Cruel Reality

"My turn?"

When Ye Chen heard Lyle say that, an ominous premonition surged through him. Lyle hadn't said "us"—he'd been talking about Ye Chen alone.

"Teacher, what do you mean?"

Ye Chen asked, his face full of disbelief and his voice trembling.

"Though the Abyss has completely disappeared for now, it's only temporary. What we saw just now was merely the Abyss's true form testing the waters."

"When its true form appears in person, it won't be able to keep an eye on everything from behind the scenes."

"And that will be your only chance to leave this place."

Lyle analyzed the situation without expression as he strode into the Prayer Hall without hesitation. Ye Chen followed close behind, his face pale and his anxiety growing with every step.

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

For over a decade, Lyle had spent every day sitting quietly before this statue in contemplation.

Beside it stood a black stallion—the horse Ye Chen had greeted and petted every day for over a decade.

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

At the same time, Ye Chen quickly noticed that the countless cracks and fissures covering the statue's surface were faintly glowing in the dim hall.

"Once the Abyss's true form appears and is too occupied to keep watch over the shadows, I'll open a hidden passage inside this statue. Ye Chen, Heiqi will take you through it and help you escape to a new world."

Lyle calmly surveyed every corner of the damaged Statue of God, checking its condition as he explained everything to Ye Chen in an even tone.

But when Ye Chen heard this, he was dumbstruck, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"Then what about you, Teacher!?"

"Are you really not coming with us!?"

"Are you planning to stay here all by yourself—!?"

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

Deep down, he already knew the answer to these questions. But that was precisely why the boy desperately wanted to prove himself wrong—to show that this was all just a misunderstanding.

However, Lyle stood with his back to Ye Chen. He paused for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Yes. I have to stay behind and hold off the Abyss's true form. Otherwise, you and Heiqi won't escape."

Ye Chen fell silent. After a while, he asked in an almost pleading voice, "What about after that? Teacher, will you come find us? Surely you have some other treasure or some way to escape, right? We... We'll meet again someday, won't we?"

Lyle didn't answer.

Ye Chen waited one second, then five, then ten. Lyle still didn't answer.

"Answer me, Teacher!"

"No matter how long it takes... Please, tell me."

"Tell me yourself that we'll meet again someday—!"

The boy pressed him desperately, his forehead beaded with sweat.

But Lyle closed his eyes.

He never made empty promises, so he could only give Ye Chen the most realistic, most cruel answer.

Even if his answer would devastate Ye Chen, Lyle wouldn't lie.

He never lied to Ye Chen.

"No. We probably won't see each other again."

"You'll make it out of here alive, and I'll die fighting here."

"That's the most likely outcome."

The man's voice fell, cold and final.

The boy's hands fell limp.

The sudden, unprecedented turn of events left Ye Chen stunned and silent.

He had looked forward to leaving this little world of snow and ice. He had longed for the vast world beyond, so much so that countless nights had passed with him tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

But all those hopes and dreams had been built on the assumption that he would go to that vast new world together with Lyle and Heiqi.

In Ye Chen's heart, Lyle meant as much to him as a father. He was Ye Chen's role model, his goal, and, above all, his irreplaceable family.

That was why Ye Chen simply couldn't accept this cruel reality. He couldn't help resenting Lyle for never having told him about it before.

"It's not the same. This isn't the same."

Ye Chen looked at Lyle, shaking his head as he murmured in bewilderment.

"This is nothing like what we agreed on back then—!"

Ye Chen's cry echoed through the cold, empty Prayer Hall and across the last remaining corner of the Snow Mountain in the Eternal Winter Hidden Domain.

Before this, he had never once gotten angry with Lyle or lost his temper. But the cold, hard truth before him had finally overwhelmed his reason.

At that moment, he was no longer a ruthless Hunter with eyes only for his prey. He was just a child, desperately yearning for family.

After all, in the seventeen years of his life, aside from Old Ma Heiqi, Lyle was the only family who had ever stayed by Ye Chen's side.

The boy's world was small—so small that ordinary people could hardly understand it. It had always been that way throughout his seventeen years; he had never had a single friend. Heiqi and Lyle's companionship was everything to him.

And yet, even in that pitifully small world, the Abyss was now going to snatch half of it away from him without mercy.

At that moment, Ye Chen's anguish far surpassed any physical torment. It felt like the end of the world, leaving him with a heart as though it had been cut to pieces.

"It's not the same. It's nothing like what we agreed on..."

"If that's how it's going to be, then I'm not going to the outside world either. I don't care about anything out there anymore..."

"I'm staying here with you, Teacher. I don't want to go anywhere. I don't want to go anywhere..."

Ye Chen fell to his knees, pressing his hands tightly against his forehead and eyes as he murmured over and over.

Though he had suffered countless injuries, faced countless dangers, and narrowly escaped death time and again, his resolve had never wavered. The Hunter's mindset had always held firm control over him.

But now that he knew he was about to lose a member of his family, Ye Chen looked utterly heartbroken and hopeless. Tears began to blur his bright blue eyes—tears that no amount of physical pain could have drawn from him.

Lyle looked down at his apprentice, who was weeping uncontrollably. A hint of struggle and helplessness flickered across his usually calm, composed face.

But those doubts were quickly suppressed by his unshakable resolve.

After all, Lyle had made peace with this long, long ago.

Now, nothing—not even his feelings—could stop him. And nothing was allowed to.