Darkness.
Heavy, thick darkness.
It wasn't the kind you see when you close your eyes.
It was the kind you feel in your chest—cold, heavy, pressing down like a mountain.
For a long moment, Yin Lie didn't know if he was breathing.
He didn't know if he had a body.
He didn't know if he was alive.
Then—
a single sound echoed through the dark:
drip… drip… drip…
Like water falling in a deep cave.
Yin Lie opened his eyes.
Or maybe he thought he opened them.
The world around him was gray, shaking softly, like he was underwater.
He tried to move.
His arms didn't respond.
He tried to speak.
His voice made no sound.
"...Where…?"
His lips moved, but he didn't hear anything.
He floated in nothing.
---
The Memories Begin
A voice whispered behind him.
Soft.
Lonely.
"You failed again."
Yin Lie turned—
or maybe the world turned around him.
A scene formed:
A snowy courtyard.
A younger Yin Lie kneeling in the snow, coughing blood into his hands.
His fingers shaking.
His breath weak.
A man with a mask said:
"Your power hurts everyone near you.
Your existence is a danger to others."
The younger Yin Lie lowered his head.
And whispered:
"…I know."
The scene shattered like ice.
Yin Lie's heart squeezed painfully.
"No… not this again…"
The voice returned, colder this time:
"You couldn't save her either."
Sniper's face flickered in front of him.
Her eyes bright.
Her smile small but real.
Then—
the red light swallowed her whole.
The sound burned through his skull.
Yin Lie reached out—
but his hand passed through her image like smoke.
"…Stop…"
The image of her death repeated.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Each time the beam hit her chest.
Each time the world around Yin Lie cracked a little more.
The voice whispered:
"You weren't fast enough.
You weren't strong enough."
He clenched his fists.
"Stop—"
"You're always too late."
"STOP—!"
His cry echoed through the dark and came back distorted.
---
The Rift Shows His Fears
The world shifted again.
A cold room formed—
a lab with bright white lights.
Yin Lie saw Qin Mian.
Small.
Frail.
Sitting on a metal table with wires attached to her head.
Her eyes were closed.
Her breathing soft.
A scientist whispered:
"If she wakes… the anchor breaks."
Another replied:
"And the world breaks with her."
The scene flickered.
Qin Mian's voice drifted from somewhere he couldn't see.
"Lie… don't leave me…"
He turned wildly.
"Mian?! Where are you?"
Her voice echoed but didn't come closer.
"Lie… please wake up…"
He reached into the darkness, desperate.
His hand touched nothing.
Nothing.
---
The World Begins to Collapse
The floor under him cracked.
A hole opened into endless black.
He fell.
The wind roared past his ears.
He reached for something—anything.
But the darkness swallowed him whole.
Then—
he landed.
Hard.
On cold stone.
He pushed himself up.
He was in a maze.
Walls made of shifting crystal.
Lights flowing inside the walls like living veins.
He walked.
The maze stretched forever.
His steps echoed.
He turned one corner—
and saw himself.
A mirror?
No.
A memory.
A young Yin Lie sat alone, knees pulled to his chest.
He whispered:
"I don't want to hurt anyone…"
Older Yin Lie stepped closer.
"…I don't want to be a monster…"
Yin Lie slammed his fist into the crystal wall.
The illusion shattered.
The maze shook.
The voice whispered again, colder than before:
"You break everything you touch."
"No."
"You break everyone you love."
"NO—"
"You broke her."
And once again—
Sniper's silhouette appeared.
Then exploded in red light.
Yin Lie fell to his knees.
His breath shook violently.
He clutched his head.
"STOP IT—!! PLEASE—JUST STOP—!!!"
But the Rift didn't stop.
It fed on his emotions.
On his grief.
His guilt.
His fear.
His loneliness.
The maze walls bent and cracked.
Light bled through.
The world shook violently.
Yin Lie screamed:
"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYONE EVER AGAIN—!!"
The scream tore the maze apart.
---
A Different Voice
Then—
silence again.
A softer voice entered his mind.
Light.
Warm.
Shaking a little.
"Lie…"
Yin Lie froze.
That voice—
not cold.
Not cruel.
Not memory.
Real.
"Mian…?"
Her voice echoed like a bell underwater.
"I'm looking for you…
Don't give up…"
His chest tightened.
He looked around wildly.
"Mian?! Where—?!"
He reached out—
and for the first time—
something touched him back.
A hand.
Warm.
Small.
Real.
It rested lightly on the back of his hand.
His eyes widened.
He whispered:
"Mian…?"
Her voice came again, softer:
"I'm coming…
Just hold on… okay?"
The darkness trembled.
The Rift cracked under her voice.
Yin Lie's fingers curled around the warm touch—
the first real thing he felt since he entered this nightmare.
"Mian…
I'm here…"
The darkness whispered in anger:
"She cannot reach you."
But Yin Lie's grip tightened.
And he whispered:
"She already did."
The Rift screamed.
The maze shattered again—
this time into light, not darkness.
And Yin Lie fell forward—
toward her voice.
Toward warmth.
Toward escape.
—
Chapter 94 End