"Ugh..."
The moment the Female Tree was completely destroyed, the consciousness it had bound immediately broke free of its control. Whether it was the controlled beings present or the personnel far away in the research institute, their minds gradually cleared.
Their brainwaves began returning to the normal frequency range of humans, and those mysterious, ineffable souls began returning to their physical bodies.
But unlike the others, Lin Chen did not feel himself returning to his body. Instead, he awoke in a very strange place.
"Where is this...?"
After Lin Chen regained consciousness, he found himself within a boundless sea of void. Surging waves rolled soundlessly.
The sea was not made of water, but countless shattered fragments of space-time woven together. Every wave reflected the scene of a different world.
Some waves flickered with the dying afterglow of fallen stars. Others reflected the phantoms of ancient colossal beasts. Still others carried traces of an entire world's collapse.
Within this sea, time and space lost all meaning. Past and future converged here, and the boundary between Life and Death became blurred.
Occasionally, enormous shadows swept beneath the sea. They were ancient sleeping beings, whose breaths churned Chaos and raised sky-high giant waves.
In the far distance his line of sight could reach, billions of stars dotted the dark void. Like pearls left behind in the deep sea, they radiated brilliant splendor, lending a trace of life's warmth to this deathly, ice cold void.
This was the starting point of all things, and also the place of endings. It contained infinite possibilities and concealed endless dangers.
This was... the Chaos Sea!
"I came to the Chaos Sea of Stars? No, that's not right. This is a scene from memory..."
Lin Chen quickly realized that this belonged to... the Female Tree's memories.
Then, through