Darkness is not nothingness.

Su Nian's consciousness sank into a warm and deep ocean, surrounded by flowing fragments of memories, shimmering with a faint light, like dust in a galaxy. The gray-robed old man's enchanting whispers were like a key, opening a door that had been sealed for a long time, a door that even she herself had never noticed.

What first flooded in was not a clear image, but a feeling—an extreme coldness and absolute emptiness. There was no sound, no light, no concept of the passage of time, only an eternal, maddening silence. Her "existence" seemed to be diluted into a wisp of consciousness, floating in this boundless void.

"A suitable soul detected... Energy signature match... Binding execution..."

A cold, emotionless voice, like a mechanical synthesized tone, suddenly rang out in this void. This voice... was System 088! But it was more primal, more... inhuman than the voices she had heard in the mission world.

Immediately afterwards, blurry, rapidly flashing fragments of images assaulted her senses:

• A pure white, infinitely extending space, in which countless "spheres of light" (worlds?) shimmering with different lights float like bubbles.

• A pair of enormous, emotionless eyes, seemingly composed of data streams, stared at her from the depths of the void, with scrutiny and... a hint of barely perceptible "curiosity"?

• A "contract" shimmering with complex runes, its contents unclear, but words like "mission execution," "emotional stripping," and "energy recovery" stung her soul like a red-hot iron.

Her own voice, tinged with a newborn's confusion and resolve, said: "I accept... as long as... I can see him again..."

"he"……

This realization struck her like a thunderbolt, exploding at the core of her dream! The fundamental reason she accepted the contract with the Main God Space was to find a certain "him"! And this "him" seemed to have already existed in her obsession from the very beginning of the contract!

As the dream unfolds, more fragments are pieced together.

She saw herself in her early days as a "mission executor." Traveling between different worlds, she was calm, efficient, and completed each mission almost perfectly, like the most precise tool. She saw herself severing lingering emotional ties, indifferently witnessing the fall of dynasties, and even... in the records of some worlds, she was marked as "high-risk" and "having an abnormal emotional threshold."

Abnormal emotional threshold...

The scene shifts again. This time, it's in the preparation area of ​​the Main God Space before she enters her first world—the world of modern domineering CEOs. System 088 (whose voice still carries a hint of human guidance at that time) is giving the final mission briefing.

"Warning: A high concentration of 'Fragments of Obsession' has been detected in the target world, which is highly correlated with the deep-seated target of the contract, 'He'. Executor, please strictly adhere to the emotional stripping agreement and avoid excessive resonance..."

Fragments of obsession... Highly interconnected...

Therefore, from the very first volume, every Xie Chen she encountered was not merely a randomly assigned mission target, but a fragment of "him" she had signed a contract to find! The Main God Space already knew this! Was it using her to collect or "dispose of" these scattered fragments?!

Anger and a chilling sense of utter deception spread through the consciousness of the dream.

However, the dream did not end. Deeper, sealed memories began to surface.

She "saw" the scene before the contract was signed!

That wasn't a scene from modern society, but rather... a vast starry sky! She floated in the universe, her body flowing with starlight that shared the same origin as the power of the Ice Soul, yet was countless times more magnificent! Opposite her stood a figure, his face blurred, but those eyes... those eyes that held countless stars, filled with tenderness and endless sorrow... were Xie Chen! He was a more complete, more powerful version of himself!

They seemed to be resisting something together... an indescribably vast, icy torrent that felt like the will of the entire universe! Was that... the true form of the Main God Space? Or something else entirely?

The starlight crumbled, and Xie Chen's figure dimmed. In his final moments, he imprinted a mark emanating a faint chill (the nascent form of the Ice Soul Mark?) into the core of her soul, then, with his last strength, pushed her into the void…

"Live on...find me...no matter...whatever I become..."

These were his last words, which transcended time and space, coinciding with the call of the golden light within her soul!

I see!

There was no accidental time travel at all, and no lucky mission participant identity whatsoever!

She was originally from a higher or more powerful world, and was Xie Chen's lover (or partner)! They fought against the Main God Space (or a similar enemy) but failed. Xie Chen's soul shattered and scattered throughout the heavens, while her memories were sealed, and she was forced to become an "employee" of the Main God Space to "recycle" or "process" the fragments of her lover!

The so-called yandere, the so-called paranoia, are nothing more than Xie Chen's distorted and extreme instinctive reaction to her, the only "coordinate" engraved deep in his soul, after his shattered soul lost most of its memories and its original form!

The dream ended with everything crimson.

She witnessed the "import" process of the vampire prince's world. It wasn't a random placement; rather, the main god space detected that this world sealed an extremely powerful yet extremely unstable core fragment (the underground origin), requiring her, as a "special key," to "stabilize" or "recover" it. System 088 was given the highest priority instructions, even having her deeper memories shielded to some extent to ensure the mission "proceeded smoothly."

The true Ice Soul Mark in her soul only began to awaken when she entered this world, stimulated by the same source power (the source of Xie Chen at a higher level that was sealed underground), which triggered a series of subsequent changes!

All the clues, at this moment, are linked together to form a chilling chain of truth!

"Well……"

A sharp headache yanked Su Nian out of her deep dream. She opened her eyes abruptly, gasping for breath, as if she had just been rescued from drowning. Beneath her lay dry fallen leaves, and above her were massive, intertwined tree roots, forming a natural shelter. Outside, the Eternal Night Forest remained dark, with floating specks of light moving silently.

She woke up, but everything in the dream was as clearly etched into her mind as if it had just happened. That altered, sealed memory had finally broken free of its shackles!

She was no longer the confused Su Nian who only knew how to carry out missions. She was Su Nian with her own past and a true bond with Xie Chen! The Main God Space was not a benefactor who gave her a new life, but an enemy who imprisoned and used her!

Anger, sadness, the pain of being deceived, and an unprecedented sense of purpose surged within her.

She instinctively reached into the depths of her soul. The Ice Soul Mark was no longer merely a tool for repairing her soul; it now seemed infused with a soul, flowing with the same power as her, conveying an ancient rhythm tinged with sorrow and resilience. The few golden specks of light also shone brighter, resonating powerfully with her reawakened memories.

She attempted to mobilize the power of the Ice Soul. Although the total amount was still scarce due to her injuries and depletion, its essence seemed to have undergone a transformation. The chill was purer, carrying an indescribable sense of majesty that seemed to freeze time and space. She could even faintly sense an extremely weak connection between this power and some ancient and cold being slumbering deep within this Eternal Night Forest.

Just then, a faint sound, different from the natural sounds of the forest, came from afar.

It was the sound of branches snapping underfoot, accompanied by suppressed whispers, and... a familiar, nauseating scent of vampires! And there was more than one!

Pursuers! They found this area so quickly?!

Su Nian's heart skipped a beat, and she instantly suppressed all the emotional fluctuations caused by the revival of her memories, keeping her aura to a minimum. She carefully moved to the crack in the tree root cave and peered out.

In a clearing not far away, five vampire hunters clad in blood-red leather armor and possessing sharp eyes appeared. They held some kind of compass-like instrument, its pointer flashing red, erratically pointing... in her direction!

Was it tracking her blood scent? Or was it Xie Chen sensing it through the Blood Servant Contract?

We can't stay here any longer!

Su Nian took a deep breath, feeling the transformed, though faint, yet fundamentally different, Ice Soul Power within her body, and then glanced at the faint connection indicated by the dream to the ancient, cold existence deep in the forest.

She glanced at her hand at the ordinary jade hairpin that Xie Chen had given her, a gift from the world of immortals and heroes, which she had always kept close to her heart (this was her only remaining token connecting her to her past reality). After the hairpin came into contact with her awakened Ice Soul Power, it actually emitted an extremely faint, warm luster.

Pursuers were ahead, and unknown dangers lurked in the forest behind.

But at this moment, her eyes no longer held confusion or wishful thinking, only a cold resolve.

She gently gripped the jade hairpin, the power of ice flowing through her fingertips.

"This time, I won't run away again."

"I will find you, the complete you."

"Then... together, we'll take everything back from that damned 'God'!"

With a swift movement, she seemed to blend into the shadows of the forest, silently stealthily moving towards the direction of that ancient, cold sensation.

(End of Chapter 63)

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Next Chapter Preview: Memories Awaken, Truth Revealed! How will Su Nian use the power of transformation to navigate the Eternal Night Forest? What is her connection to the ancient being deep within the forest? Xie Chen's pursuers are closing in, but what is Derrick's true purpose? The flames of revenge have been ignited; how will she, upon her return, stir up the winds of change in this world? The roles of hunter and prey are about to be reversed!