Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 563 - 474 Soloist_1

"Since the beginning of ancient times, who has delivered the teachings?"

Out of nowhere, a deep voice resonated near Huai Shi's ear, rousing him from his stupor.

Only then did he realize he was indeed falling, descending further into darkness. Even though there was no sound of wind rushing against his face, not even a sensation of weightlessness, he felt certain of it. He was plummeting, seemingly into the very depths of that chanting voice.

When he strained his ears to listen carefully, he found no sound actually emerging beside him.

That voice came from within, from the surges of his soul. Countless instances of Source Substance colliding stirred echoes like tidal waves, bringing faint and distant reverberations. It echoed within Huai Shi's consciousness, like electricity coursing through his nerves. It relentlessly triggered one switch after another, lifting the submerged symbols of his memory, word by word, assembling the silent voice that was slowly arising from the depths of his soul.

Perhaps even a thoughtless Iron Stone would comprehend the meaning within?

That voice, no, it was Huai Shi's soul asking a question.

—In the beginning, before the distant ages, who was it that passed down such visions to posterity?

In that instant, the darkness before Huai Shi's eyes suddenly broke open, as if countless black mists rapidly dissipated—rather, Huai Shi's soul had finally broken through the veil that obscured his sight.

In that brief moment, quicker than the blink of an eye, a fleeting glimpse.

Amid countless iridescent bubbles, a magnificent view formed by overlapping matrices, a torrent of nothingness sketched by flowing light.

Like grand rivers, profound caves, and foundations so immense they defied description.

Out of the blue, Huai Shi's mind was filled with a decisive conclusion and enlightenment: it was a pillar.

If one were to use human intellect and common sense to define it, that ephemeral entity, undoubtedly, would be the pillar that rose from the distant Abyss Bottom, upholding the entire world.

But the pillar vanished in a flash, just like a phantom, never to be seen again.

Huai Shi felt groggy once more, sinking back into a deep sleep with no end in sight.

Until he opened his eyes again and heard the murmurs that, after a long brewing, once more arose from the depths of his soul: "Before the high and the low took shape, how can they be contemplated?"

—When heaven and earth had yet to form, how did all of this come into being?

Then, Huai Shi saw Hell.

In the endless depths of the Abyss, amidst numerous overlapping strata, lay ruined walls scattered in the eternal darkness, a desolate scene.

It was only now that Huai Shi could be certain that he was indeed falling.

Like dust dropping from nowhere, then slowly passing through layer after layer of borders, ultimately descending into Hell, ever deeper.

Just like that, drifting in the gloom like a feather, he watched as the bustling Current Circumstances receded into the distance, then he plunged into the deserts, oases, and lonely islands of the Border.

He saw Steel Cities under thick smoke and colossal elephants wandering above wastelands, carrying entire settlements on their backs. He saw desolate towns connected by countless lonely towers atop seas of clouds, bustling and noisy mines in vacuums, and even exquisitely beautiful villages that shimmered like works of art...

Those cold, noisy, refined, or declining worlds also rapidly slipped away.

「Finally, he embraced the Abyss.」

In the darkness, only countless phantom-like visions emerged and then disappeared.

Within the silhouettes sketched out by Hell, he caught a quick glimpse, but when Huai Shi tried to look closely, they once again vanished into the darkness.

Huai Shi could only determine his own location and depth through the lighthouses placed at different depths by the Astronomical Society, those shimmering colored lights.

Just like that, passing through the edge of Chalatustra's Great Mystery Ceremony, he entered the shallow regions of Hell, his speed increasing. Soon, he bypassed the Abyss Telescope extending from the borders of the White City, then passed through the massive walls deliberately piled up by the ruins of Hell, entering the Depth Area closest to the Current Circumstances.

Here, countless Abyss Hordes occupied their own territories, fighting and killing each other, forming alliances, or opposing one another. Vaguely, he could see the glowing Soul of the Sublimators floating among them, but it was difficult to discern the details.

Only the chaotic battlegrounds, numbering in the tens of thousands, flashed by before Huai Shi's eyes.

Then, he fell into the Withering Region, from which there was no turning back.

Like sinking into the deep sea, within the faint light, Huai Shi saw terrifying shadows of enormous size colliding with each other and countless Erosion species lurking in the corners of the Abyss like chaff, as well as Predators patrolling above their domains.

The dynasties of the Rulers were established here, like Black Holes in the Abyss, expanding their gravitational pull in all directions, displaying their unique and supreme crowns.

Whether cruel, bloody, or mysterious...

Leviathan stretched out countless tentacles, stirring the Endless Sea. Ifrit cast down its ferocious and harsh light. The Withered King perched upon his throne in his silent domain. Rotting Dragon coiled within the land of corpses. The Purgatory Factory Masters gathered here, forming the largest Nightmare Workshop in Hell. Giants in the Sea of Titans wrestled with their massive shadows, while Abyss Handlers and Dark Scholars concealed their tracks in the darkness...

All sorts of scenes rushed at him, then swiftly disappeared.

It seemed as if someone noticed the passerby's arrival; a pair of cold eyes lifted, landed on the gradually distancing Huai Shi, reached out in an attempt to grasp at nothing, and indifferently retracted its gaze.

Huai Shi had already plummeted into the Abyss Dark Zone.

In the absolute darkness, Huai Shi felt himself brush past countless immense entities, but when he carefully looked around, he could see nothing at all. It was as if there was only emptiness here, yet it felt as though countless Predators lurked behind the curtain, all eerily silent.

Within the deathly quiet, a flash of lightning suddenly lit up from afar, followed swiftly by the illumination of numerous cruel outlines. In an instant, the prey at the center was torn apart, swiftly returning to silence, leaving no signs behind.

"Hmm?" A bewildered voice echoed from behind Huai Shi. "Is there someone here?"

But when Huai Shi turned back, he only had time to glimpse the outline of a haggard Traveler before his consciousness again darkened, and he felt himself falling faster, towards deeper depths...

But is there a deeper place still? Does the legendary Silent Zone truly exist?

Huai Shi didn't know, nor did he know how much time had passed.

The sensation of falling gradually ceased, and he stood still in what appeared to be an eternal wasteland. Looking around, when he raised his head to gaze up, it seemed he could glimpse the light of the Current Circumstances from afar.

He did not know where he was anymore.

Rather, it was hard for him to distinguish whether what he had seen on his way here had been reality or illusion, or whether he was in Hell or asleep in a dream.

Yet amidst the decadent ruins, as he took two steps forward, he surprisingly saw the collapsed floors of a building and even a shattered sign.

Covered in cracks and rust.

The emblem of the Astronomical Society lay in the dust, and when Huai Shi reached out to touch it, it crumbled just like that.

Only now, as he surveyed the ruins, could he faintly discern what Jinling once looked like.

But was this real or fake?

In his shock, Huai Shi staggered back a step, and a tattered notebook fell from a pile of bones that had turned to ash. Pieces of yellowed paper fluttered out like leaves, then quickly dissipated into the air.

Only two crumbling fragments fell to the ground, barely allowing one to make out the last words left in the faded ink.

"Looking back at the past, all I see is a shameful history."

On the quickly disintegrating fragments, the last words, almost of confession, remained: "To be born human, I am sorry."

But those departing words had been violently scratched out with multiple strokes of a pen, erased. Later, a huge comment was added between the words, concise and to the point: only two words.

—"Bullshit!"

A wind blew out of nowhere, sweeping away the dust, and everything before his eyes; the immense ruins rapidly evaporated into nothing.

In the darkness, only a distant shadow remained, silently watching him.

It seemed to smile, making him feel so comforted.

Raising an arm, he waved goodbye to the distant boy. But when Huai Shi chased after him, the figure had already vanished.

There, only a longsword covered in dust remained.

It was slanted, embedded in the stone, waiting in silence through the long years, its outline so familiar, yet so incredible to Huai Shi.

When Huai Shi reached out and gripped the heavy hilt, a clear chirp arose from the silent iron, shaking off the dust.

In the deepest dark, the innermost layer of Dreamland, the most ethereal part of the illusion, the rust on the Sword of Virtue flaked away layer by layer. It shed its former dilapidation, revealing its solemn and sacred contours once again.

On the sword blade, a line of dazzling light shone, illuminating Huai Shi's face.

「As the dust settled, light was born.」

A powerful beam of light burst forth, cutting through the darkness with incredible sharpness, dispelling nightmares, tearing apart illusions, and piercing the ignorant chaos.

Huai Shi truly opened his eyes from the darkness.

「The long night was over!」

In that instant, in the Current Circumstances, amid the surging darkness, the huge matrix below the Stone Marrow Pavilion emitted a mighty roar, like a bell tolling, echoing throughout Xinhai.

Even far away in Jinling, the Source Fluctuation of the eruption could be observed, as well as that magnificent and sacred sound.

In the garden, an old man bowed over trimming the bushes looked up in astonishment, his figure suddenly becoming an illusory blur, disappearing into the air.

And then, the darkness that enveloped the Stone Marrow Pavilion dissipated suddenly.

Everything returned under the sunlight.

A naked old man emerged again, astonished as he looked around.

Before he could even savor his first breath and the heartfelt joy, Uncle Fang instinctively grabbed a box from the ground to cover himself.

The first emotion he experienced since 'being alive'... was embarrassment.

And in the basement, amid the rapidly retracting darkness, the sound of a heartbeat echoed from nowhere, as the collapsing blackness quickly shaped into a vague human silhouette.

Like an obsidian statue.

Cracks rapidly appeared, expanding and covering the entire silhouette. It crumbled bit by bit, revealing the reborn youth beneath.

Huai Shi finally woke up from the long nightmare.

He stared blankly at the ceiling overhead, still not understanding what had happened.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I doing?

Until the sound of a camera shutter woke him.

Along with the flickering of the flash, the phone meticulously recorded the foolish look on his face after his progression.

And right in front of Huai Shi, the woman who had waited for a long time looked down at him, cheerfully extending a hand, "Welcome back, fool."

Huai Shi was bewildered for quite a while before he came to his senses. Caught off guard, he didn't know how to respond, just instinctively grasping her hand.

Then he realized how different he had become from the past.

"Right." Soloist·Huai Shi smiled. "I'm back."