Gift of Ruins

A pair of eyes condensed from "never having existed." When they looked at you, you felt as though you were being watched by "never having existed."

It spoke. Its voice sounded directly in the depths of his consciousness:

[Lord of Ashes.]

Lin Ye said nothing.

[You are more interesting than I imagined.] Ruins of Return's form leaned forward slightly. [There are 370 million existences within you, 3,000 elite warriors following behind you, and along the way, you even awakened the prisoners within me. Do you know what that means?]

Lin Ye still said nothing.

Ruins of Return waited for a long time before answering its own question:

[It means you are becoming a second me.]

Lin Ye smiled.

That smile made Ruins of Return's form pause slightly.

"A second you?" He stepped forward and faced Ruins of Return directly. "You make everything never have existed. I make everything remembered. We are opposites, not the same kind."

Ruins of Return fell silent for three seconds.

Then it laughed.

That laughter made the surrounding nothingness tremble:

[Interesting. For endless epochs, this is the first time anyone has dared speak to me like this. Do you know who the last one to speak to me this way was?]

It raised a hand and pointed behind Lin Ye—where the 3,000 elite warriors were struggling to maintain their sense of existence:

[No one. The last one who dared speak this way was forgotten long ago. Even the very fact that I devoured them was forgotten. You will be the same.]

Lin Ye said nothing.

He merely raised a hand and pressed it against his chest.

There, 370 million stars lit up at once.

Their light pierced through his body, pierced through the nothingness before him, and shone directly upon Ruins of Return's blurry form.

For