Otto Turned Himself into a Needle, Pierced the Gods' Shell, and Stole the Imaginary and Soul Law

"So that was why this world was so quiet," Xue Ye said softly. "It wasn't that no one had thought of it. Everyone who dared to think had died. Those left behind only wanted to survive. People struggling to survive did not ask questions; they only shouted, 'Bishop Otto.' With his own hands, he made that world stop forever at the boundary between darkness and light. He stood in the brightest place, yet pushed the deepest darkness onto everyone else."

The Light Screen finally went completely dark. This time, there was no pause, no new image. Yet that darkness seemed tangible, weighing heavily upon everyone's shoulders.

"What he killed wasn't people," Huo Yuhao suddenly said, his voice like a blade slowly drawn in the night. "It was a civilization's ability to lift its head. He wanted that entire world, for five hundred years, for a thousand years, to do nothing but look at him without ever seeing him."

"So Kallen would never have wanted to see this," Gu Yuena said softly, her silver lashes trembling faintly. "If that maiden truly was as pure as she was in his memories, then if she returned, the first thing she would do would be to snatch the torch from his hand, smash it to the ground, and loudly ask everyone—why aren't you finding your own way?"

"But she could never return," Tang San said.

"And he had long since lost sight of the road back," Huo Yuhao added.

Huo Yuhao's words were like an exceedingly fine needle of ice falling into the profound silence. There was no echo, yet everyone felt a bone-deep chill. The Light Screen did not light up. Just as they thought this exposure had ended, the image suddenly resurfaced from the darkness like ripples. This time, the light trembled