The moon hung low above the forest, bleeding silver light across the scorched trees.
Rian walked alone, the faint hum of nanites whispering under his skin. Each breath felt heavier than the last — not from fatigue, but from memory.
He stopped beside a half-collapsed bridge.
This was where he had once sparred with Lin Yue. Where they'd laughed, sworn to protect each other…
Now, only the echo of those moments remained.
> [Emotional interference detected. Would you like to suppress memory recall?]
Rian clenched his fists. "No. Let me remember… every scar, every betrayal."
The Nano Spirit went silent — letting the flood of memories crash over him.
Three Years Ago
"Senior Brother, one day, I'll surpass even Elder Feng!"
Lin Yue's bright laugh echoed as she swung her wooden sword. Rian smiled, tapping her forehead with his finger.
> "Then I'll have to train harder. I can't let my little sister surpass me that easily."
Back then, the world was simple — until the Sect Council decided Rian's research in merging qi with metallic essence was "forbidden."
They called it heresy. A threat to the natural balance of cultivation.
He remembered standing before the elders, his face bloodied, Lin Yue begging for mercy.
Then… the strike from behind. Elder Feng's attack — and the shattering of his dantian.
The Present
Rian's eyes opened, glowing faint silver.
> "You destroyed my future once. Now I'll destroy your entire heaven."
A faint rustle came from behind.
In an instant, Rian turned, energy flaring — forming a blade of condensed nanites.
But instead of an enemy, he found a woman — pale-skinned, dressed in torn crimson robes, her eyes sharp yet distant.
She was bleeding, her aura chaotic — but powerful.
> "You're… human?" Rian asked cautiously.
The woman smirked faintly. "Half right. I'm not from this world."
Before he could respond, a group of cultivators emerged from the mist — hunters, drawn by her wounded spiritual signature.
> "Found her! Don't let the outsider escape!"
Rian moved before they could finish. His blade shimmered like liquid metal, slicing through their barriers effortlessly.
The attackers fell within seconds, their cores absorbed into his Nano Domain.
The woman watched in silent awe. "That energy… it's not qi. What are you?"
Rian's expression remained cold. "Someone who doesn't forgive betrayal."
She tilted her head, smirking. "Then maybe we're the same."
> [Foreign Spirit Signature Detected — Compatibility: 47%.]
[Potential Link Candidate Identified.]
Rian frowned. "Nano Spirit, what the hell does that mean?"
> [Warning: Unknown entity possesses high spiritual density. Interaction may lead to fusion event.]
Before he could question further, the woman collapsed.
He caught her just before she hit the ground — her pulse faint but steady.
"Name," he demanded.
> "Tia…" she whispered weakly. "From the Realm of Eternal Flame."
Then she lost consciousness.
Rian looked down at her, conflicted.
> "Another world, huh? Just how far does this madness go?"
The Nano Spirit's voice echoed softly within him.
> "Far beyond your imagination, Rian. She is the key — and your curse."
As the night deepened, Rian carried her toward an abandoned shrine, unaware that this meeting would alter the fate of countless worlds.