CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37 : THE COLLAPSE

Deon shivered as he heard her questions. Since his transmigration into this world, he had often wondered about these matters, yet never found any answers. The information in the books had always been conditioned and limited.

"Will she be able to satisfy my curiosity?" he thought, swallowing hard.

"Where should I start? I’ll keep it very brief," she said before beginning her story.

In a world where only martial artists could assert themselves and dominate the skies, a young orphan, lacking talent in common martial arts due to her unique constitution, was noticed by a sage.

Under the guidance of this sage, her master, the young girl discovered the mystical arts—a form of martial art that relied solely on mystical energy. She quickly proved to be talented.

In less than two hundred years of cultivation, she became a woman, surpassed her master, and reached the highest levels of cultivation: the domain of immortals.

Having become immensely powerful, she quickly grew bored of her training routine. She saw no point in improving further, as there was no one left to rival her.

As she spent her years in solitude, dungeons teeming with monsters began appearing across the continent.

Soon, a strange phenomenon occurred: people began to awaken, and the balance of the world shifted. The Jianghu (the martial arts world) and the ordinary world, previously separated by strict laws, began to intertwine. But that wasn’t the gravest problem...

At first, humanity managed to cope with the monsters. But after nearly a century of battles, humans were overwhelmed, and the world fell into ruin.

The dark silhouette paused at the end of her tale, then fixed her gaze on Deon with gravity:

"Do you understand what I mean? Your universe is not the first victim, and it certainly won’t be the last to destroy itself... If you see me here, it means the countdown has already begun."

As she spoke, the conversation took on a different tone. At least, Deon had confirmed two things: this dark silhouette was human, and she came from another world—a world of cultivation and Murim.

Too many shadows remained, however. Why hadn’t she detailed the countdown story? Why was she in this portal if her planet had been destroyed?

"Deon, I won’t be able to tell you more while I remain in this portal. I know the story I’ve told you lacks details, but it was the best I could do to prevent a catastrophe," she said.

"Believe me, my dear Deon," she added in a sensual voice that sounded unpleasant to Deon’s ears.

"Ugh... what was that voice?" he thought.

"Hmm... why isn’t this brat under my charm? How can he remain so calm in my presence?"

Being immortal, the dark silhouette was shocked: a mere human like Deon should never have spoken to her without stammering. Her ego seemed wounded.

"Deon, how do you see me?" she asked, testing her hypothesis.

"Hmm... honestly, you’re blurry to me. I can’t describe your face exactly. But your form resembles that of a woman. And your voice... it’s so unpleasant that I doubt you’re actually female," Deon replied.

"I see... I forgive your insult. But this confirms what I suspected: your Third Eye has awakened, but you cannot yet use it to its full potential. Do you want me to accept you as my disciple? Under my guidance, you could become immortal..."

"Hmm... I’ll think about it," Deon replied.

"What a brat! Do you know how many people would love to be in your place? At the same time, you’re lucky this artifact chose you."

"Oh! What does it do?"

"Why on earth would I tell you...?" She smiled mysteriously. "For now, there’s an urgent problem: you have corrupted mana in your body. I will eliminate it for you, and you will help me get out of here. How about that?"

Despite her innocent appearance, Deon hesitated to trust the immortal. A single mistake, and she could do whatever she wanted to him.

"Help me remove the corrupted mana first, and then we’ll talk," Deon declared.

The woman regarded his refusal with frustration. Since becoming immortal, she had never had to beg anyone. But she had no choice: she had to coax this young man to leave the portal.

"Okay, sit in the lotus position and let me handle the rest," she ordered.

Deon complied immediately. Soon, he felt a strange energy slowly being expelled from his body. The process was extremely painful, but he remained silent, his face tense.

*"So virile..." * murmured the dark silhouette.

Once freed from the dark energy, Deon felt lighter and slightly stronger.

"Good, I’ve fulfilled my part of the bargain. Now it’s your turn," she said.

"To make it short, I need your help to get out of here. Since you possess the Third Eye, your mental realm is sufficiently developed," she explained.

"My mental realm?" Deon asked.

"Yes. For us mystical martial artists, it’s crucial," she replied.

"Okay, I understand."

"There are two ways you can help me."

"The first is that I enter your mental realm. It’s like possession, but I won’t steal your body. For this, I need to create a core to contain your mystical energy—which you don’t have—then transfer my soul into your consciousness."

"And the second?"

"I force the activation of the artifact in your hand. I could integrate my soul into it, but I’ll need your help to feed it with other human souls, or I will vanish."

"Okay, but first: what are these portals? And why are you here if you’re human?"

"I cannot answer here... All I can say is that the portals are frag..." She didn’t get to finish: an enormous pressure struck her.

Deon felt it nonetheless. A shiver ran down his neck, and the mausoleum began to tremble.

...

"Argh! Huff, huff... You were strong, but you remain my shadow. How could you think you could defeat me?"

On the ground, a shadow slowly extinguished, like a flame deprived of oxygen.

Alexia had lost track of time in the white space, battling her shadow, but she emerged victorious.

Soon, the white space disappeared, and she fell into the void. Despite the fall, she didn’t cry out. Her cold expression fixed on the abyss until a soft light engulfed her.

The next second, she woke up, greeted by darkness. The crystal—the only source of light in the room—was gone. Beside her, Amelia and Theo remained frozen, but there was no sign of Deon.

"Deon? Where is he?" Alexia worried, scanning the dark room for any clue.

She grabbed her sword and struck the mausoleum’s entrance door, but the impact was absorbed.

Then, suddenly, the structure shook as if self-destructing. Stones began to fall.

Alexia quickly reacted, shielding Theo and Amelia. She had to wake them first before finding a way out.

"Damn it, wake up!" she shouted, slapping them.

By luck, they woke simultaneously. Theo, true to form, wanted to speak, but quickly realized it wasn’t the time.

"Help me find a way out of this room!" Alexia commanded.

...

Meanwhile, as the room trembled, Deon saw the dark silhouette stiffen.

"Kid, we’re all going to die if you don’t listen. Do you want me to enter your mental realm, or do you prefer the artifact option?"

"Squatting in my consciousness won’t have side effects?" Deon asked.

"No," she replied hastily.

"Okay, then I choose that option."

"Good. Extend your hand."

Deon obeyed. The dark silhouette handed him the crystal, which glowed with a strange light.

"Inside is all my mystical energy. Absorb it quickly, we don’t have much time. It will arrive soon..."

Deon grasped the crystal firmly and felt the energy diffuse through his body. The dark silhouette guided its flow toward his mystical core.

Ding!

[New energy infiltrates your body.]

[You awaken mystical energy.]

Sweat beaded on Deon’s forehead. In less than five minutes, he had absorbed all the energy from the crystal.

"Now, let us make the soul oath. Repeat after me:

’I, Sana...’ "