"Hey, what are you waiting for?"
Who's talking…
"How long are you going to sleep, you bastard?"
Who is it…
"Wake up, you bastard."
Someone's calling me…
No.
They're not calling me…
"I'm calling you."
Who are you?
"Have you forgotten?"
"You can't remember our name."
"Well, it doesn't matter. Don't think about it if you can't remember."
"Are you tired?"
Not yet…
"Then why won't you get up?"
Wasn't I, already dead?
That monster, that Death-like thing, she killed me…
"She cut your soul, but she didn't take it. There's still a chance."
You're saying, I can still live?
"Yes, but you need to think carefully. Once you wake up again, you will no longer be you."
Why?
"Because that person has placed a mark on your soul."
Who is that person?
"Didn't you just say it? Death."
"Ye Long, listen carefully. You're guarding a huge treasure. It's a power that belongs only to you, but you can't accept it completely."
"And an external force is invading your body. That external force will twist your body. If you accept that power, you could become anything."
"After that, you won't be you. Not just physically, but also spiritually. Do you understand?"
What should I do?
Open that treasure?
"If you open that treasure, you'll also no longer be you."
Then what should I do?
"A little bit."
What?
"Take a little bit of power from that treasure. Remember, just a little bit."
Okay.
"I want to emphasize this again. This was not allowed, but a certain individual has given you a chance, a chance to break the rules."
"Causal resurrection."
Causal resurrection?
What is that?
"For example, distorting history. If you travel to the past and kill a destined emperor, various accidents or things will occur to bring that emperor back to life."
"Whether it's an elixir or a sorcerer, there will definitely be a way to resurrect that emperor."
"This is your situation now. Are you a little more awake?"
Yes, I'm awake…
"Then I'll emphasize this one last time. No matter what you choose, you will…"
Okay.
No need to say more.
No matter what happens, I'll accept it, but I will only be me.
"Then, good luck."
"I hope we never meet again, you bastard."
What did you say?
...
Light.
Blinding light.
Ye Long suddenly opened his eyes. Before him was the enormous sun. He was lying on a damp, sandy beach.
"I'm… out?"
Ye Long looked at his hands. For some reason, all his Fish-Man characteristics were gone.
Although his body was very wet, he was still in his pure human form.
Besides that, he felt very weak.
As if he'd lost all his Fish-Man powers and become an ordinary person again.
Ye Long stood up and looked around. This seemed to still be the Other Shore. He recognized the surrounding terrain.
"Then why am I outside…"
"Because my rationality has returned? I couldn't touch the temple, so I fell out?"
Ye Long looked up at the sea. The sea breeze made him feel a little lost.
...
Meanwhile, inside the temple.
Countless bloody faces were filled with terror. "What was that? It was so terrifying…"
"Scary!"
"So many, so many!"
"Of course, it was an ancient Great Old One and its family!"
"No, no, no, that's not it, that can't be it!"
"Those hands, those eyes, they have even more than us!"
"So many, countless, I can't even count them!"
"It's an illusion, it must be!"
For some reason, the faces showed expressions of horror, as if they had seen something truly terrifying!
But very few things could frighten the faces. Even seeing the Great Old Ones awakening together wouldn't be enough to make them truly afraid.
They would be surprised at most.
But what happened just now truly scared them witless!
Just half an hour ago, they were still arguing about what that being was.
As for the corpse on the ground, no one paid attention to it.
And at that moment, the corpse floated up. But you couldn't really call it floating.
Countless hands lifted the corpse!
A fissure was torn open in the sky, something poured down.
And the scene in the fissure was what horrified the faces!
It was a corner of the ancient world.
Or perhaps, a fragment of the destroyed old world after countless eons!
...
The commotion of the faces quickly reached Mei.
When Mei appeared in the sky above the Other Shore, she saw Ye Long on the beach.
"Hm?"
Mei's expression was strange. She grabbed her magnifying glass and observed Ye Long from above.
"Was there a problem with the potion?"
"Why… didn't it work?"
Yes, the potion didn't work.
Ye Long showed no changes.
Not only did he not change, but he even regressed.
Ye Long was at least a Fish-Man before. Now, he's just an ordinary person. All of his traits are gone!
Why?
Mei casually tossed the magnifying glass into the crack space.
The potion she gave Ye Long was based on the fear trait extracted from 002. After many experiments and combinations, it was mixed with other objects that carried fear traits.
The name of the potion was Ultimate Terror.
Pure fear trait. All other unnecessary traits were removed by Mei.
Theoretically, a trait enhanced to this level can evolve into an absolute trait.
That is, absolute fear.
And the concept of absolute fear can even affect Mei. That's why she didn't stay to observe Ye Long's transformation.
But now, Ye Long had no fear trait and even lost all his original abilities.
This potion, not only did it not cause evolution, it caused degeneration?
"Why is this?"
There must be something strange going on.
Thinking, black flames started igniting on Mei's body.
The flames enveloped her body, transforming her into a black-robed figure. Mei had entered Death mode.
She waved her hand, summoning a sickle. Then, her figure flashed, instantly disappearing from the sky.
At the same time, Ye Long turned around. He saw Mei suddenly appearing behind him!
Before Ye Long could react, the space before him shattered!
An invisible darkness instantly enveloped them both.
It was a dark, sealed space.
Ye Long looked around. He could see every corner of the world.
Is this the afterlife?
Or perhaps…
"What is this domain?"
Just as Ye Long was wondering, Death before her started to swing the huge sickle. She instantly teleported before him.
The aura of death surged, but Ye Long didn't retreat!
The sickle slashed toward his neck, then stopped mid-air.
"Why, didn't you dodge?"