"Do you want to live?"
Kuize's sudden question struck straight at the heart of the matter, freezing Ye Chen where he stood.
In truth, long before taking part in this battle to annihilate the Theater Butcher, Ye Chen—long tormented by the Abyss's malice—had believed his days were numbered. From the very beginning, he had never imagined he could return to the Holy Light Pure Land alive.
He had already cast that unattainable, wishful hope completely from his mind.
And yet, at this moment, Kuize had forcibly placed that illusory hope before Ye Chen's eyes once more!
Live!
Not die a heroic death.
But—
Live.
Live with his head held high!
At this very moment, Kuize's words once again forced that beautiful future Ye Chen had never dared imagine into his mind!
Thus, his features stiffened, and he stood rooted to the spot, rendered speechless for a time!
As for the Abyss Consciousness, which had been raging madly all along, it now began gathering strength while watching in secret!
"..."
The young man fell silent.
"..."
The old man waited.
"..."
The Abyss lay dormant.
"..."
Then, Ye Chen's eyes began to flicker, his expression began to struggle, and his hands began to clench.
"..."
"I..."
"I..."
At that moment, the young man stammered incoherently. His ears rang, his vision swam, and the thoughts in his mind were as chaotic as though they were being ravaged by a violent storm.
Yet as the pressure within that shattered heart mounted higher and higher, before finally breaking through some critical threshold—
The world before Ye Chen's eyes suddenly turned pure white.
A boundless expanse of pure white.
A pure white without the slightest trace of filth.
A pure white Ye Chen had always buried deep within his heart, never daring to hope for.