C2371 The Return of the Void
Zhong Chichen's confidence took a hit.
After a lengthy search, just as he was on the cusp of finding answers through Paxton's spiritual sense shadow, an unseen force cruelly snuffed out his hope.
All his efforts were rendered futile in an instant.
Seated upon the Book of Time, he harnessed its power to mend his physical wounds, gazing emptily at the swiftly passing images around him.
"You're okay, that's what matters."
Yu Yuan offered these words of comfort in a gentle tone.
Subsequently, he and everyone else turned their attention to the images streaking past the star.
This enigmatic star, resembling a rapidly moving orb of light, whizzed around the vast Genesis Nebula.
Its speed was such that they could only catch blurred glimpses of the surrounding scenery.
As time passed, they witnessed the destruction of numerous civilizations and glimpsed grand, ancient structures amidst the ruins of shattered stars—evidence of once-thriving societies.
The bizarre shapes of many cities had only ever been seen in their dreams, never in reality.
Scattered throughout the Genesis Nebula were the remains of innumerable intelligent life forms—some as massive as giant beasts, others as minuscule as insects, showcasing a variety of oddities.
Yu Yuan, Heesters, Zhong Chichen, Taishi, and others had never encountered such exotic species in the Otherworld, the Abyss, the Wasteland, or the Origin Realm.
This sight indirectly validated the claim made by the God of Destiny, Stephanie.
The Spirit of Creation had enacted apocalyptic events more than once.
Before the current era, earlier civilizations had perished within the Genesis Nebula, obliterated by the Spirit of Creation.
The Genesis Nebula, nestled deep within the Domain of Origin, was both the cradle and the grave of all beings and the Primal Anima.
Life and the Primal Anima emerged from here and also met their end here.
It seemed to be the natural cycle of existence, as well as its inevitable conclusion.
The star beneath Paxton continued to consume the space magic of the Genesis Nebula. Even as he sat, head bowed, Paxton murmured unintelligible words to himself.
Everyone could sense that the star was currently howling along the outer rim of the Genesis Nebula without delving into its heart.
Yet, they still beheld the actual celestial bodies—the sun, moon, and stars—as well as the shattered remnants of these heavenly objects.
Scattered among the fragments of stars were the remnants of civilizations that had vanished eons ago. Amidst the shattered heavens, there were once undulating mountain ranges, meandering rivers, and dense forests. The remains of countless creatures, some intact and others fragmented, lay within these celestial realms.
Images of many civilizations laid to waste, stars and celestial bodies broken and discarded like trash, accumulated in a neglected corner of the Genesis Nebula's outer reaches. The scenes of civilizations collapsing, worlds plunging into the abyss, and the withering of all life and beings repeatedly shook the souls of all who witnessed them.
They encountered hundreds of such desolate scenes in their rapid journey. Guided by this celestial body, they circled the Genesis Nebula, gaining an inkling of the cataclysmic events that had once transpired in this enigmatic expanse.
"Is the new era doomed as well?" The God of Time, Heesters, was engulfed in bewilderment and panic. In that moment, he yearned for the guidance of the God of Destiny, Stephanie, the figure he so admired. Alas, Stephanie was nowhere to be found.
The Star of Wonder, which had been traversing the Genesis Nebula for ages, revealed no trace of Stephanie. The God of Destiny, Stephanie, did not seek them out, nor did she offer any revelations or teachings.
During this time, the Star of Wonder that carried them had diminished to half its original size. Paxton, seated with his head bowed, had also shrunk to match the star, now appearing as diminutive as a dwarf. He continued to mutter unintelligibly to himself.
His body was riddled with openings, his head shattered, yet his brain was utterly empty. Zhong Chichen explained that Paxton had separated his soul from his body. Where one would expect to see the spiritual sense within his brain, it had all dissipated into the spatial folds on the star's surface.
Much time passed before a significant moment arrived. From the consistent space folds that mirrored the star, everyone sensed Paxton's unyielding obsession—an urge to convey and release his innermost emotions. Despite losing most of his memories, despite the separation of his soul from his body, despite merging his physical form with the star below, his obsession never waned. It seemed that even after a thousand years, ten thousand years, or a hundred million years, this obsession would persist.
He was determined to uncover the truth!
The star continued its rapid journey, with Paxton and the star shrinking in unison, diminishing to a fraction of their original size!
To the onlookers, Paxton, seated in stillness, had become a tiny figure, so small that it seemed he could be crushed underfoot by anyone.
The colossal star, with the power to traverse the Star River, carried everyone on a swift flight through the Genesis Nebula.
Due to its incredible speed, the details were a blur, leaving everyone with only a vague impression of their surroundings.
Heesters occasionally spoke up, claiming to have spotted the remains of a deity from one of the thirty-six worlds of the Otherworld, resting in a remote corner of the Genesis Nebula.
These remains were like Paxton's, belonging to the elder gods of the Otherworld.
According to ancient Otherworld legends, these gods may have perished for myriad reasons, yet their resting places remained elusive.
Unexpectedly, their remains were discovered within the Genesis Nebula of the Domain of Origin.
Heesters, aware of his inability to lead the group to the truth and witnessing his old friend's daily decline, felt a deep unease as he saw both Paxton and the star beneath them shrink. He was at a loss, uncertain of what the future held for their journey.
After what seemed like an eternity, the whirling stars finally came to a halt.
"We are no longer in the outer reaches of the Genesis Nebula, but rather... its interior."
Zhong Chichen, adept in space magic, fixed his gaze on a specific location as the stars ceased their motion. "Something's not right, I'll go check it out!" he declared, and promptly left the Book of Time, darting toward the anomaly he had detected.
"A void!"
"It's utterly bizarre! Inside the Genesis Nebula lies a complete Land of Nothingness!"
Zhong Chichen's voice echoed with astonishment from a distance.
"A Land of Nothingness?"
The group was visibly shaken, their eyes instinctively following the direction Zhong Chichen had taken.
Yu Yuan was taken aback, then, like Zhong Chichen, he shot out like Divine Thunder, racing toward Zhong Chichen's location.
Soon after, he was confronted with a surreal vista.
Far off, at the heart of the Genesis Nebula, was an endless expanse of nothingness!
Devoid of suns, moons, stars, life, wind, and air, this absolute Land of Nothingness unfolded before him, leaving him utterly transfixed.
His gaze could not pierce the endless void before him; all he saw was desolation and emptiness, as if he were within the Brugeth Star Domain. Momentarily stunned, his Solar Spirit Body moved beyond Zhong Chichen, plunging directly into the Land of Nothingness. In that instant, he was jolted!
Deep within the void, he sensed his real body, along with his vast, multicolored form. His spiritual senses across different embodiments began to communicate instantaneously.
In the void, the various incarnations of Yu Yuan were all struck with terror. At the very depths of the Domain of Origin, within the heart of the Genesis Nebula, there lay an immense expanse of nothingness, bordering the very edge of the Wasteland.
Boom!
A massive memory sparkle burst forth, and Yu Yuan's real body was flooded with a recollection. A peculiar, gray, tube-like Star River nestled in the boundless void came to mind. The ends of this elongated Star River touched the void, while the rest was enveloped in a gray wall, silently adrift in the nothingness.
Within this tube-shaped Star River were the sun, the moon, the stars, and numerous Astral Domains, including scenes he recognized. The odd Star River was flanked by the Abyss and the Wasteland, with the Origin Realm at its center. His memories depicted the Wasteland and the Origin Realm separated by a strange wall, and likewise, the Origin Realm and the Abyss were divided by another peculiar barrier.
The three realms, each within the confines of the tube-shaped Star River, were distinctly partitioned by natural walls.
"Abyss, Wasteland, Origin Realm!"
The consciousnesses of the different Yu Yuans were in dialogue. His experiences within the Genesis Nebula, his real body's journey in the Origin Realm, and the colossal five-colored form he had left in the Wasteland all began to converge.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Zhong Chichen, the God of Time Heesters, Taishi, Youyu, Qi Yunhong, and the rest sequentially departed from the Star of Wonder and assembled behind him. The Book of Time also made its way over, unfolding in the void to provide a platform for everyone to stand upon.
"What's the matter?"
"Yu Yuan, have you made some significant discovery?"
"Our senses stretch out into this endless void, yet we detect nothing."
"How odd! Why is there a void at the core of the Genesis Nebula, while the outer ring harbors an unfathomable amount of energy?"
Some were questioning Yu Yuan, while others whispered to themselves, voicing the confusion and bewilderment in their minds.
"In the Domain of Origin, at the very heart of the Genesis Nebula, lies the world from which we hail."
Yu Yuan turned to face Heesters, Zhong Chichen, Taishi, Youyu, and Qi Yunhong, who appeared as if they had been struck hard. "The Domain of Origin we've been journeying toward, the Genesis Nebula we've sought for truth—within its depths lies a so-called 'World within a World.'"
Zhong Chichen smacked his lips, but found himself at a loss for words.
Yu Yuan's revelation had stretched beyond the limits of his imagination, shattering his entire perception of the known world.
The enigma at the heart of the Domain of Origin was the Genesis Nebula, and beyond it, a massive ring.
This colossal ring held the remnants of countless lost worlds and civilizations, including beings from great epochs erased by the Spirit of Creation.
Within this vast ring, a myriad of known and unknown energies swirled, and the mysteries of the rules were plainly visible.
Yet, within the ring lay an infinite expanse of nothingness.
The Everlands, Origin Realm, and Abyss were all integral parts of this boundless void!
Their so-called venture into the Otherworld was merely through a portal left by Paxton, traversing from the desolate Wasteland of the void, across the outer ring of the Genesis Nebula, through the Nebula itself, and beyond the Domain of Origin to distant realms.
In truth, they had always been deep within the Domain of Origin.
