As the last wisp of light was swept away by the wind, the stench of decay from the temple ruins still lingered on everyone's noses.
The third key fragment in Lin Yi's palm suddenly became incredibly hot, but he seemed not to feel the burning pain, letting the blue light wander through the lines of his palm—the light threads and the engravings of the dagger in the hidden pocket of his tactical belt fit together perfectly, like two silver needles pierced by fate.
"Boss!" Long Wu's wolf head pendant was still screaming. The veins on his hand, gripping the chain, bulged. The new engraving on the silver chain gleamed coldly in the setting sun. "This damn chain suddenly engraved a mark on itself, just like the one on your dagger..."
"Check the key first." The dark figure's hand pressed against the back of Lin Yi's neck, its warmth seeping through his tactical uniform.
The shoulder armor of this former high-level civilization's law enforcement officer, still stained with the black slime left by the afterimage, bent down and approached Lin Yi's palm, his pupils reflecting the trajectory of the spinning fragments. "Chu Yao, scan."
A stream of silver data flowed from the silver-haired girl's fingertips, drilling into the key like a living thing.
Her pupils instantly transformed into flowing code, the blue highlights in her hair trembling slightly with the data fluctuations: "Residual world consciousness detected." Her voice carried the layered quality characteristic of a mechanical tone, "This isn't the complete key, but a portion sealed with the last strength of a civilization's consciousness harvested by an ancient god deep within the 'Memory Corridor.'"
Lin Yi's golden-purple pupils narrowed slightly.
He remembered that when he obtained the second key three days ago in the far north ice plains, there was a similar fluctuation in the fragment—like crushed stardust, still retaining a lingering attachment to life.
He reached into the hidden pocket of his tactical belt and took out two keys: the first key was a rusty copper plate, the edges still carrying the fishy smell of the isolated island in the East China Sea; the second key gleamed with a dark blue hue and was dug out from the heart of the giant wolf of the ice field.
The three keys had just floated into the air when they began to spin as if pushed aside by an invisible hand.
The three beams of light—golden purple, deep blue, and rust red—collided with each other, yet they could not touch each other at all.
"A medium is needed." Lin Yi rubbed his chin with his thumb, a habitual gesture when he was thinking. "Back in the newbie village, the system prompted that 'Seven Keys Resonance' required a 'Rule Bridge.'" He turned to look at Xuan Mingzi, whose data stream was solidifying into a human form, his semi-transparent Taoist robe still stained with dust from the temple's collapse. "You were once the game's mastermind; can you sense the essence of the key?"
Xuanmingzi closed his eyes, and the data stream formed a vortex around his body.
A slit of light suddenly appeared between his brows, revealing a sea of code flowing within: "The key... is a fragment of the will of the Old Gods." His voice was laced with a sense of tearing, like two hard drives rubbing against each other, "Each key locks the rules of a world devoured by the Old Gods—the flow of time, the proportions of elements, even the laws of life and death."
"To make them resonate..." He suddenly opened his eyes, and the code within the slits of light burst forth, "The core of causality must be used as the bridge."
"Bullshit!" Long Wu's wolf-head knife was drawn half an inch from its sheath with a "hum," the blade reflecting his reddened eye sockets. "The core of cause and effect has been burning in your sea of consciousness for three months!"
Last time you used it to open a spacetime rift, you vomited half a liter of black blood!
We still want to use it as a medium?
Are you out of your mind?
Lin Yi didn't speak.
He stared at the ever-growing shadow in the distance, his throat tightening.
Three days ago at the Reality Alliance headquarters, the research team delivered a report: the mass of that shadow is increasing by 3% per hour. At this rate, the day the Seven Keys are unified will be the day the original form of the Old God descends.
"Only I can withstand the backlash from the Core of Cause and Effect." He reached out and pressed his hand on Long Wu's shoulder, the warmth of his palm traveling through the wolf head pendant to Long Wu's heart. "Last time in the spacetime rift, Old Hei took three annihilation cannons for me; last month at the ancient martial arts family, Chu Yao used her data body to withstand the mental impact for me." His golden-purple eyes gleamed with light. "Now it's my turn."
Long Wu's wolf-head knife clattered to the ground.
He stared at the cold sweat on Lin Yi's hair—a sign of the causal core stirring within his sea of consciousness. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he ultimately only clenched his fist: "If I'm within ten meters of you, and you pass out..."
"I know." Lin Yi interrupted him, turning to look at the shadowy figure. "Old Hei, protect Chu Yao and Xuan Mingzi."
The shadowy figure didn't speak, only responding with the sound of a particle gun being cocked.
Lin Yi took a deep breath and let his consciousness sink into his sea of consciousness.
The core of cause and effect was suspended deep within his soul, like a burning golden-purple sun, and every fluctuation made his temples ache.
He extended his spiritual tendrils and gently hooked onto the third key fragment—
The temple suddenly shook violently.
The broken pillar above them crashed down with a "boom," but was frozen in place by the power of time and space half a meter away from the group, like a death wind chime hanging overhead.
"Don't rush."
A familiar female voice, carrying the scent of wisteria, entered my ears.
Everyone looked up and saw a faint golden halo emanating from the surface of the third key fragment, within which a semi-transparent figure emerged—it was Su Qing.
She was wearing the white dress she often wore in college, her hair still damp with snow from the game's Arctic wilderness. "The connection between the keys... requires emotional resonance." Her voice grew fainter, like a dandelion seed scattered by the wind, "Otherwise... it will trigger a collapse..."
Lin Yi's breathing suddenly stopped.
He recalled the same sound three months ago in the game's newbie village when Su Qing was torn into data fragments by dark creatures while trying to save him.
He reached out to grab it, but his fingertips passed through the figure and only touched a warm light.
"Su Qing?" Chu Yao's data stream suddenly became disordered. "Your data remnants... how did they end up in the key?"
But Su Qing's figure had already begun to disappear.
She glanced at Lin Yi one last time, her lips moving slightly—it was "Believe in yourself."
When the light trace completely disappeared, the third key fragment in Lin Yi's palm suddenly emitted a buzzing sound.
He gazed at the faint gold residue remaining in the fragments, the light in his golden-purple eyes growing brighter and brighter.
The core of cause and effect resonated deep within the sea of consciousness, as if responding to some kind of call.
"Emotional resonance," he repeated softly, his fingertips gently tracing the three keys. "I see."
Long Wu bent down to pick up the wolf-head knife, the blade reflecting Lin Yi's gleaming eyes: "Boss, what did you think of?"
Lin Yi did not answer.
He looked up at the shadow in the center of the sky—the shadow's eyes were now fully open, its dark red pupils swirling with destructive light.
He looked down at the key in his palm; the light traces left by Su Qing were still shimmering on the fragments, like a tiny sun.
"Get ready." His voice was as soft as a sigh, yet it sent chills down everyone's spines. "We're going to rewrite the script of fate."
After saying that, he stacked the three keys together.
Golden purple, dark blue, and rust red light swirled together, and deep within his consciousness, the core of cause and effect was slowly turning, as if waiting for a crucial opportunity.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com