Linde's crystalline body moved steadily through the twisted and grotesque borderlands.
The deeper you go, the more pronounced the changes in the surrounding environment become.
The rules of the material world have almost completely faded away, and the cold, lifeless essence of Shadow Abyss, filled with a devouring desire, is like thick ink, almost solidifying.
The "ground" beneath one's feet becomes more fragile, and sometimes it may even suddenly collapse, revealing the "shadow quicksand" beneath, which is composed of pure negative emotions and chaotic energy.
The whispers in the air were no longer indistinct noises, but gradually coalesced into recognizable fragmented sentences filled with despair, hatred, and the allure of madness, like the howling of countless drowned souls in one's ear.
The native Shadow Abyss creatures also became even stranger and more powerful.
Linde encountered a "crawling mass" composed of countless pale, intertwined arms, writhing and frantically clawing at the air; he met "Void Shadows" that resembled floating jellyfish yet exuded a chilling aura capable of freezing the soul; and a "Swarm of Speakers" consisting entirely of mouths that constantly opened and closed, covered in sharp teeth...
These monsters generally reached the peak of the Gold level, and some were even at the Radiant Gold level. They were filled with primal hostility and greed towards Lind, this "outcast," and launched attacks time and time again.
However, their fates were invariably the same.
Whether it's a physical attack, an energy burst, or a mental attack, everything is instantly shattered, annihilated, and absorbed before Linde's miniature dark shield, which is composed of highly condensed negative energy and contains law runes.
Linde didn't even stop; he continued to "sample" and "analyze" as he walked.
The [Deconstruction Halo] operates at full capacity, recording the form, energy composition, and attack patterns of every strange creature, and analyzing the twisted laws that create chaos in this place yet possess a certain inherent order.
He is like a calm appraiser walking through a crazy art gallery, ruthlessly labeling each "exhibit" and categorizing it into his vast cognitive system.
As Linden continued to delve deeper and absorb the energy, he could sense that the Shadow Abyss energy circuit embedded within this temporarily constructed crystalline shell was becoming brighter and brighter, its compatibility with the environment was increasing, and it was even beginning to spontaneously and weakly absorb the dissipated Shadow Abyss power from the surroundings to replenish itself.
"Assimilation is happening faster than expected."
Linde calmly recorded this phenomenon, "It seems that the power of the Shadow Abyss exhibits extremely strong 'inclusivity' and 'absorption' for beings of the same origin or higher rank, which may be a manifestation of its corrosive nature."
This dramatic change in environment reminded him of his previous experience of using the [Shadow Abyss Aura] to directly enter the deepest part of the Shadow Abyss—the "Sea of Nothingness".
That is the end of Shadow Abyss, or rather... its core.
Absolute nothingness, absolute stillness, even the concepts of time and space become blurred. There is no form, no sound, no light, not even "darkness," only an ultimate emptiness that encompasses and negates everything.
There, Linde seemed to confront the essence of the Abyss: not active destruction, but passive annihilation, the final return of all things to nothingness, an absolute zero where even "existence" itself is diluted and forgotten.
In contrast, this border area near the rift, though bizarre and dangerous, appears "full of life".
It is precisely because this place is the forefront of the collision between the Shadow Abyss and the Prime Material World that the conflict of rules, the interaction of energy, the remnants of matter... the mixing of all these "impurities" has, in the absolute "nothingness," given birth to a distorted "somethingness."
Just as life cannot arise in an absolute vacuum, miracles may be born from a chaotic primordial soup.
“A miracle…” Lind’s crystalline head turned slightly, his deep red eyes sweeping over a strange area that resembled a forest, composed of solidified shadows and broken crystals. “Under such extreme and unstable conditions, it is most likely that some… defying common sense ‘exceptions’ will be born.”
As soon as he finished speaking, an extremely unusual energy fluctuation suddenly erupted from the depths of the "Shadow Crystal Forest" in front of him!
The fluctuation was neither the power of the Shadow Abyss's erosion nor the energy of the order of the prime material world, but a kind of... highly condensed shadow essence with strange "activity," seemingly undergoing constant "self-iteration" and "optimization"!
The appearance of this fluctuation instantly shattered the chaotic "balance" of the surrounding area!
Splash!
Like a swarm of bats startled, countless strange creatures perched on the Shadow Crystal screamed and scattered in all directions, instinctively moving away from the direction from which the fluctuations came, as if there was something there that terrified them.
Even the giant Shadow Abyss Fusion Monsters, which had been eyeing Lind with predatory intent and radiating a shimmering gold-level aura, hesitated and stopped, letting out uneasy growls, no longer daring to approach that area.
Linde finally stopped walking.
The crystalline body's deep red "gaze" sharply focused on the core from which the fluctuations were emanating.
In his perception, the power of the Shadow Abyss in that area was converging, compressing, and rotating in an unusually orderly manner... as if an invisible vortex was forming, and at the center of the vortex, something was being conceived.
A genuine interest flashed in Linde's eyes.
He suppressed the energy fluctuations naturally emanating from his body, and the light on his crystalline body became even more restrained, like a shadow blending into the environment, silently stealthily moving towards the core area of the "Shadow Crystal Forest".
The closer you get to the core, the more pronounced that strange sense of "activity" becomes.
The surrounding shadow energy no longer churned chaotically, but flowed toward the center point like a pilgrimage, being greedily absorbed.
The whispers in the air changed tone, no longer the frantic howls, but a monotonous, repetitive, buzzing sound that seemed to be building something.
Linde passed through the last few clusters of shadowy crystals that pointed like swords to the sky, and the view before him suddenly opened up.
In the center of the forest was a relatively open area.
The ground was no longer brittle charcoal ash, but had become a strange plane that was smooth as a mirror and pitch black as ink, as if all impurities had been forcibly rejected or swallowed up.
And in the very center of this black mirror, floats a... "egg".
It was about the height of a person, and its entire body was a deep, dark purple that seemed to absorb all light.
The surface is not smooth, but covered with complex geometric patterns that are constantly flowing and changing. These patterns combine and decompose on their own, as if they are undergoing endless trial and error and optimization.
It floated there silently, slowly rotating, each rotation causing the shadow energy in the surrounding space to rise and fall like tides.
That highly concentrated, strangely "active" and "self-iterable" fluctuation of shadow essence emanated from inside this "egg"!
It's like it's breathing, and with each "breath," its energy structure becomes more complex and condensed.
Linde's crystalline body remained stationary, its deep red "gaze" like the most sophisticated scanner, completely enveloping the strange "egg".
【Deconstructing the Halo】Operating at unprecedented power, attempting to dissect its internal structure.
However, this time, he encountered some resistance.
The flowing patterns on the surface of the "egg" seemed to form a natural energy barrier and information disturbance, preventing external forces from prying into its interior. Its core was further enveloped by an extremely condensed, rapidly evolving, active shadow energy, making it difficult to perceive instantly.
But that was enough for Lind to make a judgment.
"A naturally formed... Shadow Abyss Singularity?" Linde's mental fluctuations were tinged with surprise and intense interest. "In such a chaotic energy environment, it can spontaneously form such a highly ordered structure... What is it trying to... 'nurture'?"
This phenomenon is like a perfect ice crystal suddenly forming in a boiling oil pan, violating the law of entropy increase, and can be described as a miracle.
It is neither a creation of the Prime Material Plane, nor a pure Shadow Abyss creature. It is an extremely rare "accident" born from countless accidental collisions in this boundary where rules are distorted.
A “Child of Miracles” who is trying to create order from chaos and existence from nothingness.
Lin De could sense that the potential contained within this "egg" was astonishing. Once it truly "hatched," its starting point could very well surpass the Radiant Gold level, and perhaps even... touch the threshold of the Legendary level!
Moreover, because it was born in the gap between the Shadow Abyss and the Prime Material Plane, its essence may possess the characteristics of both, becoming an unprecedented form of existence.
Just then, the slowly rotating "egg" seemed to notice Lind's continued "watching" from this uninvited guest.
The speed at which the geometric patterns on the surface flowed suddenly increased! The "active" fluctuations it emitted also became somewhat... wary and repulsive?
The surrounding dark energy tides surged, like fierce beasts protecting their master, emitting silent roars and pressure towards Lind.
Linde stared at it silently, its crystal-clear face revealing no emotion.
He slowly raised the crystal-like arm.
At their fingertips, a deep blue and dark purple light shone once more.
But this time, what he condensed was neither offensive energy nor a defensive shield.
Rather, it was... an extremely pure source of negative energy, originating from the transformation of his internal system and far surpassing the energy of this place.
This wisp of primordial power, like a docile dark snake, coiled and swam around his fingertips, emanating an aura that made all the surrounding Shadow Abyss energy tremble and yearn for it.
Linde gently and tentatively pushed this wisp of primal power toward the wary "egg".
He wanted to see how this "miracle," born from chaos, would treat this "gift" from a higher being.
Is it rejection? Is it integration? Or... is it using it as nourishment to accelerate its own "incubation"?
“Come on,” Lind’s mental thoughts whispered, piercing through the energy barrier and resounding directly near the core consciousness of the “egg” (if it had one), “let me see just how far you, this accidental creation, can go.”
That pure source of negative energy, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, silently merged into the dark purple "egg".
In an instant, a strange change occurred!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com