In the mist, an island drifted slowly.
Gu Qingshan stood alone at the island's edge, gazing into the void ahead.
--With the Time Clan escorting her, Gu Su'an had just departed.
She would travel upstream through the River of Time, pressing onward until she reached that point in time from the past.
Gu Qingshan sighed.
Now that even she had gone back, would the things that had happened in the past still unfold exactly as before?
No one knew.
The version of himself who belonged to all living beings was striving to buy time, but no one knew how much time he could gain.
--We can't wait any longer.
Gu Qingshan turned and walked toward the island's interior.
Before long, he reached a stretch of woodland and saw Yu leading her people in planting vast fields of crops on the hillside.
"My lord."
Yu came up from the fields and greeted him.
"How are the crops coming along?" Gu Qingshan asked.
"Very well. We'll have enough to eat." Yu pointed toward an orchard. "We're trying to grow several kinds of fruit. I carefully selected them from my Sequence; eating them can grant all sorts of powers."
"Fruit?"
"That's right. My Sequence can select ancient seeds from past epochs out of Chaos. We can plant them to help us gain power."
"Very good. I see your population has grown, too."
"Yes. I think we need plenty of hands. In this completely unknown place, the more of us who grow stronger, the more battle-ready the island will be."
"You're right... As for fighting, we don't have time to take things slowly anymore. Hold out your hand."
"Yes, my lord."
Their hands clasped.
Rows of tiny, firefly-like words appeared in the void before them:
"World Apocalypse Online · Lord of Demons has initiated