Night fell, and the base's silhouette blurred into the dusk like a sleeping beast. After Lin Lan took command, the squad began clearing out the underground archives, searching for clues about Zhao Yang's parents. The air was thick with dust and the scent of old metal. Every page they turned felt like peeling back a forgotten layer of history.
Using his mental command, Hu Hao extracted a hazy memory from one of the former guards: "They were sent to the Northern Seventh Defense Zone… escorted by a special unit." His voice was low, trembling as if dredged from the depths of memory.
Lu Ye pulled up the map, tracing the edge of a mountain range with his fingertip. "That area was marked high-risk at the start of the apocalypse. If they're still alive… it's probably a black prison for espers."
Zhao Yang said nothing. He slowly folded the note again, as if gathering the shards of a memory on the verge of breaking. As the paper touched his chest, his breath caught—like sealing away both hope and pain. Blood mist rose quietly, swirling around him like the echo of an ancient vow. It made no sound, but its presence etched a silent promise into the air: No matter the cost, he would bring them back.
In the base's data vault, Lin Lan uncovered an encrypted file. It referenced a single event: the "Star Abyss Descent," involving an unidentified substance. She frowned. "The military tried to study it. But everyone who came into contact suffered mental collapse… They called it 'foreign fragments,' but never truly understood it." He Xuan's metal disc trembled faintly, then fell silent—like a warning: Do not touch.
When the term "interference factor" was mentioned, the disc shivered again, as if responding to a buried memory. Lu Ye spoke quietly. "We're not the first to encounter it." Lin Lan looked up, her eyes cold and clear. "But we might be the last ones capable of controlling it."
In Su Zhihan's private office, a half-finished painting hung on the wall—Zhao Yang's parents, trapped in an energy cage, with a twisted Star Abyss rift in the background. Qin Hao whispered, "She saw them before." Zhao Yang clenched his fists, knuckles pale. "She died too easily."
Lin Lan flipped through the sketchbook and found a page with a tiny crystal tucked inside. Its surface bore symbols similar to those on He Xuan's disc. Lu Ye recognized it instantly. "A variant of the Star Abyss Fragment."
Eye of the World – Fragment Identification ID: X-12 Status: Inactive Trait: Memory Embedding – can record and replay fragments of the holder's consciousness
Hu Hao took the crystal and said softly, "If I can use this to enhance my commands… I could make an entire army forget their orders." Lu Ye nodded. "But you must stay lucid." He Xuan added quietly, "It doesn't just embed memory—it can rewrite causality. If you lose control, the whole base could fall into illusion."
That night, Zhao Yang stood alone atop the base, gazing at the distant mountains. Their black silhouettes curled in the dusk like sleeping giants. The wind sliced across his face, carrying the scent of rust and scorched earth. Blood mist rose again, forming a quiet array beneath his feet—like the remnants of an ancient ritual.
He Xuan approached and said softly, "Your energy… is being watched." Zhao Yang didn't turn around. He simply replied, "I'm not afraid of being seen. I'm afraid they won't see my parents."
Far off in the sky, a new fracture began to spread. And deep in Lu Ye's backpack, the Star Abyss fragment trembled.
The next awakening might not just be a power surge— It could rewrite the rules of the entire world.