Endless Debt

Chapter 1269 - 80: Return to One

The scorching and ominous Ether pours into the Void Lump through the gaps of the safety door, the gleaming tentacles gradually pry the safety door open, until it is completely open. A bloated mass of light fills the threshold, straining to squeeze in but unable to budge the safety door at all, merely contorting itself into a shriveled form, with more than half of its body having come in."We should leave now," Freya said nervously.

This is the transportation hub of the Ruins District, countless safety doors await the two of them, any door they choose to open will allow them to escape the current predicament.

"No, we won’t get away."

Bologue shook his head, then turned around in place, sweeping his gaze over every corner of the Void Lump, Freya mimicked Bologue’s action, following his line of sight, and then she saw the same scene as Bologue.

At the end of the staircases that twisted and coiled like vines, those safety doors were slowly opening, behind the doors dazzling brilliance shone forth, thick Light Forged tentacles extended out, fumbling haphazardly for surrounding material.

Freya was stunned, she completely failed to comprehend the current situation, as if at some moment the Ruins District had accelerated into chaos, everything tending towards disorder, waiting only for all to return to annihilation amidst silent extinction.

Bologue furrowed his brows, the Rhombus Shield surrounded him like a guard’s close protection.

Like copying and pasting, the scene before them layered into countless copies, at the same time, each safety door corresponded to a nebulous light invading the area.

"Why... why are there so many of them?"

Freya could not believe it, the successive events were about to shatter her years of survival knowledge completely.

"They’re not many, only one actually,"

Bologue calmly said, "It’s just that space is distorted, causing it to exist in every space at the same time, and this place seemingly is the convergence of all spaces, when it reaches here, all become one, and countless spatial projections also converge into one."

Every space is like a separate page, countless pages scattered and stacked together, their overlapping parts only at the edge corner, yet relying on this corner of overlap, one can freely reach each page, each space.

The Void Lump is this place of infinite overlap, and because of this, it stands to provide safe passageways to various places, becoming the Ruins District’s transportation hub.

So what of the ubiquitous nebulous light in Freya’s view?

As all the safety doors open, all the nebulous lights squeeze into the Void Lump, intense vibrations hit, as if the world were shattering, heavy ripples explode from the Void Lump where staircases intertwine, as though something wants to break through restraints, countless cracks crawl over the staircases, then fracture.

Large pieces of rubble float chaotically within the void, crashing and colliding with each other, then further fracturing into fine grime, forming a sea of dust.

Severe trembling hits, the Void Lump region seems about to shatter, booming vibrations persist, and in that massive Lump of intertwining staircases, the faint light emanating from it also dies out.

The ground beneath them completely destroyed, Bologue and Freya find themselves in a weightless void, Silver Hands continuously flung out, grasping Freya, Bologue also pins Silver Hands into a larger piece of debris, pulling himself towards it.

"Got you."

A muffled booming sound rings out, countless light masses twist, like the overlapping effect of film projection, amidst dazzling light, there is nothing but endless rotating colors like a kaleidoscope forming each brief yet splendid scene.

Frenzied, bewildering visions burst in front of Bologue, Freya also sees the same sights, unable to hold back a scream.

"Bologue!"

She tries reaching out to Bologue, only to find in horror that her arm disintegrates like liquid, then in Freya’s gaze, Bologue’s face turns abstract, elongated, like a distorted painting.

In Bologue’s eyes, Freya looks the same.

Their consciousnesses swept into a vortex of distortion, their whole body feeling eerie detachment, as if their souls were being ripped apart from their bodies, joining in this frenzy.

The light masses no longer emit gentle light, instead spread a menacing dark aura, intertwining and overlaying each other, red like blood, green like poison ivy, purple like venom, colliding wildly with each other, emitting sharp and piercing sounds.

Alien, deranged scenes like they’re from twisted dreamscapes, each filled with the breath of death and pain.

All of Bologue’s senses were magnified infinitely, until they broke through the threshold, leaving only numbness. Furya’s painful screams grew more intense, until, like Bologue’s own, they cut off abruptly at the peak of their limits.

Returning to silence.

Several seconds later, Bologue struggled to open his eyes. He wasn’t sure if he had just been unconscious or dead. He tried to stand up, but just the thought of moving brought unbearable pain to his mind.

His consciousness felt shattered and torn apart by countless blades, plunging him into immediate chaos and agony. The searing pain pierced through every cell like a needle, making him feel trapped in a torturous hell.

Bologue’s body’s senses were not spared either. They reported stimuli and pain, his vision lost its light and color, leaving only blurred images and distorted scenes. His hearing splintered into ear-piercing noise, unbearable to endure, his sense of smell suffused with a nauseating stench, suffocating him. His tactile sense sent signals of stinging pain and numbness.

His organs seemed to have completely failed, unable to function normally, no longer coordinated. The heart beat rapidly and irregularly, as if ready to stop at any moment. His breathing became shallow and difficult, as if an invisible hand was clutching his throat. His muscles were weak and trembling, and it took Bologue great effort to support his own body.

At this moment, Bologue could conclude that he had just lost consciousness temporarily and hadn’t died... which would almost be preferable, allowing the Time Reversing Axis to refresh his state.

Bologue coughed painfully a few times, followed by dry heaving, then vomited cloudy liquid mixed with blood.

"Furya?"

Bologue called out. His vision had not yet cleared, and he could only see a blur.

Furya did not respond, but Bologue could hear her labored breathing and sobbing. He blinked forcefully, and the blurry scene gradually became clear.

The ruins in the void had been utterly destroyed, no matter how enormous the structures were, they turned into fine particles. They spread through the space, drifting slowly and elegantly, forming a vast ocean, churning and intertwining.

All the staircases had disappeared, leaving only a straight corridor floating in the ocean of dust. Bologue was now on this corridor, which was extremely wide, with towering columns arranged on either side, and at the end of the columns was a gigantic light mass radiating infinite brilliance.

It was like the core of the void, slowly burning like a blazing sun.

Furya stood under that blazing sun, the blinding light casting enormous shadows behind her, enveloping Bologue. He took a few steps forward, and as Furya’s face became clearer, Bologue abruptly stopped.

"Furya?"

Bologue called out warily.

At that moment, Furya wore the same exquisite ceremonial attire as the security staff, her hair loosened, gently floating and drifting as if defying gravity.

Furya’s head was lowered, then slowly lifted. It was a face both familiar and unfamiliar, appearing to have aged many years in an instant. Her features matured, devoid of any emotion, extremely cold.

Bologue involuntarily stepped back, and the groaning became clearer. Following the sound, Bologue saw another Furya under the towering column.

She leaned against the column, looking frail, face pale, cracks spreading over her body, the gaps opening wider until they completely shattered.

In that moment, she resembled a broken porcelain doll, her left leg missing, the broken cross-section oozing pure, almost gel-like Ether. Her right arm bent strangely, also devoid of blood and flesh, her abdomen bore a massive wound, nearly cutting her in half.

This broken figure was the Furya Bologue was familiar with, so who was this intact one?

"She is Freya... and you are also Freya."

The hazy light mass began writhing violently, with more and more figures emerging from it—faceless security staff. They strode forward, transforming during the process, becoming varied in height, blank faces developing features.

Bologue felt he might understand everything and murmured unconsciously.

"Consciousness can be duplicated, naturally, it can be duplicated many times."

Countless familiar yet unfamiliar faces emerged, some young, some old, some of small girls, and some of slightly hunched elders.

They were all Freya, everyone was.