The darkness in the laboratory was more complete than I had imagined.
After three seconds of adjustment, Lin Yi's pupils barely caught the faint blue halo flickering at the edge of Chu Yao's projection—that was the stress response of the AI core when it was operating under overload.
The bronze compass in his palm pressed against his skin, the coldness seeping into his heart through his veins, like an ice needle pricking his nerves.
"Chu Yao, progress of the reality layer scan." He lowered his voice, his right hand lightly resting on the control panel, dark gold patterns creeping from his wrist bone to his fingertips, a sign that the passive skill of the [Time and Space Dominator] class had been triggered.
"73%..." Chu Yao's projection suddenly distorted into snowflakes, and when it coalesced again, a red data stream pulsed in her virtual pupils: "Law erosion detected—target locked onto residual energy fragments in the projection, which are devouring the physical rules of reality at a rate of 0.3% per second."
Lin Yi's Adam's apple bobbed.
Three days ago, in that shattered projection of the future, he only had time to see the eerie green butterfly wings and the blood-red sky. Now, all the fragments suddenly pieced together in his mind: the butterfly wing fragments on Long Wu's battle sword, the sudden alternation of hot and cold on the compass, and even the abnormal humming of the laboratory ventilation system half an hour ago—all of these were the prelude to the infiltration of higher-dimensional forces.
"Ivan!" He turned to look in the direction of the armory.
A metallic clang echoed in the darkness. Ivan's pendant emitted a ghostly blue glow, illuminating his taut jawline: "Life resonance detection complete." He raised his hand, pale purple patterns pulsating in his palm—the residual energy from the Mother Nest's core. "The reality layer has been compressed into a thin film. Outside..." His throat tightened, "is a void devoid of any rules."
Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass came from outside the laboratory.
Lin Yi instantly stepped to the side, blocking Chu Yao's projection, and the dark gold patterns surged to his elbows.
Long Wu's communicator lit up red on the control panel, but there was no sound, only a blurry image: charred sycamore trees, a crooked road sign, and a dozen survivors huddled in a corner.
Long Wu's battle suit had three holes in it, and black slime was dripping from his dragon claw blade. He was using his body to protect a boy in a white shirt.
"Boss, I'm in the back alley of Dongshan Elementary School." Long Wu's voice finally squeezed out of the communicator, crackling with static. "These people were scared by the darkness and ran around in circles. I intercepted seven..." He suddenly paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, "But this kid..."
In the picture, the boy in the white shirt looks up.
His eyes gleamed with an eerie pale gold in the darkness, without pupils, like two small lamps.
Long Wu's dragon claw blade pressed against his chest, but the boy only looked down at the back of his hand—there were no traces of darkness there, and his skin was as smooth as if he had never experienced this disaster.
"Aren't you afraid?" Long Wu's voice was as deep as muffled thunder.
The boy looked up, a very faint smile appearing on his lips.
His voice was soft, yet clear, penetrating the communicator: "Because I have...seen the end."
In the laboratory, Lin Yi's fingertips left afterimages as they tapped on the control panel.
The bronze compass suddenly vibrated in my palm, the dark gold patterns perfectly overlapping with the engravings on the compass. A torrent of information that did not belong to this dimension flooded my brain—branchings of fate, overlapping timelines, and observation points of higher-dimensional will.
He grabbed the communicator abruptly: "Long Wu, take everyone to the underground shelter. The anti-jamming device will arrive in five minutes."
"Understood." Long Wu's image began to blur, finally freezing on the moment the boy looked up, his lips clearly saying: "Tell Lin Yi, the Gate of Destiny..."
"Chu Yao, locate the spatial coordinates of the back alley of Dongshan Elementary School." Lin Yi's voice suddenly lowered, the coldness of the compass seeping into his entire palm. "Ivan, prepare the spacetime rift; I'm going personally."
"Boss!" Long Wu's low growl suddenly burst through the communicator, "This kid says his name is..."
The electrical noise abruptly drowned out the second half of the sentence.
Lin Yi stared at the black screen of the communicator, dark gold patterns already creeping up his neck.
Chu Yao's projection suddenly appeared, unfolding a 3D map beside him. Red markers flashed wildly in the back alley of Dongshan: "High-dimensional anchor point detected forming; the actual film thickness in the target area is only 12% remaining."
Ivan shoved the jamming device into Lin Yi's hand, the blue light from the pendant making his face appear pale. "This thing will only last ten minutes at most." He hesitated, then finally said, "Be careful of that boy; his life signal... doesn't belong to this timeline."
Lin Yi fastened the jamming device and turned to walk towards the back door of the laboratory.
The bronze compass was burning hot in his palm, the temperature so intense it made his fingertips turn red—exactly the same heat as when the future projection dissipated three days ago.
In the darkness outside the door, the sound of black butterflies flapping their wings grew clearer and clearer, like countless fine needles pricking the eardrums.
The moment he pushed open the back door, a wisp of green butterfly wings swept in with the wind and landed at his feet.
The communicator suddenly vibrated, and Long Wu's voice message popped up, accompanied by noticeable panting: "Boss, that kid says he's... a Fate Traveler."
In the darkness, Lin Yi's dark gold patterns suddenly surged to his brow bone.
He gazed at the churning black mist rising in the direction of Dongshan, a low chuckle escaping his throat, colder than ever before: "The Traveler of Destiny?" He crushed the interference device in his palm, golden light leaking through his fingers. "Perfect, I also have something to ask him."
(End of this chapter) The wind from the edge of the Dark Realm, carrying the smell of rust, rushed into his collar. Lin Yi's dark gold patterns had spread to the corners of his eyes. The crisp sound of each step on the broken glass was like a countdown.
In the communicator, Long Wu's location red dot jumped wildly on the retinal projection. He could hear his own heartbeat drowning out the buzzing of the black butterfly's wings in the distance—this was the [Time and Space Dominator]'s instinctive warning of danger.
"Three hundred meters to go." Chu Yao's projection solidified beside him, and the data stream hanging from her hair swept across the ground. "The spatial wrinkling rate of the target area has exceeded the critical value. It is recommended to activate the spacetime barrier."
Lin Yi raised his hand and pressed it to his chest. The dark gold patterns suddenly lit up, and a semi-transparent light membrane instantly enveloped his entire body.
He could feel the corrosive force in the air hitting the barrier, hissing like drops of scalding oil.
All that remained of the sycamore tree at the corner was a charred stump. Long Wu's battle suit gleamed coldly in the shadows twenty meters away. Seven survivors huddled behind him, while the boy in the white shirt stood in the middle of the road, his pale golden eyes reflecting the churning black mist.
“Boss!” Long Wu’s dragon claw blade grazed the boy’s ear, but stopped half an inch from his skin—the boy didn’t even blink, but just looked down at the back of his hand, “He said you can understand.”
Lin Yi deactivated the barrier, and dark gold patterns danced at his fingertips.
When the boy looked up, he saw the pale gold lines at the corners of the other person's eyes, exactly the same as the broken light trace in the future projection three days ago.
“Fate Traveler,” he said in a low voice, yet his voice was like a knife chilled to the bone, “Explanation.”
The boy laughed, but there was no warmth in his smile: "The higher-dimensional observers have drilled a hole in the reality layer. They want to turn this place into a furnace that devours other dimensions." He raised his hand, and a miniature star map floated in his palm. "Darkness is the corrosive agent of rules. Once the membrane completely breaks, all existence will be torn into quantum states."
"The Gate of Destiny," Lin Yi interrupted him abruptly, the bronze compass burning in his palm. "You said it's insurance."
“The observers are afraid of overplaying their hand.” The boy’s fingertips traced the star map, and a dim star suddenly shone brightly. “Behind the door are their observation anchors; only those who break through the template can open it—you are the only Mythical-level being, so you naturally count.” His voice suddenly softened, like wind blowing across water, “But you must know, inside the door…”
"Chu Yao," Lin Yi interrupted him, turning to the AI beside him, "verify his words."
Chu Yao's pupils were instantly filled with data streams. Scan data from the laboratory, fragments of the future from three days ago, and even butterfly wing fragments from Long Wu's battle blade exploded around her at the same time.
Three seconds later, her projection suddenly froze, the blue light at the tips of her hair turning incandescent white: "97% match. Coordinates of the Gate of Destiny..." Her fingertip pointed to the darkest corner of the star map, "Ancient civilization ruins shrouded in the folds of time, located at..."
"I know." Lin Yi suddenly closed his eyes.
Fragments of memory flooded back: the bronze fragments I found in the Qinling Mountains when I was twelve, the stone archway that kept appearing in my dreams when I was twenty, and the stone gate with star trails engraved in the projection of the future three days ago—all of these were foreshadowings of fate.
When he opened his eyes, dark gold patterns had already covered his entire face. "Long Wu, take the survivors to the underground shelter; Ivan, activate the Mother Nest Energy Resonator and clear a path for me."
Long Wu's dragon claw blade retracted into his arm armor with a "whoosh." He bent down and hugged the smallest survivor in his arms. When he looked up, dragon scales flashed at the corners of his eyes: "I'll come to pick you up in half an hour."
Ivan's pendant suddenly swelled into a dark blue ball of light. He pressed the ball of light to the ground, and pale purple patterns spread like a spider web: "It can only last for ten minutes. After that time..." He didn't finish speaking, but turned and walked towards the alley entrance. The black mist screamed when it touched his light patterns, like a living thing being scorched by fire.
The entrance to the ruins is hidden behind a waterfall deep in the Qinling Mountains.
Lin Yi ascended the stone steps that Ivan had cleaved open with his energy, with Chu Yao's projection hovering over his left shoulder, constantly monitoring the surrounding erosion concentration.
The higher they went, the stronger the stench in the air became. By the time they stood in front of the waterfall, the dark gold patterns had begun to heat up—this was the [Time and Space Dominator] warning them of impending danger.
"Jump." Lin Yi grabbed Chu Yao's wrist, and the two of them jumped into the waterfall at the same time.
The moment the water flows through your body, the scene before you suddenly distorts: the waterfall becomes a stone wall engraved with star patterns, the damp moisture becomes a dry wind, and directly in front of you, an obsidian archway stands silently in the void, the engravings on the door glowing, each stroke seeming to speak some ancient language.
"Choice is destiny, and moving forward requires resolving all attachments." Chu Yao read the words on the door, her voice unusually trembling. "This is the common language of advanced civilizations, translated..."
"I know." Lin Yi's fingertips were already touching the stone door.
The door felt alive, trembling gently in his palm.
He could hear a more ancient rhythm mixed in with his own heartbeat, like the turning of star trails, like the breathing of time.
When the dark gold patterns perfectly aligned with the engravings on the door, the door suddenly hummed and slowly opened.
Darkness seeped out from the crack in the door, but vanished the moment it touched Lin Yi.
Just as he was about to take a step, a voice suddenly rang in his mind, so familiar that it made his breath catch in his throat—it was his own voice, yet it carried a certain vicissitude that did not belong to this timeline: "Welcome back, the real you."
In the darkness deep within the door, a mirror is emerging.
The reflection in the mirror was not Lin Yi, but a young man in a white shirt—the golden lines at the corners of his eyes perfectly matched the dark gold lines on Lin Yi's eyes, and behind him, countless fragments of time and space were spinning, and in each fragment, there was a Lin Yi walking towards this door.
"Now you know," the boy's voice came from the mirror, "The Fate Traveler is nothing more than you from another timeline."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com