Cruel Reality

"My turn?"

Ye Chen heard Lyle's words, and an extremely ominous premonition instantly surged in his heart, because Lyle had not used the word "us," but had spoken only of Ye Chen himself.

"Teacher, what do you mean by this?"

With an expression of disbelief, Ye Chen asked, his voice trembling and choked with emotion.

"Although the Abyss has dissipated for now, it is only temporary. The scene of the Abyss just now was merely a probing tactic by the main body."

"Once the main body manifests in person, it will no longer be able to keep watch over other matters from behind the scenes."

"And at that moment, it will be your only chance to leave this place."

Lyle analyzed the situation with a blank expression while walking into the Prayer Hall without hesitation. Ye Chen followed closely behind, his face pale, his heart filled with growing trepidation.

The two walked to the center of the Prayer Hall, where an ancient stone statue of a woman stood.

This was the statue that Lyle had sat before in silent contemplation every day for over a decade.

Beside the statue stood a black horse, the same horse that Ye Chen had petted and greeted every day for over a decade.

Old Ma Heiqi and the Broken Stone Statue waited together for the arrival of the master and his apprentice.

At the same time, Ye Chen quickly realized that the countless cracks and fractures covering the surface of the statue were faintly glowing in the dim hall.

"Once the main body of the Abyss officially appears and is too preoccupied to pay attention to the shadows, I will open a hidden passage inside this statue. Ye Chen, at that time, Heiqi will use this path to take you away from here and head to a brand new world."

Lyle scanned every corner of the damaged statue with a calm expression, checking its condition while explaining to Ye Chen in a composed manner.

However, upon hearing this, Ye Chen was dumbfounded, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

"Wait, then what about you, Teacher!?"

"Are you not coming with us!?"

"Could it be that you intend to stay here alone------!?"

Ye Chen asked in shock, his voice growing louder and more hoarse with every word.

Although he already knew the answers to these questions in his heart, it was precisely for that reason that the boy desperately wanted to prove himself wrong, to believe that everything was just a misunderstanding.

However, Lyle, with his back to Ye Chen, paused for a moment before finally nodding his head.

"Yes, I must stay behind to stall the main body of the Abyss, otherwise you and Heiqi will never escape."

Ye Chen was struck dumb. After a period of silence, he asked in an almost pleading tone: "What about after that? Teacher, will you come to find us? You must have some other treasure or means to escape, right? We... we can still meet again one day in the future, right?"

Lyle did not reply.

Ye Chen waited for one second, five seconds, even ten seconds, but Lyle remained silent.

"Answer me, Teacher!"

"Even if it takes a long time, please tell me."

"Please tell me yourself that we can meet again one day--!"

The boy asked urgently, his forehead beaded with anxious sweat.

However, Lyle closed his eyes.

He was a man who never offered empty reassurances, so he would only give Ye Chen the most realistic and cruel answer.

Even if this answer would deal a devastating blow to Ye Chen's heart, Lyle would not lie.

To Ye Chen, he never lied.

"No, we will likely never meet again."

"You will leave this place alive, while I will die in battle here."

"That is the most likely outcome."

The man's voice fell, cold and final.

The boy's hands loosened, devoid of strength.

Such a sudden and unprecedented situation left Ye Chen instantly plunged into a stunned silence.

He had originally been full of anticipation for leaving this small world of ice and snow, full of longing for the vast world outside, to the point where he had tossed and turned on countless nights, unable to sleep.

However, all this anticipation and longing was built on the premise that when the time came, he would go to the vast new world together with Lyle and Heiqi.

In Ye Chen's heart, Lyle held the same weight as a father; he was his role model, his goal, and above all, his irreplaceable family.

It was precisely because of this that Ye Chen found it truly difficult to accept this cruel reality, to the point where he began to resent why Lyle had never mentioned this to him before.

"It's not the same. This is not the same."

Ye Chen looked at Lyle, shaking his head, whispering in a daze.

"This is completely different from what we agreed upon------!"

Ye Chen's roar echoed through the cold, empty Prayer Hall, echoing through the last remaining corner of the snow-capped mountains in the Eternal Winter Hidden Domain.

Before this, he had never lost his temper with Lyle, never once flared up, but the cold, hard facts before him made it impossible for Ye Chen's reason to suppress his emotions any longer.

At this moment, he was no longer a cold, ruthless Hunter who saw only his prey, but merely a child desperately craving the warmth of family.

After all, for the past seventeen years, aside from Old Ma and Heiqi, Lyle was the only family who had stayed by Ye Chen's side.

The boy's world was small—so small that it was difficult for a normal person to comprehend. It had been this way for seventeen years, and he had never had a single friend, so the companionship of Heiqi and Lyle was his everything.

Yet, even though this world was already pitifully small, the Abyss was now determined to ruthlessly snatch half of it away from the boy's hands.

At this very moment, this pain for Ye Chen far surpassed any physical torture; it felt like the end of the world, leaving him with a heart that felt as if it were being sliced to pieces.

"It's not the same. It's not the same at all."

"If it really has to be this way, then I won't go to the outside world either. I don't care about anything out there anymore."

"I want to stay here and keep Teacher company. I don't want to go anywhere. I don't want to go anywhere at all."

Ye Chen knelt on the ground, clutching his forehead and eyes tightly with his hands, murmuring incessantly.

Even though he had been covered in wounds countless times in the past, faced life-threatening dangers, and brushed against death time and time again, Ye Chen's resolve had never wavered; the Hunter's mindset had always governed his every action.

However, upon learning that he was about to lose a loved one, Ye Chen's current appearance looked so sorrowful and so desperate that his azure eyes were gradually brimming with blurred tears—tears that no amount of physical pain could ever force out.

Lyle looked down at the apprentice weeping uncontrollably before him, his originally calm and indifferent face showing faint traces of struggle and helplessness.

However, this wavering was quickly suppressed by a firm conviction.

After all, a long, long time ago, Lyle had already prepared himself for this realization.

Now, nothing and no emotion could stop him, nor would they ever be allowed to stop him.