Chapter 235

【Mother of All Things】 had returned, yet the moment it did, Ye Zheng's expression shifted. Light and shadow played across her face.

In an instant, she realized she could no longer sense Mercé, who had always resided within 【Mother of All Things】.

Why had her ability disappeared the moment she entered this era? Because abilities had been born from the Demonic Dragon. Before Margaret became the Demonic Dragon, such powers simply didn't exist in this world.

The Demonic Dragon's power should have spread gradually across the entire nation as Margaret journeyed from place to place.

Perhaps because the Demonic Dragon excelled at sharing its power with its own kind, women were naturally better suited to wielding this portion of that power. That was why, during the early days of the catastrophe, female ability users remained relatively stable, while male ability users were far more susceptible to losing control and descending into berserk madness.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze to her right hand. A fragment of dragon bone was embedded within it. More than anyone else in this era, she embodied the very concept of a Dragonic companion.

That was why her ability had returned before anyone else's. Or rather, Her ability had been born!

"The first master of Mother of All Things... was me?"

Ye Zheng slowly gave voice to the astonishing possibility. The shock in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by an emotion far more complicated.

If that was true, then what role had she played over the five hundred years of history that followed?

“Who... exactly... are you?”

Not far away, the young man dragged his body, riddled with bloody holes, a little closer, curiosity lingering in his gaze. He spoke with painful slowness. “In my memories... you're that woman's... younger sister?”

Without warning, a massive chunk of shattered stone came crashing down. Vincent's body was trapped beneath the rubble, yet he seemed utterly oblivious to it. Still lying there, he lifted his head and asked again, “Who are you?”

Ye Zheng forced down the killing intent surging within her. Through 【Mother of All Things】, she couldn't sense even the faintest trace of life from the present Vincent. This body was truly dead. She had no way of determining what kind of monster the current Vincent had become.

Bai Muqing had once mentioned that Aston XIV's soul was extraordinarily strange. Looking back now, perhaps that soul had never belonged to a human in the first place. The real Vincent Aston had already died by her hand.

Some external lifeform, something akin to a ghost, had taken possession of Vincent's lifeless corpse. The being before her now was the true Aston XIV, the one who would continue to exist for another five hundred years.

Faint, hurried footsteps were already drawing near. Ye Zheng knew it was time to leave.

She walked over to Vincent, crouched before him, and looked into him with her wide, childlike eyes.

Vincent stared into those eyes, which carried an unsettling sense of wrongness so profound it defied explanation. His heart, silent for what felt like an eternity, seemed to beat once more. The unfamiliar yet vivid emotion left him frozen in disbelief.

Fear. It was the very first human emotion the Aston XIV of later generations, hailed as a god, learned in this world.

His golden eyes widened as far as they could, desperately trying to take in the human standing before him. In the very next instant, his eyeballs were gouged from their sockets.

He hadn't even realized what had happened. All he knew was that the world had gone dark. The process of reading this body's memories came to an abrupt halt. He lay there without moving, like a broken clock that would never tick again.

A razor-thin thread of water flashed across the man's eyes in an instant. One of Ye Zheng's hands rested gently over the empty sockets, a gesture that almost resembled quiet consolation. Beneath that touch, 【Stream】 continued to burrow deeper, following the nerves into the innermost reaches of his brain.

Human memories were stored primarily within the brain. Damage to certain regions would impair this body's ability to retain them.

The fewer memories this body kept of her, the better. Although she currently wore the face of Margaret's younger sister, certain habits, expressions, and unconscious mannerisms could still awaken a lingering sense of familiarity.

More importantly, he couldn't be allowed to remember how Margaret had transformed into the Demonic Dragon.

The Demonic Dragon's weakness was the bone blade Margaret had driven into her own chest. That blade had come from the true otherworldly dragons and served as the very source of Margaret's power. She'd concealed it within an inconspicuous part of her body.

After the Demonic Dragon's death, Aston XIV had scattered her remains across different locations to suppress her power. He kept only a small portion of the dragon bones, along with Margaret's human body, for his own research.

Ye Zheng couldn't allow him to uncover the Demonic Dragon's true weakness, the very core of the Demonic Dragon itself.

Once she was done, Ye Zheng couldn't even begin to imagine how the guards rushing in would react upon finding the emperor's body reduced to such a pitiful state. She had no time left to savor the sight.

“System, open the channel. We should return.”

After speaking, Ye Zheng paused. Her brows knit together as a thought surfaced. 【Mother of All Things】 had only just come into existence in her palm. Did the energy she'd absorbed from that Spacetime Turbulence still remain?

Ye Zheng closed her eyes and focused on sensing it. To her surprise, she found that 【Mother of All Things】 was still connected to the power of that Aberrant Realm.

『Ye Zheng, we were never able to determine your coordinates before. You weren't brought here by us.』

Ye Zheng's expression turned solemn.

After a moment's reflection, she ventured, “Could it have been Margaret? She never mentioned anything like that.”

Another possibility crossed her mind. She asked, “If I wanted to return to certain specific points in time, would my current power be enough?”

The system didn't quite understand what she meant.

『Certain points in time? If you mean a specific date and an exact moment, that level of precision is impossible for now.』

『Finding your current location already required an enormous amount of effort. The equipment almost overheated.』

The system complained.

Ye Zheng lowered her gaze to the center of her right palm once more. Had she been overthinking it? After all, she wasn't the first master of 【Mother of All Things】. Was Mercé the true first master instead?

Otherwise, she'd eventually have to travel to a day several years in the future and personally hand 【Mother of All Things】 over to Mercé for the timeline to come full circle.

“System, is it really impossible?”

Ye Zheng asked once again, seeking confirmation.

The system hesitated.

『I can only help you locate plot points that fall within the narrative scope of “Throne of the Aberrant Realm.” I suspect the point in time you're looking for lies beyond the story's recorded plot.』

“Forget it. Let's return first.”

The system opened a passage between dimensions. Ye Zheng reached out and touched what appeared to be empty space, channeling the power of spacetime into the corridor.

Just before departing, her body had become almost translucent within this era. It was as though she stood above another dimension, gazing down upon everything unfolding below.

The guards came rushing over. At their head, the captain of the guard cleared away the fallen stones from the wreckage and helped the blood-soaked young man to his feet.

Without warning, the eyeless young man lunged at the captain, clawing savagely at his face and gouging out both of his eyes. The captain's agonized screams froze the other guards just as they were about to rush forward.

“Give me eyes! Right now!” the young emperor bellowed like a child consumed by a furious tantrum.

A moment later, that era faded from Ye Zheng's sight. She still wanted to see where Margaret had gone, but she never managed to catch even a fleeting glimpse of her.

The system had already opened the passage between dimensions. Every insignificant event that had ever existed within this world flowed together like an endless river beneath her feet.

Ye Zheng longed to see it all clearly, even to descend into one particular moment, yet she had no means of doing so.

The five-hundred-year passage stretched before her in tangible form. Ye Zheng didn't hesitate any longer. She called upon the power she'd absorbed and leapt toward its very end, the point from which her journey had originally begun.

When she opened her eyes again, the sharp tip of a crystal hovered just before her nose. Its once-radiant surface had dulled, resembling a withered branch that had long since lost its vitality.

Ye Zheng released a long, quiet breath. She was back.

✧✧✧✧✧

“Pei Xi, your eyes are very beautiful.”

Within a secluded chamber deep inside the imperial palace, a majestic and strikingly handsome middle-aged man offered the compliment. His every gesture carried perfect composure, balancing commanding authority with an air of patient warmth.

Pei Xi was caught completely off guard. He couldn't understand why the emperor, who had been discussing the Demonic Dragon only moments before, had suddenly begun complimenting his eyes.

“Hahaha, don't be nervous.”

“I've truly grown weary of golden eyes. They're just like a life that never changes. Every now and then, they become rather irritating.”

Pei Xi had no idea how to answer, so he resorted to the safest compliment he could offer the emperor.

“All right, where were we?”

“Ah, yes. We must prevent the Demonic Dragon from reviving. Pei Xi, I'd like to entrust that task to you.”

“Me?”

Pei Xi shook his head in refusal.

“Although the Divine Sword chose me, I'm afraid I'm not worthy of such a tremendous responsibility.”

“Besides, Your Majesty speaks of preventing the Demonic Dragon's revival, yet I haven't the slightest idea where I should even begin…”

The emperor rested a hand on Pei Xi's shoulder, his voice carrying quiet conviction.

“You needn't worry. The empire will spare no effort in supporting you. You're special, Pei Xi.”

“…Please instruct me, Your Majesty. What must I do to stop this catastrophe from descending?”

The emperor smiled.

“The Demonic Dragon never truly died. It will one day return through a certain human woman.”

A look of confusion crossed Pei Xi's face.

“Is that really true?”

“Of course. You've studied history. You should know that the Demonic Dragon has never stood alone.”

“I already have several suspects in mind, but after careful consideration, the most likely one is…”

Pei Xi unconsciously held his breath, his full attention fixed on the emperor as he waited for the answer. Yet for reasons he couldn't explain, a single name had already surfaced in his own heart.

“Ye Zheng.”

The two voices spoke in perfect unison.

The moment the name left his lips, Pei Xi froze. Only then did the thought occur to him. Ye Zheng had forged the Divine Sword and impersonated the God's Chosen. It was only natural for suspicion to fall upon her.

He hesitated.

“Then… should we reveal the truth to the public…”

“The people may not believe it. A more direct solution would be better. Kill her.”

Pei Xi's expression changed at once. In an ins

tant, countless memories surged through his mind.

“I'm to kill Ye Zheng?”

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Authors Note

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Let's have some fun on the forum tomorrow...