teammates.

"Where was the source of the curse?" he asked, stopping a Researcher from the monitoring station.

But the Researcher just shook his head, saying he didn’t know.

Zhou Dynasty didn’t get the answer he wanted.

Whether his teammates had been lying or not became a mystery.

Even after returning to the monitoring station, Zhou Dynasty remained in a daze.

A family member of one of the dead teammates grabbed him by the collar and roared:

"Why didn’t you save them! If you had just knocked them out in time, they wouldn’t have died! If you were the one who was cursed, would you want your teammate to just run away? Can’t you feel any empathy?!"

The furious family member was quickly pulled away by the monitoring station guards.

"Sorry about that..."

"Did I do something wrong?" Zhou Dynasty asked the guard, confused.

"Of course not. The family member is just overwrought. Please try to understand."

The guard turned to console the family member.

Zhou Dynasty stared at the family member’s furious eyes as a violent ringing filled his ears.

The guard seemed to be saying something about "empathy" and "putting yourself in his shoes," trying to get the family member to understand Zhou Dynasty’s actions.

But Zhou Dynasty couldn’t hear clearly anymore.

The buzzing in his ears robbed him of all ability to think.

The Holy Sword in his hand was shining brightly, but Zhou Dynasty felt no joy.

People came and went in the monitoring station. Some hurried past, busy with their own affairs. Some glanced over curiously for a few moments. Others cursed, "What a pain in the ass," then turned and left.

’This kind of thing happened all the time in the Abyss. Just a few people dying, what was so strange about that?’

People were like distant stars, always indifferent to faraway matters.