The Abyss held countless unexpected dangers, and every world perished for a different reason. Through battle after battle, Lu Youqi came to know those dangers inside out. But there was one he could not escape, no matter how experienced he became.
Time—an invisible danger that loomed over everything with a finite lifespan and ate away at its existence.
"Cough, cough."
Lu Youqi fell into another familiar coughing fit.
It was an old problem. Perhaps he had worked himself too hard, devoting everything to his mission of saving worlds. Or perhaps his endless failure to find something unique had worn him down.
"Are you all right?" Martin asked beside him. As an emissary of dreams, he was untouched by time and still looked as he always had.
"I'm fine. Cough, cough."
Lu Youqi cleared his throat.
"Sometimes I envy you. You're still so healthy."
"I can make you like me," Martin said quietly. "I can replace your blood."
"No need. I want to remain purely human. Accept the power of the Abyss, and you'll inevitably pay its price."
As Lu Youqi traveled between worlds, he had encountered many chances to gain power. Every time, he had given them up without hesitation.
Every gain came at a cost. He had learned that in his battles against the Abyss. And after witnessing the destruction of so many worlds, he had come to see the Abyss as his lifelong enemy. He wanted no gifts from it.
"You know I hate the Abyss."
"Using its power isn't the same as accepting it," Martin urged.
But Lu Youqi stubbornly refused.
"We can go to a world with more advanced technology. I believe human science can heal me. We don't have to rely on the Abyss."
Yet whenever they reached a new world, Lu Youqi threw himself