"Did you see it..."
"That was Winnie's origin."
As her words fell, the scenes of memory slowly faded like washed-out ink paintings.
Shen Yi's breathing grew slightly heavy, his chest rising and falling faintly.
He had witnessed that harrowing scene with his own eyes. At the edge of Boundary Land, Mia had merely taken a probing half-step when she was tainted by a pitch-black ripple spreading from absolute darkness. She had been forced to sever part of her own rules and soul fragments just to barely protect herself.
And that severed, devoured part had ultimately mutated and, through twists and turns, become the Winnie of later days.
Had they not come to Beyond the World, Shen Yi and Winnie would likely have remained deceived for the rest of their lives.
Yet Shen Yi focused himself, forcing himself to pull free from the shock.
Because the memory scene before him had not completely ended with Feng Qingyao's explanation.
The light and shadows had not fully dissipated.
Within the memory, the perspective returned to that pure, absolute darkness representing the deepest part of Boundary Land.
Feng Qingyao's small yet exceptionally resolute figure once more headed toward the deeper darkness that Mia had feared and retreated from moments ago.
It was a desperate realm where even an existence like Mia could only frantically sever herself to escape.
And Feng Qingyao chose to continue onward.
In the scene, the faint golden footprints left behind by some more ancient predecessor grew increasingly sparse as Feng Qingyao ventured deeper, the gaps between them widening as well. Every step seemed to span endless void, bearing unimaginable pressure.
The surroundings were not empty.
Dense, nearly indissoluble active Black Fog from the outer regions of Boundary Land slowly spread in from all directions like a living tide, pressing in