"Do not reject the abyss."
"Do not resist the abyss."
"Quietly, obediently, join us."
The Abyss Walker's sinister, icy words echoed through Ye Chen's heart once more, making both body and mind tremble beneath a chill that seemed to seep into his very bones.
(No. I absolutely can't let it drag me down.)
Ye Chen shut his eyes tight, gritted his teeth, and thought with difficulty.
(Once it drags me down, my mental will... will probably be gone forever.)
(If that happens, everything will be over.)
(Teacher and Heiqi's sacrifices will all have been in vain.)
With that thought, Ye Chen's mind instantly returned to that Old Church amid the swirling snow.
Lyle was still seated on the wooden pew in the very front row of the Prayer Hall, wearing the same stern, unsmiling expression of a teacher as always.
Heiqi was still standing quietly in the stone stable in the churchyard, wearing the same gentle, kindly face of Old Ma as always.
Ever since Ye Chen could remember, one man, one horse, and one church had been the home and family that kept him company.
It was like a fledgling's nest.
Though narrow, though crude, it was enough to leave an everlasting brand upon the fledgling's soul.
By now, Ye Chen's wings had gradually grown full.
Yet Lyle, Heiqi, and the Old Church... had all vanished forever.
Ye Chen would never see their faces again, nor hear their voices again.
Just like that, the boy had forever lost his family and his home.
And the root of this entire tragedy was precisely twisted species like the abyss.
If those greedy, damned abominations had never existed from the very beginning—
How could reality possibly have come to this?
At that thought, a deep blue color suddenly surged into Ye Chen's