You rubbed your tired eyes.
After seventy-two straight hours of intense internet surfing across three days, absorbing the vast worldview and knowledge of the cosmos, you felt somewhat exhausted.
Perhaps it was just your imagination, but after waking up this time, you discovered that your soul seemed to have grown a little weaker.
Back when you were developing the Nihility Infection Equation, you could stay up for years, even decades, without feeling the slightest bit tired.
Now, after a mere three days…
“She’s here to see you.” The Doctor of Chaos knocked on the door.
“Alright, I’ll be right there.” You braced yourself against the table and stood up.
Truth be told, you were rather curious about this Self-Annihilator who could withstand Nihility.
The fact that she had been able to retrieve you from that place meant she was surely no ordinary person.
You opened the door and walked down the wooden stairs.
Your gaze was inevitably drawn to the figure leaning against the doorway.
She held a katana cradled in her arms.
Her violet hair fell over half her face, covering one eye.
The remaining eye was slightly closed, as though she were resting in quiet meditation.
As if hearing your footsteps, she opened her eye and looked in your direction.
Was it just your imagination, or did you detect a trace of…
tenderness in the way she looked at you?
By all logic, such an emotion shouldn’t appear on the face of a Self-Annihilator…
Then again, your own emotions were quite abundant too…
She stepped toward you and extended a hand, as smooth and pale as mutton-fat jade.
It seemed she wanted to gently brush your cheek—or perhaps she was trying to confirm something.
You weren’t quite accustomed to such warmth.
Subconsciously, you took a step back.
Her hand froze faintly in midair.
A flicker of disappointment passed through her eyes, like an abandoned fawn, her gaze suddenly glistening.
“I’m sorry.
I was out of line.” She withdrew her hand and composed herself, as though nothing had happened.
“Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Acheron.
Like you, I am a Self-Annihilator.”
“Hello, I’m…” You froze for a moment.
Only then did you realize—you didn’t seem to know your own name…
The notebook didn’t seem to have your name in it either…
So, had you already forgotten who you were before you even started taking notes?
“You’ve forgotten?” She seemed to perceive your current state.
You nodded.
“I’m a Xianzhou native.”
From all the information you had gathered over this period, though the universe was filled with countless races, you could still confirm that you were indeed a Xianzhou native.
As for why you were so certain—if there were a progress bar representing your degree of understanding of your own body’s construction, you could confirm with absolute certainty that you’d reached 99%.
The missing 1% was only because you didn’t want to get too proud.
“I see…” Acheron nodded.
Due to the affliction of Mara, it was not at all uncommon for Xianzhou natives to inadvertently stumble into the shadow of IX.
Seeing the atmosphere grow somewhat awkward, you took the initiative to pick up the conversation. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“So…
judging by how you acted just now, you seem to know me?” Though you understood that you must have undergone some deeply unforgettable experience in the past to have stepped into the shadow of IX—
Understanding the past only deepened one’s suffering.
Still, you couldn’t help but feel a sliver of curiosity about what had come before.
Because you had never once experienced the emotion of pain.
Even fighting that inexplicable person had only felt like mild irritation.
“You…
resemble someone I once knew very much.” Acheron’s eyes carried a trace of deep reminiscence.
That tender gaze of hers seemed almost liquid enough to drown in.
It seemed she had a beautiful past.
One warm enough, at least.
“Is that so?
You two must have been very close.” Although you felt a tinge of disappointment that she didn’t actually know you.
“Mm.” She nodded.
But after a pause, she shook her head.
“He was very good to me.
But I…
was not good to him.”
Watching her sink into a melancholy memory, you—with your social record hovering near absolute zero—felt utterly at a loss.
“I’m sorry.
I was rambling to myself.” Noticing your awkwardness, she swiftly tucked that thread of emotion away.
“Don’t worry about it.” You scratched your head, thinking to yourself—social interaction really is such a hassle.
“You are very unique.” Her expression grew somewhat solemn, and you instinctively straightened your own posture in response.
“To walk upon the Path of Nihility, the key lies in resisting Nihility and anchoring the true self.
Yet you walk an entirely different path—embracing Nihility and forging yourself within it.”
“Although others have attempted this path before you, after walking a certain distance, they all became nothing more than fodder for Nihility itself, thoroughly and utterly.”
“You are unique.
You have walked very far down this road, and yet you still exist.
Moreover…” She paused, and her eyes sharpened.
“You seem to negate your own past convictions with remarkable ease?”
You nodded.
The Nihility Infection Equation you had originally developed was for the purpose of enveloping the entire universe beneath the shadow of Nihility—to render the whole of existence into one eternal, frozen instant.
As for the other side effects?
You genuinely had no idea.
After all, you’d been using it for so many years, and the only consequence was that your memory had worsened just a tiny bit.
Now, at most, you could add the loss of your eyesight to the list.
But after learning about the harm that Nihility could bring, you had abandoned that idea entirely.
Acheron furrowed her brow.
But after a moment, her expression cleared with understanding.
It made sense.
After all, your path was different from theirs.
Naturally, you had no need for conviction to anchor yourself.
But now things were different.
Having abandoned your original path, if you could not find a way to anchor yourself, it would be all too easy to lose your way amidst the Nihility.
You blinked.
It seemed…
maybe…
possibly…
probably…
not anymore…
“Do you have an extreme, singular devotion to some concept and a willingness to put it into practice?”
You were completely baffled.
But one thing you understood clearly—you were not that kind of pure, driven person.
“…” Acheron fell silent for a moment.
“Do you have something you cherish beyond all else?”
You thought for a moment, and then your expression brightened.
“Now that you mention it…
I think I actually do!”
Acheron let out a long, quiet breath.
The tension in her face eased.
“I’ll take you to see them!” Finally having found a question you could answer, you grew a little excited.
Although you still had no idea why she was asking all these things…
“Mm…” Acheron nodded.
Then, her expression flickered with confusion.
Take me to see them?
Go where?
A flash of silver light swept past, and the two of them vanished from the wooden cabin.
With a ripple of spatial disturbance, Acheron instinctively opened her eyes.
“Here!
Every single one of these—I made them all myself!” Your voice carried a note of unmistakable pride.
Looking upon the scene before her, Acheron fell utterly silent.
At this very moment, the two of you were suspended high above the sky.
Beneath your feet stretched an endless expanse of orderly, meticulously arranged gravestones…
As for the exact number…
at least, from Acheron’s perspective…
it was countless.
“Oh, right—these two should be the things I cherish most!” Another flash of silver light.
The two of you arrived before two graves.
Upon the headstones before them, a small wooden carving had been placed.
A wide expanse of empty land surrounded these two graves.
Clearly, to you, they were something extraordinarily special.
“Though I don’t know who they are…
I know that they’re very, very important to me!”
So you said.
…I really deserve to die!