Faced with Lyle's sudden change in attitude and abrupt questioning, Ye Chen fell into a long spell of stunned silence.
"..."
"I..."
"I..."
Then, after a long silence and words that caught in his throat, Ye Chen's expression finally wavered as he gave his answer in a subdued voice.
"That was because... I... had no other choice."
"I don't know what exactly the Abyss lurking inside my body is."
"However, I do understand that its power, as well as its vitality, far exceeded anything I could have imagined."
"Against an enemy of that level, I could never defeat it unless I was prepared to die."
"Teacher... if I hadn't done that..."
"There would have been no way to defeat the Abyss."
After hearing Ye Chen's explanation, Lyle replied coldly:
"Yet if you die, how can there be any talk of victory?"
"If you could stay alive..."
"Then what does it matter if you cannot defeat the Abyss?"
Ye Chen's pupils dilated, his expression freezing.
"Huh?"
He simply could not believe what he had just heard.
"If I cannot defeat the Abyss..."
"Then I will completely lose my consciousness. My body will become a puppet of the Abyss, and my soul will suffer under its enslavement."
"How could such an outcome possibly be any better than death?"
Lyle continued without changing expression:
"What if you could become an exception?"
Ye Chen's gaze went blank at those words.
"An exception?"
Lyle nodded slightly.
"That's right. An exception."
"If, unlike those other victims, even after losing to the Abyss, you could retain your consciousness in some corner of your mind—or even live in an ideal world of your own where everything went as you wished, forever severed from all the turmoil of the outside world..."
"Then, Ye Chen, what would you think of