Omen of Death
Inside the dark prison cell.
The stench of rusty blood filled the entire space. Yuliya's pupils trembled slightly as she stared blankly at the head of the Siming rolling on the ground.
The other party... died with their eyes wide open...
In fact...
She had never known what the other person's true appearance was beneath the black robe.
However, from the moment she joined the Scythe of Judgment.
They went through battle after battle.
Within this team, Siming's strength has long been an accepted fact.
The other party is a qualified and competent captain. He can negotiate with government forces to secure sufficient benefits for their combat team, and he can also provide a safety net for the mission. He has saved the lives of his team members multiple times with his powerful fire abilities.
Therefore... although the members of the Scythe of Judgment are at odds with each other.
However, in many cases, once Siming speak, they are quite convinced.
But...
This usually mysterious fellow, once he shed his disguise, was nothing more than an unremarkable old man, and... just like that... he died here without any real significance...
No one could understand the complex emotions Yuliya was feeling at that moment.
If she could turn back time, she would definitely stop the Scythe of Judgment from entering this city.
Get far away from this city!
Stay far away from this humanoid monster named Ian!
Pity...
There's no going back in this world!
Even though she had grasped the essence of swordsmanship and reached a new level, she could finally proudly show her father all the progress she had made over the years, her pain, and everything about her...
But Yuliya knew that she had no chance anymore...
The group of "monsters" before us.
The only reason they spared my life was that they wanted to get what they wanted from me...
The other party will not let me go.
The only thing that Yuliya found regrettable was...
Just as she was destined to dedicate all her will to the way of the sword, she has completed this mission. What awaits her next... will probably be the same tragic end as that of Siming.
Thinking of this, Yuliya's eyes dimmed slightly and returned to silence.
However.
Just then...
She noticed that the handsome, twisted boy who had just severed the head of the Siming had inexplicably pulled out a piece of brightly colored fabric.
What happened next.
Even Yuliya, who had already resolved to die, stared in shock and disbelief upon seeing it, as if it had overturned all her understanding.
"Hmm..."
"The flavor is too strong..."
Ian pinched his nose with one hand, frowning, and took out the [Time Cloth] with the other, then turned it over and covered Siming headless corpse lying on the ground.
I was too busy showing off with my knife just now.
The pungent smell of the splattered blood made the already enclosed space even smell worse!
But.
With the activation of [Time Cloth]'s ability.
Everything that happened to Siming begins to undergo a time rewind.
The severed head was put back in place, and the spilled blood returned intact to the beating blood vessels along the victim's carotid artery.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Apart from...
The Siming, returning from the underworld.
He blinked, and upon seeing the dark and cramped environment before him, he instantly snapped back to reality. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his pupils trembled as he stared at the smiling Ian and the others, his heart filled with horror.
"So... it was all a dream..."
"It was so terrifying, so real... that bone-chilling cold... that abyssal loneliness..."
He was slightly lost in thought.
Although I suddenly woke up from that nightmare, it seems that I am now following the plot of the dream.
What awaits me... is probably only death...
His gaze fell upon Ian and his group, who were staring intently at him, and a hint of helplessness crossed his face.
"Today, I fear I cannot escape death. How tragic, is this the ultimate fate of prisoners...?"
"Was that dream... a harbinger of the end of my life...?"
Siming couldn't help but feel sorrow.
If you are outmatched, defeated, and captured, this is your only fate.
But.
He secretly consoled himself, thinking that death was better than living and enduring torture.
But just then, Ian, who was standing in front of him, spoke up.
"How does it feel to have returned from hell?"
Ian smiled curiously as he looked at him, genuinely curious to know if the other person, having experienced death, had any memories of the afterlife.
However, upon hearing what the other party said...
"Hell...?"
Siming suddenly looked up, a look of Outer God on his face. For a moment, he hadn't realized why the other person would say such a thing.
Ian slung the Tachi over his shoulder with one hand, held the [Time Cloth] in the other, gently touched his forehead, glanced at Siming with a hint of surprise, and frowned slightly.
"Strange, could it be that even the memories have been reversed?"
"If that's the case, then it probably won't have the desired effect of torture... This is really worrying, hopefully it won't..."
"Was that strike too fast...?"
"Um... could you tell me, do you remember what just happened?"
The instant Ian finished speaking.
The moment Siming's gaze fell upon the Tachi in Ian's hand.
His face stiffened.
In that instant, he understood why the other person had suddenly spoken like that!
Everything that just happened.
Like fragments of a memory, flashed through his mind: the other person's cold, unwavering swing of the knife, the splattering blood, his own headless corpse, and that chilling loneliness...
The scenes made Siming's heart pound rapidly.
At the same time, it also made him realize an extremely horrifying truth!
I... have already died once!
Right here, he was killed by this terrifyingly powerful young man with a single strike!
I wasn't dreaming, it was all real!
Thinking about this...
Siming felt a chill run through his body, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. His breathing became rapid, and he stared wide-eyed at Ian was standing right in front of him, in disbelief!
If this is true.
That proves one thing.
He couldn't even die in front of this person... This was absolutely the worst news ever!
Is the other party a human or a ghost!?
How did he do that?!
What did he do to me!?
What I just experienced... was it real!?
The intense emotional shifts, even in the midst of the panic, made Siming forget the pain of the neurotoxins inflicted on him by his enemy.
But.
Ian clearly noticed his reaction, and a smile crept across his face, revealing a look that was terrifying in Siming's eyes, as he exclaimed with delight.
"Judging from your reaction... you shouldn't have forgotten what just happened!"
"How was your experience of dying? Can you tell me about it?"
Ian looked just like a student earnestly asking questions, except he was taking notes.
Siming was not a good teacher. His face was deathly pale, and his whole body was trembling slightly. No one understood what the old man was thinking at this moment.
After death...
There is no heaven... and not even hell...
Death greets a desolate, icy world, chilling the soul to the bone with an unbearable cold...
Even more piercing than his icy flames...
But when Siming learns that all of this is true...
He suddenly... had an overwhelming desire to live...
He wanted to live; he didn't want to fall into that boundless, icy desolation...