A bloody wind was howling.
The blood-red steps were already laid out before Li Chen.
"The same as always." Li Chen raised his eyes and said calmly.
Just like those pristine white steps, exactly the same.
He just didn't know what would happen if he went up there.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he still went up.
One step, two steps.
Li Chen frowned. The blood-red staircase did not bring down any oppressive force, nor did anything else happen.
Could this really just be an ordinary staircase?
I don't know how much time passed...
"231 steps," Li Chen silently memorized the number of steps he had taken, but nothing happened.
The stairs were much longer than he had imagined, almost endless.
He saw nothing that connected to the depths of darkness.
What exactly happened?
But he kept moving forward.
In an instant -
A strong gust of wind, emanating a red aura, swept in.
His thoughts were dispelled, and a figure appeared before him.
Li Chen's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "Who exactly are you?"
Indeed, the masked man appeared before him once again. This time, Li Chen didn't ask about anything else; he only wanted to know who this person in front of him was.
And why did I unintentionally help him become the person he is today?
The masked man slowly sat down on the red steps. After a moment of contemplation, he seemed to look towards the distant, dark gate and said softly, "I am you, and you are me."
His words surprised Li Chen even more. "I am him?"
How could that be? What makes him so special?
Regardless of how terrifying the abilities of the person before him were, the fact that he could be sealed in this strange space was already shocking to Li Chen.
A glint of light flashed in the masked man's eyes; he seemed to be in a better mood than usual. He continued, "Perhaps you're wondering why the space found you, and how it found you."
Li Chen nodded slightly, dismissing his earlier thought; perhaps the masked man was just teasing him.
"This space used to be called the 'Throne Space,' and the throne you see is something called 'Authority,' but it's still far beyond your reach."
But all of this was actually predetermined.
The masked man's words made Li Chen frown slightly, puzzled.
Throne Space? Authority? What exactly are these things?
He had never heard of these things in textbooks or anywhere else. Did such things even exist in the world?
Seeing his puzzled look, the masked man smiled for the first time in a long time, as if recalling his former self.
At this moment Li Chen spoke up, "Then why are you avoiding me?"
"Or why won't you come out to see me?"
"Since you're hiding in this space, and inside me, why don't you come out?"
Li Chen asked the masked man as if he had a million questions.
The masked man shook his head, saying helplessly, "I'm just a sealed failure; I can't just come out whenever I want."
"Besides, we don't see each other that often anymore."
"What do you mean?" Li Chen asked, staring intently at his figure.
Although they hadn't spent much time together, the masked man had already left an impression on him.
The masked man smiled and said, "Everything in this world comes from a trace. Your appearance and mine will inevitably break all these shackles."
"There was once a world that I led to destruction, but because of your appearance, everything changed."
"You represent new life, and you represent hope."
"During the time I was sealed away, I witnessed your growth. You are so much like me, so much like my younger self."
His words completely confused Li Chen, who couldn't quite understand them, but he still listened to them.
But all of this is too fantastical, meaning that the masked man in front of us actually destroyed a world.
How big is a world? He didn't know.
Because the measure of each world lies in the measure in the heart of each individual.
Perhaps in Li Chen's eyes, there is only one planet in the world, because his perspective is limited to this size.
But he couldn't figure out the masked man in front of him.
The masked man was unusually talkative today; this was the first time Li Chen had seen him like this. However, he didn't disturb him, perhaps because the long period of sealing had made him a little lonely.
If the masked man knew what he was thinking, he'd probably throw him out immediately.
However, the masked man was rambling on.
"How about the King's Power I bestowed upon you?"
Li Chen raised his hand, and the white wings on the back of his hand had turned black.
"What exactly is the King's Power, and why did you bestow it upon me?"
"And what exactly is that black substance? Or what if I put my hand inside someone's body...?"
He was interrupted before he could finish speaking; there were simply too many questions. The masked man waved his hand helplessly and said...
"The King's Power in your possession is something I discovered within the seal, and I bestowed it upon you so that one day you can release me."
"And that black substance you mentioned, which can be called a 'Forbidden Substance,' is the culprit that has caused this world to become what it is."
"As for inserting it into a human body, you'll find out once you try it."
Li Chen blinked, looking surprised. This was the first time this guy had told him what he needed to ask; it was truly unbelievable.
He thought he would be dragged into other things again.
"Forbidden Substances —it's these things that have caused chaos in the world; it's truly unbelievable."
Li Chen knew just how terrifying those Forbidden Substances were; they could help humans transform into Eerie Monsters, and even continuously strengthen their bodies.
However, it seems that no one in the entire human race has discovered such a substance in the past 16 years; only the individual is capable of extracting it.
Only now did he realize just how powerful the masked man in front of him truly was, yet even someone as powerful as him was sealed away in this bizarre space.
The topic returned once again to the strange space, specifically why the Throne Space appeared within his body.
Li Chen stared at the masked man, his gaze fixed on the white eyes that weren't hidden by the mask.
The masked man stood up, his expression unreadable, but his figure began to dissipate from his feet.
He spoke softly.
"Li Chen, you have found your path, your way."
"I don't want to repeat the same mistakes. On the other side of the universe, those ancient gods are still watching over this world."
Only Forbidden Power can contend with it.
In his final moments before vanishing, he seemed to try to remove the mask from his face, but ultimately turned into bubbles.
Li Chen stood still, his words echoing in his mind.
Ancient gods, Forbidden Power, the other side of the universe—the mysteries are piling up, but Li Chen still knows nothing about them.
He was still just a Sequence User in the Looking River Realm; all of this seemed like a fantasy to him.