Chapter 515 Communication Across Time and Space

"Did you hear anything?"

I rephrased my question, but the wandering spirit and sandalwood simply shook their heads. Meanwhile, the voice continued to echo in my ears. At first, it was so faint that it almost seemed like a hallucination, or a sound I had imagined.

As time went by, the voice that kept calling my name gradually became clearer, and I was able to make out the details. It was a man's voice, and it sounded somewhat familiar, as if it belonged to someone I knew.

Could this be some kind of apocalyptic anomaly?

I can easily make that connection. Even in the modern world, similar ghost stories exist, such as "If you hear an acquaintance calling your name behind you while walking at night, never respond, and definitely don't turn around." I believe even people who are not interested in ghost stories are familiar with these tales.

I immediately became wary and told the two of them to be on guard. Without even needing a reminder, the wandering soul had already pulled out a small knife and assumed a defensive stance. This knife was probably the tool he used to map the scars on his arm.

Even Tanxiang quickly acquired the basic qualities of a novice survivor, adopting a vigilant attitude of being observant and attentive to all directions despite being completely unaware of the current situation.

However, I then realized that what was happening to me did not seem to be from apocalyptic anomalies.

Just as my auditory hallucinations worsened and more unusual symptoms appeared, I then began experiencing visual hallucinations. In an instant, I realized that things were not as simple as I had assumed. Because in my field of vision, a hazy, gray fog appeared.

This is the gray mist of the illusory realm.

The wandering spirit and sandalwood seemed to be invisible to the gray mist, each maintaining a vigilant stance in different directions. Before I could say anything, the gray mist rapidly thickened, instantly enveloping me.

The two figures seemed to vanish into the thick fog; even as I reached out to grab them, I couldn't find them where they had been. I felt as if I had been thrown into a world made entirely of gray fog, a monotonous gray landscape in all directions. This unusual sight didn't trigger any fear in me, because I had faced similar things countless times in the past.

The scenery before me was like a virtual world; it seemed that as long as I kept moving forward, I could reach the familiar rock seating area.

However, this time, I did not arrive in this realm as my spirit. Looking at my body, I realized that I was not in my shadow form, but in my physical body in this place that resembled a virtual realm.

Moreover, even without the small bowl by my side, I seem to be able to use my powers normally here. I casually summoned a small fireball, and the fact that I could use my powers freely gave me some peace of mind.

The question is, why was I suddenly transported to this virtual realm? Is this really a virtual realm? And what is the connection between this phenomenon and the voice that called out to me just now?

Could it be that the Void Realm, which was once destroyed by Xuanming, has finally been repaired by the Lord of the Divine Seal, and now the Lord of the Divine Seal is summoning us Void Realm Apostles to the Void Realm to announce this matter?

I quickly dismissed this hypothesis myself, because I can still sense the connection between myself and the fragments of the divine seal, and this connection is still distorted by the Flame of Proclamation. If the illusory realm is repaired, this connection should also be repaired.

Furthermore, I could sense that, if I so desired, I could tear apart the surrounding gray mist with my power at any time, or even destroy the entire gray domain itself, and then escape from it. The Void Realm of the Lord of the Divine Seal would certainly not be so fragile.

Or is it some kind of apocalyptic anomaly that has read my memories and simulated a virtual reality scenario to do something to me? But can the power of this apocalyptic anomaly really interfere with my consciousness to this extent?

Then, I realized a possibility. Although it seemed a bit far-fetched, it was the only possibility besides apocalyptic oddities.

As if echoing this speculation, the gray mist in front of us began to condense and thicken, like water absorbing and clumping together, its color gradually becoming deeper and taking on a definite shape.

It was a dark, humanoid shape, distorted and flickering like a video with an unstable signal.

"Zhuang Cheng... Zhuang Cheng...!" he kept calling my name, "...Can...can you hear me...? Can...can you hear me!?"

I finally recognized the voice and asked, "Is that Yuchi?"

The object that was interfering with his consciousness from afar was neither the Lord of the Divine Seal nor the Doomsday Monster, but Yuchi.

You have to understand, Yuchi lives in the modern world. How could he possibly contact me in this post-apocalyptic era? Anyone else would have thought the same thing. And coincidentally, I do know that he has this ability, which also fits the possibility I just considered.

Yu Chi once told me that as long as the research on the Divine Seal Fragments continues, he can use the connections between the Divine Seal Fragments held by each Void Realm Apostle to recreate the Void Realm, or locate other Void Realm Apostles and initiate a communication with them.

According to him, he could perfect and put into use the positioning and communication technology within two months to the end of this year.

Even if the object is a small bowl in a post-apocalyptic world, he is confident that he can locate it and establish an information connection.

Could it be that this phenomenon is his technological achievement?

In other words, during the short time I was active in the apocalyptic era, at least two months had passed in the modern world?

No, the speed of time flow shouldn't be compared between different eras. From my perspective in the future, the time period I was in before my travels, and the time period two months later there, should all exist simultaneously. Therefore, it's perhaps only natural that I could receive this communication on my "first day" in the apocalyptic era.

"...Cheng...Zhuang Cheng...Can you hear me...?" Yu Chi was still repeating his words.

I raised my voice: "Yuchi, I'm here!"

“…I don’t understand…I don’t…clear…” Yu Chi seemed to be saying that he couldn’t hear clearly, “…at…the end of the world…?”

"Yes, I have arrived in the apocalypse."

I tried my best to decipher his words, while noticing that the surrounding gray fog was slowly thinning.

Communication with Yuchi was clearly very unstable, and the connection could be lost at any time.

Seeing this, I decided to seize the most crucial information and continued, "Could you please tell Ma Zao for me that I am not dead and that I am in the apocalypse?"

“…Sorry…I…can’t hear you clearly…” Yu Chi seemed to be trying to communicate as well.

"Tell Mazao, I am in the end times."

I repeated the core message, over and over again. I don't know if my words were conveyed clearly, because as the surrounding gray fog thinned, the sound from his end became increasingly muffled and discontinuous. I guess what he heard from my end was the same.

Then, Yu Chi uttered a broken, yet undeniable, voice: "...We...are tainted with fate..."

"What's wrong with a turbid fate?"

As I reflexively asked the question, I suddenly realized a very serious problem.

I was truly dazzled by all the bizarre and fantastical things of the apocalyptic era! In my utter reverie, I almost forgot that I had a formidable landmine in the modern world: the Fate Turbidity.

The reason why Meizo gave up on opening the door to the afterlife by killing Asaho was not because he had truly given up on the idea, but because of the existence of my restraining force.

If I die out there, it's easy to imagine what Mingzhuo will do. This isn't a pessimistic prediction, but a stark reality.

Although I am not truly dead at this moment, from the perspective of the modern world, it is no different from being dead.

Given Mingzhuo's cautious nature, even if I suddenly disappeared, he might not immediately target Asaha. However, given enough time, once he's certain I won't return, his evil hand will inevitably reach out to Asaha again.

(End of this chapter)